Lightning and Stitch (#2)

by LightningStar626

Chapters

Chapter 1: The New CHS Hideaway
Chapter 2: A Day Out at the Mall
Chapter 4: Far from Home
Chapter 5: Forgiving Friendship
Chapter 6: Woodrow the Wise
Chapter 7: Whispering Riddles
Chapter 8: Farmer Bonsai and the Forest Rustlers
Chapter 9: Honesty and Magic
Chapter 10: Scar-y Stories
Chapter 11: Forest Ambush
Chapter 12: Star Family Secrets
Chapter 13: The Eye of the Storm
Chapter 14: Hideout Sweet Hideout
Chapter 3: Karly Crystal Disappears

Chapter 1: The New CHS Hideaway

Chapter 1: The E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A Hideout!

E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A Spies: Lightning and Stitch (#2)

Chapter 1: The E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A Hideout!

"Lightning, where exactly are you taking us?"

"You’ll see…"

~Lightning was leading Karly and the Rainbooms around CHS, blindfolded. She directed them through the corridors until she stopped at a double doorway. She flung the two doors open and led everyone inside.~

"Alright, everyone, you can take them off now." Lightning softly said.

~Each one of the girls removed their blindfolds, to see...that they were in their music room. Nothing looked different so, what exactly did Lightning bring them here for?~

"Uh, this is our music room. What’s so special ‘bout it?" Applejack asked.

"We come here all the time to play our instruments!" Rainbow added.

"She’s right. Is there anything in here we should know about?" Sunset shrugged in confusion."

"Yes!” Lightning claimed. “I definitely didn't know this was your personal room. But, hey, that's even better! Come here."

~Lightning goes over to the grand piano in the room and plays a small tune on the keys. The piano suddenly splits in half and slides in the opposite direction of each other to reveal some blue and black carpet stairs heading down. Everyone looks in shock. Twilight straightens her glasses and turns to Lightning.~

"What’s this?"

"Follow me...and all will be revealed…" Lightning said mysteriously, drawing her hand in a straight line.

~Lightning walks down the stairs with a grin as the rest follow her carefully. The piano closed above them and once they reached the bottom, they saw a large open space room. Everyone looks to their right to see red, blue, orange and green large, square tables in a circle in the corner. Against the black wall near the table was a blank, black screen monitor. To the opposite wall of the table and monitor were nine doors, labelled with everyone’s name on each one in this order: Lightning Star, Karly Crystal, Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie. The Chief (Steven) was looking through some files on the red table. He suddenly looks up to see the girls.~

"Hello, agents." Steven holds his arms out warmly. "Welcome to our new E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A Hideout!" He greeted.

"Ta-da! What does everyone think?" Lightning asked rather joyfully.

Everyone stood in silence, they were completely paralysed by shock.

"...What exactly was wrong with the old hideout, Lightning?" Karly asked.

Lightning scoffed. "Three words for you all: Living in style! Come, I’ll show everyone around!"

~Lightning hums and skips pass the Chief to the door with her name on it.~

"You see the doors with your names on them...? That's your room/office." She explained. "It has a bed, a desk, and I have filled it with all the things you know and love in them. Check them out!"

~Pinkie was very ecstatic so she bounced and ran right into hers at the end of the hideout, the next thing that everyone heard was Pinkie loudly gasping with glee and racing back out to Lightning.~

"You gave me an unlimited supply of cupcakes and a CONFETTI BOMB?!" Pinkie asked, feeling pretty hyped.

"What a girl needs to feel comfortable." Lightning replied.

"Just don’t overwhelm yourself, Agent Pie." Chief mentioned while sounding worried because he knows how crazy Pinkie can get.

~Pinkie screams joyfully and zooms back into her room. After seeing Pinkie's reaction, the rest of the Rainbooms eagerly went into their rooms.~

"Impressive, Lightning. How and when did you build all of this?" Karly asked with curiosity.

"I had A Lot of help." She answered. "My uncle is a builder so...with him and my ideas, and 50 builders, this took only 1 week."

"Wow."

"Well, Karly, I don’t know what you're waiting for, go check out your room!"

~Lightning playfully shoves Karly to the door with her name on it and without hesitation, she walks in.~

"You really outdid yourself, didn’t you, Agent Star?" Steven smiled.

"Maybe…" She shyly said, darting her eyes all over the place. "You know, I want these girls to feel comfortable into our agency, and they have to earn our trust and--"

"We need to trust them too. I know." The Chief responded. "And they will. Firstly, I’ll give them a test and an understanding of all this, then you will train them for a bit. Understand?"

"Of course!"

Steven pats Lightning’s shoulder in an appealing manner. "That's my agent. This agency is going to be successful, I can see it in your eyes."

"Don’t forget who’s really in charge…" Lightning points at Steven, then to herself. "You do your thing, I do mine."

"Go on then. While I’ll prepare the introduction."

~Steven goes into a different room opposite Pinkie and Rarity’s room, most likely his office, and leaves Lightning to chill and think for a moment. She leaned on her back and onto the table and happily relaxed until she heard a voice coming from above, she didn’t seem to recognize it.~

"Hello? Twilight?" The voice sounded like barking.

"Uh, who’s there?" Lightning asked.

~Lightning goes upstairs and opens the piano to reach the upstairs music room. She stands in the music room and looks around to find out where that voice came from but sees nothing. Then she looks down and spots a small purple and green-haired dog below her feet gazing at her, he wore a spiked collar and had lime green eyes. Both are silent for a second until the dog speaks.~

"Uh...hi. Have you seen Twilight? She’s the one that cares for me. She wears glasses and has dark blue/purple hair…"

Lightning looked at the dog in shock. "...Uh...suuurrre. Down here. "

~Lightning opens the piano again and leads the puppy downstairs when they saw Karly and the Rainbooms relaxing by the table. It seems as if they had finished checking out and admiring their rooms. Lightning suddenly had the audacity to pick up the dog in her arms and show him to the others. Twilight noticed him right away and stood up from her seat.~

"Spike!" She exclaimed.

"Twilight! I found you!" Spike happily said, kicking his legs and wagging his tail.

Lightning smiled. "Yeah! I believe he is yours…"

~Spike abruptly jumps out of Lightning’s arms and into Twilight’s. Fluttershy also flung out of her seat and walked over to see Spike. She petted him several times on the head as he enjoyed it. Karly softly freaks out and went over to Lightning and whispers.~

"The dog is talking…"

"Well--yeah, I noticed!" Lightning answered in an obvious tone. She then speaks clearer again and turns the girls."So, do you want to say to us who this is, girls?"

"This is Spike. My dog." Twilight introduced.

"He’s...chatty. I mean--he can chat! I mean--he can talk!" Karly stuttered.

"Yeah. It’s a long story." Sunset said.

Fluttershy started to rub the back of the head. "I...gave him equestrian magic, and it gave him the ability to talk…"

"Oh. So, not much of a long story…" said Lightning.

"Well, there’s more than that." Sunset replied.

"But, anyway, Twilight, who are these girls?" Spike asked, pointing his snout towards Lightning and Karly.

"This is Lightning Star and Karly Crystal." Twilight explained.

"They are awesome secret agents for who we are going to help stop bad guys!” Rainbow Dash added, clenching her fists.

"Well, I guess when you put it like that, yeah…" Karly said nervously.

"Really? That sounds amazing! I’ve always wanted to meet a secret agent, even be one!" Spike jumped, wagging his tail faster.

“Well, you’re in luck, Spike! We are training your one and only owners to be SA’s!” Lightning clicked her fingers.

“Well, when they get the approval.” Karly added, smiling.

Spike’s jaw dropped and he smiled while his eyes bulged. “Oh...my...goodness!”

~Spike wags his tail in pleasure when he heard that exciting news. He was very happy to hear his owner was going to be a secret agent.~

“Well, when? When do they get the approval?” Spike asked.

“Very soon. The Chief is preparing it. For now, he just wants us to bond.” Lightning explained.

Rarity slowly lifted her arms up in confusion. “As in…?”

“As in getting to know each other more. Since, we didn't get much of a chance, first time we met.”

“Really?” Karly lifted her eyebrows.

“Yeah. I want to say it’s part of the test. But he could just want us to really get along by sharing details about ourselves and our interests.” Lightning said.

Sunset thinks about it. “Well, if it’s going to help out the Chief, also if we are all going to be together now.”

~The rest of the Rainbooms all agree with Sunset. Lightning, Karly, The Rainbooms and Spike sit or lay on the table and begin to chat.~

“How about we start with the easy stuff, like family.” Twilight suggested.

Lightning’s happy face suddenly changed and she got all serious. “OH, I DO NOT talk about my family. Can I--Can I skip this one?” She then says calmly, raising her hand.

“Yeah, can I too?” Sunset also asked shyly.

Karly frowned. “Uh...certainly girls, especially you, Lightning, I know how you get when it comes to your family…Stingy and sad.”

~Karly watched Lightning curl up in a ball and pull a sad expression on her face as she sits on the table. The Rainbooms and Spike did look a bit suspicious but moved on.~

“I’ll go first. I live with my Mother, Shine Secret, my Father, Crystal Mines, and my little brother, Bronze Crystal.” Karly started. “They are all wonderful, but sometimes we argue. My uncle, Steven Secret is the principal of mine and Lightning’s school and the Chief of this agency now. My uncle, in my opinion, is bossy. And very over-protective towards me. And I try to calm myself but sometimes it’s annoying.” She starts to build up anger suddenly. “If I’m one thing, it’s clumsy. I have a history of breaking my uncle’s glasses to the point where he once had to use bowls to drink from!”

Everyone sat in shocked silence until Lightning chuckled weirdly. “It’s true. But don’t worry. She’s--she’s ok.” Lightning pats Karly’s back softly and she calms down.

“Wow, that's a lot to take in when you say it all at once.” Pinkie pointed.

“Now that I think about it, maybe talking about family wasn’t a good idea…” Twilight nervously said while placing her hand on Spike’s head.

“How about we just talk about our interests instead?” Rarity suggested.

“Yeah…that's easier for me…” Lightning sighed in relief.

“I’ll go first...again...I guess.” Karly shrugged.

Chapter 2: A Day Out at the Mall

Chapter 2: First Test.

“So, I enjoy drawing, gaming and a lot more.” Sunset finished.

“Wow, I wish I was like that…” Lightning wished.

Twilight stuttered. “I don’t think you would want to be…”

“Having more than one activity would make me giddy. Unless you could handle such things, it would be horrendous!” Rarity said, shuddering a little.

“Or unless you can do them all in 10 seconds flat!” Rainbow said proudly.

“Only you can pull a stunt like that, Rainbow Dash, and maybe Lightnin’ could, but I don’t think so. Unless you wanna bet…?” Applejack dared.

“I don’t think I'll like to see that…” Fluttershy shook a little.

“It’ll be WAAAY too much to handle!” Pinkie rolled her eyes in a circle.

“Hm...I wonder what’s taking so long…” Spike whimpered, getting impatient.

“It won’t be that long, Spike…” Lightning said, smiling at him.

~Later, The Equestria Girls explained their adventures to Lightning and Karly. Starting with the Fall Formal and how Princess Twilight came to the world. Sunset got a little emotional for the duration of the story.~

“The Fall Formal was a blast!” Pinkie jumped up high.

“Yeah, literally…” Rainbow said in annoyance.

“Why? What else happened…?” Karly asked.

She suddenly saw Sunset blushing in embarrassment. “Don’t ask me, please…” She tried to shield her face from Lightning and Karly.

“Uh...ok…” Lightning said quietly.

~Next, Rainbow Rocks was told, and more info on the Dazzlings was said too. Lightning and Karly were intrigued by this alot. Lightning got a little too mad when she heard how everyone was treating each other and the Rainbooms poorly, sabotaging each other and arguing. Alot. But they were under a spell, so she gave everyone a pass on their behaviour.~

“So, the sirens came from that Equestria pony-world…?” Lightning asked.

“Yes…” Sunset answered.

“And fed on the negative energy the students caused…?” Karly added.

“Uh...yes...I think.” Twilight nodded.

“It was also a blast!” Pinkie jumped.

~Later, The Friendship Games was explained and how Cinch blackmailed Twilight and convinced her to use the magic she obtained from the girls. Twilight got a little sad about it all again, but she happily explained her research on Equestrian magic to the two agents. Lightning was a little confused over the using magic to defeat Midnight Sparkle, even though the girls said it was taken.~

Lightning blinked. “So...even though your magic was partially taken, you still used it to defeat Twilight?”

“Must have still had some more in there…” Applejack claimed, putting her hand to her chest.

“I want to say you are 30% human, 70% magic.” Karly joked.

“And maybe 10% pony…” Sunset said with a laugh.

“That’s awesome!” Lightning consoled.

“It’s a blast!” Pinkie repeated.

Lightning then questioned. “Does this mean we are three-quarters magic now too?”

~Finally, The Legend of Everfree was finally narrated to the girls. And the legend of Gaea Everfree was also added on for fun. Karly cowered in fear over the story while Lightning just shrugged it off, like she had heard of an even more scarier story or something. The girls explained how they got their geodes and that's that.~

“You finally got the geodes in Camp Everfree?” Karly smiled.

“Seems legit.” Lightning shrugged. Pinkie suddenly took in a deep breath and was about to say something but Lightning interrupted. “And was it a blast?” Pinkie started nodding her head roughly.

“For rebuilding our runway for the fourth time…” Rarity rolling her eyes.

“The dock, Rarity…” Applejack corrected with a smug.

“Dock, yes...That’s what I meant…”

~Later, It was Lightning and Karly’s turn to explain their adventures. They told everyone how they met, how they met Devil, and how the agency came into order. However, the stories were shortly told. It was because the stories were way too long to be explained fully and they just didn't have enough time. But Lightning promised they will tell them the full stories another time.~

"So, how come you didn't have a name for this agency?" Sunset asked.

Lightning scoffed. "Because the agency became mine, like, 30 seconds ago! Before we were sucked up by the portal and spat out in this world-"

~Lightning was then interrupted by a door opening. The Chief then comes over, holding a few files and sheets of paper. He shoves them in Karly's hands and begins to explain what will they do next.~

"Whoa!-Ok!" Karly yelped, trying to keep the papers in place.

"Alright, agents...If only the new girls would follow me into this room here." Steven started to walk away when Pinkie shouted.

"Oh-if you want to address to all of us, you can say The Rainbooms…!" Pinkie claimed with a smile.

"Um...Alright. If the only The Rainbooms would follow me into this room here." Steven points to another door next to his office with his pencil.

~Twilight placed Spike on the table, and she and the others follow Steven in a small testing room. Spike was left only with Lightning and Karly, and all three didn't have a clue on what to say.~

Karly then softly smiled. "I guess...you're kinda cute…"

~Karly handed the papers over to Lightning while she processed to pet and tickle Spike's head and ears with her finger.~

"Oooh, yeah...You found my itchy spot...A little to the left, please." Spike cooed.

"You know, Karly...you have a good way with dogs and small animals." Lightning smiled, placing the papers on the table.

"Well, it's because I love them! I mean, I also had a dog who grew up with me since he was a puppy, and seeing other dogs makes me happy to know they live good lives as well…"

"Hm…I wish I had a pet to comfort with...I never did…" Lightning looks at the ground sadly.

"Yeah, I guess you never had the experience of having a pet…"

"Well, it's alright." She stood up firmly. "I don't need a pet! I already have my best friend! That all I need!" Lightning declared as she put an arm around Karly.

"Thanks, Lightning. Who knows? You may get a pet soon when you move out!"

"Still not for another 10 years…" Lightning shrugged.

"Still soon though…" Karly comforted.

~Karly takes a seat on the table and jiggled Spike's stomach, which made him laugh and bark happily.~

"Hm...ok, that's cute…" Lightning said, being overloaded with cuteness.

~Lightning was about to say more when she looked at the stairs and saw what looked to be another dog. But, it was in the dark so she couldn't tell its fur colour, its black eyes just glowed at her for a second until it scurried off up the stairs again.~

"What...was...that?" Lightning asked suspiciously.

"What was what…?" Karly asked.

"A...another dog? Do the...Rainbooms have a second dog?" Lightning turned to Spike.

"I don't know…" Karly said.

"No...It's just me…" Spike answered, getting back up on his four legs.

"Then what was that thing doing in here?"

~Lightning got immediately curious and followed after the creature.~

Karly suddenly panicked. "What the-Lightning, wait! Stay here, Spike...I think that's your name, wasn't it…?"

~Karly got out of her seat and raced upstairs to find Lightning, leaving Spike alone. Spike stared around the hideout before wandering around, he never got given a tour around the hideout, so he did it himself. Karly swung the front door of CHS open and ran, making it to the statue, with the heavy, loud wind blowing in her hair, she continued to search for her curious friend.~

"LIGHTNING! Lightning!" Karly yelled.

~Thunder just crashed from above. Karly looked up frightfully to see a lot of grey, cumulonimbus clouds coming this way, and they were causing a lot of stormy effects. Karly began to panic and tried looking even harder for Lightning before noticing dog-like tracks and Lightning's tracks on the floor, but they were washing out fast. Karly ran, following the footprints and called out for Lightning even louder.~

"LIGHTNING! WHERE ARE YOU?! Come on, forget the creature thing we saw, it's too stormy to be out here!"

"KARLY? KARLY! I'M HERE!"

"Lightning!"

~Lightning rushes to Karly, safe, thankfully, but didn't listen to her and carried on in the storm.~

"The creature went that way!" Lightning pointed straight and went to run in that direction but Karly stops her by grabbing her hand.

"Lightning, I wouldn't bother about it! I'd bother about getting inside! The weather forecast said nothing about a terrible storm...so, we need to prepare ourselves!" Karly shouted.

"An unexpected storm isn't going to stop me! Besides, that creature would also need help! If it stays out here, it may be blown away!"

"We will too if we do not get back inside!"

"It's ok!" Lightning assured.

"No, it's not! Those are cumulonimbus clouds! They are known to create such disastrous storms!" Karly explained loudly.

"It's not that bad! I just want to find that little thing!"

"'Little thing'?-Lightning! Get back here!"

"Just give me a minute!"

~Lightning shakes Karly's grasp of her and she rushes off in the direction she said the animal went, and Karly reluctantly followed still yelling Lightning to come back, sadly Karly trips over a rock and face planted on the floor, slowing her down.~

"Ow...Come on, Lightning, this is no time to JOKE AROUND!" Karly got up and continued to chase after Lightning.

