G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness

Chapters

The Trail Trotters Star-Gazing Excursion
The Alien Trap, the Shocking Reveal and the Betrayal of the Century
A Cosmic Final Battle and Umbra and Daphne Save the Day
Daphne's Driving Dilemma/Meeting Aruna and Astronaut Excitement
Meeting New Friends and the Moments Before Takeoff
Intense Action Aboard the Sly Star One/The Alien Attacks!
Welcome to Sly Moon Prime
Moon Buggy Madness/Aruna's True Colors Revealed and Meeting Umbra
Drama and Danger Grow in Sly Moon Prime
Completely Cut Off and the Alien Trap Begins Assembly
Shannon and Aruna Arrested/A Happy Homecoming

The Trail Trotters Star-Gazing Excursion

It had been a wild week ever since the Mane 6, Allura and Twitch got back from their Unity Quest in Los Angeles, California, where they made friends with the Bad Guys and five Mythix Tiger cubs, helping them see the error of their ways and want to be good.

However, they did still have to serve a prison sentence, so who knows how long it would be before they got back to Los Angeles for another quest.

Allura was going to miss them, but she did feel a lot better about trying to reform her brother, whenever he did pop up.

A few days after this, however, Izzy was not having a great day compared to other ponies. By the evening, Izzy realized she had creative block, which she calls the "Blockywockys".

After Zipp's suggestion, Izzy decides to go on a quest by herself to cure her Blockwockys. Hoping to brighten Izzy's day, her friends use their cutie mark magic, channeling Izzy's magic through the star that allowed them to travel to different lands that Allura let them keep, to open a portal, allowing Izzy to get to Starlight Ridge.

In Starlight Ridge, Izzy was met by an auroricorn named Stardance. Izzy asks Stardance if she has the cure to the Blockywockys, but she doesn't know what they are. However, she invited Izzy to dance with the stars anyway, telling her that play is always the way. Izzy got so caught up in her dance, that she accidentally opened a portal and teleports herself to the Isle of Scaly.

Falling from the skies in the Dragon Lands, Tumble catches Izzy and bring her to Blaize and Spike. To help Izzy, Blaize got Izzy to do a trust fall exercise, teaching her to not worry how things will turn out. After a successful trust fall, Izzy's excitement activated the star to create another portal.

Now underwater, Izzy entered a paradise known as the Jade Sea, far far FAR away from Bikini Bottom, and quickly put on her underwater gear. She stumbles into a seapony named Destiny, who was playing hide and seek with her younger brother and sister. She tells Izzy that laughter is an effective cure for pretty much anything and offered to teach her how to make kelp braids. The magical force of their bond made Izzy accidentally create yet another portal and she immediately got sent in.

After getting out of the water, Izzy found herself back in Maretime Bay, satisfied that she's regained her creative spirit. Izzy sees the dilapidated remains of the fairgrounds that Sunny said used to be here when she was a filly, and saw this an opportunity to exercise her creativity. Her powerful magic (showcased in rainbow highlights in her mane and tail) summoned the rest of the Mane 6, and together, they channeled the star’s magic to restore the fairgrounds, breaking the star up in the process.

Each of the ponies each got their own attractions in the fairgrounds (Sunny got a new smoothie stand, Zipp got a roller coaster, Pipp got a station to bedazzle some cutie marks, Hitch got a bubble ride to use with Sparky, Misty got a pony-corn station and Izzy got a craft store). Izzy self-reflects on what she had been missing, then shows her friends the braids she made with Destiny. Sunny suggested they call this fun and happy place the Boardtrot, and with that, the ponies enjoyed the rest of the night at the fairgrounds before promoting it to the public.

Ever since then, the Boardtrot had been a hit, and even Allura and Twitch found themselves exploring it.

But, we all know by now that the Mane 6 would probably need some other form of relaxation after this, right?

Well, we’re about to find out what exactly they’ll be doing this time.

XXXXXXXX

Sunny was working at her smoothie stand one bright morning in Maretime Bay, and after she served one of the next to last ponies in line, she heard a voice call out to her. “Excuse me? Are you Sunny Starscout?”

Sunny turned her head to see who was talking to her, and looked to see a pony she hadn’t met before standing next to the smoothie cart.

This new pony was a pegasus with a green body with a pink mane that has green highlights in it, deep blue eyes, pink and green wings, a blue beret on her head, a blue sash with all sorts of badges on it, and a cutie mark of a red trefoil.

Sunny nodded in response to this pony’s question. “Yes, that’s me,” she said, handing a smoothie to Rufus as she spoke. “Can I help you?”

“Allow me to introduce myself,” the pony tipped her beret to her. “I’m Scout Kindheart, and I’m the new leader of the Trail Trotters here in Maretime Bay.”

“Oh, nice to meet you, Scout!” Sunny smiled. “I heard that being leader was a little too much for Windy, so she’s been looking for a replacement. Is there a smoothie I can get for you today?”

“One Alicorn Special, please,” Scout requested, and Sunny immediately got to work. “But, a smoothie isn’t the ONLY reason I’m here.”

“Really?” Sunny asked. “What’s the other reason?”

“Well, I know how tense everypony’s been, preparing themselves for Alterro if he were to ever come around,” Scout said, “and the Trail Trotters haven’t really done anything exciting in a while, so… I thought it might be fun if we did a fun excursion later this afternoon.”

“Oh, that sounds fun!” Sunny said, closing up her cart temporarily so she and Scout could talk. “What kind of excursion were you thinking?”

“That’s the problem-- I can’t decide,” Scout shrugged as she sipped on her smoothie. “That’s why I’m introducing myself to the rest of the troop and ask for their opinions. Posey and Little Rock wanted a spa day and Dahlia and Flowa Queen wanted to help in the community garden, but… I wanted to talk to you and your friends and ask for your opinions before I made an official decision.”

Sunny hummed in thought, trying to think of a good adventure that the Trail Trotters could go on when she suddenly thought of something. “You know… when I was a filly, me and my mom would go stargazing at Prancing Point, and she had this special telescope she gave me before she… disappeared,” she explained. “What if we tried to recreate that for the whole troop? We could have a campfire dinner and everything from right there on the mountain!”

“Oh, I love the way you think! I love a good stargazing,” Scout said with an excited smile. “I’ll send out a couple of texts to let the rest of the troop know, but can you ask your friends if they would be interested?”

“Sure thing,” Sunny nodded. “Once I talk to them, just let me know about the meeting place and we can gather the whole troop there before we head up the mountain.”

“Roger that! See ya, Sunny!” Scout said cheerfully before she flew off to tell the rest of the troop, and Sunny skated off to tell her friends about the stargazing on Prancing Point.

XXXXXXXX

Of course, the other ponies were excited about the excursion and instantly agreed.

Later on that day, the Mane 6 met up with the rest of the Trail Trotters group, which of course consisted of Dahlia, Scout, Posey and Windy, but there are a few Trail Trotters that you may not recognize.

Dreamy was a greyish lavender unicorn with a dark purple mane that has yellow highlights, red eyes and a cutie mark of yellow stars.

Flowa Queen was a light green earth pony with a golden-colored mane and tail with light yellow hooves, blue eyes, a headband made of leaves and flowers with a crown on one of the flowers, a necklace with a single pink flower around her neck and a cutie mark of a flower with a crown on it.

Little Rock was a unicorn with a white coat with a purple mane and tail with blue highlights in it, special glittery stockings on her legs, a pair of headphones on her ears with a built-in mic, purple eyes, a purple horn and a cutie mark of some music notes.

Luminous Dazzle was a pegasus with a lime green coat with darker green hooves and feathers on her wings, a blue and pink mane styled into a mohawk, the same colors for her tail, blue eyes and a cutie mark of a colorful star.

And last, but not least, Leaf was a light green female unicorn with a dark green mane and tail. She has green vines and leaves around her hair and golden hooves. Her cutie mark is of a leaf and her horn is purple and green.

And once the entire troop was together, they began to hike up toward Prancing Point, excited for a night of friendship, stargazing, campfire stories and general comradery.

XXXXXXXX

Posey Bloom panted tiredly as the Trail Trotters group finally reached the top of Prancing Point, the sun already starting to set and make way for the stars. “That… hike… was… IMPOSSIBLE!!” she sighed, flopping to the ground. “I can’t believe we have to do the same thing again on our way back later!”

“Aw, come on, Posey, lighten up!” Little Rock said as she levitated Posey onto a nearby log. “Just enjoy the beauty of things while they last.”

“I agree,” Izzy nodded to Little Rock as the rest of the Trail Trotters sat down on logs as well, prompting Scout to try and light the campfire. “It’s just so… twinkly and starry up here!”

“Sunny, did you bring your mom’s telescope?” Zipp asked enthusiastically. “I wanna see how well it works; in case we need to bring it on one of our Unity Quests.”

“Definitely,” Sunny said, reaching into her bag and pulling out the small telescope. “Here it is-- Mom told me her mom gave this to her when she was a filly, and she wanted to give it to me.”

“Aww…” Luminous Dazzle cooed. “That’s so sweet!”

“And wow… this thing has some range,” Dahlia said after Sunny let her look through it. “I can almost see back to Maretime Bay from here!”

Hitch strained his eyes to see the beloved town below that Dahlia had mentioned but ultimately sighed. “Boy, would I like to have as much vision as that telescope does.”

The other Trail Trotters let out a laugh as Scout finally got the campfire lit. “There we go! Hey, Sunny? Do you, and the earth ponies think you can make some food for us to eat for dinner?”

“Oh, I don’t think we can,” Sunny said with a smirk as she quickly gestured for the other earth ponies to stand around her. “I know we can!”

“You called the right Trail Trotter for the job!” Flowa Queen said as she stood next to Sunny and Dahlia. “Yummy fruits and veggies, here we go!”

The earth ponies slammed their hooves into the ground, letting their earth pony magic create lots of veggies and fruits that they could roast over the fire and eat for their dinner. And as they were eating, Dahlia spotted a cluster of stars in the night sky and tilted her head in their direction. “Hey, ponies? If you look at those stars, they kinda look like… some kind of animal.”

“Really?” Misty tilted her head. “Oh, yeah, they kinda do! Nice eye, Dahlia!”

“Stars that actually make up a picture are called constellations,” Luminous Dazzle explained proudly. “But… I don’t know what kind of constellation those stars make up.”

Scout gently took Sunny’s telescope and pointed it up toward the stars in question, humming in thought as she looked at them for a few moments before gasping and smiling. “That’s not just one constellation, Luminous… those are two constellations, right by one another! The constellations of the Sun and Moon Jaguars!”

“Sun and Moon Jaguars?” Pipp seemed skeptical. “What in the hey are Sun and Moon Jaguars?”

“According to the Trail Trotters guide,” said Windy, flipping through the guidebook, “the Sun and Moon Jaguars are magical beings who have the bodies of jaguars, but extraordinary powers related to the sun and the moon.”

“Right,” Scout nodded. “Sun Jaguars are born from bits and pieces of sunlight, and Moon Jaguars are born from moonlight and shadows. They’re supposed to be bitter enemies, but that part of the legend is a bit unclear.”

“Wow…” Misty looked amazed at such a story. “Do you think they’re out there somewhere? Waiting to be found, I mean?”

“I’m not exactly sure what to think, Misty,” Posey shook her head. “But, maybe if they are real, maybe… they might see eye to eye on something and want to be friends… not enemies.”

“...hey, instead of getting on the sappy note,” said Little Rock, “what do you say if we can see that legendary alicorn realm from up here before we head down the mountain?”

“Ooh, good idea, Rocker! Maybe we can send a message to wherever Skyros is,” said Izzy with a cheerful smile, looking through the telescope, “and then maybe they can send one back! Like texting! But also… not texting.”

Suddenly, Sunny looked down to see her cutie mark, as well as the cutie marks of Hitch, Pipp, Zipp, Izzy and Misty glowing before a portal opened up not too far away. “I wish we could, Izzy, but right now, the Unity Crystals need us to go and help somepony.”

Zipp sighed and packed up her gear in exhaustion. “They always seem to call us at the same time that something fun is going to happen.”

“Not to worry, guys. We’ll be waiting right here to tell campfire stories and roast marshmallows when you get back,” Leaf said with a gentle smile. “We know that these Unity Quest things don’t take long since time slows down here.”

“Thanks, Leaf,” Hitch smiled as he put Sparky onto his back. “I just hope we don’t run into a huge villain like we did with Safira.”

“Don’t worry, Hitch. I think we’ll be fine,” Misty said with a smile. “We’ll be back soon, Trail Trotters!”

And so, with the rest of the Trail Trotters bidding their friends farewell, the Mane 6 and Sparky set off through the portal on their next, action-packed adventure.

And this one was going to be out-of-this-world... and I mean that quite literally.

The Alien Trap, the Shocking Reveal and the Betrayal of the Century

The trap was finally set, and with all of their new friends offering to look after Sparky while keeping their other allies safe in their rooms, the Mane 6, Mystery Inc and Umbra were ready to catch this alien to ensure a safe, peaceful return to Earth.

But with the escalating drama between Velma and Daphne, Zipp and Pipp (who offered to stick with them in case things got out of hoof) knew they were going to have their hooves full.

And Umbra still had to worry about her sister lurking around and waiting for the right opportunity to attack. But then again, she knew that her new friends weren't going to let that happen on their watch.

Now, let's get back to the story to see what happens next, and if our heroes' trap really succeeds.

XXXXXXXX

From the main control room, Izzy levitated some hot cocoa over to Hitch and Fred, who were keeping a sharp eye on the security cameras. “Hey, guys! I thought we could all use some hot cocoa to keep ourselves toasty while we’re watching over these security cameras. Can't risk that alien slipping through our hooves again, can we?”

“Thanks, Izzy,” Fred took his mug with a grateful smile. “But while Hitch and I keep an eye out for the alien, we need you to do something important for us too.”

Izzy blinked in surprise. “Me?”

“Yeah-- you're just the unicorn to do it, after all. Since Aruna is still out there somewhere, that means Umbra could get attacked again, and she might not come out of this one with just scratches and bruises,” Hitch said after setting his mug down, guiding Izzy to another chair facing a bunch of other monitors. “So, while Fred and I keep an eye out for the alien, we need you to sweep through the security footage and tell us as soon as you see Aruna, so Sunny can get her someplace safe.”

Izzy gulped nervously at this, but wanting to do something to help, nodded reluctantly to Hitch’s request. “Okay, Hitchie-Poo… if it’s for Umbra and keeping her safe from her meany-pants sister, I’ll do it.”

“And it looks like we’re just in time,” Fred said after a moment, pointing to the security monitor closest to Hitch, pointing out the alien in question. “Now we just need to call Shaggy, Scooby and their group-- they’re the closest to the alien’s location.”

XXXXXXXX

As Umbra, Misty and Sunny walked with Shaggy and Scooby, keeping a firm eye out for either Aruna or the alien, Fred spoke up through their communicators. “Shaggy, Scooby, we’ve just spotted the alien in the observation deck. You guys take your group, head up there and lure him down to Hudson's work area. The other ponies, Daphne, Velma and I will cover the rest. It's almost too easy. Any questions?”

“Uh, yeah,” Shaggy said nervously. “Can we not do this?”

“Guys, relax a little. It’s just an alien,” Hitch said, trying to sound confident. “It can't hurt you if it doesn't catch you.”

“Yes, it can,” Scooby nodded quickly, more or less out of fear. “It tried to melt our brains right before Umbra fought it off!”

“But we’ve still got each other, and that’s what really matters right now,” Sunny said gently. “Come on… the observation deck isn’t that far from here.”

They soon walked from their location to the observation deck, which had huge windows for gazing out at the stars, where they stopped and looked around for the alien, but more or less didn't see anything.

However, a chill ran up Umbra's spine, causing her ears to flatten slightly. “I don’t know about this… it seems much too quiet in here for anypony’s liking.”

“Maybe he moved into the next room,” Misty thought out loud before she pointed toward some double doors nearby. “Come on, let’s go check it out.”

But as they moved over to the double doors, a shadow loomed over them, causing the group to quickly gasp and turn around. But to their relief, it was only a Slybot walking into view, carrying a tray of sticky buns with vanilla frosting on them. “Sticky buns!”

“I figured you might have second thoughts,” Fred said over their communicators. “I thought I'd give you some added incentives.”

“Like, yeah,” Shaggy said, grabbing a sticky bun and splitting it with Misty. “Incentives with frosting!”

“Yeah, yeah. Yummy!” Scooby bit into his own sticky bun before Misty grabbed the tray with her magic. “Come on, guys, let’s dine and dash-- we still have a lot more of this floor to cover before we have to report back to the others.”

XXXXXXXX

In another corridor, Zipp and Pipp were flying above Daphne and Velma (who were plugging in some electrical cables) while the pegasus sisters tried to make sure the sting dart mechanisms were going to work.

But while they did this, Pipp kept glancing down at Velma and Daphne, who were in the middle of a stone cold silence… and Zipp immediately caught onto what her sister was feeling. “You’re worried about them too, aren’t you?”

“How can I not be? They’re always so close with each other,” Pipp frowned, “and now they’re at each other’s throats! It... kinda made me think of that one fight we had on Zephyr Heights Royal Princess Portrait Day.”

Zipp frowned deeper at Pipp mentioning that. She remembered that day far too well-- somepony (who had been revealed later on to be Misty) had sent them a picture of a rare ocean lily (created by Opaline during one of her earlier schemes) and when she and Pipp went to find them, a rockslide had trapped them in a cave while Sunny was keeping their mother busy.

Back in the collapsed cave, Zipp and Pipp struggle to break out or call for help, all while blaming each other for their current predicament. Calming down, Zipp apologizes for bringing Pipp along on this adventure under false pretenses and admits she genuinely wanted to have some fun with her like they used to. And after singing their special Portrait Day song from their childhood, the two sisters made up and managed to make it out of the cave (thanks to Glory, Seashell, Peach Fizz and some of their friends) in time to get their portrait made in Zephyr Heights.

After clearing the memory from her mind, Zipp sighed and looked at her sister. “I know that day was hard on both of us, Pipp. But… I don’t think Velma and Daphne’s problems can be fixed with a song and a selfie.”

“I know…” Pipp sighed, her ears lowering at a terrible and rather sad thought. “I just… don’t want us to ever fight like that again.”

Zipp nodded and nuzzled her sister gently to comfort her, and once they finished setting up the sting darts on one side of the room, they flew to the other side to attach the sting darts there.

However, while the sisters were out of range for now, Velma decided to break the silence and glanced at Daphne coldly. “You're probably going to tell me I'm doing this all wrong, aren't you?”

Daphne let out a scoff, not believing what she was hearing. “You can't stand that I did better than you on the astronaut training tests.”

Velma put two electrical sockets together before looking over at Daphne again. “What do I care? Those tests must be flawed.”

Daphne scoffed at this. “Because I did well?”

“No!” Velma dismissed. “Because you did better than me!”

“Ugh… I knew it!” Daphne finally snapped out of irritation. “After all this time, is it so hard for you to accept that I might be something more than a pretty face?!”

“No…” Velma said quietly before sighing sadly and turning away, unaware that the pegasus sisters were slowly landing a short distance away. “What's hard to accept is that you get to have it all. If you're prettier and more stylish and smarter and a better astronaut, what's left for me? If you're a better me than I am, then who am I?”

Daphne, in that moment, was honestly speechless, and had no idea how to comfort her best friend. “I…”

Zipp sighed and turned to her sister, feeling that this argument hit closer to home than even she realized. “See what I mean?”

“It sounds a lot like an argument we would have, wouldn’t it?” Pipp asked. “I… I wanna help, but… I don’t wanna make either of them feel like we’re choosing sides.”

But, before Zipp could answer her younger sister’s question, the lights began to flicker again, making Daphne gasp as the two sisters ran to protect Velma and Daphne, just in case.

XXXXXXXX

In the control room, the lights flickered in there too, alerting Fred, Hitch and Izzy to what might be going on, and causing Izzy to whimper a bit nervously.

XXXXXXXX

Down another corridor, more lights began to flicker, causing Umbra to freeze in her tracks. “Uh… what’s happening?”

“Huh?” Scooby whimpered and quickly glanced around while the others stopped, also a bit nervous.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Sly Baron was enjoying himself being blown by a hairdryer and lots of fans when the power suddenly went off, leaving him in the darkness. “Dang it,” Sly grumbled as he began to float off the floor. “Tripped the breakers again!”

XXXXXXXX

“WHOAAAAA!!” Pipp shrieked as she, Zipp, Velma and Daphne began to float off the floor. “We’re flying but I’m not using my wings!!”

“Something's wrong with the gravity!” Zipp realized, causing Velma to look over at her sarcastically. “You think? What makes you say that?”

XXXXXXXX

In the control room, Fred, Hitch and Izzy started to float too, and through the monitors, they could see this happening to their other friends while Sly's voice echoed out to them through the intercom system. “Hi, folks! Slight glitch with our artificial gravity. We'll have it back on shortly. Until then, enjoy the float.”

XXXXXXXX

“Like, dude, a glitch?” Shaggy asked as his and Scooby’s group continued to float in mid-air while Misty’s magic tried to keep them together. “Oh-ho-ho, boy… that doesn’t sound good.”

However, while the others were trying to keep their balance, Scooby floated over to a sticky bun and gobbled it right up, causing Sunny to laugh. “Scooby? What are you doing?”

“Enjoying the float,” Scooby answered, pushing himself off the floor to reach another sticky bun, “You can swim without getting wet.”

“Ha, ha. Hey, hey, you're right!” Shaggy realized his best friend's point, swimming to another sticky bun while Umbra ate one herself. “And you can eat without getting sticky.”

XXXXXXXX

Back in the control room, while she was having fun floating around, Izzy caught sight of both the alien and Aruna together, fear filling her gut as they moved in the direction of Shaggy and Scooby’s group. “GAH!!!”

Swimming quickly, she made it to the monitor and tried to contact the others. “Team Snack Attack, come in, Team Snack Attack! Trouble heading in your direction!”

XXXXXXXX

However, while Sunny, Misty and Umbra seemed to hear this, Shaggy and Scooby seemed a bit too relaxed and didn’t realize how much trouble they were in. “Shaggy, Scooby, come on! Izzy said there was trouble heading this way,” said Misty, “so we need to go!”

“It’s all good, Misty,” Scooby said, completely relaxed as he floated around on his back. “Just relax and have a good…”

Suddenly, Scooby bumped into something, and when he turned, he saw the alien with Aruna on his back, causing him to freeze. “Huh?!”

Aruna and the alien both let out a deafening roar, causing all of them to fly backwards, screaming into the wall, where Umbra whimpered worriedly. “Aruna, what are you doing?!”

“Doing what I should have done a long time ago-- eliminating you from existence!” Aruna smiled with a venomous look. “And when my little alien friend found me, how could I refuse its help? So, we teamed up to take you ALL out!!”

Shaggy gulped nervously before looking toward Scooby. “Like, what do you say, pal? Maybe we should try some of U-Boat's singing.”

“Singing?! Now?!” Umbra looked a bit panicked, but Shaggy and Scooby went right on singing without paying her any mind… at least, not right then.

Shaggy and Scooby: F, la-Ia la la
E, la-la la la
A, la-la la la
R, spells nothing you need to…

However, the alien then chose to roar two of the sticky buns at Shaggy and Scooby's faces, cutting their singing off. Luckily, Shaggy and Scooby were able to lick it right off, but seeing that the alien and Aruna were getting more and more agitated, Misty suddenly became fearful. “I don't think the singing's working very well, Shag!”

