//------------------------------//
// Ch.14 True chaos (Part 2) 
// Story: A bard's tale 
// by Brotato 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 14


True Chaos (Part 2)


Auditory sensors rebooting.

Hidden's right ear shifted towards the sound of voices. He couldn't see anything since his eyes, along with the rest of his body, had shut down from the impact.  For now he could only patiently wait and listen.

"What are you doing?" Twilight shouted in a panic. "Get away from- Let go of me! Deekin, do something!

"D-Deekin is busy in a corner at the moment! he'll get back to you when he has stopped c-cowering."

"Hidden, now would be a good time for you to- Mmmphmph!

"About time you shut her up," Ssendam growled.

"A-Apologies my lord." The sound of Twilight struggling could be heard for a moment more before it suddenly stopped. "What shall we do now?"

"We're leaving. Take the ponies and the kobold with us. I have plans for all of them. This whole world actually."

"And what of the inevitable?"

"That overrated clock can stay here to rust away for all I care," Ssendam sneered.

"By your will, my lord."





A lone rat wandered through the sewer in search of someplace safe to stay. Its previous home, a pile of garbage, had been taken by a larger rat, leaving it to wander aimlessly. It had been searching countless tunnels before coming across the holy grail of hiding spots. A pile of metal in the shape of a pony caught its attention, so it skittered across the floor to investigate.
Its small nose and whiskers wiggled while it poked around an opening near the chest to see if it was dangerous. However, before it could climb inside the mess of metal, it shifted and began moving on its own. Terrified at the sight, the rat bolted for safety from the strange moving metal monstrosity.

Hidden Aim's eyes shot open as he lifted himself back to a fighting stance; only to find himself with a fleeing sewer rat to keep him company. Candle wax had smeared over the side of his face after falling on the floor, and had already cooled back to a solid state. Several of the other candles had tipped over, causing a fire to cover a corner of the room. While anypony else would be in a state of panic, his artificial mind only focused on what had transpired before shutting down.
"I've failed..." He said it as a casual statement more than anything else. His mission to protect Deekin, and in a way Twilight, had failed; taken by an immense being of chaotic nature and his lackeys to who knows where. However, now wasn't the time for brooding about his failure, even if he didn't have the capacity to do such a thing. Feelings were not something inevitables were programmed for.

Then why do I miss their company?

Bursting forward at a full gallop and towards the long sewer tunnels, he easily found one of the metal covers leading to the streets above. Wrapping his forelegs around the metal ladder leading up, he punched the lid with a hoof; sending it flying through the air. A collection of gasps rang out as he hauled his smelly robotic body out of the hole. Somewhere to the side the cover finally hit the dirt with a loud thud. Half of it sticking out of the ground.
He found himself standing in a small circle of ponies who kept a generous amount of distance away from him. He couldn't blame them. What else would they do upon seeing a pony-like construct climb out of a sewer and smelling like a toilet? Wherever he took a step forward the empty space moved with him. For a moment he enjoyed the freedom of movement without having to worry about crowds. That was, until the royal guard decided to step in when he continued his way towards Canterlot castle.

"Halt!" Hidden's gaze flicked to the right and found a group of three royal guards approach him; one with wings while the other two earth ponies. Hidden continued onward despite the annoyed looks on the guard's faces as he started to passed them.

"I have more important matters, guard. I need to speak with Princess Celestia with due haste." He sighed inwardly when all three of them stood in his way.

"Princess Celestia doesn't allow just anypony to speak with her, and a monstrosity such as yourself doesn't even deserve to step foot in the castle. Return whatever hole you came out from before-argh!" Hidden completely ignored the guard's rant and knocked him aside; causing him to fall on top of the guard flanking him.

"Wrong choice!" the third guard growled before tackling Hidden; sending him to the ground into submission. At least, that's what he expected to happen. Hidden continued unperturbed with the guard hanging around his neck and being dragged along with him. The other two guards finally untangled themselves on the ground and joined their comrade by grabbing each of Hidden's back legs.

"The royal guard commands you to stand down!"





Princess Celestia and Luna both stood in one of the Castle's hallways, looking below through a window towards the royal garden. "Trust me sister when I say I believe you, but Discord is still inside his stone prison." Luna pointed a hoof towards the window where said prisoner still rested outside in the garden. "Are you certain you felt such a thing?"

"The tug of chaos isn't something one forgets lightly, Luna," Celestia said in worry. Albeit the tug she had felt easily rivaled that of Discord's. The thought of something more chaotic than him would give her grey hairs if she had a normal mane. "If it wasn't Discord, who could it possibly be?"

Luna shook her head slowly. "I do not know, but that alone should make us ever-vigilant in case of an-" Before she could finish her sentence, she spotted several royal guards galloping toward the both of them.

"Your Highnesses," doing a quick bow before continuing. "Somepony has breached the castle and is currently fighting their way through the throne room!" Both Princesses glanced at each other; the simple motion giving the idea that this might be related to the tug of chaos.

Luna was the first to speak; her voice holding a cold tone. "Lead the way then, guard. They will soon regret storming this castle alone."

