//------------------------------// // A Shocking Discovery // Story: G5 Adventures in Wakko's Wish 2 // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// After Yakko and Wakko caught up with their sister, friends and the rest of the rulers, it was time for the panoramic discussion on how to run Warnerstock further by getting advice from the rulers. “So… who has any ideas?” Yakko asked, standing in front of a blackboard, a piece of chalk in his hands. “Like… do we even have to answer?” Cora asked boredly. “Mom, you said this wouldn’t take long, and now my friends will think I totally flaked on them for no good reason!” “Just a few more minutes, princess-- the princes and their sister need to learn how to properly run a kingdom,” Nora assured. “Um… exsqueeze me?” Dot put her hands on her hips. “I think we’ve been running our kingdom fine, thank you, Ms. Hoity-Toity Queen.” “Dot, calm down a sec!” Sunny tried to calm her. “Uh… what Dot means to say is that they’re open to any suggestions you may have,” Zipp tried to clarify nervously, prompting Nora to give her a large list. “Let’s see… Set a strict curfew and punish all those who don’t abide… no, that doesn’t sound like the Warners. Cut out someone’s tongue and be forced to cut out your own tongue. Eww, gross!” “What is this, the 10th century?” Hitch asked as he looked the list over along with Zipp. But the more that they read the laws and curfews that Queen Nora had set up, the more they were frowned upon. “I’m sorry, your highness, but these laws sound like something King Salazar would push if he were 10 times crueler than he was then,” Zipp said. “While we appreciate the help, organizing this insanely long list and everything, I think that ponies in Equestria would--” “Ze Warners should deliberately smush anybodies who shtand in their way!” Niels shouted, pounding his fist into his open hand. “No way!” GiGi protested. “They need to ask the people what they want!” The other rulers continued to bicker about who’s way was better, and the Warners looked slightly overwhelmed-- and hearing that voice singing to them wasn’t helping. “Hey, excuse me!” Misty finally caught the group’s attention. “Look… the Warners are unique, just like everyone of us. Maybe the way they rule should be unique too,” said the blue unicorn. “Or maybe they can take some of your ideas and bend them into a way they’d be pleased with.” Queen Nora and King Niels looked at each other for a moment, contemplating the unicorn’s ideas before bursting out into laughter, confusing Misty until Niels playfully pushed her down. “Why would we listen to you? A unicorn without a butt-symbol?” he asked mockingly. “While I wouldn’t agree with brute force,” Nora said, “you don’t know anything about running a kingdom, so why would you say anything?” Sunny and Wakko instantly frowned upon this, and stood in front of Misty. “You’re wrong-- Misty may not be a princess, but she’s a hard worker who cares about others, and she deserves to have her own input,” Wakko frowned. “Actually, I’d much rather take her word than yours at the moment.” “Fine. Run your kingdom your own way… it’ll downfall before too long,” Nora huffed and stood up. “Come along, sweetie. We’re going home, and I suggest that these other… rulers do the same.” And just like that, Niels and GiGi left right after Nora and Cora did, leaving the Warners satisfied… what made their parents decide to become allies with those people anyway, telling them how to run their own kingdom? “That was a pretty big step up, Wakko, standing up for me like that,” Misty said. “Thanks.” “They shouldn’t have been putting you down-- I always hated when Salazar id it,” Wakko crossed his arms. “I wasn’t about to let that happen to you.” Misty found herself nuzzling into Wakko’s embrace, and the ponies awwed at the sight while Zipp looked a little confused with herself… she was still mad at Misty for not telling them about Opaline to begin with, but then again… she seemed like she really did feel sorry about what she did. Zipp felt frustrated that she couldn’t figure out how to feel… should she be angry? Or should she be grateful that Misty did tell them what was going on, regardless of whenever Opaline showed herself? Yakko could sense the turmoil going on in the pegasus princess’ heart, and was about to comfort her when that singing was heard again, but this time, Dot heard it too. “Hey… what is that?” she wondered. “Is it a ghost? Or is it Lady Gaga singing opera?” “I don’t hear anything,” Hitch frowned, and Sparky babbled in confusion-- he didn’t hear it either. “So apparently, it’s a voice only the three royal Warners can hear-- fascinating,” Zipp took notes down in her FlyPad. Wakko’s ears perked up as he heard the song again, groaning and covering his ears with his hands. “It’s the same melody over and over again! So wordless and so… so… cryptic!” he exclaimed. “Where’s the sound coming from, Wakko?” Sunny asked. Wakko listened for the sound again and walked toward the doors of the conference room, twisting the nob and opening the door. And as if they were pulled by some sort of invisible force, the siblings crept down the hallway with slow hesitant steps, the ponies trotting behind them. Was it just them? Or was the singing voice getting louder? Sunny and her friends couldn’t hear the singing, but trusted the Warners enough to know what they were doing. They kept going, and as it came louder still, the group was now in front of a pair of large doors. Yakko’s breathing hitched a little bit when he saw them, a sad look filling his eyes… those were their parents’ chambers. He and his siblings had never gone in there… not since their parents passed when they were toddlers. Why would the voice be leading them there? Hesitantly, Yakko took one of the knobs in his clutches... but stopped, debating with himself. They hadn't been in there in so long... what would they find? “Yakko,” came Dot’s voice, and he turned to see his siblings looking at him with hands entwined. “It’s okay. We’re here with you.” The voice rang out again, as if beckoning them to open the doors, so… hesitantly… that’s what Yakko did. Slowly, they all stepped inside, letting Misty close the door behind her. They all looked around the small area, not sure of what to find specifically; even though no one occupied these rooms for many years, they were clearly well-maintained. Something began to stir in the back of Dot’s mind, feeling her eyes moisten as she remembered Queen Angelina’s soft singing voice… their father telling them stories… Hitch put a gentle hoof on her shoulder to bring her out of the flashback, letting her know he was there with her… as were their friends and family. “The voice hasn’t been singing for a few minutes,” Wakko said. “Spread out,” Zipp told the others. “There has to be something here.” The group began to search every nook and cranny in the room, trying to search for any clues about where the voice might be. So far, not one was having any luck. Wakko, however, turned in a circle, trying to pinpoint where it had come from. His eyes fell on a large bookshelf beside the large fireplace, unlit and cold. That filled his mind with several questions-- how could it be coming from there? “Izzy, could you shed some light on this bookshelf?” “You got it, Wakko old buddy!” Izzy nodded, illuminating her horn and approaching the middle sibling. Now that he had a light of some variety, Wakko began feeling around the shelves, unsure exactly what he was looking for. Then, as he ran his hand over the wood on the far right side, he felt something. It was the slightest indentation, one that would never be noticeable by sight. Sparky noticed the indentation immediately when he climbed onto Izzy's back, and on a whim of giggles, he pressed it. There was a faint clicking sound, and the right side of the bookshelf swung slightly open, causing Wakko to step back. “Sparky!” Hitch fussed, grabbing the dragon. “What did you-- whaaa…” “A spooky hidden passage behind a bookcase in your parents' room? This is getting better and better by the minute!” Zipp took several photos. “It's more than that!” Pipp said excitedly. “It's spook-tacular…!” “Yakko, give me a hoof,” Sunny spoke, and they pulled the bookshelf open so that they could all get a better look at the inside. “I don't understand,” Dot shook her head. “Why would Mom and Dad have a secret room? What were they trying to hide?” “Whatever it is, we're gonna find out. Izzy, let's light it up,” Zipp spoke, and Izzy took the lead with Yakko as they headed into the secret room, closing the