After the defeat by the hooves of Brutalight and her companions, The Subject weren't so lucky to find a way to recover. They have indeed survived the battle, but were mostly battered and wandered through the wasteland of the Freak World. The didn't said a word but were silently blaming each other for whatever their downfall.
However, they were wandering aimlessly. In fact they had survived the encounter because somepony in a cloak saved their lives in exchange of their collaboration. After a while, they stopped in front of a forsaken laboratory. They stepped inside, not expecting to find a very intriguing surprise.
There was a huge ring, being a inter-dimensional portal. The place was larger than a hangar and was full of machinery. Some of the machines were assembling advanced looking metallic ponies, who were now walking around and doing some job that was assigned to them, including carrying some material, fixing the machines, guarding and so on. And at the center of it there was their benefactor, waiting something for an answer.
"What about that?" The cloaked mare asked mockingly. "This portal it's quite functional. If you don't believe me, you can let me test that by myself."
"Is that true?" Painset asked, surprised.
"No, I'm sorry but should we trust you?" Magic retorted. "You may have saved your life but you expected to gain from us."
"Oh, please. What could possibly be this thing we should be informed about?" Magic inquired.
"Nothing. But had to consider to take advantage of the portal while Brutalight is currently dealing with her mind being split in three by a unknown enemy and is now almost unable to control her powers." The cloaked mare said bluntly. "In fact having three personality fighting each other in her mind is surely a real issue that would endanger her and her friends."
"What!?" Magic exclaimed incredulous.
"Is that true?" Painset asked, surprised.
"Correct... Not that you have enough brain to know how exploit this crisis." The cloaked mare responded.
"What's that!?" Painset shouted before shaking her head rapidly in response to a psychic shift and resumed with a low voice. "How dare you!"
Not minding the scornful gazes coming from Painset and Magic, the mare headed toward two tombstones and looked down.
"Hey! Don't ignore us!" Magic shouted.
"Anyway.... you wanted to return in Equestria, right?" The mare asked calmly.
"That's what I intend to do!" Painset said before shaking her neck again and shifting into a younger voice. "So what!?"
The mare stared in the void without said anything for a moment, not minding their growing anger. Then she spokes with a crude tone.
"You didn't know that a inter-dimensional portal can also be built by converting a specific living being into magical energy through a alchemic process, right?." The mare asked
"Do we look like freaking alchemists?" Magic ask in sarcasm.
"What you have to do is just channeling the magic of a specific scroll that involves inter-dimensional sorcery into the living sacrifice, concentrating one the world you want to return and then 'bang'. Your portal is ready." The mare confirmed.
There was a long instant of quiet. The two pony freak looked at her in shock, feeling really taken aback from that discovery. They didn't found anything like that.
"You lie!" Painset's neck cracked again, returning into her normal one. "I never heard of such method, so that cannot be real!"
"Say whatever you want, but is real. But I don't think you had the common sense to took them with you." The mare commented.
Painset turned her attention to Magic and give her a stern look while the latter looked at the alicorn nervously. The Black Cloaked Mare observed the odd pair impassive, but slightly annoyed.
"Why are looking me like that?" Magic asked nervously.
"You were examining the scrolls before we were attacked by the mercenaries." Painset assumed.
"If you are talking about these," Magic hesitated. "I'm afraid..."
"Afraid of what?"
"The scrolls were burned by a Pyro during the attack."
"Are you SERIOUS!? Why you didn't took them with you!?"
"Most of the scrolls consisted into summoning creatures from other worlds which the majority of them were inferior. I didn't considered them to be useful." Magic meekly said.
"Are you stupid!? These would had been useful!" Painset scowled.
"You didn't told me to." Magic retorted with sarcasm. "At least i'm not stupid enough to not having take the plan to return into Canterlot and find a way to replicate the magic mirror. I would had told you, but you had already gone into a rampage on that village and overused your powers. The destabilization wouldn't have happened if you had read the rest of the scroll and restrained yourself for doing that."
"You want having another bad round with me, dumbass!?" Painset threatened, glaring at Magic.
The mare didn't looked at them, but her face slowly shifted in muted annoyance. As she was even questioning about the reliability of the two mares.
"This is why i never hangout with a duo of retards." The Black Cloaked Mare complained.
"WHAT!?" Painset and Magic howled at unison, turning their heads toward her.
"I won't doubt that you have outer-wordily powers, but your mentality is not brainer," The mare turned toward them and shrugged her shoulders."I can't believe that Brutalight was almost losing against two idiots."
Both of them glared fiercely at her, with Painset's eye nervously twitching. They glow their horn to use their magic, but something bizarre happened. The Black Cloaked Mare looked at them with eyes completely devoid of any feelings and before they could could do anything, the pony freaks found their mouths being stuffed with a stream of red liquid coming out of the cloaked mare's hooves and going right to their throat.
