3. The Black Pony Returns

[Lancer]

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the third story in the My Little Pony Magic Series. We hope you enjoy this story but, as I'm sure you alread know if you've read our previous two stories, Truly's Trouble and Brilliantruly, do not read it within three hours of bedtime, or you might have a very bad nightmare!
Just like the previous two stories, this tale is about Truly. Anyway, I guess that I had better stop talking so that the story can begin...

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

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!
The Black Pony's returning - at least that's what they say!
He will try to ruin our special day!
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 Soapy,
Lots more characters for you - Come and join the ponies!
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

"The fifth of November - Bonfire Night." Desiree read aloud as she wrote her diary, "The fireworks have been going off for days, and I'm getting rather sick of the noise they make now!"
Desiree gazed out of her window, and saw an extra big firework in all the colours of the rainbow. It reminded her of some rainbows that she'd seen not too long ago in a place called Ponyland. Desiree wondered what was happening in Ponyland at this moment, and if all of the ponies were safe. They probably were safe, but she was worried that The Black Pony Of Darkness may have returned to do something nasty.
She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling that something was happening in Ponyland, and that this something had something to do with fireworks!

Actually, if Desiree had but known it, the MLP's were doing something to do with fireworks - they were watching their annual "Fireworks To Music" display.
Some lovely green and red fireworks filled the air, and the ponies thought to themselves how special this display was, since it not only celebrated "Fizziwhizz night" but also the fact that The Big Brother Ponies would return to Dream Valley the following day. The Big Brothers had been exploring Ponyland, searching for new places and pony friends who they had never met before, but they would be coming home with news of their adventure the following day after their year-long trip.
Whilst most of the ponies were watching the fireworks display, a few of them were preparing for a party that would take place on the Big Brothers' arrival.
The ponies who were preparing for the party didn't miss out on the display though, since the event would be taking place on the top of a hill - which, of course, was a brilliant vantage point to see the fireworks!
Truly and Paradise paused from their party-preparing and gazed at a lovely firework known as a "Pony Skyrocket", named after the purple Twinkle Eyed Pony with a firework symbol. Paradise could have stared at the fireworks all night, but Truly knew that they had a lot of work to do.
"We've got to get these banners and bows and balloons and things up!" She cried, excitedly.
"You're certainly on Cloud 9 today, Truly!" Said Paradise.
"But, of course, Paradise!" Truly replied. "The Big Brother Ponies are coming home!"
And she, and the rest of the ponies, began to sing...

(To the tune of "In a Short Time from Now" from "Somnambula)

In a short time from now,
The Big Brother Ponies,
The Big Brother Ponies will return!
Everyone will cheer,
Because they've been away for a year!
They'll be taking a bow,
Our Big Brother Ponies,
When they come home tomorrow,
The day for which we've yearned!
They've been racing round the world,
But the finish is very near!
This time tomorrow,
The Big Brother Ponies will be here!
Bold, and brave, and strong,
They've been away so long!
We have missed them very much,
But very soon we'll be in touch!
They've been racing around the world,
But the finish is very near,
This time tomorrow,
The Big Brother Ponies,
The Big Brother Ponies will be here!

The following morning, Desiree was too busy to go to Ponyland.
The previous night it had been far too late to go - she hadn't known that the ponies were staying up late to watch their fireworks display anyway.
Later on that day - around 3pm - she realised that her mother was sitting down to write a long letter. She took the opportunity to race into the back room with Bubbles, her pet guinea pig, tucked under her arm.
"Bubbles!" She said, as he kicked her shoulder. "Stop that now!" She picked up his magic necklace. "No, don't eat it!" She laughed. "Don't be so naughty!"
She quickly clipped the ends of the necklace together and slipped the necklace around his neck. He tried to bite her a few times but as soon as he was wearing the necklace, he began to speak.
"What do you want me to do this time, Desiree?" He said, cheerfully.
"The same thing as usual, Bubbles." She replied. "I want you to turn the key."
"OK. But where is the key?" Bubbles asked.
She handed him the key with the big pink bow on top.
"There you go, Bubbles." She said.
On her previous birthday, Desiree had found a box in her garden. Whenever she climbed inside, she would be transported to Ponyland. She didn't know how the magic worked though.
"When do I bring you back?" Bubbles asked.
"Um..." Desiree started, "Bring me back if Mum's coming, or if I ring the bell."
When Desiree had found the box, she had found a bell inside it. She had also found a note telling her that she should ring the bell every time she was in Ponyland and wanted to come home. Bubbles had learnt what the ringing bell sound meant, and so now, when he heard it, he would turn the magic key the other way, and Desiree would be brought back to Earth.
"So do you agree to do that, Bubbles?" Desiree asked.
"Yep!" Bubbles said. He gazed out of the window, before asking to be put on the floor, where the box was.

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

[Lancer]

CHAPTER TWO

The ponies stood at the top of the hill. Lots of balloons, streamers and other decorations had been put up all around them.
"Surely they should be here by now!" Said Posey.
"Not quite yet..." Lemon Drop replied. "It's only...oh, what time is it, Bright Eyes?"
The dark blue Twinkle Eyed pony looked up at Lemon Drop before glancing at her alarm clock. "It's 3.10pm." She said.
"You see?" Lemon Drop turned to Posey. "They're not due to arrive until 3.30pm!"
"Yes, but what if they don't return?" Shady asked, doubtfully. "They've been away for over a year, and with all the trouble with The Bla..."
"Don't even say it!" Medley cried, covering her ears with her front hooves, and shaking her tail frantically, so that a high pitched sound of a harp filled the air, "If you even say those five words, he'll come!"
"He'll come anyway!" Gusty muttered, quietly. But nobody heard because just at that moment...

