The Misadventure Of: A Bunch Of Silly Ponies That Just So Happen To Not Be Applejack

by OCisbestpony

Chapter Two: Part Eighteen

Chapter Two: Part Eighteen

Bon-Bon was a simple mare. Indeed, there was a time when her life was uncomplicated and fairly simple. It was a fine time, and a time in which she could go about her day with nary a care. She woke up in the morning, smelled her flowers, and basked in the warm sunlight as it came through her window. She was happy, healthy, and lived a care-free life. Indeed, just like her cutie mark, she, and her life, were as sweet as could be. Three lovely candy-canes, and a lovely shop to sell the very same sweets in. It was a good life.

But that's old news now. That was before … she met Lyra, though that was only the capstone of everything. But this story is not about her. Rather, this story is about a little blue mare, and her simple quest for a simple, yet magical, toothbrush. In speaking of which...

---

Zecora? No, it wasn't possible! They were jumping to conclusions. She was such a sweet Zebra. She always gave sugar-free candy (the good kind even!) to the little ones in Ponyville, and always took good care of her teeth. More then that, she had taught Colgate many useful techniques and remedies for her practice. In addition, she made for fine conversation; given that one could understand her way of speaking. So the idea that she would trap the lot of them into a place as dangerous as this was simply unthinkable!

It was unthinkable … right?

“You alright Colgate?” Lyra asked.

“Huh?” Colgate blinked a few times and suddenly realized that she had been holding the same barrel for nearly 5 minutes.

“You're kinda spacin' there girl.” Lyra said as she tossed another barrel behind her.

“I, uh, guess I was. Sorry, I was just thinking.” she said, blushing ever so slightly.

“A-” Berry grunted as she lifted another barrel, “-bout what?”

“Zecora,” she let out a sigh, “really. Right before you guys showed up, she and I had talked about what had happened since the Everfree. In speaking of which, was I really passed out for that long? I mean, I don't remember anything about a train ride.” She lifted another barrel and tossed it to the side.

“Pretty much.” Lyra shrugged. “The morning after the whole castle thing, all of us woke up but you. So Bon-Bon,” Lyra pointed a hoof to her for a moment, “pitched the idea to put you on a litter, then head to Dodge until you woke up. She figured you'd know where we needed to go from there. You do know where we need to go, right?” she asked, looking at Colgate and raising an eyebrow.

Memories of that night suddenly began flashing through her mind. How long ago had it been? She had lost all sense of time since coming here, but her gut told her it had only been a couple of days. As her mind drifted through the events, she stopped it on the moment when they had spoken to Pinkie Pie. She said she had become a … Goddess? Colgate shook her head. What an absurd thought! That aside, she recalled that Pinkie Pie had said that she would grant Colgate one wish.

“Didn't,” another loud grunt from Berry, “Pinkie Pie give you a map or something?” she asked as she heaved another of the wooden containers out of the way. They were making slow progress toward the stair-case, but at least they were making progress.

“Oh yeah!” Colgate had completely forgotten about that. Now then, where did she... “Say, did anypony see where I put it?” she asked, reflexively looking around the chamber.

“I was unaware you had a map on you.” Bon-Bon said, tossing another barrel aside.

“I did, I had when we left...” suddenly, her mind flashed back. She and Berry had just turned to leave the crater, aaaaaaaand then she suddenly remembered feeling the map slide right off her back.

“AAAHHH!!!” She suddenly cried, “I LEFT IT BACK AT THE EVERFREE!”

Everpony paused, and looked at her.

“Wait, what?” Berry asked.

“When you and I left the crater, I felt it slide off my back!” Colgate exclaimed, her eyes wide and mildly panicked.

“WHAAAAT?!” Both Berry and Bon-Bon cried.

“So, hold on, you're saying that you just left it that giant crater? Why didn't you just grab it?” Lyra asked.

“I-uh … don't … know...” Colgate blushed a deep red.

