//------------------------------// // A Clue? // Story: Neighpon tales // by Seanzilla115 //------------------------------// “She starting to wake up…” “Twil… come on Twil. Wake up.” “She’s going to be okay Rainbow…” Twilight groaned weakly as she began to wake up, her eyes slowly opening as she saw a few shaded figures. When she finally opened them up, she saw most of her friends gathered around her, worried looks on all their faces, especially Rainbow Dash. “Twilight’s waking up,” Redheart smiled. “G-girls…” Twilight whispered as she tried to sit up, only to wince a bit. “Take it easy, Miss Twilight. You were lucky your friends found you in time,” Nurse Redheart stated, “I had to place your wings in casts. Whatever attacked you really dug into your skin… your feathers won’t be growing back any time soon, so you won’t be able to fly.” “I… see,” Twilight noted quietly and weakly. “And now we get to the important question. What the H-E-double hockey sticks happened to you out there?!” Pinkie exclaimed quietly, the pinkette remembering she was in a hospital. “...Flutterbat…” Twilight whispered, “She’s back, a-” “Flutterbat’s back?! Ahh!“ Pinkie freaked as she pulled out a few cloves of garlic from her hair, “Quick! Sompony c-!” “SHHHH!” Redheart growled. “Oops… sorry.” “...And we have a bigger problem now. Silver Hawk is under her total control…” Pinkie’s eyes shrank down to dots at that as she slowly pulled out more anti-vampire items out of her hair. “You do know that stuff only works in myths, right?” Dash told Pinkie. “I don’t care. Because I told you all so. Batponies feed of other ponies, and turn them into their slaves,” Pinkie gulped. “Shhhhh! Seriously Pinkie, my boss is very much considering banning you from the hospital unless you need medical treatment,” Redheart informed. “Again, sorry. Just really scared right now,” Pinkie gulped. Dash sat down by Twilight, holding the injured alicorn’s hand. “I can’t believe Fluttershy would do something like this,” Rarity sighed. “Flutterbat,” Applejack corrected, “As far as we know, that ain’t our shy friend at th’ moment.” “Y-yea…” Spike gulped, his hand unconsciously shielding his neck, “And what’s worst, she can turn others into vampires as well.” “Don’t remind me,” Pinkie whimpered. “Spike… I think we’re going to need some help. Send a letter to Princess Luna,” Twilight told him. “Why Luna?” Spike asked. “...Don’t you remember the Nightmare Night she came down to Ponyville? Her guards are bat-ponies!” Twilight exclaimed before wincing a bit, ”And Flutterbat mentioned that they’ll take back what’s rightfully there’s.” --- Flutterbat, Platinum Knight, and the bat army arrived at the Castle of the Two Sisters, the pinkette looking around the halls of the abandoned castle. “Hmm...with a few changes, this will be the perfect home,” Flutterbat noted as she turned towards Platinum Knight, “But first, let’s see if we can find some armor befitting you, my knight.” “Yes mistress,” he nodded as they began to look around. “Good,” Flutterbat nodded before she noticed a door with a stylized shield on it, “Ahh. This must be the armory.” --- Luna was currently looking out the balcony, a slight bored, yet sad look on her face as she saw various ponies walking by down below, mainly couples. “...Lonely,” the moon princess sighed as she walked back into her room. For the past few weeks, she’s been rather lonely. She was a bit jealous of Twilight and her friends because they found somepony special while she… had nopony special. Somepony to love her, not as the princess of the night, but like a normal pony. The magic from her horn began to spark, snapping her out of her thoughts before a letter appeared before her, a small note reading ‘urgent’ on the front of it. “Hmm?” --- “Tia, I need that book about races that you brought from our old castle,” Luna informed as she walked into the throne room, seeing her sister was a bit busy with a few papers. “It’s in the library, Luna,” Celestia replied before she looked up from the paper she was looking at, “Though I am a bit curious why you want to read