Shaggy, Scooby, Pipp, Izzy and Misty had just been told of a heavenly paradise called Milele, by their new lioness friends, but then they learned a sad truth-- their entire pride had been wiped out by a pack of blood-thirsty jackals, and they were the only lions able to escape.

Luckily, they had been welcomed into the Lost City of the Ancients, but Taraji, Sarona's mother, and Taraji's younger twin sisters, Ovelia and Raheema, were distrustful of the Hotep and his ways, but they knew they couldn't say anything unless they wanted to be kicked out of the city and into the blistering hot desert.

This made our heroes wonder... was this place as amazing as it was said to be?

Little did they know it, but their friends had been searching for them all across the sands of Egypt without much luck, although they hadn't seen Amelia von Butch or her crew of treasure hunters for quite some time, so that was somewhat of a positive outcome.

Now, let's get back to the story and see how this tale works out for everyone involved.

XXXXXXXX

That same night that their friends were learning about Milele from the small band of lionesses, Fred and Daphne were trying to lead the remaining ponies, Hazina and her friends through the desert to find help, since it was cooler in the desert at night than it was during the daylight period.

And by morning, they still haven’t had much luck, sitting and resting near a broken stone monument. “This desert is huge,” Zipp said as she and Ulaghai landed, putting her visor back under her wing. “We can’t see any sign of them from up in the sky.”

“But if you guys can’t find clues from in the air,” Daphne said hopelessly, “how are we gonna find the girls, Shaggy and Scooby?”

“Well, maybe to find them, we have to think like 'em,” Fred spoke, getting an idea before turning to the others again. “Okay, ask me questions, and I'll answer as Shaggy and Scooby.”

Tofauti raised an eyebrow to this. “You really think that’ll work?”

“Hey, if it helps find our friends,” said Sunny, “we have to try anything and everything.”

“Um… okay, Shaggy,” Daphne said slowly, looking at Fred. “If you made it out of the Sphinx, where would you go?”

“Like man,” said Fred in a Shaggy-styled voice, “anywhere there's food.”

Anga giggled, amused by Fred’s impression. “That was actually pretty good.”

“Okay, okay. Try it again, but do Scooby this time,” Hitch told Fred, getting ready to take down notes. “Where is the best place to grab a bite to eat?”

Fred sniffed the air before speaking in a Scooby-styled voice (coming to him very easily, actually), pointing in the direction of an Egyptian bazaar. “That way. Heh heh heh heh…”

“A bazaar! That’s just the place Shaggy, Scooby and the rest of our pony pals would go!” Sunny said with a hopeful smile growing on her face. “Good thinking, Scoob-- I mean, Freddy. Come on!”

“Last one there is a rotten scarab!” Ulaghai challenged Zipp, who flared her wings up in response. “You’re on!”

And so, Zipp and Ulaghai zoomed off with the others in pursuit, finally having a moment of peace and hopefulness since this whole mystery started.

And after a while of walking, flying and running, they finally made it to the bazaar, which was filled with people, animals and Equestrian creatures alike, who were selling and buying the things they needed to survive in this human desert landscape. It was a place that made Zipp think about Pipp a bit... and how she might like a little something from the bazaar if she hadn't gotten something already.

So, Zipp got her younger sister an authentic Egyptian shawl, tucking it under her wing to give to Pipp once she and the others had been found. “Wow. This bazaar is really… bizarre,” Daphne said before clutching the new bag she had just purchased. “But I got a great deal on a new bag.”

“Me too!” Zipp nodded. “Pipp is gonna love this shawl I got her.”

“Daphne, Zipp!” Hazina scolded lightly. “We're supposed to be solving a mystery, not shopping.”

“It kinda works both ways, Hazina,” Tofauti said with a shrug. “While Zipp got the shawl for Pipp, Daphne got the bag to keep the necklace safe.”

“Besides,” Daphne added, “it goes great with these shoes.”

