Staying Off the Hook

by Photon Jet

Game On!

It was a bright and sunny day with birds chirping, vehicles passing by the stadium. The stadium is a big skate park where skaters show off tricks for bragging rights. The stadium originally held people but it was empty. Not a soul in sight. It wasn't long before a puddle of orange ink splattered next to one of the inflatable bags. More paint started to appear in front as if it was fired. Then, shortly after, something underneath moved to the center of the puddle. It was an orange squid with two big, round eyes and two long tentacles. The squid quickly transformed into a human form with tentacle as hair, a shirt and shorts for her body and a weapon which resembled a water pistol. The name 'Gameset Shimmer' appeared just above her.

The humanoid squid looked left and right to see if the coast was clear before spraying more ink with her weapon to conquer more turf. While she looked, in the distance there was a purple colored humanoid squid coming right towards her, sweeping the floor with his roller. The orange squid painted a nearby wall and transformed to swim up to the higher ground. There, she started firing at the other squid, splattering him in a colored explosion, sending him back to where he came from.

Not long after, a pointer appeared next to her, notifying her that yet another squid of their own kind was arriving at her location at very high speed. Her team member who was also a female, but with a different hairstyle and carrying two small ink weapons, landed next to her, covering her back while painting as much turf as possible before their enemies appeared. "Woomy!", cried the squid with the name, 'Dashinator'. "Woomimi!", replied the other as they got prepared for a big rumble.

During the battle, inks in two colors spread everywhere making the arena look like a gigantic picture frame. Every squid, showing no mercy, was firing against their opposing colors, throwing paint bombs, launching missiles, powering each other up with additional, evading attacks back and forth with no signs of rest. Some of them got splattered, giving one team the upper hand. The scenario was one big turf war.

As the scene zoomed out, the battlefield was shown on a silver television screen displayed inside a light-blue colored room. Beside it was a small video game home console labeled 'Nintendo Switch' and a flat, red-side colored plastic case labeled 'SPLATOON 2'. There in front of the television was Rainbow Dash in her athletic outfit using a normal game controller and Sunset Shimmer, in her usual dress, who was using a wide-screen tablet. Both girls were pressing buttons.

"15 seconds left." said Sunset Shimmer.

"No probs!" Rainbow responded with a confident look on her face. "Keep firing on your side and don't let them through."

15 seconds later, the game stopped. Two different sized cats appeared on each side. The two danced and shortly after gave out the result. 57.8/43.2. "VICTORY!" was shown on the top-left, leaving one little cat on its back in defeat.

"Alright! Five wins in a row!" Rainbow shouted as she fist pumped the air in delight. "We're an unstoppable team together with you around!". She looked at Sunset happily who replied with a big smile.

"It's been an honor coming round to your place to practice before the main event." she said. "I've really got to work on my skills after my unlucky streak."

Sunset Shimmer wasn't the luckiest player around before meeting up with Rainbow Dash. She had trouble keeping the battle in control as the other teams she faced didn't show any signs of weakness. This resulted in several losses with a single win and a single disconnection which left her in a disappointed state.

"Oh, don't get so melancholy on your unlucky streaks, Sun Shim! Learn from them. All you need is a daily dose of professional teamwork from yours truly." Rainbow told Sunset as she playfully prodded Sunset on the shoulder. "Trust me. With me by your side, we'll win the Splatfest in 1 hour flat!" She gave her a thumbs up and a wink.

Sunset knew not to take what she said literally so she gave out a small chuckle.

"Besides, you make a good Splattershot user. The world could use more of those."

Then, Rainbow Dash's stomach growled, meaning only one thing. "Gee, all this Turf War is making me hungry."

Sunset's stomach also growled. "Huh, me too." she said. "You know what they say, never play on an empty stomach. How about we discuss what we'll do in every Splatfest match?" Rainbow Dash couldn't agree more. Both girls head out to the kitchen to get something to eat.

Suddenly, a little yellow ball of light descended from the sky into Rainbow Dash's room. It remained there, assessing the area before noticing the Nintendo Switch console. The light moved to the console and tapped it in a speck of yellow glitter.

Half an hour later, Sunset and Rainbow (with a stain of peanut butter on her mouth) returned, getting themselves ready to play again.

"I can tell this plan we're relying on can even put us in the S ranks." said Sunset Shimmer sitting down beside Rainbow and stretching her knuckles. "I'm ready for some action!

Rainbow had a smug expression."Well, duh. Of course it will. All we have to do is make it happen." As she pressed the Home menu on her controller, a message notification showed up on the left of the screen. "Time out!" she said. It's probably one of my admirers who want to join my-I mean, OUR team." She was still getting used to saying that after the events of The Battle of the Bands.

The message from an unknown user which Rainbow opened up wrote, "Are you Dashinator and Gameset Shimmer?"

"Told you." she told Sunset who was starting to look concerned. Sunset Shimmer somehow had a dread feeling inside her as if something bad was about to happen. Before she could say anything, Rainbow hastily wrote, "Eeyup! Wanna join our squad?" and sent it to the messenger.

Sunset tried again. "Uhhh...Rainbo-" Almost immediately another message appeared: "Your help is needed." Soon after the message was read, the screen started to glow brighter and brighter and brighter.

"Uhhh, Sunset?" Rainbow asked Sunset. "What's going on?"

"I don't know but it doesn't look good!" she responded as the TV started to drag both girls in with ever-growing force like a huge vacuum-cleaner. It didn't affect the environment around them at all

Both girls tried to hold on to the carpet but it was no use. The sucking force caused them to lose their grip. They couldn't hold on to anything any longer.

"Hang on Sunset!" cried Rainbow as they were both dragged into the bright portal behind them. Both girls clung together. screaming as they were being carried at high velocity. Both engulfed in light, they reached the end of the tunnel in a luminous flash. Then, everything went to black.

Sunset Shimmer groaned as she was the first to open her eyes. Her vision was completely blurry for a few seconds before recovering shortly afterwards. She was trying to recap what happened. The ground she saw first was concrete then she looked over to Rainbow Dash. She was lying face-down on the floor. She still looked human but her appearance was different. "Rainbow Dash?" she called to her. "Rainbow, are you alright?"

Rainbow replied with a moan while getting up using both hands. "I'm fine, except for that hard landing..." she spoke. As soon as her face was shown to Sunset, it was completely different. Rainbow's face had a black mask around her eyes and her hair had turned into tentacles.

Sunset quickly jumped back with a short scream which Rainbow soon echoed. A couple of short screams later both girls were looking at their new forms from top to bottom.

"Have we?" asked Sunset.

"Yep. No question about it." Rainbow replied. That magic turned us into..."

From the short alley way they were in, they both found two other humanoid squids who were chatting with each other.

