//------------------------------// // Misfortune Strikes // Story: Prisoners of the Heart // by KidatHeart5 //------------------------------// Every member of the Marendelle family, Screwball and her family, and the Young Six were all gathered in the den and watching the upcoming Daring Do film on a projection screen. After a long, fun-filled day with the Young Six, everyone was about ready to tuck in for the night. And what better way to end the evening than with a movie? Specifically, the movie that Canter Zoom gave to them as a gift. Right now, the film was drawing close to the end with Daring Do chasing her baddie quarry, a unicorn shaman named Hoodoo. Hoodoo, guarded by his fire demon henchmen, continually shot fireballs with his henchies at Daring Do. Bullet cheered on, “C’mon, Daring Do!” Ocellus encouraged more softly, “C’mon, Daring Do!” Rumble raised his eyebrow in disbelief and whispered to his wife and in-laws, “How is she able to dodge all of those fireballs? One of them should’ve burned her by now.” Scootaloo whispered in reply, “Well, at least the kids are enjoying the film.” Silverstream cheered, “You can do it, Dare!” Yona shouted, “Get bad guy!” Sandbar fretted, “Don’t get burnt, Dare!” Gallus told his pals, “She’ll get that dirty ol’ shaman!” Aerodynamic stated, “Daring Do’s the greatest hero in the whole world.” Bullet asked, “Even better than Dad?” Pepper disagreed, “No one’s better than Dad!” Roller smiled in pride at that. Skater asked playfully, “And what about your Aunt Skater, or Aunt Apple Butter, or any of the other Guardians?” Pepper said, “You’re all great, too.” Skater stuck her tongue out at her twin brother for a quick second, much to his chagrin. Lucky – who was sitting on top of Roller’s head – asked, “What’s she going to do, Dad?” Roller shushed her, “Shh, shh. Let’s just wait and see, huh?” Everyone stared at the screen intently as Daring Do peeked over some boulders to check out the landscape before her. When they saw Hoodoo run behind a large boulder, Silverstream giggled to lift the tension, “Hee-hee, Hoodoo’s running and hiding!” Smolder snarled, “That slimy, dirty Hoodoo! The yellow-livered old skunk!” She snorted some smoke before she continued, “I’d like to tear his gizzard out!” Sweetie Belle chastised her, “Why, Smolder, we don’t say such talk around here!” Apple Bloom whispered, “I think she picked it up from the slavers.” Button Mash grumbled, “One more reason to hate them.” On the projection screen, Daring Do surveyed her environment with keen and sneaky eyes, eyes that were only wearing eyeshadow on account of the actress, Chestnut Magnifico. “Daring Do” goaded, “Yoo-hoo! Hoodoo! Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Hoodoo likewise replied while activating his horn, “Right here, Ms. Do!” Pepper leaned back in fear, “Watch out, Daring!” As Daring avoided Hoodoo’s blast, Oddball reassured her, “Don’t worry, Pepper. She’ll get that yellow-livered…” When his parents glared at him, he corrected his words, “W…Well, she’ll get him, all right!” Yona was so caught up in the excitement of the scene that she raised her head high enough to block some of the kids’ view. Thunderclap fretted, “Yona, Yona, get down! We can’t see! Get down!” Snowflake fussed, “Mama, make her get down.” Snow Pea gently told the yak, “Come on, Yona. Down, dear.” Yona obeyed her and sat down on the floor again. When Daring leapt from one boulder to another just as Hoodoo’s blast missed her, Lucky smiled, “Missed her! Missed her by a mile!” As the action happened on the screen, Thunderclap asked his mom, “More popcorn, please. More popcorn.” Bubble Gum told him, “Now, Thunder, it’s an hour before bedtime.” “Yeah, an hour. Which means there’s still more of the movie left.” Roller Blade whispered to his wife, “He does have a point.” The other kids shushed both father and son before redirecting their attention to the screen. As Hoodoo’s shadow loomed over the rock wall and his horn appeared from offscreen, Gallus pointed out, “There he is, behind that rock!” Every kid watched in suspense as magic enveloped Hoodoo’s horn. When he fired, Aerodynamic and Ocellus ducked into their pillows. After a moment, the girls lifted their heads up again. Ocellus said in a saddened tone, “Oh, dear. He shot poor Daring.” Oddball said confidently, “He missed her. Daring Do’s pretending…” He then thought about it and his