> Friendship is Failure #10- THE END OF ENDS! (2017 Revision) > by DakariKingMykan > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue: A Tale of Two Tomes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROLOGUE “There is a story told of a power, a passion, and a betrayal so unbelievable…that it almost Obliterated all of existence entirely!” 3000 years ago… before Equestria had ever been established, there was a fierce war in the magical world: an ultimate battle of Light against Darkness, Good against Evil, Love against Hate! So many ponies, so many other creatures-- Dragons, Gryphons, Minotaur, alike-- raged the battles across the lands. Those that supported Light worked hard to maintain peace, order and love to the world, whereas those of Darkness spread chaos and destruction wherever they went, believing that Darkness should rule, and the Light was worthless and was to be extinguished. Two fierce forces, so incredibly powerful in their own way, and yet equally matched. The war lasted for many years, causing many to perish and suffer. Finally, a great pony wizard decided to quell the fighting by containing the powers of each force within two magical tomes. One for the darkness, the other for the light… The magical powers were sealed within the blank pages of the two tomes, which came to be known as The Dark Prognosticus, and The Light Prognosticus With their powers now drained, the members of each tribe suddenly found it difficult to maintain their battling ways, and the war began to cease. However, there was one wicked dragon of the Tribe of Darkness whom refused to cease, with evil desires to take the powers stolen and use them, for the sole purpose to conquer and build whole worlds in his own image. In the midst of the battle between the Wizard and the Dragon, the two fought fiercely for the power of the tomes, which resulted in serious consequences. The force of the light and dark became so fierce, in one final clash; the two powers collided with such force, in blinding flashes of Light and Darkness… the two tomes had vanished, and both the Dragon and the Wizard were nowhere to be seen. Whatever became of either of the two beings, and the two books…? …Not a soul could ever say, but eventually, the battles had ceased entirely, peace returned and the war faded into history. Those among either tribe, of Darkness or Light, went about their own ways and lived their own lives, continuing what they believed in most. Still... the legend had been passed down through the ages, and still remained one of the most fascinating tales and wonders of Equestrians today! These were the words that Princess Twilight Sparkle read from a history book to her friends. “That’s all it says after that…” said Twilight “Isn’t that amazing?” Her friends didn’t seem so optimistic about the story they had just heard. “Yeah… um…” said Applejack “Well…” Twilight already got the message and sighed. “Oh, don’t get us wrong, darling.” said Rarity “I’m sure that whatever transpired back then was all resolved.” Twilight sighed, “I guess you’re right.” And she gazed down at the history book again, “I just really wish I knew what happened to those beings, or either of those books. Ponies have been looking for traces of either of them for a very long time and came up with nothing.” “Well, I’ll tell you this much…” said Rainbow Dash “That would all make a pretty good Daring Do story.” “Oooh, I can see it all now.” cried Pinkie Pie, and she dipped into one of her hallucination scenarios of the whole thing, “Daring Do, and her two famous sidekicks, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, searching the world for the remains of the lost books, but stop at every village along the way to have wild and fulfilled parties!” She was really going crazy, hopping around, throwing confetti and tooting a noise-maker, making Fluttershy jump nervously. Pinkie blushed in embarrassment, “Sorry, you know how I get.” Fluttershy cleared her throat, “Well, I better go…” “You got plans?” asked Applejack. “Oh, no… it’s just that I promised Discord I’d have some tea with him this afternoon. He’s been feeling rather left out today, and you know how he gets when he’s upset.” “Oh, boy, do we.” Spike groaned, he remembered the last time; Discord threw one of his little tantrums. He turned all of Equestria upside-down, literally, so the sky was below and the ground was above. Food wouldn’t stay on your plate, fish fell out of the water, and ponies practically had to swing and climb from thing-to-thing so they wouldn’t fall downwards to the sky. …Fluttershy managed to calm him, and Discord did get reprimanded for his attitude and actions. “It could’ve been a whole lot worse.” said Pinkie “Off-hoof, I can’t think how, but there could always be a power worse than Discord’s.” Rarity dashed over and hushed her, “Please, Pinkie Pie, still your tongue. The last thing we want is for another evil force to befall on Equestria.” Rainbow didn’t seem as worried as she was, “Ah, bring ‘em on. We’ve already faced so many enemies before, and they always end up being defeated anyway. I don’t think there’s a magic or force anywhere that can stand up to us!” All the others agreed, even Twilight did, feeling that as long as she and her friends believed in one another, and in the power of the friendship they shared in their hearts and through the Elements of Harmony, there was nothing that couldn’t overcome. Fluttershy decided to go before she was late for her “date” with Discord, and the others left to go about their own devices, leaving Twilight and Spike alone in the castle. “Well, what should we do now, Twilight?” Spike asked, but he turned round to see Twilight was still buried in that history book of the two tomes. …She obviously hadn’t heard him either as she just kept her nose buried in that book. Spike sighed, “I think I’ll just go take a nap.” After he left, Twilight just continued to flip through the pages, still refusing to believe that the two books had simply vanished into thin air. “What could have happened to them?” she kept asking, no one in particular. “MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC” “TEEN TITANS” “THE END OF ENDS” > Losing Confidence > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER ONE We all need to be loved. We all wish to feel important and appreciated… but for some of us, these things can be extremely difficult to find. For some of us, facing change and coming to acceptance presents its challenges, as well as the darkness hidden within. While things may change in life and always will be changing, sometimes things are the way they are for a reason, and making changes that shouldn’t be done could lead to a great deal of trouble! In another dimension, …The four Teen Titans-- Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Raven-- were having a very difficult time battling the shape-shifting robot at the Jump City recycling plant. “Titans, Attack!” Robin shouted, and he and his teammates lunged forth to strike the white robot, but the robot merely absorbed itself into the stone flooring and vanished. “Where’d it go?” shouted Robin. Cyborg tried to scan for the robot with his wrist-com, “It’s no good, I can’t pinpoint it. I don’t know to scan for rock, metal, or even…” suddenly, the creature appeared, busted out through a vat of water, and taking on the water’s form. Starfire launched her starbolts at the creature, but the water simply absorbed every blast. “I does not even harm it!” she cried. “Maybe this will!” Cyborg said, firing his sonic-cannon, but the blast also just shot straight through the creature like it was nothing at all. Next, the creature extended its watery arms like tentacles, ensnaring the Titans, two in each grip, flailed them all over and tossed them all across the plant, and before the Titans could even try to retaliate, the creature was gone, having absorbed itself into some other material. “It’s no good! We can’t fight it like this!” grumbled Robin. “I hate to say this, but I really wish Beast Boy was here.” said Raven “Then he could actually sniff the creature out of hiding.” Beast Boy had been neglecting his teammates lately due to claiming to have seen a girl that resembled their old friend Terra, saying that she had returned and was no longer a stone statue. Though the Titans agreed it was possible Terra could have returned, but they still had their doubts of whether or not whom Beast Boy saw really was her or not. Now was not the time to think about it, not what that creature still loose in the plant. “Keep your eyes peeled.” said Robin. Everyone stood silently, and gazed all around looking for the creature. Suddenly, POW!! The creature, having absorbed the stone flooring, burst right up ensnaring Raven in its grasp. “Raven!” shouted Cyborg. Raven struggled hard trying to break free, but the monster began to tighten its grip around her. She couldn’t even try to teleport her way out as the pressure made it hard to concentrate her power, and at this rate, the creature would crush her like an egg! “Let her go!” Starfire shouted as she and the others rushed in to attack the creature, but it just kicked them all away, and continued to tighten its grip on Raven. She screamed as the pressure began to get to her, but suddenly…! A green triceratops came crashing through the wall, charged right at the creature, ramming it hard, freeing Raven from its grasp. Beast Boy, changed into his normal form and walked over to Raven, “You okay?” he asked out of concern, but rather than thanking him, Raven coldly sneered at him, “What took you so long?” Beast Boy’s features hardened, even more than they already were when he had arrived. The creature was gone again, having absorbed into something else. “Beast Boy, sniff him out.” said Robin. Obeying his leader, Beast Boy changed into a bloodhound and sniffed about for the creature’s unusual scent, despite whatever it had absorbed into. Suddenly, he sniffed along floor and growled angrily indicating where the creature was. “Got it!” snapped Robin, “Get back!” and he threw his disc-bombs at floor, blowing it up and exposing the creature. Raven quickly used her power to ensnare it with dark bindings, and allowing the others to attack at it hard, ultimately shorting the robot’s circuitry inside, putting an end to the menace. The plant had only suffered a little damage, but nothing too serious. The Titans got outside only to find a huge crowd of plant workers and citizens there cheering for the heroes, as well as officially welcoming them back from their globetrot fighting the Brotherhood of Evil. “Hey, Titans!” a newspaper photographer called, “Picture for the paper?” The titans all seemed to jump at the idea, even Raven, though she didn’t show it well… only, Beast Boy didn’t seem so optimistic about it. “Come on, man!” Cyborg called to him. Beast Boy sighed softly, and then stood by Cyborg’s side as the photographer readied his shot, and he snapped the photo. Soon, the Titans were on their way home back to the tower, but Beast Boy remained silent and still all through the car-ride. The other Titans found this a bit disturbing. “Beast Boy…? You are okay?” Starfire asked. “I’m alright.” he simply answered, but in a very downhearted tone. Now the others really knew something was wrong, and they didn’t all have to be Raven to read what was on his mind. …Obviously, something had gone wrong with that girl he believed to be Terra, or he wouldn’t look so spiritless. When they got to the tower, the others all headed off to get some rest, but Robin stayed behind a moment to confront Beast Boy, “We need to talk.” he said gently. Beast Boy tried to avoid him, “Not now, Robin.” “Yes, now.” Robin said, trying to keep calm, “Look, I’m glad you helped us out today. We couldn’t have beaten that thing without you, but just the same you came in late.” “I know, and I’m sorry.” Beast boy said, trying to maintain his own cool as well, which was not easy due to he was already hurting enough inside by events that transpired earlier that day, and message he was told by the girl he loved… “Things Change, Beast Boy. The girl you want me to be is just a memory.”   “…Beast Boy!” Robin called to him, snapping him out of his trance. “Sorry, I drifted off.” “That’s exactly what I mean.” Robin scolded, “Look, I don’t know what it is with this girl you think might or might not be Terra, but… you have an obligation to your team, and I don’t want you slacking off like this anymore.” Beast Boy really didn’t like what he was being told, it only made him hurt deeper inside, but he did his best not to freak or show it. “I know you miss Terra,” Robin continued, “But you’re going to have to face the facts and move on eventually.” Beast Boy clenched his fists softly; trying to suppress his feelings, “I’ll try…” was all he said as he turned to face the door “…But I don’t think it’ll do any good.” Then he was gone, through the door, leaving Robin to ponder about the way he had just acted. Whatever happened between him and the girl, Terra or not, must had been more serious than he thought. For now, he thought it best to leave Beast Boy to himself in hopes he would get over his depression and move on with his life. Beast Boy had not come out of his room the entire day, not wanting to see or talk to anyone. Nothing had been going right ever since he and the titans had got back to Jump City; all these changes! The video store was gone. How he loved to rent movies and video games from there. Now it was all closed up and going to be turned into a hardware store. His favorite Candy Store was gone too, and with it when his peanut butter squares. The whole block was all being renovated into that new giant office complex. The worst of it was Terra; his beloved Terra. She was now living a normal life, going to High School, being with new friends, and though she initially pretended not to remember him and all the good times they had, she made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him, or the Titans, or being a hero at all. All she wanted was to peaceful a normal, peaceful life. She no longer cared for him. No longer wanted to see him, and wanted nothing to do with him at all, though he finally respected her wishes, left her in peace and was willing to stay out of her life, this did not make things any better for himself. After all, there was a big difference between letting go, and moving on. He let Terra go, and he let her live her life without trying to force her back to the way she once was, but he really didn't look as if he was willing to really put it behind him and move on with his life. All he did was lay flat on the lower bunk of his bed, clutching a pillow to his aching heart, and look up at the ceiling crying softly, “Why…? Why do these things always happen to me?” Meanwhile, school was out, Terra and her two friends, Jackie and Jillian, exited the school, but the Js noticed that Terra seemed a little strange, and had been acting so all day. “Are you still thinking about that green kid?” Jackie asked. Terra looked up and lied. “Oh… no… I was just hoping I didn’t flunk the geometry test. I didn’t study for it after all.” Her friends were not convinced, “Hey, blame Brat Boy for that.” said Jillian. Terra’s features hardened, “It’s “Beast Boy.”   “Whatever. Point is, you finally told him off, and hopefully he gets it through his green head that you’re not interested.” This only made Terra feel guilty deep down, and remembering all the things she told Beast Boy, wanting him to leave her alone to live her new life in peace, even she herself regretted it a little… or maybe more than just. All day long she remembered how desperately he had tried over the past two days to convince her to come back with him, and the crushed expression he showed when she ultimately told him to go! Still, she didn’t want this to get to her, and since Beast Boy had no longer attempted to contact her for the rest of the day, she assumed he was eventually going to get over her, just as she was trying to get over him and all of her past. “Yo… Earth to Terra…?” Jackie called. “Huh? Oh, I’m okay. I’ll be fine, I promise.” She said, finally smiling warmly to her friends, but the Js were not so sure. The next morning, Beast Boy finally emerged from his room, but he still looked rather down in the dumps as he walked over to the kitchen for a piece of toast. “Good morning to you, Beast Boy.” Starfire said, trying to be friendly, but he didn’t respond He just buttered his toast silently with that same sour look on his face. “Perhaps you should tell us a joke, or pull off one of your hilarious pranks to liven the mood?” “No thanks, Star. I’m just not in the mood.” he said to her. “Suits me fine…” Raven muttered from the sofa, but Beast Boy had heard her anyway, and was starting to get really fed up with the way she had been acting. “What are you looking at?” Raven hissed at him. Not wishing to make things worse, Beast Boy took his plate and walked back to the door, only for Cyborg to burst right, knocking the plate out of his hand. “WHOO-HOO… Paper’s in, y’all, and lookie who made the front page…” He held up the paper showing the picture that was taken of the team the other day, with a headline that read: “City Welcomes Back Teen Titans” “All right!” exclaimed Robin. “How wonderful!” chirped Starfire. “Yay…” Raven grumbled. Cyborg cut out the picture and the story column, and stamped it on the refrigerator. With a magnet, “Mm-Mmm… lookin’ good.” he said. The others all went off, and then Beast Boy looked at the picture and what he saw really upset him: He wasn’t in the picture at all. Even though he was supposedly standing right next to Cyborg, the picture had obviously been cropped for printing, and worse: he read the story that was printed, and he couldn’t see his name, or any mention of him anyway! What the heck was up with that?! How could the Titans not even notice this! Did they just look at the picture, admire it and that was it? He was starting to feel his anger, combined with his sadness, rising again. “Yo… B’,” Cyborg called to him, “Wanna play some V-G here?” Keeping calm as ever, Beast Boy politely refused, “No thanks, Cy… I just don’t feel like playing right now.” and he left the lounge to return to his room. “Dang, he doesn’t wanna play video-games? Somethin’ is really up with him.” Robin sighed heavily, “He really needs to get over this. Just give it some time, he’ll come round.” “But… what if he does not?” Starfire asked, “I understand the breaking of a heart, and it feels most uncomforting.” Raven looked up from her book, “We’ve all had our share of heartbreak, Star, and eventually we all accept it and we move on. It’s a fact of life, and everyone has to face it.” Starfire still remained unsure of this. As a song played… Beast Boy decided to fly around the city, to try and forget his troubles, but as he looked around the city, he saw more and more changes that only added to his frustration. The arcade had been closed down. The skate-park was closed and going to be demolished to make way for a new travel-agency head-quarters. The bowling alley was already gone; turned into a mechanic’s garage. Even the old rundown theme park at the pier had already been cleared away and was replaced with warehouses for boat shipping. Beast Boy was beginning to feel a little airsick, most likely his ever building depression. What was happening to his home town? Why were all the things he enjoyed and loved being taken away? He felt so sick, he decided to land and walk about town instead. As he walked along, nobody seemed to notice him. No one said hello to him, or even gave him a smile. It was almost like he was invisible. What was with everyone? He was a Teen Titan! A Hero of Jump City… the world… the whole universe! Didn’t anyone care? He soon began to get his answer he looked through the window of a shop that was selling Teen Titan merchandise; T-shirts, baseball caps, coffee mugs, actions figures. There was plenty of merchandise honoring the other four Titans, but he couldn’t see a single Beast Boy product anywhere. Feeling worse than ever, he retreated to the city park, one of few places that remained untouched by the changes… so far, but much to his horrors, there was a big notice sign saying that the park was indeed going to be closed down and removed to make way for yet another office complex, and construction would begin very soon. “Just great…!” Beast Boy grumbled to himself “What is with everyone and all these changes?! Things were fine the way they were before! We don’t need any of this stuff.” Not that anyone was listening anyway. Everyone looked so happy, enjoying their day; almost as if they didn’t notice or care that the park was going to go away soon. Couples walked by on dates, which reminded him constantly of how he and Terra used to be, which brought on more sadness. Suddenly, the sound of laughter broke him out of his trance. He saw a bunch of kids up-ahead playing with Teen Titan action figures they had bought. “I like Robin. He’s team leader.” “Well I think Starfire’s beautiful.” “Cyborg is the coolest.” “I like Raven. She’s so powerful.” The kids ran off, playing with their Titan Toys, Beast Boy, again felt unappreciated that the kids didn’t have a figurine of him-- not that the stores were selling any anyway. “What next?” he groaned. “Hey!” someone snapped at him. Beast Boy looked up and saw none other than Jackie and Jillian. “What do you think you’re doing?” Jackie sneered “You’re sitting on our bench.” “What?” asked Beast Boy “…This is a public-bench. I was here first.” Jillian then grabbed him by the collar and looked him dead in the eye, “You heard what we said. Now beat it, Booger-Boy!” “It’s “Beast Boy!” he growled at her, and wretched himself out of her grip. The two girls furiously stared him down, and he growled at them, wanting nothing more than to teach them a lesson, but remembering that as a hero he was not permitted to engage in violence with civilians. “You two aren’t even worth it!” he grumbled, and he turned and walked up the street. “If we catch you hear again, you’re history!” Jackie shouted to him. “And we’re not joking, Butt-Boy!” Jillian added, Beast Boy was really getting furious, but didn’t bother to correct her this time, and decided to get a refreshing drink of water from the park fountain. As he sipped the water, everyone stopped and gawked at him with horrified expressions, like he being gross. Like they had never seen a guy drink from a fountain before! …then again they never actually saw a green guy do it! “You’re all a bunch of assholes!” Beast Boy thundered at them. The crowds gasped at his profanity, and he then changed into a bird and flew away in such a huff, back for Titans tower. Terra was on her way to the park at that moment to meet up with her friends, and she saw him flying overhead and disappearing off into the blue. She began to feel that strange bit of guilt eating away at her again, but shrugged it off. Beast Boy got back to the tower to find it empty. The others had left a note for Beast Boy saying they had gone grocery shopping and would be back later. “They could’ve at least called me.” he grumbled. He really was starting to feel angry with things and people. It was as if the whole world was against him in some ridiculous way. He sat down at the couch, but suddenly felt something solid touch his bottom, “Ouch… what the?!” He reached down and grabbed a book: A Black book with red markings on the cover, and a large white death-skull emblem in the center. “What the hell is this?” he wondered, and he was more than positive it was not there when he sat down as he saw the couch was bare. It was as if the book just magically appeared out of nowhere! Normally, Beast Boy was not much of a book reader, but wondering more about this; he opened the cover and flipped through the pages. The book had no pictures at all, nothing but page-after-page-after-page… of strange writing in the form of an unusual text he had never seen before, couldn’t understand it at all. He deduced, “Must be one of Raven’s books.” Knowing this, and knowing better than to touch Raven’s things, he placed the book on the coffee table for Raven to find it when she came back. He decided to just go off to his room again to rest, but when he got there, much to his surprise, there was that book again! It was sitting right on the lower bunk. Confused, Beast Boy ran back to the lounge, and saw the book was there, waiting on the counter rather than on the coffee table in front of the sofa. “Okay, this is getting so weird.” he said to himself. He picked up the book to look at it again. As he combed through the pages, that same strange text was just as confusing and as baffling as before… but then, as if by magic… “Whoa…!” Beast Boy gasped! The text…! It was becoming clear to him. He could actually read the words as if they were printed in plain English, though had never seen a language like this before! He closed the book and looked at its cover, the small bit of text was clear for him to read: “The Dark Prognosticus”: Tome of Prophecies, Power.”   Beast Boy could already feel this was getting serious, maybe even dangerous. Before he could continue studying it, however, the Titans came back. “Beast Boy… you have returned.” said Starfire. Raven suddenly gasped at what she saw him holding. “Beast Boy!” she thundered, “What are you doing with that?!” “What this?” Beast Boy asked calmly, and before he could explained, Raven had dashed over to him and fiercely snatched the book away from him. “You took this out of my room…!” “What? No, I didn’t!” protested Beast Boy, but Raven refused to believe that. “I’m serious…” said Beast Boy, “I didn’t go anywhere near your room.” “Oh, and I suppose the book magically opened the door to my room and just fell into your hands by mistake?” sneered Raven. She was so angry, her eyes flared up with dark magic, “Do you have any idea what you could’ve done with this?!!” Now Beast Boy was getting furious, “I didn’t take it out of your room! I don’t even know what this thing is!” “Don’t talk to me!” Raven grunted, and she floated off, with the book in-hand. Beast Boy tried to confide with the others, “Robin, you have to believe me; I didn’t do it.” “We want to believe you, but… what else is there to think?” replied Robin. “You have been known to break into Raven’s room many times.” added Starfire. Beast boy looked up desperately at Cyborg. “Sorry, man…” He was crushed, and he gazed upon his, what he now judged former-friends, with a look of extreme sadness and betrayal. Starfire approached him and tried to comfort him, but he just turned on his heal, ran to his room, and slammed the sliding door do hard that the noise echoed all through the tower! The three Titans didn’t know what to do, but something had to be done with him! > Warnings and Wearings! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER TWO The next morning, Beast Boy had not come out of his room, not even for breakfast. Cyborg knocked at the door, “Come on, man. I made your favorite soy-waffles.” but Beast Boy would not come out. He was still far too angry about the way his friends had behaved with him the other day, refusing to believe he did not go into Raven’s room. “Look, I’ll leave it outside the door for you.” Cyborg called to him, and he left a plate of waffles and a little cup of syrup outside of Beast Boy’s door. Then he returned to lounge to join the others, “He’s not budging.” The others sighed in dismay. “I hope that he will come round soon.” said Starfire. Robin hoped so too, and then he turned to face Raven, “Start talking…” he told her. “What?” Raven asked. “What was the deal with that book? You acted as if it’s really dangerous. Just how dangerous is it?” Raven twiddled her thumbs on her lap softly, “It’s worse than you think.” And she began to explain about The Dark Prognosticus, She didn’t know where it originally came from, but according to the monks of Azarath, who raised her, it once belonged to her father, Trigon, before he was sealed away in the underworld. It was said to be a book of extremely dark prophecies and magic beyond imagination. “One day, the book just appeared, and Trigon began to use the evil powers with in to increase his own malicious might. The more power he gained, the more pages were added to the book, and the powers within it became more and more evil. Soon, Trigon discovered that he was losing control. The book had become so powerful, it nearly destroyed him. When my father was imprisoned in the underworld, the monks of Azarath discovered the tome, and realizing that the magic was far too dangerous to study, so they attempted to magically seal the book to prevent it from being opened or read again... But that book... it actually was resonating, as if was trying to defend itself; almost as if it were alive. In the end, the monks managed to make a seal, but due to the book pushing back, the seal came with one small flaw: Only someone with heart filled with extreme hatred and darkness would be able to unleash the powers within. Other than that, the book was pretty much sealed." The other Titans thought that very frightening indeed. “Then how come you got the book?” “I am the spawn of Trigon.” Raven explained, “It became my soul-duty to guard the book, to ensure that its magic can never be released. If it is released…I don’t know what unspeakable horrors may happen!” Now the titans understood why she flipped her lid at Beast Boy the other day; still believing he went into her room and just took it. “Please…” Starfire asked, “If the book is as horrible as you say it is, why do you not simply destroy it?” Raven signed, “I can’t. I’ve already tried, again and again, but that book is made a special material. It won’t break.” “Oh, it’s gonna break, alright…” Cyborg said with a creepy look in his eyes. Raven decided to let him knock himself out, and got the book from her room. Cyborg tried everything. He tried cutting it with scissors. The scissors broke, and the book was unharmed. He tried a buzz-saw in the workshop. The saw blade got bent and dented, but no effect on the book. Starfire even tried blasting it with her powers, and robin threw his disc-bombs at it. Finally, Cyborg took the book, placed it in the garage, and used a powerful flame-thrower. He blasted such a blaze and didn’t stop until the gas had run out… but the book wasn’t even singed! “Okay, it’s not breaking.” Cyborg said finally admitting defeat. The book lay on the floor, wide open, and Robin picked it up. He looked at the strange text written on the pages, “What kind of writing is this?” he wondered. “I don’t know…” Raven said as she took the book back from him, “Not even the greatest Azarath scholars were able to figure it out. The point is: I can’t let this book fall into the wrong hands.” She then headed for her room to put the book in a very safe place she hoped no one would even think of looking. As the Titans all walked down the hall, Cyborg noticed the plate of waffles was still by Beast Boy’s room, untouched. Cyborg could only sigh in dismay, “What is wrong with that kid?” he wondered. Robin was thinking of that too, and he decided maybe they would all have to help Beast Boy try and move on and forget about Terra, to which the others agreed, feeling it was for Beast Boy’s own good. Twilight found herself walking along a black hall of nothingness. “Hello?” she called out, but no one answered her. “Okay… this is… kind of creepy.” Suddenly, a light appeared at the end of the darkness. She dashed for it, and suddenly, all before her; a terrible sight met her eyes…! Ponyville was all in ruins! Buildings were completely shattered and their remains were a blaze. The lands all around were scorched and smoldering. The skies were all red and nasty with chaotic storms and lightning flashing. Worse than that, there was a sign of her friends, or any pony anywhere. Even Spike was nowhere to be found. “What’s going on here?” “I am returning…!” a sinister voice hissed along the winds. “Who’s there?” cried Twilight. “I will destroy…!” was her only response as the ground around her began to rumble and shatter and she fell through a long spiraling vortex, screaming in the darkness… …And then she woke up, in a terrifying gasp. She panted heavily as she tried to catch her breath. “Twilight?” cried Spike as he hopped out from his basket at the foot of her bed “What’s wrong?” Twilight caught her breath and sighed, “It was just a nightmare. Yet, it felt so real! I could almost actually feel it.” Spike could only shake his head in disdain, “Now that’s exactly what I was worried about; you’re overworking yourself again. You spent all that time researching the two tomes you didn’t rest well.” Twilight agreed with him, but that nightmare… She still felt maybe, just maybe, it was something more. A week had passed, and Twilight seemed to have the same recurring dream every night, only every time she witnessed a different part of Equestria completely destroyed, and that same recurring voice hissing at her… “I am returning! I will destroy!” She always woke up in a fright, and now she was more than convinced that these dreams were probably some kind of warning. Not wanting to worry her friends, she wrote a letter to Princess Celestia, explaining about her stress, and the next night, Princess Luna came to see her. “Now, Twilight…” she explained to her, “Once you fall asleep, I shall visit the dream realm and look into your nightmares. I pray that is all they are.” “What do you mean?” asked Spike. Twilight explained for Luna, “Royal alicorns sometimes have premonitions whenever some kind of danger is about to happen.” “That is correct.” agreed Luna “If this nightmare of yours is accurate, I believe we could be facing some sort of danger.” Twilight Spike both shuddered at the idea, but it was only just possible Twilight was having just plain nightmares. Still, there was only one way to find out. Soon, Twilight had fallen asleep, and Spike fell asleep next to her. Princess Luna had already raised the moon, and saw that all of Equestria had gone to sleep. “Now, I will act…” she muttered to herself, and she slipped off into the dream realm. So many ponies were having very unusual dreams. Rarity dreamt that she herself had become an alicorn and was dubbed a new Princess, just like Twilight was. Ironically, Spike was having the same dream, only… Princess Rarity chose him as her royal consort, to which he was most delighted. Pinkie Pie dreamt of the world’s biggest cake. Applejack was dreaming about actually being courted by a handsome stallion farmer. Rainbow Dash was dreaming about becoming leader of the Wonderbolts. Fluttershy was having a plain nightmare about being stuck in Discord’s topsy-turvy world again, but that was nothing to be too concerned with. “Aha!” Luna cried when she spotted Twilight’s nightmare, and she let herself in. “Princess Twilight…” Luna called to her. “Oh, good, you’re here.” Twilight said, and she led her down the dark way to the light, where they emerged in a post-apocalyptic Canterlot. “Oh, my word…!” Luna murmured as she inspected the damage with Twilight. The palace was all collapsed into a mountain of rubble, and even the mountain it was built on had been destroyed and was now a bigger mountain of rubble. The village was complete demolished, and not a sign of any life anywhere. Suddenly the sound of wicked snickering was heard, “Here it comes…!” Twilight whimpered. “I am returning! I will destroy…!” Luna didn’t like the sound of that voice at all and what it was threatening, “Who are you?” she demanded to know, but the voice only repeated its threat. “I am returning! I will destroy…!” “This is usually when the ground crumples.” Twilight said, and surely enough it did and the princesses fell into the darkness, resulting in Twilight waking up in her traditional gasp, which woke Spike up too. Luna then reappeared next to the bed, and she looked deeply concerned. “Well…?” Twilight asked. Still uncertain of what she had seen, but just as horrified, “I must tell my sister this!” Luna said, and she left the Castle of Friendship through the bedroom window, and then disappeared in a dark flash. Twilight was most disturbed. While in the human world, all that week, Terra had been finding it harder and harder to concentrate on her schoolwork. She even flunked two more tests which she actually studied for, and this caused her grades to start slipping, much to the discomfort of her friends. “So you are thinking about him.” Jackie said. “What?” she asked in confusion. “Don’t play dumb with us!” sneered Jillian “You were thinking of him again.”  “N-N-No… I wasn’t!” Terra said trying to cover up, but her stammering gave it all away. “What is with you?” Jackie asked “Was there someone between you and that kid? Is that why he stalked you like some twisted pervert…!” “He’s not a twisted pervert!” Terra protested, but that only gave it all the more away she was thinking about him. However, she did not wish to tell her two friends the whole story. She would have to think back to all the horrible things she ever did that she was trying forget-- how she was once a loner with Geo-Kenetic Powers. Traveling the world, met the titans, had a small relationship with Beast Boy, and then got involved with Slade, sacrificing herself and turning to stone...! Publicity of this she feared would make her new friends dislike her, and she’d ruin her normal life. Then where would she go? What would she do? She was so nervous, that her powers began to awaken again after so long and caused the stone-floor to vibrate softly. “Whoa! What’s going on?!” cried Jillian. Terra gasped softly, and quickly managed to conceal her powers not wanting them to awaken again, and the floor stopped rumbling. Terra then just walked off! “Wait… where are you going?” Jackie called, but Terra didn’t answer. The two girls were now really ticked off with Beast Boy for getting under Terra’s skin and messing her up like this. Even though he hadn’t gone near her since the last time, it changed nothing. “I think we need to fix that kid once and for all!” Jillian suggested, and her friend agreed, and they looked out the hall window, and could see three big, strong, and burly punks hanging out by the construction zone across the road. This gave the girls a very nasty idea…! Terra walked far away from the school, clutching her books hard against her chest. She couldn’t even feel the pressure, or even her feet against the sidewalk. Her head was aching, the same aching it had been doing for days! She couldn’t stop thinking about Beast Boy, no matter what she tried. She was so lost in her trauma, that she didn’t watch where she was going and didn’t see the light turn red. She got honked at by a truck that came to a screeching halt, “Hey! Watch it kid!” the angry driver shouted at her. In a small panic, Terra dashed up the street, dropping her school books along the way, and finally she ducked into an alley where she backed herself up against the wall and slid down to the ground clothing her head. She did all she could to prevent herself from crying. The pain was really getting to her! “Why…?! Why can’t I just forget about him?!” she cried to herself “Do I actually regret what I did?” She tried to fight it all she could, but the more she tried, the more she began to think back to all those times she wanted to put behind her. They had been plaguing her for the past while since Beast Boy had first encountered her and tried to ask her to come back with him and she refused. “I can’t do it!” she said to herself “I just can’t go back to what I was!” Her mind was made up. She would try all she could to get over these thoughts, and continue with her normal life. Meanwhile, Beast Boy had emerged from his room, where he had spent the week sulking. He had gone to incredible lengths to ignore his friends, whom he was still mad at for wrongfully accusing him. He simply changed into a lizard so he wouldn’t have to eat too much, or resorted to snacking on the many old and mouldy foods that lay about in his room. At least this way he wouldn’t have to be near his teammates, but he was growing bored with just laying around all day. Then again, where would he go anyway? All his favorite hangouts were gone, and no other places like them could be found anywhere in the city. The people themselves hardly respected him at all, and he didn’t feel willing to be around people as such. So he decided to head to the kitchen for a sip of water. There he found Starfire. “Friend Beast Boy…!” she cried with joy, “You have emerged from your room!” but Beast Boy just walked past her not saying a thing to her. “Beast Boy…?” she asked calmly, “I… I have made something special for you?” She got out a laptop, and showed him a special webpage on a dating website Cyborg had shown her how to use and work. “What’s this for?” Beast Boy asked. “I realized that you are still in woe for this girl who has broken your heart, and I do not wish to see you so unhappy. I feel that you are truly deserving of happiness. So cyborg and I have created for you this site on the world of the webs, in hopes you may find a new person whom you can love.” Beast Boy didn’t know what to think about this. He felt a little flattered deep down, but he knew in his heart that no girl could ever replace his Terra and never would. Not to mention he wasn’t so sure other girls would even give him the time of day from what he had experienced. He checked over the page, and it seemed pretty neat. And the Interests were labeled… -Singing and Dancing -Comedies -Is a Vegetarian -A friend of animals -Loves video games and hit music. He lips curled a little into a smile, but it didn’t quite get there, “I notice I have zero dates.” He said pointing at the empty inbox. Starfire noticed this as well, “I am certain you will soon have girls coming in the non-stop, and soon you will have the happiness you desire… just as I do with Robin.” Hearing her say that only further infuriated him deep down. Even though he was somewhat happy that Robin and Starfire were an official couple, it only burned him more that Terra dumped him in cold blood. “Beast Boy…?” Starfire called to him, but he had already left the lounge to go back to his room. Starfire was starting to feel more frustrated than concerned. He didn’t even thank her for the thought or give her a smile. She began to feel that maybe there was more to his upset than met the eye. Something more than just Terra…! As Beast Boy walked down the hall, he was really upset with all that was happening, and things only got worse as he passed by, what was once, Terra’s old room while the door was open. “What the…?!” he cried when he saw that the place had been converted into a home office. All the furniture was gone; the walls had been painted over to steel grey. In place of all of Terra’s old things were now bookshelves, desks and computers for studying. “Beast Boy…” Robin said as he and Cyborg approached him. Beast Boy turned his livid face to them and snarled, “What the hell have you done?!” The guys expected he’d behave like this. “Look, Beast Boy… you have to face the facts, and so do we.” said Robin “Terra’s not ever coming back…!” Beast Boy cringed at those words! “…We can’t just keep an empty and unoccupied bedroom.” said Cyborg. That’s when Raven came along with a box full of things he recognized all too well. “Hey! This is all my stuff!” he growled. One of the objects was a stuffed monkey Terra had one for him at the theme park when she lived at the tower; before she betrayed them all to Slade. There was also Terra’s old butterfly hair comb she used to wear, and even the Heart-Shaped Mirror Box he had made for her as a romantic gift! He angrily took the box away from her. “Beast Boy…!” Robin said in a stern voice “This is for your own good. You need let go of the past and move on!” Beast Boy refused to let go of the box, like a child refusing to give up an old blanket! “These things mean a lot to me!” he thundered “I’m not letting you get rid of them!” “Yo’ man… we’re not playing with you.” sneered Cyborg “Give us the box!” Beast Boy still refused, but finally, Starfire snuck up from behind and grabbed the box. “Hey, give me that back!” he roared trying to fight for the box back, but Raven used her magic to pin him up against the wall allowing Starfire carry the box of Beast Boy’s things. She would take them to the city and donate everything to goodwill, hoping people would buy them. Raven refused to let Beast Boy down until Starfire had returned so he couldn’t go after her. After she let him go, Beast Boy never felt so upset before. “Beast Boy…” Starfire said trying to approach him gently, but Beast Boy turned and ran for the nearest window, turned into a bird, and flew away! “Beast Boy!” Robin called to him, but he had already gone. “If he wants to be a big baby, let him go.” Raven grumbled. Robin sighed, but he felt what they had done was for the best. Beast Boy needed to move on. “Robin…” Starfire asked, “I have been thinking. Beast Boy has been acting very unusual lately.” “Tell us something we don’t know.” said Cyborg. “No!” snapped Starfire “I mean, perhaps there is something more that is disturbing him; something more than just the pain of heartbreak over losing Terra.” There was a long moment of silence, and the Titans began to feel if maybe that was true, but if Beast Boy wasn’t willing to open up to them, how would they ever find out? All they could do now was hope he would come back after he had some time to cool off. > A Rough Resignation > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER THREE Beast Boy flew miserably to the main lands, but he didn’t bother land in the city, not wanting to put up with any more ignorance and disrespect. As he flew along, he sang a song to himself, contemplating all the many problems and hardships he had, and what respect he desired but was always denied of. As the song ended, he flew off towards the cliff-faces on the outskirts of town across the water, and Terra saw him, and though it was against her wishes, she decided to follow him talk to him one last time, hoping they could both hep each other to accept the way things were, and hopefully put her mind at ease. Little did she know she was being spied on by her friends, the Js. They watched her from Jackie’s car, and saw she was following a green bird. The both of them were infuriated, believing Beast Boy was stalking their friend again and telling her to meet with him again! “This ends tonight!” hissed Jackie. Jillian nodded, and she looked towards the backseat, “You guys ready?” In the backseat, the three punks sat and snickered wickedly at the thought of what the girls were paying them for. “Don’t worry. We’ll mash that freak into gravel.” one of them hissed. Meanwhile, Twilight was invited to dinner with her friends, but she didn’t seem to want to eat much. “You okay, Twilight?” Applejack asked “You hardly ate a crumb.” “Hmm…? Oh, I didn’t notice.” said Twilight. “Is this about your nightmares?” Rainbow asked. Twilight was shocked that she seemed to know about her dreams, and then she looked at Spike, “I had to tell. I figured it best you need help.” “Spike is quite right, Twilight.” said Rarity “You should have come to us to begin with.” “Yeah, that’s what friends are for.” added Pinkie “Helping each other, being there for one another, and you know I love to do best there.” Twilight sighed, “I’m sorry. It’s just, I didn’t feel it right to worry any of you. I still think that something’s out there and it’s coming for us.” Fluttershy shuddered, “I feel like that every night… and… everyday too.” The others rolled their eyes at Fluttershy, but Rainbow didn’t seem too nerved, “If there is anything out there, just let it try and get at us. I mean look at all the bad guys we’ve faced so far.” Everyone had flashbacks of every enemy they had ever fought-- Nightmare Moon, Discord, The Changelings, King Sombra, Lord Tirek, Sunset Shimmer, The Dazzlings, and even Starlight Glimmer. “Say, come to think of it, when’s she getting’ back from vacation anyway?” asked Applejack. Starlight Glimmer had gone off to Canterlot to visit her old friend Sunburst two weeks ago. “She’s not due back for another few weeks.” said Twilight “I told her she could take as long as she needed. Probably just as well, I wouldn’t want to worry her either.” “Come on, Twilight, buck up.” said Spike “It could still all be just a mistake and everything is just you have nightmares from studying about those two tomes too hard.” Twilight hoped so, but she still couldn’t shake off the feeling. Princess Luna told Princess Celestia about Twilight’s nightmares, “You’re certain about this?” Celestia asked. “I am…” replied her sister, “Princess Twilight has had these dreams all through the week and from my own experience inside, I fear that something terrible may happen.” This worried Celestia very much, but so far there wasn’t enough proof to take any steps of precaution. It was already getting late and she had to set the sun for the night, but she decided to conduct an experiment herself. “Sister, I wish for you to remain vigil by my side tonight. If I experience the nightmare myself, then it will become quite clear that Twilight’s nightmares are indeed a warning.” Her younger sister agreed to her request. Beast Boy sat on the clifftops overlooking the city. He remembered how this was the very place he and Terra stopped at on their first and only-ever date. “Terra…” he sighed softly to himself, and he thought of all the good times they had, which only turned into the bad times as Terra betrayed him and the Titans to Slade and became their enemy for a short time before redeeming herself by turning to stone… and then… IT happened. “Things Change, Beast Boy. The girl you want me to be is just a memory!” He sighed irritably, but it didn’t matter. It seemed nothing he could do would ever help him move on and forget about Terra, but he knew she didn’t want him in her life, and he remained respectful to her wishes to keep out of her sight. Not that it made his life any better, especially not with no one in the city respecting him, and his teammates having no sympathy or understanding of his grievance. Suddenly, he began to have a feeling that he wasn’t alone where he sat. He turned round and couldn’t believe his eyes! There she stood, still in her school uniform, and that same look of sadness and regret on her face. “Hi, Beast Boy…” she said softly to him, but rather than address her back, he narrowed his eyes angrily at her and got up to leave, “No, wait…!” she called to him “I need to talk with you.” He stood where he was, and she stood where she was, about twenty feet away from one another. “Talk about what?” he sneered softly at her, “There’s nothing to talk about.” Hearing the way he was talking confirmed her worst fears that he hadn’t moved on at all from what happened between them back at her school. “Why are you here, Terra?” he finally asked her. “Please don’t call me that!” she protested. “Well what else should I call you? Traitor…? Backstabber…? Girl I thought I could trust, but I was wrong anyway?” Terra took in a deep breath trying to keep her cool. “Look, I can see you’re still upset about this,” she paused “But you don’t have to be. It’s not like this is the end of the world.” Beast Boy snuffed, “So what do you want me to do? You want me to pretend that everything’s okay, and go around with a big fake smile on my face?” his features hardened, “For (Bleep) sakes, Terra, you yanked my heart out and squashed it!” Terra hung her head low, knowing to expect that. “What’s happening to you?” she asked, “You’re not the Beast Boy I remember.” He chuckled rudely at that, “Funny, I thought you DIDN’T remember me. No, change that, you didn’t WANT to remember me. You didn’t want to remember everything that we shared, not even the good stuff. You just told me to take a hike and never see you again! That hurt, Terra, more than anything anyone has ever done to me in my life!” Terra was starting to feel a bit annoyed by the way he was berating her. “Look, did it not ever occur to you that I was never happy with my old life? All I ever wanted was to be accepted, and live things nice and easy with people who loved me! Instead I lived a hard life, causing pain wherever I went and hurting those I cared for, and you were one of them. I didn’t want to hurt anyone anymore, Beast Boy, and I can’t stand remembering all that! I wanted to have a better future!” “THE WAY YOU HANDLED IT WAS WRONG!!” Beast Boy shouted, making her wince. He calmed down and spoke more softly, but sternly, “I can understand all that pain and stuff, but that’s no excuse for the way you acted. We could have worked it all out! We could’ve looked past all the bad things… we even could've at least still seen each other, or at least be friends... but no... You just wanted to run, and abandon it all, and what we had. You just threw it all out the door like trash!” He recalled the last words she said to him before she turned to stone, “You were the best friend I ever had.”   