"Y-Yes, Princess." The guards followed Luna's order back to the throne room. When they opened the door the group blinked in surprise at what rested near the doorway. A dozen royal guard were in a pony pile with something struggling underneath. To further their surprised looks, the pile heaved forward towards the Princesses before one of the guards were tossed from the pile. The head of a pony that looked built from of metal and ceramic greeted them. Both Princesses' muzzles wrinkled at the smell of the sewers.

"Hello, Princess."

Celestia blinked once before recognizing the voice. "Release him at once!" The guards turned to look at her in disbelief, but quickly unpeeled off their target and stood at attention to the side. Seeing the inevitable fully, she quirked an eyebrow at how downtrodden he looked. "You have a little something..." She motioned with a hoof and pointed at her right cheek.

Hidden stared for a moment before lifting a hoof to brush the cooled candle wax off his cheek. "Better?"

"Much better," she said cheerfully before putting a sharper edge in her tone. "Now, where is your disguise? You should know better than to walk among ponies in such a state." She held up a hoof to her nose to block the smell. "And why do you smell like a sewer?"

"I apologize for such a rude entrance, and for violating your sense of smell, but understand I wouldn't do this without reason." Seeing Celestia nod and Luna continue to give him a steely stare, he continued. "Twilight Sparkle, Deekin, and myself were attacked by the Canterlot Bandits around noon. I managed to protect the both of them, but also learn that their home base is located in the sewers. Hence my terrible smell."

"Then where is Twilight and Deekin?' Celestia asked. Seeing him in such a distraught state and seeing her student missing brought one idea to mind, and she didn't like it one bit. "Where is Twilight Sparkle?" She asked again with a commanding voice reserved to keep guards in line.

Hidden Aim hung his head. "When we entered I was able to defeat and frighten most of the group, but their leader sacrificed himself to summon a being of great chaos."

"Does it have anything to do with Discord?" Celestia blurted out.

"Discord? No. The one involved here is named Ssendam."

Celestia opened her mouth once more to speak, but stopped as her gaze swept over the line of guards still at attention. Clearing her throat, she nodded their way. "Please return to your posts." While the guards bowed and took their leave, Celestia returned her attention to Hidden. "This isn't the place to be talking of such things. Lets talk somewhere more private."

Hidden shook his head. "With utmost respect Celestia the time for talking ended the moment Twilight and Deekin were taken. This is a time for action to save them. I only ask for your assistance in any way you can." He tilted his head when Luna let out a guffaw.

"And, prey tell, how will we do that if we don't know the situation? Where is Twilight and this Deekin? Who is this Ssendam? We need more information to work with."

"One moment." Being an inevitable, once more, had its perks as Hidden cast a locate creature spell to find Deekin. He then felt a sudden urge to turn north when the spell took effect. "He is to the north. From how faint I can sense him he must be very far from Canterlot. As for Ssendam, my knowledge on him is very limited, but I do know he is extremely powerful."

"The North?" Celestia's eyes went downcast in thought for a moment. "But the only thing far north is the Crystal Empire. What does this... Ssendam," she spoke the name in discomfort, "plan on doing there?"

Hidden could only shrug a response. "I know not, but now I must depart for this Crystal Empire to stop him. Farewell, and prepare what you can to help." With that grim goodbye, Hidden left the throne room at a gallop, much to the annoyance of a certain Lunar Princess.

After watching Hidden leave the throne room Celestia put a thoughtful hoof near her lips. "What could be so important at the Crystal Empire?" She murmured to herself with worry in her eyes.

"Thine visage of worry isn't befitting you, Sister," Luna stated. "Perhaps it would be best to send a letter to Cadance and Shining Armor to warn them of this danger."

Celestia nodded. "Yes. That would be for the best," she said as a quill and piece of parchment popped into existence beside her. While writing down the urgent letter her mind kept drifting off towards the well-being of her student. She prayed in desperation that she would return safely. Feeling a nuzzle on her shoulder, she saw the saddened look in her sister's eyes.

"We pray as well, sister. We pray as well."





"That's quite a claim, Inevitable. Ssendam's presence has not shifted from his realm in Limbo." Primus eyed the shimmering image floating in front of him; the vast plane of Mechanus behind it. On the image it showed Hidden once more in his pony disguise. He kept at a steady pace as he ran past ponies and buildings alike towards his destination.

"It's possible he's covering his presence with the pony body he's residing in. He already has a group of cultists with him and moving somewhere north as I speak. I'm following as best as I can and plan to take a train, but I cannot defeat such a foe alone."

Primus nodded. He always knew about Ssendam and his ever-shifting realm of Limbo. He has been widely believed to be the oldest Slaad in existence, and the most powerful. However, what makes him so dangerous isn't his power, but his unpredictability. He's as likely to stab one of his own cultists in the back as he is to help them from falling down a cliff.

Probably followed by kicking them off himself.

"It seems a more forward approach is needed," Primus said with a sigh. He always preferred the subtle approach whenever dealing with other realms. Send in his agent, fix the problem, and get out while everybody is none the wiser. But sometimes a heavy fist was needed, and when those agents were called upon, the legions of chaos would learn their lesson very quickly.
"I'll send two more to assist you, but no more. The last thing I need is dealing with an angry pony princess," he stated while rubbing a thumb and forefinger against his brow. "It will only take a moment to prepare them. So when you are ready, contact me again."

"Thank you, Lord Primus. I promise you: I will not fail again."