//------------------------------// // 2. Who is Callidus? // Story: My Little Pony the Movie 2: Secret of the Magic Pearl // by Italibaso //------------------------------// Having been dropped off in the desert and close to Klugetown by Celestia and Luna, Twilight and her friends walked across a stone path leading to the deserted looking town. The outside of the place hadn't changed a bit. Smoke still ascended into the sky from the many towers located in Klugetown and the place still looked as if it hadn't been cleaned for a very long time. Once Twilight and her friends entered Klugetown, memories of their previous visit came right back to them. The dreary atmosphere of the place was still as present as ever, although this time not as many creatures seemed to be walking around. They saw at least two market stands that were selling all sorts of disturbing things. Fluttershy was forced to see all the birds and small animals locked up in little cages once again, giving her a feeling of disgust to whoever could be responsible for this. Rarity couldn't look away for two seconds without seeing another filthy looking spot, making her wish she had brought a fainting couch with her. Behind one of the many market stands in the town, a grey cloaked figure, who's face was completely covered under his hood, was secretly watching the six ponies from afar as they further explored the place. The hood of the cloaked figure seemed to be mostly following Twilight. ''Goodness gracious,'' Rarity said while witnessing the sights of Klugetown, ''How did this dreadful looking town even became the way it is in the first place?'' ''Ya reckon it had something to do with that Storm King guy?'' Applejack asked. ''I don't know,'' Twilight said, ''But that's not important right now. We have to find Tempest and ask her what she knows.'' ''But what about all those poor little critters?'' Fluttershy said, still having her eyes on the small animals locked up in the cages, ''Can't we do something to free them, Twilight?'' ''Maybe later, Fluttershy,'' Twilight responded while her eyes were searching every corner of the place, ''We have to stay focused on finding Tempest first.'' ''Okay.'' Fluttershy said, having a slight look of disappointment on her face. ''Um actually, Twilight. Her real name is Fizzlepop Berrytwist. Remember?'' Pinkie Pie whispered to her in an over exaggerated manner. Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed, ''We've gotta focus on finding Fizzlepop Berrytwist first,'' She said with an unamused tone in her voice, ''Happy now?'' ''Very.'' Pinkie Pie replied with a satisfied smile. ''It shouldn't be too hard to find Fizzlepop here, right? We ponies stick out here like sore hooves.'' Applejack said. ''Maybe we can just ask someone here for information again?'' Pinkie Pie suggested. Suddenly a giant piece of paper flew into Twilight's face. She immediately removed the paper from her face using her magic and looked at what was written on it. Her eyes widened a few seconds later when she saw the awkwardly drawn faces of Tempest, herself and her friends with the word 'wanted' written above them. ''I don't think that's a very good idea, Pinkie Pie. Look.'' Twilight said before showing her friends the wanted poster. ''Uh oh. That ain't good.'' Applejack commented. Pinkie stretched her neck out long enough for her to take a look at the wanted poster right beside Applejack's head. Her face looked utterly confused at how the faces were drawn. From the oversized noses to their overly messy looking manes. ''Wow, no kidding. They can't even get our noses right.'' Pinkie Pie said after taking a look at the wanted poster herself. ''Forget the noses! Look at my mane,'' Rarity said, looking disgusted at her own drawn face on the wanted poster, ''It looks like a rat's nest! It's hideous!'' ''Y'all might wanna pay more attention to the word 'wanted' that's written above our faces.'' Applejack said to Pinkie Pie and Rarity while looking unamused. ''Oh, right.'' Rarity said while letting out a nervous giggle. ''Why are we even wanted? We just got here.'' Rainbow asked. ''Look! I see them!'' Twilight and her friends all froze in place and tried to find out where the voice came from. It didn't take long before they saw a big crowd of different creatures in the distance, all of whom seemed to have taken notice of the six candy colored ponies and the small purple dragon. ''Verko's gonna pay me a fortune if I capture them for him!'' A shark creature among the crowd