//------------------------------// // On the Front Porch/Wishing Stars and Stories of the Past // Story: G5 Adventures in Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// This current Unity Quest was probably one of the most interesting Unity Quest that the ponies had taken so far. Meeting three kids was one thing, but also meeting a toy dinosaur who came to life and a kirin who was taking care of three baby dragons? Nothing gets crazier than that. After dinner was over, everyone was sitting out on the front porch, relaxing in the night air before they had to rest for the day ahead. However, it was hard to relax when Cody kept trying to tell his grandparents about Barney being in the barn. “I'm telling you, Barney's in your barn.” “I know, Cody,” Grandma Ida spoke, deciding to play along with her grandson. “You told us at dinner.” “Several times,” Grandpa George added, causing Izzy and Pipp to giggle. “Do you think maybe we should back Cody up?” Misty whispered to her friends, feeling sort of sorry for Cody at that moment. “I mean… we did see Barney just as much as Cody did.” “Even if we told the grandparents,” Sunny whispered back, “I’m not exactly sure if they’d believe us.” “Even if they don’t believe us,” said Hitch in the same quiet voice, “we can at least play along. So we can try to keep ourselves from looking suspicious.” “Listen to me, Grandma and Grandpa,” Cody kept trying to say. “Barney the dinosaur is in your barn with a bunch of dragons and a weird-looking unicorn. Isn’t he?” The way Cody was looking at Abby, Marcella and the ponies, they felt the urge to nod in agreement, just so they could play along. “Oh, yeah-- there are,” Pipp nodded. “Our new friends and Barney really like your barn.” “Well, I’m glad they like it,” Grandma Ida said to her grandson with a nod. “Marcella, don't leave your little doll out there all night.” “Barney isn’t just a little doll!” Cody exclaimed in frustration. “He’s very big!” “Oh, sure, he's big now, but you just wait,” Grandpa George teased. “These fads come and go.” Cody slapped his face out of frustration-- his grandparents weren't believing him and the others not one bit! “Now, Cody,” said Grandma Ida, looking over at Grandpa George, “I did notice at the table that someone ate like a dinosaur tonight.” “Handsome fellow like me have to be careful what I eat,” Grandpa George chuckled. “Got to watch my figure. I don't want to lose my girlfriend.” “Aww… that is SO romantic!” Pipp cooed romantically. “You two must have been together for a long time. “Oh, yes we were. I first met the love of my life when I was just around Cody’s age,” Grandpa George explained. “And I knew she was the girl for me.” “So you were childhood sweethearts?” Sunny asked with a smile, leading Grandpa George to nod. “My mom and dad were the same way!” Then, Grandpa George looked at Grandma Ida and began to sing the most beautiful love song that the ponies had ever heard. Grandpa George: Let me call you sweetheart I'm in love with you Let me hear you whisper That you love me too Keep the love light glowing In your eyes so blue Let me call you sweetheart I'm in love with you... Pipp and Izzy sighed romantically at the sight... there was nothing (besides friendship) as powerful as true love. As the song came to a close, Grandpa Ida stood up, holding Fig in her arms. “Come on, handsome, you help me with the dishes now.” “Oh, gee, I'd like to,” Grandpa George tried to make an excuse, “but, uh, that dishwater makes my fingers all wrinkly.” This remark caused Abby, Marcella and Izzy to giggle. “That’s fine,” Grandma Ida smirked. “It'll just match your sweet wrinkly face. Come on.” “Okay, okay,” Grandpa George nodded and began to follow her inside when he turned to Cody again in a joking matter. “Oh, Cody, you watch that barn for anymore dinosaurs. Okay?” “Funny…” Cody said in annoyance as his grandparents went inside. “Real funny.” “You tell them, Cody,” Izzy said with a giggle. “I’m sure they’ll believe you about Barney, Gentle Rain and the dragons one of these days.” Cody only growled in frustration, sitting on the banister of the porch as everyone else looked up at the night sky. “It's a pretty night, huh?” Sunny asked her friends, new and old. “Yeah,” Abby nodded. “Oh yeah.” That's when Barney, Gentle Rain and the dragon triplets emerged from the nearby woods, the purple dinosaur being the first to speak. “It’s bea-utiful!” “Hey! WHOA!!!” Cody screamed and fell off the banister and into some plants that Sunny and Hitch grew for Grandma Ida earlier. As a majority of the ponies tried to keep their laughter contained, everyone else rushed to the side of the banister to see Cody trying to get out of the bushes himself. “Get me out of here!!!” Barney, the dragons and Gentle Rain