~Both girls ended up at a construction site near the city. Lightning looks around for the creature as Karly holds onto a piece of railing. The storm was getting worse, as the breeze increased and blew heavier. Karly was trying to get her hair out of her face and Lightning was too, until she saw the creature, crawl over a fence without jumping or falling. She was insanely impressive and it gave her a start.~

"Wow…"

"LIGHTNING!" Karly screamed.

Lightning turns. "YEAH?!"

"This hurricane is too much for me to bear! Come back, please!" Karly begged.

"ALRIGHT! If it's upsetting you that much!" Lightning yelled, feeling annoyed.

"It's frightening me and-" Karly suddenly gasped.

~Karly glared upwards and saw some bricks, laying on the top of the building structure in a red steel box. Lightning struck near it and it pushed the box off the railing of the structure. It was falling and was about to crash right on top of Lightning!~

Karly screamed again. "Lightning, LOOK OUT!"

~Karly released the railing she was grasping onto and tackled Lightning out of the way. Lightning landed still in a painful spot though. Her head whacked the next railing beside her and she collapsed to the ground, about to fall unconscious. But, before her eyelids faded to darkness, her vision went blurry and it saw that the bricks fell onto Karly. Only 5 out of 20 hit her, but, each one hit her in a painful position. The head, the neck, the back, the arms, and the legs. Lightning yelled to her before her eyes fell into darkness.~

Chapter 4: Far from Home

Chapter 4: Far from Home.

~Lightning groaned and opened her eyes, but they didn't constantly flutter from the bright light above her, instead, they were still as a stone. Ignoring it, she looked at her surroundings. Rocky plains and mountains were shown, and Lightning saw herself lying in the rocky pavement and the shallow water of the river. She got up and wiped some of the water off her face. Her clothes and hair were half wet and super messy. She was able to fix herself up a little by tying her hair in a ponytail and attempting to dry her clothes in the spot where the most wind is breezing, holding her sleeveless jacket up high.~

Lightning grunted. "Great. We're Lost. How far though? Ah, Never mind. I'll worry about that when I find the others." She sighed.

~A scream was suddenly heard on the other side of the river far away, and it alerts Lightning to go and check it out. Roughly putting her jacket back on, Lightning arrives to see Rarity, Spike and Applejack, soaked and covered in bruises. It didn't take long for Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Twilight to also be alerted by Rarity's scream, assuming it was Rarity, and came over to where it came from. They were also covered in bruises and half-covered in water. However, Sunset and Pinkie were nowhere to be found.~

"Rarity, Are you ok?" Twilight moaned.

"My clothes are drenched! My massacre is running down…! And-" She then groaned and put her hand on her head. "I don't feel good…"

"Neither do I." Fluttershy sighed.

"You can say that again...my head hurts. Are you alright, Lightnin'?" Applejack asked, turning to Lightning.

"Me?" She softly clutched her head. "I've been better. What about you? Looks like you girls went in quite a calamity too."

"...The river was a lot rockier than we thought." Twilight said, looking down.

Spike's head and eyes suddenly started spinning. "My...head...hurts…"

~Without warning, Spike collapses to the ground with all four of his paws stretched out. Twilight and Fluttershy then both got super concerned after Spike fainted. Twilight kneels beside him, and Fluttershy places her hand over her mouth in shock.~

"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Wh-what's wrong with him…?!" Fluttershy worried.

Applejack kneels down and puts her hand on Spike's back. "He must be worn out from that fight with that other dog."

"Oh yeah! It's that little thing's fault we're in this mess! And his bite was vicious!" Rainbow stated, rubbing her injured leg.

"I told you!" Lightning yelled.

"Lightnin', Rainbow Dash, let's not worry about that for now. We need to help Spike and find out where we are." said Applejack.

"Right, Right…" Lightning replied, calming down again.

~Everyone nods in agreement. Twilight lifted Spike from where he was lying. She then noticed that Spike didn't just have bruises from the rocky river, but scratches and cuts all over him and under his paws and belly. He needed medical attention quick.~

"Poor Spikey Wikey...We better find Sunset and Pinkie, as well as search for some medicine or something to heal Spike." Rarity worried.

"Hm." Twilight nodded in distress.

Everyone suddenly heard a scream.

Lightning's head turns left. "Looks like we don't have to look far."

"That sounded like Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

~The team races off to where they heard Pinkie's scream. They ran until they came across a high mountain slope of small and medium-sized rocks. With Pinkie and Sunset on top of the cliff above the rock pile at the very edge. It looked like something was threatening them, trapping them on the edge.~

"Girls!" Twilight called.

Pinkie Pie turned and looked down. "Twilight! Up here!"

"It's the blue, vicious dog!" exclaimed Sunset.

Lightning glowers. "What?!"

~Lightning started to climb up and the rocky mountain of rocks, almost slipping every time she placed a foot on the rocks since they weren't sturdy and they tumbled down, making sandy dust to blind the others down below. Lightning, eventually made it to the cliff, just hanging on below Pinkie's feet, she tilted her head as much as she could to see the blue dog creature, sitting down and staring at her normally, he wasn't growling or whimpering, so he wasn't scared of them, or even making himself scary. Lightning glared at the dog and tried to get up the cliff to give him a piece of her mind.~

"Come here, you little-Come here!" Lightning struggled.

~The dog looked in confusion and began to carefully amble to Lightning's face, sniffing along the way. Lightning then got worried, thinking the animal will attack.~

"No, Stay away, you little-Stay away!"

~Lightning was able to softly push the dog away from her, and the dog responds by turning around and kicking dusty sand in her face, making her cough and release her grip on the cliff, making her fall back down. Applejack catches her in time before she is terribly injured for the third time dealing with this thing. Pinkie and Sunset turn and look down to see if Lightning was ok, looking worried and confused. The dog then scurried off, not interested in the girls anymore.~

"Thank you, Applejack." Lightning panted.

Twilight looked at Lightning then up at the slope. "Hm...Come on, girls. We gotta catch that thing!"

"Why, Twilight? We need to find Karly!" Applejack stated.

"I have a feeling it may know something about Karly's whereabouts…" Twilight replied.

Spike fluttered his eyes open. "It...must...do…"

"Spike…"

"When I tried to catch Karly's scent on a strand of her hair...that thing's scent was also on it…" He coughed.

"So, it's responsible!?" Rainbow bellowed.

Lightning growled.

"It's responsible…" Twilight shamefully confirms.

"I don't think I'm comfortable with this…" Fluttershy said, feeling unsure. "What if we're wrong and the creature is sweet, innocent and just misunderstanding…?"

Lightning grunted. "He has some ties in with Karly's disappearance! I'm not taking any chances!"

~Lightning skillfully makes it up the rocks again, with some help from Sunset this time. The others had to catch up as well, using Rarity, Applejack and Twilight's magic. All eight girls and Spike made it to the top and look beyond into somewhat of a spruce forest. Lightning slowly begins to stomp to it.~

"Let's go!" She commanded.

"Whoa there, Lightning." Sunset stopped Lightning. "I know you want to catch this thing, but I would rather focus on the most important thing…"

"What could be more important?" Lightning scowled.

~Sunset points to the unhealthy Spike rocking in Twilight's arms. Rarity then takes in a deep breath and sighs and walks over to Lightning with tranquillity in her voice.~

"I agree with Sunset. We should find something to heal our darling, Spike."

Lightning's scrunched up face faded into a concerned face. "Uuuggghhh…! Fine!" She then groaned.

Rainbow nudged her arm. "No need to worry! I'll find something for Spike in 10 seconds flat!"

~With that, Rainbow dashes around and into the forest with her speed, she then returns 2 seconds later.~

"Ok, maybe not in 10 seconds flat...there's hardly anything in this damp forest!"

"Maybe it's because ya rushed it. We need to look closer and around the other mountains too." Applejack said.

"I could ask the animals in the forest as well…they can help…" Fluttershy suggested.

"Go for it, girls. We should split up as well to cover more ground." Sunset happily said.

"What if we lose each other?" Fluttershy asked.

"Shoot up a flare! Or...use your powers as a signal. Whichever." Lightning yelled and shugged.

"I'll make fireworks using my exploding sprinkles!" Pinkie shot her hands up in the air contentedly.

"Yeah...ok." Lightning said.

"But, remember, Pinkie Pie. Only use your powers if you see something helpful or suspicious." Applejack stated.

"Got it! Something helpful or suspicious…" Pinkie said in a serious tone as she darts her eyes to the left and right.

"Twilight and I will search the left side of the forest." Rarity said, pointing in that said direction.

"Then me and Applejack get to look around the right side!" Rainbow exclaimed, pointing right.

"I'll take Pinkie with me to look over the northwest…" Sunset directed Pinkie to the northwest.

"I'll...um...take Flutters and me to the northeast...I guess…" Lightning stuttered a little.

Twilight sighed. "Spike will be with me and Rarity too."

"Alright…" Lightning sighed.

Sunset smiles proudly. "We'll find something that can help Spike and we'll meet back here once we do. If anyone finds something, use the signal. Let's split up."

~Everyone nods and splits up two by two and heads to the moderately sized trees in different directions. Rainbow and Applejack run for it, while the rest walk.~

~A little while had passed and no one had any luck in finding anything. No signal was activated. Lightning and Fluttershy were strolling down the forest pathway and Lightning was gravely irritated. Her hand was covering half of her face then she throws both of her hands forward and sighs.~

"There's nothing here!" Lightning groaned. "I think the forest had already been explored, let's just head back, I'm getting bored."

"Um...Lightning...this is only the first area...I'm sure the others may also find something…" Fluttershy softly stated while smiling.

"This makes us coming here a waste of time. I'm sure Spike can heal himself! I honestly don't want to do this!" Lightning huffed, crossed her arms.

The shy girl gasps in shock. "H-How can you say that?! Spike needs our help...! We can't leave him in agony…! Princess Twilight did tell me one time, you can't always get what you want…"

Lightning looked at Flutters in fear and sighs. "Ok…Ok...I'm getting frustrated again...Of course, I can't always get what I want...I have never met this Princess Twilight but she sounds like she's a good mentor…"

"She is...She brought us back together, reformed Sunset Shimmer and helped us defeat the Dazzlings too. We have been keeping in touch ever since." Fluttershy replied.

"What would she say about this situation?" asked Lightning.

"A friend going missing? I'm not sure…"

"Well-Actually, I don't know what to say about that…"

~Fluttershy giggled and Lightning smiles and rolls her eyes, calming down from her frustration. Although, she is still feeling salty about that mysterious dog and his ties with Karly going missing. Fluttershy could still see Lightning was upset from her expression, so she attempts to still be understanding by smiling softly and sweetly and placing her hand on Lightning's shoulder. This makes Lightning smile back at her, feeling comfortable to be around her. Fluttershy then spots something hanging from a small oak tree and cheers.~

"That's perfect…!" She gasped and rushes over to the tree.

"Hm?"

"Do you see those berries on that tree?"

Lightning looks up to see red berries on the top of the tree. "Yeah…"

"We can use them. They are Wuloric berries. They heal bad wounds and any poor animals that are sick…" Fluttershy explained.

"How do you know?" Lightning asked.

"A mouse brought them to me one time and told me to give them to a bird with an injured wing, and the next day, the bird was flying high once again…!"

Lightning smugged. "Huh. I guess if it worked for that bird, it'll work for Spike. Ok, I'll climb up the tree and get the berries, you signal the others to come here…"

~Lightning takes off her jacket and throws it on the floor before jumping on the tree. Clutching on the bark and branches, she gradually makes her way up the tree. Fluttershy walks over to another nearby tree and calls out to some birds. Three of them answer her call and flew down. Two landed on her head and the third one lands on her finger. The one on her finger chirps and Fluttershy begins to whisper to it. It nods after she was done whispering and all the birds fly off. She goes back to Lightning still climbing the tree.~

"My bird friends will find the others…" Fluttershy waved.

"Alright-WHOA!"

~Lightning goes to turn to Fluttershy's direction but one of her hands loses grip and she began to fall but Lightning grasps on again, quickly, only a bit lower than where she was. Fluttershy covers her eyes when Lightning slipped but opens them again to see if she's ok.~

"Phew...I'm ok! Fast reflexes! What a secret agent mostly needs!"

The shy girl sighs in relief. "Ok…" Her eyes suddenly widen. "Um…?"

"I know, my reflexes are so quick." Lightning continued, ignoring her. "Well, it's because most villains like to take you by surprise, so my reflexes improved every time I encounter these types of villains."

"Um...Lightning?"

"Hopefully your skills can grow to be like me!"

"Lightning?"

"Maybe even better than me!"

"Lightning, look out-"

Fluttershy screamed and Lightning shouted in surprise.

Chapter 5: Forgiving Friendship

Chapter 5: Confronting.

~Lightning was suddenly knocked off the tree as she just seized the berries. She lands to the ground beside Fluttershy with a thud, but thankfully, she had no injuries. Lightning looked back at the tree to see a creature slithering down it. It looked to be a sloth, snake, and fox but combined together. It droopily smiles at the two girls, but was staring at the berries in Lightning's hand.~

"What the heck is that thing, Fluttershy?" Lightning yelled, pointing at the thing.

"I...I don't know. I've never seen that kind of animal before…!" Fluttershy replied, cowering behind Lightning.

~The creature moves in a zigzag to get to the girls, but it appears to be very slow so it doesn't catch up to them. But the creature was also attacked by a blue ball that came rolling in. Both creatures have a brawl from inside the forest as they wrestled into it. Lightning and Fluttershy both watch in surprise and horror, not long before Spike and the Rainbooms appear.~

Rarity went over to the girls. "Are you two alright?"

Rainbow panted. "We got your signal and followed the birds here-What is that?!"

~Rainbow points to the sloth-snake creature fighting with what looks to be the blue dog the girls were chasing after. But, why did it help Lightning and Fluttershy?~

"Not sure." Lightning said.

"It looks to be a sloth." Twilight identified.

"But a snake too!" Rarity said.

"And a fox!" Applejack added.

"It's a sloth-snake-fox!" Pinkie clarified.

"It's an amazing discovery!" Twilight then said, sounding fascinated. "And is that the-"

"Blue dog I'm still after?" Lightning interrupted. "Yes. Though I don't know why it helped us?"

~Before anyone could say more the sloth creature was thrown out of the forest and it slowly slithered away. The blue dog then came out of the forest, still barking and growling until the thing was out of its sight. It then turns to The Rainbooms and Spike and Lightning with a lovable smile and its tongue sticking out and panting.~

"What just happened?" Lightning inquired, rather cluelessly.

"A lot happened…" Fluttershy answered in a sudden tone.

Lightning glared once again. "Who cares?! This dog is still toast!"

~Lightning pounced on the dog but it ceases smiling and jumps backwards only for Lightning to faceplant in front of it. She tilts her head to glare at it, then something unexpected came out of its mouth.~

"Enough, please! Persistent girls, aren't you? What you want from me?!"

~Everyone doesn't say a word and just stares at the dog in shock. Lightning gets up from where she landed and unties her hair before freaking out from this second talking dog.~

"Um….U-U-mmm Do-Do-es-BLAA! Does every dog speak in this universe?!" Lightning stuttered rather loudly.

"No...not at all…" Sunset said in shock.

"Even more amazing discoveries!" Twilight exclaimed happily.

"Another talking dog…?! This is...so...amazing!" Fluttershy's eyes bulge.

Rarity flipped out. "Oh my goodness!"

"Should me repeat the question?" The dog asked while staring.

"Don't ya mean 'Should I'?" Applejack questioned.

"Ih." The dog nodded.

Lightning raised a brow. "Ih?"

"Yes." The creature simplified.

"Yes what?" Lightning raised her brow higher.

"Cama...What you want?"

"Um...yeah. We're looking for our friend, Karly Crystal." Sunset replied.

Lightning suddenly bursted in. "Who you took away from me! Where is she?!"

The cub whimpered and jumped backwards. "Please! This is a misunderstanding. Ih, me has taken her. But, only to help. When you chased me to the construction site and got injured, me felt bad and wanted to help." He explained. "So me dragged your friend away to this forest and gave her those kinds of berries."

Lightning stops glaring and stares at the berries in her hand.

"Then went to get you, but you were gone…" The cub continued. "So, me headed back, but your friend was gone too. Me tried to look for her. When you started to chase me."

"Why cha go back to the site, then?" asked Applejack.

"To get a scent on her."

"That would explain why I smelt your scent on Karly's hair." A voice barked.

Everyone turned to where the voice came from and saw Spike good as new.

"Spike! You're Ok!" Twilight exclaimed.

"I gave him the berries." Fluttershy smiled.

"Yeah! I've never felt any better!" Spike wagged his tail strongly.

"Those berries worked wonders!" Lightning grinned.

"Well, this is starting to make sense, but it doesn't explain why you attacked us and bit me!" Rainbow yelled, getting back on topic as well as showing the dog her bitten leg.

"That. Really sorry. You startled me and attacked me first! Me got defensive. And when startled, me don't think and end up fighting aggressively." He explained, blushing.

"Hm." Lightning sighed.

"Do you want berries on that leg?" The dog asked.

Rainbow looked down upon him. "I guess, yeah." She shrugged.

~The dog takes the berries off of Lightning and crushes them into a liquid with its mouth before spitting it out onto its paw. It went up to Rainbow and rubbed the berries on the wound.~

"Ow, that stings!" Rainbow grunted.

The dog looked up. "It will."

"...Whoa...thanks...It actually now feels good." Rainbow shook her leg.

"You're welcome…"

"Alright, now that y'all are safe. Do you know where we are, little one?" Applejack kneeled down.

"This is Wuloric Forest." It answered.

"Wuloric Forest?!" Twilight exclaimed. "I've heard of this place. Miles away from CHS."

Pinkie's eyes widen. "What?!"

"Your friend was unconscious for a day. Because me dragged her here for 24 hours without stopping…" The blue cub explained.

"So, if you dragged her here, means it took you a day?!" Rarity asked, sounding alarmed.

The cub nodded.

"Means we're 24 hours away from home!" Rarity blurted.

"At walking speed…Not to mention finding Karly first and resting every few hours…" Lightning groaned.

The dog flopped its ears. "Truly sorry." He whimpered.

Fluttershy smiled sadly. "It's ok...I'm sure we can handle it...can we?" She turns to the others.

"I don't...know." Lightning answered. She glares at the dog. "Hm. You know, I'm still going to crush you for everything…"

Both Fluttershy and the cub turn to Lightning in shock. But Lightning then asked.

"But, before I do...Are there any more of those berries…?"

The puppy looked at her in confusion.

~Later, the creature showed everyone around the forest and up top a medium-sized mountain. They were walking across a narrow part of the mountain and on top a slope with their backs against the wall. The creature then stopped and pointed to some more Wuloric berries below them on a cliff. Lightning smiled crookedly and slid down to get them.~

"Wuloric berries can only be found in this forest, implying the name, but are still very rare. Be glad me found some more." The dog said.

