G5 Adventures in The Bad Guys

It was clear that the Mane 6, Allura and Twitch had stumbled into a much bigger plot than they had realized.

After the car chase with the police department and getting back to the hideout with all the loot the Bad Guys had taken over the years, the Bad Guys and their apprentices finally agreed on stealing the coveted Golden Dolphin award, and Mr. Wolf had promised our heroes that if they helped keep watch and make sure the plan went smoothly, the Mane 6, Allura and Twitch's involvement would be kept a secret.

So even if they WERE caught, they would be off the hook.

But not long after this pact was made, the ponies, Allura and Twitch were rushed into hiding before the arrival of a fearsome new foe-- a dragon named Safira, who was informed of the cubs' training and the plan to steal the Golden Dolphin by the Bad Guys, and Safira warned them that if the plan didn't go AS planned, there would be severe consequences.

Allura knew that was how she treated the auroricorns and many of her subjects in Leopardia throughout her life, and it was scary to think of how much Safira reminded Allura of her father, King Nekro.

Our heroes had to make sure their new… acquaintances were protected from Safira’s rage any way they could, even if it meant being involved in a plan that they honestly hated.

Now… let’s get back to the story and see how things shape up from there, shall we?

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Reva woke up from her sleep with a gasp of horror, having another nightmare of the night her valley was attacked and destroyed by intruders, and with it… her parents, aunts and uncles.

She had nightmares like that for the past few years, but they hadn't gotten this bad before.

It was like she was reliving the whole night all over again.

She looked over at Mr. Wolf, her cousins and the rest of the Bad Guys, who were all still asleep, causing her to sigh to herself. “Maybe I need a snack to try and help me go back to sleep. I'm sure there are some extra cake crumbs left from where Piranha devoured it earlier.”

And so, Reva slowly climbed out of bed toward the door, and once she looked back at her friends and cousins, she sighed once again before heading toward the kitchen to grab herself a midnight snack.

XXXXXXXX

Little did Reva know it, but Allura and Sunny were up as well (with their friends sleeping in the living room in front of the couch, deciding they would be more comfortable there when they were not taking up as much room). “Thank you for making me some tea, Sunny,” Allura said as Sunny poured some tea into a bowl that she had found in the kitchen cabinets. “I’m not normally this sleep deprived.”

Sunny smiled warmly as she put the tea kettle back on the stove. “It’s no problem at all. My dad used to make me a blend similar to this when I couldn’t sleep-- I thought maybe it could help you.”

Allura took delicate little sips out of the bowl, feeling more comfortable using that than a teacup, due to how big her paws were. “Ah… that is nice.”

“I sure hope the plan goes like it’s supposed to tomorrow,” Sunny sighed as she walked around the kitchen in order to sit next to Allura at the dining table. “I don’t wanna know what evil things Safira has in mind for the Bad Guys and the cubs if it doesn’t.”

“Believe me, I don’t either,” Allura shook her head. “They may be… doing the wrong things, but… I feel like they’re… a lot like me.”

Sunny looked at her in surprise. “Because they’re feared and they feel like there’s no other way to live their lives?”

“That’s… part of it,” Allura said with some hesitation, taking a sip of tea before looking at her reflection. “And… the part of being manipulated by someone with a higher power and authority than you. Like… me and Alterro were with--”

“E-Excuse me…?”

Sunny and Allura looked up from their conversation to see innocent little Reva standing in the doorway, looking a bit sleep deprived herself. “Oh… hi, Reva,” Sunny said gently. “Do you want some tea?”

“Um… no thank you,” Reva said quietly, trying to be polite. “I guess I’m just… a little outta sorts due to a nightmare I had.”

“Ohhh… you poor cub,” Allura frowned and began to approach. “Can I ask what it was about?”

“...it was about the night our valley was attacked and… destroyed,” Reva said quietly. “The night we lost everything, and I… I can’t get it out of my head. It's like I have to relieve everything about that night all over again.”

Allura's frown seemed to deepen when Reva said this, and she was able to get close to the cub to nuzzle her, and Reva happily nuzzled back, grateful to have someone who sort of understood where she was coming from.

Then, after a few moments of nuzzling, Allura turned her head to Sunny with a calm look. “Sunny, if any of the others wake up and notice we’re gone, tell them I took Reva out for a little flight,” she said. “A little flight always used to cheer me up when I was sad, and I think it might help Reva too.”

“Sure thing, Allura. Be safe out there,” Sunny said to the tiger cub and snow leopard gently. “It’s a little nippy outside.”

Allura lowered onto her haunches to let Reva onto her back, and once Reva was safe and secure, Allura flew out of the open window into the night, leaving Sunny to look on.

XXXXXXXX

“WHOO-HOOO!!!” Reva cheered as she and Allura flew through the night sky, over the town of Los Angeles. “This is incredible! I’ve never gone this high before!”

Allura laughed slightly at this. “It really helps when you have wings to carry you along. I’ve… actually never given anyone except Twitch a ride before.”

Reva seemed genuinely surprised when Allura said this. “Really? Then… why did you wanna give me a ride when you only gave rides to Twitch?”

“...to be quite honest, Reva, I… I see a lot of myself in you and your cousins,” Allura admitted. “When I was your age, I lost my mother to sickness, leaving my father Nekro in charge of not only me and my twin brother Alterro, but the entire kingdom of Leopardia. But… my father abused his power over me, my brother and our kingdom, and… for a while… me and my brother turned almost as heartless as him.”