it.” “I can’t say…” Luna informed as she walked off. “Huh? Why not?” “Personal reasons,” was all Luna said as she left the throne room. --- Platinum Knight was now in obsidian black and pure silver armor with a image of a silver/gold bat flying in the middle of an eclipsed moon embedded in the chest armor. “My my. It fits you perfectly, my knight,” Flutterbat smiled a bit. “Thank you, my mistress,” Platinum Knight nodded as he began to search through various weapons. Well… those that weren’t old and rusted. Platinum Knight eventually found a pair of swords, the blades almost seemingly new, “These shall do for now.” Flutterbat smirked as she walked over to him before hugging him from behind, the pinkette beginning to stroke his armor. “You really do look handsome in that armor, my knight,” Flutterbat whispered into Platinum Knight’s ear. “Thank you.” “I think you’re quite the stallion,” she continued as she traced her finger on his chest armor, “I am the queen of the bat-ponies, and you shall be my king, my mate.” “Hai, my mistress.” --- “Twil, how are you doing? Do you need anything?” Dash asked, currently hugging Twilight. “Bowy, can you let me go? I have to go to the bathroom…” Twilight informed. “...Sure. Let me help you up,” Rainbow replied as she carefully helped Twilight out of her bed. “That is really sweet,” Sora smiled. “...My baby got hurt so bad…” Twilight Velvet whimpered, “Why would anybody do this?” “Calm down…” Sora told her, “She’s safe. There’s no need to worry.” “How can I calm down knowing the pony who hurt her is still out there?” “She’s got Rainbow Dash,” Sora smiled. “...Th-that is true,” Twilight Velvet sniffled a bit as she rubbed the tears out of her eyes, “I’m glad my daughter found somepony like her.” “...do you think that after this mess is all over with, they’ll be married soon?” Night Light inquired. “I hope so,” Twilight Velvet sighed. Before anypony could say anything, somepony walked in, though it was hard to tell who it was due to the large trench coat and hat they wore. “Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Spike, can you all follow me?” the figure asked. “Uh… I’m sorry mystery lady, but Twilight’s in the bathroom,” Pinkie replied. “Once she leaves it…” --- “Sonata, I don’t think we should be outside at night without somebody to watch us…” Sunset gulped as they walked through the outskirts of Ponyville. “Nonsense, Sunny. We’ve been here quite a few times,” Sonata assured, “I mean, what’s could p-” “Don’t! Finish! That! Sentence!” Sunset hissed. “Huh? Why?” “Just don’t, okay?!” “Okay, okay…” Sonata said before a large group of bats suddenly flew towards them, causing the two to scream a bit as the bats began to swarm them. “THIS IS WHY I SAID DON’T FINISH THAT SENTENCE! SOMETHING WENT WRONG!” Sunset shouted as the two attempted to run for it. “HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW! THAT ONE GIRL ON TV ALWAYS SAID IT, AND NOTHING BAD EVER HAPPENED TO HER!” Sonata cried out Sunset groaned as they ran, but they both tripped over a root, allowing the bats to get in close as they surrounded the two. “Ahh! Sunny, don’t let them get me!” Sonata cried as she held onto Sunset. Sunset concentrated and was able to teleport them out before a bat flew past her and scratched her cheek, causing her to wince and lose concentration. They got away, yes, but they ended up somewhere in the Everfree Forest. “...Where are we?” Sonata asked in worry. “The Everfree Forest,” Sunset replied as she looked around, “I’ve heard of this place a couple of times. There’s supposed to be really dangerous creatures in here.” “D-dangerous… creatures?” Sonata gulped, imagining a group of really scary creatures chasing after her. “Relax, we’ll be safe as long as we can hurry outta… ow…” Sunset began when she held her cheek in pain, seeing the blood on her hand, “Whoever sent those bats after us, they’re out for blood.” “...I’m scared. This could mean the return of a lost race…” “...lost race?” Sunset said in confusion. --- “What do you mean by ‘lost races’ Princess?” Dash asked. “Have any of you