said. ''Not if I get them first!'' Another creature in the crowd shouted. In a split second, every creature rushed at Twilight and her friends, weaponed with all sorts of tools in their hands. There seemed to be at least twice as many creatures compared to the last time they were confronted. ''There's your answer,'' Spike remarked with a scared look on his face, ''RUN!!'' Within a few seconds, Twilight and her friends ran away from the oncoming danger as fast as they could. The creatures started throwing axes, shovels, sickles and many other things in their direction. Luckily most of them missed the little ponies only by a hair. As they kept getting chased throughout the town, Rarity saw the many wanted posters hanging on the walls of almost every house they passed by. ''I know I once sang a song about wanting to become popular,'' Rarity said in a panicky manner, ''BUT NOT LIKE THIS!!'' Applejack eventually noticed a stack of barrels in the distance, which gave her an idea. ''Rainbow Dash!'' Applejack shouted, ''We can use those barrels to get rid of these creatures!'' ''I'm on it!'' Rainbow Dash, immediately understanding what Applejack had in mind. With her lightning fast flying speed, she knocked over the barrels, causing them to roll towards Twilight and her friends. ''Everypony, get close to me!'' Twilight shouted. Her friends immediately did as they were told and closed in on Twilight. Right before the barrels were about to run them over, Twilight used her magic to teleport everypony a few meters further and dodged the barrels in the process. The creatures of Klugetown saw the incoming barrels heading their way and began to retreat immediately. ''Great thinking, Applejack!'' Rainbow Dash said to her. ''Yeah, we BARREL-y managed to escape!'' Pinkie said before giggling playfully at her own pun. Twilight and her friends went around a corner, only to be met by a dead end. Before they knew it, more creatures showed up from behind and had them all surrounded. ''Or not.'' Fluttershy said to Pinkie Pie. The creatures were about to gang up on the six little ponies and their purple dragon, when suddenly a tall cat jumped down from above, landing between the horde of creatures and the six ponies. He wore a red coat, a long black cape and a tall black hat with a purple feather on it. ''HALT!'' The tall cat shouted. The pursuing creatures all immediately stopped in their tracks right in front of him. Rarity gasped and smiled at the sight of his fabulous costume that she had made for him during the Friendship Festival. ''It's him!'' Rarity said in pure delight with sparkling eyes. ''You again?!'' A big fish creature from the horde said, ''Get out of the way!'' ''I will,'' Capper said with a sly smile, ''But first, how about a magic trick?'' The horde of creatures responded with confused looks and began to mumble to each other. ''I can make smoke appear out of thin air.'' Capper said while wiggling his fingers in an enchanting manner. ''Oh yeah?! Prove it!'' A grey pig shouted. ''With pleasure. Now watch and...'' Capper stayed silent for a second and widened his eyes, ''What's that behind you?!'' Capper's shocked reaction caused the horde of creatures to turn around and look behind themselves. Capper took his chance and reached for one of the several grey orbs he had hidden under his cape. In a split second he threw the orb on the ground right in front of the distracted creatures, causing it to explode as smoke started to cover the whole area. ''Quick, this way!'' Capper said to the six ponies and Spike before he made his escape through a small tunnel in the alley. Twilight and her friends quickly followed him and didn't look back. It took a minute before they finally saw light at the end of the tunnel. One by one, Capper, Spike and Twilight's friends climbed out into Klugetown. ''Keep moving, more of those creatures could show up at anytime!'' Capper said before continuing on further into Klugetown. The five ponies and Spike quickly followed the tall cat. Twilight climbed out of the tunnel one second later and was about to follow her friends, but stopped when she took notice of a cloaked figure that had appeared next to her out of nowhere. The cloaked creature threw some magical dust against Twilight's face before she had the chance to react, causing her to slowly fall asleep before collapsing on the ground. Eventually Capper and the rest of the ponies reached his home. The stylish dressed cat opened the door that was at the bottom of his