G5 Adventures in Garfield's Fun Fest

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.