6. Dodge's Disastrous Day

[Lancer]

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the sixth story in the My Little Pony Magic Series. This story is all about the "blue pony" (you will know who the "blue pony" is if you have read our two previous stories, "Lanceriffic" and "The Great Journey"), and his pet guinea pig, Dodge, who has a disastrous day in this tale of woe, as the name maybe suggests. We hope you enjoy this story, but please remember not to read it within three hours of bedtime, for it is so scary that it might give you a nightmare! Also, as The Black Pony Of Darkness once said, "If you read this story within three hours of bedtime, then I'm coming to get you!"

(To the tune of the My Little Pony Tales theme tune)

Something is starting, right now!
Something is starting, Oh wow!
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic,
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic!
"My owner has gone missing." Said Dodge, to Desiree,
"I think this really must be a disastrous day!"
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic,
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic!
Truly, Lancer, Lofty, Diesel, Clover, Sparkle, Splodge,
Lots more characters for you...
...Including Lucky, Twinkle and Dodge!
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic,
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic,
My Little Pony Magic!

[Lancer]

CHAPTER ONE

It was 4.30pm on March 11th 2003. Desiree looked out of her window, and saw that it was about to rain.
"Well," she sighed to herself, "It doesn't look like the guinea pigs will be able to go in the garden again today! I was hoping that they could start going out there yesterday..."
But then it really did start to rain heavily, so there was no chance that her pets could go out today.

Deep in the clouds of Ponyland, the weather was exactly the same. But the ponies didn't think in the same way as humans, and as Lancer arrived back home from school, he also thought about his pet guinea pig, and how he'd like to be able to go out in the run on the grass. But, instead of thinking that it was too cold and wet outside, he thought that Dodge could go out in the run and still enjoy himself in the enclosed area.
Dodge was still a relatively young guinea pig, and he had never been out in the run before, so he had a lot of questions to ask his owner about this exciting new event.
Then the guinea pig was left in the run on his own.
"So when will you be back? When can I come in?" Dodge asked, nervously. "What if I get too cold?"
"Um, 5 o'clock?" Lancer replied.
"Right." Dodge said. "But how will I know when it's 5 o'clock?" He thought to himself, dashing into his bedroom to eat some grass.

Back down on Earth, Desiree was still looking out of her window, and seeing if it was going to get any warmer outside, but it obviously wasn't. It could only get colder at this time on an early spring afternoon. She felt sorry for any guinea pigs who were in outside enclosures today!

[shadow=red,left,300]To Be Continued...[/shadow]

[Lancer]

CHAPTER TWO

"Oh, I'm sure I've been here for more than half an hour. And I'm sure that the time was 4.30 when Lancer let me out here, so it must be past 5 o'clock! So why hasn't someone returned for me? It's getting cold..." Dodge moaned to himself.
If you're wondering how the guinea pig was able to talk, it was because he was wearing a magical necklace which allowed him to communicate in just about any language you can imagine.
"Oh, where is he?!" Dodge cried, about ten minutes later. "It's starting to get dark... I think it's...going to rain! Mind you, if it rains, maybe I'll be taken inside, and I'm cold even now, so perhaps...yep, I think that will be a good thing."
But, as it started to rain, and Dodge dashed into the covered area of the run, there was no sign of his owner. The rain began to soak through the wood, but still nobody came to get him.
The rain began to drip into the covered area of the run...
"NO!" Dodge cried out. "I don't want to get wet! Where is he? Where is my owner? And why hasn't anyone else come for me? Perhaps they don't know I'm out here... But surely Lancer would remember me..."
But still, there was no sign of anyone. Nobody at all.
Hurriedly, a green winged songbird flew past, looking for a dry place to rest. Dodge called out to the bird, and it hovered by his run. The guinea pig asked the bird if she knew where Lancer had got to.
"I'm sorry," The bird started, "I don't know. I did see your owner walking down that hill, but I know no more than that..."
"Yes, well, I knew that! But why hasn't he returned?"
"I have no idea, I'm afraid. See you later!" The bird called over her shoulder as she flew on her way.
"Well, wasn't she helpful?!" Dodge muttered to himself, sarcastically.
Within minutes, another bird flew by...this time a slightly more useful bird. When asked if he had seen Lancer, the bird replied, "Oh yes, I've seen your owner. I saw him...you say he told you he was just going down to the corner shop and back?" Dodge nodded. "Well, I saw him go further than that." The bird continued, "Over Heart Bridge, and towards that strange grey castle with the red turrets, down by the Black Mountains. You know the one? Where the BPOD lives... It was almost as though he was being dragged by an invisible force..."
"Oh no!" Dodge cried, as the bird flew off in the same direction of the last, searching for his friend.
The guinea pig spent the night chewing through his run door, and just after mid-day, he had managed to chew a hole large enough to get out. When he was outside, he began to run towards the bridge...the bridge that would lead him to the castle where the BPOD resided...
"What can I do?" Dodge moaned, and then decided to go to Paradise Estate, to see if he could get some help from some of his pony friends. Before he reached the estate though, he saw two creatures running towards him! They were both the same shape and size. One was ginger and the other was multi-coloured. What could they be?
Then he realised that it was his guinea pig friends, Twinkle and Dieserella. They were Truly's pets.
"Where are you, like, going, Dodge?" Twinkle asked.
"My owner's been taken to the BPOD's castle! I have to go and save him!" Dodge explained.
"We'll help you!" Dieserella said.
"Thank you, Dieserella." Dodge smiled. "But I don't know what we can do..."
"You'll be more likely to succeed if you have friends to help." Dieserella grinned. "So we'll come along for sure! That BPOD will be mighty sorry he messed with your owner!"
The three guinea pigs set off immediately, but just then, another of their friends appeared. It was Lucky, Lofty's pet rabbit.
"I think you had better come back to Paradise Estate, Dieserella." Lucky called.
"Oh, why do you say that, Lucky?" Dieserella asked.
"Well, I don't think you should really go risking your life at Nightmare Castle along with two other guinea pigs!" Lucky said.
"Well... Oh, I suppose you're right. I'll stay right here then."
Dodge's face fell, but he just said, "It's all right, Dieserella. I understand. Do you want to go back with her, Twinkle?"
"Well, you know, I don't think so, Dodge!" Twinkle beamed at his friend, and put his paw on Dodge's shoulder. "You need some help, and I've got to be the best one to come along with you!"
And so, the two little guinea pigs raced off.
"Goodbye," Dieserella and Lucky called together. "And good luck!"

