My Little Wizard of Oz

by BlueBioWolf

Chapter 22: Climbing and the Country of the Quadlings

After giving all the nauseated members ginger ale, the travelers passed through the rest of the forest in safety and, when they came out from its gloom, saw before them a steep hill covered from top to bottom with great pieces of rock.

“Whoa~” Pinkie said. “Maud would be impressed with this.”

“Maud?” Dorothy asked.

“She’s my sister,” Pinkie said. “She likes rocks.”

“She has about as much personality as one,” Rainbow whispered to Applejack.

“I heard that,” Raw said. “And that wasn’t a very nice thing to say.”

“Regardless,” Bartleby said. “We need to get over that hill.”

“Right,” Rarity said. “But, how?”

“We could still climb,” Sunset said, deadpan.

“Oh, yes, of course,” Rarity said.

Bartleby led the way and the others followed. They had nearly reached the first rock when they heard a rough voice cry out, "Keep back!"

"Who are you?" asked Bartleby.

Then, a head showed itself over the rock and the same voice said, "This hill belongs to us and we don't allow anyone to cross it."

“Why not?” Fluttershy asked.

“We must cross it," said Bartleby. "We're going to the country of the Quadlings."

“Yes,” Dorothy said. “In order to meet Gilda the Good.”

"But, you shall not!" replied the voice and there stepped from behind the rock the strangest man the travelers had ever seen.

He was quite short and stout and had a big head, which was flat at the top and supported by a thick neck full of wrinkles. But, he had no arms at all, and, seeing this, Bartleby did not fear that so helpless a creature could prevent them from climbing the hill. So, he said, "I'm sorry not to do as you wish, but, we must pass over your hill whether you like it or not." And he walked boldly forward.

As quick as lightning the man's head shot forward and his neck stretched out until the top of the head, where it was flat, struck Bartleby in the middle and sent him tumbling, over and over, down the hill. Almost as quickly as it came, the head went back to the body and the man laughed harshly as he said, "It isn't as easy as you think!"

“Listen, buddy,” Rainbow said. “Whatever reasons you have, we’re crossing over that hill one way or another!”

“You won’t get past the Hammer-Heads,” the man said. “Oh, boys!”

A chorus of boisterous laughter came from the other rocks and Dorothy saw hundreds of the armless Hammer-Heads upon the hillside, one behind every rock. Dorothy gasped and stood close by Nick.

---

Raw became quite angry at the laughter caused by Bartleby's mishap and giving, a loud roar that echoed like thunder, he dashed up the hill.

Chapter 22: The Country of the Quadlings, Sunset said internally.

Again, a head shot swiftly out and the great lion went rolling down the hill as if he had been struck by a cannonball.

“They’re right,” Twilight said. “It really isn’t as easy as we thought.”

Dorothy ran down and helped Bartleby to his feet and Raw came up to her, feeling rather bruised and sore, and said, "It is useless to fight people with shooting heads. No one can withstand them."

“So, what can we do?” Applejack asked.

“Well,” Bartleby said. “Dorothy still has one summon on the Golden Cap left.”

“Oh, yes, that’s right,” Dorothy said. “But, what if I summon them and they aren’t able to do this?”

“They could carry all of us over the hill,” Sunset said. “Bypassing the Hammer-Heads. Why not? They carried us miles from Winkie Country to the Emerald City.”

"Very well," Dorothy answered and putting on the Golden Cap she uttered the magic words. The Monkeys were as prompt as ever and in a few moments the entire band stood before her.

"What are your commands?" inquired Louie, bowing low.

"Carry us over the hill to the country of the Quadlings," answered the girl.

"It shall be done," said the king and at once the Winged Monkeys caught the travelers who couldn’t fly (except Rarity, who insisted Spike carry her) and Toto up in their arms and flew away with them. As they passed over the hill, the Hammer-Heads yelled with vexation and shot their heads high in the air, but, they could not reach the Winged Monkeys, which carried Dorothy and her comrades safely over the hill and set them down in the beautiful country of the Quadlings.

“Thank you very much,” Dorothy said.

"This is the last time you can summon us," said Louie to Dorothy. "So, good-bye and good luck to you."

“Good-bye,” Dorothy said.