And then what happened at her school… “You’re my friend! You’re a Teen titan!”   “…You’re wrong!” Terra tried to come up with excuses for that, but she couldn’t think of a thing. Beast Boy nodded at her silence and stammering, “That’s what I thought. You were only thinking about yourself, Terra, and you didn’t care what happened to me… just like everyone else didn’t.” Terra sighed, almost irritably, “Look, I’ve changed Beast Boy. This is who I am, and who I want to be.” “Sure it is…” he mocked. She took offense to that, “Look, I’m willing to let go and move on from all of this, and I hope someday you can as well. You can’t keep dwelling on the past all the time, and you have to accept that Things Cha--” she stopped when he rushed over and put his hand over her mouth, “Shut the (Bleep) up!” he hissed deeply, “Don’t say another God-Damn word!” Terra was frozen on the spot, unable to bring herself to even blink her eyes. She had never seen him so infuriated before. Not even the time her told her, “Slade was right; you don’t have any friends!” “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this, but there are some things about me you don’t know! I haven’t told anyone this…!” With that, he began to tell Terra a long story… By the time he was finished, he removed his hand from her face, and she looked more shocked than ever after everything she had just heard. “So now you know.” he said to her, looking heartbroken and beaten. “There’s a difference between “Letting Go” and “Moving on” Terra. I hope you realize that someday.” He turned to walk down the path to head back into down, for he was too upset to fly and feel any lift. “Beast Boy...” Terra called to him, but he just held up his hand, not interested in what she had to say. “You just worry about yourself, Terra! That’s what you’ve always done. Just know this… I respected your wishes. I let you have your space." …Now you respect MY wishes and piss off!” Then he was gone, leaving the poor girl stuck in a never ending veil of shock, heartbreak, and above all things, extreme guilt and remorse. Beast Boy made it into town, but he stopped a minute and rested his head up against a lamppost. His whole body ached with shame and pain and cold bitterness. It hurt him enough the way he had just acted towards Terra, even if by some odd way she deserved it, after telling her that story.   A tear leaked out of his eye and splashed onto the ground, “I can’t stand it!” he cried himself “I can’t stand it anymore! I’m going to go crazy! What else could happen…?” He suddenly got his answer when a huge punk guy grabbed him by the collar. “Hey there, kid…!” and he socked him hard, sending him into his two punk friends, and they shoved him hard to the ground. “Dude…! What the hell is your problem?!” thundered Beast Boy and one of the punks kicked him in the side. “It’s nothing personal, pal. We were paid to do this. We’re gonna beat the crap out of you!” As the punks continued to wail on him, Jackie and Jillian were nearby in their park car and watched everything. “That’s it! Get him!” hissed Jackie. “That Bitch Boy is toast!” added Jillian. The two nasty girls slapped each other a high five and continued to watch the beating. As Beast Boy was being punched, kicked and tossed around, his communicator was knocked loose and its recording camera was activated and began to film everything! Beast Boy was punched hard in the get, kicked in the side, and pushed hard up against a wall where the punks took their turns pounding at him with their fists. “THAT DOES IT!!” Beast Boy thundered, and he turned into a T-Rex and roared at the punks scaring them out of their wits. “Whoa! No one said nothin’ about a dinosaur!” the lead punk cried. He tried to run, but Beast Boy grabbed him by the vest. He held him right in front of his face and roared at him, and the airwaves sent the punk crashing hard into a dumpster. The girls saw everything, and were really getting worried. They had completely forgotten about Beast Boy’s powers. “I thought heroes weren’t supposed to fight normal people?” cried Jackie, “Maybe, but then again he is being wailed on.” said Jillian. Then it got more serious, as one of the punks decided, “The hell with this! I’m making my own rules!” and he pulled out a pistol from his pocket. “Dude, no!” the other punk shouted, and he grabbed him hard causing his friend to misaim and shoot Beast Boy right in the shoulder. His blood cursed forth, and the pain was so immense. He wasn’t going to die, but he was infuriated, and roared at the two boys and chased them down. One of the punks curved round a bend leaving the other to get tail swatted! Beast boy batted him so hard with his tail, slamming him hard into a brick wall. “I can’t believe this!” snarled Jackie. “He’s beating them like their made of paper!” added Jillian. The last punk, though scared out of his wits, grabbed the gun, “Okay, freak! Have some of this!” and he shot Beast Boy hard in the knee, injuring him again! This time, Beast Boy fell over, and he transformed back into his regular shape. His transformation helped to heal his wounds faster, but he was still in a bit of pain from the two shots he had taken. The Punk grabbed him by the collar and picked him up and pointed the gun right in between his eyes. “Any last words, shithead?” Before Beast Boy could respond, a large rock floated right above the punks head. Beast Boy and the punk both looked up just in time as the rock suddenly slammed down on the punk’s head knocking him out cold! His blood cursed forth, but he wasn’t dead! Beast Boy couldn’t understand it, but then he looked up the street and saw Terra standing in an alley with her arm stretched out; proving it was she who did it, using her powers to levitate the rock. She saw him getting beaten up, though she didn’t know why, and gave him a little help. Beast Boy didn’t know what to think or say. “Shit!” snarled Jackie, “Let’s scram!” added Jillian, and Jackie started the car and the tires screeched as the car drove down the road. The girls didn’t notice Terra, but she saw them and realized what was happening, and she was nothing short of livid with them both! Suddenly…! “BEAST BOY…!!” Robin shouted as he and the other Titans arrived on the scene, having received a signal of trouble, and they noticed the three hurt and unconscious punks, “What have you been doing?” Robin sneered. “These dudes just came out of nowhere and started beating me up, I had to fight back.” The Titans didn’t seem to show any sympathy. “You could not have just walked away and avoided such violence?!” scolded Starfire. “Not cool man!” said Cyborg. Beast Boy couldn’t believe this. “They shot me!” he whined. “That doesn’t matter!” thundered Robin, “You also had no right to bash them up this badly.” He examined the punk that Terra knocked out, not knowing it was she who did it, or that she was even nearby. Terra had ducked back into the alley, and slipped out the other away since the titans arrived. She didn’t want them to see her. Feeling she wasn’t willing to face them, as well as risking her normal life, but even from where she stood, she could still hear the heated argument between them team and Beast Boy. “I had no choice, I had to fight back!” snarled Beast Boy, “And I didn’t knock this guy out!” “Then who did?!” snarled Robin. Beast boy hesitated, not really wanting to reveal it was Terra who did it, as though he was mad with her he wasn’t willing to disturb her space and bring her into this. “Beast Boy, I’m waiting!” snapped Robin, but ultimately Beast Boy couldn’t come up with an alibi. The titans were extremely disappointed in him. “Beast Boy…!” Robin said “This is the last straw. We’ve tried to be patient with you, but this is going too far!” Beast Boy felt his anger rising the more the Titans all bashed at him and scolded him, showing no care or no sympathy at all. “You need professional, help, man!” said Cyborg. “You are behaving worse than a Clorbag Varblerneil! I am almost ashamed to call you friend!” As for Raven, she just snuffed, “I have nothing to say to you!” Beast Boy gnashed his teeth furiously, and robin approached him, “(BLEEP) OFF!!” he thundered right in his face “I’M WARNING YOU, BEAST BOY!!!” but finally, he had gone too far…!! POW!!! Beast Boy punched him right in the mouth, knocking one of his adult teeth right out, and he kicked him hard in the balls! “ROBIN!!” shrieked Starfire. “No, Robin! (Bleep) You…!” Beast boy growled, and he looked up at all the others “(BLEEP) ALL OF YOU ASSHOLES!!” And with that, he changed into a falcon and flew away vowing never to return! The others were so appalled; they didn’t even try to go after him! Of course Robin was in a lot of pain and he needed some serious medical attention, as did the three punks. The titans had to do the better thing and get help for the invalids first. As for Terra, she had heard everything, and her eyes filled with tears. She backed up against the wall and slid down to her bottom letting out a few soft sobs. She couldn’t believe what a falling out had just happened between Beast Boy and the Titans, and she didn’t even come out and vouch for him! “Beast Boy…” she sobbed “…I’m sorry!” but even saying that only made her feel worse, because a simple “Sorry” wouldn’t fix what had just happened. > Raging Regrets > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER FOUR Once the paramedics and the police had picked up the punks and taken them away, Raven took care of Robin. She used her magic to put his busted tooth back in place, fixing it completely. Every one of them was creped out by this, especially Raven. “Please don’t look at this.” She said to the others. Robin shut his eyes while Starfire and Cyborg turned their backs to her. Raven, disgustedly, placed her hands on Robin’s swollen dick and used her magic to set it right, reducing the swelling and everything. Robin sighed heavily in relief that the pain was gone, “Thanks a lot, Raven.” “Don’t mention it… really don’t!” Raven sneered, not wanting to remember grabbing his dick like that again. Even though Robin’s pains had been healed, that still didn’t really fix things. “What are we to do with Beast Boy?” Starfire asked “He has left us, perhaps forever….?” Then again she realized what a big ass Beast Boy had made of himself, especially for attacking Robin so hard and violently. Cyborg picked up Beast Boy’s communicator which he found on the road. “Well we won’t be able to contact him. That’s for sure.” Robin just looked sternly at the ground, “If he wants to be like a spoiled little shithead, and then let him, and if he wants to come back, that’s fine too, but he needs to learn to grow up and respect others.” The others agreed, and decided to just let it go for the night and head back the tower, feeling that Beast Boy would eventually return-- hopefully a wiser boy! Meanwhile, Princess Celestia was experiencing Twilight’s nightmare, only hers were even more intense! Equestria was still in apocalyptic ruin, and there was no sign of life anywhere. There was puddled of blood, pony corpses and bones scattered along the ground. Then came that wicked voice, “I am returning! I will destroy…!” Celestia turned round to look behind her, and what she saw turned her insides upside-down! There was a giant form of darkness, she wouldn’t seem to make the shape of it, but two large sinister looking eyes were glowing in the darkness. “I am returning! I will destroy…!”   The darkness crept forth, getting closer and closer… …And Celestia woke up in fright! “Sister…!” Princess Luna cried as she flicked on the lights with her magic, “Are you alright? Did you have the nightmare?” Celestia nodded as she caught her breath. Now she was more than convinced, “These dreams are no act of nature. They are warnings!” she paused “There really must be something coming; something extremely dreadful!” Luna cringed softly, “But what is it, who is it?” she wondered aloud “Perhaps it is some enemy we have fought before and is returning for revenge.” “I’m not sure.” said Celestia “I fear that this new danger is far more treacherous than any known enemy we have ever seen or faced.” Aside from all that, the question now remained of how to address these warnings. “Should we inform the public?” asked Luna. Celestia shook her head, “The last thing that we need is the entire land falling into a panic. That would only make things worse.” “But surely we could at least inform Princess Twilight.” “No! Especially not her or any of her friends...” She wasn’t kidding around. She didn’t wish to worry Twilight any more than she was. Plus, one of her friends would most likely spoil the secret, which would be just as bad. “But sister, we cannot simply hide the truth from every-pony.” Luna protested “Pardon my words, but we should at least take cautious steps to prepare for any surprises that may occur.” Her sister nodded. The next morning, there was a knock at the Castle door, and all of Twilight’s friends came in, “GOOD MORNING!!” Pinkie shouted out, but much to their surprise, Twilight was at the friendship map table with large piles of books everywhere, and she herself looked exhausted. “You’re up already?” asked Fluttershy. “Actually, she’s STILL awake.” Spike said grumpily. She was up all night looking over any information about enemies of Equestria, and I had to help her!” The other five ponies sighed, “Twilight you must stop obsessing over these nightmares of yours.” said Rarity. “Twilight wearily looked up from her book, yawning, and said in a groggy voice, “Talk to me when YOU have the same recurring nightmares over and over. I know that something bad is coming, but I can’t figure out what. Not one of these books has any information that even relates the closes to my dreams!” “Okay… that’s it!” snapped Applejack “You need a serious break from all this here worryin’ and studyin’.” With that, Rainbow and Pinkie both lifted Twilight up. “Hey! Put me down!” Twilight groaned. She tried to use her magic to get out, but she was too tired and it didn’t work. “You need a break!” Rainbow grunted as she and Pinkie continued to push her past the others and out the door. “I think it’s going to be a long day.” said Fluttershy. The others all sighed and left the castle, forgetting to take Spike with them, but he didn’t seem to mind at all. “Finally…!” he groaned as he pulled a blanket over himself and went to sleep on a pile of books. The four Titans had gathered at the table for breakfast and Cyborg had accidently cooked a fifth plate-- of tofu eggs and soy-bacon-- forgetting that Beast Boy still hadn’t returned to the tower. “I was sure he’d be back by now.”  Robin began to show a little more concern, “I knew he was mad at us, but I didn’t think he’d be this mad.” Raven looked up from her book, pitifully reminding him, “He punched out your tooth and kicked you in the balls. Trust me; even I don’t get that angry.” The Titans were all very concerned, not just for Beast Boy alone but for anyone else who would come into contact with him. In his current state, there was no telling what he was capable of doing! Starfire scraped off and rinsed her plate, still feeling extremely down. Beast Boy had apparently taken being dumped by Terra a lot worse than anyone expected, but she didn’t think it was fair that he took his anger out on her and the others. She stared grimily and the newspaper clipping on the fridge, the one that had the picture of the Titans together. “I do not understand. Beast Boy has always been one of us. Why would he simply act as though he is not anymore?” Raven took a good look at the picture herself, and realized for the first time, “Beast Boy’s not in this picture.” The boys heard what was said and they raced over to look carefully at the picture, and finally realized the truth. “He was standin’ right here.” Cyborg said pointing at his left side at the edge of the picture. “It’s been cropped.” said Robin, and then he looked at the story beneath the picture, and it read: “Jump City honors the return of Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Raven for returning home after months of being away on their journey fighting the Brotherhood of Evil with other heroes worldwide.” He checked the story three more times, and Beast Boy’s name was nowhere to be mentioned. “They have left him out of the story completely?!” Starfire asked in shock. “Maybe they just made a mistake.” Cyborg suggested, but the others didn’t feel that was the case and Robin decided to call up the newspaper office and asked for the photographer who took the shot of them, who confirmed, “No, it’s no mistake. I left him out of the shot. I was only aiming for you guys.” The Titans felt outraged, “How, why would you leave Beast Boy out?” Starfire asked angrily. “Take it easy, Star.” said Robin, but he, too, demanded that answer to which the photographer replied, “Look, the paper’s only interested in you four Titans. You’re the juicy news. You’ve always been. Nobody really likes Beast Boy. Heck, even I don’t really like him.” Hearing such hateful words struck all the Titans harder. “I think we’re done here. Goodbye!” Robin sneered, and he hung up the video-phone. “No one likes Beast Boy? That’s crazy!” said Cyborg. “Well, not everyone may actually like him either.” Raven said “I’m not saying he’s bad, but he’s not without faults.” The Titans couldn’t argue with that, but they still refused to believe that Beast Boy wasn’t respected, and they decided to venture out into the city, hoping someone had seen him and maybe they could find him. “Wait, weren’t we just mad at Beast Boy ten minutes ago?” Raven pointed out, “Now we’re going out to find him?” “Never mind that…” Robin said, and even he felt surprise, at himself for saying it since he was the angriest at Beast Boy for hurting him the other night. Nevertheless, all four of them ventured out. They started out by trying to check Beast Boy’s favorite hangout places, only to find that hardly any of them were there anymore because of all the changes in the city. For that matter, more of their favorite places were gone too. -The Dance Club was gone; completely demolished and the place was converted into a parking lot. -There were no other candy-stores, video stores. Even a few more beauty salons and bookshops closed down. -The park was already being demolished; bulldozers pushed the trees down, and the grass fields were being leveled and covered in asphalt to make way for a new office complex. -Even the Titan’s favorite pizza-place was going out of business and closing! The Titans were already beginning to understand part of Beast Boy’s objections to the sudden changes in the city, and things only got worse…! Starfire noticed in a shop window many mugs and dishes and things resembling the Titans, except there was no merchandise honoring Beast Boy. When she questioned the manager about it, “That stuff never sold. You and the others were what the people really wanted. Nobody liked that kid long before then anyway. Even I don’t like him. He doesn’t bring any money to the table.” The Titans was shocked, and she quickly ran out of the store, and began to ask other people if they had seen Beast Boy. Even if they had not seen him, they also asked the people what they thought of him before the disaster, only to receive answers such as… “That green dork?” “Oh, you mean that loser.” “Um…” “He was never that cool.” “Eww, gross...!” “Um…” “A hero…? More like a zero.” “Beast Boy who…?” “Um… what did you ask me again?” Starfire wandered into a Cyber-Café to check out Beast Boy’s dating page. So far his page was visited by over a million people, and they all gave it thumbs-down, with no potential dates, and just one girl leaving a rude comment which read: “You're ugly, you smell, you're annoying, you say "bro" and "dude" too much, I hate the color green, your voice irritates me, tofu makes me sick, your face gives me the creeps, your jokes are dumb, your dancing embarrasses me, you’re singing is a bore, you're dumber than the animals you turn into.   I doubt even the ugliest girl in the world would want to go out with you!”   That was the last straw. The Titans all headed back to the tower and all of them sat in the living room.  “Well, that was… well… interesting.” Robin said. Starfire hung her head low, and Raven was actually starting to show some feeling of remorse and understanding. “Hey, guys…!” cried Cyborg. He rushed over to them with Beast Boy’s communicator, “Something was recorded on here. Look at this…!” He pressed play, which showed those three punks beating Beast Boy up so mercilessly, and he had to fight back, especially after getting shot at. “Stop it!” snapped Robin, and he “Paused” the playback just at the point where the fight was reaching its climax. “I can’t believe this!” he said “I’ve never such disrespect and dislike before.” Cyborg shook his head pitifully, “Man, it’s no wonder, BB’s all messed up. I know I’d probably be.” “Poor Beast Boy…” cried Starfire “And now he is gone, away from his friends and his comfortable home. Why did he not come to us if he was grieving so? Is that not what friends do?” The others all wanted to agree with that, however… they all began to remember the way they had behaved over the past week since they had gotten home, “I guess… we’ve been kind of on his back a bit too.” said Raven. She wasn’t being sarcastic either, and was finally beginning to feel extreme guilt for the way she had treated him, even if there were reasons behind, it didn’t make them excusable! “Oh, no…!” Starfire cried, burying her face in her hands. “I feared there was more to it than just losing Terra.” As for Robin, he thought back of how hard he was especially on Beast Boy, trying to force him over to his views; to accept change, let go of the past and move on with life, especially to the points where they all dismantled Terra’s room and threw out some of Beast Boy’s things in attempt to force him to move on. Then, came the final scene, which he could see an image of himself staring him right in the face yelling, “(BLEEP) OFF!! I’M WARNING YOU!!” In a moment of inanity, Robin let out a roar and jumped to tackle the image before him, only to wind up crashing at the coffee table, breaking it! “Robin!” cried Starfire. “What are you doing?” asked Cyborg. Falling on the floor didn’t hurt Robin, but he felt his teeth where Beast Boy had punched him, before he was healed, and remembered Beast Boy kicking him in the nuts… like he deserved it, or he had pushed Beast Boy too far! Robin angrily pounded the floor with his fist. While he still felt Beast Boy was pretty much as wrong and his attitude was inexcusable, now that he knew the awful truth he decided, “We’ve got to find him, and we’ve got to try and reason with him.” The others agreed, “But Robin, perhaps he will not wish to be reasoned with?” Starfire suggested, “Perhaps he will not be wishing to even see us.” “We should still try anyway. We owe him at least that much.” said Cyborg. Even Raven shared his idea, “But how are we going to find him? He could be anywhere, and he doesn’t have his communicator?” “We’ll have to use whatever methods we have.” said Robin, “Let’s go!” Since they had already swept the city, the Titans figured of searching in the outback outside of the city in the T-Car. Cyborg used a tiny green dog hair he had taken from the sofa and used it to try and home in on Beast Boy’s DNA with computer scan while Raven tried all she could to make psychic contact with Beast Boy’s brainwaves. “Oh, I hope that he is alright?” moaned Starfire, and Robin placed his hand tenderly over his girlfriend’s hand, comforting her. “I’m sure he is. He’s been through worse before.” Meanwhile, at Murakami High, Terra looked awful, as if she hadn’t slept all night. She had been doing off in all of her morning classes that day and hardly concentrated on anything at all… except the images and sounds in her head. Ever since Beast Boy had told her that story, the guilt and shame of what she had done burned at her insides like a growing fire, and she felt even worse fearing if Beast Boy had run away, out of town, and who would blame him if he had after that fight she overheard between him and the Titans the other night, and to think; she could have stepped in and vouched for Beast Boy, but she chose not to. Why? Because she still wished to retain and live her normal lifestyle. “You were only thinking about yourself, Terra, and you didn’t care what happened to me… just like everyone else didn’t.”   That one saying haunted and plagued her, because she started to realize how accurate it was! “Hey, girl…” Jackie called. “Yo’ what up?” added Jillian. Terra snapped out of her trance, but the second she saw the two girls coming up at her, she scowled and began to walk away from them, still very upset for what they had done the other night. “Hey!” Jackie called as she and Jillian ran up to him, but Terra wanted nothing more right now than to just get away from them. “What’s with you?” Jillian asked “You haven’t talked to us all day.” Terra still didn’t stop. “Will you just talk to us?” cried Jackie “What did we do wrong?” Terra finally stopped and turned to face them, “I saw you last night, in the car. You paid those punks to beat Beast Boy up?! What the hell is with you two?!” she shouted very loudly, and all the students in the hall stopped and looked her way. “Ms. Markov!” a passing teacher “We don’t use that strong language in our wholesome school.” Terra still didn’t care, and ran for the exit, feeling she needed some fresh air to clear her head. “Hey, wait!” Jackie snapped as she and Jillian dashed after her. “No running, Ladies!” the teacher called. The girls managed to catch up with Terra outside the school in the yard. “Yo, what was all that about?” Jillian sneered “We were just trying to help you.” “Help me?!” snapped Terra “By beating up someone I cared for--” she stopped instantly and covered her mouth, but the girls heard what she had said. “You care for that kid?” Jackie asked in shock. Jillian looked like she was going to be sick, “That no-good freak stalks you like a pvertive fag, and you actually care for him.” Terra’s guilt and fearful expression gave even more away than just that. “You cared for him longer… like you knew him!” snapped Jackie. Now Jillian held her stomach in disgust, “You actually knew that green pile of goop from long ago? Stop it! I’m going to hurl!” Terra, clenched her fists, not liking how these insults were being thrown and sneered loud and clear for them, “He’s my Ex! I admit it! There! It’s out!” Now even Jackie felt disgusted! “But you said you didn’t know him.” Terra shamefully admitted, “I knew it would never work out between us, so I wanted to think I’d forgotten him so he’d let me go. I wanted to try for a better future, and wanted him to have one too, but it looks like I only made things worse.” That was all she told them, she didn’t want any more of her past to revealed, feeling she was already on the edge of losing it all! Sadly, the girls showed her no sympathy. “You’re right! Things are worse.” said Jackie. “Yeah…” agreed Jillian “I’m glad we beat that freak up. Too bad you didn’t get beat up either.” Terra’s features hardened, “Excuse me?” “How can you even like that kid?!” snarled Jackie “He’s green, he’s ugly, he stalks you!” Terra was growing angrier, “You… you don’t know him like I do.” “Don’t care!” sneered Jillian “He’s a freak, and you’d have to be stupid to like a freak! Oh, wait… you did like him, once. I guess you already are!” Terra was so enraged for what the girls had just said about Beast Boy, as well as she herself, that in her fit of rage her powers snapped on, and her body began to glow in yellow light, much to the girls confusion, and suddenly…! KAPOW!! The ground beneath the girls just crumpled like and explosion, making a huge crater in the schoolyard that the girls fell into hard! That’s when Terra snapped herself back to her sense, only to fearfully realize what she had just done. Her two ex-friends were sitting unconscious at the bottom of the large crater she had caused, and all the other students in the yard were staring at her. Embarrassed, ashamed, and upset, Terra fled the school grounds. She didn’t stop until she had run at least a mile away, and finally ducked into an alley to be by herself, but she felt so incredibly furious she decided to let it all out in one thunderous scream…“(BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP)!!” He shout seemed to echo all through town, shocking many of the people, though they didn’t know where she was sitting. She then backed up against the wall and slid down to her bottom, burying her face in her arms and legs, and began to cry. She couldn’t return to school now, not after the damages she had just done. Plus, almost all her secrets had been exposed, but they may as well all have been, and to make matters worse her guilt and remorse finally made her admit to herself that she had made a big mistake with Beast Boy, but even he made it clear for her to stay away from him after all she did! “I respected your wishes, and I gave you your space… Now you let me have mine.” All Terra wanted to do was cry. She couldn’t fix her mistakes at school, with Beast Boy, and she had no other place to go now. For the first time in her life, she felt alone… more alone than ever she had felt before, and deep down even she felt she deserved it. > The Beginning of the End! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER FIVE After breakfast, and spending a little time with her friends, Twilight began to feel a little better-- at least more awake. Pinkie took a huge whiff of the air, “Ahh…! Smell that fresh morning air! Feel that warm sun! What a day to be alive and with friends, huh…?” “You got it, sugar-cube.” remarked Applejack. “What’cha think, Twilight?” but Twilight was still looking lost in her thoughts, making her friends sigh. “I don’t think she’ll ever snap out of this.” groaned Rainbow. “Poor Twilight.” added Fluttershy. As the gang continued to walk forth, they suddenly noticed many royal guards were placed all over; in front of homes, shopping centers, even in the playgrounds. Twilight finally snapped to her senses. “Why are all the royal guards out here like this?” she asked aloud. “I sincerely hope nothing is wrong.” said Rarity. The girls approached one of the guards and asked, to which the guard replied by showing them all a document, “Princess Celestia has ordered armed guards to be placed all over every city in Equestria on a constant vigil. We don’t understand why, but our orders are to maintain shifts and keep tabs and every single aspect that occurs.” Rainbow checked the document, “What?! We’re not allowed to be out after sundown?” she whined. This disturbed the other ponies as well. “That’s what it says…” said Twilight “These orders came from both Princess Celestia and Luna: No pony is allowed out of their homes after dark.” “But, why?” asked Fluttershy. “I’m sorry, but I cannot say.” replied the guard “We don’t make the orders, we just follow them. Now if you’ll all excuse me…” and he went off on his patrol. “What in the name of Equestria’s goin’ on here?” Applejack wondered aloud, but Twilight began to have that sickly feeling again and figured Celestia had a nightmare just like hers, which could only confirm that something really big was indeed on its way, and all these guards were getting ready for whatever it would be. The ponies still had no choice but to comply with the rules that were now set, and tried not to let it bother them for the rest of their day. A few weeks had past, and Starlight Glimmer had finally come back to the castle. “I’m home…” she called. She was escorted in by guards who helped her with her luggage. “Just put it right there.” she instructed. The guards complied and set her bags down by the door and then left to get back on their patrols. Twilight and Spike came out to greet her. “Welcome back, Starlight.” said Spike. Starlight smiled, and was about to explain about her vacation, when Twilight approached her and anxiously asked “Did anything unusual happen in Canterlot?” Starlight was a bit freaked out by Twilight’s unusual reaction and she answered “Um… No; except for all the guards about roaming about; nothing out of the ordinary.” Twilight flopped down softly. “What’s wrong?” Spike motioned her to come closer and whispered into her ear, “She thinks there’s something dangerous on the way. She’s been freaking out at almost every little thing for weeks. I’m really getting worried about her.” Starlight hadn’t even been home five minutes, and already she, too, was feeling worried for Twilight, and she comforted her friend. “Twilight, nothing’s gone wrong, and if something is going to happen--” “I know… I know…” Twilight cut in, and she smiled “As long as we and our friends stick together, we can overcome anything. I just really wish I knew what was coming. Then maybe we could stop it before it came and tried anything.” A moment of silence occurred, until Starlight broke it, “Come on, I want to tell you guys all that I did in Canterlot, and about Sunburst.” Meanwhile, the Teen Titans were growing very concerned; all these weeks and there was not a trace of Beast Boy anywhere. Robin had even sent word to other Teen Titan outlets and allied teams to help with the search, but even then it was no good. Even with all the computers, psychics and scanners, they just couldn’t locate him, like he had dropped off the face of the Earth! “Perhaps, he does not wish to be found?” wondered Starfire. “It’s possible…” said Raven, “We were pretty hard on him, and so was everyone else. I don’t think even I’d come back.” This only made Starfire feel like crying, and Robin comforted her, “Easy, Star… we have to keep on trying.” “I wish to believe that, but I do not know how much longer I can hold my faith.” She wasn’t trying to be dramatic, she really meant it. At the moment, she wanted nothing more than for Beast Boy to come home and hopefully she could make it up to him for the way she acted with him. Cyborg wished it too. He was really missing his little green buddy, and was just as sorry as Starfire was. “Friend Cyborg, is there any news?” Starfire asked. Cyborg looked at her sadly and shook his head, “It’s all quiet, Star. No one’s heard anything, but they said they’d call as soon as they knew.” Starfire hung her head low, and then turned to face Raven, wanting ask her to do another psychic-contact, but Raven shook her head, “I’ve already tried a million times. Trying it again will only come up with the same answers.” Now it was Robin’s turn to sigh as he looked out the window at the city. “How could this happen?” he kept asking himself “How could such a few small arguments and changes cause all this?” but deep down he knew the answer. His guilty conscience continued to eat at him for all the things he said to Beast Boy; for being too hard with him. Elsewhere, someone else’s guilty conscience was catching up with her. Ever since the incident at school, Terra hadn’t gone back, and didn’t even return to her home… wherever that was, she just spent her days. Scavenging for whatever she could find, and often sitting alone in the streets so people would drop space change in an old can she had found, but by this point she was really looking dirty and out of shape. Her school uniform, the only thing she had to wear was all dark and splotched, and covered in filth, but given her past experiences, she managed to hang in there, but it wasn’t doing her any good. “I can’t keep up like this.” she said to herself as she walked through the streets “I’ve been going to school for so long I’ve lost touch with my adventurous ways.” She stopped, and gazed a way over at Titan’s Tower across the water. All this time she had been having thoughts of going there, and maybe seeking a little help and shelter from the Titans, but then her guilty conscience got to her again, especial considering looking up at the Tower made her think of Beast Boy, and how he was gone, and it was largely her fault for it. All this time and she still couldn’t get over it. How could she? She didn’t exactly have much now to distract herself with. She had nowhere to go, no one to turn to, and she couldn’t go back to school or her former friends. She even thought about maybe leaving town, going someplace else and trying to start all over again… …Yeah right! That was how she ended up where she was in the first place, and she swore she didn’t want to venture out like that again. She stopped and looked at her reflection in a store window, and she really didn’t like what she saw. She even felt her reflection, actually her conscience, guilt tripping her as he balked at her, “I hope you’re finally proud of yourself!” Terra tried to argue back with herself, “I didn’t mean it to go this way. I just didn’t want to hurt anyone anymore.”   “Well guess what… you did anyway! So much for your changes… how are you going to change things now?”   