Dot laid completely motionless in the snow, bent up and bruised from the cannonball’s impact, and her brothers were first to see their sister laying in this critical condition. “NO!!!!!” Yakko and Wakko screamed, rushing to their sister with the ponies as a light snowfall began to come down. The king’s guards gasped in shock as Dot let out a few light coughs, and the townsfolk from Acme Falls watched in worry and anticipation, to see if Dot was all right. “...Z-Zipp?” Pipp had her hooves to her mouth, but that failed to stop the tears from beginning to form in her eyes. “I-Is she…?”
Zipp leaned down to Dot’s chest as Yakko held her upper body gently in his arms, listening for a moment before quietly sighing. “She has a pulse… but it’s faint. I-I don’t know how long she’ll last,” she told the ponies as she frowned, careful not to let Dot’s older brothers hear. They were already suffering enough-- they didn't wanna make the situation that much more grave. “Dot… can you hear me?” Yakko called quietly to his baby sister, rubbing her face gently with his gloved hand. At this, Dot began to stir, opening his eyes as she took her eldest brother’s hand into her own. “Tell me the story…”
“What?” Yakko didn’t understand. “The story… about Mom and Dad,” Dot weakly smiled. “Tell me… cough… one last time.”
This was way too heartbreaking for the ponies to handle, feeling their hearts sinking deeper and deeper. “Y-You should rest, and save your strength,” Sunny advised the youngest Warner, not wanting to see her suffer more than she already was. But although she was weak, Dot coughed and found the courage to start the story herself, making the ponies, Wakko and Yakko realize she really felt like she was going to die in this manner. “Once upon a time,” she began, “a brave knight married a beautiful princess… cough… and they had two sons, but they wanted a daughter too. So they planted a garden… cough…”
Hitch and Sunny held Izzy as tightly as they could to try and prevent her from crying so badly, and Zipp wrapped a wing around her sister and Sparky while Misty tried to comfort a sniffling Wakko. “And out of the prettiest flower came…?” Yakko waited for his sister to answer. “...me,” Dot coughed. The rest of the townsfolk, King Salazar and his guards listened to the story Yakko proceeded to tell, already feeling as if Dot was slipping away from them. “And so, your mom and dad took you home,” Sunny continued, feeling her voice break up now and again. “And every night at bedtime they’d come in and say, ‘Who’s the cutest girl’? And you’d say…”
“I am,” Dot smiled, and Yakko pulled her closer into his arms, not ever wanting to let her go. “And they’d ask, ‘How’d you ever get so cute’? And you’d say…”
“...I was born that way,” Dot nodded with a cough the weakest amount of confidence that made Zipp look away from the scene. “And they’d say… ‘Tell us your name’,” Pipp said, nuzzling Dot’s face gently. “A-And you’d say…?” Izzy squeaked with a miserable-sounding tone, and waited for the youngest Warner to answer with the longest name any of the ponies had ever heard. “Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca… cough… Banana Fanna Bo Besca III. But you can call me… cough… Dot.”
Yakko could already feel the tears of heartache pouring down from his eyes, down his cheeks and onto the soft snow under his feet, and tried his best not to feel so hopeless… but it was so hard, thinking that by the end of the story, his sister would be gone. “And they’d ask… ‘Can we call you Dottie’...? And you’d say…”
“No…” Dot wheezed, coughing again. “Just Dot. Call me… Dottie… and… you… die…”
And with that, Dot’s eyes closed for the final time as she fell limp in her brother’s arms, much to the shock of the ponies. Yakko sobbed as the snow continued to fall, nuzzling his sister’s face as the townsfolk sobbed in sorrow for the loss of one of their own.
Wakko and Misty watched in tears from nearby, and Wakko was taking it really hard, feeling that this was all on him. He was the one who encourage everyone to go on this journey to begin with, and he clutched his chest tightly, falling to his knees with eyes squeezed shut, trying to contain the tears.
Watching the person who comforted her in her hour of need crying so hopelessly made Misty feel horrible, and suddenly… she made a risky decision, tossing Wakko onto her back and turning away from the heartbreaking scene. “Misty…?” Wakko sniffled. “Wha-- what are you doing?”
“King Salazar isn’t gonna get away with killing your sister,” Misty said with a grief-striken voice. “Not on my watch.”
With that, she started trotting in the direction of the wishing star, while everyone else continued to mourn the loss of the young Warner. “She’s… dead,” the captain said sadly, before turning to King Salazar in rage. “And it’s your fault man!”
“I… I…” King Salazar wasn’t sure what to say, feeling somewhat guilty, but the captain wasn’t finished with his rant yet. “She was the cute one, man! The impossibly cute one! And now she’s gone!” he cried out, pointing at the king accusingly. “You killed her, man! Wrong, wrong!”
“I… I didn’t mean it,” King Salazar tried to explain, but the eyes of the tear-ridden ponies and his angry guards told him that everyone was turning on him. “Really! It’s just that they were driving me crazy! These two, and--”
When he looked around, he didn’t see Wakko or Misty anywhere, and this got him majorly confused. “Wait… where are the other ones?”
“Look! It’s Misty and Wakko!” Dr. Scratchinsniff pointed, and everyone turned to see Misty galloping at full speed toward the star, Wakko clinging onto her back as tightly as he could. "NO!!!" the king cried out, but that didn't stop Misty from charging toward their goal at full force.
