G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island

Chapters

Opaline's Scheme/Time for a New Adventure
Meeting the Scooby Gang
One Year Later
Same Old Ghosts
To Moonscar Island
Investigations Begin
Zombie Attack!
Dinner Chaos
A Past Uncovered/The Final Fight
Going Home/Opaline is Revealed
Friends Going Missing/Finding Out the Truth

Opaline's Scheme/Time for a New Adventure

It had been a week or two since the Mane 5 and Misty returned from their first Unity Crystal Quest (or at least that’s what Hitch and Izzy liked to call it), where the Unity Crystals would send our hooved heroes to another world that needed their help.

This last time, it had taken our heroes to the kingdom of Warnerstock, where they meet three zany but kind-hearted siblings, and helped them take back their kingdom.

But not long after that, Opaline revealed that she saw everything in Misty’s absence, even though no time had passed in Equestria. That made Misty very nervous deep down… what if Opaline tried to attack them while they were on one of the missions?

Of course, ever since they returned, Opaline had not taken her eyes off the Brighthouse except to sleep, eat and go to the bathroom. She sent Misty out on spying missions daily, and Misty usually told Opaline the same thing every day-- ‘They haven’t left yet, Opaline. Maybe tomorrow’.

This would make Opaline scoff and Misty would retreat to her corridors, so Opaline wouldn’t have to look at her.

But this time, however… would be much different than Misty would ever expect.

It was one particularly cloudy day over Opaline’s castle, and Opaline sat in her throne, mixing up something in a small bowl while Misty watched. And once she was satisfied with her progress, she lifted it up to Misty’s confused face. “What does this smell of, Misty?” she asked, and Misty took a sniff and gagged at the horrible smell. “Like… week-old fish sprayed by a skunk?” Misty guessed. “No-- well, yes,” Opaline nodded. “But… it also smells of… our key to success.”

“...how exactly can this help?” Misty asked curiously. “You just go and do your undercover work, and I will monitor you from here,” Opaline dismissed her. “And pack for a few nights away, okay? Just in case you’re away on another mission.”

Misty nodded nervously and retreated to her quarters to pack the following items:

Her pillow
A stuffed toy Izzy had given her
The necklace she used to call Opaline

“I-I’m ready, Opaline,” the blue unicorn said, packing all of her small items into a saddlebag on her back. “Do you want me to call you when I get there?”

“Of course not, Misty,” Opaline said, confusing her. “We want to make the foolish ponies not suspicious of you, don’t we? Like I said, I will monitor you from my throne and make sure nothing happens that is out-of-the-ordinary.”

Misty reluctantly nodded and trotted out of the room, leaving Opaline to chuckle wickedly. “Now… to finish this mixture and make my mark upon Equestria and existing worlds.”

XXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the Mane 5 were at Mane Melody for a special day of hanging out, and Pipp was singing with her co-workers Jazz Hooves and Rocky Riff in their hit single.

Pipp, Jazz and Rocky: Try something new, take a chance, just believe it
Let out your light, shining bright, can ya see it?
Whoa-oh-ohhhh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh, hey!
Whoa-oh-ohhhh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh

Try something new, take a chance, just believe it
Let out your light, shining bright, can ya see it?
At Mane Melody, hey!
At Mane Melody!

Zipp, Sunny, Izzy and Hitch cheered happily for their friends as the verse closed. “Every single song, you cease to amaze me, Pipp,” Sunny told her pegasus friend. “No wonder Mane Melody is such a hit!”

“Aww, thanks Sunny!” Pipp smiled. “What did you think, Zipp? Want me to give you that mane-do you promised me for weeks now?”

But Zipp wasn’t listening to all that-- she was instead trying to figure out how the Unity Crystals sent them on that mission a few weeks ago to Warnerstock. “Ziiiipp… ZIPP!!” Pipp finally shouted, driving her sister out of it. “Sorry, Pipp…” Zipp apologized. “But our time in Warnerstock has really got me on detective-mode.”

“Can you put detective mode on for one minute and let us spend some time together?” Pipp made a sad face, making Zipp roll her eyes but nod as she put her FlyPad away. “No more detective work for the rest of the day-- I promise.”

Just then, the door bells jingled as the door was opened, and through the door came Misty, holding a pillow within her reach. “Hey, everypony,” she said with a soft smile. “Mind if I… come in?”

“Hi, Misty! Of course you can come in!” Izzy practically dragged the unicorn inside. “Hey, Jazzy! Can you give Misty one of your special hooficures?”

To this, the blue earth pony smiled. “Sure thing. I’m pony-positive that I can come up with the perfect colors and designs for your hooves, Misty. Come on over here!”

“Thanks, Jazz,” Misty smiled and put her front hooves on the counter for Jazz to work her magic. “We were just talking about our adventure in Warnerstock!” Sunny told Misty. “And we think we have the solution to your… little problem.”

Zipp then opened a folder to reveal them to be cutie mark stickers that looked just like the cutie mark she drew on her flank. “Just put them on and they’ll stay like that for a while-- fire proof, water proof, smudge resistant… and after they fall off after a week or so, you can come back for more.”

“...thank you, Zipp!” Misty said with a beam. She never thought that the ponies would take her not having a cutie mark so well, but… they had taken it better than Opaline had ever taken her previous failings.

But before she could get another word in, her friends’ cutie marks began to glow with a pulsating light. “Whoa… do you think the Unity Crystals are trying to call us?” Hitch wondered. “Could be… we better go check it out, just in case!” Zipp answered and flew out the door. “Come on, everypony!”

“Aaaaaaand… done!” Jazz finished up Misty’s design-- a yellow background with pink butterflies dotted all over it. “Thanks, Jazz. How much do I owe you?” Misty asked. “Nothing-- free of charge for any friend of Pipp,” Jazz smiled. “Now, go! I’m sure your friends need you.”

XXXXXXXXXXX

Misty and the ponies urgently rushed to the Crystal Brighthouse as soon as they were able to, and climbed up to where the Unity Crystals once stood. “What do you think we should call these missions?” Hitch asked the others. “Every mission needs a code name.”

“We’ll have time to think about that when we get where we’re going,” Zipp said. And just like that, the cutie marks began to glow with the Unity Crystals, causing them to disappear in a flash of light… a flash of light that Opaline smirked at. Time to put her plans into their first effect.

Meeting the Scooby Gang

The weather was not how anyone would suspect it would when the Mane 5 and Misty crash landed onto a cold stone road overlooking a large castle. Lightning cracked through the sky sending heaven's light through the storms, thunder following it shortly. “Eeeeeeewwwwwww!!!” Pipp groaned as the rain poured down from the heavens above. “Now I’m gonna need 40 mane-dos from Rocky in order to unflatten my mane!”

“Let’s get into the castle over there before we’re washed away!” Sunny called to her friends, and they broke out in a fast gallop toward the castle doors. Once they were inside, they panted and shook the water out of their fur. “Phew… that was too close for comfort,” Hitch said. “Where do you think we ended up?” Misty wondered as Zipp put on her visor and sent her pony drone out to survey the area. “I don’t know… but it looks like wherever we are has a castle that’s over 100 years old. And-- wait… are those… dog tracks?”

True to her word, large dog pawprints were on the floor nearby, and Hitch and Zipp looked over them carefully. “They’re fresh,” Zipp observed. “Then we’re not alone in here. Some dog must be here too… and he isn’t alone-- human footprints too!”

Hitch walked to the other shapes on the ground beside the paw prints. “I say we should follow them, get the information we need and see if any of them need any problems that need solving. Misty, you better stay with us, in case they're--"

But when they looked again, Misty was trotting down the hallway, following the tracks. “Misty! Come back here!” Sunny whisper-called. “You don’t know what could be down that way!”

But Misty, in her curious nature, was too in her own mind to listen, and continued to follow the tracks, her head to the ground and eyes narrowed until… she bumped into something furry.

When she looked up, she saw she was right in the face of a giant brown dog (a Great Dane, to those who wants specifics) with black spots on his shoulders and back, goofy eyes, his tongue sticking outside of his mouth and a blue collar with a gold and blue tag with the letters ‘SD’ on it.

After staring at him for a second, Misty let out a startled scream, and so did the dog, backing up a few feet from her. Misty did a double take… was the dog… afraid of her? “It’s okay,” she said gently. “I’m sorry I scared you. My name is Misty… what’s yours?”

“Scooby-Doo…” the dog said timidly, and while Misty was surprised that he could speak, she decided to leave that aside for now. “It’s nice to meet you, Scooby. Are you all by yourself? We saw some human footprints along with what I’m assuming are your pawprints, but I don’t see them around.”

“Scooby!” some voices called, overlapping one another at times. "Scooby-Doo, where are you?"

Scooby instantly ran toward the source of the voices, and Misty followed him to reveal that he had found his human friends:

One male had blonde hair, blue eyes and wore a light blue shirt with blue jeans.
One female had red hair, blue eyes and wore a purple jacket with a green dress underneath.
The other female had short brown hair, glasses, an orange turtleneck sweater and a red skirt.
Finally, the second male that Scooby was currently licking had short blondish-brown hair with a green shirt and dark red pants.

Misty was happy that Scooby had found his friends… he needed to be happy. “Like, where you been, Scoob? We were just about to start the monster search without ya!” the teen in the green shirt told the dog. “Over with her!” Scooby pointed to Misty close by, causing her to gulp nervously and the gang to gasp in shock. “Jeepers…” the red-head gasped. “A real unicorn!”

“Misty!” Sunny called as the rest of the ponies rounded the corner, but immediately stopped at the sight of the dog and humans. “There you are, Misty,” Zipp sighed in relief before turning to the beings before them. “Sorry about that-- we kinda got rained on and ducked in here for cover. I hope we weren’t disturbing something.”

The blonde-haired boy, by the name of Fred Jones, looked suspiciously at the group, pulling on their manes and tails, causing them to yelp. “Hmm… I don’t see any wires… the hair and fur looks surprisingly lifelike…” he muttered. “Agh, hey!” Pipp snapped. “I worked hard on this mane!”

“Freddy, leave them alone!” the red-headed girl, named Daphne Blake, stopped his up-close investigating and smoothed down Pipp’s mane so it wasn’t so frizzy. “Sorry about that. We’re just… not used to seeing cute ponies around. I’m Daphne, and this is Velma, Fred and Shaggy. And… well, I guess Misty already knows Scooby-Doo.”

“Oh… pleased to meet you,” Sunny smiled back. “I’m Sunny Starscout, and these are my friends-- Misty Brightdawn, Zipp Storm, Izzy Moonbow and Hitch Trailblazer. So… what are you doing out in an abandoned castle in the middle of nowhere?”

“Trying to solve the mystery of the Moat Monster that’s supposed to live in the moat of this castle,” Velma explained. “We’re getting close to solving the case-- all we have to do is find the monster itself.”

Misty felt her blood run cold once she heard the term ‘monster’ being spoken, and shivered slightly. “Monster…?”

“Don’t worry too much about it,” Fred reassured the ponies. “It’s usually a guy in a Halloween mask trying to get rich or revenge.”

“Hmmm… there should be some serious violations about that-- I should know, I’m a sheriff where we come from,” Hitch said. “Maybe we should try and help catch this thing. I mean… safety in numbers-- not like I’m scared or anything.”

The other ponies, even a reluctant-to-face-monsters Misty wanted to offer their assistance. But the gang looked rather unsure at this decision. “Like, I don’t know how you guys do it where you come from,” Shaggy frowned, “but here, it’s a whole other pot of soup. Monsters comin’ at ya every time you think you get away, not being able to eat, bein’ the bait for traps, not being able to eat!”

“Yeah, yeah!” Scooby nodded, but Sunny was able to rub the top of his head with her hoof. “Ah, we’ll be able to take care of ourselves,” she reassured the gang. “We’ve got ourselves a secret weapon. Come on-- we have a monster to track down!”

Shaggy shuddered to Scooby as they followed the apricot-colored earth pony through the deserted hallways. “Like, why does she sound so much like Fred when she says that?”

The only answer Scooby could provide was a whimper and a shake of his head, but looking toward Misty, who bore a kind and friendly smile, caused him and Shaggy to smile in return. Maybe having these ponies with them would be a good chance to not be so scared.

Throughout the hallways the group ventured on, quietly in case the monster lurked nearby. Sunny and her friends decided to trust the gang’s strategies, since they seemed to know what they were doing. Suddenly, there came a slight growling noise, but then it disappeared a few seconds later. That kept the group wary of their surroundings.

This repeated a couple more times, but then after a while… it stopped, just as the group was passing a large set of doors... when something caused the hairs and fur on their necks to stand.

A monstrous roar echoed throughout the castle, and after that, a set of two clawed hands tore through the doorway, revealing a sickening green monster that bore two glistening red eyes.

Fred, Daphne, Velma and the ponies screamed, running in separate directions, and so did Shaggy and Scooby once Scooby hopped out of Shaggy’s arms. “Split up and keep track of the gang!” Zipp told her friends over a video call on her FlyPad. “We have to make sure they’re safe!”

"Right!" the ponies nodded, and Hitch, Zipp and Izzy went to go help Fred and the girls while Misty darted after Scooby and Pipp and Sunny went to assist Shaggy. "Yiiiii!!!" Shaggy screamed, and Sunny and Pipp followed him quicker as the monster seemed to be approaching them. Once running into another room, Shaggy went to shut the door with a huge SLAM, and then locked all three of the locks. They quickly darted to the other door, but as they opened it, the monster was revealed to be behind it the entire time! “YIKES!!” Shaggy shrieked as they darted toward the other door. But, Shaggy being Shaggy, he forgot the door was locked, so when he tried to open the door, the doorknob came off completely. "UGH!!!" Pipp groaned. "You have to be hoofing me!"

"Forget it, Pipp! Just run!" Sunny said, leading the two out the same door that the monster came through. “Scooby-Doo!” Shaggy wailed loudly. “Where are you?!”

Just as he called out to the Great Dane, the three of them literally ran into Misty and Scooby when they came round the corner, so the group decided to escape together, darting through halls and through doors.

Unfortunately, during their chase with the monster, the other ponies, Fred and the girls ran into it, with the monster trying to kill them by throwing a shield in their direction, and Daphne and Velma were sent almost falling off a balcony, with Fred and Hitch trying to hoist them up the old fashioned way while Izzy tried to use her magic and Zipp tried to push them up from below.

Luckily (and by a sheer stroke of luck), Scooby was able to distract the monster long enough to get it away, and his accident sliding down the stairs and colliding with the chandelier and the suits of armor lining the walls of the castle trapped it!

Misty and Sunny helped Scooby out of the chandelier, and Zipp and Pipp helped Daphne and Velma back onto solid ground. And as soon as everyone was safe and sound, Velma approached the phony beast and pulled off it’s mask, revealing a familiar face that made Shaggy gasp in shock. “Like, it's Mr. Beeman! The real estate agent!"

“Mr. Beeman?” Scooby questioned with a raised eyebrow and a voice that spelled total confusion. Velma nodded sternly. “Yeah, he was printing millions of counterfeit dollars in the basement with his printing press. What we originally thought was mold, was really green ink. See?”

As Velma pulled off his monster hands, the gang saw she was right-- there was green ink on Mr. Beeman’s hands. Seeing his plan was spoiled, Mr. Beeman growled in annoyance. “And I would've gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those big dogs and you meddling kids! And... w-whatever those things are!”

“Um, we’re called ponies, mister,” Izzy said with a huff. “Do it right next time!”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After Mr. Beeman was taken away by local authorities, Daphne invited everyone to her house for a while, with the gang trying to answer the questions that the ponies had. “Yeah, we’ve been solving mysteries ever since we were kids,” Velma explained. “And when Scooby was a pup.”

