Fluttetshy's heart was pounding a mile a minute as she, Dusty, and Snappy fled from the collapsing cave. She didn't want to admit it out loud, but she was legitimately terrified. What was going to happen to them if they didn't get out in time?

The three dashed out of the cave opening and into the snowstorm outside, just as the cave completely caved in on itself, causing a massive rockslide that blockaded the entrance.

The three turned and gazed at the now collapsed entrance to what was once a beautiful cave full of wonder. Dusty doubted the plants inside survived, and Snappy and Fluttershy couldn't believe what had just happened.

"Well... looks like we won't be going back in there again." Dusty remarked, pulling his hat off and wiping his brow with the back of his hand, before slipping the cap back on.

Snappy and Fluttershy simply looked at each other, firmly out of breath. Flutershy wiped the sweat from her brow and gave a loud breath of relief that they had made it out in one piece.

But what was that machine that had appeared in the hole opening? Who was piloting it? And why had it taken the Power Medal of Compassion?

No doubt it was another one of the Smog Smashers, out to get revenge for Milstone's defeat. Fluttershy had hoped they wouldn't see the Smog Smashers again for some time, but never anticipated that they would make such a rocky comeback... with "Rocky" being a vast understatement.

"Dusty, whoever that was, they got the Power Medal! What'll we do now!?" Snappy asked out loud, wiping the snow off his cap as the older Bumblejinks looked to the top of the large hill the cave was situated on, fresh determination in his eyes.

"We're gonna get it back, Bumblejinks style!" Dusty announced proudly, and with his billy club in hand, he quickly took off up the hill, leaping from rock to rock easily.

Snappy and Fluttershy looked to each other nervously.

"Well, at least he always knows what to do in a situation like this." The younger Bumblejinks remarked as he pulled the Medal-Detector-5000 back out and set it to home in on the Power Medal of Compassion's location.

"I really don't want to face off with another giant metal monster. The last one was so scary." Fluttershy replied, a hint of fear in her tone.

Snappy sensed her distress and gently wrapped an arm around her for support as he put away the Detector and reached for the controls of his jetpack.

"Well, like it or not, we gotta get that Power Medal back. Better hang on tight!" He instructed her.

She nodded in reply and grabbed onto him tight, letting out a gulp as though resigned to the worst.

Snappy engaged the jetpack and sped off in Dusty's direction, catching up to the crimson canine in no time. The three hurried off to catch up to the giant robot, hoping they could recover the Medal, and dreading they couldn't.

Twilight Sparkle paced the castle's map room urgently, a look of utmost distress on her face. It had been well over a day since Fluttershy's disappearance, and by now, Princess Celestia and all of Equestria had learned of what had happened. The news had already spread like wildfire.

Of course, Princess Celestia had ordered the royal guard to go out into the kingdom and search for Fluttershy, which was backed by the majority of the kingdom's population. But after almost thirty-six hours of combing every square inch of Equestria nonstop, nothing was found.

Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash weren't there. While finding Fluttershy was their top priority, they still had their daily lives to attend too, and no amount of complaining, arguing, or ( in Rainbow Dash's case ) shouting and screaming was going to change that.

"What could have happened to her? First a giant portal opens in the middle of her room, then she gets sucked in, then... nothing. She's just gone." Twilight recounted to herself, for about the hundredth time that day.

"Aww, come on, Twilight. This isn't the first time our friends have disappeared on us. She'll turn up." Spike reassured her, taking note of the considerable hole in the floor she had made from her pacing and just knowing he would have to fix it.

Twilight turned and gave him a miserable look.

"She's never been gone this long without a trace. Everypony is worried sick about what could have possibly happened to her." The purple alicorn responded, giving a terrible, miserable sigh and hanging her head low as she turned and continued pacing.

However, she looked back over when she heard Spike give a painful yelp. Something big and heavy had hit him on the head, and it was now lying on the floor next to him.

"Ouch... what was that!? That thing nearly cracked my head open!" He complained, pointing down to the wrapped package that had struck him on the noggin. It had a white letter attached to it.

