Chapter 2: Disappearances
Twilight Sparkle was extremely nervous. The comic book villain known as the Mane-iac had been brought to life by a spell that the alicorn had used. To make matters even worse she kidnapped Spike and had taken him to an unknown location. Where the Mane-iac was and what she was planning, Twilight Sparkle didn't know. All that the purple alicorn knew was that this wasn't a good situation to be in. She couldn't help Spike because she didn't know where to look for him. Even if she did find him what would she do? She didn't have her super powers from the comic book world, but it was very likely that the Mane-iac had hers. Twilight Sparkle didn't think that she'd be able to beat the Mane-iac in a fight even with the support of her five friends who had been part of the Power Ponies adventure that they had gone through a few months back. There was nothing that she could do for her friend and assistant.
Meanwhile near SugarCube Corner, the pink earth pony Pinkie Pie was hanging out with her friend Gilda the Griffon. Gilda and Pinkie Pie were extremely good friends ever since the day that the pink pony had helped the griffon earn back the respect and friendship of her best friend Rainbow Dash. Gilda and Pinkie Pie were spending their day pulling some fun and goodnatured pranks on the local townsponies. While Pinkie Pie would normally pull most of her pranks with Rainbow Dash, the pegasus was at work. Gilda however had a day off from her job and she was extremely eager to join in on Pinkie Pie's fun. The two of them got along very well with each other.
The duo spotted their next target the mayor. She was an easy target to prank and she wouldn't take a harmless prank too seriously. Gilda whispered her plan to Pinkie Pie and the pink pony was eager to follow it. Gilda and Pinkie Pie got into their positions and waited for just the right moment. Pinkie Pie looked at Gilda only to find that the griffon was no longer there. This definitely confused the pink pony. It wasn't like Gilda to bail out on a prank. Gilda and Pinkie Pie got along very well so it wasn't like the griffon hated spending time with her. Pinkie Pie then decided to try to pull off their prank by herself. The only thing that happened as a result was that she got totally covered in chicken feathers. Pinkie Pie laughed about the event and walked away. Maybe she'd find Gilda soon and they could pull the prank properly.
Meanwhile in between two nearby buildings, a pony was grinning maliciously. She quickly teleported away from the town and stared her new prisoner in the eyes. The golden yellow eyes of the griffon glared at her as she hurled vicious insults towards her. Shaking her head, the Mane-iac cast a spell and knocked the griffon unconscious. Gilda would be very useful to her but not yet. The Mane-iac still had much more work to do. Grinning to herself, she teleported away from her hideout inside the dark forest and she went right back into Ponyville. She needed more prisoners for her plan to be able to work.
Inside the town's boutique a white unicorn was humming to herself. Rarity had just finished working on a new outfit and she was going to spend time with her sister Sweetie Belle. The two of them did not often see eye to eye but they agreed to do one thing the other enjoyed in exchange for doing one thing they enjoyed. The two sisters were going to spend their day together. Sweetie Belle was just getting out of school so Rarity headed over to pick her up. The two unicorns went to a go kart race which Sweetie Belle greatly enjoyed. Rarity didn't hate the activity but it wasn't her favorite thing to do. After the race they headed off towards a spa. Sweetie Belle didn't care for hooficures, facials, and mud baths as much as her sister did but she was still happy to be able to spend time with Rarity. The unicorn was often busy with her fashion which made bonding difficult for the duo. The two relaxed in a mud bath and Sweetie Belle decided to give her sister a little scare. She ducked her head underneath the mud and stayed under for a while. She could hear Rarity's panicked tone and she barely resisted the urge to grin. She was just about to pop back up but then she felt a weird sensation. The next thing she knew she was in a different place entirely.
Rarity started searching the mud filled bathtub in order to find her sister. She knew that Sweetie Belle enjoyed a prank but this had gone way too far and her little sister knew better than to do something like this. Rarity could not find her sister so she used her magic to drain the tub. The only thing that Rarity could find was the dirty bottom and sides of the bathtub. Sweetie Belle was nowhere in sight. Rarity jumped out of the now empty tub and quickly washed herself off. She desperately needed to find her little sister before she got hurt. Meanwhile inside the hideout, the Mane-iac grinned at her newest prisoner. The unicorn filly would be an important part of her evil plan. The Mane-iac teleported away from her base to find her next victim.
At a cottage in Ponyville, a yellow pegasus pony with a pink mane was smiling. The pony's name was Fluttershy. She was smiling because she was going to be going on a nature walk with Angel Bunny. The white rabbit may have been mischievous but he enjoyed their walks through the forest. Fluttershy filled up her saddlebags with the necessary food and water for the small trip. Then she walked into her house to find Angel. The white bunny was sitting on his bed. The yellow pony smiled at him but then realized that she forgot to pack her own food. After assuring Angel that they would go soon, Fluttershy hurried off to get what she needed. When she was certain that she was ready, she went back into the room only to find that Angel was gone. Fluttershy looked high and low but saw no signs of her rabbit friend. Angel had vanished completely. Fluttershy ran out of her cottage desperately calling out for him.