"OK, I'll turn the key for you!" Bubbles said, cheerfully.
"Thank you, Bubbles." Desiree replied. "I just had this horrid feeling that something awful might be happening in Ponyland."
"It was only a little while ago that you went there before." Bubbles said.
"It doesn't matter - I just want to check that everything's OK." Desiree said. "I'll be back as soon as I can, but if Mum's coming..."
"I know! I know!" Bubbles cried, before Desiree could finish what she was saying. "I'll bring you back immediately!"
And so Desiree climbed into the box and waited for Bubbles to turn the key...

The sky turned black!
"I told you to be quiet!" Medley cried, "If you even mention that name..."
"It's only birds!" Scoops said. "It's just a large group of black birds filling the sky, and they have nothing to do with The Bla..."
"I've told you not to say it!" Medley shouted.
"And I agree with her!" Firefly said. "Because something terrible will happen if we even say those five words - I just know it!"
But even though nobody had said those five dreaded words...

"Oh, Bubbles, do turn the key!" Desiree said.
"But you haven't promised me a lettuce reward!" Bubbles whined.
"Does it matter?" Desiree asked, impatiently. "You know I always give it to you when I get back from Ponyland, promise or no promise!"
"Oh..." Bubbles sighed, sadly, "But I wanted it now!"
"You can't have it until I get back!" Desiree said, sternly. "Otherwise, knowing you, you'd be so busy eating it, that you wouldn't hear me ringing the bell, and bring me back!"
"That's true!" Bubbles laughed. "Oh, but before you go, I have something to tell you - something which I haven't told you before - I originally came from Ponyland!"
"Bubbles, this is no time for nonsense." Desiree said, as she climbed back in the box.
She just heard Bubbles add "But it's true!" before the little guinea pig turned the key.

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

[Lancer]

CHAPTER THREE

As I said before, it didn't really matter if the ponies had said the dreaded four words or not, because whatever they did or didn't do, they could not have stopped the terrible thing that was about to happen.
"How do we know when they're due?" Buttons asked.
"Well," Bright Eyes, the Twinkle Eyed Pony replied, "My alarm clock will ring, of course!"
Just then, the alarm went off, but soon the alarm was blocked by a terrible noise.
They heard an evil cackle before a familiar nasty voice began to speak:
"I'm returning - that's what they say,
I'm going to ruin your special day!
I've captured them with my little trap,
You'll see them again in fifty years...perhaps!"
They heard the evil cackle once more before the noise stopped.
The ponies looked at each other in dismay.
"I told you that it would make no difference if we mentioned him or not!" Gusty muttered.
"Well, it obviously did make a difference!" Medley replied. "And now he is back, and he's captured the Big Brothers and ruined our celebration!"
"Who says he's ruined it?" Another voice said suddenly.
"Desiree!" Milky Way cried.
"What's happening here?" Desiree asked, "And why are you all so upset?"

After about ten minutes, the ponies had told Desiree the whole story. Desiree stood in silence and wondered what she could do.
"There's got to be something I can do." She thought. But just at that moment, shimmering stars appeared around her, and she was taken back down to Earth.

"Bubbles, why did you do that?" Desiree said.
"Be quiet!" The guinea pig whispered. "And listen!"
Desiree listened...and heard footsteps coming towards the room where she and Bubbles were sitting. It was Desiree's Mum.
"I'm so pleased that you brought me back!" Desiree sighed in relief, hugging the little guinea pig tightly.
But it turned out that her Mum wasn't coming into the back room at all, instead she turned into the downstairs bathroom.
"I didn't know she was going to do that!" Bubbles said, hoping that his owner wouldn't be mad at him. "You ordered me to bring you back if she was coming, and I thought she was!"
"Well, I'm pleased that you did!" Desiree said. "Now...no, I can't go back, she may come in here when she comes out of the bathroom."
So instead, Desiree took Bubbles back to his hutch, quickly slipping off his magical necklace, dropping it on the desk, and getting him his lettuce reward.
"Perhaps," She thought, "I can think of something that will help the ponies out, while I'm stuck here at home!"

