Chapter 48
Trapped
The dark silhouette of a massive ship drifted silently through the waters of the swamp. At the front, the painted black letters of the ship’s name shone dully in the deck lights: the Double Down.
Attracted by the light, a massive prehistoric insect buzzed toward the boat, looking for the strongest source.
Through a porthole, its attention was drawn by lights within. Beyond the dim, sullen lights of a grand room, the glamorous lights of a stage revealed to all the marvelously beautiful cervequin who danced for the crowd.
Unseen in the darkness beyond were the longing gazes of lonely bucks and the fleeting glances of those who were otherwise occupied in their unscrupulous deals.
A buck in the audience stared longingly at the star of the show. Her pink coat shimmering many shades in the meeting of light and dark where the stage ended.
With a sip of his drink, the buck knew that she was growing closer to him. One moment, she faded into darkness, and the next moment in the light she was nearly within reach of his longing hoof.
Slowly, his drink slipped past his lips, and the cervequin could feel the pink wonder’s eyes upon him. For the one moment of his life, he recalled every happy day he ever had. The more he stayed in that one moment, the more he realized that every day had been as bright as the most radiant sun.
And as his eyes clouded over with the sunny thoughts of his future with the doe on stage, a tiny laugh escaped his lips. Followed by another. Soon, all he was doing was laughing.
Around him, not a single one of the other patrons looked at the buck when he fell out of his seat and writhed fitfully on the floor, laughing but a whisper to himself.
Two weasels emerged from the shadows between the tables where the patrons sat, and stood over the fallen cervequin.
One weasel inhaled on his cigarette, dimly lighting his features in the orange embers, before they faded to darkness again.
“Whatta shame. Whatta darn shame,” the weasel sighed.
“Happens to all of ‘em. Those honeyed wishes an’ candy floss dreams always get ‘em in the end. An’ they always go back for more,” said the other.
“Not that we want ‘em to stop.”
Both weasels chuckled darkly over the writhing cervequin, whose silent laughter faded into the weasels’.
“Come on. Let’s getcha outta here,” one weasel said, as they both helped the cervequin to his hooves and guided him to the door.
Onstage, the dancer finished her routine, never knowing what had happened to the buck.
But, there was one who had. Somebody who oversaw everything that happened on his ship from his lofty sanctuary above all others.
Mr. Cray smirked both blankly and malevolently at the cervequin, as he was led out of the room below.
He knew that he would see that buck again. It was his business to make them come back for more. And with that first mindless fit he witnessed, Mr. Cray knew that he had yet another repeat customer.
The only other person Mr. Cray knew of who could do such a thing to another creature was Yen Sid. But, there were even those who the great sorcerer could not entice with his powers. But, Mr. Cray knew that as long as he was doing his job, he would find other ways to ensnare the hearts and minds of others, and keep them under his claw.
Amid the abundant happiness, there was one noticeably displeased face. Next to the reflection of his own satisfied smirk, Mr. Cray saw the scowl of young Max.
For all the time he had been there, Max had hardly taken his eyes from Mr. Cray. The young goof sat cross-armed and glowering in a chair that was set beside Miss Argente’s desk. A desk which was much smaller than her employer’s, and stacked high with mountains of papers
Miss Argente herself was at her desk, trying her best to write with her hoof, as opposed to magic. For the entire time, she was always within five steps of Max, and flicking her eyes from her work to Mr. Cray.
For almost ten minutes, there was complete silence. And in the same time, Miss Argente had looked up from her desk nearly every half minute, keeping sure that her volatile employer wasn’t going to blow up over the most minute thing.
“Glare all you want, kid. You’re here until I say otherwise,” Mr. Cray said, without turning around.
Miss Argente was snapped from her work, and shot her gaze to Mr. Cray. In the short time she was working for him, she knew nearly anything set off his temper. And the idea of him bearing down on a little boy made her chest tighten.
“That’s what you think,” Max defiantly grumbled.
“You got a real bad attitude there. You better start curbing it, or you’re going to be in big trouble one of these days,” Mr. Cray answered, clenching his claws behind his back.