bookshelf until a tiny sliver of light was all that came through. Even with the miniscule amount of light, it was clear no one had been in this room for years, not even to clean. The light revealed a large desk near the far wall, and Wakko could see books and papers on it, all covered with a layer of dust, but couldn’t read anything on them due to the messiness of the dust. Just then, the voice came again, louder than ever, and another faint light filtered through the gloom, seeping through the cracks of the wall. “Zipp, look! There's something else behind this wall!” Sunny pointed out before feeling around. “But… there's no indentation that I can feel!” Misty looked around with the dim light around the room, until she saw a small circular hole between the bricks, barely noticeable. But… she couldn't help but wonder. Out of curiosity, she slid her horn into it, and a few clicks earned the others' attention. “Misty?” Zipp questioned. “What are you--?” The blue unicorn tilted her head, which caused the bricks to come apart, and a mechanical system brought out what was glowing behind the wall-- a 3-D, diamond shaped crystal, glowing with soft white light, and carved in each corner were barely noticeable symbols on each side. “Sweet sauce horseshoe toss…” Izzy breathlessly spoke. “Misty, how did you know your horn would be able to do that?” “I didn’t. I guess I just… acted on instinct,” Misty shrugged. “Yakko… did you guys know about this?” Sunny asked. “No…” Yakko shook his head breathlessly. “Mom and Dad never said a word about a secret room, or a panel in the wall that brought out a millionaire’s diamond!” “If it’s a diamond, it’s not one like I’ve ever seen. I mean, have you seen this thing? It’s like 10 sparkle filters combined!” Pipp took some snapshots alongside her sister. “Wow… it’s amazing…” Wakko said quietly, putting his hand on one of the sides, and his brother and sister did the same. But suddenly, the ponies’ cutie marks began to glow and sent magic into the crystal, making it shine that much brighter, causing the Warners to yelp and pull their hands back in pain. “Whoa, are you guys okay?” Izzy asked. “It sounded like it hurt!” “Uhhhhhhh… maybe for a minute-- like getting struck by lightning and then your hand getting squashed by a brass mallet,” Yakko tried to describe the pain. “So to put it in Sparky’s standards… it burns!!!!” “Here. Let me take a look,” Sunny offered, and Yakko reached his right hand to the earth pony, who’s eyes widened at the sight of something very strange… a symbol of a lightning bolt and a cloud, glowing on Yakko’s hand. “Uh… Yakko? Have you always had that?” “My charm? Good looks?” Yakko tried to guess. “No-- that mark!” Sunny shook her head, gesturing to the marking on his hand. “He’s not the only one to have a new marking on his hand,” Zipp frowned as he looked at Wakko’s hand. “Wakko has one too!” “And so does Dot!” Izzy said. Turns out, they were right-- Wakko’s symbol was a rolling ocean wave, and Dot’s was a delicate flower, all glowing with the same white light. Sunny wasn’t sure what to think… they had never seen anything like this before-- ever! And it was hard to think about what to do next. “Let’s go see Prime Minister Brain and Dr. Scratchinsniff-- they’ll know what to do.” XXXXXXXXXX Immediately, the group went to the medical quarters of Dr. Otto Scratchinsniff, where he examined the Warners while Izzy and Hitch went to go get Prime Minister Brain. The doctor examined the Warners from head to toe, but he couldn’t find anything else wrong. “Ze Warners are in perfect condition, aside from their zaniness,” Dr. Scratchinsniff spoke. “But what about the markings on their hands?” Sunny asked. “How do you explain that?” “I believe I can,” came the voice of Brain as he and Pinky came into the room with Hitch and Izzy. “Apparently, the crystal you came into contact with caused some sort of reaction with your symbols, causing them to transfer their energy components into the gemstone, causing them to send outward energy into the Warners' predocitaries.” “Poit the narf?” Pinky managed to squeak to Brain's annoyance. “Whaaaaaaaa…?” Pipp blinked, leading Zipp to sigh. “He means our cutie marks caused a reaction that caused whatever magic in the crystal to transfer to the Warners, and that’s