G5 Adventures in Spooky Buddies

“...it was 75 years ago that the manor was boarded up,” Mrs. Carroll began to wrap up the story. “No one is exactly sure what happened that night, or whether the legend is even true at all. But it’s an interesting part of Fernfield folklore, regardless.”

The Mane 6 and the Pippsqueaks, though the former stood with the Buddies’ kids and the Pippsqueaks stood with the Buddies themselves, listened intently for the whole story, eyes wide in amazement.

A legend like that in the small town of Fernfield?

They wouldn't have believed it if they hadn't heard it themselves.

After a long moment of silence, Zipp spoke up. “Do you guys really think that story is true? I mean… a Howlloween Hound who can suck out animals' souls? That sounds pretty extreme.”

“The troggles were real, by what you guys told me,” Misty said, “so it’s pretty clear that anything can happen. I just hope WE never have to see it happen.”

Alice let out a shudder. “You and me both.”

Over with the Buddies and Pippsqueaks, Budderball couldn’t stop expressing his excitement for the night ahead. “I can't wait for tonight. Halloween is my favorite event of the year, paws down. You do a trick and you're guaranteed to get a treat.”

Seashell giggled, amused at this. “It’s trick or treat, Budderball.”

“Even better!” Budderball exclaimed. “For me,” said Rosebud, “it’s all about the costume. I can’t wait to dress up!”

A kid the Mane 6 didn't recognize who stood next to Billy leaned in and whispered, “Kids go in there every Halloween… and they say the Howlloween Hound's name three times in the mirror... they're never seen again.”

“Where'd you hear that?” Billy asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. Pipp chuckled as though she didn't buy any of it, though there was the slightest tremble in it. “C'mon,” she said, waving a dismissive hoof. “He's just trying to scare us.”

The kid gave the talking pony a strange glance before turning back to the Buddies’ kids. “No. No, it's true. And he gets their pets too. Once you hear the hounds howl… it's too late.”

Both the kids and the ponies shivered, looking back up at the creepy mansion with trepidation, their hearts racing. “Either way, this place gives me the creeps,” Hitch said, his voice trembling ever so slightly. As he said this, everybody and pony heard howling and they all jumped in fear, stumbling back a bit before they all noticed another blonde-haired boy howling behind the tree.

Mrs. Carroll immediately caught onto what the boys were doing and frowned sternly as the two blonde-haired boys laughed. “Okay, Rodney and Skip, no more tricks.”

Rodney and Skip fist-bumped one another before Mrs. Carroll turned back to the class. “Come along, children. Onto the bus! We have one more stop on our spooky Fernfield tour.”

As the class and the Mane 6 began to walk toward the bus, Zipp stopped and turned to the Pippsqueaks and the Buddies. “Are you guys okay with meeting us in front of town hall in a few hours? I know you probably wanna catch up with one another.”

“Don’t worry about us, Zipp,” Peach Fizz brushed off. “We’ll be fine.”

“Okay… have fun, and don’t forget about meeting us at town hall!” Sunny told the fillies sternly before she and the rest of the Mane 6 followed the class to the bus.

After they had left, Mudbud looked around and noticed one of the Buddies had disappeared on them. “Where’s B-Dawg hiding?”

It wasn’t but a second or two later that B-Dawg came out of hiding from the bushes. “I wasn’t hiding, yo. I was just gettin’ ready to pounce on the hound,” B-Dawg said in a brave tone. “Yeah right, dude,” Mudbud said with a roll of his eyes, right before he turned over to the Pippsqueaks. “He was hiding like a scaredy cat, cause he thought there was a ghost.”

“Pshaw, dawgs,” B-Dawg immediately brushed off. “B-Dawg is afraid of nothing, especially no ghost!”

However, the other Buddies didn’t seem to believe this statement. “Then why are you afraid to go trick or treating tonight?” Budderball asked, making the Buddies and Pipsqueaks laugh in response. Well… all except Peach Fizz, who stood beside B-Dawg with a frown on her face. “Come on, guys, don’t make fun of B-Dawg just cause he’s a little nervous,” she scolded softly. “It’s not nice.”

“I ain't nervous, yo!” B-Dawg argued, his pride preventing him from admitting the truth. “And I'm gonna prove it. I'll go in there right now, call out that Howlloween Hound, and kick his tail, yo.”

And just like that, B-Dawg made a dash for the manor, much to Rosebud’s concern. “B-Dawg, wait! Where are you going?”

But it was too late… B-Dawg had already slipped through a hole in the planks and went inside the dark house.

