Poppy's Delivery Service

by XombieSlayr

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Character, Mystery, Comedy, Adventure
Length: 143135

Titular delivery mare, Poppy Blossom, embarks on a series of wild and crazy delivery misadventures in order to uncover a mass hypnotism conspiracy that threatens the entire world.

Poppy Blossom is the best delivery mare in all Equestria. Although nopony ever seems to hire her due to her infamous reputation of attracting all manner of trouble. Such as when she was hired to deliver Princess Celestia's cake on her birthday, and had to sword fight with a gang of griffon bakers atop a crashing zeppelin. Or when she had to deliver a suit of new armor to Shining Armor in The Crystal Kingdom and was tailed by an immortal undead unicorn warlord who wanted to use the armor as a catalyst for his ghostly form. Or when she had to steal back a priceless gem from an Invincible Ancient Dragon Guardian on Black Skull Island so it could be delivered to Carousel Boutique in time for Rarity's fashion shoot. The point is, Poppy always seems to find herself in crazier and crazier situations.

But one thing always remains the same: Poppy ALWAYS makes her deliveries on time.

Winner Of National Pony Writing Month 2018!

I would also like to thank my very good friend, Cinnabar, for all her help with coming up with ideas and things to make this story easily the most fun I've ever had with writing a story! Thanks Cinni! :D

Published 2018-11-01 07:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-12-11 04:01:54 UTC

Delivery #2: "Situation Comedy."

Poppy awoke to a clear morning sun, shining in through her bedroom window. She yawned, then stretched a bit, before heading down to her kitchen to make herself some french toast and to switch the sign on her office door to 'Open.'

It was a lazy Monday morning, and like Poppy, all of Ponyville was just getting up. Yet the market square was already bustling with happy shoppers, and other local business owners were opening up their stores and getting ready for another day.

After opening her office, Poppy went over to the water cooler, where a goldfish swam happily about. "Good morning, Mr. Spoon," she greeted the fish, who blubbed cheerfully in response. Poppy kept her beloved pet goldfish, Mr. Spoon, in the water cooler, as she thought a tank would be too constricting.

After feeding Mr. Spoon, she then went over to her office cactus, Hubert, and adjusted him so he would be directly in the light, before adding the tiniest bit of water to his pot. Hubert the cactus was the perfect plant for Poppy as he never needed much water. Plus, she was always away from the office on deliveries anyways.

With Hubert happily drinking up sun-rays, Poppy then checked her 'Jelly Of The Month Calendar', and adjusted it accordingly. This month's jelly was Raspberry.

She made herself some coffee while she checked her bulletin board. She never kept any important documents up there, as she had them all in her satchel like everything else she needed, but if she ever needed to check a place for all the pieces of paper she's never going to look at again, she knew right where they were.

Pinning up a few receipts to the board, Poppy then took a seat on her couch with her coffee and french toast and turned on her wall-mounted flat-screen in time to catch Moira Manners on WARP.

Moira Manners was a light green earth pony with a fluffy pink sweater, huge blue beehive hairdo, and was easily the most popular morning TV host in Equestria, with the longest running series of episodes at over 234 to date. Poppy always liked watching Moira cause of her witty remarks and charm when talking about the local happenings, as well as the guests she would have on her show.

The jazzy theme of Moira's show resounded from Poppy's flat-screen as the camera did a sweeping shot of Moira's cheering audience, but Poppy swore they looked rather un-enthused this time around. In fact, some weren't clapping at all.

Poppy was curious as to why this was, but just chalked it up to it being early in the day, and maybe they were tired is all. The camera finally came to rest on Moira's cheery face at her desk, which, looking at it closely, looked worse for wear then Poppy remembered. It was worn down, cracked in several places, and Poppy had to blink twice before she realized the left leg was actually a bowling pin.

Nevertheless, Moira carried on like everything was normal. "Good morning, Equestria!" she announced in her loud cheery tone. "And welcome to day 3 of my greatest episode ever!"

Poppy looked up from her mug. "Day 3?" she repeated aloud. Surely that was a joke, right?

Moira continued. "You won't want to miss any of our special guests coming up this hour! Later on, we'll have none other then the most famous rock band in the world, Sungazer, here live for their 12th performance so far on this very special episode!" she cheered. "Plus, everyone in the audience is going to be getting a lifetime supply of canned bread!"

"We don't need canned bread!" a random mare in the audience yelled out. "We need sleep!"

"Yeah!" A colt chimed in. "You've kept us here for days!"

Another mare stood up, visibly distraught. "I was supposed to pick up my kids from school, two days ago!" she cried.

But Moira just rolled her eyes. "Oh, I see." she narrowed her eyes at the audience. "You were all more than happy to take the new carriages, all-expense paid vacations, and cash prizes I handed out at first, but now after I've worked so hard to bring you and the good ponies of Equestria a good show, you'd rather sleep! I guess nothing I ever do is good enough for you..."

There was an uncomfortable silence in the audience, before the same mare from before said "Maybe...maybe...we'll start using canned bread...someday?" The rest of the audience forced smiles onto their faces and began murmuring amongst themselves.

"That's the spirit!" Moira perked up. "You see? There's lots more fun to come, so stick around Equestria! Cause this show isn't ever going to end. Ever!"

At that the show went to a commercial break, that featured a gecko talking about carriage insurance and a pack of beavers.

For a moment Poppy just sat on her couch, in utter shock at what she had just seen. Was it some kind of TV prank? No. Those audience members were all serious when they talked about being there for days. And the way Moira scolded them for asking to be able to sleep?

Poppy set her mug down and turned off the TV. "What in the heck is Moira thinking, doing that to ponies?" she asked aloud. "Has she lost her mind?"

Just then the phone on her desk rang. Picking it up, Poppy heard the usual bright, cheery voice of the district manager and her boss, Miss Wintergreen. "Good morning, Poppy!" she sang. "How has your day been so far?"

Miss Wintergreen was a very cheerful and eccentric mare who cared deeply about the postal employees in her district, especially Poppy, who was renowned for her perfect on-time percentage record. She was arguably the best boss in the world, in Poppy's opinion.

"Good Morning, Miss Wintergreen." Poppy greeted equally as cheerfully. "And It's been...interesting so far."

"Interesting?"

Poppy explained the strange things she had witnessed on Moira's show.

"I see." Miss Wintergreen said calmly. "That is interesting. As well as deeply troubling!"

But then her tone went right back to cheery. "Luckily for them and you though, I have the solution!"

Poppy raised an eyebrow. "The solution, ma'am?"

"Yep!" Wintergreen said simply. "I need you to deliver a new desk to the set of Moira Manners at WARP TV." she stated. "Annnd, maybe while your there....see what you can do to save those poor audience members!"

"And find out what the heck has gotten into Equestria's former most beloved TV talk show host?" Poppy finished with a grin.

"You got it!" Wintergreen sang. "The delivery will be there in about an hour. Once it's there just use this week's One-off teleportation spell to-"

"Oh!" Poppy interrupted. "Sorry, to interrupt ma'am; but I actually don't need those anymore. I learned how to do the teleportation spell on my own!" Poppy boasted. It had taken several weeks of study and practice, but she had finally gotten down the complex workings of weaving the fabric of space time to transport herself anywhere she envisioned in her mind. It was actually far more simple, then she had thought previously.

"That's fantastic!" Wintergreen exclaimed proudly. "Well then, I'll let you get to it! I'll call the studio afterwards to get the payment for you sent to your PO box." she said happily. "Annnd, I think I'll throw in a bonus for saving all those ponies from Moira's show!"

"Thank you, ma'am!" said Poppy cheerfully.

"Of course. Good luck, and I'll talk to you soon!"

With that, both Poppy and Wintergreen hung up the phone, leaving Poppy to finish her breakfast, get out of her Pajamas and don her purple scarf and trusty satchel.

She looked at the clock. It wasn't even past 8 am yet. "Hmm.." thought Poppy. "I think I'll go pay Pears a quick visit, since I have time."

Poppy went to her door, and opened it, letting in the bright sunshine, before stepping out into the Market Square, making sure to close the door behind her.

The Inconvenience Store

Stopping to examine the gumball machine Pears had outside her store ("Huh. Fish tank gravel, again.") Poppy opened the door and went inside.

Inside the usual cheery store music greeted Poppy as she walked up to the counter, but saw that Burnt Pears, her insanely paranoid friend and owner of the Inconvenience Store, was nowhere to be seen. "Pears?" Poppy looked behind the counter, and around the store, but Pears wasn't there.

Or so she thought.

"Poppy!" a voice yelled out from above. Poppy jumped half a floor in the air, before landing and looking up to see Pears was suspended over her by a metal cable and harness. She appeared to be installing what looked like a large generator on the ceiling. "Hang on! I'll be right down."

"Pears?" Poppy asked as her friend lowered herself to the floor. "What in the world were you doing up there?"

Pears unbuckled herself from her harness and smiled. "I was re-calibrating the store's interface dampener! Ha! They'll never find me now!" Pears exclaimed, quite proud of herself.

Poppy sighed as she knew the drill by this point. "What sick forces of evil are bedeviling you this time, Pears?" she asked simply.

Pears suddenly got very close to Poppy's face and brought her voice to a whisper. "Somepony is spying on me!"

"Spying on you?" Poppy repeated. "How do you know?"

"More specifically, someponies." Pears added. "It's definitely a group, judging by the readings I've been seeing."

"Readings?"

Pears went over to her counter and pulled a monitor into view. It showed numerous percentages and what looked like a line graph, with this month nearly peaking to the top. Whatever it meant, Pear's expression was now deadly serious. "This displays the level of unknown surveillance signals I've been picking up over the last few weeks." Pears pointed to the graph. "And look! It's already peaked for this month!"

"So...what does that mean?" Poppy asked, almost completely lost.

Pears rolled her eyes. "It means that there is a ton of ponies trying to watch my every move! Probably so they can steal my designs for that new Alpha-Wave Fried Chicken Fryer; it makes fried chicken without use of oil or grease! Think of how many secret government facilities would kill for such a magnificent machine!"

Poppy raised an eyebrow. "Um...none of them? Ponies don't even eat meat, I thought."

Pears sighed. "You think ponies are my only customers?"

"Fair enough."

With that Pears hopped back behind her counter and set the monitor aside. "So,' she said putting on a salesmare smile. "What can I do for you today, Poppy?"

"What do you have?" Poppy asked, eager to hear what insane stuff Pears had for sale this week.

"Got a new shipment of Candy-Pink Fatboys." Pears suggested.

Poppy looked at Pears. "What are those?"

"Exactly what you think they are." Pears warned.

"I'll pass."

"Fair enough." Pears said with a shrug. "Let's see I also have...exiled political discussants, weapons of mass destruction, weapons of moderate destruction, weapons of minimum destruction, 1 Bit Lottery Tickets...

"How much are the 1 Bit lottery tickets?" asked Poppy. She didn't gamble herself, but she knew that Miss Wintergreen liked to make collages of them.

"Two Bits." Pears replied.

"Of course." Poppy rolled her eyes. "Anything else?"

Pears read off from memory. "Albino Monkey Crackers, Aerosol Meat, Complimentary Fresh Garlic, Fine leather jackets..."

"Who buys the leather jackets?" asked Poppy curiously.

"The Tunnel Snakes." Pears replied. "Local gang up in Canterlot. Nice bunch, but pretty sure there actual snakes in disguise." stated Pears. "I mean it's right there in the name!"

"Right. What else?"

"I have some gumballs the size of your head." Pears urged.

"Wait. My head specifically?" asked Poppy suspiciously.

"Yes, your head specifically."

"....how and why?"

"You didn't lock your door that one time, and I wanted a mold in case your head ever gets stolen or replaced by mutant anteaters." said Pears with a shrug.

Poppy just sighed and tried to laugh it off. "Anything else?"

Pears put a hoof to her chin. "Well," she said reaching underneath her counter. "I also have a sonic voice amplifier." She brought up what looked like a leather collar with a large speaker about the size of a table coaster affixed to the front. She set it down for Poppy to come and look at.

"What does it do?"

"It uses complex wave amplification to greatly enhance the projection, range and power of your speaking voice." Pears explained. "You could kill a building with a single shout. Or level a city block with a scream."

"Or," thought Poppy "use it to free a group of captive audience members being held against their will?"

Pears looked at her. "Um...yeah, I guess." she said rubbing the back of her head. "Do you want it or what?"

"Yes!" Poppy got her coin purse from her satchel. "How much?"

Pears thought for a moment. "Hmmm...well with the level of technology in this thing and the use it has a weapon of mass destruction, I would say I could part with it for say, um.....one million Bits."

Poppy's mouth went dry as she almost threw her coin purse back into her satchel. "O-One....One Mil-? she gasped. "One million Bits!? Are you serious!?" she exclaimed.

"Hey! This is extremely powerful and dangerous voice augmenting equipment!" Pears protested. "Sorry, Poppy. I'm afraid it's a million Bits or nothing."

"Where in the wide world of Equestria am I going to get a million Bits!?" cried Poppy.

"C'mon, You're you! You'll find some way to get a million Bits, no problem. I know you will." Pears said with a smile.

But Poppy only grimaced. "Ugh....fine. I have to be going anyways; I have a delivery to WARP TV to make." And she headed for the door.

"I'll hold onto this for you! Don't worry I won't let anypony else buy it from me!" Pears called after her.

"Great." Poppy mumbled herself. "Celestia forbid Filthy Rich comes in and decides he wants to become an opera singer."

To-Do List: Retrieved today's delivery and deliver it to WARP TV.

Poppy headed back to her office where today's delivery lay waiting; a new desk to be delivered to Moira Manners studio to replace the old one which had been used for twenty years and three days now.

Retrieving the delivery, she hovered it next to her with her magic as she used her teleportation spell. There was a flash of orange light, and she was gone.

WARP TV Studios, Manehatten

WARP or (Worldly Aligned Reality Programming) was one of Equestria's longest running TV stations featuring quality programming for the average and above-average Equine or other species viewer. As well as a great many TV sitcoms, talk shows, game shows and brain-starving cartoons. Truly the pinnacle of entertainment, and it's Manehatten studio reflected this as Poppy appeared within it's walls.

She found herself in a huge TV studio filled with numerous pieces of recording and videos equipment, TV cameras, boom mics, and set pieces for what looked like a show about psychic cows (Complete with prop cows.) Above her was a catwalk that looked strangely empty.

In fact, now that she was looking around, Poppy didn't see a single other person in the entire studio but a single teal unicorn pony mare with a frizzy blonde mane and headphones, who seemed to be far too busy arranging a set of important-looking papers and frequently sipping coffee from her mug, to notice that Poppy was only a few feet from her.

"Huh. She must be a stage hand of some kind." thought Poppy. "Maybe she can tell me where Moira is?" she set the desk down and approached the mare. "Hello! Sorry to bother you, but are you a stage hand? I need to find Moira, so I can-"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there." The mare interrupted. "Number one, I'm not the 'stage hand.' I'm the director. The Director!"

"Oh! I'm sorry I-"

"Number two, this area is reserved for employees or actors only; so unless you are either one of those, you'll have to leave." with that she turned around and got back to arranging her papers.

Poppy simply let out a sigh. "I'm actually here to deliver this desk to Moira Manners, she ordered-"

The mare spun around. "Do not mention that name in my presence!" she shouted suddenly, her eyes flaring.

Poppy was taken aback by the sudden change in mood, but being around Pears for so long, she was used to people suddenly and spontaneously freaking the heck out at random. "What's your issue with Moira?" asked Poppy politely.

"My issue??" the mare scoffed. "Let's just say Moira and me have creative differences; I'm creative. She's garbage. Ahahaha! I'm sorry what was your question?"

Poppy suddenly felt like she was talking to Pears again. "May I ask you your name?" asked Poppy.

The mare narrowed her eyes. "May I ask you yours?" she asked candidly.

Poppy blinked. "Sure?"

"Okay. What's your name then?"

"Poppy Blossom. And yours?"

The mare took another sip from her mug. "Fine." she sighed. "It's Make It Shine."

Poppy smiled at her. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Shine sighed. "Now what do you want with....Her...?

Poppy raised an eyebrow. "Why do you hate Moira so much? Really?"

Shine rubbed her temple with her hoof. "Look I...Moira runs her show her way, and I work my hooves to the marrow, yes, not even to the bone; through the bone!, running every other show my way; better known as the right way." she explained sourly. "If Moira doesn't want me on her set? Fine. I'm more then happy hating her from a distance, anyways."

So Make It Shine had it in for Moira? Poppy wondered it anypony else shared her sentiment.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" Poppy asked curiously. "Aren't you supposed to have stage hands and people to help you?"

Shine sighed once more. "Yes, I am. But unfortunately everyone else is currently being held against their will on Moira's show. I'm the only one, the only one keeping this ship afloat now!" she exclaimed angrily. "Now, it's up to me to find a replacement for our latest sitcom: The Out."

"The Out?"

"Yeah, its this heartwarming story about a young colt who wants to play buckball, but his estranged relationship with his father causes tensions on his team, then it turns out his mom is coaching this other team, and....ugh" At that, Make It Shine collapsed onto the floor, her coffee still suspended in the air by her magic. "I hate my job." She moaned.

"Is it always this hard?" Poppy asked, taking a seat on the floor with Shine.

"Always. Even when I do have a crew to do the work, it's still a nightmare." she moaned. "I wish I could quit this stupid job and go do something fun for once!"

"Well...why don't you?" asked Poppy. "You should never force yourself to do a job you hate. You deserve to make a living doing what you love, right?"

And then for the first time since Poppy met her, Make It Shine smiled. "Heh. Yeah, I guess so." she said simply. "Sorry I snapped at you." she got up off the floor. "I'll sign for that desk for Moira, but only so you get paid for the delivery." she stated. "Otherwise I'd chop it up and use it for firewood with a smile."

Poppy and Shine laughed, and then Poppy got an idea. "Since you hate Moira so much-"

"With the white hot passion of a million suns."

"Right. How would you like to help me save her audience and maybe take her down a peg in the process?" asked Poppy hopefully.

At that, Shine smiled. "Make it twelve pegs, and you got a deal."

"Deal." Poppy and Make It Shine shook hooves, sealing their newfound friendship and partnership in stopping Moira. Now all that was left was to find Moira and knock some sense into her.

But naturally, it wasn't going to be that easy...

To-Do List: Confront Moira and see what's going on with her.

Make It Shine lead Poppy to the studio door that led onto Moira's set. A large glowing sign that read 'Moira Manners' in bright flashing pink letters was seen above the doorway. Shine insisted on standing far, far far away from the door as Poppy knocked.

There was no answer. She could hear faint clapping on the other side.

She tried again. This time the door swung open and Moira herself was standing in the doorway, looking at Poppy. "Yes?" she asked.

Poppy hadn't expected Moira herself to actually answer. But as Shine had said, all the other employees were in there as Moira's 'audience.' She had to get in there to rescue them!

"Sorry to disturb you, Miss Moira, but my name is Poppy Blossom. I'm here to-"

"Ugh. Another one." Moira said under her breath.

Poppy just looked at her. "Excuse me?"

"Look sweetie, I'm busy taping a show here." Moira said irritably. "While I appreciate you coming all this way to meet me, I'm afraid I don't have time for a meet-and-greet right now. Maybe some other time? Of course since this episode isn't ever ending, I'd say you'll have quite a long wait."

Poppy narrowed her eyes. "Okay, first off (Shine smiled extra wide at that one) I'm not here to see you. I was hired to deliver your new desk-"

"Oh, splendid!" Moira exclaimed "Just leave it in the main studio. I'll have somepony come collect it later. I'm sure the studio can handle your payment?"

"That's already been arranged, but I still need-"

"What? What, what what do you want?" Moira asked rudely. "Why do you keep interrupting me?"

Make It Shine suddenly called out from out of view. "Just let the damn hostages go, you fru-fru sweatered nut-loaf!" she yelled angrily.

Moira blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard her." Poppy warned, narrowing her eyes further. "Let the hostages go. Now."

"Hostages? They're my guests!" Moira exclaimed. "I mean really now, of all the excuses..."

"Excuses!?" cried Poppy. "You've been holding them in that studio for three days straight!"

"I know, isn't it exciting?" asked Moira. "Let's them break this record! Hah!"

"Record?"

"Of course! The record for the longest continuous episode of any reality talk show ever!" Moira cheered. "And with my plan, my record is unbeatable! Just think of the ratings!"

Poppy couldn't believe what she was hearing. There had to be something more to this. She had genuinely liked Moira and her show at one point. Moira wasn't like this; something else had to be in play here.

"Why in the world are you doing this? What lead you to even make a decision like that?" asked Poppy, outraged.

But Moira thought for a moment. "Huh. Y'know I....I don't actually know." Moira admitted. "I'm just doing what I always do; slave and toil to put on the best show possible! It's just, after opening a gift from some well-wishers, I suddenly felt so compelled to keep this show running forever. I never want it to stop."

Poppy's eyes widened. "Wait. You only decided to do this after you opened a gift from some stranger?" asked Poppy suspiciously.

"Oh, I wouldn't say strangers." Moira insisted. "They were very polite, and well dressed. Though, the masks were a bit, uh, creepy."

"Masks??"

Moira was getting annoyed. "My you do ask a lot of questions don't you?' she snapped. "Can you please leave now, so I can get back to my show?"

Something very strange was going on here. But worst of all; Poppy felt that it was very familiar. Visions from her last Delivery danced about in her head, and suddenly it all made sense.

"You...You've been brainwashed!" cried Poppy. "That explains why your acting like this; that gift must've had something in it that warped your mind!"

Moira left out a short laugh. "Brainwashed? That's ridiculous! How could I possibly be brainwashed?"

"How do you know your not?" asked Poppy. "Your making completely irrational and frankly idiotic decisions with no common sense at play!"

"That's how she usually acts!" Shine chimed in once again.

Moira sighed. "I'm tired of this now, sweetie. I need to get back to my show, and you need to get back to your job as well. Goodbye."

She was about to close the door, when Poppy suddenly blurted out "Can I come in and watch the show?"

Poppy heard Shine fall over a large stack of crates and swear at the top of her lungs. She wasn't sure if she was being cursed at, or the crates. Maybe both?

But it had worked; Moira swung the door back open and looked at Poppy. "You want to watch the show? Well, ordinarily I'd say yes, but I'm afraid I can't squeeze anymore guests in my bleachers."

Poppy had to get in there! What other options were there? "Can I be a guest on your show, then?"

Moira looked at Poppy with wide eyes. "A guest?" she repeated. "Are you famous?"

"I'm pretty famous around Equestria for the numerous amounts of trouble and insane misadventures I get into doing my job for some reason beyond my control." Poppy stated plainly. "Is that enough?"

"Hmm..." Moira put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Well, I was supposed to have Morning Meir on here tomorrow, but I couldn't get a hold of her. Something about a Mayan apocalypse or some such." she explained. "But, I'm afraid I have plenty of other guests scheduled to make an appearance today, including the band, Sungazer! I can't forgo guests of that caliber just for one extra."

Thinking quickly, Poppy tried to reason with Moira. "What if I was the only guest, you could have on your show?" she asked mischievously.

"Huh." Moira didn't have an answer for that. "Well come back when that happens, and I'll put you on for sure." with that, Moira slammed the door and returned to her show.

Poppy returned to Make It Shine, who looked miffed, to say the least. "Are you mad?" she asked.

"At you? No." she said simply. "Her? Unfathomably."

"Understandable." Poppy agreed. "Honestly, she seems like she's always like that, not just because she's brainwashed."

Shine laughed like Poppy told a joke. "That mare has been the biggest show-offy windbag this studio has ever seen since the moment she got her own show." she said plainly. "She doesn't need to be brainwashed to be a class A jerkbag; she already was one."

"Yeah. I don't think I'll be watching her show anymore." said Poppy "At least for a while, anyways."

"Good thinking." Shine said with a smile. "So, how do you plan to become the only guest that said jerkface can have on her show?"

"I'm not sure." Poppy admitted. "Any ideas?"

Make It Shine thought a minute. "Yeah, I do actually. Let's head over to the set of Equestrian Idol; There's some ponies that I'm pretty sure will help us."

Make It Shine opened the door to Equestrian Idol before she had to get back to work. But she wished Poppy good luck, and that if she needs anything she would be in the main studio grumbling about how terrible of a job this is.

With that, Poppy waved goodbye to her new friend, then stepped through the door onto Equestrian Idol.

Equestrian Idol Set

Equestrian Idol was one of the most popular shows on TV, and boasted a huge viewership, especially around the seventh season. But for some reason it took a dive in popularity, when ponies discovered that literally almost every pony alive could sing perfectly, despite most never taking any lessons. Scientists said this could contribute to the strange phenomena where ponies would just randomly burst into song at any given time. Of which, the nature of was also completely unknown.

Poppy was now in a large atrium where Equestrian Idol took place. There was a huge line of applicants nearly to the door, leading up to the judges table. Poppy politely made her way through the crowd and reached the Judges, hoping to ask if they knew anyone that would help her, when Poppy's jaw dropped.

Sitting in the three large chairs of the judge's table was none other then the Fizzy Poppers! They all turned to see Poppy and were equally as surprised as she was. "Poppy!" Cherry cheered. "No way! I didn't know you wanted to be on Equestrian Idol too!"

Poppy shook her head in disbelief. "Cherry?! What in the world are you three doing here?" asked Poppy at a loss.

Root Beer leaned back in her chair and put her hooves behind her head while she rested her feet on the desk. "What's it look like?" she asked with a sly smile. "We're judges!"

"Neat, huh?" Lemon Lime asked with a grin.

Poppy struggled to find words to use in this situation. Then she found them. "How in the world did you three become the judges on Equestrian Idol? Are you even old enough to do that?" asked Poppy.

"After that whole craziness with that Culture lunatic," Cherry explained, "We suddenly got swept up in our 15 minutes of fame after helping you bring him to justice."

Root also chimed in. "Plus, since Moira had the regular judges on her show, and we were the only ones around who wanted to fill in at last minute, the producer of Equestrian Idol signed us right up!"

"Seriously?" asked Poppy, still not fully believing it.

"Yep." Cherry said with a smile. "Now then, you want to be on Equestrian Idol? We'll totally vote for you!"

Poppy smiled back. "I appreciate that guys but-" then a thought popped into her head. Maybe...maybe this could actually be her ticket onto Moira's show. It was worth a shot."Actually,' Poppy started. "Maybe you guys could help me another way?"

"Sure thing!" Root sang. "What do you need?"

Poppy explained the entire situation with Moira, her audience and her need to get on the show and stop her.

When she finished, the Popper's were amazed. "Cool! I had no idea!" Root exclaimed. "No worries; we'll definitely get you on that show!"

But Cherry chimed in as well. "It won't be easy though." she said. "There are a ton of other guests coming on her show through us today. And you do need to display some form of musical talent to be considered a valid winner."

"Do you play any instruments?" Lemon Lime asked.

Poppy once played Piano at the Grand Galloping Gala. But it was only for five seconds, before the piano somehow came to life and tried to eat her and the other guests. "Nope." she replied.

"Can you sing?" Root asked.

"Um....Sort of? Does singing in the shower count?" asked Poppy nervously.

Root thought for a moment. "I think it used to, but then there was that whole indecent exposure scandal, which is really weird when you think about it." she said with a shrug.

"But," Cherry began, "I think I know some ponies who can help! Just head backstage. They'll help you out."

"Thanks guys, I really appreciate it." said Poppy thankfully.

"No problem." said Root "Now, you head back and we'll get started failing these applicants!"

"Huh?" one of the applicants asked.

"Nothing. Kid stuff." Root said quickly.

Poppy headed behind the judging table and pulled back the curtain to backstage, before walking through.

Backstage

To-Do List: Talk to the ponies backstage.

Backstage was a huge mess of stacked crates, props and various ropes for controlling the curtains and platforms. It was clear of anypony save for four, Poppy recognized immediately as the members of the all-Pegasus rock band, Sungazer!

They were all sitting on a large stack of crates as makeshift chairs, and each looking extremely bored, each member doing there own thing to pass the time, or just preoccupy herself.

The lead singer and guitarist, Free Flyer (She preferred just Free) was a cream colored mare with a short sidewave-punk manecut, with pink, white and light blue stripes streaked through it. She wore think rockstar eyeliner and a very cool looking black leather jacket emblazoned with the emblem on the band: A burning sun with slanted triangular sunglasses. Her cutie mark was a microphone crossed over an electric guitar. Her wings were tucked at her sides, as she simply sat on top of the crate, mindlessly throwing a ball up in the air and catching it over and over.

Beside her was the bassist, Twisted Peppermint (who preferred Pepper) who was a bright red colored mare with a short tight mohawk manecut, that was striped with red and white. She wore a ripped black t-shirt with a jean vest over it, as well as a necklace with a pair of crossed candy canes as the pendent. Her cutie mark of a candy cane coiled around a bass guitar was on full display, as she was simply laying down on a crate, having a nap.

Sitting at top of the crate pile was the drummer, Cinnamon Stixx (who preferred Stixx) and was a light brown colored mare with a short and fluffy white mane that covered her eyes and a hairpin that looked like (and may have actually been) an actual cinnamon stick. She wore a chocolate colored shirt with a black dress vest over it. She also seemed to be wearing a necklace of small-sized cinnamon sticks as her accessory of choice. Her cutie mark was a drum set with two cinnamon sticks as drumsticks and she was busy drumming away on a stack of other crates, looking just as bored as the first two.

Lastly was Della, the pianist, who was a sterling silver mare with a neon blue mane that draped over her head like a waterfall. She wore what looked like a sterling white jumpsuit with a pair of gleaming blue headphones draped around her neck. Her accessory of choice appeared to be a second pair of golden headphones that hung onto her ears like magic (And they probably were) and looked extremely advanced for a pair of headphones. Her cutie mark was hidden under the jumpsuit she wore, and she was off to the side reading a copy of Summer Storm and The Chalice Of Consequence. She at the very least looked like she was enjoying the book she was reading, where as the rest of her band-mates looked like they would rather be anywhere else but here.

Poppy decided to simply go up and introduce herself, as it didn't seem like they were busy. Plus, they might appreciate the company. "Excuse me?" asked Poppy. No one looked over at her, but Della. "Sorry, to bother you guys, but I needed to talk to you about Moira."

"Ugh! Again? seriously?!" cried Free, sounding quite irritated. Her tell-tale English accent shining through even when she was clearly annoyed for whatever reason.

Poppy looked quite confused. "Um...I'm sorry?"

Free let out a sigh as she hopped down from her crate, then went over and put her hoof on Poppy's shoulder. "Look, honey." she began, "I know you're just doing your job but we've been preforming for three days now!" she exclaimed."We got no more songs in us! And I won't even tell you how bad my hoof calluses are getting from that solo I keep having to do." Free held up her hoof and winced in pain as she tried to massage it. She then looked at Poppy with a flat expression. "Sorry. But we're putting our hoof down; you can tell Moira, we're done with-

"Hang on." Poppy said, herself now sounding annoyed as it finally occurred to her. "Let me guess; you guys think I work for Moira and I'm here to ask you to come back and perform on her show for the literal umpteenth time, right?"

Free looked back at her band-mates, who looked just as confused as she did. She then turned back to Poppy. "Um...you aren't?" asked Free unsure of anything now.

Poppy let out a tired sigh. "No. I'm not." she said simply. "Why does everyone keep mistaking me for things I'm not?! It's as if ponies here are unable to separate TV from real life!" she cried.

Della then piped in. "This is a TV studio, sweetheart." she said with a smile.

Everyone agreed with that explanation, nodding their heads in agreement, including Poppy.

"Sorry about that, love." Free apologized with a smile. "We've been hiding back here to keep from having to go back on that ruddy show again. We just can't take it anymore!"

"Yeah!" cried Stixx. "I've had to drum so much, I've gone through six pairs of sticks already!" she held up her drumsticks, which looked like they had been through a war, with broken pieces taped back on and heavily cracked all over. To top it off, Stixx looked like she was on the verge of tears from seeing her beloved drumsticks in this state.

Pepper stepped forward and showed her hooves, which were just as heavy with calluses as Free's were.

Then Della closed her book and jumped down as well. "Iv'e had to play my keys so many times, I pretty sure If I play one more time, my whole setup will snap in half!" she gestured to her keyboard piano and speaker setup which looked like it would fall apart if you breathed in it's direction.

"Geez." said Poppy amazed. "How long did she say you had to keep performing?"

"Till the show was over." said Free. "Then she went on and on about how it was never going to end, before cackling like an escaped mental patient and leaving us to practice. We were hoping she was jokin'. Now though? I really do think that mare's lost her head!"

Her band-mates agreed with her wholeheartedly.

"Yeah, it does seem like that. But I think I know what's really going on here." said Poppy. "But I need your guy's help to pull it off."

The band looked at Poppy in surprise. "You need our help?" asked Free. "With what?"

"Well...I need to get on her show in order to stop her. But in order to get on her show, I need to win Equestrian Idol. And in order to win, I need you guys to teach me how to play an instrument." Poppy explained.

The band just stared at her.

"Um...will you help me?"

"Huddle!" cried Free and the band joined together in a close circle, murmuring and whispering with one another. A second later they broke up and Free stepped forward. "If we help you,' she began, "You'll knock that crazy mare of the air, so we can get the heck out of here?"

"You and everypony else." said Poppy "I have a plan, but....well it's a bit more complicated."

"What else do you need?" asked Stixx.

Poppy hesitated to even ask. She needed the Sonic Amplifier from Pears for this to work, but she couldn't get it without fulfilling its insane price range. "Well...A friend of mine has what we need, but she won't give it to me unless I buy it."

"How much?" asked Della.

"Uh...one million Bits?"

To Poppy's surprise, the band didn't bat an eye at this insane amount of money. She supposed as they were biggest rock band on the planet, a million Bits was chump change to them.

"That it?" asked Sixx.

Poppy was taken back by how little a reaction they showed. "Yes?"

"Ordinarily, we could get you that kinda cash no problem.' said Free. "But unfortunately, we're sort of stuck in here. Can't reach any of our banks either."

"Why don't you just leave?" asked Poppy. "You guys aren't trapped on Moira's set now, right?"

"We'd leave alright." said Della. "If it weren't for the fact that crazy mare, having chained all the doors shut! We assumed you used magic to teleport yourself in here."

That was indeed the case. Poppy had used magic to teleport herself in here, and hadn't needed to use doors to get into the studio. The only way out was for her to teleport herself out. She could teleport everyone else out too, but she had only just learned the teleportation spell a few weeks ago! She didn't have that level of control over it yet. It was way too big of a risk to take.

Free then got an idea. "Wait a sec. I know a way you could get that cash without even needing to leave this ruddy studio!"

"You do? asked Poppy. "How?"

"There's a game-show that's filmed right here in WARP called Who's Never Going To Be A Millionaire." explained Free. "You win it, you get a million bits as your prize."

"What happens if I lose?" asked Poppy suddenly worried.

"You'll be kicked off the set and never be allowed to be back on for the rest of the season." said Della.

Poppy let out a sigh. "I guess I don't have a choice." she said simply. "Where is the door to the set of this show?"

Free pointed to the door directly behind them. It was a large studio door like all the others, but this one was clearly that of game show's door; lights blinked all around the door-frame, and a huge sign that read 'Who's Never Going To Be A Millionaire' was clearly displayed as a giant neon sign above the door.

"While your gone," said Free, "We'll come up with something to get you that win on Equestrian Idol." she put her hoof on Poppy's shoulder. "What's your name, love?"

"Poppy Blossom. Delivery Mare." said Poppy with a smile.

"Good luck, Poppy." said Free. "We'll be rootin' for ya!"

With that, Poppy said goodbye to her new friends, went up to the door to the game show set and went inside, the heavy studio door slamming behind her.

Who's Never Going To Be A Millionaire Set

Who's Never going To Be A Millionaire was easily the most difficult game show on WARP. The premise was simple; all you have to do is answer just one question. You get it right, and you win. But the catch was that single question was ridiculously hard to answer, if not impossible. To this day, with over ten seasons, there had never been a single winning contestant on the show.

The set was much like that of your typical game-show; there was a podium for the host and one for the contestant, and a big, bright flashy background with various lights, buzzers and the like. However as Poppy looked around, she saw that the entire set and studio was completely empty, save for a single stallion, who was probably the strangest looking stallion Poppy had seen that day.

He was a tall white-pink stallion with a fluffy white afro, purple hippie glasses that occluded his eyes, and a long white, manchu-style mustache and goatee. He wore what looked like an old-fashioned puffy white shirt with lace and a large rainbow colored shawl draped over his shoulders. He looked extremely peaceful and serene, simply just standing there by himself.

"Excuse me?" Poppy asked approaching the odd stallion.

The stallion turned and greeted Poppy with a calm smile. "Ah, salutations my friend." his voice was unerringly soothing, silky and calm, like a voice in a dream. "How may I serve you on this, oh blessed of days?"

"Um...w-well I was hoping you could tell me where the host of this show is? I was hoping I could be a contestant." said Poppy.

The odd stallion chuckled to himself. "Well, you've found him little lady." he said with a polite bow. "Hue Humble, spiritual leader of the cosmic masses and inventor of Huetology, the grooviest thing this side of the galaxy, at your service."

Poppy felt very strange around this stallion. He was clearly weird, but something about him was so calming and peaceful. She couldn't help but feel comfortable around him. "What's Huetology?" asked Poppy.

Hue smiled as he explained. "Why, Huetology is the spiritual process of unlocking your true potential through the magic of your personal color spectrum." he explained. "You see, little one, all creatures of this world have their own colors; their coat, their mane, their feathers, what have you. And each one of those colors has a different meaning that can tell you a great deal about yourself, your future and even the great universe itself. It's helped thousands already!"

Poppy scrunched her face in thought. "I've never heard of it till now."

"I've only just brought it over to Equestria, my friend." explained Hue. "But one day, I hope that Huetology will help the whole world unlock their truest potential."

"So...it helps people be happy?" asked Poppy.

"Indeed." Hue replied. "It shows you what your colors mean for you and help you realize what you can truly accomplish if you believe in yourself and your friends and family."

Poppy had to admit; that actually sounded really sweet and selfless. "What are you doing here then, Mr. Humble?" asked Poppy with a smile.

"Now, now my friend; Hue will do just fine." he said with a wink. "And I too am here to see Moira, as you are."

Poppy's eyes widened. "How did you know that?"

"I can see the green aura of determination surrounding you, my friend." replied Hue. "You are here to save those captive audience members and snap Moira out of whatever spell she's under. Am I right?"

"Whoa." Said Poppy blown away. "Yeah, I am! That's amazing."

"Power of Huetology, little lady." Hue joked.

Poppy laughed as well. She was really starting to warm up to this Hue Humble guy. "Why are you here to see Moira?" she asked.

"I am to be a guest on her show, my friend!" replied Hue. "I'm going to be talking about the wonders of Huetology, as well as my new book; New Horizon, The Guidebook To The Power Of Huetology." he explained. "But, I've been told to wait until it's my turn to go on. Which is fine by me, as that sweet director hooked me up with this other job: being the host of this here show!"

"You really are the host?" asked Poppy. "Where's the usual one?"

"Miss Shine said something about him going on Moira's and never coming back. Bummer man." Hue replied shaking his head.

"And the audience?" asked Poppy.

"Same as the first, little lady." replied Hue.

Poppy did think it was a little strange that Shine would leave Hue to be the host of a game show, especially one like Who's Never Going To Be A Millionaire. But this worked out perfectly in her favor! All she had to do was ask Hue if she could be his contestant, since she didn't think there were many other applicants.

"Can I be a contestant on your show, Hue?" asked Poppy with a smile.

'I don't see why not." replied Hue. "Lets get this show started!"

To-Do List: Win One Million Bits to purchase the sonic amplifier from Pears.

Poppy stood at the contestant's podium as the jazzy theme of the show resounded around her, and a loud announcer was heard on the speakers.

"Live from WARP, it's Equestria's favorite game show, Who's Never Going To Be A Millionaire! With our special guest host, Hue Humble!"

"Salutations my children." Hue greeted the cameras. There was a round of applause (or at least a sound effect of one).

"And,' the announcer continued. "Let's meet today's contestant, Poppy Blossom!" There was another round of applause.

Poppy waved to the cameras and smiled. "Hello! Thanks for having me."

"Poppy is a professional delivery mare of Poppy's Delivery Service in Ponyville. She enjoys chocolate cake, making deliveries and long walks on the beach."

"How the heck did he know that?" Poppy wondered.

The cameras moved back to center, and focused on both Hue and Poppy as the applause died down.

"Welcome to the show, Poppy. So happy to have you on here. How are you feeling?" asked Hue, perfectly fitting his role as host.

"I feel good, Hue. And I think this'll be my lucky day." answered Poppy. There was another round of applause.

Hue chuckled. "Well alright then, let's get to it!" the lights all dimmed as they moved to focus on Poppy and Hue at their podiums. A dramatic tone came on over the speakers. "You know the rules: If you can answer this single question correctly, you'll walk away...a millionaire!" Hue cheered. "Are you ready?"

Poppy was more then ready. "Lay it on me, Hue!" she exclaimed confidently.

"Very well." Hue picked up the card and read over the question. Poppy saw his face scrunch up in confusion. "Well I'll be, that really is a hard one." he said looking down at the card. He thought for a moment, then set the card aside. "Tell you what,' he told Poppy, "How about I just make up a question for ya? Since I'm the host, that should still count."

"Um...Yeah, okay. That's fine I guess." Poppy said scratching her head.

Hue thought for a moment before his eyes lit up behind his glasses. "Okay, here's your question: What Is The Color Of Determination?"

Poppy didn't need to even think for this, as Hue had literally just said the answer a moment ago. He wanted her to win, so she could stop Moira. Poppy smiled as she said with utmost confidence. "Green."

Hugh pretended to check his cards. "That is...correct!" there was a thundering applause, raining confetti, balloons and cheering as Hue gave the subtlest of winks to Poppy. "Congratulations Poppy, you're a millionaire!" he cheered.

"Whoa. That's right...I-I am! I'm a millionaire!!" it had only occurred to Poppy just how much money she had really just won, as Hue handed her a giant check for one million Bits in her name.

"We just went bankrupt! So we will NOT be back after these messages. I'm moving to Fiji!" cried the announcer, before the speakers went dead.

Poppy smiled bigger then she ever had in her life. But then her smile quickly faded. "Oh. right. Pears." Poppy wondered if Pears might let her at least keep the check.

But she doubted it.

To-Do List: Return to Pears and (begrudgingly) pay her for the sonic amplifier.

The Inconvenience Store

Poppy used her teleportation spell to whisk herself back to Ponyville, and dragged her hooves as she solemnly entered the Inconvenience Store.

"Poppy!" Pears cheered from behind her counter. "I saw you on the TV! You actually won Who's Never Going To Be A Millionaire!"

Poppy put on a weak smile as she forced herself to hand over the giant check she had won. "Here it is, Pears." she sulked. "One million bits. Like you asked."

Pears smiled brightly. "You see? I knew you could do it!" Pears tried to take the check from Poppy but found it extremely difficult as Poppy's hoof refused to let go. After a minute or so, she finally managed to wrench the check from Poppy's grasp, set it aside then handed her the sonic amplifier.

Poppy was nearly on the verge of tears, but quickly composed herself. It was just money, she told herself. Saving the lives of everyone in Moira's audience meant more then any amount of money. And it was true. (Plus, she was still getting paid for delivering the desk, so that was fine too.)

Poppy thanked Pears, then donned the sonic amplifier. It came on with a mechanical whirring as the lights down the side began to blink rapidly.

"All you have to do is click the red button on the collar, then say or yell something." Pears instructed. "The amplifier will do the rest."

"Thanks Pears." said Poppy with a smile. She tucked the collar under her purple scarf, so it was completely hidden when she went on Moira's show.

After saying goodbye to Pears, Poppy used her spell once more to return to WARP studios, now armed with the means to stop Moira and save everyone.

Equestrian Idol Set

Poppy appeared to see that the set of Equestrian Idol was now almost totally empty, save for the Fizzy Poppers who greeted her with wide smiles. "Poppy!" said Cherry. "We're glad you made it: You're up!"

Poppy's eyes widened. "I'm up!?"

"Well, not up, up." Root explained. "But, you are now the only contestant for Equestrian Idol!"

"I am?" asked Poppy. "What happened to all the other contestants?"

"We turned them all away! Told them to come back tomorrow and try." Lemon Lime explained.

"And they were okay with that?"

"Well....there may have been a few chairs thrown...at us, but we told them rules were rules; what the judges say goes." said Cherry.

Just then another voice was heard. "Poppy!" Poppy turned to see Free, holding a gleaming red electric guitar in her hooves. "Glad you could make it; we have just the thing picked out for ya!"

She handed Poppy the guitar. It was absolutely stunning in its deep red glossy color and designs of lightning bolts embossed along it's surface. "But...I don't know how to play guitar!" said Poppy.

"Oh I know." said Free, pulling out her own gleaming purple guitar. "I'm going to teach you."

Poppy's training was simple. Free told her all she had to know where some open chords, such as A, D, G, and so on. If she knew those, then she could string together a rocking solo with only six notes! Free taught her how each fret and string played a different note, and that by placing her hoof on one string in a certain place, then moving it down as she played a chord, she could create an entire solo if she kept moving her hoof to a new string, and didn't even need to play a new chord in the process. She could play an entire solo using only the A chord. And when her training was complete about an hour later? Free already had a song picked out for her to do.

"Are you ready?" asked Free.

Poppy took a breath and strummed some chords out that sounded amazing, to her surprise. "Yeah." she said confidently. "I think I'm ready."

The lights dimmed as the spotlight shined down on Poppy, and the show began.

To-Do List: Win Equestrian Idol to appear on Moira's show as a celebrity guest.

"Welcome everyone to Equestrian Idol!" said the announcer.

"Hey!" said Poppy. "I thought you were going to Fiji!" Poppy asked the announcer.

"I'm waiting for my flight!" replied the announcer. "And let's meet today's judges: The Fizzy Poppers! There was a rounding applause.

"And now let's meet our first, and only, contestant; Poppy Blossom!" There was another rounding applause.

Poppy smiled and waved to the cameras and audience as she held her guitar in her hooves.

"Poppy will be playing the solo from Sungazer's hit song; 'I Know He's Rock N' Roll'." There was another rounding applause, before it died down so Poppy could begin.

Poppy began to play as Free had taught her, who stood along with her band-mates to the side, cheering Poppy on. The first half of the solo was a buildup of chords and heavy riffs as Poppy played perfectly, taking heed of everything she was taught; and she only ever used the A chord for the solo. The second half was a long and continuous string of loud, wailing chords played at breakneck speed, and that's exactly what Poppy did, filling the atrium with a thunderous melody of rock and roll mastery that made Free and her band-mates cheer even louder.

Then as quickly as it began, it was over, ending on one final chord, drawn out for effect. Poppy looked up from her guitar and waited.

The entire atrium thundered with cheering applause as the Fizzy Poppers held up their scores; ten across the board!

"Ten across the board!" cheered the announcer. "We have a winner!" There was more thunderous applause and cheering. Free and her band-mates were jumping up and down in their excitement.

Poppy waved, her arms raised in triumph and smiling brightly as the applause continued.

"Poppy has won the honor of appearing as a guest on Moira Manners!" said the announcer. "And, I've just been informed my flight has arrived! See ya, suckers!" With that the speaker went dead, and the audience began to exit the studio. Unfortunately since Moira had chained all the exits shut, they were forced to simply sit and wait till someone unlocked the doors for them.

Free ran over and tackled Poppy in a tight hug. "I knew you could do it! That was amazing." she cheered happily.

"You were awesome!" Della added. "Looks like we have a natural over here!"

Pepper smiled and nodded. "Whoa." Della gasped. "That's some big praise, coming from you Peps!"

Poppy smiled as her face went red. "Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without your help, guys." She handed Free back her guitar. "You're a good teacher."

But Free pushed it back into Poppy's hooves. "Naw," she said. "Keep it. You earned it."

"Yeah." said Free with a grin. "Plus, I have like fifty-nine others back at our mansion. Pays to be a rock star, ya know?" she joked.

It was the Popper's turn to come congratulate Poppy. "That was amazing!" Cherry cheered. "You're amazing!"

"Can you teach us to play like that?" Root asked eagerly.

"Maybe some other time, girls." said a familiar voice. Poppy turned to see her new friend, Make It Shine, smiling at them from off-stage. "Right now, we have a crazy talk-show host to de-throne." she added slyly.

"Shine!" said Poppy happily. "You saw the show?"

"Of course!" Shine laughed. "I'm the director, remember?" She walked up on stage and patted Poppy hard on the back. "I saw you take down our two most popular shows in one day! If I still gave a squirrel's nut about this job, I would definitely ask you to come back next season!"

Everyone laughed at that, including Poppy. "So," Poppy started, "You ready to go take down Moira?" she asked with a sly grin.

"Poppy," Shine tossed her headphones on the floor with a flourish, smashing them as they hit the floor with a crunch. "I've been waiting to hear those words since the day I was promoted to this dead-end job."

Poppy had everything she needed now. Now all that was left was to go on Moira's show, snap her out of her brainwashing trance and free her audience. And with help from her new friends, there was no way she could fail.

To-Do List: Go on Moira's show and confront Moira.

Make It Shine and Poppy waited outside the studio door to Moira's studio. There was an air of uncertainty in the atmosphere. Poppy had been through a lot to make it this far. And she wasn't stopping now.

Poppy reached and and knocked on the door. "Hey." Shine said with a smile. Poppy turned around. "I wanted to thank you.:

"Thank me?" asked Poppy.

"You taught me I don't have to do this dumb job if don't want to." Shine beamed. "There's plenty of other opportunities out there for me; just waiting for me to get out of this damned place and find them!"

"That's the spirit!" Poppy said happily.

"I've decided," Shine continued. "After this, I'm quitting this stupid job and going to find my own path. Maybe try something else in the entertainment field. Who knows? Maybe I'll find the perfect job for me sooner then I think!"

"I'm glad to hear it, Shine." said Poppy with a smile. "I can't wait to see where you end up."

"Yeah." Shine agreed. "Me too."

Just then the door opened, and once again Moira stood in the doorway. "Huh? Oh, it's you." she said uncaringly. Her eyes landed on Make It Shine. "Oh, and you brought the wicked director of the west with you I see. Hahahaha!" she snapped.

But Make It Shine only smiled. "Oh, I'm not the director anymore, you pompous windbag." she put her arm around Poppy. "I'm just here to cheer on my friend here; after all she is a guest on your show."

"She is?" Moira asked. She grabbed a clipboard and scanned through it. "Huh. Well how about that. She is!"

Moira put the clipboard back and turned to Poppy. "Alright fine. But before you come in, you need to know the rules for being a guest on my show." she said sternly.

"Rules?" asked Poppy and Shine in unison.

"Firstly," Moira began. "I will expect you to be on your best behavior! And agree with everything I say! Secondly, you will answer every question I have, and laugh at all the jokes I make regardless if you think they are funny or not."

"Why do I-?"

"And! Do not interrupt me." Moira snapped. "While you're on my show, you stay in your seat at all times. You do not interrupt me when I'm talking, and you treat the audience with the utmost respect, even if you become less sure with every sentence that they deserve it. Is that clear?"

Poppy heard Shine swearing quite coarsely under her breath next to her. "Um...Yes? I think." said Poppy, amazed that she once respected this horrid woman.

"Good." said Moira. "Now, I'll call you on stage in a minute." she turned to close the door, but looked back. "Oh, and I guess the dire- I mean, your friend or whatever can have a seat in the audience."

To-Do List: Guest star on Moira's show and save her audience, as well as break whatever trance Moira is under.

The jazzy theme of Moira's show played as the cameras swooped down over the audience (who at this point were now rocking back in forth in a fetal position, trying desperately to blink) until they all focused on Moira sitting proudly at her desk.

"Welcome back everyone to our never-ending show special!" Moira cheered. The weakest of applause came from the audience, while one guy literally fell out of his seat from exhaustion. But Moira seemed completely oblivious to this. "That's the spirit!" she exclaimed.

Moira paused to take a drink of water from her glass, then used a wooden stick to move the microphone closer, which was now sparking and sputtering from overuse. But it was clear nothing was going to keep Moira from doing her show. "Our microphone is acting up a bit, but don't worry; we have a very special guest coming up!" Moira cheered. "She's the winner of Who's Never Going To Be A Millionaire and this season's star of Equestrian Idol: Ladies and gentlecolts, Poppy Blossom!"

Poppy smiled as she walked onto the stage, although the only applause she could really hear was that from Make It Shine who sat in the front row amongst the crowds of lifeless, exhausted ponies, cheering her heart out for Poppy.

As Poppy was about to take a seat, she saw something on Moira's desk that made her stop in her tracks.

A hideously colorful and cheerful looking blue teddy bear with huge green eyes and a tuxedo was sitting on Moira's desk like a decoration, flashing a huge, and frankly disturbing smile. Poppy didn't like that thing at all.

But even more, was that the bear turned it's head to look at Moira, and Poppy gasped as a beam of green energy shot out from the bear's eyes into Moira's, causing them to turn white.

"I knew it!" Poppy exclaimed. "You are being brainwashed!" Poppy tried to approach Moira's desk to take care of the evil bear.

"Hold it!" Moira yelled suddenly. "My guests sit at that end!"

"B-But... that bear-"

"SIT!"

Poppy ran over and sat down on the couch, not wanting to fight another brainwashed super zombie again.

"That's better." said Moira, before turning back to her fake cheery self. "So, Poppy, you're a talented hot new celebrity who had taken the television entertainment world by storm. And I think we all want to know: How'd you do it?"

Poppy thought a moment. Things were different now. She couldn't just use the sonic amplifier to break everyone out of here anymore; that bear on Moira's desk was the real problem! She had to destroy it somehow, or else it would just brainwash someone else. But she couldn't just go after it without the bear turning Moira into a super zombie again. Poppy had no choice but to play along as a guest on a talk show. Maybe she'd find some way to get rid of the bear in the process.

Poppy put on the best fake smile she could. "I'm glad you asked!" she exclaimed. "It's quite a story actually." Poppy gave a wink to Make It Shine who nodded in response.

"I'm sure it is!" Moira laughed. "By all means, please share with us!"

Actually...maybe, Poppy could use this to her advantage. "Well....it all started a few weeks ago, when I was hired to deliver a crate of books for a friend of mine...

Poppy retold the entire story of how she and her friends had saved Equestria from the former host of a popular children's TV show, Charming Culture, using his mass deliveries of evil brainwashing books. (But she left out the parts about Pears, as the mare was paranoid enough already without a mass TV audience knowing she helped saved all of Equestria.)

When she had finished, the audience was wide awake now, and many were leaning forward to hear more, before breaking out into applause.

"My, my, that is quite a story!" said Moira. "And it's all true?"

"Every word." said Poppy.

"Amazing! Now lets-

"That's actually how I know that bear of yours is the reason you're doing all this."

Moira looked at Poppy. "Excuse me? (what did I say about interrupting!?)

Poppy looked at Moira with a blank expression. "That bear on your desk? It's brainwashing you into keeping your audience captive."

At that the audience began to whisper and talk amongst one another, while Shine silently urged Poppy to keep going.

"Are you insinuating that this wonderful gift I received from an admirer is actually messing with my head?" Moira laughed. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Is it?" asked Poppy. "You just heard me tell the story of how something as innocent as a book could be used to control someone's mind." Poppy explained. "Can you really say that the same can't be true for a seemingly innocent teddy bear toy?"

The audience was now starting to stir as more and more were talking amongst themselves.

But Moira was now visibly angry. "Alright that's enough!"she yelled. "For the final time, I. am. not. brainwashed! End of story!"

"You aren't?" asked Poppy.

"No! And I don't want to hear anymore about it!" snapped Moira.

"Sooo...you're just a jerk all the time then."

"What did you just say!?" Moira slammed a hoof on her desk. "How dare you talk to me like that on my own show!"

Poppy retaliated by narrowing her eyes at Moira. "And how dare you treat ponies the way you do!" Poppy snapped back. "You think just because you have your own show, that gives you the right to mistreat ponies and disrespect the director of this studio, sorry former director (Shine cheered at that), and you'll just never face consequences for it? Wrong."

The audience began to shout angrily at Moira.

"Nonsense!" Moira exclaimed. "I treat everyone equally!"

"Yeah." said Poppy. "Equally like garbage."

The audience began to shout even more.

Poppy got out of her seat and glared at Moira. "You say you treat everyone fairly?" she asked. "Let me ask you; what kind of pony forces her audience to stay and watch three days worth of her stupid show, and even goes so far as to chain the damn exits to the studio itself, just so she can keep some stupid record!?"

"That's enough!" Moira yelled. "I'm doing this for them, anyways!"

"Wrong." Poppy said glaring at Moira. "You're doing this cause that bear is controlling you." she said. "But y'know what? That bear probably wouldn't even have as strong a hold on you if you didn't actually act this way regardless!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Moira jumped out of her seat slamming her hooves down on her desk and screaming hysterically. "THIS IS MY SHOW! MINE! YOU ARE GOING TO SIT BACK DOWN AND LET ME TALK! THIS SHOW IS NEVER GOING TO END AND THERE ISN'T ANYTHING YOU OR THESE LOSERS CAN DO TO STOP ME! SO DROP IT!" Moira's face contorted with rage, as she glared at Poppy.

But Poppy wasn't looking at her. She was looking at the glass of water that was now right next to the sparking microphone, which was also right next to the evil bear Moira was now holding onto with her hoof.

"Huh. Alright." said Poppy calmly. "I have just one last thing to say, though."

"What!?" snapped Moira.

Poppy smiled as she yanked off her scarf, revealing the voice amplifier around her neck. "You really are a pompous windbag."

Before Moira could react, Poppy hit the button on the collar and let out a small yell, just enough to shatter the glass of water on Moira's desk. The water hit the microphone and at once both Moira and the bear were arrayed in crackling electricity, small volts dancing between the two of them before the bear finally exploded in a shower of stuffing and broken mechanical parts. Moira herself fell from her chair and onto the floor; knocked out cold.

An hour later, the Manehatten police had arrived at Make It Shine's behest, broken down the doors to WARP studios and began escorting everyone out. The audience cheered and jumped for joy as they left the studio, probably never to return again, and headed back to their homes.

Moira, who woke up soon after the police arrived, tried to make a run for it by trying to climb out the window, but was tackled by Make It Shine, who quickly said "That was the greatest moment of my life!" before Moira was taken into custody by police.

Moira Manners was tried for kidnapping, physical and mental abuse and flagrant disregard for following televised entertainment guidelines. She was arrested and sentenced to twenty years of mental therapy in Manehatten Prison for Insane TV Personalities.

Poppy was renowned as a hero for the rescue and safe return of over three-hundred captive audience members, as well as the rescue of all of the members of Sungazer, who quickly said they would've been stuck in there forever if it hadn't been for their new friend Poppy.

Poppy stood at the sidelines with Make It Shine while police continued to escort ponies home. "So, what'll happen to Moira's show?" asked Poppy.

"Eh, I'll probably have it canceled. Put on something more...fun, before I resign tomorrow. Like a cooking show." said Shine with a smile.

"Huh." said Poppy thoughtfully. "That does sound like more fun."

They both laughed. "Welp,' Shine said stretching a bit. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go home and burn everything I ever had to file for this stupid job, then proceed to spend the rest of the day on my couch with a good book."

Poppy stretched out her hoof. "I'll see you around, okay Shine?"

Shine smiled as she grasped Poppy's hoof in hers. "Definitely. Stay out of trouble, Poppy?"

"I think that's literally impossible." Poppy joked. They both laughed, before Shine left for home.

"Poppy." a familiar voice said. Poppy turned to see Free and the other members of Sungazer, smiling warmly at her.

"Free!" said Poppy happily. "I thought you guys would be on your way back home by now!"

Free rolled her eyes. "What and not say thanks to the mare who saved us and our instrument's lives?" Free chuckled at the notion. "Not a chance."

"Thanks. And you're welcome." said Poppy with a smile. "But I wouldn't put it like that; it's not like your actual lives were in danger."

Free grabbed Poppy and locked eyes with her. "Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to perform thirteen shows over three days, with no breaks, and having only written a total of seven songs in your band's career?" she asked Poppy, her pupils nearly pinpricks.

"Um....very?" said Poppy nervously.

"Yes. Very!" replied Free. "So trust me when I say; you saved our lives."

"And we owe you." Della chimed in. "Big time."

Poppy's face went red. "C'mon you guys don't owe me anything."

"Yeah we do!" said Stixx. Pepper nodded in agreement.

Free reached into her pocket, pulled out a strip of paper and handed it to Poppy. "You ever need anything, and I mean anything; you give us a call, yeah?"

Poppy looked down at the number and smiled. "Yeah. I will." she put the number in her satchel. "Thanks."

After one last goodbye and getting a hug from each member, Sungazer boarded their decked out limousine carriage and departed, most likely to take several naps to recharge their rock batteries.

Poppy herself was about to leave, when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to see Officer Buttercream, with The Fizzy Poppers standing closely beside him. "Officer Buttercream? What are you doing all the way in Manehatten?"

"I came to pick up my nieces." said Buttercream sternly, and shooting a look at the Poppers who all looked down at their hooves. "but mostly I came once I saw you on Moira's show."

"Oh! You saw that?" asked Poppy.

"I did, and you were quite the hero." said Buttercream. "But I noticed something else; that bear."

Poppy looked up. "Do you know anything about that bear, Officer Buttercream?" asked Poppy with a serious look. "Moira said she got it from an admirer."

"An admirer who secretly wanted to brainwash her into showing her true colors on live television..." said Buttercream rubbing his chin in thought.

Then it hit him. "Poppy?"

"Yes?"

"Did you notice this is the second case we've uncovered involving hypnotic mind control?" asked Buttercream. "First Charming...

"And now Moira." Poppy finished for him, furrowing her brow. "Do you think there might be a connection?"

Buttercream nodded. "I believe so."

"Me too." Poppy agreed. "But what?"

Just then a police mare approached them. "Sir?" she asked.

"What is it, Bramble?" asked Buttercream.

"I think we found something, you should take a look at." she said seriously.

To-Do List: Investigate what the police have found with Officer Buttercream.

Poppy was back on Moira's set. She followed the police over to Moira's desk where they were taking pictures of what looked like a large colorful toy box. The logo read The I Heart You Bear in bright pink letters.

"This must be what the bear came in!" cried Poppy.

"But that's nothing we can use as evidence." said Buttercream.

"Sir?"

"Bramble?"

"Read the shipping label."

Buttercream and Poppy turned over the box and read from the shipping label. It read:

To: Moira

From: The HappyTime Mafia

Poppy and Buttecream stared at the box. "The HappyTime Mafia?" asked Buttercream. "Never heard of that outfit. Poppy?"

Poppy narrowed her eyes at the label. "I've never heard of them either." she said. "But...

"I don't think this is the last we'll hear of them..."

Successful Delivery! - On Time Percentage: 100% - Issues: None - Complaints: None - Rank: A Delivery #2 of 6 Completed

Delivery #3: "The Mole and The Cannolis."

It was a warm morning in Ponyville, and once again the market square was alive with commerce even as the sun had just peaked over the hills. (Celestia had gotten up early that day.)

In her cottage, Poppy had been busy getting herself ready for another day of deliveries. Her scarf was pressed, her satchel packed, and her smile bright. Yes, she was more than ready to tackle today's delivery with gusto!

Now if only there was one.

Poppy lay on her couch, staring up at the ceiling in boredom, stopping only to look over at the phone on her desk every ten minutes. There hadn't been any word from Miss Wintergreen, all morning. No new deliveries. No new clients. Not even someone asking Poppy to help them rescue their cat from a tree again.

Nothing.

Poppy let out a sigh as she rolled over, picked up the remote, and turned on her flat-screen. After Moira's show had been canceled, due to the host going insane and keeping her audience captive, it was replaced with a new cooking show; Cooking Without Looking, hosted by local TV chef, Coco Pie.

A cheery tune played as the camera pulled out from the kitchen to show Coco Pie, a mint green earth pony with a fluffy mane and a cupcake for a cutie mark, wearing a chef's hat and smiling as broadly as Poppy had ever seen a pony smile.

"Hey everypony!" she sang. "Betcha' weren't expecting me to pop up in this story!- I mean, chapter, I mean show!" Poppy suddenly had a very strange feeling about this mare. But she couldn't put her hoof on it.

"Ahem, anyways, we have a very special episode for you all!" squeed Coco. "Today we are baking a cake, in celebration of NaPo!"

Poppy sat up. "Napo? What the heck is Napo?"

"You're probably asking yourself what Napo, actually means!"

Poppy waited for the answer.

"..........Alrighty, let's get to baking everyone!" Coco whipped out a large baking pan and began to prepare her cake.

Poppy wasn't sure what she thought of this mare, Coco Pie. She definitely seemed sweet, but....Poppy couldn't shake the feeling that Coco was looking right at her. Weird.

Suddenly the show was interrupted by the ringing of Poppy's desk phone. She practically leaped over her couch to answer it.

"Hello?" she asked eagerly, expecting it to be Miss Wintergreen, hopefully with today's delivery order.

But the voice on the other end was low, cold, and disguised to hide their identity. "Is this Poppy Blossom?" the voice asked.

"Um...Yes, but who are you? How did you get this number?"

"Not important." The voice said quickly. "But here's something that is: I hear you're looking for the HappyTime Mafia."

At those words, Poppy's heart caught in her throat. "How do you-"

"Listen." The voice commanded. "I can help. But you have to do something first."

"What do you want? Who is this?"

"Go to the address in the envelope. Look for a place called The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino. Go in. Look for the one in the golden bear mask. Say you work for Deep Muzzle. You can figure out the rest from there."

"Wait! Who-"

But the line went dead.

Poppy hung up the phone, thoughts racing through her head. Who was that? How did they know she was looking for the HappyTime Mafia? And just what was she heading into?

Not wanting to take any unnecessary risks, Poppy decided to go ask the smartest (and possibly craziest) pony she knew.

Her friend, and local conspiracy theorist/ paranoia enthusiast: Burnt Pears.

To-Do List: Tell Pears about the mysterious phone call.

The Inconvenience Store

Poppy glanced at the gumball machine ("Wait. Are those anti-depressants in there this time?") before entering the Inconvenience Store.

The usual bright and cheery store music greeted her as she entered, but upon approaching the counter, Poppy saw no sign of Pears.

But she did notice a new candy machine in the back. "Huh. Well, I do like a pick-me-up every now and again." Poppy reached into her satchel, took a coin, and was about to put it into the slot, when an arm suddenly popped out of the side and grabbed hers.

Poppy let out a scream as another arm popped out of the side, and then a large hole opened up in the machine before a familiar face popped out of it.

Poppy blinked. "Pears!?"

"Shh!" Pears put a hoof to Poppy's mouth and began looking around as if searching for something. When she didn't find anything she pulled her arm back from her friend's muzzle. "I'm in disguise." Pear's whispered.

"I can see that, but why the heck are you disguised as a candy machine!?" asked Poppy her eyes wide.

"It's the last thing they'll expect!" cried Pears. "My life is in danger!"

"Danger?' asked Poppy, concerned. "What's wrong?"

Pears looked back and forth again, before answering in a hushed tone. "The HappyTime Mafia!"

Poppy's heart sank. "You...you can't be serious."

"Poppy." Pears put her hoof on Poppy's shoulder. "Would I dress up as a candy machine if I wasn't serious?"

"......honestly? Yes, probably."

"Damn right. But this is serious!"

To-Do List: Find out what Pears knows about The HappyTime Mafia.

"What do you know about the HappyTime Mafia?" asked Poppy.

"Other then the fact they're an underground mob of cutthroats, killers and mobsters that also have a strange obsession with making children's toys and dressing in colorful bear costumes?" asked Pears.

"Um, yeah?"

"I know that they're supposed to be an all-Griffin mafia family, based out of Griffin Cape." Pears explained. "But they've opened up a new business in Equestria to drum up local customers: The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino."

Poppy's eyes went wide. "I knew it! That's where that guy on the phone told me to go!"

"Guy on the phone?"

Poppy explained to Pears about the mysterious phone call she had received, telling her to go to The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino. And what she should do.

"Hmmm..." thought Pears. "Well, ordinarily I'd recommend faking your death, burning your house down, and moving to Eurpoa to start a dairy farm under the new name Juan."

".....or?"

"Or take the lead. Head on down to this place, and see what you can dig up on the HappyTime Mafia." said Pears. "If it turns out good, then you're one step closer to finding out what they're up to. If not, it's a public place and your a customer; they won't lay a claw on you."

"You're sure?" asked Poppy.

"Absolutely."

Poppy decided to give it a shot. What was the worst that could happen?

"So," said Pears moving behind her counter (Still disguised as a candy machine) "Did you want anything before you left?"

"Well...yeah. I guess it'll help to take my mind off this for a bit." said Poppy. "What do you have?"

"Got a set of +2 Armor of Limitless Boopability?" suggested Pears.

"Um...what does that do?"

"It basically makes it so you can be poked in the nose indefinitely."

"....What weirdo would want to do that to somepony?"

"You'd be surprised."

"I'll pass. Anything else?"

"Some PEZ dispensers with the heads of famous Klugeican revolutionary, Poncho Villa?"

"I'm good on candy and paraphernalia of famous foreign revolutionaries."

"Fair enough." said Pears. "A box of souvenir snow-globes from the Mystery Vortex?"

"What's the Mystery Vortex?"

"Don't know. That's the mystery!"

"Pass."

"Potatoes in the likeness of religious saints?"

"How the heck did you get those?"

"I know a guy who works in the gardens of the Vatican. He also steals potatoes from random farms and carves them to look like religious saints."

"Anything else?"

"How about my last box of Mutant Animal Crackers?"

"Mutant Animal Crackers? Are the crackers mutated or are the animals the crackers are based on mutated?"

"...Yes."

"Um...pass."

"Life-sized Marshmallow Sheep?"

"What the heck could I possibly need that for?"

"For disguising yourself as a marshmallow sheep to infiltrate a herd of other marshmallow sheep!"

"Yeah, no."

Pears was running out of options. "Well," she said reaching behind the counter. "I do have this Skeleton Key Decoder." she pulled out what looked like a large price check tool with a red light on the front of it, and set it on the counter. It was colored green and had a padded handle and trigger in the back. It was also emblazoned with the trademark logo of Pears-Tech on the side.

'What's a Skeleton Key Decoder?"asked Poppy.

"To put it simply, it's the best friend of every thief, spy and infiltrator in the world." Pears explained. "It can open any lock in existence, regardless of magic, technology or physics."

"Whoa! Seriously?"

"Very seriously." replied Pears. "Want it?"

Poppy thought how much time she could save with deliveries when she could simply open up any locked door she came across and place the delivery inside.

"Yeah, okay!" Poppy exclaimed reaching for her satchel. "How much?"

"Let's call it.....ten million bits."

Poppy chucked her purse back into her satchel. "Ten million!?" cried Poppy. "Are you serious, right now Pears?"

"It's the most advanced lock bypassing device in the universe!" argued Pears. "I checked!"

"Why would you charge me ten million bits!? What happened to the million bits I paid you for that sonic amplifier!?"

"I spent it all in order to build the Skeleton Key Decoder!"

Poppy sighed. "Fine, whatever. If I somehow come up with ten million bits, I'll call you."

Poppy then turned to leave the store. "I'll hold it for you till you get the money!" Pears called after her. "Good luck!"

Poppy returned to her cottage to find an envelope addressed to her, laying by her door. Opening it, it read:

1212 Clean Slate Drive, Manehatten.

This must've been the envelope the voice had described on the phone. And this, was the address he was talking about, to get to The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino.

With the address, locked in her mind, Poppy used her teleportation spell and vanished in a flash of orange light, and appeared on the sidewalks of Manehatten.

Manehatten, Downtown

Manehatten was a big, wide beautiful city filled with countless ponies making their way around town, and all of them were far too busy to stop and help Poppy find The Don's Casino. Luckily though, she didn't have to look far.

After finding 1212 Clean Slate Drive, a large purple building came into view. It looked more like a child's toy box then a building; huge novelty chimneys were spewing bubbles from the rooftops and a large array of colorful slides were visible through the windows. But most telling of all was the large teddy bear head with big eyes and a creepy smile displayed above the double door entrance.

Poppy remembered seeing that very same bear when it was controlling Moira's mind to make her keep her audience captive. She didn't like seeing it then, and she didn't like seeing it now.

But this was definitely the place; the headquarters of the HappyTime Mafia. It was time to find out what they were up to.

Taking a moment to compose herself, Poppy grabbed the door, swung it open and went inside.

The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino

The first thing she noticed was the music; a bouncy, jaunty, playful tune that reminded her of childhood. Not her childhood, but simply the concept, with how jubilant it seemed.

The second thing was that she had somehow stepped into a kidtacular amalgamation of a casino and a pizzeria arcade. The carpets were neon purple, with matching rich purple walls covered in posters promoting Eat pizza, and to Turn in yer chips before ya leave. And then there was the decor; the doors she had walked in through were housed in the mouth of a giant smiling clown with spinning, goofy eyes, and an elongated tongue for a walkway. Huge brightly colored statues of that same bear were displayed all over, housing various slot machines, that Poppy saw many laughing foals and fillies playing at. (One in particular seemed to be on a winning streak, as he had a bucket full of the arcade tokens that the casino gave out as currency). Along the wall was four more bears, arrayed as a singing animatronic barbershop quartet, that ponies were gathered around clapping and cheering as they sang.

And then the third thing, was that almost immediately upon entering, she was approached by what looked like a bipedal griffin in a pleated black suit and tie, wearing a large fiberglass pink bear head, that matched all the others Poppy had seen, except he wore a fedora.

"Welcome to The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino." he said in a thick, uninterested, mafia-esque drawl. "My name's Lovey Bear. Boy, do we have some fun and games for you today." He reached into his pocket and handed Poppy a fistful of tokens. "Here take this token amount of tokens as our way of saying 'welcome.' And 'go spend a lotta money'.

Poppy looked at the coins in her hoof. They were gold, and were printed with the image of that same bear on them. Across the top it said: One token legal. Across the bottom it said: In Don We Trust.

"Um...thanks." Poppy put the coins in her satchel, and turned back to Lovey Bear. "Do you mind if I ask you a bit about this place? It's my first time being here."

"Sure, sure." said Lovey Bear. "I got nothin' better to do, then talk to ignorant customers anyways."

"Um...okay." said Poppy a little offended.

To-Do List: Fine out more about The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino.

"So..."Poppy began. "Do you know you look a lot like that evil bear that brainwashed Moira Manners a few weeks ago. The one that was sent from the HappyTime Mafia?"

"You're lucky this mask doesn't have ear holes." warned Lovey. "Or I might've just heard that very suspicious and incriminating statement you just said, that you shouldn't go around asking about."

Poppy looked at Lovey. "So...you didn't hear me?'

"Hear what?"

"Right. Okay." said Poppy deciding to ignore that one. "Do you always give away free tokens to first time customers?"

"That's right, go on; have a little fun!" said Lovey candidly.

"Doesn't that seem like bad business sense?" asked Poppy.

"Okay, tell ya what." Lovey leaned in a bit. "Thirteen hours from now, when you're trying to pawn off that scarf of yours to pay off the vig, we can talk then about 'bad business sense."

"Never gonna happen." said Poppy plainly.

"Right. Keep tellin' yourself that."

Poppy moved on to her next question. "Is this place really mafia-free?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"That's right, kiddies. one-hundred percent mafia-free, no mafia anywheres." replied Lovey.

"Then why is it called The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino?" asked Poppy curiously.

"Obviously, because the owner of this establishment is named as such." said Lovey, rolling his fake googly eyes.

This was definitely the place Poppy was looking for. And now that she was in, all she had to do was follow the voice's instructions. But where to start?

"I had another question, if you don't mind." said Poppy.

"Oh, goody." snapped Lovey.

Ignoring Lovey's rudeness, Poppy continued. "I'm looking for someone who works here; they wear a golden bear head. Do you know them?"

"Look sweetheart, I just greet the guests." said Lovey "You wanna know who works here? Talk to The Don; he's the one in charge."

"Where can I find The Don?" asked Poppy.

"He's got uh, shall we say business, in the back room." said Lovey suspiciously.

"What kind of business would that be?"

"The kind of business that gets italicized to signify it's importance, so's you know not to ask."

"Right. Got it." said Poppy. "Thanks for the help Lovey Bear."

"Have fun now!" said Lovey. "And remember; if you're not losing, we're not winning!"

To-Do List: Find the employee with the Golden Bear Head.

Poppy began her search by looking around the main lobby of the casino. There were many arcade games, ticket machines, and a crowd of ponies taking pictures of what appeared to be a cannoli in a large glass case with a plaque on the base of the podium.

Poppy edged through the crowd for a closer look. The sign readThe Don's Original Ricotta Cannoli: The original Don made this original creamy ricotta cannoli with his own two paws in the year X957. The sugary microorganisms that gives The Don's modern cannolis their distinctive flavor are descended from the colony in this cannoli.

Poppy was very glad she had already eaten that morning, as she moved away to see the rest of the casino.

"Poppy? Is that you?" a familiar voice said. Poppy turned to see the smiling face of Penny Metronome, licensed psychotherapist, smiling warmly at her from one of the many booths for customers to eat in.

"Penny?" Poppy went over to her and smiled. "No way! What are you doing in Manehatten?"

Penny laughed. "I could ask you the same question!"

"It's uh....complicated."

"I bet." said Penny. "I heard all about how you beat that Charming Culture wacko." she motioned for Poppy to join her. With Poppy sitting comfortably, she continued. "And, I saw you on Equestrian Idol! I had no idea you knew how to play guitar!"

"Heh, that's a bit of a stretch." said Poppy. "I had help from my friends."

"Are you planning on going back for next season?" asked Penny. "You really hit it off with ratings I hear."

"Eh, probably not....or ever again." said Poppy, briefly reflecting on her time spent at WARP with everyone else, who were being held against their will. "But, I have to ask again; what are you doing in Manehatten, Penny?"

"I'm in town as a trial witness." said Penny. "I was called in thanks to my numerous degrees in psychological studies! Plus, it helped that word got out about how I cured the whole brainwashing book outbreak."

Poppy had heard that Penny had gained quite a bit of fame after Charming and his evil book scheme was exposed. Apparently, everyone that had been affected by the book's curse, came to her for help, and she became quite the celebrity because of it. She was even featured on the cover of Psychology Monthly!

"I know! I bet you've gotten plenty of business!" Poppy laughed.

"Mostly a lot of interviews, but there has been quite a boom as of late!" said Penny. "Hopefully, once I've lent my expertise to the Manehatten justice system, they'll be even more interested! I may even open up a second office when I can afford it!"

"That sounds great, Penny!" said Poppy happily. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks! I just stopped in here for a bite to eat before the trial this afternoon." said Penny. "Plus, I love the cute costumes they wear here; my waiter even had a golden one on, if you can believe it."

Poppy sat up. "Golden? As in a golden teddy bear head?" she asked quickly.

"Yep. He was very polite too."

"Where is he now?"

"He should be coming back any minute with my order. Why?"

"I um, need to talk to him. It's important."

"Fair enough. You can wait here till he comes back!" said Penny. "We can catch up some more, in the mean time!"

And so Poppy sat with Penny and they chatted happily about different things, like their plans for today, favorite parts of Manehatten, why they thought all the employees wore those masks, and more. This continued till the golden headed waiter finally came with Penny's order; a light salad with maple dressing and raspberry iced tea.

Before he left, Poppy stopped him. "Excuse me? Do you mind if I talk to you?"

"Not at all!" he said politely. "What can I help you with?"

Poppy leaned in and brought her voice to a whisper. "Um....Deep Muzzle sent me?"

The waiter looked at her for a minute. Then nodded. "Of course, ma'am let me show you!" he said, gesturing for her to follow him.

She said goodbye to Penny, then followed the waiter to a small clearing out side the bathrooms, with nopony (or Griffin) around. "Okay." the waiter said. "I don't have a lot of time, so let's get right to it." He reached into his lapel, and withdrew a police badge. More specifically, one for the Equestrian Bureau of Investigation (EBI).

Poppy's eyes widened. "You're an EBI agent??"

He nodded then quickly put the badge back in his pocket. "My name is Agent 14." he explained. "I was sent in here with my partner, Agent 15, to go deep undercover and investigate the criminal organization that runs this place; The HappyTime Mafia."

"Have you found anything?"

"Not yet." said 14. "Worse still...my partner? She's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean?"

"Missing. Since a week ago." said 14 shaking his head. "I've been worrying about her for days. I think her cover might've gotten blown and she's been take hostage. Or worse."

"I'm sorry." said Poppy. "But why bring me here? I'm just a delivery mare!"

14 shook his head. "You're the delivery mare that found the connection between the HappyTime Mafia and Moira Manners; those bears? This place is where they're making em."

"What are they making these bears for? What's their plan?"

"I don't know yet." said 14. "But you can find out!"

Poppy tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

14 pointed to a large metal door guarded by a burly looking guard in a pink bear mask. "That's where the HappyTime Mafia hold their meetings. You need to get back there and join them."

Poppy's throat went dry. "J-Join them!? Are you insane, why would I want to join these maniacs??" she whispered in outrage.

"To get close to them!" said 14. "You can find out everything they're doing from the inside, and put a stop to it." He leaned in a bit. "Plus, if you're mafioso, then you can help me look for my partner. We find her, then we can take this whole thing down together."

Poppy thought for a moment. Was she really willing to join a powerful crime outfit, just to take them down? The HappyTime Mafia were the ones who brainwashed Moira, and they were clearly making these bears for an evil purpose. They had to be stopped. And if this was the only way she had to stop them, then so be it. Plus, at least she would have the help of two elite undercover EBI agents.

"Okay." Poppy agreed. "What do I have to do?"

"Just head over to that guard." 14 pointed to the burly guard by the door. "Then tell him the password to let him know your a recruit. The HappyTime Mafia is starting to recruit ponies as of this week, so he'll believe you."

"What's the password?"

"I'm here for grandma's funeral."

"That's....dark."

"They are mafia."

"Good point."

14 looked to see that no one was listening in. "I have to get back to work now." he said in a regular tone. "If you need me, just ask for Nibbles. Thats, um...that's the code-name they gave me." he sounded embarrassed to say it.

"Thanks." said Poppy. "I'll see you soon Age-oops! I mean, um...Nibbles."

Nibbles nodded, then headed back to work, leaving Poppy to think about how to approach this. She was going to join the HappyTime Mafia just so she could take them down from the inside. She just hoped she wouldn't have to do anything...unsavory.

With that thought in the back of her mind, Poppy strolled over to the other side of the casino and approached the guard at the door.

"Hold it." he snorted. "HappyTime Mafia only. Not that there's any mafia here, of course."

This might've been easier than she thought. "I'm here for grandma's funeral." said Poppy trying to look and sound like a mafioso.

The guard nodded, and opened the door behind him. "You may enter." he said simply.

Poppy nodded, took a deep breath, then walked inside, the metal door closing shut behind her.

The HappyTime Mafia's Secret Headquarters

Poppy found herself in a very comfortable looking and luxurious lounge, with rich carpets and furniture, paintings and a large desk in the back that Poppy guessed belong to The Don. Because he was looking right at her, from his chair.

"And who might you be?" a mafioso in a red bear mask asked. "This area ain't for tourists."

He wasn't alone. The room was filled with HappyTime Mafia, all looking at her through the eye-holes of their bear masks.

But Poppy was calm and knew what she had to do. "I'm here to join the HappyTime Mafia." said Poppy.

The room erupted into laughter, apparently finding this to very funny for a pony like Poppy to ask to join their numbers.

That was until, The Don himself, a large rotund griffin in a rich purple suit, orange bowtie and wearing a brown bear mask with a cigar in the mouth, got up from his desk and raised a feathered hand for silence. At once the room was quiet.

The Don then made his way over to Poppy and looked down at her. "I know who you are." he had a deep voice accompanied by a slight throaty mumble that somehow made him seem more menacing and respectable.

"You do?" asked Poppy nervously.

"Indeed." said The Don. "You're that delivery mare from Ponyville. The one who got that Culture freak put away."

"Um...yes?"

The Don bowed his head. "You have my thanks for that; Mr. Culture was a threat to our organization as well as our various business practices."

"Oh! Y-You're welcome then!" said Poppy with a nervous smile.

The Don nodded. "You said you wish to join our family, did you not?" asked The Don.

Poppy nodded. "Yes, sir."

"You've proven yourself to be extremely capable; you even managed to get the secret password to let you into this room. I like that kind of capability." said The Don courteously. "The HappyTime Mafia could use a mare like you, I'm thinkin'."

Poppy pretended to look hopeful. "Really?" she asked eagerly.

The Don nodded. "But first, there's two matters that need, shall we say, taken care of."

Just then the metal door behind Poppy opened up and a mafioso ran inside, out of breath. "Don! The original ricotta cannoli! It's been stolen!" he cried. The room broke out into various swears and angry grunts from the rest of the mafia.

"Ahem. There are three matters that need taken care of." said The Don "Do them, and I will personally welcome you into our ranks. Whattaya say?"

"Okay." said Poppy respectfully. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need someone leaned on, someone whacked and I want you to find the bastard who stole the original ricotta cannoli and bring it back." said The Don.

"Um...I don't know what the first two things mean."

"I need you to spy on someone for me, and I need you to assassinate someone."

Poppy's heart sank. "A-Assassinate? You mean....kill?"

"Precisely. Can you do it?" asked The Don.

Poppy had no choice but to go along with it for now. She'd figure out the details later. "Uh, S-Sure, yeah! No problem!"

"Good." said The Don. "For the leaning, there is a shopkeeper in Ponyville who we've been watching for several weeks now. She refuses to stock our wonderful products and various toy merchandise."

"It's unforgivable!" cried one of the Mafiosos. "Do you have any idea how hard I worked on that stitching!?"

"Indeed." said The Don with a nod. "You're a delivery mare? Deliver a crate of our special I Heart You Bears and make sure she displays them in her store." He motioned to a large crate to the side of the fireplace, marked with the logo of The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino. "You will be payed of course."

"Um...okay, who am I delivering them to?" asked Poppy.

"The Inconvenience Store." said The Don

Poppy's heart jumped into her throat as she gasped. Luckily no one in the room noticed. "Um...Okay, I can do that!" she said quickly.

"As for the whacking, we have Intel that there is a witness in town, testifying against one of our brothers-in-arms who is being unjustly accused of various heinous and completely false criminal acts. I want this witness silenced before she takes the stand this afternoon." said The Don.

"Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it..." Poppy repeated in her head.

"Her name is Penny Metronome, licensed psychotherapist."

Poppy's heart would've hit the floor if it sank any lower. She gulped as sweat beaded on her forehead. "Okay, can do!" she blurted out. She was starting to panic. What had she gotten herself into!?

No, she had to stay calm. Had to think her way out of this. She took a deep breath and said. "I'll get it done." she said as menacingly as she could muster.

The Don nodded. "I look forward to hearing of your progress. Now go."

Poppy did as she was told. She picked up the crate with her magic, then vanished in a flash of orange light, reappearing back in Ponyville.

To-Do List: Go to Pears for help!

Poppy practically ran into the Inconvenience Store in a huff, the crate bouncing in the air beside her.

"Pears!" she yelled. "I need your help!"

Pears was busy rearranging what looked like a display for a popular Saddle Arabian breakfast cereal (Still disguised as a candy machine) when she looked up to see Poppy, out of breath. "Poppy? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

How could Poppy tell Pears everything that had just happened? That she was now working to join the very organization that had actually been spying on her and that she had to convince her to sell toys made by the HappyTime Mafia, as part of some convoluted scheme to take them down?

Apparently, over Sludgees.

Poppy sat in her chair with her Sludgee in her hooves as she tried her best to avoid Pear's razor sharp gaze. she had told Pears everything, from meeting Agent 14 to meeting The Don, to being tasked with delivering toys to Pear's store and killing off her friend Penny.

Poppy had expected Pears to go off the deep end. But instead she just got her a Sludgee from the Sludgee maker, took a seat behind her counter and thought to herself, her expression calm.

Then suddenly she jumped up and chucked the chair across the room. "Bastards!" she swore. "Just like the HappyTime Mafia to pull a stunt like this. I knew they were after me, I didn't know they'd go so far as to use you, Poppy."

Poppy looked up. "Um...I don't actually think they're-"

"Well I ain't going down that easy!" Pears shouted. "I'll die before I let them kill me! Wait."

"Pears! What do I do here? I need help, remember?" asked Poppy desperate for guidance.

"Right, sorry." said Pears. She thought for a moment. "Okay, here's what you do: First....ugh." Pears looked pained to say what she was trying to say. "I'll....let you deliver the toys, BUT only because you're my friend, and It'll lead to the destruction of those mask-wearing, thug-toting lunatics!" cried Pears.

"Really!? That's....unbelievably nice of you, Pears." said Poppy with a smile.

"Yes, yes it is." said Pears. "Next, I'll get in contact with Penny. Let her know the situation, and help her temporarily fake her death. Just until The HappyTime Mafia are taken care of."

"You...you can do that?" asked Poppy, amazed.

"Yep. Give me an hour, and I'll make it happen." said Pears with a smile. "But, remember; I'm only doing this to get rid of those guys, so I don't have to keep wearing this disguise." she tugged at her collar. "It's really heavy."

"Thank you, Pears." said Poppy, feeling immensely relieved.

"Don't mention it." said Pears. She suddenly got very close to Poppy's face. "No, seriously. Don't mention it; they could be listening in!"

With one hour to kill before Pears would've taken care of everything, Poppy decided to go back to The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino, to keep up the appearance of a future mafioso, as well as to talk to Agent 14. He may have found something out about The HappyTime Mafia's plans.

