"When can we stop and make camp?" Spike asked, looking up at Twilight. "I'm so tired!"
"Tired from doing what, exactly?" Twilight Sparkle asked, raising her brow as she pointed a hoof downward toward the floor of the enchanted wagon they had been riding on. "My Come-to-Life Spell is doing all the work!"
"Well sure," Spike replied, looking off to the side, "but, I mean, it's been a long day anyway. The sun will be going down soon."
"I suppose that's true," Twilight conceded. "But I don't know anything about these woods. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable setting up camp here."
"At least we're still technically in Equestria. A few more miles, and we won't even be able to say that!" It was the truth, the Browntail Woods comprised Equestria's western border, and beyond it was a vast, lawless land, comprised of sporadically placed settlements and untold dangers.
"I guess it would be a good idea to get a full night's rest before we plunge ourselves into the unknown," Twilight said. "Alright, we'll stop and look for a place to make camp."
"You're probably gonna say 'no'," Spike said, frowning at Twilight, "but we could always turn back."
Twilight stifled a laugh. "Honestly, Spike! You were totally gung-ho about our mission when we set out. You even insisted on coming."
"That's just 'cause I'd have worried about you otherwise!" Spike exclaimed. "All of our other friends couldn't make the trip, and I didn't want you out here alone. Do we really have to do this?"
"You know we do." Twilight nodded emphatically, a look of determination upon her face. "Princess Celestia entrusted me with this task, and I will see it through."
"All because Zecora just happened to find one of these things in the Everfree Forest." Spike gestured toward a small, cloth sack which was tied off at the top. "The legend could still be fake, y'know?"
"And if I find out that it is," Twilight replied, "then our mission will still have been a success. But the possibilities are simply too dangerous to ignore." Having nothing to counter her point with, Spike sighed and looked down at his feet. They continued to ride the wagon along the rugged path between the trees in silence.
Suddenly, with a thundering crack, the wagon and its passengers were knocked into the air. Twilight hit the ground next to a tree, flat on her stomach. As she reeled from the impact, Spike landed on top of her, winding her all over again. The wagon landed on its side nearby.
"What the heck was that?!" Spike shouted, leaping to his feet while on Twilight's back, knocking what little breath she had caught right out of her.
"Spike!" Twilight growled. "Get off my.... back?" Twilight's voice trailed off as she beheld another. Standing in the shadow of a tree was what appeared to be a small colt. Twilight was able to discern a rather long bo staff gripped at the middle by the colt's unnaturally thin tail. "Who are—" Twilight was again silenced as the figure darted toward the wagon, and with a single swing of its staff, sent it hurtling against the nearby trees, in pieces. The staff was then pointed directly at Twilight and Spike, whose mouths were hanging open.
"Now it's your turn, witch!" a youthful, high-pitched voice declared.
"Wait!" Twilight shouted, raising her hooves. "I'm not a witch!"
"Are too!" The boy took a step closer. "I saw you make that box with wheels move on its own! That's something a witch would do!"
"It was unicorn magic!" Twilight protested, waving her hooves frantically. The boy stopped short.
"Oh!" The staff was lowered. "That explains it. My grampa told me all about unicorns, I just never saw one before. Is that why there's a wiener on your forehead?"
"A what?!" Twilight shrieked, pressing a hoof against her horn defensively as Spike burst out laughing. "This is a horn, young man, and it's the way we unicorns perform magic."
"A magic horn?" the boy replied, tilting his head. "That's so cool!" He trotted out of the shadows to get a better look at his new acquaintances, in turn giving Twilight and Spike a better look at him.
The young colt's coat was a light-brown color, his black (or perhaps dark blue, Twilight couldn't tell in this light) mane stuck straight up in the air, its strands grouped together in uneven tufts. Strangely, his tail was unlike any Twilight had ever seen. It more resembled a monkey's tail than the tail of any equine she had known.
"And I'm guessing you're a dragon, 'cause you look like a big reptile," the boy said, smiling at Spike.
"You got me," Spike replied, shrugging. "Name's Spike."
"And I'm Twilight Sparkle! What's your name?"
"I'm Monkey Do!" the colt replied.
"Seriously? What kinda name is that?" Spike asked.
"Hey! My grampa gave me that name, don't make fun!" Monkey Do took a step forward and glared at Spike.
"Take it easy, I didn't mean anything by it!" Spike yelped, backing away.
"That's an interesting weapon you have there, Mister Do," Twilight said, pointing at his bright red weapon.