[shadow=red,left,300]To Be Continued...[/shadow]

[Lancer]

CHAPTER THREE

The weather was very hot the next day, and as Twinkle and Dodge made their slow journey across Paradise Bridge, they looked at the long field ahead of them which they would have to cross in order to get to Nightmare Castle.
It was 3pm when they finally reached the field, but there was something unusual about it. At the base of the Black Mountains, where Nightmare Castle should have been, was an empty space! There was no castle to be seen...

"Splodge!" Desiree called, walking to the green crate where the guinea pig was making an awful noise, tearing his newspaper and squeaking at the top of his voice. "Splodge!" Desiree called again, harsher this time.
Splodge emerged from under the paper, and looked up at his owner. "Oh, sorry, I was just making myself comfortable in here." The guinea pig apologised.
"Well, Splodge, I was wondering if you could turn the key and send me to Ponyland through the Magic Box? I had a nightmare about the MLP's last night, and I'd like to check they're all OK."
"That's fine," Splodge smiled. "But first let me finish this big piece of carrot!"

In contrast to the noise Splodge was making, back at Paradise Estate, everything was unusually quiet.
Lucky was gone.
"Lucky! Lucky!" Lofty called, galloping around the Estate, but the rabbit was nowhere to be found, and nobody knew where he had gone.
As she raced around, the yellow pegasus bumped into Truly...who was also looking for someone.
Lofty scrabbled to her feet. "Sorry, Truly." She apologised, helping the white pony to stand up. "I just can't find Lucky anywhere! I hope that he isn't in trouble! What are you looking for?"
"I told you yesterday," Truly said, "Twinkle's gone missing!"
"Well, at least you still have another guinea pig to help you search for Twinkle. I only have one pet." Lofty said, sadly.
"Oh no, sugar! Dieserella's gone as well now!" Truly looked ather friend, a grimace on her face.
"I wonder if Twinkle's disappearance has anything to do with our other pets going missing today?" Lofty mused.

[shadow=red,left,300]To Be Continued...[/shadow]

[Lancer]

CHAPTER FOUR

"Oh, what shall we do now, Twinkle? The Black Pony's moved his castle, and I've no idea where to find it! And my owner is trapped inside!"
"Cheer up, Dodge!" Twinkle said. "The castle has to be somewhere. We just have to keep looking for it, you know?"
"I don't know about that, Twinkle. Nobody can ever be sure of what The Black Pony Of Darkness will do next..."
Twinkle sighed. "I have to, like, agree with you there, Dodge. But, you know, perhaps a song might make us feel better..."

(To the tune of "Let a Song Carry You Along" from "The Magic Coins")

Twinkle: When a long walk makes you weak,
Let a song carry you along!
When you can't find the owner you seek,
Let a song carry you along!
When you feel about to drop,
Stop and whistle my tune,
You'll find you'll be back scampering on,
And track the castle down real soon!
Twinkle/Dodge: Music lifts your spirits,
And keeps you running on,
So when everything seems to go wrong,
Let a song carry you along!
Music lifts your spirits,
So let's both sing a song,
And then when everything is going wrong,
We'll let that song carry us along!

"Sorry, Twinkle, but I don't think that anything can make me feel better right now. Thanks for trying though."
"Don't be so silly, honey!" A voice said from behind. "You must never lose hope!"
"She's right." Another voice piped up.
Twinkle and Dodge turned around, and saw Dieserella and Lucky walking toward them.
"We just had to come to help y'all!" Dieserella smiled.
"That's right." Lucky agreed with his friend again.
"Oh, that's so cute of you!" Dodge said. "We're really in desperate need of friends...especially since I don't think my owner's coming back now... Nightmare Castle is gone, and so is Lancer."

"Don't worry about it, Splodge." Desiree said to her pet guinea pig. "You don't have to turn the key! I will walk up the rainbow. I'm just so used to travelling through the magic box that I completely forgot that we had a permanent rainbow to Ponyland in our own garden!"
So Desiree walked into the garden, and up the rainbow, where she found that, not only Lancer, but Truly and Lofty were gone!