"Huh... it doesn't look like it's from Princess Celestia... or anypony we know, for that matter..." Twilight puzzled, lifting up the package with her magic and setting it down in one of the chairs surrounding the map.

Spike came over for a closer look, now rubbing a large bump that had formed on his head when he had gotten hit.

Twilight detached the letter from the package and opened it, which was fortunate, because it said, in writing she had never seen before:

"Dear Twilight S., if your reading this letter, then my efforts to send this across space has been successful.

I'm sending you this letter to notify you of your friend Fluttershy."

Twilight gasped loudly when she read this part.

"It's about Fluttershy! She's alright!" Twilight exclaimed loudly, getting Spike's full attention, who stepped up to read the letter himself as Twilight continued.

"The details are very long and drawn out, and to fully explain them would take a very long time. So I'll cut straight to the chase and make this short.

Your friend was teleported to my world due to a portal in space itself, developed by the devious Mystery, a villain of my world who seeks world domination. He meant to use it to bring a monster into this world to wipe out the population, but the portal took your friend instead.

Don't worry, your friend is safe for the time being. She has met with this worlds most famous superhero, who wrote the handbook in this package I'm sending you. Even now, they're working hard to get her home to you.

I only ask that you tell your kind to remain calm and patient while we work to bring your dear Fluttershy home.

Stay safe, and keep smiling.

~Melody Dandyberry."

And next to that name, stamped onto the paper, was a picture of a bright blue medal with a dark blue snowflake design on a golden string.

Twilight stood there in stunned silence. Fluttershy was alright! She could have danced for joy at the news!

But she was also lost in a distant world none of them had ever heard of before, and as far as anypony knew, it would probably be impossible to travel to this world and locate her. This made her want to go roll up into a ball on her bed and cry.

Twilight shuddered for a moment when she thought of how this letter got here. Whoever this Melody was, she sounded like she had mastered the art of spacetime travel. She must have been VERY powerful to achieve such a feat.

And now her attention turned to the package. Indeed, it looked like there was a book in there. She wasted no time in opening it and looking at the cover in confusion.

The cover art depicted a bright, colorful and cartoony town being assaulted by flying creatures in business suits. They looked very similar to the "Humans" she had encountered when she went to Canterlot High to recover her stolen crown from Sunset Shimmer, except much darker and more ominous looking.

She took a peek at the title.

"TOONTOWN SURVIVAL GUIDE"
"By legendary superhero Dusty Bumblejinks"

Now she was REALLY confused. Toontown? Dusty Bumblejinks? What did that all mean?

Turning the book over, she read the back cover.

"Neither deadly Cogs, nor crazy, out-of-control minigames shall stand in your way with this comprehensive guide to Toontown, from the towns greatest hero himself!"

The back cover detailed many different topics that the book contained, including a history on how Toontown came to be, the best tactics for one to train their gags with, as well as details on the various cogs and how to deal with them, amongst other things. None of it made any sense to her.

She was still very confused about all of this, but considering she now knew that Fluttershy was still alive and trying to get back to them, she hardly cared.

"That's a pretty weird book." Spike commented. He had been gazing at it, too.

She turned to him and nodded her head.

"I know. We should go get the others, then go see Princess Celestia. She'll want to hear about this." Twilight said to the little dragon as she lifted him up onto her back and hurried out of the room with the book and letter in tow.

The others simply had to hear about this!

Dusty held up a hand to halt the others. They had spent a good half an hour following the giant footprints of the mechanical monstrosity that had stolen the Power Medal. The trail led the three through a dense winter forest, which made it even easier to follow the machine, thanks to all the downed trees, many of which looked like they'd been snapped in half.

"I'll say one thing for this guy. He's easy to follow." Snappy remarked as the group made it to the other side of the forest and looked out at the surroundings.

It looked much the same as everything else in this arctic place, except there was a giant frozen lake in front of them. There appeared to be a snow-free clearing on a cliff overlooking the lake on the opposite side of where the group was.