“Give it up, you dark miscreant,” Aruna challenged her sister with her wings spread wide. “You haven’t got a chance when you’re floating off the ground.”

“Oh, yeah?” Sunny challenged. “Well, we do have one more trick up our sleeves-- RUN!!!”

Quickly, Sunny shifted into alicorn form and Umbra spread her wings before they flew off, with Misty, Shaggy and Scooby running in mid-air behind them, and the alien and Aruna in hot pursuit. However, while Aruna chose to fight Sunny and Umbra both, giving Misty, Shaggy and Scooby a chance to escape the alien, the three of them just kept bouncing off each wall and each other while the alien grabbed onto the ceiling with its claws.

It was then that Fred spoke up through their communicators again. “Don't eat the sticky buns, use them to stick!”

“Man! Like, great idea, Fred!” Shaggy said, just before he, Scooby and Misty grabbed the sticky buns and put them on the floor, using them almost like suction cups. “Yes!” Misty cheered. “It’s working!”

“Way to go, guys!” Sunny said as she used her alicorn magic to blast Aruna backwards. “Just keep it up until Aruna is off mine and Umbra’s tails!”

However, as Misty and the boys walked along the floor using the sticky buns, they saw the alien behind them, causing them to panic and run on mid air, though in one spot. The alien rises up behind them and swipe at Shaggy, Scooby and Misty, sending them tumbling into Sunny and Umbra, causing them all to scream and continue tumbling while Aruna regained her composure. “After them! We can’t let my sister and her friends get away this time!”

The alien roared in agreement, and the duo immediately flew after them down the corridor, hoping to catch them before they got out of bounds.

XXXXXXXX

“Pega-Sisters 1 and 2 and Rogue 1,” said Fred from the control booth, “this is Rogue Leader. The packages are heading your way, over.”

XXXXXXXX

Suddenly, Daphne had a thought. “Am I Rogue 1 or Rogue 2?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Velma dismissed. “We’re ready, Fred.”

“Aw, come on,” Izzy whined, having heard Velma say this regularly and not as cool as she would have. “Use your call sign, Velma! I-I mean… Rogue 2. Over.”

Suddenly, the other ponies, Umbra, Shaggy and Scooby were heard screaming, causing Pipp and Zipp to push Daphne and Velma to the other side of the hallway so the alien and Aruna wouldn't see them. At the same time, Shaggy and Scooby's group bumped into the wall and swam through the air toward their friends floating above them. They smiled at Daphne and the others, but Zipp shushed them, urging them to be quiet so they wouldn't foil the plan.

Daphne then pushed a button on a remote and smoke comes out of the vents, covering the corridor just as the alien and Aruna swam through. “Sting darts,” said Zipp, pushing a button, “away!”

The sting darts quickly fired from the walls on both sides of the corridor, but Aruna was able to use her sun magic to burn her and the alien a path through the fog, allowing them to successfully get through. Ha! Nice try, pega-whimps!” Aruna taunted before she flew off after the alien, having seen them before the smoke filled the corridor. As for the girls, Pipp groaned in frustration when their part of the trap failed. “I can’t believe we missed!”

“No problem,” Hitch assured confidently. “We just need to wait for the right moment, and Fred, Izzy and I will take care of the rest.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Umbra led her friends down into Hudson’s work area, where they stopped just above a big red X that Izzy painted on the ground. “Okay, we’re here,” said Sunny, “but now what?”

“Look!” Misty yelped in panic as she, Scooby and Shaggy quickly turned to see the alien and Aruna coming in their direction. “They’re right behind us!”

However, as Aruna and the alien made it through the doors of the work area, the vents above it sprayed green smoke all over it and when it cleared, they got covered in green gooey gel. “UGH!!!” Aruna groaned in disgust. “What is this disgusting condiment?!”

XXXXXXXX

Izzy laughed triumphantly at this. “Gotcha!”

“Gravity gel!” Fred smirked and bumped Hitch's hoof with his fist. “That should hold them! Well... at least for a little while.”

But just then, Shaggy, Scooby and Misty, along with Aruna and the alien, fell toward the floor with a yelp while Sunny and Umbra used their wings to stay up in mid-air. “Huh?” Hitch looked at the monitor and instantly seemed confused. “Where did they…?”

“YIKES!!!” all three of them cried out when they suddenly dropped to the floor in one large heap.

XXXXXXXX

“Guys!” Sunny exclaimed as she and Umbra landed to check on their friends. “Are you okay?”

“Ugh… yeah, I think so,” Shaggy nodded. “And on the plus side,” Misty added on, shaking off the dizziness, “I think the gravity’s fixed.”

“Ugh… but now my head's broken!” Scooby said just before a sticky bun fell on his head. “It’s okay now, guys,” Umbra reassured. “They’re stuck in the gel now, and it’s not like they’re going to be able to-- AGH!!!”

The others let out a horrified gasp as Aruna, still covered in the gravity gel, pounced on Umbra, and the two of them rolled across the floor until Aruna pinned Umbra down by the neck. “UMBRA!!!”

“Oh, you think you can win so easily?” Aruna asked her sister as she began to struggle to breathe. “Think again, dear sister. I’ve always been better than you, and I will ALWAYS outshine you. And I’m going to prove that to you RIGHT NOW!! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

And while Aruna was getting ready to kill Umbra, the alien grabbed Scooby in its massive paws and roared in the poor Great Dane's face, scaring poor Scooby out of his wits.

But little did Aruna and the alien know that the others were at least two steps ahead of their wicked plans.

Hitch pounced onto Aruna, knocking her off of Umbra before Pipp and Zipp used thick vines to tie Aruna into place.

As for the alien, Izzy had tossed Fred some of the oxygen infused with liquid nitrogen, freezing it instantly and the alien fell over to the ground as a result, making the ice around it crack, and allowing Misty to help Scooby out of its claws. “Yes!” Sunny cheered. “We’ve got them!”

Aruna growled in anger at this. “No! How?!”

“Easy,” Misty said with a glare. “It’s called working together as a team. Something you wouldn't know much about.”

Suddenly, one of the elevator doors opened, revealing Tidal Wave, Starshine Tide, Elvin and Steelcase, with the two hippogriffs gasping in surprise while Elvin and Steelcase spoke up.

“The alien!”

“You caught the alien!”

“Yes,” Velma nodded with a smile, “we...”

“The alien!” U-Boat exclaimed as he and Cloudy came from another elevator nearby. “You caught the alien!”

“Uh, yeah,” Zipp nodded slowly, “we...”

Then, Morpho, Hudson, Cassiopeia and Ridley emerged from another elevator, looking just as stunned. “The alien!” they cried. “You caught the alien!”

Okay, now Velma was starting to get annoyed. “Yes...”

Then, another elevator opened to reveal H.A.M, Clark Sparkman and Shutter Snap. “The alien,” H.A.M said robotically. “You caught the alien.”

“Yes!” Velma managed to say right when Sly arrived in the final elevator. “Does anyone have a spare hair dryer? I seem to...” he began to say right before he saw the alien and Aruna surrounded by the gang and their friends. “The alien. You caught the alien!”

“Yes! We caught it!” Zipp was finally able to say before groaning out of frustration. “Sweet Celestia... how many elevators are in this building?”

“And what am I to all of you?” Aruna snarled at the others. “Chopped liver? No! I will not be treated like--”

“I don’t believe it...” Cassiopeia said with awe in her voice as the others approached. “It is real!”

However, Zipp spared a suspicious glance at Velma, since both of them had a good idea who was behind all this. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Working together, Zipp and Velma pulled off the alien’s head and tossed it aside, revealing it to be all mechanical and a figure crawled out of it to reveal themselves to be...

“SHANNON LUCAS?!”

Aruna scoffed as Shannon just glared at them. “Took you idiotic mortals long enough.”

However, U-Boat was still majorly confused. “But how?”

“Why?” Umbra also questioned. “Who?” Fred asked again, only for everyone to stare at him, baffled. “Oh, right. It's Shannon.”

“That's right, it was Shannon,” Velma confirmed with a smile. “Being an astronaut made her the perfect alien... with a little help from Aruna.”

Fred nodded slowly, now piecing some of these things together. “She knew how to adjust the frequency of a micro-radar transmitter to turn it into a devastating sonic weapon.”

“So that explains the alien’s mind beams!” Izzy gasped in realization, causing Shaggy to nod. “She used Sly's magnaboots to defy gravity!”

“And,” Sunny added, “when it wasn’t Shannon in the alien suit, it was Aruna, since a lot of the movements it made resembled that of a standard jaguar.”

“And,” Velma added, “she knew how to use holograms, videos and audio recordings to mask her whereabouts at any moment.”

“And they both knew the ship and the resort so they could come and go at will!” Pipp realized, causing Zipp to nod, her eyes narrowing at Shannon slightly. “But even though she had an ally in Aruna, this was a plan years in the making by a highly trained expert.”

“Yes. An expert. Someone who has sacrificed everything to get here,” Shannon said, walking around the group, who glared at her in anger. “Not some regular nobody that Sly had decided could simply go to space because it was easy and safe for everyone, anyone. I decided to change that. The original plan was to sabotage the ship, stage an alien attack and make the world see that space travel is dangerous and only a place for experts.”

Daphne slowly nodded, realizing where Shannon was coming from. “And you had the perfect guests to help you with your plan,” she said before gesturing to Elvin and Steelcase, leaving Starshine and Tidal out of it. “Two veteran astronauts to make the trip seem credible.”

“And,” Shaggy added, “you had U-Boat, a super-star athlete that would ensure the whole world was watching.”

“And Ridley,” Fred added. “The one person you knew would confirm to the world that aliens were real.”

“Don’t forget Clark,” Velma said, turning to the news anchor. “Celebrity Heat would give you all the exposure you could ever need by ignoring the actual facts, to get you a sensational story. Sorry, Clark.”

However, Clark smiled and shrugged at her innocently. “It’s a living.”

“Wow. I have to admit,” said Sunny, “the two of you had this all figured out.”

“Except I didn't count on the greatest mystery team or all your little magic friends being onboard,” Shannon glared at the gang, the Mane 6 and all their new friends. “That was just plain old luck. Bad luck. I knew you snooping would ruin my plans. I even tried to convince you not to go.”

XXXXXXXX

“Well, Daphne, your hair is so great, I'd consider not going.”

XXXXXXXX

Pipp gasped in shock to this. “That wasn’t a compliment?! Oh, how dare you…”

“Then,” Aruna said with a smirk, “I switched your scores, hoping it would break up your happy team. And I guess it did for a while.”

Daphne paused and put her hands on her hips at this. “Wait. So I didn't get the highest scare?”

“Psh, no, Daphne,” Aruna said with a scoff. “Shaggy did.”

“SHAGGY?!” everyone cried in shock, and even Shaggy seemed surprised. “Like, dude, me? Ha, ha!”

“Way to go, Shaggers!” Izzy giggled happily, hugging Shaggy with one of her free hooves. “I knew you had it in you! Well… for a few seconds, anyway.”

“...anyway,” Shannon rolled her eyes, “I had to prevent you from figuring out my plan, so I came up with a different one. A plan that meant leaving you here and helping Aruna with her plan as well.”

“So that way,” Starshine realized, “we would never be able to return to tell the real story.”

“So it was you who sabotaged the satellite!” Cassiopeia realized, causing Morpho to growl in anger. “Boy,” Fred spoke up. “Everything that happened was perfectly calculated.”

“And,” said Elvin, “expertly executed.”

It was then that Sly stepped forward with a rather confident look on his face. “And you would've gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for me.”

“You?” Misty looked confused. “Don’t you mean all of us, Sly?”

“Oh, right,” Sly took back what he said before facing Shannon again. “I meant, and you would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for me and these meddling kids.”

However, Shannon chuckled darkly at this. “Would have? Oh, we’re still getting away with it. Aren’t we, Aruna?”

Aruna then used her sun powers to evaporate the vines holding her before knocking Izzy and Misty, who were the closest to her, away. “I couldn’t agree more, Shannon. You see, while you ponies and your stupid little friends were trying to solve the mystery, I’ve been communicating with someone I think you should meet in person!”

And with that, Aruna slammed her magic mirror on the ground, resulting in a mysterious portal opening up that caused the Mane 6 to take the lead, wanting to keep their friends out of harms way for as long as they could.

But... they weren't expecting who came out of the portal in question.

That's right-- Alterro emerged from that portal with a victorious smirk planted on his muzzle. “Hello… ponies.”

“Alterro?!” Zipp looked shocked and furious all at once. “Aruna, how can you work for Alterro?! He’s way too dangerous and he’s super manipulative!”

“Exactly why I chose Aruna to be under my wing, teaching her everything that I know,” Alterro smirked. “She and this little trap that was set up was the perfect way to get rid of you and your pesky little friends all in one fell swoop!”

Scooby bared his teeth into a snarl at the mention of finishing off the Equestrians, but Shaggy, not wanting Scooby to get hurt, kept him back when Scooby tried to lunge. “But you still failed, Alterro,” Sunny said. “Shannon and Aruna were caught, and in revealing yourself, you let your own plan slip too! It’s not too late to make things right… for your sister’s sake.”

“That… traitor is NOT my sister!” Alterro snapped before quickly regaining her composure. “You six ponies are the guardians of Equestria now that Twilight Sparkle and her little minions are gone. Which means everything the light touches belongs to me. There will be one ruler… one… leopard… king.”

And as Alterro strutted closer to the group, his fiery magic went into work, making wild cats of pure fire to ensure that no one got away while he did the unthinkable-- he started to sing.

Alterro: You say that you're heroes
But you lie around in the shade
Out of shape, unafraid

Pipp gasped, appalled by this as the fiery cats got closer. “Rude!”

Alterro: The moon cuts a path through the sky
By night or by day, it doesn't obey
And neither do I

My sister betrayed me, and for what you've done
I hope you can run...

And as the wild cats made of fire began to close in even more, the Mane 6 and even the other young magical creatures stood up for themselves to keep the fiery cats away from their friends... even if these fiery beings were a bit intimidating.

Alterro: Cause I'm gonna be
The last thing you see
Before you go bye bye
There you go, bye bye

Climb every tree across land and sea
I make you go, bye bye
I make you go, bye bye

Everything in my clutches
Bye bye
Everything the light touches

And to make matters worse, Aruna also began to stalk around the frightened group while Shanno looked on, and Aruna kept her eyes on Umbra, who trembled behind Scooby at the confrontation.

Aruna: The Circle of Life is a lie
A pretty way to say
There are predators and prey

Alterro: That circle of vultures up high
They keep stealing glances
They don't like your chances
And neither do I

I run my pride
I hope you can hide...

“Everyone, scatter!” Zipp cried out, thinking of a last minute way to try and keep herself and her friends safe, and as everyone tried to split up in different directions, Alterro made sure they didn’t make their way out of the work area, thanks to Aruna, Shannon and his fiery minions.

Alterro: Cause I'm gonna be
The last thing you see
Before you go bye bye
There you go, bye bye

Climb every tree across land and sea
I make you go, bye bye
I make you go, bye bye

Soon enough, the group was rounded up and cornered again, and Alterro leapt down from his perch on some food crates, and looked dead into Sunny’s eyes, making her tense up in fright.

Alterro: Bye bye
For vengeance is mine
If I'm the last of my line
I must be strong

Aruna and Fire Cats: Like a dream that just doesn't
Let up, let up
And you scream 'cause you cannot
Get up, get up

Alterro: Bye bye

Alterro, Aruna and Fire Cats: Bye bye

Alterro: I make you go

Alterro, Aruna and Fire Cats: Bye bye

Aruna and Fire Cats: So long…

Alterro: Bye bye

And by the time the song was over, the fire cats disappeared into thin air before an aura of magic pulled Sparky out of Hitch's hooves and into Alterro's paws, causing Sparky to shriek in terror. “PAPA!!”

“Sparky!” Hitch gasped, trying to reach out for his son, but to no avail. “Hang in there, bud!”

“I’ll give you one chance to save your little dragon,” Alterro said, murderously glancing at the baby dragon in question. “Give me the map piece to Skyros that is here on the moon, or… I drain this little lizard of EVERY OUNCE of his magic, which will transfer automatically to me.”

Izzy gasped in terror at this. “You can’t do that to Spark-Spark!”

“Besides, we don’t know where the map is!” Daphne argued. “And even if we did know where it is, we…”

“No,” Umbra said quietly before reaching under one of her wings (which unfurled when Alterro showed up) and pulling out a piece of paper. “I have it. I’ve kept it safe for all these years, not knowing what it was.”

“Umbra, no!” Velma cried. “What are you doing?!”

“Don’t worry,” Umbra whispered back. “I have a plan.”

With that, Umbra walked forward and gave the map piece to Alterro, who spared a glance at Aruna with pride. “Your sister might actually be good for something after all, Aruna. And I am a leopard of my word, so…”

With that, he dropped Sparky onto the ground, causing him to run to Umbra for safety. “It’s all right, little one. You’re safe now.”

“All right, you have what you want,” Zipp said dangerously. “Now, we’re getting out of here.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Aruna said as she and Alterro backed up until they were right beside Shannon. “Now, Shannon!”

With that, Shannon pushed a button on a black remote and a glass wall comes down beneath her, the rest of the villains and the heroes.

Fred approached the wall, his helmet making it a bit hard to see the glass in front of him. “It's some sort of invisible force field.”

“Uh, it’s called glass, Freddy,” Morpho said with an eye roll. “An invisible force field made out of glass!” Fred exclaimed. “Genius.”

“Ugh…!!” Pipp groaned out of irritation. “He cannot be serious right now.”

“You're just gonna leave me here?” Sly asked in disbelief. “And us!” Hudson told his brother. “Oh, right,” Sly nodded before turning back to Shannon. “You're just going to leave me here with these people?”

“Oh, yeah,” Shannon nodded before pulling out a small black device. “And just to be certain you never leave, I've planted thermal charges like this one throughout the complex.”

“Oh, brother…” Tidal groaned. “How many can there be?”

“So that's what that alien was doing when Scoob, the girls and I went outside for the drive!” Shaggy realized. “The glass is also indestructible to magic, so your little defenses won’t work on it. And thanks to Alterro’s magic,” Aruna smirked, “they’ll be set to go off in exactly ONE hour, so you don’t have very long to live.”

“Shannon. Name your price. Anything,” Sly said to the red head calmly. “A weekend in Paris with me? A signed portrait of me?”

With that, he snapped his fingers and H.A.M lifted the painting he did of Sly earlier... only for everyone to react with disgust. “You can't put a price on this sort of fame. Besides, returning as a hero will bring me all the money Aruna and I could ever want.”

“Please don't hate us. Especially you, Daphne,” Aruna said with a sadistic glare and an even more sadistic smile. “Great hair, by the way. Heh heh heh heh heh...”

“I'll head out and make sure the charges are set to blow and I'll join you in just a short while,” Alterro said to the other villains as Aruna made him a bubble of air so he could breathe in space. “Good luck, girls.”

“Of course, master,” Aruna said with a pleased smile as she created a bubble of air for herself. “Of course.”

Shannon activated her helmet, put a thermal charger on the wall, waved goodbye quickly and ran off to the Sly Star One with Aruna behind her while Alterro flew off in a different direction to check the charges.

Then, much to our heroes' dismay, they watched the Sly Star One take off toward Earth, surely leaving them on the base to die a painful, fiery death.

Author's Note

The song "Bye Bye" comes from the new Lion King movie, and while I still haven't seen the whole thing, I have seen a clip of it online where Kiros is singing this song, and it fits PERFECTLY with Alterro's character.

A Cosmic Final Battle and Umbra and Daphne Save the Day

The ultimate betrayal had finally been laid out for our heroes.

Shannon Lucas and Aruna were both responsible for the alien haunting, and Alterro had made it known that Aruna was working for him when Aruna summoned him using her magic mirror.

Shannon's original plan was to sabotage the ship, stage an alien attack and make the world see that space travel is dangerous and only for highly trained astronauts, and Aruna was the one who switched Daphne and Shaggy's scores to split the team up for a while. And, to keep the group from returning to Earth and exposing the truth, Alterro made sure to make a trade-- Sparky (who he momentarily got hold of) for the map piece to Skyros... which Umbra had, and Umbra reluctantly made the switch in fear for Sparky's safety.

Then, once this was done, Shannon trapped them behind a magic-proof glass wall and planned on leaving them at the resort, revealing that she sabotaged the satellite, planting thermal charges all over the complex that were going to go off in one hour, leaving Alterro to make sure the charges were set while she and Aruna made their escape.

Now it was only a matter of time before it would be too late for everyone to escape alive and stop Alterro and his new minions before he hurt anyone else.

XXXXXXXX

Zipp kept pounding at the glass wall with her hooves as she watched the Sly Star One take off into the starry sky, but to her dismay, it just wouldn’t crack. “Looks like Aruna was right about one thing… this glass is basically indestructible! I can’t pound my hooves through it!”

“And I can’t use my magic on it either!” Cassiopeia strained as she tried to blast a hole through the glass, only for the glass to absorb it, causing the kirin to sit down, eyes cast onto the ground below her. “Oh… this is hopeless-- we’re never gonna get out of here alive!”

“We can’t talk like that, Cassie,” Sunny said. “We have to have hope, and if we still have hope, we can find a way out of here!”

“How?” Morpho asked in confusion. “Alterro’s rigging those explosives to go off soon and Aruna and Shannon just left on the only ship!”

“...no,” said Hudson after a moment. “It’s not the only ship.”

XXXXXXXX

Ridley looked at a model that looked like an identical version of the Sly Star One with a bit of an impressed look. “I gotta hand it to you, it looks just like Sly Star One.”

“It sure does!” Izzy said before humming in thought. “But something feels different, I just can't put my hoof on it.”

“You can't? Because I'd say that pretty much is the difference,” Elvin said, putting his finger on the small model. “I can put my finger an it.”

“Oh… right,” Ridley realized. “It’s really small.”

“Okay, our magic can only do so much,” said Pipp, “so how are we all supposed to fit in that thing?”

“This isn’t the ship,” Hudson clarified. “It’s just the model.”

With that, Hudson opened the front of the model and pressed a button which opened a huge garage door which revealed the real replica of the Sly Star One standing outside on the helipad, much to everyone's surprise. “Phew,” Izzy sighed in relief. “That’s more like it.”

“Hudson, this is just what we need!” Umbra smiled. “Did you… really build this?”

“I did,” Hudson answered as Sly walked over. “With a little help from the Slybots.”

“Why did you keep it a secret?” Sly asked curiously, but then, Hudson’s face fell as he tried to explain. “Well, actually, you see, living up here in the darkness, all alone, it's been hard. I built this ship so I could leave,” he admitted, causing the ponies’ ears to lower slightly at the thought of living on the moon, all alone for all those years. “But I couldn't. I knew how much this place meant to you, how much you needed me to stay here. But there were times I thought about leaving, about being…”

“In the spotlight,” Sly assumed, “like me?”

“No,” Hudson answered seriously. “About being with my brother.”

Sly seemed surprised at this answer, genuinely stunned and a bit ashamed at how he virtually abandoned his brother after how close they had been in their earlier years. Despite his self-centered attitude… he really did have a heart. “I'm sorry, Hudson. I'm sorry for not being here for you.”

The two brothers then exchanged a hug, causing Pipp and Zipp to smile at each other while Shutter Snap aimed the camera at Sly, unable to stop recording this beautiful moment. That was when Sly caught a glimpse of her and smiled at the sight of the camera rolling. “Be sure to get a close shot at my face.”

“Sly!” Daphne scolded. “Sorry,” Sly apologized. “It’s a habit.”

