"SURPRISE!"
"HOLY SHIT!" Mad Mind screamed, jumping about four feet into the air and nearly hitting his head on the ceiling.
The ponies around him laughed as a familiar pink mare with a balloon-like mane dashed up to meet Mad Mind.
"HeyaMaddy!Howdoyoulikeyourparty?Huh?Huh?Isntitgrand?Igoteveryponyinponyvilletocomeandmeetyou!Sohowdoyoulikeit?Wereyousurprised?Wereya?" Pinkie said in one breath.
'The lungs on this girl must be larger than her mane...' Mad Mind thought to himself.
He laughed. "Ok you got me. I had no idea you were planning a surprise party for me. Now than," Mad Mind said as he looked around. "We need to get this party started! So lets..." He picked up a stray balloon off the floor and gave it a sharp kick. "KICK IT!"
(
)
The party got into full swing as Mad MInd said that. Loud, electric music began blaring out where the DJ was, ponies of all shapes and sizes were coming up and greeting Mad Mind with open arms and a long food table portraying many delectables: cupcakes, a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, pies and cheese. Lot's and lot's of cheese.
Mad Mind swore he heard the Hallelujah chorus playing in the back of his mind as he saw the large pile of cheese. He instantly drifted over to the oversized pile, looked it over and grinned. He took about seven pieces with him, sat down and began eating each piece, savouring the flavour of each one. He looked over to his left and noticed Pinkie Pie trotting up to him rather gleefully alongside the other girls.
"Heya Maddy! How are you liking your party?" Pinkie asked cheerfully.
Mad Mind grinned. "I'm loving it! I actually didn't think that you would be able to pull something like this off! You remembered all the things I said to you back at the hospital!"
Pinkie Pie nodded "Eeyup! I have a super-duper ultra-tastic memory! I know everypony here in Ponyville off by heart! I know their birthdays, special occasions, and a lot of things! I knew you liked cheese a looooooot sooooo, I got you enough cheese to feed Ponyville for a day!" She said enthusiastically.
This worried Mad Mind more than it did make him laugh. Was she a stalker? How did she know all these things?
Mad Mind let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah... That sounds cool... Sooo... Why would you go through all the trouble to make me a welcome party? And how do you know my name?"
Pinkie laughed. "Silly! Everypony get's a welcome party when they come! And I asked my friends here," She signaled to Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack. "What your name was!"
"Ah. I see..." Mad Mind began, but was quickly cut off by a curious Rarity.
"Speaking of our friends, where is Twilight? She was supposed to be with you on the way here wasn't she?" She asked and looked at Mad Mind for a response.
"Oh! Twilight... Yeah, about her..." He began but was cut off as Applejack charged up right to him, rage in her eyes.
"If you did anythin' to Twilight, I swear I'll buck ya' into next Thursday!" She spat, malice dripping from her voice.
Mad Mind held up his hooves in defence. "Hey: if I wanted to hurt Twilight, I would've done it already. I didn't hurt her I just... Broke her." He said, a sheepish smile upon his face as he finished.
Rainbow looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean by you 'broke her'?" She asked, making quotations with her hooves for emphasis.
As she said this, one of the most unusual things happened:
BOOM!
Ponies instantly stopped what they were doing, the music stopped playing as ponies left and right looked out the window seeing a massive mushroom cloud of purple in the distance. Mad Mind gulped. "That's what I meant," He said as he moved his head away from the window he and the girls were gazing through. "Well, fuck I'm screwed."
Ponies looked at him curiously. Rarity looked at Mad Mind in confusion. "Don't you mean 'buck'?" She asked curiously.
Mad Mind looked at her as if she was... Well, mad. "What?" He asked.
"Well... You said 'fuck' instead of 'buck'. Although I don't approve of such language, I assumed that's what you meant by the way you said it." She explained.
"Fuck, buck. Same difference, Mrs. Grammar Nazi." Mad Mind said coldly.
More confused stares his way. "Grammar Neigh-zi dear. If you plan on insulting me, pronounce it right." Rarity said smoothly.
"God dammit." Mad Mind spat to nopony in particular.
"Celestia dammit." Rarity returned with a smug grin.
