> The 7th Element Season 2: Part 1, The Rise of Maelstrom.
>  by Rojack79
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: The Longest Night Ever.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

6, 30, 1000, C.E.
8:00 P.M.
Canterlot Royal Hospital.

Dark ominous thunder cloud's hung over the city. The culprit behind there formation was currently inside the Canterlot Royal Hospital, pacing around the waiting room looking at everything she could to try and take her mind off of the pony now stuck in the emergency room. Her tufted  ear's swiveled to and fro listening for any sound that could potentially be new's about her closest companion. The thunder storm got worse as she thought about the situation.

"Come on! What's taking them so long? Oh please, please let him be ok!" The clouds were now pouring rain as Midnight's cat like eye's began to water.

"WERE ARE THEY!?" She shouted as the sound of thunder resounded through out the city fallowed closely by a flurry of lighting bolt's. All of the pony's jumped at Midnight's outburst, yet none of them could bring themselves to chastise the grieving Princess. Princess Cadance got up and layed a wing over Midnight to comfort her.

"There, there, little one." She said as she bent down to Midnight's height. She gave the sad Thestral a small smile.

"You have nothing to worry about." Cadance said. Midnight looked at Cadance first with anger then sadness. She buried her head into Cadance's outstretched wing.

"H-h-how do you know?" She said sobbing. In the background more rain, thunder and lightning fallowed. Cadance looked outside then to the emergency room. Finally her gaze locked onto Midnight. She smiled.

"Because from what i have gathered Gadget has a way of drawing on the love of those around him to heal." She scanned the room.

"And as the princess of love i can feel the love that everypony has for him. With all of this i think he should be able to heal up just fine." She smirked.

"Plus his love for you is to strong." Midnight was taken by surprise.

"He l-l-love's me?" She looked at Cadance with curiosity. Cadance looked back.

"Well yes." She said looking confident.

"Right now he is in there fighting with all of his strength just to see you again." She said with her smile. Midnight just blushed and looked away. How--How could he love me? After what i did to him when we first met. With what he's had to deal with now thank's to me. How could he love me? As Midnight pondered this new mystery the rest of the friend's and family were discussing anything they could to try and take there mind's off of the situation.

"So Rarity what did you do tonight?" Fluttershy asked. Rarity thought about it and blushed.

"Well my dear i found a nice stallion th share my night with." And left it at that. Now that she thought about it she would have rather spent her time with her friend's. 



1 hour 30 minute's ago.

"Come on now blue blood. Scream for me!" she said swinging her whip back and forth. Smack!

"AHHHHHH!!"

"Good Boy!" She said as she strutted up to the bound prince in her black leather outfit.



Rainbow, Pinky, and Apple Jack were discussing the strange pegasus they were following.

"So who do you think it was?" AJ asked. Rainbow thought about it. Then her eye's lit up.

"It was Hot Shot! Think about it he was there in the cell when we all arrived." Pinky thought about it.

"Ya but that pegasus that we saw wasn't the same color as "Him"." She said refusing to speak the evil pony's name. The group thought about it.

"Hey ya i remember that now." Rainbow said as she looked off in thought.

"In fact now that i think about it he looked rather strange." AJ and Pinky looked at her.

"Really RD? How was he different from any other pegasus?" 

"I don't know? He just seemed off." She said racking her brain for the answer to her own statement.

While those three were trying to figure out the answer to a complex situation, Shining armor, Twilight, her parent's and Gadget's family were all huddled together comforting one another. Shining was sitting there his eye's starring off into space. His eye's were misted over.

"Shining are you ok?" Twilight asked as her brother looked around the room. He chuckled.

"You know it's funny." He said as he looked at Gadget's Family.

"Even tho i only knew him for a few year's while we were both at the Canterlot Royal Academy he always felt like brother to me." He said hanging his head. His shoulder's quaked as he began to cry.

"I failed him." He he said as his sister came up to hug him. She rubbed his back. She really didn't know her brother was this close to Gadget.

"Don't worry shiny. He'll pull through." She looked at the white double door's. He always doe's. She let go of her brother and looked to her parent's. They were holding each other sitting close to Gadget's parent's. 

Sky and Rose looked over at Shining. They looked at Night Light and Twilight Velvet. The two nodded. Sky and Ruby made there way over to the shaking Shining Armor. He looked up at them and cringed at there neutral look's. They just starred at him.

"Shining?" Sky asked. He looked up. He saw the raw emotion in his eye's. There was a deep sadness in them. The two Stallion's starred at one another. Then without warning Shining was embraced by both Sky and Ruby.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of honey." Ruby said as she held Shining like he was her own. Shining was shocked. He thought about it. Gadget wouldn't blame me. As he thought about this he cracked a small smile and embraced the the two pony's that were more like extended family.

As these group's were doing there own thing the two princess's of Equestria were contemplating there own issue's.

"Dear sister how are these fiend's able to pierce our very wall's?" Luna asked her sister. Celestia was just thinking about that. She looked at her sister.

"I do not know Lu Lu. Perhaps it could be the answered when we discover the source of all of the magical anomaly's that have been happening lately." Celestia didn't show it but she was seriously worried. 

Over the past few month's there had been quite a few anomaly's in the surrounding area's of Canterlot. She had sent her best Alchemist's to see if they could track down the source of the anomaly's. Even with there advanced equipment and magic they could only guess as to the cause of these strange fracture's in reality. Celestia was roused out of her thought's by a hoof on her shoulder. She looked over to see Luna looking at her with sad eye's.

"Dear sister doth thow think thee can put aside thine feeling for our doppelganger for tonight?" Celestia looked confused.

"Of course i can Lu Lu." She said looking from her sister to Midnight. Am i ready for this? She steeled herself and went over to Midnight who was starring out of a window watching the storm still raging on outside. Oh boy. I really better not stick my hoof in my mouth.

She came up and stood next to Midnight. She looked at the storm then to Midnight. She sat in a chair draped over the back, her hooves hanging there. Her eye's were red from crying and she had a blank look on her face.

"Good evening Princess Midnight." She said, a false sense of confidence in her voice. Midnight just starred.

"Good evening Princess Celestia." She said roboticly. Celestia looked on. This is not going to be easy.

"Midnight listen to me." She looked at the Thestral. She continued to stare off into the storm.

"I know what you are goi---" She was cut off by a blast of thunder and lighting striking the window they were standing next to vaporizing it into thin air.

"Don't you dare presume to know what i am going through!" Midnight yelled at Celestia. She was shocked at first but then calm flooded her system. Relax. She is just angry and need's to vent. As Midnight's magic swirled around her the other's came over. They all looked at Alicorn princess as she calmed down. Her eye's went from a bright light to their normal goldenrod color. Midnight stood there panting.

"Midnight are you ok?" Celestia asked the disgruntled Princess. Midnight looked up to Celestia then to she looked all around to see all of the group looking at her with sadness. She shook her head.

"No. No i'm not." She shook in place for a little while before suddenly collapsing into a heap on the ground.

"Midnight!" They all ran to her side. Celestia scanned her. She saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Do not worry little one's." She said sighing.

"What''s wrong with her?" Ruby asked still afraid for Midnight's well being.

"She is merely exhausted from over exertion." Celestia said as she picked Midnight up. She levitated her body through the double door's to the emergency ward. The pony's there were about to stop the intruder until they saw who it was. They all bowed. One of them, a Doctor Steel, bowed briefly before getting up and heading over to the Princess. He cleared his throat.

"Um excuse me princess but is there anything we can help you with?" He asked eyeing Midnight for sec. Celestia gave him a nod.

"Yes Mr Steel. I would like to know were the unicorn named Gadget is being kept?" The Dr looked from the princess to midnight then down the hall. He sighed.

"Well your majesty i have some rather bad new's about your friend." He said as he turned around.

"If you will please fallow me." The Doc led the duo through out a maze of hallway's before he stopped at one of the door's in particular. He motioned for the princess to look inside. What she saw confused her then shocked her. She looked from the window to the doc.

"Is that him?" The doctor nodded his head.

"We don't know what he is but his recovery in going rather smoothly." Celestia looked at the doc.

"Then what is the bad new's?" The doctor shook his head.

"We don't know how he is doing this." He said looking threw the window. Celestia looked at Gadget. He looked so "different". His black fur was replaced with a hard shell like material. His horn was still the same crystalline material as usual and his aura was visibly glowing it's usual steady emerald green color. He was sleeping in one of the hospital's stasis module's. Suddenly he gave out a small whimper as his coma was interrupted by little fit's of restlessness. Midnight began to toss in Celestia's magical field keeping her aloft. She looked from Midnight to Gadget her sad expression changed to one of curiosity.

"Dr please open the room." She ordered Steel. He looked from her to the door.

"Your majesty are you sure? We still don't know what that thing is in--" His speech was cut off by a very stern look from the Princess.

"Dr steel when i give a command i expect it to be fallowed. Are we clear?" She said her eye's borrowing into the Dr's very soul. He gulped.

"Crystal." He said bowing once more.

"Good. Now please open the door to Sir Sky-Rose's room." She said making sure to emphasize Gadget's title and status as a knight of Equestria. The Dr complied. His horn glowed and the door unlocked with a soft electronic clicking noise. The sound of bolt sliding out of place noted the door was ready to be opened. Celestia grasped the door's handle in her magic and pulled it open. 

As she stepped into the room she was careful to not hit Midnight on the door frame or anything else in the room. She made her way over to Gadget's bed. She turned off the stasis unit and he floated gently down to the soft cover's of bed just big enough to fit several pony's into. Then Celestia gently laid Midnight down next to Gadget. She slowly got comfortable as she snuggled closer to Gadget and them embraced him a soft hug pulling him closer. Celestia starred at the two with a sad smile.

"Sweet dream's little sister." She said as she left the two there. As she turned around there was a soft glow of green light. She looked back and was astonished to see that Gadget had taken on his normal pony form.

Interesting. This call's for more investigation. With a content smile on her face she left the two and shut the door quietly behind her not bothering to lock it.

"Um princess are you sure that it is ok to leave her majesty alone with th-" He stopped as he got a fiery gaze from Celestia. "T-t-t-he patent?" He quickly corrected. Celestia's eye's stopped glowing orange and went back to there soft cheerful violet.

"Yes doctor steel i think it is quite all right." She said smiling and walking away.
> Chapter 1: Buried Secret's And More Mystery's.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time: Unknown.
Date: Unknown.
Location: Unknown.

Gadget floated through a void of endless nothingness. His mind was a jumble of thought's, memory's, and fragmented pain. Hello? Is anybody there? His thought's projected out into the void and in response he got nothing. Were am i? He drifted through the void aimlessly, floating to and fro with out rhyme or reason. Who am i?





7, 4, 1000, C.E.
10:00 A.M.
Canterlot Royal Hospital.

Twilight and her friend's had to leave for ponyville a few day's ago. They had there own live's to return to. Midnight understood. She was sure that Gadget would have understood as well. She went to the train station to see them off.

Twilight's family was there to. They had offered to shelter Sky and Ruby for the duration of there stay in Canterlot. The couple excepted and they to went to the train station to see the group off. The last to arrive were Princess Celestia and Luna. Twilight shared a hug with her family. 

Then she went and hugged Celestia before she boarded the train with her friend's. Oh i almost forgot! She quickly ran to the door's and threw an envelope out to Gadget's parent's. 

"It's so he'll have us there when he wake's up!" Twilight shouted as the train began to depart the station. Ruby caught the gift in her magic. She brought it over to the group and opened it. Inside was a get well soon letter from the girl's. And a picture. 

It was of the girl's and Gadget all huddled together with one another posing for a picture. Gadget's face was so red and his face looked contorted like he was trying not to think about something. Ruby chuckled as she passed the picture to her husband. He laughed.

"Wow he really is quite the stud." He then passed the picture over to the rest of the group. They all got a laugh out of it. Even Midnight seemed to have raised spirit's today. Shining Armor's ear's suddenly perked up. He pulled out his comm's device and put it in his ear.

"This is Captain Armor? What's the situation?"

"Sir we have a problem at the hospital. You'l want to get down here ASAP!" Shining stomped a hoof.

"Now what?" He said as tapped his comm. He turned to the group.

"There's a problem at  the Hospital!" The words had barely escaped his lip's when Midnight Looked like she was about to tear out of the train station. But she was stopped by Princess Celestia.

"Hold young one. I shall get us there." With all the concentration of an accomplished athlete and the effort of a child Celestia teleported the group to the emergency ward's waiting room's. Midnight was a little dizzy but she shook that off and scanned her surrounding's to see where she was. When she saw the door she ran through them an strait to Gadget's room.

"It is amazing she has no idea how in love him she really is?" Cadance said to herself. The other's looked to were Midnight was heading and briskly fallowed her trail.

"What do you mean Cadance?" Celestia asked. Cadance thought about it.

"Well look at it like this. Gadget is Midnight's first true friend. she care's deeply about him. She doesn't quite know that it's love yet. And neither does he." She shook her head and smiled.

"Those two are both in uncharted territory and it scare's the both of them. They don't know what to do because they've never had any such feeling's before." Then she looked to Luna.

"Dear auntie is there anything you can tell us about Midnight that could help?" Luna thought.

"Nay dear niece. There is naught. While we were imprisoned on the moon she mostly stayed to herself. We may have shared one body but she still had her own mind to retreat into." Luna thought about it.

"We are sorry we could not be more helpful than that." Celestia chuckled. Luna looked at her.

"What is so funny Tia?" Celestia pointed a hoof at Luna.

"Your language lesson's seem to be going well." She said waving a hoof. The group had reached Gadget's room. As they got into the door they saw who the reason was for them all being here. Midnight was standing between Gadget's bed and a very disgruntled looking unicorn. Her eye's were alight with blue flame's as she growled at the interloper.

"Now young miss i must insist that you move at once!" He said in a pompous authoritative tone. Midnight just growled right back at him and stepped foreword.

"You utter waste of a pony! If you so much as lay a hoof on him or his equipment i will personally rip you to shred's!" Midnight shouted at the stallion who backed up. The stallion was visibly shaking now out of both fear and anger.

"Young lady i will have you know i am the dean of the Canterlot Royal Academy!" He said putting on a brave face.

"I will not be spoken down to by a commoner and i will not stop in my effort's to reacquire the Academy's "Stolen" Equipment!" Celestia was shocked to hear such accusation's.

"Good Sr." She said striding into the room. The unicorn turned around and instinctively bowed before the Princess's.

"Your majesty's! What bring's you this dreary place?" He said pointing a hoof all around them. Midnight glared dagger's at the pony's back. He could feel her gaze on him and squirmed a little. That brought a small smile to her face. Celestia looked from the unicorn to Gadget. She sighed. Duty call's. 

"Now Sr?" 

"Calculus your majesty's." He said bowing once more. Luna rolled her eye's at the suck up. Midnight smiled at her and her sister's shared disdain of the unicorn. Celestia remained neutral.

"Yes Sr Calculus. Now what is this i hear of Stolen Equipment from the Royal Academy?" The unicorn humped.

"Well your majesty's, few year's ago our science lab's were broken into and various object's were stolen from our facility's." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. 

"It has been an absolute nightmare trying to track down and retrieve all of the stolen property. But i and a special task force have managed to track down several of the stolen piece's of equipment. Now we've managed to track down some of the equipment to the home of one Gadget Sky-Rose." 

"Then why come here?" Celestia asked as she raised an accusing eyebrow. Sky and Ruby were both trotting over to there son's bedside. They couldn't believe what this crap farmer was shoveling. So they went and stood by there son. They however were not prepared for him to grab them as they walked past his bed.

"AHHHHH!" Ruby screamed as her son shot up his eye's wide with fright. He to was screaming and soon the whole room was in an uproar. When everypony calmed down Calculus went up to Gadget.

"Gadget Sky-Rose?" He asked. Gadget looked at the unicorn and nodded his head. Calculus simply lit up his horn pulling out a set of hoof cuff's and slapped them onto Gadget's hoof's.

"you Sir are under arrest for the possession of stolen prop----" Calculus never got to finish his Miranda Right's. He was blind sided by Midnight who had tackled him into the nearby wall. He hit it with a sickening Crunch! sound and fell to the floor out cold. She starred the unconscious stallion before she went back to Gadget's bedside. He starred at Midnight then his eye's roved through all of the shocked face's in the room.

"Did I miss something?" 
> Chapter 2: Chaos And Confusion.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

12,31,1223, N.H.E.
2:00 P.M.

A young colt skulked from ruble pile to ruble pile trying his hardest to not be seen by the overlord's goon's. He peeked out from the top of a pile and looked around. Not a soul in sight. HA! I guess i gave them the slip! He carefully got to his hooves and tiptoed out into the open. He got only a few feet before a spot light shined on to him. Oh CRAP! Then an electronic voice rang out.

"You there slave. Stop right now or be annihilated." The colt looked past the spot light and saw a the robot carrying it. Oh Pony feather's! Gotta hide! Gotta Hide! GOTTA HIDE!!! He frantically searched all over for a place to hide but he noticed more robot's closing in. Then he heard a laugh ring out. Oh no... What now? 

"Well well what do we have here?" The voice came from above. The colt looked up to see a strange creature floating there. It was not a normal pony. That was for sure.

"Who are you?" The colt asked. The creature laughed again.

"Well Hot Shot it looks like today is your lucky day." Discord scooped up the small colt and in a flash the two disappeared. 

7, 4, 1000, C.E.
12:00 P.M.
Canterlot Royal Hospital.

Gadget just sat there as he was poked and prodded with every device the doctor's could whip out. Finally he was given a clean bill of health. The Princess's had to go to the front desk and make up a story about how Calculus had tripped going up the stair's. Meanwhile in the doctor's office everypony was bombarding Gadget with question's. One of them kept on being asked so he decided to answer that one first.

"Are you ok?" They all asked. Gadget thought about it.

"I--I think so." He answered looking unsure as he rubbed his head. His parent's went and hugged him.

"Is there something wrong son?" Ruby asked clinging to her son like a life raft. Gadget thought about it. He gritted his teeth trying to recall his coma. An image of green eye's surrounded in flame's shot through his mind. He stiffened as he recalled his old nightmare's.

"Oh no." He said shaking his head.

"What's wrong dear?"

"There back." He said a forlorn expression gripping his face. His parents looked at one another.

"The nightmare's?" His father asked wrapping a hoof around his son. Gadget hugged his father as he nodded. Midnight shook her head.

"I thought we had banished those?" She said concerned now. Gadget looked up.

"We did. But these one's are different." He said. He thought about them.

