Chapters Everything had been restored to Equestria, the magic of the unicorns, the flight of the pegasi, and the trust of the earth ponies. Thanks to Sunny Starscout, who had became an alicorn as a result of all of this, but that was only temporary because once everything was back to normal, she had returned to her old pony self. But she didn't really care about that, all that mattered to her was that friendship and magic was back, once she had convinced every species of pony that they had nothing to fear. On the other hand, Sprout Cloverleaf had been sentenced to do 100 hours of community service and a lengthy probation as punishment for his tyrannical power grab of everypony, but now that everything was back to normal, things were going to turn out for the best. Even as the new adventures were just starting, for one little guy that is, and he wanted to see the one who saved them.
In Bridlewood, where Izzy Moonbow resided, lived this little one. Not only did he reside there, but he was also Izzy's neighbor, thus the two had a strong friendship, despite the fact that he was a colt and she was a grown one. This colt's name was Lasso Lashes, his parents were Lone Star Jr. and Granny Smith III, Lasso was brown and had a black mane tail. He showed a cutie mark of a cowboy hat with a lasso whipping lashes, thus his name, and he wore a red bandana around his neck. A third bonus was that he spoke with a very thick strong Texas like accent, because Nathan Cadenza and Apple Bloom from the ancient era, were his great grandparents. Thus, Apple Tart and Lone Star Sr. were his grandparents, also, he was rather adventurous and wanted to meet the one who restored their magic.
But that was about to change for him, because today, he was going to get a special greeting. Better yet, the new greeting would be in Maretime Bay where Sunny Starscout lived, and it began as a typical morning. Lasso was in his bedroom, levitating a cup of juice and reading a comic book, when the muffled sound of knocking at his house's front door interrupted him.
"Ah'll get it." said his dad from the living room, at first Lasso thought it was probably just the mail mare giving them their mail, or a door-to-door entrepreneur, looking to sell fresh new magic spells. But who it was was really none other than.......
"Lasso, Izzy is here to see you!"
Lasso quickly gasped with excitement, putting down his juice and book, he jumped off his bed and quickly flung open his bedroom door. And indeed, there at their front door was Izzy, giving a friendly smile to them.
"IZZY!!!!!!!!! IZZY!!!!!!!!" Lasso screamed with pure joy, running up to her as quickly as possible. He wasted no time once he ran close enough, then jumping onto her, wrapping his forehooves around her neck. His back hooves curled up on her sides. Izzy wrapped her right forehoof around him and held him in a tight bonding hug as she kissed him on his head and his cheek.
"And how's my favorite little unicorn doing today?" she asked as she kept him in her hoof.
"Ah'm doin' awesome!" Lasso said with glee and excitement, "But why are you here?"
"Well, I came by to see if you wanted to come with me to Maretime Bay. I've made some new friends lately, but there is one pony in that group that I think you might love to meet."
"Who is it?"
"You'll see, if you wanna come."
Lasso then turned to his father, Lone Star Jr.
"Dad, can Ah' go with Izzy please?"
Junior ruffled his mane and gave an understanding facial expression.
"Of course ya' can go son, just stay with Izzy and do what she says, understand?"
"Thanks pops!" Lasso said as he released himself from Izzy, giving him a quick hug, then running right back into the same position with Izzy again.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" she said, she put Lasso back down then squatted on her back legs.
"Here, hop on, you're riding on me there."
"Sure thing, Ah'd love to." Lasso said as he hopped onto Izzy's back.
"Have a good day you two, be careful." said Lone Star Jr., waving his hoof at them.
"We sure will Junior, see you later." Izzy said, walking out the door with her little cargo on her back. As soon as they were out, Junior then closed the door behind them. Now here they were, walking through the crystal infested forests of Bridlewood. Other unicorns were going about their business, other colts and fillies were running around laughing and giggling, while the adult unicorns were busy doing job positions they did. And now it had been all done much better, since their magic had been restored.
"Ah'd tell ya, this is gonna be awesome."
"You bet!"
"So, who are the ponies yer' wantin' me to meet?" asked Lasso as they strolled out of their forest home and into the fields.
"Well, I met two earth ponies and two pegasus during our adventure, I think you're gonna enjoy their friendly establishment."
"Earth ponies and pegasuses?" asked Lasso.
"Of course, I have told them about you."
"Wow, Ah' didn't know that."
"Yes, I believe this is will be a good moment for both of us."
Lasso could not believe that his sister-like friend had managed to not only make new friends that easily, but now he was going to be a newcomer for the group.
"So what's Maretime Bay like?" he asked.
"It's much bigger than Bridlewood, that's for sure."
"Are ya' sayin' twice the size?!"
"Well duh silly, it's so big it has some of the best entertainment I've seen."
Lasso was now even more excited, because he wanted to experience some real entertainment. Because the closest thing he had for that, up until now, was him playing country music to the other unicorn colts and fillies that lived in Bridlewood. After a couple of hours of walking and playing 20 questions with Izzy, a sign soon came into their view.
"Welcome to Maretime Bay." Lasso read aloud, he looked on the horizon and sure enough, there was the massive city of Maretime Bay itself. It was massive, so massive in fact, that it stretched all the way to the top of the hill. At the top of the hill was the big tech business known as Canterlogic Corp.
"Hey Izzy, is that Canterlogic?" Lasso asked, pointing his hoof at the big building atop the hill.
"Yup, that place was developing technology to fight off species like us, just so the earth ponies could remain in fear and disbelief."
Izzy then trotted along, while still towing Lasso on her back.
"What do they do now?"
"I'm not sure, you can talk to my new friends about that when we get to the drink shop."
Lasso was amazed at what he was seeing, Maretime Bay was exactly as Izzy said it would be. It was massive, containing a typical view of any town that would reside by the ocean, only thing is, it had changed indifferently over the past several weeks though, the changes that were made had been less frequent and still took its time to complete. As Lasso continued to ride on Izzy's back, she quickly took notice of the first change, and that was all the unicorn traps that had been installed into the ground had now been dismantled and stored away back at the newly improved sections of Canterlogic Inc.. They were being reprogrammed into emergency containers for containing important things like food and clothing, in case of disasters such as a hurricane or a bad blizzard.
"Well, it's good they took out those traps." Izzy said hopping.
"What traps?" asked Lasso.
Izzy stopped hopping dead in her tracks, turning to her little brother-friend with a disappointing frown. Lasso looked back at her with a sudden shock, as if he had done something wrong.
"Izzy, why are ya' lookin' at me like that?"
Before she could answer him, Izzy turned away from him, then hung her head low while closing her eyes in sadness.
"Years ago, I got a letter from somepony asking for them to be their friend, so I tracked the letter's direction all the way to here. When I arrived, the first earth pony I met was laying on the ground, she was really surprised to see me. Sadly, the rest
"Why were they terrified?" Lasso asked as they strolled further in.
"Well, let's just say that, they got fake news that we unicorns had the potential to read minds of the earth pony population. I was told that they smelled like rotten sardines, thankfully they don't."
Lasso was shocked to be hearing all of this, even though things were slowly returning to normal, he was not knowing of stuff like that happening. One other thing about the racist insults of each of the pony species was also in his mind, and that was what of the Pegasus that now had the ability to fly.
"What about the Pegasus, what were their terms before all of this?"
"We thought they had the power to snatch us off the ground and into the air to our death. Before they got the ability to truly fly, they were just walking like us. They tricked others in to thinking they could fly by using fans and wires."
"Why wasn't Ah' told?"
"You're too young to understand kid, besides, I wouldn't want to see you get in trouble for that."
"Is that why you, nor mah' folks didn't allow me to leave Bridlewood before this time?"
"Of course it is, we didn't want you falling for the same fears we all were facing."
"Well, Ah' owe it all to you for it."
Izzy giggled, "It's not me you should be thanking."
"Who is it then?"
"You'll see, it's from the new friends I've made."
Lasso was really growing impatient, he was seeing tons of unicorns, Pegasus, and earth ponies walking everywhere. Surely anyone of them would've become her new friends!
"Oh come on Izzy, how much longer till Ah' see them?!" he whined.
"Lasso, I promise, we will see them." Izzy reassured. "We are getting closer to our destination anyway."
"What is it?"
Izzy pointed her hoof to a building that stood just three blocks from where they were. Lasso looked at the direction of the building she was pointing her hoof at, he was in awe because of the texture and features it contained. The building was a corner one, and it had a smoothie sign on it, at the bottom of the sign read:
SUNNY'S SMOOTHIES: WHERE A SMOOTHIE IS A SOOTHIE!
"That building right over there, is where we are going to meet them."
"Well, come on, let's do it!" Lasso said excitedly.
This business had recently been opened by none other than Sunny Starscout, who was able to have all the species come along together and enjoy themselves. Plus, since everypony loved her smoothies, they also came for that as well, but it would turn out to be a better business day for her. That was because Pipp Petals and Zipp Storm decided to enjoy a day there for themselves.
They were sitting at a table waiting for Sunny to come out with some smoothies, one with flavors they had ordered. They knew that she would not take long for that, but they were feeling rather disappointed, and it was about that fact that Izzy was late, she was supposed to be there with them, but they never expected her to take this long.
"Well, it sure does not take this long for a unicorn to show up." Zipp remarked.
"What is taking her so long, she said she'd be here before us." Pipp whined before giving a worried sigh, "I just hope she didn't forget."
Zipp put a hoof on her sister, "Don't worry sis, I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she's just got some things to tackle before she gets here."
On time in general, Sunny came out of the doors that led to the room where she made the smoothie of the customer's choice. In her right hoof was a trey that contained several of them, each bursting with the flavors that they requested, it sure did not take her long to make them though.
Once Sunny gave Zipp and Pipp their smoothies, she soon joined them with a drink she made for herself. Unlike the Pegasus sisters, Sunny did not seem too worried about Izzy being late at all, for she knew that unicorns always took their time before accomplishing a big deal.
"You know Sunny, it's just not the same at this table without Izzy."
"Come on you two, you all know unicorns take longer than expected sometimes, besides, what if she has a surprise for us?"
"Well, if it is a surprise, it better not be another one of her jewelry designs."
Sunny shook her head as she took the first sip of her drink, just then from out of the blue, they heard the bell ring. Signaling the front door was opening, the three turned to see none other than Izzy with her friendly smile showing.
"Izzy!" they all cheered.
"What took you so long?!" exclaimed Pipp.
"You shouldn't have been so late for this moment."
Izzy gave a nervous laugh, "Sorry about that, I just took the moment and time to bring a new friend of my own for you all to meet."
She then turned her side revealing a brown unicorn colt with a nervous smile, he had a cutie mark of a lasso wrapped with lashes around a cowboy hat. He also was wearing a red bandana around his neck.
Zipp, Pipp, and Sunny were in surprise that there was somepony new right in front of them. They could not believe that Izzy had known such a cute looking colt before they even met each other, as for this colt, he was never shy nor scared. In fact, he had a cool attitude and showed a loving smile of his own to them.
Pipp and Zipp got up out of their chairs and walked up to this little one.
"And who might this cute little one be?" Pipp asked as she stroked the little one's mane.
"L-Lasso is the name." Lasso said through a voice, sounding like enticement to feeling Pipp's hoof. "And g-g-greetin's mah' game."
Izzy on the other hand seemed to get a small giggle out of this.
"Well it sure is a good thing to meet you Lasso." Zipp said, "I'm Zipp and the one petting your mane is my sister Pipp, the one over her sitting at the table is Sunny, she runs this cafe."
Lasso then got off Izzy's back and walked towards Sunny.
"Hi Lasso, it sure is a pleasure to meet such a kind-hearten unicorn colt." she said, but instead of answering her, Lasso just walked up and sniffed her the same way Izzy did when she met her.
"What, what are you......" Sunny said with a dazed look on her face, Lasso then turned to his friend.
"Y'all were right Izzy, they don't smell like rotten sardines." he said with a smile, Sunny turned away with a sudden change of expression. It went from a dazed one to now an annoyed one as she let out an irritated growl, on the other hoof, Izzy quickly grabbed Lasso and pulled him towards her.
"Okay Cowcolt, let's not bring that up to any earth pony while we're here okay?"
"Got it." said Lasso.
"I really do not understand what this obsession with us smelling bad is all about."
"I think everypony in Bridlewood got carried away with that theory." Izzy said with a nervous chuckle. "But uh, let's just let bygones be bygones and enjoy ourselves for a change."
Izzy and Lasso then joined them by the table, Izzy sat by Sunny while Lasso sat in between Pipp and Zipp, but there was one other pony missing!
"Hey, where's Hitch?" asked Izzy
"Oh he's on Sheriff duty today patrolling Sprout's community service, so he won't be joining us today."
"When will Ah' see him?" asked Lasso.
"You'll meet him eventually, in the meantime do you want a smoothie?" asked Sunny.
"Don't mind if Ah' do."
Sunny let out a small giggle and stroked his mane the same way Pipp did, "All right Lasso, I'll go make you one right now."
As she got up from the table and into the kitchen, Lasso watched her go in for a second before turning his attention back to the others.
"So Lasso, what do you do for a living?" asked Zipp.
"Ah'm Izzy's assistant jewelry maker, Ah' help her around her place."
"Really, you work for her?"
"Ah' work with her, not for her."
"Well, surely you must work for her because you make jewelry with her as you mentioned." said Pipp.
"Well okay, if y'all put it that way, Ah' work for her."
"So Izzy, how long has he been working for you?" asked Zipp.
"About a couple of years, I taught him every basic and pro way of making it."
"I must say, that's very thoughtful of you to have him help you out." Pipp said. Once in the middle of their conversation, the door that led into the kitchen swung open, and out came Sunny. She had not been paying attention for the first two minutes of what was going on, because she was making Lasso a smoothie.
"What have I missed for the past minute?" she asked, coming with Lasso's smoothie.
"Not much, it just appears that we have a junior employee here." Zipp answered.
"What do you mean?" asked Sunny as she gave Lasso his drink, he then intervened with them.
"Well, Ah' don't know how much of the talkin' ya' heard Sunny, but Ah' work for Izzy. Ah' help her make her jewelry, and clean up around her business hours, Ah' do it because Ah'm assisstin' mah' parents with wages."
Sunny was flabbergasted at what she just heard, "Really, you actually work with Izzy?"
"Eeyup!" replied Lasso, taking a swig of his smoothie, it turned out to be delicious.
"So, if. I may ask sweetie, why are you working as such a young age?" Pipp asked.
"Yeah, I've never seen or even heard of a colt who loved working for payments. I mean, why are you helping your parents out if they have jobs?" Zipp asked.
Instead of answering them, Lasso just gave a blank stare, Izzy looked over and saw that he would eventually go misty eyed if they dared ask again. So, she calmly rubbed her hoof against his back, reminding him with a loving smile that it would be alright for him to tell, but Lasso wouldn't budge.
"Ya' know, Ah'd rather not talk about that." he said as he took another guzzle of his smoothie, the main three continued to stare at him as if he was hiding something.
"Why are y'all lookin' at me, Ah' said Ah' don't wanna talk about it."
Izzy rubbed his back, "Come on Lasso, it's alright, you can tell them."
Instead of bucking up and telling them why he worked, Lasso just slightly pushed his smoothie aside and buried his face on the table, Izzy closed her eyes and shook her head in grievance. From the way she was showing it, it was not the first time little Lasso had denied the audacity to tell his life story to others because he felt like it was a personal matter. He really wanted to keep that only between him and Izzy, but the time for keeping secrets was always temporary, finally he looked back up at them with a now tearful face.
Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp could now tell what he was going to tell them was not pretty.
Author's Note
Secrets cannot be kept hidden forever.
Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp were very confused at Lasso's sudden change of expression, he had gone from being happy to blue in just five minutes. It had never occurred to them that their new friend would have something to hide that would be so tear jerking for him to discuss, but they knew he had to be brave and act one way or another. So, without any hesitations, they gave him a serious look to convince him that he had to do it, he had to tell them why he worked for Izzy at such a young age.
Izzy lifted his chin up and gave a sisterly smile to him, Lasso faced his new friends and started explaining his life story.........
"It all started right after we lost our magic....." he said, "Before that, mah' pop and mah' mama were doing so good in their business. My Dad was a blacksmith, and would use his magic to construct and put together metal devices together for all the unicorn needed. Mah' mama would crochet and knit thread and cloths to make quilts, curtains, and even custom bed sheets for unicorns among all, when we lost our magic, that all changed."
Pipp, Zipp, and Sunny could tell this story was not a happy one from the telling.
"It was completely hopeless because without our magic, we didn't have the proper use of underlinin' the correct way of work. Mah' family and Ah' lost everything, our income, our salary, our food supplies, everything, that's when Ah' decided Ah' had to do somethin' to help them."
"So how did you end up working with Izzy?" asked Sunny.
"Well, Ah' was strolling through the streets of Bridlewood tryin' to show everypony how determined Ah' was to work, the problem was, nopony wanted to give me a chance. The reason why was because of mah' age, and they don't allow colts or fillies to work, but Ah' didn't give up. Finally, one afternoon, it was pouring down rain and Ah' was strolling through the streets again, tryin' to find somepony willin' to give me a chance. As Ah' strolled back home from another sway of unicorns turnin' me down, Ah' walked back a building that was right next door to mah' home, Ah' had no idea Izzy was the one who lived in it, nor did Ah' know it was a business."
"She came out with a large bowl of new jewelry that she made and was selling it to customers, when she took notice of me and how Ah' looked. She knew mah' parents and Ah' were poor and needed a way to earn back some salary earnings, she and Ah' struck up a conversation and finally, Ah' got mah' chance and she offered me a position to be her assistant jewelry maker."
Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp looked at Izzy with a proud expression as she showed a sweet touching smile.
"And ever since then, she and Ah' have worked together on everything."
"Well I must say sweetie, you are one motivated colt." Pipp said.
"Yeah kid, that is totally worth being proud of." said Zipp.
Sunny could not have been more proud herself, she had never even heard of a colt or a filly actually wanting to work, especially one his age.
"Ah'll have y'all know this, Ah' don't make just jewelry with her, Ah' also make something of mah' own."
"What's that?" asked Zipp.
"Ah' make hats, hats of all kinds." he said, Lasso brought a bag with him that he usually left at home, but he brought it with him since this was his first journey. He reached his hoof into his bag and pulled out the first hat he ever made, well technically not really made, just refurbished. It was a stetson brown like cowboy hat that he had sewn, stitched, and had cleaned.
"Wow Lasso, did you really do all that yourself?" Sunny asked, Lasso nodded his head.
"It looks brand new."
"Well, actually it's not brand new, Lasso just cleaned it and refurbished it." Izzy said, again Lasso nodded.
"This cowboy hat is very ancient, it's almost a century old." he said, the main three were flabbergasted.
"Sweetie, how did you do all of that at such a young age?" asked Pipp.
