G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! and the Ghoul School

Chapters

Weeks of Peace
Reunited
Miss Grimwood's School for Ghouls
Ballet in the Morning/Introducing the Calloway Cadets
Garden Hijinks/Retrieving the Ball
Colonel Calloway's Visit/Game Prep and Midnight Spies
Grimwood vs Calloway (Part 1)
Grimwood vs Calloway (Part 2)
The Halloween Open House
Setting the Trap
Captured! (Part 1)
Bog Troubles
Captured! (Part 2)/A Rescue Mission Begins
Comforting Words/A Promise Broken
Storming the Castle/Mirror Mayhem
A Musical Escape
Midnight's Music Moment/Farewell to Grimwood
The Final Fight

Weeks of Peace

The Mane 5, Sparky and Misty had been back from their last adventure in Warnerstock for weeks now, and there had been no sign of the evil alicorn from Twilight Sparkle’s era that Misty previously served.

Misty and her new friends had previously helped their first new friends that they helped, the Warner Brothers and their Warner Sister, gain new elemental powers that they used to free the kingdom from Opaline’s clutches, and after they had gotten back, they waited for a sign so they could beat her again… but nothing.

Misty knew better than to think Opaline wasn’t going to attack anymore… she knew her former adoptive mother too well.

But, she wasn’t worried-- with her friends having their magic, she was sure that they could beat her again next time.

All she wished was that she had gotten out into the world sooner… so she could discover her own cutie mark and special talents.

Instead of spying and planning to seize Sparky from the ponies she cared about, she could have been finding another way to get her cutie mark… without having to depend on Opaline.

But there was no sense in dreading on the past… she had a better future to look forward to. All she hoped was Opaline wouldn’t spoil it for her or her new best friends.

XXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, in all the weeks that she had been cooped up in her castle, waiting for the ponies to be sent somewhere else, so she could potentially get more power, Opaline had grown restless.

Why hadn’t the Unity Crystals activated anymore? When were they going to go on another mission?

The fact that it hadn’t happened in WEEKS was enough to almost drive Opaline to her breaking point.

Finally, one day while looking all over Maretime Bay for the ponies… she let out a scream of anguish. “CURSE YOU, TWILGHT SPARKLE!!!” Opaline screamed, flinging a potion bottle against the wall, shattering it. “CURSE YOU, SUNNY STARSCOUT!!!!! I WILL GET MY DRAGON FIRE, AND THERE WILL BE NOTHING YOU OR YOUR FRIENDS CAN DO TO STOP ME!!! AAAAAAAAGH!!!!!”

She shattered another potion bottle right next to Misty’s quarters… well, right next to where Misty’s quarters would have been. “Ugh… if it weren’t for that pathetic markless mare,” Opaline scowled after calming down a bit, “I would have that dragon and be more powerful than Sunny Starscout and her friends silly unity magic. I just need to gain another ally. Someone who will help me gain my goals. Not like that Simone Lenoir or Lena Dupree.”

But the question now was… how…?

XXXXXXXXXX

At the same time, Pipp, Jazz and Rocky were practicing Pipp’s new single, Every New Day is the Best Day Ever before their concert at Mane Melody the next evening, and the others and Sparky were happily dancing along.

Pipp, Jazz and Rocky: Every day's so bright, every day's full of magic
Every day feels right, every day is a classic
And just when I think it can't get any better
Every new day is the best day ever

Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like
Every new day is the best day ever
Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like
Every new day is the best day ever!

The ponies wildly cheered and stomped their hooves after they finished the song, along with Sparky’s sweet little babbling. “Thank you! Thank you! Mwah!” Pipp blew them a kiss. “I love you too!”

“That was great, Pipp!” Sunny smiled. “What better way to celebrate not seeing Opaline for weeks then with a concert?”

“Speaking of Opaline, what did you tell them about Opaline’s little stunt in town a few weeks ago, Hitch?” Zipp asked. “Oh, I told them it was all a prank by some foals and I would put them to justice,” Hitch said before letting out a sigh. “I wish I didn’t have to lie to them.”

“It’s only for a little while. Until we’re sure that Opaline is eliminated for good,” Sunny said, “we have to keep this between us.”

“Besides… Opaline could strike again at any second, and put another world in danger!” Misty said from the window. “We have to be ready. I… I mean… you guys have to be ready.”

“...you have to be ready too, Misty,” Jazz pointed out. “Yeah!” Izzy nodded. “We can’t do this without you!”

“I don’t know about that,” Misty shook her head. “I mean… I made this whole thing possible with Opaline… allowed the chance for her to come back. What if I just mess things up even worse?”

“Misty, you won’t know unless you try… just like we’ve been trying to help you find your talent and cutie mark,” Sunny told her. “And that’s been going SO well,” Misty said sarcastically. “Like, when I delivered smoothies for you? I came so close to flopping Posey’s order right on her! Or when I tried to style Pipp’s mane and it looked like a mop that had been caught on fire?!”

“Heh heh heh… I know you were trying your best, Misty,” Pipp said after chuckling nervously. “We’ll just have to keep trying.”

“...yeah,” Misty nodded, completely losing faith in herself. “...okay…”

The other ponies looked at each other sadly, but before they could respond, Sunny, Hitch, Pipp, Zipp and Izzy’s cutie marks began to shimmer with unity magic, causing Zipp to sigh. “So much for a few weeks of relaxation,” the white pegasus shrugged. “Looks like we have a job to do.”

Sparky blubbered and hugged Hitch’s leg, not wanting him to go. “I know you wanna come with us, little guy,” Hitch said, “but it’s too risky now that Opaline knows about your dragon fire. Jazz, Rocky? You feel like looking after him till we get back?”

“Sure thing,” Rocky smiled. “You can count on it!” Jazz took Sparky into her hooves. “All right, ponies,” Sunny said. “To the Brighthouse!”

XXXXXXXX

Sunny and her friends galloped to the Brighthouse at top speed, all while Izzy and Misty shared excitement as to where they might be going… and Misty hoped that Opaline wouldn’t notice they would be gone. Soon, they reached the Unity Crystals, and Misty held Izzy’s hoof while praying to herself. “Please let it be somewhere nice and cozy, please let it be somewhere cozy… and with friends we know…”

“Maybe we’ll get to see the Warners a third time!” Izzy chirped. “After all, the third time is the charm. Or is it the 1,000,000th time is the charm? I can never keep count.”

“Wherever we’re going, brace yourselves, everypony!” Hitch said as the Unity Crystals started to glow again. “Here we go!”

The Unity Crystals then teleported the group away… unaware that Opaline had seen everything from her pool. “That’s it, little ponies…” she smiled. “Go on your little adventure… but I will be watching from the shadows… waiting for the right time to strike.”

Reunited

Only a few minutes after the Unity Crystals teleported them out of the Crystal Brighthouse, a portal opened on the other side, leading the group to slowly climb out… well, everyone except for Misty and Hitch, who stumbled into each other and crashed to the ground. “Phew…” Hitch sighed, getting up. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.”

The group looked around, noticing they were in a dark, foresty area, with clouds looming above them, looking like a storm would blow over at any minute.

Not exactly a place where anypony would WANT to be. “Does anypony recognize this place?” Sunny asked. “No… we’re definitely not in Equestria, that’s for sure,” Zipp said, observing the surroundings. “Too flat, and not too many trees… not Maretime Bay, Bridlewood or Zephyr Heights.”

“So… where do we go from here?” Misty wondered, but she was quickly cut off by a clap of thunder. “I say we go under those trees before we get rained on,” Sunny said. “Come on!”

The ponies immediately ducked under the cover of the trees, careful not to get wet as the rain began to pour down on them. “Great…” Pipp sighed. “I’m gonna get my mane wet for sure-- now I’ll have to recurl it 1000 times in order to get it to this level of perfection!”

“Pipp, you can stop worrying about your mane for now,” Zipp told her sister with a bored tone. “Right now, we have to find the person who really needs us.”

“Yeah,” Hitch nodded, turning his head left and right. “But where in the world could they-- AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!”

Two bright lights were heading in their direction, causing the ponies to be temporarily blinded. As it got closer, parking under the cover of the trees, the lights dimmed, and the ponies saw they were just the headlights of a red van, causing them to be partly relieved.

But, Misty and Sunny recognized that red van from somewhere familiar… but they couldn’t figure out where they had seen it until they saw some figures getting out of the van-- namely, a skinny teen in a red shirt, followed by a large brown Great Dane.

Misty gasped upon recognizing them, teal eyes brimming with happiness. “Shaggy! Scooby!”

“Like, Misty? Ponies?” Shaggy chuckled happily. “We thought we’d never be able to see you again!”

The two groups immediately ran toward each other and gave them plenty of happy hugs… and Scooby was there to give them plenty of happy licks, Sunny and Misty especially. “Easy! Easy, boy!” Sunny laughed. “We’re happy to see you too. So… what are you guys doing out here? And where are Fred, Daphne and Velma?”

“Daph, Fred and Velmster are on another assignment, and well, heh… so are we,” Shaggy admitted. “Like, we got a job at a school for girls as gym teachers.”

“Yeah! Gym teachers!” Scooby said proudly. “Uncle Scooby? Shaggy? What’s going on?” asked a voice from the van. “Is there something out there?”

“Just some old friends of ours, Scrappy,” Shaggy responded. “Come out and say hi, before this storm gets any worse.”

The door of the van opened, and out of it came a smaller dog, a Great Dane like Scooby, but he walked on two legs instead of Scooby's usual four. “Oh… my… HOOFNESS!!” Pipp said, flapping her wings excitedly. “He’s almost as cute as Sparky!”

“Like, Sunny? We want you and your friends to meet Scoob’s nephew, Scrappy-Doo,” Shaggy introduced. “Oh, these are the ponies who helped you on Zombie Island, Uncle Scooby?” Scrappy asked, and Scooby nodded in confirmation. “Wow, great to meet all of you!”

“Good to meet you too, Scrappy,” Zipp smiled, just before she got an idea. “Hey, we're actually supposed to be looking for our next mission, and I think we're gonna be here a while. Do you mind if we hang with you guys?”

“Uh uh!” Scooby answered. “Yeah,” Shaggy agreed. “We'd love to catch up-- see what you guys have been into lately.”

“Well, uh… it’s been a lot to say the least,” Hitch chuckled. “Come on-- let’s get into the van before we melt.”

“Yeah-- melt!” Scooby bolted back toward the van, causing the others to giggle and follow suit. However, Misty stayed behind as they chattered, catching up and old times.

How could she tell Shaggy and Scooby that Opaline could be coming after them next? Sure, she told them her secret that she was once the servant of Opaline… but what if they reacted differently than before?

What if they cast her out? All she wanted was friends… other than wanting a cutie mark. If she lost them…

“Misty!” Zipp called from the van. “Hurry up!”

“Uh… coming!” Misty cried, rushing toward the van and jumping in beside her friends. She had to put her doubts aside for now… after all, the gang needed her.

And she needed them too.

Miss Grimwood's School for Ghouls

As they traversed through the dark stormy night, the team found themselves getting even closer to Scooby and Shaggy than before, and they found themselves quickly bonding to Scrappy, despite just meeting him a few minutes before.

However, as they drove along, the storm began to get even worse. “Zoinks!” Shaggy said from the driver’s seat. “I can’t see a thing through this windshield!”

“Oh, man… neither can I! What a washout!” Sunny tried to glance through the windshield, but to no avail. “Oh, boy…” Shaggy muttered. “Maybe I shouldn't have taken this new job.”

“Don’t be silly, Shaggy,” Scrappy reassured. “You'll make a great gym teacher, and I'll make a great assistant. See? I've been working out.”

The tiny pup lifted a large weight over his shoulders, but as the van rocked along, Scrappy lost balance, causing him to fall back into the open doors, only holding on by his back paws. “Oh no!” Scooby cried. “Scrappy!” Misty shrieked. “Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed. “Like's not only working out, he's falling out!”

“Whee! I bet this is great for building up my shoulder muscles!” Scrappy said, pleasantly enjoying the ride. Zipp and Pipp grabbed Scooby’s tail in their teeth while Scooby made a move toward his nephew, grabbing his hind legs. “Scrappy!” the elder Great Dane said. “Let go!”

“Anything you say, Uncle Scooby!” Scrappy said, and willingly let the weight go, causing the group to fly back into some workout equipment. “Gee, Pipp and Zipp!” said Scrappy. “Are you ready to work out too?”

“...not especially,” Zipp groaned, helping her sister out of the mess they got into. “Like, I’m ready to get to this fancy girls' school and taste their fancy cooking,” Shaggy laughed. “Me too-- I haven’t had a bite to eat all day!” Hitch agreed. “In the meantime, I’lll check the grub compartment,” Scrappy said, opening the box in front of him and pulling a sandwich out of it. “Hey! There’s a sandwich left!”

Shaggy took the sandwich from Scooby’s nephew, but immediately spit out the small bite he took, seeing that there was no condiments on the sandwich… only a chuck of map being eaten. “Like, anyone for a road map on rye?”

“I put it there for safe keeping, Shaggy,” Scrappy answered. “But without the map,” Misty gulped worriedly, “I think we’re lost!”

But as they drove through the storm, a building came into view. “No, we’re not. There’s the school!” Scrappy said. “Not too shabby, Shaggy.”

“Only the best for my friends!” Shaggy laughed before noticing the sign in front of the building. “Huh? Military school? Like, we’re looking for Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Girls.”

“Ohhhhh… it must be the spooky-looking place next door!” Izzy cheerfully pointed at the building next to the military school-- a creepy old house that had a sign that read ‘Miss Grimwood’s Finishing School for Ghouls’... not what Shaggy previously thought. “Like, looks like no one’s home,” Shaggy gulped nervously. “We'll come back some other time.”

“Yeah!” Scooby agreed, but before they could get moving, the gate to the finishing school slowly creeped open. “See, Uncle Scooby?” Scrappy said. “I knew they’d be expecting us.”

“Scrappy’s right, fellas,” Sunny said. “Let’s at least go take a look-- it can’t be all bad. Like my dad used to say, don't judge a house by its paint job.”

“Or a school by its appearance,” Zipp added. Realizing their pony friends were right, Shaggy piloted the van through the gate, but as they drove, the windshield wipers stopped working. “What a time for the wipers to conk out…” Shaggy muttered. “Like, I can’t see the road!”

Suddenly, a brown tail began to wipe over the windshield, and as it turns out, Scooby and Sunny were on top of the van, with Sunny holding an umbrella over Scooby so he wouldn’t get wet. “How’s that, Shaggy?” Scooby asked. “Like, much better. I think I see the school!” Shaggy said, just before taking a closer look and gasping. “But I'm not sure I want to.”

“Wow, what a spook-tacular place!” Pipp said, loving anything spooky. “It even has a moat!”

“Moat?!” Shaggy cried. “Moat?” Scooby looked over and saw them coming closer, but then he and Sunny realized something with wide eyes. “And no drawbridge!!”

Immediately, Shaggy slammed on the brakes, causing the van to lurch to a stop right before the moat. But upon doing that, he sent Sunny and Scooby flying toward the doors, causing them to crash on the other side. “That’s my uncle Scooby!” Scrappy boasted proudly. “He always wants to get places ahead of everybody.”

“...and in more ways than one,” Hitch muttered. Slowly, the door opened, and someone with a cold hand helped Sunny and Scooby back onto their hooves and paws. “Thanks,” Sunny said, just before she and Scooby let out a scream-- the hand that helped them up was moving all on its own, without a body attached to it!

This caused Scooby to run inside, with Sunny following after him, but something made them stop… actually, some-creature. It was a small dragon, probably a little older than Sparky, covered in light green scales, with dark green horns, hair, and spots and scales on his back. His eyes were yellow with orange irises and red pupils, and he also had webbed hands, sharp teeth, and an arrow-shaped tail.

Scooby had heard Sunny and the others talk about Sparky before, but had never seen a dragon before this, so he wasn’t sure how to react. “G-G-Good boy…”

But before he could try and convince the dragon not to hurt them, the dragon lit Scooby’s tail on fire, causing him to run smack dab into the middle of a row of armor. “Uncle Scooby likes to arrive with a big bang!” Scrappy said from outside. Turns out, when the suits of armor fell, one of their helmets got stuck on Scooby’s head, and he was trying desperately to get out of it. “Shaggy!” he screamed. “Scrappy!”

“Hang on, Scooby-- I’ll help you out!” Sunny grabbed the helmet with her front hooves and helped Scooby pull it off. When they finally got it off, it flung onto the chains holding up the drawbridge, lowering it, and the helmet then got stuck on the dragon’s head.

Once they saw the drawbridge was down, Misty knew this may be their one chance. “Come on, guys!”

She and her friends quickly crossed the drawbridge to get out of the rain, and Izzy was the first to find Scooby and Sunny. “There you guys are!” she said, and then she noticed the dragon wearing the helmet. “Awww, another baby dragon! Maybe he’s Sparky’s cousin!”

“If he is,” Sunny answered nervously, “then this cousin has a serious temper/fire issue.”

The dragon then used his fire breath to torch the helmet off of him, and then with growls, he quickly advanced toward Scooby and the ponies. “Uh oh…” the three trembled, taking steps back until they reached the wall. Suddenly, a voice stopped the dragon before he could harm them any further. “Matches! Come here!”

Matches, which Sunny assumed to be the dragon’s name, quickly walked toward a short, middle-aged woman with black hair, wearing pink dress and a red cloak held on with skull buttons, and red head band. “Bad boy,” she scolded the dragon before turning to Scooby and the ponies. “I hope he didn't scare you.”

“Me? Uh uh,” Scooby shook his head. “Surprisingly,” Sunny said, “we’ve dealt with a dragon at home… but he’s a lot more tame than this.”

That’s when Shaggy, Scrappy and the other ponies managed to find them. “Like, guys…” Shaggy stammered. “Is that a… a…?”

“Dragon? Uh huh,” Sunny nodded while Scooby imitated his growling. “Like Sparky?” Hitch asked. “Sort of,” Sunny shrugged. “Except this one’s dragon fire doesn’t transform things… just burns things.”

“Matches can get a little feisty around strangers,” the woman then explained as they approached. “But once he gets to know you, he’s fine.”

“Glad to know you, Matches,” Scrappy shook Matches’ claws. “I’m Scrappy-Doo. I guess you already know Sunny, Izzy and my Uncle Scooby.”

This caused Matches to growl at them intimidatingly. “Hello,” Scooby chuckled nervously, waving his paw at the dragon. “And I’m Zipp,” the white pegasus then introduced. “And this is my sister Pipp, and our other friends, Hitch and Misty.”

“Then you must be Shaggy Rogers,” said the woman with a kind smile. “I'm Miss Grimwood, head mistress of this finishing school.”

“Like, pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Shaggy said. Expecting Miss Grimwood to shake his hand, Shaggy was beyond shocked to see the floating hand shake it instead. “I thought you could use a hand with your luggage,” Miss Grimwood said, and a creepy howl echoed through the entire school. “I… I don’t think we’ll be staying,” Misty gulped. “Right, Scoob?”

“Absolutely!” Scooby agreed as a bat flew around them. But then, as they were making a break for it, the floating hand closed the door on them. “Come now, we have a contract, Shaggy,” Miss Grimwood brought out such. “This is your signature, is it not?”

“Like, I guess so,” Shaggy gulped at the proof. “Sure it is!” Scrappy pointed to the two sets of pawprints on the contract. “We even witnessed it, right, Uncle Scooby?”

“Uh, right, Scrappy,” Scooby nodded. “Good, now that’s settled. Come-- I want you all to meet my girls,” Miss Grimwood said as the same purple bat that flew around them earlier flew around them again. “Ahh… here’s one of them now.”

“Girl?” Shaggy looked skeptic. “Like, don’t be batty! That’s no girl!”

Suddenly, the bat began to glow with a bright light, and instantly morphed into a young girl with lavender skin, long two-tone purple hair, red lips, aqua eyelids and green eyes, with an outfit consisting of a dark purple dress with a knee-high slit, red flats, and a red belt. “What’s wrong with batty?” she asked in a calm voice. “I’m Sibella, Count Dracula’s daughter. Fang-tastic to meet you.”

“D-D-D-D-Dracula’s…?” Shaggy stammered. “...d-d-d-d-daughter?!” Scooby exclaimed. Suddenly, there came another fearsome howl, and everyone glanced over to the window to see a young werewolf who was short, has light brown fur, curly, bright orange hair, and yellow eyes, and an outfit consisting of a blue dress with the sleeves cut off along with a light blue bow-tie. “Whoa!” Pipp exclaimed. “A werewolf!”

