//------------------------------// // Episode 11: The Great Bang Theory: Part 2 // Story: My Brave Pony: Starfleet Magic Season X // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// Previously on Starfleet Magic… Paige accidently dropped her energy absorber into Applebloom’s backpack, which was later discovered by the school girl, and she accidently teleported herself to the lair of The Idiots and learned of their sinister plot to destroy Starfleet. Sea Green, Skystar, and Fisher also succumbed to danger upon discovering the location of the lair as well, and Beaker has been prompted to put his evil plans into action immediately. EPISODE ELEVEN Pear Butter had returned home, next door, and told her family everything, and rather than sit down to dinner, Bright Mac was chopping firewood in the yard, which was how he vented his steam when enraged or stressed. He would just slam a log onto the block and then let out a loud and anguished roar as he brought the axe down, slicing the wood right down the middle, and then he’d do it again, and again, and again… making the wood pile up high at the side of the barn. Finally, he ran of energy and was panting and sweating like crazy, but his insides were still seething with rage and worry. Pear and Big Mac came out to try and comfort him. “Um… Pa?” called Big Mac “Don’t you want to come in and eat?” His father didn’t answer, still trying to catch his breath. His wife approached him. “You should come in and eat. Supper’s going to get cold.” Her husband spoke softly, “How can I eat when my little girl could be in real danger?” His anger began to rise again. “Oh, just let me get my hands on whoever did this, and I’ll--” he raised the axe above his head to strike, but Big Mace quickly dashed over and held his father’s arms back. “Stop it, Pa!” Pear was trembling tearfully. Big Mac continued to speak to him. “I know exactly how you feel! When you and Ma disappeared, I had to be more than Big Brother to Applejack and Applebloom, I had to be almost a father to them, and I always worried about them when something could even go slightly wrong.” He shut his eyes tight, remembering all those times, and a little tear fell from his big eye. “I’m worried about Applebloom, but you know what else… I have faith in her. She’s been through way worse than this.” Pear agreed, and even Bright Mac knew this, given all the danger and adventures the Cutiemark Crusaders had been through over the years. He knew his daughter was tougher than she looked. Still, he couldn’t help but cry softly. “I just want her to come home. If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself!” Pear and Big Mac embraced him, letting him let out his emotions. Pear felt like crying herself. “Easy, honey… just let it all out.” Across from their place, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and DD were sitting outside on the stoop, to give Tree Hugger a chance to get the babies to sleep. They saw everything going on, and felt bad for Applebloom’s family. Scootaloo was starting to lose her cool again as she tugged on her mane. “Ugh!! I can’t take much more of this waiting!” “It’s only been twenty minutes.” said DD. Scootaloo only felt more frustrated, but what else could she say that wasn’t already said or still on everyone else’s minds. It was Sweetie who stood up and said it first. “I wish we could do something about it, like we did all those other times.” DD felt the same way, but not so much. “All those times we knew what we were getting into, but here, we haven’t the slightest idea of where to even start looking, and we still don’t even know what’s really going on, nor do we have any clues.” For the first time ever, The Cutiemark Crusaders felt pretty stumped, and it hurt them deeply, but not as deeply as still being worried about Applebloom. Speaking of… She was all gagged up to prevent anymore screaming and giving away the location of the lair, and Sea Green, Fisher, and Skystar, were all beginning to awaken from being knocked out. Sea Green and Fisher were bound to the wall as Applebloom was, while Skystar was put in a sealed tank, with strong glass, and bolted plates, even over the cover, so she couldn’t escape. All of three of them were gagged too, and Skystar had small patches attached to her dorsal fin. The lights flicked on, and all the prisoners awoke so suddenly, and Beaker snickered at them. “My, my, a full audience to witness the start of our new world.” he said “And here I was hoping to save it for a surprise.” Some of the other Idiots weren’t amused. “I still say we ought to destroy them and fast.” suggested Dodger. “No!” snapped Grimer. “They’re hostages. Perfect assurance in case anyone does get the idea to try and stop us.” “Precisely.” agreed