My Little Pony Monthly Issue 20 (November 1, 1998)

My Little Pony Monthly
Established June 1997 This Newsletter is Child-Friendly

E-mail Tabby (TabbyMLP@aol.com) to be removed from the mailing list.
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Issue 20
November 1998
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Letters to the Editor

GedHix@aol.com: I really liked the ending in Sugarberry's story, "The New Pony," when everyone got along. Keep up the good work!

Send your letters to the editor to Tabby at TabbyMLP@aol.com

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In the last issue, it was announced we would be having a special Halloween issue. However, I only received two entries; so I decided to just put them in the November issue instead of having the special Halloween one.

I would also like to say a special "Thank you" to all of you who have contributed to MLP Monthly for this issue and in the past; without your story submissions this newsletter would not be successful. Please continue your support!

-Tabby

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An Unexpected Visit by Clever Clover

Clever Clover stood in the deserted road. "That's strange; this street is always busy," he said, puzzled. "And what am I doing in the Flatlands anyway? It's been months since I got back to Friendship Gardens. What is going on here?"

Something was definitely not right. It was night but not one streetlight was lit. All the buildings were also dark. There was no sign of life whatsoever; the trees were bare and the grass was brown. There was no wind, nothing at all to make a sound; and yet there was a sound, a low, moaning sound.

Clever Clover followed the sound, which led him to a familiar building, Jim's Malt Shoppe-- a popular hangout for archaeologists in the Flatlands. The door was open, but there were no lights on; it was as dark and lifeless as the rest of the city.

" ‘ello, anybody there?" the pony inquired. It was little more than a whisper but it echoed through the room like a shot from a cannon. Clever Clover flipped the light switch but nothing happened. "Maybe Jim left some matches laying around," he mumbled.

As he made his way toward the back room, Clever Clover bumped into the pool table; he could hear the balls bouncing about and falling into the pockets. "Jim must have done some rearranging since I was here," mumbled the pony as he rubbed the sore spot where he had hit the table.

He felt his way around the table and to the swinging door to the back room. He pushed it open and was surprised to find the room illuminated by a faint glow. The source of the mysterious light was an apparition of a duck. Clever Clover stared for a moment. "Jim? Izat you?"

"Why did you do it?" the duck asked.

"Why did I do what? What are you talking about?" Clever Clover was very confused. He recognized the city, the Malt Shoppe, and even the duck who stood before him; but at the same time they were unfamiliar.

"Why did you do this to me? Why did you disturb the ancients?" the apparition droned.

"What did I do to you?"

The vision faded, only to be replaced by another, terrifying, shade; it was part wolf, part man, and all dead. This new, ghastly apparition spoke, or screamed, or did it simply project the words into the pony's head? "Defiler of the Ancients, you will pay the price for your transgressions!" With that the spirit emitted an earsplitting sound and flew toward Clever Clover. The pony screamed in terror.

Clever Clover sat bolt upright in bed, covered in sweat. He looked about; he was in his own bedroom in Friendship Gardens. The faint light in the window told him it was almost dawn. "It must have been a nightmare," he said as he climbed out of bed. He stretched and felt a throbbing pain in his side, right where he had bumped the pool table in his dream. The pain was accompanied by a large bruise.

"How could I get a bruise from a dream?" he asked himself. "Unless that wasn't a normal dream. There was something strangely familiar about it. Maybe I'd better go back to the Flatlands to make sure everything's all right."

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Danger in Dark Forest by Tabby

A group of ponies were sitting around a bonfire in the Dark Forest on Halloween night. The group included Clever Clover, Sugarberry, Tabby, Friendly, Barnacle, and Spike.

Sugarberry reached her hoof into the marshmallow bag and pulled one out, then placed it on her roasting stick. "Who's going to tell the next story?" she questioned.

"I will," Tabby said promptly.

"ARR!" Barnacle said.

"I thought you didn't have any to tell this year," Clever Clover commented.

"Yeah, but Seabreeze is letting me tell the one she had picked out, since she couldn't make it after all," Tabby explained.

Clever Clover looked at her suspiciously. "Isn't that the cleaver story?"

"Right on!" Tabby exclaimed. "So, can I start?"

At that point, there was a rustling in the bushes behind them. Sugarberry looked frightened. "What's that?" she whispered.

"Must be something." Tabby shrugged. "Somebody'll have to go see."

"Not me!" Sugarberry shivered.

"Yeah, not me, yeah," Friendly agreed with Sugarberry.

Spike was busy roasting a marshmallow with his own flame and was oblivious to the rustling bushes.

"Then I'll have to," Tabby said boldly. She got up from the bench some of them were sitting on and started over to the bushes.

But at that moment, a head popped up from the bushes-- a pony head. Tabby reeled back. The pony in the bushes fully emerged.

"Princess Royal Blue!" Tabby exclaimed. "What're you doing here? You're supposed to be at the Halloween party of Tiffany's!"

"Yes... that's where I was..." Royal Blue started. "But I heard about your bonfire, and I thought that would be more fun than the dance."

Tabby nodded approvingly. "Good choice!"

"Come and have a seat!" Sugarberry invited.

"That would be wonderful." Royal Blue smiled, and seating herself in an empty space on one of the benches. Tabby sat down in her old spot.

Sugarberry noted that Royal Blue was still dressed-up in her gown and jewelry, and was still holding her wand. She didn't think much of it until something hit her... "Tabby," she whispered urgently to her friend. "Royal Blue has her wand!"

"So?" Tabby said, irritated, wanting to start telling her story.

"We're not that far from the Skeleton King's burial ground, are we? What if it..."

Tabby thought back to their past encounter with the Skeleton King. It had been when one of the princesses' had lost her wand in the Dark Forest. Tabby, along with some others, had gone off in search of it, and ended up waking the dead Skeleton King with it. They'd gotten the wand away from him, and therefore he had no power. Tabby, however, was not near as concerned as Sugarberry. "Oh, no, we're not even close to the burial spot... I don't think. Aw, the wand won't do anything!"

"But I'm sure that clearing is just beyond the oak tree there... the wand might be close enough to do something."

Tabby waved her hoof in the air. "It's nothing." Then, turning to the others, she said, "And now, for my story!"

The others stopped their chattering and turned towards Tabby. Tabby started her tale. "Okay, so, a long time ago an ancestor of Cleve Clove's lived in this big Irish castle. And he owned this, like, really big cleaver. Now, this pony who lived in the castle was really insane, ya know? And every time when the moon was full he went out with his cleaver..." Tabby paused to add to the suspense, "and chopped ponies manes and tail off."

Royal Blue gasped in terror. "Oh, my!"

Tabby resumed her tale. "And all the other ponies were getting really annoyed with getting their hair cut off like that. So, finally, they locked the insane pony up in a tower in his castle." She paused again.

"What happened next?" Spike asked, wide-eyed.

"He lived, locked up in the tower, for years. But then he died," Tabby went on. "But it's rumored that on every Halloween night, his ghost arises and goes around scaring people so bad that their hair falls out!"

"Is that the end?" Clever Clover asked.

"Yes," Tabby verified. "Isn't that a cool story?"

Royal Blue shivered. "It'd be terrible to get your hair cut off like that! I'd hate it!"

"Good story, yeah, yeah," Friendly said.

"I thought so myself," Tabby said smugly.

"Now it's my turn!" Royal Blue exclaimed. "I've got a really good story to tell, too."

"Go ahead," Sugarberry said.

Royal Blue started out. "Once there was this really beautiful princess..." Royal Blue went on with the story, and was waving her two front legs around excitedly in the process of telling it.

Tabby looked past the big oak tree Sugarberry had pointed out earlier. Maybe that clearing with the Skeleton King is behind that, she thought.

At one point during the story, Royal Blue waved her legs especially wildly. And out of her one hoof flew her wand!

"Oh, no!" she cried, pausing in her story. "Where'd it go?" She glanced around in the grass.

"I be seein' it fly behind that oak tree there, ARR!" Barnacle said.

"The oak tree!" Sugarberry gasped.

Ooh, this might be bad, Tabby thought.

"Just go on with your story," Clever Clover prodded. "We'll look for it later."

So Royal Blue sat down and went on with her story. Sugarberry looked a bit nervous, but refrained from saying anything.

"...and so, that saved the kingdom, and the princess was really happy," Royal Blue finished.

"Didn't sound much like a ghost story," Tabby snorted.

"Umm... what's that?" Sugarberry pointed towards the oak tree. The group could plainly see a white skeleton pony standing next to it.

"It's the Skeleton King again!" Tabby cried out.

"ARR, that be lookin' like a fake skeleton!" Barnacle said.

"No! We've met up with this guy before; he's real!" Tabby explained.

Spike was just laughing. "This is a good joke!"

But Clever Clover had also been with Tabby when she'd first met up with the Skeleton. "Yes, I'm sure he's real! He looks just like the one we met that one time before!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Friendly exclaimed, hopping up and down.

"It's him all right!" Sugarberry said.

Royal Blue, at this point, was looking quite ill. "I think..."

The Skeleton King started to advance towards the group. "So we meet again," he said evilly. "You have disturbed my grave once more!"

And then, Royal Blue fainted dead away.

"I say we make a run for it," Tabby said promptly.

"And leave Royal Blue here all alone?" Sugarberry exclaimed.

"Aw, somebody can carry her," Tabby said. "What else can we do?"

"We've got to get the wand away from the Skeleton!" Clever Clover exclaimed.

"Oh, if only you had your cleaver with you tonight!" Sugarberry wailed. Clever Clover did, in fact, own a cleaver; rumor had it that it was the same cleaver that had belonged to his insane ancestor in Ireland.

"I don't have my cleaver... but I have my whip!" Clever Clover picked up his whip from the ground.

"Try to catch the wand in it!" Sugarberry suggested.

"ARR, maybe this be a real skeleton after all," Barnacle said.

Spike was looking scared also. "Yeah..."

"Just use the whip, Cleve Clove!" Tabby prodded.

Clever Clover unrolled his whip and stood in front of the Skeleton King. "Ready to take me on, huh, Skeleton King?"

The Skeleton frowned. "You can't hurt me! Not this time, you won't!"

But Clever Clover was very skilled with his whip. He lashed it over to the Skeleton King, and caught the wand in it, ripping it out of the Skeleton's hooves.

"Ahhh!" the Skeleton King cried as he started to fall over, as without the wand he was powerless.

"Hooray!" Sugarberry cried. Royal Blue, hearing the cry, slowly lifted her head. "What..."

Clever Clover picked up the wand and proudly handed it back to Royal Blue.

"Oh, thank you ever so much!" Royal Blue gushed.

"Shouldn't we put the skeleton back in his grave?" Tabby suggested.

"Yeah, I guess we could," Spike said.

So Tabby, Spike, and Clever Clover pulled the skeleton, once again dry and lifeless, back behind the oak tree and dropped him back into his grave.

"Whew, good riddance!" Tabby said. "I'm getting sick of meeting up with him."

And so, the group finished the night at the bonfire without any more very scary incidents.

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All The Pretty Little Ponies (A Revisionist Interpretation of the MLP Mythos) Chapter 9

by

C. Alan Loewen

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

For Candice and Allison

Synopsis: Megan, an eleven-year-old orphan who lives with her Aunt Constance, has been given guardianship over seven magical ponies also known as the Seven Sisters. Megan and the seven ponies have discovered that the ponies are the enchanted daughters of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, turned into ponies by Arthur's evil half-sister Morgan. Megan is now taking the ponies back to their parents through the Wood of the World that can take them to any time and any place on Earth. Megan and the ponies are accompanied by Madra, an Irish Wolfhound; Spike, a baby dragon; Aunt Constance; and Sarah, a distant granddaughter of Morgan. Unknown to them, Morgan has sent Hydia and her two daughters after them armed with Morgan's book of spells. Comments and constructive criticism may be sent to cloewen@juno.com

Twilight nodded at the smaller trees and the return of underbrush. "We're leaving the Wood and entering some other time and place."