“Winnie the Werewolf to be exact,” Miss Grimwood nodded. “Come down and meet your new teacher, Winnie!”

“Hellooooooooooo!!!” Winnie howled in greeting. “Like, goodbyyyyyyyyye!!!” Shaggy screamed before he, Scooby and Misty ran off in panic… just before they were approached by another student. This student was a tall, female humanoid, with pale skin, and a black hair updo with white streaks, bolts on both sides of her neck, a bit of a heavy brow, and many stitches on her body, along with a dark green dress over a light green t-shirt with chunky brown sandals. “Hi,” she greeted in a friendly tone. “I’m Elsa Frankenteen.”

“And we’re outta here!” Scooby yelped, and they raced back in the other direction, collecting their friends before darting off again. “I guess they're anxious to find their rooms,” Miss Grimwood assumed. “They must be tired.”

“They don't run like they're tired,” Elsa noticed. “Yeah,” Sibella nodded. “You think they’ve never met a girl ghoul before.”

XXXXXXXX

Sunny and the other ponies tiredly followed Scooby, Shaggy, Scrappy and Misty through the dark corridors of the school until they reached a large wooden door. “Maybe we can get out this way,” Misty pointed to the door with her hoof. “I hope so!” Scooby said worriedly. “But, Uncle Scooby, why are we leaving?” Scrappy asked. “Don't you want to meet the rest of the girls?”

The group pushed open the door, peeking inside to see a cold desolate room with a singular organ inside. “Like, those weren’t girls, Scrappy,” Shaggy said. “They were ghouls!”

Suddenly, another one of the students floated over to them through the walls. And this student was transparent, highlighted by a blue tinge, with short white hair with a blue streak, worn in a sideways ponytail and a simple light blue dress and high heeled white cowgirl boots. “Ho ho!” Shaggy said as the group watched with shock. “S-See what I mean?!”

“Hi! I’m Phantasma,” the ghost girl said before sitting down at the organ. “Wanna hear me play?”

The tune she played was happy and upbeat, not at all what the group was expecting. “Not bad, Phantasma,” Hitch said. “But do you know any rock-n-roll?”

But, he was quickly picked up by Zipp, who was getting a tad bid freaked out about this. “There’s no time for rocking!” she said as they bolted down the hall as fast as their feet, wings, hooves and paws could take them. “We have to get rolling!”

“Don’t worry, Miss Grimwood,” said Elsa’s voice from down the hall, “we’ll find ‘em!”

As they ran, Shaggy spotted another door from not too far off. “Quick, in here!”

They soon went inside the room, finding it designed to look like an ancient Egyptian tomb, but the group was too busy panting tiredly to notice. “I think we lost them,” Zipp panted. “Guys, I really don’t get why we ran off,” Sunny frowned. “Those girls seemed friendly enough.”

“Not to be rude, Sunny, but… once again, they were ghouls!” Misty exclaimed. “And remember last time we encountered ghouls? They tried to drain us of our life force!”

“Well, that’s a good point… but I’m wanting to keep an open mind about them,” said Sunny. “Just until we have evidence to prove they’re not friendly.”

But as Sunny was speaking, Shaggy spotted a sarcophogus to hide inside for the time being. “Like, this looks like a good place to hide.”

“Uh… Shag, Scoob, Scrappy, wait!” Zipp tried to stop them, realizing what it was, but they dove in anyway. Then, after a few seconds, they all burst out screaming the same thing. “MUMMY!!!!!”

A small mummy girl yawned and arose from the sarcophogus, blue eyes blinking tiredly. “S-S-S-Sorry we woke you,” Izzy squeaked as they backed away… right into Elsa, causing the unicorns, Shaggy and Scooby to scream as Miss Grimwood and the other girls joined them. “Ahh… I see you met the youngest of my girls,” Miss Grimwood said pleased. “This is Tanis, the mummy’s daughter.”

“Are they the new gym teachers?” Tanis asked, coming closer. “Yes, Tanis,” Sibella nodded. “We’ve been waiting for them a long time.”

“It wasn’t worth it!” Shaggy blurt out. “You don't want to eat us. We're just skin and bone!”

“Yeah! Skin and bone!” Scooby agreed, and Phantasma let out a high-pitched giggle. “They’re strange, Elsa!” she spoke. “But they’re in good shape, Phanty,” Elsa agreed, and Scrappy flexed a muscle for them proudly. “Gee, thanks.”

“G-G-Good shape? For what?” Hitch asked nervously. “To teach us how to beat those Calloway cadets, of course,” Sibella pointed in the direction of the military school. “Yeah! They win every time!” Tanis said, pointing to an empty trophy case. “I'll never get a trophy for my mummy case.”

The ponies’ hearts melted a little at the sight of such a sad mummy… but then again, they never thought that way about a mummy before. “We need a coach with spirit!” Phantasma said, phasing through the walls. “Who can show us all the right moves!” Winnie agreed, pretending to dribble a basketball. “Well...” Shaggy stammered. “Uh...”

“That’s my Uncle Scooby!” Scrappy said before he or Shaggy could protest. “He and Shaggy have more moves than a Russian chess player.”

“Yeah!” Scooby nodded. “Checkmate!”

“Don’t worry, Tanis,” Izzy said comfortingly. “We’ll help you earn a trophy, or my name isn’t Izzy Moonbow! And if we don't win you that trophy... well, I guess I'm gonna have to change my name.”

“I’m so happy I could howl!” Winnie cheered. “In fact, I will! Awoooooooooo!!!”

“YIPE!!” Misty shrieked, not used to hearing that sound. “Oh… it’s fang-tastic having you here, guys,” Sibella said, showing off her vampire fangs. “Yeah… welcome to Ghoul… School!” Elsa patted Shaggy and Scooby roughly on the back, which caused them to tumble straight into Misty and Hitch. “Well, I’m glad that’s all settled,” Miss Grimmwood said. “Now, let me show you all to your rooms.”

That’s when the floating hands brought a set of keys over to her. “Ahh… here are the keys!”

“YIKES!!!” Shaggy, Misty and Scooby screamed before falling back, having fainted. “Gee,” Scrappy said as he dragged them out of the room. “You guys must’ve been overcome by your warm welcome!”

Sunny chuckled nervously at the headmistress and students. “We’ll help them settle in… promise.”

But as they settled in for the night, no one noticed the evil Opaline watching them through her mirror pool. “Now I know where they went, and I know just the person who can help me finish them for good…”

Ballet in the Morning/Introducing the Calloway Cadets

The first night at Miss Grimwood’s Finishing School for Ghouls was actually a lot better than the group expected-- the beds were well furnished, there was a working shower, everyone there may have been a little creepy at first, but they were actually really nice, and having Shaggy, Scooby and Misty already passed out really helped their sleeping.

But, Misty knew that today would be the day that she would tell Shaggy and Scooby about Opaline… and how she could be coming for them next.

That same morning, Scrappy and a majority of the ponies were up already, and after watching as Matches set a rooster’s tail on fire after it woke him from his sleep, they approached Miss Grimwood, who happily greeted them. “Ready for some early morning exercises, all?”

“You betcha, Miss Grimwood!” Sunny responded happily. “Want us to wake Shaggy, Misty and Scooby?”

“No, don’t bother,” Miss Grimwood said. “I've left them a wake-up call.”

XXXXXXX

Misty had bunked with Shaggy the previous night before, but she would sleep with Scooby the next night, in order to make him feel comfortable. As they were sleeping, Miss Grimwood’s floating hand flew in and shook Shaggy on the shoulder. “Like, g-g-go away…” Shaggy muttered in his sleep. “I’m sleepin’.”

But the floating hand would not rest, moving onto Misty and trying to shake her awake. “Come back… come back in an hour,” she muttered. That’s when the hand decided to take more drastic measures, reaching for an alarm clock and letting it ring right in their ears. “YIKES!!!” Shaggy and Misty screamed, leaping into the canopy above their bed. “Okay! We’re up!” Misty cried as she dangled from the canopy. “We’re up!!”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Scooby was fast asleep in his own bed, while Matches tried to pull the covers off of him to wake him. When that failed, he set his eyes and his fire breath on Scooby’s tail.

That caused him to wake up with a scream, to which the others heard outside his room. “Sounds like your uncle Scooby’s up and at ‘em!” Zipp said to Scrappy, just as Scooby bolted from his room, screaming in pain, and immediately put his smoking tail into a nearby fishbowl. “Ahhh…”

As Scooby rested his aching tail in the bowl, Scrappy noticed a small figure swimming out of a cave in the bowl. “Gee, Uncle Scooby, you woke up the goldfish!”

“I don’t think that’s a goldfish, Scrappy,” Hitch answered. “That looks like the girls’ pet piranha!”

“Piranha?! Uh oh!” Scooby yelped and tried to flee, but the piranha bit down on his tail, causing him to scream in pain, running into the next room, where Pipp was preparing the girls’ tutus for their first lesson. “Okay, girls. Miss Grimwood said you’d be taking ballet lessons this morning.”

That’s when Scooby leapt into the next room, yelping and barking in pain and jumping around, much to Pipp's surprise. “This must be a new step,” Elsa commented before mimicking Scooby’s movements. “It’s a real howl!” Winnie exclaimed. “Awooo-ooo-oo-ooo!”

“Careful, Winnie!” Tanis warned. “You’re tappin’ on my wrappin'!”

“Ohh!!” Phantasma giggled as she and Sibella followed Scooby around the room. “How am I doing, Sibella?”

“Oh, fang-tastic, Phanty,” Sibella complimented as the others watched, slightly amused by the actions. “Looks like Scooby's gotten the ballet class started, Shaggy,” Miss Grimwood commented. “Like, he’s always been light on his feet,” Shaggy agreed… right before Miss Grimwood handed him a tutu as well. “You take over now, Shaggy.”

However, the thought of wearing a tutu made Shaggy instantly shake his head. “Uh, like, you’re the boss, Miss Grimwood!”

“And a tutu for you too, Scrappy,” Miss Grimwood insisted, handing him a smaller version of what she handed Shaggy. “Me?” Scrappy asked in surprise. “Tutu?”

“Don’t worry, boys-- Pipp’s the best dance teacher around!” Izzy said as she and Sunny pushed them forward to join Scooby. “She’ll have you up on your tippy-toes and tippy-paws in no time!”

Soon, the music began, and Pipp began showing Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy how to do the perfect ballet moves. “Why do we have to dance around in a dress, Shaggy?” Scrappy asked, not liking the dress part. “Well, uh… like, uh… because, uh…”

“Because ballet will make my little ghouls limber,” Miss Grimwood explained. “Like, limber! Exactly what I was thinking!” Shaggy started a wild pirouette, causing Scooby to get caught in it too. Then, the music (controlled by the floating hand) slowed, causing the group to do graceful, slow leaps in the air. “Tempo!” Miss Grimwood reminded. “Tempo!”

That’s when the tempo really started to pick up, causing the dancers to merrily pick up the pace.

And, to Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy’s surprise, they realized that the ponies were right-- this was fun!

XXXXXXXX

But little did they know, that the boy cadets at Calloway’s Military School were watching them through a high-tech scope. “I've made visual contact by scope,” said Miguel, one of the cadets. “It looks like those girls are doing some sort of weird ritual.”

“I’m not surprised,” Tug added. “It's Halloween all year long at that old Grimwood place.”

“Hey! They’ve got some new students!” Miguel noticed Scrappy, Misty, Scooby and Pipp dancing through the window. “Couple of real horses and dogs.”

“Hey, lemme see, Miguel!” Grunt, one of the larger cadets, made his way over. “Careful, Grunt,” Miguel warned. “That new scope has a…”

But Grunt’s large pushes caused the scope to fall over. “...triggerrrrrrr!!” Miguel finished, shaking violently, just as Baxter, the smallest of the cadets, noticed someone coming. “Tug, it’s-- it’s Colonel Calloway!”

“Attention!” Tug shouted, and all the group made their salutes as the colonel walked past. “At ease, men,” he said, approaching the still-shaking Miguel. “I said ‘At ease’, cadet.”

But luckily, Grunt was able to help Miguel stand up right again. “Thanks, Grunt. I needed that.”

“I see you've been observing your opponents,” the colonel said as he looked through the broken scope. “Yes, sir,” Tug responded. “Calloway cadets are always prepared.”

“But you haven’t been practicing,” the colonel scolded, bouncing around the volleyball, “and I'm challenging Miss Grimwood's school to our annual volleyball match.”

“No problem,” Grunt assured. “We always beat those girls.”

Then, he served the ball so hard that it bounced off several trees, nearly knocking everyone over in the process, and straight through the hedge onto Grimwood territory. “As you can see sir,” Tug said as he and Grunt helped the colonel stand, “Grunt has a dynamite serve.”

“So I noticed,” the colonel brushed himself off. “It’s all in the wrist sir,” Grunt said. “You could use some work on your control. Keep practicing, men.”

“Yes sir!” the boys saluted as their colonel walked off. “Our ball is now in Grimwood territory,” Jamal spoke. “Recommend a recon patrol to retrieve it.”

“Good idea, Jamal,” Tug agreed. “Front and center, Grunt. Lead the way!”

“CHARGE!!!” Grunt shouted, charging right through the hedge with the other cadets to follow. But as they found their ball, they realized someone else found it first… and it was a fiery little dragon who didn’t like Calloways on his territory.

Garden Hijinks/Retrieving the Ball

The Calloway Military School cadets had run into a huge problem when they went to retrieve their volleyball from Grimwood’s side of the hedge-- Matches had found it first, and he wasn’t guaranteed to give it up without a fight. “It’s the Grimwood’s weird guard dog,” Tug pointed. “And,” Miguel noticed, “he looks mucho hot under the collar.”

“Easy, boy,” Jamal tried to reassure. “We just want our ball.”

But Matches’ only response was to blow fire right at them. “But I think he wants to keep it!” Jamal shouted. “Cadets, advance to the rear!” Tug ordered. “And step on it!!”

This caused the Calloway cadets to flee right back through the hedge before they were burned by Matches’ dragon fire. “I… I guess we’ll be cutting our volleyball practice short,” Grunt panted. Now that the cadets were gone, Matches carried the ball of with a chuckle, knowing exactly what he wanted to do with it.

XXXXXX

After ballet class was over and everyone had time to rest, it was time for Zipp to choose the next activity for them to do-- a jog/roller skating through the school grounds. Lucky for the ponies, Sunny brought enough roller skates for all six of them, and everyone else chose to run. “Like, follow us, girls!” Shaggy called out. “There's nothing like a little run to get you in shape!”

“And the boys-- whoa... don’t have to wear a tutu either!” Misty panted, still wobbly since she was just learning to skate. “Yeah! No tutu!” Scooby agreed with a giggle. Further back, Pipp skated alongside Izzy, Sibella and Elsa, and the daughter of Count Dracula sighed happily. “There's nothing like feeling the wind running through your hair!”

“This is good for the heart,” Elsa panted. “Mine are both beating fast.”

“Awwooooo!!! How ya doin’, Tanis?” Winnie asked, trotting alongside Zipp and Hitch. “Great, Winnie!” Tanis said, not panting a bit. “I've got built-in leg warmers!”

That’s when the group skated/ran by where Matches was burying the volleyball he stole off of the cadets. “Hey, Matches! Like, how about burning up a few miles?” Shaggy asked, only for the dragon to growl and shake his head no. “Like, sorry I asked.”

“Gee, maybe his pilot light went out,” Sunny said as she joined them, followed by the other ponies as they came to an apple tree grove. “I just love running through the trees!” Elsa exclaimed. “Me too!” Phantasma giggled, just as Elsa ran past our pony heroes and their friends. “Last one’s a rotten apple!"

At the force of Elsa’s stomps as she ran, apples fell off the trees left and right, causing the group to stumble on the apples and crash into one of the trees, thankfully unharmed. “Like, as long as we’re here, we might as well take a break,” Shaggy said, picking up an apple. “And a bite.”

“Yeah! A bite!” Scooby picked up another apple, as Izzy levitated one up to her mouth with her horn. But when the three bit into them, they instantly spit them out in disgust. “YUCK!!!”

“Don't you like crab apples? They're fang-tastic,” Sibella said, digging her fangs into one and sucked out its juice. “They’re rotten.”

“Blech… you guys have some strange tastes,” Hitch shuddered as he and the ponies got back onto their feet. “Come on… let’s head back before Miss Grimwood gets worried.”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Matches finished his hole for the volleyball, and was just about to cover it back up when Miss Grimwood approached. “Matches, how many times do I have to tell you?” she scolded. “Don't dig in the pumpkin patch. We need them all for our Halloween open house. And you certainly can't carve that into a jack o'lantern. Now, get rid of it.”

Matches growled, but did as he was told. And just as he was having fun too.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Baxter was filling some water balloons at Tug's wishes, for some sort of idea he gained. “Here's another water balloon, Grunt.”

“What are these for anyway, Tug?” Grunt asked, handing the water balloon to his fellow cadet. “Ammunition,” Tug responded simply, and Jamal checked that off the list. “Check, ammunition. How's that air bazooka coming, Miguel?”

“Be patient, guys. It's surplus surplus. Some assembling is required,” Miguel said as he finished his project. “Check, bazooka,” Jamal checked that off. “Is this gonna get our ball back, Jamal?” Grunt then asked. “Check, affirmative.”

“Uh… maybe we should test it out first,” Miguel said. “Good idea, Miguel. But not till I say fire,” Tug told him, before he lifted up a water balloon and muttered to himself. “This should put out that pup's fire.”

“Fire?”

“No! Not--” Tug tried to stop him, but ended up getting blown backwards by the force of the bazooka. “--yeeeeeett!!!”

And to make matters worse, when Tug landed, he landed right on the colonel as the water balloon popped, soaking the colonel completely. “Cadet Roper…” the colonel muttered. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Uh… I can explain everything, sir!” Tug tried to explain, pulling the water balloon off of the colonel’s face. “Check,” Jamal gulped. “We’re in trouble!”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, while the cadets (namely Tug and Jamal) were trying to explain everything to the colonel, Matches used his tail to hit the ball back over the hedge. “Our volleyball was missing in action, sir,” Tug explained, causing Jamal to nod. “So we planned a recovery action.”

Just then, the volleyball came up, hit the colonel on the head and right into Baxter’s arms. “I'm the one in need of recovery,” the colonel muttered. “Report to the volleyball court! At once!”

“YES SIR!!” the cadets saluted and ran that way, but Jamal made a quick pit stop first. “Your hat, Colonel Calloway.”

“Thank you, Cadet Williams…” the colonel smiled and put his hat back on, but it shrunk due to being wet. “...for nothing.”

XXXXXXX

A little while later, Miss Grimwood laid a silver platter with the cover on top on the picnic table, and the floating hand rung a bell for all to hear. “Come and get it, my little ones!”

“Oh boy! I thought you’d never ask!” Hitch said, rather hungry from the exercise they had been doing. “Like, running really revs up the appetite, doesn’t it, Scoob?” Shaggy asked as he and Scooby tied napkins around their necks. “Yeah, appetite!” Scooby responded, taking the silver cover off the platter, revealing a heap of nice steaks. “Mmm…”

“Wow!” Sunny exclaimed, impressed with such a meal. “That looks pretty tasty.”

“Oh, I certainly hope so,” Miss Grimwood said, taking the platter away from Scooby before he could get a steak and carrying the platter to some giant plants nearby. “Nothing's too good for my garden. Come and get it!”

The floating hand tossed the steaks to the plants one by one, and the others watched as the plants devoured them in seconds. “Like, those overgrown flytraps are grabbing all the grub!” Shaggy pouted. “Those look like giant venus flytraps,” Zipp said in thought. “They can eat practically anything... but I hope they'll leave us ponies alone, and for good measure.”

“Can I feed this one, Miss Grimwood?” Tanis pointed to one of the plants. “Can I?”

“Of course, Tanis,” Miss Grimwood nodded. “But be careful. They sometimes bite the hand that feeds them.”

At that moment, one of the plants tried to bite the floating hand, but the hand punched it in order to set it straight. “Don’t worry,” Tanis tossed the steak up in the air. “I’ll be careful.”

The plant immediately gulped down the entire thing, leaving Miss Grimwood to scold it. “How many times do I have to tell you? Chew before you swallow.”

“Hey, Sunny! Why not use those nifty earth pony powers you showed me to get Shag and Uncle Scoob something to eat?” Scrappy asked. “I don’t wanna use my powers for every circumstance, Scrappy... even though I am a little hungry myself” Sunny frowned. “Let’s split up-- there has to be something to eat in this garden.”