Beaker. Applebloom moaned softly behind her scarf-gag. Skystar tried to use her telepathy to communicate with her husband, but to no avail. “It’s no use…” taunted Beaker. “Those patches attached to your fin are specially designed-- by myself, of course-- so you can’t try that little stunt.” He then held up a single, tiny key to the patched, “And only I am able to remove them.” Sea Green and his father struggled, but couldn’t break free, just like Applebloom. “This is just too entertaining.” said Paige. Sun agreed, but then suddenly, there was a low buzzing alarm. “What’s that?” Beaker’s eyes lit up and he answered, “That’s the signal: the reactor is starting to charge.” He motioned for his teammates to follow him, leaving the hostages bound and trapped, and virtually helpless. Meanwhile… At the Royal Palace in New Canterlot, Lightning and Starla had brought the broken absorber to the lab where they fed it into the master computer to analyze fingerprints on it. The computer was narrowing down all possible suspects within the entire planet. “Right, begin report.” said Professor Brain. “Processing Request” bleeped the computer, and the screen began to go wild narrowing down the endless list of names the prints matched too. “Now we know Applebloom’s prints are on that device when she grabbed it…” said Lightning “…But whoever else had that device before may be our key culprits to this whole mystery.” added Starla. Grand Ruler Celesto and Queen Celestia were present, having been informed of the events that happened, and they, too, were as disturbed as anyone. Grand Ruler sighed, “Even after we’ve identified the culprits, there is still the big question: What is this all about, and why?” Suddenly, the computer bleeped. “Analysis: Complete. Suspects Identified.” “On screen…” ordered Brain, and the computer then showed three pictures of three different ponies-- one of them being Applebloom, naturally, and she was immediately deleted and excluded. Another one of the ponies, Lightning recognized, “That’s Paige. She publishes the “New Ponyville Times” paper. “But who’s that other pony?” asked Starla. Professor Brain took one look, and his jaw hung open. “I wouldn’t have believed it possible. …It’s Beaker.” “You know him?” asked Celestia. “Unfortunately, we had a rather… eh… er… disagreement.” He recalled several years ago, when United Equestria was merely a month old, after The Great War. Professor Brain was already appointed as Chief Scientist in the royal palace, but he kept up with his ventures, and visited other locations to give his lectures on the new technologies introduced to Equestrians who were still adjusting to their new surroundings. It was at a conference near the seaside, where he was introducing new equipment for undersea exploration, and while the entire audience of scientists and students seemed thrilled and enthusiastic, Beaker was among few who weren’t, but he was the only one to speak up… …It was after the conference did Beaker confront the Professor outside. “I beg your pardon?” Brain asked in shock. “Stop all this!” said Beaker “Equestria doesn’t want nor need all this newfangled stuff. All you and your cohorts are going to do is cause us more trouble and more danger. Please, hear me as a fellow-scientist… Round up all your space pals, find a new planet to live on, and leave us.” It was already at this point Brain could tell this pony was not very right in the head-- he wasn’t thinking straight, nor speaking proper sense. He tried to make him see reason… “Eh… I don’t believe you realize the full-extent of the situation.” …But Beaker, stubborn as ever, didn’t budge. “I know enough that it’s Starfleet’s fault our planet was destroyed.” he bellowed, and in the midst of his ramblings or untrue situations, he also had exposed his apparent jealousy. “I was on the verge of creating all this new equipment and I would’ve been the pinnacle of the scientific community, and then you and your Space Gang come with all this stuff and you rub in our face at how superior it is to anything we could have made!” “Jealously is it?” said Brain “Well, my advice to you, young one… 1: Perhaps you have misjudged things due to your frustrations and outraged, especially since you have taken time to adjust to your new livings. 