Chapter 07: Appleloosa!
ACT II: The Search Does Well
On the Pony Trail...
The train ride down to the south took almost the whole day, with the sun was just setting above the horizon. The train has made a couple of stops before making it to it's destination, such as Ponyville, and Gnasty Gorge. But despite the stops, the train managed to make it's way to the only town that's down south. Appleloosa!
It's like the wild west. Actually, it is the wild west. As Sora and company departed the train, the boy and his two friends looked with astonishment. The whole town was similar to towns that are in the old west from long ago. The town includes a nice saloon called the Salt Block, a red colored clock tower, a stage for musical performances, and acres of apple orchard, along with the finest comforts like horse-drawn carriages, wild west dances, even mild west dances.
"Wow... what a nice settlement." Sora said.
"Looks like the wild west out here." Goofy said.
"Looks like it?" Donald asked. "It is the wild west!"
"C'mon y'all." Applejack said, stepping off the station towards the town. "Let's go around town and start searching."
"Searching for what?" Pinkie Pie asked, hopping as the girl's followed.
"For Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said.
"I know that." Pinkie Pie said. "I meant what else are we searching for?" Rainbow Dash only gave a sigh as they made their way to town, passing a few Earth ponies passing through. In fact, almost the entire population of Appleloosa is made up of Earth ponies.
"Hmm..." Applejack said as she scanned the town, as if she was looking for somepony.
"What's up?" Sora asked.
"That's strange, I was expecting Braeburn to show up." Applejack said.
"Braeburn?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy asked.
"Hey There!" A face appeared in front of the three, making them tumble backwards and onto the ground. Sora was the first to lift his head up, to see light gold earth pony with brilliant pistachio eyes. His mane and tail was brilliant gamboge with brilliant amber highlights. He wore a nice light grey leather stitched vest, and his cutie mark was of a red apple, with an acoustic guitar behind it. And he had a big grin on his face. Not as big as the ones Pinkie Pie makes, but big enough.
"Howdy gents!" He said. "And welcome to A-A-A-A-ppleloosa!"
"Um... thanks?" Sora said as he got up, while Donald rubbed his head. "And you are?"
"The name's Braeburn, sir!" The stallion said with a happy smile. "It's a mighty pleasure to meet new folks."
"Oh yeah, this guy." Rainbow Dash said unamused.
"Um, Braeburn." Applejack said as she stepped forward. "We-"
"Good to see you too, Cousin Applejack and friends!" Braeburn said. "Are these three new friends of yours?"
"Well yes... and no... but-" Applejack said.
"Well you should've introduced them!" Braeburn said, not shying away his smile. "They look like nice people, regardless of what they are. Tell me fellas', what's your name?"
"I'm Sora." The boy said as he got up. "This is Donald and Goofy."
"Hello." Donald said.
"Howdy." Goofy said.
"Howdy indeed!" Braeburn said as he took Sora's hand and shook it rapidly. "It's real nice to meet friends of Cousin Applejack. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine too!" He then let go of Sora's hand, though the boy's hand continue to shake, much like Twilight's hoof was when Applejack shook hers. Luckily, Donald grabbed the boy's hand, making it stop shaking.
"Thanks." Sora said.
"Don't mention it." Donald siad.
"Braeburn, we don't have time for silliness." Applejack said.
"Your right, cuz." Braeburn said. "Because I got a lot to show your three buddies."
"A lot of what?" Goofy askd.
"The pleasures and wonders of... A-A-A-A-ppleloosa!" Braeburn said. Before the three knew it, the stallion earth pony pulled them in and took them on a tour. "According to history, we settler ponies built this entire town in just one year. And as you can see, we have all of the finest comforts. Like horse-drawn carriages, horse-drawn horse-drawn carriages. And we have our local waterin' hole, the Salt Block."
-CRASH-
The Sound of glass shattering when a local stallion was thrown out the window into the stack of hay by the bartender, Morton Saltworthy.
"I said that's enough salt for you!" Morton shouted before closing the doors. "Now don't come back, Ol' Salt!"
"I just wanted some more cider!" Ol' Salt said.
"Garsh..." Goofy said as Sora and Donald nodded, witnessing what just happened, just before Braeburn pulled them way to the next building.
"Over there is the office of Sheriff Silverstar." Braeburn said, pointing to the sheriff's building, showing the sheriff outside on the chair, snoozing a bit. "And over there is where we have our wild west dances! And here's where we have our mild west dances." He showed them the buildings where they have their wild west and mild west dances.
"Mild?" The trio asked.
"And here is the most wonderful sight in all of A-A-A-A-ppleloosa!" Braeburn continued, showing them the next sight. "Our Apple Orchard!" There, the three saw what the stalion was showing them. A vast field full of trees, with apples on them. All kinds of apple trees were growing down here.
"Wow... that's beautiful." Sora said.
"Yep, and it'll be harvest time soon when the late summer and fall comes around." Braeburn said.
"Braeburn..." Applejack said.
"Nice that the buffalos allowed us to have our trees here too." Braeburn said, not hearing Applejack call his name.
"Braeburn..." Applejack said, getting annoyed.
"Oh speaking of which, Applejack and her friends-" Braeburn said.
"BRAEBURN!" Applejack shouted, making the stallion turn to her.
"Yes, cuz?" Braeburn asked with a smile.
"We know that you have a nice town and all, but we're not here for sight-seein'." Applejack said. "We were wondering if you saw our friend Twilight."
"Twilight?" Braeburn asked. "Twilight who?"
"Twilight Sparkle." Applejack said. Braeburn tilted his head, still not remembering.
"She's the purple unicorn friend of ours." Applejack said.
"Oh, the one who has the pet dragon?" Braeburn asked.
"Hey, I'm not a pet." Spike said, emerging from behind Rarity.
"Right, but yes, that's the one." Applejack said. "We were wondering if you saw her around town recently. Have you?" Braeburn began to think, but shook his head.
"Nope." Braeburn said. "I haven't seen her. And I never forget a face, especially one that ugly." His hoof pointed right at Donald, who almost quacked in surprise.
"That's it, I wanna burn his mouth off." Donald said as he pulled his staff out.
"No!" Sora said as he and Goofy held him back.
"Darn, she's not here." Rainbow Dash said.
"Why would you guys be lookin' for her?" Braeburn asked. "Isn't she always with you girls?"
"Yeah, but... um..." Applejack said. "She ran away."
