G5 Adventures in Garfield's Fun Fest

Chapters

The Maretime Bay Talent Show
Welcome to Cartoon World/Bonding through Stories
Discussions at Breakfast/Heading to the Studio
Preparing for Fun Fest
Finding the Map/The Journey Begins
Arriving at the Mystical Forest: Being Honest with Your Audience
The Fork in the Road: Following Your Heart
The Crocodile Creek: A Lesson in Humility
Finding the Magic Pond/Fun Fest Begins
Garfield's Training Begins
Flying Back to the Studio
Back to the Studio/Freddy's Words of Advice
A Final Fight... through Dance/A Happy Ending for All

The Maretime Bay Talent Show

It was only a week or two after our Equestrian heroes got back from their latest Unity Quest in Fernfield, Washington with Violette Rainbow, where they helped five golden retriever puppies save their parents from dognappers and helped the Buddies settle into their brand-new homes…

…also teaching Violette a lesson about change-- even though it can be hard sometimes, the outcome may be worth the change itself.

A few days after Violette started school, she wrote Izzy and the others a letter saying how much the experience in Fernfield helped her adapt to new changes, and that school was going great!

Those words were like music to the Mane 6's ears.

But now that the Mane 6 were back, it was time to start holding an event that Sunny and Hitch loved since they were little-- the Maretime Bay talent show, a special event held near the beginning of autumn to showcase everypony’s special talents.

And this year would be even more special, since all three pony kinds were going to be involved in the festivities.

Soon, the big night finally arrived with excitement sky high, cause by the time the sun officially went down, the show would officially begin.

XXXXXXXX

There were many different kinds of acts in the running this year:

Glory, Peach Fizz and Seashell had put together a special ballet routine, since they had all been taking dance lessons for a few months
Rufus was going to be doing his magic act
Posey and Dahlia were teaming up to showcase the new skills they've learned with their earth pony flora magic
Rocky was going to be doing a baton twirling routine with Jazz

And once all the listings had been made, it was up to the Mane 6 to make sure that everypony was ready to go by the time the curtains opened, as well as introduce each of the acts when it was time for them.

However, this wasn't going to be the only talent-related adventure they were going to have... they would soon find out that there would be more talent trouble coming their way.

Now, back to the story.

XXXXXXXX

In the Crystal Brighthouse, the Mane 6 were making sure that the performers had their last-minute practice sessions in, and Pipp was tasked with making sure every performer looked and felt their best... despite putting a lot of pressure on herself. “A patch of eyeshadow for you… a little bit of blusher for you, and mascara for you. Ha!”

However, she cringed when she saw that Posey looked more like a hideous clown than anything, causing Pipp to chuckle nervously, wipe Posey's face and started again, this time a bit more lightly.

Across the room, Hitch and Sparky were showcasing their own moves for the Pippsqueaks, hoping that the three fillies would let them in on their routine. “Step, heel, heel, step, shuffle bump! Jazz hooves!” Hitch said with a smile as he danced around and twirled before he made a jazz sign with his hooves. Sparky tried to follow, but he lost his balance and rolled across the floor as he hit a pole that fell on Hitch, causing him to yelp before he looked at the Pippsqueaks. “So… what do you girls think?”

“Eh… no offense, Sheriff Hitch,” Peach Fizz spoke first, “you and Sparky are great at that kind of dancing.”

“But ballet is a bit more… dignified and less… jazzy,” Glory tried to find the best words to explain. “And… we designed the routine to fit us and us only.”

“Maybe you can dance with us at our recital coming up,” Seashell patted Hitch on the hoof, “but we gotta get to practicing. Come on, girls!”

And just like that, the three trotted off, leaving Hitch to blink in surprise as Zipp approached. “Uh… what just happened?”

Zipp tried to stifle her laughter at this. “You just got voted out by a bunch of fillies… no big deal or anything, sheriff.”

However, Sparky couldn't contain his laughter and burst into giggles, rolling onto his back while Hitch sighed and laid his head on the floor. Well... there was always next year.

XXXXXXXX

On the other side of the room, Izzy was brushing Dahlia's mane while the pink earth pony panted heavily, freaking out about her first onstage demonstration. “What if I freeze up?! Or what if Posey and I accidentally trip over one another with our vine routine?!” she asked, her lavender eyes filled with panic. “Or what if I only make flowers the size of an amoeba?!!!”

Misty could hear Dahlia's panicking all the way from the other side of the room, and left Sunny's side to see what she could do to help. “Dahlia, Dahlia! You’re gonna be fine! You’re just overthinking your routine a little bit,” she said. “Let me ask you one important question-- do you enjoy doing this routine with Posey?”

“Sure I do,” Dahlia nodded, finally a bit calmer than before. “We’ve been working so hard on it for weeks, and we both really want it to go well.”

“Then, you should focus on you and Posey having fun together and doing your routine well, not what all could go wrong with your routine itself,” Izzy said as she stopped brushing Dahlia’s mane. “Having fun is what the talent show is really all about!”

“Huh… I guess I never really thought about that before,” Dahlia said, putting her hoof up to her chin in thought. “Thanks, girls. I was really about to lose my head. I wanna go tell Posey the same thing.”

Dahlia then got up and walked over to Posey with Pipp, the two of them talking for a moment before hugging each other with smiles on their faces.

This caused Izzy to sigh happily. “I just love really amazing friendships…”

“Speaking of really amazing,” Sunny told the Mane 6, “it’s time to get the show started! Everypony, take your positions! We’ll announce the show and then we’ll be right back!”

XXXXXXXX

The second that the Mane 6 stood on the stage in front of the crowd, the crowd of ponies cheered and stomped their hooves in thunderous applause as Sunny stepped forward to speak. “Welcome, everypony! We’re so happy to announce the start of the annual Maretime Bay Talent Show!”

“All our performers have worked so hard in the past two weeks,” Pipp continued with her own mic, “and we’re excited to get to see how each act has blossomed into the best act it can be!”

“But while they’re all winners in our eyes, this is a friendly competition, and the winner will receive an all expenses paid trip to Ponytropico for a week-long vacation!” Zipp announced, getting another round of cheers from the crowd. “And now,” Hitch interrupted, “give it up for your judges-- from Zephyr Heights, Queen Haven herself!”

Queen Haven waved to the crowd as they cheered, and Cloudpuff howled excitedly about the occasion. “From Bridlewood,” Misty continued, “my dad… Alphabittle Blossomforth!”

“Hey hey hey!” Alphabittle waved to the crowd. “What’s up, everypony? You all know I love a good competition as much as the next pony, so let’s get ready to have some fun!”

“And, last but not least, from Maretime Bay,” Sunny finished, “we have the one… the only… Phyllis Cloverleaf!”

The crowd cheered once more as Phyllis smiled and waved from the judge’s table. “All right, let’s get this show started off right!” Hitch said as he looked at the schedule in front of him. “First off we have our very own Pippsqueaks from right here in Maretime Bay performing a very intricate dance routine-- give it up for Peach Fizz, Seashell and Glory in their maiden performance!”

The ponies in the crowd cheered excitedly as the three fillies made their way onstage to dance to one of Pipp’s classic hits, Where’d It Go, with a very exciting ballet routine that they had been practicing for months now in class.

But as the Mane 6 watched the Pippsqueaks onstage, they suddenly felt a familiar tingling coming from their cutie marks, and looked to see them glowing in the certain way that meant they were being summoned by the Unity Crystals once more.

Misty sighed before looking at her friends with a tired expression. “And I actually thought that things were going to get a bit easier from here-- you know, just… a take it easy kind of night.”

“I know what you mean, Misty,” Zipp said, “but when the Unity Crystals summon us, somepony usually needs our help.”

“We should be back before the Pippsqueaks finish their routine and Rocky and Jazz go on, so we should just leave everything as it is right now,” Sunny advised her friends. “Let’s head back to the Brighthouse, get our things and head to the Crystal Room-- we have a new mission to go on, and I, for one, can’t wait to see where it’ll take us!”

Welcome to Cartoon World/Bonding through Stories

Smack dab during the middle of the Maretime Bay Talent Show, the Mane 6 felt their cutie marks begin to glow, meaning that they were being summoned on another Unity Quest.

To where… they had no idea.

But honestly… they couldn’t wait to find this put got themselves.

After gathering their supplies from the living room and the bedroom, our pony heroes went up to the Crystal Room and stood before the Unity Crystals, and thanks to the cutie mark magic, the crystals glowed brighter… and brighter… and brighter until…

…the ponies had disappeared to another world for their next exciting adventure.

XXXXXXXX

When the portal opened up in the world where the Unity Crystals sent them, the ponies stepped out in an orderly fashion, brushing themselves off from the smooth arrival before looking around in awe at what they were seeing.

The whole world seemed to be part of a cartoon they would see on TV, or in a comic strip, because everything in that world seemed wild, unpredictable… and not to mention… fun!

Creatures of different varieties (including ponies, humans, animals, griffins, hippogriffs, kirins, superheroes) seemed to live in this brand-new world in harmony, and there didn’t seem to be an ounce of trouble in sight.

Izzy was the first of the group to break the silence with an excited squeal. “We haven't even been in this new world for five minutes and I already wanna live here for the rest of our lives!”

“Uh... I don't know, Iz,” Hitch frowned as he glanced around at the place. “This place seems a little too... looney for my taste.”

“No, no… I-I don’t think looney is the right word here,” Zipp shook her head. “It’s more… cartoon-y than anything else.”

“Either way,” Sunny interrupted, “we need to find our mission so we can help them and get ourselves back home when the mission is over.”

“Um… excuse me.”

The group of ponies turned at the voice, and to their surprise, they discovered it was three young ponies, a little bit older than the Pippsqueaks, looking at them with curiosity.

The first was a white unicorn filly with a blue mane and tail with pink highlights, green eyes and a cutie mark of a heart.
The second was a light lavender unicorn filly with golden eyes, a green mane and tail with white streaks in it and a cutie mark of a pair of ballet slippers.
And the third was a pegasus colt with brown eyes, a bronze mane and tail, a blue coat with darker blue feathers on his wings and a cutie mark of a tornado.

And as it turns out, it was the white unicorn filly who spoke up to them to begin with. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen you in Cartoon World before,” she said. “Which comic strip are you guys from?”

“Comic strip?” Pipp blinked. “You mean the fun little drawings in the newspaper every week? Why…? Ohhhh… so this is where they get made! Fun!”

“Well, the thing is, we’re not from a comic strip at all,” Sunny told the young ponies. “Me and my friends here are actually from the realm of Equestria.”

“Equestria?” the lavender filly asked in awe. “Our ancestors are from that place! But they had to leave it for some reason… something about an evil fire tyrant.”

“Trust me,” said Misty, “we know all about that. I’m Misty, by the way, and these are all my friends.”

“I’m Lily Moontwirl,” the lavender filly curtsied politely. “Beside me are two of my best friends–- Cobalt Skies and Diamond Heart.”

“Nice to meet all of you,” Zipp smiled. “So, where are you guys off to?”

“We’re on our way to our friend Jasmine’s house,” Cobalt explained, “for our annual Fun Fest weekend sleepover.”

“Fun Fest?” Izzy asked. “That sounds fun! But uh… what is it?”

“Fun Fest is a talent show where all of Cartoon World gets together and performs the funniest acts they can think of,” Diamond explained, “and the act with the highest score wins!”

“Jasmine’s best friend Garfield has won the title of Fun Fest champion with Arlene, my best friend, for the past 29 years now!” Cobalt added. “He’s totally gonna win again this year.”

“Hey, I have an idea! We need some guides around Cartoon World, and you three would be perfect for the job,” Sunny smiled. “Can you take us to Jasmine and Garfield’s house? We’d sure like to meet them.”

“Well, I don’t think Jon would mind having a few more guests to cook dinner for,” Lily told her friends. “As long as Garfield still gets plenty of lasagna.”

“Okay, follow us!” Cobalt took the lead. “Garfield’s house isn’t far from here, and while we're heading that way, we’ll give you the grand tour of Cartoon World!”

XXXXXXXX

And that’s just what they did.

As they walked, Cobalt, Lily and Diamond pointed out some of their favorite places in Cartoon World, and got to know their pony heroes a little bit (the talk of their Unity Quests was something that needed to be talked about while sitting down).

Eventually, they came to a small, cozy house around the middle of the street, causing Diamond to smile and point. “There! That’s where Jasmine lives with Jon, Garfield and Odie! They’re all amazing, and we're sure you guys are gonna love them.”

Cobalt eagerly knocked on the door before stepping back. After a moment, a tall man with brown hair opened it with a large smile. “Hey, there you three are! We were starting to get worried when it started getting late.”

“Sorry about that, Jon, but we were giving our new friends a tour of Cartoon World on the way over,” Lily explained before bringing the Mane 6 forward. “Guys, this is Jon Arbuckle, Garfield and Odie’s owner and Jasmine’s caretaker. Jon, this is Sunny, Misty, Hitch, Pipp, Zipp and Izzy. They’re here on a mission from the world of Equestria.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Arbuckle,” Sunny said, shaking Jon’s hand. “I hope you don’t mind, but our new little friends here invited us to stay for dinner… as long as Garfield still gets his lasagna, of course.”

“Oh, of course! We’d love to have a little extra company. Come on in,” Jon stepped aside to let everyone in. “Jasmine! Garfield! Odie! Your friends are here! And they’ve brought guests!”

“Finally!”

Rushing down the stairs was whom the ponies could only assume was Jasmine-- a green unicorn filly with a purple mane and tail with yellow highlights, blue eyes and a cutie mark of a bouquet of roses.

Jasmine bolted forward and hugged her friends tight. “Oooh, I can’t wait for our sleepover tonight! Garfield and Odie have been hearing me talk about it for over two weeks now! Hey, fellas! Hurry up! Dinner’s gonna be ready any second now, and I wanna get to know our guests before Garfield eats everything!”

“All right, all right,” a laid-back voice responded from upstairs. “I would have been down sooner, but Odie was trying to wake me from my pre-evening nap.”

Following in the filly’s hoofprints were who Sunny thought to be Garfield and Odie-- Garfield was a fat orange tabby cat with a tired/bored expression on his face, and Odie was the happy yellow beagle puppy next to him, barking and sniffing the Mane 6 with curiosity.

Izzy giggled as Odie began to lick her face. “Hey, that tickles!”

“Sorry about Odie-- he can get really excited around visitors,” Jasmine giggled as Garfield put an arm around her neck with a smile. “But that’s why he and Garfield are some of my best friends-- they’re not afraid to be who they really wanna be.”

“Huh… the filly really knows a lot about being true to yourself,” Zipp whispered to Sunny with a smile. “I’m impressed.”

“Well, come on, everyone-- dinner is almost ready,” said Jon with a smile. “I’m fixing lots of different kinds of lasagna!”

“Yes! Our favorite! WHOO-HOO!!” Cobalt cheered as he and Odie raced into the living room with the others in pursuit. “So, hey,” Garfield looked to Sunny and Misty. “What’s your story?”

“That’s… um… a story all its own,” Misty admitted with a nervous chuckle. “We’ll explain it all to you during dinner.”

XXXXXXXX

So, over the course of dinner, Sunny and the rest of the ponies told stories about their past adventures in different worlds, meeting new friends, fighting villains and spreading the meaning of unity and friendship to all friends and creatures they met along their travels.

Needless to say, everyone seemed entranced with the mere concept, and even though Garfield didn’t exactly show it like the ponies thought he would, he was pretty interested.

Zipp cleared her throat after a moment of silence, letting their new friends absorb it all before speaking again. “Are there any stories of our adventures that you want us to tell?”

“Well… what was the biggest bad guy you’ve ever faced to date?” Jasmine raised her hoof. “I mean… if it doesn’t bring up any bad memories for you.”

“...what do you think, Misty?” Pipp asked the blue unicorn. “Do you want to tell them all about Opaline and how we totally kicked her flank?”

“Well… she is long gone by now,” Misty said, “so… sure. I think it would be good for you guys to hear the story of the worst bad guy we’ve ever faced… other than Allura, of course, but that’s for another time.”

“Opaline?” Cobalt raised an eyebrow. “Who’s Opaline?”

“She was an evil alicorn from ancient times, who wanted magic to be hers and hers alone,” Zipp explained. “A long time ago, she attacked the Isle of Scaly, where our dragon friends lived, and used their magical fire to turn into a fire alicorn to take over Equestria!”

“Yikes…” Garfield winced. “Sounds like somepony was having a bad day.”

“The Guardians of Harmony managed to put all magic into three crystals, and banished Opaline from Equestria to prevent any more harm,” Hitch said, “but the ponies were so fearful of one another, they took one crystal for each species and left to live with their own kind, and magic ultimately faded away.”

“When we brought magic back, we unknowingly brought back Opaline’s alicorn magic too-- but a tiny sliver of it,” Sunny said before showing them a picture of Sparky. “She needed the dragon fire of this little guy, who Hitch named Sparky, in order to awaken her full fire powers.”

“She would honestly hurt a baby dragon to get what she wanted?” Jon asked before growling and crossing his arms. “That’s just cold, for someone who’s made of fire.”

Odie barked in agreement, to which Hitch translated. “Odie here wants to know if we managed to stop her.”

“Well… yes, we did… for a period of time,” Misty said, frowning a bit. “Until we learned that my mom, Paradise, actually worked for her since she was young, like I once had, and Paradise left me to serve Opaline while she went out in search of the dragons.”

“We had several run ins with Paradise too while we were on our adventures,” Pipp added, “until the day that Paradise revealed that she brought Opaline back from the dead using a powerful amulet, and Opaline was going to steal as many cutie marks as she could to trap us in the mortal world forever so we couldn’t stop her from taking over Equestria!”

“She actually could steal cutie marks?!” Lily looked down at her own with a shudder. “That’s just cruel…”

“What happened next?” Cobalt asked. “And don’t leave out any details!”

“Well, she managed to steal all our cutie marks, except Sunny’s, and she and Opaline fought it out to the end… at least, until Sunny’s cutie mark was stolen,” Zipp said, letting the others gasp in terror. “But don’t worry! The story does end on a more positive note!”

“Thanks to the help of some more of our friends, new and old,” Misty said, “along with my mom, we managed to sing and use what magic we had left to strip Opaline of her powers and trapped her inside one of the Together Trees in the mortal world, and she’s been in there ever since.”

“Wow… you ponies have NOT had it easy,” Jasmine shook her head. “But you’re lucky to know who your mom is, Misty, and that you were able to change her to the good side.”

Odie whimpered at the sound of Jasmine’s sad tone, and licked her face to comfort her while Garfield leaned in to whisper to Sunny. “Odie and I were the ones who found her about five years ago wandering the forest with amnesia-- she couldn’t remember anything except her name, so we offered her a place to live with us, and she's stayed here ever since.”

Sunny gasped at this in sympathy, feeling bad for poor Jasmine in that moment. But, she realized that Jasmine had friends and a new family who cared about her just as much as her birth family might have, so she had to look at it from that angle as well.

Cobalt then interrupted the silence by clearing his throat. “So… now what do you guys wanna do?”

“Before we get to our sleepover, I have a question,” Jasmine spoke. “Jon? Would it be okay if Sunny and the others stayed with us during their mission? Before they have to go back home?”

“Oh, please please please?” Lily then begged. “We’ve never had real protectors of Equestria in Cartoon World before?”

“And they wouldn’t even have to lift a hoof!” Diamond agreed with a nod. “We would do everything for them! Well, except feed them and take them to the bathroom, of course.”

“Well… we do have a spare room upstairs that we don’t use,” Jon said, thinking about the idea. “And they would have the chance to experience Fun Fest with us in a few days, so... I don't see why not!”

The four young ponies cheered excitedly alongside their new friends while Odie howled in excitement and Garfield only sighed. “Great… now the slumber party is about to get more like a party with less slumbering.”

XXXXXXXX

Garfield groaned under his breath as he heard the endless chatter and laughter coming from the room just down the hall from his and Odie's.

The ponies had gotten settled in immediately after dinner, and they had been spending a lot of time with their new friends, but it was getting late, and as much as Garfield liked the ponies, even he needed his sleep.

