Poppy's Delivery Service

by XombieSlayr

Delivery #8: "Lagoom Kaboom."

It was another sunny day in Ponyville as the market square opened to greet the morning sun. Ponies began to open their doors and throw back their curtains, welcoming the new day with a smile.

Then suddenly, the sky went black as huge ominous clouds began to swirl around, whipping the air violently as odd red lighting streaked across the sky; heavy black clouds blocked out the sun as a massive triangular portal suddenly opened up directly above the market, and began sucking in everything in site, including the one unfortunate pony who happened to be out watering her flowers at the time, Penny Metronome.

She screamed as she clung onto a nearby lamp-post and hung on for dear life. Just when all hope seemed lost, Poppy Blossom appeared in a flash of orange light, fresh from the snowy peaks of Yak Yakistan, only to see the portal tearing the sky apart.

"Penny!" Poppy raced over and grabbed Penny's hoof; trying to pull her back to the ground, but it was no use; the force from the portal was too strong. "Hang on! I'm going to go get Pears!" Poppy took a rope from her satchel and tied it expertly around the lamp post, then around Penny's waist. "I'll be back!"

"Okay!" yelled, Penny over the roaring winds. "I'll uh....I'll be here."

To-Do List: Find out about the mysterious portal from Pears and save Penny.

The Inconvenience Store

Poppy burst in through the doors of the Inconvenience Store in a huff. "Pears! There's a-"

"I know!" said Pears, typing away furiously at her monitor. "Never thought I'd see another one of those again."

Poppy ran to the counter. "Another one of what? What the heck is that thing?"

Pears set her monitor aside. "A Bermuda Triangle". " And if that thing's here, it could only mean trouble. Big trouble."

Poppy looked confused. "That's the Bermuda Triangle?" asked Poppy. "Why is the Bermuda Triangle here? And also, why is it trying to eat Ponyville!?"

Pears shrugged. "It depends." she said. "It either wandered here, or it was summoned here." she narrowed her eyes. "Neither one, is a good thing."

"Who summoned it here?" asked Poppy.

"My guess? Them." said Pears.

"Them?" asked Poppy. "Wait. You mean the ponies you were talking about before? You think this is their doing?"

Pears nodded. "I've been noticing all kinds of strange readings since Santa was thrown into our world by a strange portal of the same caliber."

Poppy's eyes widened. "That's how Santa ended up in our dimension?! He was just sucked into one of these things at random?"

"Not at random!" said Pears. "Their doing it; the mysterious cabal of controllers who are using these semi-sentient inter-dimensional portals to do their dark bidding. And if there's one in our neighborhood, that can only mean: They're coming."

"This triangle is that bad?" asked Poppy.

"It's not a good omen, Poppy." Pears grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her close. "Evil is coming; coming for us all! I have to work even harder to get the store in to shape, and I recommend you get back home as quickly as possible!"

"I can't!" cried Poppy. "That thing has Penny!"

"WHAT!?" cried Pears. "Where is she?"

"I tied a rope around her and came to ask you how to save her!" said Poppy.

"Alright, calm down." Pears thought for a moment. "Once a triangle gets imprinted on you; it's tough to shake it." she explained. "But you can train them, if you know how to communicate with them."

"Communicate?" asked Poppy. "This thing's alive!?"

"Semi-sentient, but close enough to being alive." said Pears. "They're very attracted to symbols and sigils; driven by shapes and colors."

"What shape gets it to leave Penny alone?" asked Poppy quickly.

Pears thought for a minute. "Lets see...a pink rhombus makes it nostalgic for the eighties; a red octagon makes it stop whatever it's doing; a blue tetrahedron makes it sit in it's mom's basement and draw maps of dungeons..."

"Red octagon; got it!" Poppy was about to leave but Pears grabbed her arm.

"Easy now, Poppy!" she said. "They can't see or hear; you have to feed them a symbol of what you want them to do."

"Feed?" asked Poppy. "You mean just...throw a red octagon into the portal?"

"Yep!" Pears then let go of Poppy's arm. "Now get going! I have to finish preparing before they get here!"

To-Do List: Locate a Red Octagon to stop the triangle from trying to eat Penny.

Back outside, the streets were now empty as the wind roared all around Ponyville; the triangle pulsating like a heartbeat above the market square. Poppy ran back to check on Penny, who was still flying around at the end of the rope like a kite.

"Are you alright?" asked Poppy. Another crash of red lightning tore across the sky.

"I could be better." said Penny. "But as long as I don't get struck by lightning, I'll be fine!"

"I think as long as you stay down here, you'll be fine. "said Poppy. "Pears says I need to find a red octagon and throw it into the portal to get it to stop trying to eat you and Ponyville."

"A red octagon?" asked Penny. "Like a stop-sign?"

"That would work!" said Poppy. "But there isn't many stop signs in Ponyville; plus, they're all kind of welded down to metal poles and needed to prevent carriage accidents from happening. I need to find another one somewhere!"

"May I make a suggestion?" Poppy turned to see Interkitten floating in midair, holding an ice cream cone with fish crackers in her paws.

"Yes! Yes you may!" cried Penny.

Interkitten licked her ice cream. "Crabby's Diner has all kinds of paraphernalia on their walls taken from Crabby's many adventures at sea; including a stop sign that was used to sever the head of the great manticorus of the Aztec sea."

"That's perfect!" said Poppy. "Penny," she turned to Penny. "I'm going to run over to Crabby's and get that sign; Interkitten will keep an eye on you, till I get back."

"Okay!" said Penny. "Please hurry!"

With that Poppy ran off towards Crabby's Diner, leaving Interkitten to make sure Penny stayed safe till she got back. As she watched Poppy gallop away, Penny turned to Interkitten.

"By the way," she asked. "How are you floating?"

Interkitten licked her ice cream again. "I have wings now; they just move too fast for you to see them.

"You can do that?" asked Penny, amazed.

"Yes." said Interkitten. "They're very useful."

"Huh." nodded Penny. ".....Can I have a bite of your ice cream? I haven't eaten anything all morning."

"No."

---

Crabby's Diner

Poppy raced as fast as her hooves could gallop to the doors of Crabby's Diner, and entered in a huff. The diner was unsurprisingly empty, save for a single stallion in an overcoat sitting by himself with a mug of coffee.

Pretty looked over to see Poppy. "Poppy!" she said. "I wasn't expecting to see you here right now; you know with the world basically ending outside!" Pretty actually looked like she was getting ready to close the diner, after her customer had left. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

For a second, the memory of seeing Crabby in the diner when she was with The Ghost Of Hearths Warming Present, occurred to her and Poppy found herself suddenly keeping an eye out for him as she answered Pretty. "It's a long story, but...can I borrow that stop sign you have on the wall?" asked Poppy politely.

Pretty looked at her. "You...want to borrow a decor stop sign from our wall?" she asked.

"I know how it sounds," said Poppy. "But I need it to stop that portal from eating the town, and my friend!"

Pretty thought for a moment. Then she sighed. "Okay, fine." she said waving a hoof. "Take it, but be sure to bring it back! Grandpa would kill me if he saw his prized bladed stop sign missing from the wall."

Poppy went over and took down the stop sign from the wall, before turning back to Pretty. "Speaking of your grandpa," said Poppy trying not to sound invasive. "You did say he was missing, right?"

"Yes." said Pretty. "For a week now."

Poppy looked at Pretty. "Are you sure, he's actually missing?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" said Pretty. "What are you getting at?"

Poppy thought she should tell her about seeing Crabby in the diner, but she would have to explain the whole situation with the GOH and she had no time for that right now; she had to save Penny!

"Sorry, never-mind." said Poppy shaking her head. "Just a thought I had."

"Fine." said Pretty rolling her eyes. "Now, can you please leave? I'm closing the diner till that thing is gone!"

---

To-Do List: Stop the rampaging Bermuda Triangle.

Poppy returned to the market square where Penny still dangled helplessly in the air by the rope, as Interkitten made sure she didn't fly off.

"Welcome back." said Interkitten.

"Poppy!" said Penny. "Did you get it?"

Poppy took the stop sign and aimed it at the triangle. "Here goes nothing!" she threw it upwards with all her might.

The sign sailed upwards to the triangle, but then a huge gust of wind blew the sign back, right through the rope that held Penny to the lamp post. Penny screamed as she was sent spiraling into the sky.

"PENNY!" Poppy leapt onto the severed rope, then Interkitten leapt onto her back, trying to save them, but the pull was too strong. Poppy felt her feet leave the ground, as she, Interkitten and Penny all began to soar up into the air; till they passed right through the gaping maw of the triangle into the unknown.

A short while after, the wind blew the sign back up and into the portal, where it immediately stopped; letting go of everything it had been trying to suck up into itself. But Poppy, Penny and Interkitten were already gone; taken away to another land.

Another world...

𝐿𝒶𝑔🌺🌸𝓂 𝐼𝓈𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹

Penny landed first; landing in soft sand, as Poppy tumbled out next with Interkitten hanging onto her tail. They landed right behind Penny in soft grass. A gentle breeze told them they were right next to the ocean.

"Ugh..." Poppy got up and brushed the sand from her scarf and mane. She looked around to find that they were standing on the beach of a large tropical island, surrounded on all sides by the bluest water she'd ever seen. It sparkled brilliantly as it stretched out to meet the rest of the world. "Whoa." said Poppy, taking in the paradise before her. "I had no idea this was on the other side of that thing; I'd been meaning to put in for some vacation time anyways!"

Penny got up and looked around as well. "Incredible!" she said, looking around.

Interkitten hovered down and took up a pawful of sand, watching it sift through back onto the beach. "Hmm...multi-colored sand." she said. "That's peculiar."

"Multi-colored sand?" Poppy reached down and took a hoof-ful herself; the sand ran from her hoof in shades of red, orange, yellow, purple, blue, green, pink, indigo and more, as it met back up with the beach. "Amazing!" said Poppy excitedly.

"It is!" said Penny. "But...where exactly are we?" she asked, looking around the beach.

"I...I don't know." said Poppy. "Interkitten?"

Interkitten wrinkled her nose in thought. "Where ever we are, we are very far away from Equestria; I'd say at least several thousand miles. Maybe more." said Interkitten looking out at the ocean.

"Are we the only ones here?" asked Penny. Just as she said that, they all heard someone gasp from behind them.

They turned to see a brilliantly pink sea pony, floating in mid-air above the sand, apparently having been collecting sea shells when she spotted Poppy and her friends. She wore a necklace of multi-colored shells around her neck, and a beautiful tropical bloom in her fin-like mane. She looked very surprised to see ponies without a fish tail on the island.

"Um...Hi?" said Poppy, giving a wave with her hoof. Before she knew it her hoof was seized by the sea pony and brought over to her, then swept up off her feet in a hug as the sea pony happily danced in the air with her; spinning around playfully.

"I don't believe it!" the sea pony squealed. "It's you! It's really you!"

"It's really who?" asked Penny.

The sea pony stopped spinning and smiled at Penny. "The heroes of the prophecy, of course!" she set Poppy down, who was now terribly dizzy, and struggled to stay on her feet.

"Heroes of the prophecy?" asked Penny. "What do you mean by-

"Oh!" cried the sea pony. "Where are my manners?" she put a fin to her chest. "My name is Sea Flower; you can call me flower, and this," she then spread her arms out wide as she proclaimed. "Is Lagoom Island!"

Flower swam over to Poppy (who finally managed to find her equilibrium again) and took her by the hooves. "Come on!" Flower urged. "You have to meet the others!"

Poppy looked up at her. "Others?"

---

Lagoom Beach

Sea Flower lead Poppy, Penny and Interkitten over to a beautiful clearing where another beach could be seen just below it. All around the clearing there were numerous out of place objects, possibly pulled in from the market square by the portal, scattered all around.

To the side of the clearing was a large broken hull of wooden ship; beside that was what looked like a bumper from a vehicle of some kind. Across from those, was a large crate that said "Lost and Found," which contained all manner of random objects and junk that had been sucked into the triangle; including a television, sunglasses, a wooden table, a case of imported wine, leg warmers, plastic cups, greeting cards, a bouquet of flowers, a window from a house, a clock, a board game called Twister, a literal chunk of a sidewalk, a refrigerator, the second half of the ten commandments, a garbage bag of over two thousand bottle caps, a computer charger, cinder-blocks, Leonardo DaVinci's sketches of a cold fusion reactor, an entire oak tree, a sail boat, a shovel and a stallion holding a turkey salad sandwich.

"Hello!" he waved at Poppy as they passed.

Poppy and Penny waved back awkwardly. As they followed Sea Flower, they saw a large sea cave looming at the end of the clearing. A large sign read "Cave Of Ocean's Oath" right above the entrance.

"Okay!" Sea Flower stopped. "This is the cave where you'll get to meet the rest of our little group!" she put her fins together in front of her. "But before we go in, does anyone have any questions?"

Poppy and her friends literally had nothing but questions.

To-Do List: Find out about Lagoom Island from Sea Flower.

"Yes, we have a few," said Poppy in a fake calm voice. "First off, where the heck are we?!" she cried. "Where did all this stuff come from? Why does that beach have normal sand, but the other one had rainbow sand? Who the heck are you and how the heck are you swimming in mid-air!?"

"And who is that guy!?" cried Penny pointing back to the stallion holding the turkey salad sandwich. He waved in response.

Sea Flower blinked. "Oh, that's a lot of questions!" she said a little taken back. "Buuut, let me see if I can answer them all for you." She thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up as she smiled. "You're on Lagoom Island; our own little slice of paradise here on the All Blue sea!"

"All Blue Sea?" asked Poppy. "I've never heard of that ocean before; are we still on Earth?"

Sea Flower tilted her head to the side. "Earth?" she asked.

"Well, that answers that." said Poppy with a sigh.

"Sorry," said Sea Flower. "This island has been our home for way too many generations to count. Honestly, I don't think I could tell you where we were besides the All Blue. We...don't ever leave, you see."

"You don't leave?" asked Poppy. "Why not? No boats?"

"No," Sea Flower pointed out to the ocean past the beach. "That's why."

Poppy turned to see a massive black shark's fin streak briefly through the water in the shallow, before disappearing beneath the waves.

"W-Was that?" stammered Penny.

"Yes." said Sea Flower gravely. "He is known as Dingy Ole; a fearsome and terrifying demonic shark that does the will of Krakatoa, the volcano god. He will destroy anyone that tries to leave the island."

Poppy turned to Sea Flower. "There's a volcano god!?" she cried. "What kind of island is this?"

"One that desperately needs your help!" said Sea Flower. "Please; speak to my brothers. They can tell you everything!"

Poppy thought for a moment. The triangle was still hovering over the rainbow beach. If she and her friends wanted to, they could just hop right back in and be home. She could just go home, put her hooves up and watch the latest episode of Cooking without Looking.

But she'd be abandoning a beautiful island and a kind sea pony and her brothers that needed their help. And she could never do that.

"Okay." said Poppy. "Lead the way."

"Yes." said Penny. "We promise we'll do everything to help you."

"This place is truly fascinating." said Interkitten. "I wish to see more of it."

"Great!" cheered Sea Flower clapping her fins. "Follow me!"

Poppy and her friends followed Sea Flower through the cave entrance down into it's depths.

The Cave Of Ocean's Oath

A beautiful sight met their eyes: they were standing on the edge of a great blue lake, so vast that Poppy could not make out the distant banks, in a cavern so high that the ceiling too was out of sight. A misty waterfall emptied into the lake from the other side of the cave; it was reflected in the churning, brilliant water below. The blueish glow and the light from several torches, illuminated the beach of black sand they stood upon.

"Whoa." said Poppy. Her friends repeated the gesture.

"It's beautiful down here!" said Penny, looking out at the vast lake before them.

"Thank you!" said Sea Flower. "We've lived in these caves for, pretty much forever." she gestured to the sand. "The sand is volcanic soil, that was brought over to Lagoom Island thousands and thousands of years ago by the first Sea Fathers."

"Sea Fathers?" asked Poppy. "Who are they?"

Sea Flower was about to answer when a deep voice was suddenly heard, from the beach. "Flower!" it called. Everyone turned to see a strong looking blue sea pony colt over on (floating on?) the beach with a green sea pony next to him. Both colts wore the same necklace of shells as Sea Flower, but carried large spears in their fins as well. They were looking right at Flower with stern expressions.

"What did I say about bringing visitors to the island into our sacred sanctum?" the blue sea pony asked, swimming up to Flower.

"You know that only the Ocean's Oath are allowed within these caverns!" the green one scolded. His voice was deep as well, though not nearly as much as the blue one.

Flower shook her head. "You don't understand guys! These ponies aren't like the others who have visited the island; they are the heroes of the prophecy!"

The sea pony colt's eyes went wide as the blue one looked over at Poppy. "Truly?" he asked. "The High Priest has come at last?"

"Wait." said Poppy. "I thought we were just here to help you save your island. We're not high priests." Poppy chuckled nervously.

But the green one swam over to her and looked her over. "No," he said. "You are the High Priest! Just as the Sea Father foretold!"

