My Little Pony Monthly Issue 20 (November 1,
1998)
My Little Pony Monthly
Established June 1997
This Newsletter is Child-Friendly
E-mail Tabby (TabbyMLP@aol.com) to be removed from the mailing list.
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Issue 20
November 1998
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Letters to the Editor
GedHix@aol.com: I really liked the ending in Sugarberry's story, "The New Pony,"
when everyone got along. Keep up the good work!
Send your letters to the editor to Tabby at TabbyMLP@aol.com
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In the last issue, it was announced we would be having a special Halloween issue.
However, I only received two entries; so I decided to just put them in the November issue instead
of having the special Halloween one.
I would also like to say a special "Thank you" to all of you who have contributed to
MLP Monthly for this issue and in the past; without your story submissions this newsletter would
not be successful. Please continue your support!
-Tabby
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An Unexpected Visit
by Clever Clover
Clever Clover stood in the deserted road. "That's strange; this street is always
busy," he said, puzzled. "And what am I doing in the Flatlands anyway? It's been months since I
got back to Friendship Gardens. What is going on here?"
Something was definitely not right. It was night but not one streetlight was lit. All
the buildings were also dark. There was no sign of life whatsoever; the trees were bare and the
grass was brown. There was no wind, nothing at all to make a sound; and yet there was a sound,
a low, moaning sound.
Clever Clover followed the sound, which led him to a familiar building, Jim's Malt
Shoppe-- a popular hangout for archaeologists in the Flatlands. The door was open, but there
were no lights on; it was as dark and lifeless as the rest of the city.
" ‘ello, anybody there?" the pony inquired. It was little more than a whisper but it
echoed through the room like a shot from a cannon. Clever Clover flipped the light switch but
nothing happened. "Maybe Jim left some matches laying around," he mumbled.
As he made his way toward the back room, Clever Clover bumped into the pool
table; he could hear the balls bouncing about and falling into the pockets. "Jim must have done
some rearranging since I was here," mumbled the pony as he rubbed the sore spot where he had
hit the table.
He felt his way around the table and to the swinging door to the back room. He
pushed it open and was surprised to find the room illuminated by a faint glow. The source of the
mysterious light was an apparition of a duck. Clever Clover stared for a moment. "Jim? Izat
you?"
"Why did you do it?" the duck asked.
"Why did I do what? What are you talking about?" Clever Clover was very
confused. He recognized the city, the Malt Shoppe, and even the duck who stood before him; but
at the same time they were unfamiliar.
"Why did you do this to me? Why did you disturb the ancients?" the apparition
droned.
"What did I do to you?"
The vision faded, only to be replaced by another, terrifying, shade; it was part wolf,
part man, and all dead. This new, ghastly apparition spoke, or screamed, or did it simply project
the words into the pony's head? "Defiler of the Ancients, you will pay the price for your
transgressions!" With that the spirit emitted an earsplitting sound and flew toward Clever Clover.
The pony screamed in terror.
Clever Clover sat bolt upright in bed, covered in sweat. He looked about; he was in
his own bedroom in Friendship Gardens. The faint light in the window told him it was almost
dawn. "It must have been a nightmare," he said as he climbed out of bed. He stretched and felt a
throbbing pain in his side, right where he had bumped the pool table in his dream. The pain was
accompanied by a large bruise.
"How could I get a bruise from a dream?" he asked himself. "Unless that wasn't a
normal dream. There was something strangely familiar about it. Maybe I'd better go back to the
Flatlands to make sure everything's all right."
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Danger in Dark Forest
by Tabby
A group of ponies were sitting around a bonfire in the Dark Forest on Halloween
night. The group included Clever Clover, Sugarberry, Tabby, Friendly, Barnacle, and
Spike.
Sugarberry reached her hoof into the marshmallow bag and pulled one out, then
placed it on her roasting stick. "Who's going to tell the next story?" she questioned.
"I will," Tabby said promptly.
"ARR!" Barnacle said.
"I thought you didn't have any to tell this year," Clever Clover commented.
"Yeah, but Seabreeze is letting me tell the one she had picked out, since she
couldn't make it after all," Tabby explained.
Clever Clover looked at her suspiciously. "Isn't that the cleaver story?"
"Right on!" Tabby exclaimed. "So, can I start?"
At that point, there was a rustling in the bushes behind them. Sugarberry looked
frightened. "What's that?" she whispered.
"Must be something." Tabby shrugged. "Somebody'll have to go see."
"Not me!" Sugarberry shivered.
"Yeah, not me, yeah," Friendly agreed with Sugarberry.