"Ran away?!" Braeburn asked, his smile faded to a face of complete shock. "Ran away from what?"
"From them, of course." Donald said, pointing at the five mares.
"Donald!" Sora and Goofy said annoyed, much to the duck's surprise.
"Well, it's true!" Donald said.
"No, he's right." Applejack said, lowing her head. "Twilight ran away because of us."
"Because of you girls?" Braeburn asked. "Why? Applejack, what did you do to make her run away?"
"It's a long story." Sora said, then looked at the girls, all of them still feeling the sting of guilt.
"I'll explain it." Applejack said. And then she told her cousin the whole story. About the royal wedding, how Twilight's older brother Shining Armor was to be married to Princess Cadance. Braeburn was quite shocked that her friend's brother was captain of the Royal Guard. She then explained how Twilight knew that Cadance was not acting all right, and she tried to tell them, but no pony listened. So when she tried to bring her case and expose her, they still didn't listen, and the captain expelled her from the wedding, and went to comfort his "bride" and her friends followed suit, even the Princess.
The "bride", however, was actually the Changeling Queen in disguise and sent her down below the castle into the crystal caverns. Luckily, Twilight found the real Cadance and they managed to escape. They crashed the wedding and exposed the imposter, who laid siege upon Canterlot. The girls tried to stop them with the Elements, but they didn't work because of their betrayal to Twilight. Luckily, Shining and Cadance were able to blast the changelings and their queen away. But their victory was short lived when Twilight grew cold towards them and ended their friendship, and even kicked her own brother and shot at the princess herself. Braeburn gasped.
"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Braeburn said. "She actually shot the Princess?"
"Braeburn, Shhh!" Applejack said as she hushed her cousin. "Don't shout like that."
"Sorry." Braeburn said. "Please continue."
"As I was saying." Applejack said. "Then Twilight just ran off and disappeared, and that was the last time we saw her."
"Gosh dolly." Braeburn said, surprised and a bit saddened by what he heard. "I don't know what to say, except for this though." He then lifted his hoof up and swat Applejack's hat down over her face, almost blinding her.
"Hey!" Applejack said as she pulled her hat up to see.
"Sorry, cuz." Braeburn said, showing a bit of aggression, though his expression wasn't anger. "What were you thinkin'?! Siding with some fake bride you didn't even know when your friend was trying to protect you guys?!
"We didn't know, alright?" Applejack said. "Plus, Twilight was making a scene of it and it was hard for us to believe her."
"It doesn't matter if she's making a scene or not." Braeburn said. "You should always take a friend's concerns seriously. I thought you learned that." The farmpony was about to speak, but she stopped herself. He was right. She should've taken Twilight's concerns seriously. But she didn't.
"You're right, Braeburn." Applejack said, feeling the guilt once more. "We should've taken her seriously. We forgot to remember that. We were so caught up in our stupid weddin' plannin' to even remember. We let her down. I let her down." She lowered her head in shame, but she felt a hoof lift her chin up, making her look at her cousin.
"Hey, don't beat yourself so hard, cuz." Braeburn said. "If anything, you all were played by that ugly bug's masquerade, so you're not entirely to blame here."
"But we bucked up, Braeburn!" Applejack said, unable to keep her emotions back. "We promised Twilight that we would take her worries seriously if something was bothering her, or if something was wrong! But I broke that promise! I forgot the lesson we learned! ...I failed Twilight."
"It wasn't just you, dear." Rarity said. "We all failed her. We all forgot to take her concerns seriously."
"Yes, you guys did forget." Braeburn said. "But so does everypony else. Sometimes we all forget the lessons that we've learned growing up and making friends. But that doesn't mean you forget them completely. You all realized your mistake, right?"
"Yes." Applejack said.
"And you want to make things right?" Braeburn asked.
"Of course we do." Applejack said. "More than anything."
"Then you fix the problem and make things right." Braeburn said. Applejack looked at her cousin and gave a weak smile. He was right. They still had a chance to make things right with her.
"Thanks, cuz." Applejack said. "I'm sure lucky to have a cousin like you."
"Well I'm lucky to have a cousin like you too, cuz." Braeburn said as he hugged the farmpony tightly, who returned one back.
"Say cousin, is there any chance you and the townsfolk can help us find her?" Applejack asked.
"Sure we can." Braeburn said. "We just got done setting up for the Appleloosa Rodeo, so we got time to help out." The farmpony' eyes widened up.
"The Appleloosa Rodeo is Today?!" Applejack asked. "Gosh, I forgot that was going on."
"Yep, it's gonna be a big one this year." Braeburn said. "And hopefully nothing goes wrong."
-BOOM!-
The sound made the area rumble a bit, almost making everyone lose their balance.
"Garsh, what was that?" Goofy asked.
"Sounded like an explosion." Sora said.
"It came from town!" Braeburn said. "C'mon!" Within a second, the group ran and galloped their way back to the center of town. Looking for the source of the sound, Pinkie Pie noticed one of the buildings was smoking from the inside.
"I think it came from inside there!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing forward.
"Oh No!" Braeburn said. "It's the Appleloosa History Museum!"
"C'mon girls!" Applejack said, and the group rushed toward the museum.
"Stop!" a voice said from inside the building. "You are under arrest! Don't you dare shoot-!
-BOOM!-
Another blast came from inside the small museum, making the ponies, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Spike back off and shield themselves in case any small debris would come out. The only thing flying out was a earth pony stallion, who landed on his back, in a dazed state. The earth pony was middle age at the least. His eyes were a light azure, his coat was grayish amber, and his mane and tail was dark amber brown. He wore a black cowboy hat, and a moderate blue vest with an amaranth colored ascot. He born a nice mustache and his cutie mark was a silver sheriff star.
"Sheriff Silverstar!" Braeburn said as he rushed to the sheriff. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah... he shot me..." Sheriff Silverstar said as Braeburn helped him up. The girls, Spike, and the boys rushed over.
"Who did this to you?" Sora asked.
"He did." Sheriff Silverstar said, pointing forward. They turned to see who he was pointing at, and they saw a mysterious figure coming out of the smoking museum. As he emerged, Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked a bit confused, but the girls and Spike, they're eyes widened with shock, though Rainbow Dash's reaction was 20% more than that.
"Wait... what?" Applejack asked.
"But... how?" Rarity asked.
