> G5: trip of friendship > by Cristel > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- One morning Sunny received an enigmatic letter. When she opened it, it turned out to be a unique invitation to a special place. "Sunny, I congratulate you! You've been chosen as the lucky winner of an all-access pass to a funmagic theme park, but it is also the home of ponies who live in peace even before the restoration of magic. Don't forget to bring your friends!" -shadow Sunny had heard of a theme park like this but she had always dismissed it as a ponytale rather than a real location. The letter did, in fact, include directions for getting to magicland It was somewhere in Everdale. "Oh my gosh!" Sunny beamed. She hurried to her friends, because how could she not invite them to such a fantastic theme park? Funmagic Is it really a real place?" Zipp asked skeptically. "Apparently it is, I absolutely have to do a concert there" Pipp commented. "And it's a theme park? I thought those were made up!" Izzy exulted. "This seems a little strange." Hitch wondered, "Why haven't we heard about it, but Sunny, you were somehow invited?" "yeah that's strange but who knows, it could be a fantastic adventure." said Sunny. Sunny's call to adventure had persuaded the friends, and a lovely trip to a theme park couldn't hurt. "I'll call the limo carriage. They'll take us there in no time." Pipp assured. She picked up her phone and dialed for the royal pegasi's limo carriage. "We should probably pack before we head off. Don't want to be too unprepared." Zipp added. The friends agreed and headed back to their houses to gather everything they would need for the trip. Izzy had so many arts and crafts in her suitcase that it could hardly close. Pipp brought her golden jewellery to flaunt to everyone in the park and to post about on social media. Zipp only brought what she believed was absolutely necessary, such as clothes and mane and tail garments. Hitch brought everything he needed for his job as a sheriff, including extra badges. Sunny packed light because she believed the adventure didn't require much preparation. The five friends reconnected at the location where they had arranged to meet. They were greeted by a limo carriage hauled by two pegasus guards. "LET'S GO!" Izzy squealed impatiently. "Off to funmagic" Sunny crowed. The five friends walked in and were amazed by the Pipp posters and the goodies on offer. While Pipp glanced through her social media profile while Zipp read a scientific book, Sunny, Izzy, and Hitch dove right into the goodies. "I got a feeling that this is gonna be the best trip ever!" Sunny smiled. The limo carriage finally arrived at Everdale after a two-hour ride. The mane five were asleep when one of the guards spoke through the speakers announcing they were there. "We're here...I think." Izzy immediately sprang up. "OMG! Fun, here we come!" she squealed. "Izzy wait!" Sunny urged. But she couldn't contain herself. She burst open the limo carriage doors but her wide grin turned to a frown. The other friends exited and they too were bewildered at the sight. Sunmusentville, funmagic's central hub, was broken, and the rides appeared to be ruined. "What? No...this can't be right." Sunny says. She looked at the map and indeed there was a sign saying 'Welcome to Sunmusentville.' There were some ponies sulking around the ruined place with frowns on their faces. "Um...excuse me." Hitch called out to them, "is this really Sunmusentville?" "Get away from me." a lavender blue pony whispered, quickly galloping away. "Wow, these ponies here don't really socially" Zipp commented with her ears back. "Rick, Roll, take us back. This must be some kind of mistake." Pipp ordered the two pegasi guards. The mane 5 walked back into the limo. "Awww, and I wanted to go on all the rides." Izzy sighed. Sunny hugged her, feeling very disappointed as well. Just then, the limo carriage came to a halt in mid-flight. "Uh, we've run into some complications." Rock said, talking through the speaker. "Look out the window, quickly!" Roll added. The mane five rolled down the window and indeed saw a strange teal colored barrier around the entire park. Just then, they heard a menacing laugh. "Tsh, tsh, tsh. Didn't you read your ticket deary?" a calm and sultry voice asked, "No refunds." Just then, a Pegasus with a staff appeared floating in the sky near the carriage. "Huh?! Who are you?!" Sunny queried. "I'm shadow idiot" The mane five gasped. Owen had set them all up for a trap. They didn't know for what. "Seriously, who thinks that all-access passes are handed out like candy?! What nonsense!" he taunted, "This place has been a desolation for years, anyway. Now then, time to experience the hopelessness that everyone in this place is feeling!" "YOUR MAJESTY!" Rick and Roll shouted. They quickly maneuvered the carriage away from the blast. But the was right on their trail. Rick and Roll zigzagged across the sky, trying to avoid Shadow's evil magic. Inside, the mane five were in a panic and being flung this way and that. Even Zipp, in all her acrobatic flying skills, couldn't handle flying through the carriage in every direction. "I tire of this game!" shadow declared. He then got an accurate shot on Rick and Roll. The beam hit them making them disappear but without the guards keeping the