Dodge gasped for breath, feeling as though he'd been running for days, and collapsed on his side. "It's no good." He sobbed.
"I just can't understand it." Dieserella said.
"Where can the Black Pony have hidden it?" Lucky thought aloud.
"Oh, come on, you three! The Black Pony could hardly pop the castle on his back and carry it away! We must just be in the wrong place!" Twinkle nudged his friends, determined to get moving once more.
"The Black Pony Of Darkness can do a lot more than we could even imagine..." Dodge wiped the tears from his cheeks with one paw. "In fact, he can do ANYTHING HE WANTS if its something to do with being nasty to some poor, innocent little pony like my owner! Oh, how I hate..."
"Dodge, honey! What's that over there? It's a tiny little envelope, and it has a name written on the front...but I can't read it. It's just too small! It's almost as though the writer didn't want anyone to see it, but why?" Dieserella was puzzled.
"Anyone too far away from the ground, at least." Dodge got up, shook some dust out of his fur, and walked towards Dieserella. "Maybe the writer didn't want the Black Pony to be the recipient, but instead wanted...US to see it!" Dodge bounded the last few pawsteps over to his friend, and snatched the envelope from her, holding it between his teeth.
Dieserella studied it in more detail. "It's a handmade envelope and the designs on it are mighty pretty! It says, 'To Dodge', The Magical Ponyland Guinea Pig!!"
Dodge dropped the envelope, and tried desperately to open it. "Perhaps it's something from...oh...oh...I can't get it open! Ah, there we go!"
Dodge read the short message:
"Dear Dodge,
I've been locked up in Nightmare Castle. The Black Pony Of Darkness has taken the castle to the very top of the tallest Black Mountain! I hope you get ahold of this message all right. I know you're doing your best to help me, but please don't put your own lives at risk!
Lots of love,
Your friend forever,
Lancer xxx"
"Oh my, what can we do? The top of the tallest Black Mountain? We'll never make it up there!" Dodge cried.
"We can do it, Dodge." Twinkle said, defiantly. "If you still want to, you know?"
Just then, Desiree raced up to the little group from behind.
"Do you know where Truly, Lancer and Lofty are?" She asked.
Dodge looked at her, sadly, and handed her the small envelope. Desiree found it even harder to read. Her face fell once she had managed to see the words though.
"Well, this is simply awful!" She said. "How can we ever reach the top of the tallest Black Mountain?"
"I really don't know," Dieserella said. "But I think I can answer one of your original questions; Truly and Lofty are still at Paradise Estate."
"No, they're not." Desiree said, gravely. "I've just been to Paradise Estate, but they've packed their bags and left. I asked Cupcake if she knew where they'd gone, and she said they were out looking for you! But it seems they never reached you..."
"Oh no!" Dieserella cried.
"It's just so awful!" Dodge agreed. "Now Truly and Lofty are probably in trouble, and my owner has already gone missing. This really is a disasterous day! So absolutely awful!"
"Don't worry, Dodge." Desiree comforted the guinea pig. "We'll find a way to the top of that mountain, and we'll find your owner. Why don't you rest here, or come back down to Earth with me. You'll be safe on Earth, and we can return tomorrow. That would be the best option, I think."
"No, I am not leaving this spot!" Dodge said. "We're going to stay here for the night. We may already be travelling up the mountain by the time you return."
"All right," Desiree tried to smile, although she was worried about leaving the animals in a dangerous place like this. "I'll return tomorrow, and see if I can help you then."

[shadow=red,left,300]To Be Continued...[/shadow]

[Lancer]

CHAPTER FIVE

Although it was still only March, the next day was very hot, and as the small group of animals struggled up the mountain, they realised that it would take them a very long time to reach the summit, especially in these weather conditions.
"I just...don't know...what to do..." Dieserella gasped, as she, Twinkle and Dodge clambered over a large rock, followed by Lucky. "It's just so hot!"
"Oh, don't worry, Dieserella. Why don't you go home? I'll continue, simply because I have to. Thank you for your offer of help at least." Dodge said.
"No, I'll...stay...with you..." Dieserella managed to stutter.
"Oh, that's so kind of you!" Dodge smiled. "You honestly don't have to if you'd rather go back to Paradise Estate."

Desiree walked into the garden, and let Splodge out in the A-frame run on the grass. She then made her way up the rainbow, and once she was in Ponyland, made her way to the base of the highest Black Mountain. But she found that her friends were no longer there. So she began the long journey back to Paradise Estate. She couldn't imagine how she could find the little animals on such a large mountain.

As Truly and Lofty searched for their missing pets, it got hotter and hotter, until the pair of them were gasping for breath. They would have to stop soon.
"I don't know what we're going to do this summer!" Lofty said, as she struggled across the field toward the place where Nightmare Castle should have been.
"Well, perhaps it won't be this hot in the summer." Truly said. She probably thought that they were just going through a heatwave earlier on this year, and once it was over, they'd have a cooler summer...but she was quite wrong about that...

[shadow=red,left,300]To Be Continued...[/shadow]

[Lancer]

CHAPTER SIX

"Oh, my feet! I don't think I'm going to be able to go on much further!" Dodge whined.
"Don't be so silly!" Dieserella replied, although her feet felt like they were about to drop off too. In fact, her whole body felt like it might explode if she tried to walk much longer.
But the pets were determined to save Lancer, and so they would continue walking until they dropped...
Suddenly, Dodge saw a note on the ground. "Hey, let me have a look at this!" It was addressed from Nightmare Castle...
"Don't panic, Dodge,
Blue pony will return soon.
It's only your owner's tail that's doomed!
I'll make a magic fiery red coat,
Sorry, my boy. Didn't mean to gloat!"
On second thought, perhaps your owner I'll keep,
Safe and sound here...
While the rest of Ponyland falls into an endless sleep!
Yours truly,
The Black Pony Of Darkness
"Whatever can we do?!" Dodge cried. "We'll never get there in time! And now it's not just my owner we're saving. It's all of Ponyland! And I can't go any faster than this! My legs ache...so badly. If only we didn't have to walk..."

