G5 Adventures in Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movieby ponydog127ChaptersMeeting New Friends in Piqua, Ohio and Trouble at Jerome Horwitz ElementaryFeel the Magic/Where's Allura's Brother?Welcome to Treehouse Comix Inc./Meeting Kendra's FamilyThe Mandatory Invention Convention/Forced to Separate Classes and a Family Forced ApartMorning Talks and Snooping Around the Office/The Real Captain Underpants and a City-Wide ChaseCaptain Underpants in the Treehouse, Snooping around Krupp's House and the Impending DivorceCaptain Underpants, Undercover and Hiring the New Science TeacherThe Science Class of Professor P/Alterro, Poopypants and Melvin Team UpRestoring the Arts Program, the School Carnival and the Hypnosis BackfiresPainfully Separated and the Villains' Plan is RevealedThe Final Battle CommencesA Bitter-Sweet Ending for All InvolvedMeeting New Friends in Piqua, Ohio and Trouble at Jerome Horwitz ElementaryAfter comforting Allura about her worries about her long-lost brother, Alterro, the Mane 6’s cutie marks lit up for a Unity Quest once again, quickly prompting them to drop Sparky off in Allura and Twitch’s care, say goodbye and jump into the portal before it closed. They had no idea where they were going this time or what to expect, so our heroes would have to brace themselves for whatever they might find on the other side of that portal. And hopefully… it wouldn’t be a mission too dangerous or risky that they could handle no problem. However... I think that we all know by now that's probably not going to be the case. XXXXXXXX The bright blue sky was clear, and the sun was shining brightly over a medium-sized, bustling city, called Piqua, in the wonderful state of Ohio. Birds twittered as they flew through the air all the while the denizens went about their days. A heavy wind picked up as the swirling, multi-colored portal opened up, allowing the Mane 6 to hop out of it and take a look at their surroundings. “Huh… it looks like we’re in a town of some kind,” said Hitch with a curious look as Zipp and Pipp referred to their FlyPad and phone. “But, which town is it?” “Looks like we’re in the town of Piqua, Ohio,” Zipp said, showing them a map on her FlyPad. “Pipp and I installed high-powered GPS apps to our devices, so even when we’re in different worlds…” “We’ll always know where we are!” Pipp added with a cheerful smile, hoof-bumping her sister. “Good thinking, you two,” Sunny smiled before the Mane 6 glanced around a bit more. “Now, we just have to figure out why the Unity Crystals sent us here and who they want us to help.” That’s when Izzy pointed her hoof at a nearby building, which seemed to be a large elementary school named ‘Jerome Horwitz Elementary’. “It may just be my luminescence talking, but… maybe we should try there?” “Jerome Horwitz Elementary? Yikes…” Pipp grimaced. “Somepony must REALLY need help if they need to name their school that of all things.” Zipp looked at her sister with a weird expression. “And… what would YOU name an elementary school exactly?” “Oh, a lot of different things,” Pipp scoffed. “Unity Crystal Academy, Unity Elementary, Pipp Petals Prepatory… okay, the last one is a little on the nose, but still! Those are a lot better than Jerome Horwitz Elementary!” “Come on,” Misty said, breaking the two sisters up. “Let’s go and see what we can find out. But be careful-- some of these kids might not react well to seeing ponies, so let’s keep as out of sight as we can without me and Izzy using the invisibility spell.” The ponies nodded to this before steadily creeping toward the school, trying to stay as out of sight as they possibly could to prevent a potential panic. But as they got closer, they managed to see three small figures laying down near the metal bleachers, causing them to hide behind the bleachers so they could get a better look. As it turns out, there were two human boys and a young flying leopard cub getting out paper, colored pencils, crayons and other craft materials, as if wanting to make some sort of book. The first boy (named George Beard) had brown skin (since he was African American), wearing a white collared T-shirt with a red and yellow striped tie and had a crew cut haircut. The second boy (named Harold Hutchins) was blonde-haired boy with a large, fluffy hairstyle. His outfit usually consisted of a green and white striped t-shirt, brown shorts and light blue slip-on shoes. But the flying leopard cub, named Kendra was interesting. She seemed to be around the same age as the boys, and she had a light, bluish-green pelt, deep blue eyes, blue spots with lighter blue rosettes inside of them, a blue nose, wings with blue feathers and a cutie mark of a whitish-gray cloud with three snowflakes underneath it. And as the Mane 6 watched from behind the bleachers, Harold, George and Kendra began to work on their latest project, with Harold writing the story and Harold drawing all of the pictures while Kendra supervised the scene and added her input. “All right, okay. So, a long, long, long, long time ago…” George began as they began to draw out the comic book, “...in a galaxy far, far, away... there's a planet called Underpanty World.” “Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait,” Harold said, stopping George as he quickly erased half of the Earth-like planet on the page and redrew it in order to make it seem like the planet was wearing a pair of white underpants. “Okay, go.” “Oh, man, that’s perfect!” Kendra said with an excited giggle. “Keep going, George!” “Okay, okay,” George laughed before he and Harold got right back to creating their comic book. “Underpanty World was a peaceful planet where everybody wore only underwear… until it started to blow up for some reason.” Kendra sighed and shook her head at this. “It’s always the peaceful planets that get blown up, don’t they?” “...I have no idea what the heck they’re doing,” Hitch whispered to the other ponies as they watched, “but honestly… I think I kinda like it.” “Meanwhile,” George continued, unaware of the Mane 6’s presence, “the leaders of Underpanty World, Big Daddy Long Johns and his wife Princess Pantyhose saved their baby by stretching his underwear really far and then they shot him into space.” “Right before it blew up, right?” Harold asked. “Right,” George nodded. “ And then he crashed on earth and he was raised by some nice fi…” But that’s when George noticed that dolphins had been drawn on the page instead of farmers. “Dolphins?” “Yeah, dolphins,” Harold nodded, seemingly proud with his choice. “Just go with it.” “Well… okay,” Kendra shrugged uneasily. “If you say so.” “So, the dolphins found the space baby and decided to raise him as their own,” George continued the story. “But, the space baby grew up fast.” Next, the boys drew out a scene where an egg salad sandwich (seemingly alive for some reason) was flying across the sky before taking out a gigantic bridge, putting a school bus full of kids in danger until the space baby saved the bus by strengthing his underpants across the giant gap. “Faster than a speeding waistband!” Kendra said enthusiastically, pouncing at a butterfly as she spoke. “More powerful than boxer shorts! Able to leap tall buildings without getting a wedgie!” “...huh?” the Mane 6 seemed to mutter, but shrugged either way as they continued to watch the three friends finish making their comic. “He fights for truth, justice, and all that is preshrunk and cottony!” George added as they were just about finish. “For he is…” “Captain Underpants!” Harold concluded, writing the title on the front page. “The Origin Issue.” “It’s so good,” George said, laying back on the grass. “But you know,” Kendra said with a hum of thought, “we should have done an origin issue ages ago.” “Yeah,” Harold nodded. “Like… first.” Suddenly, George frowned at one particular detail. “You know, I'm not sure about the dolphins, though.” “Yeah, I know,” Harold nodded in understanding. “It's just, I didn't know if it was the thing where it's like, good weird or bad weird. Like is it something…” Just then, a large man who was mostly bald (except for a rather pathetic looking toupee) with a pear-shaped body, a piggish nose, a white shirt, a brown tie and green pants, marched right over and ripped the comic book in half, causing Kendra to scream. “NO!!” “The origin issue!!” Harold sobbed. “I've told you three a thousand times,” said the man, “not to draw these idiotic comics!” “Come on, guys!” Zipp whispered to her friends with urgency as they watched the man continue to rip the comic book apart. “Those kids might need some help!” “You’re right, Zipp,” Sunny whispered back. “We might wanna get out there before…” Suddenly, Kendra charged her front paws with magic before using them to make a cross. “FREEZE!!!” Suddenly, the scene before them, except for Harold, George, Kendra and the Mane 6 completely froze, causing the Mane 6 to freeze in their own shock. “Whoa….” Pipp commented as the Mane 6 slowly walked out of hiding to approach the three kids. “Did that cub literally just stop time?” “Apparently,” Misty commented. “Her magic must be more powerful than most cubs her age.” “Huh? Oh, hey there!” Kendra said, noticing the Mane 6 coming toward them. “Where did you guys come from? And… how were you not affected by my time freezing power?” “It… could have something to do with the fact that we’re not exactly from here,” Sunny said with a nervous chuckle. “I’m Sunny, and this is Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, Zipp and Misty.” “Hey, everybody! Wait one second,” George said, moving a few pieces of comic book from the air so he could see the group a bit more clearly. “Hi. I’m George Beard, and these are my best friends, Kendra and Harold Hitchins.” “Hey,” Harold greeted the ponies with a smile before he frowned, holding some pieces of the destroyed comic. “Aw, man.” “It’s okay,” Kendra purred against Harold’s side. “I’m sure you boys can come up with some more ideas.” “This seemed to be quite the comic book you guys were working on,” Hitch said as he picked up a piece of the comic book. “This… was a comic book, right?” “Actually, yeah,” Kendra nodded. “You see, Harold loves to draw and George loves to tell stories, so we kinda put their talents together to make comic books.” “And… the old guy who ripped your comic apart without any kind of remorse?” Pipp glanced at the man with a worried expression. “Oh, this guy looking angry right here?” George let out a scoff. “Well, this is the worst principal in the world, Mr. Krupp.” “Mean old Mr. Krupp…” Harold grumbled. “Hates anything fun. Like comic books… recess…” To show the Mane 6 what Harold meant, Kendra used her magic to move some of the broken comic book pieces into moving pictures, and the first one was of three kids playing jump rope until Krupp cuts the rope with scissors. “Christmas…” Harold continued, with the pictures becoming a winter setting with Santa riding in his sleigh before flooring it back the way he came after Krupp jump-scared him. “Even kittens!” Then, to the Mane 6’s horror, the last moving picture showed Mr. Krupp using a flame-thrower on a little gray kitten, causing it to yowl in pain. “Oh my gumdrops!!” Izzy cried out in panic at the last part. “Did that really happen?!” “Well, no…” Kendra shrugged. “Not technically.” “BUT IT MIGHT AS WELL HAVE!!” Harold shouted angrily, causing the ponies to reel back. “I’m sorry,” Harold apologized sheepishly, “I’m… I’m still mad about the comic.” “Yeah, me too,” George sighed as he sat down next to Harold again. “But remember, this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this to our comics.” “Yep, he’s burned them, shredded them, torn them apart page by page…” Kendra named off. “Basically… he’s a huge jerk.” “Man… it sure sounds like it,” Zipp frowned. “You guys must hate going to school every day.” “It has its up and down moments,” George shrugged. “Kendra, you better unfreeze the scene now. We already know what’s gonna come next.” “You’re probably right,” Kendra said, and as George covered his ears, she made her paws glow again and made the cross with her paws again. “And… unfreeze!” It was then that the scene unfroze and the pieces of the comic book fell down around the group while Mr. Krupp unfroze too. “In my office… NOW!!!” he shouted to Kendra and the boys before marching away. “And bring those weird-looking horses with you!” “Horses?! DOES NO ONE AROUND HERE KNOW WE’RE PONIES?!!” Pipp cried out, out of being appalled and out of general frustration. But seeing that the group didn’t have much other choice in the matter, the ponies followed Kendra, George and Harold back to the school to get a stern talking-to. XXXXXXXX A few minutes later, in Mr. Krupp’s office, the principal sat glaring at the boys and Kendra, alongside their new pony friends, who he had decreed were trespassers on school property, for what seemed like a long time, his toupee flying off his head with the breeze of the fan and then plopping back on his head when the fan went in a different direction. After a moment, Izzy became increasingly uncomfortable with Mr. Krupp staring at them, and leaned over to whisper to Harold. “What is happening right now?” “...I don’t know,” Harold whispered back. “He’s never done anything like this before, and we’ve been to his office almost 500 times.” “500?! Man… I’ve never gotten in trouble that much,” Zipp whispered, “and even I was a little rebellious when I was little.” “Do you think he fell asleep with his eyes open?” George had a sudden thought. “Maybe…” Kendra shrugged, beginning to climb down from her chair. “Let’s try and leave and see what happens.” “Okay, but let’s be quick,” Hitch whispered to the others rather cautiously. “If he did fall asleep, who knows when he might wake up and catch us.” But the second the group began to creep toward the door, Mr. Krupp slammed his hand on a huge red button on the desk, causing a highly-automatic door to come up and lock the group inside the office. “Door lock activated.” “Wow,” Hitch blinked in surprise. “That’s an expensive door.” “It was a choice between the magnetic automatic door closer and the music and arts programs,” Mr. Krupp said proudly, thinking about when he shut down the music and arts programs rather swiftly a few months prior. “Pretty sure I made the right choice.” “...not for music lovers like me,” Pipp crossed her hooves with a mutter, “but… I’m just a pegasus. What do I know?” But then, Mr. Krupp got up and began slowly walking over to the window. “This morning's school sign is supposed to read ‘Sewage plant field trips are today’,” he said before opening the blinds of the window, his gaze directed at George, Harold and Kendra more than anyone else. “So, can any of you explain why it now reads ‘Come read my hairy armpits’?!” As the Mane 6 glanced out the window and realized Mr. Krupp was right, Kendra and the boys tried to stiffle their laughter about the joke, which only made Mr. Krupp angrier. “I know you three are responsible.” “Whoa, whoa, hold on a second!” Hitch said with a frown. “Just because Harold, George and Kendra find that funny doesn’t mean they’re responsible for something.” “Yeah, how do you know?” George asked the principal. “Do you have any proof? I mean, this is a country of law.” “The proof is here,” said Mr. Krupp, who was confidently patting his stomach. “Inside my gut.” “He must have a lot of proof in there,” Harold whispered to George and Kendra before doing their special ‘quiet fives’ hand shake. “Quite fives…” “Quiet fives!” George and Kendra whispered in unison, causing the Mane 6 to giggle. However… Mr. Krupp looked even more annoyed than before. “Ever since you attended this elementary school, you've been responsible for one prank after another.” “Oh, come on, they’re just kids having fun,” Zipp frowned at how unfair Mr. Krupp was being. “I mean, how bad can those pranks be?” However... Mr. Krupp was able to show files of all the pranks that George, Harold and Kendra had pulled just this year alone, which may or may not have included tampering with the school water fountain, dropping water balloons down on Mr. Krupp from the school roof, putting a tiger into their science teacher's classroom and scaring him half to death, putting a sign on the men's bathroom to make it seem like the women's bathroom AND filling the entire school with bubbles coming from the cafeteria. Needless to say... the Mane 6 were stunned, looking at their newfound friends with wide eyes. “Wow,” George commented. “That’s a lot of pranks.” “Yeah, when it’s cut all together like that,” Kendra voiced her opinion, “you really get a sense of the scope.” “Oh, yeah,” George nodded. “Some of those must've been really hard to pull off.” “And dangerous!” Sunny added, looking at the trio in surprise to see them so calm. “Like that tiger?!” “Oh, the tiger was crazy,” Kendra agreed. “He was like a… friend of a friend of my family, so we’re cool.” “AGH!!!” Mr. Krupp slammed his head on the table before directing his attention back to the matter at hand. “For the four years you boys have been here and for the year that Kendra has been here, you three have been disrupting the carefully calibrated, drone-like beehive that this elementary school is supposed to be. I may not be able to prove it yet... but I'm gonna get you two one day. One day very, very soon.” But while the Mane 6 looked intimidated by the evil grin Mr. Krupp was giving, Kendra and the boys merely shrugged, looking perfectly calm. “Okay.” “Fair enough.” “Works for me.” “Uh… Mr. Krupp, if I may, me and my friends are gonna be in Piqua for a while anyway,” Misty said, trying to kill two birds with one stone with what she was about to say. “So… why don’t we stick around the school for the next few days and make sure these three… behave themselves, so to speak?” “You mean like… glorified babysitters watching our every move?” Harold looked at them with surprise and boredom. “Boring!” “Trust us,” Pipp whispered back. “It’s a lot better than getting your butts kicked by this glorified principal of yours!” “Shh!” Sunny quickly shushed the others before turning back to Mr. Krupp. “So… what do you say, Mr. Krupp? Do we have a deal?” “Hmm… I don’t know,” Mr. Krupp said in suspicion. “Will I have to pay you?” “Nope-- not a cent,” Hitch reassured, a confident smile on his face. “We do it out of making sure our friends are happy and safe from pretty much everything.” Mr. Krupp finally sighed after a moment. “Fine… you’re hired. Just get these three out of my office. NOW!!!” “Uh, yes sir! Right away, sir!” Izzy yelped as the group gathered their things. “Won’t happen again, sir! We’re going, sir!” And with that, the group immediately departed from Mr. Krupp’s office, not wanting to anger him further. George sighed as he adjusted his name plate over one of two chairs in the office before turning to the Mane 6. “You see what we're up against?” he asked the ponies. “And that's just a typical day at Jerome Horwitz Elementary.” Kendra let out a judgmental scoff, looking at some of the kids around them. “More like Jerome Horwitz Penitentiary.” Upon looking around, the Mane 6 began to realize why Kendra would say such a thing-- all the kids looked miserable, some banging their heads on the lockers, and some of them counting down the hours until they would head home for the weekend. One of those kids, a young boy named Tommy, walked across the hall when he saw Kendra, George and Harold. “Hey, guys.” “What’s going on, Tommy?” George asked with a smile. “Same old, same old,” said Tommy depressingly before he crawled into one of the small lockers, causing Harold to sigh and shake his head out of sympathy. “Poor kid.” “Have things always been this bad around here?” Misty asked their new friends in concern. “The kids being miserable, I mean.” “Just see for yourself,” Harold gestured to the classroom off to the side, where the teacher inside, Mrs. Ribble, was teaching some history to some very bored and miserable-looking first graders. “Time to have fun with history,” she said, getting a list out of nowhere and reading it in a monotone-like voice. “Memorize these dates. 1827, 1853, 1914, 1926…” Kendra sighed sadly, her ears flattening against her head as the group walked past a huge mural of Mr. Krpp saying ‘shush’. “First graders… they always seem to get hit the hardest.” But as they passed the mural, George instantly got an idea. “Hang on a sec.” George quickly got a piece of paper out of his bag and put it on the mural of Mr. Krupp, making it look like he’s picking his nose, causing some passing students to laugh just before Pipp put a dollar bill inside the hat of a kid resting nearby, all while playing a sad tune on the harmonica. “So that's why we do what we do,” Kendra explained to the six ponies as she, Harold and George led them inside of their home classroom with Mr. Fyde. “Mr. Krupp’s left us no choice.” “Our pranks and practical jokes,” George added as he, Kendra and George took their seats while the ponies sat in the aisles, “are the last line of defense against the injustice of our terrible principal.” “A lot of kids feel the same way,” Kendra said, “but… a lot of them are just too scared to do anything about it.” Sunny hummed in thought. “Maybe that’s why the Unity Crystals sent us here-- to help us change things at the school so the kids can be a lot happier.” “...maybe, Sunny,” Hitch frowned, “but… let’s just wait and see.” “Well, well, well…” said the spectacled boy, reading at the desk in front of them, who had orange-red hair, a short-sleeved, sweater-like shirt with a yellow bowtie, a watch, darker colored shorts and brown shoes. “...I heard you three got into a bit of the old trouble today.” George raised an eyebrow to this. “How'd you hear that, Melvin?” “Did you tattle-tale on us?” Harold asked quizzically. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t,” Melvin turned to look at them for a moment, but then after reading his book for a second more, he turned back to them with a satisfied smirk. “I did. Someone has to stand up for the man.” “No one has to stand up for the man!” Kendra growled in annoyance. “That's the whole point of the man. He stands up for himself, Melvin.” Melvin merely flipped a page in his book, completely ignoring the young leopard and her statement. “Respectfully disagree.” Kendra growled, trying her best not to pounce on the guy before she took a deep breath, calming right down before turning to their new pony friends. “Everyone… this is a cautionary time for you to meet one Melvin Sneedly… wicked smart, but a MEGA tattle-tale and a pain in our rears.” “Hi, new friend!” Izzy said to Melvin cheerfully, startling him out of his wits as she stuck out her hoof. “My name’s Izzy! Nice to meet you!” “Yes…” Melvin slowly spoke, pushing Izzy’s hoof away before going back to his book. “I’m sure it is.” That was when the science teacher, Mr. Fyde, reluctantly entered the classroom, putting his briefcase on the desk just before it fell off, opening in the process, which caused the entire class to laugh... all except for the Mane 6 (who didn't think it was very funny) and Melvin, cause... well, the guy literally has no sense of humor in his entire body. Mr. Fyde let out a sigh as he began to pick up the papers, and Izzy and Sunny went over to help, but as soon as the papers were all picked up, Mr. Krupp's voice echoed through the intercom system, getting everyone's attention almost immediately. “Attention, everyone!” the principal barked, causing all laughter in the room to cease. “Principal Krupp here with an announcement. This Saturday is the mandatory Invention Convention.” “BOO!!” Harold shouted. “Oh, what?!” Pipp looked stunned. “They make you go to school on Saturday?!” “Yes!” Melvin pumped a fist in excitement just as Mr. Fyde flopped in his chair, exasperated and exhausted. “That's our third Saturday this month!” “You must be here,” said Mr. Krupp over the intercom, “with your inventions at 8 a.m.” “Seriously?!” Hitch cried out. “Is there no justice?!” Kendra growled. “I know it’s early for a Saturday, but don’t worry,” the principal sarcastically reassured. “You should be done by nine… P.M!” All of the students and Mr. Fyde groaned before slamming their heads on their desks while Melvin seemed to be the only one jumping for joy. During this brief silence, Sunny looked over at her friends. “Guys, this is getting worse than we thought. These kids are miserable with the way things are-- like Mr. Krupp is trying to suck all of the fun and life out of them.” “It’s basically the opposite of what Allura did to the auroricorns of Starlight Ridge,” Hitch frowned. “Instead of forcing the kids to be happy, the principal is forcing them to be miserable!” “...wait… Allura?” Kendra perked her head up when she heard this. “Y-You know her?” “Yeah, but… it’s a bit of a long story. The second we get the chance, we’ll tell you everything we know,” Misty said with sincerity in her gentle tone. “But for right now… we’re gonna help you make the best out of this last day before the weekend. We promise.” George, Kendra and Harold nodded and smiled at each other before turning their attention back to their lesson. Maybe, with these new ponies around to liven things up... things around Jerome Horowitz Elementary might change for the better. Feel the Magic/Where's Allura's Brother?Equestria... the magical land where earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns lived in peace and harmony, finally felt safe again after a very long period of time. All three pony kinds had never been happier, and there were two reasons for the ponies to be grateful-- one of those reasons was that Alphabittle Blossomforth had finally proposed to Queen Haven, and the two were happily making wedding plans whenever they had the chance to be together. And the second reason? Well... I'm pretty sure you already know that part. The Mane 6 (composing of Sunny Starscout, Hitch Trailblazer, Pipp Petals, Izzy Moonbow, Zipp Storm and Misty Brightdawn) had finally worked to reform Allura, a once-wicked winged snow leopard, and her rabbit minion, Twitch, after many months of trial and error and retrieving all six pieces to a magical star that would allow whoever possessed it to travel between worlds. Allura had (for a time) wanted the star to search through worlds in order to find her long-lost brother Alterro, who at the time that they had been banished and separated, was just about as wicked as Allura, if not more so. Sunny promises Allura that they would figure out where Alterro was, but wasn't sure how to tell her that reforming her brother might not be as easy as helping her see the light. Nevertheless, our heroes were determined to feel the relaxation and magic around them while they had the chance, cause sooner or later, another Unity Quest would come around and uproot their seemingly peaceful lives... either for better or for worse. XXXXXXXX One particularly sunny morning in Maretime Bay, Zipp was at the top of the Brightouse while looking at the view, tapping her hooves against the railing as an upbeat song began as she flew inside to wake her sister and friends. Mane 6: Come on, feel the magic Come on, feel the magic Zipp: Hey, hey, hey, what a perfect day The sun is gettin' brighter and it's beamin' my way There's somethin' in the air, I can feel it in my hooves So everypony, let's go, 'cause it's time to move “Whoo-hoo! Everypony, rise and shine!” Zipp called as she woke the girls up, while her sister Pipp covered herself in her blanket until Zipp went to Pipp and rubbed on the blanket. “Come on, sleepy head! Wake up!” “Ugghh, Zipp!” Pipp groaned as she rubbed her eyes. That’s when Pipp remembered the curlers in her mane. “Oh. Did it work?” she asked, rushing to the mirror. “Is my mane curly?” Suddenly, her mane shook and puffed up as the curlers snapped off. “It’s a mane miracle!” Pipp cheered with a twirl before she brought out her phone. “Check me out...” Zipp then began bouncing on Misty's bed to awaken her. “Whoa, whoa!” Misty called as she was now fully awake before jumping on the bed too. That's when Zipp flew over to Sunny's bed in order to wake the earth pony mare. “Come on, Sunny! Up and at ‘em!” Sunny stretched and yawned as she turned to her friends with a smile as she sighed fondly. “Who wants breakfast?” The other mares instantly agreed, but as they all began to move toward the stairs. But then Sunny realized something was missing in the group. “Hang on,” she said as they skidded to a stop while Misty slid on the floor. “Somepony's missing.” “Izzy!” everyone cried and turned to Izzy, who was still sleeping in her bed with her mask on. “Let's go, sleepyhead!” Sunny said teasingly with a smile. “Breakfast time!” Pipp said with a wave of her hoof. “Wakey-wakey, Unicorny Flakeys!” Misty added with a smile. Izzy then got up with her mane a bit disheveled before she yawned and lifted her mask to show bags under her eyes. “Hey, ponies. Is it morning already?” XXXXXXXX And once everyone was downstairs and awake (somewhat, anyway), Sunny began to serve different kinds of breakfast to her friends to start their day off right. Sunny: Hey, hey, hey, ponies, don't delay Cause breakfast is the most important meal of the day Cooking up your favorites with a twist or two Just a touch of magic from me to you Izzy prepared to catch the Unicorn Flakes cereal Blaze was nudging toward her, but because she was so tired, she missed and the cereal went flying on the floor. “Oh, no! My Unicorny Flakeys!” Then, she made her unicorn friend, Señor Butterscotch, speak up jokingly. “More like Uni-floor-ny Flakeys now! Know what I'm sayin'?” “Too soon, Señor B,” Izzy sighed as she went to pick up the mess. “Too soon!” XXXXXXXX After breakfast, the others went out into Maretime Bay and passed the sheriff's office, where Zipp whistled to get Hitch and Sparky's attention. Hitch: Good times with my buddy Is what it's all about And things can't get much better hades on, here we go, it's time to roll out Then, as the two put on their sunglasses, everyone began to sing in perfect unison, dancing in the street. All: If you feel the magic, let me hear you say "hey!" Come on, feel the magic, ooh, feel the magic Posey was walking by before she noticed the combined groups dancing together. “Ew. Is this a flash mob?” she asked with a strange look. “I... love it!” “Let's dance, ponies!” Dahlia exclaimed excitedly to the Pippsqueaks before they joined the song and dance. All: Come on, feel the magic, ooh, feel the magic “Oh, I've always wanted to do one of these!” Windy squealed, immediately joining the dance. “Dance move! Dance move! I got it! Am I flash mobbing?!” XXXXXXXX Later, at Sunny's smoothie stand, she was preparing more smoothies than usual, and Windy was flying her orders out to the ponies who wanted them, just as a friendly way to help out. Sunny: Smoothies flying off the shelves Making new flavors and watching them sell Hitch, Sparky! Smoothies are ready! Windy: That's it, Windy! Nice and steady! Windy flew to Hitch and Sparky to drop off their smoothies while Hitch directed traffic. Hitch: Keepin' Maretime Bay runnin' smooth Stop! Go! Come on through! Hey there, whoa! Not so fast! Put 'er there, pal, if you're havin' a blast! XXXXXXXX At the same time, Zipp was flying through Maretime Bay as fast as she could go, needing to get an important delivery to Mane Melody. Zipp: Special delivery on it's way Apparently ponies can't live without... mane-spray? “Thank hoofness, Zipp! You saved the day!” Jazz said with a wide smile and a wave as Zipp flew off. Jazz and Pipp: Whoa, yeah! You saved the day! Jazz then got to Pipp and gave her a manespray bottle as she was doing the mane of a pegasus named Flare with Misty watching from nearby. Pipp: Ooh, you're lookin' gorge A little higher, please Pipp sprayed some manespray on Sparkle before she had a thoughtful expression. “Hmmm, it needs a little something, ugh, more... Misty!” Misty came up from behind Flare in that moment with a rainbow bottle and put a small drop on Flare's mane, giving it some rainbow highlights that Flare absolutely adored. Pipp: Magnifiiiiique!! All: If you feel the magic, let me hear you say "hey!" Come on, feel the magic, ooh, feel the magic As everyone sang together, the cutie marks of all the ponies lit up and blasted fireworks across the sky. All: If you feel the magic, let me hear you say "hey!" Come on, feel the magic, come on, feel the magic (Sunny: Feel the magic, come on, everypony!) After the song was over, everyone went their seperate ways, except Izzy and Senor Butterscotch, who were still dancing. “Here in happy scenes from Maretime Bay today!” Skye Silver said from the news camera while gesturing to the tired dancing Izzy behind him. “As you can see, everypony is absolutely thriving!” Izzy kept dancing as she walked backward, but then she hit Senor Butterscotch, which caused the two to tumble and roll around until they crashed into the flower stand. Skye Silver looked away before letting out a laugh. “Ooh. Well, maybe not everypony is thriving. Ha ha ha… back to you, Dazzle.” “Hey! We heard that!” Izzy exclaimed before making Senor Butterscotch speak out too. “Yeah, watch it!” “Hey, Iz… are you sure you’re okay?” Sunny asked as she helped Izzy brush off some flowers while the rest of the Mane 6 approached. “You seem… kinda tired today.” “Now that you mention it, you’re right, Sunny,” Hitch noted before turning to look at Izzy. “You really haven’t been your usual, off-the-walls-with-energy self.” “Well… to be honest, I guess I kinda feel sad for a lot of reasons,” Izzy sighed. “The first one is… well… I miss going on Unity Quests!!” Zipp blinked in surprise, not expecting this in the very slightest. “Wait… you do?” “Well, sure!” Izzy argued. “I mean, I know usually that means there’s a big bad guy we have to stop, but… at least we have something to look forward to, you know?” “I can see that,” Misty nodded. “But then… what’s the other thing?” That’s when Izzy glanced down toward the Maretime Bay beach, and the others followed her gaze to a small cave, barely visible against the cliff wall, and suddenly… Sunny understood. “You’ve been worried about Allura, haven’t you?” “She hasn’t really come out of her cave much after we showed her around Equestria,” Izzy frowned. “I think she kinda misses Alterro.” “We told her we would try and find out where he is,” Pipp said, looking concerned, “but… we’re not exactly having the best luck.” “Maybe… we should go check on her and Twitch,” Hitch suggested. “See how they’re holding up in their new home.” “Good idea, Hitch. That would be the nice thing to do,” Sunny smiled before getting an idea. “Oh! I bet they’d like a nice fruit basket!” “And I bet Twitch would like to see a new spell I’ve been working on-- turning snowflakes into carrots!” Misty agreed. “Let’s grab some things to bring down there and meet back here in ten.” XXXXXXXX After a little while, the ponies regathered at the beach with a few gifts for Allura before they set off down the beach to find the ice cave that she and Twitch were staying in. Sunny had asked Allura recently if she would be more comfortable in a house or in the Brighthouse, but Allura had refused, saying she didn’t want to impose and the coolness of the cave was doing her a lot of good. Soon, they arrived at the cave, and Zipp was the first to step forward and call out. “Hello? Allura? Twitch? Any creature home?” Twitch peeked his head out from the cave and chirped and muttered in greeting, to which Hitch translated. “He says, ‘Boy, am I happy to see you. Allura’s in back, and she looks pretty down and out’.” “Down and out?” Misty repeated. “That sure doesn’t sound good.” “Can we go in and see her?” Sunny asked gently. “We don’t wanna invade on her personal space.” “Uh-huh,” Twitch nodded before leading the ponies further into the cave, where they saw Allura in a solitary corner, looking down at the friendship bracelet she had received when they left Rosas. Sunny was the first to clear her throat. “Um… hey, Allura. Are you doing okay?” “Hmm? Oh… yes, I’m doing all right, thank you, Sunny,” Allura said as she yawned and stood up, stretching while doing so. “I guess I just feel… sort of in a rut, right now.” “Is anyone up there being unfair to you?” Hitch asked gently. “Cause if you want, I can sort them out right--” “No, it’s nothing like that, sheriff,” Allura said politely. “It’s just… Alterro is somewhere out there, and…” “...we’re gonna try and find him so you can see him again,” Izzy said gently, putting a hoof on Allura’s back. “You’ll see.” “And I know you’re trying your best,” Allura nodded to the ponies in understanding, “but… what if he doesn’t want to see me again?” To this, Twitch and the Mane 6 seemed stunned. “What?! How can you say that? You’re his twin sister!” Pipp argued. “Of course he would wanna see you again.” Allura sighed, her ears flattening against her head. “You don’t know how much Alterro changed when we were cubs. Before our mother died, we were happy and carefree, spending each day playing with our magic. But… when Father took over as reigning monarch, those days ended. We each fell victim to his harsh words and abuse, but… in a way… I think Alterro shifted into a smaller version of Father, due to how he treated our subjects when we took over as rulers after Father’s passing.” “And… you’re worried about how he’ll act when you two finally reunite?” Misty asked gently, leading Allura to nod, a hint of sadness in her eyes. “If he finds out that I’ve betrayed my mission to find him, or that I’ve gone against everything Father stood for… he’ll never forgive me.” “If your brother loves you like he says he does, then he’ll love you no matter what you decide,” Hitch said gently. “Spending all this time with Sparky has taught me that everypony-- er, every creature deserves to find a home and friends to be themselves with.” “And you’ve really shown your true colors with us, Allura!” Izzy said, rather optimistically. “You made it a summer snow day for the foals and fillies last week!” “And, you can use your ice magic to make ice pops from my smoothies!” Sunny grinned and giggled. “I’ve had to expand the menu.” Allura chuckled and smiled at this. “I’m so thankful you ponies have given me and Twitch a home to call our own, despite everything that’s happened. I… just wish there was something we could do for you.” As the ponies tried to think of something to say, they felt something occuring that they hadn’t felt in a series of weeks. Their cutie marks lit up brightly, and the magic from them conjured up a portal on the side of the ice cave. It was then that Hitch thought of something Allura could help them with. “Well… since we apparently are going on another Unity Quest, would you and Twitch mind keeping Sparky company for a little while?” “Of course. Someone out there needs your help,” said Allura with a smile, taking Sparky into her paws. “Go and do what you need to do.” “All right, ponies, we have what we need within hooves’ reach,” said Sunny, “so let’s head to that portal and let another Unity Quest begin!” And so, the Mane 6 waved goodbye to Allura, Twitch and Sparky before leaping into the portal a minute or two before it finally closed. XXXXXXXX But little did they know it, but Alterro was going to play a much bigger part in this story than they realized... until it was too late, that is. Author's Note Yes, I did use the beginning scene from The BlockyWockys for this chapter, just cause I felt like it would be a good season opener scene, you know? Nobody better complain, lol. Welcome to Treehouse Comix Inc./Meeting Kendra's FamilyAs it turns out, the Mane 6's latest Unity Quest mission was in the town of Piqua, Ohio, where they met fourth-grade students and best friends Harold Hutchins, George Beard and young flying leopard Kendra, who did their usual pranks in order to annoy the worst principal in the world, Benjamin Krupp. In a way, Zipp could see where the boys and Kendra were coming from, but the Mane 6 silently knew that if the trio went too far with so much as one prank, it could end really badly, so they not only had to find someway to make the student population at Jerome Horowitz Elementary happy again, they also had to keep their newfound friends out of hot water. And needless to say... they knew that they would have their work cut out for them this time. XXXXXXXX It seemed that the day was taking forever to move through, as the Mane 6 ventured with Kendra, Harold and George from class to class, telling them stories of all of the adventures that they had gone on over the past few years, and George immediately wrote all of them down, just so that way he didn't miss any details. I mean, anything was better than learning history in first grade when you should start learning it in fifth grade. Luckily, Kendra and the boys had their plans for after school already made-- hanging out at their treehouse and making comic books together... something that actually brought them a lot of comfort when times got tough. And now, they couldn't wait to share this after-school activity with their new Equestrian pals. XXXXXXXX The second that the school bell rang, signaling that school was over for the day, a huge herd of kids (which included humans and flying leopard cubs) cheered and rushed out the front doors to head home for a... some-what relaxing weekend. The Mane 6, George, Harold and Kendra were some of those ready to head out, with Kendra and the boys getting out their skateboards. “Treehouse?” George asked Harold, who nodded back with a cheerful smile. “Treehouse.” “Hold on a sec, fellas! I just need to let my siblings know I’ll be coming home later,” Kendra told her friends. “It won’t take long.” That’s when the Mane 6, George and Harold saw three more flying leopards (two older females and a younger male) coming out of the building, the two older females talking amongst themselves. The first older female was named Treena, who had plant magic and had a bright green coat, bright blue eyes, a purple nose, purple spots with pink rosettes inside, purple and pink feathers on her wings and a cutie mark of three leaves being blown on the wind. The second older female was named Claudia, who could control dark magic and had purple fur, purple eyes, a purple nose, black spots with pinkish-colored rosettes, black feathers on her wings and a cutie mark of a dark shadow swirl. And lastly, the youngest male, named Heath, had speed magic and was much shorter than his older sisters. He also had an orange-brown coat, silver-gray eyes, a brown nose, black spots with darker brown rosettes, dark brown feathers on his wings and a cutie mark of a lightning bolt. “Treena, Claudia, Heath!” Kendra called, rushing over to them. “Wait up a second!” “Oh, hey, baby sis!” Claudia smiled, nooging Kendra on the head. “So… what number was the boring scale on today?” “I bet it was a 10,” Treena sighed. “The thoughts of that invention convention tomorrow… ugh… makes my wings twitch just thinking about it.” “To be honest…” Kendra began, a smile beginning to form on her face, “...the boring scale was actually about a six today.” Heath looked at her with wide eyes. “Really? That’s the lowest I’ve ever heard it being!” “But… what made it less boring than other days?” Claudia asked, just as Kendra gestured for George and Harold to bring the Mane 6 forward. “Because of me and the boys’ new friends. This is Sunny, Pipp, Hitch, Izzy, Zipp and Misty. They're actually on an important mission from Equestria and are gonna be in town for a few days. Guys, these are my older sisters, Claudia and Treena, and my little brother, Heath.” Claudia held up a paw at that moment. “Hold on a sec, baby sis. Did you just say... Pipp? As in... Pipp Petals? The multi-talented pegasus icon from the world of Equestria?!” Pipp tossed her mane a bit. “The one and only!” “Uh... you've heard of her?” Harold asked quietly in confusion. “Claudia is a big fashion and music person too,” Heath said with a shrug. “She wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up.” “Awww, then I am so honored that I'm your fashion icon!” Pipp said, shaking Claudia's paw. “Any friends or relatives of Kendra are friends of ours, right, ponies?” “Right,” Sunny nodded. “I wanted to tell you guys I'll be heading over to George and Harold's treehouse for a while,” Kendra told her siblings. “Will you tell Mom and Dad when you get home?” “Uh... sure, Icy Paws,” Treena said, shifting her gaze uncomfortably. “But... I'm not sure that Mom and Dad are gonna stop arguing long enough to listen to anything we have to say.” This caused the Mane 6 to look at one another in confusion, unsure of what to make of this tidbit of information. And seeing that the Mane 6 were growing much too curious for their own good, Claudia cleared her throat and rubbed Heath on the head with her paw. “Well, we've gotta get going-- Heath needs a bath and then we have homework to do. You're lucky on that part, sis.” “Bye, Kendra! See you at home!” Heath purred against his older sister before he, Claudia and Treena unfurled their wings and took to the sky with the Mane 6, George and Harold waving goodbye. And once they were gone, Kendra turned back to the Mane 6 with a smile on her face. “Okay then... now that everything else is taken care of, let's take you guys to our treehouse before it gets too dark to start on our comic operation.” XXXXXXXX With Kendra, George and Harold riding ahead on their skateboards down the sidewalk, the Mane 6 galloped and flew after them, making sure the sidewalk was clear of any sort of hazards before they came through. Finally, they got to the street where Harold, George and Kendra lived. But while George and Harold lived on the same side of the street, Kendra lived on the other side... in a spooky-looking house with multiple levels and a garden in the backyard. Hitch gulped nervously as he saw it. “Are you sure this is where you live, Kendra? It looks a little, uh... spooky for someone as cute as you.” “Heh heh heh... very funny,” Kendra giggled. “When me and my family moved to Piqua last year, we moved into this fixer upper. My dad still needs to work on the outside but the inside is as grand as a palace. My older sisters take care of a lot of the chores when they get home and when my parents are at work.” “Kendra's mom works as a reporter for the Piqua Gazette,” George explained, “and her dad is a construction worker for a big company in the city.” “But... Treena mentioned your parents fighting before she and your other siblings left,” Zipp argued with a hint of suspicion in her voice. “What exactly did she mean by that?” Kendra looked nervous for a moment before she cleared her throat to clear the air. “Come on. We'll take you to our treehouse-- you guys are gonna love it in there.” XXXXXXXX And as it turns out, the Mane 6 were wide eyed in amazement when they saw the cozy and inviting interior the treehouse had to offer-- bean bag chairs, corners especially for art supplies for comic books, other books for them to read, posters of different varieties, and much more. George gestured around as the Mane 6 took a good look around the place. “Welcome to the world headquarters of Treehouse Comix Inc.!” “Yep,” Kendra nodded. “This is where the magic happens!” Pipp paused at this remark. “I didn’t think the boys had magic powers like us ponies and you do, Kendra.” “Ha ha! She's just kidding,” Harold chuckled nervously, putting an arm around Kendra. “Not, like, actual magic. No, we're not practicing the dark arts. No, here we just hang out and make comics and try to make each other laugh.” “In fact,” Kendra added, ”before they met me, comic books and laughter actually sparked Harold and George's friendship.” “Really?” Sunny asked, looking rather interested. “What do you mean?” George then got a picture from the wall and gave it to Sunny, revealing that it was a picture of a kindergarten-aged George and Harold. And as Sunny held the picture for her friends, George pointed to his younger self. “This is me in kindergarten.” “And this is me,” Harold said, pointing to his younger self. “And this was taken on the day that George and I first met.” XXXXXXXX This day took place during a lesson back in kindergarten, when the teacher was going over some names of the planets in the solar system. “The seventh planet from the sun is called… Uranus.” This caused the young George and Harold, who sat right near each other, to laugh to themselves, but when the teacher turned her head to them, they clammed up immediately. When the teacher had her head turned again, young Harold turned to look at young George with an amused smirk. “Your… anus!” he giggled quietly again, causing young George to nod and try not to burst out laughing. “I know!” The teacher turned to look back again, causing them to clam up once more before she cleared her throat and turned back to the board. “...known as a gas giant.” This caused George and Harold to laugh again, further annoying the teacher, as well as a young Melvin Sneedly, who sat between them, reading. “I don't get it. It's just science, guys.” Once the teacher went back to the lesson, young George took the opportunity to introduce himself to his new friend. “Hey, I'm George. You wanna hang out in my treehouse after school?” Young Harold seemed amazed with such a fact. “You have a treehouse?” XXXXXXXX “Okay, that does explain how you two met,” Zipp said after hearing the story, “but Mr. Krupp said that Kendra has only been at your school for a year. How did you guys meet her?” “Well, me and my family first moved here last year when my mom got her reporter job for the gazette,” Kendra explained. “I was a bit of a book and art nerd, and I always kinda sat at the back of the class, not talking to anyone… until one day at recess, I was practicing my ice magic when I saw George and Harold laughing and having fun creating another comic book, and when I approached, we… kinda clicked.” “And ever since then, we've created hundreds of comics in here,” George added before pointing to one of their examples that was taped on the wall. “Like the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman.” “And who could forget… Sad Worm?” Harold said, flipping through an unfinished comic on the wall. “It was a worm who was sad, and…” Kendra quickly cleared her throat at this, chuckling nervously. “That one, is uh… kind of a work in progress.” “But,” George said, interrupting the awkward moment, “the all-time greatest superhero that we've ever created was... the Amazing Captain Underpants!” “Ohhh, this was the guy in the comic you were talking about before Mr. Krupp destroyed it!” Misty said, taking one of the Captain Underpants comics off the wall. “But, uh… what made you wanna make a superhero wearing nothing but a cape and briefs?” “We’re glad you asked, Misty Brightdawn,” Harold nudged her playfully before showing the group of ponies pictures of Captain Underpants that he drew, flipping them quickly to create a bit of animation magic. “See, most superheroes look like they're flying around in their underwear.” “Well, this guy actually does,” Kendra giggled. “Harold, George and I have created dozens of Captain Underpants comics and gave them out to kids at school to read… at least, without Krupp realizing it.” “Hey… guys?” Izzy whispered to Zipp and Sunny. “Is it me, or does this Captain Underpants fella kinda remind you of someone?” “...huh. Maybe he does look a little familiar,” Sunny tilted her head, “but… I just can’t place…” “Hey, Zipp and I actually create comic books too!” Hitch added before Zipp got one of them out to show their new friends. “They’re actually based off of our adventures on our Unity Quests.” Harold gasped deeply, taking the comic book and flipping through it. “No way! This… this is comic book GOLD!” “We so should have met in kindergarten,” George said with as much enthusiasm as Harold. “We could’ve made Treehouse Comix Inc. even bigger than it already is!” “Hey, do you guys wanna help us make another Captain Underpants comic?” Kendra asked the ponies. “Then, we can work out where you guys can stay while you’re in town!” “Aww, that would be fun! We’d love to help you make another Captain Underpants comic,” Misty smiled. “Izzy?” “Get your pencils and crayons out, ponies!” Izzy said enthusiastically, taking out her crafty-sash and crafting glasses. “Let’s get to work!” XXXXXXXX And so, with George, Harold and Kendra leading the operation, the work on the newest issue of Captain Underpants began. After getting settled, Hitch made a new idea, wrote it onto a piece of paper, and then tossed it to Izzy and Harold. “Hey, guys. See what you think of this!” Harold unfolded the piece of paper and read the idea, a smile forming on his face when he got done. “Oh, I can’t wait to draw this.” XXXXXXXX Later, George put on a cape and did his Captain Underpants impersonation. “Tra-la-laaa!!” “Don’t move, don’t move!” Izzy said with excitement as she and Harold began drawing again. “Let me and Harold sketch this out first!” XXXXXXXX Hours passed, and after sharing ideas, drawings and sharing a few laughs, the Captain Underpants comic, which was then called 'Captain Underpants and the Revolt of the Robot Rebellion', was finally completed. As Sunny stapled the comic together, George gazed at their newest art piece with pride. “Mr. Hutchins, I gotta say... your drawings get better with every issue.” “Because your words inspire greatness, Mr. Beard,” Harold added. “Plus, we had all our new friends helping out, so that made things go a lot quicker.” “And as for your homing situation, ponies… I have an idea,” Kendra said as she fluttered over. “It may be a stretch to ask my parents, but… I might be able to convince them to let some of you stay at my house, while some of you can stay with George and some of you can stay with Harold!” “Wow, that’s a great idea!” Zipp smiled. “So who wants to go with who?” “Izzy and I can stay with George if you and Hitch don’t mind going with Harold,” Sunny told the white pegasus. “And that leaves Misty and Pipp going with Kendra and her family.” “Sounds like a plan to me,” Pipp shrugged before each group began to go their separate ways. “See you tomorrow, guys-- bright and early for a Saturday like no other!” XXXXXXXX Kendra led Misty and Pipp across the quiet street to her family home and opened the front door… only for yelling, coming from two adult voices, to echo through the hallways. And once she heard this, Kendra sighed. “Not this again…” “Again?” Misty looked confused. “This has happened before?” “Sort of,” Kendra shrugged before heavily sighing to herself. “Come on… let’s go see what Mom and Dad are bickering about this time.” Misty and Pipp quickly followed Kendra inside the house and into the living room, where they found Kendra’s siblings hiding behind the couch, with Heath looking terribly frightened and their paws on their ears, trying to cover up the yelling coming from Avarsi and Evander. Being the male leader of the family, Evander is the most muscled, having gray fur with black spots and light green rosettes, grayish-brown eyes, a black nose, dark gray feathers on his wings and a cutie mark of a barbell, representing his strength magic. Avarsi, on the other hand, was a bit shorter than her mate, and had beautiful pink fur, blue eyes, gray and black spots on her body, gray feathers on her wings and a cutie mark of a flashlight, representing her light magic. Kendra approached Claudia with concern on her face. “What’s going on now?” “Dad yelled at us for not having dinner ready by the time Mom got home from work, saying it was required and forced onto us,” Claudia said, “and Mom said that we weren’t required to do anything if we had a good reason, and we did.” “We had to have Heath ready for a bath and we had to do our homework that’s due tomorrow,” Treena said. “And then, everything went completely bonkers.” Heath whimpered softly with his paws over his ears. “I don’t like their fighting, Kendra… make it stop…” Kendra sighed and put a paw to her mouth before letting out a shrill whistle, stopping the fighting and getting her parents’ attention. “Oh, Kendra! It’s good to see you, baby,” Avarsi said to her cub with a smile before turning to look at Pipp and Misty. “And you’ve brought guests.” “Oh, great…” Evander muttered in sarcasm. “More mouths to feed and no dinner on the table.” “Uh… Mom? Dad? This is Pipp and Misty. They’re some… transfer students that are at school for a little while, and while their friends are staying with George and Harold, I told Misty and Pipp they could stay here for a little bit. So… can they? Please?” “Absolutely not,” Evander said without question. “You know we don’t have company over on school nights.” “Unless it’s for a good reason, Evander,” Avarsi interrupted sternly. “And I believe having transfer students might be good for the kids.” “For Heath, maybe,” Evander scoffed. “The girls will probably bombard them with talks of boys and makeup and all that other ridiculous stuff.” “Evander, stop! This isn’t helping our case,” Avarsi snapped at her mate before regaining her composure and turning to Pipp and Misty. “Welcome to Piqua, girls. How are you finding our little community so far?” “It’s really charming, to say the least,” Pipp nodded. “Although, the principal could be a bit nicer. Did you know he called Kendra, George and Harold to his office, accusing them of rearranging letters on the school sign?” “Kendra!” Evander snapped, frightening his youngest daughter. “Is this true?!” “Dad, come on! Give Kendra and the boys a break,” Treena said to her father calmly. “Mr. Krupp is always thrashing on them for all sorts of reasons. He probably just wanted to get them in trouble again.” Evander scoffed. “Are you kidding? That principal is the best thing that ever happened to that school and he shouldn’t be disrespected and treated as the bad guy.” “...follow me, girls,” Avarsi said kindly to Misty and Pipp. “I’ll show you to the back bedroom, where you can stay while you’re in town.” “Just… a forewarning, girls,” Evander said, his eyes gleaming with something dangerous. “In this town… you have to be careful who you trust.” This caused Pipp, Misty, Kendra and her siblings to look at each other before Pipp and Misty followed Avarsi away. One question seemed to echo in their minds though... was Krupp going to be the only villain in this story? Or what about Evander? His negative attitude sure seemed to put a damper on things. Well... they each have a small part to play, that's definitely for certain, but there could be another villain working their way through our tale. XXXXXXXX Little did anyone else know it, but a winged leopard-like figure was watching that street with his light red eyes gleaming maliciously, a sinister smile glimmering in the evening light. “Well, well… it seems those little ponies are making new friends in this putrid little town,” said the winged leopard, who was indeed Allura's twin brother Alterro, free from his otherworldly imprisonment. But as he continued to stare down at the neighborhood, a wicked scowl graced Alterro's muzzle. “I’m going to make those insolent little fools pay for turning my sister against the ways of Leopardia, and ensure that one way or another… Equestria will belong to me.” And with that being said, Alterro spread his wings and took off into the night sky, ready to put his plan into action, effective immediately. The Mandatory Invention Convention/Forced to Separate Classes and a Family Forced ApartAfter working with their new friends Kendra, George Beard and Harold Hutchins on their latest Captain Underpants comic book, the Mane 6 separated into three groups of two in order to sleep at Harold, George and Kendra's houses. Pipp and Misty got placed in Kendra's house, where they witnessed first hoof how tense things were between Kendra's parents, Evander and Avarsi. And little did the ponies realize it yet, but somehow, Alterro had broken free from his otherworldly prison and was now plotting his revenge against the Mane 6 for turning Allura against him and the ways of their former kingdom of Leopardia. What horrible things will Alterro have in store for our heroes? And how will the Mane 6 help their new friends with Kendra's fueding parents and the worst principal in the world on the rise? Well... you'll just have to keep reading the newest chapter to find out. XXXXXXXX The night seemed to pass rather smoothly for our heroes, even though they were still on duty, and they seemed to sleep rather peacefully in the bedrooms of their new friends. And they were especially comfortable in the pajamas that Claudia had gave Pipp and Misty, and Misty sent some extra pairs over to the ponies sleeping with George and Harold. Izzy's pajamas consisted of a short-sleeve shirt and sleeping sorts, and they were a light yellow with a vibrant blue star theme. Misty's pajamas consisted of a singular, long-sleeve shirt, and the shirt was a dark purple/black color with little white stars and butterflies on them. Pipp's pajamas consisted of a purple and white short-sleeve shirt with musical notes on them and white sleeping shorts. Sunny's pajamas consisted of a dark blue short-sleeve shirt with a galaxy-like design. Zipp's pajamas consisted of a very light blue short-sleeve shirt with a lightning bolt theme. Hitch's pajamas consisted of a dark teal long-sleeve shirt with the words '#1 Dragon Dad' on the front. By the time the sun began to rise the next morning, it didn't take long for Kendra, George and Harold to each wake up (waking the Mane 6 up in the process) and beginning their Saturday morning with (what else?) a cheerful, upbeat song. George: I love Saturday! Harold: When anything is possible Kendra: I love Saturday Cause I can wear my pajamas a-all day! Upon getting out of bed for the day, our heroes followed their new friends to their individual living rooms, where the TV was turned on and breakfast was already being devoured. Harold: I love Saturday Cause I can watch TV all-- Kendra, George and Harold: Day!! Harold: I can pee a little bit in my underwear And no one will mind... Upon hearing these lyrics, Zipp and Hitch immediately stopped their impromptu dance party and turned to look at him weirdly. “Where are you going with that?” Zipp asked Harold strangely. “Do you really do that?” “No! What are you talking...?” Harold scoffed. “It's just something I could do because...” That's when Harold, Kendra, her siblings, and George immediately led the Mane 6 from their houses and out onto the lawn for a little victory dance celebration. Claudia: Monday's an eternity away! All: When it is Saturday...!!!! But as the group was finishing the song, George's mother stepped out onto the front porch of George's family's house. “Get in the car, kids,” she said. “You got the Invention Convention today!” But as the doors shut, everything about the happy scene seemed to fade in an instant-- a nearby cat leapt into the air, caught a bird in its mouth before a dog attacked the cat, and the sky was covered with dark storm clouds, full of heavy rain and loud thunder. Treena was the first to let out a heavy sigh. “Well... that was sure a way to bring down the mood.” “Do we really have to go?” Heath asked his friends and sisters in disappointment. “I mean... I really wanted to play with the toys that I got from my birthday last week...” “Hey, it'll be okay,” Sunny sighed. “We'll all be together, and that's all that matters. Come on... let's get dressed and out of these pajamas before we have to get to the school. That Invention Convention is gonna start with or without us.” XXXXXXXX Needless to say, no one else at Jerome Horwitz Elementary was thrilled about being at the mandatory convention either. As George’s mom dropped everyone off, they headed inside the gymnasium with the rest of the students, who trudged along miserably, finding this to be the worst thing ever to happen on a Saturday. “Man…” said Hitch to Sunny, watching all the kids’ shoulders slump sadly as they took their seats. “This is just… depressing!” “I know,” Zipp whispered. “I can’t believe Mr. Krupp would do this to kids… kids, mind you, and that Kendra’s dad actually supports Mr. Krupp’s decisions!” Kendra sighed from beside George and Harold, looking downcast. “That’s just how my dad seems to operate… and how Mr. Krupp seems to operate.” “At least your brother and sisters are sitting behind us,” Izzy tried to point out a positive in that situation. “So… maybe this won’t be all bad.” George and Harold sighed and crossed their arms, looking downright miserable in that moment. And just when they thought being at school on a Saturday was the worst thing in the world to ever happen to them, Mr. Krupp came onto the stage and started tapping the microphone. “Is this thing on?” And after getting some slight feedback, ensuring that the microphone was indeed on, Mr. Krupp cleared his throat. “Quick announcement. Our science teacher, Mr. Fyde, is no longer with us.” The Mane 6 and all the students, except George, Harold, Kendra and her siblings, let out a gasp. “He’s dead?!” one of the girls exclaimed before breaking down in tears, causing even Mr. Krupp to be surprised. “What? No! Not like that. He wanted to spend Saturday with his family,” he said with a chuckle, “to I fired him! I'll find a replacement next week.” And with that announcement out of the way, Mr. Krupp got back to the matter at hoof-- er, hand. “On to Melvin Sneedly with the first of his 16…” “Actually,” said Melvin, peeking out from the curtain, “it’s 17.” “17 inventions. Take it away, Melvin,” Mr. Krupp corrected himself before getting off the stage. “Let’s remember to at least be respectful, guys,” Sunny said to the Mane 6’s newfound friends. “Remember, Krupp still has his eyes on you and us, and you guys don’t wanna get in trouble again, right?” George, Harold and Kendra let out a reluctant sigh. “Right…” It was at that time that Melvin came onto the stage with his first invention. “I will now demonstrate a prototype which I call... the Robotic Sock Matcher.” Upon activating the device in his hand, Melvin held up one of his socks, and the machine immediately matched it to another one of the same socks hanging on it. “Never waste time matching your own socks again.” “Oooh, that could come in handy back in Equestria!” Izzy said as she clapped her hooves together, but after a moment, she stopped upon realizing something. “Well, you know… i-i-if we wore socks.” Zipp sighed as she took out her FlyPad. “The least we can do is take notes to revolutionize the way we do things for Equestria,” she told her friends as she began taking notes. “I mean… it’s not like things can get any worse than this.” XXXXXXXX But Zipp couldn't be more wrong. For the next two hours, it was nothing but Melvin showing off his inventions and bragging about how amazing they were. The students in there were miserable, and as much as they hated to admit it, the Mane 6 were growing restless from sitting in those small seats for too long. And the fact that Melvin was boring them half to death wasn't helping much at all. “Ugh…!!” Hitch rubbed his face with his front hooves. “Make it end!!” XXXXXXXX Kendra, George, Harold and some others were about ready to fall asleep by the time that Melvin had brought out the 10th of his 17 inventions, which seemed to take the form of a giant school binder. “...and my personal favorite, the binder binder,” Melvin said, opening the giant binder to reveal smaller binders inside, each labeled for a different subject. “Having trouble organizing your binders? Well, look no further than this giant binder... for binders.” Melvin then slammed the binder shut, causing Kendra and her siblings to yelp/yowl in surprise, which caused George and Harold to wake up from their boredom-induced sleep. And seeing that they weren’t even halfway finished with Melvin’s presentation caused George to sigh. “This is the stuff of nightmares!” However, off near the wall, Mr. Krupp shushed the group for talking before turning back to his newspaper, causing Pipp to scoff under her breath, glaring in the principal's direction. “When we get outta here, I so wanna show this Krupp guy the real meaning of a good time.” That was when George made an immediate decision, turning to the others with a stern look on his face. “We have to do something about this.” “...I don’t know,” Kendra sighed, feeling a bit unsure about doing any pranking after what happened the day before in the principal’s office. “Krupp looks serious this time, George.” “And if you guys don’t wanna get in any worse trouble,” Claudia said, “maybe you should remember what Sunny said earlier and lay low for a while.” “Lay low? Look at our fellow children!” George whispered out of protest, gesturing to the near-sleeping children around them. “Look upon their sad, miserable, pathetic faces.” “Oh wow, yeah. That, that looks unhappy,” Izzy said sheepishly upon realizing that George had a significant point. “Come on, Harold,” George said, gripping his best friend by the shoulders before beginning to stand up on his chair. “If you won't do it for me and you won't do it for you... do it for future generations. Save the first graders... the kindygarteners, the unborn... from a life of eternal boredom!” “Wait wait wait wait wait!” Zipp whispered out of desperation. “Okay, George, we get the point! Now, simmer down before…” “Zipp, hang on!” Misty whispered, her ear twitching slightly. “Do you hear that?” Upon stopping and listening again, the Mane 6 looked over at Krupp to discover that he was fast asleep, snoring rather loudly. “Well… if opportunity can knock, this is the right opportunity if you are willing to do something,” Treena pointed out. “Claudia, Heath and I can stay here and keep an eye out for trouble, and then you guys can do your thing!” “I’m