Last time found our heroes attacking and breaking into Z-Base to rescue the twins and destroy Psychomech before Djarlo could use it. Chrysalis, Sombra and the Raztonians slowed down Sora and the others enough for Djarlo to get the necessary data from the twins and began 'riding' The Machine. Sora, Aiden and the others rescued the twins and destroyed Z-Base, leaving a crippled Sombra to his doom with the exploding asteroid, while the Changelings and Raztonians escaped. Back at Ponyville, our heroes, with a little help from Cadence, revived Reina, yet Rita was still trapped in her mind. Luna then provided the solution. 'Nuff said, on with the show!
Chapter 9: Clashes Within And Without
"You mean go inside her mind…" said Sora.
"…like what you did with us?" Kairi finished.
"Exactly," said Luna, "only there is little time to prepare, and only two shall go with me into young Rita's mind," she then looked at Aiden and Reina, "you two, whom love young Rita the most, you must come with me."
"I don't think so!" said a very familiar, very unpleasant voice. Everyone looked and saw, hovering a few yards away, his body emitting a bright electric blue aura and his eyes glowing like golden fire, was Djarlo.
"Oh crap!" exclaimed Sora and Kairi at the same time.
"That's the understatement of the eon," said Malcolm.
"What's the matter?" Djarlo asked as he walked on air towards Sora and the others, "surprised to see me? Well, if I came face to face with God, I'd be speechless too."
"You're no god!" exclaimed Reina, her hands erupting into flames, "you're a monster of a monster! You are a pile of filth wrapped up in human wallpaper! You're a…!"
"I am that is," said Djarlo as he lowered himself to the ground and walked towards our heroes, "I am perfection personified; I am your new diety, so I humbly suggest that you kneel and proclaim your love for me!"
"As if an abomination like you even knows the meaning of the word!" said Cassie, "how did you do it!? How did you escape from Z-Base?"
"We destroyed it and Psychomech!" said Aiden, "you should be dead like Sombra!"
"That weakling?" Djarlo asked, "that one is dead, while the Changeling slut and her brood, they'll get their chance to worship me, as will the Raztonians, just as soon as I deal with their unpronounceable deity, assuming that creature even exists. As to how I am here before you, do you truly need to ask? I willed it to be so."
"Bull crap," said Yuki, "you probably finished your treatment from Psychomech and used your boosted powers to teleport away from Z-Base before it exploded. You may be a lot stronger now, but that doesn't make you a god!"
"I always was a god," said Djarlo, "I just had to complete my ascension in order to make it a fact in all respects."
"Declaring yourself a god only proves your own megalomania!" said Luna, "you may hold power beyond that which most mortals can only dream about, but you are only a different form of evil."
"Bold words from one who tried to murder her own sister," said Djarlo.
"That…was a long time ago," said Luna in a slightly unnerved tone, "I wasn't in my right mind then."
"Don't listen to him, Aunt Luna!" said Cadence, "he's just messing with you."
"Do what you need to do, sister of mine," said Celestia, "we'll see that you, young Aiden and Reina aren't disturbed."
"Yes," said Luna. She then looked at Reina and Aiden, "time is of the essence if we are to save young Rita from her innermost demons."
"Oh, that reminds me," said Djarlo in a nonchalant tone, "the twins, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill them."
"So you're gonna finish us now?" Reina asked, "being elevated to false godhood made you bored with tormenting us?"
"Oh, I would dearly enjoy toying with the two of you more," said Djarlo, "but there's so much to do, so many worlds and universes to conquer, so many souls to bend to my will, I simply do not have time for such trivial things."
"But if you are indeed a god, then you do have time," said Twilight Sparkle, "in fact, if you're a god, you've got the three O's on your side."
"What three O's?" Sora asked.
"Well," said Twilight Sparkle, "if Djarlo is indeed a god, then he's Omnipotent, Omniscience and Omnipresence; he knows all, is everywhere and is all powerful."
"Thou speakest the truth, Twilight Sparkle," said Djarlo smugly, "you may fall to your knees and worship me."
"But what if you're not?" Twilight Sparkle asked as she smiled confidently, "what if you're not Omnipotent, Omniscience and Omnipresence?"
"That's a good point," said Cassie. She then glared at Djarlo, "well? What if you don't have the three O's? What if you're just a supercharged esper with more delusions than an entire mental ward?"
"I am that is," said Djarlo, "I am the beginning and the end! I am power!"
"But not all powerful," said Kairi, "if you were then there's nothing you can't do."
"Precisely!" said Djarlo. He then waved his left hand towards Ponyville. A sudden bright flash illuminated the center of town.
"Look out!" shouted Celestia as her horn glowed, while Luna and Cadence's horn glowed as well, covering Sora and the others with protective shields as a massive explosion engulfed the town. When the heat flash and shockwave cleared, all that was left of Ponyville was charred rubble and shadow burns to mark where all the Ponies stood at their last moment.
"What…what just happened?" a horrified Rainbow Dash asked as she and the others looked on at the devistation in disbelief.
"He blew up Ponyville, that's what," said Sarah in a neutral tone, as if the act of destruction she had just witnessed hadn't fully registered with her mind and heart.
"All those people," said Twilight Sparkle, "all our friends, they're…gone."
"Why!?" exclaimed Riku at Djarlo, "why did you do that?! No one in Ponyville did anything to you!"
"Nor would they," said Djarlo, "that was just a demonstration of my power. Ponyville and its people will serve as an example of what I can do."
"You bastard!" shouted Denise as a fiery red aura engulfed her that materalized into a red Phoenix, her Stand, Ruby Inferno. The blazing phoenix flew towards Djarlo, but with another wave of his hand, Ruby Inferno was blasted to the ground by an intense force, while Denise also fell to the ground. The sound of bone breaking could be heard to everyone within earshot.
"You piece of crap!" shouted Nate as he summoned a blue turtle Stand, Sapphire Torrent, but instead used the turtle Stand to help get Denise out of harms way.
"Another demonstration," said Djarlo smugly, "and here's some more!" he then clapped his hands together and six of the E-Branch operatives, three espers and three special ops, were crushed into bloody pulps.
"You murdering son of a bitch!" shouted Reina, "I'll…"
"Don't!" said Luna, "you and Aiden have to save your sister!" She then looked at Celestia, "I need you, sister of mine, to see that we are undisturbed."
"Can do, Luna," said Celestia. She then used her magic to cast a protective shield around Luna, Aiden, Reina and the still unconscious Rita, "I'll do my best to keep the monster away."
"You won't do it alone, Aunt Celestia," said Cadence. She stood next to the Alicorn princess of the sun and cast her own shield spell that merged with Celestia's.