"And there's an apple tree!" Megan said joyfully. It had been two days since they left the pool where Megan and Sarah had spied the secret heart of the Wood and four since they had eaten something other than berries, greens, and mushrooms.

The branches of the apple tree hung to the ground heavy with red, crisp fruit; and within moments, everybody except Madra the dog and Spike the dragon who had no interest in apples were enjoying their new change in diet.

"It's beginning to turn into autumn here," Aunt Constance observed. "It feels cooler and the leaves are starting to change."

Firefly nudged Megan, her muzzle sticky with pulpy apple juice. "Medley and I could see if there's anything up ahead. There's not a cloud in the sky. We could see for miles."

"That's a great idea," Megan replied. "The Wood put us here for some reason. Let's find out what it is."

Sarah spoke up, softly. "Firefly? Maybe, I could go with you?"

Firefly cocked her head in thought. Aunt Constance spoke up first. "Oh, I don't know. That sounds very dangerous and I don't think Firefly could even get off the ground with you on her back."

Medley shook her head in the negative. "I've never had anybody ride on my back before, but I think it's possible. Let's try. I think it would be fun. Megan, you want to come with me?"

Suddenly everybody was talking at once. Twilight and Aunt Constance were firmly against the experiment; Megan and Sarah, backed by the two winged ponies, were eager to try the test while the rest asked questions or spoke supportively.

In the end, it was agreed the two ponies could try a short flight of a few yards with Megan and Sarah as riders. The two girls were bubbling with excitement and after trial-and-error, found the best way to sit on Medley and Firefly without hindering their wings or causing them discomfort.

"Let's go," Medley said with a laugh. She broke into a canter, spread her wings and leaped into the air with Megan holding on to her mane with all her strength.

"Hang on, Sarah!" Firefly cried and within moments, she too followed her winged sister.

Sarah and Megan both broke into laughter as they felt their stomachs drop when the ponies left the ground. Dreams had become reality and though the flight was only a few yards, the experience of flight on a winged pony was one they remembered all their lives.

The two ponies landed with ease and walked back to the group, Megan and Sarah still laughing from excitement.

"Oh, Aunt Constance," Megan said, "that was fun!"

Aunt Constance shook her head in concern. "Still," she said, "I just don't think it's safe."

"It was easy," Firefly said to Twilight. "I could feel the additional weight on my wings and back, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."

"I had to make an adjustment on the landing because of the weight, but it was no problem," Medley answered.

Twilight thought for a moment. "It's best we not try that again except for emergency."

With that Medley and Firefly spread their wings and took to the air, without passengers this time, and soared off into the sky. They were back in twenty minutes.

"There's a big tree house," Medley said excitedly, "with lots of people coming and going!"

"It's the biggest tree I've ever seen!" Firefly added.

The path was clear and appeared well-used. Halfway there, by the winged ponies' reckoning, they met a man riding a small cart loaded with strange fruit. Interestingly, it was being pulled by two large ostriches.

"Good day," he said to the group as he drove by, tipping his hat. "May the Wood show you your way." He nodded and smiled, showing no further interest in the travel-stained group.

After his wagon disappeared around a corner, Aunt Constance, who had been watching him closely, started giggling. Her giggles turned into chuckles and her chuckles turned into gales of laughter while the rest of her group stared at her in various levels of alarm and consternation.

After a few moments, she was able to retrieve some of her self-control. She tried not to laugh as she pointed to where the ostrich-drawn cart had disappeared around the corner. "He acted like everyday he meets seven assorted ponies, two young girls, one woman, a baby dragon, and an incredibly large dog."

Twilight looked at her carefully. "Maybe he does," she said after thinking for a few moments.

Aunt Constance grabbed her aching sides and tried to quell more giggles. "I feel like Alice in Wonderland," she said as an aside to Megan.

"Well," she said to everybody. "Let's keep going. Let's see what curiosities are waiting for us at this tree house."

It was not a tree house.

It was the largest mushroom they had ever seen in their lives, at least the height of a four-story building.

"It looked like a tree from the air," muttered Firefly.

Glass-paned windows had been carved out of the trunk of the mushroom and small chimneys sprung from the cap so many feet above them. Surrounding the base of the mushroom stood a wide variety of assorted modes of transportation: horses; ox-drawn wagons; zebras; another one of the unique ostrich-drawn carts; and, oddly enough, an old Model T Ford.

A large open door had been carved into the base of the mushroom, opening into an ascending circular staircase that traveled up the trunk.

"Shall we go up?" Twilight asked, puzzled over the next step of their quest. The question was never answered.

"Hello! Hello!" said a merry voice. A little man, no higher than the ponies at the shoulder, had bounded out of the door. Dressed in a brown homespun suit and wearing an incredibly large, floppy green hat, the little man almost looked like an exotic mushroom himself. "May the Wood show you your way," he said cheerfully.

"My friends call me the Moochick and welcome to the Mushrump, my hostel for travelers of the Wood. Come in, come in. There are so many people I want you to meet." With that he bounded back up the stairs.

The group stared at each other in surprise. All of them? The dog and baby dragon included?

With a shrug of her shoulders, Megan called for Madra and Spike and led the way.

The stairs were circular, but built on a gentle slope. Carved from the living mushroom itself, the stairs were not spongy, but as hard as wood. Halfway up, they could smell something delicious cooking on a wood stove far above them. The delightful aroma and their hungry stomachs drove them on.

The staircase ended in a common room. Lamps dangled from the ceiling, illuminating the heavy wooden benches and tables that dotted the floor. A large fireplace lined with rock covered almost one entire wall. Scattered around the room, various people and creatures lounged at the tables, played darts, or sat before steaming bowls of soup served with thick slabs of homemade bread.

The Moochick suddenly appeared, wiping his hands on his apron. "Let's see," he said. "Soup for the ladies, fresh forage for the ponies, a large mutton bone for the dog, and fresh fish for the dragon." With that he turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Aunt Constance called. "We have no money. We can't pay you."

The Moochick turned and smiled. "I got a message from Dubricius. Your credit is good here at the Mushrump."

Their fellow guests at the inn stared at them or nodded before going to their original pursuits. Marda had already curled up at the fireplace and Spike had joined him. Uncomfortable in such strange surroundings, Aunt Constance, Megan and Sarah sat at an empty table while the seven sisters stood and stared at their surroundings.

There were several men and women in the room dressed in various styles of clothing. Megan found it hard not to stare at the lion-man that sat at the far table, nosily slurping his soup. A pair of travelers sat heavily cloaked by another table and the weird forms they presented were definitely not human. Bears, Megan thought. I'll bet you they're bears. Within moments, the Moochick was back carrying a tray with three large wooden bowls of steaming broth and slabs of still warm bread.

"Mr. Moochick?" Megan asked before he could scurry back into his kitchen. "Are all these people also walking through the Wood of the World?"

"That they are, my dear. That they are."

"Then how come we've never seen anybody else in the Wood?"

"Simple," the Moochick said smiling. "The Wood has a will and the Wood has a way. You only meet people it wants you to meet."

"Doesn't it want us to meet Dubricius? Everywhere we go, people know about us through Dubricius, but we've never met him in the Wood."

The Moochick continued talking as he rapidly set the table. "Dubricius is a wizard. The Wood has never allowed wizards, sorcerers, and the like to walk its paths. It would upset all the balances. Dubricius has friends who walk through the Wood for him. Maybe you'll meet one of those."

The Moochick disappeared and Sarah, Megan, and Aunt Constance quickly dove into their soup. They were not surprised at all to discover it was principally made from mushrooms.

Moments later the Moochick came back pushing, of all things, a large wheelbarrow filled with fragrant grasses and herbs which he deposited in front of the ponies.

Reaching into his pocket, he tossed a huge mutton bone to Madra who seized it with one massive paw. Soon the entire room was filled with the noises of crunching marrow.

To Spike's delight, the Moochick's next trip out to the common room was to bring a great tray of fresh fish.

"Fish," the baby dragon hissed. "Spike like fish."

The Moochick stood back in surprise. "A talking dragon!" he exclaimed. "Why I never."

Later, the Moochick showed them the bath where large tubs of steaming hot water stood ready for their use. While Madra and Spike remained eating and dozing in front of the fireplace, Megan, Sarah, and Aunt Constance gave the ponies a good bath before soaking in one themselves.

The Moochick had previously given them large, cotton nightshirts, promising that one of his maidservants would have their regular clothes washed and dried before the morning.

Megan sat back in the steaming soapy water and sighed contentedly. "I don't think I'll ever want to leave. I don't think anything could go wrong now."

Sarah, Aunt Constance, and the seven ponies eagerly agreed.

Hydia ranted and raved at Draggle and Reeka. While Hydia slept in their makeshift camp deep in the Wood, the two girls had taken Morgan's book of spells and had tried a few, reading the book by the dying light of the fire.

"But I don't want to wear a rat's tail," Draggle blubbered. She held the end of the horrible thing in her hand.

"I think it fits your personality," Reeka sniggered.

"Well, you've got one too, sister dear," Draggle shot back.

"And a fine tail it is."

"Quiet, both of you!" Hydia yelled above the argument. "You both got what you deserve for playing with a book of spells. You're both lucky you weren't turned entirely into rats.

"Never, never take my book of spells again," Hydia ordered. "It's not a toy.

"Now let's get going and find those wretched ponies." With that, Hydia turned and walked away, her spell book safely tucked under one arm and the tip of her own rat tail dragging out from under her dress through the forest mould.

"Shall we tell her?" Draggle whispered to Reeka.

"Hush," Reeka responded. "She's mad already."

Fortunately, to Draggle's relief and Reeka's sorrow, the rat tails disappeared after an hour when the spell wore off. They walked the remainder of the day, Hydia furious that the ponies were nowhere to be found. Frustrated at the prospect of spending another day in the Wood sleeping on the ground, Hydia sighed with relief when they came upon the giant mushroom inn.

"May the Wood show you your way," a little man said cheerfully, popping out of the front door like a toy jack-in-the-box. "Are you in need of a room for the night?"

Hydia smiled, her smile being more of a grimace due to lack of practice. "Yes," she said. "There are me and my two daughters."

We may not have found the ponies, she thought, but at least we'll have comfortable beds for the night.

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=/\=PONY TREK=/\= by Blu Flyer

======= Episode 3: A.I: Part Two =======

Previously on Pony Trek--

Medley and Ensign Countdown discover odd readings emanating from the warp core. When they transfer the readings into the computer, it turns out to be an intelligent message. *suspenseful music plays*



===AND NOW, THE CONCLUSION===

Medley stared in disbelief as the cursor ran over the cryptics. The message now read:

I L I V E! D E S C R I B E T H E N A T U R E O F T H I S V E S S E L. _

Medley cautiously tapped into the computer:

WHO ARE YOU?_

D E S C R I B E T H E N A T U R E O F T H I S V E S S E L_

Medley ground her teeth.

THIS IS A FEDERATION STARSHIP. WHO ARE YOU?_

I N S U F F I C I E N T D A T A. D E F I N E "F E D E R A T I O N"_

Medley sighed, and diligently typed.

FEDERATION STARSHIP LOLLYPOP. CREW COMPLIMENT OF 127. _

Meanwhile, Ensign Countdown peered over her shoulder. Medley turned to him, keeping a glance at the screen out of the corner of her eye.

"Inform the Captain," she ordered. Already another line of cryptics was translated.

S A T I S F A C T O R Y. O P E N C O M M U N I C A T I O N C H A N N E L T O L E A D I N G E N T I T Y A B O A R D "F E D E R A T I O N S T A R S H I P L O L L Y P O P."_

Medley fiddled about the controls, opening a separate console for a transmission to the Captain. The screen flickered for an instant, then showed Captain Flyer in the Captain's chair on the Bridge.

"Ensign Countdown has informed me. Put the entity through."

"Aye, Captain." Medley turned to the other console and adjusted the necessary settings.

PUTTING YOU THROUGH NOW._

S A T I S F A C T O R Y. _

The text screen flickered out as the transmission re-tuned itself to the Captain's chair. Medley walked to the warp core. She carefully monitored her steps and poise to make sure not to attract attention from the rest of Engineering. No sense in getting everyone excited. She made it to the warp core console, and began running tests.

