Ch.19: The Real Wizard

Getting back to the Prime Color City was easy for our heroes. As further gratitude for freeing them, Niddler and his flock offered to fly our heroes to the city. Gryphon was a bit reluctant at first, but after finding out what a wonderful feeling it is flying, he started to fly himself the rest of the way, completely forgetting about his acrophobia because he got over it. Now our heroes are standing before Oz in the throne room.

"CAN I BELIEVE MY EYES?" he asked in his booming voice. "WHY HAVE YOU COME BACK?" Sweetie Belle then went up to him a bit with the mask in her bright green aura before placing it on the steps before her with a smile, the others watching after her.

"Great Oz, we've done what you've told us to do," she said. "We've brought you Wuya's mask. We've melted her."

"Well, technically, she melted her," Pumpkinhead pointed out as the little Unicorn returned to the group, "but you know what we mean."

"AH," the Wizard replied, sounding impressed, "YOU LIQUIDATED HER, HAVE YOU? VERY RESOURCEFUL." The others smiled in reply.

"Thanks, Your Excellency," Apple Bloom replied, feeling humbled by his impressed compliment.

"So…does that mean you'll keep your promise to us?" asked Scootaloo, fluttering her wings hopefully.

"NOT SO FAST!" the Wizard boomed suddenly, causing them to jump back with surprise before black-and-white smoke began billowing around the large head. "I HAVE TO GIVE THE MATTER A LITTLE THOUGHT. GO AWAY AND COME BACK TOMORROW."

"Tomorrow?" the girls cried with dismay.

"But we want to go home now!" Spike yelled, stamping his foot angrily. Their friend went up to their side bravely, despite their shaking legs/tires.

"You had plenty of time already!" Chopper snapped, pointing an accusing handlebar at the head hiding behind the smoke.

"Yeah," Gryphon added with a growl.

"DO NOT DARE AROUSE THE WRATH OF THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ!" the head roared as Spike turned to the side and noticed a curtain-covered booth of some kind close by the group. "I SAID COME BACK TOMORROW!"

"What is that?" the little dragon asked himself before going up to the booth to investigate.

"If you really are great and powerful," Sweetie Belle challenged bravely, "you'd keep your promises!"

"YOU DARE CRITICIZE THE GREAT OZ, YOU UNGRATEFUL CREATURES? CONSIDER YOURSELVES LUCKY THAT I'M GIVING YOU AN AUDIENCE TOMORROW INSTEAD OF TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW!"

"Hey, guys!" Spike suddenly called over to the group. They turned to see that he opened the curtain to see a control panel with a microphone behind it. And a human man was working/talking into them. He's tan with short brown hair under a brown top hat with a red band and wearing a brown jacket, brown pants, and forest green shoes. He turned to them with surprise to reveal brown eyes and an orange shirt under the jacket. Seeing the others looking at him with surprise, he quickly grabbed the curtain and closed it.

"PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN!" the "head" ordered as they went up to the booth and opened the curtain. "THE GREAT OZ HAS SPOKEN!"

"Who are you?" Apple Bloom demanded, making the man turn to her with surprise. He then turned to the mike to talk into it again.

"I…I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL—"

"Will you knock it off?" Scootaloo snapped with annoyance. Jumping at her outburst, the man sighed in defeat and spoke to them in an English gentleman's voice.

"Wizard of Oz."

"You?" Sweetie Belle replied with shock. "I don't believe you!"

"I'm afraid it's true, my dear," the man sighed with a shrug. "There's no other 'wizard' but me, Archeology Professor Hershel Layton of London's Gressenheller University." He then took his hat off and bowed to them as any gentleman would in greeting. But the others aren't moved by his manners.

"You humbug!" Pumpkinhead yelled, scolding the professor.

"Yeah," Gryphon growled with a glare. Professor Layton sighed in reply.

"It's true," he said, sadly putting his hat back on. "I am a humbug, although I never meant to be."

"Are you some kind of bad guy?" Spike inquired with a glare.

"Oh, no, little one," Layton assured him. "I'm a good person; I'm just a very bad wizard. Archeology and puzzle-solving are my best qualities, but never magic."

"But what about the courage you've promised Gryphon," Pumpkinhead demanded, "and the heart you've promised Chopper?"

"And Pumpkinhead's brain?" Chopper and Gryphon added simultaneously. Layton only smiled in reply.

"Why, anyone can have a brain," he answered Pumpkinhead. "From the smallest ant crawling through the grassy garden to the largest whale swimming through the ocean, there lies a brain that helps it think throughout its entire life. Where I come from, we have schools and universities like Gressenheller, and it is there people go to learn things so they can become great thinkers in the future, coming out thinking deep thoughts. And they have no more brains than you. What they have and what you lack is a diploma." He then opened a small forest green handbag in the booth with him and took out a white scroll with a red silk ribbon.