"Me too," said Twilight Sparkle as she stood next to Cadence and added her shield spell to the first two.
"You want to destroy the twins, you'll have to go through us first!" said Cadence defiantly as she, Celestia and Twilight Sparkle prepared to hold their ground.
"Same with us!" said Sora as he, Riku, Kairi, Malcolm and Tess summoned their Keyblades.
"You honestly think you can stand before a god and survive," said Djarlo, "you actually believe you have a chance, when I can swat you down like flies whenever I wish. It'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic."
"You're the pathetic one," said Ranma. He then looked at Aiden, Reina and Luna, "you guys do what you need to do, we'll handle the rest."
"Indeed," said Luna. She then looked at Aiden and Reina, "the time has come to delve into the inner mind of young Rita." Her horn then glowed as she prepared to cast a spell.
"Wait a second!" said Aiden, "we're not ready!" only for him and Reina to be hit by sleeping spells. They passed out and collapsed to the ground near Rita.
"Forgive me," said Luna, "but there's no time." She then cast the same sleep spell on herself. Her legs folded beneath her and she was asleep on the ground.
"Weakling worms!" shouted Djarlo, "I'll smite you into slime!"
"If you could do that you'd have killed us all by now," said Ranma, "but you can't, can you."
"Which brings us back to why you're not a god!" said Twilight Sparkle, "if you really were then you'd know that we will never submit to you. Yes, you've got incredible destructive power."
"As I only recently demonstrated!" said Djarlo, "look at that flyspeck of a town I just smote! I can do that to any other habitation in Equestria whenever I wish!"
"We know what you did, you sack of rotten apples!" shouted Applejack.
"We know you can do terrible things," said Fluttershy defiantly, though her eyes were welling up with mournful tears.
"But there's a limit to your evil," said Rarity, "otherwise you would have done more."
"If you could do it again you would have done so by now," said Twilight, "if you truly were all-knowing, then you'd know that no one in Equestria would ever submit to you. If you knew that, then you'd blast this entire world to smitherines and move on to someplace else. But you haven't."
"Because I don't feel like it!" said Djarlo.
"Because you're not omniscient or omnipotent," said Celestia, "already your power is waning."
"It took a lot of mind juice to do what you just did," said Eva, "I sensed you weakening for a moment, just a moment, but you drained a lot of psychic energy to blow up Ponyville, murder our friends and cripple Denise."
"I'm not crippled!" shouted Denise as she tried to sit up but Nate held her down.
"You've got limits," said Twilight Sparkle, "which proves that you're not all-powerful."
"And here's proof that you're not all-knowing," said Cassie, "tell me, who killed Tupac Shakur? And who killed Biggie Smalls?"
"I didn't know you liked American gansta rap," said Guy.
"There's a lot about me that you don't know," said Cassie, she then glared at Djarlo, "and if you were omniscient, then you'd also know what my favorite N.W.A. song was."
"'Straight Outta Compton?'" Yuki asked, "no, that's too easy. It's 'Boyz In The Hood.'"
"Wrong on both," said Cassie, "but good songs nonetheless."
"I've got a question that you can't answer," said Riku, "if a tree falls in the middle of a forest and there's no one to hear it, does it make a noise?"
"Of course it makes a noise," said Djarlo, "I will hear it, because I am everywhere!"
"If you were omnipresence then you could tell us what our boss, Lancaster Lawrence, is doing right now," said Leah, "right this very moment. What is he wearing? What did he have for supper last night? What's his favorite Judas Priest song?"
"'How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?'" Sora asked.
"Now that's just plain silly," said Kairi.
"It's the best I could come up with right now," said Sora. He then looked at Djarlo, "and you'd know that if you did know everything!"
"And as for omnipresence," said Twilight Sparkle, "you wouldn't be if you were omnipotent. If you were all-powerful, if there truly wasn't anything you couldn't do, then you could make yourself not be somewhere, therefore negating your omnipresence. And if you were omniscient, what if there's something that you don't know if you don't know?"
"I…well…I…that is…" said a highly flustered Djarlo, "silence! Kneel before your god and all will be forgiven!"
"Kneel before this!" said Chuck as he grabbed his privates, earning laughter from the remaining E-Branch operatives.
"Your evil ends here, Djarlo!" said Twilight Sparkle, "we've stopped the others from hurting innocent people and we'll stop you from hurting anyone else."
"Darn tootin!'" said Applejack as she, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Spike stood near Twilight Sparkle. The three Alicorns smiled as they formed an opening in the shield for the other Ponies and young dragon to pass through and stand with them, closing the shield back up afterwards.
"Oh, but the pain has just begun," said Djarlo, "it has just begun."
"I never knew my sister had such a wasted mind," said Reina as she, Aiden and Luna, found themselves in the middle of a blighted marshland. Everything was gray and lifeless; the trees, vines, undergrowth, even the water seemed dead, "it's worse than where I found myself after riding The Machine."
"I fear that your sister's inner demons are far worse than yours," said Luna. "Her somewhat unstable temperament and inner anger has lead to a darker mindscape."
"I didn't know," said Reina, "I didn't know she carried this much darkness in her heart."
"How could you know if she didn't open up to you?" Aiden asked.
"I should have known!" snapped Reina, "she's my sister, my twin sister, for crying out loud! We do everything together!"
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe she would want to do something by herself?" Luna asked, "something without her twin constantly looking over her shoulder?"
"I don't look over her shoulder!" said Reina irately, "I never look over her shoulder."
"You sure about that?" Aiden asked.
"Well…she's the only sister I got," said Reina, "the only family I've got in fact, if what that maniac said was true about wiping out our family and tribe." She then sighed, "we can worry about that later after we find Rita. The sooner we do the sooner we can get out of here, it stinks here!"
"It does have a rather unpleasant odor," said Luna.
"Like something died," said Aiden, "like a lot of things died. This whole marsh stinks of death."
"With good reason," said Reina as she pointed ahead. Dozens of dead and decaying bodies lay strewn about the marsh, some on the spongy ground, some in the water, some hanging from tree branches.
"In a way we're in luck," said Luna, "it appears that Rita's inner self has been this way."
"I always knew she had a vicious streak about her," said Reina as she, Aiden and Luna moved among the bodies, "but…this? Just look, some of these guys are almost torn in half. There's some over there burned to a crisp, and those were smashed to a pulp. And I recognize some of these guys, if you can call them men that is."
"Were they criminal scum on your world?" Luna asked.
