Mechaniquus

by DougtheLoremaster

Chapter 17: Disharmonic Table of Elements

Chrysalis stretched her wings, sitting in the bubbling water of the simulation’s hot tub. Even after a few dates she still couldn’t wrap her mind around how real it felt. She knew it wasn’t, and yet she could feel the soothing relief as the bath salts soaked into her sore, throbbing exoskeleton, and into the aching muscles that lay beneath.
Next to her full Changeling body, sat Pinkie Pie, gently snuggling against her; eyes shut, and also tired from the many hours of the night’s activities. Looking down at her, Chrysalis couldn’t help but smile. She would never have thought she would be spending long nights with Pinkie of all ponies. Then again, it wasn’t just the party pony, was it?
 Glancing up, Chrysalis gazed across the hot tub to where another Pinkie sat; this one possessed a straight, dark pink mane, naturally angry eyes, and in her hooves was a rather vicious-looking blade which she was slowly striking against a sharpening stone. Noticing Chrysalis looking at her, Pinkemena gave a sinister smile. 
Like her counterpart, she too was quite tired and had decided to cool down by sharpening her favorite blade.
“Yes?”
Lifting up her hoof, Chrysalis gestured to Pinkemena before beckoning to herself.
“Come here, I want some cuddles.”
“I’m not really the cuddling-type, Chrysi. That’s what Pinkie is for.”
Turning back to her knife, Pinkemena flinched as Chrysi’s sharp and demanding voice suddenly filled her ears.
“That wasn’t a request. Get over here. Now!”
Glancing up once more, Pinkemena saw Chrysalis smiling sweetly at her. Rolling her eyes and flinging the knife, she watched it embed itself in the stone siding of the tub; Chrysalis not so much as flinching at the display. Slowly making her way over to Chrysalis’s side, she grumbled.
“Fine. Miss Bossy.”
Contrary to her attitude, however, she gently nuzzled up against Chrysalis; a smile on her normally frown-filled face. Chrysalis grinned.
“You know for a psychotic killer, you are surprisingly gentle in your caress.”
Glancing up, Pinkemena’s face flushed an even brighter shade of pink. She murmured indignantly as she nuzzled Chrysalis.
“Just don’t tell anypony, I’m supposed to be one of the more unforgiving, and vicious Elements of Disharmony, after all.”
Wrapping her hoof around Pinkemena, Chrysalis gently nuzzled her back.
“You’ve mentioned them before. What are these Elements of Disharmony, anyway?”
“Suffering, Deceit, Selfishness, Narcissism, Cruelty, Domination.”
There had been no laughter, no anger, just a swift to the point answer. Chrysalis looked down at her in surprise. The answer had been rattled off in a very uncharacteristic way; almost as if it had been drilled into her. 
“Could you tell me a bit more about the different ones?”
Looking confused, Pinkemena shared a glance with Pinkie who shrugged before going back to snuggling Chrysalis.
“Didn’t we exist in your world?”
Chrysalis thought for a moment.
“I don’t think so. I mean, I know we had the Elements of Harmony, but I’ve never heard of the Elements of Disharmony.”
An awkward silence followed as Pinkie lifted her head and watched; Chrysalis staring at Pinkemena expectedly. Deciding to interject, Pinkie told her counterpart.
“You still need to explain them to her, silly filly.”
Blinking Pinkemena gave a nervous chuckle, smiling with embarrassment at Chrysalis.
“Oh right, it’s just that I’m so used to creatures knowing about us.”
Putting her hoof to her muzzle, Pinkemena spoke thoughtfully.
“I suppose I should go in order of our hierarchy, shouldn’t I? Well, that means…starting from the bottom would be Narcissism. And that one’s easily the least powerful because she’s dead.”

“Darling, hooves off my furniture.”
Rainbow Dash swiftly removed her hooves, which she had lain on Rarity’s coffee table, not wishing to anger her. The former of which was now frowning.
“I’m sorry, Dash. It’s hard to remember, you aren’t our original Dashie, sometimes.”
“You miss her that much?”
Rarity smiled wickedly at her.
“Well of course I do…She belonged to me after all, just as you do.”

Pinkemena shuddered.
“But you can’t really discuss Dashie’s Narcissism without mentioning Rare’s Selfishness. Those two were thick as thieves; with Dashie’s ability to see only herself being so great that just by ignoring the existence of others, she could make them actually disappear as if they were never there. And then there was Rare’s gift of Disharmony; her Selfishness.
Beyond mere greed of coveting what she wanted, Rare has the ability to be so selfish that she can literally declare something a possession, and no one will argue, not even the actual owner. Anything, anything at all, or any creature; if she desires it, it becomes her possession. That is if AJ doesn’t con her out of it.”