Slowly putting her pencil down, Miss Argente readied to pull Max away from Mr. Cray’s warpath. Insubordination was not something he ever tolerated, and she had seen too many violent injuries to those who didn’t do exactly as he demanded.
“You’re the one who’s going to be in trouble! My dad landed a fish that almost ate him! And he’s going to do the same to all those monsters out there! And he’ll make them eat you!” Max boldly asserted.
He would have gone on, if not for Miss Argente placing her hoof firmly on his arm. Looking over, Max saw her surreptitiously shake her head, signalling him to stop.
At first, Max didn’t know why she was telling him so. But when he saw Mr. Cray, it became apparent.
The temperamental shellfish lowered his head, and his shoulders heaved up and down. Behind his back, his claws clamped so hard over one another that they seemed liable to cut through themselves.
“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times…” Mr. Cray seethed, before he suddenly whirled around, his eyes shot red, “YOUR OLD MAN ISN’T COMING!!!”
A jolt of fear shot through Max at the sight of the raging crustacean. Before he even had a chance to move, Miss Argente tried to coax him into hiding under her desk.
Max, however, resisted her hooves and stood atop his seat, so that he was almost as high as Mr. Cray’s chest, when the shellfish was suddenly upon him. Fear still clutched his young mind, but there was something greater that allowed him to stand before Mr. Cray
“My dad’s the bravest, strongest, greatest person in the world! After he finds you, you’ll be lucky if he just turns you into gumbo!!” Max bravely retorted.
He and Mr. Cray both locked eyes, neither saying a word.
Miss Argente was frozen with fear, her hoof still clasped on Max’s arm. She didn’t dare move as she watched Mr. Cray. But, she wished more than anything to pull Max clear from his wrath.
“That’s what you really think, eh?” Mr. Cray said, in a voice so calm and collected that it was somehow more unnerving than his usual burst of rage. “Take a seat, kid. There’s a hard lesson that I have to teach you.”
From what she heard, Miss Argente feared that her employer would explode any second, and kept her hoof firmly on Max’s arm.
“Miss Argente,” Mr. Cray said, still eerily calm. “Put your hoof down, or lose it.”
Hesitantly, Miss Argente lowered her shaking hoof from Max’s arm to the floor. One look to Mr. Cray’s fixed glare, and she took two small steps back from her young charge. Once she had, she drifted her gaze from Mr. Cray to Max, who slowly sat down on his seat.
For a moment, Mr. Cray said nothing. Finally, his rough voice ended the silence.
“Tell me what makes your dad so great,” he beseeched.
Max took no time thinking of his answer.
“He’s the biggest, strongest, funniest, greatest person I know. He can do anything, go anywhere, and is the best at everything! He showed me how to skateboard, bungee jump and skydive! And I’ve seen him beat up guys a hundred times bigger than you are! You’ll be sorry you ever messed with him when he gets here!”
“I see…” Mr. Cray said, before he slowly, deliberately walked past Miss Argente’s desk with his claws folded behind his back.
Not wanting to be anywhere near him, but not daring to inch toward Max, Miss Argente slowly stepped backward, until her flank bumped into the wall behind herself.
Further away, Mr. Cray stopped and peered out another window, letting him see down to another, more boisterous floor. Down below, the patrons happily mingled and played their games. Among them, he spotted the cervequin who was taken from the room with the stage.
“Kid,” Mr. Cray began, “I know that you think your father is invincible. That he’s the greatest at everything. But, eventually you have to realize that he’s only as limited as everyone else in the world.”
“Not my dad! He’s--” Max started to say.
“Kid!” Mr. Cray said, more sternly, silencing the boy, “It happens to everybody. All kids find out sooner or later that their fathers are only human. One day, you’ll find there’s something even he can’t do. And your whole world around him is going to fall apart. It’s best that you stop building it up now. Otherwise, it’s going to crush you hard when it happens.”
Max didn’t know how to answer. He sat thinking about what Theronicus Rex had told him back in Trottingham. How he was going to crush his dad and mop up the stain that was left of him.
Both messages swirled in Max’s head, mingling with one another. Rex was going to destroy his father, and all of his awe and wonder of the most important person in his life was going to bury him.
