//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: BEDLAM 
// by Gormless Wheaton 
//------------------------------//








"HEY!" I leaned through the bars of my cell and glared down the hall. "Sun's up, you morons! Lemme out! I got work to do!" Still no response.

"Unbelievable! We make all those weapons, and you just cut me out of the rest of the planning?" I grumbled and returned to my cot. I lay glaring at the ceiling mulling everything over.

I grimaced with a sigh. Maybe Twilight finally had enough of the stress I was apparently causing her? Maybe she decided I wasn't worth a second chance? Maybe.. She was just using me and is sending me back to Tartarus.

I sat up and a chill crawled down my back. My eyes darted around the room as the thought echoed in my mind.

"No," I finally huffed, beating my fist into my forehead. "She's not like that. She's not like me. She's better than that." I sighed and nodded.

"And I'm planning on stabbing her in the back," I unwillingly thought, causing me to wince and groan. I removed my glasses and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "What the fuck am I doing?"

A squeal and a boom split the air and shook the whole cell, causing me to cry out and tumble off my cot. Scrambling to my feet I whirled around and looked out my window, where I saw a shocking sight.

The last vestiges of a massive beam of magic were fading, seemingly having blown the entire western chunk of the throne room along with several towers and rooftops to smithereens.

"Ah."









"Strange. If this is his headquarters, you'd expect it to be more developed," Twilight murmured as they scanned the fortress before them. All told, the fortress Bedlam had directed them to just south of the Macintosh Hills seemed to be just a larger factory like the ones they'd seen and destroyed in Griffinstone and near Appleloosa. It had a tall stone wall encircling it, which had a collapsed portion on its eastern face, and an absolutely massive tower with windows and exterior balconies at the very center.

The corners of the tower were lined with gigantic gems that rhythmically pulsed with light upwards to a single pointed crystal at the very top from which arcing magical lightning streamed out to smaller towers throughout the entire factory. And of course, as they'd come to expect, the entire complex was alive with the sight of animunculi moving around. No sign of any storm beasts or other living creatures, however.

"Look's pretty developed to me," Rainbow replied, scowling at the faint green smog in the air. "Sure has enough smoke messing up the clouds anyway."

"What I mean is, we know he has air defense capabilities, shields, and plenty of other stuff," Twilight rubbed her chin and adjusted her saddlebag. "So why's it look so.. Undefended?"

"He did mention there was something of a fight when he escaped," Rarity offered. "Maybe whatever awful machines he made for those things got destroyed?"

Twilight hummed. "Maybe."

"Least that means we got an easier time gettin' in," Applejack said. She humphed and spat. "Let's get a move on, ya'll."

Carefully, they descended from the cliff they'd been observing the fortress from and crept down into the valley around it. As was standard for anything Bedlam built, for a solid mile in every direction any grass, trees, or shrubs were burned away, depriving them of any cover. Fortunately, they were used to the uniform patrol patterns he set all his flying golems to.

As they carefully followed in the shadow of one such golem, Applejack quietly laughed. "You'd think the fella'd give 'em different instructions."

"As aggressively as he's been expanding his territory, it's not too surprising he'd cut corners like that," Twilight replied as the golem's path brought them right up to the collapsed wall. "He just doesn't have time to give each squadron the same care he did when he was just causing trouble in Equestria."

"What about that Crystal Mind thingie?" Pinkie asked as they scurried in. "I thought that was supposed to make all that way easier?"

They scanned the paved road that ran through the entire complex and the sky before galloping into a narrow alley between two assembly halls. "Well, that's the thing," Twilight whispered as they crept to the opposite end of the alley. "He needs those towers to spread his controlling signal, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't have towers linking every factory or fortress he's got together."

She peeked her head out of the alley and looked around. "So-"

[Well, well, well!] Came a buzzing voice. [What do we have here? HA-HA-HA! I AM BEDLAM!] The girls froze as they were now face to face with not only a patrol of heavily armed combat minotaur-shaped golems but also a thin humanoid animunculus, dressed in Bedlam's clothes. The Bedlam golem leaned forward with a creak and sneered as its eyes lit up, spraying a cone of light over the six of them.

"Uh-oh," Pinkie squeaked.









"What are you trying to make?" Tempest asked as Jury yanked the last bit of smuggled metal out of her mane with a teary-eyed wince.

"Bedlam's message said they've got a whole bunch of our animunculi locked up somewhere in Canterlot," she quietly replied as she organized her materials. "Since they respond to controller signals, I'm gonna make something that just sends out a weak one and lights up this gem if it, well, hm... If it hits one of them, I guess is how I'd put it."

