Earth 2145
That. Was. Beautiful.
Twilight had enjoyed every moment of the lantern ceremony, from the lights, to the sense of calm that overcame her body, to just spending time with her new friends. She had solved the Friendship Problem between her and Batman, and now they were currently on their way to meet up with Rapunzel and Flynn on the shoreline to hopefully get some answers as to why the androids were chasing the man in the first place.
She walked along the sand, in the middle of the group, with Batman to her left and Sonic to her right, Iron Man and Mario walking behind them. But as she continued to walk along the shoreline, the absence of both Flynn Rider and Rapunzel began to worry the young unicorn. This was where they were meant to reconvene after the ceremony.
So where were they?
As if to answer her question, the group saw Rapunzel walking into the forest in the distance with a cloaked figure holding her arm around her.
"Is that Rapunzel?" Twilight thought to herself. "Where is she going? Where's Flynn?"
Sonic apparently thought the same thing, as he cupped the sides of his mouth and began to shout, "Wait! Rapunz--" but was cut off as his mouth vanished from his muzzle. The blue hedgehog let out a startled cry, (well, he tried to anyway), feeling where his mouth used to be with his hands as a deep chuckle rang out in the surrounding area.
Twilight frowned as Discord appeared in a flash of light with an evil grin plastered on his face, "Oh show some decorum, blue boy. Besides the night's not over quite yet, there's still so much chaos to spread and so little time. So we'd better get started."
"Discord!" Twilight declared as all the heroes got ready for a fight... Except for Sonic, who was still freaking out over the loss of his mouth.
The draconequus looked down at his adversary and said, "The girl has found her dear mother. You should let them be."
"And why's that?" Tony asked as he aimed his palms at the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony.
Said villain rolled his red eyes, "Well you didn't hear it from me, but apparently Rapunzel has 'magic hair'," he said, making quotation marks with his fingers. When he saw the look of disbelief on Twilight's face, he continued, "I know right! It sounds crazy, and I'm a literal chaos spirit. But it seems goldilocks'... well locks has the magic of healing. And wouldn't you know it, her 'mother'," he made quotation marks with his fingers once more, "wants it all for herself."
"She what?!" Twilight exclaimed in shock while Batman simply rolled his eyes, unsurprised by this development.
"Shocker, I know." Discord remarked sarcastically. "So anyway me and Gothy over there made a deal. I help her get Rapunzel back in exchange for a little... let's call it a souvenir. Now poor little Rapunzel will spend the rest of her days in that eye sore they call a tower, remaining out of sight forever with no chance to make anymore 'friends'." Faust he hated that word.
Twilight growled at the draconequus before a thought occurred to her. Why would Discord waste such an ample opportunity to cause chaos without any Elements to stop him and seal him away? It didn't make sense. "This is unlike you, Discord. You're wasting an opportunity to cause an unlimited amount of chaos in exchange for... a souvenir?"
He shrugged as he replied with, "Who said that I would stop there?" He then smiled devilishly, "Once I'm done with you, my little pony, I’ll spread the word of Rapunzel's little gift all across the Kingdom. Once word gets out, she'll be on the run from those who would want to exploit her for her gift. Her mind will break from the pressure and this dimension will forever remain in chaos! And once I add the finishing touches on my masterpiece, like say, floating buildings, cotton candy colored clouds and the like, I'll move onto the next world, and the next! Once our plans are realized, my chaos will spread through the multiverse!"
Twilight shuddered at the thought of that. She couldn't let that happen, no matter what. Twilight then had a thought, she knew that she didn't have the Elements of Harmony this time, so how were they going to stop him? He could do anything he wanted and she was powerless to stop him.
But what if there was another way?
"Discord, I know you have no reason to listen to me. I know you hold all of the cards right now, but please listen!" Twilight pleaded as she stepped forward. Curious to see where she was going with this, Discord motioned for her to continue. "You're right, I can't stop you, not without the Elements. But what if I didn't have to? What if you never had to be sealed away again? What if you could be free your entire life, never again having to be sealed in stone?" She asked, enticing the draconequus to stroke his beard.
"Where are you going with this?" He asked.
Twilight's resolve was at its peak now. "What if instead of using your chaotic abilities for evil, you used them for good? Wouldn't that be better, making ponies and creatures laugh at your antics instead of fearing them? Doesn't it get lonely Discord? You've lived for thousands of years, experienced more than I ever have or ever will. But let me ask you, have you ever experienced the Magic of Friendship?"
Discord's eyes shot open. There was no way she was doing this, right?
"Before I moved to Ponyville, I was a recluse who didn't give a flying feather about friendship. But after that night venturing into the Everfree Forest I realized what friendship could really be! And you can too! It's the greatest feeling in the world and I wouldn't trade a moment with my friends for anything! I thought I was happy before, but I'm a lot happier now that I have friends in my corner." Twilight held out her hoof towards Discord, offering a sign of friendship to the immortal being. "And you can too, Discord. I can show you the Magic of Friendship and its many wonders. I promise you, you will be a lot happier if you let it into your heart. What do you say?"
Twilight looked up at the draconequues with a small smile on her muzzle, hopeful that she had gotten through to him. That hope was elevated when he reached down to shake her hoof with his eagle talon. But that hope was quickly crushed when Discord pulled his hand back and blew a raspberry in her face.
The unicorn's face fell when Discord laughed right in her face, finding her whole speech preposterous and laughable. The Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony continued to laugh as Twilight's hoof fell back down to the ground, her head held down low in failure.