"Lightning, why do you need more berries?" Rarity asked her, trying to stay close to the rocky wall.

Lightning turns to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, you said these berries heal the sick and injured, right?"

"Mmm-hmm." She nodded.

"So, I figured they can help me with my head! It's been bulging and making my eyes blurry for hours…" She groaned.

~Lightning begins to shuffle to the berries while the others watch her. However, Rarity leans too far forward and ends up slipping and she begins sliding down the mountain, screaming.~

"Rarity!" Everyone screamed.

Rarity screams in fear and it alerts Lightning.

"WHOA!"

~Lightning swiftly shuffles away from the berries and grabs Rarity's shirt before she plummeted down the mountain. Lightning was dragged down a bit, but she grasps on the edge of the cliff. Both girls were now hanging on the edge but were unharmed.~

The fashion girl looked up at Lightning in relief. "Lightning, you saved my life."

"Well, I would have done it for anyone…" Lightning replied simply. "A-and-haha-my fast reflexes kick in so-"

"Thank you."

~Lightning smiles at Rarity before they are lifted back on the cliff by Twilight's magic, Pinkie hugs both Lightning and Rarity and smiles hugely at them.~

"Girls, You're ok!" She cheers.

"Thanks to Lightning…" Rarity pointed.

Lightning smiled at Rarity again. "Hm…Hey, where did the creature go?"

"To get the berries."

~Everyone looks down to see the creature with the berries in its mouth.~

It smiled at the girls. "Should have let me finish my sentence. Me would get the berries. You stay."

Lightning looked skeptical. "Right, thank you...-actually we never got your name, what's your name?"

"Yeah! You must have a name!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"Yes, we can't keep calling you a creature all the time…" Twilight added.

The dog stayed silent for a while then spoke sadly. "Me...has no name...or home."

"What?" Fluttershy questioned.

"Me never named." It repeated.

"Oh…" Fluttershy tilted her head sadly.

"Wow…" Lightning softly whispered.

"Just call me 'dog' or 'critter' until me get a name." The dog sighed.

Lightning shrugged. "Hm…"

"Maybe we can name you…" Fluttershy suggested.

"Huh?"

~Fluttershy smiles and picks up the critter in her arms. Holding it like a baby, she rubs its nose with her finger.~

"If we can name you, we can comfort you and take care of you." The butterfly girl said.

"Um...yeah...haha, Flutters, once you name it, you start getting attached to it!" Lightning laughed angrily.

"That's why you're going to name it."

"What?"

~Fluttershy smiles and hands the critter over to Lightning. She holds it in disgust and confusion and the critter looks with discomfort.~

"What do you mean?"

"If you name it, Lightning, maybe you can learn to get along. And you can get attached to it…!" Flutters explained.

"Me don't need to be taken care of." The creature denied. "Me managed to survive here for years."

"But, you do seem so lonely…" Sunset answered sadly.

"So?"

"You could use a friend." Fluttershy smiled.

"And you think I should be his first friend?" Lightning asked. She then starts fake laughing. "Ha. ha. This blue cub thing has spirited away my best friend!"

"Me said me was sorry!" The dog argued.

"And got us lost in the wilderness,...far from home!"

"Forgive him, Lightning." Twilight spoke out. "After all, he did help heal Spike."

"And saved ya and Fluttershy from that beast." Applejack added.

Lightning stared at the girls then sighed. "True. Hm...Fine. But, if I have to name it I'll need to think. But, can we also not do it when we are standing on a dangerous cliff…!"

~Everyone looks down to see themselves still pressed up against the wall and tip-toed over the rocky slope of the mountain, holding on the rocks wedged in the walls too.~

"Of course." Twilight responded simply.

Chapter 6: Woodrow the Wise

Chapter 6: Naming Stitch Stitch.

~Spike and the girls all head-on in the forest again, the critter was trying to keep up with them, but then felt a weird pain in his stomach. He alerts Fluttershy, who then informs the girls to stop for a while.~

"What's wrong, little one?"

"Me think, me have to go."

"Now?" Lightning asked, rather annoyed.

It nods roughly.

Lighting sighed. "Alright...be quick."

~With Lightning's reluctant approval, the critter scurries off behind a rock to do his business. He also made sure and girls look away when he does, with some help from Spike, tugging on everyone's shoes in the other direction. Lightning crosses her arms and taps her foot constantly on the ground. She was getting antsy and wanted to find Karly soon. Suddenly a mysterious voice was heard from in the forest and it made everyone gasp.~

"Hello."

"What the…? Hello?" Lightning tilted her head to the left and right.

Applejack also turned around. "Who's there?"

~The voice sounded deep and creepy-like. Lightning started glaring through the trees to try to find out where the voice came from and whose it was because it sounded very close. But no one was there. Lightning and Applejack were about to turn around when a pair of yellow, derpy eyes opened up from inside the trees. A tall person then stepped out into the open for the girls to see. He had his arms stretched out so his body was in the shape of a religious cross. Over 10 birds were also perched on his open arms and more creatures were hooked onto his legs. Both Lightning and Applejack stared in fear and confusion as this forest man approached them. The rest of the Rainbooms also turned to see this man walked crookedly to them.~

"We've been watching you. We thought you were going to die. But then you didn't. That creature protected you."

"Yeeeaaahhh…" Lightning responded unsurely.

"Why?" He asked without showing any emotion.

"He was...sympathetic towards us…" Twilight answered. "We're looking for a friend." She then said.

"Yes, have you seen a girl with blue eyes?" Rarity asked.

Lightning stepped in. "One of them is cyan, the other is sky blue." The Rainbooms look at her weirdly. "Karly has heterochromia iridium." She explained to them.

"She is also wearing a dark pink shirt…" Sunset added.

One of his birds chirps in his ear. "Good idea. We want him." He then said, ignoring their questions.

"What? Why?" Lightning inquired.

"Cause it's terrifying out here! He can protect me. Like my friends."

~The man slowly turns and points to a gecko hanging on his right hand.~

"This is Fury. He protects me from the creatures that crawl in the night."

~He then turns down to a fox below his feet.~

"This is Destroyer. She protects me from mosquitos." He points to a beaver. "This is Toother. He protects me from having nightmares." He points to a bird. "And this is Debby…" Debby chirps. "Yes...We need him. What is his name?"

Lightning was a little confused. "A name? He hasn't got a name. I still haven't thought of a name yet."

Twilight goes over to Sunset and whispers. "What is he? Some sort of pet collector?"

"Maybe." She replied.

The pet collector blinked slowly. "I will meditate on this. Hmmm...I name him I keep him. Hmmm...Killer!"

~Everyone turns to the blue dog to see if he responded. He didn't. The strange man continues to meditate.~

"Hmmm...Beast! Hmmm...Murderer!" The collector continued humming.

Twilight went over to Lightning. "Lightning, quick! Think of a name or we'll lose him!"

"Ok, ok! Um...Let me think of a name. I always liked names that started with 'S', so...uh...Spot!" Lightning and the collector kept yelling out random names.

"Funeralplanner!"

"Slinky!"

"Hmmm...Hammerarm!"

"Squirt!"

"...Freak!"

"Stinky!"

"Maniac!"

"Santa!"

"Violet…"

"Spike!"

Spike turned to Lightning. "Really?"

"Digger!"

"STITCH!"

"Wh-What...?"

~The critter responded! Confused though. He bounces over to Lightning when she called. Fluttershy also smiles at the name. Twilight too.~

"Stitch. Stitch! Come here, Stitch!" Lightning slapped her thighs as he reached her.

"He is named. You clearly are connected. Good for you. On your path to find your friend, that creature will keep you safe." The collector said.

Rainbow suddenly frowned. "Are you saying we can't keep ourselves safe?"

He ignored her. "Don't ever lose him." He weirdly smiled but then Debby chirps and srtas to attack. "No. No! Debby! Y-You can't have him, Debby! No! No! Debby!"

"The bird has gone nuts! Run for it!" Rainbow yelled.

~Lightning swarms and runs away in a random direction while the rest follow her. The pet collector also chases them, but only to obtain his bird again.~

"Debby! Stop! You're better than this! No! Come back! Debby!"

~The collector runs past a big rock to get his bird and the girls peek out from behind it, escaping the guy and his pets.~

"That was close." Spike sighed in relief.

"Yeah, haha…" Lightning laughed.

"Good thinking of hiding behind this rock so we'd lose that bird, Lightning." Twilight smiled.

"Again, it was quick thinking. You're welcome." Lightning said modestly.

"Stitch…" The dog looked at the ground and began to think.

Lightning looks down to face him. "Yeah, what do you think?"

"Yeah. Me like it. My name Stitch now." Stitch said proudly.

"Close call, Lightning." Twilight said.

"Well, we're fine now." Lightning reassured everyone that was around her.

"Wait, Stitch? What kind of name is that…?" Rainbow then asked, also thinking about the name.

"Well, I panicked. And besides, Stitch was the name of my favourite Disney Character, so naming him after that character is pretty cool." Lightning shrugged.

"I like it." Fluttershy smiled.

"Well, that's your choice." Rainbow shrugged, thinking nothing of it.

"It suits him! Come on, Dashie! Admit it!" Pinkie smiled, nudging her.

"I guess it does." She sighed.

"Yay!"

"Alright, y'all, it's great that we finally got a name, but we are still lost and in search of Karly Crystal here." Applejack said, getting everyone back on track.

"Yes, and that guy didn't give us much help in finding her." Sunset said gloomly.

"Might as well continue on looking." Twilight shrugged.

Lightning nodded. "Right. Come on, Stitch."

~Stitch gazed up at Lightning and smiled when she called him that name. He happily jumped to her side and at first Lightning looked shocked, but tried to give Stitch a small smile, it ended up crooked but it worked.~

~Sometime later, the girls and two pups climbed over a large hill, passed a gophers burrow, and under more moderately sized trees. Soon enough the night rolled in, everyone was tired and it was too dark to continue walking.~

"We should rest up." Applejack panted.

"But where?" Fluttershy asked.

"Hm...hey, how about that cave?"

~Lightning picked up an old stick and aimed it at a built-in open cave.~

"All it needs is a few comfortable twigs, leaves and...other stuff." Lightning stated, waving the stick around in the air.

"...You know what? It's perfect." Twilight smiled.

Lightning also smiled before Rarity stepped in.

"Can I at least be the one to search for the items we need and perhaps use some for blankets and pillows? Because I am not just sleeping in a cramped cold cave!" She then asked, feeling uncomfortable.

"Go for it! Take Applejack too, you know, for carrying it if it's going to be a lot…" Lightning suggested.

"Good idea, Lightning, darling! Come along, Applejack!"

Applejack nodded. "Alright…"

~Rarity and Applejack both walk off in the forest, collecting clean sticks and leaves along the way, leaving the rest to clean the cave.~

"Ooo! You know its really good when Rarity calls you 'Darling'!" Pinkie cheered.

"It means she's trusting you." Sunset smiled.

Lightning was a little impressed and surprised. "Really? Wow, this adventure is really helping us trust each other."

"Well, it still may be a while for all of us to trust you." Twilight clarified.

"I already trust you, Lightning!" She rapidly slid over to Lightning's side. "Helping us defeat the Dazzlings when they teamed up with your evil enemy got you in my Trust book! And that's not even a metaphor!" She then shows Lightning a book that read 'Trust book' and showed her name written in it.

"Heh. Thanks, Pinkie." Lightning thanked.

"That's true. If it weren't for you and Karly, I don't know what would have happened. You really are a good person."

Lightning smiles and blushes at the compliment.

~It seems as Twilight was now trusting Lightning, and she was happy about it, but Lightning did know she still had three more of the Rainbooms left to get on her good side. Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie, and Twilight were what she had so far. Hours passed by and everyone was trying to rest on the uncomfortable leaf beds, but it just wasn't working well. So, they decided to make some small talk with each other until they eventually dozed off.~

"Hey, y'all. Look at the fireflies." Applejack pointed up and the fireflies that lit up the sky.

"They're beautiful." Fluttershy said, admiring them.

"Truly outstanding." Rarity said as she gazed up.

"Hm...I remember my dad showing me fireflies…" Lightning softly smiled.

"Dad?" Applejack questioned.

"I-It was a long time ago. I didn't say anything!" Lightning quickly stuttered, looking away.

Everyone looked at each other in shock.

"Lightning...are you ok?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, Fine! I just miss Karly and family and friends back home."

"Hm?" Stitch tilts his head.

"You know, Stitch. Family. A mother and father. Maybe brother and sister."

He still remained silent.

"You don't understand…?" Lightning asked in small shock.

"Goodness…" Rarity also says in small shock.

~Stitch stares into the night sky for a second before scurrying off. He comes back with a claw full of sticks and he places each of them upright on the gravel. One of the sticks was large. Two of them were medium-sized and the last two were small.~

"What?" Lightning softly stated.

"Family. You said, Family." Stitch whimpered.

"Yeah. That's it." Lightning said, sounding a little proud.

"Hm. Ih. That's my...dad. My uncle. My two sisters and...me." Stitch explained. His paws suddenly got droopy.

"Your owners…" Lightning pointed out.

"How is it that you are by yourself then?" Sunset asked.

Fluttershy gasped. "Did you get separated from them?"

"No…"

~Stitch then knocked over all the sticks resembling his family and buried them in the gravel, only leaving one of the small sticks standing.~

"Oh…" Lightning softly groaned, realising what happened.

He sighed and sniffed. "Me miss them."

~Everyone looked at each other in sympathy and started to feel quite sad about it. But then they saw Lightning getting more emotional than they were, almost starting to cry.~

Twilight reached out for her. "Lightning?"

"Yeah?"

"You sure ya okay?" Applejack asked with a sad face.

"Yeah…" She sniffed.

Rarity wasn't convinced. "Is your family-"

"We are not talking about my family!" Lightning suddenly interrupted with an angry voice.

"...Lightning...you don't have a family, do you?" Twilight asked sadly and calmly.

"No-Of course I have a family, my life is not that depressing!" Lightning got angrier and angrier by the second.

"Then why don't you talk about them?" Rainbow asked.

"Why do you want to know that badly?" Lightning glared.

"Because we need to trust each other." Twilight answered, feeling emotional.

Lightning's face changed but she glared again after a second. "...I don't talk about them. End of discussion." She firmly confirmed.

~Lightning turns away and tries to fall asleep without any success. The Rainbooms do look in grief but ignore Lightning now since they didn't want to make her more upset than she was already. So, they also attempted to get some sleep. Spike snuggled between Twilight and Fluttershy and Stitch went to sleep beside Lightning, she did allow him to sleep under her arm, but temporarily though, because she turned to the other side back and forth until she was comfortable enough, but Stitch didn't mind, he was just happy to be with her, trusting her.~

Chapter 7: Whispering Riddles

Chapter 7: The Eye of the Storm.

"Ahh!"

~-*BANG!* Everyone jolts out of bed in a cold sweat as a flash appears above them. A flurry of water began to patter on their heads and on top of the cave, growing heavier and heavier over time. Thunder began to boom and lightning was flashing behind the clouds. Lightning Star was the first to be awoken by the weather and was looking at the storm with trauma in her eyes.~

"Looks like another storm is brewin' in." Applejack stated.

"You don't say…" Lightning blinked angrily.

Sunset looked back at the others. "We should get going…"

"Where though?! It is starting to drizzle badly and we have nowhere to go! Nowhere!" Rarity yelled dramatically.

"Then we better find somewhere." Sunset replied.

~Everyone looked at Sunset and hoped she was joking about going out in the storm again, but her face was serious, but also confident.~

~Later, everyone was toughing it out in the storm. The wind was picking up gravel and sand and it started to become a sandstorm, forcing everyone to close their eyes so the sand wouldn't get in them. Stitch was at the front, guiding everyone through the natural disaster, however, the wind got stronger and more violent. Everyone was struggling to walk and couldn't see where they were going. Finally, Lightning yelled.~

"M-Maybe we should stop!"

"Now? We can't! There are no structures to stop by!" Stitch said.

"I'm with Lightning here!" Twilight exclaimed. "This storm is too powerful for us to handle."

"Yeah! It may blow us away any second!" Rainbow shouted.

"We will just have to turn back!" Twilight pointed back.

"Turn back?" Sunset rotated around to face Twilight. "We left the cave 30 minutes ago!"

"And me still can't see anything big to stay by!" Stitch repeated.

Suddenly, Rarity screamed. "My hair is a state, girls! And my eyes are stinging!"

"Mine too! This was NOT a good idea!" Lightning agreed.

"We can't turn back! How can we turn back?" Stitch asked himself.

"We just need to-STOP!-"

~Lightning gets a glimpse of another flash from above and slowly glares up at it. Grey clouds storm in and more lightning flashes and booms. It flashes in her eyes and she has a blurry flashback, Lightning and Karly were at the construction site and Lightning witnesses Karly and the bricks crashing onto her, Lightning then fades to black and sees herself back with the Rainbooms, Stitch and Spike in the sand and storm. Lightning doesn't ponder and ends up running into the nearby trees without warning.~

"Huh?" Stitch turns to see her running.

Sunset does too. "Lightning?"

"Lightning, wait!" Spike barked.

Lightning begins panting hard. "Gotta break out of here! But how?! HOW?!" She just groaned. "Now I know how Karly felt!-Whoa-"

~Lightning doesn't look where she is going and trips over a kinked root of a tree and tumbles down a slope and into another tree at the bottom of the hill.~

~Sometime later, The sun shows itself from behind the fading clouds and shines below Lightning lying on the wet ground. Something was licking her face again and she chuckles, keeping her eyes closed.~

"Ok, Ok, Spike! You have woken me up, you can stop."

"Um, Me know you're a little dazed, but me sure we confirmed my name's not Spike."

After realising it was Stitch that was licking her, Lightning's eyes widen and she jolts up, gagging and groaning. "Yuck! Oh, god!"

"Lightning, are you ok?" Fluttershy rushes up to Lightning with Spike in her hands.

"That...has to be the fourth time she has hurt herself now, I'm not even sure if she's ok anymore." Spike said, looking up at Fluttershy.

"Yeah-I'm fine! I'm tough! I have been through worse. Way...worse." She sighed. "Sorry for running off like that. I just lost my mind and got a little PTSD from what happened to Karly…"

"Because a storm also happened when Karly went missing!" Twilight exclaimed, piecing things together.

"Do you think these storms link to something?" Sunset asked.

"No...these are just natural disasters that are conveniently happening. Everyone has thunderstorms, although, I didn't know your world had a lot of them." Lightning said doubtfully.

