Martha & Skits's Adventure in Ponyville

Chapters

Arrival at the Party
Invading the Fundraiser
The Emperor's Challenge
Pets in Danger
The Pets are Gone
Hospital Aquaintence
A Birthday Nightmare
Dreaming of Friends
Nighttime Planning
Hostages in the Dream World
Finding Answers
Information for All
Love for an Owner
Promise to Help
The Controlled Epidemic
Dogs on Tour
Traveling to the Animals
The Monstrous Castle
The Truth from the Past
Battle for Tyranny
The Home World Offer
Return to Wagstaff City
Search for the Monster
Attack on the Second World
Preparing for Dominence
The True Meaning
Plan for Hideousness
Animals of Control

Arrival at the Party

In a dark area, a big man wearing a green suit and a small man wearing a lab coat enter the area..

“Are you sure this is the right place?”, the big man asks.

“Yes. This is what the letter said.”, the small man says as he brings out the letter. “What I don't understand is who are we meeting?”

“So, you got the same letter?”, a voice speaks.

They turn to the voice and see a burly man and a lanky man holding the same letter.

“Yes. Are you are?”, the big man asks.

“I'm Louie Kablooey and this is my partner, Jimmy Gimmie.”, the burly guy says.

“I'm Otis Weaselgraft and this is my associate, Dr.Pablum.”

“Well, since we are being acquainted, I guess we should introduce ourselves, as well.” a female voice says.

They turn to the voice and see an older woman wearing a pink gown and a red bandana, and an older man wearing a coat and a hat.

“I am Carlotta Bumblecrumb and this is my butler, Mr. Stubble.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bubblegum.”, Kablooey says.

“It's Bumblecrumb!”, she corrects.

“If you're all done arguing, I'd like to introduce myself.”, another voice says.

They all see an older gentleman entering with a rottweiler.

“I am Dr. Fildgemarker and this here is my top dog, Agent 001.”, the man says.

“Well, now that we all know who we are, will someone please explain why we're here and who sent us these letters?”, Weaslegraft says.

“Well, I'm not gonna waste anymore of my time here.”, says Bumblecrumb. “If I don't get an explanation in the next ten seconds, I'm walking.”

They all wait and ten seconds later, nothing still happens.

“This is ridiculous. I'm out of here.”, Kablooey says.

He starts to walk away and, suddenly, a silhouette appears in front of him. The monster growls at him and he backs up. Weaslegraft and Pablum the tremble in fear and another silhouette appears behind them. They see the monster and back up. Bumblecrumb and Stubble look around for any other silhouettes and are relieved. They're about to relax, when a silhouette they were searching for pounces and faces them. The silhouettes surround the group. Suddenly, 001 enters and growls at them. One of the silhouettes then roars and the rottweiler becomes petrified and faints. Fildgemarker enters and picks up his dog. He activates his jet pack and flies out.

“Wait. Don't leave us!”, Pablum shouts.

They man flies out and is stopped in midair. The others notice it and look to the source. One of the silhouettes uses magic and pulls the man down. Fildgemarker is in disbelief and is unable to move. The monsters then surround them and are about to pounce on them.

“Enough!”, a monstrous voice says. “They're ready to listen.”

The monsters cease their attack and yield. The group wonders what happened and they hear heavy footsteps. They look ahead and see a silhouette that is even bigger than the other three and wearing a brown cloak.

“Who are you?”, Stubble asks.

“I am who you were expecting answers from.”, the monster says.

“Alright, tell us. Why are we here?”, Gimmie says.

The monster snaps and the yellow dog appears in a viewing window.

“Hey! It's that meddlesome dog!”, Bumblecrumb says.

“Wait, you know that dog, as well?”, Weaslegraft asks.

“Hey, we know that dog as well.”, Kablooey replies.

“So do we.”, Fildgemarker says.

“Ah. This is why I gathered all of you here.”, the monster says. “You all have a grudge against this particular brute.”

“What do you need us for exactly?”, Weaslegraft asks.

“I'll need your help to bring this dog as well as her other animal friends to me.”, the monster says.

“What for?”, Pablum asks.

“I need to gather them to assist me into gathering the colorful beings from the same world I came from to turn them into hideous monsters like myself.”

“You're a monster?”, Fildgemarker asks. “How could you possibly be a monster?”

The monster removes his hood and the group scream in fear. The monster then puts his hood back.

“Need I say more?”, he asks.

“I had to ask.”, Fildgemarker says.

“So, uh, we'll get to work.”, Bumblecrumb says.

The monster smiles in satisfaction.

“Perfect.”

The Ponyville train goes across the land to the Crystal Empire, Twilight and her friends still have the cake.

“It's been so long since I've been to Cadance's birthday party.”, Twilight said.

“I just hope that Pinks will be able to handle a Crystal Empire birthday party?”, asks Rainbow.

“That's nothing. I once had to throw a massive party just for a family of birds.”, says Pinkie.

“You really need to lay off partying once in a while.”, Rainbow says.

Then the train stops and they look outside.

“We made it.”, shouts Starlight.

Twilight and her friends then exit the train and carefully take out the cake. Shining Armor then approaches the group.

“Twily, you made it.”, Shining says. “And you brought your friends. And also, Starlight and Trixie and...Discord.”

“Nice to see you again, Prince Shining.”, says Discord.

“Yeah, good to see you again, Discord.”, Shining replies.

“Hello, Prince Shining.”, says Starlight.

“Oh. Hello again, Starlight.”, he says. “And, uh, Trixie right?”

“Yes.”, says Trixie. “It's a privilege to see you again.”

“Starlight?”, a voice asks.

She turns to the voice and sees Sunburst approaching her and Trixie.

“Sunburst, you came.”, Starlight says.

“So this is Sunburst.”, asks Trixie.

“That's him alright.”, she says.

“And you must be Trixie.”, the stallion says.

Trixie nods.

“Say Sunburst, we managed to bake a cake for Cadance.”, Pinkie says. “We better get there now, now, now.”

She takes the cake and bolts out.

“Wait up, Pinkie.”, Applejack shouts as they all run after her.

At the Castle, Cadance and Flurry look out of the balcony and notice wings flapping. They turn to the flapping and see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in front of them.

“Aunt Celestia, Aunt Luna, you both made it.”, Cadance says.

“It's good to see you again, Cadance.”, Celestia says.

Luna kneels to Flurry.

“It's nice to see you, little Flurry.”, Luna says.

“It's nice to see you here.”, Flurry says.

“I'm so glad you all are here.”, Cadance says. “This is actually my first birthday in the Crystal Empire.”

“Well, would we be here if we didn't care?”, says Celestia playfully.

They all laugh. Suddenly Celestia and Luna suddenly stop laughing and stare off into space. Cadance and Flurry notice the expressions on the princesses.

“Aunt Celestia, Aunt Luna, are you OK?”, asks Cadance.

They soon compose themselves and look to the other princess.

“Oh, sorry Cadance.”, Luna says. “”It's just I could've sworn I felt an aura that felt very familiar.”

“Yes. I felt it, too.”, Celestia says. “But where have we felt it before?”

At the Crystal Empire, Twilight and her friends have arrived at the center of the kingdom where they are all greeted by the denizens of the kingdom.

“Princess Twilight, you all have returned.” a unicorn mare says.

“We've all been waiting for you.”, a pegasus stallion says.

“Well, this is a fine how do you do.”, Rarity comments.

“”Nice to see all of you again.”, a familiar voice says.

They turn to it and see Thorax and the other changelings approaching them.

“Thorax!”, Spike exclaims.

He runs to his friend and hugs him.

“Hey, little buddy.”, Thorax says. “It's been a while.”

“Nice to see you and the others again.”, Twilight says.

“It was an honor for all of us to be invited to the princess's birthday party.”, Thorax says.

He then turns to Starlight, Trixie and Discord.

“And it's a pleasure to see all of you here, as well.”

“Well, I was a bit skeptical about who Cadance was inviting.”, says Discord.

“You don't say.”, Trixie says.

“Well, Cadance should be arriving any second now.”, Shining says. “So everypony get ready.”

They all prepare themselves.

“Well, for our sake, let's hope that nothing unusual happens.”, says Pinkie.

Discord raises an eyebrow towards her.

“Excluding what you do.”

Invading the Fundraiser

At Cadance's birthday party, all of the citizens, especially Pinkie Pie, are having the time of their lives. Soon, Cadance confronts her sister-in-law.

“My first birthday in the Crystal Empire is amazing.”, Cadance says. “I'm really glad you all came to my party, Twilight.”

“Would I be here if you weren't?”, she asks as they both hug each other.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie pops up and goes between the two alicorn.

“Alright. Enough bonding.”, she says. “It's time for presents!”

She then bolts out and the two alicorns follow her.

“Let's hope nothing goes unusual.”, Pinkie says.

Discord raises an eyebrow at her.

“Aside from you.”, says the mare.

Meanwhile at a city zoo, an orchestra is below a stage where the animals are performing an opera. The opera then ends and all of the patrons applaud at the show. A suited man and a basset hound walk onto the stage.

“Thank you all for coming to our animal opera.”, the suited man says. “Thanks to you, we have raised enough money to open a new exhibit for the new lion cubs.”

A zookeeper walks onto the stage carrying three lion cubs in a cage.

“These cubs have recently lost their parents to poachers and we managed to save them.”, the zookeeper says. “These cubs have to learn to live in the zoo before we're ready to release them.”

“And now let's give a big hand for our guest of honor, the one who started this whole fundraiser opera, Martha Lorraine.”

Everyone applauds as a yellow dog wearing a dress walks onto the stage and the suited man lowers the microphone to her.

“Thank you all.”, Martha says. “Back when I couldn't speak, I had no idea how human functions work. But now, I have managed to start a fundraiser for my new friends to have a better and safer home. I wish to thank everyone in this very room. I also wish to thank my human friends, Carolina, T.D., Alice, Ronald, Milo, Truman and also my owner, Helen.”

“You're welcome, Martha.”, a girl says under her breath.

“I also wish to thank my animal friends, Jeffy, Ralphie, Nelson, Polly, Bob, John, Kitten, Pops, the triplets, Lily and Cora.”, she continues. “As well as my mom and my siblings. But most of all, I would like to give a very big thank you to my adoptive brother, Skits. Come on up, Skits.”

A bigger and brown dog wearing a suit walks onto the stage and sits next to her.

“Skits, you have been a very supportive dog in my life; I didn't accept you at first, but when I got to know you more, you became a very valuable part of my life and I'm so glad to be your adoptive sister. I love you, Skits.”

Skits barks in approval. They smile at each other and then hug.

“Awww.”, the audience exclaims.

“And now for a moment of silence.”, she says. “As I wish to sing in tribute to all of the zoo animals we've lost for the past year; These animals were what made this zoo into what it is now and without them, we wouldn't be where we are today.”

The lights dim and a screen lowers. The zookeeper starts the projector and a slide show of animals starts showing. As the go past each animal, Martha sings a very powerful ballad to honor them. The song and the slide show ends and the audience applauds.

“Thank you everyone. Thank you so much.”, she says.

In the power room, a figure approaches the generator and smashes it with a sledgehammer. On the stage as the audience continues applauding, all the lights and equipment suddenly go out. The audience starts to panic.

“Mom, what happened to the power?”, Helen asks her mother.

“I don't know, honey.”, her mother says.

Her little brother then starts crying. The audience continues panicking as well as all of the pets and zoo animals.

“Enough!”, an echoing voice shouts.

The audience then stops and turn to the voice. They see a gigantic cloaked figure walking past the audience to the stage. Three other figures follow the bigger figure. As they do, they look at the audience and growls at them. The audience start to tremble in fear from their action. The orchestra and maestro flee from the stands. The men, dogs and cubs flee from the stage. The big figure climbs onto the stage as the three others stand below the stage. The figure opens his eyes to reveal their red with white pupils and opens his mouth to reveal sharp teeth with big fangs.

“Good evening, all of you specimens.”, the monster says. “I have traveled to your world to rally all of these brutes to use for my army.”

“Psst, Helen.”, the dog whispers to her owner. “What does he mean by 'rally'?”

“'Rally' means to gather a group to use for something opposing.”, Helen whispers.

“Who are you?”, Truman shouts.

“I am fear itself. I am the depiction of hideousness in creature form. I...am...Emperor Keretomatus.”, the monster says.

T.D. starts laughing.

“Keretomatus?”, he laughs. “That almost sounds like carry tomatoes!”

One of the three figures appproaches him and growls. T.D. gets scared and hugs his parents.

“Do not mock the emperor's name. Those who insult the ruler will suffer massive consequences.”, the figure says.

“At ease.”, the emperor says. “That is not what we are here for.”

“To be continued.”, the monster says as he bolts out.

“I have come from the kingdom of Equestria, because of how I've been discriminated for being a monster.”, the monster says.

“'Discriminated'?”, Martha says.

“'Discriminated' means to be judged because of who you are, how you look or what you do.”, Helen whispers.

“Oh, come on. I'm sure you're just misunderstood and don't see you can be accepted.”, Carolina says.

The emperor raises his paw and uses magic. Carolina levitated and flies out.

“Carolina!”, her father shouts.

The girl comes face to face with the hooded monster.

“Alright, let's put your theory to a test.”, the monster says. “What do you all think of me now?”

He removes his cloak revealing himself. Carolina then screams in horror as well as the audience and the orchestra. The monster is huge and covered in dark fur, with massive hooves, paws with lizard claws the size of cleavers, big dragon wings protruding from his back, a lion's tail trailing down his lower back and two minotaur horns on top of his head. Everyone still screams the the sight of the monster.

“Silence!”, the emperor shouts. “This is what I was referring to.”

He then uses magic to put his cloak back on.

“Is he using magic?”, Milo asks his dad.

“It seems so, son.”, his dad says. “Can't there be just one day where nothing unusual happens? Just one?”

“Because of how I am, I've escaped from the royal dungeon to conceal myself from those other beings.”, the monster says. “I've had to use magic to create my own children to not be lonesome.”

“I am Prince Martarmus.”, the first figure says.

“I am Prince Horlagamous.”, the second figure says.

“I am Prince Scorjosemal.”, the third figure says.

“But even then, it didn't change what all of those creatures viewed me as.”, Keretomatus says.

“Well how did you get past the police?”, Alice asks.

“Oh, I had some help.”, the monster says as he points to the front gate.

They turn and see the police bound and dragged by the other crooks.

“Weaslegraft and Pablum? Louie Kablooey and Jimmie Gimmie? Fildgemarker and 001? Stubble and Grumbleyum?”, Martha shouts.

“It's 'Bumblecrumb'!”, the older woman shouts. “Wait. Did that dog just talk?”

“It's a long story.”, Pablum says.

“Why are they here?”, Martha shouts.

“I sent them letters to assist me in finding a talking dog.”, the emperor says.

“Wait. I'm a talking dog.”, Martha says.

Back in the Crystal Empire Celestia watches her niece watching a show when she starts to feel pain. Luna notices her sister's expression.

“Sister, what's wrong?”, Luna asks.

“I'm getting that feeling again.”, Celestia says.

Luna then feels pain as well.

“Now I feel it, too.”, Luna says.

They spread their wings and fly off.

“This show looks good, don't you think Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna?”, Cadance says before she notices her aunts are gone. “Aunt Celestia? Aunt Luna? Where did they go?”

They enter a small room and pace.

“I don't understand. I felt this aura before, but where have I felt it?”, Celestia says.

“There's got to be a way to find out.”, says Luna. “Maybe we can use a memory spell on each other to shed some light on this.”

“Good idea, sister.”, the white alicorn says. “I'll go first.”

She then closes her eyes and powers her horn. Hers and Luna's touch each other and Celestia uses her magic. She then opens her eyes in horror.

“Oh, no.”, she shouts.

“What is it, Celestia?”, Luna asks in worry.

“Luna, this is impossible.”, Celestia says. “It can't be.”

The Emperor's Challenge

“Sister, what's the matter?”, Luna says.

“Your memory. It's...it's gone.”, Celestia says.

“What?!”, her sister shouts.

“You're memory of the aura. It's nowhere to be found.”

“Let me try.”

Luna closes her eyes and does the same thing with her sister. She then opens her eyes in horror herself.

“Well?”, Celestia asks.

“Sister, you're memory is blank, as well.”

Their eyes widen.

“But how is it possible?”, Celestia says. “How could both of us lose our memory about this particular aura?”

“Well, whatever the case, we can both agree that this aura is dark.”, Luna says.

“We better warn Cadance and the others.”, Celestia says.

Luna nods and they both fly back to the center of the kingdom.

“You creatures will never know what it is like to be judged because of how you are depicted.”, Keretomatus says. “Normal beings and monsters can never be friends. There will be nothing but discrimination for my kind.”

“Well, you're not going to be scaring anyone else today.”, a big beaded man says. “Get him, Bob!”

His schnauzer then growls and charges towards the emperor. The dog pounces but is then stopped by the monster's magic. The monster levitates the dog and flings him out. The dog flies and hits his owner.

“Bob, are you OK?”, he asks his dog.

“Fools. Your pets attacks cannot weaken me.”, the monster says. “None of your attacks can be able to put me down.”

“Then how about we settle this the old fashioned way.”, Martha shouts.

“Is that a challenge?”, the monster asks.

“You bet it is.”

His eyes glow and the zoo starts to change. The zoo then changes into and obstacle course.

“It's an obstacle course”, Helen says.

“Yes. I have designed this obstacle course specifically for your pets.”, says the emperor. “If all of you can be able to beat my record, I'll leave this world and let all of you live in peace. What do you say?”

Martha thinks hard and makes her decision.

“Challenge accepted.”

“Perfect.”, the monster says. “I shall go first.”

He then approaches the starting line and a countdown clock appears above the course. The clock starts and the monster goes it goes through various traps, climbs over big stairs, squeezes through narrow passages, walks across a bar and goes through flaming hoops without breaking a sweat. The audience stares in disbelief.

“How can something so big be so nimble?”, Martha asks.

Skits growls in confusion.

“Oh. 'Nimble' means very quick and light on your feet.”, she explains.

The monster then approaches the finish line and crosses it. The clock buzzes and stops. The time reads: 3 minutes and 15 seconds.

“All right. Now it's your turn, pets.”, the monster says.

The other pets look concerned.

“Come on, guys. We can do this.”, Martha says. “We all just need to work together and that way we can be able to show this monster that normal animals are just as capable as him. Who's with me?”

The animals yell in agreement. The emperor looks with a smug smile.

“This could be interesting.”

At the Crystal Empire, Pinkie Pie then brings out Cadance's birthday cake and Twilight uses her magic to light the candles.

“OK. I'm ready for that annoying song now.”, Cadance says.

Rainbow Dash laughs.

“No, Cadance. We're not gonna sing that cliché song.”, she says.

“No. Instead we're going to sing an original birthday song for you.”, Sweetie Belle says.

“Are you ready, everypony?”, Scootaloo says.

“Ready.”, the group says.

They all sing the original song and perform over the top dancing. All of the citizens applaud at the performance.

“Well, what did you think?”, Apple Bloom asks.

“That was amazing.”, Cadance says.

“Wow, Twily. You really put on a great show for all of us.”, Shining Armor says. “I have no idea how you came up with it.”

“You know me, big brother. We're always full of surprises.”, Twilight says. “Well, maybe too many in Pinkie's case.”

“I can't help it. I'm just being Pinkie Pie.”, Pinkie giggles.

“Well enough about that. Let's eat some cake.”, Flurry says.

Twilight cuts a piece and gives it to Cadance.

“Here you go, Cadance.”, the lavender alicorn says. “It should be fair that you should have the first piece.”

Cadance takes the piece and puts a fork on it. She is about to eat it until she's interrupted.

“Everypony, stop the party!”, Luna shouts.

The patrons stop and look up. Celestia and Luna descend to their niece and confront her.

“Aunt Celestia, Aunt Luna, where have you been?”

“We've been in another room, because we felt an aura.”, Celestia says.

“An aura?”, Rarity asks. “What kind of aura?”

“It's something me and Celestia have felt before. But there's one problem.”, Luna says.

“What's that?”, Fluttershy asks.

“We've felt this aura before, but we have no memories of the one who possesses this aura.”, Celestia says.

“What?”, the group asks.

“How do you have no memories of the source of this aura?”, Trixie asks.

“We don't know.”, Luna asks. “We've never had this encounter before. But we can say that this aura is dark and it was just recently used.”

“Oh no, this is bad.”, Starlight says. “Discord, you have more experienced magic than any of us. You try to find the memories of the aura they're feeling.”

“Alright.”, Discord says. “I'll try. But I can assure you, I'm not making any promises.”

Author's Note

See if you can find the pop culture reference in this chapter.

Pets in Danger

Discord uses his magic very hard to find the memories of the aura's possessor. He then stops completely exhausted.

“Well, have you found them?”, Starlight asks.

“It's no use. I've tried every spell I can, but I can't find them anywhere.”, Discord says.

“That's impossible.”, Cadance says.

“Not even Discord can find the memories. So what are we gonna do?”, Fluttershy asks.

All of the patrons murmur in concern and panic. All of a sudden, Celestia then feels pain again and Luna follows.

“Princesses, what's wrong?”, Spike asks.

“The aura it's being used.”, Celestia says.

“Oh, no.”, Twilight says. “We better prepare ourselves.”

“Wait.”, Luna says. “This aura is being used in...another world.”

“Another world?”, the group asks.

“Are you talking about the Canterlot High world?”, Spike asks.

“No, Spike. It's a completely different world.”, Luna says.

“What other world could it be used in?”, asks Rainbow Dash.

Martha and the other pets go through the course narrowly missing the dangerous obstacles. All of their owners cheer for the pets.

“Come on, Martha and Skits.”, Helen shouts. “You can do it.”

Martha pushes her limits and runs as fast as her legs can take. She then jumps and lands on the finish line. The clock buzzes and she stands up. She then cheers wildly.

“We did it. We beat the monster.”, she cheers.

“Ah, ah, ah.”, the monster says.

“Huh?”, the dog notices.

“Look at your time.”. he says as he points up.

She then squints her eyes.

“Uh, I can't read the time. I'm a dog.”

“You managed to cross the course in only 3 minutes and 17 seconds.”, the monster points out.

Her eyes widen and she looks at the clock again. The clock indeed shows the time the emperor says next to the emperor's record.

“Oh, no.”, the dog says.

The other pets are in disbelief and the audience as well.

“They...they lost.”, Helen says.

“As the victor of the obstacle course, I now claim my prize...your pets.”, the monster says as he summons a few monster shadows.

The shadows pounce and captures a schnauzer, a dalmatian and a collie.

“Bob, John, Carlo!”, Martha shouts.

“What are you gonna do with those pets?”, Carolina shouts.

“I will control their minds and use them to coax those colorful brutes into coming to my lair.”, the emperor says. “That way, I'll extract their beauty and turn them into hideous monsters like myself. Making me worshiped once again.”

He then summons hundreds of shadows.

“You can't do that.”, shouts Helen. “Animal slavery is an abomination.”

“Do not attempt to stop me.”, the monster says as his eyes glow.

Helen gets levitated and flies back hitting T.D.

“All these animals belong to me now.”

All of the shadows then charge. The audience than cowers in fear.

“Run!”, Helen shouts.

All of the citizens and the animals run in terror. Jeffy blows his trunk and the shadows capture him.

“Jeffy!”, the zookeeper shouts.

Some other animals get captured as well. Some other pets and animals get captured by the shadows. The shadows bring the captured pets and animals to the emperor. Martha's family starts fleeing and are cornered.

“Hey, I know.”, Helen's dad says.

“What is it, Dad?”, Helen asks.

“Everyone, surround the animals and lock into each other!”

The audience takes his advice and lock themselves around the animals.

“Oh, I get it.”, Martha says. “With you guys locked together, those shadows won't go through you.”

The shadows try to break the locks but are ineffective.

“Take that, monster!”, Truman says.

“It is no use.”, Keretomatus says.

Suddenly, Keretomatus's sons arrive and uses magic to levitate the groups.

“Hey!”, Helen's mother says.

The shadows capture Martha's family.

“Mom!”, Martha shouts.

The levitated people are then dropped.

“It is futile to try and escape my power”, the emperor says.

“Wait. Doesn't 'futile' mean useless?”, Martha asks.

“Yes.”, Alice says. “But, now's not the time for vocabulary lessons.”

“Forget surrounding the pets. Carry them away.”, Ronald shouts.

