Sunny couldn't help but shake the feeling that she got back at the TV studio... like something bad was about to happen to Gonzo, Rizzo and Misty.
But why?
And should she inform the others in case some sort of action needed to be taken?
Suddenly, Kermit’s stunned gasp brought her out of her train of thought. “What the hey…?”
“Kermit? What is it?” Sunny asked… just before she gasped upon seeing a huge crowd of people in front of the beach house, all chanting ‘Gonzo’ over and over. “There are no aliens here!” Sam the Eagle said as Hitch and Izzy tried to keep the crowd back. “Only good, old-fashioned, hard-working Americans.”
“Oh, good grief…” Sunny sighed as they tried to make their way through the crowd. “Excuse us! Pardon us, please!”
“Hey, look!” cried a boy from the crowd. “It’s a little green man and an orange horse!”
Many eyes turned toward Kermit and Sunny as they walked toward the front steps, and while Sunny felt a little uncomfortable, Kermit seemed to find his voice in the uneasy circumstance. “Excuse me, but what are all you people doing here?”
“We were drawn here by the alien,” said a woman, showing them a giant lump of clay that looked strangely like Gonzo’s head. Sunny shuddered at this, trying to keep her composure. But then again, they were all wondering…
…could this day get any weirder?
XXXXXXXX
“...that’s all I know!”
Agent Barker had been tied up with the rope Pipp and Zipp found earlier, and he had just finished telling them everything he had known about what Singer was planning. “Okay, let me get this straight, now,” said Miss Piggy. “This government agency, C.O.V.N.E.T, has abducted Gonzo and Misty, and taken them to its top-secret facility?”
“Yes, Miss Piggy.”
“Well, thank you, darling. You've been most helpful. AT LAST!!” Miss Piggy leapt up, startling Pipp and Zipp and causing Agent Barker to fall off the desk. “A real story! Intrigue, danger, new outfits, and it's mine, mine, mine! All mine!”
As she began to jump up and down in celebration, she caught sight of Pipp and Zipp staring at her with a mix of disgust and confusion. “Come on. Please. You think Ted Koppel never gets excited?”
Pipp blinked in confusion at this. “Ted who?”
“It doesn’t matter! We have to tell Sunny, Kermit and the others!” Zipp said to her sister and her new friend. “They may be able to help us with a rescue mission!”
“Oh…” Pipp whimpered. “I sure hope Gonzo, Rizzo and Misty are all right…”
XXXXXXXX
“No way!” Misty said to Caramel as they drove to C.O.V.N.E.T. “You got your cutie mark by writing your own play?”
“Yeah, when I was a filly,” said Caramel with a nod. “It was a lot of work, but that inspired me to start writing my own stories.”
“Wow… I actually got my cutie mark for helping my friends,” Misty smiled. “Cutie marks really make you special, inside and out and in our own way, don't you think?”
“Huh… I never thought of a cutie mark that way,” Caramel hummed. “That’s a really good way of thinking.”
“Trust me,” said Gonzo. “Misty has had loads of experience.”
Soon, the limousine pulled up to the front entrance, allowing the group to get out and head inside. And after they walked through the doors, Persephone and Journal galloped toward their friend. “Caramel! You’re back!” Journal said as the three friends hugged. “We were wondering what had been taking you guys so long!”
“I’m okay, guys,” Caramel said. “Gonzo, Misty and Rizzo? I’d like you to meet Journal Heart and Persephone-- my best friends since I was a filly. Guys, this is the alien Mr. Singer wanted to meet with, his rat friend and the pony that was on TV with him.”
“Oh, it’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Gonzo!” cried Persephone, eagerly shaking his hand. “I’ve never met an alien before! Wow, okay… uh, does my mane look okay?”
“Oh, uh… you look great,” Gonzo said. “Wow… okay, thanks!” Persephone smiled. “Come on… Mr. Singer is waiting in his office.”
XXXXXXXX
The three ponies and the remaining agent guided Rizzo, Misty and Gonzo to Ed’s office, where he eagerly awaited their arrival. “As ambassador of Earth, I welcome you,” he said to Gonzo slowly. “I'm Edgar, but I want you to call me Ed.”
“Oh… nice to meet you, Ed,” Misty nodded. “My name is Misty, and this is Gonzo and--”
However, Ed interrupted her before turning to Gonzo again. “And it's an honor to meet you, Mr. Gonzo.”
“Yeah, yeah,” said Rentro, holding a plate. “Me too.”
“Hors d'oeuvres! Ha-ha-ha!” Rizzo said eagerly before diving into the cheese and crackers on the plate. “Oh, please,” said Journal as she pushed some chairs over. “Take a seat.”