"Therefore," he added, unrolling the scroll to show Pumpkinhead the diploma inside, "by virtue of the authority vested in me, by the Gressenheller University committee and Alpha Pi Omega, I hereby confer upon you the honorary degree of PhD." He then rolled it back up again before handing it to the awed scarecrow.

"PhD?" he then asked.

"Doctor of Philosophy," the man answered knowingly. Deciding to try it, Pumpkinhead placed his finger on the side of his head.

"The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side." He blinked with a smile of realization. "I…I don't believe it! I've got a brain!" He then threw his arms around Layton and hugged him. "I…I couldn't thank you enough!"

"Oh, you're very welcome," he replied with a chuckle before being freed from his embrace so Apple Bloom can hug the scarecrow.

"Way to go, Pumpkinhead!" she cheered as Layton turned to Gryphon.

"As for you, my majestic friend," he said, "you are just a victim of disorganized thinking, delusional of the belief that you have no courage because you run away from danger. You confuse courage with wisdom. Where I come from, we have people who are called heroes, such as a good acquaintance of mine Inspector Chelmey of Scotland Yard. Once a year, they would take their fortitude out of mothballs and parade down the city's main street. And they have no more courage than you have. What they have and what you lack is a medal." He then took out a flat case in his handbag to take out a golden triple-cross medal on a red silk band.

"Therefore," he added, "for meritorious conduct, extraordinary valor, and conspicuous bravery against the late Wuya of the West, I hereby award you the Triple-Cross and dub you member of the Legion of Courageous Heroes." The honored Gryphon blushed as the professor placed the medal around his thick neck, and his blush became deeper when Scootaloo hugged him with cheering congrats.

"Aww, shucks, guys" he chuckled, shuffling his eagle foot into the floor bashfully, "I'm speechless." Layton then knelt down before Chopper to be leveled with him.

"And as for you, Chopper," he said with a hand on his handlebar, "you want a heart. I guess you are unaware as to how fortunate you are not to have one; hearts won't be practical until they can be made unbreakable."

"Well," the motorcycle replied, "I still want one; being heartless is like being lifeless." The professor smiled in reply at this reasonable statement.

"Where I come from," he explained, "we have philanthropists, people who love to do good deeds for others, much like my dearest friends Luke Triton and Flora Reinhold. And their hearts are no bigger than yours. What they have and what you lack is a testimonial." He then reached into his bag and pulled out a large red watch shaped like a heart and on a golden chain.

"Therefore," he added, "in consideration of your kindness, it gives me great honor to bestow upon you this small token of our esteem and affection." He then placed the watch into the grateful motorcycle's handlebars. "And remember this, Chopper: a heart is not judged by how much you loved…" He then turned to Sweetie Belle knowingly. "But by how much you are loved by others." Chopper and Sweetie Belle smiled at each other, understanding what he meant. The motorcycle then held his watch up to the side of his helmet to hear it ticking.

"Hey!" he cried with delight. "It ticks! Sweetie, it ticks!" He held it up to her ear happily as Gryphon showed Scootaloo his new medal.

"Look what my medal says, Scootaloo. 'Courage'." Scootaloo smiled as well before Pumpkinhead spoke up.

"Hey, what about Spike and the girls?"

"Yeah," Chopper added, turning to Layton. "Spike and the girls now."

"Ah, yes," the Professor replied, placing his hand on his chin in thought. "Spike and the girls…" Spike only sighed sadly.

"I don't think there's anything in that bag that could get us home to Ponyville."

"Yes, you four have put in quite the predicament," Layton concurred, "but I'm certain the best way to help you is to take you back to Ponyville myself."

"Really?" Scootaloo replied, fluttering her wings with excitement.

"Can you really do that?" asked Apple Bloom.

"My dear child," Layton chuckled, "you cut me to the quick. I had accidentally found myself in Ponyville before, and its traditions and customs fascinated me greatly. Then some time later, as I was taking a relaxing hot-air balloon ride, the most unexpected phenomenon happened to me: the balloon failed to return to the town."

"It did?" replied the shocked Gryphon.

"Were you scared?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Well, I was quite worried at first," the professor confessed, "but a true gentleman never panics foolishly, no matter how dire the situation is. So I kept calm and let the wind guide the balloon to wherever it blows while standing by in case something should happen. Before long, the balloon landed in this very city, where I was deemed the Wizard of Oz for my amazing arrival. I still have the balloon in my possession, and with it, the five of us will return to Ponyville at last." Happy at this news, Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped up into Layton's arms and hugged him. They're finally going home!