"Ah' taught mahself, with some help from mah' mom, she wanted to show me how things can be refurbished from family history."
Lasso went on, "This hat goes back to the ancient times, it belonged to mah' great great grandpa, Nathan Cadenza. Ah' managed to scrub off all the dust using a brush made from straw, stitched up all the holes that were visible, then blew dry the dead bugs and twigs that hanged out of the edges of the hat's rim."
"So this hat here is a relic of your family's history?" asked Sunny
Lasso nodded his head.
"Well, I can assure you all that ever since I let him work with me, and make lots of hats, everything has been booming well in Bridlewood." Izzy said.
"Well, we must admit it to you Izzy," Zipp interfered "It's really impressive that you have a young worker to assist you in your time of need."
Izzy shook her head, "Nope, not my time of need, his time of need." she then ruffled his mane making him giggle.
"So Lasso, Izzy said this is your first time leaving Bridlewood, how do you like Maretime Bay so far?" Sunny asked.
Lasso put the old cowboy hat on, "Ah'm liking it so far, considering this is the only business Ah've entered. On the other hoof, Ah' do want to see that Canterlogic place Ah've heard about."
The group gave a shocking gasp, a colt his age actually wanting to see Canterlogic?!
"Wow, no one your age has ever asked to go there!"
Lasso's expression changed as his eyes dried up after a few minutes of crying from his origin story, it was now an expression of slyness. His sly face became more noticeable in view as he took his smoothie into his hoof and sipped, the three could see that he was wanting to have him take him there. Yet, under one such marker, Canterlogic was closed off to the public due to their heavy production of supplies that was still being secured from its previous use.
"Of course, Ah've been wanting to see that place mah' life!" he exclaimed with glee, unfortunately, the main three stared at him negatively.
"Um Lasso, sweetie." Pipp said wrapping her hoof around him, "As much as we'd love to take you there, Canterlogic is not a place for colts."
"WHAT?!" he screamed, "But Ah' wanna go!"
"I know you do little dude, by my sister is right, that's a business meant for mature ponies." Zipp said agreeing with her sister.
Lasso then turned to Sunny who nodded her head in siding with the twins, then turned to Izzy, who also agreed by lowering her head and putting her hoof on his shoulder.
"Cowcolt, I'm afraid I have to side with them, that's not a play place." she said, Lasso then pounded his arms on the table.
"It's not fair!" he whined, "Why do ponies like y'all go to places like that, yet Ah'm out of it?!"
Izzy picked him up, "Look, how about we all go somewhere or do something more age family appropriate?"
"That's a good idea." Zipp and Pipp both said.
"I agree." Sunny said, "Besides, I want you to meet my boyfriend Hitch."
Lasso offered a gentle smile, "Okay".
After the small group had finished their smoothies, they all got up from the table and gathered what personal belongings they brought. Sunny was fast enough to gather up all the trash from their table, toss it in the trash can that stood by the colt's bathroom, and get her green bag around her waist. As soon as all that had been taken care of, she turned her attention back to the main three, alongside Lasso who had climbed onto Izzy's back again with his hat on. They were now out the door, with Sunny closing it, locking it, then switching the open sign to closed, the group remained close together as they got farther from the business into the city streets.
It was proving to be quite a scenery for Lasso though, he had only seen the first half when he and Izzy entered the city earlier. But now it was really getting adventurous for him, even though the adventure was not even starting, it felt like the middle of it as he stayed on Izzy. The first stop on this tour was the Maretime Bay Sheriff's Office, this was usually where Hitch would be working at, but as Sunny had mentioned, he was on duty patrolling Sprout Cloverleaf's community service schedule.
The good side was that it was open to the public for inspecting and for filing reports, therefore, the doors were still unlocked. With the slightest touch of her hoof, Sunny opened the front door to reveal the quarters where Hitch and former Deputy Sprout worked, it was a good spot for showing Lasso around since no one was there.
"Well Lasso, this place is our first stop, the Maretime Bay Sheriff's Office." Sunny said, "This is where Hitch works, plus it's where residents of the city come to file reports, or have evidence of a crime that had happened."
Sunny then turned her hoof and pointed it towards a closed door, "That door over there opens to the room where the surveillance videos, brought in by ones who recorded crimes against them, are watched and inspected. That way, Hitch can tell by face who committed the crime."
Sunny switched the attention to another part of the room, "This area where we are standing in right now is just the area where he just files reports and collects data."
"Data about what?" Lasso asked.
"Criminals, who has been caught or is still on the loose."
"Ah' hope there is crime to stop, because this city looks like it's more peaceful than violent."
The three ponies giggled at what he just said, getting him puzzled.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"Look Lasso, this city may look like a peaceful place now, but there are areas of Maretime Bay that are largely, yet very dangerous." Sunny remarked, "So let's not jump to conclusions about a place you're spending in for the first time."
Lasso gave a nervous chuckle, "Sorry about that."
"It's okay pumpkin." said Pipp, stroking his head again, this made Lasso turn a bit goofy just as Pipp started giggling again.
"Well, I do believe we still have more to see, come on." and they all left the sheriff's office, Sunny closing the door behind them as they ventured back out. The next place on the destination for the tour was the movie theater, the same one where the pony version of The Terminator was playing.
"And this Lasso, is our movie theater."
Lasso showed a look of puzzlement, why would a movie theater be a part of a tour?
Sunny took notice of his face and gave a nervous laugh, "I know it's not something to be considered as such, but it's not an ordinary movie theater. It's also a place where fillies and colts your age come to celebrate birthdays, plus an arcade is in there too, it's our movie theater and fun center for all ages."
Lasso was now excited, "Really, ya' mean Ah' can come here and play games?!"
Sunny nodded her head, "It's only open on the weekends though."
"Well mah' birthday ain't for another couple of months. but when it does come, Ah'll ask mah' parents if Ah' can have it here."
"Well, I'm sure they won't mind it." said Sunny.
They were soon interrupted by the sound of hoofsteps approaching their direction, the group turned to see that it was none other than........
"Sheriff Hitch?!" they all said in surprise, indeed it was Hitch Trailblazer with a smile on his face.
"Hey Sunny, everypony." he said, he was completely oblivious to Lasso though, since he was focusing on the four girls he already befriended. Sunny walked up to her best friend and held up a hoof, Hitch held up his as well.
"Up high, down low, hitch it to a post, flip a sunny side up, and on a piece of toast!"
The other three, along with Lasso, giggled at this.
"So what brings you here?" Sunny asked her friend, "We were told you were patrolling Sprout's community service daily."
Hitch rubbed the back of his neck with his hoof, "Well, uh, I was patrolling his community service daily, but then he got sent back to his cell for the afternoon. The warden told me he had cleaning duties to take care of, so my shift is over, meaning I can spend the afternoon with you all."
"That's good to hear sheriff." exclaimed Zipp.
"Well anyway, what have you all been up to today?"
"We're just showing a new friend around the city." said Pipp
"And who might this new friend be?" Hitch asked, on cue, Izzy turned to her side to show Lasso, Hitch was surprised. He walked up slowly to the little colt so as to not scare him, Lasso was just as surprised though. He never would have thought he'd see Sheriff Hitch quicker than expected, Hitch got close enough and greeted Lasso with a warm smile.
"And who might you be kiddo?" he asked.
"Mah' name is Lasso Lashes, Ah'm Izzy's neighbor, worker, and close brother-like friend.
Seeing Sunny's Lighthouse
It had happened much sooner than expected for the group, that was due to Hitch being off early, but now he had the time to be with them. What was better for Hitch though was he had never expected to meet a colt, especially one that Izzy managed to bring over for visiting. Hitch walked up to the brave colt and held a hoof to Lasso's little one, while at the same time, managing to put a friendly smile on his face.
"Hi kid, I'm Hitch Trailblazer, I'm the sheriff of Maretime Bay, and you are....."
Lasso touched Hitch's hoof with his little one, with a smile of his own he replied, "Lashes, Lasso Lashes."
"I don't think you know this place well, how do you already know these girls?" Hitch asked, that's when Izzy stepped up to the plate, that way Lasso would not have to explain his whole life story all over again.
"Well Hitch, Lasso here has already explained it to these three, so I'll do the honors of helping him."
....15 minutes later....
Hitch was just as surprised as Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp were when Lasso told them, he had never heard of a colt wanting to start work at an early beginning of life. Nor would he even understand how Lasso would be motivated to help his parents with mortgages and payments, despite that was only five at the time!
"Wow, I have never heard of such motivation."
"Ah' did it to keep mah' parents from falling into poverty."
"Well, I must admit, that was very cunning for you to do that."
"Thanks Sheriff Hitch."
Sunny then intervened, "Hey, come on, there's still one more place I want to show you, my lighthouse."
"But we thought that was still being remodeled." said Zipp.
"It is, we've managed to get 70% of the structure back in its place." Sunny said, "The only thing left is the kitchen, once that is complete, I'll be back to normal in myself."
"Well, Ah' still want to see it, can we please go to it now?" asked Lasso, Sunny rolled her eyes and motioned everypony to remain on her trail. Knowing there was few hours left on their little tour, they huddled up and followed Sunny all the way to the outskirts of Maretime Bay, until they came all the way to the top of a hill. When Lasso saw how the lighthouse looked, he was flabbergasted at its condition, it was almost complete and looked like a luxurious mansion. Lasso hopped off Izzy's back and walked up towards Sunny, then tapped her on her back right leg.
"Yes Lasso, is there something wrong?" she asked after feeling his tapping hoof.
"How did y'all manage to have all this repaired by yourself?"
Sunny gave Lasso a coy smile, "Two words, life inheritance."
"What life could you inherit, you only have one." Lasso said confused, but everypony burst into giggles.
"No silly, I mean when my father passed away, I inherited several amounts of reimbursements from earnings he put away. So I have been using some of that to rebuild my lighthouse, and I am pretty sure he would be proud of me for accomplishing this major achievement."
Lasso was astounded at how Sunny was determined to not only have had friendship restored, but also persevering in rebuilding her life, and that started with her home. Once she unlocked the front door, everyone went inside, it looked like a typical home to him, yet it was a lighthouse. Lasso was really excited to be inside what he had hoped to be an awesome place to live, the first thing Sunny did was show them around her living room, and beside that was the kitchen.
After showing them downstairs, Sunny led them upstairs where half was already completed, but the other half was still under construction. The half that was completed already was the section that contained a closet for her belongings, a study room where she could do research and experiment on projects, and her bathroom. The half that was not complete was the circular room, which was the area where she tried putting the crystals back together, but to no avail.
"Sunny, Ah' must say, Ah've never thought you'd live in such an awesome place." Lasso said with joy.
Sunny giggled, "Well the full awesomeness will come when I'm finished with the repairs."
Suddenly she got an idea, "Hey, why don't we all have a sleepover here tonight, my treat."
After a quick thinking over it, all the crew thought this sounded like a good idea and joined in on Sunny. However, Lasso on the other hand was not so sure, especially since he had to be back home at a decent time.
"A sleepover sounds nice, but Ah'm not sure if Ah' can be a part of it." he said with great concern, but the older ones smiled down at him, especially Izzy, who put a hoof on him.
"It's okay Lasso, I'll ask your parents in a letter."
Lasso gave a smile, but was quickly unsure again because he needed his bedtime supplies, but Izzy knew that too. And she was not hesitant to include that in the letter as well, so she quickly poofed up a piece of paper and a pencil and started writing to his parents for permission.
Just like that, as fast as she wrote the letter, it disappeared with her magic.
After a few minutes of waiting, a return letter came back in a magical ball light, which faded and the letter landed in Izzy's hoof. Izzy opened it up and read it, Lasso looked nervous as if the letter said his parents were denying it and that he needed to come home at his curfew. Luckily for him, it read something different, Izzy put the letter aside and gave Lasso a warm smile, the other four joined in at him.
"Good news Lasso, your parents say you can spend the night with us."
"YES!!!!!!" Lasso said with joy.
"But first, we have to go back to Bridlewood and get your bedtime supplies." she said.
Meanwhile, in the brushes that decorated Sunny's lighthouse, a hidden figure with angry eyes watched from within. This figure not only was angry at Sunny and the others, but also hated Lasso's parents because they interfered with her schemes of dividing Equestria again forever, now this figure was wanting to get revenge. And it was willing to do something wicked to Lasso's folks, something VERY wicked as an act of an evil scheme.
"That's right kid, go back with Izzy to your parents for a lullaby list, because it will be the last time you see them!" this figure said with an evil cackle.
The Sleepover and The Murder
It had been all settled for the ponies and the little colt as they managed to settle it up. Lasso had gotten permission from his parents to stay with the group for the night, as long as he would be back home in the morning. However, he knew very little about the disaster that would face him soon, and it was going to be the last time he would ever hear from them again. But he had better solutions right now that would distract him from all that at the moment, Izzy and Lasso had returned from Bridlewood with a bag that had contained all his usual evening supplies, the only thing that was not provided was a sleeping bag because Sunny had provided one for him when he returned.
Sunny had managed to round up some entertainment and snacks for all of them, she, Zipp, Hitch, and Pipp were putting the finishing touches on it when Izzy and Lasso returned, opening the door and in they came.
"We're BACK!!!!!!!!!!" Izzy yelled; it sure did not take long for the other to see that.
"Hey welcome back, did you get everything you need Lasso?" Sunny asked.
"All in this bag here, Ah've pretty much settled mahself." he answered, putting the bag down.
"Well make yourself at home kid, I've got plenty for all of us." replied Sunny.
"Thanks Sunny."
Lasso went over to a bowl of popcorn and stuffed some into his mouth, but there was plenty of snacks to go around for the group. As Lasso sat down in his assigned sleeping bag, Izzy sat down next to him, soon the rest joined in, the little colt could not have been more satisfied with the good time he was having, despite his age and limits in front of ponies older than him.
They all just sat around, munched on popcorn and other snacks until their stomachs were full. Turning to games for a while, then when they got tired of that, they chatted about dreams they had during previous nights before this one. The first one to discuss a dream was Hitch.
"Well, I had this one dream that I was surrounded by an army of rotten tomatoes. They each had vines oozing with venom, wreaking havoc on all of Maretime Bay's crop and started melting off our hooves, somehow, I managed to slip away from their venomous grasp. Then with the help of my magic in my hooves, I was able to derail their poisonous assault and restore the vegetation population, I was therefore known as The Advancer!"
Everypony laughed at such a ridiculous thing ever happening, which left Hitch in annoyance, soon after, everypony else took their share of dream stories. Such dreams from Pipp becoming the most famous actress and singer to Izzy becoming rich from her talent in making jewelry, even airing on ZBS in Zephyr Heights for special sales. Sunny's dream story was one that had already come true, seeing Equestria restored with equality and friendship, this one was what really put soothing sensations in them.
The last one who had a turn for the dream story side was Lasso, because everypony now had their heads turned to him.
"Now what about you Lasso, what dream story would you like to share with us?" asked Sunny.
Lasso was smiling from hearing all their dream stories, but his smile faded into a frown, he had only one dream, unfortunately, it was not a dream at all, but a nightmare. This nightmare was one he had for over several months, he had rather keep it hush-hush from anyone, just out of fear one would take it as a joke.
"Come on Pipsqueak, you can tell us." replied Pipp.
"Uh.....Ah'd rather not." Lasso answered nervously.
"Why not?" the entire group asked together.
Zodiac was left in the dark, "Um, because Ah've never had a dream at all?" he then laughed nervously and grinned, hoping the group would buy it, but they were not. Sunny and the others surrounded him, Izzy wrapped her hoof around his back while the others gave him serious expressions.
"Look, we can tell when one is lying to us, there is some dream you had to have at least once in your life."
"Ah' really don't think y'all would understand."
"Lasso, please tell us." replied Zipp.
The cowcolt could not bear to even think about what he was really having right now; he did really have a dream. However, this was no dream, but rather a nightmare, a nightmare he had bothering him for the past 9 months. And it involved the same sequence of events that he visioned; it was his parents being taken away from him and being killed, killed by a purple alicorn with a white mane and tail. And whenever she appeared in his nightmare, she would always glare at him evilly and tell him that he would be her prisoner.
Unable to hide it, thanks to the teamwork of the main ponies, Lasso finally budged and spoke up......
"Well, Ah' do have this one dream, only it's not a dream at all, it's more of a nightmare instead."
"What makes you say that pipsqueak?" asked Pipp.
"For the past nine months, Ah've had this dream where Ah'm strolling with mah' parents, then without a trace, they just vanish into thin air. Ah' look around to find them, but they are nowhere to be found, Ah' get scared and scream for help, but nopony is around. Then Ah' constantly see this dark figure with wings and a horn, and she stares at me with a creepy smile, stating that she is out to get me, and Ah' don't even know who or what this figure is."
Lasso could now get the quivering sensation, because his lips were shaking like how one would be when they are about to cry.
"Every night Ah' feel her shadowy face get closer and closer to me, telling me over and over again that she's killing mah' parents. Reminding me that Ah'm weak and powerless to stop her, whoever she is, she's coming after me!"
Lasso then ran over to a corner on the far side of the room and curled up in a ball to cry.
"WHOEVER YOU ARE, STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed while bawling, the group quickly hesitated and walked towards him.
"Hey hey, calm down Lasso, it's okay." said Izzy, quickly scooping him up in her hooves and rubbing his back, "It's all right."
"Yeah kid, if this creature is after you, we will protect you."
"We are all here for you, no matter what happens."
Soon, the whole group huddled together to scoop him in and comforted him as he cried in terror over the nightmares he was having. Later that night, the group soon fell asleep, and for Lasso's sake they all decided to sleep together around in the same room. Lasso of course slept with them, only instead of him sleeping alone in a sleeping bag, Izzy decided to have him cuddle with her for safety.
Izzy had Lasso huddled in her sleeping bag, her hoof wrapped over him as he lay snugged close to her chest. They had all figured that since they were all together that nothing would happen now, but they were about to be proven wrong. Because on the other side of the forests of Equestria in Bridlewood, Lasso's house was quiet as his parents were fast asleep, but a certain figure bathed in darkness was right outside their front door.
This dark figure was the same one who was watching Lasso earlier, and she did not hesitate to wait until the last possible moment. She slowly and gently unlocked the door with her magic and was now inside his parents' house before even knowing it.
Chuckling evilly, yet softly, the figure took out of the shadows to reveal herself being none other than the evil Queen Opaline. For months, she had been plotting to rid of the only two ponies known to have been direct descendants of Twilight Sparkle, and she was willing to do it by murdering them and do far worse after that. Her scheme was once she had killed off Lasso's parents, she was going to kidnap him and take him to her castle, where she would use him for not only as her prisoner, but also a tool of use for destroying equality.
