Encore of The Dazzlings: Cataclysm's Carnage

by Shadowmane PX-41

Briefing on the Malefics

Each of the Main Six was being walked through The Dazzlings' castle, seeing how well things had come along since The Blasters' defeat. All that was once destroyed back in the past had been fixed, and any remnants of their death and destruction had been restored to their former glory.

However, despite the fact that everything was peaceful, there was still something that shook each and every one of the girls to the core. Something had returned, and that something was hell-bent on causing chaos and pandemonium to the worlds.

"What do you think The Dazzlings mean by saying that he returned?" Sunset asked as they got closer and closer to a large door with a golden frame and Lyrican markings all over it

"If I know these Lyricans like I think I do, The Dazzlings must have had an encounter with one of their oldest enemies..." Twilight said, thinking about the potential threat that she and her friends would now have to face.

"Whatever could wish the destruction of the Lyrican species?" Rarity asked.

"I'm not sure, but whoever's planning this attack could be the greatest threat the worlds have ever faced..." Twilight responded. "If it has the nerve to take on the Lyricans and survive, we could be looking at catastrophe on a colossal magnitude!"

"Uhh, english, Twi?" Rainbow looked puzzled.

Twilight sighed in exasperation. "It could very well be the end of the world if The Dazzlings and their people fall to this villain..."

"We're here, ladies. The Lyrican Map Room," the Lyrican said as soon as it had finished escorting the girls to their destination. "Go on inside. Her Majesty and her three vessels are waiting..."

The doors opened slowly, revealing a rather large room with dozens of astral projections. Each different projection seemed to be part of a massive galactic infrastructure, from which The Dazzlings and the Lyrican Sirens could see every corner of the three worlds. There was a massive table generating the largest projection, one of Equestria, Earth, and Lyrica.

Standing at that table were The Dazzlings. Adagio Dazzle, the leader of the group. Aria Blaze, a pessimist who was very capable of wiping the floor with her enemies. And Sonata Dusk, who, whilst having a bubbly personality, was still one of Lyrica's most powerful Sirens after The Blasters' defeat.

"Your Majesty, Twilight and Sunset have arrived, bringing their friends in tow." the Lyrican ran up to The Dazzlings and saluted.

"Thank you, Quartet," Adagio said, taking a glance at the seven ponies. "You and The Numbers now have a new task: Fortify the bulkheads and get our defences re-synched. We need to be ready in case Cataclysm strikes again..."

Quartet left Adagio's sight and ran past The Rainbooms of Equestria. Once Quartet had left, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata watched as Twilight and her friends stood around the table.

"Welcome back to Lyrica, Rainbooms of Equestria," Adagio began the formalities. "I'm sorry to pull you on such short notice like this, but Lyrica is in a state of crisis..."

"What's going on, Adagio?" Sunset asked.

"As you know from Quartet, he has returned," Aria picked up. "This he that she spoke about was none other than Cataclysm, The Exiled One."

"Cataclysm was once powerful Lyrican who was exiled after a fit of rage and jealousy. You see, he was originally named Necro Rhythm. And at first, he was happy with being a Blissen, but something drove him to try and be both Furen and Blissen at the same time," Adagio explained. "Driven by fury that Allure forbade him his dreams, he challenged the king to a duel and lost poorly. From there, he was kicked out and sent to the badlands of Lyrica, never to return."

"Later on, he returned, but he was the demonic monstrosity we all know and despise to this day..." Adagio said, showing the girls a projection of the winged demon. It bore a striking resemblance to Sunset's dark side, but the skin was black, and black spikes were poking out of its' body. "Cataclysm's choice of weapon are modified versions of his own sword. I say modified versions, because when he was consumed by Dark Magic, it gave him a second sword to work with." whilst Adagio spoke, the projection showed Cataclysm's two swords. They were both colossal, and had demonic flesh for the hilts.

The projection then turned back to the spacial infrastructure, showing all the different corners of the three worlds again.

"Alright, I'll be brief, everyone," Adagio began to give the girls a briefing on their enemy. "After years at the Songless Sea's floor, Cataclysm has finally awakened to continue his war on the Lyrican species."

"He's one of the most ruthless villains possible, even more so than anyone on both Earth and Equestria. His over-exposure to Malice has caused him to enter a state where he can only live on death and destruction," Aria followed up. "And unfortunately for us, he's not alone in this endeavour..."

"That's right," Sonata tossed each of the ponies a black book with a demonic hardback. "Here. You'll need these..."

"What are these?" Sunset asked, examining the books with an inquisitive eye.

"Catalogues on Cataclysm and all of his different Malefics," Sonata explained. "Just like the books of Blissen and Furen tell of each and every Euphorian and Dystopian, these books tell you about the different enemies you'll fight. Who knows? You might just find their weaknesses if you read hard enough..."

"So, what's our plan?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We should just take the fight to the enemy, right? Then we could just rainbow beam him to the ground like we usually do. End of story, bye-bye, we win."

"Have you forgotten how Lyricans work, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight was a bit disgruntled at Rainbow Dash.

"She's right, Rainbow Dash. Cataclysm might be a monster, but he's still a Lyrican deep down," Adagio said. "He's entirely resistant to the Magic of Friendship, and will likely try and consume it for his own malicious purposes," she thought back to what The Blasters had done once she had finished talking. After shuddering, Adagio regained her composure and continued with her briefing. "Anyway, we need your help once more, Rainbooms of Equestria. You've shown the most resolve out of anyone we've ever come across, and it could very well be you who play a pivotal role in the safeguarding of our worlds..."