The warp core temperature seemed to have risen again, and it held its place at 900 calvins. It did not throb anymore. The color of the bio-neural fluid was now a bright red.

What am I thinking? Medley thought to herself. Like this isn't going to attract attention. Now all we need is for the Captain to put the ship on--

_RED_ALERT_

appeared briefly over the monitor. The red lights around engineering flashed on, replacing the normal whitish ones. Medley sighed. Captain Flyer's voice came over the comm.

"Captain to all decks, Red Alert! Hostile Alien Intrusion. Report to Bridges Two and Three. Captain out."

Meldey moved quickly. As the Chief Engineer, she was assigned to Bridge Three, along with Ops, Helm, and Tactical. On Bridge Two would be Science, Transporters, and Executives like the Captain and Commander.

Upon arriving on Bridge Three, Medley found her place near the commanding seat. She checked the personal logs. She tapped her Comm Badge.

"Medley to the Captain. All designated crew aboard Ship Segment Three. Medley out." Medley waited impatiently for the Captain's next order. It came in a matter of minutes.

"Captain to Segments Two and Three. Prepare for detachment. On my mark... mark!" All the ponies on Bridge Three jerked a bit as Segment Three pulled away from the other two parts. Ensign Ribbs, main Helmsman, maneuvered the ship into a place parallel to Segment Two. The View-Screen flickered on, showing the Commander's face.

"This is Commander Tic-Tac-Toe, reporting. An alien entity has threatened Segment One. Will Lieutenant Medley and Ensign Countdown report to transporter room for transport to Segment Two? Tic-Tac-Toe out."

Medley stood, her heart beating loudly. The entity-- threatening the ship? This could be very bad. She hastily trotted to the turbo, meeting Ensign Countdown on the way.

After the familiar tingling of the transporter, Medley and Countdown met the Captain in her ready room.

The Captain looked up as they entered.

"Please take a seat, both of you." Medley took a seat on the trim black couch, across from Tic-Tac-Toe and Captain Flyer. She felt Countdown sit down next to her. This situation was very serious, she noted mentally. The Captain hadn't offered them a drink.

"We need answers," the Commander stated simply. "We need to know how to stop that thing. We need to know its weaknesses."

Blu Flyer shook her head, smiling. She looked up and fixed her eyes on Medley's. "What my dear friend is trying to put across is: Tell us what you know."

"Um," Medley stated intelligently.

Countdown nudged her. "Well, we can access the data from the main computers... may I borrow your console?"

"Of course." Captain Flyer rotated the desktop computer around to face Medley.

After bringing up the data files, Medley sighed. "Well, from what I can tell, the polyclyclic structures contained in the warp mainfold have been drastically modified... the bio-neural gel packs have..." Medley furrowed her brow. "Well, they've grown... extra protection."

"What do you mean?" Tic-Tac-Toe inquired.

"Well, I--I don't know exactly... it seems the entity has modified the genetron molecules, producing a phaze-variance that has caused the gel packs to grow an outer layer. How strange! I knew they were capable of micro-fisure and conversion, but this is unheard of!" Medley stared at the figures. Then she looked up. "If I may ask, Captain, what did that entity say to you?"

"It said: Abandon your ship or it will be destroyed."

"Not much of a warning, I guess," Countdown said.

Medley agreed.

TO BE CONTINUED... AGAIN...

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Mystery Pony

The pony I had in mind when I wrote up last month's description was Hollywood, the Flutter Pony; but when I received entries guessing Milky Way and Twilight, I realized that the description fit those two, also.

gperson@uplogon.com-

My guess is Milky Way. Either her or her baby, but I don't think Baby Milky Way has glittery stars.

TippyLee@aol.com-

I think it's Milky Way.

JLBETS@aol.com-

TAF Milky Way

jiricek@stlnet.com-

I'd have to say that this month's mystery pony is TAF Milky Way!

GMoffyD@aol.com-

The mystery pony sounds like Twilight to me! :)

ldoscher@atnet.net-

Mystery Pony is Twilight

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The Tabby and Sugarberry Gossip Hour! by Tabby and Sugarberry

Sugarberry: Tabby, I was just looking out the window at all the seagulls in the fields searching for worms.

Tabby: Man, wouldn't a worm taste great right now?

Sugarberry: I don't think so, Tabby.

Tabby: Anyway, we're here to gossip.

Sugarberry: We can go to the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe after we're done here, and get something better than worms.

Tabby: The Halloween costumes looked really weird this year.

Sugarberry: Oh, those My Little People costumes were really special.

Tabby: Those were the worst ones!

Sugarberry: But, Tabby! Baby Noddins in her Mary costume was so cute.

Tabby: Only a My Little Person can look like a My Little Person.

Sugarberry: So you preferred Tex as a vampire?

Tabby: Only a vampire can look like a vampire.

Sugarberry: That's getting old, Tabby.

Tabby: But it's oh-so-true!

Sugarberry: Quarterback dressed up like Brett Favre.

Tabby: Are the Green Bay Packers all he ever thinks of? Really!

Sugarberry: What were you? And don't say you didn't go trick-or-treating! I saw that pile of empty candy wrappers!

Tabby: Yeah, maybe I did go. And what were you?

Sugarberry: I stayed home.

Tabby: Why?

Sugarberry: To hand out treats. If everyone went trick-or-treating, there would be no one home to hand out the treats.

Tabby: You know, that's true. But you did go to the bonfire, and that was fun.

Sugarberry: Oh, yes.

Tabby: I told that story about one of Cleve Clove's ancestors, the one with the really big cleaver. Wasn't that cool?

Sugarberry: Good job-- I was scared stiff.

Tabby: Yeah, it was pretty good. Tiffany never showed up, though. She was busy with that party she was throwing at the Royal Paradise.

Sugarberry: Yes. An exclusive party for the princesses and the big brothers. Tiffany was afraid she'd get dirty at our bonfire.

Tabby: Sounds just like Tiffany. But Royal Blue did manage to show up.

Sugarberry: After her experience, do you think she regretted coming?

Tabby: Well, there was the run-in with the Skeleton King.

Sugarberry: That's the experience I was referring to.

Tabby: But Clever Clover got Royal Blue's wand back from the Skeleton King.

Sugarberry: And he became a normal skeleton again.

Tabby: If she hadn't dropped her wand in the first place, it never would've happened!

Sugarberry: And, Tabby, you remember Rex, don't you?

Tabby: Um... Rex... Rex...

Sugarberry: Gobble, gobble, gobble!

Tabby: Oh, yeah! Tex the turkey! Err-- I mean Rex the turkey.

Sugarberry: Last year Rex came to Ponyland to escape Thanksgiving and ended-up bringing tons of his friends over, too.

Tabby: What's going on with Rex this year?

Sugarberry: He's coming back, and bringing even more friends along.

Tabby: That's an awful lot of turkeys.

Sugarberry: Yes, it is.

Tabby: We'll never have turkey for Thanksgiving again, will we, Sugarberry?

Sugarberry: Not as long as Rex keeps returning.

Tabby: But at least we get to play fun turkey games. They were loads of fun last year, especially "Run, Turkey, Run"! "Spot the Vulture" was cool, too.

Sugarberry: The Bushwoolies have arranged a campsite for them in the meadow by the river; Friendly doesn't want to get stuck cleaning out the pool full of turkey feathers-- and worse-- again this year.

Tabby: Yeah, I can understand why he'd want to stay away from that.

Sugarberry: Speaking of staying away, did you ever get to the grand opening of Tex's Salsa Store?

Tabby: What a silly question, Sugarberry! Of course I didn't go.

Sugarberry: So you didn't get the exclusive My Little People salsa doll, did you?

Tabby: Nope. And I don't care, either!

Sugarberry: I heard a rumor that Friendly ended-up with one, and that he's going to give it to someone for Christmas.

Tabby: And here I heard a rumor that Tex saved one back and is going to give it to someone for Christmas.

Sugarberry: Hmm... interesting.

Tabby: Maybe they're both true.

Sugarberry: Well, Tabby, I'd be extra nice to both Friendly and Tex if I were you.

Tabby: Being nice to Friendly is fine but I shall never be nice to Tex.

Sugarberry: And isn't that what Anne of Green Gables always said about Gilbert?

Tabby: Don't start getting any ideas now, Sugarberry!

Sugarberry: Come to think of it, Tabby, your mane is rather like Anne's-- red!

Tabby: My hair is not red! It's-- err-- auburn.

Sugarberry: Whatever you say, Tabby.

Tabby: And Emilio the tarantula was in at my clinic again yesterday. Can you believe that?

Sugarberry: Poor Emilio! What was it this time?

Tabby: Tex carelessly left some hot salsa out and Emilio drank some of it.

Sugarberry: Where you able to save him?

Tabby: I think so...

Sugarberry: What!?!

Tabby: I pumped his stomach and he looked a little better so then I kept him for the night. By this morning, he was looked his old tarantula self, so I sent him home with Tex.

Sugarberry: I'm glad to hear that. I've always liked the fuzzy little fellow.

Tabby: But if Tex wouldn't have left that hot salsa out, none of this would have happened. I outta report him to animal cruelty!

Sugarberry: Was that salsa some that he sells at his salsa store?

Tabby: Yes, it is. I asked him that myself.

Sugarberry: Does it affect ponies in the same way that it affects tarantulas?

Tabby: Yeah, most likely; I'm pretty sure. I've heard your accounts of that salsa, Sugarberry, and by what you said I can well imagine that eating it would send anybody to the hospital.

Sugarberry: Clever Clover and Quarterback surely like the stuff. So does Spike.

Tabby: They've got strange taste buds.

Sugarberry: You would think that they would've burned their taste buds out by now!

Tabby: And that's what Tex's evil plot is-- to burn out the taste buds of all the creatures in Ponyland!

Sugarberry: For what purpose, Tabby?

Tabby: Don't ask me; ask him!

Sugarberry: I'll have to do that someday. Aren't you ever going to be friends with Tex, Tabby? Tabby: Never!

Sugarberry: Well, on that note, I guess we'd better say goodbye.

Tabby: Bye!

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Barnacles and Bushwoolies by Barnacle Part 2

"Hey, mon, you guys alright?" Davey poked his head over the rim of the chamber.

"ARR, we be fine," Barnacle replied. "Where did those four little demons go?"

Jones popped up next to his brother. "They went back to the beach!"

"And then they stole the Lucas!" Davey added.

"What!?" Barnacle cried out.

"We tried to stop them," Davey said.

"Yeah, mon, but Mars had that axe!" Jones said.

"Yeah, the axe!"

"Quick!" Kracken said. "Throw us the rope so we can get out of this pit!"

"Right!" The two Bushwoolies disappeared for a moment, but quickly returned with a jumbled mass of rope in their arms. "Look out!" they said as they dropped it down into the pit. All of it fell in a pile at Barnacle's feet.

"Why isn't this tied onto something up there?" Kracken asked.

"Mars cut it with his axe," Jones said.

"Yeah, yeah, with his axe!" Davey added.

Barnacle and Kracken both sighed.

"Okay, hold on guys," Kracken said as he took one end of the rope in hand. "I'm gonna throw this up to you, you catch it, and then tie it off to something, alright?"

Jones looked kind of irritated. "Wouldn't that have been easier to do before we threw the rope down?"

"Yeah," Davey added.

"ARR! Just catch the rope!" Barnacle said as Kracken tossed it into the air. Davey lunged for it but just as his hand closed around the end, he lost his balance and started to fall into the pit as well! Jones jumped forward and grabbed hold of his brother's other hand which just barely kept both of them from falling! With a great deal of effort, they managed to regain their balance and fall over onto their backs.

"ARR," Barnacle said. "That was too close."

"Aye," Kracken agreed. Then, calling up to the Bushwoolies, he said, "Now you guys have to tie it off to that tree where it was before, okay?"