“Have you forgotten, Rare? You told me she was more than a possession and Dash’s choices were her own to make.”
Looking indignant, Rarity nearly shouted.
“I did no such thing, Applejack.”
Grinning and tilting the prized stetson of her late father, AJ replied.
“Oh really, well if I recall correctly…”
For the next five minutes, AJ explained how, where, and when, that Rare had expressed this desire; as well as what caused it and why. Dash sat there in silence listening to the tale, in awe, as AJ explained it all in excruciating detail.

Pinkemena grinned as Chrysalis asked about this ‘AJ’.
“AJ is the Element of Deceit, and she could be considered one of the scariest of us all, though not in raw power. Still watching her break a tree in half, with her hind legs, using a single tap, was pretty phenomenal.
You see, she has a talent for lying; to the point even knowing it to be a lie, you’ll agree with whatever she tells you. No creatures aside from Twilight and Starlight were able to see through her web of falsehood. We would often use her to convince kings, and queens that everything was fine while we took out their forces. None could debate her words, and all agreed with her. Yet, not a single word she speaks is ever true.”

Rarity stared at AJ as she wove her web, detailing every event that happened, and she nodded.
“Oh, Darling you’re right, I must have forgotten. Sorry about that Dash.”
Glancing in disbelief at Rare, Dash turned her attention back to Applejack who winked, knowingly back at her.
“Yeah, no problem Rarity. Hey, why don’t we go do some more shopping? I know how you love your possessions. Applejack, why don’t you join us?”

Pinkie giggled, as Pinkemena continued her explanation.
“As for Suffering, well that one is mine. You would never catch me on the frontlines; my specialty was torture and causing my victims to feel hopeless. I was used for interrogations, alongside Shy. Which brings me to the Element of Cruelty; Shy.”
Continuing to tickle Pinkie under her chin, Chrysalis smiled as she gave a squeal of delight. In disbelief at the statement, she looked at Pinkemena, voicing her doubts.
“Fluttershy? That Pegasus representing Cruelty?”
“You shouldn’t underestimate her.”
Surprisingly, it was Pinkie who said this. Chrysalis looked down at her and asked her curiously.
“Are you sure, we are talking about the same Fluttershy?”
Pinkie nodded.
“Wicked and blackhearted, Shy was known for being malicious for the sake of feeling like it; physical, mental, and emotional pain, she would spare none. Though she eagerly inflicted wounds, she would never kill her targets; instead, she would drive them to madness, bringing them to the brink and mercilessly pushing them over. 
Not one of her victims survived an encounter with her; going insane and finally ending their own torment using their own hooves. She would then feed their corpses to her pet manticores usually with the victim’s own family watching, as she prepared for those unfortunates to join their loved ones.”
Chrysalis looked a bit surprised.
“Really? But she seems so gentle; like she wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Pinkemena chuckled.
“And she wouldn’t, not nowadays, anyway.”
“What caused such a drastic change, I wonder?”
Pinkie chimed in, giggling.
“Oh, well you see-”

Carefully, Fluttershy examined the delicate wings of the mechanical phoenix before her. Above her a sign hung on the wall:

The owner of the phoenix, Starlight Glimmer, sat stock-still watching in complete silence; awestruck, as Fluttershy hummed quietly to herself, checking over the creature. 
The metal that comprised its flesh, was a burnished red, a sign of internal burning, but that was of no concern to Fluttershy. Currently, the bird was deactivated for her inspection, and being a phoenix was always on fire internally, when it was activated. What did concern her, however, was how the left wing refused to bend when she tried to raise it. 
Fluttershy felt her frustration rising as she tested it. The color is pristine, the gears show no wear or tear, the scan indicated no discrepancies. What is causing this? Starlight looked up from her pet in surprise; the humming had stopped. On Fluttershy’s face was an expression of annoyance.
For the past few hours, she had run every possible test she could think of. And none of it had given her the answer. Then it happened, the tipping point.
“Hey, Flutters, are you-”
Starlight stopped mid-sentence as Fluttershy snapped up to look at her. The LEDs in the Pegasus’s ocular receptors flickering in the corners; a well-known, telltale sign of anger. Starlight watched, startled as Fluttershy looked about to snap. And just as the Pegasus opened her mouth to rage, the lights in her eyes went completely dark.
At first, Starlight thought something had happened, but then she heard the sharp, deep inhale from Fluttershy. Turning her head, Fluttershy’s eyes lit up once more as she opened her eyes to stare at the picture on the wall.
That burned photo, with its corners, ripped and torn; having barely survived Ponyville’s destruction, the last memory she had of her husband, of their little bunny. Of Discord and Angel Bunny. At once, a serene expression flowed across Fluttershy’s face; an unnatural calm, with a small smile on her muzzle. 
Turning back to Starlight, she wore a joyous expression and simply pointed to the sign above her, humming gently once more. Starlight silently nodded and sat back down while Fluttershy went back to inspecting the phoenix. It was then that Fluttershy noticed the single grain of rust wedged in the wing joint.
“A-ha! There it is.”

