//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Kidnap and Escape! // Story: A Little Girls Love // by darkmage1997 //------------------------------// After having breakfast, the Crystal Family decided to look around the shopping district, "Where should we look first?" Cadence wondered. Skyla and Guard saw the toy store, and starting babbling, and reaching out for it. "Looks like the babies found somethin' they want," Nathan commented. Cadence chuckled. "Alright you two, we can go in and look around," Cadence said, as they walked in. Shining Armor soon saw limited edition action figures, and went over to take a look. "Oh, cool, you can't find these anywhere else!" he commented. Mavis could see that by the looks of how there weren't that many ponies in the store, that it had just opened up. Even so, she still felt a little uneasy about being in the toy store. She tried staying near the front, but her attention was dragged elsewhere. In a corner of the store, was a chest full of novelty rubber ducks. The sign above it said "Limited Edition Rubber Duck Set." She then gasped, and went over to look at it in excitement. "Rubber duckies!" she exclaimed, picking up the chest. "Looks like ya found somethin' ya want, eh Mavis?" Mavis jumped when she heard Nathan talking to her. "Oh... uh..... oui," Mavis nervously replied. "I'm guessing you like Rubber Ducks, right Mavis?" Cadence asked. "Oui. They're just SOOOOOOOO cute!" Mavis exclaimed. "Well, if you want them so badly, I'm more than happy to get them for you," Cadence offered. "Well, it looks like these are the only set that are here," Mavis considered. She then scooched the chest over to Cadence, who then took the chest to the front counter, where she paid for the ducks. Shining Armor then came up to the counter, carrying an armful of limited edition action figures, which he then paid for. "Really, Shining?" Cadence asked questioningly to her husband. "They're collector's items!" Shining Armor argued defensively. His wife just rolled her eyes. "Ah'd like ta buy this," Nathan said, putting a 3-D puzzle set on the counter. He paid for it, and the family took off. "When did you get into 3-D puzzles, son?" Shining Armor asked. "A while back, when some of the guys back home gave a set ta me. Ah've been collecting them here and there," Nathan admitted. "They look..... complex," Cadence commented. "Oh, they are. That's why Ah took a likin' ta them," Nathan replied. The family continued walking, but all the while, Mavis couldn't help but feel an ominous presence behind them, glaring relentlessly into her. The others felt it too, and decided to waste no time in ducking into a dress shop. "You guys felt it too, huh?" Shining Armor asked. "Yes," Cadence replied. "Yup," Nathan added. "Oui," Mavis added. She then noticed the dresses in the shop they were in. Much like her own, it was all gothic Lolita. She then started looking around in interest. "Ah'm guess that dress she wore her first day here is her favorite style," Nathan summarized. "It would appear that way," Cadence replied. "Truth be told, I just love the style that maids wear, but, oui, gothic Lolita is my personal favorite style," Mavis admitted. "Called it," Nathan commented. "Could you just excuse me for a moment? I must use the salle de bains," Mavis requested, as she went over to the bathrooms. "Ah really need to learn to talk fancy like that," Nathan commented. Just then, a shriek came from outside the bathroom. "Oh no, Mavis!" Cadence said, as she made her way over to the bathrooms as fast as possible. There, she saw Mavis' satchel, along with Togepi and Swablu on the ground, badly hurt, "Swablu, Togepi, are you both alright? Where's Mavis?!" Cadence asked worriedly. "Well, she was about to recall us to our Pokeballs, when this really twisted looking unicorn came out of nowhere, and dragged her into the shadows!" Swablu said. "Oh no..... not THAT stallion!" Cadence was horrified at what the flying Pokémon had just told her. "What happened?" Shining Armor asked. His concern only grew when he saw the look of horror on Cadence's face. "Shining... Mavis has...." Meanwhile, in another dark castle in the same mountain range as Blueblood's, Mavis stirred from being knocked out. Looking around, she saw that she was chained up like some sort of animal to a post in the middle of what looked to be a throne room, "W-where am I?" Mavis wondered, looking around desperately. "Oh good, you're awake," she turned, and nearly shrieked at seeing a terrifying black unicorn glaring down at her. "W--Who are you?" Mavis asked, scared out of her wits. "Ah yes. Introductions. I am Sombra, the rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire, and owner of all those crystals," the unicorn said. "OK, but what d-do you want with me?" Mavis asked, trying to scooch away, only for the chain to stop her. "See, those ponies you met, a few years ago, they ousted me from my throne, and took over my kingdom. I saw that they had grown attached to you for these past few days. Which is why you are my ticket back into power," Sombra explained. However, he saw the perplexed