why they have those marks. But... what is that thing anyway? And why did your parents have it in a secret compartment in a secret room?” “I-I don’t know,” Yakko scratched his head with a sigh. This was a lot to take in at once, and he was used to coming up with plans right off the bat. Now that this whole thing had been uncovered, he would have to think maticulously about their next actions. Wakko and Misty immediately saw Yakko’s discomfort, and Wakko put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I know this is a lot to take in, Yak,” he said gently. “Trust me-- this is a lot easier to take in than learning Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were once engaged and then got into a civil dispute with the royal family. Let’s just go back to that hidden room and look at those documents. Maybe there’s something there we could use to figure this out.” “...Wakko’s right. We have to try something,” Izzy sounded sincere in her tone, and Yakko eventually sighed. They were right… as crazy as this all sounded, it was worth trying something. XXXXXXXX They all traveled through the castle and back to the king and queen’s quarters, where Wakko activated the secret room, and everyone began to look around for any clues. As soon as the Warners were in the room together, their right hands began to glow with those symbols, making them that much more confident to find something. Yakko began to rummage through papers on the table till one caught his eye-- the same symbols were drawn on it, along with a symbol of a flame, with some writing in the corner. “What is it?” Pinky asked, climbing onto Yakko’s shoulder. “I don’t know-- but look,” Yakko observed. “I-I think this is Mom’s handwriting.” Dot and Wakko instantly peered over his shoulders with Brain on Dot’s head as Yakko read the paper out loud. “Symbols that appeared around the time of kids' birth-- magic source… crystal source?” “What do you think that means?” Hitch frowned. No one responded, unsure of what to make of it, until Sunny let out a little squeak nearby, shakingly holding a paper in her hooves. “Sunny? What’s wrong?” Izzy asked. “This… this has Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark on it!” the apricot earth pony said, and Yakko grabbed it instantly, realizing she was right. “You think Twilight Sparkle knew about this?” “If she did, we won’t know anything about it since she died so long ago,” Brain reasoned. “But whatever is going on with this mystic relic, you three royals have some of its powers flowing within you.” “W-Why wouldn’t Mum and Dad tell us about this? That we could have powers?” Wakko stared at his right hand as he put the other one to his head. “I don’t know… maybe you were too young to understand what was going on,” Sunny tried to ease his concerns. “Let’s try and get some sleep-- we’ve had an eventful day, and you three need the rest.” By the look Sunny was giving them, she left no time for arguing, so the Warners nodded and led them out of the secret room, hoping that no one else would learn of this secret that would change the young Warners’ lives. XXXXXXXX Everyone had retired to their rooms for the night, hoping to get some good sleep despite the frightful circumstances in Equestria and the fact the Warners now had powers from a strange yet beautiful crystal. Sunny was the only one of her friends to be awake, and she was pondering hard and taking notes about everything that’s happened, so maybe something in her father’s journal would match up. As the night continued on, Sunny felt herself slowly nodding off when there was a soft knock at the opening door. “Sunny…?” The earth pony looked up from her studies to see Wakko in a blue robe, holding a teddy bear under his right arm as he stepped into the room, softly closing the door behind him. “Wakko? What are you doing up? It’s nearly 11 o’clock,” Sunny glanced at the time on her phone as she spoke. “I know… it’s just hard to sleep with all this going on,” Wakko frowned. Sunny felt a twinge of sympathy enter her heart… she knew what it was like to have so many unexplained questions… especially ones about the unknown. “Hey… I know how you feel entirely,” she said. “I’ve been up for the past hour trying to link Opaline and possibly the crystal into my dad’s research. Would