It was the middle of the night and the inside of the Marestream was in complete darkness. In the rear cabin, Zipp, Pipp, and Feather Breeze were laid in their camp beds, snoring away peacefully. However, whilst Izzy and Hitch were both asleep in the cockpit, the last camp bed was empty. Even the bedsheets and covers were missing.

Misty groaned as she hung her wet bedsheets on a washing line that she’d strung above the campfire. Sighing, she sat down and grimaced before looking sorrowfully into the flames.

“Even when she’s supposed to be gone, she haunts me,” she scowled. “Well, I'll show her. I’m not going to waste this time. I’m going to make use of it by practising.”

She stood up and closed her eyes before taking a deep breath to help herself focus. However, before she could start, she felt a tingling sensation in her horn that made her eyes widen in shock. “W...Wait, it couldn’t be!”

Desperately, Misty’s horn glowed as she activated the messaging spell she’d taught Sunny. However, it wasn’t her voice she heard.

“Misty? It’s Strawberry. Please, I know it’s late, but I’ve been working so hard on this spell. When you get this. If…If you get this. P…Please let me know if it’s worked this time.”

“Strawberry!” Misty gasped in surprise before she grinned.

Taking a calming breath, Misty’s horn glowed as she activated the spell to respond. “Strawberry, it’s Misty. You’ve done it! I got that loud and clear.”

“OH! Oh, thank hoofness! I was starting to think I’d never get this spell to work. Misty, I’m so sorry, I was so conceited and overconfident when you were trying to teach me before. I’m so sorry that I let you all down. That I let you down.”

Misty smiled. “It’s fine, it all worked out in the end. I was so glad to read the message saying you were okay after what they did to you.”

“M…Misty, I…I don’t deserve that.”

“Of course you do. You’re my friend so of course I’ll worry about you.”

“I’ve got way more to learn than I ever thought. I…I couldn’t even escape the bindings they put on me. R…Right, so what’s happening now? I’m still at the castle so can update Queen Haven for you. Are you at the Quarry?”

“Yeah, we’ve set up a camp nearby. We’ve got a hide set up too and we’re working on a plan to rescue everycreature. I...It’s just taking some time.”

“Okay, you need to know, something big is happening with the Hippogriffs. Their Queen arrived at the castle yesterday. She was very upset that her daughter wasn’t here.”

Misty gasped as her heart sank. “If you mean Princess Coral Cloud then her delegation was attacked by the Nirik. Tell them that her guard, Skysurf, is one of the many captured Hippogriffs in the Quarry. We’ve not been able to confirm if Coral Cloud is here yet. I…I’m going to try and find out.”

“O...Okay, I’ll let Queen Haven know. P...Please, be careful.”

Misty smiled, “I will, I’ll message you with updates from now on.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting. Be careful, Misty.”

Misty sighed as her horn stopped glowing and she looked around the campsite. “T…That settles it then,” she murmured. “I have to get into that Confinement area.”

Meanwhile, Izzy let out a groan as she turned over for what felt like the hundredth time. Grunting, she tried to get comfortable but grumbled as her ear picked up a sound and twitched on impulse.

She ignored it, keeping her eyelids clamped shut. However, her ear twitched as it picked up the sound again. Groaning she opened her eyes and grumbled, “W…What is that?”

She pushed herself up off the bed and looked around the cockpit. Hitch was still sound asleep, his bed pushed as far into the corner as it would go, ensuring he was away from the two mares.

Izzy looked towards Misty’s bed and gasped, it was empty. Misty wasn’t there and neither were her covers.

“W…Where?” she gasped as her head shot back and forth before she gasped dramatically. “She’s been pony-napped! Wait, why would they take her covers?”

Suddenly, Izzy’s ear twitched as she heard the same noise again, one she realised was a familiar voice coming from outside. Her eyes widened and she started shouting, “I’m com…”

Izzy's shouting made Hitch snort and Izzy, not wanting to wake him yet, immediately clamped her hoofs over her mouth, mid-shout.

“I’m coming, Misty,” she said far quieter before hopping out of bed. She took a few steps before she gasped and froze. “Oops, better make sure my place is saved. It’s jinxie if I don’t.”

Quickly, she retrieved Senor Butterscotch from where he’d been sitting on the control desk and put him in her bed. After tucking him in snugly, she carefully exited the cockpit and headed through the Marestream.