Her conscience said no more and her reflection went back to normal, making her freak out and run down the street and running past a lot of people. “Somebody, please…!” she said softly, “Send me a sign! Give me help! Show me what I have to do!” Sadly, nothing happened, and all she could do was endure the endless amounts of inner trauma that weren’t through torturing her. The next morning in Equestria, the sun rose into the sky, and Twilight was sleeping peacefully. Surprisingly, she didn’t have her warning nightmare and made it through the whole night, but she and Spike were suddenly awoken by the knocking on her bedroom door. “Ugh! What now…?!” Spike groaned, and he pulled his blanket over his head, while Twilight stepped out of bed and answered the door. “What’s wrong, Starlight?” she groggily asked. Starlight levitated the magical message book used to contact with Sunset Shimmer in the human world. “It just started glowing and there was urgent message inside.” Twilight snapped awake almost at once, “Let me see this…” and she looked at the message written on the page. It read: “Princess Twilight… I think you better come back to the human world. Something very unusual is happening and I fear that…”   …That was it. It just stopped and didn’t go any further. “Why did she just stop?” Starlight wondered. Twilight didn’t know either, but she closed the book and decided to go to the human world and investigate. “Come on, Spike! We’ve got work to do.” Spike groaned in his basket, “Just give me ten more minutes.” but Twilight wouldn’t hear of it and she levitated his blankets off of him and then floated himself onto her back, “…Come on!” Soon the Crystal Mirror was all powered up, thanks to her smart magical tinkering with it, and Twilight and Spike were ready to go. “I’ve already sent word to Princess Celestia. You hold down the castle until we get back.” Twilight said to Starlight. She nodded and wished them good look. The Mirror activated, and off they went...! The arrived in the human world outside of the broken stature, Twilight had turned into a human and Spike changed into his cute little dog form, but what they saw made them gasp and nearly forget how to blink…! Canterlot High; it was completely totaled! The entire building was collapsed into a mountain of rubble, and the area around it was no better looking. The roads were all cracked and torn up, the grass and trees were all burned into black piles of ash, small fires were spread about, and worse than that… there were corpses! Everywhere they looked there were dead bodies of humans all over the place. Somebodies lay on the ground; others had been sliced in half so only half their bodies were seen, exposing the ugly, goriness of their insides. Spike felt sick to his stomach, so did Twilight, but she looked all around the area. “What in the world happened here?” she asked quietly and fearfully. So many dead bodies of all the students at Canterlot High, even Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were among the pile, and very dead! Suddenly Spike yelled out to her, “Twilight… over here! Quick!!” Twilight dashed over, and skidded to a halt. There, right before her and Spike was another load of dead bodies… the bodies of her friends! The human counterparts of her friends in Equestria… Rarity… Pinkie Pie… Rainbow Dash… Fluttershy… Applejack, even Flash Sentry and her own human counterpart, they all looked as if they had put through a meat-grinder; drenched in blood, dislocated arms and legs with bones sticking out. Finally, they saw her; Sunset Shimmer, at least it was her head… just the head, no body! Spike jumped into Twilight’s arms in fright, and Twilight began to feel her own fear catching up with her, only for them to fade off into shock and extreme sadness. “No…” she cried softly “Sunset… my friends… they’re all dead!” Tears started falling from her face, and she was so upset and shocked she could hardly bring herself to sob. “I don’t get it. What happened here? What did all this?!” Spike looked up at the sky and stared in shock at something, “Um… Twilight…” Through her tears, Twilight looked up; “Huh…?” she couldn’t believe what she saw. There, in the skies, there was a strange phenomenon; a small little speck of gathering darkness. It looked like a miniature black hole. Hundreds of miles away in Jump City, they Titans could see it too. “What is it?” asked Robin. Cyborg tried to scan it with every computer program he had, “Whatever it is, it’s unknown.” “Perhaps it is merely a tiny storm cloud?” suggested Starfire. “I don’t think so…” said Robin “We’d be able to tell if it’s cloud. It looks more like… a hole in the sky.” Raven took a long look at the object, and though she had never seen such a thing, she suddenly shivered. “Raven…?” asked Robin. “I’m okay…” replied Raven “I’m just getting a really weird feeling.” Before she could go on, the alarms sounded. There was trouble in the city! “Titans, Go!” shouted Robin. “But wait…!” cried Starfire “Beast Boy, he is not with us.” “We can’t worry about that now.” retorted Cyborg. With that, even Starfire complied and dashed off with her team. Deep in town, the people were running and screaming in panic as powerful explosions ruptured in the city, blowing up building, rupturing the ground and harming people in the way. The cause of this was three sinister beings! Kamica: A humanoid woman whom had tan colored skin, and long fluffy brown hair that ran down past her back, with a blue ribbon dangling from the side. She wore a red silky blouse that had only one sleeve on her left arm, a black windbreaker skirt, a long tall black boot on her left leg, and a simple red sandal shoe on her right. In her right hand she wielded a long dao sword, which not only could cut through even some of the solid materials like rock and metal, it could also unleash waves of burning plasmatic energy. She snickered sinisterly at the terrified humans, “Run, it only makes it more exciting for me.” Then she gave her sword a single slash at the air, sending out a wave of energy that blew holes in several buildings, damaged the streets, and brutally killed anyone who was in the way. Next there was… Sir. Elik: He was a knight type figure, covered from head to toe in silvery armor, and a red cape to top it off. Not a single feature of him could be seen, as it was all hidden behind his armor. Not only was he physically strong, but he had the power to create static discharges and fired power lightning bolts, hence his knight name, “Elik” like “Electricity!” “Have I got a shock for you puny creatures.” he hissed and he fire loads of lightning strikes blasting everything in his path and frying anyone who got hit into ashes, while all he could do was laugh maliciously. Finally, there was… Pyrus: A seemingly middle aged humanoid woman dressed in a blue monk’s robe, with a hood and red sash. She truly lived up to her name, “Pyrus” as she had the power to breath immense flames form her mouth and shoot fire blasts from her hands. The police and swat teams rammed straight for her in their cars, but she only shook her head in dismay and hissed “Time to turn up the heat.” And she took a huge breath in and unleashed a massive flame-wall, blowing up the cars and roasting the men to a pile of burning corpses. Pyrus snickered, “Too hot to handle.” She then met up with her colleagues. “This is place is even whimper than that school we just trashed.” said Kamica. “Perhaps…” agreed Elik “But I am enjoying this destruction, the scrimmage of the humans as we wipe them out.” “So, who or what should we destroy next?” asked Pyrus. “How about us…?” Robin snapped as he and the Titans stood firm staring them down. “I don’t know who you three are, but you’re going to pay dearly for what you just did!” “Mindless destruction… Murder of innocent being…?!” cried Starfire “Who do you think you are?!” The three villains chuckled. “Who are we?” Kamica asked playfully, “…Your worst nightmares!” Robin had heard enough, “Get them!” and he and the Titans sprung forth. Robin drew out his metal-staff and took one swing at Kamica, but she swerved and countered with her sword actually slicing the staff in two. “Is that all you’ve got?” she taunted! Robin angrily began to punch and kick at her, but she skillfully swerved and evaded every single one before kick tripping him. Robin retaliated by flinging his disc bombs at her, but blasted the all with a single energy wave unleashed from her sword. “Pathetic!” Kamica groaned, and she leapt up high to come down and cut him in two, but Starfire shot at her with her eye-rays. “You will not harm my boyfriend!” she thundered. Kamica, surprising unharmed by the blast smirked wickedly at her, “Bring it on, skank. I’m not scared. Not as much as you’ll be!” Starfire took great offense to that and rushed forth. Cyborg lunged at Elik and aimed a huge punch at him, but Elik caught his fist in his hand with ease. “Impressive!” he said before socking him hard in the gut with his other fist and sending Cyborg skidding along the ground and hitting a lamppost. “Now I’m mad!” Cyborg thundered as he bolted up right and fired his sonic-canon at full-power at the knight, but he simply shielded himself with his cape and deflected the blast off to crash into a building, blowing a huge chunk out of it, much to Cyborg shock, “Shit!” he thundered, and then Elik lunged at him, and the two met in a strength struggle. “Give it up, you metallic moron!” Elik growled. “(Bleep) you, Tin-man!” cussed Cyborg, but Elik began to shock him with small jolts of electricity, forcing him to let go. He was then kicked hard and knocked down. “You don’t stand a chance against The Dark Prognosticus!” Raven froze in midair, “…The Dark Prognosticus?!” “That’s right!” hissed Pyrus, and she fired a few fireballs at her, which Raven dodged, and the fire hit the building instead. Pyrus then unleashed a strong flaming breath, forcing Raven to shield herself with a magical dark wall, but even still, the flames were so powerful they actually shattered through the magic and knocked Raven to the ground hard. Kamica then punched Starfire hard, and send her crashing into Robin, and Elik threw a huge bolt of lightning that Cyborg barely dodged, but the explosion was strong enough to send him sailing hard into a brick wall. A little ways away, Terra was horrified to see such destruction in the streets and on the buildings, not to mention hundreds of corpses of people who had been bloody gored or roasted to death lying in the streets. “What in the Hell…?!” she said to herself, and then she heard a loud crash. She dashed up the street follow the sound, and turned a corner to see the Titans getting thrashed about by the villains. The titans were all looking beat up and were badly bruised. “They’re so strong!” said Robin “Our attacks can hardly get at them!” “I think… they are… the toying with us.” groaned Starfire. The three villains snickered and Kamica admitted, “We are… and it was fun while it lasted.” Elkid stepped forth, “But we’ve wasted enough time here. We can’t destroy all worlds if we’re always playing with wimps like you.” The Titans’ stomach’s churned, “Destroy… all worlds?” asked Cyborg. “Yes: Destroy… All… Worlds!” sneered Pyrus “You know; obliterate! Kill! Wipe out of existence …All gone!” The Titans all exchanged extreme looks of concern, and Raven felt more upset than ever, worrying if this was truly the work of The Dark Prognosticus, even though she swore it was locked up in her room at the tower! “Now then…” Kamica hissed as her blade powered up, Elik’s gloves began to spark, and Pyrus’ eyes blazed with flames, ready for the kill. The Titans knew they couldn’t get away in time, and Raven couldn’t shield them with her powers, but just as the villains were about to fire… Terra leapt out from around the corner and used her powers to lift the villains high up, up, up on a rock, and then she flung them far, far out to sea. “Terra!” Robin cried in shock, and all the other Titans were astonished, “It really is you!” cried Starfire. Cyborg and Raven could hardly believe it, and Terra looked at them all, but with a strange expression on her face. However, the three villains suddenly appeared-- Kamicia in a Flash of Light… Elik in an electrical zap… and Pyrus in a flash of flames-- right back again, much to Terra’s fright. The three villains glared at her, rather sternly. “Pretty clever; catching us by surprise.” hissed Kamica, “Too bad for you it wasn’t good enough.” added Elik, “Now you shall pay! Get ready to die!” sneered Pyrus. “Leave her alone!” Robin thundered as he got up and charged at them, but Elik turned round and fired a bolt at him, just barely missing him but grazing him badly. “Robin!!” shrieked Starfire. “You wait for your turn!” snapped Elik, and he turned back ready to face the frightened Terra. “Let’s get her!” yelled Kamicia, but just as they were about to fire… “Stop…!! …Minions!!” shouted a deep and booming voice. The villains stopped dead in their tracks, and looked up at the sky. “Who said that?” Terra asked. The Titans wondered the same thing, but they could see no one around, nor did they recognize the voice at all. “Master…?” Elik called out, and the disembodied voice called out to his minions, “That is enough! All of you report back to me, now!” The minions felt disappointed, but complied with their master’s orders. “You may consider yourselves fortunate…” said Pyrus “But don’t think we won’t be back.” and with that, the Titans and Terra watched as the three villains disappeared and were gone. Terra never felt so scared before, but she was at least relieved to still be alive, but when the Titans struggled to their feet and attempted to approach her, she ran for it. “Terra…!” Robin called. “Come back!” Starfire called, but she was already out of sight, and the Titans were too sore from their injuries to run after her. “I can’t believe it.” Cyborg said “She really is back, just like Beast Boy said.” He suddenly groaned feeling all sore and banged up. Raven first healed herself, and it was painful to move her arms to do so, and then she healed the rest of her friends. “Oh, thank you, Raven!” Starfire said reaching to hug her, but she stopped when Raven gave her a look telling her no hugs! Still, Terra got away, but that was the least of their problems. A good part of the city was in ruin, and a great number of innocent people had been murdered by those creeps. “I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do about them now.” said Robin “We better get back to the tower.” The others reluctantly agreed. “And what of Terra?” asked Starfire “Surely we cannot leave her alone out here should those creatures return.” The others thought about that, but given Terra and the way she just ran off, they figured it best to just let her be as well. Meanwhile, Terra was panting heavily, “What did I just do?” she asked herself in shock. She actually tried to help the Titans out, and in a way she saved them all by stalling those three creeps, even though she nearly got killed. Yet she still couldn’t bring herself to actually face them and just ran off. She didn’t know if what she did was brave, or stupid, or both! “Ugh! What’s wrong with me?!” she yelled up at the sky, “Why can’t I make a proper decision?!” She had no idea what to act on now, especially with all the danger she had just witnessed-- all the buildings damaged, and people killed… not to mention that mysterious black hole in the sky...! Elsewhere, there was a lot more going on than the Titans or even the Ponies themselves realized! Somewhere, in a really dark foreboding place, within the sanctum of an eerie dark fortress, the three minions appeared, and at the back of the sanctum, their master appeared in a flash of dark light. “Count Logan.” Kamica said as she and her colleagues bowed to him. Their master stepped out from the darkness. He was a tall and muscular humanoid being, dressed from head-to-toe in a black and shiny outfit, complete with matching gloves, big boots with grey cuffs, and a balaclava hood. Atop his head he wore a tall white top hat with a big blue ribbon across the crown. He had on a pair of thick green armored pads on his shoulders which connected to a tall armored high-collar behind him, supporting a long grey cape with red lining, and over his face he word a full dark grey mask that covered him entirely, leaving only his dark and cold eyes showing. His eyebrows also seemed to magically show through the mask to show his mood. In his hand he held a tall cane with a blue rhombus jewel at the tip, and floating in mid-air beside him was none other than The Dark Prognosticus itself. Count Logan looked very displeased as he tapped his cane softly while glaring at his minions. He spoke in a deep dark voice, “I am displeased. I sent you to Earth to have a little practice with your powers, and you seem to have gotten a little carried away.” He waved his cane in a circle which then showed an image of Terra, “And worse than that, I told you, specifically, not to harm this girl among all others.” Elik bowed and groveled softly, “Our apologies, My Lord. I suppose we did get carried away. We shan’t let it happen again.” Logan nodded, “Very good, because I needn’t remind you how vital is we follow instructions closely if our conquest is to succeed.” The minions all agreed, and that’s when the fifth and final member of their group joined them, appearing in a pixelated wave. He seemed to resemble an old enemy of the Titans-- Gizmo. He was half man, half machine. Short, stumpy with metal platings over half his face, and purple crystal spikes over one half of his head, and he wore a white lab coat too. “Dr. Nekard… What have you to report?” Logan asked. “Success, My Count...” replied Nekard, “The dimensional rift has already appeared. All is going according to plan.” Logan nodded and checked the passages in The Dark Prognosticus, reading aloud to everyone: “And as the power of darkness grows, the great void shall appear to annihilate all.”  Logan closed the book and snickered, “All is as foretold, but this is only the first step.” Nekard nodded, “True, but as you have also read, my lord; we can accelerate or progress with the more worlds that we destroy and by other means as well.” Logan fell silent for a moment and shut his eyes. “Yes…” he hissed, “Slowly but surely, we will erase all worlds from existence, and all lifeforms will fall as well.” His minions all sighed at the pleasant thought of erasing all worlds. “And then…” said Pyrus, “We can all live happily in our new world; a world made just for us, and never have to suffer from the problems and wickedness of others again.” “Yes!” said Logan “You all do as you’re told, and I shall make all your dreams come true. Ultimate happiness shall be ours. Now, on your way all of you… we have much to do.” The three villains bowed to him. “Consider it done, Count!” said Kamica. “We shall not fail you.” added Elik. “Off we go then…” said Pyrus, and the three of them vanished. Before heading off, Nekard spoke to his master, “Parodn me, Count… it might interest you to know that I’ve also detected some interdimensional activity upon the planet Earth. It seems to be a hidden gateway into another realm.” Logan turned to face him, “We will deal with that later. Right now, we have more pressing matters to attend to.” Heeding his master’s words, Nekard bowed and vanished leaving the Count by himself. He clutched the book in his hands, “The prophecy of destruction is in motion. All worlds will end.” he said “And there’s not a thing anyone can do to stop it.” He then laughed manically with his voice echoing through the darkness, as he vanished himself. While somewhere on Earth, a figure hid within the shadows, and gazed up at the blackness with an angry scowl. “Count Logan…!” he grumbled softly, “I swear on my very soul, you will pay dearly for all you have done and what you are doing!” In his hands, he clutched a book similar to The Dark Prognosticus, only it was light beige, with green linings on the cover forming the shape of a rhombus, with a blue gem in the center. Without warning, the creature just headed off to await his next move. > The Awful Truth > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER SIX Twilight and Spike saw no choice but just head back to Equestria, deciding to leave the mess for the authorities to clean after, and the both of them were super devastated anyway. Upon returning, Twilight just went straight to her room and threw herself upon her bed, sobbing into her pillow, while Spike bravely and calmly told Starlight what they had seen. “Oh, my…!” Starlight cried “I don’t blame her for being so upset.” “You think I’m not either?” Spike cried as tears came to his face too, “I loved all those kids. I could trust them like Twilight did, and now… now they’re gone.” He couldn’t hold it in and began to cry softly, and Starlight cuddled him close. Though she was never as close to the humans as Spike and Twilight were, she shed a few tears herself, and wondered who or what would do something so horrible! Meanwhile, the Titans had healed from their injuries thanks to Raven. “You could really do the hospitals out of a job.” Cyborg commented in thanks. “You’re welcome…” replied Raven. Still, the city was in so much devastation despite only a small part of it was crumpled, as well as a good number of people were dead, but there was worse to come… Robin checked the news; reports were coming in from many cities across America. Buildings were shattered, streets were are messed up, many people had been brutally slaughtered or roasted, while others were left injured, homeless, jobless, and without their loved ones. Robin angrily clenched his fists. There was no doubt those three creatures he and the Titans had fought were responsible for all this senseless chaos. The new report continued… “Worse still, our newsroom has been flooding with panic-ridden phone calls from people concerned over the strange anomaly that strangely appeared in the skies. Astronomers and scientists have no clue as to what it is, but have conclusively confirmed that the object is slowly expanding.”   Hearing this, Robin dashed to the window and looked up at the sky, and surely enough the black hole way up high did seem a little bit bigger than when it was first spotted. “Cyborg, can you scan it yet?” Cyborg tried to everything he could, but wasn’t able to identify it at all. “Whatever that thing is, it either can’t be scanned, or maybe it’s some kind of thing we don’t know about.” While the two of them chatted, Raven had gone to her room and looked in her specially-sealed chest where she kept her dangerous and foreboding items. This was where she had hidden The Dark Prognosticus when she took it back from Beast Boy… only now it was gone! “No!” she cried. Her pupils sank deeply into her eyes as her insides were rocked with extreme fear. She remembered what the villains had said during the fight: “You don’t stand a chance against the power of The Dark Prognosticus!” She looked out her window, and could see some of the destruction in the city, and the black hole in the sky which only further worried her. Though she hardly knew anything about the power of the Prognosticus, she feared that the world as she knew it was in grave peril. Even graver than when Trigon tried to takeover. “Today was just the beginning!” she felt. Her communicator went off with the signal for Robin calling all Titans to the lounge. Once the four met in the lounge, Robin let Starfire open the meeting. She held up a special paper that had the insignia of her home planet on the front. “I have received a distressful message from Galfore, my K'norfka.” Cyborg was confused, “How do you send mail like that through outer space?” Starfire just gave him a strict look for interrupting, as well addressing a non-important issue. “Sorry.” Starfire cleared her throat and continued, “He says that he wishes for us to come to Tamaran at once. He fears that the planet may be in grave peril!” “Peril from what?” Robin asked. “He writes that he is uncertain, but I fear the situation may be dreadful. I feel we should go at once.” The others weren’t so sure that was a good idea at the moment; given the state the city was in and that those three creeps could show up again. “We can’t just leave the city, Star.” Robin said to her, and before Starfire could say anything more, there was a buzzing at the computer indicating someone at the front door. …It was the Doom Patrol, and they looked awfully upset about something. Elasti-Girl’s eyes were stained as though she had been crying, and she still pretty much was. They let them all in and brought them all to the lounge, “What brings you all here?” Raven asked. Robot-Man and Negative just hung their heads low, and Elasti-Girl was quivering as she tried to maintain herself and not break out sobbing again. So Mento remorsefully told them, “We found Beast Boy.” “Say what?!” Cyborg cried with joy. “Oh, that is most wonderful!” added Starfire “May we see him? Is he all right?” Mento shut his eyes and hung his head down a bit, and said it bluntly, “…He’s dead!” A horrifying silence broke out as the Titans all gawked at him in absolute shock! After a few moments, Robot-Man brought in a large concealed cryogenic-capsule with the Doom Patrol Logo on it. “You sure you want to see? …It’s pretty nasty!” Negative-Man warned them. “Show us.” said Robin. With that, Negative-Man pressed on a switch on the capsule, which made the covers on the glass rise, revealing Beast Boy’s dead body, frozen inside! Starfire gasped at the horrible sight she and the others saw. He was very dead, as was hinted by the enormous hole blown right through his body with bits of his severed intestines and his organs dangling out. His jaw was hanging wide open and his green skin looked awfully pale from death, not the freezing! Negative-Man regretted to say “We thought we’d bring him back here to you guys, so maybe…” he paused “We could all bury him and have a little service for him.” “I can’t believe it!” Robin murmured. Cyborg placed his hands on the glass of the capsule and felt his insides aching with grief, “Beast Boy.” Raven stood where she was in total shock and sadness. A tear rolled down her eye. Elasti-Girl explained, “We found him like this, a few hundred miles out of town in a field. He’d been dead maybe a week or so.” She held in her sorrows again, but it was getting harder to stay strong. “Beast Boy…!” Starfire sobbed as she fell to the floor and let out her emotions. Robin held her tightly, while trying to keep his own cool as well. “Do you have any idea what could’ve done this?” “Not a clue.” replied Robot-Man, “But from the looks of that hole in him, he was definitely murdered.” Cyborg began to have a good idea; betting Beast Boy had a run-in with those three creeps they had fought, and they obviously overpowered them! “I swear, if I ever see those mother-(bleeping) bitches again, I’ll blow a hole through their hearts for this!” Robin felt the same as Cyborg, but still, as much as the situation was mournful and upsetting, he reminded everyone as he asked Starfire, “Do you still want to go to Tamaran, Star?” Starfire wiped her eyes, and though her heart was very broken at the moment, she still couldn’t very much ignore the calling of her home planet. “Listen, do you think you guys would mind keeping an eye on the city while we’re away?” Mento sighed softly, “We’re not house-warmers, but… given all that’s just happened, you got it.” “We’ll also keep Beast Boy frozen until we’re ready to bury him.” said Elasti-Girl. The Titans were thankful, but it was still so incredibly hard for them to get over all this. Beast Boy was dead. Now they could never hope to make up with him for the falling out… …but now was not the time to really be thinking about that; not with greater things to worry about. Soon, the T-Ship was all fueled up and mounted on the Launchpad outside. With the Doom Patrol in the tower, Robin spoke to them over the com, and he explained to them the situation of the creatures they fought. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.” “Don’t worry…” said Mento “If these creeps decide to show up, we’ll do what we can.” With that, the T-Ship blasted off for its long journey to Tameran. They would be sure to make it there by Earth’s nightfall, and hopefully everything would be all right. Their takeoff did not go unnoticed. That strange creature was hiding near the boat docks overlooking the Titan’s island, and he saw everything since the Doom Patrol had arrived. “Could they be the ones I seek?” he wondered, and he looked in his book whispering “Speak to me, Light Prognosticus. Tell me the clues…” He searched through the pages and read a segment that told of three teams: “A union of three teams shall descend and intersect. -One Team of “Great Strength.” –One Team of “Heart and Soul.” -And One Team of “Righteousness and Truth.”   Together, with the leader, the unified ones will legion to do battle against the Dark One and to challenge the Prophecy of Destruction.”   He stopped reading, and looked back at Titan’s tower where the Doom Patrol’s ship was parked, and the smoke trail of the T-ship had just faded. “Perhaps they are and perhaps they are not.” He thought to himself “I shall have to observe them more.” Then he realized one other problem: Even if the Titans and the Doom Patrol were acceptable teams to help him in his quest, they were still only two teams. Who and where was the third team? He looked down at the Light Prognosticus, “I know you will guide me through to the answer I seek.” Meanwhile, Twilight had finally come out of her room where she had spent most of the day sobbing and sleeping after crying herself to exhaustion. She found all her friends waiting at the table, and all of them looking as grim as she did. “Spike told us everything.” Rainbow explained “So we thought we’d come check on you.” “We’re so sorry, Twilight.” said Fluttershy. “We’re more than sorry,” added Pinkie “We’re double sorry! No, Triple.” She wasn’t trying to liven up the mood, she really meant it. Twilight smiled sadly, “Thank you, every-pony. I just can’t believe this happened. Why did it happen?” The ponies honestly didn’t know what to say, all they could do was be there for Twilight. Rarity sighed and turned her head to look out a window, “Huh?” she snapped softly. “What’s up with you?” asked Applejack, Rarity didn’t answer but just stood there and gawking up at something in the sky. Applejack walked over and looked out at the sky. “What in the hootin’ nanny…?” Twilight, curious at what they were looking at walked over to another window. “What’s wrong?” she asked, but she suddenly saw for herself! “It can’t be…!” There, in the sky, was the exact same black hole she and Spike had seen in the human world, only it seemed a little bit larger from what they had seen. “What’s it doing here?” Spike asked. Twilight began to feel something menacing about that darkness. She had never seen anything like it in any book she had read and there was no point in cramming for any references. “Um… Twilight…” Starlight asked “You didn’t by chance dream of that, did you?” Twilight shook her head, “My nightmares were horrible, but I don’t remember seeing that thing. Unless…!” “Unless what?” asked Pinkie and she began to bounce impatiently crying out “Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me…!” “Pinkie, please, I’m trying to think.” snapped Twilight, but then there was a knock the big doors, and Discord just let himself in, “Yeah, hi. Sorry, I’m late, I couldn’t miss my favorite lunch in the oven.” And he held up a rather weird looking pie-like food that had tentacles stretching out from the crusts, “Anyone care for Dimensional Tentacle Casserole?” The ponies all gagged at the sight of something so gross, and Flutttershy was rather cross with Discord. “You were supposed to come with us to be here for Twilight.” she scolded. “Oh, right…” Discord said, actually sounding remorseful, and he magical changed into a black suit and tie, like someone at a funeral would be dressed, and he approached Twilight, “Princess… I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am that you…” he suddenly stopped as he looked out the window at the sky, and he gasped, followed by the sound of a fire bell ringing--caused by himself of course. “What? What’s the matter?” cried Rarity. Discord began to laugh like a demented maniac, “What’s the matter? WHAT’S THE MATTER?!” and he pointed at the object in the sky “THAT… is what’s the matter!” “Wait, you know what that thingy is up there?” asked Rainbow. Discord nodded nervously, “As a reality bender I’ve only heard of them, but I never thought I’d ever see one.” “What is that exactly?” Twilight asked. In a snap of his fingers, Discord warped the room in a simple classroom with the ponies all seated at their desks, while he himself was dressed in a cardigan, glasses and standing at the chalkboard. “Well, class… to answer your question.” he said, and he pointed his pointer at the board showing a poorly drawn chalk picture of the object “What we have here… is a void.” “A void…! Of course a void!” said Pinkie “…What’s a void?” Discord sighed and rolled his eyes, and he pulled down a rollup chart, “A void is another fancy word for a dimensional rift. Basically it is a hole in the very dimensional fabric of space. Is it near, or is it far? Who really knows?” The ponies all exchanged looks of concern and or confusion, much to Discord’s chagrin. “Looks like I’ll have to be blunt.” He said as he dispelled the classroom scene. “Basically, that is a destructive object in the sky, and while it might be small now, it’s only going to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger…!” Now the ponies were starting feel freaked out. “Um… did you just say “Destructive?” asked Spike. “That’s right…” Discord said in a sarcastically sly voice, “Destructive, as in “Destroy!” “DESTROY!!” the friends cried. “How is this possible?” cried Twilight “How did it happen? How can we stop it?” “How should I know?” replied Discord, “I’ve only heard of these things, but I never thought I’d actually see one, but I do know that…” he stopped trying to find his courage to say what he could. “Well come on! Out with it!” snapped Applejack. Discord gulped, “Well… all I know is. That thing is just going to grow and grow, and anything its path will be horribly obliterated. Nothing will be left. Not even tiny atoms.” The ponies gasped hard, and Rarity dramatically fainted on the floor. “This is crazy!” cried Pinkie “We’re all going to die! WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!” Fluttershy asked Discord, “Are you sure about all this?” “Have I ever been wrong?” Discord asked, and the ponies all gave him a straight look. “…I mean when it’s important!” Twilight, she recollected what the voice in her nightmares warned her, “I am returning! I will destroy…!” She began to feel if maybe this was not only responsible for killing her human friends, but was this the great evil her nightmares were warning her about? Either way, Equestria was in great danger now. The friends broke into a song of panic… [Twilight] Our world’s in fearful danger, but never like this before if that void consumes us all, then we will be no more!   [Rarity] Who knows how long we have, and what will come our way   [Pinkie]   It could happen anytime… maybe even today!! (Ooooh) [EVERYONE] How’d this happen, we don’t know. See the darkness flow and flow We gotta stop that thing in the sky If we don’t… WE’RE GONNA DIE!! [Spike] Come on, don’t give in, there’s gotta be something to do We’ve faced so many foes before, I know we’ll make it through. [Rainbow] Don’t us wrong, we know all that… [Applejack] …We can do it, or I’ll eat my hat. [Fluttershy] Oh, I hope so… or otherwise… [Discord] …We’ll all go FLAAAAAAT!! [EVERYONE] How’d this happen, we don’t know. See the darkness flow and flow We gotta stop that thing in the sky If we don’t… WE’RE GONNA DIE!! > The End of Tamaran > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER SEVEN When the Titans had arrived at Tamaran, were they ever surprised! The void was enormous above the planet’s sky; much, much bigger than what could be seen from Earth. In fact, it was so incredibly massive; anyone could look up in the sky and not be able to fit the entire object into a single viewpoint! Worse than that: horrible earthquakes began to shake around the planet as the void seemed to grow larger by the second. Fearing for the safety of their lives, most of the Tamaranens had fled; ventured out into space to escape the menacing anomaly, but many more still remained, as some were unable to fly or not quite able to handle being in the void of space like some. The Titans were just finished hearing all this from Galfore, just when another tremor hit the planet. The vibrations were more violent than ever. “These quakes are growing closer and closer in between pauses!” cried Galfore, “I fear that our planet is doomed!” Starfire shook her head, “No! I refuse to believe such a fate is true!” The Titans didn’t wish to believe it either, but the facts were speaking for themselves as they all looked up at the expanding void. “At least now we know what it’s doing,” Robin said. “Yeah, that baby’s destroying everything in its path.” agreed Cyborg, “Planets… stars-- Everything!” Raven felt so nervous, her insides were quaking with fear and she held her neck in fright, but she tried her best to stay calm. “This IS the work of The Dark Prognosticus.” she cried softly. The others all turned to face her. “Raven, you are certain of this?” Starfire asked. “Well I’m just guessing…” Raven admitted “But what else could explain it? I told you, that book was known for possessing powers and evil prophecies beyond imagination! Even Trigon couldn’t control it, which is why it was sealed off.” She didn’t have to say much more. All the connections just added up. Galfore felt most concerned, “You mean to say that object of darkness is attempting to destroy not just my home world?” Raven’s eyes quivered to the point of fearful tears and all she could say was, “…The entire universe!” Everyone froze in such shock and fear! …There was even more trouble on the way! Thanks to their wicked powers, Count Logan’s three minions were able to survive in the vacuum of space! They hovered above Tameran from the opposite side, having a commanding view of both the planet and the void. “Excellent!” hissed Sir. Elik “The void is ready to consume the Tamaranen world. All we have to do is give it a small speed boost, and the planet will be gone!” he snickered wickedly. Kamica stared grimly at the planet below, “I don’t get why The Count wants this world to be the first to go. It seems rather pathetic and pitiful if you ask me.” “Perhaps,” agreed Pyrus “But whatever reasons Count Logan has, we will not question our instructions. We were told to ensure the destruction of this world, and that’s all.” Knowing their instructions, and edging for a little “fun”, the villains headed down to the planet. Another tremor hit the planet as the meaning void grew ever larger, getting closer and closer towards the planet! The poor Tamarainans were beginning to panic, but they were still unlike those who were able to fly through space, and their children wouldn’t be able to make the trip either. Seeing there was no possible way to stop the void given the current circumstances, Galfore decided, “We must evacuate the planet at once!” cried Galfore “I have already ordered the fleet of our ships to be ready.” “Right…! We’ll help you.” said Robin. “Yes! We shall!” agreed Starfire “We must hurry! We must save our people!” and she flew off in such a panicking hurry. “Star, wait up…!” Cyborg called as he and the others dashed to catch up with her, but Galfore couldn’t help but stop and look up at the void, clenching his fist in anger, but slight fear as well. As the fleet of spacecraft were prepared. The remaining Tamaranens all gathered in massive lineups with their families, their children, pets, and even close friends. “My friends, my people…!” Galfore announced to them all, “The time has come. We must flee for our lives. I realize the sadness you must feel, but we must be brave if we are to survive!” His people did not cheer, as there was no time to waste, but before boarding could even begin… powerful blasts of energy, lightning and fire rained down on all the spacecraft, blowing them all into massive piles of scrap-metal. “Going somewhere…!” Kamica called, and everyone turned to see her and her comrades standing on a small rocky mound by the launching area. “You three…!” Robin shouted! The villains were rather surprised to see the Titans there. “Well, well… it’s a small universe after all. Isn’t it…!” Elik mocked and chuckled. Starfire was infuriated and shouted at them, “How dare you come here, and how dare you disrupt our escape plan!” Pyrus mockingly yawned, “We can go anywhere that we like, and we also do anything we like as well.” Her comrades nodded, and Kamica explained, “The powers we gained from The Dark Prognosticus allow us to travel using the speed of darkness, which is far greater than the speed of light. Any of us can get to even the furthers of worlds to another in a matter of seconds!” Elik hissed at everyone, “No matter where you run, no matter what you may try, the darkness will catch up to you. Your worlds are all doomed, and this pathetic planet shall be the first to go!” Starfire, Galfore and all the Tamaranens were totally livid by what Elik had just said, but before anyone could say anything, the three villains leapt off the hill and began to brutally attack…! Wielding her sword, Kamicia slashed multiple waves of energy at the aliens, spewing their blood all over as their corpses fell to the ground. Pyrus unleash a massive flame burst, hitting the mountains like meteors, melting the rock into ebbing and flowing trails of lava. Elik, laughing maniacally as he unleashed his lightning bolts to rupture the grounds and kill more Tamaranens; zapping them into ashes! “NO!!!” Starfire shrieked! “MY PEOPLE!!” shouted Galfore. “TITANS GO!!!” screamed Robin. The Titans all rushed into action, and many warrior Tamaranens that hadn’t been slaughtered rushed into action to back them up, but even with all the many fighters waged agonist them, the villains just snickered. The Tamaranens fired a barrage of star-bolts and rays from their eyes, striking the villains hard. Cyborg fired his missiles, Robin pitched his disc-bombs, and as for Raven, “Azarath, Metrion… ZINTHOS!!” using her powers, she conjured up many blobs of dark light and shaped them into fists, hurling them at the villains. Not a single blast had missed, and the villains were all hit and caught in such a massive explosion, but when the smoke cleared, much to everyone’s surprise and horrors, the villains were still standing there, smirking at them all, and they had not a scratch on them anywhere. “No way!” shouted Cyborg “We hit you guys square on!” Elik snickered, “Poor fool. Hitting your target is not synonymous as actually damaging it. It’ll take far more than that to match our powers! Speaking of which… it’s our turn!” The three villains leapt up and began to slaughter more Tamaranens, much to Starfire’s horrors. Suddenly, the planet began to rumble non-stop in the biggest and deadliest quake of them all. The planet’s crust was cracking wide open; the mountains were breaking off the planet and flying off into the void, causing more lava to burst out from the planet’s bowels and spread all over, burning everything in its path. Worse than that, the void was so close that its powerful currents were actually starting to pull the planet apart. There was absolteuly nothing could be done to stop the destruction, or get the last of the Tamaranens off the planet. Starfire could not believe this was happening! Everywhere she looked there were massive explosions that burst from the ground, some of which disintegrated more of her people. The other Titans, realizing the hopelessness of the situation, decided to flee for their lives while they still could. “Starfire…!” Robin called to her, “Come on! We’ve gotta go!” “I cannot!” Starfire cried “My people…!” but that’s when Galfore grabbed her by the arm, “You must go!” he shouted as he pulled her along. “No! I will not leave you!” “Silence…!!” Elik thundered, and he and his comrades combined their powers into a huge thunderous blast, and fired it straight at the two. “GO!!” Galfore shouted, and he lifted Starfire over his head and threw her hard towards the Titans and into Cyborg’s arms, just as the blast hit him, disintegrating him into a pile of ash! The Titans and Starfire gawked in extreme horrors, “…GALFORE!!!!!” Starfire screamed with tears in her eyes. The three villains laughed at what they had just done. “So much for him.” said Kamica. The planet was vibrating so violently that everyone shook with it as they spoke. “Let’s get outta here!” shouted Pyrus, and she and her comrades vanished and were gone, while the Titans just managed to make it to the T-Ship. “We’re outta’ here!” shouted Cyborg, and the ship took off, blasting into space and getting far, far away… …Then… IT HAPPENED!! The planet exploded in a massive bang, and anything that was left of it was sucked into the void and completely gone! The Titans all gazed through the glass of their pods as the ship flew further and further away from the area. All of them had horrified expersions, but none as deeply as Starfire’s. Her world, her entire home world was gone, as well as a lot of her people, and Galfore too! “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO….!!!” The Titans all had to remove their headsets that had blown out by Starfire’s scream, but they just couldn’t blame her! With nothing left to do now, they all agreed to just head back to Earth. Meanwhile, Count Logan was laughing wickedly within his chambers, rejoicing the destruction of Tameran and the deaths of so many. “Well done, minions!” he said to the trio, “That’s one less world we have to worry about now. We are now well on our way to achieving our ultimate goal!” “Yep…” said Kamica, “And just imagine, those idiot Titans came at us with all that fire power and didn’t even make us flinch.” Elik wasn’t so optimistic about it though, “They still escaped with their lives. They are starting to become a great nuisance to us.” Pyrus felt the same way, “They would dare defy the prophecy, but they will find they cannot succeed.” “Precisely.” agreed Logan “Now, we have much to do, and I have our next objective.” He held up The Dark Prognosticus, “There is a passage here that tells of two individuals…” he opened the book and read from the text: “Deep within a world where Friendship and Harmony dwell, there shall be found two sisters-- One with the power of light, one with the power of Darkness.”   He closed the book, “These two sisters, their powers will be very useful to us, as is foretold as well. Dr. Nekard, you are certain of your calculations?” Nekard nodded, “Yes, my lord. I have positive findings of the world where these two sisters dwell, and as it seems this would be the very inter-dimensional activity I had seen coming from Earth.” The trio was amazed. “So there’s a portal to another dimension somewhere on Earth?” asked Pyrus. “Yes,” replied Nekard, “To be more precise, this portal exists within an area that the three of you previously had attacked on your first visit. Fortunately you didn’t destroy it.” The trio thought this incredible, but Kamica couldn’t help but wonder, “Just how did you calculate where this portal was, Nekard?” Nekard held his hand up, “Now, now, is it really necessary to know? The fact remains we know where to go and we can achieve our goals sooner.” The trio were starting to feel something fishy going on, but Logan called to everyone, “That’s enough! We have much to be done, so all of you, on your way. I want those two sisters found and brought here. I will join you myself when the time comes.” “Yes, master…” Elik said, bowing to the count, and he and the ladies took their leave, vanishing out of sight, leaving The Count and Nekard alone in the chamber. Logan reviewed the passage in the book once more, “A world where Friendship and Harmony dwell…” he grumbled, “Bah! Of all things in existence…!” Nekard could see Logan was starting to seem distraught, “My lord, I am curious as to why you scoff at it so. Did you not once believe in the powers of friendship and love yourself?” Logan felt a sting of anger clench him from within. “And what of our goal…?” Nekard continued “Once we obliterate all worlds, we do intend to make peaceful and loving worlds suitable for us. Surely that is an act of Friendship and Harmony as well.” The Count, wishing to hear no more of this, angrily turned and glared at him sneering, “Has your memory failed you, Nekard? I told you to be off!” Nekard bowed to him sheepishly, “As you wish.” But then he silently grumbled to himself “…And thank you for proving what I’ve suspected of you all along, Count. Now I know what must be done.”   Logan hadn’t heard him and watched him vanished. Now he was completely alone, and feeling rather agitated as he gripped his cane tightly while breathing deeply yet calmly behind his mask. “Friendship and Harmony…! They will soon realize what nightmares can befall them, just as all worlds will meet their end. No one can stop me now!” He then disappeared and took The Dark Progonosticus with him, but even after he had left, his voice seemed to echo softly in the darkness… “…Just as no one can ease the tempest that rages in my suffering heart! Not even… “Her!” Meanwhile, it was night in Jump City, wreckage was still everywhere but all the dead bodies had been cleared away by other city-workers and had all been transferred to a safe place to be cremated or buried. It was a still a very devastating time which none would be exempt from, and worse, the void in the sky seemed to have grown a teency bit larger, yet it still seemed so very far off. Still, there was one person who just wasn’t thinking about any of that that right now… Terra was still out and wandering in the street. She had made a little money from panhandling, enough to buy a little takeout food as she was starving, and yet she still felt empty inside and looked a little thinner than usual, but she felt more pain in her heart than in her stomach. All these days, and she still was grieving over Beast Boy-- not knowing what had been happening. She couldn’t deny it anymore. “I miss you…” she muttered to herself, “Beast Boy, I miss you so much, and I’m so sorry for what I put you through!” Suddenly, she stopped where she was and looked in the window of a goods store, and she couldn’t believe her eyes! There, in the display window was a heart-shaped mirror box. She knew it was the very one Beast Boy had made for her. It couldn’t have been anything else. What it was doing in the store she had no idea, and at such a pitifully low price of just two-dollars, which amounted to exactly how much money Terra had in her pocket, but seeing that box brought back full blast the memory of the day Beast Boy had given it to her, having made it with his own two hands as a gift of his obvious affections for her. “Beast Boy…! It’s-- I don’t know what to say!” “You could say “Yes” ‘Cause I’m about to ask you out on a date.”   “Oh, wow!”   The memory stopped, and she felt very warm remembering all that, and yet she gazed at her reflection through the window and into the mirror of the box and saw what a mess she was! And she heard Beast Boy’s voice in her head again, from the last time they spoke at her former school. “Maybe you don’t remember, but I do. You’re my friend! You’re a Teen Titan!”   “You don’t belong here, Terra.”   “It’s who you are! It’s who you are! It’s who you are…!”   