XAVIER AND PONIES POV
MAVERICK AND RODNEY’S MOD SHOP
“What is it?” I quickly asked.
“The pink one!” Maverick shouted from the office. “She’s on the…”
My mouth twitched. How did Maverick suddenly see Pinkie? Unless…
I burst into the room, with Rodney, Tempest, and Twilight right behind me. Maverick ushered us over to the TV – and I froze in shock.
There, on the screen, was Pinkie – and what looked to be a guy I seemed to remember from over a decade back. I could hear the guy speaking angrily and harshly, though it didn’t sound like it was directed at Pinkie. He was probably trying to get them to buzz off.
“How did she… why…” Twilight began, only to be caught again by surprise.
Then the view switched to an anchor talking.
“And on this afternoon a special report has come in from Ripley’s Aquarium, where an unusual creature has found its way into the main tank at the tropical exhibit, where Caroline has the story.”
The view switched again, this time to an aquarium, where a group of kids were running back and forth down a glass-lined hall, as a reporter talked in the background.
“Hi Kim, thanks. Currently there is no clear understanding as to how this creature entered the tank or bypassed security. Attempts by aquarium’s staff to safely rehabilitate the creature are already underway.”
“So what is it, exactly, Caroline?”
“Well no one really knows for sure, as some have called an alien, others refer to it as a hippocampus – a hippogriff with a fish’s lower body. Others have reported being able to hear the creature talk in fluent English, given how sound travels through water much faster compared to air. As you can hear behind me, visitors are obviously enjoying the company of this creature, especially children. It is not clear at this point how the aquarium will be dealing with this creature, given how practically no scientific knowledge of it exists. Updates will be given shortly after the rescue and during the course of rehab efforts.”
“So that’s the ‘Skystar’ you were talking about…” Maverick trailed off, but I wasn’t even there anymore. I had one obligation: to get my friends Pinkie and Skystar out of there before bad turned worse. Thankfully, Rodney had the same idea.
“Hop on,” he said, rolling up in front of the garage door on a Harley-Davidson and holding out a helmet.
All at once, I took an authoratitive position. “You three, stay behind and stay out of sight,” I instructed Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy. Maverick, if cops show up, don’t let them be seen.”
“Twilight, Rainbow Dash. You two fly on ahead and see if you can de-tense the situation and get Pinkie out of there. Fizzy, you can tag along. Use whatever you got.”
With that, I strapped my helmet on and rode off into the traffic with Rodney.
ZACK POV
OUTSIDE RIPLEY’S AQUARIUM
“Stay here,” Zack ordered, pointing to the ground.
“But she-” Pinkie opened her mouth to protest.
“STAY HERE!” Zack bellowed, his eyes wide with fire. Shooting a death glare at the news reporters, he took off towards the aquarium’s entrance, running like a gang with guns were on his tail. It took some effort, but he made his way up the flight of steps and yanked the doors open. Charging inside, he hollered and shouted for others to move aside as he sprinted past the rays and down the hall. Right at the end beside the kelp forest was what he was looking for: a flight of stairs.
“I’m coming, Skystar,” he panted, skipping down as fast as his thick strong legs could carry him. Although the press had already left – presumably to come after him earlier – a large group had already gathered around Rainbow Reef, extending all the way to the reef shark tank. Skystar was pacing back and forth, playing with the fish and entertaining a small group of children with an adorable little game. It wouldn’t be long before the staff entered in their diving suits and tried to take her away. Skystar was generally kind-hearted and genial, but could likely put up a good fight if need be.
Zack frantically looked around for a door or some other entry. The last thing he wanted was for her to be forcefully dragged out – or worse, incur a fight that could injure the divers or damage the tank.
Backtracking a little, he soon spotted it: a small door behind the kelp forest on the upper level. Taking care to make sure the crowd wasn’t watching, he snuck over and read the sign above the door:
EMPLOYEES ONLY
“Damn you,” he muttered, pulling out a lock pick set amongst his pocket keys. It took an excruciating five minutes, but he successfully picked the lock and the handle turned. Walking down a narrow, dimly lit hallway lined with instrument panels and filtration pump systems, he soon came upon another door, also with a sign:
ENTRY TO RAINBOW REEF
WARNING: DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PRIOR PREPARATION
“I hate locks,” Zack muttered, inserting the thin stick and tweaking it again. This one was more complex and harder to pick. Every time all levers were just about to perfectly align, one slipped upon turning and he had to start all over again. Just as he managed to successfully pick the lock and get the knob fully turned, a shout was heard.
“Who are you? What the heck are you doing? This area is off-limits!”
Zack stiffened, and refused to turn around. As footsteps got louder, another shout was heard.
“How did you get in here?”
Zack sighed and shook his head. He’d likely never get out of this one, and probably end up in jail, or have to endure the sight of Skystar being dissected alive for so-called “humane” research purposes. He had to ensure one thing: that he would not fail, even if his freedom would be the parcel of trade. In two, fluently firm sentences, he shot back.
“Through the door. And I’m going to save my friend.”