XXXXXXXX

B-Dawg glanced around the dark manor with a hint of nervousness in his gaze. “W-Whoa… this place is really creepy…”

Little did B-Dawg realize it, but Pipsqueak, still a ghost from 75 years earlier, and Aurelia, who had grown to full dragon size, were still in that house, with Aurelia using her cloaking power to keep from being seen.

Aurelia rarely ever left Pipsqueak by himself, except for when she went into the forest to hunt for food. But on Halloween, she never left Pipsqueak's side.

And needless to say, both of them were surprised to see a pup in the dark manor. “A pup…?” Aurelia murmured to herself. “What is he doing in here?”

XXXXXXXX

Eventually, Seashell’s guilt of letting B-Dawg go into the manor alone got the better of her. “Come on, guys… we can’t just leave B-Dawg in there by himself. We promised Sunny we’d look after each other!”

“Indeed we did,” Buddha realized. “We can’t abandon our brother, even if he is acting a bit foolish to try and impress us.”

Realizing Seashell and Buddha were right, the other Buddies, Glory and Peach Fizz followed her inside the manor, standing alongside B-Dawg in the main foyer. “S-See?” B-Dawg tried to act brave. “It’s not TOO scary.”

Aurelia and Pipsqueak watched the group of eight closely, and as Budderball caught a glimpse of the chandelier, Pipsqueak moved a bit, causing the chandelier to clink, much to Budderball’s surprise. “Did you guys just see that?”

Glory looked around, unsure of what he was seeing. “S-See what?”

“A strange glow, like a ghost,” Budderball explained, knowing how crazy he was sounding, but considering he was standing next to three talking ponies, maybe it wasn't all that crazy at all. B-Dawg chuckled nervously, wondering if he really didn't believe his brother, or he did but didn't want to. “Uh, nice one, dawg.”

“Budderball, are you sure you saw a glow?” Seashell asked gently. “It could have just been the light reflecting off the chandelier.”

“Do you really wanna find out?” Budderball asked, not taking his eyes off the chandelier. “Maybe we just oughta leave.”

“Ha! Look who's being the ‘fraidy cat now. Big tough Budderball.” B-Dawg taunted his oldest brother with a light smirk. “We must respect the spirits of the night. Ghosts are lost souls that can't find their way to heaven.” Buddha said, not seeming the least bit scared. “Uh, yeah,” Peach Fizz nodded quickly. “I’m just… gonna agree with whatever Buddha said. Because... one, he's one of the most logical of all of us, and two... well, it just sounds like a good idea.”

B-Dawg took a deep breath to steady himself. “B-Dawg the Brave, here I go.”

And just like that, B-Dawg ran up the main stairs. “B-Dawg!” Glory called after him before she sighed under her breath. “Let’s reel him in before we end up getting in trouble.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Mrs. Carroll’s class, now accompanied by the Mane 6, were at the Fernfield Cemetary, looking at a very specific grave. “This is the great Deputy Tracker's grave,” the teacher told her students as Billy slowly wandered from the rest of the group. “One of the best canine officers our town ever saw.”

That was when something caught Billy's attention. He jogged up to one of the graves, seeing a small stone statue in the shape of a puppy.

It must've been someone's pet that passed away, but... whose pet was it?

It was then the grave digger, who was currently digging a hole, looked up at Billy. Something about that man's stare sent a wave of fear through Billy and he screamed, hurrying back to the rest of his class. “Billy!” Zipp gasped and rushed to meet him, worried. “Are you okay?”

Misty looked up at the man and his stare didn't startle her... instead, his cold glare filled her with sympathy.

This man's eyes were full of sorrow and grief, though she couldn't figure out why. It was just a look she'd see in her own eyes so many times when she lived with Opaline. “Good afternoon, Mr. Johnson!” Mrs. Carroll called before turning to the students and their pony pals. “That's the caretaker. He's been running this place as long as I can remember.”

“Doesn't that guy look a little creepy to you?” Zipp asked her friends, staring at Mr. Johnson. “And… maybe a little suspicious?”

“Yeah, that dude's like spook central,” Pete answered, making some of the other students nervous. “Okay, let's continue on, children.” Mrs. Carroll said, giving the ponies and kids a look. The class began walking away, everyone giving the cemetery caretaker a nervous glance before walking away. Misty stood where she was for a bit, watching him, and wondering if...

“Misty, come on!”

Misty heard Sunny calling to her, startling her out of her stupor and spared one last glance at the caretaker, before hurrying off to catch up with the rest of the class.