Suddenly, the air was filled with the sounds of hooves hitting faces, as Colgate scuffed the ground under her left hoof in shame.

“So, you have no idea where we need to go? None at all?” Bon-Bon asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I, uh, know that we need to head to Hayseed Swamp!” She said, rather feebly.

“Colgate,” Bon-Bon set the barrel she was holding down, “Do you have any idea just how big Hayseed is?”

“Well … uh … is it bigger then the Everfree?”

“Colgate,” Lyra said, “it goes off the map. That place is HUGE!”

“Hey! Give me some slack here! I mean, we just saw Zecora fight a giant Pinkie Pie, and then she turned into some kind of, whatever that was, and then she gave us a wish or something! On top of all that, I hadn't gotten any sleep that whole night! So it's not like I could keep track of everything!” Colgate said rather defensively.

“Sorry if I sound like I'm being a jerk, but loosing that map's kinda big deal Colgate.” Lyra said. “I mean, how're we going to know where we're going?”

“Agreed.” Bon-Bon agreed.

Colgate was crestfallen. They had a point.

“Hey, wait a minute.” Berry piped up, “Didn't Pinkie say something like 'it'll just stay with you', or something like that?”

“Hey, wait a minute. You're right!” Colgate smiled.

“So, were is it?” Lyra asked, looking around.

“Er...” Colgate had no idea. She had no saddle bags like Bon-Bon did. And it's not like she'd been carrying it around with her.

“Perhaps it's like Berry's bottle?”

Colgate's eyes snapped to Bon-Bon, “Wait, wha-”

“Oh yeah! That might work! Try it Colgate!” Lyra said.

“Hold on, what are you guys talking about? What bottle?” Colgate had a bad feeling building up inside her. She looked between the two, then her eyes drifted over to Berry, who shrunk away from her gaze. “Berry...?” Colgate asked softly.

“Colgate … I,” Berry said, then closed her eyes and turned away, “I'm sorry! I broke my promise!”

“What?” Colgate said, a bit stunned and confused.

“I'm sorry to interrupt, but now is not the time or place for this discussion.” Bon-Bon said as she walked between the two of them. “Right now, we have to focus on the matter on hoof. First: We've got to get out of this room, and then deal with the dragon you mentioned. Next: we need to get out of Deadmare, assuming that's where we are. Then we can worry about the map. Sound good?” Bon-Bon glanced around to see if anypony objected. Colgate did, but kept silent because she had made a good point.

“R-Right,” Lyra broke the awkward silence, “So, back to removing barrels?”

Bon-Bon paused, glancing between Colgate and Berry, the latter still refusing to make eye contact with anypony. Then, with some hesitancy, said, “Yes … back to removing barrels.” Colgate watched as she slowly turned, keeping an eye on Berry, as if to expect something to suddenly happen. Seeing nothing however, she then picked up the barrel she had set down, and tossed it aside. Colgate however did not stop looking at Berry. What had that been about? What promise was she talking about? Colgate tried her best to recall whatever it was she could be talking about. Her face scrunched in concentration as she tried her best to remember. Did it have something to do with that bottle they mentioned? Berry simply sat there, looking down, saying nothing. Colgate watched as she slowly got to her hooves, cast a quick glance at Colgate, looked away, then began removing barrels once more (at a rather sluggish pace, though with less slime). Berry felt awful about something, but what? She saw shame in those eyes. What coul-then an idea hit her. Did Berry get wasted again?

“Berry,” Colgate said both softly and inquisitively, “Did-” she paused, and took a breath to gather her courage, “did you get drunk again?” Bon-Bon shot a look at her, a look that told her to stop this line of questioning. Berry looked meekly up at Colgate, then back at Bon-Bon, then back to her barrel. “Berry?” Colgate asked softly.