He had to get the slumber party excitement level to stumble a bit-- just enough so he could curl up in bed and finally go to sleep.

So, the tabby cat marched down the hall and into the bedroom with Odie on his heels, turning to the ponies with a frown. “Could you guys keep it down in here? Geez, it's like a cat can't get his beauty sleep around here.”

“Sorry if we woke you up, Garfield,” Sunny apologized with a frown. “Your little friends were just telling us about some of the funny adventures you guys had together-- like the time you read them that fairytale and ate Jon and his girlfriend's picnic for the beach.”

“That really was a good story,” Diamond nodded sincerely. “Maybe you could tell it to us again, so our new friends can hear it.”

“Yeah! Good idea!” Izzy chirped optimistically. “Please tell it to us, Garfield!”

The way that the ponies seemed to be glancing at him caused Garfield to eventually sigh. “Okay, okay... if it helps get you guys to sleep so I can be my best for Fun Fest, I don't see the harm in it. Odie, go get the storybook from our room.”

Odie immediately saluted and raced off, returning a few minutes later with a huge red storybook, and Garfield sat on a nearby chair as the ponies gathered around. Then... Garfield opened the book and began to read. “Once upon a time there was an extremely handsome cat. You wanna know how handsome? Just about as handsome as me.”

Zipp groaned and rolled her eyes at this. “Oh, brother...”

“He lived a quiet but happy life within the castle,” Garfield continued the story. “Sometimes he would eat, sometimes he would sleep, and sometimes he would eat AND sleep.”

“But, hold on a second,” Hitch said with confusion. “Isn't that kinda dangerous?”

“It's his story and he affects the laws of science in his fantasy,” Lily responded casually. “Happens all the time around here.”

“The magnificent cat’s life was good, except for three problems,” Garfield continued. “One was an extremely Dimwitted Dog that was always asking him to throw a stick so it could be fetched. Another... was the prince's twin nieces.”

Diamond shuddered at this. “They remind me way too much of Minerva and Driscilla... trust me, they're the worst kind of problem.”

“And the cat’s third problem was his MASTER’S problem,” Garfield continued. “Prince Jon had to find a bride and he needed one soon.”

“Oooh, this story also has romance?!” Pipp squealed in excitement. “That's adorable!”

“Anywho...” Jasmine continued, taking over the story for Garfield, at least for a moment. “The royal law stated that if the prince didn't marry by his 21st birthday, then the next in line would become king!”

“And,” Garfield interrupted, “the next in line after Prince Jon was the royal viceroy, and he was not a nice man at all.”

This immediately caused the Mane 6 to become interested. A story with intrigue, romance and action.. not to mention, a heroic character that Garfield seemed to portray.

One thing was for sure... this story was going to be rather interesting, to say the very least.

XXXXXXXX

For the next hour and a half, Garfield and Jasminr helped to recount the tale of the handsome cat, the dimwitted dog and all their friends as they fought to save the kingdom from the evil viceroy, and help Prince Jon find the maiden of his dreams.

And by the end of the story, not only were the Mane 6 asleep, but the younger ponies were sound asleep as well.

Garfield couldn't help but smile at the group as he and Odie left the room to head to their own beds for the night.

Maybe having these ponies here wouldn't be so bad... they could be a good cheering section for when he and Arlene won the annual Fun Fest once again.

And... maybe they could become really good friends over the past few days too.

However, none of them had any idea about the hilarious adventure that was waiting for them just around the corner...

...but they would soon enough.

Discussions at Breakfast/Heading to the Studio

The rest of that night seemed to go smoothly for the Mane 6 after they fell asleep in the home of their new Cartoon World friends.

And honestly? They were really looking forward to Fun Fest in the next few days-- this felt like the perfect opportunity to really loosen up and have fun, since their previous Unity Quests were so serious.

The anticipation was also building to learn whether Garfield and his girlfriend Arlene were going to be the Fun Fest champions this year or not, since Garfield already started building a 29-year winning streak.

But, they had no idea of what adventures that the upcoming Fun Fest would bring for the entire group, not just Garfield... and it wouldn't be long until they found out.

XXXXXXXX

It was early that morning when Jasmine Wildbloom woke up in the bedroom with her friends, realizing that she must have fallen asleep there during the story that Garfield was telling the night before.

Then, she realized that it was time for one of her favorite traditions with Garfield and Odie before Fun Fest started.

Every year, Garfield would read Odie and Jasmine the story of how humor first began, and it was one of her favorite stories of all time.

She had to get her old friends and her new friends out of bed so they could hear the story too. “Hey, everybody! We gotta wake up! Hurry! We’re gonna miss it!”

The Mane 6 woke up with a startle alongside Lily, Diamond and Cobalt, fearing they missed something. “What is it?! What’s wrong?” Zipp looked around. “Are we under attack?!”

Jasmine giggled a bit, realizing why Zipp would think that. “Sorry, Zipp, I just wanted you guys up for my favorite Fun Fest tradition! Garfield is reading me and Odie a story before we head to the studio for work and for Fun Fest practice-- you guys can’t miss it! Come on!”

And just like that, she had run off as fast as her hooves could take her. “Oh, yeah,” Diamond yawned, “I remember Jasmine telling me about this-- it’s a special tradition they’ve had ever since the first Fun Fest that she watched Garfield totally crush.”

“Well, I never say no to a good story,” Sunny shrugged, “so I say we go see what’s going on with this tradition Jasmine talked about.”

XXXXXXXX

“Morning, Garfield! Morning, Odie!” Jasmine said as she hopped into the room with her friends right behind her. “Did you sleep good last night?”

“Eh, about as good as I usually do,” Garfield shrugged, scratching her behind the ear before he noticed the Mane 6 in the room too. “Hey there, guys. I hope the guest beds weren’t too uncomfortable.”

“No, they were perfect, actually,” Misty said with a smile. “Jasmine told us about the story you usually tell her before Fun Fest, and we wanted to hear it too, if you don’t mind.”

Odie barked and folded his paws together in sort of a begging manner, as if he was pleading to Garfield to let the ponies hear the story too. “Eh, sure. It’s just a story, but you guys can listen if you want,” Garfield shrugged. “Jasmine, you know where the book is?”

“Sure do! You know that we only break it out this time of year,” Jasmine said, trotting over to the nearby bookshelf, “so it’s left me plenty of time to memorize where you hide it.”

She levitated the book off the shelf and right into Garfield’s lap as he sat down on his cat bed, and Pipp managed to sneak a peek at the cover. “Ye Olde Funny Tale?” she read bluntly. “They sure got creative with their book titles.”

“It may seem a little cheesy,” said Jasmine as she sat down beside Odie, “but it’s one of my favorite stories!”

“Well, don’t leave us hanging, Mr. Pussy-Wussy Cat!” Izzy cheerfully rubbed Garfield’s face. “Start that story!”

As soon as Izzy stopped touching his face, Garfield cleared his throat and opened the book to the first page, prompting everyone to sit down and listen to the story. “A long, long time ago, within a mystical forest, on a magical pond, there lived a frog named Freddy. Freddy was no ordinary frog. Okay, he was sort of ordinary. Freddy was the first funny frog. Not only was he the first funny frog, he was the first funny anything. Not even clowns were funny back then. Clowns were teachers and lawyers and used car salesmen. Just regular folks, like you and me. Soon, Freddy was playing to packed houses. The creatures loved Freddy, and they wanted to be funny like him, but, alas, they didn't know what made him so funny.”

“Oooh, oooh, oooh!” Jasmine squealed. “This is my favorite part!”

“One brave bear cub stepped forward, conjecturing that the pond water made Freddy funny. He took a sip, and he became funny. Soon, creatures came from far and wide to drink from this magical pond. They loved the good feeling they had after they laughed. Life seemed so much more manageable when they approached it with humor,” Garfield said, reading the last few lines of the book with a smile. “Thus was the story of the creation of humor.”

“Garfield! Odie! Ponies!” Jon then called from downstairs. “Breakfast!”

“And they all lived happily ever after. The end,” Garfield said, quickly closing the book and tossing it onto the ground. “Let’s eat!”

“Good idea-- I’m starving!” Lily said. “Race you guys downstairs!”

“Oh, you’re so on!” Cobalt cheered before the ponies followed Garfield down the stairs. Odie looked at the book on the ground for a moment before he throwed it away and followed the group downstairs. They went to the dining room, where it was dark for some reason. “That’s weird,” Diamond said with a raised eyebrow. “Why is it so dark in here?”

“Do you think the power went out?” Misty asked. “No, the power in the rest of the house is fine,” Zipp said in thought. “Something else is going on…”

But before Zipp could speak further, disco lights began flashing, catching the group offguard. Dancing in the room was Jon Arbuckle as pieces of toast launched from the toaster and onto the plates while he grooved. “Whoo! You go, Jon!” Pipp said, shaking her hips to the groove. “Work those hips! Put some real feeling into it!”

Jon, having heard her, flipped the eggs on the frying pan and served them on plates for everyone. “Good morning, boys and girls!” he said, presenting the eggs and toast for everyone before putting ketchup on Jasmine, Diamond, Garfield and Odie’s dishes, making smiley faces on them. Diamond and Jasmine giggled at each other before diving in, and the rest of the ponies shrugged and followed suit, but Garfield frowned at what was in front of him. “Am I supposed to eat those?”

“Come on,” Jon said to Garfield urgingly, “cheer up!”

“Jon… it’s morning,” Garfield said, getting the newspaper and skimming through some of it. “Winning the lottery wouldn't cheer me up.”

“Aw, get with the program, big guy!” Cobalt said as he took a bite out of his toast. “Tomorrow night's the big talent show.”

“I know.”

“It’s Fun Fest!!” Diamond said with an excited grin. “I know!” Garfield repeated before tossing the newspaper toward the window, turning off the music in the process. “Hey, Garfield!” Pipp huffed. “I was listening to that!”

“Yeah. How else is Pipp supposed to be ‘stayin’ alive’?” Izzy asked, giggling at her own pun. “Disco puns! You gotta love ‘em!”

“All right, Mr. Grumpy,” Jon said to Garfield with a frown before becoming excited again. “Bet you can't guess what I'm going to do for Fun Fest this year.”

“...the same dance routine you've been doing since 1978?” Garfield raised an eyebrow. “The same dance routine I've been doing since 1978,” Jon confirmed. “But this year, I feel it, Garfield-- this is my year!”

“Jon, you know I love you,” said Jasmine, trying her best not to laugh, “but that might have had a good chance of winning if it weren't for the whole… ‘disco is dead’ thing.”

This caused Garfield, Odie and the rest of Jasmine’s friends to snicker until Sunny bumped Garfield on the shoulder to stop them. “Okay, laugh, you guys,” Jon rolled his eyes, looking toward Garfield in particular. “At least I'm putting some effort into it, as opposed to someone I know.”

“Relax. Who wins every year? Let's see… I do,” Garfield brushed it off like it was nothing. “Arlene and I will knock 'em dead with our stand-up routine.”

“Garfield, from one show-pony to one show-cat,” Lily spoke up, “I think you should forget the stand up and do a dance with Arlene-- she's wanted to do that for years.”

“Lily,” Garfield said, putting an arm around the lavender unicorn filly, “read my lips. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, okay?”

“Ooookay...” Lily sighed, rolling her eyes before going back to her breakfast... at least until Misty broke the silence, turning to Odie with a question. “What are you doing this year, Odie?”

To show his friends what he would do, Odie got off his chair, left the room, returned in a black suit, and put flour on his entire face. “Ta-da!”

“Ooh, I love charades!” Pipp said before inspecting Odie’s costume and humming in thought. “Hmm… this is a tough one. Maybe you could give us a hint?”

Odie nodded, and then, he used ketchup to put marks on his face, which made Garfield growl a bit in annoyance, and walked out of the dining room, confusing the Mane 6 a bit.

After a few moments, Odie reappeared in the kitchen, acting as a mine, while dancing like Michael Jackson with a tune of music sounding similar to Smooth Criminal. “Oh, I think I get it!” Cobalt said. “He’s gonna be a mime! Man, those guys are hilarious!”

Then, Odie began to dance like a robot, and after he was through, he bowed to the group as if they were a huge audience. “Ooh, bravo!” Sunny said as they clapped. “Great job, Odie!”

“Hey, what did you think, Garfield?” Jasmine nudged her best friend/adoptive brother on the shoulder. “I think it's embarrassing enough that I live with a dog,” Garfield deadpanned with a frown. “Now I'm living with a mime dog.”

Diamond sighed as Odie hopped up next to her. “Well, we thought you were great, Odie. You’re gonna do great at Fun Fest, no matter if you beat Garfield or not.”

Odie barked in pleasure, licking her on the face and causing her to giggle before Cobalt noticed the time. “Holy tornados! We gotta get going so we can pick up Arlene and Nermal before we head to the studio!”

“Oh, you’re right!” Jon said, snatching Garfield and Odie’s plates and putting them on the counter. “All right, everypony, to the car! And don’t dawdle!”

XXXXXXXX

Luckily, they were all able to get into the car, thanks to the extending feature that Jon added a few weeks prior.

On the way, they stopped to pick up Arlene and Nermal at their houses (which were right beside one another, if anyone was wondering), and they happily sat by Cobalt and Lily while Diamond smiled at them. “Good morning, guys!”

“Good morning!” Arlene and Nermal said back with smiles. “Guys, this is Sunny and her friends from Equestria,” Jasmine introduced. “They’ll be staying with us until they complete their mission.”

“But, until we do,” Hitch said, “we’ll be able to stay for a while! And it’s a good thing-- big day tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah!” Nermal cheered. “Fun Fest!”

“What are you going to do for your talent this year, Nermal?” Zipp asked curiously, wanting to get to know the gray striped tabby kitten a bit more. Nermal only smiled in response. “I am so glad you asked.”

“Oh boy…” Lily said nervously, already dreading Zipp’s question since she already knew what Nermal's talent this year was. “You shouldn’t have asked that question, Zipp.”

“Really?” Zipp raised an eyebrow. “Why's that?”

“Air guitar solo!” Nermal shouted before beginning the worst-sounding air guitar solo that the Mane 6 had ever heard, causing them to cringe, cover their eyes or cover their ears, since they couldn’t cover both their eyes and ears at the same time.

However, Nermal seemed to in tune with his solo that he didn’t notice. “Fun Fest! Fun Fest! Nermal's the best! Number one…!”

“Are we there yet?” Garfield asked with an exasperated look on his face. At the same time, a cartoon superhero flew by, rocking out to Nermal’s air guitar solo. “Fun Fest, Fun Fest!” Nermal continued with his solo. “I’m gonna be number one best! Number one!”

The superhero wasn’t looking where he was going, however, and he hit a pole, causing the Mane 6 to cringe again. And as he walked away, the pole fell right on the superhero.

After Nermal had finished his solo, Garfield took the opportunity to speak. “You gotta get by Arlene and Me first, pal,” he said, looking at Arlene. “Right, Arlene?”

“Yeah,” Arlene nodded, “which reminds me, I was thinking that maybe…”

“Not to worry,” Garfield interrupted with an 'over-confident' grin plastered on his face. “I have our routine all figured out. I'll run you through it when we get to the studio.”

“Hey,” Nermal then spoke up, finding something about all this unfair and confusing. “Why can't I ever get to be in a routine with you guys?”

“Well, Nermal,” Jasmine hesitated, not wanting to hurt Nermal's feelings, “how can we say this nicely…?”

“You suck,” Garfield interrupted, offending Nermal greatly. “I do not suck!”

“Oh yeah,” Diamond nodded. “Like a vacuum cleaner.”

“Hey…!”

“You're too young and too short,” Garfield continued, “to perform with pros like us.”

Nermal crossed his arms-- er, paws at this. “Am not!”

“You're so short, you could pose for trophies.”

“Boys,” Sunny scolded with a frown. “Be nice. Nermal may be small, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do anything.”

“Thank you!” Nermal said, causing Sunny to smile before he turned back to Garfield. “See? She gets it.”

“Garfield,” Arlene cut in, “I'd really like to do that dance number this year.”

“Come on, Arlene, why mess with a good thing?” Garfield asked her. “Comedy kills.”

“More like kills the mood,” Pipp whispered to Izzy. “He’s totally harshing Arlene’s vibes!”

“Tell me about it,” Zipp whispered in agreement. “I get he wants to win, but… this is kinda wrong.”

“For once, why can't we do something I wanna do?” Arlene then argued. “I mean, it's not like I'm asking you to bring me a bouquet of roses.”

“Now that,” said Garfield, “would be pushing it.”

“You totally take me for granted!” Arlene accused, but Garfield just shrugged and sat back in his seat. “That's what the marble statue said to the art dealer. ‘Don’t take me for granite’.”

“Good one, Garfield. Granite…” Izzy giggled to herself. “That's your killer comedy?” Nermal scoffed. “You are so going down this year, fatso.”

Garfield turned back to Nermal with another insulting name. “Pipsqueak.”

“Fatso!”

“Pipsqueak.”

“Fatso!”

“Pipsqueak!”

Jon groaned to himself as Pipp tapped his shoulder with a question of her own. “Are we there yet…?”

“Not yet, Pipp, but we will be soon,” Sunny told the pegasus mare. “And if our mission really is with Garfield and our new friends… we may really have our hooves filled with this one.”

Preparing for Fun Fest

The Mane 6 were just starting to realize what their mission could have been since they arrived in Cartoon World.

Garfield was so sure that his usual comedy routine with Arlene was going to win Fun Fest this year, he wasn’t accepting any other ideas for a new act.

And he didn't see it right away, but Arlene was starting to feel like Garfield was taking for her granted, and the ponies felt really bad for her.

They had to do something to help change Garfield's mind-- especially before something drastic were to occur.

XXXXXXXX

Soon, they arrived at the studio. Jeff the guard was seen practicing his talent, singing in the guard station where he thought no one could see him. “I can just see my name in lights!”

“Hey, Jeff!” Jon greeted with an amused smirk, and that’s when Jeff opened the gate to let them through. “Hey, Jon!”

“Nice singing, Mr. Jeff sir!” Izzy waved as they went by, and as soon as they were gone, Jeff started singing again. “Jeff, the entertainer of the year!”

XXXXXXXX

Jon found a place to park right up front, and everyone got out of the car while the ponies could only stare at how huge this place was. “Pretty amazing, huh?” Jasmine smiled as she and Diamond walked beside of them. “We’ve been coming here to help our friends with their comic strip for as long as we can remember.”

“It’s just hard to believe that all cartoon comic strips get made right here… and end up in the real world,” Sunny said as they walked toward the building. “Will we get to meet other strip stars while we’re here?”

“Totally! Then, there’ll be people not in the scripts that help off to the side,” Arlene explained. “You’ll meet a few of them when we head to the cafeteria.”

“The cafeteria?” Hitch looked surprised. “We just had breakfast over half an hour ago!”

“You know Garfield,” Lily giggled as she trotted over with Nermal on her back. “He can never get enough to eat, and who can blame him? Come on!”

XXXXXXXX

After a small tour of the studio, the large group entered the studio cafeteria, where they see every other cartoon character practicing for tomorrow night. “Whoa!” Zipp exclaimed in surprise. “This place is more crowded than royal guard tryouts when Pipp and I were fillies!”

“Good morning, Billy Bear!” John greeted a large brown bear nearby, and the brown bear laughed in response. “That’s my name. Don’t wear it out.”

“Good morning, Randy Rabbit!” Jon then approached a rabbit next to Billy. “How are you today?”

“Fantastic and amazing! Watch this,” Randy said, making a puppet appear from the hat he was holding, and he began to throw his voice to make the puppet talk. “Hi, Jon. How are you doing?”

“Nice try, Randy,” Diamond giggled as she and Jon walked away. “We’ve seen that one before.”

“But nice idea, though,” Misty told him. “Just keep trying!”

As soon as they had walked away, Randy hummed to himself in thought. “I guess I'll have to work up another trick.”

That’s when, all of a sudden, the prop boy popped out from the hat. “What if we use a groundhog instead of a rabbit?”

Immediately, both Randy and the prop boy hummed in thought. “Hmm…”

XXXXXXXX

Sunny was getting to know a lot of other comic strip characters when she suddenly spotted Jasmine sitting off on her own near one of the tables, deeply in thought.

