G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur

Chapters

The Maretime Bay Summer Solstice Festival
Legend of the Phantosaur/New-Age Hypnosis
Shaggy's Overreaction to Fear/A Desert Getaway
Welcome to La Serena
Attack of the Ghost Dinosaur
Clues at the Dig/Shaggy's Biker Beatdown
Velma's Date/Preparing for the Motorcycle Race
The Motorcycle Race and the First Phantosaur's Unmasking
Case Closed?/Another Batch of Dino Attacks
The Truth in the Caverns
Through the Caverns/Shaggy Saves the Day
Returning Home/A Job Well Done

The Maretime Bay Summer Solstice Festival

It had been about two weeks since the Mane 6 returned from their latest Unity Quest, helping the Jetsons, along with some WWE Superstars and some flying leopards, save Orbit City from Allura and Big Show (the latter was who Allura was using to get what she wanted, since she already had her own star shard).

And since then, things have been peaceful... well, as peaceful as things could be.

One of the most popular events in Maretime Bay history was approaching-- the Summer Solstice Festival, and the Mane 6 had been busy helping to set everything up, like the food vendors, getting entertainment, setting up the games, and Sunny's favorite part... the Summer Solstice Firework Show at the end of the night.

But this year's festival was going to be different-- the dragons from the Isle of Scaly were going to be in attendance, so the ponies had to be sure that things were going to go smoothly to please their dragon guests... especially since the dragons were going to be bringing a tradition of their own to the festival this year.

But then again, we all know that a Unity Quest will be waiting around the corner for our Equestrian heroes.

XXXXXXXX

“Sunny, according to my official tracking radar,” Zipp said as she glanced at her FlyPad, “Spike and the dragons are only a few minutes away from us!”

“Great work, Zipp. Let us know when they come into sight,” Sunny told the pegasus mare before turning to the rest of the festival committee. “All right, let’s make sure everything is set to go. Fifi, do all the food vendors have the required ingredients?”

“They sure do!” the lavender pegasus mare saluted. “And in record time too! Plus, nothing spilled!”

“Great work!” Sunny checked the food off the list. “Entertainment?”

“Electric Blue is all ready to go whenever you give the signal, Sunny,” Pipp said as she fluttered over. “Ruby Jubilee and the Dreamlands couldn’t make it, but I’m sure the fans will be over the moon to have Electric Blue here, nonetheless.”

Sunny nodded and checked entertainment off the list. “Crafts and games?”

“Those are all set up too!” Izzy chirped. “And Spike told me that if the foals and fillies wanted,” Misty added, “he and the rest of the dragons would give out free rides!”

“Great! Something else to add rules for!” Hitch pranced in place, causing Sparky to grumble and blow a raspberry at Hitch’s idea of ‘fun’. “Okay, Sparkeroni. Fun first, rules later.”

“And all the festival decorations look perfect!” Posey concluded the pre-festival report with a smile. “As they should be, since I told Izzy and Misty exactly where to put what.”

“Then, it looks like everything is ready for the festival to kick off,” Sunny smiled. “And not a moment too soon!” Zipp said, pointing to the sky. “Here come the guests of honor!”

True to her word, the ponies looked up and saw all the dragons from the Isle of Scaly (Dragon Lord Spike, Blaize Skysong, Luxxe, Leaf, Tumble, Fountain, Jade and Lava) flying through the clouds and descending on the edge of town. Spike was first to approach Sunny with a bow. “Sunny, we appreciate you and your friends inviting us to your Summer Solstice celebration.”

“Yeah! But, uh… what exactly IS a summer solstice?” Luxxe asked in confusion. “It’s the longest day of summer,” Zipp explained, “when the sun is out even longer than usual.”

“But the night will come,” Misty quickly added so the dragons wouldn’t panic, “even if the sun is out a little longer than usual.”

“Well, we’re happy you invited us nonetheless,” Jade smiled before sniffing the air. “Is that… dragon berries I smell?”

“It is! We set up a whole patch, along with some crystals in case you guys got hungry,” Sunny smiled. “Excellent,” Spike nodded. “And, we have a tradition of our own we’d like to share with you all as well-- the lighting of the Dragon Torch. It’s normally used to signify special occasions, but we’re happy to extend the tradition to ponies who brought back Equestria’s magic.”

“Thank you so much, Spike,” Zipp smiled. “Well, what are we all waiting for? Let’s get this festival started!”

XXXXXXXX

Pretty soon, all the ponies of Maretime Bay were gathered together for the start of the festival, standing with the dragons as the Mane 6 stood on the stage, with Sunny speaking into the microphone as the official spokespony. “Attention, Maretime Bay citizens and those beyond Equestria! Welcome to the Maretime Bay Summer Solstice Festival! And for the first time in moons, we have all three pony kinds, plus dragons, here and ready to celebrate the longest day of summer!”

Everyone cheered and squealed in delight-- the dragons even roared in pleasure. “We’re so honored that our friends from the Isle of Scaly could join us this year,” Sunny continued, giving Spike and the dragons a wink. “And, if you foals or fillies want to get a free dragon ride, see Sheriff Hitch and Zipp for details. And now, without further ado, please welcome your entertainment for this evening-- the one, the only… ELECTRIC BLUE!!”

At this, the ponies cheered as Electric Blue took the stage and everypony began to explore the festival grounds, feeling that this was going to be the best festival in moons.

XXXXXXXX

The festival seemed to be going rather smoothly after the first couple of hours had passed. Electric Blue rocked the stage, ponies bought different kinds of food, played games, made things at the arts and crafts table and best of all, the young ponies got to ride giant dragons, who were life-size gentle giants, and had incredible abilities.

While Spike, Blaize, Lava and Tumble took the first couple of fillies and foals on the first set of rides, the Mane 6 decided to talk to the other dragons about what had been going on since they last saw one another-- both good things and terrifying things.

Needless to say, the dragons were a bit surprised at what their pony friends told them. “Seriously?” Luxxe asked in shock. “You guys went to the future to stop Allura from taking over Orbit City?”

“And you saved a haunted summer camp by catching some seriously bad creeps?” Fountain asked with surprise. “Wow... you guys have a lot more guts than I do.”

“Heh... thanks, Fountain. I can't say that it's been easy,” Pipp said, “but... we have to do what we have to do in order to protect countless realms, not just Equestria, from mortal enemies.”

“Dragon Lord Spike always said that since we've met, you've showed that you're just as brave as the Guardians of Harmony once were,” Jade spoke up. “Anyone who can face the evil fire alicorn Opaline and make it out alive earns a lot of respect in my book.”

Leaf shuddered at the mention of Opaline’s name. “That name still makes my scales stand up...”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry about that,” Misty told the dragons as Spike and the others returned and let the foals and fillies off. “All right, little ones, go and enjoy the games,” Spike said. “We’ll take a quick break and be ready for the next batch of riders in, say... a half an hour.”

“Thanks, Mr. Spike, sir!” a young colt giggled before he and his friends ran past the Mane 6 and into the festival grounds again. “If everything goes well,” Blaize said to the Dragon Lord and ponies, “we should be ready to light the Dragon Torch by the time the sun goes down.”

“And before the Summer Solstice Firework Show starts!” Sunny giggled excitedly. “You dragons are gonna love that part!”

“We're excited about it too,” Fountain said before glancing down and gasping. “But that's something I'm never gonna get used to!”

The ponies looked down at what Fountain was looking at and noticed their cutie marks were glowing. “I guess that's our cue to get moving to the Brighthouse,” Hitch said before handing Sparky over to Spike. “Be a good boy for Spike and the rest of your aunts and uncles, okay Sparky-Malarky?”

Sparky nodded in affirmation at this. “You ponies go do what you need to do,” Lava smiled. “We'll take care of the festival and this little guy until you get back.”

“Thanks, Lava,” Sunny said with a smile. “All right, ponies-- to the Brighthouse! We have a new Unity Quest to go on!”

Legend of the Phantosaur/New-Age Hypnosis

Immediately after their encounter with the ghostly dinosaur, the ponies, the Mystery Inc crew and Queen Silhouette took Shaggy back to Mr. Hubley at the spa, where they laid Shaggy down in a super comfortable bed, and they took shifts watching over him throughout the night.

Misty couldn’t help but feel responsible-- she had totally discarded the fact that Scooby had saw the dinosaur earlier and didn’t take any other precautions when Scooby tried to let them know about it the first time.

Now, all they could do right now was wait for Shaggy to wake from his fear-induced mini-coma, and then try and find a way to unmask this ghostly dinosaur before the chaos it created got too out of control.

XXXXXXXX

Sunny had taken the last shift by the time the sun began to rise, and everyone got up around the same time to check up and see Shaggy… only to find out that Sunny was fast asleep right next to him. “Sunny?” Hitch whispered as he shook her shoulder gently. “Sunny, wake up!”

“Huh?! What?!” Sunny muttered as she woke up and saw her friends standing nearby. “Oh… hey, guys. Sorry, I got a little tired so I decided to take a nap.”

“I guess we all needed our sleep,” Silhouette said solemnly. “I hadn’t had a peaceful night’s sleep since my colony was attacked. Thank you all for letting me stay here.”

“Hey, it’s the least we could do after you helped us save our friends last night,” Fred told the dragon queen. “Besides, you need some time to get back on your feet-- er, claws… paws? I’m not really sure what to say.”

Silhouette chuckled lightly at this, smiling faintly just before Shaggy began to turn in his sleep and mumble lightly, causing Daphne to smile. “I think he’s coming out of it!”

“I told you the aromatherapy system I set up for him would work,” Mr. Hubley said with a smile. “Here, let me try a little… juniper.”

He put a drop of juniper oil into the water next to Shaggy, but the smell of the juniper didn't seem to have any kind of effect at first. That’s when Scooby got an idea and grabbed a box of Scooby Snacks before beginning to dig through it. “Scooby!” Velma scolded with a frown. “Don’t you think of anything other than food?”

Scooby grabbed one singular snack in his mouth before dropping it in the water, and after a minute, an aroma began to fill the room, causing Silhouette to sniff the air. “Ooh… a meat-berry medley! A nice choice.”

And it appeared to work-- after the smell reached Shaggy, he woke up to find everyone staring at him. “Like… what happened?”

“I’m sorry I doubted you,” Velma apologized to Scooby, rubbing his head. “Aww… that’s okay,” Scooby accepted the apology before digging in and holding a treat out for the dragon queen. “Want one?”

Silhouette sniffed the snack with interest before taking a small bite, her eyes lighting up with interest. “Hmm… that’s actually not a bad flavor! Anyone else want to try?”

“No thanks, your highness,” Pipp said as she tried not to gag. “We’re good.”

“It’s all right, Shabby. You’re in a safe place,” Mr. Hubley reassured Shaggy before turning to the entire group. “It would seem that you have all experienced a visitation byy… the Phantosaur.”

“The Phantosaur?!” the others asked in surprise. “Okay, I’ve heard of a lot of different things before,” Hitch spoke up, “but this is a little ridiculous!”

“Hold on a second, guys,” Zipp said before getting out her FlyPad. “Mr. Hubley, maybe you could find a way to explain in a little more detail.”

This led Mr. Hubley to nod, and once getting Shaggy into a wheelchair pushed by Sunny, he led them all outside to explain the story properly.

XXXXXXXX

Outside the spa was a gigantic mural with different pictures, to which Mr. Hubley explained that it told a story-- a story that our heroes would reference back to later on. “Long ago, La Serena was home to Native Americans known as the Tolkepaya,” he explained as the group sat around to listen. “According to local legend... when the Europeans first began to come into this area looking for gold and silver... they encountered the Tolkepaya Indians. The Tolkepaya were hunter-gatherers and farmers... living off the bounty of the land... and as such, were no match for the weapons of the invaders.”

“Oh, man... that sounds awful,” Zipp shook her head in sadness. “Yes, it does,” sighed Silhouette. “It honestly reminds me of... my own situation.”

The group glanced at each other in sadness before Mr. Hubley continued the story. “The indians were forced to retreat... into the natural cave system below La Serena... where a Tolkepaya shaman came up with a plan to protect his people's village-- he would call forth the most powerful animal spirit of the land to fight the invaders. They say he was expecting a mountain lion, or possibly a bear. Instead, he got something much more ancient...”

“Let me guess... the Phantosaur?” Pipp raised her hoof. “Exactly,” Mr. Hubley said, moving onto the final pictures of the mural. “But the beast was too powerful to be controlled... and drove out the very people he had been summoned to protect. They say it still roams the land, thirsting for human blood.”

Shaggy yelled out in fear, twitching while Scooby and Izzy clung to each other, shivering in fright. “Anyway, that's the story. It's in this book,” Mr. Hubley said, lifting the book up for everyone else to see. “Preposterous Legends of the American Southwest. There's a chapter on the Three-Headed Sky Trout of Santa Fe in here too.”

However, Shaggy kept twitching, still terrified from the earlier experience. “Come on, Shaggy…” Zipp said, shaking him lightly. “Snap out of it!”

“Stanky, I promise you,” Mr. Hubley said gently, “ you have no reason to be afraid of this Phantosaur.”

“Really?” Shaggy asked, leading Mr. Hubley to nod. “Really. Ha. You should be much more afraid of the millions of rat snakes that live in the caves and mine tunnels.”

However, this seemed to make Shaggy twitch more in fear than ever before. “You’re making it worse, Mr. Hubley!” Daphne exclaimed with worry. “Don’t panic,” said Mr. Hubley with a smile, walking away. “I think I have just the thing that will help Snaggy.”

“Really? Oh, I’d love to hear how you’re gonna do that when the reassuring didn’t help,” Zipp rolled her eyes with a mutter. “Come on, Zipp… the least we can do is try Mr. Hubley’s idea,” Misty tried to reason. “I mean… what’s Shaggy got to lose?”

“His sanity? But… I guess if you think it’s a good idea,” Zipp sighed reluctantly, “then we at least have to try. Come on… let’s go before I change my mind and drag Shaggy out of here by force.”

XXXXXXXX

Mr. Hubley led everyone back into the spa and into a large, purple-colored room, full of equipment that the ponies had never seen before-- not even in Equestria. Even so... it was still very impressive. “My friends, I give you the very newest of the new age,” Mr. Hubley said mystically. “Psycho-Luminescent Reprogramming, PLR. With this equipment, I can put anyone in a trance-like, highly suggestible state.”

“So… it’s like hypnosis?” Hitch asked with a raised eyebrow. “No, it’s more like… hypnosis,” Mr. Hubley said, struggling to come up with a comparison. “But not the boring, old-fashioned kind of hypnosis, where I swing a gold watch in front of your face. Oh, no. This is completely different.”

With that, Mr. Hubley walked back into the nearby booth to turn on the system, dimming the lights and pulling a giant chain to cause a giant, holographic golden watch to form, swinging back and forth across the room.

The ponies seemed a little mystified by this, even if it did seem a little bit like regular hypnosis, and this caused Mr. Hubley to chuckle nervously. “Huh. Well, I guess it's not completely different. Still, it's pretty cool, huh?”

“Well, I do admit… the holograms are impressive,” Zipp said, “but… do you really think that hypnotizing Shaggy to become brave is gonna solve everything? I mean… that seems a little elaborate, even for me.”

“Trust me, princess, this is completely safe,” Mr. Hubley reassured. “And Spaggy will benefit from the experience too.”

“Shaggy? Is this something you want to try?” Sunny asked their friend with a serious look. “Like, if it’ll help me stop being a total wimp all the time and stop letting the gang down,” Shaggy sighed, putting the blanket around him off to the side, “I’m willing to give it everything I’ve got.”

“Shaggy…” Zipp began to say before Pipp squealed. “This is gonna be so exciting! I’ve always wanted to see a real live hypnotherapy session!”

“Actually, Pipp, that might not be the best suggestion,” Silhouette said worriedly. “If we were to watch this, we could end up being caught in the same trance as Shaggy, and that might affect us in ways we don’t want to imagine.”

“Aww man…” Pipp sighed. “There goes my next viral vlog…”

“Okay, now that we have that settled, everyone needs to scoot,” Mr. Hubley said, urging the others out of the room. “In a few minutes, I'll have cured Snacky's acute-threat-avoidance-hypertrophy disorder once and for all.”

Zipp sighed as the door behind them closed, hoping and praying to herself that Mr. Hubley knew what he was doing in there... for all their sakes, not just Shaggy's.

XXXXXXXX

A few minutes later, the giant clock swayed behind Mr. Hubley as he began the hypnotherapy session, with Shaggy being very tense in the beginning, and very nervous. “You are feeling very light. Very light. Uh... wait. Uh, no, heavy. Very heavy. So heavy. You are very relaxed and… uh, whatever, that kind of stuff.”

But, as Mr. Hubley continued speaking, Shaggy found himself getting sleepier and sleepier, falling into the trance as expected. “Anyway, you're going to become very, very brave– Confident, fearless, heroic, powerful. Unstoppable. You'll be all this whenever you hear the keyword… ‘bad’! The same keyword will return you to normal.”

But, halfway during this part of the session, Mr. Hubley ended up getting caught in the trance as well, just as dozed off as Shaggy was. “Now, when I snap my fingers, you will awaken and remember nothing.”

As Mr. Hubley snapped his fingers, the giant clock disappeared, and both of them shook their heads and looked at each other. “What happened? I remember nothing!”

That’s when the door slightly opened, and Silhouette was first to peek her head inside. “How is it coming along, boys?”

“Fine… uh, I think,” Mr. Hubley said, trying to recall what had went on as everyone piled into the room. “Snappy should lose all sense of fear whenever he hears the keyword.”

“Like, that’s great!” Shaggy smiled. “What’s the keyword?”

“...I have no idea,” Mr. Hubley admitted, causing Zipp to smack herself in the face with her hoof. “Man, this always happens. My equipment is so powerful, I wind up reprogramming myself. Total memory erasal.”

“This may seem a little blunt,” Sunny said, “but we can’t get rid of his fears if we don’t know what his keyword is.”

“Well… true. This is bad.”

At the final word, Shaggy sat up rather boldly, but no one really noticed. “But not THAT bad,” Misty then said, snapping Shaggy out of the trance. “We’ll just have to experiment and try and find out what his keyword is.”