XXXXXXXX

Back at the manor, B-Dawg entered the main room and stood in front of the mirror that the Howlloween Hound supposedly came through.

He was beyond terrified of this legend, but... his brothers and sister teasing him made him realize that he had to face these fears head on.

As soon as they saw him do it, they would be out of there. “Here we go, B-Dawg,” he muttered to himself. “Just say it three times, and it will all be over.”

Pipsqueak and Aurelia silently followed B-Dawg, curious dread building in their stomachs as he began to call out the Hound's name. “H-Howlloween Hound…”

The rest of the Buddies and the Pippsqueaks followed B-Dawg into the room, where he called out a second time, this time, even more nervous than before. “H-Howlloween Hound…”

“O-Okay…n-nothing happened, let's go,” Peach Fizz stuttered. Call it unicorn instinct, or fear after everything they've been through back in Equestria, but she thought that it was better not to tempt fate... especially when there was a spooky Halloween legend around.

But it was at that moment that Aurelia and Pipsqueak chose to reveal themselves. “Stop, please!” Pipsqueak begged the eight friends. “Don’t say it!”

Seashell's eyes widened as soon as she saw Aurelia appear from thin air. “A-A... A DRAGON!”

At her cry, they all turned to look and discovered Seashell was right. “It’s not just a dragon!” Budderball quivered. “There’s a ghost, too!”

“Let’s get out of here, dudes!” Mudbud urged quickly. “Come on, B-Dawg!” Glory cried. “Run!”

It was then that four out of the five Buddies and all three Pippsqueaks bolted out of the room as fast as they could. But B-Dawg was much too frightened to move. “Don’t say it again,” Aurelia pleaded. “You’ll release them!”

But B-Dawg was too focused on Pipsqueak to listen to Aurelia's warning, screaming out of fright. “You're…you're the… Howlloween Hound!!”

“Oh no!” Pipsqueak cried to Aurelia, realizing that B-Dawg had accidentally said it a third time, whether he meant to or not before turning back to B-Dawg. “You said it three times!”

“AHHH!!!” B-Dawg shrieked again before he ran clear out of the room. “Run for your life!!!”

“Come on!” Aurelia told Pipsqueak quickly as B-Dawg ran out of their sight. “We have to catch him before he gets out!”

And so, they immediately flew out of the room and tried to pursue B-Dawg before he got out of the manor. “Wait!” Pipsqueak called after B-Dawg. “Wait!”

“He's not the Howlloween Hound!” Aurelia finished, chasing after the terrified pup, but it was too late... B-Dawg had already slipped out of the exit.

XXXXXXXX

And even though he was already outside the manor, B-Dawg was too busy screaming to hear what the two of them had to say. “Aahhh! Ghost on my tail!”

The Buddies and the Pippsqueaks proceeded to run for their lives toward the end of the road, unaware that Hoot, Warwick’s owl minion, was following them, perching in a tree as the group stopped to catch their breath. “Yo… that was a ghost, dawgs!” B-Dawg said to the others, terrified. “A real off-the-chain ghoul!”

“Dudes, was that the Howlloween Hound?” Mudbud asked. “I’m not exactly sure what who the ghost was, Mudbud,” Seashell said, trembling out of fright. “But I do know that there was a huge dragon in there with him!”

“It had to have been him, though!” B-Dawg argued. “I said Howlloween Hound three times into the mirror, dawgs. I released the Howlloween Hound!”

Meanwhile, Hoot had been listening in on their conversation, surprise filling his voice as he muttered to himself. “Could it really be true? They’ve released Master after all these years?”

“B-Dawg is correct, although he was smaller than I'd imagined.” Buddha confirmed, his voice still lacking any true fear the rest of them felt. “Whatever it was, we are outta there,” Peach Fizz panted, out of breath. “And I, for one, am never going back.”

“Ditto,” Glory agreed. “Do you think we should tell Sunny?” Seashell asked. “Maybe she and the other ponies can help!”

“No way!” Glory dismissed. “If they find out we released the Howlloween Hound, they’ll never let us go on another Unity Quest again!”

“C'mon, let's go catch up to our kids and friends. They should be close to finishing the field trip by now,” Buddha suggested before running off in the direction of Town Hall, the Pippsqueaks and Buddies following closely behind.

XXXXXXXX

The school day was just about finished, and the Buddies’ kids and the rest of their classmates, plus the rest of the Mane 6, were standing outside Town Hall for Mrs. Carroll to dismiss them. “Now, I know you're all excited about trick or treating tonight, but let's not forget that your Fernfield history projects are due Monday.”