limo carriage afloat, it plunged back to Sunmusentville. As they were pushed to the very rear of the vehicle, the mane five shrieked. "This is it! This might be the end!" Sunny panicked. "What?! But I never got to make a model of zephyr heights out of toothpicks! I NEED MORE TIME!" Izzy fretted. Hitch, who was usually very brave around situations like this, was hyperventilating. Pipp was screaming but then she pulled out her phone to take a selfie to post later and then she started screaming again. "Hold...on...tight!" Zipp urged. CRASH! The limo carriage's front hit the ground and the airbags inside went off, ensuring the mane five survived the impact. The ponies came out of their houses to inspect the crash. The mane five exited the car, dizzy and disoriented. Unbeknownst to them, Shadow was coming at them from up above. He was going to take advantage of their weak state for hit them but then, out of nowhere, an adobe beige unicorn with hazed nuts and toffee tart mane appeared. Her cutie mark was a paint palette with all the colors of the rainbow. She blasted Owen with her magic. Then joining her was a cocktail hour colored colt with a vermilion cinnabar pattern like a paint horse. His mane was colored like strawberry whip. His cutie mark was a sun with a flame inside of it. He began to kick rocks at Shadow. "Go away shadow!" the mare shouted. "Leave these ponies alone!" the colt shouted. Shadow had enough of their obnoxious attacks and was going to hit them. By using her powers, the mare, the colt, and the mane five were teleported into the broken mirror house. Shadow was about to retaliate but she took a deep breath "Fine, you want to play cat and mouse? I'm willing to take part in that. But if you get in my way again, you're doomed." He disappeared into the sky like a ghost. When the ponies realized the coast was clear, they departed the broken mirror house and had a chance to chat. "Thank goodness we came when we did. Shadow would have disappeared y'all for sure." the mare explained. "But what are you outside ponies doing here?" the colt asked. "We were tricked by Shadow into coming here." Sunny elucidated, still recovering from what just happened. "I don't know what that sorceress is up to but it can't be good." the mare muttered, "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Artsy and this is my boyfriend, Sunflower. We've been living here since we were little." "Well hello, Artsy and Sunflare!" Izzy smiled, waving at them, "I must say despite how horrific this place is and how cruel everyone is, y'all are definitely a shining light!" "Please forgive the ponies for not being particularly friendly; they've all given up hope." Sunflare apologized. "Given up hope? Why? What's going on here?" Hitch asked. "Why is FunMagic not so joyful?" Pipp added. Artsy sighed solemnly and told the mane five everything she knew, "FunMagic used to be a happy place. Since I was a tiny filly, I've called this place home. Dapper Scroll and Goldie Heart, my parents, relocated our family here since it was said to be a pony paradise. Rides for ponies, themed areas with more fun adventures, and ponies of all kinds could all get along. Shadow on the other hand, arrived with the Coven, a cult of creatures They wanted to make FunMagic a place of despair and sadness, I'll never forget my parents' terrible fight; I wish I could have done more to prevent it." Artsy started to get a little guilty but Sunflower put his hoof on her back to encourage her, she continued. "Anyway, using his evil magic brainwashing hateful ponies into slaves for her evil army. Those who stood in the way were disappear by Ravenia. I was so terrified as a young filly that I couldn't help but run. Shadow had me cornered, and then...and then..." Artsy started getting choked up. Sunflower hugged her and she began to cry. "They pushed me...out of the way….and took the blast...that would disappear me." she blubbered between tears. The mane five could feel Artsy's pain in having her own parents be portraitfied before her. Sunny wanted to hug her. Izzy wanted to cry along with her. Hitch would have offered his shoulder for Artsy to cry on. Pipp wanted to distract her with a little music. And Zipp wanted to take her for a walk that helped her release some physical energy. "Since then, we've been fighting Shadow and the newly formed Coven." Artsy added. "Welcome to Sunmusentville." Sunflower said solemnly > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The mane five were heartbroken for the ponies of FunMagic. This post-apocalyptic nightmare was certainly not a place anyone would want to call home. But then Sunny came up with a brilliant plan. "Why don't we help fix everything?" she suggested. Artsy and Sunflower sighed. "You have a lot of optimism, but you can't possibly fix all that is wrong in FunMagic ." Artsy lamented. "Furthermore, with Shadow and the Coven in the different areas of this place, it's unsafe for ponies to enter." Sunflare added. "We have to try. We can't let FunMagic be a place of despair and ruins." Sunny justified. "There's so much that can be unicycled to bring it back to life!" Izzy bubbled. "And we will always help a pony in need, no matter the danger!" Hitch confirmed. Artsy and Sunflower were still unsure. They had faked optimism before to keep the ponies of