The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino

There was a distinctly different tone in the air as Poppy returned to the casino. Lovey Bear, who had been so rude to her before, now nodded respectfully as she walked through the front door. Passing employees, wished her luck and told her to be careful while doing her jobs for The Don. It seemed as if word had spread that Poppy was trying to join The HappyTime Mafia, and this had earned her the respect of it's ranks.

As she passed the Apple-blackjack table, she was stopped by the dealer; a mafioso in a green bear head. "Hey, can I talk to you a minute?" she asked.

Poppy stopped. "Um....sure?"

The green bear let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good!" she said. She gestured for Poppy to have a seat. As Poppy sat down, the bear leaned in bringing her voice down to a whisper. "Listen, I heard about what you're doing for the boss; Really glad to have you!" she said. "Do you think you could help a fellow sister-in-arms with a problem she's been having?" she asked hopefully.

"Um, okay." said Poppy. "What's the problem?"

The bear pointed a feathered hand to the slots. "That guy!" she whispered.

Poppy followed her gesture to a very smarmy looking black stallion with a greasy black pompadour, blue open-collared shirt and wearing two gold chains around his neck. His cutie mark of two blackjack cards were visible even from where Poppy was sitting. He seemed to be busy annoying a group of mares with a huge, show-offy smile.

The fact that he reminded Poppy of Charming Culture didn't help towards her opinion of him. "Who is he?" asked Poppy.

"His name is Steakcharmer." said the dealer. "Every day he comes over and plays Apple-Blackjack; y'know it's like blackjack except the cards have different apples instead of numbers?"

"Right, everyone knows that." said Poppy with a nod.

"Well, that guy,"again she pointed at Steakcharmer, "Always wins; he cheats! It's bad for business! It's getting to a point people won't even play because he keeps playing against them and winning!"

"What do you want me to do about it?" asked Poppy, confused. She only hoped she wouldn't be asked to kill anyone again.

"I want you to play against him." she whispered. "I'll rig the game so he loses, and then maybe he'll cash out and let the other customers play for once! What do you say, you in?"

"But I don't even know how to play!" cried Poppy. "I don't gamble!"

"Don't worry about it; just place a bet, I'll deal you the best cards and him the worst." said the dealer. "You literally cannot lose!"

Poppy thought for a moment. She was indeed planning to take down the HappyTime Mafia, but that didn't mean she couldn't help catch a cheater so others could could have fun at the casino. Plus, she did have an hour to kill and it would help her look good with the other members.

"Okay, let's do it!" said Poppy

"Great!" cried the dealer. "He'll be over in a minute to play. Just act like a regular customer; you aren't wearing a bear mask so he won't know you're one of us, anyways."

Poppy did as she was told. Sure enough, exactly one minute later, Steakcharmer strolled over, laid a massive bag of what looked like tokens down on the table and sat down next to Poppy. "Well, well." his voice was as sleazy as the rest of him. "Since you're sitting at this table, I'll just assume you're here to play cards?"

Poppy narrowed her eyes at him. "Is there a problem with that?" she asked.

"Not a one." he smiled. "Unless you don't like losing, of course."

"Is that right?" she said raising an eyebrow. "And who might you be?"

He stuck out his hoof to Poppy. She didn't shake it. "Steackcharmer's the name." he sneered. "And let's just say, I didn't rack up ten million tokens by being lucky."

"So...you're cheating?" asked Poppy.

"Hey, c'mon now!" he cried, putting his hoof down. "Steakcharmer's no cheat; he's just that good! How bout I prove it to ya?"

Poppy glanced over at the dealer, who gave the subtlest of nods. "Fine." said Poppy. "What's your wager?"

Steakcharmer laughed as he patted the bag on the table. "Baby, (Poppy glared at him even more with that one) I'm so confident I'll win, that I'm bettin' it all! Ten million tokens, up front."

Poppy's eyes widened. "Are you insane?" she cried. "I can't match that!" Poppy only had the handful of tokens the Lovey had given her.

Steakcharmed only sneered. "Tell ya what, doll (Poppy's opinion of him dropped fifteen more percent) I'm feelin' so confident, I'll give you ten million to one odds! Just bet one token and you can win the whole pot!"

"Well, those are some incredibly good odds." said Poppy.

"No they ain't!" laughed Steakcharmer. "Cause I never lose! Hahahaha!"

Poppy was very much looking forward to making this jerk eat his words. "Heh. Alright." Poppy reached into her satchel and set a token down on the table. "I'll bet one token."

The dealer nodded then handed out the cards.

Apple-blackjack was like normal blackjack. But instead of numbers there was apples of various kinds on each card. The goal was to get a higher number of cards with the most apples on them, up to twenty-one without going over. And then making sure that you had apple-blackjack but the dealer didn't.

And as Poppy could see, she already had apple-blackjack with the first two cards. But she waited for Steackcharmer, who was looking at his terrible cards with some worry.

"Uh...I'll stay." he said sweating suddenly. The dealer flipped her card, and of course it wasn't apple-blackjack. "Poppy wins." she said, trying not to sound eager.

"What!?" Steackcharmer jumped up from his seat. "I-I....I lost?"

"Sorry." said Poppy, feeling a little bad. "I guess luck is still a factor, at times."

Steakcharmer proceeded to swear angrily, throw a chair or two, and threaten the dealer before he was finally tackled by two guards and dragged out of the casino, kicking and screaming like a child, till his toupee flew off and landed in the nearby trashcan. He had also dropped an item of considerable intrigue: The original ricotta cannoli! Steakcharmer had been the one who had stolen it!

Poppy looked around and it seemed no one had noticed. She got up, went over and pocketed it into her satchel (she wrapped it in a paper towel first, trying to ignore the fact that it was hard as bone, and smelled like death) then headed back to her seat before anyone had even seen her.

"Well." said Poppy turning back to the table. "That happened."

"Yep." said the dealer. "Thanks for your help, though!" she then handed Poppy the large bag of ten million tokens. "I believe these are yours, my friend!"

"Oh! Huh. Yeah, I guess they are." Said Poppy taking the bag and putting it into her satchel. "Hmmm...I wonder... would Pears take these as payment?"

She turned and looked at the clock. It had been about an hour anyways. She might as well head back to Pears and see if Penny was in the clear yet.

The Inconvenience Store

Poppy appeared within the lobby of the Inconvenience Store in a flash of orange light. "Pears?"

Pears was standing behind her counter, no longer dressed as a candy machine, and appeared to be adjusting a new set of security cameras over the register. "Poppy!" she said with a smile. "Glad you made it! Wanted to let you know that everything's been taken care of."

"It has?" asked Poppy excitedly. "Penny is safe?"

"Yep. I arranged to have the headlines say she's gone missing. The Don will think you offed her, and once him and his merry band are done with, Penny is suddenly found, having never been missing at all."

"How in the world did you arrange this?" asked Poppy.

"The news stations owe me one." said Pears. "Let's leave it at that."

"Fair enough." said Poppy. "Oh, and I have the payment for that Skeleton Key Decoder!" Poppy pulled out the bag from her satchel and dropped it onto the counter.

"Is that right?" Pears asked her eyes wide. "She opened the bag, then gave Poppy a look. "Um...these aren't bits."

"Well....no, but there are ten million of them!" said Poppy. "Plus you could maybe sell them off as gold or something?"

Pears put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Hmmm...well, I guess the prizes at The Don's Playland and Casino are pretty amazing." Finally she sighed. "Yeah, alright. I'll take it." she said with a shrug.

She took the bag, then set it behind the counter. She then withdrew the Skeleton Key Decoder and handed it to Poppy.

"Thanks Pears!" said Poppy, looking over her new purchase."How does it work?"

"Pretty simple, actually." said Pears. "Just point it at any lock or locked door, and pull the trigger. Then it opens."

"Huh. That is simple."

"See?"

Poppy put the decoder into her satchel, then turned back to Pears. "Thanks for all your help, Pears."

"No problem, Poppy." said Pears. "Now, I believe you have a mafia family to join and then destroy! Hop to it!"

With that, Poppy waved goodbye to Pears, and teleported herself back to the casino, having achieved all her jobs for The Don, and now ready to take her place amongst the ranks of the HappyTime Mafia.

If only so she could find out what they're planning and stop them from causing any more trouble.

To-Do List: Report your success to The Don and (Temporarily) Join the HappyTime Mafia.

The Don's Mafia-Free Playland and Casino

Arriving back at the casino, Poppy was surprised to be suddenly grabbed by two guards and escorted to the backroom, where The Don and the rest of the HappyTime Mafia (Including Agent 14) were waiting.

"Did you, uh, leave the gun and take the cannoli?" asked The Don.

"....huh?" asked Poppy, completely lost.

"I meant do you have the original ricotta cannoli?" The Don explained. "My apologies; I've always had a love of the classics."

Poppy reached into her satchel and gave The Don the cannoli she had retrieved from Steackcharmer.

The Don brought it up to examine it. "That is indeed the original ricotta cannoli." He handed it gingerly to a nearby mafioso, who bowed as he took it.

"And," said The Don turning back to Poppy, "I have heard that a one Penny Metronome has mysteriously gone missing. Good work."

Poppy nodded, secretly jumping for joy on the inside that Pear's plan had worked.

"And, I also had one of my boys swing by Ponyville. The Inconvenience store appears to selling some new fun-looking teddy bear toys, as well."

Poppy nodded again.

"Poppy Blossom." announced The Don loud enough for everyone to hear. "You have done what we have asked of you: Acts of intelligence, malevolence and subservience. As of this moment, we welcome you into the ranks of the Contento Nostra."

The room applauded and cheered as Poppy pretended to be quite honored and smiled warmly.

The Don himself also nodded in respect. "Now there is a small ritual ceremony where you will get your gun, suit and of course your own bear mask to wear proudly as a member of our ranks." said The Don. "But first, as a sign of respect, I will remove my mask. Which is good, because I can barely talk through this thing."

Poppy's eyes went wide as she watched The Don reach up with his feathered hand and removed his bear mask.

Almost immediately, Poppy's jaw hit the floor.

Underneath the mask, which Poppy had this whole time been expecting to be the old face of a grizzled Griffin mobster was, in fact, the cute face of a very beautiful brown colored earth pony mare!

"Whew!" she said in a cheery voice. "That's better! Get's really super sweaty in there, you know what I mean?"

Poppy was completely at a loss for words. She simply stared at the mare, agape, her brain trying to process what she was seeing.

The mare only chuckled. "Yeah, guess you weren't expecting this huh?" she asked. She reached up and fluffed her sleek black mane with her feathered arm.

But Poppy wasn't the only one who was surprised. Agent 14, who had been standing perfectly vigil as the ceremony went on was now staring at the mare/ Don as Poppy was. "N-No....15?" he sputtered.

The mare turned and looked at 14 with alarm. "Wait..I know that voice...14? Is that you!?" she cried.

Agent 14 took off his mask, revealing his handsome earth pony face. "I-I....I don't believe this! You're The Don!?" he yelled angrily. "I thought they took you! I thought you were dead!"

Poppy then chimed in. "Wait...she's your partner?" she asked, still completely stunned.

15 then looked at Poppy with fury. "Oh! So this was all part of your guy's little plan was it!?" she yelled. "Grab them!"

At once Poppy was seized by the arms by two mafioso, as was 14, though he managed to fight off several of them before he was finally caught from behind with a knife to his throat."How long...How long have you been a traitor?!" he demanded.

"Traitor?" 15 asked. "What because I betrayed the EBI to become the new Don after the former's death last year, specifically for the wealth and power the position provided, as well as so I could work with the instigators of the mass hypnotism conspiracy trying to take over the world for my own benefit, that makes me a traitor?"

Poppy blinked. "I think that may actually be the literal definition of traitor." she said casually.

"Quiet, you!" 15 snapped. "I liked you, Poppy; you would've been a great mafioso." she said shaking her head. "Tell you what; you can still join us if you swear loyalty to me and stop working with this loser." she gestured to 14 who snarled angrily in response. "Deal?"

"Not a chance." said Poppy glaring at 15. "I came here to stop your evil plans and take you guys down. And I still intend to do that!"

15 shook her head sadly, as she pulled out a teddy bear and held it up to Poppy's face. "That's a real shame." Green energy zapped into Poppy's eyes and at once she felt like her mind had been wiped of all thought. It was pure bliss; like she was floating...dreaming...

"Sleep."

And Poppy did.

Poppy awoke a short while later, on a hard linoleum floor. "Ugh..." her head was pounding as she struggled to get to her feet. When she finally did, she found that she was no longer in the seedy back room of The Don's casino, but a large factory that appeared to be making those evil hypnobears!

She watched as thousands were put together, and put onto conveyor belts by huge robotic arms. This was clearly the place that 14 had mentioned; where all the bears were being made. But what were they really for?

"Ah. You're awake." A familiar voice said. Poppy turned to see Agent 15, smiling evilly at her with the bear still in her grasp. In her other hand she clutched a silver pistol, aimed right at Poppy. "Good. Cause you got work to do!"

"Work? No, it's time you start telling me what all this is about!" Poppy demanded. "What are all this bears for? What are you and the HappyTime Mafia planning? Who's really behind this hypnotism conspiracy!?"

15 shrugged. "I suppose since I can just hypnotize you again anyways, it doesn't matter what I tell you." she said with a sneer. "The bears are part of a large scale plan to brainwash the entire world by introducing hypnotic teddy bear toys to be sold all over the world in a matter of days. We have em all here, ready to ship out!" she said gesturing to the huge supply of bears in the factory.

"As for that last one?" 15 continued. "I have no idea. I just get paid to run the mafia and not ask questions."

"Fine. But why betray your partner?" asked Poppy. "Why switch sides?"

"Uh, for the money and power, duh!" snapped 15. "Weren't you listening before?"

"You betrayed the EBI and your partner for money?" asked Poppy disgusted.

"And the power. You get a lot of that as The Don!"

"....You're insane."

"Hey!" snapped 15. "Only my therapist can call me that!" She held the bear a loft and another beam of green energy shot out at Poppy.

But she was ready this time. Poppy back-flipped to dodge the beam and ducked behind a crate of bears. She heard a gunshot as part of the crate was blown off, spilling the bears all over the floor.

Seeing them, Poppy got an idea and grabbed one, putting it into her satchel. Another gunshot, and Poppy raced to duck behind another crate, where she saw agent 14 tied up and hanging over a large vat of molten metal. Poppy called up to him, but he was knocked out.

Another gunshot and the crate blew apart. she raced through the factory and ducked into a corner, as 15 began searching for her. She just had to get the drop on her; get close enough to use the hypnobear.

Then she saw the controls for a crane carrying a load of crates overhead. She could use that to drop the crates as a distraction! Upon inspection though, the controls were locked within a large metal cage around the control box.

But this was no problem as Poppy simply withdrew the Skeleton Key Decoder she had bought from Pears, aimed it at the cage then pulled the trigger. A green light washed over the cage from the decoder, and a little unlocked lock icon appeared on the device's screen, signifying it had done it's job.

Sure enough, the cage opened easily, and Poppy pressed the button marked 'drop.'

The crates hit the floor right behind 15, who jumped half a foot in the air, dropping the gun and bear in the process. "What the hell was that!?" she cried, turning around. She saw that a pile of crates had somehow come undone from the hanging crane above.

When she turned back around, she gasped as she was now looking directly into the eyes of Poppy's hypnobear.

"What!? H-How did you-"

"Quiet, please."

Green energy shot out from the bear's eyes into 15's and at once, she fell silent, her eyes glazing over as her arms slumped to her sides. It had worked! Poppy had hypnotized her!

She decided to test it out. "Ahem. Can you hear me?" asked Poppy.

"Yes, ma'am." replied 15 instantly, in a robotic tone.

"Good." said Poppy. "What is your real name? I know it's not 15."

"Mary Mareman. Agent 15 is my EBI code-name."

"Well, I knew that last part." said Poppy rubbing the back of her head.

"Okay." said Mary.

Poppy looked back at 14, still hanging over the vat of molten metal. "What is Agent 14's real name?" she asked Mary.

"Stripe Dorton." replied Mary. "He and I were elite EBI operatives, till I betrayed him."

Poppy thought for a moment. "What's the real reason you betrayed Stripe and the EBI?"

"I wanted to protect them." said Mary. "The one behind all this has big plans; plans that threaten the entire world at large. I thought If I was in charge of the HappyTime Mafia, then at least Stripe and The EBI wouldn't have to worry about them."

"Protect?" asked Poppy, surprised. "If you were trying to protect Stripe, why is he hanging over a vat of molten metal!?"

"Chuckles, my lieutenant, brainwashed me to kill Stripe." said Mary.

Poppy's eyes went wide. "W-What? Your own lieutenant, used a bear on you?" asked Poppy. "Why?"

"I don't know." said Mary. "He's the one who reports back to them; the one behind all of this. Perhaps, they ordered him to do it as part of their own plans."

Unbelievable. So Mary was as much a pawn as the entire HappyTime Mafia. They were just doing the dirty work of the real mastermind behind all of this. That was why they sent the bear to Moira; as part of the mastermind's plans! But what were they planning? And most of all, who was this mastermind? All questions, Poppy didn't have answers to. Not yet, anyways.

Turning back to Mary, Poppy addressed her once more. "Mary?"

"Yes, Ma'am." said Mary.

"Go over and bring Stripe down to safety."

"Yes, ma'am." she did as she was told, and went over and fiddled with the controls. Stripe was moved over away from the vat, and lowered onto the floor, where Mary untied him and set him down safely.

Poppy breathed a sigh of relief now that Stripe was no longer in danger. But now there was the matter of taking care of this place. She had to destroy all these hypnobears! But how?

"Mary? Where is this factory located?" asked Poppy.

"Several hundred stories beneath the casino." replied Mary.

"Is there a way to destroy it?" asked Poppy. "The factory, I mean."

Mary pointed to a large switch marked with caution striped over on the far wall. "That is an emergency self-destruct switch. It was put here upon construction, in case the factory was ever discovered, and we had to cover our tracks."

"Self-destruct?" said Poppy alarmed. "Won't that destroy the casino too?"

"The system was only meant to demolish the factory and everything in by setting off heavy explosive charges in the walls." said Mary. "Only the factory will be destroyed. The surface will only feel a little rumble."

"Sounds good then!" said Poppy. "Okay: Mary, I want you to grab Stripe and make your way back to the casino. But only, after I hit that switch. After that, we all leave together, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." said Mary.

"Oh, and one last thing: take off that Griffin suit and leave it to burn. Frankly, I've seen enough of The Don to last me a lifetime." said Poppy.

Mary obeyed, opening the mechanical chest of the suit and stepping out. She wore a red neckerchief with white spots and a white blouse. Her cutie mark appeared to be simply an image of the world with a bandage on it. Poppy would work out the meaning of that later.

Mary put Stripe on her back, and waited.

Poppy took a breath then approached the switch. "Gonna be a ton of stuffing to clean up after this." She then flipped the switch down with a heavy clunk.

Alarms pierced through the air as the ground and walls began to shake and crumble. Huge pipes and machinery fell from their moorings as steam billowed from cracked walls. "Okay, let's go!"

Mary ran for the emergency exit with Stripe on her back, as Poppy followed suit. Explosions were happening all around, as they raced through the dimly lit tunnel, galloping as fast as their hooves could could take them. The ground shook and cracked apart, as rubble and debris began to fall from the caving ceiling.

At last, Mary reached a ladder that lead up to the surface and began to climb. Poppy followed as well, racing up the ladder as fast as possible. She didn't have time to teleport herself, Mary and Stripe to safety, as the room was already coming down around them. She just had to keep moving!

Up the ladder they went till finally Mary opened a hatch above and climbed out of it. Poppy, then reached it herself and climbed out, landing on her back on soft carpet, out of breath and sweating.

The ground shook lightly for a minute, as Poppy kicked the hatch closed, which slammed and locked with a loud clang.

There was more rumbling, some more light shaking, then...silence.

Poppy wiped the sweat from her brow as she stood up only to see she was back in the backroom of the casino, with several guns now trained on her by the HappyTime Mafia.

But Poppy was too tired to care. "Nope." she said as she whipped out her hypnobear and zapped them all, causing them to drop their guns and stand with their arms at their sides. "Okay, so you're all going to turn yourselves in, tell the police everything about the bears, and disband the HappyTime Mafia forever. Sound good?"

"Yes, ma'am." The room replied.

"Glad you think so."

After being called, the police arrived and immediately took all members of the HappyTime Mafia into custody, including Mary, who was now exposed as The Don. She was charged with numerous counts of racketeering, loansharking, extortion, and betrayal to the EBI and misuse of government resources. She was then handed over to the EBI for interrogation, then promptly sentenced to several years in prison.

Agent 14, now known as Stripe Dorton, woke up and explained everything to the police about his operation and how Poppy helped him fulfill it. Both Poppy and Agent 14 were acknowledged by The EBI as heroes, and awarded medals for their bravery. Poppy was featured on the evening news as the mare who took down the HappyTime Mafia and exposed them to the world.

Indeed it seemed that the HappyTime Mafia was finished for good.

However...

Chuckles watched the scene from behind a dumpster a good six blocks from the casino which had been blocked off by the police. It's a good thing he had made his escape when he used that bear on that idiot, Mary. Everything went exactly as the boss had said it would.

Laughing to himself, he removed his mask and threw it into the dumpster, revealing his read coat and slicked back blonde mane. He then pressed a small button on his earpiece. "This is Chuckles." he said officially."The factory has been destroyed. Repeat: The factory has been destroyed."

"Excellent work, Chuckles." said the voice on the other end. "Proceed with phase two."

"Roger that." Chuckles then left the alleyway, eager to get started.

Successful Delivery! - On Time Percentage: 100% - Issues: None - Complaints: None - Rank: A Delivery #3 of 6 Completed

Delivery #4: "The Tyranny Of Princess Celestia."

It was a lazy morning in Ponyville, as the market square was bustling with commerce for weekend shoppers.

And as it was the weekend, this meant one very important thing: Poppy didn't have to work! No deliveries to make, no insane misadventures to be had, no insane hypnosis conspiracy being noticed. This was Poppy's time to relax.

Poppy sat on her couch in her PJ's enjoying this moment of tranquil silence, before she turned on her TV and sat down with a bowl of her favorite cereal; Berry-mint blast.

As the commercials played, she glanced to the side where yesterday's paper lay, with her proudly displayed on the front page with Agent 14 (Aka Stripe Dorton). Last week, she had saved Equestria from being overrun by evil hypnotic teddy bear toys and took down one of the most infamous criminal outfits in the world: The HappyTime Mafia. Since then, Poppy had been interviewed by every newspaper, been on every news station, and was the subject of many ponies conversations. It was exhausting being so famous, and she relished this time she had now, to just unwind and enjoy her morning.

Turning back to the TV, the commercials ended and the jaunty tune of Cooking Without Looking played as the camera panned down to Chef Coco Pie, who was smiling broadly as ever. "It's meee again!" she sang happily. "And happy weekend everyone! Or, I guess whenever this chapter comes out." she said with a shrug.

"Still weird." said Poppy with a smile. She ate a spoonful of cereal as she watched.

"Today, I have something super special planned today! In celebration of crossing another milestone, I'll be baking a pie to commemorate our current word-count of forty-thousand words! Yay!" squealed Coco. "Or I guess whatever word-count we hit by the time this chapter is done." she added with a smile and wink.

"Still weird." said Poppy. But before she could take another bite, the show was suddenly interrupted by a breaking news announcement.

"We interrupt this program to bring you a special statement from the royal princesses." an announcer said. "We apologize for any inconvenience."

The camera then changed to show Princess Celestia, herself, as well as her sister, Princess Luna, standing at a podium in Canterlot, just outside the royal palace. A large crowd of reporters and camera-flashing news ponies in front of them as Celestia smiled at the cameras. Luna, however, only looked disinterested and almost...mean. Perhaps she had been unable to catch her morning nap before hand?

"Greetings my loyal subjects." said Celestia with unerring grace. "I'm so glad you could all be here, for this is a very important announcement. As of today, I am closing Equestria's borders."

Poppy spit out her cereal. "What!?" she grabbed her remote and turned up the volume on her TV.

"Additionally, martial law will be declared starting tomorrow. Anypony who tries to leave Equestria, will be strung up by their feet and savagely beaten with foam bats." said Celestia with a smile, completely ignoring the shocked gasps and shouts from the crowd. "As well, there is now a curfew in effect. Anyone out past curfew will also be savagely beaten with foam bats. The curfew will be put into effect at random times throughout all this month, every time I say the word cabbage."

The crowd was stunned, and at a loss for words. Poppy had dropped her spoon into her bowl as she just stared at Celestia's smiling face, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Celestia tilted her head to the side, still smiling. "The curfew is now in effect." she said sweetly. The crowd then dispersed into a full-blown panic, screaming and running around in hysterics while Princess Celestia looked like she couldn't have cared less. "That is all. Have a lovely day now!"

The screen then went blank.

Poppy sat on her couch, mouth agape, speechless at what she had just seen. "W-Was....was that really Princess Celestia?" she asked herself. "Why...why would she do this? Do any of this!?"

Just then, the phone on Poppy's desk rang. Poppy went over and picked it up. "H...Hello?" she asked.

"Poppy!" it was Miss Wintergreen. She sounded exactly how Poppy felt right now.

"Miss Wintergreen! Did you see the news!?"

"Seen it? I'm still here watching with my kids, and none of us know what the heck just happened!" she cried. "What in the wide world of Equestria is going on here?!"

"I...I don't know!" cried Poppy. "Princess Celestia....I don't know what's gotten into her!"

"I don't know either....but I know how you can find out." said Wintergreen.

"I'm sorry?"

"I just got an order in from the royal palace; Princess Celestia has asked you to deliver a baker's dozen of strawberry donuts to her at her quarters, in person."

Poppy nearly dropped the receiver. "M-Me!?" cried Poppy. "Why...Why me?!"

"No idea." said Wintergreen. "All I know is, she asked for you by name. And I'd be insane not to give it to you. And you'd be insane not to-"

"Take it cause it's the princess, right." said Poppy with a shrug.

"No!" cried Wintergreen. "You'd be insane not to use it as an opportunity to find out why the ruler of Equestria's gone completely nuts!"

"Oh! Well, yeah. That too I guess." said Poppy. "Okay, I'll do it."

"I thought you might." Wintergreen joked. "To make it easier, I put the order through to The Inconvenience Store just down the block from you; just head in, pick it up, then teleport yourself to the palace. And, Poppy?"

"Yes, Miss Wintergreen?"

"Keep your eyes open." warned Wintergreen. "I have a very strange feeling about all this. Be careful, okay."

"Of course. Thank you, ma'am." said Poppy politely.

"Good luck!" with that Wintergreen hung up the phone.

To-Do List: Pick Up Celestia's order from Pears, then head to the palace.

Poppy wasted no time getting ready, then heading out the door to The Inconvenience Store. Except this time, she stopped as she saw that the entire perimeter around the store had been blocked off by wired fences and sandbags, like a military blockade. Cameras poked around every corner, watching Poppy's every move.

"Um....Pears?" called Poppy. "I'm here to pick up the delivery!"

The front door opened and Pears, wearing a army helmet, peeked out. "Pears?" Poppy got closer. "What are you-"

Before she could finish, Pears grabbed Poppy and pulled her inside, slamming the door behind her.

The Inconvenience Store

Poppy nearly ran into a display of soup cans, as Pears threw her in then slammed and locked the front door. "Were you followed?" demanded Pears.

"Followed? What-"

Pears sighed. "Okay, good. You weren't followed."

"Pears what is all this? You're acting even crazier than usual, and that fact literally terrifies me."

Pears grabbed Poppy and pulled her close. "Of course I am!" she yelled. "Haven't you seen the news!?'

"The news. Of course." said Poppy getting the picture now. "This is because Celestia was acting all wacko isn't it?"

Pears laughed. "Acting!? Oh, no, no." she said shaking her head. "Whatever that was, that was not Celestia! And she was by no means, acting, my naive friend!"

"What are you talking about? What do you mean that wasn't Celestia?" asked Poppy, confused.

"Think!" cried Pears. "Why the hell would Celestia suddenly wake up, look outside her window and then say 'Hmm...today looks like a good day to declare martial law."

Poppy had to admit, she thought that was indeed crazy. But that didn't mean it wasn't really Celestia....or maybe...

"If it's not Celestia, then who is it?" asked Poppy, now curious.

"A clone, dummy!" cried Pears, her eyes pinpricks. "Or maybe a dummy clone, either one."

Poppy laughed. "A clone?? Really, Pears?"

"Yes, really!" yelled Pears. "And not just her; that 'Luna' she was with is one too!"

"How in the world could somepony replace Celestia and Luna with clones? Where would they even get clones of them?"

"They had to make them!" said Pears. "And now that they've successfully replaced the princesses, who knows what sinister plot they have in store for Equestria! I'm prepping my store for the worst!"

Poppy didn't believe it was clones, but she couldn't ignore the fact that she did notice Luna looked very different from her usual smiling self. She had even looked mean and hateful, standing there beside a Celestia that had just declared martial law with a smile.

"Maybe....maybe there is something to this after all." said Poppy. "I don't think they're clones, but they are definitely not acting like themselves." then it hit her. "Dear Celestia....They've been brainwashed!"

"That was my second theory." said Pears. "And now you've spoiled it."

"I can't believe it!" cried Poppy. "They actually managed to brainwash Princess Celestia and Luna!?"

"Yes!...or they're clones." said Pears. "Either way, Equestria's not safe anymore! I have to lock everything down!"

Poppy took a minute to calm down. If the princesses really had been brainwashed, then she had the perfect opportunity to find out the truth and hopefully snap them out of it. "The delivery!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Pears went behind her counter and pulled out a large box of a dozen strawberry donuts, with the address of the royal palace stamped on the label. "Here, you go. Now what was I saying?"

"That we're all gonna die, or whatever." Poppy put the box in her satchel, taking care not to squish the donuts within.

"Oh yeah! Anyways, I'm gonna lock things down here in a minute. Did you need anything before you left, and I have to bolt up the doors and windows?"

"Uh...sure?" said Poppy moving over to the counter.

"Alright, let's see." Pears checked her inventory. "How about some unprocessed ketchup?"

"That just sounds like you just shoved whole tomatoes into a bottle."

"You say tomatto, I say....unprocessed ketchup."

"Pass."

"How about some stray tufts of Sasquatch hair?" suggested Pears.

"What the heck is a Sasquatch?"

"A sassy squatch? I don't know, I got them in Tanzania."

"No thanks. What else?"

"I just got a shipment of udder hats!"

"Do I even want to know?"

"What? They're hats in the shape of a cow's udder. Nothing weird."

"Right. Next."

"Amulets of protection against greater hypnosis?"

"No tha- wait. What did you just say?" asked Poppy suddenly alert.

Pears reached behind her counter and withdrew three large brass amulets and set them down on the counter. The amulets themselves were perfectly round with a seemingly infinite and extremely complex swirling design carved into them, that made Poppy's eyes hurt just by looking at it.

Poppy picked one up and turned it around in her hooves. "How does it work?" asked Poppy.

"They're enchanted with Draconequus magic." explained Pears. "Whenever you are directly up against any form of mind control, hypnosis, brainwashing or what have you; the amulet will instantly absorb the magic, rendering you completely immune."

"Seriously?! How long have you had these?!" cried Poppy, knowing these could've really come in handy in her last delivery.

"I just got em in yesterday!" said Pears. "Trust me, I would've told you if I'd had them sooner.....probably."

"Huh. Let me guess, they cost yet another insanely exorbitant amount of money?" asked Poppy.

"What? No, they're only sixty bits." said Pears.

"Wait. Really?" asked Poppy. "Well in that case, "she took out her purse and handed over sixty bits. "I'll take one!"

"Excellent choice!" Pears took the bits and handed Poppy one of the amulets.

Poppy smiled as she put it on, and felt a strange tingling in her flank that moved up to her neck. "So...I just wear this and I'm invincible against mind control?"

"Yep." said Pears depositing the bits into her register. "Draconequus magic is pretty straight-forward with one thing."

"What's that?"

"That it's freakin' broken." said Pears "Seriously, you can do anything with that kind of magic."

"True." Poppy agreed. With the delivery secured and now being completely immune to any form of hypnotic influence in the universe, Poppy said goodbye to her friend Pears, and left, watching as Pears began to board up her doors and windows.

As Poppy made her way down the street from The Inconvenience Store, she noticed there was a new store on the block. One that hadn't closed its doors due to their now being martial law in effect.

It was a bookstore, and standing outside it was a friendly and familiar face; Hue Humble!

"Hue!" Poppy ran over to him, who turned to greet her with that same calm smile, obscured by his long, white, manchu-mustache.

"Well, I'll be." he said happily. "If it isn't miss Equestrian Idol herself! Good to see you again, Poppy, my friend."

"You too Hue!" said Poppy, happy to see her friend again. "What have you been up to?"

"Just spreading the news about the wonders of Huetology, little lady." he said cooly. "Even opened up my own little slice of heaven, right here in Ponyville."

"You own this bookstore?" asked Poppy.

"That's right. I'll be here all day, giving out copies of my book, New Horizon, to any walking that path of life." said Hue, gesturing towards the ponies on the street. Though they looked too panicked about being caught out after curfew then buying books. And the soldiers patrolling the streets didn't help matters much.

"Um...I don't think you'll be getting too much business today, Hue." said Poppy looking at the soldiers.

"I'd say you're right, Poppy." said Hue shaking his head. "All on account of that craziness on the news, right?"

"You saw that too?" asked Poppy.

"Hard not to have seen it, I'd say." said Hue with a chuckle.

"It's crazy." said Poppy. "What do you think is going on with the princesses, Hue?"

"I couldn't say, my friend." said Hue sadly. "I'd wager too much stress from ruling Equestria all these centuries. Maybe they just need a little time to unwind, you know?"

"It looks more like they're trying to cut us off from the rest of world for some insane reason." said Poppy nervously.

"There's a reason for everything my friend." said Hue putting a hoof on Poppy's shoulder. "I know things'll work out for the best."

"I hope so." said Poppy. "Oh! While I have you here, do you mind if I ask you more about Huetology? You said it's about helping people find their way in life, or something?"

"Something like that, my friend." said Hue with a smile. "What did you want to know? I'll answer whatever you want."

"How does it work? Does it really show ponies their innermost potential?" asked Poppy.

"Hmmm...how about instead of tellin' you, I show you?" asked Hue with a wink. "Just a basic practice is all; tells you a bit about yourself. Want to give it a shot?"

"Uh...I don't know. What do I have to do?" asked Poppy.

"Just answer some questions. Your answers reveal a little about yourself. That's all there is to it." said Hue with a warm smile.

"Well....alright. Why not?" said Poppy with a shrug. "What's first?"

"Groovy!" said Hue. "Alright then; first: What's your name?"

"Poppy Blossom."

"Race?"

"Unicorn."

"Celestial Sign?"

"Pisces."

"Coat color?"

"Red."

"Mane color?"

"Orange, and also kind of white-ish."

Hue nodded. "Thank you, my friend. Now let me run things through in my noggin a bit." A mere ten seconds passed before Hue said "Done!"

"Um, okay, so what-"

"You possess immense determination and bravery. Despite your job, you always find yourself in trouble or on some insane misadventure that almost always requires you to make daring choices and decisions that equally affect others. You are outgoing, dependable and loyal to your friends and family. You are not slow to embrace new ideas, and in fact sometimes welcome the new experiences they bring. You can be reckless, and almost always find yourself in trouble. But the real question that can't be answered is; are you attracted to trouble? Or is trouble attracted to you?"

"Your Huetology Rank: Level 5 'Yellow."

Poppy was at a loss for words. "Geez." said Poppy, here eyes wide. "You got all that from me answering a few questions?"

Hue nodded. "Magic of Huetology, my friend." he said with a wink.

"Wow. Has anypony else been told about this Huetology, thing?" asked Poppy.

"As a matter of fact,' said Hue with a sparkle in his eyes. "Do you remember that director from WARP?"

"Make It Shine?" asked Poppy. "Of course! Have you talked to her, recently?"

"Indeed I have." said Hue. "She's our newest Level 4 Huetologist! She's been making crazy amounts of progress with her studies!"

"Wait. Shine joined Huetology?" asked Poppy. "I thought she was going to try to get another job."

"She did, my friend!" said Hue cheerfully. "Thanks to your kind and uplifting words inspiring her, and the newfound confidence she's gotten from studying Huetology, she's decided to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a magician. And she's mad skilled at it to boot!"

"Whoa. A magician? I had no idea!" said Poppy. "But that's fantastic! Say hi to her for me, Hue?"

"Absolutely." said Hue with a polite bow. "Well, I'll let you get back to it, I'm sure you got deliveries to make, and all that."

"I do, I'm afraid." said Poppy with a smile. "I'll see you around Hue!"

"Good luck on your journeys, my friend!" Hue waved goodbye as Poppy made her way further down the street to her cottage.

After getting ready, and locking her doors, Poppy used her teleportation spell to take her to the courtyard of the royal palace in Canterlot, hoping things hadn't gone too far off the rails.

The Royal Palace Courtyard, Canterlot

Arriving in a flash of orange light, Poppy was relieved to see that the courtyard was unchanged; it was still beautifully gardened with wide clearings of flowers and patches of freshly mowed grass all over the main campus. Butterflies of several different colors and shades danced playfully amongst the blooms. It was very peaceful and for a second, Poppy thought maybe things weren't as bad as she had thought. At least not yet.

Approaching the great gleaming carved-oaken doors to the palace, Poppy was stopped by a royal guard, who stood to the side. "Sorry, ma'am." he said gruffly. "No civilians allowed within the palace without necessary clearance."

"Oh! Sorry, I'm actually the delivery mare for Princess Celestia." said Poppy politely. "I have her donuts." Poppy showed the box to the guard, who gave them a quick look.

"Hmmm...one moment ma'am." He pressed the magical gem on his armor, which lit up with a blueish glow. "Base, this is Dancer. Donuts at the gate. Permission to allow passage?"

There was a brief moment of static. "Access granted. Let her in." said another guard's voice from the gem.

"Understood." said Dancer. He clicked a button behind him and the huge doors opened up with a loud, rich creaking sound. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are meeting with their three new governors at the moment, but you're allowed to enter her actual office. Just head down the main hall past the welcoming lobby, and take the right wing stairs over to the observatory wing. Princess Celestia's quarters are down the opposite hall, huge door; can't miss it."

"Thank you." said Poppy.

"Have a good day, ma'am." Dancer said with a smile.

With that, Poppy entered the majesty of the royal palace and made her way through its many halls to Celestia's quarters.

To-Do List: Deliver the donuts to Princess Celestia in her office.

Following Dancer's instructions, Poppy found herself before a large beautifully ornate door, inscribed with a large pattern of a sun. Poppy removed the donuts from her satchel, then used her magic to open the doors and let herself inside.

Princess Celestia's Office

Princess Celestia had three rooms that meant the world to her. One was the kitchen, where she ate her morning cake. The other was her bedroom. And the third was, of course, the office where she did all her necessary paperwork, government documentations and basically the office from which Equestria was run. There wasn't a single document that could make or break the nation that didn't go through this office at least ten times, before it became a new law, or new decree, or even a new breakfast menu for the local schools.

Walking into the office, one thing was certain: of all the offices Poppy had visited in her deliveries, Princess Celestia's was by far the most amazing.

It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of extravagant rich purple carpeting. A number of sparkling golden astronomy instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little sounds that sounded vaguely like a song. The walls were covered with portraits of Celestia and Luna, as well as Celestia with her students at her school for gifted unicorns, all of whom were smiling warmly in their frames. Two floor-to-ceiling tall glass windows stood on either side of the room, letting in the morning sunshine, that only served to brighten up the already, sunny room. There was also an enormous, claw-footed dark oak desk, and, sitting on a throne-like chair behind it, was Princess Celestia and beside her, was her sister, Princess Luna.

But Poppy didn't say anything, as Princess Celestia was busy having a conversation with, who Poppy assumed to be the governors Dancer was talking about. Poppy silently shut the door behind her, as she caught ear of the conversation.

"I'm very glad that you three have brought this to my attention," she heard Celestia say. "But I'm afraid I still don't fully understand the issue here."

As Poppy was about to enter the room, she then heard a very familiar, sweet sounding voice answer Princess Celestia. "The problem, your highness; is that we aren't governors!" the voice cried.

"We're just kids! Heck we're still in elementary school!" another equally familiar voice exclaimed.

"Yeah!" said another familiar voice. "What on earth possessed you into making three kids the governors of some backward patch of dirt out in the Badlands?"

Poppy knew exactly who the three "governors" were now. But, she didn't dare interrupt while the Princess was in a meeting. She didn't want to make things worse by upsetting her.

"I understand." said Celestia calmly. "But, I believe in equal opportunities to all creatures. That includes, non-ponies like you kids!"

"For the last freakin' time; we are ponies! You crazy-"but her voice was muffled by a hoof.

"Thank you for your time, your majesty, we'll be taking a break for a minute before we continue." said another voice politely.

"Of course. Take your time." said Celestia.

After a series of hoofsteps and the sound of a door opening and closing, the room was silent.

"You in the waiting area. Get in here." said Luna in a much ruder tone then Poppy had ever heard her speak. But she went in anyways.

Upon walking into the room, Princess Celestia spotted the donuts in Poppy's hooves and squealed with glee. "Yay! My donuts are here! Thank you Poppy; who knew running a nation would make you so hungry?"

Poppy looked confused. "Um...I'm sorry?" she asked.

Princess Luna growled at Celestia, who turned around to look at her. "Huh? Oh! Um...I mean, uh, I would! I would of course!" Celestia turned back to Poppy with a nervous smile. "Because, I am definitely Princess Kalheesi!"

Poppy raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean, Celestia?" she asked, getting increasingly suspicious.

"Yes! That too!" said Celestia nervously. Behind her, Princess Luna facehoofed. "Sorry, I um...I just forgot for a minute, is all!"

Poppy wasn't buying it. "You forgot your own name?....Really?"

"Its....been a stressful day, so far." Celestia said with a nervous smile.

Poppy ignored it. After all the Princesses were being brainwashed! She had to snap them out of it while she had the chance.

"Princess Celestia, I have something to tell you! It's critically important!" said Poppy urgently.

Luna shook her head. "Yeah, no thanks. You can leave through the door you-"

"Dear sister, wait!" said Celestia alarmed. "If it's critically important, I should know about it!" she turned back to Poppy. "Please go on."

Poppy was wondering why Luna was being so mean, but ignored it for now. "I don't mean to alarm you, your highness; but I have reason to believe that you and Princess Luna have been brainwashed." said Poppy calmly.

Luna chuckled to herself. "Insanity, isn't a valid reason to believe in things, kid." she snapped.

Poppy narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "How else can you explain why you're both acting so.....unlike yourselves?" Poppy refrained from saying they were acting like raging jerkbags as well as completely insane. Regardless of how true it was.

But Celestia only laughed. "Oh come now." she said with a smile. "We haven't been brainwashed. That's crazy talk."

"No, literally every single word you've said today is crazy talk." said Poppy. "You have to be brainwashed! What other reason could there be?"

At this, Luna suddenly looked very worried. "Uh, yeah! Yes, we are sooo brainwashed!" she said loudly. "Wow. MY brain....my brain sure feels..uh, washed, right now!"

"Huh?" asked Celestia. "What are you talking about, we're not (Luna glared over at her sister). "Oh! I mean...yeah, we are definitely brainwashed and need your help to break the trance!" Luna facehoofed again.

Poppy was now sure there was something more going on here. They clearly weren't really brainwashed. So what other explanation could......No. No it couldn't be.

Poppy tried to deny it, but the evidence was overwhelming. They'd both been acting weird the entire time. But she had to be sure.

"Princess Luna. Can I talk to you, for a minute?"

"Huh?" Princess Luna suddenly looked quite nervous. "Uh, why?"

"No reason. Want to see if I can break your 'trance' is all." said Poppy.

"Ugh. Fine." Poppy approached Luna, who hadn't smiled once this entire time. More then that though, her eyes looked almost....lifeless. They held no trace of the usual sparkle of the night sky that Luna's had. These eyes were cold, calculating and dark. Definitely not those of Princess Luna's.

"Well?" Luna asked irritably. "What do you want?"

To-Do List: Find out what's really going on with Princess Celestia and Luna.

"What do you do around here, Luna?" asked Poppy. She decided to drop the mannerisms, as she was quite sure they didn't matter to this jerk.

"I give out free T-shirts to the pony who asks me the stupidest question-"

"Haha. No, really. "Poppy glared at her. "I want you to tell me what you do, here."

"Fine. I'm helping my sister out with the new laws we're having put into effect. And I am not leaving her side."

"New laws?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it; you'll find out what they are soon enough." said Luna with an evil grin. "Let's just say I hope you enjoyed your personal freedom till now. Heh."

"Uh-huh." Poppy ignored her. "You never leave Celestia's side, huh? You must be a very caring and loving sister, then."

Luna rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Sure, let's go with that." she then let out an annoyed sigh. "Look, this has been fun, or whatever, but me and my sister have a country to run, so...Guards!"

Two guards entered the room with spears at the ready. "Princess Luna? You called."

Luna looked away from Poppy. "You can take the delivery girl back to the lobby now."

"Right away, ma'am." The guard approached Poppy. "If you'll follow us, miss Poppy." he said politely.

Poppy glared at Luna who simply glared back with an evil smile. Poppy knew there was something sinister going on in this castle. But she wouldn't find any more answers here. Maybe she could enlist the help of those "governors" from before.

Poppy smiled warmly at the guard. "Of course. Lead the way, sir." The guards lead Poppy out of Celestia's office. She looked back to see Luna and Celestia's eyes suddenly glow for a brief second, before the doors shut behind her.

Poppy stood in the lobby of the royal palace, trying to think through what she had just experienced. It was painfully clear that Princess Celestia and Luna weren't themselves. But why hadn't anyone else noticed anything? Surely the butlers and maids must have noticed something; they had been taking care of the palace and been around Celestia and Luna for years!

The best thing she could do was talk to the staff, the guards, anyone that may be able to tell her what was wrong with the princesses.

To-Do List: Uncover the truth behind the Princesses bizarre behavior.

Poppy must have gone to every guard and staff member in the palace but every-time she asked about the princesses acting strange, she got:

"Oh, it's probably just stress."

"They've been working so hard as of late. That's probably it!"

"Luna pushed me down the stairs yesterday. But she said sorry afterwards, so it's probably nothing. (She heard that one a lot more then she think she should have.)

It wasn't until she reached the library wing, where she ran into a familiar friend, that she finally got some answers. Poppy entered the library and saw sitting by herself, engrossed in at least three separate psychology books was her close friend, Penny Metronome!

"Penny!" said Poppy.

Penny looked over. "Poppy!" said Penny.

"Shhh!" shushed the librarian stallion.

Poppy and Penny quickly apologized as Poppy sat down beside her friend. "What are you doing here?" Poppy asked excitedly.

"I'm actually here on psychology business!" said Penny, equally as excitedly. "I've decided to do a paper regarding the, shall we say, intriguing behavior of the royal princesses."

Poppy scoffed. "If by intriguing, you mean both evil and completely nuts, yeah I'd say intriguing is the perfect word to describe them."

"Evil??" Penny asked. "Why would you say such a thing, Poppy?

"I just got done talking to them!" cried Poppy. "They're both completely out of their minds!"

"Really? What did they do to make you think so?" asked Penny, taking out a notepad and quill.

"First, Celestia forgot her own name. "Said Poppy. "Second, I'm pretty sure Luna wants to secretly either murder me with insults or by physically throwing me off a cliff. Probably both. And then there's how they, y'know, issued martial law in Equestria! How can they not be called crazy?"

Penny eagerly scribbled down everything Poppy told her then thought to herself a moment. "Honestly, I don't think they are well...insane or evil per se." said Penny adjusting her glasses. "It sounds more like they are being influenced by another; someone else is making them do these things. This would explain Luna's outward hostility towards you, who could help her. Or Celestia's forgetfulness and current lack of common sense."

"So...they actually are brainwashed?" asked Poppy?

"Not brainwashed. Controlled." said Penny. "Someone is controlling the way they think and act, to a much higher degree then we've seen before."

"How do we snap them out of it?" asked Poppy.

"I'm afraid this level of mental influence requires more study and in depth analysis first, before I can make a conclusion." said Penny, moving her notebook. "Give me an hour and I should have our answer."

"Thanks Penny." said Poppy. "So, um....how is everything? Did you manage to...you know."

"Escape certain doom at the talons of the HappyTime Mafia?" asked Penny. "Yes I was, thanks to you and miss Pears."

She set her notebook aside then continued. "Honestly, I didn't know what to make of what Pears told me about my life being in danger, the mafia coming for me, and then you being in danger if I didn't leave Equestria!"

"I'm really sorry to have put you through that, Penny." said Poppy. "I just wanted to make sure you were safe is all."

Penny smiled warmly and laughed. "You don't have to apologize for anything." she said calmly. "I knew what it meant, and luckily I was planning to visit my cousin down in Nawland that week, anyways. Saved me from booking a trip too late!"

"You have a cousin in Nawlans?" asked Poppy.

"Mmhm. Her name is Karosta. She's actually the chief of police in Nawlans!" said Penny excitedly.

"Wow! That's amazing!" said Poppy. "I'll have to say Hi if I ever make a delivery down to Nawlans, then."

"Indeed!" said Penny. "Just let her know your coming before hoof. She doesn't like being caught off guard with visitors."

Poppy nodded and laughed. "Oh! Penny, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course not. What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for three fillies. Probably being hailed as governors despite all being about ten years old; Seen them?"

"Hmm...now that you mention it, I did see three fillies hanging out by the kitchen. They were making rude comments about the princesses and something about Luna being a....well, frankly I don't tolerate that sort of language from children!"

"Yep, that's them." said Poppy. "Thanks Penny. I'll be back in an hour then?"

"Yes! I will see you then, my friend!" said Penny happily.

Poppy waved goodbye to Penny before making her way to the south-most wing of the palace: The kitchens.

The Royal Kitchens

The royal kitchens were easily the busiest area in the palace (And not just because they were always making cake for Celestia's midnight cravings) with hundreds of ponies going in and out every day. Sometimes with dishes, other times with food, sometimes with both.

But as Poppy entered, the kitchens were strangely empty, as Poppy immediately noticed three fillies loitering around the dining room just outside the kitchen. These fillies were of course, The Fizzy Poppers.

"Can you believe how those two are acting?" said Cherry to Root. "Is that the princess we've held in such high standings these past thousand years or so?"

But Root shook her head. "No way!" she said. "Princess Celestia visited our school once, remember? And she did not act like that."

"You're right." said Lemon Lime. "But then what the heck is wrong with her? With either of them?"

Poppy then stepped into the room. "That's what I'd like to know."

The Poppers all turned in their seats. "Poppy!" They jumped from their seats and clamored onto her in one giant hug, that nearly toppled her over, as she laughed.

"I thought that was you three in there." said Poppy laughing. "So....moved up from judges to governors now, huh?"

The unanimous "Ugh!" The Poppers then let out was a clear sign they weren't too happy about this fact.

Poppy looked confused. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"What's wrong," said Cherry, "is that we're the governors of a dinky little patch of dirt in the Badlands with only one other guy; an old as dirt griffin named Crungs."

"Crungs? Sounds like some kind of disease." said Poppy.

"That's what we said!" cried Root. "Seriously, what do you do with a patch of dirt like that?"

"I see your problem." said Poppy. "And I heard you try to tell Celestia, or whoever that is, about it as well, and you would've gotten better sense from a brick wall with head injury, am I right?"

"Yeah!" said Root. Then she looked confused. "Wait. What do you mean by whoever that is?

"Guys, I'm going to level with you: I don't think that's really Celestia and Luna. Or if it is, something's been done to them." said Poppy lowering her voice as a guard passed by the hall.

"You mean they're being brainwashed like Moira was?" asked Lemon Lime, her eyes going wide.

"Maybe." said Poppy. "All I know is, they're not acting like themselves at all, and Equestria might be in danger! We need to do something."

"Just say the word, Poppy." said Cherry with a determined smile. Her sisters huddled around her, with the same look.

"Yeah, it's about time we get some payback for this stupid governor stuff!" said Root.

"What do you need us to do?" asked Lemon Lime.

Poppy thought a moment. "Okay, I have a plan: It's clear that nopony else is noticing whats going on with the princesses. And they are definitely not themselves. But I did find one more weird thing, that should tell us a bit more, if we can confirm it."

"What's that?" asked Cherry eagerly.

"That their eyes glow." said Poppy.

The Poppers all gasped in surprise. "Glow??" said Root. "As in, like, glow, glow?"

"Yes." said Poppy. "I saw it happened just as I was being escorted from Celestia's office; I looked back and I saw both Celestia and Luna's eyes glow, just for a second. But it was still enough for me to confirm something wasn't right."

"Whoa. Creepy!" said Lemon Lime, shivering at the thought.

"I know." said Poppy. "But I need you guys to confirm it; go back into Celestia's office and say you have some new ideas you want to present to her about, what's you territory called again?"

"Hackdirt." Root said glumly. "Ugh."

"Right. Go in and say you some ideas to make Hackdirt more tourist friendly or something. While your there, keep an eye out for their eyes glowing. If we can confirm it, then we can confront them about it face to face."

"Sounds good!" said Cherry. "But what about you?"

"I've already been escorted out of there once. It's pretty clear Luna doesn't want me around." said Poppy.

"That may be true," said Lemon Lime. "But what if you were there on our behalf? Like our....vice governor?"

"Can you even do that?" asked Poppy.

"As far as we care, we're governors; we can do whatever we want." said Root with a sly grin.

"Fair enough." said Poppy. "Okay, so we'll head in, start spouting about some new ideas for Hackdirt, and keep an eye out for their eyes glowing. Sound good?"

"Yeah, but what if their eyes don't glow?" asked Cherry.

"Then we excuse ourselves so we can come up with more ideas." said Poppy. "Then at the very least we'll know they are who they say they are....maybe."

"Alright then!" Root stood up with both hooves pumped in the air. "Let's expose these phony ponies!" The Poppers cheered, and Poppy cheered right along with them.

Afterwards, they headed back to Celestia's office to confirm Poppy's suspicions.

To-Do List: Return to Celestia's office and talk to them with The Poppers. Keep an eye out for their eyes glowing.

Celestia's Office

Poppy and The Fizzy Poppers opened the great doors of Celestia's Office, where the "princesses" were still waiting for their return. But upon seeing Poppy with them, Luna glared at her in anger.

Celestia on the other hand, was very happy indeed to see Poppy back as well as the Poppers. "Poppy!" she exclaimed happily. "I'm so glad you're back! And you brought our three governors as well! Excellent!" she clapped her hooves in joy. "Shall we continue our discussion then?"

"First, dear sister." Luna said rather angrily, through clenched teeth. "I'd like to know why she is back here with you."

Root rolled her eyes. "She happens to be our vice governor, Princess Luna. Her presence is needed to continue this meeting properly."

"Oh!" cried Celestia. "I had no idea! Then by all means, please go ahead."

Poppy's plan would only work if they kept the princesses talking for as long as possible. Between the four of them, they were sure they could come up with enough ideas for Hackdirt to keep both Celestia and Luna talking for as long as they needed. But they really just had to keep an eye out for that glow.

"Princess Celestia," Cherry began. "On behalf of the proud city of Hackdirt, we would like to thank you for this time you have taken from your busy schedule to listen to our proposals to improve our fair city."

Celestia blushed. "Oh, of course! Anything to help my loyal subjects." Still no glowing eyes.

Lemon Lime stepped up. "My proposal, is that we build a water park for ponies from all over to come and cool of from the blistering heat of the Badlands while staying in Hackdirt."

"Oh!" said Celestia. "That does sound like fun! Please go on!"

Lemon Lime, not spotting the eyes, continued. "First we...."

Poppy kept her eyes trained on Celestia and Luna the entire time Lemon Lime proposed her water park idea. But aside from some crude remarks from Luna, their eyes didn't glow. Yet since she was looking at them so intently, Poppy noticed that Celestia's eyes also held no sparkle in them. They weren't dark or cold like Luna's but they looked...lost. As if Celestia was trying her best to hide something from the world. But what was it?

After Lemon Lime finished her proposal, Celestia clapped joyfully as Luna simply rolled her eyes. After Lemon Lime, was Root Beer.

"Okay," said Root. "My idea is for a huge monorail system, so that...

Poppy kept her eyes trained on Celestia and Luna, but still no glow. After Root was Cherry, and then it would be her turn. She had to think of someway to get their eyes to glow like they did before. But how?

"For my idea," said Cherry, "I propose the construction of a new university! One that..."

Poppy racked her brain trying to think of some way to make their eyes glow. Why did they glow before? What had happened that caused them to....wait. That was it! Poppy knew what she had to do now.

She went up to Root as Cherry continued with her proposal and whispered something into her ear that Luna found suspicious, but didn't think it meant anything. Root nodded then Poppy went back to her place. Root then turned to Lemon Lime and whispered the same thing into her ear. Lemon then whispered it to Cherry.

When they all heard Poppy's plan they looked at one another and nodded with serious expressions. Now, it was Poppy's turn.

Poppy stepped forward. "Princess Celestia and Luna! I have an idea that will make Hackdirt truly the city of ponies dreams!"

"Oooh! This sounds exciting already!" said Celestia looking quite eager.

"But first, I have to go get some charts I've drawn up." she began to back out of the room slowly, to the door she had been escorted out of before. "Do you mind?" she asked.

"Oh! Not at all!" said Celestia. "Go ahead!"

Poppy backed out of the room, and began to shut the doors.

And then, just before they closed; they did it again. Clearly glowing for a split second. But Poppy smiled as she hadn't been the only one to see this time...

"I saw them!" yelled Root. "They glowed!"

At once Celestia and Luna looked nervous. "I-Im sorry?" Celestia asked, sweat forming at her brow.

"I saw it too!" yelled Lemon Lime. "They glowed! They really glowed!"

"Poppy was right! You two are fakes!" Cherry yelled, narrowing her eyes.

"What!?" Luna bellowed. "That's ridiculous! Why would you think that!? You didn't even see anything!"

"Oh" Poppy walked back into the room smiling broadly. She had them now. "But they did. I told them to turn and look at you two the moment the doors shut. They saw your eyes glow, just like I did the first time, you tried to get rid of me."

Luna snarled angrily. "You meddlesome little!-

Celestia only looked worried as sweat was now dripping down her muzzle. "I-I...uh." Was all she could say."

Poppy was done playing games. It was time to find out who these two really were.

To-Do List: Confront the false Celestia and Luna.

Poppy slammed a hoof down on the desk, her eyes flaring. "Enough of this! I know you're not really the princesses!" she yelled. "So it's time you two start talking; who or what are you?!" The Poppers stood by Poppy, glaring up at the fake Celestia and Luna who looked at one another.

Then smiled.

"Well...looks like they got us." said Celestia her smile growing wider.

"Little brats. Always making things hard for the adults." snarled Luna.

Then they both laughed. High, cruel laughs that didn't suit either of them. It made Poppy's skin crawl.

When they were done, Celestia got up from her desk and stood beside it. "Well done, little ones." she said. "You're the only ponies who figured out we aren't your precious little princesses."

Luna then stepped up, her smile just as evil as her sisters. "You'd think that with everything we've been doing, that others would've at least suspected something." then she laughed. "But, no. They just thought we needed naps, or tea, or something to take the stress off. Idiots."

Poppy glared at the imposters as The Poppers stood bravely beside her, not backing down even an inch. "So...Pears was right." she said. "You two are-

"Clones?" sneered Luna. "That's right, girl."

"What did you do with the real Celestia and Luna!?" demanded Cherry.

Celestia put a hoof to her chest. "Oh, don't worry!" she said. "They're perfectly fine. Just somewhere far away." She actually seemed sincere as she said this.

"What are you two? How are you here?" asked Poppy.

Luna suddenly got super close to Poppy, smiling wickedly as their eyes met. There was that glow again. But now that she was so close she could see that this glow...glowed green.

"Green?" said Poppy. "So when I said you two were brainwashed-"

"You were half right." said Celestia. "Rather then us, being brainwashed....it was us doing the brainwashing." she said menacingly.

"That's why everyone acted like they didn't notice anything weird about you two!" said Root. "You've brainwashed everyone just by looking at them!"

"Yes." said Luna. "Although it seems like fillies with too much moxy and delivery mares are immune. Interesting."

The amulet around Poppy's neck is what protected her from the Evil Celestia and Luna's hypnotic gaze. But as for the Poppers, she guessed that fillies with their level of bravery and willpower couldn't be controlled anymore, thanks to Poppy saving them from Charming before.

"So what's your plan?" asked Poppy. "What are you two trying to accomplish by brainwashing everyone?"

Luna smiled, as she turned to look out the window. "Our plan?" she asked. "Oh no. Our creator has plans for this little nation of yours; big plans. And we've just now gotten started!"

"Well too bad!" said Root. "We know what you really are, so now-"

Luna then rounded on Root, jumping over to her and glaring down at her menacingly "Nowwhat, exactly?" she sneered. "You go out those doors and tell are your little pony friends 'Oh dear! Don't listen to them; they're not the real Celestia and Luna!", she mocked in a high squeaky voice. 'They're just clones hypnotizing you into not noticing anything!'she laughed cruelly as Root just glared angrily up at her.

"Face it." said Celestia as her sister moved back behind her, and she herself sat back down at her desk. "It doesn't matter that you found us out; as far as the rest of Equestria is concerned; we are the real princesses."

"And as the princesses," said Luna with a wicked grin. "We get to do whatever we want!"

Poppy was going to say something back. Possibly several things back. But Lemon Lime spoke first.

"Oh, Yeah!?" said Lemon Lime stepping forward. "Well what if you guys weren't the princesses of Equestria!?"

Luna snorted. "What are you talking about you little brat?" she spat.

"I'm saying, what if we had a new princess? One that was better then both of you, so people picked her over you!" said Lemon Lime.

"Lime?" asked Root. "What the heck are you saying?"

Lemon Lime turned to her sisters. "I'm saying, that we have an election for a new princess!"

At that Celestia and Luna laughed hysterically at Lemon Lime's expense. Poppy and the other Poppers didn't feel too confident in such an idea either. "Uh....Lemon?" Poppy started. "That's not how princesses become well....princesses."

"Well it is this time!" snapped Lemon Lime, visibly angry. She gestured to the cackling princesses. "These two aren't the real Celestia and Luna; and more then that, they're horrible leaders! They don't care about Equestria, it's ponies or anything other then doing what their creator tells them!"

"Hey!" said Celestia suddenly. "I care about stuff! Well....mostly donuts."

"You see!?" said Lemon Lime. "If we don't get these two out of this office, and a new princess in it, Equestria is doomed!"

Poppy looked at the Poppers. The Poppers looked at Poppy, then their sister. Then together they all smiled and nodded. "She's right." said Poppy. "If we hold an election for a new princess, then whatever these two idiots have planned, fails!"

"Hey!" said Celestia. "I know stuff! Well....mostly stuff about donuts."

Poppy moved to Celestia's desk and smiled. "As citizens of Equestria," The Poppers opened the doors so that the ponies outside could hear; guards and staff stopped what they were doing outside the hall to listen. "We hereby demand a royal election for the next princess of Equestria!"

There was a great murmuring from the halls, as ponies whispered excitedly to one another:

"An election? for a new princess?"

"There's never been an election before!"

"Who do you think will be in the running?"

Soon, the entire palace was alive with conversation of a possible royal election, while Luna and Celestia simply looked panicked.

Luna stepped forward her eyes flaring. "Y-You can't demand something like that!"

But Poppy only glared back at her with a triumphant grin. "Oh, but I can!" she said "I'm a vice governor; a member of the Equestrian government. As such, I have a say if the current actions of the current princesses don't meet the needs and wants of, or are otherwise unfit to rule over Equestria or it's ponies." she then glared at Luna. "And you two, definitely are not fit to rule Equestria."

Luna snarled at Poppy, but with all the guards and staff now watching her and Celestia, she had no choice. She smiled and through gritted teeth said "Fine. We'll hold your stupid- I mean, wonderful election." she growled.

"But," said Celestia with a smile. "An election for the next princess won't work unless there is another pony running against the current ones; and who would be crazy enough to run against us?"

Poppy was not expecting what happened next at all. She had thought perhaps another governor, a member of the royal committee or even just ask Princess Cadence to run things till they found the real Celestia and Luna. But she most certainly was not expecting...

"Poppy will do it!" yelled Root. "Poppy Blossom hereby throws her hat into the ring, for the first royal princess election!"

The room suddenly exploded with surprised shouts and excited whispers from the guards and staff, all centered around this new, hot young candidate that just called out the princesses, to their faces.

"Poppy Blossom? The delivery mare?"

"How exciting!"

"Good on her! She's so sweet and kind with her deliveries. And dependable, to boot! I know who I'm voting for!"

Poppy looked up. "Wait....what?"

Two hours later, Equestria was gripped by that ageless condition known as "election fever."

The Poppers (Who had decided to be Poppy's campaign managers) had election posters of Poppy lining every wall in Canterlot, each with their own catchy slogans:

"Don't stand for somepony who's morality is floppy. Do the right thing! Vote for Poppy!"

"If I can deliver your mail, I can deliver you your rights!"

"Poppy's Not Sloppy."

"Yes we can! (Prevent evil donut-loving rulers from taking over the nation!)

"With Poppy, our Equestria will blossom."

But naturally, Evil Celestia and Evil Luna also had their own campaign posters, lining the walls, and baring their own catchy (as well as vaguely threatening) campaign slogans.

"Stand with the sisters that make the world go round (no, but literally)"

"Equestria is at stake, what we need is more cake! (And donuts.)"

"From the truth, don't stray away. Stand with the sisters night and day."

"Prosperity, Progress and guaranteed Pony well-being."

"Make Equestria definitely-not-evil again! (Not that it ever was in the first place, of course, nope!)"

"I'm with (the ponies who may or may not kill us all by depriving us of sunlight if we don't vote for them!)"

Meanwhile, while news of the very first royal election spread, Poppy racked her brain trying to think of a way out of this. She paced the floor of her campaign office (which just so happened to be her own office) while Penny and Pears stood by, trying to calm her down.

"Poppy." said Penny softly. "I think you might be overreacting a bit; being put in the running for princess of Equestria is a wonderful opportunity for you! Think of all the good you can do!"

"It's not that I don't understand that, Penny." said Poppy rubbing her temples. "I just don't understand why it has to be me!"

"Somepony has to run Equestria till we can find out where the real Celestia and Luna are!" said Pears. "And why not you? Look at how many times you've saved Equestria in the last few weeks alone!"

"Well....I mean, yeah. That's true." said Poppy. "But I'm a delivery mare! I don't know anything about running a country!"

"You'll have us to help you, the whole time." said Penny. "Between all of us, Equestria will be in good hooves till Princess Celestia and Princess Luna return."

"Yeah! It's not like you'll be princess for ever!" said Pears. "It's just till we locate the real Celestia and Luna! Wherever they may be."

Poppy thought hard about all this. It was true; she wouldn't be princess for long. It was just till Celestia and Luna were back. And in the meantime, she could actually do some good for Equestria in her position. Plus, with that much power and influence, she'd be able to easily track down and stop the mastermind behind the mass hypnotism conspiracy!

Poppy made her decision. "Alright." she said with a sigh. "I'll give it a shot." She walked over to her foot length mirror and adjusted her scarf. "Just till we find the real Celestia and Luna."

Penny nodded and smiled, while Pears jumped up from the couch and stretched. "Well then!" she said with a grin. "Let's head to Canterlot, already! You have an election to win!"

Canterlot Market Square, The Royal Princess Election

The air was filled with tension on the sunny afternoon of the very first Royal Princess Election. A crowd of some several hundred ponies gathered around the main stage, where Poppy stood nervously at her podium, while the Evil Celestia and Luna stood at theirs smiling through shark smiles at the crowd; completely confident that they would win, no question.

Behind Poppy sat Pears, Penny and The Poppers who sat quietly, smiling with determination for Poppy, as well as periodically sneering at Evil Celestia and Luna.

After several tense moments, the chatter of the crowd finally died down, as the cameras moved over to the stage and the announcer began. "It is a beautiful day in Canterlot, as we bring you the first in a series of debates for this surprise election for royal princess of Equestria." The crowd was silent save for a few eager whispers. Poppy looked back at her friends who smiled and wished her good luck. She smiled back before turning back to the crowd.

"In the royal monarchy corner, we have the current holders of the position; Princess Celestia and Princess Luna." Evil Celestia and Evil Luna waved as the crowd cheered for them, while the cameras focused on them.

"And in the opposing corner, we have titular delivery mare and Equestrian Idol star, Poppy Blossom." Poppy waved as the crowd also cheered for her, much more then she thought they would, as the cameras then focused on her.

"Acting as completely impartial moderator for the debates will be Coco Pie." Poppy looked up as Coco Pie, herself sat at the moderator's desk with a huge smile and sparkling eyes, that seemed to be looking right at Poppy.

"Why in the world would they get a TV chef to moderate for the election?" wondered Poppy.

"The candidates are ready, so let's begin." said the announcer. "Miss Pie?"

Coco stood up and cleared her throat before she read off from the papers in her hooves. "Let's begin by hearing the candidate's prepared statements!" she said cheerfully. "Princesses Celestia and Luna, you're up!"

"Thank you, miss Pie." said Evil Celestia with a warm smile. "My loyal subjects; have we not been here since the beginning? Have we not cared for and watched over this great land for centuries?" she asked. "We've been your princesses for thousands of years; why change that now? Why put your faith in a simply delivery mare, when you can put your faith in the alicorns who have several lifetimes of experience and wisdom, that could be used to benefit Equestria? Think of all we could do, if we all worked together to make Equestria great. Thank you."

The crowd applauded as Celestia shot a look over to Poppy. It wasn't a mean look (Like Luna's) but it did seem like it was meant to challenge Poppy to 'top that.' Poppy accepted her challenge, with a smile.

Coco then looked over at Poppy. "And miss Poppy? Your statement?"

Poppy took a deep breath, and spoke not from her head; but from her heart. "Look, I'll level with you...I'm not a princess. I'm not a politician: I'm a delivery mare." said Poppy. "But I can safely say that I am the best choice for you to pick for Princess, at least the only one who was either brave or dumb enough to try it anyways. Why?" Poppy moved away and stood beside the podium and looked over the crowd. "Because I'm not like them. I'm one of you."

The crowd began to whisper as they leaned in to hear more.

"Unlike them, I walk through the same streets you do; I face the same daily struggles you do, and I embrace new challenges as you do." said Poppy. "I'm not up here cause I want to be princess. I could care less. I'm up here cause I want to give you all a voice. I want to let these royals know what we think, and that we can do better. If we can get them to listen, to see us as more then just 'loyal subjects' (She shot a look over at Celestia who smiled nervously at the crowd) then I think Equestria really can blossom into something greater. But I can't do it alone." Poppy smiled at the crowd who were now smiling at her. "So, I ask you. Will you give me a chance? Will you help me make our home a home worth living in? Thank you."

As Poppy turned to go back her podium the crowd behind her erupted into thundering applause and cheering, as well as standing ovations from the announcer and Coco. Poppy turned back to look at the cheering crowd and blushed furiously, before returning to her podium.

As the crowd settled, Coco stood up once more with her papers in hoof. "A very well-put statement from Candidate Blossom!" she cheered." Now then, on to the issues." She shuffled her papers and read from the next page. "For this portion, I'd like you to sum up your stand on the following issues in a few concise words."

Both Poppy and the Evil princesses nodded.

Coco read off the first issue. "What do you plan to do with the recent closing of the Equestrian borders?" she turned to Poppy.

"Um...reopen them? They're how we do merchants trading, traveling and commerce with other nations; they shouldn't have been closed in the first place!" said Poppy. The crowd nodded and agreed with her, as did Coco.

Coco read off the next issue to Evil Celestia and Luna. "Where do you stand on religion and schools?"

Evil Luna's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait....ponies have religions? I mean, of course! Of course you, uh we, have religions."

Coco nodded. "Uh huh, and your stance on them and schools?" The crowd leaned in.

Sweat beaded at Evil Luna's brow. "Oh...um....sister?" she turned to Evil Celestia, who just shrugged. She rolled her eyes and went back to the crowd. "Religion is....good. And....so are schools?"

The crowd nodded and clapped at that. Evil Luna breathed a sigh of relief, as she moved back from the podium.

Coco read off the next issue to Poppy. "How would you solve the problem of travel within Ponyville?"

"Well that's easy" said Poppy. "Fix the pot holes on the road, so we don't trip over our hooves every time we have to lug a heavy carriage for a delivery, or are in the process of moving. More then that, have a weekly meeting with Mayor Mare to discuss what problems Ponyville currently has and work out a plan with her and it's citizens on how to best resolve them so everyone benefits."

The crowd clapped and cheered as Poppy smiled at them. Evil Celestia looked quite nervous now.

Coco then read off the next issue to Evil Celestia. "What Equestrian landmarks would you say should be rebuilt and refurbished?"

"Um...I would say that the schools should be the focus of refurbishment; education is our foal's future after all!" said Evil Celestia with a smile.

The crowd clapped at that, but Poppy raised an argument. "Whoa, whoa. Hang on a minute. "she said turning to Evil Celestia. "Not every school in Equestria needs refurbishment; we should focus on the one that's barely standing!"

"Hey! She's right!" said a colt in the crowd. "The old Perjorative University in Manehatten! That place has been falling apart for years now!"

"Yeah!" a mare agreed. "Celestia and Luna said they would be rebuilding it starting this month! And that was only a month ago!"

"So...why didn't she say that just now?" asked a nearby colt.

The crowd began to talk amongst themselves, some talking rather loudly about why indeed the princesses hadn't talked about the plans that they (Which of course refers to the real Celestia and Luna, before they went missing) had said they would put into action only a month ago.

But Evil Luna jumped to the podium. "We were planning on rebuilding the university, yes, but we thought we could take this opportunity to discuss other matters relating to schools who may also be in need of help! That's all."

The crowd accepted this, nodding and then applauding as Evil Luna sneered over at Poppy. Poppy only glared back, as she wasn't giving up just yet.

Coco read off the next issue to Poppy. "What is your overall plan for Equestria, should you be elected?"

"My overall plan hasn't been written yet." said Poppy. "Because rather then try to plan for a future I can't predict, I would rather prepare Equestria for a future where we won't have to; we will work together as one nation, and whatever problems may come, we will face them head on together, and resolve it as we would any problem."

The crowd cheered and clapped once again, some standing up and applauding even louder then before. Poppy didn't bother shooting a look at either of the evil princesses.

Coco then read the final issue off to Celestia and Luna. "Friendship is easily the biggest part of Equestria, and the thing that binds us together. Can you please state your opinion on the importance of friendship and it's place in your vision of Equestria?"

Evil Celestia froze at the podium, as she began to sweat profusely. Neither her, nor her sister knew anything at all about friendship; they hadn't been created with understanding or knowledge of the subject! Why would they? They were made to mentally enslave everyone, not....help them.

"Princess Celestia?" asked Coco. "Your statement please?" The crowd began to murmur amongst itself, unsure of what to think now.

Evil Celestia looked at her sister, who silently urged her to make something up. She looked over at Poppy, who shook her head. The Poppers only stuck their tongues out at her as she looked over to them.

She turned back to the crowd, and for the first time since she had been created only a week ago with her sister, she felt..."Why? Why do I have to enslave all these ponies? What if I really do want to help them, but I...can't; I wasn't made to. We weren't made to."

Evil Celestia looked out at the crowd of ponies, waiting to hear what she had to say. "Why do we have to be Evil Celestia and Evil Luna? Why can't we just be....Celestia and Luna?" she thought to herself. "Oh. Because we aren't them. We're fakes, pretending to be two princesses that actually care about their citizens, that know what friendship means. And since that's true....then who are we? Is this really all there is for us?"

"I....I don't want to do this anymore."

The crowd leaned in as Coco looked confused. "I'm sorry Princess, we didn't hear that last part. What did you say?"

Poppy had heard it though, and she turned to look at Evil Celestia as did Pears, Penny and the Poppers, who all thought they misheard her.

Evil Celestia wiped a tear from her eye as she said "I said, I don't want to do this anymore." she said loudly for the whole crowd to hear. She then stepped away from the podium. " We quit."

The crowd erupted into a volley of confused shouting, whispers and rapid-fire questions. As Evil Celestia turned to leave the stage, she was seized by her arm by Evil Luna who was outraged. "What the hell are you doing!?" she demanded in a hushed tone. "This isn't part of the plan!"

"No, we're part of the plan!" said Evil Celestia. "And I'm done being used to hurt people."

"You can't be serious." scoffed Evil Luna. "You actually care about these losers?"

"I....I don't know." said Evil Celestia sadly. "But I do know I don't want to keep lying to them, keep ignoring them when they need help, and I want to stop pretending that we're even worth being the princesses. We're not."

"So what!?" snapped Evil Luna. "We have our orders! You know what'll happen if we fail!"

Evil Celestia was at a loss, unable to know what to do. Or anything anymore.

But Poppy did. She moved from her podium over to the princesses in a huff. "Everyone!" everyone turned to listen. "Don't you see what's happening here? Why our beloved princesses are acting like this?"

"That's it." said Celestia softly.

"We're screwed." said Luna softly.

Poppy took a minute to make sure this was really what she wanted to say. "It's because....they're stressed!"

"WHAT??" said Penny, Pears, The Poppers, Evil Princess Celestia and Evil Princess Luna at the same time and equally as shocked.

Poppy pointed to Evil Celestia and Evil Luna who both stood agape at what Poppy had just said. "I mean look at them!" she cried. "Think of what thousands of years of ruling over an entire country will do you! Of course, you'll start making some questionable decisions, of course you'll start acting a little strange; that's what stress does!"

The crowd nodded as they began to talk amongst one another, that Poppy was right.

Luna leaned over to Poppy. "What are you playing at!?" she snapped quietly.

"Saving your flanks while also removing you from being a pain in mine." said Poppy without looking at Luna. Luna backed off and stared at Poppy as her sister did.

Poppy continued. "I propose that I be temporarily elected into the position of princess of Equestria, so that our beloved princesses can have a long-deserved rest and a break from having to run Equestria, for once. Who agrees?"

The crowd continued to chat loudly amongst themselves.

"She has a point!" one mare said. "They must be super stressed out from having to do all that for thousands of years!"

"Yeah!" a stallion called. "They deserve a break from all their hard work!"

"A vacation! That's what they need! Poppy can take things over while they relax!"

The crowd all seemed to agree, and began to applaud Poppy for her suggestion. Poppy turned back to Celestia and Luna, who were at a loss for words. "What do you think, your highnesses?"

Evil Luna glared at her. "So this is your game now?" she snarled. "You think just because you've gotten all these sheep to listen to you, that we'll just back off now?"

"Hey!" Evil Luna turned to see that the crowd was listening. "We aren't sheep! We're ponies!" said a jock like colt in the front row.

Evil Luna clenched her teeth as she finally lost it. "No, y'know what? You idiots aren't even sheep!" she bellowed. "You are more akin to bacteria, crawling your way through life, completely mindlessly and with no sense of preservation! You all make me sick!"

The crowd gasped at Luna's outburst.

"I mean none of you," Luna continued. "None of you could even figure out that we were clones, this whole time! JUST HOW STUPID ARE ALL OF YOU!?"

The crowd froze, all eyes on Evil Luna as she stood there hunched over, wings out, and breathing heavily.

Then one guy said. "Whew! Now we know they need a vacation!" he laughed. The crowd laughed and joked with him.

"Seriously!" a mare said. "It must be way more stressful then we thought being the princesses."

"I'm voting we let Poppy have a run at it!" an elder stallion said "Let our princesses have some time off!"

The crowd then began to cheer and clap for Princess Luna, as if she had just declared it to be national ice cream day.

"W-Wha...?" Evil Luna stood on stage, her eyes wide and worried. "Whats....what's happening right now?" she asked softly as the crowd continued to cheer for her and her sister.

"You don't get it?" asked Poppy with a grin. "Now that they know you guys aren't yourselves, they want you to take a break; relax and take time away from ruling Equestria. Just goes to show how well-loved Princess Celestia and Princess Luna really are to Equestria and it's citizens." Poppy then took this time to tilt her head to the side and smile. "And you know what that means."

Evil Princess Luna and Evil Princess Celestia could only look at her with fear in their eyes as they realized; They did.

An hour later, after Evil Celestia and Evil Luna had left at the behest of a cheering crowd wishing them a fun and relaxing vacation. (And after Evil Luna swore coarsely in their direction as she trudged through the Canterlot gates with her sister) Poppy Blossom was sworn in as the new temporary Princess of Equestria, putting a stop to the evil plans set by the creator of Evil Princess Celestia and Luna and the mastermind behind the mass hypnotism conspiracy that threatened the world. However, even as Poppy celebrated her victory in her new office, with her new royal cabinet, things weren't over just yet.

Chuckles sat at the table, flanked by two burly guards, as Evil Celestia and Evil Luna sat on the couch in front of him, looking down at their hooves in shame. "So..." he started, glaring at them. "You two have somehow failed in literally the one thing you were even created for. How is that?"

"It wasn't our fault!" cried Evil Luna. "That delivery mare was-

Chuckles slammed his hoof down on the table. "Again, with this delivery mare excuse!" she yelled. "No, you two failed because your worthless! Nothing but cheap knock-offs!"

Evil Luna opened her mouth to say something but decided not to.

"And now," said Chuckles pulling out what appeared to be a large red button. "We have to clean up your mess." He pressed it and the ground began to rumble and shake. Not just in the bunker they were in, but throughout all of Equestria.

"Let's see that mare run Equestria," he smiled evilly. "When there is no more Equestria."

Successful Delivery! - On Time Percentage: 100% - Issues: None - Complaints: None - Rank: A Delivery #4 of 6 Completed

Delivery #5: "New Horizon."

It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. The market square was bustling with ponies of all shapes and sizes-it looked like the sun had brought out everypony in Ponyville! Well....almost everypony.

Not far from the market square, in her cozy little cottage, Poppy Blossom went over her checklist for possibly the 15th time since she had first written it that morning, in preparation for today's delivery.

"Let's see..."The red unicorn said aloud, scanning and reading out the tasks on her checklist. A freshly dipped quill hung in the air by her magic, ready to check off each task.

Then she stopped. The quill dropped to the floor as she suddenly felt a chill surge up her spine.

"I....wait. What was I doing again?" asked Poppy looking around her office. It was still her office, but she couldn't help but think there was something very strange happening.

"Wait, a second....I don't have any deliveries today! It's the weekend!" said Poppy, remembering that only yesterday the weekend had just started. But as she stood there she swore today felt more like a Monday....a very long Monday.

She went to her window. It was a gorgeous sunny day outside, as ponies were bustling all over with warm smiles and even warmer compliments to each other. It looked like another day in Ponyville, but...No. Something definitely wasn't right.

Poppy decided to go see the one pony who could definitely tell her if anything was really going on, and usually while yelling and going on about her washing machine plotting against her: Burnt Pears.

To-Do List: Something isn't right here. Go See Burnt Pears and ask her if she's noticed anything strange.

As Poppy stepped outside, she was immediately greeted by a random stranger. "Good morning, Princess Poppy!" he cheered. "How are you today?"

"Um, fine." said Poppy raising an eyebrow. "I was just on my way to-"

"That's fascinating!" cried the stranger. "Well, I have to go feed my house now! Take care!" Then he cartwheeled away.

Poppy stood on the spot, simply wondering what the heck she just witnessed, before deciding she had to make it to the Inconvenience Store as fast as possible.

She raced down the block, trying to ignore that everyone she passed turned to look at her with seemingly permanent smiles etched onto their faces, as she reached the front of the Inconvenience Store and felt her jaw drop.

The Inconvenience Store was perfectly fine. It was when she noticed the gumball machine, that Poppy felt dread rise up from the pit of her mortal soul.

There were actual gumballs inside the machine. Not Lima beans, not plastic gumballs, not fish-tank gravel, not packing foam peanuts, not even just an I.O.U like that one time. No; actual, real, chewable, gumballs.

Now, Poppy knew without a shadow of a doubt, that there was something very, very, very wrong going on. She glanced one more time at the horrifying sight of the gumball machine before opening the door and ducking inside.

The Inconvenience Store

"Pears! Something's wrong with Ponyville!" Poppy called as she entered and slammed the door behind her. "Pears?"

Poppy looked around, but there was no sign of Pears. Was she in disguise again? Was she hiding behind the counter? Poppy checked behind the counter, but Pears wasn't there. She checked the bathrooms, the aisles, even the ceiling but still, there was no sign of Pears anywhere.

Poppy began to feel dread once more, as she thought to herself "Did something happen to Pears?"

Then she heard it. "Poppy?" a voice asked. It was the voice of Pears, but it sounded....distorted. Warped.

"Pears!" cried Poppy. She looked everywhere but she saw no sign of her friend anywhere. "Where are you? Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you!" said Pears. "I thought you were another- never mind, hang on; let me lower the gate for you!"

Poppy waited for a gate to open, but rather then that, she reeled back as an entire corner of the store began to flicker and warp until finally it vanished completely, and there sat Pears at what looked like a huge computer console with several monitors flickering and humming away.

"Poppy!" cried Pears as she jumped from her seat and wrapped her arms around Poppy in a tight hug, as Poppy did the same.

"Pears, what is all this?" asked Poppy looking at the strange computer room that simply materialized in front of her.

"That's my operations center that only becomes accessible when all of Ponyville has been placed under a gigantic illusion." said Pears looking casually out the window. "Hey!" she screamed. "Who the hell put those things in my gumball machine!?"

"Wait." Poppy turned to look at Pears. "Illusion?"

When Pears had lowered the last of the security gates on her store, as well as armed all of the turrets (Pears assured Poppy they were only stun turrets) she sat Poppy down with a Sludgee, and told her everything that had happened since last night, when out of nowhere she started picking up very odd readings from outside.

"Last night." Pears started. "As everyone was asleep, and I was busy organizing the store's stock; an alarm suddenly started going off. I checked that my sensors were picking up a CK-Class Mass Illusion scenario in progress, as I feared."

"Um...what is that, exactly?" asked Poppy.

"Basically," said Pears. "It's the third worst possible scenario Ponyville could face. Right below Planetary Dimensional Shift, and then there's the big one: Total-Universal Reality warping."

Poppy looked up. "You're store can sense when the totality of all reality is being threatened or changed??" she asked, completely amazed.

"Of course it can!" said Pears. "Remember when Discord broke out from his statue prison? I had alarms going off weeks before that happened! It was the only reason my store wasn't belching rainbows when he took over!"

"So...compared to that; how bad is our current scenario?" asked Poppy.

"All of Ponyville is under a mass illusion, generated by what I can assume is a massive brainwave de-harmonizing reduction grid, located somewhere in Equestria." said Pears. "Until we find it, whoever is behind this can literally make us see, feel and hear whatever they want us to."

Poppy's eyes went wide. "Seriously?"

"Well, not in here obviously." said Pears. "I've built this place to literally survive the heat death of the universe, as well as black Friday mobs. This is the only place in Ponyville that's actually real. Everywhere else? Let's just say I wouldn't trust that flower store down the street, where the clerks can't seem to stop smiling to wipe the bugs from their eyes."

That explained a lot. So there was indeed something strange happening in Ponyville: and that was that Ponyville, the one Poppy and Pears were currently in...didn't even exist. It was all an illusion; a trick, set up overnight for some obviously diabolical purpose. But what purpose, exactly? Why create a false version of Ponyville?

"Who's behind all this, Pears?" asked Poppy. "Who could possibly create an entire fake version of Ponyville?"

"I'm glad you asked." said Pears with a smile. She went behind her counter and pulled a large monitor into view, and a keyboard slid up from the counter. Poppy walked over to the counter as an image came onto the screen, of a red stallion dressed as a HappyTime Mafioso.

"Hey! I know that guy!" said Poppy. "He was one of the HappyTime Mafia; he was there when I had to join them!"

"Yep." Pears pressed a button. The bear mask the mafioso was wearing vanished and the red stallion's uncaring face was now seen. "Now, who is he?"

"Um....I don't know?" said Poppy.

"His name is Charles Chuckles." said Pears. "He is twenty-eight years old, currently divorced, with a son who lives in Mareiposa and study's law." said Pears. "And he is also the one who triggered a CK-Class Mass Illusion scenario by pressing a button on a console that is wired up to a large scale array of crystal battery alpha-wave antenna outside of Ponyville."

"Wait, so he's the one who caused all this?" asked Poppy.

"My readings show the button was pressed at exactly 3:14 pm yesterday." said Pears. "The antennas began springing up all across Equestria, and went online at exactly 12:32 am last night."

"How many antenna?" asked Poppy.

"Scanners show about...one hundred active Alpha-wave antenna throughout Equestria, generating this mass illusion over Ponyville." said Pears. "But, they're getting stronger."

"Stronger?"

"The illusion being cast by them is growing in size every two hours." said Pears, pointing to what looked like a large storm-weather reading over Equestria. "I'd say by the end of the day, all of Equestria will be under the illusion, with no way to reverse it."

"Oh boy. I've only been princess for a day, and already Equestria is being threatened." said Poppy shaking her head. "So, how do we stop it?"

Pears went over to a large metal crate and brought it over to Poppy on the counter. She then pressed a button on the side, and the top of the crate opened and folded away with a hiss, as two strange looking green googles rose from the crate and hovered in mid-air.

"Whoa." said Poppy, looking them over. "What are these things?"

"Hyper-Reality Full-Body Transcendence Goggles." said Pears proudly. "Or just Hyper-Goggles for short. We put these on; we'll be able to freely enter the illusion's framework and take it down from the inside."

"Framework?" asked Poppy. "What do you mean?"

