They all climbed out of the storage tub, then hunted around through the others. But they didn't see any other pony toys, so they gave up and returned to the pile of packages.
"Okay, look," Twilight said. "We may need to start widening the search a bit. Rainbow, you take Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy, and keep looking through the mail stack. Applejack and I will start looking around the castle and the other sets over there, see if she's sitting out on the table somewhere. We'll meet back here in, let's say an hour."
"Got it! C'mon girls!" Rainbow and the others headed off.
As Twilight and Applejack set off as well, Applejack smiled at the Princess pony. "You're learnin' how to wear that crown fast, Twi!"
"I suppose I'll have to," Twilight said. "Though I hope all of you don't treat me any different. This is still me, after all."
"I hear ya, Twi. And don't worry. I know it's you, and I trust ya. Ya ain't steered us wrong yet."
They crossed the celebration area, then passed through the drawbridge entrance of the castle playset. Beyond, they found a set depicting the main Audience Hall from the Movie, complete with hand-sculpted models of the three petrified Princesses. Even though Twilight knew the real Princess toys were all safe and sound back in Bonnie's room, it felt eerie walking among the statues. The horrified expressions on their sculpted faces were a little too gruesomely accurate.
"Hoo way!" Applejack said. "Someone here's got time on their hooves. Look at this stuff! And looky here, Twi! They even got the cage that you were trapped in, near the end."
"And up there, beyond the thrones..." Twilight said, pointing. "That's the balcony where we faced down the Storm King. In the Movie, I mean."
Climbing the ramp to the throne platform, Twilight passed through the arch beyond and onto the balcony. With the combination of the bright stage lighting shining down on the balcony itself, and the darkened cellar beyond, it felt almost like looking out on a cloud-covered, moonless night.
Twilight crossed to the balcony railing and leaned over it, peering down into the shadows. The balcony extended out over the edge of the table, and below it on the concrete floor she could see a large grey metal trash can. And to her horror, she saw that the bottom of the can was layered with discarded toys: robots, superhero action figures, a Combat Carl, some Battlesaur warriors...
... and all of them in pieces, torn limb from limb. It was like a mass grave of plastic toy parts.
Nothing moved. Nothing was alive.
And then something moved, rising up from the heap of plastic. One toy was still alive down there...
... an Alien Queen action figure.
Sensing it was being watched, the thing lifted its head and stared up sightlessly at Twilight.
And hissed, loudly and viciously, baring needle-like teeth.
Unnerved and shivering, Twilight backed hurriedly away from the railing. And collided with Applejack. "Aahhhh!"
"What is it, Twi? What's down there?"
"Uh, nothing!" Twilight got control of herself. "Nothing pleasant, anyway."
Seeing the look in her eyes, Applejack took the hint. The farm pony gazed around at the set they were on, and the ones beyond it. "Ya know, Twi, I'm not sure they're doin' the whole Movie here. Just the tail end of it. There's only the Festival stage and the throne room, after all. No airships, no Klugetown or Seaquestria, nothing else. The rest of the sets over yonder are something entirely different. Maybe they're for the movie they're doin' after this one."
"Yeah, I think you're right." Then a thought occurred to Twilight... an uncomfortable thought. "Wait a sec... if they're doing the Movie, then that means somewhere around here, there must be..."
A languid, sinister chuckle sounded behind them, from the arch leading back into the Audience Hall.
"Ah know that laugh!" Applejack whispered, as they turned around.
Facing them was a tall maroon pony, with a plume-like mane and tail, dressed in black battle armor. She stood tall, her head lofted, her eyes narrowed coldly and evaluatingly. Beside her stood a squat, gray, white-maned hedgehog toy. The hedgehog coughed into his fist then spoke up grandly.
"Ponies of Equestria! Put your hooves together... for Commander Tempest!"
"All right, Grubber," Tempest muttered. "That's enough."
"Aw, geez, boss! Gimme a break." He looked up at her. "I might never get a chance to say that line for real!"
Tempest ignored him, and stalked slowly forward. She suddenly went wide-eyed, staring at the two ponies before her -- in particular at the lavender Princess pony. Her gaze was a mixture of shock, recognition... and fearful, desperate hope.
"Princess?" she asked, her voice uncertain and meek.
"Tempest?" Twilight replied, equally uncertain. She knew how the Movie ended, with Tempest helping them and becoming their friend, but...
Suddenly, the maroon pony's gaze turned coldly suspicious.
"Wait a minute!" she snarled. "How is it you're even moving? You're just... props! All of you! And you --" she pointed a hoof at Applejack. "What are you even doing on the set? We're not through shooting the cage scene here!"
She rapped her hoof angrily. Through the arch behind her, a trio of ape-like Storm soldier toys crowded onto the balcony.
"Throw these toys back in storage!" Tempest ordered. "We are not shooting this thing out of order. Not on my watch! Move 'em out!"
As the guards closed in, Applejack leaned closer to Twilight. "What now, Twi?"
"Uh, for now, we do what she says."
"And then... y'all got a plan, right?"