still not so sure,” Sunny frowned. “I mean, what if Krupp wakes up and catches us heading backstage?” “Misty and Izzy could use the invisibility spell on us!” Pipp suddenly got an idea. “That way nopony sees us when we head backstage to set things up!” “That’s… actually not a bad idea,” Zipp shrugged. “I’m all for it if you guys are.” “You know, normally I would never do something like this,” said Hitch, “but out of sitting here for hours in complete boredom, I’m willing to do anything.” “What do you think, Sunny?” Harold asked the earth pony/alicorn mare with a pleading look. “Should we kick this into high-gear?” “Well…” Sunny thought about it for a moment, and after a tough battle of yes and no in her mind, she finally sighed and looked at her friends. “Okay… let’s do this!” “Good luck,” Heath said, purring against Kendra's head. “We’ll keep an eye on Mr. Krupp,” Claudia added, “and make sure he doesn’t think you’re up to anything.” And immediately after the others nodded to this, Izzy and Misty then proceeded to put themselves and their friends under the invisibility spell before they all began to sneak toward the stage and put their new prank plan into action. XXXXXXXX Once the Mane 6, Kendra and the boys finally reached the back of the stage, Melvin brought out another invention, covered in a large cloth-like tarp. “Feast your eyes on this,” he said, unveiling the device in question. “The Turbo Toilet 2000!” And once the group got close to the toilet and were sure they were out of sight, Izzy and Misty undid the invisibility spell so George, Harold and Kendra could get to work tampering with the toilet… completely unaware that a tiny, robot turtle was watching them from nearby. XXXXXXXX “Check it out, people,” Melvin remained unaware of what the others were doing. “It's already programmed with my personal potty playlist.” That was when the toilet began to play samba music, which Melvin eagerly began to dance to. “Samba…” XXXXXXXX “Ooh!” Izzy began to dance in place when the samba music began. “Catchy music!” “Izzy! No dancing!” whispered Zipp, pulling the lavender unicorn back down to the ground, “or you’re gonna give us away!” “Hitch, hand me a screwdriver,” Harold whispered, and Hitch immediately did as he was told. XXXXXXXX “Once you're done using the facilities,” Melvin continued to the rest of the student body, “hit the button and let my toilet wash itself.” Melvin then proceeded to hit the button in question, and the toilet activated, getting two rolls of toilet paper in its claws. “Now included, automatic toilet paper wiping claw,” Melvin added proudly. “Trademark.” XXXXXXXX “Okay, I think that should do it,” Kendra told her friends before sighing to herself, honestly a bit worried. “I sure hope this works…” Kendra pressed her paw down on a button George and Harold were holding for her, and suddenly, the toilet began to go completely haywire, much to Melvin’s confusion and shock. The toilet began to play music by Adam Lambert called ‘Think’, and was now shooting toilet paper rolls everywhere. The Mane 6, Kendra and the boys watched as toilet paper began to shoot toward the audience, waking them up and causing them to cheer and dance. However, one roll of toilet paper hit Mr. Krupp causing him to wake him and realize what was going on. “Melvin, turn that thing off!” “I’m trying to,” Melvin said as he tried to shut the toilet down, “but it's not cooperating!” Suddenly, as the kids (human and Equestrian creatures alike) continued to party and as Melvin tried to shut the Turbo Toilet down, the toilet finally stopped and exploded into confetti, sending Melvin flying into the crowd. And while this wasn’t exactly what the Mane 6’s new friends were expecting to happen, they were pretty proud of it anyway. “Best…” “Prank…” “EVER!!” Kendra, George and Harold cried at once, causing the Mane 6 and their new friends to laugh out of happiness while giving each other high-fives and hoof-bumps. And while the ponies would never dare admit it to their friends… after the pain Mr. Krupp had caused, pulling that prank to bring the school a little happiness felt pretty good in their eyes. XXXXXXXX “That prank was the most epic thing I’ve ever seen in my life!” Heath bounced around as he, his sisters and his friends, new and old, left the school building. “All the toilet paper flying everywhere and the music!” “I gotta admit, THAT felt good,” Kendra sighed. “And now, we’ve got the rest of today off to do whatever we want!” “Hmm… I don’t know, guys,” Misty suddenly frowned, realizing something seemed rather off. “Doesn’t anyone else feel that pulling that prank was a little too easy? I mean… Krupp falling asleep so quick? No one else being around while we were tampering with the Turbo Toilet?” “Huh… you’re not wrong, Misty,” Sunny said, suddenly realizing Misty’s point and becoming worried herself. “Something definitely doesn’t feel right.” “What else is there to say, Sunny?” Harold asked proudly. “Our fellow students are gonna get to enjoy their weekend. Which, by the way, they are legally entitled to.” “And,” George added, “good triumphed over evil once and for…” But, suddenly, George was interrupted by the sound of Mr. Krupp’s voice, stopping the group in their tracks. “Oh, boys!” the principal called. “A moment with you and your friends, please.” This caused the Mane 6 to gulp and look worried, believing that this was DEFINITELY not going to end well. XXXXXXXX Claudia, Treena and Heath had never been called to the principal's office before, and after today, they wished that they hadn't. The office seemed bare and dark, and Mr. Krupp sat behind his desk intently, as if waiting for the leopard siblings, George, Harold or any of those pony friends of theirs to make a move. Eventually, Mr. Krupp's satisfied, small smirk soon twisted into a large, evil-looking smile that sent shivers down Pipp's spine. “What in Equestria is happening to his face?!” “I think he’s… smiling?” Harold guessed with a shrug. Suddenly, a bitter cold began to fill the air, causing Misty to shudder. “Somepony needs to turn up the heat in here, guys… it’s getting cold!” “Sorry, that’s my fault,” Kendra admitted with a tremble. “My magic sometimes goes with my emotions, and rooms tend to get really cold when I’m nervous.” “I'll let myself in, receptionist lady.” And the next thing our heroes knew after hearing this voice was Melvin Sneedly coming into the office, much to the ponies’ confusion. “Melvin?” “What's he doing here?” George asked quizzically. “You see, Melvin is yet to demonstrate his most impressive invention from today,” Mr. Krupp explained with a slight smirk. “It was a little extracurricular project I asked him to come up with myself.” That was when Melvin pulled out the turtle toy that the pranksters and their new pony pals had failed to notice when they were tampering with the Turbo Toilet. “I call him the Tattle Turtle 200. On the outside, it resembles a turtle. But on the inside…” Melvin said, ripping off the turtle’s head to reveal a camera underneath. “Oh, look at this. It's a nanny cam!” “Dude! You had to do that in front of my brother?!” Kendra hissed, hugging a whimpering Heath. “He didn’t do anything wrong!” However, Mr. Krupp snatched the turtle from Melvin and began to plug it into the TV that happened to be beside of his desk. “Oh, Melvin. How fun. Let's see what it recorded.” However, when Mr. Krupp turned the TV on… it didn’t show a single thing. Melvin sighed inwardly to himself as Mr. Krupp tried to fix it. “Yeah, you gotta change the input to video.” Mr. Krupp shot him a look. “I think I got this.” “You’re on AUX,” Melvin continued to speak. “Change it to video.” “It’s not my TV,” the principal sneered, “it’s your turtle.” “You're doing it wrong.” “I know. I think I know how to do my office.” Finally, Mr. Krupp managed to get the TV working right, and when the group saw what was on the screen, they gasped in complete terror, their eyes going wide in shock-- somehow, the Tattle Turtle 200 managed to capture their tampering with the Turbo Toilet on camera! And the video even showed Harold, George and Kendra doing their special quiet fives handshake! After the video had gone off, Harold tried his best not to act nervous, but this was much easier said than done. “Wow, that nanny cam really has good picture quality.” “Y-Yeah, was that high-def?” Hitch asked with a tremble in his voice. “Cause… you could really tell that's us.” “I can’t believe it! I gotcha!” Mr. Krupp said in delight, a sickening grin on his face as he walked back to his desk. “I finally gotcha! And, I got your little pony friends in the act too! An unexpected bonus!” “Don’t you mean we’ve finally got them, sir?” Melvin asked, peeking his head in and causing Claudia to bare her teeth and snarl at him. “Yes, yes. Well done, Melvin,” Mr. Krupp said. “Extra credit, granted.” Melvin gasped before grabbing the extra credit out of the air, placing it in his pocket with a delighted smile. “Put that in my pocket. Extra credit, it feels so good!” Melvin sing-songed before leaving the room, causing Zipp to sigh and shake her head out of exasperation. “I got extra credit…” “I told you I would get you one day,” Mr. Krupp told George, Harold and Kendra as the group of heroes became increasingly worried. “And that day I was talking about is this day. Today. This is the day.” “Mr. Krupp, come on-- have a little lineancy,” Misty said gently. “I mean, I do admit what we did was… kind of immature. But… then again, keeping the kids at school for a mandatory day of NOTHING but watching Melvin demonstrate his inventions? It’s torture!” “Does it look like I care what you want, you idiotic little ponies?” Mr. Krupp asked with a sneer. “Letting you into this school was just the thing I needed to finally trip these three troublemakers up! You were just the bait I needed, and for that… I have to thank you.” Harold gulped nervously as the Mane 6 looked at Mr. Krupp in anger. “Are you going to tell our parents?” “No. Your parents are obviously total failures. I have a much more effective punishment in mind,” Mr. Krupp said as he walked around the group. “Because not only am I going to have these putrid ponies banished from school grounds…” Once Mr. Krupp was close enough to George, Harold and Kendra, he pushed their chairs apart, a sickening grin forming on his face. “...I’m going to have you three place in separate… classes!!” he said sadistically, causing the group of heroes to gasp in terror. “I'm going to annihilate your friendship!” “What?!” Izzy looked horrified. “No!” “That’s not fair!” Heath protested. “You can’t do that!” “Oh, I most certainly can!” Mr. Krupp taunted with a sadistic chuckle. “You see? You troublemakers won't be together. You won't be able to enjoy each other's company and ruin my life.” “Mr. Krupp, no!” Harold tried to protest. “You can’t do this, please!” “This is too much!” George quickly added. “I mean, even for you!” “Enjoy the rest of your weekend, kids,” Mr. Krupp said rather evilly. “Because come Monday… ha ha ha! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!” XXXXXXXX Kendra, Claudia, Treena and Heath's mother, Avarsi (who was also a reporter for the Piqua Gazette) decided that it would be a nice treat for her kids if she got off early from work and came to pick them up from school later that day and invite George and Harold and all their pony friends over for a sleepover, wanting to show them that even though she and their father, Evander, were going through a bit of a rough patch right now, things between the family weren't going to change. At least... she didn't think they would anyway. It was starting to rain by the time she arrived at the school, so Avarsi used her light magic to conjure a shield above her head to keep her dry until her kids and their friends came out. Finally, Avarsi saw them all exiting the building, and a smile began to form on her muzzle. “Oh, kids! How was your day at school? I was thinking I would fix some of my homemade sushi for dinner tonight, and since the ponies, George and Harold are coming to our house for a sleepover, we can…” But unfortunately, Avarsi stopped herself when she saw the group looking downtrodden and worried, with Kendra looking like she could burst into tears at any moment. “Oh, no… what’s wrong, babies? What happened?” “It was Mr. Krupp again,” Treena said bitterly. “Just wait till you hear what he’s gonna be doing when Monday rolls around.” “He’s gonna make George, Kendra and Harold go to separate classes!” Pipp said, completely appalled. “I mean, can you believe him?!” “Oh, no… this is far worse than anything else he’s done,” Avarsi muttered out of worry before extending the light shield to her kids and their friends. “Come on… you kids can tell me all about it on the way home.” XXXXXXXX “And then, Melvin left the office, just before Krupp told us we would be in separate classes!” Kendra tried her best not to sob as she finished the story, tears now flowing down her face. “Honestly, Mom, we didn’t mean to hurt anyone! We just wanted to have a little fun, we swear!” Avarsi sighed sadly as she turned to nuzzle her youngest daughter. “I know you didn’t, baby… I don’t know why your father believes that principal is suitable to be at your school-- no child deserves to be separated from their friends for no reason. And while I don't exactly agree with your pranking methods... I do understand that your hearts are always in the right places.” George let out a small scoff, rubbing his arms in order to keep himself warm. “After today, I’m not even sure Krupp has a heart.” “It’s gonna be okay, guys,” Sunny said, trying to be comforting as they got closer to the house. “Just think-- we’ll all be together to think about a solution, and hopefully, no more problems pop up.” But when Avarsi made the shield disappear, and the group went inside to avoid the rain, they didn’t expect what was going to come next. Evander was on the living room couch, nuzzling with a leopard that Kendra, her mother or her siblings recognized-- her fur was a turquoise-like color Izzy liked to call ‘Ice Climber’, and she had a cloudy blue muzzle, chest and paws, while the rosettes for her spots were black, and her wings and the insides of her spots were Yuè Guāng Lán blue, matching her medium blue eyes perfectly, and her cutie mark appeared to be a hand mirror, like Claudia sometimes used. Kendra and Heath looked confused while their mother and older sisters looked mortified, and Heath finally chose to speak up after a few moments. “Daddy…?” “Huh?!” Evander looked over, wide-eyed when he saw his mate and cubs standing with George, Harold and the Mane 6. “Oh! A-Avarsi, kids! I’m glad you’re home,” Evander stammered, trying to keep calm. “I, uh… brought a guest for dinner. This is Jaliya-- she and I work together at the construction project in town.” “Hello,” Jaliya said with a soft smile, looking more relaxed than Evander. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.” “...Dad? What’s going on?” Kendra asked in confusion. “You’ve… never brought anyone from work to meet us before.” “I, uh… she was in the neighborhood, and I invited her, and…” Evander tried his best to explain before clearing his throat and clearing the subject. “Uh, honey? We’re out of salmon for sushi night.” “...of course we are,” Avarsi said with a bothered look on her face. “Claudia, Treena? You two take some money and head to the store to get some sushi supplies, and take Heath with you. Kendra, take your new friends up to your room for a bit.” “Sure, Mom,” Kendra nodded. “But… what are you gonna do?” “...I’m just going to talk to your father and Jaliya, sweetheart,” Avarsi said gently before turning toward her mate, a steely gaze in her eyes. “...and it will be a very… VERY long talk.” XXXXXXXX Kendra guided the group up to her room not long after her siblings left for the store, and the Mane 6 discovered that Kendra’s room was dark blue to contradict with the icy atmosphere, with snowflakes painted on the walls, pictures and posters put on the ceiling, a comfortable bed with lots of toys and a special night light shaped like a snowflake. But, the group couldn’t bask in the beauty for long, cause the weight of what was to come Monday still hung on their shoulders. Harold spoke first after ringing out his socks. “Separate classes… our friendship’s over!” he said, flopping down on Kendra’s bed. “I'll never see you again in my life!” “You guys are next-door neighbors, Harold,” Zipp said, trying to comfort Harold by patting his shoulder. “You guys will get to see each other more than you think, even if it isn’t at school. It's not the end of the world.” “Yeah, Zipp’s right,” Izzy nodded as George began to pace. “You guys will still be best friends. Just way down the hall… from each other…” “Oh, what are you saying, Izzy? Harold’s right-- this is bad!” George exclaimed as he grasped the lavender unicorn by the shoulders. “Long distance relationships never work!” “...this is just the beginning. Imagine the future,” George said, looking at the others as he used sock puppets and other things in Kendra’s room to try and picture what their future might be like. “Friends separated... promising each other they'll remain besties. But within months, we'll be awkwardly bumping into each other at the mall.” “Uh… what?” Pipp looked confused. “Is it me, or is Harold taking this too far?” “Maybe a little,” Sunny whispered back, “but the feelings are understandable.” “George will have a weird haircut, I’ll be wearing a suit for some reason, and Kendra will somehow be a super-famous movie star in her prime,” Harold quickly continued, drawing out the events of his fantasy on his sketchpad. “And before we know it, separate classes will lead to separate lives... which inevitably leads to robots!” “Wait, what?” Hitch looked surprised. “Harold, why would there be robots at the mall?” Misty asked curiously. “Because,” Kendra interjected with the roll of her eyes, “it’s the future! The future always has robots!” That’s when Harold suddenly began to pretend the robots were firing at one another, creating sound effects and confusing George further. “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Why are the robots shooting other robots?! Aren't they supposed to be friends?!” “I don't know! I'm the artist, you're the writer!” Harold screamed. “That’s why we need each other! And then, a giant version of the Tattle Turtle 200 will start destroying the robots! And the mall! And us until there's nothing left!!!” Harold pretended to make the sock puppets and other props scream in terror for a few moments, sparking fear in the others and causing them to reel back. Eventually, Harold did stop screaming, but that didn't seem to make George feel better about this. “Okay, you're right. No, you are right!” he said to Harold with worry. “I mean, if we get put in separate classes, it's the end of the world as we know it!” “But, it would take a miracle to change Mr. Krupp’s mind,” Zipp said, “and we’re getting banished from the school first thing Monday morning!” Izzy felt her ears lower at this. “What are we gonna do?” After staying silent for a few moments, Kendra hopped off her bed and approached her friends, a steely gaze in her blue eyes. “Oh, I'll tell you what we're gonna do. First thing Monday morning, we're getting that turtle.” “ADMIT IT, EVANDER!! ADMIT IT!!!” The sound of Avarsi’s shrill, painful shriek came from downstairs, nearly scaring the group out of their wits. “Uh, no offense, Kendra,” said Misty with a wince, “but it sounds like your parents aren’t exactly talking anymore.” “This is really bad…” Kendra muttered to herself. “The fighting’s never gotten this bad before…” “This is just a hunch,” said Zipp quietly to her friends, “but… do you think that Jaliya, the leopard that Kendra’s dad works with is more than just a coworker?” Hitch looked at Zipp in surprise. “What exactly are you saying, Zipp?” “I’m saying that we have to look at the facts,” Zipp said. “Pipp and Misty both said that Evander and Avarsi were arguing a whole lot, and on the day that Evander was supposed to head into work, we find him here with a strange leopard?” “And come to think of it,” Pipp hummed, “they did seem to be acting kinda… weird when we came in.” “So, you guys can see,” Zipp concluded, “why I think--” “KENDRA!!” Evander growled at the top of his lungs. “STOP YOUR LOLLYGAGGING AND GET YOUR RUMP DOWN HERE!! YOUR MOTHER AND I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!!!” “C-Coming, Dad!” Kendra called with a slight tremble before she turned to her friends. “I’ll be right back… shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.” But as Kendra began to leave the room, the Mane 6, George and Harold spared each other a glance, worried of how this simple 'talk' might go in many different directions... and none of their theories were good ones. XXXXXXXX When Kendra came down to the living room, Jaliya was gone and Kendra’s older sisters and Heath were sitting on the couch, with Evander on one side of the room and Avarsi on the other, both trying to contain their snarls as Kendra cautiously approached. “Uh… w-what’s going on?” “We don’t know,” Claudia admitted. “We came back from the store with all our sushi supplies, and found Mom and Dad at each other’s necks, so to speak.” “Then Dad called for you,” said Treena, “and then Jaliya left, and then… we’re not sure what’s going on.” “...sorry, kids. But, I’m just not sure that we could wait to tell you,” Avarsi said with a small sigh, calming down slightly. “The thing is, with what I’ve learned today, your father and I are--” “We’re getting a divorce, so I can be with Jaliya,” Evander interrupted coldly, “and she and I can finally be happy and not keep secrets anymore.” “...w-w-wait, what?” Treena looked confused. “Dad… what are you talking about? Have you… been cheating on Mom behind her back?” “Yep,” Evander said with a scoff. “It only took you how long to figure it out?” “...a-an affair? Divorce?” Claudia looked appalled and horrified all at once. “T-This can’t be real! It can’t! You guys have been together for over 15 years!” “...I’m so sorry you had to find out this way, honey,” Avarsi said gently, “but… we can't be together after what I just found out. We can't go back to the way it was before.” Heath looked around, more confused than ever. “Mama? W-What’s a divorce?” “...it means Mom and Dad are splitting up,” Kendra said, tears flowing down her cheeks as she spoke. “Which means life will never be the same for us again.” “Don’t you care about us at all?!” Treena finally snapped at her parents. “Didn’t it ever ring a bell that we might not want this to happen?!” “Oh, honey, of course we care about you,” Avarsi said gently, “but…” “Don’t bother explaining, Avarsi-- they’re weak, and they won’t be able to comprehend this,” Evander said bitterly. “Not like a man.” “But they’re not men, Evander!” Avarsi snarled. “They’re our girls!” “AND MAYBE THAT’S THE PROBLEM!!” Evander got in his wife’s face. “Maybe I never wanted daughters at all! Maybe if they had been born as boys, I wouldn’t have a problem. I should have left them on the streets when they were born… maybe that would have spared us all the trouble.” “You take that back…” Avarsi’s eyes filled with rage. “With Parisa as my witness, YOU WILL TAKE THAT BACK NOW!!” “NO!!” Evander roared. “I WON’T, BECAUSE IT’S THE TRUTH!!” The two began to bicker like wildfire after this, using their claws and fangs every now and then in order to make sure they kept their distance from each other. Kendra, Claudia, Heath and Treena were so frightened, they couldn’t move-- all they could do was watch their parents go back and forth with insults. The Mane 6, George and Harold listened to all of this from the stairs, and they realized that not only was getting the Tattle Turtle vital for the trio of comic book creators to stay together as friends… …but it was also vital so Kendra had something to take her mind off the horrible situation her family was in. Morning Talks and Snooping Around the Office/The Real Captain Underpants and a City-Wide ChaseThe Mane 6 had heard quite a bit of fighting during their time in other worlds and in Equestria, but... what they just heard going on between Kendra's parents, Evander and Avarsi, after finding out that Evander was having an affair with a coworker was... brutal. The name-calling, the verbal abuse... the claws and fangs being used whenever one got too close. And the worse thing was... they finally discovered that Evander had been treating his daughters so horribly, just because they were born girls instead of boys. It almost (almost being the keyword) made the situation of Mr. Krupp making George, Harold and Kendra go to separate classes less horrible than they originally pictured it to be. For the rest of that weekend, Kendra and her siblings seemed to be walking on eggshells, watching their parents' happy marriage unravel before their very eyes. Not even sushi could cheer the siblings up, and that was certainly saying something. But as soon as Monday rolled around, Kendra knew that she would have to help George and Harold and the rest of her new friends get back the Tattle Turtle before Mr. Krupp banished the ponies from the school and sent her and her best friends to separate classes. But the real question in that moment was... would they succeed in their plans? Or... would they fail horribly and risk an even more horrible fate? XXXXXXXX “Kendra…? Kendra… it’s time to get up, sweetheart. You’ll be late for school.” Kendra groaned to herself and slowly opened her eyes to see Avarsi standing over her, her eyes gentle and her smile caring. However... Kendra sighed and turned over again. “If you’re here to tell me more about this divorce thing and tell me it’ll be okay, it won’t work. I know it’s not gonna be okay.” Avarsi sighed as she sat down on her daughter's bed. “I know you’re really upset, sweetie… I am too.” “At Dad? Or his new girlfriend?” Kendra scoffed from under the covers. “...both, honestly,” Avarsi sighed. “I’m sad because your father lied to me… and what he said about you girls blew me over the edge.” Kendra sniffled, looking up at her mother with tear-filled eyes. “Why would Dad say that stuff about me and my sisters? Did he… ever love us?” “I wish I knew what the answer was, but I can’t read your father’s mind,” Avarsi said with a touch of remorse. “Only… Queen Felicia had that power.” “...the queen of Leopardia before Allura and her twin took over?” Kendra looked confused. “Yes,” Avarsi nodded. “When I was a girl, still living in Leopardia, I saw her once-- she was beautiful, and my mother told me that all winged leopards in the royal family had some sort of power over the mind, along with their other magical powers. The queen used her powers to help our people, but when her husband took over after her death… he used his powers to make us do the most evil things.” “But so did Allura and Alterro,” Kendra mumbled. “Why didn’t you choose to abandon Leopardia when their dad was still in power?” “Fear, I suppose. The point is… after Leopardia was disbanded, my family wasn’t sure what to do, and we were scared,” Avarsi continued. “And… even though we’re all scared, hurt and angry about the divorce and separation… it’ll be okay. Trust me when I say that.” Kendra spared her mother a glance before sighing and sitting up. “Okay… I trust you. Is… is Dad here?” “No, he had to go to work. He’s going to be by this afternoon with a lawyer to… discuss the divorce,” Avarsi said gently. “But, your pony friends, George and Harold are going to have breakfast together. Won’t that be nice?” Kendra nodded slightly. “Uh-huh.” Avarsi chuckled at this. “Now, hurry up and get your fur brushed before you come down for breakfast. You kids have to leave soon, and don’t worry… I’ll call Mr. Krupp and see if we can work something out about this whole separate classes thing.” “...thanks, Mom,” Kendra smiled, but deep in her heart she knew that whatever happened, she and her friends would have to take matters into their own hands, paws and hooves. XXXXXXXX Immediately after breakfast was over, the leopard siblings, George, Harold and the Mane 6 quickly headed to the school, and once they got there, Kendra told Claudia and Treena to take Heath and head on to their classes in case they got caught, so that way, Kendra’s siblings wouldn’t get into trouble. Misty knew that her invisibility spell would come in handy once they got past Mr. Krupp and into the office, but as for how to get Krupp away from the office... that was a whole different box of ponycorn. Hitch had the idea to hide in a large, spacious storage closet as they saw Mr. Krupp (with the Tattle Turtle sitting next to him) copying several pieces of paper which could only be the applications for the science teacher position. As he shut the tray down, the principal was startled to see Edith, the school lunch lady, suddenly appear in front of him with a deep dish in her hands. “Edith!” “Oh, is this a bad time?” Edith asked timidly. “I did not mean to interrupt the copying process. I'll go.” “Yes, go! Please go,” George whispered from the closet, even though Zipp tried to keep him from blowing their cover. “No, no. I'm just finishing up,” Mr. Krupp said nervously, causing the boys to groan. “What brings you around here?” “I just made this tuna casserole,” Edith said, holding it up to show him, “and I noticed it had your name on it... in jalapeno peppers.” Mr. Krupp sniffed the entree, slightly intrigued. “Mmm. It smells spicy.” “Yep. Mmm-hmm,” Edith nodded nervously. “That's cause it's been dry-aged for a week.” “I don't know what that means, but it sounds very time-consuming.” “It took a week.” George watched the interaction between Edith and Mr. Krupp with a look of weirdness and disgust on his face. “Eww! They like each other?” “Oh, no, George,” Pipp said gravely, recognizing this look from her mother’s interactions with Alphabittle before they got engaged. “I think it's much worse. They like-like each other.” “What are you talking about?” George asked her, finding the mere thought of what Pipp was suggesting to be rather ridiculous. “Adults don't like-like other adults.” “Well,” Harold said with a shrug, “you probably haven't seen it at your home since your parents are married. In my studies, like-liking seems to end with marriage.” “Eh,” Zipp shrugged. “It works for Misty’s dad and our mom, so I can totally see that between Krupp and Edith.” “Well, I should probably get back to running the school,” Mr. Krupp said, nervously grabbing the Tattle Turtle before beginning to walk backwards toward his office. “You know, it's not gonna run itself.” “But…” Edith tried to say something, but the door closed before she could get the chance. “Oh, Edith. Get your head out of the clouds!” Soon, Edith began to leave, giving Kendra the cue to try and sneak over to the office. “Wait, Edith!” Mr. Krupp cried and raced after Edith, causing Izzy to pull Kendra back into the closet. “You never gave me the tuna casserole!” And once Mr. Krupp was gone, Sunny gasped in realization. “I think he forgot the turtle!” she whispered. “Go go go!” The group quickly began to sneak over toward the office, but immediately, they retreated back into the closet when they saw the secretary, Ms. Anthrope, heading back into the office after her morning coffee break. “Oh, great…” Kendra sighed. “Now what do we do?” “Hmm…” Hitch saw a nearby phone next to him and got an idea. “I think it’s time for a little signature prank Sprout and I used to do when we were colts. George, when I give the signal, you say…” XXXXXXXX The phone in the office began to ring a short minute later, causing Ms. Anthrope to answer it, listening to George's disguised voiced coming from the closet. “Hello! If you would like the chance to win one billion dollars, please hold for one of our representatives.” George then set the phone down as Harold turned on the radio next to it, all of them quietly giggling at how easy that turned out to be as the radio's music began to loop. And then, with Ms. Anthrope distracted, Misty cast the invisibility spell over the group and they crept toward the office, careful not to make any sudden movements. And once they were past Ms. Anthrope, Izzy quietly shut the door to the office while Misty undid the spell, making them visible again. “Okay, we don’t have a lot of time before Krupp comes back,” Zipp said quietly, “so we need to spread out and find that turtle. Come on!” And so, the group began to spread out and search various corners of the room, with Kendra using her nose to sniff around, but ultimately not finding the scent of the turtle. “It’s gotta be in here somewhere.” “Uh… I don’t know if the turtle is in here,” said Misty after a few moments more of searching, “but… take a look at what I found!” Misty had opened a drawer in Mr. Krupp’s filing cabinet marked ‘Kendra, George and Harold’, and inside was a bunch of toys, comics and other things, making the ponies gasp with wide eyes. “Whoa…” “Guys!” Kendra gasped to her friends. “It’s everything Krupp ever confiscated from us!” “Whoa…” Zipp reached in and took out a whoopie cushion. “Just look at all this stuff!” George gasped and took the whoopie cushion from Zipp without a second thought. “Oh, dear old whoopee cushion. You will sing once again,” he said, hugging it and letting it deflate. “Oh, my Super Duper Soaking Machine!” Harold said, getting out a very large squirt gun and falling on the ground, just as George took a plastic ring out from one of the corners of the cabinet. “My hypno-ring! I never even got to take it out of the wrapper.” “Oooh…” Izzy said in awe as George put the hypno-ring on. “Hypnotic…” “Wow. Look at this!” Harold said as he pulled several comic books out of the cabinet. “He's got every issue of Captain Underpants we've ever created!” “Hmm…” Kendra looked at one of the comics with a sudden thought. “Do you think he reads them?” “I don’t know,” George said with a frown. “I was kinda hoping that we appealed to a slightly cooler demographic.” Suddenly, the door slammed behind the group, causing them to freeze and turn to see Mr. Krupp standing behind them with a smirk on his face. “Well if it isn’t the Equestrians, Kendra, George Beard and Harold Hutchins,” he said, pulling up a blue chair to put his leg on. “To what do I owe the pleasure? Is it perhaps this?” That was when the principal showed them the Tattle Turtle strapped to his leg, causing Sunny to gasp and Pipp to gulp. “Oh, no…” “Nice try,” Mr. Krupp sneered at the group. “Turtle and I have grown quite attached. We're inseparable, actually. I carry him wherever I go. Including the shower!” Zipp let out a shudder at this. “So gross…” “Ohh…” Izzy felt her ears pin. “Poor turtle.” “Mr. Krupp, it isn’t too late to do the right thing,” Sunny said as the ponies stood in front of the principal’s desk. “Sure, Kendra and the boys’ pranks do go a little out of control at times, but they only do these pranks to make everyone at the school happy. And… isn’t happiness worth something to you?” “Let me tell you something, Miss Starscout-- happiness is a waste of time,” Mr. Krupp told the earth pony mare with a look of disgust on his face from just the mere talk of happiness. “The time we spend being happy and go-lucky is time we could often use to put our students into the REAL world, where they will only face disappointment and heartache.” That was when Mr. Krupp pulled out a file with three red papers inside. “Oh, well what’s this?” he said, pretending he didn’t know what they were until he brought them out. “Why, it’s the paperwork to separate your little friends forever!” This caused George, Harold and Kendra to gasp in complete terror. “It’s really incredible-- I can actually see the end of their friendship,” he said, getting out his pen to sign the papers. “And it ends right here on this dotted--” “No way, Kruppy-Pants!” Izzy interrupted as she boldly lit her horn to try and pull the pen away from him. “You can’t sign the papers if you don’t have the pen!” Mr. Krupp and Izzy continued to fight over the pen for a few moments before Kendra joined in on the fight, pulling on Izzy’s waist to try and give her more strength. Eventually, it got to where Harold couldn’t stand the suspense anymore. “George, do something!” George, unsure of what to do in that moment, climbed up onto the desk as Mr. Krupp managed to push Izzy and Kendra away, regaining control of the pen, before George pointed the hypno-ring directly at the principal. “Put the pen down, Mr. Krupp... or we'll hypnotize you!” Mr. Krupp immediately stopped what he was doing when he heard this. “What?!” Even Harold, Kendra and the ponies seemed surprised. “What?!” “You said do something!” George argued, just as Mr. Krupp found himself glancing at the hypno-ring again. “What is that?” “Forged from the molten plastic of Shandong, China,” George began, “in the lowest floor of the darkest basement where only toy prizes are made... exists the most powerful item ever to be found in a box of Frosted Sugar Doodles-- the hypno-ring.” However, Mr. Krupp didn’t seem to be intimidated by the act. “Hypnotize me with that piece of plastic junk? Ha ha ha ha!” Izzy, on the other hand, seemed very interested in what George was saying. “Does that actually work?” “Iz, what do you think?!” Pipp whispered harshly. “He got it out of a cereal box!” “But hey, it’s the only plan we have right now,” said Hitch with a shrug, “so we at least have to try!” “I’m warning you!” George said to Mr. Krupp. “If you don't do what we say, you're gonna get really sleepy!” “Oh, will I? I'll get sleepy?” Mr. Krupp asked with a laugh. “With that thing pointing at me?” But, little did our heroes realize it right away, but the ring was actually working, and Mr. Krupp was starting to get sleepy like George said he would. “I'm not gonna get sleepy from… whew!” But, wouldn’t you know it? That wasn’t even the strangest thing that went on. As Mr. Krupp continued to stare at the hypno-ring, a nearby globe began to spin and float all on its own, with the hypno-ring emanating some sort of strange, supernatural glow on its own. And then… our heroes slowly began to lift off the floor, somehow caught in the strange occurrence as Mr. Krupp began to get sleepier and sleepier. “What kind of plastic hokum is this?” “Whoa!!” Kendra yelped as she grabbed onto George and Harold. “What’s happening?!” “I don’t know!” George said in panic. “Why are we floating?!” “Hey, don’t look at us!” Pipp said as the Mane 6 tried to hold onto the sturdier objects in the room. “Just keep hanging on!” The red spiral from the hypno-ring continued to swirl around the room until it began swirling around the school, but only our heroes managed to feel the strange, current effects around them. As our heroes shrieked and tried to hold on for dear life, Mr. Krupp’s eyes started to turn to red spirals, completely under the hypnosis, which made the red spirals around the school disappear, and caused everything to return to normal, including letting our heroes go back on the ground and letting Mr. Krupp bonk his head on the desk before falling onto his back. But after everything fell back into place, as if the recent events had never occurred, Zipp was the first to look at her friends, who seemed just as stunned as she was. “W-What was that?!” “I don’t know,” George shrugged, looking at the hypno-ring. “I honestly didn’t think that would happen.” Kendra, George and Harold silently approached the hypnotized school principal and Harold waved his hand over his face, but like Sunny figured, nothing happened. But deciding they had a free moment, Harold reached over and took the turtle off of Mr. Krupp’s leg. “Gotcha,” he said gently, putting the turtle in his backpack. “You’re safe now, little turtle.” And though the turtle was a simple toy with a nanny cam inside, Harold could have sworn that he saw the turtle smiling at him. The ponies, on the other hoof, were trying to figure out what exactly happened so it would be easier to wrap their heads around. Suddenly, Zipp thought of a possible theory, but needed to test it before settling on a decision. “George, can I see your hypno-ring, please?” George took off the hypno-ring and put it in Zipp’s hoof, and once she had the ring, Zipp put on her visor and did a scan of it, her eyes widening at what she saw inside. “It’s just like I thought-- guys, this ring has trace amounts of Equestrian magic inside!” “That would explain why Mr. Krupp reacted the way he did after looking at it for so long,” Misty said in thought, “but… what exactly are we supposed to do now? We can’t just leave him like this for people to see, can we?” However, George already seemed to have an idea, and he and Kendra approached the hypnotized principal before George began speaking again. “When we stomp our hooves or snap our fingers, you will obey our every command.” “Wait,” Harold paused. “How do you know this?” “We don’t know,” Kendra answered honestly. “We just say the first thing that comes to our minds with great authority.” Hitch blinked at this for a moment before humming out of thought. “You know… that actually makes a little sense.” And once this was out of the way, George turned back to Mr. Krupp again. “You are now a chicken!” Once George snapped his fingers, the group crowded around, waiting for some kind of response as the red spirals disappeared from Mr. Krupp's eyes. Then... after a brief moment... Mr. Krupp began to cluck and walk around the room, acting like a real-life chicken! Sunny couldn't help but laugh and smile when she saw this. “It worked!” she exclaimed. “He’s a chicken!” “Lemme try, lemme try!” Harold said before trying to think of another command. “Uh… you’re a monkey!” When Harold snapped his fingers, Mr. Krupp immediately began to screech like a monkey, beating his chest and swinging from the ceiling fan as he did so, throwing the materials on his desk all over the place. “Ha ha ha!” Izzy couldn’t help but laugh, finding this hilarious. “Oh, look at him! He's a monkey!” “Oooh-hoo-hoo, this is so cool!” Pipp said with a little hop to her step. “We can make him do whatever we want!” “Yeah, but… we need to make sure what whatever we do next,” said Zipp, “we need to plan out carefully-- who knows what could go wrong if we give him a really wild command?” However, as the ponies were talking amongst themselves, Kendra picked up one of their Captain Underpants comics with her paw, her eyes widening as she suddenly thought of an idea, looking at the comic then at Mr. Krupp, who was still behaving like a monkey. “Guys…” Kendra then whispered to Harold and George. “I think I just got the world’s best idea.” Kendra slowly lifted the comic for George and Harold to see, causing them to gasp in realization and giggle alongside their flying leopard friend, but causing Sunny to frown. “Uh-oh… why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?” However, Kendra and the boys completely ignored Sunny's worry before they stepped closer to the hypnotized principal to give him another command. “You're now the greatest superhero of all time, the amazing Captain Underpants!!” George snapped his fingers again, which caused Mr. Krupp to quickly start removing his clothing, got a curtain down from the nearby window and threw off his toupee, which caused the Mane 6 to scream and duck for cover. The toupee hit the button on the fan, turning it on and causing a breeze to blow through the room. After a moment, the group looked up, and their eyes widened as comic book pages flew about… …right before Captain Underpants officially made his first appearance. “Tra-la-laaaaaa!!!” The Mane 6 and their new friends lightly gasped, unsure of what they were seeing or what to make of it. “Captain Underpants?” Misty asked softly as they stood up. “Is that really you?” “Let's see. Underpants… check,” Captain Underpants said after checking his underwear. “Captain, also check. I'm pretty sure I'm Captain Underpants.” Now, normally, the Mane 6 would be stunned beyond measure and then try to figure out a solution for their problem. But this time… they couldn't help but laugh alongside their new friends, finding this whole situation with the terrible principal hilarious. “Are you seeing this?!” Hitch said as he burst out in laughter. “It worked!” “Which must make all of you,” Captain Underpants continued, “my trusty sidekicks!” “Sidekicks?!” Kendra, George and Harold said at once before they began to laugh again, just as Captain Underpants heroically glanced out of the window. “Fear not-- this planet is safe under my watchful eye.” Izzy could barely contain herself by this point. “This is hilarious!” “I know, right?!” Pipp said with a laugh. “So worth all the terror Krupp put us through!” “Let's see what's afoot.” Suddenly, the group heard the crashing of glass, and stopped laughing immediately to discover that Captain Underpants had run right through the office window! “Wait!” Harold cried. “No!” The group rushed to the window to see Captain Underpants slowly recovering from his fall, surprisingly not injured in any other way. “Well, that was invigorating.” “C-Come on, guys!” Sunny said rather desperately as Captain Underpants began to run toward the street. “We gotta stop him!” George turned to look at her in confusion. “Why?” Just then, Captain Underpants got hit by a car without noticing, causing the Mane 6 to cringe before Captain Underpants stood up again. “Ha-ha!” “Out of the road, bozo!” the driver of the car said angrily. “Why, thank you, vehicle person!” Captain Underpants said before he leapt behind a fence, only for cat yowls to fill the air, sounding as if Captain Underpants was being attacked. “Ow!” Suddenly, Kendra could see Sunny’s point. “Yep,” she responded fearfully. “We should probably go get him.” “Come on! We can try and catch up to him if we go out the window!” Zipp cried. And while the ponies and leapt out of the window and landed on their four hooves, George, Kendra and Harold leapt from the window to the flagpole, sliding down it before rejoining their friends and setting off after Captain Underpants again. “Captain Underpants!” Izzy cried out. “Wait!” Needless to say, our heroes would have to work fast in order to corral Captain Underpants and bring him back to the school before he got into any worse trouble. XXXXXXXX Unaware that the group were chasing after him, Captain Underpants swiftly made it into the city where he came upon a peculiar sight-- a mime performing for people near the park. “What is this? Poor soul. You're trapped in some sort of invisible box-like prison!” Captain Underpants said, virtually concerned as the mime pretended to cry and not speak all at once. “What's that? I can't hear you! But I see your tears.” Luckily, the others arrived on the scene just in time, and Pipp honestly tried to keep herself from giggling as she looked at her older sister. “Is it okay that I’m kinda loving this?” Zipp shrugged at this, not sure what to say exactly. “Yes and no.” “But,” George added with a smile, “mostly yes!” “Fear not,” Captain Underpants reassured the mime. “I will set you free!” Suddenly, Captain Underpants punched the mime in the face, causing the group to groan and wince as the mine suddenly glared at Captain Underpants. “What is wrong with you?!” “Oh, that's better. I can hear you now,” Captain Underpants smiled just before the group came over. “Sorry, so sorry,” Kendra said with a timid look. “Really, really sorry.” “Okay, listen, captain,” Sunny said, trying to act like she was playing along as the group began to guide Captain Underpants away. “I get you wanna help people, but maybe try to not PUNCH people, cause…” Suddenly, Captain Underpants froze upon hearing something. “Hold it!” That’s when Captain Underpants raced over to an old woman trying to get her cat down from a nearby tree. “Here, let me help,” he offered, and instead of getting the cat down, he merely tossed the woman into the nearby tree, causing her to yell out before the hypnotized superhero saluted to her. “You're welcome, madam!” “You know,” said Harold as he and George tried to pull Captain Underpants away, “we should probably get you back to the school before anything else…” “Halt!” Captain Underpants shouted, trying to stop the group, except for Sunny and Zipp, who were helping the woman and her cat down. “Do you sense that?” George glanced around weirdly. “No…?” “Well, of course you don't. You're not a superhero like me. Come, sidekicks!” Captain Underpants shouted before running inside a building with a revolving door. “Evil lurks within!” “Oh no…!!” Hitch groaned. “Quick, guys! After him!” The group quickly entered the building through the revolving door, getting slightly dizzy in the process, but then discovered that Captain Underpants was gone, much to George's bewilderment. “Where’d he go now?!” “Oh no… no no no no no no no no no!!” Kendra yelped in panic. “Guys, this is where my mom works!” “You mean… this is the Piqua Gazette?” Izzy looked around with a hum of thought. “I thought it would be bigger.” “Izzy, focus! My mom isn’t here today,” Kendra said, “but if one of my mom’s coworkers recognize me, we could all be in for it!” “Then we need to find Captain Underpants quick!” Misty said determinedly. “I mean… where in the world could one guy go so quickly?” XXXXXXXX “To the skyyyyyyyy!!!” Captain Underpants was riding in an elevator that overlooked the entire city the higher it went, with two people, a man and a woman, riding with him. The woman was desperately pushing a button to stop at the next floor, and once the elevator stopped, she and the man got off while Captain Underpants continued to ride the elevator upward. XXXXXXXX “Sunny, we’ve looked everywhere,” Zipp panted as the group left the Piqua Gazette building, “but there’s no sign of Captain Underpants anywhere!” Harold groaned, slightly dizzy as George flopped on his back. “You'd think a guy like him would be easy to find.” “Found him!” George spotted Captain Underpants on the roof of a nearby building, looking at something not far away. “Stand down, you giant ape monster!” “Giant ape monster?” Sunny looked confused. “What is he…?” “Look!” Misty gasped and pointed at the gigantic ape balloon, which Captain Underpants was getting ready to run, jump over and attack. “Your days of terrifying this town,” said the dimwitted superhero, “are over!” “Mr. Krupp! I mean, Captain Underpants!” Harold shouted to try and get the superhero's attention. “You can’t actually fly!” However, Captain Underpants seemed to pay her no mind as he began to run across the top of the Piqua Gazette. “Now I take to the sky... like an ostrich!” With that, Captain Underpants leapt right onto the giant gorilla balloon and began attacking it, just as the ropes began to snap. “I gotcha!” he kept shouting, even hitting the side of the building next door as he seemed to fight the pretend gorilla. Pipp let out a shriek. “We have to do something!” “But even when there are four flyers,” Sunny pointed out with worry, “we’d never be strong enough to lift a giant gorilla balloon back to solid ground!” That’s when George suddenly spotted a crane not too far away, a sudden thought coming to mind. “I’ve got an idea!” They immediately ran over toward the nearby crane, trying to act natural as the worker of the crane began to leave. “Morning.” “Morning,” said the worker before he walked around the corner. “Quick, everyone onboard the crane!” Kendra whispered desperately. “We don’t have long before those ropes snap!” George, Kendra and Harold quickly got inside the cab with the Mane 6 climbing around on the outside, but when they finally got a good look at the panel in front of them, Harold’s eyes widened as to how many buttons there were. “Oh, that is a lot of buttons.” “Well, start pushing something! Anything!” Hitch cried out in desperation. “DO SOMETHING!!” And so, Kendra, George and Harold began to push as many buttons as they could to try and get the crane hook to grab Captain Underpants, all while Captain Underpants and the gorilla continued to 'fight'. “Take that! Ah, cheap shot! Ow! Right in the kisser!” But as Captain Underpants tried to lay a hit on the gorilla again, the final rope snapped, much to the group's horror. “NO!!” George and Harold moved a switch to make the hook grab the balloon, but they only managed to tear off a piece of Captain Underpants’ cape. Luckily, the balloon managed to hit the ground in one piece, causing Captain Underpants to wave at them. “Oh, hi, guys.” But before anything else could be said, the balloon began to bounce away with Captain Underpants still on it. “What?! No!” Kendra yowled. “Hurry, guys!” Zipp cried. “Follow that gorilla!” And so, Harold started the crane up and steered it so it could follow the bouncing gorilla balloon from behind, but Captain Underpants thought that the gorilla balloon was fighting against him. “Oh, you put up a good fight!” “Whoo-hoo!!” Izzy cheered as the crane sped through the streets of town. “You are so good at operating a crane, Harold!” “I know!” Harold said as the rest of the Mane 6 hung on for dear life. “It's really not that hard!” “Not that hard?!” Hitch screeched. “At your age, you shouldn’t be driving anything!!” “Just keep trying to snag the balloon, Harold!” Sunny shouted. “Once we’re close enough, we’ll grab Captain Underpants!” “Rest assured, citizens of this marvelous metropolis!!” Captain Underpants shouted to the unsuspecting citizens as he continued to bounce on the balloon through the city, unaware that the group was trying to catch him. “I will rid you of this menace any moment now!” “Come on…” Harold muttered as he tried to grab the balloon again. “Oh, come on, come on, come on…” But at that moment, the crane hook made impact against the balloon, popping it and causing Kendra and the other ponies to shriek. But as the only pony who knew what to do, Sunny let her alicorn form begin to take shape. “I am all three pony kinds, wrapped up into one! My cutie mark comes to life with hope, bright as the sun!” And once Sunny got done speaking, she zipped off, just as the crane began to spin wildly out of control, leaving the other ponies hanging on for dear life. As for Sunny, she caught Captain Underpants on her back, internally relieved. “I gotcha!” she reassured, but then realized Captain Underpants was much heavier than she expected. “Oh brother… WHOA!!!” Lucky for Sunny, she and Captain Underpants managed to fall right on top of some bank robbers robbing the nearby bank, knocking them out and ruining their plans. “Let that be a lesson to evildoers everywhere,” Captain Underpants said as he got off of Sunny’s back as a police officer arrived. “Never underestimate the power of underwear!” The police officer looked at Captain Underpants, bewildered. “Who the heck are you?” Sunny chuckled nervously as she stood up. “Would you believe he’s actually a fanmade comic book character…?” But before she could try and explain herself, the crane carrying her screaming friends spun into the nearby parking spot behind the police car, eventually stopping and allowing the Mane 6 to try to compose themselves. “We’re… we’re alive!” Hitch said thankfully. “We’re actually alive!” “I know, right?” Kendra said as she, Harold and George hopped out of the crane cab. “I can't believe we found a spot!” “Oh, goodness. Grandpa, you did it again,” George said, trying to seem like this was natural as he and Harold grabbed Captain Underpants by the hands. “He's a sleepwalker,” Harold added, looking at the police officer. “Come on, Pap-Pap, let's get you back into bed.” “But what about all the other evil villains?” Captain Underpants asked quizzically. “Uh, forget the evil villains for now,” Misty said worriedly as they continued walking. “There aren’t anymore villains around here.” But little did our heroes know that there WERE more villains lurking nearby, and dangerous ones at that. Alterro had met up with a man who called himself Professor P the day before, and together, the two hatched a plan to get Alterro's revenge on the ponies, as well as Alterro promising to help Professor P with his plan... although Alterro wasn't sure what that was. After the Mane 6 and their friends led Captain Underpants away, Alterro pointed to one of the posters that had been hung up about the science teacher position. “Here-- this is where I saw that idiot Krupp earlier this morning.” “A science teacher?” Professor P hummed in thought as he ripped the poster from the telephone pole, a sinister grin forming onto his face. “The perfect cover for our plans of universal domination!” Alterro and this Professor P character each let out cackles of pure, unbridled evil, ready to put their plan into action as quickly as possible… and this time, no pathetic little ponies or any other kind of heroes were going to stand in their way. Captain Underpants in the Treehouse, Snooping around Krupp's House and the Impending DivorceThe Mane 6 had seen a lot on their Unity Quest, but this was definitely topping things off as their weirdest Unity Quest to date. George, Harold and Kendra, alongside the Mane 6, accidentally hypnotized Mr. Krupp and Kendra and the boys got him to believe he was Captain Underpants, the hero in all their comic books. And then... Captain Underpants went through the city trying to fight a giant gorilla balloon, causing the Mane 6 and their new friends to chase after him and then, they had to think of someplace to bring Captain Underpants/Mr. Krupp (whichever you prefer) so that way he wouldn't be seen and viewed as a maniac more than he already was. But as the sun prepared to go down, Kendra suddenly thought of the safest place for Captain Underpants to hide out... and a perfect place for our heroes to figure out what to do next. XXXXXXXX Kendra had the brilliant idea to take Captain Underpants to their treehouse in George’s backyard, and needless to say, Captain Underpants was very impressed with the layout of the place, beginning to explore as Sunny got them all some cups of water and some snacks from George’s house. “Chums! What an astounding headquarters!” Captain Underpants said to the group. “Stuffed full of relics... all celebrating my interplanetary exploits!” That’s when he picked up a plunger and sighed happily. “Oh, this takes me back.” “Is it just me,” Misty whispered, “or does this keep getting weirder and weirder by the second?” “Well, if you want me to be honest, yeah,” Hitch nodded as Sunny returned with water and apple slices. “But then again… this is actually kinda rewarding, if you consider all the stuff Krupp put George, Harold and Kendra through.” “But what are we gonna do?” Harold then asked. “He can't just stay here. We have to turn him back into Krupp.” “Yeah, I know,” Kendra sighed with a sad-looking nod before suddenly smiling again. “But can we just take a moment to acknowledge what's happening here please? I mean, Captain Underpants is hanging out in our treehouse!” “Look at the cute little turtle. Oh, he's so adorable,” Captain Underpants cooed over the Tattle Turtle, causing the Mane 6 and their friends to laugh. “Man… this is actually kinda funny,” Zipp sighed. “But… like Harold said, we have to turn him back into Krupp sooner or later.” “Yeah, but we don’t know anything about hypnosis,” Sunny argued as she shook her head. “It could take us a while to figure out the right combination of Equestrian magic needed to undo the spell and turn him back to normal.” That was when Captain Underpants tossed away the Tattle Turtle and stood up boldly again. “Well, a hero's work is never done. Now it is time to fly again!” “No no no no no!” George cried out in desperation and threw some water at Captain Underpants, somehow turning him back into Krupp, who seemed disoriented and mildly confused. “Where am I? Where are my pants?!” “Uh-oh!” Izzy gulped nervously, hiding behind Sunny. “I-I think he turned into meanie Krupp again!” Mr. Krupp screamed in rage, but when Kendra snapped her paws, the hypnosis kicked in again, turning him back into Captain Underpants. “Tra-la-laaa!” “Holy spots, that’s it!” Kendra quickly exclaimed to her friends with a smile gracing her face. “Now we know what turns him back and forth!” “Turns who what?” Captain Underpants asked before Harold splashed his face with water, turning him into Krupp again. “Why am I soaking wet?!” “Oh, cool!” Harold said with an excited grin. Then, for the next few minutes, Kendra and the boys took turns soaking Krupp with water and turning him back again, amazed at how quickly he was able to turn back and forth with just a snap and a little splash of water. But after a moment of turning Krupp into Captain Underpants and vice versa, Sunny felt the brief need to step in. “Okay, guys, this has been fun and everything, but maybe we should stop before somebody ends up getting hurt, whether it’s Captain Underpants or Mr. Krupp.” “Yeah, you’re right, Sunny,” Harold shrugged. “We probably should.” But did that stop Harold, George and Kendra from what they were doing? Well… you can guess that the answer to that question is a big fat no. They proceeded to squirt, spray and blast water at Captain Underpants repeatedly, turning him back into Krupp repeatedly, then snapping their fingers repeatedly to turn him back into Captain Underpants-- they even went as far as dousing him with a bunch of water balloons! But finally, after Mr. Krupp had passed out on the floor from exhaustion, the Mane 6 glanced at the trio in disappointment. “Way to go, guys,” Hitch frowned. “NOW do you think you should have stopped?” “...maybe…?” George smiled nervously before sighing. “Okay, yeah, I guess we are having a little too much fun with this.” “We can’t let anyone else see him like this,” Zipp said. “If someone like Melvin Sneedly were to find out, we would ALL be in huge trouble!” “And especially not my family,” Kendra added. “Mom’s already going through a hard time as it is with the… divorce and all. But, if Dad or my siblings found out about this, they…” “Hey, Kendra!” The group screamed and turned to see Claudia and Treena fluttering inside the treehouse and huddled around the unconscious Mr. Krupp, trying to keep him from sight. “Uh, hey, guys!” Misty said nervously. “W-W-What’s up?” “You guys didn’t meet us at the front of the school like usual,” Claudia said, “so we wanted to come and check up on you after we dropped Heath off at home, so…” Suddenly, Treena saw Mr. Krupp unconscious and in his underwear, causing her to scream. “Guys! Why the hey is Mr. Krupp unconscious in your treehouse?!” “...man…” Pipp muttered. “I knew the pony, kid and leopard shield tactic wasn’t gonna work.” “Okay… before the two of you go running your snouts off,” said Sunny, “we need to take the opportunity to explain.” “But while we do so,” Zipp said, “we need to find a way to get Mr. Krupp home without anyone else suspecting anything.” Izzy pulled out Mr. Krupp’s clothes from out of nowhere and pulled out his wallet, her eyes spotting something of interest inside. “Here’s his address on his driver’s license! Maybe that can help!” “Izzy, you’re a genius!” Misty exclaimed. “That’s just what we need to get Mr. Krupp home!” “...but… did you seriously just pull his clothes from out of nowhere?” George asked Izzy, who merely chuckled nervously. “Okay, let’s get him into the wagon I saw in the backyard,” Hitch said before turning to look at Claudia and Treena, who still looked shocked and completely confused. “And on our way there, we’ll tell you guys the whole story, right from the beginning.” XXXXXXXX “So… let me get this straight,” Treena said as the Mane 6 led her, Claudia, George, Harold and Kendra, along with the unconscious Mr. Krupp on George’s wagon, down the sidewalk. “You guys unintentionally hypnotized Mr. Krupp into thinking he’s Captain Underpants, and you can turn him BACK into Mr. Krupp just by splashing water on him?” “Yeah… I know-- crazy day,” Kendra giggled nervously. “But you guys CAN’T tell anyone else about this. If Mom, Dad or anyone else found out, we could get in SERIOUS trouble.” “Your secret’s safe with us, for sure, and with Heath too,” Claudia said, “but… Mom and Dad are expecting us home soon to talk about the divorce preparations, and if we don’t get home before dark…” Kendra growled under her breath. “This divorce is messing everything up for us… and Dad’s new girlfriend is just a big… prima donna!” “I know this is really hard right now, you guys,” Hitch said, looking back at the sisters sympathetically. “And we’re really sorry it’s turning out this way. But… you know… even though you can’t necessarily stop the divorce, maybe there’s ways of making it work out some other way.” Claudia raised an eyebrow at this. “Like what exactly?” “Well… you guys would get to be yourselves more,” Zipp said slowly. “And it wouldn’t feel like you’re walking on eggshells.” Treena hummed in thought, slowly considering the idea. “True... we have been careful as to what we've been saying lately.” “So... I guess we could get used to the idea,” Kendra said with a soft sigh. “For Mom and Heath's sake, anyway.” Sunny chuckled and rubbed Kendra on the head with her front hoof. “That’s all we ask, Kendra. Thanks to all of you for being so open.” After another block or two of walking, George lifted Mr. Krupp’s drivers license up to a nearby street sign, which read Curmudgeon Blvd. “Okay, this is the street.” “Come on, come on! Shake your hooves!” Pipp whispered as George, Hutch and Sunny all began to pull and push the wagon again. “We're almost there!” But as the group headed down the sidewalk, they froze and instantly posed in front of Mr. Krupp in the wagon, in order to ensure that a man reading a newspaper and walking his dog didn’t see the unconscious principal. “Evening!” “Evening,” the man said, not looking up from his newspaper. However, as the dog passed by, it sniffed Mr. Krupp, growled and grabbed onto the cape with its mouth, causing George to try and pull on it to get it away from the dog. “Drop it! No, get off! Gimme! That's a bad dog!” “This way! Come on!” Misty urged her friends before they were seen by anyone else. The group hurriedly began to run down the street, cautiously glancing around as they did so. But after a moment, they screeched to a halt upon stopping at the correct address-- 3.14 Curmudgeon Blvd. “Phew...” Sunny sighed in relief. “We made it.” But the second the ponies saw the exterior of the house, it sent a shiver down their spines, causing them to shudder. Mr. Krupp’s house looked just as barren and creepy as Mr. Krupp himself, and even Zipp, who was usually the most courageous one of the group, had to admit, she didn’t like the creepy vibes this place was giving. Harold shakingly grabbed the wagon handle as they began to move toward the front door. “I wonder what horrors lie inside.” “There's probably wild dogs in there,” George shuddered. “No no no, I bet it's way worse,” Treena gulped. “Probably torture implements.” Hitch let out a shudder of his own. “Rabid rats...” “Brains in jars,” Pipp said, half scared and half enthusiastic. “Jars of plucked out eyeballs...” Kendra trembled just as Harold thought of something just as horrifying. “Bones of former students!” It was then that George used a key from Mr. Krupp’s wallet to unlock the door, and Izzy cautiously used her hoof to push the door open. But as the door slowly creaked open, Harold let out a terrified scream... ...only to find that there was nothing spooky or creepy inside the house. In fact, the house itself seemed completely normal. However, that didn't stop Claudia from glancing at Harold strangely. “Why'd you scream?” “I just assumed there'd be something scary,” Harold admitted as Sunny and Hitch pushed the wagon further into the house, “but it's actually a really nice place.” “You know,” said George as he glanced around the small living room, “we probably shouldn't snoop around.” “Yeah... we probably shouldn't,” Pipp said slowly before a smile suddenly graced her face. “Aw, who am I kidding? I would totally snoop around my principal's house if I was still on school! Wouldn’t you, Zipp?” Zipp let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, I guess you have a point. Okay, we do one quick sweep of the house and then we get out of here before he regains consciousness.” That was when the group split up to search the house just for the fun of it. Their search began in the kitchen, but all they seemed to find in the fridge was a singular ketchup bottle and... nothing else. Izzy opened one of the drawers to find a singular fork... and like before, nothing else, confusing the Mane 6 a bit more than they already were. That was was Kendra flew up to the cabinet and opened one of them before pulling out a box of cereal, which had a rather depressing name as she read it out loud to her sisters and her friends. “Not So Cheery O's?” Harold sighed with a small frown on his face. “This guy is bumming me out.” “Come on, it can't be all bad,” Sunny said as she put the cereal back and closed the cabinet door. “Let’s just... look in some other rooms and see what we can find.” Harold flicked a light switch that led into the nearby dining room, which had a singular chair at a very small table, and in the bathroom, it didn't fair much better. Everything in the bathroom seemed pretty normal, except for the fact that it had two towels, marked His and Still His. And after seeing the depressing outlook of the house, George let out a sad sigh. “I gotta say, this has not been the funnest snoop.” “Yeah, no-- totally,” Harold nodded. “Really sad snoop. Kinda regretting it, actually.” “It's actually... kinda sad,” Misty said, trailing off as she looked down at the ground. “He lives in this house all alone... and he's probably really lonely. Maybe that's why he acts out so