"Adagio, I think we need a whole new plan," Rainbow Dash said as the ten girls walked down a corridor. The gilded walls passed by them as they spoke to each other. "This Pandemonium freak almost killed the ten of us, and put you three on the ropes for once..."

"You're correct in some sense, Rainbow Dash. But there's one thing you're mistaking," Adagio responded. "We don't need a new plan to fight the Malefics, we just need a new power to defeat them instead..."

"But what kind of power could even match that of the Signs of the End?" Twilight questioned as she thought about the destructive battle with Pandemonium. "If Pandemonium was only the First Sign, then who knows just how powerful the others are?"

"You're right, Twilight," Sunset agreed with her. "What kind of power do you Lyricans have that can defeat an army of this magnitude?"

"There's a hidden power that every Lyrican holds," Aria began to explain as thoroughly as she could. "Whenever a Lyrican's power is truly unleashed, it allows them to extend their power – their DNA – to other humans and ponies. Linking together other species to make an army, such a power is known as Spiritual Transfusion..."

"Spiritual Transfusion?" The Rainbooms all said in perfect unison as they raised their eyebrows.

"By combining their own DNA with that of the other species in the trinity, Lyricans are capable of using these new recruits as conduits to increase their power by a staggering amount," Adagio spoke prophetically. "And in a way, this also empowers the people that are united by the Lyricans who use this power. In short, by combining our powers to make an entire army of warriors, we will reach new levels of power never touched by any other being."

"That seems too good to be true..." Fluttershy said as she raised a finger. "Surely, there must be a catch..."

"Actually, Fluttershy... I was about to explain the downsides of using this power..." Adagio responded to Fluttershy's finger with an informative one of her own. "Overuse of Spiritual Transfusion can cause severe damage to Lyricans. And severe overuse can even cause the destruction of a Lyrican pendant and possibly cause instantaneous heart failure, strokes, and complete incineration of all of your internal organs and bone structure."

"The ultimate super-weapon is the ultimate double-edged sword." Sonata said wittily.

"There was a time where we thought that Spiritual Transfusion was a blasphemous thing of nature and that all fights could be won with our swords and singing alone," Adagio reflected on her past. "But after that fight with Pandemonium, it's a sure-fire way of knowing that this time, the Malefics are playing to win..."

"So, with this Spiritual Transfusion, we'll be able to thin the hoard and stand up to these new Malefics?" Sunset wanted confirmation.

"It's been long since we've even heard of it, but recent studies have shown that the power will be enough to bring the Malefics down," Adagio said. "But we might have to hurry, because I just felt a chill running down my back..."

"What she means to say is that she thinks that the Malefics are devising something to raze this castle to the ground, but it needs more time to be created, " Sonata told the group. "But judging from how calm Dagi looks, I'd say we've still got time before the Malefics are done with it."

Suddenly, an alarm siren rang out throughout the castle. The noise it created was loud, shrill, and could only mean one thing.

"Malefics! It never ends!" Adagio said as she bent her legs and threw out her arms. "Everyone! To the War Room!" Adagio started running. Aria, Sonata, and The Rainbooms followed closely behind her.

As the ten girls ran down the Lyrican hallways – passing by other sirens who were scrambling for battle themselves – their hairs extended and were accompanied with their wings. As soon as they saw their extra features, they left the ground and flew.

When they arrived at the War Room, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata immediately saw that the projections were glowing red. They flew up to the control balcony and used their hands to attempt to find out where the attack was coming from. With a few graceful flicks, the three Lyricans quickly found the attack.

"Team, we've just got word that a Second Sign of the End was located within the town of Yemane," Adagio began to explain as she brought up a picture of Yemane. It looked like a desert area with an entirely Arabic language. "After he was discovered by the town's guards, he unleashed a small fraction of his powers and called in an army. And now the city is up in flames, the people screaming in anguish, and the Malefics feeding off of all of the evil, death, and destruction they can make..."

"Well why don't we just send in some big payload or something and smoke the whole city?" Rainbow Dash thought of a way to finish off the Malefic assault with little effort. "I'm not one for science, but I know that Malefics, plus a big explosion means instant death. Boom!" she finger-banged for emphasis."

"I don't think that I need to remind you that Lyricans don't go so far as to destroy whole places with a simple weapon. We are far more reserved than that." Aria responded.