Curious and concerned, Sunny walked over to her. “Jasmine? Are you all right?”

“Well… I guess I’ve been trying to do some soul searching, Sunny,” Jasmine admitted as Sunny sat down next to her. “You see… I know Garfield told you that he and Odie found me about four years ago, and I couldn’t remember anything except for my name… right?”

“Right,” Sunny nodded. “But I know you’ll figure out who you are someday-- everyone does some soul searching every now and then.”

“But that’s just it,” Jasmine said with a frown. “What if I don’t want to find out where I used to come from or who I used to belong to?”

Sunny blinked in surprise. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“Well… I’m happy here with Garfield and Odie. And Jon,” Jasmine admitted. “Garfield wouldn’t leave my side while I was getting checked out by the doctor after he and Odie first found me. Jon makes sure I’m fed and taken care of every day, and all three of them are there when I need somepony to talk to. What if… what if, when I find where I came from, they… want me to leave my family here and go with them to wherever I came from before?”

“...you know... I actually know a little bit about that myself,” Misty said as she sat down next to the young unicorn. “Really?” Jasmine asked, bewildered. “You know what I'm going through?”

“Before I joined up with Sunny and her friends, I… used to serve Opaline, the fire alicorn we told you about yesterday. She claimed that she rescued me, but… she was never really the saving type. I always spent some time wondering who my parents were, and when I finally found out who they were… I was worried if things were going to change.”

“So… what did you do?” Jasmine asked, intrigued and worried all at once. “Well, I actually talked to my dad about it, and he said what I was feeling was natural,” Misty explained. “He said that there I chose to live was my choice, and that he wasn't going to make any kind of decisions for me. If you really wanted to stay with Jon, Odie and Garfield, I don’t see why anypony would have a problem with that. It all depends on what YOU want.”

Jasmine considered this for a few moments before nodding, realizing that her friends were right.

It really did depend on what she wanted.

XXXXXXXX

On the other side of the cafeteria, Garfield approached another studio employee, Zelda, at the snack bar. “Zelda, Zelda, Zelda. I swear,” Garfield said with a slight smirk. “Are those stars I see in your eyes?”

“What are you talking about?” Zelda asked as she poured some coffee into Garfield’s cup. “Why, about Fun Fest, of course,” Garfield smiled. “You’re entertaining us tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“...I'll think about it.”

“Well, don't disappoint your fans, okay?” Garfield said, smiling before he walked off toward the others again. And then, when she made sure that no one else was around, Zelda began her own personal juggling routine, going as far as throwing an older man into the mix.

Soon, the director, known as Charles and his assistant director, Betty, came into the room. “Attenzione, attenzione, people,” Charles spoke up, but no one seemed to notice him until he turned to Betty beside him. “Betty?”

Betty nodded before clearing her throat and turning to the large crowd. “SHUT UUUUUUP!!!!!!”

At this, the entire cafeteria leapt to attention, eyes wide and full of surprise. “Good morning, people,” Charles spoke up. “Before we do our comic strips today, we are all going to rehearse for tomorrow's Fun Fest.”

This caused everyone to cheer wildly in excitement before Charles spoke up again. “Now, if you would please proceed to the auditorium in a quiet and orderly...”

However, everyone ran over Charles like a pack of stampeding wildebeest, causing the Mane 6 to wince in pain.

They knew that one way or another... somepony was definitely going to get hurt.

XXXXXXXX

Everybody took their seats in the auditorium while Garfield took Jasmine, Hitch and Zipp up to the room where Eli, another one of the studio employees, worked the lights and the effects on the stage. “Hey, Eli.”

“Heya, Jasmine. Hey, Garfield,” Eli smiled and waved at them. “Who are your new friends?”

“Zipp and Hitch, this is Eli-- he makes sure everything is running smoothly during the strip shootings,” Jasmine introduced. “Eli, this is Hitch Trailblazer and Zipp Storm, some of our new friends from Equestria. They'll be staying with us for a while until they complete their mission in Cartoon World.”

“Hey, nice to meet y'all,” Eli gave the ponies a little salute. “Hey, you too,” Hitch nodded before Eli asked Garfield and Jasmine a question. “The two of you ready for another Fun Fest?”

“I’m ready to win another Fun Fest,” Garfield responded while Jasmine nodded in confirmation. “I heard a rumor about a new strip,” Eli told the unicorn and tabby cat, “and this new guy is supposed to be some tough competition.”

Garfield merely smirked at this. “Well, nothing can knock me off the top spot.”

“Yeah, well... you might wanna keep that ego of yours in check,” Hitch muttered under his breath before he noticed that Garfield and Jasmine had left the room. “Jasmine? Garfield?”

“Hey, Eli, can you show us what all these switches and buttons do?” Zipp then asked. “Maybe we could help you during the show tomorrow night.”

“Sure thing,” Eli nodded. “Come on over and I'll show you the basic set of operations.”

XXXXXXXX

“Welcome to the dress rehearsal for the 30th annual Fun Fest,” Charles said to the crowd of strip characters and the ponies from the stage, “where the act that's the most fun, wins! As you know, tomorrow's talent show will be judged, and the winner's comic strip will be placed in the coveted top position on the comics page. The Garfield comic strip has enjoyed quite a long run on top, but will it prevail again?”

“You bet your bippy, Monocle Boy,” Garfield said with a little smirk, and while everyone else burst into laughter, Arlene didn't seem amused. “Before we start rehearsal, allow me to introduce this year's Fun Fest judges,” Charles said. “First, my assistant director, Betty.”

Everyone clapped/stomped their hooves at this as Betty waved. “From the Life Stinks comic strip,” Charles continued, “we have Bonita Stegman.”

Everyone applauded for Bonita, even though her husband Wally seemed to be in dismay. “I thought we were going to do something together in the show this year, Bonita.”

“That would be beneath me, Walter.”

“Yes, dear.”

But Charles was not done with the introduction of the judges yet. “Next, we have Billy Bear's wife, Bonnie Bear.”

Sitting next to Billy Bear was Bonnie Bear, who was enjoying the applause. “You know who to vote for, don't you, Bonnie?” Billy asked his wife with a knowing smirk. “Don't ask me to play favorites, Billy,” Bonnie told him sternly. “I take my duties as judge seriously.”

“What if I were to, say, do the dishes for a week?”

Bonnie narrowed her gaze at her husband sternly. “Are you bribing a judge, Mr. Bear?”

“No, sir. Ma'am. I gotta go polish my nose now!”

And just like that, Billy Bear had left the scene. “You better polish your act if you want my vote!” Bonnie called after him. “And now, some opening remarks from this year's master of ceremonies,” Charles announced to the audience, “and the perennial winner of Fun Fest, please welcome... Garfield.”

That caused the ponies to cheer louder than anyone else in that moment.

“WHOO-HOO!!”

“Yay, Garfield!”

“You're awesome!”

“Go get em, tiger!”

“Yay!!”

Garfield, after scratching Jasmine behind the ear, stepped up onto the stage to say his peace. “Thank you, Charles. It's so great to be hosting Fun Fest again,” Garfield began his speech. “And, to be honest, it's so great to be winning Fun Fest again.”

A few of the members of the audience jeered at this. “No, but seriously,” Garfield continued. “This year, I'm so confident of victory, I'm gonna tell you my secret for success.”

Billy suddenly spoke up with a thought. “You bribe the judges.”

“No.”

“Your mother counts the votes?” Izzy guessed innocently. “No,” Garfield shook his head. “It's not that easy. In order to be a great comedian you have to first be a great dramatic actor.”

“Yeah right, fatso,” Nermal grumbled, not believing a word of this. “Let me demonstrate,” Garfield then offered. “Of course, I'll need my lovely assistant.”

But before Arlene could step up onto the stage, Jasmine waved her hoof around. “Ooh, Garfield! Can I be your assistant this time? You know how much I wanna be onstage with you during Fun Fest, and maybe Arlene could use a little break from comedy... at least for a few minutes.”

“Aw, that’s nice of you, kiddo,” Garfield said as he scratched her behind the ear. “But, Arlene and I have a working relationship with this sort of thing. Tell you what–- you can be the backup assistant. How would you like that?”

“Really?” Jasmine smiled. “I’d love that! Thanks, Garfield!”

And so, Arlene sighed and stepped up onto the stage, not at all interested. “Arlene and I will do our winning routine from last year,” Garfield then told the audience. “where I perform all the great scenes from all the great movies in 30 seconds.”

And so, with the background behind them always changing, Garfield said more of the prominent lines of the movies they acted out while Arlene just remained silent for a majority of them.

Even if Garfield was more of the leader of the group, everyone still loved the act… especially Cobalt and Jasmine, who had the privilege of coming up with the idea last year. “Yeah, thank you, thank you,” Garfield said, waving to the audience before he and Arlene left the stage. “We’ll be right back,” Sunny said before gesturing for Pipp, Jasmine and Cobalt to follow her after their new friends. “All right, people, work with me, and I'll work with you,” Charles said to the remaining acts. “Can we have the first act up for rehearsal, please?”

As Pipp, Sunny, Jasmine and Cobalt followed Garfield and Arlene away, Nermal noticed that Arlene didn’t look happy at all.

That bothered Nermal, for even he knew that Arlene deserved to be treated much better than this.

As he saw that Lily was distracted, he smirked and decided to sneak away, getting an idea of his own.

XXXXXXXX

Pipp, Sunny, Jasmine and Cobalt followed Garfield and Arlene into the next room, but kept their distance so the two could get to work. “Okay, here's what we're going to do this year. Here are your setup lines,” Garfield handed Arlene the script he wrote, “and we walk out together, and you say…”

“Gee, Garfield and I feel like mummies tonight,” Arlene said with a bored expression. “And then I say, ‘Yeah, pressed for time’,” Garfield continued, not noticing Arlene’s disinterest. “Laughter, laughter, laughter. And then you say something like, ‘Oh, Garfield, where do you come up with that stuff?’. And then I say…”

That’s when Arlene decided to stand up for herself and interrupted Garfield out of the blue. “Garfield, I really had my heart set on doing that dance number this year.”

“Arlene, we win with this stuff,” Garfield reminded. “Doing something else would be heresy.”

“Speaking as a social media influencer and a pop star,” Pipp said as she approached, “even I know that some things are more important than winning, Garfield.”

However, Garfield turned away at this. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Come on, Garfield,” Arlene remained persistent. “Let's do something I wanna do this year. Do it for me.”

“Come on, Garfield… what’s the harm in trying something new?” Cobalt asked with a smile. “Who knows? It might be fun!”

A few more comic strip stars walked past them toward the break room, and Garfield eventually sighed. “Here we go again. What dance did you have in mind, Arlene?”

“The tango. Garfield, it would be so exciting, so romantic,” Arlene said excitedly before getting a blue shirt, brown pants, matching shoes and a hat out from a nearby bag. “And you can wear this outfit.”

“Say what?!” Garfield blurt out. “This outfit,” Arlene let him look the outfit over. “You can't do the tango without the proper costume.”

“Garfield, you would look so dapper in this!” Jasmine said. “And I bet it would be really fun to try doing the tango! I’ve never done anything like it before.”

However… Garfield was still unsure, but when he saw Randy, Billy and Wally stifling laughter from the break room, he knew he couldn’t go through with it. “No way, Arlene, I can’t go there.”

Arlene looked heartbroken at this, and Sunny decided to step in and clear the air. “Garfield, I thought Jasmine said that you promised that you guys would do the dance this year. You can’t go back on your word, especially when Arlene seems really into it.”

“I said I promised I'd think about it. My comedy routine is a guaranteed winner,” Garfield told the earth pony mare before looking over at a disheartened Arlene. “If you really wanna do the tango, you'll have to find yourself another partner.”

“But who?”

Suddenly, the doors to the room opened, and a bright white light blinded the group and caused them to shield their eyes as a mysterious voice spoke up. “I will dance with you.”

“...who is that?” Pipp asked Sunny in confusion. That’s when someone they had never seen before entered the room.

He looked to be a tall cat who wore a Spanish-styled outfit, and he seemed confident… too confident in Pipp’s opinion. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am… R-R-R-Ramone,” the cat said with a purr before kissing Arlene on the hand, causing Jasmine to gag, and Garfield didn’t seem pleased either. “I smell a… r-r-rat.”

“Garfield, are you sure you don't wanna dance with me?” Arlene asked as she seemed infatuated with Ramone. “Yeah, I’m sure,” Garfield tried to brush it off. “You go ahead and dance with Raymond there.”

“Ramone.”

“Whatever,” Garfield said as he turned away. “I’ll work up a solo act.”

Jasmine was about to protest, thinking that he was gonna do an act with her if he couldn’t do an act with Arlene, but kept quiet as she began to follow him, Sunny and Pipp away. Cobalt couldn’t help but frown at this, but decided to say one thing before his friends left. “...good luck.”

“...good luck to you too,” Jasmine muttered with her head lowered as she and Garfield walked away, with Pipp and Sunny, both concerned, following behind.

XXXXXXXX

Zipp and Hitch were happily helping Eli up in his workstation when Garfield and Jasmine entered the booth, looking depressed. “You got room for all three of us up here?” Garfield asked Eli dejectedly, causing Eli to become confused. “Three of you?”

“Jasmine, me and my ego.”

“...sure,” Hitch smiled lightly. “Well, we officially met the new shooter,” Jasmine said as she sat down. “His name is Ramone. Yuck!”

Eli looked down from the booth and immediately saw something that Garfield was sure to not like. “Looks like Arlene met him, too.”

Zipp and Hitch looked at each other before looking down toward the stage. On the stage, Arlene was doing a tango routine with Ramone, dancing together in perfect harmony.

“Whoa!” Hitch said, impressed. “Look at that guy move!”

“He’s not so good,” Garfield brushed it off, but all the women down below were getting all ga-ga over the new feline in town. However… some were beginning to notice that Garfield wasn’t down there with them for his rehearsal.

The two cats then finished their dance and received applause, bowing to the audience. However… Sunny, Pipp, Izzy and Misty didn’t seem to clap as lively as everyone else.

Eli looked toward Garfield with a concerned frown. “I heard his new strip's called Ramone Rough Rider.”

“Oh, please,” Jasmine scoffed, not at all entranced by Ramone's appearance or his attitude. “The only thing rough about him is that cheesy accent.”

“The kid’s right,” Garfield agreed. “He's nothing but a big phony.”

“I don’t know, Garfield… he seems pretty good,” Hitch said unsuredly. “Maybe you need to get down there and REALLY show him what you’ve got.”

“Thank you, Arlene and Ramone. Very nice indeed, charming,” Charles said as he came onto the stage. “All right, next to rehearse is Garfield.”

Garfield took a breath to calm himself. “Showtime.”

“Garfield, wait!” Jasmine got in his path. “You've never done this without Arlene before.”

“I’ll be fine,” Garfield patted her reassuringly before leading her out of the booth. “Just watch.”

Zipp sighed in worry, hoping Garfield was right.

XXXXXXXX

“Hey,” Misty said as she looked around, “where’s Garfield?”

“Here I am,” Garfield said as he and Jasmine walked toward the stage, the young unicorn stopping at the edge. “And,” Charles said, “what are you calling this routine?”

“Whatever It Takes.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, Garfield the cat doing ‘Whatever It Takes’.”

“Go get ‘em, Garfield! Whoo-hoo!!” Izzy cheered with a smile before settling down to watch Garfield’s rehearsal for herself. However, Garfield quickly dragged Odie onstage to begin the routine. Odie spoke his line with Garfield, although it was a bit hard to make out the words. “You’re right, Odie,” Garfield nodded to play along. “We sure do feel like mummies tonight. Pressed for time.”

However… no one was laughing. Not even the Mane 6… and especially not the foal and fillies that Garfield knew. “This humor is, how do you say… stale?” Ramone called out. “Don't you agree, Arlene?”

Arlene scoffed at this, making Garfield mutter to himself, trying to come up with something else. “All right, Raymond, I guess I'll have to take it up a notch. And moving on.”

After kicking Odie off the stage for Pipp to catch, Garfield called for the Prop Boy to bring him his set of props, and Garfield immediately put on a pair of goofy glasses. “Seriously, though. I met this cat who was really short. How short was he?”

“He was so short he could pose for trophies?” Ramone guessed innocently with a smirk. Everyone, all except for the ponies, laughed at Ramone’s joke, while the eyes popped right out of Garfield’s glasses. “Uh... yeah, something like that,” Garfield said, a bit surprised that Ramone knew about that. But no matter... he had another one up his sleeve.

Garfield darted offstage, and then re-emerged while he rolled on top of a ball, hula-hooping rings on his arms, and having a fake arrow on his head. “Hey, folks, what did the statue say to the art dealer?”

However, Ramone spoke up once again to interrupted. “Don't take me for granite.”

Everyone except the ponies laughed again, and this time, Garfield was shocked that he once again knew the punchline. “It is so sad to see someone past his prime struggle so,” Ramone said, faking sympathy and making Pipp narrow her gaze at him. “It is time for a new cat in town.”

“I’m strictly a feline, feline!” Garfield called out, still balancing on the ball while Arlene just shook her head. “Perhaps, after I have won Fun Fest, I will teach each of you the tango,” Ramone said, leaning into Arlene like she was already his girlfriend. “The dance... of romance...”

Garfield, immediately after seeing this, was deflated, just as much as the ball he was standing on, causing him to walk right offstage.

Jasmine, Lily, Cobalt and Diamond sat with their new friends in concern. “Oh... poor Garfield...” Diamond said sympathetically. “That Ramone is a real creep.”

“I know! Trying to snag Arlene right out from Garfield’s nose!” Pipp crossed her hooves. “The audacity!”

“Come on, Jasmine-- you and I better go check up on him,” Misty told the green unicorn filly as they followed Garfield away... just as Lily noticed that one of her friends was missing too. “Hey, uh... has anypony seen Nermal?”

XXXXXXXX

Zipp looked at Hitch and Eli as they watched Garfield go right off the stage, and Zipp was the first to speak as soon as she saw Garfield, Misty and Jasmine enter the booth “Okay... what in Equestria was that?!”

“...I bombed,” Garfield said, completely dejected and still in shock. “I never bomb!”

“Well, what do you expect? Without Arlene, you had to make up a whole new routine on the fly,” Eli told the orange tabby with a stern, yet caring, tone of voice. “It'll take some time.”

“He doesn't have time!” Jasmine pointed out. “Fun Fest is tomorrow night! Garfield’s gotta get funny, fast!”

“I suggest you help Garfield with his routine,” Eli told the filly. “Cause there isn't any magic potion that's gonna make him funny again.”

Garfield sighed to himself at this. “Except Freddy's pond water.”

“What?”

Garfield brushed it off, sitting down off to the side. “Oh, nothing. Just a fairy tale I read.”

“Great work, people. That's a wrap until tomorrow,” Charles told the crew before everyone began to leave... and Ramone was practically hooked to Arlene’s side as she walked out with Lily, Cobalt and Diamond. “It was so wonderful dancing with you today, Arlene. I feel like the world is my oyster, and you are my pearl,” Ramone purred romantically. “Speaking of pearl, perhaps you and I could maybe make some sweet ocean music…”

Garfield looked at their conversation with a depressed look, and the Mane 6 and Jasmine tried to come up with something to cheer him up...

...but the words never came.

One thing was definitely for sure, Garfield needed them... and he needed them a lot more than anyone ever thought.

Finding the Map/The Journey Begins

The Fun Fest rehearsals had sprung into disaster… at least in Garfield's eyes.

Once he had refused to do the tango with Arlene, she found herself a new dance partner… a sleazeball by the name of Ramone, someone who Garfield, the Mane 6, Jasmine and her friends could see as a big fake instantly.

And since he had never done a Fun Fest act without Arlene before, Garfield had totally bombed his rehearsal… something he had never done before.

He lost his funny mojo AND he was on the brink of losing Arlene, too.

What was a comic strip cat to do then?

XXXXXXXX

Later that night, before bed, Garfield looked at the book he read to Odie and the ponies from earlier that morning. He remembered reading about the bear cub drinking the funny water, betting that he could be funny once he found the magic pond.