Scooby was first to approach his best friend with some ideas in mind. “Uh… abra-cadabra?”

“Nope.”

“Open sesame.”

“Nope.”

“All you can eat buffet?”

“Nope… but yes, please.”

“Actually, I could use a bit of food myself,” Silhouette admitted. “It’s been a few days since I last ate, and I’m famished!”

“Try Faith's place down on Park Street,” Mr. Hubley suggested. “She makes a darn fine vegan Yankee pot roast.”

“Then Scooby and I are gonna take the queen and split,” Shaggy smiled, “so we can refuel.”

“Hypnotherapy makes me hungry,” Scooby agreed. “Actually, I’ll go with you this time around,” Sunny volunteered. “Maybe there’ll be something to help us figure out Shaggy’s keyword out in town.”

“The rest of us are heading back to the dig to look for clues, Mr. Hubley,” said Fred before he, the girls and the rest of the ponies left the room. “All righty,” Mr. Hubley bid the group farewell. “Don’t get your scarf caught on anything.”

“It’s an ascot!”

“So, how far away is Faith’s place?” Sunny asked curiously. “About 3 miles away,” Mr. Hubley spoke. “You’re free to walk, but it may take a while.”

“Actually… I have an idea of my own,” Silhouette smiled, an idea entering her mind. “Sunny can turn into an alicorn to meet us there, but… Shaggy? Scooby? How do you two feel like having a dragon ride?”

Scooby and Shaggy blinked before turning to each other with excited smiles.

This was going to be fun.

XXXXXXXX

As Shaggy and Scooby prepared to take flight on Silhouette’s back and Sunny shifted into her alicorn form, Daphne presented a possible suspect and motive to the others as they walked to the Mystery Machine. “That PLR thing is a hologram projector. Think Hubley could've projected the Phantosaur?”

“He did say he wished he could buy more land for the spa,” Fred supposed, finding the theory pretty reasonable, and this caused the ponies to nod. “What do you think, Velma?”

However, Velma was too into the picture she took of Winsor to even notice. “I think Winsor's eyes are the color of sea-foam by moonlight.”

“Okay…” Daphne sighed. “Somebody's going to be zero help tonight.”

“Go easy on her, Daph,” Fred tried to defend Velma’s case. “Yeah!” Izzy agreed. “I mean… haven’t YOU ever had a not-so-secret crush on somepony?”

“Me?! No! Why would you ask? Ha, ha. Of course not!” Daphne said quickly, walking toward the Mystery Machine at a very quick pace. “Well,” Fred spoke, “I…”

“Why is everyone walking so slow?!”

“Uh… she’s right, guys. Come on,” Zipp said as she led everyone else inside the Mystery Machine before they set off.

But… all she could think about was the fact that Shaggy could be triggered to go into brave mode at any time…

…and they didn’t know the secret keyword to control when and where he did this effect.

All she could hope was that Scooby, Sunny and Silhouette would help keep him in line if this happened.

Shaggy's Overreaction to Fear/A Desert Getaway

The ponies immediately raced from the Maretime Bay Summer Solstice Festival and to the Crystal Brighthouse, having left young Sparky Sparkeroni in the care of Spike and the other dragons.

And once they had grabbed their materials (like phones, Zipp's FlyPad and visor, Misty’s spellbook, etc), they raced up the elevator and stood around the Unity Crystals, letting their cutie mark magic charge the crystals just enough to make them glow brightly until they sent the Mane 6 off on their latest adventure...

...which was going to be a dinosaur of a doozy.

XXXXXXXX

The place that the Mane 6 popped out of the portal was quite surprising-- never, in all their Unity Quests, had they been teleported into a hospital on the first go-round...

...and it made Zipp hum in thought. “Do you think our new quest is with somepony who works in the hospital? Or somepony who's in the hospital right now?”

“Could be,” Sunny said in thought. “I guess we'll just have to wait and see.”

“Well, I do know one thing,” Pipp said as she hovered around, holding her phone up high in the air. “This hospital has a bit of bad service, but I think if I just keep moving it around, I might be able to--”

“...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH...!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The sound of the awful, terrified scream rang out all throughout the hospital, causing the ponies to cringe from the loud volume. “Sweet sauce horseshoe toss!” Izzy cried out. “Who turned on the screaming device?!”

“It may just be me,” Misty shouted, “but that scream sounds kind of familiar, don't you think?!”

“Let's follow the sound of the scream and see where it leads!” Sunny told her friends as they advanced. “It may be somepony who really needs our help!”

XXXXXXXX

Turns out, that screaming belonged to a completely terrified Shaggy, who had been brought to the hospital by the rest of the gang after they had finished their last mystery. The doctor was currently examining Shaggy's throat, eyes wide and full of shock. “Incredible. How long has he been screaming like this?”

“Almost three hours!” Fred said with worry. “Without taking a breath?” the doctor asked. “It's unbelievable!”

“Do you think it's a world record?” Daphne asked as the doctor took another look. “Oh, definitely. I'm just wondering if it's a violation of the laws of physics,” the doctor said before noticing Scooby sitting nearby. “Is that a dog?”

“Broadly speaking?” Velma shrugged. “Yes.”

“You can't have a dog in the ER!”

“It's okay,” Daphne pulled a card out of her purse and gave it to the doctor. “He's a certified medical rescue dog.”

The doctor looked at the card suspiciously before glancing back over at Daphne. “You just made this in Photoshop, didn't you?”

“No!” Daphne quickly shook her head before pointing at Velma. “...she did.”

“Please don't throw him out, doctor. Scooby is Shaggy's best friend!” Velma tried to reason. And seeing the gang’s desperate faces, the doctor did relent, but with a couple of conditions. “Well, s long as he doesn't make a mess, or break anything.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thanks, doc,” Scooby said with a nod, shoving pieces of broken glass behind the curtain. Now that Scooby was out of the way, Fred turned back to the matter at hand. “Can you help Shaggy, doctor?”

The doctor nodded at this, and turned to Shaggy for a moment before speaking. “Hey! Stop screaming!”

And after a moment, Shaggy did stop screaming, confusing Daphne as the doctor took notes. “Why didn't that work when we tried it?”

“Eh, people listen to doctors.”

“Oh, thank Celestia that the screaming finally stopped!” said a voice from around the corner. “I thought my ears were gonna explode before we found out who was doing it!”

“Wait,” Velma said to the others. “That sounds like…”

“Scooby, guys!” Sunny cried in happiness as she and the ponies entered the emergency room. “I thought that screaming sounded familiar!” Misty said as she and Scooby hugged. “What’s going on?”

“You… know the patient and his friends?” the doctor raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, we see each other all the time,” Zipp nodded. “Is everything okay?”

“Well, it’s kind of a crazy story,” Daphne told the ponies, “but we were about to tell the doctor what happened, so you guys deserve to know too.”

“It was just a normal evening,” Velma began as the ponies sat down. “We were investigating an old mansion, haunted by phantom Naval officers.”

XXXXXXXX

By the light of their flashlights, Mystery Inc moved through the mansion, looking for anything suspicious that could point them to who was behind this so-called haunting.

Once reaching the main foyer of the house, Fred gave out the next set of instructions. “Velma, Daphne and I will look around upstairs. Shaggy, you and Scooby check out the cellar.”

However, when Shaggy and Scooby looked at the cellar, they were a bit freaked out when they saw all the warning signs around the door. “Zoinks!” Shaggy shuddered nervously. “Like, why do we have to…?”

“Great!” Fred spoke as he and the girls began moving up the stairs. “We’ll meet up back here.”

Shaggy and Scooby shuddered to themselves after their friends had disappeared up the stairs, but seeing no other option, they began to descend down into the basement. “Ghosts are lighter than air, right, Scoob?” Shaggy asked his best friend. “So they wouldn't be down here. They'd, like, rise up to the attic, right?”

“Right,” Scooby nodded before having a sudden thought. “ Like balloons? Shaggy, are balloons filled with ghosts?”

“Oh, man, I have no idea! Oh ho ho ho ho...”

Finally, after reaching the bottom of the stairs, Shaggy and Scooby advanced further and further into the darkness of the basement… that is, until they reached a whole swarm of phantom Naval officers, who uttered one word… kill.

Shaggy and Scooby screamed and bolted out of the basement, running down the hall a good ways before a phantom appeared in their path, causing Shaggy to leap into Scooby’s paws before Scooby ran the other way. However, once reaching the end of THAT hallway, Shaggy opened the door, only to reveal another phantom. Scooby yelped and ran, dropping Shaggy into the arms of the phantom and sending Shaggy on the run... on his own.

Shaggy continued to run throughout the house, but wherever he went, there seemed to be a phantom waiting for him. Eventually, he had no choice but to duck into a nearby cupboard to avoid the phantoms entirely. But, when he finally got settled into the cupboard, he felt as if there was someone in there with him. “Scoob?”

Shaggy turned on his flashlight and looked around... only to find that phantoms were the ones that were in there with him, causing him to scream and jolt around in the cupboard to try and get away.

At the same time, Fred, Daphne, Scooby and Velma were running from two of the phantoms when they suddenly stopped at the doorway, making the gang confused before Fred saw something. “Wait a second…”

Fred grabbed strings holding up the phantoms, which seemed invisible to someone not paying attention, and yanked down on them, pulling two men down from the ceiling and onto the floor… two men that Velma recognized. “It’s Blair and Culhane!”

But before anything else could be said, rattling and screaming caught Daphne’s attention… and it sounded close. “Hey… do you guys hear something?”

That’s when their attention turned to Shaggy freaking out in the cupboard, making the gang realize that they needed to get Shaggy out of there to a safe place… fast!

XXXXXXXX

After the police had arrived, Culhane explained why they had haunted the house while paramedics were taking care of Shaggy and his… little breakdown. “Once we'd scared everyone off, we could've bought this place for next to nothing. Anyway, that was the plan. And we would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for…”

However, Shaggy’s screaming as he was carried into the ambulance cut Culhane off, causing him to growl in frustration. “Could you get him to hold it down? I'm trying to confess here!”

And just like that, Shaggy was placed in the ambulance, Blair and Culhane were put into custody, and the rest of the gang followed the ambulance to the hospital to await word on Shaggy’s condition.

XXXXXXXXX

The doctor seemed utterly surprised that Velma had explained the situaton so calmly... and the fact that the ponies seemed so calm around the explanation too, although they were worried about Shaggy, nonetheless. “So, that’s a… normal evening for you, is it?”

Then, the doctor heard a variety of responses.

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”

“It is sometimes for us.”

“Pretty much.”

“I see…” the doctor nodded slowly before looking at Shaggy. “Well, let’s take you back and get some x-rays.”

“Mind if I go with you, doc?” Sunny asked, putting her hoof on Shaggy’s hand. “My friends can stay with the rest of the gang, and I wanna be there for Shaggy while he’s still… fragile.”

“Sure thing,” the doctor nodded, helping Shaggy off the bed. “Follow me.”

“Guys, tell the gang what’s been going on since we last saw them, and we’ll be back from the x-rays soon,” Sunny told her friends, and then, she and Shaggy left the room with the doctor, leaving the others alone.

XXXXXXXX

“...and then, our cutie marks glowed, and we were sent to this hospital and followed the sound of Shaggy’s screaming until we found you guys,” Izzy said, finishing up the events from the last little while and from their last Unity Quest. “So, yeah! You’re pretty much caught up!”

“Well, now that you know what's been going on with us, we have to know... what’s been going on with you guys before this all happened?” Hitch asked. “You’re never gonna believe this,” said Velma with a bit of excitement in her voice, “but we went to Ireland to Daphne’s family castle, where we solved the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster!”

“No way!” Zipp exclaimed. “Was it the real deal? Or just a guy in a mask?”

“Guy in a mask,” Scooby bluntly answered. “A really big 50 foot mask, but yeah,” Fred nodded. “But it was a really big adventure that none of us will forget,” Daphne said with a chuckle. “I’m just really glad to see you guys.”

“We are too,” Misty nodded. “I have to show you some new spells I’ve been working on!”

Then, Shaggy and Sunny returned with the doctor, causing Zipp to sigh in relief. “You’re back! How did the x-rays go?”

“Shaggy pulled through like a champ,” Sunny said proudly. “Even with the x-ray machine going near his stomach.”

“Like, thanks, Sunny, but I can’t take all the credit,” Shaggy said to the earth pony mare quietly. “You were there to help keep my head straight.”

“I’m always happy to lend you a hoof, Shaggy,” Sunny said with a small frown. “You know that as well as anypony.”

“Well, now that we’re back,” said the doctor, “we can take a look at these x-rays I managed to get.”

The doctor placed them on the lit board behind them, taking a good long look at the x-rays before humming in thought. “It would seem that Shaggy is suffering from acute threat avoidance hypertrophy disorder.”

“...I’m sorry, but what did you just say?” Hitch tilted his head. “Yeah,” Fred blinked. “Was that in English or Old Ponish?”

“It's a very rare form of overreaction to fear stimuli,” the doctor explained. “It affects fewer than one in 10 million.”

“Like, wow. I’m special!” Shaggy said with a light chuckle. “Of course, this means you'Il have to give up anything even remotely frightening,” the doctor said to Shaggy before turning to the whole group, ponies included. “So no more ghost-hunting, crime-busting, or mystery-solving shenanigans.”

This led Scooby to whine in disappointment. “No more shenanigans…”

“None,” the doctor said sternly with his hands on his hips. “Shaggy, as your doctor, I forbid you to get in the Mystery Machine.”

This led the entire group to gasp, their eyes wide with horror and shock. “But that means… the end of the Scooby-Doo gang!” Shaggy realized, and as the group tried to take in this information, all sad and in shock, Shaggy immediately sat up, surprisingly smiling. “So is there a cafeteria here or what?”

“Cafeteria food is yummy, yummy, yummy!” Scooby licked his lips before he and Shaggy walked out of the emergency room. “Shaggy, Scooby! Wait a minute!” cried Misty as she and Izzy raced after them. “We can talk about this! You don’t have to drown your sorrows in food!”

But, after their friends disappeared, Hitch turned to the others in shock. “What in Equestria just happened?”

“Honestly, Hitch?” Sunny sighed. “I wish I knew. We just have to be here for the gang when they really need us, and then we'll figure out what to do from there.”

XXXXXXXX

A few days passed since Shaggy was released from the hospital, and the ponies had to hang out mostly with Scooby, since apparently, the rest of the gang had some school during the week.

Not that the Mane 6 minded-- they needed some time to help the gang, and Shaggy, figure out what they were going to do since mystery solving was officially out of the question.

Finally, everyone's favorite day of the week (Friday) finally arrived, and everyone except Fred met up at a place called Shaky Joe's Coffee Shop. But instead of discussing the mysteries they were usually on, the group just sat around, trying to think of something to do with the gang's free time. “This is so, like, boring. What are we supposed to do if we're not solving mysteries?” Shaggy wondered, tapping his glass before turning to the man in charge. “Hey, Shaky Joe, what do you do in your spare time?”

“I knit!” the elderly man said, shaking as he poured some coffee into Scooby’s water bowl and as he got out a clump of yarn. “It’s a scarf.”

“Hmm…” Scooby inspected the coffee in his bowl, not sure what to make of the substance. Pipp and Daphne had been scrolling through social media in order to find something to do, when Daphne suddenly found something online. “Hey, here’s something we could do,” she told the others. “There's a crafts fair in McKimson Park.”

“Oooh, we could go there and make scarves, or pots,” Izzy named off, “or even some papier-mache!”

“Are you crazy, Daph?” Shaggy asked quietly as Izzy rambled on. “You know I’m terrified of papier-mache! That’s more of an Izzy think than it is a Shaggy thing.”

Scooby, on the other hand, sniffed the coffee in his bowl before taking a few slurps. In an instant, the caffeine started to make him go crazy, spinning around in his stool and shaking all to pieces.

Pipp hummed in thought as all this was going on before thinking of something. “I got it! We could go team bowling! Us ponies versus you guys!”

“No way,” Shaggy disagreed with the pink pegasus mare as Scooby began to run rapidly through the coffee shop. “Do you have any idea how many people are killed by bowling pins every year?”

“I'm guessing approximately none,” Velma said with a hint of sarcasm at the beginning. “Scooby-Dooby-Doo!!! Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo!!” Scooby babbled excitedly before zooming off again. That's when Shaggy turned to the others again. “Just remember, guys-- I have to avoid all things that are scary because of my cute... trophy... disorder thingy.”

“We know, Shaggy, we know... as much as we hate to admit it,” Misty said comfortingly. “We’ll just have to keep trying and find something that works for everypony.”

Suddenly, Scooby leapt on Shaggy’s head and pranced repeatedly, a crazed look in his eyes that freaked the ponies out a bit. “Shaggy, Shaggy, Shaggy, Shaggy, Shaggy!”

“Um... Joe?” blinked Sunny in surprise. “What was Scooby-Doo just drinking?”

Shaky Joe glanced in the bowl before blinking in surprise. “Looks like coffee,” he said before pouring the coffee back into the bowl, unknowingly pouring it back into the bowl as he shrugged. “Gee, I wonder how that happened.”

“Gee... I wonder how,” Zipp rolled her eyes sarcastically. “Maybe one of us better round Scooby up before he accidentally breaks something.”

“Great! Who should do it?” Hitch asked before the others looked at Zipp teasingly. “Always the one who suggests it!”

Zipp growled in frustration at this. “I really trotted into that one, didn't I...?”

But as Zipp tried to go after Scooby, Fred came in through the door of the coffee shop, having left the school a few minutes ago. “Hey, every-- OOF!!”

Scooby barreled right into Fred, prancing on him before zipping off, with Zipp panting as she struggled to keep up with the overly excited dog. “Sorry, Fred-- Scooby has had more coffee than he meant to. Excuse me-- SCOOBY, WAIT UP!!!”

Zipp darted after the Great Dane, allowing Fred the chance to approach the group at their booth. However, he didn't seem too happy about the development, making Daphne a bit concerned. “What's the matter, Fred?”

“I'm failing science,” Fred sighed. “Mr. Fleischer didn't like my project.”