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble, causing Starshine to shriek in panic. “What is that?! A moon-quake?!”

“No, worse!” Fred exclaimed. “Shannon and Alterro’s explosives are starting to go off. We better get going!”

“You heard Freddy!” Zipp shouted. “Move those feet like there’s no tomorrow! Go go go!”

“Does your ship work?!” Elvin asked Hudson as they started running toward the door. “There’s still some glitches,” Hudson admitted, “but with some quick work she should be up and running in no time!”

“Well, let’s hurry up and fix them,” said Cloudy Dash, “ so we can get outta here without getting burned to a crisp!”

However, as they were running toward the doors, another rumble caused huge stacks of crates to fall down, blocking their path to the door. U-Boat and Sunny tried to move them, but there were too many that weighed far too much for them to move with just strength. “There’s too many,” U-Boat said. “This could take days.”

“We don’t have days!” Daphne argued. “Gee, Daph, you think?” Velma asked sarcastically. “Did you just do all that math on your own, or did your pal, Shannon, help you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Velma,” Daphne said crossly. “So Shannon wasn't perfect!”

“Perfect?! Daphne!” Velma scolded. “She's a homicidal lunatic that's about to blow up the moon!”

“Velma, come on, she’s not gonna blow up the whole moon,” Izzy shrugged innocently. “Just… y-you know, part of it!”

“And that’s supposed to be okay?!” Hitch looked stunned. “We’re gonna die and Equestria and Skyros are gonna be unprotected from Alterro! How is that a win-win?!”

“STOP IT!!! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!” H.A.M suddenly cried in a very human-like voice, causing everyone to stop and stare at him with complete surprise as he turned his attention to Velma and Daphne. “For goodness sake! We're all gonna die and all you can think about is arguing over who liked who! You're crazy!”

Misty blinked in surprise for a few moments before turning to him. “You’re… not really a robot, are you?”

“Nope,” H.A.M sighed, finally deciding to release the truth to the world. “I'm an actor, playing a robot. And if it wasn't for you meddling kids…”

“You would have gotten away with it,” the Mane 6 chorused. “We know!”

Cloudy, Morpho, Tidal, Starshine, Shutter and Cassiopeia each tried to move a food crate on their own, but even with their magic in the works, the crates were still too heavy to be lifted with the food inside. “It’s no good,” Morpho panted. “They’re too heavy.”

“What the heck is in these things anyway?” Cloudy asked before kicking a crate open, and snack boxes with U-Boat’s poured out to the floor in front of Shaggy, Scooby and Izzy, who picked up one snack box and ate the contents. “Wow!” Shaggy laughed. “U-Boat Snacks.”

“And it looks like there’s a whole year’s supply!” Shutter Snap said with pinned ears. “How in the world are we going to get through all that?” Daphne asked, confused. “Not even the ponies can move that many crates!”

That was when everyone looked over at Shaggy and Scooby with the same idea, and Shaggy seemed to sense what they were thinking, a smile slowly coming onto his face. “Oh. Yeah. Like, time for the experts to take over. Right, Scooby-Doo?”

“Uh-huh,” Scooby said before he and Shaggy cracked their necks and leapt into the food pile, eating away almost every box of U-Boat Bites while the others looked on in shock and amusement.

XXXXXXXX

Once they had eaten practically every single box of U-Boat Bites, Shaggy and Scooby laid moaning on the floor while the others gathered the rest of the crates so they could get outside. “Good work, fellas,” Sunny praised. “You did all of us a big favor, eating all those U-Boat Bites.”

“Ugh… thanks, Sunster,” Shaggy groaned. “But, like, I think me and Scoob are gonna skip out on the next year’s supply, if it ever comes to that.”

“Do… they eat like that often?” Umbra asked Hitch as she tended to Sparky, who still seemed a bit scared from Alterro grabbing him earlier. “Oh, trust me. Sometimes it’s way worse,” Hitch said. “But, let’s finish moving these crates so we can get out of here before we discuss eating habits.”

Suddenly, another rumble echoed through the building, and it wasn't but a few seconds later that Caroline showed up on the scene. “Caroline. About time,” Hudson said with a smile. “Help us move the last of these boxes.”

“That’s not Caroline!” Ridley said after pointing out a strange red glow in Caroline’s eyes. “She’s different.”

“Oh, for Pete's sake, Ridley,” Velma rolled her eyes. “She's not different. She's the same old... oh!”

Suddenly, Caroline shot dangerous red lasers from her eyes toward the crates Velma and Daphne were holding, forcing them to duck and causing their crates to explode. “Okay,” panted Zipp, “that is different!”

“How did Caroline do that?!” Tidal asked in shock. “She was never programmed to shoot lasers before!”

“Not until I programmed her too!” said a voice, and everyone looked to see Alterro perched on top of Caroline, a wicked smirk on his face. “Oh, come on!” Cloudy groaned in exasperation. “How much more do we have to deal with this problematic pussy-cat?! Oh… no offense, Umbra.”

“None taken!” Umbra said as she tried to dodge another food crate that Caroline threw. “Right now, I’d like to get out of here!”

Suddenly, Caroline fired another laser toward the group, prompting Sunny to take action. “BRACE YOURSELVES!!!”

Everyone screamed as Sunny shifted to alicorn form and created a shield that bounced the laser beam away, right through the glass door, cracking it little by little. “Sunny, I think you just made a way to get everyone out of here!” Velma exclaimed. “Good work!”

“AGH!!! No!” Alterro cried out, his wings blazing with fire. “I will NOT let you get away so easily!”

That was when Sunny knew she and her friends had to hold Alterro off while the others repaired the ship, looking to the gang with a fierceness they had seen a few times before. “Get everyone to the ship and repair it as fast as you can!”

“But what about you?!” Daphne argued as everyone put on their space helmets. “We can’t leave you to fight him alone!”

“We won’t be alone, Daph-- we'll have each other for backup. Besides, if we let either Alterro or Caroline through, they could crush the ship and we’ll never get out of here!” Zipp argued. “Hurry, go! Now!”

The gang didn't like the thoughts of leaving the Mane 6 alone, but seeing that they didn't have any other choice, they led everyone (including Sparky) out of the building toward the ship, leaving the Mane 6 and Alterro to face off, with Caroline acting as a backup partner to Alterro's crimes.

Misty pawed at the floor with her hoof, trying not to seem nervous. “Alterro, first you team up with a mad professor to get rid of laughter and then you try and kill us all by stranding us in an exploding moon base? That’s a big jump even for you.”

“So what?” Alterro scoffed, looking down at them.. “It was a big leap for you ponies to defeat my sister many times before helping her see the good side. My father raised me and Allura in the ways of my grandfather, my great-grandfather, and EVERY king that has graced Leopardia since its founding! And I’m going to restore order by finding Skyros, dubbing the alicorns as my super-army and destroying the one place you always return to!”

“Equestria…” Pipp muttered in terror. “No! We’re not gonna let you do this!” Zipp said fiercely. “You may have a piece of the map, but we’re still gonna stop you, no matter what it takes!”

“All right then…” Alterro said as he cracked his neck before infusing more power into Caroline’s rogue state. “Let’s get this over with.”

XXXXXXXX

Inside the ship, Hudson tried to start it, only for the lights to flash red, indicating that something was wrong down below. “Oh, she's been idle for too long. We're gonna have to jump her from the energy cell.”

“We’re on it,” Steelcase said just before his back popped. “Ohhh!! My back!”

“My knees aren't what they used to be,” Elvin said, looking over at Fred. “Maybe we're getting too old for this…”

“No! You’re not!” Fred argued before climbing up to where everybody could see him… more or less, where Elvin and Steelcase could see him. “Don't you get it? You guys are the reasons why thousands, millions even, want to become astronauts. Why I wanted to be one. You're the inspiration for dreams, and that sort of stuff can never get old or obsolete. You're Zip Elvin and Colt Steelcase, astronauts. You'll always be astronauts. And how great is that?”

Elvin and Steelcase listened to Fred's speech with a bit of shock written on their faces-- at first they saw him as annoying, but now that he was actually inspiring them... maybe he wasn't as annoying as they thought he was.

Then, Steelcase took the opportunity to speak up. “It’s a three man job, and we were thinking about taking Tidal and Starshine…”

“...but since they’re not around right now,” said Elvin, “we could use someone else to go with us.”

“Daphne…” Fred started to instruct before Elvin chuckled and cut him off. “No, no, Fred. We meant you.”

“Oh. Me? Ohhh…” Fred nodded in understanding, but couldn’t help but wonder where some of the others had run off to…

…namely U-Boat, Shaggy, Scooby and some of the other magical creatures.

XXXXXXXX

Alterro used Caroline to bash back any of the Mane 6’s attacks that they threw at him, but as he tried to dodge Sunny’s magical blasts, he was forced to retreat from his post, giving Caroline one final order. “Kill them all, anyway you know how! Leave the alicorn to ME!!”

With that, he leapt into the air and pinned Sunny, causing both of them to crash onto the ground and causing Hitch to gasp. “SUNNY!!!”

Sunny strained and groaned under the weight of Alterro’s paws on her chest. “You don’t have to do this, Alterro! Your sister… she loves you! If you just look to the light, you’ll see that your father was just manipulating you all these years!”

“My father was the ONLY leopard besides my sister to care for me! And since he and my sister are gone, I am alone… just like you, being the ONLY earth pony to change into an alicorn, I bet,” Alterro smirked. “If you join me, we can find them together, and you can FINALLY be with your species!”

“Never!” Sunny finally snapped and quickly kicked Alterro away with her back legs. “I don’t care if I’m an earth pony or an alicorn, but I’ll never abandon my friends!”

Alterro scoffed to this. “Suit yourself…”

And with that, Sunny braced herself for Alterro to leap on her, but suddenly... Cloudy Dash leapt on Alterro instead. “Stay away from her, you monster!”

“Cloudy?!” Sunny sat up in surprise. “How did you…?”

“CHAAAAAARGE!”

“GET ‘EM!!!”

“STAY AWAY FROM OUR FRIENDS!!!”

Without another word, the Mane 6 stopped fighting their enemies to see Shutter Snap, Tidal Wave, Starshine Tide, Morpho, Cassiopeia, U-Boat, Shaggy and Scooby charging into the room, starting to battle Caroline and any fire beings that Alterro had created to take the Mane 6 down.

Sunny panted as Shaggy and Scooby rushed to her side. “Guys, I… I can’t believe this!” she said. “How did you…?”

“They told me they weren’t gonna leave you and your friends alone to battle the old alley cat,” U-Boat told her proudly. “So, we gathered up some of these guys to help you out a little.”

“Well, we sure could use it,” Zipp said as she quickly tossed a food crate at Caroline, disorienting her. “But aren’t you guys scared?”

Shaggy chuckled nervously at this. “Yeah. Like, really scared. But like we said earlier, when we get scared, we resort to food. That's how we deal with it. Right, Scooby-Doo?”

“Yeah,” Scooby nodded. “And if there's one thing we love to do besides eating food…”

“It’s playing with it,” Shaggy said as he helped Tidal throw another food crate at Caroline and Alterro. “Oh, yeah!” Tidal pumped a claw in excitement. “Food fight, baby!”

“Well, this isn’t the fight I was planning to have today,” Hitch said with a shrug, “but now that we have some backup, I don’t mind at all!”

“Ugh… your little togetherness trick is annoying beyond measure,” Alterro growled before spreading his wings again. “But as long as I defeat you idiots in one go, I’m game.”

“CHAAAAARGE!!!!” Morpho screamed before the groups rushed into battle with Caroline and Alterro… hopefully for the last time.

XXXXXXXX

Back in the ship, Fred, Elvin and Steelcase were just finishing repairs in the engine room when Fred activated a manual lever, causing the ship's engine to whir to life. “It worked! The engines are primed.”

“Hudson,” Steelcase radioed up to the bridge, “ready when you are.”

XXXXXXXX

“Well done, guys!” Hudson praised from up on the bridge, where Umbra waited with everyone else. “Now get back here.”

XXXXXXXX

“Hudson,” Elvin then said, sounding worried, “we have a problem.”

XXXXXXXX

This one phrase was enough to get Daphne rather nervous. “What’s wrong?”

“What is it, Elvin?” Umbra asked, sounding just as concerned as everyone else. “The fuel cell! It’s broken!” Elvin exclaimed. “We gotta hold it on to keep the power supply running. We're gonna have to ride this out in the engine compartment!”

“...I’ve got a plan to bring the others back here,” Umbra said suddenly, unfurling her wings and grabbing a canister of oxygen infused with liquid nitrogen. “You all find someone to fly this thing and I’ll be back as soon as I can!”

“Umbra, be careful!” Daphne cried out in concern. “You could get really hurt!”

“Don’t worry, Daphne,” Umbra reassured gently. “I’m not that scared little cub anymore. For the sake of our friends… I’m willing to do just about anything.”

And within just seconds, Umbra had flown off to join her friends in the fight. “Okay,” Hudson said. “I’ll fly the…”

But a few seconds later, Hudson was hit on the back of the head by a piece of metal, knocking him out, much to Daphne’s horror. “He’s out cold,” said Ridley. “Who's gonna fly the ship now?”

“I got this,” Sly reassured just before a girder hit him on the head, knocking him to the ground. Then, after checking on Sly, Clark prepared to stand up. “Not to worry. I'II…”

Unfortunately, something hit Clark on the head too, and he fell down unconscious too, causing Velma to sigh in exasperation. “You can’t be serious! Where are Sunny and her friends when you need them the most...?”

XXXXXXXX

Misty grunted as she tossed another fiery being back into the lifeless Caroline, since Shaggy, Scooby, Sunny and U-Boat practically destroyed her with their countless food crate throwing. “We’ve still got a bunch of bad guys to go, Sunny! And I don’t know how much longer we can fight like this!”

“I… gotta… agree…” Morpho agreed, panting slightly as he shifted out of bear form. “I don’t think I can keep up with these constant shifts!”

“That’s right, little ones, tire yourselves out!” Alterro snarled back at the heroes, swiping his front paw and throwing Pipp back into Hitch and Cassiopeia. “Cause the second you’re too weak to go on, I strike once and for all!”

“SUNNY!!!!”

“Huh?!” everyone turned to see Umbra flying into the large room with a huge canister in her paws. “The Moon Jaguar thinks she can stop me?” Alterro asked with a little chuckle. “She’s even more idiotic than Aruna thought she was.”

“Umbra! Get out of here!” Misty shouted. “Even with your shadow magic,” Hitch added, “you could be an easy target!”

“I hope so,” Umbra said with a determined tone. “In fact, I hope he tries to target me right… NOW!!!”

And as soon as Alterro released a blast of fire, Umbra threw the canister of oxygen with liquid nitrogen toward the blast, causing the canister to explode and the ice from it to engulf the fire, moving toward Alterro at a rapid pace. “W-What?! NO!!!” Alterro cried as the ice began to overtake him. “YOU IDIOTS!!! YOU RUINED MY GENIUS PLAN!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

And these were the last words he said before he was frozen into a solid ice cube.

Izzy whimpered worriedly at this. “Is… is he…?”

“He’s not dead, Izzy,” Starshine panted. “He’s just frozen.”

“And I’m not sure how long he’ll stay like that,” Morpho said, tapping the ice with his hoof, “but we need to high-tail it outta here and back to the ship!”

“Like, I second that motion!” Shaggy said quickly out of slight intimidation. “Yeah!” Scooby nodded. “Let’s go!”

“Pipp, Hitch, Izzy? Take Starshine and Tidal down to the engine room to help Fred, Elvin and Steelcase with keeping the power supply running!” Umbra said as the group began to leave. “The rest of you, follow me to the bridge!”

XXXXXXXX

While a smaller group of friends split off from the others, Umbra led those remaining back to the bridge, only to find Hudson, Sly and Clark all knocked out. “Oh my pony!” Shutter Snap gasped. “What happened?!”

“They got knocked out!” Daphne explained as Shutter Snap looked Clark over. “But if they’re knocked out,” said Cloudy in realization, “then who’s gonna fly this thing?!”

“Don’t worry,” U-Boat tried to reassure. “I…”

“NO!!” Daphne and Velma tried to say, but then, large chunks of debris fell down, knocking out Cassiopeia, Shaggy, Scooby, Cloudy, Morpho, H.A.M, Shutter and U-Boat, leaving only a select few remaining. “Don’t worry,” Ridley assured. “I got this!”

However, while displaying her 'combat training' moves, a piece of metal hit Ridley, knocking her out too. “You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Zipp muttered. “But they’re all wearing helmets!”

“Uh, guys? Everything’s going great down here, so why aren’t we moving?” Pipp asked through the communicators. “What’s the hold up?”

“Uh… everybody’s been knocked out,” Daphne said uneasily. “There’s nobody to fly the ship.”

“...yes, there is,” Velma said, looking at Daphne with a smile. “Stand by.”

“...no. No way, Velma. I can't. You heard Shannon. She faked the scores!” Daphne said, immediately dismissing herself for the role. “Velma, I can't even drive Fred's van. I just don't have the right stuff!”

“Yes, you do!” Velma argued. “You and Pipp were both on the bridge with Shannon, you're the only one that saw how she flew this thing. Right now, you know more than I do about this.”

However, when Velma saw that Daphne was still unsure, she decided she needed to take her convincing up a notch. “Sure, Shannon might have faked your score, but it doesn't matter, Daphne. It's just a piece of paper. I don't need a piece of paper to tell me what I already know. That I believe in you, and that you can do anything you put your mind to, Daphne.”

“We’re for you, Daphne,” Sunny reassured. “Every step of the way.”

“...okay. Okay, I’ll do it,” Daphne said after a moment. “But we’re going to need something to protect the ship when we’re flying out of here.”

“Luckily,” said Misty, “I know just the jaguar for the job.”

Everyone remaining looked over at Umbra expectantly, causing her eyes to widen. “Me?! Oh, no. No no no no no no no no no no. My sister, she… she banished me here so long ago, and I-I’ve been afraid to leave. She said I could never…”

“Your sister is a bully, and you need to stop believing everything she tells you,” Sunny said sternly. “She can’t put a limit on what you can do anymore. Believe me… I know how that feels. But you can do this, Umbra. You and Daphne have to be the ones who save us all. But we believe in you.”

Sparky cooed in agreement, hugging against Umbra's leg, causing tears of happiness to fall from her eyes.

Her new friends were right.

She and Daphne had to do this... and they had to do this together.

Soon enough, as Umbra used her shadow and moon magic to create a shield around the ship to protect it from any sort of debris, Daphne sat down in the pilot's seat and turned on the controls with Velma on another seat. And while the remaining ponies took care of those who were unconscious, the ship took off just as the charges exploded all over the city.

Soon enough, thanks to Cassiopeia and Shutter Snap, Sly and Clark regained consciousness and walked over to the window to see the city exploding far in the distance. “Wow,” Clark said in surprise. “Looks like a billion dollars going up in smoke.”

“Yes,” Sly nodded as others began to gain consciousness, “but think of the publicity.”

“...do you think Alterro is gonna make it out of there in time?” Zipp asked Sunny in worry. “I don’t know, Zipp… but even if he does,” Sunny shrugged, “I have a funny feeling he won’t be bothering us for a while.”

The ship then proceeded to fly out of the moon's orbit as everyone reunited on the bridge, heading toward the Earth at a rather rapid pace. “Everyone… hold onto something,” Daphne forewarned the rest of the group. “This is going to get bumpy.”

Clark chose to hold Velma’s hand and Shutter Snap’s hoof, and Shutter Snap extended her free hoof to Zipp and Pipp, who gladly took it.

Shaggy, Scooby and Misty grabbed onto a food crate onboard, and Misty held her hoof to Umbra, who gladly took it while Hitch and Izzy grabbed onto Sunny and Sparky.

H.A.M was shaking by this point, but Morpho, U-Boat, Cloudy Dash and Cassiopeia were right there with him.

And while Starshine and Tidal held each other close, Elvin and Steelcase each put an arm around Fred, much to his surprise. “Fred,” Elvin began, “we couldn't have had a better teammate than you. Thanks.”

Steelcase nodded to this. “It was a real honor working with you.”

“I just want you guys to know,” said Umbra, looking at all her new friends, “you’ve changed my life in more ways than I could imagine. Thank you for saving me from my dark, moon-bound fate.”

“It’s what we do for each other,” Sunny said sincerely. “Friends never give up on friends, no matter how difficult life gets!”

“Get ready, everyone!” Daphne shouted. “We’re about to enter the atmosphere!”

And so, with everyone cheering, the ship entered the atmosphere, immediately burning up as it did so. It would only be a matter of time until we know for sure...

...will our heroes survive? Or will space be the final destination that the Unity Crystals send them?

Daphne's Driving Dilemma/Meeting Aruna and Astronaut Excitement

The Mane 6 and Sparky were in the middle of a very exciting outing with their Trail Trotters group, learning about the Sun and Moon Jaguars and looking at the stars through the telescope that Sunny's mother gave her before she disappeared.

But all of a sudden, the Unity Crystals summoned the Mane 6 on their next Unity Quest, but the other Trail Trotters promised that they would wait for the Mane 6 to get back before they roasted marshmallows and told spooky campfire stories.

This led the Mane 6 to wonder one thing as they traveled through the portal to their next mission...

...where would the Unity Crystals be sending them this time, and what sort of dangers would they have to face in order to potentially find the second piece to the map of Skyros?

XXXXXXXX

Daphne Blake sat in the driver's eat of driver's the Mystery Machine with the DMV worker beside her, starting it up and placing her hands on the steering wheel with Fred, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby standing next to it.

However, Daphne whimpered nervously and looked toward her friends. “I'm so nervous...”

“Don’t sweat it, Daph,” Fred reassured her with a smile. “You’ll do great.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Scooby nodded in agreement as Daphne flashed her friends a smile. “You think so?”

“Like, yeah,” Shaggy reassured, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his driver's license. “Driving tests are easy. Even I passed mine.”

The picture on Shaggy's driver's license had a picture of him eating a sandwich, and Scooby's driver's license (which he got somehow, don't ask me why) had a picture of his face and a picture of his pawprint on it. “Yeah. Me too.”

Velma, being one of Daphne's closest friends, decided to step forward and help handle the situation. “Daphne, you're going to be great. I believe in you-- we all do.”

Fred, Shaggy and Scooby nodded to this. “Yeah.”

“If you put your mind to it,” Velma continued, “you can do anything, Daphne.”

“Yeah!” the boys cheered again. “Right on!”

“You've got what it takes. Right, guys?” Velma asked the boys, who once again nodded. “Yeah!”

Daphne's smile began to widen as she looked over at her friends. “Yeah?”

Her friends nodded once again. “Yeah!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

By this point, Daphne's confidence appeared to be at an all-time high, and she gripped the steering wheel with a determined smile on her face. “All right!”

Suddenly, Daphne's foot slammed down on the gas pedal and the Mystery Machine lurched forward, a bit too fast, I might add, and crashed right into a nearby tree, causing the others to wince and groan while Velma merely sighed and shook her head. “Oh, no...”

The DMV employee groaned as the airbags hissed, obviously not expecting Daphne to drive straight into the trees. “So,” Daphne said with a hopeful smile on her face, “did I pass?”

Suddenly, the tree that Daphne had just crashed into fell onto the ground with a large crash, causing Shaggy and Scooby to wince.

This was definitely not looking good for their red-head friend, and they knew it.

But what could they do to help her?

Suddenly, a portal with swirling pastel colors began to open not too far away, and the Mane 6 with Sparky on Hitch’s back stepped out of it, their eyes slowly widening as they saw the scene in front of them. “Sweet sauce horseshoe toss!” Izzy gasped. “What in Equestria happened?!”

