A New Lord of Chaos

I gave Luna a smile and summoned Rainbow Dash from her room. ‘Chaos magic is a wonderful thing.’ I muse. ‘I could turn her back to a pony and bring her here at the same time from what I’ve seen, even Celestia is limited to one spell at a time. Still where would the fun be in that?’ One pissed off looking Rainbow Dash appeared between Luna and myself.

Looking around she seemed shocked. I mostly attributed this to being brought into my throne room stark naked and dripping wet.

‘Looks like she took that order to take a bath seriously.’ When she saw Luna she broke down in tears, ran up to the princess of the night, and threw her arms around Luna. Tears in her eyes happy to see someone she recognizes after close to three days with only me as company.

Luna looked flustered. It was obvious she had been expecting a pony, not a soaking wet humanoid female. It looked like she was going to push her off when Dash finally spoke.

“Princess Luna you came for me, thank you.” She started crying in earnest.

Luna looked at the young woman clinging to her. Taking in the bright blue wings, the raspy voice, and of course the rainbow hair. She finally seemed to find her voice. “Rainbow Dash?”

She just clung to Luna and started to cry harder unable to bring herself to speak just yet.

“What did you do to her?” She was growling at me.

I found it cute until I remembered one fact horses bite. I huffed. “Less than you think.”

She blinked at that the look on her face not lessening. “Explain then why is she crying this way?”

Several reasons darted around in my mind. I had two answers that fit the bill one would get me scorn the other at the least would get me a kick to the shin. “I have two ideas but I would need to run some tests. For now though...” I trailed off before reaching over and adjusting the cane in its stand.

A brief flash of light and Dash was back to normal. The tears really dialed back at that point.

I shuddered. “Fears confirmed. Made her to much like my race.” I went off muttering to myself. ‘Heat would be fun. PMSing ponies not so much.’

Luna blinked and began questioning Rainbow Dash. I didn't really pay any mind to it until I heard her shout. “He fed me meat!”

Luna look at me agast. She took a deep breath and I felt the mother of all bitching rants begin to form. ‘Oh hell no.’ I decided for my sake and to speed thing up to preempt her. “Like eating meat is such a bad thing. It is a required part of my races diet and you didn’t notice or care until what the six or was it the seventh meal?”

Luna gave me a level look and Dash was a bit lost.

I gave them a blank look then smiled showing a lot of teeth. “Here is a hint. Bears, turtles, raccoons, pigs, badgers, opossums, and skunks.”

Dash was long gone mentally I knew she wasn’t dumb but I still expected her to grasp this given she and Fluttershy were old friends.

Luna on the other hand got the pattern at Raccoon. She gave me a nod and asked. “You’re an omnivore then?”

“Bravo, got it in one. I still don’t get why she was so repulsed by the idea of eating meat. I mean one of her best friends lives with a dragon.”

Dash gives me a questioning look.

Luna adverts her eyes.

“You have got to be kidding me! The only predator on this forsaken rock of a planet that my people revered and respected, and you don't even bother to feed the one living under your rule properly!”

They both give me the evil eye forgoing off on one of my little tangents. “Yes, yes be mad at me later. The games have begun and you are now eligible to try and win back the element of… Which one were you again?”

She gives me a level look. “Loyalty.”

“You can try to win back the element of loyalty, or you can stay here and continue to enjoy my hospitality.”

She seemed to panic a little at the thought of not trying to win her freedom. “I’ll play! I’ll play! What do I have to do?”

I give her a smile. “Remember those halls I never let you in?” She nods. “Enjoy finding your way back to this room. Oh at any time just yell ‘I Quit’ and the game ends you're brought back to my side but I keep the element. You understand?”

“Yes.” She tersely responds. “Like I’ll quit. I doubt you have anything I can’t get through.”

I give her an evil little smile. “Good luck. You’ll need it.” I tap my cane and off she goes.

“Luna completes the game. Player two still playing. Player three has entered the game.” A voice says echoing briefly in my throne room.

“Shall we watch?” I ask the now trapped princess.

“Whatever magic thou hath wrought has left us with no power to even cast a basic scrying spell. How would we watch?” She asks haughtily.