Pinkie’s eyes twinkled as she finished explaining to Chrysalis.
“The reason she doesn’t embrace her inner darkness is that she fell in love.”
Chrysalis looked doubtful as she gently scratched behind Pinkemena’s ear; eliciting a sudden squeal of delight from the Element of Suffering.
“Really? That sounds rather cheesy.”
Pinkie giggled at the rare sight of her other half having fun.
“And it was. And it is exactly what happened.”
Crooking an eyebrow, Chrysalis watched in amusement as Pinkemena pushed her hoof away; the latter having turned the color of ripened cherries, and clearly embarrassed.
“Do tell.”
Pinkemena straightened up and sighed; almost depressedly at the memory.
“It was 25 years ago, I remember it to this day. The Elements of Disharmony had been dispatched by Princess Luna to strike down King Sombra of the Crystal Empire. We were to dethrone him and set the stage for Luna’s niece to seize control; Princess Cadance. After he was relieved of his head by Starlight, Shy and I left the others to fight against Twilight, without us. 
We focused our efforts on Sombra’s main support; Discord, a malevolent spirit that manifested and controlled the strings of reality with chaos magic. Surprisingly, he was much easier to capture and detain than we would have thought. With him bound, we were sure we could get information on how to take out Twilight, now that she wore a strange amulet that multiplied her already strong magical prowess.
We soon found out it wasn’t us who had him at our mercy. No, he had let it happen…”

“Shy, this isn’t working.”
Shy, the Element of Cruelty and Pinkemena, the Element of Suffering stood side-by-side before a heavily bound, and chained-up Draconiqus that sat on a chair. Behind them, the barricaded door of the Crystal Library resounded with the fierce, futile pounding of guards trying to break in.
The Pegasus’s eyes narrowed at these words. For hours the two had been systematically trying to break the smug self-proclaimed Lord of Chaos, to no avail. He sat there, mocking them, a smirk on his lips as the cuts and wounds upon his form slowly dripped a viscous red onto the carpeted floor below him. He winked at her, which did not help Shy’s mood at all.
Without a word, she swiftly raised her forehoof which held Pinkemena’s knife; driving it deep into the shoulder of the speaker. Pinkemena screamed in agony, but Shy didn’t blink as, still staring at Discord, she snapped aggressively at her cohort.
“Stop crying over a flesh wound, Pinkemena, I barely struck you!  Now shut up, and go take care of those noisy guards. I’ll have him singing soon enough.”
Eyeing her with a mirthful grin, Discord taunted her.
“Oh? And just what could you possibly do that you haven’t already?”
As the screams of the Royal Guards were heard behind her, Shy grinned. Her soft blue eyes twinkled with what could only have been described as demonic light. Raising the hoof holding the still dripping knife, Shy lowered it slowly, until it was just pressed against Discord’s inner thigh. As she saw the realization building in his eyes, she whispered softly.
“Can you feel the sharpness? That biting edge? That stinging sensation? Just a little more pressure and I could effortlessly remove your stallionhoo-”
Snapping his griffon talon, Discord chortled as he ended up behind Shy, completely unharmed, unchained, and clearly amused.
“Oh my, you are a vicious one, aren’t you? I had you pegged for wicked, but to go to such le-Ungh!”
His monologue was interrupted as Shy lashed out with her hind leg, slamming it with all a strength on par with AJ herself, right below Discord’s waist; causing the Lord of Chaos to double over in immense pain. While he was writhing in agony, Shy whirled around and grabbed him in a headlock, pointing the knife blade right betwixt his eyes.
“How did you get loose?”
Discord’s eyes twinkled. He wheezed, happily.
“You are quite ruthless, aren’t you?”
With the snap of his griffon talon, he appeared floating above the furious Pegasus; his voice almost mocking her.
"Well alright, I'll tell you,
but in my special way,
You see, you made a big mistake,
or two, while capturing me today.
I am the Lord of Chaos, 
yet you ask how I got free?
Well, you see…
Your first mistake,
you tied me up, in tight-fitting chains,
Anypony could tell you,
You can't hold chaos's reigns.
You slashed at me, you cut me deep,
And were admittedly quite rough.
The problem there for you,
Is I rather like that stuff.”
Sneering, Shy yelled back at him.
“So what? You’re just another magic user to me. Just another imbecile who thinks that they are out of reach because they can teleport-”
Quick as a flash, Shy hurled Pinkemena’s knife, causing the tip to be embedded in Discord’s arm, paralyzing his griffon’s claw. Immediately after throwing it, Shy leaped up and slammed her forehooves into his skull. As Discord crashed to the ground in utter shock, Shy slowly fluttered her wings to land before him once more. Grabbing the nape of his mane, she growled.
“Don’t think you can fool me, oh mighty Lord of Chaos. You could easily have dodged my strikes. Quit playing with me or my next strike removes your head. Why are you allowing this to happen?”
Grinning, while wincing in pain, he whispered.
“A mare as vile and wicked,
As my own chaotic mind.
Let me tell you now,
I've wanted it for quite a time.
You see, being callous,
Is never quite as fun,
when you are all alone,
inside your mind,
the only one of your kind.
And so I saw you,
as you tortured allies;
both yours and mine.
And I just knew together,
We could have a wicked time.”
Shy spat on the ground in disgust, looking at him. Rolling her eyes, she snorted.
“I expected more from a so-called Chaos Lord. What could a sniveling cretin like you possibly have, that I would want?”
Chuckling mirthfully, he simply answered.
“Information on how to stop Twilight from killing your so-called friends.”
Glaring at him, Shy shouted.
“Are you bucking kidding me, right now?”
Smiling sweetly, Discord slowly pulled out the knife embedded in his arm, before snapping his griffon’s talon; conjuring a bouquet of white roses speckled with dark red splotches. 
“Not at all. I am being quite serious, black-hearted one.”
Shy was stunned, she looked from the blood roses to Discord and back to the bouquet in his mismatched hands. Walking in, and completely covered head-to-hooves in dripping crimson, Pinkie Pie watched as the fiend known as Shy lifted up her hoof. 
Shy took a single rose from the bouquet and sniffed it, the faintest ghost of a smile appearing on her muzzle.