Bon-Bon looked at her again. “Colgate, we don't have time for this right now. We nee-”

“Like horsesticks we don't have time!” Colgate suddenly said, “I don't know who put you in charge Bon-Bon, but Berry's my friend, and it's pretty clear that something is bothering her. You can keep digging if you want, but I'm going to talk to her whether or not you like it!” Colgate stomped a hoof on the ground. She had to. She could hear her voice doing that squeaky thing again. In fact, if she hadn't, she could tell from Bon-Bon's expression that she would have most likely burst out laughing (though that didn't stop Lyra from flying into a giggling fit). Rather, Bon-Bon looked at her with an expression that was one part amused mirth, one part surprise, one part annoyance, and two parts indignation. Or, in short, 'u wut m8?' Her mouth opened and closed a few times silently. Colgate took her eyes off of Bon-Bon, and looked back to Berry, “What happened Berry?” she asked kindly asked.

Berry opened her mouth, “Excuse me Colgate!” Bon-Bon interjected, turning sharply to look at her, “But I don't know if Zecora told you this, but we just so happen to-”

“EXCUSE ME BON-BON. I AM TALKING TO BERRY, NOT YOU!” Colgate shouted. This surprised her. For some reason, it seemed that Bon-Bon had hit a nerve of some kind. For some reason, every word that Bon-Bon said only served to make her more angry. Indeed, if it had not been for that terrible curse that Colgate seemed to suffer from, her shouts would have been fierce indeed! As it was however, her voice lacked the punch that she wanted.

“Colgate!” Bon-Bon shot back. Lyra stopped her giggling at once, and actually took a step back from Bon-Bon. Unbeknownst to Colgate's furious mind, Bon-Bon had said that with enough force to make even a dragon pause (little also did she know that at one point it had). As it was, Colgate was unaffected by it. “We. Don't. Have. Time.” she looked at Colgate with such an intense glare, that it almost penetrated Colgate's haze of fury.

Almost.

“YES! WE! DO! NOW IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND MISS BOSSY PONY, I HAVE A FRIEND TO CONSOLE, AND THERE IS NOTHING, AND I MEAN NOTHING, YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME. AM PERFECTLY CLEAR?” The immense inferno burning inside of Colgate was betrayed by the sound of her voice. Still, she had her ability to glare menacingly, so that helped. She had trained many years to perfect that glare, for she needed it to silence the occasional patient who simply didn't want to cooperate.

Bon-Bon's eye twitched. It was clear she was not used to being spoken that way. Or, at least, she certainty didn't like it.

“H-Hey, Colgate, chill out a little, will ya?” Lyra pleaded. “Look, it's not like Bon-Bon was tryin' to tell ya what to do or anything like that. I mean, she's just tryin' to help, ya know? So, I mean, let's all relax, alright?” Lyra had a hoof in the air in a 'let's all just calm down' gesture. Colgate shot her a glare. “Alright, shutting up!!” Lyra said.

Colgate and Bon-Bon locked eyes once more. Both looked at each other with the same, 'Say something, I dare you' look. The air was thick with the energy of their gazes. Colgate's was burning like the sun itself, and Bon-Bon's was as cold as the clutching clutches of a clutching cold clucherer...*ahem*

“Doctor Colgate.” Bon-Bon finally said, “I will not be spoken to like that, and I especially will not be spoken to like that by a pony who we have worked so hard to save and to help.” Bon-Bon's voice was dangerously level. “Not only that, but we have a heated battle on our hooves. If we don't move quickly, we may find ourselves in the middle of a conflict that we do not want to be part of.”

“Oh really? And how is that going to happen, hum? Is it going to pop through the teleporter? The one that you said was broken? Or is it going to cover a day's full travel in the time it takes for me to talk to Berry?” Colgate shot back.