"You....!" Rainbow Dash hissed. The mysterious figure they were staring at was a cloaked pony. But it wasn't any cloaked pony. It was a pony dressed in a dark blue suit, with a dark blue cape, and dark indigo sports tape around his hooves. He wore another suit over him, a more purple colored one, though there was a blue M on the front of it. He also wore a purple hat, over his light blue eyes, with pale cornflower blue pupils.
"Mare Do Well?!" Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Fluttershy asked.
"Mare Do Well...!" Rainbow Dash said with a hiss.
"Wait, you guys know this fella?" Braeburn asked.
"Huh?" Sora asked. "Who?"
"It's a pony we made up." Applejack said.
"Made up?" Donald and Goofy asked.
"Yeah, it was a while back." Applejack said. "When Rainbow Dash was getting recognized for her hero status."
"When Rainbow Dash was bragging about being a hero and was getting wrapped up into her fame, we created Mare Do Well to teach Rainbow Dash about grace and humility, and not to act with selfish arrogance." Rarity said.
"Yeah, me, Applejack, Twilight, and Fluttershy posed as her!" Pinkie Pie said. "I used my Pinkie Sense to save construction workers, Fluttershy did some fly-bying, Twilight fixed a dam, and Rarity made the costumes!"
"But we got rid of the costume, didn't we?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm sure we did, darling." Rarity said. Rainbow Dash was the first to step forward to face this mysterious Mare Do Well.
"Alright, Mare Do Not!" Rainbow Dash said. "What's the big idea, blowing up a museum?!" The masked pony said nothing.
"C'mon, answer us!" Rainbow Dash said as she flew in to strike. Suddenly, the masked pony pulled out a shovel and then whacked Rainbow Dash with it in the face, sending her flying back into the pile of barrels.
"Rainbow!" Applejack and the girls called out. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were much surprised by this. The boy turned back to Mare Do Well and summoned his keyblade.
"That's it!" Sora shouted as he charged forward to strike again. But then suddenly, puffs of smoke appeared between him and Mare Do Well, making him stop in place. From the smoke emerged Heartless! The Heartless that were present were humanoid muscular heartless with grey skin and yellow eyes. They had a lightning-shaped beard. They wore black armor with blue highlights and the heartless insignia was on the chest plates, alongside a short skit and twin gauntlets. Their shoulders had twin pauldrons with yellow spikes and white wings, and their feet were shaped like goat hooves. The helmets they wore had two horns jutting out of each one!
They were Satyr Heartless, named mostly because they're like satyrs, which are half-man and half goat species mentioned in Greek Mythology.
"Oh great, more heartless!" Sora said, as Donald and Goofy rushed up to help. Mare Do Well took a glance at the monsters in a bit of confusion, showing that he didn't summon them. Seeing this as an opportunity to escape, he rushed away, though it didn't go unnoticed by Sora.
"Wait!" He called out, but Mare Do Well disappeared quickly.
"Sora!" Donald said, getting his attention. "We have to deal with the Heartless!"
"Oh, right!" Sora said as he got back into his stance, and the nine Satyrs stood there for a few short seconds. Suddenly, their helmets were lowered, covering their faces. The three stood there surprised.
"Uh oh." Sora said.
"Why uh oh?" Braeburn asked. Suddenly, the helmet eyes began to glow, and metal armor covered their bodies. Instantly, the Satyrs lowered themselves a bit.
"RUN!" Sora shouted towards the ponies.
"Why?" Rainbow Dash asked. Then the Satyrs charged forward in a rampaging speed, smashing the barrels on the side of the road!
"That's Why!" Donald shouted.
"Everybody Out Of The Way!" Goofy shouted as he and Donald took cover, while Sora pushed Rainbow Dash out of the way. Applejack pulled Rarity and Fluttershy away, while Pinkie Pie just stood there.
"Wait!" Pinkie Pie said. "They probably just want a hug!" The Satyrs kept charging towards the party pony, who was beginning to realize that they were not wanting a hug.
"Uh Oh..." Pinkie Pie said. With a loud scream she bounced away while the Satyrs launched themselves all over, smashing everything in their path. They began to burst into the buildings, trample over the haystacks, and also began wrecking the stuff for the Appleloosa Rodeo, trashing all the hard work in the process.
"They're ripping the town apart!" A pony shouted as dozens of them ran for it, except for a lone filly, who was amazed by the Satys' looks.
"Cool!" He said as his mother galloped forward and pulled him out of the way of the charging herd. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped out of their hiding spots and looked around, seeing the destruction.
"Oh no!" Sora said. "We have to stop them before the town's completely gone!"
"But how?!" Donald asked. "They'll hurl us out of the way!" Goofy then looked at his shield, the new one that Princess Celestia had given him.
"Fellas, I got a crazy idea!" Goofy said. "How about Trinity Guard?" The two caught on to what he meant.
"Oh, Right!" Sora said. "We'll use that!"
"Of course!" Donald said as the group rushed into the middle of the road, with Goofy giving a whistle.
"Hey, Heartless!" Goofy called out, with all of them turning their heads to see, even the ones inside the Salt Block. They all saw Goofy waving his hand, with Sora and Donald making faces at them. The Satyrs looked at each other and then rushed towards them in a massive group head first.
"Ok, get behind me!" Goofy said as he raised his shield up. The boy and royal wizard got behind him, and they waited as the Satyrs kept running towards them, while the mane five and Spike looked up from their hiding spots to see the three going against the many heartless.
"Steady..." Sora said, as they got closer.
"Steady...." The Satyrs were just a few feet away.
"Ok, Now!" Sora shouted, and all of them together, the three pushed as Goofy's shield began to glow with a radiant yellow glow, covering all three of them in a magical surge. They charged forward towards the Satyrs, and with a mighty flash, the trio were unharmed, while the heartless were blown away by the powerful force, their helmets and metallic armor shattering as the shield struck them hard.
"Yes!" Sora said. "Now's our chance!"
"Attack!" Donald shouted as the three friends charged forward.
"STRIKE!" Sora called out as he charged forward into the middle of the herd, his keyblade forward. He then performed a somersault out of the way while throwing his keyblade like a boomerang, striking multiple enemies with his Reversal Raid attack, while Goofy jumped onto his shield and slid across the floor with his Goofy Turbo, attacking enemies in his path, and Donald, aimed his staff, and managed to unleash his Aqua Splash spell, spraying melted ice around him at the heartless. It wasn't as strong, but thanks to the charm Luna placed on the staff, it was enough to do something. Seeing the trio fight made the girls come out of their spots.