Nelson then gets captured.

“Nelson!”, Alice shouts.

Suddenly a shadow takes Polly.

“Hey, give back Polly!”, Ronald shouts.

Everyone and their remaining pets then get into their vehicles and drive away.

“After them!”, the monster commands.

The shadows then chase the vehicles and possess them. The vehicles become controled and throw the people and the pets out. Martha and Skits fall out of the car.

“Skits, are you OK?”, Martha asks.

Skits barks.

Hooves then land in front of the two dogs. They look up and see it's Keretomatus standing in front of them.

“You're mine.”, Keretomatus says.

Zecora uses a cauldron to find out where the other world is.

“Come on, Zecora. Hurry up”, Rainbow says impatiently.

“She's working as fast as she can, Rainbow. Don't pressure her.”, Twilight shouts.

“If this doesn't reveal where this unknown world is, nothing will.”, Celestia says.

A few seconds later something appears in the cauldron. Zecora waves to Twilight to show her what's in the cauldron. Twilight enters and watches the cauldron.

“Guys.”, she calls out. “You're gonna wanna see this.”

The Pets are Gone

In Zecora's cauldron, Twilight and the others see shadows capturing pets and other animals.

“Those animals are being captured by those shadows.”, Trixie asks.

“Where is this unknown world?”, Starlight asks.

“Unfortunately, there is no answer for you. And there is nothing else I can do.”, Zecora says.

They look again and see two dogs the most scared. Fluttershy then starts feeling nervous.

“Oh, no. Those poor dogs are gonna get captured.”, she says. “Princesses, we need to help them.”

“Fluttershy, we can't.”, Celestia says.

“Why not?”, Pinkie asks.

“We don't know where this world is or how to get there.”, Luna replies.

Suddenly, thunderclouds then cover the sky and everypony starts to panic.

“What's happening?”, Applejack asks. “Why are the clouds making everything darker than an overcooked chicken egg?”

“The dark aura must be skyrocketing and starting to spread.”, Celestia says. “Everypony, there's no telling what is going to happen. So we need to evacuate. I repeat, we need to evacuate.”

Everypony starts screaming and flee from the kingdom.

“Everypony, to the train station!”, Shining shouts.

Soon, all of the citizens arrive at the train station and leave the empire.

“What about Cadance's birthday party?”, Pinkie asks.

“I'm afraid it's going to have to be canceled this year, Pinkie.”, Rarity says.

Pinkie's mane then withers.

“No. It took be all year to make that special cake recipe.”, Pinkie says dejectedly.

“I know how much that cake meant to you.”, Apple Bloom. “But we need to follow the princesses orders to stay safe.”

“What are we gonna do now?”, Twilight asks.

“I think it will be best if all of us will stay in Ponyville until the storms blow over.”, Cadance says.

“How long will that take?”

“I don't know. But we need to stay far away from those clouds. Who know what will happen in even one of us is close to one of them.”, Cadance lectures.

Keretomatus takes Martha and Skits by their collars and drags them.

“No!”, Helen shouts.

She then grabs hold of her dogs and tries to pull them away from the monster.

“You can't take my dogs!”, she says.

“Yes I can. These dogs are coming with me.”, Keretomataus says.

They play tug-of-war with the dogs and suddenly, the emperor's sons pull her away from her dogs and pulls off their collars.

“No!”, she shouts.

He laughs as he captures both of the dogs. Suddenly, Kitten hops on his face and starts attacking it.

“Get off of me!”, he shouts as he starts shooting magic.

He continues to shoot magic until the magic strikes Martha and Skits making them disappear. A shadow then pulls the kitten off the emperor's face and he heals himself with his magic.

“What, where did those dogs go?”, he asks.

He then faces the people and growls angrily at them. The people then flinch from his growling. The monster then stops and composes himself.

“Bah. No matter. At least I have what I came here for.”, he says. “You creatures could've saved me the trouble if you had just cooperated with me. But I guess nothing is ever easy.”

The shadows then disappear with the captured pets and the emperor opens a portal behind him and his sons.

“Hey, wait.”, a voice calls out.

The people and dog who helped him arrive and confront the emperor.

“We helped you by bounding the police, don't we at least get a thank you?”, asks Weaslegraft.

“Of course, where are my manners?”, Keretomatus says. “Thank you all.”

“So what do we get in return?”, asks Kablooey.

“Nothing.”

“What?!”, the group says.

“We've helped you by getting all of those police out of your way to let you into that fundraiser and we get nothing in return?”, Fildgemarker says.

“Exactly. So your services will no longer be needed.”, the monster says.

He uses his magic to levitate the group and flings them away.

“Hey, you monster! You give back my dogs!”, Helen shouts as she runs after the monster.

“Helen, no!”, her mother shouts.

“Come back here!”, her father shouts.

The emperor's sons enter the portal first as he looks back.

“I bid you all farewell.”, he says as he enters the portal.

“Stop!”, Helen shouts as she reaches the portal.

The portal then vanishes before she catches it and she falls on her face.

Helen's parents and brother run to her.

“Helen, are you OK?”, her dad asks.

Helen stands up and looks frantically for the portal.

“Hey, you monster! Where are you?!”, she shouts. “Give back my dogs!”

“Helen, calm down.”, her mother says.

“Calm down?!”, she asks. “My dogs have been captured. How do you expect me to calm down?”

“Helen, stop.”, her grandfather says.

She then calms down.

“Helen, they're gone now.”, her grandmother says. “Your shouting isn't going to bring them back.”

She then stops and walks forward. She then falls on her knees.

“Martha, Skits, they're gone.”, Helen says.

She then starts sobbing.

“I can't believe Nelson and Polly are gone”, Alice says as she and Ronald start sobbing as well.

“He took Lilly, Dad.”, Milo says as he starts sobbing.

All of the owners of the stolen pets and animals starts sobbing together.

“I'm sorry, sweetheart.”, Helen's grandmother says. “There was nothing we could do about it.”

In Ponyville, the citizens arrive at the train station and are about to go to their homes, until a portal appears in the sky and they notice it.

“What's that?”, Flurry asks.

Two figures falls and plummets to the ground.

“Hit the deck!”, Twilight shouts.

They clear the way. The figures the strike the ground. The citizens approach the crater carefully.

“What was that?”, Sunburst asks.

They look inside and are in disbelief at what they see. Inside the crater are two dogs completely bruised.

“Quick, we better get these dogs some medical help!”, Sunburst shouts.

Hospital Aquaintence

In Ponyville Pet Care, the two dogs lie in beds that are right next to each other. One of the dogs slowly wakes up and sees nothing but white. The dog moans and sees clearly now. It sees white curtains and is in a bed. The dog then starts to look around and starts barking. The doctor then enters the room and opens the curtains.

“Oh, my goodness. It's awake.”, the doctor says.

He then runs out of the room.

“Nurse call, Princess Twilight! The dog is awake.”

The dog barks for the other dog. The dog then moans and slowly wakes up. The door opens as Twilight and her friends enter and approach the dogs. The other dog opens her eyes and sees a goat-like face starting at her. She then screams and falls off the bed. Spike approaches the dog.

“Are you OK?”, asks Spike.

“Whoa. I've never seen talking lizard before.”, the dogs says.

“Hey, I'm not a lizard. I'm a dragon.”, Spike replies before realizing something. “Wait a minute. Did you just talk?”

“Wait.”, the dog says. “I thought dragons were mythical.”

All of their eyes widen in disbelief.

“Oh. When something is 'mythical' that means it's something that is fictitious or make-believe.”

“We know what 'mythical' means. What we're wondering is how is this even possible?”, Trixie asks.

“Ooohh. A talking dog.”, Pinkie says. “I've never seen anything like this before. But then again, we've never see lots of things before. We've been through so much ever since we got together. And by the time we actually did accomplish something, something more convoluted happens and which would result in-”

Suddenly, Pinkie's muzzle gets zipped.

“Alright. You don't need to overwhelm this dog.”, Discord says.

“Over what now?”, the dog asks.

“'Overwhelm'. That means given too much of something.”, says Twilight.

“I can't believe you just taught a dog what a word means.”, Rainbow says.

“Well what I should be wondering myself is why are there talking horses in this room.”, the dog says.

“We're not horses. We're ponies.”, Applejack says.

“And a dragon.”, says Spike.

“And a changeling.”, says Thorax.

“And a draconequus.”, says Discord.

“OK, enough.”, Fluttershy interrupts.

She realizes what she just did and composes herself.

“Sorry. Maybe we should start over.”

“Yeah. That's a good idea.”, the dog says. “OK. First off where are we?”

“Well, you're in Ponyville. In the kingdom of Equestria.”, Cadance says.

“So, who are you?”, Rarity asks.

“Oh. I'm Martha and that dog is Skits.”, the dog says.

The other dog barks.

“OK. Second, how did we get here?”

“You and the other dog fell from a portal in the sky. And we took both of you here.”, Apple Bloom says.

“Are you a pony yourself?”, Pinkie asks.

Martha raises and eyebrow.

“Pinkie, why would this dog be a pony?”, Sweetie Belle asks.

“Because she has a cutie mark on her flank.”

“Wait. What's a cutie mark?”, asks Martha.

“A cutie mark is a special mark the represents what your special talent is.”, says Scootaloo.

“Oh. This isn't a cutie mark. They're freckles.”, says Martha.

“Well...that's embarrassing.”, Pinkie says.

“Martha, hold still, please.”, Twilight says.

She approaches the dog and her horn glows. She then gets covered in aura.

“What are you doing?”, she asks.

“I'm checking you to see what spell was cast on you that's making you talk.”

“Spell?”, the dog asks.

A few seconds later Twilight opens her eyes and is puzzled.

“Guys, you're not gonna believe this.”

“What is it?”, Flurry asks.

“There's no traces of any spell on this dog.”, she says.

“What?”, the group says.

“Wait. So if this dog isn't under any spell, then how is she talking?”, Shining asks.

“Oh. It's just alphabet soup.”, she says.

The group looks at each other and look back at the dogs.

“Alphabet soup?”, they all ask.

“How does that work?”, Luna asks.

Discord snaps his fingers and a coat, doctor's light and stethoscope appear on him.

“Step aside. Dr. Discord, M.D. is on the scene.”, he says.

He approaches the dog and brings in an x-ray machine. He activates it and sees what's inside martha. He then finds the source.

“Aha.”, he shouts.

“What is it?”, Celestia asks.

“Mares and gentlestallions, I have a diagnosis. Take a look.”

He gestures to the x-ray and shows the inside of Martha's body, more particularly, her brain.

“As you can see, there are letters in her brain.”, Discord says.

“Letters in my brain. So that explains it.”, the dog says. “Me and my family have been wondering for years. I guess that explains why Skits couldn't talk when he ate some.”

Skits barks.

“Well, how was I supposed to know that was the case?”, Martha asks.

“I didn't know you could understand animals, as well.”, Fluttershy says.

“Wait, you understood Skits, too?”

“Yes. My special talent is taking care of animals.”, Fluttershy says.

“Well, since you already introduced yourself, I think it's best if we introduced ourselves.”, Twilight says. “I'm Twilight Sparkle. This is my brother, Shining Armor, my sister-in-law, Cadance, my niece, Flurry Heart, my friends, Spike, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Celestia, Luna, Starlight, Sunburst, Trixie, Discord and Thorax.”

“Wow, that's a lot of names.”, Martha says. “Well, enough about that. We should see more of your land.”

She stands up and then collapses.

“Hang on, Martha. You can't go.”, Rarity.

“Why not?”

“You're still recovering.”, Twilight says.

“'Recover'?” , Martha asks. “Doesn't 'recover' mean to return to a normal state of health?”

“Yes. You've had a massive fall.”, Luna says. “Who knows what would happen if you went outside in your state.”

“OK, if you insist.”, Martha says as she climbs back on the bed.

She then relaxes on the bed. The doctor then enters the room.

“Alright, everypony. Visiting hours are over.”, the doctor says. “It's time to let these dogs rest.”

“We'll see you again, Martha and Skits.”, Fluttershy says.

They all leave the room.

“Don't worry, little ones.”, the doctor says. “If there's anything you need, just push that button next to you.”

He leaves the room.

“Skits, we can have whatever we want by pushing buttons.”, Martha says.

Skits barks.

“Great thinking, Skits.”, Martha says.

She then pushes the button.

“I could get used to this.”

A Birthday Nightmare

Keretomatus, his sons and the shadows return to the lair and imprison the pets and other animals in cages.

“You have done all can. Fare thee well, shadows.”, the emperor says.

The shadows bow to him and disappear. He then turns to the animals and confronts them.

“Hmm. It seems all of these pets are self aware.”, Keretomatus says. “But hopefully they won't put up a fight once I control their minds.”

Martha's mother barks at him.

“So, you don't think we'll succeed, do you?”, Martarmus asks.

“Well, just watch. Our father will be the most powerful emperor in all of Equestria.” Horlagamous says.

“And we'll start by controlling all of your minds.”, Scorjosemal says.

Ralphie quacks.

“How will that work, you ask?”, Keretomatus asks. “Allow me to demonstrate.”

He snaps his fingers and a shadow appears.

“Bring in the test subject.”, the emperor says.

The shadow nods and leaves. It then comes back with a cage containing Lilly. Lilly starts yelling and barking for mercy. The shadow opens the cage and takes out the puppy. The monster approaches the puppy and levitates her with his magic. All of the pets and animal all yell in protest. The monster then uses his magic and controls the puppy. Lilly then stops barking and her eyes glow red. She then growls and faces her new emperor.

“Perfect.”, he says. “One down...and fifty-nine to go.”

The emperor laughs and prepares to open the cages as all of the animals cower in fear.

Helen, her dogs and all of the other kids and pets have a party at a water park. They all sun bathe, relax in a wave pool, slide down water slides and run around in water chutes.

“Martha, Skits, this has been the best birthday ever. Thank you so much for forming this party.”, Helen says.

“Aw. No problem, Helen.”, Martha says. “It's the least we could do for you.”

Skits barks.

“Hey, Helen!”, Carolina shouts. “It's time for you birthday cake.”

“Coming.”

She then goes to her cake.

“Go on, cousin. Blow out your candles.”, her cousin says.

She closes her eyes and blows out her candles. A thunderclap is heard and she looks up. Thunderclouds then cover the water park.

“Oh, no. Thunderclouds.”, Martha says. “We better get out of here.”

“Good idea.”, Helen says. “Mom, Dad, can we go somewhe-”

She then notices that her family is gone. She then looks around for her family.

“Mom, Dad, Jake, Grandma Lucille, Grandpa Bernie, Carolina, Tio Jorge.”, she shouts. “Martha, Skits, where's our family?”

“Forget our family. Where is everyone?”, Martha says.

She looks around and sees that no people are around them.

“Where did everyone go?”, Helen asks.

They turn around and are in disbelief at what they see. The water park is completely ruined and worn down as if it was abandoned for years. There's no electricity, broken food stands, chipping slides and murky pool water.

“What happened to the water park?”, Helen asks. “It was full of people just ten seconds ago.”

“I don't know.”, Martha says. “But whatever is happening, it's starting to frighten me.”

Skits whimpers in agreement.

“Just stay close to me.”, Helen says.

Suddenly, they hear bubbles gurgling. Helen looks around to see where the noise is coming from.

“What's that noise?”

“Helen.”, Martha whispers. “It's coming from the wave pool.”

They notice bubbles coming out of the wave pool and walk towards it. They look at the pool and the bubbles stop.

“What happened?”, Helen asks.

They look at the pool and see only their reflections.

“All I see is our reflections.”, Martha says.

Suddenly, the reflections give nightmarish grins, have their eyes glow red and start to distort. Helen hugs her dogs in fear. The reflections still distort and then morph together. They then take the form of the monster who interrupted the fundraiser and took away all of the pets and other animals. Helen and her dogs scream in fear. The monster then rises from the pool and faces the three.

“You're mine.”, the monster says.

He tries to grab the dogs but Helen slaps him. The monster then faces the girl and roars.

“Run!”, she shouts.

She and her dogs then run away as the monster chases them all over the water park. As it chases then it breaks through whatever is in its way. Soon, they all hide from the monster as he searches and bolts off.

“I think we lost him.”, Helen says.

Martha and Skits then notice something and sniff the air. Their eyes widen at the scent.

“I know that smell.”, Martha says.

The dogs take a peek at where the scent is coming from. The then see a plate of freshly grilled steaks. Both of the dogs begin to salivate at the meat.

“Steaks.”, Martha says and she and Skits walks towards it.

“Martha, Skits, where are you going?”, Helen asks nervously.

The dogs then start scarfing at the meat. As they do two red, glowing eyes open at them.

“Martha, Skits, look out!”, Helen shouts.

“What was that Hel-”, Martha says before she and Skits get grabbed.

The two dogs the struggle in the monsters grasps. They bark and howl for mercy. They are then levitated and the monster uses his magic. They two dogs slowly stop barking as they become under the monsters control.

Helen is then horrified at what just happened. The monster the turns his attention to her.

“Say farewell.”, he says.

He then pounces to her. Helen then screams in terror as she opens her eyes. She wakes up in her room late at night. Her parents enter her room.

“Helen, are you OK?”, her mother asks.

“I'm sorry. I just had a nightmare.”, she says.

“What was it about?”, her dad asks.

She then sighs.

“I don't want to talk about it. It's too horrible.”, she sniffles.

Her parents enter her room and sit with her on her bed.

“Honey, please. You can tell us anything.”, her dad says.

“We're your parents. We'll understand.”, her mother says.

“You won't think it's absurd?”, Helen asks.

“'Absurd'? When something is 'absurd', that means it sounds silly or ridiculous.”, her father says.

“We promise we won't judge you.”, her mother says.

She then sighs and tells her parents. Her parents the hug their daughter in sympathy as she starts crying.

“I'm so sorry you had that dream, honey.”, her father says.

“Mom, Dad, why couldn't we save them?”, Helen asks. “That monster got a hold of our dogs and they disappeared. Why couldn't we save them?”

“Helen, did you see how powerful that monster was?”, her dad asks. “You would've been blasted to oblivion if you tried to stop him.”

“It should have been me.”, Helen says. “I should disappeared. Not Martha and Skits.”

“Helen, look at me.”, her mother says.

She takes her advice and looks at her.

“Helen, you and Jake mean so much to us as Martha and Skits did to you. We need you with us.”

“I just want my dogs back.”, Helen says dejectedly.

“I'm sorry, Helen. But, I don't know how we'll get our dogs or the other pets or animals back.”, her father says.

“Well, we better go back to bed. It's really late.”, her mother says.

“Mom, Dad, wait.”, Helen shouts.

“What is it?”, her father asks.

“Please. Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

“Well...”, her father thinks. “OK. Just until you fall asleep.”

“Thank you.”, Helen says.

Helen then closes her eyes and starts crying. Her parents sit by her side until she eventually cries herself to sleep.

Twilight paces back and forth in her castle.

“Twilight, what's wrong?”, Spike asks.

“I don't know what we're going to do with those dogs.”, she says. “I mean, we don't even know where they came from.”

“I'm sure we'll figure it out in the morning.”, the dragon says. “Now come on, we need to get to bed.”

Twilight sighs.

“OK, Spike.”, she says. “I need to prepare for studying them later anyway.”

Dreaming of Friends

The next morning, Twilight and her friends wait in the waiting room of Ponyville Pet Care. The door then opens and the doctor lets Martha and Skits out of the room. The two dogs are then approached by the group.

“Hey, Martha. Hi, Skits.”, Twilight says. “How are you two feeling?”

“We've never been better.”, Martha says. “That was one very resourceful room.”

Skits barks in agreement.

“Really?”, Fluttershy asks. “Tell us about it.”

“Well, after we were healed from our fall, we were then given massages, good mud baths, lots of dirt to dig and all the food we could eat.”, Martha says. “It was like we were in doggy heaven.”

“Wow.”, they all say.

“You two really had fun in there, didn't you?”, Pinkie asks.

“Yeah. Except there wasn't any meat.”, Martha says.

“What's meat?”, Spike asks.

“Oh. Meat is actually...”, Martha says before she realizes that this is a world inhabited by ponies. “Oh. Uh...never mind.”

“Well, anyway, we thought that you would feel lonesome since there aren't any other pets, so we brought our pets to make friends with.”, Twilight says as their pets enter.

“Who are they?”, Martha asks.

“Martha, Skits, theses are our pets.”, Twilight says. “Owlowiscious, Opalescence, Tank, Winona, Angel and Gummy.”

“Wow. Animals having pets is extremely baffling.”, Martha says.

Skits barks in confusion.

“Oh. 'Baffling' means something that's completely impossible to understand.”

“Oh!”, Rarity says. “I forgot to ask the two of you something.”

“What is it?”, Martha asks.

“How did you two get here?”

They both think but then realize something is wrong. They both start to panic.

“Oh! How did we get here?”, Martha says. “I don't know. I can't remember.”

Skits barks.

“What?”, Fluttershy says. “You both don't know how you got here?”

They both shake their heads.

“They must have suffered amnesia when they fell.”, Rainbow suggests.

“Don't worry, guys. You'll remember again soon.”, Applejack says.

“Hey, since we're new here, maybe you can give us a tour of your town.”, Martha says.

“Sure. Come with us.”, Twilight says.

They all exit the hospital and they go around town.

At the local ice cream parlor, Helen sits with her friends and her cousin. They notice that her eyes are red and tired.

“Whoa, Helen. What's wrong with you?”, Alice asks her.

“Huh. Oh, sorry.”, Helen replies. “I've been crying in my sleep last night.”

“Que paso? What happened?”, Carolina asks.

“I had a nightmare about that monster.”

“Wait, you had a nightmare about that monster?”, Truman asks. “So did I.”

“You did?”

“Are you kidding? Last night, I had to sleep with four nightlights.”, he says.

“Are we running into a theme? I had that nightmare as well.”, Carolina says.

“Same here.”, say T.D.

“Me too.”, Alice says.

“Oh, my goodness. We all had the same nightmare?”, Helen says. “This can't be a coincidence.”

“You don't think...”, Helen says before they all turn to all of the people in town. “This is gonna be rough.”

Ralphie quacks and flaps vigorously while being held by magic.

“Stop that infernal flapping, you feathered pest!”, Keretomatus says.

Eventually, Ralphie then becomes controlled and stops flapping. He then puts the duck with some other controlled pets. He then turns his attention to Ralphie's ducklings.

“Now for you.”, he says.

Before he starts, his sons burst into the room.

“Father, we have something to tell you.”, his sons all shout in unison.

He then pins the princes down and growls at them.

“How dare you interrupt my process of creating an army for my plan?!”, he shouts.

“But, we wanted to tell you something.”, Martarmus says.

“What?”

“We found the dogs.”, Horlagamous says.

“What dogs?”, the emperor asks.

“The dogs that you tried to capture but disappeared.”, Scorjosemal says.

“What?”

He then goes to the viewing pool and stirs the water with his finger. The viewing pool then shows the dogs with ponies going around town.

“Those are the dogs.”, he says. “And they're with those colorful brutes.”

“Let's get them.”, Horlagamous says.

The emperor suddenly stops the princes.

“No. We can't step outside yet.”, the emperor says. “Our army isn't complete.”

“So how can we capture them if we can't step outside?”, Martarmus says.

The emperor thinks and then gets an idea. He then leaves but stops for a second and turns to the rest of the chained animals.

“Don't think you'll be spared in my absence.”, the monster says before he leaves.

He then approaches his spell cauldron. He then grabs several potions and puts them in the cauldron.

“What are you planning, father?”, Scorjosemal asks.

“Well, we can't step outside yet.”, the emperor says. “But what if we can step outside, except not in person?”

“You mean...”, his sons say in unison.

“Precisely. We'll be able to kill two birds with one stone.”

He then laughs as soon as the spell is finished.

Nighttime Planning

Cadance, Shining, Flurry and the Crystal Empire citizens get on board the train about to leave. The clouds seemed to have vanished and they all packed up and headed out to the trains station.

“Goodbye, Twilight.”, Cadance says.

“Goodbye, Cadance.”, Twilight says. “I hope we can spend more time with each other.”

“Thank you for letting us stay with all of you.”, Shining says. “Hopefully, the Crystal Empire will be better when we get back.”

“Wait!”, a familiar voice shouts.

They look ahead and see Martha and Skits approaching the family.

“Don't we at least get to say goodbye to all of you?”, Martha asks.

