By the time the heated debate between Nefarious and Qwark over whether or not it would be considered good etiquette for Nefarious to attempt to court Qwark's little sister finally started to die down, Alister had already cleared the first group of attacking robots. When he got back and found that they were still debating, he decided to add his own two cents. "Nefarious, you're a villain! Why do you care about what's considered good form from a social perspective?"
"Because I'm not trying to date Twilight as a villain!" Nefarious snapped back. "Didn't you catch that earlier when I said it was completely separate from any villainous intentions regarding kidnapping and roboticizing? I mean seriously, just because I'm an evil genius mad scientist bent on universal domination doesn't mean I can't be a gentleman!"
"An admittedly fair point," Qwark admitted. "And one thing I have noticed about you is that as deceitful and conniving you've been about your plans and villainous schemes, you've never actually lied."
"Of course I haven't!" Nefarious snapped back. "What's the point of lying? That's like those villains who 'pretend' to have a change of heart only to use it to stab the good guys in the back! No self respecting mastermind would stoop to that level!"
"For one thing, there's too much danger of the 'pretend' part changing," Twilight piped up.
"Exactly!" Nefarious agreed. "If I ever consider changing sides, I'm going to make a genuine try of it as serious consideration for a change in lifestyle, and give any friends I make in the process due warning if it's not working out so they can choose which side they'd rather be on. An inability to live a certain way is one thing, but there's no value in betrayal!"
"But what about teamed up villains stabbing each other in the back?" Twilight asked as they started moving through the city, almost absentmindedly activating the weapons vendor they came across to get new armaments for everyone. By habit, Twilight put it all on her tab, as her account had grown huge on interest and wise investments after renegotiating her Gadgetron contract at 18.
"Well, that's different!" Nefarious countered. "Villains expect that, and wouldn't respect you if you didn't! Even so, it's far more interesting to be the strategist of a villainous team-up. That way you can send your allies to their doom against the heroes, weakening both allies and heroes until whoever's left falls easily when the time comes for either the backstabbing or the dramatic confrontation! Alternatively, your victory leads to them being subordinate to you, and if they actually agree then that loyalty is worth keeping and rewarding."
Twilight gasped in amazement as the group took the automatic training course for the new function of the weapons in the 'Friendship through Firepower' program, where weapons fired together from multiple combatants with the same weapon at the same target would result in all weapons involved kicking into overdrive for greater damage and building up an explosive blast at the target. "You've read the Overlord List!" she squealed. "But...then how come you don't ask Lawrence to point out flaws in your plans?"
"Come now, Twilight!" Nefarious countered. "Lawrence is many things, and useful in many ways...but he is not an average five year old!"
"For anyone who cares about our actual mission here," Azimuth grumbled as Twilight giggled, "it seems the new robots are after the Z'Grute-"
Twilight yelped in surprise as one of the more advanced of the new robots grabbed her. "Put me down!" she shrieked angrily...only to stare, stunned, as Qwark, Azimuth, and Nefarious lunged in, literally ripping the robot limb from limb, Qwark with his bare hands, Azimuth with his lance, and Nefarious with his laser chainsaw. "Uh...guys? I think you got him..."
"It seems the robots are after Twilight as well," Azimuth concluded.
"Not on my watch!" Nefarious and Qwark both shouted together, only to turn and glare at each other. "Hey! I can do a better job protecting her than you!" they snapped, again simultaneously. "Can not! Can too! Can not! Can too! Hey, stop copying me!"
Azimuth leaned in towards Twilight. "...am I the only one getting a 'separated at birth' vibe here?"
Twilight stifled a giggle. "And here I thought you were the group's straight man," she teased.
"So that means it's my responsibility to reign in the insanity of the rest of you?" he grumbled in reply.
"Well...that is what Daddy asked you to do in keeping an eye on Qwark and I, right?" Twilight indicated.
Groaning, Azimuth brought his palm to his face. "...can we go back to blasting robots to bits?"
Chuckling, Twilight led the way forward, rather surprised to see that Qwark and Nefarious followed automatically. As they progressed, the FtF function of the guns achieved a great deal of use, and with everyone following her lead as to what to shoot, even the most heavily armored of the bots they encountered went down swiftly.
Before long, the group came to an obstacle Twilight was unfamiliar with. It appeared to be a swingshot target, but there was nothing to swing to. "Hmm..." Twilight murmured as she stared at it. "I wonder..."