XXXXXXXX

“What?” Fred asked his teacher with innocence. “It illustrates all three of Newton's laws of motion.”

However, his teacher, who was still caught in the booby trap that Fred had created, still didn't look pleased.

XXXXXXXX

“Fred, forgive me for being blunt,” Hitch said with a tad bit of worry, “but maybe not every science project needs to be a booby trap.”

“Scooby-Doo. Scooby-Doo!!” Scooby howled before he blasted toward the ceiling, a tired Zipp collapsing near the table, letting Izzy pick the tired pegasus up after her chase. “If I don't come up with an extra-credit project, I won't graduate,” Fred told the others with a bit of concern. “You guys got any ideas?”

That's when Shaggy pointed to Scooby, running around in circles on the ceiling above them. “Like, how about the anti-gravity effects of caffeine?”

Izzy watched as Scooby ran around and around and around and around the ceiling, groaning after a few moments. “Oooh... somepony better come up with an idea fast, because I can't watch Scooby-Doobers run in circles anymore!”

Suddenly, Daphne seemed to remember something and began to dig through her purse. “I know... my Uncle Ted invested in this new spa resort in La Serena. Here's a brochure.”

Fred inspected the brochure of the spa, smiling at all the pretty girls on the cover, as well as the peaceful setting that the spa was built on. “Nice!”

“He's right about one thing... it does look really fancy,” Sunny said, peeking over Fred’s shoulder, “but what does this have to do with Fred’s extra-credit science project?”

“Well, there's news that there's a paleontological dig going on in town. Uncle Ted could get us a room in the spa and Freddy could volunteer to help on the dig,” she said as she handed the brochure to Shaggy. “The best thing about this is Shaggy can go. It'll be totally relaxing and not scary-- look!”

Shaggy looked over the brochure, humming in thought. “La Serena... the least haunted town in America. Huh... like, wow!”

“According to my social media research,” Pipp said, “La Serena has been officially certified by the U.S. Bureau of Supernatural Forces! So, it's pretty much terror free.”

“We should go!” Fred volunteered. “Come on, Shaggy, it'll be just like old times, only without all the screaming.”

Shaggy liked the idea of getting out and enjoying time that wasn't going to be spent solving mysteries, but then again... a new mystery could pop in out of nowhere, and he wasn't sure if he could handle it. “Yeah... I don't know, Fred.”

“We'll be with you the entire time, Shaggy,” Misty promised, taking the brochure from Shaggy to try and find something that would lure Shaggy into the idea. “Besides, it says La Serena has three different all-you-can-eat restaurants...”

That seemed to draw Shaggy in almost immediately, and wrapped an arm around the blue unicorn eagerly. “Like, when do we leave?”

“Yeah!” Scooby barked in agreement, causing the others to laugh, amused.

XXXXXXXX

After spending the rest of the afternoon at the coffee shop, Daphne called her uncle to get their plans arranged, and they all decided to set out for La Serena the next day...

...unaware of the prehistoric adventure that would follow from behind.

Welcome to La Serena

The plan had been made-- the Mystery Inc gang and their pony pals were going to set off to La Serena the next morning for Fred to complete his extra-credit project, and to help Shaggy relax a bit from their break of not solving mysteries.

However, as she tried her best to get to sleep that night, Zipp just couldn't. In fact, she spent half the night in the living room, thinking about what all had went on in the past couple of days.

The fact that Shaggy being so scared of ghosts and monsters was enough to get her worried, but he was so scared that the gang had to give up mystery solving for good?

Zipp couldn't bear to think about how unhappy the rest of the gang could be... especially when there was a mystery around and they couldn't interfere.

“You’re thinking about all this too, huh, Zipperdoodle?”

Zipp turned to see her sister and Scooby tiredly walking into the living room, leaving the white pegasus to sigh. “Sorry if I woke you up, guys… it’s just hard to think about the gang’s mystery solving career going down the drain,” she said as her younger sister and Scooby sat down near her. “I’m sure Shaggy must feel pretty responsible.”

“Well… he does feel kinda bad,” Scooby said with a slight shrug. “But, I’m sure this whole overreaction to fear will pass with a little time,” Pipp added. “That’s why we’re taking this trip to La Serena in the morning-- to give Shaggy a chance to unwind from all the mystery-solving craziness happening lately.”

“I know, but… what if I could help him somehow?” Zipp asked in thought. “I mean, I do represent the element of courage-- maybe I could develop some sort of plan to help Shaggy gain some courage of his own.”

“Me too?” Scooby asked, causing Zipp to giggle and gently rub the dog on top of the head. “Yes, Scooby, you can get some courage of your own too.”

“As much as I hate to say this… I don’t think that plan will work the way you want it to, sis,” Pipp said. “Getting confidence to do something takes a lot of time, and it can't just happen overnight. I mean… I was only eight before I finally had the courage to sing for the first time and get my cutie mark, remember?”

“...yeah. I remember that day,” Zipp nodded, remembering the day fondly. “You got yours right after I got mine, doing all those parkour moves in the square.”

“Exactly,” the pink pegasus spoke with a nod. “It can take a while to gain or even regain your confidence. Just give it some time, Zipp. I'm sure that Shaggy will gain courage of his own with time and patience.”

Zipp sighed in reluctance, eventually nodding. “I guess you do have a point. Okay, Pipp... I'll take this nice and slow, for Shaggy’s sake.”

“Great to hear, sis. Now, let's get back to bed,” Pipp told Zipp and Scooby. “We have a long way to go to get to La Serena, and I have to get to work on brand new outfits for helping Fred out on that paleontological dig!”

XXXXXXXX

By the time the next morning arrived, our heroes were well on their way to La Serena for their relaxing getaway, spending time reminiscing on their old adventures and the ponies telling the gang every fact they could think of about Equestria, in case they missed something during previous tales.

However, it took a little longer for our heroes to get to where they were going because of all the crazy pit stops that the GPS was making them go to. Not that the ponies minded, of course-- it was good to get out and do things they had never experienced before.

Finally, it was getting to be late in the afternoon, and they continued to drive down the desert roads until the GPS spoke again. “You will soon be approaching your destination.”

“Forgive me for being blunt, but I thought you disconnected the GPS, Fred,” Sunny said. “It was a long drive,” Fred shrugged, “and I needed directions.”

“Except, that on the way here,” Velma said, “it took us to five chili joints, an all-night bowling alley and a meteor crater.”

“And don’t forget the tattoo parlor, huh?” the GPS suddenly spoke up, surprising the ponies. “Like, I will never forget the tattoo parlor,” Shaggy said, showcasing the tattoo of the mouth and chicken leg he got on his arm. “When I flex, it looks like it's chewing! Ha ha ha!”

“Hey, that is kind of cute!” Izzy said. “Maybe we should consider getting a tattoo parlor in Equestria!”

“Somehow… I doubt Posey would like the sound of that,” Zipp said with a shudder.

“Hold on a second,” Velma said, suddenly realizing something that she had previously forgotten from the other day. “Didn't the doctor forbid Shaggy to get into this van?”

“He told Shaggy not to get into the Mystery Machine,” Fred responded with a smug smile. “That’s why I asked Izzy to do a little repainting.”

That’s when Velma stuck her head out of the window to get a better look. “You renamed it the Mustard Machine?”

“Hey, I didn’t want to ruin the entire paint job,” Izzy shrugged, “and besides, the Mustard Machine sounds really cute! Maybe something a hot dog would drive!”

As Izzy said this, the Mystery Machine moved closer and closer into the main part of La Serena, with only a little further to go until they reached their destination. “Hope you kids enjoyed the ride…” said the GPS, “...because I don't think I'll ever get the smell of Scooby-Doo out of my upholstery.”

“Huh?!” Scooby said, appalled and offended entirely before snapping the GPS shut, not wanting it to talk anymore. “Don’t listen to a WORD of what that mean device said, Scooby-Doobers,” Pipp said, scratching the Great Dane lovingly. “I love being a social media influencer, really-- I do, but the things people AND ponies can say… ugh! Really just gets on my nerves.”

“Hopefully we won’t have any more problems like that while we’re at the spa,” Misty said with a sigh. “Nothing but relaxing for us!”

“Speaking of relaxing,” Hitch said to the others, looking out the window, “we’re here!”

Just as Hitch said, the van was pulling up to the entrance of the La Serena Spa, where they all got out and got the chance to look around, with Shaggy and Pipp being the most ecstatic. “I think I'm gonna, like, like this place!” Shaggy smiled. “Me too!” Pipp said before looking at a poster on the wall with a gasp. “They have a hot tub!! Man, they are really speaking the influencer’s lifeline right now!”

“Easy, Pipp,” Sunny chuckled at Pipp's enthusiasm. “We still have to check in with the owner first.”

That's when the owner came out from the spa to greet them-- an elderly man with with long, gray hair he wore in a ponytail, and wore granny-like glasses. “Aha!” he chuckled warmly. “If it isn’t Frank, Danny, Veronica, Slappy and their young zebra friends!”

“...it isn’t,” Velma deadpanned, but the man paid no attention as he got a good look at Shaggy. “And you must be Scooby-Doo. I've heard so much about you.”
‘
“...huh?” the ponies and Scooby chorused out of confusion. “Are you sure he’s a Great Dane?” the man asked the others in a whisper, gesturing to Shaggy. “He seems more like some kind of wolfhound.”

“I’m the dog,” Scooby spoke to the man to get his attention. “You can say that again, Scabby,” the man chucked before gesturing the group inside the spa. “Come in, come in. I'm so happy you're here! My name is Mr. Hubley, and I’ll be happy to do anything you kids might need.”

“Thank you so much, sir,” Sunny smiled. “We really appreciate it.”

“And I know just what we should do to get this spa getaway started,” Pipp said with a sly look before flying off. “To the hot tub!”

“Heh… why am I not surprised?” Zipp asked her friends with a shrug, but nevertheless, they all followed Pipp to get changed and take a dip in the hot tub’s warm waters.

XXXXXXXX

The gang had remembered to pack their own swimsuits, and Mr. Hubley was gracious enough to let the ponies take some bathing suits from his own stock, and their cutie mark magic customized each one of the bathing suits to the ponies' personal liking.

Sunny's bathing suit was a one piece that was a lighter color than her fur color, with a white flower behind her ear.
Izzy's bathing suit was a two piece that was light blue and dark blue, with wave like designs.
Hitch's swimming trunks were dark green with a white stripe, and he wore a white flower behind his ear like Sunny, so they could match.
Zipp's bathing suit was merely a pair of dark blue and white swimming trunks.
Pipp's bathing suit was a dark purple one piece with a skirt to tie the look together.
Misty's bathing suit was a one piece that was dark purple with some orange and pink mixed in.

And needless to say, the ponies realized that Pipp was right in her love for hot tubs-- it was EXTREMELY relaxing soaking in the warm waters. “This is a great place you got here, Mr. Hubley,” Shaggy said with a smile, completely relaxed by that point. “Oh, no need to be so formal, Spanky,” Mr. Hubley said politely. “Call me Mr. Hubley.”

“Er, um…” Shaggy stammered, at a loss for words. “Uh, Shag... Spank... Shaggy…”

“Yes, we'll be open to the public next week,” Mr. Hubley continued speaking. “I would have made it bigger, but I couldn't get the locals to sell their land.”

“Oh, that's too bad,” Daphne said with a frown. “Yeah, but what are you gonna do? Dress up as a ghost and scare them off?” Mr. Hubley asked with a chuckle before suddenly thinking of something. “Eh... oh, nah.”

“Well, whether it's bigger or smaller, we think this place is pretty great,” Sunny smiled. “Pipp, we should think about adding a full-fledged spa center to Mane Melody!”

“A combination karaoke bar, a salon and a rejuvenation spa?! Sunny, you are a literal genius!” Pipp squealed, putting the idea into her phone. “I'm sure Rocky and Jazz are going to flip when they hear about this!”

Suddenly, growling stomachs caused her to look up, and Shaggy gave the Great Dane next to him a smile. “Ah. Still in perfect sync, eh, Scoob?”

“Yeah,” Scooby nodded with a giggle. “Perfect sync.”

“Like, you got anything to eat around here, Mr. Hubley?” Shaggy asked, only for Mr. Hubley to shake his head. “Sorry, Saggy. There's an outdoor barbecue tonight in the town square.”

“Hey, I think that's right near the dig site!” Fred realized. “We can get some dinner, and then go check out the dig.”

“And,” Pipp added, “us ponies can try out the new paleontological-themed outfits I made!”

“Okay,” Mr. Hubley said, “but don't come back too late-- I'm making tofu-chip cookies. Mmm-mmm!”

The ponies chuckled at this before they got out of the hot tub with their friends to change and then go check out the barbecue and the dig site later on.

XXXXXXXX

The barbecue in the town square was in full swing by the time the group arrived, and they indulged themselves in different kinds of foods-- grilled meats, veggies and fruits for all those who were vegetarian, not to mention different kinds of sweets and condiments.

After the ponies had got done eating, they changed into the new outfits that Pipp had been hard at work on-- the perfect outfits for exploring a paleontological dig.

Sunny wore a short-sleeved shirt that was light pink, brown boots and her signature saddlebag.
Izzy wore a a dark blue shirt with a white hat and brown boots as well.
Hitch wore a teal long-sleeved shirt with a hat like Izzy's.
Zipp wore a white and gray plaid shirt with a watch on her front left hoof.
Pipp wore a light blue shirt with white polka dots and brown boots.
Lastly, Misty wore brown boots as well, but her short-sleeved shirt was a color mix of dark purple and pink.

“Wow, you ponies look incredible!” Daphne exclaimed. “Thanks, Daphne,” Zipp said as she admired her new look. “Now if the rest of you are ready, we can head on to the dig before it gets too dark.”

“Well, I know that the girls and I are ready,” Fred said, glancing at an overstuffed Shaggy and Scooby while he spoke, “but... Shaggy and Scooby? Eh, that could be a different story.”

“Oh, boy... you guys go to the dig without us. We need a moment to...” Shaggy started before he belched lightly. “...digest.”

“Or explode,” Scooby said before belching himself, causing Misty to rub him gently. “You guys go with Fred and the girls to the dig-- I'll stay with them and help them work off all that food and we'll meet you there.”

“Sure thing, Misty. Be careful out there... Allura still could be on the prowl,” Zipp said sternly, causing Misty to nod before their friends set off toward the dig site.

Misty helped Shaggy and Scooby onto their feet as they began to leave the pavillion, causing Shaggy to the Great Dane next to him. “When are we gonna learn not to overeat, Scooby-Doo? We even made up that little song.”

Shaggy: Stop, stop, stop
When the buttons pop

Scooby: But we didn't stop

“No, we didn't,” Shaggy said with a frown. “I swear, Scooby-Doo, I am never gonna eat again.”

This caused Scooby to nod in agreement. “Never again.”

“We'll see how long you two can last,” Misty giggled, mostly to herself. “Come on-- we have a long way to go, and not a lot of time to get there before it gets dark.”

XXXXXXXX

Misty led Shaggy and Scooby out of La Serena and into the hot desert of the American Southwest, and Shaggy could feel the heat creeping onto Jim quicker than he would have expected. “I didn't know the dig was so far away. We've been out here for, like, minutes.”

“...I'm starving,” Scooby told Shaggy, causing Misty to giggle and pull a biscuit out of her pocket. “It's a good thing I saved a biscuit for later. You guys wanna split it? I'm not hungry right now.”

“Yeah yeah yeah yeah!” Scooby nodded and trotted back toward her as Misty gave the biscuit to Shaggy to break apart. However, the biscuit escaped his reach and began to roll away. “Uh oh! We got a runner, you guys!”

“OW!!” Scooby, Shaggy and Misty yelped as they all crashed into each other and fell on the ground as the biscuit stopped rolling. But before they could move to grab it, a small lizard grabbed the biscuit in his mouth and began running off with it. “Hey! Get back here you little scaled criminal!” Misty cried, getting up and galloping after the quick-moving reptile, giving Shaggy the chance to speak up. “Help Misty catch that biscuit, Scooby-Doo!”

Scooby immediately darted after Misty, eventually getting ahead of her and chasing the lizard around the corner. But, what he saw when he finally stopped wasn't the lizard he was chasing... it was something much bigger.

It was a large green dinosaur with scaly green skin, and glowing yellow eyes, staring down at the Great Dane and breathing on him, causing Scooby to blink for a few moments before doing the one thing he did best... run.

XXXXXXXX

Misty and Shaggy saw Scooby go around the corner, but they couldn't find him after he had disappeared... at least until they heard him yelp in fright. “Dinosaur!!”

Scooby barreled right into Shaggy, leaving Misty out of the pile (much to her relief), but it was clear that the Great Dane was in clear panic. “Misty, Shaggy, look. A dinosaur!”

“Rhino?” Shaggy blinked. “You saw a rhinoceros?”

“No-- dinosaur.”

“A dinosaur?” blinked Misty as she followed her friends around the corner. But when Shaggy saw the supposed dinosaur, it was only the lizard who stole the biscuit eating the biscuit. “Is that your dinosaur, Scooby-Doo.”

“Uh-uh,” Scooby shook his head. “Bigger.”

Shaggy gulped nervously at this. “Bigger?”

“Bigger.”

“Bigger...?”

“Bigger!”

Shaggy immediately bolted and hid as soon as this was said, but Scooby merely smirked and approached him. “Uh, no, not bigger. I'm just joking! Ha ha ha!”

“Joking?” Shaggy questioned with a hint of frustration. “That's not funny, Scoob! That's not funny at all!”

“Scooby, you know better than anyone that Shaggy doesn't need to hear or see scary stuff right now,” Misty scolded. “You need to respect what the doctor said a few days ago, and--”

Suddenly, her ears twitched as soon as she heard a sound coming from a short distance away. “Hey... do you guys hear that?”

Shaggy and Scooby listened to this for a moment, their faces growing concerned. “I hear it, but I don't like it,” Shaggy frowned. “It sounds like--”

“Someone's crying!” Scooby interrupted, a clear look of worry on his face. “Come on,” Misty encouraged. “We better find out who's crying and see what we can do to help.”

Shaggy and Scooby followed the blue unicorn representing empathy through the desert a little longer before they found a cave in the rocks, where a young dragon was hiding, who was virtually in tears.

