//------------------------------//
// The Swamp 
// Story: Pinkie Pie and The Quest for Missing Smiles 
// by Venates 
//------------------------------//

	"How's this for a change of scenery, Gummy?"
Pinkie Pie and her scaly friend continued to make their way north, the path in front of them now a smoky haze as a swamp gurgled and burped around them.
The party pony wiped a few beads of sweat from her brow before continuing. "I agree, Gummy, it is a bit stuffy in here, but not to worry: we've got a water bottle! We're officially adventure experts at this point!"
Gummy laid belly-side up on one of Pinkie's packs, scratching at the thick air.
"Yes, I know it's a little hard to see right now," Pinkie conceded, "but I'm confident if we just keep moving forward, we'll be out of here and on to the next place in no time!"
Walking forward proved to be a bit problematic, however, as several trees, hills, and foul-smelling puddles frequently interrupted their path. A full day of walking was also causing her legs to pinch up.
"What is that smell?" pondered Pinkie as she passed by another bubbling pool of liquid. She observed as some gas or another broke the puddle's surface over and over again. "Have you ever smelled anything like it, Gummy?"
The alligator made a guttural sound in response.
"It's making my nose itch too," Pinkie agreed. "I wonder if it's—"
A column of fire erupted at Pinkie's side, the flames coming from one of the pools of what couldn't possibly be water. Pinkie reared in shock, almost losing her balance due to the packs on her back. She stabilized herself just before Gummy slid off into what would have been a terrible fall.
"WHOA!" screamed Pinkie, "That could have been bad!"
Pinkie Pie carefully set the rest of her hooves back onto the ground as she eyed the flame geyser warily. 
"We need to be more careful, Gummy," the pink mare told her pet. She looked around herself a few times before pulling a map from one of her packs. "A few more mishaps like that, and we could get lost! Or hurt!"
After settling on one particular spot on the parchment in her hoof, Pinkie resumed her pace, eyes glued to the map's surface. Without warning, her head flipped around to address her passenger.
"What do you mean I'd be the one to get us lost or hurt?" she asked her alligator. "Gummy, that's such a mean thing to say!"
Gummy wagged his tail twice.
"Yes, I know I'm the one driving, but you know that I would never do anything to hurt you, right?"
Pinkie waited for a response. Gummy didn't move.
"You're still wound up from almost falling," she told him motherly. "I understand. Apology accepted."
Pinkie Pie continued her walk as a few geysers spewed flames at a safe distance.
"No, we're not there yet, Gummy," Pinkie said through the swamp's mist. "I'm pretty sure the mountain isn't in a swamp. You'll know when we get there."
A few more steps and Pinkie's stomach began making sounds similar to those of the bubbling puddles.
"I'm hungry too, Gummy, but we ate all of our snacks before we entered this swamp," Pinkie reminded her companion. Then, in a chastising tone, "Someone your size shouldn't have been able to eat that much to begin with, you know."
A few birds cawed overhead.
Pinkie started to scowl. "Yes, Gummy, for the last time, I am sure we're going in the right direction." Her scowl grew. "Yes, Gummy, I am sure that I'm reading this map right!" Over the course of a few seconds, Pinkie's expression intensified, and a growl emanated from her throat. In an instant, she flung her head around to berate her pet. "HEY!" she shouted, "WHY DON'T WE GET ON YOUR BACK AND YOU CAN TAKE US THE REST OF THE WAY, HUH?!"
Like a flash, fire erupted in front of Pinkie's outstretch hoof, incinerating the map guiding her. She yelped and stumbled backwards a few paces, only to launch herself in another direction as a second plume fired just behind her. Only a few hard steps were made before yet another flash startled her out of her trajectory. She changed directions several times in a matter of seconds, never going five steps without another column of flame impeding her path. Pinkie eventually lost balance and fell into a sitting position, the left half of her supplies dipping into one of the swamp's puddles. Before she could react, it also ignited. In a panic, Pinkie wrenched herself from her numerous packs, pulled her gear away from the geyser, and stamped out the quickly burning material carrying her belongings. After the flames were extinguished, she looked around herself for any other signs of danger. When it became apparent that the current resting spot was (relatively) safe, she instead turned to her alligator, a few paces away after falling from Pinkie's back during the ruckus. 
"You!" Pinkie accused. She took several heavy steps toward Gummy. "This is all your fault!" Pinkie's breathing was heavy, and her eyes narrow. "Because of you, we lost our only map and half our stuff!"
Gummy blinked. Pinkie Pie threw up her forelegs in frustration.
"Oh, don't you play dumb with me!" she shouted. "If you hadn't been questioning my every decision, we'd probably be out of this mess right now!"
Gummy sniffed the ground.
"You are the worst travel buddy EVER!" shrieked Pinkie, turning around to avoid looking at his innocent eyes. "You've been complaining the whole time!" She went into a terrible impression of the alligator. "I'm booored, how much longerrrrr, I'm hungryyyy..." Pinkie whirled back around, heaving. "This trip would have been so much easier if you hadn't insisted on coming! I knew I should have gone alone! Now half our stuff is gone, we're lost, we have no food, and it's ALL! YOUR! FAULT!"