And on this clearing looked to be a large camp, or compound, with several dozen cogs sipping mugs of hot oil and deep in conversation about this and that. The giant robot from before wasn't visible, which worried Fluttershy. Crates of food and drink, which were clearly marked with large pictures of pizza and soda on the sides, indicated a Toon was amongst their ranks.

Dusty pulled out his telescope and took a closer look at the camp.

"Hmm... a large amount of cogs... and enough oil to keep them running for weeks. And there's enough food and water stored there to keep a small group of Toons fed for the same length of time. And I can see Mystery's flag blowing in the wind there. I can also see the Smog Smashers emblem on that large building over there." He reported to the others, snapping the telescope closed and glancing at the other two.

Snappy and Fluttershy waited with baited breath for what he would say next.

"Either these cogs are looking to get in touch with their more natural side, or I say we've just found the Smog Smashers base camp, or hideout."

Snappy looked over at the camp with wide eyes. The Smog Smashers base of operations?

He could hardly believe that the Smog Smashers would be operating all the way out here, miles from Toontown and in the middle of a frozen forest. But then again, it made the perfect place to hide their headquarters. Who would ever think of coming out here, braving the bitter cold, just to find them?

Speaking of the bitter cold, the chilly weather was beginning to get to Fluttershy, because Snappy could clearly see that she was shivering. She had her arms wrapped around herself, although it did little to warm her up.

"Fluttershy, are you alright? Your shivering pretty harshly." Snappy asked her, stepping closer to her as Dusty looked over.

"I-it's so weird... i-i-it was s-so warm back a-at t-t-the cave..." She had struggled to get the words out as she stood there in the cold. She didn't know how long she could endure this snowstorm, but she did know that if she stayed out here too long, she would freeze to death.

Dusty seemed to sense her distress, and gave her a concerned expression. No doubt she was very cold at that moment, standing in the half foot deep snow in only a light summer dress during a snowstorm...

"It's because Mystery, or whoever was piloting that robot, destroyed the cave back there. It had special properties that kept anyone in this forest from getting cold, despite the weather. Now that it's gone, the risk of hypothermia is very real." The crimson dog said, stepping over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder, leading her over to a fallen tree trunk, which he quickly cleared of snow by lifting it up with one hand and shaking it down.

As soon as he set it back down, he helped her to climb aboard it and reached into his back pocket, digging for something.

"I told Melody this might happen, so she gave me this to help you out." He said as he pulled out a small silver bracelet. It had a light blue snowflake design on it.

Snappy came over to see what was up as Dusty slipped it onto Fluttershy's wrist.

"It helps protect you from the cold. It won't be able to protect you from the freezing cold water, though, so stay clear of that lake." He warned as he stepped back.

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. The bracelet was already helping immensely. She didn't feel remotely cold anymore, and her shivering had ceased.

"Melody truly can do anything, can't she?" Snappy commented, glad they could continue on their task without the fear of Fluttershy turning into a popsicle.

Dusty chuckled at his younger brother.

"Probably, as long as she's got enough Power Medals." He replied happily, before pulling out his telescope again and turning his gaze back to the camp. It looked like the cogs were all changing up their guard shifts.

His eyes lit up and he turned to look at the others.

"They're changing shifts. Now's our chance to slip in and look for the Power Medal." Dusty reported. This extracted a curious look from Snappy.

"We're not going to just blow our way in there and take the Medal?" The younger dog asked.

Dusty simply shook his head.

"We better not risk it. I don't feel like raising the alarms just to snatch the Power Medal. And besides, Fluttershy isn't exactly qualified to take on an entire encampment of cogs," Dusty looked over at her apologetically. "we're better off sneaking past them."

Fluttershy hadn't been offended in the slightest. She knew perfectly well that she was very inexperienced as a cog fighter compared to the Bumblejinks, so she was grateful that they were going to attempt to use stealth to get past the cogs rather then running in with gags in the air.

Of course, both ideas terrified her to no end.

Princess Celestia's brain was overclocking itself as she attempted to take in all of this information at once.

Fluttershy was alive, which was good news, and she was actively trying to get back home to them, which was also good news.

