G5 Adventures in Spooky Buddies

Warwick and the Howlloween Hound were now free from the mirror in the manor, and while Warwick sent his loyal owl henchman Hoot, out to go and find his staff, Warwick and the Hound set out for Fernfield to find the five puppy souls and Warwick's spell book to complete the spell before sunrise.

However, they had no idea that Aurelia and Pipsqueak had left the manor themselves, hoping to warn the Buddies and their friends before it was too late.

But could they really do it in time?

That was the real question that needed to be answered.

XXXXXXXX

“Thanks!”

“Thank you!”

“Thanks again!”

“Bye!”

“Come on, guys! This house is supposed to be loaded with treats!”

The Mane 6, the Buddies' kids, the five golden retrievers and the Pippsqueaks ran from house to house throughout the neighborhood, getting the best treats they could find.

But as they came to all sorts of different houses and saw all sorts of different costumes around, B-Dawg couldn’t help but feel a little worried about the Howlloween Hound. “Yo, let's get this trick-or-treatin' show on the road,” he suggested to his siblings and the Pippsqueaks once they were alone. “I don't want any more run-ins with that Howlloween Hound dog or any other creepy ghost, for that matter.”

“Dude,” Mudbud reassured his brother, “they’re just kids and Equestrian creatures in Halloween costumes.”

“Either way, dawg,” B-Dawg responded. “I’m keeping my eye on everything tonight.”

“Believe us, B-Dawg,” Seashell shuddered, “we’re doing the same thing.”

Zipp noticed the way that B-Dawg and the Pippsqueaks were acting, and her detective senses were rising much quicker than she wanted them to.

They were definitely worried about something…

…but what in the world could they have to worry about on Halloween/Nightmare Night?

Sunny eventually put a hoof on Zipp’s shoulder. “Zipp, try and relax. The Pippsqueaks are probably just a little nervous to be away from their families on Nightmare Night, or maybe they’re acting worried for B-Dawg’s sake.”

“Maybe, but… the Pippsqueaks know they can talk to us about anything,” Zipp sighed. “I just… wanna help.”

“They’ll tell us in their own time,” Sunny responded. “For now, let’s enjoy tonight while we have it.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Warwick and the Howlloween Hound ventured through the streets of Fernfield, looking for the five puppy souls or Warwick’s spell book.

But no matter where Warwick looked, he saw creatures that terrified him to the core-- witches, goblins, demons, specters… all the works. “This is horrible,” Warwick fearfully told the Hound. “Evil creatures are roaming the streets!”

“Come on!” a girl in a princess outfit told her family as they ran across the street in front of them. “The best candy’s at the next house!”

Warwick couldn’t help but shudder at this. “That pink goblin is hideous!”

“You've misled me, Warwick,” the Hound told the warlock. “This town has already been taken over.”

“Quickly, Hound. We still have some time,” Warwick told the hellhound. “Go and find your puppy souls!”

And with that, the Hound ran off in another direction to begin his own search.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, the Buddies' kids and the Mane 6 ran up to the home of the kids' teacher, Mrs. Carroll, and Izzy nervously pushed Pipp forward. “Go ahead, Pipster…” she said with a nervous smile. “Ring the doorbell!”

“Ooh, don’t mind if I do!” Pipp said before she knocked on the door, letting an evil cackle let whoever was at the house know that they were there. Suddenly, a large man in a surfer-like monster outfit, Mrs. Carroll’s husband, opened the door with a groan, causing Pipp to shriek and jump back before giggling. “Who dare knocks on my door?” the man asked in a scary voice. “Dude!” Pete said, impressed. “Sweet costume!”

“Oh, yeah,” Hitch said as he caught his breath. “You sure had us fooled.”

“Dude,” said Mr. Carroll, “it’s Franken-Dude to you.”

That’s when Mrs. Carroll approached the door with a basket of treats, dressed in a similarly styled costume as her husband. “Oh, hello, children!”

That's when the five kids and the six older ponies waved and bid her a warm greeting.

