Worlds Apart: The Chosen of the Prognosticus

by GMBlackjack

Cosmic Potential

Twilight’s shield deflected the Metarex’s attack, but it would only work for a few seconds. Luckily, that was all they needed. Vivian reached out a hand and grabbed one of the manifesting starmen, gaining its power for a brief moment. With a mischievous giggle, she waved her finger, sending rainbow sparks off the tip. Her fiery jinx unleashed dozens of multicolored explosions, one for each Metarex ship, cracking their hulls.

Realizing that trying to fight a group of seven who had access to invincibility stars might be a bad idea, the ships backed off—after all, killing them wasn't necessary, keeping them from getting the Pure Heart was. However, one of the ships was unable to move after the attack, leaving it dead in the water.

A Void portal appeared to reclaim it.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Twilight shouted. She grabbed one of the starmen herself and surged the rainbow energy into her horn, grabbing the entire warship in her telekinesis and dragging it out of the portal. She popped open one of the sides, revealing all the Metarex drones inside. Data and Cosmo used their phasers to take care of the few that attempted to fight, the rest just abandoned ship and fled.

Twilight’s powerup dissipated, but the Metarex ship was now close enough. She jumped, landing on the now exposed deck. “Everyone, come on, we’re stealing this ship.”

Tippi, Toph, Cosmo, Data, Caspian, and Vivian all jumped over, running to Twilight’s position at the main console. Twilight took one look at it and drooped. “I don’t know how to drive this.”

“I do,” Cosmo said, pressing a few buttons. “I can’t move it…”

Twilight nodded. “Data, go to Engineering, repair it.” Data nodded, running down the hall. “Vivian, Toph, fix the gaping hole in the side of our ship.”

Toph and Vivian set to work, bending metal and fusing it together with controlled application of heat. It took a few minutes, but the hole Twilight had ripped was repaired—and a second later Data got the engines back online and ran back to the bridge.

Cosmo pressed a few more buttons. “Okay, where to, Twilight?”

“Charge the Heart, ramming speed.”

They surged forward, ramming into the miniature planets and unusual platforming sections they had been jumping across mere minutes ago, tossing them aside as nothing more than debris. The traps activated, to be sure, but they did nothing against the ship’s hull besides slightly denting it. It was more than a little annoying to see the deadly obstacles they’d had so much trouble with become useless against the Metarex ship.

As they approached the Heart, Caspian frowned. “I wonder how they found us.”

“They always find us,” Toph commented.

“But they always have a way to,” Data said. “Here, not even Flipside or our allies has any idea where we are, and we have no way to reach them.”

“Maybe their Dark Prognosticus told them?” Cosmo asked. “It… is a prophetic book, just like ours, right?”

“Yes,” Tippi said. “Vivian’s tale notwithstanding, my records show the Light Prognosticus was written after the Dark, specifically to counteract the dark visions held within.”

“Wait…” Twilight paused. “Does that mean the Dark Prognosticus is the real prophecy?”

“I… I do not pretend to have any idea how the art of prophecy works. But I know the Dark Prognosticus is not all there is—it cannot!”

“Prophecies do not just change,” Caspian said. “They are merely fulfilled in unexpected ways.” He gripped the hilt of his sword. “We must hope the unexpected will come with the Dark Prognosticus.”

“Oh dear…” The thought deeply unsettled Tippi.

“I believe we should focus on the current objective,” Data said. “The Heart.”

“Right…”

“I don’t think you’re going to like this,” Cosmo said, pointing at the main screen. “They aren’t even going to let us get close.”

The remaining Metarex ships rammed into the Pure Heart while the heroes’ ship was a long way off, tossing it all the way to the other side of the gauntlet.

“They’re not playing fair!” Vivian gasped. “That’s…”

“What you do in a war of life and death,” Caspian said, grimacing. “They dare not attack us for they know our power, but they can outmaneuver us with the Void easily, always keeping the Heart out of our reach. We are in a trap that can’t kill us, but is impossible to escape.”