much.” “Huh... you might be onto something there, Misty,” Zipp said after a moment. “But let's at least get Mr. Krupp into bed before we go divulging into any theories.” XXXXXXXX Kendra, her older sisters and the ponies grunted as they lifted Mr. Krupp into bed, and thankfully, he hadn't woke up since he was knocked out-- he was even snoring a little. But after a moment of watching him, Kendra shuddered with a sad look in her eye. “I sure hope we don't ever end up like him. All alone.” George let out a soft scoff, putting a hand on Kendra's back. “That’s impossible. That would never happen.” “Yeah. That'll never happen,” said Harold with a smile before suddenly realizing something, causing him to frown out of worry. “Unless he puts us in separate classes.” “Ohhhhhh... after all the hypnosis stuff happening, I guess that part kinda slipped from my mind,” Misty admitted. “It'll be really sad if you guys get put into different classes... even though you do pull some over-the-top pranks... it really isn't a fair punishment for any creature.” George seemed to block all of this out for a moment as he tried to pull some of this newfound information in... when suddenly, his eyes lit up upon getting an idea. “Which will never happen.” The others seemed to glance at him in confusion. “Huh?” “George is right... it'll never happen!” Pipp realized. “Cause we can control him now!” “And,” George added, “if ever gives us any trouble again, all we gotta do is snap our fingers... and 'Tra-la-laa'! All of our problems go away.” “Guys... as much as I would really like you guys to still be in classes together,” Claudia said gently, “I don’t know if getting Krupp wrapped around your fingers is such a good idea. What if you land yourselves in a situation you can't get out of?” “...guys, I think Claudia might be onto something,” Sunny tried to reason. “We have to consider all of this really carefully, cause if something starts to go wrong, we could all be in for it.” “Oh, Sunny, please please please let us try!” Kendra begged, her ears folded back. “This is the one option that's actually felt solid! If I lose you guys and George and Harold during this nasty divorce... it could change my life forever... and not in the best way. Please... we have to try something, and since Mr. Krupp is already hypnotized and we can control him, what have we got to lose?” The Mane 6 seemed to glance at each other, then at the pleading faces of Kendra and her friends, trying their best not to resist, but... boy was it hard. Then... the Mane 6 began to realize that there seemed to be no other safe options here. It was either activate the hypnosis on Mr. Krupp and ensure that their new friends stayed together despite the scary circumstances... or risk them being split apart in more ways than one. After a few moments, Sunny let out a soft sigh. “Okay… we’ll give this one try. But, if anything goes wrong, we have to pull the plug and find a different solution-- deal?” “Deal!” Kendra, George and Harold nodded before they did their signature ‘quiet fives’ move with the Mane 6, causing them to giggle. It was then that Treena pulled out her phone and realized what time it was. “Come on, Kendra, we have to get home-- Mom and Dad will probably be wondering where we are in order to discuss that… divorce.” “You’re right,” sighed Kendra. “Do… you think they’d mind if George and Harold sat with me?” “I don’t think so,” Claudia said. “And our pony pals can listen from the staircase-- you know, so Dad doesn’t feel like the space is too crowded.” “Then we better get you guys home,” Zipp said before releasning a challenging smirk. “And let’s make this into a race-- last one there is a rotten pegasus feather!” XXXXXXXX Needless to say, Zipp was the first one across the finish line back at Kendra, Claudia and Treena's house, but no one else seemed to mind-- they were just happy to get to have some fun. But the one thing they weren’t expecting was for Jaliya, Evander’s new girlfriend, to be waiting on them once they got there. “Oh, there you girls are,” Jaliya said with a sweet smile. “Your mother was getting worried.” Kendra was about to snarl at her, but Pipp rubbed her back in order to calm the cub down. “Jaliya?” Misty looked confused. “What are you doing here?” “Evander invited me,” Jaliya explained. “He thought that since I was going to be part of this family from now on, I should have a say in things too.” “...of course…” Claudia had to bite her tongue in order to not snarl at Jaliya herself. “Where do our parents want us?” “The living room,” Jaliya answered. “They’re waiting for you right now.” That’s when the group sighed and decided to follow Jaliya inside the house, ready to get this over with as soon as possible. XXXXXXXX “So… we talked things over with a lawyer today,” Avarsi began to explain to George, Harold and her children, who looked less than thrilled, “and… we figured out a solution to our little… disagreement?” “You can say it in front of Heath, Mom. It’s called an affair and a separation,” Kendra said bitterly. “He’s old enough to understand, right, Heath?” “Um…” Heath seemed to sense the tension in the room. “I-I mean… I guess…?” “It’s okay, little guy,” Harold said, rubbing the top of Heath’s head. “Take your time.” Evander stepped up, clearing his throat as he pointed some things out in the legal documents that the lawyer had brought earlier. “According to this legal agreement that your mother and I have to sign, you children will primarily live with your mother while I move in with my… beloved Jaliya.” “Oh, gross…” George shuddered under his breath, causing Evander to snarl at him before calming himself down and continuing. “We’ll have visitations every other weekend from 5 p.m on Friday to 6 p.m on Saturday, and every Wednesday.” “Both of us have… agreed to communicate openly about any matters concerning the well-being of you kids,” Avarsi continued. “And,” Jaliya added, sticking her head in, “it’ll be just like nothing ever happened!” “...do you think this is seriously just a game for us?” Treena aske coldly. “You know nothing about us or our lives, and yet, you’re somehow gonna be a part of them?” “Treena!” Evander snapped. “You treat Jaliya with respect.” “Why? Cause you’ve never treated us with any?” Claudia sneered. “Respect goes two ways, Dad, and you’ve yet to earn yours.” Evander’s eyes lit up in rage. “If you kids don’t shape up right here, right now, you’re not gonna live--” “Don’t you lay a paw on them!” Evander froze and everyone turned to see the Mane 6 standing behind George, Harold and the leopard kids, ready for a fight. “We’ve been hearing everything from the staircase,” Zipp said, “but we can’t stand by for another second and watch this go on.” “Is this seriously how you manipulate your kids?” Sunny asked in disbelief. “Threatening to hurt them if they don’t comply with their demands?” “What do you know about parenting?” Jaliya’s happy demeanor began to turn sour as her boyfriend was being accused. “If my Evander-Wander things this is the right way to parent his kids, you shouldn’t have a say!” “And you should?!” Kendra snarled. “I’ve held my tongue for long enough, but I have so--!!” “...Sunny’s right.” “HUH?!” everyone turned to see Avarsi slowly coming to a realization. “I… never realized it before, but… Sunny is right,” Avarsi muttered before angrily turning to her soon to be ex-husband. “You’ve been… verbally abusing our daughters! Heath is the only one of our children you’ve actually treated with respect! THIS changes things entirely.” “U-U-Uh, Avarsi,” Evander began to stammer, “I-I can explain--” “I’m going to call the lawyer first thing tomorrow morning and tell him there’s been a startling update in this case,” Avarsi said coldly. “Right now… I think you and your mistress should leave.” “Right what I was about to say, Avarsi,” Hitch said coldly as he pawed the ground with his hoof. “Leave now… or things won’t be pretty.” Evander let out a roar, hoping to scare some sense into the others, but they never moved… never flinched. This caused him to snarl again and leave the house with Jaliya on his heels. After they had left, Avarsi sighed and turned to the Mane 6. “Thank you for… opening my eyes, ponies. I should never have believed his methods of parenting all those years ago.” “It was a mistake,” Misty said gently. “Happens to the best of us.” “Come on, everyone… we’re going out to dinner,” Avarsi smiled, bringing happiness to her children’s faces. “My treat.” “Really?” Izzy had to admit, even she seemed surprised. “All of us?” “Why not? I was getting that bonus this week anyway,” Avarsi said as she rubbed Heath’s head with her paw, “so this is a good way for us to celebrate and take our minds off things.” “All right! Can we go to the Chinese place we like?” Kendra asked with a hopeful grin. “Anywhere you want, sweetie,” Avarsi said, booping her youngest daughter on the nose. “All right then… let’s hit the air!” The group cheered before rushing to get ready, with Avarsi hoping that this divorce really would be the thing that could bring her and her kids closer together… …even though one member of their family was being driven apart. XXXXXXXX “I cannot believe your own flesh and blood would talk to us that way!” Jaliya snarled in disgust. “What is that Avarsi and those… those… non-leopards teaching them?!” “I don’t know what to believe anymore, honestly,” Evander said just as bitterly as he and Jaliya walked down the sidewalk. “I just know we have to find a way to get our revenge.” “That’s precisely what I want to do.” Evander and Jaliya froze and gasped in shock as they saw a figure landing in front of them, which caused them to bow. “Alterro! You have returned!” Evander stammered first, looking up at Allura's twin brother with a bit of fear in his gaze. “W-What are you doing in our community?” “Looking for the perfect minions to help me and my new partner in our latest plan,” Alterro said with a smirk. “And you… look… purr-fect…” Alterro began to purr, the hypnotic waves flowing from his mouth over to Jaliya and Evander, causing both of their eyes to glow before they spoke in a monotone voice. “We are at your service, your excellency.” “Excellent!” Alterro smiled. “Now… not only will I help you get revenge on those who have wronged you, but Professor P’s plan will also succeed… and once I’m done with those meddlesome ponies… they’ll wish they had never been born.” And with an intimidating and rather vicious cackle, Alterro and his two new servants flew off into the evening sky, the plan of revenge being one step closer to initiating. Captain Underpants, Undercover and Hiring the New Science TeacherIf you thought things in the most recent chapters of our story couldn't get any more tense... it got MUCH more tense. Not only did our heroes figure out how to control the hypnosis on Mr. Krupp, Avarsi finally seemed to realize that Heath was the only one of her cubs that Evander actually cared about, and that he was actually verbally abusing their daughters, along with having an affair with his coworker, Jaliya. And little did our heroes know it, but Alterro had been watching the bitterness in these leopards' hearts steadily rise, so he decided to recruit them for the master plan that he and his new partner, a strange man known only to him as Professor P, had in mind for not just Professor P's involvement, but for Alterro's revenge against the Mane 6. How will these new developments shape our story in the near future? Well... it seems that you'll just have to read on to find out. XXXXXXXX The next morning seemed to be a standard morning for the kids at Jerome Horwitz Elementary-- full of misery, boredom and sadness... ...that is, until the Mane 6, George, Harold and Kendra walked into the school with Pipp blaring upbeat music from her phone and all nine of them wearing similar Hawaiian themed shirts. George’s shirt had a red coloration. Harold's shirt had a dark blue coloration. Kendra's shirt had a yellow coloration. Sunny’s shirt had an orange coloration. Hitch's shirt had a dark green coloration. Izzy's shirt had a dark blue/purple coloration. Pipp's shirt had a pink and white coloration. Zipp's shirt had a light blue coloration. Misty's shirt had a dark purple and white coloration. The other kids stopped and stared upon seeing this, their eyes wide as the upbeat music rang out through the halls. “Hey, Tommy,” George said with a smile. “What's going on?” “Hey, guys,” Tommy was about to go into his locker when he suddenly saw what they were wearing. “Whoa! Cool shirts!” “Thanks! Pipp made them!” Kendra said with a proud grin. “And I gotta say, we all look amazing!” The Mane 6 laughed as they continued to walk/dance down the hallway... at least, for a moment, until Mr. Krupp appeared in their path, looking completely irritated, which caused Pipp to quickly shut the music off. “What are you doing together?” the principal angrily demanded as Tommy quickly got into his locker. “I separated you!” Zipp spared a smirk at Hitch-- this experience was starting to get more and more rewarding with each passing second. “Oh, really? I don't remember you doing that.” “What are you talking about? I signed the paperwork,” Mr. Krupp pulled out the paperwork from the day before. “See?” George looked at the paper with a slight smirk of his own. “I don't see a signature. Harold, do you see a signature?” “Not a thing,” Harold answered. “And I... literally can't see anything,” Kendra said after putting on a pair of sunglasses. “These sunglasses are too dark.” “What? I could have sworn I signed that thing. No matter,” Mr. Krupp said before bringing out a pen and signing a series of papers. “There! Officially separated. Forever! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!” But at that moment, during Mr. Krupp’s laughing fit, Izzy grabbed the papers from him, causing him to stop laughing. “Hey!” “Sorry, Mr. Krupp, we just remembered we have to do something important,” Sunny said with a slight smile. “Now, guys!” And once Sunny gave them the signal, Harold snapped his fingers, reinstating the hypnosis and Mr. Krupp turned back into Captain Underpants, who removed all of his clothing and hair except for his... well, underpants. “Tra-la-laaaa!!!” “See?” Kendra looked to the Mane 6 with a smile as she used her claws to shred the classroom change paper. “Problem solved!” “Okay, that does help us in some form,” Hitch said slowly, “but… we aren’t the only people around, remember? The other kids could--” Suddenly, the school bell began to ring, causing the group to freeze as kids began to come out of their classrooms and walk from place to place, causing Captain Underpants to try and greet them. “Greetings, citizens! Wah!” “Quick!” Sunny pushed the group into the nearby music room. “In here!” Once they were all safely inside the music room, the group panted out of fright for a few moments before Pipp looked down at her shirt. “Okay, you know what? These shirts were way premature.” “I think you’re right,” George nodded in agreement as they watched Captain Underpants excitedly go around the music room. “Come on. Let's turn him back into Krupp.” “We can’t!” Kendra argued. “He’ll separate us, remember?!” “Well, we have to think of something!” Misty spoke in a serious tone. “We can't have him wandering around looking like that!” At that moment, Captain Underpants found a triangle in the music room and gasped, completely wide eyed. “A triangle…” he murmured before dinging it with the stick, causing him to gasp again. “It dings!” “Ugh…” Zipp groaned out of discomfort as the dimwitted superhero began to play the triangle rather randomly. “This guy seriously needs some music lessons…” That was when George and Harold both spotted Mr. Krupp’s clothes on the ground and seemed to get an idea. XXXXXXXX A few minutes after the Mane 6 had gotten Captain Underpants into Mr. Krupp’s clothes, they came out of the music room, trying to act as if everything was normal. “Ah! Principal Krupp, you caught us again,” Harold said out loud. “You better take us to your office for a good old talking-to. Right? Principal Krupp?” “Principal who?” Captain Underpants questioned in confusion, causing Izzy to chuckle and push him out of the music room. “Principal Krupp, get out here, you old so-and-so!” But as soon as Izzy had pushed him out into the open, it was clear the wastebanded warrior was feeling rather uncomfortable in the clothing our heroes had placed him in. “Sidekicks... are you sure my secret identity requires these... restricting, uncomfortable clothes?” “Yes,” George answered without question. “Positive.” “100% positive,” Hitch enunciated firmly as they began walking through the school toward the principal’s office. “Now act like a principal.” “Oh, right,” Captain Underpants nodded before another question came to mind. “How does a principal act?” “Mean!” Kendra, George and Harold whispered back. “Okey-doke,” Captain Underpants nodded before a few seconds later, he roared at a group of three girls, causing them to scream and flee as they came up the stairs. “I'm a principal!” “Okay, good good good!” Pipp said with enthusiasm in her voice as more and more kids got scared, screamed and ran off. “You’re doing great!” “Okay, we’re almost there,” Sunny added as they nearly got to the principal’s office. “You just keep it up for a little bit longer.” However, as Izzy opened the door again, the group screamed to find Edith the lunch lady standing behind the door expectantly. “Oh, hello. Surprise. It's Edith,” she greeted, obviously very nervous. “Did you like my tuna casserole?” “I cannot tell a lie… I don't recall having your tuna casserole,” Captain Underpants said, causing Edith’s expression to fall before he tried to fix his wording. “ But if your casserole is as striking as your one blue eye…” Edith let out a blush as she fidgeted with her hair, pulling it back to reveal another blue eye. “Oh, I didn't think you noticed.” “Oh my…” Captain Underpants said in awe, completely enamoured. “Two blue eyes.” “Uh, Principal Krupp?” Kendra looked uninterested. “It's time to go. Gotta wrap it up.” “Very well then. Up, up, and…” Captain Underpants began to head the wrong way until Sunny and Hitch were able to direct him toward the office again, all while Edith looked on. “Ooh! Flirt alert.” But as they headed into the office, George stopped the group to discover that Ms. Anthrope was still on hold from the prank they did the night before. “Wow, she's still on hold!” “Come on, come on, come on!” Zipp ushered the group inside the office before they ran inside, shutting the door behind them. “Phew…” Sunny sighed. “We made it!” “What a relief…” Zipp sighed. “And the best part is, I don’t think anyone else saw that Principal Krupp wasn’t acting like himself.” “Well, hello, citizen!” the group heard Captain Underpants greet, and the group turned to see someone else standing in Mr. Krupp’s office, turned away from the window to reveal himself as a short man with a large grey puff of hair, a mustache, semicircular glasses, a purple shirt with a blue bow, blue trousers, and black shoes. “Oh, and hello to you, too. I was just, like, admiring the view... from your broken window. It's in the shape of a man,” the man said, gesturing to the Captain Underpants shaped hole in the window. “Anyway, I am here to interview for the science teacher position.” Misty glanced at her friends, old and new, and immediately could sense that something seemed incredibly off. There was something about this guy that radiated trouble, but… no one was sure what it was. However, Captain Underpants didn’t seem to think there was anything suspicious about it. “I'm disguised as an elementary school principal,” he said, shaking the man's hand before turning and whispering to the others. “Guys, I totally got this. Don't worry one bit.” “Oh, we’re gonna worry,” whispered Pipp in response. “We’re gonna worry like we’ve never worried before.” “Now…” the man seemed to murmur as he reached through his briefcase. “Where did I put that resume?” First, he pulled out an axe. “No, not that.” Then, he pulled out a stick of dynamite and threw it. “Oh, this thing.” After he threw the dynamite away and it exploded a little, he pulled out some nunchucks. “This one's fun.” Hitch yelped and grabbed the nunchucks with his mouth, causing the ponies to sigh in relief and stand closer to their young friends. But that didn’t stop this stranger from pulling more and more stuff out of his bag, including some sort of potion, a living bear trap, and then a chainsaw before he finally found his resume. “Ah-ha! Here we go.” Captain Underpants then proceeded to study the resume for a few moments before speaking again. “Hmm. Says here you're a science teacher?” The stranger merely smiled. “No, not exactly.” Zipp raised a suspicious eyebrow at this. “But you do have teaching experience?” “Oh, no. Can’t say I do.” “Not even like… babysitting?” Captain Underpants asked quizzically, just as the strange man sat on the principal’s desk. “I would never sit on a baby.” “Camp counselor?” Hitch tilted his head. “Never was a camp counselor,” the man answered the earth pony stallion. “Although I did receive counseling... for some trauma I experienced as a child.” The Mane 6 seemed to get even tenser when he said this, but being the dimwitted character he was, Captain Underpants merely smiled. “I'm getting a really good vibe about you.” “Now, hold on a sec, Principal Krupp,” Misty said before using her magic to take the resume from him. “Let us see that for a sec.” After Misty had handed the resume to George, he glanced at it in worry. “It says here that you were a genius inventor?” “Mad genius inventor,” the man said, slamming his hand down on the table. “But yes.” “And then for the last few years... you've been in a very dark place,” Harold read off of the resume, “and your title was… revenge seeker?” “Revenge at all costs…” Kendra muttered as she looked at the resume herself. “Die, die? Am I reading this right?” “Yeah, that's basically what I've been up to... so here I am!” the man answered, leaning against the desk. “Applying for a job in the thriving public school system... with all of its amazing resources. But honestly, kids are so understanding. So innocent. Their smiles brighten my heart and fill me with... a joy-adjacent feeling.” But then, the man began to get angrier and angrier, gradually of course, causing the group of heroes to tense slightly, with the room getting a bit chillier due to Kendra’s nervousness. “As long as they are controlled... and do not laugh nor smile nor play nor laugh. Children must never laugh!” “...say what now?” Pipp looked at him with wide eyes of fear. “Well, you seem terrific!” Captain Underpants interrupted, stamping the resume. “You’re hired!” “WHAT?!” the others screeched, unable to believe the fact that Captain Underpants could see this guy as a good fit after what he just said. “Excellent. Oh, by the way, going to need Fridays off,” the man spoke with an evil smile. “And every other Tuesday through Thursday... for my evil experiments. Okay, bye-bye!” And with that, the strange yet evil man used the axe he had thrown away to open the office door before leaving. “Oh, no, this is bad!” Sunny said, beginning to panic more and more with each passing second. “Captain Underpants just hired a maniac for your science teacher!” “This is a disaster!” Zipp agreed. “Who knows what evil this guy is capable of?!” “Uh, yeah. We gotta fix this before Krupp finds out,” Harold added desperately. “Sounds like a job for Captain Underpants!” Captain Underpants said, but Kendra was first to step up and stop him from leaving. “No, no, no. You need to stay here. You’re the principal, remember?” “Yeah,” Harold nodded as the group began to leave. “Just sit there and look angry for no reason.” “You got it,” Captain Underpants smiled before pretending to look angry as the group left. However, after the Mane 6 led their friends away, Captain Underpants found Harold’s water gun and put it up to his eye. “That will be interesting to put my eye up to.” But unfortunately, Captain Underpants accidentally squirted the water gun, turning himself back into Mr. Krupp. “What? How did I get here? Why is my face wet?” That was when Mr. Krupp noticed that he had a man-shaped hole in his window and couldn’t help but be suspicious. Whatever just happened… he was going to get to the bottom of it, one way or another. The Science Class of Professor P/Alterro, Poopypants and Melvin Team UpCaptain Underpants (who was pretending to be Principal Krupp, thinking him to be the secret identity of the superhero) had hired a maniac who had been in a very dark place the past few years as the new science teacher for Jerome Horwitz Elementary, making the Mane 6 realize things were going to get a lot more complicated with more than just a hypnotized principal thinking he was a comic book character. But, the truth was, they had no idea how deep this new science teacher’s villainy really went. Unfortunately... they were going to find out about this very soon, and in ways that they never wanted to think about. XXXXXXXX Kendra sniffed the air as she and her friends, old and new, walked to their science class, immediately gagging at the scent she got. “That maniac science teacher’s definitely been around a flying leopard recently,” she told the others in disgust. “The scent of the maniac’s lip balm is mixing with the burnt toast scent and its burning my nose!” “Burnt toast scent?” Sunny turned to face her, stopping the others in their tracks. “What do you mean?” “Well, every flying leopard has a scent that identifies them,” Kendra said. “For example, I smell like sugar cookies, my mom smells like bubblegum, my dad smells like pizza, Heath smells like chocolate, Treena smells like mint and Claudia smells like grape jelly. And the leopard that the new science teacher was around smells like burnt toast, so…” “Whichever leopard smells like burnt toast,” Zipp deduced, “is the leopard that new teacher was around! Good detective work, Kendra!” “But how can we find that leopard?” Hitch asked. “They could be miles away by now!” “We’ll have to worry about that later,” Misty told the group. “Right now, we have to get to science class and make sure that teacher isn’t up to anything too dastardly. At least… at the moment.” “...yeah… you’re right, Misty. Come on,” Sunny nodded and led the group away… unaware that Alterro and his newfound minions, Evander and Jaliya, were watching outside the window. “DRAT!! I knew I shouldn’t have shook paws with that idiot professor before he left,” Alterro growled, glancing at his paw. “If those ponies figure out that’s my scent the little rodent detected…” “They will never figure it out, master,” Evander said in a monotone voice. “My daughter and her friends are not smart enough.” “Oh, those ponies are much smarter than you would think,” Alterro growled before composing himself. “Come now… we must get back to the secret hideout until we get further instruction.” XXXXXXXX Harold, George and Kendra swiftly led the Mane 6 to their science class, where the new science teacher was writing his name on the blackboard, which was revealed to be Professor P, in front of the students. “Hiya, class. I'm your cool, new teacher. Not some scary guy with a secret evil agenda,” he said with a cheerful smile. “Anyway, I'm just going to dive right in here. If there was one thing about this world that you could change… what would it be?” A girl at the front immediately raised her hand. “Ooh! Ooh! Peace on Earth!” “Unattainable,” Professor P stated, making the girl frown. “Anyone else?” As Professor P talked with the rest of the class about the topic at hand, Kendra, George and Harold talked amongst themselves about the changes they would make, with George going first. “Pacific Ocean into chocolate.” Harold nodded in agreement. “Atlantic into nacho cheese!” Kendra tried her best not to squeal aloud as she suddenly had a thought. “Arctic into ice cream!” Izzy giggled slightly from where she was listening. “It’s like you guys are the same person, and yet so, so different. I love it!” “...but most importantly,” Professor P continued his lecture, “if I had to change one thing about the world... it would be to get rid of... laughter.” “Uh…” Pipp blinked. “Who to the what now?” “Get rid of laughter?” George questioned in confusion, causing Hitch to become confused himself. “What kind of person wants to do that?” “Oh, oh! Ah! Ah! Sir, sir,” Melvin raised his hand from the front, causing Professor P to turn his attention to him. “I love it!” Zipp scoffed under her breath. “Of course he does…” “Oh, look at this. We got a grade A suck-up. Good to know, good to know. Anyway…” Professor P continued, getting the chart of a child’s brain out from his briefcase and showing it to the class while Melvin and Sunny eagerly took notes. “This is the brain of an average child. Right here is the ‘thinking about candy’-lopalus. The ‘fear of what's under the bed’ lobe. This is the ‘only thing I'll eat is pizza, chicken nuggets, or buttered noodles’ lobe. Right here is the "as soon as someone else has a toy... I want that toy" anterior lobe.” But then, the professor turned his attention to a rather large purple part of the chart. “And this… this,” he said to the class, “is the Hahaguffawchuckleamalus.” “Hahaguffawchuckleamalus?” Kendra tried her best not to laugh. “I wonder what genius came up with that name.” “This funny little purple part holds our entire capacity for laughter,” Professor P continued explaining. “For years, I've tried to shrink it or cut it out entirely... but frustratingly, our survival seems dependent upon it.” “...I don’t like this,” George whispered to Kendra, George and the Mane 6. “I mean, I don't really understand it. But the stuff I am understanding seems genuinely bad to me.” “You’re not wrong, George,” Misty frowned. “I got the same feeling back in Krupp’s office. We may need to keep a closer eye on this guy than we thought.” Harold then raised his hand. “Um... excuse me, Professor P? Why are you trying to get rid of laughter?” “Uh, yeah!” Pipp asked with a smile. “Isn’t laughter the best medicine?” “Medicine is the best medicine!” Professor P yelled in the pegasus princess’ face, causing her to reel back. “So…” “Yeesh…” Hitch shuddered in fright as Zipp tried to comfort her younger sister. “Someone has a real attitude problem.” George slowly raised his hand after a moment, which Professor P saw with a distasteful look. “What?” “What does the P stand for?” George asked curiously, leaving the professor confused. “Excuse me?” he asked again. “The P in your name,” George clarified. “What does it stand for?” Sunny could tell that this question made Professor P a bit tense, and this was proven in the answer he gave. “Oh, it's private.” Harold tried to fight the urge to laugh at a sudden thought, but instead of just outright laughing, he decided to make a funny little comment. “So that means your name is Professor Privates?” Everyone seemed to laugh at the joke… all except the Mane 6, for reasons that seemed obvious, and Melvin, who just had no sense of humor. “What's so funny? I don't get it.” However, Professor P got so mad that he leapt right onto George’s desk, frightening the students back into submission. “Principal's office, now!” he demanded before looking over at Harold, the frightened Kendra and the Mane 6. “You too!” “What?!” Kendra looked shocked. “Why us? We didn’t say anything!” “Because your friendship and shared sense of humor irritates me…” Professor P sneered, looking at the Mane 6 for the longest time, as if he recognized them from somewhere. “...and must be destroyed!” XXXXXXXX So, without much question, the group immediately retreated to the principal’s office, their feelings swapping from worried, suspicious, scared to death and embarrassment. “We gotta do something about that new science teacher,” George told the others, and Zipp nodded in agreement as they sat down. “Yeah, it's like he's even more of a villain than Krupp.” Kendra scoffed lightly at this as she stretched and laid down on the floor. “I didn't even think that was possible.” However, Principal Krupp was listening to this and felt rather offended. “Whoa! Whoa! Wait a second.” “Oh, tell me about it,” Harold nodded. “What?” Principal Krupp looked stunned, but was completely ignored. “Who do you think…” “Oh, okay,” Izzy said to her friends. “I’ve got a plan, and here’s what we’re gonna need-- two bathtubs full of glimmerberry jam, a stick of bubble gum, and exactly sixteen cases of assorted craft supplies! This ain't gonna be easy, but if we time it juuuuust right, then we're gonna…” “Can you hear me?” Principal Krupp asked, but was ignored again as Hitch looked over at Izzy. “Iz, I just don’t know how two bathtubs of glimmerberry jam is gonna help us deal with this Professor P character.” “I'm sitting right here!” Principal Krupp exclaimed, but was once again ignored as George seemed to think of something. “Wait, Professor P doesn't want anybody to know his last name. Right?” “Yeah…?” Misty nodded. “But how does that help with anything? Knowing Professor P’s last name would just make him madder.” “Who’s Professor P?” asked Principal Krupp in confusion. “Exactly!” Izzy said cheerfully, only making Principal Krupp angrier. “Where is the respect?! I am your principal!” “Wait a sec,” Sunny seemed to freeze upon hearing the angry tone of Principal Krupp's voice. “Is he Krupp again?” “GEORGE!!!” Principal Krupp screamed out of rage. “KENDRA!!!” “Yyyyyep,” Zipp’s ears folded back. “Pretty sure he is!” “HAROLD!!!” “How'd that even happen?” Harold asked, confused. “Don’t worry!” Kendra reassured her friends. “I got this!” Then, with the snap of her claws, the hypnosis kicked in again, and Principal Krupp turned back into Captain Underpants again. “Tra-la-laaa!” “Phew…” Misty sighed out of relief. “That was close.” “Okay, captain,” said Kendra in a soft voice. “This is what we need you to do.” XXXXXXXX And once he had gotten his instructions from Kendra, George and Harold, Captain Underpants stepped out of the office to talk to Ms. Anthrope. “Greetings! I need to get the…” he paused for a moment before turning to the others, still in the office. “Sidekicks, what do I need again?” “The file on the new teacher,” Kendra and the boys whispered. “Oh, right, right,” Captain Underpants nodded before turning back to Ms. Anthrope. “I need the bile on the gooey fence creature.” “Science teacher!” the Mane 6 whispered loudly. “The dewy tense preacher?” Captain Underpants tried again, causing Harold to groan. “The dial on the…” “Oh, come on!” Pipp grumbled, but surprisingly, Ms. Anthrope grabbed Professor P’s file and handed it to Captain Underpants, who gave her a little salute. “Thank you, human woman!” And immediately after leaving the office, with the Mane 6 and their friends, Captain Underpants became confused. “Sidekicks, explain to me the importance of this secret file.” “There’s a new supervillain in town,” Kendra explained to the superhero in disguise, snatching the file from him, “and we’re trying to discover his weakness.” “Ohhh…” Captain Underpants said, nodding in understanding. That’s when George and Harold tossed papers out of the file, with Izzy and Misty catching them when suddenly, they all gasped upon seeing Professor P’s true name. “Poopypants…!!” In fact, George, Harold and Kendra were so excited about learning Professor P’s true name, they even started singing! Kendra, Harold and George: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! His name is Poopypants, we found his weakness Hallelujah! Harold: He wants to rid the world of laughter George: Forever! Kendra, George and Harold: And ever! We will defeat him! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Captain Underpants: Poopypaaaaaaants…!! After Captain Underpants got done singing his song, Pipp held up his pants with a deadpan expression imprinted on her face. “Captain? You forgetting somethin’?” “Oh, look at that,” Captain Underpants said, seemingly relaxed. “They came off again.” George and Zipp slapped their faces at this before Misty handed Captain Underpants his pants again. “Come on, guys, we have some serious work to do,” Kendra said with a little smirk. “And oh-ho-ho… is this prank gonna be worth it.” XXXXXXXX When the lunch bell rang a few hours later, Professor P (now known to us as Professor Poopypants) stepped out of his classroom and approached two girls who were in the same grade as Kendra and the boys. “Hey there, kiddo. First day for Professor P. Can you tell me where the lunch is consumed?” Then, the two girls started to giggle, confusing Professor Poopypants entirely. “What's going on with your face? Are you choking? Do you need to sneeze?” Then, the giggling turned into full-blown laughter, angering Professor Poopypants, but he smiled at first, as if he was nice and calm about the situation. “I see, I see. Got a case of the giggles, huh? That's fun. Well, I've got just the remedy for that.” And just like that, he pulled an iron cage right out of his briefcase, causing the girls to shriek. “In the cage. Now!” Professor Poopypants barked. “Why?” one of the girls asked as they quickly complied. “Because I hate laughter!” Professor Poopypants exclaimed out of anger. “And children and I've got a cage in a briefcase!” And once the girls were successfully locked into the cage, Professor Poopypants set off to try and find the cafeteria again. “Okay, well, have a nice day. Now what's for lunch?” Upon entering the cafeteria, however, the kids took notice of Professor Poopypants and started to laugh… well, all except Melvin, who was holding a comic but didn’t seem to understand it. “Excuse me, could you explain to me why this is funny?” “You!” Professor Poopypants said as he approached Melvin. “Why is everyone laughing?” “Uh, you're asking the wrong dude,” Melvin said, but handed the professor the comic, whose title Professor Poopypants read aloud. “Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of... Professor Poopypants?” Suddenly... why all the kids were still laughing at him made sense, and it was starting to make Professor Poopypants relive a series of events in his life he would rather forget. XXXXXXXX It was the day that a young Professor Poopypants would recieve his Nobel Prize for his amazing invention, which was yet to be revealed at the time. “Esteemed members of the Nobel Prize Committee... it is with great pride... that I present to you...the Sizerator 2000!” he said, holding up a purple ray-shooting device. “Behold, we can smallify…” Using the device, the young Professor Poopypants shrunk a car to the size of a small toy. “No more traffic jams. And conversely, largify!” And then, when he used the device again, Professor Poopypants made a hot dog grow to giant size. “Look at how big this hot dog is. Going to need a lot of mustard for this frankfurter! Ha ha ha!” Everyone cheered at the magnificent demonstration just as the head of the board approached him with the Nobel Prize trophy in hand. “The Nobel Peace Prize in Inventing Stuff goes to... um, Professor…” But upon reading his name, the woman leaned down to whisper in the professor’s ear. “Is that really your name? It's not, like, some kind of joke?” “No. It's not, like, a joke. It's a traditional name in New Swissland,” Professor Poopypants said, but this only caused the woman to try not to laugh as she tried to speak again. “Am I pronouncing it right? Poopypants?” “More or less,” the professor nodded. “Except the emphasis is on the poop.” However… everyone started to laugh at the professor’s rather embarrassing last name, without a second thought, causing the younger Professor Poopypants to start getting angrier and more embarrassed. “Why are you laughing? I've invented a shrinking and enlarging ray! I should be famous! I should be dating models twice my size... and doing the talk show circuit! I should be protecting baby seals as a cause... that I say I care about, but not really!” Unfortunately, no matter what he said, no one stopped laughing. “This guy is too much!” one of the attendees said. “Stop! Stop laughing!” the professor shouted. “No, stop it!” “Okay. Phew! Oh... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry,” the woman on the stage said after a few moments, starting to hand him the trophy. “Here. Take the award. It's really fun to say Poopypants.” “You keep your stupid award! I don't want it anymore!” the professor snapped before a sudden thought came to mind. “Oh, and one more thing…” And without another word, Professor Poopypants took out the Sizerator 2000 and shrunk the woman down in moderation, causing the crowd to gasp. “On behalf of the Nobel Prize committee, please accept our apology,” the woman said in a higher pitched voice, holding up the tiny trophy again. “And could you change me back now please?” However, the young Professor Poopypants had already made up his mind. “Why don't you go on and invent your own shrinking and enlarging ray... if you think you're so smart?!” XXXXXXXX Professor Poopypants woke up from his horrible memory a few seconds later, and realized that all the kids, including Kendra's siblings, were staring at him, causing him to gulp nervously. “How much of that was out loud?” “...pretty much all of it,” Claudia answered bluntly. “But, uh… you didn’t hear it from me.” “Come on!” Treena whispered to her twin desperately. “We have to go warn Kendra and our friends before it’s too late!” However, Heath gulped and pointed a shaking paw at the cafeteria doors. “I, uh… I think it’s too late for that.” Turns out, Kendra, the boys and the Mane 6, each with a few comics in their possession, came back into the cafeteria, not noticing the tension hanging in the air. “Extra!” George shouted. “Extra!” “Come get our new issue!” Kendra said before she froze, seeing Professor Poopypants glaring at them. “Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants…” Harold began to say before the rest of the group noticed Professor Poopypants, but Hitch was the first one to speak after that. “Oh, no…” “Is now a good time for me to initiate that invisibility spell and kinda… fade from view?” Misty asked nervously. “Unfortunately, Misty, I don’t think that would be enough,” Zipp whispered, looking just as nervous as her friends. “Looks like we’re in huge trouble this time.” XXXXXXXX The Mane 6 strained and grunted Professor Poopypants pulled them and Kendra on ropes tied around their necks, while pushing George and Harold out of the school to find Principal Krupp (aka Captain Underpants), who was not in his office, but outside making a new announcement on the school sign. “There you are. I've been looking all over for you,” Professor Poopypants said. “Hmm…” Captain Underpants said, clearly in thought. “How many A's are there in ‘Tra-la-laa’? I'll just go with 11.” And once he decided to take a break, Captain Underpants turned to the new science teacher with a smile. “Enjoying your first day, professor?” “The complete opposite, actually!” Professor Poopypants said in anger, holding the comic that Kendra, George and Harold made. “Look at what these little monsters have created! We must lock them up, probably, like, forever!” “Okay, isn’t that going a little far?” Kendra asked timidly. “I-I mean, it was just something we found funny-- it wasn’t supposed to get this far-- AGH!!” Kendra became even more nervous as ice built up under her paws as Professor Poopypants pulled on her rope, fearing being hurt. But as Captain Underpants looked at the comic, he hummed in thought. “Oh, my. This is not a comic!” he said before smiling. “This… is a history book.” The Mane 6 seemed to sigh in relief as the professor let go of their ropes, only for the professor to become confused. “What?!” This caused George and Harold to giggle to themselves. “And as such, it should be taught in every classroom!” Captain Underpants continued. “And you yourself must teach it... because that is how good it is.” “I don’t understand,” said Professor Poopypants. “I thought, like, we'd be on the same page here.” “What page is that? I'm on page 9, here. It's fantastic. Look, look,” Captain Underpants pointed to the comic book page he was on. “It's about this evil science teacher... who looks a lot like you, by the way. And he wanted to rid the world of laughter... but he couldn't figure out how to do it. Even worse, it seemed like everywhere he went, people were having fun and laughing. It just was infuriating. But then, he discovered someone who wasn't. Anti-Humor Boy! And then the professor says, 'Very interesting' Heh heh heh heh. That's my voice for him.” “Wait, wait, wait, gimme that,” Professor Poopypants snatched the comic away when he noticed that one of the characters in the comic looked a LOT like Melvin. “That's not Anti-Humor Boy. That's the… suck-up from class. Very interesting.” “Wow…” Hitch whispered. “At least Kendra and the boys predicted the ‘very interesting’ part right.” “Not the time, Hitch,” Sunny whispered, getting a very bad feeling about this. “You children don’t even realize it,” Professor Poopypants said as he began to walk toward the nearby road, “but but your silly comic book just helped me figure out how to wipe out laughter on the en…” But before he could get done speaking, a car hit Professor Poopypants dead on, causing the Mane 6 and their friends to cringe. “Oooh…” “Out of the road, bozo!” the driver of the car cried out. “Hey, watch where you're going!” the professor cried out in anger. “You just hit Professor Poopypants!” “Poopypants?!” the driver exclaimed before laughing as he drove away. “That's not funny! THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!!” the professor exclaimed before he was suddenly hit by another car, whose driver glared at him. “Ever heard of a sidewalk?!” “Oooh, if I had insurance,” said Professor Poopypants, “you'd be in…” Suddenly, the professor got hit by an ice cream truck which was so powerful, it knocked him several yards away. “I'll admit that was surprising…” “Huh…” Harold commented as they watched the professor limp away. “That actually worked out for once.” “Good job, Captain Underpants!” Izzy praised. “At your service, sidekicks,” Captain Underpants saluted cheerfully. “Now where was I?” Captain Underpants went to work fixing the school sign again, with Izzy volunteering to help, but then, George had a conflicting thought, which he sighed against. “We should probably get back to class, huh?” “Yeah,” Harold nodded. “We probably should.” “...unless…?” Pipp smirked over at Harold and George. “Come on, let’s talk to Captain Underpants about it! Hee-hee!!” “Ugh…” Zipp rolled her eyes as her sister led George and Harold away. “Sisters.” “I know…” Misty smiled longingly. “It’s gonna be so great when my dad and your mom get married and we’re gonna be sisters too.” “Really?” Kendra looked confused. “You’re not upset that your mom and your dad aren’t getting back together, Misty?” “Well… I know they were in love once, and they’re still friends,” Misty truthfully admitted, “so… I’m okay with them not getting back together, as long as we still have a good family-related dynamic.” “...I haven’t seen Dad or Jaliya since they stormed out of the house that night,” Kendra admitted quietly. “What if… what if we never hear from Dad again?” “Come on, don’t think like that,” Hitch said to the winged leopard cub gently. “Your dad may be doing some really bad stuff right now, but deep down, we know that he still cares about you, though he… doesn’t seem to wanna admit it.” Kendra looked skeptical. “You really think he still cares?” “If he doesn’t, I will literally give up my detective role for a week,” Zipp vowed with a sincere smile. “Now… let’s head back inside. I’m actually kinda curious to see what Pipp, George and Harold’s idea is.” XXXXXXXX A little while later, the entire school was gathered inside the auditorium, with Harold, George and Kendra sitting with Kendra’s sisters and younger brother, where George finally turned to the Mane 6, who were sitting behind them. “ Now, let me ask you something. If you could control your principal... what would you do?” “Shh, shh!” Treena giggled excitedly. “It’s starting!” “It’s totally starting!” Heath said excitedly. “Uh… what’s starting?” It was at that moment that the disguised Captain Underpants walked onto the stage, causing the murmuring to fall to a deafening silence, with his toupee being more styled than Principal Krupp's usual toupee. Then, Captain Underpants began to conduct a bunch of kids onstage, which consisted of students sitting on whoopee cushions over and over to the tune of 1812 Overture. Everyone laughed as the musical rhythm of whoopee cushions, burps, knuckle cracks, and other gross sounds filled the air. The song ends with a student riding a big whoopee cushion and a little girl farting. The entire school, even the Mane 6, broke into laughter upon seeing such a silly sight, and they knew they George, Harold and Kendra were probably enjoying this most of all. But they couldn't help but wonder... what was Professor Poopypants' role in all this? XXXXXXXX Later on that day, in a Mr. Licky's ice cream truck, Professor Poopypants was experimenting with Melvin with Alterro looking on while his mind-controlled minions, Evander and Jaliya, slept not too far away, having been keeping an eye on the Mane 6 and their newfound friends all day. “I just wanna make sure,” said Melvin as Alterro put a helmet on his head, “you apply the extra credit to next semester. I won't be needing it this semester, of course.” Professor Poopypants rolled his eyes at this. “Oh, yeah. Sure, yeah. Whatever floats your boat, Melvin.” Suddenly, there was a knock on the ice cream truck’s window. “Excuse me?” “Let me handle this,” Alterro said before opening the window and looking out to see a little girl standing in front of the truck. “Can I please get an ice cream sandwich?” “Oh, sorry, kid… we’re closed for Ebola,” Alterro said sarcastically. “Try again in 20 years, okay? Bye bye!” With that, he closed the window and the girl sadly left. “Ugh… youth-like innocence is SO not what my father wanted for his kingdom,” Alterro growled bitterly. “He wanted order and restraint, and as soon as those ponies are gone, that’s what is going to be around from now on.” “Wait wait wait wait,” Melvin stopped him right there, his eyes wide out of shock. “You didn’t say anything about killing those mediocre horses!” “Well, of course I have to kill them,” Alterro rolled his eyes. “If I didn’t, they would keep interfering with my plans! Now… Poopypants, we’d better do a quick check to make sure that we're connected.” “Mmm-hmm. Okay. We're sure that's safe?” Melvin asked before the helmet gave him a nasty electric shock, making him glitch a bit. “Good,” Professor Poopypants smiled before pulling up a screen to show Melvin some funny bloopers. But, just like he expected, Melvin didn’t laugh at a single one of them. “I'm sorry. Why are you showing me this?” “Come on, that was funny! That child walked right into that rake,” Professor Poopypants said with a laugh of his own. “I’m bored!” Melvin groaned. “What else is on?” “Fascinating…” Alterro hummed. “Better do a computer scan.” Alterro pushed a button with his paw to activate the computer scan, which showed that Melvin’s brain was composed of all green parts… no purple like in the professor’s chart. “I don't believe it,” Alterro said, shocked as the professor looked over the winged leopard’s shoulder. “You know, I suspected something smaller than normal, but this…” “What?” Melvin looked excited about what they found. “What is it?” “I can't find it. Your Hahaguffawchuckleamalus! You don't have one!” Professor Poopypants laughed, only confusing Melvin. “I don’t get it.” “Exactly,” Professor Poopypants told him with a victorious grin. “You have no sense of humor like a chair... or a supermodel! Melvin, with your brain, Alterro and his minions’ powers and my brain together... we can finally wipe out laughter and those pathetic little horses for once and for all!” “I like the sound of that!” Alterro smirked before grabbing the comic that Professor Poopypants had brought back. “So... the ponies, Kendra, George and Harold want a supervillain, eh? ...well, ask and ye shall receive!” Restoring the Arts Program, the School Carnival and the Hypnosis BackfiresWith Captain Underpants (going undercover as the dastardly and mean Principal Krupp) in charge of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, things were already a lot more enjoyable. Sure, there was the looming threat of Professor Poopypants and his new partners (Evander, Alterro, Melvin and Jaliya), but at the time, no one seemed to really realize the amount of danger they were in. The Mane 6 were there to help their new friends keep Captain Underpants out of hot water, and it was pretty rewarding to see the students of the elementary school so happy. But... little did our heroes know that it was all going to come crashing down on them within a matter of hours. XXXXXXXX Kendra squealed in excitement as she, her sisters and little brother ran down the hallway to the old music and art room for a special announcement. “I can’t believe Pipp is letting us perform one of her songs at the art and music room grand reopening today!” “I know!” Treena said in excitement. “We’re gonna get to perform for the first time in front of an actual audience!” “We are so ready for this, guys,” Claudia said. “We just have to wait for the art room to open for us to do our thing!” They finally arrived at the art room door where the Mane 6, George and Harold were waiting with Captain Underpants, along with a small crowd of kids. “Hey, guys! We’re here!” Heath called. “Sorry we’re late.” “Actually, you’re just in time,” Sunny giggled as she watched Pipp sign autographs for her Piqua based Pippsqueaks. “Pipp was actually just buying you a little more time by greeting her fans.” “And now that you’re here,” Harold said, holding up the key to the room, “I hereby declare the Jerome Horwitz music and art program… reinstated!” And once the door was unlocked, the crowd of kids and other creatures raced inside, overjoyed… even Tommy. “After you, sir!” Izzy said, letting Tommy go inside in front of her. “Just save some artwork inspiration for me!” XXXXXXXX Within the first few minutes of the art and music room being open again, every single student was drawing and painting in the art room, while the Mane 6 (except Pipp, who was helping Kendra and her siblings rehearse for their performance), George and Harold worked on making comics... ...something they've wanted to do freely for quite some time. It was at that moment that Hitch got another idea for the comic they were working on. “Ooh, what if we…” “I’m already on it,” Harold said with a smile. “Oh, this is gonna be epic!” George said as he continued to write, causing Misty to laugh as she sorted the pages of the comic book together. At the same time, Captain Underpants was trying to draw on a piece of paper. “Come on, Captain, draw! Move your hand in the shape of a person! Why does it look like a chicken? This whole visual storytelling thing is hard!” But that’s when he saw what Harold was drawing with Izzy’s help. “Oh, that’s good.” “Thanks, captain! Here,” Izzy said as she handed the drawings she had Harold had finished to George. “These need your artistic word-y spirit written all over them!” “Thanks,” George smiled before taking them. “Hey, sidekicks... why are we doing this again?” Captain Underpants asked curiously. “Oh… well, you see,” Sunny said hesitantly, not really sure what exactly to say, “we're making school fun again. You know… free the children. That sort of thing.” “Hey, hey! What if we put this panel right here?” George pointed to one of the drawings, causing Zipp to nod. “Great idea!” “Ah, yes. Of course. Fun. On it!” Captain Underpants said as he left the room, and the second he did, Pipp cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “Attention, everyone! It is my great privilege to present to you, for your entertainment… a performance of one of my favorite songs, sung by Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena!” The kids in the room let out a cheer as Pipp started the music, letting Kendra and her siblings take the stage for the very first time. Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: (Every new day is the best day ever) Kendra: A brand new day Claudia: A brand new chance, a brand new way To be my very best pon-ay Treena: And live my best life, 'cause there's only one now Yeah, only one now Claudia, Heath and Treena: Sometimes it can feel Like a bit of a circus That's just fine by me Because I like it that way Kendra: A life full of adventure It just fills me with purpose It keeps me on my paws and, yeah Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: That’s how it’s gonna stay! Every day's so bright, every day's full of magic Every day feels right, every day is a classic And just when I think it can't get any better Every new day is the best day ever Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like Every new day is the best day ever The crowd was going crazy as Pipp coached the siblings on their dance moves, and needless to say, the pink pegasus couldn't be prouder. Kendra: Can't bring me down Claudia and Treena: Can't stop the vibe I'm bringing round Heath: To everybody here in town Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: So live your best life, 'cause there's only one now Yeah, only one now That's when the siblings gestured for Pipp to get onstage with them and help them sing the last verse of the song. Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: Every day's so bright, every day's full of magic Pipp: (So bright! Full of magic!) Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: Every day feels right, every day is a classic Pipp: (Feels right) Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: And just when I think it can't get any better Pipp: (Ohhhhhh) Kendra, Heath, Claudia, Pipp and Treena: Every new day is the best day ever Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like (Every day's so bright!) Every new day is the best day ever (Every day is full of magic) Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like Every new day is the best day ever! The entire crowd went wild as the song ended, and the siblings purred and laughed as they celebrated a successful performance… …and they secretly hoped that there would be more performances to come while Captain Underpants was in charge. XXXXXXXX After a few hours of getting back into the comic swing (and getting Kendra's siblings up to speed on their comic operations), the Mane 6 and their friends noticed that the art room seemed... surprisingly empty, as opposed to what it was a few hours ago. “Where’d everybody go?” Heath looked around in confusion. “Don’t worry, bro-- we can smell for them!” Claudia said. “After all, we do have some of the best noses in the school.” Treena sniffed the air, but after a few moments, she opened her eyes and tilted her head in confusion. “It smells like… everyone is outside!” “Huh, that’s strange,” Zipp tilted her head. “Why would everyone be outside when there’s still more things in the art room to enjoy?” “Let’s go outside and see,” Sunny said, getting up off the floor. “Maybe it’s something that Captain Underpants set up when he left earlier.” XXXXXXXX But when the others went outside to check on things, they were stunned to see an amazing site… …an entire carnival set up right in the yard, complete with games, rides, food and other fun surprises! Izzy gasped deeply and ran ahead. “This… is… PARADISE!!! We should totally have a huge carnival in Maretime Bay like this!” “Yeah, but… I don’t understand!” Misty said, wide eyed in awe. “Where did all of this even come from?” “I think I have an idea!” Hitch pointed to Captain Underpants nearby, handing out balloons to a little girl. “Hey, CP!” “Oh, hey, sidekicks. Glad you could join,” Captain Underpants said, letting the girl float away as the group reunited again. “How did you even do this?!” Kendra asked in excitement as they walked. “I thought you said you were looking after the... oh, my goodness!” George shouted in excitement, pointing to a sight nearby. “Is that a Ferris wheel?” “Well, of course it is! It came with the carnival I ordered,” Captain Underpants said before he put head in the cotton candy machine and pulls his head out covering his face with a lighting star-like cotton candy mask. “This cotton candy makes me feel powerful!” “Ooh, cotton candy!” Heath jumped up and started taking some of the cotton candy off of Captain Underpants’ face. That’s when Sunny looked around, realizing the other adults were missing all the excitement. “Hey, uh, where are all the teachers?” “Detention,” Captain Underpants answered, patting Heath on the head. “They have a real attitude problem.” “Ha ha! Okay, I’ll admit it,” Zipp said with a smile. “This sure beats having Krupp around!” “Oh, tell me about it,” Pipp agreed with her sister. “Krupp would totally lose his mind if he saw this.” “Step right up!” “Huh?” the ponies chorused before screaming upon seeing Captain Underpants sitting right above the dunk tank. “Who'll be the first to dunk the principal?” “No!” George, Harold and Kendra cried out, but it was too late-- a kid threw his ball at the target, sending Captain Underpants into the water below and turning him back into Krupp as he surfaced. “I’m drowning!” “Quick, Zipp!” Sunny cried to her pegasus friend as she turned into her alicorn form. “Let’s get him out of there!” “On it!” Zipp said and flew over with Sunny to help Principal Krupp out of the tank, and once he was successfully out, Harold snapped his fingers and turned him back into Captain Underpants. “Tra-la-la…” “All right, that's enough,” Hitch said as he began to push Captain Underpants away. “Recess is over.” “Aw, come on!” Captain Underpants pouted. “Just one more ride!” Just then, another kid tripped and spilled his drink on Captain Underpants, turning him back into Principal Krupp. “Hey!” Claudia barked. “Watch it!” “What is this, a carnival?!” Principal Krupp screeched. “I hate carnivals!” George was able to snap his fingers and turn Krupp back into Captain Underpants, of course, but unfortunately, the superhero rushed right into the middle of a shooting gallery game. “Oh, this looks fun! How do we play?” “Kids, hold on a second!” Misty exclaimed. “Yeah!” Izzy shouted as the kids aimed their shooters at Captain Underpants. “Hold your fire!” However, the kids didn’t listen to reason and fired, spraying the superhero and turning him back into Principal Krupp. “What is happening?!” “I got it!” Treena snapped her paws, turning Krupp into Captain Underpants again, and the dimwitted superhero was now serving ice cream to a crowd of kids. “Who wants ice cream?!” “ICE CREAM!!!” the kids cheered and nearly toppled Captain Underpants over to get some ice cream. “What do we do?!” Pipp said, completely in panic. “We can’t keep this up forever!” “We have to! We'll just take shifts watching him,” George said. “Kendra, George and I will take today, you guys take tonight!” “Sugar!” Captain Underpants shouted in happiness before pouring a bag full of sugar down onto the children, making them go wild with sugar rush. Even George was finding the temptation hard to resist. “Harold, I really want some sugar.” Harold nodded at this. “Me too.” “Guys, no no no,” Kendra shouted as she tried to keep the boys at bay. “You are not gonna go crazy with pure sugar-- I practically forbid it!” XXXXXXXX And of course, what did George and Harold do? They got hiped up on sugar just for the fun of it. Zipp sighed to herself, smacking herself in the face with her hoof. “You’ve gotta be kidding me…” “Well… look on the bright side, Zipp,” Treena said with a nervous grin. “At least things can’t get any worse…?” However, two seconds after she said that, Heath froze, his eyes widening as he pointed his paw to something not far away. “I think it just got worse…” “Huh?” Kendra looked over and saw her and her siblings’ mother flying toward the school, causing her to panic. “No… no no no no no no no no no!!! What is Mom doing here?!” “She must’ve heard us talking about the music and art program starting back and she must wanna do a story for the gazette!” Claudia realized. “What do we do?!” “Uh… Heath, you better go with Claudia and Treena to distract your mom,” Sunny told the youngest of the leopard siblings. “The rest of us are gonna go after George and Harold!” “ON IT!!” the others shouted before leaping into action. XXXXXXXX “Hi, Mom!” Avarsi was driven from her thoughts when she saw three of her four children flying toward her. “Oh, hey, kids! What are you doing out here?” “We saw you flying this way and we, uh… wanted to show you what the art and music room looks like,” Treena slightly fibbed. “Come on! We’ll take the scenic way… around the school!” “Yeah!” Claudia agreed. “And we can show you where… everything is!” “Come on, Mom!” Heath said excitedly. “You’re gonna love it!” Avarsi had to admit that her kids were acting a bit strange, but after a moment, she shrugged it off and followed her kids back down to the school for their little impromptu tour. XXXXXXXX “We made the wrong choice!” Garold said hyperactively as he and Harold continued their sugar rush, and George had to agree with the statement. “This did not solve anything!” “There you both are!” Misty said as the Mane 6 and Kendra ran over. “We were getting worried when we couldn’t find you!” “Wait a minute…” Hitch looked around cautiously. “Where’s Captain Underpants?!” “Hey, sidekicks!” Captain Underpants called from a very high plank, right above a very tiny pool, and began to bounce on it. “Check this out! GERONIMO!!!” Then, to the horror of the nine friends, he jumped. “NO!!” “Sunny, what do we do?!” Pipp screeched. “He’s diving too fast to catch him!” “We can’t catch him… but I know what can!” Sunny said, getting an idea after seeing a nearby trampoline. “Izzy, get that pool of water out of the way! Hitch, move that trampoline in the pool’s place!” “On it!” Izzy and Hitch shouted and immediately did as they were told. And once Hitch got the trampoline in the right position, Captain Underpants bounced off of it and landed on a bus. “Field trip, anyone?!” “No no no no no!!” Kendra shrieked as the bus began to drive toward a ramp, which was soon lit ablaze by five rings of fire. “Nothing's more fun than fire!” Captain Underpants said just before his toupee was lit up in flames. “Except being on…” “NOW!!” Zipp shouted, and Harold and George activated a hose and sprayed the superhero with it, unfortunately turning him back to Principal Krupp as the bus continued to go up the ramp. “...FIRE!!!” Principal Krupp slammed his foot on the brake, stopping the bus and causing it to start going backwards again. “What is happening?!” Then, as he went by, George and Harold snapped their fingers, turning Principal Krupp into Captain Underpants again. “Tra-la-laaa!!” But unfortunately, the bus hit the Ferris wheel, breaking it loose and causing Captain Underpants to laugh and start running on top of it, causing George, Harold and Kendra to groan out loud. “Hurry!” Misty cried as the ponies led the way. “The Ferris wheel is heading for the school!” However, as the group sped after the Ferris wheel, Captain Underpants was now doing cartwheels on top of the Ferris wheel. “Now, this is how you run a school!” And despite Izzy and Misty’s best efforts to slow the Ferris wheel down and turn it around, the Ferris wheel hit the school building and Captain Underpants put on a parachute. “FREE THE CHILDREN!!” he said as he suddenly leapt off the Ferris wheel and activated the parachute. And if you think things couldn’t get any worse… they did. Suddenly, the clouds above them began to rumble, and lightning shot down from the sky before it began to rain, causing Pipp to yelp and cover her mane with her front hooves. “My mane!” “W-Wait a minute…” Kendra paused the conversation. “If it’s raining, doesn’t that mean…?” But before she could finish the question, a droplet of rain landed on Captain Underpants’ head, turning him back into Principal Krupp, who looked around to see the giant carnival in one giant disaster area. “What the…? How did this…?” The playground was a mess, with kids fast asleep from being worn out from sugar rush and one kid rolling on a hot dog wheel. Principal Krupp shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t understand!” “Quick!” Harold said to the ponies with a desperate look. “Get out of here! Hide!” “What? No way!” Zipp argued. “We’re not gonna leave you guys alone to his fury! You’ll be split apart!” “You guys would get the worst of it, believe me,” George said with a fierce look. “Now just… hide and we’ll join you as fast as we can!” The ponies didn’t wanna leave their new friends behind, but ultimately realizing they didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, they broke into a gallop and ran behind the school building so they could see what was going on. At the same time, the little girl who Captain Underpants gave balloons to was still floating away, right past Principal Krupp. “HELP!!!” “What the…?” Principal Krupp muttered before he saw Kendra, George and Harold in the midst of the mess and landed down in front of them, more steamed than ever. “You…” George tried to snap his fingers to turn Principal Krupp into Captain Underpants again, but it was not working because of the rain. “You three…” Principal Krupp said, continuing to keep his rage under control as he looked down on Kendra and her friends. “Your friendship... is... no... more.” Kendra, George and Harold looked at each other in total fear before their eyes trailed