Spike was busy roasting a marshmallow with his own flame and was oblivious to
the rustling bushes.
"Then I'll have to," Tabby said boldly. She got up from the bench some of them
were sitting on and started over to the bushes.
But at that moment, a head popped up from the bushes-- a pony head. Tabby
reeled back. The pony in the bushes fully emerged.
"Princess Royal Blue!" Tabby exclaimed. "What're you doing here? You're
supposed to be at the Halloween party of Tiffany's!"
"Yes... that's where I was..." Royal Blue started. "But I heard about your bonfire,
and I thought that would be more fun than the dance."
Tabby nodded approvingly. "Good choice!"
"Come and have a seat!" Sugarberry invited.
"That would be wonderful." Royal Blue smiled, and seating herself in an empty
space on one of the benches. Tabby sat down in her old spot.
Sugarberry noted that Royal Blue was still dressed-up in her gown and jewelry, and
was still holding her wand. She didn't think much of it until something hit her... "Tabby," she
whispered urgently to her friend. "Royal Blue has her wand!"
"So?" Tabby said, irritated, wanting to start telling her story.
"We're not that far from the Skeleton King's burial ground, are we? What if it..."
Tabby thought back to their past encounter with the Skeleton King. It had been
when one of the princesses' had lost her wand in the Dark Forest. Tabby, along with some
others, had gone off in search of it, and ended up waking the dead Skeleton King with it. They'd
gotten the wand away from him, and therefore he had no power. Tabby, however, was not near
as concerned as Sugarberry. "Oh, no, we're not even close to the burial spot... I don't think.
Aw, the wand won't do anything!"
"But I'm sure that clearing is just beyond the oak tree there... the wand might be
close enough to do something."
Tabby waved her hoof in the air. "It's nothing." Then, turning to the others, she
said, "And now, for my story!"
The others stopped their chattering and turned towards Tabby. Tabby started her
tale. "Okay, so, a long time ago an ancestor of Cleve Clove's lived in this big Irish castle. And he
owned this, like, really big cleaver. Now, this pony who lived in the castle was really insane, ya
know? And every time when the moon was full he went out with his cleaver..." Tabby paused to
add to the suspense, "and chopped ponies manes and tail off."
Royal Blue gasped in terror. "Oh, my!"
Tabby resumed her tale. "And all the other ponies were getting really annoyed with
getting their hair cut off like that. So, finally, they locked the insane pony up in a tower in his
castle." She paused again.
"What happened next?" Spike asked, wide-eyed.
"He lived, locked up in the tower, for years. But then he died," Tabby went on.
"But it's rumored that on every Halloween night, his ghost arises and goes around scaring people
so bad that their hair falls out!"
"Is that the end?" Clever Clover asked.
"Yes," Tabby verified. "Isn't that a cool story?"
Royal Blue shivered. "It'd be terrible to get your hair cut off like that! I'd hate
it!"
"Good story, yeah, yeah," Friendly said.
"I thought so myself," Tabby said smugly.
"Now it's my turn!" Royal Blue exclaimed. "I've got a really good story to tell,
too."
"Go ahead," Sugarberry said.
Royal Blue started out. "Once there was this really beautiful princess..." Royal
Blue went on with the story, and was waving her two front legs around excitedly in the process of
telling it.
Tabby looked past the big oak tree Sugarberry had pointed out earlier. Maybe
that clearing with the Skeleton King is behind that, she thought.
At one point during the story, Royal Blue waved her legs especially wildly. And
out of her one hoof flew her wand!
"Oh, no!" she cried, pausing in her story. "Where'd it go?" She glanced around in
the grass.
"I be seein' it fly behind that oak tree there, ARR!" Barnacle said.
"The oak tree!" Sugarberry gasped.
Ooh, this might be bad, Tabby thought.
"Just go on with your story," Clever Clover prodded. "We'll look for it
later."
So Royal Blue sat down and went on with her story. Sugarberry looked a bit
nervous, but refrained from saying anything.
"...and so, that saved the kingdom, and the princess was really happy," Royal Blue
finished.
"Didn't sound much like a ghost story," Tabby snorted.
"Umm... what's that?" Sugarberry pointed towards the oak tree. The group could
plainly see a white skeleton pony standing next to it.
"It's the Skeleton King again!" Tabby cried out.
"ARR, that be lookin' like a fake skeleton!" Barnacle said.
"No! We've met up with this guy before; he's real!" Tabby explained.
Spike was just laughing. "This is a good joke!"
But Clever Clover had also been with Tabby when she'd first met up with the
Skeleton. "Yes, I'm sure he's real! He looks just like the one we met that one time
before!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Friendly exclaimed, hopping up and down.