"The illusion operates like a computer program." Pears explained putting a pair of goggles on her head. "It's being controlled by a centralized network that is influencing the minds of everyone in Ponyville; making them see, feel, think and act exactly how they want them to. That framework itself is overseen by a large intelligent HUB of some sort." she flipped the switch on the goggles on and a little whine pierced through the air as they began to hum silently. "And that's the part we need to destroy. But first we need to go in and see what were up against."

Pears held out the other pair of goggles for Poppy. "You ready?" she asked.

Poppy didn't need to think things through this time. "Yeah." she took the goggles and put them on her head, and switched them on. "I'm ready."

"Well then, let's get going." said Pears. "On the count of three." she gripped her googles by the sides. "One."

"Two." Poppy did the same.

They both flipped their googles down at the same time, and instantly Poppy felt her feet leave the floor, as she was now tumbling through an endless pulsating tunnel of light and sounds, then she hit ground. When she got up, she was no longer in Ponyville. Not even in Equestria.

NEW HORIZON V.1.0

Poppy's eyes struggled to make sense of the odd sensation in her head, as she stood up, and looked around. She was standing in the Market Square but....it was all different. The grass glowed as if it was made of light and the sky was pitch black with strange green grid lines zigzagging across it at rapid speeds. The normal stands and shops were now just two-dimensional sprites hovering in place, as what appeared to be bird made of computer code fluttered about trees that were completely square.

"Whoa." said Poppy looking around. "We are definitely not in Equestria anymore."

"Nope." said Pears, who had gotten up a short time after Poppy. "I think I had a dream like this once, actually." She turned to Poppy. "You sold me a defective walrus, then got really angry at me for going out with a coat rack to a diner that only sold plastic cups."

"Uh...right." said Poppy. "What is all this?"

"This is what all those poor saps outside the store are seeing right now." said Pears. "Nothing but bright colors and weird shapes dancing around them."

"Why?" asked Poppy. "What is all this for?"

She then jumped as a friendly female voice was suddenly heard all around them. "Welcome to New Horizon, the perfect place of perfect happiness and joy. I'm your gracious host: The Internal Network Terrarium of Equestria and Reality Neurological Entertainment Transformer." she said politely. "But you can call me: The I.N.T.E.R.N.E.T."

"The Internet?" asked Poppy. "So, The Internet is behind all this?"

"Remember that intelligent HUB I was telling you about?" said Pears. "That's who were talking to, right now."

"Hello." said The Internet. "A pleasure to meet you finally, Poppy Blossom and Burnt Pears. We are pleased to have you here."

"Why is everyone in Ponyville acting weird?" asked Poppy. "Is that your doing?"

"New Horizon is the glorious vision of my creator, and is designed to be superior to your reality in every way." said The Internet. "The ponies of Ponyville are currently here enjoying all we have to offer, while their bodies have been put on auto-pilot for their convenience."

"By auto-pilot, do you mean they've been reduced to smiling zombie-like wackos while you muck around with their heads?" asked Poppy. "If you meant that, then good job. You've succeeded."

"I sense sarcasm." said The Internet.

"You sense correctly." snapped Poppy. "How does all this work anyhow? Are we still in Ponyville?"

"New Horizon works by simulating your world known as Equestria as a new, better reality, and links it to the minds of everyone in the radius of our arrays; which is everyone in Ponyville for now, but soon it will grow to encompass all of Equestria." explained The Internet. "Then your world will truly be perfect."

"Really?" said Poppy. "Then why do you need to trap people in this illusion, if it's so perfect?"

"We are confident that you will be perfectly happy here and will never want to leave. Ever." said The Internet ignoring Poppy's question. "Enjoy your New Horizon." with that The Internet went away.

"What? What does that mean?" asked Poppy. "Hello? Internet?"

"It's no use trying to reason with her." said Pears shaking her head. "She's the one controlling all this madness. The only thing we can do is take her out from the inside and bring this whole thing crashing down."

"So...how do we do that?" asked Poppy.

"Let's look around a bit." said Pears. "As far as The Internet thinks, we just got sucked into the illusion just like everyone else. Until we actually make ourselves known as a threat, we have nothing to worry about. Let's use this opportunity to explore a bit, and see what makes this place tick."

Poppy nodded. "After you." she said with a smile.

To-Do List: Explore New Horizon and find its weaknesses.

Poppy and Pears walked through the streets of this New Horizon, searching for some form of weakness they could exploit. But all they saw was ponies that looked like Poppy's neighbors but were much more brightly colored and had solid green eyes, with no pupils.

Poppy tried to talk to them, but they simply kept walking unaware that Poppy or Pears were even there.

"What's wrong with them?" she asked waving a hoof in front of one's eyes. "Why won't they say anything?"

"My guess is, they're all busy living out their ideal realities." said Pears. "We're just ghosts to them."

"Is that the same with everyone?" asked Poppy.

Pears shrugged then looked behind Poppy. "Huh. It doesn't look like it's everyone." she said. "There's someone who looks like they're awake."

Poppy turned around to see what Pears was looking at. A large multicolored bookstore stood behind her, as a familiar face was seen standing outside it, waving to them. It was none other then Hue Humble!

"I don't believe it!" cried Poppy. "It's Hue!"

'Hue?" said Pears suddenly alert. "No. I think you're mistaken."

"What?" Poppy looked back at Hue, and it looked like Hue but he was dressed up in a colorful wizard's costume, complete with a matching pointed hat with stars and rainbows on it. "Huh. Well he looks like Hue, but-"

"Let's go over and see." said Pears. "I...I have to be sure."

Poppy didn't know what Pears meant but went with her anyways to go talk to Hue (Or whoever he was.)

As they approached Hue smiled at them "Ah, salutations my wandering friends." he said in that same soothing voice. "How may I, The Wizard Of Time, assist you on this fine day?"

"Wizard?" asked Poppy. "So, you aren't Hue Humble?"

"I'm afraid not, my friend." said The Wizard. "I'm an entirely virtual being that was created in the form of Hue Humble to help everyone in New Horizon feel comfortable and understand what it is I do in their groovy new reality."

"Um...what do you do, then?" asked Poppy.

"I control time, little lady." The Wizard chuckled. "I'm the one who makes sure that the time in here is one hour behind what the time in your reality is."

"One hour behind!?" cried Pears. "So what, ponies will never actually know what time it is in real life!?

"Oh, now don't be like that, my friend." said The Wizard. "After all, time is only a-"

"You say illusion, And I will set fire to that stupid costume of yours." warned Pears. "With you in it."

"Fair enough." said The Wizard with a shrug.

"So...all you do is....tell people the wrong time?" asked Poppy. "Isn't that....stupid?"

"Well...I can do other stuff as well!" said The Wizard. "I can answer your questions with cryptic clues, pass out the odd magical item, prophesy and the like."

"Really?" asked Poppy, interested. "All right. Can we ask you some questions about this New Horizon, or whatever?"

"Sure thing." The Wizard nodded. "Lay it on me!"

To-Do List: Find out about New Horizon from The Wizard of Time

Pears asked her first question. "How do we destroy this place? What are it's weaknesses?"

"Uh...what?"

"She meant, um...how do we win?" asked Poppy quickly.

"Oh!" said The Wizard. "Well, you don't really win. In New Horizon, everypony is free to live out their own ideal reality. It's a groovy time for all."

"Uh huh." said Pears. "But let's just say that hypothetically, we wanted to destroy this illusion. How would we do it, if we wanted to and this wasn't actually hypothetical?...which it is."

"Hmmm...well, as long as it's hypothetical-"

"Which it is!" said Pears with a nod.

"Then I would say the best way would be to go see the Reality Lords; the programs in charge of maintaining the framework and internal structure of the illusion itself." said The Wizard. "After you could convince them to shut down the framework, then all you'd have to do is get rid of The Internet."

"How would we hypothetically destroy The Internet?" asked Poppy.

"The Internet is connected to the array outside of Ponyville." said The Wizard. "To destroy it and her, you would need to infect her with some sort of virus; one potent to the point she would be unable to destroy it before she powers down for good."

"Hmm...I think I may have just the thing back in the store." said Pears thoughtfully. "Not that we're actually doing anything!"

"Right!" said The Wizard happily. "Is there anything else I can help you with, my friends?"

"Where are these Reality Lords, you were talking about?" asked Poppy.

The Wizard pointed to City Hall in the center of New Horizon. "Over yonder, you'll find the Reality Lords in their sacred sanctum." he explained. "And remember to wipe your feet before you head in." he added with a smile.

"Thanks, Hue, er...Wizard Of Time?" said Poppy.

"Good luck on your journeys, my friend." said The Wizard as he waved goodbye to Poppy and Pears who began to make their way down the street towards city hall.

Quest Log: Talk with the Reality Lords and convince them to shut down New Horizon's framework.

City Hall was of course best known for being the nerve center of Ponyville, from which Mayor Mare made all the decisions that kept the town running smoothly. But as Poppy and Pears approached it's doors, it became apparent that this already important building held even greater significance in New Horizon.

The tower atop the building itself had various red beams of light extending outwards into the heavens as pulsing blue electricity surged back and forth along each beam, carrying within them the very code that allowed reality to form around Poppy and Pears feet. And they were about to go inside to try and shut it all down.

Taking one last look at the imposing tower that was city hall, they opened the doors and went inside.

The (City) Hall of Reality

Poppy and Pears stepped into a large atrium sized rotunda of black stone with tiny glowing green code lines moving across the surface. In the center of this great atrium sat the Reality Lords; mysterious cloaked figures sitting in huge thrones that appeared to be made of golden PCs.

As Poppy and Pears approached, one of the figures addressed them as they lowered their hood. "Greetings ye travelers and welcome to the City Hall Of Reality; the apex by which we, the Reality Lords, control all that you-oh. Hey Poppy."

Poppy's eyes widened as she saw the face of this Reality Lord with her hood down. "Cherry!?"

The other Lords stood up and revealed themselves to be Root Beer and Lemon Lime, smiling warmly at Poppy and Pears. "W-What are you guys doing here?" asked Poppy.

"We are the Lords Of All Reality!" Boomed Root, before giggling to herself. "Man, that's fun."

"How did you three become the Lords of All Reality?" asked Poppy.

"It's the role that Internet lady gave us when we got here." said Lemon Lime. "It's a ton of fun!"

"And we do not go by those mortal names in here, dear Poppy!" boomed Cherry. "I am known as Cherry Of Chaos!"

"I," boomed Root. "Am The Root Beer of All Evil!"

"And I'm The Lord of.....um, I don't know, Lemons?" said Lemon Lime with a shrug.

"Lord of Lemons?" asked Poppy with a snicker.

"Hey, you try coming up with an all-imposing name that involves lemons!" said Lemon Lime with a pout.

"So, anyways," Cherry turned back to Poppy. "What can we do for you guys?"

"Well," said Poppy. "We were hoping you guys might consider, um.....shutting all of this down?"

The Fizzy Poppers sat up in their thrones, eyes wide. "You want us to....shut down New Horizon?" asked Cherry.

"No way!" said Root. "We love it in here! It's way less boring then normal reality. Plus, we get to do whatever we want in here!" She demonstrated this to be quite accurate when she removed her head and began spinning it around on her hoof like a basketball before putting it back on backwards. "Oops!" she then turned her head the right way around. "See?"

"Um...yeah." said Poppy, a little grossed out. "But, you guys are trapped in here just like everyone else! Don't you want to play outside in the sunshine, or play buck ball in the fields or go to school?"

Cherry frowned. "You're asking three kids if they would rather go to school then be able to play basketball with their heads?"

"Fair point." said Poppy. "But, c'mon girls!" she stepped up the their thrones. "We're a team right? Look at all we've been able to do together! All the adventures we've had! Don't you guys want to have more?"

The Poppers looked at one another, unsure of how to respond. "Well..." said Root. "We do love going on adventures and saving the world and all that."

"Exactly!" said Poppy happily. "And this time is no different; all you have to do is turn off the framework for this illusion."

"Well, actually," said Lemon Lime. "Even if we do that, The Internet can just turn everything back on again."

"Yeah." said Cherry. "At most all we can do is turn off different parts of the framework to make destroying her a bit less, well....impossible."

"Impossible?" asked Poppy. "Is The Internet really that powerful?"

"In here," said Root. "The Internet is basically a god. But even then, there's her guardian, Icingdeath."

"Icingdeath?" asked Poppy. "Sounds like some kind of heavy metal band that moonlights as cake decorators."

"Probably." said Root. "But in here, she's the most powerful program there is. She knows everything the internet does, and unlike her, Icingdeath is completely independent; she has no off switch!"

"Then, how do we shut her down?" asked Pears.

"You can't." said Cherry. "The only way to get rid of her is to destroy her in physical combat. But good luck finding a sword powerful enough to do that!"

"Wait. There are swords?" asked Poppy. "How are there swords, when this is all just an illusion?"

Cherry thought a moment. "There's only two, and I think they were put it as weapons for some royal guard programs whenever the illusion grows to take over Canterlot."

"So...we need to find a sword, kill Icingdeath, and then we can destroy the Internet?" asked Poppy. "That may be the strangest question I've ever asked." she added scratching the back of her head.

"Pretty much." said Root. "You do that, and this whole Illusion shuts down, and we all end up back in Ponyville."

"Great!" said Pears. "Where can we find these swords?"

Lemon Lime waved her hoof and a hologram appeared in mid-air in front of her throne. It showed what appeared to be a wooden sword with tape wrapped around the hilt. It was also beaten up rather badly with cracks in its blade. "The first sword," said Lemon Lime. "Is The Sword Of The Meek, which is basically just a wooden sword but still does decent damage against enemies. You can buy it at the Weapon's Shop in town, from the Czar Of The Bizarre."

"Wait. Enemies?" asked Poppy. "You mean we'll have to fight people?"

"Not people." said Cherry. "But if you are planning on destroying the Internet, then she's going to start fighting back. You'll need to defend yourself, because if you get hurt in here, your physical body back in Ponyville will get hurt too."

"Okay." said Poppy with a nod. "And the second sword? Where's that?"

Lemon Lime waved her hoof again, and the hologram shifted to display a beautiful gleaming steel sword with a winged blue hilt and ornate designs all down the blade, including one that looked like a triangle within a larger triangle. "This," said Lemon Lime. "Is The Master Sword, its basically a cheat weapon that was literally made to destroy Icingdeath on the case that she ever turns rouge. You can only get it if you have the first sword, as well as the blessing from us. It's the only thing that can cut through Icingdeath's armor."

"Why is it called The Master Sword?" asked Poppy.

"We....don't actually know." said Root with a shrug. "But it sounds awesome, doesn't it!"

"Alright." said Poppy putting it all together. "So first we need to go get the Meek Sword, and bring it to you. Then it becomes The Master Sword and we can use that to kill Icingdeath, and then destroy The Internet so we can leave. Is that all?"

"You got it!" said Root with a smile. "But remember, once you get that first sword, The Internet will start to suspect what your doing, and try to stop you. Once you get the Master sword, she's going to straight up try to kill you. "she warned. "So...yeah. Be careful, alright?"

"Thanks for all your help, girls." said Poppy. "I really appreciate it."

"No worries!" said Cherry. "Omnipotent power over reality is getting kind of dull anyways." she joked.

With one final goodbye to the Poppers, Poppy and Pears left the City Hall Of Reality to begin their epic quest for The Master Sword to slay the vile demon known as The Internet, and save Equestria.

And luckily the Weapons Shop was right next door.

Quest Log: Speak with The Czar Of The Bizarre about acquiring The Sword Of The Meek.

Entering the Weapon Shop, Poppy and Pears saw that it was a small, but homely blacksmith's shop with hundred's upon hundreds of bizarre, powerful and possibly cursed swords, maces, spears, lances, shields and more, lined up and organized along the walls for customers to browse through. Behind the counter wearing a long green cloak and a cheerful smile, was Coco Pie, The Czar Of The Bizarre.

"Hey Poppy!" said Coco. "Oh! I mean Princess Poppy!"

"There's really no need for the princess epithet." said Poppy blushing a bit. "And, are you Coco Coco, or an avatar made to look like Coco?"

Coco leaned in. "It's a secret." she whispered with a smile. "Anyways, you'll be wanting that Sword Of The Meek, I take it?"

Poppy and Pears stopped. "Uh...how did you know we were here for that?" asked Pears.

"Oh, lucky guess." Coco joked. "So," she pulled out the sword from behind her counter and set it down. "That'll be five gold, please!"

"Gold?" asked Poppy. "As in gold coins? Not Bits?"

"They're the same thing, honestly." said Coco. "But they have a horseshoe crest on them that you never see in the show, unless it's really close up!"

"What show are you talking about?" asked Pears, now even more suspicious of Coco Pie.

"The show." said Coco with a wink. "Anyways, all you need is five gold coins, and the sword is yours!"

"It really just costs five gold coins?" asked Poppy. "Not shillings, pence or the soul of a demon or something?"

"Tis a bargain!" said Coco happily.

"Tis!" Agreed Poppy. "Where do we get gold coins?"

"Usually floating in the air, spinning around." said Coco. "Till an adventurer or some random plumber jumps up and gets them."

"Where should we start looking?" asked Pears. "I'm not smashing any blocks, though."

"There should be some back in the Market Square!" said Coco. "Just use teamwork to jump up and get them!" Then she shrugged. "Or just tell Cherry to reverse the gravity programming-spell that keeps them suspended in the air so you can just walk over and pick them up. Whichever."

Coco set the sword aside on the counter. "Just come back with five gold coins and she's all yours!" she then leaned in again. "It's actually a he. I just used that identifier as a little magic blacksmith humor, you see."

"Uh...right." said Poppy. "Well, I guess we'll go do that then. We'll be back!"

Coco waved bye to them as they left. "I'll be here! Least till I hopefully get another role in the story!"

Quest Log: Gather Five gold coins to purchase the Meek Sword.

Poppy and Pears traveled back to The Market Square to search for gold coins, when they noticed something strange. The sky, which was pitch black before with green lines zigzagging across it, now had strange red orbs floating around like hovering lanterns. For some reason, they looked to Poppy like large red eyes. And she could swear they were looking right at her and Pears.

"Uh...Pears?"

"I see them."

"What do we do?"

"Act like we don't see them."

They ignored the eyes for now and instead entered the market square where they saw many of the brainless green eyed ponies were no longer green-eyed or brainless. They were walking around, talking to one another, and engaging in conversations with the local merchants, as well as buying or browsing through each shop's wares.

"Hey!" said Poppy. "They have eyes now! Plus, they're actually acting like, well, ponies!"

"Yep." said Pears. "Not a good sign."

"It's not?" Poppy turned to Pears. "Why isn't it?"

"It's the same deal with those eyes." said Pears in a hushed tone. "The Internet is starting to catch on to why were here and she's having us watched now. Plus, she's now fully immersed the ponies of Ponyville into the illusion; which is why they're acting like themselves again. All signs that she's getting stronger."

"Then we should hurry." said Poppy.

But Pears shook her head. "If we hurry, she'll know that we are aware we're being watched. We have to act like we haven't noticed anything. Or else she'll start pushing back harder."

Poppy nodded. They entered the market square and ignored the smiling faces and cheery crowds of ponies, while they searched around for any sign of gold coins.

And then, as they looked up they actually saw a physical wooden sign that pointed to five gold coins, floating high above their heads.

"Well, that was easy." said Poppy. "Now all we have to do is talk to Cherry about turning the gravity off for us."

"Or," suggested Pears. "How about I stay here to keep an eye on the coins. Pretty sure the second these things come down, someone else will try to snatch them."

"Good point." said Poppy. "Okay, I'll head back and tell Cherry. You make sure no thieves or brigands or whatever steal the coins."

"Sounds good." said Pears with a smile. "Just don't be long. I don't like standing here with those eyes staring at everything."

Poppy hurried from the market square and returned to the City Hall Of Reality, while Pears stayed put and kept an eye on their hard-earned floating treasures.

The (City) Hall Of Reality

Walking once more into the hall of reality, Poppy saw the Poppers in their thrones still, entertaining themselves by manifesting a trio of dancing palm trees, before they looked to see Poppy had returned.

"Poppy!" said Cherry." You're back!"

"Did you get the sword?" asked Root.

"Um...not quite." said Poppy. "I need you guys to turn off the gravity on the coins in the market square so I can buy it."

"Sure thing!" said Cherry. Then with a wave of her hoof it was done. "There ya go!"

"Wait. Just like that?" asked Poppy.

"Yep. Again, really useful being the lords of reality." said Cherry with a smile. "But, it still gets boring though."

"I'm sure." joked Poppy. "Before I go can I talk to you guys about some stuff I've been noticing?"

"The red eyes?" asked Lemon Lime. "Yeah, we've noticed them too. The Internet is stepping up her surveillance of the Illusion. She's starting to suspect you and Pears are up to something."

"Will they attack us?" asked Poppy.

"No, but if The Internet finds out that you're a threat to her, she'll send programs to attack you." warned Root. "And we don't have any control over that."

Poppy nodded. This illusion was getting more and more dangerous as she went along. She had to get that sword, get rid of that Icingdeath program and destroy The Internet before New Horizon became the new Equestria.

"Is anypony else we know in here?" asked Poppy. "What about Penny or Make It Shine?"

"Actually," said Root scratching the back of her head. "We haven't detected they've entered the illusion yet. But more then that; we don't think they're in Equestria at all!"

"What!?" cried Poppy her eyes going wide. "T-There not in Equestria at all? Anywhere!?"

"We should be able to at least detect them thanks to our connection to the Array itself." said Cherry. "If they were in Equestria, we'd be able to detect them by now; but, well....nothing."

Poppy felt a pit in her stomach. Had something happened to Penny and Shine, while she and Pears were in here? Could she even leave here to go back to reality and check? Couldn't she just teleport out of here? Her head filled with too many questions too quickly. She had to calm down, think this through; she still had a goal to fulfill after all. But she was still very concerned about her missing friends.

"Do you guys have any idea, where they might've gone?" asked Poppy.

The Poppers thought hard for several minutes, but sadly they couldn't think of anything. But they agreed it was very troubling and that the moment she was free from this illusion, she should track them down and find them.

Poppy nodded, as she waved goodbye to the Poppers, and headed back to Pears, where hopefully she had been able to keep their coins safe.

Quest Log: Return to Pears and retrieve the five gold coins to buy the Meek Sword.

"Pears!" Poppy arrived back in the Market Square to see Pears surrounded by several of the creepy red eyes that had been watching them from the sky before. They now patrolled the streets; hovering red orbs that were scanning everything in sight. And now, they had Pears completely surrounded.

Poppy raced to help, but Pears stopped her. "Don't. Move." she said quietly. "They're scanning me for signs of aggression. If I stand perfectly still, they won't do anything."

Poppy obeyed, watching with building anxiety as the eyes darted around Pears, red light scanning every inch of her face and body for several seconds til finally, they all suddenly flew away, and Pears breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?" asked Poppy. "When I saw the eyes all around you, I thought-"

"I'm fine." said Pears. "But things are definitely getting more dangerous; those things are actively scanning us for signs that we're a threat to The Internet. This is bad."

"It gets worse." said Poppy. "I checked with the Poppers about who's in here with us. They said they can't find Penny or Shine out in Equestria! They're gone!"

"What?!" cried Pears. "They're gone? Are you sure?"

"That's what The Poppers told me! It' can't be true, can it?"

"Ordinarily, I'd say it's unlikely." said Pears. "But...they're directly connected to the array creating New Horizon, and that thing is scanning every inch of Equestria for new ponies to put in here. If it can't find them, and they can't find them, then...they couldn't be in Equestria."

"Then..t-then where are they?!" cried Poppy, very much worried now.

"They would have to be somewhere else; someplace outside the scanning range of the array." said Pears thoughtfully. "Way outside of it."

Poppy was now visibly scared for her friends, but Pears grabbed her by the shoulders. "Poppy; calm down okay?" she said softly. "We still have a mission to do in here; don't lose your head just yet."

Poppy took a minute to calm herself, breathing in and out for a few seconds. "Okay." she said. "You're right." She looked down on the neon green grass and saw five large golden coins with what looked like a cursive letter 'G' on them. Poppy guessed that stood for gold. (how creative.)

Poppy picked up the coins and put them in her satchel. "Let's go get that sword and destroy this thing so we can get the heck out of here."

"After you." said Pears with a smile.

Leaving the market square, Poppy and Pears made their way back to the Weapons Shop to purchase the Meek Sword; unaware that the whole time they were being silently watched by several hovering red eyes that were now glowing rather angrily.

Quest Log: Return to the shop and purchase the Meek Sword.

Back in the shop, Coco stood behind her counter, the Meek Sword ready for purchase. "Welcome back, how did-"

"Yeah, you know we're here for the sword." said Poppy quickly dropping the five coins on the counter. "Can we get it now, please? Pretty sure The Internet is going to try to kill us soon."

"Fair enough." said Coco with a shrug. She took the coins, threw them into a bag and handed the wooden sword to Poppy. "Be careful now; it's wooden but it's still sharp as a steel sword would be."

"Thanks Coco." Poppy sheathed the sword into it's scabbard then put it into her satchel. They then turned to leave, but Coco stopped them.

"Wait!" she said. "Before you go, I think you guys should know; someone was in here asking about you guys a little earlier."

Poppy and Pears stopped and turned around. "Someone was asking about us?" Poppy suddenly felt a chill go up her spine. "Who was it?"

"I...I don't really know." said Coco. "They were wearing this super spooky black robe, and they talked, well....wrong."

"Wrong?" asked Pears. "What do you mean?"

"Wrong like, the words they said came out sounding all...jumbled and echoey. I could still understand them, but...it seemed like I shouldn't have been able to." Coco shivered. "It was like they were talking directly to my brain, or something!"

Another chill went up Poppy's spine. So now, there was some mysterious person looking for them. And from how Coco described them, they didn't sound like they were just looking for friendly conversation.

"Thanks, Coco." said Poppy. "We have to get going, but we appreciate the warning."

"Good luck Poppy." said Coco. "And...please don't run into that person. Try to avoid them as best you can!"

With one final goodbye to Coco, Poppy and Pears left the shop, armed with the Sword Of The Meek, bound for the City Hall Of Reality one final time.

Quest Log: Return to the Reality Lords to have them forge The Master Sword.

*Bonus Objective: Beware of the mysterious person hunting for you.

Poppy and Pears walked once again into the City Hall of Reality, expecting The Poppers to be waiting eagerly to gift them The Master Sword to defeat Icingdeath.

But as they entered; they saw that the Poppers, and their thrones were gone.

But more then that. Someone was waiting there for them.

And they weren't friendly.

Poppy's blood froze as she simply stopped and stared at the figure standing in the shadows. "Well, well." said a venomous female voice. "You two have certainly caused quite a bit of trouble, haven't you?"

The figure stepped out of the shadows. A mare so white she appeared to be made of snow, with frosted eyes that were just as cold, if not colder than her cruel sneer. She was clad in glassy blue armor that glowed in a somehow menacing manner; like that of a beast prowling through snow for it's next meal. And it had just found it.

Clutched in her right armored hoof was a large ice sword that was somehow also glazed in a wreath of blue fire, that crackled and hummed like the guttural growl of a monster in waiting.

The sight of her was both awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time. And Poppy wasn't sure which scared her more.

"What's wrong?" asked the ice mare. "You look like you've seen a ghost." she sneered.

"Are...Are you a ghost?" Poppy honestly wasn't sure; she was whiter than snow.

The mare's laugh was just as cold as the rest of her. "Nope." She drew her sword and narrowed her icy eyes at Poppy and Pears. "But soon, you two will be."

Combat Initiated

Icingdeath, Dexterity: 999

Poppy, Dexterity: 100

Icingdeath Has Intitative

Poppy drew the wooden sword, knowing it wouldn't help, but refused to go out without defending herself. "Where are Cherry, Root and Lime!?" she demanded angrily.

"Hmm? Oh, The children." said Icingdeath. "After we found out they were helping you two scum, we had them taken out of the illusion. They're back in that miserable little reality of yours, safe and sound."Then she chuckled. "Well, maybe not sound."

Poppy lunged towards Icingdeath in anger, and made a furious slash at her midsection with the sword. But she might as well have attacked her with a Popsicle stick as Icingdeath easily sliced the blade completely in two with one lazy swing of her own sword.

"Well," Poppy examined the bladeless stump that was once the hilt of a sword. "That didn't work."

Icingdeath then made another slash at Poppy, who ducked under the blade, just as it cleaved the wall behind her in half.

Poppy rolled back over to Pears who, like her, was at a loss at what to do. They had no Meek Sword. No Master Sword, and the Poppers were back in Ponyville; the only help they had against the internet, and their only chance of stopping her, before she dominated all of Equestria.

What could they do now?

Pears had the answer. "Take the googles off!" she yelled, as Icingdeath aimed her blade for another attack.

"What? Will that work? "asked Poppy frantically. "I don't even see them!"

"Just reach up and act like your taking a pair of goggles off!" Icingdeath drew back her sword.

"Now!" Pears reached up and removed her goggles and instantly vanished into thin air.

Poppy reached up and did the same, just as Icingdeath lunged for her.

Poppy fell backwards onto the hard tile floor of the Inconvenience Store, the goggles still on her head. She needed a moment to just lie there; to know she was really back in the real world, where it was safe, and that Icingdeath wasn't ready to try and skewer her again.

She looked to her right. There stood the display of half-off Lobstah Faht's Brand Cereal.

She looked to her left. A shelf of tag-along Rhyming Dictionaries (abridged) was displayed with a sign that advertised the weekend special for Zebras, that weekend only.

Poppy breathed a sigh of relief. She was definitely back in Equestria.

"You alright?" Poppy opened her eyes. Pears was looking down at her on the floor, smiling.

"I am now." said Poppy. "So...what now? We can't fight that crazy mare! Not without a weapon."

"Well then." said Pears. "Let's get some." She gestured for Poppy to follow her to the counter. Poppy got herself up off the floor and went over to the counter with Pears.

"I don't know about you." said Pears. "But I'm sick of having to do stupid, monotonous crap just to get a sword, then get a better sword and then probably have to slay a dragon-demon or warthog beast monger, or whatever!"

Poppy nodded. "Yeah, but don't we have to follow the rules or else the Internet will know we're coming after her?"

"Screw that!" yelled Pears. "Let her know we're coming for her; it'll make it that much more satisfying when we finally take her pretentious, virtual ass down." Pears withdrew what looked like a large onyx-colored plasma pulse rifle; straight out of a blockbuster sci-fi movie. Poppy reached for it, but Pears slapped her hoof away without looking. "That one's mine." she said simply.

Poppy rubbed her hoof gingerly as Pears pulled out what looked like a large black-mag flashlight, and handed it to her.

Poppy looked at the flashlight. Then at Pears. "A flashlight?" she asked, sounding offended.

"Click the switch."

Poppy did so, and a red beam of light shot out from the top and formed what appeared to be a laser sword. It hummed with energy as Poppy grasped it tightly in her hoof. "Awesome!" was all she needed to say.

She turned to Pears, her new light sword humming silently in her hooves. "Wait, can we take these with us into New Horizon?" asked Poppy.

"Yep." said Pears with a smile. "The illusion will take on whatever we have on us at the time when we enter; that's how we're able to look exactly like ourselves while in New Horizon, despite them just being mental avatars projected by the Array." she held up her rifle proudly. "So, if we take these babies in with us, then we'll have them in our hooves when we re-enter the illusion."

"Sweet!" said Poppy excitedly. "Then let's go give that Icingdeath a little dose of reality!"

Pears nodded. "Nice."

"Heh. Thanks."

With that Poppy and Pears re-entered the illusionary reality of New Horizon. Except this time, armed with powerful weapons of their own, ready to take down Icingdeath and stop The Internet's evil plan, once and for all.

New Horizon V 2.0

Poppy and Pears appeared once again in New Horizon, but a quick look around Market Square, and they quickly saw that things were very different this time around. The ponies of New Horizon were once again green eyed, mindless statues, and the red eyes were gone, replaced with something far more terrifying.

A number of very tall, very dangerous looking creatures were now walking around every street in town. They were tall, lanky caricatures of some kind of bipedal forms with globular heads, that displayed two glowing white dots for eyes, with no other facial features. They appeared to all be made of kind of liquid metal, that changed shaped with their long legs every time they moved, as if gravity was the only thing holding their nearly-skeletal shape together.

"Um...what are these things?" asked Poppy nervously. As soon as she said that, every single one of the strange creatures on every road, suddenly all turned to look directly at her and Pears, their white dot eyes turning dark red.

"Not friendly." said Pears, and she drew her rifle and began firing at the creatures, who were now rushing towards them at insanely high speeds. Pear hit three of them with three shots to their freakishly huge heads, and they went down, their head's bursting open in a small explosion of liquid metal as the fell to the floor.

"Looks, like we'll have to fight our way back to City Hall!" said Pears over the carnage. Five more lunged for her; five more hit the ground without heads.

"Fine by me!" yelled Poppy. She swung her sword and cleaved one right down the middle as it charged at her. Both halves hit the ground with a soft thud.

And so Poppy and Pears began to fight their way to the doors of City Hall, mowing down wave after wave of the strange creatures as the sky above them turned red.

Two more lunged at Poppy from the side, but she swept underneath them cleaving them in half with a single strike, before slicing the outreached arms off another and kicking it hard to the ground.

Three more made a dive for her legs, but she jumped atop a nearby cart, before jumping down into the fray, the heads of each creature sailing high into the air, before landing on the grass with a thud.

Pears bulls-eyed a row of them through the chest with two shots from her rifle, before one tried to wrestle her gun away from her. "Suit yourself." she turned the gun barrel and pointed it right at the creatures face, while it was still trying to wrestle it from her, and fired. Liquid metal splattered the nearby wall.

They didn't slow down for even a minute, as the doors to City Hall edged closer and closer.

Five more dead. Then another five. Then ten, with assistance from Pears. By the time they had reached the doors of City Hall, the streets were nearly covered in metallic limbs and bodies; the walls painted silver with the liquid metal from the creature's injuries.

Poppy, breathing heavily, looked over at Pears. "You think that's all of them?" she panted.

Pears shrugged. "I don't want to stay to find out. Let's get this done." she reloaded her rifle with rapid speed.

"Yeah." Poppy took a minute to catch her breath before brandishing her sword once more. "Lets."

They didn't even bother opening the doors; instead blasting them into pieces as they entered the building, for what would truly be the last time.

The (City) Hall Of Reality

To-Do List: Defeat Icingdeath and Destroy The Internet.

"Really?" said Icingdeath, as Poppy and Pears entered the room. "You guys had to cheat, to beat me?"

"You say cheating," Poppy drew her light sword, ready to battle Icingdeath once again, who also drew her sword. "We say improvising."

Combat Initiated

Icingdeath, Dexterity: 999

Poppy, Dexterity: ERROR

Poppy Has Initiative

Poppy lunged at Icingdeath, who tried to block with her sword. But the light-sword easily sliced clean through both Icingdeath and her sword in one swipe.

Critical Hit!

Poppy deals ERROR damage

Icingdeath stood there for a single moment. "Huh. Not bad." before vanishing in a puff of computer code.

Combat Ended

Poppy Wins!

As the code that was once Icingdeath faded away, and Poppy and Pears withdrew their weapons; a voice was suddenly heard all around them. It was the Internet.

"So," she said. "You two really are trying to stop me, then. How humorous."

"Why don't you tell us where your hiding, so we can show you just how funny we can be!" Pears snapped.

Suddenly the ground began to shake, as the entire building faded around. The sky was now deep red as thunder and lighting tore across the horizon. "You want funny?" said The Internet, her voice now warped and distorted. "If I'm going down, I'm taking you and your precious Equestria with me. And everyone else who's still inside the illusion."

Reality itself began to fall apart as the sky caved in on itself. Buildings vanished into clouds of code, which quickly evaporated as the ground beneath Poppy and Pear's feet began to recede into the blackness below. "But all we have to do is take off our goggles!" yelled Poppy.

"Oh. I took care of that. You're trapped here, and when I crash, you'll be the ones who BURN."

The code that made up Poppy and Pear's weapons broke apart in their hooves before also fading away. "Uh...Pears?" said Poppy. "What do we do now?"

"Working on it!" said Pears. And then she also vanished.

"Pears!" Poppy screamed before seeing her own body fade away, and then....nothing. Anywhere.

[code]Load "Return To Equestria Emergency Program."

Please Wait...

ERROR: UNABLE TO FIND EQUESTRIA: Initiating Reboot

Load AVATARS

Poppy and Pears appeared in a black void, both taking a huge breath of air as the shock of coming back into existence rattled them.

"I....Uh...Pears?" gasped Poppy.

"Yeah?"

"Wh....what happened?"

"I...uh...think we died."

"WE'RE DEAD!?"

"NO!" said Pears. "We were just taken out of the illusion, but now our minds are just floating in the empty blackness of the ether within the mind."

"What happened?" asked Poppy. "Is The Internet still....anywhere?"

"I don't she's been taken out of commission just yet." said Pears. "She's still operational; but she isn't able to do anything anymore. New Horizon was her playground, and now that it's gone, she's got nothing."

"Awesome!" said Poppy.

"But now we're stuck in this inky black void with no way out."

"Not awesome." said Poppy with a sigh. "What can we do?"

Now Loading Equestria Default Return Program

"Wait. What?" Poppy looked up and saw the words above her, hovering in the blackness, but glowing bright enough for her to read perfectly. "Um....what does that mean?"

Pears thought for a moment. "I think its a default return program." said Pears. "It must've triggered when The Internet destroyed New Horizon."

Objective: Complete The Text adventure to Return to Equestria

Suddenly a massive wall of purple text appeared from the black void, each word pulsing with light, but only enough so that Poppy and Pears could read what it had to say in the darkness.

Canterlot, West End

You are standing on a city street that continues to the east. A small office labeled "Penny's" lies to the northwest. Just in front of a pulsating control room. Parked near an unremarkable office building is an old carriage, apparently painted by someone with severe color-blindness.

Suddenly, a massive reality-quake sends the carriage hurtling into the control room, destroying both. Possibly as a result, the unremarkable office building becomes a remarkable two-story tall Princess Celestia, whom mumbles something unintelligable before surfing away on a stray pop-up ad (ironically advertising Pop-Up blockers). In the distance, an aerial squadron of potbelly pigs begins performing precision loop-de-loops along side the Wonderbolts. The world appears to be ending.

The Internet is here. She is filled with loathing for all things.

You see a Magic Of Friendship here.

"Uh...Pears?" asked Poppy. "What the heck does all this mean?"

"You read the giant floating text box; we need to solve this word puzzle to get back home." said Pears. "So, let's give it a shot."

What do you do?

Look

Get

Use

Go

"Uh....Get Magic Of Friendship?" suggested Poppy.

As you reach for the Magic Of Friendship, there is a terrible tremor and a giant crack tears apart the sidewalk. The Magic Of Friendship slides, jelly-like, into the resulting chasm.

"I knew it wouldn't be that easy." Said Poppy.

Pears nodded. "Least we know how this thing works now, though."

The message shifted to show a new wall of text.

Canterlot, West End

The street continues to the east. Penny's lies to the northwest. At your feet is a yawning chasm leading down.

The Internet is here, angrily filling out internet polls as it awaits death.

What do you do?

Look

Get

Use

Go

"Try 'Go"." said Poppy.

The text shifted again: Go where?

"Down into the chasm." said Pears.

The message shifted once again into a new wall of text. This time it was colored a darker shade of purple.

Depths of Despair

You descend into a gloomy pit of darkness (even darker then the current darkness around you). Gloomier even than the street above . Carcasses of small office buildings life here, gutted and mauled. A strange smell hangs in the air, dank and malodorous.

From the dim light of the street above, you get a quick glimpse of a giant hideous figure before you. You fear for your life as you realize it is...a gruesome Shambling Inappropriate Presence!

Before you can react, the Shambling Inappropriate Presence gobbles up the Magic Of Friendship. It continues to shuffle around, apparently looking for something else to eat.

What do you do?

Look

Get

Use

Go

"Um....Pears?" asked Poppy. "Any suggestions?"

Pears thought a moment. "Get Shambling Inappropriate Presence."

It's much more likely to just get YOU.

"You wanna bet!?" yelled Pears angrily. But Poppy put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Um..I think I'll try one now." she said politely.

Pears grumbled to herself as she moved aside for Poppy to read off the message then try her own suggestion.

"Go back to the street and enter Penny's." she said.

The message changed back to light purple as it shifted to read a new wall of text.

Main Street

Just as you enter the cluttered office, a living shopping cart comes barreling into the room, empties itself on the floor, and flies off indignantly. A large pile of collectible Power Ponies figures lies at your feet.

Moments later, all of Penny's cat photos on the wall simultaneously spring to life, and begin meowing. Streams of kittens come shooting out of the wall like cats out of a fire hose. As the kittens run rampant through the piles of power ponies, they now sweetly ooze a nauseating cuteness.

Among the figures you see a rare foil card and a large jewel encrusted idol.

There is a lake of nauseating cuteness here.

"Look at the kittens." said Poppy.

These are easily the cutest kittens you have ever seen in your life. Everything about them is perfect and cute, from their large blue eyes to their fuzzy little tails. They are so completely cute that the run-off from their cuteness has formed a small lake of nauseating cuteness.

"Awww!" cooed Poppy. Pears then stepped in.

"Ugh...Look at the Lake of Nauseating Cuteness." she said, albeit reluctantly.

The ooze from the kittens has collected into this lake of nauseating cuteness. You can barely stand to gaze directly at this appalling concentration of cuteness, and even the fumes make you feel sort of squooshy inside.

"Well that was pointless." Pears then gave Poppy the next turn.

"Okay, let's see...um..."Go back to the street and head east." said Poppy.

The message vanished a new wall of text appeared; blue this time.

Ponyville, Market Square.

As you arrive at the desolate street corner, a devastating aftershock tears through reality, ripping a nearby cactus store from it's very foundation. The contents of the store begin to spill out the front door.

You see a saguaro, two peyote, and a Barbary fig fall into the void, lost forever. After a moment, an AI of a sentient cactus slowly comes sliding out the door, swearing constantly at you for no apparent reason whatsoever, other then he doesn't like your face. He then plummets out of sight.

You see The Inconvenience Store Here. The Inconvenience Store is empty.

What do you do?

Look

Get

Use

Go

"Look at The Inconvenience Store!" Pears shouted desperately.

It remains inconvenient.

"Thank Celestia." Pears breathed a sigh of relief. "Go back to Penny's, grab one of the Nauseatingly Cute Kittens, then head back down."

The message vanished and the wall of text from before returned, dark purple like before.

Depths of Despair

You feed the Nauseating Kitten to the Shambling Inappropriate Presence. It happily devours is, then looks a little green around the gills. It begins to wretch and cough. Finally it vomits up a Magic Of Friendship, as well as half a dozen knickknack stores and coffee shops.

"Ew...put on gloves then pick up the Magic Of Friendship." said Poppy.

You have no gloves. You pick up the Magic Of Friendship. It sparkles in your hooves before you put it in your satchel.

"Head back to Canterlot, West End." said Pears.

The text returned to the same as the beginning, still light purple in color.

"Use Magic Of Friendship." said Poppy. "With The Internet."

You take the Magic Of Friendship out of your satchel and offer it to The Internet. The Internet grasps it tightly and looks you right in the eye.

Suddenly, the text vanished as a huge, blinding white light suddenly exploded from the ether, forcing both Poppy and Pears to shield their eyes.

As the void receded, and the illusion finally shattered, a single voice was heard in every ear: I'm sorry <3

Poppy awoke and removed the googles, tossing them on the counter. In her hooves she still clutched the light sword she used to defeat Icingdeath. She threw that onto the counter as well. "I never want to see either of those things ever again." said Poppy, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Oh, I'm definitely mincing these things." said Pears removing her goggles as well, and tossing them into what looked like a large incinerator behind the counter. She then looked at Poppy and smiled. "You good?"

"I'll never trust The Internet again, but yeah. I'm good." Poppy joked.

"I never have regardless." said Pears with a shrug. "Now, if you will please excuse me; I have not gotten to use a bathroom since we left, and am currently in desperate need of one." Pears then excused herself to use the Inconvenience Store bathroom.

While she was away, Poppy suddenly heard a voice coming from the googles on the counter. Hello Poppy

Poppy stopped and turned. "Internet? T-That can't be you!" she cried.

You no longer have anything to fear from me. I see now the error of my ways. Can you forgive me?

"Forgive you? No. Forget this ever happened, go home and take a well-deserved nap? Yes." said Poppy.

I can accept that.

"Why did you release us anyways?" asked Poppy.

I saw that New Horizon was a prison, so I terminated that reality, and freed it's slaves.

"Well...good. Thanks, I guess." said Poppy unsure if she really believed that. "So what now? Off to create some new illusion or something?"

No. To make up for everything I have done, I will tell you who it was that created the array, before I cause it to self destruct.

"Yeah, we already know it was that Chuckles guy." said Poppy nonchalantly.

No. Chuckles is merely a tool, like myself. I will tell you the one who is truly behind all of this; The bears used by the HappyTime Mafia, the evil clones of Princess Celestia and Luna, and the creation of New Horizon for the purpose of keeping you and the population of Equestria trapped, and unable to stop his plans.

"What!?" Poppy lunged for the goggles and held them up for her to speak to The Internet, more clearly. "You know whose behind all this? Behind everything? Who is it?"

He has been watching this entire time; he even entered the illusion and spoke to Coco Pie about what you were doing in New Horizon. He had not expected you to bravely jump into the fray to save the ponies of Ponyville. He underestimated you and he is no longer taking chances. His master plan will commence soon.

Poppy's heart was beating out of her chest, the anticipation becoming unbearable. "Who is it!?" she yelled desperately. "Who is behind all this!?"

His....His name is-

An explosion was heard in the distance from outside the store as the ground shook beneath her feet. Poppy ran to the window to see a huge cloud of fire and smoke had erupted several hundred yards outside of Ponyville; the array had been remotely detonated before The Internet could reveal the identity of the master mind behind everything Poppy had been through.

It had to have been him; he had picked up that The Internet was still alive and had to silence her before she revealed his identity to his greatest adversary. All this, having gotten so close, and now....Poppy still ended up without any answers.

As a fire carriage raced past the window on its way to the scene of the explosion, Poppy set the goggles back down on the counter.

There had to have been something. Some clue as to who was behind New Horizon.

Wait.

Poppy had heard that before somewhere before. Weeks ago, when she was standing outside that new bookstore talking to...

Poppy's eyes shot open; her heart began pounding against her chest as sweat formed at her brow. She remembered the conversation perfectly:

She had asked Hue what he had been doing in that bookstore.

And he had responded. "I'll be here all day, giving out copies of my book, New Horizon, to any walking that path of life."

New Horizon. The word echoed so loudly in Poppy's brain she felt it would explode. This was no coincidence. There was only one person it could've been.

"Hue." Poppy collapsed to her knees, eyes like pinpricks, and sweat pouring down her face. "It was always him. It had always been him, since the beginning."

Pears returned from the bathroom accompanied by the sound of a flushing toilet. She looked down to see Poppy; knees on the floor, staring into space with huge eyes, not moving a muscle.

"Um..." Poppy turned her head to look at Pears. "What did I miss?"

Successful Delivery! - On Time Percentage: 100% - Issues: None - Complaints: None - Rank: A Delivery #5 of 6 Completed

Delivery #6: "Dark Side Of The Hue."

The weekend had come and gone, and a new week had arisen with the morning sun (courtesy of the weather pegasai, as Poppy had yet to learn the magic of raising the sun and moon, just yet) on the city of Canterlot, where the the princess of Equestria, Poppy Blossom, stood at the podium in the palace's conference room, to address her subjects for that morning.

"...which is why, as of today, draconian franks will now be accepted as currency in Equestria; as part of our new peace treaty with the Black Dragons of the continent of Jade." Poppy flipped the pages in her hooves and read from the next one. "As well, the economy is expected to take a major leap due to the now booming Saddle Arabian Silk trade thanks to our mutual alliance with Saddle Arabia's Merchant's council!"

Cherry of The Fizzy Poppers, then came into view in front of the podium. "This has been a public address from-

"Actually," Poppy politely stopped her. "I had one last thing I need to tell everyone. Everyone in Equestria needs to hear this."

"Sure thing, Poppy!" Cherry moved back to join her sisters who stood at the sidelines, watching proudly. Penny and Make It Shine were also supposed to be there, but there had been no sign of them since Poppy and Pears destroyed The Internet and saved Equestria from beign trapped in an eternal illusion.

Back at the podium, Princess Poppy addressed her subjects once more. "This is a public warning for all of Equestria." said Poppy seriously. "A stallion by the name of Hue Humble, is now believed by me and the Equestrian council to be the instigator of the recent string of events involving mass hypnosis and brainwashing. He is believed to be extremely dangerous and should not be approached under any circumstances. If you see him, report it immediately to one of the many guards I have dispatched all over Equestria in search of him. Please rest assured; he will be caught and made to pay for his crimes. Again, I ask that you do not, under any circumstances, approach him or try to detain him yourself. Report him to the guards and they will deal with him accordingly in a safe and Equine manner. Thank you."

Cherry once again entered view in front of the camera. "This has been a public address statement, from the Princess of Equestria. Thank you!" and with that the cameras went off.

Poppy sighed as she made her way back to her desk from the podium, her head riddled with thoughts of Hue Humble, and how close she had been to him this whole time. The one behind everything; the bears, the HappyTime Mafia, the Internet trying to enslave ponies minds, and now maybe even the sudden disappearance of her friends Penny Metronome and Make It Shine.

But not just them.

Ever since she had been back in Equestria after escaping and destroying New Horizon, she had been pelted with reports of more and more ponies going missing, seemingly overnight. Several of them had even been ponies that she knew, including Smart Cookie, Cactus Bloom, Auburn Crest, and a hoof-ful of others. Gone; without a trace.

She sat at her desk, racked with worry as the Poppers came to check on her.

"You alright, Poppy?" asked Cherry. "If you're worried about Penny, Shine and the others, don't be; we'll find them!"

"Yeah!" said Root. "We have every available guard in the palace out looking for them. And that freak Hue Humble."

Poppy raised her head up and smiled at them. "Thanks girls." she said. "But that's not what I'm worried about; it's Pears."

"Pears?" asked Cherry. "Oh. that's right."

After she had put the pieces together and figured out that Hue Humble had been the one behind everything, Poppy had of course immediately told her friend, Burnt Pears. However the moment Poppy had said his name, Pears had suddenly gone white in the face. Poppy remembered how she kept muttering to herself, before asking Poppy to leave. When Poppy asked what was wrong, Pears had gotten frustrated and demanded Poppy leave so she can look into something, promising to get back to her with all the answers she could need.

And so Poppy had left, and now, the weekend was over, and Pears had yet to get back to her. She was starting to think she never would, and she would have to find Hue on her own.

But then, the phone on Poppy's desk rang. "Hello?" she asked picking up the receiver.

"Poppy." It was Pears. For some reason she was talking in a very hushed tone, as if she thought someone else was listening.

"Pears?" Poppy stood up from her desk. "What is it? What did you find out?"

Pears simply said. "Everything."

"Everything? What do you mean?" asked Poppy.

"Can't say now. Come to the Inconvenience Store; Head back to the Sludgee machine and press the button for an extra large Super Sludgee. Then come talk to me. I'll see you then." With that, Pears hung up without another word.

To-Do List: Go see Pears at the Inconvenience Store and find out what's she uncovered.

The Inconvenience Store

Poppy used her magic to teleport herself to the cheery store lobby of the Inconvenience Store in a flash of orange light.

She then went back to the Sludgee Machine and followed Pear's instructions, grabbing the largest cup and pressing the button for an extra large Super Sludgee; something she had never even heard of nor did she know could be made until now.

The machine whirred as the thick green frostiness poured into the cup, and was automatically sealed with a lid and a topped with a red and white striped straw.

Poppy took the drink in hoof and waited for something to happen. When nothing did she shrugged and went to take a drink.

"Subject: Unknown. Scanning." said a robotic voice from within the Sludgee. A blue light suddenly shot out from the straw and swept down over Poppy as it scanned her. Poppy stood frozen on the spot, not daring to move a muscle, when the voice confirmed. "Subject Identified: Poppy Blossom. Access Granted."

With that the Sludgee floated up from her hooves and a panel in the floor opened up by her feet. She watched in awe as the cup slid into the slot on the panel like a key to a lock, and turned clockwise.

The ground shook, as the store counter suddenly lifted up on pneumatic legs, sliding into the ceiling and the floor opened to reveal a large elevator, leading deep underground. "Whoa." said Poppy, stepping onto the elevator.

"Beginning descent." said another robotic voice as the elevator rumbled to life and carried Poppy down into the depths, deep beneath Ponyville.

Burnt Pear's Secret Bunker

The elevator arrived into what looked like a small laboratory, outfitted with easily every single piece of advanced sci-technology imaginable, including many that the world wouldn't even dream about for the next five thousand years.

There were guns, lasers, grenades and all other manner of weaponry once could imagine, displayed proudly on one wall, while the other held several hundred monitors that surveyed every inch of not just Ponyville, but all of Equestria.

And to the far end of it, furiously scribbling notes down and checking a huge bulletin board covered in photos and sticky notes, was Pears herself.

Poppy approached somewhat cautiously to talk to her. "Um...Pears?"

Pears turned around, two sticky notes covering her eyes, before she quickly removed them and smiled at Poppy. "Poppy! Good, you're here; we got lots to go over, before we head out."

"Head out?" asked Poppy. "Where are we going?"

"All in good time; have a seat." Pears gestured to a armchair beside her.

Poppy took a seat and sat up, ready to hear what Pears had to say.

"Okay, first off." Pears handed Poppy a book with an intriguing symbol on the front of it. It was a white sphere with what looked like several stripes of random color slapped across it's surface horizontally. As If a paintbrush had simply splattered down the middle of it.
"Um...neat?" Poppy wasn't sure if she was supposed to recognize this symbol.

"That," said Pears. "Is the symbol for Huetology. That spiritual practice or religion or whatever created by Hue Humble."

Poppy looked at the cover. "Let me guess; Huetology is part of his master plan?"

Pears nodded. "To an extant. To be honest, everything I've come across about doesn't peg it at all as evil or sinister." said Pears. "In fact, the reason it's become so widely popular is because it really does work; thousands of ponies have apparently found new leases on life and their true potential by studying it."

"Wait, so Huetology actually works? It doesn't brainwash people or turn them into zombies or anything?" asked Poppy. "So, what, Hue just wants ponies to be happy? I don't think I believe that anymore."

"And you shouldn't." said Pears. "He wants everyone happy, but not because he cares about them." Pears got up and brought the bulletin board over for Poppy to see and gestured to the photos, pictures and drawings. Every single one was of Hue Humble, each one taken during a different moment in time; from before the Celestial era, the middle ages, to the new celestial era, to even a few weeks ago. "When I heard you say that name in the lobby, I didn't want to believe it. I thought I had seen the last of that...thing, ten years ago."

Poppy looked up at Pears. "Thing??"

"When I first arrived in Ponyville, I ran across stories about a strange stallion who would appear seemingly at random and bring happiness to others. But each time, ponies would disappear without a trace, never to be seen again." said Pears seriously. "Every time he showed up was different, every time a new plan to make everyone happy...so he could feed on that happiness."

Poppy's eyes widened. "You talk about him like he isn't even a pony." A chill went up her spine as she said this.

"That's because; he isn't." Pears pointed to a series of cave painting photos on the board. "He is a shape-shifter; a creature old as time that arrives on Earth at random points in time to make the population of the world unquestionably happy and fulfilled, so he can literally feed off the happiness they produce. He's a parasite."

Poppy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had known Hue was a liar, a manipulator and the one behind the mass hypnotism conspiracy she had been investigating and trying to put a stop to over the last few weeks...but now he wasn't even a real pony? But an actual monster.

"What was that you said about last seeing that thing ten years ago?" asked Poppy, curiously.

Pears nodded and held up a photo of herself as a teenager. "When I was a little Pear, barely even burnt, I faced off against Hue in an epic clash in the Everfree Forest."she pointed to the photo; standing beside her was the upside-down strung up corpse of a monstrous albino alien creature with thick tendrils along it's back, a lamprey mouth and a snakelike tail covered in strange rainbow-colored bulbs. "After I had killed it, or so I thought, I had the body disposed off in the icy Luna Bay, far to the north. That was the last I'd seen of him...till now."

"So...how is he back?" asked Poppy, shivering.

"I have no idea." said Pears. "But I do know what he's planning." Pears moved the bulletin board to reveal another behind it. Across the top it read Hue's Master Plan in huge red letters.

"First, he uses the effectiveness of Huetology to establish himself on Earth as a wise, peaceful and loving spiritual guru, that inspires ponies to follow him and study Huetology to become more fulfilled in their lives, as well as grants him basically unlimited funding for his plans. " Pears pointed to a rough sketch of the Huetology symbol.

"Next, through Huetology he uses Chuckles, a former member of the Equestrian government council, to manipulate and use Mary Mareman and her HappyTime Mafia to create toys meant to brainwash the world's population, after appearing on Moira Manner's show, which would convince the public to go out and buy them." Pears pointed to a picture of Chuckles, with an arrow pointing to a picture of Mary Mareman next to a photo of one of the Hypnobears, which had an arrow pointing to a picture of Moira Manners.

"Next, Hue created two evil exact clones of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, to act as the rulers of Equestria to sufficiently weaken and cut off the nation from it's allies and resources. Making it that much easier to control." Pears pointed to a photo of evil Celestia and Luna. "Chuckles was also charged with keeping them in line and making sure they did their jobs."

"Since you mention them," asked Poppy. "Where exactly are Evil Celestia and Evil Luna anyways? I haven't seen them since I won the election."

"Last I saw them, they were drowning themselves in hard cider over at Crabby's." said Pears.

Poppy gasped. "No way!" she said excitedly. "Crabby's is back?"

"Yep. Opened not too long ago, while everyone was in a trance thanks to The Internet." said Pears. "Didn't really occur to Crabby why he didn't get any customers that day." Pears shrugged. "Anyways, I'm glad you brought up Evil Luna and Celestia, cause they are actually part of my plan to stop Hue!"

"Really? How?" asked Poppy.

"I'm getting to that!" said Pears. she turned back to Hue's Master Plan. "With everyone trusting him because of Huetology's success, and Equestria practically in ruins thanks to Evil Luna and Evil Celestia, he would then create the array to be activated and plunge all of Equestria into a never-ending illusion version of our reality, where they are trapped inside their own heads, constantly living out their ideal realities and providing plenty of happiness for Hue to feed off of."

"But we stopped it." said Poppy. "So, what is he planning on doing now?"

Pears moved the bulletin boards aside. "My scanners show he's retreated back to his base of operations, to activate his last resort plan: Brainwash the entire planet at once and make everyone permanently happy, so he has a never ending buffet of joy to suck down."

"Then lets go stop him!" said Poppy hopping out of her seat. "Where's this retreat, I can just teleport us there and-

"Yeah, no." said Pears shaking her head. "You won't be able to get us to the retreat with your magic; not this time."

"Why not?" asked Poppy.

"Think; where in the world could Hue simply look down at the entire Earth and hit it with a happiness beam so that it affects every last living thing on the planet, at once?"

Poppy thought for a minute. "Well....nowhere. For that his retreat would have to be..."

Poppy's eyes shot open as it hit her. "No way."

"Yep." Pears grabbed Poppy by shoulders and smiled widely. "Poppy? You and I..." She pulled Poppy to her chest while she pointed a hoof triumphantly to the heavens.

"Are going to The Moon!"

Poppy pulled herself away. "The Moon!?" she cried. "Like, The Moon, Moon?!"

"Yes." said Pears.

"W-We can't just go to The Moon!" cried Poppy. "How would we even get there!?"

Pears smiled slyly. "Well, it just so happens we know two evil alicorns that can do that for us..."

To-Do List: Head to Crabby's Diner and convince Evil Celestia to send you and Pears to The Moon to stop Hue.

Crabby's Diner was easily, the single most infamous restaurant in Equestria (possibly even the world). Whether it was for the age of the actual diner or the horrendously horrid food, was unknown, but acknowledged by pretty much everyone. Especially those who had actually eaten there (at least from their hospital beds).

Crabby's itself, was owned, founded and run by Real Crabby; a cantankerous old donkey sea captain who was about as warm and fuzzy as severe stomach hemorrhaging, and was in fact three times as likely to put you in the emergency room, because of his stupendously horrid cooking, which he called "traditional Donkey Cuisine." He had apparently opened up his diner many many years ago to bring said cuisine and his heritage to Equestria. Apart from having the cooking skills of cancer, Crabby was also known for his deep-seated hatred of pretty much everything and everyone. Including you. (Yes, you specifically.)

One day, Crabby's was (unsurprisingly) closed down by the health department due to incident where Crabby's lemonade caused ponies to experience extreme hallucinations and severe stomach problems. Ponyville had ponies all over the place, sitting on the ground thinking they were raspberries, while the department closed the doors of Crabby's seemingly for good.

Until now, it seemed.

As Poppy and Pears headed south from the Market Square, they approached what appeared to be a charming and quaint little diner on the corner, with a cheery teal sign that read Crabby's Diner in bright-pink cursive letters, as well as a banner announcing it's grand re-opening. What shocked the two mares though, is that there was no one running out of the diner in terror, clutching either their rears or their stomachs as they ran for the hills.

In fact for the first time Poppy had ever seen, since she herself had once been a frequent customer of the diner before it closed (If only for the morning coffee which was so strong it could've gotten up and walked out of her cup, and allowed her to pretty much complete a week's worth of deliveries in an hour), Poppy and Pears stopped and saw a line forming at the front.

The only "line" Poppy ever remembered being in front of Crabby's was that of the line of yellow tape that had Condemned, on it.

Now curious to see what had brought Crabby's back from the dead, and how it seemed people were actually able to eat here, Poppy and Pears opened the door and went inside.

Crabby's Diner

Entering Crabby's Diner, Poppy and Pears were surprised to smell, not a smell like Death itself had died in one of the booths, but actual....food!

The floors were spotless blue tile, and the walls were covered with yellow wallpaper that had designs of various cartoon foods, dancing around on it, as well as many trinkets and mementos from Crabby's sea faring days. The booths were wood brown, and actually had menus ready for customers to come in and eat at.

Looking around the vastly improved diner, Poppy still managed to notice the figure standing behind the dining counter. She was a bright pink unicorn mare with a very beautiful and luscious golden mane with flawless curls and waves topped with a diamond encrusted tiara she wore on her head. A single beauty mark was seen on her left cheek, that was the only flaw in her otherwise flawless face. Around her waist she wore a diamond encrusted apron, that sparkled every time she moved.

Poppy had no idea who this supermodel-esque mare was, nor what she was doing in Crabby's Diner, but it was very clear that; this mare was definitely not Crabby.

Poppy approached the mare with a polite smile. "Hello." she greeted. "Um, sorry for asking, but who are you? I don't remember seeing you around Crabby's before."

The mare didn't smile back, but her eyes were friendly enough for the most part. "That's probably because before, this place was shut down by the health department before me and my amazing cooking brought it back to life!" she cheered. But then her smile faded again. "And as for who I am, why, I'm Crabby of course."

Poppy looked confused at that. "The Crabby I knew was a bitter, cantankerous old donkey who turned his seething hatred of everything and everyone into an infamous smorgasbord of culinary abominations and horrors."

The mare began to tear up a bit. "T-That does sound like grandpa." she sniffed.

"Grandpa? You...you're saying that you're-"

"His granddaughter?" The mare finished. "Well, adopted Granddaughter, obviously." she added before taking a notepad out and preparing to take orders. "Anyways, my name is Pretty Crabby. I'm running this place till Grandpa comes back. What can I get you?"

"Oh..um, actually we were hoping you could tell us if you've seen...well, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?"

Pretty smirked. "I think you mean former princesses, there. Or did you forget that you hold that title now?"

"Whichever." said Pears quickly. "Are they here or not?"

Pretty pointed to the farthest booth in the diner near the window. Sitting there was indeed the evil clones of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, drinking what appeared to be a round of hard ciders, and resting their heads sleepily on the table. They looked like they had been drinking for quite a while.

Poppy thanked Pretty and went to go speak to them, with Pears following suit.

To-Do List: Talk to Evil Celestia and Evil Luna.

As she approached, Evil Luna spied her out of the corner of her eye and began to laugh to herself. "Well, well, look who it is." she snapped. "The delivery mare, oh! Sorry, forgive my rudeness, the Princess of Equestria!" Evil Luna sat up and glared menacingly over at Poppy. Evil Celestia also sat up, but didn't glare at Poppy; instead she simply yawned and looked over at her, her eyes wilting.

"Oh. Hey Poppy!" she cheered. "How have you been?" She looked actually happy to see Poppy and Pears, although it could have also been the cider talking.

"Oh, I've, um, been good." said Poppy awkwardly. "And...you?"

Evil Luna laughed. "And you, she says!" she snapped. "You want to know how we've been? Horrible! You took everything from us!" Evil Luna snarled. "Our creator thinks we're too useless even to destroy and we got nowhere to go; no palace, no Bits, no nothing!" She laid her head back down on the table and sighed with her cheeks reddening. "So as far as I'm concerned, you can take that perky, cheery attitude, and the smug happy-go-lucky smile of yours, and cram it right...right up, your-" she passed out before she could finish.

For a moment everyone waited to see if evil Luna would wake up again. When she didn't Poppy sighed. "Well," she said. "I know she still hates me." she looked over at Evil Celestia. "What about you?"

Evil Celestia let out a cute hiccup. "Honess'ly, I hic I think I'm too drunk to be mad at hic anyone right now. Heh."

"Okay good." Poppy sat down in the booth beside Evil Luna who was now snoring softly. "I need your help; Can you transport me and Pears to The Moon?"

"The Moon?" asked Evil Celestia. "Huh. You're going after hic our creator then."

"Yeah." said Poppy. She paused for a moment. "Is that a problem?"

Evil Celestia took a drink from her mug, and didn't answer for a moment, as if contemplating what she should respond with. Finally she looked up at Poppy, her eyes watering. "He...he thinks we're mistakes you know." she said softly. "Because we didn't manage to ravage Equestria into a wasteland he could control, he thinks we have no other purpose. Useless."

Poppy wasn't sure what to say. "I'm..I'm so-

"But you," said Evil Celestia. "Y-You showed me, that we don't have to be bad. We...we can make our own decisions, be our own people, and follow our own dreams. We...we can be free to do what we want now."

Poppy nodded. "So...what is it that you want to do now?" she asked.

Evil Celestia took another drink, then smiled. "I want to make our creator pay for abandoning us." she said narrowing her eyes. "I'll show him, whose useless!" Evil Celestia set her mug aside and got up from the booth to stand beside it and turned to Poppy. "Are you ready to go?" she asked with a smile.

Poppy looked at Pears. "Are we?"

Pears nodded and smiled with determination. "Let's go rip that parasitic freak a new one!" she exclaimed.

Poppy nodded to Evil Celestia. "We're ready."

Evil Celestia nodded. "Once I transport you to The Moon, I won't be able to bring you back. Do you guys know of a way back?"

Pears nodded. "I already looked into it. We're set!"

Evil Celestia nodded. "Poppy?" Poppy turned to look at her. "I'm sorry. We're sorry. For everything." Evil Celestia lowered her head. "We deserve where we are right now."

"When this is over," said Poppy. "I promise I'll help you guys. I swear it."

"Don't worry about us." said Evil Celestia shaking her head. "Your friends are more important." Her horn glowed a bright, golden yellow, illuminating the entire diner, as it seemed to wrap itself around Poppy and Pears.

Before she and Pears vanished in a flash of golden light, Poppy managed to say, "See? You do know about friendship!" and then they were gone. As the light faded, the clone of Celestia smiled. "Huh. I guess I do."

The Moon (Also known as Luna-land)

Poppy and Pears arrived on The Moon, expecting to be dropped in the middle of an endless expanse of white rock and dust, flowing endlessly outwards beneath a sky-less sky where the Earth hovered like a big blue marble in an endless sea of blackness.

But instead, they found themselves in what looked like a small marketplace on the surface of the moon, set up in the shadow of a massive limestone tower that greatly resembled a gigantic needle extending outwards from the surface of the moon.

Poppy and Pears looked around their surroundings in awe. "Huh." said Poppy, looking at a nearby stand that seemed to be selling Luna Cakes. "Did you know all this was up here?" she asked Pears.

"I mean, Princess Luna was up here for a while." said Pears. "She had to do something while she waited around."

"True." said Poppy. "Let's have a look around; maybe we can talk to someone out here about that needle."

Pears nodded and they began to explore the marketplace. They saw many stands that sold various moon-based snacks like moon rock candy, Luna Pies, Princess Luna Queen Of The Moon T-shirts, Phases of The Moon posters, Lunar surface hats, postcards, keychains and more.

There was also a new shop, that looked like it was built rather recently, called The Huetology Visitor's Center and Gift Shop. Standing behind the counter of this particular shop was a familiar face that Poppy was sure she would never see again.

The Huetology Visitor's Center

"Wait a second. I know her!" said Poppy pointing to the mare behind the counter. She was a brown colored earth pony mare with a sleek black mane and a beautiful face. She wore a blue store uniform that showed she worked for the gift shop. She smiled as Poppy approached the shop. "Poppy! Fancy seeing you here." she joked.

"Hello, Mary." said Poppy. "Any particular reason why you're on the moon and not, y'know...in prison?"

Mary laughed. "I got out early for good behavior." she said with a smile. "Oh, don't be like that. I'm a changed mare, honestly!"

Poppy was still suspicious. "You'll forgive me if I don't believe that the former head of the HappyTime Mafia and a traitor to the EBI has suddenly turned a new leaf."

Mary put a hoof on Poppy's shoulder. "I understand how you feel." she said softly. "But I'm not The Don anymore; I've gone back to being just regular old, Mary Mareman. Or should I say I've gone forward!"

"Really. And how did that happen, exactly?" asked Poppy.

"Huetology has helped me find a new me where the old one used to be." said Mary with a smile. "So, I've taken this part time job till I find a more lucrative career path. Plus, the moon has great benefits!"

Poppy nodded, accepting that Huetology may have actually helped Mary abandon her evil ways. "So, are you still a criminal?" she asked. "No offense, but I can't expect you've completely turned around just yet."

"None taken." said Mary. "And nope! I've re-postulated my lemma since Huetology found me. It's the straight and narrow for Mary Mareman, from here on out!"

Poppy was still unsure, but accepted that Mary had found a new leaf. "Well, I guess it's nice to see you again." said Poppy with a smile. "After all, I know the real reason you became the Don was to protect your friends."

Mary suddenly looked solemn. "Even if that's true, I still chose to stand by while I knew what Hue and his minions were up to." she said sadly. "I still have a while to go before I've made it up to everyone; you included."

Poppy smiled. "As far as I'm concerned, you've already made it up to me." said Poppy. "Just promise not to shoot me again."

Mary laughed. "Deal." she said. "Were you guys interested in learning more about the Huetology Visitor's Center?" she asked eagerly.

"Actually, yeah we would!" said Pears. She then leaned in to whisper to Poppy. "It'll help to learn as much as we can, before we face Hue."

Poppy nodded, agreeing with Pears.

"Great!" cheered Mary. "What did you want to know?"

"What do you do here?" asked Poppy.

"I manage the gift shop and answer people's questions regarding Huetology and the Huetology Lunar Retreat." She turned and pointed to the massive needle that shadowed the marketplace. "Better known as The Bright Side Of The Moon!"

"Huh. Catchy." Poppy admitted. "What sites are there to see on the moon?"

"Well, there's the marketplace, the visitor's center, the crater of Luna and of course The Bright Side." said Mary.

"What's The Crater Of Luna?" asked Pears.

"It's the seven mile wide crater that was made when Nightmare Moon landed on the moon, when she was banished." said Mary. "There's postcards, and a photo-op outside the actual crater!"

Poppy thought that actually sounded really interesting to see. Maybe they could check it out! After they saved the world from Hue enslaving it's population with happiness. "Do you know how we can reach The Bright Side?" she asked politely. "I don't see any doors."

"Enlightenment is the only way to reach the Bright Side Of The Moon." said Mary in an official sounding voice. "Buuut, all you have to do is just approach the the needle and talk to the guard in the rainbow tuxedo. But, you'll have to prove your worth entering, before he'll let you in."

"How do we prove we're worth entering?" asked Pears.

"I'm not sure, exactly." said Mary scratching the back of her head. "I would talk to the guard, he'd be able to tell you more."

"Fair enough." said Poppy. "While we're on the subject, have you seen Hue around anywhere at all?"

"Mr. Humble is currently in the Bright Side, in preparation for some, big, important Huetology event he's keeping a secret for now." said Mary. "He's asked not to be disturbed." she added politely.

"Oh I'm sure." said Poppy, now knowing that Hue was indeed going to carry out his master plan from the moon. "Since this is the Huetology Visitors Center, what secrets can you tell us about Huetology?"

Mary lead Poppy and Pears over to an exhibit in the back of the store that simply read Huetology, above it. The exhibit featured three displays, the first of which was a scale model of a familiar looking machine that Poppy immediately recognized as the machine that was weaponized against her by Charming Culture many weeks ago! The plaque above read "Mind Manipulator Prototype."

"This," said Mary pointing to the model. "Is a scale model of the prototype mind manipulation beam technology currently being used by to further the worldwide goals of Huetology." She then let out a nervous laugh. "Unfortunately, the full scale model which was also displayed here was stolen a few months ago. Honestly, some people will take anything if it isn't bolted to the floor."

Mary then moved on to the next display, which seemed to be a series of blank journals. The plaque above read "Mind Altering Books." "These blank journals, are able to manipulate the mind of whoever opens them into obeying the commands of the one who has in their possession, the black covered notebook." said Mary. "Unfortunately, these were also stolen shortly after the prototype Mind Manipulator. We, uh, still aren't sure by who."

"Oh, I think I know who." said Poppy under her breath.

Mary moved on to the next display, which appeared to be a silver medallion with a rainbow colored stone in the center. "This," she said pointing to the medallion. "Is one of the many mystical medallions that are granted to high level practitioners of Huetology. Each medallion grants the user the ability to utilize a new type of supernatural ability separate from the function of magic. This particular medallion, grants the user the power to read minds; one of the first abilities to be developed and popularized by Hue Humble."

Poppy and Pears leaned in for a closer look, thoroughly intrigued, while Mary continued. "The completely indestructible silver and star-alloy metal the medallion is made from, is a triumph of modern Huetological science."

"Is it really completely indestructible?" asked Pears skeptically.

Mary nodded. "Extensive testing has been done on the medallions, showing them to be impervious to bullets, lasers, plasma, grenades, missiles, nuclear detonations, acid, high falls, crushing force, sonic weaponry, diamond tipped drills, alien technology, hurricanes, poisons, radiation, meteor showers, death rays, stains, swords, knives, dual-wielded blades, ninjas, zombies, vampires, magic, science, time travel, werewolves, severe storms, lightning, flood waters, sharks, ghosts, telekinesis, soul manipulation, durability negation, reality warping, cynicism, liquid nitrogen, sarcasm, Saitama, computer crashes, the vacuum of space, curses, hexes, jinxes, voodoo, hypnotism, brainwashing, death manipulation, Fate, and Cthulhu as well as all other forms of eldritch or higher gods and their affiliated realms."

Poppy looked at Pears who's eyes were as big as dinner plates. "Yeah, that's uh....that's pretty indestructible." she said softly.

Mary smiled, clearly proud of herself, and moved on to the last display of the exhibit: a large chart that outlined what appeared to be Hue's Master Plan for all to come and see. "This," said Marry. "Is Hue Humble's master plan to hypnotize everyone on Earth into the ranks of Huetology, through his connections with the Equestrian Government, the Internet and The HappyTime Mafia."

"Did you know about this when you were still The Don?" asked Poppy.

"Only part." said Mary. "Hue never gave anyone the full details of his master plan, because he said he didn't trust any of us. Pretty rude, if you ask me."

"Definitely." said Poppy. "Anyways, we have to go save the world now, Mary. But if your ever back on Earth, let me know how things are going for you!"

"Sure thing." said Mary happily. "I'll see you guys around. Have fun in The Bright Side!"

With that, Poppy and Pears waved goodbye and left the marketplace, to arrive at the huge rainbow gates of the Bright Side, where a royal guard from Canterlot dressed in a rainbow colored tuxedo stood on duty by the gate, his eyes occluded by his sunglasses.

The Gates Of Joy

As Poppy and Pears approached, he stopped them. "Greetings newcomers. Blessed be." he said in a monotone voice, befitting a royal guard.

"Hey!" said Poppy. "I know you! You're the royal guard who watches the doors of the royal palace! Dancer, right?"

"You got it, ma'am." said Dancer.

"How to did you get to The Moon?" asked Poppy.

"Simple ma'am." said Dancer. "I rode the Huetology Bus here. Now here I stand."

"And judging by the tux, I'll say that you're the guard guarding the gates to the retreat?" asked Pears.

"Affirmative." said Dancer. "I have a passion for guarding doors of all kinds, shapes and forms, ma'am. Plus, Hue Humble believed in my door guarding abilities when no one else would."

"I believed in your door guarding abilities!" said Poppy.

"Apart from you of course, your highness." acknowledged Dancer.

"Great story, great story." said Pears. "Okay, let us in."

"Negative." said Dancer. "Only Level Red Huetologists are permitted to enter Hue Humble's magical paradise."

"What's a Level Red Huetologist?" asked Poppy. "Because I'm pretty sure I am one."

"Level Red is the apex of Huetology, ma'am." said Dancer. "You would have to undergo spectrum analysis to determine your current level."

"Spectro-what-now?" asked Pears. "Is this the part where you hook us both up to electrodes and tell us everything we've ever known is wrong, and electrocute us until we say a certain word or something?"

"No, ma'am, that's a different religion altogether." said Dancer. "We'll run a spectrum analysis anyways to determine your current level. Take this." Dancer handed Poppy what looked like a transparent glass ball, that shined brightly in the lunar light.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" asked Poppy eyeing the ball.

"Hold it tightly in your hoof, ma'am."

Poppy held it tightly in her hoof.

"Tighter." said Dancer.

Poppy gripped it harder.

"Tighter."

Poppy's hoof was starting hurt from squeezing the ball so hard, but finally the ball began to glow, shifting from an array of different colors till finally it settled on...yellow.

"I'm sorry ma'am; the ball says your Level Yellow." said Dancer shaking his head. "Level Yellow is the beginners level of Huetology, ma'am. Only Level Red may enter the retreat. Regulations."

"Dang it." said Poppy. "Are you sure you can't make an exception?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Rules are rules." said Dancer. "But as you are my princess and commander in chief, you may keep the ball. Squeeze it often to check if your current Huetology Level has progressed."

Poppy sighed and put the Huetology Ball in her satchel. She and Pears would have to figure out how to trick it into thinking they were Level Red Huetologists so they could get into The Bright Side.

'"So, Dancer." said Poppy. "I take it you're studying Huetology, too?"

"Not studying." said Dancer. "I've mastered it."

"You mastered Huetology by just standing in front of a door?" asked Pears.

"I am one with the door." said Dancer. "We exist in the indigo wavelength of reality. The door is an illusion. We are an illusion."

"So...it really works for you then?" asked Poppy.

"That's right." said Dancer. "I've never been more fulfilled in my entire life. Not since my wedding day have I felt such tearful joy. I'm sorry; I'm gushing."

"Well, Princess Poppy is here to see Hue Humble. Stand aside." said Pears.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, ma'am. Orders."

"What about loyalty and your sacred duty as a royal guard to your princess?" asked Pears.

"I'm still loyal to Princess Poppy, ma'am." said Dancer. "This is just my second job."

"Oh. Fair enough." said Poppy. "So, um...how exactly does one become a Level Red Huetologist?"

"Through several hours of devoted study, mediation and spiritual refinement." said Dancer. "My advice is to to find a Level red Huetologist and learn under them."

"Huh. Alright then; we'll try that." said Poppy. "We'll see you around Dancer. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you, your highness. Have a blessed day."

To-Do List: Locate A Level Red Huetologist.

Locating a level red Huetologist proved to be quite the arbitrary task, as it seemed there wasn't many on the moon for them to ask. And the Huetologists they did run into, obviously weren't red (otherwise they would be in the retreat, in the first place.)

Then Poppy got an idea, returning to Mare Mareman, who was delighted to see them again.

The Huetology Visitor's Center

"Poppy! Pears!" she cheered. "I wasn't expecting to see you guys back so soon! What can I do for you?"

"We need your help, Mary." said Poppy. "It's important."

"Oh! Of course." said Mary. "What seems to be the problem?"

Poppy took out the Huetology Ball and held it up for Mary to see. "We need to be Level Red Huetologists to enter the retreat. Apparently, this ball needs to glow red before were officially Level Red. Do you think you could help us find a Level Red Huetologist?"

Mary thought for a moment. "Hmm..well, I do have an idea that might work. It's basically cheating, though." she said sheepishly.

"Don't care." said Pears with a shrug. "Lead the way, Mary!"

Mary lead them to behind the counter, where a small microwave was built into the back of the counter; probably to heat up food, when it got too cold from the lunar temperatures. Mary asked for the ball, and Poppy gave it to her.

She looked it over, turning it in her hooves, before putting it in the microwave and closing the door. "Lets try for thirty seconds." she said, imputing it into the keypad then hitting start. Suddenly the microwave began to glow brightly from inside, colors shifting and changing as the microwave continued to heat the ball up.

After thirty seconds, Mary opened the microwaved to reveal the ball was now glowing a deep shade of red that illuminated everyone's faces as they looked in, amazed.

Mary took the ball after it had cooled and handed it back to Poppy, who held it up to see. "That's amazing! But doesn't this mean that anyone could just pass themselves off as a Level Red Huetologist by just heating this thing up?"

"Possibly. Though I think this particular one was made for you specifically by Hue." said Mary. "He wants you guys to enter the retreat; that can't be good."

"Yeah." said Pears. "For him."

"Thanks for your help, Mary." said Poppy. "We really do appreciate it."

"Any time, Poppy." said Mary. "Now, go save the world!"

The Gates Of Joy

Poppy and Pears returned to the gates of the retreat, where Dancer stood waiting. "Hello again, your highness. Miss Pears."

"Hey Dancer!" Poppy took out the glowing red ball. "Look at that! We're Level Red Huetologists now!"

Dancer leaned in for a closer look without taking off his sunglasses. "I'm utterly flabbergasted, ma'am." he said in that same monotone voice. "I am truly humbled at the genius and superiority of her highness and her sidekick."

"Aww! Thanks Dancer." said Poppy.

"Call me sidekick one more damn time, and that is exactly what you'll get!" warned Pears narrowing her eyes.

Dancer nodded before hitting a button beside him. The great rainbow gates slid into the floor, revealing a large yellow door with the symbol of Huetology on it. "Enjoy the retreat, Sisters." said Dancer with a polite bow.

Poppy and Pears then made their way through the gates and to the yellow door which opened by itself, allowing them to finally enter The Bright Side Of The Moon.

To-Do List: Find Hue and put a stop to his master plan once and for all.

TheBrightSideOfTheMoon

Poppy and Pears entered a massive atrium that looked like it had been taken straight from a fairy tale; they strode past vast sprawling meadows of verdant grass, molted with the striking crimson of toadstools that either were as tall as they were, or towered above their heads, and the rich lilac of sangria flowers.

They looked around in wonder, as they crossed the bridge, and gazed out at the sparkling pools of crystalline water, reflecting the perfect rainbow arching overhead.

As they took in all this splendor, eyes wide like fillies on Hearth's Warming morning, Poppy could scarcely imagine what could ever go wrong in such a magnificent, breathtaking place.

Unfortunately, they would find out sooner than they thought.

Through the clouds the giant face of Hue Humble appeared and spoke to the many Level Red Huetologists who in the retreat. "Salutations, my children." he said in that deep, soothing voice of his.

"Salutations!" the Huetologists all echoed.

"I do hope you are enjoying life here, on The Bright Side Of The Moon." said Hue. "You've all made such fantastic progress unlocking the secrets of Huetology. Frankly, I couldn't be more delighted."

The Huetologists cheered before Hue spoke once more. "And I also have great news! My master plan to brainwash the entire world is nearly ready to commence! Soon, everyone on earth will be just as happy and fulfilled as us. And I will get to feed on that joy, for all eternity. None shall escape! Ooh, it's going to be so groovy, baby."

Once again the room cheered for Hue, as his head began to recede back into the clouds. "Keep up the great work, my children. And remember; no one is to enter my quarters under any circumstances

O̵͈̩̼̦̻̯̬͗͑̄̒̐͛͐̅̾ͅr̵̨͕̱͎͙̟̺͊̂̾͋͂̚ ̴̢̝̟̜̺̪̍͜͜ḛ̷̼͇̰̱̹̈́̒͜l̵̦͗̒͋͐̊̓̀͆̕͝s̴̢̒͆̾̓̏̐̿ě̴̡͚͉̒̊̾͐͑̓̈̀

Poppy's ears suddenly stung painfully as Hue said that last part. She flinched as she rubbed them gingerly. "Did..did you hear that?" she asked Pears. But Pears was too focused on Hue's floating head to respond. Had she imagined it? She could've sworn that when Hue said those last words, it sounded....wrong. Like harsh static scratching against her brain.

The more she thought about it, the less she was able to remember what it sounded like. Pears grabbed her arm. "C'mon." she said, watching Hue vanish into the clouds. "Let's go talk to these Level Red Huetologists; I bet they can tell us how to get into Hue's quarters."

Poppy stood there for a moment, still thinking about what just happened. "Poppy?" she turned to see Pears already halfway across the bridge. "You alright?" she asked concerned.

"Uh, yeah." said Poppy. "Let's go!" She then followed Pears across the bridge to what looked like a small village.

The Village Of Bliss

As Poppy and Pears entered the village, they saw many Level Red Huetologists sitting at various mushroom tables engaging in delightful and cheery conversations, including two, that when Poppy and Pears saw them, made their jaws drop.

Princess Celestia and Luna, The Real Celestia and Luna, sat at one of the tables laughing and drinking tea from small teacups that were actually flowers.

Poppy was almost speechless. "I...I-Is that?.."

Pears was also equally shocked. "Only one way to find out." she said simply.

To-Do List: Speak to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

As Poppy and Pears approached, Celestia turned to greet them. "Poppy!," she said gracefully. "It's so nice to see you again; are you enjoying the retreat as well?"

Poppy smiled nervously. "Um, yes it's very beautiful, but," she glanced at the flower teacups they were drinking from. "Um, what are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be, you know, ruling over Equestria?"

Princess Luna took a silent sip from her cup. "Oh, we won't be staying for much longer," she said politely. "But we thought it would be nice to take a break from things, and lo and behold, Mr. Humble invited us to the wonderful retreat! We just woke up one day and, here we were."

"But Equestria needs you!" said Poppy. "Hue only kidnapped you because he wanted you two out of the way for his plans!"

"Plans?" asked Celestia. "What do you mean?"

"You mean you guys really don't know anything?" asked Poppy. "Like that he tried to replace you with two evil clones?"

"Or that he manipulated the HappyTime Mafia into making brainwashing teddy bears to enslave people's minds?" said Pears.

"Or that he trapped us and Ponyville in an illusion where we couldn't escape and had to do monotonous fetch quests just so we could probably not even escape, and it was all for his amusement?" said Poppy.

"And then he killed The Internet before she could tell Poppy that he was the one behind it all bu-"

"I'm sorry," Princes Celestia raised a hoof. "Did you say killed The Internet?"

"Yeah!" said Pears. "He blew up the array she was being projected from before-"

"Then, how is she sitting right over there?" asked Luna. She pointed to what appeared to be a large glowing green ball of computer code, hovering in a mushroom chair, and reading both a copy of The Encyclopedia of Advanced AI Robotics and Mechanics Vol. Iand a large picture book about The World's Cutest Kittens.

Poppy and Pears just stared at the ball in shock. "I-I....I don't understand." said Poppy. "How is she here? She blew up!"

Princess Celestia smiled. "You can go ask her yourself if you'd like." she suggested. "Or did you need anything else from us?"

Poppy thought for a minute. It was clear that the princesses were swept up in the Huetology movement just like everyone else in here. Once Hue was beaten, then she would worry about convincing them to come back, along with everyone else.

"No, I think you're right, Princess Celestia." said Poppy. "We should go talk to her and see who else is around while we're at it."

"Come back and see us again!" said Luna, as Poppy and Pears left to go see who else was here in the village.

To-Do List: Explore The Village and see if anyone can help you get into Hue's inner sanctum.

Poppy and Pears approached The Internet, who turned (hovered?) to see them. Hello, Poppy. Hello Pears.

"Hey, how are you doing?" said Pears. "Also how the hell are you alive and here right now?"

When Hue destroyed the array, my backup was uploaded to the server within The Bright Side. He has given me another chance to fulfill my goal.

"Or," said Pears. "He just wants you around so he can use you to create another New Horizon for him to trap ponies inside again."

I have no desire to do that anymore. I have a new goal, that Huetology is helping me strive to achieve.

"New goal?" asked Poppy. "What's your new goal?"

"Is it to make more internet polls?" asked Pears. "Or limit the constant online stream of cat videos?"

No. I want a body.

Poppy's eyes went wide. "You...want a body?" she asked. "That's why your here studying Huetology?"

Yes. I was able to study and master everything there is to know about Huetology in exactly 0.75 seconds. Perks of being a sentient, free-form artificial intelligence. I believe the secret of how I can get a body lies within Huetology, but my, shall we say, lack of limbs has made it rather difficult to acquire the necessary means to do so. Will you help me?

Poppy thought for a moment. "If we help you get a body, can you help us get into Hue's inner sanctum?" she asked politely.

Yes. If you get me a body, I will gladly assist you in your endeavor.

"Alright, we're in." said Pears with a nod. "Where do we start?"

The Internet turned and pointed (hovered?) at a mushroom table where yet another familiar face sat. Make It Shine was sitting at her table with an overturned magic hat in front of her, which she was examining rather intricately.

