The Maretropolis Prison opened its doors for the five characters who entered it: Sunburst, Blue Comet, and C.R.U.S.A.D.E., which consist of Sweetie Belle (calling herself Nowhere Hare), Apple Bloom (Seedling), and Scootaloo (Turbo Girl). The guard guided them down the hallway of special cells.
"I'm surprised you want to talk to her." the guard said. "She hasn't had any visitors since she was arrested."
"I still can't believe that Starlight Glimmer, my old friend, would do something so vile as to trying to illegalize superheroes."
"Where have you been?" Turbo Girl asked. "Not only was that national news, but it happened at Canterlot too. How did you miss that?"
"I wasn't in Canterlot three years ago." Sunburst said. "I was studying abroad. And I don't have a TV."
"There's always newspapers." Blue Comet said.
"I don't read them, but they're good for covering easily-stained surfaces."
"What about other ponies?" Seedling asked. "Didn't you hear it from them?"
"I don't get out much." Sunburst said.
"I could've told you that." an eerie growl echoed from a cell. The five of them looked and saw a glass-door cell with a black creature inside. He looked like a mutant crocodile with purple eyes. Across his croc-like mouth was a clamp. He was hung in the middle of the room and above the floor by several chains that surrounded him from all angles except for the glass door.
"What the..." Sunburst said approaching the prisoner. "Who... What..."
"Will you be finishing any of these questions?" the black crocodile asked. "Good to meet you, Sunburst. My name's Kul'as."
"How do you know my name?" Sunburst asked.
"I could tell just by looking at you." Kul'as said. "I also see a lot of hero worship... superhero worship, to be exact. And what's this? Someone knows a lot about magic, but doesn't have much to spare. Is that why you're here?"
"Sunburst, don't listen to him." Blue Comet said trying to get the unicorn away. "Let's just get Starlight and we can..."
"Blue Comet!" Kul'as said. "Never thought I'd meet you face-to-face. And after all these years, still no powers. And... Whoa. Your wife is missing? And that's what you're afraid of, isn't it? That any second wasted could be her and all her friends being destroyed?"
Blue Comet kept silent. Suddenly, Turbo Girl jumped up in front of the cell.
"Ooh, do me next! Do me! What color am I thinking of?"
Kul'as gave her a disrespecting glare. "The last filly who stood this close to me... Well, I enjoyed having her for dinner, along with a nice glass of boiling-hot cidar."
"Um... I was thinking blue, creep." Turbo Girl said.
The sound of creaks were heard from the side of the demons clamps hinting a mischievous grin on his face. "I guessed aqua."
"Apologies." the guard said. "This guy has gotten ten-times as creepy since he was resurrected. The prisoner is this way." He turned his face back at Kul'as. "As for you, I'll deal with you later."
"Will you?" Kul'as asked raising an eyebrow. "Really?"
The guard tried to put on a brave face, but failed to hide his uneasiness. "No."
"Hey, don't worry about him." Blue Comet told the guard. He then pointed his hoof at another cell. "At least we won't have to hear from that monstrosity." Inside the other cell was a spherical orb with a black blob inside. It kept making monster noises trying to force its way out.
"What is that thing?" Sunburst asked.
"Let's just say it caused a lot of trouble for our friends." Blue Comet said. "Not having much luck escaping though... ARE YOU, YOU RORSCHACH REJECT?!" He jumped back when the blob hit the sphere towards him.
The blob then formed a monstrous face. "Just you wait." it growled. "When I get out of here, you will all feel the wrath of the Phantom Blot!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Turbo Girl said pushing everyone away. "I'll mark it on my calendar."
As they went further down the hallway, they stopped at the end when they came across a cell with a certain unicorn in it: the one they were looking for.
"Starlight?" Sunburst asked hoping it wasn't his old friend.
The unicorn turned to the voice and gasped when she recognized him. "Sunburst? What... What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same question." Sunburst replied. "What's this I hear about being an illegal radio pirate and leading a strike against superheroes and attempting to assault the Princess of the Night? What were you thinking?"
"Oh." Starlight said getting back to her upset face. "So you're still on their side."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sunburst asked.
"Nothing." Starlight said. "Why are you here? Surely, it isn't a courtesy."
"Well... you're right." Sunburst said. He leaned in to whisper. "Don't let this spread, but the Power Ponies and Mighty Machines have gone missing. They were fighting the Sisterhood when... something happened. We're working on a spell at Canterlot to find them and bring them back, but we're missing a unicorn of powerful magic. And you're the most powerful unicorn I know."