Their horn stopped glowing and their magic was neutralized. But that was nothing compared to what happened next. Their sight was blurring, the world around them was spinning, the oxygen began to missing in their aims, their limbs were frantically shaking and their bloodstreams completely stopped along with their heart beats. They couldn't even scream.The only thing that they could see clearly was the mare's eyes.
Painset refused to believe what she was feeling in that moment, but these eyes didn't looked so terrific before. Magic was just hoping if they end up killed by her. Both the freak mares could feel their consciousness slowly fading away due to the total shutdown that is happening to their bodies' biological activities, unable to do anything but watch and listen her as their sight was slowly fading.
"Is that the right time to give in your arrogance for you?" The mare said with a intimidating tone while giving a glare that would had dismembered even the most fearful of the alicorns. "I wasn't expecting to knee before me, but you should at least know when NOT act very recklessly. Or even according to your newfound chaotic nature, which is very stupid."
Painset and Magic weren't feeling their bodies at all. All of their emotions almost died off, except for their fear, which is very prominent in the pathway of incoming death. The cloaked mare kept her chilling eyes pointed toward the two freaks.
"Did you had forgot that I was the one who pulled both of you out of the clutches of your incoming death? You made had accepted my terms, remember?"
Both the mares hated to admit due to their pride and ego, but she was right. That mocking pony was the one who saved them from their fate during the aftermath of their fight against the Elements of Insanity in exchange of their collaboration. Painset and Magic saw what she was capable of despite her being a earth pony who wasn't a freak, but they weren't expecting her to cornering them like that. Painset felt the pain her pride being gravely hurt surviving the effects of the biological shutdown before being completely silenced.
They could feel their lives almost coming to a end as their sight faded in the dark, their minds being cloudy and their consciousness going to sink in the eternal void. Their once psychotic eyes were filled with a mix of fear and hatred toward the mare before becoming almost lifeless. The Black Cloaked Mare's glare then shifted into a calmer glance at the last second.
"That's enough." The mare said as she pulled the red stream out of their mouths, causing these to vanish.
Painset and Magic collapsed to the ground and remained there, frantically shaking and coughing violently to catch all of their air back. Their sight slowly returned and their brains and organs returning functional as their hearts resumed their beats, resuming their bloodstreams. Their powers, however, were temporarily weakened drastically, just like their anger. They still hate her guts, but wouldn't even think to mess with her after that experience... for now.
"Anyway, let's go to the real topic." The Black Cloaked Mare said, making a chilling smile.
Painset and Magic slowly rose up, still dizzied and trying to hide their scorn and homicidal impulses. That experience was humiliating enough that they won't even going through that again. That doesn't mean that they wouldn't get revenge for that, when the right opportunity will present itself.
"Now, time for teleportation." The cloaked mare said as she pressed some button from a console.
Without any warning, the ring began to glow in a blinding blue light and a black swirling liquid appeared in front of her, growing in dimensions until it became a huge black vortex. The two freakish mares looked at it impressed. They felt a very analogical power going on. They weren't mistaking. They felt it when they arrived in the Freak World through the magical mirror in the first place.
"There is your portal." The Black Cloaked Mare mischievously confirmed, turning toward them. "Now you can go back to Equestria and proceed to take down Celestia, if you want."
"There's no mistake," Magic confirmed. "Is the same as the mirror."
"You tell her, Magic." Painset agreed. "Now i will steal Brutalight's world, just like she stole my future."
"Talking about jealous psychotic rage." Magic commented, causing Painset to look at her with a furious gaze and a twitching eye.
"Did. You. Say. SOMETHING!?" Painset hissed, almost ready to kill her.
"Nothing. Nothing." Magic replied meekly.
"Good." Painset said, calming herself down a little and walking toward the portal, only to be stopped by the mare.
"Before you can going back in your world, You have something that you must do for me." The mare said.
Painset growled angrily. Knowing the oppressively manipulating nature of her supposed rescuer, she knew that some catch was lurking behind her words.
"What do you from us?" Painset demanded impatiently.
"In Equestria, there's one green earth pony with a terrific power that must be dealt with as soon as possible," The Black Cloaked Mare explained, "That would be also a fierce menace for you, but for now he would be just a cocky individual."
"Can you please give us the name!?" Magic inquired.
"This pony called himself Zaidel Goelnix. This one managed to kill a huge black flaming dragon and took down a entire town of cultists, leaded by a pink unicorn name Sugar Bell who worshiped you."
There was a brief moment in which the two freaks stopped moving. They looked at her, each one with a different expression, which give to the mare a different visual opinion about her statement. Magic was just surprised of the fact that such earth pony could actually exist, wondering what power could have. Painset, on other hands, was shocked
"Are you telling me that the pink unicorn of the village that I conquered two weeks ago founded a cult that was worshiping me, and that is now taken down by a insipid, disgusting earth pony!?" Painset demanded in rage.