“Yeah, right!” Scooby said before he ran off with Pipp flying after him. “Hey! I found some tomatoes!” Scrappy said, and Izzy picked one with her magic before it exploded on them, leaving the pup to grimace in disgust. “Some rotten tomatoes…”

“Like, here’s some squash!” Shaggy said from where he and Sunny stood, but when he picked one up, it exploded on them too. “Yuck… some squished squash.”

Zipp then poked a watermelon that was next to her wuth her hoof, immediately watching in deflate. “And these watermelons have expired!”

“Like, everything in this garden is totally rotten!” Shaggy complained. “Thanks,” Sibella smiled, meaning all of the rotten food was on purpose. “We do our best.”

“But every so often,” Miss Grimwood explained as Elsa threw some fresh corn stalks to the side, allowing Sunny to grab them and stow them away in her bag, “something fresh sneaks in. Thank you, Elsa.”

“Ripe corn… yuck!” Elsa groaned in disgust. Just then, Pipp’s stomach began to rumble. “Oh boy… there's nothing I wouldn’t give for a Zephyr Heights made pizza right now!”

“How much allowance do you have left, Sibella?” Winnie asked. “Uh… a Transylvania dollar,” Sibella held it up. “Well… we should have enough,” Winnie hummed in thought. “Get flapping!”

Sibella lifted her cloak and turned into a bat, screeching as she flew away and causing Shaggy to pass out and Pipp to shriek in surprise.

Scooby, however, was sniffing a new smell he hadn’t smelled before, and was following it to a strange plant close by. When he looked closer at it, the top of the plant had a blinking eye staring right at him! “YIKES!! Shaggy, eyes!” he screeched, running back to his best friend and shaking him awake. “Eyes! Eyes!”

“Rice?! Where?!” Shaggy looked around. “No! Eyes!” Scooby emphasized. “Oh… eyes!” Pipp giggled once she realized what he said. “Why didn’t you just say that?”

“I did!” Scooby tried to protest. But Scrappy and Sunny looked around where Scooby had seen the ‘eyes’, but they didn’t see a thing. “Gee, I don’t see any eyes, Uncle Scooby,” Scrappy frowned. “Like, you were hallucinating, Scoob,” Shaggy assumed. “Hunger makes you do that, you know.”

Scooby was sure he saw eyes… he was sure of it! He just wasn’t sure of where they went. “Awooooo!!” Winnie then howled, pointing to the sky. “You won't be hungry for long, guys!”

Sibella was just now flying in with a hot, fresh pizza for the group, making their mouths water. “One pizza to go with everything on it. Except garlic, of course.”

“Smells wonderful! Smells great!” Shaggy said as he, Scooby and Misty took some slices, making sure to leave some pizza for the others. And to Misty’s surprise, it was actually pretty good! “Hey, what’s on this stuff?”

“Oh… spider webs, snails, and tadpole tails.”

Just the mere thought of what Sibella said was on that pizza was enough to make Zipp and Pipp groan in disgust (quietly of course), but Misty and her cowardly friends actually swallowed their bites of pizza. “Delicious!” Scooby said. “Y-Yeah,” Shaggy added. “Well, like, we're snacking, you girls get cracking. Meet you back at the school!”

“Yeah, right, coach!” Elsa called as Shaggy, the dogs and all the ponies headed back to the school. But, what they didn’t realize was that the evil spider witch Revolta was using the same spying plants that Scooby saw earlier to spy on the Grimwood girls from her lair. “So, the Grimwood girls have a new coach, eh?” she chuckled wickedly. “Ooh, he’ll fit perfectly into my plan.”

That’s when the green, Idaho-potato creature with a singular red eye and light green tentacles chuckled wickedly. “It was a good thing I dropped my venus spytraps into Grimwood's garden! Hee hee hee!”

“You have done well, my Grim Creeper,” Revolta said. “Soon I will have those good little ghouls in my grasp. And then I, Revolta, the witch of the web… will be the most powerful witch in all of monsterdom! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

The laughter echoed on for a few moments until a ringing noise, almost like a cell phone, came from a mirror close by, causing Revolta to groan. “Who could that be? MIDNIGHT BREEZE!!!”

Suddenly, out from the shadows came a pony-like creature, trembling a bit in terror. She had a midnight blue coat, slightly longerears than a pony with icy bluish gray tips, a white and blue mane that wrapped around her head, a thin tail with a long tuft at the end, the colors matching her mane, icy blue eyes, icy blue scaly carapaces on her muzzle and on her back, icy blue cloven hooves and a curved midnight blue horn.

Ponies from ancient Equestria would realize this type of creature as a kirin, but kirin hadn’t been seen in Equestria for many moons. “Y-Y-Yes, mistress?” Midnight Breeze asked in a soft voice. “Get my magic mirror!” Revolta commanded. “I must see who is calling me at this time.”

“Yes, mistress. O-Of coruse, mistress,” Midnight stammered, running to the table nearby and grabbed it with her mouth before bringing it over to Revolta, who answered the call. “Ahhh… Opaline, my old friend,” she wickedly smirked. “I have not heard from you in a milennia. How are you doing? Wickedly, I assume?”

“You know me so well, Revolta,” Opaline said through her pool, and the sound of her voice made Midnight whimper. “Listen, I realize you may have schemes of your own, but I believe some meddlesome ponies have entered your part of the world, and you may help me defeat them so I may assume my rightful place as queen.”

Revolta hummed at that, a wicked idea coming to mind. “Opaline… you have yourself a deal. And I know JUST where to find these ponies you speak of.”

Author's Note

Midnight Breeze is based off this kirin I found on Pinterest, and I really like her:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/565764771935489271/

All rights go to the owner. Happy Memorial Day!

Colonel Calloway's Visit/Game Prep and Midnight Spies

Back on the other side of the hedge, the Calloway cadets were in their volleyball uniforms, practicing their passes and plays for their annual volleyball match.

At one point, Baxter hopped up on Grunt's shoulders and slapped the ball over the net, making it bypass Jamal altogether. “Nice spike, Baxter!” Tug applauded. “That's the kind of teamwork we need for Calloway Military to stay on top!”

“Affirmative,” Jamal said, bouncing the ball around. “They don't stand a chance against my behind-the-back pass attack!”

“All the way with Calloway!” Miguel cheered. “That’s the spirit, men!” the colonel said, and the boys saluted, causing Baxter to fall into Tug’s arms, and Tug to bounce the ball to Jamal with his head, which of course missed. “No fair, Tug! That's a carry!”

“Keep using your head, Roper,” the colonel said proudly. “I'm going to Miss Grimwood's to arrange our game.”

XXXXXXX

When the colonel arrived at Miss Grimwood’s school, he tried his best not to shudder at the creepy appearance and rang the doorbell.

Upstairs, Miss Grimwood was fixing Tanis’ wraps after they came a little loose during their last exercise. “All that exercise really loosened you up, Tanis,” she told the mummy with a smile “A little too much.”

“Miss Grimwood?” the colonel called as he knocked on the door. “It’s me! Colonel Calloway!”

“Will you get the door for me, Sibella?” Miss Grimwood asked. “You bat I will!” Sibella shifted to bat form and flew off. The next thing the colonel knew, he saw the door creaking open, so he decided to peer inside. “Miss Grimwood? Anybody home?”

But what the colonel didn’t expect was to face a giant purple bat, screeching at him as he came inside. “Stay back!” he demanded. “That's a direct order!”

“Anything you say… Colonel Calloway,” said a chillingly calm voice, and Colonel Calloway turned to see Sibella standing right where the bat had been. “Where did you come from, young lady?” he asked. “Up there,” Sibella gestured to the upper floors as she guided the colonel into another room. “Miss Grimwood said to make yourself comfortable. She'll be down as soon as she wraps things up.”

“Affirmative. Thank you, young…” Colonel Calloway turned to thank her, but all he was met with was the same purple bat from earlier. “This school must have bats in its belfry…”

That’s when he found an antique chair in the next room he could wait in, but the minute he sat down, cuffs binded his arms and legs to it. “Ahh, Colonel Calloway,” Miss Grimwood smiled as she came into the room. “How nice of you to pay us a visit.”

“Miss Grimwood!” the colonel began to struggle. “This chair, it’s--”

“Yes, it's a collector's item: Early Inquisition,” Miss Grimwood snapped her fingers, allowing the chair to let the colonel go. “But not very comfortable, I'm afraid. Would you prefer a softer chair?”

“Uh, thank you,” the colonel said politely before checking another chair, making sure it was safer before he sat down. “Now, how about some tea and sweets?” Miss Grimwood asked. “Negative, Miss Grimwood,” the colonel declined. “I'm on a strict military diet.”

“Nonsense, colonel,” said Miss Grimwood. “You must taste my fudge.”

She then rang a gong, summoning her octopus butler that brought out the tea and the fudge. “I made it this morning.”

“Well, if you insist. Thank you,” the colonel said, taking a piece of fudge and a cup of tea, while Miss Grimwood chowed down. “Delicious, if I do say so myself,” she said, but as the colonel ate his, he couldn’t help but feel something was off about the texture and flavor. “Doesn't it taste a little… moldy?”

“Of course, colonel!” Miss Grimwood said as she ate more fudge. “Fungus fudge always tastes moldy.”

“Fungus fudge?!” the colonel drank all of his tea to wash it down, and Matches caught the brownie he was holding. “Yes,” Miss Grimwood chuckled. “It goes so well with toadstool tea.”

“T-Toadstool tea?” the colonel dropped his teacup right onto Matches’ head. “More tea, colonel?” Miss Grimwood asked. “I think it's time we arranged our annual volleyball game. My cadets are looking forward to… winning again this year,” the colonel said, unaware that Matches was heating up the bottom of his chair. “Isn't it getting a bit warm in here?”

“It's going to get a lot hotter on the volleyball court,” Miss Grimwood said before her octo-butler pulled on a rope. “We've got a new coach and I'd like you to meet him.”

XXXXXX

Meanwhile, Misty, Pipp, Sunny, Shaggy and the dogs were walking down the stairs when it suddenly turned into a slide! “WHOA!!!” the group screamed, sliding down the slide as it lead them into the sitting room, where the octo-butler grabbed them and set them up right. “Shaggy,” said Miss Grimwood, “I’d like you to meet Colonel Calloway.”

“Hello-- OOOOOOH-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!!” the colonel screamed as he leapt out of his seat in pain. “Like, don’t get up on my account, colonel,” Shaggy said, just as Miss Grimwood discovered Matches underneath the colonel’s chair. “Bad boy, Matches!”

This caused Matches to grumble and walk out of the room. “We’re ready to play your school whenever you say so, colonel,” Misty said confidently. “Affirmative. We'll rendezvous on your field at 1400 hours,” the colonel said. “Prepare to synchronize watches.”

“Like, watches synchronized!” Shaggy said. “Synchronized!” Sunny and Scooby declared. “Check. Over and out,” the colonel bid farewell, not noticing his bottom steaming. “Gee,” said Scrappy, “looks like the colonel has already warmed up for the game.”

“You better start getting the girls ready, Shaggy,” Miss Grimwood said. “Like, what’s the rush, Miss G?” Shaggy asked as he, Pipp and Scooby approached the fudge. “We've got 1400 hours until the match. That's a lot of time.”

“Yeah,” Scooby added, taking Shaggy’s piece of fudge. “A lot!”

“But, Shaggy, ‘1400 hours’ means 2 o’clock!” Scrappy pointed to the grandfather clock. “We’ve only got an hour!”

“Why didn’t you say so, Scrappy?” Pipp asked, hoisting him onto her back. “Don’t just stand there, ponies! It’s time to warm up!”

XXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Midnight Breeze had finished hiking to the edge of trees right near Miss Grimwood’s school, panting in exhaustion. “Made it…” she said before turning to the amulet on her neck. “Mistress, couldn’t we have just used the venus spytraps in order to spy on the Grimwood girls? Why did I have to hike all the way out here?”

“Because you are my servant, and I TOLD YOU TO DO IT!!” Revolta’s voice shrieked from the spider jewel on the amulet. “Besides, I want to make sure that you don’t mess up. Now… GET TO WORK!!!”

“Y-Yes, mistress,” Midnight sighed to herself. “Man… of all the times to wish I was somewhere else…”

XXXXXXXXXX

At the same time, the group was working on their scare-obics, which was basically the same thing as aerobics, but with a haunting effect to it. “Gee, Phanty, exercising sure is fun!” Misty said as she and Scrappy followed the ghost… just before they slammed into the wall. “Yeah!” Phanty said. “It’s really off the wall!”

“I'd say more into the wall…” Scrappy groaned. After scare-robics was over, Shaggy panted tiredly. “Okay, gang! It's time for some deep breathing exercises.”

“You mean deep shrieking, Shaggy,” Miss Grimwood corrected. “Show him, girls!”

Tanis took some deep breaths in and out before letting out a loud shriek, catching the ponies offguard. “Sounds fang-tastic, kid!” Sibella said. “You've got the fright stuff.”

Then, she turned into a bat and shrieked, causing Scooby to fly back onto Matches, who quickly tried to burn his tail and gave chase. “Like, in! Out!” Shaggy instructed the deeply-breathing ponies. “In! Out!”

“AAAAAAH!!” Scooby screamed, running past as Matches tried to burn his tail. “Way to go, Scoob! That’s some deep breathing!” Zipp couldn’t help but laugh, right before Scooby screamed. “And shrieking!” Misty giggled. “Come on, girls!” Miss Grimwood said. “Let’s here it!”

That’s when the girls let out their own shrieks, causing the ponies to cover their ears. They never thought they’d be hearing this, but every day was a new adventure.

XXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, back at the military school, the cadets shivered at the sound of the girls’ shrieking. “Get a load of that racket coming from the Grimwood place,” Tug observed. “Phew... and I thought Calloway was tough,” Jamal added. “That school sounds like torture!”

“Well, you know what they say,” Grunt panted as he did push ups with several bags of sand on his back. “No pain… no gain. More weight, Baxter!”

“Aye aye, Grunt!” Baxter put another bag onto his back. “More weight!” Grunt ordered, but then came the colonel. “Attention!” Baxter shouted, dropping the bag on Grunt before saluting, but that much weight caused Grunt to fall right into a self-made hole. “At ease, men,” the colonel said. “I said at ease, Grunt.”

“Thank you sir…” Grunt panted, falling in the hole in exhaustion before the colonel turned back to the cadets. “I just want to say, no matter what happens on the volleyball court this afternoon… YOU’VE GOTTA WIN!!!”

“Yes, sir!!” the cadets screamed, a little taken back by the shout. “Do you want this trophy to stay at Calloway Military School?!” the colonel asked, holding the trophy up. “Affirmative!” Tug said. “We won’t let you down, sir!”

“1400 hours approaches!” the colonel shouted. “Prepare to engage the enemy!”

Grunt then charged out of the hole and tackled the bags of sand nearby. “Those Grimwood girls won't know what hit them,” he said with a laugh before a bag fell on him… it seems like the girls would really have to work hard in order to beat these guys.

XXXXXXXX

Back at the school, everyone continued to help the girls work out to their best ability, and soon, Miss Grimwood checked one of the watches on her butler’s tentacles. “Oh, my. It's a tentacle to 2:00. Those Calloway cadets will be arriving any minute!”

“Just enough time to loosen up the old neck muscles, Uncle Scooby,” Scrappy said to his uncle. “Yeah,” Scooby nodded. “Neck muscles!”

Phantasma giggled and twisted her head around a few times, all the way around. “Is this loose enough?”

Scooby giggled and twisted his neck around, but ended up getting severely twisted. “Heh… wow, Scooby,” Zipp commented. “You sure know how to loosen those neck muscles.”

But unfortunately, Scooby twisted so much, his body began to spin rapidly… right out the window and into the moat! “Like, this is no time to go swimmin’ Scoob!” Shaggy said. “We’ve got a volleyball game!”

“But everypony says swimming is good exercise, Shaggy,” Misty protested… just before Scrappy saw something swimming right toward Scooby. “Uh oh…” he gulped. “It looks like my uncle Scooby is going to get a lot of exercise!”

“Scooby!” Sunny cried. “Look out behind you!”

At this, Scooby turned his head around and his fear began rising. Heading toward him at that very moment was a two headed shark!

Grimwood vs Calloway (Part 1)

“SHAGGY!!!” Scooby wailed as he swam from the two-headed shark at top speed. “HELP!!”

The ponies became increasingly worried... Scooby would be eaten quicker than a cheetah runs if they didn't do something first. “Keep dog-paddling, Scooby!” Sunny cried out, preparing to activate her alicorn form. “I’m on my way!”

“Me too!” Scrappy agreed, jumping onto the windowsill “Me first!” Elsa said, preparing to jump down to the moat. “I love swimming!”

As the sharks got even closer to Scooby than before, Elsa dove in feet first, causing her to land right on top of the sharks’ heads, stunning them for a moment… as well as the ponies, Scrappy and Shaggy. “She'd be a much better diver,” said Miss Grimwood with a smile, “if she learned to keep her feet together.”

“Come on in!” Elsa invited from the water. “The water’s fine!”

“Awooooooo!!” Winnie howled before diving. “Oh, Winnie! You werewolves are such showoffs!” Sibella said as she and Zipp joined her and Hitch in diving onto the sharks’ heads before they got into the water. “Oooh…” Hitch sighed, finding the water especially relaxing. “This water’s as warm as Sparky’s dragon fire!”

“Come on, guys!” Scrappy said. “Let's get in the swim of things!”

And with that, the rest of the ponies and Shaggy dove in after him. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Wait for us, coach!” Phantasma called. “My mummy taught me to swim,” Tanis said. “I can do a Nile and a half!”

“Nile and a half!” Shaggy caught the joke as they fell toward the moat. “Only in Egypt, right, Scrappy?”

The group then landed on the shark’s heads (prompting them to retreat) before they all went for a group swim. “One lap around the moat, gang!” Shaggy shouted. “Then it's out of the water!”

“And onto the volleyball court!” Zipp agreed, and this caused a variety of responses from the girls.

“Right coach!”

“We're ready for those Calloway cadets!”

“Awooo!! Go, Grimwood! Awooooooo!!!”

“Ha ha ha ha ha!!”

“I'm gonna bring a trophy home to my mummy!”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the Grim Creeper was watching Midnight’s gem reception, keeping a close eye on her and the Grimwood girls. “Are you and that kitin keeping a close eye on those girl ghouls, Creeper?” Revolta asked from where she and Opaline watched nearby. “Yes, Revolta,” the Creeper nodded. “As you commanded, Midnight Breeze and I won't let them out of our sight.”

“Excellent,” Opaline smirked. “At least some minions do as they are told.”

“Here, Uncle Scooby,” Scrappy pumped Scooby’s tail up and down, prompting him to spit out water. “Let me help you dry off.”

“Thanks, Scrappy,” Scooby said after a moment. “I needed that.”

But it turns out, Midnight had been standing close by, and the water Scooby spit out spit right at Midnight, causing her to get wet, and causing the water to come through the jewel and get Revolta and Creeper wet as well. “Fool!” Revolta snarled at the kirin. “Next time, don’t plant your pathetic hide by the moat!”

“S-S-Sorry, Mistress Revolta,” Midnight whimpered with her ears pinned before she laid down in the grass. At least she could watch them play, and not have to worry about them seeing her.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the cadets were just starting to arrive as the girls were getting themselves dry. “Look, guys!” Tug said with a laugh. “Those Grimwood girls are all washed up before we even play them.”

“Matches?” said Miss Grimwood. “I think the girls could use a quick blow-dry.”

To this, Matches quickly agreed and charged up his fire breath just enough to release a fiery mist that spread to the girls. Unfortunately, it led to their hair and fur becoming very poofy. “Ohhh…” Sibella groaned. “I hope this isn't a permanent wave.”

“Awoo… those cadets make my hair stand on end!” Winnie groaned in frustration, and at the same time, Shaggy shook Tanis out. “Like, next time, your mummy should dress you in non-shrink wrapping.”

“Thanks, Shaggy!” Tanis said before she and Izzy bounced away. “If you guys are through playing around,” Tug said, clearly annoyed, “we've got a game to win.”

“Then let the game begin!” Miss Grimwood declared. “Negative, Miss Grimwood,” said the colonel, shaking his head in disapproval. “This volleyball court is a disaster area. You don't even have a net!”

“Not yet… LEGS!!” Miss Grimwood called, and a large spider began to spin the net right between the poles. “Like, you were saying, colonel?” Shaggy asked with a smirk. “I was saying this court doesn't have any boundary lines!”

“Coming right up!” Sunny smiled, and banged the gong so the octopus would paint the boundary lines. “Any other complaints, colonel?” Scrappy asked, coming onto the field. “Well… we need a referee.”