Anyway, Opaline carefully hoofed up the stairs, levitating a bottle filled with smoke, but not any ordinary smoke. This smoke contained a very poisonous gas similar to carbon monoxide, and if breathed in, it would vape out a unicorn's magic from its horn. Then the gas would creep into the blood stream of the body, quickly shutting down the nervous system and then immediately poison the unicorn to its death.
Opaline had found the parents' bedroom and glared the smoke-filled bottle, giving another soft and quiet evil chuckle. She then used a magic spell to cover her face in a small bubble, like a gas mask.
"This is how revenge starts, with a slow breath of doom." she said, "Once I have the remaining two descendants of the unity crystals gone, poor little Lasso will be mine for use."
Opaline then gave one last evil giggle before slowly opening the bottle filled with the poisonous smoke, then opened the bedroom door and released the smoke into the room. The evil alicorn then closed the door and locked it tightly, so that they could not get help.
Then in the blink of an eye, Opaline was out of the house and into the night sky to continue the further part of her plan, to try and kidnap Lasso without the presence of anypony noticing. Luckily, she did have a way, and was going to do it through a form of hypnotism.
Author's Note
Sorry this chapter took so long to make.
Morning News Report and the Scheme
The next morning, Lasso had opened the lids of his bloodshot eyes and rubbed them, the blur from his tiredness adjusted, he could now see the lit room. However, he was quick to discover that he was the only one in the room, everypony else was gone, plus the skies out the window was dark and gray. He must have been the last one to wake up, since his nightmares kept him awake almost three times a night, but he did not seem to have any nightmares this time. He got up out of the sleeping bag, stretched his legs and exited the room.
Once he was downstairs, he saw four from five of the main group, the ponies saw him come down and showed smiles. The first one to talk to him was none other than Izzy.
"Good morning cowcolt, did you sleep well?" she asked, picking him up with her magic and holding him in her hooves. Lasso showed a brave face, despite everything he had explained to them last night, showing a smile.
"Ah' slept well, Izzy." he replied, "Hey, where's Hitch?"
"Oh, Hitch had to leave early this morning, so he did not have time to say goodbye, however, he did leave this for you." Sunny said, she then reached into a drawer and pulled out a replica of a sheriff's badge, giving it to him.
"Thanks Sunny."
"Now, let's go ahead and eat breakfast, shall we?"
"Yeah, I sure am starving, what about you little sister?" asked Zipp.
Pipp did not respond, because something caught her eye on her phone, something really bad from the looks of it.
"Pipp, what is it?" Sunny asked.
"Is there something wrong with your phone?" asked Izzy, but Pipp was showing too much shock, she then gave a look of horror to the group.
"Girls, look at this, it is the morning news video from ZBS." answered Pipp, "It is coming out of Bridelwood!"
Pipp turned up the volume on her phone for everypony to hear as they all crowded around. Lasso, being in confusion of ZBS in his home city, got out of his chair and joined as well. As Pipp adjusted the phone screen to the right length, the news video started up.
"Hello, and welcome to a special edition report on ZBS." said a pony reporter, Izzy picked Lasso up again and held him to where he could see the video.
"We are just getting reports of what appear to have been a magic attack in Bridlewood."
"An attack in Bridlewood, how?" he asked as he looked at the screen, however, he was only responded with shushes.
The reporter in the video continued "It would appear that two ponies were victims of a deadly poisoning, caused by an unknown figure."
Unfortunately, the location of the news video, the one where they said the event took place, was one Lasso would be in shock to see. This event would soon change his entire life forever, the start of a bad adventure he would face. And it began when the camera shooting the video pointed to the location. Izzy quickly took notice of the location the news crew was at, and the house they were filming looked somewhat familiar.
"Wait a minute, that looks like....." Izzy said, she was soon in utter shock, then gasped in horror at what she was seeing!
"LASSO, THAT'S YOUR HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp were in complete confusion.
"WHAAAAAAAT!!!!????!!!!" Lasso screamed, looking closer at the paused picture, there was no way it was his house. No way could anypony have found a way to his home in a flash, but it happened, Pipp then resumed the video.
"It happened late last night, as a dark figure somehow entered the residence of Granny Smith III and Lone Star Jr.'s home here in Bridlewood. The only evidence of their murder found what this empty jar, guards and contamination crews claim it contained a sample of toxic acid."
"Toxic acid?" asked Sunny.
"It don't matter, this cannot be right!" Lasso exclaimed, releasing himself from Izzy. He wasted no time into sprinting away from the group.
"Lasso wait WAIT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Izzy screamed, but the cowcolt was already out the door.
"Come on everypony, we gotta go after him!" Sunny said, Izzy took the lead, and the remaining four ponies soon followed him. Meanwhile, Lasso's adrenaline rushed through him, his eyes bloodshot with anxiety over the report he heard. He sprinted and sprinted, his heart racing with strength to get to Bridlewood as fast as he could. He figured if he could get there faster than never, that it would turn out to be a false alarm and his parents would be alright.
Sadly, he would soon be in for the shock of his life and before he knew it, he ran out of adrenaline and quickly collapsed to the ground. But he had not found out sooner that Izzy and the others were right on his tail, because he soon found himself bathed in shadows. Lasso looked up to see Izzy and her friends looking at him with great concern, yet they were relieved to see he was not hurt though.
"Lasso, don't you ever run out on me like that again!" Izzy exclaimed.
"Y-Yes Izzy, Ah-Ah'm sorry!" Lasso said, wheezing from all the running. Izzy then used her magic to lift him up and put him on her back, this was the group's way of telling Lasso "If we do this, we stick together." .
It took over a couple of hours, but the group did manage to make it to Bridlewood. However, once they reached the home of Lasso, it did not look good at all. To their right was the ZBS news carriage, and the reporter was still broadcasting in front of the house.
It was not long before the reporter took notice of Lasso's arrival with the others, she had the camera turned towards them. The reporter stopped them dead in their tracks, then knelt down to Lasso's face, poor Lasso could not even get inside now!
"You are Lasso Lashes, Granny Smith III and Lone Star Jr.'s son right?" she asked.
"Please, we really don't have the time to speak now." Sunny informed, but the reporter was not having it.
"We need to know if he is their son." said the reporter, Lasso's brain raced though, the thought of seeing something better was quickly fading deeper and deeper into nonexistence for him. Hoping it would get the reporter out of their way, Lasso spoke into the microphone.
"Yes, Ah'm Lasso Lashes!" he said with panic.
"Are you aware that all this happened?"
"Please, Ah' got to get in there!" he yelled.
"We just need some info from you."
Lasso snapped, his adrenaline pumping again, he managed to slip out of the way of the reporter and soon found the door busted wide open. What he soon saw really made his heart sink, his entire living room was crawling with unicorns wearing hazmat suits.
Meanwhile the main four had taken over the interview with the reporter, since Lasso was in no mood to do it himself. They had managed to tell them that not only was he Lone Star's and Granny Smith's son, but also, they were not aware this had happened at all.
"Thank you for your time, this is Cumulus Fluff in Bridlewood, ZBS news." The four then took off to join Lasso again.
Back to Lasso's moment, he continued staring at his house from the entrance, when one of the unicorns noticed him.
"Hey kid, you can't be here!" he said through his mask, walking up to him, "This house is contaminated!"
"But what about mah' parents!?!" Lasso screamed.
Just the mention of that sentence quickly brought a suspicion on the unicorn.
"Wait, are you Lasso Lashes?" he asked, Lasso was really getting tired of the questions, because he wanted to know if his parents were at least just unconscious.
He then sighed because he felt like he was being stalled from seeing his parents, "For the last time, yes Ah'm Lasso Lashes, Ah' just wanna see mah' mommy and daddy!" he whined.
The rest of the hazmat crew soon heard what he said, but soon agreed with the lone unicorn.
"Look kid, we can't let you inside, the house is fully contaminated with poisonous gases right now." one of them said.
"Please leave."
"But mah' parents....." he said with tears forming in his eyes.
"Lasso, we're sorry, but your parents did not make it, the poison consumed their bodies, their magic was destroyed."
"We hate to put it that way, but your parents died in their sleep from the poison."
Lasso could not believe what they were saying, but sadly it was true.
"Now kid, please go before the fumes spread out." one unicorn said, gently escorting him away then closing the door. As Lasso left what was his home, he looked back to see police officers sealing up the entrance with caution tape. Now no one could enter again, for now that was, until the entire home was de-contaminated of the remnants of the poison.
Lasso quickly saw Izzy, Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp looking at him with great concern.
"Lasso, was it all true sweetie?" asked Izzy.
Lasso did not answer, instead he started tearing up big time, finally he couldn't fight his sadness anymore. He sprinted up to Izzy and jumped into her hooves, then buried his face into her chest.
"Mah' parents are gone!!!!!!!!" he screamed, then cried endlessly as Izzy hugged him in comfort, Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp all joined in as well.
Elsewhere in Equestria, at a dark castle........
A projection screen was in effect, as it showed the four ponies all comforting Lasso as he continued to cry. The sudden sound of evil cackling soon came into play, it was shown that Opaline was staring at the screen, showing an evil smiling face. Her plan, part of it, was going adequately, now it was time for the other half to take place.
"Everything is going according to plan, now I must reveal my way of luring him here." she said, "Oh Misty!?!"
Misty soon approached her throne chair and bowed to her adoptive mother.
"Yes Opaline?"
"I believe it is time I showed you my mirror." Opaline said, pointing to a mirror at the far-right end of the room. Misty turned to it with an excited look on her face, for months she wanted to know the secrets of the mirror and how it worked. It was the same mirror that Twilight Sparkle used to transport herself and Spike to the human world, but Opaline took it and remade it into a portal that led to any town she wanted to travel to. All she had to do was pick the town, and the mirror would lead her to it, then she would step through.
When she wanted to return to her castle, she would find a regular mirror, whether in a store or a regular building. When nopony was around to see her, she would use a spell to turn the regular mirror into a portal and step back to her throne room as the regular mirror closed up.
"You see Misty, this mirror is probably the best tool of trapping I have ever used in so long, you know why?"
"Because it gets you places you want to be?"
"Not only that, but I can also use it for luring ponies here as well, hence why I mentioned trapping."
"I can take a good guess you are going to use it to lure Lasso here?"
"You are correct my love." Opaline said, giving her daughter a hug, "Oh how I raised you to be so smart."
"So, would this be enough to get me a cutie mark?" Misty asked.
"Enough with the cutie mark obsession." Opaline ordered, causing Misty to back away.
"I believe I shall start up this mirror and use it to my advantage." Opaline then turned back to the projection screen, it was now showing the group travelling somewhere else. Opaline and Misty showed evil smiles as they watched Lasso being alone from them.
"Oh, poor Lasso, soon you will be safe...." said Misty chuckling.
"AS OUR PRISONER!!!!!!!!!!!"
Then they both let out evil cackles as the screen faded off.
Author's Note
Opaline, you are one sick alicorn!
It was now beginning to look like sinking in quicksand for poor Lasso, his previous nightmares had officially come true. Not only did he just lose his parents, but also, someone in a dark shadowy presence did this. His new friends could now see what was going on as well, something did not add up though as Sunny examined Lasso's property, she noticed one clue. She looked down to see footprints leading up to the door, a second clue was an empty jar which contained residue of the poison.
While Sunny examined for clues to who did this, Pipp was doing her usual routine, giving a shout out to all her fans. But this live video chat was not for a shout out, it was for a more personal purpose. She was addressing her fans about the disaster that just unfolded upon this city.
"Hello Pipsqueaks," she stated through her live video chat, "It would appear that I have to deliver terrible news to you all."
From the jumbo screens surrounding Zephyr Heights, all the pegasi watched what their idol was recording, "I am coming to you from Bridlewood, where a new pipsqueak fan I met, Lasso Lashes, has just lost his own parents. This was his home, which was contaminated with magic poison."
All the fans in Zephyr Heights were in shock at what they were seeing, even Zipp and Pipp's mother, Queen Haven, was watching on her indoor screen. Her guards watching with her as she sat there in shock, she could not fathom hearing that happen.
"Now what pony in the world would want to kill a poor colt's family?!" she exclaimed, she needed to do something to help, but what?!
"Guards!" she ordered, the two armor wearing guards turned to her.
"Yes, your majesty?" they both asked.
"I need you to rally up some of our best law enforcement officers, we are going to help my daughters, and their friends investigate how this all happened."
The guards were puzzled, "Your highness, we do not even know who did this though."
"Precisely, it could have been a potion gone awry."
"And I'm pretty sure Bridlewood's law enforcement is already investigating this now."
"I'm sure they are, it's just I have a strange feeling that was done on purpose." Queen Haven said.
The guards were now even more off the wind, how could the queen sense something bad over an event she did not see happen?
Their confusing ways soon departed as reality came back to them. So, out of obedience, both guards quickly agreed to obey her order. They left the throne room to conjure up whatever help they could, meanwhile, Queen Haven continued her concentration on the screen.
"Don't you worry girls, mommy is going to help out with this as well." she said, a sudden whimper took her off for a second though. She turned to see her winged dog, Cloud Puff, stare at her sadly. Haven picked up the little one and held him in her hooves, while petting her.
"It's gonna be fine Cloud Puff, everything will turn out right." she said.
Back in Maretime Bay, Hitch was doing his duties as sheriff, while at the same time taking care of Sparky, his newborn dragon son. It was a really boring day though, for nothing had come about to him. Sparky on the other hand, was just flying around, transforming things he could get his cute little hands on with his fire. It was not long until the little guy noticed his adoptive father looking bored, so he flew over to him and babbled cutely.
Hitch just stared at him with an annoyed look, then sighed, "Not now Sparky, I'm bored as it is."
Sparky then gave a sad expression; Hitch saw his little dragon baby in sadness, before cheering up and smiling. He picked up the cute little guy and held him, while stroking his back.
"I'm sorry Sparky, I'll find someone or something for you to be happy with." he assured, that was until a knock at the door interrupted his moment of silence. Hitch got up from his chair, put Sparky on his back, then walked over to the door and opened it. There at the door stood Posey, the yellow earth pony with the pearl necklace and pink mane and tail, she was showing great concern.
"Posey, what brings you here?" he asked, sounding excited.
"I'm afraid we are all being called over to Bridlewood, we picked up a signal off Zephyr Heights's news channel. Somepony killed a colt's parents with poison!"
"WHAT!?!" Hitch asked in a raising voice.
"This has never happened before, not since ancient times when Tirek and Chrysalis massacred Canterlot!"
Hitch finally had a mission, and a motivation to get it accomplished. He then turned over to Sparky, who showed a determined look at him.
"Come on Sparky, are you ready for a father son adventure!?!"
Sparky gurgled excitedly; Hitch then followed Posey, along with other earth ponies over to Bridlewood.
Meanwhile, little Lasso was finally allowed to enter the house. It took a while for all the fumes from the poison to be extracted, but it was finally all clear, Lasso was all alone though as upon insistence of being alone. Izzy, Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp were all outside. Sunny was discussing the empty jar she found, and the smell of the poisonous gas to them. She finally understood what was really happening, whoever did this was the one who caused equity and division of their species in the beginning!
Back to Lasso's standpoint again, he was now upstairs scouring the remnants of his stuff, along with his parents' things as well. Continuing to scour, he had managed to find whatever he could for keeps, until he came across one room he rarely went into. This room was his mother's crafting room, where she made all her quilts. He opened the door and there were all the quilts she made, hanging on poles, some of them folded neatly and stacked up.
At the far end of the room was a mirror that Granny Smith III used to double check for mistakes. But Lasso was too caught up in anguish to pay any attention to it though, as he inspected all the quilts, the door behind him suddenly closed with a loud slam. He was startled by the sound, then turned to the now closed door. When he went over to try and open it, he was surprised to find it was suddenly locked.
He then noticed an open window, then walked over to it in hopes of climbing out and leaving. But in the blink of an eye, the window was soon covered by a glowing aura, and it closed by itself as well. Lasso was now getting scared, who or what was making all of this happen!?!
"Who's doing this, Ah'm really scared!" he exclaimed in fear, soon after, a sudden whooshing noise caught his attention. Then a bright light shined behind him, Lasso turned again to see the mirror firing up with the eerie white light. He started breathing heavily at the scary scene, and then.......................
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The sudden scream soon caught the attention of everypony outside, especially Izzy.
"What was that!?!" asked Sunny, Izzy soon showed a scared feeling.
"Oh, my goodness, THAT WAS LASSO!!!!!!"
"Come on girls!" Sunny said, they soon went inside the house. Back in the room, Lasso was panting and quivering with fear, he was not only all alone, but also trapped in this room by some unknown force. The next scary thing was a strange smoke emerged out of the mirror, and it engulfed the entire room. However, this smoke was not the same kind that was used to kill his parents.
As Lasso reached for the doorknob to try and escape from the other side out in the hallway, Sunny and the other three managed to trace the source of the eerie event. It was coming from the quilting room; they were soon stopped by the strange sounds coming from inside the room though.
"What's going on in there?" asked Pipp.
On the other side of the door, Lasso heard his new friends and cried out.
"HELP ME GALS, AH'M TRAPPED!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Don't worry cowcolt, we are doing whatever we can to right now, we'll be right back with something!" said Izzy, as they soon ran back down the hallway to find something. Lasso was now all alone again, suddenly the lit candles blew out and it was now completely dark.
"Please hurry!" he whined; the darkness was soon flowed with beautiful music coming from nowhere. Lasso was now even more frightened at the sudden tune playing, he went back to trying to pry open the door, when out of nowhere...........
"So, the world goes round and round, with all you ever knew."
The echoing voice sounded soothing, so soothing in fact, that it stunned Lasso frozen.
"They say the sky right above, is beautifully blue."
As the beautiful rhythm of the music became more enticing, Lasso spun around to finally see his reflection in the mirror at the far end of the room. But it soon changed, for his reflection quickly vanished, and a mysterious fog took form. Soon after, a strange pony creature appearing in the mirror took form, a pony not from one he saw in person, but the form of a familiar nightmare.
Suddenly, the pony silhouette form faded, and her full form took its place. Lasso was soon being sunken into a trance, the pony did look like the alicorn from his nightmares, but his undergoing hypnotism kept him oblivious to what was happening.
The purple alicorn showed an evil smile as she started singing another verse.
"If every mare, says all he can if every mare is true." "Do I believe the sky above is beautifully blue?"
As the alicorn vocalized her beautiful echoing tone, she wagged her right hoof backwards, commanding her now hypnotized prisoner to come closer. Lasso's enticement forced him to obey her command and started walking towards the mirror, the alicorn continuing to wag her hoof backwards.
Back on the outside in the hallway, the four ponies had managed to find something to unlock the door and save him. But they were soon stopped in their tracks, there was a strange sound coming from the other side of the door. Izzy and Pipp pu their ears on the door to hear somepony singing, but it certainly was not Lasso.
"Who's that voice?!" cried Izzy.
"Who is that in there?!" cried Pipp.
"Lasso!!!!"