The dragon was a female, who was primarily black with blue and teal on her wings and on her tail fin, teal eyes and teal claws on her feet, and a purple amulet around her neck.

Misty, Shaggy and Scooby looked at the dragon in concern for a few moments before the blue unicorn stepped out into the dragon's view, clearing her throat softly to get her attention. “Um... excuse me... are you okay?”

The dragon gasped when she saw Misty, and tried to back away, obviously frightened. “Please, go away!” she begged the strange pony. “Let me live the rest of what I have of my life in peace!”

“It's okay, it's okay,” Misty said with a gentle tone. “We're not going to hurt you. We just want to help you, cause... well... you seem really sad.”

“Sad doesn't even cut it,” the dragon scoffed, trying to wipe her tears away. “You wouldn't have the slightest idea of what I've been through.”

“Like, you're right. Maybe we won't understand,” Shaggy said as he sat down beside Misty and Scooby. “But we still want to listen and see if we can help.”

“Maybe we could start with introductions,” Misty then spoke. “I'm Misty, and this is Shaggy and Scooby. What's your name?”

“...Silhouette BlueSky,” the dragon muttered before taking a deep breath and sitting up straight. “The queen of the Sky Furies.”

“You're a queen?” Scooby gasped in shock before they bowed. “Please, you needn't bow to me,” Silhouette shook her head. “I... don't even have a kingdom to govern anymore.”

“What happened? I-If you don't mind us asking, of course,” Misty said politely, leading the dragon queen to sigh. “Poachers happened. They attacked by domain and set in ablaze in fires that we couldn't control. My home is gone, my subjects have fled... and I haven't been able to find any of them.”

“Oh man... we're sorry, your queenliness,” Shaggy said to the dragon queen, frowning. “We had no idea.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Misty asked sadly, but this led Silhouette to sigh. “Not unless you can try to find all of my subjects and find us a new home. Alas... my amethyst firestone amulet is the only thing that remains of my former home.”

Misty, Shaggy and Scooby looked at the queen sadly, just before Scooby whispered into Misty’s ear, causing her to nod. “We may not be able to find every single subject of yours, Queen Silhouette, but... we do know of some friends who might be able to help you too... if you're willing to come with us.”

Silhouette looked at each one of them for a moment before sighing... and nodding in reluctance. “If you really believe that these friends can help me decide my next steps, then... I believe that you will not steer me wrong. Lead the way, friends.”

“Great!” Misty smiled, and the four friends began to walk in the direction of the dig, hoping to get there before it got too dark for them to see...

...unaware of what might occur while they were at the dig site.

Author's Note

This is the OC I plan to use, and I decided to make her a queen instead of a princess for once-- give the creator of this besutiful specimen some love!

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/43231535/

Attack of the Ghost Dinosaur

As Misty, Shaggy and Scooby began talking with Queen Silhoutte BlueSky about their previous adventures with one another, the others had arrived at the palentological dig, taking place inside a mine just outside of La Serena.

Shortly after their arrival, they met up with the head archeologist on the scene, Professor Svankmajer, who was a kind woman who had shoulder-long blonde hair, wore an olive-green shirt with an open collar, chest-pockets and rolled-up sleeves, a dark brown belt with a silver buckle, black pants and dark brown lace-up hiking-boots.

In fact, the professor seemed so kind, she decided to take those of the group who had arrived on a private tour of the dig, so Fred could get the layout before he helped out with the dig itself. “Thanks,” said Sunny, “for giving us a tour of your dig, Professor Svankmajer.”

“Don’t thank me,” Professor Svankmajer said with a smile as she took off her hard hat. “I'm just glad to have the help.”

She then led the group over to a dinosaur skeleton within the walls, and Velma instantly began to take photos of it. “Not enough kids are going into the sciences these days,” the professor said, sparing a glance at the college-aged boy dusting the fossils. “They all want to be game designers. Even Winsor here.”

“What?” the spectacled boy with glasses similar to Velma’s turned to look at his teacher. “Just because I took a couple computer animation classes doesn't mean…”

“Oh, I'm just giving you a hard time,” Professor Svankmajer teased as Winsor then turned to look at Velma. “Winsor’s my best student.”

“...he sure is,” Velma said with a loving smile, taking a picture of Winsor itself before moving toward him. “I couldn't help but notice you're working on the left second metacarpal bone… of a juvenile dilophosaurus.”

“I think actually,” Winsor corrected, “you'll find it's the right third metacarpal.”

“I think not,” Velma persisted. “That’s the dorsal surface.”

That’s when both of them touched the bone at the same time, and when their hands touched, it caused them to gasp. “What a fool I’ve been!” Winsor said, not believing what Velma had shown him. “How could I have missed those extensor tendon grooves?”

“Clearly,” Velma said modestly, “mine are the superior glasses.”

Suddenly, Winsor formed a wide smile on his face as he looked at Velma’s glasses more closely. “Oh, my gosh. Did you get those at Spec Masters?”

“Totally!” Velma said, totally lost in conversation as she and Winsor walked off together, with the others looking on, a bit bewildered. “They had the exact same ones at Der Glasslehaus for like twice as much.”

“Der Glasslehaus is such a rip-off.”

“Not as bad as Focus Pocus.”

“Tell me about it!”

And just like that, Mystery Inc's smartest member had walked off with her newfound friend/newfound crush. “Uh… what exactly just happened?” Hitch asked in surprise, only for Pipp to squeal and prance in one place. “Can you believe it?! Velma’s actually found a boy she likes! It’s a real miracle! Now I need to find my sister a boyfriend she actually likes.”

“Hey! I heard that!” Zipp scolded her sister, causing Pipp to chuckle nervously as Svankmajer couldn’t help but smile. “Looks like I've lost Winsor for a while. Do not get him started on opticians,” she told the group. “So, Fred, maybe you could work on this metacarpal.”

“I can help with that too,” Zipp said as she got a brush out from under her wing. “Fred can start on the bottom part of the meticarpal and I can do the top half.”

“Ooh, what can we do to help?” Izzy asked in an ethusiastic tone. “Well, there are certainly more areas around here to check for bones,” Professor Svankmajer said. “Why don’t you ponies split up and cover more ground?”

“We can definitely do that,” Sunny smiled. “And when Misty and our other friends get here, they can help us too!”

“Speaking of which,” said Pipp, checking her phone with a frown, “where are they? They should have gotten here around the same time as us, and that was about 45 minutes ago.”

“Guys!” Shaggy exclaimed as he and Misty came around the corner, surprising the ponies for a moment. “This place is so cool!”

“Yeah!” Misty nodded enthusiastically as Scooby came around the corner, holding a gigantic bone in his mouth. “Check out the bone that Scoob found!”

“Yeah,” Scooby spoke with the bone in his mouth. “Whoa, where did you guys find that thing?” Hitch asked with wide eyes. “It’s huge!”

“It was partially buried in the dirt back there,” Shaggy said, a little confused. “Why?”

“Don’t move!” Svankmajer then said, rushing forward and speaking to Scooby in a cautious tone. “Put the bone down and back away slowly.”

Scooby cautiously did as asked, letting Svankmajer examine the bone with a gasp. “The femur of a massospondylus. This could be a major find! Winsor! Massospondylus!”

Winsor rushed from another part of the cavern he was in with Velma, and studied the bone like Svankmajer did just a few moments ago. “Carinatus?”

“Possibly harriesi!” the professor nodded in response. “Rock on!” Winsor said with a light gasp, high-fiving her just before they turned to Misty, Shaggy and Scooby with wide smiles. “Misty, Shaggy, Scooby,” said the professor, “I'd like to thank you for a significant contribution to paleontology.”

“The study of… pale things?” Shaggy guessed innocently. “...no,” Zipp shook her head, leaving Shaggy to shrug. “Oh.”

“Well, it wasn’t just us, though,” Misty interrupted. “If it weren’t for a new friend of ours lighting the way, we wouldn’t have found it at all.”

“New friend?” Sunny questioned in surprise. “Who’s your friend?”

“Come on out, your highness,” Misty beckoned. “Our friends won’t hurt you.”

Silhouette cautiously came out of hiding from a nearby space nearby, causing many of the group to gasp in surprise. “Is that a Sky Fury?” Winsor asked out of surprise. “I just thought they were myths and legends around here!”

“Guys, this is Silhouette BlueSky-- the Sky Furies’s queen,” Misty explained. “Her whole colony was attacked by poachers, and now her home is destroyed and she can’t find her subjects anywhere around here. I told her that maybe you guys could help us figure out what to do.”

“Oh… we’re so sorry to hear about your home, your majesty,” Daphne said sympathetically. “But, until you’re ready to search for a new home or search for your missing subjects, maybe you can stay with us.”

“Yeah, we always have room left over for new friends!” Izzy said, bouncing cheerfully. “And we haven’t had a queen on our adventure since Pipp and Zipp’s mom!”

“Oh, well… I wouldn’t want to put anyone out,” Silhouette said cautiously. “You wouldn’t be doing anything like that,” Zipp brushed off. “Besides, I’d love to find out more about Sky Furies and what all they can do.”

“Well… if you all really insist…” Silhouette said before nodding. “I accept your invitation.”

“Great!” Pipp smiled as they walked along. “I’d love to get an interview with you for my socials, and I’m sure my sister has some…”

As his friends walked out of sight with the disheartened queen, Scooby suddenly got an idea, picked up the femur bone and buried it lightly in the dirt before giggling and trotting after his friends.

He wasn’t doing anything bad, I assure you-- Scooby was just doing what all dogs do, bury things.

But, they will have a hard time looking for it again under all that dirt.

XXXXXXXX

By the time the group had left the mine, the sun had set and the stars were out, making the queen feel much more comfortable with her surroundings.

Shaggy, on the other hand, was comfortable with the way things were right then, whether it was day or not. “Like, sitting in hot tubs, eating barbecue and helping science? This is the greatest trip ever!” he said to his friends. “And it’s 100% non-scary. I don't even remember what it's like to be…”

Before he could finish, the La Serena mine sign came crashing in front of them, a huge bite taken out of it. “...SCARED!!!” Shaggy yelped out of fear while everyone else stopped in shock.

“Oh my pony,” Pipp gasped, taking pictures of the scene. “What in Equestria could have done THAT?!”

Her question was soon answered when a dinosaur-like figure tossed a giant working machine into the valley below and roared at the top of its lungs-- the same dinosaur that Scooby could have sworn he saw earlier!

Shaggy was the one most terrified, not being able to move at all from his frightened position. “...now I remember!”

“GHOST DINOSAUR!!!” one of the college students who was helping with the dig screamed as the dinosaur leapt into the work zone and roared again, this time, even sending most of the gang, the ponies, Winsor and Silhouette on the run.

However, when they turned back, they found Shaggy, still frozen in place, while Svankmajer seemed interested in the prehistoric ghoul. “Interesting. It somewhat resembles an appalachiosaurus… only glowing and not extinct!”

The ghostly dinosaur let out another roar, and Scooby and Winsor rushed forward to get their friends out of harm's way. “Come on!” Winsor said as he dragged the professor away, just before the dinosaur growled and charged to attack. This caused Scooby to scream and grab Shaggy before running in fright. “Misty, you and Izzy follow Shaggy and Scooby while we get everyone else somewhere safe!” Sunny told the blue and purple unicorns. “You got it, Sunny!” Misty nodded before running off with Izzy on her heels.

XXXXXXXX

Izzy and Misty led Scooby, who was still carrying the dazed Shaggy, to a pushcart and helped their friends onto it before Scooby pushed them all away, with the ghostly dinosaur hot on their heels-- the dinosaur even broke through solid rock in order to catch up to them!

Velma, Daphne, Pipp and Sunny gasped fearfully at this, but as they neared a lever, Izzy got an idea and yanked on it, causing the track they were on to switch and lead into a nearby tunnel where the dinosaur couldn't follow... well, at least until they burst out of the tunnel on the other side, and this led to part two of the chase.

As they watched their friends come out of the tunnel and be chased by the dinosaur again, Zipp growled in frustration before making a decision. “No prehistoric reptile messes with our friends! Come on, guys!”

“Hey, wait for us!” Hitch cried as they followed Zipp and Fred into the Mystery Machine to give chase and save their friends from their prehistoric peril.

XXXXXXXX

“Faster, guys, faster! The dinosaur thing is gaining on us!” Misty urged her friends as they kept pushing the lever up and down repeatedly to try and speed the cart up, while the Mystery Machine chased after them on the path below, ready to strike at the right moment.

The dinosaur continued to chomp at the group with its large teeth, steadily getting closer and closer to them. As Misty, Scooby and Izzy feared they were going to be eaten, Fred swerved the Mystery Machine at the dinosaur, and the ponies and Queen Silhouette slammed into the side of it to give it more power. This ramming caused the dinosaur to slip off the cliff and fall into the ravine below.

Upon seeing this, the unicorns and Scooby sighed in relief. “That was too close,” Misty sighed. “We were almost the dinosaur’s dinner back there!”

“Uh… but we could be cliff consumptions in a matter of seconds! WE’RE HEADING STRAIGHT FOR IT!!!” Izzy shrieked, pointing to the edge of the cliff with her hoof. “Quick, pull on the breaks!” Misty shrieked. “We have to stop before we get to the edge!”

“Right!”

Everyone pulled on the brakes in unison, straining with all their might, and slowly… slowly… slowly…

…they stopped, just before they could hit the sign at the end of the tracks.

The ponies and their friends each let out a sigh of relief as they rushed toward their frightened friends, but Shaggy hadn’t moved since the incident occurred-- and he still had that frightened look on his face. “Oh my goodness,” Silhouette said with a concerned look on her face. “What’s the matter with Shaggy?”

“He’s… broken!” Scooby whimpered worriedly for the sake of his best friend. “He has something called acute-threat-avoidance-hypertrophy disorder,” Sunny explained to the queen, “which is basically something that extends his fears to the highest level.”

“I mean, who WOULDN’T be scared after that whole experience?” Pipp asked with a shudder. “Speaking of which… what happened to old Jurassic face?”

Winsor peeked over the side of the cliff, and seemed relieved when he saw that the dinosaur ghost had vanished from sight, walking further into the ravine. “I think he’s gone, Pipp. We’re safe… for now at least.”

“Well, gang,” Fred declared, “it looks like we have a mystery on our hands.”

“In that case,” said Daphne, “could we scrap that paint off the van? I’m getting sick of riding around in the Mustard Machine.”

“Definitely. But first, we have to get Shaggy taken care of,” Sunny said as she watched Shaggy continue to mumble and twitch, frightened, causing her to sigh worriedly. “And we need to do it fast.”

Clues at the Dig/Shaggy's Biker Beatdown

“This way, guys!” Sunny led her group through the clouds on their way into the heart of La Serena. “We should be getting close to the restaurant right about now!”

Shaggy and Scooby cheered wildly upon Silhouette’s back as she soared behind Sunny, never having such a fun dragon ride until now.

In a way... they could get used to doing something like this.

Just... not on an everyday basis.

Eventually, the group descended onto the street and walked into the restaurant, finding a table and settling themselves for a few minutes before they got themselves something you eat.

Queen Silhouette had gotten a small plate of chicken while Sunny decided to start out with a light salad before moving onto something else. Shaggy and Scooby, however, took more of a... filling approach.

And by that, Shaggy and Scooby piled as much food onto their plates as they could to make a huge sandwich, and Shaggy would have taken the first bite if Faith, the owner of the restaurant, looked over and saw them. “Whoa, guys, didn't you read the sign?” she asked, gesturing to the sign nearby. “Don’t take more than you can eat.”

“We read it,” Shaggy spoke. “What’s the problem?”

“Well, you can't possibly eat all…” Faith blinked in surprise to see that Shaggy and Scooby had devoured all the food on their plates in a matter of seconds. “Never mind.”

“Believe me, when you’ve known Shag and Scooby for as long as I have,” said Sunny with a light chuckle, “nothing surprises you about them anymore.”

“Speaking of which,” said Shaggy, looking at the Great Dane across from him, “you want seconds, Scoob?”

And you can probably guess what Scooby's answer to what question was. “You bet!”

With that, Shaggy and Scooby set off toward the buffet again, where Faith sighed and began to speak to herself. “So do I file for bankruptcy now or...?”

“Wait,” Silhouette stopped her from speaking, her keen dragon hearing picking up a sound. “Do you both hear that?”

The sound that the three girls were hearing were the sound of motorcycle engines revving, and a whole horde of them stopped outside before a rough-and-tumble group of riders came into the restaurant. “Give me eats!” one of them shouted, causing the three girls to look worried.

What in the world was gonna go wrong in this scenario?

XXXXXXXX

Back at the dig, the others had been looking around for any clues when Pipp suddenly stopped at something that made her eyes go wide. “Uh… you guys…?” she asked, pointing to something on the ground with her booted hoof. “What does this look like to you?”

“Well, based on my animal knowledge,” Hitch inspected the markings Pipp had found, “I’d say they look like dinosaur tracks and… snake tracks? Really BIG snake tracks?”

“Could this have something to do with the snakes Mr. Hubley mentioned?” Velma wondered. “Maybe,” Daphne said in thought. “I think it's time we check out those mine tunnels.”

Pipp sighed under her breath as everyone looked toward the tunnels in question. “Great… we get to go into a dark cave infested with snakes.”

“I know you hate the thoughts of it, Pipp, but we have to try,” Misty spoke sincerely. “If we don’t, the entire dig could be in trouble!”

“All right, all right… you ponies sure know how to make your point,” Pipp muttered. “But if a snake lays eggs in my mane, you’re all sharing the cost to get them out.”

XXXXXXXX

Back at the diner, Shaggy and Scooby, along with Sunny and Queen Silhouette, continued to eat while the bikers continued to be noisy and throw food at each other, causing several other customers to fearfully leave.

Sunny began to get worried about the bikers’ behavior, and turned to Faith with a frown on her face. “Those guys aren’t going to get out of control, are they?”

“Don’t worry,” Faith assured with an edge of nervousness to her voice. “I think they'll be okay as long as no one does anything to aggravate them.”

“All right…” Silhouette said as she nodded in understanding. “So… what exactly would aggravate them to a point where things would get violent?”