Mad Mind fixed his enraged gaze upon the marshmallow unicorn. "If you correct me ONE MORE TIME, I swear I will rip off your own horn and slit your throat with it." He spat, receiving a few gasps from the ponies surrounding him, but making Rarity finally back off, fear reflecting in her eyes.
Right before anypony could make a comment about Mad Minds comment, the door flew open, revealing a slightly pissed off, scratch that: VERY pissed off Twilight Sparkle. Mad Mind was now the one with fear in his eyes as he slowly began to back up towards the wall. "Hey Twi... Heheh... Your still not pissed about what I said earlier right?" He asked, praying to avoid the oncoming threat that was Twilight Sparkle.
His prayers remained unheard as Twilight began to advance towards him. "Mad Mind... Come here... I want to show you something." She said, insanity dripping off her voice.
"Yeah, no. I'm not looking to get raped just yet and I hope to keep it that way for... Like, ever." Mad Mind responded nervously.
This gave Twilight time to think about what she just said as Mad Mind made a bolt for the door. He, thankfully, escaped and made a mad dash towards the centre of town. He turned his head to see Twilight still pursuing him like a predator chasing it's prey. He finally arrived in the market and made a left turn down an alleyway and gasped.
Dead end. There was no escape for him now. He turned around to see Twilight slowly advancing toward him. A look of madness strewn across her face. "Come on Mad Mind... I just want to show you a spell I learned!" Twilight said as her right eye twitched. Twilights horn lit up and a small, black hole erupted around her. It slowly grew in size until in engulfed her entirely. Then, it began sucking. It wasn't hard at first, nothing too powerful, but it slowly built up over time, making Mad Mind panic. He quickly grabbed hold of the ground as the powerful suction of the black hole increased making him flap in the wind like a flag.
He began to slowly lose his grip as the black hole kept increasing in power. He let out a small prayer, in hopes that someone, anyone could save him. Luck seemed to be in his favour on that day as a familiar rainbow streak appeared in the sky and landed directly in front of Mad Mind.
"TAKE MY HOOF!" Rainbow shouted over the intense wind that built up from the black hole, holding out her hoof in offering.
Mad Mind gratefully took it and Rainbow flew off towards a cloud in the distance. The two landed upon it with a soft thud and sighed.
"Thanks Dash... Holy shit." Mad Mind panted as he sat upon the cloud.
'Eat shit logic! I'm on a damn cloud!'
'How does that even work?'
'Sometimes it's best not to ask questions. I'm gonna ask anyway.'
"Anything for a friend." Rainbow said with a smile. Mad Mind looked at her curiously.
"Why?" He asked.
Now it was Rainbows turn to be curious. "Why what?"
"Why did you save me? Why is Twilight after me? AND HOW AM I ON A DAMN CLOUD!!??"
Rainbow thought about this (for a change of things) before responding. "Why are you curious about why I saved you? Aren't you glad you're here and not there?"
"I am. And I'm thankful. But you know the best I don't trust you or anypony in that matter. Why would you bother saving me?"
Rainbow looked hurt again as Mad Mind said this. "Look: even if you don't consider me as a friend, I still consider you as one. And trust me: I'll do a lot for my friends. Wether they like it or not." She responded proudly.
"I admire your effort, and I'm thankful that you saved me. Now, next order of business: why the hell is Twilight after me?"
Rainbow looked at him suspiciously. "I was hoping you knew that answer." She said curiously.
Mad Mind shrugged. "Meh. So I don't know some things that I'm apparently supposed to know. It's not that big a deal."
He said casually.
"It sounded to me like you didn't even know who Princess Celestia is." She said with a chuckle.
"You're actually right on that: I don't know her. And I'm pretty sure Twilight's pissed off about that." Mad Mind responded. He glanced at Rainbow and saw her eyes were the size of pins and her jaw hung open in shock.
She flew up and began shaking him. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHO PRINCESS CELESTIA IS???!!!" She shouted. Mad Mind quickly shushed her with a hoof in her mouth.
"Be quiet! I don't want all of Ponyville to hear you!" Mad Mind whispered.
"Mad Mind: this is more than a big deal. How do you not know who Princess Celestia is?" Rainbow asked.
"Look: I can either tell you the truth or lie. So-" Rainbow quickly cut him off.