“Then we need a plan,” Twilight said. “We—”

“Ah ha ha ha ha ha!” the voice of Dimentio set everyone on edge, even though they couldn’t tell where it was coming from. “I have a different suggestion: why not, like mayflies in winter, you freeze and fall to the ground before you have time to appreciate the new day?” He popped into existence with his unique warping method, dragging O’Chunks with him. Dimentio was the same as always, but O’Chunks seemed… different. He had no pupils; instead his eyes were flashing like the rainbows in the center of the gauntlet—but it wasn’t as if he had used a starman, for all the light was contained in his eyes and it wasn’t wearing off.

“What did you do to him, fiend?” Caspian demanded.

“He was completely willing to be part of my experiment, as you recall. But, as you have no doubt noticed, he has the light of the stars within his eyes. And you know a curious thing about that light? The power it provides is unmatched, but very temporary. Well… I have found a way to condense that power and inject it right into a person! It has the terrible side effect of turning them into a mindless dolt…” He punched O’Chunks in the arm to prove the point. He didn’t even flinch. “...But it also unlocks all the hidden potential in someone. Gone is his idiocy, his showy dances, and his trash talk. He only knows how to do what is set before him like a good little dog playing fetch.” Dimentio let out a laugh, clapping his hands together. Suddenly, all seven of the chosen were in the green cube of Dimension D again, with no way of escape or potential to use the scenery of the gauntlet to help them.

“We’ve beat him before, we can beat him again!” Toph shouted.

“My my, you have no idea how much potential O’Chunks has, do you?” Dimentio twirled around in the air. “Of course, a demonstration would just be best. O’Chunks, smash them into oblivion if you don’t mind.” Dimentio vanished.

The light in O’Chunk’s eyes flashed, and he suddenly grew to twice his height, all of his muscles increasing their density and numerous blood vessels threatening to burst on his forehead, arms, and lower leg. He said nothing—he only charged.

Data and Cosmo fired phasers that Twilight matched with a laser of her own, but O’Chunks shrugged it off like it was nothing. Toph attempted to dodge his charge, but the ground was not earthen, providing her no advantage. His fist moved with alarming precision, hitting her square in the back.

Twilight wasn’t sure what was louder: the snapping sound or Toph’s very brief scream. She dropped to the ground, limp.

“To—” Twilight had to cut her call short, teleporting out of the way of O’Chunks’ attack. That’s right, teleports work in this subdimension. She teleported behind O’Chunks and cast an explosion spell on his back. He ignored her and charged Cosmo.

The Seedrian set the phaser to the highest setting and fired, doing nothing more than singing his skin. He slapped her aside. There was no snapping sound this time, but Cosmo didn’t move after she was hit.

“We have to play this safer!” Tippi called. “He’s not a fool right now—he’s perfected through whatever Dimentio put in him. Fight carefully!”

Caspian did exactly that. Drawing his sword, he moved in, focusing entirely on dodging O’Chunks’ many attacks. He weaved in, out, over, and under the swings of the arms while Twilight and Vivian bombarded him with fire and magic. O’Chunks tanked all the projectiles, focusing entirely on Caspian. Yet, the King of Narnia was a master swordsman, jumping and dodging everything until he got his opening. He thrust his sword right into O’Chunks’ eye.

“Yes!” He called, after landing what he was sure would be the critical blow.

O’Chunks didn’t seem to care. He swung his arm wide, toppling the shocked Caspian to the ground. He removed the sword from his eye and threw it to the ground.

“H-how!?” Tippi managed. “I don’t even…”

O’Chunks punched.

Data caught the punch in his own hand. “You may have unlocked all your biological strength, but I am beyond that.” He caught the other fist in his other hand, grunting. “This… is much harder than it should be.”

“What can we do?” Vivian asked. “I… I only know fire and shadow and an attract spell, I don’t think those are going to work!”

