Ponies and the Rainbow Exclusive First Look

Happy 2020! Hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year's. I spent mine on my couch watching Let's Plays of Mario Maker on Youtube and staying awake into ungodly hours playing Crash Bandicoot. So that's my life. Riveting. Very social. So social. But now it's time to get down to business.

Ponies and the Rainbow, the epic tale spun off from multiple iterations now nearing the point to share it with the world and today is the day. The day when you get your first sneak peak. At unedited gloriousness. If that's a word. If not, it is today. So without further ado, I present to you, Ponies and the Rainbow, the excerpt sure to rock the world.

Expect more updates every 1st of the month, or the first week of every month. I'm only a man.

Panic is a word many use incorrectly. You don’t panic when a bird attacks the top of your head. You squeal like a little baby. You don’t panic when your monthly budget doesn’t work out in the way that allows you to get another cheeseburger from the fattiest fast food joint in town. You simply go get that burger because you have no self-control and you know you are doomed to a life of crumpled up chocolate wrappers on top of that. So you may be asking when do you panic? You definitely panic when what is happening to Rainbowland happens to you.

        The wide varieties of residents of Rainbowland were in a panic. The gunshot to the starter was just the beginning. All around, screams of panic rang. Pure, unbridled terror as now shurikens flew and struck their targets with fury. Little Old Mrs. Hamblebuns wrapped her arms around her husband who had his insides torn to shreds. Big Young Mr. Rumbletons wrapped his legs around his wife who had her legs chopped to oblivion. The rabbits all around were decapitated. The frogs of the river had no lily pads. The birds of the trees had no trees. Fires rose from the buildings.

        Bob ran out of the library in a daze. A shuriken just cut his book in half. His first sight was Al trying to round up as many people as he could. “What’s going on?” Bob yelled across the valley, but to no avail. The panic in the air was too much. Instead he’s grabbed from behind.

        Larry was trying to console the starter who had been shot. Strangely enough, no other gunfire was present. It’s almost like they used that for dramatic effect. “It’s going to be okay. It will be over soon.”

        Just…” the starter struggled, “let me die.” And sure enough, at that moment, his head dropped off to the side. Larry didn’t know this man, but he didn’t deserve this. Nothing happening right now made any sense. Gunshots, little star things, sudden fires, and yet no culprits in sight.        
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees two things. Al is uniting ponies and others to trying and escape the madness. He starts to walk towards that when he sees the other thing. Bob being taken by a figure in black. He makes a mad dash towards his brother.

        

        Panic is when there is a sense of hopelessness. Panic is also when you don’t know what’s going on so you take matters into your own hands and make rash decisions. And mom and dad were indeed making one as their home burned to the ground around them.

        “So that’s how you want to lose everything. Then I’ll do this.” A slashing movement.

        “Wise. But did you expect this?” A movement up and then to the side.

        “We really should do something about this here.” A loud clank as it fell.

        “Checkmate.” Mom called out as she then moved her queen to take Dad’s bishop pinning the lonely king in the corner.

        “Bah, this game sucks anyways.” Dad flips the table as it lights on fire. “Let’s go get our sons.” They walk outside to a group of masked folk. “Well hello guys. I’m assuming you are the ones causing all of this?” A shuriken flies by dad’s ear nicking it a little.

        “Where is the seed?”

        Al gets his group across the river. Rainbowland is right next to a hotel. If everybody can just get there, they’d be safe from whatever this is. He’s heard of ninjas before, but he never suspected they’d be real.

        Right when they have the hotel in sight, it all goes awry. Shurikens fly and slaughter half of the gathering. “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?” Al shouts to the sky, not expecting an answer. Then it hits him. Literally it hits him. A stick of cotton candy. Candy that was no longer there. Panic rises within Al. Rainbowland’s livelihood. He storms on back towards the valley after sending all that’s left of Rainbowland’s people to the hotel.

        

        “Get off of me!” Bob panics as he tries to wriggle himself away from his captors, but to no avail. He can’t see where he’s going, but is eventually dropped to the ground. The blindfold is taken off only to reveal his greatest fear. The cotton candy was being lifted into carts and being taken away. He guesses he should have seen this coming. Cotton candy kept Rainbowland alive. It only made sense others would want it too.

        There in the corner, he sees Mom and Dad chained to a tree. Beaten and bruised, but alive. Who were these monsters? They looked like ninjas, but the ninjas of legend were nothing like this. Is this another clan? Panic sets in as he sees dad get whipped.

        “WHERE?” One of the ninja whips dad again. Mom is crying besides him and it’s too much from Bob to bear, but what can he do? He’s just going to get his parents killed. But somewhere behind him, a scream.

        Larry.

        “THE SEED! GIVE US THE REST OF THE SEEDS!” A ninja jolts as he cracks dad again.

        “We don’t have any! We already told you! The only one we found was planted and produced the cotton candy!” The ninja raises the whip, uncaring. But then is tackled.

        "Larry!” mom tries to stand in surprise, but can’t. She falls back down to the ground, the pain unmatched by the panic she now feels. The panic for her son, toe-to-toe with one of the creatures bringing doom to their home.

        Larry jabs with his head but misses. The ninja cracks the back of Larry’s neck with an elbow forcing him to the ground. He then swipes from below with a hoof and catches the ninja by surprise and knocks him down. Larry fights his way back up after jabbing the side of the being with a hoof only to have his side nicked with a ninja star causes a shriek of pain and a scream from mom who again tries to fight back up. Dad is also trying to break free. They look around frantically and see Bob staring.

