BEDLAM III: Quiet on the Set

The Canterlot Castle lab used by my double and his team was impressive. Like his personal device for compression, it seemed like most of their tools were stored in a similar magical fashion that allowed them to turn what would normally be a space too small to work inside into a micro-facility that could be rearranged by simply compressing one set of worktables and machines and conjuring up a different set.

That was the most I was aware of as he and the unicorns around me worked, since I was too caught up in my own mind. Idly watching them moving as directed by my double, I kept drifting back to our conversation. Our confrontation. Whatever.

I looked down at my hand, on which was fixed a modified version of the phase distorter. The same hand I'd nearly blown his head off with. The same hand I'd grabbed the bell with years ago.

Funny how things rhyme like that.

And by funny, I mean infuriating.

A crackle and a low whine drew my attention forward. In the middle of the lab was the one pair of objects they'd kept out the entire time. He'd explained it to me once, but I hadn't really listened since Twilight was there, helping him explain. All I knew was it was how I'd return to my Equestria.

The pair were two uniform block pillars with rotating bands of gems hovering around them. Not gemstones fixed on bands or anything, just gemstones fused together. The significance of this was lost on me, but looking at the machine up and down and having an idea of how my own tech worked, I felt the pure gem catalysts would provide a much purer stream of magic. And because it was purer that meant outside intent could manipulate it better.

Or something.

In any case, there was now a faint, blue sheet of magic rippling between the two pillars and the gemstones were spinning with a synchronized hum. Just beside it, my double was on one knee with Jury-rig making some adjustments and occasionally glancing at his projected map of the meta cosmos. Finally, they nodded and he rose before stepping up to me.

"Okie-dokie! You've got your phase distorter, modified by me. We've got the coordinates, we've got a tunnel," he snapped his finger at the portal. "And we've got a charge. Looks like you're all set." He smiled, but there was an anxious look in his eyes.

"So, you get what's going to happen, right? Like, the severity of it?" He asked with a strained smile.

"How long do we have?" I asked with a low, miserable tone, and my eyes locked on the portal. He tilted his head in thought and conjured up the map of the meta cosmos. He scanned the worm-eaten section I was returning to.

"Twelve, twelve and a half hours?" He tsked and shrugged. "Probably less."

I grimaced and folded my arms. "That's.. Not a lot of time to prepare." He huffed a laugh and slapped my back before staring at the portal.

"That's what I sent Discord over for. To get your Discord ready," he replied, now folding his arms as well. "Sorry we can't help, but I don't want to fuck with an already delicate situation. I'd hate to see what happens when three worlds start to overlap. But, at least-"

"Do you think it's too late for me?" I quietly asked. He hesitated and slowly closed his mouth. My eyes remained locked on the portal, but I could feel the team of unicorns around us staring at me.

"How the hell should I know? I told you, talk to her," he finally replied with obvious discomfort in his voice. After another moment he nudged me. "If it's any consolation, though, I had a feeling you weren't as off-your-rocker evil as our double. I wouldn't have bothered trying to talk with you, otherwise." I turned to look at him. He gave me as good a reassuring smile as he could manage.

"Which is also why I know you can handle what's waiting on the other side," he added. I considered him for a bit before humming and walking towards the portal.

"Bye, other Eddy!" Jury called with a wave. "Good luck!"

Her voice cut off abruptly as I passed the threshold. Once again, I was surrounded by that rhymic pounding boom and the fainty chime ringing out in contrast. I clutched the fist on which I wore my phase distorter and swept my hand forward. The booming and chiming suddenly halted and I felt myself moving.

I dragged my fist back and felt myself moving faster, almost like swimming. Repeating this motion a few times, I traveled until I felt everything around me suddenly drop away. This was something we'd discussed and I made a note of the sensation, as I'd need to repeat the trip to such a space later.

This was one of the holes in the space between worlds my double had drilled, which meant it was also my ticket home.

Unclenching my fist, I felt nothing for a moment, but then with a flash of light and sound, everything rushed into existence. I was back in the Crystal Mind chamber, in the Citadel. A faint aura of dust exploded off of me as the air was gently displaced around me, and I took a breath.

I examined the glove and managed a smile despite everything. "Fascinating."

My pleasure with experiencing time manipulation was cut short as I remembered time was still my enemy, among numerous other problems dominating my thoughts. I scanned the chamber to find it was slightly cleaner than when I'd left. Still dusty, but the bodies had been removed and the destroyed Crystal Mind was disassembled.

"Hello?" I called. My voice echoed into the corridors branching out from the room, but no response came. Frowning, I picked one at random and began making my way out. I desperately hoped Jury and Tempest hadn't left, as they were crucial to handling what came next.

And not just because if they left, that meant they also took the hovercraft. Though, that was definitely part of it.

"Hello!" I yelled as I ambled through the halls of my old fortress. "Jury! Tempest! Hello!"