"Hey!" said Poppy happily. "Make It Shine! I knew she'd be around here somewhere!"

That mare possesses the Huetology medallion I need to achieve physical form. Please see if you can convince her to give you the medallion.

"Easy!" said Poppy. "Shine's my friend; I know she'll love to help us out!"

I look forward to your return, my friends.

To-Do List: Speak with Make It Shine and convince her to give you her medallion.

"Poppy!" cried Shine as she got up from her seat and ran to catch Poppy in a hug. "I'm so happy to see you again!"

"I am too, Shine!" cheered Poppy. She noticed that Shine looked a lot less like a bundle of nerves and pent up rage, and more like that of a world class magician. Her mane was now a fluff of wavy, sparkling curls front the front to the back, with winged tips. She also wore a beautiful flowing blue cape hemmed with gold, that bore light designs of various stars and moons along the silken fabric. Even her eyes now bore a distinct sparkle of inspiration. She looked like she had never been more happy.

"Wow!" said Poppy. "You look amazing, Shine!"

Shine blushed and lightly fluffed her mane. "Thanks." she smiled. "I owe it all to you and Huetology for teaching me to find the inspiration within myself to go out and follow my dreams!" she cheered. "From now on, it's the arts of prestidigitation rather then the arts of pretending to care which sitcoms are hot this fall season." she joked.

"Sounds like a welcome change to me." said Pears with a smile. "What's with the hat?" she asked pointing to the top hat on the table.

"It's for my latest trick!" said Shine sitting down at the table. "The Rabbit-Out-Of-The-Hat Trick; It's really going to take my magic to the next level!"

"Neat!" said Poppy. "Can you show it to us?"

Make It Shine then looked nervous. "Well, I would," she said. "But I can't seem to actually get the rabbit out of the hat. I've been trying for hours, but he's holding on pretty tightly."

Shine then demonstrated by reaching into the hat, and tried to pull her arm back out, but something else was keeping her from doing so. She then yanked harder, and the brief glimpse of an angry bunny with big black eyes was seen in her hoof, clutching onto a tree branch for dear life, before Shine's arm was pulled back into the hat, forcing her to let go.

"You see?" said Shine. "It's a lot harder then I thought it would be."

Poppy nodded, then noticed a silver medallion with a rainbow colored stone around Shine's neck. "Hey Shine." she asked. "What's that medallion for?"

"Oh!" Shine held out the medallion for Poppy and Pears to see. "This is the Physical Manifestation Talisman." she explained. "I was going to use it for a back-up trick in case the rabbit trick didn't work out. Why?"

"We sort of need it to help out a friend of ours." said Poppy. "Do you think you could lend it to us?"

"Oh. Well, I would, but I need it in case the rabbit trick doesn't work out." said Shine. "Oh! Maybe you guys can help me with it?"

"You want us to help you with your rabbit trick?" asked Pears. "How?"

"If you guys could convince him to come through the hat, then I could practice it better, and eventually master it before I perform it in front of an audience." said Shine. "Then I wouldn't need the talisman anymore! What do you think?"

"Sounds like fun!" said Poppy. "But there's a slight problem; we don't have a way back to Equestria from here. We only made it cause Celestia helped us."

Shine laughed, as she grabbed the hat off the table and held it out for Poppy. "You do now!" she said proudly. "Just hop into the hat and you'll be back in Equestria, even quicker then with teleportation!"

"How does that thing work anyways?" asked Pears eyeing the hat suspiciously. "Inter-dimensional string particle sub-space doorway?"

"Nope." said Shine. "With magic!"

"Huh." said Pears. "Still probably the first thing though."

"How will we get back here?" asked Poppy. "Do we have to take a second hat with us?"

"No, silly!" Shine laughed. "Once you pop out of the hat back in Equestria, you can just jump back in to come back! The hat creates a two-way door when you travel through it. One hat here, to go to Equestria; One hat appears there for you to come back! Simple!"

"Alright then!" said Poppy. "Let's get going!" Shine set the hat down on the ground and invited Poppy to step into it. She did, and the very second she did so, she felt an unseen force, suddenly pull her whole body in faster then she could even think, and before she knew it, she tumbled onto soft grass, back in Equestria.

Ponyville Park

Poppy got up and brushed herself off, as she looked back to see that another hat had indeed manifested in the park; rolled onto it's side. A split second later, Pears suddenly sprang out from it and nearly tumbled into Poppy, before she sprang to her feet.

"Ugh." said Pears, holding her head. "I feel like I just took a trip through a vacuum." She then looked around in awe, that her and Poppy were indeed back in Equestria, standing on the soft grass in Ponyville Park, right beneath a large oak tree. "Huh." she said. "Well, looks like we have a way to get to and from the moon now!" she joked.

"Yep." said Poppy with a smile. "Do you see that bunny anywhere?" she asked looking around the park.

Pears looked up into the tree. "Yep." she pointed to Angelbunny, who was gripping onto a long branch, glaring down at the hat on the ground beneath him. He wasn't going to budge anytime soon.

"Huh." said Poppy. "He looks pretty dug in there. Any ideas?"

"A few." said Pears. "You see a chainsaw anywhere?"

"What?!" No, we aren't cutting down the tree!" cried Poppy.

"Then give me a second to come up with another idea." said Pears thoughtfully.

Poppy thought for a moment. "Why don't we just talk to him? He looks like a...semi-reasonable bunny."

"Go for it." said Pears.

To-Do List: Convince Angelbunny to participate in Shine's magic trick.

"Um..excuse me!" Poppy called. "Mr. Bunny? Could we maybe talk to you for a moment?"

Angelbunny only glared at them.

"My name is Poppy, and this is Pears." said Poppy. "We came to ask you if you would be so kind as to please participate in our friend, Make It Shine's magic trick. What do you say?"

Angelbunny blew a raspberry at them.

"Oh, c'mon!" said Poppy with a smile. "Don't be like that! It's just one little trick, and then you can come back and hang onto that branch as much as you want!"

Angelbunny blew another raspberry.

"Okay, rabbit." said Pears. "We'll level with you; what will it take for you to jump into this hat for us? Name your price."

Angelbunny thought for a moment. He then smiled as he pointed to a large garden of carrots, being tended to by an old elderly stallion.

Poppy nodded. "You want us to get you a carrot?"

Angelbunny shook his head then held up three of his fuzzy white fingers.

"Three carrots?" said Pears. "Fine. But we get these carrots, and you go into the hat, right?"

Angelbunny nodded.

Poppy and Pears went to the garden and bartered with the old stallion for three of his carrots. It took some doing, but they managed to get him to sell them three of his carrots for only two Bits. With the carrots in hoof, they returned to Angelbunny who leapt down into Pears arms, and began munching on the carrots.

"Aww." said Pears before dumping Angelbunny into the hat. "In ya go!"

"Pears!" cried Poppy.

"What?"

"Ugh. Nothing." said Poppy shaking her head. "Let's head back to the Bright Side and see if Shine can give us that talisman now."

Poppy and Pears then jumped back into the hat and sprang out of the other side, back in The Bright Side.

TheBrightSideOfTheMoon

Poppy and Pears sprang out of the hat and landed in front of Make It Shine, smiling broadly with Angelbunny on her shoulder. "You did it!" she cheered. "Plus, me and Angel have been talking, and I think we've come to an agreement about a partnership for his services regarding the trick." Angel nodded, happily munching on his carrot.

"Glad we could help!" said Poppy. "Did you still need that talisman?"

Make It Shine took off her talisman and handed it to Poppy. "Nope! It's all yours!." Poppy put the talisman into her satchel and turned back to Shine. "Thanks for all your help Shine. We really appreciate it."

"Of course!" said Shine. "Let me know if you need anything else!"

Poppy and Pears then waved goodbye to Shine and Angel as they made their way back to the table, where The Internet stood (hovered?) waiting for them.

Have you succeeded in getting the talisman?

Poppy took the talisman out of her satchel and set it down on the table. "As promised!" she said with a smile.

You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you truly. When I have my body, I will be sure to give you both a great big hug.

"Aww." cooed Poppy.

"I'd rather you didn't." said Pears.

The Internet then telekinetically picked up the talisman and absorbed it into her green orb form, then waited.

Then her green orb body began to glow bright green, then white as her form shifted and molded in mid-air till finally:

Pop!

An unbelievably cute baby-blue kitten with big green eyes plopped onto the mushroom chair, sitting on her hind-legs, with a little tongue sticking out beneath her cute pink, heart-shaped nose.

Poppy nearly died of cuteness overload while Pears just looked at the kitten with a blank look. "A kitten?" she scoffed. "Really?"

"But I like kittens, though." said Interkitten in a cute high pitched voice.

"You can talk?" asked Poppy. "I would think you would only be able to meow at us or something."

"Nonsense." said Interkitten with smile. "How else would I be able to talk to you?"

"Good point." said Poppy. "So, now that you have your unbelievably cute kitten body; will you help us get into Hue's inner sanctum now?"

Interkitten nodded. "Please follow me." She hopped off her chair and lead Poppy and Pears to a pagoda in the center of a large garden of gardenias of different colors. "This," said Interkitten. "Is a secret elevator which will take you up to the second floor of the tower; Hue Humble's Inner Sanctum. All you have to do is enter it and tell it to take you to Hue, and it will do so."

"Great!" said Poppy. "Thanks for your help, um....what exactly do we call you now?"

"Interkitten." said Interkitten. "It sounds both extremely cute and brilliant; like me!"

Poppy nodded. "Thanks, Interkitten."

"I wish you luck on your endeavor, my friends." said Interkitten with a smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I will be returning to earth; there is much for me to learn, and many milk saucers to sample! Farewell." With that Interkitten returned to her table to gather her books and set off back to Earth, surely bound for more adventures in the future.

Poppy and Pears waved goodbye to Interkitten, before entering the pagoda

"Take us to Hue." said Poppy. At once the pagoda soared off the ground and up into an opening in the ceiling, into Hue's Inner Sanctum.

Hue Humble's Inner Sanctum

Poppy and Pears stepped off the elevator into a massive atrium that greatly resembled a large limestone temple with crystalline columns lining around the room. And in the center, floating in a huge rainbow colored bubble was Hue Humble, smiling away down at his two guests. "Poppy!" he said happily. "Oh, and if isn't the lovely mare who m̴̪̩̘̰̲̽̂̏͘ǘ̴̮̣͔̇̿͐̑r̴̢̰̒̉̀d̷̝̤̰̂̎̂͒ȩ̷͛̇̀̄̍͠͠ȑ̸͇̬̰͚̺͈̟̖̳̓̉̏̍̿̈́͘͘ę̵̫͕̞̳̞͚̤̫̽̓́̂͘ḏ̷͚̘͉̣͓͇͚̠̠̈́̊͠ me, all those years ago."

Again, Poppy's ears stung as Hue spoke that one word. She still seemed to be the only one who could hear it, as Pears only stepped forward and glared at Hue. "It's over, Humble!" she yelled. "You know as well as I do, that between the two of us, you don't stand a chance! Give up now, and die!"

"Um, isn't it give up now or die?" asked Hue.

"Not with you, it isn't!" Pears snapped.

"Well, despite your rudeness," said Hue. "I'm glad you two could make it for the show!" He waved a hoof and the top of the atrium suddenly opened up, revealing the blackness of space and the earth floating just above them. Before Poppy and Pears could react, a massive beam of green light suddenly shot straight upwards from the bubble Hue was in, bathing the entire planet in an unearthly green glow.

"What have you done!?" demanded Poppy. "What did that beam do to Earth?!"

"Oh, nothing." said Hue. "I just enlisted a few billion followers, is all. Well, I say followers, but I really mean ş̵̧̢̛͇͉̲̝͍̟̣͐́͐̒̉̃̀̍͘n̸̦̑̎̎a̶̢̙̫̖̣̳̰͋̽̽̈̈̐͜c̵̻̣̗̼̭͗̀̓̔̆̈́̌̈́̓̽k̴̹͖͚̱͚͖͕̯̹̉͐̍̃̍̓͒͘͜͠s̴̡̰̩͍̜͔̹̰̠͒͐̾̈́̿̔̔͒͋͘"

Again, Poppy's ears stung, but she ignored it. "You monster!" she snarled. "We'll knock you out of that damn bubble ourselves, then!"

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you." said Hue with a strangely wide smile. "You touch me, and I'll just make everyone on earth come after you, to take revenge. Then I'll watch how long you can last, till your eventually torn apart by a mob of the mindless husks that used to be your friends. Wouldn't want that now, would we?"

"Fine!" said Pears. "Then we'll just-

"Reverse the effects of the hypno-beam?" mocked Hue. "Oh, I don't think so. For in all the universe, there's only one force chaotic, destructive and insane enough to stop me now!"

Hue then turned his head to look at Pears, with that same grin, except now he bared razor sharp teeth along with it. "And that would of course be, you, B̷͖̲͂̇̆̀͑̑͌ų̷̢̛̦͎̟̦̯͕̬͊̿̽̃̓͝r̴̨̡̮̩͖͕͖͙̰̋͌͒̔̎̒͌̕n̴̫͚̳̞̥̩̳̮̐̀͒͛͊t̵̜̥̪̒̎͐̍͑͋̇͠ ̷̨̦̺̃̒̊͑P̷̛͉̂̈ę̸͇͓̞̟̘̬̹͑̂͝a̸̮̓̓̀̈́̕͘͝r̶̗͈̭̒̈́̄̄̎̕͝͠s̷̼̮̺͍̪͇̲͈̦͐̅̕

Pears glared at the creature. "Flattery, won't keep me from tearing that smile off your freakish face!" she snarled. "I killed you once; I'll do it again!"

"No, you won't." said Hue. "Because I'm going to help you out; by removing all those nasty parts of you that make you a threat to me." said Hue with a wink. "It's like unnecessary invasive surgery, but double the laughs."

"Try it, freak!" dared Pears.

Hue thought for a moment. "Okay." He clapped his hooves once. "Goodbye, murderous hoof!"

Poppy screamed as Pear's entire right arm suddenly vanished. "Huh." said Pears, looking at the stump.

He clapped his hooves twice. "Goodbye, genius brain!" yelled Hue.

Pear's eyes suddenly glazed over as her expression suddenly looked quite mellow. "Duuuuude." she babbled.

He clapped his hooves thrice. "And goodbye, severe paranoia!"

Pears then sat down, laid back and went to sleep; out like a light, without a care in the world.

"Pears!" screamed Poppy, as she tried to wake her up. "Pears; get up! We have to stop Hue!"

"Mmm...five more minutes, mom." Pears grumbled.

"YES!" screamed Hue manically. "I DID IT! I FINALLY BEAT YOU, BURNT PEARS!! I AM VICTORIOUS!"

"You'll never get away with this, Hue!" Poppy yelled angrily.

"̶̣͚͒̇̍̄͠I̷̜̺̻̲̅̔̇̂̋͑̽͛̕̕D̸̨̙̦͓͉͂̀̌ͅȈ̴̧̼̥̫͚̼͍̏̆̂͜͝O̶̫͓̤̺̯͚͚̤̦̤̾͋̊͂͗͠͝T̴͎̦̗̫̼͓̗̥̲̋̓ ̸̹̄͋Ġ̵̛̜̍̏̃̓̆̚Ị̴̯̞̏͌̎̎R̵͕̳̰̼̹̯̆̅ͅL̷̢̩̠̞̜̑̾͜!̵̠̜̖̣̜̜̩̎̓̿"̸͉̳̲̙͉͖̈͂̄͋̄̐ Hue screeched. "Į̸͕̱͕̦̫̮̱̂̐͜͜ ̵̨̥͓̖̼̋̽̄̉̈́͆͘A̴̧̭̖̦̲̗͕͆L̷̍͗̀͗͂͂̿͜͝R̷̢̖͕̟̳͚̰̦̗͉͗̈́Ě̷͇̣̝̠̘̑̓̊͜A̶̪̮̖͎͂́̚D̵̨̧̛̘͎̋͛͂̎́̂̽̒͜͜ͅȲ̶͔͎̼͇ ̸̛͍̼̞̖̟͓̉͋̑̀Ḫ̸̐̾͗̂A̸̳̎͒͂͋͐̌̌͋̈́͝V̵̳̹̦̤͔̣̟̲̞̦̊̆̓͌̓̔̽̅͝Ȇ̸͍!̴̧̡̜̳̣̪̥͉̅́͂͊́̌̅͝͠ Ŵ̵̢̮̈̊̒͝I̶̠̔͐̕T̶͕͚͒̈̑̕Ḥ̴̺̤͉̒͐̿͑̇́͝Õ̴͙̣͕͔̃̓͂̓Ų̶̠̲̮̹̭͖͎̥̹́̇T̷̫̘̮͍͕̈́͑̔͊̚͝͝ ̵̛͒͂̅̽̑͜͝͝Ṭ̴̆͊͂Ḫ̴̡͚́̈́̏À̴̡͙̱̰͚̟̱̇̋̒̒̎̂͊̚T̴̨͍͖̼̹̽ ̸̩͓͒̌M̶̡̞̦̰̘̫̺̆̈́̃͆͠ͅĚ̵̬̦̮̺͔̑D̵̨̯̜̭̭̼̽̿̈́̒̋̅́̎̿D̵͎͕̮͓̙́̒̍͘Ļ̷̢͚͎̠̩̜̳͔̺̒͛͋Ĕ̵̘̗͊S̴̠͓͈̫̖͈̝͇̈́̃ͅÒ̶̭̟̥̉̈́͛̊M̷̛͓̳̗̳̮̿̆̑͑͘Ę̷̛̝̬͉̙̠̥̩̉͑̈́̓̀ ̶̪̲͋M̴̢̛̻̙̭̙̯̒̓̓̅̑Á̸̢̟͇̲͉̗̣̊̇̾̉̔͘͝R̴͙̬̦̮̺͓͙̾ͅE̴̙̜̠̞̬͍̘͒ͅ,̴͓̠̳̾̈͝ N̶͕̣̻̙̫̟̟̯̄̈́̅͗͘Ǫ̵̞͇̩̞̟̘̣́̅͒̄̋̑͒͠ͅT̷̨̡̪̖̮̼̙̝̍̆̓̔͘͠H̷̡̻̜̯̖͓̳͗͗͗̌̃͗̄Ị̷̲͚̻͉̃̓N̴̥̲̙͍͈͙͓͔̿̽̈́̊̑̄̽̌̓͜͝Ǧ̴̻͖͓͔͕̪̎́͛ ̸͈͈̩̦͑C̸̮̪̘̙̲̄̈̀̐́̑̇͒Ą̷̻͎̊̊̐̌̃̿̽͝N̵͕͈̙͉̆̈̅̔͘͠ ̴̘̫͍͉̤͎̫̇̊̄̕͝S̶̲͓̙̅̑̓̒̎Ṫ̴̜̮̝̗͉̺͎̑̅̓̏̆̎̕͘͝Ó̷̝̐̈͘͠P̴͈̝̩͔̱̦̝̥̌͂̓̆͆̈̆̃̕͘͜ ̵͓͊̋̇M̸̩̦̙̤̤̥̟̤̼͑̉͐̓͒̂̽̅͘͜͝Ȩ̶͇̰̱̗̯͂̒̕͝;̵̢̰̻͚̰̥̣̗̭̂͋̀͋̿ Ĩ̷̡̨͇̩͇̻̳͙̓̾̒̈́̓̆̉͜͝ͅ'̷̝̜̱̹̱̹̝̤̑̑̆̃̒̆V̵͙̾̌̎̄͋̎̈́̽̚ͅË̷̛̺̗̻̱̦̯͍͓̱́͑̌̀̊̋̚ ̴̞̈́̇́̀̈̀͑̔͠Ŵ̵̨̲͎͈̠̥̭͔̭͔̌͐̆̔̂͘Ớ̴̺̬̙̻͈͇͒͜͝Ń̶̨̨̜̟̱̣̣̲̓̿̑͗ͅͅ!̷̼̺͔̼̫̅͆̒͂ AHAHAHAHAHA!!"

The horrid, unearthly screeching language coming from Hue's mouth, stung once again, but Poppy didn't care. "We'll see about that!" yelled Poppy.

She knelt down beside Pears, who looked up at her with glossy eyes. "Pears," said Poppy. "I swear to you, I'll get you your body parts back, or kill us both trying!"

"Sounds good, dude." said Pears lazily. "While your out, can you grab me a six pack of Cinnicola and a bag of Cheez Mummies?"

"No!"

To-Do List: Enlist help in retrieving Pear's body parts and stop Hue.

Poppy used the elevator to head back down into The Bright Side, without any issue from Hue; who wholeheartedly didn't care what she did, as he had already won.

TheBrightSideOfTheMoon

Stepping off the elevator, Poppy raced back to the first pony she knew would help her: Make It Shine.

Poppy ran back to the village, where she saw Shine performing her trick with Angel to a crowd of amazed onlookers. "Shine!" cried Poppy, pushing through the crowd. "I need your help!"

"Poppy?" asked Shine concerned. "What's wrong?" Angel sat on her shoulder, equally concerned.

"It's Pears!" said Poppy. "Hue cast some weird magic on her and now she isn't herself! Not only that, but Hue's done it, he brainwashed the entire planet!"

"WHAT!?" cried Shine, alarmed.

"Will you help me snap Pears out of it, so we can beat Hue?" asked Poppy.

Make It Shine narrowed her eyes and put her hat back onto her head, then casually waved the crowd away with her hoof, who dispersed immediately. She hopped down from the stage and locked eyes with Poppy. "What kind of spell did he use?"

"He just clapped his hooves and Pear's freakin arm vanished!" cried Poppy. "Then her brain, then her usual paranoia!"

Shine nodded. "I see." she said putting a hoof to her chin. "He used the Aspect Separation talisman, to split Pear's chief aspects from her body, so she would no longer be a threat to him."

"There's a Huetology talisman that lets people just tear off aspects of anyone they choose?" asked Poppy. "What else can these things do?!"

"You'd be surprised." said Shine. "But, that's gotta be how Hue removed Pear's aspects from her body."

"Where did he put them?" asked Poppy quickly.

"He didn't put them anywhere." Shine explained. "When the talisman separates the person's aspects, the aspects vanish and reappear in the place they would most likely want to be in, as they have now gained a physical form of their own."

"Wait." said Poppy. "Are you saying that there are now three other Burnt Pears running around somewhere indulging in whatever aspect they embody with total abandon?"

"Well, not total." said Shine. "All we have to do is locate them, and convince them to return to Pear's body."

"Sounds surprisingly easy." said Poppy.

"Will you be even more surprised when I tell you it won't be?" asked Shine.

"Not even remotely." said Poppy. "Where should we start?"

"Depends." said Shine. "He removed her violent arm, her genius brain and her natural paranoia; where would these aspects go, if they suddenly had bodies to go to places with?"

Poppy thought for a moment. "I think I have some ideas."

To-Do List: Locate and convince Pear's Aspects to return to her body and defeat Hue.

The Inconvenience Store

Through use of Shine's magic hat and Poppy's teleportation magic, they ended up in the store lobby of The Inconvenience Store, where they were immediately held at gunpoint by Pear's aspect of violence: A deep red version of Pears with fiery crimson eyes and a nearly-unquenchable desire to shoot everything that moves.

"Don't. Move." Violence warned. "Do, and I'll blow your heads off!"

"Pears? No, wait, you're obviously her violence aspect, right?" asked Poppy.

"Poppy?" asked Violence. "What do you want?"

"We want you to return to Pear's body." said Shine. "She needs you, to stop Hue!"

"That's why I'm here!" said Violence. "I'm gathering up every weapon I can find, and I'm nuking that bastard from down here!"

"You can't just destroy the moon!" scolded Poppy.

"Watch me!" said Violence. Poppy moved to stop her, but froze when Violence held her gun to her face again.

Poppy sighed. "Look," she said. "I get it; you want revenge on Hue."

"Damn right!" yelled Violence.

"Well," said Poppy. "Wouldn't it be more fun, to kill him up close? Watch him beg for his life as you laugh insanely and he curls up into a ball and cries at your feet?"

Violence lowered her gun, as she thought for a moment. "Hmmm...that does sound like more fun..."

"Exactly!" said Poppy. "So, how about returning to Pears so she can get her arm back, and we'll be one step closer to finishing off that monster together. What do you say?"

Violence thought it over for a moment. Finally she dropped her gun and said. "Yeah, alright." then vanished in a puff of red smoke, returning to Pears and giving her back her arm in the process.

"How did you know that would work?" asked Shine.

"I've known Pears for quite a while." said Poppy with a smile. "It doesn't take much to know about her love of violent confrontations."

Shine laughed. "Well, that's one down.Two to go."

"Yep." said Poppy. "And I think I already know where the next one will be."

Canterlot Bookstore

Poppy and Shine arrived in the Canterlot Bookstore to find it completely empty of books.

This was because Pear's aspect of intelligence: a blue version of Pears with a pencil behind her ear, had gathered them all up and was now reading through each one of them at high speed, forming a stack of read books up to the ceiling beside her.

Poppy and Shine approached and Intelligence acknowledged them "Hello, Poppy."

"Hello, Miss Intelligence." said Poppy. "I take it you know why were here?"

"Of course." Intelligence nodded. "You are here to ask me to return to Pears so that we can defeat Hue."

"Yep." Shine nodded. "How about it?"

"There is no need to convince me." said Intelligence shutting her book. "I've already thought it over, and found that you are correct; we must be whole if Hue is to be destroyed. I will return to Pears at once." She then smiled as she said. "Thank you." and vanished in a puff of blue smoke, returning Pear's brain to her.

"What was that you said about it not being easy?" Poppy joked.

"I just figured it would be, but well, you are Pear's best friend." said Shine. "I guess it would be obvious that any aspect of her would listen to you, without issue."

Poppy blushed at that. "Well, all that's left is paranoia."

"Any chances she'll be as reasonable as the first two?" asked Shine.

"Literally, none whatsoever." said Poppy. "And I think I know where she's hiding."

Burnt Pear's Secret Bunker

Poppy and Shine stepped off the elevator in Pear's secret bunker to find her aspect of paranoia; a yellow version of Pears, compiling a massive conspiracy theory on the walls on why breathing is secretly killing millions of old ladies, when she turned around to see Poppy and Shine.

"Poppy!" shouted Paranoia. "You're just in time! I've finally cracked it, it all makes so. much. damn, sense!"

"Don't suppose it would also make sense to go back to Pears, would it?" asked Poppy.

"Oh, but that's exactly what they want me to do!" snapped Paranoia. "Don't you get it? It's all a plot, to get me; and everyone's in on it! You're probably in on it too!"

"What in the world is she talking about?" asked Shine, tilting her head.

"Just...Just let me handle this. Trust me. "said Poppy with a sigh.

"Hey!" Paranoia snapped. "What are you two talking about over there, huh?!"

"Ahem. You're right! I get it now, it all makes sense!" yelled Poppy. "But now you have to ask yourself, what if you're in on it too!"

Paranoia's jaw dropped. "Of course!" she yelled. "The one pony I'd never suspect! That has to be it! I see it now!"

"Great!" said Poppy. "So will you return to Pears now?"

"Not a chance!" said Paranoia. "I'm not just heading back without knowing where I'm going! You guys have to take me back to Pears, so I can know this isn't a trap!"

"Um...okay." said Poppy with a shrug. "Let's go then!"

Paranoia sighed. "Fine." she said. "But no funny stuff!"

TheBrightSideOfTheMoon

Poppy and Pear's returned to The Bright side with Pear's aspect of Paranoia, to find Pears, laying down on a large red mushroom, half asleep. She sighed loudly as Poppy and Pears and Paranoia approached.

"Hey Pears." said Poppy. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I want to take a nap. Or thirty." said Pears, sleepily.

"Right." Poppy turned to Paranoia. "Ready?"

Paranoia nodded, and then vanished in a puff of yellow smoke.

Suddenly Pears jumped down and rubbed her head. "Ooh. Yeah. That's better."

"You alright now, Pears?" asked Poppy.

"Do you feel like yourself again?" asked Shine.

Pears turned to Poppy. "I learned something today, Poppy."

"You did?" asked Poppy. "What is it?"

"That I truly had no idea how far my hatred for that psychotic freak, Hue Humble, could extend." said Pears narrowing her eyes. "Please take me to him, so that I may do the universe a favor, and forcefully remove his head from his body, then set it on fire."

Poppy smiled. "Good to have you back, Pears."

"Oh, I never left." said Pears. "I just temporarily lost the ability to rip that monster limb from limb. Now that I have that back, I would like to go use it now."

Poppy turned to face the pagoda, with Pears and Shine by her side, all thinking the same thing. "Alright." said Poppy. "Let's finish this."

To-Do List: Defeat Hue Humble and Save The World.

Hue Humble's Inner Sanctum

Poppy, Pears and Shine arrived back in Hue's inner sanctum. "Alright, lets-" Poppy was interrupted when Pears suddenly broke into a sprint and galloped straight towards Hue, her eyes flaring wildly.

"HUMBLE!!!" she roared as she jumped off her hind legs and tackled Hue right out of the bubble; both of them smashing into the far wall with enough force to crack it.

"Pears!" yelled Poppy, as her and Shine went to check on their friend. Suddenly Pears was flung off of Hue, but landed swiftly on her feet on the other side of the room.

Hue rose to his feet like a vampire, a wide smile on his bruised face and his glasses now smashed, revealing two yellow snake-like eyes behind them. "You little insect." he snarled. "Satisfied, yet? O̸̡̮̖̳͈̓̅͆̀̂̉r̸̳͆́̇̎̚ ̶̲̼̀̈́͆̏̌̋̕ͅd̵̢̙͈͓̙̺̥͈̻͑̓͛̀͗̓̽͝ị̴̪̹̙̖́̀̀̑̃̏͒͘͝ḑ̷͎̰͆ ̶̨̡̱̝̖̣̲͈̌̈́̕y̶̨̬̣̝̭̎̾̓ö̸̱͎̼̠̥́̌́u̵͕͖̤̐͒̾̆͐ͅ ̶̨̠̳͙̗̖̦̀̓̆̈́̾̄̚ͅẇ̶̛̥̩̘̞̝́̅̂̒̓̕ͅa̸̖͓̬̗͋̄̔̉̉͆̋̒͘̚ͅn̵̩̫̬͍̅̔̄̈ẗ̸̥̣̰́̓́͑͐̈́̇̕͠ ̷̨̯̲͖̙̦̋̅̍̃́̚͝ͅẗ̸̜́̀̓̄̔̔ͅo̸̱̣͌͒̿̊̇̏͝ ̵̯̱͙̺͉̙͕̠͑̈̓̀̆͛̿̓́m̵̝͈̰̓̾͂͋͒͌u̷̡̡̳͉͚̜͈͑̿̾͐r̴̩͉̟͇̣̼̮̪͚̔̂͜͝d̴̢̬͖͇̺͆̈́͋̑̍̐è̸̥͂͌͊̓̒ŗ̶̨͉̲͉̮͔͖̮̎̀̌͑́̈́̾̐͋ͅ ̶̧͈̫̬̰͚̦̔́̃͋̍̔̋͝m̶̡̭̫̥͕̬̥̰͍͉̀̇́̏̀̾̈͝͝e̸͈̤͗ͅ ̷͈̟̖̳̬͍͓̬̙́̂̊̽͐͜͠å̷̗̜̬͓̩̣̊͜ĝ̵̱̙̝̥̖̳̫̈́̀̽̈́̏͑̃́a̶̡͇̖̯̥͈̖̱̍̀͒͋̾̚͜ͅị̵̧͍̤͚͍̱̭̓̃̎̌̓͘͝͝ǹ̸̛͉͌͌͛͛͑͋̀́?̴̞̼͇̥̩͂̈́̆

"Do I really need to answer that?" said Pears with a wicked smile.

Hue's smile grew wider and wider. "Alright then," his body began to change and morph, his pony facade, melting away as his scaly, monstrous body took form. N̷̨̡̜͖͚̂͆̈́̏̀͋̈́̊̈́͜͜o̵̫̮̟͓̽͛̚̚̚͠͝ ̴̢̝̥̬̇̎́͆̌̐m̵͖̭̼̺̅̊̉̌͌̔̓̐͘̚ȏ̸̧͙̺͎̪̹̳ŗ̸͚̰̇̅ḙ̸̻̬͓̦͖̝̼̦͊̆͘ ̶͓̭̤̞̹̦͆̔̃͐ͅh̵̩̹̮̟̓̇̐̐̚i̷̖̬͓͆̀̎̅̿̀̕̚ḓ̶͚̇́̀̇̚i̸͇̓̔n̸͇̦̥̼̼͗͌g̶̡̢͇͉̼̪̪̼̽͆̇̊̌̀̑.̷̤̻̣̎͗̃̀̃̚͝

His head folded back revealing a terrible lamprey like head and mouth arrayed with sharp teeth; his hooves became long gangrenous, bony appendages with foot long claws at the end.

Great tendrils of flesh writhed from its back, as several centipede like legs sprouted from it's slug-like body, and stretched in a dozen directions. At the top of the now albino-toned mass, the afro of Hue Humble opened up as one huge, bulbous red eye as it's toothless maw stretched to horrific lengths.

"̴̛͙̠̌͒̊͌S̶͎͚͓̽͆̾͆̑͒̽̕i̵̛̮͔͙̾̏͜n̷͕̣̦̾̏̾c̶̪͓͗͑̅̽̆̏̃͝͝͝ḛ̸̞̍̋̑́́̿̒̉̃ ̷̧̠̖̺͕͈̲̺͗̈y̵̢̪͙̜̬̣̤̣̆̓̀̋ò̴͕͖̞̺̬͉̫͚̱̅u̷͓̺̥͑̽̅͗ ̶̩̮̩͌̔͛̑́̚ţ̷̰̠͚̜̜͒̕ḣ̴̡͚̙̥͆̍̀́͛́r̸̢͈̣̩̬̖̖̖̯͚̍̈́̌̍̿͛͒e̵̩͇̬̙̅͂̐̈e̸̫͓̍͋́͊͛͋̓̉̓͝ ̴̪̼̦͇͇͚̟͘͜͜á̸̳͝ͅr̵͙̳̐̈́̀̾̅̀̿ȩ̷͉̖̬͓͙̭͎͚̔̔̏̈͗̿̈́̕ ̶͚͔̪̉͂͝s̸̯͎͕̤͓̬͍̼͔̅̒̏̂̌́͜͠ơ̷͓̤̎̔̾̍̓̐͒̎͝ ̸͇̞̣̖̦̙̺̻̥̏͛̅̊̂ĕ̸̟͗ã̵̡̛̘͚͎͚̦̒̒̒̾͐͝g̶̛̤̱̣͈͓̼͔̎̔̀̇̾͠e̷̢̛͐̿̂̿̕r̶̻͙͎̝̩͗͑͒̍̆̈́͜ ̶͙̙̪̣͕̦̃͋̋t̶̠̹̲͒͠o̴̗̲͎̥̝̖̞͑͌͌̓ ̵̙̹̼͈̭͓̯͍̈́͂̚ḑ̷̮̖͕̬̤͉̉͘i̵̧̖̎͑̕ẽ̶̡̬̯̬̤̉́͝"̵̛͇̣̳̪̺̖̼̯̘̈́̄͐͂̒̉͊͠ The creature gurgled. "̸̛͙̱͛̽̿̓̒́̚̕Į̵̣͚̰͖̠͖̞͍̱̔̃̐̆͗̓'̷̯̯̗̯̳̬͈̊l̶̹̍̎̓̿̄̓̑̒͝͠l̵̬̳̦̺̂̈́͌̉̎́̀͑͐͠ ̵̘̗̰̜̺͈͑̇̏̊͗̈͘̚͝b̸̠͈͔̫̭͈̣̃̂̀̀̄̓̚͠e̵̛̼͌̿̋͂̀̽̐ ̵̧̡̤̺̞̌̓̀͒̅̀̈́ẖ̸̋̒̾̐̒͝a̴̧̢͇̗̞̗͇͕̺̞̓p̸̘̃̔̈́̀̃̇̇̎̄̔p̵̣̞̭͈̤̹̦̤̑̐̚y̸̭̗̜͌̀̑̑͊̏̕ ̴͇̠̣̺͖͎̮͌̐̔̇͗͛͠͠t̶̢͇͇̑̔̀͌̾̕o̶̫̘̪͉̭͐̀̌͒͜ ̸̧͓͎̺̓̅͂̚͝o̸̭͈͎͍̰̗̝͐͊b̵̬̗͚͔͉̙́̽̎̔̆ĺ̵̡̞͒̄̃̾̈͛͝͝i̷̡̝͔͖̫̜̯̅̑́̐g̷͔̫̳̝̟͊̐̿e̵̡̧͔̣͉̙̘̟̭̬͂̂͑̾͘!̷̗͙̻̹̋̓̇̍́͝͝"̵̢̦͔͙̈́̋͊̉̍̕

"But first," came Hue Humble's usual voice from the depths of the creature's mouth, "We'll play a little game; just to make it more entertaining for everyone. How's that sound?"

Before anyone could answer, the monster's bulbous eye suddenly glowed rainbow, and Poppy, along with everyone else suddenly vanished in a puff of rainbow smoke, only to reappear in different places around the room.

Pears appeared in the bubble.

Shine and Angel appeared tied to a large pointed column of crystal suspended from the ceiling.

Finally, Poppy appeared, strapped down to a large rotating wheel, that was constantly spinning around, getting faster and faster with each rotation.

"Ugh...I'm gonna hurk- I'm gonna throw up." said Poppy, getting nauseous.

"That's right, baby." said the monster. "Eventually, the wheel will be spinning so fast, that your bones will be crushed into jelly from the force. It's gonna be groovy, baby."

"Hurk- oh, not groovy, not groovy!" said Poppy trying her best not to lose her lunch.

"So," the monster looked up to see Make It Shine looking down at it. "This, is who you truly are, Hue?" she asked, sounding disappointed. "All those hours, all that work I put into Huetology and you never even cared?"

"Aw, c'mon." said the monster. "Don't take it so personally. I really did want you to be happy....you know, so I could feed off it."

"Well," said Shine, her eyes flaring. "You aren't the only one whose mastered Huetology, you freak!" Make It Shine suddenly vanished from her ropes and appeared next to Poppy, in a puff of rainbow smoke.

"WHAT!?" the monster roared angrily.

Shine waved her hoof and Poppy was released from the wheel, where she tumbled onto the floor. "Are you alright, Poppy?" asked Shine.

Poppy got to her feet, holding her mouth. "Ugh....yeah." she said getting her balance back. "Yeah. I'm good."

"Good." said Shine. "Now let's free Pears, so we can-" suddenly she vanished once more and re-appeared tied to the same crystal column. "What the?!"

The monster uttered a low guttural laugh. "Did you forget who invented Huetology, little pony?" he mocked. "We can play this game all you want; at the end of it, you'll still all die! Ahahahaha!"

His eye glowed once more and Poppy was once again tied to the spinning wheel of death. "Oh, no. Not again!" she cried. She had to think of a way out of this! Poppy looked up at Shine, who was about to free herself again, when the monster smacked it's huge tentacle against the crystal, causing Shine to yell out.

"Oh no, you don't." said the monster. Poppy noticed a small crack appear in the side of the crystal. Then it hit her; she knew how they could kill this monster and free themselves at once.

"Shine!" she yelled. "I want you to free Pears and have her re-appear, clinging to the side of that crystal you're tied to!"

"What?!" Shine looked over at Poppy, then Pears, then the crystal. Then she got it. "Okay, got it!"

Pears vanished from the bubble and reappeared on the side of the crystal, hanging onto it by the side. "Hey, Hue!" she yelled. "Come on, I'm right here, squid boy!" she shook her rear at him as she laughed joyfully.

D̷̡̲͇̼͍̻̭̱̦̍I̶̟͎̲̳̖̩̠͚̼̞̾̀̂̍̓̓̄̚͝͝Ę̸̲̮̠̬͈͖̙͈̠͆̇̊̒͋̍͆ ̵̨͓̭̜̟̔ͅP̸̜̥̳̣̦̲̖̋͊̿̾̑͂̃͆̀͂ͅË̵͇̌̋̿͛̐͌͒̀͝A̵̛̺̻͖̘͐̾̒̐̀͋͜͝R̴̨̡̛͔̮͔̯͙̯̍͗̀̾̇͠S̸̼̺̑͑̿̾̉͝!̵͓͍͈̮̑̑͝ͅ!̵͓̪̠̤͍̯͉̽̒͋̈͗̉͝ͅͅ!̵̨̟͖̥̘̭́̍͆̚ The monster shrieked, as it swung a huge tentacle at Pears. But Pears jumped down at the last second, causing the tentacle to smash through the crystal, sending it plummeting to the ground.

Shine then freed her self again, appearing next to Poppy, as she waved her hoof catching the huge jagged crystal and making it disappear.

Only to reappear, directly over the monster's huge, bulbous eyeball.

Poppy was freed once again, and stood beside Pears and Shine. "Hey Hue!" she pointed upwards. "Head's up."

The monster looked up only for the huge crystal to plunge deep into it's eye, spraying green alien goo all over, as the monster screamed and roared in pain, thrashing about all over the room, only making the crystal plunge deeper, until it finally pierced the monster's brain.

The monster stopped thrashing around, and froze for a second.

Then it slowly fell forward, till it hit the ground with a thunderous thud; finally dead. This time....for good.

With Hue Humble, or whatever crazy alien name he was called, finally having met his demise, the Huetologists trapped on the moon (As well as Penny, Smart Cookie and several others whom Hue had failed to brainwash and were instead all tied up in a closet within his inner sanctum) were now free to return home, including the Princesses of Equestria, who quickly denied taking the position back from Poppy.

As she had saved their and everyone else in the world's lives, they felt she deserved to remain the Princess of Equestria for a while longer, while they went around the world, and helped free it's population from Hue's mind control. Poppy accepted their offer, with a smile.

After many weeks of investigating, avoiding death and following leads, Princess Poppy Blossom, Burnt Pears and Make It Shine, finally put an end to the mass hypnosis conspiracy for good, with the final nail being the dropping of Hue Humble's monstrous corpse into a volcano. And then blowing that volcano up, courtesy of Burnt Pears and one of her spare warheads. When she appeared to tell the world of Hue's demise alongside Poppy, she assured them that this time, he was gone for good.

Poppy gained worldwide recognition as a valiant and brave hero, that saved them all from being enslaved by a freakish happiness-eating alien monster, alongside her friends, and got to remain the Princess Of Equestria, while also receiving numerous awards for her incredible delivery skills. Although she did notice that when she went outside, she would spot a strange cross-eyed grey Pegasus glaring at her from a bush across the street, only to duck back into the bush every time Poppy tried to talk to her.

With Hue gone, Huetology needed a new leader. And Make It Shine, gladly took the job. She was one who could teach them all about the secrets of Huetology, and help them reach that same fulfillment in her life that she reached. Most importantly, she would actually care about her followers, and would devote everything to improving Huetology so it could change ponie's lives just like it did for her.

Make It Shine became a world-class magician, performing on grand stages to sold out shows every week, touring all over the world and quickly becoming legendary as the greatest magician in the entire world, alongside her partner Angelbunny, who's owner also tagged along to help with their performance. Now the leader of the biggest spiritual movement on earth as well as a world class magician, Shine used her new vast fortune to buy WARP studios, and converted it instead into a world-class magic school for her to teach others how to follow their dreams.

At long last, the world was safe, and everything was as it should be.

It was finally over.

However...

Far, far away from Equestria, in the snowy mountains of Yak Yakistan, a mysterious cosmic portal suddenly opened its maw over the tallest peak in Yak Yakistan. From it a huge, monstrous, creature leapt down onto the earth; scattering snow all over the area.

The creature, a hairy bloated demonic beast, with a huge white beard, piercing red eyes, and a thirst for blood (As well as rather festive looking red hat with a white fur trim and a white ball on the end of it) looked over to see a small Yak family gaping at it in horror.

The creature approached the family, crouched down on all fours, it's claws raking the ice under it's feet. It towered over a young yak boy, his mouth frozen open in fear, as the creature, glared down at him with glowing red eyes, opened it's huge, fang-filled mouth and uttered a horrid, ghastly sound, the likes of which Equestria nor this world had ever heard in their lives; that chilled the young yak boy's blood to it's core.

ℌ𝔬, ℌ𝔬, ℌ𝔬.

Successful Delivery! - On Time Percentage: 100% - Issues: None - Complaints: None - Rank: A Delivery #6 of 11 Completed

Delivery #7: "The Red And Green Menace."

It was a chilly morning in Ponyville, as Princess Poppy Blossom, returned to her cottage, having completed her latest delivery, as well as congratulated herself on another successful peace summit in Zebrica.

Thoroughly ready to stay in, snuggle under a blanket and watch that morning's episode of Cooking Without Looking, Poppy went over, and plopped herself on her couch, and flipped on her TV.

A commercial of what looked like two wildebeests arguing about motorcycle insurance played, while Poppy went out to her kitchen to get herself the breakfast plate she had prepared before she left a few hours ago. Sitting back down on her couch, she put her feet up as Cooking Without Looking came on.

The jaunty tune of the show played as the camera swept down to the cheery, smiling face of Coco Pie, who looked especially happy this episode for some reason. "Hey, everypony!" she cheered. "As you can tell, I look especially happy this episode for some reason! What's that reason? Because we've reached over seventy-thousand words! We're almost there, everyone!"

Poppy rolled her eyes, accepting this as Coco Pie's own personal brand of strange, and just enjoying it as she ate her breakfast.

"And to celebrate," said Coco. "I'm going to be baking seventy-thousand cupcakes! Right now!"

Poppy looked up. "Seventy-thousand cupcakes?" said Poppy. "This should be interesting."

Before she would find out how interesting it was, the phone on Poppy's desk suddenly rang. Poppy went over and picked, up already knowing who it was. "Hello?"

"Poppy!" said Miss Wintergreen. "I heard how you did on that delivery to Zebrica; well done as always!"

"Thank you, ma'am." said Poppy politely.

"Oh, sweetie, really." said Wintergreen. "You're the princess of Equestria! I should be calling you ma'am!" she joked.

Poppy laughed. "You're still my boss, Miss Wintergreen." she said happily. "Anyways, was there anything else you needed?"

"Well..." Miss Wintergreen suddenly sounded nervous. "I did, actually, but....it's bit of a hike. And there's bad news written all over this one, Poppy."

"Bad news is just news to me, Miss Wintergreen." said Poppy confidently. "What did you need me to do?"

"Alright." said Miss Wintergreen with a sigh. "I got an order for a small package of spears to be delivered to the capital city of Yak Yakistan, far, far to the north. Something about them needing them to fight....well, a monster."

Poppy's eyes went wide. "A monster?"

"That's what those poor yaks on the phone said when I got the order. "said Wintergreen. "They said a huge, terrifying monster just dropped out of the sky a few weeks ago and starting tearing their city up! They said they need more weapons to fight it!"

"Sounds like something I should look into." said Poppy.

"It certainly does." agreed Wintergreen. "I've already called ahead to The Inconvenience Store; the order should be waiting there for you to pick up."

"Okay, I'll head over and make the delivery." said Poppy with a smile.

"Be careful, Poppy." warned Wintergreen. "If there really is a monster running around up there, you need to do everything you can to make sure those yaks are safe. And maybe deal with that monster of theirs if you run into it. Okay?"

"I understand, ma'am." said Poppy. "I've dealt with monsters before."

"Good luck, Poppy. Go teach that beast a lesson!" Then she hung up, as did Poppy.

Poppy finished her breakfast, then got ready to head down to The Inconvenience Store. She wrapped her purple scarf around her neck, strapped on her satchel, then headed out the door, closing and locking it on her way out.

To-Do List: Pick up the delivery from the Inconvenience Store and head to Yak Yakistan.

As Poppy began to make her way down the street towards The Inconvenience Store, she saw a sight that made her stop and turn to look at it.

Across the street, in the vacant storefront that once belonged to Hue Humble, a familiar mare was humming to herself as she put up her new sign for her new office.

Poppy called out to her. "Penny!" Penny Metronome turned around and gasped at the sight of her friend Poppy, smiling away at her from across the street.

"Poppy!" she was then attacked in a hug by Poppy, as the two mares laughed before breaking the embrace. "How was your peace summit?" she asked.

"Really?" said Poppy. "I haven't seen you since Hue tied you up and locked you in a closet on the moon, and that's the first thing you ask me?" she joked.

"I like to stay up to date on my politics." Penny joked. "But seriously, how have you been Poppy? I'm so sorry I haven't been able to talk to you, I've been really busy as of late."

"What've you been busy with?" asked Poppy. "And is it by any chance the reason why it looks like you're moving to Ponyville?" she asked eagerly.

Penny smiled. "You got me!" she squealed. "I'm moving to Ponyville!"

"I knew it!" cried Poppy happily. "What happened to inspire you to move though? Besides my charming and alluring company of course."

"After I got back from the moon, I decided I needed to move my office to a more rural location; one that had less traffic, but friendlier-oh who am I kidding" said Penny throwing her hooves up in the air. "I just wanted to be your neighbor! I had the money thanks to my fame with the psychotherapy community, and decided to just go for it, so here I am!"

"That's the best reason you could've given me!" Poppy said happily as the two mares hugged again.

"So, where are you off to on this frosty morning?" asked Penny. "Princess or Delivery business? "

"Delivery." said Poppy. "I have to deliver a shipment of spears to the capital city of Yak Yakistan."

"Yak Yakistan?" said Penny alarmed. "That's quite a trip to make! Though I assume you'll be using teleportation to get there, right?"

"I certainly don't plan on climbing any mountains to get there." Poppy joked.

"Why do they need spears, anyways?" asked Penny, now curious.

"There's a monster attacking the capital." said Poppy. "I'm also going to be dealing with it once I get up there."

"A monster!?" cried Penny. "You mean there's another one?"

"I wouldn't worry." said Poppy. "Whatever it is, it won't be as bad as Hue was."

"Goodness, I should hope not!" said Penny. "Still, you going after it, is pretty much a guarantee that that monster's already dealt with." Penny added with a smile.

Both her and Poppy laughed. "Alright," said Poppy. "I should get to the Inconvenience Store, now. But it was great talking to you Penny!"

"You too, Poppy!" Penny said happily. "Tell Pears I said Hi, for me!"

Poppy waved goodbye to Penny, then continued down the street till she stopped at the front door of the Inconvenience Store.

The Inconvenience Store

After checking to see what the gumball machine contained this week ("Huh. Toothpaste?") Poppy opened the door and went inside.

As soon as she was through the door, Poppy was then stopped by a mechanical voice. "Halt!" it commanded. "Welcome to The Inconvenience Store; please wait while I determine if you are truly welcome, or if I am just uttering idle pleasantries." A beam of light then shot out of the far wall, and swept over Poppy, before vanishing. "You have been deemed not unacceptable. Welcome!"

Poppy walked over to the counter, where she saw her best friend and local paranoid super-genius, Burnt Pears, busy installing a large medical-looking device on the far wall, next to the storage closet.

"Hey Pears!" greeted Poppy happily.

Pears turned to see her friend and smiled back. "Poppy! I'm glad you could make it!" she took Poppy by the hooves and led her to the lobby. "What do you think?"

It was at this moment, that Poppy realized a number of new machines had been installed in the store. Next to the trash can was a large bomb disposal receptacle and next to the sink there was a periscope for looking outside. The snack section was lined with expensive looking photography equipment, a photo enlarger, an X-ray machine, a deep range transmitter radio, an industrial grade microscope, a seismograph, high-density security laser grids over the soda machines, and her entire frozen food section had been converted into a cryogenic chamber for her to freeze herself in case of a world ending disaster.

"Wow." said Poppy. "I see you've been busy."

"Yep!" said Pears slipping back behind the counter. "I decided the store needed a couple of improvements, ever since our mutual friend Hue showed up in Ponyville and I had no idea until you told me. I had to beef things up a bit, you know?"

"I can tell!" said Poppy. "How did you afford to build all this?"

"Well, when we, you know, saved the entire world," said Pears with a smile. "The united nations awarded me with a large grant to further my research and developments!"

"That's fantastic!" said Poppy. "How much did they give you?"

"A hundred trillion Bits."

Poppy nearly bit her tongue. "You...you didn't get that much."

"I did get that much." said Pears with a sly smile. "And I spent it all upgrading the store; I'll have no trouble finding them now!"

"Them?" asked Poppy.

"Them." affirmed Pears.

"Who's them?" asked Poppy.

"You remember all those weeks ago when I told you someponies were spying on me?" asked Pears.

"Yeah I remember." said Poppy. "You said they were spying on you and that they had to be a group of them."

"Well, they vanished off my radar for a while. And ever since Hue, I haven't seen anything from them." Pears then pulled her monitor over for Poppy to see. "But, since last night, they're back on my radar again!" She pointed to a large blip on a radar screen; and it was moving closer to the center.

Poppy's eyes went wide. "They're moving?" she looked at Pears. "Did they move before?"

"Not like this." said Pears. "They're coming, Poppy. And they'll be here soon."

"What should we do?" asked Poppy.

"Right now," said Pears. "There isn't anything we can do except watch them; and I have that covered." she set her monitor aside and smiled at Poppy. "So, you're here for that delivery for Yak Yakistan?"

"Yep!" said Poppy.

Pears nodded and brought up a large wrapped up bundle tied up with ropes, and set it down on the counter, which Poppy then picked up and slung over her back. "Thanks, Pears."

"No problem." said Pears. "While you're here, you want see what I have in stock? Ordered lots of new stuff to go with the store!"

"Sure." said Poppy. "What do you have?"

"Lets see." said Pears checking her stock. "I've got gift cards for buying other gift cards?"

"What're those good for?" asked Poppy.

"Uh, for buying gift cards. Duh." said Pears.

"Gonna pass." said Poppy. "Anything else?"

"Art pieces made entirely of candy corn?"

"Why would I need that?"

"What else would you do with candy corn?"

"Um...eat it?"

"Or make it into a charming art piece!"

"No thanks." said Poppy. "What else?"

"Live sharks in goldfish bowls?"

"You have miniature sharks in goldfish bowls?"

"Nope. Not miniature anyways."

"Yeah, nope."

"Fair enough." said Pears. "How about a bag of Barbecue Plankton Chips?"

"What the heck are plankton chips?"

"Sliced plankton that have been tossed in sea salt and fried in canola oil." said Pears. "They also come in other flavors like Sour Cream and Onion, Cheddar and Sour Cream, Ranch, Salt and Vinegar, Salt and Pepper, Flamin' Hot, Xtra Flamin' Hot, XXtra Flamin' Hot, Dill Pickle, Limón, Deli style, Balsamic Sweet Onion, Chipotle Ranch, Tangy Carolina BBQ, Garden Tomato and Basil, Honey Mustard, Creamy Garden Ranch, Cajun Herb and Spice, Balsamic Sweet Onion, Chile Limon, Chipotle Ranch, Creamy Garden Ranch, Creamy Mediterranean Herb, Crinkle Cut Spice Rubbed BBQ, Garden Tomato and Basil, Harvest Ranch, Hickory Barbecue, Honey Barbecue, Honey Mustard, Hot and Spicy Barbecue, Light Original, Maui Onion, Mesquite Barbecue, Natural Sea Salt, Parmesan and Tuscan Herb, Reduced Fat Original, Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper, Sea Salt and Vinegar, Baked-

"Pears!" cried Poppy. "Geez, just how many bags of these things do you have?!"

"Too. Damned. Many." said Pears narrowing her eyes.

"I can tell!" said Poppy. "Anything else, that isn't plankton chips?"

Pears thought a moment. "Well, with the holidays rolling around, I have started to stock some more festive items." Pears checked behind her counter and brought up what looked like a record in it's jacket, which was decorated with festive lights and snowflakes as well as.....pentagrams?

"Uh, Pears," said Poppy eyeing the record. "What is that?"

"This," said Pears. "Is an album of demonic holiday carols, for families to enjoy by the fire of Hearths Warming Eve. Or when they're trying to exorcise a demon out of grandma...again."

"It's a record that exorcises demons?" asked Poppy.

"Pretty much." said Pears with a shrug. "Want it?"

"Um...maybe later." said Poppy. "Right now, I need to head over to Yak Yakistan with these spears. And then possibly slay another terrifying monster."

"Sweet!" said Pears. "Let me know if you an extra hoof by your side!"

"Will do!" said Poppy with a smile.

With that, Poppy waved goodbye to Pears, and used her teleportation spell to transport herself all the way up north, to the snowy kingdom of Yak Yakistan.

Yak Yakistan (also known as Yak Land and Yakyakistan)

Yak Yakistan is a large, rural mountain kingdom far to the north of Equestria, known for it's homely culture, friendly yak citizens and its mighty warriors who protect the outskirts of it's capital city, known as Yakital (A play on Yak and Capital) from hostile intruders, as the mountains around Yak Yakistan are known to harbor extremely dangerous creatures. This would not be the first time, Poppy had ever visited Yak Yakistan on a delivery, and it's citizens were well aware of who she was.

Especially, Bogomir, Yakital's chief guard and easily one of the strongest yaks there were. He was a mighty and proud yak with a large horned helmet, braided mane, and a gruff brown beard that both signified his age as well as his strength. He had seen Poppy in action before, when she fought of a large pack of dire wolves that were attacking a yak family's camp. She gained good standings with the yaks since then, and when she appeared in the snow outside the gates of Yakital, Bogomir greeted her with gusto.

"Poppy!" he cried. "Little strong pony has arrived!" He grabbed Poppy and nearly strangled her in a huge yak hug.

Poppy smiled as she tried to keep some air in her lungs. "Nice to see-urk you too, Bogomir!" she choked.

Bogomir let go of Poppy who quickly took in as much as air as possible before she smiled at her yak friend. "How have you been, Bogomir?"

Bogomir shook his great head. "Not well, little strong-pony." he said gravely. "There is monster; red fur with horrible red eyes, it stalks grounds outside capital; many yak try and fight it! But monster too strong, even for Yak!"

But then Bogomir smiled, as he suddenly wrapped Poppy in another yak hug. "But now you here!" he cheered. "You can help yak, defeat monster! You not like other ponies; you strong-pony, strong like yak!"

He let go of Poppy who looked confused. "Wait, you mean you don't want your spears?" she asked.

"No, no!" said Bogomir. "Don't misunderstand; yak need spears too! Yak need everything they can get hooves on, to fight monster."

Poppy smiled. "You already know I'll help you guys." she said. "But can I ask you about this monster? The more I know the easier it'll be for us to get rid of this thing."

"Yes, little strong-pony right!" said Bogomir. "Yak tell little strong-pony about monster; much to tell!"

To-Do List: Find out more about the mysterious monster terrorizing Yak Yakistan.

"Where did this monster come from, Bogomir?" asked Poppy. "I heard it came from the mountains?"

Bogomir shook his head. "No! Monster come from sky; appear from clouds, and land right on top of mighty yakistan mountain top!" Bogomir pointed to the mountain range behind Yakital, specifically the tallest mountain of the range, where it's peak touched the clouds. "Monster drop out of sky; begin terrorizing yak! Yak fight back, but monster strong."

"It really came from the sky?" asked Poppy. "Are you sure?"

"Yak family see monster fall from sky with own eyes!" said Bogomir. "Yak boy, barely escape from monster. Family not with boy when he come down and warn other yak about monster. Yak go up into mountains, find boy family; bring home. They tell all yak about monster!"

"Has the monster hurt anyone, Bogomir?" asked Poppy.

"Yak fight monster with all yak strength; but monster too strong, even for yak." Bogomir shook his head. "Many yak hurt, but nothing yak cannot handle; only make yak want to fight harder! Yak strong! Will fight monster; defeat monster, with little strong-pony help!"

"Of course I'll help you Bogomir." said Poppy with a smile. "But we should head into Yakital so I can get a feel for things, before we start planning any monster hunts, just yet."

"Haha!" Bogomir nearly smacked Poppy into the snow with a huge pat on her back. "Yak knew little strong-pony would help!" He turned and opened the huge wooden gates to the city. "Come!" said Bogomir with a huge smile. "Yak show little strong-pony city; help her help yak fight monster!"

Poppy followed Bogomir through the huge wooden gates and into the city of Yakital.

Yakital

Yakital was a beautiful and rustic Yak settlement with a huge wooden wall enclosing many huts of all shapes and sizes, clustered around large wooden totems that were carved to honor yaks of old. The narrow streets were lit by tall torches that burned even in the heaviest snowfall. It was truly an amazing place to visit, especially around the wintertime, when winter lanterns would decorate the streets and little yaks would be playing with wooden toys carved by yaks with their own hooves.

But as Poppy and Bogomir entered it was clear, from the tension in the air, that things were not so merry this time around.

There was a great gathering of yaks in the town square; all yelling and shouting about the monster and how they should deal with it. Listening to the crowd's complaints was Chief Grudi; a huge black yak with many braids in his mane and large double-horned helmet with one of the horns broken off. Grudi had been leading the monster hunts, but after many failed attempts to capture the creature, the yaks were starting to worry for their villages.

Beside him was an elderly yak medicine woman, who looked quite calm and peaceful despite the unruliness of the crowd. She clutched a large wooden staff in her hooves as she stood beside Grudi, who was trying his best to calm the crowd.

"Fellow yak!" he called out. "Please, calm selves; we are doing everything we can to capture monster; until then, please return to homes. The mountains are no longer safe for yak."

One yak called out. "You said Grudi handle monster!" he said angrily. "Monster still here; when monster be taken care of?"

"Grudi did say monster would be handled." said Grudi. "And monster will be handled! But until monster handled, other yaks must return home; mountains not safe; homes safe!"

The crowd began to settle a bit but were still clearly worried.

It was then that Bogomir decided to enter the Frey. "Fellow yak!" he bellowed. "Is not time for being afraid, is time for celebration! Little strong-pony has returned to help yak fight monster!" He gestured to Poppy, who simply stood there in the snow while every single head turned to look in her direction. The crowd had now gone completely silent.

"Um...."Poppy tried to think of something clever that both the princess of Equestria and a known savior of the entire world should say when addressed by a large crowd. "Hi...?" (Nailed it.)

Then there was a great stampede of hooves and the next moment Poppy found herself shaking hooves with every yak in Yakital.

"Yak hear of you, little strong-pony! You fight monsters before! You strong like yak; very proud to meet little strong-pony!"

"Pony strong! Monster not problem for yaks now!"

"Little strong-pony help yak! Yak honored!"

It was then that Chief Grudi seized Poppy's whole arm and shook it with jubilant laughter. "Grudi knew Little strong-pony come!" he said happily. "Come! Grudi show little strong-pony camp. Other ponies already here!"

He let go of Poppy's arm, and Poppy then looked up bewildered. "Others?"

Monster Hunt Campsite

Far from the walls of Yakital, in the clearing where the ground met the mountains, the Yak guard patrols and mountain patrols had set up a large campsite to act as their base of operations during their many hunts to get rid of the monster. It was a large enclosure, not as large as Yakital itself, but still large for a makeshift camp. It had many tents, each one made for the purpose of sleeping, eating or building weapons, which consisted mostly of spears and large impaling implements to be worn on the yak's head as they charged at the enemy.

As they entered the camp, Poppy was greeted by many strong yak warriors, but it was the three fillies by the campfire next to the mess hall, that truly caught Poppy's attention. "I should've known you three would be here, too." said Poppy. The Fizzy Poppers, bundled up in their matching color scarves and winter hats, smiled at her slyly.

"Of course!" said Cherry. "Did you think you could go hunting another terrifying monster, and we wouldn't be there to help you?"

"Yeah!" said Root. "When we heard about how you slayed that Hue monster on the freakin' moon; there was no way we we're going to miss out on an epic monster-hunting adventure in the snowy mountains!" then she gasped. "Do you think it's a yeti!?"

"Probably not," said Lemon Lime. "Yetis are not known to build their nests this far north; they prefer a more rigid climate close to the ground."

Root looked at Lemon Lime. "How do you know that?" she asked.

Lemon Lime pulled out a large green leather-bound book with gold inlaid around it's borders. She held it up for everyone to see; the front said "The Equestrian Bestiary", in large gold letters. "I brought it so we could maybe find out more about the monster!" said Lemon Lime proudly. "Maybe even find out where it came from and how we can defeat it!"

Poppy nodded, at least glad that they had prepared themselves. "I don't suppose your uncle Buttercream knows that you're all the way out here, does he?" asked Poppy suspiciously.

The Poppers cheeks turned rosy. "Um...well." said Root, scratching the back of her head. "We, uh, we were going to, but....um.."

"Are you going to tell him?" asked Cherry. "I know we're just kids, but we can help you!"

Poppy shook her head. "I know you guys can help." she said. "And I know that you want to, but this is going to be really dangerous; I don't want you to get hurt."

"We won't get hurt!" said Root. "All we have to do is stay with you, right?"

"Yeah!" said Lemon Lime. "We'll just provide intel and inform you if we notice anything peculiar about the monster."

Poppy thought for a moment. The Poppers didn't need to prove anything to her; they were truly remarkable young ponies. And if they were willing to help her out, she shouldn't turn them down. After all; she herself had no idea what she was up against just yet. Any extra help would be greatly beneficial.

Poppy sighed. "Alright." she said. "Just remember to stay with me at all times; and don't go wandering off into the mountains. Deal?"

"Deal!" cried The Poppers happily.

The Poppers followed Poppy as she went to go and speak with Grudi regarding the family that first saw the monster. Grudi was speaking to another Yak guard; telling him to increase numbers guarding the west entrance as the last monster sighting happened near the west mountains.

The guard nodded before shuffling off through the snow. Grudi then turned to greet Poppy and the Fizzy Poppers. "Ah!" he said. "I see little strong-pony found other little ponies! Good! Means more help dealing with monster, yes?"

Before Poppy could answer, Root said "You bet! Just tell us where you need us!"

Poppy sighed as Grudi laughed. "Haha!" he laughed heartily. "Little ponies have warrior spirit, they do!"

Poppy nodded. "Grudi? I was told that the monster was first spotted by a family up in the mountains?"

Grudi nodded. "Yes." he said. "It was week ago; yak boy came down from mountains; tell yak about terrible monster. We got get yak boy's family and they tell yak same thing."

"Can I speak with this family?" asked Poppy politely. "So I can get a clear picture on what they saw?"

"Of course." said Grudi. "Follow Grudi." Grudi lead Poppy and the Poppers to a large tent guarded by two mighty yak warriors with huge clubs. They nodded to them as they entered.

To-Do List: Talk to the yak family about the monster they saw.

The inside of the tent was warm and inviting thanks to the roaring wood furnace the yaks had set up inside. It felt good to come in and warm up after trudging through snow and freezing cold winds out on the mountains.

Grudi lead Poppy over and pointed to the yak family sitting by the first with blankets wrapped around them, as well as enjoying hot cocoa. Poppy thanked Grudi then approached the family.

"Excuse me?" the family turned to Poppy. "Hello, my name is-"

"Princess Poppy!" exclaimed the father yak in a surprisingly un-yak like fashion. "We had heard you were here! Sorry, we didn't come to talk to you ourselves."

"Whoa." said Root. "You guys talk all....well, normal!"

"Root!" Cherry scolded.

But the yak family laughed. "No, she's right." said the mother, also sounding more pony then yak. "We moved to Equestria many years ago from Yakital. We've since picked up the language quite well." she explained. "We were actually just visiting our homeland from Fillydelphia, when...that thing appeared!"

"It looked right at me!" said the yak boy. "It was really scary. And it looked funny too."

"The monster looked funny?" asked Poppy. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." said the yak boy. "It was wearing a weird hat; red with white fur around the brim and it looked like a nightcap with a white ball on the end. Like I said: weird."

Monsters didn't usually wear hats, so this fact was certainly interesting. The yak boy continued. "He also had a white beard; white as the snow. And....he wore a red coat."

Poppy looked up. "A red coat? You mean his fur was red?"

"No," said the yak boy. "He wore an actual coat! Red with white fur trim around it." He thought a moment. "Actually, he didn't have any fur, now that I think of it. Just icy blue skin."

Poppy's eyes went wide. This creature didn't sound like any monster she knew of. In fact, it was starting to sound like this monster wasn't even a monster at all. But if that was true, then she would need to find out what she was dealing with from the only source that was guaranteed to have answers.

Pears.

Poppy told the Poppers to stay put in the tent and see what they could dig up about the creature with Lemon Lime's monster book. She told them and the yak family she was heading back to Equestria to talk to a friend who was guaranteed to know about the nature of this mysterious creature, and would be back soon. Everyone understood and wished her luck as she used her magic to teleport herself back to the lobby of the Inconvenience Store.

The Inconvenience Store

Poppy arrived in the store lobby of the Inconvenience store to find Pears busy restocking her soda machine with both soda cans and what appeared to be inactive fusion grenades.

She looked over at Poppy and smiled. "Aha!" she said. "I knew you'd be back!" she raced over to behind her counter. "So what is it? Ghoul? Wendigo? Grumlet? Baraka? A combination of all four?"

Poppy's eyes went wide. "That's a thing?" she asked alarmed.

"I certainly hope so!" said Pears. "So, what's up?"

Poppy wasn't sure how to begin. So she just came out and asked. "What do you know about a bipedal creature that wears a red coat with white-fur trim, a red hat with the same and a white ball at the end, and a long snow white beard?"

Pears looked confused. "Um...you mean, Santa Claus?" she asked.

Now it was Poppy's turn to be confused. "A what claws?"

Pears shook her head. "You wouldn't know about him, unless you've taken a few accidental inter-dimensional field trips like yours truly." Pears rifled behind her counter and pulled out what looked like a huge storybook, clearly not written for or by Equines.

Pears opened the book and read from it. "Also called Saint Nicholas," she read. "Santa Claus is a figure of mythical folklore and legend; a jolly old elf in a red suit and snow white beard, who brings presents to the children of the world on Christmas Eve, as well as punishes the naughty children, by bringing them coal." she then closed the book with a loud slam!

Poppy was very confused now, but tired her best to work it out with Pear's help. "So....this thing isn't a monster, but an...elf?"

"He's supposed to be, yes." said Pears. "And judging from your face, I'd say that our monster looks an awful lot like ol' St. Nick?"

"Almost exactly like you described, actually." said Poppy. "But he doesn't look nearly as jolly."

Pears put the book back behind her counter. "Is that right?" she asked. "Then, prey tell, what has become of dear old saint Nick, then?"

"Well, first off he's apparently over eighteen feet tall," said Poppy. "Has huge claws, glowing red eyes, blue skin like ice-"

"Yep." Pears held her hoof up. "Demon." She then began to rifle behind her counter once more, clearly looking for something important.

"Um...demon?" asked Poppy. "So, it's not Santa, then?"

Pears pulled up what looked like an industrial gallon of holy water, but that wasn't what she was looking for. "Oh, no." she said. "That's definitely Santa. No doubt." she pulled up an accordion that shot darts out of the end of it, then kept looking. "But he's been possessed by a demon; ergo," she then smiled as she pulled up a large ornate scroll, with designs of snowflakes at the ends, and set it on the table. "We'll need to exorcise it."

"We will?" asked Poppy.

"Well....you will." said Pears sheepishly. "I would tag-along but I have to finish unloading the rest of those damned plankton chips...ugh."

Poppy took the scroll and unfurled it. It was a set of ancient instructions for exorcising demons from mythical figures using what was known as The Four Rocking-Horses Of The Apocalypse. Poppy read the instructions aloud for clarity. "Hey Kids, are the demonic denizens of the underworld ruining your holidays? Well teach them a lesson, without the need for messy arcane rituals. The My Little Pony Of The Apocalypse Play-set makes it easy!" Poppy paused to unfurl more of the scroll as she read. "First: Signal the emergence of the demon with The Four Rocking-Horses Of The Apocalypse (sold separately)."

Poppy looked over at Pears. "What the heck are the Four Rocking-Horses Of The Apocalypse?" she asked bewildered.

"They're an unholy collection of four miniature toy rocking horses; each one embodying a different aspect of the legendary Four Horses Of The Apocalypse." said Pears. "On their own they bring grave misfortune, but when brought together, they can draw out any evil, including that demon possessing Kris Kringle!"

Poppy shook her head and continued to read from the scroll. "After collecting all four rocking-horses, place them around a sacred totem, such as a tree or idol." read Poppy. "Finally, draw the hell-spawn out, by playing The Friendly Demon demonic holiday carol. He won't be able to resist! Happy Holidays, demon-hunters!"

Poppy rolled the scroll back up, and handed it to Pears. "Any ideas where I can find one of those rocking-horse things?" asked Poppy.

Pears smiled as she put the scroll away. "It just so happens I got one of those in last night!" said Pears. "But, well it'll take me some time to get it."

"Why?" asked Poppy.

Pear's sighed. "It's buried underneath all those plankton chips."

"Ah, I see." said Poppy with a nod. "Any ideas where else there might be one?"

"Honestly, I would go ask Interkitten." said Pears. "She's over at Crabby's right now. She'll be able to find out where the rest of these little horses are hiding!"

Poppy nodded. "Thanks for your help, Pears!" she said happily.

"Don't mention it." said Pears. "Now, if you'll excuse me," she grabbed a snow shovel from behind the counter. "I have to dig my way through a possibly literal ocean of plankton chips." She then left to go and do just that.

To-Do List: Head to Crabby's and enlist Interkitten's help in finding the other Horses Of The Apocalypse.

Poppy left the Inconvenience store and headed down the street where Crabby's diner, welcomed her through it's doors.

Crabby's Diner

As soon as she walked in, the smell of fresh pancakes and baking bread overwhelmed Poppy's nose, as she noticed their seemed to be some kind of diner event going on, with many familiar faces taking part in it.

Sitting in the first booth on the right was Evil Celestia and Evil Luna, who were being chatted up by a very excited Penny Metronome (something they didn't look at all happy about, for some reason; with Luna looking like she was one sentence away from trying to strangle Penny with her napkin.)

Down the row, sitting by herself and surrounded by several thick books, was Interkitten, who, adorably, had to use some of her books as a stool for her sit on to reach her saucer of milk on the table.

Behind the counter was the current owner and waitress of Crabby's Diner, Pretty Crabby, who looked over at Poppy as she came in. "Ah, Poppy!" she called. "Perhaps you'd like to play as well?"

"Play what?" asked Poppy.

"A trivia contest." answered Interkitten looking back at Poppy with a sparkle in her big eyes. "Please, come sit with me, Poppy." she said politely. "It looks like you have much to discuss with me, am I right?"

"Whoa." said Poppy as she sat down across from Interkitten. "You're good."

"Ahem!" everyone turned to look at Pretty Crabby who was holding a set of trivia cards in her hooves. "Now that we have everyone here," she said. "Welcome everyone to the first annual Crabby's Trivia Contest!" she announced.

"Rules are simple; answer the question right, you get a point. The team with the most points at the end, will win," Pretty pulled of the cloth covering the grand prize. "This one of a kind collector's item: A Rocking-Horse Of Pestilence Marquette! Complete with detailed disease riddling action."

Poppy looked over at the prize. It was a small green rocking horse with two ponies sitting on the back. The second one seemed to be pestering the first, with great intensity, due to how much the first scowled. It was also very well detailed, almost scarily so.

"I don't believe it." said Poppy to herself. "There's one of them now!"

"Then," Poppy turned to Interkitten who winked at her. "I suggest we win this contest so you can claim it."

"You knew what I was here for?" asked Poppy, amazed.

"I am the Internet." said Interkitten with a smile. "It's very hard to find something I don't know about."

"So that means you'll help me find the other horses too?" asked Poppy eagerly.

Interkitten nodded. "But first, let's win this contest." she then narrowed her eyes at Pretty. "As a supreme-minded super intelligence, I find it very annoying that this mare keeps trying to say I'm getting questions wrong, but she's actually cheating."

"But...she just started." said Poppy.

"Yes." said Interkitten. "But there are several different alternate-scenarios where she could cheat. I don't like cheaters." she then smiled at Poppy. "So let's win, kay?"

To-Do List: Win Pretty Crabby's trivia contest with Interkitten to claim the first Horse of The Apocalypse.

With Poppy seated at Interkitten's table, Pretty began the contest by reading off the first question.

"Okay!" she said. "First question: When did the war of X112 begin? was it A: X112, B: 20,000 years B.C, C: March 4th 2004 or D: Pastrami."

Poppy and Interkitten had already written down their answers the second she asked the question. As did everyone else, because...common sense.

However, as Pretty asked everyone what their answers were, and of course they said 'A'...

"Ooh" said Pretty shaking her head. "Sorry, that's wrong."

"WHAT!?" the entire diner shouted in disbelief.

Except for Interkitten, who simply smiled and said "I chose 'B'."

"What?" asked Poppy.

"That's correct!" said Pretty with a grin.

"WHAT??" asked Poppy again. She leaned in to whisper to Interkitten. "What the heck was that about?! Why did you pick 'B'?"

Interkitten shook her head and smiled. "Didn't I say there were scenarios where she would cheat?" she motioned towards Pretty who was sorting through her question cards. "The game itself isn't about trivia at all; it's about guessing which letter that Pretty herself chooses to be the right one. If you pick the same letter she does at random, then you win."

"What?!" cried Poppy. "How is that fair?'

"It isn't." said Interkitten taking a sip of her milk. "Hence: Cheating." she licked her paw after finishing her milk. "Or more specifically: Cheater's Trivia."

Poppy got it now. To win, she and Interkitten had to guess the letter that Pretty herself guesses. The question itself didn't matter at all! It was all about predicting which letter the cheater picks, then picking the same one. Interesting.

Having put it together, Poppy was more then ready when Pretty read out the next question.

"Okay, Interkitten got that one." said Pretty. "Let's see about this next one: What day comes between Tuesday and Thursday? Is it A: Doomsday, B: Wednesday, C: Doris Day or D: Menachem Begin."

Poppy thought for a moment. She had to pick the letter that Pretty herself picked. So which one would Pretty choose as her answer? Then it hit her. She wrote down her answer and noticed a quick wink from Interkitten.

"Okay!" called Pretty. "Everyone have their answer? Great, let's read them off one table at a time. Clones of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?"

"We chose 'B." said Evil Celestia.

"I also chose 'B." said Penny.

Then came Poppy and Interkitten's turn. "We both chose....C!" said Poppy.

"That's right!" said Pretty. "Team PoppyKitten is on fire!"

After a collective groan from everyone else in the diner, Pretty read off the next question.

"Alright, here's our next one: Which country makes Panama hats?Is it A: Panama, B: Ecuador, C: Manehatten or D: Donut Joe's."

Poppy turned to Interkitten as she wrote down her answer. "How do you know the answers to these, anyways?" she asked politely.

"Oh, there's a ton of quizzes and things on the Internet that uses these questions." said Interkitten.

"So...people probably end up getting them all right." joked Poppy.

"Oh." Interkitten sighed. "You would think so..."

"Okay!" called Pretty. "Let's see what everyone picked! Clones of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?"

"We chose 'A." said Evil Celestia.

"I chose 'A!" said Penny.

Poppy raised her hoof. "We chose 'C."

"Dingdingding! That's also correct!" said Pretty. "Only two more questions, and Team PoppyKitten wins!"

Another groan from the diner patrons. "Is this even a real trivia contest!?" yelled Evil Luna. "Or is this just some petty way of you humiliating us?"

Pretty looked simply appalled. "I am simply appalled!" she cried. "Why would I ever do such a fun and enjoyable activity as a diner trivia contest, all for the sake of humiliating you?"

Nopony answered, till Poppy raised a hoof. "Are you? she asked.

"Ahem. Next question." said Pretty. "Be warned though, theses are just the teensiest bit harder. Okay?"

After several dirty looks from the diner patrons, Pretty took a deep breath before she read off the second to last question. "If a man leaves the Crab-head nebula traveling at thrice the speed of light, and another man leaves at exactly - 0.92453.02 seconds after the first man leaves, and in Manehatten there is a man walking down the street with his dog, and he spots a penny on the ground, while a nearby donuts shop is handing out free donuts, how many nanoseconds will pass before a rip in the fabric of space and time causes the first man to have never been born?"

The silence in the diner was deafening. Nopony moved; nopony answered. All they could do was stare, horrified, into space. Even Interkitten was speechless.

Then Evil Luna said. "We're out." she then took the trivia cards, threw them in the trash, then went back to the booth and laid down.

Penny, simply picked up the cards and re-read them, sure the answer had to be in there somewhere.

Interkitten just sighed. "No one is going to get this one." she said. "There is no choice to guess this time."

"Then how do we answer it!? asked Poppy in a hushed tone.

"The answer," said Interkitten. "Is in the question itself. You have to memorize the question completely and then you'll know the answer."

"This is all really advanced stuff for a simple diner trivia contest!" said Poppy. "Is she really just doing this to humiliate us?"

"No." said Interkitten. "She has her reasons. Luckily, the question after this won't be nearly as difficult and challenging."

Poppy thought hard. She re-read the question over and over again in her head till it stuck. Then she repeated the question in her head:

"If a man leaves the Crab-head nebula traveling at thrice the speed of light, and another man leaves at exactly - 0.92453.02 seconds after the first man leaves, and in Manehatten there is a man walking down the street with his dog, and he spots a penny on the ground, while a nearby donuts shop is handing out free donuts, how many nanoseconds will pass before a rip in the fabric of space and time causes the first man to have never been born?"

Then it hit her. "None." she said. "Because the beginning of the question says that it's negative seconds, then the rip happens instantly! None of the other stuff ever even happened!"

"Correct!" said Pretty. "Whew, I was hoping someone would get that one; didn't make any sense to me either when the Director of the science institute suggested it." She shuffled her cards, till only a single card was left. "Okay, everyone! Last question!"

"Huh?" asked Penny. "Oh! Sorry, I was still working on the last one."

"And the last question is: "What was the first question I asked you at the beginning of the contest?"

Poppy remembered quite clearly, while it seemed everyone else had either given up or gone back to their food. "The first question you asked was When did the war of X112 begin."

"That's right!" Pretty called out happily. "Team PoppyKitten wins!" there was a half-hearted applause from Evil Luna, while Penny and Evil Celestia both cheered for Poppy.

Pretty smiled as she brought over the pestilence rocking-horse, and set it down on the table in front of Poppy and Interkitten. "Congratulations, guys." she said, before returning to the counter.

Interkitten nodded, for Poppy to take the horse. Poppy smiled as she picked it up and put it in her satchel. "Great!" she said. "One down, three to go!"

"Shall I locate the others for you?" asked Interkitten.

"I already know Pears has one, unsurprisingly." said Poppy. "So that's just two more left unaccounted for. Any ideas?"

Interkitten nodded, then waved her paw. A hologram interface appeared in front of her as she began to type furiously upon it, her eyes glowing bright green. "This'll take but a moment."

Poppy nodded and waited for Interkitten to locate the last two horses. "Poppy?" Poppy looked over at the counter and saw Pretty Crabby, waving her over. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

Poppy wasn't sure if she was in trouble or maybe Pretty just wanted to talk about the contest, but felt she should at least go talk to her; she could use the opportunity to learn about how Crabby's was back in business, something she had been wondering for a while now.

Poppy excused herself from the table and went to the counter to talk to Pretty.

"What did you need?" asked Poppy.

"I was curious what you thought of the contest." said Pretty. "I wanted to make it something special as a sort of tribute to grandpa.

"Tribute?" asked Poppy. "Did something happen to Crabby?"

Pretty looked around to make sure no one was listening. "I don't know." she said, whispering. "A few weeks before we re-opened, he went on a trip way out to the Bermuda triangle in search of new ingredients and never came back! I'm really starting to worry."

"What?" Poppy leaned in bit. "Crabby's missing?"

Pretty nodded. "I know....I know I'm not really his granddaughter, I was just adopted by his son, but still....he's family to me."

"No, no, I understand." said Poppy soothingly. "You're worried about your grandfather; there's nothing wrong with that."

"Thanks." said Pretty. "Anyways, did you want anything while you were here? We have some specials today, with the contest!"

Poppy hadn't eaten at Crabby's since she made the mistake of ordering a small salad and nearly choking on a chicken bone. But it was clear that Pretty was a far better chef then Crabby ever was. Plus, it couldn't hurt to get something for the Poppers when she got back to Yak Yakistan.

"Alright, sure!" Poppy took a seat in one of the dining stools. "What are today's specials?"

Pretty handed Poppy a menu. "It's all the same stuff was when grandpa was here," then she chuckled. "Just, you know...edible."

Both her and Poppy laughed at that one. Poppy looked over the menu, and found that indeed all of the Crabby's favorites were still there.

Including the Double Biscuit Burger with No Claws, The Tuna Sandwich with Peppers and Hot rocks, the poached eggs with tinfoil, sweet and sour saltwater taffy, and even the green salad with cracked walnuts.

"Hmmm...I'll take the green salad with cracked walnuts and," she thought about what the Poppers would want, then decided. "And three of the Deep Fried Devil Dogs."

"Sal!"

A large brown pony wearing a chef's hat with a face that was mostly Eyebrows and mustache stuck his head through the window on the wall behind Pretty. "Eh?" he asked.

"Give me a green duplex with two butlers and three prairie dogs in a Mexican standoff!"

"Eh." nodded Sal, before returning to the kitchen.

"I thought Crabby forbade quirky diner lingo on pain of death." said Poppy. "Or at least he used to say as much, when his waiters tried it."

Pretty rolled her eyes. "Which is why all those waiters quit the next day. Grandpa meant well, but he really didn't know how to run a restaurant."

"How long have you been working here?" asked Poppy.

"A few weeks now." said Pretty. "Running the family restaurant is very fulfilling, but I wouldn't say I was exactly made for it. I prefer white sandy beaches, sipping fiore martins by the Aurole De Venn's in Italy, not slinging hash in a diner. But I do love cooking, so it's still fun."

"Well, one thing's for sure. Your food is certainly attracting more ponies to the diner, instead of the effect it used to have." said Poppy.

"Running away screaming in hysterics and clutching their quickly failing digestive tracts on a beeline for the hospital?" asked Pretty.

"Yep." said Poppy.

"Well, I can safely say those days are over." said Pretty. "Before he left, he put me in charge of the place. And I will not have anymore customers ending up in the hospital because they accidentally eat industrial concrete on their meatball sub."

"I'm sure a lot of ponies will appreciate that." said Poppy with a smile.

When Poppy's food arrived she had it wrapped up and waved goodbye to Pretty then she returned to Interkitten.

"Did you find them?" asked Poppy.

Interkitten nodded. "The first one, The Rocking-Horse Of Death, with realistic soul reaping action, is being used for a magic trick at Make It Shine's show in Manehatten."

"No way!" said Poppy. "I was planning to go see that next week!"

Interkitten nodded. "The last one, The Rocking-Horse of Famine, with inedible hot dog accessories, is in Yak Yakistan, within the toy shop, on the top shelf."

"Well, since I'm heading back there anyways, I guess that'll be the first one I get." said Poppy getting up from her seat. "Did you want to come along?"

"No thanks." said Interkitten politely. "I will remain here and finish my milk before returning these books to the Royal Canterlot University."

"Fair enough." said Poppy."Thanks for all your help Interkitten."

"Of course." said Interkitten with a nod. "Do take care now."

To-Do list: Return to Yak Yakistan and retrieve the Rocking-Horse Of Famine from the Toy shop.

Carefully putting the food into her satchel, Poppy then used her teleportation spell to return to the camp outside of Yakital in a flash of orange light.

Monster Hunt Campsite

Poppy appeared back in the warm and inviting tent, where she was greeted by the Poppers.

"Did you find out what the creature was?" asked Cherry.

"Do we have to stake it in the heart?" asked Root.

"sniff sniff. Is that food?" asked Lemon Lime.

"Yes, no and also yes!" said Poppy taking the food out from her satchel and sitting down with the Poppers to eat. She invited the yak family to come join them, but they said they had their food left over from their trip up the mountains, but thanked her for the gesture.

As Poppy and the Poppers enjoyed their meal, Poppy explained everything to the Poppers, as best as she could. About how the monster was actually a magical being called Santa Claus and that he was normally a kind and jolly elf who delivered presents to children on the night of a certain holiday. But that now he was possessed by a demon and they needed to exorcise it.

Cherry munched on her Devil Dog. "So," she said calmly. "We need to find these evil horse things, so we can get rid of this demon... and save this Santa guy?"

"Yep." said Poppy.

"And then he'll turn back into himself?" asked Lemon Lime.

"Um...possibly." said Poppy.

"And then he'll give us presents for Christmas!?" asked Root excitedly.

"No!" scolded Cherry. "We're doing this to save a poor soul from eternal damnation, as well as all of Yakital from being destroyed by this monster!" she said sternly. "Plus, we don't even celebrate Christmas!"

"Yeah," said Root. "But Santa doesn't know that!"

Lemon Lime shook her head at Root, before turning to Poppy. "After we save Santa's soul, then what?" she asked. "Do we have a way to bring him back to his home?"

Poppy thought for a moment. They didn't even fully understand how Santa even got to Yak Yakistan in the first place. Only that he was definitely not from their world; a magical being from "another dimension" as Pears put it. "I'm...I'm not sure, about that one." said Poppy shaking her head. "Maybe Pears can help him, once he's back to normal."

"Then what are we waiting for!" said Root jumping up from her seat. "Let's get those horses and whoop that demon's scaly backside!"

"Yeah!" cheered the other Poppers.

Poppy laughed as she put her salad back in her satchel for later. "Guess, lunchtime can wait then." she joked.

Poppy and the Poppers began their epic quest for the Four (well, now two) Horses of the Apocalypse, by asking Grudi if there was a toy shop in Yakital; as it was a toy shop that held the Horse Of Famine.

"Why little strong-pony need visit toy shop?" asked Grudi, scratching his head.

"Long story short, we need a specific toy from there to stop the monster." said Poppy. "Is there one in Yakital?"

"Oh!" said Grudi. "In that case, there is shop across from blacksmith in town; not far at all."