"Tell me the truth. Now." Rainbow said through gridded teeth.
"Alright! Sheesh! The truth is... I'm not from Equestria," This was harder to say than he thought. Rainbow's face showed a flurry of emotions, from surprised, suspicious, and curious. She began to laugh.
"Hah... That's funny Mad Mind... Not from Equestria... That's like, coming from another world entirely." Rainbow replied nervously.
"Exactly! Rainbow, I am from another world!"
Rainbow stopped laughing and gave Mad Mind an 'are you kidding me' stare. "Mad Mind, it's impossible to be from another world. As far as we know, there are no "other worlds" to even be from! And you don't even have any proof that you came from another world."
Mad Mind thought about this for a minute before grinning as his response finally appeared in his head.
"Rainbow: how many male alicorns have there been?" He asked curiously.
Rainbow cocked her head in confusion. "Besides you? None that I know of." She responded.
"And Twilight said that there hasn't been a male alicorn in over five thousand years. Why would one, such as myself, show up now? Even after five thousand years?"
Rainbow actually looked like she was thinking about this. "I don't know. But still-" She was cut off as Mad Mind began talking again.
"And don't you find it the least bit odd, that at my age, I don't even know how to fly? Or cast any spells? What's up with that? How do you explain that?"
Rainbow was back to thinking again. "Um... Amnesia?" She asked.
"Rainbow, if I had amnesia, I wouldn't remember my name. Or my colour. Or my face. I remember all of those things."
Okay, so maybe those last few things were a lie, but as far as Rainbow knew, he was telling her the truth.
"Okay! So there is a slight chance that you are from another world. Whose gonna believe you?" Rainbow asked, arms (legs?) crossed.
"Well you're a start," Mad Mind returned with a grin, causing Rainbow to sigh and face-hoof. "But I guess there is one other option..." He trailed off as he fixed his gaze towards the black hole.
Rainbow followed his gaze and gasped. "You can't go in there!" She exclaimed.
'Is she... Worried about me?' Mad Mind decided to keep these thoughts to himself.
"You don't know where it leads! It could lead to space! Or the moon! Or the Everfree!" She continued.
Mad Mind got up. "Only one way to find out." He said boldly as he prepared to jump into the black hole.
"You... You just... You know what? Fine. Jump and get sucked into the black hole I tried so hard to save you from." Rainbow snapped at Mad Mind.
"Oh I will. And Rainbow?" Rainbow looked up at Mad Mind whose eyes were filled with hilarity. "The moon and space are almost the same thing." He said. And before Rainbow could smack him upside the head, he jumped into the deep black hole.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Darkness. Eternal, never-ending darkness as far as the eye could see. That's what Mad Mind expected, but not what he got. Instead, when he jumped into the black hole, it was as if he just walked through a doorway into a different place. The difference about this place and where he was in Ponyville: He was, obviously, not sitting next to Rainbow, he was inside, and the place was amazingly well decorated. Tapestry and stained glass covered the wall. An amazingly long carpet rested on the ground and at the end of it all, was a throne. The throne wasn't what caught Mad Minds attention: what, more like who, did was who was on said throne.
Upon the throne sat a large alicorn. This wasn't an alicorn like Mad Mind or Twilight. No, this one was... What's the word? Ah, yes Majestic. She was a brilliant shade of (Oh god...) white, her mane or blue, pink and green flowed through a non-existant wind (Magic. Nopony has to explain shit) and upon her head rested a golden tiara. Mad Mind than noticed the other gold and gems that rested upon her.
'Damn, she must be rich!'
'Like, rich enough to buy Equestria!'
'... Wait. Run that by me again.'
'Rich enough to... Oh shit. This better not be who I think it is.' Mad Minds brain was currently in turmoil as the white alicorn spoke up.
"Hello, my little pony. I am Princess Celestia. And who might you be?"
'Hah. It's funny 'cause Twilight said the same thing.'
'Brain. Shut up. Now.'
'Okay...'
"I'm..." Mad Mind suddenly felt his mouth go dry as he fumbled over his words. Princess Celestia smiled warmly.
'Like a mother...' He thought to himself but didn't dare to say this aloud.
"Please young one. Take your time." She said soothingly. This, oddly enough, calmed Mad Mind down quiet easily as he took deep breaths and slowed down his racing brain.