“But, I know I can always count on my dad. He’s never let me down once,” Max said.
“He will. One day. If it’s today, tomorrow, or a year from now, you never know when. But, he will,” Mr. Cray answered.
Miss Argente didn’t know if her ears were deceiving her, but she thought that she could hear a subdued tone in Mr. Cray’s voice.
“You may not have thought about it, but I’m somebody’s son,” Mr. Cray continued.
Max leaned slightly forward in his seat. It was true. Max never thought that anybody so rotten, so callous, so cruel could be anybody’s child. For a moment, he wondered what Mr. Cray’s father would have thought if he saw how his son had turned out.
“You...had a dad?” Max said, not knowing what else to say.
“Oh, yes. And he was the greatest guy I ever knew. Everything he ever did, it was for me,” came the answer. Though he sounded like he should have been joyfully reminiscent, his voice carried an undertone of dismay. “One day, he lost it all. Our house. His livelihood. It all went belly up. And he hardly did anything to get it back.”
“Didn’t your mom help?” Max wondered.
“My mother died shortly after I was born. But, sometimes, I do wonder if she even could have…” Mr. Cray said. Another silence blanketed the room, before he continued. “I wanted to make my old man proud. So, I did what any scrappy kid would do. I worked, and I worked and I worked. Until I built the empire I have today!”
“And, your dad?”
“I don’t know,” came the answer. “No matter how I tried to contact him, he never answered. And when I went looking for him...he was gone. And nobody knew where he went. It’s almost as if he stopped bothering. My point is that the people you think you can rely on the most are the ones who are going to let you down the hardest.”
“It’s not true!” Max said, glaring intensely.
“You still don’t think so?” Mr. Cray said, sounding now somewhat amused. “You need more proof? Take a look at Miss Argente here.”
Miss Argente flinched slightly when a claw was pointed at her.
“Before she worked for me, she was Mrs. Argente. She took this job she’s got now to clear up a debt her husband owed me. And the second she signs that job application, you know what happens? That deadbeat jumped ship and swam off to who knows where! Now, he’s dino bait, and she’s still working off the money he owed!!”
Max noticed how the cruel recollection made Miss Argente slump limply against the wall. Just like himself, she was trapped by Mr. Cray, unable to leave. Unlike him, there was nobody coming for her. But, after hearing what he was told, Max started to wonder if there was truth in it. Would this be the first time his father would let him down?
Mr. Cray watched out the window at all of the others below. How happy they were. How merry.
“We all have our own delusions,” he continued. “If we’re smart, we can see past them to the broader pastures beyond. But, if you only ever want to be happy; if you only want to feel good and never grow up, you just hold on to that pretty little lie.”
Max didn’t know what Mr. Cray meant. As young as he was, he couldn’t comprehend the depth of such words. But, deep within himself he felt them. There was something that he was holding onto. And if there was any truth in what Mr. Cray had said, he would have to let it go.
For an eternity, Mr. Cray watched Max. He didn’t move. He didn’t speak. He simply stood, appraising the boy.
After a moment of staring, Max crossed his arms and glared blankly ahead.
“Heh,” Mr. Cray scoffed, before he turned to walk back to his own desk. If only he were watching what he was doing, he wouldn’t have knocked over a stack of Miss Argente’s papers.
Time slowed down, as Miss Argente watched the papers topple. Before the first sheet hit the ground, an explosion of shouted swears was directed right at her.
“FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!! I TOLD YOU TO KEEP YOUR DESK ORGANIZED SO THIS WOULDN’T HAPPEN AGAIN!!!” Mr. Cray shouted at his secretary.
“M-M-Monsieur Cray!! I-I’m sorry! But, ze filing cabinet I requested still has not--” Miss Argente stammered.
“I DON’T NEED YOUR THREADBARE EXCUSES, YOU CLUMSY DITZ!!! I NEED A SECRETARY WHO KEEPS HER WORK IN ORDER, SO I WON’T HAVE TO PUT HER AFFAIRS IN ORDER!!!”
Miss Argente loosed a shuddering gasp when she saw Mr. Cray brandish one of his claws at her.