Back at the hidden base of the Mane-iac, the comic book villain gave her newest capture a grin of evil mischief. This bunny may not have seemed as important as her previous two captures but he would be just as useful and important to the Mane-iac's plan. After making sure that he was secure along with the other two prisoners, the Mane-iac left her base and went back into Ponyville. The first stage of the plan was halfway over. She still needed three more victims.
Sweet Apple Acres was home to some of the finest apples in Equestria. Or at least that's what was insisted by the Apple family who owned and worked at the farm. Applejack had just finished working for the day and the cowgirl had promised to spend some time with her little sister Apple Bloom. The young filly really respected and looked up to her sister. It warmed Applejack's heart to spend time with her sister and Apple Bloom enjoyed their bonding as well. The cowgirl headed off to the house to find Apple Bloom. She knocked on the door of her sister's room and received no answer. Frowning slightly, Applejack knocked again. Still there was silence on the other side of the door. After telling her sister that she was going to come in, Applejack waited a moment then opened the door. The room looked normal except that there was no Apple Bloom in sight. The cowgirl searched the room but didn't find her sister anywhere. The cowgirl ran out of the house and searched all over Ponyville for Apple Bloom.
Meanwhile at the Mane-iac's lair, the villain herself teleported in with the newest addition to her plan. She made sure that the yellow filly was secure and then she teleported away. Only two more victims needed to be found. Grinning to herself, the Mane-iac searched through Ponyville for her next target.
Inside Twilight Sparkle's castle, a blue unicorn was making lunch for herself and Twilight Sparkle. This pony's name was Trixie Lulamoon. Trixie had been an enemy of Twilight Sparkle's but now they were friends. The purple alicorn had invited Trixie to stay with her and agreed not to tell anypony about her living in Ponyville. Trixie may not be evil but she wasn't popular with the local ponies. The blue unicorn had just finished making their lunch when Twilight Sparkle left the room for a moment. Trixie wasn't wearing her cape and hat out of fear that they would get messy with food or might accidentally catch on fire from the stove. The unicorn cared a lot about the outfit that she used to wear when she had been a showpony. Trixie levitated the plates with her magic until something strange happened. Before she knew it she was no longer inside the alicorn's castle. Twilight Sparkle heard the crashing of the plates and she hurried into the kitchen. She saw the food lying on the floor and she desperately called out for Trixie. The blue unicorn was nowhere in sight and Twilight Sparkle instantly knew what had happened. Trixie had been taken by the Mane-iac.
Back at the base, the Mane-iac gave her newest prisoner an evil grin. Trixie Lulamoon would be a very useful asset to her. The Mane-iac was very close to getting her plan to come together. She needed only one more prisoner. She then teleported away from her lair and back into Ponyville for one more capture. Once this was done then she could move on to the next phase of her plan.
Meanwhile outside of a cloud castle in the sky, Rainbow Dash was trying to help a young filly. This filly was an orange pegasus pony. Her name was Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash was Scootaloo's idol and big sister figure. Scootaloo really looked up to Rainbow Dash. The rainbow maned pegasus was trying to help the young pony learn how to fly. While she was doing everything that she could do to teach Scootaloo, the orange filly had lacked one thing that couldn't be taught: confidence. Scootaloo was extremely scared of flying this high off the ground even with Rainbow Dash there to catch her in case she fell. Scootaloo gazed down at the ground that was very far down below her and she gulped in fear. She knew that Rainbow Dash was there for her but this was still a very intimidating height for her. Hearing words of encouragement from her sister and idol, Scootaloo gathered her courage and jumped. She desperately flapped her orange wings in an attempt to stay airborne. Then she felt very weird. Next thing she knew she was in a completely different place. At first she thought that she had flown here but then realized that she was indoors and there were no windows for her to have flown into. Scootaloo got scared and called out for Rainbow Dash. The light blue rainbow maned pegasus was desperately searching for the orange pony and was calling out her name as well. Both of them were scared about what was happening.
The Mane-iac entered the room where she held her prisoners and grinned. She looked from one hostage to another and her evil smile only grew wider and wider. She had successfully captured Gilda, Sweetie Belle, Angel Bunny, Apple Bloom, Trixie Lulamoon, and Scootaloo. Every single one of them would be extremely important to her plans. They would all play a very huge role in her successful takeover of Equestria, whether they wanted to or not. The Mane-iac walked up to Gilda and her horn glowed as she prepared to cast her magic. It was time to start the second phase of her plan. Soon enough Equestria would be hers.