"We don't get a lot of them though. Hm…" Twilight began to think.

Fluttershy started looking at the landscape. "Um, so sorry to interrupt, girls, but, where are we?"

~Everyone looks around to see most of the trees destroyed and knocked down, branches were littering the floor and rocks were in every direction. Lightning panics and gets up and runs a few steps away from the girls.~

"No, we lost the forest!" Lightning panicked.

"Something tells me we were going in the wrong direction…!" Twilight also panicked.

"Oh...How are we going to find Karly and make it home now?" Fluttershy softly groaned.

"I-I don't know!" Lightning began to stutter. "We need help! We need to find somebody!" She started to look at her surroundings.

"Who? I don't think there is a person within 100 miles from here!" Rainbow yelled.

Lightning turned back to her. "Well, we ran into some pet collector guy, so I say we have a bet!"

"Do you want me to run off and find something?" Rainbow then asked.

"No, you may get lost yourself…" Sunset answered, putting her hand on Rainbow's shoulder.

~Lightning stopped listening to Rainbow and Sunset because something in between the rocks and through the broken trees was catching her off guard. The things looked like the shapes of humans and that made Lightning grateful. Hoping its people that can help, she called out to them.~

"Hey! HEY! Over here!"

"Lightning? What are you doing-" Sunset gasped when she saw the figures.

"There are people over there!" Rainbow pointed.

Twilight couldn't believe it. "Wait...Really?"

~When everyone turned to see what Lightning was seeing, they begin to yell too. The things turned and started to head towards them, so they were alive beings. Once they got close enough, they were easier to see. There were three humans and a pack of snarling wolves, and they didn't look friendly. Stitch immediately stopped and ran the other way to hide. Also, he knocked Spike out of Fluttershy's arms and dragged him away to hide too.~

"Hey!" Spike yelped as he was dragged off.

"Spike…?!" Twilight stopped and turned.

Lightning did too. "What-Stitch! Where are you going?"

Spike struggled a little. "Hey, what are you…"

"Trust me." Stitch interrupted softly.

Spike looked concerned but remained silent as they went into a bush and a pile of branches.

~Lightning was about to retrieve Stitch and Spike but the people they signalled had reached them. One guy, who seemed like he was the head of the group, spoke to them first. His clothes were dirty and filthy, suggesting he has been out in the forest for a while, however, his brown cardigan wasn't as dirty as his other clothes. His slant yellow eyes were staring at the Rainbooms which made them feel a little awkward, but they tend to ignore it. Finally, this guy slicked his white pointy hair back and petted his nearby wolf pet before he spoke to the girls.~

"Hey, are you girls wounded?"

Sunset gave him a small answer. "Um...no. We're fine."

"Ok, thank goodness for that. Men, keep looking for wounded folk." The guy then ordered as he turned his head over to his mates.

~The other two men that were accompanying this guy spread out and examined the broken forest for more injured people/animals. Their wolves also began sniffing and scavenging the area. Stitch was panicking and tried to bury himself and Spike further in the bush and branches they were hiding in.~

"Wa-Wait! We are looking for a friend." Lightning stuttered.

Applejack stepped forwards. "Have y'all seen a girl?"

"Is she a little critter?" He asked.

"No, she's a teenager. Like us." Lightning answered awkwardly.

"Is she wounded?"

"I...I don't know! I hope not!" Lightning started to rub her eyes.

Sunset comforted Lightning and continued for her. "Just...have you seen her? She has blue eyes."

"Her hair is dark brown with a few strands of it magenta." Twilight described.

"And she is wearing a light, impractical dark magenta coloured sweater." Rarity added.

"Afraid I have not seen anyone like that. But, we'll keep a lookout for her." The man said with a smile.

"Once we find her, we also need help getting back home. Do you know CHS?" Twilight inquired.

"CHS...CHS…" His teeth chattered. "Oh! You mean the large school building on the outskirts of Canterlot City!?"

"Yeah, that's it!" Lightning smiled.

"Yeah. Oh, yeah. I know it. But you know, kids." He shudders at them. "Hm...You are not even close. But, still, I know a way."

"Yay! Thanks, mister. By the way, I'm Pinkie!" Pinkie introduced herself to him happily.

The guy started laughing hysterically. "I'm-I'm sorry. It's just that...I used to have a name like that once. But, that was before I started following the storm!"

"The storm?" Fluttershy said in confusion.

"The storm swept me up. I was afraid for my life! But, the storm gave me a relavation, and I wasn't scared anymore!" He explained proudly.

"Don't you mean a revelation?" Twilight prompted.

"No. A relavation! Ok! I was at a real low point. And the storm swept me up to a real high point and left me at a pile relavation!"

"Wow." Lightning softly gasped.

However, Rainbow squints her eyes suspiciously. "Hmm…"

"So, have you been out here in this forest since then?" Twilight asked doubtfully.

"Yeah! I quit my job as a doctor and helped the animals in the forest for 5 years! You can call me White Spark. And my mates...are called the Flunkies."

Lightning softly raised a brow. "White Spark? Flunkies? Hm."

"So, can you help us get home?" Rarity asked, smiling.

"Um, yeah-well, um...maybe. But first, we just need to check the area. There are sure to be folk in a very bad way after a storm like this, don't you know?" White Spark laughed.

"Hey-hey! Whitespark! I found something! Over here!"

~One of White Spark's cronies directs everyone to a landslide of rocks and points at a snout sticking out from in between the rocks at the bottom of the pile, meaning an animal was trapped in the landslide. The wolves were trying to find a way to move the rocks by sniffing for an opening without causing more of the hassle for getting the animal out.~

"Hey...Maybe you girls can help." White Spark suggested.

"Hm?" Lightning hummed.

~White Spark gathers everyone and together they move most of the rocks out of harm's way to retrieve the animal trapped inside. Thanks to Applejack's strength and Twilight's thinking through the situation, it moved a lot faster. The guys cheered when they were able to lift the animal out of the landslide.~

"Ye-yeah!"

~White Spark gently took the animal and held it under his shoulder as his wolves whimpered in joy. The animal looked to be a squirrel, judging from its bushy tail. Everyone looked at in with delight.~

"It-It's a squirrel." Fluttershy smiled.

"A free squirrel." White Spark smartly prompted. "Thanks to you. Here Xerneas."

~White Spark then handed the squirrel over to his wolf and it took it by pinching its fur with its teeth. It then ambles away behind a rock with the other wolves. The next thing everyone heard was a squeak of pain and wolves snarling and chomping. Lightning and the Rainbooms instantly knew what was happening behind that rock and all looked with horror. Lightning even looked back to where Stitch and Spike were hiding and saw both their faces go pale. The wolves suddenly come out from the rock licking their bloody lips. One wolf even had the bushy tail of the squirrel in its mouth. The other two wolves see it and begin fighting over it. Their owners had to break them up. Suddenly White Spark pushes over his two mates and their wolves quite violently. His yellow eyes suddenly change and he begins yelling.~

"You think you can mess with me and my wolf?! I've seen the eye of the storm! And I forgot what Fear is! I'm not afraid of anything-"

His friend stammered. "I-I know-but-"

~While White Spark was ranting on, Lightning and the girls attempted to back away, now seeing who these people really are and what they are doing. But, White Spark got the best of them and stomps in front of them when they turned, becoming so nice and charming again.~

"Hey...Where ya going, girls…?" He asked creepily.

"We...uhhh...need to find our friend." Lightning quickly answered.

"And I said...we will find your friend." White Spark replied.

~Lightning began to sweat and she was making sure the Rainbooms were safely behind her at all times. Suddenly the wolves began to sniff around again. They got near Lightning, Twilight and Fluttershy and began sniffing hard. Rainbow Dash began to square up and tried to get the wolves away from Twilight and Fluttershy.~

"Girls, you have an animal of your own, don't you?" White Spark got close to the three girls.

"Echo smells it. One of the juicy ones. No-wait! Two? They have two animals? Extra credit!" His mate panted like a dog.

"No, we don't!" Rainbow glared.

"Rainbow's right. We don't. So, stay away!" Sunset rebuked.

"Where are they?!" The man demanded.

"They're hiding. Behind that rock!" Lightning lied.

~Lightning points to the rock directly opposite to where Stitch and Spike were. The Flunkies fall for the trick and headed over to the rock to investigate, but White Spark himself wasn't convinced. He stared at the girls in maximum creepy mode. Lightning and the girls tried hard not to move their eyes to where Stitch and Spike really were and just smiled at White Spark nervously and lopsidedly. However, Pinkie Pie couldn't hold it in and quickly darted her eyes over to where they were. White Spark turned to see two pairs of eyes glow in the bush and gasp.~

He smiled deeply. "The eye of the storm."

"NO!" Lightning and Twilight screamed.

~White Spark and his wolf charge at the bush, but Stitch and Spike rush out in time. Lightning scoops Stitch up her arms and Spike jumps in Fluttershy's and they start to run for their life.~

"Run away! They're coming!" Spike cried.

~Everyone runs into what's left of the forest to escape. They could already hear the wolves chasing them because they were barking and snapping close. Lightning and Rainbow kept looking back at them to see how close the wolves were and tried to think of something to slow them down or hold them off.~

"They're gaining on us!" Rainbow cried.

"Have you ever tried the branch trick?" Lightning asked.

"What's the branch trick?!"

~Lightning grabs onto a branch still attached to a nearby tree and swings it back while still running then she lets go and it flies back into one of the wolves, it is knocked back and it whimpers a bit before growling and running again.~

"Whoa, Nice hit." Rainbow smiled.

"Thanks." Lightning smiled back.

~White Spark and his men also began chasing after the girls. Firstly, they comforted their wolves, but it didn't last for long, otherwise, they'll lose their prey. They continued to chase the girls, revealing small pistols and the wolves reveal a thirst for hunger on their faces.~

"Nowhere to run, Stars n' Stripes!" White Spark's crony yelled.

"He's right! Where do we go from here?!" Rainbow groaned.

"Don't worry, Rainbow! I know what to do. I've got your back!" Lightning determined.

Rainbow was shocked. "What…?"

"I said I've got your back!"

~Rainbow Dash stared at Lightning for a moment, then smiled bravely at her, Trusting her. Lightning activates her power and obtains her penguin hoodie and flippers and waddles ahead of the others. She slides back and lets the Rainbooms, Stitch, and Spike past her before thrusting her flippers down and creating an icy path on the ground. White Spark and the Flunkies make it to the ice and they slip n' slide past Lightning and into the large trees that were still standing. Lightning grins at them and slides away to catch up with the girls, but the ice didn't stop White Spark from getting up and continuing to chase them. But Lightning saw it coming. Rainbow Dash suddenly appears and zooms past White Spark, which makes him stop and look at Lightning confusingly. She shrugs her shoulders at the guy, distracting him enough for Rainbow to knock him out from behind.~

"Nice, Rainbow." Lightning said.

"Nice distraction." Rainbow smiled.

"Are...are we safe?" Fluttershy shyly peeked out from behind a tree along with the rest.

"Ye-Yeah!" Rainbow answered.

"For now." Lightning added. "They could wake up any second. Let's get out of their sight and out of this place and get back on track."

~Everyone rushed and ran far away from the unconscious bodies of White Spark and his mates without looking back. Hoping, they won't run into them again.~

Chapter 8: Farmer Bonsai and the Forest Rustlers

Chapter 8: Farmer Bonsai.

~A few more hours had passed by and everyone was resting for a while again. After that, they continued to walk ahead. Twilight confirmed this time that they were going in the right direction back to CHS, but they knew not to go back just yet. Karly still wasn't found. While walking, they stumble across a fork in the road. Three ways to go. One leading to the city and the other two, who knows where. But before they could choose a way to go, Spike noticed something glistening on the ground next to some footprints. It was Karly's geode! He picked it up with his jaw, barked at the girls and handed it over to Lightning, who took it and stared at it, rubbing the dirt off of it with her thumb too.~

"Oh my...god…" Lightning blinked.

"Karly's geode!" Rarity gasped.

"She must have dropped it here! Meaning she was here!" Rainbow determined.

"Y'all think these are Karly's footprints too?" Applejack asked, pointing at the footprints below her feet.

"Hm…" Lightning examines the footprints. "Size 4 and a half...yep, these are hers, it checks out."

"It looks as if she was going in the right direction all along…" Twilight said.

"You did say this is the way to CHS. Do you think Karly knew the way back home and went there?" Sunset asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Steven would have called us if Karly made it to the school." Twilight answered firmly.

"Plus, how could she know that was the way back? She doesn't know this world and their places and which direction they are in. Cause I don't either!" Lightning chuckled.

"No, it looks like she tried to take a detour after arriving here."

~Twilight pointed to Karly's footprints and shows that Karly started to go walking down the pathway on the right of the fork.~

"You see, the city is to the left, and Karly went right." Twilight explained.

Pinkie shrugged. "Then let's go right to find her!"

~Without wasting time, Pinkie rushes down the right pathway of the fork and rolls down it. The right pathway was apparently laid on a hill, so Pinkie rolled down it like a panda until she arrived at the bottom of the hill, and until dust was completely covering her face and hair and clothes. The others raced down the hill sensibly and made sure Pinkie was alright after that tumble.~

"Whoa, Pinkie, were you meant to do that?" Lightning helped her up.

"Are you ok?" Fluttershy asked.

"Uh-huh! Just a little dizzy...Heh heh." Pinkie replied as her eyes span in a circle.

"That was unexpected." Stitch said.

"It's what Pinkie does." Spike smugged.

"Yes, and I was about to suggest we come here first to search for Karly. But, we have to remember this fork in the road. We can come back to it and it will lead us back home." Twilight resumed.

"Ok, I'll remember it. I have a very good memory, so memorising the way back here will be a snap!" Lightning smiled, clicking her fingers.

"Well, going to trust you." Twilight smiled.

"Then, Let's go!"

~Pinkie takes off again, and this time Lightning desperately tried to keep up with her. She didn't know how fast and crazy Pinkie could get. Suddenly Pinkie stops and so does Lightning before she crashes into her. Lightning was about to ask Pinkie why she stopped but then she turned and saw what Pinkie saw. A small cottage only a few miles away from where they were. The cottage looked old and grimy and the windows were crudely shattered. The roof was made of straw and wood but looked sturdy enough to hold on for a few more seasons. The cottage was also surrounded by lots of different crops and vegetables, but half of them were withering away and the other half looked like they were eaten to bits. Lightning and Pinkie looked in shock and the others had arrived to look too.~

"My goodness…" Fluttershy gasped.

"What happened here?" asked Rainbow.

Sunset's mouth squiggled. "Only one way to find out…"

~Sunset walks ahead to the cottage and stood at the broken door before lightly knocking on it. It creaked open and an old man stepped out. He looked to be in his mid-fifties and his skin was very pale and sickly, suggesting he was quite ill. He was wearing a charming farmer-like outfit, along with suspenders holding up his trousers. He straightens up his straw hat and the wheat held in his mouth. He spoke pleasantly and kindly.~

"Oh, hello. Can I help you? Don't normally get people 'round these parts…"

"Ex-Excuse me, sir...but we are looking for a friend…" Sunset started.

Lightning sighs and whispers to herself quickly. "Going to be the third time we go through this…" She begins to describe her friend once again. "She has blue eyes, one cyan, one sky-blue, she's wearing her favourite magenta shirt and has brown hair, her name is-"

"Karly Crystal?" The farmer interrupts while raising a brow.

Lightning suddenly gasps loudly. "YES!" She pushes Sunset back and away from the door to face the farmer. "Yes, that's her!"

"She came here a while ago. She said she needed to find a way home to Canterlot City, so, I showed her the way." He explained.

"So, she must be on her way back home now, right?" Twilight asked.

The farmer nodded. "Yes. Do you need me to show you the way back?"

"I think we know how already. We go back the way we came and take a left and then it's just straight on."

"Yes, that's it. Exactly what I told your friend."

"Ok, well, I guess we can-wait…" Lightning's face suddenly glared.

"What? What's up?" Stitch asked, sounding concerned.

"How can we be sure you are telling the truth?" Lightning pointed her finger at him.

"I knew your friend's name without you telling me, didn't I? You...can search my place if you want." The farmer said nervously.

"As a matter of fact, I think I will…!"

~Lightning rolls up her sleeves and goes to stomp in the cottage when Applejack and Sunset stop her.~

"Lightnin', stop for a minute…" Applejack placed her hand on Lightning's shoulder.

Sunset agreed. "Yes, there's a less drastic way of finding out if he's telling the truth…Sir, can I…?"

~Sunset activates her geode and holds out her hand. The farmer goes to shake it, thinking she wants to shake his hand, but then she flows into his memories. After a while, she comes back and turns to her friends with a nod.~

"He's telling the truth."

"Oh yeah! Forgot about the powers...Ha!" Lightning blushed.

"I'm sorry but…" The farmer looks at his hand then back to the girls. "What did you do?"

"Oh, it's okay. She simply just read your memory so see if you were telling the truth." Twilight explained.

"We've gone through a lot lately…" Rainbow then groaned.

"Wait a minute…" The old man examined the girls. "Colourful hair...Superpowers...Female...Are you the girls with the superpowers from CHS?" He then asked, also gasping.

Lightning pulled a shocked face. "Uhh…"

"Yes, we are!" Pinkie proudly answered.

"No wonder…!"

~The girls were shocked to find out that this farmer knows them. He smiles in surprise and Stitch and Spike greet him by purring on his legs.~

"Well, aren't you just the cutest?" He bent down and proceeded to scratch Spike's chin.

Spike sighs in relief. "Oh yeah…" His head slowly fell to the ground.

Fluttershy smiled. "...He likes you."

"And me...hmm…" Stitch hummed as his chin was scratched.

"So, how do ya know us?"Applejack asked, smiling at the farmer.

"Here. Come in my cottage."

~He turns and walks back in his cottage while the rest follow him. They duck down a bit to get through the door and see what's inside his cottage. A mangy dog was sleeping on a patched-up sofa, it was also wearing a silk red bandana over its neck. The old fashioned 1950s television was on. The table, sink and floor were covered with straw and the small rubbish bin was overflowing. Stitch and Spike didn't want to step paw in the house so, Stitch climbed on Lightning's shoulders and Spike plunged into Applejack's hands.~

"You see, the incidents that happened at your school and at that camp have been published in the newspaper." The farmer explained.

"Really?" Lightning pouted.

~The farmer tosses a few newspapers down to on his table and it spins until Lightning stops it so the girls take a look at it. The headlines read, 'Fall Formal Freakout!', 'Battle of the Bands Blast!', 'Attack of the 6 foot Plants!', 'Camp Everfree Storm!', All. Lightning was stunned from this.~

"Yeah, really!" Pinkie smiled.

