"Fireside Diaries"
Story Written by Freedom Fighter
The third quarter of the third season has arrived, and for the next few weeks, this series will be doing a four-week special event called 'Fireside Fantasy Month.' The girls of Troop 46231 will be sharing some fantasy tales with you, starting with a sequel to a second season episode originally penned by Katie!
Unfortunately, this means this season's main story arc is being sidelined. I know a lot of you are interested in seeing how a certain love triangle straightens itself out, and don't worry, it will. The last three episodes of the season will ensure that. In the meantime, please stick around these next few weeks, as there's a lot of light-hearted fun to be had in these stand-alone tales.
That being said, let's kick off 'Fireside Fantasy Month' with the long-awaited sequel to "The Magical Bluebird."
Disclaimer: The characters of 'Phineas and Ferb' belong to Disney. The song featured in this episode belongs to its respective owner.
Prerequisite (i.e. read that first before reading this):
- Entry #328 ("Fireside Diaries," Episode 201)
Entry #415 - Written by Katie and Milly
(Katie)
Previously, in the "Fireside Diaries"...
I was walking through the forest one day when I found a bluebird. It seemed like it was in trouble, so I decided to follow it and see if I could help. While trying to tail it, I bumped into Gretchen, who was unconscious on the ground. Once she was awake, I checked on her. She seemed to be alright before she started transforming into a dodo bird before my very eyes! She herself then ran off before I could figure out how to change her back.
As I tried to find Gretchen, I ran into Ginger, who was now this cute little pink nine-inch tall dragon! Together, we started running into the others. Isabella, the pretty white unicorn! And Adyson, the leprechaun with hair between her toes!
There was supposed to be more, but then the story was never continued because Gretchen said we couldn't put fantasy tales in the troop's online diary.
(Milly)
That is, until now!
(Katie)
Thanks for cutting me off, Milly!
(Milly)
You're welcome!
(Katie)
Anyway, after reading the comments for the entry that had my story in it, Isabella decided to allow me to continue it! Yea! But I needed help...
(Milly)
...and that's where I come in! Katie's asked me to sign on as co-author for the follow-up to her original entry. Two creative minds, two times the zaniness!
(Katie)
Uh, Milly? Zaniness isn't a word.
(Milly)
Yes, it is! Check the dictionary!
(Katie)
Huh. So it is. Anyway, we hope you enjoy our fun story!
-
Entry #415 [FSD309] - A Magical Bluebird II: Make Me a Monster (01.28.03)
-
An angry Adyson asked again why Katie and her band of magical creatures had come to her meadow.
"Why you tryin' to take away me pot o' gold?"
"We weren't!" Katie exclaimed, as Isabella and Ginger trotted up behind her. "We're just looking for a bluebird!"
"You mean that one?" cut in Isabella, who pointed a hoof at the top of the pot.
Everyone turned in the direction she was pointing, and sure enough, the bluebird had come to rest atop Adyson's gold.
"The bluebird wants me pot o' gold? The fiend!"
"Get it!" Katie shouted.
All four of them leaped at the bluebird, attempting to catch it. The bluebird flew dodged, resulting in the foursome all bumping heads and collapsing in a heap atop the pot of gold. The bluebird laughed mockingly at them, and then stuck its tongue out, for good measure.
"I'm beginning to think that that bluebird isn't a nice person," Katie deduced.
"If it's a person in the first place," Gretchen theorized.
It started to fly off.
"We have to catch it!" shouted Katie. "It may tell us how to change you all back!"
(Katie)
And so, Katie the human girl, Ginger the dragon, Isabella the unicorn, and, now, Adyson the leprechaun chased after the bluebird. Catching it was the only way to figure out what was going on.
(Milly)
Why is narrator you repeating what actual you is saying?
(Katie)
It's not repeating, it's rephrasing!
Before they left, though, Adyson was seen pulling out a key fob. She pressed a button on it, arming the security system for her pot of gold.
(Milly)
Before they knew it, the girls had wandered into a dense fog...
(Katie)
Not yet, Milly! Ahem! Actually, the foursome stumbled into a cemetery.
"Good thing we're passing through here during the day," Ginger said, breathing a sigh of relief. "If it was night, I'd be afraid."
"I can arrange that!" stated Isabella.
Her magical horn began shining like a disco ball once more...
