(I do not own MLP: FIM or Ruby Gloom, they belong to their respective creators.)
It was another wonderfully gloomy day in Gloomsville and Ruby and her friends were in Skullboy's room as he attempted another grasp at his heritage. The skeletal boy was once again trying to find himself by bringing out his engineering skills and attempting to build a time machine.
"With this device I'll finally find out the truth." Skullboy exclaimed.
"Are you sure about this Skullboy?" Ruby asked looking up at the large device.
The young red-head worried because of the skeletons usual luck with his endeavors.
"Of course I'm sure. I'm certain I come from a long line of inventors. How else could I build a machine capable of taking all of us to see my ancestors?" Skullboy happily said flipping switches.
"If you're sure then I trust you." Ruby said.
Throwing the main switch the machine hummed to life and began to glow an ominous green. As they focused on the machine they didn't notice the thick fog rising around them until it formed a large sphere. With a loud crackle the machine began to spark and throw off steam and smoke.
"Turn it off!" Ruby yelled.
"I'm trying!" Skullboy yelled pulling levers and pushing buttons.
With a final pop of electricity the machine whirred down to silence and the fog and smoke dissipated. Waving the smoke out of their faces the group noticed they were no longer in Skullboy's room. Looking around they found themselves in a dark and spooky forest. Wild plants flourished all around them and strange animal calls echoed from the shadows. Grouping near the machine they watched as a pair of eyes appeared across from them.
"I'm warning you, I'm. ...I'm armed!" Iris said pulling off one of Skullboy's arms and swinging it around.
The dark haired cyclops moved in front of her friends aiming the boney arm towards the shadowed creature. Revealing herself the creature turned out to be a zebra wearing simple jewelry and a friendly smile.
"Oh what strange things I have seen, from raining frogs and dancing bean. But I'll swear on my evening stew, I've never seen creatures such as you." The voice said with mirth.
"Wow that was some great rhyme." Frank said.
"How did I get this lime?" Len asked scratching his head.
Rolling her eyes Ruby smiled and moved a little closer to the eyes.
"My name is Ruby and these are my friends. Iris, Skullboy, Misery, Scaredy bat, Frank and Len, and this is Doom kitty." She said with a smile.
"Zecora be the name to whom you speak, but I warn you this forest is not for the weak. Return to which from where you came, this place is one which cannot be tamed." Zecora spun out with a serious tone.
"We would if we could but our machine broke." Skullboy said.
"A problem I do see, and I can't leave you be. In my home you shall spend the night, and in the morn we'll seek Twilight." Zecora said.
With everyone working together they dragged the machine to Zecora's hut and settle in for the night.
~~~~~~~~~
Shortly after dawn they loaded the machine into a wagon and followed the zebra out of the woods. Entering the sun light the group squinted their eyes looking over the vast grass covered hills. Following a dirt road they passed a small cottage with a number of animals running about. Looking back Doom Kitty saw a yellow and pink pony hiding in a tree. Moving further down the road they could see a town over the next hill. Entering the town the group noticed there was nothing but ponies here. Some with horns, some with wings and others with neither. Working deeper into the town they noticed a massive tree with windows and a door. Approaching the door Zecora knocked and was greeted by the purple unicorn Twilight.
"Good morning Zecora, who's your friend?" Twilight asked eyeing the strange girl.
"They are beings from far away, who will be forced to stay. Unless their machine you could repair, and send them from here to there." Zecora said.
"I'll see what I can do." Twilight said approaching Ruby.
Excusing herself Zecora left and returned to the forest.
"My names Twilight and I'm the librarian here in Ponyville." Twilight said to Ruby.
"It’s nice to meet you. I'm Ruby and these are friends." Ruby said turning to find they were missing.
Looking around she couldn't see any sign of them. Blushing Ruby let out a nervous giggle and turned back to Twilight.
"Sorry, sometimes they get distracted." Ruby said.
"My friends are the same sometimes, let's go look for them."
~~~~~~~~~~
Far above the town Scaredy bat was looking feverously for his friends near the market. The small bat growing more nervous by the second began to hyper ventilate. Landing onto a rooftop he pulled a paper bag out of nowhere and began taking deep breaths trying to calm down.
"Oh dear, I am in such a predicament. Why did I let my belly lead me away from my friends? How will I ever find them?" Scaredy whined in his Indian accent covering his face with his hands.