Both frightened and appalled, Max had never seen anybody so angry in his life. His dad had taught him to stand up to bullies, but he was unsure if he would ever be able to take on anybody like Mr. Cray.
As he continued to verbally thrash Miss Argente, Mr. Cray noticed something that was amiss among the fallen papers.
“Wait a second--” he said, as he rummaged through the notes. “There are reports missing from downstairs for the last two days! Why in blazes are there no reports?!”
“I...I-I-I do not know, Monsieur Cray! Perhaps zey have simply forgotten…?”
“Or perhaps everybody around here thinks that this is some kind of luxury cruise ship, and are slacking off!! They stopped sending reports, and you’re not finding out why!”
For a moment, Miss Argenete was silent, until her fear subsided enough to register what was said to her.
“Do you...want me to go and get a report personally?” she quizzically asked.
“YA THINK!?” Mr. Cray shouted, slamming his claws onto Miss Argente’s desk, denting it slightly under the force. “STOP WHIMPERING AND HAUL YOUR WORTHLESS HAUNCHES DOWNSTAIRS!! AND TAKE THE KID WITH YOU!!”
Max suddenly felt himself lifted by the back of his shirt, and craned over to Miss Argente. Quickly and gently as she could, Miss Argente took Max and hurried toward the door. Once they were out, they both slammed the doors behind themselves.
For a moment, neither of them could move. Feeling as if they both narrowly avoided calamity, a brief feeling of relief washed over them.
For Miss Argente, she hesitated for another reason. The entire ship was a bad enough place for a child, but the area below was by far the worst place anyone so young could go. Weighing her protective instincts against her fear of Mr. Cray, she began slowly walking down the hall.
“Come along. We mustn't keep Monsieur Cray waiting for his report...” she gently bade Max.
Max followed after, and noticed how scared Miss Argente looked. The way her knees were shaking, he thought that she was liable to topple on the spot.
“Why don’t you leave?” Max asked.
“Hum?”
“Mr. Cray is really mean to you. And you don’t really owe your husband anything. So, why don’t you sneak away and go home?”
With a gentle sigh, Miss Argente’s ears drooped, and her knees steadied slightly.
“It isn’t so simple. Monsieur Cray is right. If I were to leave, I would be food for zose monsters. And besides...I have no home to return to,” she answered.
“But, everyone has a home. Why can’t you go back to yours?”
“Because...Because my husband put it as collateral when he started gambling with Monsieur Cray…”
Miss Argente’s mind was suddenly flooded by memories of all that had led up to her being under Mr. Cray’s control. How she had tried to help her husband, and his ultimate betrayal and abandonment of her. It was all too much for her to handle, and tears leaked from her eyes.
Suddenly, she felt something gently take hold of her hoof. Looking down, she saw it was Max’s hand.
“It’s okay. My dad’s going to be here any minute now. And when he comes, I know he’ll take you with us. Then, we can all go home,” Max reassured.
From deep within herself, Miss Argente managed a tiny laugh. Even if she were rescued, she would have nowhere to go. She was miles from any family or friends, and her home was now owned by her employer. Still, the faith the young goof had in his father was enough to lift her spirits ever so slightly.
“Zen, I shall thank him when I see him,” she said, before guiding Max onward.
“I’m Max, by the way,” Max introduced himself.
“And I am Lumiere Argente. It’s nice to meet you."
The fog was thicker than before, covering everything in its haze. Nothing was to be seen. Only the shadow of anything that was hiding within.
Through the fog came a boat ferrying three wayward passengers.
Atop her little mast, Pinkie darted her gaze around in every which direction. No matter what, even if she couldn’t see her hoof six inches from her face, she was not going to be deterred from her duty of keeping watch for danger.
A tapping from inside the cabin beneath her drew her attention.
“How’s the view up there?” Dash called from below.
“Foggy. I can barely tell my left hoof from my right,” Pinkie replied.
“Well, try to look harder. I don’t want that ten ton croco-pony catching us by surprise again.”