Skits barks in protest.

“Oh, of course not.”, Flurry says.

The three then hug the dogs.

“Goodbye, Martha. Goodbye, Skits.”, Cadance says. “I hope you two will remember how you got here.”

“Hopefully we will.”, Martha says.

“It seems ludicrous that two dogs fell from a portal and can't remember how they got here.”, Shining says.

“Not only that, it's also ridiculous.”, Martha says.

“That's what 'ludicrous' means. It's another word for ridiculous.”, Cadance says.

“Well, hopefully we can remember soon.”

The train whistles and the citizens enter the train. The train then leaves the staiton and the group wave goodbye to them.

Martha then yawns followed by Skits.

“I'm feeling sleepy.”, Martha says.

Skits moans.

“Oh, man. They're feeling sleepy and they don't even have a home.”. Rainbow says.

“Well, how about they stay with me.”, Fluttershy suggests. “I think I may have some spare beds in my closet.”

“Fluttershy, how very thoughtful of you.”, Rarity says.

“It's the least I could do.”

Soon, Martha and Skits get on their new beds and lie down. Fluttershy then brings them blankets and covers them.

“Do you feel comfortable?”, she asks.

“Yeah. Thanks a lot, Fluttershy.”, Martha says. “These are the softest beds we've ever rested on.”

Skits barks in agreement. Fluttershy then yawns and rubs her eyes.

“Well, I better get to bed.”, she says. “Goodnight, Martha. Goodnight, Skits.”

“Goodnight, Fluttershy.”, Martha says.

Skits barks goodnight to her. She then kisses them goodnight and they fall asleep.

“I can't believe that monster was just using us!”, Weaslegraft says.

He and the other former lackeys gather at his building having a meeting.

“Oh, man. I wish I could just strangle that monster with my bare hands.”, Kablooey says.

“Let's not be hasty, Kablooey.”, Fildgemarker says. “And when I say 'hasty', I mean fast, rushed or hurried.”

“He's right.”, Pablum says. “Have you seen how powerful his magic was? I'd rather be arrested a hundred times than be vaporized by him.”

“Hmm, I wonder.”, a voice says.

They turn and see Bumblecrum pacing back and forth.

“What are you thinking, Grumbleyum?”, Gimmie asks.

“It's 'Bumblecrum'!”, she corrects him. “What I'm thinking is that if that monster somehow found a way to come to our world...maybe we could find a way to go to his world.”

“What? That's crazy.”, Weaslegraft says.

“So crazy, it just might work.”, says Pablum.

“Huh?”, the group says.

“What are you saying, Pablum?”, Weaselgraft asks.

He goes to the drawing board and starts making equations.

“Is he actually doing something?”, Kablooey asks.

“Maybe we should see where he goes with this.”, says Gimmie.

In Helen's room, she and her family are around her as she gets tucked in.

“Everyone in town had the same nightmare?”, her mother says.

“How is that possible?”, her dad asks.

“I don't know.”, she says. “We need answers, ASAP.”

“Well, I'm sure we'll figure it out in the morning.”, her mother says. “Hopefully, you won't have another nightmare like last night.”

Her parents kiss her goodnight and take her brother out of the room.

“Goodnight, honey.”, her dad says.

“Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Dad.”, she says.

Her mother turns off the light and she closes the door.

At Keretomatus's lair, he has just finished a spell.

“Sons, to the room!”, he shouts.

The princes then enter his room.

“Yes, father!”, they all shout in unison.

“I have just completed the spell.”, he says. “And what perfect timing. Look.”

He gestures to the viewing pool. They approach the water and sees the two dogs sleeping in beds completely unguarded.

“They're asleep.”, Martarmus says.

“Yes. With them asleep, their guards are lowered.”, the emperor says. “Giving us the chance to take them.”

“Of course.”, says Horlagamous. “So, what should we do?”

“No, no.”, Keretomatus says. “It's not what we should do. It's what you should do.”

“Us?”, Scorjosemal says. “Why us?”

“Because, I my army is not quite complete yet.”, he says. “So, I need you three to buy us some time.”

The three princes all bow to their father.

“As you command, father.”, they all say.

They all go to the cauldron and the monster uses the spell. The sons are then effected by the spell and their spiritual beings are extracted. The spirits then set out to Ponyville. The monster then turns to the remaining animals.

“Now back to business.”, he says as he cracks his knuckles.

Hostages in the Dream World

Martha and Skits play with Helen at the beach throwing a frisbee, going swimming, digging sand and soaking up sun.

“I'm so glad you two got to come with me to the beach.”, Helen says.

“It feels good to be back with you, Helen.”, Martha says.

Skits barks in agreement. They both suddenly smell a scent that's very familiar. They look ahead and sees that Helen's dad is grilling steaks and hot dogs.

“Steaks!”, Martha shouts.

She and Skits then run to the grills and her dad gives them steaks. They two dogs start drooling at the sight.

“Hello, steaks.”, Martha says. “Come to mama.”

Before they can eat, they suddenly get pulled up to the sky. They both yelp in fear.

“Martha! Skits!”, Helen shouts as everything vanishes.

In Fluttershy's room, she then hears the dogs yelping in the other room. She then wakes up and leaves.

“Martha, Skits, are you OK?”, she says as she goes to the door. She then opens the door.

“What's happeni-”, she says until she gets frightened at what she sees.

Three ghostly monsters use magic on the dogs and extract their dream forms. The monsters the go through the roof and leave the cottage. The pegasus heads to the window and looks outside. The ghosts take the dream dogs and vanish. Fluttershy stands their in fear and faints.

The dogs then fall onto hard stone.

“What the? What happened?”, Martha asks.

Skits barks.

“Skits, how did you get here?”

He barks to the other dog. They hear laughing everywhere and look all over. Soon, three monsters appear before them.

“Hello, little ones.”, the first figure says.

Skits barks at them.

“We have brought the two of you here to bring you to our father.”, the second ghastly figure says.

“What do you need us for?”, Martha asks.

“Our father doesn't want any meddlers to foil his plan.”, the third figure says. “So we have extracted your dream forms and brought you to the dream ruins.”

“And now, you're both coming with us.”, the first figure says.

The two dogs scream in fear and run. The first figure plunges into the stone floor and multiple figures rise and crowd them. With every figure the two cross, two by two, the figures shoot magic. The figures sink and the one figure rises back up. The second figure appears before the two. They run away as the figure flies off and comes back bigger than before. He flies inwards towards the dogs and they run away. The third figure flies up and goes around them. He grows his claws and tries to grab them. The figure then drops and his claws revert back to their natural sizes. The first figure goes in again and sinks back into the floor. This time he and his duplicates rise and surround them and circle around. As they stop, they shoot their magic all at once. The dogs duck just before they get struck. They circle the dogs again and shoots magic again. The dogs duck again and the figures sink back in and rise back up as one. The second figure approaches them again and flies out. He then grows big again and charges to them this time. The duck from the figure and the monster shrinks. The third figure then charges and vanishes. It reappears and shoots magic. It keeps disappearing, reappearing and shooting magic to the dogs as they keep avoiding the blasts. The dogs both stop and pant in exhaustion. Skits barks to Martha.

“I don't know how much longer I can keep this up either.”, she says.

They suddenly get captured by magic. The three monsters the surround the dogs and prepare to capture them.

“Say goodbye!”, they all say.

Suddenly, a gleaming light appears and blasts them away. The light clears and the dogs see the source of the light. In front of them is Princess Luna.

“Princess Luna. What are you doing here?”, Martha asks.

“I sensed that you and Skits were in danger and so I used my magic to find and save you.”, says Luna.

Skits barks in question.

“Oh, Skits asked how are you able to find us.”, Martha says.

“I have the power to enter dreams.”, Luna says.

The dogs are in awe at the princess's ability. Suddenly they get levitated and vanish.

In the morning, back in Fluttershy's cottage, she is still on the ground. The dream forms then float back to their bodies and they wake up. They look and see that their back and are awake.

“Skits, we're alive.”, Martha says.

Skits barks with joy.

“Martha? Skits?”, Fluttershy says as she regains consciousness.

She then bolts to the dogs and hugs them tightly.

“Martha, Skits, what happened?”, she asks.

“Would you believe us if we told you?”, Martha asks.

“Martha, you're in a world with talking ponies, with a dragon, a changeling and a draconequus.”, she points out. “Do you really think I wouldn't believe you.”

Skits barks to her.

“Maybe you're right.”, Martha says.

She then takes a deep breath and turns to the pegasus.

“OK, this is what happened to me and Skits.”

Keretomatus finishes controlling the puppy triplets, when he notices a burst of light. He turns to the light and sees his sons thrown into the room.

“What?”, the emperor says. “How did you get back and where are the dogs?”

“We've tried to capture them, but we've been blasted away by a light.”, Scorjosemal says.

“What?”, the monster says.

He then goes back to the viewing pool and sees the dogs in tact back in a cottage. He then growls at the sight.

“How did a burst of light overpower my spell?”, he asks. “Unless...”

The then swirls his claw in the water and see two alicorn princesses.

“I then came to their dream and managed to save them before they got captured.”, the nighttime alicorn says.

“I'm so glad you were there, sister. Who knows what would've happened to them if they were taken.”, the daytime alicorn says.

The monster then growls at the sight.

“It's them.”, he says and then swipes the water in anger.

Finding Answers

“And so me and Skits were brought back and here we are.”, Martha says.

“Oh, my. Well, I'm really glad you both are alright.”, Fluttershy says.

Skits barks.

“You're right, Skits. I'm also glad to be back here wi..wi..woof!”, Martha says before barking.

“What?”

Martha keeps barking wildly as Skits follows. Flutters then raises an eyebrow.

“Martha, why are you barking again?”, she says.

She then remembers something.

“Wait a minute. Back in Ponyville Pet Care, you said you were able to talk with...”

She then goes to her kitchen and looks through her pantries. She then finds a can and takes it to a can opener. She then opens the can and heats it up.

“Here you go, girl.”, the pegasus says as she gives the dog a bowl of alphabet soup.

Martha then eats all of the soup and licks her lips. Flutters then waits for the dog.

“Well, say something.”

“Do you have any more soup?”, Martha asks.

“Well, it's good that you can talk again.”, she says. “But, unfortunately, that was my last can.”

“Oh, well.”

“That's OK. I was gonna go shopping for more food anyway.”, she says.

“Hey, you don't mind if we went with you, do you?”, Martha asks.

“Of course you can.”

The three set out to look for more food.

In Wagstaff City Elementary, Helen walks to the chalkboard and gives out an oral report.

“What it truly means to love your family is what is inside that counts.”, Helen says. “And they will always be with you no matter what...”

She then sighs depressingly as the class applauds. She then goes back to her desk and sits down.

“My goodness.”, the teacher says. “That's the fifth oral report about loved ones and all ended with depressing sighs.”

She then walks off her desk and faces the class.

“Come on, class. What's going on?”, she asks. “Why are you all so depressed?”

“Wait. Doesn't 'depressed' mean in a state of general unhappiness or despondency?”, Alice asks.

“Exactly. Why are you all so unhappy?”

“We're sorry, Mrs. Klusky.”, Helen says. “It's just we've been having the same nightmares again.”

“You mean the ones about that monster that invaded the fundraiser and stole all of our pets and the other animals?”, she says. “If so, I don't blame you. I miss my dog, Francois.”

T.D. then growls.

“We can't just sit here and mope! We need to get our pets back!”, he says.

“But how?”, Helen asks. “We don't even know where they went or how to get there.”

“Perhaps, I can be of assistance.”, a voice says.

They turn to the voice and see a man wearing sunglasses and a suit.

“Wait a minute. You're that man who helped us track down the other guy who stole the alphabet soup recipe.”, T.D. says.

“Yes. Agent Johnson at your service.”, he says. “And I just might know a way to get all of your pets back.”

“Really?”, asks Mrs. Klusky. “Alright. Class dismissed.”

“This way, please.”

In Canterlot Castle, Celestia and Luna look all over the library searching book after book after book.

“Luna, have you found anything?”, Celestia asks.

“Still nothing, Celestia.”, Luna answers.

“I don't get it.”, the white alicorn says. “I know we felt that aura before, but where have we felt it?”

“More importantly, who possessed that aura?”

They look all around more. Suddenly Luna then discovers something behind one of the shelves. She then pushes it out of the way and sees a door.

“Sister come see.”, Luna shouts.

Celestia flies to her sister and sees the door.

“I never noticed this before.”

“Me neither.”, the blue alicorn says. “I wonder what's inside?”

“Only one way to find out.”

They both power up their magic and prepare to open the door.

Keretomatus sings as he controls more and more pets and animals. He then finishes his process.

“Perfect. They're all now under my control.”, the emperor says. “Now all I need to know how to use them for the next part of my plan.”

He then goes to the viewing pool and swirls his finger. He then sees the two dogs walking with a pegasus.

“Oh, hello...”, the dog says as the pegasus covers her mouth.

“What? Those dogs again?”, he says. “Why show me this?”

“Fluttershy, what happened?”, the dog whispers.

“Martha, I don't know if you realized this, but ponies aren't accustomed to talking dogs.”, whispers the pegasus.

“Wait, 'accustomed' means something regular or usual, right?”

“Yes. They don't know you both are from another world. So you're just gonna have to only bark until we get back home.”

She continues walking as the yellow dog turns to the brown dog.

“Again, it's baffling that talking horses aren't used to a talking dog.”, she says as they walk off.

The pool then reverts back to normal.

“So, they're not used to a talking canine.”, the emperor says. “But why show those dogs to me?”

He then looks at the controlled animals and pets. He then remembers something.

“Of course. Back in their world, those fleshy beings were used to that particular dog. So maybe, just maybe, we can be able to make their puny kingdom more like the home of those dogs.”

He then whistles and his minions then appear before him.

“You three.”, he says as he points.

Three of the minions step forward.

“Find those dogs and learn about how they used to live in the other world. And don't let any of those creatures catch you.”

They all salute and fly out. He then turns to the controlled animals.

“As for all of you, it's time to set out and brings those creatures to me.”, he commands.

The animals and pets set out to the kingdom.

“Now the rest of you, you'll get me fitted for my attire.”, he says as he leaves the room.

Information for All

Martha, Skits and Fluttershy return home with bags of food and cans of alphabet soup. She then gets out the soup and serves it to Martha. She then gives Skits some mashed potatoes with gravy. They both eat all of their food right before the pegasus.

“My goodness, you two were really hungry.”, she says.

“What can we say, we really need to eat so badly.”, Martha says.

“Well, maybe we would have eaten sooner if you didn't chase after that mail pony.”

Skits barks to her.

“So what if you're dogs? You could at least try to act like you're disciplined.”, the pegasus says.

“'Disciplined'?”, says Martha. “As in showing a controlled form of behavior or way of working?”

“Exactly. That's what 'disciplined' means.”, she says. “You two need to be very careful around ponies you don't know.”

“We only knew you for three days.”

Skits barks in agreement.

“Well, I just hope you'll be better tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Especially since tomorrow is my birthday.”, the dog says.

“Oh, well I better get a hold of Pinkie Pie and have her prepare your party. So what would you like for your birthday?”, Flutter asks.

She then thinks hard.

“Well. Actually, I don't know. Maybe, I'll think about it in the morning.”

“OK. How about we play for a while.”

Their eyes widen and they both bark wildly. She grabs a stick and they all go outside.

In Weaselegraft's building, the former lackeys wait impatiently for Pablum.

“Ugh. Where is Pablum?”, Weaselegraft says.

The door opens and Pablum enters carrying a microphone with a tape recorder.

“Sorry, I'm late.”, Pablum.

“Well, where's the pizza?”, Gimmie asks.

“Well, no actually.”

They all growl at him.

“But, no need to be angry. I did find something on the way to the place.”

“What could be more important that pizza?”, asks Kablooey.

“I came across the school that those kids go to and managed to come across this.”

He takes out the recorder and plays the recording. He stops the recording and the others ponder.

“That agent convinced those kids to follow him?”, asked Fildgemarker. “Is it possible he found a way to retrieve those pets and animals?”

“Well, one thing is for sure.”, says Pablum. “We need to follow that guy and find out what his plan is.”

“Of course.”, Weaselegraft says. “If we can managed to get those animals back, we could use it to get back that monster.”

“It sounds like a plan to me.”, Bumblecrum says.

001 barks.

“I'm glad you agree with me, Stumblebum.”

“It's Bumblecrum!”, she shouts.

Celestia and Luna open the door behind the shelf and see a dark and mysterious hallway.

“What is this place?”, Celestia asks.

“I don't know. I've never been here before.”, Luna asks.

They enter the room and walk across the room. They notice rows of torches leading to a light in the end. They approach the end and see a staircase with a book case at the top. They look at each other for a second and then start climbing the stairs. They then reach the top of the stairs and see an old book in the book case. Celestia opens the case and then opens the book and she and Luna see a page with a picture of a stallion king.

“It's a stallion king.”, Celestia says.

“But, why was this book hidden?”, Luna says.

Celestia starts turning pages seeing more and more about this king. Their eyes widen as they look deeper into the meaning of the book. But suddenly, before the can get a final answer, they find out that several pages of the book have been torn out.

“What? Pages have been torn out.”, Luna asks.

“What happened to them?”, Celestia asks.

The pets set off to the kingdom of Equestria. While traveling they are being pursued by the princes.

“How exactly are we supposed to make the kingdom like the home world of the dogs?”, asks Scorjosemal.

“We need to gain knowledge from the yellow dog in particular to know what they desire.”, Martarmus answers.

“We need to make them more comfortable in order to bring them to us.”, says Horlagamous.

They all journey throughout the kingdom and reach the entrance of Equestria. The princes then faces all of the controlled pets.

“Now listen up, all of you.”, the first prince says. “All of you need to look innocent and cute to make sure they come to our father's lair.”

“You need to coax as many citizens as you possibly can. Make all of them bow down to us.”, the second prince says.

“These colorful brutes have shunned our father away which drove him to this wrenched place. If we can't live like accepted citizens, then let's spread it all over the whole kingdom.”, the third prince says.

All of the animals shout and enter the kingdom. They all smile sinisterly as they watch the pets and other animals spreading all over and the three fly back to the lair.

Martha, Skits and Fluttershy finish eating dinner and lie back completely full. The all suddenly belch loudly.

“Oh. Man am I stuffed.”, Martha says.

Skits barks in agreement.

Suddenly, a bunny hops onto the table glaring at the two dogs. Flutters then approaches the bunny.

“Now, Angel, there's no need to be rude to our guests.”, Flutters says. “I'll feed you in a minute, but for now you need to show some respect for these two.”

The bunny's ears droop and he hops off.

“Is he always this stuck up?”, Martha asks.

“Well, he's actually very understanding once you get to know him.”, the pegasus says.

The two dogs then yawn and look sleepy.

“Oh, my. It's time to put you two to bed.”

Flutters takes the two to their beds and tuck them in.

“I hope my birthday will make me and Skits fit in better.”, the dog says.

Skits moans.

“Goodnight, you two.”, Flutters says as she kisses them. She then leaves the room and turns off the lights.

Three of the minions the Keretomatus summoned spy on the dogs while they are sleeping.

Love for an Owner

Martha goes through an obstacle course with ease. Martha and the pets walk onto the stand with their owners. The judge approaches the dogs and scratches his chin. He then raises the golden ribbon and walks forward. All of the owners are biting their nails for the ribbon and the dogs close their eyes. The judge then lowers and puts the ribbon on the winner. The owners look and are surprised. The dogs open their eyes and are surprised as well. Martha opens her eyes last and looks down. It is she who has won the ribbon and everyone applauds. She then walks to the microphone and gives out her acceptance speech.

“Thank you all for giving me this very meaningful award.”, she says. “When I was just a simple dog I would never have been a very successful canine with a very loving family.”

The audience applauds to the dog. Helen then approaches her dog and gives her a big hug.

“Martha, I'm so glad you've won the ribbon.”, Helen says. “I don't know what I would have done without you.”

They exit the building and the people of Wagstaff City gather around her and applaud and give her all kinds of meat. Suddenly, the applauding and she notices. All of the citizens are frozen like statues.

“Hey, what happened to everyone?”, Martha asks.

She looks down and sees her ribbon is gone. She then turns to Helen.

“Helen, what happened?”

She sees her own collapsing and groaning in agony.

“Helen, are you OK?”, she asks frantically.

All of the citizens then blow away and everything disappears. She sees everything is gone and sees her owner starting to turn. The dog's eyes widen as she watches her owner grow big and get very hairy. She then rises in front of her and opens her eyes which are now red. She has transformed into the monster that took all of the pets and animals and roars. Martha then runs in terror and the monster chases her. She keeps running away until she stops and notices there's no more road. She then falls and drops in a pool of soapy water. The monster then approaches the dog.

“Well, well, well. It seems I've gotten a lucky break for myself.”, the monster says. “Time to turn you into my slave.”

She then pounces.

“No!”, she shouts.

She then wakes up in her bed and screams in horror. She screams so loudly it wakes up Skits. Skits then barks to her.

“Sorry, Skits. I had a nightmare.”

Skits barks again.

“About a monster.”, she replies.

“Martha, are you all right?”, Fluttershy asks as she enters the room.

“Yeah. I'm OK. I just had a nightmare.”

“What about?”, the pegasus asks.

“About some monster.”, the dog replies.

“Oh, my. Well, don't worry. You're safe here.”

“Gee, Fluttershy. You sound so much like Hele-”, she says before she remembers that her owner is gone.

Flutters then notices what she said.

“What was that, girl?”

Martha then sighs and repeats herself.

“You sound so much like Helen.”, he says depressingly.

“Who's Helen?”

“Me and Skits's owner.”, the dogs answers.

“Oh, yeah. You told me about your owner when you and Skits were taken by those dream monsters.”

“Well, I don't want to waste your time by telling you about my dream. I mean it's very late.”, Martha says.

“It's OK, Martha.”, says Fluttershy. “Sometimes I have to stay up all night to help some animals get to sleep, Tell me about this 'Helen'.”

Martha takes a deep breath and tells her everything.

“Helen is a very loving and caring owner to me and Skits. And she means everything to us. It all started years ago when I was a puppy. I was trying to show all of the humans who have no pets that I'm a good pet to own.”

“What are 'humans'?”, Flutters interrupts.

“Oh, right. This is a world of animals. I'll explain later.”, Martha says. “Anyway, just when it seems that I would never find a good home, I then saw a little girl looking around for a cat when she noticed me. That little girl was my owner to be, 'Helen'.”

“Oh, that's sweet.”, Shy says.

“Yeah. But one day I was adopted. But instead of Helen, I was adopted by a criminal woman and her clumsy butler.”

“Oh, my. That's terrible.”, Flutters says.

“It is.”, the dog says. “Helen really wanted me so badly, that I was all she ever thought about. I managed to escape those two crooks and got back to the shelter. And not a minute too soon, because two parents came to the shelter and took me to my true owner.”

“Helen?”

“Yes. And we've been together ever since.”, Martha says. “And years later, Skits came into our lives.”

Skits barks.

“When Skits first came in, Helen seems to be more interested in him than me. So I tried to be more like a puppy so she'd love me again.”

“Oh, so you were jealous?”, the pegasus asks.

“No, I just wanted to be loved like Skits did.”, Martha says.

“That's what 'jealous' means. It means you want what another has.”

“Oh. Well I was feeling jealous, but then Helen told me that she loves me and Skits equally. And she actually felt the same way when her little brother, Jake, was born.”

“She must have really loved you two.”, Shy says.

“Yeah. She is always there for us whenever we go on great journeys together. I was always there to cheer her up when she felt sad, we would always sing together, and she'd nurse me back to health when I got sick, and she'd give me the best hugs ever.”, Martha says as she starts feeling sad. “I really miss Helen.”

Martha then starts weeping and whimpering as well as Skits. Fluttershy then starts shedding tears herself and hugs the dogs.

“Shh. It's OK.”, she says. “We'll find a way to take you two back to your own world.”

“Promise?”, Martha asks.

“Promise.”, Fluttershy says.

She then yawns.

“Well, it's been a long night. I better go back to bed.”

Skits and Martha then yawn as well.

“Yeah. We better get back to bed, too.”, the dog says.

“Goodnight, Martha. Goodnight, Skits.”, the pegasus says.

“Goodnight, Fluttershy.”