"It's him all right!" Sugarberry said.
Royal Blue, at this point, was looking quite ill. "I think..."
The Skeleton King started to advance towards the group. "So we meet again," he
said evilly. "You have disturbed my grave once more!"
And then, Royal Blue fainted dead away.
"I say we make a run for it," Tabby said promptly.
"And leave Royal Blue here all alone?" Sugarberry exclaimed.
"Aw, somebody can carry her," Tabby said. "What else can we do?"
"We've got to get the wand away from the Skeleton!" Clever Clover
exclaimed.
"Oh, if only you had your cleaver with you tonight!" Sugarberry wailed. Clever
Clover did, in fact, own a cleaver; rumor had it that it was the same cleaver that had belonged to
his insane ancestor in Ireland.
"I don't have my cleaver... but I have my whip!" Clever Clover picked up his whip
from the ground.
"Try to catch the wand in it!" Sugarberry suggested.
"ARR, maybe this be a real skeleton after all," Barnacle said.
Spike was looking scared also. "Yeah..."
"Just use the whip, Cleve Clove!" Tabby prodded.
Clever Clover unrolled his whip and stood in front of the Skeleton King. "Ready to
take me on, huh, Skeleton King?"
The Skeleton frowned. "You can't hurt me! Not this time, you won't!"
But Clever Clover was very skilled with his whip. He lashed it over to the Skeleton
King, and caught the wand in it, ripping it out of the Skeleton's hooves.
"Ahhh!" the Skeleton King cried as he started to fall over, as without the wand he
was powerless.
"Hooray!" Sugarberry cried. Royal Blue, hearing the cry, slowly lifted her head.
"What..."
Clever Clover picked up the wand and proudly handed it back to Royal Blue.
"Oh, thank you ever so much!" Royal Blue gushed.
"Shouldn't we put the skeleton back in his grave?" Tabby suggested.
"Yeah, I guess we could," Spike said.
So Tabby, Spike, and Clever Clover pulled the skeleton, once again dry and lifeless,
back behind the oak tree and dropped him back into his grave.
"Whew, good riddance!" Tabby said. "I'm getting sick of meeting up with
him."
And so, the group finished the night at the bonfire without any more very scary
incidents.
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All The Pretty Little Ponies
(A Revisionist Interpretation of the MLP Mythos)
Chapter 9
by
C. Alan Loewen
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
For Candice and Allison
Synopsis: Megan, an eleven-year-old orphan who lives with her Aunt Constance,
has been given guardianship over seven magical ponies also known as the Seven Sisters. Megan
and the seven ponies have discovered that the ponies are the enchanted daughters of King Arthur
and Queen Guinevere, turned into ponies by Arthur's evil half-sister Morgan. Megan is now
taking the ponies back to their parents through the Wood of the World that can take them to any
time and any place on Earth. Megan and the ponies are accompanied by Madra, an Irish
Wolfhound; Spike, a baby dragon; Aunt Constance; and Sarah, a distant granddaughter of
Morgan. Unknown to them, Morgan has sent Hydia and her two daughters after them armed with
Morgan's book of spells. Comments and constructive criticism may be sent to
cloewen@juno.com
Twilight nodded at the smaller trees and the return of underbrush. "We're leaving
the Wood and entering some other time and place."
"And there's an apple tree!" Megan said joyfully. It had been two days since they
left the pool where Megan and Sarah had spied the secret heart of the Wood and four since they
had eaten something other than berries, greens, and mushrooms.
The branches of the apple tree hung to the ground heavy with red, crisp fruit; and
within moments, everybody except Madra the dog and Spike the dragon who had no interest in
apples were enjoying their new change in diet.
"It's beginning to turn into autumn here," Aunt Constance observed. "It feels cooler
and the leaves are starting to change."
Firefly nudged Megan, her muzzle sticky with pulpy apple juice. "Medley and I
could see if there's anything up ahead. There's not a cloud in the sky. We could see for
miles."
"That's a great idea," Megan replied. "The Wood put us here for some reason.
Let's find out what it is."
Sarah spoke up, softly. "Firefly? Maybe, I could go with you?"
Firefly cocked her head in thought. Aunt Constance spoke up first. "Oh, I don't
know. That sounds very dangerous and I don't think Firefly could even get off the ground with
you on her back."
Medley shook her head in the negative. "I've never had anybody ride on my back
before, but I think it's possible. Let's try. I think it would be fun. Megan, you want to come with
me?"
Suddenly everybody was talking at once. Twilight and Aunt Constance were firmly
against the experiment; Megan and Sarah, backed by the two winged ponies, were eager to try the
test while the rest asked questions or spoke supportively.
