//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Into An Underground Cave 
// Story: A Quest for Harmony 
// by Doodle Note 
//------------------------------//

That night, the travelers were asleep. But Mabel was wide awake looking at a silver locket.

Mabel sighed in dismay. "Dipper, I'll never stop looking until I find you."

Twilight awoken and found Mabel sitting down. She walks up to Mabel and sat next to her. "Mabel, is everything okay?"

Mabel turned to Twilight. "Just looking at a locket."

Twilight looked into Mabel's locket and found a picture of Mabel next to a boy Mabel's age. "Who's that?"

"That's my twin brother, Dipper." Mabel said. "We lived happily together. But I lost him."

"How did you lose him?" Twilight asked.

Mabel sighed. "It all started in Gravity Falls. Dipper and I were hanging around our great uncle's shack having a good time. But that's when a dragon destroyed the town. I escaped the crumbled shack, but Dipper was stuck. I tried by best to get him out of the debris, but I saw the dragon coming. That's when a guard came by and ran up to the dragon. But when he saw how big it was, he retreated and took me. I saw the dragon pick Dipper up. He wasn't eaten, but was taken away. That was the day I lost my family. But at least Dipper's okay. I prayed every night that I would find him someday. I traveled around the world for a new home, but I lost hope and given up. But that's when Cole and Rarity found me. But I still prayed that I would see Dipper again."

"I lost my brother too." Twilight added. "He was taken away from me. And I wanted to find him. But don't worry. We'll find your brother."

Mabel smiled as she and Twilight went to sleep.

The next day, the travelers were about to continue their journey, but found Kai still asleep and rolling around.

Nya sighed. "Kai must be having another dream."

"I got it." Squidward said getting out his clarinet putting it on the defense setting. He now blows into his clarinet waking up Kai.

Kai turned to the others. "What just happened?"

"Squidward woke you up." Pinkie added turning to Squidward. "Is your clarinet magic?"

"Why, yes." Squidward said. "It was a gift from my grandmother. Sometimes a musical instrument, sometimes a weapon."

"Since we need to find the Element of Kindness, we have to find him or her." Twilight said. "But where?"

"Maybe we'll find him of her." Rarity added.

After walking for two hours, Cole was starting to feel exhausted.

"Can we take a break for a while?" Cole asked. "My feet are starting to cramp."

Twilight turned to Cole and saw the state he was in. "Well, we could use a break."

The travelers lied under a canopy eating some fruit they found while Pinkie was playing with some butterflies. 

Squidward leaned on a tree, but he found a note. "Guys, I found this note."

Rainbow flew to Squidward as she took the note and read it. "Congratulations! You will now fall to your doom."

"Now what kind of note is-" Squidward puts on a shocked face as he looked down and saw a trapdoor open. He screamed and fell into a hole.

Twilight looked down at the hole. "Squidward! Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Squidward replied. "It's just this pile of pillows broke my fall!"

"Will you be okay down there?" Lloyd asked.

"Don't worry!" Squidward said. "I'll find my way out!"

"Be careful!" Rainbow added.

Squidward slid off the pillow pile and started walking. He takes a torch off a wall so he would see where he was going. 'Look at this place.' He thought to himself. 'All I see here are bones. Maybe these people before me never came out of this cave. I wonder what I'm going to bump into next.' Squidward suddenly bumped into a giant bunny that was sound asleep. He walks silently around the rabbit, but he accidentally stepped on the rabbit's tail. Luckily, the bunny didn't wake up. Squidward sighed in relief as he completely walks around the rabbit. He then walks away, but he accidentally kicked a rock causing the rabbit to wake up. Squidward turned around seeing the rabbit get up and roar. He screamed in fear and ran away with the rabbit chasing him. He looked for a way to get away from the rabbit, but he was reaching a dead end. Squidward turned and saw the rabbit coming at him. He braced himself as he heard a soft voice that sounded like it was comforting the rabbit.

"Easy. Easy."

Squidward opened his eyes seeing a yellow pegasus with a pink mane and teal eyes wearing green shoes on every leg calming the rabbit down.

The pegasus turned to Squidward. "Excuse Angel. He's always like this when he finds strangers in this cave."

Squidward puts on a confused face. "Um...Angel?"

"I gave him the name." The pegasus said. "Have you fell into this cave on accident?"

Squidward nodded yes. "Can you help me find a way out of here? I need to get back to my friends."

"I do anything for people that fell into this cave." The pegasus said. "Just follow me. I want you to meet my friends."

"You're not alone?" Squidward asked.

"Of course not." The pegasus answered. "I say we have a walk and talk."

Squidward followed the pegasus.

"I forgot to introduce myself." The pegasus said. "I'm Fluttershy. What's your name?"

"Squidward Tentacles." Squidward replied. "One of the best clarinet players of all of Toonera."

"So you're the one with the magic clarinet?" Fluttershy asked.

"Obviously." Squidward answered.

After taking a walk with Fluttershy, Squidward saw a campsite with three people from far away. He saw Fluttershy wave to the campsite as one of the campers from far away waved back. Fluttershy and Squidward walked to the campsite and the three campers near a fire was a pink starfish wearing brown pants and a brown vest, a little boy wearing an orange shirt, orange pants, black shoes, dark orange gloves, an orange gem tied to brown string, and an orange cloak covering his face, and a silver nindroid with silver hair and blue eyes wearing a white button shirt, silver pants, white shoes, and a silver belt. 

The nindroid looked at Squidward, then at Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, who is the squid that you brought here?"

"Friends, meet Squidward." Fluttershy said turning to Squidward. "Squidward, this is Patrick, Zane, and Kenny."

"Hi there." Squidward added.

Kenny walked up to Squidward and spoke in a muffled voice.