tone lost its confidence. “…I think.” Hoodoo stepped out from behind the rock and laughed wickedly, “At last! I have finally disposed of Daring Do!” While the villain monologued offscreen, Daring opened one of her eyes. Oddball stated, “See? I told you! It’s one of her tricks!” When Yona again raised her head over the screen in excitement, Sandbar told her as calmly as he could manage, “Yona, get down!” A sudden close-up of Hoodoo laughing maniacally startled Yona enough to make her jump away from the screen. When she regained her courage, she stomped in anger. Thankfully, the projector and the screen stayed upright through her stomping. Hoodoo exclaimed in triumph, “Now, no one can stop me!” Daring Do suddenly pounced on him as she cried, “I don’t think so!” As hero and villain wrestled, the kids started shouting for Daring Do to win. Yona even stomped wildly in anticipation. This time, unfortunately, both the projector and the screen fell down, thus ending the film abruptly. The kids gasped at the sudden turn of events before turning to Yona. “Yona!” Yona said shamefully, “Yona sorry. Not mean to wreck movie night.” Pip put his hoof on her back and comforted her, “It’s all right, Yona. We’ll watch the rest of it tomorrow morning.” The kids whined, “Awww!” Smolder groaned, “Tomorrow morning?” Bullet started to say, “But we’re not a…” He gave a yawn before he finished, “…bit sleepy.” Sweetie Belle smirked, “Sounds like ‘a bit sleepy’ to me.” Apple Butter then suggested, “How’s this? While you’re getting ready for bed, why don’t you imagine the ending of the film before you see it? Just think: who will triumph?” Oddball waved his hoof in dismissal, “Pfft! Daring Do always wins!” While the grownups were cleaning up in the den, Quill Scarlet asked Screwball, “I get that you put Fledgling’s Forbearance on Oddball when he was born, but don’t you think he would’ve gotten the film back up again when the projector and screen fell down?” Roller agreed, “Yeah. And you could’ve done it, too.” Screwball answered, “Oddball usually pulls out all the stops if it’s something he cares about. Maybe we both knew the movie wasn’t as good as it should’ve been.” Rock Salt spoke up, “Tell me about it. The writing was subpar, the acting was way hammier than usual, and it’s not based off any of A.K.’s books.” Apple Butter nodded, “Yeah. And A.K. hasn’t released any information about her next book yet. She usually does it within six to nine months of the last book. That is, if she doesn’t hit a snag on her adventures.” Pip said, “It’s odd that we haven’t heard from A.K. at all for about a year. Or Daring Do, for that matter.” Apple Bloom agreed, “You’re right. Something’s off about this. For the film producers to just make a Daring Do film without her input….it just doesn’t feel right.” Little Button gasped, “You don’t suppose she’s gone missing, do you?” Button Mash then suggested, “If that’s the case, then maybe Quibble went with her.” Rumble agreed, “He must’ve. If he had stayed behind while she went missing, he would’ve asked – no, begged us to help.” Mothball said, “Maybe when Screwball, Oddball, and I go back to the Everfree Kingdom, we can rally the cousins and search for Daring and Quibble.” Scootaloo smiled, “That sounds like a great plan! We’ll let the others know first thing in the morning.” Bubble Gum picked up a small stuffed puppy and said, “Oh, no. Lucky left Patch behind.” Zealot offered, “Do you want me to take it to her? I can check on the kids while I’m there.” BG smiled as she handed the toy to Zealot, “Thanks a bunch, Zealot.” Meanwhile, in the kids’ shared bedroom – the adults let their own children bunk with the Young Six for the while – they speculated about the plot for a few minutes and then decided to play pretend about it. After using blankets, pillows, and toys for the setting and costumes, Oddball gave out a call. “Lights, camera, action!” The blankets that acted as a curtain parted as Sandbar – dressed in smaller blankets – stepped forth in a pompous fashion. He then put his hoof over his muzzle in a menacing manner and said in a mock-villainous voice, “I am Hoodoo! Ah-ha!” He removed his hoof from his face as he laughed that last part. The Quad Squad – acting as the villagers – mock-coughed and dramatized, “Oh, no! He’s making us sick with the Blue River sickness!” Oddball facehoofed and groaned, “Ugh! It’s Blue