“Oh, wow, thanks!” Misty said, sitting down in the chair right next to Gonzo’s. “So when do we begin, Ed?” Gonzo asked. “I'm very excited about all this.”
“Me too, my friend,” Ed smirked, pushing Gonzo’s chair away from Misty. “Me too…”
Misty didn’t like the tone Ed was speaking in, but when she looked at her new friends, the three mares tried not to look nervous…
…but with the situation at hand, it was hard NOT to be.
XXXXXXXX
Sunny and Kermit were doing some research on alien protection agencies when Miss Piggy, Zipp and Pipp came through the doors, the two pegasi looking worried while Miss Piggy didn’t seem the least bit concerned. “Kermie, Kermie, Kermie! Kermie!” Miss Piggy cried, slamming the door closed as. “Kermie! Yes! Yoo-hoo! Kermie! Everybody! Come here. Come here. Oh, oh, oh. Listen, everyone, listen. I've got great news.”
“Great news?! Piggy, be serious!” Zipp cried as Animal, Fozzie and Pepe approached with Izzy and Hitch. “Exactly!” Pipp nodded. “Gonzo, Misty and Rizzo have been kidnapped by the government, and it could be a life-threatening situation!”
“What?!” Hitch cried in panic. “Piggy, how in the world could you think that’s great news?!”
“Because… I've got the story! I've got the story!” Miss Piggy sang to herself, causing Izzy and Pepe to sigh before Piggy realized something. “Oh! I need to change. Something that says journalistic integrity. Oh! Oh! Oh! I've gotta pee!”
As Piggy darted upstairs, Zipp sighed and turned toward the others with a tired expression on her face. “She’s been like that the whole way here-- Pipp and I can’t convince her to think otherwise!”
“That’s Piggy for you,” sighed Kermit. “She loves the spotlight… a little too much.”
“Ohh…” Fozzie groaned in worry. “What are we gonna do?”
“Okay, guys, it’s up to us,” Kermit told the others. “We have to save Gonzo, Rizzo and Misty from a whole army of government agents!”
“And we have to be as careful as possible so we don’t get captured,” Sunny said. “So, do we have anything that might help?”
“Well,” said Fozzie, “I have a joke book.”
“Drumsticks!” Animal chanted. “Drumsticks!”
Pepe pulled out some Jello from out of nowhere. “I have some loose Jell-O, okay.”
“Okay… that settles that,” Kermit said before looking toward the basement. “In circumstances like this, there's only one place to turn.”
XXXXXXXX
Everyone ventured down into the basement where Bunsen and Beaker were working, and Kermit was the first to speak. “What do you got, Bunsen?”
“Well, Mr. Kermit, here at Muppet Labs, we've come up with many devices that should aid you in your covert operations,” Bunsen said before bringing out a rubber ducky… a strange device choice in the ponies’ opinion. “This seemingly ordinary rubber ducky actually contains invisibility spray. However, the effect is, sadly, temporary.”
Beaker muttered under his breath with the sad shake of his head. “Uh-huh,” Hitch nodded. “The old rubber-ducky-with- invisibility-spray trick. Check.”
“And, Beaker, if you would,” said Bunsen as Beaker turned to get something. “Here is something that we're very excited about.”
“Mee-mee!” Beaker announced as he let Zipp see a jar of glowing green slime. “Door in a jar?” she questioned. “What?”
Beaker nodded and placed the jar in Zipp’s hoof. “That's absolutely right, Beakie,” said Bunsen. “All you do is open up the jar, fling the contents onto the wall, and poof! Instant door.”
“Wow. What is this? A secret communication device?” Fozzie asked, picking up a roll of tape. “Uh, actually, Fozzie, that’s scotch tape,” Izzy responded with a cheerful shrug. “Useful if something tears.”
Suddenly, a female clearing her throat was heard by the door, and everyone turned to see Miss Piggy standing by the door, dressed in a dark blue dress and matching gloves. “And... what do you have for... moi?”
Zipp rolled her eyes at this. “Oh brother...”
“Well, Miss Piggy, for you we have Muppet Labs Mind Mist,” Bunsen said, getting out a perfume bottle of the substance. “Simply spray it on the subject, and they will obey your every command.”
Miss Piggy strutted down the steps to meet up with them, but tripped over her own two feet and fell face first in front of Beaker. But once she got up, she snatched the Mind Mist from Beaker’s grasp. “I doubt I'll need any.”
“...should we really bring her along?” Zipp whispered to Sunny. “If we want any chance at saving our friends,” said Sunny, “we need all hooves/hands/paws on deck.”