A cloud covering the moon suddenly parted and the light shone directly down on Terra, but it might as well have been the light dawning on her. She finally couldn’t do this anymore! Not to herself and not to Beast Boy! She marched straight into the store and slammed all her money on the counter by the cashier, “Give me that mirror-box!” she practically demanded! “Um… sure…” the lady said as she fulfilled the demand, and then asked, “I don’t know what you’d want that for. It seems rather junky.” Terra felt livid, “This has more value than you think.” That was all she said and she left the store while gazing at her reflection in the mirror. She then closed the lid and gazed over at Titan’s tower, not knowing the Titans had left. She was still scared deep down of facing her past again, but finally she realized and admitted, “I’ve got to try…!” then she levitated herself up on a huge rock and flew her way over to the tower where she hoped she could reconcile with the Titans, and maybe organize a search for Beast Boy. …She was in for one terrible surprise! > Nightmare Come True > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER EIGHT The Titan’s had arrived by midmorning, and poor Starfire had cried and cried the whole journey. No one could blame her though as she had literally seen her home world crumple before her eyes, as well as many of her people, including Galfore brutally slaughtered. “I feel so dry and hot!” she cried softly. “It’s because you’ve cried so much, you’re dehydrated.” said Robin. He really felt upset for her, as did the others, and while they all desperately needed time to relax and heal, time was of the essence. As the Titan’s left the T-Ship on the rooftop, landing pad, they noticed how much larger the void seemed in the sky. Now they knew what it was, and what it was going to do, but right now they all really needed to get freshened up. When they headed down into the lounge, they were most surprised to see someone very familiar in the kitchen. “Terra…?” Robin asked while gawking in shock. She turned and looked at them with mixed look of joy and shame, “Hi, Titans… long time, no see.” The Titans could hardly believe it, but Cyborg scanned her with his wrist-com, “It really is you. Dang it, girl… where’ ya been!” he hugged her warmly and she hugged him back. The Titans were overjoyed that she was back, though a little shocked as well. That’s when the Doom Patrol came into the lounge, “Welcome home.” said Mento. “How did things turn out?” asked Negative Man, but a moment of silence that feel and Starfire’s depressed face told him enough, “Not good, huh?” Starfire began to weep softly again, and Robin comforted her. Even though talking about it wouldn’t help much, he told Terra and the others what had happened. “You’re kidding…!” exclaimed Robot-Man. “Oh, Starfire…!” cried Elasti-Girl! Starfire nodded tearfully, and Terra couldn’t believe it, “Star… I--” but there were no words she could say. “We know what’s causing all this….” Raven said, and explained to them all about the void and the villainous trio. Mento clenched his fists, “So now we know. I promise you, if I ever get my sights on those creeps, they’ll wish they were never born!!” “Steve…!” Elasti-Girl cried, trying to calm her husband, “I know you’re upset, and I am too, but losing our cool isn’t going help right now.” “She’s right, Mento…” said Robin, “We all have our reasons for wanting to get back at those creeps now.” Terra looked downhearted, but then her features hardened, “I want to help you guys!” she said firmly. The others all gawked at her, “That’s my decision. I want to help you get those creeps, not just for Starfire now, but also for Beast Boy.” “So, you know…?” Robin asked. Terra nodded sadly, and she explained how when she came to the tower last night-- She didn’t find the Titans, not knowing they had gone to Tamaran… The Doom Patrol didn’t recognize her, until she explained to them how well she knew Beast Boy. Mento read her mind and saw she was telling the truth, and the rest of the team ran the files on her; despite her allegiance to Slade and all that other stuff, they knew she was pure and let her stay where they gave her a bath, some decent food, and she even got her old uniform back-- black shirt with a yellow ‘T’, yellow pants, pouch belt, gloves, boots and goggles. …But the Doom Patrol felt inclined to inform her about Beast Boy. When she found out he had been killed, and she saw his frozen dead body in the capsule… words then couldn’t explain how devastated she felt. Raven inspected the recycling bin, “That explains all these empty quarts of ice-cream.” Now Terra looked ready to cry, but she tried hardest not to, feeling what happened to her wasn’t exactly the same as Starfire losing her planet, but despite the truth in that, the entire team was as equally sympathetic. “If you really want to fight with us, Terra… welcome back.” Robin said while handing her a communicator. Terra graciously accepted it, and wiped the tears from her eyes while smiling sadly. “Thank you.” “I guess we’re all in this together now.” said Cyborg, and he put his hand in the center of the group, and everyone else put in their hands as well. “So, what do we do first?” Mento asked while looking at Robin. “We prepare!” Robin said, “Those creeps are bound to come back here, and this time we’ll try and be ready for them.” Everyone agreed, but Raven still felt a bit pessimistic, “I don’t think that mere training alone is going to help us. They’re really powerful.” Starfire stomped her foot, “Right now, I feel as if I have the power to vanquish a million of the armies… to avenge my people, and Beast Boy, as well as others whom have suffered at their hands!” The others were surprised to see her having such boldness and courage despite the bad shock and depressed state she was previously in, but they all agreed and decided to train. “I wonder where those creeps are now.” Robin wondered as he looked up at the void in the sky. Meanwhile, that stranger had seen the Titans had returned, but he didn’t make any attempts to approach them just yet nor The Doom Patrol either. He had been constantly going through The Light Prognosticus for any clues to confirm his theory, but all he had to work with was that same passage from before… “A union of three teams shall descend and intersect. -One Team of “Great Strength.” –One Team of “Heart and Soul.” -And One Team of “Righteousness and Truth.” “Perhaps that is my only clue…” he wondered to himself, “Perhaps these two teams are two of the three that I seek, and if they are, surely they shall meet up with the third team, whoever they are.” He then seemed very worried, as he looked at another passage he had previously read… “Deep within a world where Friendship and Harmony dwell, there shall be found two sisters-- One with the power of light, one with the power of Darkness.   Their powers combined will be used by The Dark One to accelerate the destructive prophecy.” The stranger did not like this one bit, and he had no idea of what it meant for sure or where to start looking. “What are you up to now, Logan?” In Equestria, the mane six and Spike had gone to Canterlot. Twilight had written to Princess Celestia warning her of the ill-fate of their world and she had devised a plan to try and stop it. In the Canterlot town square, the four princesses-- Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight herself-- stood in the center of a ring made by the other ponies, all armed with the Elements of Harmony which were taken from the tree of harmony. Shining Armor and Baby Flurry Heart stood on the sidelines, along with Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst, Twilight’s parents, and and other civilians to watch the event-- not understanding the terrible fate their planet was in as they were not informed. "Why won;t anyone tell me what's going on?" asked Starlight. "Whatever it is, it must be serious." said Sunburst. “Are you sure it’s okay for us to take the Elements?” asked Rainbow “Won’t the Tree of Harmony begin to lose power again?” “It’ll be alright for a short while.” replied Celestia. Twilight nodded in agreement and added, “Besides, we need every bit of magic and power we can muster up.” She looked up at the sky at the void, which was getting larger by the second. “We’re with you all the way, Twilight.” said Cadance. Her aunt’s nodded at her, and Twilight smiled, and then took a moment to look at all her smiling friends, and her family in the crowd. “Okay, let’s close that void!” shouted Twilight, and she began to concentrate very hard along with all their others. All at once, the four princesses were enveloped in the light of their magic, and the other five ponies were glowing along with their respective Elements. Flurry Heart saw the light and wanted to hover over and join in, what she thought looked like, the fun, but her father held her back. “No, no, no, Flurry… you stay here with Daddy and your grand-folks.” Night Light and Velvet Sparkle patted their granddaughter’s little head, and then continued to watch the astonishment. The magic of the Princesses and the friends grew stronger and stronger, and finally, different beams of light shot up from each pony into one massive magical blast that shot straight into the sky, at the void, blasting into it hard. KABLAM!! There was a huge and very bright explosion, so bright and so hard that every single pony hit the dirt and covered their eyes. “WHOA! EPIC!!” groaned Spike. When the light had ceased, the entire sky was all red and chaotic, just like it was in Twilight’s dream. “What’s happening?!” she cried. “The force of the magic was so strong that it has blighted out some light from the skies.” replied Luna. Rarity shuddered, “I don’t like this one bit. The coloring is just dreadful!” Pinkie then looked up at the sky, “Look!” she cried. Everyone looked up and saw that the void was still there, and now it looked even bigger than ever! “It didn’t work! We just made it bigger!” cried Applejack. The civilians were frightened now, and both Celestia and Luna were shocked beyond words, but nearly as much as Twilight. “I was so sure that would do it? How can we stop it?” “You can’t…!” answered a sinister voice. That’s when the trio-- Kamica, Sir. Elik and Pyrus-- appeared onto the scene. Fluttershy began to quiver most nervously, and the other ponies felt chills run down their backs. “Who are you three?” Celestia demanded to know. “My, my, such a temper.” teased Pyrus “I like ‘em firey.” “Steady, Pyrus…” said Elik “Stay focussed.” Kamica agreed and approached the ponies, and Princess Luna shivered, “I feel an incredible amount of darkness emitting from these creatures.” Kamicia grinned “So you are the two who control Light and Darkness…” Celestia and Luna said nothing, and they didn’t have too. Just the looks of their cutie marks and of their appearances said enough. “What is it you want here?” Celestia asked. Elik approached the sisters, “You saved us a lot of trouble of hunting you down.” And before anyone could say anything, he grabbed the sister’s by the necks, choking them hard and shocking them softly, but painfully, with his electrical powers much to everyone’s horrors. “You are now working for Count Logan!” Kamica sneered at the sister. The royal guards rushed in to help the sisters, but Pyrus came in a blasted a great fire wall right at them blocking them off. “LET THEM GO!!” shouted Cadance, and she charged at the trio, with Twilight and the others backing her up, but Kamicia stepped in and thrust her sword into the ground, sending a massive shockwave that blew them all back hard. “No!!” cried Spike. “Interfere again and you’ll be destroyed more painfully!” Kamica thundered. Elik continued to shock the two sisters, and they seemed powerless to defend themselves, but suddenly he stopped as he was cast aside. “That’s enough, Sir. Elik!” sneered a voice, “You don’t want to overdo it now.” That’s when the skies grew even darker and more chaotic, exactly like in Twilight’s dream, and HE himself appeared. “Who’s that?” whimpered Fluttershy “He looks scary!” The other ponies had a sick feeling about him, even Starlight didn't like the looks of this stranger, and being a former wicked pony herself, she knew this was bad news! “Forgive me, Count Logan.” said Elik “I did not mean to harm them so, just weaken them.” His master nodded, but Celestia and Luna shakily stood, “Count Logan…?” asked Luna “You are the one responsible for all this?” Logan snickered, confirming it, and Twilight and Spike began to realize, “Hey, I bet he’s the one who killed our friends in the human world.” Twilight nodded in agreement. Cadance used her magic to look inside of Logan, and the split second she had, she stopped and gasped hard as if she had been struck hard in the gut. “Cadance…!” Shining Armor cried as he ran up to his wife, leaving the baby with his folks. “Are you okay?” Poor Cadance looked near petrified, “Its dark… so dark!” she whimpered, “I couldn’t see anything. It just pushed me right out.” “Very perceptive of you.” hissed Logan “That pitiful magic of yours may work on ordinary beings, but you have never dealt with the likes of me before.” “Oh, yeah…?!” snapped Rainbow “Well you obviously never dealt with us before, bucko.” Pinkie agreed and added, “We’ve faced many enemies before and we always won! And if you’re not careful, we’ll knock your bones right out of your flesh!” all the ponies nodded in agreement, but Logan only chuckled softly, “Poor little fools. I am not flesh and blood, I am something far greater.” “What do you mean?” asked Celestia. Logan faced her and declared, “I am the embodiment of all darkness everywhere, created from the blackness itself. I am the chosen executor to fulfil the great prophecies and end all worlds… thanks to this…!” that’s when he held up the very book for all to see. Twilight gasped, “That book! It’s the same one as the picture in my history tome; The Dark Prognosticus!” There was much exchanging of chattering and concerned expressions. “Oh, so you’ve heard of this?” Logan asked, and he reached the conclusion as he looked down at the book “So this is the world where you came from and where you were created. Color me surprised. That such a pitiful and worthless world could have created something so deadly.” The ponies all felt greatly insulted! “How dare you call Equestria those horrid things!” snapped Celestia. “Whatever you plan, we will not allow you or your followers to succeed!” The others felt the same, but the trio stood forth, “I wouldn’t try anything if I were you!” hissed Pyrus “You don’t have any idea how deadly we can be!” “Pyrus…!” snapped Logan, telling her to calm herself, and then he spoke to the ponies, “I have come for the two sisters. It is written in the Dark Prognosticus that their powers will be quite useful. I will take them to my lair and use their magic combined with my own to destroy all worlds.” Twilight never remembered anything that in her history book about the prognosticus being able to destroy all worlds, but still, “You can’t… you won’t!” “And he won’t!” sneered another voice, followed by a war trumpet sounding and an army of heavily armed Discords came rushing in, and General Discord himself-- the real one, stood at the head of the brigade. “Nobody messes with this world, you hear!” he thundered, “Okay, maybe I tried to mess with it many times… but my point stands!” “Are we supposed to be scared?” asked Kamcia. “Trust me, you should be!” sneered Discord, “All right men, take aim!” “Discord…!” Fluttershy shouted, but Twilight merely grabbed her and all her friends and with the other three Princesses, they projected powerful barriers around the civilians and around themselves, just as Discord ordered his troops, “...FIRE!!” Machine guns, rocket launchers and laser beams shot like crazy at the villains, creating massive explosions around them, and when the smoke had cleared, there was nothing left but a few huge craters. The barriers were dispelled, and Dicord donned a superhero outfit as his clones cheered and praised for him while all the ponies were rather livid. “Discord…! What were you thinking?!” Fluttershy snapped at him. “You could’ve hurt all of us, or busted something!” added Rainbow. “Well excuuuuuse me!” growled Discord, “The point is… Who’s laughing now?” He got his answer when the sound Logan’s evil laugh echoed through the air, and in a dark wave of light, he and his minions reappeared, completely unharmed. Every pony and Discord was completely shocked, and Logan began to walk towards Discord. “Stay back!” Discord whimpered, “I’m warning you…!” but Logan continued to move forth forcing Discord to warp reality and trap Logan with him inside a dimensional dome, in Discord’s bizarre world, “I told you to stop!” sneered Discord “Now you’re stuck here until I decide to send you back.” Logan, completely unfazed, raised his cane up high. The end of the cane gave off a bright glow of light, “Hey, what’s going on…!” cried Discord, and that’s when the light began to break holes in the fabric of the dimensional dome, shattering it like glass, and the two were back where they were before much to Discord’s horror. “Did you see that?!” cried Pinkie. “Discord’s reality bending had no effect on him!” added Twilight. By this time, Discord was extremely frightened as Logan just stood where he was, glaring squarely at him. “Um… look, I, uh… can we talk this out or… maybe, even…!” Logan then approached Discord, right up to him and softly touched his finger to the end of discord’s nose; just a tiny little tap, and after a few moments of nothing happening… Discord’s nose began to decompose in a fiery lava-like consumption. It started on his nose, and then began to spread all over his body. “DISCORD…!!” Fluttershy screamed-- not very loudly of course. He was gone, reduced to a pile of burning liquid that would dry into nothingness, much to the extreme horrors of the crowds. “That was too easy.” Logan scoffed. The friends were all shocked and hurt to the point of tears. “I can’t believe… he’s gone!” cried Rarity. “He… didn’t… deserve that!” Rainbow growled. Celestia and Luna felt pushed off the edge. “You will pay dearly for that!” snarled Luna, and she used her dark powers to ensnare the book away from Logan and brought and then let Celestia take it, “You’re little nightmare ends here and now!” she sneered as she used her powers to fire the bool really far off, and into the sun where it disappeared. The ponies cheered for joy, but Logan and his minions snickered. Logan then held out his hand, and the book came right back to him, completely unscathed, much to the horrors of everyone. “I have got to be dreaming!” cried Shining Armor. “It’s not even scratched!” added Cadance. “Impossible!” Celestia murmured. Logan glared pitifully at her, “You think my power can be destroyed that easily? You’ve been reading too many fairy-tales.” He walked towards the sisters, “Let me show you how a real book works…” and he held the book out in front of them, opening the pages that gave off a dark and nasty glow of light, enveloping the two ponies and sucking them like magic within the pages! “NO!!” cried Twilight. “Celestia! Luna!” Cadance shouted. Logan snapped the book shut. “Let them go, you sick creep!” shouted Shining Armor. But at that moment, Flurry Heart broke free from her parents grip and she angrily flew towards Logan. “Flurry Heart…! No!!” shouted her father. “Flurry!” cried Cadance, but the little angry baby pony flew straight at the evil villain, and before anyone could grab her with their magic or teleport her to safety, Logan had grabbed her with his one free hand. He then stuck his cane down hard into the ground, and grabbed Flurry’s little head, and he gawked down at the frightened little baby. “It’s a pity really.” he hissed at the child, and then TWISTED her head hard… making everyone scream, and they watched as he YANKED her head right off like a cork making blood spew all over!! “FLURRY…!!!!!” Cadance screamed!!! Twilight’s eyes bulged so wide they nearly popped out of her head, and Logan just threw the head and the corpse to the ground. “Anyone who dares to defy me next will receive a far worse fate.” Everyone’s emotions were just completely mixed; horrors, sadness, extreme crushing! An innocent baby just literally had its head pulled off! Cadance collapsed and was bawling like no tomorrow. Twilight was completely pushed over the edge, but it was her brother whom, in a fit of rager, rushed forth, “YOU…!!!!” he looked ready to ram the evil murderer all the way to the sun! But Pyrus stepped forth and breathed fire on Shining Armor, roasting him and making him scream! “NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” Cadance Screamed. “BROTHER!!!!” screamed Twilight. Her parents couldn’t believe what just happened as they watched their son’s remains fall to the ground and burn away. “My son!!!” cried Night Lightning, and Velvet Sparkle, over-whelmed by the stress and sadness collapsed in heartbreak! “I think I’ve wasted enough time here.” Logan said, and he motioned to his minions, “…Go ahead and have some fun. I’ll see you all back at the castle.” and with that, he vanished. “He’s gone!” cried Spike, “And he took the princesses with him!” added Rarity. The trio snickered, “That’s the least of your problems now.” hissed Kamica, and with that she gave a huge slash with her sword sending a plasmatic wave of energy, blowing up the homes and buildings in the village, and causing the ponies to run amok in panic. “What are you doing?!” Twilight thundered. “What else… DESRTOYING THIS WORLD!!” bellowed Kamica, and her other teammates teleported off to spread the damage. Pryus had set all of Ponyville ablaze, burning all the buildings to the ground and turning the waters into ebbing and bubbling lava pools that spread all over, including the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Sweet Apple Acres, Carousel Boutique fell over, and even Twilight’s Friendship castle was horribly destroyed. Even Everfree Forest and Zecora were wiped out. “Wonderbolts charge!” Spitfire shouted, and she led the entire force of every Wonderbolt in the service to fly in and attack, but before they could get halfway to the ground from Cloudsdale, Elick appeared in the skies with them, and laughing loud and maliciously, he zapped them all with powerful Lightning storms, vaporizing the pegasi and their every last feather into burning cinders. Dragons, Griffons, Minotaur, and many other creatures all over the land rose up to help defend their homes and friends, only to be brutally slaughtered in the end by the dark and villainous creatures! Back on Canterlot, Kamica alone had already laid much to most of the village. All the homes and buildings were destroyed, and now she had her eyes set on the royal palace itself! “ENOUGH!!” Twilight, thundered “I won’t let you do this anymore! Stand with me now, Friendship Ponies!” her friends all stood with her, Starlight too, preparing to use the Elements of Harmony to encase Kamica in stone. “I don’t think so…” hissed Kamica, and she send another shockwave into the ground, blasting the ponies all away hard, and sending all six elements flying off and landing near her. Then, with one swing of her sword, she slashed the elements, shattering them to dust! “The Elements of Harmony!!” cried Twilight. Kamica snickered and gazed directly at Twilight, “And now it’s your turn, little princess!” Twilight angrily bolted up right, “Twilght, it’s no use!” shouted Cadance, but Twilight fired the biggest and most fearsome beam of magic she had ever conjured up, sending it straight at Kamica, but Kamica just held out her sword actually blocking the attack and send it sail behind her at the palace…!! KAPOW!! The entire palace collapsed into a mountain of rubble… exactly like in Twilight’s dream! “No! This can’t be happening!” Twilight cried, that’s when Kamica stepped right up to her and grabbed her by the horn. “I think I’ve had about enough of your so-called “Magic.” she sneered, and with her bare hands, she snapped Twilight’s horn in half like it was a cracker. Everyone gawks in extreme shock as the part of Twilight’s horn, still on her head, sparkled like a malfunctioning machine. “MY HORN…!!!” Twilight shrieked! Kamica snickered while she glared right at her “And now… YOUR WORTHLESS LIFE!!” she prepared to finish her off. “NO… TWILIGHT…!!” Spike thundered as he came leaping right at Twilight, head-butting her in the side and out of the way of Kamica’s blade. “Spike…!!” Starlight cried, and she rushed into quickly try and help him, WHACK!! Spike and Starlight were skewered by the sword-- right through Spike's body, out his back and into Starlight. Kamicia, flung the dead bodies off. "Spike... Starlight!!" The others were horrified and burst into tears. “Spike!” cried Fluttershy. “Oh, no! Spike!” wailed Applejack! Rarity quivered in extreme crushed emotions, “Spikey… Wikey…?!” she squeaked!” and she let out a huge screech and charged for Kamica like a charging bully “I WILL KILL YOU FOR THAT!!!” Kamica prepared to slice her just she did Spike, but Rainbow swooped in and pulled Rarity out of the way just in time. “LET ME GO, RAINBOW!!” Rarity demanded as she fussed about, “Rarity, stop it!” shouted Rainbow. This was totally hopeless! Nothing the ponies could do seemed to work at all against these creeps and worse… the land began to rumble and subside as explosions ruptured the ground. “Look!” cried Cadance. The void had expanded to enormous proportions-- just like on Starfire’s planet. “It appears I won’t have to finish you off after all.” said Kamica “This world’s about go bye-bye. So… bye-bye!” she blew everyone a kiss, and then vanished. “Time to go…!” Elik said, and he was gone, and Pyrus snickered as she vanished too. The entire land rumbled and crumpled as countries collapsed and all who were on them fell to their dooms. Sunbust died in an avalanches! Twilight's folks went up in an explosion! “We’re done for!! DONE FOR!!!” shouted Pinkie. Twilight looked all around her and couldn’t believe this was happening, but it was! As the ground continued to rumble, the ground began to break apart into crevasses and rising pillars. The others didn’t know it was this possible to feel anymore devastated and scared, but as the land around them continued to crumple as the void grew ever larger, they all huddled together, all seven of them, and decided to sadly embrace their fate. “It was so nice knowing all of you!” Rarity cried. Pinkie sobbed and said “Promise we’ll be best of friends, even after we go… you know…” Twilight tearfully nodded in agreement along with the others, and they embraced each other hard to wait for the final scene! Suddenly, they all felt strange as their bodies began to glow. “What’s happening?” asked Fluttershy, but before anyone could answer, all seven ponies had vanished into thin air as the entire world shattered into complete nothingness and killing all life there was in it! > Tears, Fears and Sneers > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER NINE Celestia and Luna had been released from their imprisonment within The Dark Prognosticus, and when they had awoken, they found themselves magically bound to two identical looking transformer devices deep within a dark lair. “Luna, are you alright?” asked Celestia. “I am fine, sister.” replied Luna, “But what has happened? Where are we?” Count Logan snickered as he stood before the sisters with and Dr. Nekard. “Glad to see you’ve come round.” Logan hissed. The sister’s eyes narrowed angrily at the count. “You…!” Celestia sneered softly. She and Luna both remembered what he had done to Discord, Shining Armor, and especially little Flurry Heart. “You brutally murdered an infante!” Luna sneered. Nekard scoffed at the sisters, “Fools! Count Logan is responsible for the deaths of many, including countless infants. It’s just the way things go: anything The Count does not like or does not approve off; POOF: it no longer exists! Ha!” The sisters felt sick to their stomachs, but Logan nodded softly, “Your world has been obliterated along with the destruction of others, but there are still many worlds and dimensions waiting, waiting to meet their ends, and that’s why I’ve brought you here. The devices you are now trapped within shall sap your powers and be used to help me. With your combined powers, the destructive void will expand ever faster, wiping out everything in its path, and all worlds will meet their ends much sooner! All is going as is written in The Dark Prognosticus.” The sisters were very livid and tried all they could to escape, but they were bound by powerful dark energy streams like chains, which were impossible for them to break. “It is no use.” Logan hissed at them “As long as you are within my realm, you magic will not work unless I let it work. There is no escape for you, or these worlds.” The sisters glared at him furiously, “You’re a monster!” sneered Luna “You are beyond a monster!” “I second that!” sneered Celestia “Never have a known any creature as despicable and as cold-hearted as you! You are destroying entire civilizations and killing innocent beings, yet you haven’t a shred of remorse to show for it?!” Her words infuriated Logan to the point where he leapt right over to her and grabbed her by the neck, and raised his cane to slaughter her right there. “COUNT…!!” Nekard shouted, urging him to calm down, and surely enough Logan ceased, but he glared her dead in the eyes panting softly but angrily behind his mask, and he let her go. “Fortunately, for you, I still require the use of your powers.” He backed away from the sisters and the devices. “Nekard, begin the process, and while you’re at it, teach them a little respect!” “Understood, My Lord…” Nekard said, and with that, Logan turned to leave the dungeon. “Wait!” Luna called, comeback. “Silence!” shouted Nekard, and with the activation of the devices, the sisters screamed as they were zapped by powerful currents of energy that felt like burning flames enveloping them! The meters above the machines began to rise indicating how much power was being absorbed. Soon there would be enough to put it to good use and then be sapped form the sisters and used all over again. Nekard couldn’t help but chuckle at the suffering sisters, and he silently thought “This isn’t nearly as entertaining as it’ll be when I dispose of Logan. He still hasn’t even realized my little bit of insubordination, and by the time he does, it will be too late.” (Music plays) Logan walked along the dark halls of his lair, starting to feel aching feelings crawling inside him again. He backed up against the wall, dropping his cane to the floor, pulling his hat down over the eyes of his mask while he groaned painfully. “No! Go away! Leave me alone!” he growled softly, but the pain only seemed to intensify. He was starting to see images before his eyes, of all the beings he had killed, all the lives he had slaughtered. Though his gloves were sparkling clean, he could still see all the blood shed he had caused on his hands. And this wasn't the worst of it... He remembered during many of his confrontations how he felt that when he had his victims cornered and ready for the kill, he felt hesitant-- as if he didn't want to go through with it. Then, all of a sudden, he could feel this force of darkness pulling on him and forcing him to go through with it, no matter how much he seemingly objected. Especially when it came to Flurry Heart's recent demise. "She's just a baby!" he thought to himself. "Does she really deserve this! She's so innocent and young!" But the darkness took over and reinforced its wishes, also his impulsive anger and hate, causing him to kill her... just like that! "NO---------!!! The images suddenly faded and he awoke in shock, panting stressfully. He gazed down at book, almost angrily as if he hated it, but he clutched it in his hand, and then grabbed his cane and got to his feet. “I won’t let these emotions get to me. I know who I am! I know what I must do.” Then suddenly he stroked with his finger and hissed, “And I think I have just the idea of what to do next. This will prove I am stronger than these pitiful emotions, as well as settle an old score!” he laughed wickedly as he walked off. His voice echoed through the darkness! Meanwhile, Twilight began to awaken. She felt very weary, but as he vision cleared she could see the blueness of skies above, and as she sat upright she could see all her friends lying on the grounds in the middle of a vacant lot in an alley of a city. She softly tapped Cadance, “Come on, wake up…” she called softly. Her sister-in-law began to awaken, “Uhn…! Twilight…?” she groaned. The others began to awaken as well. “Oh, Nellie, my head aches!” groaned Applejack. “Um, what happened?” asked Fluttershy, “The last thing I remember was the world was blowing up around us… and then…” she fell silent as the others pondered. “Perhaps… it was all just some dream?” asked Rarity, but that was instantly proven impossible, seeing as Twilight’s was still broken, not to mention they all were still dirty and a little sore from the ordeals that occur. Pinkie Pie felt herself all over and gave herself a few pinches to see if she was alive or not. “We’re alive, but… that means…” her expression changed into extreme sadness, along with the others. There was no doubt; Equestria was gone; destroyed…! Nothing left! All any of them could remember were all those deaths of all the ponies and other creatures, including Discord… Spike… Shining Armor… Flurry Heart…!! Cadance began to weep, at the thought of not just her world, but her dead husband and daughter brutally murdered before her eyes. Twilight couldn’t help but want to weep herself, not just for losing her home, her family, Spike, and a little for her broken horn as well. She took a look at herself in a small puddle of water, and she thought she looked just abnormal with half of a horn. All her friends were silently weeping as well, bewailing such a loss. “Look, I hate to say this…” Applejack said as she rubbed her eyes, “But… maybe we ought to think about where we are.” “Applejack!” snapped Rarity “How can you even think such a thing at a time like this?! We just lost our world and all our friends as well!” “I know, and I’m hurt too, but there ain’t nothin’ we can do about that now. Besides, we can’t just sit around here like this. We’re still alive! I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but I wanna know.” The others began to suck it up a little, despite the overwhelming hurt they felt inside. “She’s right.” said Rainbow “What I’d like to know is how we even got here in the first place?” As Twilight looked down the end of the alley, she could see the out into the city they were in. “I think I know where we are…” and she and her friends moved close to the end of the alley and looked out “We are!” cried Twilight “We’re in the human world!” The other ponies all gazed around in awe at the roads, the buildings, and the people all around. “So this is the human world?” asked Pinkie “This is so incredible!” “But… exactly what part of the human world are we in?” asked Fluttershy. This, Twilight had not a clue, “I never ventured any further beyond Canterlot High. I don’t know what city this it. Come to think of it, I don’t even know why we’re still ponies.” The friends realized she was right. If they were in the human world, why had they not turned into human versions of themselves? “I think I know why,” said Cadance “Normally, anypony who comes here by use of The Crystal Mirror would transform into an alternate version of what they are, but we were somehow just transported here by a kind of warping magic. I don’t know how it happened, but that must be why we’re still our normal selves.” Rainbow and Pinkie found this to be super incredible, and despite all that had happened, they couldn’t wait to go out there and explore. “I can’t wait to see what else this world has.” But Cadance used her magic to hold them both still, “No, you two. We’re not known here in this world. We can’t be sure it’s safe to even go out there.” “I know it’s not safe…” said Twilight, and she pointed up at the sky where they could all see the void. “What?!” snapped Rarity “Whatever is that cursed thing doing here? It already destroyed Equestria.” “Don’t you remember?” said Twilight “I told you, Spike and I saw the void here in this world.” Fluttershy thought, and remembered what Discord had told them as well, and how those villains that attacked Equestria mentioned how they were trying to “Destroy All Worlds!” “They must planning to destroy this world too!” said Fluttershy. The others realized she was right, and that put them back into mind of when that evil Count Logan kidnapped Celestia and Luna, stating that he wished to use them and their powers to destroy worlds. Their anger began to flame up. “You don’t suppose that creep is somewhere in this world, do you?” asked Rainbow “Because if he is, when I find him… I’ll… I’LL…!!” she couldn’t find the right words to say to describe the kind of punishment she wished to inflict on Logan for what he and his minions had done! “So it’s settled then…” said Twilight, “Does anypony disagree?” She looked at all her friends, but not one of them objected. They all nodded with brave and stern expressions on their faces, and Rarity spoke up, “That awful Count, whoever he is shall pay dearly for his wickedness!” “Darn Tootin’!” agreed Applejack, and all the others agreed; for Equestria, and for their friends and families! “Um… where exactly should we start looking?” asked Fluttershy. “She’s right.” said Pinkie “Those bad guys could be anywhere.” She looked behind her at a simple trashcan and nervously pulled the lid off to find it was totally empty. “Whew!” she sighed. “If only we hadn’t lost the Elements of Harmony.” said Rarity. “Twilight, can’t you seek out the dark magic?” Twilight felt her broken horn, “I don’t know if I can.” She shut her eyes and concentrated hard, but her horn just gave off several sparks of lightning, and in a small POW, Twilight was thrown back hard into a wall! “Twilight…! Are you okay?” cried Cadance. “I’m fine, but I was afraid of that.” said Twilight “With my horn broken, my magic pretty much worthless.” “I don’t think it would matter even if it weren’t broken.” said Cadance “I remember when I tried to look into Count Logan’s heart, there was such a massive burst of dark power that blocked me out. I never felt anything like it. It’s probably got something to with that book he has.” “The Dark Prognosticus…” Twilight muttered, and she began to ponder about it again, still astonished to find that it was real, and frightened to see how much power it really had, if it could destroy whole worlds like that! She also remembered reading about the seconds spell book; The Light Prognosticus. If the Dark one was real, then surely the second book had to be real as well… …but where was it? Regardless of all this, the friends decided the best and only way to get anything done was just go out there and start looking! The four ponies with wings flew up high. Twilight carried Pinkie on her back and Cadance carried Applejack, while Rarity simply used her magic to lift herself up high, which was like flying. They were very careful to keep out of sight so that no human would see them, fearing it still was not quite safe to be seen yet and unable to know if they humans could be trusted… …But someone did notice them. The ponies had no way of knowing they were in fact in Jump City That stranger, with The Light Prognosticus, was sitting up on a rooftop studying the book, when the books suddenly began to resonate. “What?” he snapped softly to himself “The book has begun to resonate?” That’s when the ponies flew high up, over the roof of the building he was on. He saw them, but they hadn’t seen him. He kept on viewing them until they had gone out of sight, and he noted their unusual coloring. “Those creatures…” he whispered “They are not of this world. Could they possibly be the third team?” He didn’t know. The book stopped glowing, and the stranger combed through the pages to read all the passages he could, and he found yet a new passage that was not there before; a small layer of text within the pages were glowing brightly as the stranger now seemed able to translate the passage. “Teams of three come from worlds of two, but by the twists of fate, they shall all collide in one place.”   The stranger pondered deeply. This was not truly the answer he had sought, but it was beginning to look as if it fate was shining on him. Those pony-like creatures he had just seen, as well as remembering the Titans and the Doom Patrol, “Perhaps they are the chosen teams; the ones that I seek whom can help aid me in my quest, but how can I be certain?” He decided that he would have to observe the three teams, starting with those ponies. So he silently slipped off after them, but kept well out of sight. Meanwhile, The Titans and the Doom Patrol were training hard in the tower gym. Cyborg was punching a huge and thick punching bag which Robot-Man held, so they both could build up strength and endurance. Robin was sparing with Mento on the wrestling match, so they could both beef up their moves. “Ha! You’ve gotten soft since I last saw you, kid.” said Mento. “Wait until I get going.” Teased Robin. Raven and Negative-Man both meditated to building up their dark powers. And Starfire, she was skeet shooting to work on her aim and strengthen here power and speed. Terra levitated many small rocks for her to shoot, which also helped her strengthen her own power as well due to her lack of using it for so long, but Starfire went crazy at the rocks, rapidly firing so many shots, blasting all the rocks to gravel while roaring like a tiger. She was very emotionally disturbed by the loss of her planet, but that was expected. Finally, she got so out of control that she misfired a few shots and almost hit the others while they trained. “Star…!” Cyborg called. “Watch it!” thundered Negative-Man. It wasn’t until Elasti-Girl enlarged her hand and grabbed Starfire, “Star… Starfire! Enough!” she called “Calm down! Just calm down…!” Starfire caught her breath and she was calm. She apologized to everyone, “I am very sorry. Please forgive me!” No one said a thing, understanding her pain, and at least no one was hurt. “I think that’s enough training for now.” Robin said. Mento agreed, “Let’s take a break.” They all headed to the lounge for some refreshments, but everyone was silent. What was there to say? So much horror was happening out there, and the void in the sky was still growing. Robin and Mento were both anxiously waiting for the villains to make a move; they were both starting to work up nervous sweats. Raven was still highly worried, fearing the training they had just done, although it would help them a bit, would it really work on such powerful foes? She didn’t bother say anything about it, but she then noticed Terra sitting quietly by herself at the other end of the room, near the capsule with Beast Boy’s frozen body inside. The covers were still on, and yet she looked as if she could see right through the plating at the lifeless body inside. The teams had still not prepared to bury him yet, not with such a big emergency on their hands, but still, it was hard to have the capsule in the tower like that. Tears were falling down Terra’s cheeks, splashing against the heart-shaped mirror-box she clutched in her hands. Raven approached her and held out a box of tissues to her. “I never could stand to see a girl cry.” she said trying to be friendly. Terra took a tissue, dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. “It just never stops hurting.” she said “I try to be good. I try to make things, and others suffer because of me.” Much as Raven wanted to tell her otherwise, she couldn’t blame her for talking like that. “I know how you feel. I wish things could’ve been different too.” She wasn’t trying to be sympathetic out of pity, she really meant it. Ever since she had heard Beast Boy had died she felt very remorseful for all the mean things she ever said to him and the harsh ways she had acted which lead to the big fight and his running away. Terra just looked more upset than ever, and took another tissue to dab her ever tearful eyes. Although she knew very well it wasn’t a good idea to ask, Raven wanted to know, “Terra… what exactly happened between you and Beast Boy?” Terra looked at her with a mix of shocked and sadness. It hurt her so much to remember what she had done and she tried to find her courage to say it. “I… well, we…eh…” Suddenly, the computer alarm sounded, “Heads up! We’ve got something!” said Robin. “What is it?” asked Elasti-Girl, and she and everyone else hurried to the computer where Robin and Mento were. Areas of the city were flashing red indicating destruction. Starfire looked out the window and saw big flames and chaotic energy waves emitting from the city. “It is them! They have returned!” she said fiercely. “Well, what are we waitin’ for!” said Cyborg. “Let’s go pound these creeps into dust!” added Robot-Man Robin and Mento agreed. “Titans, Go!” “Doom Patrol, Move out!” As they all headed out the door, Terra snapped on her goggles, and then took a moment to speak to the capsule, to Beast Boy’s body, “I’m doing this is for you!” As for the stranger, he had lost sight of the ponies as it was hard to keep a close watch on them, when suddenly, he noticed all the explosions and powers emitting from the city. “No!” he cried “They are back! I shall have to deal with them first and then see to the three teams.” > Confrontation > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER TEN The ponies were flying high up over the city, and not a soul had noticed them. They had been flying for a really long time, and were starting to get tired. “I cannot… keep my magic up… much longer!” panted Rarity. “We must’ve combed over every square inch of this city.” said Rainbow “Maybe we should just set down.” Everyone else agreed, and as the flyers began to descend, they could see the explosions and shockwaves erupting from below. “What’s going on down there?” asked Cadance. “It looks like the fourth of July.” said Pinkie, but that earned her a scornful look from the others, but as Twilight looked down again she recognized the plasma energy, the lightning, the flames…! “It’s them!” Twilight snapped “It’s Count Logan’s minions!” The ponies’ features hardened, “We found ‘em! Now let’s go get ‘em!” said Applejack.  “Oh, dear…!” Fluttershy murmured, but she followed the others down, down towards the city below. When suddenly, there was a huge, fiery explosion from a building-- most likely caused by Pyrus and her flame power. The flames shot so high, like a huge cannon firing, that shot straight past the ponies and causing them to lose balance. “WHOA!!” cried Twilight. She tried her hardest, but couldn’t hold her balance, nor could the others and they all began to plummet down hard like crashing planes. “MAYDAY!! MAYDAY…!!” Rainbow shouted. Fluttershy shut her eyes tight, “Tell me when it’s over!” All Rarity could do was scream, “I’m too BEAUTIFUUUUUUUUL!!” as she and her friends plummeted down, down, down, and crashed down somewhere on the far side of the city.   