"Now there are voice's. I can't tell from were but they seem to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time." He shook his head clearing away the last of the foggy mess that was his dream world. At that time The Princess's had returned.

"Well my little pony's shall we head back to the castle?" Celestia asked, a smirk on her face. They all looked at her with suspicion. Gadget was the first to speech.

"So what do you have planned?" He said smiling. The girls all looked between the two.

"Well look who's feeling better?" Pinky said as she skipped around the room.

"Well with all of this good cheer in the room it can get a little contagious." Both Luna and Midnight looked puzzled.

"What you mean this place isn't sterilized all the way?" Midnight asked.

"Doth thow mean that thee have been sick this whole time?" Luna asked. All of the pony's present just looked at the two princess's of the night. Then one by one they all began to laugh. They were soon joined by a third party. When they all realized there was somepony there not present before they all stopped and listened. Then Gadget's ear's perked up.

"Discord!" He shouted in joy. As if summoning the very being himself, discord materialized out of thin air. He was not alone however. A small colt was wrapped around his face clinging on for dear life. Princess Celestia and Luna were in shock. "What is He doing here?" Luna asked her sister. "I do not know sister." she replied. 

"Put me down now!" He screamed at the top of his lung's. Discord used his magic to gently put the colt down on the ground.

"Who is this?" Gadget asked as he got down to the colt's eye level. They both starred at one another. Then faster than Hot Shot could react Gadget brought a hoof forward and booped him on the nose. Hot Shot looked at him then touched his nose. He then got into a pouncing crouch and leapt into the air. His wing's sprung out and just as Gadget sprung back Hot Shot tackled Gadget to the ground. The two fell to the ground in a heap. Gadget was playing but Hot Shot was not in the mood. His harsh life on the street's left him with more than a chip on his shoulder. He was using his full force when he hit Gadget. But Gadget didn't seem to notice. He shrugged his hit's off like they were nothing and Kept on playing. 

As they wrestled there the whole group just snickered at there antic's. Discord looked both happy and a little concerned.

"Well...that is?" He said thinking fast. He snapped his finger's and Hot Shot was whisked away from Gadget's noogying of his head.

"Ahh no fare!" Gadget pouted looking at Discord with big eye's. The Princess's however were not happy. There horn's flared to life. Hot Shot was ripped from Discord's grasp and placed down on the floor between the two royal sister's. Discord was trapped inside of a bubble.

"How did you get out Discord?" Celestia asked a fire blazing in her eye's turning them a visible orange color. He chuckled a little bit.

"You've got the wrong guy. After all i would have never gotten out if it weren't for you'r little knight here." He said gesturing to Gadget. Gadget froze.

"What?" He asked looking both skeptical and frightened. The Princess's looked from Gadget to discord. Midnight and Gadget's family and the girl's all looked at Discord. "What are you playing at Discord?" Midnight thought. Discord looked at her and winked. She looked at him stunned. He just chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Gadget asked not amused in the least. Discord just began to laugh.

"Ahahahhahahahahhha!!!!! Oh the look's on your face's." He said pointing to the group. "You all look so serious." He said wiping tears from his eye's.

"It is so funny to see all of you look so cute with your little face's all scrunched up like that." He said squeeing as he made a baby face. The pony's in the room were not amused. Hot Shot climbed onto the bed to try and get a better look at what was happening.

"Were am i?" He asked. The whole group stopped and looked at him.

"So discord." Gadget asked. "Who is this little guy?" "Hey! I am not little. I'm ten year's old." Hot shot said crossing his fore hooves, holding his head high. He sat down on the hospital bed starring at the group. They all starred at him with look's of pure joy on there face's. He was so cute looking. Discord just shuffled his feet together.

"Oh come on!" Midnight said as she glared at Discord. "Just spit it out already." She said shaking a hoof at him. Discord was stuck between a very sharp rock and a not so good hard space. Well here go's nothing. 

"This everypony." Discord said as he waved his hand's dispelling the Princess's shield around him with one hand and brought Hot Shot over to him with the other. "Is a very special pony from the future." They all starred at him. Then Gadget got a closer look at the small colt. "It's Hot Shot isn't it?" He said not skipping a beat. The whole room went silent.

"Hey how do you know my name?" They all except for Gadget gasped. The Princess's all glared at Discord now. They were about to go an arrest him but Gadget got up and walked out the room.

"Honey wait up a sec!" Ruby said as she ran after her son. Hot Shot looked sad.

"Did i do something wrong?" He asked. The whole group starred at him. As much as Midnight thought about hurting Hot Shot all those time's she could not bring herself to hate this little foal. He might have been the monster they all knew but now he was a small colt looking lost, sad, and confused. 





Gadget needed to think. "What was he thinking!?" He mentally shouted. How could he possibly think that bringing him here was a good idea!? He trotted through the hallway's lost by now from not paying attention to were he was going. Oh great! Now were am i? He looked around and saw that he was in some random section of the hospital. Figure's. turned around and trotted back down the hall. After a good 15 minute's of searching he got back to the main lobby. His brain was still abuzz with question's and anger. 

He stomped on the floor. "Discord why did you have to go and do that!?" He was trembling now. He didn't know how to feel. Just moment's ago he had been playing with one of his greatest foe's and acting like a child. "Why? Why did it feel so fun? Why can't i hate him"?

"Because you idiot." Gadget spun around and saw Midnight standing there. He face was a whirlwind of emotion's. He settled on hurt and confused. Midnight just looked at him with compassion.

"Who in there right mind'w would ever hate a foal?" She said nuzzling him. Gadget's face burned but his expression remained neutral. He nuzzled her back.

"I know he's only a foal now but what a---" No but's." "But." "No!" She said gripping his face in her hooves.

"That child in there is scared and lonely right now. He need's help and love. Not scorn and hate. He is not the same stallion as before." She said looking into Gadget's eye's. They showed that he was thinking about what she had to say. Finally they widened in realization and defeat. He laughed.

"You know you were born for politic's." He said still chuckling. The two made there way to Gadget's room Midnight leading the way. She to was chuckling. 

"Yes well if i'm going to become a princess then i shall have to learn the trick's of the trade." She said as Gadget held the door open for her.

"Lady's first." He said bowing. She snickered. And with a bow of her own added, "Why thank you Sir Sky-Rose. You will make a fine knight indeed if you carry on like this." As they both entered Gadget saw his mother out of breath.

"What happened to you?" He asked. She glared at him.

"I was looking for you and ran about the entire hospital." 

"I was only gone for a good 20 minute's." He said. They two stopped arguing as they heard crying coming from across the room. All head's turned to Gadget. He looked sheepish and mad, mostly at himself. He sighed and went over to the bed. "Am i really going to do this?" He asked himself.

"YES!!" Gadget screamed and turned around to see the Princess's all looking at him with stern face's. He gulped and went back to approaching the bed. "Great not even my own thought's are private anymore." He grumbled to himself. "No my knight they are not." He heard Midnight say in his head. He shook his head. He got to the bed and saw Hot Shot curled up in a ball crying.

"Oh boy hear go's nothing." He cleared his throat. Hot Shot looked up and whimpered. His big sad eye's quickly melted any animosity Gadget had toward's him. 

"Look kid." Hot Shot flinched but he didn't back away.

"I wanted to apologize. For the way i acted earlier." He said rubbing the back of his head. Normally he was good with kid's but now he was struggling. "This is going to be a lot harder than i thought." He looked down to see Hot Shot looking off into the distance.

"I'm sorry to." He said.

"For what?" Hot Shot looked around.

"For intruding on your live's like this." He said looking downcast. He got to his feet and hopped off the bed. He made his way over to Discord.

"Mr Discord can you take me back?" He asked. The group was shocked. Discord looked a little pale.

"Well you see kid.." He said leaving his sentence hanging. Hot Shot looked confused.

"What? You can take me back can you?" He said looking more and more worried by the minute. Discord looked around all of the pony's were starring at him.

"Wow tough crowd." He said.

"So can you or not?" Hot Shot asked in a loud tone. Discord sighed.

"No kid i can't." Hot Shot mulled this over.

"WHAT!? WHY NOT?" He yelled. All of the pony's covered there ear's at the foal outburst. Discord just stood there.

"Well you see kid your timeline doesn't exist anymore." Discord said in a matter of factually voice.

"What?" Gadget said moving towards discord. His eye's were red now.

"I thought we got rid of that?" He asked. Gadget was not amused.

"This isn't my alter ego. This is me pissed off." He said as he stood beside Hot Shot who was trembling now.

"So how come the great spirit of chaos can't rip a hole in the very fabric of time and space and send him back to were he belong's?" Gadget said making Discord more uncomfortable by the minute. Discord smile awkwardly.

"Because were he belong's has to exist. His time line is no longer a part of our reality." He said as he settled down on the floor. Hot Shot looked like he had been socked in the gut.

"I can't go home?" He said in a small voice. Granted his time was  one of tyranny and oppression but it was still his home. Plus all of his friend's were still there. He sat down shocked at the new's.

"So what happen's now?" He asked in a small voice. He was lost.

"Does that mean i'll have to go into a foster home? What if no pony will take me? What if i'm just an outcast? Doomed to go from foster home to foster home----" His rant was cut off by Gadget's laughing.

"Hey what's so funny?" Hot Shot yelled at Gadget. Gadget pointed a hoof at him.

"How am i funny?" He asked. 

"Because you have nothing to worry about." Gadget said as he wiped tear's of laughter from his eye's. He looked at his parent's. They looked back. Then there eye's lit up in surprise.

"Oh no you don't mister." Ruby said as she backed up.

"You were enough of a handful as it was." She said waving her hooves back and forth. Gadget got a devious grin as he hoisted Hot Shot into the air and brought him over to his parent's. He held him in the air and brought him up to his mom's face.

"Oh come on now? How can you say no to this face?" He said shaking Hot Shot a little bit. Hot Shot however had a scowl on his face.

"Put me down." He said. Gadget just smiled wider.

"Oh so you want to go higher?" He hoisted Hot Shot into the air. Hot Shot flailed around a bit.

"No down!" He said a small smile beginning to form on his face. Gadget used his magic to fly Hot Shot around the room. They both began to laugh as the two of them resumed there playful antic's from before. While those two were doing there thing the Princess's were talking amongst themselves.

"Midnight a word." Celestia asked. She joined the two ruler's of equestria.

"Yes your majesty's?" She said as she bowed before them. Celestia and Luna both chuckled at this.

"Well dear sister there will soon be no need for formality's such as those." Luna said as she hugged her younger sibling. Midnight was puzzled.

"What do you.--" Then her brain clicked.

"OH that's right!" She said startling every pony out of there thought's and causing Gadget to loose his control of Hot Shot as he zoomed around the room. Gadget recovered and caught the colt as he was about to smack into Celestia. She sat there at still as a statue however oblivious to the living projectile that almost hit her.

"What's right?" Gadget asked as he sat Hot Shot on his back and walked over to the group. Midnight had a twinkle in her eye as she looked at gadget. That twinkle unnerved him. Then she smiled. That unnerved him even more. Before he could run Midnight grabbed him in her magic and began to twirl him around the room.

"I'm going to become a princess!" She said as she stopped spinning, letting Gadget fall to the floor in a heap. Hot Shot had clung to him for dear life. As Gadget landed on the floor Hot Shot jumped off his back and poked him in the head.

"Are you ok?" Gadget felt sick.

"Never better." He said as the room continued to spin around. Meanwhile The whole group gave Midnight a big hug.
> Chapter 3: Princess's and Suitor's.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

7, 20, 1000, C.E.
5:00 P.M.
Canterlot Castle.
Canterlot.

Midnight paced back and forth as she thought about her speech. Her mind was racing. "Ok calm down you can do this. You wanted to shroud the whole world in darkness. Now you can go out there and tell the pony's of Equestria of how wrong you were to try and do that. Just calm down!" Then she began to hyperventilate. Gadget walked into the room and saw her. He laughed as he went over to her and began to pat her on the back.

"Don't worry so much Midnight. Trust me you'll do fine." He said trying to reassure her. She looked at him. He was decked out in a fine silk robe with is sword slung across his back. He really is handsome. Her face flushed as the thought crept into her mind. 

"Gadget?" She asked looking out over the balcony of her room at the arriving crowd of pony's.

"Yes?" He answered not taking his eye's off of her.

"Do you think there's such a thing as fate?" That's a strange question to ask. He thought about it.

"Well Princess i think that most of our lives are what we make of them." She looked at him.

"What i mean is no. I don't think there's some cosmic force controlling our live's. I do believe that there is a great creator out there. And that he's always watching out for us. But i don't think he like's to play puppet master like a lot of people believe." He said as he sat down. Midnight was puzzled.

"So you believe in a higher power but not that that power can control or dictate our live's?" Gadget laughed.

"Oh trust me if it wanted to that power could annihilate the whole universe." Midnight looked horrified. Gadget shook his head.

"But it doesn't because that would not be very useful to anyone." He said smiling.

"How can you believe in such a thing?" 

"Because your highness if it wasn't for that power i wouldn't be here right now." He said looking forlorn. She was shocked. How could something so powerful be so contradictory. If there was a being as powerful as that why would it allow anypony to live? Finally Midnight shook her head.

"So your answer to my question is 'somewhat'?" She said looking slightly disturbed. Gadget chuckled. 

"My answer is complicated." He said sticking out his tongue. Midnight just starred at him. Then she narrowed her eye's. He knew what that look meant.

"Uh oh." Before he could shove the door's open he was hit with a bolt of lightning.

"Yahhhhh!" He screamed.





While Gadget was getting his snarky ass handed to him by Midnight, Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were getting ready for the grand banquette for there newest addition to the royal family. Prince Blue Blood was overseeing all of the guest's seating as well as looking out for the foreign dignitary's.

"Ah!" His voice rang out through the hall as he welcomed the King and Queen from Saddle Arabia.

"Right this way." He said leading them to a massive table at the end of the hall. This table was meant for all of the royalty that would be attending this event. 

A few hour's later the whole hall was packed. Gadget and Midnight had arrived to see the banquette abuzz with conversation. As soon as they both entered the hall however all eye's were on them and all conversation stopped. Gadget stood by Midnight's side as they made their way down the isle to the grand table. As the two trotted to their seat's Gadget used his magic to pull out Midnight's chair for her. She giggled at this.

"Why thank you Sir Sky-Rose." He grinned.

"You are welcome Lady Midnight." He said with a bow and then to his surprise a seat was pulled out next to Midnight's. He looked at the aura and identified it as Princess Celestia's. He looked to her and she gave him a soft smile. She inclined her head.

"Go ahead Sir Sky-Rose. You have more than earned your place at this table." She said glancing at the other dinner guest's. Gadget looked around. Pinky Pie waved enthusiastically at him. He saw the other girl's were there as well. They all gave him a smile. He waved back and sat down. He heard a 'Psss' to his left and looked over to see his parent's sitting further down the line. He waved at them. Now that every pony was present the festivity's began.



7:28 P.M.

The whole table was abuzz with conversation once more. All through the night Midnight had answered question after question as best as she could. When she couldn't Gadget was there to help. Now the banquette was coming to a close and the grand ball was about to start. As Gadget and Midnight got up from their seat's they were approached by a pony no one had expected to see. It was a thestral. Gadget and Midnight all starred at him in shock. Guess i shouldn't be so surprised. Gadget thought. They do live quite away's away. 

The thestral in question was defiantly royalty from what Gadget saw. He dark grey coat was immaculately groomed. His jet black hair was tailored and flowed in the hot Autumn breeze. His Dark Green eye's had an air of confidence about them that bordered on arrogant. But his confidence was not false. His blood red cape and silver breast plate were made of the highest quality material Gadget had ever seen. Wow he must a prince. Gadget thought. The Thestral had cleared his throat.

"Greeting's your majesty." His accent reminded Gadget of Dracula. He suppressed a snicker as his brain brought up some random image's of this pony playing him in a movie. He quickly got a hold of himself tho as the thestral looked at him with disdain.

"Is something funny?" He said shrewdly sizing Gadget up. Gadget got his composure back. He knelt bowed his head.

"I am truly sorry your majesty. I meant no disrespect." He said. He brought his head up and smiled. The thestral just looked at Gadget as if he was a piece of dirt. He then looked to the Princess. He bowed his head.

"As i was saying." He said taking Midnight's fore hoof. She was hesitant at first but didn't want to make a scene.

"I am Prince Charlemagne Of the Kingdom of Romania." He said kissing her hoof. Midnight blushed at this and she bowed her head in respect.   Charlemagne let go of her hoof and stood tall before her.

"It is an honor to finally behold the beauty of Equestria's newest Princess." He said as he looked her up and down. Midnight blushed even more at his flattery. Gadget just rolled his eye's. He had seen this song and dance before. He looked around to see the entire royal family chatting it up with some one else. He was brought back to the conversation by his name.

"Sir Sky-Rose?" He looked back to Midnight. She was curious.

"Yes Midnight?" He answered. Her response was cut off by Prince Prissy pant's sputtering out his cup of tea.

"My most humble Sir." He said addressing Gadget. Gadget looked at him. What has your underwear in a twist? Charlemagne looked at Gadget with the utmost seriousness on his face.

"Do you have no manner's?" He asked looking angry. Gadget looked at him like he was crazy.

"Um yes i do. What your deal?" He said. The Prince looked like he was about to have a heart attack. The prince just dismissed Gadget and looked at Midnight.

"Your majesty not to be rude but just who is this pony and how did they become a Knight?" He asked looking worried. Midnight looked at the prince and then to Gadget.

"Well your majesty." Midnight said as she gave Gadget a snarky look. She laughed. Just thinking about him and how they met was enough to bring her to giggle's.

"We met on a dark and stormy night. He saved me from a monster and he has been in my employ ever since." She said giving Gadget a wink. He laughed back. The Prince just looked bemused. How could this simpleton ever become a knight? Let alone save her highness form anything? Charlemagne just shook his head.

"Well... I will have to hear that story in greater detail sometime." He then looked around. The great ball was about to start. Then he got a brilliant idea. He cleared his throat.

"Your Majesty?" He asked Midnight. Her ear's perked up.

"Yes Sir Charlemagne?" He extended his hoof.

"Would you care to join me in a dance?" He asked. Midnight was stuck. She really just wanted to get the night over with. Her Last duty was to choose her Knight Protector and then she and the other delegate's could go to their room's and retire for the night. She looked at Charlemagne's hoof. Plus she had had enough of Charlemagne's haughty attitude. She shook her head.