Bon-Bon's eye twitched once more (it is worth pointing out that it was Bon-Bon's good eye that had been doing all of the twitching, as something had popped in the other so as to make twitching it a temporary impossibility). “No, but it is possible that it could take us that long to get out of here. We have no idea where we are and we have no time to waste on another one of Berry's breakdow-”

“SHUT UP!” Colgate screamed. “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TREAT BERRY THAT WAY!” she roared.

“AND WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE IN TREATING ME LIKE THIS? DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH FOR YOUR SAKE?!” Bon-Bon hollered back.

“THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO TREAT MY FRIEND LIKE THAT!” Colgate took a hard step forward, breaking a bit of wood under her hoof.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Bon-Bon snarled, then bent her legs into what looked like a pouncing position, looking very much like a cream-colored preditor.

“DON'T YOU THREATEN ME!” Colgate snarled back. Well, okay, both of them more growled then snarled, but it was menacing all the same.

They both stood there, glaring at each other, their limbs trembling with fury. To an onlooker, they could almost swear that they could see literal storm clouds building in the air.

But yet, nopony moved a muscle. That is, until something finally broke.

A loud crash came from behind them, and both Bon-Bon and Colgate, acting out of reflex, grabbed several barrels and threw them with all of the fiery hatred and power that Tartarus had power to posses directly at the sound. They also screamed bloody murder while doing so.

One had to pity the source of the noise, for it wasn't just one barrage of barrels. No, at this point, their anger had finally exploded, and wave after wave of barrels came flying at the source. Indeed, the ponies had no idea what they were even assaulting for the blur of barrels and wood and dust and scrolls blocked their view. Finally, after several moments of this, the two stopped.

Breathing heavily, they looked to each other, and back at the now dust and plank covered mess they made. Colgate focused, and cast a simple spell that generated a small breeze to clear the dust (it more spread it around the room versus actually cleaning the air, but it did improve visibility). Lying there, on the ground, was one very unconscious zebra.

“ZECORA?!” came the surprised cries of four very confused ponies.

---

“...he teleporter was broken?” asked a voice in the distance.

“I-I thought so. I mean, I didn't sense any magic left!” came another voice.

“Hum … let's wait until she comes around before jumping to any conclusions.” spoke a third. She could sense a sudden surge of hostility towards the speaker.

“How's she doing?” came a fourth.

“Well, I think my spell's working. Though I'm not sure. I've never used it on her before. I mean, near as I can tell, Zebras are a lot like ponies.” came the first. It sounded familiar.

“I see. Well, let us hope she wakes up soon.” the third said. That one too was somewhat familiar, but for what reason she couldn't quite pin down.

“Y-yeah. We kinda owe her an apology.” the second said.

“We? Let me remind you that it was Colgate here who decided that having a chat was more important then running from an army on our hooves.” the third said, its voice failing to hide the contempt it held.

“EXCUSE ME?” the first spoke, and suddenly she felt a surge of magic in the air. She had not realized it at first, but the speaker had been using a healing spell on her. With the sudden surge, she came to realize that all too well, as suddenly felt her whole body go numb for a moment.

“C-COLGATE!” the forth shouted with a bit of panic.

“Oops! Sorry Zecora!” the fir-Colgate said. That explained why she knew that voice. It was Colgate, the dentist from Ponyville. The pony who's magic felt older then almost anything she had ever encountered. The very same dentist who she knew was going to-

“Focus on your spell!” came the third again. She had to agree. The sensation of her body going numb was not one she cared to experience again.

“Listen, Bon-Bon, like I said, I don't know who voted you in charge here, but get off my back, ok?” Colgate shot back, causing a mild surge in the spell once more (this time it was her front hooves that went numb for a moment). Yes … Bon-Bon. She knew that pony, though mostly in passing. She and one other were often seen in compony with each other. The one one known for her musical abilities, as well as other interests.

“Hey, guys,” the musical one spoke up, “look, let's not get hung up on who's in charge, alright? Like, look, we're all stuck, and we all need to get out of here, right?” She smiled to herself. While she had the strength to open her eyes, she felt that she should not, for she felt it would be for the best if she didn't interfere, and let this run its course.