Meanwhile, Count Logan’s minions were really making trouble, and causing more damage than ever and killing so many people. Kamica gave her sword a huge swing, and slaughtered so many people-- SPLEET!! Blood and guts spewed all over as the people keeled over. Kamica merely snuffed. Sir. Elik fired massive lightning bolts, blowing up cars, buildings and breaking up the streets, and Pyrus drew in a huge breath and unleashed her flames on more people, roasting them to ashes, and blowing up more buildings toppling them over like burning dominoes. “I like ‘em fiery.” she hissed, and then she saw none other than Jackie and Jillian. The two nasty girls were quivering with fear as they gazed at the evil sorceress. “Stay away from us!” snarled Jackie. “We mean it, you freak!” added Jillian. Pyrus narrowed her eyes at them, not liking their insulting her. She watched as the two girls ran up the burning the streets, and once they were far out, she conjured two seeking flame-balls in her hands and sent them after the rude girls; hitting them and blowing them up like bombs. “Well, I stayed away at least.” she teased. The three villains regrouped in the streets. “I think that should do It.” said Elik, “The Titans must surely be on their way by now.” “Wrong!” shouted Robin, “We’re here!” The villains turned and saw the Titans and the Doom Patrol, Terra too, standing together and staring them all down. Kamica snickered, “Like moths to the flame.” “Good one.” said Pyrus. “You three have had it, this time!” sneered Robin. “You will pay severely for what you did to my planet, as well as all of these innocent beings!” added Starfire. Kamica yawned, “Yeah… we get told that every time, and every time it’s the same thing. We kill, we destroy then we leave-- So there.” “This is all some sick twisted game to you?” sneered Elasti-girl “Killing innocent beings, destroying whole worlds…!” Elik fired a small blast at the ground, “Enough!” he thundered, “We are merely our orders. It is what we exist for: To serve our master, and to carry out his wishes.” The heroes exchanged curious looks with one another. While no one was looking, a manhole cover by Kamica’s foot softly and silently lifted up and someone’s hand poked through softly touching her bare leg. She didn’t see, feel or know anything about it, and yet, the hand magically transformed into what appeared to be an exact copy of Kamica’s hand; her skin color, her red sleeve…   …and the hand just disappeared back down the hole still unseen by all. “And just who are you guys working for?” Mento asked. He was about to get his answer as the skies grew dark and eerie, and HE appeared on the scene. “Who’s that?” Terra asked, but the others had no idea, but Raven could see in his hands, “The Dark Prognosticus!” she cried softly. “This is our master....” said Pyrus “The deleter of worlds, the keeper of The Dark Prognosticus, and lord of all darkness everywhere: Count Logan.” “Count Logan…?” the others all thought at once, and Logan snickered at them, but then his eyes befell on Terra and he cringed softly behind his mask, which no one could see, yet, Terra looked into Logan’s eyes behind his mask and could begin to feel something odd; almost even familiar. Logan then turned to his minions, “You have done well. You may go now, have some fun, but do not destroy the planet; Not yet.” The minions bowed to him, and looked pitifully at the heroes. “It’s been fun.” said Pyrus, “Happy Screams.” teased Elik. “Ciao.” hissed Kamica, and they all vanished and were gone. A cold wind began to blow as the heroes and Logan stared each other down like cowboys prepared to draw. “So you’re the one who’s been back of all this.” said Cyborg “You’re the guy who destroyed Star’s planet, and you’re the bastard that’s blowing up Earth, created that void and is trying to kill the universe… ARE YOU (Bleeping) KIDDING ME, MAN?!” Logan stroked the tip of his can and hissed, “For someone about to cease existing, you are astonishingly perceptive.” he snickered “Yes! I admit and confess to it all.” The heroes bloods gave nasty turns, and Raven got seriously bad vibes as she tried to psychically contact the evil Count, only for the darkness to be far too strong, too deadly for her power to work. She knew this was more work of The Dark Prognosticus. It was what was making him so powerful. “I don’t know how you got that book or unlocked its power,” she hissed at him “But I won’t let you use it to destroy everything.” Logan chuckled, “I’m afraid it’s too late for that…” and he held out his hand unleashing a small wave of power that blasted Raven hard, and sent her flying backward, hard. “Raven!” cried Cyborg, and he dashed over to help her up. “You okay?” Raven wasn’t really hurt, but in shock, “His power… I’ve never felt anything like it!” “What you have felt is merely a small fraction.” said Logan “It shouldn’t have to take even half of my full potential to rid myself of you, or this miserable world!” Terra clenched her fists “You’re so sick!” she sneered at him “Why do you want to destroy the world?” “That’s something we’d all like to know!” agreed Robot-Man, and everyone else agreed. Logan laughed and replied, “Why do I want to destroy the world? It’s what I was created for. It is why I exist.” “What?” snapped Negative-Man “What do you mean it’s why you exist?” Logan just glared at him and the others sternly, especially at Terra. Elsewhere, the ponies had all crashed in a vacant lot in an, already, damaged yet deserted part of town. The impact knocked them all unconscious, and they were all starting to come to. “Is… is everypony alright?” asked Twilight. “Uhn…! Define “alright?” groaned Rainbow. “That’s the second time we’ve been conked out.” said Applejack. “You know what they say: “Third time, lucky.” said Pinkie, “Or, wait a minute… um… never mind.” Suddenly, there was a big explosion followed by the sounds of people screaming and being obviously killed. Fluttershy sick to her stomach, “If this is just some nightmare, why can’t I wake up?!” she whimpered. Cadance could suddenly hear the sound of a baby cry, and hearing it reminded her of her sweet Flurry Heart, and how she was brutally murdered. She was filled with a deep rage and took off up the street. “Cadance…!” Twilight called. “Quickly, after her!” cried Rarity, and she and the others galloped off after Cadance, jumping out into the main street where they witness Kamica striking her sword into a mother and her baby, killing them both just like that. She snickered and then licked the blade of her sword, “I love it!!” she hissed. Then suddenly, she got blasted at from behind, “What?!” she snapped as she turned, and she couldn’t believe her eyes as she saw the seven ponies standing and glaring furiously at her. “Kamica!” cried Elik, “What’s wrong?” but as he and Pyrus came up to her, they could see for themselves. “This can’t be…!” cried Pyrus. Kamica agreed, “How is it you are here? I thought I was rid of you back in Equestritack!” “That’s “Equestria!” sneered Twilight, and then she cringed sadly, “It WAS Equestria…” All her friends felt the same depression and rage as they glared the villains down. “You blood-thirsty monsters!” growled Cadance, “Where is your master, Count Logan?! ANSWER ME!!” her rage gave her an uncontrollable need to shout. “He is not here.” replied Elik, “Even if he were, he’d destroy you all just as easily as we’re going to. Those are his wishes: To destroy and kill all and we follow.” Rainbow felt sick to her stomach, “You guys really are a bunch of sickos, you know that?!” “Perhaps…” sneered Kamica, “But the facts don’t change.  We have you princesses. We have the power, and soon we will have the entire universe and the worlds under our wrath!” Pyrus nodded and added, “You seven may have been fortunate enough to survive the destruction of your world, but this is where it shall end for you!” Cadance snuffed, and reared up on her hind legs, neighing furiously as she charged forth, and the others followed her. “Ho! Is that your best?” sneered Elik, and he unleashed a wave of his lightning at the ground, blowing it up hard and sent the ponies flying up and crashing down hard before they could get close. After just that one attack, all seven ponies looked as if they had been trampled on by a heard of elephants, and they were wounded and bleeding as well. “We’re still… too weak from all that flying and falling.” said Applejack. “Ha!” scoffed Kamica, “Even at full strength you wouldn’t have a chance against us.” She and her comrades approached the fallen ponies intending to finish them off for good. Twilight tried to conjure a barrier or a spell of protection, but her broken horn only gave off a few small flickers of light; useless! “How pathetic!” sneered Pyrus “You came all this way, hunting us down, only to fail here making all your efforts in vain.” The ponies were beginning to lose consciousness again form being attacked so hard and still feeling overly-exhausted. Kamica picked Twilight up, choking her by the neck, “Now I’ll finish what I began with your horn!” She raised her sword ready for the kill, and then turned Twilight to face her friends, “Get a good look at them! It will be for the last time…!” “Twi… light…!” Cadance cried, but Elik put his huge heavy boot to her head, ready to crush her like a bug, “You’ll be joining her soon.” He hissed. “That goes for the rest of you…!” Pyrus sneered at the other ponies. Her eyes blazing with fire! But suddenly…! Powerful light blasts hit each villain, and actually knocked each villain away from the ponies. Kamica even dropped her sword as well, and as she scrambled to pick it up, a foot came down stepping on her arm. Kamica looked up and saw what appeared to be a perfect duplicate of herself, yet wearing a mask similar to Robin’s, and spoke in a deep male voice, “We meet again!” he hissed. “You…!” sneered Kamica, and that’s when the stranger kicked her hard in the face, actually hurting her and sent her rolling along the ground to where her comrades helped her up. “Who’s… that…?” Rainbow groaned. Twilight had just enough strength to say “I… can’t… tell…” and she finally passed out along with the other ponies, while the villains stared down this Kamica lookalike. Kamica held out her hand and her sword magically launched into her grip. “You’re that annoying little punk who’s been out to stop us from day one!” The stranger held his own duplicate of Kamica’s sword in his hand, and in his other hand he clutched The Light Prognosticus, “As The Light Prognosticus guides me with its wisdom and power, the day draws near when you and your evil master, Count Logan, shall answer for all the horrible things you have done! You have now met your match, you three!!” The villains did not seem a bit amused, “Come and get us!” thundered Elik, and he and his comrades launched a full barrage of their powers, but the stranger swiftly swerved and evaded each attack as he charged forth, and he gave a great swing with his own sword, striking all three villains hard, actually wounding them as sparks flew. The villains unfortunately were not wounded too badly, still very strong from the power of The Dark Prognosticus, but they were shocked that this creature actually harmed them when all else could barely lay a finger on them. “I don’t understand! He HAS become stronger!” cried Pyrus. “Heh!” the stranger scoffed, “I have also been studying. The Light Prognosticus has spoken to me, and now I know how to stop The Prophecy!” “You won’t!” shouted Elik “The Prophecy can never be stopped.” “Allow us to prove it to you!” added Pyrus, and she unleashed a wave of flames, which the stranger avoided by leaping up high and then tackling her hard into an alley where they both went out of sight. The two creatures growled and hit each other hard. Small flames light up the alley walls where the shadows of the two brawling were shown, Suddenly, Pyrus and the creature tackled each other out of the alley, only the stranger now had copied Pryus’ form. “Can’t you try anything original?” Pyrus snarled, “No one likes a wannabee.” The stranger only responded by throwing fireballs at her, which dodged, and Elik the charged at the strange, and the two engaged in a fist struggle, pushing at one another hard, and Elik shocked the creature hard, harming him greatly making him back off, and Kamica gave him a hi-jump kick to the gut sending him crashing right through the brick-wall of a building. “Take that!” Kamica thundered. “Is he down?” asked Pyrus. Elik moved in closer towards the mountain of bricks and rubble to take a closer look, and as he gazed in closer, a large hand suddenly grabbed his wrist, followed by a magic-flash. That’s when the stranger burst through the rubble, now as Elik. “You should never underestimate your opponent.” The stranger hissed, and he fired a barrage of lightning bolts at the villains, striking them all mercilessly and making sparks and explosions all around them. The villains were starting to actually be weakening and realized for once, the battle could not be won. “Insolent pest!” thundered Elik, “You haven’t seen the last of us!” The girls nodded in agreement, and all three villains vanished and were gone, much to the chagrin of the stranger, but now was not the time to worry about it. He looked over at the unconscious ponies, and he knew what he had to do. Then he noticed the darkness far over the other end of the city. “Logan…!” As the dark clouds overhead became more eerie, Logan basked in the darkness as he explained his supposed reasons for wanting to destroy all worlds. “Everything that exists has a purpose, but if there is one same purpose that everything has, it is to meet its end. All living beings eventually die, and a new generation is born only to meet the same fate and the cycle of life continues and repeats.” He then quoted a passage from his book… “A darkened soul shall be chosen to fulfil the prophecies, and bring forth the chaos and destruction!”     “And I suppose you are that darkened soul?” Mento asked. Logan nodded while snickering, and he pointed up at the void through the darkness. “Even as we speak, more and more worlds are meeting their ends and each and every world I destroy increases my power! Soon, all worlds will meet their ends, so as is written in The Dark Prognosticus! It cannot be stopped!” Robin had heard enough, “Oh, yes it can!” he sneered, “’CAUSE I’LL MAKE IT STOP!!!” and he charged forth with his staff ready, but Logan’s eyes glowed brightly and he, telekinetically, lifted Robin. “Robin!!” cried Starfire. Logan then clenched his hand softly, and Robin began to groan, feeling as if his bones were being crushed from the inside, and then in a swift flick, Logan threw him hard against the wall, knocking him unconscious. “No! Robin!” Starfire cried. “You!!” she thundered at Logan and fired the biggest ray from her eyes that she could, but Logan merely shielded himself with his cape, and then flapped it hard repelling the blast back at her and the others, “Look out!” cried Terra, and she and the others hit the ground letting the blast fly past them, deep into town where it exploded and caused much damage and killed more people. The heroes all looked in awe and fear, “I can’t believe he just did that!” cried Negative-Man! “Fools…!” Logan sneered “Your pitiful hero resources cannot weaken me! My powers are too great and growing ever stronger still! With The Dark Prognosticus by my side, no creature can even hope to conquer me!” With that, before anyone could react, Logan began to unleash his wrath on them. He started by glowing in dark energy, and then stretched out swiftly, unleashing the wave upon the two teams, and knocking them all back hard. “Let’s get him!” shouted Mento, the heroes agreed and all rushed forth, but Logan effortlessly swerved and dodged their every lunge at him, and punched and kicked them all hard. “Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!!” Raven thundered as she fired a huge burst of dark light at Logan, but he took one wave of his cane and redirected the magic back at Raven, creating a big explosion that really knocked her out and hurt some of the others too. “He’s beating us so easily!” cried Robot-Man. “Our training didn’t help at all!” cried Terra. “Keep trying!” shouted Elasti-Girl, and she grew into a giant and tried to stomp on Logan like a grape, but Logan effortlessly held her massive foot up with his bare hands, and gave her a huge push, toppling her over onto her back hard. The heroes continued to bravely fight, but Logan fought back ruthlessly and attacked them all so hard, injuring them mercilessly. However, he didn’t seem to attack Terra at all. If anything, he wasn’t even trying to go after her… until he finally hard her cornered-- backed up against a wall. Terra tried to use her powers to crumple the wall and burry him under the rubble, but Logan held his hand up over his head, and all the bricks were vaporized into nothingness before they could touch him. “I told you, it is futile to resist my power.” He began to move towards her, and the others were too injured to get up and help her. “Terra…!” cried Cyborg “Get out of there!” but there was nowhere for Terra to go. “What are you doing?” Terra whimpered as she looked up into Logan’s fearsome eyes behind his mask. Logan pointed his cane threateningly at her and glared furiously at her, almost as if just looking at her was enraging or hurting him. She could even see this. Logan then lowered his cane, “I wish you unharmed. Instead you will be coming with me.” “What?” snapped Terra “Where are you taking me?” He didn’t answer her, but just raised the book and opened it, and just like before, he captured Terra in a wave of dark flashes and she was sucked into the pages of the book. Logan snapped the book shut, and closed his eyes really tight, struggling with the emotions that were clouding him! The heroes noted this, but they all just lay on the ground, bruised, scratched, bleeding softly, and slowly losing consciousness. There was not much they could do at all. Logan caught hold of him and turned to face the fallen heroes, “And now I end your suffering, and exact my revenge…!” He raised his cane, and the tip was glowing brighter and brighter as he prepared for the final attack!! The heroes finally passed out in hopelessness, surrendering to their fate. “BEGONE!!!” Logan thundered, and he blasted them all so hard that the very city shook violently. Logan stood where he was panting softly and stressfully, but he felt rather great having blasted that much power out. However, when the smoke from the blast had cleared, “What?!” he thundered “Where did they go?!” The entire area was completely leveled; all the buildings had fallen, the roads were all busted up, and yet there was not a trace of the heroes anywhere. Not even one fragment of a bone, let alone dead corpses anywhere. There was no doubt in Logan’s mind, they had somehow escaped, and he had a feeling he knew whom was behind this! His theory was answered as he looked up in the darkened sky to see a right star zooming away and out into space. This star was in fact a massive starship. It was saucer shaped, and was two stories high, and capable of incredible hyper-speeds to sail the cosmos faster than many things. This super ship was owned and piloted by that stranger whom had nearly trounced Logan’s minions. He had quickly beamed the unconscious heroes onboard his ship just in time, and they along with the unconscious ponies, were all lying in the lower lounge of the ship, strapped to special beds that helped heal their injuries. The stranger sat at the controls located on the upper-level as he piloted his ship as far away from Earth and out of the Solar System, but he looked back at Earth and the void declaring, “Once again we are all safe, to fight you another day, Count Logan!” Logan stood where he was, and while he was outraged that the heroes actually escaped him, he remained calm and decided to let them run. “As long as the Prophecy continues, they will soon discover there is no place they can run to.” He looked up at the void, which was still expanding. Logan gripped his cane fercily, cringing with anger, “I will make them all suffer… the same way that I suffer every single day!” Then he vanished and was gone! > Written in Here > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER ELEVEN Twilight was roaming about in chaos and darkness all over, exactly like n her nightmares from before. “What am I doing here?” she asked “I’ve had this nightmare before! Why am I still having it?” She didn’t get an answer, but all she could hear was that same eerie voice. “I am returning! I will destroy…!” She was confused. Equestria had already been destroyed, yet that voice was still calling to her. “I am returning! I will destroy…!” “That voice…!” Twilight said softly “That’s not Count Logan’s voice.” That’s she turned round and saw a massive force of glowing dark power swirling and sparkling behind her. That same voice that called to her was laughing wicked. “Who are you?” Twilight demanded. “What do you think I am?” the voice hissed at her, and then the force lunged at her! Everything flashed white… …and she woke up; bolted upright in a small gasp. She then realized she was in a small bed, in a big round room and all her injures had healed, though her horn was still broken. Her gasp woke up Robin. “What!” he shouted and he realized he was in a soft bed in a big round room where all the others were still asleep, including strange pony-like creatures. All their injuries, as well as his own were healed completely. Then he looked to the bed next to him, straight at Twilight. “Who are you?” he asked “What are you?” Twilight felt very awkward, “Um… Hi, I’m… Twilight Sparkle.” she said extending her hoof, but Robin didn’t take it, not knowing if he should. “Are you working with Count Logan?” he asked. “You know Count Logan?” Twilight asked. The two began to realize maybe they were not enemies of each other. “Robin…?” Starfire groaned as she began to awaken. Robin hopped out of his bed and went to her side, “Star… wake up.” All the others began to awaken softly. “Man! What’s going on?” asked Robot-Man. “Are we, dead?” asked Pinkie Pie. “No, you are all very much alive.” said a voice from a corner of the room. Everyone looked and saw a strange creature standing in the darkness. “Who are you?” Elasti-Girl asked. The stranger stepped forth cautioning everyone, “No need to be excited. I am a friend.” He stepped completely into the light to reveal his true self, and the others gawked in awe, especially Starfire, “Robin…?” “That’s not me, Star.” Robin said. This creature had a strong resemblance to Robin’s face. He ever wore a mask identical to his and had the same hairstyle too; only he was a half-man and half catlike creature. His arms and legs were covered in black fur. His chest was bear, yet his collar and neck were furry too. Instead of human ears, he had two cat ears atop his head, and he even had a long black catlike tail in back of him. He then walked over to Twilight, held up a book that she recognized from her history tome. The stranger than reached out his hand towards her head, and his hand began to glow with a sparkling light as small sparkling flakes seemed to envelope Twilight’s broken horn, magically restoring it to full normality. “My horn!” she cried “You fixed my horn!” The others all gazed in awe, and the ponies were delighted for Twilight. “Who are you?” asked Robin. “My name is Copione. In simple Earth English, my name means “Copycat.” I have been observing you all for some time. I brought you here to treat your wounds and to keep you safe.” “Wounds…?” said Mento, and he remembered, “Count Logan! He attacked us…!” Fluttershy gasped, “I remember. We faced his minions!” The other ponies remembered as well, and Copione nodded, “Yes, you were all attacked. You are very lucky I acted when I had, or you all would have surely been destroyed. That is another reason I brought you all here.” “And just where is “here?” Raven asked. She and the others looked past the big stone columns of the room and realized they were no longer on Earth, but a whole new world, similar to Earth. It had vast fields of green grass, forests, villages with huts and marble buildings, where many more catlike aliens were all going about, and all of them were wearing masks like Robin’s, and all their fur coats were different colors. One of the oddest things was this planet had no daylight. Reason being: It orbited the star of its system from a far distance, much like the planet Neptune. So it was always as dark and starry as night. The planet maintained warmth due to its softer mantle and heat from the core, and unlike Earth plant life, the plant life on this world didn’t require as much sunlight. “This is The Planet Psyconia, my home-world.” Copione explained, and he opened up the book he held in his hands which magically showed them what had happened. “Before Count Logan and his minions could finish you all, I transported you all aboard my starship, and flew you here, millions of lightyears from your galaxy. We will all be safe here for some time.” Twilight then gazed at the book, “Could it be?” she asked aloud. Copione looked at her and approached her softly, “You are correct, Twilight Sparkle. This is The Light Prognosticus. I must say, I am astonished to finally learn of its origin, in Equestria.” “Okay, whoa, backup a minute here.” snapped Rainbow “How do you know about Equestria.” “Yo’ what the hell is Equestria?” asked Cyborg. “There’s a Light Prognostiucs now?” wondered Raven. “Why are we all here again?” added Negative-Man, and everyone kept blabbing out more and more questions by the second, forcing Copione to whistle loudly to silence them. “I will answer your questions as best I can, but you all must realize that time is of the essence as well.” Everyone quieted down and gave him their undivided attention. “Good…” he said and he began to explain, starting with his race. “We, “The Psyconians.” are a race of gentle creatures that dedicate ourselves to the art of learning. We study, we observe, we explore, and teach to others. It makes us one of the wiser known races of the universe, and even we ourselves do not know everything. That is impossible for any creature or any race to know, regardless of their abilities.” He then spoke of Psyconians and their abilities. “While each of my people is different in their own ways, each is born with one of many astonishing gifts. However, once every thousand years, a special super-psyconian is born, that possesses all the gifts, and I am he.” One of my abilities is shapeshift.” He demonstrated this ability by walking up to Raven. “I will not harm you.” He assured her, and he softly laid his hand on her cheek, and in a soft flash he had copied her exact form, except for his mask and his voice. Everyone gazed in awe. “Well I’ll be a son of a prairie-chicken.” exclaimed Applejack. Copione nodded and explained, “I am able to copy certain creatures, and in the case of any of you, I will also gain your astonishing abilities as well.” He demonstrated by raised his hand, using Raven’s powers to shift all the bed covers around. “That’s… actually amazing.” Raven said. She was starting to catch a soft interest in this creature. “If I wish to copy another form, I must first revert back into my normal state.” he demonstrated this by transforming back to normal at will. “I am only able to copy other forms by touch, and some creatures I cannot copy. Their power may be too great, or they may too massive for me to handle. I am not able to copy ordinary objects.” Rarity gawked at him, and he turned and smiled at her, “Yes, Rarity… just like the Changelings from your world.” Rarity blinked in shock, “But… but I didn’t say anything.” “No, but you thought it.” “Wait, you can read minds, too?” asked Mento. “Yes.” replied Copione, “It is an ability I possess and that some of my people poses as well: Psychic Foresight. We can read minds, we can also see through darkness and tough visibility, and it also can warn us in times of imminent danger about to befall us. Rainbow, feeling cocky picked up her pillow to throw it at him, just to test, and surely enough, he sensed it coming and he caught it effortlessly. “I hope you are convinced now.” Rainbow giggled nervously. Copione tossed her pillow back to her. “As powerful as my foresight is, overusing it can cause weariness and fatigue. It is important that I meditate and refrain from overusing it much.” Raven couldn’t believe this, “He’s psychic and he meditates too? This guy sounds… almost perfect.”   Copione turned to look at her, having heard what she thought and he smiled at her, causing her to blush. The other heroes and the ponies didn’t have to be psychic to tell what was blooming here. Copione cleared his throat and went to explain his remaining abilities: His tail gave him flight capabilities, like a propeller, and he also possessed X-Men like claws that sprung out from his knuckles to use for combat. “That’s amazing.” said Robin “It’s like you have the power of an entire arsenal in you.” Twilight agreed, “I’ve never known of a creature with so many specialties before.” “Thank you for those assessments.” replied Copione. He then gazed down at The Light Prognosticus, and Twilight asked, “How exactly did you get that book?” All the others wished to know that, and more about the book and the way it worked. Copione was obliged to explain. “The Light Prognosticus has existed on Psyconia for many centuries. It was discovered by my ancestors, but until now it was unknown how it came to our planet or who created it.” This made Twilight understand now of what she read in her history book. “It was said that, the two forces of Light and Darkness collided, and the books were never found.” “That is the answer.” agreed Copione “The collision of the two forces was strong, it had transported the two tomes across dimensions. The Light Prognostics came here to my planet.” “And The Dark Prognosticus ended up in Trigon’s possession.” added Raven. Copione agreed, “And now, Count Logan has it, and he is using it to obliterate all worlds! That fiend…!” He looked rather furiously, almost ready for a fight. “Who knows what the villainous creature is up to, even as we speak!” Meanwhile, Terra awoke to find herself behind bars, a prisoner within Count Logan’s lair. “Where am I?” she wondered. The bars were solid, made of a kind of metal she had never seen before. She couldn’t break them by brute force. She then tried to use her powers to move the stone floor and shake the bars loose, but nothing happened. “My power…!” she cried, “Is completely useless, my dear.” hissed a voice. That’s when Logan appeared before her. “You…!” Logan snickered, “Glad you could join me. You’ve been personally invited to have a front row seat to watch all worlds fall.” He raised his cane over and showed Terra magical yet horrifying images…! Logan’s minions were roaming about all over the universe, now blasting whole planets to dust and killing all life on them instantly. “My minions have grown much stronger now.” hissed Logan, and he motioned behind him “Thanks to them…!” the back room lit up showing the two royal sisters, bound to the devices that sapped their powers. They were both unconscious from being sapped so hard and painfully for so long. Logan chuckled, “Their power does me and my forces great! We now have the fire power to make whole galaxies fall ever so much faster.” He showed Terra more images. Celestia, being able to control stars, like she could the sun, her power was being used to manipulate the stars of the galaxies. They were being shifted and moved; causing the planets that orbited them to fly out into space where they were eventually destroyed, and all life on any planet were indicated, assuming they had already frozen due to lack of sunlight. Luna, with her powers of darkness, she helped to accelerate the expansion of the void so it could consume whole worlds faster than ever before, and the dimensions beyond, Thus, strengthening Logan and his wicked forces. By this time, about a third of the entire universe would be wiped out soon, and the rest was sure to follow until nothing would remain! Terra was very livid, “You’re a monster!” she growled “You’ve killed so many people! You’re brining nothing but pain and suffering to all!” Logan narrowed his eyes, and then he walked magically through the bars and into the cell with Terra, glaring at her deeply. “I am doing as I was created for.” and he held up the book “These are the wishes of The Dark Prognosticus. I serve it…!” he then seemed rather down, “This is my fate. The price I had to pay for the way things were. The way I suffered!” He shut his eyes very tightly as his emotions began to grip at him again, like a burning flame hurting him from within. "...I have no choice. If I don't do it... the power will make me! It is that simple!" Terra couldn’t believe how he was behaving, like he actually regretted what he was doing. Suddenly, as Logan clutched his face area, his mask slipped off and landed by Terra’s feet, exposing his face to her, and she gasped in extreme shock. “I… I can’t… it’s not possible!” she cried “You can’t be…!” Logan levitated his mask back to him and put it back on, “In way I am, and in another way I am not… …But perhaps now you understand…!” Terra, gawking at him wide-eyed as he looked out the window of Terra’s cell which showed images of the world’s decaying rather than the realm outside the lair. As Logan looked out, a dark music began to play And he began to sing… The world is worthless, the world is shameful And I have no use for any of its existence It brings me only pain… I whom am embodied by the darkness Bringing forth this chaos and the fear No matter what I must think, I know my fate is… written in here It’s all quite clear. He held the book right up to Terra, “You see,” he said “The choice is not mine.” This book, it rules, and it will triumph, And there is naught in this or any world can stop it! The damage has been done… All that I can do is to make the most of things Making every world disappear Why feel any remorse at all, when destiny is… written in here. Do you not see? It’s how things will be. Follow the laws, …Because… …It’s written… in… here…! The poor Count placed his hand flat against the wall of the cell. His eyes were shut tight as he felt the deep remorse get to him, and Terra… she couldn’t seem to feel as livid with him as  she could before, especially now that she understood how and why this was all happening. “It doesn’t have to be like this.” she said, trying to convince him “You’ve got to have hope! You can end all this and things will be alright.” Logan turned and sneered at her, “Weren’t you listening to what I just said? There is no way to stop this now. The prophecy has been set in motion. It must continue!” he paused, “Besides, why should I quit anyway? I’ve come this far already…” He turned to walk back through the bars and out of the cell, “No!” Terra cried “Don’t do this to you! Destiny is never written in stone. Things can change.” Hearing that angered him deeply, “That’s rich coming from you, but you are correct. Things Change… the one you want me to be is just a memory.” Terra felt hurt hearing that, and tears of guilt were filling in her eyes, but it was in vain that she tried to reason with him at all. “I am Count Logan: Deleter of worlds and embodiment of Darkness. I can never go back to the way I once was! My fate is written in the Dark Prognosticus-- a slave to its master! I was chosen by it to fulfil its prophecies and destroy all worlds! …NOTHING MORE!” Those awful words stuck Terra hard in her aching heart. “Enjoy what little time you have left.” Logan hissed to her, “For once all the worlds have been obliterated… YOU… are next!” Terra’s stomach churned, and the evil Count laughed maliciously as he vanished with his voice echoing in the darkness. Overwhelmed with grief, guilt, and fear, Terra fell to her knees and began to weep. “I’m sorry!” she sobbed “I’m so sorry! I never meant for any of this to happen!” She cried, and cried and finally cried herself to sleep on the bail of straw in her cold, dark cell. She awoke much later, and found to her dismay the whole thing was no nightmare. She was still there, in her cell, the worlds were still being wiped out, and outside her cell the two sisters remained bound to the machine that was still sapping their powers. Their eyes began to open as they found strength enough to awaken. Celestia gazed over at the heartbroken girl in the cell ahead. “How can someone so young bear so many burdens?” she asked to her. Terra was amazed, “You… you both can talk?” “Yes, and we can also listen.” replied Luna “You wouldn’t know, but we heard everything between you and Count Logan.” Terra shook her head, “Look, I really don’t want to talk about it. It’s too painful.” “What is your name?” asked Celestia. She hesitated, “People just call me “Terra.” “You know, Terra, a good lesson in friendship is that it’s never a good thing to keep troubles to yourself. They will only cause you more pain, and no one will be able to help you.” Terra knew this all too well; all the secrets she had ever kept to herself caused much pain to herself and those around her, but still, “How can friendship possibly help now? How can anything help now?” she asked. The sisters, although deeply in agreement with her given the current circumstances, Luna said “Sometimes, it helps to believe. Perhaps it will help more if you explain to us your troubles.” Terra wasn’t sure if talking about it would really help, and she wouldn’t get the chance to find out…! “SILENCE…!!” Nekard shouted as he appeared within the dungeon, and fired up the machine, shocking the sisters making them scream in pain! “NO!! STOP THAT!!” Terra shouted. Nekard stopped and then turned to glare sourly at her, “For the benefits of our newest captive; in my dungeon, Prisoners should be seen AND NOT HEARD!!” Terra gulped hard fearing what tortures would befall her, but Nekard assured her, “Why Count Logan wishes you unharmed further confirms my suspicion of him.” and he silently thought so as not to give himself away, “It will only make it all the greater when I get through with him!” > Hope for the World > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER TWELVE Back on Psyconia, Fluttershy asked to Copione, “Um… you said that book was in your family  a long time” “Oh, yes… pardon me.” said Copione, and he went on explaining. “The Light Prognosticus has been passed down within my family through the generations. For all that time it was studied, and fascinated by many, but not even the smartest of Psyconians were able to understand what it was, or what it was for. No one was able to even read the Ancient Equestrian text written within, having never seen it before. As such, the book was kept well-guarded, and never used or understood… until recently. The powers slowly began to awaken, and I was soon able to actually to translate the ancient text within. It was as if the book were magically awakening, and choosing me as its holder or guardian. As I studied the book constantly, I began to uncover more and more passages, and with that I was bestowed with great power drawn from the magic of Light dwelling within the pages. This enhanced my natural abilities many fold, and also granted me extraordinary magic to use in battle. The Light Prognosticus: Its purpose is to counter and fight The Dark One, and it appears to be the only weapon that is able to stand up to the evil that is, even now, obliterating all worlds as we speak.” His features the hardened, “Count Logan and his followers; they will never cease until they obliterated every inch of the universe, and they will not hesitate to skewer anyone that dares get in their way. I know this because my parents fought against the villains while seeking out answers to The Light Prognosticus and its secrets.” He opened the book and waved his hand over it showing past images of his parents, brave Psycnonians, flying in their starship thought he cosmos, when the void suddenly appeared, and transported them to an alternate, dark dimension. “Wow!” cried Rainbow, “So the void’s not just any black hole, it’s a portal gateway too?” “Yes.” replied Copione, “It is within that ever expanding force of destruction my parents discovered the domain of Count Logan and his evil minions.” Everyone looked at the images of a large, dark castle in a realm composed entirely of darkness, chaos, small flashes of lightning. Fluttershy almost wanted to hide under her bedcovers in fear of such darkness. “Hey, I bet that castle is where he took Terra.” said Cyborg. “And Princess Celestia and Luna as well.” added Twilight. The images continued: The starship got nearer and nearer to the castle, only to then realize that the castle was mounted with special and powerful laser beams that blasted at the ship hard. With the ship going down, Copione’s parents were only able to teleport The Light Prognosticus back to Psyconia and to their son, as they were not able to teleport themselves. The ship exploded, and the parents were lost! Copione snapped the book shut, cringing deeply, but remaining calm. “Oh, you poor dear!” cried Rarity. “I’m ever so sorry!” added Elasti-Girl. “Thank you…” said Copione. He was still horribly enraged, but spoke calmly, “Count Logan destroyed my parents, and I seek vengeance, as well as justice for those e he and his wicked forces have slaughtered! I dedicated myself all this past time studying and training hard under the guidance of The Light Prognosticus, I became stronger and more skillful than ever, and I also discovered there is but one way to stop all the evil and restore what was destroyed to its normality.” Everyone began to feel hope returning to them. “You mean, we can get our worlds back?” asked Twilight, “And all who were destroyed as well?” Copione nodded. Starfire almost leapt out of bed, “I shall have my planet back!” Pinkie Pie leapt for joy too, “We can restore Equestria, too!” All the others seemed raring and edging to fight for the worlds. It was at that moment The Light Prognosticus began to glow brightly, softly levitating, it went around the room softly hovering over every one of the others, basking them all in bright light before going back into Copione’s hands. “Um… what was that?” asked Robot-Man, but Copione gazed down at the book and up at the others with glee, “I was correct! You ARE the chosen ones!” “Chosen ones?” asked Raven. Copione explained that in his studies he had learned of three Legendary Teams, “I had left Psyconia and came to Earth where it was believed I would find these teams to help aid me in my quest against Count Logan and his evil forces.” One-by-One he gazed at each team and compared them to their respective passage. The Doom Patrol: “-One Team of “Great Strength.”   The Ponies: “–One Team of “Heart and Soul.”   The Titans: “-One Team of “Righteousness and Truth.” “Together, they shall band and fight against the Prophecy of Darkness. That is what is foretold, and the way you are now all dedicated in this quest, The Light Prognosticus recognizes you as the chosen ones to aid me. It has bestowed upon you amazing powers that will become clear to you in time.” The others all could hardly believe this, and while they didn’t feel any different than they had before all of this was becoming too incredible to be true. Coponie then stepped before Robin, “I realize we have only just met and this is all so sudden, but you must trust in me and in The Light Prognosticus. The fate of all that is and all that ever will be now rests on our shoulders. …Will you join me in this conquest against our enemies?” Robin didn’t have to think for a moment, “You got it!” he said shaking his hand, and all the Titans agreed. “That goes for us too.” Mento added, and his team agreed. “Count us in too!” said Twilight, and the ponies all agreed as well, even Fluttershy. Copione was very pleased in his new aliens. He then looked through the columns and up at the sky. There was no sign of the void anywhere, yet. “While The Light Prognosticus will shield this planet from a direct assault form Count Logan’s forces, once the void reaches here, this world will fall too. We must begin training and preparations immediately if there is to be any hope.” The others couldn’t agree more. Meanwhile, Logan and his minions were wreaking much chaos and destruction upon the universe. Kamica gave a huge swing with her sword, slicing and entire planet in half. Pyrus blasted her flames into a bright star, causing it overheat and explode, wiping out the system of planets that orbited it just like that, and Sir. Elik cast his lightning storms all over, blowing planets to dust and destroying the stars instantly. Thanks to Celestia and Luna’s power aiding them, whole galaxies were falling fast, and the void was ever expanding, wiping out more and more every second! “Yes!” Logan hissed, “Destroy it! Destroy it all!” and he let out a loud roar as he raised his cane up high and unleash a big wave of energy that spring out like ripples on a pond, that stretched a long, long way, obliterating all planets stars and others things its path. He then panted stressfully, and felt and looked more exhausted and agitated than satisfied, much to the concern of his minions. “Count, are you alright?” asked Kamica. “You wiped out one tenth of an entire galaxy with that blast!” added Elik. Logan caught his breath and softly murmured “I am alright. I am fine.” “Are you sure?” asked Pyrus “You seemed awfully disturbed.” “I said I am fine!” Logan sneered softly, making his minions wince. “Forgive me. I just really wish for these useless worlds to be destroyed quickly.” He then silently thought to himself, “The sooner they are gone the better, and I won’t have to deal with his unbearable shame and suffering I feel!” The minions were worried. Their master had been acting rather peculiar ever since he had captured the Earth girl that was now locked up in their castle! “Perhaps he’s upset that the heroes escaped?” Kamicia whispered. “Or maybe that those seven ponies survived as well.” added Elik. “Shh, he’ll hear us!” snapped Pryus, but Logan had already heard their muttering, “I know perfectly well where they are, and know exactly what they are up to.” “Then why not go after them and smash them all to bits?” asked Kamica. “We won’t have to,” replied Logan “They’ll come to us. After all, we have the bait.” he was referring to Terra and the two sisters locked up in the castle. “Try as they will, all they’re hopes are in vain. No one defies the will of The Dark Prognosticus!” Sooner or later, they will come to us, and when they do...” Logan paused and stroked the tip of his cane with his finger, “…I will be ready!” Copione escorted his new team from the safe house within the village, past the homes and lanes, eventually up to the royal palace, where the guards all bowed to him as he passed. “Wow!” exclaimed Cyborg “Look at the size of this place.” “We have arrived at the palace of my mother and father, The King and Queen.” said Copione. “King and Queen?” asked Applejack, “But that would mean you’re…” He chuckled as he turned and bowed to everyone, “Yes, I am their son and heir to the throne: I am Prince Copione!” The ponies bowed in respect, as did the others, but Copione insist they not be so formal. “Come. We have much to do and very little time.” “So, how can we stop all this?” asked Negative-man. “And how do we restore all worlds to their former glory?” added Starfire. Copione looked within The Light Prognosticus and explained from a passage, “There is only one way for the prophecy of destruction to end and all that was lost by it to be regained: We must destroy The Dark Prognosticus!” A moment of silence followed, and at first the teams thought that quite a simple thing to end something so massively destructive. “Uh… how do we do that exactly? We tried before and we couldn’t even scratch it.” Twilight agreed, “Even the royal sisters couldn’t break that book, even after throwing it into the sun.” “Then how are we supposed to do it?” asked Robot-Man “Maybe if we train enough, we can blast that book to bits.” Copione shook his head, “That will not work. The Dark Prognosticus cannot be destroyed by such simple means, fortunately I discovered the key that will in fact do the job.” He looked through the pages of his book and quoted a passage. “To shatter the darkness of the evil tome, the one protected by its power must fall. The severing of the link between the two will shatter the darkness, and all will be reset in the basking of light.”   