2: Your theories may not be as hopeless as you think. You should continue your work, and who knows, maybe by working with newer technologies you could even help us perfect new ones.” For all his logic and reasoning, it availed him naught. Beaker left in a huff, still clinging to his own beliefs, no matter how many people would point out how wrong he was. Starla shook her head pitifully, “Just what we need; another loud-mouthed and overbearing Starfleet protester. There’s been plenty of them around enough these days.” Lightning agreed, recalling all the reports of disturbances in the streets, most of which came from Swift Star. “Wait a second…” he said as he remembered, “I know for a fact that Paige isn’t all that fond of Starfleet herself. She prints columns in her papers about rallying Starfleet Protests, but it’s never been considered lawbreaking. It is just harmless opinion.” The pieces were all beginning to fit together, and Lightning turned to their majesties, “Permission to investigate?” “…Granted.” their majesties both agreed, and Grand Ruler added, “This is definitely something you can help with, despite your appearance, Lightning.” Even Starla agreed. Meanwhile, Beaker and his team were in another chamber of the lair, where Beaker’s massive machine stood, powering up and practically glowing with all the power it had been given. It was about half the size of a small house, with a large laser gun pointing atop it. “All these years of planning, and finally, my vision is becoming a reality.” He began to explain how his project would work… “The energy from the hateful emotions you have all been gathering for me, were beamed here to the lab…” He paused and motioned to all the other machinery and consoles surrounding the chamber, “It is here, through my ingenious methods of energy conversions, and infused with magical properties… it is all made into the power for my Blast Ray. This gun shall focus the power, and blast a strong beam of light into the sky, which will then spread a magical wave across the entire planet, which will entrap Starfleet, and all those loyal to them in magical spheres, and then hurl them through a vortex in the sky, flinging them all out into space where they will be teleported away… never to return!” He was starting to rant and snicker more and more like a deranged man-pony, which creeped out his teammates. “Uh… what about us?” asked Sun “What’s the ray’s not going to affect us, is it? And what about all those like us who can’t stand Starfleet?” “Oh, don’t worry about them,” Beaker replied casually, “This ray will have no effect on those like us, hence why the energy is converted from hateful emotions. It’s fairly simple if you know how.” The others all looked back and forth at one another with extremely lost expressions, and Dodger even scratched his head a bit, but they all brushed it off, overjoyed at the thought of finally being rid of Starfleet for good and returning back to the old ways. “It’s only a matter of time now…” Beaker said, unaware that his voice was echoing through the vents, and he was being overheard in the next chamber by the prisoners... “…Once it’s at full power, Starfleet is going bye-bye.” The prisoners didn’t like the sounds of that at all, especially when Grimer added, “And as for the prisoners, I say we bop them off.” “Let me have first dibs.” joked Paige. Applebloom and Sky whimpered while the men growled behind their gags, but there was still no way for them to break out of bondage. Applebloom wished there was some way for her to warn her friends, and then alert Starfleet of the impending genocide. There was a bit of luck for her, as she could see on a coffee table, one of the members had left behind one of their absorbers. “If I could just get to that, I could teleport out of here and get help.” she thought. That was still easier thought than done. The manacles were just too strong to break, but she wasn’t licked yet. “Maybe I can slip through them.” she thought. “I just have to remember my Yoga lessons with Tree Hugger.” Though her mouth was still gagged, she was still able to breathe through her nostrils. Deep breath in… And she let it out slowly… Then another deep breath in and out again slowly, again, and again, and then as she exhaled, she let it out super slowly, and by doing it correctly, her slender wrists and ankles seemed to become more slender, like wet noodles, allowing her to slip through the bindings, to the other prisoners’ delight. With her arms now free, Applebloom removed the gag from her face. “Whew! That’s better.” Then she opened the cheap gate-like latch to undo the waist-lock, but the second she did, an alarm sounded which made her panic. The Idiots burst into the room almost immediately. “Hey, she got loose!” cried Grimer. “Get her!” shouted Sun. With no time to free the other prisoners, Applebloom leapt over to the table and snatched the device. “My absorber!” cried Sun, and she leapt straight at Applebloom to grab her, but Applebloom quickly hit the button and vanished in a flash causing Sun to crash over the table, smashing it to bits. Applebloom reappeared in New Ponyville, where the teleporter was set for. She landed in a dumpster behind an alley and was covered in