With that, the Monkeys rose into the air and were out of sight in a twinkling.

“Hold onto the Golden Cap,” Sunset said. “Maybe Glinda can make use of it.”

“Alright,” Dorothy said. “It would make for a nice gift.”

---

The country of the Quadlings seemed rich and happy. There was field upon field of ripening grain with well-paved roads running between and pretty rippling brooks with strong bridges across them. The fences, houses, and bridges were all painted bright red, just as they had been painted yellow in the country of the Winkies and blue in the country of the Munchkins. The Quadlings themselves, who were short and fat and looked chubby and good-natured, were dressed all in red, which showed bright against the green grass and the yellowing grain.

“Now, this has to be Quadling Country,” Rainbow said.

“Certainly looks like it,” Starlight said.

The Monkeys had set them down near a farmhouse and the travelers walked up to it and knocked at the door. It was opened by the farmer's wife and when Dorothy asked for something to eat, the woman gave them all a good dinner with three kinds of cake, four kinds of cookies, and a bowl of milk for Toto.

Pinkie was eagerly enjoying the sweets. “Mmm!” she moaned in ecstasy. “These are so good!”

“Yes, indeed,” Dorothy said. “Certainly was a good meal, too.” She then turned to the farmer’s wife and asked, "How far is it to the Castle of Glinda?"

"It is not a great way," answered the farmer's wife. "Take the road to the South and you will soon reach it.”

---

Thanking the good woman, they started afresh and walked by the fields. Dorothy found herself somewhat bewildered that Pinkie could eat so many desserts and not be sick.

“How do you do it, Pinkie?” she asked.

“It’s what comes of growing up working over a bakery,” Pinkie said. She then got on her hindlegs and rubbed her bigger belly. “Plus, it makes more of me to cuddle.”

“That is quite a feat,” Dorothy said.

“Don’t worry,” Pinkie said. “I take special medicine to keep my blood sugar under control.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Dorothy smiled.

“If you want, you can lay on my tummy as a bed for the night,” Pinkie offered.

“If you feel comfortable with that,” Dorothy said.

“I am comfortable,” Pinkie said. “And not just because it was my idea.” Pinkie giggled.

“Uh, I don’t think we’ll get the chance,” Sunset said as they crossed one last bridge.

“You mean we’re almost there?” Dorothy asked.

“See for yourself,” Sunset said as she pointed forward. They all looked ahead and they saw before them a very beautiful castle. Before the gates were three young girls dressed in handsome red uniforms trimmed with gold braid and as Dorothy approached, one of them said to her:

"Why have you come to the South Country?"

"To see the Good Witch who rules here," she answered. "Will you take me to her?"

"Let me have your names and I will ask Glinda if she will receive you." They told who they were and the girl soldier went into the castle. After a few moments, she came back to say that Dorothy and the others were to be admitted at once.

“That was fast,” Rainbow said.

Author's Note:

Here's the next chapter.

Not much to add here.

If you'd like to read the book online, please refer to the following link. It's free.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts? You know where to leave them.

Comments

[Haver]

I love your story's. and the new chapter.😀😃

[BlueBioWolf]

11757229
Thanks.

[ArcticAce01]

Another great chapter! Only a few more to go

[BlueBioWolf]

11757233
Yep.

[Wildcard25]

Excellent job, and Happy Thanksgiving

[BlueBioWolf]

11757263
Thanks and back at you.

[Comickook]

Again, really good dialogues on the dialogue, characterizations and future chapter set-up. Certainly appreciated the reasoning for the difficulty in climbing that big hill that can shoot out rocks (I mean, yes, there ARE a few of the characters here that can do force fields (even if not the extent of Shining Armor over in the Crystal Empire), but it WOULD be extremely difficult for them to maintain the concentration needed for the force fields WHILE climbing and, even if they COULD manage the concentration with a lot of effort AND be able to climb, they would only be able to protect themselves, not the others. So, yeah, using the last cap summon for the Winged Monkeys was a good idea (as was saving the cap afterwards as a present for Glinda). And now the group has the directions for Glinda's castle.

Well, now we are into the final two chapters (three if there IS an epilogue after the main group returns to Equestria).

[BlueBioWolf]

11757405
Thanks.