Skits barks goodnight. She then turns off the light and leaves the room. Skits then turns to Martha and barks quietly.

“Of course, Skits. If she said she'll get us back home then I'm sure she'll get us back home.”, Martha whispers. “We just need to have hope.”

Skits moans.

“Oh. 'Hope' is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. If we just have hope, I'm certain we'll be back with our family again.”

Skits barks reassured and falls asleep. Martha then falls asleep. Three of Keretomatus's minions are still at the window and one of them hold a ball of magic with memories. The minions then fly out and head back to their leader.

Promise to Help

Keretomatus paces in his lair waiting for the minions he sent.

“Where are they?”, he says to himself.

Suddenly, he is interrupted by the minions who crash into the room. The emperor approaches the minions.

“Well, what have you found?”

One of them gives him the ball of magic. He then takes the magic and sees the memories of the dogs.

“So, there really is more to those dogs than meets the eye.”, he says. “Well, it seems that sending those controlled brutes to their kingdom may actually be a perfect bonus for those beings.”

He then waves his arms and shoots his magic to the kingdom. He then smiles as his magic travels away.

“Those creatures are as good as mine.”

At Wagstaff City Town Hall, all of the citizens have gathered around and talking at once.

“What's going on, cousin?”, Truman's cousin asks.

“I'm not sure. But that guy says he may have found a way to get all of the pets and animals back.”, Truman replies.

“Attention citizens of Wagstaff City!”, Agent Johnson says. “You're all probably wondering why I gathered all of you here.”

“You already told us. You said you knew a way to get all of our pets and the other animals back!”, Milo shouts.

“Right.”, the agent says. “Well, anyway, yes. We have found a way to get all of the animals back.”

“Well, don't just stand there. How will we get them back?”, asks T.D.

“Well, allow the professor to give an explanation on the dilemma.”

A bearded man wearing lab coat enters with chalkboard and a piece of chalk.

“Now, here's my plan for a machine that will open a portal to bring all of the animals that were taken.”, the professor says. “Now let me explain how this will work.”

He then takes the chalk and starts drawing plans.

Meanwhile in the back of the crowd, the crooks who helped that monster and eavesdropping at the town meeting using a microphone and a speaker.

“Well, looks like we may be able to get to that monster after all.”, Pablum says.

“Agreed. If we can be able to steal the professor's plans, we can be able to use it to bring that monster to us.”, Kablooey says.

“Now hold on a minute.”, a shrill voice says.

“Oh, no. Not her.”, Weaselegraft and Pablum say in unison.

The people turn to the voice and see an old woman walking forward and walks to the top of the stairs.

“Mrs. Demson?”, asks Helen, T.D., Truman and Alice.

“Que have ella aqui? What's she doing here?”, asks Carolina.

“Now, let's not go willy nilly about this.”, Mrs. Demson says. “I mean this could be a good thing.”

“What?”, the crowd says.

“No. Think about it. Pets are loud, obnoxious, messy, shed hair everywhere and do nothing but drool.”, she elaborates. “Without pets, we would be less stressful. And by 'stressful', I mean causing mental or emotional pressure or tension. So come on, are you with me?”

The audience remains silent. She then gets mad.

“You ingrates! Can't you see that those pets are nuisances.”, the old woman says.

“They're not nuisances.”, says the professor. “A 'nuisance' is a person, thing or circumstance causing inconvenience or annoyance. All of the pets are not nuisances.”

“Well, then let's put it to a vote, all in favor of not letting this nut job build a machine to let those obnoxious animals back in say: 'aye'. Aye”, she says.

“All oppose?”, the agent says.

“Nay!”, the crowd says.

“Notion carried.”, the professor says.

Everyone cheers as Mrs. Demson then growls.

“All right, this will require everyone's help.”, the professor says. “Now then, here's what you're all going to do.”

The pets and animals that were sent then arrive in the kingdom. The first place some of them go to is Manehattan. Some of the citizens wander around town.

“Honey, do you know what to get our daughter for her wedding day?”, a mare asks.

“I don't know yet.”, a stallion answers. “I just need to find something that's could be very special and meaningful to her.”

Suddenly they hear whimpering. They turn to the noise and see puppy triplets who are covered mud and are living in a box, that is labeled, 'We have no home. Please help us.'. They approach the puppies and look sorrowful at them.

“Oh, honey. These puppies really need help.”, the mare asks.

“Are you sure. I mean I think we can handle one dog. Two may be a hit and miss. But three, is a lot of work.”, the stallion says.

“Come on, you did say we need to find a present that could be special and meaningful to our daughter. How about we take these puppies.”

The stallion looks the their begging eyes and then thinks carefully.

“Well...OK, we can take them.”, he says.

They are about to take them until the puppies run out. The couple then chase after them out of the city. Soon, some other citizens notice the seemingly weak and helpless pet. They try to help them, but they lead the unsuspecting ponies out. More of the pets spread out to more of the kingdom. Including, Appleoosa, Fillydelphia, Applewood and Las Pegasus.

In Canterlot, Celestia and Luna approach the balcony where a telescope is.

“Well, since we have no leads to the aura, we better take a look to see how the citizens are doing.”, Luna says.

Celestia nods and looks through the telescope. She looks around sees nothing unusual.

“Nothing odd there. Nothing odd there. Nothing on the-”, she says until she notices something.

“What is it, Celestia?”, Luna asks.

“Luna, look down there.”, her sister gestures.

Luna looks through the telescope and sees what her sister has saw. Several citizens are following pets without any interruptions.

“Where are they all going?”, Luna asks. “And where did those pets come from?”

“Luna, I sensed the pets down there. And believe it or not, they're actually from the same world as Martha and Skits.”, Celestia says.

“What are they all doing here?”

“I don't know. But one thing is certain, we've got to find Twilight and the others.”, Celestia says.

She and Luna then spread their wings and fly off to Ponyville.

In Sugar Cube Corner, Martha and Skits are with their new pony and non pony friends celebrating Martha's birthday. They all sing songs and play games. Martha even gets a cake with edible bone candles.

“Pinkie, I really have to give you great credit for throwing me a very big birthday party.”, the dog says.

“No, problem, Martha.”, Pinkie says. “I really love throwing parties. I live and breath parties.”

“OK, that's a bit creepy.”, Martha comments.

“Yeah, she's always like this.”, Rainbow says.

Fluttershy then approaches the group.

“Attention, everypony.”, she says. “I have an announcement to make.”

“The chair recognizes Fluttershy.”, Starlight says.

“Last night, Martha had said that she and Skits have an owner.”

The group then gasps in surprise.

“You mean they're not lost pets?”, Trixie asks.

“No. We're not.”, Martha says. “You can tell because of our coll-”

She then feels her neck and notices something. Her collar was gone.

“Oh, no. My collar's gone!”

She then sees that Skits doesn't have his collar either. Skits notices and starts to panic.

“What? What happened to your collars?”, Applejack asks.

“We must have lost them. But we don't know how.”, the dog replies.

Fluttershy then hugs the two worrying dogs.

“Don't panic, you two.”, she says. “Wherever your collars are. I'm sure, we'll find them. Because we're all going to find a way to bring you back to your home world.”

“Can we really do that?”, asks Rarity. “I mean, we don't even know where their home world is.”

“Well, maybe the princesses can help us.”, she suggests.

“How? They only took one look inside Zecora's cauldron and they didn't even know where that place was.”, says Twilight.

“Maybe Zecora can show us that particular world again. I mean she did come back from her vacation.”

“Do you really think she can help us?”, Martha asks. “I am a bit skeptical about who helps us.”

“Skeptical?”, says Rainbow.

“Yeah. 'Skeptical', it means not easily convinced or have doubts.”, she answers.

“I know what 'skeptical' means.”, the pegasus says. “What I mean is, why are you skeptical about who helps you?”

“Well, we've only been here for two days. And we don't really know a lot about all of you.”, she says.

“Trust me when I say you really don't want to know too much about me.”, Discord says as he holds his head in front of the two.

“Don't worry. We promise no matter what, we'll get you two back home.”, Flutters says.

“Really?”, Martha asks.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.”, the group all say in unison.

“What was that?”, Martha asks.

“That was a Pinkie Promise.”, Pinkie says. “It's a super serious promise that nopony should ever break.”

“Oh, well that makes sense.”, the dog says.

“Yay. Let's celebrate.”, Pinkie says as she throws glitter in the air.

Suddenly, some glitter goes into Discord's nose and he gears up to sneeze. Flutters enters and covers his nose. He is relieved and they look at each other. He suddenly sneezes and magic shoots out. The magic strikes the dogs and they get pushed to the wall. The group are all shocked and rush to them. The two dogs groan.

“Martha, Skits are you two OK?!”, The CMC ask in unison.

Martha composes herself.

“I'm OK.”, she says. “Skits, are you OK?”

“Yeah, I think so.”, Skits says.

He then covers his mouth as Martha is shocked. The others are then shocked themselves.

“Skits, did you just...talk?”, Martha asks in disbelief.

“Hello, hello, testing, testing, testing.”, Skits says. “Oh, my gosh. I can talk!”

The Controlled Epidemic

All of the party guests in Sugar Cube Corner are still in disbelief, especially Martha.

“Skits, you actually spoke.”, she says.

“My gosh. It's a miracle.”, Skits says.

He then stands on his hind legs and is amazed.

“I can also stand and walk on two legs.”

He starts walking and dancing.

“Wow. Wait, I was hit by that magic, too.”, Martha says.

She then stands up and walks and dances, too.

“Whoa! Discord, what did you do to them?”, Starlight asks.

“It appears some of my chaotic magic must have shot out when I sneezed.”, he answers. “And as a result them must have gotten as sentient as me.”

“Senti-what now?”, Martha asks.

“Oh. 'Sentient' means able to perceive or feel things.”, Discord says. “In other words you know have my abilities in your bodies.”

“Wow. This is completely out there.”, she says. “So this is what it's like to walk on two legs.”

“Wait, if I can walk, talk and dance, I wonder if I can sing as well.”, Skits says.

He then starts singing and Martha joins in. Soon, they become so carried away and take their musical number outside and perform in front of the citizens of Ponyville. As soon as their song number ends they realize that all of the citizens have seen the dogs.

“Oh, dang.”, they both say in unison.

“How did those dogs sing?”, a mare asks.

“Uh, I can explain.”, Twilight says.

She then tries to think and then comes up with a possible explanation.

“You see, Fluttershy found these dogs and took care of them. And when we celebrated their birthday, Discord sneezed and caused these dogs to become sentient.”, she says.

The citizens exclaim in awe.

“Excuse me. Excuse me.”, a voice says.

A stallion wearing a suit approaches the dogs.

“I'm a traveling music career agent and just so happened to see you two pull of a phenomenal music number.”, he says. “What I want to ask is would the two of you like to be in show business

“Us? Be in show business?”, Martha asks.

“Oooohhh. Martha, Skits, take the job.”, Pinkie says. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“Yes. You could be the most famous dogs in all of Equestria.”, Rarity says.

“Martha, you already have a job as a firehouse dog and a disc jokey.”, Skits says.

“Well...”, Martha says as she thinks. “All right then.”

“Perfect. Come with me.”, the agent says.

Martha and Skits follow him but Martha stops and turns to Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, you are going to keep your promise to take me and Skits back home right?”

“Of course.”, she says. “I would never break a pinkie promise.”

They leave with the agent and get on a carriage. They soon leave to their first gig. All of the citizens leave and continue with their lives.

“They're so lucky.”, Rainbow says. “How can dogs actually be famous?”

Suddenly, the group that was in the Crystal Empire appear before the group.

“Cadance, Shining, Flurry, Celestia, Luna, Sunburst, Thorax.”, Twilight says.

“What in the hay are y'all doin' here?”, Applejack asks.

“Thank goodness we found you, we have something to tell you all.”, Celestia says.

Back in Wagstaff City, the professor and the townspeople construct a machine that will get the pets and animals back.

“Do you think this will work?”, Helen says as she yawns. “It's been four whole days.”

“I don't know, Helen.”, her father says. “The professor says that this will be able to get all of our pets back.”

“Come on, everyone. Put you back into it.”, her grandfather says.

Everyone gives the professor more technology and Agent Johnson and T.D.'s father helps him taking apart and place them together.

Outside, looking through a window, the goons watch as the townspeople put together the machine and start planning.

“How are we going to get a hold of that machine?”, Kablooey asks. “That professor has about every single citizen in Wagstaff City helping him out.”

“And it's even worse because of that agent.”, Fildgemarker comments as 001 growls.

“Hmm. Maybe there is a way.”, Bumblecrum says.

“What are you suggesting?”, Gimmie asks.

“Well, maybe we can come up with a ploy to use to get these supporters away from that machine.”

“Well, don't just stand there. What's the ploy?”, Weaselegraft asks.

They all huddle up and she whispers to the group. They all mutter in agreement and the break apart.

“Do you really think that will work? Not everyone in this town is gullible.”, Pablum asks. “And 'gullible' means easily persuaded to believe something.”

“It's fool proof. I'm certain that everyone will believe it.”, Bumblecrum says.

“Well, let's get to work, Tumblegum.”, Weaselegraft says.

“It's Bumblecrum!”, she shouts and covers her mouth.

They all duck as Truman turns to a window.

“Hmm.”, he says.

“What is it, Truman?”, Carolina asks.

“I thought I heard something. Oh, well.”

“All right. Let's all get to work.”, Kablooey says.

In Keretomatus's lair, he continues to turn more and more ponies into monsters.

“Everything is all coming together.”, he says. “I can practically taste that worship already.”

Suddenly his viewing pool starts glowing. He then growls in frustration.

“Oh, what could it possibly be this time?”

He then stops his process and walks to the pool. He stirs his finger in the water and it shows the dogs again. But this time, they're both dancing and singing. They end their musical number.

“What, those dogs can sing and dance now?”, he says. “Why show me this?”

He then notices the dogs going into their trailer exhausted.

“Oh, Skits, I don't know if I can do this any longer.”, the yellow dog says.

“Don't worry, Martha. We just have to focus on getting back home.”, the brown dog says. “They would never break their promise.”

“So they're planning on going back home, huh?”, the emperor says. “Well, then I'll have to work extra hard now that they'll soon be gone.”

He then powers up his magic and starts to turn more ponies into monsters at once. His sons the enter the room and power up their magic. He then smiles and lets the princes extract the beauty of the prisoners.

Back in Ponyville, Celestia and Luna finish their story at why they came.

“So all of the citizens are following pets out of the kingdom?”, Twilight asks.

“Yes. And even more surprising, they're the same pets we saw in Zecora's cauldron.”, Celestia says.

“You mean they came from the same world as Martha and Skits?”, Rainbow asks.

“Yes. And what's more they all have the same aura me and Celestia are trying to remember.”, Luna says.

“Wait a minute.”, Starlight says. “If those pets have been controlled, maybe Martha and Skits will be controlled as well.”

“What do you mean?”, asks Trixie.

“Think about it. The pets that are being controlled came from the same world as Martha and Skits. If they've been controlled, there's no doubt that those two will be controlled as well.”

“Well we better find Martha and Skits fast.”, Scootaloo says.

“But we don't even know where they went.”, Apple Bloom says.

“Well, this is one pony who can help us.”, Twilight says.

Dogs on Tour

Martha and Skits are at their first gig in Manehattan. They both feel nervous and they look at each other.

“Why are we nervous all of a sudden?”, Martha asks.

“I don't know.”, Skits says. “I mean we weren't nervous back in Ponyville.”

They both take a deep breath and compose themselves.

“This is no time to panic. We've got an audience who are expecting singing and dancing dogs”, Skits says.

“You're right.”, Martha says. “Let's get out there and show them what two simple dogs can do.”

They walk onto the stage and perform their song. They perform dances while providing their excellent vocal talents and soon end their number. The audience cheers for them and they both bow.

“Thank you, Manehattan!”, Martha says.

“You've been a wonderful audience.”, Skits says.

They both then leave the stage and go backstage.

“We were phenomenal Skits.”, Martha says.

“We sure were.”, Skits replies.

Their manager approaches the two.

“That was amazing. You two have really outdone yourselves this time.”, he says.

“Really?”, both dogs ask.

“Absolutely”

His cell phone then rings and he picks it up.

“Hello? Yes.”, he says. “What? Are you serious?! Alright, I'll tell them. Talk to you later.”

He then hangs up and turns to the dogs.

“Guess what? You two just got your next gig in Applewood!”

“Whoa! We already got our next gig?”, Martha says.

“Um, sorry. What's a gig again?”, Skits asks.

“A 'gig' is a live performance on a stage, film or television.”, Martha explains.

“Oh. In that case. I can't believe we already got our next gig.”

“Trust me when I say, that you two will be stars.”, their manager says. “Come on, let's get going.”

They all go on the carriage again and leave.

In the crowd, Twilight and the other push aside and fly over the audience. The audience exclaims as they get pushed aside and see the ponies fly over them. The group reaches the stage but see that the dogs are already gone.

“Dang, we already lost them.”, Twilight exclaims.

“Any idea where they went to?”, Rainbow asks.

“I don't know. Discord, can you track them?”

“Give me a second.”, he says.

He closes his eyes and senses around the area. He then traces the heat signatures of the dogs and their manager going in a direction. He opens his eyes.

“I found them.”, he says.

“Where are they?”, Fluttershy asks.

“They're on their way to Applewood.”

“Applewood?!”, the group says in unison.

“That's an hour away from here!”, Pinkie exclaims.

“Don't worry. The princesses will just teleport us again.”, Applejack says.

“Applejack, our magic is still recharging.”, Cadance says.

The others all groan in frustration.

“Isn't there any way to get there?”, Thorax asks.

Fluttershy then sees taxi carriages.

“What about them?”, she asks.

They see the carriages and turn to them.

“Are you sure they'll be able to take us to Applewood?”, Shining asks.

“It's better than nothing.”, she replies.

They all reach the carriages and ask the drivers to take them to Applewood. They soon set off to find the dogs.

At Wagstaff City Town Hall, the townspeople gather around as Agent Johnson and the professor stand at the top of the stairs with a big object underneath a big white tarp.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the professor and I have finally finished the device that will bring all of the pets and animals back.”, Agent Johnson says. “It took us 30 hours to make, but we've finally finished it.”

The professor grabs the tarp.

“Behold, we give you...”, he says and then removes the tarp. “The Animalocator.”

The audience is in awe.

“Will that really help us get all of the animals back?”, Milo's dad asks.

“Of course.”, the professor says. “We've programmed it to bring back all of the animals that were taken on the night that monster invaded the fundraiser.”

“Wow, that's convenient.”, Carolina's father says.

“Convenient?”, his daughter asks.

“'Convenient'. It means fitting in well with a person's needs, activities and plans.”

“Oh. So, yes. It is convenient.”, she says.

“Now stand back everyone.”, the professor says. “We're about to activate it.”

They both approach the device and are about to activate, when suddenly, and without warning, a rottweiler enters and barks at them.

“What? A rottweiler?”, T.D. says. “I thought all of the pets were taken.”

Helen then realizes something.

“Wait a minute. I recognize that rottweiler!”, she shouts.

Two men, one with a green suit and another with a white lab coat shoot the two with stun rays.

“Weaselegraft and Pablum!”, Helen shouts.

“We got you now!”, Weaslegraft says.

“Perfect timing.”, Pablums comments.

Pablum whistles. A burly man and a lanky man enter and lift the device.

“Kablooey and Gimmie!”, Truman says.

They carry the device and the kids try to stop them. But a limousine enters, blocking them.

“Whoa! A limousine.”, Kablooey says.

“What are the odds of that?”, asks Gimmie.

The doors open to reveal a rich old woman and her butler.

“Hey. That's Stubble and Bumblecrum!”

“It's Bumblecru...oh, wait. She got it right.”, she says.

Kablooey and Gimmie keep carrying the device and a claw lowers and grabs it. It lifts up to a helicopter driven by a man wearing a brown suit.

“It's Fildgemarker.”, T.D. shouts.

001 then runs out and hops onto the device. The group then leaves with the device leaving everyone else in shock.

“No, no no, no, no, no, no, no!”, Helen shouts.

Her family arrive and try to console her.

“Helen, mi hija. Relax.”, her mother says.

“How can I?!”, she shouts. “That was our one chance to find our pets and now it's gone!”

“I hate to say it, pero she's correcto. She's right.”, Carolina says.

“What?!”, the family says.

“Sure I'm not keen on pets. But I actually understand where she's going with this.”, she says. “Helen's right. Martha and Skits are more than just pets. They're my family too. And you know what...I wish I had a pet myself.”

“Wow, mi hija. That was the most mature thing you ever said.”, her father says. “I'm proud of you.”

“Gracias, Papi.”, she says.

“Guys, what are we doing?!”, Alice asks. “Why are we just talking when those guys just took the device?”

“Oh. Right.”, Helen says with a blush. “Come on, I know where there taking it.”

At the emperor's lair, he finishes up with his process.

“Perfect. I think that's enough slaves for my new kingdom.”, he says.

He then senses the viewing pool glowing. He then walks to the viewing pool and stirs his finger in the water. It then shows the dogs performing at a stage show.

“What? Those dogs became more sentient?”, he says to himself. “Why show them to me?”

“Man, Skits. We've gone on three tours today.”, the yellow dog yawns. “I'm really exhausted.”

“Me too.”, the brown dog says. “Well, we just have to keep our hopes up. Twilight and her friends promised us to take us home when they know how to send us there.”

“Alright. We're here.”, the stallion says. “Let's see some hustle.”

“Well, here goes nothing.”, the small dog says as they both get off the bus.

“So their friends said they'll try to send them home.”, he says. “But what's happening to them?”

He stirs his finger and sees the ponies and other creatures traveling. They then notice the creatures seeing the controlled animals leading ponies out. They then stop and disappear.

“What? Where did they go?”, the unicorn filly asks.

“I don't know.”, the lavender alicorn says. “But we can't stop now, we've gotta find Martha and Skits.”

“What? How did they know about my army?”, he says, but then notices something. “Wait a minute. Aren't those...”

He then sees the white and blue alicorns following the group.

“Come on, sister.”, the white alicorn says. “We need to move on.”

“You're right.”, the blue alicorn says. “We may not know what aura was controlling them. But we'll find out eventually.”

The emperor growls.

“It's those two alicorns again!”

“Wait a minute.”, the pink earth pony says. “I have a feeling we may have forgotten something.”

“Are your Pinkie senses tingling again?”, the cyan pegaus asks.

“No. I haven't gotten my senses tingling at all recently. It's something else.”

Keretomatus then remembered something.

“Wait. What did that big dog say earlier?”

He then swirls his finger and the dog and pony are side by side.

“Twilight and her friends promised us to take us home when they know how to send us there.”, the dog says.

“I have a feeling we may have forgotten something.”, the pink pony says.

He then repeats the creatures over and over until he finally puts the pieces together. With that, he gives a crooked smile.

“Hmm. I think I just found a way to catch those two dogs on the rebound.”, he says.

He then turns to the door.

“Martarmus, Horlagamous, Scorjosemal, enter now!”, he shouts.

The princes then burst into the room and bow to their father.

“What do you call us for, father?”, Scorjosemal asks.

“I have just found a way to get those two miscreants out from my plan.”, he says.

“What is your command?”, Horlagamous asks.

“Find those dogs, as well as their friends, and lead them to my lair. I have found a special offer to give to them.”

His sons all salute him.

“As you wish, father.”, Martarmus says. “We will bring them all to you in one piece.”

The princes then bolt and fly off to the kingdom of Equestria.

“Those naïve pets won't know what will hit them.”, he chuckles.

Author's Note

Sorry it took me so long to release this chapter. I've been busy this week. I've spent some time working and the rest of it writing my next clopfic. Hopefully, I'll be able to work faster. Until then, laters.

Traveling to the Animals

Martha and Skits perform their next gig and finish.

“Thank you all! You've been a wonderful audience.”, Martha says.

“We'll be there to perform for you always.”, Skits says.

They then go backstage and they slump to the floor.

“If I sing another song, I'll go insane.”, Martha says.

“Not only that, I'll go crazy.”, Skits says.

“That's what 'insane' means, Skits.”, she says “It means in a state of mind that prevents normal perception, behavior or social interaction. In other words, crazy.”

“Well at least this is our last show for the day. Come on, let's go take naps.”

The two walk to their trailer and jump into their beds. But just as they're finally able to rest, they hear the door knocking.

