When the other members of the party began to stir, they found Minnie already up and about by a sewing machine sewing together a new pair of panties out of the dry portion of her sheets.

"Can you turn the racket down?" Oswald complained, annoyed at the fact of being awoken by loud noises made by the mice couple two days in a row.

"I'm sorry," Minnie said, pulling the panties out from under the machine and holding them up to the light to inspect them, "I was just finishing up."

"Ah," said Mickey, "parachute panties that actually hold on?"

"She wet the bed last night," Felix said simply.

Oswald let out an annoyed huff, "Girls. Why is it always the girls who wet the bed on these kinds of adventures?"

…

Yeah, I have absolutely no idea where he's getting this data from. (Certainly not any of my completely normal fanfictions I have no reason to tell you about, that much is for certain.)

But despite his mean words, deep down inside, Oswald just didn't want to admit that he too had wet the bed in his sleep last night. So I guess all that can be said about this whole situation, let's hope this cantino changes the sheets in their guest rooms often.

When they made it outside the cantino, morning light gleaming through the canyons down on them, the Guitarron Guy was there awaiting them, ready to show them to the stables.

"Ah Meanie," he said upon seeing her, "I seEe you mahd yo'seilf some nehw PANT-ees. Ahs resorkful ahs oilways oI seeeeee."

Minnie gave him a sweet curtsy, "Why thank you!" She said.

Guitarron opened the stable doors, and they all waited a moment. Then, out of the shadows, walking on wobbly legs, stumbled a large, jolly rhea (Basically, an ostrich, don't question it).

"Wobbly!" Mickey cried at the sight of his old amigo who he hadn't seen in a long time.

Wobbly just stumbled amusingly, falling into Mickey and hiccing as the mouse tried to hold him up.

Oswald looked at the rhea unconvinced. "We're going to ride this thing?"

"Don't dismiss this bird," Mickey said confidently as he pushed the bird back to his feet, "Wobbly has seen me through think and thin and back again, haven't you Wobbly."

Wobbly hicced, giving off that goofy grin before he fell over in the opposite direction, away from Mickey.

Felix looked consideringly, "Mickey is more of an expert down here than we are, I say we trust him."

Oswald looked from Felix to Mickey, than back to Wobbly, "Can he carry the four of us?"

"Nop! Thee ah mo'e!" Guitarron announced just as three more rheas stepped from the shadows, standing in the morning light, the sun shining proudly over the barn behind them!

"Ooh, do I get the girl," asked Minnie, looking at the sole female rhea.

"No," Guitarron answered plainly, "Thayt oynes for Oswarld."

Oswald took a split-second to look offended, but then he stopped, then he shrugged, he knew plenty of respectable female characters, the Mechanical Cow for one, and not to mention Fanny, Sadie, and now Minnie.

"Thank you, Guitarron," Mickey said gratefully.

The Guitarron just dipped his head, "You're welcome," he said plainly, though with a reasonable trace of an accent.

It just goes to show all it takes is one kind word of mutual respect to show somebody they don't have to be just an offensive stereotype.

And you can't copyright just one word.

(Take that Doyle Estate.)

But why shouldn't he see them as more than just their stereotypes, Mickey thought to himself as he began to ride away on his rhea, he himself had become so much a part of this culture during his time down here; for a time he had lived here, exploring out on the plains and within the canyons, living among the people, just being one of them, how could he have forgotten that they, as much as him, had potential to be nothing but just normal acting characters.

Mickey shook his head; stereotypes, so selective.

SPLAT!

Mickey went cartwheeling forward as Wobbly did a full on faceplant on the ground. The rhea gathered himself, stumbled around a bit, then hicced.

And then the rhea was giggling.

Mickey sighed. Guess it was going to take more than just one encouraging word to get this ostrich back in line.

Mickey gave Wobbly a swift kick in the rear, (animal abuse), lifted up the rhea's whole body, and hopped back on. The rhea stumbled around a bit more before hobbling ahead down the canyon where the other three were waiting, watching.

"You know, you really need to get that ostrich's alcohol consumption back under control," Minnie remarked.

Mickey went red. So much for being the Great Gallopin' Gaucho aboard his magnificent rhea.

Mickey took off again, Wobbly's legs flailing in wide arching loops as the traveled, but as the others rode alongside him, there were no other incidents.

As the Sun rose higher in the sky, the canyons began to open up into wide planes and Wobbly began to sober up, (because that's how toons do it apparently), and Mickey felt the call of the plains continue to grow within him.