heard the Neighponese myths about squid ponies?” Luna inquired. “Kinda,” Twilight nodded. “Well, it requires a bit of explaining but… Earth Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi and Alicorns aren’t the only pony tribes…” Luna informed as she took out a really old looking book and turned to a page showing a grand total of seven different races. One pony seemed to look like part snake, one appeared to look like part squid, and the last one was a bat-pony, “The bat-ponies are only the tip of the iceberg. Long ago, they ruled the night, and attacked those that dared bring them harm.” “...What happened to them exactly?” Rarity couldn’t help but ask. “The bat and snake ponies were deemed too dangerous, but… we don’t know what happened to the squid ponies. They just...vanished one day,” Luna explained, “Some ponies weren’t… happy with the form my parents gave them and tried to make magic to make new species. Unicorns changed into the snake ponies, Earth Ponies into the squid ponies and… well, obviously the pegasi into bat-ponies. The Snake ponies had to be sealed away due to how dangerous they were, and the bat ponies… we changed them into pure bats. Some fruit bats… they remained close to what was originally their castle, which from what I can gather, is not to far away from where Applejack’s family farm is located.” “Huh… that explains the two infestations you had,” Pinkie noted. “....” “What? It’s true.” “And… well, everypony has some sort of traces of those forms in their genetics. Earth Ponies can stay underwater the longest, unicorns have some stretching abilities and hypnotic eyes, and pegasi can have night vision and strengthened hearing,” Luna continued. “Wait wait wait! SO you’re saying...me and Fluttershy have bat pony DNA somewhere deep in us?” Rainbow asked. “In a way, yes. But it would take either the influence of another bat-pony or a high dosage of magic to awaken those genetics. And even then, it’s assuming you do have even tiny traces of it in you,” Luna explained. “...Wait. So does that mean one of Fluttershy’s foals is half bat-pony?” Pinkie asked as she tilted her head. “It’s less than a .5% chance of that happening, but the chance exists nonetheless,” Luna informed. “That’s what I said earlier,” Twilight added. “Uh, I think itoko-chan’s bat...ness did get passed down to at least one,” Posey informed as she and Timid walked in, both of them carrying one of Fluttershy’s currently asleep foals. “...Fluttershy?” Luna blinked, looking over at Posey. “Ano… we’ve met before, Luna-hime-san,” Posey reminded. “...Oh. R-right,” Luna nodded, the midnight blue Alicorn remembering Posey back during the incident with Aki and her father, “I just forgot… for a moment, I forgot Fluttershy had relatives. But I honestly thought she’d have a brother.” “No, itoko-chan’s an only child. Plus, it would be really silly if she never brought him up unless circumstances said she had to bring him up,” Posey giggled before Timid poked her shoulder and motioned to Snow Angel, “Oh, right! I almost forgot! I think some of Itoko-chan’s...er, batness passed down to her daughter.” She showed Snow Angel to Luna and Twilight, both of them in shock upon seeing the sleeping filly’s changed form. Snow moved a bit in her sleep, her small bat wings fluttering a little. Twilight looked over to Katio Breeze and saw that he was still his normal self. “...so… is Kaito going to become one as well?” Pinkie guessed, “If so, I think I might have to bring more garlic.” “Pinkie…” “Shutting up.” “Princess Luna, is there anyway we can heal this off of Snow Angel and her parents?” Twilight asked. The Princess of the Night flipped through her book and found a page containing a map. “There is...one known cure. It’s this white flower,” Luna began, “However, it’s only known to grow in one spot, and this book is years old so. I’m honestly not sure where it grows anymore. Princess Twilight, maybe you can figure this out. I’ll try and make sure to keep an eye on Fluttershy and Silver Hawk.” “Right,” Twilight nodded before Luna handed her the book. “Take this