“But still no sign of the girls, Shaggy and Scooby,” Fred spoke as they began to walk again. “I thought for sure we’d find them here.”

“Don’t worry,” Ulaghai reassured. “We just need to keep our eyes peeled for--”

“Trail Grazer!” Anga suddenly gasped, looking ahead. “Kushinda!”

“Huh?” Tofauti looked around. “Where…?”

Truth be told, Trail Grazer and Kushinda were just ahead, looking around for something when they suddenly spotted their friends. “Guys! You’re here!” Trail Grazer exclaimed in relief as he and Kushinda reunited with their friends. “We’ve been trying to contact you but we never could get an answer!”

“Is everything okay?” Kushinda asked. “Why aren’t you trying to stop Amelia von Butch?”

“Things have gotten a lot worse since you left,” Hazina said gravely. “Not only have Omar and Velma been turned into statues, but Shaggy, Scooby, Misty, Pipp and Izzy are missing!”

“What?!” Trail Grazer looked shocked. “Since when?!”

“Since yesterday,” Zipp said gravely. “You haven’t seen them, have you?”

“We’re sorry, Zipp, but we haven’t,” Kushinda answered. “We’ve been trying to get to Omar’s uncle, but we’ve had to conserve our energy while we’ve been traveling, since it gets hotter during the daytime.”

“That’s okay, guys,” Sunny said gently. “It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, we’ll just keep looking until we…” Fred was about to say when he saw a man swinging right toward Daphne. “Daphne! Look out!”

Thankfully, he was able to push Daphne out of harm’s way while the others managed to leap and duck to safety, but the second the hooded man got to higher ground, he tried to shoot a net at them, only for Kushinda to block it with a barrel that Fred and Daphne were hiding behind. “Hey, you big maniac!” Ulaghai snarled. “What’s the big idea, trying to kill us like that?!”

“Freddy, run!” Daphne cried before she and Fred broke into a fast run, leaving the ponies, Sparky, Hazina and her friends alone. “Sunny, you and your friends go after Fred and Daphne! Protect them as best you can!” Hazina advised. “We’ll try and buy you some time!”

“Thanks, Hazina! Let’s go!” Sunny called to her remaining friends just before they ran off after Daphne and Fred, leaving Hazina and her friends alone to face this new adversary. “All right, you big meanie,” Anga said as she pawed her hoof into the ground. “You gotta take all of us on if you wanna get to our friends!”

However, this man was a lot more fit than the group expected, managing to do away with them easily-- even Kushinda, who was quite strong for his size. And once he had defeated all six animal friends in the fight, the man raced away after the ponies, Sparky, Fred and Daphne, obviously after something they had on them.

Tofauti shook his head to clear away the dizziness after being thrown. “Well… that wasn’t exactly what I was expecting to happen.”

“Come on! The others are gonna need our help!” Trail Grazer called to his friends just before they raced off to try and save their friends before they got too far ahead.

XXXXXXXX

“Come on, guys, this way!” Zipp said as she led her friends around a corner in the bazaar. “If we can get into the main part of the city, we’re safe!”

Suddenly, as she said that, another man wielding a staff blocked their way, causing Daphne to shriek as the ponies and Sparky tried to keep a tight knit circle around their friends. “I’m warning you, pal,” Fred warned one of the hooded men. “I’m a champion arm wrestler!”

“Yeah… whatever you wanna tell yourself, Frederick,” Zipp rolled her eyes. “Now, stay focused!”

At that moment, the first hooded man began to pick a fight with Fred, eventually winning as he kicked Fred into a set of clay jars. At the same time, the second man tried to fight Daphne with his staff, but Sunny immediately came to her rescue and helped fight, using her alicorn horn as a weapon itself. And as it seemed like our heroes were gaining ground...

...they really weren't.