"The worst of the worst," said Reina, "rapists, child molesters and sexual deviants whom my sister kept tabs on." She then looked at Aiden, "no one knows that Rita and I had a vigilante thing going for a while. Whenever we weren't off saving the world, we'd go into the worst parts of London, New York, Moscow or any major city we were in at the time. We'd lure out the scum of society and beat them to a pulp before calling the police. Sometimes we'd bust up a ring of human traffickers, other times it'd be child pornographers and so on. No one but us knew that a pair avenging angels were on the lose, cleaning up the filth of the streets, all to make the world a little safer, a little brighter."
"Then these deceased malcontents must be your sister's past recipients of her brand of justice," said Luna.
"Good," said Aiden as he kicked the body of a rapist, "serves them right for haunting her when she was most vulnerable." He then looked at Reina, "but if Rita was so afraid of retaliation from the creeps you two busted up, where is she? I thought you said she was also afraid of failure, weakness and public humiliation."
"I guess she's over that," said Reina, "but if she's not here, then where is she?"
"We must go deeper," said Luna, "deeper into young Rita's id in order to find her, where I suspect she is at the mercy of her truest, most darkest fear," she then looked at Reina, "a fear that I believe you two share subconsciously."
"What are you talking about?" Reina asked, "my sister and I are two different people. Yes, we're identical twins but we're almost complete opposites in personality. What could we both fear so much?"
"I think I know," said Aiden, "but we have to find her to be sure, come on!" With that the two humans and Alicorn hurried through the subconscious mind of Rita.
"Well, it's safe to say that this sucks," said Tess in a dazed tone after being knocked down by a psychic blast from Djarlo. All around her, most of her friends and allies were either dead, unconscious or too badly wounded to fight. Cassie, Guy, Leah, Eva, Chuck and Daniel all had multiple broken bones and internal injuries and the other E-Branch operatives had been horrifically slain.
Sora's left arm was broken in three places while his right kneecap was shattered. Both of Kairi's hands had been crushed, while she had four broken ribs and a collapsed lung. Riku was unconscious with a concussion and a fractured backbone, while Tess's right hip was shattered and had suffered numerous cuts and bruises to her face.
Only Yuki, Malcolm, Sarah and Ranma were still standing and able to fight, though they all had several scrapes, bruises and cuts that left them looking as if they had been on the receiving end of a severe beating.
Yet none of our heroes and allies, living or deceased, were touched by the enemy. In fact, none of them had managed to get close to Djarlo, for the mad esper with overcharged powers had inflicted all these wounds and deaths with mere thoughts.
"What do we have to do to beat this maniac?" Malcolm asked, "I've tried nearly ever dark magic spell I've got and couldn't even scratch the mother fraker!"
"His personal shield is too strong to bash through," said Ranma as he looked at his bleeding fists, while Sarah cradled a fractured forearm, "but he's got to have a weakness!"
"I'm open to suggestions," said Yuki, whom had been hurt the least out of everyone, her suit protecting her from the worst of Djarlo's psychic onslaught yet she had a fractured cheekbone and her right eye was swollen shut.
"We can't just give up!" said Sarah, "not while Aiden, Reina and Luna are still inside Rita's mind."
"And we've got our four-hoofed friends to worry about too," said Malcolm.
"Don't worry about us!" said Twilight Sparkle as she, Cadence and Celestia maintained their shield over Rita, Luna, Reina and Aiden, while Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Spike stood vigilantly with them.
"We just need to give Luna and the others a little more time!" said Celestia.
"I'm afraid your time is almost up," said Djarlo as he idly looked at his fingernails, "as soon as I finish with the other flyspeck fools, you're next."
"Yet another sign that you're no god!" said Cadence, "if you were all-powerful, you could finish us all at the same time!"
"Priorities," said Djarlo, "I prefer not to leave any riffraff in my wake." He then looked at Malcolm, Yuki, Sarah and Ranma, "why inflict more agony on yourselves? Just fall on your knees and beg for mercy? Who knows? I may be merciful."
"We never expected mercy from a madman!" said Sarah.
"A madman am I?" Djarlo asked, "no, I am not mad, for madmen lose. I've won."
"We're still standing, aren't we?" Ranma asked.
"While the rest of your comrades are either dead or too weak to fight!" said Djarlo, "you came here, expecting to find a madman, instead you found a god!"
"You're no god!" shouted Yuki as she rushed at Djarlo, headless of her friends shouting for her to stop. Yuki fired off the last of her darts and lasers at the mad esper, yet they all failed to penetrate his personal shield. With a flick of his wrist, Yuki was knocked to the ground hard, while sparks began shooting from her suit.
"Oh, this isn't good," said Yuki as she struggled back to her feet, "this is really not good."
"Then stop resisting and submit to me!" said Djarlo, "you've got nothing left but your fealty!"
"Oh, I've got one more thing left," said Yuki as she smiled grimly, "a bit of a last resort if you will, something Dr. Miles Hawkins would approve of."
"What are you talking about?" Malcolm asked.
"My god," said Cassie as she and Guy struggled to get back up but couldn't, "you're going to sacrifice yourself!"
"You can't do that!" shouted Ranma.
"Why not?" Yuki asked as she pressed a few buttons on her suit, "Dr. Hawkins sacrificed himself to stop an invisible dinosaur. He went out in a blaze of glory, it'd be fitting if I did the same."
"But you can't!' said Cassie, "you've finally made your dream come true! You can walk again!"
"And there's still so much good you can do!" said Guy.
"I've got a lot of irons in the fire back home," said Yuki, "projects that I've left instructions on how to complete in case I didn't come back. Oh, Malcolm? I left a message with Sidney. If you guys make it, make sure that it gets back home." She then pressed another button on her suit and a high pitched whining could be heard.
"Oh, so you seek to overload your suit and take me out in a fiery death," said Djarlo daringly, "is that what you seek to accomplish?"
"Damn right it is!" said Yuki. She then rushed at Djarlo, but then stopped dead in her tracks after taking only three paces before being levitated into the air.
"How sad," said Djarlo as he used his powers to restrain Yuki in midair, "so young, so brave, so full of potential and you're willing to waste it in an attempt at martyrdom. It'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic."
He then used his powers to rip the suit off of Yuki, leaving her helplessly dangling in midair in her underwear, her atrophied legs exposed for everyone to see.
"Oh, what the heck," said Djarlo, "I'll laugh anyway." He then laughed like the madman he was as he dropped Yuki to the ground, then tossed the overloading suit at Celestia, Cadence, Twilight and the other Ponies.
The three Alicorns, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Spike all yelped in surprise and fright as the suit hurtled towards them. It hit the shield and exploded with enough force to knock Malcolm, Sarah and Ranma to the ground.
When the blast cleared, the shield still held, leaving the Ponies, Dragons and unconscious Luna, Reina, Aiden and Rita unharmed, yet Celestia, Cadence and Twilight Sparkle looked as if they had just ran a marathon.