"Uhm..." Twilight grinned uneasily. "... working on it..."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Back at the pile of packages, Rainbow was becoming increasingly frustrated as she patted mailers and rapped on boxes.
"Come on, Scoot!" she whispered desperately. "Be here, somewhere!"
"Um, Rainbow?" Fluttershy called nervously.
"What?" Rainbow looked round. "Did'ya find her?"
"Noooo..." Rarity replied, "but I think someone has found us."
Rainbow stared at the half-dozen Storm soldiers encircling the pile, closing in on them.
"Whoa, cool!" She hurried over to rap the closest one with a hoof. "Hand-carved, hand-painted miniatures! Nice! Ya know, I wish Spike had something like this for Ogres and Oubliettes? These have got his cardboard standees beat by a mile!"
"Rainbow!" Rarity hissed. "I don't think they're here to play games!"
"Oh! Uh... right." Rainbow stared up at the soldier. It glared down at her, then rumbled and hooted threateningly. "Heh heh! Are you guys from the Post Office? Because we weren't tampering with the mail here. Nosirree! Say, have any of you seen a small brown pony toy with kinda pinkish-red hair? Her name's Scootaloo..."
She glanced around worriedly at the other soldiers, closing in on them.
"Annnnd... we'd really like to be taking her home right about now..."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Across the table, beyond the Audience Hall set, Tempest hesitantly approached a tall, colorful display box, decorated with images of a looming, horned figure bearing a gem-tipped staff. The transparent window of the box was turned away from her. The side flap stood slightly ajar. A self-satisfied humming could be heard from within.
Tempest tapped on the box with a hoof, then stood back, at attention.
The humming stopped. The flap was pushed open. And the Storm King stepped out, standing tall and haughty before her. In his three-fingered hands was the Staff of Sacanas. He gazed down upon her with dismissive smugness.
"Sooo, Tempest..." His voice was an icy, self-satisfied purr. "Everything ready for my big entrance today?"
"Some... minor issue with the props." For a moment Tempest hesitated, looking uncertain. Then she shook her head. "But I've dealt with that. We're still on schedule, according to the shooting script. Just the cage scene with Princess Twilight left, and that shouldn't take long. We'll be doing the balcony scene before nightfall."
"I'm really looking forward to this, Tempest! Everyone gets their fifteen minutes of fame. And this is mine." He idly examined his fingernails. "One for the annals, eh? Maybe even an award show or two, or a new contract. Yeah, I like the sound of that..."
"And then..." Tempest asked desperately, "... then will you repair my horn? Please?"
"Ohhh, with my newfound fame and fortune from this production, I don't think it'll be at all difficult. No great stretch of my abilities."
His gaze fixed on her, his voice turned cold, remorseless.
"But remember, Tempest! Only I have the power to make you whole. Make this film work... and you'll get your reward. Fail me... and your horn won't be the only thing that's broken!"
Tempest bowed, swiftly and abjectly.
"It won't be a problem!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Twilight and Applejack were dumped unceremoniously into the tub with the E-Zonned ponies in it. Picking themselves up, they found Rainbow and the other ponies were already there. The ponies quickly compared notes on their respective searches, though soon enough the subject drifted back to the maroon pony holding them all captive.
"That Tempest toy..." Applejack said, "she's loopy as a lasso! She actually thinks they're makin' a movie here!"
"It's like I said." Rainbow nodded confidently. "She's a movie tie-in toy! And tie-in toys just can't get past the episode they're based on."
"But the Movie..." Fluttershy said, "that was a lot more than just one episode... all those other lands, and other creatures, and..."
"Has she ever shown up in the series, after that?" Rainbow demanded.
"Ooh, Ooh! Movie trivia again! I know!" Pinkie waved a hoof. "Twilight talks about her in the Season 8 premiere!"
"For all of one line, Pinkie." Rarity sniffed. "She's never even mentioned in the show after that."
"That's probably just because the show couldn't afford it," Twilight said. "Hiring someone to do the voice for her as a regular character. And that doesn't matter. The point is, she's a toy and she needs our help!"
"Twilight," Rainbow said, exasperated, "She's just a movie toy! We can't afford to waste time straightening her out! We need to bust outta here, find Scootaloo, and get back to Bonnie's room before anyone notices we're missing."
"Rainbow!" Twilight swung on her, angrily. "Don't you get it? There may not even be a Scootaloo here! For all we know, she may already have been sold on, and shipped out somewhere else! But we know Tempest is here, right now. And she's real! She's a toy who needs our help. We can't just abandon her and run off after some toy we haven't even seen yet..."
"Whadayamean, Twi? This is Scootaloo we're talking about!"
"A Scootaloo toy you found online, Rainbow!"
"So? She still matters! What's gotten into you, Twilight?"
"Yes, dahling!" Rarity added. "I know you mean well, but why is it so important?"
Twilight was silent for a moment, staring at them all. Then her gaze fell.
"It's like with Starlight."
"Huh?" Pinkie stared at her. "You mean the Starlight back in the room?"