"I am truly sorry Sir Charlemagne." She said giving him a bow. "But i must decline your gracious offer. I feel that the day's event's have sapped me of most of my stamina." She gave him a smile. "Perhaps another time?" She said as she stifled a yawned. Charlemagne bowed. Midnight and Gadget them left the prince standing there and went to go and find the other Princess's. They were all huddled in there own little corner. The day had not been kind to them either. 

"Hey peep's." Gadget said as he waved to them.

"How's it hangin?" He asked as Midnight and him sat down before the royal group. The group all smiled at Gadget's antic's.

"Well," Celestia said as she got to her hooves. "It is almost time for your Knighting." She said pointing a hoof to Gadget. He grinned.

"Are thow ready for such an honor?" Luna asked. Gadget thought about it.

"I think so." He said not entirely sure. He sighed. "I'm sorry if that wasn't the answer you would like to hear but it's the truth. In all honesty i really never thought i would ever in a million year's become a knight." He looked at them all. He was shaking form excitement, and fear. This was going to be a huge responsibility for him. Here's hoping i don't screw this up. He took a deep breath. Then he gave them all a big smile.

"You know what let's just get this over with." He said putting on his bravest face. Princess Celestia smiled.

"You will do fine little one." said as she gave him a soft nuzzle. He blushed at the contact but he returned the affection non the less. The rest of the royal family took turn's giving Gadget a hug or some other form of encouragement. As Cadance came up to him she gave him a hug.

"You are going to make some pony really happy one day." He whispered into his ear as she embraced him. He just blushed. As she let go of him she gave him a wink. His face darkened even more. What was that all about? He heard a loud cough and brought himself back to the present. Midnight was looking at him with a soft smile. She then giggled at him.

"Come along Sir Sky-Rose. Let us make your Knight Hood official." She said with glee. The Princess's plus Gadget made their way through the crowd. They all stopped at the center of the great hall were the floor was raised up to create a little platform. As Celestia cleared her throat Gadget covered his ear's. Midnight saw this and used her magic to shield herself. 

"My dear Pony's and gracious host's from far away!" Celestia's royal voice resounded through the great hall bringing all other conversation's to a stop. When she had everypony's attention she continued.

"As you are all aware we are here tonight to crown Equestria's newest princess." The whole hall erupted in applause.

"But what you all may not know is that we have one more ceremony to complete before the night is over." there was some muttering going on through out the crowd. Princess Cadance took over from here. She looked over the crowd.

"As some of you may know Equestria has not had a knight crowned in century's." What!? Gadget mentally screamed to himself. He retained him calm composure but inside he was getting all knotted up. Princess Luna come up.

"But now there is cause for great jubilation. For tonight we have the honer's of granting the title of Knight to a very special pony." She stepped down and Celestia spoke once more.

"This title is not given lightly." She said looking through out the crowd. Every pony held there breath.

"Will Gadget Sky-Rose please come forward?" She paused. Gadget gulped and shook his head to clear his mind. He came forward and bowed to the Princess's.

"Your Majesty's." He said still bowing. Then Midnight came up.

"Gadget Sky-Rose please rise." She commanded. He obeyed. Then Celestia came up once more.

"Gadget sky-Rose. You are summoned here tonight to be crowned as a Knight in the service of Princess Midnight." she said. The air itself was charged with all of the excitement. Gadget looked at the Princess as she continued her speech.

"Gadget. You are a rare pony in our time's. Over the course of the last 7 month's you have shone the Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, and Kindness of a true Knight. You have rushed to the aid of your fellow pony even when that pony had tried to claim your life." she said. Both Gadget and Midnight flinched at that remark.

"So in recognition of your valiant effort's We the Princess's of Equestria have deemed you worthy of the title of Knight Protector of the Royal House Hold." All of the pony present gasped.

"What?" Gadget asked to himself. He looked all around. There were look's of shock all around. The Princess went on.

"Gadget Sky-Rose." Celestia asked. Gadget looked up to see Celestia's stern face gazing at his own.

"Yes your majesty?" He squeaked.

"Unsheathe your sword." she asked. Gadget did as he was told. He levitated his long sward up to the Princess. She caught it in her golden aura. Then the three other Princess's came up.

"Sir Sky-Rose."

"Yes Celestia?"

"Do you swear to uphold the tenant's of Honer confided upon you by us the royal family?" Gadget blinked.

"I do." He answered. Celestia's horn flared and Gadget's sword glowed yellow. Then the sword was passed down to Luna.

"Sir Sky-Rose."

"Yes Luna?" 

"Do you promise to uphold thine tenant's of Loyalty to the royal family placed upon thee by us the royal family?"

"I do." Luna's horn flared to life and the sword glowed a dark blue. Then it was passed down to Cadance.

"Sir Sky-Rose." 

"Yes Cadance?"

"Do you pledge yourself to uphold the tenant's of Generosity as set forth by the royal family?"

"I do." The sword was engulfed by a light blue. Finally it was passed to Midnight. The two starred at one another before Midnight cleared her throat. 

"Sir Sky-Rose." 

"Yes Midnight?" They both looked into each other's eye's. 

"Sir Sky-Rose do you vow to keep to the tenant's of kindness that have been lied down by the royal family?" He smiled.

"I do." With that his sword glowed a soft shade of fuchsia. Then the blade was passed back down to Gadget. It now shined in a rainbow of color's. Each one was of the Princess's magic. Then Celestia and the princess's all bowed to Gadget.

"By the power's vested in us the ruler's of Equestria we now bestow upon thee the title of Knight and the status of Royal Protector." They all smiled as they saw the looked of excitement and happiness on Gadget's face. He was in tear's. He bowed to them as well.

"T-t-t-thank you!" He said trying to keep his footing. His leg's felt like jelly. He grasped his sword in his magic. It them glowed a bright Emerald Green. He looked at the sword then to the Princess's. Celestia spoke once more.

"Sir Sky-Rose as a knight of the royal family you now hold one of the strongest weapon's in Equestria. Your sword is now indestructible, and will only be weldable by you and any other you wish to use it." She looked at him and then the crowd.

"When you need it most in will come to you. When your loved one's are in danger it will shield them." Her gaze went back to Gadget.

"Your weapon is your authority. It will be able to pass judgment upon your foe's with deadly accuracy." Princess Cadance spoke next.

"This responsibility is not to be taken lightly. With this power you will be asked to take on more burden than before." Princess Midnight spoke up.

"Sir Sky-Rose do you have anything to say?" He shook his head.

"In all honesty Princess's i only have a few thing's to say." He thought about it. He stood up on the platform with the royal family.

"Dear Pony's of Equestria and beyond." He smiled.

"I make you this solemn promise. As a Knight of Equestria i will do my best to serve both you and the royal family to the best of my ability's." He looked around. He saw his friend's and family in the crowd. He smiled.

"I will make sure you are all safe from the evil's that dear to make our peaceful land there home. I will find any and all form's of monster's and purge them from our great land." The whole crowd applauded at this.

"Know this. You will all sleep well this night and for the night's to come." He looked over to Midnight.

"I will be there to protect you from any who would dear to harm you." He smiled as he ended his speak. Midnight just blushed and looked away. This did not go unnoticed by Prince Charlemagne. He gritted his teeth. So the Knight think's he can play prince? Well i'll just have to knock him down a few peg's. Charlemagne looked at Midnight. She is one of us. One way or another she will become my queen.
> Chapter 4: A Midnight Waltz With The Moon And Star's.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

7, 20, 1000, C.E.
Canterlot Castle, Canterlot.
9:00 P.M.

An hour and a half later, the dinning hall was now void of any pony that was not of royalty or servant of royalty. While Gadget got to stay his friends and family had to retire for the night. He bid them a good night and then he went and sat next to Midnight at the delegation's table. Also present at the table was Prince Charlemagne, Prince Blue Blood, The Royal Pony Sister's, Cadance and Shining Armor, as well as a few other host's from other far away land's. Princess Celestia stood to make the final toast of the night.

"My most wonderful guest's." She started off summoning a bottle of ancient looking wine to the table. Gadget gingerly raised his hoof like a school colt. Celestia gave him a smirk. Charlemagne grumbled.

"Yes Sir Sky-Rose?" He pointed a hoof at the bottle.

"Princess what is that?" He asked looking to the wine. Celestia laughed.

"I am glad you asked." She said as she took the bottle and showed it to the rest of the table. They all glanced at it with keen interest. Some of them even 'ooo'ed and 'aww'ed at the site of such an old piece of history. Celestia let the tension hang in the air. Then with a sly smile she continued.

"This is a genuine bottle of crisp Amber Scale Wine." All of the pony's at the table drooled at the bottle like it was a golden gem. It certainly shined like one. Prince Charlemagne looked like he was going to pass out.

"My dear Princess were did you ever acquire such rare vintage?" As a member of a royal family Charlemagne knew quite a lot about vintage wine's. This particular brand was famous about a thousand year's ago. Now there were only a hooful of specimen's left. To be sitting here at the very table of the equestrian royalty was honer enough. To be sitting at the table about to partake of the rarest wine in existence was cause for a heart attack. Celestia laughed.

"This was a gift from a friend." She said a sad smile moving over her face. It was gone in a flash and replaced with a mirthful look.

"Now shall we all grab glasses and toast to Equestria's newest Princess and her valiant protector?" She said as she levitated a glass to each of the table's ten recipient's. They all took a glass except for Gadget. Celestia smiled at him.

"Sir Sky-Rose is there something wrong?" She said. He looked around the table. All eye's were on him. He gulped.

"I-i-i'm sorry Princess but i am afraid i must decline your offer." He said as his face went red from embarrassment. The Prince looked livid. He dare's to forsake an offer from the Princess! Is he mad? Celestia was curious.

"Is there something wrong with the wine?" She asked. Gadget quickly flailed his hooves.

"No Princess!" He said a bit more forcefully than intended. He calmed down a little after taking several breath's.

"No. The wine is fine i bet." Fine! You bet!? As the Prince was bout to have an stroke Gadget paid him no mind.

"But?" Celestia prompted.

"Well i can't really hold my alcohol that well." He said flushing a deep crimson. The Prince's mind was speechless. Celestia thought about it. As she looked over the bottle it read, Amber Scale Wine, Vintage 0007 C.E. 15% Alcohol for cubic volume. Then she nodded her head.

"Very well Sir Sky-Rose. Is there any other beverage you would like to partake of?" She asked waving a hoof to a royal butler present. He trotted over to the table and waited to be given an order. Gadget thought about it.

"I would like a simple glass of water please." With a wave of her hoof the butler left and soon returned with a small glass of water. Celestia smiled as she took the glass and passed it over to Gadget. He took in his magic's grip and held it aloft. The princess then proceeded to fill up everypony's glass with wine. 

"Now that we are all ready." She said a grin plastered to her face. Everypony present held up there glass. And all at once,

"To Princess Midnight and her Knight Protector!" They all then drank there glasses content's in commemoration of the Equestrian Royal Family.





Canterlot Castle, 9:07 P.M.

A royal guard's pony led the delegate's and Princess's to their room's for the night. The Princess's rooms were all along the left side of the hall. the delegate's were on the right. As they all bid each other a good night Charlemagne noticed that Gadget was following Midnight to her quarter's. Just what is this young stallion trying to pull? Just as he was about to voice his opinion on the matter Celestia spoke up.

"Sir Sky-Rose will you be watching over Princess Midnight tonight?" She asked.

"Yes your majesty." He answered his face serious and composed. He looked like any other soldier of the guard with that expression on. Charlemagne just starred. This pony is an enigma. One that the prince was really interested in cracking wide open. But that would have to wait for tomorrow. He didn't like the thought of a complete buffoon guarding his queen but he would have to find a way to settle the issue tomorrow. Tonight he was far to tired and maybe even a little bit drunk. He wobbled to his room opened the door and went to his bed. Tomorrow that Knight shall prove his worth. 

Meanwhile Gadget and Midnight were both getting ready for bed. Midnight had changed into a simple blue silk gown while gadget remained in his chain armor and white cloth robe's, his sword now firmly secured on his back within easy reach. Midnight made her way to her bed and climbed in for the night. She looked at Gadget as he stood as still as a statue next to Midnight's balcony window.

"Sir Sky-Rose are you sure you wouldn't like to rest for the night?" She asked looking concerned. Gadget's eye's roamed through the room.

"I think i shall be fine for tonight you'r highness." He said a faint smirk cracking his visage of hard stone. Midnight gave him a contemplative look before she settled down in her bed. She gave Gadget one last thought before she drifted off into a peaceful sleep, assured that none would harm her while she was under Gadget's guarding gaze. 



11:28 P.M.

Midnight was roused form her slumber by a soft snoring sound. Her eye's quickly adjusted to the darkness letting her see in perfect clarity that Gadget had fallen asleep while still standing up. She snickered at this sight and really wished she had a camera right now. She shimmied out from under her cover's and went over to the sleeping stallion. She looked at him. If she didn't know any better she would have thought he was still standing guard. But she waved her hoof in front of his face and he didn't budge. She then sighed and shook her head.

"You could have just came to bed." She snorted and went to her door. She slowly opened it with her magic.

Let's see. Where are the kitchen's now? Midnight wandered the hall's of the desolate castle as she made her way to the kitchen's. 

11:30 P.M.

Gadget awoke to the sound of a door closing nearby. 

"uh huh wha?" His head shot up to Midnight's bed.

Oh Crap! He thought noticing that she wasn't in it. He frantically searched the room for her but found nothing. Then his eye's came to a stop looking at her door.

Could she have gone out for a walk? He opened the door and peaked out into the hall. He saw nothing then he went back into the room. He rummaged through his over night bag.

"Aha never leave home without it." He said as he pulled out a pair of sun glasses. He put them on and lit up his horn. The glasses flashed to life with all sort's of data as they scanned the room. They beeped a little tune indicating that they had found something. He adjusted his magic and his glasses showed him the last set of hoof print's that were outlined on the floor. He saw that they belonged to Midnight. She got up from her bed came over to him and then exited out the room. He shook his head and sighed.

"I really hope this doesn't get put on my permanent record." He said as he set off down the hallway fallowing her hoof prints.

A few minute's later of fallowing the glowing trace's of magic left over from Midnight's stroll through the castle had led Gadget to the kitchen's. Must have wanted a midnight snack. He chuckled at his unintended pun. He scanned the Kitchen's and saw Midnight sitting there a sandwich in her magic's grasp starring off into the distance as she took a bite. He smiled. She look's so peaceful. Then he chuckled. As quietly as he could he made his way to the door. He gently knocked on it with a hoof.

"Midnight? You in there?" He heard a gasp from the other side of the door and a second later he was pulled into the kitchen by a worried looking Midnight.

"Gadget? What are you doing here?" She asked looking confused now. Gadget meanwhile looked around the kitchen. There were pot's pan's and several other thing's all strewn about the place.

"So you made all of this mess." Gadget said waving a hoof around. "Just to make that?" He said pointing to the sandwich Midnight was holding. She looked around and then gave him a sheepish look.

"Well i was tired and maybe a little drunk." she said her face heating up. Gadget just chuckled. He tapped the side of his glasses and they went to work scanning the kitchen.

"What are those? the're new." Midnight said looking at the dark orange shade's Gadget had on.

"These are a prototype." He said as they flashed green. Then a small voice rang out. "Scan complete. The use of a clean sweep spell is highly recommended." Midnight was puzzled.

"Is that the same voice from the car?" She asked. The mention of the car had dredged up some painful memory's for Gadget but he soon buried them and answered Midnight's question.

"Yes." He said as he adjusted his power setting on his glasses. Midnight nodded in understanding. She had listened to Gadget when he first explained all of this stuff to her and she got most of it. Some of it though still went over her head. Soon his horn lit up. In a flash of green light the whole kitchen was spotless just as it had been when Midnight first walked in.

"Wow that was impressive." She starred at the clean marble floor. Every bit of dust and grime was gone. She heard Gadget panting hard and looked over to see him leaning onto the counter for support.

"Gadget!" She said as she ran over and supported him with her wing. He looked like he was about to pass out.

"Are you ok? What happened?" His glasses flashed and then he through them off of his face and into the wast bin. A muffled fwump! was heard and a tiny smoke trail soon billowed out of the metal trash bin.

"Well." Gadget said as he took in deep breath's. "I used the clean sweep spell like it said but the glasses internal battery didn't have enough magic left to function properly. So i compensated with some of my own." He looked over to the small trash bin that was now smelling like burnt peanut butter. He shook his head.

"The amount of magic that i had to put through the glasses was to much. I ended up overloading the electrical circuit's and frying the power converter's." He said as his feet began to stop shaking. He finally got on his own four feet again. Midnight looked at him. He looked a little tired but he was as good as ever in a few breath's. Then she shook her head.

"You are quite reckless you know that?" She said a smile on her face. He smiled back.

"Yah well what can i say. I wouldn't be even half of the great scientist i am today if i didn't take some risk's." He said as he dug through the trash bin for his now destroyed pair of glasses. He found them. The glass lenses were blown to hell and back but the frame was still intact enough to be salvaged. He put the frame away for later. Then he gave Midnight smirk.

"So Princess shall we retire to your quarter's for the night?" He asked. Midnight thought about it. Then she smiled.

"Well i have one final stop to make for the night." She said as she lead the way out of the kitchen. Gadget just bowed and fallowed along.





11:43 P.M. 

Gadget's eye's had fully adjusted to the dark empty hallway's of the castle but he was still lost as to where they were going. But he trusted Midnight so he continued to fallow her. Soon they came to a huge set of double door's. He tilted his head in thought.

Now were have i seen those before? The huge doors were engulfed in a fuchsia glow as they began to creek open. As Gadget stepped through the archway into the room recognition hit him like a brick to the face.

The ball room. He then looked from the room to Midnight who was making her way to the middle of the floor. once she got there she looked over her shoulder and motioned for Gadget to come closer. He looked a little apprehensive but he obeyed. When he got to the center of the ball room floor with Midnight she just closed her eye's and a smile came to her face.

"What kind of music do you like?" She asked. Gadget was caught off guard by the strange question.

"Princess?" He asked not sure how to respond.

"What kind of music do you like?" She repeated. He thought about it.

Well i really like classical. Midnight smiled. That is a good choice. 

"What!?" He said jumping back a little bit. He looked around for the owner of the voice and stopped when he saw the princess snickering to herself.

"Princess w-w-was that you?" He stuttered a little bit. She did not answer instead she asked another question.

"Gadget do you remember any classical song's from your youth?" she asked. Gadget was stuck. So he thought about the list of song's he knew by heart. One of them stuck out more than the other's.

"Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata." He spoke out loud. Midnight looked puzzled. She had never heard of a composer by that name or the song.

"Could you sing it for me?" she asked. Gadget thought about it.