"Any leads on who this Sign of the End is, or what it used to be?" Applejack posed the question.

"No clue, but we can piece together the being's name," Adagio said as she showed a picture of the Second Sign of the End. It was a slender male with blue cropped hair and silver skin. "The Second Sign of the End is known as Chaos."

"Sounds like someone we know, eh, Sunset?" Twilight joked.

"Not that kind of Chaos, Twilight and Sunset. We mean the bad kind of chaos," Sonata told them. "You know, the one where fire rains from the sky, buildings go up in flames, and the general lifestyle of everyone involved in it is changed forever?"

"But anyways, this is a good time for us to test out Spiritual Transfusion against the Malefics," Adagio pointed out. "Our mission is to push through the Malefic hoard and find Chaos. Oh, and if you see any civilians who are still wrapped up in the death and destruction, then we'll use Spiritual Transfusion to make them our own warriors."

"Now listen, girls. We're unsure as to how many new recruits we can take in with Spiritual Transfusion, and so I have some exclusive orders that only you can follow," Adagio handed Twilight a golden device with a red button. "This is the fail-safe that we have planned. If at any time you see me, Aria, or Sonata in pain from overuse of Spiritual Transfusion, I want you to hit the button immediately. In doing so, that will cause a temporal abnormality that should cast the Malefics to another world and call us back to Lyrica so that we can be looked at."

"So basically, this is your little escape hole for if we're backed into a corner?" Rarity asked as she looked at the device.

"Exactly," Sonata responded as she used her hands to show the health readings of The Dazzlings. "These are our such things like our heartbeats and internal temperature," she then created a red line at a certain point in the gauge and a small number next to their beats per minute. "If the temperature gauge goes over this line, or if our hearts beat too fast, it means we're suffering from the backlash of Spiritual Transfusion."

"Alright, but before we move to Yemane, I need to ask you something, Adagio," Twilight spoke up as she put the device in her pocket. "What exactly are the Malefics?"

"Malefics are born from the evil intent and destructive natures of both human and ponykind," Adagio Dazzle began to explain as best as she could what a Malefic was. "Cataclysm was the source of all evil in Lyrica, and once we'd discovered Earth and Equestria, he spread his essence there and placed it in the hearts of many different ponies and humans throughout the course of history.

"Because of this, Malefics can come from just about anybody – or anypony in your case," she continued. "No matter whether or not they do small evil things, or world threatening things, Malefics will always find a way to take advantage of someone's dark nature and create a horrific monster out of their darkness. Cataclysm will have no doubt made a monster out of Sunset Shimmer's evil side, or even the evil within Twilight and her friends..."

"But wait a sec..." Sunset thought about it. "Twilight and her friends haven't done anything evil. I can tell by just looking at them..."

"Everyone has evil in their hearts, Sunset Shimmer," Aria Blaze spoke up. "All it takes is someone – or something – to spark the evil inside of them and do some atrocious things," what Aria had said had immediately caused Sunset to hang her head as she was reminded of the Fall Formal. "Even we have evil in our hearts. You witnessed that first-hand at the Battle of the Bands, didn't you?"

"It might not be visible for most of us, but deep down, we know it's there inside of us," Adagio picked up where Aria left off. "We all have darker sides. Even the Spirits of Harmony have darker halves. And Cataclysm thrives off of that stuff..." she then put a hand to her chin and monologued, "Much like we had to spread anger to balance out CHS, Cataclysm needs to vent out evil to maintain his certain balance. It's something you don't really want to live with, but we have to nonetheless. It's a way of life, one that can't be tampered with..."

"Then what are we gonna do?!" Pinkie shook Adagio like a ragdoll. "We can't just sit back and let these meanies destroy everything and everyone we hold dear!"

"It's one that can't be tampered with..." Adagio repeated herself. "But it can be stalled by our valiant efforts..."

"Come on, we're taking the fleets to Yemane," Sonata said to give the group morale. "With air support taking on the flying Malefics, that just leaves the ones on the ground, and the Second Sign of the End to find. Piece of cake, right?"

"There's cake?" Pinkie perked up and drew her swords. "Let's do this!"

"Now that's what I like to hear," Adagio opened up a portal and stepped back. "On my mark... CHARGE!"

The ten girls cheered and ran through the vortex, leaping forward into the light with little time to think.