“Ugh. Now is so not the time for an autograph.”, Skits says. “Whoever is out there, wait in line with the others.”

“Martha, Skits, it's us!”, a familiar voice shouts on the other side.

“Fluttershy?”, they both say.

They go to the door.

“It's OK, they're with us. Let them in.”, Martha shouts.

The door opens and their friends enter give a massive group hug.

Fluttershy then realizes.

“Wait! What are we doing?”, she shouts. “We should be hugging them.”

They all release and look towards the dogs.

“Guys, what are you doing here?”, asks Skits.

“We came to inform you both that the citizens are following scontrolled animals.”, Scootaloo says.

“Controlled animals?”, Skits asks. “What controlled animals?”

“Believe it or not, me and Luna found out that the animals are actually the same animals that came from your home world.”

Their eyes widen in disbelief.

“Oh, my gosh. Skits, they're all here, too!”, Martha says.

“I can't believe it.”, Skits says. “Where are they?”

“Well, that's the thing.”, Shining says. “They were being controlled and then they suddenly vanished.”

“Oh.”, the dogs both say in disappointment.

“Great, how are we gonna find them now?”, Skits asks. “Discord, can't you find them?”

“This magic is unlike anything I've felt. I don't even know where to start.”, he says.

“Well, maybe we can be of service.”, a ghastly voice says.

They all search around the room.

“Who said that?”, Cadance asks.

Three creatures then appear into the room.

“Wait, those are the creatures who took us into their dream world.”, Skits says.

“Yes. We are Prince Martarmus.”, the first monster says.

“Prince Horlagamous.”, the second monster says.

“And Prince Scorjosemal.”, the third monster says. “And we've come to offer our services for you.”

“We wouldn't get any offers from you three.”, says Martha. “If I knew what an 'offer' was.”

“An 'offer' is an expression of readiness to do or give something if desired.”, Horlagamous says.

“Oh. Well, we're still not interested in your offer.”, Skits says.

“We understand if you don't trust us. But we are willingly giving you an opportunity to give us a second chance.”, Martarmus says.

“And why exactly would they trust you three?”, Applejack asks.

“Because we know where to find those animals.”, Scorjosemal says.

The dogs then seem tempted.

“You mean the animals from the world me and Skits?”, Martha asks.

“Precisely.”, they all say in unison.

“We will take all of you to them. And we promise that we will not try to imprison you like before.”, Martarmus says. “Or would you rather spend the rest of your lives just singing and dancing everywhere?”

The dogs then turn to each other and take the offer into consideration.

“Skits, do you really think these strange monsters can take us to see our old friends again?”, Martha whispers to him. “I mean they tried to capture us and take us to whoever they're working for.”

“That's true. But think about it, they know where all of the others are.”, Skits says. “We don't know how or why they're all here, but maybe they can answer. And I really don't want to do any more song tours.”

She then thinks and then nods in approval. They both turn back to the monsters.

“Well?”, Martarmus asks.

They both take deep breaths.

“Show us the way.”, Skits says.

“Perfect.”, Horlagamous says. “Follow us. And bring your friends along.”

“Wait. Won't our manager and the fans wonder where we are?”, Martha asks.

“Not to worry. We've thought ahead.”, Scorjosemal says as he snaps his fingers.

Two minions appear and approach the dogs. They both tear some fur off of them and the dogs yelp in pain. The minions then absorb the fur and turn into the dogs.

“Wow.”, the dogs say in unison.

“And the best part, these dogs have the same abilities as the two of you.”, Horlagamous says.

A knock is heard on the other side of the door.

“Martha, Skits, are you both well rested yet?”, their manager asks.

They look at the duplicates and smile.

“Uh, yes. We'll be right out.”, Skits shouts.

They all snap their fingers and a portal appears.

“This way.”, the monsters all say.

The monsters and the dogs enter the portal.

“I've got a bad feeling about this.”, Thorax says. “We better follow them nonetheless.”

The rest of the group then enter the portal and it vanishes. The duplicates open the door and walk out to their manager.

Meanwhile, Helen and her friends reach Weaselegraft's hideout.

“We made it.”, Helen says.

“Hang on. What if they already activated the device?”, Ronald says.

“Well, if it's not a problem, go check.”, Alice says.

“No way. Helen led us here, so she should look.”

“What's wrong, are you scared?”, Helen asks.

“No. If I look we'll get caught.”, he says.

“He does have a point.”, Truman says. “Any one of us should be bold enough to look.”

“Well how do we decide?”, Milo asks.

“I'll go.”, T.D. volunteers.

“Alright. Go have a look.”, Ronald says.

He then opens his eyes.

“Um...”, he says.

“What are you waiting for, T.D.? Go look.”, Helen says.

“Well, I was actually hoping one of you would talk me out of it and look for me instead.”, he says with a blush.

“Ugh. This is stupid!”, Alice shouts. “Our pets are getting further and further away from us! How do we decide who goes.”

Soon, the all bicker and argue.

“Enough!”, Carolina shouts. “Alright, I think I know a way which one of us will look.”

“What?”, they all ask.

“We'll play rock papel tijeras. Rock paper scissors.”, she suggests.

“What?”, they all say.

“Are you serious?”, Truman says.

“No. But it's the only logical way to decide.”

They all look at each other and reluctantly do Carolina's idea.

“Alright. Last person left gets to look. Agreed?”, she asks.

They all nod.

They all play and the first round is a tie. They all groan and go again. This time, T.D. and Truman throw rock while the rest throw paper.

“Ugh. I always throw rock.”, T.D. says.

“How did I not see this?”, Truman asks.

Helen, Carolina, Ronald, Alice and Milo are left.

“OK. We're left. Now let's go.”, Milo says.

They play again. Alice then throws down paper while the rest throw scissors.

“Aw, I lost.”, she says.

“Ha ha.”, her brother mocks her. “Oh, wait. That means you don't have to check.”

“Stinks to be you, huh?”, his sister comments.

“OK, three down, three to go.”, Carolina says.

They both play once again and throw down. Milo and Ronald throw down scissors, while Helen and Carolina throw rock.

“Dang it. I should have picked paper.”, Milo says.

“Hey, on the bright side, we don't have to check.”, Ronald says.

Helen and Carolina look at each other.

“OK, prima. It's just you and me now.”, Carolina says.

“OK. Let's do it. It's all or nothing.”, Helen says.

They play one last game. The rest of the group then look in suspense as they throw down their last hands. Helen and Carolina slowly open their eyes and see what they both through. Helen threw down paper and Carolina threw down scissors.

“OK, cousin. It looks like you go check.”, Helen says.

“Wait, how about two out of three?”, Carolina.

“Carolina, you won. That means you check.”, Ronald says.

“No way. Let someone else go.”

“Carolina, playing this game was your idea and you're the only one left. So you go.”, Helen says.

She then sighs and goes to the window and takes a peek.

The dogs and other creatures exit the portal and arrive at their destination.

“Here we are.”, the monsters say in unison.

In front of them is a dark castle that's surrounded dark clouds.

“Gosh, I haven't seen a castle this ominous since the old changeling hive.”, Starlight says.

“Well let's get going, then.”, Trixie says.

“Hold on.”, Scorjosemal says. “Only the dogs and these six can come inside. The rest of you will have to stay outside unfortunately.”

“What?”, Scootaloo says. “Are you serious?!”

“Our leader only wishes to speak with these creatures in particular.”, Martarmus says.

“Very well. We'll just stay out here.”, Flurry says.

They walk across the bridge leading to the castle, while the rest wait outside. Until they begin to sense something near them. They look around and see other monsters surrounding them. Some of them try to use magic but they get their magic blocked. They start attacking the group and they avoid them. But this was only part of the ploy. The flying monsters then pounce on them and trap them all. They then begin to worry about what will happen to the dogs and their friends.

“What's gonna happen to them?”, Spike asks.

“They're all gonna get captured!”, Shining says.

The Monstrous Castle

Martha, Skits and the girls follow the princes into the room. They open the door to see the animals all in cages. The dogs then gasp in surprise and approach them.

“Ralphie, Cora, Bob, John, Professor Monkey, Tiger Baby, Jeffy, Bo, Ruby, Carlo, Nelson, Polly.”, Skits says.

“Kitten, Pops, Francois, Lily, Giraffe, Bat, Penguin, Lemur, Slappy, Jaws, Rascal, Mom.”, Martha says. “They're all here, just like they said.”

“Wow.”, the girls say in unison.

Martha's mother barks.

“Oh, well. There was a creature named Discord who used some sort of magic that turned me and Skits more sentient.”, Martha explains.

“It's really useful once you get the hang of it.”, Skits adds. “But what are you all doing here?”

Various creatures make noises explaining what happened to the dogs.

“Monster? What monster?”, Martha asks.

“That would be me, young dogs.”, a voice says.

They all turn to it and see a monstrous silhouette entering the room. The monsters bow to the monster.

“Welcome back, father.”, they all say in unison.

“Father?”, the girls say.

The silhouette then reveals himself to be a monster wearing a cloak with fangs and red glowing eyes.

“Greeting, young creatures.”, he says. “I am Emperor Keretomatus.”

“Keretomatus.”, Skits says. “That name sounds familiar.”

“Don't worry about that.”, he says. “I'm here to answer your question.”

“What question?”, Martha asks.

“Why you're all here.”, the emperor says.

“Really?”, the dogs say in unison.

“Of course. Let me explain.”, the emperor says.

In Weaslegraft's building, he tries to figure out how to activate the device.

“Do any of you know how to activate this thing?”, he asks.

“Beats me.”, Kablooey asks. “Maybe it would've been more helpful if Pablum took the blueprints as well.”

“For your information, they never kept their blueprints. It was completely built from technology by other people.”, Pablum answers.

“Well this isn't helping.”, Gimmie says. “Well we better look around it to find the activate switch or button.”

“Let's start searching.”, Bumblecrum says.

They start looking and touching all over the device. Outside of the windows, the kids then back away from the window and are in panic.

“They're going to try and activate the device.”, Helen says.

“We've got to stop them before they turn it on.”, T.D. says.

“But how?”, Carolina asks. “It's imposible, impossible to get inside willingly.”

Truman looks all around until he finds a grate.

“Guys look!”, he says.

The rest of the kids follow him and see it.

“What's that?”, Milo asks.

“That's a grate.”, Truman answers. “They usually lead to sewer lines.”

“What? You mean to say that we need to dive into sewer lines just to get into the building?”, Ronald asks. “I like your style.”

“Truman's right, this is the only way to sneak into the building.”, Alice says.

“Come on, let's get it open.”, Truman says as he grabs the bars.

The others help him pull the bars until the grate breaks off.

“Come on, let's go.”, he says as he goes in first.

Milo goes in next, then Alice, followed by Ronald and then T.D., after that Helen. She then pops her head back up and sees Carolina still outside.

“Come on, Carolina.”, she tells her cousin.

“You want me to go in a place that has millions, no, billions of germs?!”, she exclaims. “Count me out. I'm staying out here.”

“Carolina, this is the only way to get inside.”, Helen says.

“I don't want to get my clothes infected.”

“Please, Carolina. If they activate that device, they could probably sell it and we'll never see Martha and Skits again.”

Carolina then thinks about her cousin's words. She then sighs and takes her offer.

“OK. I'm with you.”, she says.

She then goes after her cousin and they enter the sewer line. Soon, they go into the porthole.

“T.D., take a look.”, Alice says.

He then lifts the lid and takes a peek inside. He then sees the goons still trying to activate the device.

“They're still trying to activate it.”, he says.

“Then we still have time to get it back.”, Truman says.

T.D. looks back and sees something else.

“Wait a minute.”, T.D. says.

“What is it?”, Milo asks.

Suddenly Fildgemarker and 001 approach the device and the man shakes his head.

“Stand aside. I'll find a way to activate this.”, he says as he takes out a scanner.

He scans the device and the results appear on the screen.

“I found the button.”, he says.

He then lifts the top to reveal a button underneath it.

“Oh, no. They found the button!”, T.D. says.

“They're going to activate it!”, Helen says. “Let's get up there!”

The man is about to push the button until they are stopped by a whistle. They turn to the sound and see the kids standing their ground.

“Step away from the device, you crook.”, Helen says.

“It's those brats!”, Weaselegraft says. “Get them!”

The crooks go after the kids while they all run away and avoid being caught. But it turns out that the whole chasing was just a diversion, as Fildgemarker pushes the button.

“No!”, the kids all shout.

All of a sudden the device malfunctions. “Huh?”, the kids all say.

“What happened?”, Bumblecrum asks.

“It malfunctioned.”, Fildgemarker says.

“Malfunctioned?”, Weaselegraft asks.

“'Malfunctioned'. It means fail to function normally or satisfactorily.”, Pablum says.

“I know what 'malfunction' means.”, he says. “What I mean is why has it malfuntioned?”

Fildgemarker takes a look inside it and pulls out an unfinished sandwich.

“Is that an unfinished sandwich?”, Kablooey asks.

“What was a sandwich doing in the device?”, Gimmie asks.

“Sorry, I forgot to finish it and threw it in the device.”, T.D. says.

“T.D.!”, the others shout.

“Why were you eating a sandwich near the device?”, Alice ask.

“I forgot to eat lunch when they agent and professor finished building the device.”, he says.

“And there's still some mustard, mayonnaise and cheese in the gears.”, Fildgemarker says.

The crooks all groan in disappointment.

“Well, this is useless now.”, Weaselegraft says. “But we're keeping all of you as our meal tickets.”

The kids all protest as they get taken out of the building.

Back at the dark lair. Keretomatus then finishes his explanation to the dogs.

“OK, let me get this straight.”, Martha says. “Me, Skits and all of the other animals were being chased by those crooks that we've encountered.”

“And then you used some sort of magic to transport all of us to save us from being taken and sold to farmers?”, Skits finishes.

“Exactly. And that's why all of them have been stuck here ever since.”, the emperor says.

“Wow. That's deep.”, Twilight says.

“All of you have been safe under my roof ever since.”, he says.

Skits then notices a doorway to another room.

“Where does that lead to?”, Skits asks.

“Oh, that. Uh, nowhere important.”, Keretomatus lies. “But at any case, I understand that all of you feel like something is missing, right?”

“Yeah. We've been feeling very homesick lately.”, Martha says.

“Well perhaps I can assist you with that.”, the emperor offers.

“Really?”, the dogs ask in unison.

“Of course.”, he says before being interrupted by a yell.

They all notice the yell.

“What was that?”, Rainbow asks.

“That sounded like Spike!”, Rarity says. “And it came from that doorway.”

“We better go in there!”, Twilight says.

They try to go through the doorway until the emperor's sons stop them.

“You heard the emperor. This leads to nowhere important.”, Martarmus says.

“Get away!”, another voice says/

“Hey! That's Cadance!”, Twilight says.

“Let us through!”, Rainbow shouts.

“There's nothing in here!”, Scorjosemal says.

Suddenly they all get knocked down by the rest of the group.

“Girls! You're all fine!”, Shining says.

Suddenly, little creatures then enter and grab the others.

“What are you all doing here?!”, Horlagamous asks.

“Hey, let them go!”, Fluttershy says as they grab hold of the others while the little creatures try to pull them back in.

They all continue playing their game of tug-of-war until they creatures pull them all into the room. They all compose themselves and see a horrifying sight. They see more cages, but these cages containing monsters that are more hideous than anypony could ever imagine.

“What is all of this?”, Martha asks.

The Truth from the Past

In the emperor's lair, the groups see cages containing monsters.

“Why are there monsters in cages?”, Pinkie asks.

“These creeps are trying to put us in cages like these things!”, Thorax says.

Keretomatus then growls and powers his magic. The other are levitated and put into cages. The dogs and the ponies all gasp in horror.

“What are you doing?!”, Martha asks.

The emperor then approaches the group.

“I should have known better than to send my foolish minions to capture you colorful brutes!”, he exclaims.

Martha and Skits then notice.

“Colorful brutes.”, they both say.

Then they remember.

“Wait a minute!”, Martha says.

They flashback to the night the monster invaded the fundraiser.

“What are you going to do with those pets?!”, Carolina shouts.

“I will control their minds and use them to coax those colorful brutes into coming to my lair. That way, I'll extract their beauty and turn them into hideous monsters like myself. Making me worshiped once again.”, the monster says.

Martha and Skits then break out of their flashback and turn to the emperor.

“It was you!”, Skits shouts.

“Hmm?”, the emperor notices.

“You didn't save us from being from being captured, you stole us from our owners to use for your army!”, Martha shouts.

“Martha, Skits, what's the matter?”, Twilight asks.

“This monster invaded our fundraiser and took all of the animals to use for his army.”, Skits says.

“Army? What army?”, Rainbow asks.

“His army to gather those colorful brutes as he called them and turn them into monsters like himself.”, Martha answers. “He was about to capture me and Skits until kitten stalled him and sent both of us to Ponyville.”

“So that's why you both didn't remember where you came from.”, Rarity says. “You two must have gotten amnesia when you fell to the ground.”

The emperor then growls.

“Well no matter.”, he says. “I finally have my new slaves. And I'll spread them all over the kingdom and rule them all once again.”

“What are you talking about?”, Applejack asks.

“Well it all started with a simple stallion king.”, he says. “A stallion king named King Vespyron.”

“Wait a minute.”, Celestia says. “Luna, doesn't that name sound familiar?”

“What do you mean, Celestia?”, Luna asks.

“That's the same king from the book we found.”

She then feels the aura and her eyes widen.

“You're right.”, she says.

“Book? What book?”, Martarmus says.

“The book we found behind the library walls.”, Luna says.

The emperor growls.

“I knew I should have destroyed that book.”, he says.

“But we couldn't finish it because there were pages torn out.”, Celestia says.

Keretomatus walks to a box and opens it.

“Well since all of you are going to perish anyway, I suppose these should shed some light on the subject.”, he says as he pulls out torn pieces of paper.

The princesses are both in disbelief.

“The missing pages.”, they both say in unison.

“But before I relay the rest of the story, what have you two learned from that book so far?”, the emperor asks.

“We learned that the king was previously a squire for the previous ruler of Equestria, Queen Nebula.”, Celestia says.

“Queen Nebula?”, Cadance says. “I've read about her. She was the most beloved queen in all of Equestria.”

A unicorn stallion stands by the queen.

“Vespyron dreamed of being king of Equestria.”, Luna says. “And since there was no heir at the time...”

“Wait, no air? Then how were you all able to breathe?”, Martha says.

“No, Martha.”, Shining says. “Not 'air'. She said 'heir'. An 'heir' is somepony legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that particular pony's death.”

“Oh.”, Martha and Skits says.

“Continue.”, Skits says.

“As I was saying...”, Luna says. “Since there was no heir at the time, Queen Nebula decided to make her loyal squire the next king.”

The queen then taps him with her scepter.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”, Vespyron says

“It is the least I could do for my loyal squire.”, Nebula says. “You will not just be empowered, you will also be loved and respected like a true ruler.”

The queen and her new king present their new foal.

“The queen soon got married and gave birth to a new foal.”, Celestia says. “And announced that this foal would be the new soul heir to the king and queen.”

The squire then becomes jealous.

“And the squire was jealous, because she broke the agreement to make him king.”, Celestia says. “He was so jealous that he came up with a brilliant plan.”

He goes to a wizard stallion.

“The only pony he could turn to was none other than Star Swirl the Bearded.”, Luna says.

“Star Swirl the Bearded?!”, the girls say in unison.

“Yes.”, Luna says. “Vespyron asked Star Swirl to give him magic that would make the citizens of Equestria grateful.”

He looks around and finds a spell that he needs and points to it.

“Are you sure you want me to give you this spell?”, Star Swirl asks.

“Yes.”, Vespyron says. “I need it to show everypony that Queen Nebula made the wrong choice of choosing the next heir.”

Star Swirl then nods and powers his horn. The squire is then effected by the magic and feels more powered.

“Thank you, Star Swirl.”, the squire says. “Off I go.”

“Wait, Vespyron.”, Star Swirl says before the squire leaves.

The stallion turns to the wizard and approaches him.

“Be very careful using that magic.”, he says. “There will be dire consequences if you use that magic for your own desires. So I'm warning you. Do not use that magic for yourself.”

“Very well. I will heed your words.”, Vespyron says before he leaves.

The stallion performs magic to help the citizens with their everyday lives.

“Vespyron used his new magic to help the other citizens.”, Celestia says.

Trumpets then blare and they all turn to the castle. The king queen and filly present their fourth member.

“But soon, they all just brushed it off when they saw that the king and queen has just given birth to a second heir.”, Celestia continues. “And Vespyron then took very roughly.”

He then growls in anger.

“He's been holding back while watching the young fillies grow up more beautiful.”, Luna says. “But then something snapped.”

The squire then gets an idea and sneaks off. Night falls and the parents sleep in their room.

“The squire waited until the parents were sleeping and the children were left unattended.”, Celestia says. “The squire managed to use his new magic to teleport into the princesses room.”

The stallion approaches the two fillies and prepare to take them. They open their eyes and scream in terror.

“Mommy, Daddy!”, the fillies shout.

The squire tries to capture them. The noise wakes up the parents and realize that somepony broke into the bedroom of their daughters.

“Our daughters!”, the king and queen both say.

“Nebula, get the guards. I'll stop the intruder!”, the king says.

“Be careful, Sulfur.”, the queen says.

The king then heads to the bedroom and breaks the door open. He is then shocked at who the intruder was. Before him stood Vespyron with the daughters in his magic.

“Vespyron!”, Sulfur says.

He tries to escape with the fillies, but the king stops him with his magic. Soon, the stallion then shoots his new magic and breaks the spell. Then suddenly, and without warning, he then shoots his powerful magic at the king, leaving him completely injured. This gave the squire enough time to take off with his hostages.

“When the queen and her guards got to the room, the intruder and her daughters were already gone.”, Luna says. “But not long after, she notices the king.”

She then hears the moaning and looks down. She is then horrified to see the king injured and completely weak.

“Sulfur!”, Nebula shouts. “Guards, get the doctor and send a search party for the princesses!”

The next day, the queen waits outside her and the king's bedroom.

“The queen then waited anxiously for the doctor to give her the news.”, Celestia says. “And then the doctor came out.”

The doctor exits the room and approaches the queen.

“Well how is he, doctor?”, she asks.

He then frowns.

“I'm sorry, Your Highness. But the king was struck by some unknown magic and we have no research on this type of magic. And it also left him severely injured.”, the doctor says. “I don't know how much time he has left, so I suggest you go in and say your goodbye.”

Her eyes widen at the realization and enters her room. She slowly approaches the king and looks at him with teary eyes.

“Sulfur, I don't know if you can hear me, but you can't leave me.”, she says.

“N...Nebula...”, the king weakly says.

She notices the speaking and turns to the king.

“Sulfur, what happened?”, she asks.

“I was attacked...”, he says. “By Vespyron.”

“Vespyron? Our squire?”, the queen asks.

“And attacked me....and...took off with our daughters.”, the king says.

“Don't worry, I've sent a search party to find our daughters.”

“Any sign of them?”, he asks.

“No, unfortunately.”, she says. “We're still searching.”

“I don't know how he got that magic...or where he got it. But he could have taken our daughters anywhere.”, he says weakly.

“Don't worry, we won't stop until we find them.”, she says.

“Thank you, Nebula.”, he says.

Then his breathing starts to shorten.

“Sulfur, hang on. You're gonna be fine.”, she tries to reassure him.

He then grabs her hoof with his and smiles.

“Nebula, I gave you so much that you didn't have before. I gave you a better home, better guards and two beautiful little fillies. I don't regret any of it”, he says. “And just promise me, that you'll keep our tradition stable.”

“Of course, my king. I promise.”, she says.

“Goodbye, my queen. See you...again...soon...”, he says before he goes limp.

Her eyes widen as he loses his grip.

“Sulfur?”, she asks.

She then lifts his hoof and puts it on his arm. There was no pulse whatsoever. The king was officially dead. The queen then breaks down in tears by her king's side.

“The king died?!”, the CMC ask in unison.

“I'm afraid so.”, Luna says. “And without the king or the daughters, there was nopony to take the throne.”

The queen and the citizens are at a memorial for the king. They all stand in front of a statue and bury a coffin below it.

“The queen held a memorial service for the king in his honor and everyone was there to mourn for his passing.”, Celestia says.

“What they all didn't know was there was that they were not alone.”, Luna says. “Vespyron was spying with a smug smile at the thought of the king's passing.”