onto the ground. For once… Principal Krupp was right. With the rain keeping him wet, there was no choice. The Mane 6 watched from behind the school as Avarsi, Claudia, Treena and Heath came outside to see the chaos unfold, and Avarsi stood there, slack-jawed at what was going on. “I… what is all this? Why do Kendra and the boys look so unhappy?” she asked before turning to her remaining children. “Kids…? Is there… something I need to know?” “...there is, Mom,” Treena said. “Something we should have told you from the beginning. Once school lets out… we’ll tell you everything, we promise.” Avarsi nodded and decided to hold her children to that as the rain continued to pour... a dastardly reminder that the friendship between George, Kendra and Harold... ...was being shattered forever. XXXXXXXX “You see… Kendra told us that when she, the boys and the Equestrians snuck into Krupp’s office to get the Tattle Turtle,” Treena said a few hours after the incident, once the leopard family had arrived at home with the Mane 6, “Krupp found them and threatened to sign the papers to tear them apart.” “George used the hypno-ring out of fear and it ended up working due to the magic inside it,” Claudia added. “Our friends and Kendra turnin’ Krupp into Captain Underpants was only meant to be a prank, they never meant for it to go so far at first. But… when they realized this was the only way to keep them together…” “...they didn’t have any other choice,” Heath said softly, and Avarsi looked over at the staircase, the last place she had seenKendra and her friends before they retreated upstairs. “Please, don’t be mad at her, Mom,” Treena said pleadingly. “They were desperate to stay together, and the ponies knew Kendra needed a distraction from the divorce.” “We know we should have told you, but Kendra was so scared you would be angry at her,” Claudia added. “So… we played along.” “We’re sorry, Mom,” Heath said softly. “We just… wanted to make our friends happy.” Avarsi was silent for a little while longer, trying to take all of this information in. She had to admit, she hadn’t expected this to happen, especially not the hypnosis part. And she knew that Kendra and her friends meant well… and she especially knew what it was like to not want someone you loved to be angry with them, especially in the middle of a very tough situation. Kendra and her friends just wanted things to go back to normal... but they all knew that after the divorce was finalized and after what happened at the school today... normal would be a distant memory. But then... after a few moments… Kendra came downstairs, her eyes red from crying, and the Mane 6 followed behind her. “Please, Mom, don’t blame them,” Kendra sobbed. “It was all my idea… it was only supposed to be a stupid prank, that’s all! I… I just wanted something to make me happy, and… a-and then…” “I know, I know…” Avarsi said, nuzzling her daughter. “Kendra, it’s okay. I do wish you had told me the truth, but… I understand why.” “...you’re not mad at her?” Zipp asked in surprise. “Wow. You took that a lot better than I imagined you to.” “Oh, of course I’m not angry. How could I be?” Avarsi said gently. “The principal’s cruelty has gone on for far too long, and… to be honest, if Krupp were to behave more like Captain Underpants, the school would be a much better place. On another paw... I'm not happy about the divorce either, my darlings. In fact, I'm dreading it. Along with the fact that your father and Jaliya haven't been seen in a few days--” “Wait, hold on,” Claudia stopped her mother right there. “Dad’s missing?” “I asked him to meet with me in town to sign the divorce papers, and he never showed up… he wasn’t even at work when I stopped there,” Avarsi sighed. “I figured he was just skimping out on his parental responsibilities, but… this feels… way worse than that.” “...don’t worry,” Sunny said to Avarsi, trying to be comforting. “Since we’ve been… banned from the school, we can go around town and look for him tomorrow.” “Thank you, Sunny,” Avarsi said gratefully before nuzzling her children. “Don’t worry, kids… things are going to be just fine for us.” “...I hope you’re right, Mom,” Kendra sniffled miserably as she looked out at the stormy sky. “I hope you’re right.” Painfully Separated and the Villains' Plan is RevealedKendra, George and Harold were going to be dreading the next day at Jerome Horwitz Elementary WAY more than any other day in their whole lives. Principal Krupp was finally going to put them in separate classes, and he had banished the Mane 6 from the school, so they wouldn't be able to be happy anymore. Not to mention, Avarsi mentioned the night before that Evander and Jaliya had gone missing, and that got the Mane 6 a tad bit more worried than they should. What if Evander and Jaliya were going to try and pull something to get the kids away from Avarsi? Nevertheless... they had to stay strong for their friends, and hope that somehow... someway... ...Avarsi would be right, and things would work out for the best. XXXXXXXX The next day at the school (which proved to be a rather gloomy day indeed), the Mane 6 walked Kendra, her siblings, George and Harold to school, but couldn't step inside, which got Izzy a bit emotional. The leopard siblings, George and Harold hugged their pony pals goodbye one final time before going inside the school, where Principal Krupp was waiting to split the three comic-making best friends up. The only good thing about this was, when George went one way and Harold went another way, Claudia and Treena learned that Kendra would be put in their class for the time being, which was right down the hall from Heath's kindergarten class, so... at least Kendra would have family around. But that didn't seem to cheer anyone else up. As the day went on, the Mane 6 (cloaked in Misty's invisibility spell) peered into the windows of the classrooms where George, Harold and the leopard siblings were to check on them, and just like they guessed, their friends were miserable being without each other. And seeing their friends so miserable broke the Mane 6's hearts. After a whole of watching, Zipp groaned and flew down from the window. “I can’t believe we just have to sit out here and do nothing!” she said, clearly unhappy. “This… this is so unfair!” “I know, Zipp… I know,” Sunny nodded sadly. “But… Principal Krupp has made this school pony-proof to the end.” “...he may have made it pony-proof,” Misty said after a moment, causing her friends to look over at her, “but he didn’t make it magic-proof! Don’t ask me how, but I think I have us a way to get inside without Principal Krupp knowing!” XXXXXXXX At the same time, inside his office, Principal Krupp was proud of himself now that George, Kendra and Harold were separated once and for all, and away from their new pony friends was just the tip of the iceberg. However, he looked at the tuna casserole with his name on it and starts to feel sad. But... why was he starting to feel sad? He hadn't allowed himself to feel any emotions except for angry here recently, so... what was the problem? XXXXXXXX Around the same timeframe as all this was going on, Melvin, Professor Poopypants, Alterro and the brainwashed Evander and Jaliya were looking over the Sizerator 2000, which Professor Poopypants kept as a reminder of his genius work... and as a way to remind himself that he would always be laughed at, no matter where he went. “This thing is amazing, Professor P,” Melvin said in an amazed tone. “You could probably solve world hunger with an invention like this.” “Pass!” Professor Poopypants gagged. “More importantly... how do I look?” “You look just as you do in this comic!” Alterro said, pushing the comic forward with his paw before clearing his throat. “But more… sophisticated, mind you.” “Good! Now, hands off the merchandise,” Professor Poopypants said, taking the Sizerator away from Melvin, “and go fetch your little toilet, okay?” “Evander! Jaliya!” Alterro then barked. “Go and help Melvin!” “Yes, master,” Evander and Jaliya said in their mind-controlled voices before going off after Melvin, who after a moment, brought back the Turbo Toilet and smiled proudly. “I call it the Turbo…” “Yeah, yeah. Couple of gold stars for you, kiddo,” Professor Poopypants dismissed before using Jaliya as a stepstool to get on top of the toilet. “Let the Poopageddon begin!” And then, with his Sizerator 2000, the professor made the Turbo Toilet 2000 grow into a giant robot monster. However, upon closer inspection, he realized that it needed fuel. “ What? Oh, you've gotta be joking me! Poopypants has no gas! You can't write this stuff. Where would a burgeoning villain find unlimited power?” “Well…” Alterro said as he and his minions came forward, with Evander holding Melvin in his paws, “allow us to share some of our power to charge your device, professor. A small amount of magic is a simple payment for the destruction of those meddlesome ponies, after all.” “Oooh, perfect! With your magic,” the professor said as Evander set Melvin down, “this toilet will be indestructible! Do what you must!” “Yes, but please do not break anything!” Melvin pleaded. “It took me two months to put together and program!” “Oh, we won’t,” Alterro said as he watched his paws, Evander’s paws and Jaliya’s paws ignite with magic. “But when we are through… those miserable little ponies will have been broken, piece by piece… until there is NOTHING left of them.” XXXXXXXX A bright light flashed in the hallways in front of the school auditorium, and out from that flash came the Mane 6, panting tiredly after using their combined unity magic to teleport inside the school. “Misty, that was amazing!” Sunny congratulated. “How did you know that would work?” “To be honest, it was just a hunch,” said Misty with a tired shrug. “Now, we need to find our friends and get them back together one way or another, but keep the cloaking spell on at all times-- we can’t risk any teachers seeing us.” And so, once they split up into three groups of two (Hitch and Misty, Izzy and Zipp, Sunny and Pipp) they raced off into three different directions to ensure they found their friends before anything worse happened. XXXXXXXX Izzy and Zipp had found their way to the classroom where George was, while Sunny and Pipp found their way to the leopard siblings’ classroom and Hitch and Misty found their way to Harold’s classroom. And surprisingly, each of the three teachers in those three classrooms were going on and on about the same list of elements. “Memorize these elements... Oxygen. Beryllium. Boringillium. Lameium. Snoronium.” Needless to say, it was a topic so boring that it would even put Hitch to sleep. But suddenly, the Mane 6 and, in their own seperate classrooms, Kendra, her sisters and brother, George and Harold had the moment to look up from their depression to see a car being thrown into the street by what looked to be… …a giant toilet! And it seemed to be heading toward the school! The Mane 6 each got their friends' attention through the small windows in the door, and in their classrooms, Kendra, George and Harold stood up. “Excuse me, everybody, there's a giant…” However, each of the three individual teachers echoed the same response. “Do not interrupt while I'm reading monotone from my textbook!” Fortunately for the Mane 6, Kendra, George and Harold, along with Kendra’s siblings, refused to give this up and were desperate to warn the others. “But the toilet!” Hoeever, the teachers just sighed when they heard this. “Just go...” XXXXXXXX Izzy, Zipp and George managed to get to the bathroom first and were trying to get a good visual by the time that Harold and Kendra burst into the room, and the three best friends looked at each other in happiness. “Kendra? Harold?” “George?” Needless to say, the three friends were overjoyed, and as they started to hug each other, the ground shook, causing them to fall over and onto the cold, hard bathroom floor. “Ow!!” “Oooh…” Pipp groaned as she and the other ponies, as well as Kendra’s siblings, entered the small bathroom. “That’s gonna hurt in the morning.” “Uh, hate to break the reunion up,” said Treena, “but… aren’t there more pressing matters we should be tending to? Like… I don’t know… a giant toilet heading right for our school?!” It was at that moment that our heroes heard a woman screaming as the giant robot arrived, with a trio of flying leopards not far behind. Then, as the student body, including our heroes, watched from the windows, Professor Poopypants’ voice echoed from within the giant toilet. “Students and faculty of Jerome Horwitz Elementary… the world, as you know it, is about to go extinct. And a new world order is about to rise! One that is, you know, honestly pretty similar to the old-world order… except for one tiny detail…” It was then that a hatch was opened on the outside, and it pulled up a lightbulb-like machine with Melvin’s head attached to it. But of course, Izzy was the first to respond to this stunning reveal. “Melvin?!” “Coming at ya!” Melvin said with a smirk, just as two of the three leopards landed beside the lightbulb-styled machine… …two leopards Kendra recognized immediately. “T-That… that’s Dad and Jaliya!” she gasped, her eyes wide. “They’ve been working with Professor Poopypants this whole time?!” “But… who’s that other leopard with them?” Harold tilted his head to get a better look. “Another coworker of Evander’s?” Zipp pulled out her visor to scan the cutie mark of the leopard, and after matching it with some things Allura showed them, her eyes went wide in terror. “Oh, no, Harold, it’s WAY worse than that. Remember how we told you about Allura’s evil brother Alterro who got banished in another world a long time ago?” “Yeah, but… hold on, that’s him?!” Claudia screeched. “I think so,” Zipp said. “They all must be working together for some reason!” And low and behold, Professor Poopypants was about to reveal what that reason was. “Powered by Melvin's unique neurology and the magic of Alterro and his crones,” Professor Poopypants said to the school from inside the Turbo Toilet, “I will successfully disable the Hahaguffawchuckleamalus of every single child at Jerome Horwitz Elementary! For I, Professor Poopypants…” It was then that the kids got a kick out of Professor Poopypants’ name, causing Alterro to chuckle sadistically as he landed right near Evander and Jaliya. “Yes, yes, it’s a funny name, isn’t it? It just makes you laugh and laugh… RIGHT?!” With that, Evander, Alterro and Jaliya charged their magic and placed their paws on the lightbulb-styled machine, which blasted a golden ray right toward the students… and it would have hit our heroes too if Misty hadn’t taken action. “GET DOWN!!” The group immediately dove for cover at the sound of Misty's shrill cry, dodging the effects of the beam, but unfortunately, the rest of the student body got hit, and they suddenly became dull and lifeless zombies. “Still give you the chuckles now?” Professor Poopypants said as he rode on the robot’s hand to get closer to the students. “Poopypants?” “I don’t get it,” the students droned on. “Why is that funny?” “Ha ha!” Alterro smirked sadistically. “It’s perfect!” “Finally!” Melvin said with a smile. “You're speaking my language!” “Oh, no,” Sunny looked as if she might hyperventilate at any moment. “This is bad-- really bad!” “Sunny’s right,” George agreed with a frantic look. “I mean, you guys facing Allura's evil brother is bad enough, but... a world without laughter?” Kendra suddenly put her paws on Harold and George’s shoulders with her own frantic expression. “Guys, if he destroys our sense of humor, he destroys us!” Harold let out a horrified gasp. “Imagine how boring our comics will be… Captain Underpants and the Purchase of the Sensible Beige Pants.” George let out a shudder as he thought of another title. “Captain Underpants Eats All of His Falafel…” Suddenly, Hitch seemed to think of the most boring title a comic book could think of. “Captain Underpants Watches Cement Dry…!!!” This led the leopard siblings, George and Harold to scream in fright, but the ponies were able to silence them before their cover was blown... and right before Alterro began speaking again. “And further more... you don’t have to hide any longer, my little ponies… I know you’re here… and this will FINALLY be the day that I eliminate you once and for all! The very task my so-called sister and her minion couldn’t bring themselves to complete.” “Wait… he knows that Allura and Twitch reformed?” Pipp looked confused. “How?” “And would the creators of this absolutely hilarious comic book please come out, come out, wherever you are?” Professor Poopypants called before throwing the latest Captain Underpants issue into the robot’s mouth, which was filled with a radioactive liquid that Professor Poopypants had been testing. “You’re ALL next!” Luckily, the group was able to duck out of sight as the professor used the Turbo Toilet’s light to begin searching the windows, and once they were sure the light had passed, Kendra let out a shaky sigh. “Oh man…” Kendra muttered. “We have to stop them! Dad and Jaliya included!” That was when Harold tried to think of a solid plan. “We’ve gotta find a way to distract those leopards and unplug Melvin.” “Well, yeah,” said George, “but do we get to them without Poopypants seeing us?” That was when the Mane 6 each had an idea, with Sunny taking the opportunity to speak. “We may have an idea for distracting Alterro and his crones… and that idea is called ‘Operation: Unity Squad’!” With that, the Mane 6's cutie marks began to glow, and as Harold, George and the leopard siblings shielded their eyes, the six ponies were transformed into their superhero alter-egos: Sunny wore the same mask from the Manesquerade Ball, along with the same yellow and blue highlights on her legs, with a blue cape and glowing shoes of light under the name Cosmic Sunlight. Pipp wore her Manesquerade mask as well, as well as a gold and purple cape, and the same gold and purple on her legs, going under the alias Harmonizer. Izzy also wore her Manesquerade mask, as well as glitter in her mane and tail, a purple stripe in her mane while her legs had light green and pink highlights, and she also wore her crafting sash with her purple and green cape, going under the alias Multi-Crafter. Zipp wore her Manesquerade mask, with light blue and pink and her hooves had lightning bolts on them and a blue and pink cape, going under the alias of Royal Bolt. Hitch wore his mask as well, and had the colors lime green and pink on his hooves and mane, along with a green cape, as well as the alias The Masked Defender. And finally, there was Misty, who had pink and yellow on her legs, her original blue-and-green mane coloring, a golden swirl on her horn, a half-butterfly, peacock-like mask and a yellow and pink cape, going under the alias of Butterfly Whisperer. “Holy guacamole!” Heath gasped in shock as the light faded away. “Y-You guys are superheroes?!” “Why didn’t you say anything?” George asked. “Well, we don’t like to reveal our superhero forms unless we absolutely have to,” Misty said, “and this is an ABSOLUTELY have-to situation.” “If we can lure Alterro and his new minions away from here,” said Hitch, “Kendra, George and Harold can find a way to get up to Melvin and shut him down while Claudia, Treena and Heath run to get Avarsi for help-- she’ll know how to take the leopards down for good.” “That’s all well and good and everything,” Pipp said, “but there’s still Poopypants we need to keep busy!” “Pipp’s right,” Harold nodded. “How are we gonna distract him? He’s… pretty smart, if you haven’t noticed.” Suddenly, the group turned when they heard the door open, and walking into the bathroom was Mr. Krupp himself, who after a moment, saw the group and suddenly became enraged. “What are you all doing together?!” It was then that everyone seemed to get the same idea, nodding to George and Harold expectantly. Turning Principal Krupp back into Captain Underpants posed a lot of different risks, but if they were going to save the students, the elementary school the Mane 6 had grown fond of, the entire town and this world… …they really didn’t have much of a choice. This could be their toughest battle to date... and they were ready to embrace it with open arms. The Final Battle CommencesThe final battle our ponies had been hoping to avoid was finally here. After learning that Professor Poopypants was planning to wipe out laughter with the help of Melvin, Allura's brother Alterro, Evander and Jaliya (the latter leopards being mind controlled by Alterro), the Mane 6 donned their Unity Squad superpowers and were ready to go, even having a plan in place where every member of their group had a role. Needless to say... this all had to work out perfectly, otherwise not only could this world be in iminant danger... ...but all worlds could be in danger, if the villains' plan were to succeed. XXXXXXXX “We’ve checked around all the windows, master,” Jaliya said in her mind-controlled voice. “There’s no sign of the ponies inside.” “And I have checked the outside,” Evander added in the same tone. “There’s no sign of them.” “AGH!!” Alterro growled furiously. “Well, just keep looking! At least Professor Poopypants is taking more drastic measures!” “Are you in there? Oh... maybe you're hiding here!” Professor Poopypants just as the robot opened the school roof but instead found Ms. Anthrope still on the phone. “Oh, sorry. Are you stuck on hold?” Ms. Anthrope nodded to this. “Mmm-mmm.” “Oh, totally hate when that happens. Well, good luck with that,” Professor Poopypants said before the robot closed the school roof again. “Now, where are those annoying little...” “Stand down, Alterro and Poopypants!” Sunny shouted as she, her friends and Captain Underpants appeared at the windows. “Or face the wraith of Captain Underpants and the Unity Squad!” “Oh, finally,” Alterro rolled his eyes before pausing. “But... who is this stranger with them?” While the villains seemed to be distracted, the leopard siblings, George and Harold ran outside, with Kendra whimpering nervously about all the reasons this could go wrong. “I hope this works...” “I've been waiting a long time for this, Sunny Starscout,” Alterro said with a determined look from his perch on the Turbo Toilet. “You turned my sister against the ways of Leopardia, the ways my father has installed in the two of us ever since we were cubs!” “Alterro, you have to listen to us!” Misty exclaimed. “You and Allura have been manipulated for as long as you can remember, and you have to realize that the same way she has! Don't you remember the stories of kindness and unity your mother, Queen Felicia, used to tell you? She would be so--” “YOU DO NOT SPEAK HER NAME IN FRONT OF ME!!!” Alterro roared. “She was a weak link in our kingdom, and her legacy is meant to be forgotten... and my legacy will be born the second you ponies are destroyed.” Zipp spread her wings challengingly to this. “Well, if you really wanna destroy us, you'll have to catch us first!” “Keep Poopypants at bay for as long as you can, Captain Underpants!” Hitch shouted. “We'll be back soon!” Alterro roared furiously as the Mane 6 made a break for it, trying to lead him away from the school. “Evander, Jaliya! After them! Don't let them out of your sight!” Evander and Jaliya quickly flew after him, determined to catch the ponies in their final hours. However, as soon as the ponies left, Captain Underpants prepared to leap from the window and attack. “Tra-la-laaa!!!” However, as the superhero leapt from the window, his cape got stuck in the closed window, leaving him dangling and causing Kendra and her siblings to groan out of discomfort. “Ooh...” “Keep standing down. I’m just gonna be a second,” Captain Underpants said as his cape began to rip, and the second part of it tore off, he fell to the ground, surrounded by glum zombies. “Ow!” Professor Poopypants let out a smirk as he allowed a chair to pull him back inside the Turbo Toilet's main control room. “I bet he thought that was going to be cooler.” “Oh, boy...” George said with a sigh. “Here goes nothing.” And so, as George, Harold and Kendra ran one way, Kendra’s siblings ran around the back way in order to get home and warn their mother of their father and Jaliya’s involvement, as well as Alterro's. And the second they left, Captain Underpants got on his feet again. “Ha-ha! Prepare to be vanquished... and justice to be served on a piping hot platter of freedom! With a side order of liberty... and a super-sized cup filled with freedom also!” However, from inside the robot, Professor Poopypants used his computer to scan Captain Underpants’ brain which showed he has no strength, no agility, and no intelligence, causing him to smirk. “Impressive use of fast-food analogies, you giant baby with a cape on! Let's do this!” Upon activating a switch, the robot went into battle mode and roared at Captain Underpants, sending him into the nearby school wall, sending the battle into full-gear from that point on. XXXXXXXX Avarsi was just finishing packing Evander’s stuff in case he were to come by when all of a sudden, the front door FLEW open, and a chorus of voices filled the air. “Mom?!” “Mom, are you here?!” “Where are you?!” “This is an emergency!!” “This is a do or die situation!!” Avarsi followed the voices to the main hallway, where her two elders daughters and her son were waiting for her, their eyes wide in fear, making Avarsi concerned immediately. “Kids, what are you doing home so early? And where's Kendra? Is everything okay? Is it Krupp again?” “To be honest, it's WORSE than Krupp!” Treena said desperately. “It’s Professor Poopypants and Alterro! They've teamed up!” Avarsi's eyes went wide to this. “W-Wait, what?! Alterro's back?!” “Yeah!” Heath nodded desperately. “And somehow he brought Dad and Jaliya into their plan to get rid of laughter and they're attacking the school!” “Okay, okay... you kids need to tell me everything from the beginning,” Avarsi said as she sat in front of her kids, trying her best to remain calm. “That way, I know exactly how I can help.” “Okay... but you better brace yourself, Mom,” Claudia said rather warily. “This is a lot for even us to process.” XXXXXXXX Sunny groaned and grunted as she did her best to dodge some of Alterro's fire blasts. “Keep running, you guys!” she called out. “We have to get them as far away from the school as we can lure them!” “We’re trying, Sunny!” Pipp exclaimed before letting forth her sonic shriek, only for Jaliya’s force shield magic to send it in another direction. “But they're not making this all that easy!” “Of course we're not!” Alterro shouted dismissively. “If we didn't put up much of a fight, your demise wouldn't be worth it!” “But that doesn't mean we should stop trying to keep you from hurting our friends!” Zipp said, firing a bolt of lightning at Evander, only for him to dodge and nearly tackle her, causing Izzy to use a magic blast to get him away before the chase resumed. And while all this was happening, the Mane 6 couldn't help but wonder... how were Kendra, George and Harold doing in their own plans to get Melvin unplugged from Poopypants' scheme? XXXXXXXX “Come on, Kendra, fly faster!!” Harold said as he and George rode on the winged leopards back. “We don’t have all day, you know!” Kendra panted tiredly as she aimed for the top of the Turbo Toilet with both George and Harodl on her back. “Speak for yourself, Harold! You're not the one with wings and having to fly to the top of a really tall toilet robot to stop a scientific maniac!!” George winced as she said that. “Okay, you have a good point there.” Finally, Kendra’s wings finally gave out as she reached the very edge of the Turbo Toilet, grabbing onto the edge and letting George and Harols off before they pulled her back up... all while the Turbo Toilet was playing a round of paddleball, with Captain Underpants as the ball in question. And once all three of them were up on solid ground, Kendra and the boys got closer to Melvin, who appeared to be meditating. “Hey, Melvin!” George whispered. “Take that thing off your head. We gotta stop Poopypants!” However, Melvin let out a gasp. “Professor Poopypants! Kendra, George and Harold are trying to stop you!!” Kendra growled, her wings flaring in annoyance to Melvin's constant tattling. “You are just so annoying!” Suddenly, Professor Poopypants emerged from inside the robot, which was holding Captain Underpants by the cape, and Professor Poopypants smirked down at the trio. “So, you three little numbskulls thought you could distract me and my allies with those little ponies and this idiotic, naked man. Am I right?” “Not naked!” Captain Underpants retorted, but Professor Poopypants ignored him and turned back to the trio with a smirk on his face. “Any final words before this whole revenge thing goes down?” Kendra, George and Harold looked at each other and then, deciding that they needed more time for this plan to work, realized that one way they could let this all end peacefully is to do what Sunny and her friends did to Allura... ...try and reform him. Finally, George took the opportunity to speak up. “Yeah, wait, wait. Listen. We apologize for making fun of your name. I mean, that was just wrong.” Kendra nodded regretfully to this. “Yeah... we're sorry.” “The truth is, Professor P,” said Harold, “you have probably, like, the greatest name we've ever heard. I mean, George, imagine if we had names like that.” George nodded enthusiastically to this. “Oh, that would be so cool! Okay, wait, let's do it. Let's try it. Oh, I would be Fluffy Toiletnose.” “Yeah! I would be Sir Cheeseball Wafflefanny,” Harold said, causing the trio to laugh, but Professor Poopypants just glared over at them. “Yeah, sure. You're a knight.” “This is so good!! Okay, I wanna do one now!” Kendra said with a little hop to her step. “I'd be Buttcheeks von Stinkelsberg.” The trio laughed at this while Melvin groaned... but fortunately, Captain Underpants laughed a little, so at least that was something. “Stinkelsburg...” “Yeah, those are all really silly names,” Professor Poopypants said in annoyance, standing up in his chair, “but there's nothing funny about... Professor Pee-Pee Diarrheastein Poopypants Esquire!” All laughter immediately ceased at this, and after a moment of silence, Harold decided to ask a question about what they had just learned. “Sir, are you saying your full name is... Pee-Pee Diarrheastein Poopypants Esquire?” The professor nodded at this. “Uh-huh.” And then, can you guess what our heroes chose to do next? They laughed, harder than they had in quite some time, angering Poopypants further. “Stop it! Stop laughing!” “Come on,” George said after regaining his composure. “Listen, your problem isn't that people laugh at you. Your problem is that you can't laugh at yourself.” “Oh, really, Oprah?!” Professor Poopypants shot back, frightening the trio. “Is that my problem? Well, your problem is this...” With the push of a button on his chair, Professor Poopypants was able to make the Turbo Toilet's mouth open, and when Captain Underpants saw that the mouth was filled with some sort of glowing green waste, he slightly panicked, unsure of what to do in that moment. Then, to Kendra and the boys' horror, the robot dropped the superhero into the mouth before the mouth sealed shut. “NOOOO!!!!” And while they were distracted by the superhero's fate, Professor Poopypants used the Turbo Toilet to grab the trio in its hands and bring it in front of them, with the trio struggling to break free as Professor Poopypants continued to try and mock them. “Oh, I hope you enjoyed your years of laughter and merriment... because they're about to come to an end.” As Kendra and the boys struggled to try and break free of their binds, the beam being controlled by Melvin shot down at them, bathing them in a golden yellow light and causing them to groan and scream in discomfort, only with Professor Poopypants smirking at their displeasure. “Do you find anything funny about me now?” “You mean... other than your name?” George asked, causing the trio to laugh again, and causing Professor Poopypants to become that much angrier. “Yes! Other than that!” Deciding he needed to up the stakes, the professor began to increase the beam's power, causing Kendra to scream. That was when Harold suddenly thought of another funny thing that he hadn't really thought of before. “And your hair?” “What?!” Professor Poopypants shouted. “My hair's cool, I thought!” “Are you kidding me? That's almost as funny as my hair back in kindygarten!” George laughed. “Remember that afro?” “Oh, yeah!” Kendra giggled. “It looked like a disco ball made of hair!!” “No! No, this can't be happening! Computer, activate brain scan!” Professor Poopypants cried as he scanned the trio's brains and began to inspect them a bit closer. “Let's see. The frontal lobes look big and healthy. The Hahaguffawchuckleamalus looks all shrimpy, so, what gives?” That was when the professor turned the brain scans to the side, and what he discovered caused him to yelp in terror and hide behind his chair. “It can't be! Their Hahaguffawchuckleamaluses, they're enormous! I need more power!” So, the professor turned the beam up so high, it began to take on a dark red hue, and the professor could see Kendra, George and Harold really struggling to maintain control. “Anything strike you as funny now?” George strained a bit at this. “I'm sure we can think of something!” But unfortunately, Harold felt his sense of humor slowly beginning to slip. “George, I can't smile anymore...” “No!!” Kendra shrieked. “Harold!!” But despite her and George’s best efforts to reach out to them, Harold became a depressed zombie just like the rest of the school, causing Professor Poopypants to increase the power that much further. “One down and two to go!” Kendra and George struggled to fight against the beam’s power, and before they knew it, they were slowly falling unconscious to become depressed zombies themselves. It would take a miracle to save them now. XXXXXXXX “And then,” Treena began to wrap up the story to Avarsi, “Sunny sent us home to get you for help while they went off to fight Alterro and Kendra and the boys took on--” Suddenly, Avarsi deeply gasped, putting a paw to her heart as if getting a sudden shock of something. “Mom?” Heath looked concerned for his mother’s sake. “Are you okay?” “I… just felt something,” Avarsi said breathlessly before she began to realize something. “Kendra… Kendra and her friends! They must be in trouble! Come on, we have to get to the school!” “We’re right behind you, Mom!” Claudia said before the siblings followed their mother out of the house. XXXXXXXX At the same time as the Unity Squad was trying to stop Alterro and his minions, Sunny felt the same wave go through her system as well, causing her to gasp. “Guys! I think Kendra and the others are in trouble!” “We can’t go and help them now, Sunny!” Zipp said as she planted a kick right to Alterro’s face. “We kinda have our own situation to deal with!” “But…” Izzy looked desperate as she tried to avoid Jaliya’s claws. “We can’t leave our friends high and dry!” “We’ll circle back toward the school and hopefully lose them in that area!” Hitch said, kicking Evander backwards before tying him up with some earth pony vines. “That’ll give us time to get back to them before it’s too late!” “Come on!” Misty shouted before leading her friends in that direction. “After them, you idiots!” Alterro said, burning the vines around Alterro. “We can’t let them get back to their friends now!” “As you command, master,” Jaliya and Evander said mindlessly as they ran off after the Mane 6, with Alterro flying overhead to try and cut them off before they got to the school. XXXXXXXX Now you may be wondering, did George, Kendra and Harold become depressed zombies too? Well... almost. You see, their bodies were slowly succumbing to the effects of the beam, but it was by sheer luck that their brains were still active. And thanks to Kendra's magic, they were able to speak to each other through their brains. “George? Harold?” Kendra’s brain echoed. “Are you guys okay?” “Uh… uh, yeah. I’m good,” George’s brain answered before he tried to reach out to Harold’s brain, which was heavily sleeping. “Harold. Harold, can you hear me?” “HAROLD!!” Kendra’s brain yowled, causing Harold’s brain to wake up and realize what was going on. “Kendra? George, is that you?” “We’re right here, buddy,” George’s brain said reassuringly before the Hahaguffawchuckleamaluses began to steadily shrink, much to Harold’s brain’s horror. “What’s happening?!” “We’re shrinking!” Kendra’s brain said in panic. “Now, if we don't laugh at something soon, we may never laugh again!” “Oh, no!” Harold’s brain began to panic entirely. “What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?!” “Well, we have to think of something funny!” George’s brain answered, and Harold’s brain began to calm down a bit. “Okay, yeah, sure. Something funny.” Unfortunately, try as they might, the trio just couldn’t think of something funny, and their Hahaguffawchuckleamaluses began to shrink even further. “Okay, okay. What did we use to find funny?” Harold’s brain asked, leading Kendra’s brain to think. “Mostly potty humor. Poop, vomit, that kind of thing.” “Really?” Harold’s brain scoffed as it began to shrink further. “Ugh. That is, like, the lowest form of comedy.” “Don’t you say that, Harold!” George’s brain pleaded. “Don’t you leave us!” XXXXXXXX Outside of Kendra and the boys' heads, Professor Poopypants believed that all his troubles in that instant were over, and began to brag about his upcoming plans to get rid of laughter within the known universe. “Attention everyone! Poopypants here with a little update on the Poopageddon. Due to the success of my plan thus far... I've decided to wipe out laughter on the entire planet. After that, you know, I'll probably move on to other planets... Jupiter, Mars... can't forget Uranus!” XXXXXXXX Back inside the trio's heads, something about what the professor had just said made Kendra's brain start to think a little harder. “Wait. Did he just say…?” That was when the trio suddenly began to think about the day George and Harold met in kindergarten, when Harold commented on how Uranus sounded a lot like ‘Your anus’. This caused them to laugh a bit… then more and more until… their Hahaguffawchuckleamaluses began to grow back to full size again! XXXXXXXX And as their Hahaguffawchuckleamaluses began to grow back to full size, Kendra and her friends found themselves bursting with laughter from the seams. “Yeah, and once I'm through with the gas giants... I figure I'll go after the other galaxies…” Professor Poopypants was saying before he noticed the trio laughing again. “What?!” “It feels so good to laugh!” George said all while he was laughing. And as the trio continued to laugh, the force of their laughter began to repell the beam back toward Melvin, and the professor began to panic about his current disposition. “No, stop it! Stop laughing! You're ruining everything!” As for Melvin, he too was beginning to panic about a very tough choice he had to make. “Yikes! Extra credit or survival? Extra credit or survival? I CHOOSE SURVIVAL!!!” And without a second thought, Melvin immediately bailed and the light bulb exploded, sending a shockwave throughout the entire school, turning all of the kids back to normal. Back inside the glitched robot, the screen now showed toilet paper, making Professor Poopypants a bit nervous. “Uh-oh.” It was then that the Turbo Toilet began to go completely haywire, and fired a roll of toilet paper across the neighborhood which made every student at the school start celebrating. Melvin, however, got crushed by one of the other rolls, while Professor Poopypants watched his plan continue to fall apart. “No, how could this be happening?!” Kendra shot him a little smirk as she and her best friends continued to celebrate. “Never underestimate the power of laughter, Poopypants!” Professor Poopypants groaned in response to this. “Oh, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!” By the time that Avarsi and her remaining children got the school in their sights, the robot continued to shoot toilet paper rolls inyo the sky till the robot did the splits causing him to fall down. And once it did, one of the hands let go of George and Kendra, causing them to jump back down to the ground. “Harold! We did it!” Kendra cheered as she noticed Harold groaning as he emerged from the other hand, much to George’s concern. “Harold?” Harold put a hand to his side in discomfort. “I think I bruised a rib... because I've never laughed so hard in my life!” The trio let forth a laugh out of happiness, relieved that their troubles were over at long last... and that's when Kendra and her friends began hearing voices. “Kendra!” “George!” “Harold!” “You're okay!” “Thank goodness!” Kendra gasped as she saw her family touch down and race over to them. “Mom! Treena, Claudia, Heath! You're okay!” “Oh, my baby!” Avarsi sighed in relief as she took her youngest daughter into her paws. “I was so worried! Where's your father and Jaliya?” “And the ponies!” Heath agreed. “Are they all okay?” “The ponies are still dealing with Alterro, Dad and Jaliya,” Kendra answered. “But, with Professor Poopypants taken care of, we can just go over and--” Suddenly, Professor Poopypants kicked off the handle of the Turbo Toilet and held out his Sizerator, pointing it at the group before firing, causing them to scream and retreat, trying to avoid getting blasted at all costs. “Oh, we'll see who's laughing once I shrink you down here you will live in my pocket forever, amongst my cherry-flavored lip balm...” The group dove behind a nearby car, which Poopypants immediately shrunk, much to Heath's amazement. “Oh, neato!” “Keep running!!” Claudia shrieked as the leopards, Harold and George continued to run as the professor began to speak again. “...my mint-flavored lip balm… my extra-moisturized SPF lip balm... and all of my lip balms!” Without a second thought, the professor threw all his lip balms in the air and blasts them, making them big and trapping the gang like a cage. This caused Treena to scream, as the lip balms were too close together in order for the leopards to try and fly out. “Why does one person have so much lip balm?!” “Look! There are Sunny and the others!” George pointed outside of the lip balm cage to see the ponies being chased by Alterro, Evander and Jaliya. “Maybe they can help us!” “GANGWAY!!!” Hitch and Izzy screamed as the Mane 6 bolted down the street toward their friends, but Alterro was two steps ahead of them, his eyes blazing with fury. “Oh, no you don't! Friendship isn't going to save you this time!” And with that, he blasted some very powerful fire out of his paws, which he used to make a ring around the ponies, causing them to scream and causing Zipp to try and flap her wings to fly out, but her wings refused to get her off the ground. “This fire must be magic! I can't get off the ground from in here!” Misty groaned as she tried to light her horn, but to no avail. “None of our magic is working! We're totally trapped!” “Then I guess there’s only one thing for us to do now!” Hitch shouted. “HELP!!!” That was when the others began to follow Hitch's lead, desperate for some kind of solution. “Help!” “Please, someone help us!” “Get us out of here!” “HEEEEELP!!!” XXXXXXXX From inside the mouth of the Turbo Toilet, Captain Underpants seemed to be very much alive when he swallowed a bit of the radioactive liquid that was inside the Turbo Toilet, causing him to gain powers and increased strength. This gave him such a crazy idea, it might just work for everyone's favor. XXXXXXXX Alterro, Evander and Jaliya stalked around the Mane 6, making sure that even if the ponies were to escape the fire, they wouldn’t be able to escape without begging for their lives. At the same time, Professor Poopypants was preparing to blast George, Harold and the leopard family, a sadistic grin on his face. “Ooh, I hope you can find tiny enough pens and colored markers to make your small, little comic books with... cause you're about to get smallified!” As Avarsi hugged her children and their friends close, the mouth of the Turbo Toilet burst open, and out flew the waistbanded warrior himself from the green water, now with superpowers, abs, and muscles. “Tra-la-laaa!!!” he sang, his abs and muscles disappearing, but his powers still remained. “I feel... awesome!” Hitch stared at the event in shock. “No way!” “Mom, guys, look!” Treena pointed her paw to the sky. “He has real superpowers!” Harold let out an excited groan at this. “That is an obvious twist that I did not see coming... despite my many years of comic book studies!” “I have come to save the day!” Captain Underpants said heroically, causing the students to cheer, but this caused Alterro to charge his paws with his fire magic. “Oh, yes, and we've come to ruin it, so back off, waistband warrior!!” Alterro fired a few blasts at the superhero in question, but Captain Underpants dodged it before getting further into the sky and fired his underwear at the mad genius and his allies. Professor Poopypants was able to dodge the underwear, of course, but the smell coming from the underwear was horrendous. “Ew, that's gross!” “Oh, there's more where that came from!” Captain Underpants declared before firing more of his underwear at Alterro, Evander and Jaliya, causing them smell the underwear and immediately flee from the Mane 6’s ring of fiery imprisonment. “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday...!!” Sunny laughed at the sight of this. “Unlimited underpants?!” “This feels so wrong at the moment,” Pipp laughed, “but I am so glad that Kendra and the boys gave him that superpower!” That was when Captain Underpants released one final pair of underwear at Alterro, striking him head on before he toppled into Professor Poopypants, making him lose the Sizerator 2000. “My Sizerator!” “Well,” Captain Underpants said, grabbing the device, “it's mine now!” Professor Poopypants let out a weary sigh, believing he had finally been defeated. “Alas! The final failure for Professor Poopypants.” “Ugh, who cares about your dumb device?!” Alterro snarled as he increased the flame size around the Mane 6. “I still have these putrid ponies right where I want them and there's nothing anyone can do about it!” At the same time, Captain Underpants was inspecting the device when he came across a series of small buttons. “Hmmm... what does this button do?” However, upon aiming the Sizerator at the ground, the device shot a beam at Professor Poopypants, causing him to grow to giant size and scare the students around him. “Ohhh... well, hello there!” “NO!!!” the others shouted in terror. “Must be holding it backwards,” Captain Underpants said obliviously, turning the Sizerator around and accidentally shrinking himself, causing him to lose the Sizerator in the process. “Yep-- that was it.” “...wow...” George deadpanned. “He is super dumb.” Suddenly, the Sizerator fell outside the cage of lip balms, and Kendra, try as she might, couldn't get her paw far enough outside the cage to grab the device. “I can’t reach!!” Deciding the group needed more time, Captain Underpants (now small and tiny) began to fly around the giant professor’s head to further annoy him. “Time to take you down once and for all, Poopypants!” “Buzz off!” Professor Poopypants flicked Captain Underpants away, causing him to scream, but fortunately, Captain Underpants was flicked so fast, he cut through the lip balms and freed the boys, Kendra and her family before landing on the ground. “Okay, I have a plan!” said Kendra. “Mom, can you fly up and distract Alterro, Dad and Jaliya?” “Can do!” Avarsi said with a salute before flying off. “I’ll take care of the fire so we can free Sunny and her friends,” Kendra said. “Then, we all team up to take Poopypants down once and for all!” Kendra immediately flew over to the ring of fire and used her ice magic on it, putting the fire out and freeing the Mane 6, as well as allowing them to get their magic back. “Yeah-heh!” Sunny cheered. “Thanks, Kendra!” “Don’t thank us yet!” Kendra said as she watched her mother dive the magic attacks sent from Jaliya, Alterro and her father. “We’ve still got work to do!” “Captain Underpants!” George cried as he grabbed the Sizerator. “Fly over here so we can make you big again!” “Crackerjack idea!” Captain Underpants said before landing on Harold’s hand, which caused Harold to try and warn George before he did anything. “George, just don't…” Unfortunately, George fired the gun, making Harold’s hand grow to a giant size. “Aw, man!” Claudia growled. “You gotta be kidding me!” However, Professor Poopypants, still giant, only found humor in the circumstance. “Ha-ha! Give him a big hand for that one, everybody!” “Let me have a try, George,” Pipp snatched the Sizerator from George and switched it to the smallify setting. “Time to pick on someone your own size, you oversized German bully!” But when Pipp fired the Sizerator at him, the professor ducked out of the way and let the beam hit the school, shrinking it down to toy size. “...oops…” Pipp blushed nervously and pushed the Sizerator off to the side. “Look what I've got…” Professor Poopypants said as he held the tiny school in his grasp. “A tiny school filled with tiny children and their tiny teachers whose tiny salaries reflect their size and also the value society puts on education!” “I’ll take that!” Captain Underpants said as his tiny form grabbed the tiny school, causing Professor Poopypants to reach for the Sizerator. “Then, I’ll take this!” That was when Harold used his giant hand to slap the professor’s giant hand, causing him to reel back in pain. “OW! Did you just slap me?!” “Yes, I did!” Harold huffed. “And you deserved it.” “No I didn’t!” the professor retorted. “Your hand is huge! That hurt a lot! Give it back, it's mine!” “Paws off, Poopypants!” Kendra shouted, trying to help George. “Leave our friends alone!” This involved a tough tug-of-war sequence between the forces of good and evil, which paused when Harold accidentally shrunk Poopypants’ head. “AH!! Now look what you've done!” “Heh, to be honest, it suits you!” Treena mocked. “Small head for a small heart!” The tug-of-war quickly resumed, but after a moment, the Sizerator slipped from our heroes’ reach and was launched into the air, where it randomly at various things like a man walking a dog, a blue bird hanging on the phone lines, a woman’s house where the pizza man was about to ring the doorbell. But when the blasts were getting too random and out of control, the group was forced to try and dodge the blast, but the blasts getting too close to George was a thing Harold couldn’t handle. “GEORGE!!!” Harold blocked one of the shots with his huge hand which returned to normal size, and the Sizerator fell into Kendra’s paws, which (with the help of her sisters) she used to turn Poopypants to tiny size, and Heath pounced on Poopypants with his front paws. “Gotcha!” “Yeah, but who’s got Mom?!” Treena looked at their mother, who was getting more and more tired by the minute. “She won’t be able to distract the other leopards for much longer!” “I’ve got an idea for that!” Sunny exclaimed. “Izzy, do you have a really large rubber band in your sash?” “Sure do, Sunny-Poo!” Izzy exclaimed, pulling it out. “One large rubber band to go!” “Perfect! Kendra, make three super large snowballs,” Sunny instructed, and Kendra immediately got to work as she handed the rubber band off to Pipp, Zipp, Treena and Claudia. “You four work and hold the rubber band tight. George, Harold and Misty? Pull it back and let it go when I say so.” The group nodded and immediately got to work, and up in the sky, Avarsi saw what her children were doing and tried to get her former mate, Jaliya and Alterro to follow her closer to the ground. “After her!” Alterro shouted. “Show your former mate what you’re made of, Alterro!” “As you command, master,” Evander said rather stiffly before the other leopards proceeded to follow Avarsi, just as the snowballs were being loaded into the makeshift slingshot that Misty, George and Harold were holding back. “Wait for it…” Sunny said cautiously. “Wait for it… NOW!!!” “Snowball's away!!!” Harold and George shouted before the snowballs were launched in the leopards' direction, allowing Avarsi just enough time to get out of the way before they bit, causing the leopards to crash to the ground while undoing the trance over Jaliya and Evander in the process. Evander groaned and shook his head, his memory foggy as he looked around the area. “What in the world are we...?” Claudia snarled as she pounced upon her gather while Treena pounced on Jaliya and Avarsi pounced on Alterro, holding them all to the ground. “Girls!” Evander snarled. “What is the meaning of this?!” Jaliya grunted and strained where Treena was holding her. “Let us go right now!!” “Not on your life!” Avarsi snarled. “You’ve hurt too many people for your own gain, and I'm not about to let it happen again!” And as Avarsi began to tell off her former mate and the other leopards on what they did, Zipp took the Sizerator and used it to make Captain Underpants and the school big again. “Yeah, that's more like it!” “And for good measure,” Hitch said before jumping onto the Sizerator and destroying it. “Nice work, sidekicks!” Captain Underpants said before beginning to put the school down. “I'll just put this back down right here…” “Captain Underpants!” “Wait!” “No!” “Not like that!” But against the others’ warnings… Captain Underpants put the school back where it was, but… you know… sideways. “There we go. Back to normal... like it never happened.” “Oy vey…” Pipp groaned before Heath looked down at his paws and realized Professor Poopypants was gone. “Oh, no!” the little leopard yelped, looking around. “Where did he go?!” Turns out, Professor Poopypants had slipped out from under Heath’s paws and had gotten a joyride on a nearby bumblebee, which he piloted closer to the group to further taunt them. “You'll never catch me!” he said in a high-pitched voice. “You can't stop Professor Poopypants!” “Ugh, I can’t grab him!” Zipp said as she tried to grab him with her hooves, but the bee was moving way too fast. “Me neither!” Kendra said as she tried to pounce on it. “Get him, Captain Underpants!” “AHH!! A bee! Get away from me!!” Captain Underpants shrieked before swatting the bee, sending it and Professor Poopypants flying away. “I’m freeeeee!!!” “W-Why would you do that?!” Hitch asked in exasperation. “Yeah!” Izzy pouted. “You just let the bad guy get away!” “Come on, guys,” Captain Underpants told the ponies. “Pretty sure the bee wasn't the bad guy.” “The bee wasn’t,” said Sunny before turning to look at Alterro. “But he definitely is.” Alterro growled for a moment before a slight smirk came onto his face. “You may have been formidable this time, Starscout, but mark my words… not only will you pay for turning my sister against me, but all of Equestria will too… including the realm of Skyros. Ha ha ha… HA HA HA HA HA!!!” And within a burst of flames, which knocked Avarsi backwards, Alterro had vanished. “Oh no!” Misty cried, wide eyed in panic. “He’s gone!” “He can teleport using fire?” Harold asked in disbelief. “We so gotta add that to a Captain Underpants comic!” “Harold!” Kendra barked. “Not the time!” “...Skyros, huh?” Sunny hummed to herself. “If Skyros is what Alterro is looking for, then we need to find it first… and soon.” It was at that moment that a squad of police cars showed up on the scene, and the chief of police looked at the alarming scene with eyes wide. “What the heck happened here?” “You’re welcome, peace-keepers!” Captain Underpants said as he quickly flew off with Harold and George, with Misty calling up butterflies to fly herself and the other flightless ponies after their friends. “Shh shh shh!!” Pipp said desperately to Captain Underpants. “Not so loud!” “...Kendra, you go on ahead with your friends,” Avarsi told her youngest daughter gently. “We’ll stay here so the police can take our statement, and we’ll be home as soon as we can.” “Okay… and Mom?” Kendra looked at her mother for a moment before purring against her. “I love you.” “I love you too, sweetie,” Avarsi whispered, nuzzling her youngest daughter before watching her fly off after her friends. It seemed as if all of their troubles (except for the looming threat of Alterro) were finally over. Evander and Jaliya were going to be going to prison for all the crimes they had commited while under Alterro's control, and at long last... maybe the leopard family and Jerome Horwitz Elementary both had bright futures ahead of them. A Bitter-Sweet Ending for All InvolvedWell, as of now, there are a few pieces of good news and bad news to share. The good news was that the school, the town of Piqua and the world were safe once again, and Evander and Jaliya were both going to be going to prison for their crimes. The bad news was Professor Poopypants and Alterro both got away, with Alterro mentioning his revenge would not only go on the Mane 6, but also Equestria and the realm of Skyros. Now... we only have a little longer to go until we reach the end of our story, so let's get back to it, shall we? XXXXXXXX The Mane 6 turned back to normal once they got to the safety of George, Harold and Kendra’s treehouse, where they finally breathed a sigh of relief-- their problems were over for now, and they could finally let all of the burdens of the last few days off of their shoulders. At the moment, Captain Underpants was still reading one of the comic books that Kendra and the boys had made for the events of the day, completely forgetting what had just happened a half hour before. “Did not see that coming! Take that, Doctor Diaper!” George let out a small, yet comforting sigh, a sad smile on his face. “I can’t believe we made him.” “And,” Pipp nodded slightly, “he’s even dumber in real life.” Captain Underpants gasped as he got to a specific page that Harold personally called his favorite. “Oh! Look! Little dolphins! Hee hee…” Harold then frowned, realizing what they had to do going forward. “...we have to get rid of him, don’t we?” he asked, referring to Captain Underpants. “I think you do,” Sunny nodded gently. “I mean… if you all think about it, he’s a way bigger problem than Principal Krupp ever was.” That’s when Kendra’s eyes trailed back to the picture of Principal Krupp on the dartboard, a sad thought reaching her mind. “But… you know, fellas… bringing back Krupp permanently... we'll never be in the same class again.” George nodded sadly at this. “Yeah, I know.” “But… hang on, guys,” Zipp said gently as she got up to face them. “Just cause you’re in separate classes doesn’t mean you can’t be friends.” “Well, yeah. I mean, we'll always be friends,” Harold nodded. “Right?” “Absolutely!” Misty smiled. “Being friends doesn’t stop when you go to separate classes, or if you’re far away from each other. What matters about being friends is what comes from the heart. And you three have some of the biggest hearts we’ve ever seen.” “And we’re sure,” said Hitch, “you’ll come up with a way to keep your friendship going strong. Even when we’re not here.” That was when George seemed to get an idea as to what they could do. “Hey, in fact, you know what? Let's do a blood oath. But minus the blood. I don't wanna see the blood. No blood.” “Pinky swear?” Izzy suggested, only for George to frown and cross his arms. “No, that’s lame.” “Oh! Got it!” Harold said before spitting into his hand and holding it out. “Oh, no. What? No! That’s not sanitary!” Kendra scolded. “Can't we just do a verbal declaration of friendship or something?” “Ohhhh, good idea!” Pipp nodded. “A verbal promise you guys will never stop being friends, no matter what comes your way.” Harold realized that Pipp may have been onto something and rubbed his hands on his shorts to clear away the spit. “Oh. Okay. Yeah, wow. I haven't really prepared anything, but… ahem. I, Harold... hereby declare George and Kendra my best friends, permanently, forever.” Kendra giggled and raised her paw. “And I, Kendra, pledge to do the same thing, permanently, forever as well.” However, George seemed to struggle a bit as he raised his hand as well. “And I, George, accept the permanent rights... that Harold and Kendra have given me to be their best friend forever... and the constitution of friends…” “You know? I don’t think it matters how you word it,” said Sunny with an encouraging smile. “As long as you really mean it.” It was then that Kendra and the boys let out a unison sigh of relief, happy that the whole situation was put to bed after several long days of suffering. “What a relief,” Harold said before George nodded in agreement. “I mean, why were we even worried about that whole classroom thing in the first place?” Kendra giggled at this. “I don’t really remember! We were younger then. Clearly, we have grown.” Pipp giggled to herself when this was said. “Yeah, said the guys who hypnotized their principal into thinking he’s a comic book character. But you know… I really don’t mind that anymore.” “Chums! Thank you for chronicling my surprisingly grounded biography. The truth is a slippery thing. And you nailed it!” Captain Underpants said, rubbing each of them on the head with a laugh before standing up again. “Now it is time to fly again! Farewell, my dear sidekicks.” George smiled sadly as he pulled out the hypno-ring. “Goodbye, Captain Underpants.” “Goodbye,” Harold said sadly. “We’re gonna miss you,” Kendra said with a slight sniffle. “But… we’ll never forget you,” Sunny added. “Right, guys?” The other ponies smiled at this, realizing that Sunny was right. “Right.” “Okay, guys…” Misty looked at the boys expectantly. “Do your thing.” It was then that George dropped the ring to the ground before stomping on it, shattering it and causing a wave of energy to spread throughout the treehouse before disappearing a few seconds later. Then, Principal Krupp babbled and woke up from his hypnosis to discover he was back in the treehouse with the nine friends looking on. “Kendra! George! Harold! What am I doing in your tree house again?!” he commanded to know before he fell out of the treehouse, causing the others to rush to the window to check on him. “You kids are in big trouble!” Principal Krupp kept stammering, bumping into things in the yard as he spoke. “I don’t know how big yet… why does this keep happening?! Where are my clothes?!” And within just a few minutes, he was gone. After a moment, Kendra let out an unsure sigh. “I don't get it. Why is Krupp so angry and Captain Underpants so happy?” “Well… maybe it’s because Captain Underpants had us,” Izzy said gently. “You know… he had… friends.” “...Izzy’s right,” Zipp realized. “You guys remember how dark and lonely Krupp’s house seemed… right? Maybe if he had a friend, maybe things wouldn’t be so hard on him.” George seemed to catch onto what the ponies were saying, and a smile came onto his face as he seemed to get an idea. “We could fix that.” “...yeah,” Harold nodded. “You know, we could.” “A prank for good… I love it!” Pipp smiled. “Just show us what we need to do, and we’ll help you pull this off.” XXXXXXXX The next day at school, Principal Krupp was sorting through his mail in his mailbox when he discovered a pink letter with his name on it. He opened it and it had a heart shaped letter, which he read aloud. “Do you wanna go on a date…?” Principal Krupp spit the donut he was eating out when he saw this. “A date?!” he exclaimed before looking to see who the letter was from. “Love… Edith?” XXXXXXXX As it turns out, it was Kendra, George and Harold who planted these letters, and they had given one to Edith the lunch lady too, making her excited for the date ahead. “Oh! Benjamin Krupp, you sly dog.” XXXXXXXX And if you can believe it, Principal Krupp seemed pretty happy about his impending date too. “Edith… the lunch lady…” But as he prepared to walk out of the office, George, Kendra, her siblings, Harold and the Mane 6 walked by, with George deciding to make a friendly conversation out of it. “Big plans tonight, Mr. Krupp?” “No! What? That’s none of your business!” Principal Krupp snapped before he cleared his throat and regained his composure. “But, if you must know… yeah, I actually do.” The Mane 6 smiled at each other before they saw Principal Krupp getting a few comic books out of the garbage and handing them back to Kendra and the boys. “By the way, I was tidying up my office and I believe these belong to you.” Kendra gasped as soon as she saw the comics in question. “These are our Captain Underpants comics! Thank you!” “...um… did you just pull them out of the trash can?” Hitch asked in disgust, but Principal Krupp chose to ignore the comment at hand. “Well, I read them... and considering they're completely implausible, juvenile... and filled with the lowest form of wit... potty humor... they're actually pretty funny,” he said before walking off, a bit more pep in his step. “See you later!” “Huh…” Harold commented as they watched Principal Krupp skip away. “Well, how about that?” “I guess a prank for good is actually what Principal Krupp needed all along,” Treena smiled. “We’re proud of you guys.” “Aw, thanks sis,” Kendra smiled before noticing something appearing behind the ponies. “Hey… what’s that?” The Mane 6 glanced behind them to see the portal igniting behind them, and Misty let out a sad sigh as she turned to face their new friends again. “That’s our cue to head back to Equestria... we have to warn our friends about Alterro coming around, so they can be prepared.” “Hold on a sec,” George said as he reached behind him and pulled out a single comic book. “Here-- we made this last night... something that you can read to remember us all by.” Hitch took the comic book with valid interest. “Captain Underpants and the Unity Squad Unite... you made a comic book with us in it?” “That’s so sweet!” Sunny smiled warmly. “Thank you so much.” “We actually have presents for all of you, too,” Izzy said as she reached all of them hoof-made friendship bracelets. “They have our cutie marks on them so you remember you have friends in Equestria supporting you all the way.” Kendra sniffled a bit at this, but her smile shone much brighter than her tears. “Thank you, ponies... for everything.” And with a few heartfelt hugs and farewell wishes, the Mane 6 turned and leapt into the portal, leaving the town of Piqua and Jerome Horwitz Elementary behind. XXXXXXXX “Oh, you're back!” Allura said as the Mane 6 slowly emerged from the portal again, with Sparky and Twitch running to greet them. “The boys and I have been waiting for you to...” However, Allura had to pause when she saw the worried expressions on the ponies' faces. “Um... what's wrong?” “...Allura? We have an update about Alterro,” Sunny said sadly. “But... I don't think it's one that you're gonna like.” XXXXXXXX That night, back in Piqua, the giant Turbo Toilet 2000 was thrown away into a Toilet Recycling Center which was next door to a restaurant called “It’s Amore!” where the leopard siblings, George and Harold saw Principal Krupp and Edith having their date. Kendra smiled with a happy sigh as she watched them. “You know, it feels good to do something nice for Mr. Krupp.” Harold nodded in agreement to this. “Yeah, you know what? It does.” “...promise we'll never do it again,” George said with a look of seriousness, and Harold and the leopard siblings smiled back at him. “Promise.” “Oh, my! I've never been to such a fancy restaurant before,” Edith said as she admired Principal Krupp’s handsome face. “Well, I had to go all out for m'lady,” Principal Krupp said with a chuckle, causing Edith to chuckle with a blush on her face. “Okay, if you say so, my man!” Edith and Mr. Krupp chuckled for a few moments before Claudia turned to her siblings and Kendra’s friends with a happy smile. “You know, guys, I think this really brings our story to it's happy conclusion.” Harold nodded at this as they began to walk away from the restaurant. “I think there's some valuable life lessons in there... somewhere.” Suddenly, Treena held up her paw upon hearing a strange sound. “Wait... do you guys hear something?” But before anyone else could respond, the toilets at the toilet deposit site came to life by the radioactive leftovers as they chanted “Yum, yum, eat ‘em up!”. This caused Kendra and her older sisters to shriek in fright, clinging to each other in shock. “Oh, you have to be kidding me!” Heath growled. “No... no!!” In the restaurant, a man got eaten up by a toilet gone nuts, and even Edith had to admit, she was getting a bit nervous herself. “Oh, whoa!” “Uh... waiter!” Principal Krupp cried. “Check, please!” However, as he snapped his fingers together, Principal Krupp fell under the hypnosis again, which caused him to take off his clothes and grab the tablecloth as a cape, much to Edith's surprise. “Principal Krupp!” “Oh, no!!” Kendra, George, Harold and Kendra’s siblings said as the toilets got closer, prompting them to scream. “HELP!!!” Luckily, Captain Underpants burst through the window and flew out with the two boys hanging onto his cape. “Hang on, sidekicks!” the superhero exclaimed as the leopard siblings took off after them. “I don’t get it!” George shouted to Harold and the others. “I really thought breaking that ring would get rid of his powers!” “Yeah, well...” Harold shouted as Captain Underpants charged through the toilets, knocking them over, “...here we go again...!!!” That was when the group flew up through the clouds toward the moon, where Captain Underpants uttered his special catchphrase one final time for all the people of Piqua to hear... “Tra-la-laaa!!!!!!!”