"Now. Your name?" She inquired.
"M-Mad Mind." He stuttered. This made Princess Celestia giggle. "There is no need to be afraid of me Mad Mind," she said in a motherly tone.
'Damn she's good at that... Must've taken time to master.'
'She's a god! Like you! She must've had centuries of practice!'
'Point taken.'
As he shook these thoughts out of his head, Princess Celestia continued. "It's not a business meeting. This is a formal, casual meeting. There hasn't been a male alicorn in-" Mad Mind cut her off.
"Five thousand years. I know." Mad Mind than realized that this wasn't just another pony: this was the freaking ruler of Equestria! Perfectly capable of throwing him in a dungeon for all eternity if he wasn't careful about what he said. He covered his mouth with a hoof.
"I'm sorry you highness! It's just... It's been a long day and-" Celestia hushed him with a wave of her hoof.
"I understand. You're just stressed. I also understand from my student that this is," She put on a small smile. "Your first time meeting me? Or even hearing of me?"
'Her student? Who...'
'Wait. Didn't Twilight say something on our tour that Celestia was her mentor?'
'... That little bitch!'
"That is correct your highness." Came a familiar voice from behind. Mad Mind turned around and was greeted to the sight of Twilight Sparkle in all her glory making her way towards the pair.
Mad Minds eyes burned with rage. He clenched his teeth together. "YOU!" He spat in rage towards the lavender alicorn. He began charging towards her. Screw his promise to Applejack: this bitch was gonna get what she deserved. Before he could make his full scale rage attack, he was suddenly surrounded by a golden aura.
"What the..." He began, but was quickly cut off as he was brought back to Celestia who looked less than pleased.
"If you hurt my student, I swear I will hurl you into the sun myself!" Celestia snapped at Mad Mind. Normally, this would've scared the living hell out of Mad Mind, but he wasn't in his right mind at the moment.
"She chased me through half of Ponyville! When she finally caught me, she made this black hole thing and scared the living shit outta' me! I've never been more afraid in my life!" He spat back at the Princess. He knew it wasn't an appropriate thing to do, but nonetheless, he wanted Twilight to have a piece of his mind.
Princess Celestia's gaze drifted from Mad Mind to Twilight. "Is this true my student?" She asked. If she was pissed off at the moment, which she probably was, she was doing a damn good job at covering it up.
Twilight looked down at her hooves and began to shuffle them. She then gave her teacher the most pathetic look Mad Mind had ever seen. "Yes..." She responded weakly. Princess Celestia sighed and gazed back toward Mad Mind.
"I'm... Terribly sorry about Twilights behaviour. We didn't mean to make you feel afraid or provoked. So from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry." Celestia said sincerely. Mad Mind waved it off.
"I dont want to hear you apologize. I want Twilight to apologize. It was her actions, and she should own up to them herself."
Twilight instantly stiffened at this. She gazed up at her mentor who gave her an approving nod. She sighed and moved up next to Mad Mind.
"Mad Mind..." She began. Mad Mind was slightly pulled into this. "Yeeeeeeess Twilight?" He asked, trying to sound interested.
"I'm sorry." She said simply. Mad Mind wasn't convinced by this. "For?" He asked, still trying to sound interested and maintaining a smug grin upon his lips.
Twilight looked as if she was going through torture just by doing this in front of her mentor. "I'm sorry for making you feel afraid and provoked. It was not how I should've acted and I'm truly sorry for it." She said through gridded teeth. Mad Mind could tell that rage was beginning to build up within her and decided to push her a bit further.
"Now, was that so hard?" Mad Mind asked, his smug grin as wide as ever. Twilights right eye let out a small twitch. "No it wasn't." She replied, malice thick within her voice.
"That's better." He said as he turned his attention back to Princess Celestia. "Now than..." The solar princess spoke up, getting the attention of the other two alicorns. "Am i going to hear any more problems between you two?"
"No" Twilight said instantly.
"Yeah, probably" Mad Mind said with a shrug.
Twilight glared at him. "Mad Mind!" She spat at him.
"Oh Twilight. You know that I'm telling the truth. I can already tell you want to slap me upside the head right now." Mad Mind casually replied.