Reva’s eyes went wide in surprise. “You did?”

“Yes… and as punishment for abusing our power, me and my brother were separated in different worlds, and… I was so angry for so many years. I committed a lot of crimes of my own, and a lot of them were committed against the ponies that I arrived with,” Allura explained. “It… wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I finally saw the era of my ways.”

“But… what about Sunny and her friends?” Reva seemed confused. “Didn’t it take a long time for them to forgive you?”

“Well… Misty, the blue unicorn? She used her magic to see everything I had gone through, and she being the empathetic soul she is, easily forgave me and wanted to give me a second chance,” Allura went on. “Sunny too. The others… took a minute, but they eventually found a way to forgive me. But… there was someone that I don’t think will ever forgive me.”

“Really?” Reva tilted her head. “Who?”

“...Alterro.”

“Why would your own brother not forgive you?” Reva asked the snow leopard in surprise. “He’s your family!”

“Yes, but… he still respects my father’s laws and decisions from our kingdom,” Allura said, “and he was furious with me for not finding the star and setting him free from his own prison. And now… he wants revenge on not only those ponies… but on me and Twitch as well.”

There was a deep moment of silence after that as Reva tried to take this information in, and while Allura sighed deeply at the thought of her own brother wanting revenge against her. Then, when she was finally ready, Reva began to tell her own story. “A few years ago, I lived with my cousins, my parents and my aunts and uncles in a special, enchanted valley called the Valley of Mythix. It was beautiful… full of food, water and life. But… Dad always told me that there were creatures who wanted the valley and its splendor for themselves, and the grown-up tigers, including our moms and dads would always try and defend the valley from them. Me and my cousins always wanted to help defend the valley, but our parents always told us we were too young.”

Allura nodded slowly. “That must’ve been hard to hear.”

“It was. Then… one day… these… creatures attacked the valley. Me and my cousins were rushed into hiding so fast, we couldn’t see who they were,” Reva said as her breathing began to get shaky. “The next thing we saw from our cave was… fire. A whole bunch of it, in different colors, and our parents tried to put them out, but the flames were too fast. Mom screamed at me to get my siblings through the tunnels and outside the valley, where we would be safe.”

“And… did you?” Allura hesitated. “Yeah, of course,” Reva nodded, trying to wipe her eyes with her paw. “But then… as we escaped through the tunnels, we… blacked out for some reason and woke up in the suburbs around Los Angeles, and… we were with Safira. She looked after us and taught us all we needed to know until we were placed with the Bad Guys. She… she saved us. We owe her everything.”

Allura nodded slowly, trying to comprehend this information before a thought came into her mind. “And… your parents…?”

“As far as we know, they died in the flames with my aunts, uncles and the valley’s attackers,” Reva sniffled. “I… I never got to tell them I loved them…”

Allura felt her heart break when she heard this, and she sighed and let the cub bury her face into Allura’s plush purple fur. “It’s all right, little one. I know how sad you must be. But... there's something you must understand. Safira... she seems like she uses fear to manipulate you, your cousins and your mentors into doing whatever she wants you to.”

Reva nodded sadly, bringing her face out of Allura’s fur. “I know, but... she's really powerful. If me and my cousins ever tried to stand up to her, who knows what she might do to us? So... what can we really do?”

“I promise, me and Twitch and the ponies are going to help you all find a way to get away from her... you have my word,” Allura said with a gentle and reassuring smile. “Now come on... let's get you back to the hideout before it gets too cold-- otherwise your water powers might freeze up.”

Reva nodded slowly and held onto Allura again, slightly sniffling as she did so. “Yeah... o-okay.”

And so, with a heavy heart, Allura flew back toward the hideout to get Reva back to her friends before it got too late for either of them to be out.

XXXXXXXX

It was about 30 minutes later when Allura and Reva returned, but the cub was so tired, she couldn't see straight to get back to bed. So, Allura let her curl up with her and the others in the living room, tucking Reva under her wing before Allura retired to sleep herself.

However, about an hour later, Mr. Wolf was getting up to use the bathroom when he noticed that Reva was missing and began to panic-- if Safira found out that he had lost one of the cubs, who knows what she might do?

So on his way to the bathroom, Mr. Wolf searched the hideout for her, but when he came to the living room, he paused and eventually smiled as he saw Reva curled up under a sleeping Allura’s wing, with Twitch and the Mane 6 sleeping not too far away from them.

Mr. Wolf knew that losing a parent was never easy, but when it came to losing five pairs of parents and a valley you called home... he couldn't imagine what Reva and her cousins must have been feeling that night.

He may have been a Bad Guy, but... somewhere deep inside of him, he did have a heart.

Mr. Wolf then made sure the blankets were snug over the sleeping ponies before going over and rubbing the top of Reva’s head before heading to the bathroom.

The heist they would pull off the next day may have been one of the hardest things the Bad Guys had ever tried to pull off, but if they succeeded...

...they would be able to make a better life for the five cubs and themselves.

And hopefully... it would be a life far away from Safira and all the deviousness she had up her scales.

Little did Mr. Wolf or any of the others realize it right away, but they would have to go to to great lengths in order to keep their freedom... even doing the unthinkable