"Thanks! Grampa gave it to me! Staff, retract!" In response, to Twilight's and Spike's surprise, the staff shrank in length until it was no longer than the boy's legs. He swung his tail around and slipped it into the hostler strapped to his back.
"Is your staff magical?" Twilight said.
"Sure is!" Monkey Do replied.
"Well, that explains how it was able to do so much damage, I suppose." Twilight frowned at the wreckage of their wagon.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I broke that thing, whatever it was." Monkey Do lowered his head.
"Think nothing of it, it was a misunderstanding," Twilight said, shaking her head. "I could put it back together with magic, but after travelling all day, I'm not sure I have the energy."
"You can stay at my house tonight!" Monkey Do replied. "It's really close by!"
"Are you telling me you live here in the woods?" Twilight asked.
"Sure, it's the only place I've ever been!" Monkey Do replied, gesturing for Twilight and Spike to follow. "I'll take you guys back out here to fix your thing tomorrow morning!"
"So, you live out here with your parents, or something?" Spike asked as he and Twilight ran behind Monkey.
"I don't have parents," Monkey Do replied. "My grampa found me here when I was a foal, and since there was nopony else around, he took care of me!"
"And was his name 'Monkey See'?" Spike asked with a slight snicker.
"How'd you know?" Monkey Do asked, looking back at Spike.
"So you're telling me that you've never been beyond these woods?" Twilight asked.
"Nope! Grampa taught me loads about the rest of the world though. I know there are other earth ponies like me and him, unicorns with head-peckers like you," Twilight groaned in disapproval as he said this, "and pegasi that can fly through the air! He also told me about girls, and how I should be extra nice if I ever see one. Is that what you are, Twilight Sparkle?"
"Why, yes I am!" Twilight giggled.
"Weird kid," Spike whispered, earning a glare from Twilight.
"We're here!" Monkey said as they came to a stop just outside a modest log cabin. "Come on in, I'll show you my grampa!"
"I'm looking forward to meeting him," Twilight said with a smile as Monkey Do opened the door with his tail. Twilight and Spike peered into the candle-lit cabin, which appeared to have a living room with two doors at the far end leading elsewhere. A bear-skin rug stretched out across the floor a few feet away from a fireplace. As Twilight and Spike gazed up at the mantle, their jaws dropped again.
"I'm home, grampa! And I made some new friends!" Monkey Do said, addressing the small, pale orange orb that rested upon a cushion on the mantle. Four star-shaped marks adorned its surface.
"That's... your grampa?" Twilight was practically gasping.
"I don't believe it..." Spike sighed.
"Well he's not really my grampa," Monkey explained, "but this was his prized possession. He died a while back, and talking to it helps when I start to miss him."
"I'm very sorry about your loss," Twilight said, approaching the boy and placing a hoof on his shoulder. "And this, your grandfather's possession? Did he tell you what it was or where it came from?"
"Uh-uh." Monkey shook his head. "Just that it was really important that I keep it safe because it could do really bad things in the wrong hooves."
"Then he must have known," Twilight replied, reaching into her saddlebag for the small sack she had pulled from the wreckage.
"Known about what?" Monkey asked.
"This," Twilight replied, opening the sack and revealing an object identical to the one on the mantle, save for the fact that it had five stars instead of four.
"You mean you have a grampa too?!" Monkey's eyes grew wide.
"No! Well yes," Twilight replied, stifling a laugh, "but I didn't get this from my grandfather. A good friend of mine found it in an enchanted forest and gave it to our Princess."
"You mean Celeste?" Monkey asked.
"Celestia," Twilight corrected him. "But yes. It proved to her that the legend might be true. And now that I've seen yours, I'm certain of it!"
"Legend?" Monkey Do tilted his head, staring intently at the five-starred ball.
"You see," Twilight explained, beginning to pace back and forth in front of Monkey and Spike, "these objects are called Dragon Balls."
"Why are they called that?" Monkey asked.
"No one's sure," Twilight replied, shaking her head. "Rumor has it that long ago they were created by the offspring of a dragon and an alicorn, but that's unverified. Even their very existence was unverified until a few minutes ago!"
"So are there more out there?" Monkey asked.
"There are seven in all, each with a different number of stars. Legend holds that if somepony gathers them all together, they have the power to grant any wish." Twilight lifted her Dragon Ball to her eye level, staring at it intently.
Spike spoke up, "So Princess Celestia figured, 'Hey, the legend says they're out west, and there's a lot of bad stuff out west, so we should totally collect them before somepony else does and wishes for something evil or whatever', and none-other than yours truly was chosen to do the job!" He pointed to himself and grinned.