with you. It might contain anything else I might’ve missed,” Luna explained further. “I have one question. Your guards are bat-ponies, why is that?” Rainbow inquired, “Are they survivors or something? Because I remember you had a few with you back when you first came to Ponyville, and that was during Nightmare Night.” “When I was Nightmare Moon, I uh… might’ve permanent changed a few Pegasi into Bat Ponies. Celestia was able to restore their personalities and memories, but they still have their entranced obedience to me. While a rare few of my guards are still Pegasi…” Luna paused as she sighed sadly, “I fear I might change back and transform them as well.” “Luna…” Twilight whispered before she pulled the Princess of the Night into a hug, surprising her a bit, “You won’t. I promise you that,” “...Thank you,” Luna smiled a little bit, “And I hope you succeed, Twilight Sparkle.” “Don’t worry. We will.” --- “So, I guess you could say they’re… monster ponies, in a way?” Sunset blinked. “Yes,” Sonata nodded, “And after dealing with those bats, I think we’re dealing with Bat Ponies.” “Looks like it,” Sunset noted before she shuddered a bit. “Something wrong?” Sonata asked. “Not sure, but I feel like somebody’s watching me,” Sunset replied before shuddering once more. “Are you scared of bats?” Sonata inquired. “...Maybe,” Sunset replied before screaming a bit when a small bat flew past her. Sonata just stared at her for a moment, the bluenette blinking a few times. “...Wh-why’re you staring at me like that?” Sunset asked, a slight embarrassed blush on her face as she tried to calm down. “...You’re so afraid of bats,” Sonata giggled a bit before she yelped when one flew past her, the bluenette jumping straight into Sunset’s arms. “Oh hey pot, I’m kettle. Have we met?” Sunset asked in a slight teasing manner. “Touche,” Sonata shrugged. “Y-” Sunset began before she heard what sounded like a low hiss, “...Please tell me that was your stomach.” “N-no,” Sonata gulped. The bluenette got off of Sunset and looked around nervously, “...Sunny. I’m scared.” Sunset just gave a small, scared nod in response as the two stayed close, unaware of a pair of red eyes staring at them from the shadows. “...I’m terrified of bats…” Sunset whispered. “...why’s that?” Sonata asked curiously. “Well, since I think we may be dead, I might as well tell you,” Sunset sighed, “I was a little filly and I lived with Celestia. She was…like my mother. But the guards… didn’t really like our relationship,” --- (flashback) “Good night, my little Shimmering Sun,” Celestia smiled. “Good night…” a young Sunset smiled a bit before yawning, “My Momjesty,” Celestia smiled softly as she was about to walk away before Sunset’s magic pulled at her tail for a second. “Uh… c-c-c-can you… check under my bed and the closet?” Sunset asked as she clenched a blanket with the same red and yellow blanket and a butterfly stuffed animal. “Sure,” Celestia replied as she walked back over to Sunset’s bed, kneeling down a bit and used her horn for some extra light, “No monsters under here,” she then walked over to the closet and opened it, “No monsters in here either.” “Thank you…” Sunset smiled as she cuddled her items and began to doze off. She woke up about an hour later when she heard a clanging noise. “Hmm? What’s that…” Sunset began in a tired tone before yawning, “Noise?” She heard it again, growing louder. She slowly clenched onto her blanket and butterfly as she begun to dart her eyes around when she saw some sort of a bat wing nearby the window. “...Is...is somepony there?” Sunset nervously asked as she slowly began to approach the bat wing. She then heard a growling come from the closet, making the filly dart back to her bed and cover herself up in the blankets, “P-please don’t hurt me. If you do, th-then my mommy will hurt you.” She heard what sounded like a gravely monster growl, causing the unicorn filly to whimper as she hid further under her blankets. She poked out an eye and saw her closet door slowly open up, making her look to see there was a bat wing and fangs on the nearby