"INKLINGS!" they both shouted in unison.

A few seconds of pause later, Rainbow started grinning....then she began to laugh.

"This...is...SO...AWESOME!" she cried, twirling around on one spot to admire her looks. "Now I can get to feel what its like being in a game! My dream of being a Inkling came true!" Back during the first days of Splatoon, Rainbow Dash wanted to be in the game since she had a vivid imagination and a competitive nature when it came to video games. She didn't even worry a single bit about being sucked into a portal to another world.

But Sunset Shimmer did worry. Now that she was with Rainbow Dash in the new world, she was very concerned. Travelling from the Equestrian world was fair enough but travelling to a different world with no sign of exit started to make her panic. Still petrified about her new look, she moved her fingers. "Oh no, this is bad..." she said.

Rainbow Dash stopped admiring herself and looked at Sunset with curiosity. "What's wrong, Sun Shim?" she asked her. "I thought you like travelling to different worlds."

"Not when you're stuck in this world with no way out!" she replied. "Don't you see? That message changed us into these characters and now we're trapped inside the video game with no way out!" She paced back and forth while going on about the topic. "I know we both have imaginations, Rainbow Dash but this is not the thing we want. I always knew magic was running loose which causes these unnatural events. I always knew that message was suspicious. If you'd just stop and think about it, we wouldn't be where we are in now! What will happen to friends when they can't find us? How will they be able to-Rainbow, wait!"

Rainbow Dash quickly lost interest in Sunset's rambling and dashed outside the alley to look at the spectacular view. The area had 4 colorful shops on the left, one with a statue of a tortoise on top of a commercial screen, a building that resembled an arcade on the right and located in the center farthest from Rainbow Dash was an enormously tall tower full of advertisements with a double sliding door entrance at the bottom. Many Inklings strolled through the area, while some were chilling out using their mobile phones which resembled squids. Rainbow Dash was enjoying the view while Sunset Shimmer caught up.

Shortly after, Sunset fell to her knees, absolutely gobsmacked. She had no idea how to get back home. "Oh no no no, we're doomed!" she spoke in distress. "We'll never get back home now! How can we go back from this world we're in? I've no idea what to do and-"

Rainbow Dash held her by the jacket and held her face close to her with a stern expression. "Sunset, cut it out! You're acting like Rarity that time she wore a new dress out in the rain!"

A green-haired male Inkling was eyeing them suspiciously when Rainbow saw him and quickly let go of Sunset, almost toppling her backwards.

"Heh heh...Rough night." she chuckled.

The Inkling then wandered off.

"Listen." she whispered to Sunset. "That magical message sent us here for a reason. All we have to do is find out what the problem is and mmmmmmmmaybe it'll take us back. Dunno who sent it but it's worth a try anyway."

"But where are we going to find the problem we must solve?" she mused.

Suddenly, a tune played from a screen, shortly displaying a stage show and featuring a female Inkling with a pinkish-white hair color, a crown-like headgear accessory, gold pupil eyes, a white jacket with a gold zipper, pink shorts and white trainers.

The Inkling soon spoke, "Y'all know what time it is!" She quickly sidestepped to the right. "It's Off the Hook, coming at you live!" She again moved to the other side. "Let's see, what are the current Turf War maps." She dashed behind the DJ booth and put her finger on one of the discs, making it move to show the maps on screen. During the broadcast, the Inkling
had to comment on the maps before moving on to League Battle maps and Ranked Battle maps. Every time she had to move one of the discs, her performance got sloppier. At the end, the Inkling was tired, showing sweat on her forehead.

"And that's all the time we've *pant* got..." she said while trying to recover. "So, don't *pant* forget...Don't get cooked, stay off the hook!" She did a pose to the audience, then gave out a sigh of relief before the screen transitioned.

Rainbow and Sunset saw the live show. "Did you see what I saw?" Sunset said to her.

"Yeah." she replied. "Pearl's bad at doing the DJ."

"No! I meant Marina was supposed to be beside her all the time." Marina, Sunset Shimmer mentioned was meant to be with Pearl during the live screenings. But since the Inkling did all the work by herself, something was not right. "I wonder what happened to her?"

Rainbow Dash soon realized what was different. "Hey, you're right! Marina wasn't there and Pearl didn't even mention her absence! That must be what that message mentioned! It's a friendship problem!" She cracked her knuckles, getting ready to tackle the challenge head on. "Alright, time to save the day once again!"

"Hold on." said Sunset Shimmer, resting a palm on her left shoulder. "We need to see what Pearl's up to before we act. Remember, plan first, then act."

"Fine." said Rainbow with a shrug.

The two girls approached a window to take a look at Pearl who normally enjoyed having a conversation with 'Marina'. However, something was totally different. Pearl was sitting on her white armchair, her face resting on her left hand, looking at a little photo with a dull expression as if she missed her friend so much.

Both girls felt her pain and sorrow. They didn't want anyone to feel miserable all day long. They even waited for Pearl to smile at them...but she didn't. She was too focused on the photo to notice them.

"Poor girl, we gotta help her." said Rainbow Dash.

"I know." Sunset replied. "But in order to help, we need to get in there...even if it means getting through security.

"No probs!" Rainbow spoke with determination. "All we have to do is say we're here to help. It's cake!" She strutted off to find the entrance.

Sunset knew this wasn't going to be a good idea but followed anyway.

Soon enough they arrived near the room where Pearl was but a strong security guard was blocking the way. Both girls stopped when they saw the guard.

"Hey, this section is off-limits!" the guard spoke in a deep tone of voice. "No entry allowed, you hear!?"

Sunset Shimmer plucked up the courage to speak. "Excuse me, we saw what happened to Pearl and we're here to help."

"Right...and a mouse caught a catfish. Go do some Turf Wars as this is none of your business." the guard spoke, showing them the exit.

"Well, that didn't go well." said Sunset as both girls went outside. Before Sunset thought up an idea of her own, another one flew into Rainbow's head.

"Time for plan B. Let's change our styles into something else so that guard won't recognize us and plead for him to let us in."

"Don't tell me you're going down the cartoon cliche route."

"What? We gotta get in there to help Pearl no matter what! There's no way she can do all the work on her own. You gotta better idea?"

Close to them, an Inkling with light-gray hair, wearing a black kimono dress and holding a large green umbrella heard the girls discussing how to get to Pearl.

"Pearl, you say?" she said as she walked towards them.

Sunset and Rainbow Dash turned to look and were surprised to see the famous lady with their own eyes.

"M-Marie..." Sunset stuttered. "I don't believe it...it's actually you! One of the Squid Sisters in Inkopolis!" she was trying to contain her excitement along with Rainbow.