But she was lost in a faraway world none of them could access, which was bad news. It troubled Celestia to no end that one of the Element of Harmony bearers was now absent, and the risk was very real that they could never see her again.

The white alicorn glanced down at Twilight Sparkle and her remaining four friends. They had been reading the Toontown Survival Guide with her, and judging from the looks on their faces, they all had different feelings towards this disaster.

Twilight just looked worried sick, though slightly interested in the handbook.

Pinkie Pie's mane had deflated, indicating that she was heartbroken over this tragedy.

Rainbow Dash looked as though she had been tasked with doing advanced algebra by herself, and had no idea where to start.

Rarity looked like she was on the verge of fainting.

And Applejack just looked deeply concerned.

Princess Celestia gave the five a sigh as she lowered the book.

"Well, at the very least, we know that Fluttershy is alive. And we know that she's fighting hard to get home to us." The sun princess stated, before letting out a heavy breath.

"However, she is in a world that none of us have ever heard of, and we do not have the ability to gain access to this world. This concerns me deeply, as without Fluttershy, the Elements of Harmony are essentially useless." This remark earned worried expressions from the remaining five element bearers.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Twilight asked the older alicorn, receiving a disappointing shake of the head in return.

"I'm afraid not. None of us have the slightest idea of where this 'Tooniverse' is, nor how to get there to find Fluttershy. And only a fool of the first degree would attempt to gain entry to that world without proper research into the manner. And that alone could take months to perfect." She replied, earning expressions from the other five ponies that hurt her to look at.

"Oh, poor Fluttershy... what if we never see her again..." Rarity despaired, wiping a tear from her eye as well. Rainbow Dash simply turned away from them and lowered her head, unable to hold back her tears any longer.

"We must remain faithful in Fluttershy's abilities. Though she doesn't show it very often in public, she's grown much since she first met you all, both in her mind and in her skills, and she's undoubtedly able to take care of herself when a crisis has occured. As long as she is courageous, and she can stay out of trouble, she will be alright." Celestia remarked, earning even worse expressions from the others.

"That's what I'm worried 'bout the most." Applejack said to Twilight, a hint of hopelessness in her voice. "Fluttershy ain't known for her courage. 'Specislly when monsters are involved."

Fluttershy's heart was once again racing a mile a minute. She, Dusty and Snappy were all attempting to sneak their way through the cog encampment without being seen.

They had been successful so far, utilizing the many crates and oil barrels in the area to avoid detection. But it hadn't been a smooth run. There was one instance where Snappy stubbed his toe on a stack of crates with a cog standing right on the other side of them. Luckily, the cog had coughed loudly at the exact same time Snappy swore, and Fluttershy quickly covered his mouth with her hand to silence him until the cog stepped away. After firm nods to each other, they continued onward.

Dusty was waiting for them behind a tall scaffolding. He peaked out from where he was hiding and saw that the cogs were changing shifts again. Now was their best bet to get inside the main building without the cogs noticing.

"Okay, on my signal. Move low and fast, but quietly." Dusty silently instructed the others. He then moved into position to make a run for the building.

Another moments wait, and the coast was clear.

"Go!" He quietly called. He hurried toward the door to the main building, Snappy and Fluttershy right behind him. The trio made it inside just as the oblivious security cogs were coming out of a nearby security kiosk. Luckily, the Toons hadn't been spotted.

"Alright, we're in. Now we just have to find that Power Medal..." Dusty said to the others as they turned to look around the room they were now in.

And they all felt their hearts skip a beat.

"Dusty and Snappy Bumblejinks. We meet again..."

The one voice they never wanted to hear.

The one brown cat they never wanted to see.

The usual small army of cogs he always had with him, that they also never wanted to see.

It was Mystery!

And at that time, he was looking over the three with a sinister sneer on his face, which grew even more nasty when his eyes landed on Fluttershy, who looked positively frozen in fright, her eyes wide and ears flattened against her head.

"Well, well, well... it appears we have the little pony girl in our midst." Mystery remarked, earning snide, evil sneers from the cogs behind him.