(To the tune of "Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave" from "The Glass Princess")

Dieserella/Lucky: Oh, how we wish we didn't have to walk,
Dodge: We didn't have to walk.
Dieserella: Our legs all ache,
Lucky: Our backs may break!
Twinkle: We don't even have the strength to taaaalk! (*Fades out*)
Dieserella/Lucky: We want to go back home and shade from the sun,
Twinkle: But instead we have to run!
Dieserella: Because if we fail,
Dodge: He'll use my owner's tail,
Lucky: To put an end to all Ponyland fun!
Twinkle: Our legs may ache while we're walking,
Lucky: But if we have to give up and stop,
Dodge: I think my heart will break in two!
Dieserella So we'll continue to run...
Twinkle: Or limp...
Lucky: Or hop!
Dodge: I will not complain while I save this pony,
I know he'd do the same for me!
Dieserella: So we'll march on, as strong as we can possibly be...
Dodge: So who's gonna let Darkness win?
Lucky: Who'll let the Black Pony win?
Twinkle: Who would let the BP win?
All: NOT ME!!!

The pets were still climbing the mountain ten days later, on March 27th 2003! By now, they were starting to think it was probably getting a little late to save Lancer really. Surely, the Black Pony would have done whatever it was he wanted to do by now.
"I think that we might as well just give up." Lucky said.
"Yes, it's pointless continuing." Dieserella agreed.
"Oh, I think we may have to stop. I just can't keep walking!" Twinkle groaned.
"NO! I will not give up on Lancer!" Dodge shouted. "Would you give up on Truly, Dieserella?"
"Well, no...but...."
"And you, Twinkle?"
"Well, I suppose I wouldn't, but..."
"Shut up, Twinkle!" Dodge said, rather rudely. "What about you, Lucky? Would you give up on Lofty?"
"No, of course not! But..."
"No more 'buts'! I think we're all in agreement then. So we won't give up on my owner, right? I'll save him, even if it's the last thing that I ever do! I am not going to give up. The Black Pony Of Darkness will not win!"

"Oh, Truly, I think we may as well give up." Lofty said, as she staggered up the mountain.
Both of the ponies stood still for a moment. Then Truly jumped on the little letter that Dodge had discarded earlier.
"This is the way they went, Lofty." Truly said. "So we will not give up unless, of course, you don't care about finding Lucky."
"Oh, I suppose you're right, Truly. It's just so unbearably hot! But I suppose we'll have to keep looking for them..."
"Precisely! We'll keep going until we find them!"

[shadow=red,left,300]To Be Continued...[/shadow]

[Lancer]

CHAPTER SEVEN

Dodge sighed. "Oh, perhaps you were right. Maybe we will have to give up."
The guinea pigs stopped to rest. Stretching their paws out might make them feel a little better, and give them the strength to continue.
After a while, Twinkle noticed something in the centre of an interesting rock formation and cried out, "Hey, look at that, everybody! There's something twinkling over there! I think it's..."
Dieserella and Lucky looked up. There was something twinkling on the side of the mountain!
"...WATER!" Twinkle squealed, excitedly, running towards it, followed by Dieserella and Lucky.
Dodge had been dozing, but was finally awoken by the commotion. "NO!" He cried. "It isn't water! Water doesn't suddenly appear in little... Oh... Oh! There's no pools of water on the side of mountains in the middle of a drought like this one! And definitely not in the middle of a pile of rocks! It's...it's....IT'S A TRAP!!!"
Dodge stood up to try and alert the others to come back to him. But it was too late. His friends were drinking from the water. All the little black nosed guinea pig could do was stand and watch their horrified faces as a silver cage dropped down on top of the rock, closed around them, and floated back up into the sky...
"Now what do I do?" Dodge grimaced. "I've lost my owner, and now I've lost all my friends too. I've lost everyone! Now I'm all alone..."
"No, you're not!" A voice spoke behind him.
Dodge turned around. "Oh, Truly! Lofty! I'm so pleased to see you!"
"Where are Dieserella, Twinkle and Lucky?" Truly asked.
"Oh... Er, well, I'm sorry to be the one to break the news to you, but I don't exactly know where they are myself now."
"You mean you lost them?" Lofty cried angrily.
"No, of course not!" Dodge snapped. He explained what had happened to his friends. "They just wouldn't listen! So I just had to watch as they disappeared, trapped inside this cage. Somebody must have set the trap, and somehow, I have a feeling I know who that somebody is..."

Truly and Lofty had brought some snacks for themselves and their small animal friends, so the three of them sat down to have something to eat now, knowing they had a long journey ahead of them.
Once they had finished, Dodge climbed up on Truly's back. The white pony had promised him a ride to the top of the Black Mountains.
"How far do you think it is to the top now? How many days will the journey take?" Dodge asked.
"Days?" Truly asked. "I think it's more like..."
"Weeks?" Dodge said. "You think it's more like weeks?"
"No." Truly said. "As a matter of fact, I was thinking of..."
"Months." Dodge finished Truly's line for her. "I bet it was months."
"Nope! Wrong again!" Truly laughed. "I think your luck has changed now, Dodge. The journey to the top of the mountain should be more like..."
"A matter of hours!" Lofty smiled.
"Hours? Just a few hours before I see my friends and Lancer again?"
"Not if I can help it!" A sinister voice echoed through the clouds.

"Oh no!" Desiree cried. "I've been so busy lately, I forgot to go back and see how the Ponyland pets were getting on!"
With this in mind, Desiree immediately started on the journey up the rainbow to Ponyland at the bottom of the Rescue Home garden.
She raced up the Black Mountains, and eventually found Truly, Lofty and Dodge. They told her what had happened since her last visit.
"So how can I help?" Desiree asked.
"Just come with us!" Truly said. "And we'll see what's going on when we get to the top."
"If we ever get to the top!" Dodge moaned. And right now it seemed very unlikely, from what he could see ahead of them.
There was an evil cackle.
"Soon enough you'll have to stop,
I won't let you reach the top,
You can be very sure of that,
Why should you get your owner back?
The pets are gone, I need them too,
I need their fur, in order to stop you!
Soon they'll be in eternal sleep,
Too late to change things, too late to weep!"
And then that evil cackle echoed from the top of the mountains once more...