"Oh, come on. Everysquid says that every time I go shopping." she said with one raised eye brow. "Back to the topic at hand, you saw what's happening right now. Pearl's holding the live screenings on her own which is not how it is used to be."

Rainbow recovered from her excitement. "Yeah, we saw Pearl from outside the window and she's depressed." she told her. "It's like Marina's gone, leaving her to do all the dirty work. That's not right." She looked at the window again and saw nothing had changed.

"Hmmm..." pondered Marie, closing her eyes in deep thought. " I feared this day would come, just like that time Callie went missing..."

"Wait, so you saw what happened?" Rainbow spoke.

Marie opened her eyes and explained what she saw in her flashback. "Yes. One day, I was strolling the outskirts of Inkopolis getting some fresh-air and minding my own business after my recent performance. As I was heading back, I saw Marina rushing through, sobbing, tears rolling from her eyes. I knew something was wrong. I tried to catch up but she was out of sight in almost an instant. That's when I went to see Pearl as quick as I could. As I tried to see what happened, Pearl shut off everything, even the blinds of the window you saw through. It was like that for a few days with no changes to the maps. Since then, I've become more and more concerned about what did actually happen. Eventually, everything opened up again as if nothing had happened but instead, Marina was nowhere to be seen. Things have now turned to the worst." The flashback ended. "I'm so glad I ran into you two. I also wanted to see how this big change happened."

"I think I know what happened..." said Sunset Shimmer with a determined look. "Somehow, Pearl and Marina got in a heated argument. I guess that outbreak caused Marina to be absent from live shows. I fear the same thing will happen to Marina as well. But I'm not sure for certain. The only way to know is to find out what did happen."

"Well, we'd better get a move on now!" said Rainbow impatiently before lowering her voice to a whisper. "How can we get in there with that big dude guarding the way?"

"Allow me." said Marie heading up front. "Just follow my lead."

Shortly after, the three girls stood by the security guard.

The guard spoke in a deep tone of voice to the familiar faces." "Hey, I thought I told you it's none of your-"

"Excuse me, kind sir." Marie spoke in a sophisticated manner. "These two girls are some of Pearl's VIP members." She showed them two VIP passes with Rainbow and Sunset's faces on them. "I know you like doing your job and I appreciate that but would you kindly let these good souls in? I'll make sure to keep them under control."

Sunset and Rainbow both shared a sweet smile with their hands behind their backs.

The security guard felt nervous as he couldn't refuse to obey what Marie asked him. He stood sideways beside the entrance, giving them a hand gesture as if he was greeting them. "My lady, I'll do anything for you." he spoke with a changed tone.

All girls headed into the room where Pearl was, after saying "Thank you" to the guard. They stood close to the armchair Pearl was still sitting on, not moving a single inch.

"What do you want?" Pearl spoke in a dull tone. "The interviews are on next weekend. This is no time for playing charades or stuff like that." She still had her eyes focused on the little photo of Marina.

"Pearl." Marie spoke. "You can't keep sitting there, daydreaming about being upset in your life. Me and the two special Inklings want to help."

Rainbow silently took Marie's speech as a compliment.

"Ugh!" Pearl groaned. "How many times do I have to say it? I'm not in the mood for a chat. Just go away and leave me be."

"No." said Sunset firmly. "We know what happened a few days ago and we want to know how did it happen.."

"Unless you're hiding something yourself so you don't wanna spill the beans. That's not how everything works around here." Rainbow spoke up.

Pearl groaned again in defeat with her head held up high. Instantly she spun her armchair 180 degrees clockwise to look at them. She had an angry look on her face. "So what if I'm hiding something! I'm not going to spit it out on some random Inklings who ran through just to see me up close! I'm not your school teacher so BEAT IT!" she spoke in anger.

Rainbow looked to Sunset, knowing what she had to do. Sunset looked back and nodded. She walked up close to Pearl and put her hand on her arm. Luckily, she still had her superpower thanks to the pendant she was still wearing. Her eyes grew a bright light, making Sunset see what was in Pearl's mind. There was a vision of an argument between Pearl and a brown-colored girl with brown octopus hair, wearing a black jacket and green trousers.

"But Pearl, you can't keep making excuses on the next Splatfest. I'd say we're sticking to my idea and that's that!" said the girl.

"Oh, sure. We're just gonna put glue on YOUR idea just because everyone loves you more because of what you are and hate me more.Thinking us Inklings as lab dogfish, is that it!?" shouted Pearl.

"T-This isn't like that! I can't believe you're going this far just so you can shove it in my face, saying they chose me as their 'waifu'. Your ideas are just so bad, I can't even think of the consequences."

"Bad? BAD!? Your saying my ideas at THAT cringe worthy! This coming from an Octoling who just wants everything going her way! I bet your idea is SO horrible they regret coming to your club!

Marina gasped after what Pearl said to her. Tears started welling up in her eyes. She firmly stood up. "I never want to speak to you or hear your excuses again!" she shouted in a hurtful voice.

Pearl retorted back "Go ahead! Go back to those dumb Octarians! See if I care!"

As soon as Pearl turned, Marina ran in the opposite direction, sobbing. It was then Pearl was regretting what she had done until the vision ended.

Sunset was back in the world and quickly let go of Pearl's arm which she retracted in self-defense.

"Find anything?" asked Rainbow.

"Yes." Sunset replied. "Pearl, you didn't like Marina's idea of bringing Octolings to Inkopolis Square to attend the next Splatfest because you were afraid they could terrorize the event and as always, steal the Great Zapfish. You came up with excuses just to stop that idea from happening so only Inklings could take part. That's why you said to her the idea was 'horrible', because you thought Marina would turn her back on us. But your jealousy made you break Marina's heart, even after all she did to make Off the Hook successful. Thanks to you, the Great Turf War is going right back to when it started."

Pearl was shaken by Sunset telling her everything she knew. "I...I...I..." she stuttered with tears in her eyes. It wasn't long until she burst out crying. "Fine! Now you know! Now you know why Marina ditched me because of my big mouth! I hated the Octolings because of what they did to us but I didn't mean to lash out at my best friend because she's one too! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!" she continued to cry her eyes out until she felt Marie's hand resting on her shoulder. Shortly after, she squeezed Marie in a tight hug. Sunset herself empathized her pain and suffering after telling the truth.

"I know how hard life can be with all the Octarians causing trouble." said Marie with her eyes closed. "But Marina is special. She is not ruthless like the rest of them. She's special to have a great friend like you. She wouldn't be having a wonderful time hosting live events and being loved without you. You must understand this."