"LASSO!!!!" Izzy screamed from the other side of the door, but Lasso could not hear them. Instead, he was now right in front of the mirror!
"If all you told was turned to gold, if all the dreamers knew." "Imagine the sky, right above, beautifully blue."
The alicorn did one final vocalization and held out her hoof, motioning for Lasso to reach and grab it. Meanwhile, the four others managed to finally pry open the door, only to see Lasso walking into the mirror, followed by seeing the purple alicorn cackling as she finally got a hold of him.
"Lasso, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sunny screamed, running up to the mirror, but it was too late. Lasso was now inside the mirror, and then it closed up, turning back into a regular mirror and showing regular reflections of the main four.
"Who was that?!" Zipp shrieked.
"The better question is WHERE HAS THAT PONY TAKEN MY LASSO!!!!????!!!!" Izzy cried, but Sunny put a comforting hoof on her.
"Don't worry Izzy, we will find him, and we will save him!"
Author's Note
Opaline is a master of trance induced singing, she has now successfully captured Lasso!
It was completely dark and motionless, but through Lasso's eyes, he was opening them. Once his vision adjusted, he saw himself in a place that did not look like any room in his house. Not only that, but he found himself not being able to move, he looked over and saw that he was tied to a chair, but not any regular chair, this looked like a throne chair of some kind. To make matters worse, he also discovered his mouth to be gagged with cloth wrapped around to his back neck!
Lasso tried to break free, but the knots of the ropes were tight enough to be unbreakable, his struggle to free himself was soon cut off by the sound of an evil chuckle.
"Well, well, well, good to see you awake my sweet." said a voice from within the shadows, Lasso turned to see a dark pony figure emerging out of the gloom. To his surprise and horror, it was none other than Queen Opaline, the same pony from his nightmares, shockingly they had come true!
Opaline and Misty approached him slowly, then took his gag off his mouth so he could talk.
"What's goin' on, where am Ah'!?!" Lasso asked quivering.
Misty chuckled wickedly, "You're in your new home of course."
Lasso shook in fear, "N-N-N-N-N-N-New home?!"
"That is correct, and since your poor parents or anypony is here to save you, you are trapped here."
"Ah' know you, you're that pony from mah' nightmares!"
"You are correct again." Opaline said, "I have the power to turn dreams into nightmares for my victims, no thanks to Princess Luna."
"As a bonus, it was me who poisoned your poor parents to their grave!" Opaline snarled, scaring Lasso and making him gasp in horror.
"But....But...WHY!?!" he screamed in shock.
Misty joined in with Opaline, "Well, let me explain for my mother the first part. All her life, she has been wanting to abolish friendship with equity and separation of all pony species. But your pathetic great great aunt, Twilight Sparkle, kept getting in her way!"
"Thank you for that introduction, Misty, now you are dismissed, I will finish everything here alone."
"Yes Opaline." Misty replied and leaving the room, now Lasso and Opaline were all alone.
"To continue, I could never accomplish my goals of dividing Equestria's population as long as she was around. What really drove me to the brig of anger was when she stored all the magic into those worthless unity crystals!"
Lasso showed more fear than bravery, especially when Opaline's facial expression changed to an evil angered look.
"I knew your parents were the last two descendants of Twilight, and I could never achieve equity. Not as long as those two creeps were in my way of it, so I simply decided to wipe out the last supporting group of friendship, which was them!"
Lasso was now even more frightened, especially over this atrocity she caused.
"I decided to kill them in the most unnoticing way, and that was by poisoning them in their sleep. Now that they are gone, I can now achieve my goals without any form of past friendship!"
Opaline released him from the ropes, but quickly forced him into her forehooves tightly, groping him in a locking position.
"Your pathetic family thought they outwitted me, but I am a patient alicorn, and little colts don't do well inside stone walls."
The evil alicorn then took a whiff of his mane, causing Lasso to tremble.
"What are y'all d-doin?" he vibratingly asked.
"I was just imagining a feather, tickling that cute little side of yours." she demonstrated by rubbing the edge of her hoof down his side.
"Ah' know what yer' imaginin'!" Lasso scowled, breaking free of her grasp.
"What a clever colt." said Opaline, "So typical of children like you to twist theories to cloud the mind with such negativity in thoughts. Well, no matter, you've chosen a magnificent new life, but it is a new life none less."
"Ah' didn't choose anything!" Lasso exclaimed.
"Oh, excuse me, I as in me chose a magnificent new life for you. A life I am about to show you."
Opaline used the moment to grab Lasso again and hold him, this time, he was not able to escape her grasp.
"It's time I showed you around your new home, I do believe you will love my castle." she said, leaving the room with her little prisoner in tow. However, before she could start, she had something else to say.
"Before we start, there is something I need to show you dear." Opaline took Lasso out to a balcony, showing a very dark and foggy horizon.
"Look out into the distance." she said, Lasso did what he was told and looked out, "Do you see any town or pony out there anywhere?"
Lasso looked and eyed every direction and corner, but clearly had no luck.
"Well?!" she said, after one final look around the horizon, there was no sign of any town or pony out there at all.
"No, Ah' don't see anypony."
"Exactly!" Opaline exclaimed; Lasso was now puzzled.
"What's yer point in that?"
"My point is this castle is miles from the nearest town. Therefore, it would just not be right for you to leave, so nopony knows where you are right now." Opaline stated, "Meaning I can pretty much do a lot of things with you, luckily, killing you isn't one of them."
As the evil alicorn left the balcony, keeping the still frightened colt with her, she carried him into the castle for her tour. The first place on the destination was the kitchen, it was a replica of a five-star restaurant, only there were no chefs. However, the place was enhanced with tons and tons of food and drinks. Food of all kinds from vegetables to fruits on one side, and gourmet meals on the other side, Lasso was rather impressed.
"This is the kitchen; I have a thing for serving myself and my daughter of rich foods. I do not suppose you would like to be added."
"Yes, Ah' would?" Lasso said in confusion.
"Good to hear, now let's continue."
The next place to be shown was the washroom, it had a spa like bathtub with steps, two beautifully crafted sinks, and a luxurious style shower with a ceiling mounted showerhead.
"This is my washroom, after a long day of my evil plans, I come in here to clean up my beautiful satire. Misty will also follow in as well; she prefers the shower while I choose the soothing spa. Since you will be in this area, I think you will do good when I give you baths in this nice tub."
"Okay."
As they continued the miniature tour, Lasso had something to say to Opaline.
"Queen Opaline?"
"Yes, little prisoner?"
"If you killed mah' parents, why didn't ya' kill me too?"
"Well, I figured since your parents were the remaining of the most powerful ancient ruler, I could not have them in it. Your parents inherited courage and faith from Princess Twilight, which they would use to deny any form of weaknesses. Weaknesses that I could have used to bring Equestria back to the way it was before, diversion and equity in control again!"
Lasso sneered at this; he was rather disappointed that a pony killed his parents just for a sign of weakness. Yet, he still feared the worst of what she could do to him.
"I did not kill you because you are just a colt, I decided I could use a child that would be easily manipulated into giving me what I want."
"Wh-Why me then?!"
Opaline chuckled wickedly, "Because you are pretty much the only one who was beginning to learn. Learn about your aunt's choices over that friendship and equality garbage, so I figured by kidnapping you as my prisoner, you would lend me info."
"But Ah' know nothing!" Lasso said in defiance, Opaline chuckled again, "Oh, but I believe you do."
On cue, a heavy wooden door came into view. Opaline used her magic to open it and in front of the door was a darkened staircase. Poor Lasso quivered with fear as she started down the stairs, glowing light soon showed, but it was sourced by two hanging lit torches. Opaline opened another door in front of them, and in it was shown to be a nightmare for someone: A TORTURE CHAMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"This room is where I manage to break the ones I take into giving me what I want." she said, showing an evil grin at her little captive.
"The best part of it all, my work has finished its renovation today. I will be using this room as a bait and switch to make you tell me what I want to know, the torture I will use is one you despise."
Lasso was really nervous now, "W-W-What is it?!"
Opaline scoffed, "Oh don't worry my dear, it will not be the painful kind of torture, I could never inflict harm on you. Rather instead, I will use a lighter form of torture for you, one I believe you will love."
The evil alicorn carried Lasso over to a restraining table, then placed him on his back. The little colt tried to get up, but Opaline pressed him back down to keep him at bay. After successfully getting the restraints locked on him, she then paced around the table in circles, chuckling wickedly as he panted in anxiety.
"Now don't worry my prisoner, this will be just a while lasting demonstration of what you will endure. And you will eventually tell me how I can bring Equestria back to what it was before!"
Opaline leaned into his face with bedroom eyes, then kissed him on his forehead.
"What was that for?" Lasso asked in confusion.
"Let's just say I have my ways of connecting with cute little colts like you, now how about some more flirtatious moments."
She leaned into his face again and kissed him a second time, then another, and another. Lasso cringed in disgust, the bearing moment for him was just too much. Even though Opaline mentioned that it would be a short demonstration, it felt like an eternity for him.
Pulling Back and Prisoners Track
Back in the trees surrounding Bridlewood, things were looking grim, especially for Izzy. She had just managed to experience her little colt friend just get kidnapped by a familiar looking alicorn, yet unable to prevent it from happening. Poor Izzy sat in a corner curled up in a ball, her face buried in her hooves bawling, while Sunny rubbed her back like a hand rubbing a cat's back.
"How could this happen, how was I not quick enough to stop him!?!" Izzy asked.
"Take it easy Izzy, these things happen." Sunny assured, "I promise you; we will find him and bring him back safe."
Meanwhile, Zipp and Pipp were now doing an investigation together. It was identical to the case where Zipp was looking for clues about the lantern, the lantern that went missing from Sunny's bedroom, but it was the both of them working together. They were searching for clues that could lead them to any form of data or information, that is until Pipp discovered a red bandana on the floor, dangling at the bottom of the mirror.
Picking up the bandana, Pipp inspected the sewing of the cloth while Zipp used a scanner for DNA. Once the scanning was complete, to their surprise, it belonged to Lasso!
"How did this fall off him?" asked Zipp, rubbing her chin with her hoof.
"My best guess is that it came loose and fell off when he walked through the mirror."
Zipp was now puzzled, how could Lasso's bandana come loose if the knots were tight on it?
Upon closer inspection, there was a small rip in the cloth, it looked as if something had deliberately cut it halfway to make it fall off. For Zipp this was puzzling, but for Pipp it was shocking.
"That's strange, why would somepony cut off Lasso's bandana?"
"A better question, who was that alicorn in the light?"
"We're going to have to get answers from somepony, whoever that monster was, they are not getting away with this!"
"We will be getting answers!" Sunny assured, "But first, we need to find out where Lasso went to in that mirror."
"I just want to find my Lasso; I don't want anything bad to happen to him!" Izzy cried, looking at her three friends, tears going down her face.
"We will find him Izzy; it's going to be all right." Zipp said, soon Izzy was joined in on a group hug for comfort. However, the hug was soon interrupted by a loud whooshing sound coming from outside. Even though poor Izzy was emotionally down from what had happened, she joined in on following her friends outside. Once the four ponies had reached the downstairs entrance, to their surprise, there was an even bigger crowd of ponies from Zephyr Heights and Maretime Bay.
"Zipp, Pipp, my babies?" said a familiar voice, Zipp and Pipp looked over to see their mother, Queen Haven, emerge from the crowd of Pegasus. The sisters ran up to her and hugged her as tightly as they could, while Haven kissed them both on their cheeks.
"Thank goodness I got here in time, we heard about everything!" Queen Haven exclaimed.
"As did I." Hitch said, Sparky gurgled his response, "Sparky and I were notified by Posey about the murder and kidnapping."
"Hitch, thank goodness you came to help us!" Sunny said, running up to Hitch and hugging him tightly.
"Do you have any clues to who did this?" Queen Haven asked, that's when Zipp remembered the bandana she and Pipp found. Zipp pulled it out of a bag she wore and gave it to Haven's sight for inspection.
"It's a bandana mom, it belongs to the one who was kidnapped." Pipp said, Zipp nodded in agreement.
"What is the little one's name who was taken?" the Queen asked.
"His name is Lasso Lashes, he's the son of the two murdered unicorns." said Izzy.
A sudden idea came to Hitch and Queen Haven, they could use this bandana to scan for DNA samples. DNA not belonging to Lasso, but rather to the alicorn who kidnapped him, then they could track the DNA with a radar scanner to where he was taken.
"You know, we can use this as a way to track him down. We will use Zephyr Heights's DNA Research Facility to run a scan in DNA of the one who took him."
Hitch gasped at the sudden idea, "And then I can use my computer radar to track the location of the DNA sample."
"It's all so clear now!" Sunny exclaimed.
"Our very first rescue mission!" Zipp said in excitement, Sparky gurgled in happiness, as he was dire to meet Lasso.
"That's right Sparky, you're going to help Daddy with a mission."
"It is settled." said Queen Haven, "Guards!"
Two Pegasi guards approached and bowed to her, "Yes, your majesty?"
"Take this bandana to the Research Facility, and wait for further instructions, do not leave once there."
"Yes ma'am." they both said, taking the bandana from her grasp. Then they both flew back to Zephyr Heights. In the meantime, they knew they had to come up with a plan of action. Especially since Izzy wanted to see her little Lasso back with her safe and sound.
Before they took off, Izzy looked up at the distance before her eyes and frowned in sadness.
"Don't worry Lasso, wherever you are, we are coming to save you. You will be back with me and my friends, safe in mine and their hooves."
..........BACK AT OPALINE'S CASTLE..........
Lasso was still restrained on the table inside the torture chamber of her dark hideout, only now he was laughing uncontrollably. Reason being, Opaline had changed her torture forms from kissing him and nuzzling, to tickling his belly and armpits with her feather covered wings.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, PLEHEHEHEHEHEHESE, STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed in laughter, tears streaming down his face from the pain. But Opaline would not budge, instead, she just glowered over him with a sly grin on her face.
"I told you before dear, I imagined a feather tickling your sides, and it has come true." she said, "Now tell me, what ideas could I use to bring Equestria back to what it was before?"
Lasso could not dare to say, especially since he was laughing hysterically.
'HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAH DOHOHOHOHON'T KNOOOOOW, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH SWHEHEHEHEHEHEHER IIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Opaline still was not buying it, as her locked grinning face showed.
"Well, my dear, this is going to end in only two ways: You can either cave in and give me a solution or weakness to dividing Equestria again. Or I can tickle you continuously, and you will pass out. Now, what is it going to be my slave?"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AH'LL NEVER TELL HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!" Lasso screamed in laughter, his face sweating.
The evil alicorn still would not listen, she just kept on going.
"Fine then, I guess you are just going to have to pass out from all your laughter of pain, coochie coochie coochie coo!"
For the next several minutes to nearly an hour, Lasso was getting dizzy and started hacking from all the laughter he was enduring. Finally, before he even knew it, the torture got the best of him. And then, just as Opaline said he would, he passed out.
Knowing it was the right thing to do, Opaline undid the restraints from him. She then used her magic to lift his motionless body into her hoof, then she took him out of the torture chamber and back out into the corridors of her castle. It was not long before she found one of the bedrooms and opened the door to it and brought him inside. This room was equipped with all the luxurious comforts of a mansion like bedroom. But the most delicate furniture to sit in here was a four-poster bed that had several pillows and, at least, three sets of covers.
With another quick use of her magic, she undid the covers and place a still motionless Lasso onto the mattress. Once he was in position of lying down, Opaline then tucked him in and actually kissed him.
"As I said before, I am a patient alicorn, so we can take our time with this." she whispered, leaving the room and shutting the door.
Data Research and Opaline's Plans
The bandana that Zipp and Pipp had discovered was taken to the Zephyr Heights Research Facility, where some of the best scientists worked. This research facility also used some of the best technology and computer systems to find answers to experiments, data, or locations of objects and artifacts. However, one such room contained a supercomputer, which was designed to match DNA samples found on clothing, hair, or blood samples. Using this technology was a group of four Pegasi scientists in lab coats, they had managed to confirm the bandana did belong to Lasso. Now they were focusing on another objective, and that was to use the DNA tracker and pinpoint any path or location leading to the colt.
As the supercomputer got to work matching the DNA's location, poor Izzy sat there from a window. She was still emotionally down over everything that happened to him, but finally managed to show some spirit. Hitch and Sunny stayed in the viewing room with her, while in another room, Queen Haven spoke with her daughters about what they had seen.
"So, when we went into the room, we saw this purple alicorn inside the mirror."
"Alicorn?" Queen Haven asked.
"Yes, and she was singing in this angelic echoing voice." Pipp answered.
"Since when did this alicorn bear such magical powers?"
Zipp rubbed her chin with her hoof, "You know mom, that is a good question."
Haven was just as worried as Izzy was, if it happened to Lasso, it would happen to any filly or colt. She could not bear to let this happen again, especially out of fear for her own two daughters. She pulled them close to her in a tight hug, then kissed both of them on their cheeks.
"If this monster alicorn harms this poor colt, I would not dare let her do the same to you two."
"Mom, we're cool." reassured Zipp.
"It's poor Lasso we have to worry about." Pipp said, "We must not waste our time on this, I have had to postpone my daily pipsqueak reports to help out on it."
Zipp pulled her sister in and smiled at her, "It's the best thing you have ever done little sister."
Back with Izzy, it still was going really bad for her, since the computer was taking a long time. The more the data loaded, the more worried she became. Luckily, Sunny, Hitch, and Sparky remained there to comfort her right that moment.
"Oh, what if we never find his location!" Izzy exclaimed.
"Izzy, did you not hear what the scientists said!" Hitch snapped, "The computer is working on it, it is just going to take a few hours to complete."
Sparky babbled grumpily, as if he was agreeing with his pony father.
"Just take it easy Izz, they will have it complete, they will locate Lasso soon." Sunny said, "Just calm down, he will be fine. I am sure of it."
........BACK AT OPALINE'S CASTLE.........
Opaline and Misty were together again, only not in the throne room, but a wardrobe. Opaline was wanting to make her new prisoner more like he was willing to obey her. And the way to do that, according to her, was to dress more like an obedient prisoner. Or perhaps, just make him look more like a prisoner to follower. The evil unicorn and alicorn scrubbed and scraped through the wardrobe, looking for something that would make Lasso look more obedient and following.
Misty was rather questionable about it, "I don't get it, why do we have to make the colt look more obedient?"
Opaline stared at her, "Because my dear, he is going to be here for a while. Therefore, as our newest member, he will have to dress and look more like a servant. Plus, it will make him look more ravishing in order to give us what we need. You know, the secrets to dividing Equestria again."
"What outfits do you have in mind so far?" Misty asked, browsing through some old clothing.
"Whatever makes him look more ravishing." Opaline replied.
"Shouldn't we at least wake him up first?"
"No, let's continue to let him rest, he had such a long moment from the torture I put him through."