“I bet you were one of the cutest puppies ever!” Misty scratched the Great Dane underneath his chin, making him giggle. But during all this, Daphne had kept quiet, and Fred was beginning to notice that something seemed off. “Daph? Everything all right?” he asked. “No, everything’s fine,” Daphne tried to brush it off. “Don’t worry about it.”

“...just so you know, I don’t like admitting things either. But, I have good friends who will listen,” Zipp told her gently. “Maybe your friends will be the same way.”

Daphne considered the pegasus’ words for a few moments before deciding that Zipp was right… she should tell her friends what had been bothering her lately. “Okay… here’s the thing. I was hoping for a supernatural case-- like, a real one. A mystery other than trying to get our pony friends back to their world. One with a real ghost. All we keep getting are bad guys in masks,” she admitted. “So… I was thinking… what if we take a year or two to do our own thing, and then regroup after a year or sooner if we need to?”

To be quite honest, the ponies weren’t sure how they were liking the gang splitting up like this. They worried that something would cause them to fight, making their problem-finding mission that much harder.

But after a few minutes of silence, the gang looked at one another and nodded. “If that’s what you wanna do, Daph… then we wanna support you,” Fred told her. “Yeah,” Shaggy nodded. “Scoob and I could deal with some time off-- right?”

“I think so,” Scooby nodded. Daphne smiled softly, and pulled her best friends into a hug. “We’ll keep in touch, I promise,” she vowed. But while the gang was having their moment, Sunny and her friends turned to look at each other. “What do we do?” Hitch asked. “We can’t let them seperate themselves from each other like this! What about us? Where will we go?”

“We’ll all stick with a couple members of the gang to keep an eye on them,” Sunny said firmly. “Misty, since you seem to like Scooby and Shaggy so much, you and I can stay with them. Pipp and Hitch, why don’t you stick around with Daphne and Fred for a while?”

“We can do that,” Pipp tossed her mane. “And Izzy and I can stay with Velma, and maybe figure out some minor mysteries without making such a fuss for our existence,” Zipp added. The ponies nodded at this and took one long gaze at one another. It seemed like only yesterday they were bringing magic back… and now they were gonna be away for another year.

It caused the group to hug and nuzzle one another sadly, but they knew that if they wanted to keep connected, all they had to do was call. When no one was looking, Misty gazed out into the pitch black night and prayed to herself that Opaline would not take her friends’ seperation to her advantage.

One Year Later

The next year seemed to drag on, and this bothered the ponies and got them really thinking about the future ahead. While they loved hanging out and getting to know their Mystery Incorporated friends, and they called one another every chance they could get, the ponies missed one another… unaware of how much things have really progressed in Mystery Inc’s seperate lives.

During that faithful year, Velma found an empty lot in the city, where she thought it’d be a good place to open up her own business with her passion for books-- her own mystery book shop, named after Mystery Inc themselves, and she shared her profits with Izzy and Zipp as a way to thank them for sticking with her. As for Shaggy and Scooby… well, they hopped from job to job for a while, trying to find the best fit. Sunny and Misty tried their best to keep their spirits up, but it wasn’t easy, seeing how much they missed the gang after so long.

Finally, for Daphne, Pipp, Hitch and Fred, Daphne was able to get herself on the big time-- a new TV show called Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake, which had Fred as the director and one crew cameraman, Pipp as Daphne’s makeup pony and Hitch standing guard to make sure nothing bad happened. In fact, Daphne’s show was becoming so popular, she was invited onto the renowned talk show Chris to talk about the upcoming season, where she recalled the case of the Moat Monster’s defeat, leaving out the ponies in case their existence would be harmed. “And that’s how we solved the case of the Moat Monster,” Daphne finished her tale. “One of our most frightening mysteries.”

Chris and her studio audience clapped for the end of the tale. “Ohh… stories like that always give me the heebie-jeebies!” Chris shuddered, but smiled. “No wonder you became a reporter-- that Moat Monster almost sliced you up like a pepperoni pizza. And then, we wouldn't have Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake, your very successful syndicated series on Americana. Going on it's second season, I might add? I never miss it!"

"Thanks, Chris, you know the real reason I changed jobs was because the monsters and ghosts always turned out to be bad guys in a mask," Daphne admitted. "Got a little boring, eh?" Chris asked playfully, leading Daphne to chuckle. "No kidding. In fact, that's why the gang went their separate ways. Except for Fred and me." Chris turned to look at the cameras with a smile on her face. "She means Fred Jones, who's now the producer and one-man crew of Daphne's show. How about getting a shot of Freddy, guys!"

The cameras turned as a spotlight fell on Fred, making the studio audience applaud as Pipp and Hitch watched from their hiding place nearby. "Is he cute or what?" Chris shot Fred a wink before turning back to Daphne. “So, what’s coming up for the new season?”

“A new series of segments called Haunted America,” Daphne said. “Sort of a… Ghost to Ghost with Daphne Blake,” Chris joked, causing Daphne to giggle. "Right. But this time, I intend to find some real haunted houses for my viewers," she said. "Gee," said Chris, "it's too bad the old gang won't be along for the ride." At this, Daphne's face fell... it had been hard not doing mysteries without them... she liked it when the entire gang was together. But they weren't. "Yeah... I really miss them."

But Daphne's solemn expression seemed to give Hitch and Fred an idea through their smirks.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, at the airport where Shaggy and Scooby worked, the two cowardly friends and Misty and Sunny watched Daphne looking rather down on the news, and they couldn’t help but feel the same way. “Yeah…” Sunny sighed. “We really miss you too, Daphne.”

"Yeah..." Scooby sniffled and wiped his tears with his tail. "Don't go away," Chris turned to her audience, "we'll be right back with Daphne Blake." Shaggy and Scooby continued to watch the tv for another moment, but all of a sudden, they heard their boss approaching. "Hey, you two!" he growled, and Misty and Sunny darted into their hiding places in order not to be seen. "Get back to work!"

“Like, we’re right on it, boss man sir!” Shaggy saluted with Scooby, and led the Great Dane along the conveyor belt, and Misty and Sunny made sure no one was coming as they came out of hiding to join their friends. Scooby was now a customs dog-- that means that he had to sniff around to find contraband in people’s suitcases that they might sneak in from other countries. Scooby sniffed repeatedly up and down the belt, but then, his nose filled with a familiar scent, causing him to point to a particular suitcase. “Got something, Scoob?” Sunny asked. “Yeah!” Scooby sniffed the suitcase a couple more times. “Yeah, yeah!”

Shaggy opened the suitcase and let Scooby sniff around, but all he found was a dirty sock, causing him to sneeze and blow the sock onto Shaggy’s face. “Eh, no offense, old buddy… but I think your nose might be losing its touch,” Shaggy took the sock off. But Scooby was sure about it, and dug through the suitcase until he found a gorgonzola hiding beneath the clothing. “Pretty sneaky,” Misty smirked, and tapped the Great Dane’s nose with her hoof. “But they can’t fool your nose.”

“That’s right!” Scooby nodded. “Like, no one brings contraband food into our country with us on the job!” Shaggy said, and the four of them marched into the customs office. “Let’s go check this bad boy in,” Sunny opened the door with her hoof, revealing the entire office was stacked with food from different countries. Shaggy laughed at seeing the massive amount they had collected. “Is this the jackpot of jobs or what?”

Scooby giggled at this-- they may have been away from their friends, but at least this job came with absolutely no monsters in sight.

XXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Zipp and Izzy were trying their best to hold a giant stack of books for Velma while she was on the phone with a client. Believe me, it wasn't easy when that book was at least 12 books or more. “Oh… uh-huh. Yes, we do have the Hair Raiser series," Velma nodded tiredly, and went up a step ladder to reach the top shelf. Number 23-- The Vampire Village? Got it. Number 24-- The Creepy Clowntown? Got it. Number 25-- Menace at Mummy Manor? Got it. Yes, I’ll hold them til Tuesday. Two weeks from Tuesday? Oh yeah, that’s fine. Bye.”

Velma finally hung up, and Zipp and Izzy sighed as they set the giant stack of books down on the desk. Daphne’s interview with Chris was finally on TV, and Zipp sighed longingly as she stared at the TV screen. She wondered how her sister was handling not being in the spotlight… and how much she actually miss Zipp herself. “Solving mysteries is a lot more fun than selling them, am I right?”

“Oh yeah,” Izzy nodded. “Despite it being full of monsters and ghosts, it was actually… kinda fun. And it’s even better when you’re solving it with your best friends.” Suddenly, the phone rang again. Velma thought it was another customer calling, so she picked it up to answer. “Mystery Inc book shop.” At the other end of the line was someone she hadn’t heard from in a long time, making her grin from ear to ear. “Freddy?”

“Freddy? Where?” Izzy bolted around looking for him. “On the phone, Iz,” Zipp whispered, and listened in as Velma further listened to what Fred had to say. “Jinkies!” she laughed. “Sounds great! Count us in! We’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early!” She hung up the phone and immediately ran to the two ponies, the brightest smile on her face. "What's going on, Vel?" Zipp asked. "Pack it up, girls!" Velma urged the two of them. "Freddy’s planning a huge surprise for Daphne tomorrow!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Soon, it was time for Shaggy and Scooby’s boss to check in on inventory for the contraband they collected, and headed to the contraband office for their report. What he didn’t expect was to find one overstuffed Shaggy, one overstuffed Scooby and a whole lotta food that was supposed to be there, but wasn’t. “Like, hi boss…” Shaggy groaned, but their boss was at a loss for words. “You you… you ate all the contraband!” Just then, Scooby let off a huge burp, covering his mouth with his right paw. “Excuse me,” he said with a giggle. “Like, not true, boss,” Shaggy shook his head. “There’s still a couple of gorgonzolas left. Help yourself.”

“You’re a couple of gorgonzolas!! You’re fired!” the bossman angrily exclaimed before walking out of the office, letting the door slam and allowing the ponies to come out of hiding. “I told you guys eating all that food was a bad idea,” Sunny frowned. “Maybe you’re right,” Shaggy agreed with a shrug, “but sheesh-- what a grouch. Looks like we’re unemployed again, old pals.”

“Yeah… unemployed,” Scooby frowned sadly, beginning to cry as he blew his nose into the napkin tied around his neck. Misty, hating to see Scooby so down, nuzzled his face reassuringly. “Aww, take it easy, buddy. Something’ll turn up,” she said gently. “So what if this was, like, the greatest gig ever…?” Shaggy started tearing up himself. “Like, so what if we starve-- turn to skin and bones?”

“Well, I don’t think--” Sunny was about to say, but Shaggy and Scooby then went into a sobbing fit that she could only pat Shaggy’s shoulder as a form of comfort. As the two ponies were about to go see if they could find a tissue, the phone rang, and Shaggy and Scooby stopped crying immediately so Shaggy could answer it. “Like, hello?” he answered, and once he heard that same voice Velma spoke to, he brightened up. “Freddy?! Zoinks! We just caught you on the tube! Busy? Nah… the four of us were just thinking of taking some time off. Uh huh… okay! Like, see ya tomorrow!”

He then hung up the phone. “So, what did he say?” Misty asked. “Fred’s got a surprise for Daphne tomorrow,” Shaggy said with a knowing smirk. “And I think I know what that’ll be.”

XXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Daphne was patiently waiting for Fred, Hitch and Pipp to pick her up in the Mystery Machine so they could get started on their tour, but they were running late for some reason when they arrived. “Ah, sorry we’re late, Daph-- traffic was murder,” Pipp said as she flew to get one of Daphne’s bags. “Is, uh… this everything?” Fred asked as he and Hitch got the remainder of the bags. “Uh-huh.”

“Got the maps?”

“Yeah…?”

“Are you sure you haven’t forgotten anything?” Fred asked, preparing to open the door. “Fred, what is with you?” Daphne asked. “Yes, I’m sure I’m sure.”

“Well then…” Fred opened the door to reveal Velma, Shaggy, Scooby and the other ponies, all wearing party hats and blowing party trumpets as loud as they could. “SURPRISE!!!” they exclaimed. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAPHNE!!” Everyone laughed joyously at being reunited, and Scooby licked Daphne’s face as she chuckled herself. “Gosh! It’s great to see you all. I guess I’ve been working so hard, I guess I forgot my own birthday!”

“I hope you don’t mind, I… I asked the gang to come along,” Fred admitted with a smile. “Oh, Freddy…!” Daphne hugged him. “This is the best birthday present ever. It’ll be just like old times.”

“Yeah. Old times!” Scooby barked before he licked Daphne and Fred’s faces happily. “Hey, easy, boy!” Hitch said with a laugh. “It’s great to see you too, Scoob. It's great to see all of you!”

"We definitely have a lot of things we need to catch up on," Sunny nodded, hoof bumping Zipp. “Speaking of old times, look what I have for you, Scooby,” Velma pulled out a too-familiar box of dog treats. “Scooby Snacks!” Scooby’s eyes lit up hungrily, and he instantly bolted over to her. “Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!”

“Like, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!” Shaggy exclaimed, running up and sitting in a begging manner. “Go long, guys!” Velma threw a handful of snacks in front of them, and the two raced to get it, but Scooby caught all of the treats in his mouth before Shaggy could get a taste. “Hey!” Shaggy pouted, but Velma had more Scooby Snacks to offer. “I’ve been saving these Scooby Snacks for a long time.” Suddenly, Scooby spit out the snacks in disgust, and Shaggy took a test bite to see why his friend did such. Immediately, he knew the answer. “Like, too long, Velma-- they’re stale!”

“Don’t worry, guys-- we’re going to New Orleans for Daph’s first segment-- Haunts of Louisiana,” Hitch said. “And New Orleans, from what I’ve read, has some of the best food in the world!” Zipp added, making Shaggy and Scooby smile. “And the best ghosts,” Velma said, making the two quiver in fear. “I hope,” Daphne spoke. “Well, let’s get going.”

“Hold it… there’s just one more thing.” Fred took the banner with Daphne’s show’s logo on it, and revealed the original Mystery Machine decals, much to the gang’s delight. “Perfect! This can only mean one thing,” Sunny smiled. “Yep!” Misty nodded. “Mystery Inc is back in business! Next stop, Louisiana!”

Same Old Ghosts

Soon after getting all their baggage together, Mystery Incorporated and their new-found pony friends hopped into the Mystery Machine and set off down the road for Louisiana, hoping to find some good haunted houses for Daphne’s television broadcast.

Misty hoped that Opaline wouldn’t find her way into this world and ruin the gang’s chances of finding a good mystery or ruin her good terms with her friends, but… there was always that slim possibility.

But, enough of the gloom for now and back to our story.

The crew came upon several different houses during their time in Louisiana, and just as Daphne began rolling, seeing that these ghosts seemed real enough for her show, the gang would reveal some sort of scheme the ghost or monster would be hatching and it would be a guy in a mask. It continued like this until it was their third day in Louisiana.

No more cases had popped up after solving the case of the Lobster Monster, so the gang was killing some time at a New Orleans flea market.

Daphne let out a sigh as Fred, Hitch and Zipp snacked on some beignets they had gotten earlier. “Bad guys in masks… mechanical claws… magnets… hologram projectors…” she said. “That’s a good thing, right? It leaves the bad people where they belong and not harming someone,” Sunny pointed out. “Sunny’s right-- just like your good old days!” Pipp took some pictures of the scenery. “Too much like the good old days,” Daphne reasoned. “I’ve got a show to do. I need a real live ghost.”

“That’s an oxymoron, Daph,” Velma told her. “Doesn’y anyone want a beignet?” Fred offered, but Daphne ignored him while searching through her Louisiana guidebook. “What I want is a house that's really haunted. I mean, there must be one somewhere in Louisiana.”

