//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Manifested Strange World // Story: SuShi's Bizarre Adventure: Twilit Curtain Call // by Jojoleopard //------------------------------// “Spike, get everyone to the kitchen!” Twilight Sparkle ordered as her Stand drove a fist into Crane Wife’s face, still keeping its eyes away from the enemy as it did so. “I’ll handle this!” “Are you sure?” Spike asked, but he was already beginning to drag Button Mash towards the kitchen door with help from Steel Tongue. “I’m sure.” Twilight nodded firmly. Her Stand had a long tentacle coming out the back of its head, resembling hair, but at the end, it had been sharpened into a spike, which it used to whip around the air, cutting a groove across Crane Wife’s left shoulder as it did so. The damage repeated itself on the woman and she took a step back, turning her face into a snarl. “You’re not going to harm anyone else,” Twilight said as her Stand stepped between the two of them, raising both arms in defense. “Oh, look, brother. She found a Stand.” The woman looked back as the man stopped beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss on the neck, something he didn’t have. “And now she thinks we’re done for.” “She ain’t seen nothing yet.” He smirked as she folded her arms behind her back, caressing him across the shoulders. “Just thinking about it makes me want to get indecent!” “Once we win, brother…” She licked her lips. “We’ll do it right above her corpse!” These two people working for Die Die Riches were the December siblings, DeCanter December and Risky December. They had been born on an old farm up in the mountainous forests of West Virginia to parents that looked equally as ugly as they did. Their father was also their mother’s brother, just like the two of them. DeCanter loved his sister very much, and Risky felt the same way for her brother. Perhaps it had been built into their bloodline, as all their ancestors were siblings as well, all the way back to the Civil War. Year after year, they had seen other farms prosper, eventually leaving them far in the dirt as technology began to rise. While other farmers around them had tractors and other automated machines, the December family had nothing but the arms on their bodies and the legs at their hips, although some like cousin Fran December had neither. To no surprise, they had come under the radar of Die Die Riches, and they were recruited into the fold with no questions asked. DeCanter and Risky were tired of living in the shadow of the wealthy and powerful and as their leader had promised, the world would be theirs one day and everyone would live like them, with the gap between rich and poor destroyed. “We promised her,” DeCanter slid his hips behind his sister’s. “She will be so proud that we’ll have killed a couple of rich Stand users…” Wayward Son curled around him, then blazed a trail towards Twilight and her Stand again. Twilight slid a foot back, then bent low as her Stand leapt over her. In that instant, Wayward Son’s speed dropped drastically, enough for Strange World to grab it. Twisting it around in the air, its speed returned to normal and it flew off in the opposite direction, right back at DeCanter and Risky. With a squeak, they threw themselves to the ground just as DeCanter got back control of Wayward Son. Crane Wife glided into position and raised her head to Strange World, but Twilight and her Stand averted their eyes, keeping them down at a forty-five degree angle. Twilight knew that she couldn’t look at Crane Wife’s eyes even once. Doing so would spell doom for her as she would become thrall to Risky’s bidding. “Just sneak a peek, dear. Do it!” Risky laughed and brought both arms up. “Gaze into the eyes of Crane Wife and cut it short for us.” “Yes, there’s much I would like to do once this is over!” DeCanter grabbed his sister’s thighs. “So much to do!” “You’re sick!” Twilight pointed at them. “Strange World!” Her Stand smashed through the wall standing between them before attempting to punch the two siblings. She still didn’t quite know the full extent of her Stand’s powers, but somehow, wherever she directed her attention, whoever was in her line of sign seemed to slow down. There was more to this power, she knew that, but she would still need to sift through it to find the full potential of her new Stand. As she threw her next punch, to her surprise, Crane Wife proved to be a nimble opponent and weaved around the punch, like a baseball curving around a bat right before the batter were to hit it. Reaching out, it grabbed Strange World’s head with both hands, pulling it to face its own face. Twilight did the only thing she could and had Strange World close its eyes, then doing the same herself. “Come on! Open your eyes and all your troubles will be over!” Risky cheered. Twilight kept her eyes tightly shut, but lashed out with a kick from Strange World. The Stand’s