But the question was… HOW was he going to find it?

“...Garfield…?”

Garfield was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Jasmine in her bed next to his, wide awake. “Hey, Jazzy,” Garfield said as the filly crawled out of bed and laid down next to him. “Sorry if I woke you up.”

“You didn't. I was already awake,” Jasmine said with a look of mixed feelings on her face. “I still can't believe Ramone was trying to make such a fool out of you at rehearsals today. I mean… who does he think he is? Some sort of… highly-entitled pussy-cat?”

“Sheesh… he thinks he's something, all right,” Garfield rolled his eyes before feeling something rising from his gut. “Jasmine, I… I'm sorry I never asked you to be my partner in whatever act I did after Arlene and Ramone hooked up. I was just… flustered and I said it before I could think.”

“I understand,” Jasmine nodded, “and it's okay. Even if we don't do an act together, I know we're gonna be together until the end of time… right? Cause you and Odie and Jon are my best friends… and my family. Even if I don't find who I originally belonged to, I know I still have you guys.”

“Aww… that's a nice thing to say, kiddo,” Garfield as he stroked his feline paw over her soft mane, making the green unicorn smile fondly before Garfield set the book back up in his lap. “Wanna read through the book again with me? Just the two of us?”

“You know I wouldn't miss that for the world,” Jasmine said as she settled her head down and Garfield began the story again.

XXXXXXXX

In their guest room, the Mane 6 were having just as serious a conversation, unaware of Garfield and Jasmine being awake at the time. “None of this makes any kind of sense,” Zipp said as she paced around. “I mean… how could Ramone have known all of Garfield’s jokes? He told us those in the car this morning, and I didn't even know that suave phony had any sense of humor in him!”

“Seeing him make such a fool out of Garfield today just makes me sick,” Hitch groaned. “Sure, Garfield could be a bit of a sarcastic type at times, but he ultimately means well. I mean… just look at how tenderly he and Jasmine get along. If that isn't a caring soul, I don't know what is.”

“But he does seem really focused on winning Fun Fest again,” Pipp pointed out. “Almost as if he has something to prove. Do you think Garfield wants to win because he has doubts about himself?”

“Maybe,” Misty said in thought. “But I'm just not sure.”

“One thing I do know for sure? We have to help Garfield get his funny mojo back before Fun Fest tomorrow night,” Sunny said. “Maybe we can talk to Garfield in the morning before breakfast, and see if he or Jasmine or Odie has any kind of ideas.”

“Let’s hope so…” Pipp said. “Otherwise Garfield’s Fun Fest dreams will be officially going down the drain.”

XXXXXXXX

The night seemed to pass over smoothly, and the Mane 6, as well as Garfield and Jasmine, slept peacefully.

By the time the next morning arrived, Odie crept into Garfield and Jasmine's room, dressed in his mime outfit. “Oh, little magic pond. Just one sip…” Garfield said in his sleep as the Mane 6 peeked their heads in at the door. “I'll be funny again. Oh, yeah.”

The dog then went as far as mimicking an alarm clock, causing Jasmine and Garfield to wake up. “Oh… good morning, Odie,” Jasmine yawned before noticing Odie mimicking the alarm clock again. “Oh, I mean… good morning, alarm clock.”

“Hey, guys. I hope you guys are ready for the rest of the day ahead,” Pipp said as the Mane 6 joined them in the room. “I mean… just look at Odie.”

Odie juggled some apples before eating them, getting a match on his tongue, lit it up, blew the fire on Garfield’s face, squirted water on the cat with a fake flower, and lastly, blew the trumpet. “Ta-da!!”

“We know, we know. Tonight's the big night,” Garfield nodded at what Odie was trying to say with a sigh. “Fun Fest.”

“But,” Jasmine said, “the only way for him to win tonight is to come up with a funny act, and fast!”

“Yeah,” Izzy nodded. “Especially with that creepy Ramone cat from yesterday. He's just so... so mean!”

“And ugly,” Zipp added with a mediocre shrug. “Just adding my two cents' worth.”

Garfield then ran his paw over the pages in the storybook, as if he were trying to gather an idea from the pages. “Jazzy and I keep reading this storybook, hoping there's an answer in here somewhere.”

“Guys! Ponies!” cried Jon from downstairs. “Breakfast!”

“Or maybe the answer’s in my oatmeal,” Garfield shrugged before getting on Izzy's back to ride downstairs. “Let's eat.”

As he and the ponies left, Garfield dropped the book, revealing something at the corner of a page. Odie stopped, then turned and saw the page. Then, the yellow dog went near it and knelt down to pick it up. Realizing this was an envelope, Odie’s eyes widened.

Maybe this could be just the thing Garfield needed to win Fun Fest again!

XXXXXXXX

Jon was fixing breakfast for everyone by the time that Odie rushed down the stairs. “Good morning, Odie,” Jon said with a smile. “Looking good. Did you know my costume is double knit? I kind of like it.”

“That's because you're kind of geeky,” Garfield teased, causing Jasmine to giggle to herself. That's when Odie tried to show Garfield the letter he found, but Garfield wasn't at all interested at first. “Oh, I get it, you're a mime mailman, and you're pretending to deliver a letter.”

“Garfield, I don't think Odie is joking,” Sunny tried to defend the dog's actions. “I think he's…”

“Sunny, Odie, please,” Garfield then interrupted. “I'm trying to eat. We'll play that game after breakfast, okay?”

Odie growled in annoyance, but complied and went back to eating breakfast. All the while, Sunny looked at the envelope with curiosity, wondering what it could be... and how Odie could have gotten a hold on it.

XXXXXXXX

Later, as they were in Jon’s car and heading to the studio, they saw Ramone’s car go speed right them. “Make way, you slow pokes!”

And then, zipping past them, Ramone parked his car right near a waiting Arlene, surprising the group and frustrating Garfield further. “Eat my bubbles,” Ramone told the others before he sped off, with Arlene sitting in the passenger seat. Izzy scoffed in disbelief after Garfield and the ponies coughed from the exhaust from Ramone’s car. “Can you believe the nerve of that cat?! So rude!”

“I'm normally willing to give ponies a second chance after a mistake, but he's just being mean out of spite!” Misty frowned out of concerned. “Something had to be done about Ramone, and it needs to be done before Garfield’s head explodes.”

“When we get to the studio,” Garfield whispered to Zipp and Jasmine, “we have to find out what Charles is shooting for Ramone's strip.”

“Garfield, you're talking to just the right pony for the job,” Zipp smirked. “I'm definitely in!”

“We'll get the others to help too,” Jasmine told her best friend. “Cobalt, Diamond and Lily are already there, so they can help keep an eye on Ramone until his strip starts. Or at least... I hope they can...”

XXXXXXXX

Once getting to the studio, Garfield spent his time watching and waiting for Ramone to do his strip routine, and during this, Odie tried to get Garfield to open the letter, but to no avail. “Odie, that’s enough!” Garfield said sternly. “You need to stop it.”

However, Odie kept on persisting, growling and waving the letter around in his paws. “Not now, Odie,” Zipp said seriously. “We have to find out what Charles is shooting for Ramone's strip, and that could be any minute.”

“...sorry, Odie, but I think Zipp and Garfield are right on this,” Misty said. “Maybe we can get ideas from Garfield’s act by watching the other strip characters.”

Odie watched as the ponies slowly began to follow Garfield into the next room, but before they could blink, they stopped when Odie got in front of them and pushed them back into the cafeteria. “All right, all right,” Garfield sighed, taking the letter from Odie, “you want me to open this.”

Odie nodded and finally made one syllable make sense. “Duh!”

Garfield slowly inspected the letter, realizing why he thought Odie would want him to see this. “This is very old… where did you find it?”

Odie made several motions with his paws before putting his paws together, and Hitch immediately realized what he was trying to say. “In the storybook?”

“Yeah!” Odie nodded with an excited grin. “Yeah!”

“Whoa!” Jasmine said excitedly. “Why did you never tell us this before?”

Odie slapped his paw to his face in exasperation. “Well, we know about it now,” Zipp said as Garfield took out a piece of paper, “so let’s go and see what we have here.”

Garfield opened up the piece of paper as the ponies gathered around, and their eyes widened in surprise at what they saw next.

A true legendary find!

XXXXXXXX

In the studio's auditorium, Arlene was walking in with Diamond, Lily and Cobalt while Ramone was talking to Charles about his 'beauty angle', as Charles called it. “Nonsense!” Ramone boasted. “I am beautiful from all angles.”

“...fine.”

That’s when Ramone finally noticed Arlene entering the room, and disregarded the young ponies all together as he stepped toward her. “Arlene, my precious flower. I hope you had time to think about what I asked you in the car this morning,” he said. “Please, say you will star in my strip today.”

“He asked you to be in his strip?” Lily asked in surprise. “But you’re always in Garfield’s strips, Arlene! Don’t you think this might upset him?”

“Well… maybe,” Arlene said, unsure of what she should do-- follow her mind or follow her heart. “I don’t know, Ramone.”

“Of all the lovely ladies here, you are the most ravishing beauty to ever grace my presence,” Ramone then said, pulling out a bouquet of roses from out of nowhere, causing Arlene to smile. “Oh, my! How did you know these were my favorites?”

“Ramone always knows what the pretty ladies like. Please, say that you will be my damsel.”

Arlene thought for a moment and sighed. Ramone was being very generous, and she liked him a lot but… she just wasn’t sure.

At the same time, Lily, Diamond and Cobalt looked at each other suspiciously. Arlene only told a few select people about her favorite flower, so how in the world did Ramone know about it?

There seemed to be something off here… but they weren’t sure what it was.

XXXXXXXX

Back in the cafeteria, Jasmine had laid the piece of paper that Garfield had retrieved on the table for everyone else to see. “This is a map to Freddy Frog’s magic pond!”

“Seriously?” Pipp asked with wide eyes. “You’re sure about this?”

“I’ve never been so pony positive about anything magical in my entire life,” Jasmine said seriously. “This could be just what Garfield needs!”

“All we have to do,” Garfield said, pointing to the different places on the map, “is follow the directions to the mythical land, through the mystical forest, to the magic pond where I drink the funny water, and I get funny in time for the show tonight!”

“Whoo-hoo!” Jasmine cheered while Misty and Izzy high-hoofed one another and the other ponies looked excited. However, Odie muttered something to Jasmine and Garfield that made the former reconsider this whole scenario. “Yeah. It's a little hard to believe, isn't it?”

“No no! Not hard to believe at all,” Sunny said. “It’s just… I’m not exactly sure if we have time for a journey like this, with Fun Fest being tonight and all.”

Garfield sighed, realizing that she may be right. “So much for magic maps,” he said, walking toward the door with the others in pursuit. “I guess I'll have to rely on my good looks for a victory tonight. Who needs a magic pond, anyway?”

But at the moment they entered the auditorium, Garfield felt his whole world come crashing down.

With Diamond, Lily and Cobalt trying not to watch, Ramone and Arlene seemed to be on a horse in a medieval setting, with the former about to kiss the latter, and the picture was taken for the strip in question.

That made Garfield realize how desperate the situation was. “Me! I need a magic pond!”

“I never thought I’d say this, but Garfield is totally right!” Pipp said. “The sooner we get that water, the sooner we win your girlfriend back! Let’s go!”

And so, the Mane 6 ran off with Garfield, Odie and Jasmine right behind. Arlene noticed that they had run off and wanted to go after them, but she was still posing for the camera.

Cobalt then took a breath before standing up. “Come on, girls… we gotta go check on Garfield… who knows how he’s probably feeling right now.”

“Be right back!” Diamond cried to everyone else in the room, and she and Lily ran out of the room with Cobalt flying overhead.

XXXXXXXX

Garfield, Odie, Jasmine and the Mane 6 panted and stopped in the lobby of the studio, having run out at top speed, and Zipp gently approached Garfield and put a hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about a thing, Garfield. I’m sure once we find that magic pond, Arlene will be BEGGING to come back with you.”

“But everyone else is so smitten with Ramone,” Garfield said in a state of panic, “who knows if they’ll even remember me?!”

Sunny looked back and smiled when she saw three young figures race toward them. “I know of some ponies who might.”

“Garfield!” Diamond cried as they screeched to a halt. “We are SO sorry you had to see that! Honestly, we didn’t wanna see it ourselves.”

“We know it was only for this script, but Ramone has gone way too far this time,” Cobalt shuddered. “We have to go back and confront him!”

“Actually, guys… we had a better idea,” Jasmine said before pointing to the map Garfield was holding. “This map will lead us to the mystical forest, where inside that forest rests the magic pond of Freddy Frog!”

“The frog from the story Garfield read to us yesterday?!” Lily gasped. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious,” Jasmine repeated. “Going there is the only chance we have to get Garfield’s mojo back in time for the show, so… we’re gonna head out and find it.”

“But Fun Fest starts in just a few hours!” Misty pointed out. “Will we make it back in time?”

“We will if we hurry,” Sunny said, “so we need to get going.”

“Wait!” Diamond said before they could leave. “...I’m going with you. I’m not about to let some of my best friends go on this journey alone.”

Jasmine sighed and hugged her best pony friend happily. “Thank you…”

“Lily and I can stay here and look after things for the show,” Cobalt said, “but you guys need to get back here soon.”

“Good luck, guys! And make sure to take pictures!” Lily told the group as she and Cobalt watched them walk through the front doors of the studio and out into the unknown.

XXXXXXXX

Garfield looked down at the map in front of the group, trying to figure out which direction to go in. “Man, this thing would be a lot easier to follow if there was a yellow-brick road.”

“Can I see that? My mom taught me a few things about map reading before she disappeared,” Sunny said just before Garfield handed her the map. “Well... if the pond is in the mystical forest, then we need to take the path out of the city and through the Cartoon World forest... just to be safe.”

Garfield looked at the map again in surprise, realizing that the scale on the map to the scale in real-life. “Wow. This is a lot further than it looks on the map. Thee towne is here, and the mythical land is here. It's only this far on the map.”

“Well, if we hurry,” Hitch said with an optimistic smile, “we might have time to get back before Fun Fest starts.”

Jasmine sighed as they began to walk down the sidewalk and out of the studio. “Guys, I really hope we find this magic pond before showtime. Cause if we don't... well, I really don't wanna think about what might happen.”

And then, she ran out in front of the group, looking toward the horizon with concern.

Jasmine: Up ahead is a sky growing dark
Where it leads is a big question mark
And I'm scared that I'll end up
A pony gone missing from magic pond seeking

Diamond: But you're not alone
You got a posse in your crew...

Garfield: We do? Who?

Sunny: I'm lookin' out for you
When you're off track

Misty: We got your back

Pipp: You can rely on me
I'm lookin' out for you

Zipp: Lost in the hills

Hitch: We got the skills

Izzy: Keepin' your eye on me
I'm lookin' out for you

As the song continued, they continued to move down the city sidewalks toward the forests on the other side.

Sunny: One year ago, it was earth ponies first
Heard it so many times, I could burst
And we fight for a change, but it's lonely
Cause, you know, party of six-o

Jasmine and Diamond: Well, if you need some friends in need
Like you-know-who

Sunny: I think we do, ooh-ooh

Izzy: We're looking out for you

That's when the group began to sing all together, almost reaching the borders of the city and getting very close the forest where their mission would be begin.

All: I'm lookin' out for you (I'm lookin' out)
When you're off track (when you're off track)
I got you back (I got you back)
You can rely on me

I'm lookin' out for you (I'm lookin' out)
Lost in the hills (lost in the hills)
I got the skills (I got the skills)
Keepin' your eye on me

I'm lookin' out for you (I'm lookin' out)
Starting your quest (starting your quest)
Makes you feel stressed (makes you feel stressed)

Pony, it helps knowing I'm lookin' out for you (I'm lookin' out)
You blaze a trail (you blaze a trail)
I'll watch your tail (I'll watch your tail)

Izzy, Pipp and Misty: Pony, let's get goin'

Sunny, Zipp and Hitch: Get goin'

Diamond, Garfield and Jasmine: Get goin'

Jasmine: I'm lookin' out (I'm lookin' out for you)
(I'll go where you're goin' to)
(It's all that I wanna do)
(I, I, I)

All: I'm lookin' out (I'm lookin' out for you)
(I'll go where you're goin' to)
(It's all that I wanna do)
(I am lookin' out)

For you!

And with the forest ahead, our pony heroes and their small group of new friends set forth into the forests beyond...

...though they were on a strict time limit.

And if they weren't back in time, Garfield could kiss Arlene and his winning streak right down the drain.

Arriving at the Mystical Forest: Being Honest with Your Audience

The mission had never been more clear than it could right then.

Our pony heroes were going to have to help Garfield, Jasmine Wildbloom, Odie and Jasmine's best friend Diamond Heart find a magical pond within a mystical forest in order to help Garfield regain his funny mojo, win the annual Fun Fest talent show for the 30th time in a row and win back his girlfriend Arlene from a suave Spanish cat known as… Ramone, who none of the ponies seemed to trust, and for good reason.

And they didn’t have long to do it, so they had to step it up and hurry if they wanted to find the pond and get back to Fun Fest in time.

They braved scorching deserts, stormy weather, and harsh colds until a snowy cliff broke off, sending the group tumbling down the mountain until it broke apart, leaving them to groan and shake the snow out of the fur, realizing that they were in a beautiful meadow.

Jasmine gathered herself and looked ahead, gasping in excitement. “Yes! I think we're on the right path, you guys!”

Garfield nodded and gestured to the next place on the map. “That appears to be the mystical forest.”

“Really?” Izzy blinked innocently, glancing at the map. “How can you tell?”

“Uh… ponies?” Zipp said as she looked and pointed her hoof straight ahead, and the others looked to see a giant glowing X right over the forest ahead, just like there was a giant X above the forest on the map. “Oh, yeah! I guess we are on the right path!” Izzy giggled. “Silly me.”

“Come on, guys!” Diamond encouraged. “Last one to the mystical forest is a rotten slice of lasagna!”

“Oh, it's on!” Sunny responded back with a smirk as all the ground ponies, Garfield and Odie ran down the path while Pipp and Zipp spread their wings and flew over the group to the forest's edge.

The forest itself seemed bigger than what the Mane 6 were expecting, but they were just as in awe as their new friends.

“Oooh…”

“Whoa…”

And then, after nodding at one another, the group set forth into the forest to begin their vitally important journey.

XXXXXXXX

The forest we entered was oak-brown with all shades of green in the leaves. Flowers grew on the sides of the path, and the sounds of songbirds filled the air.

Jasmine couldn't help but look around in wonder at the majesty of the new location. “This is everything I've always imagined the mystical forest to be!”

“I know!” Diamond agreed with a smile and a little hop in her step. “Ever since Garfield told us that story yesterday, I've been imagining what an enchanted forest would look like, and… this place fits my fantasies perfectly!”

“I do admit it… it is pretty cool,” Zipp said as she flew up and took some pictures with Pipp from the air. “It is nice,” Hitch said, “but I don't see anything… well... mystical about it.”

“Well, if you don't think the forest is mystical,” Misty said, her eyes focused on something up ahead, “maybe you'll see THIS as mystical!”

Fluttering around in front of them, much to their bewilderment, was a gorgeous rainbow-colored butterfly, a glowing trail following it wherever it flew. “Oh… my… glitter!” Pipp said, taking a few snapshots. “I don't think we have anything like a rainbow butterfly in Equestria!”

The butterfly chirped up a storm after this, causing Odie to mumble something to Sunny in confusion. “You’re right, Odie,” the earth pony mare nodded. “She sounds like she's trying to tell us something, but… I have no idea what.”

“She says that her name is… Shimmerwing,” Misty said as she listened to the rainbow butterfly's chirping, “and… she says she's a special kind of butterfly called a Rainbow Majesty.”

“...hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on!” Garfield said, marching forward before grabbing Misty by the shoulders. “Misty… did you just understand that butterfly?”

“Um… yeah, I think so,” Misty nodded, a bit startled from Garfield grabbing her. “I can't understand regular butterflies, but maybe since this is a magical butterfly, I can.”

“Okay… that I can believe,” Hitch nodded. “So… what else does she say?”