"Okay."
Suddenly, Misty came across a certain type of apparel, a suit of armor with a black suit underneath. The armor also came with four black hoof shoes, she could tell this type of uniform was very ancient. Yet, it looked like a form of attire for a prisoner to wear.
"Opaline, here is a nice attire." she stated, using her magic to remove the armor and shoes from the wrack. Opaline took notice, then showed an appreciative smile.
"Misty, I have never been prouder of you. I love it, it is perfect for him."
"This armor belonged to a unicorn named Tempest Shadow, or Fizzlepop Berrytwist by her real name."
Misty suddenly remembered, "You mean that unicorn who lost her horn, and never got it restored!?!"
"Exactly, before she accepted that friendship garbage Twilight Sparkle offered. She was the commander of an army led by an evil monster, known as the Storm King. I always adored his teachings of how magic could be taken easily for one's own nefarious purpose."
"I think he would look good in it too, only one problem though, it's too big for him." Misty said, but Opaline gave a soft chuckle.
"I have just the solution for that." She lit up her horn and shrunk the armor and shoes down to just the right size. Knowing his size and height, it looked like it would fit him perfectly, she also had a few other things for him. She and Misty would shave his mane, bathe him, dress him in the armor, then force him into telling her what the weaknesses of unity are.
"So, when are we going to put this on him?" Misty asked.
"Sometime the next day." Opaline stated.
"What, why?"
"Because he has had a long stressful evening of torture practice from me. He passed out from all of it, so I believe it is best we just let him sleep."
"Sure thing." Misty replied.
Back at the research facility, the entire cast continued to wait for even the slightest of a location match. For poor Izzy though, it was continuing to look more and more like a grim result. But no matter what she thought, she had her friends by her side, so that made her certain everything would turn out right.
"I just hope they find something soon." Posey implied, "I cannot bear to hear a colt kidnapped and then worse."
"Don't worry Posey." stated Sunny, "Queen Haven told us that the tracking systems in their supercomputers are faster than anything we have ever seen."
"But what if they can't find a DNA location?" Posey asked in defense.
Sparky gurgled again trying to get their attention.
"Sparky Sparkaroni!" Hitch scolded, "You should know better than to......." but Sunny pressed her hoof on his lips to silence him, for Posey and Pipp managed to point their hooves at the viewing window. As Hitch focused his attention on the window, Sunny removed her hoof from his lips, they all turned to see the scientists approaching the window. The scientist opened the door from the other side, then came out with some papers that the supercomputer printed. Luckily, for the group, it was good news to show.
Obviously, the first one to approach them was Izzy, Posey and Sunny followed beside her.
"Well, what did you come up WITH!?!" Izzy shrieked in defiance.
"Izzy calm down!" Sunny yelled, then deciding to help out, since she was in too much emotional pain.
"Sorry you all, she's been in a lot of stress since this happened."
"We know, it's been heard all over." one scientist said.
Just then Posey and Queen Haven, along with the rest of the group, joined beside Sunny and Izzy.
"Did you all manage to find Lasso's exact location?" Haven asked.
"Yes, your majesty." a scientist replied, "The supercomputer's radar tracked his location at a dark castle. Its destination is somewhere north of here, near Maretime Bay, on the top of Dark Hills."
Izzy was finally able to take a breather, since there was good news, "Thank heavens!"
"Since you claim this castle is near Maretime Bay, how far is it from there?" asked Posey.
One of the scientists looked down to a clipboard he was holding. Then started flipping pages of data collected.
"From what we have collected, this castle lies approximately 38 to 40 miles away from the city. It's quite a distance to get there."
LATER THAT NIGHT, AT SUNNY'S LIGHTHOUSE
Everypony was gathered in the same room they slept in when they were with Lasso. But this time, it an even bigger crowd, all of Maretime Bay had pitched tents up in the front yard. While the main group, along with Posey, Sparky, and Queen Haven took their quarters inside the lighthouse. The entire city of Maretime Bay was willing to help save the colt from Opaline, especially Posey, since she was really warming up to the others.
"Well, it's time we all get some rest, for at dawn we raid!" exclaimed Queen Haven.
"Mom, it's not a raid, we're just saving a child." Zipp informed.
"Besides, it's not like the alicorn would have the nerve to hurt him." said Posey.
On the other hoof, Hitch was putting a sleeping Sparky to his bedtime area.
"Alright everypony, the ones outside are already asleep. We should all get some sleep too, we all leave for the castle at dawn." said Sunny, quickly turning out the lights.
Izzy and Posey slept together, since they were more concerned about Lasso than the rest.
Izzy stared out a window into the night sky "Don't you worry Lasso; we are coming for you." she thought as she fell asleep with her new friend.
Author's Note
Posey has changed big time since the magic incident. She really adores her new friends and is even willing to save a colt she hasn't even met yet.
The next morning, back at Opaline's castle, Lasso was beginning to wake up. He had such a rough afternoon the previous day, all the torture his captor had put him through. As his eyes adjusted to the morning sun, he looked around to see he was lying down in a luxurious four-poster bed. He thought that everything that happened before was just a dream, but one quick glance at the darkness surrounding the room could remind him otherwise. Poor Lasso was still trapped in the dark castle of the one who kidnapped him, he also discovered that from a touch of his neck that his bandana had disappeared. Now this is what really hurt him more, because that bandana was the only memory he had left of his family.
As Lasso broke down crying from the big losses he faced, he heard the sound of a door creaking open. He looked up to see none other than Queen Opaline, who approached him with the same callous look in her eye. Opaline undid the covers as Lasso braced for her to hold him again, which is exactly what happened. She used her magic to lift him out of the bed and into her hoof, she then carried him out of the room and closed the door.
"So, my pet, did you enjoy your first night of sleep well?"
Lasso gave her the silent treatment.
"Come on dear, surely there was something decent about your bed."
Finally, he spoke up, but trembled.
"Y-Yes, Ah' d-did enjoy mah' sleep well."
Opaline chuckled, "Well that is good to hear, because I have a big plan for you today."
"Ah'm still not talkin' about you dividin' Equestria."
"Oh yes you are, right after your transformation."
Lasso was puzzled, "What are y'all talkin' about."
"Well, I have decided that since you are going to be here for quite some time, Misty and I should give you a different look. She and I are going to give you a main cut, then we will bathe you, and dress you in some armor I have kept for years."
"What will changin' me make to tell?"
"Well, I figured that since I tickled you to death yesterday, you'd tell me. But I am going to try it with a more obedient approach."
Lasso was now fearful, not only was he going to kiss his regular look goodbye, but she was going to make him cry in discomfort again. He also knew that eventually; she would put something out to make him speak up. He was most concerned about if he would ever escape, even though Opaline told him that the castle was miles from Maretime Bay and Bridlewood, even farther from Zephyr Heights.
In the meantime, he was also curious about her changing how he looked. Yet, he managed to brace himself for what worse could come from it. Opaline continued to walk with her prisoner in tow, the corridor seemed to be endless until they reached the two doors to the bathroom. The same bathroom she showed him the previous day she gave him the tour. She lit the door handles with her magic and used it to twist them, opening the door gently, she entered where Misty was waiting.
One quick look reminded Lasso that Opaline was not kidding when she said all that. Inside the bathroom was a barber's chair, where a robe for catching falling cut hair was hanging on the chair. In front of the chair was a mirror, where Opaline could see what she was doing. The bad part of it all was that not only was Misty there, but she had a rope grasped in her aura. They were going to tie him to the chair, because this new look would be another form of torture for him. They were going to make sure he was still and behaved while they were transforming him.
Opaline did not hesitate when she put Lasso into the chair, because it was beginning to go downhill. Opaline had Misty release her magical grasp of the rope and tied Lasso to the chair, then wrapped the robe around him. With the flick of the switch, she turned on the trimmer.
"Don't worry dear one, this won't hurt one bit!" Opaline said with an evil chuckle.
Misty laughed evilly herself, "Maybe not a little."
Lasso shook in fear, then screamed as Opaline gently lowered the trimmer with an evil laugh.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed.
....BACK IN MARETIME BAY....
It was time for the big quest, and everypony was now all set, getting out of their sleeping bags and tents. They had prepared for a nearly 40-mile journey just to save the only survivor of Twilight Sparkle left. They knew this journey was not going to be easy, but they had a motivation, to get to Opaline's Castle by any means necessary. The entire crew had but one pony as their leader, and that was none other than Sunny Starscout, who was not giving up on friendship. On the other hand, Izzy would lead the unicorns to use their magic when needed, Zipp, Pipp, and Queen Haven would provide air support with the Pegasi. Hitch and Sparky woul lead the earth pony team, if plants got in their way, their hooves would glow and remove them.
Sunny and the rest of the team leaders stood on top of the lighthouse hill.
"Now, I know this will be an incredibly difficult journey, as we are all involved." she stated, "But as I said last night, this is not about just working together, this is about a colt's life to save."
"We all need to remind the alicorn responsible that she will not get away with this!" Posey said.
"With hooves glowing, air scanning, magic consuming, and our cutie marks glowing, we have the right ways of power."
Hitch joined Sunny on her side, "We will find Lasso, and we will defeat the one who took him."
The crowd cheered, with one final inspection of their magic and flight, they were ready for action. Soon, they were out of Maretime Bay and running down the road they had hoped would lead them to Opaline's castle.
"Don't worry Lasso, we are coming for you, I am coming for you!" Izzy thought as she ran with the group.
Back at Opaline's castle, poor Lasso was screaming in pain as Opaline and Misty ripped remnants of his mane off his head. It was done in a flash though, because he could feel them not ripping anymore. As it ended, he could still hear the evil cackles of Opaline and Misty as he twitched with his eyes shut tightly from all the pain.
"Okay little one, you may open your eyes now, it's all over." Opaline said in a sing-song voice. Lasso opened his eyes, but what he saw from his refection was actually an astonishing improvement. His main was shaved perfectly, no missed spots, or hair pieces at all!
Lasso was rather amazed at this accomplishment, but his reaction was cut short. For Opaline undid him from the chair, then carried him over to the tub, Misty had it filled with water that was nice and hot to relax in. The evil alicorn then placed him into the tub to start cleaning him for his new look. Opaline dumped water all over him to get him wet for the proper conditioners and body washes to work, using the certain type of conditioner for his head, she squirted some into her hoof.
Lasso was really starting to feel comfortable with this pampering, the tub he was in looked more like a swimming pool. There was plenty of room to relax himself in, plus the water really felt soothing. Lastly, the wash and conditioners she was using felt soothing.
Before he knew it, the bath was over, and Opaline removed him from that. After drying him off with towels, she and Misty then took him to the wardrobe, where the armor was. The same type of armor that Tempest wore, before shrinking it down to his size.
Lasso went back to confusion, "Why do Ah' have to wear that?"
"It's part of making you obedient in look." said Misty. "And once you put it on, your attitude will change."
Lasso snickered, "Like a stupid suit of armor will make me tell you about dividin'."
Opaline stared at him seriously, this armor contained a hypnotic device hidden somewhere in it. Lasso did not know this though, as Misty prepared to dress him in it, the first thing that went on was the black hoof shoes. Second, they threw the black cloak suit over him, then finally, the armor itself.
"Now how do you like that little one?" Opaline asked.
Lasso was amazed, the outfit was pretty comfortable and good looking.
"Ah'....Ah' like it." he slurred.
"Well, that's good because we have a little bonus for you." Opaline said chuckling wickedly, then reaching behind her back.
"What are you talkin' about?" asked Lasso, but instead of answering, what he got was horrifyingly different. Opaline had silently pressed something on her back that activated the device in his armor. Suddenly, Lasso was shot up straight, then his eyes started glowing white, his iris and pupils were blinded by a trance light.
Opaline and Misty were laughing evilly, now that they had found a way to make him talk. Soon, Lasso's eyes were no longer glowing, but now he just stood there like a statue. Opaline started circling him like a bird of prey, chuckling at her successful goal.
"Lasso Lashes, can you hear me?" she asked, talking in his ear.
"Yes." he answered with a hypnotized voice.
"Good to hear, now that you are under my control, I will set you straight. You will obey my every command, you will address me as master, and you will trade secrets with me about everything I want to know. Do you understand me?"
"Yes.....my master." Lasso said through his trance.
"Now to start with a simple test run, what is the weakness of every pony's sovereignty?"
Lasso gave an evil smile, "Their magic is what makes them unite."
"And where precisely is the source of this magic?"
With a zoom in of Lasso's mouth, "The Unity Crystals."
"And where exactly are the Unity Crystals?"
"The tower on top of Sunny Starscout's lighthouse."
"And what do I do with them?"
"You destroy the Unity Crystals. No crystals, no magic, no magic, and every race of pony will be mean again."
Opaline gave an evil grin as she stared down at Lasso's hypnotized body.
"Oh, my sweet Lasso, you are such a well-behaved colt, I could just reward you of being MY son." She gave a sinister chuckle, as did Misty.
"Now that I have the true weaknesses all gathered up, it's time to strengthen my force of agenda for good. And officially take back what belongs TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
She and Misty both cackled evilly, thanks to their quick thinking, they now had all the info needed. Info to not only rid Equestria of all magic forever but keep all pony races divided permanently!
Author's Note
How will the ponies react when they find out what Lasso has just done!?!
Arrival to the Castle and the Trap
Sunny, Izzy, Posey, and the rest of the group had managed to dodge a ton of obstacles throughout this journey. They had left Sunny's lighthouse earlier, but it had felt like the day was shortened. Reason being that the path was becoming less lit from the sun due to the trees becoming gnarled. They were warned that the journey to the castle would be dark to do, because Opaline's castle was in a remote location that did not have much light. Despite the challenges that awaited them, they all worked together to overcome the obstacles they fought themselves.
Even though they were successful, Izzy still felt uncomfortable, she had that strong feeling that Opaline did something to Lasso. The other ponies had tried their best to reassure her otherwise, but little to no avail. No matter how much they tried, Izzy would not be able to fade away from the dread she imagined. The big feeling consumed all her emotions.
She was scared Opaline had tortured him or worse.
She was happy that the scientists found Lasso's location.
She was sad that she could not save him in time.
She was angry that Opaline took him for something evil.
Almost every emotion that she had was consumed by this only thought. Meanwhile, they ran into another problem, a massive roadblock. Right in front of the group surrounded by darkness, a forest of thorns and prickly pears.
"Okay, how are we supposed to get rid of that?" asked Posey.
"Oh, this is just great!" Izzy yelled, "First, a dark path, then potholes, NOW THIS!?!?!"
"Izzy, don't worry, I just thought of something for this." Hitch exclaimed. He had remembered reading a series of earth pony spells. Magical spells that were used only on a rare occasion, one he came across would contain a power in earth pony magic. A power that instead of creating or restoring plant life, it would destroy plant life, this was one of the moments to use it.
Posey scoffed at this though, "Why would we destroy something our own species brings to life?"
"Hey, sometimes even gardening can get overwhelming. Remember when all those vines covered up Maretime Bay?" asked Sunny.
Posey suddenly remembered, "Oh yeah."
"We can use our earth pony magic to slice away all these thorn vines, if we work together."
"I'm in."
"As are we!" exclaimed the rest of the earth pony group. With the green glow of their hooves, they started slashing the thorny branches and vines one by one. Even though they did not enjoy killing plants, this was an exception, since Lasso being saved was on their minds. Piece by piece, branch by branch, one by one, they all dismantled through the painful and pricking obstacle.
While they fought through, the pegasi were being led by Zipp, Pipp, and Queen Haven through the sky. Continuing to be the group's air support team, they pressed on locating the direction of the castle. The unicorns being led by Izzy had their horns lit up for light, while all the ponies cutie marks glowed, creating a trail. What they did not know was that these obstacles were being set up deliberately, because Opaline was watching them through another mirror. She was motivated to make sure Lasso would not be rescued, and her mission of draining the unity crystals magic was a Sitch.
But no matter how hard things were, the group was determined themselves as well. Especially for poor Izzy, as she wanted Lasso to be back in her hooves again. Back in the castle, Opaline continued her watchful eye on both mirrors. One showing the group coming, the other showing the portal to Sunny's lighthouse, where the crystals awaited.
"The time has come for my plan to take action." she stated, "Misty, keep Sunny and the others at bay!"
Misty was shocked, "What, there are too many of them!"
"Exactly." Opaline said, she then levitated a switch over to her. "I have set a trap for them, once they get to the entrance, push the button on this remote. It will open a trap door out there beneath all of them, waiting for them below are hydras about to hatch from eggs."
Opaline proved this by using her magic to switch the mirror showing the unity crystals, to the location of the hydra's eggs. From what it was projecting, the egg cases had small cracks forming on them, and growling of the babies could be heard in them.
Misty was rather impressed, Lasso just grinned in amazement.
"Wow master, ya' sure do know how to defeat easily." he remarked, Opaline pulled him closer in a pretend form of sympathy.
"I do, don't I, my boy?" she said, Lasso and Misty both laughed evilly as the mirror switched back to showing Sunny and the others. Opaline continued to use her magic to create challenges for them, as it resumed back to the main group. All the races of ponies were getting very weary from their goals, Izzy's continuous magic use was starting to give her a migraine, as with the other unicorns. Queen Haven, Zipp, Pipp, and the rest of the Pegasi were on the brink of crash landing due to overzealous flying. Sunny, Hitch, Posey, and the rest of the earth ponies hooves were starting to go numb from all the glowing. As for Sparky, his assistance by breathing green fire to give light was almost running out, due to his mouth running dry.
The pegasi finally collapsed to the ground from exhaustion in their constant wing flapping, landing on top of some unicorns and earth ponies and making them fall to the ground. Zipp, Pipp, and Queen Haven just landed on the path softly, but panting from exhaustion.
"Ugh, I can't take it anymore!" Posey screamed, cringing in pain from all the thorns prickling her legs and mane.
"Come on everypony ugh!" Izzy said, "We can make it!" she could tell, because just beyond the last set of thorny vines, there was a bridge. And dead ahead stood what was, none other than Opaline's castle!
The group was still pretty tired, but the castle's sight in the distance pressured them to stay motivated. So, the pegasi group figured they could help by using their hooves to break some the vines as well. Which is what Queen Haven ordered them to do during the time. Through their teamwork, they managed to destroy the last round of vines, Opaline was furious!
"NO, IT CANNOT BE!" she yelled, observing their teamwork from her mirror. That's when her backup plan came into play, she would greet them through a portal stand that stood atop the front doors of her castle.
"What are you goin' to do master?" asked Lasso with his hypnotic attitude.
"Just wait my slave, Misty has it all covered."
"Yeah kid, watch and see." Misty exclaimed, showing Lasso the switch.
Meanwhile, the massive group had finally made it to the bridge that led to the castle entrance. Covered in thorns and sweating like crazy, the group ran a good length across the bridge. Surrounded by utter darkness, they could not tell how much longer of light they had, due to the massive cloud cover that hovered over the area.