Once he calmed down, Discord said, "S-Seriously?! You actually tried to befriend me? Me?! I know I told you to before but I wasn't serious! That's hilarious!!! Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!" He held his stomach as he laughed once more. "Don't you know who I am? I'm Discord! The Master of Chaos! Why would I want to be shackled by friendship when I could just have free reign over how much chaos I could spread wherever and whenever I want? Besides who would actually want to be friends with me? Certainly not you, that's for sure."
While disheartened by Discord's choice, Twilight didn't let that deter her from her mission. She looked back up at him and declared, "If you won't let friendship into your heart, then I'm afraid that we have no choice but to stop you! I may not have the Elements of Harmony this time, but I still have friends by my side who are more than willing to help me defeat you!"
"Spirit or not, you're going down either way!" Iron Man added in agreement.
However, instead of being threatened, Discord was disgusted. "Ugh, gaaag! Been there, done that." He snapped his eagle talons, giving Sonic back his mouth, before adding, "Besides, how are you going to stop me while you're dozing off?" He chuckled at their confused expressions before snapping his talons once more.
Once he snapped his fingers, Twilight began to feel really tired all of a sudden, like she couldn't keep her eyes open no matter how hard she tried. Apparently the others felt the same as she looked behind her and saw both Iron Man and Mario go down to the ground.
As her eyelids grew heavy, Twilight saw that Sonic couldn't stay awake any longer as he fell to the ground face first. She looked up at Discord, who was grinning madly, before sleep overtook her and she fell to the ground.
Surprisingly Batman remained somewhat awake as he slowly marched over to Discord. The draconequues was surprised to see this mere human actually manage to overcome some of his magic. But it didn't matter as he snapped his fingers again, hitting the Dark Knight with more magic before he fell to one knee for a moment. He looked up at the villain before he finally fell down unconscious.
"Well that was interesting to say the least." Discord commented before he suddenly took out a list from behind his back, as well as a pair of reading glasses, and began to read it. "Let's see... Incapacitate Twinkle Sprinkle and her do-gooder friends? Check! Obtain Foundation Element?" A third arm appeared on his body, holding the tiara he had taken from the satchel. It quickly disappeared as he exclaimed, "Check!" before continuing, "Have Celestia be chased by a horde of mutated cakes with the intent on biting her big, fat flank? Pending."
He then looked down at his lions paw and pulled back some of his fur like a sleeve, revealing a watch with hands that were going anti-clockwise.
"Oh! Would you look at the time?" Discord yelled in excitement as he rolled his fur back down into place. "It's almost showtime!" With that, he disappeared in a flash, leaving the heroes to lay there in the sand in their unconscious states.
Meanwhile: at the Tower
Rapunzel was crushed.
Heartbroken.
Destroyed.
All of the above.
Eugene, no, Flynn Rider had abandoned her, left her alone on that beach waiting for him to return. Only for him to run away with his prize. His satchel. He never cared about her. He used her. Did Twilight and the others do the same? Heck, were they even Flynn's sidekicks? Probably not, that was most likely another lie.
Maybe Mother Gothel was right.
After all Flynn turned out to be nothing more than a master thief.
She was so confused, so sad, things were going so well.
As Rapunzel lay in bed, her hair flowing throughout the floor, she clutched a purple cloth while Pascal looks on in sadness. She stared up at her ceiling where many of her paintings were. Her eyes grew wider and she held up the cloth where a golden sun was stitched into the fabric. Rapunzel looked back and forth from the cloth to the ceiling. Curious, She sat up to get a closer look, her eyes widened as she saw the exact same symbol etched into the paintings on the wall. Over and over and over again. They shined down at her, now impossible to miss. She saw it in her eye, the symbol of the royal family. Her mind was flying back to the mural in the city plaza, the detailing the king and queen holding the baby with the golden hair.
Wanting to solve this mystery once and for all, she imagined placing the tiara on her head, her crown as the lost princess of Corona. This realization hit her like a cannonball, causing her to fall into the vanity in her room, knocking over the stool. Recoiling from shock, Rapunzel was unaware that the loud thud had alerted Mother Gothel, who began ascending the stairs. Rapunzel tried to catch her breath as Mother Gothel etched closer to her room. She pulled apart the curtains to the stairway and muttered to herself, "I am the lost princess."
Wanting to get some answers for herself, Rapunzel exited her room just as Mother Gothel was about to open the curtains herself. She looked on in faux concern as she noticed the state her 'daughter' was in. She wouldn't have to wonder what was wrong for much longer as Rapunzel uttered those four words once more.
"I am the lost princess."
Gothel scoffed at this and rolled her eyes, annoyed at Rapunzel's mumbling. "Please speak up, Rapunzel. You know how I hate the mumbling."
Rapunzel glared daggers at Gothel as she spoke louder and clearer this time. "I am the lost princess. Aren't I?" Mother Gothel's eyes grew wide, that was all she needed to know. "Did I mumble, Mother? Or should I even call you that?"
Gothel, although shocked at first, waved her hand dismissively as she replied, "Oh, Rapunzel. Do you even hear yourself?" She moved closer to the poor girl, "Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?" She opened her arms to hug her, only to be shocked as Rapunzel pushed her away.
"It was you! It was all you!" Rapunzel accused loudly.
Gothel's eyes narrowed as she defended herself, "Everything I did was to protect you." Rapunzel scoffed and pushed past her, rushing down the stairs with Gothel rushing after her.
"I've spent my entire life hiding from people who would use me for my power..." Rapunzel started before turning around to face the woman who was not her real mother. "When I should have been hiding from you!"
Gothel scoffed and retorted, "Where will you go? He won't be there for you."
"What did you do to him?"
"That criminal's to be hanged for his crimes." Gothel revealed with an evil smile.
"No."
Gothel took this chance to slither around the distraught girl, "Now, now, it's all right. Listen to me. All of this is as it should be." She went to pat Rapunzel on the head, but was surprised as the girl grabbed her by the wrist, her grip tightening around her.