But, try as she might, she came up with no ideas that day. It was 3.30pm the following afternoon, exactly 24 hours since the Black Pony Of Darkness had spoken, when Desiree had an idea.
"Bubbles!" She called, running towards his hutch.
He ran out of his bedroom. He always recognised his name, even when it wasn't translated into "Squeak Language" by his magic necklace. She opened his hutch door and quickly picked him up. Desiree slipped the necklace around his neck and gave him the key.
"Bring me back when I ring the bell!" Desiree reminded the little rodent.
Bubbles answered her quickly and she jumped into the box, but nothing happened.
What could be wrong? Then she realised that the lid simply wasn't closed properly! She pulled the lid down, and began zooming through the tunnel of rainbow-coloured stars that led to Ponyland and...was immediately brought back to Earth.
"Jacqui's coming!" Bubbles sang, quietly.
"What do you mean?" Desiree asked, still dazed from being brought back to Earth before she'd even reached her Ponyland destination.
"Jacqui has just walked past the door!" Bubbles continued.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Bubbles!" Desiree looked at the door, but could see no sign of her mother.
"Jacqui is going to come into the room!" Bubbles sang another line of his irritating ditty.
Desiree stared at him.
"So I brought you home so that Jacqui wouldn't see any more!" Bubbles finished singing. "She just walked past the door." He said. "That's why Brought you back." The guinea pig looked at his owner. "She'll come in here in a minute." He added.
Desiree quickly stood up and walked towards the back room door - just in time! Her mother stood in the kitchen, about to come into the room where Bubbles and Desiree had been!
"You've got to do some maths homework!" Jacqui called to her.
"I know!" Desiree replied, impatiently. "I'll do it now!" Desiree hated leaving homework hanging over her head until "later"!

By the time she'd finished, it was 4.45pm. Desiree ran back to Bubbles hutch and got him out once again.
She grabbed the little guinea pig quickly and ran to the back room again. Just then she came up with a new plan, which she considered better than the original one she'd had. She looked up at the sky, and saw that it was already getting dark. She didn't know her way around Ponyland very well. What if she got lost in the field outside Paradise Estate?
"I'd just have to ring the bell." She thought aloud, but deep inside she didn't feel very confident.
For her new idea, she had to go back into the hall and get her other pet guinea pig, Dieselbelle.
So she walked back with Bubbles still sitting on her shoulder. She raced back to the back room with both guinea pigs, only pausing once to close the door and switch the light on.
The two guinea pigs started squeaking excitedly and ran towards each other.
"Stop it, Bubbles!" Desiree said.
Dieselbelle squeaked and Bubbles tried to climb on to Desiree's head from her shoulder and ended up tangled in her hair!
"Dieselbelle! Be quiet!" Desiree shouted, above the noise they were making, "And stop struggling, Bubbles!"
She put Bubbles's necklace around his neck. He continued to squeak excitedly.
"Please stop it, Bubbles!" Desiree pleaded. "I want you to send Dieselbelle and I to Ponyland."
Bubbles stared at her, suddenly quiet. "Why not me?" He asked. "Why Dieselbelle?" He looked at her and continued, "Soapy lives in Ponyland!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Bubbles!" Desiree said. "I haven't the faintest idea who Soapy is!"
"But I want to see him!" Bubbles said.
"Tell me who Soapy is and I'll take you to see him some other time." Desiree said.
"Oh, I suppose I could go another time..." Bubbles said, sadly. "But I'll only do this for you if you promise me a BIG lettuce reward!" The guinea pig smiled at the thought of piles of lettuce!
"OK, Bubbles!" Desiree laughed. "Just turn the key, and when we ring the bell, don't hesitate in bringing us back!"

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

[Lancer]

CHAPTER FOUR

Desiree and Dieselbelle quickly climbed into the box and Bubbles turned the key. Desiree was surprised to find that they appeared just outside Paradise Estate. The Lullabye Nursery was just next door, and the Baby Ponies seemed to be enjoying a game of Bouncercatch.
The girl and her pet guinea pig wandered inside Paradise Estate.
"Where is everybody?" Desiree thought. They seemed to be no adult ponies around. But then she saw a blue tail curled around the living room door.
"Who's there?" Desiree asked.
The pony who had been just behind the door spun around. "Oh, Desiree! You've come back!" Cupcake said. "We were just wondering where you'd got to! You said you had come up with an idea - at least, I thought that's what you said..."
"Well, I don't know if I had an idea last time, but I have a new idea now anyway!" Desiree laughed.
"Who's this with you?" Cupcake asked, looking down at the strawberry roan abyssinian guinea pig by Desiree's feet.
"Oh, this is Dieselbelle, my pet guinea pig!"
"Dieselbelle! Truly would be pleased to see her." Cupcake said, sadly.
"Why did you say that in that way?" Desiree asked, a worried look upon her face.
Cupcake would not answer the question directly. Instead she went on, "Well, Dieserella will be pleased to meet her anyway."
"Desiree!" Magic Star cried, as she came out of the living room. "Come in here!"
"Where is everyone?" Desiree asked. "And why are you all talking in such a sad..."
Suddenly, a third pony appeared. It was a yellow pegasus by the name of Floater. The three ponies told her how all of the other MLP's had been captured by The Black Pony Of Darkness.
"It all happened over the last couple of hours." Floater said.
"I don't believe it." Desiree said. "Are you sure that they're all gone?"
"Well, I don't know about all of the ponies in Ponyland, but certainly everyone who lives in Dream Valley, apart from Magic Star, Floater and I are gone." Cupcake sighed.
"And my friend - another yellow pegasus." Floater added. "She had gone on an adventure when all of the ponies disappeared. She's gone to visit one of her other friends, in...what's the name of the place, Cupcake?"
"Paradise Land." Said Cupcake.
"Yes, that's right!" Floater said. "She's gone to Paradise Land to see her friend."
"Who is your friend?" Desiree asked. "And have you got any idea where the other ponies went?"
"My friend's name is Lofty." Floater replied. "But Idon't know where the other ponies went."
"The last time that they were seen was on top of that hill waiting for the Big Brother Ponies to come home. The three of us came home to get refreshment for them all." Magic Star looked at Desiree. "That's probably the only reason that we weren't captured too."
"When we went back to the hill, they were gone!" Cupcake explained.
Desiree stood and thought. What could she do? She couldn't think of an answer. Dieselbelle squeaked.
"Well, would you like to come and see Dieserella anyway?" Floater asked, but then suddenly, the Pegasus disappeared!
"Oh no!" Said Magic Star. "You'll have to take Dieserella home with you, Desiree! If you don't take her, they'll be nobody left to feed..." But then Magic Star disappeared too!
"Help us, Desiree! Find us! Save us!" And then Cupcake was gone as well.
"But where is Dieserella?"
She put Dieselbelle on the ground. She began to squeak and walked in the direction of Paradise Estate's bedroom. There was a pink bed and Dieselbelle tried to get under the bed covers.
"Is that where Dieserella is?" Desiree asked. Dieselbelle looked up and squeaked, as if in reply. Then Desiree heard another squeak, muffled by the bed covers. She looked at the bed and saw a lump moving beneath the blankets.
"Dieserella?" Desiree asked, and she started to try to uncover the guinea pig. She managed to get out and there was a guinea pig who looked exactly like Dieselbelle. She would have to be careful to remember which twin was which!
But then she realised that Dieserella could speak!
"My owner has gone," Dieserella said. "I don't know where she has gone - Cupcake, Floater and Magic Star wouldn't tell me. Please help me to find her. Is she in the kitchen?"
"No, I'm afraid she isn't. I'm going to take you back to my house." Desiree said.
"Who are you?" Dieserella asked.
"Don't you remember me?" Desiree replied, "I saved you once before. Do you remember when your owner was captured by a nasty Black Pony?"
Dieserella looked up at her. "Yes, I do remember now. Where do you live?"
"I'm not sure myself!" Desiree laughed. "I don't know where you live!"
"Well, I live here obviously!" Dieselbelle giggled.
"But I'm not sure exactly where 'here' is!" Desiree said.
"Ponyland." Dieserella replied.
"Well, I don't know where Ponyland is."
Desiree scooped the guinea pig into her arms and rang her bell.
"What am I going to do now?" Desiree thought. "There are a lot of ponies to save, and now I have Dieserella to keep hidden from Mum!"