"*sniff* *sniff* I know...It was wrong of me to be jealous of her..." she sniffed, still teary-eyed. "Now what do I do? Without Marina, nothing is the same anymore...I'm such a jerk with no respect at all. I'm not worthy of being a celebrity now..." She sat back down on her armchair with her head resting on her hands, breathing out a long sigh. "Looks like this Splatfest is cancelled...*sniff*"

"That's not gonna happen!" said Rainbow, which caught Pearl's attention. "You and Marina have been together ever since you two first met. Are you really just gonna make every Inkling sad and pack your stuff?" She stood beside Pearl. "Listen; friendship isn't perfect but it can still be brought back together again, no matter what we look like. It's not the outside of somehow everyone must rely on, it's the inside that counts and we all know it ourselves. Inkling or not, you're best friends for a reason. Now it's your turn to make things right with the help of us by your side! Now let's bring you and Marina back together again, shall we?" she gave her a thumbs up along with a wink.

Pearl felt her courage return and stood up from her armchair. "She's right." she said. "It's my problem and it's my responsibility to fix it."

"We'll go ahead and find Marina for you so you two can become friends again." said Sunset Shimmer, as she was going to devise a plan to bring her back to Pearl. "Who knows what happened to her?"

"It's best to get yourselves suited up before you go." Marie advised to the girls as she showed them the shop called, 'Ammo Knights'.

In the shop, Rainbow and Sunset were trying out their new gear and the equipment they had with them. Sunset chose the 'Hero Splattershot', a basic choice for beginners. Rainbow's choice was the 'Hero Dualies' which were two small ink weapons. She was doing poses with her choice before the real deal.

"Check me out!" she said as she was getting carried away with her look.

"Rainbow, we're only doing this to get Marina back." said Sunset, unimpressed.

"I know, but there's no denying getting into the action!" she confidently replied.

For a few seconds, Sunset was having doubts on what would happen after the mission. "I just hope this will take us home..." she spoke quietly to herself.

It wasn't long before they tried out their ink weapons in the training battlegrounds filled with balloons. Some of them moving and some that were heavily armored.

Sunset stood on one inked spot in front of three balloons. She held the Hero Splattershot in front of her and opened fire at the balloons, leaving a pile of orange ink on the floor which Inkling changed to their squid forms to swim and fill up their ink tanks. One by one, the balloons popped. Then, in a couple of seconds, the balloons reappeared which Sunset splattered again and again until she was confident on using the Hero Splattershot.

Rainbow in another part of the training area was quick with her maneuvers. Using the trails of ink, she swam close to every balloon she faced and quickly splattered them with the Hero Dualies before rolling to the next one. She was having a fun time with her Dualies. "Aww yeah!" she spoke out loud. But Sunset didn't hear her as she was concentrating on her own thing.

A couple of minutes later, the two girls were together, practicing their teamwork. They were discussing what to do and what not to do when together.

"Don't forget me!" a familiar voice spoke out to them.

The two girls looked and there was Pearl, equipped with her own gear and carrying a big, gatling ink weapon which the shopkeeper called it the 'Hero Splatling'. There was a long silence between two sides as both girls were at a loss on what to say. They did not want Pearl to get into any danger or else she would get captured or worse, brainwashed.

Pearl then looked at them suspiciously. "What? I'm not one of those damsels who get kidnapped by some big, ugly reptile." she spoke to them as she faced a horizontal line of balloons.

"Uh...yeah, about that." Rainbow said with a sheepish grin. "I think it might be better if you wait for us to return. We don't want you to put yourself into trouble and-"

Suddenly, Pearl fired her ink weapon, firing rapidly and splattering all the balloons in a line, starting from the far left. All the balloons were popped with no problems at all. She then twirled at Sunset and Rainbow, blowing smoke from the tip of her Hero Splatling.

Rainbow was speechless on what she saw.

"She did say she wanted to fix the problem." Sunset whispered to Rainbow with a smirk.

Pearl, Sunset and Rainbow (without wearing her pendant) were ready on their rescue mission. Each one was outside in front of Ammo-Knights where Marie stood.

"You know, I didn't expect all three of you to go at once. It's usually one of our agents who get jobs done." Marie told them. "Still, the Octarians are very ruthless, especially after their recent defeat...They maybe plotting to steal the Great Zapfish once again with Marina by their side but I'm not so sure." She gave the girls a walkie talkie each so they could communicate at long distances. "Be careful not to get splattered out there."

"Got it!" Sunset replied with a salute. "Let's hope we'll be there before it's too late. I'm still surprised you put your pendant away, Rainbow." as she looked at her.

"Well, I don't want to leave my friends hanging by slipping over ink, crashing into walls and sinking into the sea." said Rainbow with everyone looking at her, confused. "Hey, even super-speed has its own flaws too, y'know!"

"Do you know where Marina might be?" Pearl asked Marie.

Marie gave out a mission briefing. "From what I recall, the Octarians have a recon base several miles near Blackbelly Skatepark. A certain number of Octarians are lurking there so there is a high chance Marina could be heading in that direction she took. For now, Inkopolis is restricting other Inklings doing battles in that area for their own safety so you all have to go there the hard way. If by any chance you get into any Turf Wars against them, the weapons you have equipped have been modified with their own sub-weapon and special ability."

"Nice! So, what are we waiting for?" Rainbow said impatiently. "C'mon, team! Let's move out!" She ran off in the distance...only to come back a couple of seconds later. "I, heh...dunno where that is."

Everyone did a face-palm before Marie pointed at the manhole.

"Ohhh, right..." She scratched her head, embarrassed.

The team arrived at Blackbelly Skatepark, emerging from the point filled with green ink. As they looked, there were many octopus creatures on tiny legs, (some with one streak of tentacle hair and some with multiple layers), in different sizes. Each one had its own ink turret at its disposal.

Sunset looked at the scene. "I didn't expect this many Octarians. This is going to be tougher than we thought." she said to the crew as they loaded their ink weapons, at the ready.

"I know." Rainbow spoke. "But Marina's bound to be here. Let's all split up and clear the area first but make sure to keep each other safe. If any of you find Marina, give me a shout!"

Sunset and Pearl gave a firm nod.

"Alright, everysquid! Let's turn those octopi into steamed hams!"

"You mean, 'steamed clams'." Pearl corrected her.

Rainbow frowned and dangled her hands down in response. She was not amused by Pearl's correction. "Just go get'em..." she responded.

And so, they were off. Each girl took a different route, spraying ink before swimming quickly to other parts of the park in their squid forms. Almost instantly the Octarians spotted them and opened fire with pinkish purple ink. Some of the inks were fired as slow moving cannonballs which were evaded easily.