shadow. “Hello… little filly.” “...” Sunset whimpered at that, the filly feeling like she was about to scream her lungs out any second now. “You know what I love? The taste unicorn fillies filled. With. Fear~” “.....” --- “AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!” Sunset’s scream echoed throughout the entire castle, startling the entire staff (both awake and asleep). “Sunset!” Celestia gasped as she ran out of her bedroom, the alicorn wearing a magenta bathrobe as she hurried to Sunset’s room. When she got there in time, she saw the Unicorn filly shaking back and forth, her entire body void of color as her eyes were widened with fear, her blanket and stuffed butterfly both close by, but not in her grasp. “Don’t let the bats eat me. Don’t let the bats eat me. Don’t let the bats eat me,” Sunset repeated in a fear filled tone. “Sunset, what happened?” Celestia asked in worry, only to get the same words in response. She was about to ask again before she noticed Sunset’s closet door was half-way opened, seeing what looked like a bat wing poking out, “....” “...Monster…” Sunset whimpered, “...Bat monster’s going to eat me.” “...It’s okay, Sunset. No monsters going to hurt you,” Celestia assured the filly as she hugged her, all while sending the two ‘monsters’ a mental message, ‘Especially those who’re going to have to deal with their commanding officer once she find out two of her guards scared one of my students.’ (Flashback end) --- “And you knew she sent that message to those two… how?” Sonata inquired. “...She filled in some details when I talked with her via the magic journal,” Sunset informed, “...I’ve been scared of bats ever since then. In fact… when I used to be a bully, people used bats to scare me off.” “Really? Wait… you were a bully?” Sonata blinked. “Yes, it’s… not something I’m proud of,” Sunset sighed, “...I really don’t want to talk about that.” “Well, seeing as we’re about to die in a way, any regrets?” Sonata inquired, “Mine is that I worked with those two meanies, Adagio and Aria.” “Apart from the aforementioned bullying… it’s running away from Celestia. I just wish I could take back all those things I said to her before I ran away. I…” Sunset paused as she looked down sadly, “I was a really horrible student. All I cared about was making myself better, hoping I could become a better princess than Celestia. But… after Twilight helped me, I realized how horrible I acted to everyone. I just wish… I could’ve been a better daughter… she was my mother and I did all of that.” Sonata didn’t say a word before pulled Sunset into a hug, surprising her a bit. “S-Sonata?” “...Just hug. It’ll help us calm down,” Sonata whispered to her, “Besides, if it really is my last moment, I’m glad it’s with you, Sunny.” Sunset began to blush a bit at that before she slowly returned the hug, holding the bluenette close. “How cute…” a voice hissed, causing the two to tense as they heard the voice echo throughout the area, “Two friends enjoying their last moments together before becoming enslaved.” The two just clung tighter onto each-other before they noticed the red eyes staring at them. “...Fluttershy,” Sunset whispered. “Correction, Sunset Shimmer. It’s Flutter…” the figure paused as it walked out of the shadows, revealing itself to be a certain pegasus turned bat pony, “Bat.” Sunset’s eyes teared up and she began to tense up a bit, the unicorn starting to hyperventilate as she shook. “What’s wrong, Sunset? Afraid of little old me? I thought we were friends.” Flutterbat said in a mocking tone, “I thought you had a crush on me, and yet you traded me up for a siren.” “...what?” Sunset blinked. “I’m referring to her,” Flutterbat stated as she pointed at Sonata. “...Go away,” Sonata told Flutterbat. “Or what? You’re going to hypnotize me with a song?” “I’m not a siren anymore… I’m a pegasus,” Sonata informed, showing her blue wings, “See? I can just fly away if I wanted to. But I don’t want to leave Sunny here with you.” Flutterbat smirked a bit, her fangs showing a bit as she began to walk towards the two. “No… no more… no more