Dusty turned to look out the window and saw that cogs had surrounded the door from the outside.

It was a trap! Mystery was waiting here for them the whole tine! And he had them completely surrounded!

This didn't stop Dusty and Snappy from assuming their battle stances, though, with weapons drawn. The cogs all tensed up, ready to spring into action.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, had her gaze on Mystery the whole time. One thing that instantly set him aside from other Toons was the big, robotic eye that was in place of his right eye. He had on a highly questionable costume consisting of a white long-sleeve shirt beneath a large black, buttoned-up vest with a red bowtie on. He had dark black boots with long red and white stripped socks going all the way up to his black jeans, and a large red cape behind him.

She wasn't going to lie. He looked legitimately menacing. And at that moment, something about his gaze was making her want to run away screaming as fast as she could.

"W-what do you w-w-want with m-me?" She stammered out, earning an even darker sneer from Mystery.

"Oh, it's quite simple, my dear. Just, uh... those lovely little Power Medals you've been collecting." The brown cat said, pulling the Power Medal of Compassion out of his back pocket and holding it up to prove his point.

Dusty figured as much. But luckily for the trio, he and Snappy had gotten out of jams worse than this before.

After giving a quick half nod to Snappy, Dusty reached into his gag pouch and extracted a foghorn, similar to the one's the pair had used previously during the raid on their estate, and hid it behind his back. Snappy grabbed one out himself and held it behind him, out of sight of Mystery and the cog armada.

"No can do, Mystery! You snooze, you lose!" Dusty taunted, causing all the cogs sneers to turn into dark scowls. Mystery simply sighed and crossed his arms.

"My, my... as usual, you are making a serious mistake, Bumblejinks. You really have no say on the matter when it comes to my new world order." The brown cat replied, before returning his sight to Fluttershy.

"And, ah yes, I would like for your little pink friend to come join me at Bossbot Headquarters. I have SOOOO many questions about her home world that only she can answer." Mystery said, causing Fluttershy to take another step backwards and hide slightly behind Snappy.

Dusty gave Mystery a frustrated look.

"More like you just want to trick her into the Executive Officer Tower so you can torture her about her homeworld, then do who knows what with her when your finished with her." Dusty said, pointing a finger directly at Mystery.

"Sorry, Mystery, but the girls leaving here with us." Snappy boldly declared, his cream pie cannon already drawn and ready, his other hand still on the megaphone.

Mystery simply gave the two a tragic sigh.

"Very well. I'll just take her, then!" The brown cat shouted, before pointing a finger at the three, which was the cogs cue to rush in and attack.

As soon as the cog armada moved, Dusty and Snappy brought out their foghorns and pulled the triggers.

The cogs all came to a screeching halt as the loud noise blared, causing many to fall to the ground and explode. Mystery himself let out a loud shout and covered both his ears as his cog armada fell to the sound gags.

"Blast you, Bumblejinks! I'll have to teach you some manners!" The brown cat shouted when the sound gags ceased their loud, obnoxious noise, before turning and bolting towards an automatic door in the back of the room.

"Quick, after him! He's got the Medal!" Dusty instructed, and the three Toons rushed forward, over the fallen cogs, and towards the door. Dusty caught the door just as it was about to close and jammed it open for the other two. Then they proceeded forward.

Mystery was already out of sight by the time the three reached the next door and forced it open, which took them back outside. This part of the compound was mostly empty, with no cogs in sight. Just a few crates stacked up against the wall.

"Where did he go?" Snappy asked, glancing around and raising a hand to his jetpack controls, ready to fly up and try to spot Mystery from above.

"Good question." Dusty replied, letting out a breath and twirling his baton in his hand, looking around for any sign of the brown cat. No footprints in the snow, nothing.

Fluttershy, in spite of the blizzard raging around them and the sound of the alarm sirens that were now blaring to alert everyone of the three's presence, could faintly smell and hear something that caught her attention. She forced her senses to narrow in on the source of the noise and scent.