"Only one way to find out!" Qwark proclaimed, latching onto it with his swingshot. It lifted higher into the air, dragging him with as it started to open up.
"Oh! It's a swingshot group carrier!" Twilight declared. "Once we're all hanging from it, it'll take us through the city!" She quickly latched onto Qwark with her swingshot. Glancing down, she saw Azimuth latch onto her before Nefarious could, and Nefarious grumblingly latch onto Azimuth. She giggled as the carrier extended a propeller to carry them through the city.
As it flew, Qwark spoke up. "Hmm...this is going to take a while...let's play I Spy!" Glancing around, he grinned. "I spy with my little eye...something that begins with...C!"
"Z'Grute begins with a Z," Nefarious pointed out.
"How'd you know?" Qwark gasped in shock as Twilight facehoofed.
Evil Robotized Twilight Sparkle? All the universes aren't ready...
Azimuth's reaction to this adventure.
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Weaponized friendship..... I can't wait to see Celestia's reaction to that friendship lesson when Twilight gets back to Equestria. I also loved Nefarious' explanations for evil team ups and Heel Face turns. I can honestly see him trying to be good, only to keep putting death rays on everything.
I freaking LOVE this arc right now!!
Also,
Damn, these guys can be savage.
7120842 I swear to any and several universal deities... the second that happens I'll commit seppukku
This is going to be one of the best arcs, specifically for the dialogue. I am going to enjoy every freaking second of this.
7120863 Who says you can't be good and put death rays on everything?
7120981 Oh sure, one or two, but putting them on EVERYTHING means you can't resist the call of evil. I totally want a death ray for the front door so I can blast door to door salesmen into ash, but you don't need one in the fridge for example. Or the toilet. Stash a ray gun in case you're attacked while using them, but don't put a death ray on them.
7121002 Of course not! It's impractical to put death rays everywhere. That's why you have extendable boxing glove defenses!
Ah, yes, the ever-reliable Overlord List. Gotta follow it to a T if one expects to excel in dominating anything. Nefarious is best gentlebot.
7120954 The robot's got standards, I can tell you that much
I can't tell if Tats is following my idea... or if it's all still just going to be a gag... Well played, you bastard.
An interesting side of Nefarious. Looking forward to how it turns out.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
Ah, yes. The all-important Evil Overlord list.
7121099 I'm hoping too.
7120842
It would be like if Granny Weatherwax's sister had actually been the Good One, and Granny had carte blanche to be as bad as she wanted to be.
In her own words, "We're witches. We do Good. We don't do 'nice'."
Looking forward to the "That's not one of mine." From Nefarious.
I swear to god Tats, I will throttle you if you cut that line.
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
Nefarisparkle huh......I ship it.
This arc is wonderful. And to think people wanted you to skip it.
7121002 Itr the Mad scientist Maxim. If you can fit in a death Ray laser, you put in a death Ray laser, no exceptions. And Twilight and Ratchet have already been doing this, so what's one more person with a million and one weapons?
7125028 Well...
Okay, Fluttershy has untapped potential. She's an MC, with a BC personality.
Twilight is a bookworm who has never read an paragraph of 'How to Dance' text.
Its not like following an alien mammal across 3 galaxies in a battle against any possible evil teaches her to shake it like THIS!
7126139
Nah...I'I'm pretty sure that that meant she was The Doctor.
7121099 I just had an idea on how this could end. Things end normally, Nefarious leaves gloating about him being a supervillian. Quark and Twilight complain, thinking he was turning over a new leaf, and then he references that "I said if I'd ever turn good, I'd let you all know! I never said I was trying to!" and then leaves.
Later Twilight gets back home and finds a bouquet of chocolate covered flowers with a letter basically saying "I'm sorry, but being a hero is a big commitment that I'm just not ready for yet."
Your thoughts?
Personalities are selling it.
or you turn your colleague into a sheep, that works as well
...
This is beautiful!!!
The interaction is amazing!
Dude, is Nefarious Dr. Horrible now?
Yes, yes, let it happen. Let the ship flow through you.
8498465
hmmm, when one tells me what to do, two options come to mind, I'll go with my former options... ALL THAT YOU ARE IS THE END OF A NIGHTMARE, ALL THAT YOU ARE IS A DYING SCREAM, AFTER TONIGHT, I SHALL END THIS DEMONDRY!
"I AM DEFEATED!"
11121800
That’s an act not a lie. Completely different