"No! You were wrong about the world. And you were wrong about me." Rapunzel declared before shoving her away shouting, "And I will never let you use my hair again!"
Gothel fell back into the mirror, shattering it completely due to the sheer force of the push. Her breath quickened as she saw Rapunzel walking away from her. Seething with anger, a dark aura suddenly surrounded her as she said darkly, "You want me to be the bad guy? Fine. Now I'm the bad guy."
Back at the shoreline
Flynn had to move, and he had to move now.
After escaping the Kingdom, he, who was riding atop of Maximus, made a mad dash towards the forest. They both made their way over the stone bridge, the morning sunlight shining through the clouds, bringing light to this new day. Once he made it off the bridge, Maximus and Flynn made their way back to the shoreline.
But something caught his eye.
The unconscious forms of Sonic, Iron Man, Mario, and Twilight Sparkle.
Batman, who had gotten up not a mere moment ago, was kneeling over Twilight waving a capsule of smelling salts in front of her snout. He heard the sound of galloping behind him and turned to see Maximus and Flynn approaching.
"Whoa, Max! Whoa, boy." Flynn shouted as he tugged on the rope wrapped around Maximus' muzzle, enticing the horse to slide to a stop.
Batman looked up at the man and said, "Rider."
"Are Twilight and the others okay?" He asked, genuinely concerned for their wellbeing.
But to his dismay, Batman shook his head, "I don't know." He turned his attention back down to the sleeping unicorn by his feet, "This is a type of magic that I've never dealt with before. I don't know how long its effects will last on them."
Flynn stroked his beard in thought, "Hmm... Unresponsive sidekick..." He pondered to himself before an idea struck him. "Wait a minute. I know how to fix this! Max, give him a wash!"
Maximus nodded before he craned his neck down, causing Batman to move away from the unconscious mare. The horse then proceeded to lick Twilight's face, causing her to groan in annoyance. Twilight then slowly, but surely, opened up her eyes to see both Batman and Maximus looming over her.
"Ugh..." Twilight groaned as she sat upright, rubbing the back of her head, "What happened?"
"Discord whammied you with some form of sleeping spell. I only just got up myself, but I can't say the same about the others." Batman informed the mare.
The unicorn shook her head before she slowly got back up to her hooves, "Right... give me a moment." She said before taking in a deep breath. Her horn lit up as she released a burst of magic that zapped Sonic, Mario, and Tony, causing two of them to shoot upright, gasping for breath.
"ARGH!!! God, what the hell!" Tony exclaimed as Mario looked around at his surroundings, just as confused as the billionaire sitting beside him.
Both Batman and Twilight looked over to see that Sonic was still sleeping. The Dark Knight groaned as he marched over and kicked Sonic in the side, causing the hedgehog to wake up. Startled, Sonic shouted out, "What the heck?!"
"Wake up." Batman said simply before walking back over to Twilight's side.
Tony, who was still recoiling from being magically awakened, asked, "Anyone wanna tell me what the hell just happened?"
"That's what I'd like to know." Said Flynn Rider, who was still sitting atop Maximus.
Batman folded his arms and informed the group of what had happened. "Discord knocked us unconscious with some form of magic. I don't know where he's gone, but it's clear he's no longer in the immediate vicinity."
Twilight thought back to their encounter with the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony for a moment before her eyes shot wide open. Rapunzel! Discord said that he had made a deal with her mother so that she could continue to misuse her magically given gift for herself. But what Discord gained out of it was still a mystery to her.
"Oh no! Flynn, Rapunzel's being held prisoner!" Twilight informed her friend, worried for Rapunzel's wellbeing.
But it appeared that Flynn already knew this as he nodded and said, "That's right. In her mother's tower." Maximus trots forward as Flynn looks down at Twilight, "This calls for a rescue. Are you guys with me?"
It was then that Iron Man stepped forward, "Saving lives comes with the fine print of being a hero." He looked to Flynn and said, "I think it's pretty obvious that we're with you, Rider." This point was backed up as everyone else nodded in agreement. They weren't going to leave Rapunzel in Gothel's care, not when they could do something about it.
Flynn laughs joyously as Max raised his forelegs into the air, "Alright right! Let's go save a damsel in distress!" With that, Flynn leads the group into the forest, with Sonic running alongside the Maximus. Tony hovered in the air for a moment before darting forward, flying alongside the group as they ran into the forest.
"Hang on, Rapunzel..." Twilight thought to herself as she ran alongside Batman and Mario. "We're coming for you."
A few moments later
The group had been travelling for some time now, following the path towards Rapunzel's Tower in hopes of saving her from the cruel clutches of Mother Gothel. Once they had found and saved Rapunzel, then it would be time to focus on Discord.
But as it turns out, he couldn't wait, as the dirt road suddenly turned into soap. This caused Sonic to lose his footing and fall flat on his face, sliding across the soap. Maximus slid for a moment, his legs moving around uncontrollably before he managed to gain his footing somewhat, sliding across the soap with Flynn silently thanking the horse for his movement control.
Twilight, of course, fell flat on her belly.
Mario slid before falling onto his back.
Batman slid and somehow managed to not fall over.
Iron Man looked down at the road, a puzzled expression over his concealed face. "Now what the hell is this?" He asked himself before he got his answer in the form of Discord appearing right in front of the group.
"Well, well, well, I see you have all banded together to stop me. How terrifying!" He exclaimed dramatically, not taking them seriously at all.
Twilight struggled but managed to get back onto her hooves and glared up at the draconequues. "Let us through, Discord!" She commanded, pointing a hoof at him. "You can't keep us from saving Rapunzel!"