Twilight didn't know what to say to this. "What she meant to say was: you'll probably still hear more problems between the two of us, but we'll try to keep it to a minimum. Right Twi?" Mad Mind asked to a stunned Twilight.
Twilight quickly regained her composure. " I... Guess that would be more truthful, yes." She admitted. Princess Celestia switched between staring at Twilight to staring at Mad Mind before sighing. "I'm glad you're both being honest with me I suppose. Now than, the real thing I want to know is..." She leaned closer toward him. "What did my student mean by you 'don't know who I am?'" She asked curiously. Mad Mind kept it simple. "Nope. Your student was correct: I have no idea who you are."
She raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You have no idea what role I play in Equestria?" She asked. Mad Mind shrugged. "Besides you're a princess and ruler of Equestria? No. I have no idea."
Twilight was on the verge of face-hoofing right than and there and Princess Celestia looked more than shocked. Twilight decided to speak up. "Mad Mind: Princess Celestia's job is not to just rule over Equestria: she's the Princess of the sun. She raises and lowers the sun every day." Now it was Mad Minds turn to be shocked.
'The sun doesn't lower and raise itself naturally?'
'How's that possible?'
'Magic.'
'Is that your answer to everything?'
'Magic.'
'I'll take that as a yes...' Mad Mind shook off the thoughts and sighed.
"So, the sun goes up and down at your command?" He asked interested. Princess Celestia smiled.
"Yes it is my little pony. I raise and lower the sun day after day."
"That must suck." He said simply. Twilight gasped but Princess Celestia giggled.
"I perform my duty, as does everypony else. I'm simply playing my part in society." She responded.
"Fascinating..." He muttered. "But what about the moon? Does some pony else raise the moon?"
Princess Celestia smiled. "You seem to catch on quick. Yes, another pony, my sister to be exact, Princess Luna, raises and lowers the moon." Mad Mind nodded in understanding.
"Ah." He muttered. "So that's what Twilight meant."
"What do you mean 'Thats what I meant'?" Twilight spoke up and glared at Mad Mind.
"When you threw your fit on how I couldn't, apparently, 'add two and two'. You said how I didn't know who the princess or her sister was. Now I know who she is and how to add two and two." Mad Mind added that last part with a smug grin on his face.
Twilight looked that she was on the verge of exploding again. "Now than, I'm pretty sure we have a lot to discuss over the next few day's," Princess Celestia began. "But it's starting to get late. Mad Mind, Twilight, would you like to stay in the castle for the night? I'm fairly certain you both had very long days, and you both require some rest. I'll have some guards show you to your rooms, and tomorrow, we'll ask questions. Okay?"
Twilight bowed. "It would be an honour Princess."
Mad Mind nodded. "Sure. Sounds cool."
Princess Celestia laughed. "You're certainly very casual about this Mad Mind."
"Hey: you said it was a casual meeting. I intended to keep it as such." He said with a smile. "So! Our rooms?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"I can't believe you!" Twilight bellowed as soon as they were alone. "You were rude, you swore and you embarrassed me in front of the Princess of Equestria! My mentor! Do you have any idea what you could've done?!" She shouted in rage.
Mad Mind on the other hand just wanted to sleep. "Listen Twi: she said casual meeting and I intended to keep it as such. I swore out of pure rage because you scared the living hell out of me for that black hole shit and how did I embarrass you? I just wanted to hear the apology out of your mouth." He said casually as he laid down on his soft bed.
"You... You just... Ugh!" Twilight spat. "You're such a nuisance Mad Mind!"
"Oh, ouch Twi. That really hurts." Mad Mind said sarcastically. "And last time I checked, you were trying to gain my trust rather than lose it again."
"You still don't trust me!?"
"Of course not! I would've trusted you a lot more right now if you didn't use that creepy black hole spell or looked as if you were trying to rape me!"
Twilight became flustered at this, her cheeks turned a deep shade of red. "I was NOT trying to rape you!"
"But you sure sounded like it! 'Mad Mind... Come here... I want to show you something.' Yeah that so doesn't sound creepy or pedo whatsoever."
Twilight was now blushing intensely. "I didn't mean to make it sound like that!" She screamed at Mad Mind who was getting a good laugh out of this. "Then what did you want it to sound like? 'Hey Mad Mind... I wanna see you privately in my room for a sec.' or 'Hey Mad Mind... Come with me... I want to get to know you better.'?" Mad Mind asked with a laugh.