“Colgate,” she remembered that voice now. It belonged to Berry Punch. A mare known for her trade, and her drunkenness. Now that she thought on it, it dawned on her that this was the first time she'd actually heard her speak fully sober. She shook her mental head. How unstable her poor mind must be! Not to mention how hard her life must be. She knew of one back home who was like her, and how their love of drink had ruined their own life. “I-I'm sorry. Look, let's talk about this later? I-I'm sorry I worried you so much, but I'm alright, so let's let bygones be bygones, okay? Please?” Berry softly pleaded.

She heard Colgate let out an angry snort, “Fine, but only if she apologizes!”

“If I'm not mistaken, it is you who owes me an apology.” Bon-Bon retorted.

“Unbridled you have let your anger flow, to obtain harmony and peace, you must learn to let it go.” Zecora said, popping her eyes open. It had become clear to her that this was not heading in a good direction.

“Z-ZECORA!” Colgate shouted, the spell suddenly surging once more.

“If you continue to fight and bicker, your hearts will only become more bitter. To nullify this griffin threat, you will have to learn to forgive, and forget.” She would have said. Sadly, it was her tongue that had gone numb this time, so it came out more like: “Lulaaa lal la lala bubbubla la bub bub blah blah blah...”

“Huh?” Colgate raised an eyebrow.

“Colgate, your spell!” Lyra cried, pointing at Zecora.

“OH! Sorry Zecora.” Colgate blushed slightly.

Feeling returned once more to her tongue, and she attempted to stand, but felt that her legs were not quite ready for that yet. She had taken quite a beating when she had popped back in. She was a tough Zebra, what with living in the Everfree for as long as she had. Not to mention the rituals that she had the privilege of undergoing as a foal. Everything from having an elephant walk on her to wrestling with crocodiles, to wrestling crocodiles while being stood upon by an elephant. And that was before she left the crib. After that the rituals became even more intense.

Even with all of that however, being barraged by countless fury propelled barrels was a bit beyond her tough hide. Not to mention they had taken her by complete and total surprise. Here she was, simply doing what she had to do to make sure that what was supposed to happen, happened. It just so happened that entailed coming back through the teleporter to ensure that the little group had gotten on their way. So, she was mighty surprised indeed to discover that they had not, and instead were busy throwing barrels at any passerby who just might pop on in. Sadly for her, she was the first of said passerby.

With tongue now working, she repeated what she had said: “If you continue to fight and bicker, your hearts will only become more bitter. To nullify this griffin threat, you will have to learn to forgive, and forget.” It seemed that Colgate's spell was doing more then healing her poor broken and bruised body (okay, it wasn't REALLY broken, just kinda sore, in all of the worse places, like her hooves. Seriously, have YOU ever had sore hooves? It hurts, let me-*ahem*-anyway), but it was also removing the lingering traces the drink had on her. It was no longer hard for her to speak normally, and she was hopeful that talking in the strange way Equestrians did would no longer hurt.

“What do you mean?” Colgate asked.

“What I mean little mare of such great talent, is that you and the others must make forgiveness a habit. As your friend said so well, upon mistakes one should never dwell. If you allow anger your heart to take, then your friendships, and your hopes, it will break.”

“I don't get it...” Berry said, raising an eyebrow.

“I'm not too sure either.” Lyra admitted.

Bon-Bon adopted a contemplative look. This did not surprise Zecora. She knew that most ponies had a hard time understanding her, but she could tell that Bon-Bon had little trouble.

Colgate however, was not particularly happy to hear those words. “Sure, that's all nice and good, but Bon-Bon here-”

“Has not a chance to explain her great hurry. I have a feeling that if she did, then it might help quell your fury.” Zecora said with a smile. Given the fact that the battle was not far from the pit stop, and closing, she figured that if Colgate had understood the situation she was in, they would have already been past the dragon's lair by now. That said, what was it that was that held them up? “In fact, if you are all willing, that proper explanations with mend many a hurt feeling. Though you have little time to waste, for the battle you fled is coming with great haste.”