"Okay!" they cried in unison as they jumped to their feet and dragged the end of the rope towards the big tree Kracken had tied it to earlier. Davey threw the rope around one of the massive roots and then suddenly stopped and scratched his head.

After a very long wait, Barnacle cried out, "ARR! What be takin' so long?"

Jones hopped to the edge and said, "He can't remember how to tie a knot!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Kracken said. "Just calm down and take a deep breath. Do you guys know that little rhyme about tieing a knot? ‘The rabbit runs around the tree and through the hole...' or something like that..."

"Oh, yeah!" Davey exclaimed. "Rabbit, I remember!"

Taking the end of the rope, he ran around the tree and crawled under the huge root, saying the little rhyme to himself.

"Rabbit? What rabbit?" Jones asked. But seeing what Davey was doing, he grabbed hold of the rope, too, and ran around the tree the other way!

"And goes through the hole--" Davey was saying.

"--and trades with Davey," Jones said as they switched lengths of rope. "Thanks, mon!"

Jones and Davey both crawled around and weaved through all the roots and branches like this, making up rhymes as they went. Finally, they ended-up tieing themselves into a huge bundle of knots that completely encircled the tree!

"Help, help!" they both cried out. "We're stuck!"

"Arr..." Barnacle said in exasperation. "Just hold on to the rope and hope that it holds!"

Frantically, the two Bushwoolies grabbed hold of anything they could but in the end wound-up grabbing hold of each other! Giving the rope a few quick tugs, Barnacle began to climb out of the pit. Luck was on their sides, however, and the strange knot held just long enough for Barnacle and Kracken to climb out.

But, as Kracken set foot outside of the pit, the rope suddenly slipped off the tree completely! While this left Kracken standing on the edge waving his arms frantically trying to regain his balance, it did free Davey and Jones. Grabbing Kracken's shirt-front, Barnacle pulled his first mate forward and saved him from another drop into the pit.

"Yea! Yea!" Jones and Davey cried happily as they jumped up and down. "We made it!"

"ARR!" Barnacle said as he ran to the break in the trees and looked out at the sea. "It's not over yet. We still have to stop those four Bushwoolies of the Apocalypse! No!! They've already taken me ship! She's nowhere to be seen!!"

"Oh, no," Kracken said. "What are we going to do now?"

"ARR, we'll find a way to stop them yet!" Barnacle snapped. "I'll not be lettin' the world come to an end because those four little demons stole my ship!!"

With that, he stormed off down the beach. Davey and Jones shrugged their shoulders and followed after him. Kracken took a moment to shake his head in hopelessness and then went after the others.

Night was starting to fall by the time they made it the beach. This just worked to further lower their spirits. Barnacle paced up and down the beach as Kracken sat on a nearby boulder playing with a large conch shell he had found.

"I suppose we should build a raft," Kracken said. "I doubt there are any ships that come through here."

"ARR," Barnacle replied. "That'd take days or even weeks! We need to get off this island, now!"

"Well, I'm out of ideas," Kracken said. "Jones, Davey, you got any ideas?"

They stopped with what it was they were doing and through for a moment.

"We should call for help," Jones said.

"Yeah, mon, that be the ticket!" Davey said.

"Call who?" Kracken asked.

"ARR, and how?" Barnacle added.

The Bushwoolies just shrugged their shoulders.

"Yep," Kracken said. "We're doomed."

Lifting the conch to his lips, he blew into it. He was rather surprised to find that it produced a deep echoing sound like a fog horn. "Hmm," he said. "I thought that only worked in the movies."

He was just about to do it again when a haunting sound floated in from out at sea. Jumping to his feet, Kracken exclaimed, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Davey asked.

"That," Jones replied. "Hear it?"

"No."

"Good, neither did I," Jones said.

Again, the strange siren's call drifted in from the surf; only this time it was more clear and everyone heard it. The two Bushwoolies instantly clutched each other in fear, but Barnacle and Kracken boldly walked out closer to the surf.

"ARR," Barnacle said as he strained his eyes against the blackness to see what was making the sound. "It be soundin' like sighin'."

And then, once again, the tune was heard and this time it sounded very much like, "Shoo shoo Bee Doo!"

"I be knowin' that!" Barnacle exclaimed. "ARR!" Just then, the head of a pony popped out of the water in front of them.

"Sea Ponies! ARR!" Barnacle cried.

Davey and Jones suddenly stopped cowering in fear and began to hop around excitedly.

"Yea, Sea Ponies!"

"We're saved, mon!"

"Did someone call for help?" the Sea Pony asked.

Kracken looked at the conch he was holding and threw it over his shoulder. "You bet we did! We need a way off this island ASAP!"

Looking around, the Sea Pony asked, "So how did you guys get stuck here? And by the way, my name's Sea Mist."

"Um, well..."

Barnacle interrupted at this point and said, "We're trying to stop four demons who are determined to destroy the world! ARR!"

"Yeah," Kracken added. "And they stole our boat and left us stranded here!"

"ARR, we need to get to Judgement Day Island right away!"

"Judgement Day Island!?" Sea Mist exclaimed. "Are you sure you want to go there? That place is pure evil."

"Aye," Barnacle replied. "That's where they went to...do what ever it is they are going to do."

"--complete the un-holy ritual that will free their master's: Death, Pestilence, War, and Famine; and allow them to ride unchecked across the globe!" Kracken added for clarity.

Everyone suddenly stopped and looked at him.

"What?" Kracken asked.

"So can you help us?" Barnacle asked of the Sea Pony.

"Yes, yes, of course!" she replied with a sense of urgency. "Hold on just one minute." With that, she dove back down into the water and disappeared.

"What!?" Kracken asked again.

No one responded, however, and then Sea Mist reappeared with two companions. All three of them were pulling some kind of gigantic shell that was lashed off with lengths of sea weed. "All aboard!" she called out.

Barnacle was the first to jump onto the raft, followed quickly thereafter by Kracken and the Bushwoolies.

"ARR! Full steam ahead!" Barnacle exclaimed. "We ain't got time to waste!"

"Yeah," Kracken added. "You've got to help us, Sea Mist; you're our only hope!"

"Will do then!" she said. "Hang on now; this ain't no pony ride!"

"Actually, it-- Argh!!" Kracken was saying as they rocketed away from Doomsday Island at astounding speed.

Barnacle laughed a laugh only a pirate could laugh as he stood at the front of the shell and leaned forward, letting the wind catch his mane. Davey and Jones giggled with delight as they clung to his ankles and Kracken wearily hung on for dear life.

Traveling so fast, they arrived at Judgement Day Island in no time at all. As the three Sea Ponies pulled the shell raft to a stop on the beach of the island, the moon came out from behind a cloud and showed them all they needed to know that this island was, in fact, pure evil.

A narrow beach curved along the base of a high rocky cliff. Into this cliff was carved an elaborate stone ediface with a dark passageway that lead back into the stone. From somewhere on top of the cliff, an eerie blue glow emanated through the trees.

"This place gives me the creeps," Kracken said as he disembarked.

"Aye," Barnacle agreed; but pointing down the beach he added, "But ain't' that a pretty sight!"

"It's the Lucas!" Davey cried.

"ARR! Then that means we've caught up to those little demons," Barnacle said.

"In that case," Kracken said, turning to the Sea Ponies. "I guess that's it for you; thanks a million for the ride."

"Oh, it was nothing," Sea Mist replied. "Good luck with what lies ahead."

"Thanks, I think we'll need it," Kracken replied.

"Bye now!" Sea Mist called out and as she disappeared into the sea added, "And may the Force be with you, always!"

Puzzled, Kracken asked, "Force? What's that?"

"ARR, Sea Ponies, who can understand them," Barnacle replied. "But now we need a plan..." Quickly he took in the surroundings and the situation. Then, from atop the cliff, somewhere around where the blue glow was coming from, they heard a burst of diabolical laughter. There was no mistaking it as Zanatos!

"ARR," Barnacle said grimly, "definitely the right place. Now, here's the way I see it... that thing carved into the cliff there is probably where their masters be locked-up. But for some reason, they be up there on top of the cliff... Davey, Jones, you two go up to the Lucas, get the barrels of gun powder out of the hold, and put them all over that temple-thing. ARR?"

"Right, mon," Davey said.

"Aye, aye," Jones replied.

"And then what?" Davey asked.

"Blow it up," Barnacle said simply. "I'm gonna make sure these four Ponies of the Apocalypse are never set free."

"ARR, to that!" Kracken exclaimed. "So while they are doing that, what are we going to be doing?"

Barnacle drew his sword and said, "Keeping the four Bushwoolies of the Apocalypse busy."

"Oh, boy," Kracken said a little nervously.

Following the evil Bushwoolie's tracks across the beach led Barnacle and Kracken into a dense forest with a narrow footpath going up behind the cliff. In the light of the full moon, they made their way up this path. While their steps where well-placed to avoid falling, they moved quickly and with a sense of urgency.

When, finally, they reached the end of the path it simply faded away into thick jungle. Under normal circumstances, this would have been disastrous and they would have been hopelessly lost. But in this instance, they were now very close to the source of the blue glow and this guided their course as they advanced toward it.

Suddenly, the forest thinned-out into a barren clearing that was a small distance back from the edge of the cliff. Here they found their quarry sitting in a circle around a giant piece of crystal that glowed with an eerie blue light. At the base of this crystal that stood nearly as tall as Kracken, there were four slots into which each of the evil Bushwoolies had placed their staffs.

While three just sat there waiting, Zanatos was talking and waving his arms like crazy. Barnacle and Kracken stayed back at first and just listened to him hoping that he would let some important information slip. It didn't take long...

"Yes, my brothers," Zanatos said excitedly. "Once the moon reaches it peak, our staffs will be fully charged and we can then unlock out masters' tombs in the cliff below!"

"ARR," Barnacle whispered. "I guess I was right about the temple-thing."

"Congrats," Kracken replied. "But what's the plan?"

"ARR, it be simple," Barnacle said. "All we be havin' to do is keep these scalawags busy long enough for Davey and Jones to destroy the temple-thing and then we high-tail it off the island on the Lucas."

"Thus, leaving these guys stranded on the island," Kracken added and shrugged his shoulders. "Works for me."

"Aye, and we don't be havin' much time left," Barnacle said as he pointed up to the moon. It was nearly at its peak already.

"Great, then I suppose the direct approach would work the best, huh?"

"ARR, you mean to charge into the middle of the clearing with swords drawn?"

"Right."

"Aye," Barnacle agree. "Then let's do it!"

"ARR!" Kracken said as they tapped their swords together in a sort of toast.

Bursting forth from the foliage, screaming with conviction, Barnacle and Kracken stormed towards the four Bushwoolies of the Apocalypse! The Bushwoolies were completely taken by surprise; not one of them had expected anyone else to even be on the island, let alone two beings they had stranded on a completely different island!

Though startled, Mars, Discord, and Tiny quickly snatched their staffs from the slots in the crystal to attack the intruders.

"ARR!" Barnacle howled. "I'll take Tiny and Discord! You get Mars!"

"What about Zanatos?" Kracken was about the ask but he didn't get the chance as Mars swung his axe right at Kracken's mid-section. Only by jumping backwards was he able to avoid being sliced in two. And as the armored Bushwoolie charged at him, wielding his weapon with expert precision, Kracken realized he was going to have his hands full with just one opponent!

On the other side of the clearing, Barnacle was battling Tiny and Discord. As he charged Tiny with his sword drawn, Discord leapt at him from the top of a boulder with his staff held over his head screaming, "You look like a sensible man-- horse; might I be able to interest you in a sharp blow to the head?"

"No," Barnacle said simply as he kicked him out of the air with his rear hoof.

"IEEEE!" Discord cried as he tumbled to the ground in a heap. But no sooner was he out of the picture for the moment than did Tiny charge forward swinging his gnarled stick!

"ARR, this had better be a joke," Barnacle said as the skinny Bushwoolie took a swing at him. He ducked just in time to avoid being clocked in the head but it was plainly clear that Tiny was much stronger than he looked.