Shaggy took a huge bite of his sandwich, unaware that he had squirted one of the bikers with the sauces he had put on there, causing the bikers to suddenly get angry and turn to them. “Well…” Sunny gulped. “There’s that, for instance.”

The bikers began to angrily approach, and Silhouette bared her teeth and snarled, her wings unfolded. “Halt! As queen of the Sky Furies, I command you to turn around and leave my friends alone!”

“Back off, lizard breath!” one of the bikers said before getting out a chain of some sort and thrusting it at the queen, nearly hitting her a few times before she was knocked aside, causing Sunny to gasp and run to her. “Are you okay?”

“A little shaken, but otherwise, fine,” Silhouette responded. “But, I’m more worried about our friends than myself right now.”

“Here's the plan,” Shaggy then whispered to Scooby. “On the count of three, you invent a time machine. One, two…”

But before Shaggy could finish, he found himself being grabbed by the shirt and hung in the air by one of the bikers in charge, causing Sunny to wince. “And… there goes the bladder.”

Scooby moaned and put a paw to his face… how in the world could this get any worse?

XXXXXXXX

Misty and Izzy led their group forward with their horns glowing brightly, just as Daphne was voicing a theory of her own as the entire group walked through the mine tunnels. “So maybe giant snakes are coming up from the cavern,” she said, “and clustering together into the shape of a dinosaur!”

“Huh?” blinked Zipp and Hitch out of confusion. “I know it sounds weird... but is it any weirder than a ghost dinosaur?” Daphne asked. “Well, I've learned more than anypony that things aren't always what they seem,” Pipp said. “Especially when I've been reading my Spooky Stables books. We'll just have to wait and see, and see if we can find any other clues.”

“I think I heard something from in there,” Velma gestured to a nearby tunnel to the left of the group. “Let's check it out.”

But as they prepared to walk into the tunnel, Winsor leapt out from the darkness, startling them. “Stop! Do not move!”

“...hi, Winsor,” Velma said with a romantic smile. “Hello, Velma,” Winsor spoke with the same sincerity, holding her hands. Misty, Izzy and Pipp cooed at this while Zipp and Hitch looked at Fred and Daphne for a moment.

Fred cleared his throat to get their attention, but it didn't work.

So he tried for a second time, but it didn't work then either.

Finally, Fred tried for a third and final time, this time being louder than the others. But instead of the reaction he was expecting, Velma tossed him some candies, still focused on Winsor as Fred sighed in frustration. “Cough drops.”

“Winsor,” Zipp spoke up afterwards, “were you going to say something?”

“Uh, yes. Uh, you have really pretty nostrils,” Winsor told Velma, causing Pipp to gag at this one romantic line. “To all of us?” Daphne raised his eyebrow. “You said, 'stop', remember? Sounded kind of important?”

This is what caused Winsor to shake his head to clear his thoughts. “What? Oh. Oh, yes, yes, yes. Sorry. Stop, don't go in there, because it's full of snakes.”

Misty shuddered at the sound of this. “I'd say that's important.”

“Yep,” Fred nodded stiffly. “It's fine in the upper levels. The, uh, snakes don't come up this high,” Winsor said, keeping his eyes on Velma, who nodded. “Snakes stay low.”

“But in the lower caverns,” Winsor continued, “it's very dangerous. So we never go down there.”

Velma nodded, still entranced with the college student in front of her. “Stay out here.”

The others (except Izzy, who stills looked at the couple in awe) looked at each other in some form of concern, just before Winsor took Velma by the hand. “Can I show you some more parts of the dig we don't go into?”

“I like your nostrils too,” Velma told Winsor just as they ran off. But before the others could follow, Daphne pointed down at the ground leading in and out of the tunnel. “They never go down there, huh?”

“Daphne’s right,” Zipp said, inspecting the footprints going in and out of the tunnel. “Most of these tracks are fresh, like... within the hour, fresh. Something definitely seems up with this... but I'm not sure what.”

“You guys coming?” Winsor called to the others, and seeing no other choice, the others followed after the lovesick couple to make sure things went smoothly between the two.

XXXXXXXX

Back at the diner, Sunny and Silhouette guided the rest of the customers to safety as the bikers began to pick on Shaggy, all while Scooby hid behind a table with Faith.

Besides, everyone knew that wasn't much the others could do except try and figure out the right time to step in.

The bikers holding Shaggy seemed to tighten his grip after a moment. “Little buddy... this is gonna be bad.”

Right as he finished, Shaggy's eyes swirled hypnotically, and then, his terrified expression turned into a dark frown. “This can go two ways, punk,” Shaggy stared at the biker. “One, you walk away. Two, I walk on your face.”

The biker looked at Shaggy, confused and a little taken aback. there was a haunting silence, until the bikers began to laugh. None of them were intimidated by Shaggy's threat... in fact, they found it hilarious.

Scooby covered his eyes, anticipating the worst while Sunny and Silhouette winced and cringed at the way this was going. “Your choice,” Shaggy grinned as the bikers finished laughing. In the blink of an eye, Shaggy planted his foot against the biker's gut and made a complete flip, freeing himself from the biker's strong grasp. Instinctually swung at Shaggy with a right hook. Shaggy sidestepped and held the biker's left arm against his back. two more bikers ran into the fray. "Say hi to your friends, punk."

In an instant, Shaggy sent the first biker into the second one, causing the second biker to crumple to the floor. Then, he slammed the larger biker into the third one.

Another biker swung at Shaggy with a crowbar. But, Shaggy threw the first biker into him, sending both to the ground. More bikers joined in. Shaggy got down onto his hands and knees and tripped one of them.

Meanwhile, Scooby, Faith, Sunny and Silhouette hid behind one of the toppled tables for cover, wide eyed in amazement.

Shaggy backed up, letting two bikers collide with each other. He then noticed another biker behind him wielding a bicycle chain. The biker whipped the chain, but Shaggy avoided it by rolling over a table, and the bicycle chain wrapped itself the biker's feet, completely immobilizing him.

XXXXXXXX

While this is all happening, another biker was heading toward the diner, unaware of what was going on.

XXXXXXXX

Scooby, Faith, Sunny and the dragon queen watched as one biker was sent flying across the diner and another one pulled out a pocket knife. Seeing this, Shaggy shielded himself with one of the tables and violently tilted it down, causing the other side to deck the biker in the chin. His spiked helmet punctured a ceiling fan blade and all he could do was swing about, unintentionally striking his comrades with his dangling feet.

Another biker swung at Shaggy with a bat. This time, Shaggy tripped him, sending him flying into a shelf that had a trophy on it, and the trophy began to teeter. Faith noticed and gasp before she carefully made her way over to it to keep it from falling, while Shaggy was taking down the rest of the biker gang. “What are you doing?!” Silhouette whispered. “Trying to get yourself killed?!”

“I can't risk that trophy breaking,” the waitress answered. Shaggy threw one of the bikers through a wooden lattice panel, getting stuck in a barrel. But judt before Faith could reach the trophy, a biker grabbed it and charged at Shaggy. Shaggy grabbed a food tray and slammed into the biker, knocking the wind out of him.

Shaggy quickly grabbed the trophy and struck another biker with it before he wordlessly handed it over to the waitress, whilst putting another biker in a headlock. The waitress graciously took it, then quickly backed away as another biker charged at Shaggy, which he quickly disposed of while Faith ducked back to cover behind the table as the fight continued.

The biker stuck in the barrel came back to his senses and tried pulling himself out. However, three food cans rolled off a shelf and struck him in the head, knocking him out. One biker was sent flying into the barrel fixture on the building, popping the cork out while another biker was thrown at and crashed into the row of motorcycles, which toppled over like dominoes as the mysterious biker arrived at the diner.

XXXXXXXX

Scooby, Faith, and the ponies surveyed the carnage of the diner and all the downed bikers. “Is your lacrosse trophy all right, ma'am?“ Shaggy asked politely. “Yeah. Yeah, it's good,” Faith then replied with a nod. “Then my work here... is done,” Shaggy said coolly, looking at the downed bikers. “Shaggy, that was incredible!” Sunny said ecstatically. “I didn't know you could even do that! I mean, seriously-- how did you do that?!”

“Oh, that was nothing. Besides, those dudes were the ones who started it,” Shaggy smoothly replied.

But no one was expecting what would come next-- not by a long shot.

As the group began to come out of hiding, a tall figure appeared in the doorway, revealing himself to be the mysterious biker from earlier. “Man,” said the biker disappointedly, “you stop for an ice cream and you miss all the fun.”

Sunny and Silhouette gasped, gesturing Scooby and Faith back into the wall as a tall, muscular African American man approached Shaggy, a mixture of disbelief and irritation on his face. “You just beat up my whole gang?”

“Nope,” Shaggy answered calmly before smirking. “Seems like I missed one.”

“I like you, stranger,” the man smiled. “How about you and me settle this with a friendly little motorcycle race? Tonight at midnight. We'll start at Dead Man's Peak… race down Dead Man's Trail… come around Dead Man's Curve… and end in the parking lot on Dead Man's Avenue. Uh, ahem… unless you're scared.”

“Shaggy, I’m telling you, this is a bad idea!” Silhouette whispered in panic. “Those trails are very dangerous, even I’ve never hiked them!”

“Listen to her, Shaggy! She knows what she's talking about!” Sunny spoke quietly. “Please be scared,” Scooby begged his best friend. “Please be scared!”

But, Shaggy only smirked at the stranger. “I’ll see YOU at midnight.”

Silhouette, Sunny and Scooby each let out a whimper or a groan, but as the stranger turned to walk away, Shaggy spoke up again. “Oh, I might have to borrow a bike.”

The stranger looked at him in surprise. “You ain’t got a ride?”

“I've never been on a motorcycle in my entire life.”

The stranger merely chuckled at this with a small smirk. “Man, you are one crazy beatnik. I promise I won't kill you too bad.”

But, as the stranger said this and walked away, Shaggy snapped out of his trance, completely aware of what he just said, but had no idea HOW or WHY he said it. “Who? What? Aah! Dead Man's Peak! Dead Man's Trail! Dead Man's Curve!”

“...hold on,” Sunny stopped him. “Did he say Dead Man’s Avenue?”

“Yeah, it sort of merges with the curve,” Faith answered casually, but this only made Shaggy fall onto his knees, wondering only one thing. “WHAT HAVE I DONE?!!!!”

And honestly? Sunny wished she knew the answer herself.

Author's Note

A huge shout out to Indywriter Productions for their help with this scene!

Velma's Date/Preparing for the Motorcycle Race

While Shaggy was getting himself into the mess of a lifetime (challenging a total and scary motorcyclist by the name of Tex to a motorcycle race), Fred and Daphne, along with the rest of the Mane 6, were watching Velma interact with Winsor from behind some large boulders.

And needless to say, the two seemed infatuated with one another, but had no idea how to start their conversations.

Winsor finally took a deep breath and started speaking first. “So…”

“Yeah…” Velma nodded, keeping her eyes on Winsor. “So…”

“Uh, so…”

“Yeah…”

“Anyway, uh, I was maybe wondering,” Winsor began talking rather quickly, “if you'd wanna, like, I don't know, uh… go have dinner with me sometime…”

“Yes…”

“Or that kind of thing, maybe?”

“Yes!”

Pipp couldn't help but coo in the ponies' hiding place with their friends, her smile nice and wide. “Velma’s going on a real date! I knew this day would come!”

“Pipp, we don’t have time for that right now! Even though it is cute,” Misty smiled fondly before turning serious. “We have to find clues about the Phantosaur before it strikes again and somepony gets hurt!”

“Misty’s right. So, we’re on our own for the clue search then,” Fred told the others, who nodded and followed him away to start their search for clues.

XXXXXXXXX

Zipp used her magnifying glass and her drone to look around the desert for clues, but ended up having nothing else to go on.

And it seemed like the others weren't having much luck either...

...that is, until Daphne gestured them all into hiding, just as a man and woman in professional clothing came along, seeming like they were looking for something. “We got another geo report today,” the brown-haired woman told the blonde-haired guy, who was inspecting the ground next to her. “Ninety-eight percent sure there's silver down in that old mine.”

“Too bad the land isn't for sale,” the man said, tossing away a pebble while looking up at his co-worker. “Yes… too bad,” the woman smirked. “But maybe we’ll get lucky.”

“Right,” the man nodded sinisterly. “Maybe this ‘mysterious’ Phantosaur will scare people so much, they'll decide to sell us their land.”

“There it is,” the woman suddenly spoke, walking over to the pushcart the gang used the night before and grabbing the giant dinosaur tooth stuck inside of it. “Don't wanna leave evidence lying around.”

And with that, the couple got into a van marked ‘Thaumatrope Mining Company’ and drove off, leading the others to come out of hiding. “You know, guys,” Zipp said with a narrowed gaze, “I think we may have this one wrapped up.”

“Not quite, Zipp,” Daphne said with a slight smirk. “You and Freddy still haven't caught anyone in a net.”

“True,” Fred nodded, “but we still need to do more research before that stage.”

“We’ll grab Velma and head to our guest room,” Hitch said. “Then, we can really buckle down and make sure this Phantosaur goes down too.”

XXXXXXXX

A little while after gathering Velma from Winsor, the remaining gang members headed back to their guest room at the spa, doing research about the van they saw leaving the mine earlier. “Okay, guys, think,” Fred told the others. “The side of the van was marked Thaumatrope Mining Company.”

“If only there was some way we could learn more about Thaumatrope Mining,” Daphne said, looking at her laptop helplessly. “Uh… Daph?” Pipp got to work, typing as fast as she could before the website for the mining company popped up. “Oh yeah,” Daphne said with a slight blush. “Thanks, Pipp.”

“Anytime, girlfriend!”

“According to the website Pipp pulled up,” said Fred, “the mining company closed down the mine when Svankmajer found the dinosaur bones. Those mining company guys have gotta be behind the Phantosaur. What do you think, Velma?”

“Italian.”

The ponies turned to her in confusion at this. “Huh?”

“Or maybe French. I don't know,” Velma said as she finished putting on her makeup. “Velma, I can’t believe I’m saying this to YOU of all people,” said Misty, “but what’re you talking about?”

“What kind of restaurant to go to with Winsor,” Velma answered the blue unicorn as if it were obvious. “Is there anything else to talk about? In the world? Answer, no.”

“Oooh, some good date drama to get the blood pumping! Good idea!” Pipp said enthusiastically. “Well, speaking as a princess, Italian always seems to be great for a first date.”

“Or possibly sushi!” Velma said as she applied her blush. “It's a good date food. You know, small pieces that don't interrupt conversation too much. But I won't eat the salmon eggs. Ew.”

“Boy, Velmster, I hear you,” Izzy said with a chuckle. “Who in their right mind would eat salmon eggs? And one more thing… what’s salmon?”

“...anyway,” Fred sighed, shaking his head before turning to the others, “as soon as Sunny, Shaggy, Scooby and Queen Silhouette get back, we'll investigate this mining company for clues.”

“Well, according to the GPS I put on Sunny’s phone,” Zipp said, “she and the others should be getting close.”

Shaggy’s yelling confirmed this as he, Scooby, Sunny and the dragon queen raced through the door, pinning it shut as Shaggy sobbed in despair. “Don't wanna go down Dead Man's Avenue-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo…!!”

“Dead Man’s Ave-what-now?” Pipp blinked in surprise. “Shaggy, Shaggy, slow down!” Misty said, trying to comfort her frightened friend. “What’s going on?”

“Well, we found out Mr. Hubley’s thing actually worked!” Sunny told her friends. “And Shaggy wasn’t scared one bit!”

“And then I fought some guys and saved the lacrosse trophy,” Shaggy continued in panic, “and a big scary man challenged me to a motorcycle race!!”

“And it’s on one of the most challenging roads in all of La Serena,” Silhouette finished, “at midnight tonight!”

“Yikes… you really got yourself into that one, huh, Shag?” Hitch tried to be comforting, but this only lead to Zipp elbowing him and Pipp shushing him. “A motorcycle race? That’s not so terrible,” Fred tried consoling. “Do you know how to ride a motorcycle?”

“No idea.”

“...it’s terrible,” Fred deadpanned. “It’s okay, Shaggy,” Daphne reassured gently. “I can teach you. I've been riding since I was 5.”

“Um, forgive me for being so blunt, Daphne,” Silhouette spoke up in concern, “but isn’t it illegal for a 5-year-old to ride a motorcycle?”

“Yeah, but how was I supposed to know?” Daphne shrugged to the dragon queen. “I was only 5.”

“I… you know, I actually don’t have any form of rebuttal to that,” Zipp deadpanned. “Ooh, and I can make us ponies some seriously cool motorcycle outfits so we blend into the crowd!” Pipp exclaimed. “Man, my fashion senses are really coming in handy on this adventure! Three new outfits all within the last few days!”

“Great…” Zipp said sarcastically. “So many outfits, so little time.”

“This one?” Velma held up two identical sweaters. “Or… this one?”

“Man,” Fred whispered, “she’s got it bad for Winsor.”

At hearing the word ‘bad’, Shaggy shot up, back in his brave state, and Scooby tried to once again guess the keyword used. “Winsor?”

“Yeah,” Daphne nodded. “This could be bad for our investigation.”

But then, hearing bad a second time made Shaggy go nervous again, making Izzy take a stab at trying to figure the keyword out. “Investigation?”

“Or maybe it's our investigation,” Fred said, making Shaggy go brave again, “that's bad for her relationship with Winsor.”

“Relationship?!” Hitch asked but got no kind of response. Unless it's a bad match. If they have a bad date, then maybe it's a bad idea… to worry about how bad the investigation is going,” Daphne said, unknowingly making Shaggy go from brave to scared repeatedly. “Or how bad we wanna solve this mystery.”

Now Izzy, Hitch, Pipp, Misty and Scooby were each trying to figure out the keyword.

“Match?”

“Date?”

“Idea?”

“Going?!”

“Mystery?!”

Shaggy, however, approached Daphne with a hopeful look on his face. “Can you really teach me to ride?”

“Sure,” Daphne nodded. “And I can help give you some tips from skating experience,” Sunny smiled. “Daph and I will give you the crash course!”