“From the looks of it,” Hitch said as Daphne and the DMV employee got out of the Mystery Machine, “Daphne got a little too excited with getting her driver's license and kinda... crashed into a tree.”

“Are you okay, Daphne?” Sunny asked in concern as the two groups reunited. “Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Sunny,” Daphne said gratefully. “It’s so good to see you guys again-- any interesting Unity Quests since we last saw you?”

“Actually, we've had some really interesting things happening to us here recently,” Zipp nodded with a small smile. “Once we get the Mystery Machine out of this fix, let's all go out for lunch and we can get you guys up to speed on all Equestrian activities.”

The Mystery Incorporated gang nodded and helped their pony pals move the Mystery Machine away from the trees, but Daphne knew that the outcome of her short-term driving test wasn't going to go in her favor.

XXXXXXXX

And like we all expected, Daphne didn't pass her driving test, and she felt embarrassed, disappointed, frustration and every other negative emotion in the book as she, her friends, Sparky and the Mane 6 gathered at the diner to try and cheer her up over a quiet lunch.

Zipp was the first to put a hoof on Daphne's shoulder, realizing where Daphne's negative emotions might be coming from. “Daphne, your feelings are totally valid. If I got too excited on my first time driving the Marestream and crashed it, I would be totally bummed too.”

“But, Zipp, doesn’t the Marestream fly?” Fred asked, swallowing his bite of his hamburger. “Wouldn’t that mean you have to pilot it instead of drive it? I mean, it makes logical sense since the Marestream has wings and the Mystery Machine is more of a vehicle built for the ground, and...”

“Freddy… forgive me for being blunt, but…” Pipp said sweetly before glaring at the blonde-haired boy, “stay out of this.”

Fred timidly nodded, not wanting to get on Pipp’s bad side when Daphne still felt as bad as she did. “So… to get off the subject of driving/flying vehicles,” Velma cleared her throat, “have you found any other pieces to the map of Skyros yet?”

“No, not yet,” Misty shook her head negatively as she tried to duck and dodge the food being accidentally thrown by Shaggy and Scooby as they were eating. “But the good news is, we haven’t seen Alterro since our adventure in Piqua, so at least that part’s worked out in our favor.”

“Good,” Shaggy said with a nervous gulp as he swallowed his burger. “Cause, like, I don’t think I ever wanna see that guy-- ever!”

“Here’s hoping you never have to, Shaggy,” Hitch said before shuddering. “I know we’ve encountered a lot of villains before, but… Alterro really REALLY wants to find those alicorns, and his magic is so much stronger than Allura’s, if you can believe it. If he were to find it…”

“He won’t,” Sunny interrupted with a stern look on her face. “For the sake of the alicorns there… and my mom… we’re not gonna let him.”

The others looked at each other in concern, never seeing Sunny act like this before. It was clear that she wanted to find her mother more than anything else in the world, and if there was anything they could do to help with that, they would do it in a heartbeat.

As Sparky patted Sunny’s leg with his paw, trying to comfort her, his dragon ears suddenly picked up the sound of excited voices coming from outside, as well as screams of excitement, causing him to turn and look out the window, head tilted curiously.

Hitch seemed to sense his dragon son’s new curiosity and turned around. “Sparky? What is it, bud?”

“I think he hears something,” Daphne said, observing the dragon’s actions. “And it sounds like it’s getting louder!”

“Oh, no…” Zipp muttered. “I hope it’s nothing serious!”

The others raced to the window to look out and see a crowd of people surrounding a four-legged figure and taking pictures of her. But upon looking closer, the Mane 6 could tell that it wasn’t a pony… it looked like a jaguar!

This jaguar in question had golden-brown colored fur with black spots and darker golden-brown rosettes, along with black on her ears, a black nose, a cream-white chest, muzzle and tail tip and golden-brown eyes.

Sunny was the first to speak up. “Whoa… who do you think that is?”

“You kids must not be from around here,” said one of the waitresses behind the counter who had been watching the entire thing. “That’s Aruna, a Sun Jaguar who’s an influencer, singer, dancer and all around goodness guru!”

Scooby tilted her head in confusion. “What’s a Sun Jaguar?”

“It’s a jaguar born from pure sunlight, Scooby,” Misty explained. “We just learned about them from Scout Kindheart, our troop leader back home.”

“But… I’m a little confused,” Zipp frowned. “When we just learned about Sun Jaguars, one appears. Isn’t that somewhat of a coincidence?”

But before anyone could answer Zipp’s question, music began to play from speakers outside, causing Aruna to sing with an incredibly beautiful voice that almost made Pipp jealous.

Aruna: Time for the spectacle
Time for the show
The lights are bright and the colors glow

I'm not just anypony
I think you know
The time is now, it's about to blow!

That was when several backup dancers, all human, came out of nowhere to dance behind Aruna, causing many more people to cheer, while the Mane 6, Sparky and Mystery Incorporated looked stunned at her level of talent.

Aruna: Razzle dazzle
Glitz and glam
Turn it all up, it's a spectacle

Razzle dazzle
Glitz and glam
Turn it all up, it's a spectacle

Give me more
Razzle dazzle
Glitter eyes, big surprise
Lights, cameras

“Whoa,” Pipp blinked in surprise as Aruna began to vocalize, causing Pipp to take out her phone. “I gotta do a duet with her to prove to the Pippsqueaks that she’s as talented as people say she is!”

Aruna: Razzle dazzle
Glitz and glam
Turn it all up, it's a spectacle

Hear the applause
Here to impress
Not just a jaguar, I am the countess!

Everyone outside the diner and in the diner cheered and screamed in excitement as Aruna finished her song, prompting her to stop and giggle. “Thank you, thank you, everyone! Your adoration means everything to me! But, if you’ll excuse me, I have some guests waiting at the diner that I just have to see. Does anyone know where I can find a group called... Mystery Incorporated who might have some pony friends?”

The Mane 6 stared at one another for a moment before Aruna spotted them through the glass windows of the diner, causing her to smile. “Oh, there you are!”

“Quick, back to your seats!” Pipp whispered urgingly, prompting the group to sit down just as Aruna entered the diner and pranced over to them. “Hello there! I’m Aruna, but… heh, let’s be honest-- you all probably know me, right?”

“Uh… we just found out that Sun Jaguars existed today, so… no,” Izzy said innocently, and Aruna had to push back a growl at this, regaining her composure. “I see… that’s okay. It happens sometimes.”

“That was quite the performance you put on back there,” Fred spoke as he pulled a chair up for her. “Pipp here is actually a social media influencer and singer herself.”

“Ah! Yes!” Pipp said in delight, leaning over the table to face Aruna. “And I would love it/i] if we could do a collab sometime! It would be so… much… FUN!!”

“Heh heh… I’m sure it would,” Aruna pushed Pipp back with her paw before clearing her throat. “To be honest, I wasn’t exactly planning on making a trip out into town today, but when I heard the news, I just had to come and tell you all in person… including your little pony friends.”

“News?” Daphne seemed surprised. “What news?”

“Well, sources anonymously told me you all won a special contest that they sent out a couple of weeks back,” Aruna said with a smile. “What was it again? Oh, yes… the ‘Sly Me to Space’ sweepstakes?”

“Jinkies!” Velma gasped, her eyes widening in surprise. “We won?!”

“Sure did!” Aruna chirped. “And with you guys taking some training classes within the next week or so, we’ll all be going with a few other guests on the biggest adventure of our lives!”

The gang began to excitedly chat with each other about whatever the prize for the sweepstakes was, but after a moment, Zipp whistled to get their attention. “Okay, can somepony slow down and tell me what all this is about?”

“Yeah,” Izzy said with a nod, scrolling through her phone. “I don’t remember getting an email that we signed up for any kind of contest.”

“Actually… that was our doing,” Daphne said with a blush. “The winners of the sweepstakes actually get to go on a space voyage around the moon! And I guess we kinda figured you guys might be back soon, we entered you guys in it too, so you guys could get away from your Unity Quests for a while and have some fun.”

“Awww, guys!” Sunny smiled. “That is so sweet!”

“Uh, but… is Sparky really ready to go to space?” Hitch asked nervously. “I mean, I know we’ve been once, but that was with the Pippsqueaks and the Buddies. He’s just a baby!”

“Don’t worry, Hitch, he’ll be with us,” Misty reassured gently. “And even if he's not with us, he’ll be more than capable of handling himself.”

“Well… I guess that’s true,” Hitch nodded slowly. “I mean, he’s been on really exciting missions with us before, so…”

Sparky babbled and cheered in excitement, causing Aruna to giggle slightly. “Looks like your cutie baby dragon is just as fired up for the trip as you all are.”

“So, when do we start?” Shaggy asked curiously. “Like I said, you’ll need some training, but I know some really good people who follow me online that can help you with that part,” Aruna said. “I’ll send you all the address for the training facility, and you need to be there by 10:30 tomorrow morning, no later. Remember, punctuation is key.”

“Oh, we are WELL aware,” Pipp said with a nervous laugh. “You know, us being social media influencers and all?”

“...right,” Aruna rolled her eyes slightly before getting up from the table. “Well, I’ll see you all tomorrow!”

And with a blinding flash, two wings made of pure sunlight appeared on Aruna's back just before she flew out of the diner, leaving the group stunned for a few moments before Fred shook his head. “Uh… did that really just happen?”

“It sure did,” Sunny nodded, trying to grasp the feeling of excitement and grasp the concept of the space voyage at the same time. “I can hardly believe it myself.”

“Huh… I wonder how she knew exactly where to find us,” Zipp said in suspicion, eyeing the door Aruna had left through. “Is it a Sun Jaguar thing or is it something else entirely?”

“Hey, we can figure it out later, Zipperdoodle,” Izzy said to the white pegasus. “Right now, does, uh… anypony know where we’re gonna spend the night?”

“You can come and stay with me and Scoob for the night, if you want,” Shaggy offered. “We’ve got plenty of snacks to go around.”

“Yeah,” Scooby nodded before looking at the group with his irresistible puppy dog eyes. “Please?”

“We’d love that,” Sunny said, rubbing the Great Dane on the head. “Thanks, guys.”

“All right, then. Once we finish our meal,” said Fred, “we’ll drop you guys off for that sleepover and then we can get to our training session in the morning.”

XXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Aruna landed on the ground and looked around, making sure no one was around before sighing to herself. “Time to let him know that those ponies have taken the bait.”

With that, she pulled out a small compact mirror from out of nowhere and touched the glassy surface with her paw before an image of Alterro appeared in the glass. “Ah, Aruna, the beloved Sun Jaguar of this… ugh… ridiculous community,” Alterro bid her a greeting. “I take it you’ve spotted my sister’s friends?”

“I have, Alterro,” Aruna said. “They and those bogus Mystery Incorporated fools have joined up again, just as you predicted. But… why do you want me to be nice to them? I could’ve just forced them into taking this voyage.”

“All in due time, my dear,” Alterro purred. “But in the meantime, did you see any signs of a piece of the map to Skyros in that diner?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but… no, I didn’t,” Aruna said, causing Alterro to grumble. “But-- but I’m sure I can find it before the voyage is over. Besides… I have plans up there in the great inky void of space that I just can’t ignore.”

“Hmm… very well then, Aruna. Now, keep an eye on them and report back to me as soon as you can,” Alterro told his minion. “And make sure you keep this mirror safe. If those petulant ponies or their meddling miscreant playmates get hold of it…”

“Don’t worry, sir,” Aruna cut him off with reassurance in her voice. “No one will find it, I’ll make sure of it.”

“...you’d better.”

And with that, the image of Alterro disappeared and Aruna’s face was in the reflection again. Aruna sighed and tucked the mirror away before turning and walking off, hoping to do her wicked master proud.

XXXXXXXX

Later that night, the Mane 6, and Sparky were having a sleepover at Shaggy and Scooby’s house, complete with snacks, karaoke, more snacks, games, movies, more snacks… basically, a lot of snacks.

Right now, Zipp and Hitch were finishing up a song that they had written together a few months back that the others were just going crazy for.

Hitch: You just need the right company (Company)

Zipp: So come on, pony, follow my lead (Hitch: Follow my lead)
We're gonna get you back to where you belong (Hitch: Belong)

Both: It’s as easy as the rules of this song

First step, you gotta find your rhythm
Make your way back to the life you're livin'
Second step, have fun with it

Hitch: It’ll come naturally

Both: Don't lose your groove
Keep your attitude
Yeah, we're all just livin' it up
We're here, we're just havin' fun

Don't lose your groove
It's what makes you you (Hitch: It's what makes you you)
You'll always find your way back
So, pony, have fun with that

Like, uh, uh-huh-huh-huh

Hitch: Find my groove, get back to it, back to it

Both: Like, uh, uh-huh-huh-huh
Find my groove, get back to it, back to it now!

Shaggy, Scooby, Sparky and the other ponies cheered wildly for their friends as they finished the song, and Pipp approached her older sister with a smirk. “I had no idea you liked writing your own songs, Zipperdoodle.”

“Hey, you’re not the only princess with insanely cool talents,” Zipp smirked at her younger sister with a teasing twinkle in her eyes. “I have a few tricks of my own too.”

Shaggy took a bite of his sandwich before swallowing it. “Like... what do you guys wanna do now?”

Sunny looked at her friends for a moment before sighing and getting an idea. “Well... I could always tell a story that my dad used to tell me when I was a filly... the story of how Nightmare Moon came into existence.”

“Ooh, I love a good thriller story!” Pipp giggled enthusiastically. “Plus, it would be good for my socials.”

“Sure, Sunny. Go ahead and tell it,” Zipp said as the group sat down. “It could set the mood for a little investigation that I'm hoping to do while we're in space.”

And so, once her friends were all facing her, Sunny cleared her throat and began telling the story. “Once upon a time, in the ancient days of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land.”

“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” Misty nodded in understanding. “Opaline's older sisters from Skyros.”

Sunny nodded, though she seemed a bit sad when Misty mentioned Skyros. “In order to do this, Princess Celestia used her unicorn magic to raise the sun at dawn; then, Princess Luna brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies.”

Then, Sunny took a deep breath to continue the next part of the story. “But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, Princess Luna refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. Her older sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young Princess Luna's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon.”

Lightning flashed right on cue, causing Scooby and Izzy to shriek and cling to each other in fright before Sunny continued the story again, showing them a drawing of six gems in her journal. “Nightmare Moon soon declared that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony.”

“They sort of remind me of earlier versions of the Unity Crystals,” Hitch tilted his head curiously. “I mean... in a way.”

“Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, Celestia defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. Once that was done, for the next thousand years, at least,” Sunny wrapped up the story, “the elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon and harmony had been maintained in Equestria for generations since.”

Shaggy sighed, out of breath as the story came to a close. “Wow, Sunster... that's quite the story.”

“Princess Luna was reformed back to her old self thanks to the Guardians of Harmony, but...” Sunny sighed sadly. “It just shows you how bitter somepony can get when they feel... overshadowed and undervalued in their own community.”

Zipp raised an eyebrow at this. “You’re not just talking about Nightmare Moon... are you, Sunny?”

Sunny shook her head in response. “From what my dad said, when he and my mom got together to share their dreams of a better Equestria... not a lot of earth ponies were willing to hear them out. When I was born, a lot of ponies were a little bit suspicious that I would end up like them... and not always for the better. When we find Mom... I want her to see how we managed to change Equestria in the past few years and what we're doing on these missions. That is... if she's even... you know...”

Scooby whined sadly as he listened to Sunny’s sad tone, and nuzzled against Sunny to comfort her. “She’s alive, Sunny... I know it,” Misty told the earth pony/alicorn mare. “And we're not gonna stop until we find her and Skyros, so we can protect them from Alterro.”

Zipp then yawned tiredly, stretching her wings a bit. “I say we should get to sleep before it gets any later. We do have our first round of astronaut training first thing tomorrow. We need to be ready for just about anything.”

But what our heroes didn't realize as they went to bed that night was that their upcoming excursion to space was going to bring some unexpected new challenges...

...both in a good way and in a bad way.

Meeting New Friends and the Moments Before Takeoff

Needless to say, the Mane 6, their Mystery Incorporated friends and young Sparky Sparkeroni were going to have quite an adventure, being the 12 lucky winners of a sweepstakes where they would actually get to be on the maiden space voyage of a brand-new space-craft.

Aruna, a Sun Jaguar and a social media influencer/singer/dancer was also going to be going with them, and she said there were several others who were gonna get to go on the voyage too, but she never said who they were… just that they needed to head to an undisclosed location for their astronaut training, which was going to last about a week.

However, no one else knew that Aruna was really another one of Alterro's minions, doing whatever he told her to do in order to eliminate the Mane 6 and find the second piece of the map to Skyros before they did.

Now the real question is… will the Mane 6 and their friends realize all of aAruna's treachery before it was too late?

XXXXXXXX

The astronaut training was definitely an experience that the ponies and their friends were never going to forget.

The training sessions consisted of classroom study sessions, simulators that Zipp and Fred really got into, exercising for about two hours a day, land and sea survival, and practicing activities specific to being in space…

…and it all ended with a huge test they had to take at the end of the week.

Thankfully… they all managed to pass! They would get their scores at a later date, but needless to say, they were all happy with the fact they would still get to go on the trip.

And so, we fast forward to the day of the launch, where the real adventure will finally begin.

XXXXXXXX

A large crowd of people cheered while they were on the grounds of SlyBase Earth, a gigantic airport where the launch would be taking place. There were quite a few reporters and camera crews here, but we're only going to focus on one.

Clark Sparkman was the host of Celebrity Heat, a very popular talk show, and Clark was a tall male with brown hair, wearing a white shirt and a pair of pants. With him was his loyal camera pony, Shudder Snap, who was a white pegasus pony with pink hooves, a teal green mane and tail, teal green eyes and eyebrows, teal green and purple feathers on her wings and a cutie mark of a green and purple camera aperture.

Upon reaching the base a half an hour before the takeoff, Shutter Snap got out her video camera to start Clark's broadcast. “Okay, Clark… time to turn up the heat in three… two… one…”

And with the word ‘one’ being said, Shutter Snap turned on the camera and pointed it at Clark, who quickly turned to address his audience. “Hi, Clark Sparkman here welcoming you all to Slybase Earth, an airport where the flights are out of this world. And Celebrity Heat is blasting off!”

Shutter Snap then began to display several images across a tablet that she hooked up to the video camera, showing an older man doing all sorts of exciting stunts and extracurricular activities. “Three years ago,” Clark continued for his excited viewers, “brash billionaire daredevil, Sly Baron vowed to make space tourism a reality. Today his lucky passengers are boldly going where none of them have gone before.”

“Now let me see... ah, here it is!” Shutter Snap tapped a video file on the tablet, but instead of showing the vast outreach of space, it showed a man, a woman and a boy appears, standing in front of a sign said WELCOME TO DELAWARE SMALL WONDER. HOME OF TAX-FREE SHOPPING. “No,” Clark said to his viewers as Shutter Snap realized her mistake. “Not Delaware.”

“Oops!” Shutter yelped and switched the file over to an image of a vast galaxy, causing her to sigh in relief as Clark continued his broadcast. “Space! A trip around the moon! And they'll travel in style on Slystar One, the first space cruise ship. The passengers are pure A-list-- celebrated astronaut Shannon Lucas. Retired legends, Zip Elvin and Colt Steelcase. And football star, Uvinious Botango, a.k.a. U-Boat. Superstars going to the stars, along with several young magical creatures who are more than prepared for this action-packed adventure. But wait. What about the average guy or gal? Didn't Sly promise to make space available to anyone?”

The crowd that had been waiting for the launch to begin murmured in agreement, remembering what Clark had said before he spoke up again. “Hold on to your boosters, folks, because this super-cute reporter is about to blow your mind.”

However, when the scene didn't transition, Clark cleared his throat and spoke toward his distracted camera pony. “I said, 'this super-cute reporter is about to blow your mind'...!”

“Huh? Oh! Sorry about that,” Shutter said bashfully before cutting to the scene transition. And once that had been done, Clark's smile instantly returned. “Sly created a sensation today... when he revealed that he reserved 12 seats for 12 lucky lottery winners. Wow! And I'm sure we're all wondering the same thing-- who could these lucky lottery winners be and how are they feeling right now?”

Suddenly, Shutter Snap gasped in excitement when she saw the lottery winners emerging from a nearby tunnel set up for them. “I think I can see them coming!”

That was when the crowd began to cheer as the Mane 6 stepped out into view, wearing their own unique space suits:

Misty's spacesuit, with its matching boots, was a mix of light blue and lavender, creating a color balance that matched her coat color and her mane and tail color, with light yellow stars scattered around and her cutie mark was on the right flank of the suit.
Zipp's spacesuit and boots were had the colors of white with cotton candy pink, magenta, turquoise and thulian pink mixed in, and her cutie mark was imprinted on the right flank.
Izzy's spacesuit and boots were pastel blue and purple, with stars and moons around and her cutie mark on the right flank.
Pipp's spacesuit and boots were truly worthy enough to be worn by a pop star princess. It was a bright pink collar with different gemstones sporadically placed on her suit, and her cutie mark on her right flank.
Sunny's spacesuit and boots were a light orange color, lighter than her coat color, with her cutie mark on the right flank.
Hitch's spacesuit and boots were light yellow, lighter than his coat collar, with green zig-zag stripes around his waist and on his boots, and his cutie mark on his right flank.
Sparky's space suit, boots and gloves were a dark red to contrast with his green colored scales.

And not long after the Mane 6 stepped out of the tunnel and waved to the crowd, Mystery Incorporated came out wearing their own uniquely colored space suits.

Scooby's space suit was blue and yellow, just like the colors of his dog tag.
Shaggy's space suit was green and burgundy red, just like his shirt and pants were.
Daphne's space suit was purple and pink.
Velma's space suit was burgundy and orange.
Fred's space suit was white and blue.

And during this focus on the lottery winners, Clark and Shutter Snap were able to change into their own unique space suits (for Clark, his space suit was all black, and for Shutter Snap, her suit's primary colors were purple and teal green, the same color as her wing feathers). “Four teen sleuths, their dog, six ponies and a baby dragon won the Sly Me to Space sweepstakes,” Clark Sparkman continued. “Luckily they'll be in the company of space greatness, including my camera-pony, Shutter Snap, and me, Clark Sparkman. It's T-minus-0 to Celebrity Heat's exclusive intergalactic coverage of the greatest party on Earth!”

And with that, Shutter Snap ended the broadcast, letting the crowd’s cheering heighten to its loudest yet.

XXXXXXXX

After the broadcast ended, Mystery Inc and their Equestrian friends decided to stand around talking for a few moments, at least until the ship took off. “How great are these custom flight suits?” Fred looked down at his new space suit. “I never wanna take mine off.”

“I know!” Daphne agreed as Fred pushed a button to activate the space helmet. “The colors are perfect.”

“And the colors are perfect!” Fred spoke up, not hearing Daphne the first time. “I’d say I did a pretty good job designing the color pallette,” Pipp said with a smug smirk on her face, “but… Izzy and I did do a pretty good team effort.”

“Yeah, we did, Pipperoni!” Izzy said, bumping Pipp excitedly. “Unicycling with fashion expertise!”

“And,” Shaggy added, taking out a bag of chips from a pocket in his space suit, “like, there’s pockets for snakes!”

“Ooh! Big pockets,” Scooby commented before he took out a pizza from one of the pockets from his space suit. But as he tried to eat it, the helmet went up on its own, splattering all over Scooby’s helmet instead of going in his mouth. “Scooby!” Sunny laughed before wiping the pizza off his helmet. “You can’t eat with your helmet up, silly goose.”