Discord arched an eyebrow at her, "Oh can't I?"
Suddenly five portals appeared hovering in the air as five Soulless Commanders dropped out of them, the sun shining off their blade like appendages. The group glared at the androids as the portals disappeared. Flynn looked at the squad of androids worriedly before Batman got his attention.
"Rider, go save Rapunzel! We'll deal with them!"
Flynn nodded at the Dark Knight gratefully. "Thanks!" With that, he rode Maximus further into the forest towards the Tower, intent of saving Rapunzel.
Discord watched the man disappear with a contemplative look on his face. "I could stop him..." He said to himself before waving his paw dismissively. "Pfft, nah! That's booooring!!! Besides I'm kinda curious as to where this could possibly go." He turned his attention back to Twilight and the others. "Y'know what else is boring, this line up! Really? Just five Soulless Commanders? Ugh, I guess I have to do everything myself." He said before raising his talon, preparing to snap. "Let's spice things up, shall we?"
Discord snapped his fingers.
The group looked on in confusion for a moment before five multicolored tornadoes appeared around the group of androids, engulfing them completely.
"What's going on?" Mario asked Twilight.
"I-I don't know." She replied.
Her question was seemingly answered as one of the androids stepped out of one of the tornadoes. Except it wasn't an android that stepped out of the tornado.
It was...
Twilight Sparkle?
She looked exactly like her counterpart, except all of her colors were faded.
The real Twilight looked on in shock, what was happening right now? But it wasn't over yet as a familiar looking hedgehog stepped out of another tornado, one that a certain azure hero was hoping to never see again.
He looked exactly like Sonic, except his fur was a very dark blue. His eyes were void of any pupils, simply a white, glowing void in his head. And surrounding him was a dark, purple fiery aura that made him look all the more sinister.
Dark Sonic grinned insanely as he cracked his fingers, his pupilless eyes glowing even more brighter.
Sonic took a step back in shock at the form he had buried a long time ago. Only now it had come back to haunt him and his new friends.
Batman glared as a familiar face stepped out of another tornado. He wore a silver suit with an owl emblem in the center of his chest. He had razor sharp claws on his fingers, wrist bracelets that fired sharp projectiles. A metal cowl in the shape of an owl's head with glasses covering his eyes for protection. His cape was a metallic silver that looked like it was made from multiple metallic feathers that could be used for protection and offensive measures.
Owlman chuckled deeply as he sneered at his counterpart.
Batman glared at his Earth 3 counterpart, still angry at the fact that a sadistic version of himself exists in the multiverse.
Mario frowned, looking onward as another figure exited a multicolored tornado. This one looked exactly like Mario, except he had a watery like appearance, had glowing red eyes, and was wielding a giant paint brush as a weapon.
Shadow Mario pointed his paint brush at his doppelgänger.
Mario stared at the familiar form Bowser Jr. once took to impersonate him, clenching his fists tightly.
Tony looked on, seeing the last figure exit from the tornado. He wore similar armor to him, except it was white and had glowing blue accents and highlights.
Superior Iron Man aimed his Repulsor Rays at his counterpart, daring him to make a move.
Iron Man did the same, eyeing his evil counterpart sternly.
Once the multicolored tornadoes dispersed and the match was set, Discord said, "There! Isn't that much better? A classic 'Mirror Match-up' for the ages! A good ole' fashioned brawl for the history books!" He clapped his mismatched hands together before saying, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some chaos to wreak. Arrivederci!!!"
Discord then vanished in a flash of light, leaving the heroes to fight their sinister counterparts. The team of rogue copycats grinned excitedly as the coming battle drew near, while the originals simply glared at the imposters. Twilight shook her head, this was way worse than what Discord did to her friends before.
This was a distraction they did not need right now. They needed to get to Rapunzel.
Unfortunately the imposters had other ideas.
Owlman chuckled as he ordered, "Kill them all."
"With pleasure!!!" Dark Sonic shouted eagerly as he took flight, dashing forward towards his counterpart. He aimed his hand forward and shot multiple dark orbs at his pure self.
Sonic gritted his teeth and dashed off further into the forest, allowing Dark Sonic to follow him to continue their fight.
Twilight looked in the hedgehog's direction before facing her counterpart, who had fired a beam of magic directly at her. Her reflexes kicking in, Twilight summoned a shield to protect her from the deadly attack. She struggled to keep it up, but as Discorded Twilight's magic had reached its limit, the beam ceased, allowing Twilight the chance to dispel the shield and fire a beam of her own.
While the two unicorns went at it, both Iron Man and Superior Iron Man took to the skies, firing Repulsor Blasts at one another, each time missing due to their instinctive reflexes in the air. One outmaneuvered the other, both equally matched, their battle continuing on in the air.
Mario slid under Shadow Mario's brush, just managing to dodge the strike intended for his head. He backflipped over his shadowy foe as the villain swung once more, missing the plumber by an inch. Mario landed behind the copycat and threw a punch, but Shadow Mario moved his head to the right, avoiding the strike before he threw a punch of his own.
Batman used his forearm to block a haymaker from Owlman before he tried uppercutting the villainous copy, but that was blocked by Owlman before he shoved his Earth 1 doppelgänger away from him. He then aimed and fired multiple projectiles from his wrist gauntlets. Batman ducked down and let the sharp projectiles hit his cape, the protective fabric making the knife like weapons bounce off of it and fall to the ground.
Enraged, Owlman dived forward and tackled Batman to the ground. They rolled around for a moment before Batman used both of his legs to kick Owlman off of him. The villain flipped through the air a few times before throwing down three Owlrangs. Batman quickly grappled away as the projectiles exploded where he was standing.