"Are you alright, Twilight?" Applejack asked.
"I'm fine," panted Twilight Sparkle, "it just took a lot of magic to keep the shield going after that explosion."
"It took more than a lot, I'm afraid," said Celestia, "I'm sorry, Twilight, but I don't know how much longer I can contribute to this joint effort."
"I'm almost out of magic too," said Cadence, "another blast like that and…well…"
"Ah, it's almost over," said Djarlo, "one more hit and I can finally finish my old business and move on to more…interesting things."
"I won't give you the chance!" said Sarah as she took out the red heart-shaped locket, "get ready to taste the rainbow, mother-fraker!"
But then the locket shot out from her hands before she could open it. The locket then hovered above Djarlo's outstretched hand, "the famous Rainbow of Light," he said, "an impressive piece of magic," he then clenched his hand and the locket turned to stone, "but not impressive enough!"
The locket then fell to the ground and collapsed into dust, from which rose a small cloud of rainbow-colored smoke.
"NOOOO!" shouted Sarah, "that belonged to my mother, you son of a bitch!" with that she rushed at Djarlo.
"Sarah! Wait!" said Ranma as he ran after her. But with a gesture of his hand, both Ranma and Sarah found themselves unable to move. They rose up into the air.
"My, what a lovely couple you two make," said Djarlo, "let's make your pairing eternal," he then forced Ranma and Sarah to embrace, then with another gesture of his hand, made their hearts explode within. Blood dribbled from their mouths as they fell to the ground like puppets who had their strings cut. They lay there embraced lifelessly.
"NO!" shouted Sora as he tried to get back up but couldn't, "this…this can't be happening!"
"Oh, but it is," said Djarlo as he smiled viciously, "and it's about to get worse."
Just then everyone still conscious heard Cadence gasp with exhaustion and she fell to her knees, the glow of her horn fading out.
"Cadence!" shouted Twilight Sparkle, "you've got to get up! You've got to!"
"I'm sorry, Twilight," said Cadence weakly, her eyes barely open, "I just can't," she then chuckles slightly, "if only Shining Armor were here to throw me again." With that she passed out.
"I'm afraid I've given my all as well, Twilight," said Celestia weakly, "forgive me." With that she sank to her knees, her horn's glow fading as she closed her eyes closed.
"Oh, too bad," said Djarlo, "you're all by yourself."
"She's not alone, you big meanie!" shouted Pinkie Pie, while Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Spike nodded in agreement.
"And they've got me!" said Malcolm as he rushed at Djarlo, only to be stopped and levitated midair by the madman's power.
"Enough of this tomfoolery," said Djarlo irately, "it's time to end my old business," he then grinned viciously, "and I'll do it in style as befitting the god that I am."
"You're no god!" Twilight Sparkle shouted defiantly.
"Yes I am," said Djarlo, "and I'll prove it."
"Now where are we?" Aiden asked as he, Luna and Reina, found themselves in a white void that stretched as far as they could see and beyond.
"We've seen some pretty fudged-up stuff in Rita's mind," said Reina, "I really had no idea she had so many problems and fears that she didn't tell me about. And I thought being scared of spiders and fire ants was bad."
"Perhaps you had deeper fears that Psychomech treated," said Luna, "and you simply do not remember them."
"It's a distinct possibility," said Reina, "I'm just sorry that The Machine was rebuilt by a sick gang of sick sickos who wanted to be gods. So many suffering people could be helped by Psychomech."
"It's too dangerous," said Aiden, "there's a lot of Alchemic formulae on my world that was marked forbidden because of the dangers involved. A lot of good could have come from that knowledge, but the possibility of it being used for evil was too great."
"Some things are simply too dangerous to be used by mere mortals," said Luna, "while semi-immortals should be wise enough to leave things well enough alone."
"You won't get any arguments from me," said Reina, "now, if we could just find my sister and get out of her mind, we'd be in pretty good shape."
"I think we're in luck," said Aiden, "I see something." That something turned out to be a dot on the horizon, a small black spot in the endless white, but it was enough to give the two humans and Alicorn hope.
They ran for what seemed like hours before reaching the spot, which turned out to be a little girl with black hair that had red highlights. The girl was sitting on the ground, sobbing her heart out.
"Is that…is that Rita?" Aiden asked as they cautiously approached the girl.
"I…don't know," said Reina. She then bent down to the girl, "hey…uh…are you okay?"
"Where's my sister?" the little girl sobbed, "I can't find my sister!"
"Is your name Rita?" Aiden asked as he bent down, "if it is, then your sister is right here."
"It's me, Rita," said Reina as she smiled warmly to the girl, "it's your twin! Remember me?"
"Where's my sister?" the little girl sobbed again, "why did she leave me alone?"
"I didn't!"' said Reina, "I'm right here!"
"Why'd she leave me?" the girl sobbed.
"I didn't leave you," said Reina as she began to cry, "I'd never leave you, you know that. But you've got to wake up, Rita, you can't stay here. You can't leave me all alone!"
"I think I understand," said Luna.
"I don't," said Aiden.
"It's separation and abandonment," said Luna, "the twins, their greatest fear is losing each other."
Just then an enormous black monstrosity made of living darkness that made bone-chilling sounds, appeared around the mind travelers, encircling them in its insidious cloud.
"Now what?" Aiden asked as he summoned his Keyblade.
"I could be wrong," said Luna as she and Aiden assumed defensive stances back to back, "but this…thing, could be the manifestation of the twins' fear."
"So this thing is separation and abandonment personified?" Aiden asked as he shot a bolt of alchemic energy at the dark cloud, yet the blast passed through without any effect, "it's times like this that I actually miss The Heartless. At least they're solid enough!"
"We cannot fight this abomination!" said Luna, "only the twins can!"
"Right," said Aiden. He then looked at Reina, whom was now sobbing just as hard as Rita's childlike avatar. "I think we have a problem. How do we snap them out of this funk?"
"I believe you have the answer to that, young lover," said Luna, "but hurry," by now the living darkness with its awful din was closing in on them, "time is not on our side."
"We're always in a hurry," muttered Aiden. He then took a breath and thought for a second, before walking over to Reina, "hey, I know you're hurting."
"What do you know of my pain!?" Reina asked as she glared her teary eyes at Aiden, "my sister, my twin, the only family I've got, she's lost to me!"
"She's only lost if you give up!" said Aiden, "and I know that you'll never give up, neither will Luna and I," he then looked at the creeping cloud of darkness, "but at this rate we won't have many more chances to reach Rita.
