Spike woke up the following morning with a yelp as water splashed him in the face.

“AAAAH!” Spike jumped.

“Wakey wakey hay bacon and veggie!” Twinkle said cheerfully.

“Twinkle?! What the hay?!” Spike complained looking at his soaked PJs.

“Oh don’t be a sourpuss, here!” Twinkle lit her horn and all the water on Spike evaporated.

“Whoa, how did you do that?” Spike asked.

“No time Spikey let’s get moving! We overslept!” Twinkle said picking Spike up in her magic and darted down the halls at lightspeed.

“AAAAAHHHH!” Spike yelled as they arrived at the door which Gummy was already at and he tugged on a rope to open the door.

“Thanks Gummy gums!” Twinkle said as she darted past.

Gummy just blinked slowly and wandered off to go see what Owlicious is doing.

Spike held onto Twinkle’s tail as she darted to the train station, when she stopped he got flung and she caught him by his foot and set him down.

“Whoaa….” Spike said sounding dizzy “Couldn’t you have just teleported?” Spike asked.

“Still working on my distance control,” Twinkle shrugged.

“Well, glad we got here before-” Spike looked at the clock and widened his eyes in shock “Six thirty?!” Spike turned to Twinkle who stared at him.

“What?” She asked.

“You brought me here saying we were late, why are we here super early?” Spike demanded.

“We were late,” Twinkle clarified.

“It. is. six-thirty, how is that late?” Spike asked.

“Late for being early,” She shrugged.

“....” Spike facepalmed “You dragged me out of bed with cold water in my face, for this?” Spike grumbled cursing the Pinkie logic.

“C’mon!” Twinkle sat down on a bench and patted it for Spike to come over.

“As long as I can sleep on it,” Spike grumbled.

Charity exited the Boutique at seven-thirty sharp, she was carrying a suitcase full of clothes and was wearing a cream-colored dress with black lines on it.

“Bye Sweetie, I will be back in a few days, You remember the plan right?” Charity called.

“Yeah,” Sweetie poked her head around a corner “Spend the next few days with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I’ll make sure to lock up the store before leaving,” Sweetie said.

“Thank you Sweetie dear, be sure to help out with the twins too,” Charity said before taking her leave with one of her designer umbrellas.

“Sure thing!” Sweetie called after Charity before running to the window and checking to see if she was gone, when she could see that she was she pulled out a walkie-talkie.

“Operation private investigators is a go!” Sweetie said.

“Got it! Meet us at the train station, and don’t let anypony see you,” Scootaloo’s voice said from the other side of the walkie-talkie.

Twinkle and Spike sat on the bench, Twinkle still bouncing her leg and Spike was snoozing.

Twinkle’s Twinkle sense tingled and she looked at the sky to see a familiar green pegasus descending.

Zap Apple landed and folded her wings.

“Ah’m here, what- Huh?” Zap noticed Twinkle and Spike “Where are you two going so early?” Zap asked.

“Ugh…” Spike woke up at the sound of her voice and sat up “Oh hey Zap,” Spike yawned.

“We’re coming with ya silly!” Twinkle said.

“Ah wasn’t informed of this,” Zap said.

“Neither was I,” A familiar soft voice came from behind Zap who turned to see Charity.

“Hi girls! Now we can get this show on the road!” Twinkle jumped up and hugged her two friends closely.

“Twinkle, why are you coming too? Not that that is a problem,” Charity said.

“Duh, where my friends go, I go! Besides, my Twinkle sense told me to expect some kinda big trouble down that way,” Twinkle said.

“Big trouble?” Zap parroted.

“Yep! But we’re no slouches,” Twinkle said before sitting again.

“If there are any problems ah suppose we can deal with it, but whose going ta watch our jobs while we’re away?” Zap asked.

“Cheesie is watching Sugarcube Corner while we’re away,” Twinkle said.

“And Discord promised to watch over the town while we’re gone,” Charity said.

“Mk,” Zap said sounding unsure.

As the group waited around three smaller figures skulked around the background.

“Alright, Got the hair?” AB asked.

“Check,” Scootaloo said.

“Got the materials?” AB asked Sweetie.

“Check!” Sweetie said.

“And ah made sure to let the town think we’re having an extended sleepover, so we’re in the clear,” AB said,

“Ok, what’s the plan again?” Scootaloo asked.