"I am a horrible singer." He stated. Midnight fained shock.

"Oh so there are some thing's you don't know how to do." She jested. He smiled.

"There are a lot of thing's i don't know how to do." He said but his face lit up.

"But i think i can let you hear the music of my youth." He said a small smile on his face.

"Oh really how?" Midnight asked.

Just listen to my thought's. He smiled as Midnight's eye's widened in shock. She looked at him

"How?" She asked. He just laughed.

"You aren't the only one with psychic ability's." He said a mirthful smirk on his face. Midnight just smiled.

Ok then. Let's hear this music of your's. Gladly. He thought as he bowed to Midnight. Then she heard the moth beautiful sound of her life as the piano for the sonata started up. She soon found herself dancing to the tune of the instrument as the sonata continued to resound through both pony's head's. As Midnight swayed to the sound's she looked over and saw Gadget tapping his hoof's to the soft melody. Midnight just rolled her eye's and in one fell swoop she grabbed Gadget propped him up  on his hind leg's and began to waltz.

"Wow princess what are you doing?" He said to shocked to go along. She just shushed him.

Be calm and just fallow my lead. She thought as she placed his right fore hoof around her back. Slowly she then began to to walk back word's leading with her left hind leg..

All right now when i go back bring your right leg along with my left. Gadget did as he was told and almost fell over. He was caught however thank's to Midnight's magic.

Good, good. Now when i bring my right leg back you bring your left leg up and spin me around like so. She said as she brought her right leg back and using her leverage on Gadget to swing him around her. He planted his hooves firmly on the floor when he stopped and Midnight held him there. 

All right now that we have the basic's down let's do that but faster. She said a grin forming on her face. Gadget just stared at her a blank expression on his face as he steeled himself for the lesson to come.



12:00 A.M.

For the past 20 minute's Gadget and Midnight just waltzed around the ball room. Gadget was getting better by the minute. He was not as good as Midnight but she was having to catch him with her magic less and less. Eventually the two just swayed from side to side holding each other enjoying the closeness of there body's to one another.

"So." Gadget said trying to stay awake in the princess's hooves. She hummed to signal that she was listening.

"Why didn't you dance with the Prince this evening?" He asked out of curiosity. It was obvious from her impromptu dance lesson that she knew how to move on the floor. She just sighed.

"He was not a suitable dance partner." she said.

"Plus i was tired from all the day's activity's." Gadget was stumped.

How could the prince not be a suitable dance partner? He thought about it. Midnight stopped dancing and sighed.

"Do not concern your self with whom i dance with." She said a bit more forcefully than she had intended. Gadget flinched at that.

"Sorry your majesty." He said reverting to soldier mode. She smiled.

"Do not worry. You were more than good enough to dance with tonight." she stated. Gadget just blushed. Midnight laughed.

"In fact i would like to do this again sometime." She stated as she and Gadget separated. Gadget just smiled weakly and nodded his head.

"U-u-um y-yah i-i w-w-would l-l-like to do t-his a- again to." His stuttering was getting the best of him. Midnight smiled and motioned for Gadget to fallow her. The two made there way back to her room thanks to Midnight's suburb night vision. Gadget went to his own bed and flopped down falling asleep instantly.

"Sweet dream's midnight." He drowsily said. Midnight chuckled. She went over and gave him a kiss on his forehead.

"Sweet dream's my knight." She went to her bed and slept a deep wonderful sleep that night. 
> Chapter 5: A Brother's Duty, A Sister's Lament. 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

7, 21, 1000, C.E.
Canterlot Castle, Canterlot.
8:00 A.M.

Gadget and Midnight made there way to the dining hall for breakfast. The two were very giddy this morning having made plan's for another late night dance session tonight. The two of them laughed and joked the whole way to the table. Gadget pulled out Midnight's seat and she bowed to show her gratitude. Midnight used her magic to get Gadget's seat for him. He sat down next to her and smiled. The Whole table was consumed in conversation. Princess Cadance looked at the two pony's and smiled. The she felt another's emotion's swell as well. She looked over to see Prince Charlemagne who looked as composed as ever. He gave Gadget some glare's every now and then but he kept his emotion's under control. Then he smiled.

"Lady Midnight?" He asked catching the princess's and everypony else's attention. Midnight looked to Charlemagne.

"Yes Sir Charlemagne?" She answered. Charlemagne smiled at her use of his proper title.

"Would you like to go on a walk with me? After breakfast?" He asked looking hopeful. Midnight thought about it.Not wanting to appear rude in front of the whole table she shrugged her shoulder's.

"Sure. I see no reason why not." Charlemagne's heart soared. Midnight not wanting to be caught alone and unaware's with a foreign dignitary smiled. "If it's all right with you i would like to bring my knight with me." She said continuing to eat her food. Charlemagne's heart crashed and burned in a fiery inferno. He looked over to Gadget who was busy munching on a waffle like a little puppy. He cursed internally. The Prince put on a fake smile.

"Sure your majesty." He said not breaking a sweat.



9:00 A.M.
Canterlot Royal Garden's. 

Midnight, Gadget and Charlemagne made there way through Canterlot's famous sculptor garden. Gadget had been through it a few time's with his family but it still had a captivating quality to it. Midnight looked to and fro as they made there way through the garden's taking in all of the finely sculpted art. Her eye's continually darted from one piece of art to the next. Gadget found it amusing. 

Charlemagne found it a nuisance. He had wanted to talk to Midnight, not go sight seeing. It was bad enough he had to abide Sir Sky-Rose's presence, now he couldn't even get a word in edge wise as Midnight found something new to look at every five second's.

"Sir Sky-Rose, Sir Charlemagne come and look at this!" Midnight shouted darting off in some new direction like a newborn filly. If the Prince did not know any better he would have thought that she was one. The two stallion's fallowed there exuberant companion in stride. Finally to escape the clutch's of boredom Charlemagne looked to his unwelcome tag along. He weighed his option's.

"Sir Sky Rose." He asked sounding no less cheerful than usual. Gadget looked back to him and inclined his head.

"Yes your highness?" He answered as he hung back to match Charlemagne's pace. 

Charlemagne took a second to look at Gadget's feature's. Without his armor on he the Prince could see that despite his shortcoming's Gadget was a stout built pony that could hold his own in a fight. He was small being a unicorn. The Prince was taller than he by about half a tail's length. Gadget however had the well toned muscle's of a mechanic, and each step he took oozed a strong confidence. 

All in all The Prince had an uphill battle to fight with this stallion who had seen fit to lay eye's on his queen. It would not be easy. Not by a long shot, but when The Prince stood victorious over his foe's broken body he would have to congratulate the fool on a hard fought battle. As the prince was lost in his musing's Gadget shrugged his shoulder's and continued to walk up to Midnight. She however stood at the base of a stone statue, looking livid at the vile thought's floating about the prince's mind. 

She spun around raining death glare's at the unsuspecting Prince.

"THAT ARROGANT, VILE, PIECE OF----" Her anger was however interrupted by the sound of foal's laughing and cheering.





"All right my little pony's, right this way." Princess Celestia said as she lead a troupe of small foal's through the Canterlot Royal Garden's. Behind her Sweetie Bell, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Hot Shot along with the rest of the ponyville school house all fallowed Princess Celestia through her sculpture garden. The Princess pointed to a sculpture with three little foal's playing with one another.

"That statue my little pony's represent's friendship." She said starring at it with fond eye's. The school foal's all got a good look at the statue. The C.M.C. looked at it then moved on to the next one. Hot Shot fallowed after them. Celestia saw were they were heading and smirked. She then pointed to the next statue that the C.M.C was heading toward's.

"Hot Shot, Girl's." She called out getting the young foal's attention's. They all stopped and looked at the princess giving her sheepish grin's. The Princess just smiled.

"Do you four know what that statue mean's?" She said. The statue was one of a stone pony standing on it's hind leg's holding up an orange flag. The group just looked at it.

"Um." Was there collective response. Celestia chuckled to herself. She opened her mouth to speech but was cut off by the voice of Princess Midnight.

"Sir Charlemagne I thank you for your hospitality this morning. But  i am afraid that my royal duty is upon me." She said as she bowed to the Prince who was looking lost and confused. She then grabbed Gadget and made her way through the garden to Princess Celestia and the group of foal's. Gadget just looked at Midnight who was looking furious. As Gadget noticed this he also saw dark storm cloud's begin to gather around the garden's.

"Um Midnight are you ok?" He asked tentatively. She looked at him first in anger but as she saw him flinch back her face fell.

"Oh um." She sighed and shook her head.

"No Sir Sky Rose i am not ok." She said feeling guilty for scaring  Gadget. He felt all of her emotion's.

"So what has you so upset and confused?" He said giving the Princess a smile. She looked at him and smiled back.

"Sir Charlemagne just overstepped his bound's." She said giving his name a spit in the dirt. The Prince was on his way back to the castle luckily for him. Gadget thought back to there conversation.

"How did he do that?" He asked looking puzzled. Midnight was about to let Gadget in on the prince's thought's but they were both interrupted by three thing's. The first was Gadget getting hug/tackled to the ground by a bright yellow and red blur.

"Gadget!" Hot Shot yelled as he and Gadget rolled in the dirt. Gadget just laughed as he rolled onto his back and bounced Hot Shot off of his hooves.

"Hey squirt! How's it going?" He said as Hot Shot steadied himself in the air just above Gadget's outstretched hooves. Hot Shot hung in the air and thought about his day.

"Well this morning Apple Bloom had milk coming out her nose during breakfast." He said exuberantly. Apple Bloom just tried to slink away making herself as small as possible. Gadget just laughed as he touched hooves with Hot Shot and balanced him there. His face was screwed up in concentration on not letting his little brother fall. As soon as that thought reached his brain however his world went blank.

Brother? Is that who he's become? Gadget looked up at Hot Shot. His face was one of pure happiness as he and Gadget played about. He knew that the two were getting closer by the day. They had been to trip's to the park, to the arcade, even to the library to study up on some stuff. All in all they had been spending more time together than Gadget realized. He was brought back to reality by a soft knock on the head.

"Hey are you listening?" He looked up to see Hot Shot dangling on his hooves, a stern look on his face with his fore hooves crossed. Gadget laughed at the display. He ruffled Hot Shot's hair.

" Haha yah little guy. I hear ya." He said picking Hot Shot up and putting him on his back with his magic. All the while the Princess's and the group of foal's were all looking on, giddy look's of excitement on there face's. One of the foal's spoke up.

"Excuse me Sir Sky-Rose?" Gadget looked over to the group.

"Oh hey kid's." He said noticing them all standing there. His face went from happy to awkward nervousness. He scratched the back of his head.

"So. What bring's all of you here?" He asked no pony in particular. The Princess's both laughed at Gadget's sudden bout of bashfulness. Sweetie Bell's hoof shot into the air. Gadget called on her.

"Yes. Sweetie Bell, what can i do for you?" He asked as he walked over to the group and sat down. She looked between Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Then the three huddled together to have a "Private Conversation" which wasn't so much private as really lowly whispered. Gadget calmed down a little bit. He then plopped down in the dirt tucked his tail underneath his leg's and waited for the girl's to ask him a question. Meanwhile the same colt from before asked Gadget a question.



"You ask him."

"No you ask him. You and Rarity are the one's always going on about how wonderful it is to have your own Knight in Shining Armor." Scootaloo said as she fainted swooning. Apple Bloom gave them both look's of disapproval.

"Why don't we all ask him a question." She asked looking between her two friend's. They all nodded in agreement and turned around. Gadget looked like he was studying a cloud in the sky very intently, as he tried to not pry into there "Secret Conversation". He looked over and saw them all looking at him. He clapped his hooves together.

"So girl's what can i do for you?" He asked again. The Three looked at him with giddy smile's on there face's.




9:34, A.M.

After Gadget's  impromptu field trip through the garden's with the foal's the small group of colt's and filly left with Princess Celestia to go take a look at the royal bed chamber's. "Were the fluffiest and softest pillow's in the realm reside." According to Princess Luna, who passed the group on her way to her own royal quarter's. All of the foal's left, except for one.

"So big bro what are you and the princess up to today?" Hot Shot asked as he tagged along with Gadget as they and Midnight made their way's to the royal counsel hall. Gadget flinched a little bit as being called Bro. He never had a little brother. To have one now was....a daunting thought to say the least. He still wasn't entirely comfortable with the title. He looked down to Hot Shot's inquisitive face. He smiled.

"Well squirt we're on our way to one of the most 'exciting' part's of being a princess." He said winking at Midnight who gave him a chuckle and a roll of her eye's. She smiled to for it would be a long and boring couple of hour's ahead of them. She might not get to smile like this for the rest of the day. Hot Shot didn't get the sarcasm in Gadget's voice and was shaking from excitement.

"Oh boy what are we going to go do now!?" He said hopping onto Gadget's back. The stallion looked back at Hot Shot and smiled.

"Well you'll just have to wait till we get there." He said. Then he looked over at Midnight. He just smiled. He turned his head and whispered to Hot Shot. His face lit up and he shook his head vigorously. Midnight overheard to two conspirator's.

"And just what are you two planning?" She asked a smirk on her face. The two just smiled in unison. This somewhat unnerved her. Then they spoke in unison.

"Oh you just something really fun" The Princess stopped and looked at the two.

"Are you both ok?" She asked looking concerned. They had never done anything like this. The two just smiled. Then Hot Shot spoke up.

"We have just one question Princess." She looked at them.

"Ok?" Then Gadget spoke.

"Are you ready?" Midnight looked at them.

"Ready for what?"

"To get set." 

"Get set for what?" She asked confused.

"GO!" They both shouted at the same time, startling the Princess into a stupor. She sat there for a few second's.

"Last one to the council chamber's is a rotten egg!" By the time Midnight got what their little joke was the duo was long gone. She used her royal voice to shout at the two.

"YOU WONT GET AWAY THAT EASILY!" She flew off after them.



The Prince was packing his bag's. His two day stay for the royal conference was up tonight. While he had tried to gain the favor of his Princess he had fallen short. He would give it one more shot tonight at the annual Royal Game's. He would prove his worth to his Princess in front of the whole stadium of pony's. He would crush his adversary and proclaim himself the rightful suitor for Princess Midnight. He heard a loud voice sweep through the castle.

"Midnight?" He packed the last of his thing's and then made his way to the Royal Council. When he got there he saw something that made his blood boil. Gadget was standing there with a small foal on his back. That in and of itself was not what earned the Prince's wrath. The two were dancing a little jig in place as Midnight looked on. She was shaking her head in obvious disapproval at the two's antic's. And they were blatantly disregarding her!

"That loathsome cur needs to be put in his place." The Prince spoke as he made his way back to his chamber's. 



Midnight stood there shaking her head laughing at the two's silly dance. Well it was more of Gadget just prancing about in place while Hot Shot clung to his head trying not to fall off. She just mused about the night's festivity's as the two went about there silliness. Then her eye's lit up. She knew how she could get them back. Well at least she could get the ring leader back. Her smirk got wider by the second. Gadget finally got tired of dancing in place and sat down with a huff.

"So Princess now that we're here what exactly are we going to do?" The Princess just smiled.

"Well i will have to take up responsibility's for the day court while Tia play's tour guide." She said as they made there way to the Royal Council Seat.



Meanwhile,...

Scream's of pain and agony could be heard from behind the huge metal door. It had replaced the other one that Midnight had ripped off it's hinge's earlier that year. Princess Celestia smiled as the group of foal's neared the door with horror etched into there face's. She pointed to the door.

"This my little pony's is the royal dungeon's were we put all of the bad evil pony's that don't want to do there homework or listen to there parent's. It's also were we put all of the bad and mean pony's that want to hurt other's." She said a sadistic smile adorning her muzzle. And they said i would never make a god tour guide. Well i guess i showed them. I'll have to go down there and give them a raise for there good acting.
> Chapter 6: Chaos Unbound, Part 1.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

7, 21, 1000, C.E.
12:00 P.M.
Royal Lunch Banquet.

After a long and boring morning of answering question after question and listening to petition's from royal snob's Midnight just wanted to sit down and relax. So when lunch time came around she grabbed Gadget and Hot Shot and bolted out the royal council. A few minute's later she and her cargo were deposited at the long table full of food as far as the eye could see. Midnight stretched out her wing's after being cooped up in that awful chair for several hour's.

"Awww It truly feel's good to be out of that room." She said as she sat down in a seat next to Luna who looked like she just woke up. Midnight saw that her mane was a mess. It looked frazzled as if she had been struck by lightning. Midnight chuckled as Luna looked like she was about to fall face first into her bowl of cereal.

"Sis are you ok?" She asked failing to stifle her laughter. Luna looked at her and smirked.

"Alas dear sister. We art fine. Just as you would say 'a little out of it'." She said as she wobbled a little bit. Midnight just looked upon her tired sister with and shook her head.

"You really should take some time off." She said as she grabbed a bagel and began to spread butter on it. Soon the group was joined by Princess Celestia, who had a wicked smile on her face. In the background the group heard the school pony's all rushing out the door as Cheri lee headed to the train station.

"So dear sister's did i miss anything?" She asked as she grabbed a slice of cake and put it on a plate. Midnight eyed the cake from her spot at the table. She smirked.

"Well dear sister you missed out on nothing. The day court was boring as usual." She said as her horn flared up. Celestia smiled as went to take a bite of her cake. Only to have her fork strike thin air. Celestia's eye's narrowed to pinprick's.

"Midnight?" Midnight smirked.

"Yes dear sister?" She replied batting her eyelash's a look of pure innocence on her face.

"Do you remember the conversation we had before about not touching my cake?" She said her eye's trying to burn a hole thew Midnight's smug face.

"Why yes big sis i do remember." She said as she calmly look a sip of her tea not flinching. Celestia looked like she was getting angrier by the minute.

"And do you remember what happened the last time you stole my cake!?" She barked across the table. Midnight thought back to that fateful day. Then she smirked.

"Yes i remember. I remember that the next week i awoke in a crate on the doorstep of my knight's house." She said as she took another bite of her food. The Princess's conversation was interrupted by the big wooden double door's to the dining hall being throne open. The last person Midnight wanted to see came striding through the door's, a huge grin on his face. Midnight gave Celestia her cake back and then began to stare at her food intently. Gadget noticed the sudden shift in mood and looked to her with concern.

"Lady Midnight are you ok?" He asked looking worried. She looked to him then to Charlemagne who took a seat directly across from Midnight. He looked to her and smiled softly. She looked from him to Gadget. And shook her head. That strange feeling was back. This time it was more intense than before. She looked to Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. They all looked from Midnight to The Prince. The Prince however was oblivious to there look's. He simply cleared his throat.

