G5 Adventures in Garfield's Fun Fest

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.