“There is,” said a voice. “I work in it.”

The group looked up to see a young Caucasian female with black hair and brown eyes approaching them, a bag of groceries within arms reach. “Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. I work as a chef in a house on Moonscar Island, a house that really is haunted.”

“Jinkies!” Velma said in surprise. “My name is Lena-- Lena Dupree,” the woman introduced herself. “Fred Jones,” Fred leapt up to shake Lena’s hand. “This is Velma Dinkley and Daphne Blake.”

“Charmed,” Lena smiled, before her attention turned to the ponies hiding behind them. “You can come out, little darlins’. We won’t bite.”

Sunny and her friends looked at her in surprise, a bit stunned she didn’t freak out over them. “Nice to meet you, Lena,” Sunny said after a moment. “I’m Sunny, and this is Pipp, Zipp and Hitch. We have some other friends, but they're off trying to get something to eat.”

“Pleasure to meet y’all,” Lena said politely. “Moonscar Island? Where’s that exactly?” Daphne asked. “It’s in a bayou not far from here,” Lena answered. “A pirate named Morgan Moonscar died on the island, and his spirit still haunts the place.”

Zipp found this very interesting, her bright blue orbs lighting up at the sound of spirits and ghosts. “Uh-huh…” Fred smiled skeptically. “Well, no offense, Lena. But it's probably just some guy in an old pirate suit trying to scare off the local kids.”

“The ghost is real. Of course, if you’re too scared to go,” Lena shot him a little smirk. “Scared? Me? No, I-I don’t think so,” Fred shook his head with a surprised stammer. “If you wanna check it out, you’re welcome to come by,” Lena told them before turning and walking off. “I’ll be leavin’ as soon as I finish shoppin’.”

“Well, uh… we’ll think about it!” Hitch called, waving her farewell. “What do you think, Daph?” Pipp asked. “Seem story worthy?”

“What do we have to lose? It’s the best lead we’ve had all day!” Daphne said with a grin. “And that Lena is kinda cute,” Fred admitted as he took another bite of his beignet. “Fred…” Daphne frowned crossly. “I just meant she'd be real photogenic for our segment,” Fred told her. “Riiight…” Zipp nodded. “Uh, wipe your upper lip, Romeo.”

“Jinkies! Listen to this!” Velma said from the computer in the back of the Mystery Machine. “I punched up Moonscar Island on our research database-- there have been quite a few strange disappearances around that island over the years-- some dating back to over 30 years ago!”

“Sounds promising,” Sunny said, even though she was a little worried about what Velma said. But she didn’t want to discourage the actual good case they had in that timeframe of being on the road. “We better find Misty, Izzy, Scooby and Shaggy before Lena takes off.”

“Where did they go, anyway?” Hitch asked. “That’s no mystery,” Velma said with a smirk. “Where else? To get a bite to eat!”

XXXXXXXXXX

True to Velma’s words, Shaggy and Scooby had found a sandwich shop not too far from the Mystery Machine’s location, and had snuck Misty and Izzy along with them, hiding under the table so that way they wouldn’t attract attention as the attendee made Shaggy and Scooby a large sandwich with loads of toppings. “Phew! I've made a lot of po' boy sandwiches in my time. But this has got to be the biggest of them all!” the attendee told them as he placed the sandwich before the duo. “Like, we’re used to eating big meals,” Shaggy said, just as he and Scooby began to lather the sandwich in hot peppers and hot sauce. “I see you boys like it hot,” the attendee sliced the sandwich in half for them. “Like, mo’ hotter, mo’ better,” Shaggy grinned. “Right, Scoob?”

“Mo’ hotter, mo’ better!” Scooby nodded and ate his entire sandwich whole. Then, to play a little prank on Shaggy, he sucked all the toppings off Shaggy’s sandwich so Shaggy only tasted the bread. “Hmm…” Shaggy muttered. “Like, that was a lot less filling than I thought there would be.”

Misty and Scooby giggled at this-- it was actually kinda fun to eat massive amounts and play pranks… just as long as it didn’t go too far.

They were just about to get up and leave just as Fred and Zipp came over when no one else was around. “Hey, let’s go guys!” Zipp called. “We have another haunted house to investigate!” Hearing this made Shaggy and Scooby gulp nervously-- where would they be going this time?

To Moonscar Island

It was a few minutes later that the entire group gathered back at the Mystery Machine in order to follow Lena back to Moonscar Island, and once they got inside, they saw Lena getting into an older fashioned truck with her groceries. “Good timing, guys!” Daphne said. “Lena was just about to leave without us.”

She honked and waved to Lena to let her know they were following her, and Lena led them out of the city and out towards the bayous that Louisiana was known for. All along the way, Sunny was telling Izzy and Misty about their interaction before with Lena. “She wasn’t even freaked out… like she’s seen something like us before.”

“Hmm… strange and suspicious if you ask me-- we’ll have to dig more around it when we get to Moonscar Island,” Zipp said as she logged the information into her FlyPad. “We’re getting closer,” Velma looked at the map and showed it to Scooby and Misty. “Moonscar Island is right in the middle of the next bayou.”

“Sounds like the perfect place to get some good spooky footage,” Pipp added with a flare of drama. “And some good Cajun cookin’! For some reason, I’m still starved,” Shaggy began to ate some of the Scooby Snacks that Velma had been saving. “Like, even these stale Scooby Snacks are beginning to taste good.”

“Bleh…” Zipp and Hitch shuddered, just as the two vehicles reached a dock with a giant ferry boat waiting for them. Lena honked her horn to signal, where the driver, a chubby, middle-aged Cajun male with a pale skin tone, and grayish-white hair and blue pupils, was waiting for them. “Ho-ho, Miss Lena!” he greeted with a chuckle. “I see you got you some company, eh?”

“Yes, Jacques. These folks came a long way to see a real haunted house,” Lena explained as she pulled up beside him. “Well… if they want haunted, they come to the right place,” Jacques chuckled, just as he approached the Mystery Machine. “Peoples go into that bayou, and they don’t never come out.”

Sunny didn’t want to admit it, but that sent shivers all the way down to her tail… she didn’t like the sound of that. “Uh, so we understand,” Daphne responded with hesitation, and once he left to lower the gate to the ferry, Sunny tried to put her mind at ease.

Maybe he was just joking. “Ladies first,” Jacques lowered the gate so the vehicles could drive onto the boat, and once everyone was on, Jacques went up to the lower level as the groups emerged from their rides. “Like, do you sell food on this ferry? We're starved!” Shaggy called to Jacques. Upon noticing Scooby, Lena gasped in a startled manner. “I… didn’t know you had a dog.”

“Dog? Where?” Scooby looked around, his face bearing a look of confusion. “Are you allergic to dogs?” Misty asked. “No…” Lena shook her head hesitantly. “It’s just that… my employer, Miss Lenoir? She keeps cats.”

But to this, Shaggy smiled. “Like, don't worry. Scooby is great with cats. Right?”

“Huh?!” Scooby had no idea what Shaggy was talking about-- he HATED cats! But, Shaggy’s encouraging expression made Scooby nod in agreement. “Attaboy, Scoob,” Sunny rubbed the Great Dane’s head. “Maybe the… c-a-t-s aren’t as bad as you think. You gotta get to know them first.”

Scooby nodded at the earth pony’s words, deciding to let his hatred for cats go this once.

XXXXXXXX

The ferry traversed through the thick swamp as Fred and the girls went up for some shooting of the area, and Hitch went up there with them while Pipp and Zipp flew above them and the others stuck with Shaggy and Scooby. “Gosh… I’d sure hate to get lost in here,” Fred frowned as he moved the camera a bit. “Well,” Jacques explained, “way back there in the 1700s, pirates used this bayou to hide from the law. They knowed only a fool would come lookin' up in here.”

“And Morgan Moonscar was one of those pirates?” Velma asked. “Oh, may yes, cher. He was the most famous one, him,” Jacques nodded. “Hmm…” Hitch nodded slowly and took notes down that he sent to Zipp. This island was getting more and more juicy with each passing moment-- and they hadn't even reached the island yet.

On the lower deck, Shaggy and Scooby stood with Misty and Sunny as they looked across the bayou while Izzy was crafting something with her crafty-sash nearby. A bubbling noise caught Scooby’s attention, and when he looked down, he saw a huge catfish swimming alongside the boat. “Shaggy, ponies!” he cried. “Catfish!”

“Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed in surprise. “That’s the biggest catfish I’ve ever seen!” Sunny cried. Jacques chuckled as he looked down from the top. “That’s probably Big Mona. Ain’t nobody never been able to catch her.”

As Scooby began to sniff the catfish curiously, the fish took in a huge gulp of water and splashed Scooby right in the face, causing Shaggy to laugh, and Misty and Sunny to try and stiffle their laughter. “Like, guess that’s one catfish who doesn’t like dogs, old buddy,” Shaggy told him, and Scooby shook the water off his face with a grumble. “Rotten catfish…”

But by the time Big Mona had got him soaked again, Scooby had about had enough.

He dove for Big Mona, but missed and almost fell in the water, if it weren’t for Shaggy and Misty grabbing onto him. “We gotcha, Scoob!” Misty reassured. “We’re not gonna let you go!” But as she struggled to pull her friends back over the edge, her ears caught onto a sound that came all too familiarly to her… Opaline’s laughter.

When she saw a pair of eyes gazing at her from the darkness, she yelped and lost her footing, causing all three of them to fall into the water.

Luckily, the three of them could swim, but what they didn’t expect was alligators creeping through the water on their way to attack them! “YIKES!!”

“Oh no!” Sunny gasped. “Jacques, you gotta turn this thing around!” Fred exclaimed. “I’m trying, son!” Jacques desperately turned the wheel. “But she don’t turn on no dime!”

“Can you girls fly down and bring them out?” Daphne asked the pegasus sisters. “We could, but if our wings get wet, we’ll be in the same position!” Zipp said. “Maybe we could throw something down to them!”

That’s when Velma saw a life preserver on the wall next to her, and grabbed it before running down to the lower deck. “Hang on, guys!”

She tossed the preserver into the water, but as the group swam to it, an alligator chomped it in half! Misty whimpered nervously as she felt the alligators’ presence… and they were right behind them! “SWIM!!” she screamed, and the three of them desperately tried to follow the ferry in an escape. Just then, another boat pulled up next to them, and a middle-aged Caucasian male with messy blond hair, one glazed over eye and fishing attire managed to hold off the gators long enough for the three to climb onboard. “L-l-like, th-thanks, m-mister,” Shaggy shuddered, but the man only growled at them. “Should have let the 'gators eat ya. I can't stand tourists. Now all your splashin' chased Big Mona away!”

“Oh, quit your grumbling, Snakebite!” Jacques said from the ferry. “You ain’t never caught that fish and you ain’t never gonna did!”

“Says you!” Snakebite splashed the group, causing the ponies to frown. “Ugh… not too friendly, is he?” Fred asked as Velma cleaned her glasses. Suddenly, a giant pig with tusks came out of nowhere, frightening Scooby and Misty and causing them to back up. “Um… w-w-what… is that?” Misty trembled as she pointed at the pig. “This here’s my huntin’ pig, Mojo,” Snakebite introduced as the pig pawed the floor. “Hunting pig?” Shaggy questioned. “He's a lot better than any hound dog. He can smell a catfish a mile away.”

The pig snorted and moved to the side of the boat, just as Big Mona squirted Scooby in the face with water again, making Snakebite laugh. “Lot smarter than any dog too,” he said before picking Shaggy up with his hook. “Now, get these trespassin' tourists off my boat. I got fishin' to do!”

Misty and Scooby leapt back onto the ferry as Snakebite dropped Shaggy onto the boat before speeding away. “That's old Snakebite Scruggs,” Jacques explained as the ponies watched Snakebite drive away. “He think the bayou is his own private preserve. He don't like anybody bein' in it, no.”

“Suspicious character, eh, Velma?” Shaggy asked. “True,” Velma nodded. “But he did save you three from being eaten by alligators.”

“Oh… right,” Misty frowned. “Sorry about that, guys-- I didn’t mean to drop us. I just… thought I heard something.”

Luckily, Shaggy and Scooby didn’t express any anger or distrust toward her, and Misty felt somewhat relieved. Soon, an island came into view-- Moonscar Island, to be exact.

As soon as the vehicles got off the boat, Jacques waved Lena farewell. “And, Ms. Lena, you give my best to Ms. Lenoir, you hear, cher?”

“I’ll do that, Jacques! Thanks!” Lena waved farewell before turning to the group. “Ready? Follow me, and hang on-- the road’s a little bumpy.”

The Mystery Machine slowly followed Lena’s truck down the road, and it turns out she was right-- the road was bumpy, sending the group up and down in their seats-- Shaggy and Scooby even hit their heads up on the roof.

But before long, a gorgeous mansion came into view. “Wow!” Daphne exclaimed. “There’s our haunted house!”

Soon, the vehicles drove down the driveway, as a male gardener planted some new flowers in the front lawn. “Are you getting this, Fred?” Daphne asked. “Yep, got it, Daph,” Fred focused the camera on the house. Boy, Lena wasn't kidding-- this place is crawling with cats!”

“Cats?” Scooby asked upon hearing what Fred said before he borrowed the camera to get a glimpse of the cats. “Cats!”

His canine instincts kicked in instantly, and he jumped from the van after the felines. “Scooby, get back here!” Sunny cried. Instantly, the cats screeched and bolted off as soon as they saw Scooby, and he began chasing them all over, ruining the gardener's work on the front lawn. “Hey, you mutt! I just planted those!” the gardener shouted angrily, raising a fist to the sky. The cats ran from Scooby under the gardener's wagon, but when Scooby tried to follow them, he got his head stuck in the wagon wheel. “Cats...” he growled. “Scooby!” Daphne cried. “Leave them alone!”

“Yeah!” one of the cats stuck its tounge out at Scooby. Unfortunately, that made Scooby growl that much worse, causing him to break free of the wheel, but also made the wagon fall to the ground, leaving the ponies and Shaggy to catch the falling plants. “Great with cats, huh?” Lena glared at Shaggy, hands on hips. Shaggy laughed sheepishly before he cried out, “Scooby-Doo! Stop!”

Of course, Scooby refused to listen, and proceeded to chase the white cat. As it happened, the gardener dusted the dirt off his head with a growl. “Ooh, I spent a whole week on that planter!”

Then the white cat ran through the gardener's legs while Scooby ran him over while trying to chase the cat, leaving Scooby to return and dust the gardener off. “Excuse me,” he said politely before resuming his chase. The cat quickly ran from him before it landed in the arms of a blonde-haired woman on the front steps. “Uh-oh!” the dog yelped as he tried to stop, but unfortunately, he was going so fast, he barreled right into the woman as the cat jumped away.

The group and Lena cringed from the crash as it happened before the latter gasped in shock and horror. “Miss Lenoir!” Lena cried as she ran up to the woman. The white cat walked away with a meow and a sly grin upon its face. An angry Scooby tried to chase it again, but Shaggy stopped him by grabbing ahold of his collar. “Is everypony okay?!” Hitch asked as the ponies ran over with their friends. “Uh-huh,” Scooby nodded, just before the woman got to her feet, clearly angry and speaking in a distinct French accent. “Who brought this… this… dog?!”

“Dog? Where?” Scooby questioned. “I'm terribly sorry. We should have held onto him better. I'm Daphne Blake, of Coast to Coast?” Daphne introduced, but the woman simply glared at her. “You know... the TV show?”

“We do not have television on my island,” the woman said in a cold tone, rubbing on the cat shaped pendant around her neck. “Lena, what are they doing here?”

“It's all my fault, Ms. Lenoir,” Lena said with an ashamed tone “I heard these folks say they wanted to see a real haunted house. So I thought...”

