Gotenks did it

After just having met their idol, the cutie mark crusaders were feeling ecstatic, those feelings of excitement, glee, and determination didn't carry into Trunks and Goten.

"Don't you get it? If we don't find those gemstones before whoever that was, we're stuck here!" said Trunks, irritated

"Yeah! I miss my mom, my dad, Gohan, candy, and a whole bunch of other things!" whined Goten

"C'mon guys, we're competing with Daring Do, of all ponies, doesn't that make this trip worthwhile?" said Apple Bloom, this triggered a simultaneous "No!" from Goten and Trunks.

Before this conflicted conversation could continue, a bolt of lightning struck the ground next to them. The wish crusaders looked up, the sky was clear, no storm clouds in sight.

"Why hello there!" said a voice, he caught the wish crusaders by surprise, he materialized out of thin air. What had appeared in front of them was a Draconequus. He had black fur, and he was covered in scars. He had the face of a goat, with a horn covered in something that looked vaguely like blood. He also had crooked wings, and eyes that were dark as night, only illuminated by his yellow pupils.

After taking a long minute to stare at it, Sweetie Belle broke the silence.

"... Are you... Discord?" she asked hesitantly

"Discord? HA! That guy's a poser. I'm Chaos, a rising star of sorts, and you must be the wish crusaders." he said

"How did you-" said Scootaloo before being cut off by Chaos

"How did I know?" A smirk grew on his face "I know everything."

"Why are you here? And do you know anything about-" began Trunks

"Gemstones? Yeah, I've got one, if you pass my trial, and as for why I'm here, ponies just don't appreciate my special talent. About that trial..."

With the snap of his fingers, or perhaps claws, a large castle rose from the ground inexplicably. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a knockoff of Castle Canterlot, except it looked as if someone had taken a wrecking ball to it.

"I've been sealed here for years. Rather tragic, isn't it? It's an exact replica of the blasted Princess's castle, it's so large and grand, but so empty to remind me of how alone I am. Don't ask why."

"Okay, I'm touched by your tragic backstory, but we have places to be. Can't you just give us the gemstone?" said Trunks

Chaos muttered to himself about today's youth, and warped the wish crusaders to a hedge maze.

"This is easy! We could just-" said Goten

"Fly? It's more simple than that, moron. You're not the first one to come here, you know. I've seen tons of pegasi waltz in here thinking that they can take the easy way out, So before you think about flying, I would look above." said Chaos, above there was a large group of storm clouds.

"Oh and one more thing before you walk in there like an idiot, the two paths are uneven, one only has room for two to walk through, and the other path is narrow enough for three.

The Wish crusaders stared at eachother, wondering who should go with who.

"Fine. If you won't decide I will!" said Chaos, and with that, he sprouted multiple arms, and threw Scootaloo and Trunks in one path, and Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Goten in the other, and the hedge maze closed it's entrances.

"Owch, what the heck! What a jerk!" moaned Trunks, Scootaloo's reaction wasn't much different. They then decided to just go with Chaos's odd game and roam the hedge maze, looking for a solution.

"Can I ask you something? Are you like superheroes where you come from?" asked Scootaloo

"Kind of, me and Goten are good guys. But we're not the strongest, I could probably name a whole list of people stronger than me. Like this one guy, Broccoli, or something, he was crazy, he just kept shouting "Kakarot" and tried to kill us and-" Trunks caught himself before he went any further.

"What? Spit it out!" commanded Scootaloo

"I sorta, kinda, maybe... wet my pants while fighting him. But not because I was scared or anything!" Scootaloo snickered

"Well sorry if you're not used to fighting guys who want to kill you! I bet you spend most of your time just frolicking around in the air with your flimsy little wings, don't you!" said Trunks harshly, in return, he got a hoof-slap across the face.

"Hey." said Scootaloo sternly "Don't talk to me about flying."

"What's the big deal? It's just a joke." said Trunks

Scootaloo sighed, "I can't actually fly. But hey, it's OK, it's not the first time I've been picked on for it."

"Oh, um my bad. Hey, who says there's no hope?" said Trunks

The labyrinth was seemingly endless, constantly making twists, turns, and dead ends. Eventually, they had reached the center of the hedge maze. It was filled with statues, they were statues of Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi, and even Griffons. The statues all seemed to have a terrified look on their face.