you… I don’t know… wanna help me?” “Faboo,” Wakko nodded softly, and Sunny, taking it as a yes, sat him down next to her on the bed as they looked through Argyle’s journal. “Wow, he knew a lot about ancient Equestria, didn’t he?” the middle Warner asked. “He sure did,” Sunny nodded. “Taught me everything I knew. Apparently, nothing in here directs me any closer to figuring out how to stop Opaline.” But all of a sudden, her eyes widened as she thought of something. “What? What is it?” Wakko grasped her foreleg., itching to know what it was. “Opaline… the mirror! She was my inner self!” Sunny internally smacked herself. “How could I have not realized it before? She was trying to get ponies to respect me by fearing me! How could I have been so blind as to think she was trying to help me?!” Suddenly, she felt arms around her neck, and Sunny looked down to see Wakko hugging her with closed eyes. “Don’t ever call yourself stupid again, Sunny. I’ve seen enough things to know are stupid-- lazy employees, road rage, heavy recessions, wearing underwear outside your pants… the list could go on. What I’m trying to say is… you’re not stupid. Opaline tricked you at a vulnerable moment. You’re the bravest, kindest, most loyal pony I’ve ever met… you and your friends. I know we’ll find a way to stop Opaline… together.” Sunny couldn’t help but partially tear up at the middle sibling’s words… they were exactly what she needed to hear. She nuzzled his face tenderly as her cutie mark began to glow, making her alicorn horn and wings appear dimly, causing Wakko to gasp in surprise. “Sorry,” Sunny apologized. “Still taking me a while to get used to it.” Both of them laughed before Sunny let out a yawn-- the research would still be there when they woke up in the morning. “Come on… let’s get some sleep.” Wakko nodded and curled up under the blankets with her as they went off to dream land. But, their dreams wouldn’t exactly be smooth sailing at first. When Sunny opened her eyes again, she was in a black room, almost like a void, with Wakko sleeping next to her, and his brother and sister sleeping not too far away. Their sleep clothes were gone, and were replaced with their normal outfits, striking Sunny immediately confused. “What the…? Wakko! Yakko, Dot! Wake up!” “Huh? Did we win an Oscar?” Yakko mumbled tiredly as he woke up, followed by his siblings. “Whoa, what’s with the dark wallpaper. I could have sworn it was lighter than this,” Dot looked around. Sunny suddenly thought of something else, turning to the confused trio. “Warners, hear me out. I don’t know if this is right, but… I think we’re all having the same dream.” “Whoa… freaky-- oh my tuna, what is that?!” Yakko pointed to a fiery glow approaching them. “Warners, stay behind me,” Sunny advised, transforming into her alicorn form immediately and sheltering the Warners behind her wings. The fiery glow became closer… and closer… until the same purple alicorn hovering over Maretime Bay as she sang that siren song of terror came closer, wings and horn blazing in white, purple and blue flames. “Opaline…” Sunny snarled. “That’s Opaline?” Wakko gulped. “Huh…” Yakko hummed. “I thought she’d be taller.” “Yakko!” Dot fussed-- this was clearly not the best time. “Sunny Starscout… we finally meet face-to-face, or rather… dream-to-dream,” Opaline said maliciously. “So sorry we haven’t met sooner, but… I’m sure Misty would have mentioned me at least by name.” “Don’t you dare talk about her,” Sunny felt her insides grinding. “Misty had been brainwashed by you for so long, she didn’t know how to make friends. How could you do that to her? Take her wants for a cutie mark to the extreme?! Nopony should have to live through that suffering.” “Hmmm… soon, everypony will be living through the suffering,” Opaline pushed Sunny back with her hoof before moving her eyes toward the Warners, who were uncharacteristically nervous at the sight of the menacing figure. “And you three must be the annoying siblings that Misty wouldn’t stop talking about… the so-called rulers of Warnerstock?” “You know… being scary may make you want to be  the queen, but you will NEVER rule Equestria. Not while Sunny and her pals have us as allies,” Yakko found his voice as he spoke, his siblings finding their courage and nodding firmly