Meanwhile Twilight was struggling against her counterpart. For every spell she knew, Discorded Twilight knew a counter spell to still her efforts. She fired a magic blast, but the imposter simply teleported away, letting the blast hit and destroy the tree behind her.
She reappeared behind the unicorn and lit up her horn, grabbing Twilight with her magic and sending her flying into the trunk of a tree. Twilight groaned and tried to move, but found it useless as her counterpart continued to hold her in place.
"You're so pathetic. So naïve. So submissive, it's disgraceful!" The darkened unicorn spat at the Element of Magic. "You think friendship is truly magic?" Discorded Twilight asked, genuinely curious.
Twilight looked at the mirror image with sheer determination, "Of course I do! Friendship is the most powerful magic of all! I'd do anything for my friends, just as they would do for me!"
"Even though they all abandoned you at Shining Armor and Cadance's wedding?"
Twilight's eyes shot open, the memories of the Royal Wedding flooding back to her.
"In fact if I were you, I wouldn't show up to the wedding at all!"
"Come on, ya'll! Let's go check on the princess."
"You have a lot to think about."
Discorded Twilight actually smiled as her double genuinely looked sad, that means she was thinking about it. Good. That's what she wanted. Time to add fuel to the fire.
"And what about the 'Want it/Need it' incident?" Discorded Twilight reminded the poor unicorn, "They said that they would take your concerns into consideration, but have they? Have they truly kept their word?"
Twilight looked down at her hooves, clenching her eyes shut, she wasn't listening to this.
Discorded Twilight smirked down at the girl, "Face it, Twilight. They abandoned you when Discord was first freed, they abandoned you at the wedding, what makes you think that they won't do it again? When you finally let the truth sink in, you'll be truly free. Just. Like. Me!"
"NOOOO!!!" Twilight screamed as she let out a massive pulse of magic that sent Discorded Twilight soaring through the air. Once her faded counterpart landed, Twilight stood up and marched over to her fallen form. "I know what you're trying to do, and it won't work! I love my friends and they love me! You won't drive us apart, I won't let you!"
Discorded Twilight chuckled before looking up at Twilight with a sick smile, "Careful Twilight, if you stay any longer you won't have time to save Rapunzel. Wouldn't want to be tardy, would we?" She spat out venomously, wanting to get one last jab in at her.
Twilight growled as she reminded herself that this was just another android, except it was disguised as some twisted version of her. She didn't feel bad, especially when she pierced through its chest with a magic beam, blowing it up in an instant. As red mist surrounded her, Twilight let out a breath of relief before walking away from the sight of the battle.
Meanwhile both Sonic and Dark Sonic were locked in a fierce race, struggling to overcome one another.
Dark Sonic opened his palm, an explosion of purple lightning shot out of it, aimed directly at Sonic. The Blue Blur swerved to the right to avoid the blast, but it was for naught as the lightning struck the ground beside him, creating an explosion that sent him tumbling across the grass.
Before Sonic could get up, his dark counterpart blitzed over and seized him by the neck, raising him into the air. Dark laughed at Sonic's pain, tightening his grip around the hedgehog's throat. "Y'know what's funny?" He asked rhetorically, knowing that Sonic couldn't answer in his current predicament. "You hid me away, deep in the back of your mind so that I wouldn't burn your pathetic world to waste. Instead of saving anyone, you merely delayed the inevitable!"
He then punched Sonic directly in the face, launching him through multiple tree trunks, destroying them before he landed on his back. He tried getting up, but Dark Sonic planted his foot on his chest, preventing him from moving.
"To think you had all this power, and you didn't even bother to use it. Why? Because you were scared. Scared of what I'd do to your friends, your enemies, your world... Your legacy. Embrace me, hedgehog, and you could be the most powerful being in the world. But only if you let go of your precious morals."
"And be like you? No thanks!" Sonic retorted.
Dark smiled, "Ah, so the blue rat finally decides to talk huh? Well in case you didn't notice, hedgehog, I have the upper hand here." He leaned down and got into his pure form's face, "How can you possibly hope to save anyone now?"
His response? Sonic headbutted Dark in the nose, causing the pseudo hedgehog to stumble back.
As Sonic got to his feet, he was slightly confused. That shouldn't have been able to hurt him at all. Dark is his most powerful form, even rivalling Hyper. But then he remembered that this wasn't Dark Sonic, it was just another android in the guise of the dark form.
Sonic smirked as he crouched down low, "You're right about one thing. I am scared of you. Scared of what you might do to my friends, old and new!" He then curled up and spun in place for a few seconds before boosting forward, piercing the dark hedgehog right through the chest. The dark counterpart let out a terrifying screech before it dissolved into a red mist.
The Blue Blur drifted around the area for a moment before uncurling and glaring at the place where his dark counterpart stood before.
"And that's why you'll never see the light of day again." He growled before dashing off the regroup with the others.
Back with Batman, he dodged and weaved every attack Owlman threw at him, not wanting his evil doppelgänger to get the better of him. He then backflipped away from a sweeping kick, throwing three Batarangs as he soared through the air. Unfortunately, Owlman deflected the projectiles with his metallic cape, grinning psychotically.
"Is this the best you can do, brother?" Thomas Wayne Jr. asked his younger brother from an alternate world with a smile. "It's no wonder you can't protect your city or those closest to you." He then took out his Grappling Hook and fired it at Bruce's chest, clamping onto it before bringing him back down to the ground.
Batman however, used his wrist blades to cut the cord before using his cape to glide down and kick his evil alternate brother to the ground. He wouldn't let him get the chance to get up, so he brought his fist down to his face, but Owlman caught it and smiled venomously.