"No, Pinkie! The one in the show. Princess Twilight gave her a second chance, took her on as a pupil. And look how great she turned out! Look how many episodes she's been in! And Trixie too!" She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, poor example, Trixie still needs work. But even so, she's made progress with Starlight helping her. But no one did that for Tempest. She was just... abandoned." She grimaced. "I feel like I abandoned her in a way. I just wouldn't feel right if we gave up on her that quickly."
"But you heard her, Twi!" Applejack said, gently. "Poor gal's nuttier than a squirrel's pantry. She's not right in the head!"
"No, it's more than that," Twilight objected. "I could see it in her eyes. Just for a moment, she looked like she wanted to ask for help. And then... something stopped her!"
Applejack looked doubtful. "And made her turn nasty, too? Made her chuck us all in the slammer?"
"I don't think she means to be like that. It's just... there's something here she's afraid of. Something that's keeping her from thinking clearly, and breaking out of her Movie persona."
"Ya mean like, she's ridin' a tiger of some kind? And to avoid gettin' bit she grabs on harder?"
Twilight nodded. "Something like that."
"Oh my!" Fluttershy hunched nervously. "What could scare a pony like her?"
"I don't know." Twilight admitted. "But we need to find out. I don't think we have the whole picture here, yet..."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tempest trotted across the table, Grubber padding along beside her. Returning to the Audience Hall set, she made her way up the spiral stairs in one of the towers, to the small room at the top. It had balcony arches on all four sides, commanding an excellent view of the entire tabletop. She'd even dragged a travel pack of tissues up to the room, and then simply ripped the entire top off to make a bed for herself.
Throwing herself down on it, her head resting on her forehooves, she glared into the darkness outside, a scowl on her face. After a nervous pause, Grubber followed her, and thumped down on the floor next to her.
"Everything all right, boss?"
"No, Grubber! Everything's not all right." Tempest snarled. "That idiot Princess toy! She might have ruined everything!"
"Who, Princess Twilight? She seemed all right to me."
"Grubber!" Tempest frowned at him. "We can't shoot the scene with her and her friends out of order! It comes after the Storm King's big moment! The filmmaker might lose interest, move on to his next project... and skip the Storm King's part entirely!"
"Ohhh, yeah!" Grubber agreed. "That... wouldn't be good."
"You think?" Tempest snarled, "And what were they even doing all the way over here? How'd they even get here?" Tempest buried her snout under her hooves. "I must be losing it, Grubber! They're just props! They're not alive!"
"Yeah... about that. They seemed pretty lively to me."
Tempest opened one eye, staring at him. "You saw that too?"
"Sure did! And it seemed like that Princess toy knew you!"
"Yeah..." Tempest lifted her head, a sad look on her face. "She did know me, Grubber. She knew my name. And... it was like she wanted to help me, even knowing who I was..."
"Well that's not so strange, boss." Grubber cautiously put a paw on her shoulder. "I mean, I know ya. And I wanna help."
Tempest smiled, briefly. Then her gaze turned stern again. "We can't afford any slip-ups, Grubber. We have to finish the film properly. Then the Storm King will be satisfied, and he'll fix my horn, and then..." She sighed, looking ready to burst into tears. "And then I can finally be resold. And children will want to play with me again..."
"And me too, boss?" Grubber asked hopefully. "After all, we're a team, right? I'm your hench-hog, aren't I? You'll take me with you, won'tcha?"
Tempest eyed him. "I suppose." She shrugged. "You've done a decent job. Why's it matter so much to you?"
"Are you kiddin' me?" Grubber stared at her. "I could never have hoped to have it this good! There I was, sitting on the shelf, and suddenly they stick me in a box with a burger, carrot-sticks, and a juice-box, and I'm thinkin', oh man, I hope I get a kid who knows the difference between toys and food! And all I had to look forward to was being played with for a few minutes, and then thrown out. Or stuck in the bottom of a drawer. Or chewed up by the family dog! Or worse!"
He gestured around, at the castle set, and the two of them.
"But look at all this! Here I am, workin' with an actual Tempest Shadow! I get to be a hench-hog for real! How cool is that?" He beamed. "Only thing that would make me happier right now would be a slice of cake!"
"We're toys, Grubber. We don't eat."
"Plastic cake, then! I'll look at it. It'll last longer, too."
Tempest sighed, and laid her head back on her forehooves.
"Whatever floats your boat, Grubber. We'll stick together if we can. Just... do as I tell you."
"Yee-essss!" Grubber punched the air. "All right! You got it, boss!"
Tempest nodded, her eyes tight shut, breathing hard.
Then her eyes suddenly snapped opened, and narrowed angrily. Her voice became stern and cross. "I want to be played with again, Grubber!" she growled. "For that, I need my horn restored... and that idiot Princess pony is not going to stop me from getting my horn back!"
"Uhh... right, boss!"
Grubber worried when Tempest got like that. It was like she'd completely forgotten she was a toy, and thought she was still in the movie.
And that couldn't be good...