        “BOB! HELP YOUR BROTHER!”

        “Mom...” Larry groans weakly. He’s on the ground now, short of breath. “He’s not going to. Even if he could get here, he wouldn’t.”

        “BOB!” Mom calls out again not listening, not wanting to believe while the blaze around them thickens. “Please.” Her voice breaking as she passes out from the fury of the heat.

        The ninja paces around the tree, never saying another word in this. He walks back over to Larry and steps on the wound caused by the star. Larry screams as the ninja turns to face Bob. He raises his arms out taunting him.

        “Everything you know and love in this now wasteland is a lie!” The ninja finally speaks. “The cotton seed that you claimed to have found was stolen! And it belongs to the great Shogun Fartknocker! Be thankful we are leaving you solace in that hotel. For now.” He raises a star. “One more lesson though.” Looking down at Larry and squishing his foot deeper causing another feral yell. “Clearly, this fool is important to you. It’s time to show you why you don’t mess with our blessed Shogun.”

        “Maybe we can just go and ask him for ourselves,” a voice calls from behind the ninja.

        He turns around to see a new figure. Al walks forward. “Another one?” The ninja throws his star right away at him, but misses.

        “You do not hurt my brothers.” Al runs right at the ninja head down but instead flips himself around to the side and knocks the ninja with a hoof to the chin when he dodges. But the ninja counters with a spin kick to the head knocking Al to the ground.

        “Apparently I need to dish out a couple more lessons today.” The ninja sharpens a couple stars against each other.

        Bob has to think fast. His whole entire family is in danger. And he can’t handle it. He’s panicking. Panicking hard enough to make a rash decision to make a mad dash towards the ninja. Only to trip on a rock halfway there.

        “Pathetic.” The ninja walks over to the fallen Bob. “None of you are worth my time.” The ninja walks away towards the carts of cotton candy. And they all walk away leaving the waste that was the beautiful Rainbowland behind. No more panic to be had.

        When the smoke cleared across Rainbowland, the pieces were ready to be picked up. The pieces of dirt and rubble spread across the valley. Larry from the ground after his injury he seems to already be healing from. Allister from the ground after the dazed feeling from the kick, and then going straight to pick up mom and dad after being untied. Then they all go to Bob who twisted an ankle on his way down. After getting him up, the real challenge began.

        Where do they go from here? The cotton candy was gone, and their population was split in half literally and figuratively. The ninjas too strong for them. They have reached the point in the story where they have to make a decision. Do they attempt the impossible? And everybody in existence knows a story can’t happen if they don’t, but don’t mistake story necessity for the idea of a task that can be solved overnight. As the task before the remaining citizens of Rainbowland was insurmountable. Saving Rainbowland again against all the odds, against a foe that decimated everything they knew and loved in the blink of an eye.

        “We have to go,” Larry says as he prances around. “We can’t just let them get away with our cotton candy!”

        “And why not?” Allister questions. “There are other ways to rebuild our home.”

        “But none that can sustain us.” Dad steps up. “Boys, it’s up to you. You have to chase after them. You have to save Rainbowland.”

        “We can’t though dad, you saw what they did to Larry. And Al. And everybody knows how I failed!” Bob stammers then notices something flying through the sky.

        “That doesn’t matter now,” mom starts. “All that matters now is that you have each other. You didn’t work together against that ninja. All of you have different skills; all of you can contribute something the other can’t.”

        “But we don’t even know where to go!” Bob exclaims.

        “You’re not supposed to,” an unknown voice says. And coming down from the sky, the figure Bob saw. A seagull.

        “What are you?” Larry says, clearly puzzled.

        “You can simply call me, The Seagull.” The Seagull bows.

        “What do you mean we’re not supposed to?” Al asks.

        “Because nobody has mentioned it to you yet you silly goose!” The Seagull croaks laughing. Everybody else looks around confused.

        “Tell us!” Larry yells annoyed.

        “All in good time. First off my good sirs, I think you need to attend to something else.”

        “Stop playing games and tell our sons where to go,” mom, calm as always, says.

        “Oh trust me, I would, but I think there’s something else you need to see.” The Seagull points behind them. And sure enough, they all look behind them. The Hoteliard hotel in the distance looks as peaceful as ever. That’s at least until a shadow is spotted springing up the hotel. Al gasps first.

        “Oh no. It’s one of them.”

        “But why? There hasn’t been anyone staying there since the cotton candy boom,” Larry boasts.

        “You don’t understand,” Al informs. “I brought anybody who survived there. And now they are in danger again.”

        “And not just the ninja. Being a part of the Quartet of Despair, he is never alone. By the time you get there, you won’t recognize the Hoteliard anymore. The one known as Vee will have turned the place into a place of her own design. An artful maze even I can’t peruse. If her magical charm doesn’t sway you into her favor, you will perish by way of someone else of the Quartet.” The Seagull looks around, his motivation not quite hitting the chord he wants. “Look, if you don’t go there now, everyone you ever loved will die.”

        “Why should we listen to you? Why must we be the ones to fight this ‘Quartet?’ If you’re even telling the truth,” Larry questions, getting angrier with each moment.

        Suddenly a gust of wind knocks everybody over, except The Seagull who is now walking through the family. “Because I am a part of the Quartet.” A shriek as Larry tries to get back up realizing the mild betrayal. The shriek so loud and piercing it causes Larry to fall back down and pass out along with everybody else. “And I need to know if you’re the ones capable of stopping him.”