“Let’s flip to see who serves first,” Zipp suggested. “No problem! Awooooo!!!” Winnie howled, literally FLIPPING over the net. “That girl's flipped!” Grunt exclaimed. “We're supposed to flip a coin!”

“Affirmative!” Jamal agreed. “Like, why didn’t you say so? Anybody got a quarter?” Shaggy asked. Turns out, the floating hand had one handy (don’t mind the pun), and Shaggy called out ‘heads’ as it was flipped. “More like hands!” said Miguel as Shaggy looked to see what it landed on. “Heads! Ha ha! Like, see for yourself, colonel.”

“Affirmative,” Colonel Calloway sighed. “Grimwood serves first.”

“Go go, Grimwood!” Scooby cheered, completely decked out in a blue and yellow cheerleader’s outfit while the ponies sat at the sidelines, stomping their hooves in applause. “Like, give it all you got, Elsa!” Shaggy called. “All right, coach!” Elsa nodded, charging herself and hitting the ball as hard as she could… unfortunately, right through the net and barreling into Grunt and Tug. “Net ball!” Scrappy called out. “I'd say it's a net loss!” Miguel said. “Affirmative!” Jamal agreed. “Legs!” Miss Grimwood called. “On the double!”

And just like that, the little spider quickly fixed up the net so the game could start. But before Elsa got her second chance at serving, Shaggy offered her a little pro-tip. “Like, try to hit the ball a little higher.”

“Right, coach,” Elsa nodded, and after charging herself, hit the ball way higher than before. “Awoo!! Nice hit!” Winnie complimented as the ball began to descend. “I got it!” Baxter said, going for the ball before the force of it pummeled him into the ground. “I mean, I've had it.”

“The point goes to Grimwood!” Hitch declared as the floating hand changed the scoreboard. “Go, go, Grimwood!” Scooby cheered again, dancing with Miss Grimwood as Misty and Pipp twirled around happily.

XXXXXXXX

Soon enough the score was 10 to 10, and Calloway’s school had the ball at the moment. “Good serve, cadet!” the colonel told Grunt. “Keep pressing the attack!”

“Yes sir!” Grunt said before serving, but as Phantasma went to hit it back, she accidentally hit the net. “Hey!” Miguel shouted. “She hit the net!”

“Hit it?” Jamal questioned. “She went through it!”

“That’s a foul!” Scrappy called out. “Calloway’s point!”

“All the way with Calloway!” the boys cheered as the scores changed. But Sunny noticed Phantasma looking a little down after her 'going through the net' moment. “Don’t worry, Phantasma, it was an accident,” she told her ghostly friend in a reassuring tone. “Just try your best not to go through the net again.”

“Thanks, Sunny,” Phantasma smiled weakly. But not too far off, Tanis was becoming worried. “We're never gonna win that trophy, Sibella.”

“You bat we are!” Sibella reassured, turning into her bat form and delivered a spike over to the other team that made the Grimwoods have the ball again. “Nice spike, Sibella!” said Scrappy as the young vampiress turned back to normal. “Thanks, Scrappy,” Sibella thanked before taking the ball from Tug. “Our serve, cadet.”

“I must be going batty!” said Tug, rubbing his eyes as Sibella gave Tanis the ball. “Here, Tanis. Let's see a fang-tastic serve.”

Tanis did her best serve, but one of her wraps caught onto the ball, so every time it got to full length, it came back to her, and the second time this happened, Jamal and Miguel hit the net, destroying it. “You hit the net, cadets!” Scrappy said as the scoreboards changed, 11 to 11. “We’re all tied up.”

“I’d say they’re all tied up!” Winnie joked. “That’s a howl, Winnie!” Phantasma shrieked with laughter. “Oh, Legs…!” Miss Grimwood called, but Legs wouldn’t repair the net for a third time. “I'll give you six extra flies for supper!” Miss Grimwood bargained, but Legs still wouldn’t take it. “All right, all right. A dozen flies!”

After that, the deal was made, and the net was repaired quickly so the game could get restarted. “Let’s go, Grimwood! Let’s go!” Misty cheered, just as a smell hit Scooby’s noise. “Red hots!” he exclaimed, running to Matches. “One please.”

“Like, make that two,” Shaggy requested, and Matches was able to warm up the hot dogs and give them to Shag and Scooby without any growling. “Thanks, Matches,” Zipp smiled. “All that winning really revs up the appetite.”

“They won't be winning for long,” Tug whispered to his fellow cadets. “I planted a remote control device in the volleyball.”

“Affirmative,” said Miguel wickedly and then Grunt followed suit. “Goodbye, Grimwood.”

XXXXXXXX

Over from her hiding place, Midnight gasped when she saw what the cadets were doing. “Oh no… I hope the new coaches and ponies can help their friends get past their cheating… or somepony could get really hurt!”

Grimwood vs Calloway (Part 2)

Now that Grimwood had the ball again, it was Tanis’ turn to serve, and she spiked the ball good and hard, letting it and one of her wraps fly a good distance. “Looks good, Tanis!” Elsa commented, but Tug had the remote control all set to go. “I’ll make it look bad…”

But before the ball could reach where Jamal was standing, it suddenly skyrocketed into the air! “That serve is loco!”

“WHOA!!!” Tanis screamed as she was flown up with the ball. “Out of bounds!” Scrappy called out, ducking before he could be struck down by Tanis. “Way out of bounds!”

Tanis got stuck way up in a tree, allowing the ball to come down into Tug’s arms. “Then it’s Calloway’s ball!” he laughed victoriously. “Hang on, Tanis!” Sunny said. “I’ll come up and get you.”

“How can she do that? She can’t fly!” Winnie commented. “No, but like, Sunny can do something that can help her fly!” Shaggy explained. “Look!”

At that moment, Sunny’s cutie mark glowed brightly as her horn and wings materialized out of thin air, causing the entire field to stop and stare as she flew up to get Tanis. “It’s okay, Tanis, I have you,” she reassured as the mummy climbed onto her back. “Now, hang on.”

That’s when Sunny flew Tanis back down to her friends, causing the girls to surround Sunny with praise and admiration as her alicorn form faded away. “That was fang-tastic, Sunny!” Sibella exclaimed. “How did you do that?”

“Sunny can turn into an alicorn whenever she feels like she’s helping somepony. O-Or in this case, some creature,” Zipp explained for Sunny, but then hummed to herself. “But what could’ve made the ball go haywire like that…?”

XXXXXXX

Later on, Tanis was again getting worried when she saw that Calloway had the ball again. “Don’t worry, Tanis,” Elsa assured. “We’ll get it back.”

“Not unless this battery runs out!” Tug chuckled, and used the remote once again to make the ball dodge Winnie and tangle Sibella up in her hair, all while no one except Zipp and a certain kirin watching from the shadows knew what they were doing. “All the way with Calloway!” the colonel exclaimed as the score changed from 11 to 11 all the way to 11 to 12. “Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed, not noticing that Scooby had taken his hot dog till the last second. “This doesn’t look good!”

“Tastes good,” said Scooby with a small smirk. “Shaggy’s right,” Hitch agreed. “We gotta catch up!”

“Ketchup? Okay,” Scooby put a slather of ketchup on his hot dog. “Prepare for another salvo, Jamal,” said Tug, “with our secret weapon.”

“Affirmative,” Jamal nodded and took his position. But just as he was about to serve it high, Scooby bit into his hot dog, causing ketchup to fly all over Jamal’s face, causing him to hit the ball lower. “Hey! I’ve been sneak attacked!”

The volleyball hit the net at top speed, causing it to fly back and hit Tug in the stomach, which caused Tug to lose the remote… and the remote flew right into Scooby’s mouth as he swallowed his hot dog. “Nice work, Jamal,” Tug scolded with a frown. “Now our remote control is…”

Scooby then hiccuped, causing the ball to start going out of control. “AWOL!” Tug finished, just as the ball bounced the colonel’s hat off his head. “Not only do we lose the ball, but I lose my hat!”

“Excuse me!” Scooby politely said after hiccuping again, but this time, the ball hit the colonel in the rear end, causing him to fall down and allowing Shaggy to regain the ball. “Like, thanks, colonel. It is our serve. Right, Scoob?”

“Right, Shaggy,” Scooby said before hiccuping again, causing the ball to bounce Shaggy before he fell to the ground. Zipp hummed to herself… now that Scooby had digested the remote, who knows what’ll do. They’d have to keep an eye on it during the game.

XXXXXXX

Soon, it was Winnie’s turn to serve, causing the score to be changed to 16 to 17…

Then 19 to 17

Then 19 to 19. “Two more points, men!” the colonel held the trophy tight. “The victory is ours!”

“We can beat these girls without military assistance!” Tug hit the ball, but when Elsa hit it back, the ball pummeled into the ground. “Wow!” exclaimed Baxter. “What a spike!”

The ball then came out under Scrappy’s chair, causing him to be lifted up a little bit before coming back down. “That ball is out of bounds!” the colonel said. “But it hit in first,” Scrappy said back. “Grimwood’s ball!”

“Rah-rah, Grimwood!” Scooby cheered, waving a pennant, which Matches accidentally burned. Meanwhile, Midnight watched the game from her hiding place, and was amazed by all the stuff that the girl ghouls could do. “Those girls are strong, Revolta!”

“Just like their parents, Midnight,” Revolta told her. “Soon, I'll be more powerful than all of them.”

“And,” Opaline added, “those ponies, especially Sunny Starscout and Misty, will be finished! And Equestria is MINE!! HA HA HA HA HA!!!”

XXXXXXXX

The game was now at 20 to 19… one more point and the girls would win! “Like, this is it, girls!” Shaggy gave the ball to Sibella. “Serve up a good one, Sibella.”

“You bat I will!” Sibella saluted, just as Tug geared Grunt up with a jetpack. “This jetpack will set you up to spike that serve, Grunt.”

“My pleasure. I'll pulverize them!”

Sibella then spiked the ball, but thanks to Grunt’s jetpack, he was able to get to the same height to spike it back with great force. “Take that, you bat!”

“I can’t reach it!” Tanis ran to get the ball. “I can’t look!” Misty covered her eyes with her hooves, just as Scooby hiccuped, sending the ball bouncing against the cadets’ heads… and right outside the boundary lines. “That’s out, colonel,” said Scrappy, “and so are you! Grimwood wins!”

The girls couldn’t believe it… they won! After all this time! They hoisted Shaggy and Scooby onto their shoulders as the ponies pranced alongside them, joyously cheering. “You were fang-tastic coach!” Sibella cheered. “Ha ha ha ha… like it was nothing, really!” Shaggy said as Miss Grimwood approached the colonel. “I believe we get the trophy this year, Colonel Calloway.”

“There must be some mistake!” the colonel said. “I won’t hand it over!”

But, the floating hand took the trophy from him and handed it to Miss Grimwood, who handed the trophy down to Tanis. “Here, Tanis-- for your mummy case.”

“Thanks, Miss Grimwood!” Tanis couldn’t believe it. Meanwhile, the cadets couldn’t believe their defeat, reacting differently but the same.

“I don't get it. We had the tactics.”

“We had the strategy.”

“We had the equipment!”

“But we still lost…”

“Affirmative.”

“No moping, men,” the colonel said, somewhat disappointed himself. “The Calloway code says ‘retreat with dignity’.”

But Scooby’s hiccuping made the ball go haywire again, causing it to bounce away with the colonel. “It looks like the Calloway code just got broken,” Tug said. “Double affirmative,” Jamal nodded. Midnight watched the two groups depart, but wasn’t sure whether she should tell Opaline and Revolta about Sunny’s transformation power… sure, Opaline probably knew it, but Revolta didn’t.

Soon, she made up her mind. “I gotta get back and report something else… Sunny’s transformations can wait another day.”

The Halloween Open House

A couple of days had passed since Grimwood slayed Calloway’s military school in the volleyball game, and soon, it was Halloween time, which meant that the school would be putting on their annual open house for parents.

The way Shaggy and Scooby explained it, Halloween was a lot like Nightmare Night, with spooky vibes and treats and costumes.

And since they didn’t have anything to make regular costumes, Izzy had cobbled together their old outfits from last Nightmare Night:

Sunny as Nightmare Moon
Pipp as a fancy queen
Zipp as a masked huntspony
Izzy as a cobbled up version of all her best friends
Hitch as a disco pony
Misty with her cloak and butterfly mask

The girls were thrilled that the ponies would be dressing up to get in the Halloween spirit, and soon, they were all decorating the school for the festivities that night. “Awooooooooooo!!!” Winnie howled, placing a jack o’lantern on the countertop. “This is gonna be our happiest Halloween ever!”

“Because we have a trophy to show off at our open house!” Tanis agreed. “Open house?” Scrappy questioned. “Is that like a party?”

“It's only the biggest event of the Grimwood school year,” Sibella hung a fake skeleton from the ceiling as Misty and Izzy stood with Shaggy and Scooby as they displayed pumpkin versions of their heads. “Like, will there be food?” Shaggy asked, he and Scooby getting a little startled by the skeleton. “Oh, lots of goodies, Shaggy,” Sibella said. “Miss Grimwood is in the kitchen right now.”

“What are we waiting for?” Izzy asked. “Come on!”

“Excuse us!” Scooby told the pumpkins, and the four ran off toward the kitchen to dine on some tasty treats.

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Miss Grimwood was just finishing up baking, pouring some batter in a pan, and the floating hand was helping her out. “Oh, I just love making brownies.”

“Brownie?! Oh boy!” Scooby said hungrily as they came in. “Like, can we give you a hand, Miss Grimwood?” Shaggy asked. “Thanks, Shaggy,” said the headmistress. “I’ve already got one. But you can lick the bowl.”

Luckily, the ponies, Shaggy and Scooby were fine licking the bowl, and Miss Grimwood put the bowl in the oven for Matches to heat. “All right, Matches. Ready to bake a batch of brownies?”

“Yeah!” Matches seemed to growl, and breathed fire to heat the oven as Sibella came in and sniffed the air. “Something smells rotten.”

That’s when Misty sniffed the air, realizing she was right, but surprisingly, she was getting used to it. “You said it, Sibella!”

“Yeah, really rotten!” Scooby agreed. “Deliciously rotten!” Sibella said once the brownies were brought out. “Swamp brownies fresh from the oven.”

“Made with slimy swamp water,” Miss Grimwood named off ingredients, “chock full of mosquitos…”

“Zoinks!” Shaggy and Scooby stopped licking the bowl immediately and started scratching themselves. “Like, there’s itchin’ in the kitchen, Scoob!”

“Yeah! Hee hee hee!” Scooby said, scratching himself with a giggle. “Phantasma,” Miss Grimwood called, “are those caterpillar cookies ready to bake yet?”

“They will be as soon as we catch them!” Zipp said as she and Phantasma chased the living cookies throughout the kitchen, Zipp stopping just in time before she crashed into the wall while Phantasma went right through. “Hey, guys!” Sunny came into the room, carrying her portable blender. “Before that storm rolls in, could some of you go out and get some of those veggies from the garden? I’m gonna make Grimwood Rotten Ripple Smoothies for the open house.”

“Rotten Ripple Smoothies?” Scooby blinked in surprise. “I just made it up,” Sunny admitted. “I can fix some regular smoothies for us, though.”

“Pipp and I can do that, Sunny,” Zipp said, flying out of the room. “Come on!” Misty pulled on Scooby and Shaggy. “I wanna go see how the rest of the decorations are coming!”

XXXXXXX

The decorations were coming along great, and Zipp and Pipp managed to get plenty of rotten veggies for Sunny’s Rotten Ripple Smoothies. All the while, Scrappy, his uncle, Shaggy and the rest of the ponies were checking in with the excited girl ghouls. “Gee, who’s coming to this open house anyway?” Scrappy wondered. “Everyone, Scrappy!” Sibella said, pulling out a photo of a large black bat. “My daddy, Dracula.”

“That’s your daddy?” Hitch said, a little bit nervous. “It's a bat picture of him,” Sibella explained, “but he'll show up after sundown.”

A chilly wind began to blow through the open window, prompting Misty to shiver under her cloak, and this led Scooby to putting on a brightly knit yellow scarf Izzy made for him. “Zoinks! It’s almost s-s-sundown now, Scoob!” Shaggy pointed out, and Misty realized what he was referring to. “That’s when the vampires start biting!”

“Oh no!” Scooby yelped and broke out running, and Misty and Shaggy were right behind him. “Stop!” Elsa stopped them, holding up a picture of their father. “You've gotta meet Frankenteen Senior.”

“And my mummy daddy!” Tanis added. “Awoo!” Winnie howled. “Don’t forget Papa Werewolf!”

“And my phantom father!” Phantasma cackled, and Scooby yelped and leapt into Shaggy’s arms trembling. “Like, we’re gonna trapped,” Shaggy whimpered, “in a house full of M-M-M-M-MONSTERS!!!!!”

XXXXXXX

Needless to say, Shaggy and Scooby were HORRIFIED about coming into contact with the girl ghouls’ fathers, and the ponies did their best to try and reassure them. The girls were as sweet as could be… maybe their fathers would too.

But unfortunately… it didn’t do much. All they could hope was that their inside guts were telling them right.

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Creeper and Revolta, alongside Opaline and Midnight, were watching the girls’ fathers coming toward the school in the blinding storm. “Here they come, Revolta!” Creeper said. “The mightest monsters in the world!”

“Let me cape you out of the rain, Mr. Mummy,” said Dracula, draping his cape over Tanis’ father. “Thank you, count,” the mummy said. “This wrap isn’t waterproof.”

“Yes, they were the mightiest,” Opaline scoffed, “but it appears they’ve grown soft.”

“Soon Revolta will be the most feared name in the monster world!” Revolta declared, her spider-bats snapping their jaws at her. “When I get those girl ghouls in my clutches.”

“And the ponies in mine,” Opaline chuckled. “Um… Opaline? Ma’am?” Midnight gulped nervously. “Why do you wanna get rid of Sunny and Misty more than any others?”

“Because,” Opaline sneered, “Sunny Starscout is the leader, and Misty abandoned me for their FRIENDSHIP. I gave her everything, and she abandons ME? That is punishable by the worst ways possible, so I hope you will not do the same.”

Midnight sighed… that was exactly what she was afraid of.

XXXXXXX

Back inside the school, Pipp, Sunny and Misty were playing a board game with Shaggy, the dogs, Elsa and Winnie when they heard a monstrous groaning that Elsa recognized. “Dada!”

She then left to greet him, and after that, there came a howl that Winnie brightened up at. “My papa’s calling me!” she said, racing off to greet her father. “You two go and greet the parents,” Sunny told Misty and Pipp. “I’ll stay with the boys.”

“Um… what if I get freaked out by them, Sunny? What if I make a mistake I live to regret?” Misty asked. “They are scary, and… by experience, I don’t do well with scary things.”

“Don’t worry, Misty,” Pipp reassured. “You’ll be with me! Come on!”

Misty yelped as Pipp dragged her away, and once they were gone, Shaggy turned to his Great Dane bestie. “Like, everyone’s running off, Scoob. So, why don't we?”

“Yeah!” Scooby nodded, and the two of them pulled Sunny and Scrappy into a dumbwaiter nearby. “Gee, Uncle Scooby,” said Scrappy. “Are we going up to meet the folks?”

“Uh, not exactly, Scrappy,” Sunny frowned, having a feeling she knew what Shaggy and Scooby were doing-- trying to run and hide. Once they got to the next floor, they ran inside another room and sealed it shut by putting heavy items in front of the door. “Like, we should be safe now, Scoob,” Shaggy panted. “I hope so,” Scooby said with a worried look.

But we all know that wasn't meant to be.

As they sat there for a moment, Sunny and Scrappy noticed Phantasma floating through the pile in front of the door, smiling. “We've got company, Uncle Scooby!” Scrappy said as Phantasma laughed. “There you are! Father?”

Next to her emerged a blue-skinned ghost wearing a black and red hat with a black trench coat, looking happy to be with his daughter again. “Meet my new teachers!” Phantasma introduced. “Phanty's told me so much about you,” said Phantasma’s father, but Shaggy and Scooby screamed, grabbing Sunny and Scrappy and started running. “See, Father?” asked Phantasma. “They just love to exercise!”

That's when they tried to get out through the window, but in came Sibella and Dracula, and as Shaggy and Scooby screamed and ran, Dracula shifted out of his bat form and grabbed them by their collars. “It’s so nice to see new blood at Grimwood.”

“L-Like, you don’t want mine!” Shaggy said in a frightened voice. “It’s chicken blood!”