“They won’t.” Twilight closed her eyes, reaching deep into the deepest recesses of her mind. “But this might.” Her eyelids flew open, revealing a noxious darkness outlined by wisps of green and purple. Ugly dark magic coalesced around her horn, creating a vortex of desolation at the tip. She channeled as much as she thought she could take, the energy making its way into her body secondhand, sharpening her teeth and extending her wings slightly. Ignoring this side effect, she created a dark crystal in front of her.

“Any… time…” Data said, sparks flying out of one of his arms. “Structural failure… is imminent.”

“You will never hurt my friends again,” Twilight said with alarming venom in her voice. The crystal split into a hundred razor-sharp shards and flew at O’Chunks, each one exploding with a screaming darkness that attempted to bite into him. While this attack was ongoing, Twilight summoned her arcane blade, endowing it with black flames. Twirling it around, she raised it above her head, aiming for O’Chunks’ blank, damaged face. It was all she could see. She hated it.

“Twilight!” Tippi called. “We won! You can stop!”

Twilight stopped the blade inches from O’Chunks nose. Her vision cleared, telling her that they were no longer in Dimentio’s dimension, but back on their Metarex ship. O’Chunks’ remaining eye was no longer shimmering with rainbow energy—in fact, it showed pure, unrestrained fear. Without a word, and with a quivering jaw, he fled into the Void, leaving them alone.

At his feet, he had left something. A single starman-like object, except it glowed with every color of the rainbow, shifting through them all in a brilliant gradient.

Twilight shook her head, removing the dark magic from her system and reverting to her old self. “I… I…”

“It’s okay,” Vivian said, placing a hand on her. “I know it can feel like a lot sometimes, and… honestly, I wouldn’t have blamed you.”

“I’m… I’m supposed to be better than that.”

Data walked up to her—one of his arms hanging, busted, at his side. “I have observed several times that, rarely, is someone as good as they believe themselves to be.”

“We’re still here with you,” Tippi encouraged. “An—”

“And we don’t have time for this.” Twilight looked to Cosmo, Toph, and Caspian. “...Data, you saw Cosmo pilot this ship. Take us back to the rainbow stars. I need the energy to try to heal them. And…” She glanced at the shimmering powerup that O’Chunks had dropped. “Nobody touch that. Yet.”

“Twilight…” Vivian began.

“Let’s focus on healing them for now. We… we can talk later.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Do not taunt Happy Fun Pony. It will not end well.

Also, I don't see this ending well for O'Chunks. Best cast scenario, his spirit was just snapped over Twilight's knee. (Never mind that her knee is actually close to her hip.) Worst case, he may be declared... surplus to requirement. And I can only imagine what Dimentio made of this.

[Shilic]

Early updoot? Huh. Well, whatever, more story is more story.

Vivian reached out a hand and grabbed one of the manifesting starmen, gaining its power for a brief moment. With a mischievous giggle, she waved her finger, sending rainbow sparks off the tip. Her fiery jinx unleashed dozens of multicolored explosions, one for each Metarex ship, cracking their hulls.

Wow. I guess invincibility isn't all they're good for...

Realizing that trying to fight a group of seven who had access to invincibility stars might be a bad idea

You don't say

“Oh no, you don’t!” Twilight shouted. She grabbed one of the starmen herself and surged the rainbow energy into her horn, grabbing the entire warship in her telekinesis and dragging it out of the portal. She popped open one of the sides, revealing all the Metarex drones inside. Data and Cosmo used their phasers to take care of the few that attempted to fight, the rest just abandoned ship and fled.

Twilight showing off just how powerful she is. Even with a Starman, pulling a Force Unleashed is no mean feat.

They surged forward, ramming into the miniature planets and unusual platforming sections they had been jumping across mere minutes ago, tossing them aside as nothing more than debris. The traps activated, to be sure, but they did nothing against the ship’s hull besides slightly denting it. It was more than a little annoying to see the deadly obstacles they’d had so much trouble with become useless against the Metarex ship.

I blame Rosalina. We could have done this on the Enterprise, but noooooo...

“Maybe their Dark Prognosticus told them?” Cosmo asked. “It… is a prophetic book, just like ours, right?”