Shadow! Blue! Shadow!” Pepper scowled, “Says you.” Bullet blew a raspberry at him in defiance. Snowflake – in an attempt to calm tensions – spoke up, “Let’s just continue with the rest of the play, okay?” Oddball growled, “Fiiine!” The Quad Squad pretended to be sick and wheezed out, “We are really, really sick! Who will save us from the bad guy?” A voice then rang out, “I will!” The other kids blew into their toy trumpets to give a fanfare as Aerodynamic jumped on top of a bed in a Daring Do costume. The Quad Squad shouted happily, “Daring Do!” AD declared, “Your little charade as healer is over, Hoodoo! I will stop you and put an end to your monopoly on the villagers’ health!” Sandbar spoke back in a gruff voice, “You will try, my callow foe! You will try! Heat, take her out!” Suddenly, Gallus appeared in red and orange feathers and blankets worn to resemble fire. He roared and growled as he “attacked” AD. Aerodynamic said wittily, “Oh-ho! This jungle has it all: the sun, the blistering heat, and even a hothead! But it’s missing something. Something like…” She then grabbed a plastic bucket and pretended to splash water on Gallus. “…a splash of cool water!” Gallus put the bucket over his head as he over-dramatized, “Oh, no! I am defeated! You win, Daring Do! You win.” He gave out a mock-choke as he fell onto the pillows surrounding the bed. After the kids laughed, Smolder commented, “Man, I wish someone had done that to Grunt!” Aerodynamic asked, “Who’s Grunt?” Gallus answered after he removed the bucket from his head, “He was a griffon like me, but he worked for Flog. He was really stupid, I tell you.” Ocellus corrected him, “The nicer term would be ‘more brawn than brains’.” Lucky asked, “Was it horrible when you were slaves?” Pepper spoke up, “Yeah. Uncle Zealot said that slaves aren’t free to do what they want. They can’t play, they can’t run around, and they have to do what their master says or else.” Sandbar spoke in his regular voice, “It’s all true. We didn’t sleep in comfy beds. We didn’t have pancakes or buttered toast for breakfast. We didn’t even have toys to play with. We were just there to serve our masters. And when a slave did something to make their master mad…” He was hesitant to say it. “…they usually got hurt.” Gallus put it bluntly, “Like bruises and cuts and things like that.” The royal kids were shocked by that revelation. Bullet got angry and declared, “Those rotten no-good meanies! If I was all growed up, I’d beat the silly outta them!” Pepper asked the Young Six, “Did your mommy and daddy make your boo-boos all better when you were hurt?” Ocellus sadly answered, “We had no mommy and daddy to keep us safe. We were all alone.” Aerodynamic asked in growing pity, “No family?” Though she hid her sadness, Smolder shook her head, “Nope.” Pepper started to tear up, “How sad!” Silverstream pleaded, “Please don’t cry! You’ll make us cry, too!” Yona started crying, “Yona no like seeing sad ponies cry!” Within seconds, most of the kids in the room were bawling their eyes out. The only exceptions were Sandbar, Smolder, and Gallus. While Sandbar tried to comfort everycreature, Smolder and Gallus put their claws to their heads to try to shut out the noise. The latter two didn’t like to cry, so they grimaced instead. She remarked to Gallus, “This just got sappy real quick.” The griffon replied as he used a pillow to cover his head, “No duh.” Meanwhile, outside in the hallway, Zealot walked towards the children’s room when he heard a muffled noise. As he got closer, he could make out the sounds of sobbing and wailing. Uh-oh, he thought. Something is not right. He rushed to the room and opened the door to find most of the kids crying. He raised his voice to be heard over the loud cacophony as he asked, “Kids! What’s the matter?!” The sobbing died down as the kids focused their attention on Zealot. Ocellus apologized, “We are sorry, Prince Zealot.” Aerodynamic choked, “We’re feeling sad because Yona, Smolder, Gallus, Ocellus, Silverstream, and Sandbar were all alone!” Zealot comforted them with a warm smile, “But they weren’t all alone. They had each other. When you’re with friends, you’re never alone.” The kids looked at each other and muttered in agreement. Snowflake asked Zealot, “Uncle Zealot, do you think you’ll ever find your parents?” In his heart, Zealot wasn’t so sure, but he answered to assure the children, “I know