In the end, it was agreed the two ponies could try a short flight of a few yards with
Megan and Sarah as riders. The two girls were bubbling with excitement and after trial-and-error,
found the best way to sit on Medley and Firefly without hindering their wings or causing them
discomfort.
"Let's go," Medley said with a laugh. She broke into a canter, spread her wings and
leaped into the air with Megan holding on to her mane with all her strength.
"Hang on, Sarah!" Firefly cried and within moments, she too followed her winged
sister.
Sarah and Megan both broke into laughter as they felt their stomachs drop when the
ponies left the ground. Dreams had become reality and though the flight was only a few yards, the
experience of flight on a winged pony was one they remembered all their lives.
The two ponies landed with ease and walked back to the group, Megan and Sarah
still laughing from excitement.
"Oh, Aunt Constance," Megan said, "that was fun!"
Aunt Constance shook her head in concern. "Still," she said, "I just don't think it's
safe."
"It was easy," Firefly said to Twilight. "I could feel the additional weight on my
wings and back, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."
"I had to make an adjustment on the landing because of the weight, but it was no
problem," Medley answered.
Twilight thought for a moment. "It's best we not try that again except for
emergency."
With that Medley and Firefly spread their wings and took to the air, without
passengers this time, and soared off into the sky. They were back in twenty minutes.
"There's a big tree house," Medley said excitedly, "with lots of people coming and
going!"
"It's the biggest tree I've ever seen!" Firefly added.
The path was clear and appeared well-used. Halfway there, by the winged ponies'
reckoning, they met a man riding a small cart loaded with strange fruit. Interestingly, it was being
pulled by two large ostriches.
"Good day," he said to the group as he drove by, tipping his hat. "May the Wood
show you your way." He nodded and smiled, showing no further interest in the travel-stained
group.
After his wagon disappeared around a corner, Aunt Constance, who had been
watching him closely, started giggling. Her giggles turned into chuckles and her chuckles turned
into gales of laughter while the rest of her group stared at her in various levels of alarm and
consternation.
After a few moments, she was able to retrieve some of her self-control. She tried
not to laugh as she pointed to where the ostrich-drawn cart had disappeared around the corner.
"He acted like everyday he meets seven assorted ponies, two young girls, one woman, a baby
dragon, and an incredibly large dog."
Twilight looked at her carefully. "Maybe he does," she said after thinking for a few
moments.
Aunt Constance grabbed her aching sides and tried to quell more giggles. "I feel like
Alice in Wonderland," she said as an aside to Megan.
"Well," she said to everybody. "Let's keep going. Let's see what curiosities are
waiting for us at this tree house."
It was not a tree house.
It was the largest mushroom they had ever seen in their lives, at least the height of a
four-story building.
"It looked like a tree from the air," muttered Firefly.
Glass-paned windows had been carved out of the trunk of the mushroom and small
chimneys sprung from the cap so many feet above them. Surrounding the base of the mushroom
stood a wide variety of assorted modes of transportation: horses; ox-drawn wagons; zebras;
another one of the unique ostrich-drawn carts; and, oddly enough, an old Model T Ford.
A large open door had been carved into the base of the mushroom, opening into an
ascending circular staircase that traveled up the trunk.
"Shall we go up?" Twilight asked, puzzled over the next step of their quest. The
question was never answered.
"Hello! Hello!" said a merry voice. A little man, no higher than the ponies at the
shoulder, had bounded out of the door. Dressed in a brown homespun suit and wearing an
incredibly large, floppy green hat, the little man almost looked like an exotic mushroom himself.
"May the Wood show you your way," he said cheerfully.
"My friends call me the Moochick and welcome to the Mushrump, my hostel for
travelers of the Wood. Come in, come in. There are so many people I want you to meet." With
that he bounded back up the stairs.
The group stared at each other in surprise. All of them? The dog and baby dragon
included?
With a shrug of her shoulders, Megan called for Madra and Spike and led the
way.
The stairs were circular, but built on a gentle slope. Carved from the living
mushroom itself, the stairs were not spongy, but as hard as wood. Halfway up, they could smell
something delicious cooking on a wood stove far above them. The delightful aroma and their
hungry stomachs drove them on.
The staircase ended in a common room. Lamps dangled from the ceiling,
illuminating the heavy wooden benches and tables that dotted the floor. A large fireplace lined
with rock covered almost one entire wall. Scattered around the room, various people and
creatures lounged at the
tables, played darts, or sat before steaming bowls of soup served with thick slabs of homemade
bread.