Dash was only half right. The monster they had just escaped only took them by surprise by loudly announcing its presence. Other than that, it was hardly subtle. But Pinkie, not wanting to meet it so closely again, wrapped her rear hooves around the mast and stretched herself out as far as she could go. Barely an inch was granted to her visibility, but it was surely an inch more that would give her the drop on any prehistoric monsters that roamed her way.
Down below, Goofy skated about the deck on scrub brushes he had tied to his feet with bits of fishing line.
For only a jury rig, it was doing its job as he skidded across the deck. And in his hand, a mop that he had found in a locker full of cleaning supplies, tinned food and some fishing gear. Most unusually, while he was below deck, he found that somebody had been grilling sandwiches on the engine. Promising himself a spot of fishing when his work was done, he merrily busied himself.
Humming to himself as he glided across the deck, Goofy maintained ship shape. Unlike the boat’s previous owners, who clearly had neglected almost every part of the ship down to the nails that barely held the deck together.
Were there no fog, he surely would have seen the fruits of his labor beneath his feet. And when he glided by the front of the cabin, he ran his mop across the windows to clear Dash’s view.
Apart from the fog, everything was going smoothly.
“BRANCH HO!!!” Pinkie shouted, as she swerved to another side of her lookout post.
Dash only just saw the branch coming out of the mist, and whirled the boat’s helm to the right.
The entire boat rocked to the side, sending Goofy swiveling madly across the deck. Try as he did to use his mop to steady himself, he slipped and went shooting toward the side of the boat.
Dash had cleared the tree branch, but swerved the other way to keep Goofy onboard.
The trap door to below deck lurched open from the sudden jerk, letting the errant goof drop right inside with a crash and a loud-- “AH-HOO-HOY!!!”
“You okay down there?” Dash called, but feeling as if she knew the answer.
Moments later, Goofy staggered back up to the deck, wearing tattered blue pants, black boots, an orange crew neck shirt with white stripes and a yellow straw hat. In his hand, he carried a fishing pole and tackle box.
“I...think I’ll man lookout at the frunt...Yuh don’t get a cuncussion sittin’ lookout…” Goofy said, before he staggered off toward the bow.
Dash shrugged, feeling like she couldn’t argue with that logic. Then again, this was Goofy they were talking about. Still, it was better to have two lookouts in the fog, as opposed to the one up top.
Goofy sat himself at the bow of the ship and cast his line into the water. It was still too foggy to see, so he didn’t even bother with the secret technique of the Goofs. Luckily, he heard his hook and bob plunk into the water, instead of tangling it up in the branches.
For many minutes, nothing happened. Just as it always was when one sat down to fish. Pinkie didn’t call out any dangers, and Dash was easily able to see Goofy’s silhouette pointing which way to turn around a rock, or a log, or a bend in the river.
The ride was as peaceful as it could be. Apart from the occasional massive insect buzzing by, the beasts kept mostly to themselves. Whether they were far away, or simply waiting on the shore, none of the goofs could tell. But, as long as they weren’t bothering them, there was no problem.
Sitting in the fog for so long, Goofy began to feel as if it were creeping into his very mind. Maybe it was the feeling of solitude, or perhaps it was the slowing of time that seemed to come with fishing. Whatever it was, his mind wandered back to the very start of the magical quest.
There he was, arranging a fishing trip for when Max came back from visiting his grandfather. Until Mickey called with a desperate request to find an anniversary present.
All day, and well into the night they searched. Until they found the mirror. The unknown magic mirror that would call upon a hero to the place where they were needed.
A slow, gentle sigh escaped from Goofy. All he wanted was to go fishing with his boy. Now, Max was kidnapped and held somewhere in that strange world of the magic mirror.
Questions swam through his mind like the fish in the water below. But the largest of all was the one Goofy wished more than any he could answer. Why him? What he had done at Ponyville and Trottingham seemed like something that anybody could have done. Why did the magic mirror choose him and his friends to save a whole world? If none of it had happened, he would still be at home, his son would be safe, and they both would be on a lake that was not swimming with prehistoric monsters.
Whatever strange forces or machinations were at work, Goofy could no longer contemplate when his line suddenly went taut.