“She does have a point.” Bon-Bon said.

“Huh?” Lyra asked.

“In short, she said that we should explain ourselves rather then yell at each other. But,” Colgate turned to look at Zecora, “What do you mean when you say 'the battle you fled'?”

“She means that this area will soon become a war zone.” Bon-Bon said, still thinking. Then, lowering her hoof to the ground, she looked at Colgate. “She's right. I owe you an apology and an explanation. We don't have much time, so I'll be brief. So, first, I'm sorry. I don't have much patience when it comes to other ponies, and I'm afraid it makes me hard to deal with sometimes...”

“You an't kiddin'!” Lyra said with a large smile.

“Anyway,” Bon-Bon coughed, “I'm sorry I got short with you. On our way here, Berry had a breakdown, and I was afraid that if she and you talked, she would have another one, and we would be stuck here when the battle reached this area.” though she concealed it with expertise, Zecora could see right through it. Bon-Bon was a bit ashamed by her reactions.

“What battle?” Colgate asked, a little confused.

“Yes, I'll give you the full details later, but right now, we have a friendly army battling hostile monsters on its way here. It will not be long, I would guess, before they arrive through what I'm now assuming is a working teleporter, correct?” she asked, looking at Zecora.

Zecora nodded.

“I see.” Bon-Bon let out a sigh.

“So, why don't we just hop through the teleporter and book it before the battle arrives?” Lyra asked.

“That seems a lot safer then heading into a dragon's lair! Not to mention this Deadmare Gully you guys keep talking about.” Berry said, a hint of a question in her voice.

“I mean, we could easily outrun it, even with the four of you on me.” Lyra continued.

“You know, that does seem like a good idea.” Colgate said.

Suddenly, Zecora filled with panic. She had come here to ensure that this very event would not happen. Indeed, she had gotten involved in this whole thing to begin with to ensure that events would take their proper course (well, that and a bit of petty vengeance [and to aquire a sample of the brew for testing {no, really, it was for purely academic reasons!}]. Okay, sure, she normally wasn't one for such things, but no pony is perfect all of the time, right?). And now, it seemed, that she had caused the very opposite of what she had meant to do! Her mother had always warned her against meddling with fate, now it seemed that she was right (she's always right...). What could she do? What could she say?!

“A wise idea this not to follow for this very reason: You would never be able to leave this region.” Zecora pointed out. “I assure here in this gully the griffin still resides, and leaving it here will only cause terrible trouble to arrive. If you flee, by its fury you will followed. So face it you must, lest by its wrath you are swallowed! And I would ask you this, my would-be falcon: Can you out-run a rampaging dragon?”

“By Celestia's sun! I completely forgot about that!” Lyra cried.

“Yes, presuming that the griffin is in charge, it could simply send a dragon after us, couldn't it?” Bon-Bon said.

“Wait, a dragon? Are you saying that there are MORE dragons here?” Colgate said, panic rising in her voice. It was clear that she was beginning to 'freak out' (as some Equestrians would put it), for Zecora could begin to feel some of her body numbing again.

“There are supposedly six if I recall correctly.” Bon-Bon said as though simply stating a fact.

“S-six … dragons...” Colgate's eyes began to drift away, and Zecora could feel the spell healing her body waning in power. She had not realized just how effective of a pain blocker it was until just that moment. “You've got to be kidding me...” she slowly came back as she looked to the sky (technically the ceiling, but that's beside the point) “All I wanted to do was get a simple, magical, powerful artifact that's a toothbrush, and here we are, trapped in a cave with a battle behind us, and a gully full of insane griffins and dragons and who knows what else in front of us! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!” She cried to the heavens, shaking her front hooves in exasperation.