The Moochick suddenly appeared, wiping his hands on his apron. "Let's see," he
said. "Soup for the ladies, fresh forage for the ponies, a large mutton bone for the dog, and fresh
fish for the dragon." With that he turned and walked away.
"Wait!" Aunt Constance called. "We have no money. We can't pay you."
The Moochick turned and smiled. "I got a message from Dubricius. Your credit is
good here at the Mushrump."
Their fellow guests at the inn stared at them or nodded before going to their original
pursuits. Marda had already curled up at the fireplace and Spike had joined him. Uncomfortable in
such strange surroundings, Aunt Constance, Megan and Sarah sat at an empty table while the
seven sisters stood and stared at their surroundings.
There were several men and women in the room dressed in various styles of
clothing. Megan found it hard not to stare at the lion-man that sat at the far table, nosily slurping
his soup. A pair of travelers sat heavily cloaked by another table and the weird forms they
presented were definitely not human. Bears, Megan thought. I'll bet you they're
bears. Within moments, the Moochick was back carrying a tray with three large wooden
bowls of steaming broth and slabs of still warm bread.
"Mr. Moochick?" Megan asked before he could scurry back into his kitchen. "Are
all these people also walking through the Wood of the World?"
"That they are, my dear. That they are."
"Then how come we've never seen anybody else in the Wood?"
"Simple," the Moochick said smiling. "The Wood has a will and the Wood has a
way. You only meet people it wants you to meet."
"Doesn't it want us to meet Dubricius? Everywhere we go, people know about us
through Dubricius, but we've never met him in the Wood."
The Moochick continued talking as he rapidly set the table. "Dubricius is a wizard.
The Wood has never allowed wizards, sorcerers, and the like to walk its paths. It would upset all
the balances. Dubricius has friends who walk through the Wood for him. Maybe you'll meet one
of those."
The Moochick disappeared and Sarah, Megan, and Aunt Constance quickly dove
into their soup. They were not surprised at all to discover it was principally made from
mushrooms.
Moments later the Moochick came back pushing, of all things, a large wheelbarrow
filled with fragrant grasses and herbs which he deposited in front of the ponies.
Reaching into his pocket, he tossed a huge mutton bone to Madra who seized it
with one massive paw. Soon the entire room was filled with the noises of crunching
marrow.
To Spike's delight, the Moochick's next trip out to the common room was to bring
a great tray of fresh fish.
"Fish," the baby dragon hissed. "Spike like fish."
The Moochick stood back in surprise. "A talking dragon!" he exclaimed. "Why I
never."
Later, the Moochick showed them the bath where large tubs of steaming hot water
stood ready for their use. While Madra and Spike remained eating and dozing in front of the
fireplace, Megan, Sarah, and Aunt Constance gave the ponies a good bath before soaking in one
themselves.
The Moochick had previously given them large, cotton nightshirts, promising that
one of his maidservants would have their regular clothes washed and dried before the
morning.
Megan sat back in the steaming soapy water and sighed contentedly. "I don't think
I'll ever want to leave. I don't think anything could go wrong now."
Sarah, Aunt Constance, and the seven ponies eagerly agreed.
Hydia ranted and raved at Draggle and Reeka. While Hydia slept in their makeshift
camp deep in the Wood, the two girls had taken Morgan's book of spells and had tried a few,
reading the book by the dying light of the fire.
"But I don't want to wear a rat's tail," Draggle blubbered. She held the end of the
horrible thing in her hand.
"I think it fits your personality," Reeka sniggered.
"Well, you've got one too, sister dear," Draggle shot back.
"And a fine tail it is."
"Quiet, both of you!" Hydia yelled above the argument. "You both got what you
deserve for playing with a book of spells. You're both lucky you weren't turned entirely into
rats.
"Never, never take my book of spells again," Hydia ordered. "It's not a toy.
"Now let's get going and find those wretched ponies." With that, Hydia turned and
walked away, her spell book safely tucked under one arm and the tip of her own rat tail dragging
out from under her dress through the forest mould.
"Shall we tell her?" Draggle whispered to Reeka.
"Hush," Reeka responded. "She's mad already."
Fortunately, to Draggle's relief and Reeka's sorrow, the rat tails disappeared after
an hour when the spell wore off. They walked the remainder of the day, Hydia furious that the
ponies were nowhere to be found. Frustrated at the prospect of spending another day in the Wood
sleeping on the ground, Hydia sighed with relief when they came upon the giant mushroom
inn.
"May the Wood show you your way," a little man said cheerfully, popping out of
the front door like a toy jack-in-the-box. "Are you in need of a room for the night?"