“Like, that's what I'm afraid of,” Shaggy whimpered as they all headed out the door. “Pipp, you get to work on those outfits,” Zipp told her sister. “We’ll take care of the whole Shaggy situation while you keep an eye on Velma until Winsor comes to pick her up.”

Pipp nodded as they all headed out the door, where Scooby was STILL trying to figure out the keyword to Shaggy’s trance.

“Uh… afternoon?”

Shaggy shook his head. “No.”

“Alphabet.”

“No.”

“Ambulance? Apple? Attitude? Avocado?”

“I don’t wanna race motorcycles!!”

Pipp sighed as she watched Velma dance around the room while she sketched out the ponies’ new outfit designs. “One thing is definitely for sure... this is going to be one long night…”

XXXXXXXX

Winsor picked Velma up at the spa about a half an hour later, and with Pipp giving Velma some last minute date tips, Winsor drove Velma to the popular sushi restaurant in town, where they got a table to themselves and began looking at the menu. “I can’t decide what to start with,” Velma admitted. “Neither can I,” Winsor shook his head. “I like everything except for salmon eggs.”

“Ugh!”

“Ew!”

Winsor blinked in surprise when Velma had the same reaction as him, but smiled sheepishly afterwards. “Wow, you are like my clone, except you're a girl and you're cute.”

“You too,” Velma nodded. “I mean, the cute part and the clone part. That was really brave of you, saving Svankmajer from the Phantosaur.”

Winsor seemed to sink lower behind his menu, and as the waiter brought them some water that they had ordered a few minutes before, Winsor took a sip before Velma brought up another topic of conversation. “So you think that Phantosaur was...?”

“Phantosaur, Phantosaur,” Winsor sighed irritably. “Is that all you ever wanna talk about? Can we just please change the subject? Sheesh.”

As Winsor went back to looking at his menu, Velma couldn't help but wonder what about the Phantosaur that Winsor didn't want to talk about...

...and if she had made a big mistake in mentioning it.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, the ponies had gotten settled into the new motorcyclist outfits that Pipp had made, just in time to watch Shaggy's motorcycle lesson with Daphne.

Sunny's outfit was a dark magenta, like in her mane, with black on the boots she was wearing and there was black on the chest, and white areas around the black areas as well.
Hitch's outfit was mainly dark green with white in various places (like on the chest and circle designs on the suit itself) with black on the boots.
Pipp's outfit was purple (naturally), but her pants were a darker shade of purple than her jacket. Her wings were even spray-painted the same color as her jacket, and she wore black boots on her hooves as well.
Izzy's outfit was dark purple, with black and white boots and various white designs all over the suit itself.
Zipp's outfit was white and dark pink with a dark pink jacket and lightning bolt designs on it, along with dark pink boots.
Lastly, Misty's outfit was dark blue with white boots with zigzags on them, a strip of white around the waist and on her chest.

The ponies sat with Fred, Queen Silhouette and Scooby on the side while Daphne and Shaggy each sat on their individual bikes. Shaggy was currently (and nervously) revving the engine, having gotten the basics down. “Good, very good,” Daphne praised. “You can go a little heavier on the throttle. You don't wanna stall. Now, let's get moving, okay?”

“Do we have to…?” Shaggy asked nervously. “Shaggy, relax,” Zipp smiled. “With Daphne as your teacher, you’ll be just fine.”

“It’s just like riding a bike!” Izzy agreed. “Except this bike has a motor and can go much faster and can kill you if you aren’t careful.”

“Izzy! Not helping!” Hitch said in a scolding tone, trying not to be nervous himself and frighten Shaggy… despite Shaggy already being nervous. “Like Zipp said, you’ll be fine,” Daphne said before moving forward slowly. “Now, just ease forward a little…”

Shaggy nervously mimicked her movements and ended up moving forward a bit more quickly than he expected, causing Hitch to yelp before silencing himself while Daphne continued with the lesson. “And give it a little more gas.”

However, Shaggy gave it a little TOO much gas, and came out of the parking lot screaming and racing at top speed. “Okay,” Daphne called out, “a little less!”

“This is just my opinion, Daphne,” Silhouette said gently as they stared off in the direction Shaggy was riding, “but I think you should have started with how to work the brakes.”

“We better get something rigged up to catch Shaggy,” Zipp said, “otherwise he’ll be speeding all over town and we can’t stop him!”

XXXXXXXX

Shaggy rode on that motorcycle all throughout La Serena, unsure of how to stop himself. But honestly... the ride was actually a lot more fun than even he thought it would be.

Eventually, as he made a lap through the town and past the parking lot, Fred put his new plan into action. “Now!”

Sunny, in her alicorn form, Queen Silhouette, Pipp and Zipp then took off into a gallop, pulling Scooby on a hang glider behind them before they all lifted off into the sky after Shaggy.

Once they were close enough, Scooby tried to pull Shaggy off the motorcycle, but he accidentally got hung on the motorcycle as well, causing Sunny, Pipp and Zipp to break free of the hang glider and zoom after their friends.

XXXXXXXX

While this was going on, Winsor and Velma were leaving their date and smiling, obviously very happy and content with one another. Suddenly, Winsor pushed Velma to safety on the other side of the road when Shaggy and Scooby came barreling through, with Silhouette, Sunny, Pipp and Zipp flying overhead.

Not even a few seconds later, Fred and Daphne came hightailing it down the street on the other motorcycle. “Carry on with your date!” Fred called to the couple before they zipped around the corner, leaving Izzy, Hitch and Misty to stop behind Velma and Winsor. “Guys… need help!” Misty panted. “Can’t… stop it… by ourselves!”

That’s when Velma got an idea and turned to Winsor. “Can I have your keys?”

“What?”

“Just for a minute. Your key ring.”

Winsor saw it on his belt loop and gave it to Velma, who used the retractable line as a lasso and flung the keys over a nearby wire. “Everyone, help me pull!”

“We can do that!” Hitch said, and he, Izzy and Misty began to pull the line downwards toward them just enough that when Shaggy and Scooby passed through…

…they got hung on the line, finally stopping their wild ride!

The ponies sighed in relief… that was too close. “All right! Great practice run!” Daphne said to Shaggy. “Now, let’s just try it one more time.”

This caused everyone, including Shaggy and Scooby, to glance at her with wide eyes. “What?” Daphne asked. “I’m trying to be encouraging.”

“I hate to say it, but that’s too soon, even for me,” Zipp said with a frown. “Yeah, too soon, Daphers,” Izzy shook her head scoldingly. “Too soon.”

The Motorcycle Race and the First Phantosaur's Unmasking

Finally, as midnight drew closer and closer, and with a little bit more practice, Shaggy was declared ready for his race with Tex, and rode up Dead Man's Peak, where the race was set to begin.

Pipp even got him a new leather jacket for the occasion, feeling that looking like a biker might help him FEEL like a biker.

Shaggy looked down the side of Dead Man's Peak with a bit of nervousness-- there was no way he could do this... but he didn't want to let the ponies or his friends down either.

Maybe someone would say the keyword and snap him into his brave alter-ego... or maybe Tex would have a chance of heart and call off the race entirely. But before he could get anymore thoughts in...

“Hey, beatnik!”

Shaggy yelped and jumped right onto his bike at the sound of the sudden voice, and turned to see Tex ride up behind him. “Nice reflexes you got there, buddy,” he said with an impressed smile. “And excellent balance!”

“Mr. Texas, sir?” Shaggy asked nervously as he sat down on his bike. “Do we really have to do this race thingy?”

“Oh, it’s just a little old bike race,” Tex told Shaggy cockily. “How bad could it be?”

Suddenly, Shaggy snapped into his braver alter-ego and revved his bike, pulling up beside Tex with a determined smirk. “Then let’s do it already.”

Tex then rode into position as another biker at the top of some nearby rocks raised the starting flag. “Three… two… one… GUN IT!!!”

At that moment, both bikes burst forward, with Tex taking an early lead, with Shaggy right behind.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, the others were at the bottom of the mountain, waiting for the motorcycles to make it down to them so they could see who was going to win the race. “Oh, here they come down Dead Man’s Trail!” Zipp said as she and Pipp viewed the entire thing through their binoculars. “Aw, man! But Tex has an early lead!”

“Don’t count Shaggy out of the race yet, guys,” Sunny told her friends. “I have a feeling he’s gonna show EVERYPONY up out of this one.”

“I do hope you’re right, Sunny,” Silhouette told the earth pony mare. “Those trails can be very perilous at this time of night.”

“Come on, Shaggy, come on…” Zipp muttered under her breath. “Kick his flank…”

XXXXXXXX

Shaggy continued to have a steady pace behind Tex, surprising Tex to the core-- Shaggy was acting like he had spent his whole life on a bike, and wasn’t scared at all!

He had to do something to shake him, or else he might win!

That’s when he suddenly got an idea.

He skidded his bike over the side of the road, causing it to crumble and break apart, just as Shaggy got to it, causing Shaggy to stop. However, Shaggy had a plan of his own in mind.

Shaggy rode his motorcycle up the side of the cliff before going back down it, jumping the huge canyon and landing on the other side... right in front of Tex!

Tex was shocked to see this and tried his best to get ahead, even after making several jumps.

However, he gained a little too much height on the last jump and fell off his motorcycle and off the cliff, grabbing onto a small root hanging out of the side.

He was really in danger now-- if someone didn't do something fast, he was going to fall and get killed... or worse!

XXXXXXXX

“Oh my pony! Guys!” Misty said as she lowered her binoculars. “Tex is hanging off the side of the cliff!”

“We have to help him!” Sunny said as several of the others gasped in horror, preparing to run off. “We’d never be able to get there in time, Sunny!” Zipp told the earth pony mare. “Even if we flew! We’re just too far away!”

“Wait… there is one guy who might be able to save Tex before that root breaks!” Pipp said, pulling out her phone and shooting Shaggy a text. “I just hope Shaggy pauses the race in time to do the right thing…”

XXXXXXXX

Tex knew that at any moment, that root was going to break-- he needed to get back on solid ground, and fast.

But as he tried to reach for the cliff and pull himself up, the roof finally snapped, and Tex yelled, expecting to fall toward the ground when a hand reached down and grabbed him.

And when Tex looked up... it was Shaggy who had saved his life! “You didn’t think you were gonna get out of the race that easy, did you?”

Tex flashed Shaggy a smile, just before Shaggy pulled Tex back onto solid ground.

XXXXXXXX

Back on the ground, everyone cheered at Shaggy’s heroic rescue, overjoyed that he was able to come back and save his racing rival before he fell to his death.

But Zipp and Pipp were the proudest of all. “Good job, Shaggy…” Zipp smiled. “That’s true courage right there.”

XXXXXXXX

“On three?” Shaggy asked Tex, wanting to get the race done with. Tex chuckled with a smile on his face. “Sure.”

“Three!”

In an instant, Shaggy sped off down the remainder of Dead Man’s Trail, with Tex right behind until they got to the bottom and rounded a corner, causing Tex to once again take the lead.

But then, Tex saw something ahead that made his eyes go wide. “What the heck?!”

The Phantosaur appeared right along the path, causing Tex to immediately halt in his tracks. Shaggy, however, kept speeding right toward it, much to Scooby’s horror. “Oh no!!”

“He’s playing chicken with the Phantosaur?!” Hitch cried. “I know Mr. Hubley’s stuff is powerful, but maybe it’s working a little too well!”

As Shaggy continued to speed toward the Phantosaur, confident thoughts filled his mind. “Phantosaur thinks he’s the tough guy, huh?” he challenged. “Phantosaur thinks he’s so… bad.”

But even THINKING the keyword made Shaggy snap back to normal, right as he was approaching the Phantosaur, causing him to scream and immediately turn and flee.

That’s when Misty and Scooby knew that they needed to step in. “We’re coming, Shaggy!!”

The blue unicorn and her Great Dane pal immediately sprinted out into the open, and as they got close enough, got on the motorcycle with Shaggy. “Misty!” Shaggy cried in surprise. “Scooby!”

“Hey, Shaggy!” Misty panted. “Hope you don’t mind a few more passengers!”

At that moment, the motorcycle flew past a large bush, revealing the same van from the mining company that the others had seen earlier. Once they had seen this, Zipp immediately gestured for her friends to follow her. “Come on!”

The others followed the white pegasus over to the van, where Pipp gasped upon seeing the large cables coming from it. “Hey! Check out the marks from these cables!”

“They're just like the snake tracks we saw at the dig!” Velma realized, causing Daphne to nod. “And I'll bet I know where those cables lead.”

“I have a plan,” Fred announced to the group. “Does it involve a net?” Sunny asked with a knowing smirk, causing Fred to give one right back to her. “Awesome!” Izzy cheered. “We’re so in!”

“Can we help?”

That’s when everyone turned to see the entire biking crew standing behind them, causing Zipp to smile. “That would be great! Some of you man the hose nearby-- we’re gonna flood these culprits right out of hiding!”

XXXXXXXX

Misty, Shaggy and Scooby screamed as they rode across the desert with the Phantosaur right on their heels, but luckily, the others were beginning their plan as we speak.

They turned on the hose, which was leading right to the mining van, and the water flooded the man and woman they saw earlier out of it, screaming in panic, and this allowed the ponies to use the net Fred had gave them to hold them down. “It’s the mining company guys!” Daphne realized. “Just like we thought!”

“But, uh… quick question,” Hitch nervously spoke. “What happens to cables when they get wet?!”

Silhouette suddenly saw electric sparks flowing out of the cable and toward the Phantosaur, immediately knowing what was going to happen and gasping before spreading her wings. “I’ll get the others out of harm’s way!”

With that, the dragon queen took off like a rocket, flying across the desert before picking up Shaggy, Scooby and Misty just before the electric sparks reached the Phantosaur and caused it to short circuit, falling to the ground with a giant crash.

Shaggy, while relieved, chuckled slightly at seeing this. “Huh… faint-o-saur.”

Scooby and Silhouette each let out a giggle at this, smiling that they were finally out of harm's way.

But now wasn’t the time for jokes… it was finally time to unmask this mystery once and for all.

Case Closed?/Another Batch of Dino Attacks

The Phantosaur haunting the town of La Serena were the makings of the man and woman from the Thaumatrope Mining Company that the gang had spotted just a few hours ago, and with the Phantosaur finally defeated, it was time to get some answers.

As soon as everyone was reunited, the bikers kept a close watch on the villains, now known as Deitch and Babbit, while Fred began the interrogations. “So these Phantosaurs are animatronic dinosaurs,” he said, “from the real live dinosaurs exhibit your company sponsored.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Deitch nodded. “We hauled two of them out here a few days ago.”

“Then,” Babbit continued, “we set a power cable, so we could operate them from the van.”

“Power cables!” Misty suddenly realized. “So that’s what caused those snake tracks we saw outside the mine!”

“Except they weren’t really snakes at all!” Pipp said before sighing, relieved. “Thank goodness for that…”

“All we had to do,” Deitch continued, “was add a few decorations and glow paint to make it look like that Indian legend had come alive.”

“It turned out pretty good, huh?” Babbit smirked. “Deitch here went to art school.”

“Ooh, I’d love to see what you can do to a canvas!” Izzy said before handing her a business card. “When you get out of prison, hook up with me-- maybe I can get your artwork in the Maretime Bay museum someday.”

“Uh… thanks,” Deitch said awkwardly as Izzy trotted back to her friends. “But there’s still one thing I don’t get,” Silhouette said. “Why go to all this trouble anyway?”

“We just found a new vein of silver near the mines,” Deitch explained. “But as long as those scientists were digging, we couldn’t touch it.”

“So you created the Phantosaurs to scare them away,” Velma figured it all out at that moment. “Yeah,” Deitch nodded. “Hey, it could have worked.”

“It would have,” Babbit corrected. “And we would've gotten away with it if it hadn't been for you meddling ponies and kids.”

“And we’re proud of it!” the ponies chorused in unison with a slight laugh. Suddenly, police sirens sounded as two police cars approached and immediately took Deitch and Babbit into custody. “Well,” Fred announced, “looks like another mystery is solved.”

“Wow… do you always feel this good after solving one of these crimes?” asked Silhouette in awe. “Yeah… it feels pretty good to know that we stopped a crime-spree,” Zipp nodded in confirmation. “But… you know… it usually takes a little longer than this.”

“Yeah,” Velma nodded as they watched the police cars drive away. “I wonder how we solved it so quickly.”

“Probably thanks to my older sister,” Pipp said, nudging Zipp playfully. “She’s a master detective in her own right.”

“Heh… thanks,” Zipp smiled. “But I can’t take all the credit-- it was a team effort.”

“Well, now that this is all over,” said Sunny, “I wanna get back to the spa and get a good night’s sleep.”

“Sunny, my dear,” said the dragon queen with a relieved smile, “you’ve practically read my mind.”

XXXXXXXX

As the group drove down the road in the Mystery Machine, Shaggy was amazed at how he practically won the race thanks to... well, he honestly wasn't sure what. But it felt really good in that moment, so there was really no need to worry about it. “Nothing like a little motorcycle race to work up an appetite, eh, Scoob?”

“Yeah,” Scooby nodded, fist bumping him. “You were awesome!”

“Thanks, buddy!” Shaggy smiled. “By the way, how did I win the race?”

“I don’t know.”

“...me neither,” Shaggy admitted, just before seeing Zipp look puzzled and concerned over something all at once. “Hey, Zipster… you okay?”

“Don't get me wrong, Shaggy, I'm really happy that you won the race, and the fact that you weren't dinosaur chow,” Zipp said respectfully, “but... I just can't help but feel that we would be a lot better off if we knew your secret keyword. That way, we could keep a better record of your brave periods.”

“I hate to say it, but I think that Zipp might be right on this,” Hitch said with a slight frown. “We don't want Shaggy to get bold in the wrong circumstances, like... while he's being held at gunpoint or something.”

“But then again, Shaggy could go brave at the right moments, like saving us from a giant ferocious dragon,” Pipp pointed out. “We'll just have to keep experimenting and see which keyword it is.”

Zipp sighed reluctantly, knowing that her sister was right...

...and honestly, she hoped that they found out that secret keyword soon... for all their sakes.