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

[Lancer]

CHAPTER FIVE

Keeping Dieserella hidden turned out to be a lot easier than Desiree had originally thought. Due to the fact that the guinea pig understood everything that was said to her, she agreed to stay in the back room that night, meaning that she could keep herself hidden behind the assortment of boxes full of Desiree's collection of My Little Ponies. The trouble was going to be saving the real ponies!
The Black Pony Of Darkness had caught a few ponies before, but never all of the ponies who lived in Dream Valley!
Had Cupcake said it was "only" the ponies who lived in Dream Valley? Desiree had never visited any other part of Ponyland. Did the other ponies in the plastic MLP range on Earth actually exist? But those thoughts were quickly pushed out of her head, as she watched what happened next!
"The Black Pony's coming!" Dieserella shouted, looking out of the window.
"Don't be silly!" Desiree replied. "It's just a dark cloud. I think that it's going to rain."
"But when the Black Pony's around, there are always lots of dark clouds too - it could be a sign that he's on his way!" Dieserella insisted, as she tried to push her way between two stacks of boxes full of plastic ponies. She wasn't strong enough to push them out of her way, but she did knock them off balance, and Desiree could see that they were about to fall on top of the guinea pig!
"No, Dieserella!" Desiree cried. She ran forward, grabbing the stack of boxes, and trying to steady them. "Run!" She shouted desperately, but Dieserella stood still, and refused to move.
"The Black Pony's coming!" Dieserella shivered in fear. "He's coming to get me! How can I move?"
"Just get away quickly!" Desiree screamed "I can't hold these boxes much longer!" The girl turned her head slightly to look at the 'cloud'. "It's not even a cloud, Dieserella! It's just some smoke from one of the fireworks!"
"Are you sure?" Dieserella asked, as the boxes swayed dangerously above her.
"Yes!" Desiree screeched. The guinea pig raced away, and the boxes toppled over - Dieserella had only just made it! If she had waited a moment longer, she would have been crushed by around 500 plastic ponies!
"You could have been killed!" Desiree said to Dieserella after she had picked all of the poor ponies up and put them back into their boxes. "I don't want you to go near those ponies any more!"
"I'm sorry, I won't do it again..." Dieserella said sadly, looking down at her paws.
"Good. I don't want you getting hurt!" Desiree smiled. "Do you think you could turn the key and send me to Ponyland?" She asked. "My Mum's busy at the moment."
It was cold in the back room that night. The rain poured down outside, tapping on the window loudly. But Desiree was determined that the ponies would be brought back to Dream Valley, even if it did mean going out in the rain.
"I hope I didn't just hear what I thought I heard!" Desiree heard a voice behind her.
"Bubbles!" Desiree said. "How did you get here?" She looked down at the guinea pig. "And how come your wearing your necklace?" She asked.
"I just saw my necklace on the floor - it must have fallen off of the table." Bubbles explained. "I was walking around the house, because if you remember..."
Bubbles didn't need to finish his sentence. Desiree did remember now - she had got Bubbles out of his hutch to let him wander around the hall floor, but had forgotten all about him. He must have followed her through the kitchen to the back room.
Bubbles continued what he had been saying when he had walked into the back room. "I hope I didn't hear what I thought I heard you say - Dieserella is turning the key? If that happens, I won't get my lettuce reward."
Desiree looked at him, thinking quickly. "OK, why don't both of you turn the key. One of you can turn it to send me to Ponyland, and one of you can turn it the other way to bring me back to Earth!"
"That's a good idea!" Bubbles said, happily.
"You can both have a lettuce reward when I get back." Desiree smiled.
"Mine had better be bigger than Dieserella's!" Bubbles grinned. "I was turning the key for you before you even met her!"
"Now you're just being greedy, Bubbles!" Desiree said. "You will each have an equal amount of lettuce! It wouldn't be fair otherwise!"
"That isn't fair either!" Bubbles sulked, stamping his feet angrily on the carpet.
"Well, Dieserella doesn't have as many vegetables and fruits at night as you, because I'm trying to hide her from everyone! I couldn't bring a full supper in here for her, could I? But if you keep behaving like this, I might decide to give her your supper!"
"NO!" Bubbles cried.
"Well, if you don't want that to happen, you will turn the key for me, and stop moaning! Desiree climbed into the box. "Turn the key!" She called from inside the box. The two guinea pigs did as they were told, and turned the key together, and Desiree appeared in the middle of the empty field outside Paradise Estate.