Everyone grieves for the king, while hiding in a bush, Vespyron peeks out with a sinister smile.

“The queen then waited for the status from the seach party for any leads on the missing princesses.”, Celestia says.

Later, she then sits on her throne until one of the guards enters and approaches her.

“Well have you found my daughters?”, Nebula asks anxiously.

He frowns.

“Your Majesty, I'm sorry, but there's still no sign of the missing princesses.”, he says. “I think it's best if you just call off the search.”

“No.”, she says. “Just keep searching.”

“Your Majesty, we've been searching for half a year and checked everywhere about eighteen times each.”, the guard says. “The princesses are nowhere.”

“But...but...”, she says.

“Your Highness, it's hopeless. You're just gonna have to accept that the princesses are gone.”

She then has no choice but to take his advice.

“Very well. Call off the search.”, she says reluctantly.

The guard nods and exits the room.

“The queen wouldn't take it, but she had no choice.”, Luna says. “It was hopeless to search any longer.”

She then approaches the door to her bedroom.

“The queen was about to relax in her bedroom...”, Celestia says. “But unfortunately gets an unwelcome nighttime visitor.”

“Don't tell me...”, Martha says.

The queen opens the door and is horrified. She sees Vespyron sitting on her dresser.

“Good evening, Your Highness.”, the stallion says.

“Vespyron!”, she says.

She's about to call for her guards, but is then dragged to him.

“Shh.”, he says. “Don't make me put you in the same deathbed as your king.”

“What are you doing here?”, she asks angrily.

“Well I came, because I heard you called off the search for the missing princesses.”, he says. “So I decided to drop by to see how you took it.”

She then turns her back on him.

“It's a shame that you'll never be able to see your daughters again. Or will you?”

She then notices his snark and turns to him.

“What are you talking about?”, she asks.

He power his horn and the princesses appear bound and gagged. She's in shock be the squire covers her mouth before she can scream.

“Not a yelp.”, he says.

“Where were they?”, she asks. “The party searched everywhere.”

“I hid them in the one place they never dared to look. The Everfree Forest.”

“The Everfree Forest!”, she says.

“And I'll give them back to you if you give me something in return.”, the squire says.

“What do you want?”

“I want you to make me king of Equestria as you promised me years ago.”, he says.

“Absolutely not.”, she denies. “I promised Sulfur that I would keep our families tradition alive and to make our daughters our next heir.”

“Very well. Good luck living the rest of your life with nopony to take your place.”, he says. “Balance of the kingdom will crumble with nopony to rule them.”

“Wait. You promise to give them back if I give you the position of king?”, she asks.

“On one condition. You are not allowed to tell anypony that you saw me in your bedroom, say I killed the king or took off with the fillies. You are to remain as if nothing happened and appoint me the position.”, Vespyron offers.

She then thinks about the offer and looks at her bound daughters. She then sags her head.

“Sulfur, please forgive me for doing this.”, she says under her breath. “Alright. I'll accept.”

“Perfect.”, the squire says.

Battle for Tyranny

The queen gathers the citizens and makes her announcement.

“Attention, everypony.”, she says. “I've decided who will be my next heir.”

Everypony talk in confusion.

“The pony who will succeed me will be...the royal squire, Vespyron.”, she says reluctantly.

The squire then walks up and sits on the throne.

“Now then. Everypony will be tasked with various needs of my choosing.”, he says.

“Everypony was now stuck with Vespyron as king.”, Luna says. “And Nebula did manage to see her daughters...in the dungeon.”

The queen approaches the door and enters the dungeon. She then sees her daughters chained to the wall.

“Hello, my dears.”, the queen says.

“Mommy, what's happening.”, the first daughter asks.

“I just made Vespyron the new king.”

“What?! You made that jerk the new king?!”, the second daughter asks.

“I'm afraid so.”, she says. “And I'm going to have to keep you two a secret if I want to see you everyday.”

Soon she hugs her daughters goodbye and goes back out.

“The queen had to keep up with the charade to keep both of her daughters safe.”, Celestia says. “Soon Vespyron saw how much work the citizens have been doing and then had a thought.”

“Attention, everypony.”, he shouts.

All of the citizens then turns to him.

“After seeing how you all are doing. It seems that it's not enough for me.”, he says. “So I've decided to make everything more productive by making myself a higher rank than king. I hereby appoint myself as emperor of Equestria.”

“And?”, Martha and Skits asks.

“That's it.”, Luna says.

“What?”, the group all ask in unison.

“That was the last thing we read before we found the rest of the pages torn out.”, Celestia says.

“And now, I myself can finish the story.”, Keretomatus says.

He takes out the pages and reads them aloud.

“The decision of the king making himself emperor, Nebula decided enough is enough and confessed everything.”, he says.

She bolts out and heads to the dungeon. She bursts in and uses magic to break the bricks the chains are attached to.

“Mommy, what are you doing?”, they ask.

“I'm not keeping up this charade anymore.”, the queen says. “Somepony needs to expose that stallion for the jerk that he is.”

She then takes the princesses out and heads back to the throne room.

“Stop!!!”, Nebula shouts. “You don't have to do this! The princesses are safe!”

She presents the princesses and everypony gasps in shock.

“Nebula, what are you doing?”, the king asks.

“I'm not gonna be your puppet any longer.”, Nebula says. “This king hid them from us to make sure he's the only pony to be succeeding me.”

He then growls and powers up his horn. And then impulsively shoots the queen. Everypony gasps in shock at the action.

“All along, he's been nothing but a hypocrite.”, she says.

“A hypocrite? I thought he was a squire.”, Skits says.

“No, Skits.”, Discord says. “A 'hypocrite' isn't a job title. A 'hypocrite' is a pony who engages in the same behaviors they condemn others for.”

“The king claimed to have adored his citizens, but in reality, he used them for slavery.”, Shining says.

“Oh. So that made him a hypocrite.”, Skits says. “I get it know.”

“Getting back to the explanation.”, the emperor says. “Everypony then starts turning on their ruler.”

“Who are you going to listen to?”, the king asks. “This former mare or your new emperor?”

The guards then surround him and put him in chains.

“What are you doing? You can't send your new ruler to the dungeon!”, he shouts. “I command you all to release me at once!”

“The former emperor was thrown to the dungeon with magic proof chains.”, Keretomatus says. “And had been restrained to use any more of his magic. He had remained there until the day of the princesses coronation.”

He then growls.

“If I could get my hooves on that mare, I'd... I'd...”, he says before he feels pain.

“But suddenly, he began to feel pain.”, Keretomatus says.

“What's happening to me?!”, he exclaims.

He then starts to grow bigger and grows black fur all over his body. His bottom hooves turn into minotaur hooves, while his front hooves turn into dragon claws. He then loses his horn and grows minotaur horns on top of his head. His tail turns from a pony's tail into a lion's tail. His teeth then grow into fangs, he starts growing dragon wings on his back and his eyes turn red and start glowing. He then stops feeling pain, but then sees his body has completely changed. He then roars out of rage. The guards notice the roar and look inside the dungeon. They see the monster trying to break free and enter the room. The monster shoots his powerful magic to repel the guards and then breaks the chains off. The monster then bolts out and heads for the throne room.

“Wait a minute!”, Martha and Skits say. “You were Vespyron?”

“Yes. Well I used to be. But not anymore.”, Keretomatus says. “The monster went through every wall and every guard who stood in his way.”

Everypony gathers at the coronation.

“Everypony, I hereby make my new daughters my new successors.”, Nebula announces.

Everypony cheers wildly until it is interrupted by the doors opening. They then see a monster walking across the room as he sees all of the citizens staring at him.

“Drop those crowns.”, the monster says.

“Who are you?”, Nebula asks.

“As if you don't remember me, Your Highness.”

She then realizes who it is.

“Vespyron?”, she says. “Is that you?”

Everypony is in disbelief. The monster that was standing before them was the tricky squire.

“What happened to you?”

“I've been turned into a hideous monster.”

“OK, stop.”, Skits says.

“What now?!”, the emperor asks.

“Me and Martha keep hearing that word. What does it mean?”, Skits asks.

“'Hideous' means ugly or disgusting to look at.”, Keretomatus says. “Now no more interruptions!”

None of the characters objects and he clears his throat.

“Anyway, the monster then revealed how he became a monster.”

“I was jealous that you and your beloved king dubbed your daughter the new heir. Which was what I was supposed to take.”, the monster says. “So I had some help in getting new found magic.”

“Who would ever help you?”, Nebula asks.

“Why none other than my old friend...”, he then gestures to the stallion wizard. “Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“Star Swirl? You gave him this magic?”, she asks.

He then sighs in defeat.

“It's true, Your Highness.”, he says. “He came to me and asked to give him magic to prove to you that he was meant to be the supposed heir.”

“Which seemed to go along smoothly until that other princess was born.”, the monster says.

“But I warned him not to use that magic for his own desires. But he didn't listen.”, the wizard says. “And as a result, he was transformed into what you see before you.”

The monster then grabs the stallion by his neck.

“Then change me back you codger!”, the monster says.

“It won't work.”, Star Swirl says. “There's no reverse spell.”

“Then that means...”

“This is who you will be now.”, the stallion says.

The monster then roars with rage.

“I'll be sending you to the dungeon for turning me into this!”, he shouts. “But first, you better relinquish your throne, Nebula!”

“I'll never give you my daughters positions!”, the queen says.

“Nebula, either you give me that position or I'm going to make you give it to me.”, the monster says.

“Guards apprehend him!”, Nebula shouts.

The guards then surround him and point their spears at him.

“Very well. Have it your way.”, he says.

The monster then starts attacking the guards. The guards fend off themselves while keeping him at bay. Soon, more guards then pile on him. It seems that he'll be put down, until the monster uses his magic to blast all of them off him. He gets surrounded and then uses a new spell to summon minions. The monster is amazed and sends them to attack the guards. The guards are then defeated and the citizens run out of the castle in terror. He then faces the queen and her daughters.

“It's just you and me now, Nebula!”, the monster says.

“Guards, take the princesses out. I'll take on this monster.”, she commands.

Guards enter and take the princesses out. The monster then charges at her and soon, she and the monster are now in a fight to the death. The fight becomes so intense, it's taken outside in a populated area. The citizens duck for cover while the battle is still happening. No matter how much the queen tried to fend off the monster, he wouldn't stay down. She then uses a burst of magic to blast him far away. She then senses the monster getting back up and then charges.

“The queen began to realize no standard magic attack would enough to put down the monster.”, Keretomatus says. “So she did the last and only thing that would save the kingdom.”

She closes her eyes.

“Citizens, guards, my daughters, I know what I must do in order to save the kingdom.”, she says. “I'm going to use all of my magic and release it on him”

“Your Majesty, if you do that you'll...”, a guard says.

“There's no other option. None of my standard magic is weakening him.”

She then approaches her daughters.

“My precious daughters. I'm going to save everypony, but at a big price.”, she says. “Just promise me that you'll always remember me and your father.”

They both hug her.

“We will.”, the first daughter says.

“We'll miss you, Mommy.”, the second daughter says.

“I'll miss you too.”, she says. “Make me proud.”

The guards then take them to shelter. After that the queen closes her eyes and musters all of her magic into her horn. The monster gets closer and closer.

“The queen gathered all of her magic into her single horn as the monster is about to finish her. He almost succeeds, until...”, the emperor says.

The monster then pounces. But the queen opens her glowing eyes and releases all of her gathered magic; creating a massive explosion that spreads throughout the area. The citizens then emerge from their hiding places and see that the queen is nowhere to be found.

“With the queen nowhere to be found, they suspected that she had saved everypony. The monster was defeated.”

Everypony then cheers. The daughters then see ahead and stop cheering. They see something and are horrified to see what it was.

“Oh, no!”, they both say.

The citizens and guards notice the alarmed fillies and turn to their direction. They're all horrified themselves to see ahead. The dust clears and reveals the monster completely unscathed.

“Or so they thought.”, the emperor says.

“You call that an attack?”, the monster says. “I've felt more pain from a splinter when I was still a stallion.”

“The monster was completely unaffected by the explosion. Which meant the queen's sacrifice was in vain.”

“Well since there is no king or queen now, I suppose I shall be taking that new position as emperor.”, he says. “And another thing, the name, Vespyron, will no longer be addressed. I shall henceforth be called by a more menacing name. From now on I will be know as...Emperor Keretomatus!”

The Home World Offer

Everypony in the kingdom is now under the new emperor's control.

“The monster was now the new ruler of the kingdom and had everypony under his claw.”

“Ah. Nothing like ruling over pitiful ponies to take your mind off recovering after an intense battle.”, Keretomatus says.

He then turns to the princesses who are now older and chained to his throne.

“It's a real shame that your mother had to foolishly sacrifice herself just to put me down.”

“Vespron, this is not how a ruler should lead the kingdom.”, the first daughter says.

The emperor growls and lifts up the princess.

“Sister!”, the second princess says.

“I told you that's not my name anymore!”, he shouts. “If you call me by that name again, I'll be force to throw you into the dungeon like all of the others who mentioned that name. Understood?”

She nods mercifully and is released. Nighttime then occurs and the emperor yawns.

“Well, I'm off to bed.”, he says. “But don't think that all of you will rest, as well.”

He then leaves to his bedroom. As soon as he leaves the throne room, the princesses then breaks the chains.

“Good thing he forgot to make this chain magic proof like his.”, the second princess says.

“You forgot to make the chains magic proof?”, Pinkie Pie asks.

“Don't judge me. I didn't know at the time.”, Keretomatus says.

The princesses go all around and breaks the chains off all of the other slaves.

“The princesses managed to free all of the other slaves and gathered them all together to form a plan.”, the emperor says.

They all gather in an empty room.

“Alright, let's sound proof this room.”, the first princess says.

The unicorns all use their magic and sound proof the room.

“Alright, we've all got to stand up to that monster and take back me and my sister's intended positions like our mother appointed us.”, the second princess says.

“But how?”, a pegasus mare asks. “That monster is so powerful, it withstood the queen's sacrificial blast.”

“We may not be able to stop him.”, the first princess says. “But there is somepony who can help us long enough to put him in his place.”

“Who?”, a unicorn stallion asks.

“Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“What?!”, the citizens exclaim.

“But he's the pony who gave him that powerful magic to begin with. Why should he help us?”, an earth pony stallion asks.

“Star Swirl needs at least one chance to redeem himself for what he did. And anyway it was that monster's idea to have himself get the magic.”, the second princess says.

They all take the princess's words into consideration and accept it.

“She's right. Star Swirl wouldn't just give that kind of magic to somepony voluntarily.”, a pegasus stallion says. “We should give him a chance.”

“I'm glad you all trust me now.”, a familiar voice says.

They all turn and see Star Swirl walking to the group.

“Nopony has to suffer because of my mistake. But I'm absolutely willing to help all of you to free us from the monsters clutches.”

“Star Swirl, we're going to need your help to put him down.”, a unicorn mare says.

“Not to worry. I'll help out with whatever there is.”, the wizard says.

“Perfect. Alright, here's the plan.”, the first princess says.

“The princess thought of a brilliant plan and the next day it was about to be put to action.”, the emperor says.

The monster sits on his throne and watches the slaves work. He then notices a unicorn sleeping on the job.

“What's this?”, he says. “A slacker. Not in my castle.”

He then heads to the unicorn as the princesses look at each other with grins. He approaches the unicorn.

“Slave, wake up.”, he says. “There is no time for you to relax.”

The unicorn wakes up and then smacks him. He screams in pain.

“Hey, Vespyron!”, a voice says.

He turns and sees the princesses in front of him.

“What?”, he says.

They power up their horns and shines bright lights. The monster is then blinded.

“Aahhh! My eyes!”, he exclaims.

“Now!”, the princesses say.

Star Swirl enters and powers his horn. The monster is effected and becomes weak. The slaves charge and start attacking him.

“The slaves then gathered around started to revolt.”, Keretomatus says.

“Revolt?”, Martha asks. “What happened did they step on anything gross?”

“No, Martha. Revolt is one of those words that has more than one meaning.”, Twilight says. “It may mean disgusting, but 'revolt' also means to rise in rebellion.”

“So that means they were all against him and started to rise up.”, Skits says.

“As I was saying...”, Keretomatus says. “They were all revolting against the monster. But they all forgot his other ability.”

The monster uses his magic and summons his minions. The minions gather and pull all of the slaves off of him. A minion then sneaks up and knocks out Star Swirl. The magic then wears off and regains his strength and sight. He then sees all of the slaves surrounding him.

“So you all think those pitiful fillies would make better leaders than me?”, he asks. “Then all of you will suffer.”

He then powers up his magic and then releases it. The citizens compose themselves and see there's nothing around them.

“The monster used a memory erase spell long enough to escape from the revolting slaves.”, the emperor says. “But Star Swirl wasn't effected since he was knocked out.”

The wizard composes himself and sees the monster is nowhere to be found.

“Since nopony remembered what happened, it's been noted he used a memory erase spell. And Star Swirl decided to keep the monster's existence a secret.”

The princesses are then worshiped by the citizens.

“The young princesses were then made the new rulers of the kingdom and have been ruling them ever since.”, Keretomatus says. “As for the monster, he was never to be seen again. Until now.”

“So you've been secluding yourself from the kingdom this whole time?”, Starlight asks.

“Nopony would accept the fact that a monster would rule them all.”, he says. “If I can't be accepted by how hideous I am, none of you will.”

Celestia then realizes something.

“Luna, do you feel it?”, Celestia asks.

“Feel what?”, Luna asks.

“His aura. Do you feel it?”

Luna then senses and feels the aura. Her eyes then widen.

“It's the aura we've been sensing.”, she says.

They soon began to realize. They flashback to themselves when they were fillies and a mare hugs them. She then senses aura nearby and sees a monster charging towards the mare. They compose themselves and put everything together.

“It was us!”, they both say.

The group turns to the alicorns in confusion.

“What are you two talking about?”, Spike asks.

“Those fillies that were in the story. They were me and Luna.”, Celestia says.

They all gasp in disbelief.

“And Queen Nebula...was our mother.”, Luna says.

“What? How did you two remember?”, the emperor says. “I erased everypony's memories before I escaped.”

“We remembered, because of your evil aura.”, Celestia says. “We knew we sensed it before,”

“Well no matter. Now that I have my new slaves here, I'll be ruler of the kingdom once again and then none of you will ever be based on beauty again,”, he says before laughing evilly. “However, there will be some exceptions.”

They all notice. He then turns to the dogs.

“Martha and Skits, is it? I've seen all of you along your journey of exploring and making new friends.”, he says. “But do you really believe these brutes could possibly be faithful to you?”

“Where are you going with this?”, Martha asks.

“Think about it, what's the one thing these low lives never did since you two came here?”

They both think and shrug.

“Beats me.”, Skits says.

“The one thing they never did for you was...sending you back to your own home world.”, the emperor says.

All of the characters are in shock.

“That's right. All of you have been showing them around this wretched world just singing and dancing about love and friendship, when you should have just taken them back to their own world from the start.”

“Oh, my goodness. We broke a Pinkie Promise without even knowing about it.”, Pinkie says.

“They never fulfilled their promise. But I can help you.”, Keretomatus says.

“What? Why should we listen to you?”, Martha asks.

“Because, I know how to send all of you back to your own world.”

“You do?”, Skits asks.

He nods. The dogs then sag their heads.

“But why bother? Helen's probably forgotten about us already.”, Skits says.

Keretomatus then stirs his finger in the viewing pool.

“Are you sure about that?”, he asks.

They approach the viewing pool and see inside. The water shows Helen and the kids being held hostage by the goons. The dogs are in shock.

“It's those crooks that we took out before and they got Helen and the others!”, Martha shouts.

“Oh, Martha, Skits. Wherever you two are, please come back.”, Helen says.

The image then vanishes.

“No! Helen, come back.”, Martha shouts.

“It's no use. She can't hear you.”, the monster says. “I'm just saying if you want to see her again, all you have to do is listen to me.”

“Martha, don't listen to him!”, Rainbow shouts. “This monster took over all of you here and turned the ponies who followed them into monsters themselves.”

“Well if you wanted to help them, then why didn't you get them back to their home world like you promised them?”

“Because we didn't know where their home world was. It would've taken time to search for that particular world.”, Twilight says.

“Exactly. If you had trusted them the whole time, they would have taken weeks or even months to find your own world.”, the emperor says. “But I can get you all back right now.”

He then snaps his fingers and a contract and ink pad appears.

“Sign this contract, and you two and all the other creatures will go back to your own home world as promised".

Martha and Skits think carefully and look at the piece of paper. She then sags her head.

“I'll accept.”, Martha says.

“What?”, Skits asks.

“Martha, are you insane?!”, Pinkie shouts.

“I'm sorry, girls, but he's right. You promised to get me and Skits back to our own world, but you never kept it. This monster may be evil, but at least he knows where our world is.”

Skits sighs.

“She's right. I'll accept, too.”, Skits says.

“Perfect.”, Keretomatus says.

Return to Wagstaff City

Martha and Skits put their paws in the ink pad and add paw prints to the contract. The contract disappears and the cages containing the animals open. The animals all rush to the dogs.

“Hope you all enjoyed your stay in Equestria.”, Martarmus says.

“Because this is the last time you'll ever see these low lives.”, Horlagamous.

“Been nice controlling all of you.”, Scorjosemal says.

A portal opens up and starts sucking the animals in.

“Martha, Skits, what have you done?!”, Celestia asks.

“It's what they should have done with all of you.”, Keretomatus answers.

He laughs evilly as Martha and Skits are sucked out last.

“Now that those furry nuisances are finally gone, it's now time to unleash my new army.”

He snaps his fingers and all of the monsters vanish. They all then reappear in several locations of the kingdom. The citizens all scream in terror as the monster spread danger throughout the kingdom. The emperor smiles as havoc is now all over the kingdom.

At Wagstaff City Town Hall, the crooks hold the kids hostage.

“Alright, everyone listen up!”, Weaselegraft shouts. “You all better fix the device if you want these children safe.”

“Alright, well get to work.”, Helen's dad says. “Just let them go!”

All of a sudden thunderclouds form and a portal opens up. The animals then fall out and land all over town. Soon all of the people rush back to their respected animals.

“Lily, you back!”, Milo says.

“Polly, Nelson, I'm never letting you go.”, Alice says.

“I'm so happy you both OK.”, Ronald says.

Helen goes around looking for her dogs.

“Martha? Skits?”, she shouts. “Where are you?”

She then hears two familiar barkings. She turns to the barking and sees who she thought she'd never see again. It was Martha and Skits with Martha's family out in the open. Helen rushes over to her dogs and hugs them tightly while weeping.

“Martha, Skits, I thought I'd never see you two again!”, she cries. “What happened to you two?”

Martha tries to talk but she barks.

“Oh, you haven't eaten soup for a whole week. I better take you two home.”

She then takes the dogs to her family and they all rejoice, while Martha and Skits feel guilty about what they did. Everyone leaves as the crooks just stand their looking like idiots.

“Hey, aren't you going to fix this?”, Weaselegraft shouts.

“Hey. Hello?”, Pablum says. “Anyone.”

Soon, they are the only ones left at town hall.

“Well this is awkward.”, Kablooey says.

The family take Martha and Skits back to their house and give them as much food as they can eat. After Martha eats all of her alphabet soup, she is now able to talk again.

“Hello, hello. Testing, can you hear me now?”, Martha says.

Helen then hugs her dogs tightly again.

“Martha, Skits, I've been having nightmares about losing you all week.”, she says. “Are you both OK?”

“We're just fine, Helen.”, Martha says.

Skits barks in agreement.

“We've been surviving thanks to our pony friends.”

“Pony friends?”, Helen's father says. “How did they help you two?”

“Well it's actually a long story.”, she says.

“We've got time.”, Helen's mother says. “So tell us.”

“OK, it all started when me and Skits fell into a little town called Ponyville.”

Soon the dogs have just finished their story.

“And then here we are.”, Martha says.

“OK, so let's run through this one more time.”, Helen says. “You two were sent to a place that's inhabited by talking ponies that can fly, use magic and have strength.”

“Then a creature named, Discord sneezed on you and gave you and Skits the ability to sing and dance, which resulted in a manager taking you to several singing gigs”, Helen's mother says.

“And the monster that took all of the other pets offered you and Skits a chance to return to this world and now the ponies are being taken over by him because you accepted his offer?”, Helen's dad says.