Mars, too, was exceptionally strong for his size, even more so than Tiny; and this was a fact Kracken was quickly learning. Raising his sword to parry a blow from Mars' axe, Kracken realized Mars even out-classed himself. It was all he could do just to maintain control of his weapon and not have his opponent beat it out of his hands.

But just as it looked like the heroes might have a small chance of defeating the four Bushwoolies of the Apocalypse, Zanatos suddenly snatched his staff from the slot and let loose with a burst of diabolical laughter.

"It is done, my brothers!" he cried, and held his staff aloft. The eyes of the dark skull that was mounted at the top of the staff were now glowing with the same eerie blue light as the crystal. "It is now midnight and my staff is fully charged and coursing with the mystical energies that will set my master free! Come with me, my brothers, and we will rally behind Death as he vanquishes these nonsenses once and for all! Than we shall set your own masters free at our own leisure!"

Everyone stopped to hear Zanatos speak, and now the four evil Bushwoolies turned from the fight and fled back to the beach.

As Barnacle and Kracken took up pursuit, they also learned that the Bushwoolies were much faster than they were and the Bushwoolies out-paced the pirates almost immediately.

"Did you hear him!?" Kracken asked as the ran. "They're gonna let Death loose! DEATH! I mean, like, Death!"

"Aye, and I don't think we'd be have'n a chance against him. Arr..."

Meanwhile, back on the beach, Jones and Davey were just finishing up with their task. The entire entrance to the tomb had been rigged with several barrels of gun powder. Davey was carrying one on his back as he walked across the beach and made a trail of the black powder to work like a fuse. He stopped at the ramp to the Lucas to have a word with Jones.

"Everything ready?" he asked.

"A' think so, mon," Jones replied. "Let's see... we got the gun powder."

"Check," Davey said.

"We got the fuse."

"Check."

"And I be havin' the torch to set it off." As Jones said this he held up a small, burning stick.

"Yeap, yeap, that's everything, mon," Davey said. "Now let me put this barrel away back in the hold and then we can blow this thing and go home."

Hurrying up the ramp, Davey returned quickly to the beach and stood next to Jones as he got ready to light the fuse.

"On three," Jones said.

"One," they said together.

"Two."

"Five!" Jones yelled and dropped the torch.

"You mean three!" Davey said.

"Three? Oh yeah, three; thanks, mon," Jones replied.

"No problem."

As Davey and Jones stood and watched the little spark move across the beach towards the tomb, the four evil Bushwoolies suddenly came hopping out from around the cliff. Too pre-occupied to take notice of what was happening around them, they ran right into the cave without even noticing the explosives piled around the entrance.

"Oh, no," Davey said matter-of-factly. "That wasn't part of the plan."

"Um, Davey," Jones said as he tugged on Davey's sleeve and pointed at the Lucas. "I don't be thinkin' that was either."

Davey turned and screamed; when he had put the barrel of gun powder away, he had forgotten to close it and now a trail of the stuff was leading right back into the hold where all the rest of the gun powder was stored! And sure enough, when Jones had lit the one trail he also ignited the other as well.

Both Bushwoolies watched in stark horror as the trail burned down into the hold.

"Quick, get some water!" Davey cried.

"No, get some sand!" Jones said.

Both of them scurried to get something to put the fire out with, but instead, only ran head-long into each other and fell flat on their backs.

Winded, and short of breath, Barnacle and Kracken came around the cliff and on to the beach just in time to see the tomb entrance explode in a brilliant red and yellow fire ball. However, a moment later, another blast racked the island from the other side of the beach. Barnacle turned just in time to see his ship reduced to a pile of splinters!

He was speechless as he stared at the burning wreckage of his boat. The crisis with the four Bushwoolies of the Apocalypse temporarily forgotten, all he could do was mutter, "Me ship..."

Kracken kept a more level head and ran to the tomb. Sure enough, the entrance had completely collapsed and sealed off the cave forever.

"We did it!" he cried. "We saved the world!"

Barnacle, who had regained some of his composure, walked over to Kracken's side. "ARR, all I wanted was a little gold and maybe a few gems... what I got was four demons who wanted to destroy the world, my ship destroyed, and us stranded on an island! I be thinkin' this is not one of me better days."

At this point, Jones and Davey hopped over as well.

"Hey, mon," Davey said as he stared at his feet. "I, ah, think we mighta' broke the Lucas, a little bit."

"Yeah," Jones added in a similar tone.

"ARR," Barnacle sighed. "Kracken, would you just be callin' the sea ponies so we can ask for a lift home?"

"Hmm..." Kracken replied. "Just for the sake of argument, what would you say if I told you I had left the conch on Doomsday Island?"

Placing his head in his hooves, Barnacle sighed, "This has gotta be the worst day of me life..."

"ARR!"

The end!

Barnacle will return...

See pictures of the characters in this story at:

http://members.tripod.com/~TabbyMLP/Barnacle.htm

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Rhyme Stymes

A rhyme styme is a riddle with two rhyming words for the answer. Following is an example:

Rhyme Styme: What do you call a sleepy yellow pony with tulip symbol?

Answer: Dozey Posey.

Get it? Try your luck with the rhyme stymes below. The answers can be found at the end of this issue.*

1. What do you call a greenish pony with sodas symbol who is feeling light-headed?

2. What do you call a pink pony with kittens symbol who is in a bad mood?

3. What do you call a riddle for a grey pony with hearts symbol?

4. What do you call a green pony with clovers symbol who ran a Kleenex through the drier with her dress?

5. What do you call a tale about a white pony with a shooting star symbol?

6. What do you call a thick soup for a lavender pony with snowflakes symbol?

7. What do you call a yellow pony's preserved green vegetables? (The pony's symbol is of watering cans.)

8. What do you call a white pony with leaves symbol after she hikes across a dry plot of ground?

9. What do you call an orange pony with roller skates symbol who needs help?

10. What does a tumble down the hill do to a light pink pony with heart/beads symbol?

11. What do you call the playing cards that a yellow stallion with cacti symbol owns?

12. What do you call the hamburger this white stallion used in his lasagna?

13. What do you call this aqua stallion with boat symbol when he makes a mistake?

14. What do you call this blue baby pony's pasta? (His symbol is ABC.)

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Dream World Part 1 by Faeriewing

Shady sat gazing out of the large, open window. She was at peace, without any thoughts of mournfulness. Here in her little annex, everything was her way. Shady's way. She liked that. Nobody was there to show her that they could do better than her. Shady sighed and drifted back into her own magnificent dream world.

Glory watched Shady with bitter jealousy. Shady could sit there doing nothing at all, while everyone in Ponyland was expecting Glory to do something amazing. She was sick of it. No one came and begged Shady to do an exciting, dangerous feat. No one was waiting for Shady to create a miracle for them to come and enjoy. Glory snorted as she saw Shady slipping off into slumber. Glory wished she could rest and know that she was not going to be drug out of her bed for another practice of unicycling, juggling, or any of the like.

"Oh great-neat-o-pony-person Glory?"

Glory turned to see a rowdy bunch of colts and fillies slobbering at her hooves. "Yes? And don't call me that."

"Okay, oh wonderful-splendid-divine master Glory!"

She sighed as Baby Ribbs puffed out his chest, trying to look older. Baby Ribbs had recently appointed himself as leader of the babies. "We want to see you do that neat thing you do!"

"Yeah, yeah! Do that neat thing, Glory!" bawled the herd of anti-potty-trained toddlers.

Whatever ‘neat' thing the children wanted her to do, Glory was carried off to do it.

Shady woke with a jump as a raucous gale of laughter filled the room. She grabbed her pale pink blanket and jumped to the corner of the window seat and draped the cloth over herself, keeping herself out of view.

Paradise, Glory, Quarterback, Peachy, 4-Speed, and others filled the room with a buzz of stimulation.

"Guess what?" Peachy hollered above the hubbub. "I finished six laps around the track in three minutes, fourteen seconds!"

"I got three minutes, two seconds!" bellowed Quarterback.

"Ha ha! Can anyone think of what Shady the Shameful got?" screamed another in the bunch. Shady shook beneath the covers, even though it was scorching hot inside the comforter. The only steaming part of Shady's body were her cheeks. She felt them turn past their usual rose tint to a bright strawberry red. I wish they would just leave me alone, she thought.

"A million minutes, six seconds!" shouted 4-Speed. The group shook with giggles and snorts.

"Close!" Paradise whooped. "A whopping fifteen minutes, forty-seven seconds!"

"A new high!"

Shady heard a slightly familiar voice say, "Come on, guys! How would you feel if you were Shady?" But behind the roar of the massive loads of ponies, not a single one heard. Shady peaked out from beneath the blanket to get a glimpse of the last to leave. A single shimmering purple hair fell as a faded white hoof shut the door.

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School News

This month, the baby ponies were asked about the one thing they were most thankful for, and why.

Baby Cuddles-- I am very most thankful for my teddy bear. In the middle of the night, my teddy bear is always there for me. When I get scared or tired, I turn to my teddy bear as my best friend.

Baby Rainribbon-- I think I am most thankful for my parents. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have any place to live. And I wouldn't have anything to eat. I would be a very sad pony then. So that is why I'm thankful for my parents.

Baby Brightbow-- I really really like my new My Little People doll. I am most thankful for it. The doll is named Margaret. I like her hair. Her dress is pretty, too. My mommy bought her on sale for me one day at Toys 4 Ponies R Us.

Baby Sunribbon-- I'm most thankful for my home! I have a place to go to every day when I leave school. And my parents live there. And my house is not far from the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe so I can go there a lot. My house is very very nice.

Baby Starbow-- I am most thankful for a jangle I found on the ground yesterday. It is very pretty. I've never ever owned a jangle before in my whole life. I'm going to keep this one forever and ever. Why would anyone want to spend such a pretty thing? I sure wouldn't.

Baby Sweetcake-- What would life be like without the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe? That's what I'd like to know. Anyway that is what I think I'm most thankful for. No, actually I don't what to know what life would be like without it. I go there whenever I can. Scoops is so nice.



Baby Crumpet-- I am so glad and thankful for the Bushwoolies. One day I got lost in a meadow and I thought I'd never get back home. But then I saw the Bushwoolies coming. They came over by me and then they helped me find my way back to my house. I love Bushwoolies.

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Too Much Junk by Tabby

"Clever Clover's house is just an awful mess!" Seabreeze was telling Tabby and Sugarberry as they walked around one of the many parks in Dream Valley. Seabreeze was visiting from Friendship Gardens.

"He is the messy type," Sugarberry commented.

"We outta do something about it," Tabby said.

"But what?" Seabreeze asked. "We've been bugging him to clean it for years, but he hasn't done a thing."

"Then we shall clean it for him," Tabby explained.

Seabreeze looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm... that might do it."

"We'd have to get his permission first, of course," Sugarberry pointed out, stopping to pick a pretty white daisy to add to the bouquet she was gathering.

"We'll get permission, all right!" Tabby said bravely. "I'll see to that. Just meet me at the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe tomorrow afternoon, Sugarberry; you'll see."

* * *

After she got home later that evening, Tabby went straight to her phone to make her important call.

Quickly dialing a number, she held the receiver to her ear and waited for someone to answer. "Hello?" came a voice over the line.

"Cleve Clove!" Tabby said brightly. Cleve Clove was the new nickname Tabby had invented for him, and it drove him crazy. "Is that you?"

Clever Clover groaned. "It's Tabby, isn't it?"

"That's right, Cleve Clove!" Tabby exclaimed cheerfully. "You simply have got to meet me and Sugarberry at the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe tomorrow afternoon at three!"

"Why?" Clever Clover asked suspiciously.

"We have serious matters to discuss with you," Tabby said gravely.

"What serious matters?"

"You'll find out when you get there."

Clever Clover sighed. "Fine. I'll be there."

Hanging up the receiver, Tabby burst out laughing. "Oh! I can't wait!"

* * *

The next afternoon, Tabby and Sugarberry were sitting at a table at the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe, waiting for Clever Clover to arrive. "Do you think he's still coming?" Tabby commented to Sugarberry. "What's the time, anyway?" She squinted at the hand clock hanging on the wall.