"Oh, I hope we're not too late!" Izzy exclaimed.
"Just hang in there Izzy, we're almost there." Sunny reassured.
As they approached the entrance to the castle, there was a sudden force field activation. It was powerful enough to cover both doors, this caused the group to stop in shock. As was Izzy, it felt like whoever the one that kidnapped Lasso, did not want them to rescue him.
"What gives!" exclaimed Pipp.
"Where did this shield come from?" Posey asked.
"Seems like somepony doesn't want us to intervene." exclaimed Zipp.
Hitch walked up with Sparky, "Maybe Sparky can try something, come on fire breather."
Sparky blew whatever fire he had and shot it at the shield. Unfortunately, not even that was effective on the force field's strength.
Suddenly, Izzy snapped, she then charged at the shield and started bucking it with all her might.
"YOU MEAN ALICORN, YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR TAKING MY COLT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she yelled, suddenly, there was the sound of evil cackling coming from nowhere. Followed by the sudden sound of what sounded like a whoosh. Sunny stopped Izzy before she could go any further, and they all looked up in horror.
Sunny walked up to what was a projection portal stand atop the doors. A form of pink smoke and fog ignited the entire stand like a lit torch. Moments later, a dark figure took form in the pink fog, Sunny looked up to see a purple alicorn appear in full form. When Queen Haven saw who this alicorn was, she was in complete shock, for she knew who it was.
"Opaline Arcana!" she thought to herself.
Opaline stared at Sunny, who continued to glare at her in anger. She could tell this was the alicorn from the mirror at Lasso's home, the same alicorn who kidnapped Lasso, but Opaline would not make any mention of that.
"Sunny Starscout....you have been a persistent thorn in my side, not to mention a most disruptive, uninvited guest at my castle. I apologize that I am unable to give you a guided tour, as I have more pressing matters to attend to at your lighthouse."
Sunny was now in confusion, why would Opaline need business at her home?
"However, I remain a gracious host to leave you and your friends in the company of favorite gladiator hydras. I hope you find them as entertaining as I have over the years."
Just off view, Misty slammed her hoof on the remote switch, causing a trap door to open beneath the bridge. The whole crowd screamed as the fell into a filthy pit, once they all landed, they exclaimed and groaned in agony.
"What was that all about, pressing matters at my lighthouse?" Sunny asked as she got up.
"And what did she mean by gladiator hydras?" Hitch wondered; they did not have to wait long to find out though. Because a cracking sound soon followed their attention, they all spun around to see three giant eggs each the size of a building. They were now in total fear as the eggs rattled and moved, suddenly, the unthinkable happened. A dragon like head popped out of all three eggs, making the entire crew back away in horror, staring up at the scary looking creatures.
"S-S-S-Sunny, what do you call those things?!" Posey stuttered in fear as the creatures grew taller and taller.
"Those are......" just as the monsters started roaring "THE GLADIATOR HYDRAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Author's Note
Opaline remains one step ahead of the group.
Find out next time!
Thanks to Opaline's quick thinking, and her one step above, she was able to keep Sunny and the others away. Now she pretty much had no problem carrying on with her scheme, anyway, she had the portal to Sunny's lighthouse ready for usage. She also decided to take Lasso with her, but secretly to return him where he was, since she felt he overdid his usefulness. Before she departed with her little slave, she turned to Misty, who still had the remote switch in her magical aura.
"Now that we've taken care of those brats, you guard the castle while I take care of this." she said.
"Yes Opaline." Misty obeyed; Opaline then turned down to Lasso.
"Are you ready for your first evil adventure?" Opaline asked him.
"You bet Ah' am!" Lasso exclaimed.
"Good to hear, now let's depart, shall we?"
Soon, they were out of the throne room and stepped through the mirror.
Back in the pit, the group knew it was going to be tough to beat three creatures thirty times their size. Despite the hydras being newborns, they easily developed quick reflexes and senses to fight. The scary lizard like creatures rose up and hovered over the group, smiling eerily down on them. Izzy and a few other unicorns blasted whatever magic they could at the hydras, but the trio dodged it easily.
The Pegasus group, led by Zipp, Pipp, and Queen Haven, flew up into the air to try and attack. But the length of the creatures made it easy for them to rise up and smack each Pegasus back to the ground. One by one, the Pegasus each were smack down hard by the force of the hydra's fist.
Then finally, the earth ponies in command of Sunny and Hitch, managed to do the unthinkable. They glowed their hooves to try and cover the hydras with big weeds, but the creatures just ate each one. Ate it as if the earth ponies were feeding them their first dinner ever.
No matter what each group did, or how hard they tried to work together, nothing was working. The hydras were too powerful for them, as they were the weakest in long, they never felt like this. The evil hydras cackled wickedly at seeing their rivals in fighting laying down in defeat and zapped of any strength.
"How are we ever going to stop them?!" Izzy screamed, "I want to stop them!"
"Have you not even seen their strength!?!" Zipp yelled back, "I don't know if we can win this fight!"
"Easy for you Pegasus to say!" Posey exclaimed to Zipp, "You all are always flying everywhere, causing things to drop and breaking stuff!"
"Hey, we do not break things or fly everywhere." said Pipp, defending her older sister, "We've been watching our flight paths from day one!"
"Then how do you explain this!?!" one earth pony asked, showing a bruise she got. The bruise was a result of a Pegasus that did not pay attention to what they were doing. Not only that, but also, this Pegasus did manage to break the window of this earth pony's home as well.
"Posey, I thought you were warming up to everything!" Hitch snapped; Sparky gurgled in defiance. He then smacked Posey in the face.
"You really didn't mean it, did you!?!"
As the massive group started to quarrel over previous actions. The hydras just sat there in joy, they decided to accept this as a form of victory, however, Sunny was not so certain. She knew that something was causing the group to divide, yet again, it seemed like this was an endless cycle constantly repeating itself. She quickly understood that the alicorn who was in that magical portal earlier was up to something. And it involved her lighthouse, Sunny gasped in horror at this feeling, for what was occurring.
Meanwhile, Queen Haven was having the same feeling, for she knew this alicorn from the portal. She had met her a long time ago as an adolescent Pegasus, she was just having a difficult time reminiscing about all the garbage she had caused then, compared to now. But her thoughts were soon jogged off, for the sudden sound of quarreling and screaming snapped her out.
"What's happening!?!" she asked in confusion.
"The unicorns ruined everything with their magic, AGAIN!!!!!!" Posey screamed.
"Hey, your stupid glowing hooves are what gave the hydras their hungry power!" exclaimed one of the unicorns.
The unicorns, Pegasus, and earth ponies were once again divisive. Chewing out each other's parts, and pointing hooves, while all glaring and giving angered expressions, Sunny and Izzy felt like they had aborted the mission. Now it felt like all hope was lost for good, not only because they felt failed over not rescuing Lasso in time, but also because the races were being divided again.
The evil hydras on the other hand, were getting a kick out of all of this. They would use this opportunity to do the most unthinkable thing ever for them, meanwhile at Sunny's Lighthouse, there was a flash of light opening up to the tower. The silhouettes of Opaline Arcana and her little enhanced slave appeared, exiting the light and into the tower. Once they were both in the tower room, the light faded as she and Lasso stared up at the rainbow.
Opaline gazed up the unity crystals, floating in the rainbow with might. Her eyes glowed at their beauty as she stared up at them, Lasso could not have been more surprised as he too gazed up at them. Unbeknownst to him though, Opaline was about to do something far worse than before to him. But he was clueless to what it was, no thanks to his hypnotism in his body and mind.
"The Unity Crystals, at last!" she exclaimed.
"Aren't they beautiful?" Lasso asked.
"Oh yes." Opaline answered, continuing to stare at them, "Hello my pretties, you are the real deal, aren't you?" she then turned toward Lasso with her evil glare.
"Uh, Master, why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.
"You have served me well Lasso, now it is time to turn you back to what you were."
"What do you mean!?!" he asked in a now scared tone, Opaline used her magic to pull him into her hooves again. Using her right hoof, she touched his back, causing Lasso to flinch.
"What are you doin'!?!" Opaline did not answer, she just stared down at him eerily. Reaching up into the armor he was wearing, she managed to locate the source of the hypnotic device installed in there. With one quick fling of her hoof, Opaline turned it off, then pulled it out of the armor, causing Lasso to snap out of it and back to normal.
"What the.... What happened!?!" he asked, being back to normal. Again, Opaline did not answer, instead she surrounded a magic aura on him. This was not a typical spell though; it was the same type of way she used when she tortured him the evening before. She cast a spell around him, causing a feeling of dizziness to surround him, the dizziness soon turned into drowsiness. Like an anesthesia for surgery, Lasso soon felt a deep sleep consume him, Opaline dropped him to the floor, and he was out and about.
The spell she used was a sleep spell, and it had successfully ignited effect on poor Lasso. Once again, he was fast asleep, but in a very deep one this time. The callous alicorn plopped his sleeping body on the floor, then turned her attention to the crystals again.
"Hey there beautiful, you all are the real deals, aren't you?" She asked, "Dove sei statto tuta la mia vita?"
Opaline then lit up her horn, "Finally, magic is mine."
Her horn then touched the middle of the crystals, starting an electrical current that consumed lightning of all colors. The lightning engulfed the whole tower, creating a light show from a distance, even as far away as the mountains. The group of ponies, led by Sunny, Hitch, and Izzy could see the glowing speck of the light as the hydras had full power over them. Suddenly, all the unicorns magic pulled out of their horns, while the Pegasus all dropped to the ground. Now there was no magic or power of flight again, the moments of diversity were repeating themselves.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sunny screamed in defeat.
Back in the light house tower, Opaline could feel the power of the crystals consume her whole body.
"MAGIC....IS....POWERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed as she started fading away into the multicolor light. Before it all happened, she was gone, all that was left was poor Lasso. He was still fast asleep despite what had just happened, the rainbow that shot out of the tower was not beaming anymore, and the crystals were not showing any life. In fact, all three pieces were just lying there on the floor, not even floating like they should have been.
It was now going from bad to worse!
Comfort and Help from Beyond
A few hours had gone by and now it was nearing nightfall, but it was not a beautiful night. The skies over Maretime Bay were completely covered in darkness, thanks to the interference of the draining of magic from the unity crystals. It also was not just dark skies, but covered in thick black clouds, which turned out to be thunderclouds. There was now the threat of a severe storm brewing, and it would cause a more permanent problem on all pony race, but nothing would be done. Back in the lighthouse tower, Lasso was sleeping on the floor from the spell cast by Opaline. As he slept, a flash of lightning, followed by a sudden clap of thunder woke him.
"What the..." he said with a raspy voice, he rubbed his eyes with his hoof. As his eyes adjusted to the view, he felt something clanky, looking down to see he was still in the armor that was put on him. Only this time, he was no longer under the hypnotic spell of Opaline's evilness, the next thing he knew, he found himself all alone. The next thing he saw made him gasp in horror, below his forehooves was the unity crystals laying there on the floor. The rainbow that shot out of the tower was not shining brightly anymore, it was now shooting an endless pillar of smoke.
"What happened to the unity crystals!?!" he asked, "Where's the rainbow that unites all of us together!?!"
Suddenly, it came to him!
"That alicorn that kidnapped me!" he exclaimed, another flash of lightning and clap of thunder startled him out. He found stairs that exited down and ran down them as fast as he could. As he came to the bottom of the stairs, he quickly discovered he was in the same living room the night before his parents were murdered.
He was inside Sunny's Lighthouse, only this time, he was all alone. There was nopony else inside to even help him out, from this view of what he could see. Yet somehow, he managed to keep himself as brave and cunning as he could go. But the one thing that confused him now was why he was here all alone. As he trotted back up the stairs to the tower, the previous thoughts of what he went through started replaying in his head. Hoping to try and put something similar to a puzzle together, he approached the same spot he was left sleeping at earlier, only to stare down at the motionless crystals again.
Another sudden shock of thought came over him, Opaline must have done something to him to make this happen. Even worse though, if he had mention what had happened to the others, he now feared the worst they could do. He was now scared of being labeled by everypony as a traitor and have something horrible happen to him.
"She did this, she stole all the magic!" he quivered, then he collapsed on the floor and covered his face with his hooves.
"Everypony is gonna think Ah'm a traitor!" he whined, tears starting to stream down his face.
"How could she!?!"
As Lasso laid on the floor crying his eyes out, a sudden glow zoomed in. He looked on the floor, and saw its shadow engulfing the area behind him, spinning around, he soon turned into horror. He got up and backed away into the right side of the tower, in front of his eyes formed a silhouette of an all too familiar alicorn, but it was not Opaline.
"Do not be afraid Lasso." said a soothing voice from the light. Soon walking forward from the angelic light was the pony he knew; it was none other than.......
"Great Aunt Twilight!?!"
"Yes nephew, it is I, I have also brought others with me that you may know too." she said with a smile. Suddenly, the light got larger and brighter, making Lasso squint, four more silhouettes took form in the light. Then they emerged out of it as well, Lasso was in even more shock at what he was seeing. These other two silhouettes, now in full form, were Nathan Cadenza, and Apple Bloom
"Hi there grandson." Nathan said with a warming tone.
"Ya' don't know how proud we are of ya'." Apple Bloom said.
"Ah'...Ah' don't understand." Lasso responded still crying.
"You are no traitor grandson." Apple Bloom said, putting a ghostly hoof on his shoulder. "We saw everything from beyond son, that alicorn that kidnapped you did it all."
"But Ah' still feel like Ah' let everypony down, including Izzy."
Twilight approached closer, "When she put that armor on you, it was equipped with a hypnotic device hidden deep within the top. She used that device to manipulate you into obeying her."
Apple Bloom responded, "That way, with you under her control, she would take advantage of your trance. Then she condemned you into releasing the secret of dividing all pony races again."
"Ya' then told her that it was the Unity Crystals that kept everypony together, through the course of their magic." Nathan said.
"However, it was all done through the trance she installed in you." Twilight responded.
"Ya' mean, this armor hypnotized me into givin' her the secrets of equality!?!" Lasso asked them in shock and horror.
"No Lasso, the device that was in the armor hypnotized you." Twilight said.
Now it all made sense, since the little colt was now the last of the Sparkle Family, he did know about the secrets of magic. But now it was gone, and he felt like there was nothing he could do to stop Opaline. Oh, how could this have happened, how could he let himself fall victim to someone else's fowl play!?!
"The important thing now grandson, is to find your friends." Apple Bloom stated.
"And bring the magic back to the crystals for regaining unity." Twilight stated.
"But what can Ah' do about that, Ah'm just a colt!"
"Don't you worry Lasso; we will guide you to them." Twilight stated, then she, Nathan, and Apple Bloom started fading into angelic glows.
"No WAIT!!!!!!!!!!" Lasso screamed, but it was too late, they were now gone, but not fully. The ghostly trio had transformed into a triple-colored pillar of light that swirled like a tornado. Lasso gave a small smile, knowing it was them in spirit. He soon watched as the swirling pillar started moving slowly from him, and then down the stairs.
"Don't you worry Izzy, and everypony else, Ah'm comin' to save ya!" he said with a confident look, following the pillar of light down the stairs.
Author's Note
A little colt is now showing bravery, despite there being hydras!
Back at Opaline's castle, Misty was sitting there in the throne room. She had managed to help Opaline with finally getting information on the magic of Equestria, but was still hoping for getting her cutie mark. While showing an evil like attitude for her adoptive mother, she had a miserable side in her as well, plus kidnapping a colt for the info was a bit too much for her to handle. Misty also heard the cries of Lasso's pain from the other day, when Opaline tickle tortured him as a form of force to enhance the clues for division. A she sat there pondering over the recent events, a sudden flash of light caught her by surprise, causing her to stumble backwards and fall over.
The light soon engulfed the entire room, Misty laid flat on her back and watched in horror as the light beamed, soon followed by a gush of windy power. The sudden force of wind made her puffy carpet-like main blow all over her face.
"Fear not Misty, it is I." said an all too familiar voice, Misty looked up to see Opaline emerge from the light. But what the blue unicorn saw scared her back on her hooves. Opaline soon was in full form, however, she looked slightly different than her usual look. The queen showed her main flowing identical to Celestia and Luna's did back then, her eyes were an emerald, green color, glowing purple light surrounded by lightning flashed through her body.
For Misty, this was not like Opaline at all, what she was witnessing was the effects of the crystals magic at its best. Meanwhile, Opaline floated with her wings in open space, while staring at the wall. Poor Misty was now in fear of what she was seeing.
"O-Opaline, you're h-here!?!" she asked, quivering.
"Yes, I'm here, and yet I'm.....not all there." Opaline said with a synthesized voice.
"M-Mother, are you f-f-f-feeling okay!?!"
"Oh, I am feeling beyond okay!" Opaline answered, "I am feeling a sense of POWER!!!!!!!!"
The sudden screaming effect made Misty back into a corner, causing her to cover her eyes in horror. Before long, she uncovered her face and stared at her eerie looking adoptive mother. But also noticed that Lasso was not even with her, surely, he would have returned with her.
"Wait, where's Lasso?" she asked, Opaline growled in amusement.
"Oh, my dear daughter, let's just say he overdid his usefulness. So, I decided to let him rest off back at the tower."
"You mean, you left him there alone!?!"
"Yes Misty, we no longer have any need for him."
"But you said this was his new home, I even helped you make him a prisoner."
"That is not of our concern anymore Misty, I finally have what I want."
Yes, Misty could see that Opaline got what she wanted, and it now engulfed her body and soul. But was now starting to question all of what had happened, did Opaline really just use an innocent colt for a power grab?
"Now that I think about it, I can pretty much use all this magic to deprive friendship out for good!" Opaline said through her techno voice, she then laughed evilly as her horn lit up. Meanwhile, back with the group, it was looking pretty slim to none, their magic was gone, they had no flight, and no hooves were glowing.
The hydras on the other hand were feeling lucky, thanks to Opaline's interference. They all laughed evilly at seeing the pain and suffering they had inflicted on the group. Izzy was feeling the worst of it, as she not only laid motionless on the ground, but now feared that Lasso could be dead.
"Oh, Lasso." she muttered, looking at her friends through the blurred vision in her eyes. "Please come to me."
Hitch and Posey just stood there and continued arguing over everything that that happened. This left the earth ponies no chance in using their hoof magic, therefore, they could not grow anything to stop the hydras. The worst part was with the pegasus, Zipp and Pipp were too weak to even flap their wings, while Queen Haven stared at the starry sky. She was most concerned about the purple alicorn that did this to all of them but was just as weak as her daughters.
The hydras continued to torment and harass the massive group, while blowing spit and snot on them for the fun of it. The only hope for everyone now was that miracle would be brought on them. However, they did not know that sooner than expected would they actually get one.
