G5 Adventures in Garfield's Fun Fest

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.”