Eventually, Izzy stepped out of the Marestream and spotted the fire was burning away. Then she saw Misty’s sheets dangling from the washing line. However, she couldn't see Misty anywhere. “Huh, I could have sworn…” she gasped dramatically again. “She really has been pony-napped!”

Just as she was about to go back inside and wake everypony, there was a flash as Misty appeared next to the fire. She had her back towards Izzy and, after looking down at herself, let out a groan of despair before sitting down with a ‘flump’.

“It’s no good,” Misty groaned. “It’s still not working reliably.”

Grinning, Izzy skipped towards Misty gratefully. “Misty! I thought something bad had happened to you!” she gushed. “What’s not working?”

Misty’s eyes widened and she squeaked with surprise. She tried to both get up and turn around at the same time, losing her balance and ending up in a heap on the floor.

Izzy gasped and offered Misty a hoof. “S…Sorry, guess you didn’t know I was here.”

“O…Oh,” Misty gasped as she took Izzy’s hoof. “N…No, I didn’t.”

Izzy smiled as she helped Misty up. “So, why are you out here? Why are your sheets hung up?” she gasped. “Wait! What’s not working? I thought you’d said you weren’t going to stay up late anymore!”

“I…I’m not,” Misty blinked. “Well… I… Err…”

“Misty?” Izzy said worriedly. “Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

Misty closed her eyes and sighed. “I had a nightmare,” she admitted. “S…Some of the things that are happening. What I’ve seen. They reminded me of Opaline. Of some of the things she...she..."

“Oh, Misty,” Izzy gasped worriedly as she pulled her into a hug. “A…And the sheets?”

“They were kind of covered in sweat,” Misty admitted as she returned the hug gratefully. “So, I hung them up over the campfire to dry. Oh! But I have some other news too. Strawberry, she’s learnt the messaging spell.”

“But I thought you couldn’t learn it?” Izzy blinked.

“Oh, not that one. The one I taught Sunny.”

“Oh, that messaging spell,” Izzy chuckled. “There’s so many.”

“Yeah, there kind of are,” Misty chuckled lightly. “I spoke to her for a bit but my sheets are still wet. So, I thought I’d practice multicasting the invisibility and teleporting spells.”

“Oh, and will it work?”

“It kind of is now, just not reliably,” Misty sighed as she broke off the hug. “I’m sorry for waking you, I’ll move further away. I promise, when my sheets are dry, I’ll go back to bed.”

“Wait, Misty, do you want to talk about your nightmare?”

Misty grimaced as she looked down and closed her eyes. “N...Not really.”

“But, sometimes, talking about them helps,” Izzy sighed. “I had lots of nightmares after the fire. Eventually, Alphabittle found out and convinced me to talk about them. Sleeping got better after that.” 11

Misty sighed as she looked at Izzy gratefully. “O…Okay, getting a load of stuff off my chest sounds good. But I…I kind of don’t want the others to know.”

“Okay, so let’s go to the hide,” Izzy nodded seriously as she held out a hoof. “Don’t worry, you can count on me. We’re family.”12

Gratefully, Misty nodded and took Izzy’s hoof. Her horn glowed and, with a flash, they both disappeared.

Much later, after the sun had risen, Misty, Pipp, and Hitch sat in the hide, watching the Quarry.

Misty scowled as she looked intently through the binoculars, making notes in her notebook. Hitch frowned as he glanced at it, noticing how it looked much fuller than previously.

However, his attempts to keep an eye on what Misty was doing were thwarted by Pipp who was sitting between them. She’d not visited the hide and her first experience was an eye-opener. “So, the Ponies are all pulling carts of this ore stuff?”

“No,” Hitch groaned. “The Ponies are pulling carts of stone and rock. The stuff they don’t want. The Griffons and Hippogriffs are flying the ore in baskets to the shorter inclines.”

Pipp blinked and she gasped as realisation hit her. “Oh yeah, you said the smaller inclines are taking stuff down and the big central one is taking stuff up.”

“Pretty much,” Hitch grumbled. “Can you focus on watching now, please? I’m trying to help Misty look for Coral Cloud.”

“But I’ve not seen Sunny yet, where is she?” Pipp pouted.

“On Level One,” Hitch sighed. “I don’t think you should look for her though. You won’t like seeing how chained up she is.”

Pipp went silent as she looked through her binoculars. However, it wasn’t long before she let out a cry of dismay. “Sunny! Oh, Sunny what have they done to you!”

Hitch couldn’t help groaning. “Pipp, I told you that Sunny was all chained up.”