"Are you okay little guy?" A quiet voice asked
Screaming he leapt up and hid behind a chimney his eyes wide and holding his chest. Peeking around the chimney he could see a pink and yellow pony hiding in a tree shaking.
"You’re not some kind bat eating monster are you?" Scaredy bat asked
"N...no, you're not a vampire bat are you?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh goodness no, the very sight of blood makes me faint." Scaredy bat said.
"I'm sorry for scaring you." Fluttershy said hovering near the roof.
"Oh that's alright, I'm afraid of everything. Even my own shadow scares me sometimes." Scaredy bat said turning around jumping a bit when he saw his shadow. "Oh see, there I go." He said smiling.
Giggling the two landed on the roof with her holding him on her lap.
"My names Fluttershy." She said.
"I am called Scaredy bat." He said looking up.
The two sat talking for a while as a dark grey blob bounced by along the roof tops.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Waaaahhhoooooooo!" Iris yelled bouncing from roof to roof on her spring shoes.
Bouncing through a low cloud she knocked a colorful pegasus off waking her up. Leveling out with a few flaps of her wings she scanned for whatever had woken her. Spotting the high bouncing object in the distance she quickly gave chase. Following the bouncing figure she noticed the colors seemed a little off.
"Pinkie, wait up!" Rainbow dash yelled.
The figure ahead of her then flailed in the air and fell into the trees ahead of it. Rainbow dash then dove in to help her friend. Once under the canopy of the leaves she could hear laughter coming from a tree.
"You okay?" Rainbow dash asked.
"I'm okay!" Iris yelled as Rainbow dash pulled the branch back.
Rainbow dash let out a short yell and let go of the branch which swung back up to hit Iris. Falling loose Iris fell towards the ground where her springs caught dangling her right above the earth. Iris began laughing as she bounced up and down from the branch. A few feet away Rainbow dash stared at her as she wondered what exactly she was looking at.
"Umm, hello?" Iris said waving her arms around.
"Hi..." Rainbow dash said.
"Can you help me down, I'm kinda stuck." Iris said trying to reach her shoes.
Extending her forelegs she had Iris grab on and she began flapping back to pull her free. Stretching the springs out she began to struggle as they reached their limit. As the branches began to creak her wings lost their pull and the two flew back through the tree and sailed high over Ponyville.
"Waaaahhhhhooooooooooooo!" Iris yelled as they disappeared over the hills clutching the laughing pegasus.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Ugh, everything is so bright and cheery. Its making my lazy eye act up." Misery said as her left eye listed off to the side. Looking ahead a grey coated pony with blonde hair stared at her for a moment before taking fight.
"Great, so even ponies mock my misfortune." Misery said in defeat.
The perpetually gloomy siren let out a deep sigh as the bright sunlight beat down onto her grey skin and black hair. A small black cloud then found its way above her and began to rain on her. Continuing forward she was soon tackled by a pink blob which sent the two sliding along the mud trail.
"Ow." Misery said lying on her back.
"Sorry about that, I never met anything like you before!" Pinkie yelled joyfully.
"Could you please GET OFF me!" Misery groaned out.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry." Pinkie said getting to her hooves.
Getting to her feet, Misery was soon shadowed by the cloud again and pelted her with rain washing the mud from her dark purple dress. Letting out a saddened sigh she stared at the little pink pony who smiled happily at her.
"What do you want?" Misery asked.
"You seemed really sad so I said to myself 'Pinkie, you need to throw her a party!' So I jumped to action before you could get away." Pinkie piped out.
"Will there be spiders, bats and dust bunnies?" Misery asked.
"No silly, there will be cake, streamers and lots of other yummy things to eat, and games! We could play games like pin the tail on the pony, musical chairs, the make Twilight yell game, and lots of other games. What do you say?" Pinkie asked.
"I guess that sounds like fun." Misery said smiling slightly.
"Great, let's get this party on the road!" Pinkie yelled.
Tossing Misery on her back she raced to Sugar Cube Corner leaving the cloud swirling in place.
~~~~~~~~~~
Frank and Len were heading down a lone dirt road having wandered off from their friends as they were nearing the small town. The two heads bobbing up and down to the music in their heads. Swinging the guitar onto their back, Frank turned to his brother.
"Len, where are we going?" Frank asked.
"I don't know; I was following you." Len said.
"You’re the one who led us down this road and now we're lost." Frank said.
"Oh, maybe we should ask for directions." Len said.
"And who are we going to ask, the rocks?" Frank asked.