He looked up at the others, and they all got the message perfectly. “So what you’re saying is,” said Robin “We need to destroy Count Logan to put everything back right.” “Oh, dear!” cried Rarity “I can imagine that is easier said than done.” “She’s right.” agreed Rainbow “I mean, we’ve already faced those creeps many times and we always got our rumps kicked.” “So that’s why we have to train here.” said Mento “We need to master these new powers we have, or we won’t have a chance.” Copione nodded, “At present, I myself have the capabilities of handling small threats, such as the minions, but as you have all experiences, Count Logan is far stronger and much more devious. He has mastered many way of evil magic with the aid of The Dark Prognosticus. All the more reason we must prepare for the battle ahead. I spent many Earth years learning and studying the power of The Light Prognosticus, and even now there is still much I do not understand as some passages have yet to be revealed. We will not have much time.” Robin stepped forward, “We’re with you all the way. We’ve got to get Terra out of that castle.” “The Princesses as well.” added Twilight, “And then we’ll make that evil creep sorry he ever opened that cursed book of his.” Mento agreed, “We’re ready.” …And so, training began. A song played over the elapsing. The teams spent the days doing regular combat training and exercise to help beef up their normal strengths and abilities. They ran through obstacle courses. The Titans and doom patrol excelled greatly, having done things like this many times before. Rainbow Dash did well too from her training as a Wonderbolt, but Rarity was not faring so well. She went rather slowly and could barely seem to get her timing right. This was due to the fact that she was much of an exercising pony and spent much of her life in peace… making a tad out of shape, but with her friends to help give her confidence, and the world at stake, she found herself able to look past her complaints and disgusts and got better. They did lap racing to boost their speeds, and they were doing several courses; some on foot, some by flight for those who could fly. Then there combat practice… Everyone spared with one other. Robin was impressed as he battled Applejack. “I never knew you ponies were such gifted fighters.” He kicked and Applejack buck kicked with one hind leg, “That’s what comes from haulin’ so many apples.” Copione battled with Cadance, copying her form so she’d be fighting herself and he own skills, and while Cadance was fighting extraordinarily well, Copione was most concerned, “You are letting your anger get the best of you! You must FOCUS, Princess!” Cadance tried, but all she could think about was getting back at Count Logan for the way he killer her precious little Flurry Heart, as well as her dear Shining Armor, as a result, it fuled her to fight harder, but Copione managed to flip her over! Copione sighed, and he helped her up. “I’m sorry.” Cadance said, but while Copione fully understand how she was feeling, “You must not let your emotions cloud yourself. It will slow you down.” Cadance reluctantly agreed and was ready to try again. Fluttershy wasn’t faring too well either. “Come on, girl. Get it together.” said Cyborg “Come on and hit me.” Fluttershy whimpered nervously, “I… I can’t! I could never hurt a friend.” Cyborg sighed, he had heard from the ponies that Fluttershy was able to wrestle a big bear to the ground, and that’s what gave him an idea. He began to make growling sounds of a bear in pain and he wobbled and stumbled about as if he was having joint issues. This made Fluttershy hallucinate and see him as a bear in need of her care and help. “Oh, you poor thing... I’ll help fix your pain.” And she began to wrestle him, almost uncontrollably as if she were really trying to fix him. “Okay! Okay! Take it easy!” Cyborg groaned. Then came the toughest part of the training: Mastering the new powers. “You all have been gifted by The Light Prognosticus.” said Copione “The time has come for you to understand your new powers. They will not only enhance your own abilities, but you will be able to do much more.” With that, he gave everyone a turn looking at passages in the book, about spells and how to work them. “Strange.” said Robin, “I’ve never seen this text before in my life, yet I can read it as if it were in plain English.” Twilight was astonished as well, she studied Ancient Equestrian text before, but had never seen anything like this. “It is because you have been recognized by the book.” Copione explained “For this, passages in the text become clear to you, and with this guidance you will exceed further.” As the teams practiced, they found their natural strengths and power were enhanced! Robin was able to break a large boulder in half with one punch, and he hardly felt any pain at all. Many of the others-- Cyborg’s Sonic Cannon, Mento’s shock-blasts, Starfire’s starbolts, and Twilight, Rarity and Cadance’s pony magic-- had intensified and fired more brightly and stronger than ever. It was so incredible. Copione held Raven out a little. He stood behind her and held her hands together, “Concentrate, Raven, and just let it flow.” Raven did as she was told and she unleashed a bright wave of energy that shattered many boulders used as targets. “Wow!” she said softly. She then turned to face him realizing how close she was to his face, and the two of them blushes and back away from one another swiftly, but everyone else could see, and they didn’t have to be Cadance to realize something was happening between them. Still, training continued. > Wild Guesses > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER THIRTEEN The heroes and the ponies were starting to get the hang of their newfound powers as they continued to train, eventually taking time off for brief rest periods, and really took time to know each other. “So, you help others with their friendship problems?” Robin asked Twilight. “That’s right.” replied Twilight “My reputation is The Princess of Friendship, and it was all thanks to the help of my friends, my family and…” she paused and felt a little down, “Princess Celestia too.” All the ponies looked down, thinking of her and Princess Luna locked up in Count Logan’s lair, and their powers being abused to destroy more worlds. “We’ll get them out, I know we will.” said Elasti-Girl. Rainbow looked at her with a strange expression, “Okay, I mean no disrespect… I want to believe that, but, how can you be so sure? I mean, even we’ve never faced an evil like Logan before.” All the ponies agreed, and for that, even the heroes shared the feeling. Never had the faced anything like Count Logan before and it made them all suddenly concerned about his motives behind his actions. “Why would anyone want to go to such incredible lengths to obliterate the universe?” Cyborg wondered. “Well, Logan said it’s what he was created for.” said Negative-Man. “Yeah, I really don’t think that cuts it.” Raven cut in “No one does anything without a legitimate reason.” The others agreed, but whatever those reasons were, not one of them had any clues. “Well, whatever happens, at least we can face them together.” Pinkie said with enthusiasm. “Eeyup! All for all, and one for one, now.” agreed Applejack. With everyone in full understanding, training continued. Copione was very pleased to see how well everyone was getting along so well. “Friendship is a wonderful gift, but will it be enough to aid us in our quest?” he wondered. He looked up into the pretty dark skies, but he could see a small menacing speck in the distance. The void was getting closer. Time was running short! Suddenly, the Light Prognosticus began to glow as a new passage was revealing itself to be read. Copione read it carefully and gawked in shock. “What?” he muttered softly as he reread the passage again and again, and compared it to others. “This cannot be!” and he looked down at all the others training in the palace courtyard, “What we have will not be enough, after everything that has happened?” He was very concerned, but he did not wish to explain to the others just yet, not wishing to disrupt the training and letting the fear of what he had learned slow them down. Also, another passage in the book became clear. “What is this?” Copione wondered “What are you saying Light Prognosticus? Speak to me! Tell me the answer!” No matter how hard he studied the new passage, he couldn’t seem to understand what it really meant, but he knew that he would have to inform his friends. As training came to a close for another day, it would be sunset on Earth and in Equestria too; a great time to head indoors for the night, but Twilight couldn’t help the sickening feelings inside her. She fluttered up to the top of the tallest tower, stood up on it and shouted out into space, “CELESTIAAAAAAAAAAAAAA….!!!” Deep within Count Logan’s lair, Celestia looked very weary, as did her sister. So much had their powers been painful sapped from their bodies to wreak more havoc by their enemies Across from the device, Terra was still locked in her cell. Unlike the sisters, she was looking fine, at least physically. She had fallen in a deep, dark sleep, and was tossing and turning! She kept on having haunting recurring visions of Count Logan, and seeing his face when his mask fell off. She could still hear his voice mocking her for any common-sense or hope she would have… “Your words mean nothing. I can never go back to what I once was. The Prophecy cannot be stopped. The Dark Prognosticus shall prevail. Once the worlds are gone… You are next!” His evil laugh, his gropes of suffering, all mixed with the sounds of the screams from dying people as worlds crumbled all swirled and flash before her eyes. …And then she woke up in a small gasp and began to pant softly. So many times she would wake up and pray that everything was just one really bad dream that would end soon, but no such luck. Tears spread down Terra’s face, “Oh, (Bleep)!” she sobbed softly, and she buried her face in her gloves and had a soft cry, one of many she had before. “How is this happening?” she kept asking herself “Why can’t it stop? Why can’t things just go back to the way they were?” A line she knew all too well from someone who asked that to her once before, and she treated it as poorly as ever. “Why can’t things just go back to the way they were? You were so happy then!” “Things were never the way you remember. Now just leave me alone!” She clutched her stomach that felt really sick as more guilt spread through her. Her conscience was not done torturing her yet for the big mistake she had made, and realizing it too late and everything coming to how it was made it worse. “Help… me.” she muttered, but she honestly didn’t know who she was saying that too or why. Was there any hope for anything now? Starfire was standing on a terrace of the royal palace. She stared into space, or rather what was left it, and was feeling a mix of worry and sadness. Robin saw her and came out. “Hey, you alright…?” His girlfriend turned to face him and said, “I am worried of Terra. I cannot begin to bear the thought of the things Count Logan is doing to her.” Robin understood how she felt. He, too, was as worried about Terra. They knew Logan had only captured her, not killed her, but that didn’t make things any better. “Look, Terra’s a survivor. She’s been through a lot.” “I know, but what if we are the too late? What if she has been…” she stopped, unable to bring herself out to say it. “Then we’ll just have to fight for her too.” replied Robin. “Remember what Copione told us; we beat these guys, and everyone and everything they’ve destroyed for their prophecy will be revived.” Starfire smiled, feeling her hopes returning to her, “And… we shall… have Beast Boy back?” Robin nodded in belief. “That Count Logan and his bitches will be story they came into existence, and tried to wipe out our own.” They gazed deeply into each other’s eyes, and came together for a soft kiss. All the teams each shared one of three bedrooms with plenty of space for all. Twilight was sleeping peacefully in her bed for once, not having that same recurring nightmare, but she had still been concerned of it ever since. If anything, she was dreaming of herself trying to figure her dream out; and whether or not the great evil that taunted her was truly Logan or not due to the voices being different. “Can’t anything give me a straight answer!” she shouted in her dream. That’s when she woke up-- merely just opening her eyes. She sighed softly as she sat up in bed. She looked all around as her friends sleep peacefully. Some of them were snoring softly. Feeling a bit restless, Twilight got out of bed and walked over to the open window. She looked up into sky, which looked exactly the same as before. It was almost hard to tell when it would be day or night anyway on a planet that had no daylight. At least, in a way, it meant everyone could go to bed and get up whenever they felt like it. Twilight looked up at the stars, remembering how Celestia taught her to look to them for guidance if she ever felt lost. She shut her eyes tightly trying to find that feeling…! While at the same time, Celestia wearily lifted her head and groaned, “Twilight…!” Twilight gasped softly as if she actually could hear her voice through vast distances. She then dashed to Cadance’s bed. “Cadance…! Cadance, wake up!” Her sister-in-law shook awake, “Wh… What?! Twilight, what is it?” The other ponies began to awake as well, “Oh, Twilight…!” groaned Rainbow. “You are ruining my beauty-sleep!” added Rarity. “I heard her!” cried Twilight “I heard Princess Celestia! She’s alright!” The others didn’t seem to react the way she had thought they would. They just stared at her like she was being crazy, “Are you sure you weren’t dreaming again?” asked Fluttershy. “I wasn’t dreaming.” protested Twilight “I woke up, I went to the window, looked at the stars and I could actually hear her voice.” Cadance began to feel this was accurate, “It must be a sign. It happened to me once, too. When was imprisoned by the Changelings before my wedding, I could hear voices of my loved ones call to me when I concentrated hard enough.” Now the others believed as well, “So, Celestia’s still alive?” asked Rarity “What of Princess Luna?” Twilight shook her head, “I don’t know, but it’s hopeful she’s okay too.” No pony said another thing, all of them now feeling hopeful of rescuing their friends from the darkness. Meanwhile, Copione was meditating quietly on upmost terrace of the palace to keep his mind and spirit calm. He had been trying to solve the mystery of the new passages revealed in the Light Prognosticus, but still couldn’t figure it out, and he hadn’t told the others yet. For now he was just relaxing. Raven, whom was out of bed finding it hard to sleep, levitated herself up to the very terrace and saw him. Feeling he did not wish to be disturbed she thought of looking someplace else. “I can sense you are there, Raven.” he said to her “Come join me, we can meditate together.” “Uh… okay…” Raven said, and soon they were side-by-side, silent and still. They had a soothing meditation, and both sighed in calming relaxation when they finished. “Wow, that felt greater than most times I meditate.” said Raven, then she looked down and realized her hand and Copione’s hand were softly touching. He noticed this too, and they both quickly wrenched away, blushing in embarrassment. The both giggled nervously. Then Copione got serious, “Raven, I must tell you something of the upmost importance.” “Huh?” Raven said, she at first suspected maybe he was going to confess if he had feelings for her, which really made her nervous, but it came out, “I have uncovered more passages in The Light Prognosticus.” he read to her the first passage… “While the teams of three shall venture into the darkness and battle with evil, even together their efforts will be in vain.” Now Raven’s insides were churning. “What? You mean after all this training and everything we’ve planned… it’s not going to work?” “I am uncertain.” replied Copione, “I have tried to go over many of the other passages, and they fail to tell me what I wish to know… but there is this other passage.” “Though the three teams shall not succeed themselves, only their courage and might shall bring forth the true power; the individual whom is one is all and all in one.” Now Raven felt confused, “You mean like a chosen one?” Copione still was uncertain as he gazed down at the book, “The Light Prognosticus was created specifically to fight The Dark One. However, it does not explicitly state which of the two will triumph over the other. That can only be left in the hands of fate. Destiny is never always carved in stone.” Raven agreed with that part about destiny, but she was still highly concerned. “So, I guess there no other way to know except to just go…?” Copione nodded. > Into The Darkness > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER FOUTEEN The very next morning, the teams had all awakened, and Copione had told them everyone he had told Raven, which warranted much concern of the others, but naturally they all had to hold their heads high. “Maybe the book is just wrong?” suggested Mento “After all, destiny isn’t always carved in stone.” “This is what I had told Raven as well…” said Copione “But there is still no way to know for certain until we confront Count Logan himself.” The others all stood together then. “So I guess it’s time then.” said Twilight, and Robin agreed and added, “Let’s go.” All the others and Copione agreed. Soon they were all aboard Copione’s starship as it was ready to go. All the heroes sat on the lower level, strapped into special couch-seats, while Copione was on the upper level in the driver’s seat, readying the systems. Once completed, he went downstairs to check that everyone was strapped down good. “Are you ready?” Robin gave a thumb-up, as did all the other heroes, and the ponies, lacking thumbs, winked at him, though Fluttershy felt very nervous riding in a ship like this. “This is it…” Copione declared “We, the heroes of legend, vs The Dark Prognostiucs.” “For Tamaran!” Starfire said bravely. “For Equestria!” added Twilight. “And for all worlds and all life everywhere!” said Robin. The others all nodded bravely in agreement. Copione admired this, just the same he cautioned everyone, “Keep your hearts and your wits about you at all times. We are about to confront an evil that is beyond ALL imagination!” Fluttershy shivered softly. Everyone felt a soft chill run down their spines. Nevertheless, Copione returned to the top floor and revved up the ship’s engines. “Whoo-Hoo! Here we go!” Rainbow cheered. The others all chuckled at how enthusiastic she seemed for the launch. “Standby…!” Copione called down from above. “Five seconds… Four… Three… Two… One… …Go!” The ship slowly began to rise up off its launching pad and headed up, up, into the sky. All the Psyconians looked up from below as the ship went higher and higher! Copione looked out the view port as the land vanished as the ship climbed. “Farewell, my people.” he said to himself “May your hopes and prayers be with us on our mission to save all things.” The ship finally made it into space, and a magically barrier surrounded it. This would protect everyone inside from suffering from vertigo or being crushed by extreme G-forces when the ship would accelerate. “Barrier engaged, prepare for hyper-drive!” Copione called. Then, suddenly...! WHOOSH!! The ship burst through the cosmos, while everyone inside felt hardly anything because of the barrier, all the riders inside feal like they were hardly moving at all. “Ah, nuts!” groaned Rainbow “Now I’ll never know what it’s like to travel like light speed.” “Never mind that, kid.” said Robot-Man “We got some serious thinking to do right now.” Everyone agreed, and they all did as much warming up and planning as they could as they continued on their long journey toward the void. “We’re coming for you, Count Logan!” Copione said to himself “Mark my words; your time is up! I will not rest until I have avenged my parents, and you go down for all those you have hurt and killed!” Meanwhile, back in the dungeons, no one had come to check on the prisoners in a while. They did not require food, as Logan kept them energized with special spells, but even Dr. Nekard had not come to check on the sisters in days. Perhaps the villains had obtained all the energy they needed? If so, why were the sisters not executed as they were told they would be? Still, it seemed safe to actually speak now, as Terra looked at them through the bars of her cell. “Are you two okay?” she asked. When neither sister responded and just gawked wearily at her, “Sorry, I didn’t mean…” “It’s all right.” said Celestia, “We are still very weary, but we can speak.” “It feels good to be able to speak now.” added Luna. Then she noted the redness in Terra’s eyes, “Have you been upset again?” Terra didn’t wish to deny it, “I can’t help it. I’m so scared; I’m ashamed, upset, I’ve never thought it was possible to feel so lost before.” The sisters felt sympathy for her. “We also have had our share of loss and darkness, Terra.” said Celestia. She then looked at her sister, and Luna nodded at her agreeing to share their tale… The sisters, each took their turns explaining their sides. “One-thousand years ago,” Celestia began, “We ruled Equestria side-by-side. I was in charge of the day, and my sister in charge of the night.” Luna nodded, “As all ponies played all day and slept all night, I was very lonely in my position. I grew jealous and bitter of my sister, and soon I let the darkness overpower me. I became Nightmare Moon!” Terra’s eyes widened. “My wish was bring forth eternal darkness, a never-ending night, but naturally, my sister would not hear of it.” Celestia took a moment, remembering the painful times, “I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn’t budge. She had been consumed by bitterness and determination to carry out her will. I had no choice but to use The Elements of Harmony to seal my own sister away in the moon, ending her threat.” Terra gasped and held her hand to her mouth! Luna remembered it all too well herself, but it seemed to hurt Celestia more. “Not a day or night went by that I did not shed a tear missing my sister, and praying that somehow we could be together again and resolve our differences. My prayers were answered; a millennium later, Nightmare had returned to finish what she had started, but thanks to the courage and teamwork of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and with the power of The Elements of Harmony, the evil was vanquished and my sister had returned.” “I shan’t forget that moment.” Luna cried, “We decided to make amends for our differences, and be more than what we were.” Terra thought that a beautiful ending. “You see, my dear, even the darkest of times you must always hope and believe in the light.” said Celestia. As much as Terra meant no disrespect, “I wish I could believe that, but I don’t think I can. Look at us! We’re still trapped in here, and even if we were to get out, where would we possibly escape to?” “I hate to admit this, sister,” said Luna “But she does have a point.” Even Celestia couldn’t deny this, and even she had to reflect on how ruthless Count Logan and his minions were. “Is there truly no escape from this well of darkness?” she wondered to herself. As for Terra, she still felt extremely nervous about something, regarding when she Count Logan’s face, but she still didn’t have the courage to tell the sisters any of it. What would they think of her if they heard the full story? Meanwhile, Dr. Nekard was working privately in another part of the castle, something that the other minions or even The Count himself were unaware of. “Excellent!” he thought privately, “Count Logan still has no clue that I’ve been secretly syphoning the power of the two sisters to use for my own little plot. All I need now is the heroes.” “Nekard!” Kamica snapped, startling the little cyborg, “Oh, my! Kamica… Uh… er… what… what are you doing here?” Kamica looked suspicious of his sudden stammering. “The Count has summoned us all.” “Oh, well then, shall we going? Come along then.” Nerkard was acting far too coy now, much to Kamica’s already growing suspicions, “What have you been up to in here?” “Who me…? Oh, nothing really. Just a few surprises for The Count, for when the heroes arrive, but you’re not to tell… right?” While Kamica still suspected, she didn’t wish to keep The Count waiting, and she and Nekard teleported off. The ship was approaching the void, which was vastly enormous and frightening to look at, and it was still expanding every second, and wiping out more and more. By this point, about eighty percent of the entire universe had been wiped out. If they heroes didn’t hurry and stop that menacing vortex, soon there would be nothing left to revive, and all their efforts would truly be in vain. “This is it!” Copione called from his seat, and he called down to the others, “Is everyone strapped down, there?” “Good and tight!” Robin called up, and he looked around at all the others to see they were strapped in their seats good, as the ride was about to get really rough! The power of the Light Prognosticus would protect them and allow them to penetrate through the gateway into another dimension. Without protection of either of the two tomes, the great darkness would smash them to bits like an ordinary black hole! “Once we pass through that spanning darkness, we’ll have reached our destination.” Copione said. “Everyone ready…?” “Do it!” Mento called up. “Right… NOW!!” shouted Copione, and the ship began to quiver and rock softly as it began to enter the swirling darkness. Lightning bolts began to ship, rocking it more, but not damaging it as it went deeper and deeper. The team held onto their seats tightly groaning and growling to keep steady! “I think I’m going to blow it!” groaned Pinkie. “We’re almost through this!” shouted Elasti-Girl. “HANG ON…!!” Copione shouted “HERE WE GO…!!!” At that split second, the ship began to penetrate through the gateway, which rocked it and made it tumble round, and around…!! Everyone screamed as they held on for dear life. “NOW I AM GOING TO BLOW IT!!” Pinkie screamed. Suddenly, the ship steadied out and everything was calm, and while everyone felt extremely woozy from all the stress, all were perfectly fine. “Is everyone fine down there?” Copione called. “Y… Yes!” Robin called up, and he held his stomach and groaned softly, “At least some of us are.” Rarity looked terrible, like she was going to blow chunks any second, “I shan’t ever be the same again!” she groaned. “Have we made it?” asked Starfire. “Yes.” replied Copione “Prepare for touchdown.” Soon the ship had landed, and it was time to disembark. “Hoo, Nellie!” groaned Applejack “And I thought chargin’ bulls gave a wild ride.” Soon they all disembarked and found themselves in a frightening dark realm. The sky was nearly pitch-black with mixes of dark purple and blue streaks and flashes. The ground was black and solid with no vegetation, no rocks, nothing but a smooth and solid ground with a soft mist that ran up to everyone’s ankles. “Okay, much as I like the dark and stillness and all, even I think this is too much.” said Raven. “Are we actually inside the void?” asked Mento. Cyborg tried to type the calculations into his wrist-com, “It’s hard to say, but man… this place would make even a ghost flip out.” Strangely enough, despite the darkness, they were still able to see quite clearly. They walked up along the dark grounds a bit, and then they stopped and stared off at what they saw up ahead. “There it is…” said Copione “The castle of Count Logan!” The castle: It was very tall, very dark and creepy looking with many tall spiked towers and battlements. “Whoa!” exclaimed Twilight “That thing’s as tall as the Crystal Palace!” “I’d say more the same size.” said Cadance. Robin stepped up and took in a huge breath. “Let’s go guys; nice and easy.” And everyone cautiously marched closer and closer towards the spooky fortress. Fluttershy gave a nervous squeak. “Easy Fluttershy.” said Negative-Man “We’re all right here.” Fluttershy still didn’t feel any better as the team got closer and closer. Suddenly, the castles defense lasers came on, suspecting intruders nearby. “Look out!” shouted Rainbow, and everyone scattered about as the beams went by. “Great! What now?” asked Cyborg, Suddenly, another beam fired and hit Raven hard, and she screamed!! “RAVEN!!” shouted Copione. Raven got to the ground as the bright light turned red, “Help… me!” Raven shouted “I’M BURNING…!! IT HURTS!!” More and more beams began to focus on her and shocked her hard. The others tried to get close to help her, but other beams shot at them forcing them to leap out of harm’s way, but Copione managed to make it to her side, and he held up the Light Prognosticus, held it right into the light and reflected the beam’s charges right back up to it. The lasers began to overheat atop the towers, and suddenly… KABLAM!! Everyone covered their eyes as all the chargers on the towers blew out in massive explosions. Raven gasped and panted stressfully trying to re-catch her breath. Copione helped her up, “Are you alright?” She looked deeply into his eyes, “You… you saved me.” Copione nodded, “Yes. Would you have not done the same for me too?” “Y…yes… of course.” They couldn’t stop gazing at one another, but Applejack cut in, “Okay you two lovebirds break it up now. We got a job to do.” The two realized this, but it was clear they no longer wished to deny feelings for one another anymore. Inside the castle, the villains had all felt the tremors of the explosion, “What’s happened?” Logan asked. “The beams!” cried Sir. Elik “They’ve destroyed the beams!” “Never mind that…” hissed Logan. This was it, what he had been waiting for. The heroes had arrived. Now the stage was nearly set! He then spoke to his minions, “Now, as you were instructed, there will be no mistakes this time. I shall deal with these pests myself.” He never looked or sounded so serious. He looked ready as if he could take on a million armies single-handed. “Count, are you sure you wish to face them alone?” asked Pyrus “What if something happens to you?” Logan felt very touched from what she had said, “I appreciate your concern, but this is my battle now.” he paused “I wish all of you to be safe. Please, go now, and don’t worry about me.” The minions all looked and felt touched. “As you wish, sir.” said Pyrus. “Our lives are but forever loyal to you, My Lord.” added Elik. “Good luck, Count, and please… be careful.” said Kamica. Then they were gone, vanished away, but Nekard was still behind. “I told you to leave.” Logan sneered at him. “Forgive me, sir,” said Nekard “But… you seem to be rather… different today. You’re not your usual wicked self. You destroyed many star-systems the past few days and hardly even chuckled.” Logan felt his emotions paining him within, but not wishing to explain it at all, he hissed deeply at his minion, “Leave me in peace! I will not say it again!” “As you wish, sir.” replied Nekard, but then he thought silently “If I don’t accidently execute you first! Fool! You have no idea how powerful I’m about to become!” Then he was gone too, leaving Logan visibly hurt by his guilt, shame, and bitter emotions. He pulled his hat down hard over his mask contemplating his minions loyalties to him. “I am ever so sorry, but you must understand why I must do all this! It pains me to deceive you all so.” His woes then faded off and he held The Dark Prognosticus. “It’s just you and me now! Let them come, and let them answer for their ways!” Outside, Raven was feeling much better after catching her breath and resting a moment. Now everyone stood before the massive, monstrous castle. Terra was somewhere inside, so were Celestia and Luna, but first they all had to get inside. “Can we try teleporting in?” asked Fluttershy, but Twilight shook her head “These walls are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I can’t penetrate through them.” “And the windows are all too high and too small, even for Me.” said Elasti-Girl. This meant that the only option left was to enter through the main gate-- a thirty foot tall solid dark door! “Everyone, stand back.” said Copione, and he stepped up to the door and held The Light Prognosticus open. “What are you doing?” asked Starfire. He didn’t answer, instead he recited a spell from the book, mutter it in an odd language. “That sounds like Ancient Equestrian.” whispered Twilight. Suddenly, there was a soft rumbling as everything shook at the huge doors opened wide leading deep into the dark fortress. “He did it!” cried Fluttershy “I was afraid of that.” Everyone gazed into the deep darkness that lay ahead of them, “Here we go.” said Robin, and slowly, everyone walked inside. > Truth Revealed > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER FIFTEEN Inside the castle, it was much, much darker than it was outside. So dark, the horned ponies made their horns glow softly to illuminate things. Starfire held up a small glowing light in her hand, and Cyborg flashed his shoulder light. Still, even with these lights and the many large flaming torches perched up high, it was still dark and rather creepy too. Whistling winds and dripping sounds echoed all along the dark walls. “This place gives me the creeps.” said Rainbow. “I hear you there…” agreed Negative-Man. Rarity’s face suddenly bumped right into a cobweb, and she screamed in fright. “Get it off me! Get it off me!” “Hey, stop!” said Robot-Man. He held her still and brushed the webbing off her face. “Oh!” she sighed in relief “Thank you very much!” “Yeah… sure...” grumbled Robot-Man, and then he muttered “What a diva.” They all treaded cautiously, anticipated danger lurking around every corner, every stone column. “Count Logan must surely be aware of our presence.” said Copione. “Then why doesn’t he attack, or at least show himself?” asked Mento. No one could tell, but they treaded forth. Cadance felt shivers run through her body, fear of such darkness. “Even King Sombra was never this dark.” she said “It’s almost as if this darkness represents… a feeling.” The others didn’t think much of that, but it did seem just as strange to them. “Why would anyone wish to live in a place to so dark and creepy like this?” wondered Starfire “It does not seem very lively or active with much to do.” The others realized this too, but now wasn’t the time to think of such things. They had to find Terra and the two royal sisters. “Raven, can you make any psychic contact with them?” asked Robin. “I’ve been trying,” replied Raven “But it’s no use. The darkness here is a lot stronger. It’s blocking me out.” “I can’t even try to reach them by telepathy.” said Twilight, “And I can’t scan for their DNA or vital signs.” added Cyborg “It just won’t penetrate.” “Well, we’ll just have to find them old-fashioned way.” said Applejack, and by that she meant plain Looking. “Yeah, um… where exactly are we supposed to look?” asked Rainbow. “This place is huge! They could be anywhere.” Pinkie tried sniffing around like a dog hopping to pick up a trail, much to the dismay of the others. “What? It was worth a try.” Pinkie said. Twilight shook her head, “If only we had some kind of sign.” That’s when the entire castle shook violently and everyone nearly fell off their feet. “What’s happening?!” cried Robin. The shaking stopped and Cyborg scanned the tremor with his seismograph, “Dang…! This baby’s off the charts.” Copione stiffened, “The void must have shattered more worlds. I fear that time is very short, we must move more quickly.” Everyone agreed, when suddenly there was a loud crash that made everyone jump, “Now what?” snapped Raven, but she got her answer as she and the others turned round and saw a load of black-armored knight-like creatures, warmed with strong swords, spears and shields and stomping their way towards them. “What the hell?!” snapped Cyborg “What are these things?” “They must be sentries loyal to Count Logan!” said Copione “They are here to destroy us as they would any intruders!” “Oh, that’s just peachy.” Applejack sneered. Fluttershy freaked out as the iron creatures stomped forth even closer, and she dashed on ahead in panic. “Fluttershy…!” Twilight called. “Fluttershy, come back!” shouted Mento. Fluttershy suddenly stopped and began to inch backwards as more knights stomped forth, and then were even more that showed up, surrounding the team at all ends. The heroes all huddled together and Robin decided, “Since there’s no way out, I say we fight!” Copione agreed, “It is time to put our training to a test! Go!” Everyone dashed forth! Copione reached out to touch one on the metal chest, “Ugh! I cannot copy it!” then, just as the knight prepared to slash at him with his sword, Copione extended his battle claws and parried the sword hard. Robin got out his staff and blocked a knight’s sword, and actually pushed the large iron creature back hard. “Wow! I can’t believe I just did that.” This was all thanks to his training; now he was much stronger and swifter than he was before. So were all the others…! Rainbow charged forth, roaring loudly, and collided right into a knight and shoved it hard into another, making them both hit a wall. “Awesome!” Elasti-Girl grew larger in size, not too large to hit her head on the ceiling, and she kicked the knights off like soccer-balls. “Rita! I’m open!” Mento called to her. His wife nodded and kicked a knight towards him, and he used his psychic-shockwaves to blast the knight, vaporizing it into actual darkness. “Hey!” he called to the others “These guys aren’t even real creatures! They’re just made of darkness and metal.” That was good to hear, and it meant they could fight more fiercely than ever. Suddenly, there was another tremor that shook the whole castle again. It felt stronger than the last one, and everyone nearly fell off their feet again. “I don’t know what’s worse: The shaking or these guys!” sneered Negative-Man. “Let’s bust these bozos!” said Pinkie, and she roared as she cantered forth, “Take THIS…!” and she head-butted one knight hard. Cyborg and Robot-Man wrestled two more knights, pinning them down hard and then crashed on them hard, knocking them into darkness. “Booyah!!” “Rock on!” They slapped each other a high-five. Twilight, Rarity and Cadance stared down a group of knights, and they nodded at one another. Their horns glowed brightly and they blasted the knights away. “Nice!” said Twilight “I’ve never felt so strong. The remaining knights all huddled together, and the team huddled together as well. “Altogether now!” said Copione, and everyone raised their hands, and hooves, up, combining their powers together into a super blast of light, vaporizing the last of the knights into ashes! The friends all cheered and hollered in delight. “Adios ya hunk of junk-boys!” sneered Applejack, but suddenly another tremor hit and the castle shook more violently than ever, that everyone fell off their feet this time, some of them even fell on top of one another. “Hey, watch it!” Raven grumbled. “Take your foot out of my face!” demanded Rarity. As everyone got back to their feet, “These tremors are getting worse and worse.” said Cadance. “They sure are.” agreed Cyborg, “My seismograph can’t even measure them anymore.” Starfire looked concerned, “This is just how it was before my planet was destroyed. The tremors grew more and more violent with each one.” “Funny, that’s how Equestria was before it went too.” said Twilight. A strong silence fell as everyone seemed to have the same sickening thought in mind. “Um… you don’t suppose… this world is going to collapse too?” said Fluttershy. “But that’s crazy.” said Elasti-Girl, and everyone felt the same as she did. This was Count Logan’s home castle, so why was he letting the destruction ravage his home? What sort of evil plan was it if he destroyed himself in the process? Was he not even aware of this?! Suddenly, they heard the sound of someone applauding from off in the dark. The team stood poised, ready to take on whoever it was, and it was revealed to be Dr. Nekard “Well done, everyone. You truly are the heroes of the legend.” “Who are you supposed to be?” asked Rainbow. Copione clenched his fists, “Dr. Nekard! He is one of Count Logan’s loyal servants. I have dealt with him before.” Everyone’s expressions hardened and the looked ready to take on the crazy-looking cyborg. “Wait!” shouted Nekard “Do not be so hasty. I have come to help, like I have been helping you all before.” “Don’t play dumb with us!” Robin sneered. “No. It is true.” replied Nekard, and he looked towards the ponies, “Do you not remember how you were somehow mysteriously transported out of your world before it collapsed?” The ponies all thought back-- to those last few moments as Equestria was breaking up, and they had all given up hope and decided to embrace their fates, when suddenly they began to fade away, and were somehow transported to Earth. “That was you?” asked Cadance “You transported us?” Nekard nodded, “I couldn’t let you be destroyed. As one of The Three Teams of Legend, you play vital roles in this raging Light and Dark war.” The ponies weren’t sure what to believe now, or the heroes. Cyborg nudged Copione softly and whispered to him, “Is this joker really telling the truth?” “I cannot tell. My foresight does not seem to work. Something is off about him.” Nekard could actually hear them, but rather than feel insulted, he pointed down a long dark hallway that lead to a flight of stairs going down. “Follow those stairs, and you’ll end up in the dungeons, where your three friends are being held.” “Terra?” asked Starfire. “Celestia and Luna?” added Twilight. Nekard nodded, “All that I ask in return for all this, is for you to help me destroy Count Logan.” Everyone looked shocked at this request. “You want to destroy Count Logan?” asked Raven “You’ve been plaining on betraying him all this time?” Nekard chuckled, “I… betray him? No, no, no… you have it all wrong. It is Count Logan who is the traitor. It is HE who has been deceiving me and my comrades from the very beginning!” “What are you talking about?” asked Mento. “Count Logan promised us that he would destroy all worlds and then build perfect, peaceful new worlds in their place. Worlds were we could live our own ways that were just suitable for us. But he was lying! I could sense his true intentions from the beginning! He plans to obliterate all worlds, and keep them in ruin so that nothing will be left at all!” Everyone felt their insides churn! “Just leave them all in ruin?!” asked Negative-Man “That’s beyond all words of sick!” “I think I’m going to be sick!” cried Rainbow. “I’ve never heard of a thing so despicable!” said Starfire “This Count must be stopped!” “Yes!” sneered Nekard “I ask again… will you help me?” The heroes were still uncertain of whether or not to accept, but Copione stepped forth, “I refuse!” he declared making the others gasp in shock. “But he wishes to help us.” said Rarity “I for one can’t turn down such an offer, especially since he saved us.” “No!” snapped Copione “I cannot trust him, he may be willing to beat Logan, but feel an ulterior motive at hand.” then something caught his eye behind Nekard, and he fired a beam of light at the wall illuminating the small device in the corner. “He’s a hologram!” cried Robin. “He’s trying to trick us!” added Twilight. All the others began to feel the same and sided with Copione refusing the offer. Nekard didn’t seem offended at all, “Very well… if that is your decision. Don’t say I wasn’t generous.” And with that, the hologram vanished and the projector exploded softly. “I can’t believe we almost fell for whatever he really wanted!” snapped Applejack. “That is why I never trusted him.” said Copione “An enemy wishing to betray an enemy cannot be trusted, no matter what mask they wear.” The others agreed, but now they didn’t know whether or not to actually head to the dungeons. “I say we check it out anyway.” said Cyborg “Who knows, they just might be there.” With that, everyone treaded to the staircase, and headed down the long flight emerging in the dungeon where they saw the prisoners. “Terra…!” Robin cried. She awoke and looked through the bars, “Robin? Guys…?!” Twilight’ eyes lit up, “Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!” All the ponies saw them, as glad as they were their smiles didn’t last. The sisters looked very weak, their manes had lost their sparkles and weren’t fluttering like they used to. “Stand back.” said Copione, and he raised The Light Prognosticus, and recited another spell in Ancient Equestrian. While at the same time, Raven used her powers to magically Terra right through the bars and out of her cell. The second she was out she hugged her tightly, nearly choking her, but Raven was so overjoyed she didn’t care and hugged her back, and the other Titans jumped in the hug as well. “I can’t believe you’re all here!” Terra sobbed! At the same time, Copione’s magic began to revive the sisters, restoring their strengths to full and dispelling the dark bands that held them to the machine. “They will be fine now.” The ponies were so overjoyed. The sisters opened their eyes feeling wide awake for the first time in a long time. “Princess…?” Twilight cried to Celestia. Celestia could hardly believe her eyes, “Twilight…? Is it you?” Twilight, with tears in her eyes, hugged her lovingly. Cadance did too, and the other ponies huddled around her and Luna with tears and happiness. Between the titans and the ponies’ happy reunions with their friends, Elasti-Girl felt like crying herself, and her husband held her hand and smiled lovingly, while their comrades felt the same way. “However did you find us?” cried Luna. “These are our friends…” replied Twilight, “The Teen Titans, and the Doom Patrol.” Twilight then stepped forth, “And this is Prince Copione. He helped us and guided us here.” Copione, being polite bowed to the princesses, and the Titans and the Doom Patrol did as well. The sisters bowed as well. While in another area of the castle, Logan felt the time was right. He had been well aware of the heroes intrusion, and now that the power had been cut off, the two sisters had been freed, which told him they were altogether now. “The time has come…” he hissed softly. He raised his cane, and its tip started glowing, “Come to me, my prey!” In the dungeons, there was a soft rumbling. “What’s happening?” asked Celestia, and suddenly she and Luna vanished. Then the other ponies vanished, and so did the two teams, and Copione and Terra! They all appeared in the castle’s inner sanctum. “How did we get here?” asked Mento. “It felt like we were teleported.” said Twilight. “Yes… you were, thanks to me.” hissed a voice from behind. Everyone slowly turned round, and there he was snickering at them. “Count Logan…!” Robin hissed. Everyone’s features hardened… except for Terra. “You…!” Cadance sneered. Looking upon him brought on all the horrible memories of all the ponies she saw him kill, including her little Flurry Heart and beloved Shining Armor. Logan merely snickered at her, “I must admit, I’m most impressed that you all survived to make it this far. But you are too late to stop The Dark Prognosticus! All worlds will be destroyed and nothing shall remain! Come to grips with that now, for you cannot stop it!” Hearing him say that actually confirmed what Nekard had told the heroes earlier, Logan was indeed just destroying everything and leave it all as it was; in ruin! “I can’t believe you would do such a thing!” sneered Elasti-Girl “How can you do something so monstrous?! Why do you really wish to do all this?” Logan growled behind his mask and thundered, “I told you before; these are the wishes of The Dark Prognosticus, and I am the one whom obeys and carries out its will! Besides, I don’t care about any world anyway! They are all meaningless! Better that I destroy them! Better yet, I will make it as if they never existed at all!!” Robin was growing furious “You’re so full of shit!” he snapped. Twilight agreed with him, “You think all worlds are meaningless and that gives you the right to destroy them and kill innocent beings?! How can you say that? What did they ever do to you?” Logan laughed wickedly, “It’s simple!” he shouted “They deserve it after all the pain and suffering they’ve caused me! It’s their fault things are happening this way!” The heroes and the ponies couldn’t understand what he meant by all that, and Terra finally spoke up, “You guys, don’t you realize who he is?!” The others all gawked forth, and Logan decided-- he reached up and pulled his mask off revealing his face before everyone, making the Titans and the Doom Patrol gasp in horror! “I thought they said he was dead!” said Rainbow. Robin in deep shock, “No…!” “It can’t be…!” added Mento. “Yes!!” sneered Logan “I... am what remains of Beast Boy!!” Elasti-Girl felt like fainting, “Garfield! This can’t be!” Terra buried her face in her hands in tearful shame. “How can this be?” Copione wondered. He had heard the Titans talk of Beast Boy, and though he didn’t know Beast Boy all that well, he too was just as shocked and confused at how he was alive, but he suspected The Dark Prognosticus was behind it all. Indeed, the Titans had no way of knowing it was him. What were they to believe? They found Beast Boy's dead body and froze it within Titan's Tower in a capsule. Now the truth was revealed, and they were all ever so horrified! Starfire felt her anger turn into sadness and shock, “Beast Boy… it is you?” she cried “You are the one who destroyed my planet.” Beast Boy just glared at her with his angry, hate-filled eyes, and he put his mask back on! “I thought that, we were the best of the friends!” cried Starfire. Logan just sneered, “That’s not how the story goes, Starfire, not this page anyway. You are no friend of mine, you are nothing but a shit-filled bitch who deserved she got… that goes for all of you!” Before anyone could protest, Logan raised The Dark Prognosticus and waved his cane over it. The Book began to show the images of how harshly all the titans had treated him. All the times they gave him a bad look, made fun of him, Raven especially and how she used to smack him a lot, even when he had a good idea or what right about something all along. The Doom Patrol was no better; or rather Mento wasn’t for his harsh and strict ways, and Terra… she dreaded what she saw. “Things Change, Beast Boy. The girl you want me to be is just a memory.” The heroes and the ponies all gawked at her, and Celestia approached her with a shocked expression, “It’s not true! Tell me it’s not true…!” Terra said nothing, bur her shameful expression confirmed it. “I can’t believe it!” cried Cyborg. “You did THAT?” Raven asked in shock. Terra still didn’t answer, and didn’t have to. Logan snapped the book