"Like Jason Todd, and even your very own son." He then kicked Batman in the chest, sending him backwards as he stood up on his feet. "How many dead eyes can you look into before you're dead inside yourself? How long, brother... Until you become just like me?"
Believing he had gotten to him, Owlman dashed forward and reared back a fist, baring his metallic claws as he prepared to finish this. But he was stunned when Batman caught his arm and looked directly into his eyes.
"There's a difference between you and me." Batman said as he tightened his grip around Owlman's arm, causing him to grunt in pain as he fell to one knee. "We both looked into the abyss..." He raised his hand, holding an Explosive Batarang, "But when it looked back at us..." Owlman's eyes shot wide open as the weapon began to beep.
"...You blinked."
He jammed the Explosive Batarang into the android's head before kicking him away. Batman simply watched as Owlman stumbled for a moment before darting over towards him, claws bared as he prepared to end his life. But before he could get the chance, the Explosive Batarang exploded, destroying the villain and leaving behind a red mist.
Mario kicked Shadow Mario in the chest, sending the dark form of Bowser Jr. rolling backwards as his paint brush landed on the grass. The plumber walked slowly towards the fallen villain, picking up the paint brush on his way there.
Shadow Mario chuckled, "I may be a form Bowser's son took while you were on Isle Delfino, but the point still stands that you could have just as easily turned out like me. Without your brother, Peach, your friends, you would've surrendered to the darkness a long time ago."
The shadow clone stood up, getting right in Mario's face.
"Face it, Mario, in the end we're not so different. If you didn't have everything you have, then you would've become the villain of the story."
Mario shrugged, "Maybe..."
The shadow clone let out a pained gasped as he felt something puncture through his chest. He looked down to see his paint brush lodged into his body. He looked back up into his copy's eyes as he slowly began to turn into red mist.
"That's why I'm grateful for the people in my life. I wouldn't be Super Mario without them."
Shadow Mario faded away into red mist, as did his paint brush, leaving Mario standing there as the mist faded away. He let out a sigh of relief as he ran to regroup with everyone else.
Two Unibeam blasts collided, resulting in an explosion that sent the two combatants flying back from one another. Iron Man recovered and launched multiple missiles from his shoulders, hoping to gain the upper hand on his counterpart.
But Superior Iron Man blocked the projectiles with his Holo-Shield before blasting over and tackling Tony to the ground, digging a trench where they landed. He went for another attack but was blasted in the face by a Unibeam blast, which sent him into the air before he activated his thrusters and hovered in the air.
"You wanna know what happens when you lose your morality?" Superior Iron Man asked before gesturing to himself, "This. Perfection. I've created an empire of machines. I've protected my world, no crimes go unnoticed by me, I solved the equation that was world peace!"
He then lowered himself and landed softly on the grass before walking towards Tony.
"I mean look at me! Symbiote infused armor that can withstand a hit from The Hulk! I'm the world's greatest hero, a monarch! All of this could be yours for the low, low price of axing basic human rights. Why give a damn about anyone else when you should only care about number one?"
"You sound like Ultron."
"Well maybe Ultron had a point."
Tony shrugged, "Well if that's your way of thinking..." Without warning he jetted forward and slammed his fist into Superior Iron Man's Arc Reactor, causing him to gasp out in pain. Tony opened the palm of his hand and began charging up a Repulsor Blast. "And that's why I'm grateful for my humanity, because without it, I'd be just like you."
He fired the blast.
Superior Iron Man's upper body exploded into red mist, soon to be followed by the rest of his body.
Once the pale imitation of Tony Stark was destroyed, the real deal walked forward as everyone reconvened in the middle of the trail. "Everyone all right?" Tony asked, concerned for the well being of his friends.
Sonic looked down at his feet, the encounter seriously weighing on his mind, "...We'll get over it... Right?"
Twilight closed her eyes as those seven words rang out in her head.
"You have a lot to think about."
"You have a lot to think about."
"You have a lot to think about."
"You have a lot to think about."
"YOU HAVE A LOT TO THINK ABOUT."
She shook her head to rid those thoughts, as if they remained she might actually break down and cry. If there was one thing this encounter showed her, it was that she wasn't truly over what had happened at the wedding. She never truly dealt with those feelings of resentment, anger.... Hurt.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. She would have to eventually talk to her friends about it, but not right now. She had to get them back first. "You're right, Sonic. We will get over it, but right now we need to get to Rapunzel and Flynn."
"She's right." Batman agreed, noticing the smile on Twilight's face, he nodded towards her and said to the group, "We need to move!"
"You heard the man! Let's-a-go!" Mario encouraged enthusiastically before rushing into the forest, the others following behind him, making their way to the Tower.
Meanwhile: at the Tower
"Rapunzel! I thought I'd never see you again." Were the first words Flynn said as he climbed through the window of the Tower. It had been a grueling task, but he had managed to get up there. It would be worth it after all. It would be worth it...
For her.
When he climbed through he expected to see Rapunzel's smiling face. Instead he was met with the sight of Rapunzel chained and gagged, unable to move anywhere due to her bonds. Flynn's smile faded at the sight of Rapunzel's current state. He had to help her.
But he wouldn't get the chance as Mother Gothel, who was hiding behind him, drove a hidden dagger into his side. Letting out a grunt of pain, Flynn Rider fell to the floor, clutching his side in agony as blood began to seep through his fingers.
As Rapunzel struggled to get free, Mother Gothel looked down at Rider and scoffed before making her way to Rapunzel. She
made her way over and tugged on Rapunzel's chains, trying to lead her deeper into the tower as the girl continued to struggle, desperate to get free.
"Rapunzel, really! Enough already! Stop fighting me!" Gothel commanded.