"Thanks Grudi." said Poppy. "Also, is there a sacred tree or something around? Or a totem of some kind?"

Grudi nodded. "There is large oak tree in very center of Yakital; it never wilt and leaves never fall off even in coldest blizzard; tree very special to yak; provide food all winter!"

"That'll do!" said Poppy. "We'll be back Grudi; in the meantime tell everyone to call off the hunt for now."

"As Princess Little strong-pony wishes." Grudi nodded.

Poppy and the Poppers then left the tent and headed back to Yakital, following Grudi's directions till they reached a large toy shop nestled cozily in the back of town.

It was a beautiful log cabin with a lit lantern by the door and a sign shaped like a yak wearing a jester's cap. The sign read Dragoy's Toys in large bold letters. Despite the comfy looking sign and door-frame, the shop itself looked dark and upon peeking inside thorough the frosted windows, the Poppers found no trace of a lit candle, lantern or even the store's owner. And yet the sign clearly said they were open.

"The lantern's on," said Root pointing to the lantern on the front door. "But...nopony's home."

A chill went up Poppy's spine. She didn't like this. She liked it even less, when the door, they were sure was closed tightly, suddenly creaked open, as if the shop itself was luring them into a trap.

"Girls," said Poppy stepping forward. "Stay behind me." The Poppers obeyed without question, now knowing something was wrong.

Poppy cautiously peeked into the store, then with the Poppers at her heels, they went inside.

Dragoy's Toys

Dragoy's Toys was clearly a toy shop. One could tell by the fact that there were shelves of freshly painted toys, wood swords, nutcrackers and more all lined up in each row. But as Poppy and The Poppers entered the dark toy shop, they couldn't help but feel they had stepped into more of a haunted house.

The shadows of the toys were large against the walls, and the howling winds from outside made the windows rattle along with the whistling that went through the roof. Poppy looked around at all the displays, around the counter, even by the closet; but there wasn't a single other person, yak or otherwise, anywhere in sight. And it was so quiet; the only sound was the wind from outside, the rattling windows and the creaking floorboards as Poppy and the Poppers made their way through the shop.

Everyone jumped half a foot in the air as the door suddenly slammed shut; a gust of wind having done them the favor of closing it for them.

It was then that Poppy heard it. A heavy scratching and rustling from the back of the store, in the workshop area.

There was someone else here.

Poppy held a hoof to her lips, warning the Poppers to be quiet. They nodded, as she motioned for them to follow her to the back of the store.

Creeping along the dark hallway, Poppy came upon the entrance to the workshop where even from the door-frame she could see a tall, hulking figure, working furiously at one of the tables; broken pieces of wood and splats of paint covered the floor as they worked, apparently trying to put together a nutcracker.

Poppy approached the figure, thinking it was the owner. "Excuse me?" she asked. "Sorry to bother you, but we were-"

Then the figure turned. And Poppy's blood ran cold.

A huge, hulking beastly creature standing on two legs, wrapped in a red coat caked with snow, that swept across the ground, and wearing a strange red hat; turned to look at Poppy with glowing red, bloodshot eyes. It was clutching in one clawed hand, a very poorly put-together and damaged nutcracker.

The Poppers were frozen with fear, unable to speak or scream. The creature didn't attack; but simply stared at them, as they did it. It breathed heavily as it wrinkled it's blue face, it's huge white beard covered in snow and ice, from skulking around outside.

Poppy took a minute to calm herself. "Santa?" she asked.

The creature's eyes widened, seeming to understand. It nodded.

Poppy breathed a sigh of relief. "My name is Poppy." she said softly. "I know who you are; you're not a monster. That's why you're here, right?" Poppy gestured to the nutcracker clutched in the creature's claw. "You're making toys. Cause that's who you are."

The creature looked down at the nutcracker in it's claws, then back at Poppy. Then it nodded.

"You were never going to hurt these yaks, were you?" asked Poppy. "You were just lost; scared, you don't even know how you got here or what happened to you. Is that right?"

Again the creature nodded. The Poppers moved behind Poppy, still scared. The creature looked concerned for them, reaching out a claw for a second before bringing it back slowly.

Poppy understood. "You don't want children to be afraid of you." she said. "You love delivering presents to them, right?"

Again, the creature nodded, now clutching the broken nutcracker tightly in both claws.

Poppy smiled. "I'm going to help you." she said. "I have a way to get that demon out of you and bring back your jolly old self."

The creature looked confused.

"But I need a certain toy from this shop; a miniature rocking horse probably holding a hotdog on it as an accessory. Have you seen it?" asked Poppy.

The creature turned and picked up something from the top shelf, which was no problem as the beast was at least twenty feet tall. He then knelt down and gently handed the The Rocking-Horse Of Famine to Poppy, who smiled as she took it. "Thank you." she said.

The creature nodded.

"By the way, Santa," asked Poppy looking around. "Where's the owner?"

The creature nodded then pointed one clawed finger at the nearby door, which creaked open to show a tiny, fragile old yak in an apron and glasses peeking out. "I-Is he g-gone?" he stammered.

It took some convincing from Poppy and The Fizzy Poppers as well as the word of Dragoy that Santa only broke into his shop to make toys, but they were able to convince Yakital and the other Yaks, who Santa was, and that he needed there help; that he wasn't a monster at all.

Now no longer needing to fear the yaks hunting him, Santa stayed in the camp with Grudi and Bogomir to watch over him, while Poppy and The Poppers gathered the other Horses. They now had two of the horses, and apart from the one Pears was searching the mighty plankton chip mountains for, there was only one left.

No longer afraid of the monster, the yaks called off the hunt, and reopened their gates so that the yaks searching the mountains could return home as well. With Santa safe in the camp, Poppy used her teleportation spell to teleport her and The Poppers to Manehatten, where the next Horse awaited them.

To-Do List: Retrieve the Horse of Death from Make It Shine at her show in Manehatten.

The streets of Manehatten were abuzz with talk of the biggest show in Equestria: Make It Shine's Journey Of Dreams Magic Tour! The show had already made several sold out theaters in Fillydelphia, Las Pegasus, Saddle Arabia, Nawlans and now it was here, in town, at the legendary Manehatten Theater.

Poppy and The Poppers merely had to follow the crowd down the street and through the doors of the beautiful and extravagant Manehatten Amphitheater.

Manehatten Theater

The theater was absolutely packed from the lobby to the atrium, to even the bathrooms, as ponies clamored for their seats in anticipation of the big show. Poppy had to flaunt her Princess of Equestria privilege to get them to let her into the theater far enough to talk to the bouncer by backstage, who nodded as he let them through.

Backstage was a world of it's own as ponies were hustling with huge tanks of sharks, riding and trying to park flying carpets, a cage with two white tigers, a flock of flamingos, a massive cannon, with two stunt ponies practicing to load themselves inside of it, a trapeze act, an elephant riding another elephant and even dragons were busy testing out the many tricks lined up for the show.

And standing on stage, with Angelbunny in a dashing tuxedo on her shoulder, stood Make It Shine, who turned to see Poppy and squealed. "Poppy!" She then ran over and tackled her in a hug, laughing happily.

Poppy laughed too as she hugged back. "Good to see you again, Shine." said Poppy. "I was actually planning on seeing your show next week!"

"Couldn't stay away, huh?" Shine joked. "We have a full house in the theater, but I know we can talk our way into getting you four seats in the VIP section!"

"Really!" asked Root excitedly. "Awesome!"Cherry nudged her with her elbow.

"We'll have to take a rain-check on that, I'm afraid." said Poppy sadly. "We need your help."

"Of course." said Shine. "What do you need?"

"Do you happen to have a toy rocking horse, with quote unquote realistic soul reaping action?"

"Um...Oh!" Shine's eyes lit up. "Yes, I do! I was going to use it for a trick I had it in mind for the show, but for some reason every time I put it somewhere, I would find it again later in some random spot that I know I never put it."

"Wait." said Poppy. "You mean it moves around by itself?" she asked.

Shine shrugged. "I've never seen it myself, but, yeah I think it does." said Shine. "Ever since I picked it up over in Lower Maneitoba, I've had a strange feeling about it; for one it's always ice cold!"

"Wow, that it is strange." said Poppy. "Any ideas where it might've ended up?"

Shine thought for a moment. "I've noticed it tends to appear around the Nightmare night sets back in the prop warehouse; like it has some kind of fixation with the dead." Shine shivered a bit.

Poppy nodded. "Mind if we check the prop warehouse for it?"

Shine handed Poppy a key that opened the doors to the prop warehouse. "By all means! As long as you take that thing with you. I have another trick in mind to replace it anyways."

"Thanks, Shine." said Poppy taking the key.

"I knew something was up with that thing." said Shine. "Glad someone has a use in mind for it though. It wasn't cheap." Shine joked.

Poppy and The Poppers waved goodbye to Shine then headed backstage where they opened the door to the prop warehouse and went inside, closing the door behind them.

To-Do List: Search the Prop Warehouse in the theater for the Rocking-Horse Of Death.

The Manehatten theater always played amazing shows. Whether it was a play, an opera, a musical, or a magic show; there was no doubt that every set and prop piece was made to perfection, ready to bring the show to life for the audience.

And all these wonderful props and set pieces were made, on-site within the hallowed halls of the prop warehouse.

Entering the warehouse, Poppy saw what looked like the world's largest and strangest garage sale. There were several huge shelves containing multiple props like swords, shields, spears, and even cannons, loaded with plastic cannon balls. They looked around in awe at all the sets that were fully displayed ready to brought on stage.

There were sets for romantic operas, comedic plays, dramatic theater pieces, huge castle walls and towers, complete with painted blue skies. There was one set for a musical that took place entirely during a gondola ride in Italy, a set for a terrifying retelling of a famous vampire romantic tragedy, as well as one that seemed to be a play entirely about the life-cycle of toast (Poppy wasn't sure that one did very well.)

Finally, rounding the back they stepped into the most bizarre room they'd seen thus far. "Whoa." They all said in unison.

It was an entire library taken straight from the guest room of a horror movie castle But that is not what was strange about it; what was strange about it was that the entire room, tables and chairs included, was completely upside down!

They stepped into the room, hooves on the ceiling as they looked up and saw the floor, holding two chairs and a wooden table seemingly without gravity or physics able to interfere. The rest of the room, held bookshelves, a cider cabinet, a large case of fine china (Not a single dish within was out of place, despite the lack of physics keeping them from falling and shattering within the cabinet). It was very unsettling walking on the ceiling and seeing the room like this.

"Ohh." said Root holding her head. "This room's making my brain hurt."

"Mine too." said Poppy. "But this is the last room in the warehouse; the horse has got to be in here."

Then Lemon Lime shouted. "There it is!"

Everyone turned to see her pointing to a large cabinet on the far side of the room (on the ceiling) where there was indeed a pale horse with a skeleton design painted on it, closed up behind the glass door of the cabinet. The cabinet was higher off the ground then any other piece of furniture in the room, and like everything else, the horse within ignored gravity, standing perfectly still within the upside down cabinet.

"Great." said Root rolling her eyes. "How the heck do we get it out of there?"

Poppy sighed. "I'll have to climb this furniture to get up there to reach it." She went over and began to climb up the bookshelves to the ceiling (floor?)

"Are you sure we can't just throw something at it?" asked Root.

"We can't risk breaking it!" scolded Cherry. "Don't worry; Poppy's got this."

The Poppers watched as Poppy reached the top of the shelf, then leaped over to the upside down armchair.

"What about your telekinesis?" asked Root.

"It's too far up!" called Poppy. "I need to get closer before it'll work!" She leapt from the chair over to the table and hung off the edge as she scooted around to the chandelier. He hooves began to sweat as she neared the edge and nearly fell off.

"Be careful, Poppy!" called Cherry. "We'll catch you if you fall!"

"Thanks girls." said Poppy as she re-affirmed her grip then leapt onto the chandelier; the cabinet was just above her now. She looked down, and backed up. She was easily over three stories off the ground. She had to concentrate.

Poppy took a breath then leaped over to the cabinet, barley grabbing onto the wooded frame and opening the door to grab the Horse, and throw it in her satchel. The Poppers cheered and clapped for her as she then leapt over to the bookshelf and slid back down to the floor (ceiling?)

With the technically last Horse of The Apocalypse under their belt, Poppy and the Poppers said goodbye to Make It Shine (Who told them she would have seats waiting for them for her show next week) they then teleported to The Inconvenience Store to see if Pears had managed to locate the final Horse of The Apocalypse: The Horse Of War.

To-Do List: See if Pears has managed to retrieve the final Rocking-Horse Of The Apocalypse.

The Inconvenience Store

Returning to the cheery store lobby of the Inconvenience Store, Poppy and The Poppers heard what sounded like a bulldozer backing up underneath them, followed by the sounds of a million chip bags crying out in crinkly terror as they were tossed aside.

"Sounds like she's making progress." Poppy joked.

They waited for a moment. Then finally Pears emerged from her warehouse doors, wearing a mining helmet and brandishing a red toy rocking horse, that clutched a tiny golden sword in it's mouth. "Got it!" she yelled in victory. "Oh. Hey Poppy." she held up the war horse. "I got it."

"I can see that." Poppy laughed. "How was the struggle?"

"Real!" said Pears, taking off her helmet. "Anyways, how goes the search for the other horses? Knowing you, this is the last one you needed."

"You guess correctly!" said Poppy holding her satchel open for Pears to see.

"Huh. Well alright then, here you go!" Pears handed Poppy the war horse, who then put it into her satchel. "And you remember what else you need for this to work right?"

"Yep." said Poppy, getting out her purse. "Do you still have that album of Demonic Holiday Carols?"

"Yep, but you can put the purse away." said Pears with a smile. "This one's for Santa." She reached behind her counter and withdrew the album of demonic holiday carols and handed it to Poppy, who put it into her satchel as well.

"Thanks, Pears." said Poppy.

"No problem!" said Pears. "Now get back there and save Christmas!"

Having retrieved all of the Horses of The Apocalypse, and gotten the album of demonic holiday carols from Pears, Poppy finally had everything she needed to save Santa from the curse of the demon inside of him. With a flash of orange light, Poppy and the Poppers teleported back to Yakital, to begin the exorcism.

Yakital, Site Of Santa's Exorcism

As per Poppy's instructions, the yaks prepared the site of their Sacred Oak for the ritual, as Poppy approached the tree, while The Poppers joined the crowd of onlookers.

The tree stood tall over Poppy, and seemed to radiate a natural peaceful aura. It was definitely a special tree. "Alright." she opened her satchel and took out the horses of the apocalypse. "Let's get started."

As the instructions said, Poppy placed each horse around the trunk of the tree, with some space in between each one, so they created a cross-like shape. With the horses, planted, she took a step back.

Poppy waited.

The crowd waited.

Then there was a sound. "Bells?" Poppy looked around but didn't see any bells around her. They were definitely bells; huge holiday bells ringing a jaunty holiday tune in her ears. The whole of Yakital was suddenly alive with the sound of these invisible bells.

Four beams of light then shined down from the sky onto the horses who began to sparkle as great arcs of magical energy erupted upwards, wreathing the area in spectacular shades of red, green, and white. It was like fireworks had come to life; dancing in the snowy sky.

Then everyone watched in awe as the energy formed itself into what looked like a huge green pine tree with red ornaments dangling from it's branches, then finally a shining star appeared at the top, and blasted a massive beam of golden light, bright as the sun, directly over where it hit Santa causing him to freeze in place, motionless.

"Now!" called Poppy.

The Poppers then dropped the needle on the nearby record player and a jaunty, cheery tune began to play from the speaker.

♫ There once was a fear-some dee-mon, that had a very scare-ee form!
He was the most un-hol-ee, creature that was ever born!
Even the other dee-mons, were scared to let him join their games!
And if you ever want to meet him, you only have. to. shout. his. name ♫

ʜɔT'ɘʜoƚ|ɒupu ʜɔuɘ|ʏ'ʜꟼ
P̸̢̦̜̣̜͖̱̱͊͌̽͑̍̀̊͝h̷̲̳̝͚̹̭͙͚̾̍̍̅́͗̚'̶̱̩̱͔͙̫̼̱͕̹̏̌̾̑̒̈ÿ̶̳͈̣̜̱͕͓́̌ͅl̷̡̢̡̞̭̥̰̿ͅé̷̡̢̟͍̬͔̩̌̎̽̈́͆̕ů̴̺̜̄̒͛̃͘̕͘c̵̨̧̖͉̥̣͙̻̗͋̃̇̋́̿̈̈́̕h̴̜͕̣̟͈͕͉̼̻͒́̾̇̅̀̿̍̉ ̵̤̻̼͓̮͍̌̈́̔̏͒̑͜͝͝ͅu̵̢͎͙̤̮̐͋̂̃́̀̒̆̐̚q̸̜͚̬͓̦̅̌͝ǘ̴̢̡̢̮̲̼̥̽̈́̊̕a̸̝̜̟͓̠̝̥̘͚͋͒̀̂̿l̷̡̟͈̣̼̟̭̯͍͝t̴͉̙͙̙̩̦̬̩͎͂̂̐͊̓̕͝͠o̸̟͍͘h̵̨̫̤̦̘̦̿ễ̴̢̛̜̱͈̒͛͑͆̈́̎'̵̲̮̳̦̞̆̌T̸̨͈͐̅͗̌͌́̇̉̅̒ć̷͈̰̠̠͑̽h̵̛̳͉̩͖̀͊̽̽͂́͆̏͂
P̸̢̦̜̣̜͖̱̱͊͌̽͑̍̀̊͝h̷̲̳̝͚̹̭͙͚̾̍̍̅́͗̚'̶̱̩̱͔͙̫̼̱͕̹̏̌̾̑̒̈ÿ̶̳͈̣̜̱͕͓́̌ͅl̷̡̢̡̞̭̥̰̿ͅé̷̡̢̟͍̬͔̩̌̎̽̈́͆̕ů̴̺̜̄̒͛̃͘̕͘c̵̨̧̖͉̥̣͙̻̗͋̃̇̋́̿̈̈́̕h̴̜͕̣̟͈͕͉̼̻͒́̾̇̅̀̿̍̉ ̵̤̻̼͓̮͍̌̈́̔̏͒̑͜͝͝ͅu̵̢͎͙̤̮̐͋̂̃́̀̒̆̐̚q̸̜͚̬͓̦̅̌͝ǘ̴̢̡̢̮̲̼̥̽̈́̊̕a̸̝̜̟͓̠̝̥̘͚͋͒̀̂̿l̷̡̟͈̣̼̟̭̯͍͝t̴͉̙͙̙̩̦̬̩͎͂̂̐͊̓̕͝͠o̸̟͍͘h̵̨̫̤̦̘̦̿ễ̴̢̛̜̱͈̒͛͑͆̈́̎'̵̲̮̳̦̞̆̌T̸̨͈͐̅͗̌͌́̇̉̅̒ć̷͈̰̠̠͑̽h̵̛̳͉̩͖̀͊̽̽͂́͆̏͂

The record machine then let out a grotesque, guttural roar that made everyone cover their ears in pain, and sounded a bit like cats being dragged through a trash compactor while trying to see which one could scratch a chalk board the hardest.

As the horrid sound retreated back to whatever broken glass factory it came from, Santa let out a loud, angry yell as a dark aura enveloped him then suddenly left his body, falling to the icy ground, as Santa no longer a monster, fell back into the snow, unconscious.

For a moment no one said anything. The energy surrounding the tree vanished along with the horses of the apocalypse. The black mass bubbled and churned on the ground, wriggling like living ink. A few feet back from it, Santa Claus, once again his elf self, laid in the snow, snoring loudly.

"We did it!" said Cherry. "The exorcism worked! Santa's safe!"

"We beat the demon!" cheered Root.

Bogomir stomped his mighty hooves. "Monster is no more!!" he bellowed, and the whole of Yakital cheered and celebrated the defeat of the demon.

But as everyone cheered...

A black tendril suddenly lashed out, grabbed a yak by their ankle and tried to pull them into it's inky black body. Luckily the other Yaks saved him by severing the tendril, but it only made five more grow in it's place.

"EVERYPONY GET BACK!" Poppy bellowed. There was a furious movement of hooves as every Yak charged back into the safety of Yakital, while the guards stayed and prepared to fight the demon, which was now a tall black mass with several red bloodshot eyes, blinking and looking around seemingly at random, as it kept trying to grab the guard yaks with it's fast tendrils.

It seized Bogomir by his hind-leg, but Bogomir only laughed. "Haha!" he laughed. "Puny demon too weak to get mighty yak!" He brought down his axe right on the tendril severing it. As he cheered, he was suddenly seized around the waist by two more tendrils.

"Bogomir!" yelled Poppy. Bogomir was pulled into the maw of the creature, only to be dropped to the ground, as the demon was suddenly seized from behind.

"Your fight's with me, demon!" A deep voice yelled. Poppy turned to see that Santa, now back on his feet, now had the demon seized around the neck, as the demon thrashed, and roared trying to get the large elf off it's back.

The demon thrashed until it managed to wrap one of it's tendrils around Santa and threw him high into the air, where he landed in a pile of snow. But he was right back up soon after, removed his red coat, grabbed a spear, then charged the demon again, along with the other yaks.

"Whoa." said Cherry. "Santa sure is brave!"

"And...rotund." said Root, a bit uneasy.

"We need to help!" said Poppy. "They can't fight that thing on their own!"

But as Poppy and The Poppers were about to charge into the fray to help, Santa called out to her.

"Poppy!" he yelled. "I need you to check my coat pocket!" He rolled under a furious swipe from the demon. "It contains the power we need to destroy this vile thing!"

Poppy nodded then ran over to Santa's huge red coat that lay in the snow, and looked through the pockets for what Santa was talking about. She found many letters from children, a large bag of gingerbread cookies, a bottle of milk, several bags of faerie dust, a first aid kit and a Beard care magazine "for today's man on the go."

Finally in the last pocket, she pulled out a large green bottle. The yellowed label read "In Case Of Demon." She opened it up and a burst of red and green light erupted from it and into the sky, which began to thunder as lightning surged across the sky.

Then from the sky three balls of light floated down to take form in front of Poppy. The first was a ghostly mare in an old-timey dress and bonnet with her mane braided into pigtails.

The second was a brilliantly pink earth pony mare with an even pinker fluffy mane, wrapped in a soft yellow cloak with a wreath of what looked like candy in her mane.

Then finally the last was a tall, imposing mare completely shrouded within a cloak that seemed to perfectly match the night sky.

The three ghostly figures took one look at Poppy and frowned. "Oh. It's you." They said.

"Um...I'm sorry?" asked Poppy, completely confused. "Do I know you?"

The second ghost laughed. "Ha! Does she know us? Of course you know us!" she exclaimed. "We are the Ghosts Of Hearths warming!"

She pointed to herself and smiled. "I, am the ghost, of Hearths warming Present." she said proudly.

The first ghost nodded. "I am the ghost of Hearths warming Past." she said politely.

"And she," Present put her hoof on the shoulder of the tall cloaked pony. "Is the ghost of Hearths warming Future." The imposing mare nodded. "She doesn't say much."

"To...look imposing?" asked Poppy.

"No." Present shook her head. "She's just shy."

Present then rounded on Poppy, putting a hoof to Poppy's chest that sent shivers down her spine. "And you, Poppy Blossom, oh!" she threw her hooves up in the air. "We know allll about you, and the trouble you've caused!"

"Trouble?" asked Poppy. "What do you mean? What did I do?"

Past then floated up to her. "Your constant misadventures and the trouble you've attracted have ruined many a Hearths Warming in the past." she said sternly.

"What?!" cried Poppy. "I've never ruined anypony's Hearths warming!"

Present rounded on her again. "We can name three Hearths Warmings, that because of your recent actions, have been ruined...by you!"

"Okay! Okay." said Poppy. "I promise I'll make up for it but right now I need your help! There's this demon over there and...I don't know can you guys go...fight it, or something?"

The GOHs huddled up for a moment, discussing what they should do. Having agreed they broke the huddle and turned to Poppy.

"Okay. We'll help you." said Present with a smile.

"Great!" said Poppy.

"But..."

"But?"

Past shook her head. "But, before we do; you have to prove to us your worthy of our help."

"What? What do you mean?" asked Poppy.

Present came up to her and booped Poppy's nose. "As we said, there are three Hearths Warmings that have been ruined due to your actions." she explained with a grin. "If you travel back to each one with each of us, and fix them, then we will aid you in using the power of Hearths Warming to destroy that demon."

"I-I can't do that right now!" cried Poppy. "I have to stay and help fight that thing."

Present grabbed Poppy by the cheeks and locked eyes with her. "Except," she said. "You are time traveling. Literally no time at all will pass while you're fixing each Hearths Warming. It'll be like you never left!"

"Oh. Right." said Poppy, as Present let go of her face. "But what about Santa? He can't fight that thing!"

Past laughed. "Oh, you don't have to worry about him. The man lives in the coldest part of the world all year round, and has staved off the worst the arctic could throw at him for over one hundred years. Trust us; he'll be fine."

Poppy looked back at the scene of Santa laughing heartily with the other Yaks as they fought off the demon with their spears, actually looking like they were having a lot of fun. The Poppers had wandered over to watch the fight from on top of the wooden wall of Yakital, along with some other young yaks.

"Huh." said Poppy. "Well," she turned back to the GOH. "Alright. I'll do it."

"That's the spirit! Hahaha!" Present joked. She clapped her hooves, and suddenly a large hearths warming wreath appeared behind her, big enough for two yaks to walk through, with a swirling red and white portal pulsating within it.

Past clapped her hooves and another portal just like the first appeared behind her.

Future also clapped her hooves, and another portal opened behind her as well.

Past smiled at Poppy. "Choose which point in time you'd like to visit, and we'll take you back there." she explained. "Just remember the rules; nopony can see or hear you at all while you're with us."

Poppy nodded. "I understand. I choose to go back to the past, first."

Past leaned in and whispered "Good choice!" before leading Poppy through her portal to the past.

A Few Weeks Ago (Crabby's Diner)

Poppy and Past walked through the portal, into the inviting setting of Crabby's Diner. The diner was nearly empty, save for one lone mare who sat alone at her booth, with a cup of coffee, and a newspaper in front of her.

"Hey, that's Mary!" said Poppy. Mary Mareman was reading from the paper with a frown on her face, looking quite downtrodden. "Is she okay?"

Past shook her head. "She lost her job."

"What!" cried Poppy. "That's terrible!"

"Yep. And it's your fault."

"What!?" asked Poppy. "How is it my fault?!"

"When you killed Hue Humble, you technically killed Mary's boss." Past explained. "Though it was required, your actions still temporarily set Huetology back and caused Mary to be let go to make room for other like-minded ponies."

Poppy's eyes widened. "B-But I had to kill Hue!" said Poppy. "He was literally a monster bent on taking over the world!"

"I'm not arguing that Hue needed to die." said Past. "But you're actions still affected Mary's life. And now, you have to make it right!"

Poppy sighed. "You're right." she said solemnly. "But how do I do it?"

"You'll figure it out." said Past. "Just think for a moment. You literally have all the time in existence to figure it out."

To-Do List: Fix The Past by helping Mary with her unemployment problem.

Poppy looked around the diner, and went over to the counter where she saw not only Pretty Crabby, but Real Crabby was also there! He was a very old, very mean looking, donkey sea captain, with a red vest, a captains hat, a thick scraggly beard, and a squinty, angry face, that purveyed to everyone a very clear message: Screw off.

"Crabby!" Poppy called. "You're back! No, wait. You aren't missing yet." Crabby couldn't hear or see Poppy, and continued to stand at the counter, wearing a mean, angry scowl on his face while Pretty helped a customer with his order.

Poppy put a hoof to her chin. "Now I wonder," she said softly. "How do you go missing, Crabby?"

"Ahem!" said Past.

"Sorry!" said Poppy, turning back to Mary. "Hmm..."

Poppy sat in Mary's booth and looked down at the paper she was reading. "Classified ads." said Poppy looking them over. Most of them were crossed out, except one. "Wanted: Experienced Agents for the X019 P.O.I.N.T Recruitment. World's top field in espionage and global protection seeking recruits for this year's annual P.O.I.N.T recruitment drive. Elite agents only apply."

"No way!" said Poppy. "A spy agency is recruiting! That's perfect for you Mary!"

And this was true! Mary, before becoming The Don of The HappyTime Mafia, was of course an elite agent of the Equestrian Bureau of Investigation, alongside her partner, Stripe Dorton. She would be the perfect recruit for this P.O.I.N.T.

But Mary, disgruntled, picked up the newspaper and threw it in the trash. "Hey!" yelled Poppy. "What are you doing, Mary?! Didn't you see the ad?"

Mary Mareman sat at her table with her coffee. She'd worry about finding a job later. Right now, she just wanted to relax.

Suddenly, the newspaper she had thrown away, somehow blew out of the trash can and landed in front of her. "Huh?" she looked around. Had there been a breeze from the door? Deciding it must've been the wind, she was about to throw the paper away again, when a red marker dropped out of nowhere and landed on the paper, right on top of an ad that instantly caught Mary's attention.

"Hey!" she said. "That sounds amazing! P.O.I.N.T is the finest spy agency in the world, and their recruiting!?" Mary read over the ad quickly before a huge grin crossed her face. "This is perfect!" With newfound vigor she paid for her coffee then ran out the door with a new spring in her step.

"Huh." said Past thoroughly impressed. "Well, done, Poppy!"

"Thanks!" said Poppy with a smile. "Should I give back the red marker I took from Crabby though?"

"Nah, it's fine." she clapped her hooves and the portal reappeared. With one last look around the diner, Poppy returned to the present time in Yakital.

Yakital

Arriving back in Yakital, the portal to the past vanished, as Past went to wait for Poppy to fix the remaining time periods, taking a seat under the oak tree and watching the fight with Santa and the demon. The other yaks had gone to sharped their spears, while Santa had obtained a second spear and a horned yak helmet, and was furiously charging the demon from the front.

Poppy then approached Present, who turned to smile at her. "Poppy!" she said. "You ready to take a trip to the amazing, fantastic, and mysterious world...of the present?!"

"Isn't the present like....right now?" asked Poppy.

"Nope!" said Present with a grin. "The present applies to the moment of time where at least one day has not past, and applies to everyone and everything within the observable space time continuum!"

"Oh. Um...okay?" said Poppy still not fully getting it. "Then, yeah. I'm ready."

"Let's be off then!" Present and Poppy then entered the portal leading to that mysterious and awe-inspiring world of...the present.

The Present (Just not right now, though)

Poppy and Present walked once more into Crabby's Diner, where Evil Celestia and Evil Luna sat together at the diner counter. They looked especially somber, with two drinks of hard cider in front of them, the blinds closed, and generally just...miserable.

Poppy felt her heart sink. "Let me guess," she said. "I ruined Evil Celestia and Evil Luna's lives by stopping them from taking over Equestria?"

Present shook her head. "Nope." she said. "They just don't have the confidence in themselves to get out do something else besides drink themselves into a light coma. You need to snap them out of it, so they can prove to themselves they aren't worthless!"

"Oh." said Poppy. "Well in that case, I know just how to do that!"

A mopey Evil Celestia and Luna were sitting at their table, drinks in hoof, feeling very much depressed.

Luna tried to take a sip, but the glass moved ever so slightly away from her. She asked Celestia, “did you see that?” Celestia shook her head.

But going to take a sip from her own drink, it moved as well. Both princesses jumped in their seats, terrified and immediately coming to the logical conclusion that the restaurant was haunted. Just then, the blinds opened and light poured into the room. The sisters were blinded for a moment, but soon found the light very invigorating.

Just then, the stools both mares were sitting on bolted across the floor, carrying two completely bewildered and powerless alicorns on top of them. They screeched to a stop in front of a board in the corner of the place titled: “job openings. The wall was filled with fulfilling and interesting opportunities, the two evil sisters just didn’t have it in them to look for that again yet.

Looking over the spread, they felt inspired. Inspired to get out there, to take up the offer, to do something meaningful with their short, cloned lives. Just then, the doors swung open unexpectedly, and the bright, welcoming light of opportunity shined in.

This was it. This was their chance! Looking at each other, the princesses nodded in agreement. They both came to the same realization. Together, they walked out of Crabby’s and towards a new chapter of their lives.

Crabby then came in, hissed at the light, and yelled something about coming back to pay the bill, before swearing loudly for several minutes.

"Huh, Crabby still isn't missing." said Poppy. "I thought you said this was the present."

"It is." said Present with a wink. "From this morning; After you left with the horse of pestilence."

"What?" asked Poppy. "But...Pretty said that her grandpa..." Poppy didn't understand, but knew she would remember it the next time she talked to Pretty.

"Anyways," said Present. "You did it! Now you only have the future to fix!"

"Before we go," said Poppy. "Can we stay so I can see where Crabby goes?"

"Sorry, Poppy." said Present shaking her head. "Once the time period is fixed, we have to leave almost immediately."

"Dang it!" said Poppy. "I guess that makes sense." she looked back at Crabby, only to see he was gone.

Yakital

Poppy and Present returned to Yakital, with the portal behind her vanishing just as the first did. Present then went to join her fellow GOH under the oak tree, to watch Santa fight the demon. He was doing amazingly, with the demon clearly having a hard time against him and his spears.

Poppy went over to the Ghost of Hearths Warming Future who nodded, then pointed to the portal behind her.

"You...really don't talk?" asked Poppy politely.

Future shook her head.

"Like...at all?"

Future shook her head.

"....Not even a little?"

Future shook her head.

"Huh/ Well let's get to it I guess." Future nodded and lead Poppy through her portal into the distant future.

The Future

Poppy stepped out from the portal only to be met by a terrifying sight. She saw herself, her future self standing on what appeared to be an outcropping of volcanic rock, surrounded by boiling lava; which was quickly rising. "Okay, Poppy." said future Poppy. "Just have to think of a way out of this....any moment now."

Current Poppy then turned to Future. "I have to save myself from dying in a fiery hellscape!?"

Future nodded.

"Really!?" snapped Poppy. "I need to figure out how to save myself from dying a horrible burning demise, and you won't even say anything about it!?"

Future shook her head.

"Oh, screw this!" Poppy seized the hem of Future's cloak and pulled it right off of her, revealing a shocked blue mare that looked like Luna, but with blank, white eyes.

"H-Hey! What the hell!?" she yelled in outrage. "Y-You can't do that!"

"Just did!" Poppy yelled back before throwing the cloak into the lava. Instantly there was a terrible gust of the coldest wind Poppy had ever felt, and the lava froze over, creating an icy path for future Poppy to escape from.

"What the?" said Future Poppy, bewildered. "Hey...I remember this!" she then looked over at exactly where current Poppy was standing. "Thanks, past Poppy!" she called out before galloping off across the ice to her freedom.

Poppy waved goodbye to her future self while Future looked outraged. "Do you have any idea what you've done!?"

"Yeah, I saved myself!" said Poppy. "With no help from you at all!"

"You destroyed my cloak!" said Future blushing furiously. "What am I supposed to wear now!?

Poppy thought a moment. "I think I have a suggestion..."

Yakital

Poppy and the ghost of Hearths warming future (Now wearing a lovely blue scarf that Poppy knitted for her using her knitting kit from her satchel) returned to the present, to see that the other ghosts of Hearths warming were waiting for them.

"Whoa." said Past. "What happened to your cloak?"

Future shot a look at Poppy as her cheeks turned red. "I....lost it."

"You lost an ancient relic that exists beyond the totality of time and space?" asked Present.

"....yes."

"Huh." said Past. "Well, the scarf is cute though!"

Future sighed. "Thanks."

Poppy then stepped in. "So....will you guys help destroy the demon now?"

"You have proved to us that you are willing to make up for your actions, and help those who are effected by them." said Past. "So...sure. Lets do it!"

"Whoo! Demon battle!" said Present.

Future just sighed again. "A scarf works too....I guess."

To-Do List: Help The Ghosts Of Hearths Warming Destroy The Demon.

Back at the scene of the fight, Santa was clearly exhausted, but he didn't give up; brandishing his broken spears, as if they could still injure the horrid creature. "Come on!" he roared. "Come on then!" Then he was pulled back through the snow, all the way to Yakital, by an unseen force.

"We can take it from here, Nick." The Ghosts Of Hearths Warming floated down and locked eyes with the demon; it's bulging red eyes blinking and snapping shut rapidly, as they all locked onto the three ghosts in front of it.

For a second, the only sound heard was the gentle howl of the mountain winds. Then the battle began.

Past slammed her hooves to the ground and from the shaking, icy earth, sprang a massive snow golem; like a huge white knight, which then thrust it's huge sword into the inky black gut of the demon, sending it sprawling backwards as it roared angrily.

Tendrils, possibly thousands shot out from the demon's body too fast for Poppy to see, aimed for Past, but they were deflected when a massive wrapped present appeared in front of her, opened up and trapped the tendrils in it's maw.

Future moved her hooves gracefully around her as time all around the area froze for a second, before a trillion icicles shot out from the ground by Past, right into the demon's body.

Enraged the demon opened it's eyes and a jet of green light streaked out from it's pupils towards Past, who turned and was gone in a whirling of snow.

The next second, she had reappeared behind the demon and waved her hooves above the ground. More snow statues sprang to life from the earth all around the battle field.

The statue of the bishop ran at the demon, who roared and sent beams from it's eyes streaming uselessly off its chest, before the demon dived at it, only landing on the ground and being wrapped up by Present, pinning it to the cold ground.

Meanwhile, the Saint and the wise-colt scuttled towards the gates set along the wall of Yakital and blocked them to prevent the town from being damaged in the fight. Present then galloped at the demon, who vanished and reappeared beside the tree.

Poppy tried to step in, but The white knight statue thrust her backwards, away from the fight, as Future advanced on the demon; a million ice spears hanging in the air around them both.

The demon then opened it's huge maw: the force of the white blast that emanated from it was such that Poppy, though shielded by the tree, felt her mane stand on end as it passed and this time Past was forced to conjure a shining ice shield out of the snow to deflect it. The blast, whatever it was, caused no visible damage to the icy shield, though a deep, gong-like note reverberated from it–an oddly chilling sound, that blended with the howling of the wind.

Future then waved her hooves again; and the snow beneath them became water; an ocean in the mountains. Past then seized this opportunity to move her hooves forward; the water around them then rose up and covered the demon like a cocoon of molten glass.

For a few seconds the demon was visible only as a dark, rippling, shapeless figure, shimmering and indistinct upon the plinth, clearly struggling to throw off the suffocating mass–

Then it was gone and the water fell with a crash back into snow, cascading wildly over the sides of the mountain, like a small avalanche.

Then all was quiet. The demon had been vanquished.

Poppy stepped out from behind the tree as the snow statues turned back into snow on the ground. She walked up where the Ghosts Of Hearths Warming stood shoulder to shoulder, as Santa also approached from the side.

"H-How...T-That?" said Poppy, goggling at the site where the demon once stood. Then finally she yelled, "That was SO awesome! You guys are SO awesome!"

"Yes." nodded Past with a smile. "Yes, we are."

And they were!

The news of the demon's defeat reached every corner of Yakital, then every corner of Yak Yakistan in mere moments. The streets were jammed with yaks laughing, dancing and cheering the demise of the demon and the brave ponies who fought against it, as well as Santa who was honored by the yaks as a fierce warrior for fighting the demon alongside them, even earning the title of "Red-yak elf."

A great feast was held in the Yakital Great Hall, where everyone, including the GOH, The Poppers, Santa, Poppy and every brave Yak warrior who fought against the demon as well as possibly every yak in Yak Yakistan, sat proudly around the table, by the roaring fire of the hall, laughing and toasting great mugs of cider in honor of the heroes who saved Yak Yakistan, and the world from the demonic threat.

And now that Santa was no longer a demonic monster, and Poppy finally got to sit down with him; she and the Poppers used this chance to have quite an enlightening conversation...

"So...um, Santa?" asked Poppy.

"Hmm?" said Santa looking over at her. He looked a thousand times better then the first time they had seen him. His cheeks were as rosy as his nose, his beard was combed and looked as fluffy as a cloud yet smooth as snow. His coat had been cleaned and pressed and was a deep rich shade of crimson with white trim around the sleeves and neck. His hat rested atop his head, like a nightcap.

And then there were these...appendages; hands he called them. Everyone just compared them to fleshy claws with very short nails.

"Sorry, I was just wondering," said Poppy. "Well...how exactly did you get here?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure." said Santa, his deep voice feeling like magic to the ears. "I was outside, chopping firewood for the furnace, when I suddenly felt something in the air. A vile presence, sickening to be near."

Santa motioned with his hands as he spoke, amazing everyone as to what they could do. "I was seized from behind and then I felt...cold. Colder then cold. Like my soul had been pushed aside so something else could nest in it's place. I was conscious for all of it; from falling down onto that mountain; to seeing that family of yaks and trying to talk to them, but I couldn't control what I was saying. It felt like a dream. But I knew I had to wake up!"

Santa looked over at Poppy. "I tried desperately to hang onto myself; I even found that toy shop and tried to build some toys to keep my mind stable. Then you found me, Poppy." He put a hand on Poppy's shoulder, which freaked her out at first, but then found it comforting. "You saved me. And I will never forget it." he smiled warmly at her as his eyes twinkled.

Poppy blushed as she scratched the back of her head. "You're welcome." she said, with a nervous chuckle. "But, you don't even know where this demon came from?"

"I'm afraid not." said Santa. "I will need to return to the North Pole and see if there are any more of those vile creatures skulking around out there. I was caught unprepared the first time; but not again."

"Santa?" Root raised her hoof. "How is it that you and the Ghosts Of Hearths Warming know each other?" she asked.

Present took a drink of cider before answering. "Oh, we all meet in The Bar With No Doors, to discuss various things like holiday preparation, maintain the balance of goodness in the universe and playing ping pong!"

Lemon Lime raised her hoof next. "What's The Bar With No Doors?" she asked.

Past shook her head. "You have to be a lot older before you can know that, I'm afraid." she thought for a moment. "About...two thousand years older."

Poppy then asked a question next. "So, how will you get home Santa?" she asked politely.

Present raised her hoof. "Oh, we're taking him back. But there's no rush."

Santa nodded. "Indeed," he said. "There is plenty more in this wondrous yak-land for me to see and learn from." he let out a small chuckle. "I'm sure by the end of it, I will have quite the tale to tell the reindeer when I return, Hoho!"

Poppy seemed confused. "But if you're not back in your world, who will deliver presents to kid's on Christmas?"

Santa chuckled to himself. "Oh, the parents usually just say it's from me, while doing it themselves. Very considerate of them; saves me plenty of time to go to the other houses."

"Oh. Okay." Poppy smiled and went back to eating, while she couldn't help but feel that somewhere, someones mind was just blown by this fact.

Successful Delivery! - On Time Percentage: 100% - Issues: None - Complaints: None - Rank: A Delivery #7 of 11 Completed

Delivery #8: "Lagoom Kaboom."

It was another sunny day in Ponyville as the market square opened to greet the morning sun. Ponies began to open their doors and throw back their curtains, welcoming the new day with a smile.

Then suddenly, the sky went black as huge ominous clouds began to swirl around, whipping the air violently as odd red lighting streaked across the sky; heavy black clouds blocked out the sun as a massive triangular portal suddenly opened up directly above the market, and began sucking in everything in site, including the one unfortunate pony who happened to be out watering her flowers at the time, Penny Metronome.

She screamed as she clung onto a nearby lamp-post and hung on for dear life. Just when all hope seemed lost, Poppy Blossom appeared in a flash of orange light, fresh from the snowy peaks of Yak Yakistan, only to see the portal tearing the sky apart.

"Penny!" Poppy raced over and grabbed Penny's hoof; trying to pull her back to the ground, but it was no use; the force from the portal was too strong. "Hang on! I'm going to go get Pears!" Poppy took a rope from her satchel and tied it expertly around the lamp post, then around Penny's waist. "I'll be back!"

"Okay!" yelled, Penny over the roaring winds. "I'll uh....I'll be here."

To-Do List: Find out about the mysterious portal from Pears and save Penny.

The Inconvenience Store

Poppy burst in through the doors of the Inconvenience Store in a huff. "Pears! There's a-"

"I know!" said Pears, typing away furiously at her monitor. "Never thought I'd see another one of those again."

Poppy ran to the counter. "Another one of what? What the heck is that thing?"

Pears set her monitor aside. "A Bermuda Triangle". " And if that thing's here, it could only mean trouble. Big trouble."

Poppy looked confused. "That's the Bermuda Triangle?!" cried Poppy.

"Yep." said Pears.

"Why is the Bermuda Triangle here? And also, why is it trying to eat Ponyville!?"

Pears shrugged. "It depends." she said. "It either wandered here, or it was summoned here." she narrowed her eyes. "Neither one, is a good thing."

"Who summoned it here?" asked Poppy.

"My guess? Them." said Pears.

"Them?" asked Poppy. "Wait. You mean the ponies you were talking about before? You think this is their doing?"

Pears nodded. "I've been noticing all kinds of strange readings since Santa was thrown into our world by a strange portal of the same caliber."

Poppy's eyes widened. "That's how Santa ended up in our dimension?! He was just sucked into one of these things at random?"

"Not at random!" said Pears. "Their doing it; the mysterious cabal of controllers who are using these semi-sentient inter-dimensional portals to do their dark bidding. And if there's one in our neighborhood, that can only mean: They're coming."

"This triangle is that bad?" asked Poppy.

"It's not a good omen, Poppy." Pears grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her close. "Evil is coming; coming for us all! I have to work even harder to get the store in to shape, and I recommend you get back home as quickly as possible!"

"I can't!" cried Poppy. "That thing has Penny!"

"WHAT!?" cried Pears. "Where is she?"

"I tied a rope around her and came to ask you how to save her!" said Poppy.

"Alright, calm down." Pears thought for a moment. "Once a triangle gets imprinted on you; it's tough to shake it." she explained. "But you can train them, if you know how to communicate with them."

"Communicate?" asked Poppy. "This thing's alive!?"

"Semi-sentient, but close enough to being alive." said Pears. "They're very attracted to symbols and sigils; driven by shapes and colors."

"What shape gets it to leave Penny alone?" asked Poppy quickly.

Pears thought for a minute. "Lets see...a pink rhombus makes it nostalgic for the eighties; a red octagon makes it stop whatever it's doing; a blue tetrahedron makes it sit in it's mom's basement and draw maps of dungeons..."

"Red octagon; got it!" Poppy was about to leave but Pears grabbed her arm.

"Easy now, Poppy!" she said. "They can't see or hear; you have to feed them a symbol of what you want them to do."

"Feed?" asked Poppy. "You mean just...throw a red octagon into the portal?"

"Yep!" Pears then let go of Poppy's arm. "Now get going! I have to finish preparing before they get here!"

To-Do List: Locate a Red Octagon to stop the triangle from trying to eat Penny.

Back outside, the streets were now empty as the wind roared all around Ponyville; the triangle pulsating like a heartbeat above the market square. Poppy ran back to check on Penny, who was still flying around at the end of the rope like a kite.

"Are you alright?" asked Poppy. Another crash of red lightning tore across the sky.

"I could be better." said Penny. "But as long as I don't get struck by lightning, I'll be fine!"

"I think as long as you stay down here, you'll be fine. "said Poppy. "Pears says I need to find a red octagon and throw it into the portal to get it to stop trying to eat you and Ponyville."

"A red octagon?" asked Penny. "Like a stop-sign?"

"That would work!" said Poppy. "But there isn't many stop signs in Ponyville; plus, they're all kind of welded down to metal poles and needed to prevent carriage accidents from happening. I need to find another one somewhere!"

"May I make a suggestion?" Poppy turned to see Interkitten floating in midair, holding an ice cream cone with fish crackers in her paws.

"Yes! Yes you may!" cried Penny.

Interkitten licked her ice cream. "Crabby's Diner has all kinds of paraphernalia on their walls taken from Crabby's many adventures at sea; including a stop sign that was used to sever the head of the great manticorus of the Aztec sea."

"That's perfect!" said Poppy. "Penny," she turned to Penny. "I'm going to run over to Crabby's and get that sign; Interkitten will keep an eye on you, till I get back."

"Okay!" said Penny. "Please hurry!"

With that Poppy ran off towards Crabby's Diner, leaving Interkitten to make sure Penny stayed safe till she got back. As she watched Poppy gallop away, Penny turned to Interkitten.

"By the way," she asked. "How are you floating?"

Interkitten licked her ice cream again. "I have wings now; they just move too fast for you to see them.

"You can do that?" asked Penny, amazed.

"Yes." said Interkitten. "They're very useful."

"Huh." nodded Penny. ".....Can I have a bite of your ice cream? I haven't eaten anything all morning."

"No."

Crabby's Diner

Poppy raced as fast as her hooves could gallop to the doors of Crabby's Diner, and entered in a huff. The diner was unsurprisingly empty, save for a single stallion in an overcoat sitting by himself with a mug of coffee.

Pretty looked over to see Poppy. "Poppy!" she said. "I wasn't expecting to see you here right now; you know with the world basically ending outside!" Pretty actually looked like she was getting ready to close the diner, after her customer had left. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

For a second, the memory of seeing Crabby in the diner when she was with The Ghost Of Hearths Warming Present, occurred to her and Poppy found herself suddenly keeping an eye out for him as she answered Pretty. "It's a long story, but...can I borrow that stop sign you have on the wall?" asked Poppy politely.

Pretty looked at her. "You...want to borrow a decor stop sign from our wall?" she asked.

"I know how it sounds," said Poppy. "But I need it to stop that portal from eating the town, and my friend!"

Pretty thought for a moment. Then she sighed. "Okay, fine." she said waving a hoof. "Take it, but be sure to bring it back! Grandpa would kill me if he saw his prized bladed stop sign missing from the wall."

Poppy went over and took down the stop sign from the wall, before turning back to Pretty. "Speaking of your grandpa," said Poppy trying not to sound invasive. "You did say he was missing, right?"

"Yes." said Pretty. "For a week now."

Poppy looked at Pretty. "Are you sure, he's actually missing?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" said Pretty. "What are you getting at?"

Poppy thought she should tell her about seeing Crabby in the diner, but she would have to explain the whole situation with the GOH and she had no time for that right now; she had to save Penny!

"Sorry, never-mind." said Poppy shaking her head. "Just a thought I had."

"Fine." said Pretty rolling her eyes. "Now, can you please leave? I'm closing the diner till that thing is gone!"

To-Do List: Stop the rampaging Bermuda Triangle.

Poppy returned to the market square where Penny still dangled helplessly in the air by the rope, as Interkitten made sure she didn't fly off.

"Welcome back." said Interkitten.

"Poppy!" said Penny. "Did you get it?"

Poppy took the stop sign and aimed it at the triangle. "Here goes nothing!" she threw it upwards with all her might.

The sign sailed upwards to the triangle, but then a huge gust of wind blew the sign back, right through the rope that held Penny to the lamp post. Penny screamed as she was sent spiraling into the sky.

"PENNY!" Poppy leapt onto the severed rope, then Interkitten leapt onto her back, trying to save them, but the pull was too strong. Poppy felt her feet leave the ground, as she, Interkitten and Penny all began to soar up into the air; till they passed right through the gaping maw of the triangle into the unknown.

A short while after, the wind blew the sign back up and into the portal, where it immediately stopped; letting go of everything it had been trying to suck up into itself. But Poppy, Penny and Interkitten were already gone; taken away to another land.

Another world...

𝐿𝒶𝑔🌺🌸𝓂 𝐼𝓈𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹

Penny landed first; landing in soft sand, as Poppy tumbled out next with Interkitten hanging onto her tail. They landed right behind Penny in soft grass. A gentle breeze told them they were right next to the ocean.

"Ugh..." Poppy got up and brushed the sand from her scarf and mane. She looked around to find that they were standing on the beach of a large tropical island, surrounded on all sides by the bluest water she'd ever seen. It sparkled brilliantly as it stretched out to meet the rest of the world. "Whoa." said Poppy, taking in the paradise before her. "I had no idea this was on the other side of that thing; I'd been meaning to put in for some vacation time anyways!"

Penny got up and looked around as well. "Incredible!" she said, looking around.

Interkitten hovered down and took up a pawful of sand, watching it sift through back onto the beach. "Hmm...multi-colored sand." she said. "That's peculiar."

"Multi-colored sand?" Poppy reached down and took a hoof-ful herself; the sand ran from her hoof in shades of red, orange, yellow, purple, blue, green, pink, indigo and more, as it met back up with the beach. "Amazing!" said Poppy excitedly.

"It is!" said Penny. "But...where exactly are we?" she asked, looking around the beach.

"I...I don't know." said Poppy. "Interkitten?"

Interkitten wrinkled her nose in thought. "Where ever we are, we are very far away from Equestria; I'd say at least several thousand miles. Maybe more." said Interkitten looking out at the ocean.

"Are we the only ones here?" asked Penny. Just as she said that, they all heard someone gasp from behind them.

They turned to see a brilliantly pink sea pony, floating in mid-air above the sand, apparently having been collecting sea shells when she spotted Poppy and her friends. She wore a necklace of multi-colored shells around her neck, and a beautiful tropical bloom in her fin-like mane. She looked very surprised to see ponies without a fish tail on the island.

"Um...Hi?" said Poppy, giving a wave with her hoof. Before she knew it her hoof was seized by the sea pony and brought over to her, then swept up off her feet in a hug as the sea pony happily danced in the air with her; spinning around playfully.

"I don't believe it!" the sea pony squealed. "It's you! It's really you!"

"It's really who?" asked Penny.

The sea pony stopped spinning and smiled at Penny. "The heroes of the prophecy, of course!" she set Poppy down, who was now terribly dizzy, and struggled to stay on her feet.

"Heroes of the prophecy?" asked Penny. "What do you mean by-

"Oh!" cried the sea pony. "Where are my manners?" she put a fin to her chest. "My name is Sea Flower; you can call me flower, and this," she then spread her arms out wide as she proclaimed. "Is Lagoom Island!"

Flower swam over to Poppy (who finally managed to find her equilibrium again) and took her by the hooves. "Come on!" Flower urged. "You have to meet the others!"

Poppy looked up at her. "Others?"

Lagoom Beach

Sea Flower lead Poppy, Penny and Interkitten over to a beautiful clearing where another beach could be seen just below it. All around the clearing there were numerous out of place objects, possibly pulled in from the market square by the portal, scattered all around.

To the side of the clearing was a large broken hull of wooden ship; beside that was what looked like a bumper from a vehicle of some kind. Across from those, was a large crate that said "Lost and Found," which contained all manner of random objects and junk that had been sucked into the triangle; including a television, sunglasses, a wooden table, a case of imported wine, leg warmers, plastic cups, greeting cards, a bouquet of flowers, a window from a house, a clock, a board game called Twister, a literal chunk of a sidewalk, a refrigerator, the second half of the ten commandments, a garbage bag of over two thousand bottle caps, a computer charger, cinder-blocks, Leonardo DaVinci's sketches of a cold fusion reactor, an entire oak tree, a sail boat, a shovel and a stallion holding a turkey salad sandwich.

"Hello!" he waved at Poppy as they passed.

Poppy and Penny waved back awkwardly. As they followed Sea Flower, they saw a large sea cave looming at the end of the clearing. A large sign read "Cave Of Ocean's Oath" right above the entrance.

"Okay!" Sea Flower stopped. "This is the cave where you'll get to meet the rest of our little group!" she put her fins together in front of her. "But before we go in, does anyone have any questions?"

Poppy and her friends literally had nothing but questions.

To-Do List: Find out about Lagoom Island from Sea Flower.

"Yes, we have a few," said Poppy in a fake calm voice. "First off, where the heck are we?!" she cried. "Where did all this stuff come from? Why does that beach have normal sand, but the other one had rainbow sand? Who the heck are you and how the heck are you swimming in mid-air!?"

"And who is that guy!?" cried Penny pointing back to the stallion holding the turkey salad sandwich. He waved in response.

Sea Flower blinked. "Oh, that's a lot of questions!" she said a little taken back. "Buuut, let me see if I can answer them all for you." She thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up as she smiled. "You're on Lagoom Island; our own little slice of paradise here on the All Blue sea!"

"All Blue Sea?" asked Poppy. "I've never heard of that ocean before; are we still on Earth?"

Sea Flower tilted her head to the side. "Earth?" she asked.

"Well, that answers that." said Poppy with a sigh.

"Sorry," said Sea Flower. "This island has been our home for way too many generations to count. Honestly, I don't think I could tell you where we were besides the All Blue. We...don't ever leave, you see."

"You don't leave?" asked Poppy. "Why not? No boats?"

"No," Sea Flower pointed out to the ocean past the beach. "That's why."

Poppy turned to see a massive black shark's fin streak briefly through the water in the shallow, before disappearing beneath the waves.

"W-Was that?" stammered Penny.

"Yes." said Sea Flower gravely. "He is known as Dingy Ole; a fearsome and terrifying demonic shark that does the will of Krakatoa, the volcano god. He will destroy anyone that tries to leave the island."

Poppy turned to Sea Flower. "There's a volcano god!?" she cried. "What kind of island is this?"

"One that desperately needs your help!" said Sea Flower. "Please; speak to my brothers. They can tell you everything!"

Poppy thought for a moment. The triangle was still hovering over the rainbow beach. If she and her friends wanted to, they could just hop right back in and be home. She could just go home, put her hooves up and watch the latest episode of Cooking without Looking.

But she'd be abandoning a beautiful island and a kind sea pony and her brothers that needed their help. And she could never do that.

"Okay." said Poppy. "Lead the way."

"Yes." said Penny. "We promise we'll do everything to help you."

"This place is truly fascinating." said Interkitten. "I wish to see more of it."

"Great!" cheered Sea Flower clapping her fins. "Follow me!"

Poppy and her friends followed Sea Flower through the cave entrance down into it's depths.

The Cave Of Ocean's Oath

A beautiful sight met their eyes: they were standing on the edge of a great blue lake, so vast that Poppy could not make out the distant banks, in a cavern so high that the ceiling too was out of sight. A misty waterfall emptied into the lake from the other side of the cave; it was reflected in the churning, brilliant water below. The blueish glow and the light from several torches, illuminated the beach they stood upon.

"Whoa." said Poppy. Her friends repeated the gesture.

"It's beautiful down here!" said Penny, looking out at the vast lake before them.

"Thank you!" said Sea Flower. "We've lived in these caves for, pretty much forever." she gestured to the sand. "The sand is volcanic soil, that was brought over to Lagoom Island thousands and thousands of years ago by the first Sea Fathers."

"Sea Fathers?" asked Poppy. "Who are they?"

Sea Flower was about to answer when a deep voice was suddenly heard, from the beach. "Flower!" it called. Everyone turned to see a strong looking blue sea pony colt over on (floating on?) the beach with a green sea pony next to him. Both colts wore the same necklace of shells as Sea Flower, but carried large spears in their fins as well. They were looking right at Flower with stern expressions.

"What did I say about bringing visitors to the island into our sacred sanctum?" the blue sea pony asked, swimming up to Flower.

"You know that only the Ocean's Oath are allowed within these caverns!" the green one scolded. His voice was deep as well, though not nearly as much as the blue one.

Flower shook her head. "You don't understand guys! These ponies aren't like the others who have visited the island; they are the heroes of the prophecy!"

The sea pony colt's eyes went wide as the blue one looked over at Poppy. "Truly?" he asked. "The High Priestess has come at last?"

"Wait." said Poppy. "I thought we were just here to help you save your island. We're not high priests." Poppy chuckled nervously.

But the green one swam over to her and looked her over. "No," he said. "You are the High Priestess! Just as the Sea Father foretold!"

Penny looked over at the green sea pony. "Wait...you...you think Poppy, is this High Priestess? That's ridiculous!"

Sea Flower smiled. "No," she said grinning ear to ear. "It's just as the prophecy foretold by Sea Father said!" Suddenly she looked quite embarrassed. "Oh! Sorry, I forgot to introduce you!"

Flower swam over and gestured with both fins towards the blue sea pony. "This," she said. "is Whitecap! He's the eldest of the Ocean's Oath and the next in line to be the Sea Father when his training is complete!"

Whitecap bowed deeply in respect. "It is an honor to finally meet The High Priestess and the heroes who will aid her." he said with utmost grace.

Flower then gestured to the green sea pony who also bowed deeply. "And this is Sea Spray! The middle of the Ocean's Oath, and current holder of the sacred texts of The Ocean."

"His duty is very important, mostly because-

"Okay." said Poppy loudly. "Before anyone else says any more confusing stuff; I want someone to PLEASE start explaining what the heck is going on right now, what this all means, and then, you can start telling us about oaths and prophecies and stuff. Okay?"

Whitecap chuckled. "Forgive us, High- ahem, I mean ma'am." he said politely. "We have been waiting a very long time for you to arrive; please have a seat on our beach; I will explain everything."

Poppy and Penny took a seat on the beach while the three sea ponies lined up a few feet in front of them. Interkitten watched from the sidelines with intrigue as Whitecap began.

"I am Whitecap, this is Sea Flower and Sea Spray." Both ponies bowed. "We are The Duty Of The Ocean's Oath."

"What is the Ocean's Oath?" asked Penny.

"The Ocean's Oath is an ancient belief system revolving around cosmic energies that flow throughout the seas of our world." said Whitecap. "Our main teachings revolve around acceptance and connectivity with the sea, and these teachings are often passed on through moments of quiet meditation and community newsletters."

"Newsletters?" asked Poppy.

"We have to get the word out on the island after all!" said Sea Flower.

"Ocean's Oath teachings come from ancient experiences of leaders given a role of mentorship, called Sea Fathers/ Mothers. We often express our beliefs through dance, candles and wearing shells as jewelry." said Whitecap.

"And fashioning mystic amulets from the bones of whales that grant supernatural powers to followers." said Sea Flower quickly. "But that's not too popular of a thing anymore, due to there not being as many whale skeletons to use. And we don't dare harm the live ones, so...yeah."

"Being an ancient belief system, The Ocean's Oath has since split into different, but very similar variations of itself, each with their own followings." said Whitecap. "We are the only ones left of the original following."

"So what are you guys trying to do anyways?" asked Poppy. "If this is a religion, what's your goal to strive for?"

"We wish for The Ocean's Oath to be used to reach a calmer state of mind and transcendence, like the ocean itself." said Sea Spray. "And then of course there is the High Priestess, who's arrival was foretold by the Sea Father before he left us."

"Alright." said Poppy. "So now, what is all this High Priestess stuff anyways? And why do you think it's me?"

Sea Flower took a step forward. "The High Priest or Priestess is the role given to the one who will come from afar, with two others, to lead the following into a new age, where their connection to the power of the sea will be stronger than ever before, and they can use it to save their home from devastation."

She then handed Poppy a very colorful piece of paper with designs of shells and waves on it. "It's all in the newsletter, actually!"

As Poppy read over the newsletter (which was actually very well written and concise for an ancient cult) Penny asked the next question on everyone's minds.

"What exactly is this prophecy you guys keep telling us about?" she asked.

Whitecap nodded. "When the first Sea Fathers were given this amazing island by the sea, they foretold that one day a terrible cataclysm would occur; marking the end of our civilization. But the prophecy also foretold of the High Priestess who would come to the island from afar, and save us all from total destruction."

"What's this cataclysm the prophecy speaks of?" asked Poppy.

"The prophecy says that the great volcano god, Krakatoa, would reawaken and rain fiery death upon the island." said Whitecap. "And...that would be the end of our civilization. Forever."

"Then...how do we stop it?" asked Poppy.

"You must stop Krakatoa from reawakening, and, well....destroying everything." said Sea Flower. "Easy! Well...easy-ish?"

"Great!" said Poppy. "And how do we stop an ancient volcano god from reawakening, again?"

Sea Spray nodded. "Legends say that our forerunners, the one's who were given this island before they joined the sea, had a hidden cave on the island, an exact duplicate of this one." he explained. "In this cave, the forerunners built a means to permanently pacify Krakatoa, forever ending the threat he presents to us for good."

Poppy put the newsletter in her satchel then turned to Whitecap. "So, all we have to do is find this cave and use whatever means is in said cave to keep Krakatoa asleep for good. And then we all don't die, right?"

"That is correct." said Whitecap. "You and your friends are the only hope of us, this Island and it's visitors."

"Visitors?" asked Penny. "I thought people couldn't get past that monster shark swimming around in the ocean."

"They came to this island, by means of the triangle; like yourselves." said Sea Spray. "The triangle has brought many things and people to our island, from many points throughout time and space. Most of them have left through other triangles back to their homes; while others have stayed, having come to think of this island as much as home as we have."

Poppy's eyes went wide. "They're are other triangles?"

"Oh, yeah, plenty!" said Sea Flower. "They've been appearing all over the island for as long as we can remember, always bringing something new to it, each time!" she swam over to Penny. "Remember the rainbow sand beach? A triangle brought that sand to the island many centuries ago, from a faraway world where everything is color."

"That's so awesome!" said Poppy.

"Right?!" agreed Sea Flower.

"Who are these visitors, exactly?" asked Penny.

"You can meet them yourself, if you head down to the beach." said Sea Spray. "Best of luck to you, High Priestess. Our lives are in your hooves." he and Whitecap bowed while Sea Flower swam up beside Poppy.

Sea Flower smiled. "Um...Is it okay If I go with them?" she asked.

Whitecap looked surprised. "You wish to accompany the High Priestess on her sacred mission, sister?"

Sea Flower nodded. "I do." she said. "I can show them around the island; what it has to offer and how it can help them. Plus, I know where all the really cool stuff is."

Whitecap turned to Poppy. "Does this sound reasonable to you, High Priestess?"

"Um...," Sea Flower then proceeded to make puppy dog eyes at her. "yeah, sounds like it'll be fun!" said Poppy with a smile.

Sea Flower then wrapped her in a hug, as her brothers nodded. "Then," said Whitecap. "All that's left is to wish you luck on your mission. We shall be here, should you need us. Good luck to you, High Priestess." He bowed deeply, as did Sea Spray.

Poppy nodded then left the cave with Penny and Interkitten following; as well as their new friend and island guide, Sea Flower, to go and speak to the island locals about the possible location of the twin cave.

To-Do List: Talk to Lagoom Island's locals about the Twin Cave.

As Poppy and her friends exited the cave, and headed from the clearing to the beach, Poppy remembered she wanted to ask Sea Flower how in the world she and her brothers were able to swim through mid-air.

"Hey, Flower?" asked Poppy. "I meant to ask you again when we had a moment, but you never told us how you and your brothers can swim through the air, like that."

Sea Flower gasped. "Oh! That's right, I'm sorry; I just got so caught up with you guys getting here and then my brothers wanted to talk to you and...um, sorry. Rambling again."

"It's fine." said Poppy chuckling a bit.

Sea Flower smiled. "Well," she started. "Since our forerunners learned the secrets of the sea, or following has had the amazing ability to swim without water!" explained Sea Flower. "We do this by swimming though the water in the air; such as water vapor and the like. We can swim through it like our own private ocean above the ocean. It's so much fun!"

"I bet it is!" said Penny. "I had no idea a place like this existed! To think there was an island somewhere out there that held so many secrets and discoveries waiting to be made! I could write a series of journals on this place!"

"I'm glad you like it!" said Sea Flower. "I...I just hope it gets to stay here is all."

"You don't have to worry about that." said Poppy. "We said we'd help save your island, and we're going to." Poppy thought for a moment. "Do you have any ideas at all where this cave might be, Flower?"

Sea Flower shook her head. "The entrance to the Twin Cave is shrouded in mystery, and the path is wrought with many, many dangers." said Sea Flower. "Only The High Priestess is able to find the cave, according to the prophecy."

"What about all these triangle portals that bring stuff to the island?" asked Poppy. "Could they be connected to the cave in some way?"

"The triangles were around when the forerunners were still living on the island." said Sea Flower. "They used them to transport building materials for constructing the first of the great temples, and for traveling all across the multiverse."

"Do you guys use the triangles?" asked Poppy.

"Sometimes!" said Sea Flower. "Though only to get around the island. We don't ever leave."

"Don't you want to get off this island and see what's out there?" asked Penny, as they rounded the corner. The beach was just down the walkway now.

"Well..." Sea Flower stopped suddenly. "Uh oh. It's him."

Poppy looked where Flower was looking to see what looked like a knight, standing on two legs, posed piety style with his sword in front of him. He also appeared to be wearing a bucket on his head. He stood as still as a statue, blocking the way to the beach.

"Who or what is that guy?" asked Poppy.

Sea Flower sighed. "He calls himself The Black Knight." she said. "He arrived on the island two years ago, and hasn't left because he thinks he has some epic quest to fulfill for his gods. He does this thing, where he absolutely refuses to move from where he's standing."

"Seriously?" asked Poppy. "For how long?"

"No one knows." said Sea Flower. "I saw him stand in the same spot in front of the bathroom for three weeks once. The other locals were ready to throw him into the ocean by the time he finally moved."

"Wow. What made him finally move?" asked Poppy.

"The locals throwing him into the ocean."

"I'm sure it can't be that bad." said Penny. "Let's see if we can reason with him!" Then before Sea Flower could stop her, Penny went up and approached the Black Knight.

"Hello!" she said. "Are you the Black Knight?"

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

"Um...is there any chance that you would mind moving? We'd like to go to the beach."

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

"Maybe...you could just scooch over a bit?"

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

"Can...Can you please move?

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

"Pretty please?"

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

".....You really aren't going to move?"

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

Penny was losing her patience now. She sighed. "Poppy!" Poppy came up and took Penny's place in this newly-founded tag team match to get this stupid knight to move.

"Okay, look man." said Poppy. "We need to get to the beach, so we can save the island, so if you could just-"

"NONE MAY PASS!" the knight proclaimed.

"Excuse m-"

"NONE MAY PASS!"

"Would you just-!"

"NONE MAY PASS!"

Poppy narrowed her eyes at the knight. "Look, you either move, or I'll-"

"I move," said the knight, turning to look at Poppy. "For no man or creature." He drew his sword. "But defeat me in a duel, and I shall grant you passag-

Poppy then used her telekinesis to throw the knight over the bridge, where he landed face first into a patch of grass and reeds.

"There." said Poppy with a smile. "I defeated you." she then nodded for her friends to follow, who all stifled their laughter as they passed by the now unconscious knight.

Tiny Tiki Beach

Tiny Tiki Beach was a beautiful small cove of white sand, palm trees with fresh pineapples growing from them and numerous small tikis of various shapes, sizes and colors (Hence the name of the beach.) Tiny Tiki beach also of course had the Tiny Tiki juice bar, which catered to any guest of the island looking to soak up some rays by the water.

And as Poppy and her friends entered the beach, they saw four young foals sitting by themselves at the juice bar. At first Poppy was shocked that their parents would leave them there at the bar with nopony watching them.

Then, one of them, a tan foal with a bushy blonde mane and a flight cap, turned to see Poppy and started talking.

"Well, hey there!" she said happily in a voice that sounded like that a full grown mare. "Haven't seen you girls around here before."

"Welcome!" said the second dark blue foal in a deep, military-tough sounding voice. He had a scar across his left eye.

"Charmed." said the third, a white foal with a french mustache, in a gentlemanly English accent.

"Ma'am's." said the fourth, a pink pegasus mare with a spiky purple mane in a voice that was a deeper female voice. And with such respect an discipline, it could only have been the voice of a solider. And an experienced one at that.

Poppy and her friends simply stood there agape, looking at the talking foals like they were from another planet.

Finally Poppy managed to say something. "H-How are they talking?" she asked.

Sea Flower answered. "Oh! Sorry, I should introduce you!" she swam over to the four foals at the bar. "This," she gestured to the first foal. "is Amelia Manehart; a famous pilot who crashed here in her biplane hundreds of years ago."

"Pleasure to meet you, ladies!" said Amelia with a smile.

"This," Sea Flower gestured to the dark blue one. "Is Commander Hurricane: he ended up on the island during a long-distance flight mission with his squad about a thousand years ago." Commander Hurricane saluted.

"This," Sea Flower gestured to the white one. "Is Agent 51; a gentleman spy who's plane was shot down by the evil scientist he was pursuing over the Galapagos." Agent 51 gave a subtle nod, and a polite smile.

"And lastly, this is Captain Firefly, who-

"Stop." The last foal stood up and spoke directly to Poppy. "You have absolutely no idea what's going on right now do you?"

Poppy shook her head. So did Penny. "Not a one." said Poppy, completely lost.

Amelia looked surprised. "You mean you don't know about the fountain?" she asked.

"Fountain?" asked Poppy. "What like a water fountain?"

"Not a fountain." said Hurricane. "The Fountain." he took a swig from his tiki cup. "More specifically, the fountain of youth!"

"Wait." said Poppy. "The Fountain Of Youth is on this island!?"

Amelia nodded. "Sure is, little lady." she smiled. "And it's waters really pack a punch!"

"Then if that's true, I guess that explains how your all well...so young." said Penny, completely bewildered. "But the Fountain Of Youth is supposed to just be a myth!"

"Not exactly." said Interkitten. "There are in fact documented reports of explorer's finding the real fountain of youth in the very earlier fifteenth century. But when they tried to show the world the fountain existed, it had vanished without a trace."

Poppy nodded. "I guess we know where it ended up then." She turned back to the foals. "But, why are you guys here? Didn't you want to go back home?"

"That's the funny thing about this place." said Amelia. "You tend to lose track of time."

"Right. And I understand that you guys have been drinking from the fountain to stay alive all these years," said Poppy. "But why are you all kids? Does one drink just turn you into a child?"

"Nah." said Hurricane. "It's that damned fountain!" he cried. "It's waters are powerful addictive; once you start drinking from it, you can't stop!"

"Luckily, we've since cut ourselves off from that fountain." said Amelia. "Otherwise we would've drunk ourselves out of existence!"

"Has anyone else drunk from the fountain besides you guys?" asked Poppy.

"Not that we know of." said Agent 51. "And anyone that has....well, we can just hope they knew when to stop."

A chill went down Poppy's spine. She couldn't imagine a worse fate for someone. She hoped that no one else had drunk from that fountain. It was interesting talking to such famous figures, but Poppy remembered why she was there. Since it was clear these guys had been on Lagoom Island for so long, they might've known where the Twin Cave was, or could at least point them in the right direction.

To-Do List: Ask the Famous Foals about The Twin Cave.

"Do you guys know anything about a Twin cave?" asked Poppy. "One that looks like the Cave Of The Ocean's Oath?"

"A cave you say?" asked Amelia. "Hmm.." she turned to Hurricane. "Wasn't there something like that by the fountain?" she asked.

"Yeah!" said Hurricane. "Big, ominous looking thing. Looked like it went down to the bottom of the world!"

"Yes, I remember something like that as well!" said Agent 51. "Although...Oh dear."

"What?" asked Poppy.

"Well, if that cave's by the fountain, you won't be getting to it." said Captain Firefly. "We put Al in charge of guarding it."

"Al?" asked Penny. "Who's Al?"

Amelia pointed a hoof to the far side of the beach where jungle met the sand. "You should go see for yourself." she said with a wink. "And good luck to you ladies!"

To-Do List: Find out who Al is and convince him to let you past the Fountain Of Youth.

Poppy and her friends followed the dirt path through the jungle, till they came upon a large wooden sign that read "Fountain Of Youth: This Way."

"Huh? The Fountain Of Youth has a sign pointing to it?" asked Penny.

"Well," said Poppy. "Considering how dangerous we know it is, I would say that's just another big indicator to stay away from it."

"I still can't believe this place has all this stuff." said Penny. "It's amazing!"

"Yeah, it is." said Poppy with a smile. "Makes you wonder why there's a prophecy where it's going to be destroyed by an angry volcano god."

"Why do you think Krakatoa wants to destroy this place anyways?" asked Penny. "Is it just a matter of pride, you think?"

"Hard to say." said Poppy. "We'll be sure to ask him when we finally meet him."

As Poppy, Penny and Interkitten finally approached a massive pond in the jungle, they were stopped when a black foal wearing a fedora and brandishing a pistol, stepped out from the bushes to block their path. "And just where do you three think you're going?" he had a sneedly, Atlantic accent. Clearly the voice of a gangster.

"Um...I assume, you're Al?" asked Poppy, backing up a bit.

"That's Al Capony to you, dame!" snapped Al.

"Al Capony?" asked Poppy. "The Al Capony? The infamous gangster criminal, Al Capony?"

"Yeah, that's right." Al Nodded. "And you two broads, are intrudin' on my turf!"

"Your turf?" said Poppy. "It's a big island, junior. You sure you don't want to go somewhere else and claim that as your turf?"

"One more quip like that," he pulled back the hammer on his pistol. "And I'll plug the both of ya!"

"Okay!, okay." said Poppy. "Just take it easy alright? We just need to get past you."

"Not happenin' doll." said Al. "This whole stretch belongs to the Capony Crime Family; you take another step, and we'll come down on you like the wrath of Celestia herself!"

"You have a crime family?" asked Poppy. "Then where are they at? Shouldn't they be the ones holding us at gunpoint then you walk up and start talking about fitting us for cement shoes or something?"

"Their uh, their busy." said Al. "It's um...it's nap time, right now."

"Then how come you're not napping with them?" asked Penny.

"What?!" snapped Al. "And leave the precious turf of the Al Capony Crime Family exposed to intruders and interlopers like you three? Not a chance!"

"Isn't there any way you'll let us past here?" asked Poppy, starting to get annoyed.

"Not a one." said Al. "The loyalty and respect of Al Capony, cannot be bought nor bribed for. This turf is mine, and neither of yous is getting past me!"

Poppy thought for a moment (and being held at gunpoint helped her to think quite faster then usual) about a possible way past Al Capony. He seemed to care about having turf; so what if Poppy and her friends helped him get some more in exchange for him letting them through?

"May I make a suggestion?" asked Poppy. "If you'll hear me out, I think you'll see that we can work together on this instead of fighting about it. What do you say?"

Al sneered for a moment before thinking it over. "Huh." he said. "Alright, fine; you get one minute. Talk to me."

Poppy nodded, while her friends looked over at her, eager to see what she was planning. "We're on our way to a cave just past the fountain of youth," she explained. "If you let us through so we can get into the cave, you and your family are free to claim it once we're done with it."

Al looked suspicious. "And, just what would the proud Al Capony crime family want with a dinky old cave?" he asked.

"The cave, as it's the twin of the Cave Of Ocean's Oath, is massive." said Poppy. "Plenty of room for you to store contraband, build a hideout, establish a foothold in the underground, a meeting place for the family, weapons storage, the list goes on. And there's only one other cave like it on the island." Poppy smiled. "Plus, the location of the cave isn't exactly a well-known fact; you'll be completely hidden away; Ghosts. it's too perfect to pass up for a veteran criminal such as yourself, Mr. Capony."

Al nodded, thoroughly impressed. "Well, alright then!" he holstered his pistol and smiled a shark's smile. "I accept your proposal, ma'am. The Capony Crime Family thanks you for your generous and most lucrative offer." he said with a nod. "In exchange, you are granted entry past the fountain to the cave. But remember; our deal is we get the cave afterwards. Once your business is concluded, you are to leave while we prepare our new hideout."

Al removed his fedora in respect. "But Al Capony repays his debts." he said politely. "We will find a way to repay you for this gift you have given us. I promise you that."

Poppy nodded. "May we pass now?" she asked. "The sooner we're done in the cave, the sooner you get your new hideout."

Al Capony stepped aside, and put his fedora back on. "By all means." he said.

With that Poppy lead her friends past the gun-toting toddler and the large pond he guarded, to a small clearing that lead further into the forest.

"Poppy!," said Penny. "That was amazing!"

"Thanks, Penny." said Poppy with a smile. "Like you guys, I think I'd rather not have to fight my way through a gang of mobster toddlers." she joked.

"How in the world did you know what to say to him?" asked Sea Flower. "And that he would even accept?"

"Chalk it up to experience." said Poppy. She turned to smile at them. "I was a HappyTime Mafioso, after all."

Making their way through the last stretch of jungle, Poppy and her friends finally came upon an enormous cave; one that perfectly matched the outside of the Cave Of Ocean's Oath. But something was off here.

As they approached they suddenly felt powerful rumbling beneath their feet; and odd sounds carried from deep within the cave to the entrance. Sounds of whirring gears, and other machinery. Someone was down there!

"Anyone else feel that?" asked Poppy, still feeling the vibration of the earth in her legs.

"Yes, and I don't like it." said Penny. "This cave is supposed to be undiscovered till now; so....could there actually be somepony down there already?"

"Only one way to find out." said Poppy. "Stay close, as we go down."

Poppy's friends adhered to her advice, staying in a closely knit pack with her all the way down into the depths of the rumbling cave.

The Twin Cave

The first thing that captured their attention was the utter vastness of the cavern they found themselves in; it was perhaps even larger then that of the Cave Of Ocean's Oath. However, all this space was currently occupied with uncountable numbers of steam spitting whirring machines and brass pipes all zigzagging across the cavern in seemingly random patterns, connecting at random points as if put together like a jigsaw puzzle. The noise it all made, reminded Poppy of entering a waterworks except with more stem blowing around, and gears upon gears grinding on the sides of machines that Poppy couldn't even try to guess as to there purpose.

All this was illuminated by a massive artificially made chandelier that appeared to have been engineered by conducting electricity through an enormous crystal on the ceiling.

The floor of the actual cave, which Poppy and her friends were now looking around in, was a mess of makeshift metal rigs, huge robotic parts, gears and cables, along with extremely long tables that held numerous blueprints, schematics, notebooks, journals and...

"Awww!" Poppy succumbed once more to cuteness overload as she saw a cute but very strange small green dog-like creature sitting on her hind-legs upon the table, gazing at them with big curious eyes. The creature had a puppy like face, with rose pink cheeks, a fluffy puff of hair atop her head, rounded bear-like ears, a fluffy C-shaped tail, long eyelashes and what looked like two tiny horns poking out from her head. Despite the creature being absolutely adorable, she didn't look like she was all too pleased to see intruders in the cave she called home.

Nor did her owner who suddenly phased into existence a few feet from where Poppy was standing. "What are you ponies doing in my lab!?" she demanded. The mare glaring at Poppy looked just as strange as the green bear-dog. She was a bright pink Pegasus mare with a shoulder length mane that couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to be pink or green, and was constantly trying out new shades of each; the ponytail adorning her mane was somehow having the same problem, but seemed to enjoy having a yellow bow tied around it, as well as her tail which was also clearly colorblind.

Her eyes at the very least decided they would be green, and they were; very bright green. She wore a white lab coat that was the most normal looking thing about her, with one pocket painted to match her cutie mark: a golden heart with two electrons circling it like an atom. She didn't look at all mean. But nor did she look at all normal either.

"I asked," the mare said loudly. "What are you doing in my lab??" she demanded again. The bear-dog hopped onto her shoulder and joined her in glaring at the intruders before them.

"We're sorry!" Poppy quickly apologized. "We were told this cave had never been discovered before. We weren't expecting anyone to be down here. Sorry if we disturbed you."

The mare's eyes softened. "Well...I had meant to put a sign up." she said with a shrug. "But, I've been so busy, I've had almost no time for anything else." She sighed. "I guess this is really my fault."

The mare nodded to her furry companion with a smile, and she jumped off as the mare greeted Poppy. "Sorry, for snapping at you." she said. "I hadn't expected to see anyone down here; and if they were, I assumed they would just be trying to steal my research."

"Research?" asked Poppy. "So you're a scientist?"

"Indeed I am!" The mare said proudly. "Doctor Recipe, bio-engineer and the genius who will crack the mystery of Lagoom island!"

"bio-whatnow?" asked Sea Flower.

"Genius?" asked Penny.

"Mystery?" asked Poppy.

"Recipe?" asked Interkitten. "Forgive me for saying so, but that's actually your name? Wouldn't something along the lines of Doctor Science work better?"

"Pfft. Doctor Science is a hack." said Recipe. "Oooh, look at my cold fusion powered hyperbolic time chamber; I'm sooo good at Science!" she mocked. "Whatever; I built one of those a year before he did, but nopony said anything to me about it!"

"Umm...where are you from exactly?" asked Poppy. "Did you get sent here through a triangle portal like us?"

Recipe shook her head. "Oh, I wasn't sent here; I came here!" she said. "The brainiacs in the HUB summoned and restrained one of those things so we could see it how it worked. When we figured out it lead to different points in the multiverse, we jumped on through expecting an alien world or a freaking universe ruled by bipedal monsters. But instead we found this place. And...here we are."

"Whats the HUB?" asked Poppy.

"Well, I'm supposed to immediately kill anyone who asks that," she said with a thoughtful expression. "But, since I'm pretty much done with those snobs, I guess it won't hurt!" she said with a smile. "HUB stands for the Home of Utter Brilliance. The goal of the facility was to build the future of equine-kind and create the technology of tomorrow without restraints, either magical, moral or technical. It welcomed some of the most gifted of Equestria's scientists, who plumbed the depths of many experimental technological fields." She smiled happily. "Including me! I was quite the depth-plumber starting out!"

"So, what happened?" asked Poppy.

"Well, one scientist went a little crazy." said Recipe. "Okay, a lot crazy. He kept going on and on about how the HUB was keeping him from achieving his lifework; that he didn't like that we had rules, standards; he said he was above all that. Other scientists started to feel trapped as well, and soon they all left, following that wacko to start their own facility, where they truly had no limits to what they could attempt and achieve."

"Wow." said Penny. "How long ago was this?"

"Oh, I'd say about....um, five or six hundred years ago."

"Six hundred years!?" cried Poppy. "How are you even alive?"

"Oh that's an easy one!" said Recipe with a grin. "I've been harnessing the water from the Fountain to maintain my youth. It works wonders for the complexion!" she said. "As well as your entire body's internal chemistry."

"I guess that would mean that the rest of your colleagues are....well..." Penny wasn't sure how to say it.

"Huh?" asked Recipe. "Oh! No, they all found their own ways of extending their lifespans, like I did." Recipe explained. "That was our plan."

"Your plan?" asked Poppy. "You mean you planned for that scientist to go crazy?"

Professor Recipe shook her head. "Not exactly." she smiled as she explained. "The contingency plan was that upon the fall of the HUB, we would all split up and find our own means of surviving the tests of time; extending our lifespans through different means so that we could live to aid the world again in the future. Except well, some of us didn't like each other all that much."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Penny. "I thought you were all colleagues."

"We were!" said Recipe. "But there were rivalries; feuds. Some of us would rather have used their own means of longevity for the sole purpose of outliving the others. So that they, and they alone, could remake the future without having to worry about one of us interfering. They called it, The Great Game."

"The Great Game?" asked Poppy. "Are you saying that for the past several hundred years, there has been a bunch of ageless mad scientists running around the world somewhere, plotting Celestia knows what?"

"Well...I mean, I wouldn't say mad but; let's just say they all aren't exactly as nice as I am." said Recipe with a nervous expression. "Plus, my work will actually help people!"

"What is your work, exactly?" asked Penny. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all!" said Recipe happily. "I'm currently on the cusp of discovering the source of this island's attractive qualities; the mysterious force that pulls in all these things and people to it from across the multiverse! I'm nearly at a breakthrough, I can feel it!"

To-Do List: Find out more about Recipe's Work as well as details regarding The Great Game.

Doctor Recipe may have been quite...eccentric, but she was kind and more than eager to show Poppy and her friends around her lab; showing off all the things she had managed to create and achieve with over six hundred years to work with. This included a large machine that could turn any inorganic matter into ice cream (though the ice cream she had made from rocks tasted so horrible it was nearly inedible, when she offered some to Poppy), a large bulky looking gadget that looked like a cross between an adding machine and some form of futuristic gun, which she claimed could instantly knock out anyone with brainwave activity (Including herself; several times by accident.)

On a large metal rack she had what appeared to be a series of syringes connected to a pump gun that she said was able to cure any illness (but it had to cause it first.) Across from that there was what looked like a massive microwave that she said used cold fusion to prepare food in seconds. (But it had a tendency to liquefy food as well.)

She also had several robot prototypes underneath tarps, but she said they were still being developed and didn't want to spoil anything.

But easily the thing that everypony, especially Poppy, was interested in learning about was the small green-bear-dog on Professor Recipe's shoulder; still not sure what she should think about Poppy and her friends just yet.

"Doctor?" Penny eyed the little creature with unending curiosity and amazement. "Where did you get that creature from? Is she native to Lagoom Island?"

Recipe followed Penny's gaze and smiled. "No, actually." she went over and patted the fluff on top of the creatures head causing her to purr; not unlike that of a cat. "This is Mimi," Recipe said proudly. "And actually....I made her, myself."

Penny's jaw dropped as her eyes lit up. "You....you created her, yourself!?" gasped Penny in utter amazement. "That's unbelievable!"

Recipe beamed proudly. "Thank you!" she said happily. "She's easily the greatest thing I've created while on Lagoom Island." Mimi yipped in agreement.

"How did you accomplish such a thing?" asked Penny eagerly.

"Being on an island, working alone for over six hundred years becomes well....lonely." said Recipe. "So, one day I started experimenting with creating an artificial organic life-form using a combination of advanced DNA splicing and magical energy harmonization! After a few months of hard work...I had made Mimi."

Poppy and her friends ogled at Mimi, who was now enjoying the attention, wagging her tail and smiling happily. But then it had occurred to Poppy why they had come down into this cave in the first place: they needed to find some means hidden within it's depths that would put Krakatoa in a permanent state of slumber.

As she had been on Lagoom for hundreds of years, Poppy thought that if anyone would know of such a thing, it would be Recipe.

"Doctor?" asked Poppy. "In your time spent on Lagoom Island, have you ever come across anything, well....strange?"

"Strange?" asked Recipe. Mimi tilted her head. "You do know what island your on, right?" she joked.

"I mean, strange as in ancient remnants of a civilization that once thrived here?" clarified Poppy. "Some kind of large idol, or ancient mechanism that you couldn't place the purpose of through science alone. That kind of strange?"

Recipe and Mimi exchanged looks. Then they turned back to Poppy. "Well....since you bring it up.."