Meanwhile, Cataclysm watched as the portal which The Dazzlings had entered vanished, leaving behind no traces that it even existed. He grunted lightly and turned around to face Apocalypse, Armageddon, and Carnage.

Cataclysm created a black projection with some lightning fired from his fingertips. Once it had taken shape, it showed The Rainbooms and The Dazzlings with their weapons drawn.

"There. Those are the ones, are they not?" Cataclysm addressed the three Malefics.

"Yes, I will never forget that face..." Apocalypse said with venom in his voice as he glared at Adagio with black fire in his eyes. "I will take great pride in slitting her throat and watching as the blood drains out. And when she is on her knees, choking in agony, I will shatter her skull like a walnut and eat the remains. Only then will I be satisfied..."

"Those three demons ruined our lives, and so we shall ruin theirs," Carnage said, feeling a little more like he was ready to fight than the other two Malefics. "What are your commands, Overlord Cataclysm?"

"Simple. Go to Yemane and oversee the destruction of the town," Cataclysm spoke his orders. "It is a whole country in the Human World, so you and Chaos can have your fun in tearing down cities and feasting off of the darkness in the hearts of others.

"Oh, and I presume you have had time to prepare your new power as well?" Cataclysm asked the three warriors.

"We have, Overlord Cataclysm," Armageddon saluted. "Our power has reached staggering levels of destructibility and death. We can turn an entire volcano into dust with a simple heel kick. With such power, we would like to request volunteering in Chaos's place so that he may focus his efforts on another part of the Human World..."

"While it is true that you are powerful, you must remember that The Dazzlings are now Lyrican Royalty," the demon raised his finger and pointed towards The Dazzlings' crystalline wings. "Their power has far surpassed that of their old selves, and they can unite to become the new queen of Lyrica. Because of this, they will overpower the assault in mere seconds," Cataclysm explained. "So, we shall send you with Chaos to demolish Yemane. If any of the four of you find The Dazzlings, you have permission to engage and destroy them with brute force."

"Yes, Overlord Cataclysm..." Apocalypse, Armageddon, and Carnage all saluted before they vanished in a black flash of energy.

"Such feeble humans, dancing to the content of their own evil," Cataclysm said as he viewed Yemane. When the picture changed to one of the towns, the Malefics began to descend and make the humans scream and run. "And yet, they know not of what true evil can unleash...

"Their own rage and dark desires fuel their hatred," Cataclysm watched as a terrorist force defeated a counter-terrorism unit, which immediately caused Malefics to spring from their bodies and murder the humans they came from. "If tamed, it can become their ultimate weapon. But if it overgrows... then they will become lost to the darkness of their own hearts forever.

"Even The Rainbooms and The Dazzlings are capable of extraordinary things when their evil is unleashed," Cataclysm saw the ten girls arrive on Yemane sand, ready for a fight with his army. "Their hearts may be pure now, but their evil will eventually burst out of them like water in a balloon.

"Their darkness shall take on a physical form, bodiless and free, until it weaves together to make the ten most powerful Malefics beneath myself," Cataclysm smiled as he was shown a scenario where the darkness in the hearts of the ten girls consumed their bodies and turned them into winged demons with black tendrils coming out of their bodies. "And when their evil is freed, I can truly, finally achieve my ultimate goal..."

Suddenly, a black figure appeared from a black hole behind Cataclysm. The new figure had blue cropped hair, silver skin, and was carrying a powerful war hammer for the battle ahead of him.

"Sorry to intrude, Overlord Cataclysm, but I just want to let you know that my Titan of the End is fully synchronized to my darkness," Chaos spoke as he grasped the war hammer tightly and performed a few practice swings. "If those meddlesome fools get in my way, I will flatten them like the cockroaches they are!"

"Chaos, it's always a pleasure to see you around," Cataclysm sighed in content as he walked over to the Second Sign of the End. "You have your orders. Travel to Yemane and cause as much death and destruction as you and the Malefics can cause. Then The Dazzlings will come running, and when they do..."

"They'll want to wish they were dead!" Chaos smiled and vanished with another black flash of energy. Before he vanished, he let out an evil laugh with echoed across the walls of Cataclysm's throne room.

"Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk are unaware of the true power we can call up..." he paced. "That will ultimately lead them to their complete and utter destruction. Soon, everything in existence will crumble and die, and I shall take great pleasure in wiping the slate clean and starting anew!" He stomped his foot violently.