“That's pretty much the long and short of it.”, Martha says.

Skits barks in agreement. The family then look at each other and start laughing.

“What? Why are you all laughing?”, Martha asks.

“Martha, I hate to say this but all of that doesn't sound all that plausible.”, Carolina says.

“Of course it's plausible. How can it not be plausible? Uh...what's 'plausible'?”

“'Plausible' is when something is reasonable or probable.”, Helen says. “Everything that you gave us sounds completely implausible.”

“Helen, we weren't making it up. We really were in a world that was inhabited by talking ponies. Skits and I really did sing and dance. And that monster is taking over their kingdom.”

“Martha, you and Skits must be exhausted from being away from home.”, Carolina's dad says. “You two better get some shut eye.”

“But we don't.”, Martha protests.

Skits barks in protest.

Back in the emperor's lair he and his prisoners watch the viewing pool showing all of the monsters attacking the citizens and destroying the kingdom.

“Yes. Look at them all suffer.”, Keretomatus says. “They finally understand that it was wrong to see me as a monstrosity.”

“Keretomatus, that was centuries ago. None of the citizens who were against you are alive anymore.”, Sunburst says.

“It doesn't matter. I've shunned myself from those colorful brutes long enough. It is now time for me to make my official return to Equestria.”

“Now wait just a minute!”, Pinkie shouts.

He then turns to the pink mare.

“Is there some sort of problem?”, he asks.

“Yes. You can't be so impulsive and take over this kingdom.”, she says. “Just think very hard about what you are doing. None of them deserve to be under your control.”

His eyes then widen.

“You're right. How could I have been so stupid?”, the emperor says.

“I was hoping you would say that.”, Pinkie says.

“Yes. I realize now. Why take over one world...when I can take over two worlds.”

“What?!”, the group says.

“Oh, no. That's the complete opposite of what I hope you'd say.”, the pink mare says.

“Thanks a lot, Pinkie.”, Rainbow says.

“My princes and minions, gather around.”, he commands.

The princes and minions approach their leader.

“I have created a better plan. Starting now, we will rule this world as well as the other world.”

The princes and the minions cheer for their leader's plan as the prisoners are in disbelief. The emperor then opens the portal and he and his sons and minions enter it.

“This will not end well.”, Thorax says.

Search for the Monster

Martha and Skits wake up from their nap, that they didn't want or need, and face each other. Skits barks to Martha.

“What is it, Skits?”, she asks.

Skits barks to her again.

“Well I don't know why they didn't believe us. They're has gotta be a way for them to listen to us.”

“Martha, Skits.”, Helen shouts.

“Helen?”, Martha asks.

She then bursts into the room.

“Martha, Skits, you two gotta come to the living room. All the animals in town have gone crazy.”, she says.

The dogs follow their owner to the living room as the rest of the family watch the news.

“All of the animals in Wagstaff city have gone berserk since returning to their respectful owners.”, the anchorman says. “We now go live to Linda, downtown for the close encounters.”

“Thanks, Jason. As you can see every single pet in Wagstaff city are all going ballistic.”, she says as pets everywhere have gone wild. “Not only downtown, but also the animals shelter...”

All of the pets are all crazy as Kazuo tries to calm them down.

“All of you calm down!”, he says. “Would some doggie treats help you in any way? Pops, what about you?”

“As well as the city zoo.”, the reporter says.

The zookeepers try to quell the rampage of all the animals.

“Hurry, if we don't make them settle down, they'll break out and wreak havoc all over the city.”, the zookeeper says.

“Even Courageous Collie Carlo is too out of control to shoot an episode.”, the reporter says.

Carlo runs all around the set while his manager tries to put a muzzle on him.

“Carlo, we have to shoot this episode, heel I say.”, the manager says.

“Yes. Animals everywhere have gone wild all over the city and there seems to be no reason why.”, the reporter says. “Back to you, Jason.”

“Thank you, Linda.”, the anchorman says. “Wait, this just in, we are receiving a call from someone who could possibly explain the reasons behind these rampages. Caller, you are on the air.”

“Yes, this is Martha Lorraine and I'm calling to explain what they're all ballistic.”, Martha says over the phone.

“OK. What's the reason?”

“They're all shouting about the citizens in Equestria who are in danger from being enslaved.”

The anchorman and the crew are staring out into space awkwardly. Then the anchorman breaks the silence.

“Um, what is the purpose of what you explained?”, he asks.

“What I mean is the monster that invaded the fundraiser used the pets and now the citizens of the kingdom they were all sent to are now under the monster's tyranny.”, Martha says.

The phone hangs up.

“Hello? Hello?”

“Well that didn't help us a bit. But we'll find an answer hopefully soon.”, the anchorman says.

“What happened? I just told them the explanation they needed.”

“Martha, maybe that nap wasn't enough to clear your minds.”, Helen says.

“Helen, we weren't making this up. That's really what they're all saying.”

Skits barks in support.

“Come on, I just received a call from T.D. that we're all gathering at town hall to plan how to calm the animals down.”

Helen and her family all go out and the dogs follow them.

“Skits, why won't they believe us?”

Skits barks and sags his head.

At the emperor's lair, the group are still locked up in cages.

“How are we gonna save them now?”, Twilight says. “That monster was right. We should have sent Martha and Skits back home as soon as they got here.”

“Don't blame yourself, Twilight.”, Spike says.

“Yeah. In fact, I think all of us could be at fault.”, Pinkie says.

The others glare at her.

“I'm not helping am I?”, she asks.

“No, you are not.”, Rainbow says.

Discord then approaches the girls.

“Listen, there is no need nor time to start bickering. We all need to put our heads together to find a way to save our own world as well as Martha and Skits's world.”, he says.

He then goes back to his cage and snaps his fingers. The bars then reappear and the group stare at him in disbelief. He then notices the awkward silence.

“What?”, he asks.

“You mean you can get out of your cage whenever you wanted?!”, Applejack asks.

“Well yes. I can use my magic to bend reality if I choose.”

“You do realize this was something we could have used hours ago!”, Twilight shouts.

“Well you win some, you lose some.”, Shining says.

“Don't encourage him, honey.”, Cadance says.

Discord snaps his fingers and all of the bars vanish.

“Now come on. We need to find that monster before he takes over the other world.”, Twilight says.

“But we don't know where it is.”, Fluttershy says.

“We need to find Zecora. She helped us find where the stranges aura was.”, Thorax says.

Sunburst then walks forward and he powers up his horn.

“Hold on everypony. This is gonna be rough.”, he says as they all vanish.

Back in Wagstaff City, the crooks are in the building as they dismantle the device that was supposed to bring the animals back.

“Ugh, this isn't working.”, Weaselegraft says. “How are we supposed to get that monster back now?”

“If only there was another way to get him back to the city.”, Kablooey says. “But how?”

They hear magic and turn to the windows.

“Wait. I know that sound.”, Fildgemarker says.

They peek out the windows and see a portal in the road. A hoof emerges from the portal followed by a claw. Soon, the rest of the body emerges, revealed to be the monster that used them to take out the guards.

“It's him.”, Weaselegraft says.

“At last. We have arrived to our second kingdom.”, the monster says. “Come, my sons and minions. We have another world to conquer.”

They all set off to take over the city.

“Come on. We better teach that thing a lesson.”, Bumblecrum says. “To my limousine.”

They all go to the vehicle and follow the monster.

At Zecora's hut, she is busy meditating on her staff when the group appear. She loses her concentration and lowers herself from the staff.

“Hello, there friends. Now that my meditation is cut, may I ask what are you all doing in my hut?”, Zecora asks.

“Zecora, have you seen what's happening in Equestria?”, Starlight asks.

The zebra sighs.

“I'm afraid so. Everything is now at an all time low.”

“Zecora, we need your help to find the one responsible for this tyranny.”, Trixie says. “He's all set to take over another world.”

“It's the same world we saw back at the Crystal Empire.”, Flurry says.

“It may take some time to prepare. So all of you better beware.”, the zebra says.

She then gathers her cauldron and uses all of the potions she has used before. She then has the last potion.

“I have the last potion. So now it's time to put this in motion.”, she says.

Everypony holds their breaths as the zebra prepares to pour the last potion into the cauldron.

Attack on the Second World

All of the people in Wagstaff City gather at the town hall for an emergency gathering. The animals are all either on leashes or in cages at the building.

“Attention, everyone. We must find a way to get all of the animals in the city under control.”, the mayor says. “Does anyone here know a way to quell these creatures? Anyone at all?”

“We've tried everything we can.”, the zookeeper says. “They all keep going, like they're trying to tell us something.”

“They are!”, a voice shouts.

They look ahead and see Martha and Skits at the top of the stairs.

“They're all telling you that the citizens of Equestria are in danger of slavery. And...It's our fault we gave him the right.”, Martha says.

Skits barks in support.

“Martha, knock it off with your tall tales. This is serious!”, Milo's dad says.

Everyone shouts in agreement.

“Everyone, I'm telling you. We are not making this up! Ask the animals, they were there when it happened!”

“Martha, Skits, come down here.”, Helen says.

“Please. What will it take for you to believe us?”

“Well I guess if the monster actually does come back, that could be enough evidence.”, the mayor proposes,

“Evidence?”, Martha asks.

“'Evidence' is the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid. Unless you provide any evidence, your claims will be rendered null and void.”

A scream is heard. They see it was Carolina screaming.

“At the top of the town hall. Look.”, she shouts.

They all look up and see what's on top. Three silhouettes are standing on top of the building. They all roar which causes all of the window to shatter. Little imps then emerge and start swarming all over the city. Everyone screams in terror as they are all chased by the imps. The whole town then becomes wrecked and torn apart while the townspeople are being cornered or captured. Another roar is heard and the swarming stops. Monstrous stomping is heard and gets closer. The imps all turn to the stomping and all kneel before the one approaching. The stomping comes from hooves which belong to a very big and very familiar silhouette. The silhouette enters the moonlight revealing the same monster that invaded the fundraiser.

“It's the monster that invaded the fundraiser!”, T.D. shouts.

“OK, Martha. We believe you now.”, Truman says.

“Other worldly creatures. I, Emperor Keretomatus, have returned your home world to rule alongside the kingdom of Equestria.”, he says. “And now I have the perfect creatures to use for my slaves of this world. Your pets.”

“These pets and the other animals will never serve you”, a voice says.

He turns to the voice to see an elderly woman standing her ground.

“Mrs. Demson?”, the townspeople say.

“You will not harm a single one of those beautiful specimens.”, she shouts. “If you try to take those pets, I will bring forth great terror from the skies and make it rain down unexpected pain on all of you and your followers.”

“Dispose of her.”, the emperor says.

The minions then capture her.

“Oh. I thought you would buy my bluff.”

The animals then break from from their restraints and surround him. Martha and Skits join the army. The emperor then grins.

“Well, well, well. If it isn't the little dogs who helped me take over Equestria.”

“Keretomatus, you will not succeed in your plan to take over two worlds. And with all of us together, we will put a stop to your dastardly deeds.”, Martha says.

All of the other animals agree with her.

The princes then confront the group.

“It is no use to rebel against the emperor.”, Martarmus says.

“You might as well give up while you have the chance.”, Horlagamous says.

“We are all powerful, while you are all meek and innocent.”, Scorjosemal says.

They all sneer at the monsters until another roar is heard. Martha and Skits's eyes then widen.

“Is that who I think it is?”, Martha asks.

The townspeople then look around to hear where the roaring is coming from. Suddenly a hairy beast then pounces out of the shadows and runs towards the monster. The beast stops and sneers at the monster. The beast has gray hair, big paws and a dog like face.

“Big Minnie!”, Martha says.

“Big Minnie!”, the townspeople say.

“Oh. So there is a monster in this world after all, huh?”, the emperor says. “You'll be perfect...as my guard dog.”

Big Minnie then charges to the emperor as she is stopped by his magic.

“You all had better kneel before your new ruler. Or your world will be plunged into an eternal wasteland. Which I will just be doing anyway.”

“We will never serve you!”, Alice shouts. “And our pets and the animals are not slaves.”

“Well if they won't serve my by themselves. Perhaps they will in their alternate forms.”, the emperor suggests.

“Alternate forms?”, the kids say in unison.

“Minions, take their forms!”, the princes say.

The minions go after them. The animals then start fighting the minions, while the townspeople watch in suspense.

Zecora then pours the final potion into the cauldron and it poofs. Once the smoke clears the group look inside and see the potions swirling.

“I don't see anything.”, Rainbow says.

“Patience, Rainbow Dash.”, Celestia says.

“It needs time.”, Luna says.

The cauldron then shows the emperor releasing his minions to attack the animals.

“Oh, no. He's already there!”, Twilight says.

“Where is their home world?”, Rarity asks.

“Sunburst, don't you have a spell that could teleport us to their world?”, Starlight asks.

“I may have a spell for that? But it's very powerful.”, Sunburst says. “Who knows what will happen when we arrive.”

“Whatever it is, we'll take that risk.”, Spike says.

He takes a deep breath and prepares himself.

“Alright, here goes nothing.”, he says as he powers his horn.

The group then disappears from the hut.

The animals finish fending off the minions and confront the monster.

“Oh, I see. I grant you all freedom and this is how you thank me.”, the emperor says. “This world will be mine.”

He powers his magic and the entire city gets destroyed and rebuilt into a kingdom.

“If you creatures won't be willing to take the procedures, then we'll take your forms by force.”

The monster uses his magic and the minions posses all the animals and their auras are extracted. The aura then transform into the same animals they possessed only as monsters like the emperor.

“Stop right there!”, a voice says.

He turns to the voice and sees the same goons who he used to get passed the guards.

“Well, if it isn't my old assistants.”

“Don't give us any of that.”, Weaselegraft says. “We want revenge on you for using us for your plans.”

“Revenge?”, the emperor asks.

“Yes. Revenge.”, Weaselegraft answers. “'Revenge' is the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands.”

“And we're going to inflict revenge on you.”, Kablooey says.

They all impulsively charge towards him. He then whistles and the monstrous animals approach the crooks. The crooks are then frightened and flee.

“Cowards.”, the emperor says under his breath.

He then turns to the other animals and grins.

“No need to for all of you nuisances anymore. Farewell.”, Keretomatus says.

He then uses his magic and sends them all far away from the city. The citizens are then horrified and the monstrous animals corner them.

“Two worlds for the price of one. This I can get used to.”

Preparing for Dominence

On Flea Island, a burst of magic appears and clears to reveal the group from Zecora's hut. They all look around and see how different it is from their world.

“So this is Wagstaff City, huh?”, Starlight asks. “It looks different from Zecora's hut.”

They then hear screams and look up. They see all of the animals falling to the island. Discord snaps his fingers and makes a giant umbrella appear. The animals fall on the umbrella and slide off of it.

“Where did all of these animals come from?”, Trixie asks.

Fluttershy then notices Martha and Skits as they compose themselves.

“Martha, Skits!”, she says.

They then notice the voice and turn to the source,

“Fluttershy!”, Martha says.

Skits barks in excitement. The group approaches the two dogs and hug them. The other animals gather around the group and all roar in excitement.

“How did you all escape that monster's prison?”, the yellow dog asks.

“Well we got out thanks to Discord's ignorance.”, Rainbow says.

“Alright, no need to play the blame game.”, Discord says.

Skits barks.

“Translation, Martha.”, Spike says.

“Skits was just asking what are you all doing here?”, she says.

“We came to save your world from being under that monster's tyranny.”, Twilight says.

“But from the looks of everything, it seems he's already has this world in his clutches,”, Rarity says.

“We tried to stop him, but then his minions possessed all of us and took the forms of us only as monsters like him. And then he threw all of us to Flea Island.”

“Sunburst, you said you knew what you were doing.”, Thorax says.

“I told you. I've never done something like this before.”, he says. “And I don't have enough energy to teleport us again.”

“Plus, that monster has power more superior than mine and Luna's.”, Celestia says.

“Not only that, but it's better than their magic.”, Martha says.

“That's what 'superior' means.”, Luna says. “It means higher in rank, status or quality.”

“Well, what are we gonna do now?”, Applejack asks. “How are we supposed to not only take down that emperor, but the princes and his entire army as well?”

“AJ has a point.”, Shining says. “We're severely outnumbered.”

“Oh. Oh. I have an idea.”, Pinkie shouts.

“What do you got, Pinkie?”, Cadance asks.

“How about we can teach all of these animals how to fight and use special abilities. That way we can fight alongside each other which will give us enough time to free the slaves and take out the emperor's army.”

The group and the animals all stare at her in disbelief.

“Pinkie are you serious?”, Flurry asks.

Pinkie nods and smiles.

“Pinkie that's crazy!”, Rainbow says.

“So crazy, it just might work.”, Martha says.

“Huh?”, the group says.

“No, really. Maybe we can be able to defeat that monster and save everyone in the city.”

“You know what? She may actually have something there.”, Luna says.

“Really?”, Twilight asks.

“Yes. It may take some time, but there's a slight chance that we'll save their world as well as our world.”

Discord cracks his knuckles.

“Well, here goes nothing.”, he says as he powers up his magic.

Meanwhile, back in the city, the emperor is impressed of how much the town has been torn apart. The citizens are in chains, the monsters are being pampered, the city ha been turned into a wasteland and the emperor watches over the ruined world.

“Look at them all suffer.”, he says with a smug grin. “Now I have two worlds under my clutches. Everything is now complete for me.”

Suddenly he senses something familiar.

“Wait, is that...?”

He closes his eyes and senses the source coming from the island he sent all of the normal animals to.

“My sons, approach me!”, he commands.

The princes approach their leader and bow to him.

“What is your command, father?”, they all ask.

“I sense aura at the island I've sent all of those miscreants to. I want all of you to find out what's emitting this aura.”

They all salute to him and head off to the island.

“Is he saying Martha, Skits and the others are not alone?”, Helen asks.

“What else could be with them?”, T.D. asks.

Back on Flea Island, all of the animals are being trained by the Equestria friends. Martha and Skits are the last ones to complete their training.

“Perfect, you're all ready.”, Twilight says.

“Alright. Nothing can stop us now.”, Martha says.

“Yes. Nothing except us.”, a voice says.

They look up and sees who spoke. Above them are the monster princes. They all descend and confronts the group.

“So you've all escaped from our father's prison.”, Martarmus says. “And you've given all of these creatures powerful auras like yourselves.”

“That's right. We've trained them to battle against the emperor and save both of our worlds.”, Celestia says.

“No matter. We won't allow you to take back this world.”, Horlagamous says.

“You will all perish!”, Scorjosemal says.

The animals prepare themselves, but are stopped.

“No, Martha, save your strength for the emperor.”, Luna says. “We'll take on these monsters.”

She nods.

“Everyone, to the city!”, Skits says as he and the other animals leave the island.

Two of the princes try to stop them, but the third one stops them.

“Let them go.”, Martarmus says. “We still have these colorful brutes to deal with.”

The prepare to face the ponies, dragon, changeling and draconequus and the group prepare to face the princes. The groups then start to fight. The princes and the friends use all kinds of flight, magic and strength against each other.

Back in Wagstaff City, the citizens are building a monument of the emperor as he relaxes on his throne. Helen then starts to weaken and then collapses.

“Helen!”, the rest of the kids say.

They approach their friend and he composes himself.

“I can't take it anymore!”, she shouts.

“Hey, who said you could rest?”, the emperor asks.

“Take this, you big furry beast!”, she says as she throws a rock.

The rock hits him and he roars in anger. He approaches the kids and faces Helen in particular. Their families try to save them, but the monstrous animals corner them.

“You should have never done that, little one.”, the monster says. “Now, you'll pay the price.”

He levitates her and prepares to put her down. Suddenly, an explosion interrupts them and they turn to it. He then smiles.

“Perfect. My sons have returned to relay the source of the aura I was sensing.”, he says. “But that won't stop me from teaching you a lesson for your insolence.”

“You can't do that. We won't let you.”, a voice says.

A silhouette emerges from the smoke and is revealed to be Martha walking on two legs.

“Martha!”, Helen says.

The other animals follow her also more sentient than before.

“Oh, my gosh. They're all back.”, Carolina says.

“And they've become more human-like.”, Truman says.

“That's amazing.”, Alice says.

The animals then approach the emperor.

“You.”, the emperor says. “How did you all come back?”

“Our friends managed to give us great power and we've been trained to fight.”, Martha says.

“Now let everyone go and put both our and their world back to normal right now.”, Skits says.

“Skits can talk? Well my suspension of disbelief is shattered.”, T.D. says.

“Friends?”, Keretomatus says.

He then realizes and growls.

“Those colorful brutes from Equestria! So that's what I was sensing.”

“It's your choice. Either surrender or fight.”, Martha says.

“Hmm.”, he says as he scratches his chin. “Well I suppose I can comply with your offer...and choose the second choice.”

He snaps his fingers and the monstrous animals gather. The animals then prepare for battle.

“This is going to get messy.”, Milo says.

The True Meaning

“All of my monsters will put all of you in your place.”, Keretomatus says. “Now prepare to face my ruling until you'll end up bowing to me in the after life. Attack!”

The monsters charge and the animals all charge themselves. The citizens all duck and cover from the intense battle. Keretomatus confronts the two dogs and power up their magic. He then fights the two dogs at the same time.

“This is insane!”, Helen says. “There is no way that this is proper. All of them seem their fighting to the death.”

She then sees the monster fighting her dogs.

“We've gotta help them!”

“No, Helen. It's too dangerous.”, Carolina says.

The dogs stop and confront the emperor. They then sense aura and turn to it. Approaching them are the princes.

“My sons. You've all returned.”, he says.

“What?”, Martha and Skits say in unison.

“What happened to our friends?”, Martha asks.

The monsters all snap their fingers and the group appears all in a cage. The dogs all look in disbelief.

“How were they defeated?”, Skits asks.

“Allow me to explain.”, Martarmus says.

On Flea Island, the monsters battle the group with all kinds of abilities. Suddenly, Martarmus then knocks out Discord.

“Discord!”, Fluttershy shouts.

Soon, the rest of the group gather around the unconscious draconequus. The monsters then confront the others and prepare to finish them off. The others try to fend themselves but are distracted by Discord's unconscious body. Fluttershy then goes into fetal position.

“Fluttershy, what are you doing?”, Spike asks.

“I can't fight as long as Discord is knocked out.”, she says.

Scorjosemal and Horlagamous appear and grapple her.

“Don't.”, Horlagamous says. “Not another step if you want this pegasus alive.”

“You wouldn't.”, Rainbow says.

They power up their magic.

“Don't temp us. We are not that easy to reason with.”, Scorjosemal says.

“Why you...”

“Wait, Rainbow.”, Twilight says. “Don't provoke them.”

“But, I can't...”, Rainbow says.

“Rainbow, just do what they say.”, Rarity says. “There's no talking them out of it.”

Rainbow stutters and then reluctantly accepts their offer. The monsters make a cage appear.

“In the cage you go.”, Martarmus says.

They all walk into the cage. Suddenly all of the unicorns and alicorns get their magic blocked.

“Just so you won't try to escape.”

Back on Wagstaff City, the draconequus wakes up and sees their all in a cage.

“What? Why are we in a cage?”, he asks.

“There's no escape from that.”, Horlagamous says.

“You all better surrender or we'll turn them into monsters like all of the other citizens in the other world.”, Scorjosemal proposes.

The animals then see how miserable they are in the cage and yield.

“Well it seems the mightiest animals will fall under severe blackmail.”, the emperor says. “Well done, my sons.”

“Now hold still while our father turns you all into slaves.”, Martarmus says.

The emperor then powers up his magic and prepares to shoot his magic. He then shoots his magic. Discord then uses his magic and puts the princes in front of the cage. They all get struck by the magic and scream in pain before being obliterated. The monster realizes what happened and runs to the ashes of his sons.

“No!”, he screams. “I just obliterated my sons!”

He becomes angry and turns to the caged group.

“You! I'll kill all of you!”

He then breaks the cage apart and prepares to murder them. Suddenly he gets hit by a burst of magic and turns to the source. It was Martha who shot the magic.

“Don't you harm a hair or scale on our friends.”, the yellow dog says.

He then growls.

“I'll put you and your other animals cretins first and then these colorful brutes afterward. Monsters, give me your aura.”

The monsters obey his command and transfer some of their aura to their leader. The emperor takes in the aura and starts growing bigger and becomes more hideous. Soon, he has gained enough aura and has become a monster more hideous than any other beast in existence.