“Hey!”

“Hi!”

“Hi, Mrs. Carroll!”

“Nice to see ya!”

“It’s Mrs. Franken-Dude,” Mrs. Carroll said with a spooky-sounding laugh. “Welcome to our spooky house. So, what do you think?”

“It’s totally awesome!” Bartleby said before holding out his bag. “Trick or treat!”

“Rad. Yeah, let Franken-Dude help you out there, all right?” Mr. Carroll said as he passed out one treat each and put them in the trick-or-treaters’ bags. “Except one per customer or Frankendude will get upset and then have to storm the village.”

“And that,” said Zipp, “would definitely be uncool.”

“Well, we better get going, trick-or-treaters,” Sunny said. “We have a lot more houses to cover on this street before we go to the next one.”

That’s when each of the kids and older ponies bid the couple farewell and made sure to say thank you before darting off to the house next door, rumored to have very good candy.

However, the Buddies and Pippsqueaks stayed behind, and Mr. and Mrs. Carroll couldn’t help but coo at how adorable the puppies and young ponies looked in their costumes.

And after a moment, Budderball decided to use this to his advantage. “It's time for us to get some treats. Watch and learn.”

“What's he doing?” Peach Fizz asked, watching as Budderball walked up to the Carroll house and began whining. “The dude begs,” Mudbud explained as Budderball did all the actions Mudbud said, much to the delight of the Carrolls. “He chases his tail. Then rolls over. And for the finale, Budderball's signature trick-- play starving.”

Budderball was laying down by that point, whining up at the couple, winning over their hearts. The couple quickly reaches for a treat and gives it to Budderball, calling him cute the whole time. “If Budderball's an expert at anything, it's begging for treats,” Rosebud said to the others with a shrug. Budderball walked back to his siblings and the Pippsqueaks triumphantly with a treat in his mouth before they ran off to catch up to the others.

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Pipsqueak and Aurelia wandered the street, looking for the pups and three little fillies, hoping to find them before the Hound did. Aurelia was cloaked to not raise a panic and lead the warlord and Hound straight to the pups if they found them.

That was when Pipsqueak spotted something just ahead of them. Or more or less… someone. “Aurelia, look! There's another ghost! Maybe he can help me.”

Aurelia bit her lip. “Just…be careful, Pipsqueak. It's been awhile since we've seen the outside world. I'm sure a lot has changed.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” Pipsqueak promised before floating over to the other ‘ghost’. “Excuse me? My name is Pipsqueak. I was wondering if you’ve seen a unicorn filly, an earth pony filly, a pegasus filly and five Golden Retriever puppies.”

The ghost raised up a human hand, slowly moving through Pipsqueak, making him laugh lightly. “That tickles!”

Suddenly, the white cover was torn off, revealing a girl inside, who screamed. “Ghost!” she cried before running to her mother down the street. “Help, Mom! I just saw a real ghost!”

“Time to go home,” the girl’s mother said, not believing the claim for a second. “You've had enough sugar for one night.”

Aurelia was by Pipsqueak in an instant to make sure he was okay. “I just asked a question. Was it something I said?” Pipsqueak asked. “I guess ghosts are seen as scary nowadays. You better find something to disguise yourself with before you draw anymore unwanted attention,” Aurelia responded with a shrug. That’s when she noticed the cover that the girl had left. “Why not use that sheet as cover? People will think you’re a child in a costume, and not a real ghost.”

Aurelia threw the white sheet over Pipsqueak's ghost, landing on top of him, becoming the perfect disguise. And, without another word, the two were off again, hoping for no more distractions.

XXXXXXXX

“Wow, that last house was a jackpot!” Izzy said as she, the rest of the Mane 6 and the Buddies’ kids walked from another house along the street. “I love butterscotch!”

“Are the Pippsqueaks and Buddies doing okay?” Misty asked.

Sunny just shrugged. “I'm sure they're fine. I think they just got distracted and fell a little behind us.”

“Yeah,” Alice agreed with a nod. “The Buddies are prone to wandering off.”