foot shot out and hit Crane Wife in the chest, momentarily stunning it and its user. But from behind it, Wayward Son zipped and zagged past it, catching Strange World through the left arm. Blood sprayed from the Stand and Twilight gasped as pain flared across her own arm before blood fell from a new wound in her arm. Crane Wife didn’t give her time to rest and attacked her Stand again, raking its fingers across Strange World’s neck. Blood spurted from Twilight’s own and she staggered back, clutching her neck. She focused on the enemy Stand and its next attack slowed, while keeping her eyes low again. This time, she wasn’t going to make the mistake of letting it get too close to grab her. Spinning around, Strange World whipped her hair spike into Crane Wife’s side, throwing it aside in slow motion before balling a fist to pummel its face, but Wayward Son was back, flying past Crane Wife’s head. Strange World only just had enough time to slow it down, but once it did so, Crane Wife’s motion resumed and it glided just above the ground, catching it around the ankle, attempting to trip it. “Oh no you don’t!” Twilight had her Stand stomp down as it ducked away from a slow moving Wayward Son. It seemed she could only slow one target at a time and she would have to focus her mind on the target to bring about her power. But there was something else about it, something she could use to very well win this battle, but she needed the right circumstances to make it happen. With Wayward Son slowed, Crane Wife returned to normal speed and moved in to claw at Strange World again, but it dropped on its back, avoiding the slowed Wayward Son before grabbing Crane Wife around both wrists. Planting its feet on its chest, Strange World kicked back and threw the enemy Stand over its head, where it landed on its face behind it. Risky December clutched at her bloodied mouth as two teeth flew out. Wayward Son’s trail began to burn brighter and more brilliantly as it suddenly picked up speed, bringing its speed back to normal even with Strange World’s slow affecting it. “You fool! Did you think that was all Wayward Son could do? You haven’t seen anything yet!” DeCanter cut a hand to the side, keeping all his fingers together. “Wayward Son has thrusters built into its body and when I activate them, they can fly faster than the speed of sound! Even if you did manage to slow it down, it will still move faster than a bullet! And did you think it can’t maneuver itself around once it misses you? It can turn sharper than any fighter jet or raging bull!” True to his word, Wayward Son suddenly curved in the air, the trail behind it making a red ‘8’ in the air before shooting straight down for StrangeWorld’s forehead. Even though she was still slowing it down, Wayward Son proved to be too fast and as Strange World attempted to escape its deadly path, the arrow still managed to pierce through part of its silver helmet, cutting a line across the side of Twilight’s head. She had Strange World hop back on its hooves, but Wayward Son continued to fly around her Stand, nicking at its skin and armor, cutting red lines all across its body. “Die, die, die, rich scum!” The man began laughing maniacally, throwing both arms to his sides as he did so. Wayward Son soon became a blur of red around Strange World as it continued to pick away at the Stand, piece by piece. Crane Wife glided around both of them, keeping her eyes on Strange World, trying to meet its gaze to hypnotize it, but Twilight kept her Stand’s eyes down. She first needed to find a way to slow Wayward Son even more. Ducking back, Twilight reentered the house through the destroyed wall, throwing down what was left of the dining table to block DeCanter’s view. As long as he couldn’t see where she was, it was going to be harder to hit her, like he had done when he first attacked them. Strange World skipped back, rushing back inside as Wayward Son continued its pursuit. Twilight removed her Stand from the world as Wayward son was about to attack again, leaving it confused as it zipped around in the air in search of its target. Twilight took this time to survey the damage done to her. Her clothes were tattered in certain areas, especially her arms and legs and she was bleeding all over. Though it all hurt, she knew that if she didn’t stop them now, then Spike and the others wouldn’t stay safe for long. “Where are you, girl?” She could hear DeCanter calling as his Stand flew through a portion of the destroyed wall, then up through the ceiling, raining wooden splinters down around her. “She’s in the house, brother, I saw her go,” Risky said. “Crane Wife will find her.” Twilight could feel it. The shift of the air, the rustle of cloth as Crane Wife got closer. She was only going to have one shot at this, and she had to make sure she was ready. Before Crane Wife could reenter the house, she sent Strange World back out through