It smelt just like big business. The same kind that she smelt before her encounter with Milstone's submarine. And that sound... was that ice breaking?

The thought of what it could have been terrified her, but she knew she had to find out what was going on.

"I think I hear something, over in the lake." She told the others, before turning and running off in the direction of the frozen lake they had previously seen. Dusty and Snappy looked at each other, then followed her.

The smell and noise was getting louder now, and it seemed Dusty and Snappy could now sense it as well.

"Sounds like she's on the right track, Dusty." Snappy commented as the Bumblejinks Bros. followed after Fluttershy into a small stretch of trees, keeping their eyes wide open for any more cogs in the area.

Dusty's guess was that they had destroyed the bulk of the cogs in this area, sending the rest scrambling for safety... or to call reinforcements.

Whatever the reason, when the three finally stopped, they were gazing out at the frozen lake... which now didn't look so frozen. A large hole was smashed in the middle of it, and it was bubbling ominously.

As though something were coming up to the surface!

Dusty and Snappy immediately got into their battle stances, stepping in front of Fluttershy to shield her behind them.

"We'll handle this... whatever it is." Dusty said to her as the Bros. approached the cliffside overlooking the lake. From here, it was impossible to get any closer without risking falling into the freezing cold water, so they instead opted to turn to the right and walk down the side of the cliff to a lower stretch of land.

Fluttershy hid in the trees nearby and watched the pair go.

And that's when it happened.

An enormous gush of water blanketed the ground in front of the Bros. as the object below the water broke the surface. Fluttershy recognized it right away and had to silence a scream quickly.

It was the giant robot that had stolen the Power Medal of Compassion from them!

Dusty and Snappy looked up at the metal behemoth as it stood fully upright. Even though it was half submerged, it still looked as tall as a seven story building. It was by far Mystery's biggest machine to date!

It closely resembled a Big Cheese, minus the fact that it had two extra arms. One had a large hammer upon it, the other a giant drill. That explained why the cave from before had collapsed.

It was a whole minute of stunned silence before the tension that came in the wake of this robots appearance was finally broken, when a familiar voice called out over a loudspeaker to the Bros..

And it wasn't Mystery who was talking.

"Hahaha! You three are more dense then I thought! Who would even think of following the great Smog Smashers straight to their home, if they didn't have some sort of death wish!?"

It was the same fool who had snatched the Power Medal of Compassion. There was no doubt about it.

Snappy felt anger overcoming him as he aimed his gag cannon straight at the giant robot.

"We never have been the type to run away!" Snappy called out, earning a slight glance from Dusty.

"Well, you will soon learn your place, dog! Your up against the one and only Nigel Nighthawk, and I always destroy what I pounce at!" The pilot of the robot called out to the pair.

Dusty and Snappy glanced at each other, then back up at the bot.

"Hate to burst your bubble, pal, but we can't let you run around in a giant robot causing all sorts of havoc!" Dusty shouted, getting Nigel's attention. The robot shifted once, as though an engine were turning over, which caused the Bros. to tense up.

"Correction: A Power Medal fueled giant robot. And I really have to thank you two for finding that Medal. This bot was on it's last legs of reserve power, and I was just ITCHING to try it out at maximum strength!" Nigel called out, as the robot reached down, ripped a giant tree out of the ground with enough force to shake Dusty, Snappy and Fluttershy about, and threw it at the Bros..

The pair just barely managed to get out of the way in time as the tree crashed down into a row of trees behind them. They looked back over at the bot as they stood back up.

"This is gonna be a tough one, Dusty..." Snappy said to his older brother as he once again aimed his gag cannon at the robot.

The older Bumblejinks seemed to have acknowledged this, for he was now in a more aggressive posture from before.

"Keep it busy for a minute. I'll take him down directly." The red dog ordered, and Snappy didn't need a repeat to get the picture.

The younger dog quickly engaged his jetpack as he flew off the ground and into the snow-filled air. The robot quickly turned to him and began firing gears at him. Luckily, he was able to dodge them.