Rapunzel pulled back, resulting in her losing her balance and falling to the floor, causing her gag to slip from her mouth. She turned to Gothel and declared, " No! I won't stop! For every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you!" Her eyes drifted back to Flynn, who was losing a lot of blood. Her eyes softened as she turned back to face her captor. "But...if you let me save him, I will go with you."
Gothel raised an eyebrow at that while Flynn began to plead with her.
"No! No, Rapunzel..." He begged weakly as he tried crawling over to her, but the pain was too great, causing him to fall back onto his side. Pascal watched the scene from underneath a table stand helplessly, unable to do anything.
Rapunzel looked into the evil woman's eyes and said, "I'll never run... I'll never try to escape. Just let me heal him...and you and I will be together--forever, just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise. Just like you want. Just...let me heal him." She pleaded with her, hoping to reach some small piece of humanity within her.
It worked! Gothel released Rapunzel and walked over to Flynn. She then shackled Flynn to prevent him from going anywhere. "In case you get any ideas about following us."
Rapunzel wasted no time and rushed to Flynn's side, "Eu...Eugene!" She brushed the hair out of his eyes and he clutched his side, struggling to sit up against the wall. She checked his wound, which was obviously bleeding.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Everything is gonna be okay, though." She reassured him.
Flynn shook his head, "No...Rapunzel..."
"I promise. You have to trust me." She said as she placed her hand over his wound.
"No! I can't let you do this."
They stared into each others eyes.
"...And I can't let you die."
Flynn touched her face and replied with, "But if you do this... But if you do this, then you will die."
"Hey. It's gonna be all right." Rapunzel whispered to him.
Flynn gave her the very smallest of smiles before halting her, "Rapunzel... Wait." He stroked her hair lovingly, making her pause her movements. He began moving his face closer to hers, Rapunzel doing the same. And in one swift motion, Flynn cut off her hair with a shard of the broken mirror.
Recoiling in shock as her hair began to turn from blonde to a dark brown, she failed to notice Flynn's hand fall to the floor, the shard clattering against the floor. The other part of her cut hair began to turn from blonde to brown, losing its magical healing abilities.
"Eugene, what--" Rapunzel stuttered as what had just happened began to finally sink in.
Meanwhile a look of absolute terror erupted on Gothel's face. "NO!" she screamed as she looked down at the strand in her hands, watching as it turned from blonde to brown. Trying whatever futile efforts she could, she tried to gather them up in her arms before the magic is lost. "Oh no. No..." She said in a panicky voice as the magic was forever lost to her.
Unable to stop the transformation, Gothel grabbed her hand and watched as it became wrinkled and withered.
"What have you done? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!!" Gothel screamed as her aging began to spread across her body like a wild fire. Her skin turned pale and her hair a pallid gray. She screamed out in sudden shrieks, her body moving feebly, as she covered her decrepit face with her hood. She writhed about the room, crossing closer and closer to the window, where Pascal was waiting for her. He pulled on the long bunch of hair, causing her to spill out of the tower. Mother Gothel let out one last anguish cry in defeat before she aged out of existence, the shroud flying downward through the air as Twilight, Batman, Iron Man, Sonic, and Mario reached the base of the Tower.
As the group observed the shroud falling to the ground, they were unaware that Discord had been watching the whole thing from the sky, chewing on a bucket of popcorn. A bucket that he instantly threw at the Tower in anger and disappointment.
"THAT'S IT?! All of that planning was for nothing?! I did all that work, and carried out one of my greatest plans to date only for her to fade out of existence?!" Discord vented as a foam thumbs down hand appeared on his paw. "Booooo!!! What a waste of a perfectly wonderful plan!"
Suddenly a portal opened to his left, signaling that his time in this universe was up.
Discord tossed the foam hand away and floated dejectedly towards the Rift, "Ugh, honestly I don't know why I even bother." He muttered to himself as he walked through the Rift, zipping it up like a zipper, leaving the Kingdom of Corona for good.
Back down at the base of the Tower, Batman and Twilight rushed over to the fallen shroud, the Dark Knight kneeling down to pick it up. All he found was specks of ashes that used to be Mother Gothel. He closed his eyes before setting the shroud down onto the grass. He suddenly scooped Twilight up under his arm and grappled the both of them up to the window, with Tony grabbing Sonic and Mario and then proceeding to fly them up there himself.
Once Batman got a solid grip on the edge of the window, he pushed himself and Twilight up to see what was happening. The unicorn gasped at the sight of Rapunzel holding Flynn's limp form. He wasn't moving, he wasn't moving at all. The Dark Knight climbed through the window and set the unicorn down onto the floor as Iron Man hovered outside the window with Sonic and Mario in his grasp.
The group of heroes observed as Rapunzel grabs Flynn's arm and places it against her hair, hoping for there to be some form of magic remaining. "Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse." She sang through her tears.
"Rapunzel..."
"Bring back what once was mine."
Flynn touched her face with his hand, "Hey. Rapunzel."
She grasps his hand, never wanting to let go, "What?"
Flynn smiles up at her, "Rapunzel... You were my new dream."
The tears continue to well up in her eyes as she replies, "And you were mine."
Flynn smiles once more before his eyes close and his body goes limp, his hand falling to the floor. As Rapunzel bawls into the fallen man's chest, Twilight suddenly clung to Batman's leg with her forelegs, shedding tears for her fallen friend. But there was a sense of comfort as Batman stroked her mane, reassuring her that it would all be okay.
Outside Tony looked away, even after all these years, it still bugged him that he could basically come up with a solution for anything... Except death. It made him feel powerless and he hated that.
Sonic and Mario looked away, feeling for the poor girl inside the Tower.