"My dear lady Midnight do you have the evening off tonight?" He asked. She looked at him with a confused face.

"No Sir Charlemagne i do not." The Prince looked sad at this new's. Midnight however went on.

"For i shall be attending the game's tonight." The Prince looked thrilled. Well it seem's my plan shall work after all. Midnight's eye's narrowed. What plan? The Prince looked at Gadget who was sitting tall and proud by his majesty's side calmly eating a bowl of cereal. Charlemagne scowled at him looking so content next to his queen. He looked like he was about to lunge across the table at Gadget, but he soon thought better of it. Once i defeat you tonight i will have my audience with the Queen. Midnight's curiosity got the better of her.

"Sir Charlemagne what are your plan's tonight?" The Prince was shocked but composed himself. He cleared his throat shooting Gadget a gleeful smirk. 

"Well your highness i planning on participating in the gladiatorial spectacle tonight." The whole table was silent for a second. Then Gadget piped up.

"Oh so your a fan of the arena?" He asked smiling. The Prince shot him a glare.

"Yes Sir Sky-Rose. What concern of yours is it?" The Prince snapped. Gadget just smiled.

"Well i was planning on participating as well." He said musing at the thought. The Prince looked at Gadget.

"You? Really?" He said giving the unicorn a deadpan look of disbelief. He had hoped to challenge Gadget to a match in the arena. Now the idiot was making it to easy. The Prince kept his wits about him thow. He knew that even thow his adversary was a buffoon he still attained the title of knight. That in and of its self deserved his begrudging respect, no matter how little of it he gave. The Prince eyed Gadget like he was a piece of meat left out to dry. Princess Midnight was not liking the viscous thought's running through the prince's head at the moment. They were all about him standing over Gadget's dead body in various manner's of death and dismemberment.

Gadget was picking up on The Prince's negative emotion's directed at him and he was looking nervous.

"Why does he hate me so much?" He asked Midnight. She nearly choked on her glass of whine she was drinking. As soon as her fit of coughing stopped she looked between Gadget and The Prince. The whole table looked at her like she had grown a second head. She laughed nervously at the concerned stare's.

"Oh don't mind me." She calmly stated taking a small sip from her wine glass. Her cheeks were flushed from embarrassment. The Prince gave her one last sympathetic look before he turned to Gadget, his smile replaced with a scowl.

"Soon my queen you will be mine and we shall live a long,lovely, life together." The Prince was lost in his day dream's.

"oh sweet merciful heavens above." Midnight thought She poked at her salad with her fork and grumbling to herself pushed it away from herself. As she did so Gadget gave her a look of concern. Midnight cleared her throat.

"My dear sister's i am sorry for having to cut my lunch with you short but i must take my leave." She said bowing to her co-ruler's. Celestia and Luna gave Midnight concerned look's.

"Midnight is everything all right?" Celestia asked scanning her sister's feature's for any sign of distress. She saw some, but then it was replaced with a fierce look of determination. Luna picked up on her sister's emotion's.

"Yes dear sister tell us what doth trouble thee so?" Midnight looked from her sister's to the Prince. Then her gaze settled on Gadget and her face twisted into a vicious smile. "You will not loose this night Gadget!" She said steeling her resolve.

"I have an important errand to run." She said giving her sister's a wink. Princess Celestia and Luna gave each other a puzzled look. Before they could inquire as to what the errand was Midnight was out the door dragging Gadget away from his food and out into the city beyond.

Hot Shot looked after them with confusion. He shrugged his shoulder's and went back to eating his food. Princess Cadance looked at his with a smile. She then nudged Shining Armor and whispered something into his ear. She looked from her to Hot Shot. Hot Shot payed them no mind. He just continued eating.

"Hey Hot Shot?" Shining asked. Hot Shot looked up from his food giving Shining a inquisitive look.

"Yes?" Shining smiled.

"Hoe would you like to cheer on your brother at the Coliseum tonight?" Hot Shot looked over from Shining to the city. He looked at the city longingly. He shook his head.

"Sure that would be nice." Shining nodded and went back to eating his food.


1:00 P.M. Canterlot Grand Coliseum.

Gadget was puzzled but he followed his Majesty none the less. He knew the coliseum was huge but he had never been inside it before. His face was alight with curiosity as both of them went to the sign up booth for the festivity's this evening. While Gadget acted like a foul in a candy shop, Midnight laughed at his antic's and went to go and sign them both up. "Oh yes this plan will go off without a hitch." She thought to herself. After that she went over to Gadget who was examining a rack of ancient gladiatorial weaponry. He gingerly poked a spear with his hoof.

"Ouch!" He said pulling his hoof back, a tiny dot of blood staining his black coat crimson. He turned to Midnight who had an amused look on her face.

"So done inspecting the scenery?" She asked. He nodded his head sucking on his hoof like a foal.

"Here let me see." Midnight said as she grasped Gadget's hoof in her magic. The blood had stopped flowing but there was still a dark stain on his hoof. Midnight looked at it with a sudden hunger welling up inside of her.

"Midnight? You ok?" Gadget's voice broke the spell Midnight was under and she shook her head to get the thought's of blood off her mind. She gave Gadget a timid smile.

"Uh yes i-i'm fine." She said as she let go of his hoof and began to walk back to the middle of the arena. Gadget looked at her with mild concern. He soon fallowed after her. When the two were in the middle of the arena Midnight cleared her throat. At this unspoken command Gadget stood at attention. Midnight giggled at this but soon she took up a serious look upon her face.

"Now Sir Sky-Rose can you tell me why we are here?" She asked him. He looked at her with a small smirk creeping across his muzzle.

"Well My Lady i can assume that we are here to do something of import in regard's to the festivities scheduled for tonight?" He said looking strait ahead. Midnight had to fight to hide her laughter. She didn't really care much for formality's but Gadget took his duty's very seriously. She loved to tease him to no end.

She slowly made her way over to him and then began to circle him, inspecting him.

"Toned muscle's, Stout stance, Not very big for a stallion but big enough to hold his own in a fight,"- While Midnight studied Gadget he stood as still as a plank of wood.- "All in all if he had more access to his magic he would be a formidable fighter in the arena." Once Midnight was done she stood in front of him hung her head and sighed. Gadget's composer faltered a little as she radiated wave's of sadness.

"Princess are you ok?" He said taking a step forward. As he did so he felt her emotion's change on a dime. She went from sad to happy. He was puzzled. Suddenly her head shot up, a demented smile on her face, and she shot out a powerful blast of magic aimed directly at Gadget's head.

Canterlot Royal Garden's.

In the deepest part of the secluded garden's a stone statue of a strange creature began to get hairline fracture's on it's smooth surface. Through these small crack's, if one pressed there ear's against the cold stone, bit's of demented evil laughter could be heard.
> Chapter 7: Chaos Unbound, Part 2.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

4:00 P.M. Canterlot Coliseum.

Gadget laid on his side panting and sweating profusely from Midnight's impromptu fighting lessen's. Midnight meanwhile was standing in the background drinking from a water bottle a look of pure joy on her face. She eyed Gadget up and down.

"Well i did all i could. The way the night end's will be up to him." She walked over to the gasping stallion and sat next to him extending her water bottle. He gulped it down without a second thought and flopped back down to the cool dirt floor. She snickered at his condition. He looked up at her smirk with a scowl.

"If you wanted me dead why not just kill me now and get it over with?" He asked as he struggled to get to his hooves. Midnight just laughed and gave him a hoof. He grasped it and pulled himself up. Once he was on his hooves, Midnight decided to go to a nearby park to cool off from there sparring match. He followed after giving the arena one last glance.

"I hope tonight go's smoothly." He whispered to himself.

4:30 P.M. Ponyville.

Twilight was sitting in her tree house reading a nice book when all of a sudden she heard a loud crash from downstairs.

"Spike?" She called out. She didn't get an answer so she went down to the first floor. As she descended the stairs she went rigid. 

"Spike is at rarity's today." Slowly she tip toed the rest of the way down the flight of stair's. She heard more rattling around and found the noise emanating from the kitchen. She lit up her horn preparing to cast any number of spell's at her unknown assailant. Feeling confident in her element of surprise she rounded the corner with blinding speed only to see her fridge had been ransacked. Whoever had done it left in a hurry. A small bowl of what used to be oat's and honey was on the floor, the bowl was spinning on it's edge, the oat's and honey was gone.

"Who?" Twilight thought as she stated at the mess that had been her nice clean kitchen. She was so shocked she didn't notice the pony sneaking up on her until it was to late. 

"HEY TWILIGHT!!" Twilight then did one of two thing's. First she screamed at the top of her lung's. This in and of it's self didn't faze the intruder. What happened next was a complete shock to both pony's. Twilight spun around and fired off her spell but the intruder proved to be faster. She ducked underneath the spell and it missed her by a hair's breath.

"Wow twi that one would have hurt." Came the unmistakable voice of a curtain pink party throwing pony.

"PINKY!?" Twilight screamed in both shock and confusion, a twisted look coming to her face as she tried to process all that happened in the past 10 second's. Finally Twilight got her brain to form a coherent thought and asked one simple question.

"Pinky what in the wide wide world of equestria are you doing here?" Pinky actually thought about it. then without warning she began to shake very violently and vibrate around the room.

"T-t-t-t-h-h-h-i-i-i-i-i-i-s-s-s-s-s-s i-i-i-s-s-s w-w-w-h-h-h-y-y-y-y i-i-i-m-m-m-m h-h-h-e-e-e-r-r-r-e-e-e." Pinky said as she began to bounce all over the tree house. Twilight brought up a spell to catch the demented pink cannon ball. Eventually pinky's violent shaking and bouncing stopped. Twilight set her down and she collapsed onto the floor looking exhausted for the first time in.... ever. Twilight walked around her friend scanning her for any abnormality's. She tried to not think of the paradoxical nature of that thought and focused on finding any explanation for her friend's current problem. She didn't find anything. She held her head low as she gave pinky the new's.

"I'm sorry pinky, but i can't seem to find anything wrong with you.. beyond what we already have." She added with a sheepish smile. Pinky laughed.

"Oh twilight i knew you wouldn't be able to help me all by yourself. My pinky sense tole me to come here because something big was was going to happen." Pinky said as she raised her hoof's in exclamation. That little burst of happiness however tired Pinky out far more than she thought it would. Pinky went from standing and smiling to face planting on the wooden floor of the tree house and light's out, snoring in sleep. Twilight wen over and poked the mare. She did not stir.

"Oh no now what am i going to do?" Twilight thought to herself. Just as she was about to go upstairs there was a loud knock on the front door. Twilight looked at the door with trepidation.

"Who could that be?" She asked herself. More knocking came from the door this time more frantic that the last. Twilight rushed over to it and looked through the peephole. On the other side was an excited looking Spike hopping up and down. 

"Twilight you gotta see this!" He shouted through the thick wooden door. Twilight could see that spike had something clutched in his stubby little claws. She quickly yanked the door open, flung him inside and slammed the door shut. When his world stopped spinning from the sudden rush of blood to his head he looked around the tree house and saw pinky passed out on the floor.

"Uh Twilight what happened?" He asked poking pinky with a claw. Twilight shook her head.

"That is a very convoluted story spike." Twilight looked at a scrunched up piece of paper spike was holding.

"What is that spike?"

"Huh? Oh this!" He said realizing the importance of the packet he was carrying. He smiled as he waved the packet around.

"These are our ticket's for the battle royal tonight in the Canterlot Coliseum." He said striking a pose. Twilight snickered as she brought the ticket's up to her face.

"Let's see here, 5,6,7 ticket's to the arena tonight." She looked from the ticket's to pinky and shook her head.

"I guess i'd better go get the girl's. We''ll have to catch an express train if we want to make to canterlot on time."

5:00 P.M. Canterlot Coliseum. 

The gladiatorial reenactment was only a few hour's away now and Gadget was pumped. He was full of pent up energy and the pony's outside were as well. He could literally feel the excitement in the air. He and the other contestant's were in the waiting room checking all of there gear to make sure it was safe for the upcoming fight's. Gadget was strapping his sword to his back when he was suddenly jerked off his hoof's and brought muzzle to muzzle with Midnight.

"Uh Princess what are---" Gadget's breath caught in his throat as he felt a soft pair of lip's press themselves to his cheek. His face was beet red.

"W-w-w-what w-w-w-was t-t-t-that f-f-f-f-for?" Gadget asked trying to contain his stutter. Midnight gave him a playful smirk as she stuck her tongue out at him, her head cocked to the side and her eye's giving him a predatory glare. 

"Well my knight you must do your best tonight." She said as she sashayed around him swishing her tail about his form. She stopped in front of Gadget and stared him in the eye's. He squirmed under her gaze looking all around the giant stone room. The other contestant's were paying the princess no mind, all except for Prince Charlemagne. He was glaring at Gadget with the intent to kill. Midnight seemed hell bent on pushing all of the prince's button's tonight. She stopped her scrutiny of gadget and with one smooth motion she brushed her cheek against Gadget's and let out a soft sigh of content.

"Be brave my knight. And make your enemy's suffer under your steel clad hoof. Don't give them the benefit of mercy. Strike them down with a vengeance and all of the fury of an unbridled storm!" She stomped her hoof into the stone floor for, emboldening her speech with the sound of thunder overhead and leaving an indent in the cold white marble. 

Gadget gulped down his fear at her fierce display and nodded his head in agreement.

"Yes your highness. I shall do my best to make sure my opponent's are dispatched with haste and ease." He said as he nervously bowed his head. Midnight went from fierce and determined to bright and cheery like the flip of a switch.

"Good! Then i and our compatriot's shall be chairing for you in the stand's." And without missing a beat she turned around and left the room, a soft smile on her face as she hummed a little tune to herself.  The Prince had made his way over to Gadget who was stuck in a stupor over Midnight's odd display. 

"That Mare scare's me." He said to Gadget as he pulled on his this metal helmet. Gadget gave no argument there. He studied the other contestant's in tonight's line up. All in all there was a grand total of six pony's fighting in tonight's gladiator game's. One of them caught his eye. He squinted to get a better look.

"Swift Wing!" He exclaimed as he bounded towards the pegasus. Swift for his part looked up to the voice and smiled.

"Hey there, Sir Sky-Rose." He said as he exaggeratedly bowed to Gadget. Gadget just laughed at this and took up a regal look.

"Thank you, peasant. You may rise and look upon the posh beauty that is me!" Gadget said failing to keep a straight face. The Prince looked at the two and was instantly reminded of why he hated Gadget so much.

"And now he make's fun of his own rank and title." He thought shaking his head. Charlemagne just looked around in disgust. The other combatant's were hardly what he would call arena material.

"These nitwits couldn't fight there way out of a paper bag. Let alone fight on the battlefield." The prince just went back to his little spot on the floor and began to pull out his spear. It was a simple design, a flat spade shaped blade serrated on both end's for maximum damage. It was only 5 feet long but that was more than enough reach to run his enemy's through. Of course with these game's tonight thing's would be different. they wouldn't be fighting to the death, but to the last man standing.

As he had understood it the game's instructor would cast a spell on there weapon's and armor. This spell would make it so that there weapon's would pass through there opponent's leaving there body's unharmed but damaging there armor and paralyzing the body part that was struck. It was a crude but effective way of determining who the victor was. If the opponent couldn't move then they were effectively out of the game's. As another wave of laughter escaped from Gadget and his companion Charlemagne just rolled his eye's.

"Those fool's better be prepared for a beating."

6:00 P.M. Canterlot Train Station.

Twilight and friend's stepped off onto the platform and the group made there way to the coliseum. Pinky Pie had woken up during the train ride and would not stop talking much to the group's annoyance.

"So who's going to be there? Is it Santa? No wait The Easter bunny! Oh no, is it king schmooze? Or how about--" Her ti raid of babble was cut off by Twilight gagging Pinky with a plank of wood she found on the ground.

"Thank the princess that's over with." Rainbow sighed in relief. The other girls nodded there head's in approval. At there brisk pace the six of them made it to the coliseum in record time. When they got there the seat's were only just beginning to be filled with eager pony's.

"Girl's!" The voice said off to there left. Twilight looked up to see Princess Celestia waving a hoof. The friend's made there way over to the V.I.P box of the arena. Once they got in they saw that the box was packed with the foreign dignitary's from last night's dinner party. Including a new  pony that had yet to make herself known. She must have felt the eye's upon her because she turned around and gave them a toothy smile, waving as she did so. She bowed low to the six and cleared her throat.

"Greeting's to you element's of harmony." The six noticed that she had the same accent as Prince Charlemagne. The six bowed back and the thestral continued.

" My name is Princess Nix. It is truly an honer to finally meet the pony's responsible for saving the world from the clutch's of Nightmare Moon." At the mention of that name Midnight flinched and her eye twitched. But she sloughed it off and went back to scanning the arena below for any sign's of Gadget and his fellow gladiator's. Princess Cadance, Shining Armor and the rest of Twilight's family were already there and seated. Gadget's family had only just arrived. Princess Celestia was looking to the sky's for her sister, Luna.

As Midnight scanned the floor below she couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was off. She looked around and scanned each and every one of the patron's sitting in the V.I.P booth. They all appeared excited and nervous. When her eye's settled on Nix the two locked gaze's. Nix's eye's flashed a soft pale green for a split second before going back to there natural sky blue. This unnerved her for but her fear was soon drowned out by the sound of battle drum's and champion trumpet's. The Fighter's were on there way to the arena floor. 
> Chapter 8: A Secret Uncovered and A Fight To Remember..
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

6:00 P.M. Canterlot Royal Garden's.

With all of the excitement going on in the arena the canterlot garden's were void of all life. The same demented statue from before however was abuzz with chaotic magical energy. The strange creature from before had now morphed into something even more twisted and evil looking as the very stone itself looked like it was warping as the chaotic magic began distorting the very fabric of reality. Soon the Stone statue resembled nothing more than a giant hunk of rock resting on a pedestal. Evil laughter continued to emanate from the solid rock sounding more and more distorted with each passing breath.

"Soon i shall be free. And all of pony kind shall bow before me or perish in the everlasting confine's of the void." More evil laughter was heard in the garden's that night.



Princess Midnight watched with bated breath as the contestant's lined up on the field. She still had a data pad from before detailing the fighter's for the evening. She glanced down at the instrument and her horn lit up. The device came to life and began to show each of the gladiator's and there stat's. 

Swift Wing, Pegasus, Weapon of choice, Bow and Arrow.

Prince Charlemagne, Thestral, Weapon of choice, Spear.