expression on Mavis' face behind her terrified eyes, "Hmm, maybe I need to be more clear. I want to reign over the Crystal Empire again, and no doubt those ponies who ousted me want you back. Which is why you are going to be my hostage until they meet my demands," Sombra clarified. This, however, did not sit well with the scared little girl. "Wait, d-didn't you say that mon maman and her friends stopped you once before?" Mavis asked, hesitantly. "Indeed they did. But I became more wiser for the wear since the last I saw them. I won't be beaten by the same method twice," Sombra said, grabbing Mavis by her hair, "Now then, you WILL help me out, whether you like it or not. IS. THAT. CLEAR?!" Sombra bellowed. Mavis thrashed her hardest, trying to get out of his grasp. The stress was becoming unbearable for her, until she went limp. This didn't bode well with Sombra, "Hey, did I say you could rest?! Open you eyes!" Sombra roared, as he threw the girl against the floor, breaking the shackles around her neck. Mavis then looked up at the unicorn, but her eyes were still closed. When she opened them, however, they gave off a very powerful green glow, and her hair turned into snakes, "What in the...!?" Sombra exclaimed, as he felt himself becoming stone. He fired a small bit of his dark magic at Mavis, only for it to hit her eyes. While successful, it did nothing for Sombra, as he became fully encased in stone. Mavis shook her head, and looked at what had happened to the unicorn. Needless to say, Mavis was horrified. "Oh no..... not again!" Mavis exclaimed, as she ran out of the throne room. Images of a previous instance like this one entered her mind. Flash Back: Mavis: Age 3 Years, 2 1/2 months, The young Mavis was swimming freely in the ocean with her parents, "Don't swim to far, Princess," Mavis' father warned. "Ok Papa," Mavis said, as she dove underwater, to explore the coral reefs, followed closely by her mother. They saw around for about 15 minutes, before..... "Alice! We need to get out of here! Pirates are coming!" the father warned. "Ok David, we'll be right up!" Alice replied, as she went to find their daughter. She soon found Mavis, playing with some fish, "Mavis, mon enfant! We need to go!" Alice warned. Mavis took notice of the pirate ship, and swam quickly for her mother. They resurfaced, and were pulled up by David, who helped them to dry off. But too little, too late, as some pirates caught sight of Alice and Mavis turning from mermaid into human forms. "OVER HERE ME HARTIES! THAR BE SOME MERMAIDS, JUST RIPE FOR THE PICKING!" one of them called. "We need to run!" Alice said, as they rounded up their stuff, and made a break for it. They continued running, only to be chased by the entire pirate crew with David carrying Mavis in his arms. They soon found themselves cornered. "Grab the mermaids! Do whatever with the yellow belly dog!" the captain ordered, as the pirates closed in on them. David and Alice embraced themselves and Mavis tightly, as they braced for the worst. Being so young, being in a stressful situation such as this was not good for Mavis. The stress just kept building, until..... it happened. Her hair turned into snakes, and her eyes gave off a powerful green glow. The pirates stopped, as they began turning into stone. Mavis didn't know what was going on, nor did her parents, but her father had an idea. "Papa, why did that happen?" Mavis asked. "My guess, is genes from MY side of the family. See, princess, I have a bit of gorgon DNA from one of my ancestors, but it's a very miniscule amount," David tried to explain. "If I were to guess, the mermaid genes you got from me might've amplified the gorgon DNA somehow," Alice theorized. "So, I am just like that mermaid from that game Papa likes to play?" Mavis asked, as David examined the now stone pirates. "Pretty much. But for now, we should get going. Since Mavis only discovered her gorgon heritage today, her eye trick won't last long. We should get as far away from here as possible before they break out," David suggested. With that, the family escaped. All the while, Mavis couldn't help but feeling bad about what she did to the pirates, even though they are scoundrels who had it coming. Reality, "I had hoped that was a one time thing!" Mavis cried, as she escaped into the courtyard, overlooking a riverbank. She walked along the edge of the courtyard, trying to find a glimmer of the Crystal Empire. It was then, she noticed the mountains she was in looked vaguely familiar, "This is the mountain range that Blueblood brought me to," Mavis said to herself. Her thoughts were cut off, when the cliff beneath her collapsed. She screamed, as she fell along with the cliff. She got tangled up in some briar bushes, which shredded her clothing off. Mavis would've been embarrassed, but her thoughts were once again cut off, as she fell into the river, and bonked her head against a rock. It didn't cause any bleeding, but it was enough to knock her out. Unconscious, Mavis drifted down the river, only to get beached along a shoreline. It was then that someone lifted her up, and brought her into a cave.