"I don't believe this. Where did they even get these pictures from?!" Rainbow threw her hands forwards and exclaimed.

"From our classmates, I presume." Applejack said, still looking at the newspaper.

Rarity takes out her phone and scrolls through it a bit. "It's all online too…"

"Millions of people must know about this then…" Sunset said.

"We're famous!" Pinkie gasped.

"I'm sure loads of people will come to my boutique now!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Now, hold on...It's great that we saved our school and camp Everfree, but people knowing about us and our powers could be a little dangerous." Twilight feared.

"Yes, now criminals may know about it too. Making you targets and people to watch out for when they're committing a crime...this includes me too!" Lightning babbled.

"It's too late now...everyone knows about us…we could be in danger…" Fluttershy said in a small panic.

Lightning calmed herself and Fluttershy down. "We will just have to be careful…"

"Whoa. You girls are...superbeings!" Stitch exclaimed, keeping his mouth wide open. "This is great!"

"It is? I mean, to you, how?" Lightning asked.

"Me going to be living with you...right? You can protect me and I can be a sidekick to you!" Stitch stated, climbing onto Lightning's head.

"Right." Lightning slowly nodded.

"Oh. I apologise for showing you this. This just made you panic…" The farmer shamefully blushed.

"Oh, no, no! It's good that you showed us. Now we know that we have to be careful…" Sunset said, smiling at him.

"And make sure that we should emphasize ourselves." Twilight added.

"And make sure no one is filming us and or taking pictures." Lightning frowned.

"That too." Sunset chuckled.

"Well, glad you see yourselves that way. Look at me ranting on without introducing myself, I'm Farmer Bonsai, I look after this very farm." The farmer finally introduced himself.

"About that, the farm looks a little…" Sunset fiddles with her hands, trying to think of the words to say about the farm.

"Withered." Applejack said for her. "It's just not in good shape. Mind tellin' us what happened?"

He takes a deep breath and explains. "...It happens once a year...vermins come 'round and feed themselves on my crops. And I'm already having trouble keeping them alive."

~The old farmer stares out of his shattered window and looks at his shrivelled crops in despair. He turns back to the girls with a glum look.~

"Did you give them plenty of sun and water?" Lightning asked.

"Lots of sun. Just, less water."

"Well, there's problem one." Lightning shrugged.

"But, there's also a couple o' rustlers stealing my herd…! And they muck up my crops, birds swoop down and finish what's left of it." Bonsai slumps down on a broken chair.

"Mr. Bonsai, I live on a farm myself and I can say, I've never had any o' these problems." Applejack shook her head.

"Maybe it's because you live closer to the city, Applejack." Sunset stated.

"Have ya ever tried buildin' a fence or a scarecrow to keep them rustlers and birds out?" Applejack asked Bonsai.

"All my wood's gone." He responded sadly. "I have no axe to chop down trees and the only thing I have to protect the crops from birds is my dog, Dusty, but he is getting old and can't handle the rustlers."

~He gestures at his old, scruffy dog who was waking up from its nap. It heard what its owner said and it whimpers, feeling useless. Applejack and Fluttershy look at each other in sympathy until Applejack steps out boldly.~

"Hmm...What if we helped ya out!?"

"You will do that?" Bonsai asked in surprise.

"We will do that?" Lightning asked in shock.

"Of course. I know how to deal with rustlers and anythin' that might destroy farms, Granny Smith taught me how throughout the years." Applejack placed her hands on her hips and smiled.

"And Stitch and I could get a scent to where the rustlers and your herd might be." Spike wagged his tail.

"You girls would do that for me? I...thank you." Farmer Bonsai softly smiled.

"No problem. It's kinda what we do." Rainbow shrugged.

"Let's get started then." Sunset said proudly.

"Whatever happened to looking for Karly first?" Lightning asked, sounding absolutely dumbfounded.

"You're a superhero." Stitch stated. "Helping people is the main goal, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then me make my point. Spike, let's get sniffing."

~Stitch jumps off Lightning's head and Spike drops to the floor. Both dogs begin to sniff the floor and the straw. While they were wandering, some strands of straw accidentally got stuck up their noses because it was so thin and small and it made them softly sneeze, but it didn't stop them. Suddenly, Spike glows.~

"I got a scent. Come on!"

~Spike scamps out of the cottage and the rest eagerly follow him, except Lightning, who had her arms out in confusion and a blank slate look on her face and an open mouth.~

"But-" Lightning suddenly groans and follows them.

Chapter 9: Honesty and Magic

Chapter 9: Trusting Applejack.

~Farmer Bonsai and the girls travelled at least 20 miles from the farm, but the farmer easily knew the way back. They constantly crouched behind rocks so no one would see them. Finally, looking into the distance, they see a massive group of cattle munching on the grassy fields all alone, no rustlers insight, strangely.~

"That's my herd, alright." The farmer stated.

"But...I don't see any rustlers…" Lightning whispered.

"They're out there. Somewhere." Applejack said with a stern look on her face.

~Applejack and the farmer started skulking closer to more rocks up ahead while the others looked at each other before lurking on. Once everyone was close enough to the herd while remaining hidden, the Farmer came up with a plan while feeling stoked.~

"Y'all, I got a job for you to do."

"...Ok?"

Bonsai stared at the herd. "Do you think one of you can hoot and holla over on that rock to cause attention to make sure the rustlers are out there?"

Lightning looked skeptical. "Huh?"

"He wants one o' us to get on top o' that large rock and scream."

~Applejack points to the spiked rock wedged in the middle of the herd.~

"...So! Which one of us is going to hoot and holla over there!?" Pinkie asked, rubbing her hands together.

"Depends, which one of us is the bravest?" Twilight asked.

"...I want to say you, Lightning." Rarity gestured over to Lightning.

"Wha-why me?" Lightning asked, acting surprised.

"Remember when we were swallowed by that iguana? Every one of us was terrified, except you." Sunset reminded her.

She scoffed. "Still doesn't prove anything!"

Rainbow shrugged. "I can do it. No problem!"

~Rainbow starts to make her way over to the rock and through the herd. But suddenly one of the cows' snorts and charges. This startles Rainbow and she yelps and jumps back behind the rock.~

"Heh. Are ya sure 'bout that, Rainbow Dash?" Applejack chuckled.

Rainbow stands up properly and fixes herself. "It...It was sudden! Lightning, you do it."

"I really don't want to! Plus, I'm not the kind of girl that...screams. I mean, I can yell and shout, but-"

"That's 'll ya have to do." Applejack interrupted. "Stitch will go with ya too."

"Ih!"

"...What if there are more than four rustlers?" Lightning frightfully whispered.

"Don't overthink it. Just go. Make a signal so we 'll know when to help ya out."

~Stitch ascends on Lightning's shoulders again and Applejack lightly thrusts Lightning over the rock that they're hiding behind and gestures that she should get moving. She takes a few steps forward but looks back for another option.~

"You sure you don't want Fluttershy or Rarity to do it?" She smiled uneasily.

"Go!" Applejack glared.

"Fine."

~Lightning rolls her eyes and makes her way to the rock. She skulks through the grass, trying hard not to touch and startle any of the herd so they will go running in fear. Stitch was also trying to not touch anything as he tried to stay on Lightning's back. Once Lightning made it to the top of the rock, she puts her hand over her eyebrows to shade her eyes from the sun and to look upon the herd. Stitch sat beside Lightning on the rock and waits for Lightning to yell. Lightning takes a deep breath and opens her mouth to scream, but all that came out was a soft whiny shriek on low volume that nobody could hear from a mile away.~

"What was that, Lightning?" Stitch asked, while glaring disappointingly.

"I told you: I'm not the kind of girl that screams bloody murder over here. No matter what the situation is."

~Lightning attempts to yell again but the same soft whiny sound comes out again. Stitch looks with disapproval and decides to help Lightning.~

"Okay, let's speed this along…" Stitch grabs Lightning's leg.

"Wait, what are you doing-"

~Stitch pulled up a part of Lightning's jeans to show her right leg. Then, Stitch opened his mouth, showing his sharp canines, and bit into the leg.~

Lightning shrieked. "AHHHHHHOWWWWWW!"

~Stitch backs away as Lightning collapses to the ground, clutching her leg. She looks at the wound, getting a little bit of blood on her hands.~

"Ah! Stitch!" Lightning glared at the puppy.

"It's ok. I didn't bite that hard."

"STILL hurt! Ah-OH, that hurts like a-Mmph!" She groaned and gasped.

~Before Lightning could yell at Stitch some more, she hears and sees a rustle in the grass. Stitch springs on Lightning's shoulders in fear and Lightning springs up on her feet. They both stare at the rustle in confusion until they hear more of them hurtling towards them. Lightning and Stitch kept darting their eyes back and forth until Lightning turns to see one of the rustlers right in her face.~

"Howdy."

"Ah-Whoa!"

~The rustler looked at Lightning straight in the eyes as he said that. He had purple eyes, just like Twilight's, and he had a ten-gallon hat with a purple stripe around it. He had an intense mouth, that was smiling at Stitch and around it was a shaven ginger moustache to go with his ginger hair. His gang were four more men and one countrywoman, and they all had the same angry expression as he did.~

"What do ya think ya doing, girly?" The rustler asked pretty aggressively.

"Uh...well…" Lightning clenched her fists and stood her ground.

"What does it look like she's doing, boys?"

"Looks like she's trespassing…" The female rustler answered him.

"And what do we do with trespassers?"

"We dispose of them!"

"Well, actually, I'm here to take back this herd you stole from Farmer Bonsai!" Lightning jabbed.

"Hm...that's an even better excuse to kill you!"

~The rustler pounces on Lightning and hits her off the rock but she tosses him off of her using her feet. She gets up by pressing her hands down on the floor and pushing them back up again and lands on her feet. She needed the others to come out of hiding now and help, so she calls for them.~

"Uh-Uh…they never said what the signal is...uh...Ca-caw! Ca-caw!" Lightning yelled while waving her arms in the air.

"Uhh...Was that supposed to be the signal?" Rainbow asked in confusion.

Pinkie smiled and yelled. "Yeah! Ca-caw! Ca-caw! Charge!"

~Pinkie was the first to athletically jump over the rocks and run into battle with her left arm raised up high, screaming along the way. The rest also immediately jump in too, leaving Farmer Bonsai to only watch them take care of it, hoping they will survive. They arrive at Lightning's side only to realise, they don't know what to do next.~

"Maybe we should have thought this through." Sunset stated.

Fluttershy nodded. "Hm...We're not ready for a fight…"

Applejack suddenly groaned. "We got powers, y'all. 'Bout time we used 'em!"

~Applejack punches her fists together and glows orange. Her super strength was being activated and she was ready to take on anybody. So, when one of the rustlers charged at the girls, Applejack ferociously flung him far off into the sky. He landed with a thud, but not on the ground. Instead, he landed on the back of a cow, and it went insane! It grunted, it snorted and started to sprint, causing even more cattle around it to sprint and follow it. No doubt about it, The Rainbooms caused a stampede and it was heading straight for them!~

"Oh, boy…!" Lightning panicked.

"The herd!" Applejack exclaimed.

"My herd!" Bonsai yelled.

"My herd!" The head rustler yelled.

"We gotta stop them!" Rainbow declared.

~The herd ran through the girls and they tried to run with them, trying to find a way to stop them. Stitch and Spike begin barking and Lightning activates her power. She grows her raccoon ears, tail and mask and tries to use her tail as a whip to direct the cattle to turn around.~

"Yah! Giddy up! Come on now! Yah!" Applejack yelled, directing the cattle.

"Let's go!" Rainbow shouted at the cattle.

Sunset's eyes widen. "Rainbow Dash, watch out!"

~Rainbow turned to see a rustler pounce on her. They both rolled around in the grass until he forced Rainbow on the ground. It took two of the rustlers to pinion her arms, she was fighting so hard.~

"How dare you take what doesn't belong to you!" Rainbow glared.

"Finders keepers, girl!" The rustler laughed evilly.

~Sunset saw that Rainbow was in trouble so she turned back to help her. She shoved one of the rustlers off Rainbow and Rainbow got an arm free to knock the other one off. But the rustler got up without a sweat and his eyes went were crazy and he began to chase Rainbow and Sunset.~

"Yee-haw!"

Lightning was stuck in the middle of the stampede. "Ow! Ow!"

"Lightning! Hide behind that rock!"

~Stitch points to another rock and Lightning swoops down and ducks behind it. The rest do too when they turn to see Lightning. They kneel down and cover themselves from the rustlers while also avoiding being trampled over by the herd. Suddenly, the leader of the rustlers bounds on top of the rock the girls were hiding by and a guy accompanying him does the same and he begins resembling.~

"Come on now...I know you're there…" The rustler whispered creepily and smoothly.

~Stitch and Spike growl at the rustlers and Lightning tries her best to lower their voices and protect them so they won't be seen or heard. Suddenly, the two rustlers spot Applejack directing the herd in Farmer Bonsai's direction. So, they raced over to her to stop her. The leader gets the jump on her and pins her to the ground, also knocking her hat off her head. It blows over to Lightning and she picks it up in confusion until she sees Applejack in danger. The other rustler appears over Applejack and threatens to hurt her with a knife if she and her friends didn't stay out of their way.~

"Hey, get off of me!" Applejack struggled.

The rustlers laugh and Lightning growls.

~Lightning quickly comes out of hiding and charges at the rustlers harassing Applejack. She tail swings the rustler with the knife and he rolls away from them. He cracks his finger on a small rock and shouts in pain, dropping the knife too. The leader goes to attack Lightning but she counter-attacks by giving him a good punch to the face and tail swinging him over to his henchman.~

"Aw, shoot! My good finger's gone crooked!" The rustler screamed.

"OH, I am sure gonna love ending you!"

~The rustlers' leader throws his hat down in anger and him and his mate go to charge at Lightning, but suddenly a cow runs them both down as they were running to her and they were both catapulted into the distance, never to be seen again. Lightning watched that happen right in front of her and she silently blinks three times in confusion until she shrugs it off and goes to help Applejack. She helps her up to her feet and puts her hat back on her head. AJ adjusts the hat before placing her hand on her hip, smiling at Lightning.~

"Thank ya, Lightnin'." Applejack sighed.

"Hm." Lightning smiles and shrugs her shoulders. "No sweat."

Twilight runs over to the two girls. "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah, Twilight. Lightnin' sure showed those rustlers what for!" Applejack answered, winking and nudging Lightning's arm.

"Well-the cow...also did...show them." Lightning laughed nervously.

"Are we sure those ruffians won't be coming back any time soon?" Rarity asked.

"Nope!" Everyone turns to see Rainbow and Sunset approach them.

"When they saw their leader go flying, they ran after him, cowering in fear." Sunset chuckled.

"Shoulda saw their faces. Priceless!" Rainbow smiled.

"Well, I'm just glad we rescued the herd." Applejack stated.

"So am I." Farmer Bonsai began to pet one of his cows.. "Girls, I can't thank you enough for gettin' my herd back. It means a lot."

"Hm. N-No problem, Farmer Bonsai. Glad we could help." Sunset smiled modestly.

"This calls for a celebration! Campfires and s'mores!" Pinkie cheered.

"It is getting dark. We should head back to your farm and we might as well camp out there." Twilight suggested.

"My pleasure, girls. My pleasure." The farmer nodded.

Chapter 10: Scar-y Stories

Chapter 10: Scar Stories.

~The sun was setting above the horizon and the herd was back where they belong. Before the night rolled around, the girls also decided to help the farmer grow new crops by planting more seeds and giving them more water, thanks to Lightning's penguin ice powers. Applejack and Rainbow Dash also helped by using their powers to cut down some trees for wood so the farmer can build the fences he's dreamt of. But they couldn't chop a lot of them down because some animals were living in them and Fluttershy would scold them for destroying their homes. They cut down a maximum of five and left it there. Twilight, Rarity and Sunset started a small fire and Pinkie reached into her hair and pulled out a packet of marshmallows, (Don't ask how she got them.) She opened the packet and stuck some marshmallows into two large sticks. Then, she jabbed the sticks into a large burlap sack full of straw so the sticks looked like arms. She added another smaller and rounder sack of straw on top of the first sack and drew a face on it. Finally, she tied the sacks onto a wooden pole and stuck it firmly into the ground, making a scarecrow. Pinkie pats herself on the back and wipes the sweat off her forehead, sighing in relief.~

"Phew…!"

"Good work on the scarecrow, Pinkie." Twilight nodded.

"Thanks! This is exactly what the crops need to grow!"

Rarity looks at the scarecrow. "Hmm. Mind if I add in one more thing?"

~Rarity quickly walks into the cottage and comes back out again holding a stitched up straw hat, a red tartan scarf and a large navy pea coat. She stops at the scarecrow and then proceeds to put the clothing on the scarecrow, so it looks more human-like to fool the birds.~

"There we are." Rarity smiled.

"Now, it's perfect!" Pinkie stated as she wrapped her arm around Rarity.

"And...done!" Sunset said, looking at the campfire.

"Campfire's ready, girls!" Twilight called out.

Pinkie pulled out two more large sticks. "Yay! S'mores time!"

~Sometime later in the night, the girls, the dogs and the farmer were chilling by the lit fire. The farmer had a nice grin on his face as he cooked a marshmallow while the Rainbooms stared up at the night sky once again. Lightning was cuddling with Stitch and both of them almost fell asleep if Pinkie had not jolted up from where she was sitting to announce something.~

"Alright! Who's ready for Ghost Stories?!" Pinkie asked in a creepy tone.

"Not me…" Fluttershy whimpered.

"Aw, but I have some good ones lined up!"

"W-well, it could help me get some sleep." Lightning yawned.

"Are you saying my stories are going to be boring…?!" Pinkie gasped.

"Oh, no...it's just that I'm tired and stories really help me get to sleep quicker. It's been a long day, I need this…" Lightning responded, groaning a little.

"Ok! So, Once upon a time…"

~As Pinkie sat back down and started the story, everyone silently smiled and listened. Lightning was happily listening but then she felt something tingling on her right leg and goes to look at what it was. She pulls up the part of her jeans to see the bite Stitch gave her forming red and bleeding again. She rubs it but it is suddenly noticed by Applejack.~

"Whoa, Lightnin', that bite looks awful! Definitely gonna leave a mark! You alright?"

"Well, it stings...a lot...but, it's not so bad! It's not like I'm going to turn into a werewolf every full moon, am I?" Lightning joked.