XXXXXXXX

After a few minutes, they arrived back at the spa... but when they arrived, Mr. Hubley came running outside, looking panicked. “Stop! Stop!”

“It's Mr. Hubley!” Velma said with wide eyes. “And he seems pretty upset about something!” Izzy said in concern, and Mr. Hubley stopped at the van, out of breath from running and from panic. “Thank goodness you're back! Something terrible has happened! Last night, somebody broke in and took my PLR equipment!”

“What?! Ohh man, that is so not good!” Hitch said with wide eyes of panic. “Mr. Hubley, show us the scene of the crime,” Silhouette said, opening the door to let everyone else out, “and we'll work out who took the equipment and figure out how we can get it back for you. You have my word.”

XXXXXXXX

Mr Hubley did as the dragon queen asked, and immediate led the group through the hallways and into the dark PLR room. And just like Mr. Hubley said, the PLR projector had been completely ripped out, and many things in the room were in shambles as well. “Zoinks!” Shaggy said with a gasp. “The whole PLR thingy is, like, gonesville!”

“Yeah,” Scooby nodded. “And it was stolen too.”

“Whoever ripped the equipment out must be pretty strong,” Queen Silhouette pointed out in thought. “But what kind of creature would do something this extreme?”

“Look, guys! Claw marks!” Daphne said, feeling some of the markings on the desk in front of her. “Velma and I have a set of footprints here!” Zipp said, removing her visor while Velma inspected the footprints before her. “Dromaeosaurus theopod of the Mongolian species. In other words... a velociraptor. And more than one, judging from this mess.”

“Velociraptors?” Misty asked, confused. “But aren't they extinct? And besides, what would velociraptors, if they were still around, want with holographic equipment?”

“I have no idea, Misty,” Sunny shook her head in concern. “But one thing is for sure... we might still have a mystery on our hooves and hands.”

Suddenly, a clattering came from the next room, causing everyone to jump and shiver in fright. “They're still here!” Mr. Hubley exclaimed. “We should--”

“Shh!” Velma said, immediately silencing him. “Horns and lights out!”

Scooby visibly trembled as shadows in the next hallway over began to form, and they seemed to be inching closer, causing the group to back themselves even further into the darkness. “I feel the need to encourage all of you,” Zipp whispered to her friends, “nopony make a single sound!”

But that’s when the creatures revealed themselves-- a quartet of ferocious velociraptors snarling at them from the doorway and charging at them at full force. This left the group with only one solution. “RUN!!!!!”

Everyone screamed and ran out of the room with the velociraptors hot on their rears. Pipp eventually got split up with Shaggy and Scooby, getting the idea to hide in the large fountain in the middle of the spa. Fortunately for them, the velociraptor couldn't smell them through the water, so it stalked off to look somewhere else.

Once realizing that the dinosaur was gone, Shaggy, Pipp and Scooby burst out of the waters of the fountain, having held their breath for a rather long time. “I think…” Shaggy panted tiredly, “...we… lost him!”

“Well, I should HOPE so,” Pipp said with a shiver. “My wings are soaked and I won’t be able to fly until they’re dry again!”

“Hey, would you rather have had the prehistoric serial killer hunt us down?”

But as they were speaking, they had no idea the velociraptor had gotten into the water with them until they had turned to see him, causing them to scream and dive under the water in a chance to escape without much harm.

As they reached the kitchen, Pipp knew that they wouldn't have much time before the velociraptor was on their tails again, so they had to work fast. That's when she saw a set of baking equipment and got an idea. “How gifted are you boys about crafting dough-made lookalikes?”

“No idea what the heck that means,” Shaggy said, “but, like, if it gets us away from those ravenous reptiles, I’m all for it!”

So, Pipp began to instruct the duo to make the right kind of modeling dough, and then they shifted it and made it look just like them, giving them the signal to hide before the velociraptor showed up.

When it did, it roared and leapt on the dough figures, beginning to tear them to shreds before Pipp gestured for the boys to follow her discreetly out of the kitchen. Unfortunately, the velociraptor turned and saw them as they were escaping, sending them on the run once more.

Eventually, they all met up with the others, who were being chased by velociraptors themselves, until they were backed into a corner of the lobby, completely surrounded.

It was true... our heroes were trapped, and about ready to be eaten alive by prehistoric predators.

Well, they would have been eaten alive, if another roar in the distance had not caused the raptors to turn and run out of the spa. “Where are they going?” Fred wondered before many of the group ran after them. “Where are YOU going?” Shaggy asked in bewilderment. “We’re gonna go figure out what these lizards are up to, and we need to move before they get too far ahead!” Silhouette told the cowardly duo, pushing them forward. “Come on!”

The gang followed the raptors out of the spa and saw them running down the road toward La Serena… which looked like it was burning to the ground. “Oh my gosh!” Zipp cried. “They’re heading for town! And half of it looks like its on fire!”

“Quick! We have to get to the van and see if we can help!” Misty urged her friends, who followed her in the same direction.

XXXXXXXX

Mr. Hubley, on the other hoof, had found a safe hiding place in the cabinets of the kitchen, and slowly crawled out of hiding just before he saw what remained of the dough replicas of Shaggy and Scooby, sprawled across the kitchen floor. “Scooby! Shazzy!” he cried out in sorrow, thinking this was the real duo. “Noo… they were so young!”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, in the heart of La Serena, many civilians were running and screaming from a horrific sight-- another phantom dinosaur, but this one was much more different than the one that attacked before.

This dinosaur was almost specter-like, resembling a Tyrannosaurus Rex with horns a red semi-transparent body that gave it a more ghostly appearance. It also had spines growing from its back, and a tail that resembled a cross between the tail club of a ankylosaur and the tail spikes of a stegosaurus.

Now, back to the story at hand.

Many people on the streets were running from this ghostly dinosaur... well, all except Tex and his biker buddies, who were inside the malt shop getting drinks when the attack seemed to be going on. “If there's one thing I can't stand,” Tex said out loud, “it’s ghost dinosaurs! Come on!”

“YEAH!!” the other bikers agreed and followed him outside. While the giant ghostly dinosaur continued to wreak havoc on the town of La Serena, the bikers took the chance to deal with the velociraptors, and give the Phantosaur less of a fighting chance.

However, it still seemed to cause mayhem and havoc wherever it went-- even the La Serena police couldn’t do anything to stop it.

But don't count out our Equestrian heroes and their friends yet-- they were high-tailing it into town when they saw all the mayhem happening... including them heading straight for a squad of police cars fleeing from the beast. “Look out, Fred!” Daphne shrieked, and Fred made a hard turn to avoid the police cars… but then, everyone screamed as the Mystery Machine bolted away from the Phantosaur breathing fire at them. “IT’S THE REAL PHANTOSAUR!!!” Shaggy and Izzy wailed, clinging to each other in desperation. “That can’t be possible!” Hitch said, almost panicking. “It just can’t! It has to be some sort of sick prank!”

“Whatever it is,” Sunny said desperately, “somepony take some photos!”

“On it!” Velma said before sticking her phone out the window and taking some pictures of both the Phantosaur and the velociraptors chasing them down the street. “Gotcha!”

Pipp quickly rolled the window before one of the raptors could stick its head in, sighing in relief. “I like action films as much as the next pony, but this is just getting to be a little too ridiculous for my personal taste!”

Luckily, Tex came up on the other side of the Mystery Machine and used his bike to knock one of the other raptors away from them. “Thanks, Tex!” Fred called out, but then returned his focus when he saw the Phantosaur tailing them once again.

But then, when they looked forward, the entire gang gasped as they saw the entire police force in front of them, causing the Mystery Machine to screech to a halt, but the raptors just ran right past them and into the darkness.

The Phantosaur, however, rose up from the ground, in front of everyone there before it let out a huge roar that nearly blew them all away. Then, a blinding flash of light seemed to emerge from the creature, blinding them all before it vanished into thin air…

…like it was never there to begin with.

Our pony heroes and their friends, new and old, stood slack-jawed for a few moments before Fred decided to take the opportunity to speak. “Well, gang, it looks as if this mystery has been officially reopened.”

“It sure has,” Zipp nodded. “Let’s hurry and get those videos to Professor Svankmajer… maybe she can tell us what the hey is going on.”

XXXXXXXX

Immediately, the group drove to the mines to find Professor Svankmajer just as the sun was beginning to rise over the desert. And once she saw the photos, the professor hummed in thought. “The smaller ones are raptors. But the large one, either that's what attacked my camp or…”

“Hold it-- attacked your camp?” Zipp questioned. “What do you mean?”

The professor said nothing, but led them back outside and gestured to a trailer that was literally bit in half. “That terrible creature must have done this.”

“Yikes… I’d hate to be that guy right now,” said Hitch with a wince as he inspected the damage. “He probably has a major stomach ache from eating all that metal.”

“Tell me about it,” Velma said before noticing that the professor was the only one on staff that morning. “Where’s Winsor?”

“I sent everyone home after I saw this,” the professor said. “I'm getting out of here and if you have any sense, you will do the same. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to finish packing.”

And just like that, the professor had walked off. But while the others seemed a bit confused, Velma seemed the most down and depressed with how Winsor just up and left like that. “I can't believe Winsor would go without saying goodbye.”

Izzy put a comforting hoof on Velma’s shoulder just before Silhouette glanced around and caught site of something. “He didn’t! Look! Isn’t that Winsor’s car over there?”

The others looked where she was pointing, and low and behind, Winsor’s car was parked right behind one of the old storage sheds. “Hey… you’re right, queen dude!” Shaggy pointed out. “Scientists are really lousy liars, huh?”

“There’s definitely something going on here,” Sunny sighed, “but I can’t put my hoof on what it is exactly.”

That’s when Fred said something that surprised the group all together. “Well, I guess we'll be leaving town now,” he said loudly. “Yep! Here we go!”

The others looked stunned at this-- they were leaving? Already? But they hadn’t even solved the mystery yet!

As Fred climbed back into the van and started the engine, Daphne approached in concern. “We’re not really leaving, are we?”

“Of course not,” Fred reassured her with a sly smile. “We're gonna pick up a couple of things and then come back. I have a plan.”

The Truth in the Caverns

At Fred's suggestion, the Mystery Inc crew, the Mane 6 and Queen Silhouette BlueSky left La Serena temporarily and headed to the next town only an hour or two away in order to get supplies that Fred thought that they might need to take down these new dinosaur foes of theirs.

But... they weren't exactly the supplies that the ponies had envisioned using.

What were those supplies, you may wonder? We'll get to that in a moment. Right now, let's just skip to when they finally had all the things that they needed.

XXXXXXXX

It was dark by the time that the group had returned, and while the Mystery Inc members and Queen Silhouette carried brown shopping bags, the ponies carried small boxes on their backs as they headed toward the mine entrance.

Daphne looked at Fred with a bit of surprise, regarding to what they had just got. Well... technically, it was what they HADN'T got that concerned her. “Why couldn't we pick up a couple, say, crossbows or flamethrowers?”

“Trust me,” Fred reassured the redhead, and anyone else in the group who may have been nervous. “This is all the protection we're gonna need.”

“I hope you’re right about this, Freddy dear,” Silhouette said, letting Izzy take the bag she was holding. “Because if you’re wrong… we could be in for a whole lot more trouble than we ever anticipated.”

That’s when the group stopped at the very beginning of the mind. “Hey, why are we stopping?” Shaggy asked. “We can’t go in there in the total darkness!”

“We’re not,” Sunny told him with a smile on her face. “Silhouette here is gonna take care of that for us, right?”

“Yes,” the dragon queen nodded. “Each Sky Fury has a different color in their fire, and I can use my blue fire to light our way, without having to use your flashlights.”

“Whoa… you can do that?” Hitch asked in surprise before chuckling a bit nervously. “Sometimes, I feel like I underestimate the power of otherworldly dragon fire, since it’s so different from the kind we Equestrians are used to.”

“No need to be ashamed of it, Hitch,” Silhouette smiled. “All right… now everyone stand behind me.”

The others did as she asked, and then, taking a deep breath, Silhouette shot a blast of fire into the tunnel, igniting some old torches that hung on the walls after all these years of being put out. After this was done, Silhouette stepped aside to let her new friends past. “After you.”

“...whoa,” Pipp blinked in surprise as they all moved past her slowly. “Remind me to never make her mad.”

“Duly noted, Pipperoni,” Izzy said, slightly impressed and slightly terrified all at once. “Duly noted.”

XXXXXXXX

Following the glow of the blue fire, our heroes found themselves inside the widest and most spacious part of the mine, where they were sure that the Phantosaur and its raptor minions were going to be lying in wait for their next victims.

Once getting behind several large rocks, Shaggy and Scooby, along with Misty and Izzy, gave different signals to each other about their next movements, while Sunny and Velma watched from another rock nearby. “Wait a sec,” said Sunny in confusion. “Why are we sneaking?”

“Shh!!” Shaggy and Scooby said at once to attempt to stop her from blowing their cover. “Sunny’s right!” Velma said, climbing up on the rock they were hiding behind. “We want them to notice us!”

“Like, please don't do that!” Shaggy begged of his friend, but we all know by now that Velma chose to ignore him and proceed with her own ideas. “Hello?” she called. “Mr. Phantosaur?”

A few seconds passed, and all the group heard was pure silence... or so they thought.

All of a sudden, a roar came from out of the blue, and several velociraptors came from the shadows and charged toward Shaggy and Scooby. Luckily, the ponies were there to get in front of their friends for backup protection. And then, Fred was able to throw part of his plan into action. “Marbles!”

Daphne, Velma and Fred tossed the round contents out of the grocery bags while Silhouette used her powerful wings to tip the rest of them over. The raptors slipped on the marbles and went all over the place, revealing themselves to be young men that had been working at the mine when their masks fell off. “Fred, it’s just like you said!” Silhouette gasped. “It’s the graduate students!”

“Game over, man,” one of the students whimpered to his friends. “We’re caught!”

“Gee,” another student rolled his eyes, “you think?”

Hitch proceeded to wrap the students in vines and made sure they weren’t going anywhere while Zipp got on the FlyPad and contacted the police. “I talked to the cops,” Zipp said once she was finished, “and they’ll be here in a little while to take these guys and whoever else is responsible for the Phantosaur in for questioning.”

“Well, now all we have to do is figure out who that someone is,” Sunny said before humming in thought. “Anypony got any ideas?”

But before anyone could say anything, the glow of the Phantosaur emerged from the darkness before it towered over them, sending blasts of fire that sent the group running in different directions.

Sunny, who shifted into alicorn form, flew up with Silhouette and blasted their own blasts from the sky while Izzy and Misty took care of it from the ground, but it seemed to have no effect on the giant beast.

That’s when they had to go to part 2 of Fred’s plan.

Once the Phantosaur got closer to them again, the human members of Mystery Incorporated waited for Fred’s signal. “Fire extinguishers!”

They all got out the fire extinguishers from the ponies’ supplies, and once the Phantosaur breathed another batch of fire at them, they used the extinguishers to put it out before it reached them. Then, they saw the Phantosaur disappear, only a flash of red light being left of it. “Hey…” Misty looked around. “Where’d it go?”

“I knew it! It’s a hologram!” Pipp said determinedly before pointing deeper into the cave. “And the beam is coming from there!”

“Follow it!” Zipp cried to her friends, who ran after Pipp in the direction of the light.

XXXXXXXX

“Crumbs.”

Professor Svankmajer and Winsor, inside their trailer, had seen everything from the security monitors, and immediately realizing that the gang could be approaching at any moment, took the chance to flee down the tunnels further. While Hitch, Fred, Velma, Zipp and Silhouette continued to chase them, Daphne stopped the others at a device she recognized. “A paint stripper! It blows superheated air,” she explained. “They used this for the Phantosaur's fire breath. Look.”

Upon pushing a single button, the paint stripper shot out a blast of fire near a nearby wooden post. “Whoa!” Izzy cried. “That’s even cooler than the hologram!”

“But shouldn't we be following those guys?” Shaggy asked, pointing down the tunnel. “Right!” Misty cried. “After them!”

And so, the group sped off… leaving the paint stripper on in the process.

XXXXXXXX

The professor and Winsor continued to be chased by the gang through the mine, all up until they reached a cavern full of crystals. “Give it up!” Fred shouted as Daphne caught up to him, Zipp and Hitch. “There’s nowhere to run!”

“Come on!” Zipp shouted. “They went around the corner!”

But upon going around the corner, they immediately stopped and gasped, their eyes widening in complete shock.

Encased in a giant crystal was a real-life dinosaur, preserved there for at least 1 million years, if not longer.

Something that made Zipp realize how real these dinosaurs really were. “A complete allosaurus,” Professor Svankmajer then said from atop a huge platform at the top of the crystal. “Perfectly preserved inside a single huge quartz crystal. It shouldn't be possible. I can't even begin to imagine the process by which this happened. But here it is. And here it's been for millions of years. Can you imagine how I felt the day we came upon this? It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. The most beautiful thing anyone had ever seen.”

That’s when Silhouette, Velma, Shaggy, Scooby and the rest of the ponies arrived at the cavern, causing them to gasp upon seeing the giant crystal-encased dinosaur. “Oh my hoofness…” Sunny gasped. “That has to be the discovery of a lifetime!”

“It has to be,” Shaggy said, “or, like, that’s some giant collectible.”

“It was my life's dream made real,” the professor continued as she climbed down to their level again. “I have never wanted anything so much. I'm quite sure I never will again. I had to make it mine. And I would've gotten away with it too, if it hadn't been for you meddling kids.”

Zipp gasped in utter shock at this. “Professor Svankmajer?!”

“Don't you mean we would have gotten away with it?”

Everyone turned to see Winsor standing nearby, and Velma felt her heart immediately sink. “Winsor? No!”

“Sorry, Velma,” Winsor apologized sadly. “I put crime before science.”

Velma whimpered sadly at the fact that someone she cared for could be behind a crime like this, and Misty felt so bad for her, approaching her and placing a hoof on her side. “I know,” Professor Svankmajer continued. “It was wrong. I’m almost glad you stopped us.”

“How could you both be so selfish?” Silhouette asked, donning a stern, queenly voice. “A find like this belongs to the world!”

