Survival is Magic

               Discord was bored again. Not twelve days after his escape (well, only technically if you counted the times the sun and moon came up as days) he was already stuck again. The first time had been a simple underestimation about the power of those Elements of Harmony, and this time was an oversight dealing with that Twilight Sparkle pony. He had been so sure that he’d broken her entirely, not to mention without even using a drop of magic for it, although he was never too sure that that would’ve worked in the first place; it had been his plan B. Not that it was doing him any good now. It had only felt like a single day, and to be fair it would’ve been if someone had bothered timing it. Or had a working watch at the time. That wasn’t lying to them. And was capable of compensating for the warping of the flow of time. But that still held no water- he was a statue again. Worse, he’d seen it coming this time so the pose they caught him in was simply appalling.

At least when Celestia and Luna froze him he had been as he should have: laughing like a maniac. That fact alone had provided him with a large portion of the entertainment he could muster up not being able to cast magic, or move, or even smell, or anything really aside from listening in on the world and thinking about things. Oh the stories he could have written… alas, once again he was in a stony prison. That was worth a bit of brooding, oh yes. Perhaps he should make that his idea of interest for the next few hundred years? Yes, that sounded like a decent plan. Brooding would be much for fitting for the look on his face that he was physically incapable of changing. It was absolutely humiliating. If he were Celestia he would have set a mirror in front of him just so he could keep looking at that pathetic, terrified face. Ooh, that would make a decent focus for after he finished his two century long brood-fest.

…This was horrible. There could literally be nopony else in the world that could have it this bad.

The Amazing Maxwell, though he hadn’t felt particularly amazing anytime in the past, what? Five hundred loops? Whatever. Just Maxwell sat on his horribly uncomfortable throne, and sighed. There could literally be nobody else in any number of worlds that could have it this bad. As if on cue, he felt Them come back, and with Them always came that sensation of having your sanity ripped directly from your being. They were upset. They were bored with the current pieces. Oh how absolutely shocking.

Maxwell had done all he could to keep them entertaining as long as possible. Each one had gone through hundreds of loops, constantly facing newer and newer challenges as Maxwell went through his creative phases, which he’d had none of as of late. Then, hundreds more as he allowed them to come into contact gradually. Eventually, he even let all ten of them group together and form a happy little family before he had them torn to pieces. Strong as they were, they were not as strong as the Amazing Maxwell as he was now. They’d never been. They never would be. Just as he would be forever bound to the throne, and Them.

They wanted more pieces. Maxwell was actually a bit surprised. He’d brought the last two in rather recently, hoping they’d keep Them entertained as long as the set before. Apparently it’d only whetted Their appetite. Fine then, it wasn’t as if he had a choice in the matter. They wanted more, and he’d get more. This wasn’t up to debate, just as it had never been. Maxwell felt the presence ease off his mind. If he wasn’t such a dapper fellow he’d have long since lost his mind to that experience. Although, to be fair it was more than likely that he’d simply lost his mind and gotten back so many times that it was hard to tell the difference.

Maxwell was now free to work. He lifted himself off of the throne and his torches immediately lit up the entirety of his little world just as he wanted them to. His gardens had long gone untended (he’d since found ways to just summon food), his iceboxes were full of snacks of varying degrees of freshness (summoning was a pain), and his chests were full of different odds and ends from his last experiments. Maxwell wasn’t feeling particularly creative… although judging by that giant contraption Maxwell noticed performing a quick check up on one of his longer lasting pieces, Wilson certainly was.

Wilson had been one of Maxwell’s first and favorites. He lacked the special talents of some of the others, but had put the forbidden knowledge to better use than any of them. He was working on some giant contraption as Maxwell watched through the void. It looked… a bit familiar. Wilson’s beard was grown out, it was late night, he was clearly on the edge of his sanity, and he was just finished running some fresh blood through the hollowed wood. Maxwell recognized this process, as well as the pulling of the inconspicuous lever that kicked off the magic. Wilson had built a make-shift version of his door!

Maxwell feared that he may have actually let one of his pieces escape, but there was no instant teleportation or dragging into the world over, nor did Wilson step into the device when the shining gateway opened. Instead, he stood there with an eager, wanting look on his face. A silhouette appeared. It darkened into a recognizable human shape, and out tumbled Willow, the Firestarter, another one of Maxwell’s pieces, after which the portal closed, as dull and powerless as it started. Maxwell watched, stunned as Willow slowly got up, looked at Wilson, and then basically freaked out. She had no idea what was going on, and Wilson was doing a shameful job of trying to explain it. Maxwell made a mental note to reset those two later. He had more important things to worry about.