“Yes,” Tippi said. “Vivian’s tale notwithstanding, my records show the Light Prognosticus was written after the Dark, specifically to counteract the dark visions held within.”

“Wait…” Twilight paused. “Does that mean the Dark Prognosticus is the real prophecy?”

“I… I do not pretend to have any idea how the art of prophecy works. But I know the Dark Prognosticus is not all there is—it cannot!”

“Prophecies do not just change,” Caspian said. “They are merely fulfilled in unexpected ways.” He gripped the hilt of his sword. “We must hope the unexpected will come with the Dark Prognosticus.”

The idea of two prophets trying to do battle by counter prophesying is an amazing mental image. That's not how it works, but I don't care.

Dimentio was the same as always, but O’Chunks seemed… different. He had no pupils; instead his eyes were flashing like the rainbows in the center of the gauntlet—but it wasn’t as if he had used a starman, for all the light was contained in his eyes and it wasn’t wearing off.

“What did you do to him, fiend?” Caspian demanded.

“He was completely willing to be part of my experiment, as you recall. But, as you have no doubt noticed, he has the light of the stars within his eyes. And you know a curious thing about that light? The power it provides is unmatched, but very temporary. Well… I have found a way to condense that power and inject it right into a person! It has the terrible side effect of turning them into a mindless dolt…” He punched O’Chunks in the arm to prove the point. He didn’t even flinch. “...But it also unlocks all the hidden potential in someone. Gone is his idiocy, his showy dances, and his trash talk. He only knows how to do what is set before him like a good little dog playing fetch.” Dimentio let out a laugh, clapping his hands together. Suddenly, all seven of the chosen were in the green cube of Dimension D again, with no way of escape or potential to use the scenery of the gauntlet to help them.

Huh. Not a plant bud, but worse. Rainbow Star Juice. Terrifying.

“To—” Twilight had to cut her call short, teleporting out of the way of O’Chunks’ attack. That’s right, teleports work in this subdimension.

Good thing, too, since she did that on instinct. Otherwise things would have gotten messy.

She teleported behind O’Chunks and cast an explosion spell on his back. He ignored her and charged Cosmo.

Yikes. That's some defenses. Try casting a bigger explosion?

O’Chunks punched.

Data caught the punch in his own hand. “You may have unlocked all your biological strength, but I am beyond that.” He caught the other fist in his other hand, grunting. “This… is much harder than it should be.”

WOOOO! Go Data! Kick his ass!

“They won’t.” Twilight closed her eyes, reaching deep into the deepest recesses of her mind. “But this might.” Her eyelids flew open, revealing a noxious darkness outlined by wisps of green and purple. Ugly dark magic coalesced around her horn, creating a vortex of desolation at the tip. She channeled as much as she thought she could take, the energy making its way into her body secondhand, sharpening her teeth and extending her wings slightly. Ignoring this side effect, she created a dark crystal in front of her.

Huh. So the mention of Dark Magic in the prior chapter was forshadowing. Nice to see Twilight remembering her last resort. The physical changes are... concerning, though.

“Twilight!” Tippi called. “We won! You can stop!”

Twilight stopped the blade inches from O’Chunks nose. Her vision cleared, telling her that they were no longer in Dimentio’s dimension, but back on their Metarex ship. O’Chunks’ remaining eye was no longer shimmering with rainbow energy—in fact, it showed pure, unrestrained fear. Without a word, and with a quivering jaw, he fled into the Void, leaving them alone.

I would be afraid too. Twilight's scary as fuck when she's pissed.

At his feet, he had left something. A single starman-like object, except it glowed with every color of the rainbow, shifting through them all in a brilliant gradient.

Some kind of... Super Starman? Grand Starman? Starman Ultra? Whatever it's called, it's probably powerful as all hell.

Well then, that got... dark. Everyone got the stuffing beaten out of them by O'Chunks, and Twilight... well, let's hope she came come back from this. Dark magic is rarely without it's cost; the road to hell's construction materials and all that...

[Spellflame]

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