they’re out there somewhere. I just have to find them.” Thunderclap suggested, “If you’re feeling sad, maybe we can sleep with you tonight to make you feel better.” The stallion said, “How about I sleep with you all? After all, former slaves have got to stick together.” The kids cheered in reply to his answer. All was calm and peaceful as the residents of the fair island kingdom rested for the night. In that moment, everything was perfect. And then that moment ended. A night guard was patrolling the wall walk of the harbor fortress, always vigilant for any sign of trouble. He turned his attention towards the town when – Boom! Zwii-FWOOOSH! He turned to see a splash of water just collapsing back into the ocean. He knew it wasn’t usual because sea creatures didn’t splash only once. He looked out towards the thickening mist accumulating almost a mile from the shore. Suddenly, a cannonball came flying out of the mist and hit the water several feet from the nearest ship. Then, three pirate ships materialized out of the fog, sailing towards Marendelle. The guard ran towards the intercom pipe and shouted into it, “We’re under attack! Sound the alarm!” Moments after he alerted his comrades, the civil defense siren blared throughout the tiny kingdom. The royals woke up at the deafening sound and rushed out of their rooms. Zealot opened the door of the children’s bedroom and asked Apple Butter, “What is it?!” Apple Butter shouted over the siren, “We’re being attacked! Maybe the pirates came back for the kids! Stay here with them while we drive them off!” Without another word, she ran down the hall. On the wall walk of the palace gates, the royals surveyed the situation with a couple of guards. Three black pirate ships shot their cannonballs at the anchored ships as well as the fortress. Although the fortress shot out cannonballs of their own, the projectiles mysteriously missed their targets. One of the guards said, “We don’t know how, but the enemy is taking out our ships while we’re barely making a dent in theirs!” Button Mash remarked, “Wow. Capri wasn’t kidding when she said the pirates were protected by a powerful magic.” Little Button agreed, “Yeah. If the pirates aren’t taking any damage from us, then it’s no wonder Capri couldn’t save the slaves from them.” Roller Blade gave a low whistle, “When your enemies have magic that’s stronger than a draconequus’s, you’re practically beat.” Scootaloo said, “We’re only beat if we don’t stand up.” Rumble nodded, “She’s right. And I have a plan.” Minutes later, a yellow force field wall just in front of the damaged ships shot up towards the sky. It stretched the harbor and its surrounding shore for about a mile. While Screwball held up the force field, Rumble – who was near the harbor with the rest of his family – spoke into a megaphone, “Attention, idiots! This island is protected by three Guardians of Equestria and the royal family of Marendelle! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave this island and never return! Do I make myself clear?” At that moment, a dim light flashed on the deck of one of the ships. After a few more tense moments, the ships began to turn around. Everypony waited anxiously as the ships retreated back into the fog. When the ships vanished in the mist, Screwball lifted her force field and everyone cheered. Pip asked Rumble with amazement, “How did you know intimidation would work on them?” Rumble answered with a smirk, “We’ve had them on the run for ten years. Of course they would be scared of getting arrested by the royal family of Marendelle.” Sweetie Belle contemplated, “Still, don’t you think it’s a bit odd that they would retreat like that? Something’s not right.” Suddenly, Screwball’s body twitched violently for a brief moment. She and her kin instantly knew that something was indeed wrong. She cried as she ran to the castle, “Oddball!” Apple Butter gasped, “Zealot!” As AB followed Screwball and Mothball, the rest cried out, “The kids!” The adults ran into the castle and up several hallways before they reached the children’s bedroom. When Screwball opened the door, their worst fears had come true. Apple Butter shrieked, “Oh! The children! And Zealot! They’re gone!” The bedroom was empty and in complete disarray. The beds had sooty hoofprints on them, the blankets were all mangled up, the window was shattered, and there were two halves of a