This is a collab that Monstarzgirl and I worked on a little while ago(She and I each took turns writing parts of the story) which is a continuation of her own Powerpuff Girls series starring her OC, Rebecca Utonium, the professor's niece. The storyline is a nod to the Three Stooges episode, "Playing the Ponies." Please enjoy!(BTW Monstarzgirl, thank you very much for working on this story with me. I've always loved your stories and had a lot of fun writing this story with you; I look forward to us writing more in the future.) :)
Narrator: "The city of Townsville! Ahh, what a lovely day! Perfect for a drive in the country-which, coincidentally, is the plan of the Utonium family, who are making their way toward Cowboy Jake's Dude Ranch.
Professor Utonium parks the car by the fence and he and his family slowly climb out. "It was very nice of you to take us here, Uncle John." Rebecca, who's wearing a pink plaid shirt, blue jeans, brown leather cowboy boots, and a light brown cowboy hat with a blue band, says kindly.
"You're quite welcome, Becca Dear." replies the professor, who's wearing a white shirt, a black leather vest, black jeans, dark brown boots, and a dark brown cowboy hat.
"Boy, this is gonna be so much fun!" exclaims an excited Blossom, who's garbed in a pink shirt, a darker pink skirt with a lacy trim, and pink cowboy boots.
"I can't wait to see the rodeo!" says an equally excited Buttercup, who's garbed in a green dress with a western print, a black belt with a big gold buckle, green cowboy boots, and a pale brown cowboy hat with a dark green band.
"And all of those sweet little ponies!" coos Bubbles, who's wearing a blue plaid dress, blue cowboy boots, and big blue bows above each of her pigtails.
The professor gives a small laugh at their enthusiasm. "All right, my little ones, let's go find Cowboy Jake and find out when the rodeo will be."
"Absolutely!" the Powerpuffs reply, as they follow the professor to the ranch house.
Rebecca follows slowly behind; beginning to feel wistful, she seats herself on a nearby picket fence and begins to sing:
"What is all this dizzy, busy hustling for?
People running helter skelter on their way,
What is all this hazy, crazy bustling for?
No time to know this is a sunny day,
Why don't you take a va-ca-tion?
Looks like you've got to have re-lax-a-tion,
Aw, com'on, forget your troubles for a while,
Why don't you try to feel like I do,
If I had one wish to make,
This is the wish I would choose,
I'd want an old straw hat, a suit of overalls, and a worn-out pair of shoes,
Just let me roam around,
Too happy to have any blues,
With an old straw hat, a suit of overalls, and a worn-out pair of shoes.
Howdy, Mister Brown, Ho-Hum,
Goin' fishin? Hope you get a bite!
Howdy, Mister Jones, Ho-Hum,
Hows'about a hay ride Saturday night?
Sing Hi-Ho-The-Merry-Oh,
What have you got, what have you got to lose?
Get an old straw hat, a suit of overalls, and a worn-out pair of shoes!"
"Ah, Becca, you sing like an angel!" a nearby voice sighs, upon which Rebecca turns to see her boyfriend Mojo Jojo, who's wearing a dark blue shirt, a purple leather vest, purple jeans, white boots, and a white cowboy hat with a purple band, as well as his usual gloves.
"Mojo Honey!" Rebecca climbs down and gives her boyfriend a big hug and kiss. "What a wonderful surprise! What brings you to our little corner of the world?" Mojo shrugs, "Nothing, just thought of coming over to see you again. I heard that you and your family are going on a dude ranch, so I thought I'd tag along and have fun with you. I must say you sang like an angel, which is to say that the way you sing is so beautiful, pleasant, and soothing to the ear."
Rebecca smiled, "Thanks, Mojo. So, uh, are the Gang Green Gang, Deanna, and April here?"
"Yes, indeed." Mojo relies. Almost as if on cue, Deanna, who's wearing a red shirt, black jeans, brown boots, and a dark brown hat with a red band, and April, who's wearing a green shirt, light blue jeans, light brown boots, and a brown hat with a green band, approach her, with a greeting of, "Howdy, Becca!" and "Hi, Becca!"
Shortly thereafter, the Gang Green Gang stick their heads out from behind the ranch house. "Hi there, Becca!" Ace, who's wearing a black shirt, a half blue, half orange leather vest, yellow jeans, black boots, and a dark brown hat with a white band, as well as his usual shades and wristbands, greets her, waving politely.
"Hola, Senorita Rebecca!" Arturo, who's clad in a red shirt, a black leather vest, black jeans and boots, and a brown hat, greets her merrily.
"Duh, hi, Becca" Billy, who's clad in a dark green shirt, a light brown leather vest, dark blue jeans, brown boots, and a light brown hat with a black band, greets her.
"Howdyssss, Becca!" Snake, who's wearing a white shirt, an orange leather vest, orange jeans, black boots, and a brown hat(The same shade as his trademark brown cap) with a black band, as well as his usual wristbands, greets her, waving politely.
"Thbbtht!" Grubber, who's wearing a brown shirt, a light brown leather vest, darker brown jeans, black boots, and a dak brown hat with a lighter brown band, razzes hello.
"Howdy, guys!" Rebecca replies as she waves back. Arturo strolls up to her. "So, did you come to see the rodeo, too?"
"Yes," Rebecca replies. "My family and I are here on vacation."
Mojo said, "Alright, let's all head over." Everyone got shown to their cabins and took their suitcases in to unpack. Rebecca shares a cabin with Mojo, Deanna, and Ace. The Professor and the Powerpuffs have their own cabin together, while the rest of the gang took their own. Rebecca sees one of the beds and when Mojo wasn't looking, she jumps up towards the top bunk. Mojo sees this and teases as he tickles her, "Lucky, who said you can go up there?" Rebecca giggled, "I called dibs on it before you did!"
In the next cabin over, the professor and the girls are unpacking their suitcases. "Quite a cozy little place," the professor muses happily as he sets his spur-adorned bunny slippers next to his bed. "It's the perfect little home away from home."