house, allowing Twilight's friends to head inside. He closed the door behind him and walked up the stairs leading to a large hatch on the ceiling. Capper pushed it open and climbed into the room, where a dark purple unicorn who wore a cloak and had a big scar on the left side of her face was waiting for him. ''Relax, Tempest,'' Capper said to the unicorn when he saw her standing in a defensive pose, ''I brought some of visitors who you may recognize.'' Tempest looked behind the tall cat and saw Twilight's friends all climbing out of the open hatch. ''You?! What are you doing here?'' Tempest asked while looking surprised, ''Didn't you see all the posters of you hanging around?'' ''Fizzlepop Berrytwist!'' Pinkie Pie shouted happily before running over and giving the dark purple unicorn a hug. ''Please don't call me that.'' Tempest said while having a little blush on her face. Her eyes then started searching for a certain light purple alicorn. ''Something wrong?'' Applejack asked the curious looking Tempest. ''Where's Twilight?'' Tempest asked. ''What?!'' Rainbow Dash said before she and her friends looked around the room. ''Oh no. Somepony must've taken her while we were escaping.'' Fluttershy said worriedly. ''We gotta go back and find her!'' Spike said. ''Let's go!'' Rainbow Dash said determinedly. "No!'' Tempest exclaimed, causing everypony to look at her in surprise. ''Why not?'' Spike asked. "I'll go find Twilight,'' Tempest suggested, ''You all stay here, where it's safe." ''Oh no, we're coming too.'' Rainbow Dash said. ''No, it's too dangerous,'' Tempest replied, ''You show up again in town and every creature will come after you. I don't want you to take that risk. Besides, I know my way around town better than any of you.'' ''She does have a fair point.'' Applejack said. ''But aren't you wanted too?'' Rarity asked, ''We saw your face on the posters.'' ''The only reason I'm wanted is because I was a servant of the Storm King, so that's my own fault.'' Tempest explained. ''Hey! If that's the case, then why exactly are we wanted around here?'' Rainbow Dash asked Capper. ''Someone has been stealing food around Klugetown for the past few days,'' Capper explained, ''And Verko has been spreading the lie that you ponies were the ones behind it.'' ''The mole guy?'' Applejack asked, to which Capper nodded. ''But why would he frame us?'' Fluttershy asked. ''It doesn't matter,'' Tempest said, ''I have to do this on my own, it's the least I can do after everything I put you through.'' ''But that's all in the past, right?'' Fluttershy said. ''Maybe for you ponies. But some creatures, like the ones here, will always remember me for my past actions and nothing else.'' Tempest said. ''Fizzlepop, darling. I truly appreciate what you're trying to do,'' Rarity complimented, ''But are you absolutely sure about this?'' ''Yes,'' Tempest answered bluntly, ''I promise I'll bring back Twilight safe and sound. You have my word.'' ''Well, I'm still coming,'' Spike said as he stepped towards Tempest, ''Poster or not, Twilight is like family to me. And if she needs help, I'll always be there for her.'' ''Well, I didn't see your face on the wanted posters. So I guess I can make an exception for you.'' Tempest explained. ''Thank you, Fizzlepop.'' Spike said before giving Tempest a hug, to which she blushed while showing an awkward smile. ''Is this a thing you ponies do or something?'' Tempest asked Twilight's friends. ''You could say that.'' Fluttershy answered with a friendly smile. ''Especially when it comes to Pinkie Pie.'' Rarity added, followed by the pink party pony giving her a warm but slightly tight hug. ''Right,'' Tempest responded, not sure how to feel about it, ''We better get going, Spike. Try to stay close to me.'' ''You got it, Fizzlepop BerryTwist.'' Spike said determinedly while saluting her. ''Can we please stop using my full name? It sounds embarrassing.'' Tempest suggested. ''Then how about Fizzy?'' Pinkie Pie suggested. ''......That at least sounds better than my real name, so sure. Let's go with that.'' Tempest said reluctantly. ''Alright! Let's go, Fizzy.'' Spike said as he opened the hatch for Tempest. ''Be careful, you two.'' Fluttershy said. Tempest showed her a little smile and nodded before jumping down into the hatch with Spike on her back. ''I'm still curious as to why Verko would frame us for stealing food.'' Rarity said. ''Because he still thinks that he technically owns you six after the deal I made with him last time.'' Capper