“But they always find their way back to us,” Pete finished. “Well, as long as the girls stay with the Buddies, I think they’ll be fine,” Zipp said, trying to reassure herself. “At least… I hope.”

“Sis, are you feeling okay?” Pipp asked her sister, frowning out of concern. “You’re not normally so jumpy.”

“I guess… something about this particular Halloween is giving me bad vibes,” Zipp frowned. “Yeah, I'm with you. There's something wrong about that staff,” Misty admitted after hearing Zipp's worries. “Well… I’m not sure myself,” Misty said. “I mean… if it really belonged to that warlock, do you think there’s a chance he could come back for it?”

“Neigh way, Misty-- that was a LOOOOOOONG time ago,” Izzy brushed off. “Nopony can come back after THAT long… right?”

“Opaline did,” Misty muttered quietly. “She was thousands of moons old, remember? If she could live that long… who’s to say somepony else could too?”

This left the Mane 6 pondering in thought, wondering if Misty had a valid point as they tried to catch up with the Buddies’ kids.

XXXXXXXX

As for the Buddies and Pippsqueaks, they were trying to catch up to the Mane 6 and the kids when all of a sudden, Pipsqueak in his disguise and a cloaked Aurelia approached them.

“There you are,” Pipsqueak sighed in relief. “Thank goodness we found you guys!”

“Yo, if you're lookin’ for a pawtograph, I ain't in da mood,” B-Dawg said with a shaky voice. “We're here to warn you about the Howlloween Hound,” a disembodied voice whispered, which was really Aurelia in disguise. She flashed her eyes at them so she wouldn't scare the Buddies and fillies again, without revealing her whole self and ensuing a panic.

Seashell felt herself tense when she saw this and recalled what the voice said about the Howlloween Hound. “...how do you two know about that?”

Knowing that she and Pipsqueak didn't have much of a choice in the matter, Aurelia grabbed the sheet and slid it off Pipsqueak, revealing him, as well as revealing herself partly so only the Buddies and Pippsqueaks could see her. “AHHH!!! It’s the Howlloween Hound and that dragon again!” B-Dawg cried. “I told you dawgs they’d come after us!”

“No!” Pipsqueak tried to explain. “I’m not!”

“RUN!!” Glory cried before the eight screamed and ran for their lives. “Wait! Come back!” Aurelia cried out, but it was too late-- they had already fled out of her sight. “Come on, Pipsqueak, back into your disguise. We have to follow them and warn them before it’s too late.”

XXXXXXXX

After a bit, of running, the eight friends paused to catch their breath, when they saw Pipsqueak in his ghost costume rounding the corner, making them groan. “Yo, this ghost dawg just doesn't give up!” B-Dawg cried, causing Peach Fizz to tremble nervously. “What do we do?!”

“I know a place,” Buddha said, seemingly calm and collected, though deep inside, even he was nervous. “If there's anyone who can help us with a paranormal problem, it's Zelda. Follow me.”

“Why didn't we just go there first when this whole mess started?” Seashell asked as the group of them followed Buddha. “Please, wait. We're just trying to warn you guys,” Pipsqueak pleaded, trying to get them to stop while Aurelia rolled her eyes. “At least they know to run away from the Howlloween Hound...”

Pipsqueak blinked, wondering if he should feel offended. “Hey, what's that supposed to mean?”

But Aurelia was already off after the Buddies and Pippsqueaks. “Aurelia!” Pipsqueak called, chasing after her. “Aurelia! What'd you mean by that? Aurelia!”

XXXXXXXX

That's when the Howlloween Hound saw the Buddies and Pippsqueaks crossing the street not too far away, making him hum in thought. “That must be them. And those little friends of theirs might make a good midnight snack after I open the portal for Warwick.”