"I quite agree, professor." Blossom, who's sitting on the edge of her bed adds. Bubbles merrily bounces on her bed. "Whee!"
April and Snake got their own cabin, while Arturo shared one with Big Billy and Grubber. After everyone finished unpacking, they were given a tour around the ranch.
The owner, Cowboy Jake, and a ranch hand named Jessie lead the group around the ranch. Jessie is a girl about Rebecca's age with long black hair, wearing a green shirt, cream colored jeans, and a cream colored hat. "Now this here's the cookhouse." Jake notes, motioning toward a fair-sized building near the back of the ranch. As a delicious smell wafts by his nose, Arturo licks his lips hungrily. "Mmm!"
"And here's the hosses stall." Jessie notes, motioning to a stable housing several horses. The group observes each of the horses' names above the stalls; Blossom notes a large chocolate brown horse by the name of Thunderbolt, and Bubbles spots a small black pony named Spunky at the end of the row. Spunky gives a friendly whinny and gently nuzzles the blue Powerpuff. Bubbles giggles, "Nice pony." and gently pets his soft mane.
Bubbles then floats over to Thunderbolt and gently pets his snout. "Hello, Thunderbolt." she says sweetly.
"Hello-o-o, Bubbles." the horse replies in a Mister Ed-like voice.
Bubbles stares in shock. "Uhm, pardon me?"
"Hello-o-o, Bubbles." Thunderbolt whinnies again.
The blue Powerpuff gasps, "Th-th-th-Thunderbolt! You can talk!"
At that moment her sisters hover up to her. "Is all well, Bubbles?" a concerned Blossom inquires. "Yes," Bubbles replies. "But I've just found out that Thunderbolt can talk." She turns to the horse. "Please say something for my sisters, Thunderbolt."
"Hello-o-o, girls." Thunderbolt whinnies. Blossom and Buttercup share nonplussed looks with each other; glancing to the right a bit, Buttercup spots Grubber's feet sticking out from around the side of the stall. "That's not Thunderbolt, it's only Grubber."
"Theeere's no Grubber here." the voice whinnies, upon which the girls fly behind the stall, where Grubber is hiding. "Uhm, pay no attention to that fellow whose lips are moving." Grubber whinnies nervously.
"Honestly, Grubber," Bubbles says indignantly. "Don't you have anything better to do than to go around scaring people like this?"
"Phbbtht, thtbbtht, thbbtht, thbbt." Grubber razzes apologetically.(Meaning, "I'm sorry, Bubbles, I didn't mean to scare anyone.") Bubbles smiles. "Quite all right," she replies graciously. "It was pretty funny."
Arturo then observes two burros, one large and one small, named Bruno and Burrito. He gently pets each of their heads, "Hola, burros."
"Hola!" they politely reply in unison.
"And here's where th' rodeo'll be held." Jake motions toward a large arena lined with barrels.
Mojo gave a small whistle, "Very nice, large and spacious for the horses to run around." Rebecca was checking the horses out and walked towards a stall that has a beautiful buckskin mare, who poked her head out and nuzzles her face to Rebecca's The girl giggled as the horse snorted lightly and said, "You're so beautiful, aren't ya?"
Rebecca strokes the horse's muzzle, then Jessie said, "That's Sahara. She's a real sweetheart. But you and the gang wouldn't want to go near Demon." April asks, "Who's that?" Jesse led Rebecca, April, and Deanna towards a stall at the far end of the stables. Once they got there, they looked to see a powerful and majestic looking bay stallion. The horse snorted and counted the ground with his hoof, then gives a bellowing whinny that sounded threatening.
The horse got towards the front and whinnied angrily, which made Jesse say, "We rescued him from some mean owner who was starving and abusive towards him. We fed him well, but he didn't want anyone to go ride him or touch him. Me and Jake, along with the other hands tried to calm him down, but he's acting like a real wild mustang."
A concerned look crosses Rebecca's face. "Oh, the poor thing!"
"It's amazing how some people can be so cruel." Blossom adds.
"If only there were some way to help calm him." April notes dolefully.
A thoughtful look then crosses Mojo's face. "Say," he says, turning casually to Jake. "Perhaps I might help train Demon a bit, which is to say that I might endeavor to help calm him a bit, which is to say that perhaps I could help him settle a bit."
The group looks on in shock. "Mojo, you can't be serious!" April exclaims. "It's much too dangerous!" Deanna adds.
"Don't worry, girls, I've had some experience in this area." Mojo replies confidently, as Jake reluctantly hands Mojo the horse's reins and leads them out into the arena.
Mojo slowly climbs up onto Demon's back and gives the horse's reins a gentle tug. "Giddyup, boy!" Upon this, Demon begins snorting and bucking violently. "Whoa, doggie, whoa!" Mojo cries; the horse then gives an abrupt kick, tossing Mojo into a nearby wall. WHOOOOOOAAAAOOOOOOAAA! OOMPH!
A ranch hand walks casually up to Mojo and inquires, "Did'ja have any luck breakin' that hoss, pardner?"
"More like he broke me..." the monkey groans weakly.
Rebecca helps Mojo off the ground and dusts him off. She said, "He reminds me of Alexander the Great's horse."
Jake said, "Bucephalus? Yeah, that horse was a wild one. Back in Ancient Greece, he was a beautiful black Arabian stallion. A king saw the horse too wild and was going to kill him because the horse wouldn't let anyone ride him. The horse was brought into a big arena and people all over the world came to see the horse. King Phillip looked at his men and ordered them to kill the horse, but a voice from the crowd said 'I can ride that horse.' Everyone looked to see a young boy of twelve, then the king said 'If you can ride that horse, you can have that horse.' Alexander walked into the arena and standing in the arena was Bucephalus. He was big, strong, and mean. He was pawing the ground, his eyes burning like fire, and smoke was coming out of his nose. Alexander walked up and quick as lightning, he jumps on the horse's back and held onto his mane as the two rode off in a full gallop. He jump out of the arena and over the crowd, then they galloped across the countryside and the two became one."