The second man pointed his staff right at Daphne and Sunny, releasing some sort of purple mist that caused Sunny to immediately cough. “Eww!” Daphne said, trying to fan the mist away. “That is the cheapest perfume I ever…”

Unfortunately for Sunny and Daphne, this perfume was actually some strong knock-out gas, and it caused them to pass out right into Fred’s arms and Hitch’s hooves. “Daphne!” Hitch cried out in concern. “Sunny!”

“Hang on!” Zipp cried out while Sparky babbled in concern. “We’ve got your back!”

Unfortunately, Fred, Sparky, Hitch and Zipp began to slowly succumb to the knock-out gas as well, and once the six were completely unconscious, a third figure joined the other two and grabbed Daphne’s new bag, laughing as they soon ran off with it.

And only a few more minutes later, Hazina and the others raced over to them, gasping in fear over their unconscious friends being found. “Oh no!” Anga cried. “We’re too late!”

“They… they’re not dead… right?” Kushinda asked. “They can’t be…”

“No, they’re not dead,” Trail Grazer reassured the group as he checked their friends' breathing. “But they are unconscious. We need to get them out of here and to a safe place.”

“But where can we take them?” Ulaghai asked out of concern as she lifted Sparky onto her back. “No place is gonna be safe with those treasure hunters out there!”

“No need to worry.”

The six animals gasped as the kirin Desert Rose came forward, a gentle and wise smile on her face. “Please, don’t be afraid,” she told the animals gently. “I’m a friend to these unconscious ones. I’d be happy to take you all to another friend of mine, someone who can surely help them wake again.”

“...you’re sure you’re not with the treasure hunters?” Tofauti asked the kirin, a bit wary. “Cause we’ve encountered a lot of shady people today.”

“I’m sure,” Desert Rose reassured before a stern look came onto her face. “But we must move quickly-- your friends could be in more danger the longer we leave them out here.”

And so, after sparing glances at each other, Hazina nodded and began to follow Desert Rose with Daphne on her back, and the others, with the rest of the unconscious group on their backs, began to follow after her, hoping to get help before it was too late to do anything.

XXXXXXXX

Desert Rose led the group of Egyptian animal friends all the way to Triple A, who awaited their arrival at the top of a very tall pyramid in the middle of the desert, and once Desert Rose explained the situation, Triple A knew just what to do to help.

He lit a match and then took out a special herb that Desert Rose specialized in growing, burning the herb and creating a special form of smoke. And once the smoke began to build, he held it out to Daphne, Hitch and Zipp, and the three began to slowly gain consciousness, with Daphne rubbing her head, clearly disoriented. “Ohhh… my head…”

Zipp groaned before she slowly opened her eyes, seeing her friends looking down at her in concern. “Guys…?”

“Shh. Don’t say anything yet, Zipp,” Hazina said gently. “You need to regain your strength.”

Then, Triple A moved the smoke over toward Sparky, Sunny and Fred, but while Sparky and Sunny regained consciousness immediately, it seemed to take Fred a minute before he started to stir. “Come on, Mom, it's Saturday,” he grumbled before finally opening his eyes to see Triple A standing before him. “Oh. Uh, hi, Triple A.”

“Thank goodness you all are awake,” Desert Rose said in relief. “Your friends seemed rather worried about you when I found them, and we all ventured here to find Triple A so we could get the herbs to wake you.”

“Heh… I guess these amulets you gave us don’t really have protection magic, huh?” Hitch said with a small chuckle. “Oh, but they do. Just not the kind you’re thinking of,” Desert Rose said with a small smile. “The protection that comes with friendship is the one that these amulets bring. And you have plenty of that right here.”

Hitch, Sunny and Zipp weakly smiled while Sparky hugged the kirin around her leg, causing her to pat the dragon's head gently. It was then that Daphne looked around, realizing that they were on top of a very high pyramid in the middle of nowhere and causing her to gasp. “Where are we?”

“We are atop the Great Pyramid of Khufu,” Triple A explained as the group got a good look around. “We should be safe here,” Tofauti said gently. “Away from any kind of treasure hunters, ghosts or… anything else I’m missing?”