Sunmusentville's morale up, but they quickly lost hope for a better life as well. "Let's start by restoring faith to the ponies here." Sunny smiled, "let's split up." Artsy and Sunflower are stood silently watching them. They couldn't believe how upbeat these ponies were about saving their home. Izzy saw that blue lavender earth pony who had previously shunned them. She had Fly by Night colored mane and her cutie mark was an ink pen. "Hello there! I'm Izzy Moonbow! What's your name?" The lavender blue pony just shrugged and looked down. "It's Inky Collage." she responded in a monotone voice. Izzy gasped in delight. "Your name starts with i too? We have something in common already!" Izzy squealed. Izzy's cheerful demeanor put Inky off a little. "Whoop-de-doodly-doo." she said sarcastically, "now don't you have anything better to do?" "Well…." Izzy began sounding like she was about to sing. "No wait, that was a rhetorical question!" Inky clarified. But it was too late. Izzy burst into song: I could make a new friend thanks for the magic of friendship You can make friends and spend days with them and unicycle together We could turn these scraps into a motorcycle! These broken bumper cars used to ride, We can unicycle them into a slide! these old tickets which are a mess, Can be unicycled into a pretty dress! If you use your imagination on these broken pieces, You'll finally be able to know what peace is! Inky was quite interested in what Izzy was saying about unicycling. "Ok, show me more." Inky urged. Izzy did indeed pick up the smooshed tickets scattered throughout Sunmusentville and began working her magic, transforming them into a gown. "Wow, that's actually very good. How do you do that?" Inky complimented. "Just look for whatever I can find and let my imagination do the rest!" Izzy encouraged. Inky chuckled but then let out a sad sighed. "Geez, It's been a long time since I've allowed my imagination to flow." "How come?" Izzy asked. Inky sighed again and explained grimly, "I used to be a face painter for the visitors of Joyland. When shadow and his soldiers destroyed everything, I realized that no amount of art could save me from this misery, so I gave up." Izzy was appalled. She used arts and crafts to keep herself occupied when she was upset. She wanted Inky to see things from a different perspective. "Here, why don't you use your amazing painting skills to give the unicycled goods an even more colorful look?!" Izzy prompted. "I haven't picked up a brush in years, I don't know if I can still do it." "Sure you can! Creativity is something that stays with you, like learning how to roller skate or tap dance with a tennis ball on your horn!" Izzy handed her the ticket dress. Inky retreated back to her circus tent-like home in a hurry, like if she didn't want to do it. Izzy sighed, disappointed, and was about to go back to her friends. At that precise moment, Inky appeared with a face-painting kit. Izzy exclaimed and grinned her brightest smile. Inky painted the outfit with rainbow colored flowers, butterflies, and stars. It was the prettiest thing she'd ever seen in a long time. She hugged Izzy and the two began unicycling around the trashy town together. > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunny and Hitch walked into the arcade, which appeared to have seen better days. They were curious by a green unicorn colt that had entered the building. He was stadium lawn colored. His mane was calamansi and creamy mint. His cutie mark was a video game controller. "Yipes!" he shouted. He hid behind an arcade machine and slowly peeped his head up. "What are y'all doing here?" he nervously asked. "We could ask you the same thing." Hitch said. The unicorn came out and gave a flamboyant look. "Well I'm Beta Bonus, the arcade's highest-scoring player, or at least I want to be." he bragged, before looking down in embarrassment. "Why aren't you?" Sunny asked. "None of the games in the arcade actually work, so I have to pretend playing the games." he explained. He demonstrated by moving the joystick on one of the games called Party Power but the screen remained black. "See? I just have to pretend Party Prizewinner the pony is actually moving and collecting the party favors. Heh." he muttered. "Why don't they work?" Hitch asked. "The powersource was destroyed by Shadow's machine years ago, and any attempt to repair it only makes it worse." Sunny and Hitch were dismayed because it was clear that this unicorn was born to play games but he couldn't anymore. Naturally, they were compelled to assist with the restoration of the arcade in order to help this pony in need. Sunny pondered for as long as she could for any indication of a solution. In a similar vein, Hitch strategized what could be done besides just kicking the arcade games to work. "Say Beta, where is the powersource?" Sunny asked. "It's up on the roof, but you're not going to be able to fix it. It's like playing a game on hard mode! Hehe." Beta explained. Sunny and Hitch weren't really sure what that meant but they were willing to try. They galloped to the top of the roof via the deteriorating stairwell (Luckily it was sturdy enough for them). They noticed a curious contraption on the roof. It was a bunch of cogs and pipes hooked to a massive metal box that had rusted over time. Sunny started looking at