"But even if we fail," he said as he bent down to Reina, "if by some horrible twist of fate that we lose Rita to herself, then you still won't be alone. You may have lost your home world and your people, your birth family and friends, but you've got another family; Cassie, Guy and the others at E-Branch. You've also got everyone you helped in The Realms of Light, you've got everyone you helped in Equestria, you've got Sora, Kairi and the others, and most of all, you've got me."
"Really?" Reina asked, "I've got you?"
"All the way and beyond," said Aiden, "and don't worry about my being a kid and you a few years older than me. I'm man enough to handle you."
"Really?" Reina asked again, "wait, how old are you anyway?"
"Almost sixteen," said Aiden, "but I earned my manhood long ago. My dad took me to the Red Light District in Central on my fourteenth birthday, sort of a thing all boys in my hometown do on their fourteenth birthday. He picked out a lady of the evening for me to earn my manhood on. It was…a bit embarrassing, but I did it.
"But then my town was attacked and consumed by The Heartless," he said with a distant, remorseful look, "I nearly lost my mind and heart then," he then smiled again, "but then I met Sora and the others. My life was turned upside down, inside out sideways three ways to Sunday, and I've never regretted one second of it, especially not meeting you two."
"Wait a second," said Reina as she stood up, followed by Aiden, "you've had sex, but you haven't done it again in almost two years?"
"Well…yeah, I guess so," said Aiden.
"Is now really the time to talk about reproductive intimacy?" Luna asked as she used her magic to try and force the cloud of darkness back, but only slightly slowed it down.
"There's always time to talk about intimacy," said Reina. She then looked at Aiden, "if we get out of this, can we really be together?"
"I wouldn't ask for anything else," said Aiden as he and Reina embraced, "ever since we finished up the mess with Zerlina and you two went back to E-Branch, I've been thinking about you two, a lot. Whenever I wasn't focused on saving a world or helping my friends, I thought about us together."
"Then prove it," said Reina as she smiled lustfully.
"Gladly," said Aiden. With that the two of them kissed passionately.
Just then the younger image of Rita stopped crying, looked up at the kissing Reina and Aiden.
"Hey!" shouted little Rita irately. She then stood up, morphing into her adult self, "he's my potential boyfriend! Get your own!" she then grabbed Aiden away from Reina and kissed him lustfully.
"I had him first, you prude!" said Reina as she grabbed Aiden back.
"He kissed me first before we fought Zerlina, you slut!" snapped Rita as she grabbed Aiden's arm but Reina held onto the other.
"I saw him first at Cinderella's anniversary ball!" said Reina as she tried to pull Aiden back but Rita wouldn't let go.
"No, I did!" said Rita as she pulled at Aiden.
"Torn to pieces by two hot twins," said Aiden as Reina and Rita continued to play tug of war with his body, "what a way to go."
"AHEM!" said Luna loudly, causing the twins to stop tugging on Aiden, "if you two would be so kind as to stop acting like spoiled children, look around."
"Hey, that thing is gone," said Aiden as the twins released his arms.
"What thing?" Rita asked as she looked around, "and where are we?"
"We're inside you, you big goofball!" said Reina as she warmly embraced her sister, "I almost lost you there."
"You know that you'll never lose me," said Rita warmly. "Like it or nor, we're stuck with each other," with that she kissed Reina on the lips.
"Intamacy can wait," said Luna, "we must return to the waking world at once! I fear that our friends and loved ones need us more than ever."
"That psycho Djarlo got the full treatment from Psychomech and is stronger than ever," said Reina, "he's declared himself a god."
At that Rita looked mad enough to spit, "not if I have anything to say about it."
"Same with me," said Aiden as he pressed his wrists, "alright, let's do this!"
"How's crucifying us prove that you're a god?!" Riku asked as he, Sora, Kairi, Tess, Malcolm, Yuki, Guy, Cassie, Leah, Chuck, Eva and Daniel, were tied to large wooden crosses.
"And you forgot the nails," said Chuck, "and the scourging and crown of thorns."
"Emulating the death of The Nazarene has nothing to do with my ascension," said Djarlo, "I just wanted you all nice and secure while I finish my old business." He then looked at the Mane 6 and Spike, "I'll ask you this one last time; stand aside and prostrate yourselves before me. Beg for mercy and I may be merciful."
"You're too fuggled in the head to realize that we'll never do that!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Even if it means dieing for our friends!" said Spike. He then shook his head, "I can't believe I just said that."
"I can't believe that we're in this situation either, Spikey Wikey," said Rarity, "but here we are. This isn't exactly how I imagined my final moments, but if we must give up our lives so that others may live, then so be it!"
"Even if we really get hurt," said Fluttershy, "even if we die, we won't let you hurt the twins anymore!"
"Darn tootin we won't!" said Applejack.
"Just hold on, everypony," said Twilight Sparkle as she struggled to maintain the shield, "we've got to…we've got to give Luna, Aiden and Reina more…more…" she then gasped with exhaustion as her horn stopped glowing and the shield failed.
"Oh too bad," said Djarlo, "looks as if your last hope has failed you."
"No," said a panting Twilight Sparkle as she and the others glared defiantly at Djarlo, "there's always hope. Even in the darkest of nights, even in the bleakest of situations, even when there no hope at all, there'll always be hope, so long as we keep the lights in our hearts going, for even in the darkness, there's a light that'll never go out."
"You tell him, Twilight!" said Sora.
"Silence!" snapped Djarlo as he used his power to shatter Sora's jaw, then shattered Kairi's for good measure.
"Uh, I think he's really mad now," said Spike nervously as Djarlo glared at him and the six Ponies.
"Is it really that obvious?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"YOU!" shouted Djarlo, "you miserable little Ponies. "You still refuse to accept my godhood. So be it! Keep your pathetic gods! In fact, now would be a good time to pray to them!" he then levitated into the air, his body crackling with energy that he channeled to his hands, "'For I beheld Satan, as he fell from Heaven, LIKE LIGHTNING!'" He then dove towards Twilight Sparkle and the others.
But then Rita woke up, her body emitting a bright blue aura. She jumped to her feet, leaping over the Ponies as the blue aura concentrated into her left foot. She then delivered a devastating midair roundhouse kick to Djarlo. The kick, charged by the blue aura, impacted is personal shield but had enough force to send the madman hurtling out of control, slamming into a nearby tree.
"For crying out loud," said Rita as she yawned and stretched, "how's a girl gonna get any sleep if she's got psychos screaming like idiots around her?"
"I'm sure you'll manage," said Reina as she, Aiden and Luna got up. She then looked around, taking in the scene of death, destruction, then saw everyone still alive tied to the crosses, "uh…this isn't good."
"Sora! Everyone!" shouted Aiden as he rushed to the crosses and began untying them.