“Attack!”, he commands.

The monsters then attack the other animals and the Equestria group. Martha and Skits stand their ground and face the more monstrous emperor. The monster powers up his magic as the dogs do the same thing. But what they never expected what that he makes a suit of armor appear and wields two swords. He charges towards them and swings his swords to them. They managed to dodge his swords as they shoot their magic. The dogs and monsters continue battling as the monsters battle the groups from their world and the Equestria world. The citizens watch in horror as the battle ensues. Suddenly they face each other and power up their magic and shoot. The beams collides as the dogs and emperor give it all they've got.

“This has to stop!”, Helen says.

She then grabs an axe and uses it to cut the chains.

“Helen, what are you doing?!”, her mom asks.

“You can't get out there!”, her dad says.

The beams explode and the dogs compose themselves. They notice the monster is nowhere to be found.

“Where is he?”, Skits asks.

“Right here.”, Keretomatus says as he appears behind the dogs.

Before they can attack, the monster blasts them down to the ground.

“Say goodbye, Martha and Skits”, the monster says as he powers up his magic.

Helen then runs out.

“Martha, Skits!”, Twilight says as she gets blasted by a monster.

“Helen, no!”, her whole family shouts.

“You've gotta stop right now!”, she shouts as she runs.

The monster then shoots his magic.

“Stoooooop!!!!”, she shouts as she pushes the dogs out of the way before being struck by the magic.

“Helen!”, her grandpa says.

“Oh, no!”, her grandma says.

The animals and group are in shock as they watch. The blast sends a shock wave across the city and then clears. The dogs compose themselves and watch in horror as their owner changes into a monster.

“Fool! Trying to stop our battle.”, the emperor says.

“Helen!”, Martha and Skits says as they run to their owner.

“Helen, are you OK?”, Martha asks.

Helen growls. The monsters and animals turn to what is happening.

“Helen, do you recognize us?”, Skits asks.

The monstrous Helen looks at them while completely unaware at who's talking to her.

“Helen. Helen.”, Martha says.

Nothing happens still. Martha and Skits then begin to shed tears.

“Helen.”, Martha cries.

Tear drops hit below the dogs as they begin to hug her. Soon the animals and the citizens shed tears themselves. The Equestria group shed tears as well. The monster watches as all of the citizens and animals cry buckets of tears at the monster.

“They're all crying tears of love for that monster.”, the emperor says. “Could it be that I've been missing the true meaning of acceptance since I've shunned myself for centuries?”

He then thinks and decides to power up his magic. The monstrous Helen is covered by the magic and the aura is extracted while the dogs watch. The monster starts to convulse and turns back to Helen.

“Martha, Skits!”, she says.

“Helen!”, her dogs say as they lick her.

The citizens and animals all rejoice. The group then approaches the dogs and their owner.

“Martha, Skits, are these the friends from the other world you two were going on about this whole time?”, Helen asks.

“That's them alright.”, Martha says.

“So this is Helen.”, Twilight says. “It's very nice to meet you.”

As Martha and Skits introduces the rest of the city to their friends, the emperor watches above and thinks about what had occurred.

“So all this time, the morals of acceptance have changed. And all this time, I've just been one dimensional about this predicament.”, Keretomatus says. “All of the circumstances have been relay brutally on my shoulders.”

“I'm sorry we didn't believe you, Martha.”, Helen says. “I just though you delirious from malnutrition.”

“Delirious?”, Martha and Skits ask.

“'Delirious' means in an acutely disturbed state of mind resulting from illness or intoxication and characterized by restlessness, illusions and incoherence of thought and speech.”

“Well we weren't delirious.”, Skits says.

“I have now seen the light.”, a voice says.

They look up and the monster descends to the citizens.

“It seems that no matter who is hideous, what matters is that who you give your own love towards is nothing short of loyalty.”, Keretomatus says. “And for that. I'll release all of my prisoners and return both world back to normal.”

The emperor powers his magic that results in all of the citizens being released, the city being restored, the monsters turning back to ponies and the emperor goes back to his normal self.

“It's too bad your sons are gone.”, Martha says.

“There's no need to worry. I was so angered by what happened that I forgot I created them so I can create them again.”

He power up his magic and his songs are brought back to life.

“Welcome back, my sons.”, the emperor says.

“Father, what happened?”, Martarmus asks.

“I have seen that I was wrong to judge these creatures and turn them into monsters.”

“You were wrong?”, the princes all ask.

“Indeed I was. I now see that we are all equal no matter who you are or what you are.”, Kertomatus says.

“Man I can't wait to tell my Abuela and Abuelo in Mexico and tell them about what happened.”, Helen says.

“Our parents will never believe what has occurred. They'll feel silly.”, Twilight says.

“I'm sorry, but I won't allow you to do all of that.”

“What?”, the groups say.

“You all know too much about our world and we know too much about yours.”, the emperor says. “If our worlds were exposed, it will make the balance collapse and will have catastrophic results.”

“Oh, my.”, Rarity says. “So what are we gonna do?”

“I'm going to use my memory spell to erase all of your memories about acknowledging both worlds.”

“You mean we won't remember any of this?”, T.D. asks.

“I'm afraid it's the only way to restore balance to both of our worlds.”, Keretomatus says. “This will also mean that Martha, Skits and their friends will have their abilities removed.”

“So, we'll go back to being normal animals?”, Skits asks.

“It would appear so.”

“Wait a minute.”, Martha shouts.

He then turns to the dog.

“Can me and Skits do one more song before you erase our memories?”

“Yeah. I want to hear my dogs sing.”, Helen says.

“Me too.”, Carolina says.

Soon more people wish to hear them sing. He then smiles.

“Very well. That I can allow.”, he says.

Everyone cheers and the dogs get ready for one last song. They perform a very colorful number, while this is happening, the goons that were scared off see the dogs as sitting ducks and try to get them. However, they are being beaten during the number and just when they are about to catch them finally, the song ends and they land on top of them. The audience then cheers in excitement. Soon, all of the citizens say their goodbyes to the group and the emperor powers up his magic.

“Farewell, other worldly friends.”, the emperor says as he releases the magic everywhere.

The citizens are at the fundraiser as the dog brings in the money for the new exhibit.

“Thank you everyone for your patronage.”, Martha says. “Our new lion cubs will be happy in their new home.”

Everyone cheers and celebrate their new zoo friends. In the Crystal Empire, Cadance's birthday is a great day for the princess.

“This has been the best birthday ever. Thank you, Twilight.”, Cadance says.

“You're welcome, Cadance.”, Twilight says.

Watching both worlds is Keretomatus as he and the other minions are in a different part of Equestria.

“The creatures of both worlds have no discrimination for whoever inhabits any world.”, he says. “And now that my eyes have been opened, all of these creatures can now live in peace and harmony. With the notions of all creatures being equal, how hideous can any loved one be?”

Plan for Hideousness

"Those organisms with their loving friendship personalities.", a gruff voice says watching Twilight Sparkle and her friends in a viewing pool. "They get to make friends with all kinds of creatures no matter how they looked; Just like how I was accepted when I lived in that friendly land."

He swipes the water in anger.

"This isn't fair. I mean, they can befriend dragons, griffons, changelings and a draconequus but not a monster like me.", he says.

He walks away from the water and looks at his claws that are the size of cleavers.

"Look at me, I'm hideous.", he says to himself. "I never asked for this. It's a curse!"

He starts pacing back and forth wondering about his curse.

"None of those specimens will be able to look at me without fleeing in terror."

"Father!", another voice shouts.

He turns to the voice and three other silhouetted monsters enter the room.

"Are speaking to yourself again?", one of them asks.

"Unfortunately, yes.", the monster replies. "How can we live with ourselves if we're cursed into looking like monsters?"

He goes back to the water and looks at the ponies.

"If I can't be accepted into the kingdom of Equestria because of how I am depicted, then none of those creatures will."

"Father, are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?", another silhouette asks.

"Yes.", the monster says. "If I can gather all of those colorful brutes, I'll extract their beauty, like how mine was, and make them as hideous as myself."

He then realizes there is a problem with his plan.

"But how can I get these beings to enter? I can't leave without showing my face.", he ponders.

"I have an idea.", the third silhouette speaks. "Maybe instead of us coming to them, we make them come to us."

The emperor then acknowledges the idea.

"Yes. It's perfect.", he says. "But the question is how do we coax these ponies into coming to my kingdom?"

He then looks back at the water and sees them playing with their pets.

"Ah, they follow their pets. Maybe using their pets can bring them to me.", he says. "Ugh, no that won't work. Those unicorns will trace my magic in their pets and remove it from them. Think, what else can I use?"

"Wait, what if we use creatures that aren't from this world?", a silhouette suggests.

"Of course.", another one says. "With other worldly creatures, those beings will be unable to remove the spell."

The emperor takes in the suggestion.

"Yes. That could work.", he says. "But what creatures can I use?"

He uses one of his fingers and stirs the water. The water then shows him two dogs in a zoo with four humans holding a cake in front of an older dog.

"Happy Birthday, Mom!", the small dogs says.

The creature is in disbelief after hearing the dog.

"Two self aware dogs and one of them can talk.", he says and then smiles sinisterly. "Perfect. I can use them as well as their animal friends for my army."

He then feels an essence.

"What's this?"

He then swirls his finger in the water and sees various people in the water.

Two men in a building are looking a blueprint.

"Are you sure this will work?", a big man wearing a green suit asks.

"Positive.", a smaller man wearing a white lab coat replies. "With this plan, we'll be able to catch that talking dog for sure."

They roll it up and leave to work.

"If that dog hadn't interfered with my plan, I would've gotten that recipe and would've been rich.", a mustached man says.

His rottweiler sulks and eats his food. Two men inside a van and is parked in front of a jewelry store.

"This is where we're going to rob next.", a burly man says. "Let's just hope that talking dog doesn't rat us out again."

"Yeah. I hate getting ratted out.", a lanky man says.

A woman gets exfoliated by her butler.

"Words cannot describe how fluster I am.", she says.

"After ten years?", the butler asks.

"I swear we could've gotten a better pup than that painfully optimistic pooch from that shelter."

"Oh, my.", the emperor says. "It seems those other beings seem to have some sort of grudge against that particular dog. They'll be perfect for my plan."

He leaves the chamber and reaches a cauldron.

"All I need to do is travel to their world and summon them to me. And I know just the spell.", he says.

He powers his magic and pours different vials into the cauldron. The cauldron then starts to form and release smoke.

"Prepare yourselves, my sons. We're going on rally an army.", he says. "With these creatures in my clutches, I'll be worshipped once again.", he says and then laughs evilly.

Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle and her friends, Spike, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and the CMC, are at Sugar Cube Corner baking a cake for the birthday of Twilight's sister-in-law, Princess Cadance.

"Alright, guys, Cadance is waiting for us at the Crystal Empire, so we have to get going.", Twilight says.

"Don't worry, Twi, we just about finished decorating the cake.", says Spike.

The cake was a rock candy cake with a rock candy statue of Cadance on the top. Right in front of it were the words, "Happy Birthday, Cadance" written in glittering frosting. Twilight was absolutely speechless.

"Oh, my Celestia, it's beautiful.", she says. "I can just imagine what Cadance's reaction to could be."

"Oh, I think I know how she'll react.", Pinkie suggests.

"You do?", asks Rainbow.

"Yes.", the pink mare says. "She'll be like 'Oh, my gosh! This has gotta be the best cake that I've ever gotten since my '"

She then stop and sees that her friends stare at her awkwardly.

"What?", she asks.

"Well, enough about that.", says Rarity. "Let's get going."

The ponies and dragon exit the bakery and head out to the train station.

"Twilight, wait up!", a voice shouts.

They turn to it and see that it's Starlight Glimmer along with Trixie.

"Aren't we invited?", Starlight asks.

"Oh, Starlight.", says Twilight. "I guess you two can come with us."

"I think you mean 'you three'.", another voice says.

They look up and see Discord sitting on top of the bakery.

"I should be invited as well since I did help out with those two.", the draconequus says.

"Sure, Discord. You can come to.", Fluttershy says.

"Guys, are we gonna stand here and invite more friends or are we gonna head to the train station?", asks Rainbow.

"RD's right. Let's not dilly dally and get a move on.", Applejack says.

Twilight, her friends and the other invites head out to reach the train station.

"Let's just hope that nothing can make this day any farfetched.", says Spike.

"You do realize that you just brought along the king of the farfetched, right?", Discord asks him.

"Point taken.", the dragon says.

At the Crystal Empire, the family, guards and the citizens are decorating the kingdom to prepare for Cadance.

"The kingdom is looking great, honey.", Shining Armor says.

"Thanks, dear.", Cadance says. "My birthday seems to have been the talk of the kingdom. And it was only a week ago."

"Good morning, Your Majesties.", a voice says.

They turn to it and see Thorax and some other changelings in front of them.

"Thorax, you made it.", Shining says.

"Yes, I did.", he says. "I couldn't pass up a very important event for one very important princess."

Flurry Heart suddenly hugs the prince tightly.

"Are you gonna stay for the party, Uncle Thorax?", Flurry asks him.

"I wouldn't miss your mother's birthday for anything, little Flurry.", he says.

"Hey, Thorax, since you're all here, why don't you help the citizens decorate the kingdom?", Cadance asks.

"Oh, it would be my pleasure, Princess Cadance.", says Thorax.

They all head out to the kingdom and help all the citizens set up streamers, blow up balloons, making confetti, etc.

Soon, all of the kingdom is decorated and ready for the guests.

"Wow, Thorax.", says Cadance. "You all really outdone yourselves this time."

"It's the least we could do after finding our own love.", says Thorax. "It would be interesting to see an actual birthday party."

"Well, you'll see soon enough.", says Shining Armor. "As soon as my sister and her friends arrive, everypony will rejoice for this once in a lifetime day."

Animals of Control

The pets and animals lead the citizens to the end of the premises where the reach a horrifying castle. The citizens then starts to panic.

“Why did those pets lead us here?”, a stallion asks.

“Honey, I'm scared.”, a mare says.

“Mom, Dad, help us.”, a colt and a filly say in unison.

A beam of light emerges from the top and it projects a hooded monster with big fangs and red eyes. The group is petrified at the monster. His eyes glow and all of the citizens are hypnotized. The zombified ponies then walk towards the castle entrance and enters.

“Perfect, the third part of my plan is complete.”, the emperor says. “All I need to do now is turn them as hideous as myself.”

Suddenly, the princes burst into the room.

“Father, something has appeared in the viewing pool!”, Horlagamous says.

“How dare you interrupt me when I'm about to initiate the final part of my plan?!”, he asks furiously.

He then notices what the prince said.

“Wait, at the viewing pool?”

“Yes. We were preparing the cages, when something has appeared in the viewing pool.”, Scorjosemal says.

“You have to look. It could interfere with our plan.”, Martarmus says.

He then enters the room and looks in the pool. In the pool are the creatures he stole the pets and animals from gathering technology to another creature wearing a white coat.

“This is perfect. At this rate, we'll get all of our pets and the other animals in no time.”, the creature with the red hair says. “I can already hear my dogs barking for me.”

“They're trying to take my army back.”, Keretomatus says. “This is preposterous.”

He then notices something.

“Wait a minute. What do we have here?”, he says as he enlarges the view.

Behind some bushes are the creatures who helped him go by the authorities.

“It's those creatures who you used.”, Scorjosemal says.

“Why show us this?”, Martarmus asks.

“What exactly are we going to do once we get a hold of that monster?”, the creature wearing a green suit asks.

“When I get my hands on the monster, I'm going to tear him apart.”, the burly creature says as he cracks his knuckles.

“If they think, it'll be easy to attack us?”, Horlagomous asks. “They're sorely mistaken.”

“No. I have a better idea.”, the creature wearing a brown suit asks.

“Huh? What's better than pummeling that beast?”, the burly creature asks.

“Think about it. That monster's magic was so powerful, he managed to capture all of those animals without breaking a sweat.”, the suited creature says. “If we manged to get a hold of that monster, we can use him to become the most successful crooks in all of Wagstaff City. Maybe even the world.”

“Yes. That's perfect.”, the creature wearing jewelry says. “All of us will be adored forever. Let's get to it.”

They all laugh evilly as they fade away.

“So those simpletons are going to try and use me as a weapon.”, the emperor says. “Well, if they're going to do that, they'll have to face some of my minions if they want to get to me.”

The citizens then enter the room and go into their cages. The then go out of they're hypnosis and look around. The emperor approaches the imprisoned ponies as they all scream in panic.

“Silence!”, he commands.

The prisoners then silence themselves.

“You are just a few of the creatures for my new kingdom. And I'll start with this.”

He then powers his magic and a colt gets encased with his magic. He then screams in agony as his beauty is then extracted from him. The emperor then takes the beauty and locks it in the viewing pool. The colt then bursts and the smoke clears. The colt is now a hideous monster just like Keretomatus.

The colt's parents and sister are horrified at what happened.

“You're all mine now.”, he says and then shoots all of his magic.

The citizens of Wagstaff City gather at the community center sitting and planning.

“All right. The professor said that it will take only one week to complete the machine.”, Carolina says.

“Yeah. But here's a thought.”, Truman says.

“What is it, Truman.”, Alice asks.

“What if that monster comes back and tries to take them all back?”

“Hey, yeah.”, Ronald says. “That monster will tear this whole town apart just to find them again.”

“Ronald's right.”, his dad says. “We all need to be on all of our guards for that monster.”

“Well, what exactly could we use against that monstruo?”, Carolina's dad says.

“Oh, we could use some sort of blunt objects to keep that beast at bay until it decides to leave.”, T.D.'s dad suggests.

“Do you know how many blunt objects we would need to arm everyone in Wagstaff City?”, his mother asks.

“Oh.”, he says. “I didn't think I'd get that far.”

“I don't know why we are planning to get those disgusting pets back.”, a voice says.

They turn to it and see Mrs. Demson approaching the group.

“Come on, Mrs. Demson. The professor and Agent Johnson said all of us have to contribute to this plan if we want to get our pets back.”, Milo says.

“Yeah. Can't you find it in your heart to help us?”, Carolina asks.

“No way.”, the old woman says. “I'd rather get the flu than help you get your pets back.”

Helen then gets angry and confronts her.

“You listen here!”, she shouts. “We're all sick of you saying that pets are nothing but trouble! Don't you realize how much our pets mean to us? My dogs are more than just my pets; They're my family! I've been crying myself to sleep ever since they disappeared. You could at least feel sorry for them for just two seconds. Is that too much to ask?”

“Forget this. I'm going home.”, Mrs. Demson says as she walks to the door.

Helen's friends then restrain her.

“What are you doing?! Let me go!”, she shouts.

“Helen's right. Everyone needs to lend a hand and that includes you.”, T.D. says.

“Look, I hate pets, period.”, she says.

“You need to help.”, Truman says.

“I'm not doing it.”

“You have to.”, Alice says.

“No!”, Mrs. Demson shouts.

“Yes.”, Milo shouts.

“No!”

“Porque no? Why not? Why do you hate pets so much?!”, Carolina asks.

“Because my parents died from them, OK!”, Mrs. Demson answers.

The kids are shocked and release her. She then gets on her knees and mopes.

“What?”, they all ask in unison.

“The reason why I hate pets is because my parents died from them.”

“How did your parents die from pets?”, Milo asks. “What pets did they own?”

“I owned a pet.”, the old woman says dejectedly. “I was ten years old and our family was sad all the time.”

A young Mrs. Demson is walking by the town with her parents.

“Then one day, while we were talking a stroll around town I then noticed a timid puppy tied to a parking meter. She was also very thin and really weak.”, she says. “We look at her with pity and didn't want to leave her like that.”

She waits in the waiting room at the vet and her parents come out with the fully recovered puppy.

“We then took her to the vet and managed to save her from dying.”

She then hugs the puppy.

“I then loved the puppy like she was my own.”, she says.

“Can we keep her?”, the little girl asks.

Her parents smile at their pleading daughter.

“Of course, sweetheart.”, her mother says.

“Anything for you.”, her father says.

Years later, she plays with her full grown dog as a teenager while her parents are sightseeing.

“Soon, when I was sixteen, I was playing with my full grown dog in the country.”, she says. “I decided to play our favorite game of fetch.”

“Want the stick girl, you want it, you want it?”, she asks playfully to her dog. “Go get it, girl.”

She then throws a stick and her dog goes after it. She then sees her dog reaching a deep cliff.

“She then goes after it, but headed straight for a cliff.”, Mrs. Demson continues.

The sixteen year old girl then starts to panic and runs after her dog. She then reaches her dog before she reaches the end.

“I managed to stop her from reaching the end.”, Mrs. Demson says. “Until...”

Suddenly she slips and falls off the cliff. She manages to grab a branch before she falls further. Her parents are still sightseeing.

“Hey, honey, where's our daughter?”, her mother asks.

“I don't know.”, her father answers.

They hear their daughter's screams.

“Oh, no!”, they both say in unison.

They both run until they reach the cliff.

“Help me!”, she shouts.

“Hold on, daughter!”, her father says.

He then reaches his hand as he leans in further. Suddenly, he loses he loses his grip and falls off. His wife then grabs him.

“Keep a hold, honey.”, his wife says.

She then loses her balance and falls off with her husband. They fall off and hold onto a rock. Mrs. Demson's dog runs to her and sees the family hanging for dear life. They all shout and protest about who to save. The dog then reaches down and grabs her owner. She then pulls her up and her dog then collapses.

“Sweetheart!”, her mother shouts.

She runs to the cliff and sees her mother and father still holding onto the rock.

“Help us up!”, her father shouts.

She then reaches out her hand and they almost grab hold. Before they grip, the rock breaks and falls apart. Her parents scream as they fall into the chasm. The girl can only watch in horror as her parents plummet to their deaths. She then turns to her dog. Her dog snuggles her and she suddenly pushes it away.

“Get off of me!”, she shouts. “You could have saved them! Why didn't you save them?!”

She then breaks down crying and weeping as her dog then runs away.

The old Mrs. Demson frowns as she finishes her story.

“Oh, my goodness.”, Helen says.

“I never loved nor owned a single pet since.”, she says.

“I'm sorry to hear that Mrs. Demson.”, Helen says.

“I'm going home.”, the old woman says as she leaves the building.

T.D. tries to go after her, but Helen stops him.

“Let her go.”, she says. “She needs to find herself.”

“Come on, Helen.”, her father says. “I have an idea about how to deal with that monster.”

Celestia and Luna are still flying to Ponyville seeing more and more citizens following pets.

“This is improbable.”, Celestia says. “It seems everypony in Equestria are following those pets.”

Luna then stops and Celestia notices.

“Luna, what is it?”, she asks.

“Celestia, do you feel it?”, Luna asks.

“Feel what?”

“It's those pets, they have an aura.”, she says.

Celestia then closes her eyes and senses the aura. She opens her eyes in realization.

“Luna, it's the same aura we kept sensing.”, Celestia says. “Where did they get this aura?”

She looks down and notices something.

“Sister, look.”

Luna looks down and sees what's happening. The citizens of the Crystal Empire are also following the pets. Cadance, Shining and Flurry stand at the balcony.

“Citizens of the Crystal Empire, stay where you are!”, Cadance commands.

None of the citizens listen to the princess and continue to follow the pets.

“Why aren't they listening to you?”, Shining asks.

“Cadance, Shining, Flurry.”, Celestia shouts as she and Luna land by them.

“What going on?”, Luna asks.

“All of the citizens are following those mysterious pets.”, Flurry says. “And my mommy's commands are getting to them.”

“This is completely absurd.”, Celestia says. We need to find Twilight and the others.

“But I can't fly.”, Shining says. “I don't have wings or know any flying spells.”

“I think I can be of assistance.”, a voice says.

They turn and see Sunburst with a spell book.

“I know a spell that can get all of us to Ponyville without needing to fly.”

“Well don't just stand there. Cast it.”, Flurry says.

“Wait, don't go without me.”, another voice says.

They turn and see Thorax landing with the group.

“I've been looking for you.”, he says. “Those pets are leading the other changelings out as well.”

“OK. Here goes nothing.”, Sunburst says and then power up his horn.

Soon, a light emits and they all vanish.

Author's Note

I needed to find a reason why Mrs. Demson hates pets so much. So I made up a reason. Also, don't worry; The part about Skits talking will come in the next chapter with something more to it.