“Yeah, chicken!” Scooby imitated a chicken, which is how he and Shaggy were able to escape the confused Dracula. “Sibella,” he spoke up, “these two are battier than we are.”

“They are a little strange, Daddy,” Sibella told him, “but they're fang-tastic teachers.”

At the same time, Shaggy and Scooby were desperately trying to clear the door of all the stuff they piled up, seemingly trying to make another escape attempt. “Like, we were clucky that time, Scoob,” Shaggy said, “but it's time to fly this coop!”

“Absolutely!” Scooby agreed. “Shaggy, Scoob! Maybe you can try to give the girls’ fathers a chance,” Sunny said. “They may be as sweet as the girls, but you’ll never know unless you try.”

“Sunny, we’ve seen them in history books, and, like, they’re nothing but trouble for us!” Shaggy whispered, leading Scooby to nod in agreement. “Aww,” Scrappy frowned. “But then we won't meet the other parents.”

“Like, I hope you’re right, Scrappy!” Shaggy said as they prepared to clear the door… if Frankenteen Senior and Elsa had bashed through first. “There they are, Dada!” Elsa pointed. “Come to Frankenteen,” her father moaned. “Yes,” Tanis’ father spoke. “Let’s take a closer look at these four.”

He wrapped his mummy wrapping around them, dragging them closer until Scooby was inches away from the mummy’s face. “Who are you?” the mummy asked. “Scooby-Doo,” the Great Dane answered nervously, and Scrappy pulled on his wrapping on his leg. “And Scrappy-Doo too!”

“A-And I’m Sunny Starscout,” Sunny said a little nervous. “Like, don’t hurt ‘em, Mr. Mummy,” Shaggy spoke up. “It’s all my fault we’re here!”

“Hurt you? I want to hug you!” Tanis’ father wrapped Shaggy and Scooby in a hug. “For making my daughter feel like a winner.”

“I’ll howl to that,” Papa Werewolf spoke up. “Let’s give ‘em three cheers.”

And so, he and Winnie howled three times in their praises, and everyone else cheered before Miss Grimwood came up to retrieve them. “Now that everyone's acquainted, let's go downstairs for refreshments.”

XXXXXXXX

The refreshments were ready, and everyone was helping themselves to some punch Miss Grimwood had whipped up. “Like, not bad, right, Scoob?” Shaggy asked as Scooby sampled the punch. “Yeah!”

“It’s an old Grimwood recipe,” Miss Grimwood explained. “Poison ivy punch-- made from scratch.”

As Shaggy and Scooby began to scratch themselves, and Pipp, Sunny and Hitch went to prepare a little musical number from last Nightmare Night to perform for the crowd, Scrappy noticed a small item in Winnie’s paws. “Gee, Winnie, what’s that?”

“Something for my papa, Scrappy,” Winnie explained. “Izzy helped me make it in arts-and-crafts class.”

She then put a sour lemon into the mummy-case shaped device, and juice squirted out of the top and into the cup beside of it. “It’s a juicer!” Winnie said as her father took a sample. “Now, you can have sour lemonade whenever you want, Papa!”

“That’s wonderful, Winnie,” said Papa Werewolf, finishing his lemonade. “Ohh… nice and sour. Makes my whiskers pucker.”

“Pipp helped me make this for you, Daddy,” Sibella held up a small red robe. “It’s a bat robe!”

“Wonderful!” Dracula beamed. “Just what I need after a rainy flight. Let me try it on.”

So, he shifted into bat form, and Sibella easily slid it over his wings. “Oh, fang-tastic. It fits!” she said, lifting a mirror up to the count. “See for yourself.”

“That’s wonderful!” the count shrieked, despite not being able to see his reflection. “Like, nice robe, count,” said Shaggy. “But that's no reflection on you. Ha ha! Get it, Scoob?”

“Yeah!” Scooby giggled for a moment. “I think…”

Dracula shifted back to human form and gave his daughter a hug. “What a wonderful gift.”

“All the girls have worked very hard on their presents,” said Miss Grimwood, just as Sibella noticed Matches looking down. “Don't feel left out, Matches. I made a robe for you, too, and it's fireproof.”

Matches tested it out with his fire breath, and was delighted to see that it was not destroyed. “Zipp and I made my present in science class. It’s a portable shockman,” Elsa explained, using the shockman to power her up thanks to the lightning outside. “With a rechargeable battery pack that lasts for wee-ee-eee-eeks. For you, Dada.”

After Frankenteen tested it out, claiming it put ‘volts in his bolts’, he patted his daughter on the head. “Thank you, Elsa.”

“Welcome, Dada,” said Elsa. “I thought you'd get a charge out of it.”

“Show your mummy daddy what you made, Tanis,” Miss Grimwood urged, and Tanis handed the device to her father. “It's a fright light, to brighten the darkest mummy case.”

“What a thoughtful gift, Tanis,” the mummy said proudly. “Last but not least,” Miss Grimwood said to Phantasma’s father, “your daughter would like to play her latest composition for you.”

“It’s called Duet for Three Hands… and Six Tentacles,” Phantasma said, beginning to play with the floating hand while the octopus began to play the drums, prompting everyone to start dancing… all while Creeper and Revolta were watching through their looking window, Midnight and Opaline retiring for the night. “They’re having fun, Revolta!” Creeper said. “Yes…” Revolta nodded. “But soon the party will be over.”

Finally, the song ended, prompting everyone to cheer and clap for Phantasma as she stood proudly. “Fantastic, Phantasma!” her father said. “Bravo!” Hitch cried as Winnie howled. “It made my blood run cold,” Dracula said as the clapping continued, and the floating hand and Phantasma took a bow for everyone. “Thank you, thank you!”

“Oh, Miss Grimwood? I think we’re ready,” Misty said. “Fantastic! Ladies and gentle-monsters,” Miss Grimwood announced, “allow me to present Pipp Petals and her Equestrian friends in their very first Grimwood performance!”

After the cheering had settled down, Matches turned on the music to one of Pipp’s most popular Nightmare Night songs, and everyone started dancing to the tune.

Pipp: There’s something kinda creepy
Happening tonight
So call your favorite ghoulies

Sunny: And get your costume right

Hitch: They may look freaky
But I promise they won’t bite

Misty: And they say the place is haunted
But the dancing’s a delight!

All: It may look scary
But don’t be afraid
Cause nothing’s what it seems
At a monster party

It may look spooky
But don’t have a fright
Cause at this monster party
We will rock all night!

Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah
Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah
Cause nothing's what it seems
At a monster party

Izzy: Frankenteen is spinning
Making everypony move

Hitch: And the mummy daddy’s
Really busting loose

Pipp: The wizards and the witches
Got nothing to prove

Zipp: They just keep on rocking

Misty: To the monster groove!

The song was so upbeat and not spooky, Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy decided to get in on the fun.

All: It may look scary
But don’t be afraid
Cause nothing’s what it seems
At a monster party

It may look spooky
But don’t have a fright
Cause at this monster party
We will rock all night!

Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah
Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah
Cause nothing's what it seems
At a monster party

Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah
Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah
Cause at this monster party
We will rock all night

Yeah, at this monster party
We will rock all night!

Everyone cheered as the song came to a close, and Sunny then turned to her friends. “Come on, ponies-- the fun isn’t stopping for a couple hours. Let’s show off some of our skills!”

“Finally!” Izzy giggled. “I can unicycle to the extreeeeeeme!!!”

XXXXXXXX

Soon, the party raged on, all the way up until 5 o’clock in the morning. “It will soon be dawn,” Dracula observed. “I must be on my way, Sibella.”

“I know, Daddy.”

“The moon is going down, Winnie,” Papa Werewolf said. “I'd better run, too.”

“Like, see you next Halloween,” Shaggy bid farewell to the count, who then looked at them with a murderous look. “In the meantime,” he said, “I want you to take good care of my little Sibella.”

“Uh… y-y-you can count on us, count,” Zipp stammered. “Good,” Dracula huffed. “because if anything happens to her… it will be a bat day for you.”

“Grr, that goes for Winnie too,” Papa Werewolf howled before they left, and after they did, Frankenteen Senior grabbed Shaggy and Scooby by their collars. “Elsa's my pride and joy. Don't let me down.”

He then threw them to the ground, only for them to be picked up by Tanis’ father as well. “Take care of Tanis and her friends, or you'll meet a very mad mummy!”

“Not to mention, a foul-tempered phantom!” said Phantasma’s father, and with that, the remaining fathers left the school. “Bye bye, guys!” Scrappy waved them off. “Gee, what a friendly bunch of folks. Right, Uncle Scooby?”

“Y-Yeah,” Scooby gulped. “Really.”

“See?” Sunny smiled. “Now there’s nothing to be afraid of, guys.”

XXXXXXXX

“That’s what they think,” Revolta cackled as she moved to one of her spider-bats. “Get ready to fly, little spider bat. You're about to earn your keep. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

But what Revolta didn’t realize was a certain young kirin, hoping that whatever plan she had would fail. As Midnight was about to creep back to bed, the Creeper stood in her way. “Not so fast, you horned brat,” he sneered. “Revolta requires your assistance to trap the ghoul girls.”

“Great…” Midnight muttered sarcastically. “My soul purpose… what could go wrong?”

Setting the Trap

Revolta didn’t waste any time starting to prepare her trap for the girls, and put the Creeper and Midnight Breeze to work. “There's no time to waste, Grim Creeper,” she said. “Both of you, get cranking!”

“Yes, Revolta,” the Creeper and Midnight said obediently, and cranked the handle around a few times until the skylight opened up. “This is your target,” Revolta showed her spider bat a picture of Shaggy, having to flip it upside down for the bat to see before she chanted a spell. “Now heed these words, and heed them well. Find those fools and weave them well,” she said, letting the bat fly out. “Fly, spider bat, fly. Soon that teacher will be learning from me. Ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

Midnight laughed awkwardly while the Grim Creeper gleefully cackled, but then Revolta whipped her head around to face them. “Don't just stand there, close that skylight!” she ordered. “There’s a draft in here.”

“Y-Yes, Revolta!” the Creeper said as they obeyed, Midnight sparing one final look at the night sky before it closed on her.

XXXXXXXX

Back at the school, Pipp and Scooby were sleeping together, since Misty wanted to try sleeping on her own for the first time, and Pipp offered to keep Scooby company. But when the spider-bat approached, the wind was flapping the shades, making Pipp sigh, waking up. “Scooby, can you go check that shade?” she grumbled. “It’s making me loose beauty sleep!”

“Okay, Pipp,” Scooby yawned, going to the shade to close it, but that’s when he saw the spider bat, screamed and fled to Shaggy and Sunny’s room. “Shaggy, help! Rat! It's a rat!!”

“Rats?” Shaggy yawned and handed Scooby a couple mousetraps. “Like, take two of these and call me in the morning, Scoob.”

But Scooby threw the mousetraps aside, shaking his head. “No, Shaggy! Rat!!”

“Calm down, Scooby,” Sunny assured the dog gently. “We’ll come take a look.”

XXXXXXXXX

But when Shaggy and Sunny went into the room, waking Pipp and telling her what was going on, Shaggy and the earth pony mare didn’t see anything. “See? See for yourself, Scoob. Nothing,” Shaggy said with a yawb as he and Sunny walked out of the room. “Let’s get some sleep.”

“Okay, Shaggy,” Scooby nodded and tried to close the shade, but this time, he AND Pipp saw the spider bat inside of the shade, causing them to scream and get their friends. “Shaggy!!” Scooby screamed. “Rat’s back! Rat’s back!”

“We’re coming, we’re coming!” Sunny said as Pipp and Scooby dragged them into the room, where Shaggy checked the shade. “Oh, boy! Get a hold of yourself, old buddy,” Shaggy said. “See? There's nothing shady about the shade. Get a hold of yourself, Scoob.”

With that, Shaggy and Sunny retreated to their room for the final time, and when Scooby tried to check the shade, he got himself stuck inside it, causing Pipp to pull him out. “Come on, boy,” Pipp scratched Scooby lovingly. “Let’s get some sleep.”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Sunny was sleeping soundly next to Shaggy’s bed, not hearing the spider bat fly in and get close enough to Shaggy and weave a pair of magic headphones around his head-- the way Revolta could get him to lead the girls into the trap. Once they were set, Revolta began speaking. “You will do exactly as I say.”

“I will do exactly as you say,” Shaggy’s eyes snapped open, completely in a trance. “In the morning,” Revolta continued, “you will take the girls on a little field trip to the Barren Bog.”

“Little girls… field trip. To the Barren Bog,” Shaggy droned on. “And then, those girl ghouls will be mine!!” Revolta cackled just before releasing Shaggy from the trance and turning to Midnight and Creeper. “Don't just stand there. Get to the Barren Bog and set my traps!”

“Yes, Revolta,” said the Creeper, and Midnight only nodded. She hoped that Sunny and her friends would be able to see through the scheme… but only time would tell.

XXXXXXX

The next morning, one of Miguel's inventions, a rolling robot who played Reveille on the trumpet, woke the cadets up with a start. “Miguel,” said Tug, getting changed, “sometimes I'm sorry you ever invented that rolling, reveille robot.”

“But it was your idea to give it to the colonel for a birthday present,” Miguel pointed out. “Affirmative,” Jamal agreed. “Next year, we give him a pocket watch.”

“Glad to see you up and at 'em, cadets,” said the colonel, and after getting scared by the robot, moved toward a map on the wall. “As I was saying, you're up early for morning maneuvers in tough terrain.”

“I’ll say,” Tug looked worried. “That’s Barren Bog!”

XXXXXXXXX

At the same time that morning, Shaggy was unusually cheerful, despite it being a dreary day, and Misty, Sunny and Scooby immediately noticed it first. “Like, rise and shine, Scoob!” he said, opening the window. “It's a beautiful day for a field trip.”

“It is?” Scooby asked, trying not to get blown away by the wind. “Yeah, just smell that fresh air.”

But the force of the wind was so strong, it knocked Scooby into Scrappy’s bedroom door, which he opened to reveal Izzy and Hitch inside. “You knocked, Uncle Scooby?”

“We’re glad you’re up, guys,” Sunny said, deciding to go with Shaggy’s field trip idea for now. “We were just on our way out.”

Captured! (Part 1)

After a healthy (rotten for the ghouls) breakfast, Miss Grimwood opened the doors to check the weather conditions and shivered. “Cold, raw, windy, good chance of rain. A perfectly rotten day to be outside. So have a great time, girls.”

“Awooooo!! We will, Miss Grimwood!” said Winnie, riding on Zipp’s back down the front steps. “We’re all ready to go!” Sunny said with a smile. But as Matches was about to go after them toward the van, Miss Grimwood held his tail to keep him back. “Sorry, Matches. You’re staying home with me.”

This made the young dragon groan-- why was he always missing out on the chance to have fun and protect the girls?

“Like, here we go, gang!” Shaggy started up the van, and they began to pull out of the driveway. “Bye, Miss Grimwood!” Elsa called. “Bye, Matches!” Tanis waved farewell. “See you later girls!” Miss Grimwood waved back. “Come along, Matches. We have work to be done.”

But… Matches had a whole other plan up his dragon sleeve by this point.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, later on down the road, Scrappy finally had the chance to turn to Shaggy about their destination, since he himself was doing the navigating. “Gee, Shaggy, where are we going for our field trip?”

“Like, someplace scenic,” Shaggy said, pointing to a particular spot on the map. “Like... right here.”

“That’s Barren Bog!” Sunny realized, seeing that spot on one of the maps before. “Barren Bog?!” Scooby yelped-- that didn’t sound scenic at all! “Sounds fang-tastic,” Sibella grinned. “I'll bet it's crawling with alligators and snakes.”

“A-Alligators? Snakes? Oh no!!” Scooby yelped. “Not to mention quicksand!” Phantasma laughed. “I love quicksand!”

All the while, Zipp pulled out her phone and pressed record. “Note to self-- Shaggy wanting to go to Barren Bog? Completely suspicious and unlike him. More on that later.”

But, Misty on the other hoof, decided now would be as good a time as ever to tell Shaggy and Scooby about their previous encounter with Opaline. “Uh… Scooby?” she tapped the Great Dane’s shoulder, causing the Great Dane to stop panicking about the gators and snakes and give Misty his full attention. “There’s something I should tell you… it’s about Opaline.”

“O-Opaline?” Scooby stammered... he remembered Misty talking about her and all the evil things she made Misty do while she was imprisoned in that castle. “Yeah. The thing is… she found a way to escape her palace a few weeks ago in Warnerstock, and we were able to stop her,” Misty admitted. “But… she could be coming after this world next. So we need to keep a close eye on the girls.”

“Wait a second…” said a voice, and the two turned to see Zipp looking extremely irritated. “You told Scooby about Opaline before you could tell us?!”

“I… I didn’t want you guys to worry, and we were already wrapped up in another case,” Misty admitted, not wanting Scooby to get into trouble. “The zombies, remember? I didn't think it was important then, especially when they were about to drain us of our life force.”

“I don’t care about the zombies or that case at the moment, Misty! You told Scooby before you told us, and she was after OUR magic!” Zipp fussed. “...makes me wonder if you really ARE changing.”

“Z-Zipp…” Misty felt her ears pin… Zipp was finally beginning to trust her, and now her trust was falling down the drain again. Scooby whimpered and nuzzled the blue unicorn comfortingly as Scrappy looked back. “Everything okay back there, Uncle Scooby?”

“...everything’s fine for now, Scrappy,” Zipp admitted, sparing a cold glance at Misty for a moment. “Keep directing Shaggy to Barren Bog. We’ll tell you more about it later.”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the Calloway cadets finally arrived at the Barren Bog, wearing their wilderness survival gear. “Today's hike will take us through swampy terrain,” the colonel stated. “Stay close, men, as we use our survival skills to cross this bog.”

“Yes sir,” Tug stated, but as soon as they began crossing the bog, he fell into a puddle and turned to Grunt, Miguel and Jamal while Baxter went ahead with following the colonel. “The first skill is in ditching the colonel, and finding a dry way out of this swamp.”

“Affirmative,” Jamal agreed, and as soon as they reached a fork in the road, they split off to the other side of it. “These field trips are a real drag,” Miguel said, reading the map, leading Grunt to agree. “And dumb too.”

XXXXXXX

At the same time, the Grimwood gang, Shaggy, the dogs and all the ponies finally arrived at the bog, and the Grimwood girls were beyond excited. “What do we do now, coach?” Tanis asked Shaggy, who thought for a moment before he got an idea. “How about a jog through the bog?”

“Great!” Elsa said, running on ahead. “I’ve got plenty of energy!”

“Wait for me, Elsa!” Tanis ran after her. “And the Doos too!” Scrappy grabbed his uncle, and the two dogs, Izzy and Sunny ran ahead after the girls. “Wait for me!” Misty said, but Zipp flew in front of her. “Hey, uh… why don’t you just stay toward the back? Make sure nopony gets left behind.”

“Oh…” Misty nodded, but did as she asked. “Okay…”

“Awoooooo!! Race you across the bog, Sibella!” Winnie said as she ran ahead, but Sibella managed to shift into her bat form instead. “Then I think I'll stretch my wings instead of my legs.”

She then soared past Winnie, who frowned at seeing her fly past. “Aww, no fair, Sibella! We're supposed to be jogging, not jetting!”

But suddenly, something tripped Winnie and wrapped around one of her legs, forcing the Grim Creeper to come out of hiding. “Gotcha!”

“Boy, do you have the wrong girl! Awoooooooo!!” Winnie kicked the Grim Creeper’s tentacle away, causing him to groan in pain before starting to chase her. “You can't escape the Grim Creeper!”

“Then I guess you've never chased a werewolf before, Creepy!” Winnie broke out into a run, going a little ways before reaching a shack out in the middle of the swamp. “This looks like a great place to hide.”

The she-wolf quickly ducked inside and imitated a faraway howl, causing the Creeper to go past her. “I gave him the slip.”

But as Winnie turned around, she was faced with Revolta’s spider-bats, who wrapped a pair of headphones around her ears, brainwashing her as the Grim Creeper watched maliciously. “One down, five to go! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Right, Midnight?”

But the Creeper saw no kirin with him, and groaned out loud. “Always me to take care of the brat… I better find her before she ruins our plans.”

Bog Troubles

Back at the school, Miss Grimwood walked into the kitchen to check on the stew she was preparing. “Is my cauldron bubbling yet, Matches?”

But when she tasted the stew, she put the spoon down in disapproval. “Well-- my scorpion stew is ice-cold. Matches! Here, boy! Light the fire!”

When she looked around, the young dragon was nowhere in sight, leaving her to sigh. “Now where has that dragon gotten to?”