Whip Lash, Unicorn, Weapon of choice, Whip cord.

Gadget, Unicorn, Weapon of choice, Sword.

Kilo-Ton, Earth Pony, Weapon of choice, Hammer.

Coco'Loco, Earth Pony, Weapon of choice, Unknown.

All in all she was impressed with the diversity of the combatant's. She found Coco'Loco to be a bit odd, mostly because she did not have a weapon registered. Midnight looked around to the other guest's of the V.I.P booth. They were all looking at there pad's, and tapping some number's next to certain fighter's. Midnight glanced at the six fighter's and saw that each one had a betting pool next to there name's.

She scanned the list, 

Swift Wing, 66% chance of winning.

Prince Charlemagne, 73% chance of winning.

Whip Lash, 55% chance of winning.

Gadget, 23% chance of winning.

Kilo-Ton, 87% chance of winning.

Coco'Loco, 0% chance of winning.

The odd's were not on her knight's side. Even if Coco'Loco had a 0% chance of winning that didn't mean she couldn't pull off a spectacular underdog moment. Still he had a 23% chance of winning. And that would be more than enough. she knew her knight better than anypony here. She knew he had what it took to win this tournament tonight. 



6:05 P.M.

Gadget and the five other contestant's all lined up for the opening ceremony. Gadget was excited as he looked around the arena, taking in all of the emotions of the fan's as they poured there admiration for the game's out blanketing the arena with a magic all it's own. As Gadget scanned the crowd his eye's fell on the booth with his friend's and family inside. He smiled and waved a hoof at them. As soon as his hoof touched the ground a small set of antenna's sprouted from the box. 

Four of them in all came out of the box arranged in a square grid pattern. Suddenly a burst of yellow magic flowed between them and an image began to form in thin air. Gadget laughed at the very confused look on his family face's as the the image hardened into what looked like a crystal clear view of the occupant's of the box. All of the pony's on the box looked around as if trying to find the source of this random footage of them. There surprise was cut off as a loud voice rang out over a loudspeaker. 

"My Little Pony's!" Came the voice of Princess Celestia as she raised from her seat in the booth. Gadget looked closer at the princess and saw that she had a small mic stuck to her head. He chuckled at the once princess turned sports caster.

"The time has come for the yearly equestrian sport's theater!" At her announcement the whole stadium erupted into applause. She let the din die down and then continued her speak.

"As you all know when ever we host these sporting event's we usually hold a voting poll." The audience murmured in agreement.

"But this year in honor of the return of our two sister's," Celestia gave her two younger sibling's a curt nod. 

"We have decided to let them pick the game's this year. And they have chosen an old but valiant custom to entertain us for this evening." She gave the pony's a bow and stepped down from the screen. Soon Princess's Luna and Midnight took up the mic and walked onto the big screen.

"Is this thing on?" Came Luna's voice.

"I don't know?" Came Midnight's reply. Gadget had to stick a hoof in his mouth suppress his laughter at the sister's antic's. Princess Celestia came up behind the two and whispered in there ear's. Both of there face's went red and they cleared there throat's.

"Greeting thine loyal subject's!" Luna said to the crowd. They in turn cheered and greeted the lunar princess with gusto. Luna nodded to Midnight. She smirked at her sister and took up the speech. 

"Hello everypony!" Midnight said. The crowd cheered once more.

"Tonight we the Princess's of equestria are proud to present to you a glorious pass time from age's long past." At her word's the crowd grew silent.

"Tis our great pleasure to bring forth the most exquisite of game's for tonight. Fighter's please make thine way to the center of the arena!" All four Princess got up and in perfect synchronization gave the salute. At there upraised hooves the battle horn's blared and the trumpet's sounded. Midnight watched as Gadget and the other contestant's walked to the center of the arena. Her eye's scanned each pony as they stopped in the middle and gave the crowd a bow. When the music stopped Princess Cadance spoke last.

"We here in canterlot are proud to extend our hoof out to our ally's in the north." She gave the delegate's a small smile. Princess Nix looked up from her brother and gave a soft smile. Cadance continued.

"Now for the moment you have all been waiting for." As her voice boomed out over the crowd the fighter's in the arena all stood in unison.



6:10 P.M.

Gadget looked around at the other contestants. They all looked nervous. He looked a little closer at the pink earth pony.

"Pinky?" He thought. 

"Why would she be participating in this?"

His eye's were drawn to the screen as Cadance spoke her last.

"Now for the moment you've all been waiting for." With the screen now showing all four princess's, they all stood in there regal attire. As one cohesive voice the Princess's called the fighter's to attention. They all fallowed suite.



As Twilight watched the fighter's get ready she glanced around.

"Were did pinky get to?" she had noticed that pinky had vanished. It wasn't unusual for her to do so but Twilight would have thought pinky would be here for the opening battle. All of her pondering was interrupted as the Princess's took up there mike's and made there final deceleration's. 



The whole authority of Equestria was upon the fighter the moment the princess's took there post's.

"Our little pony's!" The whole stadium fell silent.

"The six fighter's you see before you are some of the best warrior's from around the kingdom and beyond." Gadget puffed out his chest in pride at those word's. He sensed the pride of the other contestant's as well. Then he felt the sharp sting of madness emanating from one contestant. He glanced over at pinky.

"What is wrong with her?" He could genuinely say he was afraid right now. The look on pinky's face was one of a crazed pony. Her eye's were staring strait ahead, her muzzle twisted in a sadistic smile, her breathing was heavy and long. All in all pinky looked like she had just escaped from a mental hospital. Gadget forced himself to look ahead and focus on the fight soon to be at hand.

"These pony's are here today to show there skill's and fighting tactic's that have carried them throughout there live's." Despite his uneasiness  Gadget snickered.

"They are laying it on thick." He thought.

"Today they will put on a show for the age's as they fight for our amusement in a reenactment of one of equestria's oldest sport's." The crowd cheered and stomped there hooves shaking the whole stadium to it's foundation's.

The Princess's all looked out to the group of warrior's.

"Fighter's are you ready?" The group all bowed at once.

"Then take your position's."

The six contestant's looked at one another and bowed. Then they all turned and took ten pace's back from there little circle.

The four sister's fused there magical energy's together to create a mystical clock high above the arena. It started to tick down from 5. All eye's were upon it as it hit 4.

3..
2..
1..

"Then let the game's begin!" The stadium erupted in applause. No pony moved. The air was still as the cheer's died down. All six fighter's glanced at one another.



Twilight was enveloped in the coming fight but that nagging feeling came back. She glanced around the booth.

"Still no sign o--" Her thought died as she saw the door knob turn. Her face lit up as Pink Pie entered the the booth a smile upon her muzzle as she skipped over to her friend's.

"Pinky were where you?" Twilight asked. Pinky looked at Twilight and chuckled. 

"Sorry twi i had a little accident in the bathroom." She said as she recounted how her hoof got stuck in the hot air hoof dryer. Twilight did a double take as she looked at her holo-pad. She pulled up the data on Coco-Loco. She brought her hoof up to her mouth in shock.

"Girl's i think we may have a problem." 




Gadget looked around his mind now focused on surviving this little bout and being the last pony standing. Princess Midnight had placed much trust in him to come out of this thing on top. He really didn't want to disappoint her. For multiple reason's. Whip lash was the first to strike.

Her metal and leather implement scything through the air lashing at Coco. The pink pony nimbly dodged attack that impacted the ground were she had just been. At that moment Charlemagne jumped into the air taking flight. Swift wing did so as well. Swift let loose an arrow aiming for the prince's head. 

His arrow flew through the air and would have hit it's mark. The prince bashed the arrow out of the way however and went on the offensive sending a flurry of thrust's swift's way. As swift was busy looping around Charlemagne's spear, Gadget was watching with fascination as Whip Lash tried to get a hit on Coco who went about dancing in and out of the whip's range. Coco had yet to draw her weapon. Gadget was interrupted from his observation's by Kilo-Ton.

"So." Gadget looked over to see Kilo with his hammer held in his grasp. "Oh crap." Kilo sat the hammer's head down on the ground and rested his head the pommel.

"Young'in what can this old stallion teach you today?" Gadget cocked his head. "Huh?" Gadget was blind sided by a hoof to the face. He staggered from the force of the blow and regained his sense's and looked at the old man. He looked like he hadn't moved except to stifle a yawn. 

"Well young'in this chat'in is all fun but we do have to give the spectator's a show." Kilo said as he cracked his neck. He grasped his hammer once again and hefted above his head resting it upon his back. Gadget's eye twitched as he pulled his sword from it's sheath and brought it up to guard his head. 

"Ok pop's let's see what'cha got!" He said as he held his sword out to charge the old stallion. Kilo just sat there. When Gadget got close Kilo wound up his hammer like a base ball bat.

"Batter up young'in." He said as he swung at the charging unicorn. His hammer sailed through the air and hit.. Nothing. Kilo looked around. he was blinded by a flash of emerald light as he ducked his head to avoid the bright light he was taken aback by the magical force that passed through his body. His entire body went ridged as he slumped over from the paralyze spell placed on his armor. He swung his head around to look at Gadget. He was panting hard from exertion but managed to give the old man a soft smile. 

"Well young'in that's that." He said as he slumped to the ground. Gadget ran over to Kilo.

"Hey old man you ok?" Gadget said as he swept the old man up in his magic. He knew there wasn't a threat of real damage but still. He didn't want to stress the old man out. He probably already caused the old stallion to have a heart attack. Kilo stared at Gadget.

"Young'in what in tarnation are ya do'in?" Kilo asked. Gadget chuckled.

"I'm doing my job. Looking out for the citizen's of equestria." Gadget said as he dragged the old pony over to the side of the arena. Gadget set Kilo down.

"Ok so stay here until the fight's over ok?" He said as he scanned the arena. 



While Gadget was fighting Kilo, Swift Wing was keeping Charlemagne's spear at bay with his barrage of arrow's.

"Can't keep this up forever." Swift thought. Charlemagne laughed.

"You can only avoid the inevitable for so long Swift." He said as he sent one of the pagasi's arrow's flying wildly. He darted forward and saw a gap in Swift's defense's when he went to draw an arrow only to reach for thin air.

"Crap!" Swift had to think fast. Reacting quicker than he thought possible Swift swung his bow around. Just as Charlemagne's spear was close to his chest Swift's bow came around and parried the blow. The Prince was shocked.

"How?" So shocked that Swift was able to swing his bow around a second time smashing it's hard wood against the prince's face. The prince was dazed and sent hurdling to the ground. Swift fallowed suite. The prince got to his hooves shaking with fury that he had been grounded so easily.

"How could you a simple peasant best me?" He shouted. Swift laughed at the Princes folly.

"They don't teach you how to sit on your ass and look pretty at the academy your royal highness." Swift said as he bowed mockingly. the prince was livid. His thought's of blood lust were cut short by a demented giggle.

"Oh Boy's!" Came a voice from the behind the pair. Both stallion's looked to the source. Coco was behind the two. This didn't deter them one bit. The giant cannon Coco had procured from somewhere did tho. They both stopped in there track's. The prince was shocked.

"We're Both in the blast radius of that monster." He thought about a plan of escape and a devious smile formed on his face.

"Perhaps i can kill two bird's with one stone." Charlemagne decided that at least one of them could survive the blast. Thinking fast he knocked dashed up to Swift, spun his spear around, and bashed swift upside the head with the butt if his spear and grabbed his limp body using him as a pony shield. Just as Coco's cannon went off both pony's disappeared in a flash of bright light and a cloud of smoke, dust, and blown apart earth. Gadget saw the two and screamed.

"SWIFT!" He ran over to the smoking crater but was held up when his hind leg got caught up. He ended up falling flat on his face. He got to his feet and looked around.

"Tsk tsk. Such a knotty boy leaving a women behind to fend for herself." Came Lash's voice from behind him. Gadget grasped the whip in his magic and uncurled it from his leg. He got to his feet and looked Lash dead in the eye's.

"I don't have time for this." He calmly spoke as his eye's turned a deep crimson. He readied his sword and stood his ground. Lash chuckled coldly as she recalled her whip. It curled through the air and poised itself like a viper at her beck and call. Meanwhile Coco went up to the crater to inspect her handy work.

"Hello!? Anypony alive down there?" Her tail twitched and she jumped out of the way just in time. A hair's breath from were she was just standing there was a spear sticking out of the ground. She looked up to see Charlemagne breathing heavily, his mane was a mess and it looked like he was bleeding from several cut's across his face.

"You know you would have made a brilliant soldier in the Romainian Military." Charlemagne said as he landed on the ground to retrieve his spear. He smirked.

"To bad you had to be born here and as an earth pony at that." He said as he leveled his spear at Coco. She just smiled her same demented smile and bounced about on the battlefield.

Lash sent her whip at Gadget with all the ferocity of a cobra as she swirled it about switching up the angle's of her attack by pulling the line short or over extending her reach. No matter how hard she tried however Gadget's blade was always there to block, parry and otherwise intercept her attack's no matter what angle they came from. Gadget however was stuck on defense.

"I can't find an opening." He pulled his sword back to block a lashing aimed at his chest. As gadget studied Lash's attack pattern Charlemagne stood his ground against Coco who had summoned a baseball bat out of nowhere. She swung it with abandon forcing the prince to pull his spear back and block with the wooden shaft of the weapon. His body was aching from the force of that explosion and his wing's were not feeling to good ether.

"I have to find a way to end this, quickly." 



Gadget was having a great bout of success in battling Lash and her whip. He managed to go on the offensive, slicing and hacking at her weapon when it came within range of his sword. He had infused a little of his magic into the blade making it both wider and longer. The normally 3 foot long blade was now a good 5 feet long and at least 10 inch's wide. He even extended the handle a little bit to give himself even more reach. 

The sword now turned short spear was vary effective at keeping lash at bay and Gadget used that to his full advantage. He pushed his assault backing Lash up to the far side of the arena. Lash was on her last leg so to speak. She did not expect this simple guard to give her much of a fight. But here he was fighting like a well trained warrior who had seen many battle's. she was impressed and allowed herself to smirk at her own foolishness for underestimating her opponent.

"He is good i will give him that." She smiled as she formulated a plan.

"Let's see how well he handle's this." With little effort Lash commanded her whip to retract. Gadget held off on his assault and took the brief respite to catch his breath.

"Now what doe's she have planned?" He thought as he brought his sword to bare. Lash's whip had wound itself into a tight circle almost forming into what looked like a round shield. She laughed at Gadget's hesitation.

"What's the matter boy? To tired already?" She said as her whip began to wind itself around her body. Gadget grinned. That grin unnerved Lash. Then he began to cackle. And soon he was laughing like a mad pony.

"What's so funny?" Coco piped up? Gadget stopped his crazed laughter and set his eye's on Lash.

"Well sweet heart it's been fun." Gadget said as he brought his blade up and positioned the point behind himself. Lash gave this move no mind.

"Well it seem's the little colt has become a stallion. Bravo." Lash said as her whip finished winding itself around her. She smirked as the two began to circle one another. Over head a storm was brewing. It was small but still noticed by the many spectator's of the arena. Some even pointed to the little storm cloud's beginning to take shape overhead. Most however paid them no head. 

Lash brought the handle of her whip up and clamped it firmly in her mouth. For her next attack she would need all of her hooves free. Gadget just waited patently for Lash to make her move. In the blink of an eye her routine came bursting forth. She stood on her hind leg's and began to spin and twirl her body. She let her reflex's take over as they had a thousand time'e before when she had preformed this maneuver.

As she began to gain more and more momentum her body became a blur of steel and leather. Then her whip unwound itself and lashed out with newfound intensity. Gadget was caught off guard and in that split second he found himself entwined within Lash's whip. He struggled to free himself from the weapon's confine's but found no way of escape. Lash meanwhile was a little disoriented from her unorthodox attack.

However seeing Gadget caught in her trap was a glorious site to behold.

"So little colt do you give up?" Lash mumbled through metal handle of her weapon still clutched in her mouth. Gadget just laughed.

"What's so funny?" Lash said as she sashayed up to her captive. He just grinned and said to simple word's.

"Check mate." With a loud boom from above a bolt of white hot lighting burst forth from the storm cloud's above. the bolt arced through the air and struck the tip of Gadget's sword. Using the next to last reserve's of his magic he directed the energy through his sword and into Lash's whip curled around his body. The electricity surged though the metal of the whip and went to the only place it could go. Right into Lash's mouth.

Her body convulsed with all of the power surging through it. And just as quickly as it had come it was gone. Lash collapsed on the spot, her whip slowly slinking to the ground, still smoking from all the juice that flowed through it. Gadget was not feeling so hot even though he channeled most of the lighting into the ground he still got quite the shock himself. He stumbled about until he was able to get his barring's. Slowly Gadget walked over to Lash and saw her chest move up and down. He then turned to the remaining fighter's, both starring at him with a sense of fear about them.

"So who's next?" He asked raising his sword to meet whoever challenged him next. The Prince looked up to see the clouds begin to dissipate. Then his eye's fell on the V.I.P booth. He gulped down his fear and held up his Spear.

"On guard!" He shouted as he galloped foreword to meet his foe. Coco was rummaging around in a chest she had pulled from slip space. Her eye's lit up as she held a sadistic grin upon her face.

"It's time to make some Cupcake's! "She shouted as she hefted a chainsaw in her hooves. The infernal machine roared to life as she wrenched the cord on the monstrosity a few time's. 

Gadget just smiled at his two adversary's his crimson eye's scanning both of then as they rushed to meet him in battle. Gadget wiped his sword around and it was once more engulfed in his magic. His magical spear went to work parrying both the prince's spear and coco chainsaw. The Prince brought the last reserve's of his energy into being and took to the air jabbing at Gadget from above. Meanwhile coco wildly swung her electric meat cleaver around with out a care in the world.

Gadget parried, blocked and even teleported out of there range every time they got close.

"I need to end this." Just as Coco swung her chainsaw down upon Gadget he disappeared into thin air, letting her weapon dig itself into the ground. It became stuck and resisted all of her attempt's to pull it free. While she was preoccupied with getting her precious cutter out of the ground Gadget capitalized on Coco's mistake. He blinked into existence just to her side and drove his pommel into the back of her head. She hit the ground like a sack of brick's and did not stir.

Gadget bent down to check if she was ok. She was still breathing so he let her rest. His pity on her cost him a stab to the back however. He swung his sword about and bashed away the  prince's spear. He looked back and saw that the prince hand lanced his flank. His back leg's were beginning to go numb. The prince however looked like he was about to fall out. He looked down upon Gadget however with a smirk on his muzzle.

