//------------------------------// // Back to Acme Falls // Story: G5 Adventures in Wakko's Wish 2 // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// Acme Falls certainly had a change of looks since the ponies had been there last-- the buildings didn’t look as rundown, flowers grew all over the kingdom, a castle stood near the village, and a brass statue of the Warners stood in the center of the village. Seeing that statue instantly made Misty begin to smile. “The Warners… they really made a mark on this town. We all did-- I mean, defeating Salazar was no easy feat.” “But… it does make me wonder why we’ve come back here,” Sunny scratched her head with her hoof. “I mean… King Salazar should be gone by now… right?” “I don't know… but we need to figure it out soon,” Zipp hummed. “In the meantime… let's see if we can find the Warners. As co-rulers of Warnerstock, they may be able to provide us with some insight as to why we've been called here again.” The ponies turned to look at each other and nodded… the Warners would know what was going on. They'd have time to interact with their other Acme Falls friends later. After Hitch put Sparky on his back, they trotted toward the castle and since the guards recognized them, they lowered the drawbridge and let them inside.  Misty felt right at home in the Warners' new residence… and it felt much better than Opaline's castle. She tried to give Zipp a few kind smiles, but Zipp only turned away and ignored her. “Don't worry about her,” Sunny told her softly, being joined by Izzy. “She may be mad now… but you'll find a way to make it right.” “You should all hate me, Sunny… but you don't. W-Why?” Misty asked, a little worried about the response. “We are a little mad and hurt,” Sunny said, noticing Misty's expression fall in shame. “But we know why you did it… you wanted a cutie mark, and you wanted friends, but you didn't want to lose your home with Opaline.” “I-I’m sorry I lied about being from Bridlewood… I was worried if I said ‘I live in a castle with a power-obsessed alicorn’... you guys wouldn’t trust me. But I feel into that hole sooner or later…” Misty frowned. “We forgive you, Misty. No matter what Zipp said, you are a valued member of the group,” Izzy said. “Hoof to heart valued.” “...hoof to heart valued,” Misty repeated, a small smile stretching across her face before she heard laughter echoing up ahead, and running toward them was a familiar mouse-- Pinky, the best friend of Prime Minister Brain, who hugged onto Izzy’s leg with laughter. “Egad, you’re back!” he exclaimed. “Oh, it’s so good to see you all again!” “It's good to see you too, Pinky,” Hitch smiled at the young mouse. “Hey... have you seen Brain or the Warners anywhere? We need to talk to them right away.” “Narf! I think Brain said they were in the throne room. He's trying to get them to go over some royal proclamations, not that they need it. Ha ha ha! Follow me!” The group followed the mouse, who merrily skipped ahead, humming to himself, to the throne room on the other side of the castle. Izzy use her magic to open the door, where they saw the Warners on their thrones, half-asleep as they were listening to Brain’s royal proclaimation ideas. “...and to conclude, we shall have a strict curfew so no one is out in the dangers of night,” Brain finished, adjusting his robe. “Any questions?” “Uhhhhhhhhhh… I got one. We were half-asleep during your speech, so can you repeat everything you just said?” Yakko asked tiredly, causing Brain to groan in frustration. “And why does it look like Misty and the Equestrian ponies are right behind you?” Dot rubbed her eyes to see if she was dreaming, but true to the story, she wasn’t. “Wakko!” Misty was the first to gallop their way. “Yakko, Dot! We’re back!” The Warners rushed toward their equine friends and hugged them tightly, knowing that their friends from another world had returned to them. Misty particularly enjoyed leaning into Wakko's embrace, loving the soft rubs he gave her whenever she was feeling down or afraid. “It’s so good to see you again!” Pipp said to Dot, holding her hands. “How’s the new beauty mark been treating you? Not anymore coughing, I hope?” “Not since you guys showed up in Acme Falls and saved our butts. You ponies are real life-savers,” Dot told her pegasus confidant. “...all of us except Misty,” Zipp muttered to herself before being nudged by Hitch. Misty heard that and tried her best not to be down, which was impossible when she had Wakko nearby. “We’ve got so much to tell you about!” Wakko told the blue unicorn excitedly. “For instance, did you know I gave the decree that every royal guard should have a mallet on them for emergencies?” “Really? Do they make some good self defense weapons?” Misty asked, intrigued. “Do they ever! They’ll make an enemy back down after a couple of painful swings,” Dot said with a smirk, making Misty giggle. “So, brave equine saviors from Equestria, what brings you back to our newly found slice of paradise?” Brain asked. “Well… we’re not sure exactly,” Sunny said with a frown. “All we know now is that… Equestria’s in danger.” This