Hydia smiled, her smile being more of a grimace due to lack of practice. "Yes," she
said. "There are me and my two daughters."
We may not have found the ponies, she thought, but at least we'll have
comfortable beds for the night.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
=/\=PONY TREK=/\=
by Blu Flyer
======= Episode 3: A.I: Part Two =======
Previously on Pony Trek--
Medley and Ensign Countdown discover odd readings emanating from the warp
core. When they transfer the readings into the computer, it turns out to be an intelligent message.
*suspenseful music plays*
===AND NOW, THE CONCLUSION===
Medley stared in disbelief as the cursor ran over the cryptics. The message now
read:
I L I V E! D E S C R I B E T H E N A T U R E O F T H I S V E S S E L.
_
Medley cautiously tapped into the computer:
WHO ARE YOU?_
D E S C R I B E T H E N A T U R E O F T H I S V E S S E L_
Medley ground her teeth.
THIS IS A FEDERATION STARSHIP. WHO ARE YOU?_
I N S U F F I C I E N T D A T A. D E F I N E "F E D E R A T I O N"_
Medley sighed, and diligently typed.
FEDERATION STARSHIP LOLLYPOP. CREW COMPLIMENT OF 127.
_
Meanwhile, Ensign Countdown peered over her shoulder. Medley turned to him,
keeping a glance at the screen out of the corner of her eye.
"Inform the Captain," she ordered. Already another line of cryptics was translated.
S A T I S F A C T O R Y. O P E N C O M M U N I C A T I O N C H A N N E L
T O L E A D I N G E N T I T Y A B O A R D "F E D E R A T I O N S T A R S H I P L O L
L Y P O P."_
Medley fiddled about the controls, opening a separate console for a transmission to
the Captain. The screen flickered for an instant, then showed Captain Flyer in the Captain's chair
on the Bridge.
"Ensign Countdown has informed me. Put the entity through."
"Aye, Captain." Medley turned to the other console and adjusted the necessary
settings.
PUTTING YOU THROUGH NOW._
S A T I S F A C T O R Y. _
The text screen flickered out as the transmission re-tuned itself to the Captain's
chair. Medley walked to the warp core. She carefully monitored her steps and poise to make
sure not to attract attention from the rest of Engineering. No sense in getting everyone excited.
She made it to the warp core console, and began running tests.
The warp core temperature seemed to have risen again, and it held its place at 900
calvins. It did not throb anymore. The color of the bio-neural fluid was now a bright red.
What am I thinking? Medley thought to herself. Like this isn't going to
attract attention. Now all we need is for the Captain to put the ship on--
_RED_ALERT_
appeared briefly over the monitor. The red lights around engineering flashed on,
replacing the normal whitish ones. Medley sighed. Captain Flyer's voice came over the
comm.
"Captain to all decks, Red Alert! Hostile Alien Intrusion. Report to Bridges Two
and Three. Captain out."
Meldey moved quickly. As the Chief Engineer, she was assigned to Bridge Three,
along with Ops, Helm, and Tactical. On Bridge Two would be Science, Transporters, and
Executives like the Captain and Commander.
Upon arriving on Bridge Three, Medley found her place near the commanding seat.
She checked the personal logs. She tapped her Comm Badge.
"Medley to the Captain. All designated crew aboard Ship Segment Three. Medley
out." Medley waited impatiently for the Captain's next order. It came in a matter of
minutes.
"Captain to Segments Two and Three. Prepare for detachment. On my mark...
mark!" All the ponies on Bridge Three jerked a bit as Segment Three pulled away from the other
two parts. Ensign Ribbs, main Helmsman, maneuvered the ship into a place parallel to Segment
Two. The View-Screen flickered on, showing the Commander's face.
"This is Commander Tic-Tac-Toe, reporting. An alien entity has threatened
Segment One. Will Lieutenant Medley and Ensign Countdown report to transporter room for
transport to Segment Two? Tic-Tac-Toe out."
Medley stood, her heart beating loudly. The entity-- threatening the ship? This
could be very bad. She hastily trotted to the turbo, meeting Ensign Countdown on the way.
After the familiar tingling of the transporter, Medley and Countdown met the
Captain in her ready room.
The Captain looked up as they entered.
"Please take a seat, both of you." Medley took a seat on the trim black couch,
across from Tic-Tac-Toe and Captain Flyer. She felt Countdown sit down next to her. This
situation was very serious, she noted mentally. The Captain hadn't offered them a
drink.
"We need answers," the Commander stated simply. "We need to know how to stop
that thing. We need to know its weaknesses."
Blu Flyer shook her head, smiling. She looked up and fixed her eyes on Medley's.