Misty listened to the butterfly for a few more moments, nodding her head slightly a few times before turning to the others. “She says she knows why we’re here, and if we want, we can let her lead us all the way to Freddy’s pond!”

“Seriously?! Oh, we would love that so much!” Diamond squealed. “Lead the way, Shimmerwing!”

Shimmerwing chirped and flew off, prompting everyone else to follow along behind her for quite a ways until Garfield spotted something nearby. “Hey, look.”

There seemed to be a small stage in the nearby tree, and as our heroes walked toward it, a furry creature was looking at them through a telescope before it scurried off. The team approached the tree, where a sign hung over it, which said ‘Show time in 2 minutes’. “What’s up with this thing?” Jasmine wondered, only for Pipp and Izzy to shrug… just before a hand switched the sign to say ‘Show time in 1 minute’. “We don't have time for this nonsense,” Garfield then told the group. “It's only hours till Fun Fest. Let's go.”

Suddenly, popping out of the tree hole was a squirrel in a ranger cap who tried to stop them from moving forward. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stand back there, ma’ams and sirs.”

“Uh… I beg your pardon?” Sunny said in surprise. “You may not enter the mystical forest until you've seen the informational presentation,” the squirrel elaborated. “So keep your pants on, ma’am. The presentation will commence in a few seconds.”

“Wait just a second,” Zipp said with a frown as she looked at the squirrel. “Who are you to think you can tell us what to do?”

“The mystical forest ranger, Officer Stanislavsky,” the squirrel responded. “Now please, sit!”

Sunny sighed and looked toward the group. “Looks like we have no choice, guys. We better sit and get through this.”

Reluctantly, Garfield and Odie sat down with Jasmine and Diamond on the bench nearby, while the Mane 6 all sat around it just as the curtains opened. “Welcome. Beware, all ye who dare to enter the mystical forest,” the squirrel said as a cardboard bear came down from the stage. “Beware the bear with the sinister smile. I sometimes scare myself.”

“...yeah, beware the bear. Got it,” Zipp deadpanned. “Can we get moving now?”

“Silence! I'm almost finished.”

Zipp sighed as a cardboard two-headed alligator dropped down from the stage as well. “And beware the alligators at the stream crossing. They would really like to snack on your bones.”

“Look, pal. I really don't have time for this,” Garfield then interrupted, getting off the bench. “Maybe you can tell us which way to the magic pond with the funny water.”

“And if you could hurry, that would be great,” Jasmine added with a nod. “We’re on a bit of a time crunch.”

“Of course. The shortcut is through one of those curtains,” the squirrel said, opening the blue curtain to reveal two pink curtains, looking identical in every way. “But… which one is it?” Hitch asked, looking between the curtains. “Yeah,” Garfield nodded hastily, “just tell me which one's the shortcut, okay?”

“First, you must answer one question honestly. Tell me about yourself,” the squirrel told Garfield. “Are you a solo act, or do you rely on others?”

Jasmine knew what the real truth was, but before she could advise Garfield on what to say, he was already speaking up. “I'm strictly solo, pal. I don't need anyone's help.”

“Hmm... very well, sir,” the squirrel said before pointing to the left curtain. “Right this way.”

“Finally,” Garfield sighed before leading the group through the curtain. “What a goofball that guy was.”

But as they walked through the curtain, they noticed that something seemed off. “I didn’t know this place had another welcome center,” Sunny frowned. “Especially since it looks really similar to the one we just left behind.”

“Wait a minute... this is the same welcome center we left behind!” Zipp exclaimed. “We're back where we just started!”

That's when the squirrel popped out of hiding again. “Hello!”

“Hey, what kind of shortcut was that?” Garfield asked the squirrel with a frown. “Perhaps you haven’t learned your lesson,” the squirrel ponted out, only for Garfield to become even more annoyed. “And perhaps I have. I'm taking curtain number two.”

He walked right through the second curtain, only to end up right back at the welcome center. “Ha-ha, Mr. Wise Squirrel,” Garfield said sarcastically. “Okay, what do I do?”

“Tell me about yourself. Are you a solo act, or do you rely on others?”

Garfield sighed after looking at the looks that Odie and the ponies were giving him, knowing that what he was about to say was the right choice. “I need all the help I can get...”

“Yes!” the squirrel said, opening the curtain on the right. “Right this way.”

“Hold on just a second,” Diamond said with a suspicious look. “Are you sure this is the right path?”

The squirrel nodded with a smile at this. “You always take the right path when you choose to be honest with your audience,” he said as the group went through the curtain again. “And please enjoy your stay.”

“Thanks, Mr. Squirrel!” Jasmine smiled as they walked through the curtain and further into the forest, ready to find the magic water and save Garfield’s Fun Fest winning streak.

But what they didn’t know was that what they were going to find... was something they really didn't need in the first place.

However... we don't want to ruin the story with spoilers, do we?

Now, let's continue the Mane 6's latest adventure so we can find out what happens next.

The Fork in the Road: Following Your Heart

Our heroes were well on their way with their journey.

After arriving in the mystical forest, the Mane 6, Garfield, Odie, Diamond Heart and Jasmine Wildbloom met a beautiful rainbow butterfly named Shimmerwing, who offered to guide them to Freddy Frog’s magic pond.

However, not even a minute or two after this, they encountered a squirrel named Stan, who taught Garfield and his friends that in humor, it helped to be honest with your audience, and once they had shown this, the squirrel let them pass through the curtain and through the forest again.

Zipp and Sunny silently agreed that there would be a lot more things for Garfield, as well as everyone else, to learn on this journey. But… what else they would be taught was a mystery all its own.

XXXXXXXX

As our heroes passed through the forest, they walked along the trail, they noticed some dancing flowers with big smiles on their faces. “Wow…” Diamond said with eyes full of wonder. “I had no idea that flowers could be so… so cheerful!”

“They must be pretty happy about something,” Pipp said as she took some pictures. “Reminds me of one of those old black and white cartoons Zipp and I would sometimes watch when we were fillies.”

Zipp groaned at this, her ears pinning slightly. “Like you had to remind me.”

Soon, they came across a fork in the road, where Garfield pulled out the map out of confusion. “This isn't getting any easier,” he said to the others as Jasmine peered over his shoulder. “The map doesn't show a fork in the path, just this bear.”

“But why would they have a bear on the map but not a fork in the road?” Hitch asked as he looked at the map. “Yeah...” Zipp muttered with a nod, tapping her chin with her hoof. “Something about this just doesn't add up.”

“Uh…” Misty interrupted the silence with a fearful tone in her voice. “G-Guys?”

The others finally glanced up from looking at the map, and their eyes grew wide at what Misty had been staring at-- a gigantic brown bear growling at them, causing the Mane 6 to assume fighting positions while Diamond and Jasmine gulped and Odie and Garfield resumed looking at the map, the latter speaking out of fear. “It's only this big on the map!”

The bear growled at them a bit more, causing Garfield, Odie, Jasmine and Diamond to scream and cling to each other while the Mane 6 prepared to attack until…

…the bear pulled out some playing cards and held them out. “Pick a card, any card.”

“Hold it,” Hitch blinked while the rest of the group remained confused. “So… you’re not gonna eat us?”

“Not if you pick a card,” the bear answered cheerfully. “Oookay…?” Garfield cautiously picked one card from the deck before pulling back quickly, leaving the bear to put the rest of the deck away. “What card did you select, sir?”

“The seven of diamonds,” Garfield said, showing the card off. “You, sir, are absolutely correct!” the bear then exclaimed excitedly. “Give it up for the bear. Go, bear! Go, bear! How does he do it? It’s a gift!”

“That was amazing!” Izzy said, having enjoyed the magic trick even if nopony else did. “Okay, okay,” said the bear, “one more.”

“Well,” Sunny said with a bit of hesitancy in her voice, “I hate to say it, but we’re kind of in a hurry here.”

However, the bear chose to ignore this and proceeded to make several different shapes with his paws, like a fist and a V shape. “Viola!”

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Garfield said sarcastically while the others looked confused, but played along anyway. “Just one more,” the bear said. “I’m on a roll!”

“Junior!” another voice called out nearby. “Yes, Mama?” the bear, now known as Junior, called out as his mother emerged from the bushes. “Come to dinner,” she said, “and let these nice ladies and gentlemen go on their way.”

“Aww, Mama…!” Junior instantly pouted. “Come on, or your berries will get cold,” Junior’s mother said sternly before turning to the group. “You kids headed to the magic pond?”

“How did you know?” Jasmine asked with wide eyes of amazement. “Everybody who comes here wants to drink the funny water. If you ask me, people rely on that stuff too much,” Junior’s mother explained. “Being funny should come natural, like with my Junior here.”

“Oh, he's something, all right, but not all of us can be as hilarious as Junior,” Garfield responded. “Uh, speaking of the magic pond,” Misty said, trying to be polite, “could you tell us the quickest way there? We’re on a bit of a time crunch.”

“Well, I suppose Junior could show you,” Junior’s mother said before pulling on her son’s ear. “And you come home, you hear?”

Junior nodded rather quickly at this. “Okay, Mama.”

Junior's mother hummed to herself as she retreated back into the bushes for dinner, causing Garfield and Zipp to turn to Junior once more. “Okay, Junior,” Zipp said, getting out her FlyPad in order to take some notes. “Do we go right or left?”

“To get to the magic pond tonight,” Junior recited, “follow your heart, and you'll always be right.”

“Uh...” Pipp blinked. “Say what now?”

“No no no,” Garfield immediately shook his head. “Don't do this to me, Junior.”

“Oh, I get it!” Diamond smiled. “It’s a riddle!”

However, Garfield was not amused. “I hate riddles.”

“I love riddles!” Junior said optimistically… just before his mother called through the forest again. “Junior! Dinner!” she rang out. “Gotta go! Bye, guys!” Junior exclaimed before running off to join his mother, leaving the group alone again. “Well, that practically left us with nothing to go on,” Zipp groaned, becoming irritated. “Man… I love a good riddle, but not when we’re on a strict time limit!”

“Okay… let’s think about this for a minute,” Sunny said as she thought out loud to the rest of the group. “To get to the magic pond tonight… follow your heart and you’ll always be right. That HAS to mean something.”

“It’s pretty obvious there, Sunny,” Garfield said before pointing to the right path. “I guess we go right.”

“Uh-uh…” Odie singsonged. “No?” Pipp blinked out of confusion. “What else could Junior have meant, Odie? ‘Right’ was literally in the riddle!”

Odie zipped up to the sign and then pointed to the left side of his chest before pointing to the left path, then back to the left side of his chest again. “Huh…” Diamond said in thought, thinking she understood what Odie was saying. “You're saying that since our hearts are on the left side of our bodies… then if we follow our hearts, we gotta turn left! Do you really think it's that simple?”

Odie simply nodded excitedly at the para-phrasing, but as Zipp began to protest... she stopped upon thinking it over for a few moments. “You know… that actually DOES make sense when you think about it. And hey, since we’re on a bit of a deadline, I guess it’s worth our best shot.”

“Okay,” Garfield shrugged as they turned down that path. “Let's hope this is quicker than that crazy squirrel and his curtains.”

As the gang went left, Junior saw this and celebrated to himself-- they had solved the riddle really fast!

Now, the rest of the journey was up to them, and with little Shimmerwing as their guide nothing could get in their way...

...at least... that's what they hoped.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile at the comic studio, the auditorium was being set up for Fun Fest. Seats were formed and the stage turned into that of an elaborate setting, seemingly made from that of a school play. However, as Charles began to run through the final rehearsals, he noticed that one act was missing. “Where’s Garfield?”

“I’m not sure,” Arlene answered back with concern. “Well, I’m making up the list of acts,” Charles said, looking at the clipboard he was holding, “and…”

“Just schedule him for the end,” Arlene then interrupted. “I'm sure he'll be here in time.”

“And hopefully,” whispered Lily worriedly to Cobalt, “the others will be back with him by then.”

“But, he's supposed to be the master of ceremonies!” Charles pointed ou to Arlene. “We start in one hour! Who are going to get to host?”

“Well… I think Lily and I could try and do it,” Cobalt volunteered with a small smile. “We’ve been watching Garfield rehearse for it for a while, and I think we’ve got it down.”

“No offense, kids,” Charles said gently, “but I think we could use someone else with a little more… experience at these sort of events.”

“All right then…” Lily sighed irritably. “Who did you have in mind?”

“I could not help but overhear,” Ramone said, approaching with the tip of his hat. “I would be honored to be master of the ceremony.”

But as Ramone chuckled, Lily and Cobalt couldn’t help but feel rather nervous. Not only was Ramone planning on stealing Arlene from Garfield, but also his Fun Fest winner title and the roll of Master of Ceremonies!

Lily sighed worriedly and glanced around. “Garfield, Jasmine? Wherever you guys and the others are,” she said, “you need to hurry! Oh… where is Nermal to scratch my ears when you need him? He knows that always calms me down!”

“I’m sure everything is gonna be fine, Lily. Trust me,” Cobalt said, trying to reassure his friend in this desperate situation… when the real pony he needed to reassure was himself.

The Crocodile Creek: A Lesson in Humility

Unbeknownst to many comic strip characters, except for Cobalt and Lily, of course, the Mane 6 were still wandering the mystical forest with Garfield, Odie, Jasmine, Diamond and Shimmerwing, in search of the magic pond of Freddy Frog.

They were getting close, now... they could feel it in their hooves and paws.

All they had to do was go a little further, and they would be able to let Garfield drink from the pond, get funny again and race back to Fun Fest before it started.

While walking along the path, they reached a small creek with stepping stones going all the way across, causing Pipp to hum in thought. “I guess all we have to do here is cross the creek.”

But before she could unfold her wings and take off, Shimmerwing chirped, causing Misty to translate. “Shimmerwing says it would be unfair for you two and her to fly across the creek and leave the rest of us stranded, so you guys can’t use your wings for this. We’ll have to cross on foot.”

“Well,” Garfield shrugged, “let’s… go!”

Slowly, he, Odie, Jasmine and Diamond began to hop across the rocks and across the creek… well, they did this until they landed on a few that moved. “Odie?” Diamond said, clearly freaked out by such an event. “Do rocks move?”

“I dunno,” Odie seemed to mutter as Garfield did a few bounces on his rock, finding it more bouncable then even he expected. “Are rocks bouncy?”

Again, Odie shook his head with a mutter as Garfield used his foot to tickle the ‘rock’, causing it to giggle. “Do rocks giggle when you tickle them?”

“Uh… guys?” Zipp called to their friends from the shore. “I don’t think those are rocks! You better get out of there! Now!”

“Uh-oh!” Jasmine and Odie yelped, just as the ‘rocks’ revealed their true form as alligators! This caused the two unicorns, Garfield and Odie all to scream and retreat back to shore, right into the hooves of our pony heroes. “Are you guys okay?” Sunny asked. “We’re fine,” Jasmine panted, “but I do NOT wanna be a snack for those guys!”

“Now we'll never make it to the magic pond and back in time for Fun Fest,” Garfield said, discouraged. “We're no match for alligators, guys!”

“We can’t give up! Not when we’re so close!” Hitch pointed out, trying to come up with a plan to get everyone across safely. “Maybe we can use our pony powers to make a bridge across the creek and over the gators! Or Sunny, Pipp and Zipp could fly us over!”

“Think about it, Hitch-- nothing worth doing is done easily,” Zipp pointed out. “If we just used our powers for everything, it would take all the adventure out of life.”

Hitch sighed in acceptance, realizing Zipp had a valid point. “Yeah… I guess you’re right.”

“Still… we can’t give up,” Jasmine told her friends, taking a heroic stance and taking a brave tone in her voice. “We promised Garfield that we would help him get funny again in time for tonight, and I’m not gonna let him down!”

Diamond gasped as she looked toward her best friend. “Jazzy, look! Your cutie mark!”

“Huh?” Jasmine looked down at her cutie mark, which was brightly glowing. “Oh, whoa! I don’t think it’s ever glowed like that before!”

“You’re really into your natural element of leadership,” Zipp said as she ruffled the green unicorn’s mane, causing her to giggle. “Now, let’s think, guys. There HAS to be a way we can get across the creek without the alligators biting our heads off.”

“Forget it, Zipp,” Garfield sighed. “There’s no way we can do this.”

“You sure about that?”

“Huh?” the others looked around until they saw two birds (a red one named Leonard and a multi-colored bird named Roger) perched on a branch above them. “There is a way,” said Leonard, “to get by the alligators, you know.”

“Are you guys serious?” Hitch asked with surprise and confusion. “Us?” Roger asked. “Serious?”

The two birds laughed in response and stopped just a few moments later. “Yes,” Leonard nodded. “We are very serious.”

“Oh, this is just terrific!” Misty cheered as Shimmerwing chirped. “What do we have to do?”

“Well, not many people know this,” Roger told the group, “but alligators just love to laugh.”

“So, make ‘em laugh,” Leonard added. “And while they're distracted laughing, you can cross the creek.”

“That’s actually genius!” Zipp smiled at the birds' suggestion. “Great idea!”

“But,” Garfield spoke, suddenly having a question, “what if they stop laughing before we get all the way across?”

The birds looked at each other and back to Garfield. “Aren’t we the poopy head!” Roger squawked, causing the group to either stand in surprise or glare at the birds with annoyance. “What Roger is saying is,” said Leonard, “that a defeatist attitude can be pervasive in its negative impact on the outcome of one's mission.”

“Uh… what did he just say?” Hitch whispered, not understanding a word of that. “He basically means,” Jasmine whispered back, “that thinking negatively will cause the outcome to be negative as well… at least… I think.”

However, Roger wasn't done speaking yet. “Poopy, poopy, poopy head!”

“And he’s also saying you’re a poopy head,” Leonard added. “Yeah, yeah, we got that,” Pipp said with a frown before turning to her friends. “Come on, guys-- let’s entertain the troops!”

“Better let me handle this one, Pipp,” Garfield told the pink pegasus, stepping out in front of her. “I am the Fun Fest champion for a reason.”

The cat went right over to the two gators, who were perching on rocks and prepared one of his signature comedy routines. “Thank you, thank you!” Garfield said with a smile. “Hey, guys, it's great to be back here in the mystical forest, but you wouldn't believe what happened to me on the way here. I was mugged. Yeah, this guy walked up to me and says, ‘Your money or your nine lives’.”

However, the alligators only yawned in their response. “See,” Garfield tried to explain, “because cats have nine lives.”

However… the gators didn’t get it. “It's tough being a cat,” Garfield then said, moving on with the rest of his routine. “You wouldn't believe what a six-pack of mice cost these days.”

However… the only sound that the ponies heard were crickets chirping. “Uh, Garfield?” Izzy whispered. “They’re not laughing.”

“But why?” Diamond asked out of confusion. “That was a killer routine about two years ago! I nearly burst from laughter when he was done!”

“That’s because he’s not funny,” Roger clarified for the young unicorn. “That stuff might work for cats, but in case you haven't noticed, these aren't cats!”

“What Roger is saying,” interrupted Leonard, “is that alligator humor is essentially kinetic in nature.”

“Yeah!” Roger nodded. “Do stupid stuff!”

“Stupid stuff?” Diamond and Jasmine repeated, looking over at each other, confused. “But isn’t that kind of embarrassing?” Jasmine asked. “Well… I guess if it gets the audience to laugh and doesn’t go too far,” Zipp shrugged, “I guess stupid stuff is okay.”

Luckily, Odie had an idea of how to get these crocs laughing. After giving Sunny the map, the yellow dog went over to the gators and started doing stupid stuff, like squirming on the ground and bouncing on his head until he hit a rock dead on. The reptiles then started laughing, much to the others' complete bewilderment. “I can’t believe it!” Sunny exclaimed. “It’s working!”

“You see?” Leonard said to the group. “Play to your audience, even if it means being foolish.”

“Play to your audience, huh?” Jasmine said as she wrote this down. “Wow, we’ve really gotta lower our standards!”

“And now that they’re laughing,” Zipp said, “we can cross the creek! At least… we can after Odie gets done with his routine.”

The dizzy dog then lit a tree and fainted, prompting more laughter from the gators. “Good work, Odie!” Misty said as she and the others began crossing the creek. “Let’s go!”