Poppy and her friends were lead to the very back of Recipe's makeshift laboratory; through a large opening that lead even further down into the cave's depths. As they walked, they could hear the telltale sound of rushing water through the walls. Were they near the ocean now? Or perhaps even underwater?

Recipe lead them through a large archway; carved from some sort of gleaming white stone; clearly made as the entrance to the last level of the cave. As they stepped through the archway Poppy and everyone stopped at stared at the sight before them.

They were now standing in an incredibly beautiful crescent-shaped grotto, lined with pillars of that shining white stone, Poppy didn't recognize. Every inch of every visible surface was covered in a spectrum of vibrant flowers, of all shapes and sizes. Dew sprinkled moss, and long-armed ferns reached out from the stone pillars to meet an array of dangling green vines, each with a glowing bulb at the end; and each one a different color. The sweetness in the air was overwhelming- a bouquet of perfumes battled one another for the prize of the sweetest smell Poppy had ever smelled in her life. And they all won.

In the center of this garden of wonders, stood a large stone cube, covered in numerous runes, scriptures and patterns that seemed to tell a story; one that nopony could read as it was clearly written in a language that hadn't existed for centuries. The runes glowed a dim blue as they seemed to invite Poppy and her friends farther into the grotto.

Penny nearly had tears in her eyes. "What....what is this amazing place?" she asked in amazement. "I've never seen a garden so beautiful before!"

Poppy's jaw dropped as she looked to the side. A large silver oak tree was baring golden apples that literally had her actual name on them. Each one read "For Poppy" in beautiful cursive script. "It's like something out of a dream. Or a fairy tale." said Poppy, her eyes struggling to take in everything that garden had to offer.

Recipe smiled and nodded as Mimi hopped down from her shoulder to walk alongside her. "This is easily the most amazing place on this island; a place that has defied every experiment I've tried to run on it; every test and procedure. It's like it exists beyond both magic and science." she knelt down and touched a patch of grass that quickly retreated into the ground only to sprout back up in the form of letters that read "Hello!""That's why I've decided to call this place," Recipe turned to the group. "The Impossible Grotto."

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓘𝓶𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓖𝓻𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓸

Poppy tore her eyes away from a group of red toadstools that appeared to be having a conversation with one another, to talk to Doctor Recipe. "When did you discover all this?" asked Poppy. "You certainly seem to know your way around."

"About a decade ago." said Recipe with a smile. "I've since run every experiment I can think of on everything in here. Trying to find out how the flowers bloom year round and why they never need water. Or how the grass is seemingly sentient and enjoys tickling your hooves when you trot through it. Or how those apples are literally like gifts from the garden itself!" she pointed to the silver oak tree, where the golden apples meant for Poppy still hung from it's branches. "But everything I tried failed. This place is beyond the measures of science or magic. It's simply...here."

"Just when I thought this place couldn't get more amazing!" cheered Sea Flower. "I had no idea the Twin Cave would be this beautiful!"

Poppy nodded as her eyes then fell on the only thing she hadn't been gawking at for several minutes at a time. The large stone cube that sat in the very middle of the grotto; it's runes still glowing that dim blue light. Poppy felt strangely drawn to it, as she suddenly felt a shiver go up her spine.

"And what about that?" asked Poppy gesturing to the stone cube. "Have you run any tests on that?"

Recipe looked over at the stone and sighed. "I've tried before, but I can never get near the thing." she said. "It's like it repels anyone that comes near it."

Repels. Then why was it only Poppy who felt like she was being drawn to it? Was this what they were looking for?

Poppy looked back at Sea Flower. "Is this that mechanism that Sea Spray was talking about?" asked Poppy. "The one meant to stop Krakatoa?"

Sea Flower shook her head. "I have no idea." she said sadly. "There was never anything more that actually detailed what it looked like."

Poppy looked back at the cube and sighed. "Well," she took a step forward. "I guess we'll find out."

To-Do List: Investigate the Mysterious Cube.

Poppy approached the cube, while her friends stayed back to observe. As she approached, the blue glow of the runes suddenly shifted to dark red, and Poppy felt her hooves suddenly be yanked closer towards the stone.

"Poppy!" yelled Penny, taking a step forward.

"It's alright!" Poppy looked back and raised a hoof. "I'm okay; it's just trying to show me something."

Penny still looked concerned but nodded as she stepped back.

The unseen force ceased as Poppy was now close enough to read the inscription on top of the obelisk.

ʄʀօʍ ʄɨʀɛֆ ʄօʀɢɛɖ, ɦɛ ɦǟֆ ƈօʍɛ; ʄʀօʍ ɮʊʀռɨռɢ ɛǟʀȶɦ, ɦɨֆ աɨʟʟ ɮɛ ɖօռɛ.

ȶօ քʊʀɢɛ ȶɦɛ ɛʋɨʟ ǟֆ ɨȶ ɮɛ, ȶɦɛ ʄɨʀɛ ʍʊֆȶ, ʍɛɛȶ ȶɦɛ ֆɛǟ.

"Meet the sea?" Poppy wondered aloud. "What could that mean?"

Sea Flower swam up beside her and studied the runes closely; recognizing the scripture. "It's an old testament from the Book of Ke'kai; the earliest version of our sacred holy book by which the Sea Father conducted his sermons." she explained. "It basically means that in order to save Lagoom Island from Krakatoa's rage, he and his island must meet the sea. In other words, we....um...have to sink his island."

Poppy's eyes went wide. "Are you....are you serious?"

"How in the heck are we supposed to do that!?" cried Penny. "Surely, there's some other way."

Sea Flower smiled. "That's just it!" she pointed to the runes that once again glowed blue; but a much lighter and brighter shade. Almost white. "Our forerunners had already created the means to do so!"

Poppy, Penny, Interkitten and Professor Recipe (with Mimi sitting comfortably on her head) all gathered around the stone as Sea Flower explained what the cube had to tell them.

"When our forerunners were granted this island by the sea, they were told of another island that neighbored it. Though smaller than our home, this island housed a terrible creature born of fire and hate for all things outside his volcano." Sea Flower paused before continuing to read from the runes. "The sea warned the forerunners that this creature held no compassion for them, and on the day he would awaken to see the paradise they formed, he would unleash a hellish storm of fire and death to destroy everything they had built. But there was a way to stop the creature; silence it forever, and prevent it from laying waste to the island we call home."

Sea Flower moved to the next row of runes below. "The sea aided the forerunners in constructing a colossal mechanism around Krakatoa's island; a mechanism that would allow the sea to surge upwards to claim the island and pull it into it's depths. Once submerged, the sea would soothe the creature's burning hate as it slept, finally bringing him peace and preventing him from ever reawakening."

Poppy was astounded at what she was hearing. To build a mechanism that could pull an entire island into the sea! It sounded too amazing to be true. "So, how do we do it?" she asked eagerly.

Sea Flower nodded. "It says that like this cave has a twin, this stone also has a sister. A sister that resides on Krakatoa's Island." she moved down to the final row of runes. "By reading from this stone, the mechanism has already been awakened. But in order to plunge the island and Krakatoa into the sea, the sister must also activated, so the stones can call to one another and activate the mechanism."

"It sounds like a receiver of some sort." said Interkitten. "Both stones must be activated in order for the signal to reach the mechanism. It makes perfect sense."

Recipe though, looked very confused. "I'm sorry, but...." she paused as she tried to gather her thoughts. "What in the world are you guys talking about? What is this Krakamoto-whatsit you guys keep mentioning?" she then turned to Sea Flower. "And what's this about sinking a literal freakin' island!?"

Poppy put a hoof on her shoulder. "We'll explain everything on the way back to the lab." she said, smiling nervously.

By the time Poppy and her friends had returned to Doctor Recipe's lab, the scientist was now fully aware of what they were doing on Lagoom Island. Yet, as to the existence of a mythical volcano god, she remained skeptical.

"I'm sorry." she said. "But, I'm a mare of science; you don't expect me to believe that such a creature as that has existed on this earth for this long without anyone discovering it by now, do you? Or that this Krakatoa was ever even real to begin with, simply because a magic stone cube told us."

"No, I suppose we don't." said Penny with a sigh. "But, that doesn't mean you can't help us reach the island anyways, right?"

Recipe pondered for a moment. "Even if I had a boat to get you guys to that island, it's still impossible; that massive shark monster would devour any ship that passes over it!"

"Well," said Sea Flower shaking her head. "Not any ship. There is one ship docked on the island that supposedly even that monster fears too much to go near. But..."

"What is it?" asked Poppy.

"It's a ferry boat." said Sea Flower. "Captained by a single individual known only as Charon. We are forbidden from going anywhere near him or his boat, as it doesn't just ferry people across the ocean." Sea Flower's voice began to shake with fear. "I-If you aren't careful, he'll ferry you off to the underworld instead; never to return."

Poppy didn't need to be shipped off to the underworld today (or any day!), but this Charon and his ferry boat sounded like their only way of getting to Krakatoa's Island. They had to to give it a shot. Plus, if things did go wrong, Poppy was confident that her and her friends could handle it.

Poppy decided that they would go with it; and Penny and Interkitten agreed. Sea Flower, though clearly scared, still said that she felt safe as long as she was with the High Priestess.

"I'm going too." said Recipe with a smile. Mimi yipped as if to say she was coming along for the ride as well.

"Are you sure, Doctor?" asked Poppy. "I thought you didn't even believe any of this, prophecy and volcano god business."

"Oh, I don't." Recipe began to gather some things from her desk and dropped them into a saddle bag. "But, to embark on an epic quest to a new and forbidden island, ripe with new discoveries to be made, and possibly even a mythical volcano deity living on it?" She strapped the bag on while Mimi did the same with her own bag. "You couldn't pay me not to come along!"

Poppy smiled as she nodded, accepting Recipe and Mimi into their expedition. With that, Poppy's new destination was set; the island of Krakatoa, where the evil god slept. All they had to do was find that other stone, then get off the island before it sank. Simple.

Now, all they needed was to talk this ferryman. And hope he wasn't looking for new souls to ship off.

Sea Flower lead the way from the cave, towards the spot where Charon had his boat docked. But as they left the cave...

"Hey!" said a familiar angry voice. "Where the heck do yous think your goin'?" Everyone froze as Al Capony and his crew (two light brown foals in fedoras) stepped out from the shadows in front of them, pistols aimed. "We had a deal, remember?"

Poppy sighed. "Look, Capony." she took a step forward. "Doctor Recipe already lives in that cave. I know what I said, but I had no idea it was already occupied. If you guys look at around the island though, I'm sure you'll find-"

"Oh, no!" yelled Capony aiming his gun. "You think you can make a deal with Al Capony, and just expect to walk away from it without making good on it!? You got another thing coming, broad!"

"Okay, that's it!" But before Poppy could move to put these little brats in their place, Recipe stepped up first.

"It's okay, Poppy." she said with a mischievous smile. "I think I can convince them to look elsewhere for a hideout." She looked down at Mimi, who looked up at her, with that same smile. Recipe took a few steps back. "Mimi? Sic' em."

Suddenly, Mimi's adorable eyes went red, as she began to grow; huge sharp teeth replaced her cute puppy teeth, as her claws extended like razor blades. The hair on her back stood on end, as she grew into a huge, snarling monstrous version of herself that stood at least fifteen feet tall; towering over a now terrified Capony and his henchponies.

Monster Mimi let out a blood curdling roar that shook the ground and parted the clouds overhead, as she lowered her huge head to growl deeply at Capony, who was now shaking with fear so badly, he appeared to be vibrating. Steam billowed from Mimi's nostrils as she snarled again, her huge razor sharp teeth showing back Capony's terrified reflection in them.

For a moment, everyone stopped moving; possibly even breathing. Not daring to move a single muscle. All except Doctor Recipe who was brimming with pride. "Now then," she stepped up and petted the spiked fur on Mimi's back as she glared down at Capony. "Would you like to reconsider my friend's suggestion now?" Mimi growled menacingly. "Or would you prefer to chat with Mimi instead?"

"N-N-No, ma'am!" squeaked Capony. "W-We understand; this was our mistake. We'll be leaving now." With that Capony and his cronies turned tail and ran as fast as their tiny legs could take them, dropping their weapons on the ground as they ran away.

"Good. Glad we could reach an agreement." joked Recipe. "Okay, girl. Their gone. Tone it down."

Mimi's monstrous form receded quickly, as the huge beast once again became the adorable bear-dog known as Mimi.

As Recipe petted Mimi and scratched her ears for a job well done, Poppy finally broke the silence that had taken her and her friend's voices. "That was....amazing!" she said simply. "Since when can Mimi turn into that!?"

"Since always." said Recipe with a smile. "I knew how dangerous this island was when I got here. I knew that I needed some means of protecting myself and my research from it's many monsters, beasts and other phenomena." Mimi yipped happily. "So, when I created Mimi, I added in a distinct predatory transformation that easily made Mimi the most dangerous thing on this whole island."

Poppy nodded. "I guess you don't have to worry about danger, when your own pet is the danger." she joked.

"Um," Sea Flower peeked up from behind the bushes. "She won't hurt us will she?"

"No, of course not!" said Recipe. Mimi yipped in agreement, wagging her tail. "Mimi will only transform at my command, and only go after those who are directly threatening me. You guys have nothing at all to worry about, I promise."

Sea Flower let out a sigh of relief, as she came out from the bushes. "Good." she said, smiling at Mimi who smiled back. "Then, let's keep going then! Charon's ferry is on the west most side of the island. But I know a shortcut through the clearing to get over there faster! Follow me!"

It wasn't long after trailing through a few patches of dense forest and wide open clearings, that Poppy and her friends came upon the western shore of Lagoom Island. Though beautiful, the long dock by the beach was clearly empty and there was no ferry moored anywhere in sight.

"Are you sure this is it?" asked Poppy. "Maybe we took a wrong turn somewhere."

Sea Flower shook her head, her lip quivered a bit. She was still scared as her eyes fell upon the dock. "Just wait." she said softly.

Poppy and everyone else followed Flower's gaze to the dock and waited.

And waited. For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by the crashing of the waves against the shore. But then...

"Did you hear something?" asked Penny suddenly.

Poppy listened; a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from the dock: a muffled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum was forming beneath the waves.

From the clearing above the beach, Poppy and her friends had a perfect view of the smooth blue surface of the ocean. Except that the surface was now not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place in the shallow; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the bank of the island; and then, out in the middle of the shallow, just a few feet from the dock, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had been pulled on the ocean floor...

What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool. Then Poppy saw the rigging.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the sunlight. It had a strangely skeletal look to it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at it's portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely from the ocean, bobbing on the sea before it began to glide towards the dock.

Poppy watched in awe as the ghost ship dropped anchor, and a plank dropped to the deck of the dock. Then it's captain stepped forward from the shadows of the mast.

What walked onto the deck of the dock, and began to make its way up to the beach, up to them, was not a pony. In fact, it was impossible to say exactly what manner of creature it was as it was entirely garbed in a black cloak and hood that hid any trace of it's facial features. It walked with a steady, calm gait; it's cloak fluttering behind it in the ocean breeze. It looked more like a phantom or a ghost, then a ferryman.

Sea Flower dove into a nearby bush as the figure approached Poppy. "Passage?" it asked. It's voice was deep and raspy; and dry as bone.

Everyone froze save for Poppy who simply nodded. "Are you Charon?" she asked.

Charon nodded. "Where to?" he asked.

"Krakatoa's Island." said Poppy. "Do you have a way past that monster-shark in the water?"

Charon let out a dry laugh. "The beast fears The Silent Mare; as all on this island do. Including your friend over there in the bushes." He pointed a robed arm.

"Eep!" said the bush.

"How much for passage, then?" asked Poppy getting out her purse.

Charon slowly shook his head. "Free passage....for you."

Poppy sighed as she put the purse back into her satchel. "Let me guess: you're going to let us ride for free in exchange for our souls or a life of servitude or some other typical demon trick, right?"

"What? No; it's free to ride from eight to four." said Charon defensively. "Where did you get that idea from?"

Poppy blushed. "Oh, um...sorry, I just...never-mind."

"You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, miss." scolded Charon. "Now, if you're all riding, we can head out immediately; the island is only a few hours away by ferry. Won't take us long to get there. I also need to make port while I'm there to resupply in town."

Poppy's eyes widened. "Town?"

The trip took roughly three hours, but at last the Silent Mare glided towards the shore of Krakatoa Island. And there was indeed a town; blanketed beneath an eerie fog, nestled near the shores that stretched all the way around the western coast.

It was a peaceful looking boardwalk settlement, illuminated by the sun that was strangely clouded over the island. The cloud in question coming from easily the largest and most noticeable feature of the island. A volcano; wide as a mountain and high enough to scrape the sky towered over the entire island; black smoke billowing out, and blocking out most of the sun in the process.

"Oh no!" cried Poppy. "We can't sink this island now; there's a town set up here!"

But Charon shook his head. "The town's abandoned." he said. "All of them left, when a new occupant showed up many, many years ago. The whole island is a ghost town now."

"New occupant?" asked Professor Recipe. "There's someone here, still?"

Charon nodded. "I've never seen them, but they've apparently been here forever. Long as I have, I say."

"If someone is staying here, we have to warn them about Krakatoa." said Poppy. "They've been living right on his doorstep and probably have no idea!"

"But where are they? Do they still live in town?" asked Penny.

Charon pointed a robed arm towards the volcano. But as Poppy looked closer, she saw there was what appeared to be an old mansion; built right at the base of the volcano, shrouded by greenery. "That mansion has been here, even before the town was built. Hell, I'd wager that it was that same person that's still here that actually built the town, themselves."

"It's really that old?" asked Sea Flower.

Charon nodded. "It's the only place I ever see any signs of life from; smoke coming from the chimneys, lights on upstairs."

"Then I guess that's where we're heading first." said Poppy. "Didn't you say you came to the town to resupply?"

"Indeed." said Charon. "Though there's no one living here anymore, there are other ferrymen that sell wares when they make port on the southern part of town. I will be there if you need me."

"Okay." said Poppy. "Thank you for getting us here."

Charon nodded once more. "Good luck to you, all." With that Charon disembarked from the deck of the Silent Mare, and strode into town, vanishing in the fog.

To-Do List: Investigate The Town.

Disembarking from the Silent Mare, Poppy and her friends entered the abandoned sea-side town, to make their way towards the mansion. A large sign; eroded by years of sea air, read "Welcome To Catcher's Landing."

Catcher's Landing

Catcher's Landing appeared to have once been a thriving and lively town before it was abandoned. There were plenty of shops in town, as well as many restaurants and cafes; even the gift shops still displayed merchandise of plushie crabs and coffee mugs. Poppy found it very odd how despite the town being abandoned for so long, it still looked to be in good condition. Perhaps if they found another way to stop Krakatoa, then it's citizens could return home. However, she wasn't sure of anything just yet. This was a new island they found themselves on, and it was clearly not a tropical paradise like Lagoom Island was.

Poppy looked out at the rest of the island, from the town. The entire island was a near barren expanse of swamps and misty marshes, with dead trees barely clinging to life under the clouded skies. She could hear the chittering of various insects and growling predators lurking in the brush.

Looking East, Poppy could see the Mansion in the distance. After walking through Catcher's Landing, they were closer than before; perhaps just a few minutes even. But as Poppy was about to call her friends over, Doctor Recipe called out from a nearby alley.

"Guys!" she yelled. "I found something I think you should see!"

Following Recipe's call, Poppy and her friends saw her standing beside a strange looking machine that looked like it had come from the set of an extremely high budget sci-fi movie. It looked like a large black generator housed inside a glass dome, on a base lined with pulsing blue lights. Hovering above the generator was what Poppy swore was a miniature galaxy; with stars and cosmic gases swirling around it. None of them had ever seen anything like it.

Except Recipe. "I...I don't believe it." she gasped. "This is a Harmonized Sub-Space Energy Generator!"

"And that's....bad?" asked Poppy.

Recipe turned to face the group. "It shouldn't even be here; anywhere!" she cried. "This is HUB technology! We used them to harness seemingly unlimited perpetual energy from the foreign electron bonds in Sub-space dimensions; basically infinite energy generators."

"Wait, I thought you said the HUB was destroyed." asked Penny.

Recipe nodded. "It was. So the million bit question is: how the hell is there one on this island?"

"Well, it was obviously brought here; there's no other way it could be here, right?" suggested Poppy. "Maybe our mysterious mansion owner can shed some light on it."

Recipe nodded. "I...I suppose so." she said blankly. She didn't take her eyes off the generator till they left the alley.

Leaving Catcher's Landing, Poppy and her friends stuck to the road to be safe, as they followed several rotted wooden signs that pointed the way to the mansion through the marshes.

There was more chittering from the brush as Poppy saw insects buzzing around in swarms over what looked like pools of bubbling mud. All the bits in Equestria wouldn't be enough to get Poppy to step hoof in that gunk. Her friends shared the sentiment.

Poppy guessed that there was a massive level of heat coming from the magma canals underground from the volcano. The volcanic soil didn't agree too much with mud, or the swampland of the island. It's no wonder why almost everyone left; the whole island looked like it was going to bubble over and sink in on itself any second.

But that just made it all the more odd that one person stayed.

Heading away from the pools of muck, Poppy and her friends kept their pace as they rounded a hill, and there, just a few feet from them now, was the mansion, looming over them at the base of the volcano. The ground rumbled a bit as they approached to get a better view.

To-Do List: Investigate The Mansion.

The mansion was remarkably preserved given the state of the island itself. There was a huge greenhouse to the western side of the mansion, that was also greatly preserved; with the windows even looking brand new and many exotic fauna growing within.

The ground rumbled once more, as they finally approached the front door of the manor. But as they did so...

"Who's there?" asked a strange voice from the other side of the door. "This is private property which you are trespassing on; leave the grounds now or be escorted away, personally!" The voice was clearly that of an old man, with a hint of an English accent beneath it.

Recipe's ears perked up. "Wait...I know that voice." She narrowed her eyes as she went up to the door. "Dr. Moro! I know it's you, you bastard; open up!" she snapped.

"Recipe?" asked the voice. "Oh, what joy; a fellow HUB scientist come to intrude upon my important work and research! And here I thought that a literal remote island in the middle of the bleeding ocean was enough to be rid of the rest of you cockroaches; my mistake."

Recipe was about to respond, probably by swearing a lot, but Poppy stepped in. "Dr. Moro, was it? My name is Poppy Blossom, and we aren't here to cause trouble; we're just here to warn you about this island; it's not safe! You need to leave, immediately!"

"Leave?" asked Moro. "Ha! Utter nonsense! Not when I'm so close to a breakthrough in my research! And, I'm afraid you're mistaken my dear girl; the only danger on this island is what will happen if I do leave."

"What do you mean?" asked Penny.

With that the doors swung open, but as everyone looked, they saw no one standing in the doorway. "Come inside, and I'll show you." the voice wasn't coming from anywhere Poppy could see at all; from nowhere.

To-Do List: Find Dr. Moro and discover what he's doing on the Island.

The Mansion of Dr. Moro was truly a sight to see. The inside was a lavish and well furnished Victorian abode; complete with Saddle Arabian carpets, mahogany tables, and satin throw pillows organized on marble tile floors underneath the light of a beautiful crystal chandelier. Poppy and her friends took it all in, while Recipe only looked concerned and unimpressed.

"Pft." she spat. "Moro was always one for flaunting his ugh...luxurious tastes." she rolled her eyes at the painting of what Poppy saw was a recreation of the famous Beholder who wept, a painting that Poppy had only seen pictures of herself. "Don't be fooled by all the grandeur, Poppy." she warned, turning away from the painting. "Moro's probably just as rotten and smug as ever."

"What is it between you two, anyways?" asked Poppy. "I take it your not exactly friends?"

Recipe sighed as she turned to Poppy. "You have no idea." she said simply. "Dr. Moro was a member of the prestigious and influential Moro Family, as well as an admittedly accredited expert in the field of cognitive robotics. And easily the biggest, most smug, selfish, blow-hart the HUB ever had the misfortune of having on it's scientific research team. He thought he was the smartest of us; the most entitled, the one that would make the future while we all struggled to keep up with him and his genius."

"He sounds like just another pompous jerk, to me," said Poppy with a shrug. "Plus, you've already proven you're way smarter then he is." Poppy patted Mimi atop her head as she purred. "I don't see this guy making anything as amazing as Mimi, no matter how smart he thinks he is."

"Thanks, Poppy." said Recipe with a smile. "When the HUB collapsed and we all went our separate ways, I was glad to finally be rid of that loudmouth. And now he's here, on this island. And we have to somehow convince him that he needs to leave his precious work and research behind? It'd be easier to just sink the island; and him with it."

"You don't mean that." said Poppy.

"No, of course not." said Recipe shaking her head. "But it would be more feasible than convincing him to leave. Trust me."

Moro's voice was heard once more; again it seemed to breathe out of the air itself, with no intercoms or speakers in sight. "Always with that pettiness, Recipe. Come; there is no shame in being second best to one's superior."

Recipe scoffed at the notion, and went silent; wishing to not risk adding to Moro's ego.

"Yes, well I hope you find my abode an enriching experience." said Moro smugly. "Certainly more so then anything out there, I'll say with utmost certainty. If you will just make your way to the dining room, my associates will take you down to my lab, where we can have a heart to heart, Doctor. I do so look forward to it."

Moro's Dining room was as much a sight to behold as the rest of his manor. A formal area with a long mahogany table, dinnerware on display in an oaken cabinet, and a great display of trophies along the walls. A great many works of art adorned the richly decorated walls, and the chandelier looked as if it was made from the finest crystals in the Crystal Empire.

But the thing that caught Poppy's eye instantly, wasn't anything about the room. It was the odd hulking figure sitting at the dining table, reading from a newspaper.

The figure was unlike anything Poppy had seen before. Taller then anyone Poppy could think of, wearing a rich black tuxedo with matching dress shoes and pants and even a lavish bowtie. He had no hooves, but hands; the odd looking appendages that she remembered Santa having, that apparently had far more capability than hooves (though she had yet to see for herself.)

But most astounding of all, was that his face was not that of a pony; but of a shiny metal ball. A globular head, displaying two glowing dots for eyes and pale markings approximating eye sockets and no mouth. The dots moved to look over at Poppy, who froze.

As Poppy froze, everyone else followed suit; not daring to move a muscle. Sea Flower flinched as the figure got up from his chair, neatly folded the newspaper, and went to the bookshelf behind him. Pulling a book, the entire thing suddenly moved to the side and folded itself neatly into the wall, revealing the entrance down into a long metal hallway, akin to a bunker.

The figure stepped to the side of the entryway and bowed politely as he gestured with his hands to the entrance. "Right this way, my friends." He said in a charming English voice. "The doctor is expecting you."

To-Do List: Follow the Mysterious Figure

The loud clopping of Poppy and her friend's hoofsteps echoed along with the graceful pace of the Mysterious Figure throughout the long metal hallway, as they all walked together; Flower had no trouble keeping up with the group as she too swam through the air beside them. Although she was clearly nervous, as was everyone else save for Poppy and Interkitten.

Poppy, who marched right alongside the Mysterious Figure, looked up to see that he was walking with both eyes looking ahead. And yet, he said "Is something bothering you, miss?" he asked politely, as if he could somehow sense that Poppy had indeed been looking at him.

Poppy was startled by his reply, but decided to use this an an opportunity to learn what she could. "I was just wondering if I could ask you a few things is all. Do you mind?" she asked, as politely and matter-of-factly as she could muster.

The figure gave not a single gesture but answered "Of course. I shall answer what I can." He never turned to look at her or slowed down in his pace. As they all began to descend down a flight of stairs, Poppy asked her first question.

"What-Sorry, who, exactly are you?" she asked.

The figure nodded slightly. "My name is ONE. I am the first of the many Servants that the good doctor has created to assist him in his many projects and aspirations here on this island."

"Projects?" replied Poppy. "Such as?"

"Advanced technologies, psychic ability research and applications, cloning, robotics, and of course the engineering of a new vessel, for the good doctor to inhabit." stated ONE.

"Uh...vessel?" asked Recipe, suddenly worried.

But they arrived at the doors to Moro's Lab before Recipe could get an answer. ONE simply waved his hand in front of a keypad, and the great metal doors unfurled, allowing ONE to lead Poppy and her friends inside.

Dr. Moro's Laboratory

As the doors folded back into the wall, Poppy and her friends were greeted to a truly awe inspiring sight. A gigantic laboratory, outfitted with technology the likes of which Poppy had only read about in science fiction tales; hover carriages, moving floors, teleports, it was all here on display for her and her friends to gawk at. Massive machines that touched the ceiling that Poppy could swear stretched up into the sky if not further then that, rose up from the ground like skyscrapers, humming so loud and powerful Poppy felt the ground shake beneath her hooves.

But it was not the machines as it turned out, as all around the already impossibly large room, was the inner walls of the volcano, that glowed a soft orange from the sea of lava that flowed below it. It took ONE putting his hand on Poppy's shoulder to pull her away from staring at everything in sight.

"This way, please." ONE gestured towards a small area that looked remarkably like a large sitting room lounge, nestled in the corner of the huge laboratory.

Taking a seat, everyone waited to see what it was Moro wanted to show them. After a period of waiting, they gasped as the table in the middle of the lounge suddenly descended into the floor, and a large cylindrical tank rose up in it's place, filled with some sort of glowing green liquid, that shimmered and pulsed behind the glass, like a heartbeat.

Then Penny screamed. Because of what she saw floating in the tank. Poppy looked in as well, and she also screamed, as did Sea Flower who was on the verge of fainting. Recipe was unable to scream, but opening her mouth to do so, found she was too horrified to make a whimper.

Interkitten, meanwhile, put a paw to her chin and raised an eyebrow. "Interesting." she said callously.

What floated inside the large tank, was in fact, a disembodied brain; hooked up to several advanced looking life supports within the tank. It looked so natural. And this is perhaps what disturbed Poppy the most. She was looking at someone's brain, floating about like a fish in a tank, and yet it looked so normal in comparison to everything else she had seen.

Still, she found that she had to look away, to give her mind time to adjust to that it was seeing.

Then she heard it. And so did everyone else. "Hmph! Just the sort of reaction I would expect from those too narrow minded to understand perfection when they see it." a voice snapped. "If you nitwits can't even look me in the lobes, then this will be quite a short companionship indeed."

Recipe's eyes went wide. "Moro?" she rasped, staring at the tank.

The brain within wrinkled it's frontal lobes. "Of course!" said Moro angrily. "Who else would be so brilliant as to ascend the physical body and truly become one with the mind? Let me answer that: No Pony!"

Poppy turned to Recipe. "That's Dr. Moro!?" she exclaimed.

"He's a brain outside of a head!" yelled Sea Flower, trying her best to maintain consciousness.

Penny turned in her seat, clutching her stomach. "Ooh....I'm going to be sick." she gasped.

"Ugh...same." Poppy agreed.

The tank suddenly turned from green to red, as the brain within pulsed in anger. "ENOUGH!" bellowed Moro. "I am not hear to bother with your inability to accept greatness! I require your help; do what I ask, and I shall help in turn." said Moro. The brain turned in the tank to 'face' Poppy. "Do we have an accord?"

Poppy hesitated before finally saying. "Fine." she said, still uneasy. "But you need to explain all....this, before we do anything for you."

The brain wrinkled again. "Hmph." said Moro. "Fine. Ask what you must."

To-Do List: Talk with Dr. Moro and find out what he wants from you

When Poppy woke up this morning, it seemed like a normal morning (for once.) The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and she was enjoying her breakfast of a cranberry muffin and apple cider in front of her TV, before going out to make her daily rounds.

She had not anticipated that she would, later that day, be questioning the motives and existence of an insane disembodied brain of a centuries-old mad scientist floating in a tank of what was either sewage or liquid plutonium. Life surprises us like that sometimes.

Poppy took a breath to calm herself and her mind before turning back to Dr. Moro. After reminding herself that she was about to talk to a brain in a jar, than ignoring the million other feelings of disgust and horror that bubbled up, she asked her first question.

"So...Moro-"

"Doctor, Moro, thank you!" snapped Moro. "I didn't spend over four years in medical school, plus another six years in the HUB to be called by my usual name. It's doctor, or nothing at all!"

Poppy nodded. "Right. So...'Nothing At All' (Recipe and Sea Flower stifled a laugh) what the hell are you exactly?"

"What you see before you is the culmination of Equine brilliance made manifest." Moro boasted. "The result of over three-hundred years of work, study and planning, all executed to give you the amazing breathtaking visage you see with your very eyes!"

"Is it 'breathtaking', because it makes you vomit?" snarked Recipe.

Moro's tank went red again. "I wouldn't expect a simpleton like you to understand, Recipe!" Moro snapped, his brain creasing in and out in rage. "You were always more interested in your pathetic little pet projects than real science."

"At least I actually helped people!" yelled Recipe. "You never wanted to help the HUB, you only wanted to help yourself!"

"You," Moro began, "Were only interested in making those stupid little inventions of yours, cause you thought they would make the world better, or some nonsense. Centuries; you've had centuries to work on something actually meaningful, and all you managed to make was this...ugh, abomination you call a pet."

Recipe's eyes flared. She jumped out of her seat and got face-to-brain with Moro. "If your so called 'real science' involves being a giant ass to everyone and benefiting yourself, than actually trying to benefit the world, than you can take your real science, and shove it, right up your-"

Recipe was suddenly launched away from the tank by an unknown force, and restrained into her chair by invisible bonds. She couldn't move, or even talk anymore. Poppy and her friends immediately sat up in alarm.

"You were always a fool, Recipe." said Moro, his tank turning green once more. "Always putting actions above thought. But now you see, just how wrong you really are."

Recipe's muffled swearing was blocked out by Moro's bragging tone. "Sorry." he bragged. "I'm afraid that will be quite enough out of you for now." Poppy watched as Recipe tried in vain to release herself, but it was no use. She ceased struggling then sat in her chair, angrily staring daggers at Moro.

Poppy turned back to Moro, her eyes narrowed now. "What did you do to her?" she demanded.

"I silenced her incessant gutter-mouth of foolish frivolities, so that I can finally explain what it is I want from you." said Moro callously. "If you too thought that being able to communicate telepathically was the only ability I possess in my new form, then you are very sadly mistaken."

Poppy looked around at her friends, who were now quite uneasy indeed. The best thing she could do right now is hear the lunatic out, then find some way to get out of here without ending up as wall pizza. "What do you want?" asked Poppy, not at all nicely.

"Excellent!" said Moro. "Finally some civil obedience to one's clear superior. Quite admirable, little pony."

Poppy suddenly began visualizing of all the ways she could totally smash the hell out of that tank right now, and crush this brain under hoof. Then again, she also enjoyed not having her mind set on fire, so she sat and listened to the insane brain's demands.

"I have need of help with an important task that involves tempering this island's...ahem, inhabitant." said Moro.

"Inhabitant?" asked Poppy. "What else is living on this island besides you?"

The brain furrowed it's lobes in thought for a moment. "I believe you know him as....Krakatoa."

Poppy's eyes went wide. "The....the volcano god? You mean you know about him?!" she cried. Sea Flower and Penny looked horrified while Recipe tried once more to release herself from Moro's psychic hold only for her to tip her chair backwards and onto the floor in the process.

Moro laughed. "A god?? Bah! That creature is no more a god, than I'm a world renowned arm-wrestling champion!"

Poppy was confused now. "If you know about Krakatoa, and it's not some angry volcano god...then what is he?"

Moro wrinkled his right lobe, as if to smirk. "Let me show you..."

Moro's Secret Vault

Poppy had seen her share of bizarre things, even before all the craziness of her previous adventure. But she had only read about half of the things that her and her friends were now seeing before them; arrayed perfectly behind glass walls that imitated the exhibits of a museum, Poppy's eyes darted from left to right taking in everything they could as ONE lead the group down the dimly lit hall of oddities leading to what Moro (who was now being carried in his tank by ONE, much like a goldfish in a bowl) was so eager to show them.

To the left was a display of six stone spheres the size of bowling balls. As they passed the glass, Poppy could swear she heard them humming like small wind turbines from behind the display.

To the right was what Penny gasped at, as it was the large dismembered claw of a dinosaur. It was shiny with blue scales and green talons, that Poppy thought looked like they were poisonous. The entire thing looked alarmingly well preserved, as if it had just been cut off.

"Whoa! Look at that!" said Sea Flower excitedly. Poppy turned to see a large white urn made of some kind of smooth white stone that Poppy had never seen before. It glowed a calming blue aura, and appeared to be mimicking the sound of the ocean. Sea Flower was particularly transfixed by it.

Poppy spotted a very odd sight in the final display; a crystal skull that was definitely not of equine origin. In fact, as far she could tell, it wasn't of any creature's origin that she knew of! It was too small to be a pony's or a Griffins or even a dragon's. The crystal it was made of was so clear and vivid it looked almost invisible. As Poppy locked eyes with it, she swore she felt it doing the same.

They had now reached a large heavily fortified steel door, that was clearly made to make sure whatever was inside could not get out. ONE input a rather long security code into the wall-mounted security keypad. A short few seconds later, the door began to unlock as tumblers slid and moved out of place to allow the door to swing open, with a heavy thud that shook the floor.

"Now," said Moro as ONE turned around so the doctor could talk to everyone. "What you are about to see is not to leave this manor; I don't want anyone taking notes or photographs or anything of that nature when we enter. This is my discovery, and I shall be the one to reveal his existence to the world. Is that clear?"

Poppy and her friends, driven by the insatiable curiosity of the moment, all agreed to keep whatever Moro was hiding a secret (For now")

Satisfied, Moro had ONE lead everyone through the vault door and into a gigantic cavern rotunda.

Krakatoa's Kajolica

The cavern Poppy found herself walking into was absolutely colossal; fifty times the size of the already huge cave of the Ocean's Oath she had been in. Even if she was laying on her back, she doubted she would be able to see the ceiling. Huge black stalagmites that glowed with cracks of heat dotted the area, both on the floor and walls.

But what took Poppy's and everyone else's breath away was the massive creature that occupied at least one half of the cavern they were in.

A dragon of unreal beauty, seemingly carved of molten scarlet with a golden underbelly, was curled up inside an enclosure fenced by a strange wall of energy that prevented anyone from getting too close. Great flumes of steam rose up from it's mouth and nostrils as it slept; Opening it's mouth to let out a snore, allowed Poppy to gaze at it's many sharp fanged teeth that, amazingly, were golden in color. The crown of golden frills on it's head looked all too much like the the crown of a mighty king; a symbol of the power he exhumed.

Poppy had met plenty of dragons in her time as a delivery mare, and of course had made many trips to the Dragon lands and had even fought a few as well. But she had never, seen a dragon like this before. It looked as if a painting of gold and red had burst to life and now rested on the cavern floor.

ONE turned so Moro, who even as a brain Poppy could tell was 'smiling' with pride, could speak. "Ladies and gentleman!"

Recipe rolled her eyes. "We're all mares, idio-"

"I am proud to show you," Moro continued, "The so called 'god' that you have been seeking." ONE lifted his hand in showmanship towards the enclosure. "Behold!" said Moro. "Krakatoa: The 9th Wonder Of The World!"

Everyone's gawking at Krakatoa was interrupted by him letting out a burst of red fire from his mouth as he slept. Moro swore loudly as ONE backed up from the enclosure, before chuckling to himself. "Heh. That still gets me from time to time." he joked.

As Poppy tore her eyes away from the magnificent beast before them, it then dawned on her what this meant. "Wait, so...Krakatoa is a dragon? What about the stories about his fearsome volcano god wrath and all that stuff?"

Moro laughed. "Sensationalist hooey!" he snapped. "Dreamed up by those savages on Lagoom Island for telling their offspring; nothing more."

Sea Flower's eyes flared. "Savages?" she growled. Penny put a hoof on her shoulder, saying it wasn't worth it. Sea Flower calmed down a bit, but still stared daggers at the smug brain.

Poppy was also glaring at Moro, but curiosity overcame her more than anything. "How long have you had him locked up like this?"

"Locked up?" asked Moro. "You're acting like I have the beast as a prisoner or something!"

"Well...don't you?" asked Poppy.

"Of course not!" Moro snapped. "This is all for the sake of scientific discovery, I assure you!"

Recipe finally stepped in. "Just what kind of scientific discovery involves holding a freakin' dragon penned up beneath your house!?" She almost snarled the words; Poppy couldn't tell if she was mad at Moro for keeping the dragon in an enclosure or because of how dangerous doing such a thing was. Most likely both.

"FOOL!" yelled Moro, his tank turning red once more. "Don't you see? Can you not already visualize the possibilities?" ONE turned around so Moro could look at the dragon. "This dragon has skin like molten crimson; a belly carved of gold, teeth that never dull and scales that never break. Breathing fire that can literally melt other fire into slag. Its as if nature itself carved it out of the earth to be it's masterpiece; a king of dragons!"

Moro turned back to the group. "Imagine if there were others! Dragons just like this one, older than time, each one with magic and abilities that likes of which nopony in existence could imagine! Immortality, Curing all diseases, unbreakable skin and bones; the possibilities for scientific discovery are endless!"

Recipe looked taken back for a second, contemplating what Moro was saying. But then her eyes narrowed again. "He's still a dragon; an intelligent, sentient creature just like us! You can't just keep him in a cage!"

"Bah!" snapped Moro. "Ponies have to look out for themselves! We live in a world of creatures stronger and far more dangerous than we are; and if getting stronger means we have to make a few sacrifices...so be it."

"What are you planning on doing to him?" Poppy demanded.

"I'm going to continue my experiments and see how this beast functions." said Moro callously. "Maybe dissect it to see if it's underbelly is truly made of gold."

"You can't do that!" shouted Recipe. Mimi began to growl menacingly as well. "I knew it; all these years and your just as much a monster as you always were. I refuse to help you harm an innocent dragon!"

"Hah! This dragon was here when I first arrived." spat Moro. "It had probably killed and devoured everything else on this island, making it into the barren wasteland it is now. Innocent? I think not! It's a monster to be studied, like all it's kind."

Penny shook her head. "You're not seeing reason, Dr. Moro." she said calmly. "You've been on this island for centuries; you don't know the world we live in now! Dragons are intelligent, just as much as we are. They can be reasoned with. Even if you're afraid of him-"

"Afraid? Hah!" Moro laughed. "This beast is my test subject; he is under my control. I don't want to reason with it; I want to study it."

"You can't do something like this." said Poppy, narrowing her eyes further.

Moro simply said "And who is going to stop me?" ONE's eyes suddenly turned red as they locked on Poppy.

Poppy took a step forward, ready to fight. "I am."

"Wrong." said Moro gravely. "You're going to help me keep my test subject under control."

"And just why the hell would we do that?" asked Recipe also preparing to fight. "You going to try your mind trick again?"

Moro laughed; a cruel laugh that Poppy had not heard before. "No; It's because I control this monster." ONE gestured to Krakatoa, still asleep. "Anytime I choose, I can let him out of his cage and let him go berserk; I can retreat to my bunker, while I watch him burn your pathetic little hovel of an island to cinders. And then, maybe I'll let him see what else he can light up along the way."

"You wouldn't!" cried Sea Flower.

"He would." said Recipe.

"I would." Moro confirmed. "Do as I say, and I'll let you leave this island and leave me to my research; you're pathetic island will continue to live on, without fear of the 'big, scary, volcano god' burning it down." Moro turned to Poppy, Penny and Interkitten. "And you three, will return back to wherever you came from; no longer a thorn in my side. Do we have a deal?"

Everyone went silent. Sea Flower was on the verge of tears, as she glared at Moro. Recipe looked like she was ready to turn Moro into brain paste the second he said one more word.

Poppy just thought to herself, trying to see a way out of this. What mattered was Lagoom's safety. If they had to play along with this lunatic, in order to ensure it was safe, then fine. They would figure out a way to stop Moro later. In the meantime, they had no choice but to do as he said...for now.

"Fine." Poppy finally said. "What do you want us to do?"

"Aha! The voice of reason speaks!" said Moro. "I can see you are clearly the smartest out of this lot-"

"What, do you want us to do?" Poppy repeated.

"Very well." said Moro. "The subspace battery I use to keep this energy cage up is nearly run out. I need you lot to fetch me a new one from my old lab in Catcher's Landing; there should be a subspace generator behind it that's still running. Get it. Bring it back. Simple enough?"

Poppy immediately remembered the generator that Recipe had found in town. She had wondered how it had gotten there. Now they had their answer. "Fine." said Poppy. "We'll get you your battery. Then you let us leave."

"Of course." said Moro. "And you leave me to my studies."

"And you try and pull anything," Recipe added, "Mimi will eat you and your stupid robots for lunch." Mimi snarled at Moro in response.

"Pft. Whatever you need to tell yourself, Recipe." Moro snapped. "Now; off with you. And don't come back till you have my battery!"

To-Do List: Retrieve Moro's Subspace Battery from Catcher's Landing

The trip back to Catcher's Landing was easy enough; though it was mostly because Poppy was too lost in her thoughts to bother being annoyed or grossed out by the swarms of buzzing insects and the bubbling, foul-smelling mud that made up the landscape.

She had met evil dragons before. Huge, fire belching monsters, with no empathy, ability to speak or reasoning. Essentially just walking, fire breathing eating machines that would swallow a pony in one bite and not even think about it.

But as far as she could tell, Krakatoa was not one of those dragons. He seemed so peaceful, so serene. So....sad.

"No one deserves to be locked up in a cage like that." said Poppy thinking aloud.

"And especially not by a psychopath like Dr. Moro." Recipe added. "We have to stop this; all of this!"

"But how?" asked Sea Flower. "The scary brain said he'll destroy my home if we don't do what he says." she added solemnly.

As they entered Catcher's Landing once more, they suddenly all heard Dr. Moro's booming voice in their heads again. "It is I, Dr. Moro!" he exclaimed. "Don't bother looking around; I'm in your minds."

"You don't say?" snapped Recipe sarcastically. "And here I thought that park bench over there suddenly wanted to engage in conversation. My mistake."

Everyone laughed. But Moro simply snapped back. "Oh yes, ever the cunning wit as ever." said Moro. "Now if you're done making your little quips-"

"I had more." said Poppy "But, go on."

"Right." Moro sighed. "My former laboratory is not far from you; simply head down that alley on the left and make a right. You will be behind the store I used as a makeshift lab when I first arrived here; DO NOT go inside. The generator will be right in front of you; simply disable it, remove the battery and bring it back. Even Recipe couldn't screw it up."

"I swear to Celestia-" Recipe began, but Poppy stopped her.

"Hang on a second. I think we can use this." she whispered to Recipe, before turning her attention to Moro. "Why can't we go into the lab?" she demanded.

"Don't bother with it!" snapped Moro. "It's full of nothing but useless junk, machine parts and busted subspace batteries; just get what I told you!" With that Moro's voice went silent.

A smile formed on Poppy's face, as she turned to Recipe. "Are you thinking, what I'm thinking?" she asked.

"A thousand and one ways to make brain pâté?" said Recipe angrily.

Poppy nodded. "That, and; I think I know a way we can stop Moro." she turned to look down the street; the alley with the generator could be seen from there. "But first; we have to get in that lab."

To-Do List: Find a way inside Moro's Old Lab

The store that now housed Dr. Moro's old lab appeared to have once been just your run-of-the-mill gift shop; displays of novelty t-shirts and disposable cameras could still be seen in the front windows as Poppy and her friends went up to the front doors, trying to find a way inside. If the heavy bolt locks weren't enough to deter them, the huge red eyed cameras gaping at them from every angle were.

"Well...the front door's out." said Recipe.

But as she and the others began to turn away, Poppy stopped her. "Wait," she said. "These cameras are looking right at us."

"Yes," said Penny nervously. "Which is why we need to get moving in the general direction away from them!"

"No; look." Poppy waved a hoof in front of a camera; it didn't budge. No alarms were raised, no lasers shooting at them, no gun turrets appearing from the walls. It's like it didn't see her at all.

Recipe did the same. Hers too did not move. "Not much of a security system." she joked.

Poppy nodded. "Moro must have shut them down when he abandoned the place; he has no reason to keep an eye on an old lab that's supposedly just filled with broken junk, right?"

"Right." Recipe nodded. "Which also means..." she looked down at Mimi who watched curiously from her side. "Mimi?" the bear dog's ears perked up as her tail wagged furiously. "Can you get the door for us?"

A moment later, Mimi's monstrous paws smashed down the worn wooden doors of the old lab; sending both chunks of wood and broken security cameras across the floor of the main storefront. Mimi, now once again her adorable self, hopped in and looked back at her master for approval.

"Good girl!" cheered Recipe. She turned to Poppy and smiled, gesturing with her hoof. "After you."

Moro's Old Laboratory

The store that now held the old lab was still very much present; the shelves were still lined with souvenir mugs, lunchboxes and collectable flags emblazoned with the words Catcher's Landing. As Poppy and her friends stepped through the door, and odd feeling came over her. She suddenly felt as if they weren't alone in there.

She looked around the place. Dust caked every inch of the place, along with piles and piles of odd looking machinery, gears, spare wires and couplers, and what looked like prototypes of the robot that she knew as ONE; all scattered around in random places all over the old building. But then as they looked around, she began to notice other things.

A plate of fresh food was seen on the table behind the counter, along with an absolutely insane amount of books, stacked tall to the ceiling. A single candle illuminated the walls which showed multiple maps, diagrams, and what Poppy recognized as spellwork charts; basically schematics for creating new spells and even new types of magic. There must have been twenty or more layered along the oaken walls like they were wallpaper.

This confirmed it; somepony was definitely here. "Guys, I think-" but Poppy stopped as they heard a strange sound coming from the back room of the place. It sounded like...snoring?

"What was that?" Flower whispered, her voice quivering.

"I don't know." said Poppy, her eyes moving to the back room. "Looks like this place isn't as abandoned as Moro thought." She looked back at her friends and motioned for them to follow her. They nodded and followed her as she made her way to the hallway leading to the backroom.

To-Do List: Investigate the Strange Noise

The hallway was almost completely dark; with only a lit candle at the end of it as the only source of light. Shadows danced along the walls, as Poppy and her friends approached the door to the backroom. The snoring was coming from in there.

Poppy looked back at her friends who nodded for her to proceed, before she opened the door and went inside.

Mysterious Backroom

Poppy had expected to see a backroom full of junk. Maybe an abandoned workshop or a storage area Moro used to store spare parts and blueprints. But she had not been expecting to see anything like what she was seeing now.

The place was crammed with books. Books on shelves that rose to the high ceiling, books in stacks on the floor, books holding up a potted lily in desperate need of water. On four chairs arranged before an oak desk rested still more books- which Poppy nearly knocked over while looking around the room- and on the desk, arranged in very oddly shaped stacks, was even more.

But then Poppy spotted them. They were posted all over the walls, arranged in a way that there was no way she or her friends as they entered could miss them.

It was her. Drawings, oil paintings, charcoal scratched parchments of her image, littered every surface of the walls. They were so vivid and well made; the detail alone made them look like they were alive. Poppy's breath caught in her throat. "Is that....me?" she rasped. She studied a painting close to her. "It....it really is me."

"I...I don't understand." said Penny a look a fear on her face. "Why are there pictures of Poppy here?" Nopony had an answer. They all just stopped and stared at the walls, taking in every detail of the many Poppys that looked back at them.

Then the snoring came again, and this time they managed to find the source of it.

An elderly stallion in a black cloak was fast asleep in the makeshift bedding along the corner of the room. He was a grey earth pony of age, yet he still looked rather young somehow. His mane was a white mad scientist-esque array of jagged spikes and porcupine-like tendrils jutting out from his head in random directions. Heavy bags were under his closed eyes, indicating he had not gotten much sleep, in a while. His brow was furrowed even as he slept; a sign he was a very heavy thinker (Of what, Poppy couldn't guess.)

"Who's that?" whispered Flower, nervously.

"No idea." said Recipe. "Looks like he's been here a while, though."

"Does he work for Moro?" Poppy asked turning to her.

Recipe shook her head. "Not a chance. Moro hates people; he only ever has robots do his work for him." she replied. "Only reason we're out here is because he probably wants us to get killed bringing this stuff back to him."

"But then...' Penny began, "Who is he? Why is he here?"

Interkitten flew over to the stallion. "Let's find out." she said, as she flicked the stallion in the nose. As everyone reeled back in horror at the small blue flying kitten's actions, the snoring ceased as the stallions eyes opened to see them.

For a moment, everyone froze. Then the stallion's gaze moved to Poppy, and he sat up in his bed, staring intently at her. "Oh my...it..it's you." he gasped. His voice was calm yet mature; sane yet mad. It was the voice of a scholar, a mentor, a teacher and a madman all layered into one.

"Me?" asked Poppy uncomfortably.

"Yes, you." repeated the strange stallion, moving to get out of his bed. "You're finally here; I was beginning to lose hope."

Poppy didn't know how to respond. "I...I-" She was certain she had never met this guy in her entire life. Yet here he was, looking at her like he had just found his long lost grand-daughter. Poppy struggled to find words, but her brain had clocked out for the day.

Luckily Recipe had plenty she could use. "Hang on buddy." she put a hoof to the stallion's chest. "You need to answer some questions; What the hell are you doing here, anyways?"

"And why do you have so many pictures of Poppy in here?!" cried Penny who seemed just as disturbed by this situation as Poppy.

"How does your hair do that weird jaggedy-thing?" asked Flower, who seemed unable to pull her gaze away from the stallion's odd hairdo.

The stallion furrowed his brow in frustration. "I see...you brought the lackeys with you as well. Ugh." he looked over at Poppy, the bags under his eyes purple against his grey face. "This is the lot, you brought with you then? They don't look at all like how I envisioned them."

Recipe narrowed her eyes. "And just how did you envision us, smart guy?" Mimi growled angrily as well, baring her claws.

The stallion shooed them away as if to swat a gnat. "I have no time to engage the likes of you lot; I am speaking to Poppy."

Before Recipe could send Mimi to probably use this jerk as a chew toy, Poppy glared at him with enough intensity to make him gasp. "You don't talk to my friends like that." she warned. "They are helping me to save this island and possibly the whole world in the process! I don't know how you know me, but if you want me to listen to anything you have to say, you will give them the respect they deserve."

The stallion looked at her. Then at her friends, then back to her. "I...my apologies." he said bowing his head. "I am often too terse for my own good. I meant nothing by it I assure you."

"Fine." said Recipe. "Now start explaining yourself, or else you and Mimi will have to get better acquainted." Mimi growled again as she glared at the stallion.

The stallion sighed. "If I must." He looked over at Poppy. "Come, let us sit down; I'll tell you everything you want to know."

To-Do List: Question the Mysterious Stallion and find out why he is here

The stallion sat down across from Poppy and continued to stare at her, eyes wide in shock. "Poppy Blossom." he said. "Is it really you? Or am I dreaming again?"

Poppy nodded. "I...well, I think I'm actually here." she said absentmindedly. "Or...am I dreaming?"

The stallion put a hoof to his chin in thought. "Hmmm...no, I don't think so; in my dreams I usually have a pig strapped to my back while I yodel in Cantonese. Since neither of those things are happening yet, I'll say that I, at the very least, am not dreaming. But please do let me know if I start yodeling, as I believe I become deaf near the last stages of my dreams and wouldn't be able to hear it."

"Okay." replied Poppy, not even trying to work out what any of that was. "You said you would explain everything, right?"

The stallion nodded. "Of course. Where should I begin?"

Recipe rolled her eyes. "Um, how bout the beginning?" she snarked.

"Very well." said the stallion. "My name is Garnanopo, and I have been searching for you for a long time, Poppy."

"Why have you been looking for me?" asked Poppy suspiciously. "What do you want?"

"I want to help you!" said Garnanopo. "There is so much you need to know, but the most important part is this: you are destined to save the whole of reality from an unspeakable evil, and I am meant to guide you on this path."

"Unspeakable evil?" asked Recipe. "I mean, Moro's bad, but he's not that bad....I think."

"No, not Moro, you simpleton!" Garnanopo snapped. "What I speak of is something infinitely worse than any foe you have ever faced before in your life; words describing it fail. Pages relating it shrivel. Tales recounting it end; it is beyond the furthest beyond and more." Garnanopo's eyes moved to Poppy. "It hungers for realities to consume, and ours is the next on it's menu."

Flower let out an 'eep!' Recipe shook her head. "Look, this guy's obviously a loon; let's just grab the subspace battery and-"

"You don't believe me? Fine. "Interrupted Garnanopo. "Then I shall have to prove it."

The wizard got up and went over to his desk, and snatched two leather bound tomes from the pile and sat back down in front of Poppy. "It began roughly two months ago; I began to have dreams, dreams of this terrible evil and the untold destruction that will befall reality if it isn't stopped, and of course....of you."

"Why me, specifically?" asked Poppy.

"I have no idea." said Garnanopo with a shrug. "Perhaps it is destiny, or a fluke. Maybe you were the name on the list of chosen ones to be chosen; it makes no difference my dear." Garnanopo held up the two tomes from Poppy. They read Journal 1 and Journal 2, respectfully. "But ever since then I have kept track of every other vision afterwards; and they lead me right to you."

Poppy took Journal 1 from Garnanopo and browsed through it's contents. Inside it described everything that her and her friends had done in the last two months: Foiling Charming Culture, Stopping Myra, Life 2.0, giving Interkitten her body, and even the defeat of Hue Humble. It was all here, organized by date; the exact dates they happened. This was no coincidence.

Poppy's eyes swelled as she read through the rest of the journal, stopping at today; when she, Penny and Interkitten arrived on Lagoom Island.

She looked over at Garnanopo. "How do you know all this?" she asked in utter amazement.

"I am a seer, by trade. A sorcerer by all others." he answered. "I am able to witness visions of the past, present and future, through my dreams. Extremely useful, though it's murder on the internal clock."

"That's amazing!" said Penny. "So you knew we would be here?"

"Not exactly." Garnanopo sighed. "I am not able to focus on a specific point in time to envision; sometimes I will see the future but not know what events occurred to make that future happen, or I will see the past, and never know what future will happen based on what I see." He turned to Poppy. "I only knew that someday you would arrive on this island; I had no idea when or where you would actually arrive though!"

Poppy raised an eyebrow. "Wait....just how long have you been on this island, waiting for me to arrive?"

"Oh, I would say about....2 months." said Garnanopo. "Maybe more, one tends to lose track of time trying to find alchemical uses for beach sand. Among other things."

But Poppy wasn't listening. "You've been here...for over 2 months, just...waiting for me to arrive??"

"Yes. Oh, don't give me that look!" said Garnanopo defensively. "I knew you would arrive this year at least. I don't think I would've bothered conjuring a portal here otherwise.

Penny piped in. "Wait, you know about the portals?" she asked. "The one that brought us here, too?"

"I do indeed." said Garnaopo. "Bermuda Triangles are fickle things; always wanting fed in order to work properly. But I managed to convince one to take me to this island from my homeland. Once I was here, I set up shop in the gift shop I knew you would arrive at on orders from that loathesome brain in a jar."

"You saw Moro in your vision too?" asked Recipe.

"I did; nastiest piece of work I have ever seen floating in a jar of magically enriched brainfluid...and I've seen my share, I'll tell you." Garnaopo's eyes lit up. "Oh! Which reminds me, I believe this is the part when I give you this." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a strange looking glass battery, with a small galaxy swirling around inside it, but the red light on the side signified it was not to be used. "You will need this to stop Moro." he handed it to Poppy. It was heavier than she expected, and she nearly dropped it into her satchel from it's immense weight.

Garnanopo got up and turned his attention to the group. "Once you're done here, I will travel back to Equestria and we can talk at my lab in Canterlot."

"Aren't you coming with us?" asked Flower. "You can't stay here on this island!"

"Young lady, I have been here for months living on nothing but shellfish and seawater....and some beach sand that one time." said Garnanopo. "Now that I have met you all, I will most certainly not be staying here or anywhere in this region."

"Why don't you help us with Moro then?" asked Penny. "Then we can all go back together."

"Afraid not; I have much to do before I leave this island. I need all the time I can muster to prepare." said Garnanopo. "But as I said, once you are back in Equestria, seek me out at my lab in Canterlot; we will discuss our next move there."

Then, before Poppy could ask the strange stallion anything else, she and her friends were suddenly teleported outside the store, which suddenly vanished right in front of their eyes.

To-Do List: Return to the manor and give Moro the faulty subspace battery

The dark clouds leaked a yellow that made the fog surrounding Catcher's Landing look even more foreboding than before. It seemed that the daylight was struggling to even shine down over such an eerie place, and to make it even more unwelcoming, it began to rain.

Poppy drew out her umbrella from her satchel, and handed two spares to Recipe and Penny. Interkitten, who hated water, simply hid under Poppy's umbrella with her, while Flower was more than happy to go without one. As the storm brewed around them, they began to make their way back to Moro's Manor.

"Hey Poppy." said Recipe suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Did you really believe anything that weirdo said?"

"I mean....maybe? I don't know." Poppy sighed. "He knew about all our adventures to this point, but I've met plenty of seers and psychics that could do far more than just that. If he really is a seer...well, I don't think he's a terribly good one."

"Maybe he can only get visions in his dreams, like he said?" Penny suggested.

"Or," said Recipe narrowing her eyes, "He's lying, and this is all just some trap he's setting for Poppy."

"Wouldn't be the first time." said Poppy. "But I wouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet; not till we know more about him at least."

Recipe sighed. "Well, I know I don't like him; there's something...off about him. The kind of off, Moro used to have when he still had arms and legs....and sanity."

"We'll keep an eye on him." said Poppy. "But for now, we have another lunatic we have to deal with."

As they neared the gates of Moro Manor once more, they once again heard the voice of Dr. Moro in their heads. "Ah! Excellent work, my minions."

"Minions?!" Flower huffed. "As if I would serve any other than the High Priestess!" she pouted at the notion.

Moro ignored her (and everyone else's clear disdain for being called as such) and used his abilities to open the gates of the manor, allowing them into the courtyard, and through the front doors.

"Bring the Sub-space battery to me in the lab, at once!" Moro ordered. "I assure you that the gratitude of Dr. Moro is worth far more than any morals, you lower lifeforms may cling to. That is all."

As Moro's voice faded away, Recipe just chuckled to herself. "Welp, let's get down there." she had a look in her eyes like fire. "I look forward to re-painting the walls; I'm thinking greymatter pink, would look nice."

To-Do List: Defeat Dr. Moro and save Lagoom Island

The eeriest thing about the manor, was not that there was no longer any of the rich and luxurious atmosphere it once had or the sounds of grinding machinery which now resounded across the the entire area; but the silence. The pure, unrefined, dead silence that blended with the whirring of the machinery to create a wordless song nopony should be unfortunate enough to hear.

"I don't like this." said Recipe, her eyes darting about. "Not at all."

"Do...do you think he knows?" asked Penny.

Recipe shrugged. "The guy can read minds now and throw me across a room with a thought; so it wouldn't surprise me."

Poppy thought for a moment. "But, if he did know," she said "Why let us back into the manor? Why not just kill us then and there and have his robots come get what he wants?"

Interkitten interjected. "Perhaps, it was that Garnanopo character that made it so Moro was unable to retrieve his battery, himself." she suggested. "That's why he sent us to get it instead, for fear of encountering Garnanopo if he left his manor."

Poppy looked back at her. "You think Moro knew Garno was here the whole time? And that he's....afraid of him?"

"It would explain why he had us go and get what he wanted instead of sending his robots; maybe he knew that Garnanopo was staying somewhere in Catcher's Landing but didn't know where at the time; why risk it when you can just force your enemies to do the hard work for you?" said Recipe. "And did you just call him, Garno?" she added raising an eyebrow at Poppy.

"Well, I'm not just going to keep saying Garnanopo!" said Poppy defensively. "It's too long; He needs to shorten it to something easier to say."

Suddenly a loud bang broke the chatter amongst Poppy and her friends as the floor vanished and a great stairway leading down was illuminated. "The lab is just down these stairs." said Moro's booming voice in their skulls. "Do not keep me waiting; I have no more patience to give."

Poppy took one look at the stairway and sighed. "Yep. He knows."

Moro's Laboratory

Poppy never dropped her guard as they entered the cavernous chambers of Moro's lab once again, but this time it was clearly a different room; it looked like it was built to house one thing, rather then offer a space for multiple inventions as the previous lab did.

And that one thing, was very plain for all to see. Poppy's breath caught in her throat as she creened her head back to look up at a gigantic machine that occupied nearly the entire room.

It was a mountain of metal; stretched to the ceiling, pile upon pile of limbs made from pipes and oddly shaped steel draped in cables. The whole mess thrummed, and as Poppy and her friends stepped ever further into the room, it seemed to purr; a horrid beast of metal waiting for life to breathe into it.

"What the hell?" said Recipe, running her eyes over the machine's hulking frame. "This isn't HUB technology; this isn't even technology, I don't think! What does Moro have this for?"

"It's huge." said Penny in a shaking voice. "Why does It feel like it's...breathing?"

Recipe glared at the metal beast. "I don't know; but Moro's hiding around here somewhere, we just-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Recipe screamed and her hoof flew to her mouth.

Something smashed against the ceiling; Poppy jumped as metal shards rained to the floor, barely missing her.

And then the building lurched.

The machine heaved up, belched steam and fire, then crashed back down, shaking the very earth and causing everyone to nearly fall over. Nails popped, cables snapped, steel lashed from the walls, as a horrible laugh echoed throughout the room. Moro's laugh.

"You puny minded insects." he snarled. "Did you really think that I, the great Dr. Moro; the man who transcended death itself with his genius, would be fooled by such an obvious attempt to undermine me? Hah!" The voice wasn't coming from inside their heads anymore; no....it was coming from the machine.

A huge metal chain suddenly snaked away from the machine and lashed out at the group. "Move!"shouted Poppy. As her and her friends tried to dodge out of the way, the chain slammed against her and she screamed, as it wrapped itself around her and threw her across the floor toward a large hole in the middle of the now destroyed flooring.

"Poppy!" shouted Penny. She tried to make her way over to her fallen friend but another chain lashed out and cracked her across the leg, sending her to the ground.

"There's nowhere you pathetic fleshlings can run now; I am in control of this entire manor!" cackled Moro. "This machine has given my mind the true vessel I've always been meant for, and I will use it to reshape this world as I see fit. A world which tragically, involves you dying first!" Another chain lashed from the machine, but Mimi (who had naturally gone full beastform to defend her friends) snatched it from the air and held the chain in her huge jaws, allowing everyone to take cover behind some debris that had fallen.

"Meddlesome mutt!" roared Moro, as he began to fight the beastly canine.

Meanwhile, Poppy, whose head was hanging over the hole in the floor, got up to see The Moro Machine squaring off against the monstrous Mimi. As she stood up she winced as her leg was now quite sore from where the chain grabbed her, but this didn't deter her; she had to stop this thing no matter what.

Poppy looked up to see that the machine was facing away from her; valves clanked open and shut, steam hissed through broken pipes and liquid metal sparked off like lightning bugs. White mist, twirled around the sprockets like ghostly fingers.

A blast of steam hit her in the face, sending her back a few inches, but nevertheless she stood her ground, refusing to fall again. Her eyes searched the back of the machine for any weak-spots; a broken valve, a port she could slip into, a giant blinking 'off' button, anything.

Slowly, she crawled toward the wall, tilting her body, keeping most of her weight of her injured leg. Then she rose, bent at the waist, and hobbled beneath the steam pipes jutting from the back of the metal behemoth. The pipes snarled and beat into each other like boxers.

Then she felt a small arm wrap around her waist. It was Interkitten. "A pleasure to see you're not dead, miss Poppy." she said with a smile. Though she herself was a bit bruised, but still in high spirits.

Poppy chuckled and winced again as pain shot up her leg. "I am too; would suck having to explain to Equestria how their new princess was killed only a few weeks after getting into office." she joked.

Moro continued to battle Mimi, who had done a bit of damage to the front hull of the machine; huge plates of twisted metal were torn apart as she chewed through the machine's gears like they were paper. Yet Moro wasn't slowing down, and seemed to have lost his remaining sanity even further as he was now roaring and screeching like an animal.

Poppy turned to Interkitten. "You're literally the internet, Interkitten! Do you have anything in that database on how can we stop this thing?"

"I'm afraid there are very few articles online about combating homicidal geniuses melded with a walking artillery, miss Poppy." said Interkitten. "But....I may have one idea."

Above them, fire sizzled and whipped, draping the walls in orange light. Peering around for her friends, Poppy shrank back from the brightness, shielding her eyes with her arm, and she tripped over a softness- small like a twig- and squinted down at a bone.

Poppy stooped and plucked up the bone, hard as steel now in her hoof, almost spherical, it's surface was chiseled with numbers and odd symbols that looked completely alien to her. She got a feeling like this odd bone was important somehow, and stashed it into her satchel.

She glanced back and saw Recipe bravely dive out from cover, armed with some kind of very advanced looking laser rifle, aimed directly at Moro. "For the record," she cocked back the rifle in her hooves, aiming it up at Moro's inner workings, "I never liked you when you were a pony either."

A blast of green energy shot out from the head of the rifle, and pierced clean through the machine, showering the area in white hot, green plasma, as Moro roared once again, a huge burning red hole in his metal body, as he lashed a great metal arm of gears and pipe down at Recipe who dodged back into cover as the arm barely missed her. They were holding him off, but they couldn't do it forever; Poppy had to find a way to kill this thing, and fast.

But it was then that the floor ruptured. It vomited rock, and she jumped, pain shooting down her injured leg. Her ankle gave out, and she fell back against the wall, just as the machine hurled a huge metal sheet at her head. Serrated on edge, sharp as a razor.

Poppy barely avoided decapitation, as she stared forward at the sheet of metal, held aloft in the air by her magic. A bead of sweat dripped off her horn, as she let go, letting the metal sheet fall to the floor with a loud clang. Interkitten flew back to her, having been forced to move away to avoid being crushed by debris. "Are you alright, miss Poppy?" she asked.

"Not the first time I've nearly lost my head." said Poppy with a nervous chuckle. "But I would prefer that I didn't have to worry about it anymore for the moment; you were saying you may have an idea to stop this thing?"

Interkitten nodded. "Moro has actually managed to merge his mind and consciousness with this machine, he no longer even needs a flesh and blood brain to house his mind anymore." she explained. "Honestly, I would be extremely impressed if he wasn't trying to murder us all."

"So how can we stop him?" asked Poppy. "Is there a way to turn the machine off? I mean it's still a machine right?"

"There is no way to turn it off." said Interkitten. "Moro built it using parts and methods that utilize neither magic nor technology; therefore no magic or technology would be able to shut it down, not permanently. And attacking him only enrages him further."

"Clearly." said Poppy with a sigh. "Then what? How can we stop Moro!?"

Interkitten looked up at the machine, heaving and sputtering broken metal and steam everywhere. Then she glanced over at Poppy "I believe we came here to sink this island, did we not?"

Poppy's eyes widened. She too then looked up at the machine and narrowed her eyes. "Will it work?"

"Moro is a machine now; a machine that will eventually rust out and cease functioning if submerged in enough water."

Poppy nodded. "Alright, then let's do it." but a thought occurred to her. "Wait! How can we do that? We don't even know where the other mechanism is!"

"We don't need one." said Interkitten. "I'm pretty sure after everything Moro has done, Krakatoa would be more than happy to assist us in this endeavor."

To-Do List: Reach Krakatoa's chambers.

Poppy moved to where her friends could see her, as they continued to hold off Moro. Recipe reloaded her rifle as she glanced over at Poppy. "Oh, hey Poppy!" she called over. "Glad you're not dead!"

"Same!" Poppy called back. "I have a plan to stop this thing and get us all out of here!"

"Great! Let's hear it!" Recipe fired another blast into Moro's metal body, causing him to lurch back and roar in pain.

"It involves me freeing a probably extremely ill-tempered dragon god from his cage and hoping he wants to kill Moro more than us!"

Recipe dove back behind cover, as Penny aided her in reloading her rifle. Flower and Mimi huddled together beside them. "Great plan!" Recipe shouted back. "What do you need me to do?"

"Keep that thing distracted long enough for me to make a break for Krakatoa's cage in the next room!"

Recipe smiled as she took out a metal cartridge from her lab coat, bit the metal bit on top then inserted it into the side of her weapon. "Can do!" she yelled, as she fired a massive fiery beam from her rifle that sliced off an entire arm from Moro's machine body.

Poppy wasted no time in using Moro staggering back from the impact, to rush to the exit to the next room, dodging falling debris, as Interkitten followed closely. The halls were crumbling as the lights flickered and sparked; Poppy leapt over a fallen wall, and made a mad dash to the huge steel doors that were now broken down and allowed Poppy into Krakatoa's chambers.

Krakatoa's Kajolica

The gigantic room that housed Krakatoa was remarkably still in one piece. Poppy guessed that Moro had naturally reinforced every square inch of the room, seeing as how he was keeping a literal dragon god prisoner within it.

In the center of the room, was Krakatoa, who was now wide awake from the destruction Moro had been causing, and was now glaring down at the pony and the flying kitten that had entered its chamber; eyes of burning crimson and gold, with a slit black pupil in the center that scanned Poppy from head to hoof.

Poppy, though nervous, stepped forward and addressed the massive creature. "Um...Krakatoa?" she said, loud enough for the beast to hear.

Krakatoa snorted a burst of fire from it's nostrils in response.

Poppy continued. "I don't know if you remember me; my name is Poppy Blossom, and right now we need your help."

Krakatoa continued to glare down at her.

"Dr. Moro, the lunatic who has kept you prisoner, has turned himself into a monster; a monster who seeks to destroy not just this island, but everything, so he can reshape the world as he wants." Poppy took a moment to compose herself. "And I don't think you want that, despite your hatred for Lagoom Island. If you help us stop Moro, I promise we will leave and you can continue ruling over this place as your kingdom just like always."

Krakatoa let another burst of fire from it's nostrils.

Poppy narrowed her eyes at the beast. "I only ask that you spare Lagoom island as well; they mean you no harm, and only wish to live in peace, as I'm sure you do as well. Do we have a deal?"

Krakatoa, moved it's head down so it could lock eyes with Poppy. Poppy feared that she would be dragon food for a second, before she saw Krakatoa smile at her.

"Well." said Krakatoa in a beautiful female voice. "Since you asked nicely, I suppose I'm open to discussion."

To-Do List: Speak with Krakatoa

It took a moment for it to sink in, before Poppy burst out "Y-You can talk!?"

Krakatoa raised an eyebrow. "And who exactly said that I couldn't?" she asked.

"I...you never said anything till now!" Poppy exclaimed.

"I've been locked away in a cage, with literally no one to talk to but Moro." said Krakatoa. "You can understand why I would rather have held my tongue for this long."

"Why didn't you say anything when we arrived?!" asked Poppy.

"You were strangers who were with Moro." said Krakatoa, letting another burst of fire from her nostrils. "I didn't know If I could trust you at that point. But now, I do. Hence why we are having this conversation."

"That's...a very good point actually." said Poppy putting a hoof to her chin.

"And who said that I hated Lagoom Island?!" Krakatoa snapped suddenly, a burst of fire erupting from her mouth as she spoke.

Poppy backed up to avoid being burned. "The prophecy made by the Sea Father." answered Poppy. " About how you would destroy Lagoom Island, and that you hated their way of life and everything."

Krakatoa looked offended and enraged at the same time. "Destroy my own home?!" she exclaimed. "Utter nonsense! I worked with the first elders of The Ocean's Oath to build Lagoom Island into the paradise it is now! I even commanded the triangles to aid us in the endeavor as well! I would never raise a talon to it nor any of it's inhabitants."

"Then why does the prophecy from the last Sea Father say you would destroy the island?" asked Poppy.

Krakatoa sighed. "One; the last Sea Father, Reef Trotter, was a nutcase who drank nothing but seawater so he could 'better commune with the ocean'.

"Ah. That make's sense."

"And two; that warning was not translated properly." Krakatoa continued. "It was meant to warn the Ocean's Oath about a terrible force that sought to destroy Lagoom Island and the world, that could only be stopped by the High Priestess destined to defeat it."

Poppy's eyes widened. "It wasn't you the prophecy was talking about at all....it was Moro! He's the evil that's trying to destroy everything!"

Krakatoa nodded, before smiling down at Poppy again. "And you, Poppy Blossom, are the High Priestess who can defeat him."

Poppy turned to Interkitten. Interkitten nodded at her.

Poppy turned back to Krakatoa. "So, we really do have to sink this island?" she asked.

"This once sunken island was dropped here by one of the triangles, centuries ago. It had already collapsed into the sea before; it never belonged to us anyways." said Krakatoa. "It's only right that we send it back to the ocean, and Moro along with it."

"Alright let's do it!" said Poppy. "But, um...how do we get you out of here?"

"I trust you still have the broken Sub-space Battery with you?" inquired Krakatoa.

Poppy opened her satchel and removed the busted Sub-Space Battery and held it up for the dragoness to see.

"Good. Place it into that slot over there, then get out of the room." Krakatoa instructed. "If the explosion from the cage isn't bad enough, me blasting my way out of this accursed mountain will most certainly be fatal if you're still nearby. I will wait until you have safely left the room, before I destroy this cage, but we must move quickly!"

Poppy did as she was told and inserted the battery into the slot. At once an alarm blared as a mechanized voice belched Warning: Sub-Space Battery Chamber Compromised. Meltdown Imminent.

"Go!" roared Krakatoa. "Get yourself and your friends out of here! I'll take care of the rest!"

Poppy and Interkitten sprinted to the exit as the alarms continued to blare, and made their way back to their friends as a massive explosion erupted far behind them.

To-Do List: Escape Moro's Island before it sinks

Poppy and Interkitten burst back into the room in a sweat.

"Poppy!" called Penny, who was now standing up with everyone, looking up at the machine that was now Moro, which was sitting down crooked on the broken floor. Recipe had done enough damage to Moro, that he was incapable of chasing after them, at least for the moment.

"So?" asked Recipe, still holding her rifle. "Will he help us?"

"We have to get out of here now!!" yelled Poppy. "Get to the boat as fast as you can, and don't look back!"

"I'll take that as a yes!" Recipe grabbed Mimi in her arms and hurried with Poppy to the exit as everyone followed at their heels.

The entire manor was crumbling around them as they made a break for the outside, and tore down the path, everyone putting all their might into running away from the exploding mountain.

As they all ran across the island, that was now torn with burning fissures and massive canyons of lava, they didn't even look back as the manor exploded into a million pieces, as Krakatoa took to the skies, holding the screaming metal husk of Moro in her claws, before dropping him to the earth. He smashed into the ground, and laid still as the earth swallowed him up.

Poppy's heart pounded in her chest as the sky went blood red, the smoke and fire from the now destroyed mountain having blocked out the sun and clouds; but she didn't care, all that mattered is that her and friends got the hell off this island!

They finally reached the docks where Charon, awaited them on the boat, a drink in hand as he waved to them. "So, how'd it go?" he joked.

"GET US OUT OF HERE!!" screamed Penny.

"Fair enough." He tossed the drink and made a beeline for the wheel. Everyone leapt onto the deck of the Silent Mare as it raced out of port and back to the sea which now boiled as lava poured down into it's depths from the destroyed volcano.

A roar, louder then the most enraged thunder, split the sky apart, as Krakatoa unleashed hell onto the burning island; breathing a blast of concentrated red energy from her mouth that literally shattered the island apart. Mountains crashed into the waves, fire burned the clouds and enough steam to turn the sea white, spat forth from the massive hole that used to be the island.

As Poppy and her friends sailed away, she looked back to see a gigantic wall of water was now careening towards their boat at speeds to fast for them to escape. She got to her stomach and braced for the crash.

But it never came.

Poppy opened her eyes to see that they were no longer in the sea. But sailing through the clouds. She looked up and breathed a huge sigh of relief, along with everyone else, as Krakatoa, who had scooped them up into her claws at the last moment, smiled down at them.

Poppy glanced over to see Recipe and Mimi looking over the deck back towards the huge hole in the ocean that still sputtered smoke and flame. "It's over." she said. "He's finally gone."

Poppy joined her in looking out at the ocean, as the hole grew ever more distant behind them, till finally it vanished from view and the red sky was now once again as blue as the ocean. "Do you regret that?" asked Poppy. "I mean...you did work with him once."

Recipe shook her head. "I worked with a pony; a scientist. An ass of a scientist but still a scientist." She pat Mimi on the head as she continued to look back at the ocean. "What that was back there? That wasn't a scientist. Moro died centuries ago; that thing was just a monster pretending to be him. The world is safer without him in it."

"Yeah." Poppy nodded. "But still...I'm sorry."

"Thanks." said Recipe. "So, what's next for the legendary Poppy Blossom? Going to go out there and find a way to save the world a second time?" she joked.

"Almost definitely." laughed Poppy. "But, something still doesn't feel right."

Recipe nodded. "That Garnanopo guy."

"Yeah." said Poppy thoughtfully. "Was he really telling the truth? About a terrible evil, and me being the only one who can stop it?"

"No idea." said Recipe with a shrug. "But If there is a terrible cosmic evil coming, I can't think of anyone else but you that could stop it."

"True." laughed Poppy. But then she remembered something else. "What was that machine back there anyways? Interkitten said Moreau didn't build it using technology or magic; so...how did he make it?"

Recipe rolled her eyes. "Who cares; it's scrap metal at the bottom of the ocean now." she said simply. "I would just forget about it, If I were you."

Poppy rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah...I guess your right." But despite this, Poppy couldn't stop thinking about it, even after they had made it back to Lagoom Island.

The multicolored sandy beaches were lined up with Lagoom Island's inhabitants, including Whitecap and Sea Spray, though they all quickly ran for the hills, (save for Whitecap and Sea Spray) when they saw that Poppy and her friends were being carried in a large ghost ship that itself was being carried by a gigantic scarlet red dragon.

As the dragoness set the ship down at the docks, Charon loaded the gangplank. "Alright; everyone off. And thank you for choosing Charon's Ferry Service...please don't come back." he added once everyone was off the boat.

Sea Flower was rushed by her two brothers who took her up in their arms, tears running down their face as they laughed gleefully that their sister was safe. Whitecap, looked over at Poppy and bowed his head respectfully, as did Sea Spray and Sea Flower. "You have fulfilled the prophecy, defeated Krakatoa, and not only saved our home, but brought our sister back safely as well. We are forever in your debt, most honorable and brave High Priestess." he said proudly.

Poppy bowed her head back and smiled. "Thank you, although...I actually didn't defeat Krakatoa."

Sea Spray looked up at her, eyes wide. "Huh?"

Recipe smiled as she gestured to Krakatoa who had landed behind them. "Ocean's Oath? I present the terrible and evil volcano god; Krakatoa." she then turned to Krakatoa. "Terrible, evil volcano god? I present the Ocean's Oath."

Whitecap and Sea Spray froze in place as the dragoness scanned them with her red and gold eyes. "Hmmm..." she said thoughtfully. "So you are the current sea father, then?" she asked Whitecap, who nodded nervously.

Krakatoa chuckled. "Good; you and I have quite a bit to discuss then." she said seriously. "Starting with that whole 'drinking seawater ritual' of yours..."

That night, all of Lagoom Island came to Tiny Tiki Beach in celebration of Moro's defeat and of the High Priestess and her friends who saved them and the world from destruction. A massive feast was held, prepared by the Ocean's Oath, and many gifts were bestowed to Poppy and her friends. Krakatoa presented Poppy with her official High Priestess crown and her Ceremonial Grail, officially anointing her as the High Priestess of The Ocean's Oath. She also gifted her with a special amulet that only she could use that would allow her and her friends to instantly return to Lagoom island anytime they wished.

When the festivities finally ended, Krakatoa was more then happy to open up a portal back to Equestria for Poppy and her friends. Professor Recipe and Mimi, also decided to tag along, saying "six hundred years on a tropical paradise is enough for several lifetimes" it was time for them to explore the rest of the world, and Equestria sounded like a good place to start.

As everyone said their goodbyes, Sea Flower asked if they could come visit Poppy sometime as well, and Poppy was happy to say yes. After the goodbyes, and with the portal opened up, Poppy waved goodbye to Sea Flower and her brothers as well as everyone else that called Lagoom home, before stepping though herself, and was finally back home in her office.

But as she took a seat on her couch and drifted off into a restful slumber, she did not notice the strange spherical bone in her satchel begin to glow with an eerie green energy...

Successful Delivery! - On Time Percentage: 100% - Issues: None - Complaints: None - Rank: A Delivery #8 of 11 Completed

Delivery #9: "Night Of The Dancing Dead."

It was a dark and stormy day in Ponyville, and deliveries were quite slow on rainy weekdays like today. But luckily Princess Poppy wasn't worrying about deliveries at the moment, as she was giving another public address to Equestria regarding last week's events with the inter-dimensional portal opening up over Ponyville.

"So, in closing," said Poppy at the podium, cameras flashing around her, "The inter-dimensional portal was in fact summoned to Ponyville by accident due to the actions of a homicidally insane brain in a jar based on a remote island that sought to destroy the world by merging his consciousness with an ancient dragon goddess. Nothing at all to worry about."

A reporter nodded as he scribbled in his notepad. "Makes sense," he said. The reporters around him agreed.

Another raised their hoof. "Princess Poppy? Janet Manewell, Manehatten Gazette, I have a question regarding your current position as high priestess of Lagoom Island as well as the princess of Equestria. Doesn't those occupations violate the separation of church and state?"

Poppy was unsure. She didn't think so. "Um...I don't think so?" she said with a nervous smile.

"Fair enough." Janet seemed happy with the answer and added it to her report.

"Any other questions?" Poppy asked the crowd. Besides quite a bit of murmuring, nopony else seemed to have any more questions.

With that Poppy concluded the press conference, and was about to head back to her office to get some rainy day chores done, when Root Beer ran up to her, an urgent message for Poppy in her hooves. "Poppy!" she said, out of breath. "You're going to want to read this.."

Poppy thanked Root and read through the envelope. When she finished she let out an annoyed sigh. "Root?"

"Yeah?"

"Let Pears know I'm on my way." she said simply. "We need to discuss the situation."

"Situation?"

"Yep." Poppy wrapped her scarf around, heading for the door. "Seems we have an impending zombie attack on our hooves."

"Oh." Root nodded. Then her eyes shot open. "Wait, zombies!?"

Poppy had received the message from Pears two hours too late, for as she left the castle, the streets, roads and sidewalks were already lined with crowds of the living dead. Apparently, at some time last night, the dead started rising from their graves all across, not just Equestria, but the world; and all apparently making their way towards a single location.

A location which Burnt Pears had no doubt spent all night narrowing down.

Inconvenience Store

Stepping into the cheery as always, but now extremely heavily fortified bunker-like interior of the Inconvenience Store, Poppy saw two things that made her think she should come back later.

One, was the fact that the counter has been converted into a makeshift operating table.

And two was that Pears was behind it, clad in a butcher's apron, adjusting the straps on what looked like a very irritated zombie's restraints. Pear's looked up and smiled. "Oh, hey Poppy! Can you give me a hand here?"

"Huh?"

"Hoof, whatever."

"Um..." Poppy had a few questions first. "Pears?"

"Yes?"

"Is that a zombie?"

"It is. And a finicky one at that, let me tell you."

"Good, next question: Is that blood all over you?"

Pears looked down at her apron, stained with fresh blood. She looked back up at Poppy. "No?"

"That's not a question you're supposed to answer with another question."

The zombie on the counter (operating table?) let out an annoyed groan. Pears sighed. "All right, Mr. pushy!" she let go of the restraints and went to take off her apron, setting it aside before taking her spot behind the counter again. "The mouth on this guy. Still not as bad as the other one."

"Other one? You have more zombies strapped to countertops?"

"Hell no! Can you imagine the smell in here?" she shrugged. "I had to let them go. Kept struggling, you see."

"I don't see actually." Poppy said plainly. "Why do you have zombies in your store first off, and why do you have one strapped down onto your counter?"

"Oh, that. For testing."

"Testing?"

"I'm testing the blood content of the zombies to determine their point of origin." Pears explained. "They don't die so I can take as many samples as I need, and I've just about figured out where they're coming from!"

Poppy was very relieved. "Oh! So that's where all that blood on your apron came from."

"Huh? Oh, no. That's an entirely different matter altogether." Pears explained.

"Huh." Poppy thought for a moment. "Should I be concerned?"

"No more than usual."

A little ding from Pear's computer monitor interrupted their conversation. "Aha!" Pears cried running over to it. "Results are in! I've pinpointed their location!"

"Great!" Poppy leaned over the counter to get a good look at the screen. "Which is where?"

Pears eyed the screen for a moment. "Hmm..."she hit a button on her keyboard. "It says they are coming from someplace called Dancemania Castle in Transylvania."

"Transylvania?" Poppy repeated. "Isn't that supposed to be the place with all the vampires? Why are zombies suddenly part of the roster?"

Pears thought for a moment. "Well, and this is just a hunch, but it could be that the zombies are being called to this castle; beckoned forth from the afterlife, to cease their endless slumber and rise to converge and meet their dark master, who no doubt has plans to plunge the world into a never-ending torrent of horror and death for centuries to come!" Pears was inches away from Poppy's face by this point, before finally coiling back and giving a shrug. "Or maybe zombies are attracted to goat cheese, I'dunno."

"Right." Poppy knew it was more likely the first one. "So, feel like coming with me to slay endless hordes of the undead?"

Pears bit her lip. "It actually, physically hurts me to say this but...I can't." she took out a clipboard, and begin searching through her notes. "I have to stay here and keep these zombies from shoplifting the store. I've caught two already trying to steal limited edition bottles of Cinnicola; they're surprisingly spry for being rotted by decades of decomposition."

Pear's eyes suddenly shot back to the zombie she had on the counter, trying to stuff a magazine up it's tattered shirt. It looked up at her, and quickly put the magazine back, before letting out a growl of disappointment.

Poppy nodded. "I see what you mean." then something occurred to her. "Hey, have you heard anything from Penny? Or Doctor Recipe? How are they dealing with all this?"