"What my dear friend is trying to put across is: Tell us what you know."
"Um," Medley stated intelligently.
Countdown nudged her. "Well, we can access the data from the main computers...
may I borrow your console?"
"Of course." Captain Flyer rotated the desktop computer around to face Medley.
After bringing up the data files, Medley sighed. "Well, from what I can tell, the
polyclyclic structures contained in the warp mainfold have been drastically modified... the
bio-neural gel packs have..." Medley furrowed her brow. "Well, they've grown... extra
protection."
"What do you mean?" Tic-Tac-Toe inquired.
"Well, I--I don't know exactly... it seems the entity has modified the genetron
molecules, producing a phaze-variance that has caused the gel packs to grow an outer layer. How
strange! I knew they were capable of micro-fisure and conversion, but this is unheard of!"
Medley stared at the figures. Then she looked up. "If I may ask, Captain, what did that entity say
to you?"
"It said: Abandon your ship or it will be destroyed."
"Not much of a warning, I guess," Countdown said.
Medley agreed.
TO BE CONTINUED... AGAIN...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mystery Pony
The pony I had in mind when I wrote up last month's description was Hollywood,
the Flutter Pony; but when I received entries guessing Milky Way and Twilight, I realized that the
description fit those two, also.
gperson@uplogon.com-
My guess is Milky Way. Either her or her baby, but I don't think Baby Milky Way
has glittery stars.
TippyLee@aol.com-
I think it's Milky Way.
JLBETS@aol.com-
TAF Milky Way
jiricek@stlnet.com-
I'd have to say that this month's mystery pony is TAF Milky Way!
GMoffyD@aol.com-
The mystery pony sounds like Twilight to me! :)
ldoscher@atnet.net-
Mystery Pony is Twilight
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The Tabby and Sugarberry Gossip Hour!
by Tabby and Sugarberry
Sugarberry: Tabby, I was just looking out the window at all the seagulls in the fields searching for
worms.
Tabby: Man, wouldn't a worm taste great right now?
Sugarberry: I don't think so, Tabby.
Tabby: Anyway, we're here to gossip.
Sugarberry: We can go to the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe after we're done here, and get
something better than worms.
Tabby: The Halloween costumes looked really weird this year.
Sugarberry: Oh, those My Little People costumes were really special.
Tabby: Those were the worst ones!
Sugarberry: But, Tabby! Baby Noddins in her Mary costume was so cute.
Tabby: Only a My Little Person can look like a My Little Person.
Sugarberry: So you preferred Tex as a vampire?
Tabby: Only a vampire can look like a vampire.
Sugarberry: That's getting old, Tabby.
Tabby: But it's oh-so-true!
Sugarberry: Quarterback dressed up like Brett Favre.
Tabby: Are the Green Bay Packers all he ever thinks of? Really!
Sugarberry: What were you? And don't say you didn't go trick-or-treating! I saw that pile of
empty candy wrappers!
Tabby: Yeah, maybe I did go. And what were you?
Sugarberry: I stayed home.
Tabby: Why?
Sugarberry: To hand out treats. If everyone went trick-or-treating, there would be no one home
to hand out the treats.
Tabby: You know, that's true. But you did go to the bonfire, and that was fun.
Sugarberry: Oh, yes.
Tabby: I told that story about one of Cleve Clove's ancestors, the one with the really big cleaver.
Wasn't that cool?
Sugarberry: Good job-- I was scared stiff.
Tabby: Yeah, it was pretty good. Tiffany never showed up, though. She was busy with that party
she was throwing at the Royal Paradise.
Sugarberry: Yes. An exclusive party for the princesses and the big brothers. Tiffany was afraid
she'd get dirty at our bonfire.
Tabby: Sounds just like Tiffany. But Royal Blue did manage to show up.
Sugarberry: After her experience, do you think she regretted coming?
Tabby: Well, there was the run-in with the Skeleton King.
Sugarberry: That's the experience I was referring to.
Tabby: But Clever Clover got Royal Blue's wand back from the Skeleton King.
Sugarberry: And he became a normal skeleton again.
Tabby: If she hadn't dropped her wand in the first place, it never would've happened!
Sugarberry: And, Tabby, you remember Rex, don't you?
Tabby: Um... Rex... Rex...
Sugarberry: Gobble, gobble, gobble!
Tabby: Oh, yeah! Tex the turkey! Err-- I mean Rex the turkey.
Sugarberry: Last year Rex came to Ponyland to escape Thanksgiving and ended-up bringing tons
of his friends over, too.
Tabby: What's going on with Rex this year?
Sugarberry: He's coming back, and bringing even more friends along.