"That's okay," Katie interrupted. "We'll stick with daytime, thanks."
"I second that!"
Everyone stopped upon hearing the new voice. They scanned the area, looking for the source.
(Katie)
Of course, I knew who it was.
"Holly? Is that you?"
Holly floated up out of the ground, in between Katie and a grave marker.
"It be one o' the unliving!" Adyson screamed. "Ginger, use ye flame to make she be dead again!"
"I'm not that kind of dragon!" shouted Ginger.
"Ye be a dragon, yet ye not of the fire-breathing type? What be wrong with ya?"
"I don't see you doing anything, bearded girl who's suddenly of Irish descent!"
"Girls, calm down!" interjected Katie. "Lemme handle this."
(Katie)
I pulled out the number one weapon used to scare off creatures of Holly's kind.
"BE GONE!"
She pulled out a spray bottle filled with water and used it on Holly. But it did not faze Holly at all. In fact, the water just seemed to pass right through her.
"That's odd. It works whenever I play that garden defense game."
"I'm not a zombie," grumbled Holly.
"You're not. Well, then, I guess that makes you a..."
Katie reached into a pouch that Isabella was now wearing, for some unexplained reason, and found a small vial filled with a liquid. She chucked it at Holly. But just like before, it went right through her. The vial hit the grave marker instead, smashing into pieces upon impact.
"You're not affected by sacred water either? WHAT KIND OF MONSTROSITY ARE YOU?"
Holly answered, in an annoyed tone. "Girl, I'm not a vampire. I'm a ghost."
"A ghost? That's silly! Ghosts aren't magical creatures."
"Don't look at me! You're the one writing this story."
"Holly! Don't break the fourth wall!"
(Katie)
Yeah, Katie! Don't break the fourth wall!
(Milly)
You're telling yourself telling Holly not to break the fourth wall to NOT break the fourth wall? That's breakcep-
(Katie)
Milly!
(Milly)
But it's funny!
"Also," Holly continued, "I may not be a creature, but I AM magical! Watch!"
Despite being a ghost, Holly started drawing a transmutation circle on the concrete path that went through the cemetery using a piece of chalk. Once she was done, Holly then pulled out a small brown paper bag. And out of that, she produced two slices of wheat bread, two slices of ham, a slice of swiss cheese, three leaves of lettuce, a plum tomato, and a small squeeze bottle of mayonnaise.
"Eh, maybe not."
Holly had changed her mind about the mayo, and put in back in the bag. She then spread the other ingredients on the ground, all within the transmutation circle.
"You don't think she's gonna feed that to us, do you?" Isabella whispered to Katie.
Everything was now ready.
"SHOW TIME!"
Holly clapped her hands, and instantly everything in the circle was enveloped in a six-foot tall pillar of light. No one was able to see inside it until the light faded. When it did, they all saw that the items had all been combined into a sandwich.
"Neat, huh?"
"Yeah," Isabella nodded in agreement. "One thing... you used alchemy. Alchemy is not magic."
"Alchemy, magic, to-may-to, to-mah-to! Who cares?"
"Exactly," Katie replied. "Now, back to more important things... have you seen a bluebird pass by here?"
"A bluebird? Oh, yes, I did! He went south-southwest of here!"
Holly pointed in the direction she was referring to.
(Katie)
And so, the search continued!
The group headed off, with Holly the ghost now joining them. Before leaving, though, Holly went back to get her sandwich. She took a bite of it and smiled in satisfaction, not caring that it was going right through her and falling onto the grave she was hovering over.
(Milly)
And before they knew it, the girls had wandered into a dense fog...
(Katie)
Not yet!
(Milly)
Awww...
The five of them were now making their way through a cornfield, where the stalks were seven-feet high. Only Holly could see above it, and that was because she could float.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Isabella started singing.
"Everybody wants to live, like they wanna live. And everybody wants to love, like they wanna love. And everybody wants to be... closer to free!"
Adyson had a snarky response to the lyrics.
"What are ye, 30?"
"It was a good show, Adyson. Don't judge."
"Keep it down with the obscure references," Katie told them both. "I think I hear something, or someone, nearby."
They all went quiet as they stopped moving. With no noise coming from their end, they could hear the sound of humming. Katie pushed aside a nearby cornstalk and took a peek on the other side.
"What is it?" asked Ginger.