Dusty, meanwhile, ran over to behind the mech and began looking for a way to get to it. He couldn't swim across; He would almost certainly freeze to death. And the surface of the robot looked to be covered in ice, which would make it impossible to climb up, if he were to attempt to jump over.

'There's gotta be something... some kind of weakness, anywhere...' He thought to himself, watching his younger brother fly about and avoid the robots gears.

One gear hit the ground near Fluttershy, causing her to let out a startled yelp and hop back from it.

"Argh, you stupid dog! Hold still!" Nigel shouted, as he raised one of the robots arms to take a swipe at Snappy.

Snappy noiced this and quickly dove to his right to dodge the attack, causing the robot to overshoot him and drive the hammer hand directly into the ground.

"What the- it's stuck!?" Nigel said over his loudspeaker, trying, and failing, to extract the robots hand from the ground. From the look of it, the blow had shattered the ice on the arm.

That's all Dusty needed.

Acting quick, Dusty darted over, jumped up onto the arm, and quickly dashed up it towards the robots head. Although not without getting spotted by Nigel.

The operator of the robot let out a shout of frustration when he saw the dog on his robots arm, and had the gear turrets turn and aim at him.

Dusty was much to quick for them, though, and easily avoided them. He eventually landed on top of one and leaped off it, lunging directly at the robots head.

"Take this!" Dusty shouted.

A second later, the robot lurched backwards violently as it was struck with enough force to knock down a seven story building. Dusty had swung his baton with all his might, delivering a powerful blow that caused his arm to shake a little.

Fluttershy couldn't help but gaze in wonder at this dogs raw, unrivaled strength, and cheer him on all the same.

Dusty flew back following the attack, and was saved from landing in the water by Snappy, who had quickly dove to catch his brother.

"Ack! You two meddling canines!" Nigel screamed over the loudspeaker, now beginning to lose his patience with the pair. That blow had nearly knocked the Power Medal out of his control console, and he knew that if he lost his power supply while running at maximum power, the robot would most likely explode and sink into the lake

The other arm, which had the drill atop it, whirled to life and dove directly at Dusty, forcing him to do a quick diving roll to avoid the attack.

Dusty and Snappy continued their assault on the robot, with Dusty managing to land another solid blow on the machine. Gears flew in every possible direction, but luckily, there were no pesky cogs to interfere this time, so they could focus exclusively on the robot.

Fluttershy, who was hiding behind a tree now, cheered loudly as Dusty landed another blow at the robots head. They were going to win!

But on their fourth attack, the Bros. weren't so lucky...

"ARGH!" Dusty shouted as he was suddenly grabbed by one of the robots hands, which had changed from a drill to a giant pair of claws. And try as he might, he couldn't free himself.

Fluttershy quickly covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming as she watched in horror. What was going to happen to Dusty?

Snappy looked nervously at his brother. What could he do to help him? He was nowhere near strong enough to pry his brother loose.

"I-I've gotten out o-of t-t-tighter jams t-then t-this..." Dusty said as the robot began to apply more pressure. Dusty continued his struggle to free himself all the same.

"Hahaha! Nothing like a good, wholesome game of SQUASH!" Nigel called out gleefully, his attention completely fixed on Dusty.

He didn't notice Snappy flying over to Fluttershy, who was waving him over from on the ground.

"We have to do something, Snappy! Your brother is going to die!" She said fearfully, letting out another horrified gasp as Dusty shouted in pain again. He couldn't take much more of this abuse.

Snappy quickly considered their options, and then it dawned on him. He snapped his fingers and looked over at Fluttershy.

"I think I got an idea, but it's gonna take both of us to do it. Can you help me out?" He asked her, determination in his eyes.

She was as unsure about this as legally possible by pony standards. Get up close and personal with that metal monstrosity!? That sounded like a good way for her to get herself killed!

But then again, what other options did they have? If they didn't act now, Dusty would be doomed for sure. And, by extension, her as well.

She let out a breath and looked over at Snappy.

"Alright. Let's do this." She told him. He quickly lifted her up and the pair flew up and towards the head of the machine. Once again, Nigel's attention was on Dusty, so he didn't notice them.