"Sorry you missed the party, Aiden," said Riku weakly.
"You saved Rita," said Cassie, "that's all that matters."
"Now would you mind untying us?" Leah asked irately.
"Hang on, I we got this," said Rita as she and Reina helped Aiden untie their friends.
"Celestia!" said Luna as she nudged at her unconscious sister.
"I'm sorry, Luna," said Twilight, "we did our best but we couldn't keep the shield up."
"We all tried our best," said Celestia as she and Cadence woke up, "that's all that matters." She then looked at Luna, "well done, sister of mine, you've succeeded."
"And not a moment too soon," said Cadence.
Just then Djarlo picked himself up and stomped towards the twins, his eyes blazing with vile fury, "you two! You should be dead by my hands! How dare you defy your god!"
"If you're a god," said Rita as she finished helping Riku and the others down from the crosses, "then we're about to kill one."
"Aiden, look after the others," said Reina, "we've got this."
"Are you sure?" Aiden asked, "you two just woke up."
"So did you," said Rita, "but we're ready for this slimy scumbag."
"We're not afraid of you anymore, asshole!" said Reina, "your mind mojo won't work on us now!"
"He's still deadly!" said Yuki, "he killed so many people!"
"He blew up Ponyville, for crying out loud!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Then let's put this murdering maniac where he belongs," said Reina.
"In the grave!" said Rita. With that she was engulfed by red flames while Reina was engulfed by blue flames. Dragon roars could be heard from the flames. When the fire cleared, Reina had become a blue-scaled Norwegian Ridgeback, while Rita was a red-scaled Peruvian Vipertooth.
"That incredible!" said Twilight Sparkle as she and the other Ponies looked in with awe, while Spike looked both amazed and jealous
"Thanks," said Reina in a rough undertone.
"You can talk now in dragon mode?" a surprised Aiden asked.
"And we're much stronger than we were when we roasted Zerlina!" growled Rita eagerly.
"You dare use your filthy bestial forms against me!?" shouted Djarlo as the two dragons circled him, "you dare defy my divine might!? You dare defy Djarlo!? Then so be it!" He was then engulfed by a black aura as his body underwent a monstrous transformation. His skin turned coal black as he grew four feet taller and quadrupled his muscle mass. His eyes remained shining gold as spiral horns spouted from his forehead, while bat-like wings grew from his back and his hands and limbs ended in claws that burned with hellish fire. A long, serpentine tail that ended in a spearhead point completed the transformation.
"He's like a bodybuilder from hell!" said Daniel in a terrified tone, while Sora and the other humans looked on fearfully.
"Is it too late to run away?" Spike asked.
"No, we can't give up!" said Twilight Sparkle, "we can never give up!"
"You hear that, Djarlo!?" roared Reina, "we're never giving up!"
"I don't care how freakishly muscular you make yourself!" growled Rita, "we're still taking you down!"
"You still dare to defy me," said Djarlo, "how tiresome!" with that the creature too flight and rushed at the two dragons, whom also took flight and rushed at the demon. The met in an explosive clash of dragon fire and hellfire, tearing, clawing and biting at each other.
"Quite the brawl," said a strange yet cheerful voice. Aiden and Malcolm looked and saw one of the most bizarre creatures they had seen yet. It had the long, serpentine body of a Chinese Dragon yet its body was an amalgamation of different animals. It had the head of a horse that was more goat than Pony with one deer antler and one rams horn, a short black mane and a white goatee beard. Its eyes were yellow with red irises, with one eye bigger than the other and had a single fang-like tooth sticking out from the others.
Its torso had a brown coat, its right arm was that of a lion, the left that of an eagle claw, the right leg was that of a lizard, the left that of a goat and its tail was like a dragon's with moderate amaranth scales. It had one bat-like wing, the other that of a Pegasus with white feathers.
"I must say," said the creature as he munched on a bucket of popcorn while hovering in a reclining position, its mismatched eyes on the fight, "I've seen some intense brawls in my time, but this…this is entertainment!"
"Discord!" said Twilight Sparkle.
"In the flesh," said the creature, Discord, as he gave a hovering bow that was half respectful, half mocking, "how good it is to see you again, Twilight Sparkle, you and your friends," he then looked at Luna, Celestia and Cadence, "and the two original royal Alicorns and their lovely niece."
He then vanished, only to appear behind Luna and Celestia, "you're as ravishing as always, my dear Princesses," he then appeared next to Cadence, "and you, dearest Mi Amore Cadenza, your husband is one lucky stallion. If I were only half the brave soul young Shining Armor is," he then startled Aiden and Malcolm by separating the top half of his body from the lower, with the lower half walking away and the top half remaining hovering in midair, "I'd sweep you off your hooves and take you on a romantic adventure beyond your wildest imagination."
"I…well…uh…" said a confused and somewhat embarrassed Cadence.
"Your wit and charm is as distracting as always," said Luna, her eyes showing her displeasure, "we are not amused."
"Did you have anything to do with this crisis, Discord?" Celestia asked harshly, "are you responsible for the all the death and destruction that has occurred here?"
"Death and destruction, you ask?" said Discor in a hurt tone, "why, Celestia, I am shocked and appalled that you would ever think me responsible for such evil."
"Wouldn't surprise me that you went this far!" said Rainbow Dash accusingly.
"Discord," said Fluttershy irately, "we've become really good friends and I value our friendship, but if you had anything to do with what happened to Ponyville and what happened to the others, I will make you regret it!" she then glared at Discord wrathfully, "you got it, mister?"
"I get it!" pleaded Discord as he backed away frightfully from Fluttershy's stare, "I get it! Just stop looking at me like that!"
"Then tell the truth!" said Rarity, "assuming you can tell the truth."
"Are you working with that maniac Djarlo?" Spike asked, "what about Chrysalis or Sombra?"
"Don't forget those bugs," said Applejack.
"Are you working with the Raztonians?" Fluttershy demanded, "tell the truth!"
"I swear I had nothing to do with those miscreants!" pleaded Discord, "nothing! In fact, I'm here to help!"
"A likely story," said Rarity, "I'd wager that you're just here to enjoy the bedlam, doom and gloom."
"Please, Rarity," said Discord as his two halves reconnected with no apparent harm to the chimerical creature of chaos, "why must you and the others think the worst of me? Have I made such a negative impression on you?" his colors then changed like that of a photo negative.
"More or less," said Twilight Sparkle, "but," she then looked at Fluttershy, "I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."
"Me too," said Fluttershy as her eyes released their intense glare.
At that Discord sighed with relief as he resumed his normal colors, "that's so much better. My dear Fluttershy, your inner intensity is more than a match for your beauty any day of the week."