“Well,” said a voice, “that’s what I call state-of-the-art technology!”

The ponies instantly turned to the source of the voice. “Aruna!”

“The one and only!” Aruna said as she trotted over, along with a red-headed woman with deep emerald green eyes and a black space suit. “I’d like for you all to meet a very good friend of mine.”

“Hi, I’m Shannon Lucas,” the woman introduced. “You must be the lucky winners.”

“Hi,” Daphne greeted with an excited smile. “You can't imagine how surprised we were to find out we were actually going into space!”

“Oh, I think I can,” Shannon answered with a smile. “It was a surprise to me too. The Baron kept it a secret until the very last second. But I guess he's a man of mystery. Heh heh heh…”

“Well,” Velma smiled over at Shannon and Arunas, “we sure love mysteries.”

“Right,” Zipp nodded. “And love solving them even more.”

Everyone else seemed to laugh slightly at this, but with his helmet already on, Fred couldn't hear what they were talking about. “What?”

“It’s too bad we have to wear these helmets,” Pipp said before shuddering. “Talk about hat head.”

Shannon giggled at this. “I know, awful!”

That was when she and Aruna glanced over at Velma, who didn’t seem comfortable with the sudden amount of attention she was getting. “What? I haven’t worn mine yet!”

“Oh… sorry,” Shannon apologized before turning to Daphne with a kindsmile. “Well, Daphne, your hair is so great, I'd consider not going.”

“Oh, jeepers, thanks!” Daphne smiled before tossing her head, accidentally whacking Velma in the face with her hair. “I use a special conditioner. Extra bounce.”

“Whoa, hey, watch it, Daphne!” Hitch said as he narrowly ducked the hair whip Daphne was tossing around. “People are standing right next to you!”

Daphne soon stopped tossing her head, much to Velma’s relief, but also, she became a bit annoyed with how the past few seconds have worked in her favor. “Well, here we are. About to go into space and we're talking about hair.”

“Come on, Velms-- we gotta keep our manes looking glossy and shiny for the trip!” Pipp tossed her mane. “Also, I wanna try and see how fast I can make a perfect mane style in zero gravity. Ooh, wouldn’t that be fun?!”

“Hey… Aruna?” Misty looked curious. “I’m just wondering… why aren’t you wearing a space suit like the rest of us?”

Aruna looked down at herself before chuckling. “I can see why you’d be confused about that, Misty, but don’t worry-- Sun Jaguars can actually create bubbles of air that let them breathe in space, so I don’t have to wear a space suit like the rest of you do.”

That was when Shaggy noticed a small green light on his shoulder, and couldn’t help but be curious about it. “Hey. What are these lights for?”

“Indicators,” Shannon explained. “Each suit is fitted with every convenience you have here on Earth.”

Zipp let out a chuckle of her own, wanting to see how her friends would react to what she was about to say. “There's no little boy's room on the ship, Shaggy-- you actually go in your suit.”

“Uh… ew,” Sunny groaned while the rest of her friends gagged. “If you think about it, that’s actually…”

“Wow,” Fred seemed amazed with the idea. “I really don't have to take this suit off? Ever? Not even for…”

“Right,” Velma nodded, interrupting the gang's leader as Fred quickly turned around. “I'm guessing that the red light might mean you should think about changing out your payload though.”

“Hey, if you think about it, Shaggers,” said Izzy, “you guys are wearing atomic diapers!”

“As you may have noticed,” said Aruna with a smile, “the baron spared no expense.”

“Well, I’m sure Sly can afford it,” Velma rolled her eyes a bit to this. “Besides, all he cares about is over-the-top publicity stunts. I wouldn't be surprised if he made some grand entrance wearing a suit made out of money.”

Suddenly, a figure flew right into the garage at a very fast speed, causing Aruna to yowl in surprise. Then, as the crowd cheered in excitement, the figure was revealed to be none other than Sly Baron himself, wearing a space suit that looked like it was literally made of several different dollar bills.

Velma finally spoke up after a moment of her and her friends staring up in complete surprise. “Wow. A suit made out of money.”

“Yes, yes, cheering for me. You're welcome,” Sly said to the crowd rather smugly, causing Zipp and Aruna to both roll their eyes. “Ladies and gentlemen, thanks to me, you're about to experience a life-changing event you'll never forget. A safe and easy way for anyone and everyone to go to space. It will thrill you. Especially if you pick up some souvenirs in the Slystar gift shop. Now... let's blast off!”

The crowd cheered as Sly Baron took off into the sky again, and Hitch let out a soft, frustrated sigh while cradling Sparky on his back. “That’s gonna be a lot of paperwork to go through if that thing were to malfunction...”

“Hey, Aruna!”

“Great to see you, girlfriend!”

That was when the Mane 6 immediately turned to see two teenage hippogriffs prancing over to them, smiles on their beaks.

The first one was named Tidal Wave, and she had an orange coat with lighter on her beak, light orange claws and hooves, green eyes, a blue, lighter blue and white mane and tail, a cutie mark of a wave and a a purple and white space suit.

The second one was named Starshine Tide, and she had a purple pelt with a lighter color on her face, throat, stomach and front legs, with darker purple on her beak, claws and hooves, different shades of purple on her face and in her mane and tail, a star shape on her forehead, magenta eyes, a cutie mark of three shooting stars and a green and dark purple space suit.

Aruna seemed to recognize the two hippogriffs and immediately smiled at them. “You could not have timed that more perfectly! Ponies of Equestria, I’d like to introduce you to the most agile and coordinated hippogriffs I’ve ever known-- Starshine Tide and her cousin, Tidal Wave.”

“Hi!” Sunny greeted. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

“Hey, you too!” Starshine greeted. “Tide and I have heard a lot of different stories about ponies who travel to different places in search of new adventures and ways to defeat mysterious villains, but I never dreamed we would get to meet you in person!”

“We’re big fans, obviously,” Tidal said with a proud expression. “Hey, we’re gonna be helping some friends of ours run a last-minute check on the ship’s supplies before takeoff. Anyone wanna join?”

“I do!” Izzy and Hitch excitedly raised their hooves. “I do!”

Sparky even let out a little babble and raised his paw, causing Starshine to giggle. “Well, you guys are quite the enthusiasts, aren’t you?”

That was when Fred spotted two older men, known round the world as Zip Elvin (the one with gray hair and a gray mustache, who liked to be called by his last name) and Colt Steelcase (who also liked to be called by his last name and had short brown hair), talking over near a large crowd of fans…

…and needless to say, he was pretty excited. “Wow… there’s Zip Elvin and Colt Steelcase! Let’s go say hi!”

“Uh, Fred…?” Sunny was about to ask where he was going when he suddenly rushed over to the veteran astronauts. “Hi, Mr. Elvin! Hi, Mr. Steelcase!” Fred greeted before suddenly saluting. “Fred Jones, reporting for duty.”

Steelcase looked over at Fred with a raised eyebrow, but smiled nonetheless. “Uh… hi, Fred.”

“I'm a huge fan--! Uh, a huge fan,” Fred tried to keep himself calm despite the circumstances. “Even though you guys landed on the moon years before I was born... you've always been an inspiration to me.”

“Well,” said Elvin, “we’re not that old…”

“He can’t hear you,” Steelcase interrupted his partner before turning to Fred. “Fred, you need to push the com button on your…”

“I can’t hear you!” Fred interrupted with a smile. “So you're probably wearing those diaper things, right? Probably used to them by new though. I know how it might kind of itch and stuff, but I think it's so cool.”

Elvin merely grumbled under his breath, and Starshine and Tidal chuckled nervously while sparing glances at one another.

Wait till Fred heard that Elvin and Steelcase were going to help them conduct a final supply check before they left Earth… he probably wouldn’t believe it.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Aruna and Shannon were standing over with Velma, Zipp, Pipp and Daphne when Velma decided to ask a curious question. “So, Shannon, do you have our training test scores yet?” she asked. “Just curious. I'm not obsessed with test scares or anything.”

“I was actually just looking at them,” Shannon smiled. “Wanna know how you did?”

“Yes!” Velma immediately answered, only for Zipp to clear her throat. “What Velma means is… sure. Why not?”

“You all passed,” Shannon told them with a smile, causing Zipp and Pipp to hoof-bump one another, thrilled. “But one of you scored high enough to enter the NASA astronaut candidate program.”

“Indeed,” Aruna said with a proud nod before smirking over at Daphne. “Nice work, Daphne.”

“Thank…” Velma was about to thank the Sun Jaguar in question when she realized what Aruna had said. “Wait, what?”

“Really?! Me?” Daphne asked excitedly. “Wow, that is SO cool!”

“Have you ever considered being an astronaut?” Shannon asked, only for Daphne to shake her head negatively in response. “No, never.”

“I have,” Velma quickly interrupted, pulling out a wallet from out of nowhere, filled with space themed pictures of her youth. “Ever since I was a kid.”

Zipp and Pipp spared each other side glances at how Velma seemed to have those pictures at the exact time that they were discussing this, but Shannon didn’t seem to pay Velma any mind. “Well, you should,” she said to Daphne, tossing her head. “We’ll talk later, girlfriend.”

Daphne nodded to this, flicking her hair back at Shannon. “Okay... sounds great, girlfriend.”

“And maybe,” Shannon added, eyeing the pink pegasus next to her, “you and Pipp can give me some hair tips.”

“Oh, my pony!” Pipp squealed. “We would totally love to!”

“We’ll see you in a bit,” Shannon bid the four farewell before she and Aruna walked off… but none of them noticed the wicked smirk Aruna was giving them behind their backs. “Yeah… we’ll all talk later then,” Velma tried to toss her hair like Daphne, but since it was so short, it was hard. “She is so nice, just like Aruna,” Daphne said with a smile. “This is going to be the best trip ever!”

“Oh, yeah it is!” Zipp pumped a hoof before noticing Velma trying to toss her hair like Daphne was. “Uh… Velm? What are you doing?”

Velma merely groaned to herself when Zipp asked this, knowing good and well that tossing her hair wasn’t the answer she was looking for.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Sunny and Misty had noticed an earth pony mare standing near some fans and handing out autographs of some kind, but it was strange… the earth pony didn’t seem all that familiar.

The mare, known as Cloudy Dash by a bunch of the crowd members, had white coat with a bluish tint, a light blue and dark blue mane and tail, blue-colored hooves blue eyes, teal eyebrows, a cutie mark of three blue clouds and a dark green and blue space suit.

So, being naturally curious, they went over to approach her, and the mare instantly raised an eyebrow. “If you two want autographs, you’re gonna have to wait in line for a while.”

“Oh, we’re not here for autographs-- we wanted to introduce ourselves,” Sunny said with a warm smile. “I’m Sunny Starscout.”

“And I’m Misty Brightdawn,” Misty introduced herself. “What’s your name?”

“Cloudy Dash,” the earth pony mare answered, not looking at the two as she handed out more autographs. “Cheerleader, personal coach and right-hoof pony to one of the biggest football stars in the country.”

“Oh, that’s quite the rap sheet,” Sunny said with a nervous-sounding chuckle, right before she looked around. “Um… who is it again?”

It was then that the crowd began cheering wildly as a man with black skin, dark black hair and a black space suit stepped out into view, and the crowd seemed to be chanting one word and one word only... 'U-Boat'.

And upon seeing this famous football player for their own eyes, Shaggy and Scooby instantly became excited, and Shaggy was the first to point him out. “Like, Scoob! It’s him! Ha ha ha!”

“Uvinious Botango, the U-Boat!” Scooby added in agreement, causing Shaggy to nod. “Like, the best football player alive!”

“Wait, huh?” Misty tried to register what was going on when suddenly, Shaggy and Scooby pulled flags and stuff out of nowhere and ran over to U-Boat. “Shaggy, Scooby, get back here!”

“Wait for me!” Sunny shouted as she and Cloudy pursued them. “Okay, I get how big of a big deal this is,” said Pipp to the others. “Believe me, I was ecstatic when my new lip glitter line came out. But I think it’s safe to say that everypony needs to calm down a few notches.”

“All passengers,” came Sly’s voice over the intercom system, “please board and prepare for takeoff.”

“Oh my gosh!!” Velma began to squeal, surprising Zipp, Pipp and Daphne a bit. “I've been waiting my whole life for this moment! I can hardly breathe…”

That was when Velma finally realized the others were standing next to her, trying to keep herself calm, cool and collected as she walked away. “...okay… let's get going.”

XXXXXXXX

The Sly Star One was probably the biggest spacecraft that the Mane 6 had ever seen… almost like a cruise ship built for the stars, and not for the sea.

Within the first few minutes of all of them being onboard, they found their seats and strapped in, with Shaggy, Scooby, Misty and Sunny sitting on one side with a still hesitant Cloudy Dash, and the others sitting on the other side. “I can’t believe Shaggy and Scooby are so calm!” Hitch said, slightly impressed as he watched the normally-cowardly duo being so calm about the whole situation. “Velma told me they get jumpy on elevators!”

“They have U-Boat fever,” Fred answered. “Why do they call him that?” Daphne asked. “Because he sinks everybody,” Fred explained. “He’s a tackling machine.”

“And,” Velma added, “he has a line of snack foods. U-Boat Bites.”

“To be quite honest,” Zipp said as she tried her best not to chuckle, “I’ll be surprised if Shaggy and Scooby even notice we're in space.”

“Don’t be too surprised, Zippster,” Pipp told her older sister with a smirk, glancing in the direction of her friends. “Sunny and Misty are probably gonna be reminding them the entire time.”

That was when Shannon came forward, turning her head toward the others. “Hey, would you like to join us on the bridge for liftoff?”

“Would I?! Oh-ho!” Velma quickly tried to unbuckle herself. “You have…”

“What do you say, Daphne?” Shannon asked, turning to her fellow red-head. “Really? Sure, thanks!” Daphne said, quickly unbuckling herself and grabbing Pipp’s booted hoof. “Come on, Pipp!”

“WHA!!” Pipp shrieked as she was drug away, causing Zipp to blink in surprise and slight suspicion. “Boy…” she muttered. “Daph sure dragged my sister off in a hurry.”

“Well,” Velma then said with a smile, not noticing Elvin, Steelcase, Starshine and Tidal walking up the aisle, “at least I have you here, Fred, to…”

“Hey, you guys!” Fred greeted the four with a smile. “You guys going to the bridge?”

“Oh, well, yes,” Starshine nodded, “but you don’t…”

“Great, I'll join you,” Fred quickly unfastened his seatbelt and walk off with Elvin and Steelcase, along with Starshine and Tidal, following behind him. “We better go with him to make sure he doesn’t go in fan-girl mode too much,” Hitch told Izzy as they unbuckled their seatbelts and Sparky’s. “Come on.”

“Right behind ya, Hitchie-Poo!” Izzy chirped optimistically as she and Sparky followed after him. “Wait! I’ll come too!” Velma tried to call after them as she struggled to unlatch her seatbelt. “Just need to undo these stupid belts.”

“I'd keep those on if you want to live.”

Zipp nearly leapt out of her skin when she saw a woman with short brown hair, glasses and a black space suit, along with a male changeling (who had a mint green body with green eyes, blue horns, blue gems on his chest, a blue underbelly, a dark green shell on his back, blue wings and a dark red and light blue space suit), sitting beside of them. “Ridley and Morpho,” the woman introduced them. “Alien resistance fighters.”

“...wait, really?” Velma asked as she looked at the two as if they were insane. “That’s a job?”

“It will be,” Morpho said proudly before his eyes narrowed again. “When the aliens invade.”

“Uh… you do know that there aren’t any ACTUAL aliens out there, right?” Zipp asked tentatively. “I should know-- I’m a detective back home.”

“Huh… you should be one to talk like that, alien imposter. When Ridley is right,” Morpho said as he got in her face to intimidate her, “ALL should know she’s right.”

“...ooookay…” Zipp said with a nervous chuckle. “Good to meet you too, Morpho.”

That was when Clark Sparkman and his camera pony Shutter Snap walked over to them, both of them already dressed in their space suits. “Velma Dinkley, right? You're one of the teen detectives, Mystery Inc, who are also friends with Zipp Storm and her band of Equestrians?” Clark asked as he and Shutter sat down. “Clark Sparkman and Shutter Snap, Celebrity Heat.”

“It’s a real honor to meet the both of you,” Shutter Snap said as she aimed the camera at the duo. “Mind if we ask you a few questions?”

“You can if you’d like,” Zipp said hesitantly, not used to being filmed, “but there’s no guarantee we’ll answer.”

“Good call,” Ridley stuck her head in, frightening Zipp again. “TV is a factory of deceit.”

“...oh boy,” Misty winced as she watched the interaction from where she, Sunny and Cloudy sat with Shaggy and Scooby. “This isn’t going to end well.”

“Neither are your friends being right beside the reserved U-Boat seat,” Cloudy said with a raised eyebrow, watching the excited Shaggy and Scooby for a few moments. “I take it they’re big U-Boat fans?”

“Uh, hypothetically speaking, yes,” Sunny nodded slowly, not wanting to offend Cloudy with what she had to say next. “But then again, me and my friends had no idea that U-Boat even existed before today, so…”

“...yeah, I guess that’s natural,” Cloudy said with a calm shrug. “I mean, you guys travel to different worlds a lot, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah,” Misty nodded, “but… how did you…?”

“I watch a lot of Celebrity Heat,” Cloudy said with an uneasy shrug. “But we need to take our seats-- we should be taking off any second.”

That was when Shaggy and Scooby saw U-Boat coming in through the doors, instantly waving him over. “U-Boat!”

Cloudy, Sunny and Misty watched from the row behind the boys as U-Boat sat down in the seat designated for him, nearly squishing Shaggy and Scooby in the process. It was in that moment that Sunny and the others figured that it was going to be a rough ride for their friends, no matter where they were sitting.

That was when a female voice echoed into the cab area and the bridge through the intercom. “T-minus 20 seconds to launch.”

“Here we go, folks!” Sly Baron’s voice echoed through the intercom. “We’re heading to the stars. Thanks to me, Sly Baron.”

“Sly Star One, this is ground control,” said a male voice to the people on the bridge. “You are free to go.”

Then, everyone began to activate their space helmets as another female voice counted down till it was time to blast off the ground. “Five… four… three… two… we have ignition… and one. Lift-off.”

And with that, the Sly Star One blasted off the Earth and into the sky as the crowd cheered, taking our heroes into their next action-packed adventure...

...and if they weren't careful, it might be their last.

Intense Action Aboard the Sly Star One/The Alien Attacks!

After meeting some of their many new friends, including two hippogriff cousins, a changeling, celebrated astronauts, a football superstar, his earth pony cheerleader, a talk show host and his camera-pony, a legendary Sun Jaguar entertainer and an alien enthusiast, the Mane 6, Mystery Inc and Sparky were all ready to take off into the outer reaches of space.

But, as the Sly Star One blasted off into the sky, with a crowd wishing them a good voyage, no one in that friend circle had no idea that they would be embarking on their most complex and action-packed mission yet...

...but soon, we'll know exactly what our Equestrian heroes are going to be facing.

XXXXXXXX

As the spacecraft known as the Sly Star One ventured further and further through the sky and into the atmosphere, the faces of many of our heroes stretched out to the mass amounts of gravity being pushed on them.

I mean, five times the force of gravity is a lot to put on somepony, am I right?

Soon, the spacecraft finally slowed down a bit, allowing everyone a few moments to catch their breath as they soon gazed out at the many stars that awaited them, high above the Earth’s surface. “Welcome,” Sly said through the intercom system, “to space.”

XXXXXXXX

“We did it!” Fred cheered from where he was sitting beside Elvin and Steelcase. “High five, guys!”

Hitch, Izzy, Sparky, Starshine and Tidal cheered and high-fived each other instantly, wide smiles on their faces, but when Fred expected the same thing from Elvin and Steelcase, they just glared at him, causing him to chuckle nervously and turned his body forward again in order for the flight to resume.

XXXXXXXX

“Wow… check out all those stars!” Shutter Snap said as she took several pictures from her seat. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them all from this angle before!”

“None of us have… even when we came to space with the Buddies and Pippsqueaks a couple months back,” Misty muttered to Sunny. “It really puts you in perspective, doesn’t it?”

“It really does,” Sunny nodded with a small sigh. “I just hope my mom can see them from Skyros.”

“Skyros? The legendary alicorn world?” Cloudy looked at her in surprise. “Your mom is there?”

“Yeah… it’s a long story, but…” Sunny began to explain before pausing. “Hang on… you’ve heard of Skyros?”

“Of course. My mom told me stories of that place all the time,” Cloudy said as if it were obvious. “You gotta fill me in on the details later.”

Sunny giggled at this, smiling widely and finally feeling as if Cloudy was warming up to them. “Later-- promise.”

“Ladies in gentlemen,” Sly’s voice echoed through the cabin thanks to the intercom system, “we’ve reached our cruising altitude of 1 million meters. Slyco's latest host android model, or H.A.M is moving through the cabin with refreshments and observational comedy. Courtesy of me, you're welcome!”

That was when the robot in question, looking surprisingly human and wearing a black space suit like many of the others were wearing, wheeled a cart into the cabin and stood at the front to face the passengers sitting there. “You know why most restaurants always go out of business? No atmosphere,” H.A.M told an easy joke in order to start everyone off, but unfortunately… no one was laughing. “Am I right, people?”

However, as Velma tried to unbuckle her seatbelt again, H.A.M pressed a button and recording of an audience laughing played through the speakers. That was when Clark finally pushed the button on Velma's seatbelt and it came off. “If you need anymore buttons pressed,” he whispered, “I’m your man.”

“Ew,” Velma groaned. “And this sort of stuff works for you?”

“Sorry, but we’re still not gonna do an interview,” Zipp said warily. “We don't watch Celebrity Heat, no offense.”

“None taken,” Shutter Snap said with a kind smile. “It’s just our jobs, not our lives.”

“So,” said Clark, “wanna check out the ship?”

“We’re in!” Morpho gestured to him and Ridley before his expression grew stiff again. “Strength in numbers.”

“Oh boy…” Zipp muttered to herself as Morpho, Ridley, Clark and Shutter looked at each other with Velma and Zipp right in the middle. “This is gonna be a LONG day.”

XXXXXXXX

It was but a few seconds later that U-Boat finally stood up from his seat to stretch his legs out, revealing a squished Shaggy and Scooby in the seats next to him. “Like, I think we made a good impression,” Shaggy said before he and Scooby giggled. “Are you guys kidding?” Cloudy raised an eyebrow. “I'm not sure getting squished by your hero is classified as making a good impression.”

“Care for a wet towel, sir?” H.A.M asked U-Boat as he walked by, but U-Boat immediately disregarded him with a bitter stare. “Out of my way, robot.”

And with that, U-Boat had walked out of the cabin, leaving H.A.M to huff, completely appalled. “No peanuts for him.”

“I guess U-Boat’s not really a fan of robots,” Misty muttered to herself before turning back to Cloudy Dash. “You better go after U-Boat, Cloudy. Sunny and I will help Shaggy and Scooby not be so… squished.”

“Oh… thanks. See you girls later,” Cloudy said before galloping off after U-Boat. “Come on, guys,” Shaggy said to his friends from his squished seat. “All this hero talk has made me hungry. Let's go find the snack bar.”

Sunny and Misty immediately began to struggle to get Shaggy and Scooby out of their squished seats, and they thought that this was going to take a very long time when all of a sudden, another aura of magic was able to pull them right out with no problem.