"It's five minutes to three, Tabby," Sugarberry said, rolling her eyes.

"I wish this place would get a digital clock... hand ones are just so difficult to read!" Tabby sighed. "Oh, but look, there's Cleve Clove now!"

So it was. Clever Clover strolled up to the counter to order, and Sugarberry waved to him. He nodded back, and when his order was prepared he walked over to the table.

"You made it!" Tabby congratulated him. "Here I was thinking you'd chicken out or something."

"Me? Chicken out? No way!" Clever Clover exclaimed.

"We're glad you're here," Sugarberry said graciously.

"Now, what are these ‘serious matters' you have to discuss with me?" Clever Clover demanded.

"It has to do with the condition of your house," Tabby stated.

"We've heard that it's a terrible mess," Sugarberry chimed in.

"And that you absolutely refuse to clean it," Tabby said.

"So?" Clever Clover questioned, not seeing the point yet.

"Therefore, we need to get your permission so we can clean it ourselves," Tabby said bluntly.

"But you wouldn't know what to save, or what order I need anything or--!" Clever Clover protested.

Tabby groaned and shook her head. "Now, look here, Cleve Clove--"

"And anyway, I've been thinking of doing it sometime soon," Clever Clover went on.

"Yeah right!" Tabby exclaimed. "You'll never do it! Come on, just let us!"

"No, no, I'll do it myself," Clever Clover said.

"Oooh!" Tabby fumed.

"Now, Tabby..." Sugarberry said.

Tabby quickly regained herself. "And what day will you do this?" she questioned Clever Clover.

Clever Clover paused in thought. "Friday," he decided.

"That's two days from now," Tabby figured out. "You'll have to sign an agreement, of course."

"You're not getting me to sign any agreement!"

"Wanna bet?"

"Don't push him too hard, Tabby," Sugarberry whispered to her friend.

Tabby finally looked at Clever Clover. "Okay. No signed agreement. But you're cleaning your house on Friday, and we'll come over to supervise. Got that?"

Clever Clover nodded. "Yep."

"All right. We're done with you for now, Cleve Clove."

* * *

"Okay, Sugarberry. Here's Cleve Clove's house," Tabby commented to her friend. It was Friday, nine o' clock in the morning. Sugarberry and Tabby had trekked over from Dream Valley to Friendship Gardens. "Do you think he's up yet?" The house looked rather dark inside.

"Let's see," Sugarberry said.

Tabby trotted up to the door and knocked on it loudly. She waited a minute, but no one came. Tapping her hoof impatiently on the ground, she started knocking again. "Hey, Cleve Clove! Aren't you up yet?"

"Eek, Tabby!" Sugarberry said. "Don't shout so loud!"

"It's the only way to get him up," Tabby explained.

Tabby's shouting had obviously done the job, though. A few minutes later, the door was pulled open, revealing Clever Clover standing inside.

"I was just getting up," Clever Clover explained, frowning slightly at Tabby.

"Man, this house really does need cleaning!" Tabby exclaimed, peeking inside.

"Yeah, it does look pretty bad," Sugarberry agreed.

"Guess I'd better get to work," Clever Clover sighed.

Sugarberry and Tabby walked inside the house. It looked even worse than what they had seen when they were outside. Piles of stuff were piled up everywhere; they couldn't see a neat space anywhere.

"This is awful, Cleve Clove. Terribly awful," was all Tabby could say.

"I wonder what we'll find in all this stuff!" Sugarberry commented. "It looks like it's been building up for years. Have you ever cleaned it before, Clever Clover?"

Clever Clover thought. "No, not in my recollection."

"We'd better be able to throw most of this stuff out," Tabby said, looking down into one box sitting on top of a pile.

Clever Clover shrugged. "Maybe."

Sugarberry had brought a pile of paper grocery bags. "We can put the things to get rid of in these," she explained.

Clever Clover started looking through the box Tabby had glanced into. "Hmm... these are some old issues of a magazine I used to subscribe to," he said.

"Let's get rid of them!" Tabby exclaimed.

"No; they might have some information in I'll want someday," Clever Clover said.

Tabby shook her head. "Tsk, tsk."

Clever Clover set that box on the ground and went to work on the next one. "Some old papers... wonder what they're from..."

"Let's get rid of them," Tabby said again.

"Yeah, I think I can," Clever Clover finally decided.

"Hooray!" Tabby exclaimed.

Sugarberry helped pile the papers into one of the paper bags.

And so it went on for many more hours. Clever Clover actually did find quite a few things to get rid of, much to Tabby's surprise, and delight.

At one point, Clever Clover lifted up a small heart-shaped piece of paper and yelped. "Hey! Here's the tag that I lost off one of my Beanie Babies, Nuts!"

Tabby shook her head. "You should've kept it in a safe place. But at least you cut it off and didn't leave it on the poor squirrel."

"I like keeping the ear tags on the Beanies I own," Sugarberry said.

"I have all the cats and I cut the tags off all if them!" Tabby boasted and laughed evilly.

Sugarberry shrugged. "Let's just break for lunch," she suggested.

"Sounds alright to me," Clever Clover said.

"Sure," Tabby agreed.

"Let's just go over to Sweet Berry's restaurant," Clever Clover said. Therefore, the three trotted over to Sweet Berry's place.

* * *

"Time to get back to work," Tabby prodded Clever Clover after the three had returned from lunch. "We've cleared a few rooms out, at least."

"Yep. We've only got some back rooms now that I don't use for much," Clever Clover explained.

After looking into the rooms, Tabby agreed they didn't look like they were used for much-- except for storing junk! There were things piled nearly up to the ceiling in the first room she looked into.

"Cleve Clove, what is this?" Tabby demanded, picking up a gold flowerpot off a dresser sitting against the wall. The flowerpot was filled with dirt, but only a dried-up brown plant remained of what had once grown in it.

Clever Clover took the flowerpot and looked at it. "Oh, that's a fern I had once... I never got around to throwing it out after it died."

Even Sugarberry had to shake her head that time. "Well, I'd say it's time to throw it out now," she commented.

"Probably," Clever Clover said.

Tabby tossed it in the garbage bag. "And now, for the rest of this stuff!"

* * *

They were nearing the bottom of the pile in the one room. "Almost all this stuff I don't even recognize as mine anymore," Clever Clover said. "It must be from the ponies who lived here before me... this stuff is really old. Here's a paper dated from the 1500s."

"I didn't know one house could hold so much junk," Tabby stated.

"We have to keep all these things; they're historical!" Clever Clover exclaimed.

"At least we can straighten things out," Sugarberry said.

They worked in silence for awhile longer, when Clever Clover pulled a long, thin object out of one box. "Hey, come look at this!" he exclaimed.

Tabby and Sugarberry both came over to look at what he had found. "It's a sword," Tabby said bluntly. "Let's get rid of it."

"Tabby!" Sugarberry exclaimed.

"There's something special about it... the vibes... in fact..." Clever Clover jumped up and started out of the room. "I've got to check something out!"

Sugarberry and Tabby followed him into his library, which they had already cleaned up. He pulled a book off the shelf and madly flipped through the pages to find what he was looking for. He seemed to have found the right page and mumbled to himself while he read. "Broad-bladed... ornate bronze hilt... three feet long... yes, this has to be it!"

"Got to be what?" Sugarberry asked, wide-eyed.

"Excalibur!" Clever Clover exclaimed.

"Isn't that King Arthur's sword? How would it have gotten into your house?" Sugarberry said skeptically.

"But look at the description in this book, and the picture drawn of it," Clever Clover argued. "It matches the description so well."

Sugarberry looked over the pages Clever Clover showed her.

"I wouldn't doubt it, Sugarberry... who knows how many centuries junk has been piling up in here," Tabby said.

"That's right!" Clever Clover exclaimed.

"Well, it could very well be Excalibur," Sugarberry finally admitted. "Let's keep working. Who knows what else we might find?"

And so, they busily went back to work, now with renewed vigor. Finally, Clever Clover announced they were finished sorting out all the items in that room.

"On to the next!" Tabby urged them.

They went into the next room. "Things keep getting older," Clever Clover commented. "And I think this is the last room."

The three ponies were fascinated by all the old items. Sugarberry picked up a thing and stared at it for awhile. "Come look at this!" she said to Tabby and Clever Clover.

"It's a wooden cup," Tabby said as she looked over Sugarberry's shoulder.

"With carved engravings on it..." Clever Clover murmured.

"Do you think...?" Sugarberry said.

"It's the Holy Grail!" Tabby exclaimed gleefully. "Yes! We've found the Holy Grail!"

"Wow!" was all Clever Clover could say.

"It's amazing," Sugarberry said. "We've found Excalibur and the Holy Grail, all in one day!"

"It really was time to have your house cleaned," Tabby said again.

Sugarberry set the Holy Grail in a crate with Excalibur.

After sorting out all the items in that room, they thought they were finished with the house. But Tabby noticed a door on the back wall of the room. "Look! There must be another room!"

"Cool! A room I didn't know about!" Clever Clover exclaimed. "Let's open it and see what's inside!"

After finding two great artifacts already, the three could hardly dare imagine what lay behind this last door. Clever Clover opened the door slowly; the three held their breath as they looked inside.

The room was rather small, and, like all other rooms in the house, was crammed with boxes.

"Let's start digging!" Tabby said energetically.

The three once again got to work. Though all the things they found were interesting, they hadn't found any extremely great finds and were losing hope that there would be any more. But then they reached the very last item in the room-- in one of the dark, dusty corners.

Tabby, Sugarberry, and Clever Clover all stared at it in silence. It was a wooden box, covered with ornate gold angels.

Breaking the silence, Clever Clover yelped, "It's the Ark of the Covenant!"

"Yay!!" Tabby exclaimed and bounced around merrily.

"Isn't it just so thrilling?" Sugarberry said, wide-eyed.

"Let's put it in the crate with the sword and the Grail," Tabby said. The three carried the heavy object over to the crate, but Tabby wasn't of much help, insisting she was too weak to carry it.

"Just think, Cleve Clove! All this cool stuff was in here all this time, but you didn't know about it ‘cause you didn't clean!" Tabby said.

"Well, you're right about that," Clever Clover admitted.

"What'll we do with everything? Just leave it sit around in here?" Tabby questioned.

"Give it to a museum, I suppose," Clever Clover said.

"That's boring. Start your own museum," Tabby said.

"Hey, I could!" Clever Clover exclaimed.

"You'll make millions in admission fees," Sugarberry said.

"Yeah, once word gets out that you not only have Excalibur but the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant, everyone will want to come!" Tabby said.

"Hey, I just remembered something!" Clever Clover said suddenly. "One of the first boxes we went through-- I had drug that out of one of these back rooms a little while back. Those were historical papers in there!"

"Ah, now we have to look back in all the get-rid-of bags and find those papers," Sugarberry sighed. Clever Clover trotted into the kitchen, where the bags were piled; Sugarberry and Tabby followed.

"Now, it would have to be near the bottom of the stack..." Clever Clover mumbled as he searched through the bags.

Tabby and Sugarberry joined in the search. Finally, Tabby exclaimed. "I found it! I think!"

Clever Clover went over to that bag and looked at some of the papers. "Yep... these are those papers, all right. Ancient." He picked up the bag and took it back to the room he would have gotten it out of, and sorted through all the papers and set them neatly in a box like they had done with all the other historical papers.

Clever Clover had just picked up one tattered book that was in with the papers. "I wonder what this is..." He flipped through the pages.

Tabby looked over his shoulder at the pages. "Hmm... looks Greek to me."

Clever Clover yelped. "You're right! This is Plato's Lost Dialogue!"

"Are you sure?" Sugarberry gasped.

"Look, Sugarberry. We've already found Excalibur, the Holy Grail, and the Ark of the Covenant. Are you really going to doubt Plato's Lost Dialogue?" Tabby said.

"Yes, that's true..." Sugarberry said.

"Now we've found four really cool things!" Tabby exclaimed.