It wasn't raining in Ponyland, but there was a very cold breeze. Desiree ran toward Paradise Estate, but then remembered that there were no MLP's there. Where would The Black Pony Of Darkness have taken them? She didn't have to wait very long to find out!

"All I want to know is if she's safe!" Truly said to Cupcake.
"Well..." Cupcake looked awkwardly at Floater.
"Actually," Floater said, not daring to look at Truly, "We didn't tell Desiree anything about Dieserella. We only told her about the missing ponies and we didn't get around to telling her where Dieserella was. So we don't know if she's safe, or not!"

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

[Lancer]

CHAPTER SIX

"Bubbles! Bubbles!" Dieserella cried. "Are you OK? Please don't act as though your necklace is too tight!"
"I'm not acting!" Bubbles squawked through the deep breaths he was taking. "Get it off! Get it off!"

As I said before, it wasn't long before Desiree found out where the Black Pony had hidden her MLP friends. She heard a familiar cackle coming from above her, followed by a sinister message:
"Oh, Girl From Earth, don't try to stop me!
I've got every single MLP!
Do you still want to know where the ponies are?
I've told you before that they're not very far!
They're in a A.C.T.L.S.E,
But, please remember, they now all belong to me!"
Another evil cackle marked the end of the message.
Having listened carefully to this message, Desiree began to run, but where was she to go?
"A.C.T.L.S.E." She muttered to herself, as she wrote the letters down on a piece of paper from the pad that she always kept in her coat pocket. It was fortunate that she was wearing her coat today! "A.C.T.L.S.E. What could it mean?" She thought. She began to juggle the letters around in her head. "S.E.L.T.C.A, L.E.S.C.A.T, C.A.T.L.E.S...CASTLE!!! Nightmare Castle! Of course!"
Desiree began to run in the direction of the Black Mountains, but she didn't get far before she was hurriedly taken back down to Earth by Dieserella!

"Bubbles!" Desiree cried, racing over to the little guinea pig.
Bubbles was lying on his side, panting heavily. His necklace was twisted, and was cutting into his neck. Desiree quickly un-twisted it. The guinea pig stood up, although he was still gasping to catch his breath.
"Dieserella! You should have called me back before!" Desiree scolded.
"I wanted to give you as long as I could to find and rescue my owner!" The strawberry roan abyssinian guinea pig replied.
"Well, I know where Truly is now." Desiree was calming down now that Bubbles was looking a little better, and walking around the room again. "So now...I think I'll have to leave it until tomorrow. It's getting quite late now. Oh no! Tomorrow is a Saturday, and I have only half the chance to get to Ponyland on Saturday or Sunday as I do on the other five days of the week, because I have Mum and Dad to hide my secret from!"
"So it will have to wait until Monday, won't it, Girl From Earth?!"
And an evil cackle could be heard coming from Ponyland.

"Well, I didn't get to Ponyland over the weekend." Desiree thought to herself at 9.50 on Sunday night. "It's too late to go now."
Her parents were in the living room while she was in the back room.
"I should have thought about it earlier when both of them were upstairs hanging up the laundry. I could have quickly gone to Ponyland then."
She looked sadly at Bubbles and Dieserella who were playing together on the floor.
"I will just have to go tomorrow."