When Sunny, Misty and their friends looked over to see who had helped them, they were surprised to see it was a young kirin, and this kirin had a grayish-blue pelt with light blue carapaces on her back, on her face and on her hooves, a black to dark blue to light blue gradient in her mane and tail, a dark blue horn, sparkly purple eyes and she wore a bright yellow and blue space suit.

Scooby shook himself out before he smiled at the kirin who had helped them. “Thanks for getting us outta there.”

“No problem,” the kirin smiled warmly. “I’m Cassiopeia, but everyone around here calls me Cassie.”

“Hi, Cassie. I’m Misty, and these are some of my friends-- Sunny, Scooby and Shaggy,” Misty introduced. “Are you excited to be onboard the Sly Star One?”

“Oh, yes,” Cassiopeia said warmly. “Even though I’m considered more of the stable kirin around here… and somepony who does a whole lot of work.”

“Really?” Sunny looked confused. “You don’t get to enjoy the ship like everyone else?”

“To be quite honest, I have such a hard time staying focused, I don’t know if I’ll ever get to see the whole ship,” Cassiopeia said softly before clearing her throat. “So… what can I help you all with today?”

“Like, we were kinda wondering where the snack bar was,” Shaggy said. “Yeah,” Scooby nodded eagerly. “We’re hungry.”

“I just passed by there a few minutes ago,” Cassiopeia said before leading her friends out of the cabin. “Just follow me and I’ll show you the way to go.”

XXXXXXXX

From the bridge, a bunch of the others stood together to admire the view, and Fred couldn’t help but gasp as he saw the swirling galaxies a million miles away. “Look at that view!”

“Been there,” Elvin sighed. “Done that,” Steelcase deadpanned, just as Aruna sighed warmly. “I never get tired of it, though.”

“How could you?” Daphne asked, staring up at the sight with wide eyes. “It’s… it’s…”

“Exactly,” Shannon nodded in agreement. “This is a totally worthy picture moment!” Pipp said with a squeal as she took several selfies with the stars in the background. “Totally going on my feed first thing when we get back to Earth.”

“So,” said Izzy, “what are we gonna do next?”

“Well, for me, my cousin and the boys here,” Tidal said, gesturing to Starshine, Elvin and Steelcase while holding up a clipboard, “we have our safety check.”

Steelcase nodded in agreement. “We gotta make sure this billion dollar yacht stays in one piece.”

“Sounds important. I’m in!” Fred exclaimed before he ran off, leaving Hitch to sigh. “I think we better go after him,” the earth pony stallion said to Izzy, Pipp and Sparky before turning to Tidal and Starshine. “Mind if we come with you?”

“Sure!” Starshine smiled. “We’d love some extra hooves helping us out. Come on.”

But as she watched her friends leave with Elvin and Steelcase, Daphne turned to Aruna and Shannon. “Aren't you going with them?”

“I have to run diagnostics on the navigation system first, and I’ll need Aruna’s help for it,” Shannon explained. “But you go ahead,” Aruna told Daphne with a smile. “We’ll catch up with you.”

Daphne then began to walk over to the door, but before she could leave the bridge, she stopped and turned back to her fellow red-head. “Shannon… I wanted to thank you for… making me feel like I belong up here.”

“You do!” Shannon turned around with a chuckle. “Space needs a lot more Daphnes. I'm just speeding up the process a bit, girlfriend.”

“Okay… thanks, girlfriend,” Daphne chuckled a bit herself before leaving. And once she had left, Aruna got out her magic mirror and whispered a message into it. “Alterro… the plan is going perfectly. And within just a day or so, that map piece will be yours.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time that most of our heroes were leaving the bridge, Cassiopeia was leading Shaggy, Misty, Scooby and Sunny through the ship to find the snack bar, but as they were walking, Shaggy could have sworn he saw some sort of shadow outside of the window before it jumped out of sight.

After blinking for a moment, Shaggy turned back to the window before turning to the others. “Like, you see something funny in the window, guys?”

“Funny?” Misty shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing anything either,” Sunny said unsurely, causing Shaggy to internally sigh in relief. “Me neither.”

“Phew. Must be our imagination,” Scooby said, wiping his helmet with his paw. But then a few seconds later, Shaggy remembered something he had seen on TV once that sort of resembled the situation they were in. “Like, l once saw a show about a guy that saw gremlins an the outside of his plane.”

“Seriously?” Cassiopeia stared at him with wide eyes. “What happened?”

“I turned off the TV,” Shaggy said, smiling rather casually. “Good idea,” Scooby nodded. “Come on, guys,” Cassiopeia pointed forward. “The snack bar isn’t that far from here.”

And so, the group made their way forward once again, unaware that the same shadow Shaggy saw was roaming around on the rooftops above.

XXXXXXXXX

At the same time, Velma, Clark Sparkman, Ridley, Zipp, Morpho and Shutter Snap were walking around the ship to get a feel for the place when all of a sudden, some loud noises were heard outside the window.

Morpho looked up, a tad startled by the loud noises. “What was that?”

“Probably just space junk,” Clark blew off as they continued walking. “Since the space age began, we've dumped millions of pieces of trash into orbit same weigh more than 5000 tons.”

“How do you know all that?” Velma asked curiously, walking beside Clark while Shutter Snap walked beside Zipp. “Clark and I actually visited NASA last month,” Shutter Snap said with a casual smile. “For… you know… research.”

“Research?” Velma questioned. “You work for Celebrity Heat!”

“Just because they work on a show all about celebrity gossip doesn’t mean that’s all they have to focus on, Velma,” Zipp told her friend. “I actually think it’s pretty cool you know so much about space and the junk in it.”

“Really?” Shutter Snap said, gaining a proud smile. “Thanks, Zipp… that means a lot coming from you.”

“Space junk…” Ridley scoffed. “That's exactly what the aliens want us to think.”

“Or,” Velma rolled her eyes, “it’s really just space junk.”

That was when Morpho and Ridley got in front of the group, with Morpho’s horns lowered to keep them from moving. “I know what you’re thinking,” Ridley assumed. “Ridley-- she's just some whacked-nut alien freak who's seen one too many sci-fi movies.”

“...to be fair, yes,” Zipp deadpanned. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

“Me too,” Clark nodded. “We’re telling you, guys,” Morpho told them warily. “We are NOT alone.”

However, this one sentence caused Velma to laugh, finding amusement in their beliefs. “We are not alone. Ohhh… heh heh heh heh!”

However, Zipp, Shutter Snap and Clark remained silent as Velma stopped her laughing. “But I've dedicated my life to alien combat training for one simple reason…” Ridley said before she demonstrated some karate moves which greatly confused the others. But despite not knowing what the heck she was doing, Shutter Snap still tried her best to guess. “Uh… break dancing?”

“...combat training,” Morpho said, looking the camera-pony in the eye. “They’re out there… my horns can sense it.”

“And how do you know that?” Clark asked. “Do you have any first hand experience?”

“Yeah,” Zipp nodded. “Have you ever actually SEEN an alien?”

“Have I ever seen an alien? Have I ever seen an alien? Have I ever seen an alien? Ha,” Ridley scoffed before her face eventually fell. “No… I haven’t.”

“Neither of I, but we have some serious video evidence,” Morpho said, taking out his tablet from under his wing and turning it onto a video he recorded. “We've been in contact with aliens for decades.”

However, Velma raised an eyebrow when she saw what the video was really about. “Uh… that’s a kitten.”

“Huh?!” Morpho looked at the video before blushing and chuckling nervously. “Oops! Sorry, that’s not it. These dumb, bulky hooves.”

Luckily, Ridley was able to switch it to the right video, showing it to the others. “Here. Look.”

“Did you see it?” said a man from up on some sort of space station. “It was right there!”

There was a brief shadow on the screen before the whole feed went out, causing the others to look at Morpho and Ridley, not entirely convinced. “Come on, don’t look at us like that,” Morpho said, trying to be friendly about this. “This video is just the tip of the iceberg!”

“There's more footage. Lots more. And we’ll show it to you,” Ridley added on. “Wait here!”

And with that, she ran off and Morpho unfurled his wings to follow behind. And once they had disappeared around the corner, Zipp let out a sigh of relief. “And that’s our cue to hide.”

“Way ahead of you,” Velma told Zipp before the four walked off to get as far away from Ridley and Morpho as they could.

XXXXXXXX

“Here we are, you guys!” Cassiopeia gestured to the vending machines locked behind a steel cage. “The snack bar is closed right now, but I’m sure it’ll be open soon.”

“Thanks for helping us find it, Cassie,” Sunny said kindly. “We really appreciate this.”

“Yeah,” Misty nodded. “Do you wanna join us and get the boys some food?”

“Oh… I-I wish I could,” said Cassiopeia gently, “but… I should really get back to work. It was nice to meet all of you, though.”

And with that, the young kirin galloped away, causing Sunny to hum in thought. “She sure seems nice, but… she doesn’t wanna seem to get away from her duties.”

“Yeah…” Misty nodded with the same kind smile on her face. “Maybe we can help her with that.”

However, Shaggy and Scooby had their attention on what was inside the vending machines, and Shaggy was the first to speak up with excitement. “Like, dudes, they have U-Boat Bites!”

“And U-Boat Nachoverboards,” Scooby nodded before trying to pull on the steel cage that the vending machines were behind. “Come on, open up. We're having a snack attack!”

“Do you know what my favorite snack is?”

Sunny and Misty stiffened as H.A.M walked out of the darkness, and the four glanced at each other, wondering what he was going to say next. “I don't have one because I cannot digest food. Am I right, people?”

And then, once he saw that the four weren't laughing like they thought, H.A.M pressed a button to play the laugh track again... just before Scooby spoke up. “I don’t get it.”

H.A.M immediately frowned at this. “Are you challenging me, canine life form?”

“Uh… no!” Scooby shook his head. “I... l, uh…”

“I'm kidding. Ha, ha. I'm a robot. Uh-huh. I'd destroy you with one blow,” H.A.M said, trying to sound as if he was kidding. “Ha. Am I right, people?”

That was when he played the laugh track one final time before H.A.M immediately backed away into the darkness. And once he was gone, Misty let out a shudder of fright as she turned to her friends. “That comedy robot has a dark side.”

“Like, that is not uncommon,” Shaggy told her wisely. “Humor is often inspired by the same darkness from which it endeavors to provide an escape.”

“...huh?!” Scooby, Misty and Sunny looked at Shaggy in surprise, just as Shaggy realized what he just said. “Wow. I'm so hungry, my brain ain't working right.”

Suddenly, a rumbling came from somewhere down the hall, frightening Shaggy and Scooby and causing them to tremble, while Misty and Sunny stood guard.

Whatever it was, it was getting closer.

And if it was anything dangerous, like Alterro, Sunny and Misty weren’t going to make this easy for them.

XXXXXXXX

“Seriously?” Zipp was wide eyed at what Shutter Snap told her. “You got your cutie mark for filming your fillyhood play?”

“Yeah, it was pretty epic,” Shutter Snap said. “Back then I was too shy to be in the actual play, so I offered to tape it for all the people who wanted to see the play but were stuck at home. Once I did that and took some pictures of the cast, that’s when my cutie mark appeared. Just imagine... if there really was an alien, I could take a picture of it and all of us would be really famous!”

“But then again,” Clark said, looking at Velma, “I guess an alien wouldn't shock you. You've seen all kinds of weird stuff.”

“You’ve researched us?” Velma asked Clark in confusion. “Why? You're here to do a piece on the baron.”

“I'm not sure he's the most interesting person unboard,” Clark said with the click of his tongue. “Know what I mean?”

And with that, he walked off, leaving Zipp, Shutter and Velma to share the same opinion of what just happened. “...ew…”

XXXXXXXX

“Stay on guard, Misty,” Sunny said as the footsteps seemed to get closer and closer. “Whatever is coming this way, it’s right in front of us!”

“Oh, I’m on guard,” Misty trembled, but tried to stand guard for her friends' sake, “but… it’s hard to be fearless when you don’t know what exactly you’re facing!”

But then, it was revealed that it was only U-Boat and Cloudy Dash coming toward them from the darkness, and Shaggy, Scooby and their friends visibly relaxed. “Oh, Cloudy! Mr. U-Boat! For a second there, I was getting worried!”

“Oh… hey, guys,” Cloudy greeted awkwardly. “U-Boat and I were in the middle of our workout when we saw you guys down here.”

“Like, dude! I can’t believe it’s you. We’re huge fans,” Shaggy told U-Boat with an excited grin. “You're like the best player on the field every Sunday and Monday. And Thursday and some Saturdays.”

“You’re the best off the field too,” Scooby added. “We love U-Boat Bites.”

“Quite frankly,” said Misty, “the boys would be having some right now. Well… if the snack bar was open.”

After a moment of glancing at the four, U-Boat walked over to the metal bars surrounding the vending machines and lifted the bars up with his hands, smashing into the vending machines, making their lights come on and all their food to pour out all over the floor.

And after this was done, U-Boat walked off without another word, leaving the five others alone. “Space is delicious!” Scooby said hungrily, licking his chops. “Wow, Cloudy. I knew U-Boat was strong and everything,” said Misty, “but… I didn’t expect him to be so… so…”

“Quiet? Yeah, he’s like that sometimes,” Cloudy shrugged before turning to the food pile on the floor. “I’ll help you clean all this up before I have to catch up to U-Boat. I’ve got some cheerleading routines that I can’t mess up.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, no one was aware that the alien that was in Ridley and Morpho’s video was roaming around outside the ship, grabbing a door on the side of the ship and tossing it away before reaching into the vent and pulling out some wires, creating a small explosion.

XXXXXXXX

And from the control room, where Daphne, Fred, Sparky, Hitch, Izzy and Pipp were helping Elvin, Tidal Wave, Steelcase and Starshine tide with their safety check, the explosion could be heard…

…and Daphne was the first to speak up about it. “Whoa. Did you hear that?”

“Thermal contraction caused by temperature differential,” Elvin reassured her. “It's normal.”

“Yeah,” Fred nodded, trying to be just like his astronaut idols. “It’s normal, Daph.”

“It didn’t sound all that normal to me…” Izzy said nervously. “I-It sounded like something outside.”

“Something outside?” Steelcase set down the equipment he was checking. “You mean, in the vacuum of space? Like what?”

“Yeah. Like what?” Fred crossed his arms with a smile. “In the vacuum of space?”

“You think there’s an alien out there?” Steelcase asked with a teasing smile. “A creature with an oversized head and big, black eyes?”

“Hold the phone,” Hitch paused, wide-eyed. “You’ve seen it?”

“No,” Steelcase dismissed. “Because it doesn't exist.”

“I hate to admit it, but Steelcase has a point, Hitch,” Starshine admitted. “If aliens exist, they never introduced themselves to us. And Steelcase and Elvin have spent a lot of time in their neighborhood.”

“It’s just not as likely as people think it is,” Tidal shrugged. “I mean, I know Equestrian creatures living amongst humans is pretty unlikely in itself, but… you know what I mean.”

“Not that it matters,” Steelcase added. “Space is dangerous enough without little green men.”

“Maybe they were cloaked from human sight. I saw a movie where the aliens did that,” Daphne said, pulling out her phone and walking over. “Here, I'll show you a clip.”

“No, that’s okay,” Tidal declined politely. “Besides,” Steelcase said, “you kids watch so much junk on screens, you think it's real. When I was your age, we watched less and lived more.”

“Makes sense. There was a lot less stuff to watch when you were our age,” Fred chuckled, making Steelcase and Elvin glare at him in response. “I mean... well, of course there was... oh, you…”

That was when Steelcase pushed a button on Fred's chest and it muted his voice but Fred kept on talking without even realizing he had been muted. “Colt, let's get out of here,” Elvin told his partner, and they walked away, leaving Sparky to coo sadly. “I know you want Fred to impress them, Sparkeroni,” Hitch said gently. “But I think Fred might be trying too hard.”

Daphne nodded at this and pressed the button to unmute Fred after he noticed Steelcase and Elvin's departure. “Uh, maybe you should just give them some space, Fred.”

Suddenly, Pipp and Daphne burst out laughing when they realized what Daphne had said. “Get it? Space!” Pipp said as she stomped the ground with her hoof. “That’s so funny…”

However, while the others managed to crack a small giggle, Fred remained completely clueless. “I don’t get it.”

Suddenly, an alarm sounded in the storage bay, and Elvin and Steelcase ran past the group, with Steelcase glaring at Fred as he ran past. “What did you touch, hot-shot?”

“He didn’t touch anything!” Izzy blurt out. “And neither did we!”

“Come on,” Starshine beckoned as she and her cousin ran after Elvin and Steelcase. “Let's go see what all this fuss is about.”

“He called me a hot-shot!” Fred chirped before he and the others ran after the two astronauts and hippogriffs and into the main part of the ship again.

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, from his private suite, Sly Baron heard the alarm go off and turned on the intercom to reassure the passengers. “Nothing to worry about, folks. We're just working out some first flight bugs,” he said before turning back to H.A.M, who was painting his portrait. “Uh, be sure to capture my perfect physique and spirit, hmm?”

XXXXXXXX

“I’ve said it a thousand times,” said Steelcase as his and Elvin’s group ran down the corridor, “civilians do not belong in space!”

“You’re right, Colt,” Elvin agreed. “You've said it a thousand times. At least.”

Suddenly, Sunny, Misty, Scooby and Shaggy, along with Cloudy Dash and Cassiopeia ran right into the hippogriff cousins, Elvin and Steelcase, knocking them over to the ground in a heap. “Sunny!” Izzy gasped. “Misty!

“Are you okay?” Hitch asked, helping Misty and Sunny up. “Yeah, we’re fine,” Sunny nodded, “but we heard the alarm and came running!”

“Man! Ho-ho!” Shaggy wailed. “We’re doomed!!”

“How do we get off this thing?!” Scooby yelped. “Come on! Let’s get to the bridge!” Cassiopeia said out of worry once she and the others got to their feet again. “Maybe the others can tell me what’s going on!”

XXXXXXXX

Everyone immediately ran out onto the bridge, where they reunited with the rest of the crew, seemingly concerned. “We got here as soon as we could,” Sunny said. “What’s going on?”

“It’s the air supply!” Shannon explained, watching from a camera as oxygen began to leak out of the ship. “We're venting oxygen!”

“But the only way that could have happened,” said Zipp, “is if something damaged the external tanks!”

Cassiopeia then tapped on Shaggy’s leg. “Do you think this has something to do with that creepy alien we saw?”

This one remark caused everyone on the bridge to look at Shaggy, Scooby, Cassiopeia, Sunny and Misty in complete surprise. “We saw an alien outside. Or we didn't,” Scooby tried to explain. “I like we didn’t better.”

“Did it have black, hollow eyes and slimy-lacking skin?” Ridley asked, surprising Shaggy slightly. “Like, yeah. Ha ha.”

“Hold on,” Sunny raised a hoof and an eyebrow out of confusion. “How on Earth could you know that?”

“Well… you might wanna see this,” Morpho said, pressing a button on the control panel, causing footage of said alien outside the ship to appear and causing everyone to stare in shock. “Jinkies…” Velma muttered just before the alien leapt at the camera, disconnecting the feed and letting some of the ponies shriek.

But not long after this, the entire bridge began to shake, causing Shutter Snap to glance around in terror. “This may just be me, but that doesn’t sound good!”

“It’s not good,” Aruna said in concern. “We’re nearly out of oxygen!”

That was when Steelcase, Tidal, Elvin and Starshine began to go around and press buttons to try and keep the oxygen inside the ship. “How long do we have?” Steelcase asked. “Hours?”

“More like minutes!” Elvin answered. “Minutes?!” Shaggy and Scooby began to hyperventalate into paper bags they had in their space suits. “Guys, guys! Just calm down!” Misty tried to comfort the boys. “This isn’t the time to panic!”

“Misty’s right,” Hitch nodded firmly. “We need to find air, and fast!”

“There's a lot of air an Earth,” Shaggy spoke up after a moment, which caused Scooby to nod. “And, like, no aliens.”

“I know this isn’t exactly what anyone wants to hear right now,” said Tidal, “but I don’t think we’re gonna make it back to Earth in time!”

“Not gonna make it?!” Daphne looked horrified at this. “But there's nowhere else to go.”

Suddenly, the doors to the bridge opened, and Sly Baron stepped out through the doors where everyone could see him. “That's not entirely true. There is one place.”

But after a moment of everyone staring at him, Sly turned toward Shutter Snap and Clark. “Ahem. Shouldn't you be filming me being dramatic?”

“Oh, right,” Clark said, taking the camera from a nervous Shutter and holding it up to Sly just as he began to repeat himself. “That's not entirely true. There is one place.”

But as the ship was flying through the vastness reaches of outer space, and as it was slowly losing the oxygen that it so desperately needed, the Mane 6 and their friends, both old and new, just couldn't help but wonder where this 'one place' was...

...and how this alien situation, among a few other small details, would affect the rest of their voyage.

Welcome to Sly Moon Prime

The Sly Star One had been struck by a strange alien's attacks, and because of such, they were quickly losing oxygen.

And the worst news was that they wouldn't be able to get back to Earth before their oxygen ran out!

Our heroes slowly began to get more and more worried, since it seemed like there was nowhere else for them to go, but... Sly Baron knew of one other place that they could go to get the oxygen that they needed and craved...

...but only if the crew could get there in time.

XXXXXXXX

Sunny glanced out of the bridge window to see where exactly Shannon was steering the ship, discovering that they were getting closer and closer to the moon, much to her confusion.

The moon didn’t have any air that she knew of, so why was Sly bringing them here?

But at the same time, Velma was standing off by herself, watching as Shannon and Daphne continued to talk to each other while Zipp, Pipp and Shutter Snap talked with each other and with Clark, with Clark hoping to get an interview with the pegasus princess sisters before this was all over.

Velma hated to admit it, but... she was starting to feel a little bitter over Daphne's newfound friendship with Shannon.

And this was just the situation that Aruna was hoping to take control over.

So, hoping to make a good image of herself, Aruna walked over to Velma and tried to hide the smirk she had on her face. “Velma… is something wrong?”

However, Velma didn’t say anything, causing Aruna to slowly nod. “I thought so. I understand completely to what you’re going through.”

Velma raised an eyebrow to this. “Wait… how do you…?”

“You feel like your friend is changing and drifting in another direction,” Aruna continued, “while your feet remain planted on the ground.”

“How did you know that?” Velma asked the Sun Jaguar in surprise. “Shannon and I grew up together… we even shared similar dreams-- reaching for the stars, I mean. Even when we chose different careers, we were always there for one another.”

That was when Aruna faked a couple of sniffles to pull Velma in further. “But now that she’s hanging out with Daphne, Shannon doesn’t have time for me anymore. Maybe… maybe Shannon thinks Daphne's better than me and that… she won’t want to be my friend anymore. Then… then I’ll be all alone…”

Velma frowned out of sympathy for the Sun Jaguar, not realizing that Aruna was simply manipulating her, and got down on one knee to stroke the jaguar’s fur. “Well… you do have one friend, Aruna-- me.”

Aruna lifted her head in surprise, remembering to try and play along. “Do you really mean that?”

“Of course I do. You did say we were going through the same thing,” Velma told her, “so we have to look out for each other.”

Aruna reluctantly let Velma hug her, internally gagging at the sickening sweetness, but when Velma let go, Aruna began to take her leave… but not before Velma spoke up again. “If you ever need to talk…”

“...I'll look you up... girlfriend,” Aruna said affectionately before she walked away. But once she was out of earshot, Aruna snickered wickedly and looked back at Velma with a dark look on her face. “And they call her the smart one… like taking candy from a baby. Now, all I have to do is keep up the act, and Alterro will have TWO minions helping him in this mission.”