Meeting New Friends in Piqua, Ohio and Trouble at Jerome Horwitz ElementaryAfter comforting Allura about her worries about her long-lost brother, Alterro, the Mane 6’s cutie marks lit up for a Unity Quest once again, quickly prompting them to drop Sparky off in Allura and Twitch’s care, say goodbye and jump into the portal before it closed. They had no idea where they were going this time or what to expect, so our heroes would have to brace themselves for whatever they might find on the other side of that portal. And hopefully… it wouldn’t be a mission too dangerous or risky that they could handle no problem. However... I think that we all know by now that's probably not going to be the case. XXXXXXXX The bright blue sky was clear, and the sun was shining brightly over a medium-sized, bustling city, called Piqua, in the wonderful state of Ohio. Birds twittered as they flew through the air all the while the denizens went about their days. A heavy wind picked up as the swirling, multi-colored portal opened up, allowing the Mane 6 to hop out of it and take a look at their surroundings. “Huh… it looks like we’re in a town of some kind,” said Hitch with a curious look as Zipp and Pipp referred to their FlyPad and phone. “But, which town is it?” “Looks like we’re in the town of Piqua, Ohio,” Zipp said, showing them a map on her FlyPad. “Pipp and I installed high-powered GPS apps to our devices, so even when we’re in different worlds…” “We’ll always know where we are!” Pipp added with a cheerful smile, hoof-bumping her sister. “Good thinking, you two,” Sunny smiled before the Mane 6 glanced around a bit more. “Now, we just have to figure out why the Unity Crystals sent us here and who they want us to help.” That’s when Izzy pointed her hoof at a nearby building, which seemed to be a large elementary school named ‘Jerome Horwitz Elementary’. “It may just be my luminescence talking, but… maybe we should try there?” “Jerome Horwitz Elementary? Yikes…” Pipp grimaced. “Somepony must REALLY need help if they need to name their school that of all things.” Zipp looked at her sister with a weird expression. “And… what would YOU name an elementary school exactly?” “Oh, a lot of different things,” Pipp scoffed. “Unity Crystal Academy, Unity Elementary, Pipp Petals Prepatory… okay, the last one is a little on the nose, but still! Those are a lot better than Jerome Horwitz Elementary!” “Come on,” Misty said, breaking the two sisters up. “Let’s go and see what we can find out. But be careful-- some of these kids might not react well to seeing ponies, so let’s keep as out of sight as we can without me and Izzy using the invisibility spell.” The ponies nodded to this before steadily creeping toward the school, trying to stay as out of sight as they possibly could to prevent a potential panic. But as they got closer, they managed to see three small figures laying down near the metal bleachers, causing them to hide behind the bleachers so they could get a better look. As it turns out, there were two human boys and a young flying leopard cub getting out paper, colored pencils, crayons and other craft materials, as if wanting to make some sort of book. The first boy (named George Beard) had brown skin (since he was African American), wearing a white collared T-shirt with a red and yellow striped tie and had a crew cut haircut. The second boy (named Harold Hutchins) was blonde-haired boy with a large, fluffy hairstyle. His outfit usually consisted of a green and white striped t-shirt, brown shorts and light blue slip-on shoes. But the flying leopard cub, named Kendra was interesting. She seemed to be around the same age as the boys, and she had a light, bluish-green pelt, deep blue eyes, blue spots with lighter blue rosettes inside of them, a blue nose, wings with blue feathers and a cutie mark of a whitish-gray cloud with three snowflakes underneath it. And as the Mane 6 watched from behind the bleachers, Harold, George and Kendra began to work on their latest project, with Harold writing the story and Harold drawing all of the pictures while Kendra supervised the scene and added her input. “All right, okay. So, a long, long, long, long time ago…” George began as they began to draw out the comic book, “...in a galaxy far, far, away... there's a planet called Underpanty World.” “Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait,” Harold said, stopping George as he quickly erased half of the Earth-like planet on the page and redrew it in order to make it seem like the planet was wearing a pair of white underpants. “Okay, go.” “Oh, man, that’s perfect!” Kendra said with an excited giggle. “Keep going, George!” “Okay, okay,” George laughed before he and Harold got right back to creating their comic book. “Underpanty World was a peaceful planet where everybody wore only underwear… until it started to blow up for some reason.” Kendra sighed and shook her head at this. “It’s always the peaceful planets that get blown up, don’t they?” “...I have no idea what the heck they’re doing,” Hitch whispered to the other ponies as they watched, “but honestly… I think I kinda like it.” “Meanwhile,” George continued, unaware of the Mane 6’s presence, “the leaders of Underpanty World, Big Daddy Long Johns and his wife Princess Pantyhose saved their baby by stretching his underwear really far and then they shot him into space.” “Right before it blew up, right?” Harold asked. “Right,” George nodded. “ And then he crashed on earth and he was raised by some nice fi…” But that’s when George noticed that dolphins had been drawn on the page instead of farmers. “Dolphins?” “Yeah, dolphins,” Harold nodded, seemingly proud with his choice. “Just go with it.” “Well… okay,” Kendra shrugged uneasily. “If you say so.” “So, the dolphins found the space baby and decided to raise him as their own,” George continued the story. “But, the space baby grew up fast.” Next, the boys drew out a scene where an egg salad sandwich (seemingly alive for some reason) was flying across the sky before taking out a gigantic bridge, putting a school bus full of kids in danger until the space baby saved the bus by strengthing his underpants across the giant gap. “Faster than a speeding waistband!” Kendra said enthusiastically, pouncing at a butterfly as she spoke. “More powerful than boxer shorts! Able to leap tall buildings without getting a wedgie!” “...huh?” the Mane 6 seemed to mutter, but shrugged either way as they continued to watch the three friends finish making their comic. “He fights for truth, justice, and all that is preshrunk and cottony!” George added as they were just about finish. “For he is…” “Captain Underpants!” Harold concluded, writing the title on the front page. “The Origin Issue.” “It’s so good,” George said, laying back on the grass. “But you know,” Kendra said with a hum of thought, “we should have done an origin issue ages ago.” “Yeah,” Harold nodded. “Like… first.” Suddenly, George frowned at one particular detail. “You know, I'm not sure about the dolphins, though.” “Yeah, I know,” Harold nodded in understanding. “It's just, I didn't know if it was the thing where it's like, good weird or bad weird. Like is it something…” Just then, a large man who was mostly bald (except for a rather pathetic looking toupee) with a pear-shaped body, a piggish nose, a white shirt, a brown tie and green pants, marched right over and ripped the comic book in half, causing Kendra to scream. “NO!!” “The origin issue!!” Harold sobbed. “I've told you three a thousand times,” said the man, “not to draw these idiotic comics!” “Come on, guys!” Zipp whispered to her friends with urgency as they watched the man continue to rip the comic book apart. “Those kids might need some help!” “You’re right, Zipp,” Sunny whispered back. “We might wanna get out there before…” Suddenly, Kendra charged her front paws with magic before using them to make a cross. “FREEZE!!!” Suddenly, the scene before them, except for Harold, George, Kendra and the Mane 6 completely froze, causing the Mane 6 to freeze in their own shock. “Whoa….” Pipp commented as the Mane 6 slowly walked out of hiding to approach the three kids. “Did that cub literally just stop time?” “Apparently,” Misty commented. “Her magic must be more powerful than most cubs her age.” “Huh? Oh, hey there!” Kendra said, noticing the Mane 6 coming toward them. “Where did you guys come from? And… how were you not affected by my time freezing power?” “It… could have something to do with the fact that we’re not exactly from here,” Sunny said with a nervous chuckle. “I’m Sunny, and this is Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, Zipp and Misty.” “Hey, everybody! Wait one second,” George said, moving a few pieces of comic book from the air so he could see the group a bit more clearly. “Hi. I’m George Beard, and these are my best friends, Kendra and Harold Hitchins.” “Hey,” Harold greeted the ponies with a smile before he frowned, holding some pieces of the destroyed comic. “Aw, man.” “It’s okay,” Kendra purred against Harold’s side. “I’m sure you boys can come up with some more ideas.” “This seemed to be quite the comic book you guys were working on,” Hitch said as he picked up a piece of the comic book. “This… was a comic book, right?” “Actually, yeah,” Kendra nodded. “You see, Harold loves to draw and George loves to tell stories, so we kinda put their talents together to make comic books.” “And… the old guy who ripped your comic apart without any kind of remorse?” Pipp glanced at the man with a worried expression. “Oh, this guy looking angry right here?” George let out a scoff. “Well, this is the worst principal in the world, Mr. Krupp.” “Mean old Mr. Krupp…” Harold grumbled. “Hates anything fun. Like comic books… recess…” To show the Mane 6 what Harold meant, Kendra used her magic to move some of the broken comic book pieces into moving pictures, and the first one was of three kids playing jump rope until Krupp cuts the rope with scissors. “Christmas…” Harold continued, with the pictures becoming a winter setting with Santa riding in his sleigh before flooring it back the way he came after Krupp jump-scared him. “Even kittens!” Then, to the Mane 6’s horror, the last moving picture showed Mr. Krupp using a flame-thrower on a little gray kitten, causing it to yowl in pain. “Oh my gumdrops!!” Izzy cried out in panic at the last part. “Did that really happen?!” “Well, no…” Kendra shrugged. “Not technically.” “BUT IT MIGHT AS WELL HAVE!!” Harold shouted angrily, causing the ponies to reel back. “I’m sorry,” Harold apologized sheepishly, “I’m… I’m still mad about the comic.” “Yeah, me too,” George sighed as he sat down next to Harold again. “But remember, this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this to our comics.” “Yep, he’s burned them, shredded them, torn them apart page by page…” Kendra named off. “Basically… he’s a huge jerk.” “Man… it sure sounds like it,” Zipp frowned. “You guys must hate going to school every day.” “It has its up and down moments,” George shrugged. “Kendra, you better unfreeze the scene now. We already know what’s gonna come next.” “You’re probably right,” Kendra said, and as George covered his ears, she made her paws glow again and made the cross with her paws again. “And… unfreeze!” It was then that the scene unfroze and the pieces of the comic book fell down around the group while Mr. Krupp unfroze too. “In my office… NOW!!!” he shouted to Kendra and the boys before marching away. “And bring those weird-looking horses with you!” “Horses?! DOES NO ONE AROUND HERE KNOW WE’RE PONIES?!!” Pipp cried out, out of being appalled and out of general frustration. But seeing that the group didn’t have much other choice in the matter, the ponies followed Kendra, George and Harold back to the school to get a stern talking-to. XXXXXXXX A few minutes later, in Mr. Krupp’s office, the principal sat glaring at the boys and Kendra, alongside their new pony friends, who he had decreed were trespassers on school property, for what seemed like a long time, his toupee flying off his head with the breeze of the fan and then plopping back on his head when the fan went in a different direction. After a moment, Izzy became increasingly uncomfortable with Mr. Krupp staring at them, and leaned over to whisper to Harold. “What is happening right now?” “...I don’t know,” Harold whispered back. “He’s never done anything like this before, and we’ve been to his office almost 500 times.” “500?! Man… I’ve never gotten in trouble that much,” Zipp whispered, “and even I was a little rebellious when I was little.” “Do you think he fell asleep with his eyes open?” George had a sudden thought. “Maybe…” Kendra shrugged, beginning to climb down from her chair. “Let’s try and leave and see what happens.” “Okay, but let’s be quick,” Hitch whispered to the others rather cautiously. “If he did fall asleep, who knows when he might wake up and catch us.” But the second the group began to creep toward the door, Mr. Krupp slammed his hand on a huge red button on the desk, causing a highly-automatic door to come up and lock the group inside the office. “Door lock activated.” “Wow,” Hitch blinked in surprise. “That’s an expensive door.” “It was a choice between the magnetic automatic door closer and the music and arts programs,” Mr. Krupp said proudly, thinking about when he shut down the music and arts programs rather swiftly a few months prior. “Pretty sure I made the right choice.” “...not for music lovers like me,” Pipp crossed her hooves with a mutter, “but… I’m just a pegasus. What do I know?” But then, Mr. Krupp got up and began slowly walking over to the window. “This morning's school sign is supposed to read ‘Sewage plant field trips are today’,” he said before opening the blinds of the window, his gaze directed at George, Harold and Kendra more than anyone else. “So, can any of you explain why it now reads ‘Come read my hairy armpits’?!” As the Mane 6 glanced out the window and realized Mr. Krupp was right, Kendra and the boys tried to stiffle their laughter about the joke, which only made Mr. Krupp angrier. “I know you three are responsible.” “Whoa, whoa, hold on a second!” Hitch said with a frown. “Just because Harold, George and Kendra find that funny doesn’t mean they’re responsible for something.” “Yeah, how do you know?” George asked the principal. “Do you have any proof? I mean, this is a country of law.” “The proof is here,” said Mr. Krupp, who was confidently patting his stomach. “Inside my gut.” “He must have a lot of proof in there,” Harold whispered to George and Kendra before doing their special ‘quiet fives’ hand shake. “Quite fives…” “Quiet fives!” George and Kendra whispered in unison, causing the Mane 6 to giggle. However… Mr. Krupp looked even more annoyed than before. “Ever since you attended this elementary school, you've been responsible for one prank after another.” “Oh, come on, they’re just kids having fun,” Zipp frowned at how unfair Mr. Krupp was being. “I mean, how bad can those pranks be?” However... Mr. Krupp was able to show files of all the pranks that George, Harold and Kendra had pulled just this year alone, which may or may not have included tampering with the school water fountain, dropping water balloons down on Mr. Krupp from the school roof, putting a tiger into their science teacher's classroom and scaring him half to death, putting a sign on the men's bathroom to make it seem like the women's bathroom AND filling the entire school with bubbles coming from the cafeteria. Needless to say... the Mane 6 were stunned, looking at their newfound friends with wide eyes. “Wow,” George commented. “That’s a lot of pranks.” “Yeah, when it’s cut all together like that,” Kendra voiced her opinion, “you really get a sense of the scope.” “Oh, yeah,” George nodded. “Some of those must've been really hard to pull off.” “And dangerous!” Sunny added, looking at the trio in surprise to see them so calm. “Like that tiger?!” “Oh, the tiger was crazy,” Kendra agreed. “He was like a… friend of a friend of my family, so we’re cool.” “AGH!!!” Mr. Krupp slammed his head on the table before directing his attention back to the matter at hand. “For the four years you boys have been here and for the year that Kendra has been here, you three have been disrupting the carefully calibrated, drone-like beehive that this elementary school is supposed to be. I may not be able to prove it yet... but I'm gonna get you two one day. One day very, very soon.” But while the Mane 6 looked intimidated by the evil grin Mr. Krupp was giving, Kendra and the boys merely shrugged, looking perfectly calm. “Okay.” “Fair enough.” “Works for me.” “Uh… Mr. Krupp, if I may, me and my friends are gonna be in Piqua for a while anyway,” Misty said, trying to kill two birds with one stone with what she was about to say. “So… why don’t we stick around the school for the next few days and make sure these three… behave themselves, so to speak?” “You mean like… glorified babysitters watching our every move?” Harold looked at them with surprise and boredom. “Boring!” “Trust us,” Pipp whispered back. “It’s a lot better than getting your butts kicked by this glorified principal of yours!” “Shh!” Sunny quickly shushed the others before turning back to Mr. Krupp. “So… what do you say, Mr. Krupp? Do we have a deal?” “Hmm… I don’t know,” Mr. Krupp said in suspicion. “Will I have to pay you?” “Nope-- not a cent,” Hitch reassured, a confident smile on his face. “We do it out of making sure our friends are happy and safe from pretty much everything.” Mr. Krupp finally sighed after a moment. “Fine… you’re hired. Just get these three out of my office. NOW!!!” “Uh, yes sir! Right away, sir!” Izzy yelped as the group gathered their things. “Won’t happen again, sir! We’re going, sir!” And with that, the group immediately departed from Mr. Krupp’s office, not wanting to anger him further. George sighed as he adjusted his name plate over one of two chairs in the office before turning to the Mane 6. “You see what we're up against?” he asked the ponies. “And that's just a typical day at Jerome Horwitz Elementary.” Kendra let out a judgmental scoff, looking at some of the kids around them. “More like Jerome Horwitz Penitentiary.” Upon looking around, the Mane 6 began to realize why Kendra would say such a thing-- all the kids looked miserable, some banging their heads on the lockers, and some of them counting down the hours until they would head home for the weekend. One of those kids, a young boy named Tommy, walked across the hall when he saw Kendra, George and Harold. “Hey, guys.” “What’s going on, Tommy?” George asked with a smile. “Same old, same old,” said Tommy depressingly before he crawled into one of the small lockers, causing Harold to sigh and shake his head out of sympathy. “Poor kid.” “Have things always been this bad around here?” Misty asked their new friends in concern. “The kids being miserable, I mean.” “Just see for yourself,” Harold gestured to the classroom off to the side, where the teacher inside, Mrs. Ribble, was teaching some history to some very bored and miserable-looking first graders. “Time to have fun with history,” she said, getting a list out of nowhere and reading it in a monotone-like voice. “Memorize these dates. 1827, 1853, 1914, 1926…” Kendra sighed sadly, her ears flattening against her head as the group walked past a huge mural of Mr. Krpp saying ‘shush’. “First graders… they always seem to get hit the hardest.” But as they passed the mural, George instantly got an idea. “Hang on a sec.” George quickly got a piece of paper out of his bag and put it on the mural of Mr. Krupp, making it look like he’s picking his nose, causing some passing students to laugh just before Pipp put a dollar bill inside the hat of a kid resting nearby, all while playing a sad tune on the harmonica. “So that's why we do what we do,” Kendra explained to the six ponies as she, Harold and George led them inside of their home classroom with Mr. Fyde. “Mr. Krupp’s left us no choice.” “Our pranks and practical jokes,” George added as he, Kendra and George took their seats while the ponies sat in the aisles, “are the last line of defense against the injustice of our terrible principal.” “A lot of kids feel the same way,” Kendra said, “but… a lot of them are just too scared to do anything about it.” Sunny hummed in thought. “Maybe that’s why the Unity Crystals sent us here-- to help us change things at the school so the kids can be a lot happier.” “...maybe, Sunny,” Hitch frowned, “but… let’s just wait and see.” “Well, well, well…” said the spectacled boy, reading at the desk in front of them, who had orange-red hair, a short-sleeved, sweater-like shirt with a yellow bowtie, a watch, darker colored shorts and brown shoes. “...I heard you three got into a bit of the old trouble today.” George raised an eyebrow to this. “How'd you hear that, Melvin?” “Did you tattle-tale on us?” Harold asked quizzically. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t,” Melvin turned to look at them for a moment, but then after reading his book for a second more, he turned back to them with a satisfied smirk. “I did. Someone has to stand up for the man.” “No one has to stand up for the man!” Kendra growled in annoyance. “That's the whole point of the man. He stands up for himself, Melvin.” Melvin merely flipped a page in his book, completely ignoring the young leopard and her statement. “Respectfully disagree.” Kendra growled, trying her best not to pounce on the guy before she took a deep breath, calming right down before turning to their new pony friends. “Everyone… this is a cautionary time for you to meet one Melvin Sneedly… wicked smart, but a MEGA tattle-tale and a pain in our rears.” “Hi, new friend!” Izzy said to Melvin cheerfully, startling him out of his wits as she stuck out her hoof. “My name’s Izzy! Nice to meet you!” “Yes…” Melvin slowly spoke, pushing Izzy’s hoof away before going back to his book. “I’m sure it is.” That was when the science teacher, Mr. Fyde, reluctantly entered the classroom, putting his briefcase on the desk just before it fell off, opening in the process, which caused the entire class to laugh... all except for the Mane 6 (who didn't think it was very funny) and Melvin, cause... well, the guy literally has no sense of humor in his entire body. Mr. Fyde let out a sigh as he began to pick up the papers, and Izzy and Sunny went over to help, but as soon as the papers were all picked up, Mr. Krupp's voice echoed through the intercom system, getting everyone's attention almost immediately. “Attention, everyone!” the principal barked, causing all laughter in the room to cease. “Principal Krupp here with an announcement. This Saturday is the mandatory Invention Convention.” “BOO!!” Harold shouted. “Oh, what?!” Pipp looked stunned. “They make you go to school on Saturday?!” “Yes!” Melvin pumped a fist in excitement just as Mr. Fyde flopped in his chair, exasperated and exhausted. “That's our third Saturday this month!” “You must be here,” said Mr. Krupp over the intercom, “with your inventions at 8 a.m.” “Seriously?!” Hitch cried out. “Is there no justice?!” Kendra growled. “I know it’s early for a Saturday, but don’t worry,” the principal sarcastically reassured. “You should be done by nine… P.M!” All of the students and Mr. Fyde groaned before slamming their heads on their desks while Melvin seemed to be the only one jumping for joy. During this brief silence, Sunny looked over at her friends. “Guys, this is getting worse than we thought. These kids are miserable with the way things are-- like Mr. Krupp is trying to suck all of the fun and life out of them.” “It’s basically the opposite of what Allura did to the auroricorns of Starlight Ridge,” Hitch frowned. “Instead of forcing the kids to be happy, the principal is forcing them to be miserable!” “...wait… Allura?” Kendra perked her head up when she heard this. “Y-You know her?” “Yeah, but… it’s a bit of a long story. The second we get the chance, we’ll tell you everything we know,” Misty said with sincerity in her gentle tone. “But for right now… we’re gonna help you make the best out of this last day before the weekend. We promise.” George, Kendra and Harold nodded and smiled at each other before turning their attention back to their lesson. Maybe, with these new ponies around to liven things up... things around Jerome Horowitz Elementary might change for the better.
Feel the Magic/Where's Allura's Brother?Equestria... the magical land where earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns lived in peace and harmony, finally felt safe again after a very long period of time. All three pony kinds had never been happier, and there were two reasons for the ponies to be grateful-- one of those reasons was that Alphabittle Blossomforth had finally proposed to Queen Haven, and the two were happily making wedding plans whenever they had the chance to be together. And the second reason? Well... I'm pretty sure you already know that part. The Mane 6 (composing of Sunny Starscout, Hitch Trailblazer, Pipp Petals, Izzy Moonbow, Zipp Storm and Misty Brightdawn) had finally worked to reform Allura, a once-wicked winged snow leopard, and her rabbit minion, Twitch, after many months of trial and error and retrieving all six pieces to a magical star that would allow whoever possessed it to travel between worlds. Allura had (for a time) wanted the star to search through worlds in order to find her long-lost brother Alterro, who at the time that they had been banished and separated, was just about as wicked as Allura, if not more so. Sunny promises Allura that they would figure out where Alterro was, but wasn't sure how to tell her that reforming her brother might not be as easy as helping her see the light. Nevertheless, our heroes were determined to feel the relaxation and magic around them while they had the chance, cause sooner or later, another Unity Quest would come around and uproot their seemingly peaceful lives... either for better or for worse. XXXXXXXX One particularly sunny morning in Maretime Bay, Zipp was at the top of the Brightouse while looking at the view, tapping her hooves against the railing as an upbeat song began as she flew inside to wake her sister and friends. Mane 6: Come on, feel the magic Come on, feel the magic Zipp: Hey, hey, hey, what a perfect day The sun is gettin' brighter and it's beamin' my way There's somethin' in the air, I can feel it in my hooves So everypony, let's go, 'cause it's time to move “Whoo-hoo! Everypony, rise and shine!” Zipp called as she woke the girls up, while her sister Pipp covered herself in her blanket until Zipp went to Pipp and rubbed on the blanket. “Come on, sleepy head! Wake up!” “Ugghh, Zipp!” Pipp groaned as she rubbed her eyes. That’s when Pipp remembered the curlers in her mane. “Oh. Did it work?” she asked, rushing to the mirror. “Is my mane curly?” Suddenly, her mane shook and puffed up as the curlers snapped off. “It’s a mane miracle!” Pipp cheered with a twirl before she brought out her phone. “Check me out...” Zipp then began bouncing on Misty's bed to awaken her. “Whoa, whoa!” Misty called as she was now fully awake before jumping on the bed too. That's when Zipp flew over to Sunny's bed in order to wake the earth pony mare. “Come on, Sunny! Up and at ‘em!” Sunny stretched and yawned as she turned to her friends with a smile as she sighed fondly. “Who wants breakfast?” The other mares instantly agreed, but as they all began to move toward the stairs. But then Sunny realized something was missing in the group. “Hang on,” she said as they skidded to a stop while Misty slid on the floor. “Somepony's missing.” “Izzy!” everyone cried and turned to Izzy, who was still sleeping in her bed with her mask on. “Let's go, sleepyhead!” Sunny said teasingly with a smile. “Breakfast time!” Pipp said with a wave of her hoof. “Wakey-wakey, Unicorny Flakeys!” Misty added with a smile. Izzy then got up with her mane a bit disheveled before she yawned and lifted her mask to show bags under her eyes. “Hey, ponies. Is it morning already?” XXXXXXXX And once everyone was downstairs and awake (somewhat, anyway), Sunny began to serve different kinds of breakfast to her friends to start their day off right. Sunny: Hey, hey, hey, ponies, don't delay Cause breakfast is the most important meal of the day Cooking up your favorites with a twist or two Just a touch of magic from me to you Izzy prepared to catch the Unicorn Flakes cereal Blaze was nudging toward her, but because she was so tired, she missed and the cereal went flying on the floor. “Oh, no! My Unicorny Flakeys!” Then, she made her unicorn friend, Señor Butterscotch, speak up jokingly. “More like Uni-floor-ny Flakeys now! Know what I'm sayin'?” “Too soon, Señor B,” Izzy sighed as she went to pick up the mess. “Too soon!” XXXXXXXX After breakfast, the others went out into Maretime Bay and passed the sheriff's office, where Zipp whistled to get Hitch and Sparky's attention. Hitch: Good times with my buddy Is what it's all about And things can't get much better hades on, here we go, it's time to roll out Then, as the two put on their sunglasses, everyone began to sing in perfect unison, dancing in the street. All: If you feel the magic, let me hear you say "hey!" Come on, feel the magic, ooh, feel the magic Posey was walking by before she noticed the combined groups dancing together. “Ew. Is this a flash mob?” she asked with a strange look. “I... love it!” “Let's dance, ponies!” Dahlia exclaimed excitedly to the Pippsqueaks before they joined the song and dance. All: Come on, feel the magic, ooh, feel the magic “Oh, I've always wanted to do one of these!” Windy squealed, immediately joining the dance. “Dance move! Dance move! I got it! Am I flash mobbing?!” XXXXXXXX Later, at Sunny's smoothie stand, she was preparing more smoothies than usual, and Windy was flying her orders out to the ponies who wanted them, just as a friendly way to help out. Sunny: Smoothies flying off the shelves Making new flavors and watching them sell Hitch, Sparky! Smoothies are ready! Windy: That's it, Windy! Nice and steady! Windy flew to Hitch and Sparky to drop off their smoothies while Hitch directed traffic. Hitch: Keepin' Maretime Bay runnin' smooth Stop! Go! Come on through! Hey there, whoa! Not so fast! Put 'er there, pal, if you're havin' a blast! XXXXXXXX At the same time, Zipp was flying through Maretime Bay as fast as she could go, needing to get an important delivery to Mane Melody. Zipp: Special delivery on it's way Apparently ponies can't live without... mane-spray? “Thank hoofness, Zipp! You saved the day!” Jazz said with a wide smile and a wave as Zipp flew off. Jazz and Pipp: Whoa, yeah! You saved the day! Jazz then got to Pipp and gave her a manespray bottle as she was doing the mane of a pegasus named Flare with Misty watching from nearby. Pipp: Ooh, you're lookin' gorge A little higher, please Pipp sprayed some manespray on Sparkle before she had a thoughtful expression. “Hmmm, it needs a little something, ugh, more... Misty!” Misty came up from behind Flare in that moment with a rainbow bottle and put a small drop on Flare's mane, giving it some rainbow highlights that Flare absolutely adored. Pipp: Magnifiiiiique!! All: If you feel the magic, let me hear you say "hey!" Come on, feel the magic, ooh, feel the magic As everyone sang together, the cutie marks of all the ponies lit up and blasted fireworks across the sky. All: If you feel the magic, let me hear you say "hey!" Come on, feel the magic, come on, feel the magic (Sunny: Feel the magic, come on, everypony!) After the song was over, everyone went their seperate ways, except Izzy and Senor Butterscotch, who were still dancing. “Here in happy scenes from Maretime Bay today!” Skye Silver said from the news camera while gesturing to the tired dancing Izzy behind him. “As you can see, everypony is absolutely thriving!” Izzy kept dancing as she walked backward, but then she hit Senor Butterscotch, which caused the two to tumble and roll around until they crashed into the flower stand. Skye Silver looked away before letting out a laugh. “Ooh. Well, maybe not everypony is thriving. Ha ha ha… back to you, Dazzle.” “Hey! We heard that!” Izzy exclaimed before making Senor Butterscotch speak out too. “Yeah, watch it!” “Hey, Iz… are you sure you’re okay?” Sunny asked as she helped Izzy brush off some flowers while the rest of the Mane 6 approached. “You seem… kinda tired today.” “Now that you mention it, you’re right, Sunny,” Hitch noted before turning to look at Izzy. “You really haven’t been your usual, off-the-walls-with-energy self.” “Well… to be honest, I guess I kinda feel sad for a lot of reasons,” Izzy sighed. “The first one is… well… I miss going on Unity Quests!!” Zipp blinked in surprise, not expecting this in the very slightest. “Wait… you do?” “Well, sure!” Izzy argued. “I mean, I know usually that means there’s a big bad guy we have to stop, but… at least we have something to look forward to, you know?” “I can see that,” Misty nodded. “But then… what’s the other thing?” That’s when Izzy glanced down toward the Maretime Bay beach, and the others followed her gaze to a small cave, barely visible against the cliff wall, and suddenly… Sunny understood. “You’ve been worried about Allura, haven’t you?” “She hasn’t really come out of her cave much after we showed her around Equestria,” Izzy frowned. “I think she kinda misses Alterro.” “We told her we would try and find out where he is,” Pipp said, looking concerned, “but… we’re not exactly having the best luck.” “Maybe… we should go check on her and Twitch,” Hitch suggested. “See how they’re holding up in their new home.” “Good idea, Hitch. That would be the nice thing to do,” Sunny smiled before getting an idea. “Oh! I bet they’d like a nice fruit basket!” “And I bet Twitch would like to see a new spell I’ve been working on-- turning snowflakes into carrots!” Misty agreed. “Let’s grab some things to bring down there and meet back here in ten.” XXXXXXXX After a little while, the ponies regathered at the beach with a few gifts for Allura before they set off down the beach to find the ice cave that she and Twitch were staying in. Sunny had asked Allura recently if she would be more comfortable in a house or in the Brighthouse, but Allura had refused, saying she didn’t want to impose and the coolness of the cave was doing her a lot of good. Soon, they arrived at the cave, and Zipp was the first to step forward and call out. “Hello? Allura? Twitch? Any creature home?” Twitch peeked his head out from the cave and chirped and muttered in greeting, to which Hitch translated. “He says, ‘Boy, am I happy to see you. Allura’s in back, and she looks pretty down and out’.” “Down and out?” Misty repeated. “That sure doesn’t sound good.” “Can we go in and see her?” Sunny asked gently. “We don’t wanna invade on her personal space.” “Uh-huh,” Twitch nodded before leading the ponies further into the cave, where they saw Allura in a solitary corner, looking down at the friendship bracelet she had received when they left Rosas. Sunny was the first to clear her throat. “Um… hey, Allura. Are you doing okay?” “Hmm? Oh… yes, I’m doing all right, thank you, Sunny,” Allura said as she yawned and stood up, stretching while doing so. “I guess I just feel… sort of in a rut, right now.” “Is anyone up there being unfair to you?” Hitch asked gently. “Cause if you want, I can sort them out right--” “No, it’s nothing like that, sheriff,” Allura said politely. “It’s just… Alterro is somewhere out there, and…” “...we’re gonna try and find him so you can see him again,” Izzy said gently, putting a hoof on Allura’s back. “You’ll see.” “And I know you’re trying your best,” Allura nodded to the ponies in understanding, “but… what if he doesn’t want to see me again?” To this, Twitch and the Mane 6 seemed stunned. “What?! How can you say that? You’re his twin sister!” Pipp argued. “Of course he would wanna see you again.” Allura sighed, her ears flattening against her head. “You don’t know how much Alterro changed when we were cubs. Before our mother died, we were happy and carefree, spending each day playing with our magic. But… when Father took over as reigning monarch, those days ended. We each fell victim to his harsh words and abuse, but… in a way… I think Alterro shifted into a smaller version of Father, due to how he treated our subjects when we took over as rulers after Father’s passing.” “And… you’re worried about how he’ll act when you two finally reunite?” Misty asked gently, leading Allura to nod, a hint of sadness in her eyes. “If he finds out that I’ve betrayed my mission to find him, or that I’ve gone against everything Father stood for… he’ll never forgive me.” “If your brother loves you like he says he does, then he’ll love you no matter what you decide,” Hitch said gently. “Spending all this time with Sparky has taught me that everypony-- er, every creature deserves to find a home and friends to be themselves with.” “And you’ve really shown your true colors with us, Allura!” Izzy said, rather optimistically. “You made it a summer snow day for the foals and fillies last week!” “And, you can use your ice magic to make ice pops from my smoothies!” Sunny grinned and giggled. “I’ve had to expand the menu.” Allura chuckled and smiled at this. “I’m so thankful you ponies have given me and Twitch a home to call our own, despite everything that’s happened. I… just wish there was something we could do for you.” As the ponies tried to think of something to say, they felt something occuring that they hadn’t felt in a series of weeks. Their cutie marks lit up brightly, and the magic from them conjured up a portal on the side of the ice cave. It was then that Hitch thought of something Allura could help them with. “Well… since we apparently are going on another Unity Quest, would you and Twitch mind keeping Sparky company for a little while?” “Of course. Someone out there needs your help,” said Allura with a smile, taking Sparky into her paws. “Go and do what you need to do.” “All right, ponies, we have what we need within hooves’ reach,” said Sunny, “so let’s head to that portal and let another Unity Quest begin!” And so, the Mane 6 waved goodbye to Allura, Twitch and Sparky before leaping into the portal a minute or two before it finally closed. XXXXXXXX But little did they know it, but Alterro was going to play a much bigger part in this story than they realized... until it was too late, that is. Author's Note Yes, I did use the beginning scene from The BlockyWockys for this chapter, just cause I felt like it would be a good season opener scene, you know? Nobody better complain, lol.
Welcome to Treehouse Comix Inc./Meeting Kendra's FamilyAs it turns out, the Mane 6's latest Unity Quest mission was in the town of Piqua, Ohio, where they met fourth-grade students and best friends Harold Hutchins, George Beard and young flying leopard Kendra, who did their usual pranks in order to annoy the worst principal in the world, Benjamin Krupp. In a way, Zipp could see where the boys and Kendra were coming from, but the Mane 6 silently knew that if the trio went too far with so much as one prank, it could end really badly, so they not only had to find someway to make the student population at Jerome Horowitz Elementary happy again, they also had to keep their newfound friends out of hot water. And needless to say... they knew that they would have their work cut out for them this time. XXXXXXXX It seemed that the day was taking forever to move through, as the Mane 6 ventured with Kendra, Harold and George from class to class, telling them stories of all of the adventures that they had gone on over the past few years, and George immediately wrote all of them down, just so that way he didn't miss any details. I mean, anything was better than learning history in first grade when you should start learning it in fifth grade. Luckily, Kendra and the boys had their plans for after school already made-- hanging out at their treehouse and making comic books together... something that actually brought them a lot of comfort when times got tough. And now, they couldn't wait to share this after-school activity with their new Equestrian pals. XXXXXXXX The second that the school bell rang, signaling that school was over for the day, a huge herd of kids (which included humans and flying leopard cubs) cheered and rushed out the front doors to head home for a... some-what relaxing weekend. The Mane 6, George, Harold and Kendra were some of those ready to head out, with Kendra and the boys getting out their skateboards. “Treehouse?” George asked Harold, who nodded back with a cheerful smile. “Treehouse.” “Hold on a sec, fellas! I just need to let my siblings know I’ll be coming home later,” Kendra told her friends. “It won’t take long.” That’s when the Mane 6, George and Harold saw three more flying leopards (two older females and a younger male) coming out of the building, the two older females talking amongst themselves. The first older female was named Treena, who had plant magic and had a bright green coat, bright blue eyes, a purple nose, purple spots with pink rosettes inside, purple and pink feathers on her wings and a cutie mark of three leaves being blown on the wind. The second older female was named Claudia, who could control dark magic and had purple fur, purple eyes, a purple nose, black spots with pinkish-colored rosettes, black feathers on her wings and a cutie mark of a dark shadow swirl. And lastly, the youngest male, named Heath, had speed magic and was much shorter than his older sisters. He also had an orange-brown coat, silver-gray eyes, a brown nose, black spots with darker brown rosettes, dark brown feathers on his wings and a cutie mark of a lightning bolt. “Treena, Claudia, Heath!” Kendra called, rushing over to them. “Wait up a second!” “Oh, hey, baby sis!” Claudia smiled, nooging Kendra on the head. “So… what number was the boring scale on today?” “I bet it was a 10,” Treena sighed. “The thoughts of that invention convention tomorrow… ugh… makes my wings twitch just thinking about it.” “To be honest…” Kendra began, a smile beginning to form on her face, “...the boring scale was actually about a six today.” Heath looked at her with wide eyes. “Really? That’s the lowest I’ve ever heard it being!” “But… what made it less boring than other days?” Claudia asked, just as Kendra gestured for George and Harold to bring the Mane 6 forward. “Because of me and the boys’ new friends. This is Sunny, Pipp, Hitch, Izzy, Zipp and Misty. They're actually on an important mission from Equestria and are gonna be in town for a few days. Guys, these are my older sisters, Claudia and Treena, and my little brother, Heath.” Claudia held up a paw at that moment. “Hold on a sec, baby sis. Did you just say... Pipp? As in... Pipp Petals? The multi-talented pegasus icon from the world of Equestria?!” Pipp tossed her mane a bit. “The one and only!” “Uh... you've heard of her?” Harold asked quietly in confusion. “Claudia is a big fashion and music person too,” Heath said with a shrug. “She wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up.” “Awww, then I am so honored that I'm your fashion icon!” Pipp said, shaking Claudia's paw. “Any friends or relatives of Kendra are friends of ours, right, ponies?” “Right,” Sunny nodded. “I wanted to tell you guys I'll be heading over to George and Harold's treehouse for a while,” Kendra told her siblings. “Will you tell Mom and Dad when you get home?” “Uh... sure, Icy Paws,” Treena said, shifting her gaze uncomfortably. “But... I'm not sure that Mom and Dad are gonna stop arguing long enough to listen to anything we have to say.” This caused the Mane 6 to look at one another in confusion, unsure of what to make of this tidbit of information. And seeing that the Mane 6 were growing much too curious for their own good, Claudia cleared her throat and rubbed Heath on the head with her paw. “Well, we've gotta get going-- Heath needs a bath and then we have homework to do. You're lucky on that part, sis.” “Bye, Kendra! See you at home!” Heath purred against his older sister before he, Claudia and Treena unfurled their wings and took to the sky with the Mane 6, George and Harold waving goodbye. And once they were gone, Kendra turned back to the Mane 6 with a smile on her face. “Okay then... now that everything else is taken care of, let's take you guys to our treehouse before it gets too dark to start on our comic operation.” XXXXXXXX With Kendra, George and Harold riding ahead on their skateboards down the sidewalk, the Mane 6 galloped and flew after them, making sure the sidewalk was clear of any sort of hazards before they came through. Finally, they got to the street where Harold, George and Kendra lived. But while George and Harold lived on the same side of the street, Kendra lived on the other side... in a spooky-looking house with multiple levels and a garden in the backyard. Hitch gulped nervously as he saw it. “Are you sure this is where you live, Kendra? It looks a little, uh... spooky for someone as cute as you.” “Heh heh heh... very funny,” Kendra giggled. “When me and my family moved to Piqua last year, we moved into this fixer upper. My dad still needs to work on the outside but the inside is as grand as a palace. My older sisters take care of a lot of the chores when they get home and when my parents are at work.” “Kendra's mom works as a reporter for the Piqua Gazette,” George explained, “and her dad is a construction worker for a big company in the city.” “But... Treena mentioned your parents fighting before she and your other siblings left,” Zipp argued with a hint of suspicion in her voice. “What exactly did she mean by that?” Kendra looked nervous for a moment before she cleared her throat to clear the air. “Come on. We'll take you to our treehouse-- you guys are gonna love it in there.” XXXXXXXX And as it turns out, the Mane 6 were wide eyed in amazement when they saw the cozy and inviting interior the treehouse had to offer-- bean bag chairs, corners especially for art supplies for comic books, other books for them to read, posters of different varieties, and much more. George gestured around as the Mane 6 took a good look around the place. “Welcome to the world headquarters of Treehouse Comix Inc.!” “Yep,” Kendra nodded. “This is where the magic happens!” Pipp paused at this remark. “I didn’t think the boys had magic powers like us ponies and you do, Kendra.” “Ha ha! She's just kidding,” Harold chuckled nervously, putting an arm around Kendra. “Not, like, actual magic. No, we're not practicing the dark arts. No, here we just hang out and make comics and try to make each other laugh.” “In fact,” Kendra added, ”before they met me, comic books and laughter actually sparked Harold and George's friendship.” “Really?” Sunny asked, looking rather interested. “What do you mean?” George then got a picture from the wall and gave it to Sunny, revealing that it was a picture of a kindergarten-aged George and Harold. And as Sunny held the picture for her friends, George pointed to his younger self. “This is me in kindergarten.” “And this is me,” Harold said, pointing to his younger self. “And this was taken on the day that George and I first met.” XXXXXXXX This day took place during a lesson back in kindergarten, when the teacher was going over some names of the planets in the solar system. “The seventh planet from the sun is called… Uranus.” This caused the young George and Harold, who sat right near each other, to laugh to themselves, but when the teacher turned her head to them, they clammed up immediately. When the teacher had her head turned again, young Harold turned to look at young George with an amused smirk. “Your… anus!” he giggled quietly again, causing young George to nod and try not to burst out laughing. “I know!” The teacher turned to look back again, causing them to clam up once more before she cleared her throat and turned back to the board. “...known as a gas giant.” This caused George and Harold to laugh again, further annoying the teacher, as well as a young Melvin Sneedly, who sat between them, reading. “I don't get it. It's just science, guys.” Once the teacher went back to the lesson, young George took the opportunity to introduce himself to his new friend. “Hey, I'm George. You wanna hang out in my treehouse after school?” Young Harold seemed amazed with such a fact. “You have a treehouse?” XXXXXXXX “Okay, that does explain how you two met,” Zipp said after hearing the story, “but Mr. Krupp said that Kendra has only been at your school for a year. How did you guys meet her?” “Well, me and my family first moved here last year when my mom got her reporter job for the gazette,” Kendra explained. “I was a bit of a book and art nerd, and I always kinda sat at the back of the class, not talking to anyone… until one day at recess, I was practicing my ice magic when I saw George and Harold laughing and having fun creating another comic book, and when I approached, we… kinda clicked.” “And ever since then, we've created hundreds of comics in here,” George added before pointing to one of their examples that was taped on the wall. “Like the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman.” “And who could forget… Sad Worm?” Harold said, flipping through an unfinished comic on the wall. “It was a worm who was sad, and…” Kendra quickly cleared her throat at this, chuckling nervously. “That one, is uh… kind of a work in progress.” “But,” George said, interrupting the awkward moment, “the all-time greatest superhero that we've ever created was... the Amazing Captain Underpants!” “Ohhh, this was the guy in the comic you were talking about before Mr. Krupp destroyed it!” Misty said, taking one of the Captain Underpants comics off the wall. “But, uh… what made you wanna make a superhero wearing nothing but a cape and briefs?” “We’re glad you asked, Misty Brightdawn,” Harold nudged her playfully before showing the group of ponies pictures of Captain Underpants that he drew, flipping them quickly to create a bit of animation magic. “See, most superheroes look like they're flying around in their underwear.” “Well, this guy actually does,” Kendra giggled. “Harold, George and I have created dozens of Captain Underpants comics and gave them out to kids at school to read… at least, without Krupp realizing it.” “Hey… guys?” Izzy whispered to Zipp and Sunny. “Is it me, or does this Captain Underpants fella kinda remind you of someone?” “...huh. Maybe he does look a little familiar,” Sunny tilted her head, “but… I just can’t place…” “Hey, Zipp and I actually create comic books too!” Hitch added before Zipp got one of them out to show their new friends. “They’re actually based off of our adventures on our Unity Quests.” Harold gasped deeply, taking the comic book and flipping through it. “No way! This… this is comic book GOLD!” “We so should have met in kindergarten,” George said with as much enthusiasm as Harold. “We could’ve made Treehouse Comix Inc. even bigger than it already is!” “Hey, do you guys wanna help us make another Captain Underpants comic?” Kendra asked the ponies. “Then, we can work out where you guys can stay while you’re in town!” “Aww, that would be fun! We’d love to help you make another Captain Underpants comic,” Misty smiled. “Izzy?” “Get your pencils and crayons out, ponies!” Izzy said enthusiastically, taking out her crafty-sash and crafting glasses. “Let’s get to work!” XXXXXXXX And so, with George, Harold and Kendra leading the operation, the work on the newest issue of Captain Underpants began. After getting settled, Hitch made a new idea, wrote it onto a piece of paper, and then tossed it to Izzy and Harold. “Hey, guys. See what you think of this!” Harold unfolded the piece of paper and read the idea, a smile forming on his face when he got done. “Oh, I can’t wait to draw this.” XXXXXXXX Later, George put on a cape and did his Captain Underpants impersonation. “Tra-la-laaa!!” “Don’t move, don’t move!” Izzy said with excitement as she and Harold began drawing again. “Let me and Harold sketch this out first!” XXXXXXXX Hours passed, and after sharing ideas, drawings and sharing a few laughs, the Captain Underpants comic, which was then called 'Captain Underpants and the Revolt of the Robot Rebellion', was finally completed. As Sunny stapled the comic together, George gazed at their newest art piece with pride. “Mr. Hutchins, I gotta say... your drawings get better with every issue.” “Because your words inspire greatness, Mr. Beard,” Harold added. “Plus, we had all our new friends helping out, so that made things go a lot quicker.” “And as for your homing situation, ponies… I have an idea,” Kendra said as she fluttered over. “It may be a stretch to ask my parents, but… I might be able to convince them to let some of you stay at my house, while some of you can stay with George and some of you can stay with Harold!” “Wow, that’s a great idea!” Zipp smiled. “So who wants to go with who?” “Izzy and I can stay with George if you and Hitch don’t mind going with Harold,” Sunny told the white pegasus. “And that leaves Misty and Pipp going with Kendra and her family.” “Sounds like a plan to me,” Pipp shrugged before each group began to go their separate ways. “See you tomorrow, guys-- bright and early for a Saturday like no other!” XXXXXXXX Kendra led Misty and Pipp across the quiet street to her family home and opened the front door… only for yelling, coming from two adult voices, to echo through the hallways. And once she heard this, Kendra sighed. “Not this again…” “Again?” Misty looked confused. “This has happened before?” “Sort of,” Kendra shrugged before heavily sighing to herself. “Come on… let’s go see what Mom and Dad are bickering about this time.” Misty and Pipp quickly followed Kendra inside the house and into the living room, where they found Kendra’s siblings hiding behind the couch, with Heath looking terribly frightened and their paws on their ears, trying to cover up the yelling coming from Avarsi and Evander. Being the male leader of the family, Evander is the most muscled, having gray fur with black spots and light green rosettes, grayish-brown eyes, a black nose, dark gray feathers on his wings and a cutie mark of a barbell, representing his strength magic. Avarsi, on the other hand, was a bit shorter than her mate, and had beautiful pink fur, blue eyes, gray and black spots on her body, gray feathers on her wings and a cutie mark of a flashlight, representing her light magic. Kendra approached Claudia with concern on her face. “What’s going on now?” “Dad yelled at us for not having dinner ready by the time Mom got home from work, saying it was required and forced onto us,” Claudia said, “and Mom said that we weren’t required to do anything if we had a good reason, and we did.” “We had to have Heath ready for a bath and we had to do our homework that’s due tomorrow,” Treena said. “And then, everything went completely bonkers.” Heath whimpered softly with his paws over his ears. “I don’t like their fighting, Kendra… make it stop…” Kendra sighed and put a paw to her mouth before letting out a shrill whistle, stopping the fighting and getting her parents’ attention. “Oh, Kendra! It’s good to see you, baby,” Avarsi said to her cub with a smile before turning to look at Pipp and Misty. “And you’ve brought guests.” “Oh, great…” Evander muttered in sarcasm. “More mouths to feed and no dinner on the table.” “Uh… Mom? Dad? This is Pipp and Misty. They’re some… transfer students that are at school for a little while, and while their friends are staying with George and Harold, I told Misty and Pipp they could stay here for a little bit. So… can they? Please?” “Absolutely not,” Evander said without question. “You know we don’t have company over on school nights.” “Unless it’s for a good reason, Evander,” Avarsi interrupted sternly. “And I believe having transfer students might be good for the kids.” “For Heath, maybe,” Evander scoffed. “The girls will probably bombard them with talks of boys and makeup and all that other ridiculous stuff.” “Evander, stop! This isn’t helping our case,” Avarsi snapped at her mate before regaining her composure and turning to Pipp and Misty. “Welcome to Piqua, girls. How are you finding our little community so far?” “It’s really charming, to say the least,” Pipp nodded. “Although, the principal could be a bit nicer. Did you know he called Kendra, George and Harold to his office, accusing them of rearranging letters on the school sign?” “Kendra!” Evander snapped, frightening his youngest daughter. “Is this true?!” “Dad, come on! Give Kendra and the boys a break,” Treena said to her father calmly. “Mr. Krupp is always thrashing on them for all sorts of reasons. He probably just wanted to get them in trouble again.” Evander scoffed. “Are you kidding? That principal is the best thing that ever happened to that school and he shouldn’t be disrespected and treated as the bad guy.” “...follow me, girls,” Avarsi said kindly to Misty and Pipp. “I’ll show you to the back bedroom, where you can stay while you’re in town.” “Just… a forewarning, girls,” Evander said, his eyes gleaming with something dangerous. “In this town… you have to be careful who you trust.” This caused Pipp, Misty, Kendra and her siblings to look at each other before Pipp and Misty followed Avarsi away. One question seemed to echo in their minds though... was Krupp going to be the only villain in this story? Or what about Evander? His negative attitude sure seemed to put a damper on things. Well... they each have a small part to play, that's definitely for certain, but there could be another villain working their way through our tale. XXXXXXXX Little did anyone else know it, but a winged leopard-like figure was watching that street with his light red eyes gleaming maliciously, a sinister smile glimmering in the evening light. “Well, well… it seems those little ponies are making new friends in this putrid little town,” said the winged leopard, who was indeed Allura's twin brother Alterro, free from his otherworldly imprisonment. But as he continued to stare down at the neighborhood, a wicked scowl graced Alterro's muzzle. “I’m going to make those insolent little fools pay for turning my sister against the ways of Leopardia, and ensure that one way or another… Equestria will belong to me.” And with that being said, Alterro spread his wings and took off into the night sky, ready to put his plan into action, effective immediately.