"So just the two of us eh?" He asked the smugness in his voice made Gadget want to puke.

"So how do you plan on winning Huh?" The prince taunted. Gadget just smiled.

"Well i can even the playing field." He countered. With a pop gadget was gone. Charlemagne looked around frantically. He didn't a single warning before his wing's were suddenly slashed through. As his limb's became paralyzed he plummeted to the earth crashing into the ground. The prince groaned in disgust as he pulled himself to his shaking leg's. He saw Gadget standing there before him his blade held up point in front of the Prince's snout. 

"Do you yield?" He asked panting heavily. The prince desperately looked around for any chance of winning. He spotted his spear lying on the ground behind Gadget. Charlemagne acted quickly throwing dirt in Gadget's eye's. The blinded unicorn reeled back wiping the dirt from his eye's. The Prince bounded forward and grasped his spear in his hooves. His eye's locked onto gadget and he gave his charge everything he had. Gadget had recovered from the prince's lowly tactic and readied his blade. Before the prince could correct his course he was blinded by a flash of bright green light. He felt a tingling sensation flash through his entire body. Behind him stood Gadget, panting heavily and holding his blade high. 

The whole stadium was quite as the two warrior's stood as still as statue's. Then they both collapsed from pure exhaustion. The whole stadium was silent before erupting into wild riot's applause. The last thing Gadget heard before he passed out was the thousand's of screaming fan's.



6:30 P.M.
Canterlot Royal Garden's.

The statue of discord was now little more than a pile of melted slag now upon the pedestal it once stood. A dark wary voice cut through the cool night air.

"Finally i am free!" The God of Disharmony was unleashed from his stone prison.
> Chapter 9: Chaos Incarnate, Part 1.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



cha·os
ˈkāˌäs
Complete disorder and confusion.
synonyms: disorder, disarray, disorganization, confusion, mayhem, bedlam, pandemonium, havoc, turmoil, tumult, commotion, disruption, upheaval, uproar, maelstrom.
PHYSICS
behavior so unpredictable as to appear random, owing to great sensitivity to small changes in conditions.
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
the formless matter supposed to have existed before the creation of the universe.
the first created being, from which came the primeval deities Gaia, Tartarus, Erebus, and Nyx.



8,1, 1000 C.E.

11 Day's had past since the fight at the coliseum. Gadget, and the other fighter's were taken to the I.C.U. at C.R.H While most of the fighter's were ok, only suffering miner wound's Gadget, Swift Wing, The Prince, and Whip Lash were held for a week so there wound's could heal. While the magic on the armor made it impossible for anypony to get seriously hurt something interfered with it long enough to allow a significant pertain of the weapons damage through. That and Gadget using a lighting bolt to fry Whip Lash didn't help matter's. So the fighter's had to stay at the hospital for a few week's to recuperate. For Gadget he had a lot to think about.

7, 27, 1000 C.E.

7:00 A.M.

"Gadget you are suspended." Gadget looked at Midnight with tear filled eye's.

"What? Bu- Princess? Why?" He wined like little foal.

"You have been stuck in this Castle for almost a month." She said looking out the second story window to the city below. She turned around to see Gadget looking forlorn. She shook her head and sighed.

"Look Gadget, I know that you take your duty's very seriously." She said as she raised a hoof to his face. She tilted his head in her direction. She smiled at his sad expression. she gave him a peck on the forehead.

"You silly silly stallion. Look if you want me to i will give you a formal order." She let go of his face and stood as still as a statue.

"Sir Sky-Rose." She said with all her authority at her beck and call.

"I Princess Midnight of Equestria hereby order you,-" Gadget tensed up a little,- "to take a vacation." she said snickering at the dumbfounded look on Gadget's face.

"What?" Gadget said looking slack jawed. Midnight laughed at Gadget even more. 

"You heard me mister. You are going to take a rest from being my body guard. Indefinitely." she said with a stern look. Gadget had learned long ago to not argue with mare's. He would loose. Every. Single. Time. So he sucked up his shock and confusion and went with it.

"Yes ma'm." He said giving a salute only to wince in pain at such an action. Midnight went over to Gadget's bed and gave him a hug.

"Princess?" Gadget was a little shocked at such an act. Midnight however was fine. Ever since there first intimate moment together she wanted more of them. But with her being a princess and constantly being scrutinized she was loath to try and let the media get new's of her being in a relationship with anypony. The Prince was still trying his hardest to win her over but he was wasting his time. He really couldn't take a hint that one. Then her thought's drifted over to Gadget and her heart began to race.

"Why do i feel this way?" The more she thought about it her feeling's had started to come about after the Gala. Something sparked in her that night. Something powerful. Something new. She would have to convene with her sister's about this.

"Uh Princess?" Gadget said patting Midnight's back.

"Hum?" She said absorbed in the moment. 

"I think it's time for me to leave." He said pointing to his door. Midnight let go of Gadget having to uncurl her wing's from his body in the process. She looked over to see the nurse looking red in the face.

"Did i interrupt anything?" The nurse said pawing at the ground nervously. Midnight Looked back to gadget her own face reddening from embarrassment. She cleared her throat.

"No nurse you did not. In fact i was just about take my leave." She said bowing to the nurse. She looked back and waved at Gadget before disappearing in a flash of light. Gadget sat there in his bed thinking hard.



8, 1, 1000 C.E. 
8:00 A.M.
Ponyville.

Gadget plodded about in his workshop. Today was just another day at his house. Hot Shot had went out to play with the C.M.C. His mom and dad went out to go and get grocery's. His uncle went out to go get some new part's for the clock tower. Gadget had been fiddling with his magic detector. Lately it had been getting some very strange reading's so Gadget set about re-calibrating it. Right now he was realigning the focus crystal's and attuning them to the proper frequency. After that he had to reinstall the mana-dampener. As he toiled away at his tech he noted the sound of the door opening and closing upstairs. He looked up from his work and sighed.

"I should take a brake." He said pushing away from his work bench and trotting up the stair's. He didn't notice the detector come to life humming as it detected a huge influx of magical energy. Gadget trotted into the living room to see his parents were back. He went and hugged them.

"So you two how was the trip?" He said as they hugged him back. Releasing there son the two trotted into the kitchen to put the food away.

"Oh same old same old. The Carret's are getting divorced. The Rich's are getting richer." His dad said putting the veggies in the cooler.

"The Apple family had a bountiful harvest this year like always." His mother said as she put some milk in the fridge. His dad's head popped out of the cooler.

"Did you know the Apple's are having a new contest this year?" He said handing Ruby the last of the grocery's.

"Thanks dear."

"Your welcome sugar pudding." He said giving ruby a quick peck on the lip's.

Gadget stuck his hoof in his mouth.

"Get a room you two." He said giggling at his parent's mushiness. Both parent's eyed him.

"Oh really mister 'I'm going to totally hit on royalty and not bat an eyelash'" His dad said as he smirked. Gadget's face went red.

"We-- i'--we--" Gadget stopped from sputtering as he calmed down.

"Well what can i say?" Gadget said getting his composer back. The more he thought about it he would like to ask Midnight out. Hopefully they could have normal evening out with no distraction's, emanate threat's to equestria or random stalker's. His parent's laughter brought Gadget back to reality. They were staring at him with smirks on there face's.

"You know son," His father piped up, "If you want we can all go down to canterlot and go check up on midnight." He said resting a hoof on Gadget's shoulder. Gadget pondered his dad's word's. Then a smile grew on his face. He nodded his head.

"Sure i would like that." He said. He turned around to go and pack his bag's for the trip. Usually when his parent's went to canterlot now the Sparkle's would want to go and hang out with them. So he went to go get his thing's from his room in the basement. As he rummaged around his messy room his gaze fell upon his armor. For a sec he thought about dawning it. Then he thought better of it.

"No. I'm not on duty. Just going to go and check up on a friend." He thought. As he gathered the last of his thing's he gave the room one final sweep. His eye's then fell upon his necklace that his parent's had given him.

"Strange?" He said.

The heart shaped crystal clear stone was glowing. He scooped it up in his magic and clasped the silver chain around his neck. As soon as the gem touched his skin it stopped with the light show and shone no more. He cocked his head and then shook it.

"Weird."

"Hey son did you fall in or something?" His dad shouted from up stir's. Gadget chuckled, grabbed his bag and headed up to the ground floor. He set his bag down and looked at his parent's.

"So who's ready to go visit our favorite Princess?" He asked a grin plastered on his face.





Same Time, Across Town.

Twilight was frantic. She had gotten a scroll from Celestia telling her to gather her friend's and to meet her at Canterlot at once. She was busy running around town to gather up her friend's. So far she had run into Apple Jack and the two were looking for the other's.

"If i know Rainbow she'll be nap'in in one o my tree's on the farm." Apple Jack said shaking her head from side to side.

"I swear if that pony spent half the time she do nap'in up and at'em doing som'tin productive she'd be in them wonderbolt's faster than you can say-" Her sentence was cut off by a gust of wind blowing past her and Twilight, nearly knocking them both over. Luckily the pony that caused the sudden bout of rushing wind had stopped herself just in time. Her magenta eye's locked onto her friend's, an excited fire in them.

"Did somepony say wonderbolt's?" She excitedly pumped her hoof in the air. AJ just rolled her eye's.

"You know we've been looking everywhere for ya rainbow?" AJ said a scowl set on her muzzle. Twilight coughed to diffuse the tension before it could get any thicker.

"Hey rainbow glad your here. Listen can you come along with us to canterlot? The princess want's to see us." She said hoping the mare would come along without a fuss.

"Say no more Twilight. If the princess want's to see us then it's got to be important." And with that Rainbow Dash zoomed off toward's Canterlot.  She stopped about halfway outside of Ponyville before making a sharp u-turn. She found the other two starring at her with unamused look's upon there face's. She gave them a sheepish grin.

"He he sorry about that. Let's just take the train up there huh?" she said setting down on the ground. The other two laughed and went to go gather the other four member's of there group. After a few minute's of searching they found the rest of the girls. The only pony left was Gadget. They searched high and low. Pinky was walking along when she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Her face contorted into a huge smile as she pulled a microphone out of nowhere.

"HEY GIRLS I FOUND HIM!!!" She screamed at the  top of her lung's. Needless to say Pinky scarred the living daylight's out of everypony in town wit her outburst. Gadget was walking with his family to the train station when his ear's were assaulted by the extremely loud voice of none other than Pinky Pie herself. He took a few deep breath's to calm himself down and steady his rapid heart. He glared at Pinky.

"Pinky what in all of Equestria are you doing scaring everypony like that?" He asked in a surprisingly level voice. She bounced up to him, smiling all the way. 

"Well silly we're looking for you!" She sang as skipped around him. He looked at her with confusion.

"We?" He asked.

"Hey!" a voice shouted from behind him. Gadget wasn't a Pegasus but he caught some air that day. He jumped into the air and spun around. Just a little to fast to because he came crashing down to the ground in heap. When his world stopped spinning he looked around to see Rainbow Dash on the ground wiggling with laughter.

"Oh man! You should have seen the look on your face!" She said rolling around. Gadget regained his composer and he gave rainbow a smirk.

"I'll get you back, one of these day's" He said as he trotted over to the train were his parent's were waiting. The girl's went after Gadget and they all took over a train car.

"Gadget we need to talk." Twilight said taking a seat across from him. He looked at her serious expression and steeled himself.

"Sure what's up?" He asked concern in his voice. She gave him a nervous smile.

"Well we," She said motioning to her friend's and them back to him, "Are needed in canterlot right away." She said giving his parent's a friendly bow. They smiled back. Gadget just heaved a sigh of annoyance but he nodded his head. He guessed the princess's wanted there help with something important.

"Ok what's the situation?" He asked. Twilight looked even more nervous than before.

"Twilight?" Gadget said looking anxious.

"Twilight what's wrong?" He asked getting more fearful by the minute.

"I don't know!?" She said a little louder than she would have liked to. She shoved her hooves in her mouth from embarrassment.

"Oh dear i'm sorry." She said her ears splaying back. Gadget looked puzzled.

"You mean the princess's didn't give you a reason?" He asked. She nodded.

"Ok. So we'll know when we get there then." He said sitting down and relaxing while the countryside flew by, his mind wandering just would could be wrong now.





Canterlot.

9:05 A.M.

The small band of pony's disembarked from the train and headed strait away to the castle. The guard's gave a salute as Gadget lead them to the castle gate's. He returned the gesture and they all kept on going through the big double door's. Once they were all inside they were greeted with the site of Princess Celestia, pacing. She went to and fro from one side of the great hall to the other, concern was clearly etched onto her face. When her gaze found her guest's she went from worried to relieved. She ran down and embraced twilight in a brief hug

"Thank you all for coming." She said looking back to the great hall. She motioned for all of them to fallow her and they obliged.

"I'm sure your all wandering why you are all here?" Celestia asked as she opened the door's to the memorial hall, full of the exploit's of hero's long past and the deed's of the seven hero's of this age all preserved in stain glass window. She stopped at a jewel encrusted door. As she turned to look at her entourage she noticed that her sister and Discord had came to the hall as well. She gave Discord a look.

"I believe you shall be qualified to explain the situation Discord." The group looked at him as he gave Celestia a bow.

"As you wish Princess." He said turning to the group. He cleared his throat.

"So you got our letter?" He said looking at Twilight. She rummaged through her saddle bag and grabbed the letter. She waved it about. Discord chuckled and continued.

"Good. So to the point." He looked over at one of the many stained glass window's. It showed him. His first banishment at the hand's of the Princess's. He remembered that day. Then his mind sprang forward. To the day he gained his freedom. He was a solid statue, that was until he felt the element's magic lose its hold upon his form. As his stone prison cracked around him he felt a wave of relief from being set free from a thousand year posture. He cracked his aching back and brought his paw's to his head and gave it a good twist. His neck gave a satisfying creek and he settled down on the grass. 

"So long since I've felt the touch of the cool earth." He looked around and beheld a beautiful sunset, painting the sky a vivid pinkish hue.

"So long since I've seen the sun set." He then closed his eye's and listened.

"Heard the sound of the air through the tree's." 

As Discord went down memory lane Gadget got the sense that he was hurting inside. He went up the lord of chaos.

"Discord are you ok?" He asked, an edge of concern laced in his voice. Discord snapped out of his reminiscence and looked down to Gadget. He smiled and crouching down to the pony's level, gave Gadget a hug. Gadget felt strange at first but he gave the hug back in full force. With his emotional turmoil over for now Discord deposited Gadget with the other's and continued his tale.

"Sorry about that my friend's. But some thing's can never be forgotten." he said his face hardening into one of pure hate. He through his gaze to the, vibrant, lush, beautiful world outside window.

"Now you all are wandering why you are all here. Well let me tell you of how i came to be here." He turned toward's Gadget.

"That should help you all understand why we have called you here today.





World, 277,

6, 23, 1017, W.H.E.

Discord looked upon the desolate landscape before him. Where once bright shining city's once stood, now smoldering crater's took there place. Where bright sunny sky's once resided now dark cloud's hung upon the horizon, choking the very life from the before green field's. Discord looked on in horror at the senseless destruction that had been unleashed upon Equestria. Through all the chaos and disorder he sensed several small bits of hope. 

Several light's sent forth to fight the darkness that had consumed the land. There amongst the maelstrom of powerful chaotic energy those seven light's turned into one. Then in a flash of bright prismatic light the world went silent. As Discord got his vision back he saw a sight he never thought he'd see again. The dark cloud's began to dissipate. 

The first ray's of sunlight began to peek through the darkness at long last. And then a wave of happiness crashed over discord as the seven emerged from the crater were the evil had once stood. The one who had caused the destruction of Equestria was gone for good. But not without a heavy cost. As Discord looked at the seven he noticed one of them was being carried by all the other's.

Discord felt his some of his magic return to him once more as he snapped his finger's and the group materialized in front of him. He scanned the seven and his heart sank. All of them had mortal wound's of one sort or another. He brought his finger's to bare once more and snapped. Nothing happened. He snapped again. And again. And again but the result was the same. There wound's would not close.

"No." He said to himself. He scanned there face's. They all looked worn, tired and in desperate wan't of a good night's sleep. Through it all one of them never kept there eye's off of him.

"D-d--discord?" Came the soft voice of an angle. Discord's head snapped to the one who called out his name. She was one of his first friend's in this world. Discord got down to the pony's level as he rested on the grass with them.

"Y-y-yes Fluttershy?" He asked barely able to keep his voice from choking. There eye's met and she gave him a soft smile.

"I-i-it's g-g-going to b-b-be ok." she said her voice coming out in between soft gasps of pain. Discord scanned not only her but the other's as well. His breath caught in his throat. Several of them had already passed on. Pinky lay there, a smile frozen on her face as her cold, lifeless eye's stared at the bright sky, a hole in her chest were her heart used to be. His vision swept over to Apple Jack who was trying to wake Rainbow from her slumber.

"Come on now girl this aint the time to be sleeping!" She said as she shook her friend in vain. Tear's blurred her eye's as she shook her friend some more. With her wing's missing and the severe blood loss Rainbow was not moving any time soon. It didn't help that her chest was crushed. Then his gaze settled on Twilight as she and Rarity put Gadget down on the ground. His breath was coming in short ragged burst's and Discord was loath to look at why. Gadget's entire lower body was missing, his internal organ's hanging out like gory streamer's.

"D-d-di-d-d w-w-e-e do i-i-t?" He wheezed out his eye's trying to focus on something. Twilight cradled his head in her hooves as her body shook with tear's. She looked down to her missing hind leg and squeezed her eye's shut to block out the pain.

"Y-e-e-e-s we d-d-id." She said as she brushed a hoof through his mane. Rarity had gotten over the shock a while ago. Now she stared at her friend and tried to remain strong. She went over to Apple Jack and brought a hoof to her cheek. Apple Jack looked at Rarity with her one good eye and sniffed in defeat.

"Why?" She asked as Rarity slumped to the ground, her chest burning from broken rib's and her body convulsing in pain from a punctured lung. She looked at AJ and smiled.

"W-e a-l-l m-u-s-t g-o d-e-a-r. W-h-e-n ou-r ti-me h-as co-me." Rarity said as she exhaled her last breath. Her coat was a mess. Covered in scrape's bruise's, mud and blood, some of which was not her own. As Twilight shook from her teary haze she felt a shudder and looked down. Gadget was dead. 

A content smile on his face. Now only her, Applejack, and Discord were the only living being's left on the whole planet. She looked to Discord who had Fluttershy cradled in his arm's. He was trying to hold himself together but even she could see his mind beginning to snap. She looked over to Applejack who was leaning against the crater wall. Her face was emotionless.

