In the main room of the Castle, Twilight opens the Cutie Map for Webber. The black coated stallion pointed to a location outside of Equestria, somewhere that was near the Trenches, but underground.
"Where does this supposedly lead to?" Twilight asked. "Have you been inside that area before?"
Webber nodded. "I thought of bringing you, Spike, and the other five girls with me." he said. "I thought you'd like what I have found in there."
"Let me guess, it has something to do with the Dark Lord, doesn't it?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow, inquisitively.
"I hope so." Webber said. "What do you say, Twilight? Tomorrow, we all go there?"
Twilight looked at Spike. "You wanna come, Spike?" she asked him.
The baby dragon smiled at his best friend. "Of course, I'm up for it." he said, with enthusiasm.
Twilight smiled and looked back at Webber. "It's settled then, we'll go tomorrow." she told him.
Webber gave a happy grin. "Great!" he said.
Then, the scene transitions to even later that night, of a middle aged stallion, with a dark red coat, mud brown bare hooves and muzzle, short and wavy chocolate brown and black striped mane, tail and horn, brownish-grayish eyes, and wearing a red collar and tie, leading a young mare, with yellow eyes, long and straight, purple mane and tail, olive green coat, and wearing a similar collar and tie, but black, to Mayor Mare's cottage, and knocks on the door.
"You'll be safe here." the stallion said to the young mare.
"Why can't I come with you?" she asked him, with a worried expression on her face.
The stallion looked at her, with a gentle look. "You need to stay in hiding. Acorn Buttertail could be anywhere, and I don't want her getting you." the stallion explained. "Don't worry, you'll be fine here for a couple days, me and Mayor Mare go way back."
Mayor Mare opens the door, and stands in surprise of the stallion in front of her. "Oh, Kludd, it's you." she said. "It's been a long time."
"I don't have time to explain my absence, unfortunately." the stallion said to the Mayor.
Mayor looked at the young mare, next to Kludd, and warmly smiled. "Hmm, you must be Ivy Snakeroot? Kludd told me about you before, don't worry, I'll keep you safe for now." she said.
The young, green mare, now revealed as Ivy Snakeroot, goes inside the cottage, but turns around to look at Kludd.
"I can't thank you enough for this, Mare. I won't be gone long." Kludd said.
Mayor smiled and nodded. "I'll take good care of her, my friend." she replied.
Kludd looked at Ivy. "Leland said you need that bracelet. I advise you not to lose it." he said to her.
Ivy's right front hoof holds a navy blue bracelet, with a small, glowing orange rhombus in the middle. "You will come back for me, right?" she asked Kludd, even more concerned.
Kludd nodded. "I'll be lurking in the shadows, like I've always have. Nopony of the Dark Lord's herald will get their hooves on you." he promised.
"Dark times are ahead, for sure, Kludd. You're gonna have to run into Twilight Sparkle at some point." Mayor Mare said.
"One day, Mayor, one day." Kludd replied, leaving the cottage.
Mayor Mare closes the door, while Ivy sighs worryingly.
NEXT DAY... MANEHATTAN COAST.
Hopper is shown on a private boat, wearing a completely white suit and tie, Bling is shown on the right side, sitting on a chair with sunglasses, Octopi looks out in the distance, wearing blue sunglasses, and Mr. Apricot comes out in his Canderlot uniform.
"Want some cider, Apricot?" Hopper asked.
"I'm good, thanks." Apricot replied, with a little uneasy look on his face.
Hopper looked at him abit confused, yet smiling. "Hmm, well, so much for refreshing yourself in this summer weather." he said. "Tell me please, whom have you mentioned our talk yesterday to?"
"Nopony." Apricot said, confused on why the changeling would ask that.
Hopper then looks at Bling, while the blue pony replies "He's truthful." to the changeling.
"Good." Hopper replied. "I guess our work with you is done, Mr. Apricot. Let's finish things, shall we?" he said, signaling Octopi.
As Octopi begins to walk up to Mr. Apricot, he is suddenly stopped by the apricot coated stallion, who is holding a little capsule, containing a green killing magical blast.
"Oh, I knew I couldn't trust you after that bargain you promised me." Apricot said. "You will let me walk away with the bits you promised me, or I will slip this capsule to the floor and we all go down." he threatened.
Hopper scoffed. "Go on then. Drop the blast on the ground. Do what you gotta do." he dared.
"I will kill us all, I will not hesitate! If I go down, you're coming with me." Apricot threatened more seriously.
Hopper goes up to the stallion, slowly, Apricot looks at him with a serious look, but doesn't drop the capsule, as Hopper gets close enough to him.
"You're hesitating." Hopper said, and manages to grab the capsule out of Apricot's hooves. "But I won't hesitate this time." he then said, dropping the capsule.