shut, snickering. “I’ve waited a long time for this moment. I showed you all kindness… and you showed me hatred and disrespect! Well… now the tables have turned, I’m going to show you all what true hatred and darkness really is in this one final spectacle before the worlds are no more!” Fluttershy gazed deeply into his eyes behind his mask, “I’ve never seen anyone so angry before. It’s like he’s trapped in his own darkness.” “Beast Boy, listen to me…” said Twilight “You don’t have to do this. Let us help you!” all the ponies agreed, but Logan refused to heed, “Your sincerity is as pathetic as the worlds! Whether you choose to fight or not doesn’t matter to me. I’m going to be rid of you Mother (Bleepers) once and for all, and even your precious Light Prognosticus will avail you naught!" By this point, everyone could tell there was just no getting through to him, and Copione stepped forth “Beast Boy… or rather Count Logan! We came here to destroy you. The worlds will never be safe unless you fall, and if it is the only way… SO BE IT!!” The others all agreed, except for Terra unsure if she really wanted to fight or not. Logan stood where he was, glaring the heroes down and glowing with extreme darkness, while the others glared him down and glowed in light. Who would triumph would be up to fate to decide. > A Bloody Brawl > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER SIXTEEN Beast Boy, or rather Logan, would not be reasoned with, and with the fate of the worlds at stake, the teams had no choice. “GO!!” shouted Copione, and everyone roared and charged forth. Logan furiously fired huge blasts of powerful energy from his hand, deliberately missing the charging fighters, which made big explosions, as a way of signifying the beginning of the fight. Logan then gripped his cane tightly and leapt up high, and Robin leapt up at him with his staff ready. The two flew closer and closer towards one another, and Logan struck Robin hard, making such an explosion. Robin crashed hard into the wall and fell flat on the floor. His outfit all tattered and he himself was bruised and wounded with blood. “ROBIN!!” screamed Starfire. Logan then landed right before the entire swarm of fighters that all ganged up on him at once, and attacked from all ends, punching, kicking and slashing like crazy, but even though he was vastly outnumbered, Logan fought back ruthlessly, actually swerving around the attacks, blocking others with his arms as he punched back, his legs as he kicked, and even whirled his cape hard too. He punched Twilight away, kicked Starfire hard, threw Robot-Man far off, and gave Elasti-Girl a huge kick to the chest, sending her sailing back hard, knocking into Pinkie and Applejack on the wait… WHAMM!! The three of them hit a stone column and fell to the floor. Terra was the only one not fighting. She didn’t feel that she could, not yet! She knew Logan was Beast Boy, and why he was doing all this, but she still couldn’t bring herself to want to fight him. All she did was stand behind a column, away from the action, and watch to her horror as the others got pummeled! Mento blasted Logan with a strong Psychics-Shockwave, but Logan shielded himself with his cape and repeled the blast right back at him, hitting him in a huge explosion! Celestia roared as she charged forth with her horn glowing brightly, colliding right into Logan’s cane and the two engaged in a huge struggle! “You monster…!” Celestia thundered “We ponies have done nothing to harm you, nor have others!” “Ha!” snarled Logan “You exist! THEREFORE, I DESPISE YOU!!!” and he socked her hard in her chest backing her off him, allowing him to slash at her with his cane hard making sparks fly. He then grabbed her hard and forced her face first into the wall, and she fell to the floor, bleeding and groaning in agony! “LOGAN…!!!” Copione shouted as he rushed in with his claws ready, and he and Logan began to brawl hard like serious kung fu artists-- they’re weapons clashing hard and themselves leaping and swerving about. Others tried to jump in an help him, but Cyborg, Negative-Man, even Rainbow Dash all got punched, kicked and zapped away hard. Raven levitated overhead with a perfect view of the two in her sight, “My turn! Azarath… Metrion… ZINTHOS!!” she fired a huge blast, which just missed Logan’s backside by a few centimetres, alerting him of her presence. He punched Copione away from him, and leapt up high, bouncing off a column and up to Raven’s level as she tried, fruitlessly to blast at him again, missing him each time. Suddenly, here before her and grabbed her hard by the throat, “Oh, I’m going to enjoy this!” he snarled, thinking back to every single last horrible thing Raven ever did to him—everything form insults, to yelling, to putting him down, to actually smacking him!! POW!! He punched her hard in the face! BOOM!! He kicked her hard in the gut! He then grabbed the back of her hair and began to forceful smash her face into the wall several times, each time more forceful than the last, wounding her severely. He then whirled her round and around like a hammer-throw and threw her off hard, and then blasted her with a huge burst of dark light, sending her crashing full force into a column. He laughed maliciously as he watched Raven lying on the floor, drenched in blood, her outfit practically shredded away, all her limbs were broken, she couldn’t move her neck, and it actually hurt to breathe...!! “GET HIM!!” Copione thundered. Princess Luna and Cadance charged at him, but Logan kicked Luna hard, and grabbed Cadance by the throat, choking her hard! He laughed at her as he sneered, “What shall I do with you? Pull your head off like I did your little brat, or roast you like your husband?!” “CADANCE!!” cried Twilight, and she aimed a powerful beam of magic at him, which he simply blocked using Cadance as a shield! “NOOOOO!!!” Twilight shrieked. Her sister in law looked cooked, and was badly bruised and bleeding. “Oh, Cadance!” Twilight sobbed. “Ha!” Logan sneered, tossing the cooked Princess aside while he sneered at the others, “Haven’t you figured it out yet! Nothing you do can stop me! The power of the Dark Prognosticus is unfathomable, and my hatred and strength all the greater!!” The remaining fighters could hardly believe this was happening, but they were still determined not to give up. “Attack him all at once!” shouted Copione “…FIRE!!” And everyone fired all their best shots at him in one thunderous blast, “Oh, is that your best?!” shouted Logan, and he thunderously fired his own super powered dark wave at the others, sending their energy right back towards them!! “LOOK OUT!!” Terra screamed. KAPOW!! There was a massive explosion that shook the whole castle, and in the midst of it all, The Light Prognosticus skidded along the ground and stopped right by Terra’s column. “No!!” she cried softly as she looked all around, all the Titans, the Doom Patrol, and the ponies lay scattered all along the floor, all bloody wounded and unable to move at all. All their efforts, all their training and preparing were in vain as The Light Prognosticus had read! “We… have failed!” Copione said sadly to himself as he just lay on the ground. “Mother… Father… Forgive me.” Logan on the other hand chuckled wickedly at all the downed heroes that lay around him, and he made his way over to Robin, and pointing his cane straight at his face. “Be… Bea… Beast… Boy!” Robin groaned up at him “Don’t…!” “I am not Beast Boy!” thundered Logan “He is gone, and I was born from his ashes. Finally, after all these years of suffering, pain, and heartbreak, I have you all at my mercy, and you, Robin… …SHALL BE THE FIRST TO DIE!!” Robin screamed, as Logan raised his cane for the big kill, while the others screamed in terror! Suddenly, there was a huge flash of light that shone from behind. “Huh?” Logan turned round, just in time to see a huge light pulse that crashed into him, and sent him straight across the room and into a wall followed by an explosion! The heroes, though weary and sore wondered where that light came from, and how did it happen? They got their answer as Terra stepped out of the darkness, her eyes were glowing bright with light, and her entire body was enveloped in a bright glow. This was all thanks to The Light Prognosticus, which she held up and recited the passage… “Though the three teams shall not succeed themselves, only their courage and might shall bring forth the true power; the individual whom is one is all and all in one.” Terra was “that one”-- of Great Strength, Heart and Soul, Righteousness and Justice. She had now awakened the full powers of the book which is why she glowed and looked much stronger than ever now. Logan burst through the smoke and glared at her. “This… this is impossible. I couldn’t block that attack!” he contemplated. Terra stepped forth and strapped the book to her belt. “I didn’t want it to come to this, and while I don’t like it a bit, I have no choice. I’m going to fight you, Beast Boy!” “Stop CALLING ME THAT…!” Logan shouted “My name is Count Logan!” “No! You ARE Beast Boy, and to me you always will be. I understand how you feel now!” “You understand nothing!” by this point, he completely lost his temper, and decided that Terra would be the first one he would wipe out. “No one defies The Dark Prognosticus!” With that, he glowed in darkness, while at the same time, Terra glowed in light. “I’m doing this for you, Beast Boy.” she said to herself “I just hope it’s all right.” Logan roared as he leapt straight at her and he brought down his cane to slice her, but she swerved swiftly to the side thanks to her newly enhanced speed and reflexes, and she then gave him a huge punch to the side of his face, actually harming him and sent him rolling along the ground. Logan then bolted upright and fired a huge blast at her, which she barely dodged by leaping up high. “You can’t escape me!” he thundered and he leapt up after her. They met in a huge brawl, punching, kicking, and dodging like crazy. WHAMM! Logan kicked Terra hard and sent her crashing down to the ground, but she used her newly enhance geo-kinesis to actually create a rock of light out of thin air, breaking her fall. “What?!” snapped Logan, and before he knew it, Terra launched herself from the rock, like a cannon, colliding into him hard and sent him tumbling backwards. Terra smirked at him and said, “Looks like I understand more than you think.” Logan could not believe this was happening. “In all my struggles, no one has ever been able to so much as tug on my cape, let alone put up a decent fight. But I can’t let her win. I’ve come too far to lose everything now!!” He roared thunderously, and fired a powerful blast right at her, but Terra countered, using her newly acquired Light Magic to fire up a beam of light, and the two forces exploded upon impact. Logan then burst through the smog and punched Terra hard, and she countered by kicking him in the gut. WHAMM!! SMASH!! BAM!! CRASH!! The two kept bashing into one another, each time more forceful than the last! Finally, they met in a huge struggle, Terra gripping onto Logan’s cane, and he trying to push at her. “I should have disposed of you long ago, you little slut!!” “But you didn’t…!” Terra yelled “You couldn’t! It means you still cared! You still have a heart!” She managed to gain an upper-hand and actually managed to push against him, finally pinning him down to the floor! “I have no heart!” he thundered, “All I have is darkness; Darkness which you caused!!” Terra thought back to all the times she had broken his heart, especially with “Things Change” Still pinning him down, she fired a small blast from her eyes which knocked his mask away, exposing his face to her, and she pined his arms down with her right arm strongly so he couldn’t move. “What are you doing?” With her one free hand, she held his face still and looked him sharply in the eyes, “Something I should’ve done with YOU a long time ago!” “No… NO!!!” he shouted, but Terra had already captured his lips with hers! “She… she is kissing him?!” Starfire exclaimed softly. The others couldn’t believe it themselves. Logan just sat there with his eyes open in shock as Terra really let loose on him, even putting her tongue in his mouth and going all over the inside. “I can’t believe this!” groaned Applejack. “It’s… her love…” peeped Cadance “I can… feel it…!” Terra then broke away from him, leaving a small sobbing trail from her tongue to him. Logan looked like a complete messed as he moaned and groan while quivering like a vibrating machine. He almost looked more as if he had been poisoned!! Terra looked hopeful, thinking she had done it, but to her dismay, Logan shoved her off of him, and rolled to the other end of the room. He drooled and slobbered as he spoke, “How DARE you violate me!” Terra looked him dead in the eyes from afar, “It had to be done! You needed it, as much as I did, and I know I made a connection with you! I want to help you!!” Logan raised his hand and levitated his mask back to him and clapped it on. “When are you going to (Bleeping) get it in that head of yours, you little slut?! You can’t help me! No one can help me!” he looked as if he was struggling with his deep inner emotions, “I WAS CREATED ONLY TO SERVE THE DARKNESS, AND END ALL WORLDS, AND THAT… IS… FINAL!!!!!!” The others couldn’t believe how upset he seemed. “He seems so sad… so lost!” cried Fluttershy. “Look at him!” added Negative-Man “He’s hardly like his old nasty self at all!” Logan knew he had to stop Terra once and for all before she got to him anymore. “…Prepare yourself, Terra!” he snarled as he glowed with extreme darkness “No more holding back! I’m coming at you with everything I’ve got!!” Terra clenched her fists, more nervously than angrily, “Then so will I… It’s the only way I can try and get through to you!” and she began to glow brightly in the light. “This… is it!” groaned Copione “The ultimate struggle of the two tomes!” The two figures stood at opposite sides from one another, continuing to power up… and the FIRED, two huge blasts of light and darkness that collided together into the middle pushing against one another! Both Terra and Logan struggled hard to push against the opposing force. “Say goodbye, Terra!” shouted Logan “FULL POWER!!!” and his darkness began to actually push against Terra’s light, moving it right back at her. It truly looked as if Terra was going down, but she looked deep within herself, and concentrated on her true feelings for Beast Boy, and how she regretted all the bad things she ever did to him, but this only helped fuel her desire only to make up for her errors, and to truly help him as she should had before! She let out a great big scream, which intensified the light immensely that burst from her like a special explosion and actually dispelled Logan’s energy, “WHAT?!” he shouted “NO!! THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING!! THE DARKNESS IS SUPPOSED TO RULE ALL…!!!” He screamed and roared as his body was consumed in the light. The heroes all shut their eyes tightly as the light consumed them as well! The light was so massive that it seemed to spread all over the Dark Realm, making everything shake, and then… all was quiet and still. Terra, no longer glowing, fell to her knees, panting in exhaustion, and dropping The Light Prognosticus before her. The heroes and the ponies all felt full revitalized. Their injuries had healed, and even their outfits had been restored. “The Light… it has restored our strengths.” said Copione. “But… what of Beast Boy?” asked Starfire. A soft groan was heard from the smoke. Everyone looked towards it as it settled, and there stood Logan. He was still standing, but he looked in a bad way. His hat had been burned away to the brim. His cape was gone, only a few shreds of it remained. He was missing a shoulder pad and a boot. His outfit was all burned and scratched up. His body looked all bruised and battered! His mask began to crack up, and it shattered off of him exposing his beaten and bruised face, but all he glared at was Terra, and she gawked at him with concern. Logan found just enough strength to utter two simple words at her… “…Damn… You…!” (6:08- 6:36) And began to keel over forward, down on to his knees and flat onto the floor; he lay perfectly still! Terra, still unable to believe what she had done, just kept gawking at him! > How it happened: Part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN All was quiet, all was still, and Logan lay on the floor out cold. “He is, dead?” asked Starfire. “No, he is not.” replied Copione “Neither the darkness nor the prophecy have ceased. He is still alive, he has merely lost consciousness.” Terra looked down at Logan sadly, “I couldn’t kill him. I didn’t want to, but I didn’t mean to hit him so hard.” Everyone then gazed at her, “But how did you do it?” Rarity asked “We tried with our might, and couldn’t land a single hit on him.” “I don’t know.” replied Terra, “I was watching the fight, not wanting to jump because I couldn’t bring myself to hurt Beast Boy, and then, I saw you all get knocked out, and… it all just happened so fast. I was glowing, and I felt incredibly strong!” Copione asked to see The Light Prognosticus from her, and he read the passage again. “Of course…!” he said “Why did I not see…?” “See what?” asked Robot-Man. “Though we, the teams, had failed, our efforts brought forth a will for Terra to step up. She is the embodiment of all the forces of the three teams. -Great Strength… -Heart and Soul… -Righteousness and Justice.” The others all contemplated, and it couldn’t be denied. “Terra’s Geo-kinetic Powers,” said Mento “That would of Great Strength.” “It takes a great deal of nerve to stand up to enemies,” said Twilight. “But a far great deal more to battle friends or loved ones. That takes heart and soul!” added Cadance. “And Righteousness and Justice…” said Robin, “It proves she really is a hero at heart, and willing to fight for what’s right.” Terra placed her hands over her heart, amazed to realize all this. “Dang it, girl! That was awesome moves out there.” said Cyborg. “You got real talent, kid.” added Mento. The ponies all smiled thankfully at her, “You see, Terra. You have heart and pureness.” said Celestia “And with it you saved us all.” Terra felt a simple coming to her face, but she turned to face Beast Boy, she saw Copione looming over him, and he extended his claws intended to run him through! “No!” Terra shouted, and she reached over and grabbed him by the arm “What are you doing?!” “I must destroy him, now before he regains strength.” “No! I won’t let you!” He began to read her mind and sensed her inner love for Beast Boy. “You truly love him?” The ponies all gawked in shock, while the Titans and Doom Patrol felt awkward. “Um… reality-check here,” said Rainbow “This guy is a cold-blooded murderer, and he’s trying to wipe everything out of existence.” Terra couldn’t deny that, but still she wouldn’t step back, “He’s not really evil. He’s just lost.” She paused “…I know the feeling.” her eyes were already starting to fill with tears of guilt and shame. Celestia stepped forward, “Terra, I think it’s time you explained to us what you know.” “I think we’d all like to know.” agreed Robin, and everyone else agreed. “I’d like to know how she could even love him.” Pinkie whispered. “Shh!” snapped Applejack, telling her it wasn’t the right thing to say. Terra held herself, feeling her insides quaking. Copione handed her The Light Prognosticus, “Please… do explain.” He said honestly, “Perhaps there is something I, too, can learn from all this.” Terra shut her eyes tightly, but finally she agreed to tell. Copione showed her how to use the book to show images, which would make things easier. Terra began by telling them all the same story that Beast Boy had told her that night on the cliffs. The last time she ever spoke to him directly! Garfield Mark Logan When he was 5, he got sick after being bitten by a green monkey. His parents saved him using an untested animal serum, which unintentional mutated him green and gave his animal powers. After that, Garfield's entire life was shaped by nothing but heartbreak, tragedy and misery! Shortly after his mutation, Garfield’s parents died in a boating accident during a flood. An accident that still haunts him as he believed he could have prevented and saved his folks. Then, his foster mother died in a tank explosion His legal guardian, Nicholas Galtry, despised the boy, abused him daily and plotted to have him killed so he could get the inheritance money. “Oh, my…!” Robin said. “We never knew this.” added Raven. Twilight couldn’t believe how someone could have such a horrid childhood. “It’s like anyone who ever cared for him or took him in always died or abused him.” Terra nodded regretfully, “And it didn’t even stop there.” The story continued… Garfield ran away, but was captured by two thieves, whom abused him and forced him to do their bidding. That’s when the Doom Patrol came along, adopted the boy and trained him, and he became Beast Boy. “I remember that so well.” said Elasti-Girl “We took him right in, like the son we always wanted but never had.” Mento nodded, but then he bit his lip as he knew and saw what came next; him being overly harsh, and stubborn, as well as his strict attitude which made Beast Boy feel alienated from the team, and struck out on his own. Mento held his head in shame, especially for the part where Beast Boy had saved his team from doom, which meant The Brotherhood of evil got away, and all he did was chastise him for it. The ponies all gawked at him with shocked expressions. “Is that how you showed your gratefulness?” Rarity asked sternly. Mento felt in disgrace. Everywhere Beast Boy went while searching for a new start; he was rejected and treated harshly due to his green skin-- even just taking a simple sip from a drinking fountain made everyone gawk at him as if he were contaminating it or something. “Okay, that is just wrong on so many levels!” said Cyborg. “He’s a human, not a virus.” Sadly, the images showed the people not caring, and just continue to judge him before they even knew him! “I never realized how many horrible people there are in the human world.” said Twilight. Fluttershy couldn’t help but shed tears of sympathy, “All he wants is a friend. Is that too much to ask for?” Eventually, Beast Boy met the others and formed the Teen Titans. Here, he assumed the role of a comic relief-- telling bad jokes, being mischievous-- but all this is really a mask of laughter-- he uses it to hide the pain and sadness from his life. Raven felt a little sick to her stomach, remembering all the times she insulted him for his joking around. “Maybe I was tougher on him than I thought.” she muttered to herself. She felt even more shameful when more images showed… Despite the good times Beast Boy he had with the Titans, there were more bad times than good; most of which came from Raven’s abuse and rudeness. Apart from all this, the Titans didn’t seem to regard Beast Boy too highly… -They didn’t include him -They’d make more fun of him than each other. -They’d insult him -Raven would smack him upside the head when he had an idea -When he even had a good idea, or an honest one, he still hardly ever got listened too. The worst of it all was, when he did something really, really nice for someone… like cheering Raven up after her heart was broken, leading her to hug him, it was soon forgotten and treated as if it never happened! The Titans all felt very bad, wishing they had been more supportive and understanding of Beast Boy now. “Well, we at least gave him a home.” said Robin. “Yes… and good food…” added Starfire “All the tofu he could ever want, and…” Applejack cut in, “Those are just things. Not that there’s nothin’ wrong with it, but I think you were givin’ more things than you were love and respect. Without any of them, all them other things ain’t worth much.” The titans contemplated their attitudes again, and remembered, as the next images showed of how truly disrespected and unappreciated Beast Boy felt and was treated by people of Jump City. -Girls didn’t like him -There was hardly any Beast Boy merchandise in the stores. -Children liked the other Titans, and hardly ever mentioned him. Starfire even remembered the Dating Webpage she created for him, and how he had all thumbs down, and nothing but rude and insulting comments, further proving no girl was interested in him. He was pretty much an unsung hero, without much to hope for, and rapidly spinning into darkness that was hard to supress. “It begins to make more sense now.” said Copione “Too many hardships and painful losses could drive a person mad. No matter how hard you may attempt to supress, everyone has a breaking point.” Terra began to quiver as she fought her own pains and sadness that were catching up with her for what was about to be shown next. Copione held her steady, “Just let it out. Do not keep it buried within, or it shall cause only more pain.” Terra took a few deep breaths and continued, “This is when I came into The Titans lives.” Everyone watched, and the Titans remembered how smitten Beast Boy and Terra were with one-another at first sight. “Aw, that’s so cute.” said Fluttershy. “It felt more than cute to Me.” said Terra. The images continued to show how well Beast Boy and Terra got along. Even Cadance could feel the love was real. It was like they were made for one-another, and almost as if Beast Boy was being rewarded for all his years of torment and suffering. There were even images of Beast Boy singing a song to himself as he worked on the Heart-Shapped Mirror box he intended to give as a gift. “Heaven’s Light.” (4:15 to 5:30) “I felt that way, too…” Terra said “I was often alone, and I always wanted to belong some place, and I thought I had found it… but…” She didn’t have to say much else, even the Titans knew what came next, and everyone else watched as more images were shown… -Terra ran out on Beast Boy, thinking he had betrayed her secret of her unstable powers. -Then she aligned herself with Slade-- he had taken advantage of her meek and frightened nature-- and feigned allegiance to The Titans, eventually turning against them. The ponies could not believe what they were seeing, but they were happy to see that Terra eventually managed to stand up to Slade and fight his control, but the happiness faded when Terra and Beast Boy embraced. “You were the best friend… that I ever had!” And she turned to stone to save everyone! “Oh, my!” cried Elasti-Girl. “That is deep…” added Negative-Man. The Titans remembered that day too well, and it still haunted them. Even the ponies were impressed by such bravery. “Wait a minute.” said Twilight “How did you even escape from being stone?” Terra shook her head, unable to answer. “I think I know how…” said Raven, “When I defeated my father, Trigon, all those who were petrified were restored. It must have worked on Terra too.” The other Titans felt that was possible, but Terra… she was quivering again, and the reason being: The next images everyone saw really struck them hard. They watched the entire episode transpire before, or rather just the scenes of Beast Boy and Terra. She pretended to have amnesia and was pushing him away because she wanted to forget her past, all of it. She wanted to start over and live a normal life. While that was understandable, the way she was going about it and behaving was just… too much for words! “You’re my friend! You’re a Teen titan!” “You’re wrong!” “Things Change, Beast Boy. The girl you want me to be is just a memory.” The Titans, The Doom Patrol, The Ponies, even Copione were all aghast! “That’s what happened between you two?” Robin asked. “Girl… that is just… cold!” said Cyborg. Starfire and Raven couldn’t find words to say, or The Doom Patrol. Even the ponies were horribly shocked and livid by what they saw. “Let me get this straight…” said Rainbow “You pushed away a guy, who not only already had suffered a lot in his life… but a guy who really loved you, who was willing to forgive you for the bad things you did, and give you an okay, fun-filled, action packed life… just because you wanted to forget him, all your past and just live a normal life like that?!” “YES!!” Terra shouted, and she dropped the book, ceasing the images, and fell to her knees sobbing in guilt, “I thought I was doing the right thing. I just couldn’t face myself, and all those horrible things I did, and I didn’t want to hurt Beast Boy anymore. I was just trying to have a better future for both of us.” Copione, though seeing how regretful she already looked, he had to tell her. “Terra…” he said calmly, “While your reasons and wishes were understandable, your actions were very foolish. You sacrificed your moral principles for something materialistic for yourself.” Terra looked up at him through her tearful eyes. “You cannot simply forget your past. It is our pasts that make up who we are in future. If you ignore it, you will simply never learn, never grow, and never understand the true ways of life. You lost far more than you gained from what you did.” “He’s right…” Twilight agreed stepping forward. “Terra, I can’t believe you would do such a thing, and on your own accord too. A good friend would never let a good friend down.” “That will do.” Celestia said “I think she more than understands now. There is no sense in beating her in more.” Indeed, Terra didn’t look as if she could go on anymore. She was so shaken, so hurt and ashamed. She looked as if she were about to have a seizure. Cyborg couldn’t help but put his lividness aside, and hold her close, “Easy, girl… just chill.” Everyone felt really guilty for chastising her now, “Um… I hate to do this.” said Luna “But, should we continue the story.” “Yes, we should.” said Copione. He picked up The Light Prognosticus and reopened it. Though Terra was in no state to continue, the book itself had still recorded the rest of the story as it happened. To Be Continued > How it happened: Part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Though Beast Boy had respected Terra’s wishes and left her in peace to live her own life, and kept well out of her way as best he could, this was just too much for him. The only girl he had ever loved, the one bit of actual sunshine in his life just pushed him away like that. After the breakup, things only went from bad to Worse. He was already highly disrespected in JC -The newspapers only did columns on the other Titans, not interested with him. -There was still no BB merchandise in the stores, just that of the other Titans. -More and more BB’s favorite hangout places had changed and were not replaced, leaving him with very little ways to go As if he weren’t miserable enough; despite the Titans trying to be sympathetic, all they really did was badger him to accept change and “MOVE ON!!” What the hell did HE have to move on too? The other Titans moved on from their problems -Robin and starfire are dating -cyborg is cool with who he is and people love him -Raven beat Trigon; she was no longer a threat to her. …and he was still losing things, as well as confidence in his team. Then again, just like his entire life… anyone he ever befriended or trusted either died on him or treated him badly. He wasn’t asking for people to bow to him, or kiss his ass or anything, but was just a little respect and a little compassion that would stick too much? The Titans were forced to watch all the horrible images of all the yelling, disagreeing, and everything else that transpired, making them feel extremely ashamed, but much as the ponies and the Doom Patrol wished to call them out, the royal sisters assured them all not to and just let the story continue. After many fights with the Titans and having a super falling out, Beast Boy quit the team, realizing he couldn’t stay in Jump City or with the Titans anymore as they are only adding to his, already, immense pain and torment! Then again, where would he go? He tried to go to other towns and maybe start over, but, again, he got rejected, booed and judged harshly for his green skin, and was treated worse than an ugy duckling To top it all off, the nights were cold, creepy and filled with nightmares of his past! All the people he had lost, all the people he thought were his friends, all the people who wronged and betrayed him! Always denying him the happiness he craved, and robbing him of whatever he had left! “GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH…!!!” Just as Copione explained… everyone had a breaking point! Overtaken by extreme anger, hatred, pain and sadness, Beast Boy went positively insane!! Any bit of light and love in his heart had complete diminished after so much pain and torture! The Dark Prognosticus began to resonate, even still locked up in Raven's room, and teleported to him without any of the other Titans' notice. For only someone with heart filled with extreme hatred and darkness would be able to unlock it. This made Raven realize that Beast Boy was telling the truth the first time she scolded him; he really never went into her room and took the book, but rather the book just followed him around, sensing the blooming darkness within him. The book had chosen him to be the one to unlock the dark magic within, and whether or not BB wanted to actually do it, the choice was not his. “No…!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO…!!!” The Book had shot him dead—the Doom Patrol found his corpse later-- which would soon be frozen at Titan's Tower. Now everything was set and ready for the book to work its will and put its curse in motion. Beast Boy’s spirit and personality soon began to fade away as he was cursed and corrupted by darkness and hatred beyond imagination. Finally, he was reborn, as an adult version of himself, not a being of flesh and blood, but an actual embodiment of darkness and servant to the book. He became Count Logan: A villain motivated by grief and regret! A slave to the book, he had no choice but to accept his new fate. He could never go back to the way he was. He was created by evil to serve evil. With that, trapped in his predicament, as well as his insanity, he decided he may as well use this opportunity to exact vengeance on people who wronged him. Using his new powers, Logan began to kill others to understand his might and increase his abilities. He eventually Met Dr. Nekard, whom became his first minion, after which, Logan used the powers of the book to create his other three minions, making them out of darkness just like he was, to help him in quest, eventually constructing a castle to serve as their base of operations, located in a realm composed entirely of darkness. Reflecting the Count’s heart; cold… miserably, painful… …Even his outfit, the way it covered his entire body, because he didn’t wish to look upon himself. He was trying to hide himself, because he was shamed, and ashamed! Poor Logan was a mess; deep down all this was still not helping him, and life itself has become a prison, always reminding him of his betrayal and heartbreaks! He hated it that other people had it better than he did, and no matter how hard he tried-- no matter what he said, did, or attempted, the happiness he craved would never be his and would always slip away leaving him in the dark. He began to see the worlds as meaningless and worthless! Nothing but constant reminders of his pain. However, even death itself could not solve his problems, as even in death there is no escape from the feelings of darkness. So incredibly insane and upset-- as well as it being the wishes of the Dark Prognosticus as well as his fate written in its pages-- he realized all he could now to end his suffering was to fulfil the Dark Prognosticus’ wishes: He was going to get revenge by destroying everything that wronged him, took away his happiness and everything he couldn’t stand… Existence itself! So he turned to the pages and unleashed the greatest and deadliest spell/prophecy within the book, and thus, The Void was formed which would eventually engulf the entire universe and all the dimensions beyond! With the prophecy now in motion, Logan felt content, but deep down he was greatly remorseful and horrified at what he had just unleashed. “What have I done?!” However, because he was a slave to the Dark Prognosticus and couldn’t change his fate. It was the book itself that wished the destruction of all world. Even if Logan did not wish to destroy worlds, or had no reason to... the choice was still not his. This was what he was created for. So was his destiny, like a puppet on a string! He couldn’t let his emotions get to him, so he continued on his path of destruction, as a way of accepting his position and making the most of things. To strengthen the void, Logan and his henchmen killed people and obliterated more worlds themselves to accelerate the void’s expansion. Logan decided Tamaran would be the first world to go, as he was angered by Starfire and Robin, and how their relationship worked and he lost Terra. He wanted Starfire to see and feel what it was like to have everything you ever loved taken away from you “Now you know how it feels to lose it all! My pain becomes your pain!” Logan wished the Earth not be destroyed just yet, mainly because he still has some fondness of his home world, that and because Terra was on it, and he didn’t really wish her harmed… yet! Deep down he actually still had feelings for the girl, and his remorse continued to eat at him, especially when coupled with all the horrible things he had done! He eventually captured Terra and brought her to his castle as prisoner, where he would make her watch all the worlds fall and then he would kill her too. “You wanted Change, Terra? YOU GOT IT!!!” But this was it. Logan was completely broken, a prisoner not only of his own power but his feelings as well. He had truly seen how evil and despicable he had become, and he fell into despair worse than anything he had ever had. He loved Terra so much, and nothing he could do would change that. It haunted him and tormented him non-stop, and he and Terra both had a vision of everything just being undone and going back to how it was, and they could be happy together! “All I ask of you!” (skip to 1:58) Terra wiped her eyes. It was both her and Logan’s thoughts everyone had just seen. The fact that they both wished that proved they both still had hearts and feelings for one another. Everyone thought that actually sweet, and they all began to see Logan in a whole new light. Yes, he really wished there was some way he could end all this. Maybe even reverse it all-- bring back those he killed-- and maybe-- just maybe-- things could be okay again. However, Logan could not close the void. Once he had unleashed it… it’s out of his hands. He can’t stop it no matter how much he or may not want to. “The prophecy cannot be stopped. Even I cannot stop it now!” -Also he is still owned by the Dark Pronogsticus. It is the master, he is the slave. He must continue to fulfil the book’s desires. It is what he was created for! “I am doing as I was created for. These are the wishes of The Dark Prognosticus. I serve it…! This is my fate. The price I had to pay for the way things were; the way I suffered! If I don't do it, the book will make me. It is that simple.” -Plus, now that he thought about it, why should he stop? He’s come this far. It’s too late to go back, and he’s got nothing to gain by going back anyway. What did he really have to gain by stopping: Nothing, but more heartache, more misery, pain, and all the things that what started all this in the first-place. Since the prophecy could not be stopped… He couldn’t unbind himself from the book… And he felt he had come too far to quit and had nothing to gain by stopping… Logan regarded his remorse as pointless, and he continued on destroying things, but his remorse continued to eat away at him and it pained him dearly (Start at 2:50 …Stop at 4:40) As Logan continued with his plans he had lied to his henchmen: promising to make whole new worlds once the universe was all wiped out, so they could live a new, peaceful world just for them… …In actuality, he was planning on leaving it all in ruin and perishing along with it, feeling he had nothing left to live for and is too upset and ashamed with what he has done to go on anyway. Though he cared deeply for his minions, and it pained him to deceive them! To him, the world just held no meaning, no joy, and nothing to exist for as it pained him so much. There was nothing at all that could save him now… …Nothing! The last images were of the poor Count, pained and saddened so hard, a little tear fell from his eye, drizzled down his mask and splashed on the floor into nothingness! …And the book slowly closed. There was nothing more to see. (Heaven’s Light Reprise.) Count Logan was a very unique figure to the heroes and the ponies. He was the only enemy they have ever faced who was driven by sadness and remorse, rather than a lust for power or control. He at first seems to be a stereotypical, heartless villain, with no feelings or regard for anyone or anything! Only now to be understood; Logan was in fact and emotionally tortured person which made him less evil than he appeared. He is a tragic, sadistic and hopeless character, whose evil deeds, hatred of worlds and lust for destruction was all born from the purest of emotions …Love! The Titans and The Doom Patrol never felt so down with themselves before, but easily it was Terra who felt the worst. Beast Boy really had it bad all his life, and all they did was make it worse by being too hard on him. Many people, even the heroes themselves would do their best to deny it, and try to argue the situation, and it was true that Beast Boy's attitude didn't help the situation... ...But there could be no questioning it-- THEY were responsible for Logan's creation. Their careless harsh, disrespectful attitudes towards Beast Boy were largely responsible that drove him over the edge, which caused him to go insane, which made the book curse him, and everything else with it. Anything that Beast Boy did was all born from their negligence and selfish ways, making them just as guilty as he was, and anyone who could even dare to argue the facts... was most likely worse than they could be. The ponies, while they didn’t actually know Beast Boy and had very little to do with all this, they, too, felt some levels of guilt. After all, The Dark Prognosticus was created in their world! So they and their ancestors really did play a small role. Easily, the ponies felt extreme sadness and pity for Beast Boy. “I can’t believe all this happened to him,” said Twilight “…All because of lack of friendship and love.” Rarity quivered in sadness and tear, “I’ve never… ever heard of anything so, sad!” she sobbed. “It’s just so… heartbreaking!” cried Pinkie. Even the royal sisters hung their heads low for Beast Boy… as he just lay there on the floor. “I can’t kill him.” Terra said “I don’t want to. He’s been through too much already, and so have all of us. All I want to do is make things right again.” Copione sighed, and it really pained him inside to have to tell her but he spoke to her calmly, “Terra, while I do respect your feelings and understand your wishes, you must realize… all worlds are dying! In order to restore all that was lost, we must destroy Count Logan. Without him, The Dark Prognosticus will be destroyed, the void will cease, and only then will all worlds be restored.” Terra’s head ached, still fighting with her inner conscience. “No! I just can’t.” “I agree with Terra…” said Elasti-Girl “I don’t want Garfield to suffer anymore either. There has to be another way.” “It must be done.” protested Copione. Rainbow argued, “Well, sure, I mean its one life against countless, but surely there’s gotta be…” “It must be done!” sneered Copione “I understand how you all feel, believe me, I myself feel just as bad, but there is no other way.” The castle began to quake as another violent tremor rocked the realm. “You see; if we do not destroy him and fast, then… Well then, we all will be destroyed, along with everything else.” Everyone fell silent, and then Robin finally tried to accept this, “I guess we have no choice.” “Robin…” cried Starfire “You mustn’t! He is our friend!” “He was our friend.” said Mento, and he looked down deeply “…But, he’s already is dead anyway, remember? We found his body.” “No!” Terra said “I refuse to accept that. I don’t care if you found his body; I don’t care if he’s some evil creep! I won’t kill him!” “…And you won’t get a chance to.” hissed a wicked, groggily voice that made everyone freeze on the spot, “Was that what it sounded like?” asked Cadance. She and the others all slowly turned round to see that Beast Boy had awakened and was struggling ever so painfully to get up onto his feet. Finally, he was up, but looked about ready to fall over any time again. He glared furiously and squarely at Terra. “You have two minutes, Terra. The same two minutes that you gave me!” (Skip to 6:35) Terra remembered, back at school, when she and Beast Boy were in the hall and she told him “Okay, you’ve got two minutes.” “What do you mean “two minutes?” she asked “…For what?” Beast Boy raised his cane high up over his head and shouted “THIS!!” and he smashed his cane hard on the floor, breaking it in half and shattering the jewel. A loud alarm magically sounded as the castle began to shake. Red warning lights were whirling around the place as a large timer suddenly appeared as a loud voice called out, “Danger! Self-Destruct initiated! Two minutes to Self-Destruct!” And the timer began counting down… 2:00… 1:59… 1:58… “Oh, no!” cried Terra. “(Bleep) This place is gonna blow!” shouted Cyborg. Copione, Mento, and Robin began to fire magical blasts directly at Beast Boy, but Beast Boy, having found just enough power within him, had teleported away and was gone! “No!!” yelled Copione! The castle began to shake more violently as boulders came crashing down, followed by many sparks and explosions! “Danger…! Self-Destruct Imminent! Evacuate Castle at once.” “WE GOTTA GE OUTTA HERE!!!” Rarity shouted. Everyone agreed, one minute had already passed on the timer, leaving only seconds left. “The wall!” shouted Raven “We’ll blast our way out!” “Right!” agreed Copione “Altogether now…!” Everyone huddled together close and combined their powers into one thunderous blast that actually blew the entire wall down. “BAIL OUT…!!” shouted Rainbow, and everyone panicked as they leapt through the large hole and landed outside safely. “Break for my ship!” shouted Copione, and he used the power of the Light Prognosticus to recite a spell to transfer energy to it to power it up and get it ready for immediate launch. Everyone was safely aboard with only ten second to spare, “Hit the deck!” shouted Mento, and everyone got down on the floor as the ship magically blasted off and zoomed for the gateway of the realm. …3… 2… 1… 00!! The castle exploded, in a great big nuclear blast, which horribly disrupted the realm and caused it to start breaking up! The ship rocked about so violently and nobody was strapped down. “WE’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT!!” screamed Pinkie. “YES WE WILL!!” shouted Copione. “HANG ON…!!” WHOOSH!! The ship zoomed through the darkness, as the darkness itself was incinerated, and everything went bright white, which knocked everyone out cold as the destruction consumed everything! > The True Enemy > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER NINETEEN Twilight began to awaken. “What… what happened?” she wondered “Am I dead? The last thing I remember was the castle exploded and The Dark Realm collapsed…” There was a loud noise, sounded like sparks flying, which snapped her wide awake, and she realized not only was she still alive, but all her friends were too, though lying unconscious all around her. The spaceship had obviously escaped The Dark Realm before it was destroyed, and had crashed on a planet. However, the ship was severely damaged and was getting ready to blow up at any second. Thinking quickly, Twilight teleported everyone outside