bats…” Sunset began to whimper, clinging onto Sonata even tighter. “Don’t worry, Sunset. It’ll all be over soon enough,” Flutterbat smirked as she stood before the two, her eyes glowing a bit, “Now… sleep.” “Stay… back…” Sonata growled, attempting to use her wings to cover up her’s and Sunset’s eyes, “You won’t hurt Sunny!” Flutterbat groaned and proceeded to snap her fingers, making bats appear and ‘attack’ the two, Sonata’s wings moving away from her and Sunset’s eyes during the ‘attack’. “Don’t you trust me Sunset?” Flutterbat asked in Fluttershy’s voice, “I thought we were friends?” “...F-Fluttershy?” “Sunny, n-!” Sonata started as she was smacked on the head. ‘Gotcha~’ Flutterbat thought as her glowed glowed brightly. Sunset looked over at Flutterbat for a moment, the bat pony’s eyes glowing ominously as Sunset’s began to dull a bit. “N-n-no…” Sunset whimpered, attempting to look away, “No. You… you’re not her.” “Stare into my eyes. Let my voice be the only thing you hear.” “Sunny!” Sonata shouted. Sunset struggled to hear her friend’s screams, but all she could hear was the sound of Flutterbat’s voice echoing throughout the area. “Sonata…” Sunset whispered, attempting to reach out to her friend. “Stop,” Flutterbat’s voice said in a commanding way. Sunset’s arm instantly stopped moving, the Unicorn no longer hearing Sonata’s voice. “As I was going to say…” Flutterbat began as she walked closer to Sunset, “You love me still, don’t you? Your feelings for me still linger on in your heart, don’t they?” “...Y...yes…” Sunset slowly nodded, her eyes slowly starting to dull. “Sunny, please no!” Sonata cried out, but her voice couldn’t reach Sunset. “Tell you what…” Flutterbat began as she got even closer, “Obey, and you can spend eternity with me.” “Sunny, please! Don’t listen to her! That’s not Fluttershy!” Sonata begged. “You can be in love with me. You can be with me...forever~” “F-f-for… ever? But… what of.. Silver… Hawk?” Sunset managed to get out. “You both can share me. I’ll have enough time for the both of you.” “Sunny! Please! Listen to me!” Sonata cried out. “All you have to do Sunset… is obey me.” Sunset was at a lose of words, her eyes nearly dull as she looked at Flutterbat. She was about to say something before she felt something grab her from behind. Flutterbat’s eyes widened as she looked to see Sonata, tears streaming down the pegasus’ face as she hugged Sunset from behind. “Sunset… please…” Sonata whispered, “Don’t leave me. I...I don’t want to be alone again.” Sunset’s conciousness was starting to come back to her a little bit. “...I… p-p-prom… ised… I… w-w-would never… abadon… Sonata…” Sunset managed to get out. “What?!” Flutterbat gasped a bit at that, ‘She’s...she’s fighting my control?!’ “...if I… join you… she does as well…” Sunset stated, the hypnosis’ grip getting a tighter hold on her again, “...okay?” “...Okay. But you do realize what i’ll have to do next, right?” “I don’t care!” Sonata cried out as she poked her head out from behind sunset, “I don’t care if I get turned into a bat pony! As long as I’m with Sunny, I’ll be happy!” “I… will… obey…” Sunset said nervously. However, before Flutterbat did anything else, she was forced away from the two, as if something shoved her. “...huh?” Sunset blinked, her consciousness finally coming back to her, “What….happened?” “Uh...not gonna lie, but I’m as confused as you two are,” Sonata admitted. “Get out of here you two!” Fluttershy shouted as Flutterbat was slowly reverting back into her, “I can’t… fight her… for very long… run! Get to… Twilight… Zecora… anypony who can help!” “But… Fluttershy…” “I SAID GO!” Fluttershy shouted above her normal, neary quiet one. “...R-right,” Sunset nodded as she looked at Sonata, “Let’s go.” Sonata grabbed Sunset and they hurried away. --- Twilight and Dash began to review the map in the book, the two using the map in the main throne room to try and pinpoint the location of the flowers. “...Twil, I don’t think that this is in the Equestrian section…” Dash informed. “Huh? What do you mean?” “This map doesn’t match up with