trash and a banana peel on her head. “Blech!” she groaned. “At least I made it out! I’ve got to get help!” Rather than trying to use the teleporter-- still not knowing too well how it worked, and not having much time anyway-- She knew where she was anyway, not too far from home, and so she headed off for the farm immediately. Back at the lab, the prisoners were delighted that Applebloom got away, but the captors were enraged. “She got away! Nice going, Sun!” scoffed Paige. “Hey! I tried to catch her.” protested Sun. “Yeah, and you left your teleporter out in the open.” Dodger pointed out. “Okay, okay, enough!” snapped Beaker. The others all looked confused and worried. “But she got away!” cried Grimer “She’s sure to come back with the authorities.” Beaker still didn’t seem the least bit concerned. “We still have the other three,” he said pointing at the prisoners. “And by the time anyone gets here, the reactor will be fully charged.” His teammates felt a little better, while the male prisoners scowled at him through their gags, and Skystar trembled with fear. All Beaker could do was snicker, “In the end, Idiots win.” Meanwhile, Lightning and Starla had already arrived at Beaker’s house on the surface-- having already gone through the records. Pinkie’s droid was with them too. “This feels a bit wrong.” Pinkie said. “We shouldn’t just break in and intrude on someone’s home.” Has she been acting like her normal self, she would had leapt at the idea, but Lightning and Starla assured her this wasn’t against procedure. “We’re searching for clues that could lead to Applebloom’s disappearance.” said Lightning. “If Beaker is even the least bit responsible, that entitles us to question him, as well to confirm our other suspicions.” Pinkie had been informed of the potential genocidal thoughts, and it was a good thing she was still acting neutral and calm under her pregnancy and diet, or she would be leaping about with accusations. “At least we have the forces standing by just in case.” said Starla. An army of soldiers were standing at the palace, awaiting any signal from Lightning, via Krysta’s fairies, and then they would teleport to the scene, ready for anything. Starla knocked at the door. Of course there was no answer. She knocked again, and Lightning called at the door, “This is Starfleet. Is there anyone home?” Still no answer… “I guess he’s out.” said Pinkie. Fortunately, because they had their warrant to enter and search, Pinkie made her droid activate its key beam, which fired a beam out of the droid’s eyes, unlocking the door, allowing everyone to enter. Beaker’s house, like most homes, was only one room, and as Beaker was known to be scientists, he had loads of bookshelves, chemistry sets, black and white boards with formulas and equations written on them… …Equations which the trio could hardly understand. Still, none of which seemed to be the proof they were looking for to incriminate Beaker. “Maybe we should wait until he comes home?” suggested Pinkie. Lightning and Starla disagreed. Lightning said “That Beaker’s hiding something. Only he could build that absorbing device, and if we find out why we can find Applebloom, and maybe why he’s been taking energy.” Starla activated her visor and began to scan around for anything suspicious. She spotted a secret panel in the floor. “Look at this…” she called to the others, and pulled the panel out of the way revealing a long stairway leading deep down a long tunnel, which reeked with moisture, possibly coming from the ocean. Starla tried her scanning again, but the signals didn’t pull through, as if it were a labyrinth down there, or just too far to tell, but it didn’t show signs to be rigged or anything dangerous. “It looks like Beaker’s been even busier than a bee.” said Starla. “Maybe Applebloom’s somewhere down there.” said Lightning, and the others agreed, it would make sense-- if Applebloom had discovered something big, Beaker would hold her prisoner. “I can’t go down there, my remote signal would be lost.” said Pinkie. “I’ll go.” said Starla. “Lightning, you stay here.” “Now, wait a minute!” her husband protested. “This isn’t a battle, and I’m in charge of this. I’m going with you.” Starla would have protested, but he gave a sharp, strict look, telling her there was no arguing, and as he was Commander, she had to obey, for she could only give orders in battles. “Pinkie, you stay here, in case Beaker should come back,” she said to Pinkie. “If our suspicions are proven, hold him.” Pinkie nodded, acknowledging her orders, and Lightning and Starla, hand-in-hand, slowly began to proceed down the steps. As they got and further away, the moisture in the air became greater, and there were also lights along the tunnel roof. Meanwhile, the