//------------------------------// // (Beginning Of Act 2) Captured // Story: Horizons // by Battwell //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurred. Once her vision cleared, she noticed that she was in a white room with a white bed to her left. She then realised that there was a laser barrier keeping her in the room. Rainbow Dash was in a cell. She walked up to the barrier to try and get a better look at where she was being kept. She only saw a hallway outside her cell and two guards watching her every move. She noticed that the guards were two beings she has never seen before, these were none other than Rhino and Master Zik. Rhino turned to her and noticed that she was awake. "It seems one little pony has awoken." Rhino said to Master Zik. Zik nodded, "Indeed. And it appears that she is not alone." Rainbow then heard some noises coming from her left and her right. That's when she noticed that there were more cells right next to her. She heard everyone else wake up and get up off of the floor. "Wha....What in tarnation?" Applejack muttered. "Ugh. Anyone get the number of that bus?" Knuckles said groggily. Tails rubbed his forehead and examined his cell, "We're trapped. Eggman got the jump on us." Rarity's eyes then widened, "Tails? Is that you, darling?" "Wait a minute, Rarity?" Tails replied. Applejack laughed in joy, "Hooo Weee. Well howdy, Tails! Been a while." "Applejack, wait! Are all of the girls here?" Tails asked. Pinkie bounced around her cell, "YIPEE!!! IT'S SOOOO GOOD TO SEE YOU, TAILS!!! Well, not 'see' you at the moment, but it's great to hear you!" The rest of the mobians looked confused. "Uh, Tails? Mind filling us in?" Amy asked. "Where's Froggy?" Big asked. Suddenly, a familiar laugh interrupted Tails before he could explain, "Well, look who's awake." They all then walked to their laser bars and saw an egg shaped shadow walking down the hallway. Eggman then stood in front of the cells and laughed wickedly. "EGGMAN!!!" Everyone shouted in unison. Suddenly, Sombra appeared next to Eggman thanks to a teleportation spell. "He had a little help." Sombra said smugly. All of the ponies and Discord gritted their teeth at the dark unicorn. Rouge then spoke to Eggman, "Alright, Robotnik. What's going on?" Eggman chuckled, "What makes you think that I would tell you anything, you sneaky bat!!!" Rouge smirked, "You've trusted me in the past." "A mistake that I won't make again." Eggman replied. Sombra then stepped forward, "You are all hereby declared enemies of our empire. You will all be confined in these cells for the remainder of your days and watch as we destroy everything you hold dear." Everyone glared at the dark unicorn with hatred. "Look, I don't know you. But I already wanna punch your teeth in!" Knuckles growled. "We beat you once, EggHead, we can do it again!!!" Rainbow Dash declared. Eggman raised an eyebrow, "What makes you so sure? Unlike our last encounter, I have you in the palm of my hand." Eggman then turned to Tails, "I've lost to you and that stubborn little hedgehog for too long! Now that I have all of my enemies in one place, I can use you all as bait. None of you will survive this time!" Amy then glared at the mad doctor, "Then why not destroy us now?" Eggman folded his arms, "Normally I would," He then tilted his head towards Sombra, "But SOMEONE wants to keep you alive for gloating." Sombra then turned and glared at Eggman, "What's the point in beating our enemies if we just destroy them right off the bat? We should relish in our victory! We should break them before their inevitable demise." Sombra smiled wickedly. "It's a mistake to keep them alive!!! We should just finish them off, now!!!" Eggman countered. Sombra scoffed, "You have no flair, Robotnik! We should make them watch as their greatest fears come to fruition!!!" Eggman smirked, "And did that work out for you last time, your majesty?!" Eggman sneered. Sombra's eyes then glowed green, "YOU WOULD DARE?!" "Oh, I would dare." Eggman replied. (End song) Suddenly, a mechanical arm slammed on the ground in between the two villains. They both looked up and saw Doc Ock slowly descend to the ground. "Gentlemen, it behooves us not to fight amongst ourselves." Otto said to the two villains. Sombra scoffed, "Behooves? What are you, a professor?" "No, I'm a scientist." Otto replied. He then turned to the cells and walked closer to them, his mechanical arms stomping against the metal floor as he approached. He then leaned forward and examined each cell while stroking his chin, "Such interesting creatures. To think that all of you could cause so much trouble." "And who might y'all be?" Applejack asked. Otto then chuckled as he stood upright, "I am Doctor Otto Octavius, and you are beneath me." Otto said as he walked back over to his allies. Applejack growled at that comment and was about to retort, but suddenly, she was shocked as electricity filled her room. Everyone gasped, though they couldn't see the act of torture, they could hear Applejack's screams of agony. The electricity stopped and she fell to the floor. "APPLEJACK?! ARE YOU OKAY?!" Fluttershy shouted in worry. Applejack moaned in pain as everyone glared at the three villains. They all saw that Otto had a device in his left hand. "Let that be an example of what will happen if any of you step out of line." Otto said to the prisoners. Discord then pointed at Otto angrily, "If you do anything to Fluttershy, I swear I'll-" Eggman then cut him off, "You'll what? Turn us into cupcakes? You're a joke, Discord! You don't know the meaning of the word chaos! Instead of using your magic to make everyone bow before you, you instead play pranks and fool around! You even let these annoying mares turn you against everything you know! You're no Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. You're nothing but a punchline, a failure, and you always will be." Discord then shut his mouth as he stepped back from the laser bars. Sombra then turned to his allies, "So, we move forward with the plan?" Eggman smiled, "Of course! When it's complete, any resistance will be erased! And from the ashes of their crumbled ideologies, a glorious Superior Empire will rise!" Eggman smiled evilly. Otto then lifted himself further into the air thanks to his arms, "And any who oppose us will fall to our combined power." Sombra then smiled maliciously, "All will submit." Blaze then snarled at the trio of villains, "We won't let you get away with this!!!" She then tried to access her fire abilities, but for some reason, she couldn't. Sombra then stepped forward, "You say that like you all have a choice in the matter." Eggman then stroked his moustache, "You'll find that your cells are lined with the newly created Power Dampeners Otto and I created. So there will be no flames from the Flame Princess or Psychokinesis from the future rodent." "Now, if you'll excuse us. We have a Multiverse to conquer." Sombra stated. "Enjoy your stay. You'll be here for a very long time." Otto added. "Soon, everything you love will bow before the Superior Empire!" Eggman finished. The trio of villains then laughed as everyone had a look of worry evident on their faces. This time, their enemies would not go down so easily. (End song)