"Well, no. But, it will leave a scar…" Applejack pointed out.

Lightning realised this and sighs. "Oh, great. Another scar to add to my collection."

"Another scar?" Rainbow questioned, listening in on the conversation. "What do you mean?"

"Have you seen the multiple scars on my head? There's gotta be at least 5!"

~Lightning stretches her eyebrows up and points to her forehead. Applejack and Rainbow were reluctant at first to look but they leaned forward to take a peek at Lightning's forehead. They squint their eyes a bit to just about see 5 cicatrices on her face. One was in between the eyes. Three of them were high up on the forehead, almost covered up by the hair. And the last one was the largest at about 4 cm across Lightning's cheek.~

"Oh yeah! Huh. How come we've never noticed them before?" Rainbow inquired.

"We didn't look hard enough. How did ya get them?"

Lightning was about to answer but Pinkie jumps in before she could. "Applejack! Rainbow Dash! You're not listening to my story! I'm getting to the good part where the muffin monster is about to sing a song about muffins and-"

"Sorry, Pinkie, but Lightnin' was just 'bout to tell us how she got these here scars." Applejack stated, gesturing to Lightning.

Lightning shows the others her scars and Fluttershy gasps. "Goodness! What happened to you?"

"You must have been through a lot to get them. No wonder you can handle a lot of pain." Twilight said.

"Yeah...So, the one in between my eyes was the first one. I was a curious toddler and I face planted on the concrete." She begins to explain. "The second and third and fourth one was an accidental friend attack. And the fifth one was when...my...sister…" She freezes and glares. "Forget it. I didn't say anything again!"

"Not again." Stitch sighed.

"Is she alright?" Farmer Bonsai asked.

"Something happened to her family, we presume, but she won't say what happened." Sunset answered.

"It's hard, ok! As...As I age sequentially, it gets harder and harder!" Lightning cried.

Twilight looked puzzled. "What do you mean-"

"Nothing!" Lightning interrupted while trying not to cry again.

Stitch sighs once again.

"I wouldn't worry about it anymore…" Spike shook his head.

"Then, why is she starting another conversation about it? It's like she wants us to be concerned." Rainbow complained.

"I'm right here, you know? Okay. Fine. Let's talk about something else, shall we? Pinkie-Finish that wondrous story of yours!" Lightning proudly said, calming down now.

"Uhh...Ok. So! The-"

~Pinkie happily continued with the story and everyone happily continued with the listening. However, Sunset was getting a little curious. She stared at Lightning who was listening to the story rather gloomy-like. As well as rubbing her head and scratching Stitch's back at the same time. Sunset looks with envy and finally decides to get to the bottom of this. Without anybody knowing, she looks down upon her geode and slowly lifts it closer to her face as it begins to glow. She then looks down at Lightning's hand and slowly goes to touch it. However, Lightning notices Sunset and jumps to her feet.~

"Huh-What? Sunset? What are you doing?"

"Um...I-Well…" Sunset stuttered.

"Were you about to see through my memory to find out what happened to my family?"

"Lightning, I…"

"Seriously?!" Lightning grew mad and shouted.

"Lightning, you seem upset about it and I want to help, but if you don't tell us what is wrong, we can't help." Sunset answered calmly.

"So, you thought it would be a good idea to stick your nose in my memories?! My privacy?!"

~Lightning began shouting louder and this caused Pinkie to stop telling the story once again. She and the other girls look at Lightning and Sunset blankly and frightfully. Lightning blushes when she realised all eyes were staring at her, but she shakes it off and leaves the campfire in a huff.~

"Maybe you should watch what you're doing and think it through, Sunset. Because it's now going to take longer for us to trust each other. Especially for me to trust you now." Lightning glared at Sunset before walking off.

"Well, that didn't go the way I wanted it to." Sunset sighed sadly.

"I know we want to find out what happened, Sunset, but maybe that was too sudden." Twilight said.

"Yes, I...I would suggest waiting until she does fully trust you." Bonsai suggested. "How long have you girls known each other for?"

Pinkie answered easily and happily. "...5 days, 9 hours, 1 minute and 16 seconds! 17 seconds. 18 seconds. 19 secon-"

"I think we get the idea, Pinkie." Applejack calmly interrupted.

"Ok! Just wanted to make sure!" She shrugged.

"But...Lightning may never trust me now...Oh, I really messed up now...What do I do?" Sunset groaned.

"It's never too late to do what's right, Sunset. Lightning has begun to trust me and the others but she has not yet told us the truth." Twilight stated.

"I guess...I need to make it up to her. But how…?" Sunset began to think.

Stitch cuddles up beside Sunset to get her attention. "Me think me will see where she went. Me will try to cheer her up! Me funny and fluffy!"

~Stitch puffs up when he said 'fluffy' and he shakes his body all over the place before racing off to find Lightning like a hyperactive wild animal. Twilight looks back at the campfire then to Farmer Bonsai's watch hanging on his wrist to check the time.~

"It's getting late. We should probably get some sleep if we're going to leave early in the morning."

~Everyone agrees with Twilight and walks off to find a spot to sleep at. As soon as Pinkie was finished with a mouthful of marshmallows.~

~Later in the night, Sunset couldn't sleep. Not because the floor was uncomfortable and soggy, but the fact that she feels awful about trying to read Lightning's mind and making her more upset. So instead of continuing to toss and turn in her leaf bed, she gets up to think of something to make it up to Lightning. However, when she turned to look at Lightning, she saw that her bed was empty. Stitch was also missing.~

"Lightning?" Sunset inquires.

~Sunset peeks out of the cave, then sees Lightning and Stitch. Lightning was hugging her legs and staring at the view beneath her while Stitch nuzzled against her. Sunset stepped forwards and was about to sit beside Lightning but stopped when Stitch and she began to talk among each other.~

"Should I tell them?" Lightning sadly whispered.

"It would be best. They'll understand." Stitch smiled.

"I don't know...I want to tell them, but, do I trust them enough to tell?"

"Of course. You saved them. And helped them throughout your last adventure or so. And the beauty of helping people is that they'll help you back."

"I guess...I don't know about Sunset Shimmer though. She instantly tried to figure things out herself by going through my brain of cherished memories. I don't know how the superpower works, but what if I wasn't thinking about my family and about something else I don't want anyone to know about. Not even you or Karly knows." Lightning frowned.

"You make a point but she wasn't causing you any harm."

"Physically. Emotionally, that's a whole different story."

"Hm. What me would do is calm down and talk to her in the morning."

"Yeah, but I don't trust her very much now. Actually, I still don't trust you very much."

"Then why are you telling me this?"

"You're the only one I can talk to. I mean-I'm sort of trusting you, who said I wasn't!" Lightning sighs. "I will give you this, you are a good listener, Stitch. And your advice you just gave me actually now makes sense."

"Thanks." Stitch purred.

Lightning breathes in, then out. "Ok, Fine. Once we find Karly, I guess I'll tell everyone what I'm going through, but Sunset…" She sighs again. "I don't know now…"

"I didn't mean to cause you harm."

Lightning turns around and gasps to see Sunset standing above her. "Sun-Sunset! How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough. Is this seat taken?" She points below her.

"Go...ahead."

~Sunset slumps next to Lightning and pets Stitch on the head as she looked at them both.~

"I know you don't want to talk about your family, and that's fine. I won't ever try to go through your memories again. And I'm sorry about it."

"It's…" Lightning looks at Stitch and he nods slowly at her and closes his eyes while doing so. "It's alright. I'm sorry for getting all up and angry. Just don't play Detective with or without me.

"I won't. Promise." Sunset softly chuckled.

"Thank you. Just so you know, I'll...tell you and the others about my family, when I feel like the time is right."

"We'll be there for you, Lightning. Don't you worry. I know you don't trust me yet, but listen to Stitch and give me another chance…"

She sighs. "Alright…"

~Lightning and Sunset both smile at each other but they both go awkwardly silent afterwards. They don't have anything else to say and just end up quietly staring at each other. So, Stitch tried to make some weak conversation.~

"So, how's your night going?"

"Good…" Lightning said.

"Fine…" Sunset answered.

The awkward silence continued.

Lightning then broke it and turned to Stitch. "That's the best you could come up with?"

"Me wanted to break the silence. Talk!"

"...Soooooo, how did you get your second, third and fourth scars again?" Sunset asked, smiling.

"A game of Rounders became an attack! Rocks were thrown instead of baseballs by friends and they teamed on me because I was the most skilled at sports!" Lightning exclaimed and explained.

"That's…intense." Sunset looked at her fearfully.

"I'm ok though. It was an accident. The scars aren't my problem. Really it's not! It's an adventures. The violence. The crimes lurking around every corner! The-"

Stitch walked off a little so Lightning and Sunset could talk in peace. "Hm. Me glad to see Lightning and Sunset talking. Hopefully, they will trust each other before we find Karly." He said to himself.

~Stitch proudly looks at himself and Lightning in the moonlight. But then suddenly he sees something else glistening in the light by the trees. He turns to see what it is, but it disappeared.~

"Hmm...Is something there?"

~Stitch snorts suspiciously and sniffs around the trees but finds nothing. So, he trots back to where the two girls were still sitting and chatting and falls on their lap to sleep. A pair of yellow eyes suddenly open in the darkness of the trees and glared at him.~

Chapter 11: Forest Ambush

Chapter 11: Getting Back n' Attacked!

~The next morning came quicker than expected. Everyone washed their faces in the nearby river and left for CHS. They waved goodbye to Farmer Bonsai and be on their own once again for the second time.~

"Bye, girls! You hurry on back to your school and find your friend along the way. And don't stop for anythin'!"

"Thanks!" Lightning waved.

"We sure appreciate ya lookin' out for us and our friend!" Applejack yelled happily.

The farmer nodded. "Y'all be alright. You're pretty tough girls."

~With that, the girls and their dogs turned back to where they came from until turned left from the fork in the road.~

"I feel so much better now…" Sunset sighed happily.

"That's because we actually had a nice time, eh, Sunset…?" Lightning winked.

Twilight saw Lightning and Sunset and smiled. "Glad to see you two getting along."

"We had a good chat last night." Sunset said.

"And worked our differences." Lightning shrugged.

~Lightning puts her left arm around Sunset and her right arm around Twilight. She closes her eyes and smiles at them both before looking up to see a large building roof in the distance, no doubt about it, it was Canterlot High. Lightning gives everyone a cute smile and jumps for joy.~

"There is it. Canterlot High! There's home!"

~Everyone cheers and Stitch and Spike howl in excitement.~

"Finally! Oh, I've been waiting forever to get back!" Rarity exclaimed in relief.

"I just hope Karly is here." Fluttershy said.

"Me too. If she's not, we are turning back around, back into that forest until she's found!" Lightning declared.

"Could at least settle in the school before turning back." Stitch said.

"Yeah...It's been tiring." Spike whimpered.

"Very tiring!" Rarity said dramatically.

"Alright, alright! I am turning back around back into that forest until she's found!" Lightning repeated.

"Ih."

~Stitch smiles before climbing on Lightning and venturing forward again. Spike begins sniffing the area and races ahead of everyone, following the pathway. He stops and begins sniffing on a leaf until a small speck of water drops on his nose. He looks up to see storm clouds rolling in the sky once again. He retreated back to the girls who also happened to look up to see the third storm.~

"Another storm…" Lightning groaned, feeling irritated.

"Not again!" Rarity groaned too.

"Hm. Who knew a third storm would come in?" Stitch pondered.

~Stitch stared up then down towards the trees. There he saw the same yellow eyes he thought he saw and heard from earlier last night. They glared deeply at him and Spike. Suddenly more eyes opened up to glare at them both.~

"Uh...You see those eyes too, right, Stitch?" Spike began to sweat.

"Ih...Me starting to get worried."

~Stitch and Spike were about to tell the girls about the eyes but they had walked off and up a steep hill because it was the shortest way to Canterlot High. The two dogs scurried up the hill too and easily caught up with the gang, but before Stitch or Spike could tell them anything, Lightning interfered.~

"So, Stitch, if you are going to be living with us now you need a warm place to sleep. I guess you can sleep with me until something is arranged. I wanted to make Spike a room since I just met him, so, Ooh! You two could share the spare room I've got and I can make it your own!"

"Ih, that's great, but-"

"And food…" Lightning continued. "You eat dog food and meat, so, that's no problem…you can have all the meat you can eat...I'll make sure there's space for you to exercise. It will be your hideout too...we'll all...look after...each other…"

Lightning stopped when she saw that Spike was feeling really distressed, beginning to whimper.

"Is everything ok, Spike?" Fluttershy asked.

"I-I feel like we're being watched…"

~The rain seriously began to pour down upon the girls and they looked up to see blue lightning striking behind thunderous clouds. They slid down the hill and continued to watch the storm play out. Although, Lightning did start to panic and breathe heavily and went to turn back to the trees, but then saw the lustrous eyes. About five of them. Then a scratching sound was heard and Lightning and Stitch turn to see deep claw marks on the trees. This caught the others' attention and they saw what Lightning, Stitch and Spike saw.~

"I can't-" Lightning shook a little.

"What's happening?" Rainbow looked around, panicking.

~The thunder above them flashed and everyone got a glimpse of the owner's of the eyes. Then they heard snarling.~

"Girls. Go. Run." Lightning firmly said.

"What?" Sunset said.

"GO! RUN! NOW!"

~Rainbow sped off and Lightning promptly shoved the rest to move. Wolves came thrashing out of the trees and barked and began to chase them.~

"What is it? What are they…?!" Fluttershy screamed.

"Wolves...!" Lightning confirmed.

"WOLVES?!" Pinkie shrieked.

"Don't look back!" Lightning shouted.

~Lightning activated her geode and did her best to hold off the wolves or make them stop, but they were too agile, too big, and too strong. Something hit Lightning at the back of her head and on her nose, and she almost got her leg bitten off, so she had to continue running with the team. Suddenly laughter was heard from somewhere and some familiar people jump at the Rainbooms, forcing them to stop in their tracks.~

"Give us the dogs!" It was the Flunkies.

"What...Never!" Twilight cried.

~Stitch and Spike hide behind everyone's feet as the three men begin to monologue. Rainbow Dash tried to find a way to escape, but the wolves that were chasing them showed up and were surrounding them at their legs. If one foot stepped out of the ring, the wolves would gnaw it right off.~

"Where do you think you're going?!" The Flunky asked.

"Away from you!" Rainbow answered angrily.

"You can't take Stitch and Spike!" Fluttershy urged.

"Too bad, sweetie."Another Flunky smiled evilly. "Your dogs are going to be our wolves' main course. A little salt and lemon in their eyes wouldn't hurt them, would it? Echo, get 'em!"

~A wolf suddenly leapt in the crowd and snatched Spike up with its jaw. He wriggles to break free but started to feel pain among doing so. He cries out instead. Twilight and Fluttershy tried to step in and help but the wolves around them snarled and snapped at their feet.~

"Twilight!" Spike cried.

"Spike!" Twilight gasped.

"No…!" Fluttershy whimpered.

Spike's eyes bulge. "He-Help!"

"Shut up!" The Flunky screamed at Spike.

Stitch began to growl.

"Hm." Spike's captor smiled.

~The wolf clutching onto Spike runs away and Twilight breaks down. The man clicks his fingers and the second wolf wheels down to capture Stitch. Luckily, Lightning prevented that and tossed the wolf away from him. Suddenly the second man frowned and stepped in. He pulled out a pistol and shot at Lightning. It hit Lightning's leg and she begins to feel weak. She goes down suddenly and the Mane 7 were pushed down to the floor by the wolves. Stitch growls some more and jumps in but the remaining wolves scratch and bite him. He whimpers and closes his eyes before falling down. One wolf then slowly picks him up in its mouth before racing off with the pack, leaving the three men to deal with the girls.~

"Stitch...no…" Lightning softly groaned.

"Care to dispose of these here girls." One Flunky turned to his men.

"Give me that pistol, then." The second one prompted.

"Oh, man. White Spark will be proud of us for this."

Lightning gasped. "White Spark…? I knew it!"

~Lightning gained her strength back and pulled herself and the others up to face the guys.~

"White Spark woke up, followed us, and waited for a chance to strike and take Stitch and Spike!"

"Wh-Where did are you take them...?!" Fluttershy demanded before groaning a little.

"Somewhere where no one can hear them scream…" The Flunky sneered.

"You-You monsters!" Rarity cried.

"Hey, wolf's gotta eat." They shrugged.

"Can they eat anything else besides innocent woodland animals?!" Sunset glared.

"No...Because it ruins their appetite-"

"Would you stop talking to them and just end them already!"

"I'm getting there!" He points his pistol up at the Rainbooms. "So, who wants to die first?"

"This is bad…" Lightning feared.

"W-What are we going to do…?!" Fluttershy whimpered.

Chapter 12: Star Family Secrets

Chapter 12: The Truth is Revealed.

"W-What are we going to do…?!" Fluttershy whimpered.

Sunset whispered. "I-I don't know!"

"Me neither…! I don't have my blaster to fight back with!" Lightning stuttered.

"Should we use our powers…? They know about them already, don't they?" Rainbow suggested.

"They'll see us and shoot if we try to use them." Twilight whispered.

"Just...stay calm…"

~Lightning backs herself and the others into a corner with nowhere to go. She couldn't think of anything to get them out of this so she was upset and stressed out. But, also wrong. A green laser appears out of nowhere and blasts one of the guys in the chest. He clutches his chest and everyone turns in the direction it came from. A figure stood in the shadows armed with a blaster and once they stepped forwards into the light, Lightning gasps in relief and exclaims.~

"Karly?!"

The Mane 7 gasp.

"Please step away from my best friends, I repeat, please step away." Karly smiled politely.

~The three men stupidly glare at each other in confusion for two seconds until Karly shoots her blaster again and the laser grazes the second man's arm.~

"I SAID STEP AWAY!" Karly yelled angrily.

The Flunkies freak out. "...Stand down. Let's move."

~The three men flee the scene and the girls sigh in relief. Lightning was very happy to see Karly and she was happy to see her so they ran to each other and warmly embraced each other.~

"Oh, I am so glad that is over. For a second there, I thought I was going to have to...shoot somebody…" Karly said, holding her hands up.

"Hate to break it to ya, Karly, but you did." Lightning replied in confusion.

"I did, didn't I?"

~Lightning and Karly both chuckle before hugging once again. The Rainbooms calm down from what just happened and also smile at Lightning and Karly. Rarity then steps forward to give something special to Karly.~

"Oh, Karly, we are so glad you're safe! Oh! We found your geode on the ground too somewhere." Rarity hands Karly her geode and she puts it on her neck again.