"Good idea. Excuse me Tom; do you know where I can get something to eat?" Len asked one of the rocks.
"Tom?" Frank asked.
"He looks like a Tom." Len said.
Letting out a sigh he rubbed his eyes and was about to speak before he was Interrupted.
"Well, my names not Tom, but iffin your hungry you could come with me to mah farm." A feminine voice said.
"Sorry, I didn't realize you were a girl rock." Len said.
"Over here sugar cube." The voice said.
Both looking to right they noticed an orange and blonde pony in a cowboy hat. Applejack eyed up the two headed creature but smiled and introduced herself.
"The names Applejack; grower of the best apples in all of Equestria." Applejack said proudly.
"That sounds great." Frank said.
"Yea, I'm starving. Only thing I ate today was that lime I found." Len said.
"You ate the lime you found in the woods." Frank stated flatly.
"Yea, Wasn’t I supposed to?" Len asked.
"No Len, we don't eat things we find on the ground." Frank said.
"Oh, ok." Len said empting more limes onto the ground.
Frank then face palmed and shook his head while Applejack let out a small chuckle.
"How about we head to the farm now, it’s almost time for lunch." Applejack said.
They started down the trail and the two walked next to Applejack humming a rock tune and banging their heads.
~~~~~~~~~~
Lying in the sun behind the library Doom kitty stretched out with a yawn and looked around. Not seeing Ruby or any of her friends she made her way around to the front and went inside. Neither Ruby nor the purple unicorn was there but there was a white rabbit sitting on the couch. Jumping on the couch she laid down next to the rabbit that looked at her with a sneer. Wrapping her long tail around herself she ignored the rabbit and went to sleep. Angel bunny then stood up and walked to the edge of the couch and sat back down and leaned back closing his eyes. A while later he felt something pressed against his side.
Sitting there was the black cat, which was looking at him and she waved a paw around the room and pantomimed Ruby. Letting out a snort Angel rolled to his side and waved her away. Narrowing her eyes Doom poked the bunny with her tail and asked him again if he knew where Ruby went. Standing up Angel made a few rather rude gestures towards the kitty. Her eyes going wide she tackled the bunny and the two rolled around on the ground fighting. Exchanging punches and kicks the two fought around the library knocking book of the shelves and messing up the cushions and pillows. After a little while Spike came down groggily wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"What's going on down...?” Spike started as he fully opened his eyes.
Jumping down the rest of the stairs he chased the two around the room finally catching them under the couch. Pulling them out from under it he set the two on the cushions and stared the two down.
"Look at what you did! It took me all night to organize these books after Rainbow dash’s last crash landing!" Spike yelled.
Doom looked down a little ashamed while Angel looked back at with a smug expression. Jumping off the couch, Angel darted out of the library before Spike could even try to stop him. Standing Doom straightened out the couch cushions and started on the lighter stuff while Spike worked on the books. About an hour later the two had the library straightened up and they both collapsed onto the couch. Taking a few minutes to rest the two stared at the ceiling until their stomachs began to rumble. Hopping up Spike went to the kitchen and returned with a tray holding a saucer of milk, cat food and some rubies. Setting the tray down he took the bowl of rubies and she jumped on the coffee table to eat. Once he had finished the two got up to look for Doom's friends.
~~~~~~~~~~
Wandering the streets Skullboy admired the simple house designs until he came to a carousel inspired building. Standing back he took in every little detail while rubbing his chin. After about a minute he felt a prod to his side and looked down. Standing there was a white foal with bright pink and purple hair.
"What are you?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I'm a skeleton my dear, Skullboy’s the name." He said giving a bow.
"I'm Sweetie Belle." She said with a giggle.
"What is this place?" Skullboy asked motioning to the building.
"Oh, it’s my sister's store. She makes fancy dresses and stuff." Sweetie Belle said.
"Really, that sounds great. But, I don't think I've seen any of you ponies wearing clothes." Skullboy said.
"Clothes are usually for special stuff, most of her dresses are made for the gala." Sweetie Belle said.
"Do you think she'll mind if I take a look?" Skullboy asked.
"I don't know; she doesn't like to be bothered while working." Sweetie Belle said.
"We'll just need to be extra quiet then." Skullboy said with a smile.