Penny looked over at the green sea pony. "Wait...you...you think Poppy, is this High Priest? That's ridiculous!"

Sea Flower smiled. "No," she said grinning ear to ear. "It's just as the prophecy foretold by Sea Father said!" Suddenly she looked quite embarrassed. "Oh! Sorry, I forgot to introduce you!"

Flower swam over and gestured with both fins towards the blue sea pony. "This," she said. "is Whitecap! He's the eldest of the Ocean's Oath and the next in line to be the Sea Father when his training is complete!"

Whitecap bowed deeply in respect. "It is an honor to finally meet The High Priest and the heroes who will aid her." he said with utmost grace.

Flower then gestured to the green sea pony who also bowed deeply. "And this is Sea Spray! The middle of the Ocean's Oath, and current holder of the sacred texts of The Ocean."

"His duty is very important, mostly because-

"Okay." said Poppy loudly. "Before anyone else says any more confusing stuff; I want someone to PLEASE start explaining what the heck is going on right now, what this all means, and then, you can start telling us about oaths and prophecies and stuff. Okay?"

Whitecap chuckled. "Forgive us, High- ahem, I mean ma'am." he said politely. "We have been waiting a very long time for you to arrive; please have a seat on our beach; I will explain everything."

Poppy and Penny took a seat on the beach while the three sea ponies lined up a few feet in front of them. Interkitten watched from the sidelines with intrigue as Whitecap began.

"I am Whitecap, this is Sea Flower and Sea Spray." Both ponies bowed. "We are The Duty Of The Ocean's Oath."

"What is the Ocean's Oath?" asked Penny.

"The Ocean's Oath is an ancient belief system revolving around cosmic energies that flow throughout the seas on Earth." said Whitecap. "Our main teachings revolve around acceptance and connectivity with the sea, and these teachings are often passed on through moments of quiet meditation and community newsletters."

"Newsletters?" asked Poppy.

"We have to get the word out on the island after all!" said Sea Flower.

"Ocean's Oath teachings come from ancient experiences of leaders given a role of mentorship, called Sea Fathers/ Mothers. We often express our beliefs through dance, candles and wearing shells as jewelry." said Whitecap.

"And fashioning mystic amulets from the bones of whales that grant supernatural powers to followers." said Sea Flower quickly. "But that's not too popular of a thing anymore, due to there not being as many whale skeletons to use. And we don't dare harm the live ones, so...yeah."

"Being an ancient belief system, The Ocean's Oath has since split into different, but very similar variations of itself, each with their own followings." said Whitecap. "We are the only ones left of the original following."

"So what are you guys trying to do anyways?" asked Poppy. "If this is a religion, what's your goal to strive for?"

"We wish for The Ocean's Oath to be used to reach a calmer state of mind and transcendence, like the ocean itself." said Sea Spray. "And then of course there is the High Priest, who's arrival was foretold by the Sea Father before he left us."

"Alright." said Poppy. "So now, what is all this High Priest stuff anyways? And why do you think it's me?"

Sea Flower took a step forward. "The High Priest is the role given to the one who will come from afar, with two others, to lead the following into a new age, where their connection to the power of the sea will be stronger than ever before, and they can use it to save their home from devastation."

She then handed Poppy a very colorful piece of paper with designs of shells and waves on it. "It's all in the newsletter, actually!"

As Poppy read over the newsletter (which was actually very well written and concise for an ancient cult) Penny asked the next question on everyone's minds.

"What exactly is this prophecy you guys keep telling us about?" she asked.

Whitecap nodded. "When the first Sea Fathers were given this amazing island by the sea, they foretold that one day a terrible cataclysm would occur; marking the end of our civilization. But the prophecy also foretold of the High Priest who would come to the island from afar, and save us all from total destruction."

"What's this cataclysm the prophecy speaks of?" asked Poppy.

"The prophecy says that the great volcano god, Krakatoa, would reawaken and rain fiery death upon the island." said Whitecap. "And...that would be the end of our civilization. Forever."

"Then...how do we stop it?" asked Poppy.

"You must stop Krakatoa from reawakening, and, well....destroying everything." said Sea Flower. "Easy! Well...easy-ish?"

"Great!" said Poppy. "And how do we stop an ancient volcano god from reawakening, again?"

Sea Spray nodded. "Legends say that our forerunners, the one's who were given this island before they joined the sea, had a hidden cave on the island, and exact duplicate of this one." he explained. "In this cave, the forerunners built a means to permanently pacify Krakatoa, forever ending the threat he presents to us for good."

Poppy put the newsletter in her satchel then turned to Whitecap. "So, all we have to do is find this cave and use whatever means is in said cave to keep Krakatoa asleep for good. And then we all don't die, right?"

"That is correct." said Whitecap. "You and your friends are the only hope of us, this Island and it's visitors."

"Visitors?" asked Penny. "I thought people couldn't get past that monster shark swimming around in the ocean."

"They came to this island, by means of the triangle; like yourselves." said Sea Spray. "The triangle has brought many things and people to our island, from many points throughout time and space. Most of them have left through other triangles back to their homes; while others have stayed, having come to think of this island as much as home as we have."

Poppy's eyes went wide. "They're are other triangles?"

"Oh, yeah, plenty!" said Sea Flower. "They've been appearing all over the island for as long as we can remember, always bringing something new to it, each time!" she swam over to Penny. "Remember the rainbow sand beach? A triangle brought that sand to the island many centuries ago, from a faraway world where everything is color."

"That's so awesome!" said Poppy.

"Right?!" agreed Sea Flower.

"Who are these visitors, exactly?" asked Penny.

"You can meet them yourself, if you head down to the beach." said Sea Spray. "Best of luck to you, High Priest. Our lives are in your hooves." he and Whitecap bowed while Sea Flower swam up beside Poppy.

Sea Flower smiled. "Um...Is it okay If I go with them?" she asked.

Whitecap looked surprised. "You wish to accompany the High Priest on her sacred mission, sister?"

Sea Flower nodded. "I do." she said. "I can show them around the island; what it has to offer and how it can help them. Plus, I know where all the really cool stuff is."

Whitecap turned to Poppy. "Does this sound reasonable to you, High Priest?"

"Um...," Sea Flower then proceeded to make puppy dog eyes at her. "yeah, sounds like it'll be fun!" said Poppy with a smile.

Sea Flower then wrapped her in a hug, as her brothers nodded. "Then," said Whitecap. "All that's left is to wish you luck on your mission. We shall be here, should you need us. Good luck to you, High Priest. Our lives are in your capable hooves." He bowed deeply, as did Sea Spray.

Poppy nodded then left the cave with Penny and Interkitten following; as well as their new friend and island guide, Sea Flower, to go and speak to the island locals about the possible location of the twin cave.

---

To-Do List: Talk to Lagoom Island's locals about the Twin Cave.

As Poppy and her friends exited the cave, and headed from the clearing to the beach, Poppy remembered she wanted to ask Sea Flower how in the world she and her brothers were able to swim through mid-air.

"Hey, Flower?" asked Poppy. "I meant to ask you again when we had a moment, but you never told us how you and your brothers can swim through the air, like that."

Sea Flower gasped. "Oh! That's right, I'm sorry; I just got so caught up with you guys getting here and then my brothers wanted to talk to you and...um, sorry. Rambling again."

"It's fine." said Poppy chuckling a bit.

Sea Flower smiled. "Well," she started. "Since our forerunners learned the secrets of the sea, or following has had the amazing ability to swim without water!" explained Sea Flower. "We do this by swimming though the water in the air; such as water vapor and the like. We can swim through it like our own private ocean above the ocean. It's so much fun!"

"I bet it is!" said Penny. "I had no idea a place like this existed! To think there was an island in the world that held so many secrets and discoveries waiting to be made! I could write a series of journals on this place!"

"I'm glad you like it!" said Sea Flower. "I...I just hope it gets to stay here is all."

"You don't have to worry about that." said Poppy. "We said we'd help save your island, and we're going to." Poppy thought for a moment. "Do you have any ideas at all where this cave might be, Flower?"

Sea Flower shook her head. "The entrance to the Twin Cave is shrouded in mystery, and the path is wrought with many, many dangers." said Sea Flower. "Only The High Priest is able to find the cave, according to the prophecy."

"What about all these triangle portals that bring stuff to the island?" asked Poppy. "Could they be connected to the cave in some way?"

"The triangles were around when the forerunners were still living on the island." said Sea Flower. "They used them to transport building materials for constructing the first of the great temples, and for traveling all across the multiverse."

"Do you guys use the triangles?" asked Poppy.

"Sometimes!" said Sea Flower. "Though only to get around the island. We don't ever leave."

"Don't you want to get off this island and see what's out there?" asked Penny, as they rounded the corner. The beach was just down the walkway now.

"Well..." Sea Flower stopped suddenly. "Uh oh. It's him."

Poppy looked where Flower was looking to see what looked like a knight, standing on two legs, standing piety style with his sword in front of him. He also appeared to be wearing a bucket on his head. He stood as still as a statue, blocking the way to the beach.

"Who or what is that guy?" asked Poppy.

Sea Flower sighed. "He calls himself The Black Knight." she said. "He arrived on the island two years ago, and hasn't left because he thinks he has some epic quest to fulfill for his gods. He does this thing, where he absolutely refuses to move from where he's standing."

"Seriously?" asked Poppy. "For how long?"

"No one knows." said Sea Flower. "I saw him stand in the same spot in front of the bathroom for three weeks once. The other locals were ready to throw him into the ocean, by the time he finally moved."

"Wow. What made him finally move?" asked Poppy.

"The locals throwing him into the ocean."

"I'm sure it can't be that bad." said Penny. "Let's see if we can reason with him!" Then before Sea Flower could stop her, Penny went up and approached the Black Knight.

"Hello!" she said. "Are you the Black Knight?"

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

"Um...is there any chance that you would mind moving? We'd like to go to the beach."

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

"Maybe...you could just scooch over a bit?"

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

"Can...Can you please move?

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

"Pretty please?"

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

".....You really aren't going to move?"

The Black Knight was silent and didn't move.

Penny was losing her patience now. She sighed. "Poppy!" Poppy came up and took Penny's place in this newly-founded tag team match to get this stupid knight to move.

"Okay, look man." said Poppy. "We need to get to the beach, so we can save the island, so if you could just-"

"NONE MAY PASS!" the knight proclaimed.

"Excuse m-"

"NONE MAY PASS!"

"Would you just-!"

"NONE MAY PASS!"

Poppy narrowed her eyes at the knight. "Look, you either move, or I'll-"

"I move," said the knight, turning to look at Poppy. "For no man or creature." He drew his sword. "But defeat me in a duel, and I shall grant you passag-

Poppy then used her telekinesis to throw the knight over the bridge, where he landed face first into a patch of grass and reeds.

"There." said Poppy with a smile. "I defeated you." she then nodded for her friends to follow, who all stifled their laughter as they passed by the now unconscious knight.

Tiny Tiki Beach

Tiny Tiki Beach was a beautiful small cove of white sand, palm trees with fresh pineapples growing from them and numerous small tikis of various shapes, sizes and colors (Hence the name of the beach.) Tiny Tiki beach also of course had the Tiny Tiki juice bar, which catered to any guest of the island looking to soak up some rays by the water.

And as Poppy and her friends entered the beach, they saw four young foals sitting by themselves at the juice bar. At first Poppy was shocked that their parents would leave them there at the bar with nopony watching them.

Then, one of them, a tan foal with a bushy blonde mane and a flight cap, turned to see Poppy and started talking.

"Well, hey there!" she said happily in a voice that sounded like that a full grown mare. "Haven't seen you girls around here before."

"Welcome!" said the second dark blue foal in a deep, military-tough sounding voice. He had a scar across his left eye.

"Charmed." said the third, a white foal with a french mustache, in a gentlemanly English accent.

"Ma'am's." said the fourth, a pink pegasus mare with a spiky purple mane in a voice that was a deeper female voice. And with such respect an discipline, it could only have been the voice of a solider. And an experienced one at that.

Poppy and her friends simply stood there agape, looking at the talking foals like they were from another planet.

Finally Poppy managed to say something. "H-How are they talking?" she asked.

Sea Flower answered. "Oh! Sorry, I should introduce you!" she swam over to the four foals at the bar. "This," she gestured to the first foal. "is Amelia Manehart; a famous pilot who crashed here in her biplane hundreds of years ago."

"Pleasure to meet you, ladies!" said Amelia with a smile.

"This," Sea Flower gestured to the dark blue one. "Is Commander Hurricane: he ended up on the island during a long-distance flight mission with his squad about a thousand years ago." Commander Hurricane saluted.

"This," Sea Flower gestured to the white one. "Is Agent 51; a gentleman spy who's plane was shot down by the evil scientist he was pursuing over the Galapagos." Agent 51 gave a subtle nod, and a polite smile.

"And lastly, this is Captain Firefly, who-

"Stop." The last foal stood up and spoke directly to Poppy. "You have absolutely no idea what's going on right now do you?"

Poppy shook her head. So did Penny. "Not a one." said Poppy, completely lost.

Amelia looked surprised. "You mean you don't know about the fountain?" she asked.

"Fountain?" asked Poppy. "What like a water fountain?"

"Not a fountain." said Hurricane. "The Fountain." he took a swig from his tiki cup. "More specifically, the fountain of youth!"

"Wait." said Poppy. "The Fountain Of Youth is on this island!?"

Amelia nodded. "Sure is, little lady." she smiled. "And it's waters really pack a punch!"

"Then if that's true, I guess that explains how your all well...babies." said Penny, completely bewildered. "But the Fountain Of Youth is supposed to just be a myth!"

"Not exactly." said Interkitten. "There are in fact documented reports of explorer's finding the real fountain of youth in the very earlier fifteenth century. But when the tried to show the world the fountain existed, it had vanished without a trace."

Poppy nodded. "I guess we know where it ended up then." She turned back to the foals. "But, why are you guys here? Didn't you want to go back home?"

"That's the funny thing about this place." said Amelia. "You tend to lose track of time."

"Right. And I understand that you guys have been drinking from the fountain to stay alive all these years," said Poppy. "But why are you all infants? Does one drink just turn you into a baby?"

"Nah." said Hurricane. "It's that damned fountain!" he cried. "It's waters are powerful addictive; once you start drinking from it, you can't stop!"

"Luckily, we've since cut ourselves off from that fountain." said Amelia. "Otherwise we would've drunk ourselves out of existence!"

"Has anyone else drunk from the fountain besides you guys?" asked Poppy.

"Not that we know of." said Agent 51. "And anyone that has....well, we can just hope they knew when to stop."

A chill went down Poppy's spine. She couldn't imagine a worse fate for someone. She hoped that no one else had drunk from that fountain. And if they did, that they really did know when to stop. It was interesting talking to such famous figures, but Poppy remembered why she was there. Since it was clear these guys had been on Lagoom Island for so long, they might've known where the Twin Cave was, or could at least point them in the right direction.

To-Do List: Ask the Famous Foals about The Twin Cave.

"Do you guys know anything about a Twin cave?" asked Poppy. "One that looks like the Cave Of The Ocean's Oath?"

"A cave you say?" asked Amelia. "Hmm.." she turned to Hurricane. "Wasn't there something like that by the fountain?" she asked.

"Yeah!" said Hurricane. "Big, ominous looking thing. Looked like it went down to the bottom of the world!"

"Yes, I remember something like that as well!" said Agent 51. "Although...Oh dear."

"What?" asked Poppy.

"Well, if that cave's by the fountain, you won't be getting to it." said Captain Firefly. "We put in Al in charge of guarding it."

"Al?" asked Penny. "Who's Al?"

Amelia pointed a hoof to the far side of the beach where jungle met the sand. "You should go see for yourself." she said with a wink. "And good luck to you ladies!"

---

To-Do List: Find out who Al is and convince him to let you past the Fountain Of Youth.

Poppy and her friends followed the dirt path through the jungle, till they came upon a large wooden sign that read "Fountain Of Youth: This Way."

"Huh? The Fountain Of Youth has a sign pointing to it?" asked Penny.

"Well," said Poppy. "Considering how dangerous we know it is, I would say that's just another big indicator to stay away from it."

"I still can't believe this place has all this stuff." said Penny. "It's amazing!"

"Yeah, it is." said Poppy with a smile. "Makes you wonder why theirs a prophecy where it's going to be destroyed by an angry volcano god."

"Why do you think Krakatoa wants to destroy this place anyways?" asked Penny. "Is it just a matter of pride, you think?"

"Hard to say." said Poppy. "We'll be sure to ask him when we finally meet him."

---

As Poppy, Penny and Interkitten finally approached a massive pond in the jungle, they were stopped when a black foal wearing a fedora and brandishing a pistol, stepped out from the bushes to block their path. "And just where do you three think you're going?" he had a sneedly, Atlantic accent. Clearly the voice of a gangster.

"Um...I assume, you're Al?" asked Poppy, backing up a bit.

"That's Al Capony to you, dame!" snapped Al.

"Al Capony?" asked Poppy. "The Al Capony? The infamous gangster criminal, Al Capony?"

"Yeah, that's right." Al Nodded. "And you two broads, are intrudin' on my turf!"