Bubbles asked, "That really happened?"
Blossom said, "I never heard of the story like that before."
"It's truly amazing how a gentle nature can quell even the fiercest of tempers." April notes wistfully.
"Yeah." observes Bubbles. Spunky trots up to her and gives a small whinny.
"Perhaps it will take a gentle nature to tame Demon, too." Arturo observes. Burrito then trots up to him and replies, Si."
Jesse said, "Yeah, but not only Demon's hard to come by. One of the bulls here is pretty tough, too."
"Which one?" Buttercup inquires curiously.
Jesse then leads the group, with Spunky and the small burro following closely behind, inside a large barn. Once inside, Jesse motions toward a stall at the far end, housing a large black longhorn bull; the bull snorts and stamps his hooves as the group gets close. "This here's Brutus," Jesse notes. "He's got a bit of a temper in his own right."
"Si." Burrito replies.
Ace asks before making scissor motions, "Ever thought of, ya know? Snip-snip?" Jesse said, "No, but he'd be more aggressive than he is now. He always acts like he's the boss." Deanna whimpered, which made Jesse ask, "You okay, Deanna?"
Deanna trembled, "He's giving me the evil eye! He knows I'm wearing red and it's making him angry!"
Mojo said, "Deanna, you're wrong about that one. Bulls and other animals are colorblind, which is to say that all animals cannot see color and that is to say that they only see black-and-white. I, myself, am an animal although my vision is fine. With exception, I'm the only furry animal here who is not colorblind. Jesse, did you and the ranch hands by any chance save him from some bull arena that has bullfights or some abusive owners?"
Jesse said, "No, we raised him here. He was sweet when was a calf, but he changed after he was a year old." The group exchanges perplexed looks with each other. "Wow," Buttercup remarks. "I wonder what could've happened." Rebecca shrugs, "My guess would have to be puberty. I think bulls are the animals with the most aggression when their testosterone is at its peak." The Powerpuffs looked at their older cousin with weird looks, then Mojo quickly said, "You'll understand when you three are older and just for now, act like what my girlfriend and your cousin said never happened."
Jesse said, "Anyways, how about we get some of the nicer horses out and go for a little trail ride near the woods? Bubbles, you can ride Spunky. Rebecca, I noticed how Sahara was nuzzling you and you can ride her."
"Thanks, Jesse." the two of them reply.
Mojo then selects a brown horse with black spots by the name of Lenny. Jake turns to Arturo and says, "Say, would you care to ride Burrito here?"
"Oh, yes, please." Arturo replies. He then turns to the burro, Burrito. "Es that okay with you?"
"Si." Burrito replies.
Billy, who's gently petting Thunderbolt, turns casually to Jesse and inquires, "Say, may I ride Thunderbolt, please?"
"Sure thing, pardner." she replies, as she opens the gate and leads the horse out. Once Thunderbolt is out in the open, Billy suddenly notices that the horse is a swayback. "Uhm say, is Thunderbolt okay?" a concerned Billy asks.
"Don't worry, pardner, he's certainly fine," Jessie replies consolingly. "He used t'be a racehorse in his younger days and is gettin' on in years a bit. But y'all certainly welcome t'race him around th' trail a mite."
"Gee, thanks." Billy then takes the horse's lead and the two of them begin strolling off toward the trail.
Meanwhile, Rebecca and Mojo are riding down the trail with Bubbles and Arturo leading on a bit. Watching the sunlight peeking through the trees, Rebecca breathes a contented sigh. "Isn't it just beautiful in here, Mojo? The sun shining, the gentle breezes rustling through the treetops..."
"Quite indeed, my sweet," Mojo replies, gently taking Rebecca's hand. "And it's even better when you're with someone you love." Rebecca smiles and blushes deeply.
Just then, the group hears hoofsteps approaching them and turn to see Billy running alongside Thunderbolt. "Uhm, Billy," a much perplexed Arturo inquires. "What es you doing?"
"Duh, I'm jus' racin' Thunderbolt here around da track," Billy replies. "I think I'm winnin', too." The group can only exchange odd looks with each other.
Jesse said, "Okay, lets pick up the pace with a little trotting." Giving the horses a squeeze to their sides, the group got into a good trot as Billy jogged along with Thunderbolt. "Whee!" Bubbles cheers as Spunky sprints along the track. "Go, Burrito, go!" Arturo cheers. Burrito replies happily, "Si!"
Everyone got towards another part of the trail, then they slowed down for a walk and headed back towards the ranch. After everyone dismounted their horses, they took the saddles and bridles off them. Rebecca takes one of the brushes and uses it to groom Jasmine's coat, then the girl uses a comb to untangle the mare's black mane and tail.
Sahara gave a light count of her hoof and a small whinny, which made Rebecca ask, "What? You want a little treat? Okay." Going through her pocket, Rebecca takes out two sugar cubes and holds them out on her palm. Sahara ate them out of Rebecca's hands, which made Rebecca giggle when the horse's tongue tickled her hand.
Bubbles gently brushes Spunky's coat with a short brush; the little black pony whinnies happily and gently licks the blue Powerpuff's face, causing her to giggle. Billy, Arturo, and Mojo are gently combing their horses' coats and untangling their manes as well. "That feel good, Burrito?" Arturo asks kindly.
"Si." the burro replies contentedly.
At that moment the group hears barking and turn to see a small scruffy brown and white dog with deep brown eyes, wearing a blue collar scampering up to them. "Ooh, puppy!" Bubbles exclaims as she floats over and gently pets the dog's short floppy ears. The dog gives a happy bark and begins to gently lick Bubbles' face.