"Nothing to worry about," Katie replied, pulling the stalk aside for the others to see. "It's just a hummingbird."
The girls breathed a sigh of relief. The hummingbird, on the other hand, seemed scared of them, as it took off from its resting place and flew away.
"Awww," cooed Isabella. "I think it was scared of big ol' us."
Suddenly, a deafening roar filled the air.
(Katie)
Unfortunately, Isabella couldn't have been more wrong...
The group of five heard the sound of corn stalks being trampled or ripped out of the soil, from about a quarter-mile to their right. And it was getting closer.
"May I kindly suggest making a run for it? Like, now?"
"Good idea, Isabella," agreed Katie. "Go, GO!"
Katie, Adyson, and Ginger all mounted Isabella, and she carried them off. Holly, using her ghost powers, floated after them. Little did they know, though, that by moving, whatever was chasing them started to pick up speed.
"Ye foul beast is giving chase!" Adyson exclaimed, matter-of-factly.
Suddenly, the creature leaped out of the stalks and pounced in Holly's direction.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" she screamed.
It passed right through her without so much as leaving a scratch.
"Oh! DUHHHHH!" Holly said, rolling her eyes.
The creature started gaining on Isabella and the others. Katie gasped as she identified what was chasing them.
"I think that's a chupacabra!"
"Is that what I am?" the creature said in stride. "So menacing... chupacabra!"
The girls all looked at each other, recognizing the person voicing it immediately.
"Buford?"
"RAWR! That's right! And I want me some nice goat meat!"
"Eew!" groaned Isabella. "First, that's disgusting, and second... I'm not a goat! I'm a unicorn!"
"THAT IS NOT TRUE!" shouted yet another about-to-be-identified voice.
They all looked ahead and saw a billy goat waving a hoof at them. Isabella came to a stop right in front of him.
"You are not a true unicorn, because TRUE unicorns are PINK!"
Katie immediately knew who they were talking to. "Baljeet!"
"Stand back, ladies!" he exclaimed, as he trotted in between the girls and the charging Buford.
Buford had been focused on taking a bite out of Isabella, but he became distracted when he saw Baljeet make a gesture at him.
"Why do you not pick on someone of the same gender, you cryptid ruffian?"
Baljeet then stuck his tongue out at Buford. That was all he needed to send the chupacabra over the edge.
"THAT'S IT! YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"
Baljeet the goat took off into the stalks, in a westerly direction. He used his horns to clear path for him to traverse. Buford turned away from the girls, going after his new prey.
(Katie)
And just like that, Baljeet made the ultimate sacrifice...
As Holly caught up to the group, Ginger voiced her genuine concern for Baljeet.
"He's going to be alright, right?"
"It be the bravest thing I seen a goat-boy do," admitted Adyson. "It also be the daftest!"
"He'll be fine," Katie assured them both. "I'm sure everything that's happened today has been some wild fantasy I've dreamed up. And no ill will ever befalls those in it."
"How 'bout dreaming up an end to this?" questioned Isabella. "And soon! My hooves are getting a little worn out."
Katie hopped off of Isabella.
"Not until we find that magical bluebird and ask it change all of you back!"
She then led the group out of the cornfield, and onto their next destination...
(Katie)
…
(Milly)
Now?
(Katie)
Yes. Now!
(Milly)
Finally! Ahem... before they knew it, the girls had wandered into a dense fog...
Katie was now walking on her own two feet, leading the way. Isabella was to her left - Adyson and Ginger were still riding on her - while Holly floated along to her right. The fog was so thick that it was difficult to see more than a few feet away in all directions.
"I can barely see anything!" grumbled Ginger.
"It sure is as thick as pea soup in here," muttered Holly.
"Y'know, I never got that expression."
"Have you ever had pea soup?"
Ginger tried to recall if she had, and then, it hit her.
"Ohhhhhhh..."
"The bluebird's gotta be here somewhere," Katie said, steering the chatter back on-topic.
"If it is," Isabella thought out aloud, "it'll be easy for him or her to hide. If only we could get a better idea of where we were."
(Katie)
Luckily, I knew exactly where we were.
SPLASH!
Isabella stopped immediately as she was splashed in the face with water. The fog cleared up just enough for her and the others to realize why.
Katie was now laying face-first in some water, which she had fallen into after slipping at a short drop-off in the land. As she got up, she spat out some water.