Twilight was now almost entirely red. Part's of her coat were now turning into the pro founding shade of red. Mad Mind decided to put this to use. "Oh! So now you're red and purple? I swear I've seen those colours on another pony before..." He trailed off and glanced at his own coat. "Oh, wait a minute here! Now you like me so much, you want to look exactly like me! Am I right or am I right?" Mad Mind asked with a grin upon his face. Twilight huffed and walked away. "I'm not having this argument with you anymore. Good night Mad Mind." Twilight said as she slammed her door shut.
Mad Mind kept laughing for a good minute before stopping and wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. He looked at his bed and smiled. He quickly jumped onto it landing face-first into his pillow. After getting comfy, he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Mad Mind awoke with a start. He found himself lying outside of a huge building made of red brick and cobblestone. He quickly got up and looked around before being greeted by a familiar individual. He gasped. He knew who it was: It was him! Well, not him now, but him when he was a human! The human him walked up to meet him. "Hello Mad Mind." He said holding out a hand in offering. "I'm Connor."
Mad Mind stared at the hand in confusion before taking it and slowly shaking it. "Umm... Nice to meet myself as well..." He said awkwardly. Connor held up a finger. "Hold on a sec. First off: let me be the first to introduce you," he turned around to demonstrate the building. "To your mind." He said rather dramatically. Mad Mind stopped for a minute. He was confused: how was he here? "Oh. Well, you're dreaming right now." Connor replied to him as if he could hear every one of his thoughts.
"So... Why am I talking to myself again?" Mad Mind asked Connor in question. "Well, you are and you aren't. You are talking to yourself because I was who you were, thusly making me a part of your brain. But you're not talking to yourself because I'm not you: You're you. I'm Connor, not Mad Mind. You're Mad Mind, not Connor. Were both different individuals, so, in a sense, you're not talking to yourself." Connor explained.
Mad Mind rolled this around for a bit. "Seems legit." He said with a shrug. "But why am I here?" He asked, looking up at his human self. "This building is where those mental bored meetings you have are taken place. The only reason you're here is because we don't have anyone to represent you at these meetings. And who better to represent these meetings than the actual pony?" Connor said with some hilarity in his voice. He then signalled for Mad Mind to follow him inside the building. Mad Mind quickly obliged and gasped at what was before him. In front of his eyes were countless people, sitting upon large chairs with names that represented the part of Mad Minds mind: knowledge, sanity, boredom. It was all there. He followed Connor up to the front and had a seat upon a chair next to his human self with a name tag that read "Mad Mind" on his desk.
The meeting began with some basic introductions to Mad Mind. He swore he was about to pass out from boredom until a particular topic caught his attention: how he got into Equestria. "Was there something special about that gate?" Connor asked curiously. "Of course there was something special about it! It created Mad Mind and look at him! In the eyes of ponies, he's a god!" The room exploded into turmoil over this. People in all the categories began arguing turning the place into complete chaos.
It all stopped at the sound of the doors opening with an intense amount of force. Everyone gasped as the individual made his way down towards the middle of the room. Mad Mind managed to see this characters face and nearly vomited in his mouth.
It was slightly human, not entirely. It's face was covered in bloodied bandages that covered up his appearance. His arms were mismatched as well. One being a dark black made up of what looked like spider legs and the other was nothing more than what looked like pure bone. Upon his torso, no articles of clothing were present. It looked like a normal human chest had it not been for the large amount of blood and the letter 'M' engraved upon his chest. His legs were almost as hideous to look at. What was there was more bone on the left and on the right, green rotting flesh like a zombie.
'Who's this guy?' Mad Mind thought to himself only to have his answer only seconds later.
"Madness." Connor spat at the deformed figure. He slowly made his way up to the stage.
"Fellas, fellas. I come here on business. I'm not gonna ruin your precious little meeting or anything." Madness said. His voice was deep and smooth and brought a lot of unease to the crowd.
"We have nothing to discuss Madness." Connor snapped towards him. "Go now. We don't need you here."