XXXXXXXX

After traveling across the surface of the moon for what felt like a long time, the Sly Star One finally touched down onto some sort of landing pad embedded into the moon’s surface. And as the dust began to clear, Sly gestured to something right outside the window. “You don’t need air for something to take your breath away!”

The Mane 6 seemed a bit confused at this, but that's when they and all their friends saw it-- a gigantic, moon metropolis with glowing lights, tunnels and all sorts of advanced technology, just waiting for them to explore it. “Oh my gosh…” Zipp was the first of the Mane 6 to break the silence. “We definitely didn’t see this on the moon the last time we were here.”

“We could’ve passed right over it and we wouldn’t have known!” Hitch agreed before becoming confused once again. “But… there are SO many questions running through my brain right now, it isn’t even funny.”

“We can talk about questions later,” Starshine dismissed, eyes wide in awe. “But right now… I have to go check this place out!”

XXXXXXXX

Soon after everyone left the bridge, a tunnel extended to the doors of the Sly Star One, and once the doors opened, everyone onboard stepped into the tunnel, and the floor began to move on its own, as if it were a treadmill moving forward, letting our pony heroes and their friends, new and old, marvel at the sites in the city.

And as they began moving, Shannon took the liberty to explain. “The Baron has been secretly building on the dark side of the moon far over 10 years. It's quite an achievement, don't you think?” she asked. “Furthering his dream of making space travel available for anyone.”

Sly, who was at the front of the group, smiled proudly with his hands on his hips. “You're welcome, average people.”

“Average?!” Pipp looked enfuriated. “Oh, for the love of…”

“I wouldn’t let it bother you, princess,” Cloudy Dash tried to reassure. “I’m sure he does this with pretty much everyone.”

That was when Velma chuckled to herself from the back of the group. “I guess he really is a man of mystery.”

That was when Sly turned back to the crowd of passengers once again. “You are the first to experience the very finest space has to offer.”

Soon, the moving floor within the tunnel brought them to another door that led to a much larger part of the complex, to which everyone followed Sly into. Daphne and Shannon giggled and talked with each other during the walk inside, and this made Velma feel a bit left out.

It was then that Sly finally stopped in front of four robots with faces drawn on them with pieces of paper and markers. “Welcome to Sly Moon Prime, the moon's first luxury resort” Sly said to the rather stunned, yet amazed, group of passengers in front of him. “It's not quite finished yet, but the air generators are online and producing more air than we could ever breathe.”

And so, hearing this, Aruna popped her air bubble as everyone pressed the button to turn off their helmets… well, all except Fred, causing Steelcase to glance over at him. “Your helmet?”

“What?” Fred asked again, not able to hear Steelcase, but this remark caused Steelcase to sigh in aggravation. “Forget it.”

“Anything you want or need, just ask a Slybot,” Sly told the group. “That’s why we made them.”

“We?”

Before anyone could ask about this voice, an older man with a grayish-white beard, glasses and a space suit walked from the shadows between the Slybots, causing Cassiopeia to gulp nervously and hide behind Zipp and Shutter Snap.

Sly seemed to notice this man and chuckled a bit. “Forgive me. I had little to do with actually building them. Nothing but the money to make all of this possible,” he said before gesturing to the man in the shadows. This is Hudson, my right-hand space man… and my twin brother. He made them.”

Everyone looked over at Hudson in complete surprise, and then, dramatic music filled the air, coming from H.A.M, and this caused everyone to look at him with a deadpan/annoyed expression. “Sorry.”

“Rumor has it,” whispered Aruna, “Hudson has been here since day one.”

“Eleven years, two months, 12 days, mast of it alone,” Hudson spoke up again, catching everyone's attention. “It's great to see friendly faces. Or any faces at all.”

Hudson’s eyes swept across the crowd of visitors, but when his eyes fell on Scooby, he stared for a moment before walking over and examining Scooby’s face, causing Pipp to gasp. “Oh my pony!”

“Uh, guys?” Misty whispered to her friends, eyes wide in surprise. “Should we say something?”

“I don’t know what we could say,” said Zipp, “to make this less awkward.”

“This isn't all happening in my head, is it?” Hudson asked, looking over at Sly. “It's all real, right?”

“Yes,” Sly nodded. “It is, brother.”

That was when Hudson began to run around the large room in excitement, clapping and laughing like he thought there would be no tomorrow. People, people, people! Ha, ha! People, people, people! You're really here! You're all real! Ha, ha! It's been so long…!”

“...I take it that it’s been a while since Hudson’s seen any form of life,” Hitch whispered awkwardly to Sunny. “It’s… kinda…”

“Sad?” Sunny finished softly. “Yeah… sad,” Hitch nodded, causing Sparky to nod with him. “But… just a little.”

“I love him, but he's a little odd,” Sly whispered to the group before he turned to his still-celebrating brother. “Hudson. Why don't you make the introductions?”

“Ah. Yes, yes, yes. Introductions,” Hudson took a breath and approached the first of the four robots. “This is Frank, he keeps us all honest.”

Then, he moved to the second robot, whose paper face fell off, causing Hudson to quickly put it back on. “This is Linda, our ray of sunshine.”

“Wha…?” Morpho and Zipp tilted their heads in confusion. “Here's Reggie, the comedian of the group,” Hudson continued, listening to the robot’s silence for a moment before laughing. “Good one, Reggie. Oh. Oh, that's funny.”

Finally, Hudson stopped laughing, cleared his throat and approached the other robot, his smile falling into a stern look. “And finally, there's Twiggy. She's not happy with me at the moment. We are having a disagreement. Isn't that right?”

However, the robot with the angry look on it's face stood silently in response. “Oh, is that so? Well, we'll talk about this later!” Hudson barked before turning back to his twin brother and the Sly Star One crew. “So... what can we do for you?”

“We need to patch and seal our air tanks. Probably gonna need two welding rigs,” Steelcase said before Fred raised his hand. “Make it three.”

Tidal sighed under her breath. “Like Steelcase said... we'll need two rigs.”

“Yes, yes, of course!” Hudson said rather enthusiastically. “I'll put my best bot on it. That's Caroline Prime!”

With that, Hudson pressed a button on his space suit, which made some very large doors open behind him, and a second or two later, a pair of large eyes began to glow and peer at them from the darkness.

Izzy, Misty and Scooby gulped nervously at this while the rest of the Mane 6 tensed up, ready to spark a fight for their friends' safety if need-be. “Caroline!” Hudson called. “We have guests!”

A gigantic robot then began to roll out of the shadows toward them, all while the others watched its giant caterpillar tracks, hands and small door on its body in action.

As it got closer to the group, Hudson put his hands up to stop the robot in its tracks. “Stop! Stay...” he said, and Caroline did just as he commanded her to do. “She was just stacking supplies. She can move thousands of food crates in a matter of minutes. Heh.”

“Food crates?!” Shaggy laughed in excitement. “Like, I think I found my favorite robot, Scoob!”

Scooby licked his chops with an eager smile on his face. “Yeah. Me too.”

“Aww...” H.A.M pouted, feeling a bit hurt by this claim just before U-Boat stepped forward, glaring up at Caroline with a distrustful gaze... a gaze that sent chills up Cloudy Dash's spine. “I don't trust anything that's not human.”

Pipp didn't want to admit it in front of the others, but even she had to admit... Caroline made her a bit nervous too. “Maybe you shouldn't get too close, U-Boat.”

“Oh, don't worry,” Aruna brushed off with the most cheerful smile she could muster. “She's perfectly safe. Wouldn't hurt a fly.”

Shannon nodded in agreement before walking a bit closer to Caroline. “I checked her protocol myself. She'll do anything we ask. Watch. Sit!”

Shaggy, Scooby, Izzy and Cassiopeia immediately sat down at this, and Sunny tried to hold back giggles at this. “She didn't mean you, guys. I think she meant Caroline.”

“Let’s try that again,” Shannon turned back toward Caroline. “Caroline, sit.”

That was when Caroline lowered her head down, obeying the command instantly. And once the others had finished staring in surprise, Hudson approached the hippogriff cousins, Steelcase and Elvin. “It'll take some time to get the rigs prepped and of course you'll be needing to cri-gen-down the mag coils in synth-mix first. Right?”

“Uh...” Tidal and Starshine had no idea what the heck he was talking about, and honestly, Elvin and Steelcase weren't even sure what to say in response. That was when Ridley stepped forward, a smug and confident expression plastered onto her face. “He said, the engines will need to cool.”

Hudson immediately caught sight of her, a lovestruck look in his eyes as he slowly nodded in response. “That’s right...”

There was a brief moment of silence before Morpho cleared his throat to stop the mushy-gushy somance stuff. And once she had snapped out of the moment, Ridley stepped forward. “I speak nerd.”

Velma rolled her eyes sarcastically to this. “Of course you do.”

“Watch it, four eyes,” Ridley mocked, causing Hitch to raise an eyebrow in disappointment and confusion. “You wear glasses too, you know.”

Ridley scoffed with the roll of her eyes, completely dismissing the earth pony stallion's statement. “Whatever.”

“...okay, good, good! Let's get to work,” Hudson said quite eagerly. “Might take a day or so.”

“Sounds good to me,” Zipp said. “That’ll give us some time to deal with this alien.”

Hudson froze at this. “Alien?”

That was when H.A.M began playing dramatic music from his speaker again... that is, until Daphne shot H.A.M a scolding look. “Uh... you’re not helping.”

“Sorry,” H.A.M apologized before stepping away. “That's what ripped the oxygen lines on the Sly Star One,” Sunny explained. “And it could easily still be somewhere onboard the ship.”

“Or,” Hitch gulped nervously, “it could have gotten off the ship and is roaming around here somewhere.”

“Hitch!” Daphne scolded upon seeing Shaggy, Scooby and Cassiopeia begin to shiver. “So not helping!”

Hitch blushed nervously as Sparky also gave him a scolding glance. “Sorry...”

“Who knows what you saw. It was probably nothing but space junk,” Steelcase dismissed before looking at his partner. “Come on, Zip, let's get to work.”

“Right,” Fred agreed optimistically. “Let’s get to work.”

With that, Elvin and Steelcase, followed by Morpho and Ridley, Fred, the hippogriff cousins, Hitch, Izzy and Hudson walked off to get to work on repairing the Sly Star One, while Sly turned back to the others remaining. “I'm afraid I have to excuse myself for a satellite interview. Probably about some award the world needs to bestow upon me.”

Pipp scoffed to herself when she heard this. “Even I'm not that self absorbed...”

However, Sly didn't seem to hear this, thank goodness, and gestured to the glass doors that led outside, where a series of moon buggies were waiting for people to ride them. “Um, feel free to take the Slymoon buggy ride. It's fun out there. Now, watch me leave.”

And without another word, Sly walked off, leaving those remaining off on their own. Once Sly was gone, Shaggy turned to Scooby, Misty and Sunny. “Like, dudes, if the alien might be inside, maybe we should go where it isn't. Like, outside. What do you say, old pals?”

Scooby nodded enthusiastically to this. “Yeah, yeah. Outside.”

“We'll go with you to make sure that nothing out of the ordinary happens,” Sunny said before following Shaggy and Scooby away. “Come on, Misty.”

“Right behind you!” Misty said before galloping after them. And once the others had disappeared from sight, Daphne turned back to Shannon, since Aruna had walked off to see the station by herself and report back to Alterro. “So, where should we start?”

“I have to re-calibrate the oxygen levels for the station. More people, more air to breathe,” Shannon said. “Shouldn't take too long. I'll see you in a bit.”

And then, after a brief hair flick, Shannon walked off, leaving Daphne to giggle to herself.

Velma on the other hand, glared over at Daphne with her own agenda in mind. “So, Clark, didn't you mention that you wanted to do an exclusive expose on someone in the mystery-solving game? That someone being me?”

Daphne huffed and immediately turned around, while Clark seemed flustered about what just happened. “Oh, yeah. Well... whoa!”

“Clark!” Shutter Snap yelped as soon as Velma dragged Clark away. “What was that all about?”

“Something about test scores... hair... I'm not exactly sure about all the details,” Pipp said with a concerned frown on her face. “But, I do know that whatever is going on, Alterro could definitely take advantage of them if we're not careful.”

“You’re right… we better go and make sure everything is okay with them before it escalates any further,” Zipp nodded to her sister’s statement before going and giving orders. “Shutter, you and me will go after Velma. Pipp, you take Cassie and go after Daphne. We’ll text each other with updates.”

“Got it,” the other ponies nodded and they ran off after their friends, leaving Cloudy Dash and U-Boat alone with H.A.M, who turned to the duo with a smile. “Knock knock.”

“I’m not home, but these guys are,” U-Boat said threateningly while he showed H.A.M his two very large fists. “Come on, U-Boat,” Cloudy said gently. “We’ve got some drills to run anyway.”

And so, she and U-Boat walked away to do their training, leaving poor H.A.M all by himself yet again.

XXXXXXXX

Aruna had managed to go to a quiet part of the base where she could contact Alterro without anyone disturbing her, but once her magic mirror activated, she could see that Alterro wasn’t at all pleased. “What took you so long?! Did you find it?!”

“I’m trying, Alterro, but this plan has been, well, more difficult than we originally anticipated,” Aruna began, but froze upon seeing her master’s anger grow with his flames. “ But don't worry! Though I haven't picked up the piece of the map to Skyros per say, I have been spreading manipulation and I have gathered plenty of info about my new crewmates.”

“Oh?” Alterro raised an eyebrow. “Do tell me about what you’ve learned.”

“You’d better sit down for this, Alterro,” Aruna said with a tired sigh, sitting down on the cold, hard floor. “This is going to take a while.”

Moon Buggy Madness/Aruna's True Colors Revealed and Meeting Umbra

Aruna had been telling her wicked master Alterro about all the things that she had done to spread wickedness and manipulation on the voyage-- manipulating Velma into thinking that Daphne wants Shannon as her friend and not her, gaining Velma’s trust and learning all she could about her so-called friends.

Alterro was eager to listen to all of this, especially the parts about the ponies, but when Aruna told him about the alien that had forced them to land on the dark side of the moon, he became suspicious.

He didn’t have a minion who was an alien, so… who could this be?

After Aruna had got done speaking, Alterro stayed quiet for a few moments before noticing the wary glance on his minion’s face. “You think she could be nearby, listening to our conversation.”

“What?!” Aruna looked at her master in shock. “H-How did you…?”

“I have ways of knowing things you don’t,” Alterro responded bluntly. “You may search for her and once again put her in her place, but… do not, and I repeat, do NOT lose focus of your true mission.”

“...yes, Alterro,” Aruna nodded. “I’m ready.”

“Don’t call me back without vital information, or until you feel that it’s my time to make an appearance,” Alterro warned her. “Then… the ultimate vengeance will be mine! MWAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!”

Aruna laughed in the same manner as her master, honestly surprising him. “Ohh… very well done, my little Sun Jaguar pet,” he said proudly before frowning again. “But it's a marathon, not a sprint. Don't be a show-off.”

And with that, his face disappeared from the mirror, and Aruna put it away before prowling off in another direction.

She had to find her, and make sure she didn’t spoil Alterro’s plans or her own.

But… it probably makes all of us wonder who this other someone is… doesn’t it?

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Shaggy and Misty rode in one moon buggy across the moon’s surface while Scooby and Sunny rode in the other one, and needless to say…

…this was just the amount of fun they were hoping to have. “Yeah!” Sunny pumped a hoof in the air. “Whoo-hoo!”

“Yeah!” Scooby howled out of excitement as the moon buggies raced forward. “Scooby-Dooby-Doo! Hee-hee!”

“Come on, Shaggy, faster!” Misty laughed in excitement as Sunny and Scooby pulled out ahead of them. “We’re not letting Sunny and Scoob win this race!”

Shaggy slammed on the gas, and the moon buggy he and Misty were riding on flew through the air, spinning a bit and causing Misty to laugh in delight just before they touched down again.

Not long after Shaggy and Misty’s moon buggy came back down, they eventually parked and climbed down from the buggies to get a better look at the landscape around them. “Wow...” Sunny muttered, gazing at the Earth several thousands of miles away. “It looks just as beautiful now as when we came here with the Pippsqueaks and Buddies a few months ago... doesn't it, Misty?”

Misty nodded slowly to this. “It really does... like you could go through life without a single care in the world.”

But as Sunny and Misty continued to admire the view, Shaggy turned to look at Scooby after seemingly realizing something. “Maybe that Colt guy was right, Scoob,” he said, gesturing to the space junk that had landed all around them over the years. “Maybe it wasn't an alien after all, maybe it was just space junk. I mean, look at this place. It's a regular junkyard!”

“Junkyard...” Shaggy's echo came right back to the group after a few moments. “Junkyard... junkyard...”

“Yeah, yeah,” Scooby nodded, as he could easily see what Shaggy meant. “Space junkyard!”

“Come on, guys!” Misty gestured for Shaggy and Scooby to follow her and Sunny across the moon’s surface. “We'll show you how to cross the moon in style!”

Scooby giggled and took a gentle leap forward, slowly bounding after Misty and Sunny. But, when Shaggy tried to do the same thing, he tripped over himself and planted right in the dirt.

But we all know that Shaggy wasn’t going to let Scooby be the only show-off in these parts.

So, Shaggy tried again, this time creating a successful leap across the moon’s surface as he tried to catch up to the others.

Sunny laughed as she took a daring leap and spiraled through the air before she touched down next to her friends again.

Man, it felt really good to actually relax after worrying about finding her mother and defeating Alterro without letting him into Equestria.

Then, once they managed to get to the same place, they danced together for a moment before Shaggy and Scooby chest-bumped one another before descending back to the moon's surface.

The four of them shared a moment of laughter before Sunny spotted the American flag planted on the moon back in the 1960s (from what she read online) and instantly got an idea. “Guys… we never planted a hoof or a paw next to that American flag the last time we were here… so why don’t we give it a try now?”

“I’m all for that,” Misty nodded. “Come on, Scooby! Let’s do it!”

So, Sunny, Misty and Scooby bounded over to the American flag, where Scooby first planted his paw beside the first human footprint on the moon, and Sunny and Misty placed their hooves right beside his pawprint. “One small step for pony and dog…” Shaggy said before doing a giant leap and flipping in mid-air before landing on the ground. “...and one giant leap for me!”

Shaggy and Scooby let out another laugh alongside their two friends, and Misty let out a sigh of happiness. “That was fun. It’s not every day we get to do this, especially with a dangerous threat like Alterro out there.”

“Like… is he really more dangerous than Allura was?” Shaggy asked. “More dangerous than almost EVERY villain we’ve ever faced… except Opaline,” Sunny said before letting out a sigh of worry. “If we don’t find the other pieces of the map to Skyros, and Alterro finds it before we do… the alicorns… my mom…”

Scooby let out a whimper before nuzzling against Sunny gently. “Don’t worry, Sunny… if we’re here, then another piece of the map must be somewhere around here-- maybe Sly built it into the base without knowing it,” Misty said, trying to be comforting. “We just have to keep believing.”

“...you guys are right,” Sunny said with a smile. “Come on, we better get back to the base and return those moon buggies before…”

Suddenly, a dark, ominous shadow passed over them, cutting Sunny off and causing a bit of confusion with the group. “That’s weird,” Shaggy observed. “I thought we left the dark side of the moon.”

“We did,” Misty nodded. “It must be something else making that shadow… but what?”

That was when they all turned in the direction of the shadow and begrudgingly found the source… the alien from the camera footage was now growling and looming over them! And as it leapt toward them with a dangerous snarl, the group only knew of one thing to do. “RUN!!!”

Their running was a bit slowed down due to less gravity, but eventually, the girls, Shaggy and Scooby were able to get their footing and split up to prevent the alien from chasing all of them at once.

However, as the alien was chasing Shaggy, he stumbled and tripped over a small hole, giving the alien an advantage… at least, it would have if Misty didn’t fire a magic blast at it to disorient it. “Hey! Alien! Leave him alone!”

The alien let out a snarl at her, which caused Misty to scream and immediately leap away, and from where he was hiding, Scooby knew he had to do something to get the alien off of Misty's tail. And then, upon seeing a small rocket, Scooby pushed the button on it, and it flew straight into the alien, sending it flying through the air. “Good work, Scooby!” Misty praised the Great Dane. “Come on! We gotta catch up with Sunny and Shaggy!”

“Right,” Scooby nodded, and the two leapt away in order to catch up to their friends. But as they grouped up, the alien and the rocket came flying towards them, making them run as they crashed into the moon’s surface. “AHHH!!!!!”

“Everyone, get into the moon buggy!” Sunny said as she prepared to shift into her alicorn form. “I’ll scout ahead and clear away any debris in our path!”

Suddenly, as they reached the moon buggy, Sunny shifted into her alicorn form and flew ahead to clear the way. However, as Shaggy tried to leap toward the moon buggy, but he missed the steering wheel, causing him to float away! “Zoinks! I missed!”

“We’ll get you!” Scooby reassured Shaggy as he and Misty got into the moon buggy. Then, as the alien began to pursue, Scooby put the moon buggy in reverse, and sped off after Shaggy backwards with the alien following them. “Shaggy!” Scooby called up to his best friend. “I’ll save you!”

“AHHH!!” Shaggy cried as he slowly began to descend. “Sunny, grab Shaggy!” Misty cried out to the earth pony/alicorn mare, who finished clearing some space debris from their path. “We need to get him into the moon buggy!”

“I’m on it!” Sunny saluted. “Hang on, Shaggy!”

Sunny flew up higher into the air before pushing against Shaggy’s chest with her hooves, causing him to descend faster before they both landed in the moon buggy, just before Scooby made several sharp turns to try and avoid the alien and the rocks around them. “Scoob, I'm getting seasick!” Shaggy yelped. “Pull yourself together, Shaggy!” Sunny shouted. “We’re almost there, I can feel it!”

Suddenly, as the alien leapt toward the group, the moon buggy rolled right into a gigantic crater, causing the four of them to scream while the alien grabbed onto the side of the moon buggy, just before they rolled down a chasm and up a rock formation, flipping through the air and landed back on the ground again.

Sunny growled in anger and used her back legs to try and kick the alien off, but it was putting up a really good struggle, causing her eyes to narrow. “Not… on… my… WATCH!!!”

And with one final kick, the alien landed on the ground as the moon buggy continued to drive toward the base. Misty pressed a button that prompted the doors to start closing, and the moon buggy spun out of control as it managed to get through the doors, throwing Misty, Scooby, Shaggy and Sunny off of the buggy in the process.

Thankfully, our heroes were a bit dizzy, but other than that, they seemed fine.

Misty took a glance outside, and upon further inspection, she realized that the alien was nowhere to be found... much to her relief. “I think we lost it, you guys.”

“Phew… that was close,” Sunny said as they pushed the buttons to turn off their space helmets. “Come on… we better go warn the others that the alien is getting closer to the base.”

“Good idea,” Scooby nodded, but as they all turned around, they bumped right into U-Boat and Cloudy Dash, who had just arrived on the scene, glancing at the four in concern. “Like, we're totally sorry, Cloudy and Mr. U-Boat,” Shaggy apologized before looking outside again, “but that alien was chasing us!”

“Really?” Cloudy asked, despite not seeing anything outside. “You guys must’ve been pretty scared.”

“Yeah… it definitely gave us a run for our bits,” Sunny said between breaths. “Right, guys?”