With her rant's last breath, Pinkie gave the ground a heavy stomp. The action frightened the young alligator, causing his legs to wind up and spin him in a random direction. He didn't get far before a column of fire blocked him from Pinkie's view. Her insides turned to ice.
"GUMMY!"
Pinkie rushed over as fast as hooves could carry her. On the other side of the geyser, she found a curled ball of scales. She picked her friend up gingerly and held him close.
"You're okay, it's okay," she cooed, making as many calming noises as she could think of. Gummy struggled a bit in her grasp, but gave up fighting before long. When Pinkie dared to, she unfurled her forelegs just a bit to get a better look at him. Although Gummy looked mostly fine, the flame geyser had singed his tail. Pinkie cradled him back to their equipment.
"You're okay," she said again. "You're going to be just fine. The water wasn't in the packs that burned. We'll just cool that burn off, okay?"
Pinkie Pie squatted with one foreleg holding her pet while the other fished through her belongings. She pulled out a long tube and popped the cap off of it. She peered into it and sighed with disappointment.
"We don't have much left," Pinkie said to Gummy. The mare looked down to her trembling friend. She licked her lips as she weighed her options. Gently, she unrolled the alligator's tail and dipped it into the tube. "You need this more," she told him.
Pinkie Pie sighed and reclined into her gear while holding her pet. She had no idea how long it would take for her friend to feel better, but she knew she couldn't move him, and even if she did, where would they go?
"This is all that ugly raincloud's fault," said Pinkie. "It never should have taken my friends' happiness away. I mean, how could he possibly think that it was okay to do that?" Pinkie Pie stared up at the sky, hoping to see a cloud that she could glare at. "Even if he did it for a friend, he's hurting lots of ponies just to save one flower. One stupid, stinking flower. How selfish can you get?"
Gummy offered no response.
"If he's on top of that mountain when we get there, I am going to make sure he apologizes to you, Gummy."
Gummy nibbled at Pinkie's belly.
Pinkie Pie sighed and lightly beat her head against her luggage a few times. She couldn't believe that they were lost in such a scary, dangerous place. All she really wanted to do was scold Gummy more for their predicament, but knew that it wasn't fair to treat him that way. There had to be a way out of the swamp. She didn't even care about going to right way anymore; even if they just wound up at where they started, she'd rather find a way around the swamp than try to make it through a second time. Then again, if she did that, how much longer would that leave her friends smile-less?
"What are we going to do?" whispered Pinkie.
"'Alo?"
Pinkie sat bolt upright, almost losing her grip on Gummy in the process. She knew she heard a voice, but as she looked about her, she couldn't determine where it came from.
"'Alo?" the voice called again.
"Hello?" Pinkie said in response. "I somepony there?"
"Who ez out zere?" the voice asked. It sounded like it was getting closer.
Pinkie Pie grumbled a bit to herself. She didn't want to deal with more funny-talking ponies at the moment, but she didn't really see a choice. "My name is Pinkie Pie!" she told the voice. "Where are you?"
A lantern appeared in the swamp's mist, followed by the mare holding it. Her green coat made a stark contrast to the reddish surroundings.
"My name iz Bebelle," the mare said. "Were you de one yelling earlier, cher?"
"Yelling?" Pinkie Pie looked from Bebelle to Gummy and back. "I was... yelling?"
Bebelle chuckled. "Loudly, from what I could tell."
Pinkie Pie gave a deep sigh. "I guess I was pretty mad." She gingerly bounced the alligator in her forelegs to draw attention to him. "Gummy and I are travelers, and we got lost. Do you live nearby?"
Bebelle nodded happily. "I am collecting fire peppers for my gumbo. I could grow zem at home, but ze swamp gives zem a certain je ne se quais."
Pinkie Pie's stomach gurgled. "Ooh, gumbo does sound pretty good right now."
Bebelle smiled. "Would you like to join me? I always make more zan I need, and I love cooking for new friends."
Pinkie Pie grew her first grin since entering the swamp. "Free gumbo? Now there's an offer we can't refuse!"
After a shared laugh, Pinkie Pie followed her savior through the fire swamp and on to a small village hidden on its other side. The locals greeted her like family, and joked about how there was no way an outsider could handle the spice of Bebelle's gumbo. Pinkie surprised them all when she downed her first bowl in a single gulp. Bebelle also proved quite knowledgeable about burns from the swamp geysers, and rubbed a homemade anointment on Gummy's tail. Bebelle offered Pinkie and Gummy a place to stay for the night as well, but Pinkie refused, insisting that their mission could not wait. However, a long day and a full belly interrupted her plans.
"Tomorrow, Gummy," Pinkie Pie yawned in a cabin's guest room. "Tomorrow will be the day."