"So that's it?" Starlight asked. "You think you can just ask and I'll just help the very ponies who's fault it is that I'm stuck here behind bars."
"Hey!" Seedling shouted. "You brought the 'behind bars' part on yourself!"
"Everybody calm down." Sunburst said. "Look, Starlight, I'm paying your bail as a sign of good faith. But I'm not going to bargain for your help. You have to decide on it."
Starlight sighed and responded. "Okay, look. If we can't discuss the problem here, then after this, we talk more about this at... Where?"
"How about my library?" Sunburst asked. "It's closed for today and I've got the only key."
"Okay." Starlight sighed.
"You're really going to trust her with her freedom?" Turbo Girl asked. "She did a lot of damage."
"So I've heard." Sunburst said. "But she's my friend. I know I can reach her."
The door opened up and Sunburst handed the guard a file. He looked it over and nodded his head. And with that, Starlight was free to walk alongside Sunburst and C.R.U.S.A.D.E.
Kul'as' eyes widened seeing Starlight pass by with the group. "Why does she get to leave here? I can't even get food; yet, she gets to leave?"
"Yeah! Maybe I would be less eager to break out of here if you let me actually move around in my cell." Phantom Blot yelled before the guard walked to the cell and turned up its heat with a knob on the side. Just then, when the Phantom Blot's walls turned red, the monster began to liquefy.
"Just ignore them."
"So this is your job nowadays?" Starlight asked observing the dozens of shelves across the room. "I kinda took you as the type who would become like a... royal wizard or something."
"Yeah, that may be how it looked when we were young and I first got my Cutie Mark," Sunburst said, "But the truth is, as soon as I got into magic school, I realized my magic was only for knowledge and books. So... Are you in?"
"Sunburst, I know you love superheroes." Starlight said. "When we were kids, you hung posters and collected toys about the original Power Ponies and the Wonderbolts and Team Colors. But you need to understand, Sunburst. They're more super than heroes always stopping criminals their way just to be in the spotlight.. All they really care about are themselves."
"Hey!" Nowhere Mare exclaimed. "Me and my team resemble that remark! You can't just say that we're selfish."
"Yeah." Turbo Girl said. "What did we ever do to you? Besides, superheroes protect the community. We put others before our own."
"Oh, really?" Starlight asked with obvious disbelief. "Give me one example."
"You want an example?" Seedling asked. "Here's one.
"The Pish Posh Brothers faked some docs
From multiple banks
Making it seem like my family was in debt
Than Mistress Marevelous cleaned their clocks
Then we gave our thanks
Heroes the best kind of ponies yet"
"They're the best" CRUSADE sang,
"They're the best
Off to protect the rest
So awesome. So honest
They're the best"
"I was worried I'd always be grounded" Turbo Girl sang,
"With my wings, so very small
Then Gryphon Galore made a hostage out of me
Zapp confronted her and pounded
And saved me from a fall
And now, I can feel very free"
"They're the best" C.R.U.S.A.D.E. sang,
"They're the best
Getting rid of criminal pests
From the east to the west
They're the..."
"QUIET" Starlight sang,
"Maybe you don't realize that superheroes are snobs
Who got the blind support of the police
They have no idea that they're running out of jobs
So do stop kidding yourselves, please"
"NEVER" C.R.U.S.A.D.E. sang,
"THEY'RE THE BEST"
"NOT THE BEST" Starlight sang.
"THEY'RE..." C.R.U.S.A.D.E. sang.
"DEFINATELY NOT THE BEST" Starlight sang.
"THEY'RE A PRAYER" C.R.U.S.A.D.E. sang.
"NOT SO BLESSED" Starlight sang.
"THEY SAVE LIVES" C.R.U.S.A.D.E. sang.
"DO NOT JEST" Starlight sang angrily,
"THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING
BUT BOOST THEIR LARGE EGOS
HOW COME ONLY I CAN SEE IT
HOW COME NOBODY ELSE KNOWS
SO COCKY AND EGOTISTIC
SO WILD AND BALLISTIC
THEY'RE THE WORST
THEY TOOK SUNBURST"
"Wait, what?" Sunburst asked in confusion.
When Starlight realized the last thing she said, she froze and her face turned red. She immediately ran off to another room.
"What did she just say?" Turbo Girl asked.
"If I didn't know any better," Nowhere Mare said, "I'd say that sounded like she..."
"Give me a minute." Sunburst said.
After a minute, Sunburst entered the other room alone. Inside, he found Starlight staring at a book cover.