Ulaghai shot him a look. “Locusts?”

“Oh, yeah! Locusts,” Tofauti said before shuddering. “I can’t stand locusts…”

Fred, however, gulped nervously from where he was sitting. “Uh, did I forget to mention that I'm afraid of heights?”

“We've got bigger problems than heights, Freddy,” Daphne told him, causing Desert Rose to nod and look back at the group seriously. “Such as losing your friends.”

Sunny gasped in surprise, wondering how she could have known. “The girls, Shaggy and Scooby! Do you guys know where they are?!”

“I have a friend who is, shall we say, looking into it,” Triple A said, watching the moonlit sky as Horus the hawk came into view, holding something within his talons. “Ah, here he comes now.”

Horus quickly dropped what he was holding into Triple A’s hand and held it up… and it was something that Hazina recognized, causing her to gasp. “It’s Scooby’s collar!”

“So all five of them did make it out of the tomb!” Trail Grazer said in relief, just before Sunny sighed, a hopeful smile on her face once more. “Thank hoofness…”

“Excellent work, Horus,” Desert Rose praised the hawk before looking at Scooby’s collar. “Now, tell us-- where did you find this?”

Horus merely screeched and took off into the night sky, causing Triple A to turn to the group with their next movement. “We must travel north, by the stars.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Ulaghai exclaimed. “Let’s go find our friends and then kick this curse in the rear!”

XXXXXXXX

Back at the entrance to the tomb, Amelia von Butch stood with Natasha and Campbell, and Amelia was wearing the ankh necklace around her neck, a victorious smirk upon her face.

She may have lost her pack mules, but who cares?

She had what she wanted now. “Nothing can stop me now. Soon Cleopatra's golden crown will be mine! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”

But as the treasure hunter cackled, Campbell and Natasha shot her a look, which caused Amelia to roll her eyes. “You'll get your cut. Now, get down there and find what we came for.”

And so, the three ventured down into the tomb once more to retrieve their prize, knowing that the Mane 6 and their friends would finally be out of their hair.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, back in the Lost City of the Ancients, Shaggy and Scooby, along with Misty, Pipp and Izzy, were being carried toward a large arena by several citizens of the city, with Sarona riding with them and her mother and aunts not too far ahead of them. Sarona had been given special permission to be with her new friends during the assembly, and her mother and aunts were going to be up with the Hotep watching.

Of course, Taraji and her sisters weren't too thrilled about being so close to the Hotep, but it would give them a good vantage point to see what was going down.

But as the crowd cheered for the pharaoh and his man servant as they went past, Misty couldn't help but wonder what this sudden assembly was about. So, she turned to the little lioness cub sitting on Scooby's lap. “Hey, Sarona, did your mom and aunts ever say why the Hotep wanted this assembly so last minute?”

“Sorry, Misty, I don’t know,” Sarona admitted truthfully. “I went out to play early this morning, so I wasn’t around the Hotep much.”

“What’s up, Misty?” Izzy asked in concern. “Why do you seem so worried?”

“Maybe it’s just me, but… something about this just doesn’t feel right,” Misty said with a worried look. “The Hotep… the prophecy… it just feels like some sort of trap.”

“...we’ll be careful, just in case,” Pipp said gently, putting a hoof on Misty’s shoulder. “We’ve got each other’s backs, remember?”

Misty sighed and nodded to this. “Right. Thanks, you guys.”

Soon, they entered the arena, where Shaggy was finally able to get a good look around and hear the people cheering for them. “Wow! It's some kind of sports arena. And the place is packed.”

“Hey,” said Izzy as they were set down and able to walk into the main part of the arena. “Do you think they played baseball in ancient Egypt?”

“Oh, boy,” Scooby said in excitement as they headed for center of the arena. “I hope so.”

“Loyal subjects of the lost city!” the Hotep said from his perch at the top of the arena, with Taraji, Ovelia and Raheema sitting not too far away. “You have chosen to follow me in the ways of ancient times. But now, as foretold in prophecy, the Pharaoh Ascoobis has returned!”