it, trying to figure out how to fix it. Hitch, on the other hand, didn't waste any time and kicked it with his hind legs. "Work, you bucket of bolts!" he demanded. Sunny quickly pushed him aside. Just then the machine began to whir up again. A purple dot appeared on the screen. "All systems go." it spoke in a soft, malicious voice. "Execute pixelization protocol." "That can't be good!" Sunny fretted. A purple laser shot out of the purple dot, hitting both Sunny and Hitch. They froze into place, unable to move. Then they began to break apart into small cubes, though it didn't hurt. The small cubes then entered the monitor in a flash. Beta was still waiting for Sunny and Hitch to come back down, when suddenly one of the arcade games began to flicker. As he got closer, the image became clearer and clearer. Sunny and Hitch reappeared inside in one piece. They looked around confused at the black void they were now standing in. "Where are we?" Sunny asked. "Look!" Hitch shouted pointing. She looked up and saw a huge screen in the sky with Beta looking down at them as if it were a window. "No way!" Beta exclaimed, bewildered beyond words. "I think we're trapped in one of the arcade games!" Hitch concluded. "Correct." the soft voice said again. The purple dot then uploaded into the game, appearing as a glowy purple sphere from Sunny and Hitch's point of view. "Who are you and why did you send us here?" Sunny demanded. "I am Malicious Automated Logistics or MAL." it responded, "And I sent you here to prevent you from removing me from the arcade's mainframe." "Wait a minute, the powersource was never destroyed, it was infected by malware!" Beta realized, "Don't worry, I know an extermination code that should eliminate MAL from the system." "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't let you do that." MAL said, "This arcade will remain inoperational for as long as I function, it's what Shadow programmed me to do." "Come on, let's show this crazy virus whose boss!" Hitch said, stomping his hooves on the ground. "Game on." MAL said with an even more malicious voice. Just then, the dark nothingness they were in began to flicker. The scene became a polygonal park as it became clearer and clearer. MAL then slowly transformed from a glowing purple ball into a yellow colt wearing a party hat. But, like MAL, his eyes remained purple and pupiless. "Run." Sunny gulped. The two ran for dear life as MAL gave chase in its new form. Beta started moving the joystick and pressing the action buttons, trying to access the extermination code. Sunny and Hitch were attempting to dodge MAL by jumping over bushes that the game's programming made unpassable. "Beta! What'll we do?" Hitch shouted. Beta hurriedly examined the side of the arcade machine, which provided a detailed description of the game. "According to the game's description, the objective of Party Power is to help Party Prizewinner collect all the party favors before dark. Just keep MAL occupied and collect all the party favors before the 2 minute timer runs out." Beta explained. When Sunny and Hitch looked up, they saw a 2 minute timer ticking away. They instantly started looking for the party treats Beta had specified. Party hats, noisemakers, bead necklaces, bracelets, and spinning tops were littered over the area. They promptly picked them up with their mouths as they ran away from MAL. They vanished, and a message showed on the screen, indicating how many more they needed to collect. A minute and a half had already passed and there were only 30 seconds left. Beta was still fruitlessly trying to access the code. "What's taking so long, Beta?!" Sunny shouted. "I'm sorry, I'm left down, down, DOWN I TELL YOU! Coding does have its ups and downs, but it's not like I got a BA in it." Beta ranted. Suddenly, he thought about what he just said. Finally, the last party favor was in the sights of Sunny and Hitch. They galloped as quickly as they could to it, but suddenly MAL came out of nowhere in front of it. It shattered the last party favor into a million pixels with its hooves. "It's game over now!" it said very menacingly. With the timer running out, no way to gather all of the party favors, with MAL closing in on them, Sunny and Hitch felt like it was truly game over. The two embraced each other prepared to meet their fates and the timer counted down to 10 seconds and MAL was about to do another attack on them. But then everything came to a halt. Everything in the game became locked in place, like a photograph. MAL began to glitch uncontrollably. "NOOOO!" It said, its voice becoming lower. It flattened like a piece of paper and vanished in a ball of light. Sunny and Hitch had no idea what just happened. "It worked! The extermination code got rid of MAL!" Beta resounded. In an instant, Sunny and Hitch were pixelated and transferred out of the arcade game and back into the arcade room. All of the arcade games switched on again, much to Beta's pleasure, allowing them to be played once more. "Thank you both!" he grinned, hugging Sunny and Hitch, "you were very brave to discover the true problem." "We owe our thanks to you Beta." Sunny explained humbly. "It would have been game over for us had you not did what you did." Hitch added. The new friends exchanged warm hugs and began playing all of the arcade's games.