Sunset on the left route, covered her ground, keeping under a tall hill until the time was right. The moment the enemies stopped firing, she swam to the left which caught them off-guard, and splattered them with the Splattershot. The Octarians, covered in green ink exploded, giving her some orange eggs. She continued left where a tall Octarian, wearing a pair of goggles with laser vision, was standing, communicating in gibberish. Sunset quickly hid under the enemy who was firing blasts of pinkish purple ink at long range. Some of the ink caught Sunset's face which she swiped off. She covered the wall with a vertical line of ink, swam up and immediately splattered the Octarian. She looked up at the summit to see if anyone was up there.

Rainbow was very agile as she took the center. Several times she sprayed a line and immediately swam straight into it before inking another line. Two Octarians were firing at her with little ink pellets but they both missed as Rainbow was too quick for them. She got up between the two Octarians and splattered them with each Dualie without looking. She waited for her ink tank to fill up as she saw another one below her. She threw what they called 'Burst Bombs' which caused them to splat. As she progressed, she painted one of the long, steep climbs which led to the summit and swam to where another tall Octarian was lurking. Rainbow thought she could easily prank it.

"Hey, look! A big Zapfish!" she shouted as she pointed behind her.

Foolishly, the enemy turned away to look. But there was no such 'Zapfish' to find. Confused, it quickly turned back to see Rainbow up close with Dualies right in its face.

"Gotcha!" SPLAT! The area was clear.

Pearl meanwhile took the right route with her 'Hero Splatling' as she threw a Sprinkler at the half-pipe. The sprinkler stuttered as it spun around, covering the area in its radius. A blast of opposing ink destroyed it so she knew what to expect. Pearl moved to one of the nearby walls as she charged up the Hero Splatling. Once it was fully charged, she turned round to the Octarian, firing countless amounts of ink rounds which splattered it. Nearby Octarians were alerted as Pearl swam up to a higher platform. Without stalling, she splattered them easily.

Sunset continued onward, splatting a nearby Octarian before encountering another one holding a shield, behind a wooden wall. Using the terrain to her advantage, she removed the enemy ink with her own, leaving a trail leading close to the enemy. She swam and put her back to the other side of the wall. With a deep breath, she spun out of the corner, and quickly left another trail before quickly swimming behind the enemy. With the enemy's back left wide open, it was splattered by Sunset's Splattershot. She then continued to proceed to the other end of the park.

Rainbow jumped down, splattering another Octarian before going back to her speed swim technique as she swam up a nearby wall. She saw two Heavy Splatling Octarian users on top of the concrete hill. They spotted her and began charging their weapons. With a quick side roll, Rainbow got to cover.

Pearl continued leaving trails of ink leading through another half-pipe passage. She saw the Octarians opening fire at Rainbow as she swam up the wall at the end of the passage so she got up to a good vantage spot and fired at the enemy.

Sunset wasn't far behind as she splattered the other tall Octarian at her end.

"Great work, all!" Rainbow spoke as she got out of the corner and reached the checkpoint. "Any signs of Marina?"

"No." Both Sunset and Pearl replied.

"Huh. Guess there's something we've missed on the way."

Sunset moments later spotted a small crevasse between a wall located with a pinkish purple trail behind the checkpoint. "Uhh, was that there before?" she said as she pointed at the cracked trench.

Rainbow realized what was different. "No..." she said, scratching her chin. "That may lead to someplace we haven't been to before. C'mon!" She was the first to go through with the two girls behind her.

The trail led to the outer perimeter of the basketball playing field. As the team approached, a group of Octarians spotted them coming their way and hurled a big purple bowling ball at them. The team stopped, surprised, seeing the rolling bowling ball coming their way, before Pearl jumped in with her charged Splatling and fired at the top of it. The supreme force from her Splatling knocked the bowling ball right into the shrieking Octarians at high speed, crashing into them as if they were bowling pins.

"STRIKE!" Pearl cried with her left fist up in the air as the group headed close to the end of the trail.

After a few seconds they've reached the end of the pinkish purple trail.

"Well, we've reach the end but still no Marina." said Sunset Shimmer as she looked around along with Rainbow.

Pearl slumped down with her Splatling beside her. "Ugh!" groaned Pearl. "This is just GREAT! How are we ever gonna find anything that tells us where she is?"

Suddenly, the team heard a distant voice that sound like a woman in the basketball field. "Don't make us laugh, you defect. Did you really think you could invite the tribe you betrayed to our enemy's parade?"

"I'm glad you asked." Rainbow said to Pearl with a confident smile.

As the girls climbed to the top of the fence, there in the field were 5 octopus-like girls. One was the girl Sunset saw in her vision who was on her knees and the other 4 had identical red tentacle hair, pale white skin and wore the same styled suit. One of them wore seaweed on her head.

"I just thought it would be nice for us to know each other." Marina said sadly. "I just want this stupid war to end. Why don't you just understand that already? Why do you keep stealing from the Inklings and make it look like the things are yours?"

"Why?" the leader of the group responded. She then spoke in an intimidating tone "Is that why you choose to dare question us, who you once fought with? No wonder you're the most stupid out of all the Octolings to just run away from our order."

The team watching them gave a mean look at the bullies.

"We, Octolings, have pride." the lady continued as she walked around the fallen girl. "We don't have any sympathy for those we pillage. Not ever. We follow orders from our leader so we can show the world we have the power. The power to make those who oppose us tremble in front of us, making us the force to rule all with an iron fist! The Octarians are never bound to make 'FURRR-IENDS' with others as we crush them to take back what's ours! This is why we all remember that this is no treaty; this is the reality where only the strong survive and the weak become extinct." She stopped in front of her. "But YOU. You have forgotten what it's like to be an Octoling. We gave you a purpose and you threw it all away just to take part in some stupid celebrity special done by those pathetic Inkling scums! You disgust me...you disgust us...you disgust your whole race! All because you want to change..." She grabbed her by the hair. "You are nothing but a condemned defect. You were never an Octoling and you never will be, you traitorous scum!" She released her with a kick to the chest which caused her to fall on the floor. Broken, she began crying with tears dripping down her face and with the other Octolings laughing at her.

The girls watching, were horrified at what they saw. Rainbow felt her anger boiling up to a breaking point. She'd had enough. She didn't want to tolerate this any longer. She lunged over the fence to give the bullying Octolings a piece of her mind.

"Hey, you tenta-fools!" she angrily called out to them. "Why don't you pick on someone your own skill level, cowards!" That got their attention straight away.

"Well, well, well. Look what the catfish dragged in...." the leader said ominously as the other two caught up. "More Inklings in our way, along with Little Miss Ugly."

Pearl went over to Marina to check if she was okay. "Marina! Oooh...Marina, I knew this wouldn't end well." she said before giving a menacing glare at the other Octolings. "If you want to mess someone up, you'll mess with us!"

"Just who do you think you are, judging someone of your own kind just because she's different!" said Rainbow sternly.