"The Values of a Hero by Star-Swirl the Bearded." Starlight read. She then gave a slight chuckle. "How could one unicorn be so powerful and so full of knowledge? Sunburst, whatever you're thinking..."
"I'm just trying to make sense of what I heard." Sunburst said. "When you said that heroes took me away from you... what does that mean?"
"For a smart pony, you sure are slow." Starlight said. "Look, you want the truth? Fine. I've always..." She breathed deeply. "...Considered you as more than a friend."
"Say... what now?" Sunburst asked.
"You heard me, and I'm too embarrassed to say it again." Starlight said. "Look, I've always admired how smart you were and how much you cared for me. You've always made time and you've stood up for me when I was nervous. But when superheroes started to fight crime, you became more and more distant from me with your hero worship. You even studied magic so you could find a way to help them. Soon enough, you couldn't even talk to me because you wanted to... 'help the heroes'. I lost contact with you after you enrolled in magic school. I've blamed the heroes ever since."
Sunburst was, at first, at a loss for words. He couldn't figure out what to say. Then, he did.
"You know... I kinda felt the same way."
"What?" Starlight asked. "I don't think so. Remember, you were so obsessed with heroes, you didn't have time for me."
"But do you know why I admired the heroes, Starlight?" Sunburst asked. "The truth is, I owe them my life... because they saved yours."
"Say... what now?" Starlight repeated Sunburst's earlier response.
"It's true." Sunburst said. "Do you remember how superheroes first emerged? We were both there that day. In Maretropolis. When we were fillies. Cerberus just broke from his post in Tartarus and attacked our town. We were right underneath a building that he jumped through and it could've collapsed on top of us. I got out, but you were too scared to move. Then, suddenly, a mysterious superhero called Supermare flew in and used her mental superpowers to move the rubble just long enough for you to work up the nerve to escape. When I realized I could've lost you... I guess that's when I realized how much I really care about you. That's why I like superheroes so much. But you're right. I guess I did love heroes too much for you. If I had known... Why didn't you tell me?"
"I... I suppose I didn't want a disagreement to drift us apart." Starlight said. "I... I'm sorry. Is any of that true?"
"Every word." Sunburst said. "Let me tell you something...
"I was wrapped up in a worship for heroes
'Cause they did what I could not
Never knowing how it would ever affect you
But I've neglected everyone so close
Until I almost forgot
I wish there was something I could do"
"But there's something that I do know, Starlight...
"You're the best
You're the best
Whatever you do, I'm impressed
Heroes are great to depend
But you are a true friend
No need to put you to the test
'Cause you're... the... beeeeeeeeest"
As the song ended, the two shared a sweet embrace. When they separated, Starlight smiled and spoke. "All right. I'll help. What do I have to do?"
About an hour later, Starlight joined Moondancer and Sunset Shimmer around the magic circle drawn around the broken-down bomb.
"So you're gonna help us?" Sunset asked.
"Yes." Starlight answered. "I'm going to help the Ponies and Machines."
"All right then." Moondancer said. "Princess Celestia, we're ready."
"Excellent." Princess Celestia said. "Now--once again--concentrate your magic on the ring."
Like earlier, the unicorns (with Starlight substituting for Sunburst) closed their eyes and pointed their horns at the outline of the circle. A light escaped from each of their horns in the form of their own colors and hit the circle surrounding the bomb. The circle glowed brightly, and even brighter than before, and before long, a colorful dome surrounded the bomb. A spark of lightning then shot from it and opened a white circle in the middle of the air. A spiral appeared in the circle and glowed. The three unicorns walked away from the circle and observed the portal along with everyone else.
"It worked." Celestia exclaimed in joy. "It really worked."
"What's it mean?" Princess Cadence asked.
"It means that whatever happened with the bomb has sent my pupil and her friends to another realm." Celestia explained. "We have to retrieve them. A three-pony team would be more ideal. Since the Masked Matterhorn was my pupil, I should go along."
"It might be dangerous wherever they are." Sunburst said. "You might need my quick thinking."
"And I've done a lot of harm to the Power Ponies years ago." Starlight added. "I owe them a lot."
"Very well." Celestia said. "Luna, Cadence, it's up to you to look after the kingdom while I'm gone. Sunset Shimmer, Moondancer, keep an eye on the portal. It might be our only way back, and we can't risk it closing."
"You can count on us." Moondancer said.
"All right." Celestia said staring at the portal with Sunburst and Starlight. "Let's save our heroes."