Author's Note

The search for the stars continue. This includes a ride on a mine cart.

5. Mining for Trouble

Leaving Ponyville, Twilight and her friends make their way to the Pie Family rock farm.

"Is this where Pinkie Pie used to live?" Geno asked.

"Yes, it is." Twilight answered. "Maybe her family can tell us if they see any of the stars you seek."

At that moment, Limestone Pie and Marble Pie saw the team, and greeted them.

"Twilight!" Limestone shouted with glee. "Good to see you."

"Hello, Limestone." Twilight replied. "Everything okay here?"

"Uh huh." Marble answered. "Pinkie was hiding here when Ponyville went dark."

"Now, she zipped back there." Limestone added. "It's like something lifted the shadows there."

"We found the source of the darkness." Geno said. "And, I found a piece of Star Road."

Twilight and her companions explained the story to the Pie Family.

"Sounds like you folks are having quite the adventure." Igneous Rock Pie said.

"Indeed." Twilight said. " Now, we are searching for more of these stars."

"I thought I saw some energy from the sky land on our neighbors in Moleville." Cloudy Quartz informed. "Does that help?"

"That is a great help." Mallow said happily.

"Thank you, folks." Twilight said. "We'll head for Moleville right now."

Twilight and her friends head out. Limestone calls out to them. "Good luck, you guys."

The crew headed for an area near the rock farm. It was a decent village with mole people. Soon, they saw some female moles outside an entrance.

"Something wrong?" Twilight asked.

"There is something wrong." One of the women said. "The inkeeper's daughter Dyna, and her baby brother Mite, have wondered into the mine. He and his wife are worried."

"Come on, you two. Let's find those children."

Mallow and Geno nodded and followed Twilight into the mine. As they wondered about, they were suddenly ambushed by shadowy figures. When they recovered, they see someone Twilight and Mallow met before.

"Croco!" Twilight said angrily. "When did you come back?"

"Quiet, Alicorn!" Croco replied. "We got all of your coins. Come and get us!"

Croco and his gang ran off. Twilight and her friends pursued them. As they battled the shady creeps, they received Flower Tabs which added Flower Power for stronger spells. Croco walks calmly, knowing he's safe. At that moment, Twilight and company ambushed him.

"You won't get away with stealing our coins." Geno demanded.

"Well, how about," Croc told them, "stealing your items!"

He stole their mushrooms, honey, Pick me up juice, and so on.

"Oh no!" Mallow said. "How will we survive the battle now?"

"By working together!" Twilight replied. "Let's do this!"

The three heroes attacked the thieving crocodile. Soon, they unleashed special abilities. Geno's energizing blast, Mallow's Thunderbolt, and Twilight's recently learned Super Jump. But, it's their triple move, the star rider, that delivered the final blow.

"You three are stronger than ever." Croco admitted. "You can have your items and coins back."

After giving the trio their stuff back, Croco left the scene. Now, Twilight and her friends can find the missing children. They soon found a mole worker at a dead end.

"If I had a bomb with me," The mole said, "I can blow another passage in this place."

Geno then had a thought. "Twilight, didn't we get a small bomb after Croco gave us our stuff back?"

"Oh yeah." Twilight replied. "Thanks for the reminder, Geno."

Twilight pulled out a miniature Bob-Omb. "Here, try this."

The mole set the little bomb on the ground. Seconds later, the little bomb blew up, carving up another passage. Twilight turns to her partners. "Let's go find those kids!"

Soon they saw an unusual sight. A creepy looking man shaped like a bomb with a bunch of little bombs.

"Who's that?" Mallow wondered.

"I heard you, little one." The Weirdo answered. "My name is Punchinello. My bomb army shall stop you!"

The trio faced off against Punchinello and his army of micro bombs. Mallow stepped up. "I'll deal with these little guys. Thunderbolt!"

Mallow's lightning quickly defeated the micro bombs. Then, concentrate on the main foe.

"I'm glad we got new weapons." Twilight said as Geno used his Finger Shot. "Like my Super Punch!"

Twilight soon gave the living bomb some jabs as Mallow steps up. "Yeah. And, these cymbals."

Using his cymbals, Mallow crashed Punchinello.

"You won't stop me." Punchinello claimed.

The fiend summoned regular Bob Oms. After Mallow helped with his Thunderbolt, Geno used his Geno Boost to increase Twilight's power. Feeling enough hits, Punchinello got angry. "Try these on for size!"

The living bomb summoned bigger bombs called Mezzo Bombs. But, the heroes gained enough power to do their triple attack: Star Riders. The big bombs were defeated and Punchinello got weakened.

"I didn't want to do this." Punchinello said. "But, you forced my hand!"

Punchinello called for a super sized bomb, which crushed him instead. Twilight saw the fuse of this super sized bomb fizzling. "Look out! It's going to blow!"

The bomb quickly exploded. Fortunately, Twilight and her friends survived.

"Wow!" Mallow said. "That was a blast."

"I agree." Twilight said. "These bombs can be dangerous."

Geno then looked up and saw something glowing bright orange. "Look, there's another piece of the Star Road!"

Sure enough, an orange star floated down to the group. They then sent it up into the sky. With three stars found, they're one step closer to complete their mission. They soon heard a kid's voice in the mine.

"Sounds like one of the kids we're looking for." Twilight said.

They soon saw a young mole with a baby in a back pouch.

"Thank goodness you're here." The girl said.

"Dyna and Mite, we presume." Geno greeted.

"That's us. We need help pushing this mine cart. It's too heavy."

"Everybody get on board." Twilight suggested. "I'll get this cart moving."

After Mallow, Geno, and the kids boarded the cart, Twilight usedhermagic to push the cart forward, then climbed aboard. It was a wild ride in the mine. The crew controlled the cart through tricky turns. They gathered coins to make up for what Croco did earlier. Soon, the cart shot out of the mine. Twilight attempted to calm the kids down. "Hang on, everypony!"

Back in Moleville, the innkeepers started to worry.

"I hope Dyna and Mite will be okay." The wife said nervously.

"Not to worry." The innkeeper replied. "Twilight Sparkle and her friends will find them."

Suddenly, they heard a crash. They saw a mine cart crash through the roof. Out popped the kids. The mother rushed to pull them out.

"Thank goodness you're okay." The mother told them. "Why did you wonder into the mine anyway?"

"I'm sorry, mommy." Dyna cried.

The innkeeper went to the heroes who also got out of the cart. "Thank you, my friends. Dyna and Mite are safe now."

"You're welcome." Mallow said. "But, we did damage your roof coming here."

"Not to worry. We can have it fixed up in no time.'

Twilight was happy things worked out. "Well, Geno. Those kids are safe. And, we found another star."

"You're right, Twilight." Geno said proudly. "There are four more to find. Then, our quest is complete."