the one for Equestria. We should cross reference the other nations, like Griffonstone, the Dragon Domains, Zebrica, Cavallena, and Neighpon,” Rainbow suggested. “...Good idea,” Twilight nodded as she looked back at the map and began to search through each nation. The book had a bunch of damaged and old pages, so it was hard to tell for the exact spot, “Bowy… it’s hard to tell where the exact location of the flowers are. The pages are too damaged and old.” “Don’t worry, Twil. We’ll figure it out. We have to…” Dash informed, “...If we don’t, then Fluttershy, Silver, and their daughter will be bat ponies for who knows how long.” “...I’m surprised you aren’t blaming me for all of this,” Twilight sighed, “Especially since it was my quote-on-quote genius plan to bring Flutterbat back.” “Come on, Twil. You know me better than that,” Rainbow smiled a bit as she placed her arm around Twilight, ”Besides, we had no choice at the time. If you hadn’t brought her back, then Equestria would’ve been turned into...applestria?...N-nevermind. The point is Twil, don’t go knocking yourself over this. I know we can figure this out.” “I hope so,” Twilight sighed sat down on her throne. While Rainbow Dash was right, how was she going to cure Fluttershy, Silver Hawk, and their daughter without the flowers? Dash sat down and stared at the map, mainly at Neighpon. “...Hey, Twilight. You’ve been studying on Neighpon and stuff after we got back, right?” “Yea,” Twilight nodded. “Well…” Dash began motioned towards Neighpon, “Are there any important places involving flowers there?” “Well…hmm...hold on. I think I got a book on that,” Twilight replied, “Mind getting me all the books on...” she began before Dash blured out of the room and came back in with a pile of books with some neighpon writing on it, “Neighpon?” “Fastest Pegasus in Equestria. Remember?” Twilight just nodded before she began to read some of them, looking for anything involving flowers. She also had a translation book at her side to help her with some of the Neighponese dialogue. “Hey… what are you going to be doing while I read these?” Twilight inquired. “Gonna be reading ‘Daring Do and the Mystery of the Hypnotica Clan’,” Dash informed, “...hey Twilight?” “Yea?” “Do you think we’ll get Fluttershy back in time?” Rainbow Dash asked in worry, “I mean, I know I said we’ll find her, but I can’t help but imagine how scared she must be right now, knowing that Flutterbat is out there, using her body for who knows what.” “...I know she’d want to be in her Onee-chan’s comforting arms,” Twilight said assuringly. “Yeah… the minute she’s back to normal, I’m not letting her out of my sight again.” "...Just please read your book, Rainbow Dash. You need something to help you calm down." "I-yeah, you're probably right," Rainbow replied as she pulled her latest book out and began to read the page she had bookmarked. --- Daring Do attempted to get free of the binds she was stuck in, her eyes shut as she tried not looking a golden snake statue, its eyes giving off an eerie spiral shaped glow. “No. I can’t… let them… get to me…” Daring Do muttered, attempting to get free of the chains binding her to the wall. She heard a strange hissing sound before felt something slithering up her leg, “...Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?” She struggled to get free and/or attempt to get the snake off of her leg, but the cuff on her ankle held her leg back tight. “...Forget this,” the grunted as she managed to get the heel of her shoes against the wall before she slid said shoes off. Smirking in victory, she begun to slide her feet out of the ankle cuffs before getting them free, allowing her to shake off the snake that attempted to climb up her body, “Now let’s see if I can-” Before she could do anything, the snakes got a grip on her ankles again. “Crud…” she gulped as something held her head to look right that the eyes of the statute, attempting to open her eyes, “What is… with this clan? They were unicorns… why would they do something like this?” “It’ssss becausssse we wanted shed our former ssselvesss