"Your turf?" said Poppy. "It's a big island, junior. You sure you don't want to go somewhere else and claim that as your turf?"

"One more quip like that," he pulled back the hammer on his pistol. "And I'll plug the both of ya!"

"Okay!, okay." said Poppy. "Just take it easy alright? We just need to get past you."

"Not happenin' doll." said Al. "This whole stretch belongs to the Capony Crime Family; you take another step, and we'll come down on you like the wrath of Celestia herself!"

"You have a crime family?" asked Poppy. "Then where are they at? Shouldn't they be the ones holding us at gunpoint then you walk up and start talking about fitting us for cement shoes or something?"

"Their uh, their busy." said Al. "It's um...it's nap time, right now."

"Then how come you're not napping with them?" asked Penny.

"What?!" snapped Al. "And leave the precious turf of the Al Capony Crime Family exposed to intruders and interlopers like you three? Not a chance!"

"Isn't there any way you'll let us past here?" asked Poppy, starting to get annoyed.

"Not a one." said Al. "The loyalty and respect of Al Capony, cannot be bought nor bribed for. This turf is mine, and neither of yous is getting past me!"

Poppy thought for a moment (and being held at gunpoint helped her to think quite faster then usual) about a possible way past Al Capony. He seemed to care about having turf; so what if Poppy and her friends helped him get some more in exchange for him letting them through?

"May I make a suggestion?" asked Poppy. "If you'll hear me out, I think you'll see that we can work together on this instead of fighting about it. What do you say?"

Al sneered for a moment before thinking it over. "Huh." he said. "Alright, fine; you get one minute. Talk to me."

Poppy nodded, while her friends looked over at her, eager to see what she was planning. "We're on our way to a cave just past the fountain of youth," she explained. "If you let us through so we can get into the cave, you and your family are free to claim it once we're done with it."

Al looked suspicious. "And, just what would the proud Al Capony crime family want with a dinky old cave?" he asked.

"The cave, as it's the twin of the Cave Of Ocean's Oath, is massive." said Poppy. "Plenty of room for you to store contraband, build a hideout, establish a foothold in the underground, a meeting place for the family, weapons storage, the list goes on. And there's only one other cave like it on the island." Poppy smiled. "Plus, the location of the cave isn't exactly a well-known fact; you'll be completely hidden away; Ghosts. it's too perfect to pass up for a veteran criminal such as yourself, Mr. Capony."

Al nodded, thoroughly impressed. "Well, alright then!" he holstered his pistol and smiled a shark's smile. "I accept your proposal, ma'am. The Capony Crime Family thanks you for your generous and most lucrative offer." he said with a nod. "In exchange, you are granted entry past the fountain to the cave. But remember; our deal is we get the cave afterwards. Once your business is concluded, you are to leave while we prepare our new hideout."

Al removed his fedora in respect. "But Al Capony repays his debts." he said politely. "We will find a way to repay you for this gift you have given us. I promise you that."

Poppy nodded. "May we pass now?" she asked. "The sooner we're done in the cave, the sooner you get your new hideout."

Al Capony stepped aside, and put his fedora back on. "By all means." he said.

With that Poppy lead her friends past the gun-toting toddler and the large pond he guarded, to a small clearing that lead further into the forest.

"Poppy!," said Penny. "That was amazing!"

"Thanks, Penny." said Poppy with a smile. "Like you guys, I think I'd rather not have to fight my way through a gang of mobster toddlers." she joked.

"How in the world did you know what to say to him?" asked Sea Flower. "And that he would even accept?"

"Chalk it up to experience." said Poppy. She turned to smile at them. "I was a HappyTime Mafioso, after all."

---

Making their way through the last stretch of jungle, Poppy and her friends finally came upon an enormous cave; one that perfectly matched the outside of the Cave Of Ocean's Oath. But something was off here.

As they approached they suddenly felt powerful rumbling beneath their feet; and odd sounds carried from deep within the cave to the entrance. Sounds of whirring gears, and other machinery. Someone was down there!

"Anyone else feel that?" asked Poppy, still feeling the vibration of the earth in her legs.

"Yes, and I don't like it." said Penny. "This cave is supposed to be undiscovered till now; so....could there actually be somepony down there already?"

"Only one way to find out." said Poppy. "Stay close, as we go down."

Poppy's friends adhered to her advice, staying in a closely knit pack with her all the way down into the depths of the rumbling cave.

The Twin Cave

The first thing that captured their attention was the utter vastness of the cavern they found themselves in; it was perhaps even larger then that of the Cave Of Ocean's Oath. However, all this space was currently occupied with uncountable numbers of steam spitting whirring machines and brass pipes all zigzagging across the cavern in seemingly random patterns, connecting at random points as if put together like a jigsaw puzzle. The noise it all made, reminded Poppy of entering a waterworks except with more stem blowing around, and gears upon gears grinding on the sides of machines that Poppy couldn't even try to guess as to there purpose.

All this was illuminated by a massive artificially made chandelier that appeared to have been engineered by conducting electricity through an enormous crystal on the ceiling.

The floor of the actual cave, which Poppy and her friends were now looking around in, was a mess of makeshift metal rigs, huge robotic parts, gears and cables, along with extremely long tables that held numerous blueprints, schematics, notebooks, journals and...

"Awww!" Poppy succumbed once more to cuteness overload as she saw a cute but very strange small green dog-like creature sitting on her hind-legs upon the table, gazing at them with big curious eyes. The creature had a puppy like face, with rose pink cheeks, a fluffy puff as her hair atop her head, rounded bear-like ears, a fluffy C-shaped tail, long eyelashes and what looked like two tiny horns poking out from her head. Despite the creature being absolutely adorable, she didn't look like she was all too pleased to see intruders in the cave she called home.

Nor did her owner who suddenly phased into existence a few feet from where Poppy was standing. "What are you ponies doing in my lab!?" she demanded. The mare glaring at Poppy looked just as strange as the green bear-dog. She was a bright pink Pegasus mare with a shoulder length mane that couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to be pink or green, and was constantly trying out new shades of each; the ponytail adorning her mane was somehow having the same problem, but seemed to enjoy having a yellow bow tied around it, as well as her tail with was also clearly colorblind.

Her eyes at the very least decided they would be green, and they were; very bright green. She wore a white lab coat that was the most normal looking thing about her, with one pocket painted to match her cutie mark: a golden heart with two electrons circling it like an atom. She didn't look at all mean. But nor did she look at all normal either.

"I asked," the mare said loudly. "What are you doing in my lab??" she demanded again. The bear-dog hopped onto her shoulder and joined her in glaring at the intruders before them.

"We're sorry!" Poppy quickly apologized. "We were told this cave had never been discovered before. We weren't expecting anyone to be down here. Sorry if we disturbed you."

The mare's eyes softened. "Well...I had meant to put a sign up." she said with a shrug. "But, I've been so busy, I've had almost no time for anything else." She sighed. "I guess this is really my fault."

The mare nodded to her furry companion with a smile, and she jumped off as the mare greeted Poppy. "Sorry, for snapping at you." she said. "I hadn't expected to see anyone down here; and if they were I assumed they would just be trying to steal my research."

"Research?" asked Poppy. "So you're a scientist?"

"Indeed I am!" The mare said proudly. "Professor Recipe, Inventor and the genius who will crack the mystery of Lagoom island!"

"Inventor?" asked Sea Flower.

"Genius?" asked Penny.

"Mystery?" asked Poppy.

"Recipe?" asked Interkitten. "Forgive me for saying so, but that's actually your name? Wouldn't something along the lines of Doctor Science work better?"

"Pfft. Doctor Science is a hack." said Recipe. "Oooh, look at my cold fusion powered hyperbolic time chamber; I'm sooo good at Science!" she mocked. "Whatever; I built one of those a year before he did, but nopony said anything to me about it!"

"Umm...where are you from exactly?" asked Poppy. "Did you get sent here through a triangle portal like us?"

Recipe shook her head. "Oh, I wasn't sent here; I came here!" she said. "The brainiacs in the HUB summoned and restrained one of those things so we could see it how it worked. When we figured out it lead to different points in the multiverse, we jumped on through expecting an alien world or a freaking universe ruled by bipedal monsters. But instead we found this place. And...here we are."

"Whats the HUB?" asked Poppy.

"Well, I'm supposed to immediately kill anyone who asks that," she said with a thoughtful expression. "But, since I'm pretty much done with those snobs, I guess it won't hurt!" she said with a smile. "HUB stands for the Home of Utter Brilliance. The goal of the facility was to build the future of equine-kind and create the technology of tomorrow without restraints, either magical, moral or technical. It welcomed some of the most gifted of Equestria's scientists, who plumbed the depths of many experimental technological fields." She smiled happily. "Including me! I was quite the depth-plumber starting out!"

"So, what happened?" asked Poppy.

"Well, one scientist went a little crazy." said Recipe. "Okay, a lot crazy. He kept going on and on about how the HUB was keeping him from achieving his lifework; that he didn't like that we had rules, standards; he said he was above all that. Other scientists started to feel trapped as well, and soon they all left, following that wacko to start their own facility, where they truly had no limits to what they could attempt and achieve."

"Wow." said Penny. "How long ago was this?"

"Oh, I'd say about....um, five or six hundred years ago."

"Six hundred years!?" cried Poppy. "How are you even alive?"

"Oh that's an easy one!" said Recipe with a grin. "I've been harnessing the water from the Fountain to maintain my youth. It works wonders for the complexion!" she said. "As well as your entire body's internal chemistry."

"I guess that would mean that the rest of your colleagues are....well..." Penny wasn't sure how to say it.

"Huh?" asked Recipe. "Oh! No, they all found their own ways of extending their lifespans, like I did." Recipe explained. "That was our plan."

"Your plan?" asked Poppy. "You mean you planned for that scientist to go crazy?"

Professor Recipe shook her head. "Not exactly." she smiled as she explained. "The contingency plan was that upon the fall of the HUB, we would all split up and find our own means of surviving the tests of time; extending our lifespans through different means so that we could live to aid the world again in the future. Except well, some of us didn't like each other all that much."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Penny. "I thought you were all colleagues."

"We were!" said Recipe. "But there were rivalries; feuds. Some of us would rather have used their own means of longevity for the sole purpose of outliving the others. So that they, and they alone, could remake the future without having to worry about one of us interfering. They called it, The Great Game."

"The Great Game?" asked Poppy. "Are you saying that for the past several hundred years, there has been a bunch of ageless mad scientists running around the world somewhere, plotting Celestia knows what?"

"Well...I mean, I wouldn't say mad but; let's just say they all aren't exactly as nice as I am." said Recipe with a nervous expression. "Plus, my work will actually help people!"

"What is your work, exactly?" asked Penny. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all!" said Recipe happily. "I'm currently on the cusp of discovering the source of this island's attractive qualities; the mysterious force that pulls in all these things and people to it from across the multiverse! I'm nearly at a breakthrough, I can feel it!"

To-Do List: Find out more about Recipe's Work as well as details regarding The Great Game.

Professor Recipe may have been quite...eccentric, but she was kind and more then eager to show Poppy and her friends around her lab; showing off all the things she had managed to create and achieve with over six hundred years to work with. This included a large machine that could turn any inorganic matter into ice cream (though the ice cream she had made from rocks tasted so horrible it was nearly inedible, when she offered some to Poppy), a large bulky looking gadget that looked like a cross between an adding machine and some form of futuristic gun, which she claimed could instantly knock out anyone with brainwave activity (Including herself; several times by accident.)

On a large metal rack she had what appeared to be a series of syringes connected to a pump gun that she said was able to cure any illness (but it had to cause it first.) Across from that there was what looked like a massive microwave that she said used cold fusion to prepare food in seconds. (But it had a tendency to liquefy food as well.)

She also had several robot prototypes underneath tarps, but she said they were still being developed and didn't want to spoil anything.

But easily the thing that everypony, especially Poppy, was interested in learning about was the small green-bear-dog on Professor Recipe's shoulder; still not sure what she should think about Poppy and her friends just yet.

"Professor?" Penny eyed the little creature with unending curiosity and amazement. "Where did you get that creature from? Is she native to Lagoom Island?"

Professor Recipe followed Penny's gaze and smiled. "No, actually." she went over and patted the fluff on top of the creatures head causing her to purr; not unlike that of a cat. "This is Mimi," Recipe said proudly. "And actually....I made her, myself."

Penny's jaw dropped as her eyes lit up. "You....you created her, yourself!?" gasped Penny in utter amazement. "That's unbelievable!"

Recipe beamed proudly. "Thank you!" she said happily. "She's easily the greatest thing I've created while on Lagoom Island." Mimi yipped in agreement.

"How did you accomplish such a thing?" asked Penny eagerly.

"Being on an island, working alone for over six hundred years becomes well....lonely." said Recipe. "So, one day I started experimenting with creating an artificial organic life-form using a combination of advanced DNA splicing and magical energy harmonization! After a few months of hard work...I had made Mimi."

Poppy and her friends ogled at Mimi, who was now enjoying the attention, wagging her tail and smiling happily. But then it had occurred to Poppy why they had come down into this cave in the first place: they needed to find some means hidden within it's depths that would put Krakatoa in a permanent state of slumber.

As she had been on Lagoom for hundreds of years, Poppy thought that if anyone would know of such a thing, it would be Professor Recipe.

"Professor?" asked Poppy. "In your time spent on Lagoom Island, have you ever come across anything, well....strange?"

"Strange?" asked Recipe. Mimi tilted her head. "You do know what island your on, right?" she joked.

"I mean, strange as in ancient remnants of a civilization that once thrived here?" clarified Poppy. "Some kind of large idol, or ancient mechanism that you couldn't place the purpose of through science alone. That kind of strange?"

Recipe and Mimi exchanged looks. Then they turned back to Poppy. "Well....since you bring it up.."

---

Poppy and her friends were lead to the very back of Recipe's makeshift laboratory; through a large opening that lead even further down into the cave's depths. As they walked, they could hear the telltale sound of rushing water through the walls. Were they near the ocean now? Or perhaps even underwater?

Recipe lead them through a large archway; carved from some sort of gleaming white stone; clearly made as the entrance to the last level of the cave. As they stepped through the archway Poppy and everyone stopped at stared at the sight before them.

They were now standing in an incredibly beautiful crescent-shaped grotto, lined with pillars of that shining white stone, Poppy didn't recognize. Every inch of every visible surface was covered in a spectrum of vibrant flowers, of all shapes and sizes. Dew sprinkled moss, and long-armed ferns reached out from the stone pillars to meet an array of dangling green vines, each with a glowing bulb at the end; and each one a different color. The sweetness in the air was overwhelming- a bouquet of perfumes battled one another for the prize of the sweetest smell Poppy had ever smelled in her life. And they all won.

In the center of this garden of wonders, stood a large stone cube, covered in numerous runes, scriptures and patterns that seemed to tell a story; one that nopony could read as it was clearly written in a language that hadn't existed for centuries. The runes glowed a dim blue as they seemed to invite Poppy and her friends farther into the grotto.

Penny nearly had tears in her eyes. "What....what is this amazing place?" she asked in amazement. "I've never seen a garden so beautiful before!"

Poppy's jaw dropped as she looked to the side. A large silver oak tree was baring golden apples that literally had her actual name on them. Each one read "For Poppy" in beautiful cursive script. "It's like something out of a dream. Or a fairy tale." said Poppy, her eyes struggling to take in everything that garden had to offer.

Recipe smiled and nodded as Mimi hopped down from her shoulder to walk alongside her. "This is easily the most amazing place on this island; a place that has defied every experiment I've tried to run on it; every test and procedure. It's like it exists beyond both magic and science." she knelt down and touched a patch of grass that quickly retreated into the ground only to sprout back up in the form of letters that read "Hello!""That's why I've decided to call this place," Recipe turned to the group. "The Impossible Grotto."

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓘𝓶𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓖𝓻𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓸

Poppy tore her eyes away from a group of red toadstools that appeared to be having a conversation with one another, to talk to Professor Recipe. "When did you discover all this?" asked Poppy. "You certainly seem to know your way around."

"About a decade ago." said Recipe with a smile. "I've since run every experiment I can think of on everything in here. Trying to find out how the flowers bloom year round and why they never need water. Or how the grass is seemingly sentient and enjoys tickling your hooves when you trot through it. Or how those apples are literally like gifts from the garden itself!" she pointed to the silver oak tree, where the golden apples meant for Poppy still hung from it's branches. "But everything I tried failed. This place is beyond the measures of science or magic. It's simply...here."

"Just when I thought this place couldn't get more amazing!" cheered Sea Flower. "I had no idea the Twin Cave would be this beautiful!"

Poppy nodded as her eyes then fell on the only thing she hadn't been gawking at for several minutes at a time. The large stone cube that sat in the very middle of the grotto; it's runes still glowing that dim blue light. Poppy felt strangely drawn to it, as she suddenly felt a shiver go up her spine.

"And what about that?" asked Poppy gesturing to the stone cube. "Have you run any tests on that?"

Recipe looked over at the stone and sighed. "I've tried before, but I can never get near the thing." she said. "It's like it repels anyone that comes near it."