[shadow=red,left,300]To Be Continued...[/shadow]

[Lancer]

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Oh, no!" Dodge cried, "It looks like... Oh, no! Wolves! Right up ahead!"
Desirée looked ahead and, sure enough, there was a huge pack of wolves sitting calmly a little further up the mountain trail. The leader of the pack sniffed the air, and must have caught the scent of the group making their way up the mountain, because he turned and stared at them with narrowed red eyes...
"Our only chance is to..." Desirée started.
"RUN!" Dodge screamed, dashing back down the trail where they had just walked.
"I'm not sure that's wise..." Desirée started to speak again, knowing that the wolves could easily out-run them. But it was too late. The ponies had turned around too. Desirée jumped on to Lofty's back as she flew into the air. Dodge followed her example and scrambled up onto Truly's back, as the white pony continued to gallop.
Strangely, the wolves showed no interest in following them, so after a while they slowed down to try to figure out what to do.
Soon, they stumbled across another path which appeared to lead up to the top of the mountain, and decided to go that way instead. Tired from their ordeal, the group decided to stop for a rest.
"Look!" Dodge said. "There's a tree over there! Why don't we go and rest beneath it?"
"Wait, Dodge!" Desirée cried. "There aren't many trees around here. Didn't you say that your friends were tricked by a puddle that seemed rather out of place. What if this tree is another trick set up by the Black Pony?"
Desirée slowly and carefully walked towards the tree, holding one hand out in front of her, hoping to trigger any trick mechanisms the Black Pony had set up before she reached the tree. But nothing happened; This was a real tree. She ran her hand along the tree trunk just to be sure. "It's safe, Dodge!" she smiled. "Why don't you and the ponies sleep here for the night? Then you can continue your journey tomorrow."

When Desirée returned to Ponyland, she could see no sign of the Dodge and the ponies climbing up the mountain, and knew she would never catch them up alone. So she hired a friendly horse from the Riding Stables in Paradise Land and trekked up the mountain as fast as possible.
Eventually, they did catch up with Truly, Lofty and Dodge, and found that they were nearly at the top of the mountain!
"Hooray!" Dodge cheered. "I'm so happy - I'll be able to save my owner, Dieserella, Lucky and Twinkle at last!"
"Dodge, don't get too excited..." Desirée trailed off. She didn't like to voice her concerns. What if it was already too late to save their friends? What would the Black Pony have done to them by now?

Down on Earth, an amazing thing was happening. While Desirée's mum was cleaning out Splodge's hutch, she had put Splodge down on the hall floor. Splodge was now looking at the magic box that Desirée used to use to go to Ponyland before the ponies had set the rainbow in place at the bottom of her garden.
Splodge suddenly felt very curious and picked up one of Desirée's ponies by its mane (he knew not to damage their bodies with his teeth!), and chucked it into the box, as he had practised with his wooden chews many times before. He carefully turned the key...
When he unlocked the box again, the pony, Love Story, had come to life!
"Oh, hello!" Splodge said, completely unphased by the magical occurence.
"Hello," Love Story replied. "Thank you for finally allowing me to move by myself. I've been waiting for years for someone to use the magic box for this purpose!" She reared up and tossed her mane happily, then began trotting around inside the box.
Splodge looked down at her, "Uh, where did you come from?" He said, when she finally stopped for a moment.
Love Story laughed. "Well, where do you think I came from." She lifted her hoof and showed him the brand mark still on the bottom of it. "From a factory in China, of course! Right back in 1991..."
"So you didn't come from Ponyland and somehow get inside one of Desirée's pony figures?" Splodge tried to figure out the puzzle, but it was all a bit too confusing for the little guinea pig.
"Oh no!" Love Story giggled. "That would be a little risky, wouldn't it? My friends and I are all different. For instance, if someone put several Love Story ponies in the box at once, we would all come to life. And that would be a little impossible if we were all the same pony brought to Earth from Ponyland, wouldn't it?!" She laughed again.
"So this is a totally different magical ability enabled by the magic box? It has nothing to do with Ponyland at all?" Splodge said.
"Oh, no! This box can be used for many different purposes, some of which you have yet to discover." Love Story winked at Splodge. "But I won't concern you with that now. Any plastic pony figure that you put in this box will come to life!"
"Oh, right!" Splodge said, then began thinking to himself. "I... Yes, that's a point! In Ponyland, the ponies are having a lot of trouble with a horrible pony called The Black Pony Of Darkness. He's a black pony with black hair. His symbol is two white lightning bolts, and he's really dangerous! I don't like danger, you know?" Splodge began hopping from one paw to the other, getting a little carried away with his descriptions. "He lives in the Black Mountains, and has evil red eyes. We don't know a lot about him, but he seems determined to catch all the ponies and take over Ponyland! Right now, my owner is up in Ponyland trying to stop him! He's captured my brother's friend and..."
"Oh, yes! We know all about that!" Love Story said. "Even when we can't move about, us ponies can see and listen to everything that's going on around us. In fact, we can understand all animals...I knew what Desirée's pets were saying even before she had the necklaces, that converted your squeaks to her language."
Splodge looked at her wide-eyed, as Love Story continued, "I would love to do something about The Black Pony Of Darkness, and so would all the other ponies! We'd love to help to save the ponies in Ponyland. Without them, we wouldn't even exist after all!" She giggled secretively once again.
"You would like to help us?" Dodge smiled.
"Yes, we all would!" Love Story smiled back at him.
"Then I'm sure we can all come up with a plan to stop The Black Pony Of Darkness!"