"And you'll use that to locate the machines?"

"Yep! But first," she carefully swept most of the materials and two of the three gems under her cot. "I'm gonna whip us up something to get outta these cells." She grabbed the thin-bladed knife she'd smuggled, lay with the third gem between her hooves, and started chipping a rune into it.

Then, a squeal and a boom rocked the whole dungeon. Jury squealed and punched her tool through the gem, causing it to split in two with a pop. She and Tempest looked at the ruined gem in shock before Jury turned to Tempest. "What would Bedlam say?"

Tempest hummed and tapped her chin. "Uh.. Fuck?"

Jury beamed. "Right! FUCK!" She stamped her hoof and sighed. "I hope I can make the detector work with just one gem." She screamed and dove for cover as the room shook again, and a part of the ceiling caved in under a massive falling chunk of stone, crushing the bars to her cell. The pair shared a look as the dust settled.

"That works, too."









A drone whizzed up and flashed the girls with a bright light. "NOT AGAIN! My eyes! AHHHH!" Pinkie screamed and flailed her hooves, narrowly missing the flying golem as it turned and zipped into the air. It didn't get far before being sniped by a beam of magic from Twilight.

"What is he playing at?" She huffed and looked up and down the artificially illuminated vaulted hall they'd broken into. "The animunculi just keep flashing lights at us or staring at us."

"Don't think none of the ones in here can fight," Applejack replied, scowling at the vents high above which drones occasionally slipped from before vanishing into racing off. "But they're probably tellin' him exactly where we are."

[You've got that right!] They jumped and looked back to see the Bedlam Golem flying after them. It was still missing the leg and arm that they'd broken off, and half its face was missing after Twilight blasted it. Its magically propelled flight was uneven, but it was almost right on them in an instant. [I AM BEDLAM!]

Rainbow spun in the air and bodyslammed it, sending it crashing into the ground, and Applejack ran up and bucked it with all her might. The machine tumbled back the way it came, where a blast of magic exploded. Twilight ran ahead. "Come on!"

At they bolted down the hall, they chose to ignore the flying golems which seemed interested only in watching them run by. However, as they came to an intersection, they were confronted by a gigantic minotaur-shaped golem with a hammer for an arm. The second they laid eyes on it, it raised its hammer and brought it down, only for Applejack to rear forward and slam her hooves into it.

With a squealing whine, the machine was sent sprawling backward, allowing Rainbow to dash between its legs and then slam into them from behind, completely toppling it over. As they rushed over the fallen machine, Rarity stopped and scraped her horn on its chest. Little pockets of light suddenly flashed inside it before all the gems in its torso burst out and followed after her.

She glanced behind once she caught up with the rest and saw the Bedlam Golem scuttling after them, so she flicked her horn and fired two of the gems back at it. With a clank and pop its other leg was blown off and it collapsed with a gem embedded in its chest.

The corridor they'd chosen stretched on towards the center of the main tower, and eventually, they saw a dim chamber with a brightly glowing giant gem in the middle. But just before they reached it, a heavy iron door slammed down.

[NO YOU DON'T! I AM-]

"WE GET IT!" They screamed back as they whirled around and dove at the attacking Bedlam Golem. The machine recoiled as they were suddenly upon it, giving Rainbow and Applejack time to drag it to the ground where Rarity pincushioned it with her gems and Pinkie galloped up and kicked its head off.

[I- I- I AM BEDLAM!] The head roared as it tumbled away.

"Hush," Fluttershy said as she grabbed it and looked into its remaining eye. "Now, will you please open the door?"

[NEVER! I AM BEDLAM!]

"Pretty please?"

[ABSOLUTELY NOT!]

"Will you at least stop trying to set the world on fire?"

[NO!]

"We got it, Shy!" Applejack called, drawing their attention to the door which was smashed in with a pair of hoof prints on its center and its hinges a molten red.

Fluttershy smiled and gently set the golem's head on its ruined torso before following her friends in. [CURSE YOU!]

The dome-shaped chamber around them was full of crystals and wires connecting said crystals to the giant spherical gem hovering in the very center of the room. The central gem pulsed with magic that arced along the wires and lit up the crystals in an even rhythm that filled the air with a constant wavering drone.

The hall let out onto an open-air walkway that led right up to the giant gem. A few dozen feet below, there was a series of six large metal boxes on a platform around the column the gem sat upon. As they approached, Twilight suddenly stopped and furrowed her brow.

"Is this.. The Crystal Mind?" She murmured.

"Look's like it," Applejack replied looking around the room in wonder. "Shucks!"