rushed to Cody’s side, and Barney helped Cody out of the bushes. “Sorry...” Cody just looked at Barney with a deadpan look. “Sure you are.” “If anyone else won't say it, I will,” Noir said as he and his siblings sat on the swing with Abby and Marcella. “That was funny!” “We were just coming back from a walk in the woods, and Barney decided to walk with us on the way back,” Gentle Rain explained to the ponies. “I hope we didn’t give you another startle.” “Nah, don't worry about it,” Zipp brushed it off. “We're just glad you guys are here-- Abby and Marcella sure seem to like the triplets.” Gentle Rain looked over at the swing and realized that Abby and Marcella were giggling and playing with the baby dragons, making the kirin smile. It was good to see the baby dragons making some new friends, since they had been so sad to be accidentally separated from their parents. That's when Barney saw that the kids and ponies were the only other ones with them. “Where are your grandparents?” “You just missed them!” Abby told their new friends. “Well,” Barney brushed off with a chuckle, “I'm sure we'll see them soon.” “Yeah,” Cody scoffed, “but will THEY see YOU?” The baby dragons could easily tell that the situation could get tense very quickly, so Ripper decided to speak up and change the subject. “Barney, could you push us all on the swing?” “I'd be happy to,” Barney chuckled. “But I could use a little bit of help from Izzy and Misty, if they don’t mind.” “No need to ask us twice, Barney-Barney!” Izzy said optimistically. “Two swing pushers, coming up!” Misty yelped as Izzy dragged her behind the swing, but nonetheless stood behind it, getting ready to push. “Ralph,” Hitch turned to the farm dog nearby, “would you serenade us with a little guitar music, please?” Ralph whimpered and began to strum the guitar sitting nearby with his tail, surprising most everyone there (except Cody), but that surprise soon turned to smiles of happiness as Barney sang to the gentle tune. Barney: Twinkle twinkle, little star How I wonder what you are Up above the world so high Like a diamond in the sky Gentle Rain and Barney: Twinkle twinkle little star How I wonder what you are “Come on, everyone,” Gentle Rain encouraged. “If you know this song, sing along!” “No need to ask me twice!” Pipp said enthusiastically before the ponies, Abby, Marcella and the dragons began to sing along with their friends. All (except Cody): Twinkle twinkle little star How I wonder what you are Abby: Up above the world so high Marcella: Like a diamond in the sky All (except Cody): Twinkle twinkle little star How I wonder what you are... Ralph then finished the song with a grand Flamenco flourish, catching a majority of the group offguard, but in a good way. “Whoa!” Zipp chuckled. “Pretty awesome finish!” “Uh, actually,” Hitch said in thought, “I think it was more of a flea than a finish.” This is what caused the group to giggle. “Come on, Barney! Izzy invited us to come play in the attic,” Marcella said as she stood up, and Abby nodded in agreement. “We’re pretending it's a castle!” “Oh boy!” “Oh! We wanna play castle too!” Noir said as he and Ripper immediately ran inside. “I'm gonna be the princess!” Marcella volunteered. “I'm gonna be the knight!” Izzy agreed in a deep voice. But, as she, Gentle Rain, Barney and Bat were about to follow, they noticed Cody looking off into space... ...and Sunny decided that she should stay and check on him. “Gentle Rain, you go up and check on Bat's brothers and the rest of our friends. I wanna stay and talk to Cody.” “I wanna stay with you,” Bat volunteered. “And I wanna stay with Barney.” “We'll be waiting for you in the attic,” Gentle Rain said before walking inside the house. That's when Sunny, Barney and Bat approached Cody, the earth pony mare being the first to speak. “Aren't you going to come and play too, Cody?” “What, some stupid pretend game?” Cody scoffed coldly. “No way. Definitely not cool.” “Oh...” Barney stepped a little closer. “What do you think is cool?” “Rock singers who spit fire, professional wrestling... real stuff.” “And... we aren't real?” Bat asked quietly, feeling a little hurt. “Well... I don't think you are,” Cody told her, “but everyone else seems to think so, but... what do I know?” “Oh, I see...” Barney said in thought, while Sunny tried to comfort Bat. “But, you know, Cody... even for grownups, the real adventures in life start with... a dream.” “A dream?” Cody scoffed in disbelief. “Prove it.” “Well, you can only prove it to yourself, Cody,” Sunny said, patting Cody on the shoulder. “But you could start, by um... kinda drawing a blank here...” Suddenly, Barney seemed to come up with an idea. “Ahh, you could start by wishing on a star.” “Really?” Bat asked, enamoured. “A star?” “As