And so, with the reptiles distracted, our heroes hopped right past the gators, across the creek and to the other side. “Thanks for your help!” Izzy called to the birds cheerfully before they ran off. “Anytime!” Roger called back before turning to Leonard. “What do you know?”

“Yeah!” Leonard agreed. “Who'd have thought you could actually make alligators laugh?”

“Who’d a-thunk?”

XXXXXXXX

Back at the comic studio, the seats in the auditorium were being filled, and Charles watched all of this from behind the curtain, a frown on his face. “We have to start. We can’t wait for Garfield anymore.”

Everyone else in the studio nodded and prepared themselves for their acts... now with Ramone as the master of ceremonies instead of the orange tabby that everyone was secretly getting worried about.

XXXXXXXX

Outside, Arlene could only wait as everyone was entering the studio before going in herself, a sad look on her face.

From the alley, Lily and Cobalt watched this in sadness, the blue pegasus sighing in worry. “I don’t understand… they should have been back ages ago! Are you sure that Charles said we had to start?”

“Unfortunately, yeah,” Lily nodded with concern. “I just hope Garfield and the others can get back in time for Garfield’s performance.”

“You and me both,” sighed Cobalt. “Do you think we should go looking for them?”

“And risk getting lost out there ourselves? As much as I admire your heroic spirit, Cobalt, that’s just too risky,” Lily frowned with the shake of her head. “All we can do now is help with the show and pray that Sunny and the others can get our friends back home in time.”

“Okay, okay… I get the picture,” Cobalt sighed before following Lily inside, praying to the stars above that she was right.

Their friends just had to make it back to the studio in time for their act... they just had to.

Finding the Magic Pond/Fun Fest Begins

Unbeknownst to our heroes, Fun Fest was starting with Ramone taking Garfield's position as the master of ceremonies, and as hard as they were trying not to worry, Arlene and Cobalt and Lily couldn't help but wonder where their friends were and if they were going to even make it to Fun Fest entirely.

However, the show must go on, as Pipp loves to remind her friends, so they still had to make sure Fun Fest ran smoothly.

Garfield was supposed to take the stage right at the end of the show, so they had until then to make it back to the studio...

...with or without the funny water that Garfield so desperately needs.

XXXXXXXX

Jasmine couldn't help but be concerned as she looked up at the sky above, wondering if they would even find the funny water and be back in time for the show.

It had taken them all day to get this far... so how would they get back in time for Garfield’s performance?

She felt Pipp gently nudge her wing against Jasmine’s side, causing the green unicorn to emerge from her thoughts and look over at her. “You doing okay, Jazzy?” the pink pegasus asked. “You look a little… non-radiant.”

“Well… I guess I’m just worried,” frowned Jasmine. “I mean, I’m all for finishing the quest and getting the funny water, but… what happens after that? I mean… what will happen when we get the water and have to rush back to the studio? Will we even make it in time for Fun Fest?”

“That’s why you have to have a little thing we show-ponies like to call faith,” Pipp told the young unicorn. “If we didn’t have faith in ourselves or in our teammates, pretty soon, everything would fall apart.”

“Huh… I never thought about it that way,” Jasmine shook her head. “You know… I had a feeling you and Lily would get along-- you’re both passionate divas who love to entertain!”

“Heh… I really do like all your friends… and that includes you,” Pipp smiled. “You’re a real leader, you know that?”

“Heh… that’s what everyone keeps telling me,” Jasmine blushed, “even though I don’t feel like a leader at times.”

“Well, if you really wanna know what it takes to be a leader, I suggest you ask Sunny,” Hitch said, having listened to their conversation. “She knows more about being a true leader than even I do.”

“...I think I might do that later,” Jasmine smiled. “Thanks, guys.”

“Hey… you guys!” Misty cried from the front of the group with Shimmerwing. “I think you might wanna see this!”

The others stopped behind her, only to gasp and their eyes to widen. Garfield checked the map again, and to his relief and awe, there it was-- the magic pond that the group had been so desperate to find, nestled into a beautiful spot in the forest. “Whoa…”

“It really exists, you guys!” Diamond exclaimed. “The magic pond filled with funny water!”

“And once Garfield gets a drink from that beauty,” Izzy exclaimed, “it’s back to Fun Fest to show that Ramone cat who’s boss!”

“For once, I agree with Izzy,” Garfield said, tucking the map away. “Let’s do this!”

From that point, it was a full on sprint/gallop toward the pond, the group cheering and laughing, so close to their goal. “Oh, boy!” Garfield laughed. “Come on, guys!”

Suddenly, before anyone could realize it, Garfield tripped over a wire in the path, causing him to stumble and the others to crash into him. Once they rolled a little ways, a gate suddenly appeared and they slammed into it, and several signs appeared alongside the gate, keeping all those who dared to get close to the magic pond… out of the magic pond.

Zipp groaned as they picked themselves up from the ground. “I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park…”

“Well, we’re not giving up now,” Sunny told the others. “Somehow, we have to get past this gate!”

Garfield then knocked on the gate and waited for a moment. “Hello? Anybody home?”

A head suddenly popped out from the guard post, and the guard wore a top hat and had a mustache on. “Hold your horses,” he said, riding out on a humongous unicycle that made Izzy a bit jealous. Then, he lowered the seat so he could see the gang a bit more clearly. “State your business.”

“I came to drink the funny water,” Garfield told him rather bluntly. “Who doesn’t?” the guard rhetorically asked. “And why do you want to drink the funny water?”

“Well... the thing is... Garfield isn't funny anymore,” Diamond said quickly, causing the ponies to look at her rather bluntly. “What? Somepony had to say it at some point, so it kinda had to be me!”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” the guard told the white filly before he turned to Garfield again. “Tell me a joke.”

Garfield nodded and complied with the request. “How many rabbits does it take to change a light bulb?”

“One! If he hops to it,” the guard answered without hesitation. “You do impressions?”

“Of course,” Garfield answered. “Any requests.”

“Do a cat.”

“...meow.”

Hitch winced at that. “I think Sparky can do a better cat than that, and he’s a dragon.”

“Your friend here is right,” the guard said. “I’m not convinced.”

“Are you quite through?” Garfield then asked. “Yep! You’re not funny, alright,” the guard said, causing Zipp to sigh quietly in frustration. “What did we tell you?”

“So… can we get through your gate please?” Jasmine asked politely. “We kinda need that funny water and we’re in a bit of a rush.”

“Sure, but a piece of advice?”

“What’s that?” Garfield asked curiously. “Drink a lot of funny water,” the guard said with a chuckle. “They may have to drain the pond for you. You may proceed.”

“Yes!” Zipp and Pipp cheered, high-hoofing as they prepared to go through the gate… but the gate never raised. “Um… Mr. Guard?” Izzy called with the raise of her hoof. “Are you gonna raise the gate?”

“Do I look like Arnold Schwarzenhagen? Go under!”

The group seemed confused at this, but complied anyway, grunting and straining as they maneuvered under the gate before getting back up on the other side and Garfield for the lake. “Come on, you guys!”

But before they could follow the orange tabby and Jasmine, the guard approached the group once more. “Your friend is a poopy-head.”

“We’re well aware,” Diamond rolled her eyes before she, Odie and the rest of the Mane 6, along with Shimmerwing, followed after them. As the others rejoined Garfield, he and Jasmine finally reached the pond. “Funny water,” Jasmine declared, “here we come!”

She and Garfield dove right into the pond, Garfield taking in as much water as he could hold while the Mane 6 sighed in relief. “Finally… we made it!” Misty sighed in relief. “Thanks for taking us here, Shimmerwing.”

Shimmerwing chirped in response as she rested on Misty’s horn, and the other ponies laid down to take a short rest before they had to get back, but… Zipp couldn’t help but feel like they were being watched…

…and she was right.

XXXXXXXX

Back at the studio, Eli pressed the showtime button and the curtains closed. Living instruments then played lively music as the Charles emerged from the side of the stage to start the show. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Fun Fest. Our master of ceremonies, Garfield, has been detained,” Charles told the audience, making them murmur out of confusion. “Perhaps he'll drop in later, so please welcome our guest MC, Ramone!”

Ramone then arrived with thunderous applause from the audience, but Lily and Cobalt merely glared at the Spanish cat, not buying his routine for a minute. “Good evening, all you beautiful people. My name is Ramone,” Ramone told the audience. “Ever since I was a little kitten, it was my dream to one day leave my poverty-stricken litter box and perform for a wonderful audience such as you!”

This caused all of the judges at their table to swoon, completely entranced with him. “Welcome to my show!” Ramone said to the audience. “I love you, all of you!”

“Oh, gimme a break…” Cobalt muttered under his breath as the audience cheered again. “Oh, Garfield… where in the world are you guys…?”

XXXXXXXX

“Garfield, we’ve found the funny water, and you’ve had plenty to drink of it,” Zipp said as she cautiously looked around. “We better get back to the studio-- Fun Fest is guaranteed to start soon!”

“Zipp’s right,” Sunny said with a nod. “We probably should get going.”

“But we just got here!” Diamond argued. “Besides… it really is nice here. I’m sure that we can wait a few more minutes.”

But before anyone else could say a word, a figure emerged from the grass, looking to be an elderly frog… someone that Shimmerwing seemed to recognize as he approached on a lilypad. “Ah. You appear to be thirsty, my young friends.”

“Huh? No, we’re just here for the funny water, pops,” Garfield responded with a smile. “We’ll be out of here in a minute.”

“Ah,” said the frog, “but only the magic pond holds funny water.”

“Wait a second,” Jasmine stopped swimming in surprise. “So this isn’t the magic pond?”

“This so ain't the magic pond-- we moved it years ago,” the frog responded. “No, this is a sludge pit, fed by a drainage ditch from Grin City.”

Horrified by the news, Garfield and Jasmine shrieked and immediately got out of the pond, with Jasmine shaking the water out of her fur and Garfield spitting up the water he had just got done drinking... all while the elderly frog watched in amusement. “Nice spit take.”

He wound up the engine on his lilypad boat, imitating motor sounds while he approached the group on the shoreline. “So where’s the magic pond?” Garfield asked, wanting to find the pond quickly and get home in time for the show. “Not so fast, impatient one,” the frog said wisely. “Why do you wish to partake of the funny water?”

However, Garfield was getting annoyed by all these questions. “I've been getting these pop quizzes ever since I got to this place. Who do you people think you are, anyway?”

“I can’t speak for the others,” the frog responded, “but I think… I’m Freddy Frog.”

The group looked surprised at this, their eyes growing wide as they gasped in shock. “You…” Diamond blinked, breaking the silence. “You’re for real!”

“Okay… one thing is for sure,” Zipp said to her friends. “I am never doubting a storybook again.”

“That makes two of us,” Pipp answered back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you,” Garfield then apologized to Freddy. “You look so… so different from…”

“From a storybook, I know, yes,” Freddy said with a chuckle. “That was many years ago before I had to start wearing muumuus.”

“Well, it’s an honor to meet you, Freddy!” Jasmine said as she and Garfield shook Freddy’s hand. “Now, if you'll just direct us to the magic pond,” Garfield then spoke, “I'll have a drink and be on my way.”

“I’m afraid it’s not quite as simple as that,” Freddy told the orange tabby, causing Diamond to sigh. “Yeah, nothing is.”

“You must first attain a higher level of humorous enlightenment before drinking the water,” Freddy told Garfield. “Can I get enlightened before Fun Fest?” Garfield then asked. “I'm in a rush here, pal.”

“We all are!” Hitch agreed. “We have to get back to Fun Fest and save Garfield from being totally humiliated by a suave Spanish cat con-artist!”

“Then, let’s begin,” Freddy told the group before looking toward Shimmerwing on Misty's horn. “Shimmerwing, what are you doing still in butterfly form? I may need your help with this cat’s training.”

“Hold it… you know Shimmerwing?” Hitch asked in confusion. “And what do you mean by-- WHOA!!”

The group was suddenly blinded as Shimmerwing flew off of Misty’s horn, letting a bright light envelope her for a few moments. When they finally got their sight back, the butterfly was no longer there… but a new figure was.

She was a gorgeous white pegasus with the sweetest chocolate brown eyes, rainbow feathers on her wings, pink hooves, a rainbow mane and tail and even a rainbow for her cutie mark.

The pegasus sighed and shook herself with a smile. “Thanks, Freddy,” she said, her voice as clear and beautiful as a ringing bell. “I was taking so much time resting my wings that I forgot.”

“Hold it, hold it, hold it, HOLD IT!!” Jasmine suddenly interrupted, bringing the group from their stunned silence. “Shimmerwing… you’re a shapeshifter?!”

Shimmerwing let out a giggle. “I wouldn’t exactly call myself a shapeshifter, my dear. I just take the form of a butterfly or any other kind of animal until my true self can be revealed to those I trust. Making it this far was something only someone I could trust could do.”

“...I think my mind just blew up,” Izzy blinked in shock. “Yeah, tell me about it, girlfriend,” Garfield nodded. “So… are you gonna take us to the magic pond or not?”

“In time, Garfield, in time. For right now, you need to learn the ways of being funny from the first funny… anything,” Shimmerwing said, looking at Freddy with a giggle. “Just follow his lead, and I promise… you’ll get exactly where you need to go.”

Garfield looked at the others before shrugging. If it got them to the funny water and back to the show… it was definitely worth a shot.

Garfield's Training Begins

Our heroes had found what they thought was the magic pond, but in order to gain access to it, funny guru Freddy Frog and his assistant Shimmerwing, who was really a shapeshifting pegasus with rainbow wings and a rainbow mane and tail, were going to have to teach Garfield the ways of being TRULY funny, so he could really ace his performance at Fun Fest.

And even though Garfield was hoping to get back to Fun Fest soon, the ponies knew that this was going to take some time to get through.

Luckily for Garfield, all of the ponies and Odie were going to be there to help him...

...no matter how long it might take.

XXXXXXXX

The first thing Freddy did for Garfield’s training was pick up a nearby stick off the ground. “What is this, round one?”

“It’s a stick,” Garfield deadpanned. “And what's with the "round one" remark?”

“Oh, heh…” Shimmerwing chuckled. “He always gives nicknames to his students. Besides, this is much more than a stick, furball! Watch and learn.”

And so, Freddy began to do several different things with the stick, like pretending it was a patient and he was the doctor, pretending it was a splinter in his neck and serving it on a platter, as if he was a waiter. When he was done, he offered it to Garfield again. “Now, you do something with the stick.”

“I can’t,” Garfield responded, causing Jasmine to become confused. “Why not? It looks fun!”

“Because,” Garfield responded, “he used up all the good stuff.”

“Oh brother…” Zipp sighed under her breath just before Shimmerwing gave the stick to Odie, to really show Garfield how it was done.

The dog threw it like a pole and ran right to it, just before it ‘landed’ on his chest and he clutched in pain. Then, he used it as if he was a composer conducting an orchestra, followed by pretending he was Zorro using a sword. He walked on it like it was a tightrope then used it like a microphone as he sung like Elvis, complete with hairdo.

After he was done, the others clapped/stomped their hooves to applaud him. “There you go!” Freddy exclaimed. “That’s what I’m talking about!”

“Thank you. Thank you very much,” Odie seemed to mutter in an Elvis sort of manner. “Hate to break it to you, Odie,” Diamond whispered, “but mimes aren’t supposed to talk. I really liked that, though.”

“Now you try, Garfield,” Shimmerwing urged. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't do stick shtick,” Garfield told her before turning to Freddy. “What else you got?”

Freddy’s answer was short and simple. “Boot camp, big boy!”

“Uh… we don’t have to do the boot camp too, do we?” Pipp asked. “I just had my mane styled, and I don’t want to get different kinds of pie crumbs in it.”

“Oh, you don’t have to-- for you guys, it’s a choice,” Shimmerwing smiled. “If you want, you could stick nearby and see how this all plays out.”

Pipp sighed in relief while the others looked at one another, confused and worried all at once.

One thing was for certain... this was sure to be interesting.

XXXXXXXX

And so, Garfield's funny boot camp training began.

First, Freddy taught Garfield about slipping on a banana peel and landing on his back. When it was Garfield's turn to try, but landed on his head, causing the ponies to wince.

Next, Freddy showed the cat how to hit his face when stepping on a rake, but when Garfield attempted this and stepped on the pointy rake, he clutched his foot in pain, stepped on the garden tool, and hit his back on it.

After this, Freddy taught Garfield all about the aspects of the whoopie cushion. Garfield sat on it and it tooted, causing the ponies and Odie to giggle inwardly to themselves.

Next was a seesaw, where one person is launched when another stepped on the end of the plank. With the feline on one side, Odie hopped on another, but due to the cat’s weight, Odie was launched instead. However, as Garfield prepared to leave, the dog came back down and stepped on the plank, launching the cat a little... but not by much.

The next part was a bit of a blur to the ponies, but what they did remember?

Pies.

Garfield got hit with A LOT of pies.

XXXXXXXX

Pipp just got finished wiping the pie out of Garfield's fur, and once he was all clean again, Garfield turned to Freddy once more. “This is supposed to make me funny?”

“Not until you can snatch this pebble from my hand, grass whopper,” Freddy said, holding out a small pebble in his hand. “Huh…” Jasmine blinked. “That sounds a little too easy.”

“But a good lesson for Garfield to learn, my dear,” Freddy responded. “Go on… try me.”

As the cat grabbed the pebble, he yelled in pain as a result of an electric shock. Turns out, the pebble was actually a joy buzzer, causing Freddy to chuckle to himself. “I never get tired of that one.”

“Yeah, hilarious,” Zipp said under her breath as she and Hitch managed to get Garfield stable again. “A great Zen master once said… or was it W.C. Fields? At any rate,” said Freddy, “Comedy is tragedy happening to someone else.”

“But Garfield doesn’t do comedy,” Misty said in confusion. “That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”

“In that case, what he needs is more of this,” Freddy said, putting a finger on Garfield’s chest, much to his confusion. “More of what?” Garfield asked before Freddy flicked his nose, leaving him to respond with a smile. “More humility, oh rotund one.”

“Ha ha…” Garfield muttered, clutching his nose. “It's only when one humbles himself before an audience that he's able to ascend to a higher plane of humorous enlightenment,” Freddy explained. “More or less,” Shimmerwing translated, “it's about the audience, not you. Humor is in the ear of the beholder.”

“Ohhh… you know, that actually makes a lot of sense!” Sunny said, writing this down on a notepad. “Do all you people talk gibberish out here?” Garfield asked out of confusion, leaving Freddy to look at him. “You haven’t been listening, have you?”

“What do you mean?” Garfield asked. “Every step along your journey, there has been a lesson to be learned,” Freddy explained. “If you were listening…”

“Look, Freddy,” Garfield suddenly interrupted, “it's been nice meeting you and all, but I am way behind schedule here.”

“Garfield, at least give Freddy’s methods a chance,” said Sunny with a slight frown. “If he thinks this is the right way to help you, I think we should trust him.”

That’s when Freddy thought of something that might work for Garfield’s… stubborn nature. “Follow me, oh one who is great of girth.”

Odie, Diamond, Pipp and Izzy giggled at such remark, but Garfield growled at them to stop, and they immediately did so as they followed Freddy away.

XXXXXXXX

The ponies and their new friends followed Shimmerwing and Freddy over to a rope bridge over a river, and Shimmerwing and Freddy crossed quite easily.

But as Garfield and Jasmine were halfway across, Freddy pulled a lever and the ropes immediately closed on them, separating them from their friends. “Wha--? Hey!” Jasmine said, not liking where this was going. “W-What’s going on here?!”

“A test in humility that even ones such as yourselves will understand,” Freddy explained as Jasmine and Garfield tried to push the ropes apart to let them through. “You're on the Bridge Over Truthful Waters. Tell the truth, and you will pass unharmed.”

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Garfield asked them with a narrowed gaze, not liking how scared this was making Jasmine. “How would you describe your body?” Shimmerwing asked with a little smirk, somehow knowing what Garfield would say. “I have kind of a normal body,” Garfield responded, “maybe a little on the stout side.”