“We sneak into Manehatten, find evidence of a rising threat, sneak back, get Spike to send a message to Celestia and get our own first crack at being the heroes,” AB said.

“I’ll say it again, if we end up kidnapped, I blame you,” Scoots said.

“Noted,” AB rolled her eyes and resumed “Ok, we got this girls, can’t let our sisters hog all the glory, so we need a hundred and ten percent,” AB said.

“Now we wait,” Sweetie said watching her sister sitting at the station.

A half an hour later

“All aboard!” The train conductor called.

“Sounds like time,” Zap said getting up and walking to the train.

“Alright,” Charity said standing up and walking to the train with the others in tow.

“Woot! Adventure time!” Twinkle said as they got on the train. Nearby the CMC entered the train hidden amongst the crowd.

After a few minutes, the train doors closed and the train left the station and went on its way.

Zap Apple looked out at the open sky sadly.

“What is wrong Zap?” Charity asked.

“Ah’d rather fly than be on the train, ah bet ah could clear the distance in minutes,” Zap said eagerly.

“Patience dear,” Charity said soothingly.

“Yeah, we can play games! I brought Monopoly and Twister and Cards against ponanity-” Twinkle said before Zap shook her head.

“Ah’d rather fly,” Zap said.

“You’ll get your chance,” Charity said.

Sweetie, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sat in the back of the train entertaining themselves with whatever games they brought.

“Y’know, we could get in serious trouble if we’re caught,” Scootaloo said.

“I know, but risks like this make the trouble worth it, right?” Apple Bloom said.

“I dunno, I don’t want Charity to use her new stare on me, I heard from Discord that that stare is lethal,” Sweetie shuddered.

“Me neither but we’ll be okay, we’re the CMC and we get out of scraps like this every day,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah!” The other two cheered.

A few hours later

The train whistle blew signaling the approaching stop, AB, Scoots and Sweetie kept to the crowd that was departing and kept low.

They snuck out of the train and made for an alleyway.

As they peeked out they thankfully saw that the group didn’t notice them.

“Alright girls, time to do some investigatin!” AB said as they snuck away.

“HELLO MANEHATTEN!” Twinkle cheered.

“Calm yerself Twi, we’re here fer a little bit,” Zap said.

“Oh, actually for the entire day and a night, I booked us a hotel,” Charity said.

“WHAT? Ya never said we’d be gone that long,” Zap exclaimed.

“I told you during our second conversation while you were violently assaulting trees, did you not make plans?” Charity asked.

“Ah… told Granny ah’d be back soon, guess ah lied,” Zap said sorrowfully.

“It’s not a lie if you didn’t know,” Spike said.

“Still,” Zap said.

“We can send her a message later, for now let us go to our hotel to check in and perhaps a lunch, before getting to work,” Charity said as she led the group away.

After checking in the group arrived to see their room.

“Wow, not half bad,” Zap complimented.

“Yay! Big beds!” Twinkle ran and jumped onto a bed and began bouncing on it.

“I still find it so strange to see a mare who looks like Twilight acting like Pinkie,” Spike admitted.

“None of that, we’re here to enjoy ourselves, I propose a shower beforehand, I’d be remiss if I didn’t make a good first impression,” Charity said before walking over to the restroom.

“I call next! And make sure the bathsoap is both shampoo and conditioner!” Twinkle called after her.

“Very well,” Charity said.

“Ah call last,” Zap said sitting down.

“I should have last since I take alot of hot water,” Spike admitted.

“Good point,” Zap said before laying down and lowering her stetson over her eyes.

Twinkle continued to bounce like the hyperactive bookworm she is.

The CMC made their way down some streets.

“So…. do we even know where to start?” Scootaloo asked.

“Not really,” Sweetie said.

“Duh, we gather some clues, let’s go,” AB said as they ran up to a diner and went inside.

As they went inside they noticed it was emptier than they first thought.

“Huh? Oh hey,” A depressed-looking earth pony said as he scrubbed the countertop.

“Hello sir, Three hamburgers and a side of intel,” AB said.

“What?” The pony said.

“Sorry, what my friend meant is that we’re looking into current events, seeing how we’re visitors,” Sweetie said.

“I haven’t seen you three around before,” The pony said.