The citizens of the lost city cheered wildly as Shaggy and Scooby waved to the crowd, prompting Misty, Izzy, Pipp and Sarona to wave to the crowd as well, just as Shaggy noticed a platform beginning to rise, with two people carrying spears and shields riding on it. “Hey, Scoob. Like, here come the ancient peanut vendors!”

And without warning, Shaggy and Scooby changed out of their Egyptian outfits and into baseball outfits, taking their seats in the chairs provided for them. “Great seats, huh?” Shaggy asked with a smile, just as Izzy, Sarona and Scooby began to chant. “We’re number one! We’re number one!”

The two men spared glances at each other before kneeling before the group, providing them the shields and spears they were holding, causing Pipp to hum in confusion. “I guess it’s shield and spears night or something.”

“Yeah… maybe,” Misty said with worry. “But this only makes me think there’s something else going on.”

And up where the Hotep was, Taraji couldn’t help but share Misty’s concern. “Why would the kids need shields and spears? What in the world would they be trying to protect themselves again?”

“I’m not sure…” Raheema said suspiciously, eyeing the Hotep. “But I can tell it’s something that is going to end badly if something isn’t done.”

However, before the three lioness sisters could do anything, the Hotep spoke up to the people again. “And now, it is time for the great Ascoobis to fulfill the prophecy by making a sacrifice of himself and his friends to the all-powerful… spirit of the sand!”

The crowd cheered to this, seemingly not phased by what the Hotep said, while Sarona suddenly froze, her eyes wide as she looked back at her friends. “Wait… w-what did he just say?”

“Something about a sacrifice?” Izzy said nervously just as a group of men pulled open a large pole keeping a large door shut. But when that door opened, the group could see a series of glowing red eyes staring back at them, and they belonged to something big.

REALLY big.

Shaggy tensed immediately at this, gulping nervously. “Like, why do I get the feeling that this isn't the home team's dugout?”

The creature behind the doors growled at the group before diving into the sand, heading toward them at a rapid pace. Shaggy, Scooby and Sarona immediately began to panic while Pipp, Izzy and Misty stood preparing for a fight as the creature beneath the sand got closer... and closer... and closer until...

...it stopped, right in front of them.

Our heroes spared each other a look, thinking that the creature in question had given up the ghost when all of a sudden, two giant scorpion claws rose from the sand and tried to grab the group and crush them to death!

But luckily, our ponies were one step ahead of the dastardly beast. “RUN!!!”

Sarona and the boys didn’t bother to hesitate, and they followed their friends in the opposite direction, but then, a giant scorpion tail rose from the sand as well, trying to strike them down. But luckily, they were able to run away just as the scorpion tail came down.

However, the spirit of the sand gave chase from under the ground again, eventually cornering our heroes against a giant pole before revealing itself to be a giant, scorpion-like creature with three glowing red eyes. The scorpion’s tail tried to strike them again, but Pipp was able to fly Sarona out of harm’s way while Misty and Izzy leapt aside, and Shaggy and Scooby grabbed onto the scorpion’s tail for dear life.

The scorpion did its best to try and shake the boys off, and it did, but luckily, they were able to climb to the top of a nearby obelisk for safety. Unfortunately, the scorpion slammed its tail against the obelisk, causing it to break from its support and fall over, causing Shaggy and Scooby to jump to the next one before the process repeated two more times.

The final obelisk toppled over and crashed against the arena wall, sending Shaggy and Scooby over the stone wall and causing them to land on a pile of hay. Shaking the dry straw off their faces, the cowardly duo discovered themselves in a horse stable, which seemed to give them an idea.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time and on the other side of the arena, Misty, Pipp, Izzy, and Sarona were trying to keep a safe distance from the spirit of the sand. “We have to find a way out of here,” Sarona panted. “We can’t dodge this freak forever!”