"Oh, so you two have found out my special talent. That's not good is it. Well, let me fix that!" Suddenly, Trunks felt his body become stationary, he was rapidly losing feeling in his body. Finally, he lost all of his senses, he could do nothing but think, in all senses of the word, he was a statue.

"I wonder how Scootaloo and Trunks are holding up, they probably found the center before us." said Apple Bloom

"They probably already found the gemstone! We don't need to worry." said Sweetie Belle

"I don't know guys. Something about Chaos just seems off, he doesn't seem like the guy who would flat out give it to us." said Goten

"Goten! You shouldn't judge other ponies like that! It's just rude!" said Sweetie Belle annoyed, and they continued on their way until they found a note on the ground.

To whomever may stumble upon this

I don't have much time left, Chaos is insane. I got away from him, but not before cursing me so that in a matter of minutes, I'll become pure stone, a trophy for his sick game. Whatever you do, do NOT, let Chaos poke you with his index claw, it's how he turns you into a statue. He lacks compassion, please help the poor souls trapped in their stone prisons. The rest of the writing is faded.

The rest of the walk to the center was unnerving, if the note was to be believed, Chaos has been keeping ponies hostage in statues for who knows how long, and there was no getting out of it. Chaos had sealed the entrance to the maze, meaning that they were trapped in an unfamiliar place with a madman!

Finally, Goten, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom had reached the long, open section which, as they expected, was decorated with petrified statues.

"Oh goody, you finally got here-"

"KAMEHAMEHA!" Without warning, Goten fired a perfectly aimed ki wave at Chaos's, he dodged it with a swift tilt of the head.

"Ha! I interrupted you that time!" bragged Goten

"ZAP! You're a statue!" Almost instantly, Chaos retaliated with a bolt of magic that petrified Goten instantly.

"You didn't actually believe that note I left on the ground did you? That was a fake, you simpletons!"  said Chaos, who fell over laughing at the wish crusaders' misfortune. After he regained his composure, he attempted to zap Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle with petrifying magic.

"Sweetie Belle! What do we do?!" said Apple Bloom, distressed

"I might have a plan. Rarity gave me this portable mirror as a present, I think I still have it." said Sweetie Belle, pulling a small mirror from her hair.

"Zap!" cried Chaos once again, but the beam hit the mirror, and it reflected onto Scootaloo, reversing the effects of the petrification. Chaos was too frustrated to care about that, he was hell-bent on turning Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to stone. Sweetie Belle repeated the process until Goten and Trunks were free.

"Hey Goten! I think it's time we show them it." Trunks whispered something to Goten and he nodded

"Fuuuuuuu-SION! HA!" cried Goten and Trunks in unison, and there was a blinding flash.

"Am I supposed to be intimidated? You just did a stupid little dance, and now you're just a kid with a bad fashion sense!" said Chaos mockingly

"Just a kid? You just picked the wrong fight, buddy." said Gotenks, with a smirk on his face so wide it was unnatural. With a quick, but loud cry, Gotenks ascended to super saiyan three. Chaos let out a rather feminine yelp of anguish.

Chaos ran for the nearest exit, Gotenks was there in half a second.

"Hey Chaos, I have to ask you something." said Gotenks still carrying a smirk on his face.

"What is it?" he replied, his voice trembling

"Heads or tails?" asked Gotenks

"What?"

"I'm asking you, heads or tails?"

Chaos gulped, "Tails" he said quietly. In response, Gotenks grabbed him by his tail, and spun him around, getting faster and faster with each spin, and released him, sending him flying towards the low lightning clouds, which Chaos himself had set as a trap, electrocuting him.

Chaos fell to the ground like a rock. Gotenks appeared satisfied.

"Owch, you'll pay for that! ZAP!" He pointed at Gotenks and nothing happened. "ZAP!" he cried again, and nothing happened.

"Just give up already. You can't hurt anyone, and everyone you turned into a statue escaped. Don't make this any harder than it needs to be." said Apple Bloom, he mumbled to himself, and gave up.

"Ahem. You know what we want Chaos." said Scootaloo

"Oh right, the gemstone." Chaos suddenly began coughing, and a object that looked vaguely like a shiny rock covered in hair and dust. The wish crusaders cringed.

"Fine, if you're really that picky I'll just dust it off for you." With the snap of his claws, the gemstone was as good as new, and Gotenks defused.