“All right then, everyone,” said Kermit, “let’s go get out friends!”
“Yeah!”
“Let’s go go go!”
“Leeeeet’s dooooo iiiiiiit, ow!!”
“Vamanos, vamanos!”
“Gonzo, Rizzo and Misty need us!”
XXXXXXXX
Back at C.O.V.N.E.T, the bad feeling she had gotten about Ed and even this facility grew more on Misty than ever before... but seeing Journal, Persephone and Caramel try not to act nervous seemed to tip her nervous scale.
Their actions sort of reminded her of... how she used to be when she served Opaline.
Maybe… they just needed a nudge in the right direction? Like her friends did for her?
But before she could talk to them, Ed was already getting on some gloves to examine Gonzo more… personally. “I've been looking for something like you all my life. And now, at last, my search has come to an end. May I?”
“Before you answer that, Gonzo,” said Rizzo, “he better be clear on the final destination of that finger.”
Ignoring the statement from Rizzo, Ed continued to poke and twist Gonzo’s nose around, humming in thought. “No nostrils...”
“Wait a second...” Journal stopped the conversation. “If you don't have any nostrils, then how do you smell?”
“Awful,” Rizzo quickly responded. “Trust me-- I'm his roommate.”
Rizzo and Rentro burst out laughing, and even Gonzo and the ponies giggled a bit. However... Ed had a livid expression on his face, and his next shout caused immediate silence and fear. “DON'T... LAUGH... AT ME!!!!”
Misty shuddered in complete and total terror, her heart racing at a million miles an hour as she clung to Gonzo, who was just as terrified. When she glanced over at the three intern ponies, they were hunkered down with pinned ears, as if they were trying to keep out of sight.
As Ed was trying his best to calm down, Rentro turned toward Gonzo and Misty for a moment. “I uh, I hope I'm not imposing but uh...I thought you were just great on TV. Do you think I could get your autograph?”
“Rentro?”
“Yes sir?”
“It’s not a good time.”
Rentro turned toward Gonzo and the frightened unicorn with a nod. “This is probably not a good time. Yeah.”
That's when Ed finally managed to calm down and turned back to the alien and unicorn duo sitting side by side. “Forgive me my earthly manners. But uh, do you have any idea what it's like to feel... heh... to be laughed at?”
Gonzo nodded at this. “Sure, I do.”
“I mean, uh... I've never been laughed at personally, but... it does sound awful,” Misty then stammered in agreement. That’s when Ed turned his attention to Gonzo again. “To be called names like wacko?”
Misty cleared her throat after a moment. “I, uh... actually have a friend named Wakko Warner who would take offense to that.”
“Freak boy?”
Gonzo nodded at this. “Oh yeah.”
“A paranoid delusional psychopath?”
Gonzo found this rather specific, but shook his head in response. “You got us there.”
Ed cracked his neck in an intimidating form. “To feel... completely alone in this world?”
“Uh, yeah, I think we're starting to get the general idea, Ed,” Rizzo interrupted. Annoyed by the smart-alleck attitude coming from the rat, Ed pushed a button which caused a large burly man to enter the room... a man that Rentro seemed to recognize. “It's wrestling legend: Hollywood Hulk Hogan?”
As the ponies gasped in shock, Ed turned toward the wrestling legend. “Have the rat sent down to Dr. Tucker for some tests.”
However, Rizzo was immediately confused. “Tests? But I haven't studied. I don't even have a number-two pencil!”
However, Hogan picked Rizzo up by the tail and the wrestler began to speak to no one in particular. “This is all for my N.W.O.ites out there. I will continue to dominate wrestling. I will continue to make your back crack, your knees freeze and your liver quiver. I will continue to so much pain on you, you'll become my 'painac'.”
But before the wrestler could continue, Ed spoke up. “Hollywood, Hollywood, would you mind? The rat.”
“Wait a second,” Misty said, getting up from her chair. “Where are you taking our friend?”
But before anymore actions could be done, Rizzo was sent screaming down a tube, much to the shock of Gonzo and the three ponies.
Ed only smirked. “He's gonna be fine.”
“...I just remembered, I'm supposed to head down to the lab,” Journal whispered to Misty and Gonzo. “I can go check on your friend while I'm down there.”
“Thank you...” Misty whispered just before Journal galloped out of the room.
XXXXXXXX
Rizzo screamed as he swerved through the tubes until he landed in a room with a few other rats. After Rizzo got his bearings together, a larger rat approached him in an intimidating way, and as Rizzo whimpered nervously, the larger rat stuck out his hand... er, paw for Rizzo to shake. “How you doing? I'm Bubba.”