Twilight dragged her broken body over to her friend.

"A-a-applejack?" She asked. AJ looked up, her eye glassing over as she did so. AJ Just smiled.

"D-d-d-on't you wor--y sugar c-ube." AJ looked at her fallen friend's. Then her gaze settled on Twilight.

"W-e-ll s-e-e- each o-th-er a-gain." She said as her head slumped down. Twilight began to cry. She didn't want to die like this. Alone, in some hole, covered in blood. As if Discord could hear her thought's he brought his hand up. His magic was fading but he still had some small ounce left.

"Twilight." He said in a soft voice. She looked up to him weakly. There eye's met and she smiled.

"Yes?" She asked. Discord moved closer to the unicorn. He brought his hand to her forehead.

"You won't be alone." He said as he used the last of his magic to give Twilight a jolt. She squeaked in surprise but soon the fear on her face was turned to joy.

"Mom? Dad?" Twilight said as her happiness grew at the sight of her deceased relative's. As she continued to gaze about she saw the rest of her friend's and family. Discord looked on as Twilight slowly faded from this world.

"Princess- Cel-e-st-ia?" She asked as she ran to give her mentor a hug. As soon as Celestia wrapped her pupal in her embrace Twilight left this world.

Now Discord was all alone. The last of a now extinct race. And he sat there. He sat there for a long time. Finally unable to contain himself any more he wept. For all that he had lost.





3, 30, 0001, A.H.E.

Discord looked at his handy work. Slowly, painfully he knelt down to touch his paw to the grave stone of his once close friend. As he gazed down upon her grave stone, a single tear dropped and splashed down upon the butterfly shaped cutie mark engraved in the stone. He stayed there for awhile not moving, but uttering a silent prayer. Then he got up and repeated the process several more time's. All in all he went and mourned for all of over 300+ individual's that day.

It had taken him the better part of a month to gather up all of there body's and bury them. When he was through with the burial's he went about building there grave stone's. Each one had the recipient's cutie mark etched into it by Discord's bare paw's. His magic had returned to him slowly over the course of the past few month's but he still used his paw's not only as a sign of respect but also out of habit now more than ever. As he looked out over the grave field he had created to honer all of those who had fallen his mind began to wander.

"Why? Why did this have to happen?" He found himself asking. Soon however his thought's were brought back to reality as he felt something vibrate around his neck. He looked down and saw the only thing's left of his friend's. There Element's of Harmony. Discord lifted them up in his magical grasp and examined them. They had been restlessly vibrating every now and then ever since... He shook his head.

"No! No more crying." He thought. His gaze settled on the Element's once more. Still he dreaded the thought of being alone for all of eternity. As he thought this his dam broke and a single tear fell. It landed upon the element of love and with that single tear Discord felt like his whole world had been engulfed by the sun. As his eye's adjusted to his surrounding's he saw that he was in a vast void of pure white.





??,??,????, ??

"H-hello?" He tentatively called out. Nothing.

"Great." He mumbled to himself. He looked around.

"Let's see. White as far as the eye can see." He said to himself.

"Yup. I'm in hell." He said remembering what little Gadget had said of the his world's version of the afterlife. So he waited. And waited. Finally he got bored and decided to wander off. As he trudged on his mind wound up coming back to one thing.

"The Element's!" He fished around his interdimensional pockets for the only thing he had left of his world. He felt his paw's clasp around something solid and pulled it out. What he saw confused him. It looked like an old locket but not one he had ever seen before. It was a soft golden color with band's of silver outlining a small set of jewel's embedded in it's surface. 

As Discord looked at it even harder something in his brain clicked. The small jewels were exact replica's of the element's of harmony in miniature. All of them except for one.

"Were's Gadget's element?" He asked himself. He flipped the locked over and saw some writing.

"Think about your deepest desire's and reveal the past ahead?" He read aloud. He was puzzled now.

"That doesn't make any sense!?" He shouted.

"And i'm the king of not making sense." He huffed as he stored the watch away.





After wandering around for what felt like eon's Discord finally sat down. He pulled the watch out and looked at it. At the sight of his friend's cutie mark's he broke down in tear's.

"WHY!?" He screamed to the void.

"Why did they all have to die!?" He yelled as he clenched the locket tightly in his fist. He was so angry he didn't notice beginning to glow. Soon his mind was full of image's of his long gone friend's and family. He felt hot tear's burn down his cheek's as he let all of his pain anger and agony go. Finally he collapsed to the ground in a weeping sniveling mess, grasping the locket like it was the most important thing in his world. 

Soon he felt a magic unlike any other course through his body. He opened his eye's to see something truly unexpected. He was seeing a bunch of random image's and scene's that were not his to see. They all flew by at fast speeds, he was having trouble telling them all apart from one another. Soon however they all collapsed in on one central memory.

"These are the memory's of my friend's." He said as they all stopped at the same memory of him trapped in stone. He felt his heart brake.

"Why am i seeing this?" He asked himself looking away from the painful memory's. The locket caught his eye as it glowed once more. Then he thought about the riddle.

"Think about your deepest desire's and reveal the past ahead?" Then it all clicked. He knew what his deepest desire's were. He wanted his friend's back. Not just his friend's but all of Equestria. He looked at the locked. It was now shining as bright as the sun. But Discord never looked away.

"Ok you strange magical thing you. If you can really bring my world back then let's see what you've got." He said as he held the locket close to his heart and thought about his world.





The Place: The Seventh Element Verse.

The Time: June, 10th, 987, The Fields Outside of Canterlot.

Discord opened his eye's to see.

"Beautiful. Clear. Blue. Sky." He said to himself. He looked around his surrounding's. He was in a forest of some sort. As he looked around he felt something off. He reached down to were the locket should have been but found it missing. He panicked at the thought of loosing such an important piece of his own world but stopped when he heard the voice of a ghost.

"Is this thing even working?" Discord peaked through a bush and his heart almost stopped.

"G-g-gadget?" He stammered. Right here in the flesh was one of his life long friend's when by all right's and account's he should be dead and buried. Discord could only watch as Gadget fiddle with one if his invention's. He hit the strange metal box a few time's and them grabbed a small tool kit from his saddle bag's. 

"Ha never leave home without it!" Gadget said as he began to disassemble the small box and then put it back together. Discord was frozen in place. He couldn't think or move. Hell it was a miracle he could even breath at this point. Suddenly he was swept up by the same magic as before and his world went dark.





Present Day Equestria.

The whole group was shocked. Even the Princess's were speechless. Finally Twilight asked one simple question.

"Discord what doe's that have to do with now?" As horrified and saddened as she was she still wanted to know why they were called here. Discord looked at all those present.

"Because the one who did this to my world is here. And he will not stop until all who appose him are dead." He said as he gazed back to the darkening sky. His face blanched.

"Oh no!" He said backing away from the window in fear. Gadget stepped forward.

"What is it Discord?" He asked looking concerned for his friend. Discord's face looked absolutely horrified. He turned to the group and uttered two word's.

"He's here."
> Chapter 10: Chaos Incarnate, Part 2.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

8,1,1000 C.E.

9:27 A.M. 

Canterlot Castle.

The small group looked at Discord with pure fright in there eye's. Then Twilight stepped forward. Her voice more form than her resolve.

"Don't worry Discord. According to you, we've defeated this monster once. Then surely we can do it again." She said stomping her hoof. She stepped back, a little caught off guard herself by her word's and actions. She looked around and saw all eye's on her. Sensing her discomfort Gadget spoke up.

"Twilight's right." He said stepping up. Now all eye's were on him. His ear's pinned back but his head was held high.

"If we beat this thing before then we can do so again." He said looking to the Princesses. Then his ear's perked up.

"Beside's we have somepony that wasn't there if I recall correctly, right Discord?" He said looking to the draconequus. Discord looked back confused at first, but his eyes went wide when he caught on to Gadget's train of thought.

"You are correct my little equine friend." He said snapping his finger's. In a flash of light a very confused, wet and angry Princess Midnight was being suspended in mid-air in front of all of them. They all stared at the very pink-faced Princess as she did all she could to hide her wet figure from the many pairs of eye's in the room. Finding that she couldn't hide from her embarrassment she decided to take out her anger on the one responsible for her current predicament. Upon seeing her tormentor her magic came to her in full force as she shouted at Discord.

"Discord you will release me this instant!" She fumed as lightning began to crackle around her horn. Discord smiled weakly and bowed low.

"As you wish your highness." With a snap, Midnight was gently placed upon the stone floor and with a flick of his finger, she was dry and warm, as good as new. She was speechless as she turned around to study herself. Finally, she stopped and looked at the guests to the castle.

"Ok what is going on here?" She asked the group.





As the group brought Midnight up to speed Gadget went and sat next to Discord. He looked up at him and saw that he was in deep thought.

"Hey, discord?" He asked. The spirit of chaos looked down to his friend with a soft smile.

"Yes, Gadget?" Gadget looked outside the window.

"why couldn't you help fight this evil the last time?" He asked in a low voice so as not to attract anypony's attention. Discord looked stunned but then his face lit up with shame. He looked Gadget dead in the eye's.

"I could not use my magic against him the last time." He looked away to the outside and continued.

"The last time we fought it ended in me having all of my power's drained." He looked back to Gadget.

"Like cannot fight like. Only in this case like can absorb like." Discord eye's began to will with tear's.

"It also didn't help that i had so much anger and hatred inside of me. He used that to only amplify his power's. In the end i was as useful as a wet noodle in a twister." He snickered bitterly. He then felt a hoof touch his shoulder. He looked down to see Gadget with a smile on his face.

"Then let's go show this impostor who the real lord of chaos is." Discord looked torn, between believing his friend and his past helplessness. He felt Gadget's hoof tighten its grip. He saw the look Gadget gave him. Gadget whole heartedly believed that discord could win this battle. Then he looked to the rest of the group.

They all had the same grim faced determination. There world was not going to end today. Discord chuckled as he closed his eye's and his laughter reverberated around the hall. With the last of his sorrow now washed away by the tide's of friendship Discord took his first step's in a new light. The light of hope. He turned to his friend's.

"All right gang. Let's go get this usurper of my throne." He said as he brought them all together with a swish of his paw. Then with a snap of his finger's Discord, Gadget, Midnight and the rest of the main six all vanished in a bright light. Celestia and Luna stood there with bated breath.

"Sister doth thow think they will succeed?" Luna asked. Celestia looked to her sister and smiled.

"Well they'ed better or no pony will be safe. Not even us." She said as she turned around and exited the Main Gallery. Luna looked to were they where just moment's ago.

"Stay safe little sister." She whispered.




??/??/????..????

Discord teleported the group through time and space to there inevitable destination. When everypony's hooves touched solid ground again they all rejoiced at once again treading upon the earth. Then they all got a good look at where they were. Gadget looked around and then asked one simple question. 

" Discord where are we?" He said looking horrified at the landscape before them. Discord gave them all a grim smile.

" My friend's we are the one place I've never wanted to set foot in ever again." He said gesturing to the barren wasteland they had stepped foot into.

" We are in Maelstrom's domain." The pony's all looked outward in horror. The land in there wake looked as if it had been scorched by the flame's of tartarus itself. The sky was filled with black cloud's that lead way to a noxious green glow. As the cloud's faded in and out of reality the group saw that the sun itself was a toxic green color. They all shivered at the thought of what kind of being could possibly live in such a place. Discord squared his shoulder's and braced his mind.

"All right my friend's. Let's hunt this foul creature down and terminate it." He said as he lead the way down a zig-zaging path of black stone that lead further into the hellish landscape. After a while of walking Midnight got a good look at something in the distance. She pointed a hoof at it.

"Discord what is that?" She asked. Discord looked at it longingly.

"That Princess is Maelstrom's Palace. It is his seat of power and authority in this land and from it he rule's with an iron fist." Gadget looked at Discord.

"How is that possible Discord? He just got loose didn't he?" He asked puzzled. Discord gave him a look of pity.

"Yes it's true he did just get loose. In your world. But here he can manipulate the very fabric of time and space itself." Suddenly a voice, deep and full of malice lanced through the silence halting them in there track's.

"Ah!!! I see my honored guest's have arrived." Twilight looked around trying to find the source of the voice. Discord shook his head.

"Don't try Twilight. He is hauled up in his castle." He said looking up to the sky.

"Don't toy with me Maelstrom!" Discord shouted.

"Come out and face us you cowered!" Gadget shouted as well. Soon all of the pony's clamored for the evil tyrant to show himself. The voice just laughed as thunder shook the ground and lighting lit up the sky. The pony's all stopped in there track's. Even Discord hunkered down in the face of the storm that had just appeared out of nowhere. He shielded his ally's with a magical barrier of purple light.

"You fool's dare to challenge me? I am a god! I could crush anyone of you insignificant little insect's with a thought!" His voice boomed though the air, unabated by the storm's fury. As his display of power subsided Maelstrom was silenced by the last thing he expected to hear. Laughter. It rang from within the group as one pony just chuckled his little flank off. Maelstrom was baffled.

"Who dare's to slight me with there theatrics?" He demanded. Gadget got a hold of himself.

"Ah sorry big guy. But i have hard time dealing with life or death situation's. And trying to take you seriously just about made me bust a gut." He said a smirk crossing his face. 

The other's looked at gadget but then shook there head's. They knew he would pull something like this. He was hardly fazed by most display's of power. And with the big bravado this newest threat was showing off Gadget was liable to laugh in it's face. Discord looked at Gadget with sadness in his eye's. He looked toward's there destination Maelstrom's Castle. It had gotten closer than it had been before the storm.

Now that the group was closer they could make out the unmistakable and disturbing detail's of the enemy's fortress. It was an exact replica of Canterlot Castle. But instead of white marble and limestone is was made out of deep purple obsidian, twisted volcanic rock and black iron. 

"Well then champion's!" Maelstrom's voice sliced through the air, "If you think you have what it take's then by all mean's come and face me!" He said as the castle's thick iron door's swung open, inviting them in to the monster's lair. They all looked at one another and nodded there head's.

"We can do this." Gadget said giving each of them a confident smile. They all returned it even Discord who looked determined to stop this evil once and for all. All of them stopped in there revelry as the big iron door's shut all by themselves.

"Ah! ha! ha! ha! Good, then let the game's begin!" Maelstrom's voiced echoed throughout the castle. The ground began to tremble all around the group. Discord gathered them all together and formed a shield around himself and the group. They all rode out the quake until it had subsided. When the shaking finally stopped pinky opened her eye's and peeked around.

"Wow that was a whole lotta nothing." She said as she jumped out of Discord's arm's and trotted around the place. The other's unstuck themselves from Discord and trotted up to the big double doors that lead to the throne room. Discord looked around.

"I don't like this." He thought.

"Be careful guy's." He said looking to the empty throne. 

His eye's darted around the room searching for any hint of his foe. As the door's closed behind them the group payed them no mind. A bright flash of light stopped all of them in there track's. As they all regained there sense of sight they all stared in horror at the monster before them. His blood red eyes cut into each and every one of them like a hot knife. His inky black skin shifted and rippled of it's own accord. His face was nothing more than a black lifeless void, illuminated by two fiery orb's were his eye's should be. His body itself seemed to shift and phase in and out of reality. All in all he was chaos incarnate. 

"Hello my guest's." He said, a sneer etched into his twisted voice which seemed to emanate from mouth less figure. He eyed each and every one of them finally stopping at Discord who gave him a cold glare.

"Well now that we are all here we can have a little fun before i get to kill each and every one of you personally." He laughed. 

Gadget was not going to let that happen. He got in front of his friend's.

"You'll have to get through me first!" He said stomping a hoof and cracking the stone floor. 

Discord looked at Gadget and was surprised to see his eye's glowing a soft red. Then he remembered something important but he decided to leave it for later. Right now he was focused on countering anything Maelstrom might cast. Maelstrom just stared at the pathetic excuse for a pony. He was content to have his fun with them. 

And so Maelstrom brought his finger's to bare and snapped them. All at once time slowed down to a crawl. Discord snapped his own magic but looked on as each of his friends was enveloped in a dark purple aura. Maelstrom just smiled as each of the pony's vanished into thin air.

"NOOOO!!" Discord screamed as each of his friends was taken from him. He ran at Maelstrom but was hurled back by a dark shadow wall. Maelstrom just laughed and snapped his finger's once more. Discord was picked up and hurled into the stone wall behind him. He grunted as his magic came to life encasing his body in a shield. He was safe from Maelstrom's magic for now. Maelstrom laughed as he snapped his finger's and a floating sphere appeared before them.

"Now," he said sneering at Discord. "Let the games begin!" Maelstrom laughed as he watched Discord struggle to hold in his anger. Discord glared at him. "You will pay for this. I swear it." Discord said as he charged his magic. With a wild fury, he leapt at Maelstrom, his hand's raised as he cast a spell unlike any other before.

To Be Continued.
> Epilogue : Harmony Fragmentation.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

??/??/????




"Hello!?" Gadget Shouted into the void. Looking around with ever growing trepidation he steeled his ever burning nerves and trudged on through the darkness.




Princess Midnight was not amused. She scanned her surroundings and just held her muzzle high.

"If you think some cheap parlor tricks can stop me then you are dreadfully underestimating my power fool!" She screamed at the void. It visibly trembled under the force of her voice but did not subside. She stomped the ground before her leaving a crack on her wake as she began to trot off into the darkness before her.




Applejack gropped about in the darkness having called out the others moments ago.

"Landsack's where in tarnation are we?" She muttered to herself as she pushed on, not wanting to linger in the dark any more than she had to.




Rainbow Dash was having a very bad time of things. She trotted along steaming mad as her wings hung limply by her sides. She let out a groan as she strained to pull them close. She finally managed to close them around her barrel but this small victory left her severely winded. She stopped a little to both rest and get her bearrings.

"Let's see." She looked around and sighed.

"Darkness, darkness, and more darkness as for as the eye can see." She groaned as she got up off the ground and continued her treck. Looking back to her wings she refocused her anger.

"Maelstrom is going to pay for this." She vowed as she slipped further into the dark void.




Twilight's horn flared to life as she illuminated her surroundings with a purple light.

"Hello?" She called out and waited. Not getting a reply  back she sighed.

"Keep it together Twilight," she looked around.

"This is by far one of if not the worst thing to ever happen to you and your friends but you'll get through this. You all will!" Her resolution made she scanned her surroundings once more and gave huff of annoyance as she picked a direction and started trotting.

"Please let the others be ok." She frowned as she continued to trot not knowing what fate awaited her or her friends.