“Monday?” Billy asked, a touch of panic in his voice, leading Rodney to scoff beside him. “What a bonehead...”

“Yes Billy. Is that a problem?” Mrs. Carroll asked, a little irritation in her voice. “It's been assigned for the last two weeks.”

“Oh! Oh, that project! Yeah, I totally finished mine,” Billy openly fibbed. Zipp leaned in to Hitch, putting up a hoof and whispering, “He didn't even start it, did he?”

Hitch looked at Zipp in surprise. “How did you know?”

Zipp shrugged. “Used to pull the same thing with my teacher back in school.”

“Great, Billy,” Mrs. Carroll responded back with a smile. “What subject did you choose?”

“I…uh…” Billy racked his brain for something, anything that sounded believable and just said the first thing that came to his head. “The… Curse of the Howlloween Hound.”

“Perhaps your project might finally answer whether the legend is true or not,” Mrs. Carroll said, seemingly intrigued. “Oh, oh definitely,” Billy said with fake confidence, internally panicking. “Okay, class dismissed! Happy Halloween!” Mrs. Carroll squealed with a giggle the rest of the class and ponies couldn't decide was manic or not, startling all of them, even Misty, before walking away. “What am I gonna do?” Billy asked once Mrs. Carroll was out of earshot. “Called it,” Zipp muttered. “What do you mean, Billy?” Alice asked, confused on why he would say such a thing. “Yeah,” Izzy said. “The curse of the Howlloween Hound sounds like a great project topic.”

“Zipp had a hunch that Billy didn’t even start on the project,” Hitch said sternly, raising an eyebrow. “Right, Billy?”

“Maybe,” Billy answered, looking away. “I just picked the first thing that came into my head.”

“Uh-oh,” Pete and Sunny muttered at the statement, causing Billy to sigh in exasperation. “I don't even know if I'll be able to go trick or treating tonight.”

“Now that,” said Bartleby, “is a disaster.”

“Hey, Billy, don't worry. Zipp is a master at cramming school projects at the last minute. She did it all the time when we were in school. I'm sure she'd love to help you,” Pipp comforted, shooting her older sister a bit of a side look. “Right, Zipp?”

Zipp groaned, dropping her head back. “I thought I was done with school projects when I graduated. Ugh, fine. I guess I could put in some two cents for your project. You know... thinking back to the story is giving me an idea. If the police were involved, then I would bet Sheriff Dan knows a thing or two about it.”

“Zipp's right!” Pete agreed, snapping his fingers. “The sheriff would be the perfect place to start!”

“That’s a great idea!” Sunny smiled. “Come on, let’s go ask Sheriff Dan if we can look in the archives!”

XXXXXXXX

Needless to say, when the Mane 6 and the Buddies' kids told Sheriff Dan about their dilemma, he was more than happy to help and led the group to the staircase leading into the archives. “The Howlloween Hound?” Sheriff Dan started as he led everyone down the staircase, turning on the lights which didn't do much to illuminate the area. “Yeah, I've heard that spooky story around the campfire once or twice. Careful, kids, there's a stair here that--”

Sheriff Dan was cut off as he tripped and stumbled down what was left of the small staircase. He stood up, trying to act as though everything was fine and he meant to do that, even though he could feel a couple of bruises forming. “Yep, that's the one,” he finished as the rest of them finished walking down the stairs, avoiding the stairs Sheriff Dan just demonstrated was not safe.

And once they were all down safely, the group took the chance to look around a bit. “So… what exactly are we looking for down here?” Misty asked, careful not to step on anything important. “Sheriff Jim kept all the evidence from every case he was ever on down here,” Sheriff Dan explained. “We're bound to find something in these cold case files.”

“But it’s like a maze down here,” Hitch noted to the others, frowning at the mess around them. “How are we gonna find anything in all this… assortment of boxes?”

“Don’t worry, kids,” Sheriff Dan said. “I’ve got this room perfectly organized.”

As he said this, he started walking towards the messy desk, tripping over something and knocking a stack of other boxes to the ground. "Except that."

“Uh-huh,” Zipp said with a raised eyebrow, making it clear she didn't believe him. Billy crossed his arms next to her, clearly not believing him either.

And so, the others began searching through the boxes and files for the one they needed.

They saw 1971, 1984, 1962... but for the longest while, none of them were able to find the year 1937.

...that is, until Billy looked at a stack of boxes and found one marked 'Halloween, 1937' on the bottom. “Hey, I think this is it, Sheriff Dan!”