"I…well, thank you," said a blushing Fluttershy, "I guess."
"If you're here to help us then help us," said Aiden, "before that creep Djarlo finishes mangling us all."
"If you're as powerful a chaotic entity as we've heard," said Malcolm, "then surely you can stop Djarlo's rampage."
"Oh, have I become so famous that even humans know of me?" Discord asked, "I'm honored," he then appeared in front of Aiden, "how pleased I am to know that The Keyblade Alchemist knows of me," he then shook Aiden's hand, while his other hand detached from his body and shook Malcolm's hand, "and how pleased I am to meet this infamous Keyblade Wielder. Such a paradox you are; a master of the dark arts yet you dedicate yourself to defending the light. If only there was time to sit and chat."
"There's a time and a place for everything," said Malcolm, "even chaos and mischief."
"We'd accept any help you can give," said Twilight Sparkle, "even if it's just a simple prank."
"You could hypnotize Djarlo into giving up," said Fluttershy, "or make him go away and never hurt anyone again."
"Heck, we'd appreciate if you only put the whammy on him and give us a chance to win," said Applejack.
"Hit him with a confounding spell or something along that line," said Rarity.
"Take away his will to fight or make him forget that he's psychic!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Hit him with a rubber chicken!" said Pinkie Pie.
"How's that gonna help?" Spike asked.
"I'd throw a rubber chicken if I had mine with me," said Pinkie Pie, "anything to distract him."
"Oh, I can't do that," said Discord modestly, "in fact, I'm not going to do anything physically to Djarlo."
"Of course you're not," said Cadence in an annoyed yet unsurprised tone.
"I knew you had no intention of helping us," said an irate Luna, "if you're just going to make a jest of this situation for your own amusement, then go away!"
"Oh, but I will help," said Discord, "there are other ways to win a conflict than resorting to fisticuffs."
All of a sudden, Aiden and Malcolm found themselves in the middle of a boxing ring. Aiden was wearing green and black shorts with blue gloves, Malcolm had red shorts with orange gloves, Discord was wearing a referee shirt, while the Ponies and Spike were the audience.
"Knowledge is as powerful a weapon as a Keyblade, if you know how to use it," said Discord as everyone found themselves in a library setting.
"Then what knowledge do you have for us?" Twilight Sparkle asked as the library setting faded away, leaving everyone back on the battlefield, where the two dragons and demon were still tearing at each other.
"The secret to Djarlo's success so far," said Discord, "that fabulous Machine that was at the center of this entire series of unfortunate events."
"What about Psychomech?" Cassie asked as she and Guy limped over, with Guy carrying Yuki in his arms.
"It's the reason why we're all in this god awful mess," said Yuki, "Djarlo manipulated his allies, minions, even us, into getting Psychomech built to augment his powers."
"All so he could become a god," said Twilight Sparkle, "but he's not."
"We know that," said Yuki, "but the more I think about it, the more I believe that Djarlo has come closer to becoming a god than we want to admit. He's not a true god, but he's quite possibly become the most powerful psychic alive. If he wanted to, he could kill us all at once and take out Equestria as well. He could blow up the entire planet if he wanted. It'd kill him in the process but he's got the power to do so.
"But how did he get that power? That's what I've been thinking about. Even with that final component that Simpkins stole the schematics for, even with technology decades beyond that of our world, Psychomech couldn't have made him this strong, not with this much psychic energy that is. After all he did so far; surviving the destruction of Z-Base, blowing up Ponyville, cleaning the clocks of everyone else and turning himself into a demon, he should have exhausted himself and had to rest, recharge his mental batteries."
"But he's still got energy to spare," said Malcolm as he looked the still fighting demon and dragons, "where did that energy come from?"
"You can't create energy out of nothing," said Aiden, "magic, science, alchemy, it doesn't matter what you practice, energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one thing to another; 'to obtain, something of equal value must be lost.'"
"First Law of Equivalent Exchange," said Luna, "a truth that applies so much."
"Djarlo had to have taken that energy from somewhere," said Cadence.
"But there wasn't anything," said Malcolm, "he was hooked up to Psychomech when Z-Base blew and…" a distant look dawned on his face as his words faltered.
"Are you alright?" Aiden asked, "what is it? Did you have another memory blackout?"
"By the stars, how could we have been so stupid!?" exclaimed Malcolm, "of course there was energy, all the energy he needed and more!"
"Okay, you've lost me," said Rainbow Dash.
"You ain't alone," said Applejack.
"No, it makes sense," said Twilight Sparkle, "Djarlo had all the energy he needed."
"Z-Base," said Aiden as he too made the connection, "he used the solar reactor of Z-Base. Before the asteroid exploded, he drew all the energy in the base's reactor unto himself. He had the power of an entire star at his disposal. For that instant, he was as close to a god as can be without becoming one."
"He then teleported away from Z-Base before it blew," said Malcolm, "or worse, shielded himself from the explosion. He might even have absorbed the energy of the blast, adding to his already awesome and terrible power."
"Okay, we know how he got so powerful," said Rarity, "yes, that's an interesting fact, but how does it help our cause?"
"If Djarlo got so strong by absorbing energy," said Aiden as an idea occurred to him, "the same could happen to Reina and Rita."
"You mean hit them with a bucketful of energy and they'll get super strong?" Applejack asked.
"Stronger even," said Luna, "while we were traversing Rita's mind, I happened to glimpse some of her recent memories. Djarlo taunted the twins while they were helpless. To make a long story short, the twins are the last survivors of a tribe of shape shifters that were on the verge of a fantastic evolution. Had they not been exterminated, then their people would have become beings of pure energy and awesome power."
"So that's their story," said Yuki, "cool."
"We always knew they were special," said Guy, "but this is more than anyone at E-Branch could have imagined."
"But how does it help us?" Fluttershy asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Celestia asked, "we complete their evolution."
"If we can infuse the twins with enough energy," said Luna, "we can trigger their ascension to the higher plane."
"Psychomech freed them of a whole lot of inhibitions and fears," said Aiden, "energy is all that's needed."
"But where's that energy gonna come from?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"You're gonna get it," said Twilight Sparkle, "R.D., I need you to find and bring back the biggest thundercloud you can get your hooves on and I need it fast."
"Okay," said Rainbow Dash as she took flight, "give me a minute or two." She then zoomed off, her multi-colored mane and tail leaving a rainbow streak behind her.
"If I'm right," said Twilight Sparkle, "then a couple of lightning bolts will be enough energy needed to help the twins evolve."
"Just one bolt of lightning has 1.21 gigawatts of electricity," said Yuki, "four or five at once should do the trick."