"Ahem," Twilight grunted, leering down at Spike. He lowered his arm and sat quietly. Twilight turned back to Monkey Do. "That isn't exactly how the conversation went, but that is the reason why we're searching for them."
"Wait," Monkey Do said, taking a step away from them toward the fireplace. "Are you telling me that you're here to take my grampa's prized possession?!"
"Well, no," Twilight replied with a frown. "Now that I know what it means to you, I couldn't possibly do that."
"But Twilight, how will we finish the mission if we don't collect all seven?" Spike asked.
"Well actually," Twilight replied, "the mission was to verify whether or not there actually was more than one Dragon Ball, and we've done that. You need all seven to make a wish, and if Monkey Do keeps his, and Princess Celestia keeps this one, nopony can ever use them for evil!"
"No one's ever gonna take mine, you can count on that!" Monkey replied, flexing his small foreleg. Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled, failing to notice the abnormal muscle detail in his leg as Spike did.
"So does that mean we're done?" Spike asked.
"Mission accomplished!" Twilight replied with a smile. "We'll head back to Canterlot after we fix the wagon in the morning!"
"As for tonight," Spike said, "do you have any, y'know, food, Monkey?" His stomach began to rumble.
"Sure thing," Monkey replied. "I've got loads of fish in the ice box, and some apples I just picked today!"
"Fish?" Twilight asked. "You mean you eat meat?"
"Sure. Meat feeds your muscles, that's what grampa always said!" Monkey Do thumped his chest. "'But you should never eat anything that talks', he told me, so I pretty much only eat fish."
"Well, I think we'll pass on the fish," Twilight replied, smiling meekly as Spike nodded.
"Suit yourself," Monkey said. "Apples it is!"
"I feel kinda bad for the kid," Spike said as Monkey Do trotted into the kitchen. "He lives here all by himself, and he lost the only family he had."
"I agree," Twilight replied with a frown. "He's a nice boy, but he seems really lonely. Tomorrow I'll offer to take him with us. We can find a place for him in Ponyville easily enough!"
***
Later that night, the three occupants were sleeping too soundly to hear the soft creak of the cabin door as it was slowly opened. Two figures entered the living room, cloaked but for their glowing horns. They carefully approached the mantle.
"The stories were true," whispered one to the other, "the monkey-boy of Browntail Woods does, indeed, possess a stone with four stars carved upon it."
"Or rather, he did possess it!" The other intruder snatched the four-starred ball up and tucked it away in a saddle bag. The intruders shared a soft laugh.
"Nature calls," Spike murmured, slipping out of bed and opening the door to the living room. He stopped short as he heard the whispers.
"Why are we doin' this, again?"
"Dunno, boss told us he wanted this thing no matter what. Guess it's real valuable."
"Then why don't we sell it?"
"And have him chase us down? No amount of money could protect us from that."
"True."
"Who are you?!" Spike shouted, leaping out from behind the door.
"Horseapples!" one of the figures shouted as they both dashed out the front door. Spike turned his head to the mantle and saw the Dragon Ball missing.
"Theives!" Spike shouted. Monkey Do and Twilight bolted into the living room. "Monkey, they took your ball!"
"They what?!" Monkey Do shouted, turning to see the small outline of two ponies vanish into the night. "Come back here with my grampa!" He dashed out after them.
"Monkey, wait!" Twilight called out. "It's too dangerous!"
"Right, you two stay in the cabin and be safe!" Monkey called over his shoulder as he bounded out of sight.
"This is bad, Spike! There are dangerous creatures in the forests at night, and Monkey forgot his magic staff! I'm going after him," Twilight said. "You stay here and keep watch over our Dragon Ball!" Before Spike could protest, Twilight had levitated the staff and its holster from the foot on Monkey's bed onto her back, and was off in hot pursuit of Monkey Do and the two thieves.
"Oh man!" Spike paced back and forth across the living room of Monkey Do's empty house. "Oh man, oh man, oh man!" Monkey Do had run off to pursue the midnight thieves and reclaim his grandfather's Dragon Ball. Twilight had gone after him. Neither had returned in over an hour.
"I gotta go find them!" Spike muttered. "But Twilight said to stay here and guard our Dragon Ball. But what if she's in danger?!" His gaze drifted toward the front door. Expressing his snap-decision with a quick shrug, he dashed into the bedroom, grabbed the bag containing their Dragon Ball, and ran out the door. An extended hoof snagged his legs and sent him tumbling face-first into the dirt.