“Yes, but… but…” Pipp cried as her bottom lip trembled. “What even is that thing on her face?”

“A muzzle,” Misty murmured absently. “She won’t be able to speak.”

Pipp's eyes widened in shock. “She can’t even speak! Oh! I can’t stand it! MISTY! Can’t you just teleport down there and rescue her already?”

Misty’s eyes widened and she squeaked in surprise. “N…No, I can’t… I can’t do that.”

“Why?” Pipp wined.

“Because if she did then Allura would know we were here,” Hitch explained. “That would put rescuing Sprout and the others at risk. Let alone Feather Breeze’s family and friends.”

Pipp gulped, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. “Y…You’re right. That was selfish of me.” Her eyes narrowed with determination. “We have to rescue all of them. Every. Single. Creature.”

“Exactly,” Hitch smiled.

“Pipp, could you keep an eye out for Coral Cloud?” Misty asked. “She’s a light pink Hippogriff with a yellow mane and tail. She’d likely be in Confinement like Sunny so look for her on that same level.”

“Okay,” Pipp nodded. “I bet she’ll be all chained up the same then.”

“Yeah, probably,” Misty sighed.

"Okay, let's see then," Pipp said as she resumed looking through her binoculars.

As silence returned, Misty continued making notes. Hitch frowned as he watched out the corner of his eye, trying to make out what she was writing. However, he was starting to get a good idea of what she was doing.

A short time later, Pipp cried out again. “Wait! Where are they taking Sunny?”

“What do you mean?” Hitch frowned as he turned his full attention back to the binoculars. “It’s not even lunchtime yet, she should be out pulling the cart with Sugar Moonlight until dusk.”

“Sugar Moonlight?” Pipp frowned. “You know I keep thinking she did something, but I can’t remember what.”

“Sugar Moonlight was one of the Filly Four,” Misty blinked. “You can’t remember her?”

“Oh! I remember Sugar,” Pipp gasped. “But the Filly Four haven’t been heard of in ages. That’s what I couldn’t remember.”

“Okay, okay,” Hitch gasped as he scanned the level with his binoculars. “Where’s Sunny exactly? I can’t find her at all now.”

“Oh, she’s walking down a narrow path all the way to the left,” Pipp directed. “She’s got chains between her and two Nirik. Same for Sugar.”

Hitch spun around and trained his binoculars in. When he eventually found Sunny and Sugar he gasped. “That’s the trail to Level Zero. What’s happening? Misty, are you seeing this?”

Misty gasped and abandoned taking notes. She zoomed her binoculars in and quickly found Sunny and Sugar. “Y…Yeah, I see them.”

“Did the creatures say much about Level Zero?” Hitch asked. “I know that's where all the main buildings are but Feather Breeze doesn't know what they are."

“They’ve not mentioned it,” Misty sighed. “But from what we’ve seen they don’t spend much time down there. Only the Nirik.”

“And Allura,” Hitch gasped.

“Oh, no, nono,” Pipp wined. “Oh, my hoofness, they’re taking them to see Allura, aren’t they.”

All three could only watch as Sunny and Sugar were escorted inside the largest building on Level Zero. Located in the middle, right next to the lake.

Pipp looked at Hitch desperately. “What can we do?”

“There’s nothing we can do,” Hitch sighed. “Apart from waiting until they come out.

Misty groaned in frustration. “But we still won’t know what happened. Why couldn’t I have gotten that stupid message spell to work?! Then I could have found out!”

“But it looks like you’re planning to find out,” Hitch sighed.

Misty squeaked and looked back at Hitch in shock. “I...I don’t know what you mean?”

“Misty,” Hitch sighed. “You’ve been making notes all morning about getting into the Confinement area.”

Pipp gasped as she looked at Misty in shock.

“N...No I haven’t,” Misty stammered, looking worried. “That’s silly, Hitch. HaHaHa. T...There’s no way, no. There’s no way I could do something like that.”

“Yes, there is, Misty,” Hitch said calmly.

“You are doing what you always do when you’re trying to lie about something, Misty,” Pipp sighed.

“No. No, I’m not,” Misty gasped. “Wait, what do you mean?”

“We’re your friends, Misty,” Hitch smiled.

Pipp nodded. “We know you and pick up on things like that.”

Misty sighed and looked down in defeat. “Okay, yes,” she groaned. “I’ve been working out how I’d sneak in and check ALL the huts in the Confinement area.”