However... this was the wrong answer. Freddy pushed the lever to the right and the bridge swung over, causing Jasmine and Garfield to get doused with water, the former screaming as they went into the water and coughing as they came out of it. “Jazzy! Garfield!” Misty cried. “Are you guys okay?!”

Jasmine coughed, getting more water from her lungs before responding. “A little wet, but we’re okay!”

“Garfield, just tell him the truth!” Hitch cried. “Otherwise you and Jasmine will get doused again!”

“Okay, okay, I admit it!” Garfield shouted. “I’m chubby.”

However, this was the wrong answer, cause the bridge turned over and doused the orange cat and the green unicorn again. “I’m fat!” Garfield blurt out after getting the seaweed and fish from his mouth. “Okay, I’m fat!”

“How fat are you?” Freddy asked with a smirk. “Oh, come on!” Jasmine blurt out, but gasped and stiffened when she saw Freddy about to pull the lever again. “Garfield, answer her! NOW!!”

Garfield hated how scared the filly looked, and ultimately decided to admit the entire truth. “Okay, okay. I'm so fat, every time I go to the beach, the tide comes in!”

“Huh?” Misty blinked, wondering if this was metaphorical. “I'm so fat, I never knew that "I could eat a horse" was just an expression!” Garfield continued. “I'm so fat, one time I got on a Ferris wheel and two guys on top starved to death!”

As Garfield sighed in defeat, Freddy pulled on the lever again, this time upward, and this freed Jasmine and Garfield and allowed them to come to shore. “Very well done!” Freddy smiled. “That was very funny!”

“What’s so funny about being fat?” Jasmine asked, cold and wet from the water of the river. “Self-deprecating humor is funny. If you share your humanity with your audience, they'll share their affection with you. Remember,” Freddy told the duo as they shook themselves of the water and as the others came across the bridge to them, “it's better for someone to have laughed at your expense than never to have laughed at all.”

“I guess that makes sense...” shivered Jasmine. “But, do you think maybe you can spare a blanket? My rump is freezing here!”

“Jasmine loves snow in the winter,” Diamond whispered to the Mane 6, “but other than that, she doesn't like the cold all that much.”

“Oh... you poor thing...” Shimmerwing felt her heart sink at this before she got an idea, plucked a red feather from her wing and used a vine to make a makeshift necklace. “Here... wear this. Maybe it will warm you up.”

Jasmine slipped her head through the necklace and waited a moment, watching as the feather lit up dimly, and suddenly... she felt warmer. “Wow... that really helps! Thanks! But... how did your feather do this?”

“The feathers in my wings, with their different colors, can give me different powers,” Shimmerwing explained. “Red is a symbol of warmth, so I knew that one of the red feathers would help warm you up a bit.”

“Well, now that Jazzy is warming up a bit,” Garfield said, “what do we do now?”

“So now give me a hug,” Freddy outstretched his arms, much to the cat’s confusion. “A hug?”

“Just do it, you big lug. I’m very proud of you,” Freddy said, wrapping his arms around Garfield in an embrace. “You’ve taken one step on a very long road.”

However, Garfield didn’t seem as thrilled. “...is there gonna be a lot of this?”

“Just this once,” Shimmerwing giggled. “Okay, now that this is over with,” Diamond said, helping Jasmine to get Garfield out of the hug, “where’s that funny water?”

“It is there,” Freddy said, pointing up to a very tall mountain in the distance, causing Jasmine and Diamond to gasp at how beautiful the mountain looked in the early afternoon light. However, Garfield had one more thing to ask. “Is this another riddle?”

“No,” Freddy answered, “seriously, it’s up there.”

Hitch sighed and hung his head at this. “Is nothing easy?”

“Well... nothing that's worth having ever is,” Shimmerwing said with a gentle smile. “Now, you better get going in order to get up there before it gets dark.”

“Well, thanks, old man. See you later!” Garfield bid farewell and began to walk down the path, with Odie waving and the ponies exchanging their own methods of farewell as they followed after the orange tabby. “Good luck to you, oh tabby for two,” Freddy bid farewell to Garfield, causing Odie and Misty to chuckle once again while Garfield glared at them.

That's when our heroes proceeded on their way... but they knew that this probably wouldn’t be the last they saw of the frog and shapeshifting pegasus duo...

...not by a long shot.

Flying Back to the Studio

Shimmerwing and Freddy Frog put Garfield through a rather intense training session in the middle of the mystical forest, hoping to help him get his funny back without having to drink the magical funny water.

Of course, Garfield didn’t get the methods of their training right away, and took them with a tiny grain of salt.

Currently, he and Odie, along with Diamond, Jasmine and the rest of the Mane 6, were finally on their way to the magic pond, hoping to finally get what they needed and get back to the studio in time for Garfield’s performance.

And hopefully... they would.

XXXXXXXX

Back at Fun Fest, things were going smoothly for all those participating, and the audience...

...and especially for Ramone, who was doing what should have been Garfield’s role as the master of ceremonies, much to Lily and Cobalt's chagrin. “I hope you are all enjoying the show,” the Spanish-speaking cat said to the audience with a smirk upon his face. “And now, please welcome to the stage... Jeff, the dancing gate guard!”

The audience cheered and applauded as Jeff came onstage and began to sing his heart out. “I'm Jeff the dancing gate guard, I'm sure that you'll agree, the way I dance and sing will make you want to vote for me!!!”

Lily winced in pain while Cobalt covered his ears at the sound of Jeff's voice.

They had no idea where their friends were, but there wasn't much time before Garfield’s performance...

...so they honestly hoped that their friends returned soon... for all their sakes.

XXXXXXXX

As Fun Fest kept going as planned, we go back to our heroes climbing up the mountain. Well, more like climbing up the mountain by a huge rope ladder.

The mountainside was far too windy for Sunny, Pipp and Zipp to fly upwards, so they had to climb the ladder just like their friends did.

And needless to say... they were getting pretty tired out, panting in exhaustion. “Geez, what a tall ladder,” Misty said to her friends tiredly. “And I thought there were a lot of stairs in Opaline’s lair!”

“Why did we get ourselves ‘roped’ into this?” Jasmine tried to crack a joke, but when she tried to laugh, she groaned in exhaustion. “I am way too tired to try and be funny...”

“We just need to keep going...” Sunny panted. “We’re almost at the top of the mountain!”

The ponies nodded and proceeded to climb with Garfield and Odie just a little further up the ladder, until Garfield finally reached the top of it, with Odie catching his fall as he stumbled.

Once Garfield and Odie got onto solid ground, the rest of the ponies heaved themselves onto stable ground as well, their eyes widening in awe at what they saw next.

The top was a glorious place with a waterfall and a lake, flowing with crystal clear water that Garfield knew, deep in his heart, was the funny water that he had been craving to find.

But as the group stared at the pond in awe, it turns out that Shimmerwing and Freddy were already waiting on them. “Welcome, supersized one.”

“What the...?” Pipp blinked in shock. “How in Equestria did you two get up here?”

“Well, since I couldn’t fly us all the way up here,” Shimmerwing said, “we took the elevator over there.”

As it turns out, there was an elevator not too far away... but hearing this bit of news caused Zipp to snap, surprising the others greatly. “Are you kidding me?!” she asked. “WE CLIMBED ALL THIS WAY UP HERE AND THERE WAS AN ELEVATOR ALL ALONG?!”

“Yeah!” Hitch agreed, but not in the same manner as Zipp was. “You never told us there was an elevator!”

“You never asked,” Freddy told the group, causing them to become confused and bewildered all at once. “Humor is all about questions, donut hopper and crew. Why did the chicken cross the road? Hey, why the long face? Anyone here from Cleveland?”

“May I drink the funny water now?” Garfield then asked. “Well, sure,” Shimmerwing nodded at the orange tabby cat. “I mean... if you think you still need it.”

Garfield looked at her in confusion. “Still need it? Why do you think I came all this way? Not to drink it?”

“What I think Shimmerwing is trying to say,” Sunny told Garfield, “is that we think that everything you need is inside you.”

Garfield sighed in exasperation at this statement. “Some people and their riddles!”

“Sunny, we came all this way for Garfield to drink the funny water and we can't go back home without doing that. If we do... Ramone will win Fun Fest and Arlene, completely shoving one of my best friends out of the limelight,” Jasmine said in an almost pleading tone. “We have to at least try... please?”

“Hate to admit it, Sunny, but... she does have somewhat of a point,” Pipp said with a slight shrug. “We have to try everything we can, so... what do we have to lose?”

The others eventually nodded at this, and this caused Sunny to sigh after a moment. “Okay... I guess it's worth a shot.”

“If your friend really thinks he needs it... here,” Freddy reached a flask out to Garfield, which he immediately took and ran over to the pond, with Jasmine, Izzy and Misty right on his heels. Then, after putting some of the water in the flask, Garfield took a mighty sip from the pond. “Say, this stuff tastes a little funny.”

“Funny! We get it,” Freddy smiled. “Very good.”

“Can I have a sip?” Jasmine asked out of curiosity. Garfield nodded and let Jasmine take the water in her aura before the green unicorn took a small sip of the water. “You know... I think you’re right, Garfield. It does taste funny.”

“And you know? I think it's starting to take affect,” Garfield said, acknowledging the change going on within his body. “You must understand,” Freddy then said, “that drinking the funny water alone will not fully prepare you for creating the kind of comedy you're capable of creating.”

“We'll help him prepare as best as we can,” Sunny said as she nodded in the frog’s direction. “That's a hoof to heart promise right there.”

“But in the meantime, let's cool off before we have to get home! WHOO-HOO!!” Izzy cheered before leaping into the pond with Garfield and Jasmine, causing a huge splash. “Aw yeah! Whoo!!” Zipp cheered before following suit, and soon, everyone except Diamond and Odie was in the pond with the orange tabby and the green unicorn filly.

But Sunny couldn't help but wonder if the funny water was what Garfield really needed in the first place.

XXXXXXXX

After a while of swimming and drinking, the ponies Garfield and Odie were satisfied with what they had done…

…that is, until Jasmine looked up in the sky and gasped upon seeing the sun setting. “Oh my gosh, guys! We’ve gotta go!” she said as the group swam back to shore. “Fun Fest is starting!”

“Thanks for everything, Shimmerwing and Freddy,” Garfield said to the frog and pegasus, packing his stuff, “but we gotta run. Now!”

“I don’t think you’re quite ready yet,” Freddy tried to tell Garfield, but Garfield was still pretty confident that the water would have solved all his troubles. “I'm as ready as I'll ever be, pops. Come on, team!”

“Right behind ya, buddy!” Diamond told the orange tabby cat. “One moment, my large charge,” Freddy then told the group, stopping them in their tracks. “If you really must leave, you'll need something that will assure you swift passage to the Fun Fest.”

“Wait right here-- we’ll go get it,” Shimmerwing said before she and Freddy walked off. “They do have a point,” Zipp told the others. “I love running as much as the next pony, but by the time we get there, Ramone will have won Fun Fest!”

“And there is NO way,” Diamond agreed with a huff, “we’re letting that happen.”

“What do you suppose it is, Odie?” Garfield then asked, leading the dog to shrug. “I dunno.”

“Maybe it's a set of charms with magical flying powers,” Misty pondered out loud. “Or maybe it's a flying carpet!”

“Or a winged dragon, that will fly us right to the studio, where we'll arrive to cheering throngs!” Garfield added with an excited smile... just before he caught sight of something nearby. “Look!”

Nearby was a beautiful patch of roses, and Garfield picked one, remembering that roses were Arlene’s favorite. He might want to get one for her, just in case. “Give me a hand with this, will you?”

The group instantly turned around and saw Freddy and Shimmerwing wheeling in a group of hang gliders… not the transportation they were expecting, but highly reliable, nonetheless.

However… Garfield remained less than thrilled about this. “We’re gonna die!”

“Here you go,” Shimmerwing smiled. “These hang gliders will get you to the Fun Fest in a flash! The biggest one in front holds four, and the rest of them holds up to two.”

“Well… I do love a good hang gliding excursion,” Zipp smiled, “so… I say we go for it!”

“Uh, are you sure we won’t crash?” Jasmine asked with a nervous expression as the Mane 6 boarded their hang gliders (with Misty and Izzy on one, Pipp and Zipp on another, and Sunny and Hitch on the last one). “Every flight ends in a crash, my dear,” Freddy told her with a smile. “Some are just a little worse than others.”

“...well, that’s a comforting thought,” Diamond muttered under her breath, but didn’t say much else after she, Odie, Garfield and Jasmine boarded the largest hang glider. “Well, off you go,” Freddy urged. “Before you lose what little nerve you have.”

“Thanks for everything, you two,” Garfield told Shimmerwing and Freddy gratefully. “I’ll always be grateful.”

“Be careful, friends,” Shimmerwing smiled softly, “and good luck.”

“I still don’t think you’re ready,” Freddy told Garfield, but the group went ahead and pushed their hang gliders toward the edge of the cliff, ready to take off at a moment’s notice.

Diamond gulped nervously as she glanced down the cliff. “Is now a bad time to say that I’m afraid of heights…?”

“I agree with Diamond,” Garfield nodded. “I think I would've rather taken my chances with the flying dragon.”

“Well, it’s too late now,” Hitch said, taking in a deep breath, “so let’s hurry and get the hard part over with. We're gonna push off on the count of three, okay?”

However, Odie shook his head at this. “Uh-uh.”

“Why not?” Garfield asked before Odie held up two of his fingers. “Oh… you can only count to two.”

“Yeah,” Odie nodded. “...okay, guys. On the count of two,” Zipp said as the group prepared to push off. “One…”

“TWO!!”

At this shout, the entire group strained as they pushed their hang gliders over the side of the cliff, letting them fly rapidly down the cliff while Shimmerwing and Freddy looked on. As they came down the cliff, Jasmine suddenly realized something that she hadn’t thought of before now. “Odie! Do you know how to fly this thing?!”

Unfortunately, the dog shook his head no at this. “Oh, boy,” Diamond shrieked, “are we stupid!!”

“Well, let’s try something!” Garfield urged. “Good idea!” Sunny cried. “Everypony, lean to the left!”

The group grunted as they leaned in that direction, and after a bit of rough flying at first, and a lot of screaming, they eventually settled themselves out, much to Misty’s relief. “Oh, thank hoofness! We’re gonna live!”

“You know,” said Jasmine with a smile, “this is actually kinda fun! Once you get the hang of it.”

Odie yelped and pointed ahead, signaling that they were heading toward some large rock formations, but Sunny and the other ponies were able to keep them from crashing into it, much to everyone’s relief, as they flew higher above the trees. “Hey! I think we’ve got it!” Jasmine cheered. “All right!”

“All right, everypony! You know what we’ve gotta do now!” Zipp shouted. “We've gotta get Garfield, Odie and the girls back to Fun Fest!”

“And at this wind speed,” Hitch agreed, “we should be there in about 20 minutes!”

“Do you really think we can do this?” Diamond then asked. “Get Garfield back to Fun Fest, win the whole thing AND get Arlene back from Ramone?”

“Well, it isn’t gonna be easy,” Sunny said, “but if we all work together, we can do anything! Who’s ready to take down Ramone?!”

“I am!” Misty raised a hoof with a confident grin. “Yeah!” Pipp agreed with the same look as Misty. “We are too!” Diamond agreed with Jasmine, Garfield and Odie following behind her, and the group laughed and cheered as they continued to fly off into the sky in order to complete their mission.

Back to the Studio/Freddy's Words of Advice

As the group kept flying toward Fun Fest as fast as they could go, Ramone was almost nearing the end of the show-- just a few more acts stood between his and Arlene's big dance number. “And now, ladies and gentlemen, a kitty who is almost as talented as me. Please welcome to the stage, Shecky.”

A gray tabby cat named Shecky arrived on the stage while the audience applauded, though not as loudly as before. “Good evening, genties and ladlemen.”

“Oh brother… not Shecky!” Cobalt sighed with the shake of his head as he and Lily watched this from Eli's workstation. “Come on, Garfield… where are you guys…?!”

XXXXXXXX

The sun had set by the time that Garfield, Odie and their pony companions had gotten back to Grin City, and after a bit more flying, Izzy gasped and pointed to something in the distance. “There it is, guys! The studio!”

“We made it!” Zipp sighed in relief. “And just in time! Are you guys ready to make a grand entrance?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be!” Jasmine said with a slight shrug. “But, uh… one question, though. Anypony have any idea how to land these things?”

“...nope, nope,” Odie shook his head. “Uh… come to think of it, we do landing a little differently in Zephyr Heights,” Zipp said nervously. “We just use our wings and fly out of the glider and not bother with trying to land it ourselves.”

“Oh great!” Pipp groaned out loud. “Now what do we do?!”

“Then let’s at least aim for something big,” Misty pointed out. “Like the street!”

However, a huge gust of wind caused them to blow right off course, barely missing the studio sign, past several cars driving down the road and over the guard sign (while Garfield, Odie and their two unicorn companions went through the guard sign). “The studio!” Garfield said before quickly coming up with a plan. “Let’s dot the I! Everyone, follow behind us!”

“Whatever you say, Garfield!” Sunny leaned a bit, and all the hang gliders followed behind one another toward the dot of the I in the studio sign. But then, right as they were expecting to go through… they all hit the window, spinning it and causing them to crash right into the attic in a huge heap.

Zipp shook her head as the group stood up again after the crash. “So much for the grand entrance. But the good news is we’re inside the studio.”

“Now the big question is,” Jasmine said, “how do we get to the stage from here?”

“For my first number, I'd like to sing something from my latest album.”

The group then approached the small window in the attic, though Garfield and Odie could get a clearer view than anyone else, and saw Shecky continuing his act. “You only got me when you got me! You only squeeze me when you squeeze me!”

The sound of Shecky’s voice was enough to cause the ponies to wince in pain, and the audience began to jeer and through different objects at him to get him to stop. After finishing his song, Shecky bowed to the crowd while Betty and Bonnie gave a score of 9, and Bonita gives it a 7.

From the attic and from where the group was watching, Hitch hummed in thought. “Looks like Shecky’s got himself a place in the cartoon world… whether he likes it or not.”

“Thank you,” Ramone said to the audience as he got up onstage. “And good luck to you in the competition. Please, one more hand for the funny kitty.”

Garfield could feel his blood pressure rise little by little upon seeing Ramone doing what he thought was HIS job. “Why, that cheesy cougar. I’m supposed to be the MC.”

“He must’ve taken the role over when you didn’t show up for rehearsals today,” Sunny frowned. “But don’t worry… you won’t be up for a while.”

“Our next act, the one and only Garfield!”

Sunny chuckled nervously when this happened. “Or… maybe you will be up in the next minute.”

The spotlight shown on the stage, waiting for Garfield, but he wasn’t there. Ramone chuckled to himself as the audience wondered where he went. “Quick, guys!” Garfield told the others. “We gotta find a way to get down there.”

“Hey… this vent goes to Eli’s workstation!” Diamond spoke in realization. “I remember seeing a map of the vent system when our friend’s pet hamster got loose in here! Come on!”

XXXXXXXX

Ramone looked over at Charlies and whispered over to him, causing Charles to speak into his microphone to Eli up in his workstation. “Eli! Where’s Garfield?”

“I don’t know,” Eli answered, just before the vent was kicked down, and Garfield and Jasmine quickly entered the workstation. “Garfield!” Lily cheered upon seeing him. “They’re here, they’re here!”

“Charlies!” Eli shouted over the radio upon seeing Odie and the rest of the ponies in the vents as well. “Garfield, Odie and the ponies are here!”

XXXXXXXX

From where he stood, Ramone waited patiently for Garfield, clearly not pleased. “Lazy cats. They're always late, aren't they? Never to be counted on.”

“Psst! Psst! He’s here!” Charles whispered, giving Ramone the signal to speak to the audience again. “It appears Garfield is only a moment away. For now, you will all have to be content gazing upon my beauty.”

XXXXXXXXX

“It’s about time!” Cobalt said to the others as they hugged. “Lily and I were worried sick!”

“Yeah! Where have you guys been?” Eli asked as the others struggled climbed down into the workstation. “Getting funny, buddy boy,” Garfield explained, “at the Fountain of Funny.”