“You might show them mine,” the woman, known as Ms. Lenoir, finished dryly. “I see. Really, Lena.”

But, Sunny didn’t want to see Lena get in trouble, so she decided to step in and say something. “But your house is really beautiful, Ms. Lenoir. Isn’t it, Fred?” she asked. “Picture perfect,” Fred agreed. “Just how old is it?”

“It has been in my family for generations,” Ms. Lenoir explained, gesturing to the fields close by. “It was a pepper plantation. Some of the hottest peppers in Louisiana grow on this island.”

To this statement, Scooby’s mouth began to water as Shaggy laughed in delight. “We've hit the proverbial chili pepper jackpot!”

“So, Ms. Lenoir… is your house really…?” Velma began to ask, but Ms. Lenoir cut her off. “Haunted? Yes…” she nodded. “It is an old house, with restless spirits.”

Misty shared a nervous glance with Shaggy and Scooby at this statement, just as Ms. Lenoir began to climb the front steps to go back inside. “You’re welcome to look around… if you’d like.”

“Would we ever! Do you mind us taping for Daphne’s show and my social media fans?” Pipp asked. “No, of course not,” Ms. Lenoir smiled faintly. “In fact, I would be most flattered.”

Daphne, Fred, Velma and most of the ponies walked forward, but as Shaggy and Scooby were about to climb the front steps, Ms. Lenoir’s frown immediately returned as she gave Scooby a warning-type look. “But,” she spoke, “you will have to do something about your… dog.”

Misty felt her ears pin at Ms. Lenoir’s unsettling gaze, but Shaggy took the chance to speak up. “Like, food always keeps Scooby occupied,” he said. “If it will keep him from chasing my cats,” Ms. Lenoir said, her smile slowly returning, “you’re welcome to my kitchen. As are your… pony friends.”

“Groovy!” Shaggy laughed. “Come on, guys! There are some smoothie recipes I really wanna try!” Sunny led her friends inside, as Fred and the girls noticed the gardener angrily muttering about the mess Scooby made. “Sorry about all the damage, Lena,” Fred apologized. “Oh, don’t worry,” Lena assured. “Beau will take care of it.”

“Beau?” Daphne wondered. “Our new gardener,” Lena answered as she went inside, and after a moment, the others began to follow suit. As she looked around the large house, Misty couldn’t help but feel worried… it was like she was back in Opaline’s castle.

And what was that strange laughter she heard back on the ferry? She had a bad feeling that she was bound to find out… and that her friends would be dragged into everything with her.

Author's Note

A big thank you to Toonwriter for helping me with this!

Investigations Begin

Sunny and her friends had never seen such an elegant place before… other than the Crystal Brighthouse or the palace of Zephyr Heights. Ms. Lenoir seemed so confident and proud, and Lena seemed to be happy working for her… but in Misty’s eyes, it somehow reminded her of Opaline back in Equestria.

Could Opaline have had something to do with the laughter she heard on the way to Moonscar Island? She herself wasn’t sure… but she knew she’d have to keep an eye on things while they were in this new environment.

Currently, Pipp, Zipp and Hitch decided to stay with Fred, Velma and Daphne to look around the house, while Sunny and the unicorns stuck with Shaggy and Scooby to check out the kitchen. Upon entering the room, Scooby noticed three to four small bowls on the floor, filled with brown mush when he sniffed them. “Cat food… yuck!”

“Forget the cat food, Scoob. There’s a lot better chow in this kitchen!” Shaggy gestured to the steaming hot pot on the stove, to which the ponies smelled-- they had never smelled anything so good before. “Mmm… it smells great!” Sunny said to Lena as the latter prepared lemonade for the others. “It’s gumbo, isn’t it?”

“You do know your food,” Lena said with a smile. “Shag and Scooby may have traveled the world on their stomachs,” Izzy explained, “but Sunny is a food-whiz back where we come from. Is it okay if we have a little taste? I don't think I've ever had gumbo before.”

“Of course not. Let me know how you like it!” Lena said before she walked out of the room. Shaggy found some small bowls to sample the gumbo, and the ponies and Scooby ate from them as Shaggy used the spoon to take a small taste test. “Like, not bad,” he smiled at the combination of flavors, “but it needs a little more spice. Don’t you think, Scoob?”

“Uh-huh!” Scooby downed his gumbo, leaving some of it on his lips as he grinned. “Here, let me get that for you, you messy mongrel,” Sunny teased playfully, using a napkin to wipe Scooby’s face as Izzy opened the pantry door for Shaggy, who came out with a small jar of hot peppers. “These puppies oughta do the trick!”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Zipp and Pipp flew around the room, taking pictures while Lena served lemonade to everyone down below. “Mmm! Delicious lemonade, Lena!” Fred complimented. “Why, thank you,” Lena set the tray down. “So,” Daphne started, “how long have you worked for--”

Suddenly, a scream a couple rooms over caught the group’s attention, which caused Velma to gasp. “The guys!” she cried, and they ran to the kitchen to see Misty and Izzy carefully handing the boys every drink they could find to cool down their mouths. “Ahh…” Shaggy sighed after finishing an entire jug of water. “Like, what was some hot pepper…”

“Those are Moonscar Island peppers,” Lena giggled, and Shaggy then noticed the entire group glancing down at them with slight relief. “I was not exaggerating when I said they were the hottest peppers in Louisiana,” Ms. Lenoir said with a smile. “With all the screaming,” Zipp said, “we thought you may have seen a ghost!”

“If we do, you’ll be the first to know,” Misty said as Lena began to sweep up some broken glass pieces from the pitcher Scooby accidentally broke. “Sorry about the interruption, Ms. Lenoir,” Pipp apologized. “Please,” Ms. Lenoir said, “call me Simone. Shall we continue our tour of the house?”

“Great, Miss… uh, Simone!” Daphne grabbed Fred’s hand and dragged him out of the room, followed by Hitch and Pipp, and Zipp and Velma spared them a glance before following. “Maybe you guys should stay away from those peppers,” Velma said as they exited the room. “Right,” Shaggy nodded. “We’ll just stick with the gumbo. If you don’t mind, Lena.”

“Of course not,” Lena said as she picked up the bag with the glass pieces and walked out of the room. “I’m glad you like it-- help yourselves!”

Shaggy and Scooby just smiled before they noticed the group was completely gone. Then Shaggy brought out a pepper and held it towards Scooby, smirking playfully. “Come on, I dare ya.”

“Ruh uh. You first,” Scooby challenged. "Not chicken, are you, old buddy, old pal?” Shaggy asked teasingly, nudging Scooby, who frowned and shook his head in reply. “Guys, remember what happened last time?" a confused Misty asked them. “You nearly burned your tongues off!”

“Misty does have a point,” Sunny frowned. “Maybe you should... slow down a bit?”

Before Shaggy and Scooby could answer them, an icy, mystical-feeling wind raced around them, causing them to shiver. “Like, that’s funny,” Shaggy shivered. “A second ago, I was on fire. And now it's freezing!”

“Yeah… freezing!” Scooby’s teeth chattered as he spoke. “Here, we'll split this big one,” Shaggy gave Scooby half a pepper. “That'll warm us up.”

“And I have something that'll help too,” Izzy reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a quilt, putting it around Misty. “Auntie Buttons' hoof-sewn quilt.”

“Thanks, Iz,” Misty smiled, inviting Scooby under the quilt with her. ”Uh… guys?” Sunny pointed over at the wall. The group turned to see what Sunny was pointing at-- a tiny bit of fog carving some letters on the wall. “What... in Equestria... is that?!” Misty stammered.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, in the library, Simone was showing them the elegance of the room while Pipp and Zipp took some photos. “Now this is a great library, Simone,” Velma said, but just then, they all heard Shaggy, Scooby, Sunny, Izzy and Misty screaming. “Now what?” Daphne asked in annoyance. The group raced back to the kitchen, but didn't see Sunny or the others anywhere... that is until Daphne opened the door to reveal the group hiding inside. “Peppers?” Zipp questioned. “Again?”

“Uh uh! Writing!” Scooby quivered. “Writing? What writing?” Velma asked. “L-Like, ghost writing!” Shaggy pointed to the wall, where the words 'GET OUT' were written on the wall. “See?” Misty gulped. “This place is haunted!”

“Oh... my... hoofness, that's scary!” Pipp yelped. “Wow, Fred! Get a shot of that!” Daphne exclaimed with excitement. “Jinkies!” Velma exclaimed breathlessly. “Guys, how did that get there?” Hitch asked. “I-It was this foggy windy thingy!” Izzy said. “It wrote words on the wall while we were turned around!”

“Ghost-fog, huh? Interesting…” Zipp wrote all of this down. “Simone, could you stand next to me please?” Daphne asked, running a brush through her hair before stepping in front of the camera. And within moments, the camera was rolling. “Here we are in Ms. Simone Lenoir's kitchen,” Daphne told her viewers, “where we've had our first encounter with the supernatural spirits of Moonscar mansion. You can feel the chill in the air.”

Suddenly, there was a blast of wind that came out of nowhere. “CUT!!” Daphne cried, and Simone went to go check the windows. “Who opened a window?”

“Nopony! Look!” Sunny pointed toward the wall, which now read ‘BEWARE’ just below the ‘GET OUT’ written earlier. “Wow!” Pipp giggled excitedly, taking a few selfies. “Is this great stuff or what?!”

“Right… like, great!” Shaggy said sarcastically. “The haunting might just be starting. After sundown, the ghosts get more restless,” Simone said with a worried frown. Curious, Zipp and Velma approached the wall with the writing on it, tapping on it with Zipp’s hoof and Velma’s fist. “Hmmm…” the girl with the orange turtleneck said to herself. “This seems pretty solid.”

“But what was that ghostly fog Izzy mentioned?” Zipp wondered, but Daphne didn’t pay any attention to the two, brushing her hair some more to keep it looking perfect. “Keep rolling, Fred-- maybe we’ll have another ghostly manifestation!”

But then, Fred’s attention turned away from her with a shocked expression. “Freddy?” Daphne called. “I’m over here.”

“It’s Velma!” Fred exclaimed, and everyone looked over to see Velma hovering from the ground! Misty and Izzy gasped and felt their horns-- they weren’t doing that! “We’ve been levitated before, and there’s always a magnet or wires somewhere,” Fred said, unsatisfied, but Zipp and Sunny felt all around Velma, not feeling anything out of the ordinary. “No wires here, Fred!” Sunny said worriedly. “Wow!” Daphne gasped. “A real case of levitation!”

“Whoaaaaa!!!” Velma cried as she was lifted higher into the air. “This just keeps getting better and spookier!” Pipp pranced in place. “Maybe where you’re trotting,” Velma held her skirt down. “Anyone wanna try getting me down?”

“Sure thing-- come on, Scoob!” Shaggy and Scooby rushed to help Velma, but soon, the levitation ended, and Velma crashed down onto Scooby’s back. “Nice catch, Scooby. Thanks,” she smiled. “You’re welcome,” Scooby groaned as Zipp helped Velma back onto her feet. “That was pretty wild,” Hitch frowned. “Maybe it isn’t a good idea to be here so close to haunting-time.”

“Hitch, if we catch this ghost, it would get me so many more followers of Ponygram!” Pipp begged. “And it would do some good for others living around the bayou,” Zipp reminded. “We can’t leave now.” Hitch sighed reluctantly. “Okay… but we just need to be careful.”

“We’re gonna do that-- promise,” Misty nodded. “Maybe we should start by going to the library and reviewing the footage Fred caught on camera. Maybe it can give us a clue as to what we’re dealing with.”

XXXXXXX

The group took Fred’s video camera back to the library at Misty’s suggestion, and they watched it again and again, replaying and replaying the small amount of Daphne’s footage. “You can feel the chill in the air,” Daphne had said just as the blast of wind cut her off. “CUT!! Who opened a window?”

“Play it again, Fred-- I think I saw something!” Daphne said. “Sure,” Fred rewinded the tape. “Who opened a window?” Daphne’s recording asked, just before Daphne stopped it. “Can you enhance the shot?” Hitch asked. “Yeah,” Fred nodded. “Let me darken the image a little… bring up the sharpness a bit, and… hey!”

Fred zoomed in on the lower left-hoof side of the screen, and there behind Daphne was an immortal-looking pirate ghost, scraping a sword that caused the words to be carved into the wall. “Is that… a ghost?” Misty asked with a tremble. “I think so,” Zipp nodded. “It is the ghost of Morgan Moonscar,” Simone recognized it immediately. “Here. Let me show you.”

She went over to the bookshelf, pulling a book down and flipping to a certain page before showing it to the group. “This is a portrait of Morgan McReight. The moon-shaped scar is why he became better known as Morgan Moonscar.”

“That’s him all right… and he sure wants us out,” Sunny couldn’t help but shudder. “Like, we’d be happy to get out,” Shaggy voiced his opinion. “A real pirate ghost! Fabulous!” Daphne exclaimed. “I can't thank you enough for opening your haunted house to us, Simone!”

“So… you’re not going to heed Moonscar’s threat?” Simone asked her in surprise. “Are you kidding? We don’t scare that easily,” Daphne smiled. “Uh… Shaggy, Scooby and I kinda do,” Misty said quietly, but her response fell on deaf ears. “Besides, it's probably just a hologram or some guy in a pirate suit,” Fred brushed it off. “Then, why did it only show up on the tape?” Zipp asked. “That’s the mystery,” Velma said, but Fred only smirked and crossed his arms. “But there's always a logical explanation for these things.”

Suddenly, there came a sinister growling that caught the group offguard. “What's that?” Simone questioned. “Like, there's a logical explanation for the growling in our stomachs,” Shaggy said with a grin. “We're hungry-- and we're gonna get some food… to go!”

“Yeah!” Scooby nodded, and the two scurried away as the ponies looked on with knowing smirks. As the others began to talk amongst themselves, Misty began to hear that voice again, chuckling evilly, and she couldn't help but wonder… was Opaline among them? And was she behind this ghost business? “Come on, Misty!” Shaggy called, driving Misty from her trance. “You, Scoob and I are gonna, like, pack for a picnic!”

“Coming!” Misty called, and sparing her friends one final glance, she followed her friends down the hall to pack for their day in the sun.

XXXXXXXXX

Misty grabbed things from the pantry to hand to Shaggy, who put them in the picnic basket to take outside, which contained some potato salad, some of Lena's gumbo, a few jars of Moonscar Island peppers, and a large sandwich.

However, the sandwich was too big, so Shaggy and Scooby had to eat some of it to get it to fit.

As they were about to leave, Velma and Sunny entered the kitchen and looked longingly at the wall. “What are you and Sunny doing back here, Velma?” Misty asked. “I wanna take another look at the wall,” Velma spoke. “What's there to look at?” Shaggy asked. “It's pretty clear that ghost wants us out. Come on, Scoob. Let's go.”

With that, the three of them left as Sunny and Velma began to study the wall. “It isn’t hollow, but maybe…”

Sunny began to pick at the wall with her hoof, revealing something underneath the coat of paint. “There’s something under here!” Velma looked around until her eyes settled on a spatula nearby, and began to scrape the paint off the wall, revealing the word ‘Maelstrom’ underneath… just as Lena came into the kitchen, and seeing the damage caused her to gasp. “What are you doing to my kitchen?!”

“Jinkies,” Velma shrugged. “Guess we got carried away.”

XXXXXXXX

Soon, the entire group (except Misty, Shaggy and Scooby) were in the kitchen, trying to make sense of what Velma had done while she flipped through Simone’s book. “Bingo!” she exclaimed, settling on a certain page. “Would you mind telling me why you destroyed half my kitchen?” Simone asked, obviously displeased. “Yeah, Velm-- let us in on it,” Zipp urged. “Well,” Velma explained, “according to this book the Maelstrom was the name of Morgan Moonscar's pirate ship.”