Madness let out a chuckle. "Ahh... Connor, Connor, Connor... I'm not here to talk to you. I'm here for the pony." He said as he turned his attention to Mad Mind.
"Listen pal: You know that gate you went through?" Madness asked Mad Mind. Mad Mind rolled his eyes. "Of course I know it. I walked through it."
Madness walked around him. "That was no ordinary gate: that gate granted the abilities of a god to those who walked through it. Hence the name 'The God Gate.'" Madness stopped in front of Mad Mind. "But in order for you to become a god, there is always a major catch in these deals. This catch here is a 'trade off' In order to bring your god like abilities to life."
"Mad Mind. He's toying with you, don't listen to a word he says!" Connor called out from the right. But he kept on listening. Madness quickly pulled himself away and met up with the guy named "Knowledge" and began talking to him.
"Heya Knowledge." Madness said casually as he leaned against Knowledge.
Knowledge gulped. "Oh. H-Hi Madness. Is something up?" He asked, fear clear within his voice.
"Tell me... Have you learned anything interesting from these ponies?"
"Oh yes! Lots of new things were learning from the ponies. Magic, flight, cloud manipulation even-" Madness stopped him there. "Yeah. I get it: lot's of data. But what if I told you, you were part of the trade off?"
Knowledge looked confused."What do you mean? The god trade off?" He asked curiously.
Madness decided to speak to everyone now. "Everyone! I believe I have found out the godly trade off. This is for Mad Mind and him alone. The trade off is knowledge," He pointed straight at Knowledge. "For his sanity!" He bellowed as he signalled to what seemed to be the older, weaker members of the group. All the people in the room gasped at this. He finally walked back down to the centre of the stage and looked at Mad Mind.
"Just what proof do you have Madness?" Connor spat at the disfigured figure as he slowly made his way to centre stage again. "I'm observant, you see Mr. Connor. You have all failed to notice Sanity getting weaker and weaker while Knowledge grew stronger and stronger. You also failed to notice that I've gained some power from Sanity becoming weaker and had one of my henchmen take a piece of Mad Minds mind."
Surprised and confused murmurs rippled through the crowd. Madness payed this no mind and turned to face Mad Mind.
"Ah yes. I forgot: this is your first time at these meetings. Then allow me to explain: I have a total of four henchmen, these are people who represent myself. There's Mania, Dementia, Insanity and," He paused as, what seemed to be, a smile formed upon his lips. "Paranoia. I think you can guess which one is already within your mind." Mad Mind gasped. This finally explained why he still didn't trust the ponies. "Now listen Mad Mind. This trade off? Is all part of your wish. Or curse. Which ever one you want to call it. In order to become the mad-god you desire to be, you have to work with the trade off. Then the rest of my henchmen, and myself, could grab a hold of your mind and set you upon the path of madness,"
Mad Mind thought this over as Madness held out a disfigured, bony hand towards him. "What do you say?" Madness asked eagerly. Everyone in the room sat on the edge of their seat in anticipation. A small grin appeared upon Mad Minds lips. He chuckled. Then he laughed. Everyone in the room looked at each other in uncertainty until Mad Mind spoke. "I'm gonna say... Yes. I like you. I want to become the mad-god I was destined to be."
Madness laughed. "Then it shall be so."
The room gasped. Connor glared at Mad Mind, fury within his eyes. "Mad Mind. You're making a grave mistake..."
Mad Mind glared at his past self. "I'm making a mistake? You're the one who made the mistake of not accepting his offer sooner!" He spat.
Connor grimaced. "This isn't what you want! You want to be-"
"No! This is what I wanted to be! You wanted to be! You thought about it yourself remember? You just don't have the balls to do it!" Mad Mind snapped at Connor in rage.
"But not now. Not today. I will become who I wanted to be. I will become a mad-god! And you," He pointed at Connor. "Won't stop me! DO YOU UNDERSTAND??!! I AM MAD MIND! THE GOD OF MADNESS! DEITY OF INSANITY! AND ANYTHING THAT STANDS IN MY WAY WILL BE DESTROYED! ACTUALLY SCRATCH THAT! THEY WILL BE BRUTALLY SLAUGHTERED AND SENT TO THE MOON!" Mad Mind bellowed. Madness laughed and held up a microphone.
"Meeting adjourned." He said.