With that, Zack pushed the door open, emptied his pocket of wallet, keys, lock pick set, and phone, and slid down a narrow ramp just as the staff behind the voices ran towards the door. Down he went, aiming straight for the clear bluish-white surface of water, which he hoped was Rainbow Reef.
SPLASH!
Holding his breath but relaxing, Zack dove straight down. Through the painful blur of the salt water, he could make out the colorful blobs – fish – and one bright light with a large tail.
Skystar.
In one quick swoop, he lunged with one arm and grabbed her midriff, then quickly tightened his grip, before kicking hard for the surface.
“Phew!” Zack gasped through a small mouthful of saltwater and air. He spat out the rest and rubbed his burning eyes, whimpering in pain. Standing up above him were the two staff members who had shouted earlier – and they didn’t look happy.
Unable to speak from how tired and angry he was – both from running and swimming – he smoothly raised his finger at them and gave a little half-growl, half-spit of saltwater, before grabbing a ladder that led up to where the door was.
“You’ll never take my friend, ever!” he hissed, flopping down in front of them in exhaustion. Skystar lay floppy beside him, looking listless and lifeless. Suddenly a bright flash of twirling light burst out, blinding Zack and the aquarium staff. As it quickly faded, Skystar stood upright, now the tall, strong, and brave hippogriff she once was.
“Go, Skystar – GO! RUN!” Zack bellowed, scampering between the employees’ feet in an attempt to escape himself, but they reached down and caught one of his legs. Skystar leapt between the two and ran towards the door. With a strong but regretful kick, Zack hit one staff member’s buttocks hard, causing enough pain for a subsequent hand release. Quickly scrambling to his feet, he took off towards the door, which Skystar had already opened.
“Thanks,” Zack replied, slipping through and scooping up all the pocket goodies he’d left behind. Not wasting a minute, the two ran down the halls as fast as they could.
XAVIER POV
TORONTO TRAFFIC
It seemed like everything was perfectly laid out for such a situation, sarcastically speaking. The roads were jam-packed with cars, and given Toronto’s narrow streets, lane splitting was near impossible in many places.
“It’s the afternoon rush,” Rodney reiterated. “Too many people, too many cars, and small roads.” After seeing the long line-up at a red light, he shook his head and turned off.
“So where we headed now?” I asked.
“Side roads,” Rodney replied. “Might be a longer route but we can go faster here.”
“So it is.”
Meanwhile, Tempest took the route far less traveled, running parkour-style across the tops of buildings, dodging smokestacks, maintenance workers, and wires as she galloped and leapt along, keeping the one goal in sight ahead of her – the CN Tower. From here it looked like a hundred miles away. But Tempest knew in her heart that nothing would stand between her and her friends. Her constant drive of hope and ferocity had returned, and this time she planned to use it for good – the greater good of serving justice and keeping her friends safe. And she was strong – very strong.
Taking a brief rest on top of a townhouse, she panted and panted, then gently flexed her leg and neck muscles. She knew she could make it, but needed some energy. A glance down below gave her the answer – a front-lawn sprinkler.
Leaping and shimming down, she plopped down into the front yard with a roll. Lining up with the sprinkler, she copied its movements, opening her mouth wide and letting the water trickle down into her mouth, rejuvenating her heart, muscles, and nerves. Just as she was swallowing the last bit of water, a shocked and upset figure appeared on the front porch.
“Wha-who are you?”
“I am Tempest Shadow, and I thank you for leaving me some water. Now I’ve got some friends to save.”
With that, Tempest leapt over the fence and galloped back to the main road, hoping to find a better way to the tower. Thankfully, one of the city’s famous red streetcars happened to arrive. Thinking quickly, she ran up a flight of steps onto a shop building roof, then took a mighty leap onto the streetcar as it approached. She landed with a thud, shaking the whole roof and leaving a dent from her armor, but kept her grip. Turning to face the road, she could now see the tower getting ever closer.
But so were police sirens. And she knew exactly what those sounds meant.
ZACK POV
RIPLEY’S AQUARIUM
“Why? WHY!” Zack snapped angrily at Skystar as they burst through an “EMPLOYEES ONLY” door and into one of the aquarium’s main halls, seawater still dripping off his tank top. “You could’ve gotten hurt, or even captured and taken away to someplace where God knows what they’d do to you!”
Skystar looked back at him with a solemn pout, which only aggravated his disappointment and anger.
“Didn’t you learn from the Storm King’s attack? This world isn’t all nicey-nice! And the tanks are the aquarium’s property – you have no right to enter them without permission!” He threw his arms up in defeat. “Heck, I’m not even gonna bother asking how the heck you got inside there. But stay out of trouble, alright? This world does not take kindly to those to disobey laws and rules, whether they knew of them or not. Now let’s get you to safety before-”
Zack’s words died in his mouth as they burst through the main entrance. Spread out around the area stood at least half a dozen cops, all guns drawn and half-cocked. And all aimed squarely at him and Skystar.
“This is just a big misunderstanding…” Zack thought in his head, trying to stay calm, only to have his blood boil at the sight and sound that lay just yards from the bottom of the stairs.
Pinkie lay sprawled on the ground, her little furry body trembling with fear. The lead cop had his foot on her neck and his gun to her little pink mane.
“Zack! Please! Help!”