“We’re from out of town,” Scoots added.

“Well you best not poke your noses where they don’t belong, there’s been a series of mass kidnappings,” The pony said.

“Kidnappings?” AB said as they sat on the stools.

“Yeah, nopony can figure out who’s doing it, but it’s causing a bit of a stir, you best go to some other city,” The pony said before resuming his depressed episode.

“Are… you ok?” Scoots asked.

“...No…” The pony said.

“Want to talk about it?” Sweetie said.

“...No,” The pony said.

“Did you know any of the victims,” Sweetie asked.

“...Yes, my brother,” The pony said.

“We’re sorry to hear that Mr…?” Apple Bloom paused.

“Dumbwaiter,” The stallion named Dumbwaiter said.

“Did you know where your bother was last?” Scoots asked.

“No, and like I said stay out of it, I'm not going to be the reason three more fillies vanish,” Dumbwaiter said sharply before leaving.

“...Guess this is a dead end then,” Scootaloo said.

“Guess so,” AB said before the trio left the diner.

Charity and her friends were eating at a local eatery.

Charity was enjoying a salad, Zap, Spike and Twinkle were eating hayburgers.

“Enjoying the food?” The waiter asked.

“Yes, it is delightful,” Charity said.

“Will there be anything else?” He asked.

“Nah,” Zap said eating some fries.

“I’ll pay,” Charity said and she handed the bits to the waiter.

After their meal the group made their way down to a shopping district.

“Very well darlings, I need to visit some stores and have a discussion with the owners, we’re on a schedule so let us not linger,” Charity said as she led them into another boutique.

“Sure sure…” Zap said distractedly.

“What’s wrong Zap Apple?” Spike asked.

“Ah’d rather be back at the farm workin than wastin time in a city,” Zap sighed as Charity walked over to a manager and was having a discussion with them.

“Charity wanted this to help you take a break,” Twinkle pointed out.

“Ah don’t need breaks, ah’m a strong mare,” Zap said gruffly.

“There’s strong and then there’s arrogant, and your being arrogant about your capabilities Zap,” Twinkle said.

“Scuse me?” Zap demanded.

“Just saying, you could stand to admit even you have limits,” Twinkle said.

“Ah don’t do limits, ah’m the greatest flier in Equestria,” Zap said before walking off.

“She’s definitely got Rainbow’s arrogance combined with AJ’s smugness,” Spike said.

“She needs to see her limits,” Twinkle said “Maybe one day,”

“Where did Zap go?” Charity asked when she walked back to them.

“She’s still claiming she can’t lose,” Twinkle said.

“I swear,” Charity said before leading her friends to where Zap was, she was sitting on a bench looking miffed.

“Dear, why don’t you come with us to the next store?” Charity asked.

“So ah can look at more fru fru dresses? No thank you,” Zap said.

“No so you can try them on,” Charity said.

“Again, pass,” Zap said.

“Oh come now, is wearing a dress that much of a blow to your pride?” Charity asked.

“Yeah, ah’m not doin it,” Zap said.

“Zap, I plead with you, try at least one dress,” Charity said.

“Yeah, we can be dress buddies!” Twinkle said.

“....Just one?” Zap said.

“Just one, you never know when you’ll need it,” Charity said.

“....Fine, but I pick it,” Zap said.

“Ok,” Charity said looking happy that she agreed.

The CMC made their way downtown, so far every place they ask about the kidnappings tell them the same thing that dumbwaiter said.

“I’m getting the feeling we’re no closer than when we started,” Scoots said.

“Ah don’t get it, James Buck made this look easy,” AB said.

“Should we just sneak our way back to Ponyville and leave it to our sisters?” Sweetie suggested.

“Like we always do? Not happening,” Apple Bloom said.

“There’s always some kind of clue, we just need to find it,” Scoots said.

“I’m getting tired…” Sweetie complained.

“Persevere Sweetie, we need to get a clue,” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah we… wait, look!” Apple Bloom pointed at a regiment of guards who were questioning several ponies.

“Those are guards, we should get out of here,” Scoots said.

“Nono, maybe they know something,” Apple Bloom said.

“Your kidding, we can’t question a guard,” Sweetie said.

“Yeah, we can, just watch,” Apple Bloom said as the three approached the few guards that were gathered.