Repels. Then why was it only Poppy who felt like she was being drawn to it? Was this what they were looking for?

Poppy looked back at Sea Flower. "Is this that mechanism that Sea Spray was talking about?" asked Poppy. "The one meant to stop Krakatoa?"

Sea Flower shook her head. "I have no idea." she said sadly. "There was never anything more that actually detailed what it looked like."

Poppy looked back at the cube and sighed. "Well," she took a step forward. "I guess we'll find out."

To-Do List: Investigate the Mysterious Cube.

Poppy approached the cube, while her friends stayed back to observe. As she approached, the blue glow of the runes suddenly shifted to dark red, and Poppy felt her hooves suddenly be yanked closer towards the stone.

"Poppy!" yelled Penny, taking a step forward.

"It's alright!" Poppy looked back and raised a hoof. "I'm okay; it's just trying to show me something."

Penny still looked concerned but nodded as she stepped back.

The unseen force ceased as Poppy was now close enough to read the inscription on top of the obelisk.

ʄʀօʍ ʄɨʀɛֆ ʄօʀɢɛɖ, ɦɛ ɦǟֆ ƈօʍɛ; ʄʀօʍ ɮʊʀռɨռɢ ɛǟʀȶɦ, ɦɨֆ աɨʟʟ ɮɛ ɖօռɛ.

ȶօ քʊʀɢɛ ȶɦɛ ɛʋɨʟ ǟֆ ɨȶ ɮɛ, ȶɦɛ ʄɨʀɛ ʍʊֆȶ, ʍɛɛȶ ȶɦɛ ֆɛǟ.

"Meet the sea?" Poppy wondered aloud. "What could that mean?"

Sea Flower swam up beside her and studied the runes closely; recognizing the scripture. "It's an old testament from the Book of Ke'kai; the earliest version of our sacred holy book by which the Sea Father conducted his sermons." she explained. "It basically means that in order to save Lagoom Island from Krakatoa's rage, he and his island must meet the sea. In other words, we....um...have to sink his island."

Poppy's eyes went wide. "Are you....are you serious?"

"How in the heck are we supposed to do that!?" cried Penny. "Surely, there's some other way."

Sea Flower smiled. "That's just it!" she pointed to the runes that once again glowed blue; but a much lighter and brighter shade. Almost white. "Our forerunners had already created the means to do so!"

Poppy, Penny, Interkitten and Professor Recipe (with Mimi sitting comfortably on her head) all gathered around the stone as Sea Flower explained what the cube had to tell them.

"When our forerunners were granted this island by the sea, they were told of another island that neighbored it. Though smaller than our home, this island housed a terrible creature born of fire and hate for all things outside his volcano." Sea Flower paused before continuing to read from the runes. "The sea warned the forerunners that this creature held no compassion for them, and on the day he would awaken to see the paradise they formed, he would unleash a hellish storm of fire and death to destroy everything they had built. But there was a way to stop the creature; silence it forever, and prevent it from laying waste to the island we call home."

Sea Flower moved to the next row of runes below. "The sea aided the forerunners in constructing a colossal mechanism around Krakatoa's island; a mechanism that would allow the sea to surge upwards to claim the island and pull it into it's depths. Once submerged, the sea would soothe the creature's burning hate as it slept, finally bringing him peace and preventing him from ever reawakening."

Poppy was astounded at what she was hearing. To build a mechanism that could pull an entire island into the sea! It sounded too amazing to be true. "So, how do we do it?" she asked eagerly.

Sea Flower nodded. "It says that like this cave has a twin, this stone also has a sister. A sister that resides on Krakatoa's Island." she moved down to the final row of runes. "By reading from this stone, the mechanism has already been awakened. But in order to plunge the island and Krakatoa into the sea, the sister must also activated, so the stones can call to one another and activate the mechanism."

"It sounds like a receiver of some sort." said Interkitten. "Both stones must be activated in order for the signal to reach the mechanism. It makes perfect sense."

Professor Recipe though, looked very confused. "I'm sorry, but...." she paused as she tried to gather her thoughts. "What in the world are you guys talking about? What is this Krakamoto-whatsit you guys keep mentioning?" she then turned to Sea Flower. "And what's this about sinking a literal freakin' island!?"

Poppy put a hoof on her shoulder. "We'll explain everything on the way back to the lab." she said, smiling nervously.

---

By the time Poppy and her friends had returned to Professor Recipe's lab, the scientist was now fully aware of what they were doing on Lagoom Island. Yet, as to the existence of a mythical volcano god, she remained skeptical.

"I'm sorry." she said. "But, I'm a mare of science; you don't expect me to believe that such a creature as that has existed on this earth for this long without anyone discovering it by now, do you? Or that this Krakatoa was ever even real to begin with, simply because a magic stone cube told us."

"No, I suppose we don't." said Penny with a sigh. "But, that doesn't mean you can't help us reach the island anyways, right?"

Recipe pondered for a moment. "Even if I had a boat to get you guys to that island, it's still impossible; that massive shark monster would devour any ship that passes over it!"

"Well," said Sea Flower shaking her head. "Not any ship. There is one ship docked on the island that supposedly even that monster fears too much to go near. But..."

"What is it?" asked Poppy.

"It's a ferry boat." said Sea Flower. "Captained by a single individual known only as Charon. We are forbidden from going anywhere near him or his boat, as it doesn't just ferry people across the ocean." Sea Flower's voice began to shake with fear. "I-If you aren't careful, he'll ferry you off to the underworld instead; never to return."

Poppy didn't need to be shipped off to the underworld today (or any day!), but this Charon and his ferry boat sounded like their only way of getting to Krakatoa's Island. They had to to give it a shot. Plus, if things did go wrong, Poppy was confident that her and her friends could handle it.

Poppy decided that they would go with it; and Penny and Interkitten agreed. Sea Flower, though clearly scared, still said that she felt safe as long as she was with the High Priest.

"I'm going too." said Recipe with a smile. Mimi yipped as if to say she was coming along for the ride as well.

"Are you sure, Professor?" asked Poppy. "I thought you didn't even believe any of this, prophecy and volcano god business."

"Oh, I don't." Recipe began to gather some things from her desk and dropped them into a saddle bag. "But, to embark on an epic quest to a new and forbidden island, ripe with new discoveries to be made, and possibly even a mythical volcano deity living on it?" She strapped the bag on while Mimi did the same with her own bag. "You couldn't pay me not to come along!"

Poppy smiled as she nodded, accepting Recipe and Mimi into their expedition. With that, Poppy's new destination was set; the island of Krakatoa, where the evil god slept. All they had to do was find that other stone, then get off the island before it sank. Simple.

Now, all they needed was to talk this ferryman. And hope he wasn't looking for new souls to ship off.

---

Sea Flower lead the way from the cave, towards the spot where Charon had his boat docked. But as they left the cave...

"Hey!" said a familiar angry voice. "Where the heck do yous think your goin'?" Everyone froze as Al Capony and his crew (two light brown foals in fedoras) stepped out from the shadows in front of them, pistols aimed. "We had a deal, remember?"

Poppy sighed. "Look, Capony." she took a step forward. "Professor Recipe already lives in that cave. I know what I said, but I had no idea it was already occupied. If you guys look at around the island though, I'm sure you'll find-"

"Oh, no!" yelled Capony aiming his gun. "You think you can make a deal with Al Capony, and just expect to walk away from it without making good on it!? You got another thing coming, broad!"

"Okay, that's it!" But before Poppy could move to put these little brats in their place, Professor Recipe stepped up first.

"It's okay, Poppy." she said with a mischievous smile. "I think I can convince them to look elsewhere for a hideout." She looked down at Mimi, who looked up at her, with that same smile. Recipe took a few steps back. "Mimi? Sic' em."

Suddenly, Mimi's adorable eyes went red, as she began to grow; huge sharp teeth replaced her cute puppy teeth, as her claws extended like razor blades. The hair on her back stood on end, as she grew into a huge, snarling monstrous version of herself that stood at least fifteen feet tall; towering over a now terrified Capony and his henchponies.

Monster Mimi let out a blood curdling roar that shook the ground and parted the clouds overhead, as she lowered her huge head to growl deeply at Capony, who was now shaking with fear so badly, he appeared to be vibrating. Steam billowed from Mimi's nostrils as she snarled again, her huge razor sharp teeth showing back Capony's terrified reflection in them.

For a moment, everyone stopped moving; possibly even breathing. Not daring to move a single muscle. All except Professor Recipe who was brimming with pride. "Now then," she stepped up and petted the spiked fur on Mimi's back as she glared down at Capony. "Would you like to reconsider my friend's suggestion now?" Mimi growled menacingly. "Or would you prefer to chat with Mimi instead?"

"N-N-No, ma'am!" squeaked Capony. "W-We understand; this was our mistake. We'll be leaving now." With that Capony and his cronies turned tail and ran as fast as their tiny legs could take them, dropping their weapons on the ground as they ran away.

"Good. Glad we could reach an agreement." joked Recipe. "Okay, girl. Their gone. Tone it down."

Mimi's monstrous form receded quickly, as the huge beast once again became the adorable bear-dog known as Mimi.

As Recipe petted Mimi and scratched her ears for a job well done, Poppy finally broke the silence that had taken her and her friend's voices. "That was....amazing!" she said simply. "Since when can Mimi turn into that!?"

"Since always." said Recipe with a smile. "I knew how dangerous this island was when I got here. I knew that I needed some means of protecting myself and my research from it's many monsters, beasts and other phenomena." Mimi yipped happily. "So, when I created Mimi, I added in a distinct predatory transformation that easily made Mimi the most dangerous thing on this whole island."

Poppy nodded. "I guess you don't have to worry about danger, when your own pet is the danger." she joked.

"Um," Sea Flower peeked up from behind the bushes. "She won't hurt us will she?"

"No, of course not!" said Recipe. Mimi yipped in agreement, wagging her tail. "Mimi will only transform at my command, and only go after those who are directly threatening me. You guys have nothing at all to worry about, I promise."

Sea Flower let out a sigh of relief, as she came out from the bushes. "Good." she said, smiling at Mimi who smiled back. "Then, let's keep going then! Charon's ferry is on the west most side of the island. But I know a shortcut through the clearing to get over there faster! Follow me!"

---

It wasn't long after trailing through a few patches of dense forest and wide open clearings, that Poppy and her friends came upon the western shore of Lagoom Island. Though beautiful, the long dock by the beach was clearly empty and there was no ferry moored anywhere in sight.

"Are you sure this is it?" asked Poppy. "Maybe we took a wrong turn somewhere."

Sea Flower shook her head, her lip quivered a bit. She was still scared as her eyes fell upon the dock. "Just wait." she said softly.

Poppy and everyone else followed Flower's gaze to the dock and waited.

And waited. For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by the crashing of the waves against the shore. But then...

"Did you hear something?" asked Penny suddenly.

Poppy listened; a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from the dock: a muffled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum was forming beneath the waves.

From the clearing above the beach, Poppy and her friends had a perfect view of the smooth blue surface of the ocean. Except that the surface was now not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place in the shallow; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the bank of the island; and then, out in the middle of the shallow, just a few feet from the dock, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had been pulled on the ocean floor...

What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool. Then Poppy saw the rigging.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the sunlight. It had a strangely skeletal look to it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at it's portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely from the ocean, bobbing on the sea before it began to glide towards the dock.

Poppy watched in awe as the ghost ship dropped anchor, and a plank dropped to the deck of the dock. Then it's captain stepped forward from the shadows of the mast.

What walked onto the deck of the dock, and began to make its way up to the beach, up to them, was not a pony. In fact, it was impossible to say exactly what manner of creature it was as it was entirely garbed in a black cloak and hood that hid any trace of it's facial features. It walked with a steady, calm gait; it's cloak fluttering behind it in the ocean breeze. It looked more like a phantom or a ghost, then a ferryman.

Sea Flower dove into a nearby bush as the figure approached Poppy. "Passage?" it asked. It's voice was deep and raspy; and dry as bone.

Everyone froze save for Poppy who simply nodded. "Are you Charon?" she asked.

Charon nodded. "Where to?" he asked.

"Krakatoa's Island." said Poppy. "Do you have a way past that monster-shark in the water?"

Charon let out a dry laugh. "The beast fears The Silent Mare; as all on this island do. Including your friend over there in the bushes." He pointed a robed arm.

"Eep!" said the bush.

"How much for passage, then?" asked Poppy getting out her purse.

Charon slowly shook his head. "Free passage....for you."

Poppy sighed as she put the purse back into her satchel. "Let me guess: you're going to let us ride for free in exchange for our souls or a life of servitude or some other typical demon trick, right?"

"What? No; it's free to ride from eight to four." said Charon defensively. "Where did you get that idea from?"

Poppy blushed. "Oh, um...sorry, I just...never-mind."

"You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, miss." scolded Charon. "Now, if you're all riding, we can head out immediately; the island is only a few hours away by ferry. Won't take us long to get there. I also need to make port while I'm there to resupply in town."

Poppy's eyes widened. "Town?"

---

The trip took roughly three hours, but at last the Silent Mare glided towards the shore of Krakatoa Island. And there was indeed a town; blanketed beneath an eerie fog, nestled near the shores that stretched all the way around the western coast.

It was a peaceful looking boardwalk settlement, illuminated by the sun that was strangely clouded over the island. The cloud in question coming from easily the largest and most noticeable feature of the island. A volcano; wide as a mountain and high enough to scrape the sky towered over the entire island; black smoke billowing out, and blocking out most of the sun in the process.

"Oh no!" cried Poppy. "We can't sink this island now; there's a town set up here!"

But Charon shook his head. "The town's abandoned." he said. "All of them left, when a new occupant showed up many, many years ago. The whole island is a ghost town now."

"New occupant?" asked Professor Recipe. "There's someone here, still?"

Charon nodded. "I've never seen them, but they've apparently been here forever. Long as I have, I say."

"If someone is staying here, we have to warn them about Krakatoa." said Poppy. "They've been living right on his doorstep and probably have no idea!"

"But where are they? Do they still live in town?" asked Penny.

Charon pointed a robed arm towards the volcano. But as Poppy looked closer, she saw there was what appeared to be an old mansion; built right at the base of the volcano, shrouded by greenery. "That mansion has been here, even before the town was built. Hell, I'd wager that it was that same person that's still here that actually built the town, themselves."

"It's really that old?" asked Sea Flower.

Charon nodded. "It's the only place I ever see any signs of life from; smoke coming from the chimneys, lights on upstairs."

"Then I guess that's where we're heading first." said Poppy. "Didn't you say you came to the town to resupply?"

"Indeed." said Charon. "Though there's no one living here anymore, there are other ferrymen that sell wares when they make port on the southern part of town. I will be there if you need me."

"Okay." said Poppy. "Thank you for getting us here."

Charon nodded once more. "Good luck to you, all." With that Charon disembarked from the deck of the Silent Mare, and strode into town, vanishing in the fog.

---

To-Do List: Investigate The Town.

Disembarking from the Silent Mare, Poppy and her friends entered the abandoned sea-side town, to make their way towards the mansion. A large sign; eroded by years of sea air, read "Welcome To Catcher's Landing."

Catcher's Landing

Catcher's Landing appeared to have once been a thriving and lively town before it was abandoned. There were plenty of shops in town, as well as many restaurants and cafes; even the gift shops still displayed merchandise of plushie crabs and coffee mugs. Poppy found it very odd how despite the town being abandoned for so long, it still looked to be in good condition. Perhaps if they found another way to stop Krakatoa, then it's citizens could return home. However, she wasn't sure of anything just yet. This was a new island they found themselves on, and it was clearly not a tropical paradise like Lagoom Island was.

Poppy looked out at the rest of the island, from the town. The entire island was a near barren expanse of swamps and misty marshes, with dead trees barely clinging to life under the clouded skies. She could hear the chittering of various insects and growling predators lurking in the brush.

Looking East, Poppy could see the Mansion in the distance. After walking through Catcher's Landing, they were closer than before; perhaps just a few minutes even. But as Poppy was about to call her friends over, Professor recipe called out from a nearby alley.

"Guys!" she yelled. "I found something I think you should see!"

Following Recipe's call, Poppy and her friends saw her standing beside a strange looking machine that looked like it had come from the set of an extremely high budget sci-fi movie. It looked like a large black generator housed inside a glass dome, on a base lined with pulsing blue lights. Hovering above the generator was what Poppy swore was a miniature galaxy; with stars and cosmic gases swirling around it. None of them had ever seen anything like it.

Except Professor Recipe. "I...I don't believe it." she gasped. "This is a Harmonized Sub-Space Energy Generator!"

"And that's....bad?" asked Poppy.

Recipe turned to face the group. "It shouldn't even be here; anywhere!" she cried. "This is HUB technology! We used them to harness seemingly unlimited perpetual energy from the foreign electron bonds in Sub-space dimensions; basically infinite energy generators."

"Wait, I thought you said the HUB was destroyed." asked Penny.

Recipe nodded. "It was. So the million bit question is: how the hell is there one on this island?"