explained. He sighed to himself while looking slightly guilty. ''Oh, right. Selling us.'' Rarity said to Capper with a pout on her face. ''I'm really sorry about that,'' Capper said to Rarity and the others, ''I just did what I thought I had to do in order to survive in this town.'' ''What do ya mean?'' Applejack asked. ''Look over there.'' Capper said as he pointed his right paw to the large paintng of a grey bird with his own face plasterd on it. ''Oohh, nice painting! Are you an artist?'' Pinkie asked eagerly. Capper rolled his eyes playfully and walked over to the painting. His paw reached for the plastered on face and ripped it off, revealing the true face of the giant grey bird. He had a proud look on his face, the beak was all black, his eyes dark yellow with black and grey pupils. ''Who is that?'' Rarity asked when she and her friends could finally get a good look of the grey bird's face. ''That is Callidus. He used to be the mayor of Klugetown many days ago,'' Capper explained, ''But everything changed when the Storm King and his army attacked.'' ''Oh my. What happened to him?'' Fluttershy asked. ''Y'all might wanna sit down for that one, little ponies. Cause it's quite a long story.'' Capper said as he himself sat down on a wooden chair next to his bed. Twilight slowly regained her conciousness. As her eyes opened, she saw a tall cloaked figure standing in front of her. She looked up to see the creature's face, but it was completely hidden under the darkness of his hood. The only things she could make out were a grey beak sticking out of the hood and bird like claws coming out of his sleeves. The cloaked creature raised his finger in front of his grey beak, signaling her to be quiet. He then pointed to the searching creatures of Klugetown outside the alley. ''Listen, me and my friends did not steal any of your food.'' Twilight whispered. ''I know.'' The cloaked figure responded in a huskey male voice. ''You do?'' Twilight said while sounding surprised. The cloaked figure nodded, ''You should never listen to a single thing those stupid town folk tell you, it's all nothing but lies.'' ''I see.'' Twilight responded, still a bit skeptical. ''What's your name?"' The cloaked creature asked. ''I'm Twilight Sparkle,'' Twilight answered, looking a bit confused while still talking in a quiet voice, ''Who are you?'' ''.......Call me Grey,'' The cloaked figure answered after staying silent for a few seconds , ''I'm not going to hurt you if that's what you're thinking. All I want is your help.'' ''My help?'' Twilight said curiously. ''There is a door in a certain place I need to enter. And you are the only one who can open it.'' Grey explained. ''Sorry, but I don't have time for that right now,'' Twilight said after she remembered why she was in Klugetown in the first place, ''Me and my friends are looking for someone.'' ''Who?'' Grey asked calmly. ''Her name is Princess Skystar,'' Twilight answered, ''She's the daughter of the queen of the hippogriffs, Queen Novo. Have you seen her?'' Grey stayed eerily silent for a few seconds as his hood slowly turned to his side. Just as he was about to answer Twilight's question, a familiar female voice calling Twilight's name could be heard outside of the alley. The cloaked creature gasped in shock and quickly backed away from Twilight. ''Who said that?'' Twilight said when looking behind her out of the alley to see who was calling out to her. ''I must go, but first I need you to listen,'' Grey said to Twilight, ''I know where this Princess Skystar you're looking for is.'' ''You do?! Where?!'' Twilight asked hopefully. Grey looked up as he heard another voice, this time sounding like a small kid, calling Twilight's name as well. ''I'll tell you some other time.'' Grey said urgently. He quickly turned around and ran further into the alley without saying another word to Twilight. ''Hey, wait!'' Twilight said as she saw Grey dissapear into the dark alley. ''Twilight!'' Twilight was startled by the familiar voice coming from behind her. She quickly turned around and was completely relieved when she saw Spike riding on the back of a pony wearing a black cloak from the body to the head. ''Spike?!'' Twilight said in a suprised but happy tone. She ran over to the small purple dragon and embraced him into a hug. ''How did you find me here?'' Twilight asked, ''And who is this?'' ''An old friend of yours.'' Spike answered proudly. The black cloaked pony pulled her hood back with her right purple hoof, revealing