"It.. doesn't look right," Twilight declared, tilting her head and studying the gem carefully.

"What the heck do you mean?!" Rainbow cried thrusting a hoof at the gem. "Giant pulsing magic rock at the center of his whole place? Seems pretty right to me!"

"What's with the wires?" Twilight asked, more to herself than anyone. "I thought his controlling signal flowed like a spell, not like energy."

"Who knows what's going on at any point in that maniac's mind, Darling," Rarity replied, pulling Twilight's attention from the gem and its peculiarities. "Let's just put an end to it!"

Twilight frowned and looked at her friends before nodding. "Alright." She opened her saddlebag and drew the Elements.









Bedlam sat on his cot in the dungeon, silently staring at the untouched meal of potatoes and water he'd been given.

"I hope you're not waiting on something fancier," Celestia said. He glanced up at her, seemingly not having noticed she'd arrived.

He smiled and set the tray aside. "Oh, I'm waiting. But not on that, no."

Celestia scowled. "On what then?"

Bedlam took a breath and chortled. "The chance to see the look on your face."

Celestia tilted her head. "What?" Suddenly, green flames like that of changeling magic raced up Bedlam, leaving behind a thin humanoid golem wearing Bedlam's clothes. As Celestia recoiled with a gasp, the golem leaped to its feet and punched the air.

[EASY!] It then let out a series of cackles as it squealed and then blew apart.









The girls let out a sigh and then huddled close to Twilight and Rarity as they lit their horns up. The entire room and seemingly the entire tower had gone dark once they'd blasted the Crystal Mind, which now lay cracked and broken apart. Twilight squinted and stared into the darkness. "I think all those wires melted."

"Heck, that's probably a good sign," Applejack replied. Just then, the lights flickered and the room lit up again, causing them all to wince and squint at the room around them. "Or not?"

Then, a click and a whine echoed. "How's it look, Jury?" They blanched and looked around.

"Bedlam?" Twilight said.

Rainbow glared back at the broken golem outside the chamber. "That thing ain't moving! What's going on?"

"Uhm, just a sec. The wires melted from the transfer," Jury-rig's voice suddenly declared.

"Bedlam! Where are you? Explain yourself!" Twilight screamed as they continued to scan the room.

"You hold on!" He screamed right back. Suddenly the walkway fell out from under them and they dropped to the platform below. Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Twilight used their wings to catch their friends, ensuring a soft landing. Now level with the metal boxes, it was obvious that they also had crystals hooked onto them. Or at least they did. Now, they each had the remains of several shattered crystals on their corners as well as a trail of molten metal where wires must have been.

"What the heck are these?" Twilight groused.

A gasp peeped up. "Bedlam! It worked!"

"Are you kidding me?!"

"The signal's the same and it's stable! We did it!"

"YES!" Bedlam roared before he and Jury-rig howled with laughter.

Twilight grit her teeth and stamped her hoof. "Enough! Golem or not, Bedlam or not, get out here!" The laughter went silent.

"Sure~," Bedlam replied. The column the gem was sitting on squealed and a door opened up in its side, out of which Bedlam strode followed by a brightly smiling Jury-rig. The human smiled and folded his hands behind his back. "Here we are."

The girls shared a look before lining up and glaring at him. "What the heck's going on? We left you in Canterlot."

"Wrong," he chirped which caused Jury to giggle. "You left an animunculus disguised as me in Canterlot. Like I knew you would." The boxes shuddered and let out a final gout of steam.

Rainbow was the only one who remained focused on Bedlam. "So, were you just really hoping to get us out here to kick your butt, or what?" She took a daring step towards him.

"Oh, I was hoping to get you out here, yes! But only because I needed you here to finalize my research into mimicry and advanced changeling magic."

Twilight whirled around to glare at him. "Advanced changeling.. What have you done?" The boxes creaked and began to unfold.

Clank clank clank clank

"What have I done?" Bedlam repeated, bringing a hand to his chest with a smug leer. "Well, besides repurposing this facility into a convincing false headquarters, preparing a few animunculi to behave like me and convince you to come here, and successfully encouraging you to give us a direct sample of the Magic of Harmony to peek at," his smile widened, and he bowed low, spreading his arms out. The girls barely heard him, too shocked by the sight of what now lined up between them and Bedlam. "What I've done is create the solution to a problem we've had for some time now. Poetically, the problem is also the solution."

"Dear Celestia," Twilight gasped as she and her friends recoiled from the sight of a set of colored animunculi made in their exact images.

[You,] the Twilight replica declared.