G5 Adventures in Garfield's Fun Fest

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.