“Hoop--Whoah--Got me a big’un here!!” Goofy said, as he fought to reel in his catch.
“What’s goin’ on up there?” Dash called.
“Nuthin’ much--! I’m just rasslin’ a monster catch--!!” Goofy replied, as he struggled against the beast in the water.
The beast proved more resilient than he would have wished. With a sudden jerk, Goofy was pulled over the side, forcing him to lean far over.
“Hold on, Goof!” Dash called, as she ran from the cabin.
“Help’s on the way!” Pinkie added, before she jumped from the top of the small mast.
If not for the fog, Pinkie would have been able to calculate her landing better. Well enough to not have landed directly on top of Rainbow Dash.
With a thud, both mares landed splat on the deck.
“Pinkie!!” Dash growled.
“Goofy!!” Pinkie reminded her.
Putting the verbal thrashing aside, Dash wriggled her way out from under Pinkie. Unfortunately, Pinkie tried to get up first, and pushed her hooves down on top of Dash when she tried to stand.
Pinkie lost balance and fell over when Dash stood up beneath her.
“Just hang on a sec, Goof!” Dash called, “I’m--HWUP!!”
Pinkie’s rear hoof was still caught around Dash’s leg, forcing her to fall forward. Right into Goofy, who went sprawling over the edge.
Before Goofy even had a chance to scream, he was caught around the ankles by Dash, who was shortly joined by Pinkie grabbing her around the waist.
“Ready?” Dash said.
“Ready!” Pinkie affirmed.
“And, pull--!!!”
Dash and Pinkie both hauled up their much taller, heavier friend, who didn’t look the slightest bit fazed by the experience.
“I got him! I got him!” Goofy proudly proclaimed as he held up his catch.
It was a muckasaur. One that was much smaller than the first they had encountered. It was hard to tell by the way it was thrashing about on the hook, but it seemed hardly eight inches long.
“Hmm...D’yuh think it’s under the legal size limit?” Goofy asked.
Pinkie was about to respond, when she suddenly saw something moving through the fog toward them that turned her blood to ice.
“What’s up, Pinkie?” Dash wondered.
Instead of answering, Pinkie put her hooves on top of both her friends’ heads and turned them to the direction she was facing.
Something was coming at them through the fog. Something enormous, with two shining lights on the front. At first, they thought it was the king of the beasts again. But, the closer it came, the more they saw that it was actually another ship. A massive ship that dwarfed their own little boat.
“Holy horse apples!!!!” the three goofs shouted at once.
The small muckasaur wriggled from Goofy’s grip and splashed back into the water.
There was no time for the others to reach the helm and swerve out of the way. The larger ship was already upon them, ready to crush the tiny boat.
Whether it was instinct, or that there was simply nothing else to do, Dash and Pinkie both took hold of Goofy’s arms and forced him to cast his fishing line ahead. To their greatest relief, it snagged something.
“REEL!!” the mares both shouted, as they clung to the goof.
Goofy readily obeyed and reeled like he was hauling in Gertie the Albino Dino.
The three goofs were pulled from their deck, just as the larger boat smashed their vessel to driftwood.
Dash flapped her wings, only imagining that it was speeding them through the water, keeping them from the jaws of the beasts below.
Reeling with all his might, Goofy, Dash and Pinkie all jolted when the ship suddenly dragged them in the opposite direction they were going.
Dash tried motoring them in the other direction, just as the saber-toothed jaws of one of the beasts broke the surface.
Between reeling, flapping and kicking their legs, all three goofs did whatever they could to avoid the massive teeth.
Too late, as they ended up inside the beast’s jaws, which snapped shut over them.
Before the beast had a chance to lick its chops, a terrible feeling rose within it. A hot, stinging sensation that filled its nose and made its eyes water. With a belch of smoke and embers, the goofs were spat back into the water.
“Thank you, Cream Filling! Mwah!!” Pinkie said, as she kissed her bottle of hot sauce.
The lid was screwed back on, placed in her mane, and they all went up into the air, sliding along the hull of the boat as Goofy reeled like he never reeled before.