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Matches was following the scent of the girls and their ride toward the Barren Bog. He had a feeling that the group would wind up in trouble, and that was why he wanted to come-- so he could protect the girls if the situation called for it. “Gee, Shaggy,” said Scrappy’s voice, “bog jogging is fun!”

Matches heard the group cheering as they raced across the bog, and trudged that way to look for them. At the same time, the group hopped across rocks to cross the deep waters below. “Hey, Shaggy, how’d you think of this place, anyway?” Sunny asked. “Like, I don’t know,” Shaggy admitted. “In my dreams, I think.”

But the second he leapt to the next rock, he discovered it was actually an alligator, trapping them on one small rock and prompting Izzy to try and lift them with her unicorn magic, which was taking a dramatic tole on her. “I think this dream became more of a nightmare!” Sunny said nervously. “Yeah!” Scooby nodded. “Alligator nightmare!”

“HELP!!!” the group screamed. “Don’t worry, Uncle Scooby!” Scrappy tried to swing on a vine right to them. “Scrappy-Doo to the rescue!!”

But as he tried to swing to them, the vine broke, leaving him to hop across on the alligators’ snouts before jumping into Shaggy’s arms. “Like, nice try, Scrappy,” Shaggy chuckled nervously as the alligators continued to surround them. “But too late!”

Izzy groaned in discomfort, not lifting this much weight at once on a usual basis. “I can’t hold you guys up much longer!”

“Shaggy!” Scooby yelped in panic. “Zoinks!” Shaggy shrieked. “I never thought we'd end up alligator appetizers!”

“Well, this pup is going down swinging!” Scrappy declared, just as Sibella spoke up from above. “Try swinging with me!”

She then dove right toward them, and they were able to grab on and let her fly away from the gators before they were devoured. Once they were on shore, Sibella turned back to normal. “Like, not too bat an escape, right, Scoob?” Shaggy made a pun. “Yeah,” Scooby giggled. “Oh yeah,” Sunny agreed before turning back to Sibella. “Thanks for the help.”

“I need some help myself,” Sibella explained. “Winnie must be playing hide-and-shriek. I can't find her anywhere.”

“Like, this bog is a little boggling,” Shaggy admitted. “Don’t worry,” Scrappy reassured. “We’ll all go look for her.”

“Yeah,” Scooby agreed, just as Sibella went to go search from the air. But before they could get far, another voice, this one an unfamiliar female, caught their attention. “HELP!!” it shrieked. “SOMEPONY, PLEASE HELP ME!!”

“Huh? I think somepony’s in trouble!” Izzy said, pointing toward some bushes. “Lead the way, Izzy!” Scrappy declared. “We’ll look for Winnie on the way!”

They raced through the woods for a hot minute, until they reached a deeper part of the swamp, where they gasped upon a startling sight-- there was a strange pony-like creature struggling to swim in the water, looking utterly terrified. “Somepony! HELP!!” she screamed. “I… I can’t swim!”

“We have to help her!” Sunny declared. “Zoinks! But you better do it fast, Sunny,” Shaggy pointed out. “Like, she has company!”

An alligator was slowly crawling from the brush toward her, making Sunny gasp-- they had to work fast! She pulled a rope from her saddlebag and gave it to Scooby. “Scooby, can you toss this over to her so she can grab it?”

“Okay, Sunny!” Scooby nodded with the rope in his mouth, and flung it over to the creature, who looked surprised at seeing it. “Huh?”

“Quick!” Scrappy cried. “Grab on and we’ll pull you out!”

“Uh… okay!” the creature nodded and grabbed the rope tight in her mouth. “Now, everybody!” Sunny cried. “Pull!”

The five friends heaved with all their might, struggling to bring the creature to shore for a moment before she started kicking toward them, allowing them to easily pull her onto the shore. Once she was on shore, the blue unicorn-like creature panted tiredly, completely soaked. “Shaggy! My auntie’s blanket!” Izzy said. “We can use it to warm her up!”

Shaggy immediately got it from his backpack and wrapped it around the blue creature, letting her shiver. That’s when Sunny approach her, a concerned look upon her face. “Are you okay?”

“Well… considering you pulled me out just as that big alligator was gonna eat me… yeah,” the creature said in a soft voice. “But… you hardly know me. Why did you do that?”

“That’s what we do,” Sunny said with a smile, just before something in her mind clicked. “Wait a sec… you’re a kirin!”

“A what?” Scrappy questioned. “A kirin! They’re sorta like unicorns,” Sunny pulled out her journal, “but with bushier manes, thinner tails and cloven hooves! They haven’t been seen in Equestria for moons, but I never thought they’d be in this world! Oh, wait… sorry.” She turned back to the kirin with a sheepish grin. “We never even got your name.”

“...Midnight,” said the kirin softly. “Midnight Breeze.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Sunny Starscout,” the earth pony introduced. “And this is Izzy Moonbow, Shaggy Rogers, Scrappy-Doo and Scooby-Doo.”

“Hello!” Scooby said before licking her face happily, causing her to giggle. “Hey… where’s your family?” Izzy asked. “Maybe we can take you back to them before they get worried.”

“Oh, um… no, I… I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Midnight stammered, rising to her feet. “T-Thank you all for saving me, but… I… I have to go!”

And just like that, she bolted off, seemingly frightened. “Midnight, hold on!” Scrappy tried to stop her. “We’ll find her, Scrappy,” Sunny assured. “But we have to find Winnie too. Let’s keep looking.”

XXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the Calloway cadets were still traversing the woods when they saw Sibella flying above as she still searched for Winnie. “Hey, look up there!” said Grunt. “This bog’s got bats!”

“Better look down here,” Miguel said as they stood in some brown liquid. “We’re back in the mud again!”

“Negative,” Jamal shook his head, beginning to grow nervous as they began to sink. “I think this is--”

“QUICKSAND!!” Tug yelped. “Wha… what do we do now, Tug?!” Grunt asked in panic. “We use our basic survival skills,” said Tug, “like yelling for help!”

“Affirmative!” Jamal shouted. “HELP!!”

“HELP!!!”

XXXXXXX

Not too far away, Misty was walking with Elsa and Tanis when they heard the cadets screaming for help close by. “Sounds like those smart aleck Calloway cadets,” Elsa said. “Maybe they're playing in the bog, too,” Tanis added. “Come on,” Misty told the girls. “Let’s go see what’s going on.”

So, the unicorn led the group to help the cadets, who were by now, neck deep in the quicksand. “Quick!” Miguel begged. “Help us out!”

But as Misty was about to try and pull them out, a remark from Tanis stopped the blue unicorn in her hoofprints. “But why? Swimming in quicksand is fun.”

“Fun?!” Jamal blurt out. “That's a negative!”

“On the double!” Miguel begged, and Grunt nodded frantically. “If not sooner!”

“Not to be on the wrong hoof of things, girls, but I think the cadets have a point,” Misty shrugged at the two ghouls. “Not everypony back home likes getting muddy either... especially Pipp. You gotta see it from somepony else's horseshoes too.”

“Well, Tanis,” Elsa grabbed a rather large branch from nearby, “if they insist.”

“What a bunch of spoil-sports!” Tanis frowned, and Misty felt a little bit guilty. Elsa pushed the branch toward the cadets, and then once they got a firm hold, she flung them right out of the quicksand and onto solid ground. “Thanks for getting us out, girls,” Tug said as he and the others brushed themselves off. “Now we'd better find our way out of this bog. Forward, cadets.”

But the last thing Misty saw of the cadets was them being chased by a certain fire breathing dragon back through the swamp.

Captured! (Part 2)/A Rescue Mission Begins

At the same time that Misty, Elsa and Tanis were helping the Calloway cadets out of the quicksand, Phanty was laughing her head off as she ran across the bog, not even bothered by the fact sbe was running through smelly, dark bog water. “Bogs never bother me! Of course, my phantom feet never get wet!”

She cackled as she ran past the shack where Winnie had previously been hypnotized by the spider-bats, and Winnie noticed her ghoul friend coming by. “Oh, Phanty...!”

Phantasma didn't notice her friend calling out to her in an intimidating voice, and turned around and started toward the she-wolf. “What are you doing in there, Winnie?”

“Hiding,” the hypnotized Winnie responded droningly. “Come see.”

She stepped back into the shack, causing Phanty to giggle and follow her inside. “I just love hide-and-shriek!”

But what she didn't realize was that the spider-bats were waiting to enchant her with that same spell they used on Winnie, causing her mind to go completely blank. “Yes, Revolta... I will obey...”

XXXXXXXXX

At the same time, all the ponies except Misty had been reuniting with Shaggy and the dogs, and Scooby was currently on top of Shaggy's shoulders, and Scrappy was on top of Scooby's shoulders, so he could try and spot some of the girls from higher up. “No sign of the girls, Uncle Scooby!”

“Uh oh!” Scooby said nervously, and Shaggy gulped in the same manner. “Like, I'm beginning to get a bad feeling about this bog.”

“Wait, Shaggy!” Hitch observed, seeing Sibella flying overhead. “Maybe Sibella has good news!”

Sibella saw her teachers and ponies down below and began screeching, the only way she could communicate in her bat form. Luckily, Shaggy managed to guess what it might mean. “Does that mean you found Winnie?”

Sibella chirped and screeched rapidly before she flew off in the opposite direction, and this caused Zipp to grin. “Come on! I think she wants us to follow!”

She and her sister began to follow Sibella from the air, while the others followed from the ground. But what they DIDN'T realize was that Scooby was still on Shaggy's shoulders, and when he ran under a tree, Scooby was sent spinning and Scrappy flew off his uncle's shoulders and onto the ground, watching his uncle flying through the air. “There goes Uncle Scooby-- wanting to be first again!”

But when Scooby landed in the bushes, he also landed on a very irritated Matches, and immediately fled to avoid getting hit by Matches' dragon fire. Shaggy sighed at seeing this, turning to the Great Dane pup with a frown. “Like, I wish your uncle would learn to stop playing with Matches.”

XXXXXXXXX

Sibella flew around the swamp as fast as her wings could take her, looking for any signs of Winnie and her other friends... when she suddenly spotted Winnie and Phantasma down by the shack. “Yes, Sibella. We're here,” Winnie waved from down below. “Come down.”

“We want to show you something,” Phantasma droned on. But as Sibella flew closer, that's when Winnie began to spring her own trap. “Get her!”

Sibella screeched in panic as the spider-bats flew right at her, and flew as fast as she could to try and get away while the Grim Creeper watched from below. “Don't let her escape!”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Scooby scurried to get away from Matches and eventually hid in the shack, watching as Matches ran past. Now the Great Dane could sigh and giggle in relief... he was finally safe. Then, he felt a tap on his shoulder and yelped as he turned around. Luckily it was only Winnie... but in his relief to find she was safe, Scooby didn't notice the red glow in her eyes. “Hello, Winnie.”

“Revolta doesn't want you!” Winnie uncharacteristically snapped, much to Scooby's concern. “Get out!”

“The Grim Creeper will take care of him!” Phantasma agreed, and seeing how on edge the girls were, Scooby decided to leave, but take note on where they were to tell Zipp and Shaggy later on.

What was wrong with the sweet little ghoul girls they used to know and love?

Midnight watched him from behind some trees, feeling guilty that she was even a part of the whole plan to capture the girls to begin with. Suddenly, Midnight witnessed the Great Dane being caught in the Grim Creeper's grimy tentacles! “Gotcha!”

“HELP!!!” Scooby screamed, and Midnight gasped, unsure of what to do. She wanted to do the right thing and save her friend, but then again... she knew the price of abandoning Revolta's plan. “Revolta does not like meddlers,” the Grim Creeper told Scooby menacingly, making Scooby rapidly shake his head. “Not me!”

That's when Midnight noticed Matches coming closer, and instantly got an idea. “Maybe I can fuel the dragon's fire just enough so...”

Midnight struggled to light her horn and cast the spell, but eventually, Matches let out a huge burst of dragon fire that made the Grim Creeper scream in pain, causing him to release his hold on Scooby and head toward the water to cool his burning bottom. “You two will pay for this!” the one-eyed creature exclaimed as Scooby and Matches seemes to have made up and ran for it. “No one escapes the Grim Creeper!”

Midnight breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Matches and Scooby escaping safely. “That was close...” she said, watching the skies as Sibella led the spider-bats into a storm cloud. “I better head back up to the castle, so if Creeper finds out it was me, Revolta will already be lecturing me for a week's time.”

XXXXXXXXX

At the same time that Midnight was heading back to the castle, Misty, Tanis and Elsa found Phantasma and Winnie, still under Revolta's mind control. “Well,” Tanis said, “it's about time!”

“Where have you Grimwood girls been?” Elsa asked. “Waiting for you,” Phantasma droned, and Winnie gestured inside the shack. “Come inside.”

Misty thought their glowing red eyes was very strange, but before she could say anything else, Sibella came out from the storm cloud screeching at the top of her lungs. “It's Sibella!”

“Something's wrong!” Tanis observed, but she, Elsa and Misty were quickly grabbed by the werewolf and ghost girls. “But it's too late for you!”

Misty screamed as she and her friends were pulled inside the shack, looking up at them with wide eyes. “Hey! What do you think--?!”

That's when she saw one of the spider-bats flying toward her, and it suddenly began wrapping the magic headphones around her head. Misty struggled to not loose control of her mind... not to let whoever was doing this to her win.

Although she was already sure it was Opaline.

Unfortunately, the magic was too much to control, and she bowed her head in submission, along with Tanis and Elsa. “We obey only Revolta...”

XXXXXXXXX

Back at her castle, Revolta cackled as she found the rest of the girls and Misty being put under her spell. “Much too late...! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”

“Revolta! What is taking so long?!” Opaline's voice rang out through the mirror. “Did you capture the girl ghouls and that pathetic Misty or not?”

“Of course I did,” Revolta rolled her eyes as she picked up the mirror. “You know me better than such things.”

“Excellent... soon,” Opaline stated wickedly, “Misty will be mine again, and all of Equestria will bow to Queen Opaline Arca--”

“Actually...” Revolta interrupted, having a second idea, “I think I'll actually seize Misty for myself... she will be quite useful once I turn her into MY evil slave.”

“WHAT?!” Opaline screeched with livid eyes. “That is OUTRAGEOUS!!! I gave you the secrets to your power! You should be loyal to ME!!”

“You know, I should, but I think I will write my own rules so I can be ruler of MY domain. Goodbye, Opaline.”

That's when Revolta smashed the mirror, ending the call for good before she waved her wand. “Come to me, my little Grimwood girls.”

The shack then sprouted a rocket and flew out of sight. All the while, Sibella was finally caught by the spider-bats, and had a pair of magic headphones placed on her ears. But like Misty, she was struggling to not fall under their control. “Stop struggling!” Revolta commanded. “You must obey only me, Revolta. Your will is strong, just like your father's. But my web is stronger. Obey!”

Finally, Sibella gave in to the magic, and this allowed the spider-bats to finally take her away.

XXXXXXXXX

Back on the ground, the others watched in horror as Sibella was being taken away by the spider-bat cronies of Revolta. “Shaggy!” Zipp cried. “Sibella's getting bat-napped!”

“Zoinks! Like, this is horrible,” Shaggy said in desperation, sitting down on a nearby stump. “If we don't get her back, the Count will hold me accountable!”

“Don't worry, Shaggy,” Scrappy reassured. “We'll get the other girls to help us rescue her.”

“Uh uh!” Scooby shook his head as he and Matches came out of the bushes. “They're gone!”

“WHAT?!” Hitch practically shrieked, beginning to hyperventilate. “Y-You don't mean Elsa?”

Scooby nodded, and laughed in a tone Phantasma would, making Sunny understand instantly. “And Phanty!”

Scooby quickly nodded again, and wrapped his paws around himself, imitating Tanis' wraps well enough that made Zipp gasp. “Not Tanis and Winnie too!”

But this was only confirmed when Matches let out a raspy werewolf howl. “But... but Misty!” Scrappy tried to reassure them. “She wouldn't let the girls get captured... would she?”

“She would if she was still working for Opaline...” Zipp muttered. “Not the time, Zipp!” Sunny scolded, hearing the fight from in the van before turning back to the Great Dane with an almost pleading look. “Scooby... is Misty okay? Is she in danger too?”

Sadly, Scooby nodded for a third time, and hearing that Misty had been taken drove Izzy to tears, prompting Pipp and Hitch to try and comfort her. “Zoinks!” Shaggy spoke with a worried look. “Like, what do I do now?”

“Rollow that rack!” Scooby seemed to say, causing Hitch and Shaggy to become confused... that is, until Scrappy pointed at the shack with the girls inside flying away. “I think Uncle Scooby must mean 'follow that shack'!”

“That's what I said!” Scooby spoke up. “Follow that shack!”

“Say no more, Scooby,” Shaggy said as they all raced into the van. “Like, we'll track that shack
and get the girls and Misty back before their scary folks ever know they're not back.”

“Whew,” Izzy spoke with a sigh. “That was sure a mouthful.”

But as Shaggy put his foot on the gas pedal, the van still would not move, resulting in Pipp to look out the window. “Uh oh, Pippsqueaks!” she commented, looking down at the spinning back tires. “I think we're stuck in the mud!”

At the same time, the remaining Calloway cadets found the van in trouble, and Grunt scoffed at the group struggling. “Serves them right for taking our trophy.”

“However,” Jamal lifted up a small book, “the Calloway code says we help vehicles in distress.”

“Affirmative,” Miguel nodded. “Negative,” Tug protested. “We do not aid and abet the enemy.”

To this, Grunt nodded with a smirk. “Yeah, let em spin their wheels.”

But, as they discussed this, they saw Matches growling and steaming up, hoping a little dragon fire would change their mind. “A-As I was saying, men, that van needs some manpower!” Tug said as they approached the van. “I thought you might need a push.”

“Affirmative.”

“Look, Uncle Scooby. Those cadets volunteered to help us out,” Scrappy pointed out as Pipp landed beside the dogs. “Aww, how sweet,” Pipp commented before she saw Matches chuckling to himself. “...I think.”

“Like, keep pushing!” Shaggy shouted to the struggling cadets. “I'm putting the metal to the pedal!”

The cadets pushed as hard as they could, and the van was finally able to get pushed out, much to the group's relief... even though the cadets were face first in the mud. “Come on! Get up, guys!” Scrappy urged rapidly. “Misty and the Grimwood girls are in trouble!”

“Come on, Scrappy!” Sunny said as the group ran toward the van, but Scrappy turned his head back toward the cadets, who were brushing themselves off, as they ran. “You can help us rescue them from a bunch of meanies!”

But Tug merely frowned at this. “That's a negative!”

“Yeah!” Grunt added. “Get lost!”

Their responses made the group sigh in frustration, and they climbed into the van unsatisfied and drove off... just as Colonel Calloway and Baxter arrived. “Cadet Baxter has finished his hike in much better shape than the rest of you,” the colonel scolded. “Next time, follow me more closely, Cadet Roper.”

“Yes sir!” Tug saluted, but sent mud flying onto the colonel's face. “Uh, sorry sir.”

“Oooooh...” the colonel grumbled. “Back to the barracks. On the double!”

“YES SIR!!” the cadets cried and ran off. It looks like it would be up to our equined heroes and their friends to save the Grimwood girls and Misty from Revolta's wrath... and potentially Opaline's.

But what sort of danger were they putting THEMSELVES in?

Comforting Words/A Promise Broken

It was a stone quiet drive as the group followed the spider-bats and the shack past the bog and into the open spooky forests that none of them were too familiar with. Everyone was worried about their friends... but one mare was feeling something other than worry.

Pain and potential anger.

Zipp knew that she was a pony who followed her instincts, but ever since the Unity Crystals have been sending them on those missions, her intuition has been thrown all out of whack. And there were so many questions that Zipp needed to have answered.

Why did Opaline need dragon fire to boost her magic?

How could somepony get a dragon's fire taken from the dragon anyway?

How long had Opaline been watching and waiting for their every move.

Then there came the bigger question... was Misty lying to them and still working for Opaline?

As Zipp struggled to comprehend this information, she felt a gentle paw on her shoulder, and looked to see Scrappy-Doo approaching her with a gentle look of comfort. “You doing okay, Zipp?”

“How can I be okay, Scrappy?” Zipp asked the small dog. “Misty worked for Opaline for months, maybe even moons without us knowing! She could know our weaknesses! Our strengths! She could use everything in her power to get the dragon fire from Sparky, and Misty helped her! I don't know whether to trust her or not!”