"Well, it was obviously brought here; there's no other way it could be here, right?" suggested Poppy. "Maybe our mysterious mansion owner can shed some light on it."

Recipe nodded. "I...I suppose so." she said blankly. She didn't take her eyes off the generator till they left the alley.

---

Leaving Catcher's Landing, Poppy and her friends stuck to the road to be safe, as they followed several rotted wooden signs that pointed the way to the mansion through the marshes.

There was more chittering from the brush as Poppy saw insects buzzing around in swarms over what looked like pools of bubbling mud. All the bits in Equestria wouldn't be enough to get Poppy to step hoof in that gunk. Her friends shared the sentiment.

Poppy guessed that there was a massive level of heat coming from the magma canals underground from the volcano. The volcanic soil didn't agree too much with mud, or the swampland of the island. It's no wonder why almost everyone left; the whole island looked like it was going to bubble over and sink in on itself any second.

But that just made it all the more odd that one person stayed.

Heading away from the pools of muck, Poppy and her friends kept their pace as they rounded a hill, and there, just a few feet from them now, was the mansion, looming over them at the base of the volcano. The ground rumbled a bit as they approached to get a better view.

To-Do List: Investigate The Mansion.

The mansion was remarkably preserved given the state of the island itself. There was a huge greenhouse to the western side of the mansion, that was also greatly preserved; with the windows even looking brand new and many exotic fauna growing within.

The ground rumbled once more, as they finally approached the front door of the manor. But as they did so...

"Who's there?" asked a strange voice from the other side of the door. "This is private property which you are trespassing on; leave the grounds now or be escorted away, personally!" The voice was clearly that of an old man, with a hint of an English accent beneath it.

Recipe's ears perked up. "Wait...I know that voice." She narrowed her eyes as she went up to the door. "Dr. Moreau! I know it's you, you bastard; open up!" she snapped.

"Recipe?" asked the voice. "Oh, what joy; a fellow HUB scientist come to intrude upon my important work and research! And here I thought that a literal remote island in the middle of the bleeding ocean was enough to be rid of the rest of you cockroaches; my mistake."

Recipe was about to respond, probably by swearing a lot, but Poppy stepped in. "Dr. Moreau, was it? My name is Poppy Blossom, and we aren't here to cause trouble; we're just here to warn you about this island; it's not safe! You need to leave, immediately!"

"Leave?" asked Moreau. "Ha! Utter nonsense! Not when I'm so close to a breakthrough in my research! And, I'm afraid you're mistaken my dear girl; the only danger on this island is what will happen if I do leave."

"What do you mean?" asked Penny.

With that the doors swung open, but as everyone looked, they saw no one standing in the doorway. "Come inside, and I'll show you." the voice wasn't coming from anywhere Poppy could see at all; from nowhere.

To-Do List: Find Dr. Moreau and discover what he's doing on the Island.

The Mansion of Dr. Moreau was truly a sight to see. The inside was a lavish and well furnished Victorian abode; complete with Saddle Arabian carpets, mahogany tables, and satin throw pillows organized on marble tile floors underneath the light of a beautiful crystal chandelier. Poppy and her friends took it all in, while Recipe only looked concerned and unimpressed.

"Pft." she spat. "Moreau was always one for flaunting his ugh...luxurious tastes." she rolled her eyes at the painting of what Poppy saw was a recreation of the famous Beholder who wept, a painting that Poppy had only seen pictures of herself. "Don't be fooled by all the grandeur, Poppy." she warned, turning away from the painting. "Moreau's probably just as rotten and smug as ever."

"What is it between you two, anyways?" asked Poppy. "I take it your not exactly friends?"

Recipe sighed as she turned to Poppy. "You have no idea." she said simply. "Dr. Moreau was a member of the prestigious and influential Moreau Family, as well as an admittedly accredited expert in the field of cognitive robotics. And easily the biggest, most smug, selfish, blow-hart the HUB ever had the misfortune of having on it's scientific research team. He thought he was the smartest of us; the most entitled, the one that would make the future while we all struggled to keep up with him and his genius."

"He sounds like just another pompous jerk, to me," said Poppy with a shrug. "Plus, you've already proven you're way smarter then he is." Poppy patted Mimi atop her head as she purred. "I don't see this guy making anything as amazing as Mimi, no matter how smart he thinks he is."

"Thanks, Poppy." said Recipe with a smile. "When the HUB collapsed and we all went our separate ways, I was glad to finally be rid of that loudmouth. And now he's here, on this island. And we have to somehow convince him that he needs to leave his precious work and research behind? It'd be easier to just sink the island; and him with it."

"You don't mean that." said Poppy.

"No, of course not." said Recipe shaking her head. "But it would be more feasible then convincing him to leave. Trust me."

Moreau's voice was heard once more; again it seemed to breathe out of the air itself, with no intercoms or speakers in sight. "Always with that pettiness, Professor Recipe. Come; there is no shame in being second best to one's superior."

Recipe scoffed at the notion, and went silent; wishing to not bother speaking above Moreau's ego.

"Yes, well I hope you find my abode an enriching experience." said Moreau smugly. "Certainly more so then anything out there, I'll say with utmost certainty. If you will just make your way to the dining room, my associates will take you down to my lab, where we can have a heart to heart, Professor. I do so look forward to it."

---

Moreau's Dining room was as much a sight to behold as the rest of his manor. A formal area with a long mahogany table, dinnerware on display in an oaken cabinet, and a great display of trophies along the walls. A great many works of art adorned the richly decorated walls, and the chandelier looked as if it was made from the finest crystals in the Crystal Empire.

But the thing that caught Poppy's eye instantly, wasn't anything about the room. It was the odd hulking figure sitting at the dining table, reading from a newspaper.

The figure was unlike anything Poppy had seen before. Taller then anyone Poppy could think of, wearing a rich black tuxedo with matching dress shoes and pants and even a lavish bowtie. He had no hooves, but hands; the odd looking appendages that she remembered Santa having, that apparently had far more capability than hooves (though she doubted that.)

But most astounding of all, was that his face was not that of a pony; but of a shiny metal ball. A globular head, displaying two glowing dots for eyes and pale markings approximating eye sockets and no mouth. The dots moved to look over at Poppy, who froze.

As Poppy froze, everyone else followed suit; not daring to move a muscle. Sea Flower flinched as the figure got up from his chair, neatly folded the newspaper, and went to the bookshelf behind him. Pulling a book, the entire thing suddenly moved to the side and folded itself neatly into the wall, revealing the entrance down into a long metal hallway, akin to a bunker.

The figure stepped to the side of the entryway and bowed politely as he gestured with his hands to the entrance. "Right this way, my friends." He said in a charming English voice. "The doctor is expecting you."

---

To-Do List: Follow the Mysterious Figure

The loud clopping of Poppy and her friend's hoofsteps echoed along with the graceful pace of the Mysterious Figure throughout the long metal hallway, as they all walked together; Flower had no trouble keeping up with the group as she too swam through the air beside them. Although she was clearly nervous, as was everyone else save for Poppy and Interkitten.

Poppy, who marched right alongside the Mysterious Figure, looked up to see that he was walking with both eyes looking ahead. And yet, he said "Is something bothering you, miss?" he asked politely, as if he could somehow sense that Poppy had indeed been looking at him.

Poppy was startled by his reply, but decided to use this an an opportunity to learn what she could. "I was just wondering if I could ask you a few things is all. Do you mind?" she asked, as politely and matter of factly as she could muster.

The figure gave not a single gesture but answered "Of course. I shall answer what I can." He never turned to look at her or slowed down in his pace. As they all began to descend down a flight of stairs, Poppy asked her first question.

"What-Sorry, who, exactly are you?" she asked.

The figure nodded slightly. "My name is ONE. I am the first created of the many Servants that the good doctor has created to assist him in his many projects and aspirations here on this island."

"Projects?" replied Poppy. "Such as?"

"Advanced technologies, psychic ability research and applications, cloning, robotics, and of course the engineering of a new vessel, for the good doctor to inhabit." stated ONE.

"Uh...vessel?" asked Recipe, suddenly worried.

But they arrived at the doors to Moreau's Lab before Recipe could get an answer. ONE simply waved his hand in front of a keypad, and the great metal doors unfurled, allowing ONE to lead Poppy and her friends inside.

Dr. Moreau's Laboratory

As the doors folded back into the wall, Poppy and her friends were greeted to a truly awe inspiring sight. A gigantic laboratory, outfitted with technology the likes of which Poppy had only read about in science fiction tales; hover carriages, moving floors, teleports, it was all here on display for her and her friends to gawk at. Massive machines that touched the ceiling that Poppy could swear stretched up into the sky if not further then that, rose up from the ground like skyscrapers, humming so loud and powerful Poppy felt the ground shake beneath her hooves.

But it was not the machines as it turned out, as all around the already impossibly large room, was the inner walls of the volcano, that glowed a soft orange from the sea of lava that flowed below it. It took ONE putting his hand on Poppy's shoulder to pull her away from staring at everything in sight.

"This way, please." ONE gestured towards a small area that looked remarkably like a large sitting room lounge, nestled in the corner of the huge laboratory.

Taking a seat, everyone waited to see what it is Moreau wanted to show them. After a period of waiting, they gasped as the table int he middle of the lounge suddenly descended into the floor, and a large cylindrical tank rose up in it's place, filled with some sort of glowing green liquid, that shimmered and pulsed behind the glass, like a heartbeat.

Then Penny screamed. Because of what she saw floating in the tank. Poppy looked in as well, and she also screamed, as did Sea Flower who was on the verge of fainting. Recipe was unable to scream, but opening her mouth to do so, found she was too horrified to make a whimper.

Interkitten, meanwhile, put a paw to her chin and raised an eyebrow. "Interesting." she said callously.

What floated inside the large tank, was in fact, a disembodied brain; hooked up to several advanced looking life supports within the tank. It looked so natural. And this is perhaps what disturbed Poppy the most. She was looking at someone's brain, floating about like a fish in a tank, and yet it looked so normal in comparison to everything else she had seen.

Still, she found that she had to look away, to give her mind time to adjust to that it was seeing.

Then she heard it. And so did everyone else. "Hmph! Just the sort of reaction I would expect from those too narrow minded to understand perfection when they see it." a voice snapped. "If you nimwits can't even look me in the lobes, then this will be quite a short companionship indeed."

Recipe's eyes went wide. "Moreau?" she rasped, staring at the tank.

The brain within wrinkled it's frontal lobes. "Of course!" said Moreau angrily. "Who else would be so brilliant as to ascend the physical body and truly become one with the mind? Let me answer that: No Pony!"

Poppy turned to Recipe. "That's Dr. Moreau!?" she exclaimed.

"He's a brain outside of a head!" yelled Sea Flower, trying her best to maintain consciousness.

Penny turned in her seat, clutching her stomach. "Ooh....I'm going to be sick." she gasped.

"Ugh...same." Poppy agreed.

The tank suddenly turned from green to red, as the brain within pulsed in anger. "ENOUGH!" bellowed Moreau. "I am not hear to bother with your inability to accept greatness! I require your help; do what I ask, and I shall help in turn." said Moreau. The brain turned in the tank to 'face' Poppy. "Do we have an accord?"

Poppy hesitated before finally saying. "Fine." she said, still uneasy. "But you need to explain all....this, before we do anything for you."

The brain wrinkled again. "Hmph." said Moreau. "Fine. Ask what you must."

To-Do List: Talk with Dr. Moreau and find out what he wants from you

When Poppy woke up this morning, it seemed like a normal morning (for once.) The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and she was enjoying her breakfast of a cranberry muffin and apple cider in front of her TV, before going out to make her daily rounds.

She had not anticipated that she would, later that day, be questioning the motives and existence of an insane disembodied brain of a centuries-old mad scientist floating in a tank of what was either sewage or liquid plutonium. Life surprises us like that sometimes.

Poppy took a breath to calm herself and her mind before turning back to Dr. Moreau. After reminding herself that she was about to talk to a brain in a jar, then ignoring the million other feelings of disgust and horror that brought up, she asked her first question.

"So...Moreau-"

"Doctor, Moreau, thank you!" snapped Moreau. "I didn't spend over four years in medical school, plus another six years in the HUB to be called by my usual name. It's doctor, or nothing at all!"

Poppy nodded. "Right. So...'Nothing At All' (Recipe and Sea Flower stifled a laugh) what the hell are you exactly?"

"What you see before you is the culmination of Equine brilliance made manifest." Moreau boasted. "The result of over three-hundred years of work, study and planning, all executed to give you the amazing breathtaking visage you see with your very eyes!"

"Is it 'breathtaking', because it makes you vomit?" snarked Recipe.

Moreau's tank went red again. "I wouldn't expect a simpleton like you to understand, Recipe!" Moreau snapped, his brain creasing in and out in rage. "You were always more interested in your pathetic little pet projects than real science."

"At least I actually helped people!" yelled Recipe. "You never wanted to help the HUB, you only wanted to help yourself!"

"You," Moreau began, "Were only interested in making those stupid little inventions of yours, cause you thought they would make the world better, or some nonsense. Centuries; you've had centuries to work on something actually meaningful, and all you managed to make was this...ugh, abomination you call a pet."

Recipe's eyes flared. She jumped out of her seat and got face-to-brain with Moreau. "If your so called 'real science' involves being a giant ass to everyone and benefiting yourself, then actually trying to benefit the world, than you can take your real science, and shove it, right up your-"

Recipe was suddenly launched away from the take by an unknown force, and restrained into her chair by invisible bonds. She couldn't move, or even talk anymore. Poppy and her friends immediately sat up in alarm.

"You were always a fool, Recipe." said Moreau, his tank turning green once more. "Always putting actions above thought. But now you see, just how wrong you really are."

Recipe's muffled swearing was blocked out by Moreau's bragging tone. "Sorry." he bragged. "I'm afraid that will be quite enough out of you for now." Poppy watched as Recipe tried in vain to release herself, but it was no use. She ceased struggling then sat in her chair, angrily staring daggers at Moreau.

Poppy turned back to Moreau, her eyes narrowed now. "What did you do to her?" she demanded.

"I silenced her incessant gutter-mouth of foolish frivolities, so that I can finally explain what it is I want from you." said Moreau callously. "If you too thought that being able to communicate telepathically was the only ability I possess in my new form, then you are very sadly mistaken."

Poppy looked around at her friends, who were now quite uneasy indeed. The best thing she could do right now is hear the lunatic out, then find some way to get out of here without ending up as wall pizza. "What do you want?" asked Poppy, not at all nicely.

"Excellent!" said Moreau. "Finally some civil obedience to one's clear superior. Quite admirable, little pony."

Poppy suddenly began visualizing of all the ways she could totally smash the hell out of that tank right now, and crush this ass-hat of a brain under hoof. Then again, she also enjoyed not having her mind set on fire, so she sat and listened to the insane brain's demands.

"I have need of help with an important task that involves tempering this island's...ahem, inhabitant." said Moreau.

"Inhabitant?" asked Poppy. "What else is living on this island besides you?"

The brain furrowed it's lobes in thought for a moment. "I believe you know him as....Krakatoa."

Poppy's eyes went wide. "The....the volcano god? You mean you know about him?!" she cried. Sea Flower and Penny looked horrified while Recipe tried once more to release herself from Moreau's psychic hold only for her to tip her chair backwards and onto the floor in the process.

Moreau laughed. "A god?? Bah! That creature is no more a god, than I'm a world renowned arm-wrestling champion!"

Poppy was confused now. "If you know about Krakatoa, and it's not some angry volcano god...then what is he?"

Moreau wrinkled his right lobe, as if to smirk. "Let me show you..."

---

Moreau's Secret Vault

Poppy had seen her share of bizarre things, even before all the craziness of her previous adventure. But she had only read about half of the things that her and her friends were now seeing before them; arrayed perfectly behind glass walls that imitated the exhibits of a museum, Poppy's eyes darted from left to right taking in everything they could as ONE lead the group down the dimly lit hall of oddities leading to what Moreau (who was now being carried in his tank by ONE, much like a goldfish in a bowl) was so eager to show them.

To the left was a display of six stone spheres the size of bowling balls. As they passed the glass, Poppy could swear she heard them humming like small wind turbines from behind the display.

To the right was what Penny gasped at, as it was the large dismembered claw of a dinosaur. It was shiny with blue scales and green talons, that Poppy thought looked like they were poisonous. The entire thing looked alarmingly well preserved, as if it had just been cut off.

"Whoa! Look at that!" said Sea Flower excitedly. Poppy turned to see a large white urn made of some kind of smooth white stone that Poppy had never seen before. It glowed a calming blue aura, and appeared to be mimicking the sound of the ocean. Sea Flower was particularly transfixed by it.

Poppy spotted a very odd sight in the final display; a crystal skull that was definitely not of equine origin. In fact, as far she could tell, it wasn't of any creature's origin that she knew of! It was too small to be a pony's or a Griffins or even a dragon's. The crystal it was made of was so clear and vivid it looked almost invisible. As Poppy locked eyes with it, she swore she felt it doing the same.