"What did he say?" Squidward asked.

"He said that it's a pleasure to meet you, Squidward." Patrick translated.

"How did you fall into our cave in the first place?" Zane asked.

"Well," Squidward started. "I found a note on a tree, but I suddenly fell into a hole and landed on a pillow pile."

"You must have fell into one of Patrick's traps." Fluttershy said.

Patrick puts on a face of shame. "I know. I have to put my traps someplace else."

"I have a question for all of you." Squidward said. "Why are all of you here in this cave?"

Zane sighed. "I lived in a cozy cottage with my father a long time ago. But one day, I was taking a walk back to my cottage, but I found my father killed by a changeling. But I realized that many changelings are locking up the whole town I was living in. The changelings locked me up as well. I've been beaten up by many changelings and suffered in my cell. But I managed to escape when I found a bird on my cell window. After long hours of walking, I decided to camp under a tree. But that's when I found Fluttershy. Cold, in pain, alone, and left to die. But I helped her and we hid in a cave where no one can find us. But we found Patrick spying on us. And he lead us to his tribe, the Cave Stars. His tribe trusted us and let us stay. But years have passed. And we found Kenny under a bridge in pain. But Fluttershy nursed him back to health. But Patrick's tribe died off, which makes him the last of his kind."

"That's one happy and sad story you have there." Squidward said. "But you can come with me if you want."

"You mean come back to the outside world?" Patrick asked.

Squidward nodded.

Fluttershy gasped in joy. "We're going back to the outside world!"

"We know where the exit is." Zane said as he turned to Kenny. "Kenny, pack everything."

Kenny saluted and ran to pack everything.

After packing everything, Squidward and the campers got outside the cave. Patrick rolled in the grass and started making grass angels.

"Now that we're out of that cave, it's about time you meet my friends." Squidward said.

Meanwhile, the travelers were waiting for Squidward to come back.

"What's taking him so long?" Rainbow asked.

"Maybe he's still searching for a way out." Nya added.

Pinkie sniffed the air. 

Jay turned to Pinkie. "What is it?"

"I can smell Squidward." Pinkie said. "I also smell another pegasus, a little boy, a starfish, and a silver man."

The rest turned and found Squidward with a bunch of strangers. "Squidward!" 

Twilight looked down at the medallion and saw it glowing pink. "Squidward, you found the Element of Kindness!"

"Me?" Fluttershy asked.

"Fluttershy, three of these travelers were sent on a quest to find the missing Elements of Harmony." Squidward explained. "They have Magic, Laughter, Loyalty, and Generosity. And they need Kindness. Will you and your friends come with us on this journey."

"Okay." Fluttershy said.

"Now that we have the Element of Kindness, Honesty is the last one we need." Twilight said.

That night, the travelers were looking for a place to sleep. But they couldn't find one, so they went on. As they walked through the dark, Pinkie sniffed the air and puts on a shocked face.

"Guys, we have company!" Pinkie yelled.

The travelers put on shocked faces as a band of sirens came by. Twilight lights up her horn making a shield to block the sirens' attack.

"What do we do now?" Mabel asked.

"Play dead!" Patrick said as he just stood there. "Uhhhhhhh."

"That's not dead!" Lloyd yelled. "That being dumb!"

"How am I suppose to know!?" Patrick asked. "I don't even-"

The travelers found one of the sirens disappear. The sirens turned seeing two arrows coming as the arrows hit two of the sirens.

Twilight looked at the medallion seeing an orange glow around it.

Kai turned to Twilight. "Are we near the Element of Honesty?"

"We're not near the Element of Honesty." Twilight said. "The Element of Honesty is coming to us."

What came out of the dark was a squirrel wearing a tribal outfit riding an orange earth pony with a hay-colored mane and green eyes. The squirrel brings out a sword as she gets off the pony's back and started to fight the sirens. One of the sirens was about to attack the travelers, but the pony bucked it away. Two of the sirens sang a song and blasted it at the travelers, but the squirrel blocked the attack and slashed it at the two sirens. The last siren was about to fly away, but the pony grabbed the siren by the tail and spun around. The travelers watched the pony spin as the pony lets go and the squirrel shoots an arrow at the siren. The arrow came back to the squirrel, and she puts it back to it's case. The pony and squirrel walks up to the travelers.

"You people okay?" The pony asked.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Rainbow exclaimed. "You two were so amazing! I thank you two for saving us from those sirens over there!"

"I hate those things." The squirrel said. "Singing those darn songs to hypnotize us. But what are all of you doing here at a time like this?"

"We're on a quest to find the Elements of Harmony to defeat a dark wizard, Plankton." Twilight added.

"Did you say Plankton?" The pony asked in a stern tone.

"You know who he is?" Kai asked.

"He destroyed my farm, took my family, and scarred me." The pony explained. "But that memory doesn't hurt me anymore. I learned how to fight, traveled from one nation to another, and found a friend injured."

"But this pony nursed me back to health from childhood." The squirrel said. "I'm Sandy Cheeks. Part of the Acorn Tribe. And this little pony here is Applejack. Used to be a farmer, but now an extraordinary fighter like me."

"We were looking for the Elements of Harmony too." Applejack added. "But something tells me that three of you beat us to it."

"So, you know about the prophecy?" Nya asked.

"Exactly." Sandy answered. "We'll help you with your journey. Now that you have us by your side, we'll help you complete your objective."

Twilight smiled. "Thank you. But now that we have all the Elements, we have to get to Plankton's castle and we don't know where it is. It's not even on the map." Suddenly, Twilight looked down and saw the medallion float off her neck. "Unless, the medallion knows where it is."

"I say we follow it." Applejack said.

The travelers ran after the flying medallion all the way to Plankton's castle.