“It's only one griffin that we know about.” Bon-Bon pointed out.

“THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT!” Colgate cried.

“You know Colgate,” Berry began, “That reminds me. Why didn't you just wish for the Toothbrush? I mean, I was about to, but then you stopped me and wanted to know where it was instead. Why?” Berry raised an eyebrow.

Colgate snapped her head to Berry with wide eyes, then blushed a deep red and looked to the ground. “I-I...” she shuffled a hoof, “It was because I wanted to spend more time with you guys...”

“Wait, come again?” Bon-Bon said.

“Well, I mean, sure the castle was terrifying, but it was also kinda … well … fun. I mean, I really liked having you guys around, and I've always kinda wanted to go on an adventure, ya know? I mean, being a dentist is fine and all, but when you keep hearing about all of these amazing adventures other ponies seem to keep having, and then one almost falls into your hooves, how can you say no?” She asked, her embarrassment turning into excitement. “And not only that, it happened with you guys! I mean, sure, it was really scary, but I really loved it that we got through it together, ya know? Like, besides Berry, I don't have too many real friends, you know? And the fact that you guys came along, well...” Colgate seemed to struggle to speak, “I mean, I didn't know that you guys cared that much, you know? I mean, to be honest, I'm kinda a lonely pony. All of my family lives all over Equestria! I've got family in Vanhoover, Balitmare, even Canterlot! But nopony in Ponyville. And Berry, well, I mean, sure, I like everypony in town, right? We're all pretty much friendly to each other. But Berry here is pretty much my only real friend in town. She's almost like family to me. So,” she then looked to the ground again, “that's why I freak out so much about her. I-I didn't mean to be so mean Bon-Bon. It's just that … well … Berry's pretty much all I've got...”

A heavy silence filled the room. Even Zecora was taken aback by this sudden revelation. As she thought upon it, she realized that she too had few ponies in Ponyville to call friends. Many a pony was friendly to her, and Twilight and her friends were even better, but few were real friends.

“I see...” Bon-Bon said heavily. “I didn't realize you felt that way. I had always thought that … well … I don't know what I thought.”

Colgate took a deep breath. “I know, and I'm sorry. I don't mean to get so upset, but it's just that-”

“We understand Colgate.” Lyra said, “Berry's important to you. Heck, I'd probably do the same thing if it was Bon-Bon.”

“Indeed, and I would most likely do the same if it was Lyra.” Bon-Bon offered, the two glancing at each other and smiling.

Berry, however, was awestruck. “Colgate...” she said, almost on the verge of tears, “I didn't know you felt that way.... Like, I know you said that you cared, but I had no idea that it ran that deep. I-I...”

“It's okay Berry. Let's talk about this later, okay?” Colgate smiled at her.

Berry smiled back. “Alright.”

“Now that things are right once more, I think it is time you find that door.” Zecora suggested.

“I think she is right, we should get moving. Is that alright with everypony?” Bon-Bon asked, glancing around. Nothing but nods greeted her inquiry. “So, what should we do? I think Zecora's right, and that trying to flee would end poorly for us.”

“So we just try and barge on through the gully?” Colgate asked.

“Unless anypony else has a better idea, it seems that might be the best one. At least if we move quickly, we might be able to get to the griffin, if it is indeed here, and catch it by surprise.” Bon-Bon explained.

“Get to the griffin? Why? What do we do then?” Colgate asked, a bit nervously.

Bon-Bon simply shrugged, “We neutralize the threat.”

Author's Note:

First: Yes, I am aware that Bon-Bon's cutie mark is not three candy canes. And no, that was not a mistake or typo. It was very much intentional. And so was my use of the word 'was'.

Second: if I have to type the word 'barrel' one more freaking time, I swear I'm going to throw a bar-AAARRGGGG!!

And Third: Once again, Bon-Bon reaffirms that she is not, and never has been, a commando.

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