[Hello!] I jumped out of my skin and whirled around before falling flat on my ass.

"K-" I choked and scrambled away from KS 6, who was tilting her head to and fro, looking me up and down.

[Hold on, I'll let Jury know you're here,] she added after a moment. I paused and my jaw dropped. She suddenly chirped and went stiff. [Eddy?! How- When- What the heck?!] I sighed hard at the sound of Jury's voice.

"I could ask you the same. When and how did you rebuild KS 6?"

[We found a stockpile of them that your double must've been working on. Remember, I told you we got ambushed by a whole bunch?] She replied. [None of them are as aware or conscious as the original though, so we've just set them to general labor while we try to figure out what happened to you!] The golem scowled and leaned forward.

[Speaking of! Explain please?] I let out a sigh and rubbed my head.

"Right. Tell you what, meet me in the Crystal Mind's chamber," I grimaced. "Things have escalated."

I glanced at the clock held in my magic. Twelve hours at most remained. I clenched my eyes and shuddered before turning back to the throne room. All around my throne were magically projected screens showing guards and city officials across Equestria scrambling to follow the evacuation orders I'd sent.

"I suppose it's lucky we have Bedlam's machinery to spread the word, but even still what can all those ponies do?" Rarity asked, drawing my attention forward to my friends, including Starlight, Celestia, and Luna. "Based on what Discord said, it sounds positively apocalyptic!" The sisters were huddled close to each other, and Celestia was staring off out one of the tall windows of the room.

When we learned what was coming, and what the implications were, she'd grown despondent. I couldn't blame her, especially since, without her horn, her ability to help was severely inhibited. There was only so much that raw strength could do in the face of what was coming.

"It is, but now that Discord has his magic back, he can restrain the worst effects," I replied and turned to the screen showing Discord and Fluttershy at the peak of the mountain that Canterlot was built upon. He was anxiously rubbing his talons together and cradling her while scanning the sky for any change. "But that's easily the worst part. He has to actively restrain it all. He won't be able to run, so the chance of Bedford capturing him and stealing his magic is high."

"What about Bedlam?" Flurry asked with her ears back and a wary frown. She was at my side while Cadance and Shining helped direct the guards in the city. With one exception, the rest of our non-pony allies had returned to their homelands to try and brace for impact, as it were.

I frowned at her question which I didn't have a solid answer to. He hadn't been seen in days, and there hadn't been any activity suggesting he was active. I turned to Flurry and managed a small smile.

"He was on board with defeating the other Eddy, so I can't imagine he'd help him," my smile faltered, and I glared to the side. "Now, rushing in at the last moment to try and make a power grab on the other hoof." Flurry wilted and the girls shared a look, which drew a sigh out of me. I shook my head and hugged Flurry.

"The only thing we can do is plan for Bedford. Plan for what we know is coming," I pulled back and gave her the best reassuring smile I could manage. "And do our best." Despite everything, she smiled back with a nod. And despite that, I couldn't help but glance at the image of Discord and Fluttershy, still waiting for what was coming.

The drone I was peering through hovered down the street, between the rows of the combat animunculi I'd arranged over the last few days. As I passed, details about their energy levels and munitions flashed before my eyes. As my conscious mind wasn't bound to a limited fleshy brain, I could easily organize all of this information in a matter of seconds.

I honestly don't know how any of the other Ed Bedfords manage what with them all still being flesh and blood. Well! In a few cases, I know exactly how.

They didn't! They're dead! HAH.

The drone I was operating came to the end of the columns of war machines before turning and looking over the entire army. Each and everyone was a duplicate of the body I'd invaded the other Equestria with a few days ago. Minus the phase distorter, as that was a bit too sensitive for mass production, especially since controlling all of these was going to be a challenge even for me.

Fortunately, I had a solution for that. I set the drone to return to its home in the center of the city before I flashed back to my main body in the castle. I hummed and scanned the room around me. A mechanized alicorn with a yellow chassis stood at attention.

"Have you processed the control routines I prepared for you?"

[Yes sir.]

"Good girl!" I praised. The door slid open and a pony-shaped golems came marching in. There was a time when I'd need guards to apprehend individuals of interest. Those days were long past. Now it was as simple as sending out a command and waiting for a response.

[I have a concern,] the alicorn asked. I waved my hand and she continued. [Returning to the other Equestria with or without an army would require-] Her inquiry died as I began to respond.

"I've still got access to the satellites and a whole mess of facilities to work with. Plenty hid in far reaches of the continent that he kept secret," I drummed my claws on my throne's arm, producing a rhythmic tink. The entire complex system was flashing through my vision as I sorted and calculated how long I'd need to remotely manufacture a new Crystal Mind. As I did, I glanced at the pony golem I'd called in. "So, you used to be Jury-rig, right?"

[Yes, sir.]