“And that was how it started; a week later Shy had cut up the bouquet to make cuttings and the next spring, the hillside outside of her cottage was covered with white blood roses.”
Chrysalis looked a bit dubious.
“So just like that, she became meek and mild? Because of love at first sight?”
Pinkemena shook her head, explaining.
“No. No, it wasn’t anything like instant romance for those two. It was slow and frankly wild to watch. And one week they were yelling, the next shopping; within a year the two had moved in together. We all watched as almost like a strange, warped play on a stage, their vicious and cold-blooded natures were slowly twisted and shifted.
She went from utterly brutal to refusing to interrogate anypony without Discord, and shortly after would ask Starlight and Princess Luna for time off to tour Equus with Discord. It was pretty fascinating, and why are you looking at me like that-”
Chrysalis smirked as Pinkemena pointed her knife at her, noticing the blade was no longer embedded in the stone beside her.
“If you think just because we’re dating, that I’ll turn into some goody-four hooves like Shy-”
Swiftly her voice faltered, as Chrysalis quickly grabbed her in a headlock. Looking down into her eyes, Chrysalis hissed at her.
“Don’t you dare-”
Gently kissing Pinkemena on the cheek, she whispered in a more tender voice.
“I like you just the way you are. Knife and all.”
The meekest of squeaks came from Pinkemena as her counterpart rolled on the marble tile, lost in a fit of laughter.  That laughter stopped suddenly, turning into a squeal of delight, as Chrysalis wrapped her in a fierce hug moments later, whispering just as tenderly.
“That includes you, as well. I like you, both sides of you, and all of who you are. Just the way you are. You don’t need to change for me.”
“You are so insufferable, you know that?”
Slowly letting go, she turned as Pinkemena let out a snort. The Element of Suffering was grumbling angrily, but the smile on her face as she plopped down beside Chrysalis, told another story.
Rolling her eyes, Chrysalis pulled Pinkemena to lay against her, nuzzling her heavily.
“Yeah, yeah. Just shut up and take it, you pink nuisance.”
After a few more minutes of forced, yet very willing, cuddling, Chrysalis looked down at her.
“Though, I am curious about something about you.”
“What’s that, Chrysi?”
“You’ve mentioned before that the Elements are a combination of Harmony and Disharmony within each of the six vessels, with Disharmony being the original versions that found and merged with their inner lights.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Well I’m curious, do each of the Elements possess their own personalities and forms within their one body, or is this unique to the two of you?”
Pinkemena looked startled as the knife fell from her hooves, and clattered to the floor.
“It’s…just me, Chrysi.”
Raising an eye to this, Chrysalis asked dubiously.
“Just you?”
Looking downcast, Pinkemena sighed sadly.
“Yes.”
Immediately, she found herself entangled in a warm embrace as Chrysalis smirked.
“Good.”
“Wha-”
“That just means I got somepony special, doesn’t it?”
After wrestling for a moment, with Pinkemena ending up pinned beneath her, Chrysalis looked over at Pinkie and asked her curiously.
“But why is it just you?”
Pinkie giggled at the sight of Chrysalis, who was now sitting on Pinkemena’s muzzle, and the wicked grin on her face. 
“Because it makes ‘Mena smile!”
Blinking Chrysalis, looked at her, slowly repeating the words in confusion.