All: They're gonna get to the wishing star!
King Salazar: Stop them before they get too far!
Wakko: Help me, spirit, wherever you are!
All: He's gonna get to the wishing star!
As another cannonball was fired, the other townfolk forgot their own desires for that moment to cheer Wakko and Misty on.
Rita: Wishing!
Runt: Wishing!
Pinky: Wishing!
Brain: Wishing!
Slappy: Wishing!
Skippy: Wishing!
Plotz: Wishing!
Ralph: Wishing!
Bobby: Wishing!
Squit: Wishing!
Pesto: Wishing!
Minerva: Wishing
All: Wishing!
The wishing...
The wishing...
STAAAAAAAR!!!!
Once they were close enough, Misty reared up and jumped toward the star... Wakko touching it before the cannonball did, causing a flash of light to appear around them, and causing Dot to suddenly open her eyes. "I'm feeling better now."
All: The wishing star!
"She's alive, man!" the captain cried out. "The cute one's alive!"
The townsfolk and the ponies cheered, and Yakko hugged his little sister in relief. “I guess those acting lessons paid off after all,” he said. “Do you really mean it?” Dot asked hopefully, only for Yakko to playfully respond, “Nah!”
“Just don’t ever do that again, Dot-- we were so worried that you were really gone!” Hitch said, hoof to his chest trying to calm his racing heart, and Sparky babbled and hugged Dot tenderly. “No promises, but I’ll try,” Dot said with a smile. “Hey… where’s Misty and Wakko?”
“Over there, look!” Yakko pointed to two figures beneath the glow of the star, starting to wake up from being blinded. “...we… we did it… Wakko, we did it!” Misty said cheerfully as the two of them hugged, feeling majorly relieved that Wakko touched the star first and that he wouldn't have to use his one wish to bring his sister back from the dead. “We sure did, Misty. I could have never done that without you, though,” Wakko said. “Would you want to stand near me when I make my wish?”
“...only if the others can too,” Misty gestured for the Mane 5 and Sparky to come closer, and they galloped toward their friends and stood by their side. The townsfolk watched in anticipation just before an image of Moonshine appeared by being projected by the star, elegant mane flowing in the breeze. “A real alicorn princess…” Sunny couldn’t believe what she was seeing, and tried her best not to squeal. “Nice job, Wakko. You’ve all done well,” Moonshine told Wakko with a proud smile. “Now, the power of the wishing star is yours to command. Feel free to make your wish whenever you’re ready.”
“Okay… here goes,” Wakko said, feeling mentally prepared for what could be the biggest decision of his life. “I wish for…”
As everyone gasped in anticipation, Wakko thought of the perfect wish, and the ponies gathered around him, squeezing their eyes tight and placing their hooves on Wakko for their moral support.
The star gave off an enchantingly bright light, and whisps of magic sparkles whirled around the group before the light faded, leaving everything back to normal.
Wakko unclenched his fists to check and see if the wish had really come true, and a smile began to form. “Not one… but two ha’pennies!”
At first glance, no one was really sure what to think… was it all a dream? Or was this really happening?
Yakko and Dot advanced and tapped the ha’pennies their brother was holding, confirming that this wasn’t a dream. “They’re real!” Yakko called to the townsfolk, who cheered and barged out of their prison to join the heroes of Acme Falls, while the king only sobbed in sorrow as the town celebrated.
All: He's got two ha'pennies today!
He's got two ha'pennies, hooray!
No more worries or cares
While it may sound cliché
It's the answer to our prayers
And no more taxes to pay!
Now it's back to the town of Acme
To go shopping with his whole penny!
The town began to head for home when a light appeared over the horizon, and none other than the real Moonshine herself descended before the town, causing everyone to gasp and murmur. “Princess Moonshine! Wakko did it!” Misty said, showcasing the Warner on her back with his prize. “He got his wish!”
“And I assume you did too, my dear,” Moonshine said with a smile, rubbing the unicorn’s head with her hoof. “You have more friends than you ever thought possible, regardless of what they thought of your blank flank.”
“Yeah… I guess I did. Wait… what does that mean for you now that the wishing star’s magic is all used up?” Misty asked. “Well… I suppose I’ll have to create a new star using the wishes from other places,” Moonshine pondered. “But… I don’t think you all will be going to find this one again-- let someone else find it, cause you all have all you need… don’t you?”
“We really do, princess-- we really do,” Yakko nodded, and the Warner siblings shared a hug, causing the ponies to ‘aww’ at the sight. “Yakko, Wakko and Dot Warner, and ponies of Equestria,” Moonshine declared with wings outstretched, “for saving Warnerstock from the evil King Salazar’s wicked plans, accept this gift of mine.”
She reached from under her wing to pull out two medallions, one that went around Yakko’s neck and one that went around Zipp’s. “If you ever need me again, hold the medallion close and whisper my name three times, and I shall appear. Farewell, citizens of Acme Falls and beyond! May all your wishes come true from this point onward!”
With that, she flew higher into the sky until she was out of sight. “Come on, everyone!” Sunny urged. “Wakko has a whole penny to spend, doesn’t he? Let’s get all of you home.”