She picked up her notes and passed them to Hitch.

“Misty,” Pipp sighed as she pulled her into a hug. “You don’t have to lie to us. Just tell us.”

Misty groaned as she returned the hug. “I’m sorry, I...I just didn’t want to be told not to. I...I...”

“Want to look for Coral Cloud,” Hitch frowned as he checked the notes. “You’ve got it written here.”

“Y...Yeah. Yeah. That’s it. That’s totally it.” Misty gasped. “You haven’t met Skysurf. She’s so worried that Coral Cloud is here. I...I just want to help her. When Feather Breeze needed help yesterday, I forgot all about it.”

“Who is Coral Cloud anyway?” Pipp blinked.

“She’s the Hippogriff's Princess,” Misty explained. “Skysurf is her personal guard and best friend. She’s actually really surprised you and Zipp are here.”

“Hey, where you all go, we go,” Pipp grinned.

“Oh, there's something else," Misty groaned. "I'm so stupid, I should have told you already. Strawberry has learnt the messaging spell, the one that I taught Sunny.”

“She has,” Hitch blinked. “What did she have to say? Have you told Zipp?”

“I mentioned it to Zipp but she was distracted,” Misty groaned. “It’s even more important we find Coral Cloud now. Her mum, the Queen, is in Equestria with Queen Haven. I’m not sure why but she was upset Coral Cloud wasn’t there.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I bet mum will be keeping her happy,” Pipp smiled. “You’ll have to message Strawberry when we’re all around."

Hitch frowned as he passed the notes back to Misty. “Okay, that plan actually looks pretty solid.”

“What!” Pipp gasped looking shocked. “You’re letting her do it! But… But…”

“Y...Yeah,” Misty blinked. “I thought you’d stop me. That’s why I didn’t say anything.”

Hitch took a deep breath. “Misty, seeing you will be a huge morale boost for Sunny. Finding Coral Cloud has just been made a higher priority too. I…I’m also nervous…”

“Nervous?” Misty blinked.

“Nervous that you’re going to need to do a lot more down there than you realise,” Hitch sighed. “Zipp is talking about overloading the collars. Whatever solution she finds will involve doing something down in that Quarry.”

“And I’ll have to do it,” Misty gasped as her eyes widened.

Hitch nodded. “Yeah, being able to turn invisible means you should be able to get almost anywhere without issue.”

“B...But... But I’m clumsy,” Misty babbled as she started panting for breath. “I’ve got four left hoofs. I’ll... I’ll....”

“You’re not clumsy all the time,” Hitch reassured. “You got into the Ponies Hut without issue.”

“Wait! No, there was issue!” Misty gasped. “Lots of it! You...You just couldn’t see it.”

“And neither could the Nirik,” Hitch reassured. “Misty, from up here, nothing looked out of place that night. You navigated around all the patrols expertly.”

Pipp gasped. “B…But, Hitch, you really think sneaking into the area with the highest security is the best way to build Misty’s confidence?”

“It’s just a step up from sneaking into the main huts,” Hitch explained. “Going down there now, in the middle of the day. That’s way riskier. There’s lots of creatures walking around and lots more Nirik then at night.”

“A…And you think she’s going to need to do that?” Pipp asked worriedly.

“I do,” Hitch nodded.

Misty was gasping for breath, trying to calm herself down. “O...Okay.... Yeah... I...I think your right and to do that I’ll need to trust more in my invisibility spell.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her eyes narrowing with determination. “I can do it. I’ve just got to trust myself.”

“But... But... But...” Pipp stammered.

“Pipp, the patrols overnight are way more predictable,” Hitch explained. “We do need to know more about what’s in those huts in the Confinement area as well.”

Pipp took a deep breath. “Okay, okay, I understand. I know you wouldn’t be agreeing to this if you didn’t think Misty could do it.”

“Thanks, Pipp, Hitch,” Misty sighed. “I didn’t think about needing to go down there in daylight. Yeah, even thinking about that makes me way more nervous.”

Hitch held the notebook up and passed it back to Misty. “That’s why you need to do this. Although, let’s speak to Zipp before you implement it.

Misty nodded as she took the notebook. “Yeah, I’ll feel a lot happier if she looks over it too.”

“Okay,” Hitch smiled. “Why don’t you teleport yourself back to camp and speak to Zipp? Get her to come here if you can.”

“I’ll come with you,” Pipp suggested. “Zipp may need some convincing to stop what she’s doing.”

“Thanks, Pipp,” Misty smiled.