"Uh, before we commit to this plan," said Rarity, "I just want to ask if we should."
"Of course we're gonna do it!" said Applejack, "why wouldn't we?"
"We do need to think about it," said Malcolm, "I really am stupid. If the twins evolve, what guarantee do we have that they'll help us?"
"Of course they'll help us!" said Yuki, "they're our friends!"
"Will they still be our friends if they evolve?" Cassie asked, "who knows how they'll see us after they become energy beings? We'd probably seem less than ants to them. Why should gods bother themselves with the petty affairs of mere mortals?"
"Because they're our friends and we love them," said Aiden, "and they love us. If there's only just a small fragment of that love still in them when they ascend, if there's just one spark of humanity left, they will help us."
"But what if there isn't?" Guy asked.
"Well…" said Aiden in an unsure tone, "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Just then both Reina and Rita were knocked to the ground, landing hard in front of Aiden, Malcolm and the others. Both dragons were heavily scratched and bleeding, while Reina's left wing was broken, as was Rita's left forepaw.
"I don't get it!" growled Rita as she and Reina glared up at the hovering demon Djarlo, "how can this freakazoid be so powerful!?"
"We've got an idea on that," said Aiden as he rushed to the two dragons, "and an idea on how to help you two."
"But there's a serious risk," said Malcolm, "we're not even sure it'll work at all. And if it does, you two will never be the same again."
"We'll take any plan we can get our claws on," growled Reina.
"Just so long as we kill this creep!" growled Rita.
"I figured you'd say that," said Aiden, "but if it doesn't work, if something should happen to the two of you, I just want to say that meeting you, it's been a blast," he then kissed Rita on the side of her scaly face, then did the same with Reina. Both dragons blushed through their scales and growled happily.
"Are you two going to lay about like the weak worms you are?" Djarlo taunted from above.
"Just you wait, you slimy sack of pig vomit!" shouted Aiden as he summoned his Keyblade, "just you wait!" he then transmuted two patches of soil into iron collars and put them around the necks of the twin dragons.
"Uh…is there a reason you're putting collars on us?" Rita asked.
"You didn't even ask for our hands in marriage yet," said Reina, "or rather, claws."
"One thing at a time," said Aiden as she secured the collars, "we need something to draw the lightning to you."
"Wait, what lightning?" Reina asked.
"The lightning that you'll use to finish your evolution, obviously," said Aiden.
"Oh, of course, obviously," said Rita. She then blinked and did a double take at Aiden, "WHAT!?" she roared.
Just then the sun was obscured by a large thundercloud that Rainbow Dash pushed into the area, "sorry it took so long!" she called from above as she moved the cloud into position, "I had to find a really juicy one!"
"It's perfect!" shouted Aiden, "now send down the lightning!"
"NO!" shouted Djarlo, "I won't let you! I can be the only god here!" He then shot several balls of hellfire up at Rainbow Dash. The fast Pegasus barely dodged the hellish flames easily, but then one came too close, burning her wings. She yelped in pain as she fell, her wings trailing smoke as she plummeted to the ground.
But she was caught by Celestia and Luna, while Fluttershy, Cadence and Twilight Sparkle helped carry her safely to the ground.
"You okay, R.D.?" Applejack asked as she and the others crowded around her.
"I've been better, A.J.," said Rainbow Dash in a miserable tone, "my wings," she then looked at her charred appendages, "look what he did to my wings!"
"I'll do the same to anyone who dares interfere with my will!" said Djarlo, "now stop resisting and let me kill those miserable twins!"
"You really are taking this personal," growled Reina.
"You two think you can usurp my rightful destiny as a god," said Djarlo as he landed and stalked towards them, "I intend on proving you wrong!" But then he stopped and looked down in confusion, "what…what is this!?" he then began sinking into the ground, which had inexplicitly became chocolate pudding.
"How'd that happen?" Aiden asked.
Everyone then heard Discord chuckle heartily, "oh, that was too good to pass up!" he laughed, "I know I said I wouldn't directly meddle, but I just had to!" he then pointed at Djarlo, whom had sunk up to his knees in pudding and was getting deeper, "the look on your face, priceless! Absolutely priceless!"
"You disrespectful worm!" snapped Djarlo as he struggled to free himself from the pudding trap, "I'll vivisect you and rip your organs out one by one!"
"But I like my organs just the way they are," said Discord as his heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys appeared around him, "chaotic." He then looked at our heroes and allies, whom were glaring irately at him, "oh, alright, I'll help some more, but you'll owe me for this." He then snapped his fingers and two enormous lightning bolts shot down from the cloud. Attracted by the iron collars, they hit the twin dragons and engulfed them in white light.
The flash and thunderclap blinded and deafened Aiden, Malcolm and everyone else, while Discord had summoned a pair of sunglasses and soundproof earmuffs, while the force of the double lightning strike knocked everyone still standing down.
After an eternity of flash blindness and ear ringing, the senses of our heroes and allies cleared. The first thing Aiden and the others heard was Yuki saying, "that was way more than 1.21 gigawatts."
"I figured you might need a little more jolt in your juice," said Discord as he summoned a glass of orange juice, then 'drank' the glass, leaving the juice in his hand, then tossed the juice over his shoulder, which exploded when it hit the ground.
"But what happened to the twins?" Cassie asked.
"What do you mean what happened to us?" Reina asked, "we're right here."
"Where?" Guy asked as he and everyone else looked around, yet the twins couldn't be seen, "we can't see you!"
"Oh my stars!" exclaimed Rarity, "they've been atomized and turned into ghosts!"
"No, they're not dead," said Cassie, "they haven't joined The Great Majority. But…neither are they alive, I mean, not like mortals they're not."
"Then where are they?" Aiden asked.
"Hang on," said Rita's disembodied voice. There was a bright crimson flash and there appeared Rita in her human form, yet she was surrounded by a brilliant crimson aura. An azure flash followed and there was Reina in her human form but with an azure aura.
"Is this it?" Malcolm asked, "are they evolved?"
"NO!" shouted Djarlo, "I will not allow this! I defy this!"
"Shut up!" snapped Rita. Without warning, Djarlo's lips closed and didn't try as he might, the mad demonized epser couldn't open his mouth again.
"Wow, that was unexpected," said an surprised and delighted Rita.
"Since when could you use magic?" Reina asked. "Wait, it wasn't magic."
"It wasn't," said Rita, "I just willed it and it came to be." She then smiled brightly, "hey, do you feel that?"
"Yeah, I do," said Reina as she too smiled warmly, "I feel it."
"What do you feel?" Aiden asked.
"Everything," said both twins.
The End Of Chapter 9.
Next chapter finds everything coming together. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!