Suddenly, an alarm went off, causing the entire map room to turn red.

"What's happening?" Fluttershy asked as she ran behind Rainbow Dash and cowered.

"Malefics are attacking!" Adagio walked up to an observational platform at the back of the room. Aria and Sonata followed along with her, and the three of them used their hands to manipulate the projections to see where the attack was striking.

"Where are they hitting first?" Twilight asked.

The projections were altered to show a part of Equestria. It showed a large city, covered with skyscrapers and roads. The image then showed a number of black ships looming over the sky, firing decisive lasers down on the city. "According to this map, Cataclysm's first attack is on the Equestrian city of Manehatten..."

"Manehatten?!" the ponies all said in unison. From there, they were thrown into a state of panic and terror.

"You know about it?" Sonata saw the girls' fear and calmed them down.

"It's only one of the largest cities in all of Equestria!" Twilight said, throwing out her hooves to emphasize her point. "If Cataclysm takes it out, then..."

"He does have a penchant for going after large-scale civilizations. They say that he feasts the most from cities and mega-cities," Adagio explained further. "The chaos he'll create there could sustain him for a week at least. We can't take that chance..."

"Aria, Sonata! Get the Show Stopper and fleets eight to twelve ready!" Adagio dismissed her colleages, who opened portals and leapt through them. "Rainbooms, I know you're not used to fighting, but you'll have to get your hands dirty this time..." she then threw some pendants out of her pocket at the ponies. "Take them and put them around your neck. You'll immediately see a change..."

The girls did as they were told and slipped the pendants around their necks. As soon as they were comfortable with them, they were cocooned in large rainbow balls of energy. The balls persisted for half a minute before exploding, revealing the changes that came from them.

The Rainbooms of Equestria were now humanized, and were wearing Lyrican battle armour. Not only that, but they were also wearing rainbow gems around their necks. Each gem was a spitting image of each of the ponies' Cutie Marks. Admiring their new looks, they then watched as Adagio walked back down to continue her business with them.

"These gems will allow you to temporarily become Lyrican when we go into combat. They change your physiological make-up and enhance your pain threshold," Adagio then looked at the rest of Twilight's friends. "Or, a dumbed-down version for those who aren't as smart as Twilight here; It makes you one of us, and you can take much more attacks before you start bleeding or feeling anything life-threatening."

"Whoa... Check us all out..." Rainbow Dash looked at how sleek her armour was. It was comfortable for her to wear, and had a unique design that matched her personality.

In truth, each of the ponies-turned-human had armour that matched their personalities. Pinkie Pie wore special candy-coloured armour, Fluttershy's was an armour that looked like it had been made of natural materials, Applejack's came with a hat and sheriff badge, Rarity's was an armour that looked like it was handed down from royalty, and Rainbow Dash's had flame decals and lightning bolts as decorations.

As for Twilight and Sunset, their armours were both ethereal-looking, as stars and suns could be seen moving all around. Just from looking down at their new clothes, they were very interested in putting up a fight against the Malefics. They were unsure at first, but they then believed that it was a sign of courage and unity.

Finally, Aria and Sonata returned, regrouping with Adagio.

"If everyone's ready, we should get going..." Adagio opened up a large portal behind her. "Next stop, Manehatten. Just like before, there's no eating, drinking, or smoking during this travel. Oh, and try not to look down at your armour whilst you fly. I've heard that some Lyricans got travel sickness from looking at too many details at once..."

"Not to mention that their armour and the vortex really clashed with their eyes..." Sonata said as they vanished through the portal.

---

Cataclysm sat on a throne in a black plane of existence, stroking his wings. Taking some breaths, he looked at how the chaos was unfurling in Manehatten and smiled with how erratic his forces were fighting.

"The chaos is good, but I believe that it needs someone on top of it all. Someone to oversee the Malefics in case The Dazzlings and the Lyricans try to repel them..." Cataclysm then heard a shadowy figure appearing from an influx of black energy. He turned his throne around and saw what looked like a human with black markings across its' body. "Pandemonium, tell me... How is our work is coming on Apocalypse, Armageddon, and Carnage?"

"It's taking much more time than expected, Overlord Cataclysm," Pandemonium responded. "The amount of positive and negative energy their Lyrican selves absorbed in their past lives was on god-like levels of power. With that in mind, it's taking longer to reassemble their bodies and alter their biology..."

"Well, I'm a patient Malefic now, and I can appreciate that it's taking effort to get our secret-weapon ready. But I guess that I'm still angry that it's not ready now," Cataclysm said. "After all, Apocalypse, Armageddon, and Carnage could cripple The Dazzlings; both physically, and psychologically..."

"What are your orders, Overlord Cataclysm?" Pandemonium performed a demonic salute by punching the ground and looking up at his master.

"Go to Manehatten and oversee the destruction of the town. I need someone to oversee the Malefics in case they get pushed back by Lyricans," Cataclysm ordered him. "Oh, and if you see The Dazzlings, you know what must be done..."

"Yes, Overlord Cataclysm." Pandemonium then vanished.

Once his subject was gone, Cataclysm returned his gaze to the screen where his Malefics were brutalizing and attacking ponies. "Run, run, run, Dazzlings. Run as fast as you can to your demise..."

Comments

[MrB]

I think I know who Apocalypse, Armageddon, and Carnage are but I'm not going to say anything

[DazzleMLP84]

Okay! I need more to read. This is so good!