while Opaline merely scoffed. “You’re pathetic,” she snarled. “All of you are! Soon, whatever powers you possess will be mine… MINE!! It doesn’t even matter if the rest of Equestria is frozen in time-- I WILL CONQUER IT ALL!!” She flew up and blasted a ring of fire around them, causing the Warners to scream and cling to Sunny in fright, while she sheltered them with her wings and Opaline cackled. Sunny was unsure of how she was going to get the Warners out of here-- she couldn't wake up no matter how hard she tried! As Opaline continued to cackle, the fire began to dissipate, and the room began to fill with a blinding white light that made Opaline shriek. “Hold on, Warners!” Sunny called out, and they all covered their eyes from the light. But when the light disappeared, Opaline was gone, and so was the fire… and they were in an entirely different environment. Surprisingly, the four were in some kind of ethereal plane, a seemingly endless landscape of blues and greens, dotted with white stars. Even stranger, there didn't seem to be any solid ground, yet they were definitely sitting on something. “Whoa… where are we?” Wakko got up and looked around, taking a few careful steps. “I’m not sure,” Sunny frowned. “But… i-i-it feels I’ve seen this before… somewhere…” “Indeed-- you’ve probably heard it in the tales your father told you of,” said a voice, and Sunny and the Warners whipped their heads around upon hearing it. They had been joined by another alicorn-- one a little taller than Opaline, with a lavender coat and a cutie mark of a six-pointed star with smaller stars around it. Sunny’s eyes widened as she looked upon the alicorn, who’s mane blew about with silver sparkles even though there was no wind, with shock. “T… Twilight Sparkle?” “Greetings, Sunny Starscout. And hello to you, Yakko, Wakko and Dot Warner,” the other alicorn bowed her head in greeting. “I’m glad I was able to bring you here before Opaline’s enchanted fires burned you to crisps.” The four continued to stare for a moment before being brought back to reality… er, well, the reality of the dreamscape. “Here? You know what this place is?” Sunny asked. “Indeed I do,” Twilight nodded. “This is the celestial plane, where Celestia transformed me into an alicorn for the first time and proclaimed me a princess.” “Princess Celestia?! Oh wow, this is so awesome! Now, if I could just--” Sunny started to say, but Dot put a finger on her muzzle to stop her. “Hey hey. Sunny, refocus. Opaline just attacked us, remember?” she asked. “Oh, right!” Sunny shook her head. “I’d be happy to explain things,” Twilight spoke, “but there are a few more faces I need to see before I do.” Lighting her horn, the group shielded their eyes from the bright light as Sunny’s friends, aside from Misty and Sparky, appeared from it. “Whoa, what?” Pipp looked around. “Where did my screaming audience go?!” “...and is that Princess Twilight?” Hitch’s eyes widened. “It is me. It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Twilight said. “Now, I can lead you to some dear friends of mine who can’t wait to see the Warners again.” “...again?” Yakko couldn’t help but murmur. Twilight only smiled, gesturing for the group to follow them with her hoof, which they immediately obeyed to. They walked for a little while, before the white light appeared, and two figures stepped from it… two figures that looked so much like the Warners, even wearing regal clothes. Yakko and Dot were speechless, but only Wakko found the courage to speak. “...Mum? D-Dad?” There were King William and Queen Angelina, as clear as day, even though Wakko barely remembered them. As his eyes filled with tears, the middle sibling, followed by his older brother and younger sister, raced toward their parents and enveloped them in huge hugs. “We missed you so much…” Yakko couldn’t help but stammer. Queen Angelina stroked her son’s head, her voice soothing to his ears. “We missed you too, my love.” “And we are so proud of the rulers that you’ve become,” King William agreed, taking Dot and holding her close. “But… we didn’t come here just for a chat.” “...so you came to help us?” Wakko asked. “Exactly, honey. We’ve come to finally tell you about your powers,” Queen Angelina said. “Powers that… could hopefully save Warnerstock from doom.”