"C'mon, Let's Go!" Rainbow Dash called out as she flew in to help out, with Applejack and the others following, though Fluttershy was a bit reluctant. Rainbow Dash flew in and struck the Satyrs from behind with her Rainbow Zip Dash, while Applejack summoned her lasso and managed to get lasso up some heartless together and bucked them in the heads. A Satyr leaped over to Fluttershy, who ducked to the ground, while Spike jumped up and breathed out a breath of fire, burning the heartless to a crisp. Rarity just did what she'd do whenever someone would attack her, she just slapped the heartless satyrs in the face, pretty hard. And of course Pinkie Pie, she just threw multiple cupcakes as the heartless, covering them in frosting and blinding them, allowing the others to attack. After so many slashes, bonks, slaps, and bashes, bucking, and of course cake throwing, the heartless all disappeared all together, with hearts releasing and disappearing into the air. All of them were gone, leaving just the Trinity Trio, and of course the Mane Five and Spike the last ones standing.
"Got 'em!" Sora called out, while Donald, Goofy, and everyone else began to cheer.
"Hurray!" Donald called out.
"Is everyone ok?" Sora asked, looking back at the group.
"Yup, we're good." Applejack said.
"20% More Good!" Rainbow Dash said as she hoof bumped Applejack.
"Wow, that was some mighty fightin' there!" Braeburn called out as he and Sheriff Silverstar approached the group.
"Gentlecolts, thanks for yer help." The Sheriff said.
"No problem." Sora said. "Wait, don't you mean Gentlemen?"
"It's probably for Stallions and Colts." Goofy said.
"Oh, that makes sense." Sora said.
"Now let's go check out the Museum." Braeburn said. "That cloaked pony better not had taken the valuable stuff in there." Nodding in agreement, the group made their way to the Appleloosa History Museum. Going inside the building, there was a lot of broken glass on the floor, along with some broken wood from the ceiling. But luckily, the glass containers and the items inside were not harmed, so it looked like nothing was stolen.
"This place looks like a mess." Sheriff Silverstar said. "But at least all the displays and treasures are intact. Hopefully that masked pony didn't steal anything." Sora glanced back at the doorway, and started thinking. Come to think about it, that Mare Do Well was carrying what appeared to be a shovel or some sort.
"Wait... wasn't that Mare Do Well carrying a shovel?" Sora asked.
"Shovel?" Applejack asked, only for Braeburn to gasp.
"Shovel?!" Braeburn asked. "Oh No!" He glanced towards the end of the left side of the room, and saw a glass container hung up on the wall, shattered to bits, with nothing inside it.
"It's Gone!" Braeburn shouted.
"Dag Nabbit!" Sheriff Silverstar spoke. "That Mare Pony stolen the town's most valuable treasure! So much for keeping it safe and sound."
"What was stolen?" Goofy asked.
"The Shovel of Rockhoof!" Braeburn spoke, making Applejack's eyes widened up with shock and disbelief.
"Wait, you mean Rockhoof?!" Applejack asked. "The Rockhoof?! The Rockhoof who saved his village from a Volcanic Overflow?! That Rockhoof?!"
"Same one!" Braeburn said. "You seem to know him well cousin."
"Of course I do, he was one of the Heroes of Old Equestria!" Applejack said. "My pa used to tell me that story all the time! But wait, wasn't Rockhoof's shovel left at an archaeological dig at his old island home?"
"Well it was." Braeburn said. "But the volcano the village was located at had a little burst from the side, and the items were transported here ...in A-A-Appleloosa!" The continued shout made Donald cringe in annoyance. He was ready to lift his staff to whack the stallion, only for Sora to whack him behind the head.
"Ow!" Donald said.
"Don't even think about it." Sora said as he shook his head.
"Sheriff!" A mare pony with orange hair called out from outside. "Look at the town!" Hearing their mare's plea, the group the came out of the Museum and saw the entire town completely in ruins. There was a lot of bent up buildings, busted windows, hay all over the road, even the area for the Rodeo was destroyed, all thanks to the Heartless.
"Wow... what a mess." Sora said.
"Garsh, and the town looked so lovely." Goofy said.
"Darn..." Braeburn said, saddened by the sight. "It took us a whole year to set up this wonderful town, and now it's... it's gone."
"It's gonna take us some time to get it back up on it's feet." Sheriff Silverstar said.
"But what about the Rodeo?" Applejack asked.
"I guess we're gonna have to cancel the Rodeo..." Braeburn said a bit disappointed.
"No way!" Sheriff Silverstar said. "No way in Tartarus are we canceling the Rodeo!"
"But Sheriff, look at the town!" Braeburn said. "It's a mess! It's gonna take weeks, maybe a month to get things working again." The sheriff looked at the town, seeing it all a mess. Braeburn is right. The town is a big mess, and there's no way they'll get it all done before the Rodeo starts. He let out a defeated sigh.
"Actually, it won't take that long." The two stallions turned to see Sora approached the two. "We'll help you get the town back into shape."
"We won't be able to get it done in one day, son." Sheriff Silverstar said.
"We can, if we work together." Sora said. "We were able to get a festival ready in one day, so we'll get this rodeo ready and the town back up in no time!"
"Uh-Huh!" Donald said as Goofy gave a nod.
"We'll help, too." Applejack said, as the girls gave nods of agreement.
"We'll all help!" a voice spoke from behind the sheriff. Turning back around, he saw the townsfolk all ready to help out too. The sheriff looked at the group of ponies and the three boys, and gave a smile. The boy was right. If they work together, they can get the town fixed up just in time for the rodeo!
"Alright, we got a town to fix!" He said, as the ponies gave a cheer.
"C'mon everypony!" Applejack called out. "Let's Raise This Barn!" And like that, Applejack began to sang as she, the ponies and their friends got to work, many of them grabbing wood, lifting them up together to put and rebuild the houses that were tarnished from the attack, many ponies collecting screws and hammers to hammer down and keep the wood up and together.
Yee-hoo!
Raise this barn, raise this barn
One, two, three, four
Together, we can raise this barn
One, two, three, four
Up, up, up, go the beams
Hammer those joints, work in teams
Turn 'em round quick by the right elbow
Grab a new partner, here we go
Then suddenly as one house was fixed, the ponies grabbed a partner and began to dance together in a hoedown fashion. A little surprised, Sora, Donald, and Goofy joined then fun while Applejack played on the fiddle. With the wood pieced together, the stallions and mares went to one side and pulled the attached wood together with rope, while ponies on the other side lifted the wood up so it could be pulled upward. As it reached the top of the building, some worker ponies hopped up and began nailing the top so the building can stick together, while other ponies began to saw some wood for more pieces to reconstruct the town. Thankfully they have a huge orchard of apple trees for the wood.