and a good distance away from the ship, just as it exploded in a huge bang! The explosion woke everyone instantly. Some of them screamed, others got up anticipating a fight, and Pinkie got up and panicking, “I’m up! I’m up! I’m start the breakfast! Call the guards! Close and lock the doors!” “Pinkie, calm down…!” Twilight shouted as she shook her to her senses. “Oh!” Pinkie snapped, and she hugged her tightly, “Twilight, I never thought I’d see you again!” “Um… yeah!” choked Twilight “Glad… you’re… okay too!” Copione gazed far over at the wreckage of his ship. It pained him so, as it meant they were now stuck wherever it was they were, but at least they were all alive… for the moment. The world around them looked absolute desolated, post-apocalyptic. The skies were all red with hints of black clouds; the ground was all one giant wasteland with jagged rocks and scored dirt all over, small pools of lava and burned trees…! “Where are we?” asked Starfire “What planet is this?” Cyborg tried to calculate, “It’s no good, my wrist-com’s busted. It must’ve happened in the crash.” Suddenly, Robot-Man noticed something by his foot; an ordinary crushed root-beer can. “Whoa! No way…!” he said as he picked it up. Everyone looked at it, and there was no other explanation. “We’re on Earth.” said Robin. “Or rather what’s left of it.” added Raven. The two royal sisters had never seen such chaos and destruction before, for their first ever visit to Earth. “Beast Boy and his henchmen must have leveled this planet some time ago.” Luna deduced. Celestia looked up, and could the void and how enormous it was. “From the looks of it, this planet doesn’t have much time left to exist.” This frustrated Copione, for letting Beast Boy get away. “If I only I had destroyed him when I had the chance!” he grumbled to himself, but everyone heard him anyway, and they, too, realized the serious of things, even Terra, but she couldn’t bring to apologize, it wouldn’t fix things. Suddenly, there was a loud crash which made everyone jump. “What was that?!” whimpered Fluttershy, and that’s when the grounds, away from the group, burst wide open as Beast Boy emerged, still looking weak tattered, but just as frustrated and as angry as ever. “Don’t you people ever die?!!” he growled, and he fired a small, but still fierce blast of energy near them, making a big explosion. His weariness made it hard for him to aim. “Beast Boy, please…!” Terra cried. “My name is LOGAN!!!” he shouted. “Not that it matters now! Nothing matters now! None of you matter!” he paused and looked up at the void, “…In fact, in a short while, you won’t even BE matter.” Almost all the others glared furiously at him, but Terra, still overlooking the danger, approached him. “Beast Boy, please. I don’t want to hurt you anymore. Please, just let us try and help you!” “Get away from me!” he sneered while backing away from her. “I don’t need you, Terra! I don’t need anyone!” he reached behind for his book “All I need is The Dark Pro--” he felt around and searched himself all over “Where is it?” That’s when Nekard appeared on the scene, “Looking for something, Count?” he teased as he held the book up. “The Dark Prognosticus!” cried Raven. “How did he get it?” asked Negative-Man. Beast Boy smiled, “Oh, well done, Nekard. Quickly, give it to me.” Nekard snickered, “Oh, I’ll give it to you… HERE!!” and he unleashed a powerful wave of magic at Beast Boy, holding him in a field of dark light. The heroes gawked in horror, and Beast Boy shouted “What… what are you doing?!” Nekard laughed, “What I’m doing is what I’ve waited thousands of years for: I’m taking back WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE!!” and as he shouted, the book opened wide, enveloping him in swirling rays of light and darkness. “What’s happening!” cried Rarity. “I think he’s… changing!” said Mento. When the lights had faded, there stood an enormous and evil looking dragon! He stood two stories tall, had black and silvery scales. Horns on his head, sharp wings, strong claws, and there, engraved on his chest was The Dark Prognosticus itself. He chuckled wickedly as he glared down at everyone. “I have returned! I will destroy!” Twilight gasped, “That’s it!” she shouted, “That’s the evil voice I heard in my nightmares!” “So Nekard’s the one who’s been back of all this?” asked Rainbow. The dragon snickered and explained himself, “My name is Draken, and I am the true force of the darkness! Three thousand years ago, in the Ancient World that would late become Equestria, the war Light and Darkness had ceased as those of the two forces chose to stop fighting. A great pony wizard had created the two tomes which began to absorb all the energies to further quell the fighting. As member of the Dark side, I did not wish for the fighting to cease. The Darkness is the only right path that I ever chose to fight on. Power was the only thing that ever mattered to me. I craved it, that I sought to steal the power tomes for myself in order to re-instate the wars and blight out the light! That foolish wizard sought to stop me, and when our two forces collided, my spirit became sealed within the pages of The Dark Prognosticus!” Twilight contemplated deeply, back to her history book, “So that’s what happened to the wizard and the dragon!” she thought. Draken continued his story. “For centuries I spent concealed within the darkness of the book, trying to escape. I would have succeeded had the Evil Trigon not taken the book and infected it with his own malicious powers. Even though I enjoyed it, and prospected at the very thought of all the might to claim as my own… the cursed monks of Azarath trying to seal the book with their spells. Fortunately, for me, my spirit was strong enough to fight them off so that they weren't able to completely seal the power away, which is why only someone with a hate-filled heart could release the power. Finally, when Beast Boy was accepted as a potential owner, my spirit was finally released. Unfortunately, as if it were bad enough that someone else was now in possession of the book, my spirit had been sealed inside for so long, my body had not returned, and much of my power was still locked within the pages! As long as Beast Boy continued to control The Dark Prognosticus, it soon became clear to me that I would have to take it from him. Fortunately, even in spiritual form, I was able to create a makeshift body to house myself in. Even with my temporary body, I could never have hopped to defeat Beast Boy on my own.” He turned and faced the team, “And I didn’t have to when you did all the work for me.” The heroes all growled fiercely at him, Draken only snickered, “Before the dust had settled after the battle, I snuck in and quickly took back The Dark Prognosticus.” He stomped hard, and spread out his wings, “Finally, I have returned to my glorious state, and I get to finish what was started three thousand years ago! I will destroy every single world, and rebuild them all in my image! All the light, all the love, all the hope will be gone! Only the darkness shall live and thrive!” Beast Boy still held by the darkness growled at him, “You… TRAITOR!! I will destroy you for this!” but Draken only laughed at him. “You fool! Weren’t you listening to what I just said? I own the book and the power now, and you’re just a frail and weak puppet! Much as I should do away with you, I’ve got a much better idea. I’m going to need a little help in destroying what remains of this blasted world, and that’s where you come in!” “Never!” thundered Beast Boy “I will never work for you!” “Ha!” snapped Draken “I wasn’t giving you a choice!” and with that, the book in his chest began to glow brightly along with Draken’s eyes, and he opened his huge mouth to unleash a wave of dark magic straight at Beast Boy! “NOOOOOOO…!!!” “BEAST BOY…!!!” Terra screamed, while everyone else gawked in shock and yelped! When all was done, and the light faded, Beast Boy had transformed into a dragon himself. Strongly resembling that of Malchior the dragon, whom Raven defeated once before, only he was larger, and had strong horns on his head, but still just as fierce. The dragon roared loudly at the team, sending them all tumbling back hard. “Beast Boy!” cried Robin. “Beast Boy, don’t do this!” Terra called to him. Draken snickered, “Go ahead. Yell at him all you like. He can’t hear you! His mind is gone, but his power belongs to me. He is now a perfect slave to help me obliterate what’s left of this world, and serve me in the dawning of the new, dark world!” Beast Boy growled as if he were actually complying with the wishes of his new master. He could not speak with words. “Attack them!!” shouted Copione. “No, wait!” shouted Terra, but all the heroes and the ponies fired everything they had at the two dragons, but all their light pulses and energy-beams to the dragons, was like throwing small pebbles at a brick wall. The two dragons just stood where they were, taking each and every hit, and not even feeling the least bit fazed. “It’s not working!” shouted Pinkie. Draken laughed, “And why should it? You’ve already exhausted your powers battling Beast Boy, and even at full strength it won’t matter. Thanks to all the events that have transpired, I am far more powerful than I could ever have imagined!” The heroes all exchanged looks of concern with one another. “We must be going now.” said Draken “We have worlds to destroy and remake. Oh, and as a final gesture to thank you all for helping me restore my might, rather than dispose of you myself, I’ve decided to leave you all to perish along with the Earth.” That’s when the Earth gave a sickening shake, as the void was growing closer, finally going to obliterate it for good, while Draken and Beast Boy flew up, up, and off into whatever was left of space. “BEAST BOY…!!” Terra called to him “DON’T GO!!” but Beast Boy still had no will of his own, and he couldn’t hear her. Then he was gone! Terra fell to her knees and angrily slammed her fists in the ground. The ground shook again, but because of the void getting closer! “What are we going to do?” cried Rarity. “What CAN we do, is more like it.” added Elasti-Girl. “Can’t we use the magic to fix your ship?” Cyborg asked Copione, but Copione shook his head, “The Light Prognosticus can only heal and restore certain bits of injury on a living being, it cannot repair my destroyed ship.” “It wouldn’t matter even if it could.” said Mento “You saw what happened; we couldn’t even scratch those big brutes.” Celestia looked mortified, “Are you saying we should just give up?” “I’m not, but what else can we do?” protested Mento “This planet’s going to go any second, and we don’t have any way to get off of it before it does.” “Even if we were to escape, we have no place to escape to.” added Starfire. A moment of silence fell, and everyone felt all hope rapidly fading, as more tremors shook the Earth and the void grew larger. It was beginning to look as if this was really it, and the entire gang considered of just embracing their fate and waiting for the end to come… however, The Light Prognosticus began to glow, and a voice spoke out to them, “Don’t give up! It’s not over yet.” Copione dropped the book in shock, and the book glowed brighter than ever before as the spirit of a mystical Unicorn appeared. He was pure white, had a golden beard and mane, he wore a white wizard-like robe and hat, and his cutie mark was that of a heavenly flash. Everyone gazed in awe. “Who are you?” asked Twilight, but then she realized “Is it possible…?” The wizard smiled and nodded at her, “My name is Shimmerlock the Golden. In life, I was a great pony wizard and prognosticator. I believed in the light and in hope, and used it as my inspiration to end the dreadful war that shook my world. I created the Light Prognosticus as well as The Dark One, to stop the fighting, but when Draken attacked to take the power, my spirit was sealed within the pages of the Light Prognosticus. I think you all know the rest.” Indeed, everyone did. “This is all just incredible.” said Celestia. “But, why are you only just appearing before us now?” asked Luna. “Until now, I hadn’t the power to speak or reveal myself.” replied Shimmerlock. He looked at Copione “You were a wise holder for my book, but I’m sorry to say that even you could not unlock the true powers within.” Copione felt somewhat ashamed, “Yes, I understand that now.” “Don’t feel ashamed.” said Shimmerlock “Thanks to you, you helped to assemble these fine teams…” he motioned at The Titans, The Doom Patrol, and the ponies, and then he gazed at Terra, “And you…” he said with a big smile “Your efforts and willfulness helped to unlock the seals with in.” Terra felt flattered and held a hand to her heart. “Now that I am free, I can bestow upon you all the ultimate power of the force of Light.” Robin asked with great hope “You mean, we’ll be able to go after Beast Boy and Draken?” “Yes.” replied Shimmerlock “Once has Draken has been defeated, The Dark Prognosticus will fall with him, and The Prophecy of Destruction will cease as well.” Hearing this gave Terra great hope. “It means we don’t have to kill Beast Boy anymore.” she said to herself. “We can still try and save him!” “Gather around me, everyone.” said Shimmerlock. The heroes all did as they were told and stood around him in a giant ring. “Now, close your eyes and let your pure thoughts be recognized.” Everyone shut their eyes, and they all began to think very deeply, mostly of Beast Boy. Robin: “Beast Boy, I know I’ve been hard with you a lot, but you’ve always been there for me and the team, and I’m going to everything I can to help save you.” Starfire: “You destroyed my planet, but now I wish to save it and you, Beast Boy. You are a true friend, and I hope that you will be able to forgive me for all of my own errors as well.” Cyborg: “You showed me that it’s okay to be different. You’re not dumb, BB. You really are smarter than you think, and we can get you out of this, that’s a promise I want to make.” Raven: “You and I were often at each other’s ends, Beast Boy, you were rude, clumsy, annoying, but… you were a great guy, and deep down I know you still are. I’m sorry for every bad thing I did to you. All I want now is to save the worlds, and you, so we can try and put all this behind us.” The Doom Patrol thought deeply as well, wanting to help their former teammate, especially Mento. “Please, great powers of light. Help me… help me save the worlds, and my… …My son!” Elasti-Girl could feel her husband’s thoughts, and she shared them very deeply. The ponies and Copione all stood together. Though none of them really knew Beast Boy at all, and they could never ignore that he had done some pretty horrible things, they were able to view things in better perspective. It would never be excusable for his actions, but they understood he had been through a lot now, what they wanted now was to help him to undo all the evil he had caused from his sadness, and to help restore all they had lost as well. As for Terra, it was obvious what she was thinking, “Beast Boy, I’m never going to give up on you. You never gave up on me, and I pushed you away. I can never make up for what I’ve done to you, to me, to us, but I can do better now… because I want it so.” As they all concentrated and thought deeply, Shimmerlock began to glow brightly, and soon his body dissolved into millions of tiny little shimmers of light that entered the bodies of everyone. “Wow!” Robin exclaimed when he opened his eyes. “This feels incredible.” “I feel like I could leap all the way to the moon.” said Rainbow. “Oh, but… where’s Shimmerlock?” asked Fluttershy. “I am still here,” Shimmerlock answered, though no one could see him, but Terra picked up The Light Prognosticus. She tried to look through the pages, but they were all the same-- all glowing with a mystical light. No words, no pictures, nothing but light “The power of light has been fully unlocked, and now the rest is up to you. Go now. Vanquish the darkness forever, and restore the light of peace to the worlds that have fallen.” He said no more, and the Earth began to tremble most violently and it didn’t stop. “We’ve got to get out of here now!” shouted Robot-Man. “Come on…!” cried Celestia, and, unleashing her new powers of light, she rocketed up, up, up, and the others soon followed just as the ground began to breakup. “We must go faster!” cried Starfire. So they all poured on as much speed as they could, actually moving as fast as light itself, and they suddenly found themselves out of the solar-system in a split second, just as the void consumed it all. “Wow! What an escape…” said Raven. Everyone breathed a soft sigh of relief. “Now, let’s go find Draken and Beast Boy.” said Cadance. “You don’t have to tell me twice.” said Negative-Man. The final battle was about to commence, with the fate of all worlds hanging in the balance. > Final Battle > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER TWENTY The Milky Way Galaxy: the one remaining bit of the universe. There was nothing else left; all had been obliterated, and the void was already starting to consume the rest of the galaxy. Nekard and Beast Boy helped accelerate the destruction by using their malicious powers to destroy more. The two dragons breathed huge bursts of flames at a whole load of planets and stars, blowing them all to dust. Draken was by himself with wicked glee, “I haven’t had this much fun in centuries!” he thundered with evil joy, and he watched as Beast Boy, still under his control, obliterated more worlds! “Yes, wipe it out. Wipe it all out!” sneered Draken “As soon as these stupid worlds are gone, I can begin my newer, perfect world of darkness and power!” “Think again!” snapped Robin. Draken gasped, “Tell me I didn’t just hear that!” He turned and saw all the heroes, actually standing in the void of space, and glowing with a mystical light. “Your reign of terror is about to end, Draken!” said Celestia. “You’re all too late!” growled Draken “Nothing can stop me now!” “Nothing except us!” snapped Mento. “And that’s just what we’re going to do.” added Elasti-Girl. All the others nodded in strong agreement, and the glowing around their bodies became brighter. “That glow! It can’t be…!” Draken thought “The full power of the Light Prognosticus?! No matter, I still hold the upper-hand.” He glared at the heroes and sneered “By the time I’m finished with all of you, you’re going to be wishing you had stayed on the Earth and gone with it!” he turned to Beast Boy, “Attack them, my slave!” Beast Boy roared loudly as he stared the others down. “We must fight him!” said Copione. He looked at Terra, “I realize how you feel, but we must defend ourselves.” Terra reluctantly agreed, “Just don’t kill him. That’s all I ask.” “Okay then…” said Robin “Everyone, go!” With that, all the heroes rushed forth. “We’ll handle Beast Boy…!” Robin said “The rest of you go after Draken.” The Doom Patrol, The Ponies, and Copione agreed, and the teams split up, with The Titans and Terra going after Beast Boy. Beast Boy growled fiercely and blasted a fiery wave at them all, forcing them all to swerve. “Man, what a hothead!” said Cyborg. “Let us get him!” shouted Starfire, and she unleased a wave of her super-enhanced starbolts, powered up by the light, but Beast Boy shielded himself with his wings and swung his massive tail, hitting her hard and knocking her into Raven and Terra, but Robin and Cyborg made it through, and Cyborg punched him hard in the gut, actually hurting him while Robin threw his disc-bombs at the dragon’s huge face! This only made Beast Boy angrier as he burst through the smoke with a loud roar. Draken laughed, “Not good enough, kiddies! Now let me show you REAL POWER!!” The Dark Prognosticus glowed from his chest, and he unleashed a great wave of dark magic from his massive claws blasting the heroes and ponies away from him. “Get him!” thundered Twilight. She and the other three princesses surrounded him, and unleashed magical binds from their horns, lassoing him and holding him down hard. “Is that the best you can do?” thundered Draken, and gave a huge pull, actually throwing the four ponies hard and away. “Attack him!” shouted Mento, and he and all the others blasted him hard with powerful light pulses, making him roar in agony, but he was far from beaten. “My turn!” he hissed, and rather than breathing fire out of his mouth, he unleashed a wave of flaming dark energy. KAPOW!! Everyone was hit hard and flew off in all directions. Thanks to their newer, stronger powers, they were hurt… not badly anyway. “This guy’s like a rock!” groaned Rainbow. “Don’t give up! We gotta’ keep tryin’” said Applejack. Meanwhile, the Titans were still battling hard with Beast Boy, blows and attacks were exchanged like crazy, but neither side seemed willing to give in. “Beast Boy, please…!” Starfire called “I know that you are in there! Please, let us help you!” The dragon only growled and swiped his claws at her, but Robin swooped in and saved his girlfriend just in time. “It’s no good, Star. He can’t hear us.” “That Draken must’ve done some super-duper brainwashing.” said Cyborg “I don’t think we’ll ever get through to him.” “No! I won’t believe that!” said Terra. “And just what do you suggest we try?” snapped Raven. The dragon roared and prepared to breathe more fire at them. “Look out!” Robin shouted, and he and all the titans combined their powers together and fired, just as Beast Boy unleashed his fire at them. The two forces met with perfect equality in strength and exploded, knocking both The Titans and Beast Boy back hard. The strong light even blinded the other fighters and Draken for a brief moment. The entire galaxy seemed to quiver, but not because of the blast itself, but rather now that the galaxy itself was just moments away from total annihilation! “The void…! It’s expanding!” cried Elasti-Girl. Draken laughed, “Of course it is! Don’t you realize that the combined force of our powers attacking one another strengthens it?!” Everyone gasped and gawked in shock, “So you’re saying, that our fighting you is only making things worse?” asked Pinkie. “That’s what I pretty much said...” Draken taunted “Soon, this blasted galaxy will be no more. The entire universe as you know it will be gone, and from its ashes, I will construct my new world! A world that I will rule as the Lord of all Darkness, and where the Light shall never seep forth again!” Everyone dreaded at such a horrible thought. “Oh, but first…” hissed Draken “I need to take out the trash!” and by trash he referred to the heroes, wanting to wipe them out once and for all so they’d never stand up to him again! With that he swung round hard, “Look out!” screamed Luna, but the dragon already unleashed his dark magic hitting the heroes hard and knocking them all about, as did Beast Boy to the Titans. “What are we going to do?” asked Raven “We can’t fight them, or we’ll accelerate the destruction.” “Yes, but if he don’t fight them, the destruction will still win.” said Rarity. “You see?” hissed Draken “No matter which way you choose, I win!” He and Beast Boy then unleashed more dark power on the heroes, firing blasts of magic and flames all around. Some of the heroes dodged the blasts, while others got hit, and were weakened, but could still fight. “We cannot go on like this!” said Copione “We must fight. We must beat Draken before it is too late!” The others agreed, despite the dangers involved, they stood a better chance by trying to beat Draken anyway than giving up and losing for sure! “Pity…” hissed Draken “You should have just quit.” and he lunged at the heroes, attacking them mercilessly, and with Beast Boy backing him up, the heroes were beaten up even more and were growing weaker, and the more the battle raged on, the faster the void expanded and destroyed more of what was left of the galaxy. “It’s no good! They’re too strong!” cried Robot-Man. “We need a little more power!” shouted Luna. “Nothing you say or do will save you now!” hissed Draken “Say goodbye, heroes…!” “NOT SO FAST!!” shouted a familiar voice. Everyone turned and saw the Beast Boy’s other three minions-- Kamica, Sir. Elik and Pyrus all standing together-- having returned from their previous duties of destroying more worlds. “Ah, you-three…” hissed Draken “Just in time to help.” “Oh, we’re here to help, alright.” said Kamica. “Yes…” said Elik “Help the heroes destroy you for good!” “WHAT?!!” snapped Draken. “GET HIM!!” shouted Pyrus, and she and her comrades jumped in to fight their former comrade! Pryus fired a barrage of flames, which Draken dodged, allowed Kamica to slash him hard with her sword, making a big explosion. Their dark powers were still as strong as ever, and able to damage him. The heroes couldn’t believe this! “They’re fighting on our side?” asked Rainbow. “You DARE turn against me?!” thundered Draken. “It is YOU who is the traitor!” snarled Elik. “I knew I smelled you were up to something!” added Kamica “You turned against the Count, you will pay!” The trio continued to battle Draken, harming him more, and Beast Boy stopped and actually gazed at them. It was as if their battling Draken and showing loyalty to him was starting to awaken something deep inside. Terra saw this, and figured, “This might be the only way to get through to him, with compassion!” and with that, she dashed forth, straight at him. “Terra, No!” called Twilight. “Terra… Come back!” shouted Robin, but Terra wouldn’t go back. Beast Boy saw her coming at him, and he grabbed her in his huge claws. To him, she was about the size of an egg, and could be as easily crushed like one too, and he began to tighten his grip around her, making her scream! “No…!! Terra…!!” shouted Robin, and he rushed in to try and attack Beast Boy, but Applejack held him back, “Don’t! If you open fire, you may hit Terra too!” “Don’t worry, I’ll get her out.” said Twilight, and she tried to teleport Terra out of Beast Boy’s claws, but Terra, though under extreme pressure, used her powers to block out Twilight’s magic. “No!!” she cried, “Let me do this!” “Is she crazy?” asked Negative-Man. The others could only watch as Beast Boy continued to try and crush Terra in his grip, but Terra, managed to resist it thanks to her enhanced strength for as long as she could. “Beast Boy!!” she called to him “I know you’re in there… Just listen to me!” The dragon growled right at her, blowing her hair in the winds hard. “Beast Boy, please…!” Terra cried “I want to help you…! I LOVE YOU!!” The dragon just froze and gawked squarely at her. “Beast Boy, I love you! I always have! I’m sorry for everything I put you through! I don’t care what you’ve done! You were just lost and angry, and you felt alone, like I did! I know how it feels!” The dragon began to loosen his grip. “I think it’s working!” cried Cadance “I can sense the love growing!” Everyone felt hopeful. The Dragon began to quiver softly, as horrible images clouded his mind. Beast Boy was starting to remember, all the times he was abused and mistreated by all, even by Terra herself, but for some reason, they weren’t hurting him as much anymore, not after what Terra had just said. Instead of squeezing her, he held her up over his huge face and looked her right in the eyes. “Beast Boy…” Terra cried, with tears in her eyes, “…I love you!” Two of her tears fell from her eyes and right onto his face, and that did it! The dragon let her go, and held his head while growling in frustration, and in a bright flash, his eyes were no longer glowing with evil rage. “She did it!” cried Starfire. “Her love and honesty actually got to him!” added Twilight. Draken tail swapped the trio of minions away from him and he saw what was happening, “No! This can’t be! You DARE turn against me?!!” Beast Boy roared at his former controller and charged at him, crashing into him hard, and the two dragons began to brawl ever so fiercely. The heroes dashed over to Terra. “Are you okay?” Robin asked. “I’m fine.” replied Terra, but she, the other heroes, even the trio of minions watched the dragons as they brawled, unable to believe it! The two brute bit and clawed at one another, and exchanged powerful blasts, really injuring one another, but of course, their brawling made the void and destruction speed up, and the galaxy was almost completely gone! Draken then bit into Beast Boy hard, much to the horrors of the others. “BEAST BOY…!!” Terra screamed. The trio of minions were livid, and decided enough was enough! “This ends here!” shouted Kamica. Her comrades agreed, and their bodies began to go really, really dark, as they transformed themselves into dark soul like versions of themselves-- the very darkness that they were made of, and then then magically surrounded Draken, like tight binds, so he couldn’t move or defend himself. “Hey! What are you doing?!” Draken shouted “Let me go!” but the minions would not let go! “Heroes!” called Elik, “We can’t hold him very long! You must finish him off now!” The heroes all felt worried. “We can’t!” cried Fluttershy “If we attack, we’ll wipe you out too!” “We know!” cried Pyrus, “But this is your best and only chance. Help the Count destroy this traitor!” Before anyone could even question them about Beast Boy and his own lies to them about building new worlds, the minions still didn’t mind. “Count Logan created us,” said Kamica “We are made of Darkness just as he is. We understand how it feels.” “He may have deceived us,” said Elik “But he was still always there for us, and he showed that he cared for us.” Pyrus added, “We would gladly give our existence for The Count, just as he was willing to give his own for us!” Beast Boy gazed at his minions, actually feeling sorrowfully touched by their loyalties to him! Draken continued to struggle, “Release me!” he demanded “I’ll destroy you all!!” The minions put on all they had to keep him bound tight. “Please, hurry!” shouted Kamica! “Destroy him now!!” “Okay then.” said Robin. “Let’s do this!” added Mento. “For all the worlds and all life.” agreed Twilight. Everyone all stood together, and combined their magic together into the biggest and brightest blast of light they could possibly create. Beast Boy added some fire to boost it’s power as well. “FIRE…!!” shouted Copione. POW!! The blast was fired!! “AH…!!!” Draken shouted “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO…!!!” KAPOW!! He was struck hard, enveloped in the light, and he and the minions all disintegrated into complete and total nothingness. In the midst of the light, The Dark Prognosticus began to crack, and it actual shattered! It was finally gone! With its destruction, the void suddenly stopped before it could engulf the absolute last bit of existence left. Its center began to flare up and burst in a huge big bang of light that swept the gang away… falling through the blast. The Light was actually not fatal. As the light spread across the entire realm, everything was restored-- every galaxy, star, planet, the lives that were lost-- All the dimensions beyond were restored as well, including Equestria and every pony and other creature that was killed, including Flurry Heart and Shining Armor. The heroes and Beast Boy, still a dragon, were all transported to Titan’s Tower roof on the newly restored Earth. (Skip to 5:12) “Wow!” cried Pinkie “Everyone’s come back!” “I can’t believe it!” cried Robot-Man “We really did it!” Starfire looked up at the sky, “Look!” she cried. Everyone looked up in the sky, “The void…! It is closing!” said Copione. The void grew smaller, and smaller, and it shattered and was gone, leaving nothing but clean empty space. “It is a sign…” said a voice, and that’s when Shimmerlock’s spirit appeared again, “It is proof that The Prophecy of Darkness has not come to be, and life shall resume as it always has; all thanks to all of you. Well done, heroes. Thanks to you, my spirit is now free to move on.” “You’re leaving us?” asked Celestia. “The Darkness has been dispelled; there is no need for me to exist anymore.” “And… our powers of Light?” Negative-Man asked. Shimmerlock looked regretful, “I’m afraid those powers have been exhausted, but just as well as they are no longer needed either.” “Yeah, but what if the darkness comes back again?” asked Rainbow “We won’t have anything to fight it with.” Celestia didn’t believe that though, “Light and Darkness are two sides of the same coin. The constantly try to blight out the opposing force, and yet neither one can exist without the other.” Luna agreed with her sister, “Even the purest of light can create a shadow, and yet even the darkest of shadows will have some ray of light at the end, and with these, we will always know which way to follow.” Shimerlock nodded at the sisters, and then he took one last glance at everyone, “May the spirits of light watch over you… …Farewell.” He vanished into a million upon millions of sparkles of light, and vanished into nothingness, leaving behind The Light Prognosticus; its pages were all blank and its powers were no more. While it was sad for the heroes to have lost a power they truly admired and came to respect so well, that was just how it ended, and they were able to accept this. > What can Friendship do? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- FINAL CHAPTER All the people were alive, and went on with their normal lives as if nothing had happened-- they didn’t remember anything, just like when Trigon was beaten. The same applied to all the other creatures across the universe, as well as the ponies in Equestria. Only the heroes retained any and all memories of the events that occurred. Although the heroes did have cause to celebrate, the joyous happiness did not last long. “Beast Boy…?” Terra cried. He was no longer in his dragon form, and he no longer had his dark powers, but he lay on the ground, still badly injured from the battle. He was all scratched, bruised, and had bite-marks all over him, and instead of red-blood, he was bleeding a black substance-- liquid darkness! He hardly had enough strength to keep his eyes open. “Beast Boy, just take it easy. Let me help you.” Beast Boy could not believe what he had just heard, and he also saw the others huddled around him, all with a willingness to help as well. “How can… you still show me… kindness?” he asked wearily “How can… you let me off so easy? I… I tried to kill you all. I did… so many horrible things. Even I… wouldn’t… forgive me!” “Just stop.” Terra said calmly, “Don’t think about that anymore.” No one could ever deny or forget the horrible things Beast Boy did, especially Cadance, for the way he killed her daughter; even though she was now alive and waiting for her back in Equestria. She couldn’t’ find in her heart anymore to call Beast Boy out on it. “Friend, you have you been through so much.” said Starfire “You were driven to insanity and anger because of our behaviours towards you. Anything you have done is equally our doing as well.” The other Titans all looked and nodded honestly, and Twilight and the ponies felt touched by the honesty and friendship they were all showing. “Beast Boy…” Twilight said “They really want to make it up with you, and I know that you want to as well.” Beast Boy, breathing softly and unsteadily looked up at his friends and Terra, and smiled sadly. Terra smiled down at him, with tears in her eyes, “Beast Boy, I’m with you now, and I want to be with you.” she paused “You were right all along; I can’t fight it. I know that now… …We can put this all behind us. We can move on with our lives.” Beast Boy felt like crying himself now, feeling very touched by what she had said. “I’ve waited to hear that… for a long time.” he said, but then he sadly shook his head telling her “But it’s… too late, now. I can’t… give you… that.” Is body began to look a little pale, and not through just plain ordinary sickness. “What’s happening to him?” Elasti-girl asked with worry. “Oh, no…!” said Copione “I was afraid this would happen. The image created by the darkness is beginning to break up.” “What?” cried Terra. “You mean… he’s… dying?” Rarity asked in shock. Copione bit his lower lip, feeling really ashamed, but there was no other way to explain it, “With the Dark Prognostics gone, he can no longer supply his body with the life-force he needs, and even so, his injuries are far too severe. Even had we still possessed our light powers, I am sorry…” he paused and regretfully shook his head “…There is nothing that can be done for him.” “No…” Terra sobbed softly. She felt her heart being stuck by a burning knife. The others all felt the same, even the ponies. They couldn’t stand to see hope for two lovers ending in tragedy, which would only add to the much tragedy they already had suffered. “You knew this would happen?” Mento asked almost sternly. “I did not, I only guessed.” replied Copione “I did not wish this to happen.” “Your majesties…?” Twilight sobbed softly at the royal sisters, but Luna shook her head, “There is nothing we can do.” she cried softly. “Even if we could heal his wounds, we can never replenish his life force.” said Celestia. Twilight didn’t want to believe this, and would have given all the magic she could to at least try and help, but Beast Boy’s were too strange to her, and even she knew that she couldn’t replenish him. The dark power he needed to exist was gone, and it was beyond anything she knew. “Perhaps…” Beast Boy groaned “…Perhaps it’s better this way.” “No, don’t say that!” cried Terra. Beast Boy shook his head, “Terra, I… I understand… how you felt, when you didn’t… wish to comeback. You… couldn’t face yourself, not after what you did. …I don’t think… I face… what I’ve done either.” Terra only looked down at him with such sadness, and her tears were falling harder and faster. Then, like magic, she felt herself slipping into a small illusion… There they stood, in a stark realm of nothing but pure white light that illuminated them, and Beast Boy began to sing to her as images of all that transpired happened, but it was way of saying he loved her! (2:00 of the vid) Knowing she was alive, and that she truly loved him, and was willing to forgive him for all he had done… that gave him all he needed to go in peace. By the end of the song, he looked really bad, and very pale. He was going to go any second. Terra’s tears were falling like pebbles, even splashing on his bruised face, “Beast Boy…!” she sobbed “Please, don’t leave me again!” Beast Boy spoke so softly, he could barely be heard, “The… choice……………… isn’t…………… mine……………… Terra…! …I……. Love……………You!” Terra couldn’t help herself, and she leaned down and placed her lips over his, tenderly and gently, not like from their battle before. Everyone thought it was so sweet, but the girls and the ponies had tears in their eyes for such a heartbreaking moment. The second Terra pulled off of him, Beast Boy’s body began to vaporize into little tiny bits of darkness that faded into nothingness, leaving behind only what was left his tattered outfit. She clutched the tattered remains ever so tightly to herself, and shut her eyes really tightly letting her tears fall. She was so hurt and upset, she couldn’t make a sound. Robin, devastated, bravely held Starfire, who was weeping softly. Raven was quivering trying to fight her sadness back, “I’m not gonna cry! I’m not gonna cry! I’m not--” she stopped when Cyborg just cut in, shaking his head at her telling her to let it loose, and he then held her close as Raven began to weep very softly in his arms. “Garfield!” Elasti-Girl wept as she fell to her knees. Her husband caught her and held her tight, but his insides were aching. All the ponies were crushed! Again, they could never deny the horrible things that were done, but after all that had happened; they knew Beast Boy didn’t deserve to go, and Terra didn’t deserve to lose him all over again. Twilight was especially upset, because it meant that the friendship could never reignite, never be reconciled, almost as if it had failed. “Couldn’t we just have just frozen him or something?” Pinkie asked. Applejack shook her head, “It wouldn’t have helped.” The next day, the gang all got together and finished what the Titans and the Doom Patrol initially planned. They had buried Beast Boy’s original body, which had been restored, still frozen and dead in the capsule. Terra even added the last of Count Logan’s tattered outfit into the box. The box was buried in a cemetery, deep within town. The Titans, the Doom Patrol, and the ponies, even Copione and Terra; all just stood around the special monument stone Cyborg had made. No one said anything, not even delivering a service. It was too painful for any of them to come up with anything to say. He was dead, and in many ways it was really all of them who killed him, and anything they wanted to say, be it an apology or an “I would miss you” would only hurt them more. The ponies still felt horrible that a friend had died, and in some ways, they, too, played a role in what happened. Not directly of course, but the two tomes originated in their world three-thousand years ago, so in many ways, the Equestrian world was slightly responsible too. Not that it mattered. Nothing said or done would bring Beast Boy back. Terra knew this, and she had to accept it, and she promised from that day forth to fight in her love’s honor. The next day after that, Robin helped the ponies use a map to locate Canterlot High, where the portal back to Equestria was. “I know I need not ask, but… Must you return?” Starfire asked. “Sadly, we must.” replied Celestia “Equestria needs us… but we shall never forget all of you, dear friends.” They all exchanged goodbye hugs, and hand to hoofshakes. Though Pinkie hugged everyone extra tight, “I’ll never forget you guys!” she sobbed “Say you’ll come and visit us someday!” “Okay… okay… we will!” groaned Robin, and Pinkie let him and the others go. Robin then gave Twilight a special Titans-Communicator. “I know it probably won’t work across dimensions, but if you’re ever in town again and you need us, you know who to call.” Twilight smiled, and kissed his cheek, much to the playful irk of Starfire. The Doom Patrol decided to leave as well. “It’s been a pleasure serving with you all.” said Mento. “We’ll miss Garfield a lot…” said Elasti-girl “But now we’re going to fight in his memory.” Robot-Man and Negative Man nodded in agreement. “I, too, must be going.” said Copione “With my starship repaired, I must return to Psyconia at once. I wish to see my parents again, and I will have many stories to tell to them and my people.” The Titans all looked a bit down, but he could already sense what they were thinking, even without his foresight, “Fear not. One day I shall return. I owe you all such a great debt.” “Well, in that case…” Robin said, and he tossed him another communicator, dubbing him an honorary Titan. Copione shook Robin’s hand, hugged Starfire, and gave Cyborg a bro-fist, and then he stopped at Raven. She looked rather sad that he had to leave, “I… um…” she stammered trying to think of words to say, and he acted just as bashful. Cadance could see this was her calling to act, and so she gave them both a little blast form her horn, which made the two magically heart halves appear, and join together making them both realize and admit their feelings for one another, and they shared a kiss in front of everyone. “Aww…!” some of the ponies cried, and Twilight cast a naughty look at her sister-in-law. “Well, what could I do?” Cadance said. With all said and done, the ponies huddled around Celestia, and she used her magic to teleport herself and her team across the skies like a ray of light, bound for the portal. The Doom Patrol took off in their ship, and Copione’s starship rocketed into the skies and zoomed across the cosmos. Soon, the Titans all headed inside, they now had to rebuild Terra’s bedroom now that she was a permanent teammate. Soon, it was exactly how it was before. “It looks just like I never left.” She said “Thanks, you guys.” “It is the least can do for you, friend.” said Starfire. “It’ll be awesome havin’ you back.” added Cyborg. “Yeah, sure…” agreed Raven. She wasn’t pretending to be sarcastic, she really meant it, and Terra smiled. Then the alarms went off. There was trouble in town. “Ready?” Robin asked Terra, and Terra snapped on her goggles, “Ready!” “Titans, Go!” The Titans dashed out of Terra’s room and down the hall, but along the way, Terra stopped at the open door that lead to what was once Beast Boy’s room. The entire room had been cleaned, cleared of all the trash, and was left with all the furniture covered in cloths. Even though they knew Beast Boy would never come back, the room was to be kept available to anyone who needed it, as a spare room. “Terra, come on!” Robin called to her. “Coming…!” Once the ponies were back in Equestria, Celestia immediately held a wonderful dinner party for the entire group. Spike, Discord, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart were there too. Cadance couldn’t stop cuddling and smothering her baby. “Ooh, I missed you so much! Yes I did! Yes I did!” she cooed, and Flurry cooed and giggled. “Whoa! I’ve never seen you this affectionate before.” said Shining Armor. “Yeah, um, remind me again of what we’re celebrating?” asked Discord “I don’t know what kinda tux I should wear.” and he snapped his fingers trying on an assortment of tuxedos. Pinkie tried to say, “Oh, well, the world was ending and--” but Applejack and Rarity hushed her. “Uh… we’re celebrating our… return… from our… business trip. Yeah that’s it.” said Twilight. Spike felt confused, “Funny, I don’t remember any trip, or I would’ve gone with you. Either that or I was really tired. I must’ve slept through the whole thing.” “Yeah… that’s what happened.” Rainbow said, trying not to spill the beans that he like all Equestrians had just come back from the dead. Twilight was still very happy that Spike, her brother, her niece, and everyone else was alive and well, but it was solemnly sworn amongst the heroes never to tell anyone of what happened. It was so horrifying to remember, and would put everyone at unease. Twilight gazed down at the communicator she had with mer. “Hey, Twily, where’d you get that?” her brother asked. “Oh… this…? Uh… well… it’s just a souvenir from my trip. You know me, always taking home souvenirs.” Her brother felt she wasn’t telling him something, and before he could try to question her, Fluttershy suddenly cut in snapping “A TOAST…!!” she then cleared her throat “Um… I mean… a toast… to good friends.” Everypony else raised their glasses, and Shining Armor didn’t bother question again. Long after Dinner, when every-pony else had gone home, Twilight remained in Canterlot for a while. Spike was already fast asleep in bed, and he couldn’t hear a thing, while Twilight stood out on a terrace and looked up at the night sky. Celestia and Luna came to join her. “Are you alright?” Luna asked. “I was just looking up at the stars, and wondering…” she paused “… I was wondering if Beast Boy is happy… wherever he is.” The sisters wondered the same thing, and still found it amazing that they were caring about him though they never got to know him too well, not as Count Logan, but just himself. “I hope that he is too.” said Celestia “And I also hope that our friends are coping with it as well.” At that precise moment, in the human world, the Titans were already visiting Beast Boy’s monument, and Terra laid a huge set of flowers on the stone, while Celestia continued to speak. “There are many things that Friendship is capable of, but there are some things it just can’t fix or help. Fate is never always carved in stone. Sometimes, things can unexpectedly happen that can change the way we feel and live, and how we view things. Whatever it is that happens may there always be hope to guide you; for better or for worse.” The Titans all stared grimly down at the stone, especially Terra, which they would promise to visit as often as possible for their lost friend. “Garfield Mark Logan/Beast Boy” “A Teen Titan and a beloved friend” Driven insane by the negligence of humanity; lost to the darkness… May he finally be at peace! (Credits Roll)