Jesse gives a small chuckle. "Li'l Annie's a real sweetheart. We found her at the pound, all by herself a few months ago, and have been looking after her ever since."
"Poor little thing," Rebecca traipses up to Annie and gently strokes her back. "It's very kind what you do for animals here."
"She's such a pretty dog." Bubbles notes.
Just then, the group hears the clanging of a bell and turn to see the cook standing outside the cookhouse, calling, "Lunch is ready!"
"Ooh, looks like lunchtime!" Arturo notes. Rebecca turns to Jesse. "Say, would you like for us to help lead the horses back to the barn?"
"Why, sure!" Jesse replies obligingly.
As the group gently take the horses' leads and lead them back to the barn, Billy turns to Thunderbolt and inquires, "You feelin' hungry, too, Thunderbolt?" The elderly horse gives an obliging whinny in reply.
The group then makes their way to the cookhouse; once inside, everyone takes a plate and passes down the buffet line as the cook fills their plates with barbecued steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, and corn on the cob drizzled with butter. As she passes by the counter, Rebecca observes three jars filled with chili pepperinos, salted peanuts, and after dinner mints, respectively; she muses for a second on the fact that a person might want to be careful of which they took!
Once their plates are filled, everyone seats themselves at tables; the professor and the Powerpuffs share one table, Mojo and Rebecca share another, Deanna and Ace another, April and Snake another, and Billy, Arturo, and Grubber share the last one. Arturo cuts a piece of the meat and is about to take a bite when he hears whimpering coming from next to him and looks down to see Annie looking up at him with big sad puppy dog eyes. Feeling very guilty, Arturo sighs heartily and passes the piece of steak down to the dog, who happily gobbles it up.
Rebecca nudges Mojo lightly and says, "You better not take those pepperinos. They're so hot that your tongue will burn off." Mojo said, "Right, I know what you mean. We'll stick to the mints and peanuts." Everyone had their fill of their lunch, then the Professor said, "Oh, pepperinos! My favorite!"
Mojo and Rebecca looked up in alarm, then Mojo covers his eyes with one hand, "I'm not seeing this." Professor Utonium took a handful of the pepperinos, then smoke came out of his mouth and he started coughing. He cried, "I'm on fire!" Professor Utonium spots a pitcher of water and glugs down on the pitcher, then a little puff of smoke came out of his mouth and he ran off whimpering.
Rebecca rushes up to the professor in concern. "Uncle John, are you okay?"
"Ugh...I guess so..." the professor replies weakly.
Just then, Rebecca peeks over her shoulder and sees Arturo grabbing a handful of pepperinos. "No, Arturo, don't! They're too spicy!"
"Don't worry, Senorita Becca, spicy food does not bother me." Arturo then gobbles the pepperinos down, upon which smoke begins coming out of his mouth. "Water! Water!" he cries as he runs over to a nearby water cooler and glugs the whole thing down. Arturo then collapses to the ground and groans, "I was wrong. I was muy, muy, mucho wrong..."
Blossom said, "Someone should put warning signs for that stuff."
Deanna said, "I had that stuff before, but I didn't burn my mouth off. You should see me eating jalapeños, those hot Cheetos, and anything that has a lot of spice in it." Buttercup said, "Whoa." Rebecca shrugs, "I'm okay eating General Tso's chicken whenever we get Chinese, but that's the only spicy thing I can tolerate."
Mojo asks, "Why, you get heartburn easily?"
Rebecca shrugs, "A little, but not a whole lot."
"I personally don't mind a little spicy food sometimes," Buttercup adds. "Like jalapeno poppers or spicy chili."
After everyone ate, they decided to hang around near the pool. The girls got their bathing suits on as the guys did, then they headed over for a dip or a tan. Billy, who's wearing his old black swim trunks and white tank shirt, is standing on the high diving board, hesitating to dive. Growing impatient with his dithering, Ace shouts, "Hey Billy, while we're young?"
Billy then promptly tucks his knees and dives off of the board with a cry of, "Cannonball!" Shortly thereafter, April, who's wearing a green, polka-dot two-piece, dives in after him. "Wheehee!" The two of them then hit the pool with a splash.
Deanna wore her hot pink one-piece as she sat on a chair to catch some rays, while Rebecca wore her purple two-piece bikini and got onto the diving board. Running towards the edge, she does a flip and dives into the water. After Rebecca got to the surface, everyone applauded for her. Mojo said, "I'd give the dive and flip a perfect 10!"
Blossom said, "That was sweet!"
Bubbles said, "Nice trick, Becca!"
Rebecca smiles, "Oh, thanks, guys!"
Snake, who's wearing red trunks with a white stripe down the side, and a pair of shades balanced on the brim of his usual hat, steps up onto the diving board next and does a quick jackknife dive, with a cry of, "Woohoo!" Everyone cheers and applauds for Snake once he surfaces, too, especially April. "Wow, that was great, Snake! I'd give that dive a perfect 10, too!"
Snake smiles modestly and blushes. "Aww, thankssss, Honeypie!"
Professor Utonium lotioned himself with sunblock and passes it to Deanna, who is still laying herself on a chair. Deanna then applies the sunblock to her face, arms, and legs, then passes it down to Rebecca, who applies some to herself, then gives the Powerpuffs some. Just then, everyone turns to see Arturo, who's wearing black trunks, stepping out onto the diving board. He promptly tucks his knees and hops off, calling, "Cannonball!" and hits the water with a small SPLISH. As Arturo surfaces, everyone cheers and claps for him. "Wow, that was mighty good, Arturo!" Buttercup says. Arturo smiles. "Oh, gracias, amigos!"
Grubber, who's wearing a(Rather ridiculous looking!) blue and purple striped tank shirt and violet-purple trunks, strolls up to Mojo and inquires, "Phthbbt, thbttht, thbbt?" Mojo then glances down at his watch, "Good idea, Grubber, perhaps we should check to see when the rodeo will be, which is to say that we should perhaps find Jake an inquire of him as to when the time of the rodeo will be."