In slow motion, the capsule drops to the floor, as Apricot looks in fear, but Octopi and Bling look relaxed. As the capsule hits the floor, it breaks into many glass pieces, and the killing blast explodes, but only on Hopper, as the blast is seen being absorbed by the changeling, and it disappears into his hooves.
Apricot looks at Hopper in shock. "You're like your cronies too?" he said, abit scared.
"Good job, pointing that out, Mr. Apricot." Hopper replied. "In case you don't know what I just did, I have the power to absorb any type of magic, which makes me not feel anything. But that's not even the best of it all." he explained. "I can do almost anything with even the slightest amount of magic from that capsule..." He then lightly touches Apricot's chest, which makes the stallion completely disintegrate.
Meanwhile...
PRINCESS CASTLE, CANDERLOT.
Brainy, Jelly, and Poison are seen in the castle, talking to Flash Sentry, and the rest of Princess Celestia's royal guard.
"The idea that many of us are still alive, is quite honestly an understatement." Brainy explained. "But we are more than just unique, we're friends and enemies. And we have enemies that could be among us very soon. Thanks very much for listening." he finished.
Flash Sentry sighed and stood up. "Okay, you have got my attention." he said. "If what you say is true, Brainy, do you have any special abilities as well?" he then asked.
"Heh, actually, yes I do, Mr. Sentry." Brainy said. "Of course, Celestia already knows who I am, but I'm not asking for her help, I'm asking for yours."
Jelly raises an eyebrow in confusion. Brainy looks at her.
"I have lied to you this time, love, I'm so sorry." he said, looking back at Flash. "You see, one amazing, and yet very confusing thing, my power let's me do, is that I can read your..."
Flash interrupted. "Mind?" he asked.
Brainy looked at him in shock. "...Exactly right." he said.
"Lots of ponies would say this, and just for the hay of it: Prove it." Flash replied.
"I wouldn't have to, Flash, unless if I know that you are thinking about Princess Twilight Sparkle, which is very lovely." Brainy said, which makes Flash look at him in surprise. "But, I would know that you made a deal with Queen Novo of Seaquestria, during your visit to the underwater land."
Flash Sentry looks dumbfounded by Brainy's fatefully accurate guess. "W..Wow, Brainy, I'm....I'm impressed." he said in surprise. "Why didn't Princess Celestia tell us about you before?" he asked.
Poison raised her left hoof at a guard. "Because of me." she said, as her hoof shook rapidly.
To Flash, Jelly, and the rest of the guards surprise, the guard Poison aimed her hoof at, had started coughing, which they realized that her powers were to infect others with sickness and disease.
Poison lowered her hoof, and the guard's cough went away. "And I didn't even read my friend's mind for that." Brainy said.
Flash looked back at them. "Okay, we'll accept your help. Looks like you know why we need the Hippogriffs?" he asked.
Brainy nodded, as the scene transitions to Kludgetown, with Kludd, looking at Capper's home. He walks up to it, and knocks.
"Coming!" Capper said, and he opens the door, smiling at Kludd. "Ah, Captain Kludd. Come in here." he greeted.
Kludd walks in. "Hello again, Capper." he said.
Capper leads Kludd through his home. "What brings you back from Equestria, to my humble abode?" he asked the red stallion.
"I need abit of information, for a price of course." Kludd replied, with a blank, yet slightly serious expression on his face.
"Really?" Capper asked in surprise. "Information for a price? I mean, that would apply to others who come to me, but from you? We're not acquaintances, we're friends." he said, with a smile.
Kludd became more serious. "It's information that you and I, and many others don't usually give out these dark days." he explained.
Capper looked at him in even more surprise. "Whoa whoa, wait a minute, are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked. "You want me to snoop around Acorn Buttertail? You crazy?"
Kludd looked at the humanoid cat with an expression that figuratively said "What do you think?"
Capper smirked. "Yeah, you have become wacko in the head, my little pony." he said, giving a small chuckle. "Alright, you got my attention, what be your price to me?" he then asked.
"Name it, my friend." Kludd said.
Capper started thinking of a good price, until he eyed down a silver and black striped briefcase that Kludd had by his side. "Your secret waffe in there." he points to the briefcase.
Kludd looks at his briefcase, and then back at Capper. "Alright, I guess it's about time I give it to you, after many months. Treat it with care, and let me know what you have on Buttertail." he said, giving the briefcase to Capper.
The humanoid cat smiled. "I'll keep in touch." he said, nodding.
Kludd did the same and left Capper's home. The cat opened up the briefcase and stared in awe at a emerald coated boomerang that was shaped like a dragon wing. "I will not disappoint you with this treasure of yours, Kludd, I promise." Capper said to himself.
Elsewhere outside of Equestria, Webber, Spike, and the Mane Six are scouting a marshland area.