They had now reached a large heavily fortified steel door, that was clearly made to make sure whatever was inside could not get out. ONE input a rather long security code into the wall-mounted security keypad. A short few seconds later, the door began to unlock as tumblers slid and moved out of place to allow the door to swing open, with a heavy thud that shook the floor.

"Now," said Moreau as ONE turned around so the doctor could talk to everyone. "What you are about to see is not to leave this manor; I don't want anyone taking notes or photographs or anything of that nature when we enter. This is my discovery, and I shall be the one to reveal his existence to the world. Is that clear?"

Poppy and her friends, driven by the insatiable curiosity of the moment, all agreed to keep whatever Moreau was hiding a secret ("For now", Recipe said under her breath.)

Satisfied, Moreau had ONE lead everyone through the vault door and into a gigantic cavern rotunda.

Krakatoa's Kajolica

The cavern Poppy found herself walking into was absolutely colossal; fifty times the size of the already huge cave of the Ocean's Oath she had been in. Even if she was laying on her back, she doubted she would be able to see the ceiling. Huge black stalagmites that glowed with cracks of heat dotted the area, both on the floor and walls.

But what took Poppy's and everyone else's breath away was the massive creature that occupied at least one half of the cavern they were in.

A dragon of unreal beauty, seemingly carved of molten scarlet with a golden underbelly, was curled up inside an enclosure fenced by a strange wall of energy that prevented anyone from getting too close. Great flumes of steam rose up from it's mouth and nostrils as it slept; Opening it's mouth to let out a snore, allowed Poppy to gaze at it's many sharp fanged teeth that, amazingly, were golden in color. The crown of golden frills on it's head looked all too much like the the crown of a mighty king; a symbol of the power he exhumed.

Poppy had met plenty of dragons in her time as a delivery mare, and of course had made many trips to the Dragon lands and had even fought a few as well. But she had never, seen a dragon like this before. It looked as if a painting of gold and red had burst to life and now rested on the cavern floor.

ONE turned so Moreau, who even as a brain Poppy could tell was 'smiling' with pride, could speak. "Ladies and gentleman!"

Recipe rolled her eyes. "We're all mares, idio-"

"I am proud to show you," Moreau continued, "The so called 'god' that you have been seeking." ONE lifted his hand in showmanship towards the enclosure. "Behold!" said Moreau. "Krakatoa: The 9th Wonder Of The World!"

Everyone's gawking at Krakatoa was interrupted by him letting out a burst of red fire from his mouth as he slept. Moreau swore loudly as ONE backed up from the enclosure, before chuckling to himself. "Heh. That still gets me from time to time." he joked.

As Poppy tore her eyes away from the magnificent beast before them, it then dawned on her what this meant. "Wait, so...Krakatoa is a dragon? What about the stories about his fearsome volcano god wrath and all that stuff?"

Moreau laughed. "Sensationalist hooey!" he snapped. "Dreamed up by those savages on Lagoom Island for telling their offspring; nothing more."

Sea Flower's eyes flared. "Savages?" she growled. Penny put a hoof on her shoulder, saying it wasn't worth it. Sea Flower calmed down a bit, but still stared daggers at the smug brain.

Poppy was also glaring at Moreau, but curiosity overcame her more than anything. "How long have you had him locked up like this?"

"Locked up?" asked Moreau. "You're acting like I have the beast as a prisoner or something!"

"Well...don't you?" asked Poppy.

"Of course not!" Moreau snapped. "This is all for the sake of scientific discovery, I assure you!"

Recipe finally stepped in. "Just what kind of scientific discovery involves holding a freakin' dragon penned up beneath your house!?" She almost snarled the words; Poppy couldn't tell if she was mad at Moreau for keeping the dragon in an enclosure or because of how dangerous doing such a thing was. Most likely both.

"FOOL!" yelled Moreau, his tank turning red once more. "Don't you see? Can you not already visualize the possibilities?" ONE turned around so Moreau could look at the dragon. "This dragon has skin like molten crimson; a belly carved of gold, teeth that never dull and scales that never break. Breathing fire that can literally melt other fire into slag. Its as if nature itself carved it out of the earth to be it's masterpiece; a king of dragons!"

Moreau turned back to the group. "Imagine if there were others! Dragons just like this one, older than time, each one with magic and abilities that likes of which nopony in existence could imagine! Immortality, Curing all diseases, unbreakable skin and bones; the possibilities for scientific discovery are endless!"

Recipe looked taken back for a second, contemplating what Moreau was saying. But then her eyes narrowed again. "He's still a dragon; an intelligent, sentient creature just like us! You can't just keep him in a cage!"

"Bah!" snapped Moreau. "Ponies have to look out for themselves! We live in a world of creatures stronger and far more dangerous than we are; and if getting stronger means we have to make a few sacrifices...so be it."

"What are you planning on doing to him?" Poppy demanded.

"I'm going to continue my experiments and see how this beast functions." said Moreau callously. "Maybe dissect it to see if it's underbelly is truly made of gold."

"You can't do that!" shouted Recipe. Mimi began to growl menacingly as well. "I knew it; all these years and your just as much as monster as you always were. I refuse to help you harm an innocent dragon!"

"Hah! This dragon was here when I first arrived." spat Moreau. "It had probably killed and devoured everything else on this island, making it into the barren wasteland it is now. Innocent? I think not! It's a monster to be studied, like all it's kind."

Penny shook her head. "You're not seeing reason, Dr. Moreau." she said calmly. "You've been on this island for centuries; you don't know the world we live in now! Dragons are intelligent, just as much as we are. They can be reasoned with. Even if you're afraid of him-"

"Afraid? Hah!" Moreau laughed. "This beast is my test subject; he is under my control. I don't want to reason with it; I want to study it."

"You can't do something like this." said Poppy, narrowing her eyes further.

Moreau simply said "And who is going to stop me?" ONE's eyes suddenly turned red as they locked on Poppy.

Poppy took a step forward, ready to fight. "I am."

"Wrong." said Moreau gravely. "You're going to help me keep my test subject under control."

"And just why the hell would we do that?" asked Recipe also preparing to fight. "You going to try your mind trick again?"

Moreau laughed; a cruel laugh that Poppy had not heard before. "No; It's because I control this monster." ONE gestured to Krakatoa, still asleep. "Anytime I choose, I can let him out of his cage and let him go berserk; I can retreat to my bunker, while I watch him burn your pathetic little hovel of an island to cinders. And then, maybe I'll let him see what else he can light up along the way."

"You wouldn't!" cried Sea Flower.

"He would." said Recipe.

"I would." Moreau confirmed. "Do as I say, and I'll let you leave this island and leave me to my research; you're pathetic island will continue to live on, without fear of the 'big, scary, volcano god' burning it down." Moreau turned to Poppy, Penny and Interkitten. "And you three, will return back to wherever you came from; no longer a thorn in my side. Do we have a deal?"

Everyone went silent. Sea Flower was on the verge of tears, as she glared at Moreau. Recipe looked like she was ready to turn Moreau into brain paste the second he said one more word.

Poppy just thought to herself, trying to see a way out of this. What mattered was Lagoom's safety. If they had to play along with this lunatic, in order to ensure it was safe, then fine. They would figure out a way to stop Moreau later. In the meantime, they had no choice but do as he said...for now.

"Fine." Poppy finally said. "What do you want us to do?"

"Aha! The voice of reason speaks!" said Moreau. "I can see you are clearly the smartest out of this lot-"

"What, do you want us to do?" Poppy repeated.

"Very well." said Moreau. "The subspace battery I use to keep this energy cage up is nearly run out. I need you lot to fetch me a new one from my old lab in Catcher's Landing; there should be a subspace generator behind it that's still running. Get it. Bring it back. Simple enough?"

Poppy immediately remembered the generator that Recipe had found in town. She had wondered how it had gotten there. Now they had their answer. "Fine." said Poppy. "We'll get you your battery. Then you let us leave."

"Of course." said Moreau. "And you leave me to my studies."

"And you try and pull anything," Recipe added, "Mimi will eat you and your stupid robots for lunch." Mimi snarled at Moreau in response.

"Pft. Whatever you need to tell yourself, Recipe." Moreau snapped. "Now; off with you. And don't come back till you have my battery!"

To-Do List: Retrieve Moreau's Subspace Battery from Catcher's Landing

The trip back to Catcher's Landing was easy enough; though it was mostly because Poppy was too lost in her thoughts to bother being annoyed or grossed out by the swarms of buzzing insects and the bubbling, foul-smelling mud that made up the landscape.

She had met evil dragons before. Huge, fire belching monsters, with no apathy, ability to speak or reasoning. Essentially just walking, fire breathing eating machines that would swallow a pony in one bite and not even think about it.

But as far as she could tell, Krakatoa was not one of those dragons. He seemed so peaceful, so serene. So....sad.

"No one deserves to be locked up in a cage like that." said Poppy thinking aloud.

"And especially not by a psychopath like Dr. Moreau." Recipe added. "We have to stop this; all of this!"

"But how?" asked Sea Flower. "The scary brain said he'll destroy my home if we don't do what he says." she added solemnly.

As they entered Catcher's Landing once more, they suddenly all heard Dr. Moreau's booming voice in their heads again. "It is I, Dr. Moreau!" he exclaimed. "Don't bother looking around; I'm in your minds."

"You don't say?" snapped Recipe sarcastically. "And here I thought that park bench over there suddenly wanted to engage in conversation. My mistake."

Everyone laughed. But Moreau simply snapped back. "Oh yes, ever the cunning wit as ever." said Moreau. "Now if you're done making your little quips-"

"I had more." said Poppy "But, go on."

"Right." Moreau sighed. "My former laboratory is not far from you; simply head down that alley on the left and make a right. You will be behind the store I used as a makeshift lab when I first arrived here; DO NOT go inside. The generator will be right in front of you; simply disable it, remove the battery and bring it back. Even Recipe couldn't screw it up."

"I swear to Celestia-" Recipe began, but Poppy stopped her.

"Hang on a second. I think we can use this." she whispered to Recipe, before turning her attention to Moreau. "Why can't we go into the lab?" she demanded.

"Don't bother with it!" snapped Moreau. "It's full of nothing but useless junk, machine parts and busted subspace batteries; just get what I told you!" With that Moreau's voice went silent.

A smile formed on Poppy's face, as she turned to Recipe. "Are you thinking, what I'm thinking?" she asked.

"A thousand and one ways to make brain pâté?" said Recipe angrily.

Poppy nodded. "That, and; I think I know a way we can stop Moreau." she turned to look down the street; the alley with the generator could be seen from there. "But first; we have to get in that lab."

To-Do List: Find a way inside Moreau's Old Lab

The store that now housed Dr. Moreau's old lab appeared to have once been just your run-of-the-mill gift shop; displays of novelty t-shirts and disposable cameras could still be seen in the front windows as Poppy and her friends went up to the front doors, trying to find a way inside. If the heavy bolt locks weren't enough to deter them, the huge red eyed cameras gaping at them from every angel were.

"Well...the front door's out." said Recipe.

But as she and the others began to turn away, Poppy stopped her. "Wait," she said. "These cameras are looking right at us."

"Yes," said Penny nervously. "Which is why we need to get moving in the general direction away from them!"

"No! look." Poppy waved a hoof in front of a camera; it didn't budge. No alarms were raised, no lasers shooting at them, no gun turrets appearing from the walls. It's like it didn't see her at all.

Recipe did the same. Hers too did not move. "Not much of a security system." she joked.

Poppy nodded. "Moreau must have shut them down when he abandoned the place; he has no reason to keep an eye on an old lab that's supposedly just filled with broken junk, right?"

"Right." Recipe nodded. "Which also means..." she looked down at Mimi who watched curiously from her side. "Mimi?" the bear dog's ears perked up as her tail wagged furiously. "Can you get the door for us?"

A moment later, Mimi's monstrous paws smashed down the worn wooden doors of the old lab; sending both chunks of wood and broken security cameras across the floor of the main storefront. Mimi, now once again her adorable self, hopped in and looked back at her master for approval.

"Good girl!" cheered Recipe. She turned to Poppy and smiled, gesturing with her hoof. "After you."

Moreau's Old Laboratory

The store that now held the old lab was still very much present; the shelves were still lined with souvenir mugs, lunchboxes and collectable flags emblazoned with the words Catcher's Landing. As Poppy and her friends stepped through the door, and odd feeling came over her. She suddenly felt as if they weren't alone in there.

She looked around the place. Dust caked every inch of the place, along with piles and piles of odd looking machinery, gears, spare wires and couplers, and what looked like prototypes of the robot that she knew as ONE; all scattered around in random places all over the old building. But then as they looked around, she began to notice other things.

A plate of fresh food was seen on the table behind the counter, along with an absolutely insane amount of books, stacked tall to the ceiling. A single candle illuminated the walls which showed multiple maps, diagrams, and what Poppy recognized as spellwork charts; basically schematics for creating new spells and even new types of magic. There must have been twenty or more layered along the oaken walls like they were wallpaper.

This confirmed it; somepony was definitely here. "Guys, I think-" but Poppy stopped as they heard a strange sound coming from the back room of the place. It sounded like...snoring?

"What was that?" Flower whispered, her voice quivering.

"I don't know." said Poppy, her eyes moving to the back room. "Looks like this place isn't as abandoned as Moreau thought." She looked back at her friends and motioned for them to follow her. They nodded and followed her as she made her way to the hallway leading to the backroom.

To-Do List: Investigate the Strange Noise

The hallway was almost completely dark; with only a lit candle at the end of it as the only source of light. Shadows danced along the walls, as Poppy and her friends approached the door to the backroom. The snoring was coming from in there.

Poppy looked back at her friends who nodded for her to proceed, before she opened the door and went inside.

Mysterious Backroom

Poppy had expected to see a backroom full of junk. Maybe an abandoned workshop or a storage area Moreau used to store spare parts and blueprints. But she had not been expecting to see anything like what she was seeing now.

The place was crammed with books. Books on shelves that rose to the high ceiling, books in stacks on the floor, books holding up a potted lily in desperate need of water. On four chairs arranged before an oak desk rested still more books- which Poppy nearly knocked over while looking around the room- and on the desk, arranged in very oddly shaped stacks, was even more.

But then Poppy spotted them. They were posted all over the walls, arranged in a way that there was no way she or her friends as they entered could miss them.

It was her. Drawings, oil paintings, charcoal scratched parchments of her image, littered every surface of the walls. They were so vivid and well made; the detail alone made them look like they were alive. Poppy's breath caught in her throat. "Is that....me?" she rasped. She studied a painting close to her. "It....it really is me."

"I...I don't understand." said Penny a look a fear on her face. "Why are there pictures of Poppy here?" Nopony had an answer. They all just stopped and stared at the walls, taking in every detail of the many Poppys that looked back at them.

Then the snoring cam again, and this time they managed to find the source of it.

An elderly stallion in a black cloak was fast asleep in the makeshift bedding along the corner of the room. He was a grey earth pony of age, yet he still looked rather young somehow. His mane was white mad scientist-esque array of jagged spikes and porcupine-like tendrils jutting out from his head in random directions. Heavy bags were under his closed eyes, indicating he had not gotten much sleep, in a while. His brow was furrowed even as he slept; a sign he was a very heavy thinker (Of what, Poppy couldn't guess.)

"Who's that?" whispered Flower, nervously.

"No idea." said Recipe. "Looks like he's been here a while, though."

"Does he work for Moreau?" Poppy asked turning to her.

Recipe shook her head. "Not a chance. Moreau hates people; he only ever has robots do his work for him." she replied. "Only reason we're out here is because he probably wants us to get killed bringing this stuff back to him."

"But then...' Penny began, "Who is he? Why is he here?"

Interkitten flew over to the stallion. "Let's find out." she said, as she flicked the stallion in the nose. As everyone reeled back in horror at the small blue flying kitten's actions, the snoring ceased as the stallions eyes opened to see them.

For a moment, everyone froze. Then the stallion's gaze moved to Poppy, and he sat up in his bed, staring intently at her. "Oh my...it..it's you." he gasped. His voice was calm yet mature; sane yet mad. It was the voice of a scholar, a mentor, a teacher and a madman all layered into one.

"Me?" asked Poppy uncomfortably.

"Yes, you." repeated the strange stallion, moving to get out of his bed. "You're finally here; I was beginning to lose hope."

Poppy didn't know how to respond. "I...I-" She was certain she had never met this guy in her entire life. Yet here he was, looking at her like he had just found his long lost grand-daughter. Poppy struggled to find words, but her brain had clocked out for the day.

Luckily Recipe had plenty she could use. "Hang on buddy." she put a hoof to the stallion's chest. "You need to answer some questions; What the hell are you doing here, anyways?"

"And why do you have so many pictures of Poppy in here?!" cried Penny who seemed just as disturbed by this situation as Poppy.

"How does your hair do that weird jaggedy-thing?" asked Flower. who seemed unable to pull her gaze away from the stallion's odd hairdo.

The stallion furrowed his brow in frustration. "I see...you brought the lackeys with you as well. Ugh." he looked over at Poppy, the bags under his eyes purple against his grey face. "This is the lot, you brought with you then? They don't look at all like how I envisioned them."