"I'll go check." the professor notes, upon which he heads back to the cabin.
Rebecca said, "Mojo, are you sure you'll be okay with the rodeo? Demon bucked you off really good and you nearly broke your back." Mojo placed a comforting hand on Rebecca's shoulder and says reassuringly, "I'll be fine, sweetie. I won't try to get any bones broken or get myself killed when I'm in the rodeo. No horse is gong to make me go flying around and make me fall flat." Still quite concerned, Rebecca replies, "Okay, but please do be careful."
"Don't worry, Becca Darling, I certainly will."
The group, now back in their ranch outfits, then head back toward the arena. Billy, who's standing by the stables, gently pets Thunderbolt's nose. 'He sure is a nice horsie,' Billy thinks. 'Think I'll bring him a treat.' Upon this, Billy then heads down to the ranch house and walks up to the counter; he reaches for the jar of salted peanuts but, not looking too carefully, accidentally grabs a handful of pepperinos instead. He then stuffs the pepperinos in his pocket and rejoins the group.
The group waits by the fence in anticipation for the rodeo to start; Bubbles and Arturo are joined by Spunky and Burrito. "Boy, this looks like it's gonna be fun!" Arturo exclaims happily.
"Si." Burrito replies.
Rebecca pats Sahara's muzzle and leads her out of the stable to meet with everyone else. Cowboy Jake said, "Okay, let's get this little rodeo started. Y'all should mount your horses now." Everyone mounted on their horses, except for Billy because of the possibility of crushing poor Thunderbolt with his weight. The group then lead their horses into a gallop, with a merrily barking Annie walking alongside them. Reaching into his pocket, Billy takes out a handful of pepperinos and hands it to Thunderbolt. "Here, li'l fella." The elderly horse gives a happy whinny as he gently eats the peppers out of Billy's hand. Suddenly, smoke begins pouring out of Thunderbolt's mouth and he begins whinnying frantically and kicking his hooves in the air; he then dashes behind the barn at lightning speed. A worried look crosses Billy's face. "Uh oh, what'd I do?" An equally taken aback Annie stops where she stands. "Urf?"
Looking on in shock, Mojo slowly dismounts his horse and walks up to Billy. "What in the world did you feed him?" he inquires. "Jus' some a'these salted peanuts." a very nonplussed Billy replies as he takes another handful of peppers out of his pocket. "Hmm..." Mojo takes a small handful of the peppers and eats them; smoke then starts pouring out of his mouth as he cries, "AAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" and races behind the barn just as fast as(If not faster than!) Thunderbolt.
Billy can only scratch his shaggy red hair in perplexity. "Gee, this is strange..." He then takes a handful of the peppers and eats them, upon which smoke begins pouring out of his mouth. "WAAAAHAAAAA!" he cries as he also speeds off behind the barn.
Thunderbolt, Mojo, and Billy all begin glugging down water from a trough until they drink it dry; presently, Ace happens up to them with Annie following close behind. "Say, what's happened?" he inquires. "Billy accidentally fed Thunderbolt hot peppers instead of peanuts." Mojo groans. "So, that's what made 'im run so fast!" Billy exclaims.
Ace begins laughing and slapping his knees. "And you guys ate some too! Ain't that a royal crack-up? Haw, haw, haw!" Annoyed, Mojo stuffs a handful of peppers in Ace's mouth. "WATER! WATER!" Ace cries as he frantically grabs up a nearby jug of clear liquid and begins to glug it down; once he notices the bottle's label, his eyes grow large and he spits out a mouthful of it. "PTEWWW, IT'S KEROSENE!" he exclaims, half groaning. Thunderbolt and Annie both begin laughing at this humorous sight, "Wiiiihihihihi, whiiihihihihi!" "Harf, harf, harf!"
"I don't see what's so funny." Ace groans as he slumps to the ground.
Deanna asked, "What just happened?"
Billy said, "I fed Thunderbolt hot peppers and thought they were peanuts." Mojo adds, "Billy and I ate some, burned our mouths, and had to guzzle down water from a trough with Thunderbolt." Ace moaned, "I got some stuffed in my mouth when I was laughing hard by Mojo and accidentally drank kerosene." Endeavoring to stifle a laugh, Deanna inquires, "Is everyone okay?"
"Yes" Mojo replies. "Uh huh." Billy says. "Kinda..." Ace replies weakly, as Deanna gently helps him to his feet.
As Billy takes a step backward, Billy accidentally trips over a bump in the ground and falls into a haystack. "GAH!" He then suddenly leaps up; looking over his shoulder, Billy observes a pitchfork stuck to his bum. "Ow! Ooh! Help! Get it out!"
"Oh dear." says a concerned Deanna. "Here, we'll get it." Mojo says. Billy then stands up against the wall as Mojo and Deanna try to pull the pitchfork out, with Ace standing closely behind. Ace steps a bit too close and Mojo accidentally hits him in the face with the pitchfork's handle, knocking his hat off. "Ooch!" Ace quickly bends down, grabs hit hat and puts it back on, then stands back up. As Ace leans over again, Mojo accidentally hits him again, sending his hat falling to the ground again. "Oof!" He then picks it up again and stands back up. Ace then leans over again and gets hit in the face again, sending him toppling to the ground. "Oogh!" As Ace slowly sits up, his hat falls off again, upon which he quickly grabs it up again and climbs to his feet.
Deanna and Mojo finally manage to pull the pitchfork out; as Ace happens up behind them, Mojo accidentally elbows him twice. "Oh, quite sorry Ace, I didn't see you there."
"No problem." Ace groans, rubbing his sore nose. Thunderbolt and Annie begin to laugh at him again, "Whiiiihiihiiihi, Wihhihhiiihii!" "Harf, harf, harf, harf! Harf, harf, harf, harf!"
"I still don't see what's so funny." Ace grumbles.