“Excuse me!” Appel Bloom said and the guards turned to them.

“Hello?” The guard up front said.

“Hey, we were… doing a test for school and it’s on…heroes at work! And we were hoping you guys could help,” AB said.

The guards seemed pleased to see that somepony was showing in interest in the guard's work, but the front guard responded first.

“We’re sorry but we’re very busy, there are mass kidnappings occurring throughout Manehatten, come to think of it where are your parents? It’s not safe to be out alone,” The guard said with a serious tone.

“We’re just out to play and were curious about the current events,” Scoots said.

“Well, I am afraid we cannot divulge that intel.” The head guard said before they took their leave.

“Told ya,” Sweetie said.

“Ah thought they would fall fer it…” Apple Bloom said looking upset.

“Fall for what?” The group turned sounding startled and they saw a green colt with a pink mane.

“Oh! Hello, uh… who’re you?” AB asked.

“I’m… Cotton Mane,” The colt said not very convincingly but the CMC didn’t notice.

“That’s a weird name,” Scootaloo said and Sweetie elbowed her.

“What she meant was can we help you?” Sweetie said.

“I’ve been looking around for my missing mother and I came across you three, I overheard you talking about locating the missing ponies.” He said.

“...An what are you gonna do? You ain’t gonna tell are you?” AB asked.

“On the contrary, I think I know what happened,” Cotton said.

“You do?” Scoots said with a raised brow.

“They were kidnapped,” He said.

“...We know, we’re searching for them,” Sweetie said.

“But I know who took them!” Cotton said.

“Really? Who?” AB said excited that they found a lead.

“A mean pony named Storm!” Cotton said.

“Storm? Odd name,” Scoots said.

“I’m pretty sure it’s a pen name,” Cotton muttered.

“What?” Sweetie asked.

“Nothing, I actually saw someone get kidnapped earlier but the guards don’t believe me!” Cotton explained.

“Where?” AB said.

“Follow me,” Cotton said running off.

“Hold on!” AB called as she and the others chased.

In a nearby alleyway, a familiar hooded pony was watching them before disappearing.

Charity levitated multiple dresses and picked each one up and held them in front of Zap.

“Ah said ah only wanted one!” Zap said.

“And you may have one, after we’re done with the fitting,” Charity said using her power to conjure a measuring tape and she expertly checked Zap’s sizes.

“Can’t believe ah got talked into this,” Zap grumbled.

“Hmm… alright, your quite a bit larger in muscle mass than normal mares, so we’ll need a dress with larger sleeves,” Charity mumbled in her zone.

“Nothin pink either,” Zap said.

“But pink is my favorite,” Twinkle said wearing five dresses at once.

“Twinkle! Get out of those extra dresses or you’ll overheat,” Charity said.

“Aww,” Twinkle said before spinning and she somehow had the dresses off and back on hangers.

Meanwhile Spike sat outside looking tired, having nothing to do in a dress store.

“Ugh, being a guy surrounded by girls is tough sometimes,” Spike said.

“Zap, you gotta choose one,” Charity said.

“No matter which ah look at they all look fru fru,” Zap complained.

“Then allow me,” Charity said before she grabbed Zap’s hand and dragged her into the changing room.

“Wait, yer goin in with me?” Zap said incredulously.

“Yes, I want to make sure my results are final personally,” Charity said.

“But-” Zap tried to say.

‘No butts missy,” Charity said with a smile and she led Zap into a room.

A half an hour later

“Come on! I wanna see her!” Twinkle bounced excitedly.

“Patience Twi,” Spike said.

“I’ve been patient! I wanna see!” Twinkle looked like she was about to shoot into the ceiling from her excitement but the door opened before that happened.

“Go on Zap Apple,” Charity’s voice said.

“Ok… ah still feel silly though,” Zap said as she exited the changing room dressed in a cream-colored dress.

“Ooooh! So pretty!” Twinkle said.

‘Ya… really think so?” Zap asked looking a little shy all of a sudden.

“Yeah, you look like a mare who’s ready to go dancing and smack down any stallion who comes onto you,” Twinkle said.

“Thanks… ah think,” Zap said “Can ah change back?” Zap asked.

“Sure dear,” Charity said and they reentered the changing room.

The CMC followed Cotton around a corner.

“We’ve been following you for a while, where are you taking us?” Scootaloo asked.