the wall, roaring as it slammed a punch against the side of its head. The punch sent it sprawling to the ground as blood sprayed from its head. Risky December squealed to the air as blood poured from her own head. Her skull was cracked and bits of bone had likely embedded themselves in her brain. “Why you, how dare you do that to my sister!” DeCanter shook a fist and tried to waggle his head, but all it did was make him look like a fish, since he lacked a neck. From behind, Wayward Son pierced through the air at supersonic speeds, breaking the sound barrier as its tip began to burn brightly. This was it. Twilight’s one chance. Turning her focus to the arrow Stand, she willed for it to slow and it did, only so slightly, but that one extra second was enough for Strange World to bend backwards, tilting its knees back at a ninety degree angle, keeping its body just above the ground. Wayward Son continued going, but that was where Twilight tried doing it in reverse. Instead of slowing the enemy Stand down, she sped it up, boosting its speed way beyond anything it could achieve. DeCanter was caught off guard and he wasn’t able to issue another order to his Stand. Instead, it continued on a straight path, right into Crane Wife as it was getting back up. “Ris-!” Was all he could manage to utter as Wayward Son speared through Crane Wife’s chest, just below the throat. Its body shattered into pieces from the middle, breaking apart before its arms and head were blown clean off from the impact. “Noooo!” Risky December let out a bloodcurdling scream as light poured out of a growing hole in her chest and eventually, it exploded in a bloody mess, sending her body parts sailing all over the grassy field. “No, no, no!” DeCanter dropped to his knees and reached a hand to his sister’s remains. “My sister! We had planned to do such indecent things! No! No!” A shadow fell over him as he continued in his anguish and he looked up and snarled. “You. This is all your fault! You did this to her!” “No, you did it yourself. I did what had to be done to protect my friends.” Twilight punched a fist into her other hand. “You’ve lost.” “No. No. No. No. You arrogant rich prick, you will die!” DeCanter reared up and reached his hands to Twilight’s neck, intending to strangle her. Instead, Strange World erupted from her body and landed blow after blow on DeCanter’s body, beating him up like a punching bag, all the while yelling, “Nicker! Nicker! Nicker! Nicker! Nicker! Nicker! Nicker!” The next and final blow launched DeCanter high into the air where his screams trailed off, eventually disappearing along with his body into the dark sky. Twilight puffed and panted, already feeling the adrenaline leaving her body. She had done it, she had figured out how to use her Stand’s power in the nick of time. But it wasn’t over yet. She had to check on her friends. She rushed to the kitchen and almost knocked her knee against the counter by the door. Spike had managed to drag all of them in here and now, Skyburn, Sweetie and Button Mash were beginning to stir from Crane Wife’s hypnotism. But on the other end of the room, Apple Bloom crouched on the floor, holding her granddaughter as she breathed shallowly. Around them were layers and layers of cloth and medical supplies, all stained red from Appy’s blood. The hole through her chest had ruptured her heart and even now, she continued to lose blood. “G-Grandma… Ah’m so-sorry…” The young farmgirl said weakly. “Ah had to… Ah had to protect… Skyburn.” “Shhh, no more talk now, ya hear?” Apple Bloom gently caressed her head. “Ah’ve called HQ. They have medical teams on the way. They’ll take good care of you.” Skyburn rubbed his head, then spotted Appy and skidded over. “Appy! What happened?” “Ah couldn’t let you… get hurt, Skyburn…” Appy raised a hand and brushed it against his cheek. “Ah did what Ah had to…” “No, no, no. We’ve gotta do something!” He grabbed one of the bloodied towels and pressed it against her wound. “I have more medical supplies here!” Sweetie Belle opened her Stand and grabbed two medical boxes out. “No… Don’t bother.” Appy reached a hand out to her. “Please… Granny Belle, Skyburn… T-Twilight… These people mean to… harm others. Please make sure… they won’t get to again…” “I will, Appy. I will. Please, don’t.” Skyburn took her hand as his voice began to croak. “Please, I can’t lose you.” “You can… do it. You can make the world… better. Stop these people.” She smiled and closed her eyes. “I… love you, Skyburn.” After her hand ran against his cheek one last time, it dropped back down to her side, tapping against the wooden floor before going still. “No… my dear granddaughter…” Apple Bloom crouched lower over her as tears streamed down her face, dripping down her chin. “APPY!!!” Skyburn yelled to the air, then leaned down against her shoulder. Sweetie Belle remained silent, but tears were also flowing from her eyes as she clutched her husband’s hand. A shadow passed over Twilight’s eyes and she clenched a fist tightly, her fingernails causing her skin to bleed. “Twi?” Spike noticed her change and placed a hand on her arm. “If I had learned my Stand powers earlier… I could’ve stopped this,” she said.  “Twi, you can’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known.” Spike squeezed her arm gently. “We’ve only been here a day. Less. We haven’t had time to learn more about this world.” “No. You’re wrong. We did learn about it.” Twilight wiped at her eyes. “We saw them. We heard them. On the little electric boxes. Their news was reporting groups of activists rising up for this world’s divide between the rich and poor. They mentioned there was a group, Die Die Riches, just like what the Stand users had said. They’ve taken a more extreme approach to this divide and now we’ve seen it first hand. I should’ve known it was them when we rescued Sweetie Belle. Maybe then, we would’ve gone somewhere else, somewhere more secluded. We brought them here, Spike.” Spike opened his mouth, but he wasn’t sure what else he could say. “We’ll find them, Spike.” Twilight looked outside, scowling at the starry sky. “We’ll stop this organization. I’ve been given a Stand for a reason. As ruler of Equestria, it is my duty to protect this mirror world. I have to find out where they’re hiding and put an end to them before anyone else can get hurt.” “You’re not going to do it alone, Twi. I’ve got your back. I’m with you, no matter what.” Spike gave her a reassuring smile as he scrubbed a hand against his mohawk. “You’ll have me too.” Skyburn was beside them. His tears had dried, but his eyes were still bloodshot, angry for revenge. “For Appy.” Twilight nodded. “I’ll take any help I can get.” “Then you’ll have mine too.” Sweetie Belle raised a fist. “We have the Crusaders Foundation behind our backs. We can provide support for you.” “And Ah’ll coordinate efforts too.” Apple Bloom placed her granddaughter on the ground and got up. Her nightgown was stained red from Appy’s blood. “The Crusaders Foundation will give you everything you need to stop Die Die Riches. Ah’ll get Scootaloo to come back and help too. For my granddaughter.” Twilight nodded her thanks to all of them. They were as selfless as they were in Equestria. It seems their worlds were more similar than she believed. There was still much to learn about them here. “As Equestria’s ruler, I give you my word, your world will come under my protection as well. As long as I live, I will stop at nothing to make sure Die Die Riches goes out of business permanently.” As of now, there was too much to go on from, and Die Die Riches could be working out from anywhere in the world. But Twilight wasn’t worried. All it took was a trip to the library and she was sure she could figure out their whole operation. Under the labyrinthine streets of Angers, a city a little southwest from Paris, France, were ancient tunnels that went on forever, some parts of it still unexplored to this very day. The ancients had used these tunnels as burial sites even before the English had set foot here. But another had begun using its space for something else and now, cables could be seen running through them, heading deeper into the earth where more machinery began to make themselves known. A woman with long black hair tied back into a ponytail leaned against a tall leather chair, facing the wall behind her shabby table strewn with notes and dossiers. The wall depicted an ancient time where humans once worshiped the Nugget People, all powerful beings that once ruled the entire planet. She ran a hand down its surface, letting it linger for a second longer on the face of a Nugget Person. “The world had been unified once and there had been no divide. Everyone had been equal,” she said. “There was no poverty. There were no wars. No one starved to death, no one had to work their bones dry while watching others get fat over their earnings, just because they were born lucky.” She squeezed both hands and her white gloved scrunched up at the finger joints, releasing a scratchy sound. “One day. One day our world will be like that again, free of the pains of struggling through life. The arrogant and mighty will fall and we, the less fortunate, will rise and take their place at the top and inflation will cease to be. The rich will no longer suck our planet dry. All will be well with the world, and it will be Die Die Riches who paves the way towards better living for the poor.” Her cackling laughter could be heard throughout the tunnels, echoing her desire to eradicate the rich to the rest of her companions around. They looked at each other and shuddered. They all knew what Duckie Deluxe was capable of and none of them wanted to be on her bad side. Instead, they continued to wait patiently for the reports from around the world to come back. Their time would soon come.