"Heal what has been hurt. Change the Fates' design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine." Rapunzel continued to sing as she moved her hand over his heart and leaned in closer, her face nearly touching his, her song nearly a whisper. "What once was mine."
She sobbed, the weight of her loss still taking a toll on her. A tear fell onto the rogue's skin. It settled there, glowing into the shape of a flower. Suddenly a light burst forth from Flynn's wound, wresting Rapunzel from her sorrow. Twilight stared open-mouthed at this sight while Batman eyed it curiously. The healing magic swirled into the air like strands of hair, wisping around Rapunzel, her eyes wide. A six-pointed flower magically bloomed from the wound, before the light disappeared inside of him. She moved closer to his face, brushing the hair out of her eyes as Flynn slowly took a breath and opened his eyes, new life being breathed into him.
"Rapunzel..." Flynn said to her with a smile.
"Eugene!" Rapunzel gasped happily.
The rogue smirked, "Did I ever tell you...I've got a thing for brunettes?"
"Eugene!" She shouted happily as she threw her arms around him.
From the side, Twilight was bouncing on the spot with joy, a broad smile upon her face. Batman simply stood there, a faint smile on his face at the sight. Outside Sonic and Mario were cheering while Iron Man simply laughed joyously, he may not have liked magic very much, but he was damned well grateful for it now.
Twilight went over to see her two friends when she felt something fall onto her head. "Ow!" She exclaimed, rubbing her head with her hoof as the mysterious object fell to the floor beside her. She looked down and gasped in shock.
The Elemental Keystone!
But not only that, there was also a note laying next to it. She picked it up with her magic and unfurled the note and read it aloud.
"....Well Played...
Until our next game, Sparkle Butt. Consider this a reward for stumbling your way through all of this, you lucky nerd. But this doesn't mean you've won, I still get the last laugh!
I'll tell your friends you said hello.
Discord."
After reading the note, she crumpled it up and tossed it aside with her magic as Batman walked over and picked it up, placing it into a pouch in his Utility Belt. The two friends looked at each other, with Twilight smiling up and her dark and brooding friend.
Her heart soared when he actually smiled back.
Sometime later
The group all stood at the base of the Tower, standing opposite from one another, with Flynn, Maximus, and Rapunzel standing on one side, and Twilight and the others standing on the other. The sun shined down upon them as Sonic said happily, "Wow, Rapunzel! You're finally gonna get to see your real home."
She smiled and responded, "I know! I mean...I can't believe it. I can finally be with my real family! I couldn't have done it without your help."
Tony smiled underneath his helmet, "You're welcome. Happy to help."
"Well, from where I'm standing, the Kingdom couldn't ask for a better princess. And I couldn't have asked for better sidekicks!" Flynn said with a smile. "Thanks!"
"Yes, thank you so much." Rapunzel added.
Mario leaned in towards Twilight and muttered, "Happily ever after."
She giggled before turning to face Flynn, "Now, Flynn, you and Maximus play nice." She warned playfully.
Flynn pouted while Maximus whinnied happily. He then took hold of Rapunzel's hand and stared longingly into her eyes.
"You're gonna do great." Sonic said, catching their attention.
"Thank you," Rapunzel thanked the blue hedgehog, "I know that with Eugene by my side, we'll accomplish anything."
"'Eugene'?" Sonic, Mario, Tony, and Twilight repeated confusedly.
Before Flynn could clarify, Batman beat him too it, "It's his real name. Eugene Fitzherbert."
Eugene tilted his head, a baffled expression on his face. "H-How'd you--"
"Simple." Twilight started.
"He's Batman." Sonic, Twilight, Mario, and Iron Man said collectively, already growing used to the Dark Knight knowing more than he should.
They all share a laugh, even Batman cracked a small smile.
"So what's next for you guys?" Eugene asked the group, curious as to where they go from here.
Batman folded his arms and said, "Our mission isn't over yet. We still have two more Keystones to find before we have a chance at finding our friends."
"If we find our friends." Twilight rephrased sadly.
Rapunzel smiled at her and said, "Hey, you'll find them. If there's one thing I've learned about all of you is that you work well together. As long as you all stick together, there's nothing you can't do."
Twilight looked up and smiled, "Thanks, Rapunzel."
Suddenly, a Rift opened up behind the group, signaling that their time here was up. "Uhhh... Is that for you?" Eugene asked as he pointed to the portal.
They all turned around, noticing the Rift before turning back to face them. "Yep, that's us." Mario replied.
"We'd better get going before that portal closes on us." Iron Man said, but not before saying, "It's been a blast, you two."
While Rapunzel looked saddened, Twilight said, "Hey, this isn't goodbye forever. We'll see each other again, I promise."
Rapunzel knelt down and wrapped the unicorn in a bone crushing hug, "Come and visit!"
"I will." Twilight replied as she hugged her back. The two broke apart as the group of heroes slowly made their way towards the Rift.
Sonic gave them all a thumbs up before he jumped into the portal, with Mario waving as he two went through. Iron Man gave them all a two fingered salute before flying through. Twilight smiled, but stopped when Batman suddenly stopped moving.
"Rider." Batman started as he turned to face the rogue. "Keep out of trouble, or I'm coming back for you."
Eugene chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head, "Ehehehehe... Don't I know it...."
With that, Batman nodded and leapt through the portal, with Twilight giggling at the nervous look on Eugene's face. She gave Rapunzel, Eugene, and Maximus one final smile before she galloped right through the portal. Once her tail went through, it swirled for a moment before it closed forever.
Rapunzel and Eugene looked into each others eyes for a moment before they drew closer to one another, their faces itching closer towards each other.
Maximus let out a happy whinny as their lips met.
The sun shined down upon them, things were going to be okay.