For so much of this time, Mickey had simply been following Oswald, and then Felix, not really sure of who he was as an individual outside of his copyright, was he merely and Oswald Copycat, or was he something more? But out here on the plains, this was his element, he was in charge, this was HIS destiny he was following.

As Mickey and Minnie traveled together, their rheas danced in their, weaving in and around eachother, spinning their riders around in romantic daylight.

As he rode behind them, Oswald couldn't help but notice how much Mickey seemed to glow in the morning light. Sheesh, he looked so cool out here on the plains, like even the Sun was struck by Mickey's stardom. How was it that one mouse could fit so perfectly in every role he was in? Is this why people liked him? Was this Gaucho just a preview, bringing out in Mickey just a taste of the greatness he would go on to become?

"Jealous, are we?" Felix asked, pulling up alongside Oswald, lazed out on his rhea's back like there wasn't a care in the world.

"I'm not jealous, I never get jealous," said Oswald defensively, jealous of Felix's lack of jealousy. He looked at Felix narrowly, "What are you doing here anyway," he said finally, "I know we asked you here, but why? You don't have anything to gain by joining in on an adventure barely anybody is ever going to hear about."

Felix just laughed. "It can get boring in the Public Domain when everybody thinks you're still under copyright. I'm just here to get out and stretch my legs. Besides we're all toons here, we come from the same mold, before even you, there was Julius the Cat, a direct copy of me if I remember. I wanted to see how we all got along and get a feel for our chemistry." Felix laughed again.

"And what chemistry do you see between us?" Oswald asked, nodding in Mickey's direction.

Felix glanced back then forth between the two of them, then his eyes narrowed at the rabbit.

"You two? I see no difference."

"I'm not like Mickey," Oswald said defensively.

"You both were made for the purpose to fill whatever role you were put in," Felix said, "The only difference is that while Mickey was able to thrive under copyright, you were held back. Public Domain for you is an opportunity, to find who you are and become something you were not able to be under copyright, only to be once again overshadowed by Mickey; Mickey however became so much of what the world knows him as under copyright, that now being removed from it, it's no longer certain who he's supposed to be. But don't ask me about it, I had a fair life under copyright, but it does feel good to be free."

Oswald looked at Mickey again in the distance, thoughtful, then felt himself sigh. Regardless of the competition between them, they were still like brothers, and if any two characters were to have chemistry, it should be them.

Oswald pulled his rhea up alongside Mickey's.

"Listen, I need to apologize..." he swallowed, "I know I have been known to be a bit... hard on you these past few days... It's just, ever since I saw what you become in that mirror..." Oswald shuttered then sighed, "But having spent all this time with you, I don't think that's the real you, at least not anymore. And I just want to say... I'm sorry."

Oswald paused to glance behind him to make sure there were no chairs flying at the back of his head. Fortunately it was only a cactus this time, because that's just the way farmers in this region sometimes were.

After Oswald had finished pulling spikes out of his face, he looked at Mickey, "As you can see, there's a reason I can get so prickly sometimes!"

Mickey just laughed, and Oswald chucked the cactus at him like it was a potato. Mickey fell off Wobbly and right into a cactus patch.

This time Oswald was laughing.

And thus began the Great Cactus Fight of 2024. Essentially it was just like a snowball fight, except with catcuses.

As Felix cheered on from the sidelines, Minnie could only avert her eyes. Unfortunately, just because something is too painful to watch doesn't mean it's too painful to feel apparently, as Minnie found out all too quickly when a stray projectile found her face in the crossfire.

The next thing you know, Minnie was pummeling at Oswald with a long and spindly of her own.

And then, Mickey decided to take a cactus straight to Oswald's rhea's undercarriage, and her anguished sound effects were worthy of the sound era.

Fortunately, she wasn't one of some less fortunate species (or gender) where it mattered so much, but admittedly, taking a cactus to there has got to hurt, no matter who you are.

But we are getting sidetracked. Felix gave a "HA! HA! HA!" Then looked up at the letters. Well, that ain't gonna work.

So he withdrew a wind-up Santa he had from somewhere, and wound it up. Santa belted out a large "HO! HO! HO!" and Felix used the "O"s to lasso the others up.

"As fun I had watching y'all's game," Felix said, "I think it's 'bout time we oughta go."

"Ohh, but we were having so much fun," Minnie said, hurling a final one at Mickey.

Oswald's rhea made a pitiful gurgle of disagreement.

But as they continued back on their way, their moment of toonish bonding had given them a great boost of moral, new burst of energy carrying them onto their goal.

Almost enough energy to make up for the energy they had spent in their tomfoolery in the first place.

Taking a cactus to the face can do that to someone.