Raise this barn, raise this barn
One, two, three, four
Together, we can raise this barn
One, two, three, four
Finish the frame, recycling wood
Workin' hard, you're doin' good
Turn 'em round quick by the right elbow
Grab a new partner, here we go
Whoo-whee!
Raise this barn, oh, raise this barn
One, two, three, four
Together, we can raise this barn
One, two, three, four
Slats of wood come off the ground
Hold 'em up and nail 'em down
Turn 'em round quick by the left elbow
Grab a new partner, here we go
The crowd of ponies began to cheer and dance as they continued to work, which surprised Sora, Donald and Goofy greatly. The town was almost half done with being restored!
"Garsh, this really is taking no time at all." Goofy said.
"Yeah." Sora said. "I'm surprised myself."
"Surprised?" Donald asked "You mean you didn't think we'd actually get it done fast?"
"No, I did." Sora said. "I knew we would get it done quick, but surprisingly not this quick."
"Well, I guess that's because they're all one big happy family." Goofy said. "And you know what they say, you don't have to be related to each other to be family." Suddenly, Applejack pulled Sora away from the group, and the two began to dance together.
"Yee-How!" Applejack said as the two danced together. "Show 'em what you got, buddy boy!"
"Alright then!" Sora said as he got on top of one of the barrels with one hand and began to spin around, getting cheers and applause from the ponies.
Look at us, we're family
Workin' together thankfully
We Apples, we are proud to say
Stick together the pony way
Bow to your partner, circle right
Get down if you're scared of heights
Forward back and twirl around
That barn's gonna be the best in town
Pretty soon, with the Salt Block fixed up, Sora jumped onto one of the cows and rode it down to the Clock tower, and began tossing planks and tools to the ponies as they began construction on the tower, managing to build it up back to it's former glory, and fixed the clock in time for it to ring for the exact time.
"Oh Boy!" Donald cheered as he and Goofy circled around in a dance, while Spike was playing the harmonica. Applejack and Sora, and the rest of the mane five were lifting buckets of paint, placing them down one by one as the ponies grabbed brushes and began to paint the tower and the rest of the town's buildings, giving all of Appleloosa a new coat of beautiful paint!
Raise this barn, raise this barn
One, two, three, four
Together, we can raise this barn
One, two, three, four
Take your brushes, young and old
Together, paint it, bright and bold
Turn 'em round quick by the left elbow
Grab a new partner, here we go
Pretty soon, the entire town was in perfect shape, and the ponies were overjoyed that they continued dancing and singing while one of the mares with a cowgirl hat continued to play the fiddle! Soon the music began to slow down a bit and everyone continued to sing.
We raised this barn, we raised this barn
Yes, we did
Together we sure raised this barn
Yes, we did
Being together counts the most
We all came here from coast to coast
All we need to strive to be
Is part of the Apple family
"Yeah!" Everyone cheered, seeing their town that was once broken and destroyed, now fully restored to it's former glory, if not, much grander too!
"Well, what do ya know?" Braeburn said. "We managed to get it fixed up after all! Now we can have the Rodeo!"
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sheriff Silverstar called out. "Let's get the Rodeo on!" The town's folk began to cheer as they all went to get ready for the rodeo.
"Thanks again, fellas." Braeburn said to Sora, Applejack, and the others.
"No problem." Sora said giving a happy smile.
"We were glad to help out, cuz." Applejack said.
"Say, you wanna stay and join the Rodeo?" Braeburn asked. "You can be part of the Hay bale stacking event. And your friends can be part of it too!" Applejack's eyes widened and formed a smile. She's been so wanting to compete in the Rodeo for quite a while now!
"Oh boy, I would-" She began to speak, but then suddenly she stopped. She turned around and looked back at her friends, seeing Spike, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. She then remembered that Twilight wasn't with them, and they still needed to find her. Plus, they almost left Twilight out of the Royal Wedding, and she already feels bad about it. It wouldn't feel right to enjoy the rodeo without Twilight. And besides, there will always be next year. She let out a sigh.
"Sorry, cuz." Applejack said. "But we can't stay."
"You're not staying?" Braeburn asked a bit surprised. "I was actually looking forward to see you in the Rodeo."
"As much as I want to, but I can't." Applejack said. "It wouldn't be as fun without Twilight here. Besides, she's our main priority right now." A little surprised, Braeburn smiled and nodded understandably.
"Alright, cuz." Braeburn said. "Y'all take care of yourself now. And I hope you find your friend."
"Thanks, cuz." Applejack said as she gave her cousin a hug. She then departed and made her way to the girls. "C'mon y'all. Let's go find Twilight!"
"Yeah!" The girls spoke in unison, determined to find their friend.
"So, where do we go next?" Spike asked. Sora, Donald, and Goofy started thinking. The latter remembered that Sora's keyblade glowed the magenta coloring, which was the same color as the Element of Magic, which Spike brought along with him. Maybe they can try that again.
"Hey, Sora, why don't you try using the keyblade to find her again?" Goofy said.
"I'll try." Sora said, as he summoned his keyblade. He then stepped forward and pointed it forward. It then began to glow magenta once more, and suddenly, the keyblade pointed on it's own, pointing somewhere up Northeast.
"Looks like Twilight might be down there!" Sora said. "Somewhere up North and near East, I think."
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Let's go find Twilight!" The girls nodded in agreement and made their way towards the train station, looking forward to go to where Twilight could be, but more importantly, find Twilight herself.
But suddenly, Sora found the urge to stop, standing there by himself. He turned around with his arms crossed, while tapping his foot. This is what Sora usually does when he's thinking. He was starting to think about this Mare Do Well. Who was he? And why did he rob the National History Museum? He then rememebered, that Mare Do Well was holding a shovel, and that shovel must've been what was stolen. Why would he need a shovel?
"Hmmmm…" The boy hummed as he began thinking, his humming got the attention of Donald and Goofy, making them turn around.
"Sora?" Donald and Goofy asked, seeing the boy thinking.
"You guys ok?" Rainbow Dash asked, getting their attention, while noticing Sora thinking.
