The Wonderful Pony of Oz

by 19Brumby

The Scarecrow

Twilight trotted along dutifully down the yellow brick road, eager to reach the Emerald City as quickly as possible. Occasionally she would scan her surroundings for any sign of Chrysalis, the witch's terrible cackle still ringing in her ears.

"Could you slow down a little?" wheezed Spike, struggling to keep up.

"I don't want to wait around too long," replied Twilight. "You heard Chrysalis."

"Yeah, but I have really stubby legs."

Twilight rolled her eyes and levitated him on to her back. "Come on. The sooner we get this story over with, the sooner...we get this story over with."

The yellow brick road was now leading them into farmland, though they couldn't see any other ponies or creatures of any kind. The only sign of civilisation they found other than the crops was a pink scarecrow, tied to a stake and standing in one of the cornfields. The scarecrow's presence however was overshadowed by the fact that the yellow brick road had now divided off into several different directions.

Twilight groaned heavily. "Now what?"

"You could go that way."

Twilight and Spike snapped their heads towards the sudden high pitched voice. They couldn't see anyone, although the scarecrow seemed like it was pointing down one of the many paths.

"Who said that?" asked Twilight, looking around her.

"That way's a nice way, too."

The unicorn spun around again to the scarecrow, who was now pointing down the opposite path.

Twilight walked around the scarecrow's field to see what was controlling it.

"Of course, some ponies go both ways." The scarecrow was now pointing in both directions.

"What do the Munchkins put in their lollipops?" said Spike, staring at the scarecrow.

"Um, hello?" Twilight nervously approached the scarecrow. "Have you been talking?"

"Of course I've been talking!"

Twilight jumped back in shock as the scarecrow started moving as if she were a normal pony not stuffed with straw.

"Do you see anypony else around here?" the scarecrow continued cheerfully. "I'm Pinkie Pie, the scarecrow of these fields. As you can see, I do a pretty good job." She gestured to the fields devoid of crows. "Sometimes I wish I wasn't so good at it. It gets pretty lonely. Who are you guys?"

"I'm Twilight, this is Spike. We're trying to get back home to Kansas, so we're going to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard."

"The Wizard?" asked Pinkie Pie excitedly, who had managed to remove herself from the stake and was now on the path with Twilight and Spike. "The Wizard of Oz? Do ya suppose she could get me a brain?"

"A what?"

"A brain! Y'know, that thing that's sits in your skull and helps you think," explained Pinkie Pie, tapping Twilight's head.

"If you don't have a brain, how come you're able to talk? And move?" asked Spike.

"Duh! I'm a magic scarecrow, silly!"

"Then why do you want one?"

"Like I said, I'm lonely. Most of the folks that stumble across my field run away when I try to talk to them. If I had a brain, I could find out why, and maybe make some friends."

Twilight felt a tug of sympathy for the scarecrow. "We can be your friends, Pinkie. And you're more than welcome to travel with us to the Emerald City. I have a feeling we're gonna need some help getting there."

"Really?!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, jumping in the air in delight. "Thank you! Thank you!" She gave Twilight and Spike a tight hug. "Come on! I think it's this way!" She started to bound down on of the paths.

"That's where we just came from," said Spike.

"Oopsie Daisy!" Pinkie turned about and choose another path.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Spike asked Twilight quietly.

"We have nothing else to go on," replied Twilight, though she was slightly concerned herself. "Let's follow her before she gets too far ahead."

Fortunately Pinkie realised that the other two were lagging behind and so waited dutifully for them to catch up. They then continued at a steady trot, Spike again on Twilight's back, and made conversation. Twilight told Pinkie about her farm on Kansas and the Apple family, and Pinkie told them about the many varieties of corn that grew in Oz. She also demonstrated how she could dislocate her limbs completely by simply pulling them off. Though she assured them that she felt no pain as her insides were made entirely of straw, Spike still needed to take a moment to throw up in some nearby bushes.

"We'd better end the chapter now," said Pinkie, now back together again."The next part's with the Tin Woodspony."

"But this chapter isn't even 1000 words long!" replied Spike incredulously.

Pinkie shrugged. "Oh well. What're ya gonna do? See ya next time, folks!"