“I am not surprised,” Simone shrugged. “Parts of this house are quite old. “Pieces of the pirate ship could have been used in the construction. Morgan Moonscar was rumored to have buried treasure on the island. Though it was… never found.”

“Treasure? Aha! I knew it!” Fred exclaimed. “It's some guy disguised as a pirate ghost trying to scare everyone off the island!” This remark caused the group to stare at Fred in annoyance, Zipp being the only one to let out a remark. “Fred… you’re an idiot.”

Now they could only hope that they would really discover what was going on with this place.

Zombie Attack!

Misty sat quietly and watched Shaggy and Scooby eat, not feeling too hungry herself. She felt that something was bad wrong, and she couln’t shake that feeling no matter what she tried.

After noticing Misty hadn’t tried to eat anything, Scooby grabbed a pepper from the jar and offered it to her. “Pepper?”

“No thanks,” Misty shook her head sadly before gaining some courage. It was now or never. “Hey… we’re friends… right, guys?”

“Like, why wouldn’t we be friends?” Shaggy asked. “You’ve kept me and Scoob away from dangerous stuff for the past year, and you’ve finally convinced Velma that parallel universes may exist in some corners. What’s not to like?”

Misty rubbed the blanket under her with a slight look of nervousness… she was hoping to let someone know about this sooner, but… looks like it would have to be kept with Shaggy and Scooby for now.

She didn’t wanna worry the others with their hands and hooves full. “Well, the reason I ask is… I have this secret,” she admitted. “A secret I need you to keep on the downlow for now.”

Shaggy and Scooby swallowed and looked at each other before Misty continued. “You see… I never knew my family, or where I came from. All I remember is my… my friend Opaline finding me in the forest when I was a filly. She took care of me and raised me while the pony kinds were still seperated by fear. Once magic returned… she became a completely different pony. She… she even offered me a cutie mark to help her with some really bad stuff… stuff I don’t wanna do anymore.”

“Is, like, that why you wear those stickers on your rump?” Shaggy asked. “Yeah,” Misty nodded. “On our last adventure, I finally told them I didn’t have a cutie mark, and they were really understanding about it. They encouraged me to try and earn my cutie mark myself instead of having it given to me, but… I’m too scared to try. And I’m too scared to tell them what I’m telling you now. If I tell them that my friend wants to steal all the magic in Equestria… they’ll hate me for sure.”

“Aww…” Scooby frowned and nuzzled the unicorn softly. Sure, it might have been a surprise to him and Shaggy, hearing about the awful pony that Misty was staying with, but it wouldn't change anything between them... not in a million years. “And I’ve been hearing this wicked laughter too,” Misty added. “It startled me on the ferry, so that’s why we fell into the water. Please don’t tell anypony else about this… if they find out, I could be treated differently cause of it.”

“...like, I don’t see why those ponies would treat you differently,” Shaggy said after nudging her a little bit of his sandwich, “but if you need someone to trust with a secret or two, Scoob and I are your guys.”

Misty felt a wave of relief wash over her in that instant, and a smile came onto the blue unicorn’s face as Shaggy downed a Moonscar Island pepper. “Thanks, guys. You don't know how much it means to me to hear you say that.”

After a moment of silence, Shaggy panted from the heat of the pepper, wiping his eyes to prevent the tears from coming. “Like… your turn, pal,” he offered a pepper to Scooby, who fanned his mouth and tried to eat some of Shaggy’s sandwich to cool down the pain. “Like don't use my sandwich to wash it down,” he said. “Eat some of that Creole potato salad.”

But when Scooby turned to eat the salad, he froze-- the cats were already into it! “Cats!” he snarled, sending them on the run by barking, unintentionally messing up the lawn work that Beau had started earlier. “Scooby, come back!” Misty cried as she and Shaggy tried to fix the lawn. “That grouchy gardener isn’t gonna be to happy about this!”

Scooby continued to chase the cats into the swamp, but the chase was paused when his head was stuck in a log he tried to go through, and a frog got caught on his face. But once he got that taken care of, he chased after the cats again.

Shaggy and Misty could barely keep up with him, stopping repeatedly after a few moments of running. “Come back, Scoob!” Shaggy cried, just before he noticed a vine of peppers growing near him. “Oh, man, I can't pass up a hot opportunity like this.”

The cats hopped from rock to rock across the swamp to avoid Scooby, who as big as he was, slipped from under the rocks and crashed into the water, leaving a lilypad stuck on his face, which he quickly shook off. “Scooby!” Misty rushed to him and helped him up. “Are you okay?”

“Uh huh,” Scooby nodded, feeling slightly guilty about letting the cats get to him again. “HEY!!” cried a voice, and the two turned to see Snakebite Scruggs yelling at them from across the creek. “You scared away Big Mona!”

“Sorry… just a little trouble with cats!” Misty apologized bashfully, but Snakebite wasn’t in the mood for it. “Dumb tourists… get ‘em, Mojo!”

The pig snorted and came out from the brush before charging right at them. “Uh oh…” Misty froze. “SCOOBY, RUN!!”

The Great Dane screamed and followed the unicorn as fast as his paws would take him, and the two sped right by Shaggy on the trail, as his pockets were full of peppers by now. “Like, what’s the matter, Scoob?” Shaggy asked as they sped by. “Not afraid of a few cats, are ya?”

“Uh uh! Rojo!” Scooby cried. “Rojo?” Shaggy repeated, just before he turned and saw Mojo chasing them. “Zoinks! You mean… MOJO!!”

The three screamed and darted through the forest as fast as their hooves, paws and feet could take them-- they had never been chased by a pig before, and they certainly hoped this would be the last time… especially since they were being chased by an angry pig.

Suddenly, as they were running, the three fell into a deep, wide hole in the middle of the path, leaving Mojo to snort at them intimidatingly from above. “How humiliating,” Shaggy sighed. “Chased into a hole by ⅓ of a BLT. Everyone okay?”

Luckily, everyone was a little dusty, but fine otherwise. Misty perked her ear up in order to listen for more, and she could hear Mojo trotting away. “I think he’s gone, but let’s get out of here before he comes back.”

Shaggy put his left foot on Scooby’s back, and his right foot on Misty’s, trying to get a sense of footing as he tried to pull himself out. “Like… hang on,” he strained. “I’ll have us out in a sec.”

“I hope so…” Scooby grunted. Shaggy reached up for a loose vine and tried to pull himself up, but instead, he fell right on top of the other two, causing a huge cloud of dust. But when the dust cleared, the three let out a scream-- a skeleton’s hand was sticking out from the earth! Misty had seen enough scary skeletons on TV to know they horrified her, but what horrified her more was the green, supernatural magic that was emitting itself into the skeleton as the three quivered in terror, never experiencing this before. “G-Guys…?” she shakingly spoke. “W-W-W-What’s going on?”

“Uh… I don’t know,” Scooby quivered just as much while he answered her. The magic broke the skeleton free from the dirt it was under, allowing it to reconstruct itself into a horrifying pirate zombie, to which we would assume is the zombie of Morgan Moonscar. “AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Misty, Shaggy and Scooby screamed as the zombie groaned, staggering toward them. This was a bad situation-- a really BAD one at that. They needed to get out of there and find help!

Not wasting any more time, the three of them each found their own way out of the hole (Shaggy using Scooby as a step stool, Scooby being pulled out by the tail and Misty leaping out) before screaming and running for their lives… right into Beau, by what circumstances do to you. “Like, are we glad to see you!” Shaggy said in relief. “What are you doing out here?” Beau glared angrily. “Ruining more of my flower beds?”

Misty stood up with her friends, looking slightly nervous around the man, but her voice didn’t waiver from the zombie fear she was having. “If you wanna plant something,” she said, “there’s a dead guy following us!”

“Yeah, dead guy!” Scooby nodded, but when Beau looked out into the bayou, he didn’t see anything. “Huh, incredibly... where? I don't see anything!”

Misty looked around and hot confused-- where did he go? All of a sudden, the bushes began to rustle, leaving them to gasp. But, to their relief, it was just their friends, Simone and Lena. “What’s going on, guys?” Velma asked them. “Yeah!” Hitch nodded. “We could hear you screaming all the way from the house!”

“Oh, it’s you guys,” Shaggy said in relief, but Misty’s expression bore pure fear as Scooby imitated what they saw in the forest. “It was horrible!” she said. “That pirate Moonscar was nothing but bones, and had these soulless red eyes! And then, and then… it got worse! Like a zombie!”

“Oh dear!” Simone exclaimed. “You think you can show us where it all happened?” Sunny asked. Shaggy and Scooby nodded and led the way to the pit, where Misty explained everything that went down… aside from Scooby chasing Simone’s cats again. “Well, there’s nothing here now,” Fred examined the hole. “Are you sure you saw a zombie?”

“We know a zombie when we see one,” Misty said. “Yeah-- zombie!” Scooby nodded. “And then, we ran into him,” Shaggy pointed to Beau, who rested up against a tree. Velma’s suspicion level went sky-high at that point, and approached him with narrowed eyes. “What were you doing out here?” she asked. Beau grumbled in disbelief before he responded. “My job,” he said coldly. “I was doing some planting, got thirsty, went to get a drink and came back to find these three.”

Misty whimpered at the mention, not liking being glared at the way Opaline would. “What were you planting, elephants?” Zipp asked as she examined the hole from a higher perspective. “This thing is huge!” Instead of responding, Beau just grumbled and walked off, shovel in hand. “There’s something suspicious about that gardener,” Velma muttered. “Yeah, he is suspicious,” Daphne nodded. “But he is kinda cute.”

“Well, if we're all through here maybe we should get going,” Fred said, and Shaggy smiled at this. “Like, that’s a great idea, Fred!” he exclaimed. “Get going?” Daphne questioned. “No way! This place gets more interesting by the minute.” But then, Simone gestured to the setting sun. “But it is getting close to sunset. And the ferry doesn't run at night.”

“Um… we do,” Hitch gulped, not liking the sound of being on this island for an entire night. “We have plenty of rooms,” Simone offered. “You could stay here for the night.”

“Really?” Sunny looked surprised-- these people were being very generous, and she’d have to do something to repay them for all they did. “Oh, I couldn't let you leave without offering some of our famous southern hospitality,” Simone said. “That is, if Lena doesn't mind some extra guests.”

“Sure thing, Ms. Lenoir. I’ll start dinner,” Lena nodded and headed back toward the house. “Dinner?” Scooby licked his chops. “Like, why didn’t you say so?” Shaggy asked, and the group followed Lena’s lead back toward the house. But along the way, Misty got the slightest feeling, and she should probably take care of it before it got to her. “I’ll be right back, Sunny,” she told her friend. “Make sure Shaggy and Scooby are okay, will you?”

“Sure thing, Misty. Meet us back at the house when you’re done,” Sunny nodded, and Misty departed from the group and into the bayou, where she was sure she was alone before turning to look at her necklace. “Opaline? You there?”

The amulet opened to reveal Opaline encased in smoke. “Misty, about time. What have you found out?” Opaline asked. “Well… we stumbled into a mystery with some teens and their dog,” Misty said. “It has zombies and ghosts and everything, and there was this ancient magic that swirled around the skeletons and brought the zombies to life, and… I was wondering if maybe… you were behind it?”

“Zombies? Misty, even I wouldn’t go as far as raising the dead,” Opaline said with a frown. “Whoever is behind that magic is powerful though. I might want to do a little inside searching-- see if my own literary solstice has anything useful. As for you, Misty… you are to make sure that Sunny and her friends never return to Equestria… zombies or otherwise, or your cutie mark wish will go down the drain.”

“But… the laughter I heard on the boat… it sounded like yours!” Misty argued. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you mean,” Opaline scoffed. “Now get out of my sight.”

And just like that, she went back into the necklace, leaving Misty alone and confused… now where was she to start her own investigation? One thing was for sure… she had a feeling Scooby and the gang would be in danger before long… and it seemed that she and the ponies could help them escape it.

Dinner Chaos

Night soon began to fall on Moonscar Island, and Misty returned to the others by this point, still feeling rather confused about her chat with Opaline. If that wasn’t her laughter she had been hearing, than who’s was it?

Currently, Lena was showing the group the rooms where they’d be staying, and they decided to pair up to make it so there were less crowded rooms. And after a few minutes, the room arrangements were made.

Sunny and Misty would bunk with Shaggy and Scooby
Velma would be paired with Izzy and Zipp
Pipp would share a room with Daphne
Fred would be paired with Hitch

Lena first opened the door to a large room, where Shaggy, Scooby and their roommates would be staying. “And this is your room,” she said, letting them look around. “I hope you all will be comfortable.”

“Thanks, Lena. What time is dinner?” Shaggy asked, prompting Lena to giggle. “Well, I have never met a pair who ate so much,” she said. “From what I understand,” Sunny said, “being in constant terror makes them constantly hungry.”

“Yeah, constantly,” Scooby nodded. “I wonder if all the cowardly running easily slims them down to make them hungry,” Misty remarked with a giggle. “Your room is this way, Hitch and Fred,” Lena led the way to another room, where she opened a window to reveal the setting sun. “You'll have a beautiful view of the harvest moon tonight,” she told them. “I hope you'll be comfortable here.”

“Uh… thanks, Lena. I-I’m sure we will,” Fred nodded as Hitch patted the bed to see if there were any lumps. Hitch wasn’t used to sleeping in new places-- he much rather preferred his bed back at the sheriff station.

But as soon as they solved this mystery, he’d be able to go back home to it and his favorite little dragon. “And this will be yours and Princess Pipp’s room, Miss Blake,” Lena opened a door, and Daphne and Pipp stepped in with their luggage. The room was nice and airy, and even had a vanity for the girls to touch up on their makeup. “Thanks, Miss--” Daphne tried to thank, but Lena was gone before she could finish. Pipp found that odd… she sure left in a hurry. It could have been she had to go fix dinner… or maybe Zipp was just rubbing off on her.

XXXXXXXX

The night sky was always a pretty sight for Misty to see… especially the stars. She always wondered how people in this world could travel into space however they wanted to… and be as free as a bird whenever they did it.

She supposed that was one problem she came to realize-- Opaline never really gave her any freedom. Maybe if she and Opaline just talked about it--

Suddenly, there was a slight knock at the door. “Come in!” Shaggy called, and in entered Pipp, Izzy and Sunny in some fancy formal attire that Misty’s eyes sparkled at:

Sunny was wearing a mint green/blue dress adorned with ruffles on the skirt, sort of similar to the color of her saddlebag.
Pipp wore a golden dress, sort of similar to what she wore to the Nightmare Night party a few months back, with her usual wheat-style tiara to go with it.
Finally, Izzy wore an off-white dress with flowers adorning it.

“Wow… you guys look beautiful!” Misty said. “Thanks,” Sunny smiled back. “Pipp had the idea to dress up for dinner, to make a good impression. Simone had these old dresses in her closet she’s letting us borrow, and Izzy unicycled them so they’d look okay for ponies to wear.”

“Oh… but… I-I don’t have anything like that to wear,” Misty frowned. “We thought you might say that, so…” Pipp brought out a stunning dress that made Misty gasp in shock-- it was dark blue and violet, with dark shoes with little moons on them to match, and even a moon on the silky collar. “We know it isn’t much,” Pipp said as Misty admired the dress, “but we knew it spoke up to who you are inside.”

“If you don’t like it, we can--” Sunny tried to say, but Misty shook her head vigoriously. “No no! I… I love it,” Misty smiled. “Let me go try it on.”