Rebecca walks over and says, "Guys, we're about to start again. Is everything okay? I heard some shouting." Mojo said, "Billy here just fell and got impaled on the rear end with a pitchfork." Billy asked with a whimper, "How bad is it?"
Rebecca looks behind to see tiny holes on the jeans, but no blood or any scrapes. She said, "Not too bad, Billy. You'll live." Billy breathes a heavy sigh of relief.
A thoughtful look crosses Mojo's face. "Say...I remember earlier how fast Thunderbolt ran and jumped after eating those hot peppers; perhaps if we feed them to him at the rodeo, he'll win for sure, which is to say that perhaps if he eats the peppers, he'll be a shoo-in to win, which is to say that once he eats the peppers, victory will be his." Rebecca's eyes light up. "That's a great idea, Mojo! He'll be so happy when he win the trophy."
"I'll go get some more peppers." Billy notes as he hurries off toward the cookhouse.
Deanna said, "Yeah, but who's gonna ride him?"
Mojo said, "I'm still going to persist in trying to ride Demon and try not to fall off. Any horse can be broken and there are three things to it: discipline, timing, and patience."
Rebecca asked, "You're still sure about this?"
Mojo nodded, "Mmm-hmmm."
A concerned look crosses Rebecca's face, but she says, "Okay, but please do be careful."
"Please don't worry, Sweetie, I shall." Mojo replies as he places a consoling hand on Rebecca's shoulder.
Ace muses for a second, rubbing his chin. "Well, maybe I could ride Thunderbolt." It's now Deanna's turn to be concerned. "Are you sure about this? He seemed to get pretty wild when Billy fed him the peppers the first time, and I don't want you to get hurt." Ace then places a consoling hand on her shoulder. "Please don't worry, Honeypie, I'll be careful." Deanna is still a bit concerned, but says, "Okay."
Unbeknownst to the others, Arturo had been observing their conversation. "Hmm, Senor Mojo really seems determined to ride Demon. Maybe we could do something to help him along." he says quietly to Burrito, who's standing next to him.
"Si." the burro agrees.
Arturo and Burrito then sneak silently into the horses' stalls and quickly locate Demon's stall. Noticing the horse asleep, Arturo whispers, "We will have to be muy mucho quiet so we do not wake him, Burrito."
"Si." Burrito whispers obligingly.
Arturo then picks up a nearby step stool and quietly sets it up next to the horse; he then slowly climbs up and takes a small jar out of his jeans pocket, marked, "Super-Sticky Glue: Sticks Tight, Or Your Money Back", opens the jar, and spreads a large quantity of it onto Demon's saddle. "Hopefully this will keep Senor Mojo from falling off," Arturo whispers as he slowly climbs back down. "I'll go do the same for Ace before he rides Thunderbolt next."
"Si." Burrito whispers.
Mojo walked towards Jake and Jesse saying, "I'm going to ride Demon again." The two looked at him with wide eyes, then Jesse asked, "You really sure about this, Mojo?"
Mojo nodded, "Yes, I'm positive. After hearing that story about Alexander the Great and Bucephalus, I'm not going to give up, be a quitter, or a wimp. Which is to say I will not be sitting out to watch everyone be on the rodeo and not be able to ride that wild stallion Demon. He's not going to take me down or buck me off when I ride him."
Jake said unsure, "Okay, I'll get the other hands to have him saddled up for ya."
No sooner does he begin to leave to do so, however, than Jake hears, "Escuse me, Senor Jake." and looks down to see Arturo holding the saddle he'd spread glue on earlier. "I picked out an especial saddle for Senor Mojo to use in the rodeo. May I give this to you, por favor?"
"Why, shore, li'l feller this is right neighborly of ya. Thank you." Jake then takes the saddle(Fortunately not noticing the glue) and hands it to the ranch hands. "You es quite welcome." Arturo replies. Once Jake has turned his back, Arturo and Burrito wink nonchalantly at each other.
Shortly thereafter, Ace meets with Jake and Jessie to volunteer to ride Thunderbolt in the rodeo. "Y'all shore about this, pardner?" Jake says skeptically. "Ol' Thunderbolt may be a mite past his prime."
"Please don't be concerned, Mr. Jake, I'll be real gentle-like wit' him." Ace replies(Nonchalantly hiding a brown paper lunch bag full of pepperinos behind his back). Though still a bit skeptical, Jake replies, "Okay. Th' ranch hands'll have him saddled up in a bit."
"Escuse me, please, Senor Jake," Arturo calls again, holding another saddle he's glued. "I have also picked out an especial saddle for Ace to use in the rodeo. May I give this to you, por favor?"
"Certainly, li'l feller, this is right nice of ya ta do." Jake then gives the saddle to the ranch hands. I do hope this works. Arturo thinks as he and Burrito exchange concerned looks with each other.
Rebecca, Deanna, and April got themselves saddled on their horses. Rebecca is riding the buckskin mare Sahara, Deanna is riding a beautiful palomino mare named Jasmine, and April is riding on a chestnut gelding named Copper. Mojo looked at Demon and was about to go on, but Demon counted his hoof and snorted angrily.
Mojo grabs a hold of Demon's reins and looks at him dead in the eyes, "Listen here, Demon. I'm going to ride on your back and enter the rodeo contest. You're going to let me ride you and you're not going to give me any trouble. Right?" Demon gave a small nod, but kept glaring at Mojo. However, Mojo is unfazed by the stallion's look and said, "Good." Getting his foot into the stirrup, Mojo got himself on the horse and held the reins. He gave Demon's sides a light kick to have him walk and said, "Now, get."
Observing how Mojo's actions seem to have gotten Demon to behave, Bubbles, who's riding Spunky, Blossom, who's riding a small sorrel pony named Rusty, and Buttercup, who's riding brown and white pony with a blonde mane and tail, named Molly, look on in amazement. "Wow," Blossom observes. "Mojo certainly seems to have gotten Demon in line."