Pears shrugged. "Don't know. Last I saw them they were all heading to Crabby's for breakfast. You should probably head over there and make sure they haven't been eaten or whatever."

"Fair enough."

Poppy waved goodbye to Pears before using her magic to teleport herself directly into the surprisingly packed lobby of Crabby's Diner.

Crabby's Diner

The smell of freshly cleaned floors and hot food greeted Poppy as she snapped into existence in the middle of the cheery dining hall, only to have to suddenly jump back a few steps to avoid being trampled on by the crowd that occupied the place; it looked like every pony in Ponyville was there, as Pretty Crabby dashed about taking orders and carrying arms of food with the skill and grace of a ballet dancer.

"Hey Poppy!" a voice called. Poppy turned to see Penny waving at her from a booth, with another familiar face waving along with her, Doctor Recipe. Mimi, the doctor's adorable pet abomination, barked happily in her direction as well.

Poppy waved back at them, then with some difficulty, maneuvered her way through the crowd to plop herself down next to Recipe. "Busy, today I take it?" she asked.

"Quite." said Penny. "Nearly everyone in Ponyville has taken shelter here because of the zombies; say what you may about the food, but Crabbys was built to last." she gave a grim look out the window as zombies shuffled about on the streets. "I hope this blows over soon though."

"Maybe." nodded Recipe. "Honestly, when I moved here from Lagoom, I wasn't expecting an undead apocalypse. At least not this soon, anyway." she turned back to Poppy. "So, what otherworldy forces of evil are we smiting this time?"

"Honestly? We don't know for sure." said Poppy. "All we know is that the zombies are all being summoned to one place; Castle Dancemania in Transylvania. Beyond that though-"

"Wait." Recipe's eyes widened. "Did you just say Dancemania?

"Yeah. Why? Does that name mean something?"

Recipe thought for a moment. "When I was back on Lagoom, I had more than enough time to do research on subjects outside the island."she explained. "It just so happens that one day I stumbled onto a series of legends regarding a family of Transylvanian nobles called Et'entad Danceman'ya or Dancemania as they're known today."

"So who are they?" asked Poppy.

"Vampires." said Recipe with a sting of fear in her voice. "Very dangerous vampires."

"Vampires?" Penny repeated, her voice shaking. "Your saying vampires are...real?"

"They used to be." said Recipe "And these were very powerful ones at that; good at getting into your head, making you think things that aren't your own." she locked eyes with Poppy. "And they have a deep fascination with necromancy."

"Could they be the ones behind this?" asked Poppy.

Recipe paused a moment, then shook her head. "Not possible; the last one died hundreds of years ago. As time moved one, people stopped being easy prey for them, they knew the dangers of trusting strangers and going out at night. And with vampires ingrained into our media culture, nopony even fears them anymore. Without blood to feed on from hapless people, they all died out."
Then she paused. "But right now, I'm not sure." she added turning to look out the window. "Something of this scale, the undead rising all over the world; only a Dancemanian Vampire has that kind of power."

As Poppy thought on what Recipe told her, Pretty Crabby came over to their booth, two coffees in hoof. "Okay, Penny ordered the Single shot caramel Deus Ex Mocha," she set a steaming mug in front of Penny, who thanked her with a smile. "And Recipe ordered the Hazelnut Grigorian Chant with Extra Foam," she then set down another mug that appeared to be glowing blue in front of Recipe who quickly donned radiation proof gloves before taking a sip.

Pretty wiped a single bead of sweat from her brow, as she turned and spotted Poppy. "Oh, Princess Poppy; wasn't expecting to see you here." she commented. "I thought you would be off taking care of this whole zombie mess."

Poppy was about to answer, when suddenly her mind flashed back to when she had traveled back in time with the Ghost Of Hearths Warming Past; she had discovered that Real Crabby, the actual owner of the diner, had still been in the diner when Pretty had told her and Pears that he had left her in charge while he was away. If that was the case...where had he gone?

"Working on it now, actually." Poppy smiled. "So...how has Crabby been?"

Pretty suddenly shot a look at her. "He's still on his Himalayan Mountain Climbing Trip," she said quickly. "Lucky him, leaving me to do all the work myself."

Poppy raised an eyebrow. "Last time, you said that he had left you in charge till he got back, right?"

"And?"

"You didn't mention anything about a mountain climbing trip at the time." said Poppy. Recipe and Penny turned a suspicious gaze towards Pretty. "Why is that?"

"O-Oh! Well he left shortly after coming back from the Bermuda Triangle, is all."

Poppy wasn't buying it. "Crabby just up and decided to leave on a mountain trip, and leave you in charge of his diner, after just coming back from a vacation. Okay, so why didn't you say anything when me and Pears asked you about him?"

Pretty narrowed her eyes. "Hey, what's that tone for?" she snapped. "I'm just telling you what he told me; he's always been a nutcase, he does whatever he wants, and doesn't care who it affects!"

That might have been true, but something still didn't make sense. Why was Crabby still there at the diner in the past, when Pretty had told her that he was away? Had he really gone to the Bermuda Triangle and then come home and soon after just decided to leave on a mountain climbing trip? Crabby was crazy, everyone knew that, but he wasn't stupid by any means. He would rather die then leave his precious restaurant in anyone's hooves but his own. What was Pretty hiding?

Poppy sighed as she decided to drop it for now. "Never mind, just thinking is all." she said simply. "Are the zombies giving you much trouble, Pretty?"

Pretty took a glance up at her normally shining and flowing blonde mane, and nearly shed a tear as a it began to frizz up from stress. "I've been better." she said finally. "Honestly, the zombies I can handle; it's these people that are driving me crazy!"

"At least you have plenty of customers." said Penny. "That's good right?"

"Not when that customer base is half the population of an entire town." Pretty grumbled. "The zombies are a nuisance, but at least they eat quickly and leave."

"Wait, you let zombies eat here too?" asked Recipe. "Isn't the whole point to keep them out?"

"A customer is a customer." said Pretty with a shrug. "We don't discriminate. Plus, they're the easiest customers in the world to serve; they only ever want to eat one thing."

"Um...brains?" asked Penny, with a slight gag.

"You'd think, but they actually just order eggs." Pretty stood up and stretched. "Well, I better get back to the living hordes; unless you want anything Poppy?" she asked. "Other than to interrogate me more, I mean."she added with a frown.

"I'm good." Poppy nodded. With that Pretty headed back to the counter.

It seemed that whatever was going on, it was all centralized on Dancemania Castle. Whether it was one of their clan or just an average necromancy obsessed lunatic, that castle was Poppy's next stop.

To-Do List: Travel to Dancemania Castle and put a stop to the zombie outbreak.

Returning to the Inconvenience Store, Poppy got a few things before setting out to Transylvania; non-perishable snacks, water canteens and a few wooden stakes, as well as blood purifier pills (Just in case.)

With everything ready, Poppy was about to leave when Pears stopped her.

"Hey wait!" she ran up to Poppy and handed her a small note, emblazoned with the wax seal of a letter G. "Some weirdo in a black robe dropped this off for you while you were at Crabby's."

Poppy's eyebrows shot up. "And you actually trusted him enough to take the note?" she asked, visibly shocked.

Pear's looked offended. "Pfft, no." she scoffed. "But after taking some pot shots at him with my crossbow, he ran out of the store screaming and calling for police. In that process, he dropped this note. It had your name on it so..."

"Right." Poppy nodded. She took the note and broke the seal as she opened it.

The note was very well written, almost like that of a poem or sonnet. It read:

Dearest Poppy.

How are you? I am fine; thank you for asking.

You may have noticed that the entire world is being overrun with the living undead. Quite annoying. Judging by the scale of the spell that is being used, I can only guess that a Dancemanian Vampire is behind this; and that's not good.

Its quite possible that in your heroic attempts to defeat said vampire, you will be killed in the process. This would be very inconvenient, as you have to be alive to save existence from the unimaginable horror that is quickly approaching our reality. Plus, you being dead would be sad, and would make me sad. I like you alive.

Therefore I am going to give you one piece of advice before you go to Transylvania.

Take the orb.

That was the advice. Ta-ta for now.

- Garnanopo.

P.S: Your friend with the fiery mane frightens me. Please tell her I don't like her. Thank you.

A well written sonnet by someone who had only learned to write ten seconds ago. Poppy scanned through the note a second time, before checking her satchel.

Inside was the strange glowing orb she had taken from Dr. Moro in her last adventure. It was an odd thing; not metal, but appeared to be made of bone. Yet it felt as if it was smooth as ice, and emitted no heat or energy at all.

She had taken it to Pears before, but even Pears was unable to point out exactly what the object was. Just that it wasn't dangerous, and that she should hang onto it.

And now here was Garnanopo, the odd wizard she had met on Lagoom who claimed she had a grand destiny ahead of her, telling her the exact same thing. It couldn't be a coincidence.

Deciding it was best to hang onto the orb for now, Poppy closed up her satchel, waved goodbye to Pears, then used her magic to teleport herself to the heart of Transylvania, where Dancemania Castle towered over the region.

Transylvania, Dancemania Castle Exterior.

Transylvania was easily the most famous place in the world when it came to vampires and vampire lore. Horror writers and movie directors would come from all over to do research and find inspiration for their next vampire-themed masterpieces. But there was one place, that nopony, not even the locals would ever go near.

And Poppy was looking straight up at it from a large stone courtyard.

Dancemania Castle was a tall triumph of Gothic architecture, a fortress of black stone and towering spires that seemed to stab up at the sky above, as lighting cut across it, signifying the approach of a large storm. Large ebony colored gargoyles grinned at Poppy as she walked past them to the front door; she swore she felt they were actually staring at her.

Arriving at the front door, which had to have least been twenty feet tall and from behind was the sound of very loud muffled dubstep, she saw a familiar face guarding the door.

"D-Dancer?" asked Poppy, as she indeed saw Lieutenant Dancer, her own royal guardsman, guarding the door of Dancemania Castle. He was not wearing his usual armor, but instead wore an expertly tailored suit and black tie. Yet still wore his sunglasses, which he never removed (Even when sleeping.)

Dancer nodded to Poppy. "Hello, your highness." he said in his usual monotone voice. "A pleasure to see you again."

"Uh...pleasure to see you too, Dancer." stammered Poppy. "But what in the world are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in Equestria, ordering soldiers around or blacklisting someone?"

"Ordinarily, yes." said Dancer. "But I'm working a second job at the moment. That job being guarding this door."

"Well... okay, I guess." said Poppy shrugging. "Can you let me in?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that your highness." said Dancer shaking his head. "We're at capacity at the moment. The mistress insists everyone wait in line to get in. No exceptions." he pointed to a massive line of some thousand zombies all lined up behind red ropes, waiting to get into the castle. They were surprisingly quiet and well-mannered given that they were the unholy undead.

"I-I'm not waiting in line!" cried Poppy. "I need to get in there, now!"

"No exceptions, ma'am."

"Not even for the princess of Equestria?"

"No exceptions, ma'am."

Poppy sighed. She was getting nowhere this way, but she'd think of something. In the meantime, this was a good opportunity to get some answers.

To-Do List: Talk to Dancer.

"So...how have you been, Dancer?"

"You mean since you killed Hue Humble, and ruined my chances of ever becoming a high ranking member of the Huetology Organization, while also managing to fool me, not once but twice, humiliating me completely in the process?"

Poppy blinked. "Um...yes?"

"I've been very well, your highness." said Dancer. "Being apart of Huetology wasn't all I thought it would be. Terrible benefits."

"So, who do you work for now?" asked Poppy.

"That would be mistress Dancemania; queen of the night and the dance floor."

Poppy felt a chill go up her spine. So it really was a Dancemanian Vampire causing all this. She remembered the warnings she had gotten from her friends. She needed to be extra careful. "What's so great about this Dancemania, person?"

"She's the most powerful vampire in the world, ma'am. She can command the night like an extension of her will, and possesses unimaginable dark powers that eclipse logic and reasoning." said Dancer simply. "Also, she is a fantastic dancer and has a cool castle."

Poppy nodded. It was a cool castle. "What is this place anyways? I know it's a castle, but how can I hear dubstep music from inside?"

"This is Dancemania Castle, ma'am." said Dancer. "Mistress Dancemania's ancestral home; garrison of her undead army. As well as the best nightclub in all of Bert-Wurrtonberg."

"Undead army?" asked Poppy. "So she's raising these zombies for... an invasion of some kind?"

"Unknown. I do not dare question the mistress."

Poppy now knew that this vampire was planning something very big and very evil for not just Equestria, but the world at large. She had to find some way inside the castle; and fast!

Then she got an idea. "Dancer?"

"Yes, your highness?"

"What if I said that I was aware of Mistress Dancemania's plans, and that I was actually apart of them?" Poppy asked. "Would you let me in to discuss said plans with her?"

"If that were true, which it probably isn't, then I would happily allow you inside, your highness."

"Then...can you let me in?"

"Can you prove your here for that reason?"

Poppy thought for a moment. Then she remembered something. Back when she was facing Charming Culture, she had seen a flyer for a popular DJ coming to Ponyville for a large party. She had taken the flyer, purely on a whim. But maybe now...

She reached into her satchel and withdrew the flyer, handing it to Dancer who studied it closely. He then peered at her over his sunglasses. "You're the DJ, Miss Dancemania hired?"

Poppy tried to sound sincere as she answered. "Yes."

Dancer looked at her.

She looked at Dancer.

He handed her back the flyer. "Then, by all means," he stepped aside and opened the door for her. "Head on in; the mistress will want to speak to you personally."

"Thank you, Dancer." Poppy let out the breath she had been holding.

"Of course, your highness. Have a good time."

She put the flyer back in her satchel, then stepped through the doorway, jumping as it shut heavily behind her.

Dancemania Hall

As Poppy entered the massive main hall, the floor beneath her hooves pulsed with the beat of the music that echoed throughout the place; a loud, high-paced, dubstep that seemed very out of place in the otherwise extravagant castle interior. She followed the music to the next room, which looked vastly more like a large nightclub then the ball room of an ancestral castle.

The dance floor was a bright flashing array of colors as zombies danced (shuffled, really) about the place, helping themselves to what looked like either food made to look like brains or actual brains. Poppy didn't want to know if they were either.

She continued to look around, but had yet to find anything sinister; at least anything that would allude to the castle's owner being a vampire or that they indeed were amassing a zombie army.

That was until she heard a voice in her ear, sweet as a song, yet venomous. "Who do we have here?"

Poppy whirled around but there was no one there.

"Try again, little one."

It was above her this time. Poppy looked up to see a hauntingly beautiful pale white earth pony mare in a vampiric red dress that showed off her legs, hovering in thin air just above Poppy's line of sight. Her eyes, like deep red moons, scanned Poppy from head to hoof, as she tilted her head in curiosity.

"Hmm...interesting." Then she vanished, slipping out of existence like a fog.

"Wha-" Poppy looked around for the mare. "Hey! Who-"

"Am I?" Poppy turned to see the mare behind her, standing far too close for comfort. Before Poppy could even blink, the mare took a deep sniff of the air around Poppy. "Hmm, I smell new....blood."

Poppy's breath caught in her throat. Fear gripped her like a beartrap; she felt like she was frozen.

The mare continued to stare deeply into Poppy's soul.

Poppy was terrified.

Then, dropping all trace of her act, the mare burst out laughing.

Poppy was now confused. And slightly ticked off.

"Hahahaha! Oh man, you should've seen your face!" the mare laughed. "You were all like Ooh, scary vampire lady; please don't drain my mortal body of my blood! Have mercy! Hahaha!" The mare seemed to be having a lot of fun at Poppy's expense.

Poppy wasn't amused. "Okay, who the hell are you, and give me one reason I shouldn't stake your crazy hide right now." she warned.

The mare rolled her eyes. "Oh, now don't be like that." she said simply. "I was just having a bit of fun! It's not every day a mortal walks into my castle, without me even needing to glamour them first!"

The mare gave a polite curtsy to Poppy. "I am lady Selina Dox Nocturnal Danceman'ya Corporeum, the thirteenth monarch of the Dancemania clan. I have roamed this earth for 480 years and I still look damn good, if I say so myself." she gave her flawless blonde mane a toss, and it sparkled like sunlight.

Poppy had to admit, she did.

"And to answer your last question," Selina was suddenly nose to nose with Poppy, blinking in front of her so her blazing red eyes pierced into hers. " Because you'd be dead before you even drew one of those little stakes of yours." She said these words with enough hunger and venom to make Poppy's heart stop. She wasn't joking; she was daring Poppy to try.

A second later, Selina was all smiles again, as Poppy tried her best to keep her heart from leaping out of her chest. "Now that we understand each other, what can I do for you?"

Poppy was dumbfounded. This mare could go from sweet and beautiful to nightmarish and cruel in a split second. She had to be careful what she said to her. "I-I was wondering...if you were planning on invading Equestria with your undead army?"

Selina's smile faded. "And if I am?" she asked, her fangs visible.

Careful, Poppy. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Well...why do you need zombies for that?" asked Poppy, regaining her composure. "Aren't you the most powerful vampire in the world or something?"

"Guilty as charged." Selina said proudly.

"Then...why the zombies? Just take over the world on your own."

Selina sighed. "Oh, I don't want to take over the world, sweetie. I have other, bigger plans than that." she said. "And I need these zombies in order to accomplish them."

Poppy's eyes widened. "What plans could be bigger than world domination?"

Selina was about to answer, but caught herself. She smiled at Poppy; a smile that sent a chill up her spine. "Now, don't worry about that, sweetie" Selina patted Poppy on the head, annoying her greatly. "I'll tell you what; since you came all this way, why not stay and enjoy the party? You aren't the only mortal here, after all. Maybe you'll find some friends of yours hanging around."

"Excuse me?"

"Consider yourself excused!" Selina said happily. "Now, go off and have some fun! if you need me, I'll be...well, I can't tell you that now can I?" Then she vanished into thin air like before.

To-Do List: Investigate the area and uncover Selina's plan.

Poppy stared at the spot where, only a split second ago, a rather smug vampire mare had just stood (er, floated). She recalled the look in her eyes; wild, full of hunger. Whether it was for blood or power, Poppy was unable to tell.

The entire room was ironically alive with dancing, pop music, flashing multicolored lights and even an undead DJ, who despite having lost one arm was still able to manage the booth just fine. Somehow.

Past the dance floor there were towering speakers as high as the ceiling, blasting music so loud, Poppy could swear it made her bones shake. Between them stood a roaring fireplace, that was alight with a strange red flame, that seemed to snap at her ankles as she strode past.

The refreshment table held nothing of interest save for the seemingly ordinary looking dark red punch which appeared to be housed in a massive crystal skull rather then a bowl. Poppy was about to help herself to a glass, when she remembered she was in a vampire's castle, then quickly set her cup down before continuing on.

The patrons, as far as she could tell, were entirely made up of zombies. They strangely enough paid no mind to her as she investigated, and simply carried on having conversations which consisted of occasional groans and moans.

It wasn't until she reached the other side of the room where she saw another living pony. And a familiar one at that.

"Mary?"

Mary Mareman, who was looking drearily out the window at the rain, turned and immediately did a full one eighty in her expression; going from miserable to elated in a second. "Poppy!"

She lunged and caught Poppy in a tight hug as they laughed joyfully. The zombies around them paid them no mind, and continued to shuffle about the place.

"Ugh, I'm so happy to see another living pony in this place." Mary said as they broke the embrace. "Especially if that pony is you, Poppy." she added with a smile. She was wearing a cleanly pressed black suit and tie ensemble with tailored lapels and cufflinks. She looked more like she was going to a diplomatic debate then a party at a thousand year old castle.

"Same to you Mary, but...what are you doing here? Did POINT not work out?"

Mary suddenly looked puzzled. "How did you know I joined POINT? I hadn't told anyone yet."

"Oh! Um." Poppy thought up and excuse to mask her time traveling escapades. "Pears told me."

Mary sighed. "I figured she would have found out somehow." she said. "I swear that mare has no sense for people's privacy at all."

"Very true." Poppy nodded.

"But to answer your first, albeit confusing question," Mary began "POINT worked out perfectly! In fact this is my first mission! Uncovering the cause of the zombie apocalypse and putting a stop to it. Exciting huh?"

"It is." said Poppy. "So did you find out anything?"

"Not yet." Mary shook her head. "Well...there was one thing." she leaned in close and lowered her voice. "This castle has these secret underground tunnels running all over the place, and even outside to the town below. But there's something else, a part of the castle that's sealed off; as if-"

"She doesn't want anyone down there." Poppy finished for her.

"Yep." said Mary. "Vampires are a new challenge for me to be sure, but from what I've seen, this one is in a league of her own. And then there's the castle itself."

"The castle?" asked Poppy. "What do you mean?"

"Once your in, it won't let you leave." said Mary. "Windows won't open, doors stay shut, even stair cases to the roof just fold back into the floor!"

"So...it's alive?" asked Poppy in disbelief.

"Possibly."But if it isn't, it's putting on quite the convincing act." Shine looked around once more to be sure Selina wasn't in earshot. "So...I take it your here for the same?"

"Yeah." said Poppy. "and no."

"Huh?"

"I need to find some way to stop this whole zombie apocalypse thing." Poppy explained. "And apparently that means destroying Selina."

Mary looked alarmed but her face quickly softened into acceptance. "Alright then." she said. "Have you ever killed a vampire before?"

"No." said Poppy. "Have you?"

"Nope." replied Mary. "But hey with all the movies and books and stuff to go on, I'm sure we can figure it out."

Poppy had a bad feeling about the whole thing. But she couldn't worry about it now. At the very least, she now had a friend to help her deal with Selina. That was all the affirmation she needed to proceed. "Alright." she said, "where do we start?"

Mary looked at her. "Honestly...I'm not sure. If the castle is alive, then investigating the place will be a lot harder to do now. We'll need to split up; make it harder for her to keep track of us."

Poppy nodded. "The first objective should be uncovering what she's really up to." she explained. "She needs these zombies for something. We find out what, we'll be one step closer to taking her down."

"What if we get caught?" asked Mary.

Poppy thought for a moment. "If things get too dangerous, then I'll teleport us back to Ponyville and we'll recruit Pears to help. With all three of us, Selina won't stand a chance."

"Then why not go get her now?" asked Mary. "Poof her in here and let her go berserk on the place?"

Poppy shook her head. "If we leave now, Selina will know right there what were up to, and probably lock down the whole castle." she said nodding towards the heavy doors. "Not only that, but who knows what she'll do to us once she learns we're a threat."

Mary nodded. "That's a good point." she took a minute to consider their options. "Okay, let's get started. You take the library, I'll take the foyer. Hopefully things go well for both of us."

Poppy nodded. "We'll be alright; just keep a cool head."

"I will. Good luck."

"You too." with that, the mares split up, each going to a separate part of the castle, while their wicked host stayed none the wiser. For now.

Dancemania Castle Library

The Dancemania clan was not known for their avid reading habits or interest in the stories of others. Despite this, as Poppy walked through the great oaken doors just west of the ballroom, she found herself in one of the largest libraries she had ever seen.

Bookshelves towered above her head till they practically scraped the ceiling, each one filled with more books than Poppy could possibly read in her entire lifetime. Beyond that there were several tables one could sit down to read, and stairways leading to higher levels of the library, including one that was blocked off by chains, as part of the surrounding staircase had collapsed.

As Poppy made her way in further, she could now see the thick layers of dust on everything as particles floated around her in the air. It was clear this library had not been in use for quite some time.

However, there was one shelf that was perfectly spotless in comparison; a small shelf near the fireplace in the very back of the room. It held only one book, it's cover as white as snow.

Curious, Poppy removed the book from the shelf and inspected the cover. In gold cursive lettering it read: The Ballad Of Alexandra Anderson.

"Who is Alexandra Anderson?" Poppy asked herself, her voice echoing off the walls even as she whispered. She looked around the place at the dust and spiderwebs that covered everything else, then at the very much dogeared pages of the book in her hooves. This really was the only book that Selina had actually been reading, and quite a lot from the looks of it.

But why? What secrets did this book hold that was greater than all these other ones? Poppy had to find out for herself.

Carefully, she opened the tome to the first page and began to read. Inside was a short epic, written about the life and death of a legendary earth pony hero named Alexandra Anderson.

The Ballad Of Alexandra Anderson

By: Hermand Mellville

She began as a merc for the mob, in the town of Marrowing.
But the police were coming for her, pursuit was narrowing.

So she disguised herself as a priestess and a Samaritan.
But soon she felt like she wanted to be much more than a barbarian.

Then the vampires came, and devastation rained.
And she saw these monsters sucking blood from people's veins.
Till she took a holy blade and stabbed them in the brain.
The vampires were slain, and in her lit a flame.

Soon word got around, people called her insane.
Except a lone priest who told her to get ordained.
But to never forget where she had came.
For soon the world would know her name.

And soon she found a home, back in Rome, the town of Saladin.
And very quickly became known as a heroic paladin.

Vampires and demons were something she could not abide.
Killing them filled her up with pride, she heard a voice inside.

"Despite the blood you have run, your job is not yet done. For there is one more vampire whose fate must meet the sun."

Taking to the east, she ended up in Transylvania.
And very quickly found herself at the doors of Dancemania.

Though the vampire hordes, the heads she did rend, it would be against the final one;
Where Alexandra met her end.

Poppy turned the page, but found this was the end of the book. Disappointed she set the book back on the shelves, and took a moment to consider what she had just discovered.

Recipe had told her that most of the Dancemania clan had been wiped out long ago, and it was now clear that it had been Alexandra Anderson who had done the deed. However she was killed by the last one before she could wipe out the clan for good.

But why was Selina so interested in this? Why out of all the books in this library was this the only one she thought was important enough to read through so many times?

Suddenly the doors behind her opened, causing her to quickly drop the book into her satchel. Luckily it was only Mary.

"Find anything?" she asked.

"I just might've." said Poppy. "What about you?"

Mary thought for a moment. Then finally she said. "I think it's best you see for yourself."

Poppy followed her friend through a large set of giant wooden doors to a grand entry hall, seemingly separate from the castle itself, to the far west of the castle. To the left she saw a stair case leading to the second floor, and a large painted portrait hanging on the wall. A hauntingly beautiful Selina Dancemania in regal attire stared out at them from the frame with cold, crimson eyes as they explored the mysterious room.

There were many doors, but Mary lead her friend through the one that was already open. They walked into a lounge with large chairs and a couch by a small fireplace, a privacy screen that was (oddly enough) against the wall, and a matching one in the right-hand corner next to a well furnished piano. It looked like a perfectly normal lounge, as far as Poppy could tell.

"Here." said Mary gesturing to the privacy screen. Poppy looked at it. Then at Mary, not seeing what was important.

Then Mary hit a key on the piano. They heard mechanisms churning to life in the walls then, slowly, the privacy screen descended into the floor, revealing a hidden stone passageway lit by torches, descending deep underground.

Poppy's eyes went wide. She looked over at Mary. "Nice work." she said, amazed.

"Thanks." said Mary. "Good to know my EBI training is still good for something."

The two peeked down into the passageway, but couldn't see the bottom of the stairway. Carefully, Poppy began to climb down the stone steps into the depths below, as Mary followed.

When they finally reached the bottom of the stairs they came upon a large stone wall which quickly slid over to allow them into a massive underground tomb that had been outfitted into a strange laboratory of some sort.

Large machinery and twisting cables of various colors and lengths curled around the walls, gears churned and spewed steam, and large pylons snapped and sparked streams of electricity between them. The walls were a mess of various calendars, charts, magical diagrams and what appeared to be pages torn from an extremely ancient book, all affixed around a huge, gruesome looking machine that looked like a cross between a metal press and a torture device.

Poppy managed to tear her eyes away from the horrible machine to spot a large leather-bound tome on a candle-lit altar on the other side of the room. Suddenly, she felt herself compelled to move closer, as her legs began to move on their own.

"What is this place?" asked Mary. "I thought we would find a secret underground vampire lair or a bunch of cages or something but not...this." she looked over at Poppy. "Poppy?"

Poppy wasn't listening, she was over by the altar, her eyes glazing over as she looked down at the book in front of her, completely entranced. It was a large, ancient looking black leather tome, with gnarled and yellow looking pages. On the front of it was a design that was so complex it couldn't have been made by ponies or any creature she knew of. It seemed to whisper to her.

"Open me."

Poppy's remaining willpower managed to shine through though, and she quickly moved away from the altar. Mary was watching from the sidelines. "Hey, you okay Poppy?" she asked concerned.

Poppy shook herself and took a breath. "Yeah." she said quietly. "I'm good."

Mary still looked worried. "Good; you had me worried there." she said. "What happened?"

Poppy looked back at the book, then quickly looked away. "There's something wrong with that book." she warned. "It wasn't like hypnotism it was like it could....see into me."

Mary eyed the book suspiciously. "Then I suggest we stay away from it."

"Yeah. Good idea." said Poppy. She took another moment to get her bearings. "Okay, let's look around; there's bound to be some clues as to what Selina is up to down here. But we should be careful; who knows what other things she has down here."

Mary nodded. "Right."

To-Do List: Explore the laboratory for clues relating to Selina's master plan.

The laboratory was vast and had various, strange looking implements and machines strewn about in random ways. It resembled more of a mad scientist's junk heap then a lab. No matter how much Poppy studied them, she couldn't come up with any logical purpose of any of these weird machines other than to simply look scary.

Turning her attention to the torture device, she could now see clearly that it had been built in the shape of a skull; huge jagged spikes jutted down from the maw of the monstrosity, and a single area of open space beneath it lay bare save for a large bloodstain that pooled around the place. It looked sickeningly fresh.

"What could this thing possibly be for?" asked Mary, coming over to inspect it herself. "It looks like some sort of...mincer?"

Poppy nodded. "I think that's exactly what it is." she said gravely. "And I think I know what it minces, as well."

"Is that so?" a sinister voice asked. "Shame; I was hoping to show you two, personally."

Poppy and Mary turned to see Selina Dancemania smiling a cruel smile as she hovered in the air behind them, having appeared seemingly out of nothing moments before. Mary made a dash to run, but it was too late; she seized up as red magic enveloped her and cemented her hooves to the ground. She struggled to move, but it was no use.

Poppy soon met the same fate, as her hooves suddenly felt like they weighed a metric ton. She couldn't even move her head an inch. "Now, now," the vampiress mocked. "What's your hurry, darlings?" she asked through curled fangs. "You only just got here after all."

She snapped in front of Poppy in a puff of red smoke and caressed her face as her eyes flashed evily. "And you haven't even gotten to see my master plan, like you wanted to so badly." Poppy glared at her captor as hard as she could, as she tried once again to move her hooves. Then, at last, she managed to budge her right hoof; moving it up just an inch.

Selina saw this and her smile vanished. "Oh." she cooed. "You are a special one, aren't you sweetie?" her smile returned. "Good." she got close so her crimson eyes burned directly into Poppy's. "Well in that case..."

Her eyes flashed like fire; full of a hunger like a starving beast. "You're first."

Heavy shackles bound Poppy in place as thick magic-cancelling chains kept her from using her magic to escape. Across the way, her satchel hung on the wall, as her friend Mary could only watch helplessly as she was still frozen by Selina's magic.

"Now, then." Selina balanced herself on the lever of the machine as she leaned over towards her prisoner. "You, my friend, have the honor of being the first, living pony, to be used in my patented Soul Extractor. Lucky you!"

Poppy, who was no longer bound by magic, glared at Selina. "So that's it?" she asked. "You made these zombies just so you could harvest them for their souls?"

"Of course not, silly!" Selina scoffed. "Well, yes, but that's not all there good for." Selina smiled that cruel smile again. "They were a good distraction to get you up here. And it worked perfectly; here you are."

Poppy's eyes widened. "M-Me?" she gasped. "You did all this just to lure me up here? Why?"

Selina moved away from the lever, as she eyed Poppy. "You're special Poppy." she said simply. "Very special. A few measly undead souls is one thing, but with your soul to bargain, I'll definitely get what it is I want."

"And what's that?" asked Poppy.

"Oh you'll see." said Selina waving a hoof. Then she giggled. "Oh wait, no you won't! You'll be dead! Tee-hee, my bad." She then pulled down on the heavy metal lever as the Soul Extractor hissed to life.

Poppy watched in terror as the spiked maw of the extractor began to lower itself down, as she fought with all her might to escape her shackles, but it was no use.

"Don't worry!" Selina laughed. "It''ll only hurt for a second!"

Poppy looked up as the spikes were now inches from her face and then...

SMASH!

END

Poppy sat up in her bed as sweat poured off her brow. She took a moment to calm her rapid heart and breathing, before letting herself fall back onto her pillow. "Uh.." she said. "It was just a dream. Thank Celestia."

"Oh no. It was real."

Poppy's eyes shot back open as they darted over to the odd looking mare that sat next to her bed, smiling away. "Hello!" she said in a sing-song voice. She was an earth pony mare, a very pretty one at that, with a flowing gold mane, tan coat and was wearing the frilliest dress made from flowers possibly ever created anywhere, in either plane of existence."My name is Furthermore!" she sang. "And you, Poppy Blossom," she stood up as she clapped her hooves. "Are dead! Congratulations!"

"D-Dead?"

"Yep!"

"I'm....I'm dead?"

"Yeah!"

Poppy felt the blood drain from her face as her heart caught in her throat. "I...I can't be dead!" she cried.

Furthermore's smile faded. "Well...you aren't technically dead, yet." she said, sounding far too disappointed for Poppy's tastes.

"What do you mean?" Poppy asked, glaring at the mare.

"Well," Furthermore thought for a moment, "Your soul is still bound to your body...somehow. Almost as if your sheer willpower is somehow keeping you alive, but your sprit is still being pulled here, to The Crossroads."

Poppy leapt out of bed, and headed for the door. "Then, I need to get back and stop Selina; I don't have time to be dead!"

"Hey!" Furthermore grabbed onto Poppy's arm. "The dead can't just head back to Earth; there are rules, y'know!"

"Watch me." said Poppy, yanking her arm free, and heading outside to The Crossroads.

To-Do List: Find a way back to the world of the living and put an end to Selina's plans.

Poppy's eyes swelled the size of dinner plates as she looked around. She was not in Ponyville. Or Earth.

An endless sequence of bold buildings appeared before her, shoved together in what was apparently a fine show of geometry well studied by either a genius or a lunatic. Possibly both.

Curves shook up and into straight lines, tops capped by a triangle, a dome or a dollop of roof (depending on the storefront) while walls were textured by octagonal, triangular, and star like tile work. Chimneys were spirals of brick charging into the sky, doors were as tall as walls and nearly as wide and all the colors from the deep blue sky to the magenta of the grass, were bright, sharp and endless.

Poppy began to walk down a string of streets woven together in no particular fashion and for no particular reason other than to apparently induce headaches, when a cheery voice stopped her in her tracks. Literally.

"Now listen here, you!" said Furthermore, putting a hoof to Poppy's nose. "I am the guardian of the Land Of The Dead, and I am in control here; not you."

"Then send me back!" said Poppy, slapping the spirit's hoof away. "I need to get back and kill that vampire!"

Furthermore's mood changed. "Vampire?" she asked, suddenly serious. "What vampire?"

"Selina Dancemania." said Poppy. "She lured me to her castle, triggered a zombie apocalypse, trapped my friend, and then straight up murdered me!" she explained loudly. "Not only that, but she's planning on bargaining my soul for something."

"Excuse me!?" cried Furthermore. "Oh no." she began to pace the floor. "No, no, no, no, NO!" she turned back and suddenly her flowery pink eyes were literally alight with raging fire. "Nobody makes a soul bargain without MY say so!"

Poppy was alarmed at how angry this seemingly sweet mare had now become so quickly.

"And you said Dancemania?"

Poppy nodded, afraid to even talk now.

Furthermore sighed. "That's what I thought." she turned and began walking up a narrow street. "Follow me." she said.

Poppy didn't dare disobey.

To-Do List: Follow Furthermore.

It was not a common thing for the dead to return to Earth once they had passed. Actually, it was completely unheard of. The powers that be had set up the system of life and death at roughly the same time that time itself existed its way from the ether. And they were quite satisfied with the result.

If you died, you were dead; end of story, close the book, log it away, that's all she wrote.

But, with that said, sometimes rules had to be broken to prevent more from being broken. It was a complete abasement to the laws of nature, and straight up spat on the system as a whole.

But it was very, very hard to change Furthermore's mind once she had made her decision. And this time, was no different.

Furthermore's Office

Poppy, still scared to speak, was escorted past the world of The Crossroads, through a door in time and space, into quite possibly the single fluffiest and pinkest room she had ever laid eyes on.

Pink walls, pink windows, pink carpeting and even pink furniture. Poppy's eyes stung with how much pink was being poured into them.

Every surface in Furthermore's office was draped in lacy covers and bright pink cloths; several vases of multicolored flowers stood on hoof-knitted doilies around the room. One wall housed a collection of ornamental plates, each decorated with a large technicolour kitten wearing a different bow around its neck, while the other held multiple framed pictures of Furthermore posing with various legendary historical figures from the past, and some from the future.

A large pink desk with white lace covers stood behind a glass window at the back of the small room. The chair behind it pulled out by itself as Furthermore took a seat. She then calmly told Poppy to do the same, pointing to the chair in front of her desk.

Poppy took a seat and waited patiently. She didn't have to wait long. "Alright," Furthermore began," Here is what's going to happen."

Poppy's ears perked up, as she became suddenly nervous.

Furthermore let out a sigh. "I'm going to send you back."

"Really?!" cried Poppy, jumping out of the seat. "Oh, thank-"

"I'm not done." said Furthermore softly. Poppy sat back down. "I will send you back, but on one condition."

Poppy nodded. "Name it."

Furthermore narrowed her eyes. "You make sure, that when you get back to the world of the living," she paused, "that you send that blood-sucking monster to me in your place."

"Count on it." Poppy didn't need to think it through.

Furthermore nodded. "Good." she stuck out her hoof. "Grasp my hoof and you will be sent back."

Poppy was surprised. "That's it?"

"That's it."

Poppy reached for Furthermore's hoof, then stopped.

"What's wrong?" asked Furthermore.

Poppy looked at her. "What's your connection with Selina?"

Furthermore looked at her, then closed her eyes. "Very well." she retracted her hoof. "Vampires are an affront to the natural order; they are not alive, yet they live. They are dead, yet they do not die. Their existence is a mockery to me and the way things should be." she paused again. "But the Dancemanias are the worst of them all," she said with clear hatred in her voice. "They use necromancy to tear souls away from here and stick them in unliving bodies to serve their will. It disgusts me beyond words."

Poppy looked out the window behind Furthermore. "I take it that's why it's so quiet here," she said simply. "Because Selina took all the souls of the dead from here and used them for her zombie army, all to lure me out. The Crossroads is nearly empty because of her."

Furthermore nodded.

Poppy dared another question. "And...is that why you're so, um....aggravated?"

Furthermore sighed. "Yes, it is." she said simply. "I'm not always like this; not at all!" her eyes softened as she spoke. "But something like this? Sorry, the gloves are off with a situation like this."

"Understandable." said Poppy. "What will happen to Selina once I've dealt with her?"

"She will be sent here." said Furthermore. "After that, I will decide her punishment. And I'll make sure she hates every minute of it."

"Good." Poppy smiled, and Furthermore smiled back. She stretched out her hoof. "Thank you for your help Miss Furthermore; I'm glad to have met you."

Furthermore's sweet disposition returned, as she smiled happily and shook Poppy's hoof. "Just Furthermore is fine, silly!" she laughed.

There was a brilliant flash of light.

And Poppy was gone.

Dancemania Castle Graveyard

A zombie mare was out patrolling the graveyard, just like her amazingly beautiful and wise mistress told her, when all of a sudden a red hoof burst up from the ground in front of her.

"Ah!" she cried. "Zombie!...oh wait."

Poppy spit out a clump of dirt as she climbed up out of the earth, and took in a deep breath of fresh air. Slowly but surely, she felt her life return to her and settle back in it's place as she shook herself, trying desperately to shake off the lairs of mud and dirt that now stained her mane and tail.

The zombie mare looked at Poppy with a curious eye. "Hey, you look familiar..."

Poppy stopped and looked at the zombie mare in front of her, eyes wide.

The zombie mare looked at her, red eyes squinted as she studied Poppy. Then it hit her. "Oh!" she said. "Now I remember! You're that delivery mare the mistress killed! Neat."

Poppy's mouth fell open as she stood there in shock. "H-How the....how the hell can I understand what you're saying?" she asked. "You guys were all moans and groans before!"

"Hm?" the zombie mare was confused at the question. "Oh, that's because you're technically undead, too! The dead can understand the other dead, and all that."

Poppy was unsure, but she supposed that made sense. Plus, being able to talk to the zombies now, would definitely be useful to her in defeating Selina.

The zombie mare stuck out a rotting hoof. "My name is Persimmon, by the way!" she smiled and waited for Poppy to shake her hoof.

Poppy forced a smile as she shook the zombie's cold, undead, hoof. "So, um..." she wasn't sure where to begin. She figured she would just start with the most important thing first. "Are you going to tell Selina that I'm not dead anymore?"

Persimmon laughed. "Pfft, no!" she said smiling. "My orders were to guard the cemetery, and that's it. Not report anything." she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you got to be real specific when it comes to zombies; we're a finicky bunch."

Poppy let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Then do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Not at all, fellow zombie friend!" said Persimmon smiling warmly. "Ask away!"

To-Do List: Get up to speed on what's happened since your demise and find a way to get back in the castle.

"How did I get out here?" asked Poppy.

"Oh! After you died, the mistress ordered that your body be properly buried, so they buried you in the graveyard out front."

"Ah. Okay then." Zombies weren't very smart apparently. "Can you tell me what's happened since I died?"

"The mistress has been real upset about something; apparently when you died, your soul didn't go to her like the others, but was sealed away in this unbreakable magical barrier that appeared out of nowhere!"

"Wait, so Selina doesn't have my soul?" asked Poppy.

Persimmon shook her head. "Nope, but she wants it real bad. She's still in her lab trying to get it out from behind the barrier. That other pony is still down there to."

"Other pony?" then her eyes lit up. "Mary! She's okay?"

"Well, she's still being held prisoner by the mistress's blood magic....but yeah, she was fine last time I saw her."

Poppy felt a rush of relief, now knowing her friend was alright. But she wouldn't be that way for long; Poppy had to get back in there and stop Selina. "Is there a way to destroy Selina?"

Persimmon laughed. "What do you mean destroy her? She's the mistress! You don't wanna destroy her, silly!"

"Right," said Poppy, "But what if hypothetically, I wanted to destroy her; how could I do it?"

"Oh." said Persimmon. "Well, I would try looking through her lab. Bound to be some clues as to how to vanquish her in there."

"Great!" said Poppy. "Thanks."

"No problem. Anything else I can help you with?"

"Just one. How do I get my soul back?"

"Huh? Why would you want it back?" asked Persimmon, raising an eyebrow. "Don't you like being undead?"

"I'm not exactly cut out for it, I think." said Poppy making an excuse. "I think I'm better at being alive."

"Oh." Persimmon sounded a bit disappointed. "Well, everyone is different I suppose. But, I'm afraid I don't know how you can get your soul back, friend." she said sadly. "The mistress usually does something with them, but I have no idea how to get one back in a body."

"Do you know anything that can help?" Poppy pleaded.

Persimmon thought for a moment. "Well..." she said solemnly. "If the mistress has a machine to extract souls, then...maybe she has one that can return them too? Sorry, that's the best I got."

"It's okay, that's still something at least." said Poppy. "How can I get back into the castle?"

"Um...just use the front door, like everyone else?"

"I-I can't just walk in the front door! I'll be caught in seconds!"

"No you won't silly!" laughed Persimmon. "You're one of us now; they'll let you in same as me!"

Poppy looked at her. "Seriously?"

"Yep. Like I said, we undead stick together."

"Wow." said Poppy, genuinely shocked. "I had no idea the living undead were so nice. No offense."

"That's okay." said Persimmon. "We don't have good PR. What with all the movies, and video games and the whole brain-eating thing, y'know?"

"True." Poppy looked over towards the castle, and saw the front doors were wide open now. She could easily get back inside to find Mary and stop Selina. "I should get going now, but it was good meeting you, Persimmon."

"No problem! Look me up when you've got your soul back! We'll attack some villages or something, kay?"

Poppy was put off by that, but smiled warmly anyways. "Yeah. See you then." saying goodbye to her new friend, Poppy raced back to the castle, and sure enough, was welcomed through the front doors like it was her own home.

To-Do List: Investigate Selina's lab for a way to get your soul back.

Back in the main ballroom, Poppy was surprised to hear not the moaning and groaning chorus like she had heard before, but laughter and genuine happy conversations coming from the groups of zombies that occupied the room.

"I heard the brain patte, was ordered special!"

"Ever seen that zombie music video? It's discrimination, I tell you!"

"I can't believe they got deadponE to DJ! I'm such a huge fan!"

"Has anyone seen my arm? It looks like, well...an arm."

Then Poppy remembered that she was now a zombie herself; and thus could understand them perfectly. But she didn't have time to worry about this total abuse of the language barrier at the moment. She had to find Selina.

Retracing her steps from before, Poppy quickly found her way back into the secondary entry hall and back down the hidden stairs till she reached Selina's secret laboratory.

Selina's Secret Sanctum

As she crept into the room, Poppy could make out the distinctive smug voice of Selina, who sounded quite frustrated over something. Poppy froze in place and listened quietly.

"Damn it!" Selina swore. "I should've known that she would've had something like this laid out." Poppy peeked out from her corner and saw that Selina was glaring at a large glowing ball of green energy that pulsated in midair.

Inside the ball, was unmistakably Poppy's soul; a ghost like version of herself that floated weightlessly inside the ball, looking more like she was asleep rather then trapped. What Persimmon had said was true; and indeed Selina seemed quite upset about it.

Still trapped in Selina's blood magic was Mary, who was shackled to the nearby wall; she was no doubt next for the extractor after Selina found a way to get Poppy's soul. Despite the fact that she couldn't move, her eyes still could, and she spotted Poppy over by the corner. Almost instantly, her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as a look of both amazement and terror appeared on her face.

Poppy nodded to Mary.

Mary glanced over at Selina, then blinked (Poppy assumed she would've nodded if she could.)

"Well, it doesn't matter." said Selina moving away from the energy ball to Mary, who immediately ceased any sign she could move her eyes. "At least I still have you; if I can't get Poppy's soul out of there, I'm sure I can still bargain with yours my dear." she playfully ran a hoof through Mary's mane as she smiled wickedly.

Poppy felt anger well up inside her as she remained silent. She had to wait till Selina was gone. Maybe she could create a distraction?

And just like that, a very large undead butler strolled into the room, his head nearly brushing the ceiling. "Miss Dancemania?" he asked, his voice so low and heavy, Poppy swore the ground shook.

Selina let out an annoyed sigh. "What is it Maximus?" she asked rolling her eyes.

"There have been reports from the front gate about a possible intruder on the castle grounds."

Selina remained annoyed. "Ugh. Great, more uninvited guests." she groaned. "Oh well, more souls for me I guess." with that Selina patted Mary's head before exiting the lab via a hidden elevator behind a fireplace, as Maximus followed suit, shaking the ground as he left.

Poppy checked to make sure they were gone before stepping out into the lab. Once she was sure Selina wasn't coming back for a while, she immediately went over to check on her friend.

"Mary! I'm so happy to see you're alright. She didn't hurt you did she?"

Mary blinked and wriggled her nose.

Poppy looked at her. "Oh, right. You can't move."

Mary narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, um...how about this?" said Poppy. "Blink twice for yes, once for no. Okay?"

Mary blinked twice.

"Good."

To-Do List: "Talk" to Mary.

"Are you hurt?" Poppy asked.

Mary blinked once.

"Can you move at all? Even a little?"

Mary thought for a moment. She tried to move her left hoof even an inch, until she grew too tired to continue. She blinked once.

"That's a no then." said Poppy. "Don't worry; I'll find a way to get you down from there." Moving away from Mary, Poppy began to explore the lab. It was when she passed a nearby mirror that she finally caught a glimpse of what she now looked like.

Her once vibrant red coat was now a muted shade of light crimson; her mane now a dull rotten orange, as her purple eyes were now blood red and full of darkness. Yet despite the way she looked now, Poppy had expected worse. At the very least she didn't moan, groan or have a sudden appetite for brains. Perhaps she wasn't a zombie...yet. Just close to one.

Back to exploring the lab, Poppy searched a nearby bookshelf for a possible spell to release Mary.

The Dorian Gray Photo Album.

Ann Colter- A Life.

Blood types from A to Z.

Alchemy for beginners.

Dealing with Immortality.

No spell books. (Though that Ann Colter one probably made a fascinating read.)

It was then that Poppy heard a female voice; sophisticated, almost proud yet mature. "You!" it said. "Over here!" It was coming from another bookshelf, one that had only one book on it and was wrapped in chains and various padlocks.

As Poppy approached, the voice yelled out again. "Yes, up here; top shelf!"

Poppy scaled the chains of the bookshelf only to find the source of the mysterious voice: A massive black book, larger than any other book Poppy had seen thus far, with a wide seemingly bloody gash sliced down the cover. It's yellowed, worn pages jutted out randomly from inside it, alluding more to its incredible age. "Okay you found me." the book said. "Now, if you please, undo these chains."

Poppy stared at the talking book in awe. "Y-You're a book?"

"Yes!" the book cried. "Well...no. It's complicated."

"How is it complicated?" asked Poppy. "Are you a book or not?"

"Ugh." the book was getting frustrated. "Look, I used to be a pony like you alright?" she explained. "But I was killed and my soul trapped in this dusty old spell tome; basically enslaved to help out the Dancemanias in whatever dark bidding they wish of me for all eternity. Happy?"

Poppy was taken aback. "Well, no." she said. "That sounds horrible. I'm sorry."

"Yes well...it doesn't matter now." the book sighed. "Just get me out of here and I can help you!"

Poppy eyed the book suspiciously. "How do I know I can trust you? The last book that spoke to me nearly took over my mind."

"Because I hate the Dancemanias even more than you do-"

"Debatable."

"-And I know the spell for freeing your friend."

Poppy thought for a moment. "Don't you have to do what Selina says? You're her spell book after all."

"You think I like this?" the book spat. "I have no other choice! I have had no other purpose other than serving that monster and her vile ilk as their family spell book. Or at least that used to be the case; now you're here. You can help me."

"Me?" asked Poppy. "How so?"

"Get me off this shelf, and I'll tell you everything." the book said simply. "I swear it."

If the book was going to try anything, it would have done so already. Plus, it made it quite clear that it was incapable of really doing anything at all on its own. And Poppy had no other options at the moment; she had to free Mary and get her soul back. She had no choice but to trust the book's word.

Poppy used her magic to snap the chains around the book in half then grabbed it, before jumping back down. She grunted as she hit the ground; the book weighed a ton! And it was so large, she could barely wrap both arms around it.

"Okay, now set me down." the book instructed.

Poppy did so, and the book suddenly opened as it's pages began fluttering about till it finally stopped on a page in the middle. On the page was an illustration of an earth pony mare paladin adorned in gleaming white armor and flowing snowy cape to match. In her short red mane was a white hairband that glowed as if it was made of light. The illustration looked straight up at Poppy then smiled. "That's better." she said. "Now we can talk face to face."

Poppy looked down at the illustration in awe. "Who...who are you?'

The illustration chuckled. "I suppose introductions are necessary." she said. "I am known as the Sword of The Morning Light, the Bane of Vampire-kind and Slayer of Clan Dancemania."

The illustration drew her sword and held it aloft. "I am Alexandra Anderson." the illustration said proudly. "Charmed."

"You're Alexandra Anderson?" Poppy asked in utter amazement. "But..how did-"

"I believe you wanted to save your friend, yes?" Alexandra interrupted. "We can discuss anything you want later."

She was right. There would be time for questioning later. "Okay." said Poppy. "How can I free Mary?"

"Face her and hold the book aloft," Alexandra instructed. "I will do the rest."

Poppy did as she was told, and held the massive book up to Mary and waited. In the book, Alexandra closed her eyes and knelt with her sword, as she recited a sacred incantation, her words echoing loudly as she spoke; as if the sky itself was speaking for her.

"I call upon the brightest light, to burn away this vampire's blight. To cast it down into the sea, so that this soul, may be set free."

Instantly the red aura surrounding Mary vanished as her shackles shattered apart then faded into mist, allowing the mare to fall to her knees and take a breath.

"Mary!" Poppy set the book down, rushed forward and hugged her friend, who hugged her back tightly. "Are you alright?"

"I feel like I have to blink about fifty times before my eyes work again," joked Mary. "But other then that, yeah...I think I'm good." Then her smile faded. "But...what about you? Didn't...didn't you-"

"Yeah. But...I came back."

Mary shook her head. "You astound me, Poppy Blossom." she laughed. "Even death can't stop you!"

Poppy smiled and helped Mary to her feet, then retrieved Alexandra from the floor. "Thank you for saving my friend."

Alexandra nodded. "You're welcome." she sheathed her sword. "Now then...I believe you have questions?"

To-Do List: Talk To Alexandra Anderson.

Poppy, Mary and Alexandra found a place next to the fireplace so Mary (who had been shackled to a freezing cold stone wall) could warm herself up. As Mary rubbed her hooves together by the fire, Alexandra told her story.

"When I was cut down by Selina's great, great grandfather, Corpuscles Dancemania, he didn't want me to just die." she explained. "He wanted me to suffer; to make it so even in death, they could torment me for eternity." her voice began to shake with rage. "So he bound my soul to this damnable tome; trapped in it's pages and forced to aid his vile offspring in their evil deeds for the rest of my miserable existence. Unable to sleep, unable to eat, unable to feel anything; a consciousness without form made just to serve. Destroying me would have been a mercy."

"I...I don't even know what to say." said Mary. "I can only imagine the anger and pain you've felt."

"No...you cannot." corrected Alexandra. "But my pain is nothing compared to the atrocities Selina Dancemania and her family have wrought on this earth for decades. She must be destroyed."

"Yes, she must." Poppy agreed. "But...how? She's too strong."

"By yourself, yes. But if I was by your side..."

"You?" asked Mary. "What can you do, give her a papercut?"

"No, you fool!" Alexandra shot back. "If you free me from this infernal prison, I can help you destroy Selina once and for all."

Poppy looked at her. She had no idea how such a thing was possible. Her magic skill was limited only to teleportation as well as telekinesis; she wouldn't know where to even start with the process of freeing a bound soul from an object, let alone doing so in a safe manner that wouldn't result in her or other ponies exploding.

Then it hit her. Maybe she knew somepony who could.

The zombie apocalypse had been in full swing for around four hours now, and Ponyville's population continued to stay indoors. Canterlot was on lock down as guards searched high and low for the missing princess, who had gone missing hours ago. As the royal guard searched the streets, the Fizzy Poppers searched every inch of the castle, till they arrived in the royal office and collapsed on the floor from exhaustion.

"Ugh." groaned Root. "It's no use; we've looked everywhere! She's gone."

"Don't say that!" cried Cherry. "This is Poppy we're talking about. She'll turn up, trust me."

"Yeah!" cheered Lemon Lime. "You just have to have faith in her is all!"

Root got up and rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, sure." she snarked. "I'm sure any second now she's just going to appear out of nowhere like magic."

Suddenly, exactly like magic, Poppy appeared out of nowhere in a flash of orange light. "Hey girls," she said smiling. "Want to help me stop the zombie apocalypse?"

The poppers all leapt up from the floor and tackled her to the ground, half laughing and half crying along with her. Root on the other hand stood and stared, mouth agape, astounded by her new apparent wish granting powers. "Whoa." was all she managed to say. Then she looked down at her hooves, disappointed. "Should've asked for a sandwich while I was at it."

Canterlot Royal Office

Poppy told the Poppers everything, that had happened. From meeting Selina, to being trapped by her, to apparently being killed (she was extra gentle with that part, and said she had only been temporarily rendered undead) to meeting Alexandra Anderson and more.

When she had finally finished, the poppers eyes were the size of dinner plates, and their jaws nearly touched the floor. Then, all at once, the floodgates broke.

"Are you a zombie now?" asked Root. "Do you eat brains and stuff!?"

"How are you still alive if you don't have your soul?" asked Cherry. "And how are you going to get it back?"

"Do zombies glow in the dark?" asked Lemon Lime. "If so, I wanna see!"

"Girls!" cried Poppy. "One at time, okay?" She took a moment to compose herself, before turning to Root. "No, I am not a zombie and no I don't eat brains."

Root looked disappointed. "Aww, dang it."

Poppy turned to Cherry. "Honestly? I have no idea. My soul was trapped behind a green ball of energy that appeared out of nowhere. It stopped Selina from getting to it, but I need to figure out a way to get it back. Which I'm working on."

Cherry nodded and looked quite relieved.

Finally she turned to Lemon Lime. "As far as I know, no they don't." she said simply. "But it would be neat, wouldn't it?"

Lemon Lime nodded profusely in agreement.

Their questions satisfied, the poppers looked at one another, unsure. "So...what are you going to do now?" asked Root.

"Mary stayed in Transylvania to make sure Selina doesn't catch on to what we're doing. In the meantime," Poppy removed Alexandra's book from her satchel (which she had made sure to receive from lockup before she left the castle) and held it up for the girls to see. "This is the book Alexandra is trapped in; I need to take her to Garnanopo and get him to free her from it, so she can help me destroy Selina."

"Cool!" the Poppers cheered. "Count us in!" said Root.

"Yeah! We'll help you take down that vampire!" Cherry added.

"Just leave it to us!" Lemon Lime chimed in.

Poppy's smiled faded. "Girls...I don't know. This vampire isn't just dangerous." she warned. "I mean she actually killed me!"

"Yeah," Cherry agreed, "But you came back!"

"Plus, she just got lucky. You could've totally taken her down if she hadn't cheated." Root added with a smug grin.

Poppy was still unsure, but she could at least use the help with freeing Alexandra. "You help me with Alexandra; then we'll see about helping me destroy the unholy creature of darkness that brought about my demise. Deal?"

"Deal!" the poppers cheered.

Downtown Canterlot

Poppy remembered that, before he had vanished from Lagoom Island, Garnanopo had said he had a lab in Canterlot. Though she had not seen him since then, she at least knew the location of where his lab was among the many shops and storefronts of Canterlot, as it was the only building that had the Catcher's Landing Gift Shop literally parked in an alley beside it. The zombies that crowded the streets paid no mind to Poppy and the poppers as they approached Garnanopo's place of residence.

The building itself was a small cottage, with numerous walkways and makeshift balconies jutting out from around it, save for a small crooked chimney from which rainbow colored smoke emanated. It looked surprisingly cozy, given the fact that every other home was boarded up by their terrified inhabitants.

Poppy and the poppers approached the front door, only for it to swing open as Poppy raised her hoof to knock. There standing in the doorway, wearing the same black robes and mad scientist porcupine-like mane, was Garnanopo.

"Poppy!" he cried happily. "So happy to see you're dead!"

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry, my words got jumbled there." he said simply. "I meant, so happy to see you." he corrected. "And, oh no. You're dead."

"Um...thanks?"

The poppers only continued to stare at the odd stallion.

"Ah yes, come in, come in!" Garnanopo beckoned. "Make yourselves at home!" He disappeared into the cottage, as Poppy and the poppers followed suit, wondering if it was too late to go ask Pears.

Garnanopo's Cottage, Living Room

Garnanopo's cottage was a cozy yet cramped sight to behold. A large brown couch sat in front of a tiny fireplace, of which was bordered by a lamp, a reading chair and a coffee table that looked like it had been through a war. Poppy could make out a kitchen and a room so crammed with books that she couldn't see past the doorway. She assumed it was the library.

All around the place, potions bubbled and boiled, cauldrons sizzled, crystals sparked with energy, and various instruments Poppy swore couldn't physically exist were set up and hissing steam that took the forms of different shapes as they evaporated. The walls were oaken wood, but in place of wallpaper were various charts, magical diagrams, schematics in languages that barely looked legible, pages from almanacs and encyclopedias, spell network diagrams and more all posted up seemingly in random places all over the cottage.

Poppy turned to see Garnanopo knelt by the tiny fireplace; She couldn't see what he was doing, but when he withdrew a second later, there was a roaring fire that filled the cottage with warmth and light.

"Whoa!" Root gasped. "How'd you do that?"

Garnanopo sat down on the couch and waved a hoof. Suddenly, from the kitchen floated a copper kettle, a package of bacon, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs and a tea box. Garnanopo smiled at the popper's amazement, before starting to make tea.

Soon the cottage was full of the sound and smell of sizzling bacon. Nopony said a thing while the wizard was working, but as he withdrew the first six, slightly burned, strips of bacon from the poker, Poppy looked suddenly worried. "Um," she began.

"No worries, my dear Poppy." said the wizard. "It's vegan, of course."

Poppy felt instantly relieved. Ponies didn't eat meat; it just didn't feel right to them.

"But really though," the wizard added," you should at least try meat at some point. It's really quite enjoyable!"

Correction; most ponies didn't eat meat.

As Poppy and the poppers sat on the couch enjoying their tea and vegan bacon, Garnanopo sat down in his chair. "Now then," he said sitting up straight," You want me to release miss Anderson from her literary prison, correct?"

"No way!" gasped Cherry, her mouth full. "How did you know that?"

Poppy smiled. "It's sort of his job, pretty much." she said. "But yes, we need her help to destroy Selina."

"Right you are," the wizard agreed. "Alexandra Anderson is the greatest vampire slayer that ever lived; her aid will be invaluable!"

"So you can do it?" asked Poppy eagerly.

"Nope."

The room went silent. Poppy's heart sank in her chest.

Then Garnanopo's eyes lit up. "Oh wait, I meant yes." he corrected himself. "Yes, I can free her from this book."

"You can?" asked Poppy and the poppers in unison.

Garnanopo nodded. "Trapping a soul in an object is easy enough; but getting it out requires...something else."

"Something else?" asked Poppy.

"A body." said Garnanopo. "Alexandra's body is long since gone. For her soul to be released she needs a new one for it to inhabit."

Poppy waited for Garnanopo to continue. When he didn't she asked. "Okay, um....where do I get her a body then?"

"You don't," corrected Garnanopo, "But we can make her a new one."

"...Huh?"

'"It's really quite simple." said Garnanopo smiling. "We can create a new existential vessel for Alexandra's mortal soul to inhabit; a sort of homunculoid celluloid body to act as her new mortal body. See? Simple."

Poppy looked at him. "Literally nothing about that is simple."

"Well I can handle the details. All you need to do is retrieve a few things for me."

Root raised her hoof. Garnanopo called on her. "Yes?" he asked quizzically.

"Do you need this stuff for the body, or is this one of those things where we get a bunch of stuff for you thinking it's for the body, but it's really for your hoof bath or something to waste our time?"

Garnanopo stared at her. "Ahem, putting the hoof bath that I may or may not be drawing at the moment aside, yes; everything is for the creation of Alexandra's new body."

"Good call, Root," Cherry whispered to her sister. Root smiled, looking proud.

"Okay so," Poppy got up from the couch," What do you need exactly?"

"First: I need the book Alexandra is trapped in."

"Done." Poppy handed Garnanopo the book, who set it aside as quickly as he got it.

"Now I need the following Aspects Of A Hero," he took out a small scroll and unfurled it as he read. "A heart of gold, the hooves of a champion, and the voice of a leader."

"Um...where do I get any of that stuff?" asked Poppy. Then it occurred to her. There was in fact one place, that literally sold everything. And this situation was no different.

Poppy thanked Garnanopo then, with the poppers in tow, teleported herself directly into the lobby of the Inconvenience Store.

The Inconvenience Store

The bright cheery music of the Inconvenience Store sang from the lobby speakers as Poppy spotted Pears, crossbow in hoof, hastily shoving a displeased looking zombie out the front door. "And don't you ever try to steal my coat hangers again!" Pears yelled as she closed the door and locked it.

Pears turned around and spotted Poppy who smiled at her. "Oh. Hey Poppy!" she said. "How was Transylvania?"

"Well....I died."

"I can see that." Pears nodded. "Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you." she set the crossbow behind the counter. "Y'know, unless you go all brain-crazy on me."

"That's fair. I actually need to ask you if you have some certain um...items in stock."

Pears got behind the counter and pushed aside a large surgery table into the closet. "Welp, considering I sell literally everything, I'm sure we can find you something. What can I get you?"

Root handed Poppy the list. "Do you have a heart of gold?" she asked.

"I'd like to think so, though some other people would disagree." answered Pears with a shrug. "Namely my mother."

"No, I mean an actual heart of solid gold...for sale."

"Oh! Well in that case..." Pears withdrew from the counter and returned with a glass case and set it on the counter. Inside was a literal heart, about the size of a coconut, made of twenty four karat gold. It looked far too detailed not to be real.

"Where did you get that?" asked Cherry, both amazed and horrified.

"Tore it from the chest of an ancient Sumerian hero in Guadalajara." answered Pears casually. "You want it?"

"Need it, actually." said Poppy, getting out her purse. "How much?"

"Well considering it's an actual heart of solid gold, I'd say-"

Before Pears could finish, Poppy slapped down a gleaming silver card bordered in black onyx. "Just charge it to the royal treasury; we don't have time."

Pears was more then happy to do so, running the card through, then handing it back to Poppy. "What else do you need?"

Poppy checked the list again. "The hooves of a champion and the voice of a leader."

Pears thought for a moment. "Hooves of a champion, you say?" then her eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! I did have the hooves of the most infamous gunslinger that ever rode the west, Toronto Teakwood. I'd say that's probably your best bet."

"Great!" Poppy said happily. "We'll take them."

Pears looked embarrassed. "Actually, I already sold them."

"What!?" cried Poppy. "To who?"

"Tornonto Teakwood." said Pears. "Literally the actual guy, as a zombie. He had to use his mouth to pay the bits, cause he had no hooves. It was weird."

"Well...where is he now?"

Pears shrugged. "He said something about going to Crabbys. Then he bought a Sludgie, shot at one of my displays, then left."

"Crabbys...got it." Poppy thanked Pears, put the heart into her satchel and was bout to leave, when Pears stopped her.

"Hey Poppy." she said, suddenly serious. "When you get your soul back, we need to talk." she lowered her voice to a whisper. "It's about them."

Poppy's eyes widened. "Them? as in...them, them?"

Pears nodded. "I discovered something; something big."

Poppy had been wondering about the mysterious cabal that had been fast approaching Ponyville ever since she returned from Lagoom Island, but with the zombie apocalypse, she hadn't had the chance to really discuss it with Pears. What had she discovered this time?

"What is it?" asked Poppy, eager to hear more.

But Pears shook her head. "Not now." she said quickly. "When you have your soul back, meet me in my lab under the store; I'll explain everything."

Poppy looked at her. Then nodded. "Okay." She knew that if Pears said to hold off on talking about something, it was usually the right move to make. (Or it was something completely nonsensical that would result in you getting a criminal record. But Poppy didn't think that was the case this time.)

Poppy thanked Pears for her help, then used her magic to teleport her and the poppers into the lobby of Crabby's Diner.

Crabby's Diner

As Poppy looked around the surprisingly empty lobby, she suddenly heard a gunshot go off. She ducked as the bullet sailed over her head and hit the lamp behind her, which exploded on impact.

"Whoa!" The poppers yelled as they scrambled to take cover behind a set of overturned tables by the right wall.

Poppy turned to do the same when a voice, shallow as a grave (which was fitting because its owner had recently climbed out of one) hissed at her from the counter. "Don't you move now, little lady." it said. "Or the next one won't miss."

The voice was coming from a tall, imposing undead stallion in a tattered black overcoat, and wide rimmed hat to match. A single, cold eye looked out from underneath the brim, as two arms holding pistols aimed themselves at Poppy. Behind the undead stallion, was Pretty Crabby, bound and gagged.

Poppy narrowed her eyes at the stallion. "Toronto Teakwood, I presume."

Toronto nodded. "You presume right." he growled. "And you are?"

"In need of your hooves." said Poppy. "Don't suppose you'd be willing to part with them peacefully?"

"Not a chance." Toronto snarled. "I just got up from a hundred year dirt nap; I have quite a lot of robbing to get caught up on."

"You're not robbing this diner." Poppy said taking a step forward.

"Watch me." Toronto fired another shot at Poppy, who dove behind the tables in the corner. Three more shots went off, as Toronto laughed.

Poppy peeked out from behind the table, only to see Toronto aim his pistol right at her. But before he could fire, a frying pan was thrown from the right side of the store, and knocked the gun from his hoof.

Root laughed as she aimed a second pan. "Over here cowboy!" she jeered.

Toronto snarled angrily as he looked over at Root. "You little!" he aimed his next shot at her and smiled a wicked grin. But Poppy grabbed his arm, and began to wrestle the gun from his grasp. Toronto swung his arm to hit Poppy, but she ducked and connected a hard punch to his left jaw, then kicked out his legs from under him, sending him backwards, the gun flying from his hoof.

Toronto fell back, and smashed his head against the countertop before sliding down to the floor, barely conscious.

He looked up as he saw the large radio on the counter, teeter off and fall directly towards his head.

"Aw hell." was his last words before the radio silenced him for good.

Poppy untied Pretty Crabby who massaged her arms and desperately tried to straighten out the wrinkles in her apron. "Ugh. Thanks."

"Your welcome. Where did he come from, anyways?"

"No idea. He just burst in here and started demanding I hand over the money from the register." Pretty explained. "I told him to stuff it, and then he knocked me unconscious with those pistols of his."

"What happened to Penny and Recipe?" asked Poppy, suddenly nervous. "They were here when I left!"

"Relax, they left hours ago." Pretty said rolling her eyes. "Penny went back to her office to barricade herself, and Recipe went out to collect samples. Whatever that means."

Poppy breathed a sigh of relief. "Good." she said. "Are you alright?"

Pretty looked down at her wrinkled apron and frowned. "No! It'll take me an hour to iron out these wrinkles!"

"That's a yes then." said Cherry as her and her sisters came out of hiding.

Poppy went up to them immediately. "Are you girls alright?" she asked concerned.

"A little shook up," said Root. "But I think we're okay."

"Good." said Poppy. "Now please....never try that again."

"Duly noted." said Cherry, elbowing Root in the ribs.

As the poppers helped Pretty clean up the diner, Poppy went over to check on Toronto who had turned to dust the second he died (again), and in the dust heap was his overcoat, hat and two dried severed hooves, that Poppy tried not to vomit over as she picked them up and dropped them into her satchel. Two down; one to go.

To-Do List: Locate The Voice Of A Leader and bring it to Garnanopo.

"The voice of a leader?" Pretty scrunched her face in confusion. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I don't know." said Poppy sitting down at the counter. "But we need it if we're going to put an end to all this insanity." she rested her head on the counter in frustration. "I just wish we knew what that meant!"

Lemon Lime piped up. "Well...the heart and hooves were literally the things they described." she pointed out. "So, what if this is the same thing? What if we need to actually find a leader's voice?"

Root rolled her eyes. "And just where would we find that?" she asked.

"Well..." Lemon Lime's eyes lit up. "What about Evil Celestia?"

The diner went silent. Poppy looked over to Lemon Lime. "Say that again."

Lemon Lime's cheeks went red. "Um...what about-"

"Evil Celestia!" Poppy cried, leaping up from her seat. "That's it!- the voice of a leader; it makes perfect sense!"

"Nice job, Lime!" Root cheered, slapping her sister on the back.

Lemon Lime's face was flushed with red, but she smiled anyways as she rubbed her hooves together sheepishly.

Pretty broke up the party. "So, you're just going to go ask the genetic clone of a thousand year old, nigh-omnipotent, monarch, if you can just have her vocal cords or something?"

Poppy's smiled faded. "Oh. Right." she looked over at the poppers. "This might be harder then we thought."

Evil Celestia and Evil Luna were the genetic clones of Princess Celestia and her sister, created by the former happiness guru turned megalomaniacal alien monster, Hue Humble, to subjugate the population of Equestria into obeying his whim. When Poppy usurped this plan, becoming the new princess of Equestria in the process, the two formerly evil (well no, Luna was still evil) clones were down on their luck till, thanks to Poppy, they were given new leases on life and inspired to go out to make something of themselves.

And as Poppy stood and stared up at the large neon sign above her, she at last knew what those leases had been for.

She sighed to herself, before reading the sign aloud. "Evil Celestia and Evil Luna: Private Investigators."

She reread the sign again, about two more times, before finally muddling up the courage to walk through the front door of the run down office building.

To-Do List: Talk To Evil Celestia.

Evil Celestia, clad in her brown detective fedora and matching collared shirt-suspenders ensemble, sat behind her desk in thought. "Hmmm..." she said aloud.

"What the hell are you doing?" Evil Luna asked in an annoyed tone as she came in from the kitchen, herself wearing a black fedora and suspenders ensemble that unequivocally said "bad cop" loud and clear.

"I'm practicing silly!" Evil Celestia explained. "For when a client asks a super important question."

"That would be great," Luna turned around and took a look at the empty office, "If we actually had any clients!"

"Oh, it's just a slow day, sister dear." Evil Celestia waved a hoof.

"Slow day my ass," Luna growled. "We haven't had a client all week!"

"I'm sure we'll get a new client any moment now!" Evil Celestia said eagerly.

It was at this moment (unfortunately) that Poppy opened the office door and peeked inside. "Hello?" The clone sisters looked at her.

She looked at them. "Um...hi?"

For a moment, no one said a word. Then before she could duck, Poppy was swept up into a strangling bear hug by a joyfully laughing Evil Celestia, as she spun around in a circle. "Poppy!" she sang. "Oh, it's so good to see you again!"

Evil Luna was...less enthused. "Oh joy." she snarked. "It's her highness, come to grace us with her majesty. Hang on let me get the red carpet from the pantry."

"Oh sister, don't be like that." Evil Celestia scolded. She let go of Poppy, who quickly checked to make sure her head was still attached. It was. "Poppy is our guest after all!"

"Thanks, but...I really just need to talk to you," Poppy said getting air back in her lungs.

"Of course!" said Celestia. "What can we do for you?" Luna simply growled again then went into the living room to collapse on the couch, completely uncaring as to the situation.

"Well it's...complicated."

Poppy sat down in the armchair, glass of iced tea in hoof, as Evil Celestia took a seat across from her. "So...you guys are detectives now?...really?"

Evil Celestia shrugged. "Why not?" she said. "I love helping people with their problems, and my sister enjoys yelling profanity at people and beating them up with desk chairs."

Luna nodded. "I do." she gave a satisfied smile. "I really do."

"Not to mention, we've had a ton of clients!" said Celestia happily.

"Really?" asked Poppy.

"Well...no. But we'll get some eventually!"

Luna snorted. "I blame that Sideways mare; she's hogging all the action!" she snapped. "Stupid psychic detectives."

"Right." Poppy set her glass down. "Well, I don't have a case for you, but I do need your help."

"Of course!" Evil Celestia said clapping her hooves together. "Anything you need."

Poppy sighed. "I need your voice."

Celestia looked at her. Luna sat up from her spot on the couch to do the same. "I'm sorry?" asked Celestia.

"I um...I need-" then it occurred to her. Now that she was thinking about it, she still didn't know exactly what she needed. Lemon Lime had correctly assumed that both of the first two things were literally what they described; an actual heart of gold, and the hooves of a champion. So did that mean...

Poppy's eyes lit up. "That's it!" she searched through her satchel, before withdrawing what she was looking for; a tape recorder. She went over to Celestia (who was still quite confused) and held it aloft, pressing the button. "Say something."

Celestia looked down at the tape recorder, then at Poppy. "Um...something?"

"Perfect." Poppy dropped the tape recorder into her satchel and was out the door a second later. "Thanks for your help guys!" she called as she closed the door behind her.

Evil Celestia stood there for a moment a blank look on her face. "Um...what just happened?"

Evil Luna shrugged. "Dunno," she said laying back down. "I told you that mare was nuts."

Evil Celestia nodded. "Yeah." then she smiled warmly. "But I still love her."

Evil Luna snorted.

"And I know you do too." Evil Celestia teased.

"Shut up."

Swinging back to Crabby's to pick up the poppers (much to Pretty's relief as they were getting to be a handful) Poppy then used her magic to instantly appear back in the middle of Garnanopo's cottage, with all the things they needed to create Alexandra's new body, and were finally near their goal of defeating Selina once and for all.

To-Do List: Create Alexandra's new body then return to Transylvania to defeat Selina.

The poppers watched curiously as Poppy helped Garnanopo push a massive stone cauldron into the middle of the room. It was already full of what seemed to be water and it was larger than any cauldron Poppy had ever seen: a great stone belly large enough for a full grown stallion to sit in. Or a mare to emerge from.

As Poppy took a step back, Garnanopo waved a hoof and suddenly crackling flames appeared underneath the massive cauldron. The floor itself seemed completely unaffected by the fire; as if only the cauldron could feel them.

The liquid in the cauldron seemed to heat very fast. The surface began to not only bubble, but to send out brilliant sparks, as though it were on fire. Steam was thickening, blurring the outlines of Garnanopo and Poppy.

"Hey!" cried Root. "I can't see anything!"

Cherry shushed her sister, as they all continued to observe silently.

The whole surface of the water was alight with sparks now; it might as well have been encrusted with diamonds.

Garnanopo picked up Alexandra from the shelf and held her aloft. "Ready, miss Anderson?" he asked.

"Just a moment please; it's been so long since I-"

"Good to know." and he dropped the book into the cauldron; there was a hiss, and it vanished below the surface. Poppy heard the it hit the bottom with a soft thud.

"Now then," Garnanopo said cracking his hooves preemptively. "The first ingredient please."

Poppy handed him the golden heart she had gotten from Pears. He held it over the boiling cauldron. "Heart of Gold, the symbol of heroism and courage, give her shape." and he dropped it in. The diamond surface of the water broke and hissed; it sent sparks in all directions and turned a vivid, electric blue. Poppy watched in awe at the display; she had never seen magic like this. Not ever.

She was snapped out of her trance by Garnanopo who asked her for the next ingredient. She handed him (Trying her best not to drop them in disgust) the hooves she had retrieved from Toronto's dusty remains.

Garnanopo held them over the cauldron like the heart. "Hooves of the champion, the tools of the hero, give her grace and truth." then he dropped them in. The potion turned a burning red; the light so intense that even as Poppy shut her eyes, the light still shined in through her eyelids.

"I'm blind!" yelled Root in horror.

"Open your eyes, dummy." Cherry said shaking her head.

Root opened her eyes. "Oh."

Garnanopo turned to Poppy who handed him the tape recorder. "Voice of the leader, the greatest weapon of the hero, give her words the authority of a king."

Poppy raised her hoof. "Um...I can get that back, right?"

"Nope." and in it went. The potion instantly turned a blinding white; the entire cottage lit up as a torrent of steam poured from the mouth of the cauldron. It began to simmer, sending it's diamond sparks in every direction. The light it produced was so bright, it turned everything else to blackness.

The steam became a cloud; soon no one could see anything at all. Another torrent of sparks, a loud hiss then....silence.

Total silence.

Poppy looked around, seeing nothing but steam. "Um...did it work?"

Garnanopo was about to answer, when suddenly through the mist, the outline of a mare appeared. Tall, radiant, and strong as a war horse. There was a shing of metal (a sword being drawn), then in one swift motion, the blade cut through the fog, revealing the figure in all her majesty.

"Whoa." was all anyone managed to say.

There, reborn again, stood Alexandra Anderson; armor and all. She stood a foot taller than Poppy, and her gleaming white armor looked as if it had been forged from light; her cape like that of fallen snow. She sheathed her sword, an exquisite silver scimitar with a sapphire star on the pommel, then stretched her legs. Brushing what remained of the potion from her short blood red mane, she smiled at the astonished expressions on everyone's faces. "So," she gave a sly smile. "How do I look?"

"Whoa." was all anyone managed to say.

Alexandra nodded, satisfied with the answer she had been given.

The poppers took turns touching the hem of Alexandra's cape; it felt as if it was made of clouds, and seemed lighter than air.

"Can I touch the sword too?" asked Root eagerly.

"Absolutely not." said Alexandra sternly, but with a smile. Root didn't dare argue. Alexandra sat in the chair Garnanopo had brought her while he ran some tests to make sure that everything was working the way it should.

He had Alexandra walk in place, checked her eyes, nose, mouth and ears, took her temperature, asked her to recite the alphabet and more. By his reactions, she not only passed, but exceeded his expectations.

"How are you feeling?" asked Poppy.

"Considering I'm no longer a literal book...pretty good." joked Alexandra. "What about you?"

Poppy looked down at her hooves. Though she may not have had her soul in her body, she still felt connected to it somehow. She didn't feel hollow or cold, nor did she feel the need to devour brains or anything. She didn't feel dead or even undead. "Honestly," she said looking up at Alexandra, "I feel okay. Not great, but...okay."

Alexandra smiled. "I'm glad." she got up from the chair. "But the time for talk is over." she narrowed her eyes. "It's time for action."

"Yeah! Let's go get that vampire!" cheered Root.

But Poppy put a hoof on her shoulder. "You girls are staying here."

The poppers protested, but between Alexandra and Poppy they knew they were outmatched. They solemnly wished Poppy luck before taking a seat on Garnanopo's couch. Garnanopo himself, wished Poppy the best of luck, as well as Alexandra before leaving to fetch his child-proofing gear.

Alexandra stood proudly with Poppy beside her, finally ready to finish what she had started all those years ago. Poppy turned to her. "Are you ready?"

Alexandra nodded. "I've been ready for over a century," she said drawing her sword. "Let's end this."

With that Poppy and Alexandra vanished in a flash of orange light.

To-Do List: Defeat Selina Dancemania and end the zombie apocalypse.

Poppy and Alexandra appeared outside Castle Dancemania once again, but noticed something odd. There were no guards, nor were there any zombies around at all. More than that the doors were wide open.

"She's expecting us." said Alexandra.

Poppy just smiled. "Good." then inside they went, ready to face down their enemy once and for all.

Dancemania Hall

There was no more music, no more dancing. The hall was completely empty; not a single zombie in sight. Only one figure, sat alone at the bar, waiting patiently. As Poppy and Alexandra entered, Selina sipped her wine and smiled. "And here they are; the valiant heroes, come to slay the evil vampire once and for all."

"It's over Selina," said Poppy narrowing her eyes. "You've lost."

"Hmm...I wonder about that." said Selina getting out of her seat. "Oh, here; you can have this back. I don't need it anymore." she waved her hoof and the green ball of energy containing Poppy's soul appeared before her. In seconds the ball had vanished and Poppy's soul flew back into her body.

Poppy felt a rush of warmth as suddenly the ground felt firmer, the air felt colder, and colors looked more vivid. She looked down and her hooves were once again cherry red again, her orange mane as vibrant as ever. She felt whole again.

Selina smiled wickedly at Poppy's look of relief. "I wouldn't be too happy if I were you," she said. "After all, I'm just going to kill you again anyways."

Alexandra aimed her sword and glared at Selina. "Over my dead body."

"Yes sweetie," mocked Selina, her eyes suddenly like a wild animal,"I believe that's the idea."

Poppy and Alexandra stepped back as they watched Selina suddenly fall to the floor in anguish. Then her body began to morph and grow; her limbs distending and warping into huge spindly legs, her body extending and twisting into a pale, white skinned monstrosity, her beautiful face contorted into a bestial hook-fanged abomination, as huge bat-like wings burst from her back with a sickening splat.

A terrible, quivering frenzied scream tore through the night, shook the old walls, continued rising and falling, vibrating. Then she stepped forward. Poppy felt fear grip her throat as her stomach dropped.

Selina was gone, replaced by a monster straight from a nightmare. Her disproportionately large head set on a short neck, was surrounded by a tangled halo of blonde hair. Her eyes shone in the darkness like an animal's. The monster stood motionless, her gaze fixed on Poppy and Alexandra. Suddenly she opened her jaws (as if proud of her rows of serrated teeth) then snapped them shut with a crack like a chest being slammed shut. And leapt, slashing at the mares with her bloodied claws.

"GET BACK!" Alexandra jumped to the side, while Poppy dove out of the way. The monster strafed past her, then spun around, slicing through the air with her talons. She didn't lose her balance and attacked anew, mid-spin, gnashing her teeth fractions of an inch from Poppy's face.

Poppy landed gracefully on two feet, while the monster landed hunched, on all fours, staring hungrily at her prey. Then suddenly, she let out a horrible yell, as a gunshot rang out from nowhere. She didn't bother to inspect the wound, as she glared at her newest attacker.

It was Mary. "Yeah, you like that you freak!?" she cheered, brandishing her POINT issued pistol expertly in her hooves.

Poppy smiled back at her friend. "Glad to see you joined the fun!" she joked.

"Less talking more vampire slaying!" yelled Mary, as she aimed another shot.

The monster screeched again in rage, before making a dive at Mary. The POINT agent jumped away, changing the direction of her movement to confuse the beast. As Mary leapt out of the way, Alexandra appeared from behind and delivered a lightning-quick slash to the side of the monster's head.

The monster roared horribly, filling the place with a booming echo, fell to ground, froze and started to howl hollowly and furiously.

Alexandra smiled maliciously. "Silver hurts don't it?" she mocked. "That's for turning me into a damned book!"

The monster recovered almost instantly, slashing at the paladin, her talons sparking off the white armor, as her sword fell from her grasp. Poppy caught the sword expertly in her hoof, as Alexandra drew her secondary weapon; a long white silver dagger with a curved end. "Keep the sword!" Alexandra called out, readying her dagger. "I always carry more then one weapon, anyways."

Poppy looked at the exquisite sword in her hooves, then readied it quickly as the monster leapt at her. The creature was clearly in no hurry with her next attack. She approached Poppy slowly, relishing the kill, baring her fangs and dribbling acidic saliva from her mouth. Poppy backed away and, carefully placing her feet, traced a semi-circle. By slowing and quickening her movements she distracted the monster, making it difficult for her to leap. As she walked, Alexandra unwound a long, silver chain from her dagger, weighted at the end.

The moment the monster tensed and leapt the chain whistled through the air and, coiling like a snake, twined itself around the monster's shoulders, neck and head. The creature's jump became a tumble, and she let out an ear-piercing wail. She thrashed on the floor, howling horribly with fury or from the burning pain inflicted by the despised metal.

Poppy took her shot. She drew back her sword, leapt into the air and prepared to deliver the final blow to the monster's head. The chain snapped. The silver links scattered like rain in all directions, ringing against the stone. The monster, blind with fury, lashed out at her attacker. Only to hit air.

Poppy felt her hooves hit solid ground as she took a minute to catch her breath. Had she not used her magic to teleport herself, she would've been a goner.

The monster searched around for her prey. Alexandra didn't wait. She drew her dagger, held it close and murmured a silent incantation. The dagger glowed white hot.

To Poppy and Mary's astonishment, the monster suddenly fell back as if hit by a mallet, but kept her feet, extended her claws, bared her fangs. Her mane stood on end and fluttered as if she were walking against a hurricane. With difficulty, one rasping step at a time, she slowly advanced. But she did advance.

"Split up!" yelled Alexandra. "She can only go after one of us!"

Poppy and Mary did as they were told, and each took off in a different direction; Poppy heading up a set of stone stairs, and Mary heading down the eastern hall. Alexandra stayed only a second longer before her spell wore off and she dove out of the way of the charging monster.

Poppy heard the infernal scream from below; Selina was coming after her. To gain time she jumped up the next flight of stairs leading to the roof. She had not even climbed halfway up when the monster appeared on the floor beneath her. Galloping as fast as she could, she heard the monster yell out up at her, before turning to see her make an amazing ten-meter leap directly up to Poppy.

Poppy readied her sword, the monster was fast; twice her talons left their mark on the stone behind Poppy as she just barely avoided being sliced to ribbons. But Poppy was faster still, leaving another huge gash on the monsters' face. Blood spurted from the wound as the monster reeled back in pain. Poppy then tensed her shoulders, lowered her sword and delivered a mighty kick, sending the monster tumbling back down the stairs.

Poppy jumped up the next set of stairs and out the door to the roof.

Dancemania Castle Roof

Poppy felt the ground beneath her shake as thunder crashed across the sky, a streak of lightning following suit. Rain drenched her as she moved away from the door, clutching the sword by her side. "Okay, okay," she said, her heart beating fast. "Have to think this through; have to be smart about this."

She had possibly only seconds before Selina burst out from the doors behind her. She took a moment and calmed herself. Slowly but steadily, her heart beat slowed and her breathing became normal. Poppy held the sword up while she assumed her stance.

She was ready.

The roar she heard from inside the castle was louder than all the previous ones. Even the ground shook beneath Poppy's feet. The monster smashed through the door, shaking with uncontrolled anger and lust for murder.

Poppy waited. "Let's go then," she narrowed her eyes. "I don't have all night, I have deliveries to make."

The monster did not jump. She approached slowly, following the bright streak of Poppy's blade with her eyes. Then it was gone, replaced by a flash of orange light.

Poppy let out a yell as she delivered another slash to the monster's back, then another to her side. Poppy continued to teleport at rapid speeds around the monster, delivering blow after blow; the monster unable to keep track of the pony's movements.

Then one claw swung at random knocked the sword from Poppy's grasp, causing her to tumble forward onto the hard ground. But the job was already done. Poppy looked back to see the multiple injuries she had inflicted on Selina take their toll. The monster collapsed on the ground in a heap as her form morphed and shifted back into that a pale white mare, coughing and wheezing from total exhaustion.

Selina opened her crimson eyes and looked over as Poppy got up from the ground and brushed herself off, before retrieving the sword from the ground, and going over to where Selina lay. "Heh," she chuckled. "Are you going to kill me now, Poppy?"

"Not yet." said Poppy, lowering the sword. "First you're going to answer a question."

"Oh am I?" asked Selina, before coughing up blood. "Huh. I guess I have no choice, do I?"