“But Misty wouldn't do that to us... would she?” Sparky asked, with some hesitancy in his voice. “I... I don't know,” Zipp answered with some nervousness. “Usually my detective skills are on point, but... now... I'm not sure if I'm meant to be a detective or not.”

Pipp and Sunny listened in concern at how Zipp was feeling as her cutie mark began to dim, but before they could say a word, Scrappy started to provide words of comfort. “No one is destined to know everything,” he said. “I always get the idea that the monsters that Uncle Scooby and Shaggy caught were actually REAL monsters. The point is, Zipp, you're strong, brave and independent. And I'd be totally honored to be part of your detective agency.”

“...thanks, Scrappy,” Zipp said. “You're not a bad detective yourself.”

“I know.”

Both of them giggled as Zipp's cutie mark began to glow, and Sunny sighed at this... at least Zipp's worries were something that could be easily put to rest.

Soon enough, the group reached a high perch with a castle right on the very top, with dark clouds looming directly behind it. “Looks like the bats have come back to roost,” Hitch observed with a shudder. “And that's the grusomest roost I've ever seen!”

“Yeah,” Scooby nodded at the statement. “Gruesome roost!”

“Like, we'd need wings to get up there!” Shaggy exclaimed. “And, not everyone has those... except maybe Pipp and Zipp.”

“Leave it to us, Shaggy!” Izzy chirped as she, Scrappy, Matches and Zipp lifted heavy equipment out of the van. “We'll have us to the tippy top of that mountain faster than you can say 'Sweet sauce horseshoe toss'!”

XXXXXXXXX

Soon enough, Scrappy, Zipp and Izzy had created a state of the art catapult, the Great Dane pup smiling proudly. “Ta ta ta ta ta ta!! Puppy... power!!”

But then, Matches growled in frustration, asking about him and making Scrappy recorrect himself. “Make that a Scrappy and Matches power!”

“Yeah!”

“Uh, heh...” Sunny looked rather unsure of how dangerous it looked. “Are you sure this'll work, Scrappy?”

“I'm puppy positive. Come on, guys. Hop aboard.”

“Zipper and I are gonna, um... you know... meet you up there,” Pipp said before she and her sister fluttered away, leaving everyone else to get on the catapult, resulting in Scrappy turning to the small green dragon behind him. “Fire away, Matches!”

On this cue, the green dragon lit the ropes on fire, causing them to snap and fling the group up toward the mountain. “WHOA!!!!” Shaggy, Scooby and the remaining ponies screamed. “Whee!!” Scrappy cheered. “We'll be there in nothing flat!”

That's when the ponies, Scrappy and Matches landed on the mountain top, not believing that actually worked... until they saw that Shaggy and Scooby had literally SLAMMED into the side of the rocks. “Like,” Shaggy groaned, “you were right about the flat part, Scrappy.”

“Gee... sorry about that, guys,” Scrappy pulled them onto solid ground. “Uh, okay, Scrappy,” Scooby then giggled. “Come on, everypony,” Sunny urged. “Let's get to the top of this mountain, storm that castle and get Misty and the girls back!”

XXXXXXXXX

In the throne room of Opaline's castle, the Grim Creeper and Midnight finally got the girls and Misty back to the spider witch, who smirked wickedly. “It's been too long since we had company, Creeper.”

“I knew you'd be pleased, Revolta.”

“Yes... because these six will remain here permanently.”

But as Revolta looked at the brainwashed girls and cutie-markless mare, Midnight suddenly thought of something that could prove as a hindrance to Revolta's scheme. “But what if Opaline comes here and tries to take Misty herself? Or, Revolta? What happens when your spell wears off?”

“Don't upset yourself, kirin,” Revolta spat in the poor creature's face. “I'm preparing a spell to make them evil forever. At the stroke of midnight, I'm going to revoltize them!”

“Revoltize them?! Ooh hoo hoo... how revolting,” the Grim Creeper chuckled victoriously, while Revolta did the same... and Midnight looked absolutely horrified. “Yes. Isn't it though?” Revolta cackled. “Now stop cringing and put those girls to work!”

“Yes, Revolta!” the one-eyed creature exclaimed before leading the girls away. However, Midnight wanted to stay behind and ask her mistress about one little thing. “Um... mistress Revolta? Um... about your promise you made me? The one where you'd... help me find my mom and sister?” she timidly spoke up. “You... you will keep your promise... right?”

“Hmmm... well, Midnight, you and the Creeper have successfully brought me the Grimwood girls...” Revolta pretended to think about it. “So I'm going to have to go with... no.”

Midnight Breeze felt the entire world collapse in on her, the one thing she had hoped for her entire life disappearing like fog in the summer light. “You… what…?”

“Your herd has moved on. You were merely a lost pathetic filly when I found you all those years ago... and now you are of no use to me.”

“But…you told me--”

But this only caused Revolta to burst into an evil laughing fit. “And you believed that?! You’re even dumber than I thought you were! I thought eventually you would realize the truth and never bring it up again, but clearly you did not. It’s no wonder I was able to manipulate you with that in the first place. Now... leave and get to your quarters. I no longer want to see you.”

Midnight felt tears come to her eyes, but instead of tears of joy, but of sadness. She was alone... she was going to be alone for the rest of her life. And seeing as if there would be no more need to speak to her former mistress anymore, Midnight nodded before sadly trotting out of the room...

...before collapsing in the hallway in tears. What was she to do now? She missed her mother and sister so much... and now she was NEVER gonna see them again.

Suddenly, through her tears and heartbreak... Midnight Breeze began to sing.

It's hard to remember
A summer or winter
When she hasn't been there for me

A friend and companion
I can always depend on
My mother... that's who I mean

She slowly began to trot to her quarters, looking out at the dark night as she did such.

I've taken for granted seeds that she planted
She's always behind every thing

A teacher a seeker
A both arms outreacher
My mother... that's who I mean

Suddenly, Midnight's mind snapped back to when her mother, Rain Shine, would tuck her and her sister, Orchid Dream, into bed at night. The snuggles... the comforting words... all just a memory.

Wish I could slow down
The hands of time
Keep things the way they are
If she said so, I would give her the world
If I could... I would

My love and my laughter
From here ever after
Is all that she says that she needs

A friend and companion
I can always depend on
My mother... that's who I mean

That's who I mean...

Now what was she to do? She was a monster...

...all of the girls' future suffering would be her fault.

Author's Note

Admiral Producer's story Worthless heavily inspired this scene between Midnight Breeze and Revolta... serious Opaline and Misty relationship.

Read his story, it is amazing!

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/524317/1/worthless/i-did-everything-for-you

"My Mother" is a song from Alvin and the Chipmunks, so all rights go to them

Storming the Castle/Mirror Mayhem

While Midnight Breeze sang her song of sadness, trying to remind herself of her mother and her sister, our group of intrepid heroes finally made it to Revolta's castle, which was just as gloomy and creepy as they thought it would be.

As the others stood outside the door, Shaggy and Zipp tugged at the lock with all their might, but to no avail. “Phew... this pad is really locked, you guys,” Zipp panted, but Scrappy merely patted Matches on the head. “Matches will take care of it. Won't you, Matches?”

That's just what Matches intended to do-- he marched right over to the lock and breathed a mass amount of fire on it, but when the fiery light finally cleared, the lock was still in tact. “Zoinks!” Shaggy realized. “Like, this lock must be flameproof!”

“Allow me, Shaggy,” Scooby volunteered, moving toward the lock. That's when he fidgeted his tail into the lock a bit, moving it around until he was able to open the lock with ease. “Bingo!”

“Whoo-whee! That is one talented tail, Scoob!” Pipp took a picture, and this made the Great Dane giggle in amusement. The group slowly pushed open the doors, trying to avoid making any loud noises while heading into the dark enclosed space. “Gee, this place is humongous!” Scrappy spoke. “Scrappy's right,” said Hitch. “If we're ever gonna find Misty and the girls, we're gonna have to split up.”

As Scrappy, Matches, Sunny and Izzy walked off in one direction, and Hitch and Pipp in another, Shaggy chuckled nervously as he, Scooby and Zipp were the only ones left. “Like, I was afraid he was going to say that.”

“Me too,” Scooby nodded fearfully. “Come on, you chickens,” Zipp pushed Shaggy and Scooby away from the doors. “Let's find our friends and get out of this place.”

XXXXXXXXX

The three friends slunk through the hallways of the castle, looking for any sign of where the girls may be. As he walked behind Zipp, Scooby suddenly noticed a covered item on the wall nearby. When he uncovered it, he found it to be a tall mirror, but when he looked closer at it, his reflection had a horrifying, MONSTROUS appearance. “SHAGGY!!!”

“Like, what's the big idea, Scooby?” Shaggy asked the frightened dog as he pushed them in front of the mirror. But Scooby only responded with two words. “Mirror monster!!”

“Oh, relax, Scoob,” Zipp said as she and Shaggy were naturally unfazed by their monstrous mirror reflections. “It's only a mirror.”

Shaggy even made a couple of funny faces in the mirror to prove it. “See? It's just a silly reflection
like they have at the carnival. It makes you look weird, but it can't hurt you. ”

But something behind them immediately made Scooby volt out of fright. “Scooby, come baaaack!!!”

Turns out, Zipp and Shaggy's monster reflections actually pulled them inside the mirror, and this allowed THEM to jump out of it. “Hey!” Zipp cried, placing her hooves on the mirror. “Let us outta here!”

But Shaggy's mirror monster only cackled before Zipp's reflection smirked. “Why should the heir of the Zephyr Heights throne let some PEASANTS out? I am the future queen! You will all bow down before me, just like all the world will! Mwah ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

And just like that, the mirror monsters left them alone. “Oh no... that's not my mirror MONSTER... that's the version of myself that is totally opposite of me! Our friends are in trouble!” Zipp tried pushing against the mirror. “Come on, Shag-- if we don't get out of here, that twisted me will have all my friends twisted around!!”

XXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the Grim Creeper had Tanis mop the hallways until Revolta was done with her potions, and was watching her every move, making sure she did it perfectly. “That's it. Revolta likes a clean lair. Hey! You missed a spot!”

“I obey only Revolta,” Tanis picked up her mop and bucket and walked off, leaving the Grim Creeper to groan. “Ohhhh, never mind! It'll soon be midnight anyway. And where did that pesky Midnight get to this time?”

XXXXXXXXX

At the same time, Elsa was about to polish the mirror when Zipp and Shaggy's reflections appeared inside it. “Elsa!” Zipp sighed in relief. “Thank goodness!”

“You've gotta warn Scoob,” Shaggy stated, “that the two of us following him isn't us!”

But Elsa mindlessly began to polish the mirror again, responding with something Zipp never expected. “I only obey Revolta!”

“Revolta?” Zipp asked. “Who's she?”

“The witch of the web,” Elsa responded mindlessly. “At midnight, she makes us part of her evil team forever.”

At that moment, Shaggy felt like the realization was hitting him like a high speed train-- the girls were bewitched! “Zoinks! Come back, Elsa! Like, don't listen to Revolta!”

“Listen to your gym teacher!” Zipp added, but Elsa had already walked away, leaving her to groan in frustration. “Great... now how are we gonna get out of this so we can warn the others?”

“Like, I think I found a way,” Shaggy pointed out to the pegasus princess. “Look!”

As it turns out, Misty was mindlessly walking their way, sweeping the hallway before Tanis came and mopped the halls later. “Misty! Over here!” Zipp cried out. “You gotta help us get outta here!”

“I obey only Revolta,” Misty said in a brainwashed voice, and Zipp felt her heart sink. This couldn't be real, but then again... it was.

Misty was under Revolta's spell too, and it was all Zipp's fault.

She was the one who yelled at her, and sent her off alone, not knowing that they were being watched by the so-called "Witch of the Web".

Zipp felt her ears pin, and put a hoof against the glass, even though Misty couldn't put her hoof on hers. “Oh, Misty... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have been so hard on you because you told Scooby and Shaggy about Opaline first. I was the one who made you uncomfortable to tell me, Sunny and the others to begin with. I was just so focused on protecting magic from Opaline, I... I just... accepting you as a friend. But Misty... please, you have to snap out of Revolta's control. We need you... and with or without your cutie mark, you're one of us. Please... just wake up, Misty... wake up...”

Tears began to well in Zipp's eyes, and she rested her forehead on the mirror with some light sobs, while Shaggy could only watch in sadness. But, that look of sadness wouldn't last for long.

Suddenly, Zipp's cutie mark started glowing, and it sent magic out of the mirror and toward Misty's eyes, making them glow a bright gold before they went back to normal. That's when Misty groaned and shook her head. “Zipp...? Shaggy...? What are you doing on the other side of the mirror?”

“Misty!” Shaggy exclaimed, and Zipp's head immediately shot up. “You snapped out of the web witch's brainwashing!”

“I... I guess I did...” Misty rubbed the top of her head. “But... what happened? Where are we?”

“Long story, but we'll explain later,” Zipp told the unicorn. “Right now, you gotta help us outta here before our mirror monsters reek havoc!”

XXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Scooby crept down the hallways, unaware that Zipp and Shaggy's mirror selves were following him... until Shaggy's mirror monster started tickling him. “Cut it out, Shaggy.”

That's when Shaggy's mirror monster chuckled menacingly. “Scooby-Doo?”

“Yes, Shaggy?”

“We're... after you!”

Scooby quickly turned and began to flee, seeing that this was NOT the real Shaggy and Zipp. “Zipp! Shaggy!”

“They can't help you now... nopony can help you now!” Zipp's anti-sparkle self cackled. Scooby then moved onto four paws to try and run away faster, and eventually, he ran into Tanis, who was still mopping the floors. “Tanis! Help!”

“I obey only Revolta,” Tanis said in a brainwashed tone, and Scooby sighed... that meant he would have to take matters into his own paws.

As the mirror monsters rounded the corner, they were shocked to not see a big brown dog, but TWO mummies mopping the floors. “Hey, did a big, ugly dog go by here a minute ago?” Shaggy's mirror monster asked. “Ugly? Uh, I mean... yeah!” Scooby nodded in the opposite direction. “That-a-way!”

“Thanks!” the mirror monsters growled before they ran off. “It worked!” Scooby giggled and continued to mop, thinking he could keep up the act for a while longer... before he bumped into the mirror monsters again, making Shaggy's monster growl. “You can't fool the mirror monsters! RAGH!!!!”

Scooby screamed and ran off, tossing the bucket onto Shaggy's mirror monster's head, with him struggling to get it off. On the other side of the hallways, Sunny and Izzy heard Scooby's screams for help down the hall. “It sounds like Scooby's in trouble!”

“Yeah!” Matches nodded, and they all ran in the direction of the mirror monsters... right past the mirror where Zipp and Shaggy (the real ones) were trapped in. “Sunny!” Zipp cried, pounding the mirror. “Izzy!”

“Zoinks!” Shaggy panted. “I've spent a lot of time in front of a mirror, but never this long behind it...”

XXXXXXXXX

That's when the group finally saw the mirror monsters struggling to get the bucket off, and Shaggy jumped onto the monster double of Scooby's best friend. “I'll help you get that off, Shaggy.”

Scrappy heaved to get it off, and finally he was able to, much to the mirror monster's relief. “Thank you!”

“Hey! You're not Shaggy, and you look better with this on!” Scrappy stuck tbe bucket back on, but the imposter would not let him go, and the Zipp imposter had both her hooves on Izzy and Sunny, holding then down by their tails. “Let us go, you imposters!” Sunny strained. “I'm warning you!” Scrappy warned. “Let me go, or prepare to splat!”

“You don't scare us!” Zipp's reflection sneered... just before Matches set fire to their rears, sending them running as they dropped their captives. “Gee, I think they got the message, Matches,” Scrappy spoke. “But just in case...”

That's when Matches blew a second round of fire, and Scrappy smiled proudly at this. “Nice work, Matches! Now we'd better find the real Shaggy and Zipp, and my uncle Scoob.”

“Good idea, Scrappy,” Izzy said as they walked. “Gee, it makes me wonder where those imposters came from...”

XXXXXXXXX

Turns out, the mirror monsters had gotten so terrified by Matches' fire, they leapt back into the mirror and sent the real Shaggy and Zipp outside. “Guys!” Misty cheered. “You're out!”

“It's about time too,” Shaggy pointed out. “Come on, let's find the others.”

XXXXXXXXX

At the same time, Scooby was still in his mummy disguise, creeping down the halls when he heard voices. As he turned to see who it was, he accidentally hit a torch, causing the wall to turn just as Hitch and Pipp passed by. “Gee...” Hitch hummed. “I-I thought I heard something.”

On the other side of the wall was Revolta's lair, and Revolta, Creeper and Midnight saw Scooby in his disguise. “What are you doing in here?” Revolta spat, thinking that Scooby was Tanis, while Midnight knew better. “Are you through mopping the corridors?”

Seeing Midnight quickly nod behind her mistress, that led Scooby to nod as well. “Yeah.”

“Then you and the kirin start over there.”

“I obey Revolta!” Scooby turned and walked off so he and Midnight could talk alone, and the Creeper was hit in the head with Scooby's mop. “There's something funny about that mummy.”

“Stop dawdling, Creeper. Midnight approaches, and this potion must be ready.”

As the Creeper handed ingredients to Revolta, Midnight finally got the chance to turn to Scooby as they mopped. “Scooby, what are you doing here?!” she whispered. “If Revolta finds out who you really are, you could get in big trouble!”

“We had to come and find the girls,” Scooby whispered. “What about you...?”

Midnight was about to respond, when the Creeper accidentally grabbed Scooby's tail, thinking it to be slimy salamander tails. “I knew this was no dummy. I knew this was no mummy!” he declared, whipping off Scooby's disguise, making Midnight gasp in horror. “It's that meddling dog of the Grimwood's!”

Revolta inspected Scooby for a moment, scoffing to herself. “He's too stupid to have come alone.”

“Stupid?!” Scooby barked. That seemed to be the final straw for Midnight, so she leapt up and got in front of Scooby so her mistress couldn't hurt him. “He ,is NOT stupid! He's the sweetest, bravest, kindest dog in the world and I'm happy he and his friends saved my life back in the Barren Bog! Cause you two would have just left me back in the bog to be eaten by alligators.”

Revolta stared at the kirin for a few moments, just before she gave the kirin a menacing glare. “So... you have betrayed me,” she sneered as the Creeper grabbed her leg. “Dispose of them, and any more of their foolish friends.”

“Yes, Revolta!” the Creeper said as he took them away, and Midnight and Scooby looked incredibly worried... what could they do now?

XXXXXXXXX

At the same time, Misty, Shaggy and Zipp found Winnie and Sibella dusting some of Revolta's items, screeching to a halt. “Winnie! Sibella! Like, thank goodness we found you,” Shaggy said before gesturing to his watch. “It's almost midnight. We've got to get out of here before you get revoltized!”

“Whatever that is,” Misty stated, “it CAN'T be be good!”

“We obey only Revolta,” the girls said before doing their duties. “Ohhh...” Zipp groaned, slapping a wing to her face. “What a revolting development that is.”

“HELP!!!!” Scooby screamed, and this made Shaggy and the girls' eyes widen. “Zoinks... sounds like Scooby needs me more than I do!”

Shaggy and the girls immediately bolted off, and Scooby screamed for help again alongside of Midnight, and Pipp (after she and Hitch joined with Sunny's group), who heard Scooby screaming first, gasped. “That's Scooby! And he's in trouble!”

“Hang on, Uncle Scooby!” Scrappy cried. “We're coming!!”

That's when the group met in a circular room with a cold metal floor, but they didn't see Midnight anywhere. “I'm so glad you came to help your friends.”

Everyone gasped at seeing the Creeper dangling Scooby and Midnight above them by just their tails, looking utterly terrified. “HELP!!!” Scooby screamed. “Fellas!”

“Put Scooby and Midnight down, you big meanie!” Izzy stomped her hoof fiercely. “I've just begun to be mean!” the Creeper cackled, and opened a lever, which caused a hole in the floor to suddenly open up. “Zoinks!” Shaggy cried. “I'm beginning to get the idea.”

“Like I said, the fun is just beginning!”

And just like that, the Grim Creeper plummeted a screaming Midnight and Scooby into the waters below them, angering Scrappy to his full extent. “Hey! You can't do that to my uncle Scooby!”

“Or Midnight!” Sunny declared. “Don't worry, you'll be joining them.”

“No!!” Midnight cried. “STOP!!”

But the Creeper pushed the lever down all the way, causing everyone to fall into the water with a massive splash. This caused the Creeper to cackle again. “Farewell! Hee hee ha ha ha ha ha!!”

“Nice try, buster!” Scrappy spoke. “But we know how to swim!”