Recipe narrowed her eyes. "And just how did you envision us, smart guy?" Mimi growled angrily as well, baring her claws.

The stallion shooed them away as if to swat a gnat. "I have no time to engage the likes of you lot; I am speaking to Poppy."

Before Recipe could send Mimi to probably use this jerk as a chew toy, Poppy glared at him with enough intensity to make him gasp. "You don't talk to my friends like that." she warned. "They are helping me to save this island and possibly the whole world in the process! I don't know how you know me, but if you want me to listen to anything you have to say, you will give them the respect they deserve."

The stallion looked at her. Then at her friends, then back to her. "I...my apologies." he said bowing his head. "I am often to terse for my own good. I meant nothing by it I assure you."

"Fine." said Recipe. "Now start explaining yourself, or else you an Mimi will have to get better acquainted." Mimi growled again as she glared at the stallion.

The stallion sighed. "If I must." He looked over at Poppy. "Come, let us sit down; I'll tell you everything you want to know."

To-Do List: Question the Mysterious Stallion and find out why he is here

The stallion sat down across from Poppy and continued to stare at her, eyes wide in shock. "Poppy Blossom." he said. "Is it really you? Or am I dreaming again?"

Poppy nodded. "I...well, I think I'm actually here." she said absentmindedly. "Or...am I dreaming?"

The stallion put a hoof to his chin in thought. "Hmmm...no, I don't think so; in my dreams I usually have a pig strapped to my back while I yodel in Cantonese. Since neither of those things are happening yet, I'll say that I, at the very least, am not dreaming. But please do let me know if I start yodeling, as I believe I become deaf near the last stages of my dreams and wouldn't be able to hear it."

"Okay." replied Poppy, not even trying to work out what any of that was. "You said you would explain everything, right?"

The stallion nodded. "Of course. Where should I begin?"

Recipe rolled her eyes. "Um, how bout the beginning?" she snarked.

"Very well." said the stallion. "My name is Garnanopo, and I have been searching for you for a long time, Poppy."

"Why have you been looking for me?" asked Poppy suspiciously. "What do you want?"

"I want to help you!" said Garnanopo. "There is so much you need to know, but the most important part is this: you are destined to save the whole of reality from an unspeakable evil, and I am meant to guide you on this path."

"Unspeakable evil?" asked Recipe. "I mean, Moreau's bad, but he's not that bad....I think."

"No, not Moreau, you simpleton!" Garnanopo snapped. "What I speak of is something infinitely worse than any foe you have ever faced before in your life; words describing it fail. Pages relating it shrivel. Tales recounting it end; it is beyond the furthest beyond and more." Garnanopo's eyes moved to Poppy. "It hungers for realities to consume, and ours is the next on it's menu."

Flower let out an 'eep!' Recipe shook her head. "Look, this guy's obviously a loon; let's just grab the subspace battery and-"

"You don't believe me? Fine. "Interrupted Garnanopo. "Then I shall have to prove it."

The wizard got up and went over to his desk, and snatched two leather bound tomes from the pile and sat back down in front of Poppy. "It began roughly two months ago; I began to have dreams, dreams of this terrible evil and the untold destruction that will befall reality if it isn't stopped, and of course....of you."

"Why me, specifically?" asked Poppy.

"I have no idea." said Garnanopo with a shrug. "Perhaps it is destiny, or a fluke. Maybe you were the name on the list of chosen ones to be chosen; it makes no difference my dear." Garnanopo held up the two tomes from Poppy. They read Journal 1 and Journal 2, respectfully. "But ever since then I have kept track of every other vision afterwards; and they lead me right to you."

Poppy took Journal 1 from Garnanopo and browsed through it's contents. Inside it described everything that her and her friends had done in the last two months: Foiling Charming Culture, Stopping Myra, Life 2.0, giving Interkitten her body, and even the defeat of Hue Humble. It was all here, organized by date; the exact dates they happened. This was no coincidence.

Poppy's eyes swelled as she read through the rest of the journal, stopping at today; when she, Penny and Interkitten arrived on Lagoom Island.

She looked over at Garnanopo. "How do you know all this?" she asked in utter amazement.

"I am a seer, by trade. A sorcerer by all others." he answered. "I am able to witness visions of the past, present and future, through my dreams. Extremely useful, though it's murder on the internal clock."

"That's amazing!" said Penny. "So you knew we would be here?"

"Not exactly." Garnanopo sighed. "I am not able to focus on a specific point in time to envision; sometimes I will see the future but not know what events occurred to make that future happen, or I will see the past, and never know what future will happen based on what I see." He turned to Poppy. "I only knew that someday you would arrive on this island; I had no idea when or where you would actually arrive though!"

Poppy raised an eyebrow. "Wait....just how long have you been on this island, waiting for me to arrive?"

"Oh, I would say about....2 months." said Garnanopo. "Maybe more, one tends to lose track of time trying to find alchemical uses for beach sand. Among other things."

But Poppy wasn't listening. "You've been here...for over 2 months, just...waiting for me to arrive??"

"Yes. Oh, don't give me that look!" said Garnanopo defensively. "I knew you would arrive this year at least. I don't think I would've bothered conjuring a portal here otherwise.

Penny piped in. "Wait, you know about the portals?" she asked. "The one that brought us here, too?"

"I do indeed." said Garnaopo. "Bermuda Triangles are fickle things; always wanting fed in order to work properly. But I managed to convince one to take me to this island from my homeland. Once I was here, I set up shop in the gift shop I knew you would arrive at on orders from that loathesome brain in a jar."

"You saw Moreau in your vision too?" asked Recipe.

"I did; nastiest piece of work I have ever seen floating in a jar of magically enriched brainfluid...and I've seen my share, I'll tell you." Garnaopo's eyes lit up. "Oh! Which reminds me, I believe this is the part when I give you this." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a strange looking glass battery, with a small galaxy swirling around inside it, but the red light on the side signified it was not to be used. "You will need this to stop Moreau." he handed it to Poppy. It was heavier than she expected, and she nearly dropped it into her satchel from it's immense weight.

Garnanopo got up and turned his attention to the group. "Once you're done here, I will travel back to Equestria and we can talk at my lab in Canterlot."

"Aren't you coming with us?" asked Flower. "You can't stay here on this island!"

"Young lady, I have been here for months living on nothing but shellfish and seawater....and some beach sand that one time." said Garnanopo. "Now that I have met you all, I will most certainly not be staying here or anywhere in this region."

"Why don't you help us with Moreau then?" asked Penny. "Then we can all go back together."

"Afraid not; I have much to do before I leave this island. I need all the time I can muster to prepare." said Garnanopo. "But as I said, once you are back in Equestria, seek me out at my lab in Canterlot; we will discuss our next move there."

Then, before Poppy could ask the strange stallion anything else, she and her friends were suddenly teleported outside the store, which suddenly vanished right in front of their eyes.

To-Do List: Return to the manor and give Moreau the faulty subspace battery

The dark clouds leaked a yellow that made the fog surrounding Catcher's Landing look even more foreboding than before. It seemed that the daylight was struggling to even shine down over such an eerie place, and to make it even more unwelcoming, it began to rain.

Poppy drew out her umbrella from her satchel, and handed two spares to Recipe and Penny. Interkitten, who hated water, simply hid under Poppy's umbrella with her, while Flower was more than happy to go without one. As the storm brewed around them, they began to make their way back to Moreau's Manor.

"Hey Poppy." said Recipe suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Did you really believe anything that weirdo said?"

"I mean....maybe? I don't know." Poppy sighed. "He knew about all our adventures to this point, but I've met plenty of seers and psychics that could do far more than just that. If he really is a seer...well, I don't think he's a terribly good one."

"Maybe he can only get visions in his dreams, like he said?" Penny suggested.

"Or," said Recipe narrowing her eyes, "He's lying, and this is all just some trap he's setting for Poppy."

"Wouldn't be the first time." said Poppy. "But I wouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet; not till we know more about him at least."

Recipe sighed. "Well, I know I don't like him; there's something...off about him. The kind of off, Moreau used to have when he still had arms and legs....and sanity."

"We'll keep an eye on him." said Poppy. "But for now, we have another lunatic we have to deal with."

---

As they neared the gates of Moreau Manor once more, they once again heard the voice of Dr. Moreau in their heads. "Ah! Excellent work, my minions."

"Minions?!" Flower huffed. "As if I would serve any other than the High Priest!" she pouted at the notion.

Moreau ignored her (and everyone else's clear disdain for being called as such) and used his abilities to open the gates of the manor, allowing them into the courtyard, and through the front doors.

"Bring the Sub-space battery to me in the lab, at once!" Moreau ordered. "I assure you that the gratitude of Dr. Moreau is worth far more than any morals, you lower lifeforms may cling to. That is all."

As Moreau's voice faded away, Recipe just chuckled to herself. "Welp, let's get down there." she had a look in her eyes like fire. "I look forward to re-painting the walls; I'm thinking greymatter pink, would look nice."

To-Do List: Defeat Dr. Moreau and save Lagoom Island

The eeriest thing about the manor, was not that there was no longer any of the rich and luxurious atmosphere it once had or the sounds of grinding machinery which now resounded across the the entire area; but the silence. The pure, unrefined, dead silence that blended with the whirring of the machinery to create a wordless song nopony should be unfortunate enough to hear.

"I don't like this." said Recipe, her eyes darting about. "Not at all."

"Do...do you think he knows?" asked Penny.

Recipe shrugged. "The guy can read minds now and throw me across a room with a thought; so it wouldn't surprise me."

Poppy thought for a moment. "But, if he did know," she said "Why let us back into the manor? Why not just kill us then and there and have his robots come get what he wants?"

Interkitten interjected. "Perhaps, it was that Garnanopo character that made it so Moreau was unable to retrieve his battery, himself." she suggested. "That's why he sent us to get it instead, for fear of encountering Garnanopo if he left his manor."

Poppy looked back at her. "You think Moreau knew Garno was here the whole time? And that he's....afraid of him?"

"It would explain why he had us go and get what he wanted instead of sending his robots; maybe he knew that Garnanopo was staying somewhere in Catcher's Landing but didn't know where at the time; why risk it when you can just force your enemies to do the hard work for you?" said Recipe. "And did you just call him, Garno?" she added raising an eyebrow at Poppy.

"Well, I'm not just going to keep saying Garnanopo!" said Poppy defensively. "It's too long; He needs to shorten it to something easier to say."

Suddenly a loud bang broke the chatter amongst Poppy and her friends as the floor vanished and a great stairway leading down was illuminated. "The lab is just down these stairs." said Moreau's booming voice in their skulls. "Do not keep me waiting; I have no more patience to give."

Poppy took one look at the stairway and sighed. "Yep. He knows."

---

Moreau's Laboratory

Poppy never dropped her guard as they entered the cavernous chambers of Moreau's lab once again, but this time it was clearly a different room; it looked like it was built to house one thing, rather then offer a space for multiple inventions as the previous lab did.

And that one thing, was very plain for all to see. Poppy's breath caught in her throat as she creened her head back to look up at a gigantic machine that occupied nearly the entire room.

It was a mountain of metal; stretched to the ceiling, pile upon pile of limbs made from pipes and oddly shaped steel draped in cables. The whole mess thrummed, and as Poppy and her friends stepped ever further into the room, it seemed to purr; a horrid beast of metal waiting for life to breathe into it.

"What the hell?" said Recipe, running her eyes over the machine's hulking frame. "This isn't HUB technology; this isn't even technology, I don't think! What does Moreau have this for?"

"It's huge." said Penny in a shaking voice. "Why does It feel like it's...breathing?"

Recipe glared at the metal beast. "I don't know; but Moreau's hiding around here somewhere, we just-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Recipe screamed and her hoof flew to her mouth.

Something smashed against the ceiling; Poppy jumped as metal shards rained to the floor, barely missing her.

And then the building lurched.

The machine heaved up, belched steam and fire, then crashed back down, shaking the very earth and causing everyone to nearly fall over. Nails popped, cables snapped, steel lashed from the walls, as a horrible laugh echoed throughout the room. Moreau's laugh.

"You puny minded insects." he snarled. "Did you really think that I, the great Dr. Moreau; the man who transcended death itself with his genius, would be fooled by such an obvious attempt to undermine me? Hah!" The voice wasn't coming from inside their heads anymore; no....it was coming from the machine.

A huge metal chain suddenly snaked away from the machine and lashed out at the group. "Move!"shouted Poppy. As her and her friends tried to dodge out of the way, the chain slammed against her and she screamed, as it wrapped itself around her and threw her across the floor toward a large hole in the middle of the now destroyed flooring.

"Poppy!" shouted Penny. She tried to make her way over to her fallen friend but another chain lashed out and cracked her across the leg, sending her to the ground.

"There's nowhere you pathetic fleshlings can run now; I am in control of this entire manor!" cackled Moreau. "This machine has given my mind the true vessel I've always been meant for, and I will use it to reshape this world as I see fit. A world which tragically, involves you dying first!" Another chain lashed from the machine, but Mimi (who had naturally gone full beastform to defend her friends) snatched it from the air and held the chain in her huge jaws, allowing everyone to take cover behind some debris that had fallen.

"Meddlesome mutt!" roared Moreau, as he began to fight the beastly canine.

Meanwhile, Poppy, whose head was hanging over the hole in the floor, got up to see The Moreau Machine squaring off against the monstrous Mimi. As she stood up she winced as her leg was now quite sore from where the chain grabbed her, but this didn't deter her; she had to stop this thing no matter what.

Poppy looked up to see that the machine was facing away from her; valves clanked open and shut, steam hissed through broken pipes and liquid metal sparked off like lightning bugs. White mist, twirled around the sprockets like ghostly fingers.

A blast of steam hit her in the face, sending her back a few inches, but nevertheless she stood her ground, refusing to fall again. Her eyes searched the back of the machine for any weak-spots; a broken valve, a port she could slip into, a giant blinking 'off' button, anything.

Slowly, she crawled toward the wall, tilting her body, keeping most of her weight of her injured leg. Then she rose, bent at the waist, and hobbled beneath the steam pipes jutting from the back of the metal behemoth. The pipes snarled and beat into each other like boxers.

Then she felt a small arm wrap around her waist. It was Interkitten. "A pleasure to see you're not dead, miss Poppy." she said with a smile. Though she herself was a bit bruised, but still in high spirits.

Poppy chuckled and winced again as pain shot up her leg. "I am too; would suck having to explain to Equestria how their new princess was killed only a few weeks after getting into office." she joked.

Moreau continued to battle Mimi, who had done a bit of damage to the front hull of the machine; huge plates of twisted metal were torn apart as she chewed through the machine's gears like they were paper. Yet Moreau wasn't slowing down, and seemed to have lost his remaining sanity even further as he was now roaring and screeching like an animal.

Poppy turned to Interkitten. "You're literally the internet, Interkitten! Do you have anything in that database on how can we stop this thing?"

"I'm afraid there are very few articles online about combating homicidal geniuses melded with a walking artillery, miss Poppy." said Interkitten. "But....I may have one idea."

Above them, fire sizzled and whipped, draping the walls in orange light. Peering around for her friends, Poppy shrank back from the brightness, shielding her eyes with her arm, and she tripped over a softness- small like a twig- and squinted down at a bone.

Poppy stooped and plucked up the bone, hard as steel now in her hoof, almost spherical, it's surface was chiseled with numbers and odd symbols that looked completely alien to her. She got a feeling like this odd bone was important somehow, and stashed it into her satchel.

She glanced back and saw Recipe bravely dive out from cover, armed with some kind of very advanced looking laser rifle, aimed directly at Moreau. "For the record," she cocked back the rifle in her hooves, aiming it up at Moreau's inner workings, "I never liked you when you were a pony either."

A blast of green energy shot out from the head of the rifle, and pierced clean through the machine, showering the area in white hot, green plasma, as Moreau roared once again, a huge burning red hole in his metal body, as he lashed a great metal arm of gears and pipe down at Recipe who dodged back into cover as the arm barely missed her. They were holding him off, but they couldn't do it forever; Poppy had to find a way to kill this thing, and fast.

But it was then that the floor ruptured. It vomited rock, and she jumped, pain shooting down her injured leg. Her ankle gave out, and she fell back against the wall, just as the machine hurled a huge metal sheet at her head. Serrated on edge, sharp as a razor.

Poppy barely avoided decapitation, as she stared forward at the sheet of metal, held aloft in the air by her magic. A bead of sweat dripped off her horn, as she let go, letting the metal sheet fall to the floor with a loud clang. Interkitten flew back to her, having been forced to move away to avoid being crushed by debris. "Are you alright, miss Poppy?" she asked.

"Not the first time I've nearly lost my head." said Poppy with a nervous chuckle. "But I would prefer that I didn't have to worry about it anymore for the moment; you were saying you may have an idea to stop this thing?"

Interkitten nodded. "Moreau has actually managed to merge his mind and consciousness with this machine, he no longer even needs a flesh and blood brain to house his mind anymore." she explained. "Honestly, I would be extremely impressed if he wasn't trying to murder us all."