her face. Twilight immediately recognized the broken horn and the large scar on the purple unicorn's face. ''Fizzlepop Berrytwist?'' Twilight said. A small blush appeared on Tempest's face. ''We better get out of here. Your friends are waiting you at Capper's house and-'' Tempest got embraced into a tight warm hug by Twilight before she could finish her sentence. ''It's good to see you again.'' Twilight said after she stopped hugging the blushing unicorn. ''Same to you,'' Tempest said, showing little smile. ''Is everything okay, Twilight?'' Spike asked worriedly. ''I'm okay, Spike.'' Twilight answered reassuringly. ''How did you get here?'' Tempest asked. ''There was this strange cloaked creature who dragged me into this alley. He said that he might know where Princess Skystar is.'' Twilight said. ''Really?! What did he say?'' Spike asked curiously. ''He left right before he had the chance to tell me.'' Twilight explained. ''It was probably just a scammer who was trying to convince you to buy his stuff. Trust me, I've seen creatures like that everywhere in this town,'' Tempest explained, ''Now, let's get out of here before another creature shows up. I know a safe route that leads back to Capper's house.'' Tempest placed her hood back over her head and made her way out of the alley. Twilight looked back into the alley one more time, still thinking about what Grey had said to her about the creatures of Klugetown. ''What's wrong, Twilight?'' Spike asked when she noticed her looking into the alley. Twilight snapped out of her thoughts and looked back at Spike, ''Oh uh, it's nothing.'' ''Come on, let's go. This place is giving me the creeps.'' Spike said before jumping on Twilight's back. The purple alicorn exited the alley and continued following Tempest to Capper's place. A few seconds after Twilight and Spike had left the alley, The dark hood of the cloaked firgure from before peeked out from behind a barrel inside the alley. ''So long story short: Callidus used to be the mayor of the once peaceful and harmony filled Klugetown, but then the Storm King and his army showed up and ruined everything. And instead of doing something about it, Callidus ran away and abandoned everyone. And he never returned and even decided to side with the Storm King according to the hippogriffs, which caused Klugetown to become the way it is now thanks to Callidus disappearing.'' Pinkie starts breathing in and out heavily after she was finished talking. ''Yup. That pretty much sums it up,'' Capper said, ''And ever since then, I've been forced to mostly survive on the streets.'' ''Oh dear, that must have been dreadful.'' Rarity said with a concerned look. ''That wasn't exactly short, Pinkie.'' Applejack said to her. ''Really?'' Pinkie Pie asked while raising an eyebrow, ''And here I thought it was too short.'' Applejack looked over at Rainbow Dash, who seemed to be reading a book while laying on Capper's bed. ''What's that ya reading, Rainbow Dash?'' Applejack asked as she walked over to the rainbow maned pegasus ''Just some book called 'The Myth of Black Skull Island'.'' Rainbow Dash answered. ''Myth of Black Skull Island?'' Applejack said, which got the attention of Capper and the others. ''The myth of what now?'' Pinkie pie asked. ''It's a very mysterious island that lays somewhere on the east side of the ocean,'' Capper explained, ''Legend has it that the book was written by some creature who was the only one to have ever visited the island and gotten away alive.'' ''Oh really? What does it say?'' Rarity asked Rainbow Dash. ''A great power, enough to rule the world with, lies within a cave. One that can only be entered by those who are brave,'' Rainbow said, reading the words to the others out loud, ''Turn creatures of six kinds into stone, and the path to power shall be free. But don't lose control, or else all life will cease to be. Should thou lose control, then the magic pearl is the only key. Once touched by a pure and kind soul, then peace and harmony shall return to the world as is meant to be.'' ''Oh my. That sounds scary.'' Fluttershy said while looking a bit frightened. ''Relax, sugarcube. It's just a myth.'' Applejack said while patting the shoulder of the yellow pegasus. ''That sounds like something straight out of a Daring Do adventure if you ask me.'' Pinkie Pie said. ''Who's Daring Do?'' Capper asked her. Before his question could be answered, the sound of the hatch opening could be heard from the back of the room. As their attention turned