[shadow=red,left,300]To Be Continued...[/shadow]

[Lancer]

CHAPTER NINE

"We're nearly there, we're nearly at the top of the Mountain! We're nearly at the top of the Mountain! The mountain, the mountain, the mountain!" Dodge sang loudly. "We're nearly at the top of the mountain! And when we get there, we can save the pets and my owner from the Black Pony! One day we'll stop the Black Pony! And then he won't be able to harm any more ponies or pets! Hip, hip, hooray! Hooray, hooray, hooray!"
His travelling companions were getting rather annoyed by the awful singing they had endured for most of the journey by the time Dodge finally fell silent for a moment.
"Please don't get too excited, Dodge." Desirée snapped.
The guinea pig's face fell, and Desirée immediately felt bad about what she'd just said.
She scratched Dodge's head and continued, "I'm sorry, I want to help your owner as much as you do! I'm just worried you'll get so caught up with your singing that you'll walk straight past our friends and not even notice them!" She laughed.
Dodge smiled, "Yes, you're right, Desirée! But I just feel like singing!" And so he began humming his annoying little ditty once again.
Truly, Lofty and Desirée looked at each other exasperatedly. The little guinea pig refused to stop humming his little song... Until, that is, he began singing a different one!

(To the tune of "A Long Hard Road" from "The Quest Of The Princess Ponies)

Dodge: It's such a long hard road that I must travel,
A long hard road I'm travelling down,
But I have friends-in-need so I shall,
Continue struggling down this road!
Desirée/Truly/Lofty: It's such a long hard road that he must travel,
A long hard road he's travelling down...
Desirée: But somehow, he'll rescue his friends,
And take them home, safe and sound!
Desirée/Truly/Lofty: Dodge is gonna be a hero!
Dodge: I'm gonna be a superhero!
All: Travelling down the long ha-a-ard road...

When Dodge, Desirée, Truly and Lofty stopped singing they found that they had finally reached...the top of the mountain!
Of course, Dodge began singing again. "The top of the mountain, the top of the mountain! Now we're at the top of the mountain, now we're at the top of the mountain! Now we're at the top, I can save Lancer and the other pets! Now we're at the top of the mountain, now we're at the top of the mou..." Dodge stopped suddenly as, for the very first time, he saw Nightmare Castle.
"Oh, gee, it's kind of large..." he stammered, looking up at the big grey castle towering above him. Black flags flew from the red turrets. Something was written on the flags, but they were too high up for Dodge and his friends to read.
It was while they were struggling to read what was written on the flags that they noticed something else though... Something was suspended from poles which jutted out from some of the highest windows in the castle, right up by the battlements...

Back at Paradise Estate, a very sudden storm had come out of nowhere. Torrential rain was hammering on the roof, and trees were bent almost double in the wind, looking as though they may fall on any poor unsuspecting pony who dared to walk by.
Could this have something to do with the ponies who had just reached their final destination at the top of the mountain?

"Oh, no!" Dodge said for what seemed like the hundredth time since he had left home that disasterous day. "Oh, no!"
He looked up again. There, hanging from the window, were four objects, looking like tiny little specks of dust to the guinea pig from where he was standing.
On closer inspection, it was quite obvious what these "objects" were. It was the friends that Dodge had come all this way to rescue, squashed inside tiny little cages so that they could hardly move! The cages swung dangerously from side to side, looking as though the thin supports that held them there would snap at any moment.
Faint voices could be heard calling in the wind...
"Have you come to save us?" Dodge identified the voice as belonging to Lucky.
"Oh, please say you have come to save us!" Dieserella cried.
"I'm coming, Dieserella!" Truly said, traumatised by the sight of her guinea pig friend suspended in such an uncomfortable way.
Suddenly, a familiar cackle echoed from within the castle.
"Do you really think you could do it, pony white?
Do you think you could reach such a ridiculous height?
And anyway, I won't let you,
Save your guinea pig - I'll capture you too!
I've got you now, just watch the sky,
Here comes another cage from high!"
He cackled again, as Desirée and the ponies screamed, trying to avoid the cages that came crashing from the sky. But it was too late - bars appeared all the way around them, trapping them inside, and soon they were being pulled high into the sky towards their caged friends.
"Now I have you, and yellow pegasus too!
And the guinea pig, and...oh, it's you!
The Girl From Earth who stops my dreams coming true,
Well, you won't do that again, will you?"
He cackled once more, and then everything fell silent again.
So where was Dodge? The Black Pony seemed certain that he had captured him along with Desirée and the ponies, but I'm pleased to say this was not the case. As Truly and Lofty, along with their human friend were lifted into the sky, the little guinea pig was also making his way up there...but not in a cage. He had managed to sneak inside the castle while nobody was looking and was now climbing the massive spiral staircase inside.
Sometime later, Dodge managed to heave himself up the last few steps to the tiny room in one of the towers where the cages were suspended.
He raced over to the window, out of breath from the climb, but determined to save his friends. Reaching the window, he saw...
"Oh, no!" He cried yet again. He had reached the pole from which the cages were hanging, but all he could see was a tangle of ropes, tied very carefully together.
"How will I ever untie them? I..I..I just don't know what to do!" he stammered. "I may be a magical Ponyland guinea pig, but I'm not that smart!"
And then he saw an added worry - the Black Pony Of Darkness was standing in the corner of the room, staring at him through his red eyes!