“Trust me, I know where I am going,” Cotton said.

“Hold it,” Scoots said.

“Huh?” Cotton paused and turned to the CMC.

“You’ve said that like a dozen times, are you sure you know where we’re going?” Scootaloo asked.

“Of course, in fact we’re almost there, she got kidnapped around that corner!” Cotton said pointing at an alley.

“...Girls, I don’t like this, something is up,” Sweetie said.

“What do ya mean? We could be near a real scoop,” Apple Bloom said.

“Think of it, why would he bring us here? There are fewer ponies living in this area… and he kept being vague, girls, he might be the kidnapper,” Sweetie said.

“Sweetie it’s three on one, he couldn’t be stupid enough to actually-”

“I couldn’t help but overhear,” Cotton said.

“Hmm?” The three looked his way.

“Well I guess if you don’t trust me then I can’t find my mother… you won’t help, the guards won’t help, nopony cares…” Cotton looked sad.

“Mmm… Alright,” Scootaloo said not liking his weeping.

“Scoots?” Sweetie said.

“I’ll check it out alone, if anything happens book it,” Scoots whispered to them.

“What? We can’t just leave ya in a bad situation,” AB said.

“Don’t worry, I’m a tough fighter,” Scoots said before walking to Cotton.

“So you’ll help me find my mommy?” Cotton asked.

“I’ll go, since my friends are too scared of alleyways,” Scootaloo said.

“Ok, thank you for trusting me,” Cotton said with a teary smile.

“No prob…” Scoots said picking up a rock “Just in case…” Scootaloo said quietly as she entered the alleyway.

“Careful Scoots,” Sweetie said.

“Hmm? There’s nothing down here-” Scoots was suddenly grabbed off her hooves by a tall burly figure.

“Aaaah!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Thank you for being such a chump,” Cotton snickered.

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie and Apple Bloom called.

“Girls run!” Scootaloo exclaimed before swinging the rock and hitting the burly pony in the face.

The stallion grunted in pain and dropped her and she ran at Cotton.

“Your gonna pay!” She said.

Cotton easily sidestepped her swing and tripped her.

“Ah!” Scootaloo tumbled.

“NO!” Apple Bloom got ready to run in and assist… before green tendrils snatched both fillies off the ground and pinned them.

“AAAHHH!” Both cried.

“Girls!” Scootaloo got up.

“Hi boss, I lured them here as you told me to!” Cotton said.

“Good work,” the hooded pony said as he walked out of the darkness, his hands aglow with green fusion magic.

“LET THEM GO!” Scootaloo got up and tried to run at Storm but Cotton got in her way.

“Outta the way!” Scootaloo took swings at the smaller earth pony colt but he easily dodged and struck her to the ground.

“I may not look it but I’m quite tough, the two colts I am composed of knew martial arts,” Cotton laughed.

“Grr!” Scootaloo got up but the burly pony grabbed her and held her in a bearhug.

“AGH! Let us go!” Scootaloo called.

“No can do, you three were caught snooping in our business, and bossman doesn’t like snoopers,” The burly pony said.

“Easy Red Hammer, we don’t want to damage the material,” Storm said.

“Who are ya? Why are ya kidnapping ponies?” AB demanded.

“That is neither your concern or business, let’s move before anypony else sees us,” Storm said as he dragged the two fillies with him and Red Hammer carried Scootaloo off.

Thinking quickly Apple Bloom shook her head until her bow fell off.

Hopefully that will provide clues as to their location…

The group was walking out of another boutique.

“How many boutiques did Rarity work with again?” Spike asked sounding tired.

“Approximately fifteen, so just five more,” Charity hummed.

“Ugh…” Spike groaned.

“Cheer up Spikey! We still got alot of fun things we can-” Suddenly Twinkle's tail twitched and she paused as her mane and eyes twitched as well.

“Twinkle?” Spike asked worriedly.

“I sense… something wrong,” Twinkle said.

“It’s probably just yer imagination,” Zap said.

“Yeah… maybe…” Twinkle said going into deep thought before she moved on with the group.

Author's Note

The CMC let their pride get in the way and now their in Storm's clutches.

Can they be saved or will they be another missing ponies case?

I had a bit of a creative surge and made this chapter, hope you guys like my hard work.