sun had officially set, and the stars were showing as the moon slowly rose into the sky. Tree Hugger was getting ready to walk Sweetie and Scootaloo home, and leave DD to watch Seedling and Shining Light-- she was old enough and responsible to babysit. “I don’t want to go home, not just yet.” protested Sweetie. Scootaloo agreed, “Couldn’t we just stay here until we at least know something?” Tree Hugger shook her head, “Come on, girls. I know it seems cold and cruel, but you have to take it in stride, be brave for the journeys ahead, and let the bliss of life go on.” The two girls blinked in confusion, and DD then translated, “She’s saying you’ve got school tomorrow, and other things to do, and I hate to say it, but she’s right. What I learned for Starfleet is, we can’t go about worrying about one, single thing, no matter how important it is to us, or nothing will ever get done.” Sweetie and Scootaloo were still too upset, but they could tell there was no arguing it and loaded up their stuff to leave. Across the way, Pear Butter was standing outside her home looking out into the fields. Her husband and her son approached her. “Ma… you alright?” asked Bic Mac. Pear sighed, “I heard a sound out here, and I thought it might be--” she couldn’t finish and didn’t have to. The others understood, all wishing and hoping it was Applebloom too. Then, suddenly… they could hear a faint shout in the distance calling, “…Heeeeeeeelp!!” The trio felt they were all just hearing things out of worry, until the shout came again, more clearly than ever. “…SOMEBODY HELP!!” The crusaders poked their head out the door when they heard the shout. “Applebloom?” cried Sweetie. “I know that voice, it IS her!” added Scootaloo. Then, from over the hills and down the lane, Applebloom came running, still shouting for help! “APPEBLOOM!!” cried Pear Butter. “She’s back!!” cried Bright Mac. Everyone rushed out of each the houses, and dashed straight at Applebloom. “Ma… Pa…!!” cried Applebloom. Her mother reached her first and embraced her daughter hard. “Oh, Applebloom!” she sobbed. Her father and brother soon joined, and the other Crusaders and Tree Hugger came over too, but as much as Applebloom was so glad to be home, she broke away from her mother’s embrace. “Y’all got to listen to me… we’re in terrible danger!” The group all looked concerned, and Applebloom urged everyone to listen to her story. While back in the tunnel, Lightning and Starla had gone so far down, they felt they had to be under the waves by now, and then, right before them, was a sealed door with an imprint lock to the side. Their suspicions of Beaker were peaking. Starla tried her visor’s X-Ray to see through the door, but it was no good, the metal of the door was too thick, but she was able to detect life readings from beyond the door itself. “Think we can break this sucker down?” asked Lightning. His wife nodded with a coy expression. The two stepped back to take a double running-kick, when suddenly, they heard a voice call to them over a speaker. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” causing them to stop dead in their tracks. “That’s Beaker…” said Starla. Lightning agreed as he gawked at the door. “Beaker, we’re not playing games here. Just come out willingly.” Beaker only laughed, and behind the door he spoke into a microphone. “You’re in no position to demand that this time, because I’ve got hostages in here.” He motioned over to his teammates to remove the gags from the prisoners’ mouths, and Grimer threatened to send electrical currents into Sky’s water tank, which would really hurt her, if the prisoners didn’t cooperate. “Commander Lightning, General Starla…!” called Sea Green, “They’ve got me, my dad, and my wife in here!” Lightning and Starla knew that voice anywhere, and Starla scanned the soundwaves, confirming it was the real deal. “You’ve got to stop him! He’s mad! He’s going to--” Fisher shouted before he was conked out by Dodger to prevent the plan being slipped. Starla then called to him, “Whatever you’re up to, Beaker, we’ll stop you.” “It’s too late!” hollered Beaker “Make one move, and these prisoners will get it! There’s no hope for you this time! You and your Starfleet will reign over us no longer!” Starla and Lightning didn’t like the sounds of that one bit. To Be Continued… (Promo) In our next episode: It’s the final bout with the Idiots and Starfleet, as both sides fight for control of the fate and future of the plane, and Beaker loses all his remaining sanity, resorting to dirty moves to ensure his project succeeds and Starfleet is destroyed. Will Starfleet finally put an end to the mad-pony’s plot? Don’t miss the next exciting episode of “Starfleet Magic!” (Next Episode: “The Big Boom Theory: Final Part”)