[shadow=red,left,300]To Be Continued...[/shadow]

[Lancer]

CHAPTER TEN

"Oh, no! I...I...I need to use old Ponyland Magic! But I can't remember any of the old spells... Oh gosh, I should have paid more attention to my parents! Uh... Oh, I think that was it!" Dodge closed his eyes and began to chant, "Guino, Guino, Guino, run! Guino, Guino, Guino, come! Oh gee, I've got it the wrong way round! Guino, Guino, Guino, come! Guino, Guino, Guino, run! Guino, Guino, Guino, Guino, BITE!"
Dodge opened his eyes again; Nothing happened. "Please, please, please!" he cried.
The Black Pony of Darkness laughed. "I believe that was the spell for digging, guinea pig, not biting! And I don't recall an added 'please, please, please' either."
His sinister grin made Dodge cower. "Oh. Then...then...then what was the spell for biting?" he stammered. "I just can't remember...."
"What a predicament, eh?" The Black Pony sneered. "Don't worry, guinea pig, I'm not so evil as I appear. I will give you one chance to get away. You have just ten seconds to get out of here. But you'll never escape if you stop to help your friends!"
Dodge wavered, unsure of what to do.
"Please don't listen to him, Dodge!" Twinkle said. "He's, like, lying anyway, and you can't leave us all here, you know? I'd never, like, leave you in this situation!"
"He's right, Dodge! You have to help us!" Dieserella said, quietly.
"Please, Dodge." Lucky added.
"Don't give up on us, Dodge!" Truly looked at him pleadingly. "Even if you can't save me, please make sure that Dieserella and Twinkle get back to Dream Valley safely."
"Please get us out of here, Dodge! You're our only hope." Lofty begged.
Dodge looked at his friends, then back at the stairs he had just climbed, his route to safety.
"Make your choice, guinea pig!" The Black Pony cackled.
"Go, Dodger. Get out of this awful place! Don't risk your life for mine." Lancer smiled at his guinea pig friend, and nodded towards the stairs.
Dodge stared back at the pony, curled up inside the tiny cage, unable to move. It was heartbreaking to see his best friends in such a state. But was it better to try and save them or to save himself? After all, what if he failed and the Black Pony killed them all with one strike of lightning from those evil eyes?
"So, can I have your final decision? I haven't got all day, you know!" The Black Pony snapped, impatiently.
Dodge stood on the spot for a moment, not sure what to do. "Oh dear, oh dear!" He mumbled to himself. He took another look at the stairs, and at the cages hanging outside the window. Then Dodge made his mind up.
He muttered something to himself that didn't make much sense - in fact, it could almost have been a spell if Dodge hadn't already said that he knew no magic...
"Right, I'm starting the countdown - I'm sick of all this nonsense, guinea pig! You have ten seconds, and ten seconds only. So if you have any sense at all, you will make your way down those stairs!" The Black Pony said simply, turning his back and closing his eyes.
"All right, that's fine by me!" Dodge said, smiling to himself.
"TEN!"
Dodge raced towards...the window, and scuttled up to the wooden pole where the ropes were tied. He would have to work fast.
"NINE!"
Dodge started to chew through the rope holding the cage in which Lancer was held.
"EIGHT!"
He had almost got through the rope when he stopped, and moved on to the next one...
"SEVEN!"
Dodge moved on to the third.
"SIX!"
Moving at the speed of light, he chewed through three more of the ropes.
"FIVE!"
He chewed through the very last two, and moved back along the line.
"FOUR!"
Dodge snapped the ropes supporting the cages holding Dieserella and Lucky, sending them sailing to the ground!
"THREE!"
Dodge snapped the ropes holding Twinkle, Truly and Lofty.
"TWO!"
Dodge snapped another rope and the cage holding Desirée flew out of sight.
You may be wondering at this point what was happening to the creatures inside the cages, being dropped from such an enormous height. Well, you'll be pleased to hear they were absolutely fine, falling on to a silky blanket of the finest dried grass. The cages (well-made as they were!) shattered on impact, freeing those inside. Where had the hay come from? Nobody knew. Maybe it had something to do with the words a certain Magical Ponyland Guinea Pig had muttered just a few minutes ago?
Anyways, back to Dodge and the Black Pony Of Darkness inside Nightmare Castle.
"ONE!"
Dodge got back to the rope holding the cage in which Lancer was imprisoned...
"ZERO!"
Dodge snapped the final rope, and raced towards the stairs.
"Oh my, you're still here - how delightful!" The Black Pony said, sarcastically, "I had no idea just how stupid you were, guinea pig!"
The huge pony began chasing after the little guinea pig; how could he possibly get away?
"Come on, Dodge! Come on, come on!" Dieserella cried.
"Come on! You can, like, make it, Dodge!" Twinkle cheered.
"Don't let that Black Pony catch you!" Lucky shouted.
"I won't, I won't!" Dodge gasped, determined as ever, racing down the stairs as fast as his short legs would carry him.
"Don't let him, Dodge, don't let him!" Desirée called, fearfully. She could hear the nearing clatter of footsteps right behind her guinea pig friend.
"Come on, Dodge! You can make it, I know you can, honey!" Truly also shouted encouragingly.
"I will make it, I will!" Dodge's little paws scraped at the stairs, as he continued to bound down them.
"Go on, Dodge! Go on, Dodge! We're supporting you all the way!" Lofty called.
Dodge only had twenty more steps to go now, but the Black Pony was quickly gaining on him.
"Come on, Dodger! You can do it!" Lancer cried.
One more to go; the Black Pony was just two stairs behind! He was going to catch him...no, he wasn't!
Dodge leapt on to Lancer's back. Dieserella and Twinkle were already waiting with Truly, and Desirée was riding on Lofty's back along with Lucky. The ponies raced off down the mountain. The Black Pony made a couple of feeble attempts to shoot them down with his lightning, but he would not leave Nightmare Castle with nobody inside to guard his precious home, so as soon as the ponies were out of sight, they slowed down, safe at last.
There was still a long journey back to Dream Valley though, and probably many dangers to be faced along the way.