The Mandatory Invention Convention/Forced to Separate Classes and a Family Forced ApartAfter working with their new friends Kendra, George Beard and Harold Hutchins on their latest Captain Underpants comic book, the Mane 6 separated into three groups of two in order to sleep at Harold, George and Kendra's houses. Pipp and Misty got placed in Kendra's house, where they witnessed first hoof how tense things were between Kendra's parents, Evander and Avarsi. And little did the ponies realize it yet, but somehow, Alterro had broken free from his otherworldly prison and was now plotting his revenge against the Mane 6 for turning Allura against him and the ways of their former kingdom of Leopardia. What horrible things will Alterro have in store for our heroes? And how will the Mane 6 help their new friends with Kendra's fueding parents and the worst principal in the world on the rise? Well... you'll just have to keep reading the newest chapter to find out. XXXXXXXX The night seemed to pass rather smoothly for our heroes, even though they were still on duty, and they seemed to sleep rather peacefully in the bedrooms of their new friends. And they were especially comfortable in the pajamas that Claudia had gave Pipp and Misty, and Misty sent some extra pairs over to the ponies sleeping with George and Harold. Izzy's pajamas consisted of a short-sleeve shirt and sleeping sorts, and they were a light yellow with a vibrant blue star theme. Misty's pajamas consisted of a singular, long-sleeve shirt, and the shirt was a dark purple/black color with little white stars and butterflies on them. Pipp's pajamas consisted of a purple and white short-sleeve shirt with musical notes on them and white sleeping shorts. Sunny's pajamas consisted of a dark blue short-sleeve shirt with a galaxy-like design. Zipp's pajamas consisted of a very light blue short-sleeve shirt with a lightning bolt theme. Hitch's pajamas consisted of a dark teal long-sleeve shirt with the words '#1 Dragon Dad' on the front. By the time the sun began to rise the next morning, it didn't take long for Kendra, George and Harold to each wake up (waking the Mane 6 up in the process) and beginning their Saturday morning with (what else?) a cheerful, upbeat song. George: I love Saturday! Harold: When anything is possible Kendra: I love Saturday Cause I can wear my pajamas a-all day! Upon getting out of bed for the day, our heroes followed their new friends to their individual living rooms, where the TV was turned on and breakfast was already being devoured. Harold: I love Saturday Cause I can watch TV all-- Kendra, George and Harold: Day!! Harold: I can pee a little bit in my underwear And no one will mind... Upon hearing these lyrics, Zipp and Hitch immediately stopped their impromptu dance party and turned to look at him weirdly. “Where are you going with that?” Zipp asked Harold strangely. “Do you really do that?” “No! What are you talking...?” Harold scoffed. “It's just something I could do because...” That's when Harold, Kendra, her siblings, and George immediately led the Mane 6 from their houses and out onto the lawn for a little victory dance celebration. Claudia: Monday's an eternity away! All: When it is Saturday...!!!! But as the group was finishing the song, George's mother stepped out onto the front porch of George's family's house. “Get in the car, kids,” she said. “You got the Invention Convention today!” But as the doors shut, everything about the happy scene seemed to fade in an instant-- a nearby cat leapt into the air, caught a bird in its mouth before a dog attacked the cat, and the sky was covered with dark storm clouds, full of heavy rain and loud thunder. Treena was the first to let out a heavy sigh. “Well... that was sure a way to bring down the mood.” “Do we really have to go?” Heath asked his friends and sisters in disappointment. “I mean... I really wanted to play with the toys that I got from my birthday last week...” “Hey, it'll be okay,” Sunny sighed. “We'll all be together, and that's all that matters. Come on... let's get dressed and out of these pajamas before we have to get to the school. That Invention Convention is gonna start with or without us.” XXXXXXXX Needless to say, no one else at Jerome Horwitz Elementary was thrilled about being at the mandatory convention either. As George’s mom dropped everyone off, they headed inside the gymnasium with the rest of the students, who trudged along miserably, finding this to be the worst thing ever to happen on a Saturday. “Man…” said Hitch to Sunny, watching all the kids’ shoulders slump sadly as they took their seats. “This is just… depressing!” “I know,” Zipp whispered. “I can’t believe Mr. Krupp would do this to kids… kids, mind you, and that Kendra’s dad actually supports Mr. Krupp’s decisions!” Kendra sighed from beside George and Harold, looking downcast. “That’s just how my dad seems to operate… and how Mr. Krupp seems to operate.” “At least your brother and sisters are sitting behind us,” Izzy tried to point out a positive in that situation. “So… maybe this won’t be all bad.” George and Harold sighed and crossed their arms, looking downright miserable in that moment. And just when they thought being at school on a Saturday was the worst thing in the world to ever happen to them, Mr. Krupp came onto the stage and started tapping the microphone. “Is this thing on?” And after getting some slight feedback, ensuring that the microphone was indeed on, Mr. Krupp cleared his throat. “Quick announcement. Our science teacher, Mr. Fyde, is no longer with us.” The Mane 6 and all the students, except George, Harold, Kendra and her siblings, let out a gasp. “He’s dead?!” one of the girls exclaimed before breaking down in tears, causing even Mr. Krupp to be surprised. “What? No! Not like that. He wanted to spend Saturday with his family,” he said with a chuckle, “to I fired him! I'll find a replacement next week.” And with that announcement out of the way, Mr. Krupp got back to the matter at hoof-- er, hand. “On to Melvin Sneedly with the first of his 16…” “Actually,” said Melvin, peeking out from the curtain, “it’s 17.” “17 inventions. Take it away, Melvin,” Mr. Krupp corrected himself before getting off the stage. “Let’s remember to at least be respectful, guys,” Sunny said to the Mane 6’s newfound friends. “Remember, Krupp still has his eyes on you and us, and you guys don’t wanna get in trouble again, right?” George, Harold and Kendra let out a reluctant sigh. “Right…” It was at that time that Melvin came onto the stage with his first invention. “I will now demonstrate a prototype which I call... the Robotic Sock Matcher.” Upon activating the device in his hand, Melvin held up one of his socks, and the machine immediately matched it to another one of the same socks hanging on it. “Never waste time matching your own socks again.” “Oooh, that could come in handy back in Equestria!” Izzy said as she clapped her hooves together, but after a moment, she stopped upon realizing something. “Well, you know… i-i-if we wore socks.” Zipp sighed as she took out her FlyPad. “The least we can do is take notes to revolutionize the way we do things for Equestria,” she told her friends as she began taking notes. “I mean… it’s not like things can get any worse than this.” XXXXXXXX But Zipp couldn't be more wrong. For the next two hours, it was nothing but Melvin showing off his inventions and bragging about how amazing they were. The students in there were miserable, and as much as they hated to admit it, the Mane 6 were growing restless from sitting in those small seats for too long. And the fact that Melvin was boring them half to death wasn't helping much at all. “Ugh…!!” Hitch rubbed his face with his front hooves. “Make it end!!” XXXXXXXX Kendra, George, Harold and some others were about ready to fall asleep by the time that Melvin had brought out the 10th of his 17 inventions, which seemed to take the form of a giant school binder. “...and my personal favorite, the binder binder,” Melvin said, opening the giant binder to reveal smaller binders inside, each labeled for a different subject. “Having trouble organizing your binders? Well, look no further than this giant binder... for binders.” Melvin then slammed the binder shut, causing Kendra and her siblings to yelp/yowl in surprise, which caused George and Harold to wake up from their boredom-induced sleep. And seeing that they weren’t even halfway finished with Melvin’s presentation caused George to sigh. “This is the stuff of nightmares!” However, off near the wall, Mr. Krupp shushed the group for talking before turning back to his newspaper, causing Pipp to scoff under her breath, glaring in the principal's direction. “When we get outta here, I so wanna show this Krupp guy the real meaning of a good time.” That was when George made an immediate decision, turning to the others with a stern look on his face. “We have to do something about this.” “...I don’t know,” Kendra sighed, feeling a bit unsure about doing any pranking after what happened the day before in the principal’s office. “Krupp looks serious this time, George.” “And if you guys don’t wanna get in any worse trouble,” Claudia said, “maybe you should remember what Sunny said earlier and lay low for a while.” “Lay low? Look at our fellow children!” George whispered out of protest, gesturing to the near-sleeping children around them. “Look upon their sad, miserable, pathetic faces.” “Oh wow, yeah. That, that looks unhappy,” Izzy said sheepishly upon realizing that George had a significant point. “Come on, Harold,” George said, gripping his best friend by the shoulders before beginning to stand up on his chair. “If you won't do it for me and you won't do it for you... do it for future generations. Save the first graders... the kindygarteners, the unborn... from a life of eternal boredom!” “Wait wait wait wait wait!” Zipp whispered out of desperation. “Okay, George, we get the point! Now, simmer down before…” “Zipp, hang on!” Misty whispered, her ear twitching slightly. “Do you hear that?” Upon stopping and listening again, the Mane 6 looked over at Krupp to discover that he was fast asleep, snoring rather loudly. “Well… if opportunity can knock, this is the right opportunity if you are willing to do something,” Treena pointed out. “Claudia, Heath and I can stay here and keep an eye out for trouble, and then you guys can do your thing!” “I’m still not so sure,” Sunny frowned. “I mean, what if Krupp wakes up and catches us heading backstage?” “Misty and Izzy could use the invisibility spell on us!” Pipp suddenly got an idea. “That way nopony sees us when we head backstage to set things up!” “That’s… actually not a bad idea,” Zipp shrugged. “I’m all for it if you guys are.” “You know, normally I would never do something like this,” said Hitch, “but out of sitting here for hours in complete boredom, I’m willing to do anything.” “What do you think, Sunny?” Harold asked the earth pony/alicorn mare with a pleading look. “Should we kick this into high-gear?” “Well…” Sunny thought about it for a moment, and after a tough battle of yes and no in her mind, she finally sighed and looked at her friends. “Okay… let’s do this!” “Good luck,” Heath said, purring against Kendra's head. “We’ll keep an eye on Mr. Krupp,” Claudia added, “and make sure he doesn’t think you’re up to anything.” And immediately after the others nodded to this, Izzy and Misty then proceeded to put themselves and their friends under the invisibility spell before they all began to sneak toward the stage and put their new prank plan into action. XXXXXXXX Once the Mane 6, Kendra and the boys finally reached the back of the stage, Melvin brought out another invention, covered in a large cloth-like tarp. “Feast your eyes on this,” he said, unveiling the device in question. “The Turbo Toilet 2000!” And once the group got close to the toilet and were sure they were out of sight, Izzy and Misty undid the invisibility spell so George, Harold and Kendra could get to work tampering with the toilet… completely unaware that a tiny, robot turtle was watching them from nearby. XXXXXXXX “Check it out, people,” Melvin remained unaware of what the others were doing. “It's already programmed with my personal potty playlist.” That was when the toilet began to play samba music, which Melvin eagerly began to dance to. “Samba…” XXXXXXXX “Ooh!” Izzy began to dance in place when the samba music began. “Catchy music!” “Izzy! No dancing!” whispered Zipp, pulling the lavender unicorn back down to the ground, “or you’re gonna give us away!” “Hitch, hand me a screwdriver,” Harold whispered, and Hitch immediately did as he was told. XXXXXXXX “Once you're done using the facilities,” Melvin continued to the rest of the student body, “hit the button and let my toilet wash itself.” Melvin then proceeded to hit the button in question, and the toilet activated, getting two rolls of toilet paper in its claws. “Now included, automatic toilet paper wiping claw,” Melvin added proudly. “Trademark.” XXXXXXXX “Okay, I think that should do it,” Kendra told her friends before sighing to herself, honestly a bit worried. “I sure hope this works…” Kendra pressed her paw down on a button George and Harold were holding for her, and suddenly, the toilet began to go completely haywire, much to Melvin’s confusion and shock. The toilet began to play music by Adam Lambert called ‘Think’, and was now shooting toilet paper rolls everywhere. The Mane 6, Kendra and the boys watched as toilet paper began to shoot toward the audience, waking them up and causing them to cheer and dance. However, one roll of toilet paper hit Mr. Krupp causing him to wake him and realize what was going on. “Melvin, turn that thing off!” “I’m trying to,” Melvin said as he tried to shut the toilet down, “but it's not cooperating!” Suddenly, as the kids (human and Equestrian creatures alike) continued to party and as Melvin tried to shut the Turbo Toilet down, the toilet finally stopped and exploded into confetti, sending Melvin flying into the crowd. And while this wasn’t exactly what the Mane 6’s new friends were expecting to happen, they were pretty proud of it anyway. “Best…” “Prank…” “EVER!!” Kendra, George and Harold cried at once, causing the Mane 6 and their new friends to laugh out of happiness while giving each other high-fives and hoof-bumps. And while the ponies would never dare admit it to their friends… after the pain Mr. Krupp had caused, pulling that prank to bring the school a little happiness felt pretty good in their eyes. XXXXXXXX “That prank was the most epic thing I’ve ever seen in my life!” Heath bounced around as he, his sisters and his friends, new and old, left the school building. “All the toilet paper flying everywhere and the music!” “I gotta admit, THAT felt good,” Kendra sighed. “And now, we’ve got the rest of today off to do whatever we want!” “Hmm… I don’t know, guys,” Misty suddenly frowned, realizing something seemed rather off. “Doesn’t anyone else feel that pulling that prank was a little too easy? I mean… Krupp falling asleep so quick? No one else being around while we were tampering with the Turbo Toilet?” “Huh… you’re not wrong, Misty,” Sunny said, suddenly realizing Misty’s point and becoming worried herself. “Something definitely doesn’t feel right.” “What else is there to say, Sunny?” Harold asked proudly. “Our fellow students are gonna get to enjoy their weekend. Which, by the way, they are legally entitled to.” “And,” George added, “good triumphed over evil once and for…” But, suddenly, George was interrupted by the sound of Mr. Krupp’s voice, stopping the group in their tracks. “Oh, boys!” the principal called. “A moment with you and your friends, please.” This caused the Mane 6 to gulp and look worried, believing that this was DEFINITELY not going to end well. XXXXXXXX Claudia, Treena and Heath had never been called to the principal's office before, and after today, they wished that they hadn't. The office seemed bare and dark, and Mr. Krupp sat behind his desk intently, as if waiting for the leopard siblings, George, Harold or any of those pony friends of theirs to make a move. Eventually, Mr. Krupp's satisfied, small smirk soon twisted into a large, evil-looking smile that sent shivers down Pipp's spine. “What in Equestria is happening to his face?!” “I think he’s… smiling?” Harold guessed with a shrug. Suddenly, a bitter cold began to fill the air, causing Misty to shudder. “Somepony needs to turn up the heat in here, guys… it’s getting cold!” “Sorry, that’s my fault,” Kendra admitted with a tremble. “My magic sometimes goes with my emotions, and rooms tend to get really cold when I’m nervous.” “I'll let myself in, receptionist lady.” And the next thing our heroes knew after hearing this voice was Melvin Sneedly coming into the office, much to the ponies’ confusion. “Melvin?” “What's he doing here?” George asked quizzically. “You see, Melvin is yet to demonstrate his most impressive invention from today,” Mr. Krupp explained with a slight smirk. “It was a little extracurricular project I asked him to come up with myself.” That was when Melvin pulled out the turtle toy that the pranksters and their new pony pals had failed to notice when they were tampering with the Turbo Toilet. “I call him the Tattle Turtle 200. On the outside, it resembles a turtle. But on the inside…” Melvin said, ripping off the turtle’s head to reveal a camera underneath. “Oh, look at this. It's a nanny cam!” “Dude! You had to do that in front of my brother?!” Kendra hissed, hugging a whimpering Heath. “He didn’t do anything wrong!” However, Mr. Krupp snatched the turtle from Melvin and began to plug it into the TV that happened to be beside of his desk. “Oh, Melvin. How fun. Let's see what it recorded.” However, when Mr. Krupp turned the TV on… it didn’t show a single thing. Melvin sighed inwardly to himself as Mr. Krupp tried to fix it. “Yeah, you gotta change the input to video.” Mr. Krupp shot him a look. “I think I got this.” “You’re on AUX,” Melvin continued to speak. “Change it to video.” “It’s not my TV,” the principal sneered, “it’s your turtle.” “You're doing it wrong.” “I know. I think I know how to do my office.” Finally, Mr. Krupp managed to get the TV working right, and when the group saw what was on the screen, they gasped in complete terror, their eyes going wide in shock-- somehow, the Tattle Turtle 200 managed to capture their tampering with the Turbo Toilet on camera! And the video even showed Harold, George and Kendra doing their special quiet fives handshake! After the video had gone off, Harold tried his best not to act nervous, but this was much easier said than done. “Wow, that nanny cam really has good picture quality.” “Y-Yeah, was that high-def?” Hitch asked with a tremble in his voice. “Cause… you could really tell that's us.” “I can’t believe it! I gotcha!” Mr. Krupp said in delight, a sickening grin on his face as he walked back to his desk. “I finally gotcha! And, I got your little pony friends in the act too! An unexpected bonus!” “Don’t you mean we’ve finally got them, sir?” Melvin asked, peeking his head in and causing Claudia to bare her teeth and snarl at him. “Yes, yes. Well done, Melvin,” Mr. Krupp said. “Extra credit, granted.” Melvin gasped before grabbing the extra credit out of the air, placing it in his pocket with a delighted smile. “Put that in my pocket. Extra credit, it feels so good!” Melvin sing-songed before leaving the room, causing Zipp to sigh and shake her head out of exasperation. “I got extra credit…” “I told you I would get you one day,” Mr. Krupp told George, Harold and Kendra as the group of heroes became increasingly worried. “And that day I was talking about is this day. Today. This is the day.” “Mr. Krupp, come on-- have a little lineancy,” Misty said gently. “I mean, I do admit what we did was… kind of immature. But… then again, keeping the kids at school for a mandatory day of NOTHING but watching Melvin demonstrate his inventions? It’s torture!” “Does it look like I care what you want, you idiotic little ponies?” Mr. Krupp asked with a sneer. “Letting you into this school was just the thing I needed to finally trip these three troublemakers up! You were just the bait I needed, and for that… I have to thank you.” Harold gulped nervously as the Mane 6 looked at Mr. Krupp in anger. “Are you going to tell our parents?” “No. Your parents are obviously total failures. I have a much more effective punishment in mind,” Mr. Krupp said as he walked around the group. “Because not only am I going to have these putrid ponies banished from school grounds…” Once Mr. Krupp was close enough to George, Harold and Kendra, he pushed their chairs apart, a sickening grin forming on his face. “...I’m going to have you three place in separate… classes!!” he said sadistically, causing the group of heroes to gasp in terror. “I'm going to annihilate your friendship!” “What?!” Izzy looked horrified. “No!” “That’s not fair!” Heath protested. “You can’t do that!” “Oh, I most certainly can!” Mr. Krupp taunted with a sadistic chuckle. “You see? You troublemakers won't be together. You won't be able to enjoy each other's company and ruin my life.” “Mr. Krupp, no!” Harold tried to protest. “You can’t do this, please!” “This is too much!” George quickly added. “I mean, even for you!” “Enjoy the rest of your weekend, kids,” Mr. Krupp said rather evilly. “Because come Monday… ha ha ha! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!” XXXXXXXX Kendra, Claudia, Treena and Heath's mother, Avarsi (who was also a reporter for the Piqua Gazette) decided that it would be a nice treat for her kids if she got off early from work and came to pick them up from school later that day and invite George and Harold and all their pony friends over for a sleepover, wanting to show them that even though she and their father, Evander, were going through a bit of a rough patch right now, things between the family weren't going to change. At least... she didn't think they would anyway. It was starting to rain by the time she arrived at the school, so Avarsi used her light magic to conjure a shield above her head to keep her dry until her kids and their friends came out. Finally, Avarsi saw them all exiting the building, and a smile began to form on her muzzle. “Oh, kids! How was your day at school? I was thinking I would fix some of my homemade sushi for dinner tonight, and since the ponies, George and Harold are coming to our house for a sleepover, we can…” But unfortunately, Avarsi stopped herself when she saw the group looking downtrodden and worried, with Kendra looking like she could burst into tears at any moment. “Oh, no… what’s wrong, babies? What happened?” “It was Mr. Krupp again,” Treena said bitterly. “Just wait till you hear what he’s gonna be doing when Monday rolls around.” “He’s gonna make George, Kendra and Harold go to separate classes!” Pipp said, completely appalled. “I mean, can you believe him?!” “Oh, no… this is far worse than anything else he’s done,” Avarsi muttered out of worry before extending the light shield to her kids and their friends. “Come on… you kids can tell me all about it on the way home.” XXXXXXXX “And then, Melvin left the office, just before Krupp told us we would be in separate classes!” Kendra tried her best not to sob as she finished the story, tears now flowing down her face. “Honestly, Mom, we didn’t mean to hurt anyone! We just wanted to have a little fun, we swear!” Avarsi sighed sadly as she turned to nuzzle her youngest daughter. “I know you didn’t, baby… I don’t know why your father believes that principal is suitable to be at your school-- no child deserves to be separated from their friends for no reason. And while I don't exactly agree with your pranking methods... I do understand that your hearts are always in the right places.” George let out a small scoff, rubbing his arms in order to keep himself warm. “After today, I’m not even sure Krupp has a heart.” “It’s gonna be okay, guys,” Sunny said, trying to be comforting as they got closer to the house. “Just think-- we’ll all be together to think about a solution, and hopefully, no more problems pop up.” But when Avarsi made the shield disappear, and the group went inside to avoid the rain, they didn’t expect what was going to come next. Evander was on the living room couch, nuzzling with a leopard that Kendra, her mother or her siblings recognized-- her fur was a turquoise-like color Izzy liked to call ‘Ice Climber’, and she had a cloudy blue muzzle, chest and paws, while the rosettes for her spots were black, and her wings and the insides of her spots were Yuè Guāng Lán blue, matching her medium blue eyes perfectly, and her cutie mark appeared to be a hand mirror, like Claudia sometimes used. Kendra and Heath looked confused while their mother and older sisters looked mortified, and Heath finally chose to speak up after a few moments. “Daddy…?” “Huh?!” Evander looked over, wide-eyed when he saw his mate and cubs standing with George, Harold and the Mane 6. “Oh! A-Avarsi, kids! I’m glad you’re home,” Evander stammered, trying to keep calm. “I, uh… brought a guest for dinner. This is Jaliya-- she and I work together at the construction project in town.” “Hello,” Jaliya said with a soft smile, looking more relaxed than Evander. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.” “...Dad? What’s going on?” Kendra asked in confusion. “You’ve… never brought anyone from work to meet us before.” “I, uh… she was in the neighborhood, and I invited her, and…” Evander tried his best to explain before clearing his throat and clearing the subject. “Uh, honey? We’re out of salmon for sushi night.” “...of course we are,” Avarsi said with a bothered look on her face. “Claudia, Treena? You two take some money and head to the store to get some sushi supplies, and take Heath with you. Kendra, take your new friends up to your room for a bit.” “Sure, Mom,” Kendra nodded. “But… what are you gonna do?” “...I’m just going to talk to your father and Jaliya, sweetheart,” Avarsi said gently before turning toward her mate, a steely gaze in her eyes. “...and it will be a very… VERY long talk.” XXXXXXXX Kendra guided the group up to her room not long after her siblings left for the store, and the Mane 6 discovered that Kendra’s room was dark blue to contradict with the icy atmosphere, with snowflakes painted on the walls, pictures and posters put on the ceiling, a comfortable bed with lots of toys and a special night light shaped like a snowflake. But, the group couldn’t bask in the beauty for long, cause the weight of what was to come Monday still hung on their shoulders. Harold spoke first after ringing out his socks. “Separate classes… our friendship’s over!” he said, flopping down on Kendra’s bed. “I'll never see you again in my life!” “You guys are next-door neighbors, Harold,” Zipp said, trying to comfort Harold by patting his shoulder. “You guys will get to see each other more than you think, even if it isn’t at school. It's not the end of the world.” “Yeah, Zipp’s right,” Izzy nodded as George began to pace. “You guys will still be best friends. Just way down the hall… from each other…” “Oh, what are you saying, Izzy? Harold’s right-- this is bad!” George exclaimed as he grasped the lavender unicorn by the shoulders. “Long distance relationships never work!” “...this is just the beginning. Imagine the future,” George said, looking at the others as he used sock puppets and other things in Kendra’s room to try and picture what their future might be like. “Friends separated... promising each other they'll remain besties. But within months, we'll be awkwardly bumping into each other at the mall.” “Uh… what?” Pipp looked confused. “Is it me, or is Harold taking this too far?” “Maybe a little,” Sunny whispered back, “but the feelings are understandable.” “George will have a weird haircut, I’ll be wearing a suit for some reason, and Kendra will somehow be a super-famous movie star in her prime,” Harold quickly continued, drawing out the events of his fantasy on his sketchpad. “And before we know it, separate classes will lead to separate lives... which inevitably leads to robots!” “Wait, what?” Hitch looked surprised. “Harold, why would there be robots at the mall?” Misty asked curiously. “Because,” Kendra interjected with the roll of her eyes, “it’s the future! The future always has robots!” That’s when Harold suddenly began to pretend the robots were firing at one another, creating sound effects and confusing George further. “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Why are the robots shooting other robots?! Aren't they supposed to be friends?!” “I don't know! I'm the artist, you're the writer!” Harold screamed. “That’s why we need each other! And then, a giant version of the Tattle Turtle 200 will start destroying the robots! And the mall! And us until there's nothing left!!!” Harold pretended to make the sock puppets and other props scream in terror for a few moments, sparking fear in the others and causing them to reel back. Eventually, Harold did stop screaming, but that didn't seem to make George feel better about this. “Okay, you're right. No, you are right!” he said to Harold with worry. “I mean, if we get put in separate classes, it's the end of the world as we know it!” “But, it would take a miracle to change Mr. Krupp’s mind,” Zipp said, “and we’re getting banished from the school first thing Monday morning!” Izzy felt her ears lower at this. “What are we gonna do?” After staying silent for a few moments, Kendra hopped off her bed and approached her friends, a steely gaze in her blue eyes. “Oh, I'll tell you what we're gonna do. First thing Monday morning, we're getting that turtle.” “ADMIT IT, EVANDER!! ADMIT IT!!!” The sound of Avarsi’s shrill, painful shriek came from downstairs, nearly scaring the group out of their wits. “Uh, no offense, Kendra,” said Misty with a wince, “but it sounds like your parents aren’t exactly talking anymore.” “This is really bad…” Kendra muttered to herself. “The fighting’s never gotten this bad before…” “This is just a hunch,” said Zipp quietly to her friends, “but… do you think that Jaliya, the leopard that Kendra’s dad works with is more than just a coworker?” Hitch looked at Zipp in surprise. “What exactly are you saying, Zipp?” “I’m saying that we have to look at the facts,” Zipp said. “Pipp and Misty both said that Evander and Avarsi were arguing a whole lot, and on the day that Evander was supposed to head into work, we find him here with a strange leopard?” “And come to think of it,” Pipp hummed, “they did seem to be acting kinda… weird when we came in.” “So, you guys can see,” Zipp concluded, “why I think--” “KENDRA!!” Evander growled at the top of his lungs. “STOP YOUR LOLLYGAGGING AND GET YOUR RUMP DOWN HERE!! YOUR MOTHER AND I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!!!” “C-Coming, Dad!” Kendra called with a slight tremble before she turned to her friends. “I’ll be right back… shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.” But as Kendra began to leave the room, the Mane 6, George and Harold spared each other a glance, worried of how this simple 'talk' might go in many different directions... and none of their theories were good ones. XXXXXXXX When Kendra came down to the living room, Jaliya was gone and Kendra’s older sisters and Heath were sitting on the couch, with Evander on one side of the room and Avarsi on the other, both trying to contain their snarls as Kendra cautiously approached. “Uh… w-what’s going on?” “We don’t know,” Claudia admitted. “We came back from the store with all our sushi supplies, and found Mom and Dad at each other’s necks, so to speak.” “Then Dad called for you,” said Treena, “and then Jaliya left, and then… we’re not sure what’s going on.” “...sorry, kids. But, I’m just not sure that we could wait to tell you,” Avarsi said with a small sigh, calming down slightly. “The thing is, with what I’ve learned today, your father and I are--” “We’re getting a divorce, so I can be with Jaliya,” Evander interrupted coldly, “and she and I can finally be happy and not keep secrets anymore.” “...w-w-wait, what?” Treena looked confused. “Dad… what are you talking about? Have you… been cheating on Mom behind her back?” “Yep,” Evander said with a scoff. “It only took you how long to figure it out?” “...a-an affair? Divorce?” Claudia looked appalled and horrified all at once. “T-This can’t be real! It can’t! You guys have been together for over 15 years!” “...I’m so sorry you had to find out this way, honey,” Avarsi said gently, “but… we can't be together after what I just found out. We can't go back to the way it was before.” Heath looked around, more confused than ever. “Mama? W-What’s a divorce?” “...it means Mom and Dad are splitting up,” Kendra said, tears flowing down her cheeks as she spoke. “Which means life will never be the same for us again.” “Don’t you care about us at all?!” Treena finally snapped at her parents. “Didn’t it ever ring a bell that we might not want this to happen?!” “Oh, honey, of course we care about you,” Avarsi said gently, “but…” “Don’t bother explaining, Avarsi-- they’re weak, and they won’t be able to comprehend this,” Evander said bitterly. “Not like a man.” “But they’re not men, Evander!” Avarsi snarled. “They’re our girls!” “AND MAYBE THAT’S THE PROBLEM!!” Evander got in his wife’s face. “Maybe I never wanted daughters at all! Maybe if they had been born as boys, I wouldn’t have a problem. I should have left them on the streets when they were born… maybe that would have spared us all the trouble.” “You take that back…” Avarsi’s eyes filled with rage. “With Parisa as my witness, YOU WILL TAKE THAT BACK NOW!!” “NO!!” Evander roared. “I WON’T, BECAUSE IT’S THE TRUTH!!” The two began to bicker like wildfire after this, using their claws and fangs every now and then in order to make sure they kept their distance from each other. Kendra, Claudia, Heath and Treena were so frightened, they couldn’t move-- all they could do was watch their parents go back and forth with insults. The Mane 6, George and Harold listened to all of this from the stairs, and they realized that not only was getting the Tattle Turtle vital for the trio of comic book creators to stay together as friends… …but it was also vital so Kendra had something to take her mind off the horrible situation her family was in.
Morning Talks and Snooping Around the Office/The Real Captain Underpants and a City-Wide ChaseThe Mane 6 had heard quite a bit of fighting during their time in other worlds and in Equestria, but... what they just heard going on between Kendra's parents, Evander and Avarsi, after finding out that Evander was having an affair with a coworker was... brutal. The name-calling, the verbal abuse... the claws and fangs being used whenever one got too close. And the worse thing was... they finally discovered that Evander had been treating his daughters so horribly, just because they were born girls instead of boys. It almost (almost being the keyword) made the situation of Mr. Krupp making George, Harold and Kendra go to separate classes less horrible than they originally pictured it to be. For the rest of that weekend, Kendra and her siblings seemed to be walking on eggshells, watching their parents' happy marriage unravel before their very eyes. Not even sushi could cheer the siblings up, and that was certainly saying something. But as soon as Monday rolled around, Kendra knew that she would have to help George and Harold and the rest of her new friends get back the Tattle Turtle before Mr. Krupp banished the ponies from the school and sent her and her best friends to separate classes. But the real question in that moment was... would they succeed in their plans? Or... would they fail horribly and risk an even more horrible fate? XXXXXXXX “Kendra…? Kendra… it’s time to get up, sweetheart. You’ll be late for school.” Kendra groaned to herself and slowly opened her eyes to see Avarsi standing over her, her eyes gentle and her smile caring. However... Kendra sighed and turned over again. “If you’re here to tell me more about this divorce thing and tell me it’ll be okay, it won’t work. I know it’s not gonna be okay.” Avarsi sighed as she sat down on her daughter's bed. “I know you’re really upset, sweetie… I am too.” “At Dad? Or his new girlfriend?” Kendra scoffed from under the covers. “...both, honestly,” Avarsi sighed. “I’m sad because your father lied to me… and what he said about you girls blew me over the edge.” Kendra sniffled, looking up at her mother with tear-filled eyes. “Why would Dad say that stuff about me and my sisters? Did he… ever love us?” “I wish I knew what the answer was, but I can’t read your father’s mind,” Avarsi said with a touch of remorse. “Only… Queen Felicia had that power.” “...the queen of Leopardia before Allura and her twin took over?” Kendra looked confused. “Yes,” Avarsi nodded. “When I was a girl, still living in Leopardia, I saw her once-- she was beautiful, and my mother told me that all winged leopards in the royal family had some sort of power over the mind, along with their other magical powers. The queen used her powers to help our people, but when her husband took over after her death… he used his powers to make us do the most evil things.” “But so did Allura and Alterro,” Kendra mumbled. “Why didn’t you choose to abandon Leopardia when their dad was still in power?” “Fear, I suppose. The point is… after Leopardia was disbanded, my family wasn’t sure what to do, and we were scared,” Avarsi continued. “And… even though we’re all scared, hurt and angry about the divorce and separation… it’ll be okay. Trust me when I say that.” Kendra spared her mother a glance before sighing and sitting up. “Okay… I trust you. Is… is Dad here?” “No, he had to go to work. He’s going to be by this afternoon with a lawyer to… discuss the divorce,” Avarsi said gently. “But, your pony friends, George and Harold are going to have breakfast together. Won’t that be nice?” Kendra nodded slightly. “Uh-huh.” Avarsi chuckled at this. “Now, hurry up and get your fur brushed before you come down for breakfast. You kids have to leave soon, and don’t worry… I’ll call Mr. Krupp and see if we can work something out about this whole separate classes thing.” “...thanks, Mom,” Kendra smiled, but deep in her heart she knew that whatever happened, she and her friends would have to take matters into their own hands, paws and hooves. XXXXXXXX Immediately after breakfast was over, the leopard siblings, George, Harold and the Mane 6 quickly headed to the school, and once they got there, Kendra told Claudia and Treena to take Heath and head on to their classes in case they got caught, so that way, Kendra’s siblings wouldn’t get into trouble. Misty knew that her invisibility spell would come in handy once they got past Mr. Krupp and into the office, but as for how to get Krupp away from the office... that was a whole different box of ponycorn. Hitch had the idea to hide in a large, spacious storage closet as they saw Mr. Krupp (with the Tattle Turtle sitting next to him) copying several pieces of paper which could only be the applications for the science teacher position. As he shut the tray down, the principal was startled to see Edith, the school lunch lady, suddenly appear in front of him with a deep dish in her hands. “Edith!” “Oh, is this a bad time?” Edith asked timidly. “I did not mean to interrupt the copying process. I'll go.” “Yes, go! Please go,” George whispered from the closet, even though Zipp tried to keep him from blowing their cover. “No, no. I'm just finishing up,” Mr. Krupp said nervously, causing the boys to groan. “What brings you around here?” “I just made this tuna casserole,” Edith said, holding it up to show him, “and I noticed it had your name on it... in jalapeno peppers.” Mr. Krupp sniffed the entree, slightly intrigued. “Mmm. It smells spicy.” “Yep. Mmm-hmm,” Edith nodded nervously. “That's cause it's been dry-aged for a week.” “I don't know what that means, but it sounds very time-consuming.” “It took a week.” George watched the interaction between Edith and Mr. Krupp with a look of weirdness and disgust on his face. “Eww! They like each other?” “Oh, no, George,” Pipp said gravely, recognizing this look from her mother’s interactions with Alphabittle before they got engaged. “I think it's much worse. They like-like each other.” “What are you talking about?” George asked her, finding the mere thought of what Pipp was suggesting to be rather ridiculous. “Adults don't like-like other adults.” “Well,” Harold said with a shrug, “you probably haven't seen it at your home since your parents are married. In my studies, like-liking seems to end with marriage.” “Eh,” Zipp shrugged. “It works for Misty’s dad and our mom, so I can totally see that between Krupp and Edith.” “Well, I should probably get back to running the school,” Mr. Krupp said, nervously grabbing the Tattle Turtle before beginning to walk backwards toward his office. “You know, it's not gonna run itself.” “But…” Edith tried to say something, but the door closed before she could get the chance. “Oh, Edith. Get your head out of the clouds!” Soon, Edith began to leave, giving Kendra the cue to try and sneak over to the office. “Wait, Edith!” Mr. Krupp cried and raced after Edith, causing Izzy to pull Kendra back into the closet. “You never gave me the tuna casserole!” And once Mr. Krupp was gone, Sunny gasped in realization. “I think he forgot the turtle!” she whispered. “Go go go!” The group quickly began to sneak over toward the office, but immediately, they retreated back into the closet when they saw the secretary, Ms. Anthrope, heading back into the office after her morning coffee break. “Oh, great…” Kendra sighed. “Now what do we do?” “Hmm…” Hitch saw a nearby phone next to him and got an idea. “I think it’s time for a little signature prank Sprout and I used to do when we were colts. George, when I give the signal, you say…” XXXXXXXX The phone in the office began to ring a short minute later, causing Ms. Anthrope to answer it, listening to George's disguised voiced coming from the closet. “Hello! If you would like the chance to win one billion dollars, please hold for one of our representatives.” George then set the phone down as Harold turned on the radio next to it, all of them quietly giggling at how easy that turned out to be as the radio's music began to loop. And then, with Ms. Anthrope distracted, Misty cast the invisibility spell over the group and they crept toward the office, careful not to make any sudden movements. And once they were past Ms. Anthrope, Izzy quietly shut the door to the office while Misty undid the spell, making them visible again. “Okay, we don’t have a lot of time before Krupp comes back,” Zipp said quietly, “so we need to spread out and find that turtle. Come on!” And so, the group began to spread out and search various corners of the room, with Kendra using her nose to sniff around, but ultimately not finding the scent of the turtle. “It’s gotta be in here somewhere.” “Uh… I don’t know if the turtle is in here,” said Misty after a few moments more of searching, “but… take a look at what I found!” Misty had opened a drawer in Mr. Krupp’s filing cabinet marked ‘Kendra, George and Harold’, and inside was a bunch of toys, comics and other things, making the ponies gasp with wide eyes. “Whoa…” “Guys!” Kendra gasped to her friends. “It’s everything Krupp ever confiscated from us!” “Whoa…” Zipp reached in and took out a whoopie cushion. “Just look at all this stuff!” George gasped and took the whoopie cushion from Zipp without a second thought. “Oh, dear old whoopee cushion. You will sing once again,” he said, hugging it and letting it deflate. “Oh, my Super Duper Soaking Machine!” Harold said, getting out a very large squirt gun and falling on the ground, just as George took a plastic ring out from one of the corners of the cabinet. “My hypno-ring! I never even got to take it out of the wrapper.” “Oooh…” Izzy said in awe as George put the hypno-ring on. “Hypnotic…” “Wow. Look at this!” Harold said as he pulled several comic books out of the cabinet. “He's got every issue of Captain Underpants we've ever created!” “Hmm…” Kendra looked at one of the comics with a sudden thought. “Do you think he reads them?” “I don’t know,” George said with a frown. “I was kinda hoping that we appealed to a slightly cooler demographic.” Suddenly, the door slammed behind the group, causing them to freeze and turn to see Mr. Krupp standing behind them with a smirk on his face. “Well if it isn’t the Equestrians, Kendra, George Beard and Harold Hutchins,” he said, pulling up a blue chair to put his leg on. “To what do I owe the pleasure? Is it perhaps this?” That was when the principal showed them the Tattle Turtle strapped to his leg, causing Sunny to gasp and Pipp to gulp. “Oh, no…” “Nice try,” Mr. Krupp sneered at the group. “Turtle and I have grown quite attached. We're inseparable, actually. I carry him wherever I go. Including the shower!” Zipp let out a shudder at this. “So gross…” “Ohh…” Izzy felt her ears pin. “Poor turtle.” “Mr. Krupp, it isn’t too late to do the right thing,” Sunny said as the ponies stood in front of the principal’s desk. “Sure, Kendra and the boys’ pranks do go a little out of control at times, but they only do these pranks to make everyone at the school happy. And… isn’t happiness worth something to you?” “Let me tell you something, Miss Starscout-- happiness is a waste of time,” Mr. Krupp told the earth pony mare with a look of disgust on his face from just the mere talk of happiness. “The time we spend being happy and go-lucky is time we could often use to put our students into the REAL world, where they will only face disappointment and heartache.” That was when Mr. Krupp pulled out a file with three red papers inside. “Oh, well what’s this?” he said, pretending he didn’t know what they were until he brought them out. “Why, it’s the paperwork to separate your little friends forever!” This caused George, Harold and Kendra to gasp in complete terror. “It’s really incredible-- I can actually see the end of their friendship,” he said, getting out his pen to sign the papers. “And it ends right here on this dotted--” “No way, Kruppy-Pants!” Izzy interrupted as she boldly lit her horn to try and pull the pen away from him. “You can’t sign the papers if you don’t have the pen!” Mr. Krupp and Izzy continued to fight over the pen for a few moments before Kendra joined in on the fight, pulling on Izzy’s waist to try and give her more strength. Eventually, it got to where Harold couldn’t stand the suspense anymore. “George, do something!” George, unsure of what to do in that moment, climbed up onto the desk as Mr. Krupp managed to push Izzy and Kendra away, regaining control of the pen, before George pointed the hypno-ring directly at the principal. “Put the pen down, Mr. Krupp... or we'll hypnotize you!” Mr. Krupp immediately stopped what he was doing when he heard this. “What?!” Even Harold, Kendra and the ponies seemed surprised. “What?!” “You said do something!” George argued, just as Mr. Krupp found himself glancing at the hypno-ring again. “What is that?” “Forged from the molten plastic of Shandong, China,” George began, “in the lowest floor of the darkest basement where only toy prizes are made... exists the most powerful item ever to be found in a box of Frosted Sugar Doodles-- the hypno-ring.” However, Mr. Krupp didn’t seem to be intimidated by the act. “Hypnotize me with that piece of plastic junk? Ha ha ha ha!” Izzy, on the other hand, seemed very interested in what George was saying. “Does that actually work?” “Iz, what do you think?!” Pipp whispered harshly. “He got it out of a cereal box!” “But hey, it’s the only plan we have right now,” said Hitch with a shrug, “so we at least have to try!” “I’m warning you!” George said to Mr. Krupp. “If you don't do what we say, you're gonna get really sleepy!” “Oh, will I? I'll get sleepy?” Mr. Krupp asked with a laugh. “With that thing pointing at me?” But, little did our heroes realize it right away, but the ring was actually working, and Mr. Krupp was starting to get sleepy like George said he would. “I'm not gonna get sleepy from… whew!” But, wouldn’t you know it? That wasn’t even the strangest thing that went on. As Mr. Krupp continued to stare at the hypno-ring, a nearby globe began to spin and float all on its own, with the hypno-ring emanating some sort of strange, supernatural glow on its own. And then… our heroes slowly began to lift off the floor, somehow caught in the strange occurrence as Mr. Krupp began to get sleepier and sleepier. “What kind of plastic hokum is this?” “Whoa!!” Kendra yelped as she grabbed onto George and Harold. “What’s happening?!” “I don’t know!” George said in panic. “Why are we floating?!” “Hey, don’t look at us!” Pipp said as the Mane 6 tried to hold onto the sturdier objects in the room. “Just keep hanging on!” The red spiral from the hypno-ring continued to swirl around the room until it began swirling around the school, but only our heroes managed to feel the strange, current effects around them. As our heroes shrieked and tried to hold on for dear life, Mr. Krupp’s eyes started to turn to red spirals, completely under the hypnosis, which made the red spirals around the school disappear, and caused everything to return to normal, including letting our heroes go back on the ground and letting Mr. Krupp bonk his head on the desk before falling onto his back. But after everything fell back into place, as if the recent events had never occurred, Zipp was the first to look at her friends, who seemed just as stunned as she was. “W-What was that?!” “I don’t know,” George shrugged, looking at the hypno-ring. “I honestly didn’t think that would happen.” Kendra, George and Harold silently approached the hypnotized school principal and Harold waved his hand over his face, but like Sunny figured, nothing happened. But deciding they had a free moment, Harold reached over and took the turtle off of Mr. Krupp’s leg. “Gotcha,” he said gently, putting the turtle in his backpack. “You’re safe now, little turtle.” And though the turtle was a simple toy with a nanny cam inside, Harold could have sworn that he saw the turtle smiling at him. The ponies, on the other hoof, were trying to figure out what exactly happened so it would be easier to wrap their heads around. Suddenly, Zipp thought of a possible theory, but needed to test it before settling on a decision. “George, can I see your hypno-ring, please?” George took off the hypno-ring and put it in Zipp’s hoof, and once she had the ring, Zipp put on her visor and did a scan of it, her eyes widening at what she saw inside. “It’s just like I thought-- guys, this ring has trace amounts of Equestrian magic inside!” “That would explain why Mr. Krupp reacted the way he did after looking at it for so long,” Misty said in thought, “but… what exactly are we supposed to do now? We can’t just leave him like this for people to see, can we?” However, George already seemed to have an idea, and he and Kendra approached the hypnotized principal before George began speaking again. “When we stomp our hooves or snap our fingers, you will obey our every command.” “Wait,” Harold paused. “How do you know this?” “We don’t know,” Kendra answered honestly. “We just say the first thing that comes to our minds with great authority.” Hitch blinked at this for a moment before humming out of thought. “You know… that actually makes a little sense.” And once this was out of the way, George turned back to Mr. Krupp again. “You are now a chicken!” Once George snapped his fingers, the group crowded around, waiting for some kind of response as the red spirals disappeared from Mr. Krupp's eyes. Then... after a brief moment... Mr. Krupp began to cluck and walk around the room, acting like a real-life chicken! Sunny couldn't help but laugh and smile when she saw this. “It worked!” she exclaimed. “He’s a chicken!” “Lemme try, lemme try!” Harold said before trying to think of another command. “Uh… you’re a monkey!” When Harold snapped his fingers, Mr. Krupp immediately began to screech like a monkey, beating his chest and swinging from the ceiling fan as he did so, throwing the materials on his desk all over the place. “Ha ha ha!” Izzy couldn’t help but laugh, finding this hilarious. “Oh, look at him! He's a monkey!” “Oooh-hoo-hoo, this is so cool!” Pipp said with a little hop to her step. “We can make him do whatever we want!” “Yeah, but… we need to make sure what whatever we do next,” said Zipp, “we need to plan out carefully-- who knows what could go wrong if we give him a really wild command?” However, as the ponies were talking amongst themselves, Kendra picked up one of their Captain Underpants comics with her paw, her eyes widening as she suddenly thought of an idea, looking at the comic then at Mr. Krupp, who was still behaving like a monkey. “Guys…” Kendra then whispered to Harold and George. “I think I just got the world’s best idea.” Kendra slowly lifted the comic for George and Harold to see, causing them to gasp in realization and giggle alongside their flying leopard friend, but causing Sunny to frown. “Uh-oh… why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?” However, Kendra and the boys completely ignored Sunny's worry before they stepped closer to the hypnotized principal to give him another command. “You're now the greatest superhero of all time, the amazing Captain Underpants!!” George snapped his fingers again, which caused Mr. Krupp to quickly start removing his clothing, got a curtain down from the nearby window and threw off his toupee, which caused the Mane 6 to scream and duck for cover. The toupee hit the button on the fan, turning it on and causing a breeze to blow through the room. After a moment, the group looked up, and their eyes widened as comic book pages flew about… …right before Captain Underpants officially made his first appearance. “Tra-la-laaaaaa!!!” The Mane 6 and their new friends lightly gasped, unsure of what they were seeing or what to make of it. “Captain Underpants?” Misty asked softly as they stood up. “Is that really you?” “Let's see. Underpants… check,” Captain Underpants said after checking his underwear. “Captain, also check. I'm pretty sure I'm Captain Underpants.” Now, normally, the Mane 6 would be stunned beyond measure and then try to figure out a solution for their problem. But this time… they couldn't help but laugh alongside their new friends, finding this whole situation with the terrible principal hilarious. “Are you seeing this?!” Hitch said as he burst out in laughter. “It worked!” “Which must make all of you,” Captain Underpants continued, “my trusty sidekicks!” “Sidekicks?!” Kendra, George and Harold said at once before they began to laugh again, just as Captain Underpants heroically glanced out of the window. “Fear not-- this planet is safe under my watchful eye.” Izzy could barely contain herself by this point. “This is hilarious!” “I know, right?!” Pipp said with a laugh. “So worth all the terror Krupp put us through!” “Let's see what's afoot.” Suddenly, the group heard the crashing of glass, and stopped laughing immediately to discover that Captain Underpants had run right through the office window! “Wait!” Harold cried. “No!” The group rushed to the window to see Captain Underpants slowly recovering from his fall, surprisingly not injured in any other way. “Well, that was invigorating.” “C-Come on, guys!” Sunny said rather desperately as Captain Underpants began to run toward the street. “We gotta stop him!” George turned to look at her in confusion. “Why?” Just then, Captain Underpants got hit by a car without noticing, causing the Mane 6 to cringe before Captain Underpants stood up again. “Ha-ha!” “Out of the road, bozo!” the driver of the car said angrily. “Why, thank you, vehicle person!” Captain Underpants said before he leapt behind a fence, only for cat yowls to fill the air, sounding as if Captain Underpants was being attacked. “Ow!” Suddenly, Kendra could see Sunny’s point. “Yep,” she responded fearfully. “We should probably go get him.” “Come on! We can try and catch up to him if we go out the window!” Zipp cried. And while the ponies and leapt out of the window and landed on their four hooves, George, Kendra and Harold leapt from the window to the flagpole, sliding down it before rejoining their friends and setting off after Captain Underpants again. “Captain Underpants!” Izzy cried out. “Wait!” Needless to say, our heroes would have to work fast in order to corral Captain Underpants and bring him back to the school before he got into any worse trouble. XXXXXXXX Unaware that the group were chasing after him, Captain Underpants swiftly made it into the city where he came upon a peculiar sight-- a mime performing for people near the park. “What is this? Poor soul. You're trapped in some sort of invisible box-like prison!” Captain Underpants said, virtually concerned as the mime pretended to cry and not speak all at once. “What's that? I can't hear you! But I see your tears.” Luckily, the others arrived on the scene just in time, and Pipp honestly tried to keep herself from giggling as she looked at her older sister. “Is it okay that I’m kinda loving this?” Zipp shrugged at this, not sure what to say exactly. “Yes and no.” “But,” George added with a smile, “mostly yes!” “Fear not,” Captain Underpants reassured the mime. “I will set you free!” Suddenly, Captain Underpants punched the mime in the face, causing the group to groan and wince as the mine suddenly glared at Captain Underpants. “What is wrong with you?!” “Oh, that's better. I can hear you now,” Captain Underpants smiled just before the group came over. “Sorry, so sorry,” Kendra said with a timid look. “Really, really sorry.” “Okay, listen, captain,” Sunny said, trying to act like she was playing along as the group began to guide Captain Underpants away. “I get you wanna help people, but maybe try to not PUNCH people, cause…” Suddenly, Captain Underpants froze upon hearing something. “Hold it!” That’s when Captain Underpants raced over to an old woman trying to get her cat down from a nearby tree. “Here, let me help,” he offered, and instead of getting the cat down, he merely tossed the woman into the nearby tree, causing her to yell out before the hypnotized superhero saluted to her. “You're welcome, madam!” “You know,” said Harold as he and George tried to pull Captain Underpants away, “we should probably get you back to the school before anything else…” “Halt!” Captain Underpants shouted, trying to stop the group, except for Sunny and Zipp, who were helping the woman and her cat down. “Do you sense that?” George glanced around weirdly. “No…?” “Well, of course you don't. You're not a superhero like me. Come, sidekicks!” Captain Underpants shouted before running inside a building with a revolving door. “Evil lurks within!” “Oh no…!!” Hitch groaned. “Quick, guys! After him!” The group quickly entered the building through the revolving door, getting slightly dizzy in the process, but then discovered that Captain Underpants was gone, much to George's bewilderment. “Where’d he go now?!” “Oh no… no no no no no no no no no!!” Kendra yelped in panic. “Guys, this is where my mom works!” “You mean… this is the Piqua Gazette?” Izzy looked around with a hum of thought. “I thought it would be bigger.” “Izzy, focus! My mom isn’t here today,” Kendra said, “but if one of my mom’s coworkers recognize me, we could all be in for it!” “Then we need to find Captain Underpants quick!” Misty said determinedly. “I mean… where in the world could one guy go so quickly?” XXXXXXXX “To the skyyyyyyyy!!!” Captain Underpants was riding in an elevator that overlooked the entire city the higher it went, with two people, a man and a woman, riding with him. The woman was desperately pushing a button to stop at the next floor, and once the elevator stopped, she and the man got off while Captain Underpants continued to ride the elevator upward. XXXXXXXX “Sunny, we’ve looked everywhere,” Zipp panted as the group left the Piqua Gazette building, “but there’s no sign of Captain Underpants anywhere!” Harold groaned, slightly dizzy as George flopped on his back. “You'd think a guy like him would be easy to find.” “Found him!” George spotted Captain Underpants on the roof of a nearby building, looking at something not far away. “Stand down, you giant ape monster!” “Giant ape monster?” Sunny looked confused. “What is he…?” “Look!” Misty gasped and pointed at the gigantic ape balloon, which Captain Underpants was getting ready to run, jump over and attack. “Your days of terrifying this town,” said the dimwitted superhero, “are over!” “Mr. Krupp! I mean, Captain Underpants!” Harold shouted to try and get the superhero's attention. “You can’t actually fly!” However, Captain Underpants seemed to pay her no mind as he began to run across the top of the Piqua Gazette. “Now I take to the sky... like an ostrich!” With that, Captain Underpants leapt right onto the giant gorilla balloon and began attacking it, just as the ropes began to snap. “I gotcha!” he kept shouting, even hitting the side of the building next door as he seemed to fight the pretend gorilla. Pipp let out a shriek. “We have to do something!” “But even when there are four flyers,” Sunny pointed out with worry, “we’d never be strong enough to lift a giant gorilla balloon back to solid ground!” That’s when George suddenly spotted a crane not too far away, a sudden thought coming to mind. “I’ve got an idea!” They immediately ran over toward the nearby crane, trying to act natural as the worker of the crane began to leave. “Morning.” “Morning,” said the worker before he walked around the corner. “Quick, everyone onboard the crane!” Kendra whispered desperately. “We don’t have long before those ropes snap!” George, Kendra and Harold quickly got inside the cab with the Mane 6 climbing around on the outside, but when they finally got a good look at the panel in front of them, Harold’s eyes widened as to how many buttons there were. “Oh, that is a lot of buttons.” “Well, start pushing something! Anything!” Hitch cried out in desperation. “DO SOMETHING!!” And so, Kendra, George and Harold began to push as many buttons as they could to try and get the crane hook to grab Captain Underpants, all while Captain Underpants and the gorilla continued to 'fight'. “Take that! Ah, cheap shot! Ow! Right in the kisser!” But as Captain Underpants tried to lay a hit on the gorilla again, the final rope snapped, much to the group's horror. “NO!!” George and Harold moved a switch to make the hook grab the balloon, but they only managed to tear off a piece of Captain Underpants’ cape. Luckily, the balloon managed to hit the ground in one piece, causing Captain Underpants to wave at them. “Oh, hi, guys.” But before anything else could be said, the balloon began to bounce away with Captain Underpants still on it. “What?! No!” Kendra yowled. “Hurry, guys!” Zipp cried. “Follow that gorilla!” And so, Harold started the crane up and steered it so it could follow the bouncing gorilla balloon from behind, but Captain Underpants thought that the gorilla balloon was fighting against him. “Oh, you put up a good fight!” “Whoo-hoo!!” Izzy cheered as the crane sped through the streets of town. “You are so good at operating a crane, Harold!” “I know!” Harold said as the rest of the Mane 6 hung on for dear life. “It's really not that hard!” “Not that hard?!” Hitch screeched. “At your age, you shouldn’t be driving anything!!” “Just keep trying to snag the balloon, Harold!” Sunny shouted. “Once we’re close enough, we’ll grab Captain Underpants!” “Rest assured, citizens of this marvelous metropolis!!” Captain Underpants shouted to the unsuspecting citizens as he continued to bounce on the balloon through the city, unaware that the group was trying to catch him. “I will rid you of this menace any moment now!” “Come on…” Harold muttered as he tried to grab the balloon again. “Oh, come on, come on, come on…” But at that moment, the crane hook made impact against the balloon, popping it and causing Kendra and the other ponies to shriek. But as the only pony who knew what to do, Sunny let her alicorn form begin to take shape. “I am all three pony kinds, wrapped up into one! My cutie mark comes to life with hope, bright as the sun!” And once Sunny got done speaking, she zipped off, just as the crane began to spin wildly out of control, leaving the other ponies hanging on for dear life. As for Sunny, she caught Captain Underpants on her back, internally relieved. “I gotcha!” she reassured, but then realized Captain Underpants was much heavier than she expected. “Oh brother… WHOA!!!” Lucky for Sunny, she and Captain Underpants managed to fall right on top of some bank robbers robbing the nearby bank, knocking them out and ruining their plans. “Let that be a lesson to evildoers everywhere,” Captain Underpants said as he got off of Sunny’s back as a police officer arrived. “Never underestimate the power of underwear!” The police officer looked at Captain Underpants, bewildered. “Who the heck are you?” Sunny chuckled nervously as she stood up. “Would you believe he’s actually a fanmade comic book character…?” But before she could try and explain herself, the crane carrying her screaming friends spun into the nearby parking spot behind the police car, eventually stopping and allowing the Mane 6 to try to compose themselves. “We’re… we’re alive!” Hitch said thankfully. “We’re actually alive!” “I know, right?” Kendra said as she, Harold and George hopped out of the crane cab. “I can't believe we found a spot!” “Oh, goodness. Grandpa, you did it again,” George said, trying to seem like this was natural as he and Harold grabbed Captain Underpants by the hands. “He's a sleepwalker,” Harold added, looking at the police officer. “Come on, Pap-Pap, let's get you back into bed.” “But what about all the other evil villains?” Captain Underpants asked quizzically. “Uh, forget the evil villains for now,” Misty said worriedly as they continued walking. “There aren’t anymore villains around here.” But little did our heroes know that there WERE more villains lurking nearby, and dangerous ones at that. Alterro had met up with a man who called himself Professor P the day before, and together, the two hatched a plan to get Alterro's revenge on the ponies, as well as Alterro promising to help Professor P with his plan... although Alterro wasn't sure what that was. After the Mane 6 and their friends led Captain Underpants away, Alterro pointed to one of the posters that had been hung up about the science teacher position. “Here-- this is where I saw that idiot Krupp earlier this morning.” “A science teacher?” Professor P hummed in thought as he ripped the poster from the telephone pole, a sinister grin forming onto his face. “The perfect cover for our plans of universal domination!” Alterro and this Professor P character each let out cackles of pure, unbridled evil, ready to put their plan into action as quickly as possible… and this time, no pathetic little ponies or any other kind of heroes were going to stand in their way.
Captain Underpants in the Treehouse, Snooping around Krupp's House and the Impending DivorceThe Mane 6 had seen a lot on their Unity Quest, but this was definitely topping things off as their weirdest Unity Quest to date. George, Harold and Kendra, alongside the Mane 6, accidentally hypnotized Mr. Krupp and Kendra and the boys got him to believe he was Captain Underpants, the hero in all their comic books. And then... Captain Underpants went through the city trying to fight a giant gorilla balloon, causing the Mane 6 and their new friends to chase after him and then, they had to think of someplace to bring Captain Underpants/Mr. Krupp (whichever you prefer) so that way he wouldn't be seen and viewed as a maniac more than he already was. But as the sun prepared to go down, Kendra suddenly thought of the safest place for Captain Underpants to hide out... and a perfect place for our heroes to figure out what to do next. XXXXXXXX Kendra had the brilliant idea to take Captain Underpants to their treehouse in George’s backyard, and needless to say, Captain Underpants was very impressed with the layout of the place, beginning to explore as Sunny got them all some cups of water and some snacks from George’s house. “Chums! What an astounding headquarters!” Captain Underpants said to the group. “Stuffed full of relics... all celebrating my interplanetary exploits!” That’s when he picked up a plunger and sighed happily. “Oh, this takes me back.” “Is it just me,” Misty whispered, “or does this keep getting weirder and weirder by the second?” “Well, if you want me to be honest, yeah,” Hitch nodded as Sunny returned with water and apple slices. “But then again… this is actually kinda rewarding, if you consider all the stuff Krupp put George, Harold and Kendra through.” “But what are we gonna do?” Harold then asked. “He can't just stay here. We have to turn him back into Krupp.” “Yeah, I know,” Kendra sighed with a sad-looking nod before suddenly smiling again. “But can we just take a moment to acknowledge what's happening here please? I mean, Captain Underpants is hanging out in our treehouse!” “Look at the cute little turtle. Oh, he's so adorable,” Captain Underpants cooed over the Tattle Turtle, causing the Mane 6 and their friends to laugh. “Man… this is actually kinda funny,” Zipp sighed. “But… like Harold said, we have to turn him back into Krupp sooner or later.” “Yeah, but we don’t know anything about hypnosis,” Sunny argued as she shook her head. “It could take us a while to figure out the right combination of Equestrian magic needed to undo the spell and turn him back to normal.” That was when Captain Underpants tossed away the Tattle Turtle and stood up boldly again. “Well, a hero's work is never done. Now it is time to fly again!” “No no no no no!” George cried out in desperation and threw some water at Captain Underpants, somehow turning him back into Krupp, who seemed disoriented and mildly confused. “Where am I? Where are my pants?!” “Uh-oh!” Izzy gulped nervously, hiding behind Sunny. “I-I think he turned into meanie Krupp again!” Mr. Krupp screamed in rage, but when Kendra snapped her paws, the hypnosis kicked in again, turning him back into Captain Underpants. “Tra-la-laaa!” “Holy spots, that’s it!” Kendra quickly exclaimed to her friends with a smile gracing her face. “Now we know what turns him back and forth!” “Turns who what?” Captain Underpants asked before Harold splashed his face with water, turning him into Krupp again. “Why am I soaking wet?!” “Oh, cool!” Harold said with an excited grin. Then, for the next few minutes, Kendra and the boys took turns soaking Krupp with water and turning him back again, amazed at how quickly he was able to turn back and forth with just a snap and a little splash of water. But after a moment of turning Krupp into Captain Underpants and vice versa, Sunny felt the brief need to step in. “Okay, guys, this has been fun and everything, but maybe we should stop before somebody ends up getting hurt, whether it’s Captain Underpants or Mr. Krupp.” “Yeah, you’re right, Sunny,” Harold shrugged. “We probably should.” But did that stop Harold, George and Kendra from what they were doing? Well… you can guess that the answer to that question is a big fat no. They proceeded to squirt, spray and blast water at Captain Underpants repeatedly, turning him back into Krupp repeatedly, then snapping their fingers repeatedly to turn him back into Captain Underpants-- they even went as far as dousing him with a bunch of water balloons! But finally, after Mr. Krupp had passed out on the floor from exhaustion, the Mane 6 glanced at the trio in disappointment. “Way to go, guys,” Hitch frowned. “NOW do you think you should have stopped?” “...maybe…?” George smiled nervously before sighing. “Okay, yeah, I guess we are having a little too much fun with this.” “We can’t let anyone else see him like this,” Zipp said. “If someone like Melvin Sneedly were to find out, we would ALL be in huge trouble!” “And especially not my family,” Kendra added. “Mom’s already going through a hard time as it is with the… divorce and all. But, if Dad or my siblings found out about this, they…” “Hey, Kendra!” The group screamed and turned to see Claudia and Treena fluttering inside the treehouse and huddled around the unconscious Mr. Krupp, trying to keep him from sight. “Uh, hey, guys!” Misty said nervously. “W-W-What’s up?” “You guys didn’t meet us at the front of the school like usual,” Claudia said, “so we wanted to come and check up on you after we dropped Heath off at home, so…” Suddenly, Treena saw Mr. Krupp unconscious and in his underwear, causing her to scream. “Guys! Why the hey is Mr. Krupp unconscious in your treehouse?!” “...man…” Pipp muttered. “I knew the pony, kid and leopard shield tactic wasn’t gonna work.” “Okay… before the two of you go running your snouts off,” said Sunny, “we need to take the opportunity to explain.” “But while we do so,” Zipp said, “we need to find a way to get Mr. Krupp home without anyone else suspecting anything.” Izzy pulled out Mr. Krupp’s clothes from out of nowhere and pulled out his wallet, her eyes spotting something of interest inside. “Here’s his address on his driver’s license! Maybe that can help!” “Izzy, you’re a genius!” Misty exclaimed. “That’s just what we need to get Mr. Krupp home!” “...but… did you seriously just pull his clothes from out of nowhere?” George asked Izzy, who merely chuckled nervously. “Okay, let’s get him into the wagon I saw in the backyard,” Hitch said before turning to look at Claudia and Treena, who still looked shocked and completely confused. “And on our way there, we’ll tell you guys the whole story, right from the beginning.” XXXXXXXX “So… let me get this straight,” Treena said as the Mane 6 led her, Claudia, George, Harold and Kendra, along with the unconscious Mr. Krupp on George’s wagon, down the sidewalk. “You guys unintentionally hypnotized Mr. Krupp into thinking he’s Captain Underpants, and you can turn him BACK into Mr. Krupp just by splashing water on him?” “Yeah… I know-- crazy day,” Kendra giggled nervously. “But you guys CAN’T tell anyone else about this. If Mom, Dad or anyone else found out, we could get in SERIOUS trouble.” “Your secret’s safe with us, for sure, and with Heath too,” Claudia said, “but… Mom and Dad are expecting us home soon to talk about the divorce preparations, and if we don’t get home before dark…” Kendra growled under her breath. “This divorce is messing everything up for us… and Dad’s new girlfriend is just a big… prima donna!” “I know this is really hard right now, you guys,” Hitch said, looking back at the sisters sympathetically. “And we’re really sorry it’s turning out this way. But… you know… even though you can’t necessarily stop the divorce, maybe there’s ways of making it work out some other way.” Claudia raised an eyebrow at this. “Like what exactly?” “Well… you guys would get to be yourselves more,” Zipp said slowly. “And it wouldn’t feel like you’re walking on eggshells.” Treena hummed in thought, slowly considering the idea. “True... we have been careful as to what we've been saying lately.” “So... I guess we could get used to the idea,” Kendra said with a soft sigh. “For Mom and Heath's sake, anyway.” Sunny chuckled and rubbed Kendra on the head with her front hoof. “That’s all we ask, Kendra. Thanks to all of you for being so open.” After another block or two of walking, George lifted Mr. Krupp’s drivers license up to a nearby street sign, which read Curmudgeon Blvd. “Okay, this is the street.” “Come on, come on! Shake your hooves!” Pipp whispered as George, Hutch and Sunny all began to pull and push the wagon again. “We're almost there!” But as the group headed down the sidewalk, they froze and instantly posed in front of Mr. Krupp in the wagon, in order to ensure that a man reading a newspaper and walking his dog didn’t see the unconscious principal. “Evening!” “Evening,” the man said, not looking up from his newspaper. However, as the dog passed by, it sniffed Mr. Krupp, growled and grabbed onto the cape with its mouth, causing George to try and pull on it to get it away from the dog. “Drop it! No, get off! Gimme! That's a bad dog!” “This way! Come on!” Misty urged her friends before they were seen by anyone else. The group hurriedly began to run down the street, cautiously glancing around as they did so. But after a moment, they screeched to a halt upon stopping at the correct address-- 3.14 Curmudgeon Blvd. “Phew...” Sunny sighed in relief. “We made it.” But the second the ponies saw the exterior of the house, it sent a shiver down their spines, causing them to shudder. Mr. Krupp’s house looked just as barren and creepy as Mr. Krupp himself, and even Zipp, who was usually the most courageous one of the group, had to admit, she didn’t like the creepy vibes this place was giving. Harold shakingly grabbed the wagon handle as they began to move toward the front door. “I wonder what horrors lie inside.” “There's probably wild dogs in there,” George shuddered. “No no no, I bet it's way worse,” Treena gulped. “Probably torture implements.” Hitch let out a shudder of his own. “Rabid rats...” “Brains in jars,” Pipp said, half scared and half enthusiastic. “Jars of plucked out eyeballs...” Kendra trembled just as Harold thought of something just as horrifying. “Bones of former students!” It was then that George used a key from Mr. Krupp’s wallet to unlock the door, and Izzy cautiously used her hoof to push the door open. But as the door slowly creaked open, Harold let out a terrified scream... ...only to find that there was nothing spooky or creepy inside the house. In fact, the house itself seemed completely normal. However, that didn't stop Claudia from glancing at Harold strangely. “Why'd you scream?” “I just assumed there'd be something scary,” Harold admitted as Sunny and Hitch pushed the wagon further into the house, “but it's actually a really nice place.” “You know,” said George as he glanced around the small living room, “we probably shouldn't snoop around.” “Yeah... we probably shouldn't,” Pipp said slowly before a smile suddenly graced her face. “Aw, who am I kidding? I would totally snoop around my principal's house if I was still on school! Wouldn’t you, Zipp?” Zipp let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, I guess you have a point. Okay, we do one quick sweep of the house and then we get out of here before he regains consciousness.” That was when the group split up to search the house just for the fun of it. Their search began in the kitchen, but all they seemed to find in the fridge was a singular ketchup bottle and... nothing else. Izzy opened one of the drawers to find a singular fork... and like before, nothing else, confusing the Mane 6 a bit more than they already were. That was was Kendra flew up to the cabinet and opened one of them before pulling out a box of cereal, which had a rather depressing name as she read it out loud to her sisters and her friends. “Not So Cheery O's?” Harold sighed with a small frown on his face. “This guy is bumming me out.” “Come on, it can't be all bad,” Sunny said as she put the cereal back and closed the cabinet door. “Let’s just... look in some other rooms and see what we can find.” Harold flicked a light switch that led into the nearby dining room, which had a singular chair at a very small table, and in the bathroom, it didn't fair much better. Everything in the bathroom seemed pretty normal, except for the fact that it had two towels, marked His and Still His. And after seeing the depressing outlook of the house, George let out a sad sigh. “I gotta say, this has not been the funnest snoop.” “Yeah, no-- totally,” Harold nodded. “Really sad snoop. Kinda regretting it, actually.” “It's actually... kinda sad,” Misty said, trailing off as she looked down at the ground. “He lives in this house all alone... and he's probably really lonely. Maybe that's why he acts out so much.” “Huh... you might be onto something there, Misty,” Zipp said after a moment. “But let's at least get Mr. Krupp into bed before we go divulging into any theories.” XXXXXXXX Kendra, her older sisters and the ponies grunted as they lifted Mr. Krupp into bed, and thankfully, he hadn't woke up since he was knocked out-- he was even snoring a little. But after a moment of watching him, Kendra shuddered with a sad look in her eye. “I sure hope we don't ever end up like him. All alone.” George let out a soft scoff, putting a hand on Kendra's back. “That’s impossible. That would never happen.” “Yeah. That'll never happen,” said Harold with a smile before suddenly realizing something, causing him to frown out of worry. “Unless he puts us in separate classes.” “Ohhhhhh... after all the hypnosis stuff happening, I guess that part kinda slipped from my mind,” Misty admitted. “It'll be really sad if you guys get put into different classes... even though you do pull some over-the-top pranks... it really isn't a fair punishment for any creature.” George seemed to block all of this out for a moment as he tried to pull some of this newfound information in... when suddenly, his eyes lit up upon getting an idea. “Which will never happen.” The others seemed to glance at him in confusion. “Huh?” “George is right... it'll never happen!” Pipp realized. “Cause we can control him now!” “And,” George added, “if ever gives us any trouble again, all we gotta do is snap our fingers... and 'Tra-la-laa'! All of our problems go away.” “Guys... as much as I would really like you guys to still be in classes together,” Claudia said gently, “I don’t know if getting Krupp wrapped around your fingers is such a good idea. What if you land yourselves in a situation you can't get out of?” “...guys, I think Claudia might be onto something,” Sunny tried to reason. “We have to consider all of this really carefully, cause if something starts to go wrong, we could all be in for it.” “Oh, Sunny, please please please let us try!” Kendra begged, her ears folded back. “This is the one option that's actually felt solid! If I lose you guys and George and Harold during this nasty divorce... it could change my life forever... and not in the best way. Please... we have to try something, and since Mr. Krupp is already hypnotized and we can control him, what have we got to lose?” The Mane 6 seemed to glance at each other, then at the pleading faces of Kendra and her friends, trying their best not to resist, but... boy was it hard. Then... the Mane 6 began to realize that there seemed to be no other safe options here. It was either activate the hypnosis on Mr. Krupp and ensure that their new friends stayed together despite the scary circumstances... or risk them being split apart in more ways than one. After a few moments, Sunny let out a soft sigh. “Okay… we’ll give this one try. But, if anything goes wrong, we have to pull the plug and find a different solution-- deal?” “Deal!” Kendra, George and Harold nodded before they did their signature ‘quiet fives’ move with the Mane 6, causing them to giggle. It was then that Treena pulled out her phone and realized what time it was. “Come on, Kendra, we have to get home-- Mom and Dad will probably be wondering where we are in order to discuss that… divorce.” “You’re right,” sighed Kendra. “Do… you think they’d mind if George and Harold sat with me?” “I don’t think so,” Claudia said. “And our pony pals can listen from the staircase-- you know, so Dad doesn’t feel like the space is too crowded.” “Then we better get you guys home,” Zipp said before releasning a challenging smirk. “And let’s make this into a race-- last one there is a rotten pegasus feather!” XXXXXXXX Needless to say, Zipp was the first one across the finish line back at Kendra, Claudia and Treena's house, but no one else seemed to mind-- they were just happy to get to have some fun. But the one thing they weren’t expecting was for Jaliya, Evander’s new girlfriend, to be waiting on them once they got there. “Oh, there you girls are,” Jaliya said with a sweet smile. “Your mother was getting worried.” Kendra was about to snarl at her, but Pipp rubbed her back in order to calm the cub down. “Jaliya?” Misty looked confused. “What are you doing here?” “Evander invited me,” Jaliya explained. “He thought that since I was going to be part of this family from now on, I should have a say in things too.” “...of course…” Claudia had to bite her tongue in order to not snarl at Jaliya herself. “Where do our parents want us?” “The living room,” Jaliya answered. “They’re waiting for you right now.” That’s when the group sighed and decided to follow Jaliya inside the house, ready to get this over with as soon as possible. XXXXXXXX “So… we talked things over with a lawyer today,” Avarsi began to explain to George, Harold and her children, who looked less than thrilled, “and… we figured out a solution to our little… disagreement?” “You can say it in front of Heath, Mom. It’s called an affair and a separation,” Kendra said bitterly. “He’s old enough to understand, right, Heath?” “Um…” Heath seemed to sense the tension in the room. “I-I mean… I guess…?” “It’s okay, little guy,” Harold said, rubbing the top of Heath’s head. “Take your time.” Evander stepped up, clearing his throat as he pointed some things out in the legal documents that the lawyer had brought earlier. “According to this legal agreement that your mother and I have to sign, you children will primarily live with your mother while I move in with my… beloved Jaliya.” “Oh, gross…” George shuddered under his breath, causing Evander to snarl at him before calming himself down and continuing. “We’ll have visitations every other weekend from 5 p.m on Friday to 6 p.m on Saturday, and every Wednesday.” “Both of us have… agreed to communicate openly about any matters concerning the well-being of you kids,” Avarsi continued. “And,” Jaliya added, sticking her head in, “it’ll be just like nothing ever happened!” “...do you think this is seriously just a game for us?” Treena aske coldly. “You know nothing about us or our lives, and yet, you’re somehow gonna be a part of them?” “Treena!” Evander snapped. “You treat Jaliya with respect.” “Why? Cause you’ve never treated us with any?” Claudia sneered. “Respect goes two ways, Dad, and you’ve yet to earn yours.” Evander’s eyes lit up in rage. “If you kids don’t shape up right here, right now, you’re not gonna live--” “Don’t you lay a paw on them!” Evander froze and everyone turned to see the Mane 6 standing behind George, Harold and the leopard kids, ready for a fight. “We’ve been hearing everything from the staircase,” Zipp said, “but we can’t stand by for another second and watch this go on.” “Is this seriously how you manipulate your kids?” Sunny asked in disbelief. “Threatening to hurt them if they don’t comply with their demands?” “What do you know about parenting?” Jaliya’s happy demeanor began to turn sour as her boyfriend was being accused. “If my Evander-Wander things this is the right way to parent his kids, you shouldn’t have a say!” “And you should?!” Kendra snarled. “I’ve held my tongue for long enough, but I have so--!!” “...Sunny’s right.” “HUH?!” everyone turned to see Avarsi slowly coming to a realization. “I… never realized it before, but… Sunny is right,” Avarsi muttered before angrily turning to her soon to be ex-husband. “You’ve been… verbally abusing our daughters! Heath is the only one of our children you’ve actually treated with respect! THIS changes things entirely.” “U-U-Uh, Avarsi,” Evander began to stammer, “I-I can explain--” “I’m going to call the lawyer first thing tomorrow morning and tell him there’s been a startling update in this case,” Avarsi said coldly. “Right now… I think you and your mistress should leave.” “Right what I was about to say, Avarsi,” Hitch said coldly as he pawed the ground with his hoof. “Leave now… or things won’t be pretty.” Evander let out a roar, hoping to scare some sense into the others, but they never moved… never flinched. This caused him to snarl again and leave the house with Jaliya on his heels. After they had left, Avarsi sighed and turned to the Mane 6. “Thank you for… opening my eyes, ponies. I should never have believed his methods of parenting all those years ago.” “It was a mistake,” Misty said gently. “Happens to the best of us.” “Come on, everyone… we’re going out to dinner,” Avarsi smiled, bringing happiness to her children’s faces. “My treat.” “Really?” Izzy had to admit, even she seemed surprised. “All of us?” “Why not? I was getting that bonus this week anyway,” Avarsi said as she rubbed Heath’s head with her paw, “so this is a good way for us to celebrate and take our minds off things.” “All right! Can we go to the Chinese place we like?” Kendra asked with a hopeful grin. “Anywhere you want, sweetie,” Avarsi said, booping her youngest daughter on the nose. “All right then… let’s hit the air!” The group cheered before rushing to get ready, with Avarsi hoping that this divorce really would be the thing that could bring her and her kids closer together… …even though one member of their family was being driven apart. XXXXXXXX “I cannot believe your own flesh and blood would talk to us that way!” Jaliya snarled in disgust. “What is that Avarsi and those… those… non-leopards teaching them?!” “I don’t know what to believe anymore, honestly,” Evander said just as bitterly as he and Jaliya walked down the sidewalk. “I just know we have to find a way to get our revenge.” “That’s precisely what I want to do.” Evander and Jaliya froze and gasped in shock as they saw a figure landing in front of them, which caused them to bow. “Alterro! You have returned!” Evander stammered first, looking up at Allura's twin brother with a bit of fear in his gaze. “W-What are you doing in our community?” “Looking for the perfect minions to help me and my new partner in our latest plan,” Alterro said with a smirk. “And you… look… purr-fect…” Alterro began to purr, the hypnotic waves flowing from his mouth over to Jaliya and Evander, causing both of their eyes to glow before they spoke in a monotone voice. “We are at your service, your excellency.” “Excellent!” Alterro smiled. “Now… not only will I help you get revenge on those who have wronged you, but Professor P’s plan will also succeed… and once I’m done with those meddlesome ponies… they’ll wish they had never been born.” And with an intimidating and rather vicious cackle, Alterro and his two new servants flew off into the evening sky, the plan of revenge being one step closer to initiating.