"So how can we stop him?" asked Poppy. "Is there a way to turn the machine off? I mean it's still a machine right?"

"There is no way to turn it off." said Interkitten. "Moreau built it using parts and methods that utilize neither magic nor technology; therefore no magic or technology would be able to shut it down, not permanently. And attacking him only enrages him further."

"Clearly." said Poppy with a sigh. "Then what? How can we stop Moreau!?"

Interkitten looked up at the machine, heaving and sputtering broken metal and steam everywhere. Then she glanced over at Poppy "I believe we came her to sink this island, did we not?"

Poppy's eyes widened. She too then looked up at the machine and narrowed her eyes. "Will it work?"

"Moreau is a machine now; a machine that will eventually rust out and cease functioning if submerged in enough water."

Poppy nodded. "Alright, then let's do it." but a thought occurred to her. "Wait! How can we do that? We don't even know where the other mechanism is!"

"We don't need one." said Interkitten. "I'm pretty sure after everything Moreau has done, Krakatoa would be more than happy to assist us in this endeavor."

To-Do List: Reach Krakatoa's chambers.

Poppy moved to where her friends could see her, as they continued to hold off Moreau. Recipe reloaded her rifle as she glanced over at Poppy. "Oh, hey Poppy!" she called over. "Glad you're not dead!"

"Same!" Poppy called back. "I have a plan to stop this thing and get us all out of here!"

"Great! Let's hear it!" Recipe fired another blast into Moreau's metal body, causing him to lurch back and roar in pain.

"It involves me freeing a probably extremely ill-tempered dragon god from his cage and hoping he wants to kill Moreau more than us!"

Recipe dove back behind cover, as Penny aided her in reloading her rifle. Flower and Mimi huddled together beside them. "Great plan!" Recipe shouted back. "What do you need me to do?"

"Keep that thing distracted long enough for me to make a break for Krakatoa's cage in the next room!"

Recipe smiled as she took out a metal cartridge from her lab coat, bit the metal bit on top then inserted it into the side of her weapon. "Can do!" she yelled, as she fired a massive fiery beam from her rifle that sliced off an entire arm from Moreau's machine body.

Poppy wasted no time in using Moreau staggering back from the impact, to rush the exit to the next room, dodging falling debris, as Interkitten followed closely. The halls were crumbling as the lights flickered and sparked; Poppy leapt over a fallen wall, and made a mad dash to the huge steel doors that were now broken down and allowed Poppy into Krakatoa's chambers.

Krakatoa's Kajolica

The gigantic room that housed Krakatoa was remarkably still in one piece. Poppy guessed that Moreau had naturally reinforced every square inch of the room, seeing as how he was keeping a literal dragon god prisoner within it.

In the center of the room, was Krakatoa, who was now wide awake from the destruction Moreau had been causing, and was now glaring down at the pony and flying kitten that had entered its chamber; eyes of burning crimson and gold, with a slit, black pupil in the center that scanned Poppy from head to hoof.

Poppy, though nervous, stepped forward and addressed the massive creature. "Um...Krakatoa?" she said, loud enough for the beast to hear.

Krakatoa snorted a burst of fire from it's nostrils in response.

Poppy continued. "I don't know if you remember me; my name is Poppy Blossom, and right now we need your help."

Krakatoa continued to glare down at her.

"Dr. Moreau, the lunatic who has kept you prisoner, has turned himself into a monster; a monster who seeks to destroy not just this island, but everything, so he can reshape the world as he wants." Poppy took a moment to compose herself. "And I don't think you want that, despite your hatred for Lagoom Island. If you help us stop Moreau, I promise we will leave and you can continue ruling over this place as your kingdom just like always."

Krakatoa let another burst of fire from it's nostrils.

Poppy narrowed her eyes at the beast. "I only ask that you spare Lagoom island as well; they mean you no harm, and only wish to live in peace, as I'm sure you do as well. Do we have a deal?"

Krakatoa, moved it's head down so it could lock eyes with Poppy. Poppy feared that she would be dragon food for a second, before she saw Krakatoa smile at her.

"Well." said Krakatoa in a beautiful female voice. "Since you asked nicely, I suppose I'm open to discussion."

To-Do List: Speak with Krakatoa

It took a moment for it to sink in, before Poppy burst out "Y-You can talk!?"

Krakatoa raised an eyebrow. "And who exactly said that I couldn't?" she asked.

"I...you never said anything till now!" Poppy exclaimed.

"I've been locked away in a cage, with literally no one to talk but Moreau." said Krakatoa. "You can understand why I would rather have held my tongue for this long."

"Why didn't you say anything when we arrived?!" asked Poppy.

"You were strangers who were with Moreau." said Krakatoa, letting another burst of fire from her nostrils. "I didn't know If I could trust you at that point. But now, I do. Hence why we are having this conversation."

"That's...a very good point actually." said Poppy putting a hoof to her chin.

"And who said that I hated Lagoom Island?!" Krakatoa snapped suddenly, a burst of fire erupting from her mouth as she spoke.

Poppy backed up to avoid being burned. "The prophecy made by the Sea Father." answered Poppy. " About how you would destroy Lagoom Island, and that you hated their way of life and everything."

Krakatoa looked offended and enraged at the same time. "Destroy my own home?!" she exclaimed. "Utter nonsense! I worked with the first elders of The Ocean's Oath to build Lagoom Island into the paradise it is now! I even commanded the triangles to aid us in the endeavor as well! I would never raise a talon to it nor any of it's inhabitants."

"Then why does the prophecy from the last Sea Father say you would destroy the island?" asked Poppy.

Krakatoa sighed. "One; the last Sea Father, Reef Trotter, was a nutcase who drank nothing but seawater so he could 'better commune with the ocean'.

"Ah. That make's sense."

"And two; that warning was not translated properly." Krakatoa continued. "It was meant to warn the Ocean's Oath about a terrible force that sought to destroy Lagoom Island and the world, that could only be stopped by the High Priest destined to defeat it."

Poppy's eyes widened. "It wasn't you the prophecy was talking about at all....it was Moreau! He's the evil that's trying to destroy everything!"

Krakatoa nodded, before smiling down at Poppy again. "And you, Poppy Blossom, are the High Priest who can defeat him."

Poppy turned to Interkitten. Interkitten nodded at her.

Poppy turned back to Krakatoa. "So, we really do have to sink this island?" she asked.

"This once sunken island was dropped here by one of the triangles, centuries ago. It had already collapsed into the sea before; it never belonged to us anyways." said Krakatoa. "It's only right that we send it back to the ocean, and Moreau along with it."

"Alright let's do it!" said Poppy. "But, um...how do we get you out of here?"

"I trust you still have the broken Sub-space Battery with you?" inquired Krakatoa.

Poppy opened her satchel and removed the busted Sub-Space Battery and held it up for the dragoness to see.

"Good. Place it into that slot over there, then get out of the room." Krakatoa instructed. "If the explosion from the cage isn't bad enough, me blasting my way out of this accursed mountain will most certainly be fatal if your still nearby. I will wait until you have safely left the room, before I destroy this cage, but we must move quickly!"

Poppy did as she was told and inserted the battery into the slot. At once an alarm blared as a mechanized voice belched Warning: Sub-Space Battery Chamber Compromised. Meltdown Imminent.

"Go!" roared Krakatoa. "Get yourself and your friends out of here! I'll take care of the rest!"

Poppy and Interkitten sprinted to the exit as the alarms continued to blare, and made their way back to their friends as a massive explosion erupted far behind them.

To-Do List: Escape Moreau's Island before it sinks

Poppy and Interkitten burst back into the room in a sweat.

"Poppy!" called Penny, who was now standing up with everyone, looking up at the machine that was now Moreau, which was sitting down crooked on the broken floor. Recipe had done enough damage to Moreau, that he was incapable of chasing after them, at least for the moment.

"So?" asked Recipe, still holding her rifle. "Will he help us?"

"We have to get out of here now!!" yelled Poppy. "Get to the boat as fast as you can, and don't look back!"

"I'll take that as a yes!" Recipe grabbed Mimi in her arms and hurried with Poppy to the exit as everyone followed at their heels.

The entire manor was crumbling around them as they made a break for the outside, and tore down the path, everyone putting all their might into running away from the exploding mountain.

As they all ran across the island, that was now torn with burning fissures and massive canyons of lava, they didn't even look back as the manor exploded into a million pieces, as Krakatoa took to the skies, holding the screaming metal husk of Moreau in her claws, before dropping him to the earth. He smashed into the ground, and laid still as the earth swallowed him up.

Poppy's heart pounded in her chest as the sky went blood red, the smoke and fire form the now destroyed mountain having blocked out the sun and clouds; but she didn't care, all that mattered is that her and friends get the hell of this island!

They finally reached the docks where Charon, awaited them on the boat, a drink in hand as he waved to them. "So, how'd it go?" he joked.

"GET US OUT OF HERE!!" screamed Penny.

"Fair enough." He tossed the drink and made a beeline for the wheel. Everyone leapt onto the deck of the Silent Mare as it raced out of port and back to the sea which now boiled as lava poured down into it's depths from the destroyed volcano.

A roar, louder then the most enraged thunder, split the sky apart, as Krakatoa unleashed hell onto the burning island; breathing a blast of concentrated red energy from her mouth that literally shattered the island apart. Mountains crashed into the waves, fire burned the clouds and enough steam to turn the sea white, spat forth from the massive hole that used to be the island.

As Poppy and her friends sailed away, she looked back to see a gigantic wall of water was now careening towards their boat at speeds to fast for them to escape. She got to her stomach and braced for the crash.

But it never came.

Poppy opened her eyes to see that they were no longer in the sea. But sailing through the clouds. She looked up and breathed a huge sigh of relief, along with everyone else, as Krakatoa, who had scooped them up into her claws at the last moment, smiled down at them.

Poppy glanced over to see Recipe and Mimi looking over the deck back towards the huge hole in the ocean that still sputtered smoke and flame. "It's over." she said. "He's finally gone."

Poppy joined her in looking out at the ocean, as the hole grew ever more distant behind them, till finally it vanished from view and the red sky was now once again as blue as the ocean. "Do you regret that?" asked Poppy. "I mean...you did work with him once."

Recipe shook her head. "I worked with a pony; a scientist. An ass of a scientist but still a scientist." She pat Mimi on the head as she continued to look back at the ocean. "What that was back there? That wasn't a scientist. Moreau died centuries ago; that thing was just a monster pretending to be him. The world is safer without him in it."

"Yeah." Poppy nodded. "But still...I'm sorry."

"Thanks." said Recipe. "So, what's next for the legendary Poppy? Going to go out there and find a way to save the world a second time?" she joked.

"Almost definitely." laughed Poppy. "But, something still doesn't feel right."

Recipe nodded. "That Garnanopo guy."

"Yeah." said Poppy thoughtfully. "Was he really telling the truth? About a terrible evil, and me being the only one who can stop it?"

"No idea." said Recipe with a shrug. "But If there is a terrible cosmic evil coming, I can't think of anyone else but you that could stop it."

"True." laughed Poppy. But then she remembered something else. "What was that machine back there anyways? Interkitten said Moreau didn't build it using technology or magic; so...how did he make it?"

Recipe rolled her eyes. "Who cares; it's scrap metal at the bottom of the ocean now." she said simply. "I would just forget about it, If I were you."

Poppy rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah...I guess your right." But despite this, Poppy couldn't stop thinking about it, even after they had made it back to Lagoom Island.

---

The multicolored sandy beaches were lined up with Lagoom Island's inhabitants, including Whitecap and Sea Spray, though they all quickly ran for the hills, (save for Whitecap and Sea Spray) when they saw that Poppy and her friends were being carried in a large ghost ship being carried by a gigantic scarlet red dragon.

As the dragoness set the ship down at the docks, Charon loaded the gangplank. "Alright; everyone off. And thank you for choosing Charon's Ferry Service...please don't come back." he added once everyone was off the boat.

Sea Flower was rushed by her two brothers who took her up in their arms, tears running down their face as they laughed gleefully that their sister was safe. Whitecap, looked over at Poppy and bowed his head respectfully, as did Sea Spray and Sea Flower. "You have fulfilled the prophecy, defeated Krakatoa, and not only saved our home, but brought our sister back safely as well. We are forever in your debt, most honorable and brave High Priest." he said proudly.

Poppy bowed her head back and smiled. "Thank you, although...I actually didn't defeat Krakatoa."

Sea Spray looked up at her, eyes wide. "Huh?"

Recipe smiled as she gestured to Krakatoa who had landed behind them. "Ocean's Oath? I present the terrible and evil volcano god; Krakatoa." she then turned to Krakatoa. "Terrible, evil volcano god? I present the Ocean's Oath."

Whitecap and Sea Spray froze in place as the dragoness scanned them with her red and gold eyes. "Hmmm..." she said thoughtfully. "So you are the current sea father, then?" she asked Whitecap, who nodded nervously.

Krakatoa chuckled. "Good; you and I have quite a bit to discuss then." she said seriously. "Starting with that whole 'drinking seawater ritual' of yours..."

---

That night, all of Lagoom Island came to Tiny Tiki Beach in celebration of Moreau's defeat and of the High Priest and her friends who saved them and the world from destruction. A massive feast was held, prepared by the Ocean's Oath, and many gifts were bestowed to Poppy and her friends. Krakatoa presented Poppy with her official High Priest crown and her Ceremonial Grail, officially anointing her as the High Priest of The Ocean's Oath. She also gifted her with a special amulet that only she could use that would allow her and her friends to instantly return to Lagoom island anytime they wished.

When the festivities finally ended, Krakatoa was more then happy to open up a portal back to Equestria for Poppy and her friends. Professor Recipe and Mimi, also decided to tag along, saying "six hundred years on a tropical paradise is enough for several lifetimes" it was time for them to explore the rest of the world, and Equestria sounded like a good place to start.

As everyone said their goodbyes, Sea Flower asked if they could come visit Poppy sometime as well, and Poppy was happy to say yes. After the goodbyes, and with the portal opened up, Poppy waved goodbye to Sea Flower and her brothers as well as everyone else that called Lagoom home, before stepping though herself, and was finally back home in her office.

But as she took a seat on her couch and drifted off into a restful slumber, she did not notice the strange spherical bone in her satchel begin to glow with an eerie green energy...

Successful Delivery!

- On Time Percentage: 100%

- Issues: None

- Complaints: None

- Rank: A

Delivery #8 of 11 Completed

Comments

[Fetch]

Computer, end program.
Luna, Poppy needs to WAKE UP.
DISQORD! This has gone on long enough.

(I'm sure one of those is the answer to this craziness)

[XombieSlayr]

9295032
I understand what you mean, and while there are many similarities, I promise that Poppy is her own thing; that was inspired by a lot of other things, including some ideas from a very good friend of mine. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far though!

Oh, and I wouldn't worry about the Poppers, either. ^^

[XombieSlayr]

9295247
Poppy is a unicorn yes, but unlike Twilight, magic isn't her main skill. She didn't even know how to teleport without using scrolls the first time around; and had to train in order to use the teleportation spell. Though she is getting much better at it the more she uses it!

Poppy does not know how to blast anything with magic. She can only teleport, for now. Plus, she would not have risked the bear exploding in a fireball of death with all those captive ponies in the audience. She wasn't sure what was up with that thing, and didn't want to risk it doing anything drastic as a counter measure.

And as for Equestrian Idol, it's really a matter that's up to the judges. That season's judges anyways. They usually try to find somepony who is not innately gifted in singing, so they can train them to and take credit for teaching them to sing that good. Higher ratings that way. ^^

[XombieSlayr]

9304628
Continue reading and you'll find out, my friend. ^^

[Lord Legion]

Ya know, Professor Recipe and her little pet has a description that matches a certain OC I’ve seen some time ago. Based on how you described them, I think they have a striking resemblance to Precious Metal and Gadget.

[XombieSlayr]

9307909
I'm happy you noticed. ^^ I decided to base Recipe and Mimi on those particular OCs; after loving their designs SO much! It felt perfect for the character I had planned for Recipe and her animal companion. (Who I hadn't decided what species she would be, until I saw Gadget.) Recipe and Mimi are my characters, but they are designed after those OCs of Precious Metal and Gadget.

Here's a link to the OC featured on Equestria Daily, for those that want to see them in all their glory. https://www.deviantart.com/light262/art/Precious-Metal-Mimiero-commission-by-Light262-772193970

(Also, your FIM avatar is terrifying. O-O)

[Lord Legion]

9308232
Ah gotcha. Yeah Precious Metal and Gadget are great looking OCs

Yeah I get that from time to time. Google “Russian sleep experiment” and that image usually is the first to come up. Don’t worry though, it’s not a disfigured person. It’s just a Halloween prop. I’ve seen them for sale online.

Do you mind if I commission someone to do a picture of Poppy? I like her design and I know someone who really makes the mlp characters pop.

[Dreadnought]

I do hope there's a new chapter in the works!

[XombieSlayr]

9500263
There is indeed! I have been rather busy with getting ready for spring, but rest assured I have plenty more deliveries in the works for Poppy. And I'm sure you'll love reading them as much as I love writing them!