[shadow=red,left,300]To Be Continued...[/shadow]

[Lancer]

CHAPTER ELEVEN

There were two paths they could take in order to travel back down the mountain. There was the one which Dodge and his friends had travelled up, and one which they'd never seen before... Obviously they didn't want to take any more risks, so the ponies decided to use the path that Truly, Lofty, Desirée and Dodge had already travelled - after all, they knew that one was at least relatively safe, right? (So long as they avoided the shortcut where they had run into the wolves before!)
But once they had travelled quite a way down this path, they realised they had made a big mistake.
The small dirt track was no longer the dusty path that the ponies had walked up a few days before; obviously the storms in Dream Valley had also affected the Black Mountains as there were puddles everywhere...and then came the mud. It got deeper and thicker as the friends moved further down the path, and soon they were having to struggle to free themselves from it with every step.
The poor guinea pigs had to hold their heads up high, literally wading through the sticky brown stuff. But the ponies could not risk stopping to let the guinea pigs climb on their backs for fear that they may sink in too deep and be stuck on the footpath permanently. Desirée did make an attempt to pick up Dodge, the guinea pig nearest to her, but even stopping for just that moment left her struggling to free herself and get her feet moving again. So the poor little animals would have to make their way on their own, they couldn't be helped.
"Oh gee, this is absolutely awful!" Dodge cried, lifting his paws as high as he could.
"All this mud makes me feel sick." Lucky moaned, as he paddled forwards.
"I don't know how we're ever going to make it home!" Dieserella squealed.
"It's, like, so horrible, you know?" Twinkle said.
"I know," Desirée comforted them, "But we will make it, I promise!"
"That's, like, easy for you to say, Desirée! But you're not, you know, a guinea pig! Do you get what I'm saying. Yes, or no? Well, do you or don't you?!" Twinkle looked up at her, obviously upset.
"Look, I know it must be even worse for you, but there's no point complaining. There must come an end to it soon... Anyway, what was it that you told me earlier, Dodge? Magical Ponyland Guinea Pigs never complain while they're out rescuing people, right?"
"Yes, Desirée, I know..."

(To the tune of "Keep on slogging through the mud" from "The Quest of the Princess Ponies")

Desirée: Keep on slogging through the muck,
Lancer: Even though it's dark and yucky!
Truly: Keep on slogging through the mud,
Lofty: Even though it's dank and cruddy!
Dodge: Will we ever get back home?
Dieserella: There is hope in sight.
Twinkle: At least there might be less mud at home!
Lucky: I hope you're right!
All: Keep on slogging through the muck,
Even though it's dark and yucky,
We will make it home some way,
And live to see another day.
Lancer: Though it's hard on us,
Truly: We won't make a fuss!
Truly/Lancer: We'll keep on slogging...
Twinkle/Dodge: Keep on slogging...
Dieserella/Lucky: Keep on slogging...
All: ...Come what may!

After the singing session, the group of friends found themselves safely away from the mud, at the bottom of the mountain! Their second journey had been a lot quicker than the first, which puzzled them...but hey, nobody was complaining!

Not too much later, everyone was back at home, and as soon as Desirée had travelled back down the rainbow, Dodge returned to the place where his adventure had begun - the guinea pig run outside his owner's house.
Had it really been over three weeks since that disastrous day when his owner went missing?
Dodge sighed as he nibbled on the soft meadow grass. "I'm so pleased to be home at last. I really thought my disastrous day was going to turn into a disastrous year, or even a disastrous life!"

Just then, he heard some strange music playing softly in the distance. As he listened, it grew louder and nearer... He ran out into the open part of his run and looked around, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Then he saw something flying towards him, two pink glowing creatures with feathery, angel-like wings.
On closer inspection, he realised that it was his friend Dieserella, and her twin sister, Dieselbelle.
"We're on our way to Rainbow Land, Dodge. Just came to say goodbye." Dieserella smiled at her friend, as she and her sister dropped a shower of dandelions into his run.
"Oh, thank you, Dieserella and you too, Dieselbelle. I hope that you'll be very happy in Rainbow Land, and that you see..." But there was no point continuing, because his two friends were nowhere to be seen.
Dodge was sure that he could see something twinkling in the distance though, and hear very faint voices from somewhere up above. "Hello, Soapy! Hello, Bubbles! How nice to see you at last..." "It's great to see you two again too!" Then the voices drifted away...
"Well, I'm glad that Dieserella and Dieselbelle are happy. So everything seems to be just great all round really. And I doubt that the Black Pony Of Darkness will dare to return again now that he knows he has the most magical guinea pig in all of Ponyland on his tail!" Dodge laughed to himself.

But somewhere deep in the Black Mountains, a pair of red eyes were very firmly fixed on the guinea pig through a pool of black paint, a magic pool of paint in which "Darkness" could see everything...
A familiar cackle echoed through the castle, although no pony could hear it down in Ponyland.
"You're right, guinea pig,
No longer do I want the pony who's blue!
Now I want another MLP,
A yellow pegasus - for now she flies free.
But not for long, Dodge, my friend,
Her days of flight will soon come to an end.
And one day your precious Ponyland,
Will belong to me - won't that be grand?"
The Black Pony cackled again, and trotted off to start making some more evil plans...

Something is ending - is that a tear?
The last song is descending. Oh, dear!
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic,
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic...
We hope you enjoyed that tale,
Joining Dodge on his rescue trail!
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic,
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic...
Truly, Lancer, Lofty, Dieserella and Clover,
We bet that you are upset now you know the story's over!
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic,
My Little Pony, My Little Pony, My Little Pony Magic!