Their momentum shot them up past where the hook had anchored. For a brief moment, they were high enough to peer through one of the windows on the upper level. There was no time to see who or what was in the room exactly. Only that there was one of them.
Goofy briefly lifted his hat in greeting, before he and his friends dropped out of sight.
“Eh?” Mr. Cray said to himself, before he turned around to see who was there.
He thought that he saw something just drop out of sight, but dismissed it as one of the giant bugs that buzzed around the swamp. With a huff, he reminded himself to get that industrial strength bug zapper he’d been meaning to hang outside his window. Then again, that may have only come when that filing cabinet for Miss Argente arrived.
The fishing hook unsnagged itself from the railing on the side of the boat, and the goofs went plummeting back to the ground face first.
Dash flapped her wings and Pinkie flapped her arms. For a brief moment their fall was slowed. But, not nearly enough.
Taking no chances with a direct landing, all three bowed their backs upward and glided along the deck. Right into a vent that was on the deck.
All at once, Pinkie, Dash and Goofy went plunging inside. And promptly got stuck partway down.
“Well, ain’t this a fine how do yuh do?” Goofy grumbled.
“Haven’t I been saying we all needed to get a bit closer?” Pinkie said, reminding Dash of something she had mentioned for nearly a month.
“Yeah. But, this is closer than I ever want to be to anypony!” Dash said, trying to wriggle herself free.
“Yer imaginin’ things. Ain’t no way they made it all the way out here,” said a voice from up on deck.
“I’m tellin’ ya, that was the goofs out in those ‘shrooms!” said another voice.
And as one, Pinkie, Dash and Goofy went silent and turned their ears upward.
“Naw. How could they be all the way out here? They don’t even know where we are,” the first voice said.
“You got any idea who else would go ridin’ a dinosaur, right where we’re pickin’ the goods?” the second asked.
“Look: you’re bein’ paranoid. Those goofs are all suckin’ dust now. When we reach the next port, we’re goin’ right back to Trottingham. An’ when we do, Rex is gonna tell us how he ripped the heads offa each one o’ the goofs an’ made what’s left into taxadermies!”
Up above, something was stuffed into the vent. The voices were slightly muffled, but still intelligible.
“How much ya wanna bet?” said the second voice.
“I got a diamond ring from one o’ those bourgois inside that says the goofs are d-e-d, dead!” said the first.
“An’ here’s a gold watch I pinched that says the goofs was ridin’ that dino, an’ we’ll be shippin’ outta here with the kid before sunrise.”
Goofy gasped slightly at what he heard. Before any more thoughts could be registered, the overwhelming smell of cupcakes engulfed them all as the bag above was stuffed down the vent.
“What’s goin’ on?” asked one of the weasels on deck.
“Dunno. Must be clogged with the last bag we stuffed down there,” the other weasel grabbed the other around the neck, “Don’t move.”
“Hey!! Whaddaya doin’!? Put me down!!”
And just like a chimney sweep, one weasel used the other to stuff the bag of merchandise down the vent.
At the front, the goofs all grunted as they were stuffed further along, until the three dislodged and went tumbling down the vent.
It was a soft landing, thankfully. They all thudded deep into a pile of other sacks identical to the one stuffed in behind them.
One by one, they popped up from the pile, only to be buried again by the sack that was stuffed in after them, and two others after it.
“New adventuring rule: no vents!” Dash said, as she popped up again from the pile.
“On the bright side, nothing beats the smell of fresh baked cupcakes,” Pinkie said, taking in a whiff of the bags that had opened slightly. However, she was dismayed by what was inside. “Awww. It’s just more of those mushrooms.”
Goofy sat up and flicked a tiny mushroom from his nose. He was inclined to agree with Pinkie, but was stopped from saying anything by what he saw.
“Gals...get down real slow,” he said, putting his hands on top of their heads and lowering them all back into the pile.
From within, three pairs of eyes peered out.
“What’s the deal, Goof?” Dash asked.
“That,” Goofy said, indicating his gaze ahead.
Looking to where Goofy was, the mares saw his point. There was a door half opened ahead of them. Past it, there was another room that was crawling with weasels. That was all they needed to know that they were in the wrong place.