“I can't really see how we can think of an escape plan-- WHOO!” Pipp violently dipped down to avoid a tail strike from the beast. “--with this thing wanting our heads!”

Misty and Izzy were doing their best avoiding the scorpions attacks while pelting it with magic bursts, but it seemed to have little effect on the monster. “Wait a second!” Misty cried and looked around, realizing two of their friends were missing. “Where are Scooby and Shaggy?!”

Suddenly, the entry doors to the arena burst open and out came Shaggy and Scooby riding a horse-drawn chariot, both fitted into suits of armor just as the two horses let out a war-cry whinny and raced around the arena. “Like, quick!” Shaggy called to the ponies and lioness cub. “Get in!”

Shock and confusion were the first things to come to them, but that was quickly ignored when the scorpion monster dove back underground and starting after them. “Come on, ladies!” Izzy cried enthusiastically. “We ride like crazy tonight!”

And with that, the four immediately ran after their friends, and after a moment, they each clambered onto the fast-moving chariot with the help of Scooby and Shaggy. “Phew,” Sarona sighed out of relief. “Nice ride.”

“Thanks,” Scooby smiled. “I don't know,” Pipp said skeptically. “It feels weirdly satire having horses pulling this thing.”

Shaggy shot Pipp a look at this. “Like, do you want to become scorpion food?”

“Uh… no.”

“Speaking of which, there she blows!!” Izzy pointed to the towering tail protruding from the ground chasing after them. Shaggy whipped the chariot to the side in an effort to avoid the monster's path. “Like, maybe this sand spirit is on a low coward diet!”

“Something tells me that’s not the case!” Misty shouted. “And something tells me, Shaggy, that you're not watching where you're going!” Pipp gripped the side of the chariot for dear life. “Look out!”

The group turned to see they were heading right for a collapsed obelisk. Given no direct orders, the chariot horses raced up the the broken structure, which caused all the girls to scream in fright as the horses and chariot sailed into the air.

The one saving grace in this instance was that the chariot landed against the staircase, missing both sides of the spectators, who watched in disbelief as the group rattled up the stairs. “Whoa-oa-oa-oa-oa!!” Izzy wailed as they headed up the stairs. “This is buuuuumpyyyyyy!!!”

And it was because of that bumpiness that the chariot's yoke broke from the shaft, freeing the horses and causing Sarona to gulp nerously, clinging to Scooby that much tighter. “Uh-oh!”

The group could watch helplessly as the two equines darted off, while the chariot continued to roll forward at a rapid pace before it sped off the colosseum and became airborne once again. Shaggy, Scooby, the ponies, and Sarona held onto each other as the chariot soared high across the air.

In fact, they were so high up that the gang could see the entire Egyptian city from their viewpoint. “Wow…” Misty muttered. “That sure is a beautiful sight.”

Pipp snapped a quick picture. "At least I can have a last minute post before we die."

Shaggy looked at her in confusion when she said this. “Like, what makes you say that?”

“Have you forgotten where we are right now?”

Somehow, the thought did escape Shaggy's mind as they were still in midair, although that might've been because of the view. “...oh.”

That was when the chariot dropped like a rock, causing the occupants to start screaming and panicking again as they raced down the newly carved statue of Ascoobis before flying off again, luring the sand spirit out of the stadium and down the stairs after them, where the chariot finally broke apart and caused our heroes to once again flee for their lives.

It was a bit of a hit-and-miss chase from that moment on, but after a few moments of temporarily losing the sand spirit, the giant scorpion came around again, heading right for them as they were standing in front of a large wall. Lucky for them, Misty got an idea to lose this thing once and for all guys. “Jump to the side on my signal, guys!” she shouted before waiting for the monster to get close. “NOW!!”

With Izzy and Misty pushing Shaggy to one side and Pipp leading Scooby and Sarona to the other, the giant scorpion monster crashed through the wall, falling through the air before it landed in the waters below…

…right before it short-circuited, electricity coming off of it like lint off of a sweater.