to the open hatch, Twilight and Tempest climbed out into the room together. ''TWILIGHT!!' Twilight's friends shouted before running over and embracing her and Tempest into a big group hug. ''Ya sure had us worried, Twi.'' Applejack said after she and her friends stopped hugging them. ''I know, but I'm fine.'' Twilight responded before looking over at Capper. ''Glad to see you're alright,'' Capper said, ''Now, care to explain what you all are doing here in the first place?'' ''We're looking for Princess Skystar.'' Pinkie Pie answered. ''The hippogriff princess? Ain't she at Mount Aris?'' Capper asked curiously. ''Not anymore.'' Twilight responded. ''What happened to her?'' Tempest asked Twilight somewhat concernedly. ''We don't know. She's disappeared for some reason. But I think the Storm King's guards might have something to do with it, that's why we came here to look for you. Do you know where they are?'' Twilight explained to Tempest. ''I haven't seen those guys since I left Canterlot,'' Tempest answered, ''But my guess is that they've returned to the Storm King's Castle.'' ''The Storm King's castle?'' Fluttershy said with a hint of fear in her voice. ''Then that's where we're going!'' Twilight said determinedly. ''And where exactly is this castle?'' Rainbow Dash asked. ''Somewhere on an big island in the south west from here. We'll need an airship to get there.'' Tempest explained. ''There's plenty of those at the air dock of Klugetown if you need one,'' Capper mentioned, ''But ya might wanna be careful there, the docks might be heavily guarded.'' ''Pff, big deal. We've managed to take an airship once before, we can do it again.'' Rainbow Dash said. ''If you say so,'' Capper said with a playful smirk, ''But don't say I didn't warn you.'' ''I'm coming too,'' Tempest said to Twilight, ''If there is a chance that those Storm Guards are behind this, then I'll do whatever I can to help.'' ''Thank you, Tempest,'' Twilight said with a hopeful smile, ''You're a very good friend for somepony who says she only just discovered the magic of friendship.'' ''T-Thanks,'' Tempest said while she gave the purple alicorn a little shy smile, ''But just uh, call me Fizzy from now on.'' She looked over at Pinkie and gave her a little wink. Twilight gave her a playful giggle, ''Very well, Fizzy.'' ''So, is everypony ready?'' Applejack asked her friends determinedly. ''I hope so,'' Fluttershy said, ''The Storm King's castle sounds like it could be very dangerous.'' ''Dangerous?'' Rainbow Dash said with a confident smirk, ''Ha! I laugh in the face of danger!'' ''Wow! I thought I was the only one!'' Pinkie Pie said with an excited smile. ''Well, I am ready,'' Rarity responded confidently, ''We got a princess to save!'' ''Let's do this,'' Twilight said before reaching out her hoof, ''Together!'' Her friends all placed their hooves on Twilight's. Tempest looked a bit confused at first, but eventually shrugged it off and joined in with her hoof. ''Good luck, little ponies,'' Capper said, ''Oh, I almost forgot.'' He walked over to the big shelf and grabbed a folded piece of paper that was hidden between two books. ''What's that?'' Applejack asked curiously. ''It's a map of the world beyond Equestria,'' Capper said before handing the piece of paper over to Applejack, ''Might come in handy in case you get lost out there.'' ''Why thank ya, Capper.'' Applejack said. She hid the folded map under her hat. ''Let me know how it went once you get back.'' Capper said. ''You can count on that, you big ol charmer.'' Rarity said to Capper with a flirtly smile. She gave the tall cat a small wink. ''Yeah yeah yeah, big ol charmer,'' Spike said with an annoyed look on his face, ''Can we go now?'' ''Off to the air docks, y'all.'' Applejack said to her friends before she jumped down into the hatch. Spike, Tempest and the other ponies all followed suit. A few minutes passed before Capper heard a knock on his front door. He walked over to the wooden door, opened it and was met with a cloaked figure standing right in front of him. ''What can I do for you, sir?'' Capper asked with a slightly confused look. ''Be unconscious.'' The cloaked figure answered in a huskey voice. Before Capper could respond, the cloaked figure pulled a metal pipe from under his cloak and hit the tall cat on the head. Stars circled around Capper's head before falling down on the wooden ground. The cloaked figure showed a sinister smile on his grey beak that was sticking out of his hood and picked up the body.