caused the group to look at her with wide eyes, not entirely sure what to make of the information. “Wha-- what do you mean? Have you run out of cheese? Have you?!” Pinky begged, grabbing Sunny’s mane and tugging on it, only for Brain to bop him on the head, causing him to let go. “No, Pinky… but an evil alicorn named Opaline is trying to steal all magic in our world,” Sunny frowned. “We were called here just when she made herself known.” “And Misty helped her get to this point,” Zipp gaze Misty a horrible, betrayed look, and Misty quivered at the sight of it. “Zipp!” Pipp scolded. “She already said she was sorry! What is it gonna take to get you to let it go?” “She may have said she was sorry, and only wanted this because Opaline manipulated her into doing this so she could get her cutie mark, but actions… speak WAY louder than words,” Zipp sneered. Misty could feel her eyes brimming with tears… that was the last thing she wanted the Warners to find out. Not like this... and not in this manner. The Warners, Pinky and Brain looked at her for the longest time, and she finally felt the tears flow. “I… I’m so sorry, guys…” she sniffled in a quiet voice. “I wanted to tell you on our way to the Wishing Star, but then we started getting attacked, and then you found out about my blank flank, and then--” Before she could keep rambling though, she felt the Warners… hugging her? This action caused the group to blink in surprise, but even Misty gave into it as she gave quiet sobs. “Misty… you don’t have to be ashamed of yourself,” Wakko said gently. “You were manipulated. Like how Plotz was to Salazar.” “Yeah. We’ll find a way to stop the hoity toity alicorn together,” Dot reassured her. “Good night, everybody!” Yakko blew no one in particular a kiss, making Misty smile a little as she wiped her eyes. The others seemed to look at her kindly again… all except Zipp, but Misty was starting to get numb to that feeling. “Well…” Brain sighed, rubbing his forehead. “In light of this new… circumstance, you all are welcome to stay at the castle until you can find your situation, solve it and get back home to stop this new threat.” “Thank you,” Hitch smiled, relieved that the group would have somewhere to stay during this crisis. “Come on, guys,” Yakko got on Sunny’s back to lead them. “We’ll take you to a highly sustained guest room we had made in your honor-- even comes with a working shower.” “Working shower?! Let me at it!” Pipp fluttered away immediately, causing Dot to run after her and the group besides Pinky and Brain to follow. “Um… Brain?” Pinky spoke after a moment. “What if the mean ali-corn-cob comes here and tries to take Misty back? Won’t that be bad?” “Not entirely, Pinky-- we’d have time to figure out her strengths and weaknesses,” Brain hummed, pacing the floor, “and if she does come, we could put our own plan to take her down into action. Come-- let’s return to the laboratory and begin processing of Equestrian roots.” XXXXXXXXXXXXX Misty walked alongside Wakko and Izzy during the trip to the bedroom, which was massive, had 7 beds for each one of them, and a working bathroom so they could go when they needed to. But all the while, she couldn’t help but wonder one thing. “Wakko?” she tapped Wakko’s shoulder, earning his attention. “W-Why aren’t you guys mad at me like Zipp? I thought for sure if you found out… you’d hate me.” “That’s a silly thing to question-- it never mattered to me who you stayed with and who you may have worked for. To me… your intentions seemed more pure than anything I had ever seen,” Wakko sat next to her on her bright blue bed. “You know… before our parents died, Mom told me one thing that I’ll never forget: ‘Look for the good in the world, and it will always find it’s way back to you’. And it has… you’re the good I found, and you came back to Acme Falls to help us again.” “So… you really think we can find a way to stop Opaline?” Misty asked. “I know we can,” Wakko wrapped an arm around her to comfort her. Zipp watched on the other side of the room, not sure how to feel… she was glad Misty was away from someone who could cause her harm, but she was still increasingly angry at Misty for helping Opaline in her plans. Misty and Wakko seemed like the purest of pure friends, but… looks could be deceiving-- she could be just as bad as Opaline, for all they knew. But before anything else could be said, Yakko yawned tiredly. “Well, sibs, we better get to bed. We have the Royal Allegiance Conference tomorrow, and we have to put on a good royal image for Warnerstock.” “Royal Allegiance Conference? What’s that?” Sunny asked. “Apparently, Mom and Dad did it,” Dot shrugged. “It’s where leaders from the surrounding kingdoms come to see how other kingdoms perform under different circumstances. Tomorrow, it’s Warnerstock’s turn.” “Then you guys better get to bed,” Sunny said. “We’ll be ready to help you tomorrow.” After exchanging good nights all around, the Warners left the room, and most of the ponies went to sleep. But Misty couldn’t help but wonder after she started to get tired… what if Opaline did find her way into Warnerstock?