"Us? We're the Octarian Elite Scout Squad and we're here to put an end to your misery if you don't run away." replied the leader.

"She's Octoling Alpha with Octoling Beta, Octoling Charlotte." finished another member of the group. "And I'm Octoling Delta."

"I see you're trying to stop us from stealing the Great Zapfish once again. Predictable. No wonder those Octarians fail every time they were assigned to something." said Octoling Alpha. "More weaklings for us to squash then."

"Oh yeah?" called Rainbow as she was face-to-face with Octoling Alpha. "I bet you've made that up because you're the ones who are weak! In fact, I bet you can't even hit an open target!"

"Yeah, go show those clowns!" cheered Pearl as she helped Marina up.

Octoling Alpha gave a threatening growl.

"Yeah, I thought so." she continued as she stepped back. "Too scared to admit you're a noob who will never be as good as us."

In a blink of an eye, the Octoling Elite Scout Squad lashed out their ink weapons of choice, which surprised Sunset and Pearl. Octoling Alpha had something similar to a Splattershot, Octoling Beta had a blaster, Octoling Charlotte had a roller and Octoling Delta had a long-range ink weapon. All the different types of ink weapons were colored in gold, glimmering paint.

"You want to say that to us again, big mouth?" said Octoling Alpha in a threatening tone.

But Rainbow was oblivious. She didn't even faze one bit. "To someone who's going for quantity over quality and is afraid of a challenge, yes! Let's settle this score. You and us."

Sunset behind her was concerned at where Rainbow was going.

"Fine, you stubborn little twerp." Octoling Alpha responded, gritting her teeth. All of us will do Turf War in Blackbelly Skatepark to determine who is the strongest of the two."

"If we win, you keep your faces out of our sight and never mess with our friends or anyone ever again! Plus, you'll be keeping your yap behind bars!" Rainbow told her the winning condition.

"But if we win..." said Octoling Alpha ominously. "We'll bring the Great Turf War to Inkopolis..."

This made Pearl and Marina very worried. They loved Inkopolis very, very much. They did not want the Octolings to have it as their territory. Even Sunset was worried at the consequences of them winning.

"...and with a team of three, you'll never stand a chance." she finished.

"Not with friends by our side." as Rainbow looked at Marina who was feeling emotionally weak. She didn't know what to do anymore.

"Fine, you can have the defect. It won't change anything."

"Well, this 'defect' can beat YOU." This put a bit of confidence into Marina but was still unsure.

Octoling Alpha growled again as she held out her hand to accept the conditions.

Rainbow with a determined expression, looked back at her friends, all giving concerned looks. She showed them a small smile, telling them everything would be okay. In an instant, Rainbow accepted the handshake.

"You Inkling scums are going down by the might of the Octarians." Octoling Alpha spoke to Rainbow.

"Heh...In history, maybe." she spoke back as they get prepared for the Turf War battle. The battle to determine the fate of Inkopolis had begun...

In a Turf War, each team, in their own color, consists of 4 players. The aim of the game is to ink as much turf as possible in the battlefield until the time runs out. Players can also splat opponents which are returned back to their respawn point to start again. The team which covers as much turf as it can in 3 minutes is declared the winner.

Blackbelly Skatepark was quiet as the tension was high for Rainbow's team. After changing back to their human forms, all their hair was turned into a light-blue color to resemble the team they are in.

"Okay everysquid. We're sticking to the plan. Split up and head to the middle as fast as you can. There, we can stop those Octo-bozos from breaking through. Ready!?" Rainbow spoke to her teammates.

"Ready!" said everyone except Marina, holding what they call a 'Charger', who was still petrified.

Sunset looked at her after the absent response. "I don't think Marina's feeling well after what the Octolings told her, Rainbow." she said.

"Don't let their speech get into your head, Marina." Rainbow told the uneasy girl. "They're just like intrusive thoughts. Don't pay attention to them and they won't pay attention to you."

On the other side of the park, all four Octolings got themselves ready without saying a word. Each one showed no sign of emotion as if they were robots.

An Octarian referee who was standing just outside the park blew the whistle.

As soon as the whistle blew, both teams scrambled quickly to the center. Rainbow, Sunset and Pearl, using the combination of their forms, took their same routes as before but at a faster speed. They memorized the environment around them to gain an advantage against their opponents. Marina however moved at a slower pace by not turning into her octopus form. Doubtful, she followed Rainbow's ink trail, who was way up in front.

The other Octolings were not far off as they also knew the battlefield. Alpha took the right route, Beta took the middle and Charlotte took the left with Delta following behind her.

In several seconds, the two colors clashed but the conflict gave the Octarian Elite Scout Squad the upper hand. Alpha caught Sunset off-guard by closing in on her. Sunset tried to fight back but the difference in ink power splattered her, causing her to respawn back at the team base, leaving Alpha an opening.

Rainbow was feeling the pressure as she dodged blast after blast from Delta who was on top of the big hill firing her golden E-liter 4K. As she took an alternative route to take the high ground, Beta who came completely out of nowhere, one-hit blasted her with the Blaster. Beta then moved up and saw Marina below her. With a chuckle, she threw a Splat Bomb which detonated, resulting in Marina getting splattered. It wasn't long until Delta was fully charged and sent an Ink Storm, moving towards Rainbow's team base.

When Pearl saw Charlotte coming her way, she knew she had to fire with the Splatling. As it happened, Charlotte quickly went undercover until the firing stopped. Then as quick as a falcon, she swung a huge amount of purple ink at Pearl, causing her to be splattered.

Rainbow and the others regrouped as the Octoling Squad drew near. This time, they went in different directions. Rainbow took left, Sunset took right, Pearl middle while Marina took several steps forward but stopped. Once again, Alpha's words made her unsteady, causing her to breathe heavily as she headed back to the respawn point.

As the two teams clashed again, the results were almost the same. Sunset threw a Splat Bomb at Charlottle who quickly went past it. Sunset then tried to fire with her Splattershot but it ran low on ink, making her vulnerable to Charlotte's rolling assault. SPLAT!

Rainbow and Alpha were both firing their own ink at each other, scattering themselves at close range, dodging enemy fire. As soon as Alpha was about to be splattered, she used her special ability which enclosed her in a clear ball. Catching Rainbow off-guard, she detonated the ball which exploded, leaving purple ink in a wide radius. SPLAT! "All too easy." she said in a monotonous tone.

Pearl did manage to drive Beta away with her Splatling due to the difference in range. She pushed forward; swimming to the top of the ledge, she left a trail of light-blue ink to her right before getting splattered by Delta who was still in position. SPLAT!

The Octoling squad was near Rainbow team's base before they respawned again. As they did, Rainbow saw Marina on her knees, looking down.