“So does the giant well-dweller!”

“Well-dweller?!” Shaggy exclaimed before he and Scooby noticed the water bubbling. “Shaggy! Look!”

Out of the water, cackling maliciously, emerged a huge purple sea monster with three green eyes and sharp teeth. “Zoinks!” Shaggy wailed. “Like, I don't think this well-dweller means well, Scoob!”

“Ha! This second-rate sea serpent can't scare me,” Scrappy boasted. “Turn up the heat, Matches!”

But Matches couldn't get any dragon fire to emerge, making the group that much more terrified... it seemed as if they would be finished, ro the bad guys would win...

...and Revolta would go after Equestria next.

A Musical Escape

Back at the Calloway Military School, none of the cadets could rest easy, knowing they left the bog and the girls in such a shambled state. “Tug,” Miguel groaned, “I can't sleep.”

“I know,” Tug nodded, also feeling guilty. “I guess we should've helped look for those Grimwood girls.”

“Affirmative,” Jamal nodded. “It's the Calloway code to help ladies in distress.”

“And,” Grunt added, “they did help us out of that quicksand.”

That's when Tug made the final decision for everyone. “Well, don't just stand there, cadets! We're on a rescue mission!”

“AFFIRMATIVE!!”

XXXXXXXXX

Back at Revolta's castle, the witch in question turned back to her one loyal minion. “Did you take care of that dog and his friends?”

“The well-dweller will make quick work of them.”

“Good,” Revolta nodded. “Now gather the girls. My potion is ready. And the midnight hour draws near. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

XXXXXXXXX

Back in the pit of the well-dweller, everypony was backed up against the wall as the monster got closer, and eventually, Pipp nudged Hitch a bit with her foreleg. “Um, Mr. Animal Pony? Mind talking a little sense into this guy before we're all devoured into pony snacks?! That won't make a good PonyGram feed!”

Hitch gulped nervously but nodded, sloshing through the water as he stepped closer. “Uh... hey there, big guy. Say, me and my friends have to save the girl ghouls from becoming brainwashed, so... what would convince you to let us go and save them before midnight?”

The well-dweller seemed to think on this for a moment before responding in a language that Hitch could thankfully understand. “He says if we can find a way to entertain him, he'll let us go... but he's not too happy, so it'll have to be big time entertainment.”

“Oh great...” Shaggy groaned. “Like, we're doomed!”

“Oh, don't say that, Shaggy-Waggly!” Izzy said in comfort. “I'm sure we can find SOMETHING to make his frown turn upside down! I mean... maybe we can make him his own Seńor Butterscotch!”

“No... Shaggy was right the first time,” Midnight said, depressingly sitting beside Matches, eyes beginning to fill with tears. “I'm so sorry... this is all my fault...”

“What are you talking about, Midnight?” Sunny asked in concern. The kirin only responded with a sigh. “Is it true that Equestrians still like old legends?”

Misty and Izzy nodded in confirmation, and Midnight began to tell a story of her own. “According to kirin legend, when Twilight Sparkle put the magic into the three crystals, the kirin left Equestria through a hidden portal beneath Canterlot castle and came to this world. We often stayed away from mortal cities in case we weren't welcome there. But... it didn't matter if we went to a mortal city or not... as long as I still had my family.”

She pulled an old picture of her mane and gave it to Misty, so she, Sunny, Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy could look at it. On the picture was a younger Midnight, along with an adult kirin with tan fur and carapaces, a green mane and tail tuft and red eyes.

On younger Midnight's other side was a kirin with creamish-brown fur, dark purple carapaces, a purplish-pink mane and tail tuft and magenta eyes.

When the group got done looking at it, Midnight's ears had folded back in sadness. “My mom Morning Mist and my sister Orchid Dream... my best friends. I got separated from my herd one night during a storm, and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find them anywhere. When I came upon Revolta's castle, she promised me that if I helped her get the girls, she would help me find them. But... she lied. Now we're gonna be here forever and it's all my fault! I... I'm so... so sorry...”

Tears began to pour down her cheeks as her shoulders bobbed up and down in sobs. Suddenly, she flinched at a gentle hoof on her shoulder, turning to see Sunny and Misty next to her. “We're not mad at you, Midnight,” Sunny said gently. “Misty is actually a lot like you. An evil alicorn made her serve the alicorn in order to gain a cutie mark, but... she lied and was never gonna give Misty one.”

“Oh, Misty...” Midnight frowned. “I'm so sorry.”

“I'd rather not get all the details,” Misty said with a slight frown. “But I do get it. And maybe we can help you find them once we rescue the Grimwood girls. Hoof to heart.”

“...right. Hoof to heart,” Midnight nodded with a small smile before turning up toward the well-dweller. “I've been doing some studying in the castle library about the well-dweller's behavioral habits, and they like two things... devouring their prey in one fell swoop... and music.”

“Music... that's it!” Sunny realized. “Listen, I have a plan, but I'll need help from everybody. Pipp, play the song from the Manesquerade Ball!”

“I'm on it!” Pipp tapped a button on her phone, and the ponies began to dance in unison, catching the attention of the well-dweller and encouraging Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy and Midnight to join in while Matches held onto the phone. That's when the singing began.

Sunny: Somepony give me a shimmy
Somepony give me a shake
Give me a twist and shout
And just feel the bass (Hey, hey!)

Pipp: Come on and let your mane down
Yeah, pony, play

Izzy: You gotta show me
How you work it today

All: Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony's got the moves (Show it to me!)
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony move your hooves (Ow!)

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh

Hitch: Shake it, shake it, shake it

Sunny: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

All: Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh

Hitch: Shake it, shake it, shake it

Sunny: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

The well-dweller seemed to be enjoying himself, and this prompted the group to keep proceeding with their song and dance.

Izzy: Somepony give me a whistle

Midnight, Izzy and Pipp: Somepony give me a clap

Hitch: Give me that rockin' out
And never look back (Uh-huh!)

Midnight: You gotta let your mane down
Yeah, let it sway, yeah (Let it sway!)

Hitch: You gotta show me
How you're slayin' today

All: Dance, feel the rhythm (Yeah!)
Everypony's got the moves
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony move your hooves (Ow!)

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh

Izzy: Shake it, shake it, shake it

All: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh
Shake it, shake it, shake it!

Midnight: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

All: Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony's got the moves (Ohhhh, yeah!)
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony move your hooves

Midnight and Sunny: Oww!!

The group panted as the well-dweller clapped, suddenly forming a staircase out of there with his back, and the group instantly climbed out. “Thanks for the lift!” Pipp called. “I'll send you an audio soundtrack!”

Now they would have to hurry-- midnight was quickly approaching, and they still had girl ghouls to save.

Midnight's Music Moment/Farewell to Grimwood

Miss Grimwood, as well as the girls' fathers, were so relieved to see the girls back at the school safe and sound, so they decided to have a huge party in order to celebrate their welcome home... with Midnight as the headliner.

When Pipp asked her to sing on the way home, Midnight sung a tune that her mother sang to her and her sister when they were foals, and Pipp was blown away so much that she was able to convince Midnight to sing at the party. And against her better judgement... Midnight agreed to it.

Don't get me wrong, Midnight loved to sing, as all kirins did... but she had never sung in front of an audience before, and all the worries of what could go wrong filled her head.

How could she go on when she felt like everypony would be keeping their eyes on her all throughout the performance?

XXXXXXXXX

Midnight whimpered to herself as Pipp, Sunny and Izzy helped her with her makeup and bright yellow dress that chosen to wear, alongside a cutie mark pendant Izzy made her, of a microphone with a rainbow coming out of the top of it. “Ponies, I appreciate all you're doing to help me, but I don't know if I can go on... I've never sung in front of anypony else before... especially ghouls and monsters.”

“I know how you feel,” Pipp said as she brushed Midnight's mane and Izzy polished her kirin horn. “Before my very first performance in Zephyr Heights... I had an anxiety attack, wondering if that's really what my cutie mark wanted me to do.”

“Really?” Midnight looked stunned at this. “But... but you're Pipp Petals! One of the best singers I've ever met!”

“Everypony can get stage fright,” Sunny told the kirin. “What matters is how you deal with that fear.”

She turned Midnight around to the mirror to let her look at herself, just as Scrappy peered around the curtain. “They're ready for you, Midnight.”

Sunny then smiled at the kirin, who was taking a deep breath. “So... are you ready?”

“Yeah... I think I am.”

XXXXXXXXX

On the other side of the stage, the curtain slowly began to rise as Matches started the music, which started to come out through speakers around the audience.

I′m feelin' fresh
Like my mane is on fleek
Happiness is all I need
Spreadin′ love from you to me (Uh, uh)

At the end of the final verse, a spotlight shone on Midnight, and everyone in the school for ghouls began to cheer for the reformed kirin, singing one of Pipp's most popular songs.

Somethin' about the way I'm feelin' (Feelin′)
Like everypony got a glow (Whoa oh-oh)
Shinin′ brightly with the power (Power)
To spread the colors of the rainbow (Rainbow)

Then, for the first time in many moons, Midnight used her kirin magic at full force, creating a spectacular rainbow that flew right above the audience.

I got my make-up on
Got that glitter and glam
On this my favorite song
Yeah, they're playin′ my jam
I feel beautiful, I feel powerful
I feel me

I'm feelin′ fresh
Like my mane is on fleek
Happiness is all I need
Spreadin' love from you to me

I′m feelin' fresh
Magic all around my friends
Celebration never ends
Oh, 'cause we always attend

Ooh-hoo-hoo, ooh
I'm my best self, everypony can tell
Ooh-hoo-hoo, ooh
I'm my best self, everypony can tell

That's when Izzy pushed out a mirror-- a prop Midnight wanted to use for one of the verses.

When did this mirror get so gorgeous? (Gorgeous)
Who′s that? Is that me? (Me)

I got my make-up on
Got that glitter and glam
On this my favorite song
Yeah, they're playin′ my jam
I feel beautiful, I feel powerful
I feel me

That's when Midnight leapt down from the stage and started dancing and prancing with the audience... including the girls, Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy and Misty.

I'm feelin′ fresh
Like my mane is on fleek
Happiness is all I need
Spreadin' love from you to me

I′m feelin' fresh
Magic all around my friends
Celebration never ends
Oh, 'cause we always attend

Ooh-hoo-hoo, ooh
I'm my best self, everypony can tell
Ooh-hoo-hoo, ooh
I'm my best self, everypony can tell

Once the song was over, everyone cheered and congratulated Midnight on a job well done... but one voice stopped all the others... an unfamiliar one too.

“M-Midnight...?”

The kirin in question froze with wide eyes before she turned toward the doors, seeing two familiar kirin standing there. “Mom...? Orchid...?”

“NIGHTY!!!” the younger kirin squealed and barreled into her sister, and gave her the tightest hug as her mother kissed her so many times they lost count. “Oh... oh my baby... we missed you so much...”

“How did you find me...?”

“We followed the music, Nighty!” Orchid spoke up.“It led us right to you!”

Midnight turned to the gratefully smiling Ponies with her own grateful grin. “Thank you... thank you so much... for everything.”

Suddenly, a portal opened up behind them, causing Hitch to sigh. “That's our ride home, everypony.”

“Thank you for everything, Sunny Starscout and friends,” Miss Grimwood said. “Come on, all-- let's five them a real Grimwood send off! A one... a two... and--”

And the last thing the ponies witnessed before thy stepped through the portal was everyone giving them a howl of praises, and as they stepped through, they couldn't wait for the next adventure.

The Final Fight

Revolta was hard at work, keeping a close eye on the cauldron as the Grim Creeper placed helmets on the girl ghouls' heads. “Prepare the girls, Creeper. The potion is ready.”

“Yes, Revolta.”

“When the clock strikes midnight,” Revolta went on, “those girls will be revoltized!”

“Ha ha ha ha! How wretchedly revolting for them. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”

XXXXXXXXX

As the cadets flew in the open skies in search of the girls, Miguel used the scope to scan around when a familiar chittering. “I'm picking up bats!”

“Any visual sightings?” Tug asked. “Negative,” Miguel responded before he spotted something that made him change his answer. “Hold it! Sound emanating from that castle. Coordinates 30, 18, 52.”

Jamal checked the map and moved his eyes to those coordinates to see where exactly they were, and the result of that made him tense up nervously. “Castle Revolta!”

“Hang on, cadets!” Tug steered the vehicle toward the castle. “We'll check it out!”

XXXXXXXXX

At the same time, the group had arrived at the same wall that Scooby had used to enter Revolta's lair, but to their dismay, it wouldn't budge, no matter how much they pushed and shoved.

Midnight strained as she pushed against the wall, turning to the Great Dane next to her. “Are you sure this is how you got into Revolta's lair, Scoob?”

Scooby stopped pushing in order to answer her. “I think so.”

“Gee,” Scrappy spoke up, “there must be another way in.”

“Like, there's no time,” Shaggy checked his watch as the wall opened up behind him, Scooby, Misty and Midnight. “It's midniiiight!!!”

As the boys and their two friends fell back behind the wall and down the slide, screaming as the others had no idea where they had gone, that's when the clock finally struck midnight, making Revolta smirk. “The time has come.”

She dipped a tube into the cauldron, which sent the potion through several different tunes that went into the helmets that the girls were currently wearing. As this happened, the girls began to change as Revolta began to chant. “The chance has begun. As anyone can plainly see... they're turning evil, just like me.”

Winnie then let out a howl of terror, to which the Calloway cadets heard from a mile away. “Whoa...” Miguel shuddered. “I'd know that howl anywhere.”

“Affirmative,” Jamal nodded. “It's those Grimwood girls for sure.”

“We're going in!” Tug guided the copter closer to the roof, where the cadets heard Revolta talking to her loyal servant. “Yes, no more nice girls. Just think, Creeper... I'll have an evil SWAT team to do my bidding.”

“Ha ha ha ha! The world will be in the palm of your hands, Revolta!”

Suddenly the wall opened up, and out slid Shaggy, Scooby, Midnight and Misty, barreling into Winnie and Tanis, knocking them over and out of the potion's effects. Revolta sneered upon seeing them, turning to glare at the Creeper. “I thought you got rid of them!”

“I-I won't fail this time, Revolta!” the Creeper promised, reaching out and grabbing the four of them with his grimy tentacles. “Gotcha!”

“Winnie!” Tanis looked at the unfamiliar surroundings. “Where are we?”

“I don't know,” Winnie spoke up, just before looking over at the girls instructors. “But our teachers are in trouble!”

“HELP!!!” Scooby, Shaggy and their friends screamed, and Tanis and Winnie joined their friends in pulling against the creature. “Revolta!” the one-eyed monster yelled. “Give me a hand! Or two! Or three!”

“Don't worry!” Revolta turned to her spider-bats and zapped them with her magic. “My spider-bats
will put those girls back under my spell!”

The spider-bats quickly flew into action, but the Calloway cadets had a plan of their own. “Don't panic, girls!” Tug assured. “We'll rescue you!”

Grunt then dropped a water balloon onto one of the spider-bats, causing it to black out. “Direct hit!”

“Affirmative, Grunt. You're batting 1,000.”

Winnie couldn't believe what they were seeing, so she and Tanis let go out of shock and skepticism. “You're gonna rescue us?”

“That's a laugh.”

“WHOA!!!!” the four friends screamed as they were flung into the Creeper, causing them to burst through the wall to reveal the others on the other side. “See, everypony?” Scrappy said proudly. “I knew my uncle Scooby would come and get us.”

“Wrong!” the Creeper stated, reaching a tentacle and grabbing Scrappy and Matches. “I've got all of you!”

Matches tried to defend the group with his dragon fire, but it turns out he was still out of steam. That's when Sunny had an idea. “We may not have dragon fire, but we do have our cutie mark unity magic!”

Thinking hard about her endangered friends, Sunny swiftly turned into an alicorn and launched a blast at the Creeper, knocking him back, even though he still had Shaggy, Scooby, Scrappy and some of their friends in his clutches. “Whooooo-hoooo!!” Midnight cheered. “Go get him, Sunny!”

“Zipp, Pipp! You two and me will the cadets with the spider-bats!” Sunny instructed. “Misty, keep your eye on the Creeper! The rest of you, get the girls!”

The group then split up to cover their duties, while Pipp and Zipp threw water balloons at the spider-bats, Sunny hit them with full-on magical blasts. “Bat's eye!” Grunt cheered as he hit another spider-bats, and Elsa rolled her eyes. “You Calloway cadets are such show-offs.”

“I'll teach you to mess with Revolta!” the spider-witch threatened. “Take that!”

“Whoa!!” Pipp dodged one of Revolta's magic blasts. “Tug!” Zipp shouted. “Institute evasive action, pronto!”

“Roger, and out of here!” Tug nodded and piloted the copter a short distance away, but it was enough to make Revolta think they fled with an evil cackle. “That's the last we'll see of them.”

Tanis pulled Sibella's helmet off her head, and as she flew back, Hitch caught the tiny mummy in her hooves. “Gee,” Tanis said to Sibella, “you've been under the hair dryer so long, you were getting cranky.”

“Get back under there!” Revolta spat at the girls threateningly. “Or else!”

Elsa merely crossed her arms as Zipp unfolded her wings threateningly. “You can't tell Zipp Storm or Elsa Frankenteen what to do!”

“Then watch what I can DO to your friends!!”

Revolta sent a magic zap toward Scooby, who was struck head on, transforming Scooby into a toad! Midnight and Misty screamed in terror while Shaggy looked down in fright. “Zoinks! Like, wart in the world has she done to you, Scoob?”

The toad-turned Scooby only ribbited and leapt right into Revolta's hands. “I'll change the others into something worse than toads unless you girls obey me!”

Sibella sighed reluctantly, and the ponies reluctantly sat down. “You win, Revolta,” the vampiress sighed as Scooby hopped into hiding... but it didn't last long when a spider-bat spotted him and chased him across the table, knocking more ingredients into the potion, turning it from green to magenta, and causing the girls to become even sweeter than before. “Ahh!!” Revolta cried. “Something's gone wrong with my formula!”

“But something's going right with Matches!” Scrappy pointed to the dragon, who breathed fire on the spider-bat in order to save Scooby, and the spider-bat knocked over Revolta's entire potion system, much to her annoyance. Deciding that it was time to end this once and for all, Tanis began to spin one of her wraps around like a lasso. “I want that wand, Revolta!”

She threw the wrap around the wand and pulled it back just as Pipp was trying to protect Shaggy from being zapped as well, and Misty took the mummy onto her back after breaking free and rushed Tanis over to Scooby. “Creeper!” Revolta shrieked. “Stop them!”

“Yes, Revolta!” the Creeper began to obey, but screeched to a halt when he approached Matches. “I mean, no, Revolta! YIKES!!”

“I want our Scooby-Doo back!” Tanis cried and zapped Scooby again, causing him to be returned to normal, much to Misty's relief, and Scooby's. “Thanks, Tanis!”

“I'll take that, Tanis,” Pipp took the wand from the mummy. “My wand!” Revolta cried. “Bring it here... obey me!”

“I think I'll put it where it belongs,” Pipp tossed the wand into the cauldron. “In the fire!”

“MY WAND!!” Revolta shrieked as the potion began to rapidly bubble. “You fool! It's over-generizing the potion. It will explode!”

“Explode?!” Winnie howled. “We're gonna be gone with the wand!”

“The sisters, Sunny and I could fly us out,” Sibella said, “but we can only take one at a time!”

“No offense,” panted Hitch nervously, “but I think we're all out of time!”

Suddenly, a rope ladder, lowered by the cadets, appeared from the hole in the roof. “Negative!” Tug shouted. “Calloway will save the day! Hop aboard!”

Everyone who couldn't fly either hopped onto the ladder or onto the back of Sunny and the sisters, flying them out quickly just before the entire cast exploded, probably leaving Revolta and Creeper to perish within the explosion. “Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed. “Looks like Revolta's gonna need a redecorator!”

“Yeah-- really!” Scooby giggled along with Midnight and Pipp. “Hang on, girls!” Tug shouted down to them. “We'll have you back to school in no time!”

“Back to school?” Elsa asked. “How about dropping us back in the bog?”

“Yeah!” Tanis agreed. “We never got to take a dip in the quicksand.”

“We'll never understand girls!” Miguel groaned, leaving Baxter to nod. “Especially Grimwood girls.”

The group laughed as they flew through the open skies, when Pipp suddenly had an idea, flying over to Midnight's spot on the ladder with Tanis on her back. “Midnight? Can I ask you something?”

The kirin quickly nodded. “Anything, Pipp!”

“...how do you feel about music?”