"Oh, thanks. Oh, I was so afraid I had lost it trying to find my way back here." Karly smiled.

"How did you find your way back here? We expected the worse happened to you…!" Lightning stated, placing her hands on Karly's shoulders.

"Well, I last thing I remember was taking a hit to the head by some bricks that…"

"Oh, Karly…" Lightning suddenly interrupted Karly to hug her. "Just...That's...That's my fault. If I hadn't raced out of the hideout to the construction site…"

"Its ok, Lightning. I'm ok, you're ok. Just let bygones be bygones...But, yeah, I got hit in the head with a bunch of bricks, then I woke up in the forest without feeling any injuries strangely...but I didn't know where I was, it took me hours to navigate the way home...I was so frightened." Karly then turned to the rest. “How did I even get there?"

“Stitch carried you into that forest.” Fluttershy said.

“And cured you with Wuloric berries.” Twilight added.

Karly looked confused. “Who's Stitch?”

“My new dog! Stitch…?” Lightning was about to introduce Karly to Stitch but then realised. “Oh no, Stitch! He was taken! Along with Spike!”

“Oh yeah! We gotta get them back!” Rainbow declared.

“Let's go then!” Lightning gestured.

~Lightning and the Rainbooms started to leave to find Stitch and Spike. However, Karly was still standing there, confused. She called out to Lightning who immediately stopped.~

“Wait a minute, Lightning. This 'Stitch' dog you speak of...Is that the dog you thought you saw sneak into the hideout?” Karly asked.

“Yes! It was a dog the whole time! Now we have to help him!” Lightning determined.

“Wait a minute!” Karly began to glare. “Fluttershy said it dragged me into that forest, miles from home. Why?”

“I...I don't know about that. Maybe because he wanted to help you cause he felt bad about you hurting yourself.”

“Are you serious, it stole me…?” Karly argued.

“To help you…”Lightning retaliated.

“How far did he take me…?”

“24 hours away from the city…” Rarity answered. “I know, I am shocked too!”

“We all were.” Sunset said.

Karly looked skeptical. “I honestly don't think I want to help.”

“What?! Why?” Lightning asked.

“It dragged me away, far from home. Without any source of help or phone service! I was alone in the wild for 2 days because of that thing. I would go and help you if it was only Spike in danger, but Spike and that other dog, Stitch, was it? I’ll see you back at the hideout, Lightning.”

~Karly started to walk away towards the city and Lightning tried to persuade her to stop and hear her out.~

“What? Karly, no, wait! I know it seems bad, I was thinking the same thing too, but...he healed your injuries. We have bonded over the days trying to find you. He helped us and you, now he’s in trouble. We have to help him. Karly, stop! Stop!” Lightning began to shout.

Karly paused and turned to Lightning. “He didn’t help me at all. The only thing he did was pull me into a scary adventure back home by myself. I hate doing things by myself. He might have healed me, but he didn’t help me find a way back home.”

“He was about to!” Lightning responded angrily. “But you had woken up and left. He did help you, you help him! He actually said to me, ‘The beauty of helping people is that they’ll help you back!’"

“Really? Then how come your sister helped you escape, but you Didn’t help her when she was MURDERED???!!!”

Lightning froze.

~The guitar strings had broken. The Rainbooms' eyes grew and they turned to Lightning completely flustered. Fluttershy covered her mouth with her hands and Pinkie's jaw hit the floor.~

Lightning slowly turned and glared at her partner. “Why would you bring THAT up?!” She whispered.

Karly realised what she just said and already regretted it. “Oh, shoot. Oh, no. I’m--” She sighed. “The jig is up, Lightning. You better tell the Rainbooms everything now…”

“Wh-What is she talking about?” Fluttershy stammered.

Lightning takes a deep breath. “Ok, Rainbooms, sit down. You're in for the truth now.”

~Karly sits down first and stares at the floor in shame. The Rainbooms eventually join her, ready for the truth to be told to them.~

“Ok. Wait here.”

~Lightning stumbles into some nearby trees and picks a few things up from the floor. She returns holding four sticks. One of them was big, two of them were medium and the fourth one was short. Lightning sits down to complete the circle the girls made and began to place the sticks in the dirt, just like what Stitch did to resemble his family.~

“Remember this, Rainbooms?” Lightning asked.

They all nod.

“The biggest stick resembles my dad. The medium sticks are my mum and my sister, and the small one...well, take your pick to who it is.” She points to herself in an obvious gesture.

“Hmm…” Karly began to breathe heavily.

“So...what happened, Lightning, darling?” Rarity softly asked for the last time.

Lightning sighed and started. “So, Me and my family live on the edge. But...the edge might have crumbled and…”

~Lightning places her hands on both of the medium sticks and pushes them to the ground. Then, she softly buries them in the mud before shedding a tear.~

“It was 12 years ago…”

~Song: Total Eclipse of the Heart- (Bonnie Tyler)~

~A flashback forms into Lightning's head and it shows herself as a 4-year old girl, plus another girl was also with her, who looked to be 8 years old. The 8-year-old was holding young Lightning's hand firmly as they ran for their lives. Something was lurking in the shadows with a toothy grin and it was violently chasing the young children through a narrow, small hallway.~

"Me and my sister were in grave danger." Lightning narrated. " We had been taken by my dad's arch-enemy and we were just making our escape. Our dad did make sure we knew all of his secret agent skills to protect ourselves, but my sister never understood them. She was not a good agent. And I was only 4. I hadn't learnt the skills yet."

~Lightning's sister suddenly trips over and little Lightning went to help her, but by then the shadow had caught up with them. It saw that the sister had no special skills, so it was disappointed. The girls both got up and continued to run, but then Lightning's sister pushes Lightning under a small vent she could easily fit through, but the sister couldn't fit so she turned back to escape another way, but the shadow was there towering over her. Lightning hid in the vents and saw the murder happen with her own eyes. The shadow had slashed Lightning's sister with some sort of blade and she fell to the floor, not moving. 4-year-old Lightning's eyes flashed with trauma but then the shadow turned to the vents and sticks the blade in there. The blade touches Lightning's cheek and slices it. She jolts back and tumbles through the vents as the blade was being waved around. She crawls and reaches the end and outside the building where she was held in, she gets out of the vent and falls to the floor. Suddenly, a car pulled up where she was and a man and woman crawled out of it, Lightning's parents. They go over to the sad Lightning and she fumbles over and begins to cry.~

"The villain had slashed my sister's stomach open and killed her. Then he slashed my cheek and that's how I got this scar. I barely escaped and broke down in front of my parents when they arrived. I was traumatised. But that wasn't the end…"

~Back at their house, young Lightning was still crying and was sitting and staring out of the window while the parents chatted and argued about what happened. Both were also heart-broken and the mother never stopped crying about it. The mother then raced upstairs while the father comforted Lightning. Suddenly they heard a gunshot from upstairs and the father went to check it out. He finds a gun lying on the bed and a body. Little Lightning looked up then turned back out the window as the Flashback ended. Present Lightning stared at the Rainbooms with tears forming in her eyes.~

"My mother couldn't bear to live without one of her daughters, so she...disappeared, only leaving me and my father left in the world." Lightning finished.

Lightning sniffed and quivered her lip.

~The Rainbooms looked at Lightning and Karly in sympathy. Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie started to cry too and they all huddled around Lightning to give her a big hug as she sobbed. Soon enough, Twilight, Rainbow and Applejack joined in on the hug too until Lightning's tears soaked the Mane 6's shirts.~

"I'm really sorry, Lightning. I had no idea. I just assumed you had a terrible family and a bad relationship with them…" Sunset softly said, feeling really bad.

"Oh, no...It was the opposite of that. My parents and my sister loved me with all of their hearts. At least, that's what my dad and I thought my mother said." Lightning cried, still hugging the ones around her.

"Oh, I'm truly sorry I brought that up, Lightning. Of course, you couldn't help your sister, you were only 4 years old…" Karly rubbed in between her eyes.

"Its ok, Karly. You just weren't thinking straight."

"We're all so sorry about your past, Lightning." Fluttershy whimpered. "Yo-Your dad is still alive though, isn't he?"

"Yes. He's been taking good care of me ever since." Lightning softly answered.

"I can't believe that happened to you! How could that ruffian, that brute kill your sister!? She was only a child!" Rarity exclaimed.

"I Know! 8-8-8 years old!" Lightning cried louder.

"Now, now, y'all. Let's not keep goin' on about it. Lightnin' seems way too upset to go on." Applejack stated sadly.

"Yeah, she's soaked my jacket with her crying!" Rainbow picked up her jacket and started to shake it.

"Oh, sorry…" Lightning sniffed and rubbed her nose.

Twilight smiled a little. "It's ok...You just needed to let it all out…"

"Yeah…"

~Everyone dismantles from the hug, except for Pinkie. She was squeezing Lightning and didn't want to let go. Eventually, she did when she realised everyone else had let go.~

"Its ok, Pinkie. I'm ok, now."

She sniffs rather loudly. "It's just heartbreaking when someone you love is gone!"

"I know...That's-Thats why we must go after Stitch!"

"And Spike. They need us!" Twilight declared.

"I...feel like Stitch is now part of my family. I blamed him for what happened to you, Karly, but it wasn't his fault...he was only trying to help. So, we gotta go and help him...because...I-I-I love him...He's my pet. And he loves me.

Karly looked at Lightning in silence.

"I always knew you would become attached to him…" Fluttershy smugged.

"Let's go and find that 'Little thing' then!" Karly grinned.

Lightning's eyes clear up and she smiles.

Chapter 13: The Eye of the Storm

Chapter 13: The End of the Storm.

~Everyone knew what they had to do. Lightning, Karly, Rainbow and Sunset dabbed mud on their fingers then smeared a straight line on each of their cheeks with it. Everyone prepared their powers and ponies up in the process. They look up to see the clouds swirling the sky and lightning crashing onto the trees, creating sparks and flames. They all take a deep breath before running and flying through the storm, they yelled and howled, trying to find Stitch and Spike.~

"Spike!?" Sunset yelled.

Pinkie climbed onto a tree and cried. "Spppiiikkkeee!"

"Stitch!" Lightning howled, desperately looking around.

"Stitch?!" Karly called.

Twilight had a mixture of anger and worry on her face. "Oh, Spike…"

Fluttershy went to Twilight and reassured her. "They have to be okay…"

"They will be. They have to be. Stitch!" Lightning continued to howl.

Suddenly, she got a howl back in response and a cry.

"Help!"

"That's Spike!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Stitch, Spike, we're coming! Don't worry!" Rainbow called out.

~Lightning, Karly and the Rainbooms follow to where they heard Spike's cries and Stitch's howls. The storm blew their hair all over the place and lightning struck another nearby tree. The tree began to timber in front of the girls but Lightning slid underneath it and the rest went over or around it. They blasted through more trees until they came across a river. There they saw over 10 wolves and White Spark crowding over two rocks. And Stitch and Spike were there under the rocks! They had escaped the grip of the wolves and crouched under the rocks to be safe, but it wasn't working too well. The wolves were snarling, trying to force their way into the rocks to get to Stitch and Spike. And White Spark was laughing all the way, also trying to break the rocks.~

Stitch howls for help once again and Spike yelps.

"Back off, fleabags! Let me…" White Spark shouted.

Rainbow glared. "Hey!"

"LET'S GO!" Lightning sneered.

~Everyone slid down the hill and charged in. Lightning was ahead of everyone so she took the lead. She targeted two wolves and headbutted them straight into the river. They flopped around as they drifted off. White Spark immediately stopped to turn to Lightning, Karly and the Rainbooms.~

"Well, Well. Look who got relevated! Get 'em!"

~White Spark grins at everyone then he snaps his fingers and commands two wolves to attack. The wolves assailed and go for Lightning, but Karly steps in and quickly teleports the wolves out of their sight and into the river. All the wolves then charge in and the Rainbooms fight each one off. Pinkie threw the confetti, Rainbow charged into them, Applejack lifted them up, Twilight levitated them up, Rarity blocked their attacks, Fluttershy gently calmed one of them down and it ran away and Sunset and Lightning teamed together to fight. White Spark watches them battle then starts smashing the rocks again, and he was getting closer to Stitch and Spike. The dogs screamed and tried to back away, but they were clearly trapped in a small area with nowhere to go.~

"Spike!" Twilight cried.

Lightning turned to Sunset. "Sunset, come with me to get Stitch and Spike."

"Alright!"

~Lightning and Sunset both take each other's hands and run to White Spark. But then three wolves got in their way. One pounced at Lightning but she ducks just in time. However, Sunset didn't. The wolf landed right on her chest and pinned her to the ground while the other two grabbed the back of her shirt with their teeth and started to drag her off.~

"Hey! Get off! Let go! Lightning!"

Lightning stops and pants. "Sunset! Uh…"

"Li-Lightning!"

~Lightning kept looking at Sunset then back to Stitch and Spike. She had a choice to make on who she should help first. Lightning started to squeal until she made up her mind. She turned to Sunset and ran to her. She tried to get to Sunset but the wolves snarled. Lightning panted but then she noticed the wolves were dragging Sunset past a big tree. She activated her power, shapeshifted into a half-human, half-lizard, and blasted fire onto the stump of the tree. The bark burnt and got weak and once it was weak enough, the tree timbered right above the wolves. The wolves saw it, dropped Sunset and flinched as the tree was falling. Lightning quickly pounced on Sunset and knocked them both out of the way while the tree fell and thumped the wolves into the river. Lightning and Sunset both watched it happen and watched the wolves flail and drift off in a stream.~

Sunset sighs in relief. "Thank you, Lightning."

She nodded. "Hm. You're welcome."

Karly teleported to the girls. "Hey, Are you two alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine."

~Twilight and Karly helped Lightning and Sunset to their feet and reassured them. The Mane 5 then went over to them and joined in after they finished the wolves. But then lightning flashed above them and a very loud scream from Stitch was heard. Everyone turned to see White Spark clutching onto Stitch and Spike and he was trying to squeeze them both to death with his bare hands. Stitch and Spike felt their bodies getting pressed and their teeth gritted to feel the pain. Another scream was then let out by Stitch again. Soon enough, he and Spike lost consciousness.~

"The eye of the storm!"

~Everyone looked in terror as Stitch and Spike screamed. Then...something clicked inside of Lightning. Something triggered her and her eyes just turned red. She growled fiercely at White Spark and then she started to glow blue. Thunder contoured around her and she was lifted in the air.~

Karly freaked out. "Lightning…? Lightning!"

"How is she…?" Sunset was speechless.

~Before anyone said anything else, Lightning blasted her Equestrian magic straight at White Spark. White Spark looked up just to see the blast coming straight for him and his eyes shrunk. The magic hit his arm and he dropped Stitch and Spike and was overwhelmed with FEAR.~

"WHOSE afraid of Thunder and Lightning now?!" Lightning shrieked.

~White Spark screamed tremulously and started to run away. Lightning drops to the floor again and everyone watches him run off.~

"He's getting away!" Rainbow pointed.

"NOT...FOR...LONG. Karly, blaster."

~Karly frightfully hands Lightning her blaster and Lightning takes it forcefully. She aims at White Spark then fires. A blue laser whizzes through the wind until it smacks White Spark at the back of the head. He falls to the floor and into the river, never to be seen again. Lightning drops the blaster to the floor and pants her heart out after White Spark had fallen. Twilight and Fluttershy looked at Lightning in shock but then they went over to Stitch and Spike. Twilight lifted Spike in her arms while Fluttershy lifted Stitch. They take Stitch and Spike back to the group so they can scan them.~

"Are they gonna be alright…?" Applejack asked.

"Hmm…" Fluttershy scans Stitch and Spike, then sighs in huge relief. "Yes. They're just in a deep sleep. They'll wake up soon."

Pinkie laughs in relief. "Thank goodness!"

"Whoo...I'm happy." Karly sighed. "Glad everyone will be ok. Good job, Lightning. Lightning?"

~Lightning was still staring off into space, not listening to a word anyone just said. Karly looked at Lightning then she tapped her shoulder to see if she will respond, but then, Lightning's face freaks out and she collapses on the ground, also losing her pony ears, tail and wings.~

"Oh my-Lightning! Are you alright?" Rarity looked down upon Lightning's face.

"Never...again…" Lightning loudly groans...then faints.

Karly looked concerned at first, but then she narrowed her eyes. "...Yes, she's going to be fine…Phew...Note to selves: Never make Lightning really really angry…"

Everyone suddenly heard coughing. "Oh...my...goodness…"

Twilight then gasped. "Spike! You're ok!" She hugs him tightly.

"Twilight...you saved us." Spike smiled crookedly.

"Of course we did."

"Yeah! We'd never leave ya hanging!" Rainbow folded her arms and smiled.

Stitch then groans and wakes up. "Me...thank you. Me love you, girls!"

~Stitch wags her tail and jumps out of Fluttershy's arms before throwing her and the others down to the ground to aggressively lick their faces.~

"Oh! Pffft! You're welcome, Stitch!" Karly spat as Fluttershy began to giggle.

"Oh, goodness! Stitch, heel! You're welcome…" Rarity exclaimed.

"Ahh, ehh! Dog slobber!" Rainbow began to spit everywhere.

Finally, Sunset laughed when Stitch got to her. "Ok, ok, Stitch!"

"Where's Lightning?" Stitch panted.

Karly pointed to her. "There. She's ok though."

~Stitch sees the passed out Lightning on the floor and stumbles over to her. He then proceeded to lick her nose and face until she slowly groaned and fluttered her eyes open and woke up.~

"Stitch…?"

"Ih."

"Oh, Stitch!"

~Lightning wrapped Stitch in her arms and gave him a big, long hug before getting up and making him lounge comfortably in her hands.~

"So glad you're safe! You too, Spike!"

"I've never felt better in all my life." Spike barked happily.

"Neither have I. But, this...has to have been the craziest thing we have experienced in our lives…" Sunset groaned a little.

"Crazier than the Dazzlings?" Karly inquired.

Sunset nodded.

"Huh. Well, get used to it! As a secret agent, this kind of stuff will happen once or twice a week." Lightning reminded.

"Why did we agree to this?" Sunset groaned again.

"Hey!"

"Sorry. It was a Joke…?" She shrugged her shoulders uneasily.

"Hm…! Better be."

~Sunset gives Lightning a nervous smile as she looks at her suspiciously, suddenly the two girls break into laughter and hug. The rest also break into laughter after a second.~

Chapter 14: Hideout Sweet Hideout

Chapter 14: Hideout Sweet Hideout.