"That's the deal. You kill off this bastard and i will give you all the support that you need to take down Brutalight Sparcake
and the other Elements of Insanity." The mare paused. "How is that?"
"Do you even ask!?" Painset responded. "I want make him pay for that and use him as a memento of my triumphal return as Equestria's new god!"
The Black Cloaked Mare grinned satisfied of the result. She looked like as she got the desired result.
"Now that is the condition," The Black Cloaked Mare began. "You have twenty-seven days to kill him. If you succeed by the dead line, i will help you to take down both the Elements of Insanity and Celestia as well."
"You will support us!?" Painset asked.
"Don't even doubt about that. So, what about him?" The Black Cloaked Mare asked.
"I will definitively kill him!" Painset said. "But let me clarify one thing. I'm not doing this for you!"
The two mares headed toward the portal and entered inside, vanishing in the pitch-black center. After that, the vortex shrunk rapidly until it disappeared in a spark of lightnings. The Black Cloaked Mare was now alone, smiling in her glee.
"All according to the game."
Meanwhile; In a wood nearby a cliff in the Ghastly Gorge...
A black vortex appeared, and the Subjects came out of it, accompanied by a horde of mercenaries who were previously turned into Meems By Magic Mare: Scouts, Medics, Heavys and the list goes on. Both Painset and Magic looked upon the huge mountain in the distance, knowing what it is. Canterlot can be seen from there.
Magic Mare felt like she was at home at last. Despite the fact she was now a pony freak, it felt like it's been a long time since she saw Canterlot before her arrival in the Freak World. She then looked at Painset Shimmercakes, who has a different way to see that familiar sight. A very sinister way.
A perverted sense of nostalgia pervaded the mind of the former student who is now a terrific alicorn. Memories and rage danced in her tainted heart.The only comfort that she could get in that moment was the payback she was waiting for. She smirked at that promising prospecting. Painset couldn't help, but chuckle in a way creepy enough to chill Magic's spine.
"I couldn't be more satisfied than this. I'm finally back to Equestria! And this time is for real!" Painset said triumphantly.
"Big time." Magic Mare commented. "I didn't see our homeworld for months since our arrival in that twisted world. But now that i'm looking at, it look so.... dull. Too much peaceful."
"Indeed." Painset confirmed. "I should thank our 'savior' for the ride... But i won't! Not after all that horrible experience that she made us going through!"
"It pains me to admit, but she was somehow a little better than us in one thing." Magic remarked.
"What?" Painset inquired.
"Competence. One. On. One." Magic said with sarcasm with Painset looking at her annoyed.
"Was that sarcasm?" Painset demanded while charging her horn.
"Hehe.. But does that matter? I mean, we are here now." Magic said, laughing nervously as she was going to have another bash from her companion, who interrupted her charged one second later.
"Right." Painset said almost calmly as she returned her attention to the landscape. "Though that we still lack of a proper army and a proper equipment."
"You can tell that." Magic agreed.
"Still, that is a good start." Painset said gleefully. "Of course we have to deal with that green pest, but at least we have the time to take a look at how much happened in Equestria during our absence. That will give us the opportunity to take prepare ourselves for the final act."
"That would require a lot of job and a new hideout far away from there, but if everything goes right, that would have a good payoff." Magic commented optimistic.
"I can't wait for this. Soon i shall seize the throne from Celestia and take the place that i deserve." Painset said.
Painset walked at the very edge of the cliff and looked at the castle, with eyes filled of pure sadism and cruelty. She has the impression that Celestia was waiting for her, trying to fix the rift between her and her former student. Painset can predict that. It's so predictable and hypocritical to her that it disgusted and infuriates her. If she will meet Celestia, she would had to remind her own truth. The unicorn know as 'Sunset Shimmer' died long time ago. Only Painset Shimmercakes remained.
"The day i'm going to ascend as a god of your world will be the last day of your rule. You are next, Celestia! And after that, Twilight Sparkle will follow you in the death coil!" Painset announced.
Painset Shimmercakes laughed maniacally, confident of her own abilities and ready to prepare the doom of her hated enemies. Magic Mare would had done the same, but since that would angering her, she just smirked in approval. They were impatient to begin. After all there is a world to explore, and conquer in the process. That Celestia wanted or not, Painset's vengeance was about to begin.
Meanwhile on Earth...
At the very heart of dawn, the warden of the reformatory opened the door, only to meet a red haired boy with black habits being sat in his contemplation.
"Get up you punk!" The warden said.
The boy lifted his head and looked at him with a slighlty bothered face. He let out a soft groan like he wouldn't even do anything that will cause any problem to him.
"The same ritual everyday." The boy thought.