if!” Cody scoffed in disbelief, causing Bat to look down at the ground. “Stars are only glowing balls of gas a jillion miles from here!” “But I think there's a very special wishing star in the sky tonight,” Barney told Cody, Bat and Sunny, looking up at the sky. “And it's right about... there.” At first, Cody, Sunny and Bat didn't see anything in the sky, but then, after a moment, they saw a brilliantly glowing sky. “Whoa...” Bat said in awe, nearly slipping off the banister until Sunny caught her and put her on her back. “Thanks, Sunny. Me and my brothers can only fly a little bit, so if we fall, we fall.” “No problem,” Sunny sent the little dragon a playful wink. “Want me to make a wish?” Cody asked Barney after a moment of silence. “I'll make a wish.” “Oh, yes!” Bat pumped a dragon paw as Sunny trotted after Cody down the front stairs. “I wish... I wish...” Cody began to say before looking up at the sky. “I wish I could have a real adventure this summer! Do things that no one else has done before! That would be cool.” Sunny and Bat continued to watch the star streaking across the sky until Sunny spoke up. “How was that for a wish, Barney?” But as they turned, the trio discovered that Barney had disappeared. “Barney?” Bat called, looking around. “Barney?!” Cody sighed to himself. “Man, we must be losing it. Come on, guys... we better get back to the attic.” The trio headed for the farmhouse and walked past Ralph, who barked about seeing that very same shooting star enter the barn... only it wasn't a shooting star at all. It was a large gray egg. Ralph barked at the egg before a large bucket fell on top of it, prompting Ralph to head back to the barn. The egg would be more precious than anyone ever thought... but that part of the adventure would happen later on. XXXXXXXX “And then,” Pipp narrated the story of defeating Allura for the first time to Abby, Marcella, Gentle Rain and the dragons, “Allura and Twitch were pelted with snowballs, and after swearing she would eventually get her way, Allura totally left the scene!” “We’ve had a few run ins with Allura since then,” Zipp added on, “but we're working on a plan to make sure she never finds her way to Equestria or hurts anypony else.” “Wow... that's a pretty good story, Pipp,” Marcella told the pink pegasus, holding Noir in her lap. “I agree,” Gentle Rain added. “I don't think I've ever seen Noir or Ripper so still before.” “Oh, sorry... I kinda just imagined us being there too,” Ripper shook his head to clear it. “You know... totally kicking the snow leopard's butt?” As everyone giggled at the dragon's statement, the attic door opened, and Cody entered with Bat and Sunny, the dragon and the earth pony mare looking a little concerned. “Hey, we wondered where you all got to,” Hitch said. “Where's Barney? I thought he might have been with you.” “He was with us,” Sunny said, letting Bat rejoin her brothers, “but right when we were about to come inside, he just... vanished!” “Barney disappeared? That's strange,” Zipp said in thought. “Where do you think he might have gone?” “We don't know,” Bat said before sighing worriedly. “I just hope that he doesn't get lost like we did.” Misty could hear the sadness in her voice and frowned at the statement. “Do you wanna talk about it?” “...the thing is,” said Noir, “me and my sister and brother accidentally got separated from our parents while we were trying to migrate to a mountain range in Maine.” “Gentle Rain found us and she offered to take care of us until we could find our parents again,” Bat explained, “but... it's been so long, I... I guess we're worried that they'll never find us.” Cody couldn't help but feel a little sad for the dragon triplets, so he sat down next to Bat and rubbed her head gently, causing her to sigh in pleasure. “Well, until you can find your parents again,” said Marcella, “I'm sure we can take care of you.” “Really?” Noir asked with surprise. “You would do that for us?” “Of course we would! Even if we've only been here for a day,” Zipp said, “we already feel a special connection to you little guys, just like these kids have.” “And as long as we're here for our mission,” Sunny spoke up, “we'll be willing to search for your parents on the side.” “Wow... thank you all so much,” Bat smiled gratefully. “Me and my brothers appreciate this so much!” Zipp yawned and stretched her wings a bit at this. “I hate to be a party pooper, but we better get some shuteye if we wanna have another great day tomorrow.” “You're right about that, Zipp,” Gentle Rain smiled, and as everyone began to split up, with the kids taking one of the dragons to their rooms, the kirin turned to look at the sky. “Barney, wherever you are... I do hope that you're alright. We'll see you soon... I can feel it.”