“I’ll keep an eye out for Sunny,” Hitch reassured.

Elsewhere, Zipp frowned as she updated a case board in the back of the Marestream. She’d just pinned a note saying ‘Coral Cloud’ to the board and run a red thread to a photo of the Confinement area.

She took a step back and groaned. Picking up her phone, she began making notes. “Well, Coral Cloud complicates things. We know next to nothing about the Confinement area. There could be any number of creatures in there that don't come out and work.”

She looked at a photo of one of the watchtowers and sighed. “The inside of the watchtowers too. The equipment Skysurf and Giselle saw, it could be the key and I know nothing about it!”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of the Marestream that made Zipp growl with annoyance. “Iz! I thought I said I didn’t want anything!”

“It’s not Izzy,” Pipp’s voice said from the other side of the door. “She’s not actually here.”

Blinking, Zipp headed to the door and opened it to find Pipp and Misty standing on the other side. “Sis? I thought you were at the hide?”

Pipp held out Misty’s notebook towards Zipp. “We were, but we need you to help Misty with this.”

Blinking, Zipp took the notebook. She scanned the open page and gasped. “I...I was literally looking at this. Misty, I agree, we need to know more about the Confinement area. Like who’s trapped in there and how we get them out.”

“S...So can you come and help with checking out the plan?” Misty asked hopefully.

“W...Well...” Zipp blinked unsurely. “I was kind of busy.”

“Please, Zipp,” Pipp gasped. “You literally just said we need to know more about the Confinement area.”

“I’d feel way happier if you did,” Misty admitted. “I’m worried I’ll mess it up.”

Zipp smiled reassuringly. “I don’t think you will, even with just a glance this looks pretty good. But, let me just grab my notes. I’ve got other things I ought to discuss with you.”

She disappeared inside the Marestream as Pipp and Misty grinned at each other. “Well, that was easier than expected,” Pipp smiled.

“Y...Yeah,” Misty gasped worriedly. “What other things does she want to talk about?”

“Probably what we were discussing,” Pipp suggested. “Misty, you’ve got this. I know you do. You just need a little bit of confidence. You’re amazing.”

Misty closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I’ve got this.”

“Yeah you do,” Pipp grinned. “You’re the pony, Misty!”

“Of course she is,” Zipp grinned as she reappeared. “I’m ready.”

Misty opened her eyes and held out a hoof which Zipp took in her own.

“Thanks, Pipp,” Misty smiled as her horn glowed and the pair of them disappeared with a flash.

A short time later, Pipp sighed as she sat in the seating area. Once again, she was alone and had nothing to do.

“Pipp?” Izzy blinked as she approached the camp with Feather Breeze. “We thought you were at the hide this morning?”

“Well, Misty kind of needed both Hitch and Zipp to help her with something,” Pipp explained.

“Oh,” Izzy said brightly. “Are they working on her plan?”

Pipp blinked with surprise. “Y…You know?”

“Yeah,” Izzy beamed. “I spoke to her about it last night after she… Err… Actually, I kind of promised I wouldn’t talk about that part.”

Pipp smirked. “I suppose it’s okay for sisters to have their secrets.” 13

“Wait, Misty and Izzy are…” Feather Breeze blinked. “But Misty told me she was taken from her family when she was young.”

“She was,” Izzy sighed. “But when my parents were lost in a fire her dad, her actual dad, Alphabittle, took me in. He’s more like an uncle to me but now the three of us are like a family.”

Feather Breeze nodded understandingly. “I just hope we’re able to save my family soon,” she admitted. “I know getting the plan ready takes time though. I...I just wish I could help more. If only there was some way to stop the purr affecting me.”

Pipp frowned as she tapped her chin. “Well, maybe there could be. Ooh, let me have a think about that and get back to you!”

With that, Pipp hurried inside the Marestream, leaving Feather Breeze and Izzy to look at each other with confusion.

Author's Note

11 - In Marking the Generations, we learnt that Izzy's Father was Alphabittle's best friend and therefore Izzy had always thought of him as her Uncle. Therefore, when both her parents were lost in a house fire he immediately took her in, caring for her for the last few years needed before she could live on her own.
12 - After Misty reunited with Alphabittle. Both her and Izzy now share a sisterly bond. Even though they aren't actually Sisters.
13 - Important to note, Queen Haven and Alphabittle haven't yet fully informed their respective daughters of how their relationship is developing. That's one for a future story to handle!