The ponies, Shaggy, Scooby and Sarona stood there, catching their breath for a few moments before Pipp finally sighed. “That was close… I didn’t even have time to catch our scary chase on camera!”

“SARONA!!”

The young lioness cub gasped as soon as she saw her mom and aunts running toward her, their eyes filled with desperation and worry. “Mom!” Sarona cried. “Auntie Ovelia! Auntie Raheema!”

“Oh, my baby!” Taraji sighed in relief as she and her cub nuzzled. “You had us so worried! Are you all okay? Did that monster hurt you?”

“No, we’re all fine,” Sarona said in relief before becoming confused. “But… where were you guys? I thought for sure you would have clawed that monster before it got us!”

“We tried to, sweetie, we did,” Raheema said gently. “But the Hotep’s guards blocked us off and kept us from getting down to you.”

“The Hotep?” Scooby questioned in confusion. “But why?”

“That’s what we’re gonna find out,” Misty said with a brave tone before leading her friends, new and old, toward the nearby stairs. “Come on.”

XXXXXXXX

Down near the water’s edge, the citizens of the lost city gathered around the so-called spirit of the sand and watched it continue to short-circuit, murmuring in confusion. And the Hotep, not wanting to lose their trust, tried to explain the situation as best he could. “No, citizens! Do not be alarmed by what you see!”

But it was then that a remote flew out from the Hotep’s sleeve, which Ovelia immediately caught in her mouth with one daring leap and gave it to Shaggy for him to inspect. “Would you look at that?” Shaggy said to the others. “That sand spirit was really just a remote-control monster run by Hotep.”

“That man is not Hotep!”

Murmurs and gasps filled the air as Triple A, Fred and Daphne rode in on camels, and Desert Rose, Hitch (with Sparky on his back), Zipp, Sunny, Hazina and all of Hazina’s friends galloped in beside of them, with Sunny being the most relieved. “Guys! You’re okay!”

“We’ve been worried sick!” Fred added as he, Daphne and Triple A got off the camels. “Have you been here this whole time? Who are these lionesses?”

“Not now, Freddy,” Izzy whispered in response. “We’re in the middle of wrapping something up here.”

Desert Rose then lifted up a wanted poster to the Hotep’s face, and it matched him perfectly, causing her to sneer in response. “His real name is Armin Granger, a brilliant civil engineer, who has been illegally damming the Nile River!”

The citizens of the lost city turned to the so-called Hotep in anger, two of them grabbing him while Taraji and her sisters bared their teeth and snarled at him for putting their new friends, as well as their niece/daughter in danger.

That was when Pipp approached the water's edge and finally began to piece things together. “So that’s how we got here! He must have stolen the water from the Nile to bring it into the city!”

“And I would have gotten away with it too,” Armin Granger sneered, “if it weren’t you ponies, pussy-cats and you meddling phony pharaohs.”

And just like that, several citizens of the lost city led their former leader away, giving Sunny, Hitch and Zipp the chance to quickly embrace their found friends. “We were so worried about you guys!” Zipp said to her sister. “When we couldn’t find you back in the tomb, we thought the curse had gotten you!”

“No way… we wouldn’t have let that happen. Oh! And we wanted to introduce you all to our new friends,” Pipp said before fluttering over to the lionesses. “This is Sarona, her mom Taraji, and Taraji’s younger twin sisters, Ovelia and Raheema. They taught us all about the hidden paradise of Milele, and they’ve been really good to us since we got here.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Hazina said gratefully. “Thank you so much for taking care of our missing friends until we were able to reunite.”

“Of course,” Ovelia smiled gently. “We’re just glad you’re all together again.”

It was then that Shaggy looked toward the pictures of Ascoobis and Shagenkhamen, a question coming to mind. “So, like, was it just dumb luck that Scoob and I happened to fit the prophecy profile?”

“There's no such thing as dumb luck, my friend,” Triple A told Shaggy as he came forward. “I believe fate brought you here for a special purpose.”