"It's almost 12.45pm." Desiree thought to herself. "Mum is typing something out at the moment, so I could go to Ponyland now without her noticing. But now it's got so late...she'll probably call me and tell me that it's time for dinner at any minute. What do you think that I should do, Bubbles?"
She looked at her guinea pig who was sitting on her lap. He didn't answer her. And then she realised why - he wasn't wearing his necklace! She tried to fasten it around his neck, but for some reason, it wasn't working.
"Sit still, Bubbles!" Desiree said, even though she knew that the guinea pig couldn't understand her.
Eventually she slipped the two ends of the chain together and straightened it so that the pink bows on the necklace hung around Bubbles's neck perfectly.
Then Bubbles began to talk. "What were you saying to me? I didn't understand you because you were speaking in a strange language."
"I wasn't talking in a strange language." Desiree replied. "That was the language I always speak - you just didn't understand me because you weren't wearing your necklace, and so my words weren't translated into squeaks!"
"What are you talking about?" Bubbles asked, giving his owner a quizzical look. "I'm wearing my necklace now and I still don't understand you!"
"Oh, never mind about that!" Desiree said, impatiently. "I was asking for your opinion on a problem I have. My Mum's typing something, but it's getting toward dinner-time. Do you think I should go to Ponyland or not?"
Bubbles looked at Desiree. "I think that you should go. I can always bring you back to Earth if Jacqui calls for you." He turned his head on one side and looked up at her, a twinkle in his eye. "And, at least, if I send you to Ponyland, I'll get a lettuce reward!" The guinea pig winked at her, and Desiree smiled.

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

[Lancer]

CHAPTER SEVEN

"She's not coming to save us, is she?" Shady said, sadly.
"Of course she's coming!" Magic Star cried. "It's just taking her a while, that's all."
"But we can't stay in this room much longer." Said Cupcake. "It's getting too hot."
Sure enough, the room was getting hotter. The ponies looked around the prison cell. There was a large window made from one way glass, meaning that the ponies couldn't see out of the window, but anyone outside could look in. The rays of sun light beaming through the glass into the sealed room made it unbearably hot inside. There was no way out - at least, no way that the ponies could see. The large dungeon was dimly lit by a few light bulbs which hung at dangerous angles from the ceiling.
"All we can do is wait and hope." Said Ribbon. "I tried to send a dream message to Desiree but I don't know if it got through or not."

Desiree had received the dream message that night but, having already known about the ponies' predicament, she hadn't needed to receive it anyway. Or so she thought. So she had taken no notice of the need of the dream message, in which Ribbon had told her that if she didn't save the ponies by the end of the following day, Tuesday 12th November 2002, they would become the Black Pony Of Darkness's slaves forever!

"Don't go yet, Desiree! I have a message for my owner!"
Desiree took the piece of paper from Dieserella, on which the guinea pig had scribbled a message (Yes, Ponyland guinea pigs can write as well as talk!). Dieserella had written:
"Don't worry. I'm perfectly safe and happy on Earth with my sister Dieselbelle. Please don't worry about me. Desiree is just leaving for Ponyland now, and she'll help you...I'm sure she will!"
Desiree looked again at that last line. The trouble was that she didn't feel so sure herself.

The empty Paradise Estate stood silent and still...until the ground began to shake, causing furniture to fall over, and pictures to slip from the walls!
"Help!" Cried the one remaining yellow Pegasus pony. "Don't do it! Don't do it!" The pony stood in the Paradise Estate bedroom, clinging to her bed desperately. "I don't want to disappear like the other MLP's!" But even as she pleaded, she knew it was useless. After all, she wanted to be free so that she could save her friends from The Black Pony Of Darkness. So why would the Black Pony let her stay in Dream Valley? A net appeared over Paradise Estate, so she couldn't escape by flying away.
Lofty was trapped.

"Can I go now, Dieserella?" Desiree asked. "Perhaps if you allow me to go to Ponyland, I'll actually be able to save your owner!"
But Dieserella continued to give Desiree messages that she wanted her to pass on to Truly. "Remember to tell her that I am getting my slice of carrot at night - she'll be pleased to hear that - and tell her that I'm very happy here with Dieselbelle."
"OK, I'll tell her that." Desiree said, impatiently. "Is that all?"
"No, it isn't. Tell her if she wants to stop the Black Pony, she should speak to my friend, Soapy, because he has a..."
But Desiree had stopped listening. Dieserella had spent so long giving her so many irrelevant messages to pass on to Truly, that she didn't listen to the one important thing that the guinea pig had to say!
She shouted to Bubbles over the top of Dieserella's desperate attempt to tell her about the magic thing that Soapy had, and asked him to turn the key for her.
"Of course!" Bubbles replied. "Then I'll finally get my lettuce reward."
"Yes, Bubbles, you will!" Desiree said, as she climbed into the box, and Bubbles turned the key.

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

[Lancer]

CHAPTER EIGHT

Desiree arrived in Ponyland by the Waterfall. The Black Pony's castle was on the other side of Paradise Lake. She would have to walk along by the side of the lake either to Dream Valley or...she could go the other way, but she had no idea where she would end up if she did this. She had never walked that way before, and didn't know if there was another bridge. So she decided to walk along to Dream Valley where "Heart Bridge" was located.
When she reached the bridge, she crossed the lake and began to run across the field on the other side of the lake towards Nightmare Castle.