Both Sheriff Dan and Zipp peeked around the corner. “What?”

“Yeah,” Billy pointed at the box. “Look.”

“Holy Dinah!” Zipp said as she came over. “That’s some good detective work, Billy!”

Sheriff Dan came over and inspected the box himself before smiling. “Yep… Halloween, 1937.”

“Let me give you a hoof with that, sheriff,” Izzy offered. She lifted the box with her magic and softly set it on the ground without disturbing any of the other boxes, surprising the others greatly. “Oh… umm…” Sheriff Dan cleared his throat. “Thanks, talking purple unicorn.”

“The name's Izzy, sir. Izzy Moonbow,” Izzy exclaimed, holding out her hoof to which Sheriff Dan hesitantly took it. “And it was no problem.”

Sheriff Dan reached into the box and got the file Billy needed, but as he took it, Billy saw a large staff with a blue gem at the top sitting in the corner. “Whoa, check that out!”

When the kids and ponies noticed what Billy was pointing at, they all gasped in amazement. Sheriff Dan turned around, grabbing it. “Oh…” he muttered, inspecting it. “That's quite the magic wand.”

“Looks like a scepter or staff to me,” Sunny said, inspecting it as well. “I wonder what it's doing down here.”

“Hey, that'd be great for my presentation,” Billy spoke up. “Do you think I could borrow it?”

“Well, it is a part of the cold case file…” Sheriff Dan said to himself as he debated whether or not it would be a good idea. “But it's been over 70 years, so uh… ah, what the heck?”

Billy grasped the scepter with excitement, and Sheriff Dan spoke up a second later. “But, that is police evidence, so I'm gonna need that back, Billy.”

“Oh, I promise I'll bring it back,” Billy said. “Yeah,” Izzy snorted jokingly. “Wouldn’t want you casting any spells.”

“Dude, that thing is so cool,” Zipp said with wide eyes, leaning over Billy's shoulder to look at the scepter, taking pictures of it with her flypad. However… Misty found something unsettling about the scepter itself. There was just some kind of… dread that emanated from it, a dread that made Misty's heart race.

After a minute, Sheriff Dan spoke up to the group again. “Well, let's go back upstairs. I have a souffle in the oven.”

Pipp looked confused at this statement. “Souffle?”

“I’ll explain later,” Sunny whispered before they all followed Sheriff Dan back up the stairs.

XXXXXXXX

Around the same time, the Buddies and Pippsqueaks finally arrived at the town hall, only to see Deputy Sniffer, a bloodhound, sleeping in front of the front porch. “Hey there, deputy dude!” Mudbud called. “H-huh? W-What's going on?” Deputy Sniffer stammered as he stood up, trying to wipe away the cobwebs of sleep from his mind. He caught sight of the Buddies and Pippsqueaks, a smile forming onto his wrinkly face. “Ooh! Top of the morning to you, Buddies and Pippsqueaks.”

“Actually, it's afternoon, deputy,” Seashell corrected with a soft smile. That’s when the others emerged from the sheriff’s office, seeing the Buddies and Pippsqueaks in front of them. “We were wondering where you guys got off to,” Alice said with a smile. “Did you guys have fun catching up?” Hitch asked. The Pippsqueaks eyes widened momentarily, as they thought about what they had accidentally done. They hoped they could fix what they did before the Mane 6 found out. “Uh… yep,” Glory said quickly. “Loads of fun.”

“Yep. Lots of catching up to do,” Peach Fizz added quickly with a nervous chuckle. But before the Mane 6 could say anything further, Sheriff Dan exited the station behind them. “You guys,” Bartleby realized, “it’s four o’clock! If we don't get ready for trick-or-treating, we're not gonna maximize our candy potential!”

“Thanks for all the help, Sheriff Dan,” Billy thanked the sheriff. “Well, good luck on your project, Billy. You let Sheriff Dan know if there's anything else I can do for you,” Sheriff Dan said before he then turned to the rest of the kids. “And you kids, remind your parents to come to the Fernfield Spooky Brew Ha-Ha tonight or I'll have to arrest them!”

Everyone laughed awkwardly at Sheriff Dan's joke at the end, except for Izzy, who was cracking up, saying that Sheriff Dan was a mastermind with his jokes.

That’s when everyone split up to head to their houses for trick or treating, with Billy and B-Dawg bringing Zipp and the Pippsqueaks home with them.

But what they didn’t realize was that this Halloween was probably going to be the spookiest of their whole lives.