Back in her chambers, Opaline continued to play around with the stolen crystal magic. While Misty remained in confusion and horror over what her mother had done.
"How can you even have the nerve to do all that!?!" she asked.
Opaline's horn stopped glowing, as she glowered at her adoptive daughter, "Are you starting to question your own mother, the one who found you, your only friend!?!"
Poor Misty was now even more nervous, yes, she was questioning everything. The thing she was scared of the most was admitting that this was exactly what she was doing. Opaline continued to glare at her, her eyes still glowing green from the magic, her body engulfed in lightning.
"ANSWER ME!!!!!!!" she screamed again; Misty finally had the nerve to do the right thing.
"Yes!" she whined in fear, Opaline was now outraged.
"Well my dearest daughter, or should I say FORMER daughter...." Just hearing the sound of her saying that quickly triggered a nerve in the blue unicorn.
"Since you have decided to question me and my goals, even after the times you've helped me, it has come to this."
Opaline's shadow covered Misty as she backed away into a corner, suddenly Misty was grasped with Opaline's new and improved magic. Only this was not any typical magical aura she consumed; this magic produced a painful touch when one was grasped in it. The pain this magic contained felt like hornets stinging hard like rocks, Misty was screaming in pain from the stinging of the aura.
Later, Opaline opened the door to Misty's bedroom, where she threw her against a wall.
"Now my dearest unicorn, you will stay in here until I complete what I should have done years ago!" She stated.
"NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I TRUSTED YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!" Misty screamed trying to escape her room, but it was too late, Opaline was quick enough to slam the doors shut and lock them. The helplessness of the poor unicorn was trapped in the room with her, it was now becoming clear that Opaline did not love her at all.
After a quick look of shock and sorrow over what had happened, Misty ran to the center of the room, flinging herself onto her floor bed. She now started crying over the fact that she was betrayed by Opaline, the only one who took her in and raised her.
As she cried, she noticed a light reflecting through a small window.
"Huh?" she asked, with tears still going down her face.
Author's Note
What is this strange light, find out soon.
Meanwhile, back with Lasso, he continued to follow the aura combined with the spirits of his deceased ones. Nathan, Apple Bloom, and Princess Twilight Sparkle were combined with magic that Equestria had not seen in generations. This form of magic held a powerful aroma that only a chosen pony could conjure up, if their heart and soul match the level of it. Right now, all three of them were using this magic to guide him to his friends. However, just as Lasso approached the fields, the lit aura stopped moving, and the spirits of them shapeshifted into their ghostly forms again.
Lasso got confused, "Wait, what's happenin' now?"
"Dear nephew, the forest leading to Opaline's quarters is very dangerous." Twilight said.
"We forgot to mention this to ya' Lasso, but your friends have been trapped by her!" Nathan stated.
"Opaline is willin' to kill them to keep the magic of the unity crystals forever." said Apple Bloom.
"Well, what plan do we have to stop it?" Lasso asked, "I don't know how Ah' can help them."
Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder, "Lasso, you may be young, but you contain a special force of power that runs deeply in this family."
Nathan joined her, "You will use this power soon to save your friends, and defeat Opaline."
Last was Apple Bloom, "Plus, you will use this power to restore the magic back to the crystals and unite all tribes again."
"What power is it, Ah'm too little to use powers. Mah' magic ain't even strong enough for something like power." Lasso said, but the only response he got was a trio of stilled bodies and closed eyes. Finally, Twilight spoke up.
"You will find out soon enough Lasso, in the meantime, we will continue to lead you to your friends."
But before they could continue, Lasso touched his neck, only to find that his bandana was not on.
"Wait, where's mah' bandana, Ah' always keep it on!" he exclaimed.
"Yer' bandana is fine." Nathan said, "Right now, saving yer' friends is more important."
"We must move now!" Twilight exclaimed, "It won't be long until Opaline uses her stolen powers for the worst."
Their worst fears soon came true, for the distant sounds of screaming and a deafening roar echoed miles away. This made Lasso fear for not only his new friends, and Izzy, but also the danger they were facing. Even though he did not know what to expect, he knew that he was the only one worthy of stopping this, despite him being just a colt.
"Let's go, now!" said Apple Bloom, soon she was floating in the air, along with Nathan and Twilight. Lasso finally gave a brave expression, for he now understood what he had to do. He waited until the spirits of the trio were ahead, because they left a trail of magical light behind them for him to follow.
Back at the trap, it was game over for the group, for they were defeated. The hydras had won the battle, now they were preparing to serve themselves fresh pony for their dinner, thanks to the discrimination brought on them. Suddenly, a flash of green light interrupted them before they could devour their prizes. The monstrous creatures, along with the beaten and weakened group of ponies, looked up to see none other than Opaline, bearing down on them with an evil smirking face.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?!" she asked, mockingly while flying above, "Oh yes, the poor ponies who thought they were unstoppable by so-called 'friendship'."
"H-Huh?" Posey exclaimed, seeing the evil alicorn through her blurred vision.
"Is that...." Queen Haven asked, "Opaline!"
"What have y-you done with L-Lasso!?!" Izzy asked through excruciating pain from her hydra attack.
"Oh, poor Lasso Lashes, if you really cared about him, you would have made it hard for me to take him." Opaline taunted, "But in the end, it was easier than I expected. Thanks to my hypnotic powers, and genius mind control, I was able to hypnotize him into finding your weakness. And it was discovered in the power of the unity crystals, I now have what rightfully belongs to me!"
"Y-You won't g-get away with this!" Pipp said.
"I already have!" Opaline said, she then laughed maniacally.
"Now that I have what's mine, I shall finally begin what Twilight Sparkle and her brat friends kept me from doing; keeping Equestria under permanent EQUITY!"
"NO!" Sunny screamed, but Opaline vanished before anyone could do anything. The hydras returned to their buffet style dining for eating them alive.
"Oh, if only somepony could save us!" Posey said through fear of the evil lizards about to eat them.
"Lasso, if you are alive and escaped, you'd better hurry!" Izzy stated, finally blacking out from weakness and loss of confidence. As the group of different pony races continued to argue, the hydras started to prepare their tasty, defeated ponies. Soon, they picked up the first pony they could find, the scared pony closed his eyes and trembled in fear as the scary creature opened its mouth.
But just as the poor pony was about to be devoured, a sudden glow shut the hydra's mouth shut. It was coming from a magical source, a source Opaline did not know about, the hydra dropped the pony and tried to open its mouth. Unfortunately, no matter how hard it tried, the aura was strong enough to keep the mouth shut.
"What just happened!?!" Sunny asked in surprise. Soon, the light blasted around the hydras, the lizards froze in terror as the light began to shapeshift. The crowd of ponies' jaws dropped at who the shape was taking the form of it was none other than..........
"TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!!!!!!!!" they all said at once.
"But I thought she was ancient!" Queen Haven stated.
"How is this possible!?!" Posey asked, Twilight's spirit turned back to the group as she floated in the air.
"To all the pony races, you have had your dignity and equality robbed from you. If you all work together, with me, we can stop the hydras wrath at once."
"She's right everypony." Sunny said, regaining her composure and strength. "That evil alicorn we encountered took the magic away from us. But we can have a shot to get it back, if we all work together!"
"AH'M WITH Y'ALL ON IT!!!!!!!!!" said an all too familiar voice from above, the group looked up to see Lasso, staring down at them from atop the bridge.
"Lasso!?!" Izzy exclaimed, regaining composure too, as well as her vision clearing. "Is it really..........."
"IZZY!!!!!!!!!" Lasso screamed with happiness, quickly using magic he hid from Opaline to rapidly float down into the pit.
"LASSO, I'M COMING LASSO!!!!!!!!!" Izzy shrieked, getting up on her hooves and running towards him.
"IZZY!!!!!!" Lasso yelled, doing the same thing by running towards Izzy. Once they got close enough, Lasso jumped into Izzy's hooves and clung to her while crying.
"Oh, thank hoofness." Izzy said, glad to see her little brother figure okay and not harmed.
"It's alright cowcolt, it's going to be okay." she said as Lasso cried. The crowd, along with Twilight smiled at seeing this.
"Lasso, you're alright!" Sunny said, quickly joining Izzy and petting the colt's head. Only to find out that it had been shaved.
"We were so worried about you pipsqueak!" exclaimed Pipp.
"What happened to you!?!" Zipp asked. The rest of the crowd cornered the innocent colt, especially Posey, since she was stunned to find this was the colt that they were looking for the whole time.
The hydras remained silent and stiff from the magical aura Twilight used. Back with Lasso, the reason why they were shocked was because of the armor he was wearing, plus the shaved main.
Lasso was finally reunited with Izzy and the rest of the group, along with his friends. But they were now staring at his new look, his main had been shaved, and he was wearing a black suit with armor and hoof shoes of the same color. The group could not have been more confused, what had happened to him?
"Lasso, what happened to your main?" asked Sunny.
"And where did that armor come from?" Zipp asked.
"Or maybe a better question, HOW ARE WE GONNA GET OUT OF HERE!?!" Posey whined. The rest of the group stared at her in annoyance.
"What!?!" she asked, "I just want to get out of here."
Twilight Sparkle's spirit, as well as Nathan and Apple Bloom's floated to the ground. The ghostly alicorn princess put her hoof on Lasso's shoulder, and then closed her eyes.
"The reason Lasso is like this is because Opaline made him this way."
"As spirits of the ancient times, we have the power to observe everything that happens from beyond. Opaline took him to a room where she shaved his main off." Nathan said.
"So, that evil alicorn who threw us into this pit is responsible for doing this to him?" Hitch asked, Sparky gurgled in confusion.
"Yes." Lasso said, "She even tortured me!"
What Lasso said made everypony gasp in horror!
"Is that true!?!" Queen Haven asked, Lasso just nodded out of fear of the torturing in his head. Even mentioning it made him quiver with anxiety.
"How could that evil pony do this to you!?!" asked Zipp.
Their questions were soon interrupted by the sound of the hydras breaking free from the ghostly magic. The group, along with Lasso looked up to see the three-headed creature now even more angry. It was indeed sore at them, not only because Twilight, Nathan, and Apple Bloom had ruined their dinner, but because they were overpowered by the dead.
The hydras heads grew even larger, thanks to the consuming of their anger, followed by loud growling. Soon after, the creatures heads faced up into the sky and let out a deafening roar, causing the group to cover their ears. Meanwhile, back in Opaline's castle, Misty stared at the mysterious light that somehow entered her room. Earlier, her own mother and only "friend" let her down, just because she got questionable over abandonment of Lasso at the crystal brighthouse.
The light soon engulfed the entire room, causing Misty to fall backwards on the floor.
"Misty Brightdawn, do not fear anything, I am Princess Celestia." said a voice from within the light.
"P-Princess Celestia?!" Misty stuttered.
"Yes dear one, I am here to inform you that you have been lied to. Opaline does not have any concern for you, she never has had any concern for anypony!"
Now even though Opaline had just betrayed this poor unicorn, she was not going to accept what she was just told. So, instead of accepting the information, Misty developed a defensive attitude.
"But she saved my life, she took me in when nopony else would. How can you say she's cruel?!"
"Misty, she only took you in to use you as her slave. Just look at what she's just done to you, she locked you in here without hesitation. Not to even mention all the times she has done such cruel and callous things to you."
"Don't say that!" Misty whined.
"You will have to find all this out the hard way then, because she's coming back here to finish it." Celestia's voice said, then it started fading with the light.
"Princess Celestia, WAIT!!!!!!" Misty screamed, but it was too late, her light was gone. Misty now feared of what she had just said, going back to the wall and cried. And as if on cue, it happened without even noticing it. The door to Misty's room silently opened, and Opaline, still glowing with the power of the stolen magic, waltzed in slowly. But it was not what anypony would have hoped for, the evil alicorn had a spear hidden behind her, floating in the air.
Opaline put a hoof on Misty's back and started rubbing it gently.
"Now, now Misty, I know I was such a nuisance on you earlier. But you have to understand that it was for your own good."
Misty showed a confused look on her face, how was this for her own good?
"However, I'm afraid I will have to keep it that way." Opaline said, Misty looked up to see Opaline's shadow raising what looked like a spear. She was about to kill her, just as Celestia said it was going to happen!
Misty now showed a look of courage and anger, because she now knew that Princess Celestia was right. Opaline really did not love her, nor did she care about her at all. She was nothing but a solid tool of usage for the evil queen, not a loving mother, but a master, not a daughter, but a servant. Just as Opaline was about to strike with the spear, Misty spun around just in time, and fought Opaline, the queen used whatever strength she could with her stolen magic. Trying her best and might to get the spear to stab Misty, but thanks to the blue unicorn's anger and determination, Opaline was overpowered.
Misty used her adrenaline from her rage to knock the spear out of Opaline's magical aura grasp. Then she bucked her to the wall, the spear was now in Misty's magical aura as she stormed up to her with a crazed and hateful look.
Opaline was now in complete shock, as Misty stared at her. Despite all the magic that consumed her body, she was no match for the wrath of an angered and hurt unicorn.
"N-Now, listen to me, Misty." Opaline said, trying to reason with her, but Misty was not having it!
"No, you listen!" Misty yelled, still levitating the spear, "All my life you have told me that friendship is a dark, cruel path. But now I see that the only thing so dark and cruel about it are ponies like you!"
"You are not my mother, you never were. You only took me in to use as a servant for you, you used me as a tool, you never loved me! Nor were you ever my only so-called 'friend'!"
"I've had it with you and your filthy lies! I've had it with you using me as a thief for power, and I've had it with you interfering with Sunny's friends. And now you murder a perfect couple, kidnap their colt for information on stealing power, and then abandon him!?!"
"YOU DON'T DESERVE ANPONY!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, then she broke the spear and tossed it aside. Her anger was soon interrupted by the sound of screaming coming from outside, Misty looked out the window and saw the hydras. The same ones that Opaline had under her control were now growing rapidly. Opaline showed an evil grin, then got back up on her hooves and floated with the stolen crystal magic again. For she knew what was coming for the rest of the group, Misty gasped in horror at what she was seeing though.
"They are all going to die, and you with them!" she stated, pulling out a stick.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Misty screamed in horror, she then bolted out of the room and took off running. She was not going to let all of them become eaten, but Opaline was determined to kill them, and quietly followed her now former adoptive daughter towards the exit. She also gave an evil laugh!
"That's right Misty Brightdawn, you save them, then die with them!"
Author's Note
You go Misty, you finally had the courage to stand up to Opaline!
Back with the group, it was nearing the agony of defeat for them. The hydras were now in full battle mode, the magic spell that Twilight's ghost used had now defaulted. They were now being picked up by the mouth and were about to be devoured once again. Poor Lasso did not see this moment coming, for he knew that he was a part of this mess. As the three-headed dragon monster reached its talon-like hand downward, it plucked Lasso off the ground and lifted him up.
"NO, LASSO, I CANNOT LOSE YOU AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!" Izzy screamed in horror.
"PLEASE!!!!!!!" Hitch screamed; Sparky covered his eyes in terror. Queen Haven and her daughters shook their heads in fear as well. Watching from above was the poor unicorn colt, nearing closer to the monster's mouth. As Lasso cringed in fear, seeing the monster's mouth wide open, something strange happened out of nowhere!
A flash of magical aura slammed the monster's mouths shut again, only this time, the mouths stayed closed. The monster cringed in pain at the feeling of this new aura, causing it to drop Lasso, but Zipp flew up and caught him just in time. The rest of the crowd's jaws dropped in utter shock, where did this new magical aura come from?!
It certainly wasn't Twilight's, nor was it Nathan's, despite their ghostly forms still present. It was coming from another unicorn who did not have her magic taken from her.
"HEY HYDRA CREEPS, YOU LEAVE MY NEW FRIENDS ALONE!!!!!!!!!" bellowed a female voice from atop the bridge. The crowd looked up to see none other than Misty Brightdawn, who was glowering down at the, once again, terrorized hydras with a crazed, yet powerful look of courage in her face.
"Misty Brightdawn?!" Izzy asked in confusion, what was she doing there?
"Didn't she stay with us for our sleepover a few weeks ago?" asked Zipp.
"MISTY, WHAT GIVES!?!" Sunny yelled.
"I'LL EXPLAIN LATER, I'M HERE TO SAVE YOU ALL!!!!!!" Misty yelled back, raising the spear she stole from her now former mother.
"HERE'S HOW YOU KILL A HYDRA, YOU DON'T SLICE THE HEADS, YOU STAB IT IN THE HEART!!!!!!!!" she shrieked, the hydras screamed in terror as they saw Misty aiming the spear right at them. With a quick blast of magic, and a perfect target, the blue unicorn shot down the spear. The three-headed hydra screamed in pain as the spear pierced into its chest, causing it to lose its balance.
As the hydra began to lose balance, it started to sway forward then fell, causing the trapped crowd to back up not getting crushed by the monster. Just as soon as the nightmare started to begin, it had already ended, the hydra was finally dead, causing the ponies of all races to cheer on Misty for her courage. Misty used her secretly kept magic to float down into the pit and join the group.
"Misty, you are awesome!" exclaimed Zipp.
"And sooooo, hype." Pipp said.
"Wow, I must admit, that was pretty brave." Posey stated.
Misty gave them a look of apprehension, "Well, hehe, I do know a few things about weaknesses and strengths."
"Well, we do owe it to you for figuring out how to stop this evil hydra from eating us all." Queen Haven stated.
"As do we." stated Twilight's ghost, Misty smiled at all of them, when suddenly...............
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" yelled Opaline out of nowhere, the crowd took notice at the top of the bridge again, only to see her staring at them in anger. She used all the stolen magic to speed down the cliff, and land in the same pit, still glowing like a demonic entity.
"What have you done!?!" she whined, while staring evilly at them. "My poor souls are dead!"
Queen Haven stared at her in shock, for she now knew who it was!
"Opaline Arcana, I should have known!" she stated, Zipp and Pipp looked at their mother in sudden puzzlement.
"Mom, you know who that pony is?!" Pipp asked.
"But how!?!" Zipp asked.
"Let's just say that she is responsible for the separation of all pony races. And the fact that it was because of her, that I had to hide all the magic in the unity crystals, which she has stolen!" Twilight said, staring angrily at Opaline's glowing body.
"And I know her, because she tried to annihilate all of Zephyr Heights for the magic of flight to herself. Unfortunately, she escaped before I could put her behind bars!"
"When did that happen?" asked Zipp.
"I'll tell you all later."
Meanwhile, Opaline glared at the crowd with angry eyes filled with aura. She had not been so embarrassed and humiliated like she was now, but because she still glowed from the stolen magic, it did not matter. Opaline's expression soon changed from anger and humiliation, to a sinister one, because it was equipped with an evil grin.
She laughed evilly, "You all may have killed my newborn hydra, which I had hatched earlier. But I still contain all the magic of the unity crystals!"