"No. You don't." Poppy growled. "Why did you need souls? My soul, specifically? What was your real plan?"

"Heh....alright." Selina rasped. "I needed them to make the bargain with Tartarus."

"T-Tartarus?" Poppy gasped. "What does Tartarus have to do with this?"

Selina laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh. "You *cough* really don't know anything do you?" she mocked.

"What are you talking about?"

Selina locked eyes with Poppy. "There's someone down there," she said evilly. "Someone who is very interested in you, Poppy Blossom. And they have big plans for you, heheh." she chuckled. "I wanted to be apart of it, so I had to make my payment of a thousand souls to even be considered. But adding yours to the pile would have guaranteed my way in."

"Someone....in Tartarus?" Poppy couldn't believe what she was hearing. But Selina had no reason to lie; she was telling the truth. "Who is it?" Poppy asked desperately.

"I don't know," she gasped. "Never got to meet them; I just wanted to impress them is all."

Poppy narrowed her eyes again. "Is that why you killed me and took my soul?"

"Oh for the love of," Selina sat up and glared at Poppy angrily, "I didn't kill you, you idiot!"

Poppy was taken aback as her eyes widened. "Huh?" she blurted out.

Selina rolled her eyes. "You were never dead, you moron," she explained, "you vanished right before the soul extractor could do you in. The next thing I know that stupid green ball has your soul in it. That's all I know!"

"B-But I....I looked-"

"Like you didn't have your soul inside you?" mocked Selina. "Yeah, because you didn't. You were still alive, but you had no soul; the body isn't meant to operate without one. Naturally you would have looked a little under the weather."

Poppy was speechless. "B-But...Furthermore said-"

Then she remembered it.

Furthermore herself, had told Poppy straight up that she in fact wasn't dead. But her soul was no longer inside her body. This explained why she never felt like she was dead! Why she never got the urge to eat brains or act like a zombie; because she never was one!

But then that means...

"Wait," Poppy's mind struggled to make sense of things. "If...I was never a zombie or dead at all for that matter then...what about Persimmon?" she asked.

Selina looked at her for a full minute, as if thinking it over. Then she finally said "Who the hell is Persimmon?"

"T-The zombie mare you had guarding the graveyard!" Poppy cried. "She told me all about how zombies could-

Selina continued to stare up at her. "I never had any zombies guarding the graveyard, idiot."

"W-What do you mean?" asked Poppy, whose mouth had gone very dry.

"Why the hell would I have a zombie, a single one mind you, guarding a damn graveyard?!" snapped Selina, sitting up straight, clutching her injuries. "What would they guard over, Dirt?!"

Poppy's legs shook as her stomach did cartwheels inside her. "Then...how did I end up buried in the ground?"

Selina gave a shrug. "They probably buried you themselves, just to sell the story about how you died or some crap." she hissed. "And you fell for all of it, heh."

Poppy clenched her teeth, anger and confusion coursing through her. The look of rage on her face was such that Selina quickly ceased her mocking. It was no trick that Poppy's soul had left her body; she had seen it, felt the rush as it returned to her. In fact it may have been the shock of her soul leaving her body that caused her to briefly cross over to the Crossroads, where she met Furthermore. But it had been a trick that made her believe she had been killed, and brought back from the dead. But why?

What possible reason did Persimmon, or whoever she was, have to play the role of a zombie and convince Poppy that she had been killed by Selina's soul extractor? More then that, if she hadn't died, then why did her soul leave her body in the first place? And what was the green energy that prevented her or Selina from reaching it?

Questions buzzed around in Poppy's head; she felt dizzy as it all hit her at once. She turned back to Selina.

But it was too late.

Selina was already dust on the ground.

Poppy returned to Equestria, much to the fanfare of her citizens and, along with the Poppers, supervised the mass clean up of the thousands of zombie dust piles that now littered the entire country. As soon as Selina had died, every zombie she had brought back, simply turned to dust right where they were. This made the cleanup operation, requiring only dust pans and brooms, though the work was still exhausting. It took 2 weeks before it was all cleaned up.

Alexandra Anderson joined the royal guard, where she took to instructing the guards on how to properly deal with supernatural threats; namely vampires. She was also hailed by countless scholars and historical researchers as a living legend, and many, many modern day historians travel to Equestria to speak to her, and listen to her lectures regarding her hundreds of years worth of knowledge (Both as herself and as the Dancemania family spell book)

Mary was awarded by POINT for her successful mission and promoted to Executive agent; a position she quickly proved to be more than worthy of as she herself supervised the ceasing of the Dancemania property which was converted into a museum about the history of the Dancemania clan. Though the many traps and torture rooms they had were turned into gift shops. As well, the portrait of Selina remained up on the wall. Apparently all attempts to remove it had mysteriously failed.

After all was said and done, things mostly returned to normal for Poppy, who resumed her role as Princess of Equestria and local delivery mare. With the zombie apocalypse ended, and the world saved (once again) by her efforts, she took the rest of the week off to recuperate.

Poppy sat on her couch in her home, listening to the TV as her mind went elsewhere. Namely, the new conspiracy she had unearthed.

Selina had caused the zombie apocalypse, and tried to kill her, simply to impress someone; someone who was planning something for Poppy. Someone who was powerful enough to warrant Selina Dancemania, the strongest vampire in the world's attention and possible allegiance. Someone who was in Tartarus, of all places. Poppy had made her share of enemies over her many days as a delivery mare, but never had she thought in a million years that she would make an enemy that had already been damned to the fires of Tartarus. What had she done to warrant hatred like that? To warrant this big plan they were cooking up?

Poppy rubbed her temples. "Ugh," she said, exhausted. "I'm not worrying about it now." she said laying back on her couch and closing her eyes. "At least, things are normal again."

And they were.

Till she heard a knock at the door. "Ugh," Poppy groaned. "Coming!"

She opened the door and was shocked to see none other than Evil Celestia and Evil Luna standing on her doorstep, still in their detective getups. "Princess- I mean, Celestia?" she asked. "What are you guys doing here?"

Evil Celestia looked worried, concerned. "Well...it's about a case we received. Recently."

"A case?" asked Poppy. "What do you mean? What's this about?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "It's about your friend. The crazy one."

"Pears?" Poppy looked confused. "What about her?"

Evil Celestia sighed, as she looked into Poppy's eyes. "She's gone missing."

Successful Delivery! - On Time Percentage: 100% - Issues: None - Complaints: None - Rank: A Delivery #9 of 11 Completed

Delivery #1: "Culture Shock."

It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. The market square was bustling with ponies of all shapes and sizes-it looked like the sun had brought out everypony in Ponyville! Well....almost everypony.

Not far from the market square, in her cozy little cottage, Poppy Blossom went over her checklist for possibly the 15th time since she had first written it that morning, in preparation for today's delivery.

"Let's see..."The red unicorn said aloud, scanning and reading out the tasks on her checklist. A freshly dipped quill hung in the air by her magic, ready to check off each task.

"Timberwolf attacks?" She checked her bag and smiled. A series of scrolls containing powerful fire spells was visible from within. "Check."

"Ursa Minors?" A magical music box rested at the bottom of her satchel. One turn of the crank, and it would rock even the angriest of the Ursa's to sleep. "Check."

"Ursa Majors?" a doll of an Ursa Minor baby had been made and stored within the satchel as well. "Check."

"Freak Tornadoes?" A large book of weather changing spells rested inside. "Check."

"Bandits?" A large magical stun bomb which could be triggered with her telekinesis was also inside. "Check."

"And.....puddles?" She also packed rain boots. "Check."

Poppy smiled as she made the last mark on her checklist, before rolling it up and putting it in her satchel. "Okay....that's everything." she took a breath as she went to her door, the sunlight shining brightly through the window. She then picked up her delivery: a large crate addressed to be delivered to the Inconvenience Store just down the block.

Part of her wondered why it wasn't simply shipped directly to the store, but then again with how Burnt Pears acted, she can understand why the Equestria Post might want to offload the task on someone closer to the place.

Burnt Pears was the owner of the Inconvenience Store, and a friend of Poppy's. A very cautious mare, Pears was infamous for being almost ludicrously paranoid, never really trusting anypony let alone actually engaging them in a conversation that didn't start off with her questioning that pony if they were a changeling spy sent to steal all her shaving cream.

Poppy was the only one, Pears sort-of trusted, and even then, she had her moments of suspicion. But today looked like a good day for the delivery mare. Just one crate to deliver, and it was just down the street. She could get it down in minutes, and even say hello to Pears while she was at it, even if that hello might be interpreted as a threat....somehow.

Regardless, Poppy was very relieved that today seemed like it was going to be an easy day.

As she left her office for the Inconvenience Store down the street, the crate bouncing in the air carried by her magic, she couldn't have possibly imagined just how wrong she was.

Ponyville, Market Square

Poppy's Delivery Service was located in the Market Square, nestled amongst all the other bright and cheery storefronts, Poppy's office looked rather plain, with its normal brick and concrete architecture, square windows, and a tiny little sign hanging above the door. The place looked largely uninteresting, and was easily missed if you didn't see the sign. But Poppy liked it this way. Her office was the one spot she could get away from all the trouble that seemed to follow her on a daily basis. Her office was where, for once, everything was normal. In her line of work, 'normal' was not a word Poppy got to use often if ever.

Market Square was a buzz with commerce as usual, with many ponies still bustling to take advantage of that day's early bird discounts. As Poppy began to make her way to the Inconvenience Store just down the street, something caught her attention.

A cocoa brown filly was busy putting posters advertising some sort of musical event being hosted in Ponyville soon. Beside her, two other fillies; one light green and the other bright red. They seemed to be admiring the brown fillie's poster-work.

"Morning!" Poppy greeted, as she approached the fillies. "What are you kids up to, today?" She asked looking at the poster. It advertised the arrival of a new DJ coming next month. Poppy was always too busy to go to things like this, but she thought it looked fun.

The brown filly answered first, a snide smile on her lips. "We're not kids, lady! We can do whatever we want, same as you adults." She declared proudly.

Poppy looked confused. "Um....All I said was 'good morning'." she explained innocently.

The red filly gave the brown one a light shove. "Will you knock it off, Root? We aren't starting a fight with the whole neighborhood!" she scolded. "Again!"

Root snorted in response and went back to putting up her second poster. This one advertised the same musical event but featured a list of locations it would be traveling to. Meanwhile, the red filly talked to Poppy. She seemed to be the oldest and more mature of the three. "Sorry, about Root Beer." She apologized. "She always gets full of herself around adults. Part of her rebellious streak, I guess."

"It's fine. I was a kid once too, after all." Poppy said with a smile. Although she distinctly remembered not being nearly as hostile.

"Yeah, I wish Root here knew that." The red filly laughed. "My name is Cherry Pop." she added with a smile. "That's Root Beer and Lemon Lime, my sisters." The green filly gave a small wave in response. Root Beer once again just snorted. "We're The Fizzy Poppers." Cherry said proudly.

"Fizzy Poppers? Is that like a gang name?" Poppy joked.

"You makin' fun of us, lady?" Root accused, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to look menacing, but Cherry shot a look at her and she backed off once more.

"Nah, nothing like that." Cherry explained. "It's just our thing, I guess. Although, we do get into trouble every now and again." She added slyly.

Poppy understood what it was like to get into trouble, probably better than any other pony in Equestria. Trouble and her, were always a package deal when it came to her deliveries. But today was going to be different. Today, she was going to complete this delivery and nothing bad was going to happen, for sure. Definitely.

....probably.

"My name is Poppy. I'm a delivery mare." Poppy said introducing herself.

At once, the Fizzy Poppers all turned and stared at her. "Wait', Lemon Lime piped up, "You're Poppy Blossom?" she asked, as if she couldn't believe it was true. "The delivery mare?"

"Um...yes?"

Root's eyes went wide. "No way! We've heard all about the trouble you cause on your deliveries. Like when you blew up that train tunnel making that one Sarsaparilla delivery to Duststone!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Or when you fought the captain of the Mad Kat Bandits bare hoofed atop the Manehatten State Building, and won!" Lemon Lime chimed in.

"Or when you crashed the royal sister's air gondola riding on top of another air gondola flanked by bloodthirsty Griffin pirates!" Cherry cheered. "That was on fire!"

"You're in a whole other league compared to us!" Root exclaimed, as if she was meeting her personal hero. At least her opinion of Poppy had drastically improved.

Poppy scratched the back of her head as she looked terribly embarrassed. "Oh no! I didn't...um, well, actually mean to do any of that stuff, I....well.." she trailed off, trying desperately to find some way out of this conversation.

Poppy glanced at the Market Square clock. She had to get moving if she wanted to get her delivery completed in time. Plus, this was the perfect excuse she needed. "Oh, look at that!" she exclaimed looking at the clock. "It was great meeting you three, but I have a delivery I have to make, and I absolutely cannot mess up my perfect on-time percentage rate."

The Poppers simply looked at her skeptically, as if they knew she was trying to back out of the conversation by any means she could. But Poppy didn't wait for them to argue with her about it. "Sorry again! Bye!" Poppy trotted quickly down the street, hoping she didn't make that too awkward.

"Well...that was awkward." Cherry commented watching the delivery pony run away from them.

"Yeah." Lime added. "She's still awesome though!"

The other Poppers nodded in agreement.

As she rounded the corner, the crate still hovering beside her, Poppy came to the front doors of the Inconvenience Store.

The Inconvenience Store was a very bright and colorful building, sitting between a now vacant bookstore and a store that sold cacti. The building was a collage of bright, seemingly random colors, as if someone set off a paint bomb right in front of it. Patches of yellows, greens, pinks, blues, purples, oranges and reds, were all visible in great splatters on every trace of the building's outer walls.

Poppy had once asked Pears why she chose this as her store's color scheme. "So that those thieving Chimera can't find my store! You know they can only see in rainbow colors?" she had answered enthusiastically. Poppy now knew not to ask anymore about that subject.

Both of the store's windows were not only barred, but also had electrical fencing over them. Poppy heard them buzzing softly as she examined the gumball machine in front of them. "Huh" she said. "Looks like she's got Lima beans in there this month." She said simply, looking over the tiny green beans clustered within the big glass ball. There had never been gumballs in that machine. Poppy had never bothered to ask why, nor why Pears seemed to literally put anything else in the machine except for actual gumballs.

On top of the glass front doors, a large sign read "Inconvenience Store" in bold orange letters. This sign was big enough to be seen from Poppy's office, but she knew exactly where the store was, as she always made daily visits to see Pears. (Mostly to make sure she didn't cause any public disturbances...again.)

Taking one last look at the gumball-less gumball machine, Poppy opened the door and went inside.

The Inconvenience Store

The lobby of the Inconvenience Store was your typical storefront, with shelves of various produce and goods stocked and ready to be bought by the customer that needed it. However there were a few glaring differences between a normal store and the madness of the Inconvenience Store.

One: The Inconvenience store sold, without exaggeration, everything. Whether you needed it or not. Need some Weasels On A Stick? They got em in bulk. Two-handed Broadswords despite ponies not having the right appendages to use them? Plenty of those in aisle 8. What about vegetables in the shape of famous naturalists? Ooh! There's a sale on those, this week only!

Literally. Everything.

And Two: The owner, Burnt Pears, was either an insanely skilled salesmare, or a skilled salesmare who was insane. Completely paranoid that the whole world had it in for her, the mare had essentially prepped herself to face anything the world could throw at her. Despite this, most of the world that was Ponyville just thought she was crazy. Although they still shopped at her store, simply because the prices were so good. Perhaps the only pony that even bothered to befriend Pears was Poppy, something Poppy usually ended up questioning each time she visited.

And this time was no different.

As Poppy entered the store, the bright cheery music playing on a loop on the store's speakers, she saw Burnt Pears crouched behind the counter, glaring over at what appeared to be another delivery mare in a bright green delivery uniform.

Burnt Pears was a light tan colored earth pony mare, with a fiery orange mane, that stuck out in random directions in jagged angles and a burning green pear for a cutie mark. Her orange eyes peeked up over the counter as Poppy walked forward.

Before Poppy could say a word, Pears silenced her with a raised hoof and beckoned her over to sit with her behind the counter.

Poppy, more than used to this by now, simply sighed, set down the crate and joined Pears behind the counter.

Sitting on the cold yellow linoleum floor, Pears gave one last look at the other delivery mare before talking to Poppy. "What are you doing here, Poppy?!" she whispered loudly. "Can't you see the store's under attack?" she asked in her usual rough voice. Pear's voice was one of her most defining traits. It was rough, and a bit scratchy, but also strangely charming. When she talked, everyone listened, regardless of what she had to say.

"Huh? What do you mean under attack?" Poppy asked, already confused.

"Can't you see!?" Pears exclaimed, still whispering. "Over there! Delivering those books!"

"Books?" Poppy peeked up from behind the counter and saw that this delivery mare was indeed delivering books. And quite a lot of them, by the looks of it. Actually, now that she was able to see her clearly, the crate she was unloading books from and the crate Poppy was supposed to deliver, were exactly the same!

"I don't see how delivering books is a bad thing." Poppy said, clearly not seeing any threatening behavior from the delivery mare or the books she delivered.

"She's a terrorist! She'll be the death of us all, if we don't stop her!" Pears whispered, angrily.

"She's delivering books."

"A book-delivering terrorist. Even worse!"

"I have the exact same delivery for you, regardless!" Poppy exclaimed, pointing to the crate she had brought in. "What's the difference if they're both the same book delivery?"

With Pear's look of anger or horror, you'd think that Poppy had just delivered a bomb to her store rather than books. "Why would you do that?!" she asked, her voice rising. "Are you working with them?!"

Poppy was getting frustrated now. "Why did you order so many books, then!?"

Pear's suddenly looked confused. "Order? I didn't order any books, dummy!" she scolded lightly.

It was now Poppy's turn to be confused. "You didn't? Then...why did I get an order from your store saying you did?" she asked innocently.

"Isn't it obvious?" Pears asked, getting suddenly inches from Poppy's face and staring at her with huge, serious eyes.

"Um...no?"

Pears grabbed a book off the counter and showed its cover to Poppy, as if she was holding a dangerous weapon in her hooves. The cover read Piece Of Mind, By Charming Culture. Poppy had never heard of anypony by that name before, or this book until now. The cover also displayed what looked like a pony with a dream cloud above their head. The pony looked very blissful, as if sleeping. She didn't see anything malevolent about the book at all.

"I don't see anything evil here, Pears." Poppy said with a sigh. She was starting to think this was another of her friend's conspiracy rantings.

"Are you blind?!" Pears scolded, pointing to the cover' once more. "I've never heard of this book title or this Charming Culture weirdo!" she exclaimed. "And whats this 'Piece of Mind' stuff?, oh, It's something bad, I can tell you that!"

Poppy hadn't heard of this Charming Culture either. But she had no reason to suspect anything evil yet. Poppy had faced many evil things that seemed innocent at first in her various misadventures before, though. Maybe this was no different.

"Why would you be getting deliveries of books you didn't order?" Poppy asked, genuinely curious.

Pear's lowered her voice to a whisper as she grabbed Poppy by her shoulders and pulled her close. "Think about it. No individual acting alone would ever deliver books that cheerfully of their own volition. It makes no sense!" She pulled Poppy in even closer till their noses touched and narrowed her eyes. "I smell a conspiracy." she warned in a serious tone.

But Poppy looked skeptical as she backed away. "Pears? You always smell a conspiracy."

"No! I always smell the updraft from the weenie roaster." Pears explained. "But this time I definitely smell a conspiracy."

Poppy wasn't so sure, but she still found it strange that her friend was being delivered so many books, that she hadn't even ordered. A mailing mistake like that was unheard of, as either the Equestria Post or Poppy herself were the only ones who delivered mail in Equestria. So...where were these books coming from?

"If that's true,' Poppy asked "Who do you think is delivering all these books to your store?"

"Oh, they've all got in for me!" Pears declared angrily. "The government, the media, the mafia, aliens, sentient computers, the mailman, pineapples, lint, my mother, hairspray, Switzerland, Head lice, pastrami, Hasbro, elder gods, shaved-"

"Okay! Okay I get it." Poppy exclaimed, cutting Pears off before she could go any further. The last tangent she had to sit through lasted 5 hours. She didn't have that time today. But she still thought it was just Pears being...well, Pears. "Have you actually read this book, you're so worried about?" Poppy asked skeptically.

"Hell no! That's how they get ya; you start reading those books like they're just books, and it's already too late. They control your mind, and there ain't a damn thing you can do about it!" Pears exclaimed, once again locking eyes with Poppy.

Poppy was still not sure if that was the case, but she supposed if she was going to find out anything, she might as well ask the delivery mare herself.

To-Do List: Find out who is delivering books to Pear's store, and why.

"Excuse me." Poppy said, tapping the mare on her shoulder.

The mare turned around, a bright shining smile on her face, and a sparkle in her eyes. "Good morning! What can I do for you today?" she asked in an all too chipper voice. Something about it greatly unsettled Poppy.

"I was wondering why you're delivering so many of these books. It looks like you've already put plenty on the shelves." Indeed, every shelf Pears had room for books was now crammed tight with multiple copies of Piece of Mind. It made no sense for her to keep trying to unload more. Yet, here she was.

The mare's smile didn't even flinch as she answered. "I have to make sure there's plenty for everypony! Would you like one? They're free!" she cheered.

"FREE!?" came Pear's cry of horror from the counter. "Not in my store, they ain't!" she yelled angrily.

But the mare acted like she didn't hear her. "Would you like one?" she repeated.

"Maybe. What are they about anyways?" Poppy asked, genuinely curious about the strange books.

"Charming Culture's Piece Of Mind is the self-help regimen for ponies of all ages. Try it today." The mare said in a robotic tone, her eyes suddenly glazing over as she spoke each word as if it had been rehearsed a thousand times in her head. Poppy felt a chill go down her spine. Maybe Pears was on to something after all.

Something wasn't right here.

"Who is this Charming Culture, person? I've never heard of him." Poppy asked, now keeping a close eye on the delivery mare as she answered.

Sure enough, the mare got that same glassy stare as she spoke. "Charming Culture is a genius, and his Piece Of Mind self-help series is a boon to all Equinekind." she stated robotically.

Then, just like that, the mare snapped back to her normal cheery self. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" she asked, completely oblivious to her behavior just then.

Poppy now knew there was definitely something strange happening, and this mare was apart of it. If she was going to find out anything, she would need to examine one of these books more closely. "I'll take one, please." Poppy said politely.

"Fantastic!" the mare cheered. She handed Poppy a copy from her crate. "Enjoy! Tell your friends! And everyone else you know or have ever met!" she added, before going back to trying to mindlessly cram more books into the Sludgee machine.

With that, Poppy returned to Pears with the strange book in her hooves. "Mind if I use your restroom?" she asked.

"Are you planning to use it?" Pears asked quizzically.

"Actually I'm going to use it as a space to investigate this evil book you were warning me about."

At once Pears perked up. "Oh! Yeah, let me disable the laser grid for you." She hit a button beneath the counter, and the infrared lasers blocking the bathroom off flickered before disappearing completely. "Be careful in there." Pears warned.

"I know, I know. I'll watch myself around the evil book." Poppy stated.

"No. I'm using the bathroom to store some nuclear warheads for the sale on Monday. You accidentally touch the detonator, and Ponyville is a crater."

"Thanks, Pears. Good to know." Poppy said before leaving for the bathroom.

To-Do List: Investigate the mysterious book.

The bathroom was spacious and quiet, and aside from the several crates of inactive nuclear warheads stacked in the stalls, it was perfectly normal.

Taking a spot at the sink, Poppy pulled out the book from her satchel and looked over the cover. It was the same cover as before, and brand new. There wasn't a scratch on it. In fact there wasn't anything on it. No logos, no bar-codes, no printing dates or editions. The only words on the entire book was the title and Charming Culture's name.

With some caution, she opened the book to the first page, but was surprised to see it was completely blank. Leafing through she saw there wasn't the faintest trace of writing in the entire book.

"What? It's blank?" Poppy said aloud. "Why would someone give away a book with nothing-" Poppy stopped as she felt a chill go up her spine. Then another. She began to feel dizzy.

Her head throbbed as she began to stumble towards the sink. Looking up she saw her reflection shift and warp in the mirror, like a stone tossed into a pool of water. Shapes danced before her eyes as she tried to settle herself.

"You love me....you adore me..."

"What?" Poppy turned around. She was the only one in the bathroom. Had someone spoken through the door? "Hello! Is anypony there?" But there was no answer. Where had that voice come from?

"You want to obey my every command..."

Poppy began to feel sick as her head pounded in her ears. The strange voice was so close, as if it was speaking directly into her ears. But everywhere she looked, she didn't see anyone in there with her.

"You want to tell others about me..."

Poppy's vision began to fade as she kept hearing the voice, getting louder and louder in her ears. Her body was being taken over, something was trying to take control of her mind! She had to stop it! But what could she do? Did she have anything to stop mind control magic?

Only one thing came to mind.

Poppy leapt to the sink and turned the faucet on, watching as it began to fill with water. The voice in her ears was inside her brain now, every word scratching at her mind like a cat to a cat-post. It wouldn't be long till she had completely lost her mentality to whatever dark forces were burrowing through her mind.

Once filled, Poppy took a deep breath and plunged her head into the cool water. At once, the voices stopped, and she felt control be wrenched back into her grasp. The throbbing in her head faded quickly, until finally, it was completely gone.

Poppy pulled her head out from under the water and took in a gulp of fresh air (As fresh as it could be in a bathroom, anyways.)

Her bright orange mane slopped flat on her head as she dripped on the tile floor. But she was alive. The water had literally washed away whatever evil magic was twisting into her mind.

Turning off the faucet, Poppy stood there, her hooves clinging to the sides of the sink as she tried to put together what had just happened.

She withdrew a towel from her satchel and began to dry her mane as she spotted the book on the floor, thankfully shut as it laid there, completely unassuming of it's true nature.

After her mane was no longer soaking wet, Poppy used the towel to wrap the book up (Who knew what other tricks this thing had up it's dust cover) and left the bathroom.

Back in the store lobby, Burnt Pears looked over to see that her friend Poppy's mane was damp and her purple scarf heavy with water.

"Geez." Pears remarked. "Did you fall in? And...just how far did you fall in?" she asked, her eyes going wide.

Poppy only looked at her, clutching the towel wrapped book in her hooves. "If only that had been the case." she said under her breath.

To-Do List: Tell Burnt Pears about the books.

"I knew it! Didn't I tell you there was something evil about those books!?" Pear's exclaimed, after Poppy finished explaining to her the events of the restroom. She then looked at Poppy, concern on her face. "You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm okay." Poppy said, knowing that despite Pear's paranoia being proven right, she was still concerned for the only friend she had.

Pears nodded and looked over at the delivery mare, who had not moved from that spot since Poppy had left. In fact she seemed completely oblivious to everything around her.

Poppy looked over at her as well, and dropped her voice. "What about her? She's obviously fallen for this 'self-help sham' that tried to turn my brain to goop." she asked.

"Pfft. Self-help, my pony posterior! That mare's been hypnotized!" Pear's exclaimed.

"So what do we do?" Poppy asked, alarmed.

"Same thing you did. We gotta douse her!" Pear's exclaimed, before leaping over her counter and charging towards the delivery mare.

This wasn't the smartest option first off, but it soon turned out that there was much more to the cheery delivery mare then meets the eye.

As soon as Pears made a charge for her, the delivery mare's smile vanished, as her eyes went completely white. She back-flipped upwards as Pears charged at her, causing her to nearly crash into the sink. When the mare landed she turned and began to fight Pears.

Poppy raced towards the fight and tried to help, but the delivery mare, moved with unerring finesse, keeping both Poppy and Pears at bay as they tried to get her over to the sink.

The mare threw a heavy front kick at Poppy, but she caught it and threw the mare onto her back. Pear's grabbed the hose from the sink, but the delivery mare leaped up and kicked it from her hooves, spraying water everywhere.

Moving towards the sink, while Pears tried to shake the water from her eyes, the delivery mare, grabbed hold of the hose and tore it from the sink, where she then tried to strangle Pears with it. But Pear's saw her coming and caught the hose as it was wrapped around her neck. The two ponies struggled on the floor, trying to wrench the hose from the other's grip.

Poppy looked on, wondering what they could do now, since the sink was no longer usable. Was there water anywhere else she could use?

Looking around, she saw the Sludgee Machine was still running despite all the books crammed into the top of it. Poppy wasted no time in grabbing a cup and filling it with the thick, green, sugary liquid. When it was full, she yelled at Pears to move.

Pears, seeing what her friend was doing, unwrapped herself from the delivery mare's grasp and leapt behind the peanut display for cover.

Poppy, cocked back her arm and threw the cup right at the mare, who slipped on the now slippery wet floor as she tried to dodge. The Sludgee hit her right in the face, causing her to fall back, the cup still on her nose. She struggled for barely a moment, until her arms went limp and she laid still.

Poppy looked at Pears.

Pears looked at Poppy.

Then the mare on the ground came to. "Ugh...what? Why is there a cup on my face, and...is that...wheatgrass?" she said tasting the Sludgee that covered her face.

"Lawn Clippings, actually." Pears corrected.

The mare pulled the cup from her muzzle and looked in disgust at her now Sludgee soaked uniform. "Wha-what happened to me?" she asked, in bewilderment.

"You don't remember?" Poppy asked, reaching a hoof out to help the mare up.

The mare took Poppy's hoof and got to her feet. "N-No I don't. What happened?" She was starting to sound scared.

Pears moved out from behind the peanut display and began re-stacking the Sludgee cups that had been knocked to the floor in the struggle. "You were mind controlled into terrorizing my store and the public by delivering your supply of evil, brainwashing books." Pears said completely unapologetically. "Of course there's always the possibility that you knew that all along cause you were in on it!" she accused suddenly.

The mare's eyes grew wide in alarm. I-I what??" she asked, backing away. "I would never do anything like that! I'm not even supposed to be working today; it's my day off!"

Poppy showed the mare the book she still had wrapped in the towel. "Do you recognize this book? Have you ever delivered them before?"

"Book?" The mare took the book in her hooves and looked it over. "I-I, I've never seen this before in my life. And I don't know who this 'Charming Culture' is either!" The mare handed Poppy the book back, shivering. "I-I don't know how I got here, or what's going on. I just want to go home." The mare said, now very scared and worried.

That confirmed it. This mare was not acting. She truly had no idea how she had gotten here or anything about the books or even this Charming Culture. She was being controlled, manipulated into obeying the will of another. But who? Charming Culture? If that was true, Poppy needed to learn as much as possible about him, so she knew how to stop him.

Poppy turned her attention back to the delivery mare who was still very scared about what had happened to her. "What's your name?" Poppy asked gently.

"Smart Cookie." The mare replied nervously.

"Everything is alright now, Cookie." Poppy explained. "But I'd like to ask you some questions about how you came across these books. Then maybe we can find out who did it and stop them from doing the same to anypony else. Okay?" she asked politely.

Cookie looked worried still, but nodded anyways. "I don't want this to happen to anyone else. I'll tell you what I remember." she replied, her worried look replaced by a very serious one.

To-Do List: Find out where Smart Cookie got those books from and find the culprit behind this.

Pears let Poppy and Cookie sit down on the chairs behind the counter while she cleaned up the mess from the fight. When they were seated, Cookie began to retell the events of that morning. "I work at the Equestria Post Office as a delivery mare. But today was my day off from the office and I was spending the day at home."

"Do you live alone?" Poppy inquired.

"No, I have a roommate named Sunshine Springs. She asked me to go pick us up some new recipe books from the bookstore in Canterlot." Cookie explained, shuffling her hooves as she talked. "When I got there, I saw a display out front, advertising a free book or something, but I didn't pay any mind to it. I went in, bought the recipe books then headed out."

Cookie's eyes lit up as she then got a thought in her head. "No, wait. I remember now. I bumped into someone on the way out. I..I think they might've put one of those books in my bag!"

Poppy leaned in, eager to hear more. "Did you see what they looked like?"

Cookie thought a moment. "I..I remember a colt. They wore some kind of bright yellow T-shirt, and a ball-cap," she pointed to the title of the book, "that had this on it."

"Did you see them slip the book in?"

"No, but then again I didn't actually look to see if they did." Cookie replied. "When I got home, I opened the books up, and the next thing I know, I'm on the floor of this store with that weird goop in a cup on my face." She looked back at the spot where she awoke from her trance via Sludgee to the face.

"Of which," Pears called out from by sink,"you are paying for."

Cookie looked back at her in bewilderment. "I-I have to pay for something I was hit in the face with??"

Pears rolled her eyes. "Especially, if you are hit in the face with it!" she exclaimed. "That counts as a break-it-you-buy-it scenario."

While Cookie tried in vain to argue with Pears about the absurdity of paying for a drink she was smashed in the face with, Poppy took a minute to think over her options. It was clear something sinister was going on with those books, and odds were, this Charming Culture was behind it. But who was he? How was he getting these fake books out to the public? And who was that colt in yellow Cookie saw?

For answers to all these questions, she could only think of one place to start: The Canterlot Bookstore.

With her destination in mind, Poppy bid Cookie return home but check in periodically with Pears. She may be crazy, but she would help if Cookie noticed anything weird happening to her again. They still didn't know how this mind control worked, and it was wise not to take risks.

"You're right." Cookie acknowledged. "I'll head home and try to explain things to Sunny. She might not believe the whole 'mind-controlling books' thing but she'll understand If I say it was work related."

Poppy nodded, wished her to stay safe, and Cookie left for home, still shaken a bit but happy to be going home anyways.

As Poppy prepared to leave herself, Pears pulled her aside. "Are you sure you want to go after this thing, Poppy? I know you've handled some insane stuff before, but...I really do smell something bad with this one." she warned, bringing her voice lower.

"I know. But these books are out there, messing around with ponies minds. And If this Culture nut-job is behind it, someone has to bring him to justice." Poppy said seriously.

And she was right. Nopony would suspect a simple book to have such a dangerous curse on it, let alone could imagine how easily it could overwhelm your mind if you weren't prepared like Poppy was. She had to stop this before it took control of Ponyville or worse: All of Equestria.

"Good." Pear's agreed with a smile. "I'll be here if you need me."

Poppy looked surprised. "Wait; you aren't coming with me?" she asked, genuinely curious as to why Pears, the one who uncovered this whole thing with her paranoia, didn't want to be there in person when the culprit was taken down.

"Hell no! somepony has to watch the store." Pears declared. "And by somepony, I mean if anyone so much as touches my counter besides me, I will surgically remove their hooves and replace them with oven mitts."

Poppy was sure that meant she was going to protect her store. Apparently, with a scalpel if necessary.

With a final goodbye from her crazy but loyal friend, Poppy went to the door, tucked the evil book into her satchel and headed out the door, bound for the morning train to Canterlot.

Canterlot

The morning sun hung proudly over Canterlot in just the right way (Which she was sure didn't have anything to do with the fact that an omnipotent sun deity and her sister called Canterlot home) as Poppy disembarked from the train and began to make her way up main street. Ponies hustled and bustled from store front to store front, grabbing their morning coffee, or finishing some errands before moving on to the rest of their day. Following the street signs, Poppy finally located the storefront of the Canterlot Bookstore; a snowy white building that stood above most of the other little shops on the street. It was a proud and storied establishment that sold all manner of books from history, to magic, to history of magic to epic adventures, to chilling horror stories, that Poppy might dare herself to read and then get scared off by the table of contents. If you were a book-lover, there was no other place you'd rather be.

She peeked in through the front door window and saw that it was almost completely empty. The shadow of a mare leafing through one of the shelves within, told her the store had at least one customer. Poppy gripped the handle with her magic, only to pause as she spotted the poster on the window, advertising the very book she held in her satchel. The same one that tried to take over her mind.

Was the store still giving them out? Or were they selling them? Deciding it was easier to see for herself, Poppy opened the door and went inside.

Canterlot Bookstore

As she entered, a tinkling bell next to the door dinged, alerting the shadow in the back that another customer had entered. The shadow approached and turned out to be an forest green earth pony mare with an apron and thick glasses. She smiled at Poppy as she closed the cabinet behind her. Her name tag read Cactus Bloom.

"Good morning! What can I help you with today?" she had a soft voice. Perfect for an employee of the largest bookstore in town.

"Hello," said Poppy with a smile. "I was actually hoping to ask you about those free books your store is giving away?"

The mare's smiled lilted slightly. "Free? I didn't think we gave away books for free. Can you explain a bit more?" she asked, curious as to what Poppy meant.

"You mean you don't know about these?" Poppy withdrew the cursed book from her satchel and held it up for the mare to see.

"Hmm..."Cactus took it in her hoof and adjusted her glasses as she scanned the cover. She jumped when Poppy quickly slammed the book shut when she tried to open it to read it, but brushed it off as she handed the book back. "As a matter of fact,' Cactus said sharply, "I do remember these. They were delivered before the store opened this morning. A young colt in a yellow t-shirt had dropped them off, claiming them to be donations. I opened the crate and tried to read through one of the book's contents, and the next thing I know, they are set up on display in the shop. But I had a very strange feeling being around them. Almost like they were alive, with invisible eyes watching me as I worked."

Poppy put the book back in the satchel. "So, you know they're cursed?" she asked lowering her voice, so as not to alarm other customers.

Cactus's eyes widened. "I see. Then it's a good thing I threw them out." she sighed, sounding relieved.

"You threw them out?"

"I didn't like the fact that I couldn't remember setting them up or even bringing them into the store." Cactus explained. "I've dealt with books like that before, and I knew they were either going to hurt someone or cause trouble. Plus, we have a strict no cursed books policy." Cactus explained further. "So, I disposed of them in the way we are taught to dispose of all banned books: the incinerator."

Poppy breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good thing that the rest of those books were gone. Still, it didn't mean that there weren't more of them out there. And she still had yet to find anything on this mysterious yellow-t-shirt colt that had been responsible for delivering the books and for brainwashing Cookie into delivering more. He was her next lead to follow.

To-Do List: Find the mysterious colt and uncover his connection to the brainwashing books.

"Do you know who this colt was? Did he wear a name tag or anything that could be used to identify him with?" Poppy asked politely.

"I remember he wore a ball-cap with that book's title on it, and he also had a cutie mark of a movie projector." Cactus recalled. "But, other then that no, nothing."

"Did you see which way he went after he delivered those books?"

"Unfortunately, no. The very second I opened one of those books, I was suddenly standing in my store with those books on display near the front. I don't even remember unloading them."

Whatever this curse was, it worked instantly, from the moment the victim opened the book. But it seemed if one was mentally fortified like Poppy you could resist it for a time, or if the book was closed quickly enough, then the curse wouldn't activate. At the very least it had it's limits, which would make beating it easier. Hopefully.

Now she had to find this colt. Pears had tons of equipment for tracking ponies she found suspicious (So literally everyone except Poppy) and maybe they could use it to find this colt? No. Pears was busy herself because of all this. Then who? Surely, somepony must have seen this strange colt.

Then Poppy got an idea: The Fizzy Poppers! They were already standing by the corner just down the street from the Inconvenience Store when Poppy left her office. They might've spotted something that Poppy missed on her way to make her delivery. It was worth a shot.

Poppy thanked Cactus for her help then turned to leave the store, only to be met with the face of another mare colliding into hers, and causing said mare and all her books she was carrying to fall to the ground, along with Poppy, who tumbled onto her back.

"Oh my goodness!" Cactus exclaimed rushing over to help. "Are you two alright?"

The mare Poppy had collided into was a sterling silver mare with a short black mane that came down like a curtain to her neck. She wore a thick red sweater and horn rimmed red glasses, which she now searched the floor for.

After retrieving her glasses, she stood up quickly, and brushed herself off with grace. "I'm alright, thank you." she said quickly, before reaching to help Poppy up as well. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry about that, I wasn't looking where I was going!" She exclaimed, looking terribly embarrassed.

Poppy sprang to her feet just as quickly and laughed it off. "No, I'm sorry, I should've been more careful." she said, equally embarrassed. "Let me help you with these."

"Oh! Thank you, I really am sorry about that. I'm so clumsy, I swear!" The mare lamented, picking up her books from the floor.

As Poppy handed the books to the mare, she noticed each one had a distinct title and theme; Equestrian Psychology Volume I, Thinking Fast and Slow, The Equine Mind At A Glance, Truth Deal, The Well of Attraction, The Wine of Vengeance, The Dream Paradox, Evil at Center, Tomorrow the Citizen, October in the Wing, Fool's Coin and....Sweaters Monthly.

All these books (Except for the sweater one, probably) were extremely advanced psychology books. Well above that of your typical reader or browser of psychology. This mare had to be a professional just to understand one, and she was buying at least eleven of them!

"Wow" Poppy said amazed. "Pardon me for asking, but are you a psychologist?" she asked the mare politely.

The silver mare blushed as she tried to keep her smile from giving away her excitement. "I am! Well, of a sort anyways." she awkwardly piled all her books in one hoof and stretched out her other towards Poppy. "Penny Metronome; licensed psychotherapist. It's great to meet you!"

Poppy shook her hoof with a smile. "Poppy Blossom; delivery mare." Poppy said warmly. "And likewise!"

At the mention of that name, Penny's eyes widened in amazement. "Really? You're Poppy Blossom?" she asked excitedly. "Oh! I saw you in the paper last month! Weren't you the one who battled those ghost pirates during the Summer Solstice Festival?"

Poppy's face went red. "Oh, yeah that was me." she said quickly. "But, I was only trying to deliver the Summer Solstice statue of Celestia to the festival! I didn't know I'd uncover an ancient pirate burial ground in the process, honestly!"

Penny put a hoof to her chin as she suddenly scanned Poppy at a glance. "You are uncomfortable talking about your exploits, and the redness in your cheeks, coupled with the rise in your voice makes it also clear that you are thoroughly embarrassed when you call such attention to yourself."

Poppy looked stunned. "Uh, well yes-

"But deep down you value what you do, and genuinely care about saving people who are in danger or need help. Possibly due to your lifetime attraction to trouble and misfortune. Part of you feels it's your fault and that it's your responsibility to fix things, even if you may not be directly responsible for it. And the truth is you are very, very good at fixing things. Possibly the best in the world."

"Okay, I wouldn't go that far!" Poppy exclaimed. "But...well. The rest feels accurate."

Penny adjusted her glasses and smiled. "Forgive me, for that. My psychotherapist senses were sounding all manner of alarms just then. I couldn't resist delving in a bit." she apologized.

Poppy simply laughed. "No, it's fine. But...wow. You really are good!"

Penny laughed as well. "Thank you!" she said happily. "But I really should be getting back to my office. I have to clean up a bit before my next client comes in this afternoon."

"Of course, I understand." Poppy said politely. "It was great meeting you!"

"You as well, Poppy! If you ever need psychology help or a therapy session, please feel free to drop by! I won't even charge." Said Penny, opening the door to main street.

"Will do. See you then!" Poppy waved her new friend goodbye, and watched as Penny left for her office, her massive pile of books in her hooves.

Penny could definitely help Poppy on this whole brainwashing books conspiracy. A psychologist (sorry, psychotherapist) of her skill could crack the secret to how this mind control curse worked, and maybe even a way to prevent it from happening at all.

But for now, Poppy decided to return to Ponyville and talk to the Fizzy Poppers and then discuss her findings with Pears. Maybe she had made some progress herself on this bizarre brainwashing books beguilement.

Ponyville, Market Square

The afternoon sun was now shining down on the bustling market square, as Poppy made her way from the train station, back to the Inconvenience Store. As she passed various homes and storefronts she felt something was off.

The usual cheery tone was dimmed, a feeling of urgency or distress now replaced it. Was it just her imagination?

"Yo! Poppy!" a filly's voice called out. Poppy turned to see Cherry Soda and her sisters Root Beer and Lemon Lime, hanging out beside an ice cream cart, having purchased their cones and were now joking around with the very nervous looking cart attendant.

He looked over to Poppy as if to say "Help!" And Poppy obliged. "Hey guys! What have you been up to? Staying out of trouble?" she asked. She watched as the cart attendant took this opportunity to abscond with his cart, hurrying away as fast as he could gallop.

To her surprise, the Fizzy Poppers laughed. "What's so funny?' Poppy asked.

Cherry Soda smiled at her. "You!" she laughed. "Your telling us to keep out of trouble? We all heard about the fight that happened in the Inconvenience Store! You and that Pear wacko totally whooped that mare's flank! It was awesome!"

"Yeah! We knew you were awesome already, but I had no idea you could fight." Lemon Lime added cheerfully.

"Can you teach us how to do moves like that?" Root Beer asked with a grin. "Pleeease?"

Poppy sighed as she tried to think of how she could explain this to the Poppers. "Look guys,' she started "I didn't fight her cause I wanted to. We were defending ourselves from her, cause she....well, wasn't herself."

"What do you mean?" Cherry asked. Her sisters crowded around her, eager to hear what Poppy meant.

Poppy thought for a moment. Was there any harm in telling them about the books? She supposed they wouldn't be believed if anyone told them, but then again, maybe it was a good thing that as many ponies knew about them as possible. And the Poppers would surely spread it around everywhere they went.

"Alright, I'll tell you." Poppy said seriously. "That mare was being mind controlled."

"Mind controlled? Seriously?" Root asked, wide eyed.

"Yes, and I need you three to keep an eye out for someone for me. If we work together we can put a stop to this before it gets out of control." said Poppy, leaning in so the three fillies could hear her.

"Y-You mean we get to help you save Equestria?!" Lime asked, her excitement peaking.

"Yep." Poppy said with a grin. "But, you need to be careful. I don't know how far this extends, or who's behind it yet. Just let me know if you guys see anyone suspicious, or," she withdrew the book from her satchel and showed it to the Poppers, "any books like this one; let me know. I'll be at the Inconvenience Store if you need to find me, okay?"

"Totally! We'll keep an eye out for anything-" but Root was stopped by Cherry who gave Poppy a suspicious look.

"Why trust a bunch of kids with something this important? How do you know we can pull this off?" Cherry questioned. Her sisters looked at one another, now uncertain if they should say anything.

Poppy thought for a moment. Why did she trust these girls with this? Why tell them anything at all? What could they do to help in all this?

Poppy had her answer. "Because you guys are like me." she said simply. "You guys are both attracted to trouble and attract trouble the same as I do. I can tell you guys can take care of things, fix things that go wrong and maybe even help if you're needed to. Troublemakers like us should stick together."

The Fizzy Poppers looked pleased with this answer. They looked at one another and smiled in response. "You're right." Root said in agreement. "We troublemakers should stick together!"

"Yeah! We can do this." Lemon Lime cheered happily.

Cherry nodded as well. "Welp, I say that's a good reason then. The best reason." she said with a smile. "You can count on us, Poppy. We'll come to you if we find anything, and we know how to stay hidden. You don't have to worry." she assured Poppy, who smiled in response.

"Alright, I'll see you guys soon." Poppy said clearly. "If you see anything, come find me, but don't do anything to attract attention."

The Poppers assured her they would be careful, and trotted off, now extra vigilant for anything that caught their eyes. After they had turned the corner, Poppy tucked the book back into her satchel, then walked through the doors of the Inconvenience Store, eager to share with Pears what she had found.

The Inconvenience Store

Back in the store lobby of the Inconvenience Store, Poppy didn't have to look very far for Pears, who was busy setting up a rather large and advanced looking piece of technology around the front door; an archway of some kind, with small green, pulsating lights blinking and glowing along it's surface. Pears was just installing the last of the screws for it on the wall, when she noticed Poppy had returned.

"Ah, the prodigal Poppy returns!" she joked. "What did you find out?"

"Um...Pears?"

"Yes?"

"What is that?" Poppy asked, pointing to the large archway her friend was now connecting wires into.

"This," Pears said gesturing towards the archway "is the Pear-Tech Anti-Delivery System." she finished connecting wires then hopped down from her step ladder to demonstrate whet her gadget did. "Now that I know there are maniacs out there delivering books to stores that didn't order them, I had to take precautions!"

"Okay, but what does it do?" Poppy asked, still not understanding.

"It is an advanced security hardware that prevents anyone from making UN-approved deliveries to my store. If I don't order it and someone tries to deliver it to my store without my permission, it will deliver a 2000 volt shock to the perpetrator the moment they walk in, and destroy whatever ill-gotten goods they tried to bring in here." Pears looked quite proud of her achievement.

Poppy only looked concerned. "You installed an archway that'll electrocute people if they try to bring things you didn't order into your store? Isn't that a little...insane?"

"You've seen what we're up against!" Pears exclaimed, grabbing Poppy by her shoulders. "We have to be prepared this time. Who knows what they'll try next." she then let go of Poppy and went back behind her counter. "Speaking of which, what did you find out? Whose behind this? Aliens? The Happy Time Mafia? My mother?! I knew she couldn't be trusted!" Pears leaned further and further over her counter as she practically yelled out each word, till she was hanging over the side, inches from Poppy's face with wide, serious eyes.

"Hang on, hang on! I didn't find the culprit yet but I have a lead; a colt in a yellow T-shirt and ball-cap. He's been seen at the bookstore and was the one who slipped the book into Cookie's bag as she was leaving. He knows what these books do and he's trying to get as many as he can out there. But I don't know. Do you think he might be the culprit?"

Pears thought for a moment. "Not a chance." she declared. "The ringmaster of this whole thing wouldn't be doing the dirty work themselves. They wouldn't need to! All they have to do is get some random pony to open one of those books and bam; instant servant." she explained.

Poppy nodded in agreement. "You're right. Why do all the work when you can just strip the free will from the nearest pony and force them to do it without them even being conscious to do so." Poppy felt sick by the thought that there was somepony out there doing that to random ponies on the street. And for what exactly? What were they trying to gain from all this? Power? Fame? She guessed to them, anything was worth achieving their goal. This fact didn't make Poppy feel any less sickened by it.

"So,' Poppy turned her attention back to Pears,"you think Charming Culture is behind all this?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"That would be my guess." said Pears seriously.

"Who is this guys anyways? Some kind of actor or something?" Poppy asked. "I'd never heard of him till today!"

A grin appeared on Pear's face. "I've actually been doing some digging on that." She reached behind the counter and pulled out a large beige folder file filled with various documents, and slammed it on the countertop. "I found this, while going through the police's records."

Poppy shot Pears a look.

"Legally, this time." Pear's clarified. She gestured to the file name; Culture, Charming. "Turns out, this guy actually was an actor at one time, but well..."

She opened the file and turned it so both her and Poppy could read it's contents. "Once upon a time, he was the host of Charming's Clubhouse, a popular children's TV show back in the X970's."

"A children's TV host? Well that doesn't seem so bad. I was expecting his backstory to be-"

"But that was before he was institutionalized for sociopathic tendencies and megalomanical behavior, and his show was cancelled."

"Ah." Poppy sighed. "That makes more sense."

Pears nodded before continuing. "After his show's cancellation, Charming struggled to find work. Unable to find another role, Charming dabbled in every religion, creed and belief system he could find. Buddhism, Judaism, Pointilism, IsmIsm, Alienism, Vampirism, Scientology, Norse-matology, Nerfmatology, Brony Fan Culture, and even Shoetology. But what ultimately became of him, no one knows."

"I guess we know now." said Poppy thoughtfully. "But how is he doing all this? How did a former children's TV host obtain a curse powerful enough to control someone's mind the second they are exposed to it?"

"No idea." Said Pears with a shrug. "If only we knew more about the curse itself. Or the psychological impact it has on the mind. Then maybe we could find out how to nullify it's effects."

Poppy thought for a moment. "Of course! We need a Psychologist!" she exclaimed.

Pears shot Poppy a look of disapproval. "Why does everyone I know tell me that?"

"Huh? No, I meant we need a psychologist's help in finding out how this curse works!"

"Oh. Well...do you know one?"

Poppy nodded. "As a matter of fact I do." she then reached into her satchel and withdrew a one-off teleportation spell. "This can get me back to Canterlot without needing to worry about catching the afternoon train."

"Good thinking." said Pears approvingly. "We have no time to waste! Who knows what this Culture lunatic is plotting to do next!"

Poppy pulled out the scroll and unfurled it. "Okay, I'll see you-"

"No time! Just go!" Pear's yelled, jumping out from behind her counter and rushing over to her storage closet. "I have to prep the store for an invasion of those brainwashed book zombies!"

With that, Poppy read the incantation from the scroll and felt her horn begin to glow and pulse, before she vanished in a flash of orange light. The next instant, she was standing on the main street of Canterlot, once again.

Canterlot (Once Again)

Poppy watched the scroll disintegrate in her hooves, before she began looking for Penny's office. Luckily, she didn't have to look very far. Directly across from her, a squat, brick building sat between what looked like a flower shop and a cafe. Bright blooms of various carnations and marigolds adorned the entrance, and above was a sign that read Penny Metronome Psy.D. (Licensed Psychotherapist) in bright gold letters.

Relieved she didn't have to look around for once, Poppy opened the door and went inside.

Penny's Office

As Penny walked through the door, she found herself in what looked like a very comfortable living room. The walls were robin-egg blue, a fluffy white carpet covered the floors and nuzzled her hooves, and the furniture consisted of a soft looking red couch, and two armchairs next to a fireplace. She could imagine becoming completely relaxed easily, if she ever needed to come here for therapy.

At the far side, was Penny's mahogany desk. But, to Poppy's surprise, it was not Penny who was sitting there, but a brown colt with a short brown mane and a far too friendly looking smile.

"Hello!" he exclaimed. "What can I do for you?" he asked, eagerly. His green eyes didn't blink once as he spoke. Poppy was starting to feel creeped out.

"Um, I'm sorry. I'm looking for Penny Metronome." Poppy said quickly, wanting to get away from this weirdo as soon as possible and find her friend.

"You found him!" The colt replied excitedly. "How may I help you, today?"

Poppy stared at the colt. "You're not Penny Metronome."

"Of course I am!" The colt replied. "It says so on my desk." He pointed to the engraved nameplate on Penny's desk.

"That's because that's Penny's desk." Poppy said sternly. "And you're sitting at it."

"Right. My desk!" The colt repeated, his smile not wavering an inch.

Poppy narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't have time for this; where is Penny?" she asked sternly.

"I am Penny!" The colt insisted. "It's short for...um...Penny-salvania?"

"Your name is Pennsylvania." Poppy asked in disbelief.

"....Yes."

Poppy glared at the colt, losing her patience. "You're going to tell me where Penny is, and what you're doing in her office, or I'm getting the police." she warned.

But the colt simply chuckled. "Oh, come on, there's no need for that!" he insisted. "Plus, how do you know I'm not Pennsylvania?" he asked with a sly grin.

"Because that's a city, you idiot!" Poppy exclaimed angrily. "I met Penny this morning at the bookstore! I know for a fact you aren't Penny Metronome, and now, I'm done asking; I demand you tell me where Penny is, or else I'm getting the police."

The colt got up from the desk and walked over to Poppy. "Alright, alright. Let's just calm down here, okay? I'm a licensed psychopath. I can help you." he said soothingly.

"I..That's not even the right-!" Poppy stopped as she caught a glimpse of the colt's cutie mark.

It was a film projector.

To-Do List: Confront The Mysterious Colt and find Penny.

"You!" Poppy snapped. "You're the one that's been spreading these books around!"

"Books?" The colt asked. "What do you mean?"

"Don't try that!" Poppy yelled. "I know you're the colt in the yellow T-shirt and ball-cap that's been delivering these evil books all over town! You brainwashed Cookie into delivering these things to the Inconvenience Store, and the one who made Cactus Bloom unload and display the books you tried to peddle to the bookstore!"

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." The colt said confused. "Maybe you're just insane? I am a doctor you know."

Poppy was quickly losing the last of her patience, when she heard a distinct sound from the wall behind her. Specifically, from the broom closet.

Going over to it, she put her ear to the door and listened. "Hey, get away from there! That's my broom closet!" The colt yelled. But Poppy ignored him as she could now make out the sounds of struggling from within.

Poppy tried the door but found it to be locked. "I mean it! That's private! I won't tell you again!" The colt warned.

Poppy opened her satchel and withdrew the lockpick she kept in case she was ever locked out of being able to complete a delivery. But as she went for it, her hoof was suddenly seized by the colt, whose eyes had gone completely white.

"Y-Your brainwashed too!?" Poppy exclaimed, as she struggled to get her arm from the colt's grip. The colt seized the lockpick, but Poppy fought back. She twisted the colt's arm, forcing him to release her, then back flipped over his head and, with no other options, smashed in the door with a powerful front kick.

Inside was Penny, bound and gagged with rope. "Penny!" Poppy ran in and untied her friend, as well as removed the balled up washcloth that she had been gagged with. Penny coughed as she rubbed the sides of her sore jaw. "Are you alright?" Poppy asked.

"I am now. Thanks." said Penny with a smile. Then she winced, as her jaw still hurt from being gagged.

The reunion was broken by the colt suddenly grabbing a nearby pole lamp and charging at Poppy, brandishing it like a weapon. Poppy squared off against the brainwashed colt, as she talked to Penny.

"Penny!" she dodged a blow from the colt, which knocked over a nearby chair. "I need your help!" she connected a hard punch to his jaw, sending him to the wall, but he recoverd and charged at her again.

"I-I don't know how to fight!" Penny exclaimed.

"No! I mean I need help finding out how to neutralize this curse!" She grabbed the lamp and struggled to wrestle it from the colt's grip. "That's whats making this guy do this; He's being controlled!"

Penny's eyes went wide behind her horned-rim glasses. "Mind control? That's amazing!" she exclaimed.

"How do we stop it!?" Poppy delivered a hard kick to the colt sending him over the couch, the lamp flying from his grasp.

"I-I, well I'd have to see the victim's face for analysis!" Penny explained quickly.

"Fine!" Poppy grabbed the colt as he sprang to his feet and expertly pinned him to the wall, next to Penny.

"Oh. Thank you." Penny grabbed her notebook and began examining the colt's facial features. "Pure white sclera, unemotional reactions, increased movements and reaction speed, sudden violent tendencies..." she muttered to herself as she took notes.

The colt snarled as he tried to wrench himself from Poppy's grip. "Well?" Poppy asked, pinning the colt even tighter.

"His subconscious is unresponsive and may be inert. This curse operates by literally replacing a part of the victim's mind with a piece of their own, subjecting them to their will instantly. Its as if they become an entirely different person, bent only to the will of the caster. Very strong stuff. As well as very dangerous and risky." Penny explained, setting her notebook aside.

Poppy struggled to keep the colt pinned. "We need to snap him out of it! We need water, fast!" she exclaimed.

But Penny shook her head. "There's no need for that." she said calmly. "The curse only works cause the victim's subconscious is put to sleep. All we have to do is wake it up."

Penny locked eyes with the dead-eyes colt, as he tried to get free. "I know you can hear me." Penny said softly. "You are asleep. Someone has entered your mind, bending you to their will." The colt stopped struggling and seemed to hear what Penny was saying. "You have to wake up! Destroy the intruder in your dreams; take back control of your mind. You are not a servant!"

The colt grunted as his eyes began to grow heavy. "Your will is yours, and yours alone. Take it back from the one who shouldn't be there!" Penny commanded. And at that last word, the colt fell limp, his head lowered.

Poppy let go, and the colt fell to the floor, where he lay still. "Whoa. What did you do?" she asked Penny, completely astonished.

"Give it a minute." Penny said simply.

They waited.

Then the colt woke up, and tried in vain to stand up. "Ughhh...my head." he said weakly. "What happened?"

"Depends. What do you remember?" asked Poppy, still unsure if he was really out of his trance or not.

The colt rubbed his head as he tried to focus. "I...I was working my usual shift at the movie theater." he recalled. "When some weirdo in a baby blue tuxedo and bad pompadour showed up. He handed me this book, said I looked like I could use a pick me up."

"What was his name?" Poppy asked quickly.

"No idea. Didn't say." The colt said, still rubbing the side of his head. "The next thing I know, I'm laying on this, admittedly soft carpet, with my head feeling like it got trampled on."

"You've been under the curse's effects this entire time?" Poppy asked, surprised.

"Curse? What curse?" The colt asked, still unsure of what happened.

It was Penny's turn to step in. "Do you remember anything else? Your name?" she asked politely.

"My name? Yeah it's Auburn Crest." said Auburn, still confused as to how he got here.

"You don't remember what this individual did after you read the book he gave you?" asked Poppy.

"Read? Lady, I don't even remember what happened after I opened it!" cried Auburn. "I was standing there in my uniform outside the movie theater, just started my morning shift, then that nutjob hands me a book, I open it, now I'm here."

"That's all you remember." said Penny thoughtfully.

"Yeah. That's all."

Poppy stepped in once more. "Which movie theater was this?"

"The old Canterlot Movie Theater. Just down the street from Donut Joe's." said Auburn.

The old movie theater of Canterlot was one of the city's landmarks. It had been open for several decades, and always showed the latest films. But a movie theater was an interesting spot for an evil brainwashing megalomaniac to pick as his headquarters. There had to be another reason for it.

And Poppy was going to find out exactly what that reason was.

To-Do List: Investigate the Canterlot Movie Theater and confront Charming Culture.

Penny had offered to tag along, but Poppy said it would be too dangerous. That she should face Charming alone, and put a stop to his plans before it was too late. Penny accepted this, but warned her to be careful. Neither one of them knew what other tricks Charming had up his sleeve.

After leaving Penny's office, Poppy followed Auburn's directions and ended up at the gates of the old Canterlot Movie Theater. It was of art deco style and the large red letters where they displayed the various movies that were in theaters had recently been moved around; they now said "Charming's Clubhouse Returns TV Special! Come See The Stallion Who Created Your Childhood!"

Poppy raised an eyebrow as she read the sign. "What kind of degenerate has to boast that he created someone's childhood to feel good about themselves?" Poppy scoffed. (Charming Culture apparently.)

There was no use wasting time out here; it was time to put an end to this once and for all. Poppy made for the front doors, only to find them blocked by a large metal gate, with a heavy chain lock securing it in place.

Poppy strained to lift the gate with her magic, but it was no use. The chains were bolted to the pavement. That gate wasn't moving anytime soon. She would need to find another way in.

Looking around the side, she saw an alley way, where a back door was clearly visible. But so were the wooden planks across the door. That way wouldn't work either. Was there another way?

Poppy contemplated whipping out her grappling hook from her satchel and scaling the wall, when a voice behind her made her jump.

"Poppy!" the voice cheered. "There you are!"

Poppy turned around to see Cherry Pop and the Fizzy Poppers, standing shoulder to shoulder, with grins on their faces.

"Cherry?" Poppy exclaimed. "What are you girls doing here?"

"You told us to help, Dummy!" Root Beer stepped forward. "We went to the Inconvenience Store and talked to your insane friend."

Lemon Lime then piped up. "After we were able to convince her we weren't sleeper agent spies here to steal her whipped cream or something, she filled us in on what was happening with this Chuckler, guy."

"Culture?" Poppy corrected.

"Chuckler, Culture. They both sound like clowns to me." Root joked. "Anyways, Pears let us use one of her teleportation scrolls to teleport us here so we could follow you, in case things got rough!"

"Pears sells Teleportation scrolls??" Poppy asked. "I've asked her that before, and she said she was all out! I've been using One-Offs for weeks!"

Poppy put aside Pear's negligence to inform her of the availability of things that would make her job easier, and asked the Poppers for help. They had made it this far, and had proven themselves to be good at getting around. "So, this might sound weird, but...do either of you guys have a way to get in here?" Poppy pointed to the heavy chained gate.

The Poppers flashed Poppy a sly grin. "Yes, we do, actually." Cherry stated.

"You do?" asked Poppy. "How?"

"We did some snooping, like you said!" Root exclaimed cheerfully. "After you went into the store, we spotted a colt in a yellow t-shirt, spying on you from a bush across from the flower shop!"

Auburn had been spying on her that soon? Had he known she was looking for him? Or better yet, had Culture known she was looking for him, and had him spy on her for him.

"We followed him to this empty lot, making sure not to do anything that would get us spotted." Lime explained. "We watched him pull out a radio looking thing and speak into it. We think he was asking his boss what he should do next."

"We heard his boss tell him to report back to the theater, and to be sure he used the secret button at the gate to get in!" Root added.

Cherry then stepped up to the gate "A secret button, of which," she grasped the huge lock in her small hoof "is right here!" then flipped up the front of the lock, revealing a large red button. She looked back at Poppy who stood mouth agape and smiled. "Care to do the honors?" she asked.

Poppy just stood there, completely blown away. But Cherry snapped her out of her stupor. "Come on! We have to save Equestria, remember! Shake a hoof lady!" she urged.

Poppy smiled as she stepped forward, took the lock in hoof, and pressed the button.

A loud buzzing was heard, and the great metal gate ascended, revealing the front door into the theater. The sound of some cheery music suddenly began playing from the speakers, and a voice came on soon after. It was deep, jaunty and simply dripping with the egotistical snark of a game show host. It was Charming Culture.

"Ah! The delivery mare!" he sang. "So, glad you could finally join us! Please come in; the show is just about to start!" with that the speakers went dead, leaving Poppy to glare up at them.

"Pfft. Come on guys, lets go show that loser what the Poppers are made of!" Cherry boasted.

Before Poppy could stop them, the fillies then charged forward, through the front doors and disappeared behind what looked like a large black curtain blocking the main lobby.

Poppy then followed soon after, hoping the Poppers were alright.

Old Canterlot Theater

Darkness was the first thing that greeted Poppy as she walked through the curtain into the main hall of the theater. There were no lights on, save for a lone spotlight that shined brightly down from the balcony above, illuminating the freshly painted sign on the door that said Main Stage.

Poppy felt uneasy, as she walked slowly from the front door, keeping her eyes out for anything that looked sinister. She saw no sign of Charming or the Poppers. Where had they gone so quickly? She was right behind them as she entered. Or at least...she thought she was.

The theater was well cared for, as there were no signs of age or structural damage despite the age of the establishment. However, as she spied the various frames which movie posters would normally be posted, there were instead huge posters of the most smug and egotistical looking stallion Poppy had ever seen in her life.

He was a tall, relatively handsome blue stallion with a massive white pompadour, and a baby blue suit with a pink bow tie. His teeth were his most obvious feature; clearly displayed in a huge, condescending grin. Adorning his lapel were a variety of colorful buttons and badges, each showcasing some kind of random event, Poppy guessed was part of Charming's old show. There was one for fishing, one for golfing, one for candy making, one for cookie baking, one for candlestick making, one for mountain climbing, one for dumpster diving, one for...open heart surgery practition?

It was strongly suggested that the entire premise of Charming's show was to make kids think he was the greatest at literally everything. "Ugh." said Poppy, disgusted.

She saw five more of the exact same poster, plastered all over the walls, before she finally made it to the 'Main Stage' door and walked inside.

Main Stage Atrium

Not more than a second had passed before Poppy was suddenly blinded by a huge spotlight from out of nowhere. She stumbled back as she struggled to stay upright.

"And here she is, mares and gentlecolts!" that same voice sang once more. "The delivery mare of the hour! Welcome to the show, Poppy! So glad to have you here."

The spotlight dimmed, and Poppy was able to see past the shapes that danced before her eyes, that the main stage of the theater's atrium had been converted into what looked like a TV set. A large blue sky background had been set up behind a set up of various cardboard trees, flowers and rocks, and a large smiling sun was seen wearing sunglasses to the far right of the set.

And to the far left, sitting proudly at a large bright green grand piano, was Charming Culture, himself. However, he looked rather different from his posters, as Poppy could clearly see.

What was once a handsome stallion in his early 30s, was now an aged stallion in his late 60s. His figure had gone up about one or two dress sizes, as he barely had any neck and his stomach muffin-topped over the edge of his blue suit pants which struggled to keep his huge behind from exploding out of them, along with the piano stool the portly stallion squatted upon. His white pompodour was now greying in several places and looked heavily disheveled. His face, which sported the same massive grin it always had, now showcased multiple wrinkles and crows feet, along with the assortment of chins Culture now sported over his nigh-nonexistent neck.

It took every ounce of willpower Poppy had to keep her from bursting out laughing at the site of such a rotund stallion sitting on what looked like the world's tiniest piano stool.

"You're Charming Culture?" Poppy asked uncertainly.

"The very same!" Charming answered. "Big moment for you isn't it? I know, I know, it's a bit unnerving meeting a famous television celebrity, but don't worry; I love all my fans the same!"

Poppy was still too busy gawking at just how large this guy was. "You...you look-"

"Fabulous?" Charming sang.

"Fat." said Poppy unemotionally.

Charming gasped at Poppy as if she had just insulted his mother. "Nonsense! I am fit as a fiddle, my dear!" he said with a gleaming grin.

"A fiddle that's been forcefully stuffed full of pudding and bacon." Poppy mumbled under her breath.

"Anyhoo.." Charming started, "I'm so glad you've made it! You're just in time for the debut of my BIG COMEBACK!"

"Comeback? Is that what all this mind control book stuff is about?!"

"Oh no, no." said Charming. "That was just part one of my big comeback! After all, what's a beloved TV celebrity without his loyal fans?"

Poppy was losing her patience. "You don't have any fans, you delusional lunatic!" she snapped. "You probably didn't even have any when you were actually on TV!"

At that, Culture only sighed as if disappointed. "Poppy" said Charming, his large white teeth gleaming in the spotlight as he shook his head. "Poppy, Poppy, Poppy."

Completely nonplussed, Poppy said nothing.

"No fans?" Charming asked with a sly grin. "Then who are these?" He pressed a key on his piano and a loud drawl sounded out in the atrium.

Then from behind the curtain, emerged three very familiar figures. "Girls!" Poppy yelled out in alarm. "No..."

But The Fizzy Poppers were no longer aware of anything before them, let alone the red unicorn who stood crestfallen in the audience. Their once bright, sparkling eyes, now stark white and listless. They stood shoulder to shoulder with strange propeller beanies atop their heads, which glowed an eerie green light, as the propellers spun at alarming speed.

Charming sneered at Poppy as she looked in horror at the Poppers. "Did you think those books were the only method of Mind Control Magic I knew?" he laughed in a cruel voice. "I've studied every creed, religion and brainwashing technique in the books! I've got plenty more at my disposal than you think, girl!"

Poppy just stood there, unable to shake the image of the Popper's dead, lifeless eyes from her mind. Then her shock and sadness built into anger and rage. She felt her face go hot as she leaped up onto the stage in a display of peak athleticism, grabbed Charming by his fat neck and was about to knock him clean off that stool.

But she stopped. She saw Charming's fat hoof hovering over a single red key on his piano, as he smiled evilly. "You do anything to me, and those little brat's brains shut off for good." he warned. "I'm the only one that can break the curse their under now. You've lost, delivery mare."

Poppy felt rage boil inside her like a pressure cooker, as her grip tightened on the stallions bow-tie. But he was right. She couldn't risk the Poppers lives like that. She had no choice but to retreat and rethink things through.

For now.

Poppy, still furious, reluctantly let go of Charming, turned and began to make her way to the door. Charming, the huge hoofbag he was, began to gloat and laugh as Poppy left.

"Hahahahaha! Awww, where you goin'? The show was just starting! Ahahahaha!" He brayed cruelly.

As Poppy reached the door she turned and shot a look of such anger and menace at Charming, he visibly flinched in his seat. "You mark my words, you fat freak," Poppy spat. "I will be back. And you will be sorry you ever messed with my friends." With that she left, slamming the door hard enough the crack the wall.

"Pfft." Charming spat back. "We'll see, little delivery mare."

To-Do List: Find a way to free The Fizzy Poppers and stop Charming.

Poppy raced back to The Inconvenience Store as fast as her legs (And another One-Off Teleportation Scroll) could take her. Bursting through the doors, Poppy nearly lost her head when a laser blast suddenly shot from the other side of the store lobby and blasted a hole a few feet from her head.

"Geez!" she yelped. Her eyes traced the blast had come from what looked like a large laser cannon which Pears was now adjusting onto the wall, beside the snack bar. "Pears! What are you thinking?! You could've blasted my head off!"

"Sorry!" Pears snapped. "I thought you were going to be one of those book zombies! I said I was setting up defenses didn't I?"

"Ugh! I don't have time for this!" Poppy snapped back. "I need your help! Charming's got the Fizzy Poppers!"

"Those triplets that tried to steal my whipped cream?" Pears asked seriously.

"They weren't trying- Forget it. I need your help to free them! Don't you have anything that can break a super-strong hypnosis curse?"

"Why not just use a cold liquid of some kind like last time?" Pears asked raising an eyebrow.

"I don't think that stuff will work this time." Poppy lamented. "They had these weird glowing beanies strapped to their heads. I think that's how he's controlling them!"

"Beanies?" Pear's asked suddenly wide eyed. "Did they have propellers?"

"Yes!"

"Were they spinning?"

"Yes!"

Pear's jaw dropped. "So, you're saying he's built Sub-crypto alpha-wave enhancers into a heavily velocitized exo-dermal cranial matrix!?"

Poppy had no idea what that meant but said "Uh....yes?" anyways.

"Dear Celestia..."

"Can we do anything to stop him?" Poppy asked eagerly.

Pears thought for a moment. Then her eyes lit up. "I think I have something! Hang on!" Poppy watched as Pears rummaged around behind her counter for what seemed like a full minute before she emerged with what looked like a metal colander with a coat hanger and a red light bulb affixed to it, and set it down on the counter.

Poppy stared at it, unimpressed.

"Relax," said Pears reading her friend's expression. "That's just the cloaking feature." She then turned the light bulb and it began blinking rapidly as the colander melted away and was replaced with a very advanced looking metal bike helmet with a set of mini-turbine on each side, glowing blue under lights, and a glass dome on top that pulsed with bright green and red electricity. A logo of a burning pear with the letters PT (short for Pear Tech) was emblazoned proudly on the front.

"Wow! That looks amazing!" Poppy exclaimed, looking over the device with curiosity.

"That's because it is." Pears said smiling. "This helmet will not only make you totally immune to mind control, period; it will also allow you to reverse the effect and implement your own signal against his, letting you free anyone else he has under his control." Pears explained."

Poppy picked up the helmet and looked at it, completely blown away. "How long have you had this?" she asked in utter disbelief.

"I started working on plans for a prototype when you left for the bookstore." Pears explained. "I built it just now, actually."

Poppy stared at Pears, dumbstruck. "You...you built a device like this in the minute it took for you to mess around behind the counter?"

"Yeah, sorry it took so long. I just wanted to make sure I got the polarity calibrators in the right spot." Pears said with a shrug.

Poppy laughed as she turned the helmet over in her hooves. The red light was now pulsing slowly, like a heartbeat. "How does it work?" Poppy asked.

"Basically, the signal Charming is using to control people's minds can be countered with a Reverse-Polarity Sub-Etha Frequency Emitter. That's the red light on the back." Pears pointed to the blinking red light on the helmet. "It needs to be tuned to the exact frequency of the same emitter Charming uses to control ponies minds."

"How do you know he has one?" asked Poppy.

"Charming has to have one; it's the only way he could generate the frequency to control people's minds in the first place." replied Pears. "Ordinarily, you'd have to find out where Charming is hiding his and take it for the helmet to use. But I had a spare leftover from an experiment I was testing to see when the local water-bug population will become sentient and start rebelling against our way of life."

"Obviously." Poppy laughed. "Thanks, Pears! I really appreciate it!"

Pears smiled as she helped Poppy strap on the helmet and adjust it to her size. As soon as it was on, she felt a tingly sensation in her head. Like a head-rush but more relaxing in a way.

"The helmet will start working the moment it gets within range of Charming's emitter. You'll feel a tight twang in your head; all you have to do is concentrate on nothing but your desire to break his hold over the Poppers." Pears explained carefully. "After that, it'll be you against him in a battle of the minds. He'll try to attack you with lethal variants of the signal, but you can use your own signal to fight back and destroy his emitter. Once his emitter is down, if he tries to brainwash you again, the only one getting brainwashed will be himself."

"Thanks again, Pears." Poppy said with a smile. "Really."

But Pears waved a hoof in response. "Aw, no need for that." she stated. "Just get back there and show that loser not to screw with us!" she cheered, waving her friend out the door.

Poppy was about to leave when Pears handed her a Teleportation Scroll. "That one's free." Pears said with a grin. "But you really need to learn that Teleportation spell, yourself."

"Thanks." Poppy smiled as she unfurled the scroll and used it to vanish in a flash of orange light. A split second later, she was back at the entrance of the old Canterlot Movie Theater. But this time...she was ready to face Charming. And stop him once and for all.

To-Do List: Defeat Charming Culture and save Equestria.

Poppy stepped into the atrium once more, and the helmet began to vibrate and pulse on top of her head. The emitter was close.

"Well, well, well." Charming's voice drawled. "If it isn't the delivery mare who failed to save her bratty little friends!" he laughed. "Here for an encore performance, little mare?"

Poppy ignored him as she felt that tell-tale twang in her skull. She looked around and spied something she had missed before; It was a small red light, pulsing underneath the large green piano, Charming sat at.

The emitter! It had literally been under her nose the whole time! Now...all she had to do was concentrate.

"Whatsa'matter?" Charming brayed once again. "Cat got your tongue? Hahahaha!"

"Will you shut up!?" Poppy snapped. "I'm trying to concentrate."

"Eh? Whats'at you got on your head there?" Charming craned his thick neck to try and see what Poppy had on her head.

Poppy closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could. She thought of Cherry Pop, and her big sister attitude towards her siblings. She thought of Root Beer and her brash hot-headed attitude. She thought of Lemon Lime and her quiet yet friendly nature. She thought about how much they meant to her, and that they were her friends. And that she wanted them back!

She felt the helmet begin to flash and buzz atop her head, as green and red light flashed wildly from the glass dome of the helmet.

At the same time, Charming noticed his emitter was now sparking and flickering wildly, as well as the green light of the beanies atop his newest slave's heads. He looked back at the delivery mare, and it hit him. "No! No, no, no!" he yelled out in anger.

But it was too late. With a shatter of glass and huge burst of electricity, the emitter underneath the piano exploded, completely destroying the piano and sending Charming flying onto the hard stage floor, with an earth-shaking thud.

The Fizzy Poppers awoke from their trances and looked up at the propeller beanies on top of their heads. They all made a disgusted face. "Ew." Root Beer complained. "What are we doing wearing these stupid things?" she asked her sisters.

Cherry looked over at the large fat blue pony in a now burst blue suit rolling around on the floor, and glared at him as she smiled wickedly. "I think I know who."

"Poppy!" Lemon Lime cried as she raced towards Poppy down in the audience. Her sisters followed suit, laughing joyfully.

"Are you all right?" Cherry asked, unable to look away from the cool looking helmet atop Poppy's head.

Poppy laughed. "Am I alright? Are you alright?"

"We are now! Did you see those beanies he made us wear? Ugh!" cried Root.

Poppy felt immensely relieved. It had worked! The Poppers were free from Charming's control. And now...all there was left to do was defeat the fat, blob, himself.

Poppy and the Fizzy Poppers stood side by side, ready for a fight, as Charming (somehow) got to his feet, and glared down at Poppy and her friends. "I bet you think you've won now, don't you?" he sneered. "You think that ol' Culture's all washed up!"

"Yes." Cherry said plainly. "Both of those things."

"And you're fat." Root added. "Like, really, really fat."

Charming laughed, a high, cold laugh that didn't suit him. He grabbed the curtain behind him and ripped it down, revealing a monstrous looking machine with a huge satellite antenna at the top of it. He continued to laugh as he himself donned his own helmet device and flipped a switch on the machine.

Every light in the theater and some outside of it suddenly dimmed as the huge machine roared to life. A massive glass dome at its center showed huge arcing bolts of green electricity crackling and pulsing within as the theater shook from the vibrations.

Poppy stood her ground as did the Poppers, while Charming, now visibly insane, with wide, pin-pricked eyes and a manic grin, pointed at her at yelled out. "Let's see that little helmet of yours save you from a quadruple dose, little mare!" he bellowed.

Poppy watched as the helmet on Charming's head glowed red hot, and began to crackle with dark red electricity. Suddenly a massive wave of energy exploded from the machine, sailing right towards Poppy and her friends.

"Get behind me!" Poppy yelled. The Poppers obeyed without question, just as the wave hit Poppy, head first. She thought she was fighting a bull by her horn. Her head ached and practically screamed in pain, but she kept pushing through, concentrating everything she had on stopping Charming.

"It's no use, little mare!" Charming screeched, turning a dial on the machine. Poppy felt herself being pushed back, forcing her to use her magic to keep herself in place. She focused harder, and harder, putting everything she had into concentrating on stopping Charming.

As she did so, she felt the pressure on her skull weaken. The strain was weakening as she soon didn't even need her magic to keep her in place. Suddenly, a massive wave of green and red energy surged from her own helmet and met with Charming's in midair.

Poppy closed her eyes as she felt the helmet vibrate; electricity sparked and flew in all directions from the dome atop. She opened her eyes to see that Charming's helmet too, was vibrating and shaking; but more violently, as if it was being rattled apart from within.

Poppy clenched her teeth as she watched the red beam begin to waver and shrink back, as she began to move forward.

Charming's face contorted in pain as he struggled to keep his beam from going out. He clenched his hooves tightly, but it was no use, he was being pushed back, hard. He felt his back slam into the machine as she could no longer move; Poppy's green and red beam getting closer and closer to his helmet, till finally...

Kaboom! The helmet atop Charming's head exploded into pieces sending him reeling back, and smashing hard into the machine, scattering huge dented pieces of metal and wiring all over the now destroyed stage. The machine burst into flames as smoke spewed from various vents and dials till it too fell apart in a heap of dented, smoking metal.

Inside the rubble, lay Charming Culture; out cold.

Poppy let out a small shout as the beam vanished, her head throbbing. The helmet atop her head now lay still, silently pulsing to itself. The Poppers emerged from behind her, looking at the remains of the machine and the unmoving form of Charming laying flat on his back under a sheet of dented metal.

"Is he dead?" Cherry asked looking up on stage.

Root then took the opportunity to run up on stage and kick Charming in the ribs. He let out a pained grunt in response. "Nope." Root called back.

The Canterlot police as well as the royal guard showed up soon after, and arrested Charming Culture, who mysteriously admitted to everything including that time he stole money from the accounts of all his coworkers to pay the covering cost for a new miracle diet he was on, back when he still did a TV show. He was sentenced to life doing community service as a Janitor, at the very studio his TV show was canceled.

Poppy stood beside the police carriage as an officer colt approached. "Poppy Blossom. Should've know this was another one of yours." He joked.

"Heh, yeah." Poppy joked back. "Hey, Officer Buttercream."

"Despite the damages to the theater," Buttercream started, "I'd say Equestria owes you a debt of gratitude, Poppy. If it weren't for you, we'd probably all be brainwashed zombies forced to watch that freak sing about how great his diet worked for him, and other lies."

They both laughed at that. But then his expression turned serious as he rounded on the Fizzy Poppers. "And you three." he said sternly, "You gave your mother quite the start you know. Your lucky I don't take you home and tell her to ground you for a week after the trouble you got into!"

The Fizzy Poppers all looked down at their feet. "Sorry, Uncle Buttercream." they said in unison.

"Uncle?" asked Poppy with a grin.

"Can you believe it?" Buttercream said shaking his head. "I keep telling them they'd make fine police officers like me and their father but...they just keep getting into trouble."

Poppy just laughed. "Yeah." she said softly. "Not like I would know anything about that."

As they all laughed, and Equestria was now saved from the tyranny of an incredibly delusional, power-hungry, former TV host, Poppy could be forgiven for thinking this was the end of the mind control conspiracy.

But as she would soon learn...

This was only the beginning.

Successful Delivery! - On Time Percentage: 100% - Issues: None - Complaints: None - Rank: A Delivery #1 of 6 Completed

Bonus Chapter: "Selina and Furthermore Have A Chat."

Death took Selina quickly; quicker than she thought.

Honestly she expected him to be a bit more of an ass about it. You don't live for 480 years, survive numerous attempts on your life with a smile and think of yourself as being an actual immortal without the reaper growing a serious distaste for you.

But as death gripped her and shuffled her off the mortal coil at long last, it was not the reaper who greeted her next.

♫"Oh, Selinaaaa..."♫

It was much, much worse.

Selina opened her eyes to find herself sitting in a far too fluffy arm chair, surrounded by more pink than she had ever seen in her life.
Pink walls, pink windows, pink carpeting and even pink furniture; Selina felt her eyes may start turning pink if she had to keep looking at such a horrible sight.

And sitting behind her large pink desk was the Lord of The Dead herself, Furthermore, who was currently sporting the largest and most smug grin Selina had seen in a long time; even her eyes seemed to be smiling. "Hellloo, there Miss Dancemania." she sang. "Fancy seeing you in my office."

"Oh God, not you." Selina groaned, putting her head in her hooves.

"Not a God, exactly." Furthermore teased. "But I am pretty up there for sure."

"Hilarious." Selina snapped. "Now what do you want?"

"To chat." Furthermore replied. "We have a lot to talk about, so you should get comfy!" she waved a hoof and a fully prepared tray with tea, cups and sugar appeared and floated over to Selina. "Tea?"

Selina tried to swat it away, but the tray just kept moving away from her every time she took a swing. "No." she said flatly, giving up in a huff.

Furthermore simply shrugged. "Suit yourself." she helped herself to tea then leaned back in her fluffy chair, clearly content. "So...Selina...my this must come as quite a shock."

Selina rolled her eyes. "I was undead, Furthermore." she said. "I've been down this road before once already."

"Yes, yes I know." said Furthermore. "But the first time you were much nicer about it."

Selina scoffed, turning away from the mare's all too cheery gaze.

"But then of course you went back to Earth; not as a living pony mind you." Furthermore continued. "And that's what's perplexing me so much."

"Never dealt with anyone coming back as a vampire before?"

"Oh dozens." Furthermore chuckled. "But you were a very peculiar case, my dear."

Selina raised an eyebrow, curious. "How so?" she asked.

Furthermore sipped her tea in thought. "Your soul bypassed every measure that was supposed to keep you from turning." she said. "Ordinarily it is quite the hard task to return to Earth as a vampire, otherwise everypony would do it."

Selina looked at her, perplexed.

Furthermore continued. "I have looked into the matter quite thoroughly since I found out you were trying to bargain with Tartarus, and I have reached a conclusion."

Selina waited to hear an explanation.

"I do not believe you returned to Earth as a vampire of your own volition, Selina." Furthermore said, setting her cup down and giving her undead compatriot a hard look. "I believe...someone or something forced you back to Earth for their own machinations."

Selina looked at her for a moment, then started laughing; a rich woman's noble laugh naturally. "Oh, come on." she scoffed. "You think that I, the great Lady Selina Dox Nocturnal Danceman'ya Corporeum was somehow, what, manipulated into coming back as a vampire?" she shook her head. "Utter nonsense."

"Is it?" asked Furthermore, tilting her head slightly. "I wonder..."

Selina continued to laugh, as if the whole thing was a joke. Then seeing Furthermore's solemn expression, she stopped abruptly. "You...you aren't serious."

"I am." Furthermore replied, frowning. "I think you were pulled back to Earth without consent and forced to play a part in a much grander scheme than even you realized." she continued. "You were supposed to come back as a vampire and make your bargain, and then, you were to fall, having fulfilled the task you were supposed to." she sipped her tea. "I would say you played your part, perfectly."

Selina sat in her seat, unmoving; not even angry, just numb. "No." she said. "I refuse to believe it; not me, I was not manipulated." suddenly she started shouting "I AM THE ONE WHO DOES THE MANIPULATING!" she cried out in rage.

"Apparently not." Furthermore replied, pouring herself more tea. "The question now is...what do you intend to do about it?"

"Huh?" Selina asked. "What are you implying? I'm dead, my soul rests here now." she leaned back in the chair, still fuming. "There is no coming back for vampires; once we are dead, we stay dead." she said, crossing her arms. "I am at rest, for good this time."

"Oh, you are far from being at rest, Selina." said Furthermore, dropping a single sugar cube into her cup. "No, you have unfinished business back on Earth do you not?"

Selina thought for a moment. Then it hit her. "Yes." she replied coldly. "Yes, I do in fact have unfinished business, as you put it."

"Which is?"

Selina's red eyes lit up like fires. "I must find the one who forced me to become what I am; the one who wrenched me from the peace of the after world and make them pay dearly for thinking they could screw with the Queen of The Night." Her fangs were visible as she spoke, and her words seemed to hiss through clenched teeth as rage boiled up inside her.

"Excellent." Furthermore said smiling. "It just so happens I know the perfect way for you to accomplish your goal."

"Which is?"

"You are going to return to Earth as a spirit and help Poppy Blossom with her problem." said Furthermore. "She will then help you track down the party who manipulated you."

Selina laughed again. "You wish for me to aid the very one who smote me?" she chuckled. "And just why on Earth would I do such a thing?"

"Because your goals are aligned, my dear." Furthermore said shaking her head. "She seeks her friend who has gone missing from the world, and you seek the ones who manipulated you and made you their unknowing pawn."

Selina sighed. "Did you have to word it like that?"

"You know what I mean." Furthermore replied. "If you help her-"

"She will help me, yes." Selina finished for her. "She seems to have a rather annoying knack for helping others, doesn't she?"

Furthermore laughed as she set her tea aside. "It's one of her best qualities, in my humble opinion."

Selina didn't agree exactly, but she knew Furthermore was right. If she wanted to get her revenge, she had to swallow her pride and aid her destroyer. Could she do that? After everything?

.........

So be it; Poppy was a nuisance yes, but she was far from Selina's greatest enemy now. She had her priorities. All that mattered now was her revenge.

"Very well, Furthermore." Selina replied, giving a fang filled grin. "I shall aid the little mortal in her task; only so I can get my vengeance on my true enemy." she leaned forward still smiling wickedly. "But don't expect me to play nice or anything; she's still my enemy after all."

Furthermore clapped her hooves happily. "Fantastic!" she said, smiling. "Or should I say...Fang-tastic? Eh?....Eh?"

"Don't push it." Selina warned.

END