"What's the matter with Sora?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"We'll go see." Goofy said. "You girls head for the train station. We'll catch up." The girls nodded their heads and went on towards the train station, while Donald and Goofy went to see Sora, who was still thinking in his thoughts.
"Sora, you alright?" Goofy asked.
"Yeah, I'm ok." Sora said. "I'm just thinking."
"What'cha thinking about?" Donald asked.
"Well, I was thinking about that Mare Do Well." Sora said. "She robbed the museum and out of all of the things in there, she stole a shovel. Why go through all the trouble of stealing a shovel?"
"I dunno." Donald said. Goofy on the other hand, was starting to think. He remembered Applejack and Braeburn talking about the shovel, that it belonged to somepony named Rockhoof. He heard that name before. But where did he hear it from.
"Hmmm... I remember the sheriff and Applejack's cousin saying the shovel belonged to someone named... Rockhoof?" Goofy asked. "Why does that name sound familiar. I'm sure I heard it from somewhere."
"Maybe it's an old Equestria thing?" Donald asked. Sora started thinking, and then, an idea popped into his head.
"I think I know who might be able to answer that." Then, the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out his Gummiphone.
"Who?" Goofy asked.
"Well, Let's think." Sora said. "Who has a long white beard, a funny blue hat and robe, and knows anything that's not in any book?" Donald and Goofy smiled, knowing who Sora was talking about. It wasn't Master Yen Sid. There was one other magical person who knows wizardry and anything that's not written in any book!
"Merlin the Wizard!" The two said in unison.
"Exactly!" Sora said.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's call him!" Donald said. The boy then typed in the number for Merlin's phone. After doing so, the line began to ring, awaiting connection.
"It's ringing." Sora said, and soon the ringing ceased and a voice mail spoke.
"If you push even one syllable, I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!!!" The voice mail shouted. "But if you like to fax me, press the star key!"
-BEEP-
"Whoops... wrong number." Sora said as he pressed end call. "I'll try recent contacts."
"Garsh, the voice mail was pretty rude." Goofy said as Donald nodded. Sora scrolled down for contacts and found Merlin's contact number. He pressed on it and the line began to ring. Pretty soon, the line picked up.
"Hello there!" Merlin's voice spoke.
"Merlin!" The trio said with excitement.
"You've reached the home of Merlin the Wizard!" Merlin's voice spoke through the phone, showing that it was a mailbox. "Unfortunately I am unavailable at this time due to some shopping. Please leave a message after the tone."
-BEEP-
"Oh, c'mon!" Sora said a bit irritated. It seems Merlin was probably busy right now.
"Well, that didn't work." Donald said.
"Why don't we ask the king?" Goofy asked. "He could know about Rockhoof."
"But he and Riku are at the Crystal Empire with Shining and Cadance." Sora said. "We don't want to bother them."
"We could try Master Yen Sid." Goofy said.
"But he's probably busy too!" Donald said. Sora only sighed with disappointment. But then, he thought of an idea. Actually, he remembered. There may be another person they could try. Actually, three people.
"Actually... there's one person." Sora said. "Three people actually."
THE LAND OF DEPARTURE
The Land of Departure, a beautiful place set high in grassy mountains, surrounded by flowing water, and home to Keyblade Wielders. In front of the forecourt is a beautiful and large building, almost like a castle, colored in many traces of yellow. The size of the castle decreases in width as it reaches the ground, with tall spires protruding from the roof, and two lengths of golden chains connect the fort to twin peaks. This is was not only the home for keyblade wielders, but also home to Terra, Aqua, and Ventus.
Speaking of which, the latter was outside in the Mountain Pass area of the world, standing in front of a massive device with three circles dangling from chains. It was a training machine that is used by keyblade wielders, or keybladers, which is a more appropriate word, to practice their abilities, such as attacks, magic, and all sorts of powers they have.
"Hmmmm... WIND!" He called out, pointing his keyblade forward. But nothing worked. "Aww, c'mon!"
"Magic still not working, huh?" A voice spoke. Ventus turned to see Terra walking up towards him.
"No, it's not." Ventus said as he lowered his head, looking at his keyblade. "Sora should've been done by now. Wonder what's taking him so long?"
"I don't think Sora is done yet." Terra said. "Things like these take time."
"Well, it didn't take us long to get things done when we went out to the outside worlds." Ventus said.
"True, but Equestria is a pretty big world." Terra said.
"Is everything alright?" A woman's voice spoke. Turning back to the pathway, they saw Aqua approaching them.
"No." Ventus said. "Nothing works." Terra only shook his head with a sigh.
"How's Sora's friend?" He asked, referring to Kairi.
"Flora and the other fairies are watching over her." Aqua said. "But she doesn't seem to be getting any better. Her fever is getting stronger, and the scratch on her arm is giving a much darker color. I don't think anything like this has happened before."
"Poor girl." Terra said with concern. "She's one of the seven princesses, though. How come her power isn't helping?"
"There's no way she could've lost it." Aqua said. "Even after Xehanort… struck her down, her power still remained."
"Well, the magic still isn't working." Ventus said. "Maybe her power is tied to it. I wonder if the other Princesses are also being effected by it."
"Could be." Terra said. "We could ask them."
"But the light was passed down to the new generation." Aqua said. That was true. After the original Princesses, which were Snow White, Aurora, Cinderella, Alice, Jasmine, and Belle, fulfilled their roles as the Seven Princesses of Heart during Sora's first adventure, the pure light they held were passed on to a New Generation of Princesses, such as Rapunzel, Anna, and Elsa. Kairi never passed on her power, and nobody knows why. "I doubt they would know anything about this." Ventus gave a heavy sigh.
"I wish there was something we could do." he said.
(BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP)
The boy lifted himself, hearing a ringtone coming from his pocket. He reached in and pulled out his own Gummi-Phone. Jiminy Cricket gave him one after he was awoken from his slumber, so he could catch up on what was going on. Answering it, the screen popped up to show Sora.
"Sora!" Ventus said, as Terra and Aqua leaned in to see. It truly was Sora.
"Hey guys!" Sora said, only for Donald and Goofy to push in toward the screen.
"Hi Ven!" Donald and Goofy called out, oblivious that they were pushing Sora's head down.
"Guys, cut that out!" Sora said.
"Hey, Sora, Donald, and Goofy!" Ventus said.
"You guys are looking lively." Terra said.
"It's good to see you again." Aqua said.
"Good to see you guys too!" Goofy said from the phone.