Sneaking in the front door he stopped the door chime with his hand and the two snuck across the room. Rarity was hard at work at the drawing desk feverously working on a customer’s request. Tip-toeing over Skullboy took a peek over her shoulder at the design as she let out a groan and crumpled the sketch. As it flew over her shoulder it hit him on the forehead and fell into his hands. Opening the sketch her looked it over and started to think and pace back and forth. Letting out a quiet 'aha' he grabbed a quill off the desk and quickly made a few alterations and showed it to Sweetie Belle.
"That's beautiful." Sweetie Belle chimed out.
"It’s horrible!" Rarity yelled. "I simply cannot get dress to be fabulous."
Turning around Rarity noticed the abnormal skeletal creature kneeling next to her sister. Letting out a scream she pulled her sister away and placed her behind herself as she armed herself with a pair of shears.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my shop!" Rarity yelled.
"His name is Skullboy; I was showing him the shop because he was interested in your dresses." Sweetie Belle said.
"Oh you’re a customer. Well welcome to the carousel boutique, where everything is chique, unique and magnifique. What can I do for you?" Rarity asked jumping into business mode.
"Oh no, I was just interested in the dress making and styles." Skullboy said waving his hands in front of him.
Seeing the crumpled paper she pulled it from his hands and looked at it before letting out a gasp. Running back to the desk and made a few last modifications to the design.
"These changes are simply astonishing, are you a designer?" Rarity asked.
"No, not really, I mean I do make my own costumes now and then." Skullboy said.
"You must show me your work, please?" Rarity asked pouting a bit.
"I suppose I could make a few sketches." Skullboy said.
As the two got to work Sweetie Belle let out a groan and plopped down on the floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Wandering the streets Ruby and Twilight looked exhausted as they steered towards Sugar Cube Corner. As they entered the shop they were hit with streamers and a pink pony on a sugar high.
"Yay, you’re finally here and we can kick it into full gear! Hit it boys!" Pinkie yelled.
On a small stage Frank, Len and Dj pon3 began playing music and rocking the house. Laughing Ruby went and hugged her friends and joined in on the fun and games. Releasing a sigh Twilight sat at a table and poured her some punch and watched as the others had fun.
"Everything alright Twilight?" Spike asked.
"Yea, it’s just been a really long day. You wouldn't believe how much I had to go through." Twilight said.
"At least you didn't have to deal with all of the pets. Believe me, Angel and Opalescence in the same room is nothing but trouble." Spike said taking a seat.
Smiling she sipped her punch as she began to look over Ruby's friends with her scientific curiosity. They were so different in appearance and personality but they were the best of friends. Letting out a sigh of content she looked over the room at her closest of friends then at Spike who was nibbling a few emeralds.
"Maybe we could exchange stories after the party." Twilight said.
"Sure, I can't wait to hear what you did to get so messy." Spike said with a laugh.
Letting out a giggle Pinkie popped out from under the table and hugged the two happily.
"Then I could tell you how Misery and I saved Equestria from the evil lord Dusticles and his evil dust army!" Pinky said throwing her hooves up in excitement.
"It was quite exciting." Misery said dully.
Pinky let out an excited giggle and bounced around the table as the rest of their friends pulled up a seat.
"You’re gonna bust a gut when you hear what these two did down on the farm." Applejack said.
"Or how they ended up in my studio that was wild." Dj Pon3 said over the speakers.
"Miss Fluttershy and I had oodles of fun too." Scaredy bat said flapping over the table.
"It was pleasant, even after the crickets stampeded through town." Fluttershy said with a hint of concern.
"Stampeded?" Twilight asked raising a brow.
"Well, more like hopped. They did scare Berry Punch when they hopped towards her." Fluttershy said.
"Iris and I had a blast! Using my wings and her pogo stick we flew so high so fast we almost did a sonic rainboom!" Rainbow Dash yelled flutter her wings.
"Ha ha, and when we landed there were these dogs and they were so angry." Iris said laughing.
"Yea, they all screamed like little foals and when they pulled their leader's head out of the...” Rainbow Dash said before breaking out laughing.
"You simply must come to the boutique afterwards; Skullboy is a true genius of fashion." Rarity gushed hugging her new Hat affectionately.
"It’s really not that big a deal, after all I surely come from a long line of fashion designers." He said with a cheesy French accent and using his fingers to twist a fake mustache on his upper lip.
Giggling Ruby sat between Twilight and Skullboy leaning against his arm.
"Why don't you two start then, I'd love to hear all about your day." She said cheerfully.
"Uh alright." Skullboy said beginning to blushing a bit. "It all started this morning..."
To be continued...