The blue unicorn trotted from the room to try on the dress, just as Scooby began to watch an owl outside, mimicking the owl's sounds and movements, even trying to twist his head around like it did. “Like, quit bothering the wildlife, buddy,” Shaggy said as he put on a fresh new shirt. “Well, how do I look? Am I gonna turn a few heads or what?”

Scooby's head whirled around to its regular position, making the Great Dane mumble dizzily. “True that,” he said. Just then, the group heard a slight movement at the door, and turned to see Misty standing at the door, rubbing her hoof bashfully at the door, not noticing the others staring at her in total amazement. “Well…? How do I look?” Misty asked kindly. “Misty…” Izzy felt her smile widen. “You look… totally hoof-tacularly sparklerific!”

“I couldn't have said it any better myself. Do you want us to do your mane too? I have a portable frizzing shampoo that you have to try!” Pipp said. “Well… sure,” Misty said. “Maybe later though-- I'm getting sort of hungry. But after dinner, I'm all yours.”

“Eee!” Pipp laughed excitedly as Shaggy rubbed his chin. “Boy, do I need a trim,” he muttered, and grabbed some scissors from his suitcase to trim the stubble until he was satisfied with the look. “Like, much better!”

But as the group looked at the mirror, they suddenly began to see a ghostly image forming with their reflections-- a man in some sort of war suit. “Get away...” he moaned, reaching his hand out for them. “Sunny...?! What is that?!” Pipp pointed her hoof at the ghost, a tad startled. “I don't know, but let's get out of here!” Sunny cried. “Run for it, everyone!”

“Get away…!!!” the ghost moaned once more as the group ran out of the room in panic.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, in the next room over, Fred and Hitch were preparing themselves for dinner when Shaggy and Scooby leapt into Fred's arms and onto Hitch's back, making them lose their balance, stumble into the hallway… and crashed right into Simone and the girl ponies, Scooby on top of Simone directly. “Get this beast off of me!” she demanded. “Oh, Simone! We are so sorry!” Sunny frowned as they got up. “Sorry…” Scooby tried to apologize, only for Simone to push him off. “That's quite enough!”

Daphne, Velma and Zipp emerged from their rooms and helped Simone back onto her feet. “Freddy! What the heck are you doing?” Daphne asked. “Well,” Hitch started, “Shaggy and Scooby--”

“Saw another ghost!” Izzy blurt out. “Where?” Zipp asked, and the group fearfully led the group back to their room. “I don’t see anything,” Hitch frowned. “Like, in the mirror!” Shaggy exclaimed. “It’s some civil war guy!”

“If there was anthing on the mirror’s surface, it’s not here now,” Zipp felt the mirror with her hooves. “There’s nothing behind the mirror either,” Velma said when she looked, but suddenly, she could have sworn she saw something on the mirror’s backside. “Wait a minute… there’s somethung under all this dust.”

She blew some of the dust off the mirror, but Scooby's nose was sensitive to dust, causing him to sneeze, and the blow of the sneeze knocked Velma off her feet. “Excuse me.”

“That’s okay, Scooby,” Velma reassured him, and went to clean her glasses, but couldn’t find the cloth she used earlier, which she had stuck into her pocket. “Hmm… must have lost my eyeglass cleaning cloth.”

Scooby took the glasses from her and laid a hot breath down upon them, wiping them with his tail before giving them back to her. “Oh, thanks, Scooby,” Velma placed her glasses back on before her eyes fell on some writing on the back of the mirror. “Property of Colonel Jackson T. Pettigrew 8th Louisiana. Hmm… that sounds like a Civil War regiment.”

“There were Confederate barracks on this island,” Simone said, and this caused Zipp to gasp. “Maybe you guys did see something after all!” she exclaimed. “Like, ghost pirates… ghost soldiers…” Shaggy named off. “What's next?”

“Dinner!” Lena called from the door, just before she looked over at Shaggy and Scooby with a playful grin. “From all the screamin' up here, I'd say you boys must be starvin'.”

XXXXXX

Soon enough, dinner was on the table, and a few minutes later, the entire group sat down in their best outfits to enjoy a meal in the candle lit dining room. “Your dining room is beautiful, Simone,” Daphne complimented. “Thank you, Daphne,” Simone smiled. “But, I'm afraid your… dog will have to eat in the kitchen.”

“Dog? Where?” Scooby looked around as he prepared to dig in. “Like, come on, old buddy. Let's chow down in the kitchen,” Shaggy led Scooby out of the room, just as Fred took a bite of some of the food Lena laid out. “Mmm… this gumbo is delicious! And these biscuits are light as a feather!”

Hitch couldn't help but agree-- it was pretty good, and even Sunny seemed impressed. Daphne, however, was focused on something else. “Where's Beau?” she asked. “He usually has dinner in his rooms above the carriage house,” Simone answered as one of her cats jumped into her lap. “I brought him some food,” Lena said, “but he wasn't there.”

“Hmph, figures,” Fred took another bite of his biscuit as he rolled his eyes. Zipp then took out her FlyPad and began inspecting the crime scene photos she took during their stay here. “Zipp, we’re with company! Rude!” Pipp scolded. “Sorry…” Zipp apologized. “But there’s something off with this island… I can just feel it in my hooves.”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the cats were having their own dinner in the kitchen, munching on their cat food when Scooby walked in and noticed them. “Cats!” he snarled, and Shaggy did his best to hold him back, but the force of the dog was too strong, and Scooby proceeded to chase the cats down the hall. “SCOOBY-DOO!!”

XXXXXXXX

Of course, the others were oblivious to the events. “Exactly, how long has Beau been working for you, Ms. Lenoir?” Velma asked. “Hmmm, several months. And it’s Simone, Velma,” Simone reminded. “To me, that guy looks pretty suspicious,” Hitch said, causing Simone to frown. “Oh, he had excellent references.”

Suddenly, there came a crash, and Shaggy and Scooby were on the ground on their stomachs as one of the cats ran to Simone. “Guys! What happened?” Sunny asked as she and Izzy helped them to their feet. “Like, I don’t think the kitchen was such a good idea,” Shaggy told her. “You know… cats?”

“Cats!” Scooby growled at the one in Simone’s arms, causing its back to arch and a hiss to escape. “Zoinks!” Shaggy cried as he and Sunny tried to hold the Great Dane back. “This is quite enough!” Simone stood up firmly. “The dog will have to eat outside!”

“Outside?! Uh uh!” Scooby shook his head vigorously. “Yeah! They said there’s a dead guy out there!” Hitch tried to reason. “Ms. Lenoir, Scooby doesn’t mean anything by chasing your cats-- it’s just what dogs are born to do!” Misty pleaded. “We promise, we’ll keep Scooby far away from the cats. Just please don’t send Shaggy and Scooby out there to have their brains eaten, or who knows what else?”

“I do not need some meddling little pony telling me how others should behave… especially one like you!” Simone directed her insult at Misty, making her slightly self-conscious. “Whoa, whoa!” Sunny tried to calm everyone down. “I know you care about your cats, Ms. Lenoir, but maybe if we all calm down a little, we can talk about another solution.”

“The dog has stayed far beyond his welcome time here!” Simone growled. “Either he goes outside, or you all can join him!”

Misty didn’t like hearing this language one bit… it was too much of what Opaline sounded like. So, she decided to brush herself off, try to contain the tears, and trotted out of the room. “Misty!” Izzy cried, but Sunny stopped her. “Maybe give her a minute, Iz… she looked pretty shaken up.”

Then, Lena stood up and turned to her employer. “May I make a suggestion?”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Out in the Mystery Machine, Misty tried to convince herself that Simone wasn’t Opaline, and that she was probably just frustrated… she probably wanted to apologize later.

Still… with the way that Simone yelled at her… it couldn't have been real... could it?

Suddenly, Misty’s necklace opened and Opaline was revealed in the swirl of mist, which caused Misty to quickly try and wipe her tears. “Oh… Opaline!” she sniffled. “I-I had no idea that you’d be calling.”

“Yes, well… I wanted to do some reading on this Moonscar Island, and I wanted to che--” Opaline tried to say, but froze with wide eyes when she saw Misty’s attire and tear-bearing eyes. “What… are… you… WEARING?! And have you been crying?! Haven’t I taught you better than that?!”

“O-O-Opaline, b-b-b-but before you go off, I-I can explain everything!” Misty tried to explain, but Opaline raised a hoof to stop her. “No need… you’re leaning more toward the ponies’ side, aren’t you?” the alicorn glared. “N-N-No, I--” Misty tried to defend herself, but Opaline wasn’t finished. “I raise you from the moment I find you, fed you, kept you safe and dry and warm, promised you a cutie mark, and this is what I--”

“YOU WERE NEVER GONNA GIVE ME A CUTIE MARK!!!” Misty finally shrieked, causing Opaline to stare at her for a moment. “Sunny and her friends told me that cutie marks are EARNED, and they can’t be GIVEN. You lied to me just to get what you wanted… admit it.”

“I-- but I-- how did--?” Opaline stammered for a moment before she smirked and chuckled. “You’re not as stupid as I thought you were, Misty… I’m actually quite impressed you defied me. However, you still lied to me about making friends and and having fun with the ponies. Which makes me tell you this right now… either stop them from returning to Equestria, or you will NEVER have a home here when you return.”

And with that, Opaline disappeared, leaving Misty alone and in tears… what had she just done?

No… she knew what had to be done but… she never expected it to be in such a manner.

Misty lifted her dress to look at her fake sticker cutie mark, singing softly to the stars above.

A million thoughts in my head
Should I let my heart keep listening…?

I know it’s time
To say goodbye

So hard to let go…

Misty felt the tears finally run down her cheeks to the Mystery Machine’s floorboard, sniffling to herself for a few minutes… which felt like an eternity. She never even bothered to look up when she heard the door open, but instead heard a voice that made her ears twitch. “Misty…?”

She knew that voice… and loved when she heard it. She looked up to see Shaggy, Scooby and Sunny looking down at her, and she wiped her tears away. “Hey…”

“Are you okay? It seemed like what Simone said really bothered you,” Sunny hopped up beside her. “...it did,” Misty nodded. “I… it reminded me of how an old friend spoke to me once.”

“Aww… you wanna talk about it?” Scooby asked. “No thanks… I don’t wanna bring you guys down. Thanks for coming to check on me, though,” Misty smiled before noticing the basket and pot outside the van. “Hey… what’s that?”

“Lena made us a special dish to go,” Shaggy pulled the food inside the van, and the four began to settle down to a quiet meal, consisting of crawfish, gumbo, biscuits, pecan pie and the Moonscar Island peppers that they found earlier. “Mmmm…” Sunny said after slurping down the juice from the crawfish. “Nothing like a good ol’ fashioned crawfish boil.”

“You’ve had this before?” Misty asked, eating some gumbo. “Yeah-- my dad was friends with a local fisherman by the name of Salty Waves,” Sunny said, “and he supplied Maretime Bay with a lot of things before he passed on, and Phylis decided Maretime Bay wouldn’t eat too much fish.”

The four continued to chow down until Scooby pecked Shaggy’s shoulder, causing him to turn and eat the meat from the crawdad when Shaggy wasn’t looking. And when he was finished, Shaggy took a slurp. “Like, not much meat in that crawdad.”

Scooby then put a large paw full of crawdads into his mouth, giggling and slurping out the meat before launching them out of his mouth like a cannon, causing Misty, Shaggy and Sunny to hunker down and wait for the firing to finish. “Here, buddy,” Sunny offered. “Have a biscuit.”

“Thanks,” Scooby said before stuffing nearly all the biscuits into his mouth, leaving Shaggy only one. “Something tells me you're getting the best of this meal,” he said, causing Sunny and Misty to giggle. Suddenly, meows were heard outside the van, causing Scooby to snarl. “Cats!”

At least 15 or 20 cats were watching them with their eyes glowing in the darkness, and Misty couldn’t help but shudder. “It’s kinda hard to eat with 20 pairs of eyes staring… m-maybe we should turn the other way and eat.”

“No good there,” Sunny pointed outside the window, revealing a few more cats coming toward them from the back. And it was then that Shaggy decided to get them out of there to eat in peace, buckling Scooby in the passenger seat and Sunny and Misty took their places in the back. “Like, sit tight, old buddies,” he advised. “I’ll find us a peaceful place to eat.”

With that, he pulled the Mystery Machine into ignition and quickly drove off, knocking the cats off the roof, searching for a place where they could go for some peace and quiet.

A Past Uncovered/The Final Fight

Misty, Shaggy and Scooby had bolted toward the docks as fast as their feet could take them, not wanting to be on this island another minute. Misty had tried to convince Shaggy and Scooby to go back and help their friends, but did agree with one thing-- if they get off the island, they may be able to find someone to get help.

As soon as they reached the dock, they halted as soon as they saw Jacques lowering the gate. “Jacques! Like, are we glad to see you!” Shaggy exclaimed. “There’s no time to waste!” Misty agreed. “We think our friends could be in huge trouble!”

“I am happy to see y’all,” Jacques chuckled, just before he let out an unhuman roar, shifting into a cat creature like Simone and Lena. “AHHH!!!” Misty screamed, staggering back a few steps before the three ran for their lives once more.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Sunny and the ponies tried to break themselves free to reach the voodoo dolls, but Lena had enchanted the ropes so they couldn’t be undone. “If you’re as old as you say you are,” Velma said, “then I’ll bet you’re the one who found Morgan Moonscar’s treasure!”

“Morgan Moonscar!” Simone growled with a look full of hatred. “He was the cause of all of this!” Simone’s statement caused the ponies to look at one another, wondering what she meant. “I was one of a group of settlers who made this island our home. We looked to our Cat God for a bountiful harvest… until that night, when he came ashore.”

“Moonscar?” Zipp asked, causing Simone to nod. “He chased the settlers into the bayou, all except for Lena and myself… where we watched our families be devoured by the alligators.”

The group looked at one another with a hint of sadness, but wondered if they should believe Simone or not. “We uttered a curse on the pirates,” Simone went on, “to destroy them as they had destroyed our island. Our wish was granted-- we became cat creatures, and destroyed the pirates. Only afterwards did we discover that invoking the Cat God's power had cursed us as well.”

“Over the years,” Lena continued, “boats continued to come to our island. “One was full of spice traders who started a pepper plantation. The plantation flourished.”

“At least, until the harvest moon,” Simone went on, and Sunny spent her spine go numb at the echoing screams that rang through her mind of the innocent people that were drained of their life force. “Sometimes it became necessary for Lena to lure outsiders back to the island,” Simone went on. “Just like you lured us!” Fred realized. “I’ve had years of practice,” Lena smirked. “And those zombies,” Daphne realized, “are just the poor souls you drained. They were just trying to warn us so we wouldn't suffer the same fate they did!”

“Pretty smart… for a television reporter,” Simone said. “But… what about us?” Sunny asked. “You acted so normally around us. Did… you drain ponies from our time too? Ones that might have gotten lost here from Equestria?”

At this, Simone seemed to get some pity in her eyes. “No… but there was one that showed up a year or two after the spice traders… a powerful pony that required power. We shared some of our immortality with her, so that even as an alicorn, she would live for many harvest moons. I have not seen her since, but I knew then that you… ponies might return.”

Suddenly, there came a roar, echoing throughout the trees, which made Lena smirk. “Sounds like Jacques has found your frightened friends.”

“Jacques?!” Izzy blurt out. “We needed a ferry driver. The old man wanted immortality,” Simone explained, “so we gave it to him.”

This only made Izzy that much more worried. “Misty… please, keep yourselves safe for a little while longer…”

XXXXXXXXX

Shaggy, Scooby and Misty continued to bolt for their lives after Jacques revealed his other form, but he leapt out in front of them on the path, causing them to shriek to a halt. “Goin’ somewhere?” he sneered before grabbing Shaggy and Scooby and hoisting them into the air, while Misty tried to yank on Scooby’s tail to free him. “What’s the matter?” Jacques asked them. “Cat got your tongue?”