“Because…it makes…her…smile?”
A muffled shout came from beneath Crysalis’s flank, and Pinkie frowned.
“I think if she was gonna leave you, Mena, she would have done so already like the rest.”
Staring at Chrysalis and smiling sweetly, Pinkie told her.
“That’s the big secret, Chrysi. That’s how we can do as we please, without anypony having a clue. The Elements of Laughter and Suffering are based entirely on the ability to smile. Two sides and one coin. If it makes others smile, I can do it. But if it makes Mena smile, then she can do it.”
Chrysalis gave a wolfish grin, as beneath her, Pinkemena gave up struggling to get free.
“So, if I understand this correctly, whatever makes others smile, you can make happen. And whatever makes Pinkemena herself smile, she can make happen?”
Giggling, Pinkie nodded and in a singsong voice said.
“That’s right!~”
Slowly rising from her resting position on top of Pinkemena’s face, Chrysalis’s eyes shined with malice. Her voice became dangerously seductive.
“Ooh, I see~. Well, in that case, one thing would make me really happy. If I think about it really hard, could the two of you make it happen?”
Pinkemena stood back up, and standing next to Pinkie, she let her other half wipe the wetness off her muzzle with a damp cloth that had appeared in her hoof. Both stared at Chrysalis curiously the entire time. Pinkemena sputtered as Pinkie furiously washed her muzzle.
“ Pft- Only if it makes me smile, otherwise, only Pphgft- Pinkie can.”
“Well in that case…”
Looking square into Pinkie’s eyes, Chrysalis slowly closed her own and after a moment opened her eyes, letting out an excited squeal. There, within each Element’s hooves, lay a single, solitary black rose.
Taking it from the utterly confused Pinkemena, Chrysalis exclaimed.
“Oh, it is exactly what I wanted!”
Leaning down, Chrysalis kissed her and winked playfully at Pinkie; who then fell to the tile in a rolling fit of laughter.
“Thanks, sweetie, I’m so glad you like making me smile.”
Pinkemena’s eyes narrowed into a glare, completely unable to hide the goofy, lovestruck smile on her face, her treasured knife in her hoof once more as she shouted.
“You are so insufferable!”
Chrysalis’s laughter echoed throughout the simulated spa, as Pinkemena leaped at her, blade first, that same goofy smile plastered unabashedly across her muzzle.

Sighing, Flurry Heart sat at the reception desk; bored out of her mind. Occasionally, she would glance over at a monitor, which showed the various simulations in progress. Flipping through them, and making sure her clients were satisfied, she dropped her head onto the desk. Nothing ever happens in this world. Ugh-
“Flurry Heart, I would like to reserve a machine for a week from now. Hello? Exuus to Flurry…Are you alright?”
The Heiress of Love was startled by a notification popping up on her display, from Starlight, containing the words:

Snapping to attention, Flurry blinked as she found herself staring into Starlight’s smiling face. Addressing the Princess, Flurry Heart gave a flourished bow.
“Oh, your Majesty, sorry about that, how can I help you?”
Starlight, however, had turned away to look at the machine where Pinkie Pie and Chrysi sat, jacked in, and powered down. Musing out loud, Starlight said.
“I’m so happy she’s having fun.”
Flurry, in surprise, asked her.
“You know her?”
Starlight turned and grinned at her.
“Of course I do. That’s my daughter.”
Startled, Flurry nearly shouted. 
“Your…Daughter?”