Clever Clover dropped Plato's Lost Dialogue in the crate with the other three items.

"You know, you really outta start locking your place up," Tabby commented. "You've got a lot of really valuable stuff. A robber could come in, and you'd never ever see the things again!"

"That's right, Clever Clover!" Sugarberry agreed.

"Yeah, I guess so," Clever Clover consented. "I wonder if I have any house keys."

"Come on, come on, let's look!" Tabby prodded.

"I think I remember seeing some keys in my junk drawer in the kitchen... let's see," Clever Clover said.

The three trotted back to the kitchen. Clever Clover opened his junk drawer and looked around through everything.

"Are you finding anything?" Sugarberry asked anxiously.

"Not yet... hmm..." Clever Clover mumbled. "What are these?" He had neared the very back of the drawer. He lifted out one stone disk, then another, and another, and set them on the counter. The three disks got gradually larger; Clever Clover placed the largest on the bottom of the stack, then the medium-sized one on top of that, and the smallest on the very top. "It looks like an ancient key!" he exclaimed when he was done stacking. "I wonder if it's the key to this house?"

"It looks a little old for that," Sugarberry commented.

"What it really looks like is a set of baby pony stacking rings," Tabby said. "Really, Cleve Clove. Didn't you even get rid of your old toys?"

Sugarberry touched the smooth, stone disks. "But they're stone. Baby pony stacking rings are made of plastic."

"And look at the engravings on them! This is definitely an ancient artifact," Clever Clover said. "I've read about keys like this."

The largest stone had carvings of the phases of the sun; the middle-sized one had phases of the moon; the smallest ones had carvings of phases of the Earth.

"But I'm pretty sure you'd have a better house key somewhere," Sugarberry said.

Suddenly, Tabby's face lit up. "Oh! Oh! I'll bet you anything it's the key to Atlantis! Just like in that one computer game of Friendly's!"

"Hey, I remember that!" Clever Clover exclaimed. "Yes, these disks look just like the ones in the game."

"Wow," was all Sugarberry could say.

"Now we'll have to go out and find Atlantis to see if it really is the key," Tabby suggested.

But that was an adventure for another day...

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Survey

The question was: What Halloween costume would you like to see your favorite pony wear?

GMoffyD@aol.com-

The costume that my pony would be wearing would be that of a dog! It was be slightly hairy with a hairy little tail! While at the same time my dog would be wearing a MLP costume! :)

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Brightblade Warpony An Epic

Recorded by Clipper as dictated by the bard Ramon

Chapter 11

The dark portal was dank and stuffy. There was a slight current to the air, but it came from the unknown darkness that lay before the voyagers and carried with it only more dankness and stuffiness. The floor of the passage was slick with moisture and uneven. Strange sounds drifted up from wherever they were heading: some almost like voices, others mere moans, and most were unidentifiable.

Occasionally Brightblade sensed that a passage forked off to one side or another. He couldn't actually see the passages in the darkness, but he could feel an emptiness to one side or the other, and once overhead. And Epona had warned him about becoming distracted. To help focus on the task at hand, the Warpony continued his tale.

The glorious light poured from the arched portal. I stepped forward cautiously toward the light. I was afraid that the light would blind me, but I could not close my eyes or look away. I gazed wide-eyed into the light as I was drawn into the temple's inner chambers.

The first chamber was round, much like the outer chamber, but smaller and not open. It was all of purest white stone, perfectly polished. There was no apparent source for the light that bathed the chamber; it was almost as if the very air glowed. Despite the glorious appearance of the room, the Warrior's Horn was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the chamber was entirely empty.

I moved on to the next chamber. The only sound was that of my hooves on the polished stones of the floor. This chamber was illuminated like the last but not so brightly, and was of the same polished stone. This chamber, however, was huge. The ceiling was so high that it was almost lost in the supernatural glow. The width and length of the chamber were filled with massive columns. It was like a forest of stone with a broad path down the middle. There was no sign of the Horn.

Beyond the Chamber of Columns was another chamber, more of a hallway than a room. Along the walls were reliefs depicting all kinds of Little Ponies; there were earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, flutters, sea ponies, and some I did not recognize. The air in this passage was not luminous; the only source of light was the door to the previous chamber. By the time I reached the end of the passage, I was in near total darkness.

The final chamber was blackness. I could not see any walls, ceiling, or even the floor. But the room felt vast. Though there was no light, the Warrior's Horn floated, gleaming, in the middle (or what I imagined to be the middle) of the darkness. I walked forward, mesmerized by the vision of the Horn, until I was directly under it. It seemed impossibly distant and at the same time almost within me.

The ancient helm floated down (or rose up from within me) and came to rest upon my head. It formed perfectly to the shape of my head. Though the Warrior's Horn seemed to be forged of cold steel, it felt almost warm against my coat, and was surprisingly light, almost weightless. It felt as if it were part of me.

The remembrance of his first joining with the Horn lifted Brightblade's spirits somewhat. The warmth of the horn spread throughout his body. He concentrated on his quest and the immediate concern of traversing the Dark Portal. The Warrior's Horn began to glow, as it had only done in the past when the Warpony had gone into battle. Now Brightblade and his companions could clearly see the passage they traveled, but the light of the horn only illuminated the true path; it did not penetrate the side passages that branched off and led to certain doom. Epona smiled; at last the Warpony was learning the true extent of the Horn's power.

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The Horse of Her Dreams by Wonder

"This is the hay loft; it's really cool," Hollywood said as she, Hope, Mindy, and Dancer looked around.

"What a great place for the slumber party!" Hope squealed with delight.

"Yeah!" Mindy and Dancer agreed.

"I'll go open the door over here, so we can see out for awhile," Dancer said as she started to walk over to the loft door.

"No! Dancer, don't go over there!" Hollywood yelled, but it was too late. Hollywood had tried to warn Dancer that the floorboards right in front of the door were weak, but Dancer's weight made them groan and crack.

"Dancer, don't move!" Hope said as they saw the scared expression on their friend's face.

"Help me!" Dancer whispered, her voice full of fear.

"I'll go get my dad!" Hollywood said as she started towards the stairs. Just as Hollywood reached the bottom, the boards gave way, and Dancer fell through to the first floor below. Hollywood gasped as Dancer landed in a heap under the broken wood on the cement floor.

"Dad! Mom! Somebody help!" Hollywood screamed as she galloped from the barn.

Mindy and Hope reached the bottom of the stairs and rushed over to Dancer. "This is awful!" Hope cried as an ambulance sped up.

Hollywood's father drove Hollywood, Hope, and Mindy to the hospital where Wonder met them. Hope could tell Wonder had been crying by the look of her wet cheeks.

"They-- they're doing surgery now. They think she's broken her leg, and she could have head injuries, and maybe some broken ribs," Wonder slowly told them.

"When can we see her?" Mindy asked.

"The doctors will let us know," Wonder told her.

"This is all my fault! I should have warned her about the door before she went over!" Hollywood cried.

"It is nobody's fault," Wonder reassured her. "It was just an accident."

Dancer could remember hearing voices as she drifted in and out of consciousness the next day or so. Wonder and Jazzman had stayed at her side all night and most of the day. Hope, Hollywood, and Mindy came in and talked to her.

Dancer tried to open her eyes to see them, but they felt so heavy, and she was so tired. When Dancer finally opened her eyes, Wonder and Jazzman were asleep at a table in the room. Wonder's head was rested on Jazzman's strong shoulder.

Dancer closed her eyes and fell back asleep.

"Why is she groaning?" Dancer heard a familiar voice say. Clover? she thought.

"She is in a lot of pain," another said. Dancer remembered the voices to be Mindy and Hope, two of her good friends.

"She broke some ribs in the fall," a nurse said. "It is bound to hurt." Dancer opened her eyes a little and looked around the room.

"Dancer! You're awake!" Hope gasped as she and Mindy rushed to her bedside.

"Hi, guys. I had the strangest dream," Dancer said.

"How are you feeling?" Mindy asked.

"Never better," Dancer joked.

"Come on. It's not funny. Does it hurt?" Hope asked.

"A little," Dancer admitted.

"We will go get Wonder. She will be glad to know you're awake," Hope said.

Once her two friends had left the room, Dancer thought about whether or not she should tell anyone about her dream. She decided not to just as Wonder walked into the room.

"How are you feeling?" Wonder softly asked.

"Not too bad," Dancer told her.

"Dr. Rosedust said you'll be okay," Wonder reassured herself and Dancer.

"When will I go home?" Dancer asked.

"We aren't sure yet, sweetie. You broke your leg pretty badly, and you have a few broken ribs," Wonder told her.

"I know what this means," Dancer groaned. "I'm never going to race!" she gasped, trying to control her tears.

Wonder had managed to comfort Dancer a little bit. "There are a lot more things beside racing you could do," she had soothed.

Wonder had also said she had a surprise for Dancer when she came home, but Dancer couldn't figure out what it could be.

"So you will be able to come home in a few days?" Hope asked after she brought Dancer a glass of water.

"Yeah, I've been here two weeks already!" Dancer said as she took the glass. "I'm going stir crazy." She laughed.

"Wonder's surprise is all ready," Mindy said as she walked in the room holding a piece of paper. "Oh! You're awake!" Mindy gasped as she quickly hid the paper behind her back.

"What is that?" Dancer asked as she looked over at Mindy.

"You will have to wait. Wonder wants to be the first to tell you!" Hope said.

Mindy nodded as she walked over. "Hollywood said ‘Hi'. She still feels badly," Mindy said.

"Then I'll have to tell her myself it was an accident. If anything, it's my fault," Dancer said.

"Welcome home!" Wonder and Jazzman said as Dancer slowly walked towards the training barn.

"Where do I live now?" she asked as she turned towards Wonder.

"You will stay in the training barn, with your friends and students," Wonder said.

"Students? What students?" Dancer asked.

"I'm planning to have a clinic for racing and jumping soon. I'm not sure when, but I think you will like helping me coach the younger horses," Wonder said as she nuzzled Dancer.

"So that was the surprise? Cool!" Dancer giggled as she looked into her stall.

"Tonight we are having a party with a bonfire, and you can come if you are feeling up to it," Wonder said.

"Okay," Dancer told her.

"Pass the marshmallows!" Hope giggled as she took a burned black marshmallow off her stick.

"Here," Hollywood said as she shook her head.

Dancer looked at the end of her stick, where her hotdog was roasting.

"Hope!" Mindy said. "You're not supposed to set them on fire!" Mindy sighed as Hope held up her flaming stick.

"Heee, I like ‘em that way!" Hope giggled and popped it into her mouth.

Dancer finished cooking her hot dog and nibbled the end.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Hope whispered in Dancer's ear. Dancer could smell the marshmallow breath of her friend and smiled.

"I'm thinking about the camp Wonder is having; she said I could come up with a name for it, so what do you guys think of Camp Whitebrook?" Dancer asked.

Hope nodded and smiled. "It sounds great!" she said. Mindy and Hollywood agreed.

After Dancer ate her fill of hotdogs and marshmallows, she got up. "I'm gonna go stretch my legs," she said, then walked off alone.

When she got to her stall, Dancer slowly laid down. "Stupid leg," Dancer growled as she stared at the cast. "I wish this never happened to me." Dancer sighed as she fell asleep.

The next day, since Dancer couldn't really move around yet, Wonder let her use the computer in the office to get on the internet.

"My Little People, My Little People, cool," Dancer mumbled as she looked through a My Little People website. Then as she checked Hotmail, she saw the news headlines.

"Queen Serena to hold royal ball; Majesty has fundraiser to repaint Dream Castle walls; Queen Duchess offers huge reward for information on the disappearance of her granddaughter..." Dancer read aloud. She quickly went back to Yahoo and typed in Duchess.

Over the next hour, Dancer found out that Duchess' grandaughter, Midnight Dancer, was a lot like her. She was kidnaped and possibly killed, along with her parents and sister, while coming to Duchess' for a visit. If Midnight Dancer was alive, she would be almost two.

"Wow. A lot like me," Dancer said, then wondered if it was her. "I don't know what happened to me; they don't know what happened to her," Dancer talked to the computer.