Captain Underpants, Undercover and Hiring the New Science TeacherIf you thought things in the most recent chapters of our story couldn't get any more tense... it got MUCH more tense. Not only did our heroes figure out how to control the hypnosis on Mr. Krupp, Avarsi finally seemed to realize that Heath was the only one of her cubs that Evander actually cared about, and that he was actually verbally abusing their daughters, along with having an affair with his coworker, Jaliya. And little did our heroes know it, but Alterro had been watching the bitterness in these leopards' hearts steadily rise, so he decided to recruit them for the master plan that he and his new partner, a strange man known only to him as Professor P, had in mind for not just Professor P's involvement, but for Alterro's revenge against the Mane 6. How will these new developments shape our story in the near future? Well... it seems that you'll just have to read on to find out. XXXXXXXX The next morning seemed to be a standard morning for the kids at Jerome Horwitz Elementary-- full of misery, boredom and sadness... ...that is, until the Mane 6, George, Harold and Kendra walked into the school with Pipp blaring upbeat music from her phone and all nine of them wearing similar Hawaiian themed shirts. George’s shirt had a red coloration. Harold's shirt had a dark blue coloration. Kendra's shirt had a yellow coloration. Sunny’s shirt had an orange coloration. Hitch's shirt had a dark green coloration. Izzy's shirt had a dark blue/purple coloration. Pipp's shirt had a pink and white coloration. Zipp's shirt had a light blue coloration. Misty's shirt had a dark purple and white coloration. The other kids stopped and stared upon seeing this, their eyes wide as the upbeat music rang out through the halls. “Hey, Tommy,” George said with a smile. “What's going on?” “Hey, guys,” Tommy was about to go into his locker when he suddenly saw what they were wearing. “Whoa! Cool shirts!” “Thanks! Pipp made them!” Kendra said with a proud grin. “And I gotta say, we all look amazing!” The Mane 6 laughed as they continued to walk/dance down the hallway... at least, for a moment, until Mr. Krupp appeared in their path, looking completely irritated, which caused Pipp to quickly shut the music off. “What are you doing together?” the principal angrily demanded as Tommy quickly got into his locker. “I separated you!” Zipp spared a smirk at Hitch-- this experience was starting to get more and more rewarding with each passing second. “Oh, really? I don't remember you doing that.” “What are you talking about? I signed the paperwork,” Mr. Krupp pulled out the paperwork from the day before. “See?” George looked at the paper with a slight smirk of his own. “I don't see a signature. Harold, do you see a signature?” “Not a thing,” Harold answered. “And I... literally can't see anything,” Kendra said after putting on a pair of sunglasses. “These sunglasses are too dark.” “What? I could have sworn I signed that thing. No matter,” Mr. Krupp said before bringing out a pen and signing a series of papers. “There! Officially separated. Forever! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!” But at that moment, during Mr. Krupp’s laughing fit, Izzy grabbed the papers from him, causing him to stop laughing. “Hey!” “Sorry, Mr. Krupp, we just remembered we have to do something important,” Sunny said with a slight smile. “Now, guys!” And once Sunny gave them the signal, Harold snapped his fingers, reinstating the hypnosis and Mr. Krupp turned back into Captain Underpants, who removed all of his clothing and hair except for his... well, underpants. “Tra-la-laaaa!!!” “See?” Kendra looked to the Mane 6 with a smile as she used her claws to shred the classroom change paper. “Problem solved!” “Okay, that does help us in some form,” Hitch said slowly, “but… we aren’t the only people around, remember? The other kids could--” Suddenly, the school bell began to ring, causing the group to freeze as kids began to come out of their classrooms and walk from place to place, causing Captain Underpants to try and greet them. “Greetings, citizens! Wah!” “Quick!” Sunny pushed the group into the nearby music room. “In here!” Once they were all safely inside the music room, the group panted out of fright for a few moments before Pipp looked down at her shirt. “Okay, you know what? These shirts were way premature.” “I think you’re right,” George nodded in agreement as they watched Captain Underpants excitedly go around the music room. “Come on. Let's turn him back into Krupp.” “We can’t!” Kendra argued. “He’ll separate us, remember?!” “Well, we have to think of something!” Misty spoke in a serious tone. “We can't have him wandering around looking like that!” At that moment, Captain Underpants found a triangle in the music room and gasped, completely wide eyed. “A triangle…” he murmured before dinging it with the stick, causing him to gasp again. “It dings!” “Ugh…” Zipp groaned out of discomfort as the dimwitted superhero began to play the triangle rather randomly. “This guy seriously needs some music lessons…” That was when George and Harold both spotted Mr. Krupp’s clothes on the ground and seemed to get an idea. XXXXXXXX A few minutes after the Mane 6 had gotten Captain Underpants into Mr. Krupp’s clothes, they came out of the music room, trying to act as if everything was normal. “Ah! Principal Krupp, you caught us again,” Harold said out loud. “You better take us to your office for a good old talking-to. Right? Principal Krupp?” “Principal who?” Captain Underpants questioned in confusion, causing Izzy to chuckle and push him out of the music room. “Principal Krupp, get out here, you old so-and-so!” But as soon as Izzy had pushed him out into the open, it was clear the wastebanded warrior was feeling rather uncomfortable in the clothing our heroes had placed him in. “Sidekicks... are you sure my secret identity requires these... restricting, uncomfortable clothes?” “Yes,” George answered without question. “Positive.” “100% positive,” Hitch enunciated firmly as they began walking through the school toward the principal’s office. “Now act like a principal.” “Oh, right,” Captain Underpants nodded before another question came to mind. “How does a principal act?” “Mean!” Kendra, George and Harold whispered back. “Okey-doke,” Captain Underpants nodded before a few seconds later, he roared at a group of three girls, causing them to scream and flee as they came up the stairs. “I'm a principal!” “Okay, good good good!” Pipp said with enthusiasm in her voice as more and more kids got scared, screamed and ran off. “You’re doing great!” “Okay, we’re almost there,” Sunny added as they nearly got to the principal’s office. “You just keep it up for a little bit longer.” However, as Izzy opened the door again, the group screamed to find Edith the lunch lady standing behind the door expectantly. “Oh, hello. Surprise. It's Edith,” she greeted, obviously very nervous. “Did you like my tuna casserole?” “I cannot tell a lie… I don't recall having your tuna casserole,” Captain Underpants said, causing Edith’s expression to fall before he tried to fix his wording. “ But if your casserole is as striking as your one blue eye…” Edith let out a blush as she fidgeted with her hair, pulling it back to reveal another blue eye. “Oh, I didn't think you noticed.” “Oh my…” Captain Underpants said in awe, completely enamoured. “Two blue eyes.” “Uh, Principal Krupp?” Kendra looked uninterested. “It's time to go. Gotta wrap it up.” “Very well then. Up, up, and…” Captain Underpants began to head the wrong way until Sunny and Hitch were able to direct him toward the office again, all while Edith looked on. “Ooh! Flirt alert.” But as they headed into the office, George stopped the group to discover that Ms. Anthrope was still on hold from the prank they did the night before. “Wow, she's still on hold!” “Come on, come on, come on!” Zipp ushered the group inside the office before they ran inside, shutting the door behind them. “Phew…” Sunny sighed. “We made it!” “What a relief…” Zipp sighed. “And the best part is, I don’t think anyone else saw that Principal Krupp wasn’t acting like himself.” “Well, hello, citizen!” the group heard Captain Underpants greet, and the group turned to see someone else standing in Mr. Krupp’s office, turned away from the window to reveal himself as a short man with a large grey puff of hair, a mustache, semicircular glasses, a purple shirt with a blue bow, blue trousers, and black shoes. “Oh, and hello to you, too. I was just, like, admiring the view... from your broken window. It's in the shape of a man,” the man said, gesturing to the Captain Underpants shaped hole in the window. “Anyway, I am here to interview for the science teacher position.” Misty glanced at her friends, old and new, and immediately could sense that something seemed incredibly off. There was something about this guy that radiated trouble, but… no one was sure what it was. However, Captain Underpants didn’t seem to think there was anything suspicious about it. “I'm disguised as an elementary school principal,” he said, shaking the man's hand before turning and whispering to the others. “Guys, I totally got this. Don't worry one bit.” “Oh, we’re gonna worry,” whispered Pipp in response. “We’re gonna worry like we’ve never worried before.” “Now…” the man seemed to murmur as he reached through his briefcase. “Where did I put that resume?” First, he pulled out an axe. “No, not that.” Then, he pulled out a stick of dynamite and threw it. “Oh, this thing.” After he threw the dynamite away and it exploded a little, he pulled out some nunchucks. “This one's fun.” Hitch yelped and grabbed the nunchucks with his mouth, causing the ponies to sigh in relief and stand closer to their young friends. But that didn’t stop this stranger from pulling more and more stuff out of his bag, including some sort of potion, a living bear trap, and then a chainsaw before he finally found his resume. “Ah-ha! Here we go.” Captain Underpants then proceeded to study the resume for a few moments before speaking again. “Hmm. Says here you're a science teacher?” The stranger merely smiled. “No, not exactly.” Zipp raised a suspicious eyebrow at this. “But you do have teaching experience?” “Oh, no. Can’t say I do.” “Not even like… babysitting?” Captain Underpants asked quizzically, just as the strange man sat on the principal’s desk. “I would never sit on a baby.” “Camp counselor?” Hitch tilted his head. “Never was a camp counselor,” the man answered the earth pony stallion. “Although I did receive counseling... for some trauma I experienced as a child.” The Mane 6 seemed to get even tenser when he said this, but being the dimwitted character he was, Captain Underpants merely smiled. “I'm getting a really good vibe about you.” “Now, hold on a sec, Principal Krupp,” Misty said before using her magic to take the resume from him. “Let us see that for a sec.” After Misty had handed the resume to George, he glanced at it in worry. “It says here that you were a genius inventor?” “Mad genius inventor,” the man said, slamming his hand down on the table. “But yes.” “And then for the last few years... you've been in a very dark place,” Harold read off of the resume, “and your title was… revenge seeker?” “Revenge at all costs…” Kendra muttered as she looked at the resume herself. “Die, die? Am I reading this right?” “Yeah, that's basically what I've been up to... so here I am!” the man answered, leaning against the desk. “Applying for a job in the thriving public school system... with all of its amazing resources. But honestly, kids are so understanding. So innocent. Their smiles brighten my heart and fill me with... a joy-adjacent feeling.” But then, the man began to get angrier and angrier, gradually of course, causing the group of heroes to tense slightly, with the room getting a bit chillier due to Kendra’s nervousness. “As long as they are controlled... and do not laugh nor smile nor play nor laugh. Children must never laugh!” “...say what now?” Pipp looked at him with wide eyes of fear. “Well, you seem terrific!” Captain Underpants interrupted, stamping the resume. “You’re hired!” “WHAT?!” the others screeched, unable to believe the fact that Captain Underpants could see this guy as a good fit after what he just said. “Excellent. Oh, by the way, going to need Fridays off,” the man spoke with an evil smile. “And every other Tuesday through Thursday... for my evil experiments. Okay, bye-bye!” And with that, the strange yet evil man used the axe he had thrown away to open the office door before leaving. “Oh, no, this is bad!” Sunny said, beginning to panic more and more with each passing second. “Captain Underpants just hired a maniac for your science teacher!” “This is a disaster!” Zipp agreed. “Who knows what evil this guy is capable of?!” “Uh, yeah. We gotta fix this before Krupp finds out,” Harold added desperately. “Sounds like a job for Captain Underpants!” Captain Underpants said, but Kendra was first to step up and stop him from leaving. “No, no, no. You need to stay here. You’re the principal, remember?” “Yeah,” Harold nodded as the group began to leave. “Just sit there and look angry for no reason.” “You got it,” Captain Underpants smiled before pretending to look angry as the group left. However, after the Mane 6 led their friends away, Captain Underpants found Harold’s water gun and put it up to his eye. “That will be interesting to put my eye up to.” But unfortunately, Captain Underpants accidentally squirted the water gun, turning himself back into Mr. Krupp. “What? How did I get here? Why is my face wet?” That was when Mr. Krupp noticed that he had a man-shaped hole in his window and couldn’t help but be suspicious. Whatever just happened… he was going to get to the bottom of it, one way or another.
The Science Class of Professor P/Alterro, Poopypants and Melvin Team UpCaptain Underpants (who was pretending to be Principal Krupp, thinking him to be the secret identity of the superhero) had hired a maniac who had been in a very dark place the past few years as the new science teacher for Jerome Horwitz Elementary, making the Mane 6 realize things were going to get a lot more complicated with more than just a hypnotized principal thinking he was a comic book character. But, the truth was, they had no idea how deep this new science teacher’s villainy really went. Unfortunately... they were going to find out about this very soon, and in ways that they never wanted to think about. XXXXXXXX Kendra sniffed the air as she and her friends, old and new, walked to their science class, immediately gagging at the scent she got. “That maniac science teacher’s definitely been around a flying leopard recently,” she told the others in disgust. “The scent of the maniac’s lip balm is mixing with the burnt toast scent and its burning my nose!” “Burnt toast scent?” Sunny turned to face her, stopping the others in their tracks. “What do you mean?” “Well, every flying leopard has a scent that identifies them,” Kendra said. “For example, I smell like sugar cookies, my mom smells like bubblegum, my dad smells like pizza, Heath smells like chocolate, Treena smells like mint and Claudia smells like grape jelly. And the leopard that the new science teacher was around smells like burnt toast, so…” “Whichever leopard smells like burnt toast,” Zipp deduced, “is the leopard that new teacher was around! Good detective work, Kendra!” “But how can we find that leopard?” Hitch asked. “They could be miles away by now!” “We’ll have to worry about that later,” Misty told the group. “Right now, we have to get to science class and make sure that teacher isn’t up to anything too dastardly. At least… at the moment.” “...yeah… you’re right, Misty. Come on,” Sunny nodded and led the group away… unaware that Alterro and his newfound minions, Evander and Jaliya, were watching outside the window. “DRAT!! I knew I shouldn’t have shook paws with that idiot professor before he left,” Alterro growled, glancing at his paw. “If those ponies figure out that’s my scent the little rodent detected…” “They will never figure it out, master,” Evander said in a monotone voice. “My daughter and her friends are not smart enough.” “Oh, those ponies are much smarter than you would think,” Alterro growled before composing himself. “Come now… we must get back to the secret hideout until we get further instruction.” XXXXXXXX Harold, George and Kendra swiftly led the Mane 6 to their science class, where the new science teacher was writing his name on the blackboard, which was revealed to be Professor P, in front of the students. “Hiya, class. I'm your cool, new teacher. Not some scary guy with a secret evil agenda,” he said with a cheerful smile. “Anyway, I'm just going to dive right in here. If there was one thing about this world that you could change… what would it be?” A girl at the front immediately raised her hand. “Ooh! Ooh! Peace on Earth!” “Unattainable,” Professor P stated, making the girl frown. “Anyone else?” As Professor P talked with the rest of the class about the topic at hand, Kendra, George and Harold talked amongst themselves about the changes they would make, with George going first. “Pacific Ocean into chocolate.” Harold nodded in agreement. “Atlantic into nacho cheese!” Kendra tried her best not to squeal aloud as she suddenly had a thought. “Arctic into ice cream!” Izzy giggled slightly from where she was listening. “It’s like you guys are the same person, and yet so, so different. I love it!” “...but most importantly,” Professor P continued his lecture, “if I had to change one thing about the world... it would be to get rid of... laughter.” “Uh…” Pipp blinked. “Who to the what now?” “Get rid of laughter?” George questioned in confusion, causing Hitch to become confused himself. “What kind of person wants to do that?” “Oh, oh! Ah! Ah! Sir, sir,” Melvin raised his hand from the front, causing Professor P to turn his attention to him. “I love it!” Zipp scoffed under her breath. “Of course he does…” “Oh, look at this. We got a grade A suck-up. Good to know, good to know. Anyway…” Professor P continued, getting the chart of a child’s brain out from his briefcase and showing it to the class while Melvin and Sunny eagerly took notes. “This is the brain of an average child. Right here is the ‘thinking about candy’-lopalus. The ‘fear of what's under the bed’ lobe. This is the ‘only thing I'll eat is pizza, chicken nuggets, or buttered noodles’ lobe. Right here is the "as soon as someone else has a toy... I want that toy" anterior lobe.” But then, the professor turned his attention to a rather large purple part of the chart. “And this… this,” he said to the class, “is the Hahaguffawchuckleamalus.” “Hahaguffawchuckleamalus?” Kendra tried her best not to laugh. “I wonder what genius came up with that name.” “This funny little purple part holds our entire capacity for laughter,” Professor P continued explaining. “For years, I've tried to shrink it or cut it out entirely... but frustratingly, our survival seems dependent upon it.” “...I don’t like this,” George whispered to Kendra, George and the Mane 6. “I mean, I don't really understand it. But the stuff I am understanding seems genuinely bad to me.” “You’re not wrong, George,” Misty frowned. “I got the same feeling back in Krupp’s office. We may need to keep a closer eye on this guy than we thought.” Harold then raised his hand. “Um... excuse me, Professor P? Why are you trying to get rid of laughter?” “Uh, yeah!” Pipp asked with a smile. “Isn’t laughter the best medicine?” “Medicine is the best medicine!” Professor P yelled in the pegasus princess’ face, causing her to reel back. “So…” “Yeesh…” Hitch shuddered in fright as Zipp tried to comfort her younger sister. “Someone has a real attitude problem.” George slowly raised his hand after a moment, which Professor P saw with a distasteful look. “What?” “What does the P stand for?” George asked curiously, leaving the professor confused. “Excuse me?” he asked again. “The P in your name,” George clarified. “What does it stand for?” Sunny could tell that this question made Professor P a bit tense, and this was proven in the answer he gave. “Oh, it's private.” Harold tried to fight the urge to laugh at a sudden thought, but instead of just outright laughing, he decided to make a funny little comment. “So that means your name is Professor Privates?” Everyone seemed to laugh at the joke… all except the Mane 6, for reasons that seemed obvious, and Melvin, who just had no sense of humor. “What's so funny? I don't get it.” However, Professor P got so mad that he leapt right onto George’s desk, frightening the students back into submission. “Principal's office, now!” he demanded before looking over at Harold, the frightened Kendra and the Mane 6. “You too!” “What?!” Kendra looked shocked. “Why us? We didn’t say anything!” “Because your friendship and shared sense of humor irritates me…” Professor P sneered, looking at the Mane 6 for the longest time, as if he recognized them from somewhere. “...and must be destroyed!” XXXXXXXX So, without much question, the group immediately retreated to the principal’s office, their feelings swapping from worried, suspicious, scared to death and embarrassment. “We gotta do something about that new science teacher,” George told the others, and Zipp nodded in agreement as they sat down. “Yeah, it's like he's even more of a villain than Krupp.” Kendra scoffed lightly at this as she stretched and laid down on the floor. “I didn't even think that was possible.” However, Principal Krupp was listening to this and felt rather offended. “Whoa! Whoa! Wait a second.” “Oh, tell me about it,” Harold nodded. “What?” Principal Krupp looked stunned, but was completely ignored. “Who do you think…” “Oh, okay,” Izzy said to her friends. “I’ve got a plan, and here’s what we’re gonna need-- two bathtubs full of glimmerberry jam, a stick of bubble gum, and exactly sixteen cases of assorted craft supplies! This ain't gonna be easy, but if we time it juuuuust right, then we're gonna…” “Can you hear me?” Principal Krupp asked, but was ignored again as Hitch looked over at Izzy. “Iz, I just don’t know how two bathtubs of glimmerberry jam is gonna help us deal with this Professor P character.” “I'm sitting right here!” Principal Krupp exclaimed, but was once again ignored as George seemed to think of something. “Wait, Professor P doesn't want anybody to know his last name. Right?” “Yeah…?” Misty nodded. “But how does that help with anything? Knowing Professor P’s last name would just make him madder.” “Who’s Professor P?” asked Principal Krupp in confusion. “Exactly!” Izzy said cheerfully, only making Principal Krupp angrier. “Where is the respect?! I am your principal!” “Wait a sec,” Sunny seemed to freeze upon hearing the angry tone of Principal Krupp's voice. “Is he Krupp again?” “GEORGE!!!” Principal Krupp screamed out of rage. “KENDRA!!!” “Yyyyyep,” Zipp’s ears folded back. “Pretty sure he is!” “HAROLD!!!” “How'd that even happen?” Harold asked, confused. “Don’t worry!” Kendra reassured her friends. “I got this!” Then, with the snap of her claws, the hypnosis kicked in again, and Principal Krupp turned back into Captain Underpants again. “Tra-la-laaa!” “Phew…” Misty sighed out of relief. “That was close.” “Okay, captain,” said Kendra in a soft voice. “This is what we need you to do.” XXXXXXXX And once he had gotten his instructions from Kendra, George and Harold, Captain Underpants stepped out of the office to talk to Ms. Anthrope. “Greetings! I need to get the…” he paused for a moment before turning to the others, still in the office. “Sidekicks, what do I need again?” “The file on the new teacher,” Kendra and the boys whispered. “Oh, right, right,” Captain Underpants nodded before turning back to Ms. Anthrope. “I need the bile on the gooey fence creature.” “Science teacher!” the Mane 6 whispered loudly. “The dewy tense preacher?” Captain Underpants tried again, causing Harold to groan. “The dial on the…” “Oh, come on!” Pipp grumbled, but surprisingly, Ms. Anthrope grabbed Professor P’s file and handed it to Captain Underpants, who gave her a little salute. “Thank you, human woman!” And immediately after leaving the office, with the Mane 6 and their friends, Captain Underpants became confused. “Sidekicks, explain to me the importance of this secret file.” “There’s a new supervillain in town,” Kendra explained to the superhero in disguise, snatching the file from him, “and we’re trying to discover his weakness.” “Ohhh…” Captain Underpants said, nodding in understanding. That’s when George and Harold tossed papers out of the file, with Izzy and Misty catching them when suddenly, they all gasped upon seeing Professor P’s true name. “Poopypants…!!” In fact, George, Harold and Kendra were so excited about learning Professor P’s true name, they even started singing! Kendra, Harold and George: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! His name is Poopypants, we found his weakness Hallelujah! Harold: He wants to rid the world of laughter George: Forever! Kendra, George and Harold: And ever! We will defeat him! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Captain Underpants: Poopypaaaaaaants…!! After Captain Underpants got done singing his song, Pipp held up his pants with a deadpan expression imprinted on her face. “Captain? You forgetting somethin’?” “Oh, look at that,” Captain Underpants said, seemingly relaxed. “They came off again.” George and Zipp slapped their faces at this before Misty handed Captain Underpants his pants again. “Come on, guys, we have some serious work to do,” Kendra said with a little smirk. “And oh-ho-ho… is this prank gonna be worth it.” XXXXXXXX When the lunch bell rang a few hours later, Professor P (now known to us as Professor Poopypants) stepped out of his classroom and approached two girls who were in the same grade as Kendra and the boys. “Hey there, kiddo. First day for Professor P. Can you tell me where the lunch is consumed?” Then, the two girls started to giggle, confusing Professor Poopypants entirely. “What's going on with your face? Are you choking? Do you need to sneeze?” Then, the giggling turned into full-blown laughter, angering Professor Poopypants, but he smiled at first, as if he was nice and calm about the situation. “I see, I see. Got a case of the giggles, huh? That's fun. Well, I've got just the remedy for that.” And just like that, he pulled an iron cage right out of his briefcase, causing the girls to shriek. “In the cage. Now!” Professor Poopypants barked. “Why?” one of the girls asked as they quickly complied. “Because I hate laughter!” Professor Poopypants exclaimed out of anger. “And children and I've got a cage in a briefcase!” And once the girls were successfully locked into the cage, Professor Poopypants set off to try and find the cafeteria again. “Okay, well, have a nice day. Now what's for lunch?” Upon entering the cafeteria, however, the kids took notice of Professor Poopypants and started to laugh… well, all except Melvin, who was holding a comic but didn’t seem to understand it. “Excuse me, could you explain to me why this is funny?” “You!” Professor Poopypants said as he approached Melvin. “Why is everyone laughing?” “Uh, you're asking the wrong dude,” Melvin said, but handed the professor the comic, whose title Professor Poopypants read aloud. “Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of... Professor Poopypants?” Suddenly... why all the kids were still laughing at him made sense, and it was starting to make Professor Poopypants relive a series of events in his life he would rather forget. XXXXXXXX It was the day that a young Professor Poopypants would recieve his Nobel Prize for his amazing invention, which was yet to be revealed at the time. “Esteemed members of the Nobel Prize Committee... it is with great pride... that I present to you...the Sizerator 2000!” he said, holding up a purple ray-shooting device. “Behold, we can smallify…” Using the device, the young Professor Poopypants shrunk a car to the size of a small toy. “No more traffic jams. And conversely, largify!” And then, when he used the device again, Professor Poopypants made a hot dog grow to giant size. “Look at how big this hot dog is. Going to need a lot of mustard for this frankfurter! Ha ha ha!” Everyone cheered at the magnificent demonstration just as the head of the board approached him with the Nobel Prize trophy in hand. “The Nobel Peace Prize in Inventing Stuff goes to... um, Professor…” But upon reading his name, the woman leaned down to whisper in the professor’s ear. “Is that really your name? It's not, like, some kind of joke?” “No. It's not, like, a joke. It's a traditional name in New Swissland,” Professor Poopypants said, but this only caused the woman to try not to laugh as she tried to speak again. “Am I pronouncing it right? Poopypants?” “More or less,” the professor nodded. “Except the emphasis is on the poop.” However… everyone started to laugh at the professor’s rather embarrassing last name, without a second thought, causing the younger Professor Poopypants to start getting angrier and more embarrassed. “Why are you laughing? I've invented a shrinking and enlarging ray! I should be famous! I should be dating models twice my size... and doing the talk show circuit! I should be protecting baby seals as a cause... that I say I care about, but not really!” Unfortunately, no matter what he said, no one stopped laughing. “This guy is too much!” one of the attendees said. “Stop! Stop laughing!” the professor shouted. “No, stop it!” “Okay. Phew! Oh... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry,” the woman on the stage said after a few moments, starting to hand him the trophy. “Here. Take the award. It's really fun to say Poopypants.” “You keep your stupid award! I don't want it anymore!” the professor snapped before a sudden thought came to mind. “Oh, and one more thing…” And without another word, Professor Poopypants took out the Sizerator 2000 and shrunk the woman down in moderation, causing the crowd to gasp. “On behalf of the Nobel Prize committee, please accept our apology,” the woman said in a higher pitched voice, holding up the tiny trophy again. “And could you change me back now please?” However, the young Professor Poopypants had already made up his mind. “Why don't you go on and invent your own shrinking and enlarging ray... if you think you're so smart?!” XXXXXXXX Professor Poopypants woke up from his horrible memory a few seconds later, and realized that all the kids, including Kendra's siblings, were staring at him, causing him to gulp nervously. “How much of that was out loud?” “...pretty much all of it,” Claudia answered bluntly. “But, uh… you didn’t hear it from me.” “Come on!” Treena whispered to her twin desperately. “We have to go warn Kendra and our friends before it’s too late!” However, Heath gulped and pointed a shaking paw at the cafeteria doors. “I, uh… I think it’s too late for that.” Turns out, Kendra, the boys and the Mane 6, each with a few comics in their possession, came back into the cafeteria, not noticing the tension hanging in the air. “Extra!” George shouted. “Extra!” “Come get our new issue!” Kendra said before she froze, seeing Professor Poopypants glaring at them. “Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants…” Harold began to say before the rest of the group noticed Professor Poopypants, but Hitch was the first one to speak after that. “Oh, no…” “Is now a good time for me to initiate that invisibility spell and kinda… fade from view?” Misty asked nervously. “Unfortunately, Misty, I don’t think that would be enough,” Zipp whispered, looking just as nervous as her friends. “Looks like we’re in huge trouble this time.” XXXXXXXX The Mane 6 strained and grunted Professor Poopypants pulled them and Kendra on ropes tied around their necks, while pushing George and Harold out of the school to find Principal Krupp (aka Captain Underpants), who was not in his office, but outside making a new announcement on the school sign. “There you are. I've been looking all over for you,” Professor Poopypants said. “Hmm…” Captain Underpants said, clearly in thought. “How many A's are there in ‘Tra-la-laa’? I'll just go with 11.” And once he decided to take a break, Captain Underpants turned to the new science teacher with a smile. “Enjoying your first day, professor?” “The complete opposite, actually!” Professor Poopypants said in anger, holding the comic that Kendra, George and Harold made. “Look at what these little monsters have created! We must lock them up, probably, like, forever!” “Okay, isn’t that going a little far?” Kendra asked timidly. “I-I mean, it was just something we found funny-- it wasn’t supposed to get this far-- AGH!!” Kendra became even more nervous as ice built up under her paws as Professor Poopypants pulled on her rope, fearing being hurt. But as Captain Underpants looked at the comic, he hummed in thought. “Oh, my. This is not a comic!” he said before smiling. “This… is a history book.” The Mane 6 seemed to sigh in relief as the professor let go of their ropes, only for the professor to become confused. “What?!” This caused George and Harold to giggle to themselves. “And as such, it should be taught in every classroom!” Captain Underpants continued. “And you yourself must teach it... because that is how good it is.” “I don’t understand,” said Professor Poopypants. “I thought, like, we'd be on the same page here.” “What page is that? I'm on page 9, here. It's fantastic. Look, look,” Captain Underpants pointed to the comic book page he was on. “It's about this evil science teacher... who looks a lot like you, by the way. And he wanted to rid the world of laughter... but he couldn't figure out how to do it. Even worse, it seemed like everywhere he went, people were having fun and laughing. It just was infuriating. But then, he discovered someone who wasn't. Anti-Humor Boy! And then the professor says, 'Very interesting' Heh heh heh heh. That's my voice for him.” “Wait, wait, wait, gimme that,” Professor Poopypants snatched the comic away when he noticed that one of the characters in the comic looked a LOT like Melvin. “That's not Anti-Humor Boy. That's the… suck-up from class. Very interesting.” “Wow…” Hitch whispered. “At least Kendra and the boys predicted the ‘very interesting’ part right.” “Not the time, Hitch,” Sunny whispered, getting a very bad feeling about this. “You children don’t even realize it,” Professor Poopypants said as he began to walk toward the nearby road, “but but your silly comic book just helped me figure out how to wipe out laughter on the en…” But before he could get done speaking, a car hit Professor Poopypants dead on, causing the Mane 6 and their friends to cringe. “Oooh…” “Out of the road, bozo!” the driver of the car cried out. “Hey, watch where you're going!” the professor cried out in anger. “You just hit Professor Poopypants!” “Poopypants?!” the driver exclaimed before laughing as he drove away. “That's not funny! THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!!” the professor exclaimed before he was suddenly hit by another car, whose driver glared at him. “Ever heard of a sidewalk?!” “Oooh, if I had insurance,” said Professor Poopypants, “you'd be in…” Suddenly, the professor got hit by an ice cream truck which was so powerful, it knocked him several yards away. “I'll admit that was surprising…” “Huh…” Harold commented as they watched the professor limp away. “That actually worked out for once.” “Good job, Captain Underpants!” Izzy praised. “At your service, sidekicks,” Captain Underpants saluted cheerfully. “Now where was I?” Captain Underpants went to work fixing the school sign again, with Izzy volunteering to help, but then, George had a conflicting thought, which he sighed against. “We should probably get back to class, huh?” “Yeah,” Harold nodded. “We probably should.” “...unless…?” Pipp smirked over at Harold and George. “Come on, let’s talk to Captain Underpants about it! Hee-hee!!” “Ugh…” Zipp rolled her eyes as her sister led George and Harold away. “Sisters.” “I know…” Misty smiled longingly. “It’s gonna be so great when my dad and your mom get married and we’re gonna be sisters too.” “Really?” Kendra looked confused. “You’re not upset that your mom and your dad aren’t getting back together, Misty?” “Well… I know they were in love once, and they’re still friends,” Misty truthfully admitted, “so… I’m okay with them not getting back together, as long as we still have a good family-related dynamic.” “...I haven’t seen Dad or Jaliya since they stormed out of the house that night,” Kendra admitted quietly. “What if… what if we never hear from Dad again?” “Come on, don’t think like that,” Hitch said to the winged leopard cub gently. “Your dad may be doing some really bad stuff right now, but deep down, we know that he still cares about you, though he… doesn’t seem to wanna admit it.” Kendra looked skeptical. “You really think he still cares?” “If he doesn’t, I will literally give up my detective role for a week,” Zipp vowed with a sincere smile. “Now… let’s head back inside. I’m actually kinda curious to see what Pipp, George and Harold’s idea is.” XXXXXXXX A little while later, the entire school was gathered inside the auditorium, with Harold, George and Kendra sitting with Kendra’s sisters and younger brother, where George finally turned to the Mane 6, who were sitting behind them. “ Now, let me ask you something. If you could control your principal... what would you do?” “Shh, shh!” Treena giggled excitedly. “It’s starting!” “It’s totally starting!” Heath said excitedly. “Uh… what’s starting?” It was at that moment that the disguised Captain Underpants walked onto the stage, causing the murmuring to fall to a deafening silence, with his toupee being more styled than Principal Krupp's usual toupee. Then, Captain Underpants began to conduct a bunch of kids onstage, which consisted of students sitting on whoopee cushions over and over to the tune of 1812 Overture. Everyone laughed as the musical rhythm of whoopee cushions, burps, knuckle cracks, and other gross sounds filled the air. The song ends with a student riding a big whoopee cushion and a little girl farting. The entire school, even the Mane 6, broke into laughter upon seeing such a silly sight, and they knew they George, Harold and Kendra were probably enjoying this most of all. But they couldn't help but wonder... what was Professor Poopypants' role in all this? XXXXXXXX Later on that day, in a Mr. Licky's ice cream truck, Professor Poopypants was experimenting with Melvin with Alterro looking on while his mind-controlled minions, Evander and Jaliya, slept not too far away, having been keeping an eye on the Mane 6 and their newfound friends all day. “I just wanna make sure,” said Melvin as Alterro put a helmet on his head, “you apply the extra credit to next semester. I won't be needing it this semester, of course.” Professor Poopypants rolled his eyes at this. “Oh, yeah. Sure, yeah. Whatever floats your boat, Melvin.” Suddenly, there was a knock on the ice cream truck’s window. “Excuse me?” “Let me handle this,” Alterro said before opening the window and looking out to see a little girl standing in front of the truck. “Can I please get an ice cream sandwich?” “Oh, sorry, kid… we’re closed for Ebola,” Alterro said sarcastically. “Try again in 20 years, okay? Bye bye!” With that, he closed the window and the girl sadly left. “Ugh… youth-like innocence is SO not what my father wanted for his kingdom,” Alterro growled bitterly. “He wanted order and restraint, and as soon as those ponies are gone, that’s what is going to be around from now on.” “Wait wait wait wait,” Melvin stopped him right there, his eyes wide out of shock. “You didn’t say anything about killing those mediocre horses!” “Well, of course I have to kill them,” Alterro rolled his eyes. “If I didn’t, they would keep interfering with my plans! Now… Poopypants, we’d better do a quick check to make sure that we're connected.” “Mmm-hmm. Okay. We're sure that's safe?” Melvin asked before the helmet gave him a nasty electric shock, making him glitch a bit. “Good,” Professor Poopypants smiled before pulling up a screen to show Melvin some funny bloopers. But, just like he expected, Melvin didn’t laugh at a single one of them. “I'm sorry. Why are you showing me this?” “Come on, that was funny! That child walked right into that rake,” Professor Poopypants said with a laugh of his own. “I’m bored!” Melvin groaned. “What else is on?” “Fascinating…” Alterro hummed. “Better do a computer scan.” Alterro pushed a button with his paw to activate the computer scan, which showed that Melvin’s brain was composed of all green parts… no purple like in the professor’s chart. “I don't believe it,” Alterro said, shocked as the professor looked over the winged leopard’s shoulder. “You know, I suspected something smaller than normal, but this…” “What?” Melvin looked excited about what they found. “What is it?” “I can't find it. Your Hahaguffawchuckleamalus! You don't have one!” Professor Poopypants laughed, only confusing Melvin. “I don’t get it.” “Exactly,” Professor Poopypants told him with a victorious grin. “You have no sense of humor like a chair... or a supermodel! Melvin, with your brain, Alterro and his minions’ powers and my brain together... we can finally wipe out laughter and those pathetic little horses for once and for all!” “I like the sound of that!” Alterro smirked before grabbing the comic that Professor Poopypants had brought back. “So... the ponies, Kendra, George and Harold want a supervillain, eh? ...well, ask and ye shall receive!”
Restoring the Arts Program, the School Carnival and the Hypnosis BackfiresWith Captain Underpants (going undercover as the dastardly and mean Principal Krupp) in charge of Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, things were already a lot more enjoyable. Sure, there was the looming threat of Professor Poopypants and his new partners (Evander, Alterro, Melvin and Jaliya), but at the time, no one seemed to really realize the amount of danger they were in. The Mane 6 were there to help their new friends keep Captain Underpants out of hot water, and it was pretty rewarding to see the students of the elementary school so happy. But... little did our heroes know that it was all going to come crashing down on them within a matter of hours. XXXXXXXX Kendra squealed in excitement as she, her sisters and little brother ran down the hallway to the old music and art room for a special announcement. “I can’t believe Pipp is letting us perform one of her songs at the art and music room grand reopening today!” “I know!” Treena said in excitement. “We’re gonna get to perform for the first time in front of an actual audience!” “We are so ready for this, guys,” Claudia said. “We just have to wait for the art room to open for us to do our thing!” They finally arrived at the art room door where the Mane 6, George and Harold were waiting with Captain Underpants, along with a small crowd of kids. “Hey, guys! We’re here!” Heath called. “Sorry we’re late.” “Actually, you’re just in time,” Sunny giggled as she watched Pipp sign autographs for her Piqua based Pippsqueaks. “Pipp was actually just buying you a little more time by greeting her fans.” “And now that you’re here,” Harold said, holding up the key to the room, “I hereby declare the Jerome Horwitz music and art program… reinstated!” And once the door was unlocked, the crowd of kids and other creatures raced inside, overjoyed… even Tommy. “After you, sir!” Izzy said, letting Tommy go inside in front of her. “Just save some artwork inspiration for me!” XXXXXXXX Within the first few minutes of the art and music room being open again, every single student was drawing and painting in the art room, while the Mane 6 (except Pipp, who was helping Kendra and her siblings rehearse for their performance), George and Harold worked on making comics... ...something they've wanted to do freely for quite some time. It was at that moment that Hitch got another idea for the comic they were working on. “Ooh, what if we…” “I’m already on it,” Harold said with a smile. “Oh, this is gonna be epic!” George said as he continued to write, causing Misty to laugh as she sorted the pages of the comic book together. At the same time, Captain Underpants was trying to draw on a piece of paper. “Come on, Captain, draw! Move your hand in the shape of a person! Why does it look like a chicken? This whole visual storytelling thing is hard!” But that’s when he saw what Harold was drawing with Izzy’s help. “Oh, that’s good.” “Thanks, captain! Here,” Izzy said as she handed the drawings she had Harold had finished to George. “These need your artistic word-y spirit written all over them!” “Thanks,” George smiled before taking them. “Hey, sidekicks... why are we doing this again?” Captain Underpants asked curiously. “Oh… well, you see,” Sunny said hesitantly, not really sure what exactly to say, “we're making school fun again. You know… free the children. That sort of thing.” “Hey, hey! What if we put this panel right here?” George pointed to one of the drawings, causing Zipp to nod. “Great idea!” “Ah, yes. Of course. Fun. On it!” Captain Underpants said as he left the room, and the second he did, Pipp cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “Attention, everyone! It is my great privilege to present to you, for your entertainment… a performance of one of my favorite songs, sung by Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena!” The kids in the room let out a cheer as Pipp started the music, letting Kendra and her siblings take the stage for the very first time. Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: (Every new day is the best day ever) Kendra: A brand new day Claudia: A brand new chance, a brand new way To be my very best pon-ay Treena: And live my best life, 'cause there's only one now Yeah, only one now Claudia, Heath and Treena: Sometimes it can feel Like a bit of a circus That's just fine by me Because I like it that way Kendra: A life full of adventure It just fills me with purpose It keeps me on my paws and, yeah Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: That’s how it’s gonna stay! Every day's so bright, every day's full of magic Every day feels right, every day is a classic And just when I think it can't get any better Every new day is the best day ever Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like Every new day is the best day ever The crowd was going crazy as Pipp coached the siblings on their dance moves, and needless to say, the pink pegasus couldn't be prouder. Kendra: Can't bring me down Claudia and Treena: Can't stop the vibe I'm bringing round Heath: To everybody here in town Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: So live your best life, 'cause there's only one now Yeah, only one now That's when the siblings gestured for Pipp to get onstage with them and help them sing the last verse of the song. Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: Every day's so bright, every day's full of magic Pipp: (So bright! Full of magic!) Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: Every day feels right, every day is a classic Pipp: (Feels right) Kendra, Heath, Claudia and Treena: And just when I think it can't get any better Pipp: (Ohhhhhh) Kendra, Heath, Claudia, Pipp and Treena: Every new day is the best day ever Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like (Every day's so bright!) Every new day is the best day ever (Every day is full of magic) Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like Every new day is the best day ever! The entire crowd went wild as the song ended, and the siblings purred and laughed as they celebrated a successful performance… …and they secretly hoped that there would be more performances to come while Captain Underpants was in charge. XXXXXXXX After a few hours of getting back into the comic swing (and getting Kendra's siblings up to speed on their comic operations), the Mane 6 and their friends noticed that the art room seemed... surprisingly empty, as opposed to what it was a few hours ago. “Where’d everybody go?” Heath looked around in confusion. “Don’t worry, bro-- we can smell for them!” Claudia said. “After all, we do have some of the best noses in the school.” Treena sniffed the air, but after a few moments, she opened her eyes and tilted her head in confusion. “It smells like… everyone is outside!” “Huh, that’s strange,” Zipp tilted her head. “Why would everyone be outside when there’s still more things in the art room to enjoy?” “Let’s go outside and see,” Sunny said, getting up off the floor. “Maybe it’s something that Captain Underpants set up when he left earlier.” XXXXXXXX But when the others went outside to check on things, they were stunned to see an amazing site… …an entire carnival set up right in the yard, complete with games, rides, food and other fun surprises! Izzy gasped deeply and ran ahead. “This… is… PARADISE!!! We should totally have a huge carnival in Maretime Bay like this!” “Yeah, but… I don’t understand!” Misty said, wide eyed in awe. “Where did all of this even come from?” “I think I have an idea!” Hitch pointed to Captain Underpants nearby, handing out balloons to a little girl. “Hey, CP!” “Oh, hey, sidekicks. Glad you could join,” Captain Underpants said, letting the girl float away as the group reunited again. “How did you even do this?!” Kendra asked in excitement as they walked. “I thought you said you were looking after the... oh, my goodness!” George shouted in excitement, pointing to a sight nearby. “Is that a Ferris wheel?” “Well, of course it is! It came with the carnival I ordered,” Captain Underpants said before he put head in the cotton candy machine and pulls his head out covering his face with a lighting star-like cotton candy mask. “This cotton candy makes me feel powerful!” “Ooh, cotton candy!” Heath jumped up and started taking some of the cotton candy off of Captain Underpants’ face. That’s when Sunny looked around, realizing the other adults were missing all the excitement. “Hey, uh, where are all the teachers?” “Detention,” Captain Underpants answered, patting Heath on the head. “They have a real attitude problem.” “Ha ha! Okay, I’ll admit it,” Zipp said with a smile. “This sure beats having Krupp around!” “Oh, tell me about it,” Pipp agreed with her sister. “Krupp would totally lose his mind if he saw this.” “Step right up!” “Huh?” the ponies chorused before screaming upon seeing Captain Underpants sitting right above the dunk tank. “Who'll be the first to dunk the principal?” “No!” George, Harold and Kendra cried out, but it was too late-- a kid threw his ball at the target, sending Captain Underpants into the water below and turning him back into Krupp as he surfaced. “I’m drowning!” “Quick, Zipp!” Sunny cried to her pegasus friend as she turned into her alicorn form. “Let’s get him out of there!” “On it!” Zipp said and flew over with Sunny to help Principal Krupp out of the tank, and once he was successfully out, Harold snapped his fingers and turned him back into Captain Underpants. “Tra-la-la…” “All right, that's enough,” Hitch said as he began to push Captain Underpants away. “Recess is over.” “Aw, come on!” Captain Underpants pouted. “Just one more ride!” Just then, another kid tripped and spilled his drink on Captain Underpants, turning him back into Principal Krupp. “Hey!” Claudia barked. “Watch it!” “What is this, a carnival?!” Principal Krupp screeched. “I hate carnivals!” George was able to snap his fingers and turn Krupp back into Captain Underpants, of course, but unfortunately, the superhero rushed right into the middle of a shooting gallery game. “Oh, this looks fun! How do we play?” “Kids, hold on a second!” Misty exclaimed. “Yeah!” Izzy shouted as the kids aimed their shooters at Captain Underpants. “Hold your fire!” However, the kids didn’t listen to reason and fired, spraying the superhero and turning him back into Principal Krupp. “What is happening?!” “I got it!” Treena snapped her paws, turning Krupp into Captain Underpants again, and the dimwitted superhero was now serving ice cream to a crowd of kids. “Who wants ice cream?!” “ICE CREAM!!!” the kids cheered and nearly toppled Captain Underpants over to get some ice cream. “What do we do?!” Pipp said, completely in panic. “We can’t keep this up forever!” “We have to! We'll just take shifts watching him,” George said. “Kendra, George and I will take today, you guys take tonight!” “Sugar!” Captain Underpants shouted in happiness before pouring a bag full of sugar down onto the children, making them go wild with sugar rush. Even George was finding the temptation hard to resist. “Harold, I really want some sugar.” Harold nodded at this. “Me too.” “Guys, no no no,” Kendra shouted as she tried to keep the boys at bay. “You are not gonna go crazy with pure sugar-- I practically forbid it!” XXXXXXXX And of course, what did George and Harold do? They got hiped up on sugar just for the fun of it. Zipp sighed to herself, smacking herself in the face with her hoof. “You’ve gotta be kidding me…” “Well… look on the bright side, Zipp,” Treena said with a nervous grin. “At least things can’t get any worse…?” However, two seconds after she said that, Heath froze, his eyes widening as he pointed his paw to something not far away. “I think it just got worse…” “Huh?” Kendra looked over and saw her and her siblings’ mother flying toward the school, causing her to panic. “No… no no no no no no no no no!!! What is Mom doing here?!” “She must’ve heard us talking about the music and art program starting back and she must wanna do a story for the gazette!” Claudia realized. “What do we do?!” “Uh… Heath, you better go with Claudia and Treena to distract your mom,” Sunny told the youngest of the leopard siblings. “The rest of us are gonna go after George and Harold!” “ON IT!!” the others shouted before leaping into action. XXXXXXXX “Hi, Mom!” Avarsi was driven from her thoughts when she saw three of her four children flying toward her. “Oh, hey, kids! What are you doing out here?” “We saw you flying this way and we, uh… wanted to show you what the art and music room looks like,” Treena slightly fibbed. “Come on! We’ll take the scenic way… around the school!” “Yeah!” Claudia agreed. “And we can show you where… everything is!” “Come on, Mom!” Heath said excitedly. “You’re gonna love it!” Avarsi had to admit that her kids were acting a bit strange, but after a moment, she shrugged it off and followed her kids back down to the school for their little impromptu tour. XXXXXXXX “We made the wrong choice!” Garold said hyperactively as he and Harold continued their sugar rush, and George had to agree with the statement. “This did not solve anything!” “There you both are!” Misty said as the Mane 6 and Kendra ran over. “We were getting worried when we couldn’t find you!” “Wait a minute…” Hitch looked around cautiously. “Where’s Captain Underpants?!” “Hey, sidekicks!” Captain Underpants called from a very high plank, right above a very tiny pool, and began to bounce on it. “Check this out! GERONIMO!!!” Then, to the horror of the nine friends, he jumped. “NO!!” “Sunny, what do we do?!” Pipp screeched. “He’s diving too fast to catch him!” “We can’t catch him… but I know what can!” Sunny said, getting an idea after seeing a nearby trampoline. “Izzy, get that pool of water out of the way! Hitch, move that trampoline in the pool’s place!” “On it!” Izzy and Hitch shouted and immediately did as they were told. And once Hitch got the trampoline in the right position, Captain Underpants bounced off of it and landed on a bus. “Field trip, anyone?!” “No no no no no!!” Kendra shrieked as the bus began to drive toward a ramp, which was soon lit ablaze by five rings of fire. “Nothing's more fun than fire!” Captain Underpants said just before his toupee was lit up in flames. “Except being on…” “NOW!!” Zipp shouted, and Harold and George activated a hose and sprayed the superhero with it, unfortunately turning him back to Principal Krupp as the bus continued to go up the ramp. “...FIRE!!!” Principal Krupp slammed his foot on the brake, stopping the bus and causing it to start going backwards again. “What is happening?!” Then, as he went by, George and Harold snapped their fingers, turning Principal Krupp into Captain Underpants again. “Tra-la-laaa!!” But unfortunately, the bus hit the Ferris wheel, breaking it loose and causing Captain Underpants to laugh and start running on top of it, causing George, Harold and Kendra to groan out loud. “Hurry!” Misty cried as the ponies led the way. “The Ferris wheel is heading for the school!” However, as the group sped after the Ferris wheel, Captain Underpants was now doing cartwheels on top of the Ferris wheel. “Now, this is how you run a school!” And despite Izzy and Misty’s best efforts to slow the Ferris wheel down and turn it around, the Ferris wheel hit the school building and Captain Underpants put on a parachute. “FREE THE CHILDREN!!” he said as he suddenly leapt off the Ferris wheel and activated the parachute. And if you think things couldn’t get any worse… they did. Suddenly, the clouds above them began to rumble, and lightning shot down from the sky before it began to rain, causing Pipp to yelp and cover her mane with her front hooves. “My mane!” “W-Wait a minute…” Kendra paused the conversation. “If it’s raining, doesn’t that mean…?” But before she could finish the question, a droplet of rain landed on Captain Underpants’ head, turning him back into Principal Krupp, who looked around to see the giant carnival in one giant disaster area. “What the…? How did this…?” The playground was a mess, with kids fast asleep from being worn out from sugar rush and one kid rolling on a hot dog wheel. Principal Krupp shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t understand!” “Quick!” Harold said to the ponies with a desperate look. “Get out of here! Hide!” “What? No way!” Zipp argued. “We’re not gonna leave you guys alone to his fury! You’ll be split apart!” “You guys would get the worst of it, believe me,” George said with a fierce look. “Now just… hide and we’ll join you as fast as we can!” The ponies didn’t wanna leave their new friends behind, but ultimately realizing they didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, they broke into a gallop and ran behind the school building so they could see what was going on. At the same time, the little girl who Captain Underpants gave balloons to was still floating away, right past Principal Krupp. “HELP!!!” “What the…?” Principal Krupp muttered before he saw Kendra, George and Harold in the midst of the mess and landed down in front of them, more steamed than ever. “You…” George tried to snap his fingers to turn Principal Krupp into Captain Underpants again, but it was not working because of the rain. “You three…” Principal Krupp said, continuing to keep his rage under control as he looked down on Kendra and her friends. “Your friendship... is... no... more.” Kendra, George and Harold looked at each other in total fear before their eyes trailed onto the ground. For once… Principal Krupp was right. With the rain keeping him wet, there was no choice. The Mane 6 watched from behind the school as Avarsi, Claudia, Treena and Heath came outside to see the chaos unfold, and Avarsi stood there, slack-jawed at what was going on. “I… what is all this? Why do Kendra and the boys look so unhappy?” she asked before turning to her remaining children. “Kids…? Is there… something I need to know?” “...there is, Mom,” Treena said. “Something we should have told you from the beginning. Once school lets out… we’ll tell you everything, we promise.” Avarsi nodded and decided to hold her children to that as the rain continued to pour... a dastardly reminder that the friendship between George, Kendra and Harold... ...was being shattered forever. XXXXXXXX “You see… Kendra told us that when she, the boys and the Equestrians snuck into Krupp’s office to get the Tattle Turtle,” Treena said a few hours after the incident, once the leopard family had arrived at home with the Mane 6, “Krupp found them and threatened to sign the papers to tear them apart.” “George used the hypno-ring out of fear and it ended up working due to the magic inside it,” Claudia added. “Our friends and Kendra turnin’ Krupp into Captain Underpants was only meant to be a prank, they never meant for it to go so far at first. But… when they realized this was the only way to keep them together…” “...they didn’t have any other choice,” Heath said softly, and Avarsi looked over at the staircase, the last place she had seenKendra and her friends before they retreated upstairs. “Please, don’t be mad at her, Mom,” Treena said pleadingly. “They were desperate to stay together, and the ponies knew Kendra needed a distraction from the divorce.” “We know we should have told you, but Kendra was so scared you would be angry at her,” Claudia added. “So… we played along.” “We’re sorry, Mom,” Heath said softly. “We just… wanted to make our friends happy.” Avarsi was silent for a little while longer, trying to take all of this information in. She had to admit, she hadn’t expected this to happen, especially not the hypnosis part. And she knew that Kendra and her friends meant well… and she especially knew what it was like to not want someone you loved to be angry with them, especially in the middle of a very tough situation. Kendra and her friends just wanted things to go back to normal... but they all knew that after the divorce was finalized and after what happened at the school today... normal would be a distant memory. But then... after a few moments… Kendra came downstairs, her eyes red from crying, and the Mane 6 followed behind her. “Please, Mom, don’t blame them,” Kendra sobbed. “It was all my idea… it was only supposed to be a stupid prank, that’s all! I… I just wanted something to make me happy, and… a-and then…” “I know, I know…” Avarsi said, nuzzling her daughter. “Kendra, it’s okay. I do wish you had told me the truth, but… I understand why.” “...you’re not mad at her?” Zipp asked in surprise. “Wow. You took that a lot better than I imagined you to.” “Oh, of course I’m not angry. How could I be?” Avarsi said gently. “The principal’s cruelty has gone on for far too long, and… to be honest, if Krupp were to behave more like Captain Underpants, the school would be a much better place. On another paw... I'm not happy about the divorce either, my darlings. In fact, I'm dreading it. Along with the fact that your father and Jaliya haven't been seen in a few days--” “Wait, hold on,” Claudia stopped her mother right there. “Dad’s missing?” “I asked him to meet with me in town to sign the divorce papers, and he never showed up… he wasn’t even at work when I stopped there,” Avarsi sighed. “I figured he was just skimping out on his parental responsibilities, but… this feels… way worse than that.” “...don’t worry,” Sunny said to Avarsi, trying to be comforting. “Since we’ve been… banned from the school, we can go around town and look for him tomorrow.” “Thank you, Sunny,” Avarsi said gratefully before nuzzling her children. “Don’t worry, kids… things are going to be just fine for us.” “...I hope you’re right, Mom,” Kendra sniffled miserably as she looked out at the stormy sky. “I hope you’re right.”