"Neat. His version of you was pretty handy with machines and alchemy," I leaned forward and tilted my head. "How about you?"

[Sir, this unit's talents prior to mechanization were-] The golem's report was cut off when a warbling drone echoed into the room. All at once, I began receiving alerts and magical signals from..

Everywhere, really. The entire planet.

I folded my arms and began dissecting and studying the readings as they came flooding in. My vision was a constant stream of notices popping up and overlapping each other, but with my mechanical brain, it was easy to pin specific repeating elements.

Despite that, I couldn't be certain if this was a positive development since the dominant element found in all these readings was a magical 'sinkhole' similar to what I'd see in my experiments in dimension hopping. Lots of magic was getting sucked into arcane tunnels in the meta cosmos and seemingly starting to drag physical material with it.

I tilted my head before jolting upon realizing what was happening. "Shit."

The portal fizzled and finally peeled apart before fading into the pillars that had generated it. The gemstone rings providing power to the spell spun faster and glowed brightly before hissing and popping. All at once they spun off-kilter and rattled down the length of the pillars before resting in a smoking pile at their bases.

Silence filled the lab as the team stared at the space where my evil twin had vanished. After a minute or two, one of the assistants turned to me with an anxious look.

"What happens if they can't contain it?" He asked, causing the rest of the team to turn as well. With a hearty sigh, I raised an eyebrow and folded my arms.

"Well, it's not a matter of if. Their Discord's aware of the situation and could reverse it with enough effort, then my psycho doppelganger can use that phase distortion whatever he called it to start patching the holes," I clicked my teeth and gave a wry smile. "The real problem is my other-other double. He's probably going to be gunning for Discord the entire time." I screwed up my face and stared at the inactive portal.

The unicorns all shared a look before one spoke up. "What, uh-"

"If Discord isn't allowed to reverse it, it'll cause a meta-cosmic collapsing cascade," Jury offered as she trotted forward to begin disassembling the device for storage and study. I rubbed my chin and followed her.

"A what?" The unicorn asked. Jury smiled and nodded.

"Meta-cosmic collapsing cascade! I came up with the name when we noticed what was happening out there," she brushed a hoof against her chest as she spoke. "Anyway, it works like this.."

As per my request, once we reunited, Jury, Tempest, and I began hurrying for the hovercraft. The small gang of KS 6 replicas Jury had managed to reprogram and activate did little for my feelings of unease as we began to fly to Canterlot.

"So this other me came up with the name?" Jury asked with undisguised glee as the craft took off. I glanced back at her and the dozen and a half Twilight golems we had following us.

"Correct," I replied, turning my attention forward. Jury let out a squeal. "She also figured out what would happen if it occurred."

"And what exactly is that?" Tempest asked, leaning forward to look at me. I grimaced.

"Well, you have to use a lot of magic to burrow through the space between worlds to even communicate with them," I explained with my expression gradually growing more sour. "Keeping them open for just a brief conversation is fine, but my double's kept his open for years while he worked. Those holes are now set, like clay that's been allowed to dry." I looked over my shoulder at my companions with a severe expression.

"And like with clay, it's not exactly the most stable. They're starting to collapse," I huffed. Jury's glee melted while Tempest furrowed her brow.

"Whats that mean?" The latter pony asked. I nodded and looked forward.

"It means that, just like how I explained what my dreams and visions were about, the magical space around this world is starting to try and fill its gaps. And the only way to do that-"

"Is by reaching into other worlds," Jury quietly offered. I tsked and inhaled sharply.

"Yeah," I muttered and shrugged. "The problem is, these things require effort to restrain. Discord is going to be using his magic to try and do just that, while I use this to try and patch the holes by distorting spacetime." I held up my phase distorter and rattled it. For a moment, only the gentle hum of the hovercraft was heard.

"And," Tempest finally asked. "If you can't?" I didn't answer right away and when I did I swallowed first.

"Well, two worlds colliding like that is a problem. That's a lot of magic all focused to a single point. So-"

"A magical singularity, just like he's been trying to create?" Jury offered again. I glanced back at her to see she was staring ahead with wide fearful eyes.

"Bingo. An explosive one that could cause a lot of damage to the rest of the multiverse," I grunted and winced. "Especially since it'd punch a big old hole in spacetime, which would start trying to fill itself in again. Likely causing a second and larger explosion."

"How long do we have?" Tempest hastily pressed.

"My double estimated around twelve hours, but-" A warbling drone cut me off. Looking ahead and then around, I saw the sky was suddenly overcast, with an eerie green light piercing the clouds in places. In the shafts of light, I could faintly see buildings. Tall, metal buildings swarming with mechanical life. The light shimmered and flickered as the drone croaked out louder, and with each flicker, the sights became more solid.

My jaw hung loose and I heard Jury gasp. Tempest hopped into the passenger seat next to me to look at the scene in shock.

"Could be a lot less, considering how fucked spacetime is right now."