The others then fell right on the ground, some a bit more gracefully than others. “Just wait till you see me out there,” Garfield then said. “Well, you better hurry,” Lily said, looking out onto the stage. “I don’t know how long Ramone can stall!”

Jasmine used her mouth to open the bag and Garfield took out the flask of funny water he had stored earlier. “Just one more sip of this,” Sunny told the cat, “and you should be good to go. At least… I hope.”

Garfield was about to take the final sip he needed, but one look at the flask told him that it was clearly broken.

“What?!”

“What’s wrong?” Cobalt asked in concern. “I’m toast. There goes Fun Fest,” Garfield said hopelessly. “There goes everything!”

However, Eli was still confused. “What are you talking about?”

“The funny water is gone!” Jasmine said in worry. “It must’ve happened when we crashed into the attic!”

“She’s right. I’m sorry, Jazzy, but… no funny water means that I can’t go on.” Garfield sighed sadly before he threw away the broken flask before departing the workstation glumly. “Garfield!” Misty called as he left. “Wait!”

“Poor Garfield… we went through this whole day to get the water and now it’s gone,” Izzy frowned with her ears pinned. “He looks so sad! Actually… worse than sad.”

“I better go after him…” Jasmine said before going out after him, with Odie and the others following suit. “Eli!” Charles shouted over the radio. “What’s happened to Garfield?”

“...I don’t think he’s coming,” Eli said, clearly worried.

XXXXXXXX

“He’s not coming,” Charles whispered out to Ramone. “Move on with the show.”

“Well, it looks as if we'll be moving on to our last act of the evening,” Ramone told the audience. “Ladies and gentlemen, you are going to be treated to the tango, performed by the lovely Arlene and yours truly, just for you, so sit back and enjoy.”

The audience cheered immensely as the curtains opened. Arlene, in her tango outfit, began to dance with Ramone, doing all these wild spins and flips in the air while Ramone caught her everytime.

But as she did so, she spotted Garfield watching from backstage before he sadly trudged away toward the back exit.

This immediately got Arlene to worry about the orange tabby cat she knew and loved.

He had never missed a Fun Fest before, so… what was going on?

XXXXXXXX

In the alley, Garfield sat in silence, wondering how he could have been so foolish to let the water slip through his paws as soon as he had it.

He felt foolish for letting Arlene go worst of all.

His one chance to win back Arlene was ruined, now that the flask is broken.

And that meant that his Fun Fest title, and even worse, Arlene, was gone forever. “Nice going, Garfield. You really did it this time,” Garfield muttered, kicking a can. “You had it all, pal!”

Odie, Jasmine, Diamond and the Mane 6 came out of the studio to see Garfield sulking, and Jasmine could sense regret filling her own eyes. “Garfield?” Misty muttered softly. “We’re so sorry… are you okay?”

“You can talk to us if you need to,” Pipp said gently. “We’re right here to listen.”

“What do you think?” Garfield responded, heartbroken. “My humor's gone, guys, and my girl is gone, all because… Because I'm, I'm… I'm sure there's a word for it.”

“Arrogant?”

“Huh?” the others turned to see Freddy Frog and Shimmerwing, in her pegasus form, emerging from the darkness of the alley. “Conceited? Egotistical? Self-centered? Difficult?” Freddy said as he kept on guessing. “A prima donna?”

“What are you doing here?” Hitch asked them in surprise. “We came to see how Freddy’s student was doing,” Shimmerwing said before noticing Garfield’s heartbroken expression, and this truly made her heart sink. “Oh… not that well, I see.”

“Garfield totally flunked his final,” Jasmine said dejectedly. “That’s how he’s doing. Now, we’d just like to be left alone…”

Tears began to fill the pony's eyes as she began to softly cry to herself, and Garfield, like all members of that group, felt his heart twinge. Somehow, he could sense that Jasmine blamed herself for all this, when it wasn't her fault at all.

In fact... she had been his biggest supporter through this whole day, and through this whole journey.

He couldn't bare to see her as sad as he was, maybe even worse than he was, so... what could he do to help her?

Jasmine hugged her tabby cat best friend tightly, catching Garfield offguard for a moment before he hugged Jasmine tightly around the neck, struggling not to choke up himself. After a moment of silence, Freddy spoke up with a knowing smile on his face. “Back at the pond, I said you weren't ready yet.”

“Well,” Garfield said, looking at him, “I'll be ready and raring to go if you give me some more of that funny water.”

“Garfield,” Sunny finally spoke, “that won’t do any good.”

“Why not?”

“Because funny water,” Freddy said, “is just water.”

This caused Garfield, Odie, Jasmine and Diamond to look shocked. “What?!”

“Just plain H20, water!” Freddy clarified. “But the book!” Diamond protested. “T-The map!”

“That’s just a story,” Shimmerwing told the filly. “But the funny water works,” Garfield protested. “I felt funnier after I drank it.”

“You felt funny, because you are funny,” Freddy told his pupil. “I tried to tell you. It was inside you all along. It was never about the water. It was about your journey.”

“The journey?” Jasmine sniffled. “What do you mean?”

“Stan the squirrel taught you to be honest with your audience,” Shimmerwing explained. “Junior the bear taught you to follow your heart. And the alligators? Humility. Odie and many of your friends knew that.”

“You… you did?” Jasmine looked to Odie and the Mane 6. “We did. We didn’t say anything at first,” Zipp said, “because we knew how much finding the water meant to Garfield… and to you, Jasmine.”

“We knew that along the way,” Sunny said, “you two would have to learn the truth for yourselves, so you would make the right choice when the time came.”

“They’re absolutely right,” Freddy nodded. “Garfield… you forgot to entertain. You were working so hard at trying to win, you forgot to make the audience laugh.”

“And,” Misty added with a smile, “you forgot to follow your heart.”

“Follow my heart…” Garfield repeated to himself. And then suddenly… it clicked for Jasmine. “You know… they’re right. Don't you see, Garfield? You were already funny, you just forgot how to be. And I know that with or without that water, you're still the funniest cat I know.”

Garfield felt touched by this, and hugged the little filly around the neck, nuzzling her head with a soft smile before pulling out the rose he had picked earlier, noticing it had wilted and causing him to sigh. “I’m gonna have to try a lot harder next time.”

“You know,” Shimmerwing said, “there may not BE a next time. It all depends on what YOU feel in your heart. What do YOU need to do right here and right now?”

Garfield thought for a moment before realizing that all of his friends were right.

He had to make one final attempt to get Arlene back... and he knew just what to do.

But he was gonna need help.

That's when he turned to Pipp with a smile. “Hey, Pipp? How fast can you make some tango outfits?”

“Actually… I’ve been working on a few of them since you didn’t accept Arlene’s dance proposal yesterday,” Pipp admitted. “They’re in the dressing rooms… why do you ask?”

“Follow me,” Garfield said, “and get Lily and Cobalt too. We may need them for backup.”

“Does this mean… you have a plan?” Diamond asked hopefully, causing Garfield to nod. “You bet your horn I do, kid. Just follow my lead.”

A Final Fight... through Dance/A Happy Ending for All

Upon realizing that his friends were right, Garfield knew that he had to fight Ramone and get Arlene back the only way he knew how…

…through dance.

As crazy as this sounds, Garfield knew that it was either this plan or nothing, so it was worth their best shot

And upon finding out Pipp had made some tango outfits in case Garfield did decide to do the tango with Arlene, Garfield came up with a plan so crazy… it just HAD to work.

XXXXXXXX

Immediately, Garfield put on the outfit that Arlene had purchased for him, and Pipp immediately got to work fitting the younger ponies with their outfits first.

Jasmine got a beautiful dark blue dress with matching shoes on her hooves and dark blue eyeshadow.
Diamond got a yellow dress with matching shoes and bright yellow eyeshadow.
Cobalt got a red shirt with black pants and matching shoes for his back hooves.
Lily got a dark green dress with matching shoes for her own hooves and dark green eyeshadow.

And once the younger ponies were ready, it was time for the Mane 6 to get themselves ready for the mission ahead.

Zipp's outfit consisted of a black dress and light gray lace stockings on her back legs.
Misty’s outfit consisted of a dark blue dress with flowers and vine-like designs all over it.
Sunny's outfit consisted of a dark red frilly dress with red rose designs all over it.
Hitch's outfit consisted of a white shirt, black pants and black shoes on his back hooves.
Pipp's outfit consisted of dark red shoes and a flowery white dress.
Izzy's outfit consisted of a long-sleeved light blue and white dress with light blue roses on the skirt portion.

And while she enjoyed the new get-up Pipp had made, Lily still seemed unsure about what Garfield was planning. “Garfield, what exactly is your plan again?”

“My plan,” Garfield said, “is to sweep Arlene right out from Ramone’s paws and expose him for the half-baked creep he is. But I need you all to make it look like it's part of the show, so that's where you all come in.”

“Dancing into a fight instead of fighting with our hooves?” Zipp asked with a smirk. “I could actually get used to something like this!”

“Okay, guys... we only have one shot at this,” Jasmine said, taking a deep breath, “so we have to do it right. Okay... I think it's safe to say that Operation: 'Dance Battle' is officially a go!”

XXXXXXXX

Back onstage, Ramone spun Arlene around and threw her in the air. As Arlene spun around and around uncontrollably, much to her fear and disliking, she was grabbed by another figure, while several more leapt onto the stage, much to Ramone’s surprise.

And to everyone's surprise, the figure who had grabbed Arlene was none other than Garfield himself! And the other figures were the Mane 6, Jasmine, Diamond, Lily and Cobalt!

The audience cheered at his return while Ramone looked peeved. He had no idea where Garfield and the others had come from, but he needed to get Arlene away from them... and fast.

Garfield and Arlene began to do a tango all by themselves, with all of the ponies doing a tango dance not too far away from them. But, as Garfield and Arlene were just getting started, Ramone grabbed Arlene in one swift movement, causing Pipp to gasp, completely appalled. “So rude!”

“This may sound really unlike me,” Diamond said uneasily as she and Jasmine continued to dance, “but... break Ramone like a two by four!!”

Garfield, with quick speed, managed to slip right over and took Arlene right from Ramone, much to his surprise. However... Ramone was not one to give up so easily.

Ramone and Garfield continued to swipe Arlene from one another back and forth until the three began to spin right into a wild tornado. When the dust finally cleared, it’s just Ramone with Garfield in his arms, causing the ponies to stop and laugh in amusement.

The Spanish cat tried to throw Garfield off, but the fat cat held onto his leg. As Ramone tried to get him off, Garfield was then kicked up onto the lights, with a piece of pants cloth in hand, revealing Ramone’s leg to be... robotic!

Jasmine gasped, immediately stopping the dance with Diamond upon seeing Garfield in trouble. “No no no no! Garfield, hang on!”

“Block the stage!” Sunny whispered to her friends as Jasmine tried to get up to the lights. “We can't let Ramone get away with Arlene!”

XXXXXXXX

Jasmine managed to climb up to the lights above the stage (in a dress, no less) and walked over to Garfield, lowering her horn to him. “Garfield! Grab onto my horn! Quick!”

Garfield grunted and grabbed onto her horn while the young unicorn tried to pull him back onto solid ground. However... she was losing ground rather quickly. “Oh no!” Eli cried from the workstation, knowing he would have to do something fast.

Quickly enough, he lowered the lights down as Ramone continued danced with Arlene, and the Mane 6 blocked the stage as best they could while Jasmine helped Garfield climb up on the steel girders. “We’re okay, Eli!” Garfield grunted before coming up with a plan. “Jazzy, can you get me that rope?”

“You got it!” Jasmine nodded, wrapping the rope around Garfield’s waist. Then, with Jasmine holding onto the rope, Garfield jumped from the girders to rescue Arlene from being kissed by the cocky cat. However, upon grabbing her from Ramone, Garfield tore a cloth from his sleeve, revealing what seems to be a robotic arm, and this upset Ramone greatly. “You!”

“Pipp, Zipp! You come with me! We've gotta get up there and help our friends!” Sunny said, shifting into alicorn form before flying up into the girders with the pegasus sisters in pursuit. However, the baddie started climbing up the girders after them, and as Arlene and Garfield began to dance again, Ramone grabbed Arlene and jumped down, but Garfield, Jasmine and the flying ponies were right on his tail.

They all got back on the girder as Zipp and Ppipp pulled Ramone’s right arm off, causing them to fall back into Garfield. Arlene was surprised at Ramone not feeling a thing. “Yikes! Your arm!”

Ramone looked at his missing arm before looking at Garfield with a growl. “You!”

And just like that, he spun away with Arlene in his reach. After Sunny and Jasmine helped Zipp and Pipp up, Garfield looked at the robot arm he had pulled off and pulled on a hanger, making the arm move. “I knew it! Ramone isn't real!” Zipp growled in anger. “He's just a robot!”

“But that means Arlene is really in trouble!” Hitch said as he, Misty and Izzy came up into the girders with their friends. “What do we do?!”

“What we do best... kick some flank!” Zipp declared fiercely. “Follow me!”

XXXXXXXX

“Do it for the character, Arlene!” Ramone purred to a whimpering Arlene as they danced through the rafters. “Keep dancing!”

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Hitch sneered as he, Izzy and Pipp blocked one direction of the rafters and Zipp, Sunny and Misty blocked another. And while the Mane 6 distracted Ramone, Garfield and Jasmine grabbed hold of his leg. “Gotcha!”

Ramone growled at seeing Garfield and Jasmine dangling onto his leg and flung them off, sending them sailing through the air. Luckily, Sunny was able to jump into the air and catch them either on her back or in her magic aura before they hit the girders again. “Come on, guys!” she then called. “It’s time to finish this!”

The Mane 6, Garfield and Jasmine leapt right onto the Fun Fest sign to go after Ramone and Arlene, but instead of leaping off the sign toward the ground, our heroes shrieked as the sign broke off, letting it fall off the ropes and onto the ground, scattering the Mane 6 across the stage.

Garfield looked down and saw Diamond, Lily and Cobalt trying to keep Ramone away from Arlene, but all their efforts seemed to be in vain. “Arlene!”

“Garfield!” Arlene cried as they began to dance again. This prompted Garfield and Jasmine to duck behind the Fun Fest sign, and once Ramone was close enough, Garfield grabbed the other leg with the robotic arm and pulled it off. However, Ramone, despite being nothing but a chest and head, continued the charade.

That got Garfield and the Mane 6 really steamed.

And so, with the ponies trying to keep Ramone from advancing further with Arlene, using all their best kicks and blocks, Garfield adjusted his hat, gaining courage and marched up to the Spanish cat and prepares to punch him with the robot arm. Instead, he flung the hat off Ramone’s head and, with Jasmine’s help, he pulled the mask off Ramone’s face, revealing the identity of who was truly behind this.

And needless to say… a lot of people were shocked.

“Nermal!”

“Nermal?!”

“Nermal?!”

“NERMAL?!!!”

“Who is this Nermal you speak of?” Nermal said in a fake Spanish accent, trying to buy the audience over again. “Nermal!” Lily then shrieked, scaring the gray kitten half to death. “How in the world could you do Garfield this way?! And me?! You have no idea what kind of damage you’ve done!”

“Why we oughta…” Cobalt prepared to do away with the young kitten for hurting his friends when suddenly… applauding could be heard. The audience loved it!

Every single twist and every single dance move, no matter who was doing it at the time!

The ponies, Garfield and Arlene bowed, while Nermal quickly darted offstage to avoid the situation. Garfield threw away the mask, which landed on Bonita’s face, causing her to scream and get it off.

That’s when Sunny knew that Garfield and Arlene had a dance to finish and turned to the instruments nearby. “Hit it, boys!”

The instruments then began to play a lively tango while the ponies stepped out of the way to give the two cats plenty of space. The two danced together in harmony, just before Garfield looked at her with regret and love in his eyes. “Arlene… I’m sorry.”

“...sorry?” Arlene repeated out of surprise. “For not saying I'd dance with you to begin with,” Garfield said as the dance progressed. “I should've realized this is more important than winning Fun Fest.”

Arlene gave him a little smirk. “Who says we won’t win?”

They got back on their dance and finished it with grace, causing everyone, including the Mane 6 and all their new friends, to cheer and applaud in happiness.

XXXXXXXX

“Alright, buddy! Whoo! Yeah!” Eli cheered from the workstation, not noticing Freddy and Shimmerwing behind him, the latter having returned to her butterfly form and resting on Freddy’s head as he smiled. “Way to go, Garfield.”

XXXXXXXX

Back on the stage, Charles turned to the three judges before them. “Judges?”

The judges all gave them a perfect score of 10, much to the delight of the crowd, Garfield and Arlene. “Never seen perfect scores before!” Charles said in surprise. “Ladies and gentlemen, the winners of Fun Fest, Garfield and Arlene!”

The Mane 6, Diamond, Jasmine, Cobalt and Lily squealed and cheered in delight before running onstage to greet their friends and congratulate them on a job well done. On the other hand, Nermal was pitching his newest idea to Odie, who was all dressed in his mime costume. “I got it! Next year I'll be Pierre, the flaming-baton-twirling cabaret singer, no?”

Odie just sighed… he would definitely have to let Lily deal with him more later.

Back on the stage, Cobalt and Jasmine placed flower wreaths over Garfield and Arlene’s heads. “Congratulations,” Charles said as he applauded. That’s when Garfield got out the wilted flower from earlier and held it out to Arlene. “This is for you.”

Arlene, although the flower had wilted a bit, happily took the rose before pulling Garfield in for a romantic kiss, causing Cobalt and the unicorn fillies to gag and exclaim in playful disgust.

They would probably get used to this a bit more when they were older.

When the kiss was over, Sunny and the others walked closer to greet them. “Garfield, we’re so proud of you,” Sunny smiled. “We knew you had it in you to win all along, even with something new.”

“But I couldn't have done this without you guys either,” Garfield told the ponies, not just the Mane 6, with a kind smile. “Thanks for sticking with me, even if I was being a little… uh… arrogant.”

“Anything for you, buddy,” Jasmine said while nuzzling him affectionately. “Well, I know it’ll only be a moment of time before we have to head home,” Zipp said, “so how about one more dance number to celebrate? All of us?”

Odie and Nermal excitedly heard this and ran onstage to join the group. “Sounds good to me!” Pipp said in excitement as she started up the music. “Come on, everypony! Just listen to the words and copy our groove!”

And so, as the music began, everyone began to dance in perfect sync, as if they had rehearsed this a million times before.

Sunny: Somepony give me a shimmy
Somepony give me a shake
Give me a twist and shout
And just feel the bass

Cobalt, Lily, Jasmine and Diamond: (Hey, hey)

Pipp: Come on and let your mane down
Yeah, pony, play

Izzy: You gotta show me
How you work it today

All: Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony's got the moves (Hitch: Show it to me!)
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony move your hooves (Sunny: Ow!)

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh

Hitch: Shake it, shake it, shake it

Sunny: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

All: Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh

Hitch: Shake it, shake it, shake it

Sunny: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

Diamond: Somepony gimme a whistle

Lily, Diamond and Jasmine: Somepony give me a clap

Cobalt: Give me that rockin' out
And never look back (Sunny: Uh-huh!)

Jasmine: You gotta let your mane down
Yeah, let it sway, yeah (Pipp: Let it sway!)

Lily: You gotta show me
How you're slayin' today

All: Dance, feel the rhythm (Izzy Moonbow: Yeah!)
Everypony's got the moves
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony move your hooves (Sunny: Ow!)

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh

Izzy and Misty: Shake it, shake it, shake it

All: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh
Shake it, shake it, shake it!

Jasmine and Diamond: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

All: Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony's got the moves (Pipp: Ohhhh, yeah!)
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony move your hooves

Sunny: Ow! Ha ha ha!

And so, the crowd went wild as the Mane 6 and all their new friends finished their routine and bowed for the crowd.

Their Unity Quest in Cartoon World may have been coming to a close, but the Mane 6 knew, deep in their hearts, that they would be called back there someday.

And when that time came... they knew just the friends to turn to.

All of them led by a brave unicorn filly... and a cat named Garfield.

Author's Note

And in case you're wondering about the Maretime Bay talent show, I decided not to get back to it, just cause I wanted to end the story right where I wanted it to.

Stay tuned for the next story, everypony!