"Guys, hello, I'm right here!" Sora said, with Donald and Goofy realizing that they were on top of Sora. They got off quickly, allowing the boy to catch a breath.
"Sorry." Donald said.
"Is everything alright, Sora?" Aqua asked.
"Say, did you get the magic working yet?" Ventus asked.
"Not yet." Sora said. "We're still working on it. But we actually called you because we wanted to ask you guys a question."
"And what's that?" Aqua asked.
"Well, first off, how much do you guys know about Equestria?" Sora asked. The three keyblade wielders glanced at each other.
"Well, we've never actually been there before." Aqua said. "Why do you ask?"
"You see, we're out searching for Twilight." Sora said. "We're here in Appleloosa."
"A-A-A-Appleloosa!" Braeburn called out from the distance, which only annoyed Donald further.
"That's Enough!" The duck shouted out.
"Right." Sora said. "And apparently, we ran into this Mare Do Well, and he... or she robbed the town's Museum. He stole a shovel that belonged to... Rockhoof. But we don't know who Rockhoof is."
"Rockhoof?" Aqua asked, as Ventus scratched his head. "That name does sound familiar." Terra started thinkig about it, until realization came to him.
"The Pillars!" He said, with Aqua turning her head toward him in surprise.
"The Pillars?" She asked.
"Pillars?" Ventus asked. "You like a giant structure?"
"No, Ven." Terra said. "The Pillars are a band of ancient ponies from long ago."
"Uh.... wait!" Sora said. "What's this about Pillars again?"
"Oh, right." Terra said, remembering that Sora doesn't know. "Well you see, Sora. While me and Aqua were still in training, before Ven joined us, Master Eraqus used to tell us the stories of the ancient legends of Equestria. A long time ago, shortly after Nightmare Moon was banished, some of her dark magic still remained in the world. A group of ponies came together to combat these dark forces, and they were known as the Pillars of Old Equestria. One of them was Rockhoof, an earth pony who saved his entire village from being destroyed by a volcano."
"That's right." Aqua said. "And there were five other pillars too. Mistmane, who gave up her beauty and youth to save a friend, Somnambula, who saved the pharaoh's village and his son from a monstrous sphinx, Mage Meadowbrook, who saved her people and her ill mother from a deadly fever, Flash Magnus, who saved the Royal Legion from a murderous attack by dragons, and the Great Unicorn Sorceror, Starswirl The Bearded."
"Wait... Starswirl." Sora said. "He's that conjurer pony who was the mentor of the Princesses. He, Rockhoof, and these other ponies fought against the darkness?"
"Yep." Terra said. "But it wasn't only to fight off against the forces of darkness. They were also tasked to maintain and spread the virtues of strength, bravery, healing, beauty, hope, and sorcery across Equestria."
"Rockhoof represented Strength, Flash Magnus represented Bravery, Mage Meadowbrook represented Healing, Mistmane represented Beauty, Somnambula represented Hope, and Starswirl represented Sorcery." Aqua continued.
"Hmmm..." Goofy thought, getting Sora and Donald's attention. "Oh, I remember them! The king told me and Donald's nephews stories about the Pillars a long time ago. They were the six warriors who took down a trio of Sirens, banishing them to another dimension."
"Wait, when did you hang out with my nephews?" Donald asked confused.
"It was a while back when you took Daisy on a date, remember?" Goofy asked. "You asked me to look after them while you two were away. I remember the pie on your face." The duck started to think and remember. The time he asked Goofy to look after his nephews so he could take Daisy on a dinner date, which ended with him getting pie thrown into his face.
"Oh, yeah, I remember." Donald said.
"Wow..." Sora said. "That's incredible. Whatever happened to them? The Pillars?"
"Well, almost a decade after they were assembled, the Pillars went up against a great threat... The Pony of Shadows." Terra answered.
"A monster of darkness fueled by revenge and a lust for power." Aqua said. "A demon that would've ravaged all of Equestria."
"In a last effort to stop it, the Pillars used their power to trap him forever into Limbo - a space between worlds where time sits still..." Terra said.
"You mean the Realm of Darkness?" Sora asked.
"No, Sora." Terra said. "It's a place between worlds where everything sits still, between life and death. Nothing gets in and nothing gets out."
"And in the process, the Pillars went into Limbo with it, sacrificing themselves so the Pony of Shadows stays locked in forever." Aqua continued. The boy and the King's comrades reacted with awe. Six legendary ponies took on a monstrous Shadow pony and banished him into Limbo, taking them with it.
"Whoa..." Sora said.
"That's some story." Donald said, while Goofy kept thinking.
"That's strange, though." He said.
"What's so strange about it?" Sora asked.
"Well, the king told us that the Pony of Shadows used to be a normal unicorn, who was a close friend to Starswirl." Goofy said as he continued thinking. "Darn, what was his name? It was on the tip of my tongue. Stagius… Stonius… Hmmm..."
"You guys know?" Sora asked over the phone, while the three keyblade wielders gave shrugs.
"Nope." Aqua said. "Sorry."
"Huh..." Sora said. "But why would Mare Do Well be interested in Rockhoof's shovel? What's so special about it anyway?"
"He did use it to dig a trench to divert the lava away from his village." Terra said. Unbeknownst to them, Ventus turned away for a second to think. He closed his eyes. He was starting to remember something.
"The pillars used the talismans of their elements, to seal away the demon of darkness..." He spoke, getting Aqua and Terra's attention.
"Ven?" They both asked, as the boy opened his eyes.
"I remember!" Ventus said. "The Pillars used ancient magical talismans and artifacts to seal away the Pony of Shadows! What if the shovel is one of the talismans!" His friends widened their eyes with realization, not only because Ventus was on to something, but how he remembered that.
"That makes... sense!" Terra said.
"Ven, where did you learn that?" Aqua asked. The boy was about to speak, but then he thought some more. Where did he hear that? He definitely didn't hear it from Master Eraqus… or Master Xehanort… Maybe it was from... Chirithy?
"I don't know, exactly." Ventus said. "I don't remember who told me the story."
"Well, if what you say is true, and the shovel is one of the talismans, then this Mare Do Well might be searching for the other ones!" Terra said. "If he has all six talismans, he cold awaken the Pony of Shadows."
"Sora, you have to find the other talismans and make sure Mare Do Well doesn't get his hands on them." Aqua said.
"Hooves." Ventus and Terra said.
"Right." Aqua said. "If he awakens the Pony of Shadows, then it will destroy Equestria, and everyone else." The boy looked at Donald and Goofy, both of them giving a nod.