Rizzo, after regaining his nerves, shook Bubba's paw. “Hey. Rizzo. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you. How'd you like to meet some of the boys here?”
“Uh... sure.”
Bubba then turned toward a rat on one of the bunk beds with a harmonica within reach. “That up there, that's Fast Eddie, harmonica extraordinaire.”
Rizzo nodded in acknowledgement. “How you doing, Ed?”
“Well, I ain't dead.”
Bubba then turned toward a weightlifting rat nearby. “That's Troy,” he introduced before looking toward a shaking rat. “This back here, that's Shakes.”
“Hi. Hello. How you doing? Welcome,” Shakes seemed to say repeatedly. “They're doing a new caffeine substitute on him,” Bubba explained before turning to another rat calling for someone named Gladys. “And that there is the Birdman. He don't bother nobody. He's been here forever.”
That's when a pigeon came in and landed right on the Birdman himself. “Gladys! Come on, the guys are watching.”
“He just likes to hang out with his birds. Know what I mean?” Bubba whispered. “So, er, that about does it for all of us here at the Medical Research.”
That remark seemed to catch Rizzo immediately offguard. “Medical Research? B-But that would mean that we're… lab rats!”
That's when Rizzo let out an ear-piercing shout, hoping Gonzo and his unicorn friend would hear his desperate plea. “GONZO, MISTY, GET ME OUT OF HEEEEEEEERE!!!!!”
XXXXXXXX
“Here, try some of this tea,” Persephone said to Misty, levitating a cup of tea toward the shaken blue unicorn. “It might make you feel better.”
“Oh... thank you,” Misty said, taking the tea cup. “So... do you think Rizzo is gonna be okay?”
“Sure, totally!” Caramel quickly tried to reassure. “Journal and I have been to where he's going, and there are plenty of rats down there to hang out with. Well... when they're not doing all those tests...”
Persephone cleared her throat, causing Caramel to chuckle nervously. “Your friend will be fine, I'm sure of it.”
That's when Ed decided to approach. “Now, Mr. Gonzo. What can you and your little friend tell me about these?”
Ed quickly turned their chairs toward the TV screens behind them, revealing all of the 'R U There' messages that Ed had showed the general a few days before. “Whoa, Gonzo, you were right!” Misty cried. “They really have been looking for you!”
Caramel approached them with Persephone, wanting to ask something. “And they are coming to Earth, right?”
Gonzo shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“How many are there?”
“I don't know.”
“When will they be here? And don't you dare tell me that you don't know,” Ed spoke before grabbing Misty by the mane. “Unless you want your little friend to get hurt.”
Misty gasped in fear upon him saying such, and Caramel and Persephone grew terrified immediately.
They had only known Ed for a few days and now he was a violent monster?
What had they gotten themselves into?
Gonzo gulped nervously, fearing that Misty would be hurt if he said the wrong thing. “I know not...? But I'm sure I could find out!”
“...could you?”
Ed let go of Misty, causing her to dart to Gonzo’s side as he got down from his chair. “Okay, then. I'll keep in touch. Thanks.”
But, before they could leave, two very stiff agents blocked their path. “Oh. Heh. So back to the limo?” Gonzo asked, just before Ed came up from behind and placed his hands on Gonzo and Misty's shoulders. “It's a shame, really. I really need that information. So I'm afraid we'll have to perform an invasive quadra-lobal brain probe on you and pluck it from your head.”
Persephone blinked in confusion when he said such. “You're gonna pluck the information from their heads?”
“No... his brains and her magic, so Butterfly Girl here can't fight back.”
Misty gasped immediately. “Wait, what?!”
“Take them away.”
Misty immediately lit her horn to protect Gonzo, but the agents immediately grabbed her, tied her up in ropes and held her close to them as they drug her and Gonzo away while they screamed for help, much to the horror of Persephone and Caramel.
When their new friends were drug out of sight, Caramel finally found his voice. “Mr. Singer, are you crazy?! Gonzo and Misty are so sweet! They don't deserve to have their brains and maguc sucked out!”
“I agree wholeheartedly!” Persephone agreed. “This isn’t right, no matter what sick thing you're trying to prove!”
“Well, if you don't stop your rambling and don't do anything stupid, you can join them!” Ed snapped at the duo. “How do you like those apples, horses?!”
Caramel and Persephone didn’t have to think twice to know what they were going to do next.
First, get back to Journal and tell her what had happened.
Then... they break Gonzo and Misty out of this creep-zone and get them back to their friends and families... if they could get to them in time.