“You ponies, so magically advanced yet so backwards technologically.” I say in a tired voice. “While I can forgive you for being ignorant of such things as you are trying to catch up after your absence. It seems as though your subjects have little imagination for the physical sciences.”

She gives me a quizzical look. Like she wants to know the answer but does not wish to ask me.

Reaching into my breast pocket, I pull out a remote. “I can never remember if your subjects developed cinematography? Or how far they developed it?” I press a button and a large screen descends. I give Luna a look then my throne. I stand up and tap my cane.
The Crimson fabric swells and the sides expand. In place of my throne is now a very plush looking loveseat. I sit back down and Luna just arches an eyebrow. I push another button and one of the eyes of my light fixtures begins to project a picture onto the screen. The picture is divided in two one shows Rainbow Dash looking around the other Fluttershy curled into a ball shivering both are at the end of two halls with nowhere to go but forward.

Luna seems surprised and a little scared by the implication of such a display because while it was obvious to me that she could sense my display of magic transforming the throne it was clear as day that no magic was being used now. Finally, she turned and asked me a simple question with hundreds of answers. “How?”

I give her a smile and pat the seat next to me. She gives me a flat look. “Princess, you can either join me, and watch as an equal, or I can shrink you down and place across my lap like a cat.” I pause for a second thinking over that statement and my smile becomes a grin. “Actually that sounds fun. I can shrink you down to the size of filly call you Woona and brush you”

I was reaching for my cane when she bolted to the open cushion and began to situate herself. I harrumphed. “Never going to get a willing lap pony.”

She gave me a look and asked her question in a more direct manner. “How are we seeing this?”

I sigh and begin. “May I assume you are familiar with photography?” She nods and I continue. “The basis for this technology is the use of a camera. If someone were to take several pictures in quick succession. Then take the film and shine a light through it and on to a blank canvas or wall while moving the film what would happen?”

She ponders this before answering. “You would project the image on the film onto the surface.”

“Correct, and because of the differences between each frame your mind preserves the movement between shots.”

She nods understanding. “So what we are seeing is a series of previously recorded images.”

“No.” She frowns and I continue. “What I told you is the basis from which this technology was founded. Take that forward forty years in my people’s history and we develop a means of broadcasting such images across distances. When my people combined this film technology with a closed circuit we developed a means of watching live events over a great distance with only a few seconds at most time delay.”

She blinks at the implication. “Scrying without magic.” I nod and her analogy. “What did your people use this for?”

I shrugged. “Where didn’t we find an application for it? Spreading news and entertainment, observing dangerous experimentation, and like we are doing now security.”

She frowns at my answer. “What do you mean security?”

I sigh and began pushing more buttons. The images on the screen increased. I had sixteen different images up in a square pattern. Some showed empty halls. One displayed the two of us on the seat. Another depicted my empty dungeons. Several of the outside views displayed guards and the remaining element bearers.

She blushed as my response clearly pointed out the obvious answer to her question. “I can see the use of such a thing.”

“Quite. Now where are my manners?” I reach down and take her right hoof in hand. I bring it up and kiss the joint above the hoof. “Princess Luna, it is my utmost pleasure to welcome your grace to my home. My name is Delirium and I shall be your host.”

My greeting seems to spark old and well-drilled reactions. “Thank thee for thine courtesy mine host

I give a satisfied little sigh and smile at her. “Thank you. It is nice to find someone who understands the old etiquette's.”

She blushes. “Quite. It is a pleasant surprise to find you this well-spoken.”

“Indeed, just because we find ourselves on opposite sides in this conflict does not mean we cannot be civil about it.” She nods at this. I smile at her. “Your sister was right; you are most definitely a pleasant conversationalist.”

“Speaking of my sister, where is she?”

I look at Luna then at the screen, taking note of the time. “Well it is almost two am now. So in four or five hours the guards will find her in the palace.”

“She’s in the palace; where?”

“Do you know the broom cupboard two levels under the room where she disappeared?” Luna shrugs. “Well I left her in there with only a mop to keep her company.”

Luna frowns at this. She was about to say something when Rainbow Dash finally started moving.

“Popcorn?” I offered a bag I conjured up to her.