"They're too tough!" cried Pearl. "They're roasting us like chestnuts on an open fire!"

"Hold them off and find an opening!" Rainbow commanded the two girls.

The two girls nodded and began finding an opening for them to take while Rainbow knelt beside Marina.

"What's wrong? You're givin' up already?" she asked with a caring look.

Marina looked up at Rainbow. "I'm so sorry..." she spoke in a weak tone. "What they said about me was true. I thought it would be nice to start a new life in Inkopolis and possibly bring both nations together....But now I'm just a defect to both the Inklings and Octolings. All I ever see now is everyone hating me because of what I am...Nothing but a bombay duck..." She was about to cry once more.

"No. That's not true." Rainbow replied with an arm wrapped around her which caused Marina to look at her again. "What THEY said was not true. What you left is an inspiration, showing us that not all Octolings are bad as they can get along well with others. They're saying it because deep down, they're scared and just want things their own way because of some dumb Great Turf War nonsense. Just because you're different compared to the majority of the Octolings, doesn't mean you should be treated that way." Marina understood what Rainbow was trying to tell her. "You're special. Your fans look up to you. You've made many friends." she continued with a determined look while clenching her fist. "Now it's your turn to show them what a true Octoling is!"

"Do you think I can beat them in this Turf War?" Marina spoke as she assessed the situation. She saw Sunset finding an opening to the center of the park.

"Yes." Rainbow answered as she looked back. "Because we believe in you!" She stood up with her Dualies beside her and dashed out of the point. As it happened, Rainbow's words caused Marina's expression to change.

Time was running out for Rainbow's team as Rainbow and Pearl were trying to prevent the 3 Octolings camping near their base while Sunset was heading to Delta's position. The Octolings had them surrounded and outnumbered. Easily, they got them pinned to a wall. Even Rainbow Dash's evasiveness wasn't effective against them.

It's over, Inkling scum." said Charlotte as she jumped to launch a big pile of purple ink at them. Rainbow and Pearl close their eyes before the blow was struck. SPLAT!

Rainbow Dash and Pearl were left untouched when Charlotte was suddenly splattered in a puddle of light-blue ink. Then, Beta was splattered a couple of seconds afterwards. Everyone looked and there was Marina, holding her Charger firmly in her grip. She was the one who sent Charlotte back to their base.

"Alright, Marina! Yay!" cheered Pearl as they fired back at Alpha as Rainbow gave her a thumbs up.

"Grr...TRAITOR!" growled Alpha before she fell to the might of teamwork.

Even Delta who was still on the top of the tall hill was surprised on the first hit from Marina.

"W-what? How'd she..." she said before Sunset struck her from behind with the Splattershot.

"Friendship, that's how!" said Sunset as she removed the enemy ink.

The tide began to turn against the Octoling squad. The Inklings were fighting back, reclaiming their turf with Marina, thanks to Rainbow. Marina took the left route, removing the purple ink with the light-blue ink. As she headed to the stairs on her left, she swam up to the top of the hill to support her teammates who stuck to the same plan. She was highly skilled with the Charger as she kept the Octoling squad away with her splat precision and her special ability, the 'Sting Ray' which fires through terrain. Easily, she left a trail for Rainbow to take which cleared the rest of the purple ink near Pearl.

Pearl took the middle route, clearing up all the purple ink as quickly as she could before moving down a set of stairs. She then set a Sprinkler in front of her before taking the next set on her left.

Sunset managed to get through the half-pipe and swam up to the right. There, she found the opportunity to remove the big batch of purple ink near the enemy's base since all the Octolings had their eyes focused on Marina, leaving them as open targets. From there, she splatted Octoling Delta who totally forgot her strategy.

The light-blue ink in the park was showing more and more as Rainbow's team progressed. Alpha, Beta, Charlotte and Delta struggled, trying to find an opening from all angles. They were all lost in confusion after Rainbow used her Tenta Missiles special ability. Her Tenta Missiles fired a barrage of ink missiles up into the sky which targeted the Octolings, before crashing down in small clusters just after Sunset used her special ability, the 'Bomb Rush'. The Bomb Rush made Sunset throw a dozen Burst Bombs at the Octolings with no ink cost for a short period of time. With the combo, the enemy team lost even more of their turf.

Alpha, full of rage, survived the impact and went straight for Marina by spraying one of the hill pathways with her purple ink weapon.

Alpha charged at Marina with a bloodlust scream.

Alpha missed as Marina dodged.

Marina charged her Charger.

"Get good!" said Marina before firing.

SPLAT!

The whistle blew. The game was over.

Both Rainbow's team and the Octoling Squad were alongside each other, anticipating who would win.

The park was covered in light-blue and purple ink. While there were still traces of purple ink, the light-blue colored ink formed multiple lines which led to the other side of the field. It was a close game and it could be anyone's winner.

At last, the decision was made. The Octarian referee got out two different colored flags and declared the winner.

One of the Octolings threw an empty can at the referee in response.

Meanwhile, Rainbow's team cheered. They saved Inkopolis from a great catastrophe. Rainbow and Sunset shared a high-five together while Pearl hugged Marina. The Octolings however were on their knees in humiliating defeat. Charlotte herself was slamming her roller down on the floor in anger.

"H-HOW? How can this be!? Our strategy was flawless! We didn't forget a single thing!" shouted Alpha in disbelief.

"There's one thing in your 'plan' you've missed..." said Rainbow with her arms crossed as she looked at the other girls with a big smile. She turned back to the squad. "The power of friendship."

This triggered Alpha. She didn't take the loss very well after Rainbow told her what they'd missed. With a menacing growl, she picked up her ink weapon and aimed at Rainbow. Her teeth were clenched together and her right arm shook. She was about to fire at Rainbow. But Rainbow was unfazed. She didn't respond a single inch.

"Go ahead and splat me if you think that's gonna make you happy." she said to Alpha. "You've accepted the deal and now you have to follow it." She gave a smug to the leader. "Or do you want to go back to your home town as a laughing stock of your so-called 'elite' team, better off as a flunky?

Security Inklings, along with Marie, arrived at the scene. All their ink weapons pointed at the Octoling squad, waiting for her reaction. Seeing all the other Inklings scared Beta, Charlotte and Delta. They did not feel like top-notch Octolings anymore.

"Alpha." Beta whispered to Alpha. "Don't do this. There's no point."

Rainbow meanwhile was still showing her smug expression. "So, what's it gonna be? Are you an Octoling or an Octowuss?"