“Really?” Scooby asked. “Sure!” Sarona said, purring up against the Great Dane. “Maybe it brought you guys here to help us find a better life for ourselves, until we can find Milele.”

“Or,” said Shaggy, “like, maybe it was to solve a mystery all by ourselves. Ha ha ha… won't Velma be proud.”

“Yeah,” Scooby giggled before suddenly noticing Velma’s absence, his happiness turning into concern. “Velma?”

“Hey…” Izzy noticed Velma wasn’t present as well, turning to her friends for an explanation. “W-Where is she?”

“Um…” Kushinda turned to look at the others nervously as Sparky sniffled and hugged Hitch’s neck. “That’s what we wanted to tell you.”

“You might wanna brace yourselves,” Ulaghai said gently. “Cause… this isn’t gonna be easy to say.”

XXXXXXXX

And so, Fred and Daphne, along with their large group, told their friends about what happened while Shaggy, Scooby, Pipp and the unicorns were in the Lost City of the Ancients…

…down to the very last detail.

Including the detail where Velma had been struck by the curse.

Needless to say, Shaggy, Scooby and the other ponies were heartbroken… but Scooby seemed to be the saddest one of the bunch, for even as they stood on the front steps of the city, he howled mournfully, the adult lionesses bowing their heads in respect while Sarona tried to sit with her friends and cheer them up.

It was when Scooby finally took a break from howling that Fred finally spoke up. “It just doesn't add up. If the Nile ran dry because of Hotep's scheme, could the curse of Cleopatra be a hoax, after all?”

“Hoax?!” Shaggy blurt out. “Like, tell that to poor Velma, turned to stone, and meanwhile, we're living the good life!”

“Well,” Pipp shrugged, “except for the giant scorpion part.”

Scooby let out another mournful howl at this, despite Sarona trying to purr against him and cheer him up, prompting Sunny and Daphne to come closer and help comfort him. “Oh, poor Scooby,” Daphne hugged the Great Dane sadly. “Listen to him.”

“I know,” Sarona said sadly. “He’s heartbroken!”

Scooby stifled back another sob just as Sunny reached into her saddlebag. “Here, boy. I’ve got something that might cheer you up,” she said before pulling out Scooby’s collar. “Recognize this?”

Scooby smiled faintly as he let his collar slip over his neck once more, a tear coming into his eye in the process. “Aw… Scooby-Doo…”

“It’ll be okay, buddy,” Sunny said gently. “We’re still here, and we’ll do whatever we can to bring them back. I promise you that.”

Daphne nodded to this before her eyes fell on Scooby’s dog tag, suddenly remembering something that made her gasp. “The ankh necklace! It was in my new bag!” she said, looking around. “Where is it?!”

“I’m afraid,” said Triple A, “the thieves who attacked you did not go away empty-handed.”

“You’re right,” Trail Grazer said in thought. “Then, they must’ve known what they were stealing.”

Suddenly, Zipp thought of the one person who could have stolen the necklace for their own gain. “Amelia von Butch! It all adds up!”

“Zipp is right! Other than us and Rock Rivers,” said Anga, “she’s the only other one who knew the necklace was the key to the curse!”

“If Amelia has the necklace, we might never be able to turn Velma and Omar back,” Shaggy argued before whimpering slightly. “They’ll be cold stone forever!”

Suddenly, Fred began to develop another idea, causing him to smile. “Hang on, Shag. I think I feel a plan coming on. But it’s gonna take all hooves, hands and paws on deck.”

“You can count on me and my pride to help,” Taraji offered, and her younger sisters and daughter nodded in agreement. “Just tell us what you want us to do.”

And so, Fred began to tell the group his newly-developed plan-- a plan that would not only stop Amelia von Butch once and for all...

...but also solve the mystery and hopefully bring their friends back from their stony fate.

Author's Note

I had FilmicTwilight's help with this scene, and I owe her so much for helping me.