"And just what is a Dragon Ball?" a familiar voice asked. Spike looked up to see the two thieves standing over him, on either side of the door.
"What are you doing here?!" Spike scrambled away from them.
"We teleported behind the house so that your friends would think we ran off. Now let's see if my hunch was right." A magical aura enveloped the bag, levitating its content, the five-starred Dragon Ball.
"Well how about that," the second thief hissed. As the ball was raised to their eye-level, Spike noted that the glow from their magic illuminated their faces from underneath the hoods. Sporting what appeared to be some sort of blue tribal face-paint outlining their eyes and mouth, as well as leaving a whisker-like pattern on either side of their noses, they grinned at their prize.
"Guess these things are called Dragon Balls," the thief who tripped Spike said. "The boss is gonna be thrilled that we brought back two."
"You can't have that!" Spike jumped to his feet, having found his nerve. "And you're gonna give me back the other one, too!"
"Can't let the reptile follow us out of Equestria," the second thief said. His horn ignited, and from underneath his cloak slithered a long rope. Before Spike could so much as gulp, it shot toward him, already coiling itself in an attempt to restrain him. Thinking quickly, the dragon blew a small channel of green fire toward the rope, igniting it and causing it to vanish. The thieves eyes widened. Spike looked as shocked as they did.
"Uh... yeah!" He jutted his chest out. "How'd ya like that?! Now hand over the Dragon Balls, or you're next!"
"We don't have time for this," the second thief said. "Hit him with your special spell, Freezer!"
"Can't be helped," the stallion called Freezer replied. "Gonna have to make it extra-strong so his magic fire can't melt it!" His horn flared up, and a beam of magical energy shot out from it directly at Spike.
"Wait!" Spike grunted before the blast hit him with full force. In moments, he was encased up to his neck in enchanted ice. Freezer began to pant, and stumbled in place.
"I need water," he gasped, as his cohort levitated a canteen his way.
"Rehydrate while you run!" the other thief said. Freezer nodded, and they took off away from the house.
"Oh no you don't!" Spike shouted. With a sharp intake of breath, he blew another stream of fire down onto the ice around him— and nothing happened.
"Huh," he grunted. "Stolen Dragon Balls aside, Twilight is not gonna be happy to see the laws of physics being broken like this." The realization dawned on him. "Wait, if the thieves were hiding out here the whole time, then why haven't Twilight and Monkey come back?!" He began to struggle within his frozen bonds as his worrying resumed.
***
"I've got to find him!" Twilight thought as she ran through the dark forest, Monkey Do's staff floating alongside her. "The thieves couldn't have gotten far, and Monkey was clearly faster than them, so why haven't I caught up yet?" Her train of thought was cut short when a large claw snatched her up by her back. Before she could respond, a bulky finger flicked her horn with such force that she felt a sharp pain shoot through her head. The staff fell to the ground.
"Lookee what we got here, boys!" a voice growled. Twilight looked up and saw her captor.
"You're a dire bear!" she gasped.
"We all are!" Another said, as he and a third bear stepped out from behind a pair of trees.
"Not much muscle on her, but horsemeat is horsemeat!" said the third dire bear. All three of them were roughly thrice Twilight's size, and looked very hungry. Twilight scrunched her eyes shut and grunted, beads of sweat forming on her brow. Her horn threw a few tiny sparks, then died down.
"Nothin' doin', missy," the bear holding her said. "That horn of yours ain't gonna work for a good half-hour after the bruisin' I just gave it. No teleportin' away for you!" He flashed a smile filled with dark, yellow teeth, and his two companions reciprocated.
"Put me down!" Twilight shouted, bucking with all her might at the bear's shoulder. Fortunately, she managed to injure his rotator cuff enough for him to release her. The bears prepared to give chase, but Twilight only snatched Monkey's staff up in her mouth and turned to face them.
"What, you gonna fight us, little lady?"
"You had better believe it!" Twilight said, the staff distorting her speech. "This is a magic staff!" The bears laughed as they took a few more steps toward her.
"Magic staff, eh?" the bear in the middle said. "Good, we can use it as a spit when we cook ya." He reached down to grab her.
"You asked for it!" Twilight shouted. Clasping the staff between her hooves, she swung it like a baseball bat, smacking the back of his paw. And nothing happened.
"You guys weren't kidding about the lack of muscle, sheesh!" The dire bears laughed.