But before he could follow them, he saw Pipsqueak following the pups and young ponies, and a cloaked Aurelia was on his tail. This caused the Hound to become quite interested. “It looks like someone else is after those puppies and their friends, too…”

And without wasting a second thought, he followed the group from a safe distance, waiting for the right time to strike.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, the Mane 6 and the Buddies' kids were roaming down another street when they reached the only undecorated house on the block, much to Bartleby and Izzy's disliking. “Remind me to never come trick-or-treating here at… 2332 Pine Lane again!” Bartleby said, looking at the address on the side of the house. “Yeah,” Izzy scoffed out of disbelief. “Talk about ZERO Halloween spirit!”

Suddenly, something in Billy’s head made him remember something. “2332 Pine Lane?”

Billy pulled out the photo from the file he had gotten from Sheriff Dan, inspecting it closely before he realized something. “Hey! Guys! The boy from the story lived here!” Billy exclaimed with excitement when he connected the pieces. “This is Joseph's house!”

Zipp gasped in understanding. “That's right! That's why this address sounded so familiar!”

“Go knock on the door, Billy. Maybe he still lives there,” Sunny encouraged, gesturing to the house. But before anyone could move, Hitch held up his hoof. “Hold on. We're just gonna knock on some random person's door who was most likely part of a cold case to ask him about it? Maybe we should think things through before--”

“Oh, Hitch. Quit being such a worry wart,” Pipp said, putting a hoof around Hitch. “This is going to be great information for Billy’s project!”

“C'mon, guys. He'd be like…a thousand years old or something.” Billy argued. “Eh. It's possible,” Izzy said with a shrug. Suddenly, she scrunched her face in thought. “I think. Is it?”

“Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained,” Sam said with a shrug, as though that was the deciding factor. Billy sighed before opening the gate and walking in, the group of ponies and kids following close behind. With the briefest hesitation, Billy knocked once, but nobody answered. “I guess nobody's home. See, I told you guys. It's just a creepy old house with nobody in it.”

As he spoke, the door behind him opened, revealing an old man. The kids and ponies froze in fear, their eyes wide, staring at the man behind Billy, who was completely oblivious.

Seeing his friends’ reactions, he narrowed his eyes in confusion. “What?”

It was Zipp who got the courage to speak. “B-Behind you…” she said, pointing a hoof at the man, who she recognized from the cemetary as the groundskeeper, Mr. Johnson. “Ha ha. Good one, Zipp. I'm not gonna fall for…” Billy started to say sarcastically, but trailed off when he saw the looks on their faces. “For reals?” Billy asked, his heart starting to race as the group took a step back, to which Sam confirmed. Slowly, Billy turned around, jumping back when he saw the gray-haired man just standing behind him, staring them all down. “Oh! Um… uh… h-hello, sir. I…”

Billy started, trying to grasp onto his words. He was so certain nobody lived here, he forgot to put together what he wanted to say in case someone actually did live here.

He quickly pulled out the picture from the case file. “I was just wondering if this boy still lives here.”

“No. This boy hasn't lived here in quite some time,” the man responded irritably. “What do you want?”

“W-We’re sorry for the inconvenience, sir,” Misty said rather politely, “but… Billy here is doing a class project on the Howlloween Hound legend, and… if that boy lived here, we were hoping we could ask him a few questions about that night.”

However, the man's expression did not change. “I'm sure if that boy wanted to talk about it, he would've a long time ago. Now go away!”

“Okay, okay... we're… we're sorry sir.” Billy quickly apologized, turning around with his friends to leave. “Ugh… rude…” Pipp muttered. “We were just asking.”

“Hey boy!” the man suddenly cried, causing the group to quickly turn around. “Where'd you get that staff? Hand it over! That's very dangerous!”

All the ponies froze, remembering what Misty said about the staff and how she got bad vibes from it. Something clearly wasn't adding up, and they began to wonder if there was more to this “legend” than they thought. “Everypony, let’s go!” Sunny cried. “Move move move!”

The group sprinted off in a panic, the old man following, but once they got onto the sidewalk, the man sighed and stopped, thinking to himself that he was getting much too old for this.

Whatever was going on, the Mane 6 knew what sometime or another… the truth would be revealed.