"There's only one place in the Tri-State Area with a water purity rating of 7.5! We're at Lake Nose!"
"Lake Nose?" repeated Isabella. "How did we get all the way out here?"
Before anyone could come up with an answer, the girls began to hear chirping.
"I'd recognize that tweeting anywhere," Katie exclaimed. "It's Mr. Bluebird!"
They then heard another sound. One of someone, or something, growling.
"Great," grumbled Adyson. "Buford's back."
"It's not him," Katie pointed out, as the creature growled once more. "This growl sounds more... feminine."
Katie turned to her friends.
"Okay, we need to get out on that lake!"
Suddenly, Gretchen the dodo bird stepped out of the fog, with a smile on her beak.
"I've already got that taken care of!"
Gretchen stepped aside, revealing a motorboat that was ready to go. The girls rejoiced with enthusiasm.
Katie steered the boat to the middle of Lake Nose. Thankfully, the fog dissipated more and more the further they got from shore. That allowed the others to easily scan the water for any sign of a bluebird.
"Should we really be this far out?" queried Gretchen. "The chance of any flight-based animal being present an extended period of time over open water is very miniscule."
"Gretchen is right," said Isabella in agreement. "Maybe we should stay closer to shore."
Katie was inclined to agree, as were the others. She was about to steer them towards the nearest shore at that point, which was the park's local beach area. But she instead cut the engine when she heard that feminine growl again.
"Katie, what are you doing?"
"Shhh!" Katie shushed, putting up a finger to her lips. "I think there's something underneath us."
Isabella and Gretchen peered over one side of the boat, while Holly and Ginger looked over the other. Adyson, though, knew exactly what was about to happen.
"I seen way too many Irish movies to have not seen this be coming."
As if on cue, something large rose out of the water, just in front of the boat. The girls all held onto the sides of the boat for dear life, as the creature's exit from the water pushed waves out in all directions. Once her exit was complete, the lake's water returned to its normal, calm state.
(Katie)
It was then that we were greeted by the biggest, long-necked girl-turned-creature yet!
"I'm the Loch Ness Monster!" Milly exclaimed, greeting her friends in her new form.
(Katie)
Wait, wait, wait! How did we go from cute creatures in the original to frightening ones in this one?
(Milly)
There's only so many of the former, you know.
"Milly!" Katie exclaimed. "What happened to you?"
"I dunno," Milly replied. "One minute, I was at the mall shopping for a swimsuit, and the next, I've got a neck the size of an apatosaurus!"
Suddenly, Milly growled a third time. Or rather, her stomach did.
"Boy, being the Loch Ness Monster makes a girl hungry! Anybody got anything to eat?"
Everyone turned to Katie, who was the only one amongst them capable of having pockets to carry food in it.
"Sorry."
Luckily, another option presented itself. Upon hearing it, Milly turned her head to the left. Flying right by her, at that very moment, was...
"It's Mr. Bluebird!" Katie exclaimed. "Finally! Milly! See if you can get him to stop and help us!"
(Milly)
Milly the Loch Ness Monster obliged her friend's request by turning towards the bluebird... and eating it one gulp.
"Mmmm..." she said, licking her lips. "Yum yum!"
In front of the computer, at the Fireside Girls' Lodge in downtown Danville...
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Katie shouted at Milly.
"Why not?" Milly questioned. "It adds... drama! My pen pal said a little bit drama makes stories better!"
Displeased with that answer, Katie got up from her chair and stomped angrily towards the door. Milly jumped up and gave chase.
"I was gonna have me spit it back out!"
"You weren't supposed to eat it in the first place!"
"This is supposed to be a collaboration! The one thing I contribute..."
The pair's voices faded as they left the building. Off to the right, Isabella, Gretchen, and Holly were standing there, dumbfounded as to what had just happened.
"Well, we're off to a fine start," Isabella commented with sarcasm.
End Entry
Author's Notes:
Seriously, sometimes I wonder how weird I can make Milly before I start worrying that someone will complain I've gone too out-of-character with her. Hopefully I'm still okay in that respect... but we'll see.
Also, give yourself a pat on the back if you figured out what show Isabella referenced upon singing its theme song...
You science fiction buffs will enjoy the second entry of 'Fireside Fantasy Month,' as the girls race to stop some aliens from destroying the universe. Would you believe the key to stopping them... lies with Gretchen? See what happens, next time!