~Everyone had found the stone pathway in the city and started to follow it back home. While walking, Lightning also decided to tell Stitch and Spike her tragic backstory. Both of their eyebrows crouched and they whined a bit. They felt the exact same sympathy the Mane 7 had felt when they heard the story.~

"So, your sister was killed and your mother died after that?" Spike asked clearly.

"Yeah…" Lightning nodded sadly.

"Wow."

"It's truly tragic…" Rarity said, looking at the ground.

"I just wish I could change the past. What would have happened if I stepped in?" Lightning asked herself.

"It's not your fault, Lightning. You were only a child." Karly reminded her again.

"Yeah, but-" She sighed. "Whatever...I just need to live a happy life. That's what my sister and mother would want me to have."

"That's the spirit!" Pinkie winked.

"Pinkie's right. Don't let this drag you down." Sunset reassured.

"I'm trying my best to not to let it drag me down, after all, it happened 12 years ago…" Lightning tilted her head up.

"Hmm. Don't worry, Lightning. Now that you've told us what makes you unhappy, we can help through the times." Twilight smiled.

"As well as fighting baddies, we're a really great group to talk to!" Pinkie bounced.

"Trust us. I can also ask Princess Twilight to give you advice and help along the way." Sunset promised.

"Thanks." Lightning smiled at the Rainbooms.

"Let's not forget me!"

~Stitch bounds up high until he's at level with Lightning's shoulders. Lightning then catches the dog and he licks her face and makes eye contact with her.~

"Me can help too! Me owe you for all you've done for me. You've taught me some things, you saved me from hungry, ravaging wolves, and lastly, you gave me a family."

"Yes, we're family now, Stitch. It's to restore our broken hearts."

~Lightning and Stitch both embraced each other before Lightning set Stitch down on the floor. He raced off and Spike shortly followed after him. They both began to playfully fight and roll around in the grass until they bumped into a tree. The girls went to check on them but then they realised that the tree their dogs bumped into was in front of CHS. They had arrived back to their school!~

"Hey, we made it!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Finally!" Rarity sighed.

"Yay…!" Fluttershy cheered.

"Awesome!" Rainbow happily yelled.

"Alright!" Applejack smiled.

"Hooray!" Karly grinned.

"Whoo!" Lightning sang.

"Woo-hoo! Now, it's just a hop, skip and a jump away!" Pinkie hops, skips and jumps over to the school.

"I'm glad we made it…" Sunset said.

~A gust of wind suddenly flew past the girls and they all took a deep breath and let the wind fly through their hair. They watched two birds also fly over the school and the sun shine as bright as it could. Lightning and Karly glance back at the school with a sharp smile on their faces as they begin to walk past the portal in through the front door. As Lightning walked past the portal, she gave it a light pat before continuing on. Once everyone was through the front and inside the building they observed the halls. Students were going in and out of rooms and were walking through them. Everyone smiled again and made their way to the music room. Lightning shut the door once everyone was inside the music room and peeked through the window to make sure no one was about to come in. Karly performed the tune on the piano and it unlocked the way to the stairs. Everyone slowly ambled downstairs and into the hideout where they relaxed. The Chief was working on the red table but then he looked up to see his agents walking to him proudly.~

"Agents? Karly?"

"Hello, Uncle." Karly smiled.

"Ohh…"

~Steven eagerly got up from his seat and hugged Karly as tightly as he could. Lightning and the rest smiled and joined in the hug.~

"You came back! It had been three days! I expected the worst…!" Steven breathed.

"No, we're fine. We're tough girls, Chief." Lightning proudly said, patting his back.

"I know that. I'm glad you're safe though. Especially you, Karly." He looked down at his niece.

"Y-yes! Of course, Uncle! Glad...to...be...back! Can't...breathe…"

"Oh! We're sorry, Karly…" Fluttershy blushed.

~Everyone dismantles from the huge hug and let Karly breathe again. Lightning lets out a small giggle while Stitch bounces off Lightning's shoulder and introduces himself to the Chief.~

"Hello! My name Stitch. And me going to live here and be Lightning's pet."

"If, that's alright, Chief." Lightning shrugged.

"As long as he behaves, it's fine by me."

"He will. He and Spike will take the spare room as well."

The Chief shrugs. "Ok. I'm going to take Karly home while you sort him out, how about that?"

"Uh...Oh, what's the use? I guess I could use some rest. My new room here will need some sorting out afterwards though."

"Oh, that's right!" Rarity walked to the front door of her room. "I also wanted to sort out my room! You know, before moving some things in from my home to here. Just a few things to have while being here. This will be the glamourous hideout ever!"

~Rarity trots back upstairs and everyone looks at her with blank looks on their faces. Applejack then folds her arms and rolls her eyes over to them all.~

"She's gonna come back with her entire wardrobe and sewin' equipment. Trust me. I know."

"Ok, Well, you girls can now do whatever you want freely until tomorrow." Lightning smiled. "The Chief will redo the test with you girls until then and I'll teach you the skills after that. You still gotta long way to go before knowing everything a secret agent knows. Let's just say this adventure was another test. And more will come soon. Let's go, Stitch, your new room isn't going to decorate itself."

"Okay!"

~Lightning and Stitch walk into Lightning's room and begin to ponder, what's going to happen next.~

~The End~

Chapter 3: Karly Crystal Disappears

Chapter 3: Don't Use your Head!

~Lightning started to come to herself again. Hardly though. But then, she was licked on the face and that suddenly woke her up. It was Spike, whimpering beside her. Lightning looked around to see that she was in her room in the hideout. The Rainbooms were also there, looking pretty worried. Twilight picked up Spike from the bed, Rainbow Dash had her arms crossed with a typical face, Applejack looked at Lightning in despair, wondering what happened. Fluttershy put a hand on Lightning’s arm, feeling complete sympathy for what just happened. Rarity looked in relief to see Lightning awake, she was also holding a load of stylish bandages and medicine. She drops them when Lightning opened her eyes. Pinkie was panicking in the corner, breathing in and out deeply with Sunset comforting her, they both dashed over when Rarity and Lightning finally spoke.~

“Thank goodness, she’s awake…!” Rarity sighs heavily in relief.

“She’s alive!!!” Pinkie yelled.

“Ow...Ugh...ah...What happened?” Lightning groaned.

“You...sure hit your head pretty hard out there…” Rainbow explained.

“I’m just glad we found her! No more broken bones or head injuries! Are you alright, Lightning?” Rarity asked, continuing to panic.

Lightning was a little confused. “What do you mean by head injuries?--O-OW-OWWW!”

~Lightning went to get out of bed, but immediately rested her head on the pillow again and groaned. She rubbed her head to feel bandages over it.~

“You hit your head out in the construction site...badly.” Sunset answered.

“What were you even doing out there…?” Rainbow asked.

“And where’s Karly…?” Fluttershy added.

“Wait...where’s Karly? You mean you didn’t find her too?!!!” Lightning asked, rather surprised.

“No...only you.” Sunset answered.

“Karly...saved me. She got hit in the head by a ton of bricks!” Lightning panicked.

“What?!!!” Rarity screamed.

“She must have been knocked right to the apple core!” Applejack exclaimed. “But, we only found you, Lightnin’. Karly couldn’t have just gotten up and wandered off without goin’ to you first or even get up at all with a nasty injury like that!”

“Unless she didn’t and someone took her...or something…” Twilight suggested.

Fluttershy gasped. “Oh goodness!”

“No!” Lightning shouted then groaned.

“If ya ask me, we better go an’ find her!” Applejack stated.

“No, I will, besides you need to finish the test. Unless you already did. Or didn't you? How long was I out for?” Lightning asked.

“About 12 hours...and it’s true, we didn’t finish the test…” Twilight answered nervously.

“But, we were too worried about you to finish it! So, we stayed right here until you had awoken…!” Pinkie stated firmly.

Rarity looked at Pinkie in confusion. “Another reason…” She turned back to Lightning. “We heard the storm and the power went out…”

“That’s when we went out to see you about it, but you and Karly were missing…!” Rainbow added.

“We looked everywhere and suggested you went outside, we saw Karly's tracks...and followed it...and found you passed out on the floor…” Sunset finished.

“Right.” Lightning said, looking skeptical.

“So, I carried ya back here. But, why did ya go on out there in that racket in the first place…?” Applejack asked.

“That creature…” Lightning quietly replied.

Spike suddenly spoke up. “Oh yeah! That creature thing you saw!”

~Spike jumped out of Twilight’s arms onto the bed again and onto Lightning’s stomach and sat down on it, focusing his eyes at Lightning's.~

“Did you find it? Or even see it?”

“No. It was too fast for me…Ah!--It’s that thing’s fault! It did this!”

“I don’t think that thing was to blame for this…”

“Yes, it is! If it hadn’t gone over the fence!” Lightning argued.

“Well, if you didn’t follow it…” Spike retaliated.

“If it hadn’t run away!”

“If you didn’t let your curiosity get to you…”

“If it never got in this hideout!”

“Lightnin’, calm down…! It’s over now...I don’t know who’s to blame but it's over now…” Applejack said, calming both Lightning and Spike down.

“Not technically, we still have to find Karly…” Twilight declared.

“But, how? We don’t have any signs to know where she could be…” Fluttershy pointed out shyly.

“She’s right. Our only option is to wait for the storm to die down, and go back to the construction site.” Sunset stated.

“What if we lose something important during that time?! Like, anything evidence worthy?” Rarity asked, still sounding worried.

“I’m not sure...maybe Spike could get a scent…” Sunset suggested.

“I could try…” Spike replied.

“Then we shall leave tomorrow morning!” Lightning said, sounding determined.

“By ‘we’, do you mean all of us, including you?” Rainbow asked.

“Of course! I have to find my BFF!” Lightning replied, clenching her fist.

“But you’re injured, Lightning. On the head nonetheless. Moving around could be the worst thing you could do…” Sunset said.

“I guess, it’s not as bad as losin’ a best friend…” Applejack simply replied.

“We should all fit in, if we are going to find Karly Crystal!” Pinkie stated.

“Exactly. I’ll be fine.” Lightning shrugged.

“Well, ok. Just promise me you will get some rest…” Sunset said, fearing for Lightning.

“Right here, right now. Promise.” Lightning holds up her pinky finger but Pinkie pushes it back down.

“Do it my way! Pinkie promise!”

“Pinkie promise?” Lightning questions.

“Yeah! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie sang.

“Ok…?”

~Lightning pushes a bit of the bed covers off of her chest so she can cross her heart, then she pretends that she has a cupcake in her hand and sticks it in her eye. Pinkie smiles but then grows stern and angry and gets up in Lightning's face.~

“DO NOT BREAK IT, GOT IT?!” She bellowed.

“Got it.” Lightning whimpered, feeling a little scared.

“Good…!” Pinkie smiled happily again.

“I suggest we should all get some sleep now if we are getting up early…” Twilight said.

“Yes, please. I am exhausted from all we just did.” Rarity sighed. “I can’t wait to snuggle up in my new improved, accessory bed. Lightning, you did an absolutely amazing job on the rooms, as well. Thank you so much!”

Lightning smiles at Rarity.

“Then let's just some shut-eye before the search we have to start. Night, everyone.” Applejack waved.

~With that, Applejack opens the door and walks out. Along with the rest, wishing each other goodnight.~

“Wait, where am I going to stay?” Spike asked, suddenly realising he has nowhere to sleep.

“You can stay with me, Spike.” Fluttershy softly suggested. “I could really use some company and a sleeping buddy…”

“Alright…” Spike wagged his tail.

“He’s all yours, Fluttershy.”

~Twilight loans Spike to Fluttershy and all walk into their rooms.~

“Oh, am I going to have to make a room for Spike then?” Lightning asked herself, pretty annoyed. “Great. Eh. I can worry about it later. Right now, Karly is my main focus. Don’t worry, Karly, we will find you. “

~Lightning puts her fragile head onto another pillow and dozes off again in her unconscious state. Hoping for a better day.~

~The next morning, Spike gets up first. He slips out of a still sleeping Fluttershy’s arms and goes to the door only to be hit by it as it swings open with Twilight coming in. Both girls were alerted by Spike’s squeal as he was catapulted into the nearby desk.~

“Oh, sorry, Spike…” Twilight apologised.

“Are...you ok…?” Fluttershy asked, rubbing her eyes.

“I’m fine…” He groans.

~Fluttershy gets out of bed and picks up Spike, rubbing his head in pleasure, closing her eyes happily. She then handed him to Twilight and they both go outside.~

“I’ll be there in a second...I have to get changed…” Fluttershy said.

~Fluttershy softly closes the door and Twilight and Spike turned around to see Applejack, Lightning, Sunset, Rainbow Dash and the Chief waiting. Lightning was on her phone, stressfully smashing buttons and holding it to her ear constantly.~

“Come on, Karly, pick up. Maybe she has no service, wherever she is...Rrrgh…” Lightning grunted.

“So, where do we go first again…?” Applejack asked, turning to Sunset.

“The construction site. Assuming the storm has stopped…” Sunset answered.

The Chief comes up behind her. “It has. I looked at today’s weather forecast. It stopped. Just go and find Karly.” He ordered, worrying for her.

“Don’t worry, Steven, we will. We just have to wait for the others to be ready.” Sunset reassured.

"I’m trying to wait! Rarity has been awake for an hour and she is still getting ready!" Rainbow complained, crossing her arms.

"I’m ready!" Rarity suddenly came out of her room, flipping her hair.

"Finally!" Rainbow relieved.

"Me too!" Pinkie bursted out, looking spiffy.

"Me three…" Fluttershy raised her hand shyly, coming out of her room.

"Lets...go." Lightning determined.

~The eight girls and the dog go upstairs, out the music room, out the front door and walk into the construction site, although, they were stopped by a few builders.~

“EY! You girls supposed to be here?” The builder asked, placing his hand in front of Lightning’s face.

“Probably not. They could cause danger while we're working. So, I’m afraid you are going to have to back off…” The second builder said, escorting them back out.

“This is kind of important, mate. Our friend is missing, and this was the last time I saw her.” Lightning explained, trying to stop herself.

“Well, we haven’t seen anyone so, not our problem.” He shrugged.

~Lightning gets quite solemn at this point. She grabs the builder’s shirt and thrusts him down to her face.~

“Listen, I’m not joking around, either you let us search this place, or I’m just going to knock your block off with a ton of bricks! Just like what happened to Karly…” Lightning sadly threatened.

“Uh, alright! Ok! If you’re that tempted.”

~He runs off, feeling a bit intimidated, and comes back, back to normal again, and he is also holding eight hardhats.~

“If you're going to investigate this place, just wear a hardhat.” The guy rolled his eyes.

~With that, he roughly places each hardhat on the girls’ heads, but, with the exception of Spike, he told Twilight to cover for him.~

The builder groaned. “Just knock yourselves out...kids…”

~He strides off, and up a ladder, leaning against the scaffolding.~

“Rude.” Rarity scowled, adjusting the hat on her head.

“Well...that happened.” Sunset said, looking at the ground rather shocked.

Lightning glanced at the Rainbooms and sighed. “I’m just worried about Karly...She doesn’t just randomly go missing.”

“Well, if my suspicion is right, Karly might be in danger.” Twilight said.

Lightning turned to Spike. “...Spike. Start sniffing. Find anything.”

“Ok…” He nodded.

~Twilight places Spike down on the rocky floor and works his magic. He wanders and sniffs and wanders and sniffs. He continues to wander and sniff until he spots what looks to be a lock of Karly’s hair and he sniffs it hard. But, he also smells something a bit off. Like he’s not the only one that has touched and sniffed it. He then spots a small thing move in a dark fence corner at the corner of his eye, and barks for attention.~

“What was that?” Spike said, looking up.

“What is it, Spike?” Fluttershy asked.

~Spike responds by pointing his snout at the small thing, that was escaping out of their sight.~

“It’s that small creature thing! It’s got some nerve coming here!” Lightning shouted.

~Lightning then throws her hardhat down to the ground angrily and runs after the creature. The Mane 7 also drop their hardhats but didn’t intend on following Lightning yet, just shouted.~

“Lightning, wait!”

~It was useless. Lightning had already got a head start and was hot on the creature’s tail. And this time she could see it in plain sight. It was a Shiba Inu with cobalt blue fur. However, The fur in the centre of its back was dark blue in the shape of a curved rectangle. It had blackpool eyes, a black nose, and white on its belly, forelegs and hindlegs. It had its ears pointing up and was about the same size as Spike. Maybe a little larger. What was interesting about this dog was that it had no collar, meaning it had no home. But, Lightning didn’t care what it looked like or where it came from anymore, she just believed it was responsible for Karly's disappearance, so she proceeded to shout at it.~

“Get back here! My best friend would still be here if it weren’t for you! What were you even doing in our hideout?!” She ranted on.

~Lightning wasn’t looking where she was going and when the creature approached a long-lasting river, it turned back to Lightning with a scary smile before crawling around the other way straight past her. Lightning was also around to turn around too, but the mud was too wet and slippery from the storm last night and it slid Lightning into the river.~

“HEY--WHOA!”

~Lightning fell with a splash. And the water is riveting and moving fast. Lightning firstly tried to grab the ledge or nearby rock, but couldn’t grasp onto it. Even her geode wasn’t useful in this dire situation. She couldn’t stop flailing her arms around to grab the geode, otherwise, she will be buried underwater.~

“Girls. Girls! Help! Help!” Lightning cried.

“Lightnin’?” Applejack yelled.

“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

~The Rainbooms and Spike had now caught up with Lightning and they see her being forcefully drifted away by the river. Instantly, they did all they could to pull her out, starting with sticks. Useless. So, they had to grab onto one another and reach out for Lightning themselves, as Lightning had now just grabbed on a rock to keep her from drifting.~

“Lightning, grab on!” Sunset panicked.

“If I could try!” Lightning yelled.

“Don’t worry, Lightning! We’ll get you out!” Rainbow reassured.

Lightning looks down and freaks out. “Girls, behind you!”

~All seven of the girls turned to see the blue Shiba glaring at them and growling. It leapt and was about to pounce on Twilight until Spike pounced on it first in mid-air. Spike prepared for battle, as the dog got up and growled at Spike. Both began a turf war. Fluttershy had to stop it but was stuck in their chain to help Lightning. Suddenly a whine of pain was heard and when everyone looked back, the blue dog had thrown Spike into the river too.~

“Spike!” Twilight cried.

~The blue dog then jumped and bit Rainbow Dash’s leg, and when she cried out in pain, she lost her balance on the surface and tumbled herself and the rest into the river, as they yell in surprise.~

“Guys!” Lightning called.

~Lightning lost her grip on the rock and began flailing again, then her head bashed onto a large rock in the water and it began to spin, she fell unconscious once again.~