The cat creature let off a roar, causing Shaggy and Scooby to scream again. Misty desperately tried to get her friends free, but it wasn’t her who saved them-- it was the zombies! They pushed Jacques to the ground, allowing Shaggy and Scooby to free themselves from his grip. “Come on, guys!” Shaggy urged. “Now’s our chance!”

The three fled for their lives while Jacques let out a series of roars, which grasped Lena and Simone’s attention. “Jacques is in trouble!” Lena cried. “Forget about him!” Simone pointed to the group. “They must be drained, now! While the moonlight is still in the midnight alignment!”

Fred, Daphne, Velma and Beau struggled in their enchanted position, while the ponies tried desperately to free themselves and Sunny and Hitch created plants to temporarily block the cat creatures from coming.

But at the last second, Shaggy and Scooby and Misty slid into the cavern, knocking the cat creatures off their feets and knocking the voodoo dolls off the pedestals. “Guys!” Hitch cried. “You’re safe!”

“Sunny, it’s Jacques! He’s--” Misty tried to say. “A betrayer, I know,” Sunny nodded. While Shaggy and Scooby recovered from the slide, they looked over and saw their friends magically binded in their positions. “Like, what are you guys doing?” Shaggy asked. “Charades?”

“Jinkies! Look out!” Velma shouted, and Simone and Lena growled as they began to stand. “I’ve had enough of that meddling… dog!” Simone snarled. “Dog? Where?” Scooby glanced back and forth, just as their cat forms began to evolve to get more fur, tearing their clothes in the process. “ZOINKS!!” Shaggy yelped, pulling Scooby aside. But when they ran past the dolls, they kicked them closer to the fire, causing the group to get suddenly hot, but when the zombies entered and they fled, they kicked them away, restoring the gang to normal temperature. “Izzy, can you scoot my doll over to me?” Velma whispered. Nodding, Izzy used her horn’s magic aura to lift the doll to Velma’s feet amidst the chaos. “If… I can just…” Velma strained, but then looked up and gasped. “Oh no!”

Lena and Simone had Shaggy and Scooby in their clutches, and instantly, Pipp and Zipp got an idea, nodding to each other and letting their cutie marks glow. Flapping their wings perfectly in sync caused some of the zombies to stagger into the were-cats, causing them to throw Shaggy and Scooby aside. But then, the were-cats threw the zombies onto the end of the table, catapulting Shaggy and Scooby up into the air before they came down again… right into the arms of a zombie. “WAH!!!!!!!”

“Shaggy! The zombies are the good guys!” Sunny cried. “Like, are you out of your mind?!” Shaggy blurt out, just before he and Scooby ran for the exit. But, they were blocked by Jacques, who grabbed them by their scruff and t-shirt. Finally, Velma attempted to grab the rope on her doll and yanked them down, freeing herself before moving onto the others, who freed the ponies. Then, seeing a piece of Lena’s blouse gave Zipp an idea. “Zombies! You have to help my friends!” Misty pleaded. “They’re about to be devoured by that cat creature!”

The zombies seemed to understand her, cause they staggered right toward Jacques, who still held Shaggy and Scooby, even when they tried to escape him. As they crashed to the ground, several peppers came from Shaggy’s shirt pocket, giving Scooby an idea. He grabbed a pepper in his paw and shot the juice right at Jacques’ face, causing him to yelp in pain. Now was their chance! “Come on, Scoob!” Shagy urged his best friend in order to temporarily get away… until Simone and Lena caught them and began to drain their life force. Misty gasped in horror upon seeing this. “NOOOOOOO!!!!”

Just as Shaggy and Scooby were about to become zombies themselves, Lena and Simone were flung back by a supernatural force that once they recovered made them gasp-- Daphne and Velma had made voodoo dolls of them to get revenge. “You’re not the only ones who like playing with dolls,” Daphne smirked, pulling Simone’s arm down, causing her to knock Lena to the ground before they slammed the dolls against the wall, causing them to float up and crash into it while the others rushed to Shaggy and Scooby. “Shag, Scoob! Are you guys okay?” Zipp asked, just as Shaggy and Scooby slowly recovered. “Like… I was beginning to feel like a raisin,” Shaggy said just before Misty and Sunny enveloped them in a hug. “We were so worried!” Misty said breathlessly. “Come on… let’s get rid of these bad kitties.”

Jacques pushed past Daphne and Velma, making them lose their grip on the dolls and crash into the zombies. Once they recovered from injuries, the were-cats began to move toward them. Beau tried to stop them with a torch, but Jacques smacked it away. But before the others felt like they were gonna die, smoke began to emit from the were-cats, causing them to roar in pain. That’s when Zipp saw what was going on-- the moon dial had moved past midnight, and now the cats were losing their immortality. “Looks like your nine lives are up!”

The cats yowled in pain as their fur and bones dissolved into nothing, leaving nothing but their clothes in place, making the group gasp with wide eyes. The zombies were still coming, however… until the green supernatural magic began to dissolve the zombies too. “Zoinks! Like, what’s happening to them?” Shaggy wondered. “Their spirits have been avenged, Shaggy,” Velma explained, “so they can finally rest in peace.”

Everyone watched as the magic dissipated into the skies above, and the same civil war ghost from before appeared and saluted to them from nearby. “Thank you all,” he said before disappearing to the afterlife, and Daphne let out a sigh. “I can’t believe all this. And without our video tape, no one else will. I’ve got nothing for my show.”

“Yeah… and the police will never believe this story either,” Hitch frowned. “Don’t be so sure,” Beau pulled out a police badge from his pocket. “I'm Detective Beau Neville. Been working undercover investigating the island disappearances.”

“Jinkies! So that’s why you were digging around!” Velma exclaimed. “Yes, ma’am,” Beau nodded. “Just trying to dig up evidence. “Not positive my superiors will buy this story though.”

But just then, Daphne got an idea. “Beau-- um… Detective Neville? Have you ever been on TV?”

Beau smiled at her, just as Pipp realized something. “Daph, I got some stuff on my camera too!” she exclaimed. “I can upload them to a video tape so you can use it on your show with the detective’s interview!”

“Pipp, you’re a genius! Thank you,” Daphne hugged the pink pegasus. “Well… there’s only one thing left to do now,” Sunny said. “Let’s go home.”

Going Home/Opaline is Revealed

Hours had passed since the were-cats’ defeat, and the group was now boarding the ferry to go home, the ponies trying to spend as much time with the gang as they could before the portal reappeared back to Equestria. As terrifying as the adventure was... it was actually thrilling and exciting to know they had friends from another world to help them if they were in need of it. “You know, Fred…” Daphne said, hugging Fred’s arm, “with all the zombies and cat creatures gone, this is a pretty romantic spot.”

“Yeah,” Fred agreed. “Ooooooh… I love romance. I should loan you two Trotting Hill,” Izzy piped up. “Thanks for helping on this wild ride,” Fred told the passing ponies. “You think… we’ll be able to see each other again?”

“Sure we will,” Sunny reassured. “No matter how many worlds we are apart, we’ll be friends no matter what. And I’m sure the Unity Crystals will send us back someday. Right now, we need to get back to Equestria and deepen the search for that evil pony… something tells me that what Simone said might be useful.” Meanwhile, Velma and Beau were climbing onto the ferry from the dock. “The bayou casts a spell all its own. And no matter how hard you try to solve its mysteries it always keeps something hidden,” Beau said, and Velma sighed with a smile. “That was beautiful, Detective Neville. There’s a bit of a poet in you,” she said, making Beau chuckle. “I don't know about that, ma'am. But I would like to write detective stories someday.”

“Jinkies! I’ve always been crazy about a good detective! Story, that is,” Velma said. “I even own my own mystery bookstore.”

“No kidding!” Beau smiled, just as Zipp came by and winked at Velma playfully. Shaggy drove the Mystery Machine onto the ferry, where Velma noticed that someone was missing. “Where’s Scooby?” she asked. “He and Misty picking a peck of peppers, for the road!” Shaggy laughed. True to his word, Misty was helping the Great Dane pick a basket for the road when she saw the ferry getting ready to leave. “Hurry up, Scoob! The gang is pulling out!”

“Okay,” Scooby nodded, and the two galloped to the dock as fast as they could go. But while Misty was able to jump on the boat, Scooby could only get his front paws on there while his back paw was stuck in a crack in the wood. “Hang on, buddy! I got ya!” Misty grabbed him and attempted to pull him onboard, but instead he went flying through the air… into the window of the Mystery Machine. “Look what I’ve got for you, old buddy,” Shaggy pulled him down, holding some sandwiches. “We're finally going to have a nice peaceful meal.”

Scooby pulled a few peppers from the basket and put them on the sandwich, and was about to take a bite, when he noticed cats from the island onboard, their eyes glowing with a sinister light. “Shaggy! Cats!” he gulped. “Yikes…”

“Shoo, shoo!” Misty shooed the cats away, and they climbed into the trees so Scooby would be left alone. But after that, the portal appeared nearby. “Yikes!” Scooby yelped, clinging onto Misty tightly. “Don’t worry, Scoob,” Hitch comforted him. “It’s the portal that’ll send us back home.”

“Will you be back?” Daphne asked. “Soon-- not sure when, but soon,” Sunny said. And with that being said, Mystery Inc waved their new friends goodbye before they set off into the portal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The group soon reappeared inside the Brighthouse, only a few minutes having gone by since they left Scooby and the gang. “Phew… it’s good to be home,” Pipp sighed. “But… makes me wonder how the gang will get along with mysteries without us.”

“I think they’ll be okay,” Sunny reassured. “As long as they have each other, they’ll be fine… just like us.” It was then that Misty found the courage to say something… something she should have said a long time ago, but was afraid to. “Guys… you know how I said I’ve been living with a friend? A… a friend who said she would give me a cutie mark?” she asked. “Yeah…?” Izzy nodded. “Well… here’s the thing. She’s--”

Suddenly, a clap of thunder directly over Maretime Bay was heard, and a storm cloud was beginning to form from it. The group ran to town as fast as they could, seeing the dread on the ponies’ faces. “Posey! What's going on with the clouds?!” Hitch asked as the yellow earth pony held his baby dragon. “I don’t know! It just… appeared out of nowhere!” Posey exclaimed, handing Sparky over to Hitch. “And I could have sworn I heard some laughter echoing from it!”

Misty smelled something on the air... the same potion that she smelled back in Opaline's castle! This must have been what she meant when she said that this was gonna be their next step... but why now? “No no no… not now… not now!” Misty whispered. “Misty?” Zipp’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know something about this?”

“Well… I…” Misty tried to say, but in the clouds formed a familiar alicorn-- a purple one with a cold gaze in her icy blue eyes, staring down maliciously at the ponies she so desperately hated. “Hello, Equestria…” Opaline cackled. “Your queen… is BACK.”

Friends Going Missing/Finding Out the Truth

It had been a few minutes since the group left to find some peace and quiet, and the dinner resumed as if it had been peaceful from the start. “What I’d like to find out,” Velma said, “is why these ghosts want us off the island?”

“It’s not ghosts, Velma-- it’s just guys in masks,” Fred answered, taking another bite of food. “I don’t know… all these signs and warnings have been pretty direct that there’s something going on around here, and whatever it is, it’s definitely something supernatural,” Zipp figured. “Or maybe it’s some guys going after the pirate’s treasure!” Fred exclaimed. “Or,” Velma added, “covering up a smuggling operation!”

“Or maybe there’s oil under the island!” Hitch guessed, causing Simone to gasp. “Oh my!” she exclaimed. “Really, guys!” Daphne said with a frown. “For once, can't you accept that maybe there are some mysteries that have no rational explanation?”

“Have you guys seen anything like this in Equestria?” Velma turned to the ponies. “To be honest,” Zipp admitted, “we’re just discovering what magic can do ourselves, after it was gone for the past thousand moons or so. Plus, we’re working to decode a message from Twilight Sparkle about an evil pony that tried to steal magic during her time period.”

“Steal magic?” Daphne repeated. “Yeah,” Zipp nodded. “Twilight cast all Equestrian magic into the Unity Crystals before things got out of hoof, but ponies were so divided back then, they only felt safe with their pony kind… until we reunited the crystals and brought back magic.”

Simone and Lena listened intently as they spoke, sharing glances every once in a while. “Why didn’t you ever tell us about this before?” Fred asked. “We didn’t wanna cause panic, Freddy,” Hitch frowned. “Besides, we just met and we didn’t wanna overbear you. I mean… being stuck with ponies for a year while no time passes in Equestria is kind of a big change.”

“Do you have this message from Princess Twilight on you?” Velma asked. “Sure,” Zipp handed her the FlyPad. “We’ll try and go over it after dinner. But first… can I have more of that gumbo, Lena?”

“Help yourself,” Lena offered her another bowl full, just as Izzy looked around worriedly. “Guys, I’m worried about Misty… she’s been gone a long time, and so have Sunny, Shag and Scoob.”

“I’m sure she’s fine, Iz,” Pipp reassured. “They’re probably just dining and having fun-- and if something was wrong, we’d hear their screams from a mile away.”

XXXXXXXXXXX

As for the forementioned group, they were happily on the edge of the bayou, eating the remainder of their meal that Lena prepared without being bothered by the cats. “Like, this is much better, huh, guys?” Shaggy asked as they slurped down the last of the gumbo. “And now for the heat de resistance!”

He pulled out two ripe Moonscar Island peppers, giving one of them to Scooby and keeping the other to himself. Just for fun, Sunny decided to time them and see how long they could keep the peppers in their mouths. “On your mark,” she started, “get set… ignition!”

Shaggy and Scooby set the peppers in their mouths, but Shaggy was the only one to experience the pain-- Scooby didn’t even chew his, and it was sitting on his tongue! “Hey, no fair!” Misty nudged him playfully. “What’s the matter?” Shaggy panted from the heat. “Chicken?”

“Uh uh!” Scooby ate the pepper to prove his point. But his and Shaggy’s face up as steam and fire came from them, and the two burst from the Mystery Machine to drink from the nearby bayou. “How long did they hold in the heat?” Misty asked as she and Sunny trotted their way. “About… 3 minutes,” Sunny supposed. “At least it's all over.”

But, as if she was right on cue, the green supernatural magic that brought the Captain Moonscar zombie into existence sank into the ground in the water, and this caused more zombies to rise from the bottom of the bayou. “Zoinks!!” Shaggy cried out in terror. “Z-Zombies!!”

“What do we do?!” Misty blurt out, just as Sunny thought of something to buy them enough time to get into the Mystery Machine. “I got an idea! Stand back!” she shouted, and the three backed up as much as they could as Sunny began to glow bright gold for the first time in a year, much to Shaggy and Scooby's surprise. Her golden wings and horn began to form on her, and the glow from it caused the zombies to retaliate. “Sunny… like, how did you do that?!” Shaggy asked with wide eyes. “We'll talk about it later!” Sunny used her horn's light to lift Shaggy off the ground. “We just need to get to the van and get back to the house! Misty, Scooby, follow me!”

Misty and Scooby hopped from rock to rock to avoid the zombies while Sunny threw Shaggy into the back of the Mystery Machine so he could reach the driver's seat.

They managed to get moving and shake off the zombies who hitched a ride, but sooner than the group ever expected, the van was stuck in the mud, and the zombies were fast approaching!

So… there seemed to be only one option left-- run and scream and not look back.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Hitch had never tasted such amazing pie in his life… the pecan nuts in this world seemed to have a different flavor than before. “Mmmm…” he smiled as the flavors melted in his mouth. “Hey, we should do a segment on Lena's pecan pie, Daph. It's supernatural.”