Tabby: That's an awful lot of turkeys.
Sugarberry: Yes, it is.
Tabby: We'll never have turkey for Thanksgiving again, will we, Sugarberry?
Sugarberry: Not as long as Rex keeps returning.
Tabby: But at least we get to play fun turkey games. They were loads of fun last year, especially
"Run, Turkey, Run"! "Spot the Vulture" was cool, too.
Sugarberry: The Bushwoolies have arranged a campsite for them in the meadow by the river;
Friendly doesn't want to get stuck cleaning out the pool full of turkey feathers-- and worse--
again this year.
Tabby: Yeah, I can understand why he'd want to stay away from that.
Sugarberry: Speaking of staying away, did you ever get to the grand opening of Tex's Salsa
Store?
Tabby: What a silly question, Sugarberry! Of course I didn't go.
Sugarberry: So you didn't get the exclusive My Little People salsa doll, did you?
Tabby: Nope. And I don't care, either!
Sugarberry: I heard a rumor that Friendly ended-up with one, and that he's going to give it to
someone for Christmas.
Tabby: And here I heard a rumor that Tex saved one back and is going to give it to someone for
Christmas.
Sugarberry: Hmm... interesting.
Tabby: Maybe they're both true.
Sugarberry: Well, Tabby, I'd be extra nice to both Friendly and Tex if I were you.
Tabby: Being nice to Friendly is fine but I shall never be nice to Tex.
Sugarberry: And isn't that what Anne of Green Gables always said about Gilbert?
Tabby: Don't start getting any ideas now, Sugarberry!
Sugarberry: Come to think of it, Tabby, your mane is rather like Anne's-- red!
Tabby: My hair is not red! It's-- err-- auburn.
Sugarberry: Whatever you say, Tabby.
Tabby: And Emilio the tarantula was in at my clinic again yesterday. Can you believe that?
Sugarberry: Poor Emilio! What was it this time?
Tabby: Tex carelessly left some hot salsa out and Emilio drank some of it.
Sugarberry: Where you able to save him?
Tabby: I think so...
Sugarberry: What!?!
Tabby: I pumped his stomach and he looked a little better so then I kept him for the night. By this
morning, he was looked his old tarantula self, so I sent him home with Tex.
Sugarberry: I'm glad to hear that. I've always liked the fuzzy little fellow.
Tabby: But if Tex wouldn't have left that hot salsa out, none of this would have happened. I
outta report him to animal cruelty!
Sugarberry: Was that salsa some that he sells at his salsa store?
Tabby: Yes, it is. I asked him that myself.
Sugarberry: Does it affect ponies in the same way that it affects tarantulas?
Tabby: Yeah, most likely; I'm pretty sure. I've heard your accounts of that salsa, Sugarberry, and
by what you said I can well imagine that eating it would send anybody to the hospital.
Sugarberry: Clever Clover and Quarterback surely like the stuff. So does Spike.
Tabby: They've got strange taste buds.
Sugarberry: You would think that they would've burned their taste buds out by now!
Tabby: And that's what Tex's evil plot is-- to burn out the taste buds of all the creatures in
Ponyland!
Sugarberry: For what purpose, Tabby?
Tabby: Don't ask me; ask him!
Sugarberry: I'll have to do that someday. Aren't you ever going to be friends with Tex, Tabby?
Tabby: Never!
Sugarberry: Well, on that note, I guess we'd better say goodbye.
Tabby: Bye!
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Barnacles and Bushwoolies
by Barnacle
Part 2
"Hey, mon, you guys alright?" Davey poked his head over
the rim of the
chamber.
"ARR, we be fine," Barnacle replied. "Where did those four little demons
go?"
Jones popped up next to his brother. "They went back to the beach!"
"And then they stole the Lucas!" Davey added.
"What!?" Barnacle cried out.
"We tried to stop them," Davey said.
"Yeah, mon, but Mars had that axe!" Jones said.
"Yeah, the axe!"
"Quick!" Kracken said. "Throw us the rope so we can get out of this pit!"
"Right!" The two Bushwoolies disappeared for a moment, but quickly returned
with a jumbled mass of rope in their arms. "Look out!" they said as they dropped it down into the
pit. All of it fell in a pile at Barnacle's feet.
"Why isn't this tied onto something up there?" Kracken asked.
"Mars cut it with his axe," Jones said.
"Yeah, yeah, with his axe!" Davey added.
Barnacle and Kracken both sighed.
"Okay, hold on guys," Kracken said as he took one end of the rope in hand. "I'm
gonna throw this up to you, you catch it, and then tie it off to something, alright?"