Whizzer had found a small crack in the one-way glass window near to the ceiling. It wasn't anywhere near wide enough for the ponies to escape from the dungeon through it, but Whizzer could look through the crack at the fields beyond.
"Is she coming?" Lofty, the latest pony to have been captured, asked.
"No, I can't see her anywhere!" Whizzer replied, looking through the crack. "She doesn't seem to be coming - at least, not yet."
Whizzer flew down and looked at Lofty. "It's your turn to go and look for Desiree now."
Lofty didn't move. "I thought you said that you would keep on watching until Desiree came to save us." The yellow Pegasus complained.
"I know I did." Whizzer sighed. "But my wings are getting tired now..." The pink Twinkle Eyed Pegasus glared at Lofty. "Why can't we take it in turns? While we're shouting at each other, we could have missed Desiree!"
"Then go back to that crack and look for her like you promised you would!" Lofty said.
Whizzer sadly flew back to the crack. She stared across the empty field...and saw that it was no longer empty. A small figure was running towards the the castle. Could it be Desiree? Or was it just a rabbit? It was hard to judge sizes from this distance.
"I think that she's coming!" Whizzer cried.
All of the Pegasus Ponies immediately flew up into the air in a flutter of coloured wings, hoping to catch a glimpse of this creature running over the fields through the crack.
The Earth and Unicorn Ponies raced to the side of the room where the crack was located, but they weren't tall enough to see out.
"It's definitely Desiree!" North Star said.
"Are you certain?" Asked Hippety Hop. "I don't think that it's her!"
All of the Earth Ponies shouted at the Pegasi in unison, asking the winged equines to carry them to the ceiling, so that they could see for themselves if it was Desiree or not.
The Pegasus Ponies carried Truly and Posey up to the crack.
"That is her!" The two ponies said together.
The figure was coming closer now. It was clearly not a rabbit, as Whizzer had originally feared. It certainly wasn't a pony either. It was a human. But could it be...one of the Black Pony's helpers? The Black Pony Of Darkness had several human friends who helped him to do horrible things to the My Little Ponies. The MLP's didn't have to wait any longer, because now they could see exactly who it was.
"I told ya'll, didn't I?" Truly exclaimed.
The ponies looked up at her, as Lofty and Paradise held her up to the crack.
"How can you be sure while she's still so far away?" Scrumptious asked.
"I surely can! I can see exactly who it is!" Truly insisted.
Skippety Doo stared at the white pony in disbelief. "Will you carry me up there?" She asked Hippety Hop and Masquerade.
The two Pegasi carried the little green pony to the ceiling.
"Actually," Skippety Doo said, "It does look as if it's..."
The little green pony paused and the MLP's all craned their necks to listen to what Skippety Doo had to say next.
"...Desiree!" Skippety Doo laughed.
All of the ponies cheered.
"Hurry up, Desiree!" They all shouted.
She was coming closer...but so was "the noise". The sound of footsteps. The Black Pony's hoofsteps, in fact! The noise got louder and louder. He was making his way to the dungeon!
Desiree was getting nearer, but they could already hear the sound of keys clinking together on the other side of the door.
Desiree was almost at the window now. Once she got to it, she realised that it was unlocked, except for a small catch on the outside, and she started to open it. But at that moment, the Black Pony turned his key in the lock. The window opened, and so did the door at the same time. Desiree quickly closed the window again as she saw the Black Pony walk in. Hopefully, he hadn't seen that the window was open, and now, of course, he couldn't see her through the one-way glass!
The ponies were all facing away from the window now, hoping that The Black Pony Of Darkness wouldn't suspect that they had been looking through the crack.
Having seen that all of the MLP's were still in his dungeon, the Black Pony promptly left, turning the key In the lock and hiding it under the pink rug outside the door as he went.
The window immediately opened again. Desiree put her head through the opened window and called to the ponies.
"Come on! You can get out now! We'll be perfectly safe, because the Black Pony will be occupied with other things, if my ears are correct. I can hear a telephone ringing. The Black Pony will be so busy chatting that he won't see us escape!"
"But the Black Pony doesn't own a telephone, Silly!" Tic Tac Toe said. "At least, I've never heard it ringing before!"
"Well, I doubt that he gets many phone calls." Desiree said. "After all, who would want to speak to such a nasty pony as him?"
"One of the Black Pony's helpers, of course!" Said Cherries Jubilee. "Susan Dewberry, for instance."
"Who's Susan Dewberry?" Desiree asked.
"She's supposedly a pony collector, but we've never actually seen her to confirm that." Bangles explained.
"I have heard her speaking to the Black Pony late at night though, and she does talk about ponies...she thinks that they were all made and sold in Germany though, so I don't think she's too keen on our Hasbro counterparts." Heart Throb said.
"There's another silly lady too..." Lickety Split added. "Her name is Mary Cluckton, and she insists she knows a lot about plastic ponies."
"She only knows about their values though, and doesn't know much about that. She thinks that the plastic pony "Peachy" is worth over $1000!" Laughed Twilight.
"When we tried to put her right, she just laughed at us, didn't she?" Angel said. "She said that we were "naive"!"
The ponies all started to giggle.
Desiree looked at them all, confused. "I don't wish to sound rude," She interrupted, "But if we are ever to escape from this dungeon, we had better move now...before The Black Pony Of Darkness returns!"