“You are so corny,” Daphne rolled her eyes at him. “You do have to admit, it is good food-- maybe Sunny can have a few of your recipes, Lena,” Izzy said, but before Lena could respond, the echoes of their friends screamed throughout the entire bayou. “Now what?” the group asked, getting up from their seats. “I told you the hauntings were just beginning,” Simone said worriedly. “Come on!” Zipp fluttered up from the floor. “We better go out and find them before things really get out of hoof.”

“Uh, if you all will excuse me,” Fred got up to grab the video camera. “Lena, get them some lanterns,” Simone said. “Right away,” Lena nodded. “But please, Fred… you must be careful.”

Fred nodded, and she went to fetch them some lanterns before they set off into the swamp.

XXXXXXXX

It was pitch black other than the single moon in the sky, so the lanterns and Izzy’s glowing horn were a good way to see where they were going. “Shaggy! Scooby! Where are you?!” Velma called. “Misty! SUNNY!!” Hitch cried out, but both cries didn’t have a response. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes, and Beau stepped out into view with a lantern on his own. “So, it’s you!” Fred cried. “Where’s Sunny, Misty, Scooby and Shaggy?”

“Your crazy friends are near the bayou screaming about zombies. Well, I didn't see any,” Beau huffed. “You never do! And you're never around when these ghosts and zombies appear,” Velma said with a narrowed gaze. “Isn’t that a coincidence?” Zipp said suspiciously. “Save your suspicions for later, Zipper,” Pipp advised in a responsible manner. “Right now, we have to find the girls, Scooby and Shaggy. I think we should split up.”

“Good idea,” Fred nodded. “I’ll go with Beau,” Daphne volunteered. “Bad idea,” Fred frowned, but then Velma and Zipp stepped up. “We’ll go with Beau,” Zipp volunteered before whispering to Izzy, “We won’t let him out of our sight.”

XXXXXXXXX

Beau, Velma, Izzy and Zipp trudged through the swampy water in search of their friends. “Misty! Sunny!” Izzy called. “Scooby! Shaggy!” Velma exclaimed, but no one answered. “Hey,” Beau spoke gruffly, causing the three to turn. “Why do you keep treating me like I’m a suspect?”

“Because you are! Shaggy! Scooby!” Velma was about to turn away, but Beau grabbed her arm to prevent her from moving, just before he grabbed a rock and threw it ahead of them, watching as it sank into the ground. “Quicksand.”

“Sweet sauce horseshoe toss! Thanks,” Izzy said breathlessly, a little relieved they didn’t step into the quicksand. “But, you’re still a suspect,” Velma said before they kept going.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Fred and Hitch and Pipp and Daphne were looking on another end of the swamp for their friends when they stumbled upon something. “Fred, over here!” Pipp called, and when Fred ran over, he saw the Mystery Machine sitting alone in the murky swamp. Daphne opened the door, she screamed when crawdad shells fell out of it and by her feet. “What is it…?”

“Crawdad shells,” Fred hummed. “That means Shaggy and Scooby were definitely around,” Hitch examined them, just before Daphne turned to look at Fred. “Well, I guess the guys liked your girlfriend’s cooking too.”

“She’s not my girlfriend, Daph. I just said I enjoy her cooking,” Fred frowned as he prepared to enter the Mystery Machine to look further. “And what about Beau?”

“What about him?” Pipp crossed her hooves, unhappy that Fred was targeting her friend. While Hitch and Fred were busy looking in the van, Daphne suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, and she grabbed it before flinging it over her shoulder, resulting in a zombie falling into view. “Daphne!” Fred cried. “Are you--?”

“I can take care of myself thank you,” Daphne said with a huff. One look at the zombie made Hitch yell in surprise, hiding behind Pipp, who merely rolled her eyes. “It’s probably the gardener!” Fred exclaimed, but Pipp only smirked. “We’ll just see about that.”

But then, another rustling was heard, and Daphne yanked them out of hiding too, surprised that it was a friend of theirs… actually, four friends of theirs. “Shaggy?!” Fred and Daphne cried. “Scooby?!”

“Sunny, Misty! There you are!” Hitch exclaimed as they hugged their friends tight, just as Shaggy screamed, since he was laying on the zombie, and clung to Sunny tightly. “Take it easy, Shaggy…” Sunny comforted her friend. “It’s probably just a mask.”

Daphne walked over to the zombie and tried to pull off its face, but struggled to do such. “If this is a mask, Sunny, it’s a pretty darn good one,” she said. “Good one? Heh… t-t-that’s gotta be the fakiest, cheesiest mask I’ve ever seen…” Hitch said nervously. “Really?” Sunny took a turn at pulling the zombie’s face off. “But it feels real. Ew!”

“You’re just not pulling hard enough,” Fred supposed. “Okay, Mr. Macho-- why don’t YOU give it a try?” Pipp glared, causing Fred to shrug casually. “Sure. Hold this, Shag.”

Fred handed Shaggy the camera and went to the zombie, but Shaggy was skaking so much, the camera jittered violently. “Either hold it still or give it to Daphne,” Fred told him, and Shaggy did so as Fred began to pull off the mask. “It’s the… gardener!”

“No…” Daphne shook her head. “It’s the fisherman!” Fred strained. “No…!” Misty gulped. “It’s the ferryman!”

“No!” Scooby yelped. “Then… maybe it’s…” As Fred spoke, the zombie’s head came right off its hinges, resulting in his eyes widening. “...real. Oh! YAH!!!”

The group screamed individually as they tossed the head back and forth to each other before Scooby tossed the head onto the zombie’s legs, and the zombie put it back on himself. “That… was… SO DISGUSTING!!!” Hitch tried to wipe the zombie slobber off him. “See?” Misty said. “You believe us now?”

But before anyone else could respond to the blue unicorn, a ghostly moaning filled the air as the wind began to blow at a rapid, unnatural speed. “Fred…?” Daphne gulped. “Are you getting all this?”

“I am!” Pipp took video of the event, ready to send it to her sister to see what she could make from it. Suddenly, a wisp of green magic entered the water, resulting in more zombies coming for them from the bayou’s mysterious nature. “Like, it’s deja vu all over again!” Shaggy said. “And we know what to do, right Scoob?” Misty asked. “Yeah!” Scooby blurt out. “Run!”

The three began to run in another direction, but immediately halted when they saw zombies staggering toward them from the other side of the bayou too. “It’s a regular zombie jamboree!” Shaggy cried. “Misty, get them to safety!” Sunny cried. “We’ll take care of Fred and Daphne!”

“I’m on it! Come on, this way!” Misty urged her friends in another direction. “And I suppose they’re all animatronics too?!” Daphne pointed to the other zombies. “Well… i-it is a possibility, Daph!” Fred cried. “You’re not a skeptic, Fred!” Pipp gulped as they backed up. “You’re in denial!”

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the forest, and Sunny recognized it immediately. “It’s Lena!” she gasped. “We left her and Simone unprotected without our cutie mark magic!”

“Come on!” Hitch urged, and they began to run through the swamp until Fred tripped, causing the camera to fall and sink into some quicksand nearby. “The camera!” Daphne cried. “It’s quicksand!”

“This way!” Fred grabbed her and ran in another direction while the ponies were in suit.

XXXXXXXX

Misty, Shaggy and Scooby ran through the swamp for their lives, over crocodiles and tumbling down hills while Sunny and Hitch used their plant magic to make the zombies fall over, allowing them to have a more solid escape.

Eventually, Daphne and Fred and their group of ponies found Izzy, Beau, Zipp and Velma, while Misty, Shaggy and Scooby stumbled into a small cave while trying to escape from the zombies. Luckily, they were not hurt, but nearby, they found dolls that were made of wax-- two females and one male. “Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed. “Like, someone’s been playing with dolls, guys.”

“Yeah! Dolls!” Scooby nodded. While the group studied them, their friends wandered through the swamp looking for them. “Did you find the others?” Zipp asked. “Yeah,” Pipp nodded, still a tad shaken. “But we lost them when we found… zombies! Real zombies!”

“Real? Really real, Fred?” Velma asked. “I hate to admit it… but they were,” Fred nodded. “Yeah…” Daphne nodded. “I finally got my story, and all the proof sank in quicksand. Oh, this is all my fault…”

“Don’t blame yourself, Daphne,” Izzy patted her friend’s side reassuringly. “We’ll find our friends and get off this creep-zone.”

“Pipp, did you get any footage?” Zipp asked. “Sure did,” Pipp sent the files to Zipp, and she went over everything that Pipp recorded, shivering at some parts. “I gotta admit, this is definitely no form of Equestrian magic we’ve seen. I’m not sure how to deal with it-- one thing I do know is that it’s better to get everyone off the island before anything gets out of control.”

But before anything else could be said, Daphne and Velma and Fred lifted off the ground, causing them to scream. “Not again!” Velma cried.

XXXXXXXX

Turns out, this was being done by Shaggy, Scooby and Misty picking up the wax dolls they found. “Hey, this one looks like Daphne!” Shaggy moved the doll’s arm, causing Daphne to suddenly slap Fred in the face. “Ooh! Hey!”

Misty nudged the doll’s leg forward, causing Daphne to kick Fred in the rear. “Ow! Hey!” he exclaimed. “It’s not my fault!” Daphne cried. “Something’s controlling me! Sunny, Pipp, Zipp, Beau! Get us down!”

Sunny grabbed Fred’s pants leg in her teeth, attempting to yank him down while Pipp and Beau grabbed Daphne. “I… ugh… can’t!” Beau groaned, just before Velma punched him in the face. “Jinkies! Sorry,” she apologized, wincing and crying out as Daphne kicked her. Misty didn’t know what was going on, and was currently giggling to herself. “This is fun!” she smiled. Suddenly, Scooby saw eyes peering out at them from the dark, causing him to quiver. “I wonder who made these dolls,” Shaggy hummed. “Misty, Shaggy!” Scooby pecked Shaggy’s shoulder. “Look! Eyes!”

Misty and Shaggy quickly saw the eyes too, and they screamed and ran out of the cave, dropping the dolls in the process, and allowing the gang to fall to the ground. “Well…” Hitch said slowly. “That was strange.”

Suddenly, they could hear Lena screaming again. “Come on!” Zipp urged. “We better get to the house!”

XXXXXXXXX

As for Shaggy, Scooby and Misty, they ran and screamed from the eerie lights before they ducked, allowing a group of bats to fly over them. “Phew… it was just a bunch of bats, Scoob,” Misty sighed in relief. She had seen them around Opaline’s castle before, but the scary things happening around the island had her on edge. Soon enough, some female zombies started creeping toward them, causing them to back up. “W-We're not looking for ghoulfriends, right, Scoob?” Shaggy asked. “Uh uh!” Scooby shook his head, just before they backed into some male zombies (persumably the husbands/boyfriends of the two female zombies), causing them to scream. “Let’s get out of here!!” Misty cried, leading them away. Now where were they to go?

XXXXXXXX

The house was completely dark when the group arrived, and they split up to cover more ground. “Lena!” Fred called. “Simone?!” Daphne exclaimed. Velma tried the light switch, but it failed to respond. “Misty? Scooby? Shaggy?” she called. “The generator’s gone out. I’ll go check it,” Beau offered, but Zipp raised a wing to stop him. “No way! We’re not letting you out of our sights.”

Fred and Hitch and Sunny searched around the stairs, but Fred accidentally triggered something, which caused the staircase to fall down into a lower level of the house. “Fred!” Daphne exclaimed as she and Pipp came closer. “Are you--?”

“--all right?” asked a voice, and it was Lena, unharmed, coming to check on Fred. “Yeah, heh… thanks,” Fred smiled as she helped him up, just as the others came down into the dark tunnel. “What’s going on?” Sunny asked. “It was a nightmare!” Lena cried out. “Ms. Lenoir and I went outside to wait for you, when we were attacked by these… these--”

“Zombies?” Zipp asked. “Yes,” Lena nodded. “We ran back to the house and Ms. Lenoir opened this secret passageway. She said it was built during the Civil War to hide from union soldiers. But the zombies came after us! They grabbed Ms. Lenoir and dragged her away!”

She wrapped her arms around Fred, trying to comfort herself. “Ohh… thank goodness you’ve come!”

Velma, however, had doubts about Lena’s story when she saw some strange, yet familiar footprints on the ground. “You say the zombies dragged Simone away?”

“Yes! It was horrible!” Lena nodded, eyes still shut. “Don’t worry,” Fred reassured her. “We’ll find her and it’s gonna be okay.”

Izzy lit the way with her horn, and Daphne took the lead beside her. “Come on,” she urged. “We’ve got to save Simone.”

Only the lights of the lantern and Izzy’s horn lit the way through the dark tunnel, and Velma deduced that the footprints would lead them to Simone’s location… in a small room behind a closed door, far underneath the house, where many books, a moondial, and a fire was burning. “Where are we?” Sunny asked, looking around. “Looks to me like a place for voodoo rituals,” Velma answered. “But why don’t we just ask… Lena?”

“What are you talking about?” Fred asked. “Her story about Simone getting dragged by zombies wasn’t true,” Velma said with a frown, pointing accusingly. “I saw the footprints of Simone's heels. She wasn't dragged. She walked down that tunnel.”

Suddenly, there came the sound of clanking, and the cover above the moondial lifted, revealing Simone smirking in the moonlight. “Very clever, Velma,” she said sinisterly, “but it’s too late.”

The gang and the ponies looked at her with confusion, before Simone brought out two of the dolls from before, placing them against the wall, which lifted Daphne and Velma up before they slammed into the wall with their backs. “Sorry, Freddy,” Lena displayed the same wicked smirk as she brought out a doll of him too. “I really do like you.” Fred yelled as Lena slammed his doll into the wall, making him do the same. “What woul you do if you didn’t like me?”

“Hey!” Beau tried to stop them, but Lena had a doll of him too, and she too slammed him into the wall. “Lena, Simone! What are you doing?!” Sunny blurt out, but her question went unanswered as Lena and Simone tied the ponies in tight ropes before tying up the dolls. “Voodoo dolls!” Velma realized, seeing the hair and pieces of clothing from each individual person on the dolls. “These wax dolls do come in handy,” Simone smirked as she set the dolls up nearby, so the gang couldn’t move. “So that's where the cleaning cloth for my glasses went,” Velma strained before looking over at Beau. “Sorry I suspected you.”

“Apology accepted,” Beau strained, just as Simone stood victoriously before the moondial. “The harvest moon will soon reach the midnight point on this moondial, and then… the ceremony will begin.”

“W-What ceremony?!” Zipp demanded to know. “You won’t get away with this!” Daphne strained, but Simone only smiled wickedly. “I’ve been getting away with it for 200 years!”

Suddenly, Simone began to laugh before something strange happened… Simone and Lena’s figures changed to look half human and half cat, and this made the group gasp in horror. “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh tell me I didn’t see that, tell me I didn’t see that!” Pipp sheltered her eyes with her hoof. “At least Scooby, Misty and Shaggy are still free… maybe…” Fred murmured. “I heard that, Fred!” Lena spat at him. “Those two simpletons. We didn't even bother making wax dolls of them. Ha! A waste of time and magic wax.”

“Hey! Leave them alone! They’re our friends you’re messing with!” Zipp barked. “Just what are you planning to do to us?” Hitch questioned. “Ah, it’s simple,” Simone sneered. “Every harvest moon I must drain the life force from victims lured to my island-- to preserve my immortality.” Hearing this made Daphne gulp in horror. “This is more haunted stuff than I really wanted…”

Now, it would seem that Misty, Shaggy and Scooby were their only chance to escape this island alive… wherever they may be.