"I don't understand," Twilight whimpered, inspecting the staff again. "A child was able to obliterate my wagon with this thing, am I not doing it right?"
"Hey!" a voice called out from the trees above. Twilight and the three bears craned their necks upward to see none other than Monkey Do standing on a branch above them. "You guys better back off!" Again, the bears laughed.
"This your son, lady?" one asked.
"Hah! Nothing like a nice family dinner!" another jeered.
"Monkey, you've got to run!" Twilight shouted. "Your staff is broken, you can't fight these things!"
"My staff?" Monkey Do tilted his head sideways. "What do you mean 'broken'? It looks fine to me."
"Neither of you are runnin'" one of their captors shouted as he punched the tree Monkey was perched upon. The shock sent the colt tumbling off the branch and toward the ground.
"Monkey, no!" Twilight shouted, running to catch him. She was swept up by the same dire bear that had first caught her.
"Don't you worry, miss, we'll break his fall. We prefer to tenderize the meat ourselves." The bear to the left raised his hand, ready to catch the falling child. Granted, it was the middle of the night, and visibility was low, but Twilight was certain that she saw Monkey Do not only grab onto the bear's claw and maneuver around it, but also kick off of the behemoth's head, landing safely on the ground while the bear fell flat on his back.
Three mouths were agape. Bear number two was the first to speak, "Did you jus—" before he could finish, Monkey Do leapt into a flying kick that hit the dire bear square in the stomach. The monster literally flew backwards, knocking down the tree that broke his fall. Only one remained.
"Uh..." the dire bear groaned. Offering the most pleasant smile he could muster with a perpetually menacing face, he gently placed Twilight on the ground, patted her lightly on the head, and took two steps back. Twilight ran over to Monkey's side.
"Are you okay, Miss Twilight?" Monkey Do asked.
"I'm fine, thanks to you!" Twilight smiled.
"You might wanna turn around," Monkey said. "I don't want you to see what happens next."
"You're not going to..." Twilight placed a hoof over her mouth.
"Nah!" Monkey Do laughed. "I just can't have them running around eating ponies, so I'm gonna knock their teeth out." A soft "eep!" escaped the dire bear's throat. Before Twilight could protest, Monkey leapt at the bear again. She turned away, and covered her ears to block out the cries for help.
***
"Don't worry, guys," Monkey Do called out to the whimpering dire bear that was dragging his fallen comrades away, "oatmeal is really tasty!"
"How were you able to... fight like that?" Twilight said, her eyes still wide.
"My grampa taught me!" Monkey Do smiled widely.
"I thought it was the staff that allowed you to destroy our wagon, but that was just your natural strength. I've never seen anything like it, your grandfather must have been quite an accomplished fighter!"
"I think he was," Monkey replied. "He never talked about his past much, but he told me before he died that he had taught me everything he knew!"
"Did you find his Dragon Ball?" Twilight asked.
"No." Monkey Do frowned. "I don't think they went this way."
"Then lets head back, and try to pick up the trail again. Spike must be worried sick!"
***
"THEY TOOK WHAT?!" Twilight could barely contain her shock.
"I know, I screwed up, I'm sorry!" Spike said as Monkey Do continued to punch away chunks of the enchanted ice. Twilight placed her hoof upon her chest, exhaled deeply, and extended her leg.
"It wasn't your fault, Spike. We were all careless."
"Besides, you said they went west, right?" Monkey Do asked.
"Yeah, beyond Equestria's border," Spike replied. The final piece of ice broke away from Spike's arm on its own. The baby dragon surveyed the colt's handiwork. "By the way, dude, you are really strong." Monkey and Twilight shared a giggle.
"So I guess tomorrow after you fix your wagon, we can go catch those guys and get our balls back, right Miss Twilight?" Monkey Do gestured toward her horn, a look of admiration on his face.
"A journey to the west?" Twilight fixed her gaze in the direction of the moon, which was climbing down behind the western tree-line. She placed a hoof softly upon Monkey's head. "I guess that was the original mission."
"Aw, man!" Spike huffed.
"Sorry, Spike." Twilight offered a sympathetic smile. "I guess we aren't going home soon after all."
"This is great!" Monkey Do shouted, leaping into the air. "I'm finally gonna see the world!"
"Besides, look how happy he is," Twilight whispered in Spike's ear. The baby dragon simply nodded, resigning himself to their trip.
"I'm gonna go pack!" Monkey shouted, running back inside the house. "This is gonna be so much fun! I can't wait!"