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

[Lancer]

CHAPTER NINE

The ponies were fully aware of what Desiree meant.
"I have a note for you, Truly - but you won't need it now." Desiree laughed, thinking about Dieserella's message to her owner.
"What do you mean by that?" Truly asked.
"Well, you'll be seeing her again now, won't you?"
"Who?" Truly said, puzzled.
"The one who sent you the note. And that's all I'm going to say. I have a feeling, as Ribbon said in my dream, that you've been feeling a bit upset about something."
The ponies began to climb out of the window, one by one. Desiree hopped out after them, just as the dungeon door flew open again and The Black Pony Of Darkness wandered in. He slammed the door behind him...and looked up at the open window!
Desiree hadn't quite been the last to leave the dungeon, because one MLP was still in the room with the Black Pony. It was Truly. She had been confused by Desiree's remarks about the mysterious note, but as soon as she saw the Black Pony, she jumped at the window. The Black Pony saw this and immediately jumped at the window himself. But the window slammed shut in his face, thanks to Desiree, who was standing on the other side of it!
"Come back here, Ponies!" The Black Pony shouted. "You'll never get away with this!"
He laughed his evil cackle.
The Black Pony Of Darkness didn't bother to chase them. They ran as fast as they could until they were sure that he wouldn't be able to catch up with them. Then they slowed down and, eventually, stopped all together.
"Why isn't he chasing us?" Said Crumpet. "I thought he would follow us."
"Well, I'm just glad he didn't." Bangles replied. "We're safe now."
"Yes, but why? There's must be a reason." Crumpet said.
"There's no reason. It does seem odd, but..." Bangles trailed off, unsure what to say next.
"Does it really matter?" Desiree asked. "He's left us alone for now."
"Exactly." Said Crumpet. "'For now'..."
The ponies all looked at each other before racing over the Heart Bridge and soon they were outside Paradise Estate again. They began to feel happier. Now that the Black Pony hadn't even bothered to chase them, surely he must have given up.
"I suppose that I had better go back down to Earth." Desiree said.
"You don't have to quite yet - not until Bubbles calls for you." Said Bow Tie.
"Well, maybe not. I'm just worried that my Mum will realise that I'm gone, and Bubbles won't be able to turn the key in time and..."
"She won't. Bubbles is very quick to take you back to Earth. He is very keen on his lettuce reward, you know!"
"But what if he loses the key? What if..."
"Then we' give you another one." Applejack said.
"But that wouldn't help, because Bubbles wouldn't get it, would he? That hadn't occurred to me before - if Bubbles lost the key, I'd be trapped in Ponyland forever!"
"We would find a way. There must be a way, and we would think of it, although I hope we'll never have to." Said Blossom.
The ponies and Desiree turned suddenly, having heard a long wail coming from the Paradise Estate bedroom.
"She's gone!" Truly cried.
"Who has?" Asked Gusty.
"Dieserella!" Truly replied.
"Oh, that's what I haven't done!" Desiree sighed. She ran into the bedroom where Truly was looking desperately under the bed sheets for her pet guinea pig.
"Cupcake told me that Dieserella was here when she was captured!" Truly wailed again.
"Well, she's not here anymore!" Desiree laughed.
Truly looked at her. Desiree passed her the note.
The white pony read the note and stopped crying.
"I'll go and get her now." Desiree said. She pulled the bell out of her pocket.
Shimmering stars surrounded her and she was sent back down to Earth.

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

[Lancer]

CHAPTER TEN

Bubbles and Dieserella ran towards Desiree. Dieserella looked hopeful that Desiree would say she saved Truly.
"Dieserella." Desiree looked down at the guinea pig. "I've rescued your owner and all of the other ponies. You can go home now."
Dieserella was so happy that she began to cry, a thing that only magical Ponyland guinea pigs can do.
"It's been lovely to stay with my sister and her friend," The guinea pig said, "But it will be even nicer to be back with my owner again."
Desiree smiled at her.
"You and Dieselbelle must come and visit me." Dieserella said.
"I will." Desiree replied. "I hope that the Black Pony is gone for good now, and so I'll never have to come and help the ponies to fight him again, but of course I'll come and visit you all!"
And, having said that, she climbed into the box with Dieserella, and Bubbles turned the key. As soon as Dieserella walked through the gates of Paradise Estate, the ponies said gathered around her.
"Oh, there she is!" Said Cupcake. "I was worried that you wouldn't have found her!" The pony looked at Desiree and smiled.
The ponies took it in turns to cuddle Dieserella and welcome her back to Dream Valley in their own special ways.
"Well," Desiree said, "I hope that the Black Pony never comes back."
"Yes, hopefully that was the last we'll ever hear from him." Bangles replied.
Desiree hoped that Bangles was right. She rang her bell and went back down to Earth.
It felt safer down in her own house. Because, as yet, the Black Pony had never been heard on Earth.

But up in Ponyland, after Desiree had gone, The Black Pony Of Darkness was heard once again.
After Dieserella had been put back in her hutch, a message drifted through the air from the Black Mountains.
"I'm not gone for good, I'm pleased to say,
I'll be back another day!
To be precise, the 30th of November,
Or perhaps I will leave you until the 1st of December,
But don't worry, White Pony,
I'm not looking for you!
Now I want a Pony,
Who's colour is blue!"
There was an evil cackle and the noise that accompanied all of the Black Pony's horrible messages ceased.
Only two of the ponies had heard the message, as most of them were enjoying a party now that the Big Brother Ponies had finally arrived back in Dream Valley.
One of the ponies who heard the message was Truly, who was sitting in the bedroom feeding Dieserella some tomato pie, which had been supplied for all of the guinea pigs in Ponyland at the party outside. She, as you can imagine, was quite relieved to hear that The Black Pony Of Darkness no longer wanted to capture her, although she felt sorry for the blue pony, whoever it was.
And the other pony who heard the terrible message, I'm sorry to say, was the very blue pony that the Black Pony was to pick on next!

The End