Maxwell performed test after test and experiment after experiment on the device he’d taken from the Gentleman Scientist. It was the same as his in function, but significantly different in design, mostly because it lacked the proper kick. That wouldn’t be a problem, because Maxwell could provide that kick, but not before tinkering with the connection line the portal was set to. He doubted Wilson had done so intentionally, but he had managed to make a version of the door that could be redirected by adjusting the magic on it, something Maxwell had never bothered with, but now, with the number of remarkable people in his world running thin, another world might provide pieces that would get Them to shut up. Maxwell adjusted the connection line to a source he considered reasonably likely to yield results, and pumped the device with his dark magic. The image in the portal was… curious.

Discord felt a curious sensation. Under normal circumstances (ones in which he wasn’t comparable to a garden gnome) it would have made his skin crawl. It was powerful magic, and it was focused right on him.

“What the heck am I looking at?” Came a deep, masculine voice seemingly from everywhere. Discord was familiar with that effect, usually happened when he was talking out of nothing.

“Oh, nothing of consequence, just the spirit of Chaos, that’s all.” The draconequus said more to himself, but outwardly on the off chance it could hear him. He was pleasantly surprised.

“So it can talk. Well, this is a surprise. You look like you’re made of so many parts you could be one of my creations.” The voice carried a certain charisma, on top of the condescending tone that one uses on ones below them. Again, Discord could relate, but did not appreciate it being used against him.

“Believe me, if you could manage to make anything even close to me, the world would already be folding in on itself.” Discord felt no shame boasting his feats to this idiot. “I have made the sun and moon spin circles around each other, I have turned the world upside down and forced gravity to compensate for me, by turning Equestria into a world sized slip and slide. If you think yourself capable, then please, destroy everything and save me the hassle of waiting.”

“Is that so? A lot of talk coming from a lawn ornament, but that’s neither here nor there. I’m looking for players in a little game of mine, and you seem capable of providing if you’re as powerful as you say.” The voice said, mockery fading as he became the businessman he needed to be. “I don’t suppose you have any significant prodigies walking about? Ones that you wouldn’t mind… disappearing?”

Discord was more than a little upset seeing how little he seemed to this magical being, but the moment it mentioned a few disappearances, the gears were already turning, and he immediately felt like this voice he couldn’t even associate a body to must be some long lost brother.

“Disappearing!?” He said in mock horror, “Oh what a dreadful thought! How terrible it would be if the ponies that trapped me suddenly vanished! I don’t know what I’d do with myself.”

“Ponies?” The voice asked, obviously confused.

“Oh yes, each mares, each representing one of the Elements of Harmony. They’d be perfect for your little game, I’m sure. I’m only sad I won’t get to watch.” Discord went on, practically giddy.

“Ponies turned you into a statue?” The voice asked incredulously, suddenly doubting his source.

Discord had a vague feeling why. “You must be new here. Welcome to Equestria where nearly every resident is a pony and are ruled over by Princess Celestia, the alicorn who raises the sun.” He said, letting himself enjoy being the more informed for just a few seconds.

“If you’re messing wi-“

“Everything I just said is absolutely true. Feel free to check for yourself.” Discord interrupted the objection, and waited in silence until the voice returned.

“This is the most disgustingly colorful place I’ve ever seen.” The voice stated.

“My playground before those ponies cut me off.” Discord explained. “If you could make a few of them no longer my problem, you would have my sincerest gratitude.”

“People like you and I don’t have sincere gratitude.” The voice said flatly.

Discord laughed as loud a laugh as he could considering he was made stone. “Guilty as charged.” It was very true. There was more here than just revenge. This being didn’t understand the Elements of Harmony, or the inevitable chaos that would follow if their bearers vanished. Discord did. He continued before the voice could speak. “That’s no reason to break up this little collaboration, though. We both have something the other wants. Simple. What do you need to know?”

Discord could practically hear the grin on the other end. “Just who they are, what they look like, and how I can get into their heads.” The voice said.

Discord chuckled in a disturbingly calm fashion before speaking. “Get into their heads? I managed to turn their personalities inside out and then sick them on each other.”

“Then I think this will work out just fine.”