small knockout shell on the floor. The moms wasted no time in searching the room for their young ones. Snow Pea called out in a panicked tone, “Snowflake?!” Bubble Gum likewise called out, “Lucky?!” Apple Butter also called out, “Yona?!” Sweetie Belle fretted tearfully, “Oh, they stole the children!” Apple Bloom said, “We gotta get them back!” Button slammed his hoof against the wall in frustration as he growled, “Those scoundrels! The ships were a diversion!” Quill Scarlet decided to take action and raced out into the hallway. He told the guards who had followed them to the room, “Send out the guards! Send out the navy! We will not rest until the children and Zealot are found alive!” As the guards carried out his orders, a light flurry started to descend upon Marendelle. Minutes earlier in Canterlot, Celestia and Luna had just finished their royal duties for the day. Before Celestia could go to bed, she decided to visit the ballroom to reminisce on that wonderful night. It felt so surreal that the ballroom was just as polished and new as it was when Sombra first asked Celestia to dance. She felt as if he was still beside her, admiring the warm glow the candles emitted around the room. Celestia couldn’t blame Sombra for being drawn to the light. After what he had been through, she was more than happy to give it to him. “Sister?” Celestia whipped her head back to see Luna standing in the doorway. The dark blue alicorn said, “Dwelling on the past won’t bring Sombra back.” Her older sister snapped in a voice coated with grief and hurt, “I miss him, okay?! Is that what you wanted me to say?!” When she realized what she said, she held her head on her wing and sighed, “I’m sorry. These last few weeks haven’t been well for me.” Luna approached her and put her hoof on her shoulder, “I know. Losing Sombra has been hard for you. But know this: he wouldn’t want you stuck in the past as you had when he was cursed. Nothing can change his absence this time. You must live in the present with your family and look forward to the day when you reunite with him in the afterlife. Every day, every month, every year will be rough without him, but as long as you have us – all of us – you can still live happily.” Celestia smiled with touched tears flowing down her face and embraced her sister, “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Suddenly, the candles snuffed out in one cold breeze and the double doors slammed shut. In that abrupt moment, shadowy creatures ambushed the two sisters. Luna and Celestia fought hard to keep them at bay, but the creatures’ numbers soon overwhelmed them and the foul beasts bound them in tendrils of black goo. Some of the shadow demons clumped together to form a rising black smoke akin to fire. From this smoke appeared the image of a menacing black shadow pony with white eyes. The sisters, who were gagged, could do nothing but gasp at the return of their past foe. The Pony of Shadows spoke through the smoke, “Why, sisters, so lovely to see you again. How is Star Swirl? Oh, wait. He’s in exile, isn’t he?” The sisters grunted and shook in agitation. “I had expected the brawl to take a little longer, but given your current state of mind, I find your sudden defeat to be a bit understandable. After all, when your husband died, I took it as the perfect opportunity to make my move. Naturally, I had to strike at your most vulnerable. Otherwise, you would’ve actually had a chance to defeat me.” Just then, the doors burst open to reveal two pony guards. They were about to charge when two black tendrils pinned them against the wall in the hallway. “Don’t try to be heroes. I have another purpose for you. Tell the whole world the Reign of Shadows is about to begin. Adieu.” Just like that, the shadows and their royal captives vanished into thin air. The shaken-up guards raced to the watchtower and told the sentry to sound the alarm. Just as he pressed the crystal for the Canterlot alarm, the crystal alarm for Marendelle began to wail. At the Everfree Castle, the cousins received the simultaneous sirens on their home alarm system and sent out alerts of their own to pass on the message. Once Ponyville received the alert to sound the sirens, the cacophony of the alarms sent the ponies into a frenzy. Soon, every town, city, and kingdom rang with dual alarms, letting everyone know that Canterlot and Marendelle were in dire peril.