"Guess a firm hand was all it took." Buttercup replies.
Snake, who's riding a white, grey spotted mare with a blonde mane, named Mystery, strolls up alongside them. "Hmm, sssso, far, sssso good," he muses. "Wonder how Accce is doing with Thunderboltssss."
Ace said, "Okay, Thunderbolt, I'm gonna ride ya. Go easy on me." Thunderbolt nodded and then he gets onto his knees. Ace said, "What the heck?" Thunderbolt moved his head towards his back, letting Ace know that he could let him get on his back. "Gee, thanks, Thunderbolt." Ace gently climbs onto the elderly horse's back and leads him into a gallop-in the wrong direction.
"Hey, Ace! Ace!" Arturo and Billy call urgently from the back fence. "Phthbbtht! Thbhttht!" Grubber calls. Ace brings Thunderbolt to a halt. "What's wrong, guys?"
"You es goin' the wrong way." Arturo replies.
"Ooh, thanks, guys." Ace then gently turns his horse around.
"Give him da peppers, Ace! Give him da peppers!" Billy calls. "We will show him the aqua." Arturo adds.
"Sure thing, guys." Ace takes the bag of pepperinos out of his jeans pocket and feeds the horse a big handful. Smoke immediately comes pouring out of Thunderbolt's mouth as he begins whinnying frantically and kicking his front legs in the air; he then trudges into a slow gallop.
"Uh oh, he won't run." Billy says worriedly.
"Quick, guys, show him da water! He's burnin' up!" Ace calls urgently.
"Sure thing, boss." Billy replies, as he picks up a small bucket of water and rapidly motions toward it. "Duh, look, Thunderbolt, we gots some water for you!" He and Arturo then run off toward the end of the track, but unfortunately, Billy accidentally trips over a bump in the road and spills the water. "Uh oh..."
"Don't worry, Billy, we have a backup." Arturo grabs up a second bucket and begins rapidly motioning toward it. "We have the aqua, Thunderbolt, meet us over there!" He then motions rapidly toward the end of the obstacle course, which he and Billy then begin racing toward.
"Look, Thunderbolt, they got da water!" Ace exclaims, motioning toward same, upon which the horse begins jetting down the track and hopping over hurdles, eventually surpassing the others. "Wow, look!" Billy exclaims excitedly from the middle of the track. "Ace es getting ahead!" exclaims Arturo. "Si." adds Burrito, who had just walked up to meet them.
Unfortunately, Thunderbolt eventually catches up with Arturo and Billy and begins to drink the water. Noticing the others riding past them, Billy motions, "Uh oh, da others jus' passed us!"
"Quick, keep da water ahead a'him." Ace says urgently.
"Sure thing, boss." Arturo replies, upon which the two of them hurry off again, with Burrito following close behind. Thunderbolt hurries along after them, until Billy accidentally bumps into a small moped by the side of the track. Thinking quickly(Which was a rarity for him!), Billy hands Arturo the water bucket and says, "I gotta idea. Try drivin' alongside him, holdin' da bucket."
"Good idea, Billy." Arturo then hops onto the moped and shifts it into gear, holding the bucket out at his side; Thunderbolt then begins jogging off at top speed again. Once Thunderbolt was racing, he was gaining and getting ahead of the other horses. Once Thunderbolt made it to the finishing line, Grubber and Billy tripped over their feet as they landed into the dirt.
"Oof, what happened?" Billy groans as he slowly climbs to his feet. "Phthhbht?" Grubber inquires as he slowly rights himself too. Arturo pulls the moped to a stop as he looks over to see the judges holding up score cards of 9.4, 9.5, and 9.7 for Ace. "Hey, look, you guys, Ace made it!"
"Si." notes Burrito, who's happening up to them at this moment.
"Ace made it?" Billy echoes elatedly. "Oh boy!"
"Phthhbbhtht!" Grubber razzes excitedly.
Once he crosses the finish line, Ace dismounts Thunderbolt, who then runs behind the barn and begins glugging down water from the trough again. Ace then traipses up to his friends(Not noticing that he still has the saddle glued to his bum), "Thanks fer all da help, guys, I really owe ya."
"You're quite welcome, boss." Billy replies modestly.
"Phthhbhtht." Grubber razzes.
"Yeah, what he said." Arturo replies.
Looking over his shoulder, Ace notices the saddle still stuck to him. "Uh, guys?" he asks with perplexity. "Why am I stuck to da saddle?" Arturo guiltily blushes a deep red. "Uhm, it es a long story, boss."
"Si." adds Burrito.
"Well, this went smoothly" Billy muses. "Hope everything's goin' okay fer Mojo and th' others."
Ace said, "Yeah, but could someone get something hot and have this stupid saddle off me?" Over at the rodeo, Mojo is still on Demon's back as he watched the other contestants go. Rebecca gave Sahara a gentle squeeze and the two rode off with a gallop, then Sahara reared up and kicked her front legs with a whinny. Rebecca kept holding onto the reins and got Sahara down, then the judges gave her scores of 9.8, 9.7, and 9.9.
Rebecca strokes Sahara's neck and says, "Good girl, Sahara." Sahara shook her black mane and gave a soft nicker, then gave a slow trot off the arena.
Deanna and Jasmine then go next; Deanna leads Jasmine into a gallop, then Jasmine prances about on her hind legs, does a small pirouette, then ends with a slight buck. As Deanna then brings her horse to a stop, the judges give her scores of 9.5, 9.7 and 9.8. Deanna gently pets Jasmine's snout and coos, "Good job, Sweetie." Jasmine gently nuzzles her as they then leave.
April and Copper and Snake and Mystery then go on next as a duo. They lead their horses into a gallop, and the horses go trotting across the field, clearing fences and hopping over barrels side by side, with Snake and April holding hands together as they do. As they get to the end of the course, the horses rear up an tiptoe around in a circle on their hind legs. "Yee-ha! Yee-ha!" Mystery whinnies.