Painfully Separated and the Villains' Plan is RevealedKendra, George and Harold were going to be dreading the next day at Jerome Horwitz Elementary WAY more than any other day in their whole lives. Principal Krupp was finally going to put them in separate classes, and he had banished the Mane 6 from the school, so they wouldn't be able to be happy anymore. Not to mention, Avarsi mentioned the night before that Evander and Jaliya had gone missing, and that got the Mane 6 a tad bit more worried than they should. What if Evander and Jaliya were going to try and pull something to get the kids away from Avarsi? Nevertheless... they had to stay strong for their friends, and hope that somehow... someway... ...Avarsi would be right, and things would work out for the best. XXXXXXXX The next day at the school (which proved to be a rather gloomy day indeed), the Mane 6 walked Kendra, her siblings, George and Harold to school, but couldn't step inside, which got Izzy a bit emotional. The leopard siblings, George and Harold hugged their pony pals goodbye one final time before going inside the school, where Principal Krupp was waiting to split the three comic-making best friends up. The only good thing about this was, when George went one way and Harold went another way, Claudia and Treena learned that Kendra would be put in their class for the time being, which was right down the hall from Heath's kindergarten class, so... at least Kendra would have family around. But that didn't seem to cheer anyone else up. As the day went on, the Mane 6 (cloaked in Misty's invisibility spell) peered into the windows of the classrooms where George, Harold and the leopard siblings were to check on them, and just like they guessed, their friends were miserable being without each other. And seeing their friends so miserable broke the Mane 6's hearts. After a whole of watching, Zipp groaned and flew down from the window. “I can’t believe we just have to sit out here and do nothing!” she said, clearly unhappy. “This… this is so unfair!” “I know, Zipp… I know,” Sunny nodded sadly. “But… Principal Krupp has made this school pony-proof to the end.” “...he may have made it pony-proof,” Misty said after a moment, causing her friends to look over at her, “but he didn’t make it magic-proof! Don’t ask me how, but I think I have us a way to get inside without Principal Krupp knowing!” XXXXXXXX At the same time, inside his office, Principal Krupp was proud of himself now that George, Kendra and Harold were separated once and for all, and away from their new pony friends was just the tip of the iceberg. However, he looked at the tuna casserole with his name on it and starts to feel sad. But... why was he starting to feel sad? He hadn't allowed himself to feel any emotions except for angry here recently, so... what was the problem? XXXXXXXX Around the same timeframe as all this was going on, Melvin, Professor Poopypants, Alterro and the brainwashed Evander and Jaliya were looking over the Sizerator 2000, which Professor Poopypants kept as a reminder of his genius work... and as a way to remind himself that he would always be laughed at, no matter where he went. “This thing is amazing, Professor P,” Melvin said in an amazed tone. “You could probably solve world hunger with an invention like this.” “Pass!” Professor Poopypants gagged. “More importantly... how do I look?” “You look just as you do in this comic!” Alterro said, pushing the comic forward with his paw before clearing his throat. “But more… sophisticated, mind you.” “Good! Now, hands off the merchandise,” Professor Poopypants said, taking the Sizerator away from Melvin, “and go fetch your little toilet, okay?” “Evander! Jaliya!” Alterro then barked. “Go and help Melvin!” “Yes, master,” Evander and Jaliya said in their mind-controlled voices before going off after Melvin, who after a moment, brought back the Turbo Toilet and smiled proudly. “I call it the Turbo…” “Yeah, yeah. Couple of gold stars for you, kiddo,” Professor Poopypants dismissed before using Jaliya as a stepstool to get on top of the toilet. “Let the Poopageddon begin!” And then, with his Sizerator 2000, the professor made the Turbo Toilet 2000 grow into a giant robot monster. However, upon closer inspection, he realized that it needed fuel. “ What? Oh, you've gotta be joking me! Poopypants has no gas! You can't write this stuff. Where would a burgeoning villain find unlimited power?” “Well…” Alterro said as he and his minions came forward, with Evander holding Melvin in his paws, “allow us to share some of our power to charge your device, professor. A small amount of magic is a simple payment for the destruction of those meddlesome ponies, after all.” “Oooh, perfect! With your magic,” the professor said as Evander set Melvin down, “this toilet will be indestructible! Do what you must!” “Yes, but please do not break anything!” Melvin pleaded. “It took me two months to put together and program!” “Oh, we won’t,” Alterro said as he watched his paws, Evander’s paws and Jaliya’s paws ignite with magic. “But when we are through… those miserable little ponies will have been broken, piece by piece… until there is NOTHING left of them.” XXXXXXXX A bright light flashed in the hallways in front of the school auditorium, and out from that flash came the Mane 6, panting tiredly after using their combined unity magic to teleport inside the school. “Misty, that was amazing!” Sunny congratulated. “How did you know that would work?” “To be honest, it was just a hunch,” said Misty with a tired shrug. “Now, we need to find our friends and get them back together one way or another, but keep the cloaking spell on at all times-- we can’t risk any teachers seeing us.” And so, once they split up into three groups of two (Hitch and Misty, Izzy and Zipp, Sunny and Pipp) they raced off into three different directions to ensure they found their friends before anything worse happened. XXXXXXXX Izzy and Zipp had found their way to the classroom where George was, while Sunny and Pipp found their way to the leopard siblings’ classroom and Hitch and Misty found their way to Harold’s classroom. And surprisingly, each of the three teachers in those three classrooms were going on and on about the same list of elements. “Memorize these elements... Oxygen. Beryllium. Boringillium. Lameium. Snoronium.” Needless to say, it was a topic so boring that it would even put Hitch to sleep. But suddenly, the Mane 6 and, in their own seperate classrooms, Kendra, her sisters and brother, George and Harold had the moment to look up from their depression to see a car being thrown into the street by what looked to be… …a giant toilet! And it seemed to be heading toward the school! The Mane 6 each got their friends' attention through the small windows in the door, and in their classrooms, Kendra, George and Harold stood up. “Excuse me, everybody, there's a giant…” However, each of the three individual teachers echoed the same response. “Do not interrupt while I'm reading monotone from my textbook!” Fortunately for the Mane 6, Kendra, George and Harold, along with Kendra’s siblings, refused to give this up and were desperate to warn the others. “But the toilet!” Hoeever, the teachers just sighed when they heard this. “Just go...” XXXXXXXX Izzy, Zipp and George managed to get to the bathroom first and were trying to get a good visual by the time that Harold and Kendra burst into the room, and the three best friends looked at each other in happiness. “Kendra? Harold?” “George?” Needless to say, the three friends were overjoyed, and as they started to hug each other, the ground shook, causing them to fall over and onto the cold, hard bathroom floor. “Ow!!” “Oooh…” Pipp groaned as she and the other ponies, as well as Kendra’s siblings, entered the small bathroom. “That’s gonna hurt in the morning.” “Uh, hate to break the reunion up,” said Treena, “but… aren’t there more pressing matters we should be tending to? Like… I don’t know… a giant toilet heading right for our school?!” It was at that moment that our heroes heard a woman screaming as the giant robot arrived, with a trio of flying leopards not far behind. Then, as the student body, including our heroes, watched from the windows, Professor Poopypants’ voice echoed from within the giant toilet. “Students and faculty of Jerome Horwitz Elementary… the world, as you know it, is about to go extinct. And a new world order is about to rise! One that is, you know, honestly pretty similar to the old-world order… except for one tiny detail…” It was then that a hatch was opened on the outside, and it pulled up a lightbulb-like machine with Melvin’s head attached to it. But of course, Izzy was the first to respond to this stunning reveal. “Melvin?!” “Coming at ya!” Melvin said with a smirk, just as two of the three leopards landed beside the lightbulb-styled machine… …two leopards Kendra recognized immediately. “T-That… that’s Dad and Jaliya!” she gasped, her eyes wide. “They’ve been working with Professor Poopypants this whole time?!” “But… who’s that other leopard with them?” Harold tilted his head to get a better look. “Another coworker of Evander’s?” Zipp pulled out her visor to scan the cutie mark of the leopard, and after matching it with some things Allura showed them, her eyes went wide in terror. “Oh, no, Harold, it’s WAY worse than that. Remember how we told you about Allura’s evil brother Alterro who got banished in another world a long time ago?” “Yeah, but… hold on, that’s him?!” Claudia screeched. “I think so,” Zipp said. “They all must be working together for some reason!” And low and behold, Professor Poopypants was about to reveal what that reason was. “Powered by Melvin's unique neurology and the magic of Alterro and his crones,” Professor Poopypants said to the school from inside the Turbo Toilet, “I will successfully disable the Hahaguffawchuckleamalus of every single child at Jerome Horwitz Elementary! For I, Professor Poopypants…” It was then that the kids got a kick out of Professor Poopypants’ name, causing Alterro to chuckle sadistically as he landed right near Evander and Jaliya. “Yes, yes, it’s a funny name, isn’t it? It just makes you laugh and laugh… RIGHT?!” With that, Evander, Alterro and Jaliya charged their magic and placed their paws on the lightbulb-styled machine, which blasted a golden ray right toward the students… and it would have hit our heroes too if Misty hadn’t taken action. “GET DOWN!!” The group immediately dove for cover at the sound of Misty's shrill cry, dodging the effects of the beam, but unfortunately, the rest of the student body got hit, and they suddenly became dull and lifeless zombies. “Still give you the chuckles now?” Professor Poopypants said as he rode on the robot’s hand to get closer to the students. “Poopypants?” “I don’t get it,” the students droned on. “Why is that funny?” “Ha ha!” Alterro smirked sadistically. “It’s perfect!” “Finally!” Melvin said with a smile. “You're speaking my language!” “Oh, no,” Sunny looked as if she might hyperventilate at any moment. “This is bad-- really bad!” “Sunny’s right,” George agreed with a frantic look. “I mean, you guys facing Allura's evil brother is bad enough, but... a world without laughter?” Kendra suddenly put her paws on Harold and George’s shoulders with her own frantic expression. “Guys, if he destroys our sense of humor, he destroys us!” Harold let out a horrified gasp. “Imagine how boring our comics will be… Captain Underpants and the Purchase of the Sensible Beige Pants.” George let out a shudder as he thought of another title. “Captain Underpants Eats All of His Falafel…” Suddenly, Hitch seemed to think of the most boring title a comic book could think of. “Captain Underpants Watches Cement Dry…!!!” This led the leopard siblings, George and Harold to scream in fright, but the ponies were able to silence them before their cover was blown... and right before Alterro began speaking again. “And further more... you don’t have to hide any longer, my little ponies… I know you’re here… and this will FINALLY be the day that I eliminate you once and for all! The very task my so-called sister and her minion couldn’t bring themselves to complete.” “Wait… he knows that Allura and Twitch reformed?” Pipp looked confused. “How?” “And would the creators of this absolutely hilarious comic book please come out, come out, wherever you are?” Professor Poopypants called before throwing the latest Captain Underpants issue into the robot’s mouth, which was filled with a radioactive liquid that Professor Poopypants had been testing. “You’re ALL next!” Luckily, the group was able to duck out of sight as the professor used the Turbo Toilet’s light to begin searching the windows, and once they were sure the light had passed, Kendra let out a shaky sigh. “Oh man…” Kendra muttered. “We have to stop them! Dad and Jaliya included!” That was when Harold tried to think of a solid plan. “We’ve gotta find a way to distract those leopards and unplug Melvin.” “Well, yeah,” said George, “but do we get to them without Poopypants seeing us?” That was when the Mane 6 each had an idea, with Sunny taking the opportunity to speak. “We may have an idea for distracting Alterro and his crones… and that idea is called ‘Operation: Unity Squad’!” With that, the Mane 6's cutie marks began to glow, and as Harold, George and the leopard siblings shielded their eyes, the six ponies were transformed into their superhero alter-egos: Sunny wore the same mask from the Manesquerade Ball, along with the same yellow and blue highlights on her legs, with a blue cape and glowing shoes of light under the name Cosmic Sunlight. Pipp wore her Manesquerade mask as well, as well as a gold and purple cape, and the same gold and purple on her legs, going under the alias Harmonizer. Izzy also wore her Manesquerade mask, as well as glitter in her mane and tail, a purple stripe in her mane while her legs had light green and pink highlights, and she also wore her crafting sash with her purple and green cape, going under the alias Multi-Crafter. Zipp wore her Manesquerade mask, with light blue and pink and her hooves had lightning bolts on them and a blue and pink cape, going under the alias of Royal Bolt. Hitch wore his mask as well, and had the colors lime green and pink on his hooves and mane, along with a green cape, as well as the alias The Masked Defender. And finally, there was Misty, who had pink and yellow on her legs, her original blue-and-green mane coloring, a golden swirl on her horn, a half-butterfly, peacock-like mask and a yellow and pink cape, going under the alias of Butterfly Whisperer. “Holy guacamole!” Heath gasped in shock as the light faded away. “Y-You guys are superheroes?!” “Why didn’t you say anything?” George asked. “Well, we don’t like to reveal our superhero forms unless we absolutely have to,” Misty said, “and this is an ABSOLUTELY have-to situation.” “If we can lure Alterro and his new minions away from here,” said Hitch, “Kendra, George and Harold can find a way to get up to Melvin and shut him down while Claudia, Treena and Heath run to get Avarsi for help-- she’ll know how to take the leopards down for good.” “That’s all well and good and everything,” Pipp said, “but there’s still Poopypants we need to keep busy!” “Pipp’s right,” Harold nodded. “How are we gonna distract him? He’s… pretty smart, if you haven’t noticed.” Suddenly, the group turned when they heard the door open, and walking into the bathroom was Mr. Krupp himself, who after a moment, saw the group and suddenly became enraged. “What are you all doing together?!” It was then that everyone seemed to get the same idea, nodding to George and Harold expectantly. Turning Principal Krupp back into Captain Underpants posed a lot of different risks, but if they were going to save the students, the elementary school the Mane 6 had grown fond of, the entire town and this world… …they really didn’t have much of a choice. This could be their toughest battle to date... and they were ready to embrace it with open arms.
The Final Battle CommencesThe final battle our ponies had been hoping to avoid was finally here. After learning that Professor Poopypants was planning to wipe out laughter with the help of Melvin, Allura's brother Alterro, Evander and Jaliya (the latter leopards being mind controlled by Alterro), the Mane 6 donned their Unity Squad superpowers and were ready to go, even having a plan in place where every member of their group had a role. Needless to say... this all had to work out perfectly, otherwise not only could this world be in iminant danger... ...but all worlds could be in danger, if the villains' plan were to succeed. XXXXXXXX “We’ve checked around all the windows, master,” Jaliya said in her mind-controlled voice. “There’s no sign of the ponies inside.” “And I have checked the outside,” Evander added in the same tone. “There’s no sign of them.” “AGH!!” Alterro growled furiously. “Well, just keep looking! At least Professor Poopypants is taking more drastic measures!” “Are you in there? Oh... maybe you're hiding here!” Professor Poopypants just as the robot opened the school roof but instead found Ms. Anthrope still on the phone. “Oh, sorry. Are you stuck on hold?” Ms. Anthrope nodded to this. “Mmm-mmm.” “Oh, totally hate when that happens. Well, good luck with that,” Professor Poopypants said before the robot closed the school roof again. “Now, where are those annoying little...” “Stand down, Alterro and Poopypants!” Sunny shouted as she, her friends and Captain Underpants appeared at the windows. “Or face the wraith of Captain Underpants and the Unity Squad!” “Oh, finally,” Alterro rolled his eyes before pausing. “But... who is this stranger with them?” While the villains seemed to be distracted, the leopard siblings, George and Harold ran outside, with Kendra whimpering nervously about all the reasons this could go wrong. “I hope this works...” “I've been waiting a long time for this, Sunny Starscout,” Alterro said with a determined look from his perch on the Turbo Toilet. “You turned my sister against the ways of Leopardia, the ways my father has installed in the two of us ever since we were cubs!” “Alterro, you have to listen to us!” Misty exclaimed. “You and Allura have been manipulated for as long as you can remember, and you have to realize that the same way she has! Don't you remember the stories of kindness and unity your mother, Queen Felicia, used to tell you? She would be so--” “YOU DO NOT SPEAK HER NAME IN FRONT OF ME!!!” Alterro roared. “She was a weak link in our kingdom, and her legacy is meant to be forgotten... and my legacy will be born the second you ponies are destroyed.” Zipp spread her wings challengingly to this. “Well, if you really wanna destroy us, you'll have to catch us first!” “Keep Poopypants at bay for as long as you can, Captain Underpants!” Hitch shouted. “We'll be back soon!” Alterro roared furiously as the Mane 6 made a break for it, trying to lead him away from the school. “Evander, Jaliya! After them! Don't let them out of your sight!” Evander and Jaliya quickly flew after him, determined to catch the ponies in their final hours. However, as soon as the ponies left, Captain Underpants prepared to leap from the window and attack. “Tra-la-laaa!!!” However, as the superhero leapt from the window, his cape got stuck in the closed window, leaving him dangling and causing Kendra and her siblings to groan out of discomfort. “Ooh...” “Keep standing down. I’m just gonna be a second,” Captain Underpants said as his cape began to rip, and the second part of it tore off, he fell to the ground, surrounded by glum zombies. “Ow!” Professor Poopypants let out a smirk as he allowed a chair to pull him back inside the Turbo Toilet's main control room. “I bet he thought that was going to be cooler.” “Oh, boy...” George said with a sigh. “Here goes nothing.” And so, as George, Harold and Kendra ran one way, Kendra’s siblings ran around the back way in order to get home and warn their mother of their father and Jaliya’s involvement, as well as Alterro's. And the second they left, Captain Underpants got on his feet again. “Ha-ha! Prepare to be vanquished... and justice to be served on a piping hot platter of freedom! With a side order of liberty... and a super-sized cup filled with freedom also!” However, from inside the robot, Professor Poopypants used his computer to scan Captain Underpants’ brain which showed he has no strength, no agility, and no intelligence, causing him to smirk. “Impressive use of fast-food analogies, you giant baby with a cape on! Let's do this!” Upon activating a switch, the robot went into battle mode and roared at Captain Underpants, sending him into the nearby school wall, sending the battle into full-gear from that point on. XXXXXXXX Avarsi was just finishing packing Evander’s stuff in case he were to come by when all of a sudden, the front door FLEW open, and a chorus of voices filled the air. “Mom?!” “Mom, are you here?!” “Where are you?!” “This is an emergency!!” “This is a do or die situation!!” Avarsi followed the voices to the main hallway, where her two elders daughters and her son were waiting for her, their eyes wide in fear, making Avarsi concerned immediately. “Kids, what are you doing home so early? And where's Kendra? Is everything okay? Is it Krupp again?” “To be honest, it's WORSE than Krupp!” Treena said desperately. “It’s Professor Poopypants and Alterro! They've teamed up!” Avarsi's eyes went wide to this. “W-Wait, what?! Alterro's back?!” “Yeah!” Heath nodded desperately. “And somehow he brought Dad and Jaliya into their plan to get rid of laughter and they're attacking the school!” “Okay, okay... you kids need to tell me everything from the beginning,” Avarsi said as she sat in front of her kids, trying her best to remain calm. “That way, I know exactly how I can help.” “Okay... but you better brace yourself, Mom,” Claudia said rather warily. “This is a lot for even us to process.” XXXXXXXX Sunny groaned and grunted as she did her best to dodge some of Alterro's fire blasts. “Keep running, you guys!” she called out. “We have to get them as far away from the school as we can lure them!” “We’re trying, Sunny!” Pipp exclaimed before letting forth her sonic shriek, only for Jaliya’s force shield magic to send it in another direction. “But they're not making this all that easy!” “Of course we're not!” Alterro shouted dismissively. “If we didn't put up much of a fight, your demise wouldn't be worth it!” “But that doesn't mean we should stop trying to keep you from hurting our friends!” Zipp said, firing a bolt of lightning at Evander, only for him to dodge and nearly tackle her, causing Izzy to use a magic blast to get him away before the chase resumed. And while all this was happening, the Mane 6 couldn't help but wonder... how were Kendra, George and Harold doing in their own plans to get Melvin unplugged from Poopypants' scheme? XXXXXXXX “Come on, Kendra, fly faster!!” Harold said as he and George rode on the winged leopards back. “We don’t have all day, you know!” Kendra panted tiredly as she aimed for the top of the Turbo Toilet with both George and Harodl on her back. “Speak for yourself, Harold! You're not the one with wings and having to fly to the top of a really tall toilet robot to stop a scientific maniac!!” George winced as she said that. “Okay, you have a good point there.” Finally, Kendra’s wings finally gave out as she reached the very edge of the Turbo Toilet, grabbing onto the edge and letting George and Harols off before they pulled her back up... all while the Turbo Toilet was playing a round of paddleball, with Captain Underpants as the ball in question. And once all three of them were up on solid ground, Kendra and the boys got closer to Melvin, who appeared to be meditating. “Hey, Melvin!” George whispered. “Take that thing off your head. We gotta stop Poopypants!” However, Melvin let out a gasp. “Professor Poopypants! Kendra, George and Harold are trying to stop you!!” Kendra growled, her wings flaring in annoyance to Melvin's constant tattling. “You are just so annoying!” Suddenly, Professor Poopypants emerged from inside the robot, which was holding Captain Underpants by the cape, and Professor Poopypants smirked down at the trio. “So, you three little numbskulls thought you could distract me and my allies with those little ponies and this idiotic, naked man. Am I right?” “Not naked!” Captain Underpants retorted, but Professor Poopypants ignored him and turned back to the trio with a smirk on his face. “Any final words before this whole revenge thing goes down?” Kendra, George and Harold looked at each other and then, deciding that they needed more time for this plan to work, realized that one way they could let this all end peacefully is to do what Sunny and her friends did to Allura... ...try and reform him. Finally, George took the opportunity to speak up. “Yeah, wait, wait. Listen. We apologize for making fun of your name. I mean, that was just wrong.” Kendra nodded regretfully to this. “Yeah... we're sorry.” “The truth is, Professor P,” said Harold, “you have probably, like, the greatest name we've ever heard. I mean, George, imagine if we had names like that.” George nodded enthusiastically to this. “Oh, that would be so cool! Okay, wait, let's do it. Let's try it. Oh, I would be Fluffy Toiletnose.” “Yeah! I would be Sir Cheeseball Wafflefanny,” Harold said, causing the trio to laugh, but Professor Poopypants just glared over at them. “Yeah, sure. You're a knight.” “This is so good!! Okay, I wanna do one now!” Kendra said with a little hop to her step. “I'd be Buttcheeks von Stinkelsberg.” The trio laughed at this while Melvin groaned... but fortunately, Captain Underpants laughed a little, so at least that was something. “Stinkelsburg...” “Yeah, those are all really silly names,” Professor Poopypants said in annoyance, standing up in his chair, “but there's nothing funny about... Professor Pee-Pee Diarrheastein Poopypants Esquire!” All laughter immediately ceased at this, and after a moment of silence, Harold decided to ask a question about what they had just learned. “Sir, are you saying your full name is... Pee-Pee Diarrheastein Poopypants Esquire?” The professor nodded at this. “Uh-huh.” And then, can you guess what our heroes chose to do next? They laughed, harder than they had in quite some time, angering Poopypants further. “Stop it! Stop laughing!” “Come on,” George said after regaining his composure. “Listen, your problem isn't that people laugh at you. Your problem is that you can't laugh at yourself.” “Oh, really, Oprah?!” Professor Poopypants shot back, frightening the trio. “Is that my problem? Well, your problem is this...” With the push of a button on his chair, Professor Poopypants was able to make the Turbo Toilet's mouth open, and when Captain Underpants saw that the mouth was filled with some sort of glowing green waste, he slightly panicked, unsure of what to do in that moment. Then, to Kendra and the boys' horror, the robot dropped the superhero into the mouth before the mouth sealed shut. “NOOOO!!!!” And while they were distracted by the superhero's fate, Professor Poopypants used the Turbo Toilet to grab the trio in its hands and bring it in front of them, with the trio struggling to break free as Professor Poopypants continued to try and mock them. “Oh, I hope you enjoyed your years of laughter and merriment... because they're about to come to an end.” As Kendra and the boys struggled to try and break free of their binds, the beam being controlled by Melvin shot down at them, bathing them in a golden yellow light and causing them to groan and scream in discomfort, only with Professor Poopypants smirking at their displeasure. “Do you find anything funny about me now?” “You mean... other than your name?” George asked, causing the trio to laugh again, and causing Professor Poopypants to become that much angrier. “Yes! Other than that!” Deciding he needed to up the stakes, the professor began to increase the beam's power, causing Kendra to scream. That was when Harold suddenly thought of another funny thing that he hadn't really thought of before. “And your hair?” “What?!” Professor Poopypants shouted. “My hair's cool, I thought!” “Are you kidding me? That's almost as funny as my hair back in kindygarten!” George laughed. “Remember that afro?” “Oh, yeah!” Kendra giggled. “It looked like a disco ball made of hair!!” “No! No, this can't be happening! Computer, activate brain scan!” Professor Poopypants cried as he scanned the trio's brains and began to inspect them a bit closer. “Let's see. The frontal lobes look big and healthy. The Hahaguffawchuckleamalus looks all shrimpy, so, what gives?” That was when the professor turned the brain scans to the side, and what he discovered caused him to yelp in terror and hide behind his chair. “It can't be! Their Hahaguffawchuckleamaluses, they're enormous! I need more power!” So, the professor turned the beam up so high, it began to take on a dark red hue, and the professor could see Kendra, George and Harold really struggling to maintain control. “Anything strike you as funny now?” George strained a bit at this. “I'm sure we can think of something!” But unfortunately, Harold felt his sense of humor slowly beginning to slip. “George, I can't smile anymore...” “No!!” Kendra shrieked. “Harold!!” But despite her and George’s best efforts to reach out to them, Harold became a depressed zombie just like the rest of the school, causing Professor Poopypants to increase the power that much further. “One down and two to go!” Kendra and George struggled to fight against the beam’s power, and before they knew it, they were slowly falling unconscious to become depressed zombies themselves. It would take a miracle to save them now. XXXXXXXX “And then,” Treena began to wrap up the story to Avarsi, “Sunny sent us home to get you for help while they went off to fight Alterro and Kendra and the boys took on--” Suddenly, Avarsi deeply gasped, putting a paw to her heart as if getting a sudden shock of something. “Mom?” Heath looked concerned for his mother’s sake. “Are you okay?” “I… just felt something,” Avarsi said breathlessly before she began to realize something. “Kendra… Kendra and her friends! They must be in trouble! Come on, we have to get to the school!” “We’re right behind you, Mom!” Claudia said before the siblings followed their mother out of the house. XXXXXXXX At the same time as the Unity Squad was trying to stop Alterro and his minions, Sunny felt the same wave go through her system as well, causing her to gasp. “Guys! I think Kendra and the others are in trouble!” “We can’t go and help them now, Sunny!” Zipp said as she planted a kick right to Alterro’s face. “We kinda have our own situation to deal with!” “But…” Izzy looked desperate as she tried to avoid Jaliya’s claws. “We can’t leave our friends high and dry!” “We’ll circle back toward the school and hopefully lose them in that area!” Hitch said, kicking Evander backwards before tying him up with some earth pony vines. “That’ll give us time to get back to them before it’s too late!” “Come on!” Misty shouted before leading her friends in that direction. “After them, you idiots!” Alterro said, burning the vines around Alterro. “We can’t let them get back to their friends now!” “As you command, master,” Jaliya and Evander said mindlessly as they ran off after the Mane 6, with Alterro flying overhead to try and cut them off before they got to the school. XXXXXXXX Now you may be wondering, did George, Kendra and Harold become depressed zombies too? Well... almost. You see, their bodies were slowly succumbing to the effects of the beam, but it was by sheer luck that their brains were still active. And thanks to Kendra's magic, they were able to speak to each other through their brains. “George? Harold?” Kendra’s brain echoed. “Are you guys okay?” “Uh… uh, yeah. I’m good,” George’s brain answered before he tried to reach out to Harold’s brain, which was heavily sleeping. “Harold. Harold, can you hear me?” “HAROLD!!” Kendra’s brain yowled, causing Harold’s brain to wake up and realize what was going on. “Kendra? George, is that you?” “We’re right here, buddy,” George’s brain said reassuringly before the Hahaguffawchuckleamaluses began to steadily shrink, much to Harold’s brain’s horror. “What’s happening?!” “We’re shrinking!” Kendra’s brain said in panic. “Now, if we don't laugh at something soon, we may never laugh again!” “Oh, no!” Harold’s brain began to panic entirely. “What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?!” “Well, we have to think of something funny!” George’s brain answered, and Harold’s brain began to calm down a bit. “Okay, yeah, sure. Something funny.” Unfortunately, try as they might, the trio just couldn’t think of something funny, and their Hahaguffawchuckleamaluses began to shrink even further. “Okay, okay. What did we use to find funny?” Harold’s brain asked, leading Kendra’s brain to think. “Mostly potty humor. Poop, vomit, that kind of thing.” “Really?” Harold’s brain scoffed as it began to shrink further. “Ugh. That is, like, the lowest form of comedy.” “Don’t you say that, Harold!” George’s brain pleaded. “Don’t you leave us!” XXXXXXXX Outside of Kendra and the boys' heads, Professor Poopypants believed that all his troubles in that instant were over, and began to brag about his upcoming plans to get rid of laughter within the known universe. “Attention everyone! Poopypants here with a little update on the Poopageddon. Due to the success of my plan thus far... I've decided to wipe out laughter on the entire planet. After that, you know, I'll probably move on to other planets... Jupiter, Mars... can't forget Uranus!” XXXXXXXX Back inside the trio's heads, something about what the professor had just said made Kendra's brain start to think a little harder. “Wait. Did he just say…?” That was when the trio suddenly began to think about the day George and Harold met in kindergarten, when Harold commented on how Uranus sounded a lot like ‘Your anus’. This caused them to laugh a bit… then more and more until… their Hahaguffawchuckleamaluses began to grow back to full size again! XXXXXXXX And as their Hahaguffawchuckleamaluses began to grow back to full size, Kendra and her friends found themselves bursting with laughter from the seams. “Yeah, and once I'm through with the gas giants... I figure I'll go after the other galaxies…” Professor Poopypants was saying before he noticed the trio laughing again. “What?!” “It feels so good to laugh!” George said all while he was laughing. And as the trio continued to laugh, the force of their laughter began to repell the beam back toward Melvin, and the professor began to panic about his current disposition. “No, stop it! Stop laughing! You're ruining everything!” As for Melvin, he too was beginning to panic about a very tough choice he had to make. “Yikes! Extra credit or survival? Extra credit or survival? I CHOOSE SURVIVAL!!!” And without a second thought, Melvin immediately bailed and the light bulb exploded, sending a shockwave throughout the entire school, turning all of the kids back to normal. Back inside the glitched robot, the screen now showed toilet paper, making Professor Poopypants a bit nervous. “Uh-oh.” It was then that the Turbo Toilet began to go completely haywire, and fired a roll of toilet paper across the neighborhood which made every student at the school start celebrating. Melvin, however, got crushed by one of the other rolls, while Professor Poopypants watched his plan continue to fall apart. “No, how could this be happening?!” Kendra shot him a little smirk as she and her best friends continued to celebrate. “Never underestimate the power of laughter, Poopypants!” Professor Poopypants groaned in response to this. “Oh, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!” By the time that Avarsi and her remaining children got the school in their sights, the robot continued to shoot toilet paper rolls inyo the sky till the robot did the splits causing him to fall down. And once it did, one of the hands let go of George and Kendra, causing them to jump back down to the ground. “Harold! We did it!” Kendra cheered as she noticed Harold groaning as he emerged from the other hand, much to George’s concern. “Harold?” Harold put a hand to his side in discomfort. “I think I bruised a rib... because I've never laughed so hard in my life!” The trio let forth a laugh out of happiness, relieved that their troubles were over at long last... and that's when Kendra and her friends began hearing voices. “Kendra!” “George!” “Harold!” “You're okay!” “Thank goodness!” Kendra gasped as she saw her family touch down and race over to them. “Mom! Treena, Claudia, Heath! You're okay!” “Oh, my baby!” Avarsi sighed in relief as she took her youngest daughter into her paws. “I was so worried! Where's your father and Jaliya?” “And the ponies!” Heath agreed. “Are they all okay?” “The ponies are still dealing with Alterro, Dad and Jaliya,” Kendra answered. “But, with Professor Poopypants taken care of, we can just go over and--” Suddenly, Professor Poopypants kicked off the handle of the Turbo Toilet and held out his Sizerator, pointing it at the group before firing, causing them to scream and retreat, trying to avoid getting blasted at all costs. “Oh, we'll see who's laughing once I shrink you down here you will live in my pocket forever, amongst my cherry-flavored lip balm...” The group dove behind a nearby car, which Poopypants immediately shrunk, much to Heath's amazement. “Oh, neato!” “Keep running!!” Claudia shrieked as the leopards, Harold and George continued to run as the professor began to speak again. “...my mint-flavored lip balm… my extra-moisturized SPF lip balm... and all of my lip balms!” Without a second thought, the professor threw all his lip balms in the air and blasts them, making them big and trapping the gang like a cage. This caused Treena to scream, as the lip balms were too close together in order for the leopards to try and fly out. “Why does one person have so much lip balm?!” “Look! There are Sunny and the others!” George pointed outside of the lip balm cage to see the ponies being chased by Alterro, Evander and Jaliya. “Maybe they can help us!” “GANGWAY!!!” Hitch and Izzy screamed as the Mane 6 bolted down the street toward their friends, but Alterro was two steps ahead of them, his eyes blazing with fury. “Oh, no you don't! Friendship isn't going to save you this time!” And with that, he blasted some very powerful fire out of his paws, which he used to make a ring around the ponies, causing them to scream and causing Zipp to try and flap her wings to fly out, but her wings refused to get her off the ground. “This fire must be magic! I can't get off the ground from in here!” Misty groaned as she tried to light her horn, but to no avail. “None of our magic is working! We're totally trapped!” “Then I guess there’s only one thing for us to do now!” Hitch shouted. “HELP!!!” That was when the others began to follow Hitch's lead, desperate for some kind of solution. “Help!” “Please, someone help us!” “Get us out of here!” “HEEEEELP!!!” XXXXXXXX From inside the mouth of the Turbo Toilet, Captain Underpants seemed to be very much alive when he swallowed a bit of the radioactive liquid that was inside the Turbo Toilet, causing him to gain powers and increased strength. This gave him such a crazy idea, it might just work for everyone's favor. XXXXXXXX Alterro, Evander and Jaliya stalked around the Mane 6, making sure that even if the ponies were to escape the fire, they wouldn’t be able to escape without begging for their lives. At the same time, Professor Poopypants was preparing to blast George, Harold and the leopard family, a sadistic grin on his face. “Ooh, I hope you can find tiny enough pens and colored markers to make your small, little comic books with... cause you're about to get smallified!” As Avarsi hugged her children and their friends close, the mouth of the Turbo Toilet burst open, and out flew the waistbanded warrior himself from the green water, now with superpowers, abs, and muscles. “Tra-la-laaa!!!” he sang, his abs and muscles disappearing, but his powers still remained. “I feel... awesome!” Hitch stared at the event in shock. “No way!” “Mom, guys, look!” Treena pointed her paw to the sky. “He has real superpowers!” Harold let out an excited groan at this. “That is an obvious twist that I did not see coming... despite my many years of comic book studies!” “I have come to save the day!” Captain Underpants said heroically, causing the students to cheer, but this caused Alterro to charge his paws with his fire magic. “Oh, yes, and we've come to ruin it, so back off, waistband warrior!!” Alterro fired a few blasts at the superhero in question, but Captain Underpants dodged it before getting further into the sky and fired his underwear at the mad genius and his allies. Professor Poopypants was able to dodge the underwear, of course, but the smell coming from the underwear was horrendous. “Ew, that's gross!” “Oh, there's more where that came from!” Captain Underpants declared before firing more of his underwear at Alterro, Evander and Jaliya, causing them smell the underwear and immediately flee from the Mane 6’s ring of fiery imprisonment. “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday...!!” Sunny laughed at the sight of this. “Unlimited underpants?!” “This feels so wrong at the moment,” Pipp laughed, “but I am so glad that Kendra and the boys gave him that superpower!” That was when Captain Underpants released one final pair of underwear at Alterro, striking him head on before he toppled into Professor Poopypants, making him lose the Sizerator 2000. “My Sizerator!” “Well,” Captain Underpants said, grabbing the device, “it's mine now!” Professor Poopypants let out a weary sigh, believing he had finally been defeated. “Alas! The final failure for Professor Poopypants.” “Ugh, who cares about your dumb device?!” Alterro snarled as he increased the flame size around the Mane 6. “I still have these putrid ponies right where I want them and there's nothing anyone can do about it!” At the same time, Captain Underpants was inspecting the device when he came across a series of small buttons. “Hmmm... what does this button do?” However, upon aiming the Sizerator at the ground, the device shot a beam at Professor Poopypants, causing him to grow to giant size and scare the students around him. “Ohhh... well, hello there!” “NO!!!” the others shouted in terror. “Must be holding it backwards,” Captain Underpants said obliviously, turning the Sizerator around and accidentally shrinking himself, causing him to lose the Sizerator in the process. “Yep-- that was it.” “...wow...” George deadpanned. “He is super dumb.” Suddenly, the Sizerator fell outside the cage of lip balms, and Kendra, try as she might, couldn't get her paw far enough outside the cage to grab the device. “I can’t reach!!” Deciding the group needed more time, Captain Underpants (now small and tiny) began to fly around the giant professor’s head to further annoy him. “Time to take you down once and for all, Poopypants!” “Buzz off!” Professor Poopypants flicked Captain Underpants away, causing him to scream, but fortunately, Captain Underpants was flicked so fast, he cut through the lip balms and freed the boys, Kendra and her family before landing on the ground. “Okay, I have a plan!” said Kendra. “Mom, can you fly up and distract Alterro, Dad and Jaliya?” “Can do!” Avarsi said with a salute before flying off. “I’ll take care of the fire so we can free Sunny and her friends,” Kendra said. “Then, we all team up to take Poopypants down once and for all!” Kendra immediately flew over to the ring of fire and used her ice magic on it, putting the fire out and freeing the Mane 6, as well as allowing them to get their magic back. “Yeah-heh!” Sunny cheered. “Thanks, Kendra!” “Don’t thank us yet!” Kendra said as she watched her mother dive the magic attacks sent from Jaliya, Alterro and her father. “We’ve still got work to do!” “Captain Underpants!” George cried as he grabbed the Sizerator. “Fly over here so we can make you big again!” “Crackerjack idea!” Captain Underpants said before landing on Harold’s hand, which caused Harold to try and warn George before he did anything. “George, just don't…” Unfortunately, George fired the gun, making Harold’s hand grow to a giant size. “Aw, man!” Claudia growled. “You gotta be kidding me!” However, Professor Poopypants, still giant, only found humor in the circumstance. “Ha-ha! Give him a big hand for that one, everybody!” “Let me have a try, George,” Pipp snatched the Sizerator from George and switched it to the smallify setting. “Time to pick on someone your own size, you oversized German bully!” But when Pipp fired the Sizerator at him, the professor ducked out of the way and let the beam hit the school, shrinking it down to toy size. “...oops…” Pipp blushed nervously and pushed the Sizerator off to the side. “Look what I've got…” Professor Poopypants said as he held the tiny school in his grasp. “A tiny school filled with tiny children and their tiny teachers whose tiny salaries reflect their size and also the value society puts on education!” “I’ll take that!” Captain Underpants said as his tiny form grabbed the tiny school, causing Professor Poopypants to reach for the Sizerator. “Then, I’ll take this!” That was when Harold used his giant hand to slap the professor’s giant hand, causing him to reel back in pain. “OW! Did you just slap me?!” “Yes, I did!” Harold huffed. “And you deserved it.” “No I didn’t!” the professor retorted. “Your hand is huge! That hurt a lot! Give it back, it's mine!” “Paws off, Poopypants!” Kendra shouted, trying to help George. “Leave our friends alone!” This involved a tough tug-of-war sequence between the forces of good and evil, which paused when Harold accidentally shrunk Poopypants’ head. “AH!! Now look what you've done!” “Heh, to be honest, it suits you!” Treena mocked. “Small head for a small heart!” The tug-of-war quickly resumed, but after a moment, the Sizerator slipped from our heroes’ reach and was launched into the air, where it randomly at various things like a man walking a dog, a blue bird hanging on the phone lines, a woman’s house where the pizza man was about to ring the doorbell. But when the blasts were getting too random and out of control, the group was forced to try and dodge the blast, but the blasts getting too close to George was a thing Harold couldn’t handle. “GEORGE!!!” Harold blocked one of the shots with his huge hand which returned to normal size, and the Sizerator fell into Kendra’s paws, which (with the help of her sisters) she used to turn Poopypants to tiny size, and Heath pounced on Poopypants with his front paws. “Gotcha!” “Yeah, but who’s got Mom?!” Treena looked at their mother, who was getting more and more tired by the minute. “She won’t be able to distract the other leopards for much longer!” “I’ve got an idea for that!” Sunny exclaimed. “Izzy, do you have a really large rubber band in your sash?” “Sure do, Sunny-Poo!” Izzy exclaimed, pulling it out. “One large rubber band to go!” “Perfect! Kendra, make three super large snowballs,” Sunny instructed, and Kendra immediately got to work as she handed the rubber band off to Pipp, Zipp, Treena and Claudia. “You four work and hold the rubber band tight. George, Harold and Misty? Pull it back and let it go when I say so.” The group nodded and immediately got to work, and up in the sky, Avarsi saw what her children were doing and tried to get her former mate, Jaliya and Alterro to follow her closer to the ground. “After her!” Alterro shouted. “Show your former mate what you’re made of, Alterro!” “As you command, master,” Evander said rather stiffly before the other leopards proceeded to follow Avarsi, just as the snowballs were being loaded into the makeshift slingshot that Misty, George and Harold were holding back. “Wait for it…” Sunny said cautiously. “Wait for it… NOW!!!” “Snowball's away!!!” Harold and George shouted before the snowballs were launched in the leopards' direction, allowing Avarsi just enough time to get out of the way before they bit, causing the leopards to crash to the ground while undoing the trance over Jaliya and Evander in the process. Evander groaned and shook his head, his memory foggy as he looked around the area. “What in the world are we...?” Claudia snarled as she pounced upon her gather while Treena pounced on Jaliya and Avarsi pounced on Alterro, holding them all to the ground. “Girls!” Evander snarled. “What is the meaning of this?!” Jaliya grunted and strained where Treena was holding her. “Let us go right now!!” “Not on your life!” Avarsi snarled. “You’ve hurt too many people for your own gain, and I'm not about to let it happen again!” And as Avarsi began to tell off her former mate and the other leopards on what they did, Zipp took the Sizerator and used it to make Captain Underpants and the school big again. “Yeah, that's more like it!” “And for good measure,” Hitch said before jumping onto the Sizerator and destroying it. “Nice work, sidekicks!” Captain Underpants said before beginning to put the school down. “I'll just put this back down right here…” “Captain Underpants!” “Wait!” “No!” “Not like that!” But against the others’ warnings… Captain Underpants put the school back where it was, but… you know… sideways. “There we go. Back to normal... like it never happened.” “Oy vey…” Pipp groaned before Heath looked down at his paws and realized Professor Poopypants was gone. “Oh, no!” the little leopard yelped, looking around. “Where did he go?!” Turns out, Professor Poopypants had slipped out from under Heath’s paws and had gotten a joyride on a nearby bumblebee, which he piloted closer to the group to further taunt them. “You'll never catch me!” he said in a high-pitched voice. “You can't stop Professor Poopypants!” “Ugh, I can’t grab him!” Zipp said as she tried to grab him with her hooves, but the bee was moving way too fast. “Me neither!” Kendra said as she tried to pounce on it. “Get him, Captain Underpants!” “AHH!! A bee! Get away from me!!” Captain Underpants shrieked before swatting the bee, sending it and Professor Poopypants flying away. “I’m freeeeee!!!” “W-Why would you do that?!” Hitch asked in exasperation. “Yeah!” Izzy pouted. “You just let the bad guy get away!” “Come on, guys,” Captain Underpants told the ponies. “Pretty sure the bee wasn't the bad guy.” “The bee wasn’t,” said Sunny before turning to look at Alterro. “But he definitely is.” Alterro growled for a moment before a slight smirk came onto his face. “You may have been formidable this time, Starscout, but mark my words… not only will you pay for turning my sister against me, but all of Equestria will too… including the realm of Skyros. Ha ha ha… HA HA HA HA HA!!!” And within a burst of flames, which knocked Avarsi backwards, Alterro had vanished. “Oh no!” Misty cried, wide eyed in panic. “He’s gone!” “He can teleport using fire?” Harold asked in disbelief. “We so gotta add that to a Captain Underpants comic!” “Harold!” Kendra barked. “Not the time!” “...Skyros, huh?” Sunny hummed to herself. “If Skyros is what Alterro is looking for, then we need to find it first… and soon.” It was at that moment that a squad of police cars showed up on the scene, and the chief of police looked at the alarming scene with eyes wide. “What the heck happened here?” “You’re welcome, peace-keepers!” Captain Underpants said as he quickly flew off with Harold and George, with Misty calling up butterflies to fly herself and the other flightless ponies after their friends. “Shh shh shh!!” Pipp said desperately to Captain Underpants. “Not so loud!” “...Kendra, you go on ahead with your friends,” Avarsi told her youngest daughter gently. “We’ll stay here so the police can take our statement, and we’ll be home as soon as we can.” “Okay… and Mom?” Kendra looked at her mother for a moment before purring against her. “I love you.” “I love you too, sweetie,” Avarsi whispered, nuzzling her youngest daughter before watching her fly off after her friends. It seemed as if all of their troubles (except for the looming threat of Alterro) were finally over. Evander and Jaliya were going to be going to prison for all the crimes they had commited while under Alterro's control, and at long last... maybe the leopard family and Jerome Horwitz Elementary both had bright futures ahead of them.
A Bitter-Sweet Ending for All InvolvedWell, as of now, there are a few pieces of good news and bad news to share. The good news was that the school, the town of Piqua and the world were safe once again, and Evander and Jaliya were both going to be going to prison for their crimes. The bad news was Professor Poopypants and Alterro both got away, with Alterro mentioning his revenge would not only go on the Mane 6, but also Equestria and the realm of Skyros. Now... we only have a little longer to go until we reach the end of our story, so let's get back to it, shall we? XXXXXXXX The Mane 6 turned back to normal once they got to the safety of George, Harold and Kendra’s treehouse, where they finally breathed a sigh of relief-- their problems were over for now, and they could finally let all of the burdens of the last few days off of their shoulders. At the moment, Captain Underpants was still reading one of the comic books that Kendra and the boys had made for the events of the day, completely forgetting what had just happened a half hour before. “Did not see that coming! Take that, Doctor Diaper!” George let out a small, yet comforting sigh, a sad smile on his face. “I can’t believe we made him.” “And,” Pipp nodded slightly, “he’s even dumber in real life.” Captain Underpants gasped as he got to a specific page that Harold personally called his favorite. “Oh! Look! Little dolphins! Hee hee…” Harold then frowned, realizing what they had to do going forward. “...we have to get rid of him, don’t we?” he asked, referring to Captain Underpants. “I think you do,” Sunny nodded gently. “I mean… if you all think about it, he’s a way bigger problem than Principal Krupp ever was.” That’s when Kendra’s eyes trailed back to the picture of Principal Krupp on the dartboard, a sad thought reaching her mind. “But… you know, fellas… bringing back Krupp permanently... we'll never be in the same class again.” George nodded sadly at this. “Yeah, I know.” “But… hang on, guys,” Zipp said gently as she got up to face them. “Just cause you’re in separate classes doesn’t mean you can’t be friends.” “Well, yeah. I mean, we'll always be friends,” Harold nodded. “Right?” “Absolutely!” Misty smiled. “Being friends doesn’t stop when you go to separate classes, or if you’re far away from each other. What matters about being friends is what comes from the heart. And you three have some of the biggest hearts we’ve ever seen.” “And we’re sure,” said Hitch, “you’ll come up with a way to keep your friendship going strong. Even when we’re not here.” That was when George seemed to get an idea as to what they could do. “Hey, in fact, you know what? Let's do a blood oath. But minus the blood. I don't wanna see the blood. No blood.” “Pinky swear?” Izzy suggested, only for George to frown and cross his arms. “No, that’s lame.” “Oh! Got it!” Harold said before spitting into his hand and holding it out. “Oh, no. What? No! That’s not sanitary!” Kendra scolded. “Can't we just do a verbal declaration of friendship or something?” “Ohhhh, good idea!” Pipp nodded. “A verbal promise you guys will never stop being friends, no matter what comes your way.” Harold realized that Pipp may have been onto something and rubbed his hands on his shorts to clear away the spit. “Oh. Okay. Yeah, wow. I haven't really prepared anything, but… ahem. I, Harold... hereby declare George and Kendra my best friends, permanently, forever.” Kendra giggled and raised her paw. “And I, Kendra, pledge to do the same thing, permanently, forever as well.” However, George seemed to struggle a bit as he raised his hand as well. “And I, George, accept the permanent rights... that Harold and Kendra have given me to be their best friend forever... and the constitution of friends…” “You know? I don’t think it matters how you word it,” said Sunny with an encouraging smile. “As long as you really mean it.” It was then that Kendra and the boys let out a unison sigh of relief, happy that the whole situation was put to bed after several long days of suffering. “What a relief,” Harold said before George nodded in agreement. “I mean, why were we even worried about that whole classroom thing in the first place?” Kendra giggled at this. “I don’t really remember! We were younger then. Clearly, we have grown.” Pipp giggled to herself when this was said. “Yeah, said the guys who hypnotized their principal into thinking he’s a comic book character. But you know… I really don’t mind that anymore.” “Chums! Thank you for chronicling my surprisingly grounded biography. The truth is a slippery thing. And you nailed it!” Captain Underpants said, rubbing each of them on the head with a laugh before standing up again. “Now it is time to fly again! Farewell, my dear sidekicks.” George smiled sadly as he pulled out the hypno-ring. “Goodbye, Captain Underpants.” “Goodbye,” Harold said sadly. “We’re gonna miss you,” Kendra said with a slight sniffle. “But… we’ll never forget you,” Sunny added. “Right, guys?” The other ponies smiled at this, realizing that Sunny was right. “Right.” “Okay, guys…” Misty looked at the boys expectantly. “Do your thing.” It was then that George dropped the ring to the ground before stomping on it, shattering it and causing a wave of energy to spread throughout the treehouse before disappearing a few seconds later. Then, Principal Krupp babbled and woke up from his hypnosis to discover he was back in the treehouse with the nine friends looking on. “Kendra! George! Harold! What am I doing in your tree house again?!” he commanded to know before he fell out of the treehouse, causing the others to rush to the window to check on him. “You kids are in big trouble!” Principal Krupp kept stammering, bumping into things in the yard as he spoke. “I don’t know how big yet… why does this keep happening?! Where are my clothes?!” And within just a few minutes, he was gone. After a moment, Kendra let out an unsure sigh. “I don't get it. Why is Krupp so angry and Captain Underpants so happy?” “Well… maybe it’s because Captain Underpants had us,” Izzy said gently. “You know… he had… friends.” “...Izzy’s right,” Zipp realized. “You guys remember how dark and lonely Krupp’s house seemed… right? Maybe if he had a friend, maybe things wouldn’t be so hard on him.” George seemed to catch onto what the ponies were saying, and a smile came onto his face as he seemed to get an idea. “We could fix that.” “...yeah,” Harold nodded. “You know, we could.” “A prank for good… I love it!” Pipp smiled. “Just show us what we need to do, and we’ll help you pull this off.” XXXXXXXX The next day at school, Principal Krupp was sorting through his mail in his mailbox when he discovered a pink letter with his name on it. He opened it and it had a heart shaped letter, which he read aloud. “Do you wanna go on a date…?” Principal Krupp spit the donut he was eating out when he saw this. “A date?!” he exclaimed before looking to see who the letter was from. “Love… Edith?” XXXXXXXX As it turns out, it was Kendra, George and Harold who planted these letters, and they had given one to Edith the lunch lady too, making her excited for the date ahead. “Oh! Benjamin Krupp, you sly dog.” XXXXXXXX And if you can believe it, Principal Krupp seemed pretty happy about his impending date too. “Edith… the lunch lady…” But as he prepared to walk out of the office, George, Kendra, her siblings, Harold and the Mane 6 walked by, with George deciding to make a friendly conversation out of it. “Big plans tonight, Mr. Krupp?” “No! What? That’s none of your business!” Principal Krupp snapped before he cleared his throat and regained his composure. “But, if you must know… yeah, I actually do.” The Mane 6 smiled at each other before they saw Principal Krupp getting a few comic books out of the garbage and handing them back to Kendra and the boys. “By the way, I was tidying up my office and I believe these belong to you.” Kendra gasped as soon as she saw the comics in question. “These are our Captain Underpants comics! Thank you!” “...um… did you just pull them out of the trash can?” Hitch asked in disgust, but Principal Krupp chose to ignore the comment at hand. “Well, I read them... and considering they're completely implausible, juvenile... and filled with the lowest form of wit... potty humor... they're actually pretty funny,” he said before walking off, a bit more pep in his step. “See you later!” “Huh…” Harold commented as they watched Principal Krupp skip away. “Well, how about that?” “I guess a prank for good is actually what Principal Krupp needed all along,” Treena smiled. “We’re proud of you guys.” “Aw, thanks sis,” Kendra smiled before noticing something appearing behind the ponies. “Hey… what’s that?” The Mane 6 glanced behind them to see the portal igniting behind them, and Misty let out a sad sigh as she turned to face their new friends again. “That’s our cue to head back to Equestria... we have to warn our friends about Alterro coming around, so they can be prepared.” “Hold on a sec,” George said as he reached behind him and pulled out a single comic book. “Here-- we made this last night... something that you can read to remember us all by.” Hitch took the comic book with valid interest. “Captain Underpants and the Unity Squad Unite... you made a comic book with us in it?” “That’s so sweet!” Sunny smiled warmly. “Thank you so much.” “We actually have presents for all of you, too,” Izzy said as she reached all of them hoof-made friendship bracelets. “They have our cutie marks on them so you remember you have friends in Equestria supporting you all the way.” Kendra sniffled a bit at this, but her smile shone much brighter than her tears. “Thank you, ponies... for everything.” And with a few heartfelt hugs and farewell wishes, the Mane 6 turned and leapt into the portal, leaving the town of Piqua and Jerome Horwitz Elementary behind. XXXXXXXX “Oh, you're back!” Allura said as the Mane 6 slowly emerged from the portal again, with Sparky and Twitch running to greet them. “The boys and I have been waiting for you to...” However, Allura had to pause when she saw the worried expressions on the ponies' faces. “Um... what's wrong?” “...Allura? We have an update about Alterro,” Sunny said sadly. “But... I don't think it's one that you're gonna like.” XXXXXXXX That night, back in Piqua, the giant Turbo Toilet 2000 was thrown away into a Toilet Recycling Center which was next door to a restaurant called “It’s Amore!” where the leopard siblings, George and Harold saw Principal Krupp and Edith having their date. Kendra smiled with a happy sigh as she watched them. “You know, it feels good to do something nice for Mr. Krupp.” Harold nodded in agreement to this. “Yeah, you know what? It does.” “...promise we'll never do it again,” George said with a look of seriousness, and Harold and the leopard siblings smiled back at him. “Promise.” “Oh, my! I've never been to such a fancy restaurant before,” Edith said as she admired Principal Krupp’s handsome face. “Well, I had to go all out for m'lady,” Principal Krupp said with a chuckle, causing Edith to chuckle with a blush on her face. “Okay, if you say so, my man!” Edith and Mr. Krupp chuckled for a few moments before Claudia turned to her siblings and Kendra’s friends with a happy smile. “You know, guys, I think this really brings our story to it's happy conclusion.” Harold nodded at this as they began to walk away from the restaurant. “I think there's some valuable life lessons in there... somewhere.” Suddenly, Treena held up her paw upon hearing a strange sound. “Wait... do you guys hear something?” But before anyone else could respond, the toilets at the toilet deposit site came to life by the radioactive leftovers as they chanted “Yum, yum, eat ‘em up!”. This caused Kendra and her older sisters to shriek in fright, clinging to each other in shock. “Oh, you have to be kidding me!” Heath growled. “No... no!!” In the restaurant, a man got eaten up by a toilet gone nuts, and even Edith had to admit, she was getting a bit nervous herself. “Oh, whoa!” “Uh... waiter!” Principal Krupp cried. “Check, please!” However, as he snapped his fingers together, Principal Krupp fell under the hypnosis again, which caused him to take off his clothes and grab the tablecloth as a cape, much to Edith's surprise. “Principal Krupp!” “Oh, no!!” Kendra, George, Harold and Kendra’s siblings said as the toilets got closer, prompting them to scream. “HELP!!!” Luckily, Captain Underpants burst through the window and flew out with the two boys hanging onto his cape. “Hang on, sidekicks!” the superhero exclaimed as the leopard siblings took off after them. “I don’t get it!” George shouted to Harold and the others. “I really thought breaking that ring would get rid of his powers!” “Yeah, well...” Harold shouted as Captain Underpants charged through the toilets, knocking them over, “...here we go again...!!!” That was when the group flew up through the clouds toward the moon, where Captain Underpants uttered his special catchphrase one final time for all the people of Piqua to hear... “Tra-la-laaa!!!!!!!”