Alpha stood still for a few seconds until she stopped shaking. Slowly, she put her ink spray weapon down to her knees and put her head down. "Fine..." she replied as she dropped her ink spray on the floor as the security Inklings started putting her squad who also dropped their equipment into custody. The others watched as the squad members were being escorted to jail. "Mark my words, rainbow trout." she spoke in a threatening tone. "The Octarians will never fall to the likes of you. Soon, we will take back what was ours and make you pay for your insolence. You and your pathetic defect will never make friends of us Octarians! Hail, Octavio!"

"Hail, Octavio!" the others responded before they were out of sight. Shortly after, all the girls gave a sigh of relief.

Marie was about to talk to Marina until Pearl stood in front of her. Marina was feeling nervous again as she spoke. "Uh, P-Pearl...I-I"

"Hold it." Pearl interrupted. "I know what you're going to say but I am the one who should be saying 'Sorry'. I really didn't mean to lash out at you about your idea. I should've explained why it was a bad idea to begin with."

"There's still something we don't understand." said Sunset Shimmer who was curious. "Marina, what WAS your idea?"

Marina gave her idea in great detail. "Oh, that? Well, for about a hundred years the Inklings and Octotarians are enemies to each other, thanks to the Great Turf War. The home where I once lived was a complete dump because our tribe was always going on about stealing what the Inklings had for the greater good. When I looked into the history of the Inklings and how they enjoyed their lives, I decided to start a new life in Inkopolis. To my surprise, Pearl was the first of the Inklings to become friends with me and my life has never been better. Then one day, as we thought on what our next Splatfest might be, I thought it would be brill to invite Octolings in Inkopolis so they could be friends with each other and put the stupid Great Turf War behind us. But Pearl didn't like it because..."

"She was afraid the Octolings might betray the Inklings." Sunset finished as Pearl looked away. Rainbow and Sunset were understanding what Marina was saying.

"That's right." Marina continued. "I thought it would be a nice change for once, so both tribes could have peaceful lives. Heck, I've been having a happy life with Pearl, why can't the other Octolings be like me? Some plan that turned out to be..."

"Based on the path you're taking...." said Marie while still holding her umbrella. "I think there are other Octolings who also want to turn over a new leaf. Who knows? Maybe it'll mark a part of history in the books...or maybe it won't. Only time will tell in that regard but we're just glad you're alright."

"Yeah...and Inkopolis wouldn't have been saved without the help of the two heroes and my best friend." Rainbow couldn't resist a slight boost to her ego.

Pearl felt touched after hearing what Marina said about her. "Awww, c'mere you!" she said as she gave Marina a great big hug. "Let's never do solo acts ever again!"

The rest of the girls looked at the re-united Off the Hook paired together and couldn't help but smile. The mission was complete. Not only did they bring Marina back, they saved Inkopolis from a total invasion.

Rainbow was the first to break the long silence as it was time to head back. "I guess that wraps things up. Better head back to Inkopolis before it gets hectic."

The other girls nodded as they return to Inkopolis Square.

Back at Inkopolis Square with some Inklings taking photos...

"Shut up!" said Pearl who was surprised along with Marina. "Are you both really players who got sucked into this world!? That's so cool!"

"Told you it would leave you surprised." Rainbow responded wearing her blue pendant again with Sunset standing next to her. "We got sent here to solve your friendship problem so it's no coincidence the magic sent us here."

"Wow...I bet it would be nice to travel to your world and see what it's like." said Marina who was intrigued. "I bet I could explore the most exotic places for a holiday. Even better, I could write my very own crossover fanfics!"

Rainbow and Sunset laughed in response. "Well, the only thing we have to do now is to know how to get back to our world." said Sunset. She looked up to the sky. "Inkopolis is a nice place here but I prefer going back home. The only question is: how?"

Suddenly, light begun to glow on Rainbow and Sunset's bodies. That meant the problem was solved and their visit in the Splatoon world was coming to an end.

"Guess that answers your question." Rainbow responded as she twisted her left hand back and forth to admire the glow. The light was becoming more and more intense every few seconds. "Looks like our planet misses us this much."

The two girls waved goodbye to Off the Live as they were about to depart. "We hope to see you again soon!" Sunset called to their new friends.

"Until next time...Don't get cooked, stay off the hook!" Pearl and Marina called back in unison while doing their usual stance. They both waved back until the two girls launched straight up in the air in orbs of light.

Marie, who was seen in the distance, saw the whole scene with a small smile. She reacted with a slight nod.

Just then, an Inkling with magenta hair, golden eyes and wearing a pink and black dress, pink socks, white gloves and a pink and white hat arrived near Marie with brightly colored shopping bags. "Hello Marie!" she cheerfully spoke with a smile. "Did I miss anything?"

"Oh...Just some visitors." she replied with a calm tone.

Rainbow and Sunset went back to their normal, human forms and returned to where they had an unexpected dimensional trip; Rainbow Dash's bedroom. Sunset gave out a big sigh of relief as her fears of not getting back home were laid to rest. Rainbow meanwhile looked to see if anything had changed since they unexpectedly left. To them, nothing was out of place one bit. She gave a big stretch afterwards. "Whew! What a day that was!" she said to Sunset.

"It definitely was." she replied. "Don't know how Princess Twilight handles this well." She then looked at the Nintendo Switch which had a little yellow ball of light leaving it and it then flew outside through a glass window. A message shown on the television said, "Thank you.". "But this begs the question...Where did the magic come from? Could it have been from the map she wrote about?" She felt Rainbow's arm wrapped around her.

"I dunno...but it was one heck of an experience in the end." Rainbow said with a wink. Sunset couldn't help but smile at her.

Rainbow's blue mobile phone rang on her bed behind them. With no time at all, she immediately accepted the call and placed it on her right ear. "Hello?" she said.

"Howdy, Rainbow! Ready to get ya butt kicked tomorrow?" the voice replied. Rainbow Dash let out a smirk as she knew who was calling.

"Ohoho..." she chuckled. "Don't go counting ya chickens just yet because our team's gonna win this time, Applejack! I'll be seeing you in the Splatfest tomorrow. Just you wait."

"Wanna bet? Ah've been working like a tractor in a 100-meter field."

"That's nothing! You would not BELIEVE what we've been through!"

"Is that so? Well, can't wait to hear all about it. Ah'll see ya at Sugarcube Corner and may the best Squid win!"

"Heh heh...You too. See you there!"

*BEEP*

"It's always a competition with you two." said Sunset with a hand on her side. She always knew that in every game between Rainbow and Applejack, they loved to stir up a friendly competition.

"Yep. Let's get going ol' partner of mine!" her friend replied as she showed her the door. "We've gotta Splatfest to win!

The two girls left the room to go to Sugarcube Corner where their other friends were waiting, leaving the Nintendo Switch in its usual place.

Meanwhile, the yellow light descended from the sky to the outskirts of Canterlot High. After its journey, the light dropped slowly into the crack where the horse statue once stood.