Once they bring their horses to a stop, the judges give them scores of 9.4, 9.6 and 9.8. "Great job, Copper." April says as she slowly climbs down and gently pets the horse's back. "Great jobsssss, Myssssstery." Snake says as he climbs down and gently pets Mystery's ears. The horses whinny happily and begin to gently lick April and Snake's faces, causing them to laugh, upon which the four of them then leave.
Once Mojo and Demon entered, Mojo kept a tight grip on the reins and said softly, "Time to break you, Demon." Mojo got Demon into a gallop, but Demon began to put up a fight by bucking around the arena and kicking his hind legs fiercely. Mojo kept his grip and shouted, "WHOA, DEMON! C'MON, BOY! DEMON! EASY, YOU GLUE POT!"
Demon began circling around and rearing up on his hind legs with an angry whinny, but Mojo kept holding on and jerking the reins to settle Demon down. Mojo made Demon back up, then the two galloped around. Mojo still held on and thanks to the saddle being glued to his butt, he didn't fall off.
Demon runs around an obstacle course of barrels and hops over several fences, keeping calm all the way. Mojo mops his brow, So far, so good. he thinks. Unfortunately, Mojo hadn't seen Bruno entering the arena at that very moment. Once Bruno entered the arena, Demon began to neigh ferociously and charge after the burro. Bruno brayed, "Ai, ai, ai!" Mojo jerked Demon's reins and got him to stop, then Demon kicked his front legs and tossed his head around. Mojo held on and gave a yell, "YEAH! WHOO! ALRIGHT! I ROCK!" Demon got back to the ground, then turns his head to Mojo and gives a soft nicker.
Mojo corrected, "Right, we rock! We did it!" The judges looked over and wrote down the scores, then they came up with 9.9, 10, and 10!
The crowd cheers, applauds, and whistles loudly at Mojo's victory. "Wow, he really got Demon to behave!" an amazed Blossom exclaims. "Wow, you're something, Mojo!" Buttercup cheers.
Mojo smiles modestly at this as he slowly climbs down from his horse, upon which Rebecca hurries up to him and embraces him in a big hug and plants a large kiss on his cheek. "You were fantastic out there, Mojo; it was wonderful how you tamed Demon and won the rodeo. You certainly have a way with animals." Mojo blushes deeply. "Thank you, Becca."
Jake traipses up to Mojo and hands him a large gold trophy, upon which the crowd cheers and whistles again. Demon, now much more gentle than he had been, gently licks Mojo and Rebecca's faces, causing them to laugh.
Glancing over his shoulder, Mojo suddenly notices the saddle still glued to his bum. "Why do I have a saddle stuck to me?"
"Uhm, it es a long story, Senor Mojo." a shamedfaced Arturo replies as he slowly approaches them.
Mojo asks, "Anybody have boiling water or something steamy to get this saddle off my heiny? If I had something very hot to apply to the saddle, I would be free and not be tugging on the saddle to rip my pants." Billy and Grubber came over with a bucket of steamy water, then Billy said, "It's gonna hurt us more than it does you, Mojo."
Mojo nodded and bit his lip as the hot water poured onto his rear end, then the saddle came off with a slide. Mojo looked at his pants, then he said, "Oh, well. No harm done or any rips." Demon nuzzled Sahara, which made everyone look on with dreamy faces. Rebecca said, "Aww, they're so sweet together." Annie gives a wistful whimper as she too looks on at this lovely scene. "They seem to be very much in love." Mojo says dreamily.
In the background, Grubber pours hot water on a very apprehensive Ace's behind, causing the saddle to slide off. "Pfew." Ace sighs with relief, mopping his brow.
Mojo says, "So, how about we dine on some delicious steaks for tonight?" Rebecca sees the look on Mojo's face as he nudges her lightly and points to the two horses. Rebecca said, "Yeah, I'm all for it. Anyone else?" Everyone agreed on having a huge steak dinner, while the other horses whinnied. Blossom said, "And we'll give you guys some nice apples, carrots, sugar cubes, and oats." The horses happily whinny a thank you in reply. Bubbles turns to Annie, "And we'll give you some nice juicy steak." The little dog barks happily and licks Bubbles' face, causing her to giggle. "And we will give you some nice alfalfa." Arturo promises Bruno and Burrito. "Si!" the burros reply happily, hopping up and down.
Moments later, the group is gathered at the cookhouse, dining on large, juicy steaks, golden brown French fries, and tall glasses of sparkling cider. Rebecca and Mojo share a candlelit table in the center of the room; as she looks into Mojo's eyes and gently takes his hand, Rebecca says, "You were very brave to tame that wild horse during the rodeo, Mojo." Blushing ever so slightly, the monkey modestly replies, "It was no big deal, really."
"It truly did seem to take a firm hand and a gentle nature to keep him in line. You truly are amazing, Mojo."
Now blushing very deeply, Mojo replies, "Oh, Rebecca, you're sweet!" The two of them share a kiss; as the others look on, they share a wistful sigh. "Aww, isn't that sweet?" Bubbles coos.
"Love truly is the most powerful thing there is." the professor notes.
THE END
Voice Cast
Rebecca Utonium-Jennifer Love-Hewitt
Rebecca Singing-Paige O'Hara
Blossom/Annie/Mystery-Cathy Cavadini
Bubbles/Sahara-Tara Strong
Buttercup/Jasmine-E.G. Daily
Professor Utonium/Thunderbolt-Tom Kane
Mojo Jojo-Roger L. Jackson
Ace/Grubber/Big Billy/Brutus-Jeff Bennett
Snake/Ranch Hand/Narrator/Burrito-Tom Kenny
Little Arturo/Bruno-Jeff Garcia
Spunky-Kira Tozer
Cowboy Jake-Charles Haid
Jesse-Kath Soucie
Copper/Demon-Sam Vincent