"Ok." Sora said. "But what about Twilight? We still have to find her, and fix the magic."
"Don't worry." Goofy said. "We'll look for her while searching for the other talismans."
"But what do the other talismans look like?" Donald asked.
"Maybe we can find out." Ventus said. "I'm mean, we do have a library here, and maybe Radiant Garden?" Terra and Aqua looked at each other. Suppose it won't hurt to find out what the other talismans could be. After all, it can save everyone time.
"Alright, I suppose it won't hurt to find out what the other talismans could be." Aqua said.
"Ok then." Terra said. "Sora, we'll find out what the other talismans could be. In the meantime, while you're looking for Twilight and fixing the magic, be on the lookout for Mare Do Well, and stop him if you can."
"You got it!" Sora said. "Take care!"
"See you guys soon!" Donald and Goofy said, pushing Sora downward, making him almost lose his balance.
"Hey, c'mon guys!" Sora said annoyed as the call ended. The sight was enough for the three keyblade wielders to laugh.
"Nice to see they haven't changed." Terra said.
"It's their best quality." Ventus said. "So.... now what?"
"Let's go check back at the tower and look through the library." Aqua said. "Then we'll check Radiant Garden and ask Merlin or the others there if they know anything."
"Alright then." Terra said. With all three in agreement, they went for the tower to check the library. There's no telling if they'll find anything about the Pillars an Talismans at the Tower's library, but it's a start.
Meanwhile, at the Dragon Lands
The Dragon Lands was the home to all dragon kind. It's where all dragons lived, and so on and so forth. It's pretty much a volcanic island region, where there were lava pools and rivers flowing inside. Should someone touch or jump into the lava, they can kiss themselves goodbye. But dragons see lava as a swimming hole, for they are immune to lava. Speaking of which, a red dragon was actually surfing on one of the lava waves. He was a teenage dragon with dull red scales, pinkish freckles, a yellowish underbelly and orange spikes all over with yellow slightly torn wings. His eyes were yellow with purple pupils and he was laughing as he was surfing on a golden shield, which was fireproof and lava proof.
One the sidelines cheering for him were two other dragons. One was Fume, a skinnier purple dragon with yellow hair over his eyes, two purple horns on his head, a lime green underbelly and wings. And the other was Clump, a brown chubbier dragon with a long tail, red wings and eyes, and her had blue horns and eyebrows.
"Nice job Garble!" Fume called out as the red dragon made a slick landing.
"Thanks." Garble said. "I told you guys this new shield makes a great surfboard."
"Can I try it next?" Clump asked.
"No!" Garble said, smacking the chubby dragon's hand away. "Shield's man to use, and no one else's."
"Yeah, it's his, dimwit." Fume said, smacking Clump's head from behind.
"Ow." Clump said as Garble made a chuckle. But then suddenly, he heard something behind him. Sounded like footsteps.
"Huh?" Garble asked as he turned around, to see someone emerging from the shadows. It was a pony, a masked pony wearing a dark blue mask with light blue eyes, indigo sports tape around the hooves, a dark blue cape and a purple hat. It was Mare Do Well. The sight of the pony made Garble growl.
"Oh great." He said. "Another pony." He stepped forward, with Fume and Clump following him. Mare Do Well only stood there, saying nothing.
"Hey little pony!" Garble said. "You shouldn't be out here in the Dragon lands. You could get hurt... or worse." Clump and Fume only chuckled.
"Are we gonna teach this pony a lesson?" Fume asked.
"Maybe play with the pony?" Clump said, pounding his fist.
"Oh yeah, that sounds good." Garble said as he cracked his knuckles. Then, Mare Do Well slowly approached the dragons, followed by an increasing gallop.
"Oh, you wanna have some fun, huh?" Garble asked. "Then come give it your best shot-" Suddenly, Mare Do Well leaped over Garble, but not before stomping on his head, making him fall down. The masked pony then took the shield from him and swung it at Fume and Clump, knocking them both to the ground, making them moan in pain. Mare Do Well then glanced at the shield, and placed it into a saddle bag underneath the cape. Then Mare Do Well took off running, with Garble lifting his head up.
"Hey!" Garble shouted. "Get back here!" But it was too late. The pony was already long gone. Fume and Clump slowly got up, rubbing their sore heads.
"Ow... that really hurt." Clump said.
"Dag nabbit!" Garble shouted. "That pony got away. And he took my surfboard too!"
"Well, so much for teaching that pony a lesson." Fume said as he continued to rub his head, with Garble continued throwing a fit.
"What is it with ponies coming down here and making us look like fools?!" Garble asked. "I just want to rip them apart!"
"Sounds like you got your butt handed to you." Garble's ears perked up as he heard that voice.
"Huh?" He asked as he turned around. "Who said that?"
"Up here!" The voice spoke. Lifting their heads up, the teenage dragons saw a man shrouded in a black hood and coat, standing on top of the edge. It was the same man that was with Maleficent and Pete.
"What the... who are you?" Garble asked.
"My name is of no importance." The man said as he leapt off the edge and to their level. "I just couldn't help but see you boys... lava surfing... is that what the teens call it nowadays?"
"It's called gorge-surfing, but yes." Garble said.
"What's it look like?" Fume asked.
"You wanna try?" Clump asked. "We got an extra board-" He was however elbowed in the stomach by Garble.
"He's not a dragon, idiot." Garble said.
"Oh, no thank you." The hooded man said. "I was just wondering around here and I saw you boys getting your behinds handed to you by that masked pony."
"So?" Garble asked. "Why are you so interested?"
"Well, I'm not." The hooded man said. "But I couldn't help but notice that you and your friends talking harshly about ponies. And I'd take it that you don't like ponies." Garble only gave a snort.
"Well, can't say that I like 'em, either." Garble said.
"Yeah, especially after those ponies and that little puny dragon stood up to us." Fume said.
"Yeah, that little purple dragon even called us jerky dragon-" Clump said.
"Dude, shut up!" Garble hissed at the brown dragon.
"I see." The hooded man said. "Well, then you three are the perfect dragons that suit the position, if your interested."
"Position?" The three dragons asked, not seeing the smile on the hooded man's face.
"Gentlemen... or Gentledraiks, how would you like to be part of an uprising?" The hooded man asked. While Fume and Clump were confused, Garble only raised and eyebrow, but a smile formed on his face.
"Keep talking." He said.