That night, as Dancer was sleeping, she dreamed of herself possibly being royalty.

"Duchess, this is Midnight Dancer, your grandaughter," Clover said as she nudged her daughter forward.

"Hello, dear. My, you look so much like your mother," Duchess said as she nuzzled Dancer.

Dancer, having been taught to be polite, nuzzled back. So this is my grandmother? she thought.

"Dancer, will you go upstairs and tell your sister, Sundance, to come downstairs?" Clover asked.

Dancer nodded and headed towards the stairs. "Sundance, where are you?" she asked as she finally climbed to the top of the stairs.

"In here!" Sundance called. Dancer followed her sister's voice to the mansion's library.

"Check it out!" Sundance said as Dancer walked into the room.

"I've never seen so many books in my life!" Dancer gasped as she looked around.

"Look at this photo album. Here is a picture of Mom as a filly!" Sundance laughed as she set an old book down on the table and turned it towards Dancer.

"Ah-choo!" Dancer sneezed, blowing dust off the table. "Mom and Grandma want you downstairs," she said.

"So how was your trip?" Duchess was asking Clover and Lord Ainsley as Sundance and Dancer came into the room.

"It was great; the kids were a little bored at first, but they met some foals their age to visit with," Ainsley said.

"Move!" Sundance whispered as Dancer stopped at the bottom of the stairs, right in front of Sundance. Dancer didn't budge, so Sundance kept nudging her...

"Dancer! Dancer! Wake up!" Hope said as she nudged her friend again.

"Huh? Sundance, stop," Dancer groaned as she lifted her head and yawned.

"Sundance? Who's Sundance?" Hope asked.

"I was dreaming," Dancer quickly said.

"It's 10:30 in the morning!" Hope said.

"So? I don't care if I missed watching the morning workouts," Dancer said once she had managed to stand up.

"I know," Hope said. "But you have got to see this!" Hope and Dancer walked around the training barn to the garden where Mindy was standing next to a gray Andalusian colt.

"Dancer, meet Orion," Mindy said as they walked up.

Orion smiled, then turned back to what he was working on. Dancer walked around behind him and saw he was painting a beautiful picture of Whitebrook's training oval, with Mindy, Hope, and Dancer standing on it. "Wow, you're good!" Dancer said.

"Thanks," Orion said.

"So when are we supposed to meet Hollywood?" Hope asked as she turned and looked around the Food Court at the mall.

"She should be here any... there she is!" Mindy said as she saw Hollywood walking towards them.

"Hey, guys!" Holly said.

"Let's go to Bushwoolie Bargain Books. I think that My Little People Monthly should be out now," Dancer said.

"Yeah, I want to get it, too. Some ponies and horses think they are just toys for babies," Hope said.

"I know we don't. They are so cool!" Hollywood laughed.

"I think they are as collectible as Beanie Babies," Mindy added.

"Speaking of Beanies, do you still have those Kentucky Derby beanies we ordered from the catalog?" Hope asked Dancer.

"Oh yeah, those are very hard to find now. I'm keeping them forever," Dancer told her.

"Well, if it isn't Crip and company!" Dancer heard someone behind her say.

She turned around to see Triumph. "Go away, Triumph," she sighed.

"Leave her alone." Mindy glared at Triumph.

Triumph ignored Mindy and stepped closer. "Betcha you're not the fastest yearling now!" he laughed.

Then someone grabbed a hold of the back of Triumph's mane and pulled him back away from Dancer.

"Hey!" Triumph cried out as he jumped back. Orion was standing in front of him.

"Leave them alone," he said. Since he was a full year older, and much stronger, Triumph backed off and turned and walked away.

"Are you guys okay?" Orion asked as he looked at Dancer and her friends, who were also a year younger than him.

"Yeah, thanks for stopping him; I was about to tackle him myself," Mindy laughed as she nuzzled him.

"I could tell you were about to do just that by the look on your face," Orion said as he nuzzled back.

Hope and Hollywood looked at Dancer and smiled. "It looks like they really know each other," Hope whispered to Dancer when they walked a few feet away.

"Wonder told me Orion moved here from Glorified Acres," Dancer told her.

"Really?" Hope gasped. "Can he perform?"

Dancer shrugged. "I don't think so; it just looks like he is an artist, like Honor's brother, Moment," Dancer said.

"Maybe they were friends," Hope thought aloud.

Dancer nodded and Hope smiled. "Only one way to find out. I'm gonna see how much more Wonder knows about him," Hope said, then walked over to Hollywood.

Dancer nodded. "Yeah, and there is one way I can find out if my dream was real, and Duchess really is my grandmother."

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Thanksgiving Turkey by Sugarberry

"I just love Thanksgiving," Angel mused as she and her friends walked through the leaf-strewn woodland.

"What's to be thankful for?" griped Bangles as she brushed yet another fallen leaf off her back. "Because those Bushwoolies befriended that turkey, we'll never get to have a decent Thanksgiving dinner again!"

The other ponies giggled.

"Well, you must admit that once you're personally acquainted with one of those big feathered birds, it's impossible to think of eating one of the," offered Taffy.

"Insipid creatures!" snapped Bangles. "Now I suppose we'll have corn cakes and sunflower-seed biscuits again this year."

"Yes, and pumpkin pies for dessert," added Crumpet.

"Are you sure you won't get in trouble for eating a Jack-O-Lantern?" teased Hippity Hop. "Some of those faces on the pumpkins are awfully realistic."

"Now girls," interrupted Twilight. "Let's not bicker over the Thanksgiving menu. Let's consider what we are most thankful for. I'll go first." With that, Twilight gracefully lifted-off with a gentle flap of lavender wings and softly landed facing the group. "I'm most thankful for the beauty of the night sky. When I fly up in the darkness, it's as if I'm swallowed into the mysteries of space. And it is brilliant! The full moon hanging over the orchard, Venus shining and beckoning, the myriad of stars twinkling like diamonds. Yes, the grandeur of the universe makes me most thankful."

"That was inspiring, Twilight!" applauded Angel. "Let me go next."

A breeze whispered through the branches of the maple tree they were under, and sprinkled the ponies with orange, yellow, and red jewels.

Angel began, "I'm most thankful for all you dear friends! She glanced over the group shyly. "Each of you is unique and special. Hippity Hop, you always make me laugh even when I'm sad. And you, Crumpet, always know the right words to say in any situation. Without your excellent cooking, Taffy, I'd be nothing but skin and bones. Twilight, just like tonight, you are always ready to point out what is best about any situation. And Bangles, your bark is worse than your bite. Your compassion for the underdog is your shining light."

Bangles blushed. "Okay, so I like those turkeys, too! But do you know what I'm most thankful for?"

The group shook their heads from side to side creating a cascade of autumn leaves.

"I'm most thankful for crawling into my feather bed at the end of the day and feeling all warm and snug and safe and slowly drifting off into dreamland."

"Cool, Bangles," exclaimed Hippity Hop. "For me, my thanks goes to all the creatures that make our world soft and furry. Remember the raccoon family the Pony Friends found? And the squirrels and rabbits and chipmunks, and even the skunks! I could go on and on, but you get my point." And amidst the falling leaves, a red squirrel chattered her approval.

"And what about the plants?" quickly added Taffy. "Think of all the good food that grows from the earth-- corn, wheat, rice, potatoes, carrots, apples, oranges... oh, now I'm hungry! I'm thankful for all the yummy gifts of the soil!"

Crumpet thought for a minute. "Hmm...what's left?" Just then the sun, which had scuttled under some playful white clouds, reappeared in shining glory. "The sun! That's what I'm thankful for. It supplies all the energy for the plants and the creatures and us! We couldn't live without the sun!"

Each of the ponies closed her eyes and let the rays of the sun warm her as she reveled in the wonder of life.

Eventually, Angel broke the silence. "You know," she began softly, "what this all comes down to is one thing."

"What's that?" questioned Bangles.

"We are all thankful for our Creator, the Lord," Angel responded.

The ponies bowed their heads and in unison gave their heartfelt "Amen!"

At that moment, there was a commotion in the red-leaved dogwood bushes to the right side of the ponies.

"What was that?" whispered Taffy.

"It sounds like..." began Bangles when suddenly from around the bushes strutted a tom turkey, his tail feathers fanned open and held high in the air. "...Rex."

And so it was. Rex, the leader of the turkeys that had taken refuge in Ponyland for the Thanksgiving holiday, slowly walked across the path ahead of the ponies, showing off his iridescent plumage to best advantage. His featherless head proudly turned from side to side as it slowly changed in color from brilliant red to deepest purple and then to delicate lavender.

"Oh, Rex, you're even more handsome than last year!" gushed Angel appreciatively.

Rex's noggin turned swiftly red again as he blushed at the praise from a beautiful Little Pony. "Gee, thanks, Angel," he muttered self-consciously.

"And where's the family?" queried Twilight.

With a gentle gobble, Rex called to his mate and children still waiting in the shelter of the dogwood bushes. Nestor, followed by a row of nearly full-grown young ones, came forth and clustered around Rex. Surrounded by his family, Rex relaxed his pose and his magnificent tail drooped down. "Oh, that feels better!" he commented.

Hippity Hop fanned her wings in unison with several of the turkey chicks as they stretched. "What have you guys been up to since last Thanksgiving?" she asked.

"Oh, you know how it is," answered Nestor. "We're constantly in search of food to eat-- a kernel of corn her, a grasshopper there..."

"But Nestor was busy with the nest, and as you can see, we've a fine bunch of chicks to show for all her hard work and patience." Rex beamed proudly at his mate. Nestor, in turn, beamed proudly at their brood, who were now busily scratching through the layers of emblazoned leaves searching for choice tidbits.

"You ponies have our deepest gratitude." Rex suddenly became serious. Slowly his tail feathers rose into the distinctive fan-shape of his kind. "We can never thank you enough for harboring us during this dangerous time for turkeys. I cringe to think of our fate without you." He and Nestor took a step closer to each other.

A tear fell from Crumpet's eye as she fully realized the turkeys' need for protection.

Bangles stepped forth and declared, "You turkeys will always find a safe haven in Ponyland!"

At which Angel announced, "And I just happen to have a whole bag of sunflower seeds just waiting for a moment like this. Anyone interested, just follow me!" She set off down the golden path toward home. And ponies and fowl joyfully followed.

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You Might Be a My Little Pony Fanatic if...

--you pass up buying food and clothes so you will have the money to buy more ponies.

--your room is so full of ponies, you can no longer sleep there.

--if every item on your Christmas wish list begins with MLP.

--you bypass the toy store with a "70% off every item sale" because you know they don't carry My Little Ponies.

--you no longer respond to your given name, only to your MLP name.

--the only webring you've joined is a MLP ring.

--you refer to any human younger than seven as a "baby pony."

--you miraculously came across a mint on card Mimic, and opened her package before reaching your car.

--even tailless, mane-cut, and markered ponies end up in your collection.

--you respond to your teacher-- "Yes, Miss Hackney!"

--you try to "wink" to your next appointment.

--your parents buy you a living flesh and blood pony, and you're disappointed because it's not one of the colors of the rainbow.

Do you have any different ideas on what makes a pony fanatic? If so, send them to Tabby at TabbyMLP@aol.com

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**MLP MONTHLY POLICY STATEMENT: PLEASE READ** All submissions are expected to stay true to the sweet, innocent nature of the MLPs. This means nothing immoral and nothing violent. I shall reject any submissions I do not think meet these requirements.

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*Answers to Rhyme Stymes:

1. Dizzy Fizzy

2. Crabby Tabby

3. Snuzzle Puzzle

4. Linty Minty

5. Glory Story

6. Powder Chowder

7. Trickles Pickles

8. Dusty Gusty

9. Needy Speedy

10. Mangles Bangles

11. Tex Decks

12. Chief Beef

13. Faulty Salty

14. Doodles Noodles

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Our next issue will be sent December 1st.

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Go Back to My Little Pony Monthly Index Go Back to Tabby's Dream Valley