“Yes… although technically, it belongs to the town of La Serena since this is under public land,” the professor responded calmly. “My plan had been to scare people away long enough to dig it out and transport it away from here.”

“This thing is most likely the source of the Phantosaur legend,” Winsor gestured to the huge dino in the crystal. “The Tolkepaya probably found it centuries ago and told tales about it.”

“So,” said the professor, “ it seemed strangely appropriate… to use the Phantosaur myth to drive people off. Of course, I saw through the mining company's fake Phantosaur right away.”

“And so did I,” Winsor nodded, “but I knew I could do something better. I'd seen Mr. Hubley's hologram projector… and I'd taken some computer animation classes.”

“So, it was you guys who instructed the raptors to take the hologram equipment from the spa!” Hitch figured out with a growl. “So not cool…”

“You are correct, Sheriff Hitch,” the professor nodded. “The raptor costumes were borrowed from the real live dinosaurs exhibit, and I got paint strippers from a friend in construction. We planted them around town to create the Phantosaur's fire breath. Our plan was to use the Phantosaur to frighten the townspeople away. With the town empty, we could remove the allosaur crystal unseen.”

“The problem was,” Winsor continued, “that the crystal lay directly beneath the town.”

“If that is true,” Misty said, “then how do you plan on getting this gigantic crystal above ground?”

“Explosives,” the professor responded. “This cave system honeycombs underneath the whole town. So we set charges with fuses throughout. When the town was empty, we could blow the charges and remove the crystal at night. I can't believe I've turned into a common criminal.”

“Me too,” Winsor admitted. “Well, it wasn’t definitely something we of all ponies expected you to do,” Sunny said sternly. “And it was stupidly selfish to want this all for yourself.”

“Besides, you’re not common criminals,” Shaggy interrupted with a smile. “You guys are super villains. Evil scientists with holograms and heat lamps!”

Suddenly, the entire cavern began to rumble and collapse, causing Shaggy to yelp and jump into Scooby's paws for protection. Suddenly, the professor sniffed the air and turned to Winsor. “Did you leave the paint stripper on?”

“No, of course not.”

“He definitely turned it off,” Daphne admitted. “I know because I turned it back on.”

“Then we'd better hurry up and get out of here!” Professor Svankmajer exclaimed. “The fuses have been lit by the paint stripper. When the charges blow, these tunnels will collapse!”

And that’s just what began happening-- the tunnels began to collapse around them, and if they didn’t escape soon, there would be no way for them to escape. “RUN!!” Fred shouted to the others, and they all began running toward the exit… and they would have gotten out if not for a huge cave-in that caused Winsor to stop the group. “Too late!”

“We’re trapped!” Izzy shrieked. “We'll have to go the other way,” the professor said, causing Winsor to look shocked. “Down?”

“There's another exit that way.”

“Yeah, and about eight million snakes!”

“The cave snakes are real?!” Pipp shrieked. “Yeah, and the bats,” Winsor admitted. “I don't lie about everything.”

“Okay, guys, listen up,” Zipp said to the group. “The only way any of us are getting out of here is if we all work together.”

“She’s right,” the professor then told them. “I know the lower caverns are bad, but there's no other choice.”

Suddenly, Shaggy spoke up in a confident tone, the keyword having been said a few seconds earlier. “There's a time for talk and there's a time for action. Follow me.”

Shaggy began to move downward into the tunnels, and Sunny was first to follow him. “Come on, guys! Shaggy’s leading the way out!”

“Uh… coming!” Silhouette called, a bit stunned at Shaggy’s bravery before leading the rest of the group onward, with Izzy and Scooby, still trying to figure out the keyword, following behind.

“Uh… choice?!”

“Other?!”

“But?!”

“Action?!”

Eventually, the whole group made it down into the tunnels, Shaggy taking the lead, to begin the biggest escape mission they had ever known…

…and all before the tunnels could collapse around them.

Through the Caverns/Shaggy Saves the Day

The tunnels in the La Serena mine were collapsing fast, and Shaggy (thanks to his new hypnosis caused bravery) was leading everyone in the mines down into the tunnels to find the other exit.

The Mane 6 had never seen Shaggy volunteer to lead the group into danger before, so it was a bit of a shock. But, it was incredibly brave, and if they didn't want to die, they had to trust Shaggy's newfound instincts.

Even Zipp, who remained a little bit hesitant about the hypnosis to begin with.

Shaggy had tucked a broken stalagmite into his belt, almost like a sword, before confidently leading the group to a large pit within the caverns... a pit filled with something Velma and Pipp despised, to say the least. “Snakes!!” Velma cried in disgust. “Ew ew ew… do not like!”

“I think the snakes will stay down there,” Misty said, getting a good look at how many of them there were, “but we need to find someway to get across.”

“No problem,” Zipp said, unfolding her wings and preparing to take someone across the pit. “We can just fly everypony out of here, and--”

But as she prepared to fly, she suddenly found her wings were useless. “Guys, my magic! It isn’t working!”

“UGH!! Mine either!” Silhouette said as she tried to fly as well. “We must be so far down in the caves,” Sunny figured, “our magic is useless from down here!”

“Then, I guess we’re gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way,” Fred spoke, using his flashlight to glance around the cave. But as he shined the light up toward the ceiling, it awoke hundreds upon hundreds of bats, to shrieked and flew toward the group, prompting them to duck and shield themselves from the little flying beasts.

However, Shaggy was the only one not afraid. Instead, he hopped to the top of the cave, using several rocks to get there once the bats had left. “Shaggy!” Fred exclaimed out of shock. “What are you doing?!”

“Saving your butt, Jones!” Shaggy responded with a stern voice. “Get used to it!”

That’s when he kicked one of the stalactites down from the ceiling, creating a stepping-stone for the others to hop onto. “Come on, guys!”

“I guess we have no other choice,” Silhouette told the others, taking the lead. “Let’s go! And stay close! Who knows what else might be lurking down here!”

So, one by one, the group hopped across the stalactites as Shaggy kicked them down from the ceiling above. But as they were crossing the rocks, Fred noticed that they seemed to be getting closer and closer to the snakes right underneath them. “The stalactites are sinking! We’ve gotta hurry!”

“Really trying here, Freddy!” Pipp shrieked as she hopped from one stalactite to the others. “Man, it would be SO much easier to fly right now!”

Shaggy eventually reached the other side and helped the others onto solid ground one by one. But as Misty was being helped onto solid ground, she heard Velma shriek, so she turned back and saw the stalactites in front of Velma already sunk, leaving Velma stranded in the sea of snakes. “Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew! Ooh! I can't get across now!”

“Hold on, Velma!” Hitch cried out. “We’ll get you out of there!”

“But how, Hitch?” Misty asked as she tried to ignite her horn again, but it didn't work. “We still can’t use our pony powers down here!”

That's when Shaggy looked around on the ceiling and noticed that there was one stalactite that he hadn't knocked down, giving him an idea just as the snakes began to crawl on top of the stalactite Velma was standing on. “Hurry! Agh!!”

Shaggy tossed the stalagmite he was holding toward the stalactite, chopping it off and allowing it to fall into the pit of snakes. “Now's your chance, Velma!” Shaggy shouted. “Hurry!”

Velma took a breath and then leapt onto the remaining stalactite, and then Shaggy reached down to her while Zipp and Hitch grabbed onto his waist to keep him stable. “Quick,” Shaggy said, “grab my hand!”

Velma shrieked as the stalactite began to break underneath her, and jumped up and grabbed Shaggy’s hand, letting Shaggy, Zipp and Hitch pull her up to safety. “Phew...” Velma sighed in relief. “That was too close.”

Suddenly, another explosion caused the entire cavern to rumble, and many members of the group gasped. “Hurry!” Pipp cried out. “We have to get out of here before we crumble like these rocks are!”

XXXXXXXX

After escaping the pit of snakes in the last cavern, Shaggy led the group down the tunnels once again. And during this walk, Winsor was trying to make it up to Velma after the way he treated her before. “Okay, yes, I did try to get you to drop the investigation. But... I really do like you.”

“...I believe you, Winsor,” Velma said with a straight face. “But maybe you could have told me the truth back when we weren't about to die!”

With a huff, she walked ahead, leaving Winsor to sigh and look over at Izzy and Zipp. “What am I gonna have do to fix all this?”

“That's sort of a blank question,” Zipp said, “but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say... you're gonna have to do a whole heck of a lot in order to win this girl back.”

Finally, they reached a part of the cavern where a rushing river laid under their feet, and over in the distance, Professor Svankmajer spotted a sliver of light coming from the other side. “Up there!”

“Where's the light coming from?” Fred asked. “It's moonlight!” Silhouette exclaimed. “That must be the other exit!”

“Now all we have to do is figure out how to get over there without magic,” Pipp said before gulping nervously. “And... without the fear of dying.”

“All right, anyone who has a belt, strip it off,” Shaggy instructed before he explained his plan, pointing to several different rocks in the cavern. “I'm gonna use them to swing across to there. From there, I can jump to there. Then I can climb up and out... find some rope, lower it down and haul you bums out. Done.”

“Not exactly comfortable with the bum talk,” Zipp deadpanned, “but that's a pretty solid plan there, Shag. Good thinking!”

“And I have a jump rope you can use too!” Izzy said, getting one out of her shirt pocket. “I hope it'll work.”

“Thanks, Iz,” Shaggy patted her head as he tied the jump rope and the belts together, making one long rope as he put his flashlight away and prepared to swing. However, more rumbling caused the group to try and maintain their balance for a few moments. “What was that?!” Daphne asked. “I think another section of caverns collapsed!” Professor Svankmajer realized. “This whole area is becoming unstable. Shaggy, you'd better hurry.”

“...I was born hurried,” Shaggy said with a confident smirk... just before Fred spoke up with a question in mind. “Is that part of the brave thing where you say weird stuff that sounds like movie lines?”

“Yes,” Shaggy nodded with a smile. “Yes it is, big guy.”

“Alrighty then!”

“Go for it, Shaggy, but... be careful,” Sunny said to her friend, clearly worried. “We don't know what we would do if you... you know...”

Shaggy smiled and fist-bumped Sunny before whirling the rope around a nearby stalactite. Then, taking one deep breath, he swung across the water, even scaling the cave walls before taking a daring flip to the rock where he had originally pointed to the group.

Everyone seemed stunned and impressed with the feat, but Daphne was the first to comment on it, hands on her hips. “Not bad.”

And just like that, the hypnosis wore off, causing Shaggy to return to his fearful self again. “Like, oh no! I'm me again!”

Suddenly, Scooby immediately thought of what the keyword might have been. “Bad!”

“What was that?” Silhouette turned to the Great Dane. “That's the keyword,” Scooby told the dragon queen. “Bad.”

“Rad?” Velma repeated what she thought she heard. “No,” Scooby shook his head. “Bad.”

That's when a few more members of the group began to try and guess what the keyword was.

“Sad?”

“Dad?”

“Bad! Bad! Bad!” Scooby tried to repeat, but the others just kept on trying to guess.

“Cad?”

“Tad?”

“Pad?”

“Chad?”

“Ooh! Amistad!”

“Bad!” Scooby eventually groaned, putting a paw over his face. “Guys, stop with the guessing games for now!” Sunny told her friends. “Shaggy looks really scared and we have to help him!”

The ponies immediately realized that Sunny was right... they had to do whatever they could. “Shaggy!” Fred called out. “You okay there?!”

“I can't do it!” Shaggy shouted back. “I'm supposed to jump to that ledge? Maybe when I was brave, but now?! No way!”

“If you don't do it,” Fred called, “we're all gonna die!”

“Yeah!” Pipp spoke with a nodded. “No pressure!”

“Look how far it is, guys!!” Shaggy shrieked, clinging to that small rock. “I'm not gonna make it!!”

Suddenly, the entire cavern began to rumble again, causing Professor Svankmajer to realize that more and more caverns were collapsing due to the explosive charges. “We don't have much time!”

“Shaggy, you can do it!” Fred tried to be encouraging. “You made a bigger jump than that a few minutes ago!”

“Whatever!” Shaggy said in disbelief. “That's when I was the other guy! You know, the brave one!”

That’s when Zipp decided to speak her mind, and tell Shaggy exactly what she thought that he needed to hear… whether he wanted to hear it or not. “I don't know much about hypnosis, Shaggy, but I know one thing. It cannot make you do things you couldn't do without it!” she said confidently. “All that stuff you did when you were brave, that was you! It's inside you! You just have to let it out!”

“Zipp’s right, Shaggy!” Pipp told her friend. “You have to have confidence in yourself!”

“And,” Sunny added, “you have to have hope that you CAN make it!”

“Not to mention,” Izzy agreed, “you have to have creativity to help you come up with a plan!”

“...not sure where kindness and empathy come into play here,” Hitch then called, “but it helps to have those things too!”

“You have all the elements you need right there inside you, Shaggy!” Misty cried. “And if anyone can get us out of this place alive, it’s you!”

Shaggy, upon listening to the end of the ponies' speech, realized that his Equestrian friends were right-- all he needed was right there within him all along... he just had to find a way to let it out in his own time.

So, he shakingly stood up, trembling a bit, but still stood, ready to get this over with. “Like… give me a movie line!”

“What?!” Fred asked in confusion. “Okay…” Shaggy sighed to himself. “ Um… I need one of those movie line thingies to say before I jump!”

“Uh, okay…” Fred tried to think. “How about… ‘When you say jump, I say how high’?”

“Fred,” Shaggy sighed, “that doesn’t make any sense!”

“DOES IT MATTER?!” Zipp cried. “We’re all gonna be dead meat if you don’t get moving!”

“All right, all right…” Shaggy said, turning toward the nearby ledge before becoming determined and ready. “When you say jump, I say… how high!”

And just like that, he jumped right onto the other side, barely hanging on. Then, with his friends watching his every movement, he began to scale the cliff when suddenly, rocks began to break off and fall! Luckily, Shaggy was able to use those rocks as stairs, climbing all the way to the top, close to where the moonlight was coming through.

But as he prepared to climb out, the ledge beneath him gave way, and he would have fallen to his doom… that is, if Tex hadn’t reached down and grabbed him first. “Gotcha!”

“Ho ho! Tex!” Shaggy cried out in relief as Tex pulled him out of the cavern and onto solid ground, letting the rest of the bikers cheer. “They told me you got trapped in those caves and this was the only other exit,” Tex told Shaggy. “Well, I figured if anyone could find their way out, it'd be you. We been camped out here all night.”

“I made beans, if you want some,” said one of the bikers, but Shaggy knew there wasn’t enough time for that. “Hey, you guys have any rope?”

XXXXXXXX

After the rope had been retrieved, Shaggy and the bikers worked together to get everyone out of the hole safe and sound, with Winsor being the last one.

The ponies sighed, now being able to use their magic freely again, and everyone was safe and sound.

Well... they wouldn't be for long.

The final section of caverns was finally collapsing thanks to the charges, and this was causing the ground to heavily give way, and Sunny knew that they had to get away from there before the entire town caved in. “Everypony! RUN!!”

This caused everyone to run off in different directions, all to get away from the cave-in, and the ponies, Silhouette, Mystery Inc, Winsor and Professor Svankmajer all hid behind some gigantic boulders at the end of the street.

When the collapsing finally ended, there in the giant pit lay the giant allosaurus crystal as the sun began to rise. Then, combined with the sunlight, the crystal released beams of light that created a cascade of colors that flew across the sky. “Well, now,” Tex smiled. “That’s right purty.”

“Like, it sure is, Tex,” Shaggy said with a nod.

And somehow… their whole adventure had made this one moment entirely worth it.

Returning Home/A Job Well Done

Finally… the mystery was over.

Everyone had escaped the caverns alive, and the allosaurus crystal was going to be named a natural wonder of the world.

Unfortunately, Professor Svankmajer and Winsor would have to be taken into custody. As the police officers led her newfound crush away, Velma called out to him. “Hey… maybe we can go out again? You know… when you get out of jail?”

Winsor flashed her a small smile. “Consider it a date.”

And that was the last Velma saw of him before the cops stuffed him into a police car and took him away. “He’ll be waiting for you, Velma,” Zipp said with a smile. “I’m not sure how long it will be, but… he’ll be waiting.”

Then, Fred approached, having got off the phone with his science teacher a few seconds earlier. “Mr. Fleischer says that since I helped save the greatest paleontological find in history… he'll bump my grade up to a C-minus!”

“Man,” Daphne said with a slight wince, “what do you have to do for an A?”

“Speaking of save,” Silhouette told the group, “I decided to go out there and make a difference for my people-- I’m going to find those remaining of the Sky Furies and rebuild our colony from the ground up… but I never could have gotten the courage to try again without your help, everyone… especially you ponies. Thank you for everything.”

“Hey, no problem. If you’re ever in Equestria,” Sunny said as she hugged the queen, “make sure you come and see us, okay?”

“Consider it done!” Silhouette said before flapping her wings and taking off, letting her friends wave farewell to her in the process. But as she flew off and out of sight, the portal to Equestria opened nearby, causing Velma to sigh. “Looks like you guys are leaving again, huh?”

“Sure looks that way, but don’t worry,” Zipp reassured. “We’ll be back as soon as we can with a whole new adventure-- we promise.”

And so, bidding their Mystery Inc pals farewell, the ponies set off into the portal before it closed. That's when Shaggy turned to the rest of the gang with a firm expression. “Like, come on, guys. There's just one more thing we have to take care of.”

XXXXXXXX

And what was that one thing, you may ask?

Getting rid of the hypnosis and returning Shaggy back to normal.

Mr. Hubley was glad to reverse the effects, and spoke to Shaggy from the safety of his control panel. “No longer will you turn into a fearless hero. No, you will just be your usual self… Shaggy Rogers. When I snap my fingers, you will awaken.”

However, when he did this, he unknowingly did this to every member of the gang, not just Shaggy, making them ALL act just like Shaggy himself. “Zoinks!” they all exclaimed. “Did it, like, work?”

“Oh, my!” Mr. Hubley exclaimed, looking through his charts. It would take a while to get each gang member back to themselves again, but then again…

…it would all be worth it once that happened.

Because being true to yourself is the greatest treasure there is.