"We outnumber you; you know!" Posey exclaimed.
"With my new powers, numbers are of NO CONCERN TO MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Opaline yelled, while blasting a tornadic light of magic at the crowd below. They all stumbled backwards, while at the same time, the ground trembled from the shockwave.
"Oh, look at the poor ponies, nothing they have to stop me." she mocked. Misty, who was lying on the ground from the blast, glared up at her former mother. Through the POV of her eyes, she saw Twilight, Nathan, and Apple Bloom's ghosts secretly doing something unethical.
Meanwhile, Lasso finally had the courage to stand up and defend himself against Opaline's wrath. He released himself from Izzy's grasp and stormed up to the front of the crowd. Opaline stared down at the colt through her glowing eyes, and floating body, she then decided to do the unthinkable. The evil alicorn flew downward, landing in the center of the pit and causing another chain reaction. Only this one was loud enough to make everypony's ears ring!
Lasso was shaking a bit, but remained his ground as he kept on all four hooves. Opaline walked around the colt and the crowd in circles.
"Opaline, yer' nothin' but trouble." he stated, Izzy and Sunny were surprised at hearing this. As was Misty, despite all she had helped led to this happening to him. However, Opaline's powerful ego would not be hesitant to even flinch at him. She just stared at the colt with the same evil smile she had been for a while now.
"What would you care you little brat, you did nothing to stop me from getting all this magic." she scoffed. "You were too easy to control with your little coward attitude, plus when I tortured you in my dungeon!"
It was true, Opaline did in fact torture him, because the crowd gasped in horror!
"How could you!?!" Queen Haven asked in defense of Lasso.
"It was the first technique I used to get him to tell me where your weaknesses were. And because I managed to lock him in a trance, my second technique, I was able to find it in the unity crystals at your Crystal Brighthouse Sunny!"
Sunny and her friends glared angrily at her.
"Now, I do suppose I have said enough already. It's time to take back WHAT IS MIIIIIINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Opaline screamed, opening fire at the crowd of weakened ponies.
"NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" Misty screamed, managing to get up on her hooves. She used some of her magic to block Opaline's blasts, but it was no use. Opaline's stolen magic was able to overpower the magic of Misty's, so powerful that it knocked her backwards.
Opaline laughed while Lasso stared at poor Misty's condition.
"You're mean!" Lasso said, storming up to Opaline and kicking her with his hooves. The force of the kick was strong enough to make her wince and scream, but not enough to do anything to her. So, instead of flinching, Opaline grabbed Lasso and flew up to the air with him.
"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!" Izzy screamed.
"What I should have done to this little fool the moment I TOOK ALL MAGIC!!!!!!!!!" Opaline yelled back, she then started to spin around. Lasso showed fear again over what was about to happen, the evil alicorn wrapped around an aura on him, then lit up her horn. Lasso covered his face with his hooves, then it happened, Opaline blasted her magic at him.
The force of the magic was too much for the poor colt, as he felt himself being pushed at the edge of the cliff. The edge that dropped into the pit where the crowd was, the extreme blast of magic continued to push down on Lasso. Finally, he hit a rock, a rock so hard that the force of the hit made his brain hit his skull, knocking him unconscious!
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" The whole crowd screamed; Opaline turned her attention to them once again. However, she did not realize that she had just made a big mistake. Because when the crowd was not paying attention, earlier before the hydra was killed, Twilight, Nathan, and Apple Bloom ghosts had vanished.
Their spirits knew that it was time to reveal the secret powers they had hid. A power that not even Queen Chrysalis could take away, it would consume the one it had chosen to restore all magic to Equestria. Even though Lasso was just a colt, his soul and heart were seen through this special power that he was the chosen. With this power, it would turn a pony into a glowing super speed light.
The spirits of the three turned into balls of light that shined like emeralds. Circling around Lasso's body and making him wake up.
Meanwhile, Opaline cackled in victory and pointed her hooves at the crowd.
"Now I, Queen Opaline, RULE EQUESTRIA ALL FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, but a sudden booming sound cut her off. Even Sunny and the others were cut off by the boom as well.
"What the..." said one pony.
"Who...." said another.
"What...."
"What was that!?!" Opaline asked, looking around with her glowing eyes and face. Suddenly, a flash of light engulfed the entire area, causing Opaline and the rest of the crowd to squint their faces. Lasso had regained consciousness from the whiffs of light that Twilight and the other's ghosts' consumed in him. He was back up on his hooves, now bathed in a bright yellow light that looked like it came from heaven. This light around him caused him to be all white instead of brown, and his eyes were red instead of green.
Lasso soon lifted up into the air, and flew towards Opaline, circling around her to make her dizzy. The sudden consumption of light and power from this colt proved to be too much for her, because she fell to the ground in agony. Lasso then slowly floated up to her, while the crowd at the bottom of the pit stood there in shock.
"It's over, Opaline!" Lasso said with an echoing voice, Opaline chuckled nervously.
"I personally love the new look little colt, what do you say we just let bygones be bygones? I did some things; you did some things?"
Lasso would not budge though, he was now filled with courage, meaning he was no longer scared of Opaline. Nor was he even scared of her evilness and lust for power. He just glared at her with his red eyes glowing with anger and vengeance, especially for all the evil she had done.
"Y'all murder mah' parents, then ya' kidnap me....."
Back in the pit, Sunny and the others stared up at Lasso's lit up and glowing body as he floated.
"What happened to him?" Hitch asked, Sparky gurgled in confusion.
"He looks like he's been consumed with a power identical to me when I turn into an alicorn." Sunny answered.
"But how?" Zipp asked.
"It's impossible." Posey answered.
"He's finally standing firm for himself." Pipp said, "He's going to defeat her!"
Izzy smiled, proud that Lasso was finally showing courage, no longer being a coward, "That's my cowcolt!"
It soon went back to the colt, still scolding the evil alicorn for her crimes, "Ya' attacked and tried to kill mah' friends, and ya' used me in hypnotism to steal all the magic fer yerself!!!!!!!"
"Oh, what do you know about defeating me with that special power you have now?!" Opaline taunted, "You're just a colt, plus, you no longer have a family to save or protect you!"
"That's where yer' wrong!" Lasso snapped, "Ya' may have killed mah' parents, but Ah' still have a family, MAH' FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!".
Lasso then warped up and flew down into the pit, then landed. The crowd stepped back in astonishment and surprising reactions. The one pony he wanted for this was none other than Sunny, since she had powers to turn into an alicorn. The light engulfed unicorn colt held up a hoof, then took hers, like a man vowing to a woman. However, this was different at what was about to happen.
"Lasso, what are you doing?!" Sunny asked nervously, suddenly she found the same light surrounding her. As she felt power entering her body, she soon felt her magical powers returning to her. Without warning, she lifted into the air, her wings and horn soon took shape. Lasso lifted into the air as well, both of them now had powers of their own. Sunny had her alicorn powers back, and Lasso was now Super Lasso!
Sunny and Lasso flew back towards Opaline, who was looking rather nervous, " Wait, what are you two going to do to me!?!"
Instead of speaking, Lasso and Sunny used their magical powers to form a ball of light. This light ball then blasted a beam straight at Opaline, which made her scream in pain.
"What, no, NO "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Opaline screamed, feeling this light beam making her weak and defenseless. The light beam, controlled by Lasso and Sunny, was being used to drain all the stolen magic from her.
With the final blow, the light beam blew Opaline into the distance.
"JUST YOU WAIT YOU FOOLS, I WILL BE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed as she faded further and further away, until she fully disappeared into the distance of the mountains.
Lasso and Sunny then joined hooves again, using the same light beam to blast into the sky. The magic that was stolen was now being returned to all races, even shooting right back to Maretime Bay where the Crystal Brighthouse was. The aura from the long light beam used itself to lift the unity crystals back to their original formation. Thus, all three crystals were restored, then they shot the rainbow back out of the tower and into the sky.
The earth ponies all saw their hooves glowing green, the pegasi began flying again, and the unicorns horns glowed. Especially Izzy's, since she felt light and consumption of magic enter her mind again.
It had been two days since magic had been restored to everyone, the earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns could not have been better. Even though it was victorious that they had won against the villain, it was not so great for poor Lasso. Despite his heroic efforts with Sunny's alicorn powers and his supersonic powers, he still had lost his parents from Opaline's scheme, and was now homeless. But little did he know that he was not going to be homeless at all, but that was not to be known until such time. Lasso's troubles had finally ended victoriously though, he removed the armor he had worn, and Zipp retrieved his bandana to put back on his neck.
All the magic and friendship were back, but there were absolutely no smiles or joy today. Rather frowns and crying instead of that. In the center of the town of Bridlewood, there was a place called "Magic Touch Funeral Home", where ponies would mourn the death of another pony. Inside one of the rooms, there was a massive group of ponies in all kinds sitting down in assigned seats. Sunny, Hitch, and Sparky sat in the third row. Zipp and Pipp sat with Queen Haven, who had Cloud Puff with them leashed on the second row, escorted by their guards. Finally, Izzy sat in the front row, Lasso sitting in her lap as he fought back against tears. Izzy kept her hooves locked around him to make sure he was comforted and not alone.
As all the crowd just sat there in the room, some crying, some hanging their heads low, the head of the funeral came up. He was named Dead Ringer, a unicorn who had profession in having crowds mourn respectfully and comfortingly for the loss of loved ones. Even better he was good friends with Lone Star Jr. and Granny Smith III, and their deaths hit him just as badly as it did to poor Lasso. Their casket was a two person one, the front lock was opened to reveal their shelled bodies resting in peace.
Dead had a specially written eulogy all formed and prepared, he began to quote it in a deep voice.
"Lasso Lashes, Izzy Moonbow, and fellow ponies. We lost Lone Star Jr. and Granny Smith III only a couple of days ago, but we have missed them for a very long time. We have missed their creative presence, their reassuring attitudes, and the happy ending that we had wished upon them. It has not been long since that they gave us the warmth and shade from heat they provided for us. Yet, it is still very sad and hard to let them go."
"Lone Star Jr. and Granny Smith III belong to the ages now, yet we preferred it when they belonged to us. In the life of good fortune, they valued above all the gracious gifts of their son, Lasso Lashes, who still lives now. During their time, they would pass tons and tons of hardships, from the great drought of the golden era to the loss of our magic. But, alongside their son, there was another unicorn who they said would make them feel lonely, just by leaving their home. Bridlewood honors you Izzy Moonbow, the honor, love, and perseverance that you gave this family through such hard times. Lone Star Jr. and Granny Smith's spirits now dwell in a better life beyond the trees, and beyond above all else."
"By the time the sun sets on Bridlewood, Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, and the rest of Equestria's skies tonight, they will shine. Shine their new angelic light of love over the winds and rain that we will always face. Rest in peace my friends, you brought such love and honesty to us all."
Once the eulogy was over, it was now time for each member of the group to say what they wanted to about the couple. Once that had ended, a projection screen started up, music played at the screen started showing pictures of Lone Star Jr. and Granny Smith III's lives and moments together. As Lasso watched the pictures on the screen, he could not take it anymore and buried his face in Izzy's chest. Izzy gave a saddened look and rubbed his back as he quietly cried.
Later that afternoon, everypony had met up at Izzy's place for condolences and discussions. The biggest problem was that not only was Lasso now the last of the Sparkle family, that meant he did not have anyone for a godparent or even a legal guardian. Not in that family that was, there was a special secret that Izzy had kept hidden from him for a year up until now.
Pretty soon the big crowd had left, leaving only the main cast to stay, they all comforted poor Lasso.
"Ah' wish there was somethin' Ah' could've done to stop her from that!" he cried.
"There was nothing you could have done." Zipp replied.
"These things just happen in a flash sweetie." Queen Haven said, "And sometimes so fast, that nothing can stop it from happening."
"But, if Ah' just gotten there....." Lasso quivered, but Izzy shushed him with her hoof.
"Lasso, you could not have stopped it, even if you had made it. Besides, you could have been dead as well." Izzy replied.
Lasso sniffled, "Ah' wish they were still here right now, Ah'm gonna miss them!" Sunny walked up and rubbed his back.
"I know sweetie, I understand what it's like to lose your parents." she said.
Lasso looked up at her with tear filled eyes, "Y-Ya' do?"
Sunny nodded her head, "You know, you were lucky to have both a mother and a father, all I had was a father. I never knew anything about my mother though. But the truth is, my father is dead as well, I miss my dad just as much as you are going to miss your parents."
Lasso reached his hooves out to Sunny, who did not hesitate to catch him in her hooves. He then cuddled her and nuzzled her chest in thankfulness. Before too long, something came across Izzy's mind, but it would have to involve just her and Lasso.
"Um everypony, can you all leave now?" she asked the group, while having Sunny give Lasso back to her.
"Why Izz?" asked Pipp.
"Is there something wrong?" Hitch asked.
"Um no, I want to be alone with Lasso right now, just me and him?" she stated.
"Of course, dear, we understand." Queen Haven stated, "My daughters and I have flowers to make for their graves anyway."
"Yeah, Hitch and I have stuff to take care of too." Sunny said.
"We'll see you all later, okay?" Hitch said.
"Gotcha." Izzy said, the main cast then left Izzy's shop and shut the door, now it was just her and Lasso as she wanted it.
"Why did ya' do that?" Lasso asked her, Izzy just smiled, "Well you see cowcolt, there is something I have been meaning to show you. But I needed it to be private between you and me, come on champ."
Izzy put him on her back and she guided him to a place where he had never been. Despite knowing the entire store and home.
Author's Note
Dead Ringer's eulogy is a parody of George W. Bush's eulogy for Ronald Reagan's funeral in 2004.
Izzy Adopts Lasso (Final)
Lasso's moments of being with his parents were sadly over, but he knew they would always be with him in spirit. For now, he was focused on what Izzy was wanting to show him and was eager to find out. Izzy walked down the corridor of her home with him riding on her back, getting close to view was a door at the end of the hallway. Finally, they stopped, and Lasso climbed off of her back and with a quick thrust of magic, Izzy slowly opened the door. It was just a closet, but there was an object on the floor of it, a black lock box. It had a little bit of dust on it, but that was because Izzy had opened and used it a few times in the past.
She used her magic to spin the correct combination numbers, since the lock was an attached combo one. Once she had the right numbers in place, it unlocked to reveal a bunch of papers and envelopes.
"This is it?" Lasso asked, "This is what ya' wanted to show me, papers?"
Izzy giggled, "No silly, there is one thing in here that I waited to tell you about."
"What is it?" Lasso asked.
"You see cowcolt, when I first met you and your parents, they told me about what you did not have. They mentioned that you did not have any family left, no parents, no grandparents, no brothers or sisters. How you all were the last and only living relatives left of Twilight Sparkle's ancestry."
"Yes?" Lasso said, raising an eyebrow.
"After I hired you as my workmate for jewelry making, they saw how quickly we bonded. Not to mention they adored that you had a second pony to look up to as family. They really appreciated the fact that you always saw me as a second mother to you, or at least a big sister."
Izzy used her magic to dig through the piles of papers and envelopes, until she came across one. It was a yellow envelope, the kind one would put special forms or papers in for safe keeping. This envelope was kept at the bottom of the lock box for a special reason, it contained something very important of matter, something special.
"Your mom and dad got so happy by what we became, to where they finally had something. They found that I had such a good heart and soul for you, so one day, we had a meeting. Now you were outside playing with your friends that day, but they discussed with me about what would happen if something happened to both of them. The first thing they told me was that their property was to be sold, except for the furniture. Secondly, they said that you were to be placed in a good home, with the help of a unicorn who adores you."
Izzy opened the envelope and out came two forms of documents.
"And that somepony they wished to place you in a good home with................"
The documents were now in Lasso's full view of his eyes, and they read:
"For whom it may concern, in the event of any atrocity or our own deaths. We wish for our son, Lasso Lashes, to be under the hoof of Izzy Moonbow, whom we leave in her care. It is a valuable promise she gives us through her actions of trust, she is willing to accept the responsibility of taking care of our son, our business, and our property."
Lasso was on the verge of tears again, but these were tears of joy. He looked up at Izzy with complete happiness, for he now realized what was happening. Izzy on the other hand, stared down at him with a sad smile, a comforting smile too. She placed her hoof on his chin, keeping his focus on just her. She wanted to have him endure this happy moment for as long as he lived.
"That special unicorn is me cowcolt, I am now your legal guardian." she stated.
Lasso's eyes watered up fully, he could now sense that there was hope for him after all. Izzy stood on her hind legs and opened her forehooves wide. While keeping her saddened eyes and comforting smile functional.
"Come here you!" she stated, Lasso wasted no time and jumped into her forehooves. He then wrapped all four legs around her neck and belly, while burying his face in her chest, the same way at his parents' funeral. Only this time, these were not tears of sadness, or sorrow, they were tears of happiness!
For the longest amount of time, Lasso and Izzy just kept themselves close together. While Lasso cried his eyes out, Izzy rubbed his back in comfort.
"Shhh, I know cowcolt, I know." she said. Finally, Lasso stopped crying and stared up at his new legal guardian. The bottom of his eyes covered with tear stains, which Izzy quickly wiped away.
"Well, what do you say?" she asked him.
"Ah'...Ah' did not know this." Lasso stated with joy, but soon learned he was still in Izzy's grasp.
"Um, Izzy will ya' put me down now?" he asked her. But Izzy just stared at him.
"And why should I do that?" she asked him back.
"Because Ah' want to be put down."
Izzy kept a smile on her face, closed her eyes, and shook her head then said "Mm, mm, mm!"
"I am going to keep you in my hooves for the rest of the night, you know why?"
"No, why?"
"Because you are cute, and I love you very much." she answered, giving Lasso a kiss, "Plus, it's getting close to your bedtime."
As if on cue, Lasso let out a soft yawn, he was starting to feel tired from everything. Especially all the adventure he had endured for the past couple of days. It was finally over, now he could live a normal life once again. As Izzy carried him downstairs to a room with a sectional sofa, she placed him on it.
"Why here and not a bed?" Lasso asked, Izzy went into a secret compartment. Quickly pulling out sheets and pillows, she climbed on the sectional, and laid down next to him.
"Because this is your first night here with me, so I'm going to make it good." she responded, throwing the pillows on their heads. Then she used her magic to tuck themselves in, Izzy made sure her little one was nice and warm. She did that by wrapping her hoof around him and pulling him closer to her.
"Are you warm enough sweetie?" she asked him, Lasso nodded with half-lidded eyes. Izzy could tell he was already getting sleepy. Because within a matter of minutes, he fell fast asleep while Izzy smiled.
She kissed his little cheek, "Good night Lasso, I love you." before she fell asleep, she felt Lasso snuggle closer to her until he was comfortable.
"Ah' love you too Izzy." he said, before he was fully asleep.
"Welcome to your new home cowcolt." Izzy stated, soon they were both asleep.