Snappy landed on the back of the robots head, set Fluttershy down next to him, and pulled out a bundle of TNT from his gag pouch. He quickly lit the fuse and threw it at a vulnerable looking spot in the back of the robots head.

He and Fluttershy stood back, fingers crossed, and waited a moment.

KA-BOOM!

The TNT had done the trick, blowing open a hole big enough for the two to enter the robot from behind.

Carefully as they could, they hurried forward.

And it was nowhere else but the main control room that they walked into.

"How did you know the control room was on the top?" Fluttershy asked as the two entered, extracting a chuckle from Snappy.

"When you've been fighting Mystery as long as we have, you tend to learn a few things about his machines." The blue dog said.

Nigel, who the two could now see was the cat in the Smog Smashers ranks, had turned around in his seat to see what the commotion was about, and looked absolutely startled to see Snappy and Fluttershy standing there.

"What the-!?" He asked in shock, shortly before Snappy rushed up to him and and delivered a blow straight to his head with his hammer, knocking the cat out.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, ran over and extracted the Power Medal from the control console, causing the giant robot to shut down almost immediately.

"Yes! We've got it back!" She cheered happily. They were back to four Power Medals! And they had bested another one of Mystery's henchmen! She wanted to jump for joy right then and there!

Snappy wouldn't lie; He felt like celebrating himself

"Yeah, we rock!" He said out loud, giving Fluttershy a high five.

Their happy mood was quickly shattered by a sudden lurch in the machine. It felt like the bot was breaking apart! And it wasn't because Dusty was hitting it again!

Snappy heard an explosion and the robot rocked around again. He immediately knew what was happening.

"We better book it before this oversized can opener sinks into the lake!" Snappy warned, as he once again picked up Fluttershy in one arm, grabbing the unconscious Nigel with his other hand, and turning to the hole in the back of the robots head.

He rushed forward with his passengers and through the hole, then he took off flying, just as the exploding robot began to sink into the lake.

Dusty was down on the ground waiting for the pair. He was thoroughly winded, but otherwise relatively unharmed, much to Snappy and Fluttershy's relief.

"Not gonna lie, you guys saved my tail back there. I sure am lucky to have such great teammates out here in the field." Dusty remarked, giving the pair a thumbs up.

Snappy and Fluttershy both smiled happily, though the girl had a small blush on her face, at Dusty's compliment. They couldn't deny it, they both felt great for helping Dusty get out of a jam.

The three turned to watch as the giant monster robot exploded and sank into the deep lake.

They stood there for a solid minute or so watching the robot, although Fluttershy's attention was on the Power Medal of Compassion she now held in her hand.

She could see why it was called that. She had felt the power of Friendship many times in the past, especially through the use of the Elements of Harmony, and she could feel much of the same power coming from this Power Medal. It made her feel happy and confident in herself, and she loved it.

"We're over halfway there now. Just three Medals to go." Dusty said to her. He had been watching her gaze at the Power Medal, and she couldn't help but look up at him and smile.

"Yep. But we need to be more careful from here on out. Mystery isn't going to take this news very well." Snappy chimed in, knowing for sure Mystery was going to be furious over having lost another Power Medal to the Bumblejinks Bros.. He shuddered at the thought of what he would do to the few cogs who had managed to escape the compound before.

"Well, if he shows up again, we'll be able to deal with him. He can't stop the almighty power of teamwork." Dusty told the others, giving them an encouraging grin and wink.

And with that, the three started out for Toontown. They were colder then the north pole, battered, beaten, and now that they had the stolen Power Medal back, they had to get back to Melody and report their success.

They also had to drop off Nigel Nighthawk at the police station, and report the location of the Smog Smashers headquarters.

And with any luck, the Toon Resistance would be able to get some much needed answers. That would make everyone happier.

Dusty Bumblejinks and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Bulldozer Studios.

Fluttershy, My Little Pony and all associated characters are owned and copyright by Hasbro.

Toontown and all associated characters, including the cogs, are owned and copyright by The Walt Disney Company.