and evolve further,” a voice hissed, “And you shall be the first of many to become a sssslave…” “Whoever you are…you can’t make a slave out of Daring Do!” Daring Do shouted. “Oh really? And who’ssss going to ssssstop ussss?” a voice asked as a tail moved close to her eyes and propped them open, “Now… gaze into the statue o-” “Mongoose.” “WHERE?!” the voices gasped as the snakes in the room slithered back into the shadows, “KEEP THAT FOUL BEASSSSST AWAY FROM USSSSS!” Daring Do smirked and chuckled as she attempted to free her arms before an idea popped into her head. She then pressed her feet against the wall hard and leaned forward, causing the chains in the part of the wall binding her arms to weaken slowly before it shattered, causing the chained to fall to the floor as Daring Do leapt forward, landing right behind the statue. --- “‘As Daring Do reached for the statue, another slew of snake came in and rebinded her, keeping her in place once more as the leader of the Hypnotica clan grabbed the statue and tried to hypnotize her once more.’ Hey Twil, since there are snake ponies do you think your mom-” Dash begun. “They existed in myth, but this Hypnotica Clan did actually exist. They’re supposedly a tribe of unicorns who used hypnosis to try and make a peaceful land, but the ponies back then feared them due to their appearance,” Twilight explained as she was still going through the books. “I see…” Rainbow noted, “So we got Squid Ponies, Bat Ponies, and Snake Ponies. What, there’s two more ponies out there based on foxes and cats or something?” “Maybe. I mean, who knows what other secrets the princesses may have been hiding from a time when their parents were in charge?” Twilight shrugged. “‘Daring Do attempted to avert her gaze, but the might of the snakes kept her perfectly still and made sure to gag her this time. ‘Sahahahaha! It’ssssss over, Daring do! Accept yoursssself as a servant of the hypnotica clan!’ The strong pegasus attempted to move, but the snakes holding her back were simply too strong.’ ...wait what? Daring Do is stronger than snakes and-” “Are you the series writer?” Twilight asked. “...No.” “Then you don’t really know how strong Daring Do can be, or how strong these snakes are,” Dash simply nodded a bit as she continued to read. --- Daring Do attempted to struggle out, but snake’s grip proved too strong for her. “Ssssstare at the ssssssstatue…” the leader of the Hypnotica Clan told Daring Do, the statue in their hands as its eyes glowed, “Accept it. Nopony will come and sssssave you now, Daring Do.” ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have just leapt ahead of that archeology team...’ Daring Do thought, mentally slapping herself for making such a stupid decision, especially when it came to an ancient race such as this. Daring Do had no choice but to stare into the eyes of the statue, seeing a blue, red, and green spiral coming from it. Her eyes soon began to gain the same spirals as her mind slowly began to go. “That’sssss right. Let your mind go,” the leader of the Hypnotica smirked. The mare began to feel… relaxed in a strange way. The snakes binding her soon slithered away, allowing her to fell to her knees as she continued to stare into the statue's eyes. --- “‘And as Daring Do stared into the statue's eyes, it seems all hope is lost for our hero’....Okay, this has gotta be the point where things start to turn around,” Dash hoped as she read further into the book, “‘Daring Do looked at the leader of this clan and she’ … what? ‘bowed to her’. Twil, am I reading this right, or did Daring Do just lose?” “Ugh…” Twilight rolled her eyes for a moment as she stood up and walked over to Rainbow dash, “Dash, I highly doubt my mom would put that down in her b-” she paused when she saw the part Rainbow read, “....” “This is… is… what?!” Dash gawked, ready to throw the book at something when Twilight held her back. “You know, I’m sure my mom has a good reason for this an-” “Yea, she does! And I’m sure as Tartarus gonna find out what it is!” Dash shouted as she headed to go and find Twilight Velvet.