“Me and Scoob? Scared?” Shaggy laughed nervously, trying to look confident. “Um, like, why would you think that?”

Misty and Sunny looked over at Shaggy and Scooby scoldingly, causing Shaggy and Scooby to smile nervously. “That’s okay,” U-Boat told them as he began to walk off. “I get scared too.”

Upon hearing this, Shaggy’s nervousness turned into surprise. “Like, you get scared?” he asked, stunned that his and Scooby’s football hero was scared sometimes. “Of what?”

“Of what?” U-Boat repeated, turning around and walking toward them. “Sharks, dentists, public speaking, aliens, mimes, the IRS, being in space, lots of things!”

Misty squeaked nervously at seeing U-Boat being intimidating and being so close to them, but Cloudy was able to get U-Boat to back off a bit before she explained her own fears. “And I’m… actually afraid of the dark, snakes and crawly things. But the thing is… sometimes, your fears are all in your head. The trick is finding something that helps you deal with it.”

Scooby seemed to smile at this. “Like food.”

“Or music,” U-Boat flashed a small smile. “Or food,” Scooby and Shaggy repeated, just before Cloudy thought of another way to deal with fear. “Or exercise!”

“Or food,” Shaggy and Scooby said once again. “Hey, or maybe even… singing,” U-Boat nodded. “Or food,” Shaggy and Scooby repeated one final time before U-Boat gave them a look and started to walk away.

That was when Shaggy finally seemed to register what U-Boat had said. “Singing? Ha, ha. Like, you sing?” he asked before he and Scooby let out a giggle. “That's funny.”

“Oh-ho… you guys haven’t seen nothing yet,” Cloudy said with a wink. “Just watch.”

U-Boat quickly turned around, and much to Shaggy, Scooby, Sunny and Misty's surprise, he started to sing as the lights dimmed, except for a single spotlight that shown on him from above.

U-Boat: "Fear" is just a word, a four-letter word
Like "love" and "meat" and "made"
Only just a word, a silly little word
So it doesn't make me afraid...

“...wow,” Sunny finally spoke up, a bit surprised. “That was…”

However, U-Boat wasn’t done with his song just yet.

U-Boat: F, la-la la la
E, la-la la la
A, la-la la la
R, spells nothing you need to fear

Fear is just a word, a silly little word
So it doesn't make me afraid...

That was when the song finally ended, and the lights turned back on before U-Boat looked down at the stunned Shaggy, Scooby, Misty and Sunny before walking off with a huff.

Cloudy chuckled nervously. “I told you that you hadn’t seen anything yet. Now… I better go after him,” she said before turning to Misty and Sunny. “You two good with taking care of these guys?”

“Oh, yeah. We’ll be fine,” Sunny said with a smile. “You go do what you need to do, Cloudy.”

“Thanks, girls. See ya!” Cloudy waved before she galloped off after U-Boat. “So… what do you guys wanna do now?” Misty asked. “There’s still a lot more of the base to see, and I personally wanna see if they have an observatory, so we can…”

Suddenly, the most beautiful humming that they had ever heard began to fill the air, and shortly afterward.

Come, little children, I'll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment
Come, little children, the time's come to play
Here in my garden of shadows…

“Ooh…” Scooby had to admit it-- he was intrigued by the beautiful voice. “Who’s that singing?”

“It doesn’t sound like Pipp, or Aruna,” Sunny said in thought. “Let’s follow it and see who it is.”

The others seemed to nod to this, and they walked down the hall, following the sound of the singing as it continued.

Follow, sweet children, I'll show thee the way
Through all the pain and the sorrows
Weep not, poor children, for life is this way
Murdering beauty and passions…

“It’s so beautiful,” Misty muttered to herself, “but… it’s also so sad…”

“Like, yeah,” Shaggy nodded. “Do you think the one singing it is in trouble?”

“I think we’re about to find out,” Sunny pointed to a door on the right side of the hallway. “In here.”

Sunny pushed the door open as another verse of the song began, luring the four friends further into the room.

Hush now, dear children, it must be this way
Too weary of life and deceptions
Rest now, my children, for soon we'll away
Into the calm and the quiet

As the verse was soon replaced by the most beautiful vocalizing they had ever heard, Shaggy, Scooby and the two ponies peeked their heads into the room to see another jaguar singing while tidying up some books scattered across the floor, along with a few other small things.

But the crazy thing was... this jaguar actually looked kind of similar to Aruna.

Much like a black jaguar that lived in South America, this jaguar had dark grayish-black fur with black spots with dark grayish-black inside the rosettes, and very unique eyes-- pink on the top and sky blue on the bottom.

The jaguar didn't notice them at first, since she seemed to be so in her head, so she continued to sing out loud, a calm and serene smile on her face.

Come, little children, I'll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment
Come, little children, the time's come to play
Here in my garden of shadows...

Suddenly, Aruna leapt down from a higher perch in the room with a dangerous-sounding snarl, causing the black jaguar to scream and stumble back, causing Shaggy, Scooby, Sunny and Misty to become stunned.

This couldn't be what they thought they were seeing. Aruna had always seemed so friendly when she was around them... why was she acting this way now?

Aruna cackled sadistically at seeing the black jaguar’s reaction of seeing her. “What’s the matter, Umbra? Did I scare you?”

“Um, maybe a little…” the other jaguar, now known as Umbra, said meekly. “A little?” Aruna snarled, causing Umbra to tremble quite a bit. “O-Okay… okay, a lot. You scared me a lot.”

“That’s what I thought,” Aruna huffed. “Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I banished you to the dark side of the moon as punishment for taking attention away from me.”

“O-Oh, oh, you did,” Umbra said nervously. “But… I-I’ve made myself comfortable for the past 10 years.”

“10 years?” Sunny whispered to herself. “That’s how long Sly’s been building Sly Moon Prime!”

“Didn't I make myself clear before?” Aruna said dangerously. “Was I speaking a language you don't understand? You are supposed to be suffering!”

“I-I am suffering… I can’t leave the dark side of the moon, remember?” Umbra trembled in her place. “I-I can’t even watch the sunrise. The pictures in these books are all I have.”

“A Moon Jaguar who loves to watch the sunrise… give me a break,” Aruna rolled her eyes. “You know… we may be classified as twin sisters, Umbra, but you will NEVER be my family. The spotlight is supposed to be on ME and ME only.”

“Wait wait wait…” Shaggy whispered, eyes wide in shock. “Like did she just say…?”

“Aruna has a sister…?” Scooby asked in surprise. “That’s what I heard, but… I don’t understand,” Sunny shook her head. “Why can’t Umbra stand up for herself?”

“...because she’s like me… she’s scared of those who have more power than her,” Misty realized softly, her eyes wide in shock. “For me, it was Opaline, but for Umbra… it’s her own sister!”

“...I know you love the spotlight, Aruna… but… I’m sure there’s enough room for both of us on Earth,” Umbra trembled. “With you and your many talents, and me and my studies… maybe we could be a team.”

“...a team? With… you? NEVER!!!” Aruna swiped a paw across Umbra’s face, knocking her backwards. “The spotlight is mine and mine ALONE! Sun Jaguars relish in the light and power of the day… while Moon Jaguars…”

“...stay alone in the darkness of the night, I know,” Umbra spoke up after a moment of trying to get back on her feet. “But… just cause the legends say that we’re enemies doesn’t mean we have to be. Maybe we can… write our own story?”

“...not… a chance,” Aruna snarled before running her claws through one of the open books, causing Umbra to gasp. “Stop that! Please!”

“Oh, I’ll stop… once everything falls into my paws, and I get the praise and title I deserve from my master. And I don’t need you getting in the way,” Aruna snapped at her twin sister again. “Now stay out of my life. Better yet… just fade OUT of existence. It would do everyone a lot of good.”

And with that, Aruna caused her glowing wings to appear before flying out of the room, not noticing Shaggy, Scooby, Sunny and Misty hiding nearby.

Once she saw that Aruna was gone, Umbra pawed at the book that her sister had destroyed, tears welling up in her eyes before she collapsed, sobbing harder than she ever had in her life.

Scooby whimpered sadly, his ears lowering slightly at the sight of seeing Umbra crying. “She looks so sad…”

“She does,” Misty nodded, her ears lowering just as much as Scooby's was. “Being treated that way by your own sister? If that happened to either Pipp or Zipp…”

“Come on, we can’t sit here anymore,” Sunny gestured for the others to follow her. “We have to go make sure she’s okay.”

The four quickly crept out of hiding, and it was actually Misty who wanted to approach first. “Excuse me? Umbra?”

Umbra, upon hearing Misty’s voice, gasped in shock and used her magic to disappear into the shadows, frightened. “No no no no! It’s okay,” Sunny said as she, Shaggy and Scooby shortly followed behind. “We’re not gonna hurt you, we promise.”

“Yeah,” Shaggy nodded kindly. “Like, if there’s anyone you can trust, it’s Sunny and Misty.”

Umbra, hearing the sincereness of their voices, eventually decided to come out of hiding, her pink and blue eyes brimming with a bit of fear and hesitation. “Hello… how did you know my name?”

“We… were kinda watching how Aruna was treating you. But let’s start over,” Sunny said gently. “I’m Sunny Starscout, and this is Shaggy Rogers, Misty Brightdawn and Scooby-Doo. We’re…”

“You’re some of the ones who came in on that big ship,” Umbra interrupted. “Yes… I remember you now. I… crept out of this room when I saw the ship come in, but… I wasn’t sure if I should come out and say hello with my sister around.”

“Well, you don’t have to be afraid of us,” Shaggy told her. “Yeah,” Scooby nodded kindly with the wag of his tail. “We’re really friendly.”

Misty then spotted the book that Aruna had torn on the floor and picked it up, inspecting the damaged cover. “The History of Space Magic… this looks like it’s really old, and well-loved.”

“It’s one of my favorites,” Umbra nodded sadly, trying to hide her tears. “But… since it’s destroyed…”

“...let me see if I can fix it,” Misty offered, taking the book into her hooves before taking a breath and closing her eyes. “I might seem a little quiet, but my strength is very real. When my cutie mark comes to life, my heart helps me feel!”

Misty’s magic poured out of her horn and into the book in her hooves, slowly repairing the book, much to Umbra's sheer delight. “I… I don’t believe it! Thank you so much!” Umbra said once the book was fully repaired. “But… w-why… why would you do that for me? We just met.”

“Well… I know it feels to be mistreated like that,” Misty said gently, sitting down right beside Umbra. “I once served somepony who wanted power too… and her name was Opaline. She was an evil fire alicorn that made me feel completely worthless as long as I was serving her.”

“That’s how Aruna makes me feel… whenever she sees me, that is,” Umbra said, though she still seemed a little bit uncomfortable. “I never did anything to make her mad at me, but… she still makes me feel completely… unseen.”

“I get that. But… you have the power to write your own story,” Misty said gently. “You don’t have to be scared of her anymore. That's exactly what Aruna wants-- to make you feel useless, frightened and completely willing to submit to her reign.”

Umbra sniffled a bit at this, knowing that Misty was probably right. And knowing that she would need some sort of effort to cheer her up, Shaggy got an idea that made him smile. “Hey… Scoob and I are actually getting hungry again. Why don’t you come with us to, like, find a couple of snacks.”

“Really?” Umbra seemed surprised. “That… that’s so nice of you. But… are you sure you want to be seen with me? If my sister finds out…”

“We won’t let her hurt you again, we promise,” Sunny said, offering her a hoof to help Umbra back onto her feet. “Trust us when we say that.”

Umbra considered this for a few moments, and after wiping away her leftover tears, sniffled and nodded, taking Sunny’s hoof. “Thanks… I guess I am a bit hungry.”

And so, Umbra was led away by her new friends, believing that as long as she had them, the endless torture her sister put her through would be over.

Unfortunately... our heroes and their friends, old and new, had no idea of what Aruna was planning, or that the alien was still on the loose.

Or that Aruna, her master and the alien were all ready to exact their revenge.

Drama and Danger Grow in Sly Moon Prime

In our last chapter, Shaggy, Scooby, Misty and Sunny saw the true nature of Aruna, the beloved Sun Jaguar on Earth-- she was actually nasty, vindictive and abusive toward her own twin sister, Umbra, who was a Moon Jaguar who had been banished to the dark side of the moon for the past 10 years, never getting to be in the daylight or see the sunrise.

Misty knew how it felt to be locked away somewhere, lost and alone, so she and the others instantly offered their friendship to her and offered to protect her from Aruna, and Umbra gladly accepted their friendship before they all went off to find something for Umbra, Shaggy and Scooby to eat.

But there was still a big problem on the moon that night-- the Sly Star One still needed to be repaired before the crew could leave for Earth again, and the alien was still out there somewhere, waiting to strike, while Aruna knew her sister was around and she needed to get her revenge on Umbra while trying to complete the tasks that Alterro has given her.

It makes all of us wonder... what is going to happen next?

Well, you better fasten your seatbelts, cause we're about to find out in just a couple of minutes.

XXXXXXXX

Back in the work area Hudson had set up, Steelcase and Elvin, along with Starshine Tide, Hitch, Izzy, Sparky, Pipp, Cassiopeia and Tidal Wave, were working on the Sly Star One to get it ready to go back to Earth.

Fred and Daphne were there too, and needless to say, Fred was rather excited to get to be working alongside his heroes. “Wow, look at all this cool stuff,” he said, holding a hammer. “I don't even know what half of it does!”

Izzy let out a yelp and immediately grabbed the hammer from mid-air as Fred tossed it aside, panting slightly. “Phew… is it me or is it kinda tough to keep up with Freddy when he’s so… all over the place?”

“You’re not wrong, Izzy,” Hitch responded back, wiping his face before feeding Sparky a cookie. “I think meeting Steelcase and Elvin is kinda getting to his head.”

“Hey, Hitch! Toss me one of those cookies, would ya?!” Starshine called out from where she was reattaching a loose piece of metal. “It’s hungry work trying to fix this thing!”

“Sure thing! Coming at ya!” Hitch said before tossing the cookie up, which Starshine immediately caught in mid-air. “Phew… thanks, Hitchster!”

That was when Fred spotted a fire hydrant-like device not too far away from the rest of the tools. “Check this out!”

Elvin looked at him a little worried as Fred tried to figure out what the device did. “Maybe you shouldn't touch that.”

“It's a coolant gel,” Steelcase explained. “Used to extinguish fires by…”

But when Fred hit the trigger, it sent a blast of gel toward Cassiopeia, Daphne and Pipp, but while Cassie was able to get out of the way, Daphne and Pipp got hit, causing them to scream and causing Steelcase to sigh to himself. “...totally emersing it in gel.”

“Fred!” Daphne cried out. “Seriously?! Come on!” Pipp groaned. “Do you know how hard this is gonna be getting it out of my mane?!”

“Sorry, girls! Let me... wow, look at this thing,” Fred picked up another canister with interest, completely forgetting about Daphne and Pipp. “I wouldn’t touch that, Fred,” Tidal warned. “It's oxygen imbued liquid nitrogen. If that goes off…”

But completely ignoring him, Fred pressed the tap and the nitrogen sprayed him, freezing him in a instant and causing Tidal to sigh irritably. “...you’ll get frozen in a block of ice.”

“Oh, wow,” Cassiopeia blinked in surprise. “That’s, uh… that’s quite a powerhouse of chemicals.”

“And this ice is thick,” Starshine said, tapping the ice with her claw. “Yikes!! And cold!”

However, as the young creatures were trying to figure out how to get Fred out of the ice, Elvin picked up a hammer and prepared to bust the ice himself… that is, until Steelcase stopped him. “Zip, what are you doing?”

Elvin looked at him as if he were crazy. “I'm gonna get him out of there.”

Steelcase approached him with a slight smirk. “Really? You think that's a good idea? You hear that?”

But, when the others lifted their ears to listen, they didn't hear a single sound... exactly what Steelcase was referring to at the time. “It’s all quiet... peaceful... no Fred talking our ears off...”

“Oh, right,” Elvin chuckled before he walked over to Fred and waved his hand at him before he tapped the ice around Fred's helmet. “How long can someone survive in that?”

“Depends,” Steelcase shrugged. “How long do you want to enjoy the blissful sound of not hearing his voice?”

“Uh... half hour?”

“Yep. Sounds about right.”

“What, what?!” Cassiopeia was immediately against the idea. “But you can't just leave him stuck in one place!”

“Cassie has a point,” Starshine agreed as Izzy and Tidal tried to pull Daphne and Pipp out of the gel. “He'II die if he stays stuck in that icy prison for a long time.”

However, Steelcase didn't seem all that worried. “Don't worry. We'II get him out after a half hour of not listening to his annoying voice. Now, hand me those calipers.”

Starshine let out a sigh before doing as she was told while the rest of the group tried to get Daphne and Pipp out of the slime.

But needless to say... this was going to take quite a long while.

XXXXXXXX

In the kitchen, U-Boat was using the microwave to heat him up some food, but as he took it out of the microwave, he heard H.A.M's voice off to the side. “Interesting.”

That was when U-Boat turned to face the somewhat human-looking robot, who was smirking to himself before he spoke again. “I thought you didn't trust anything that's not human. A microwave isn't human. Yet you let it make your food.”

U-Boat seemed to glare over at him before he went over to the cabinet and pulled out a can of tomatoes, but as he turned around, he saw H.A.M holding up an electric can opener, with the same smirk on his face. “You'll be needing this, I suppose. Another machine. See? Machines are useful. Machines are...”

However, H.A.M was cut off when U-Boat quickly crushed the can opener with one squeeze of his hand, squishing the tomato can with his other hand before walking off, leaving a nervous H.A.M to try and realize what just happened before running out of the kitchen.

U-Boat walked over to the table and emptied the tomato cans over his burritos, and Velma, who had witnessed the entire thing with Zipp, Clark, Cloudy and Shutter Snap, finally decided to speak up. “Jinkies. You really don't like robots, do you?”

Cloudy let out a slight scoff to this. “That’s the understatement of the year. As long as I've known him, machines and robots have sort of been his mortal enemy.”

That was when Clark, who had been admiring his reflection in a spoon, finally turned to look over at U-Boat. “I guess you don't take to progress very well.”

U-Boat's eyes narrowed at this. “Progress?”

“Oh, brother...” Shutter Snap immediately shuddered when she heard this. “Here we go...”

“You mean the sort of progress that put automated machines in the car factories?” U-Boat continued to question Clark, clearly not pleased. “The sort of progress that put my father and hundreds of others like him out of work when I was a kid? That sort of progress?”

And with that, U-Boat crushed the spoon that Clark was holding before grabbing his plate and walking out of the kitchen. “Geez...” Zipp muttered with a bit of fear and suspicion in her tone. “If he had his way, we wouldn't have planes let alone the technology to fly to the moon.”

Velma hummed in thought at this, and Cloudy spared her a slight glance. “I know that look by now, Velma. You can't honestly think that U-Boat is responsible for that alien thing. He's been with me through 98% of the whole trip.”

“I don’t think he's responsible yet, Cloudy,” Velma responded, looking at the doors that U-Boat left through. “I just need the evidence to prove that someone is responsible for the alien... but I'm just not sure where to look for it.”

XXXXXXXX

“So you see, Opaline was trapped in the Together Trees forever,” Sunny started to conclude the story of Opaline's final defeat to Umbra as she, Umbra, Misty, Shaggy and Scooby all walked together, “and we don’t think that she’s ever gonna come back. But if she does… we’ll be ready for her, especially since we have dragons on our side.”

“Wow... she really was a monster, just like Misty said,” Umbra muttered softly, eyes trailing to the floor. “It makes Aruna look like a saint... well, sort of.”

“Everyone, no matter who they grow up to be or what species they are, has the ability to make choices good and bad,” Misty said, her eyes filled with a gentle warmth. “And sometimes, ponies make mistakes. But it's what we do in the end that counts.”

Umbra nodded in agreement to this. “...I know that. I just hope my sister can realize it before long.”

That was when Misty noticed that Shaggy and Scooby had been pretty silent while they were talking to Umbra, getting her curious almost immediately. “Hey... is something okay, guys? I don't think I've ever heard you be this silent before.”

“We were just thinking, and… maybe U-Boat and Cloudy were right before,” Shaggy told the others with a shrug. “Maybe that alien was only in our heads.”

That was when Scooby looked outside the window and saw the alien crawling along one of the buildings, causing him to run back to the others. “Yeah, just like that alien.”

“Huh?!” the girls cried out and turned to see the alien’s tail disappearing from sight. “Uh… yep,” Misty chuckled nervously. “That alien's not really there.”

But as they walked on, the alien appeared outside of another window, causing Umbra to gulp nervously. “Neither is that one!”

And then, as their walk began to turn into a run, the alien appeared on another window, causing them to screech to a halt. “Or that one!” Shaggy cried out. “Come on, guys! This way!” Sunny exclaimed as she tried to urge her friends in another direction. “RUN!!”

“YIKES!!!” everyone shrieked and broke into a very fast run down the hallway before screeching around a corner, where Umbra saw some double doors ahead of them. “Quick! Run in there!”

“Good thinking!” Misty cried out, slightly panting as the door automatically opened for them before they ran inside, causing the door to slam shut.

This allowed the group to get their bearings, not used to being chased by something from the outside. “Like, we lost him,” Shaggy said in relief as Scooby turned around. “I think we’re okay, Scoob!”

“Yeah,” Scooby nodded to Shaggy's claim, smiling upon seeing an amazing sight in front of him. “More than okay.”

Umbra gasped as soon as she saw what Scooby was seeing. “Girls… you have to see this!”

Sunny, Misty and Shaggy slowly turned around to see what Scooby and Umbra were staring at, and they found that they were actually in a very large dining room, with different kinds of food are piled up neatly all around the room.

And seeing all this food caused Shaggy to gasp, not seeing the alien anywhere around. “There's no alien. Yup, no alien at all. We're just hungry. That's all!”

“Yeah!” Scooby nodded as he quickly ran after Shaggy. “We need to eat that alien away!”

“I don’t really know how you EAT an alien away, but… I am feeling kinda hungry myself,” Sunny shrugged before turning to Misty and Umbra. “You girls feel like joining in?”

“I thought you would never ask, Sunny-- come on!” Umbra cried before running forward, causing Sunny and Misty to laugh before they followed their friends into the dining room to eat their hearts out.

XXXXXXXX

Needless to say, Sunny, Misty and Umbra got full of their makeshift meal rather quickly, but as for Shaggy and Scooby, they continued to eat for what felt like ages before they decided to take some food to their friends working on the Sly Star One, in case they were getting hungry.

Scooby sighed rather contently as he and Shaggy carried giant stacks of food toward the doors. “Ah… I feel better already.”

“Me too, Scoob,” Shaggy nodded. “This spread is a…”

“Uh… everyone? I don’t wanna be the bearer of bad news or anything,” Umbra said, gulping nervously at something ahead of them, “but… I think we have a bit of… unwanted company.”

“Oh, no,” Misty looked worried. “Don’t tell us it’s Aruna!”

“No… it’s not her,” Umbra squeaked, her eyes wide in terror. “It’s someone much… much worse…”

That was when the two ponies, Shaggy and Scooby finally looked up and trembled upon seeing the alien towering in front of them, causing Misty to quickly fire up her horn and create a distraction. “GET DOWN!!!”

As Misty shot a beam of magic at the alien, the alien sliced through the piles of food, causing Shaggy and Scooby to run while Umbra, Sunny and Misty tried to get rid of the alien by fighting it using magic and physical combat. The alien even tried to throw a table at Shaggy and Scooby, but Sunny was able to grab it with her alicorn magic aura and threw it back at the alien, who narrowly dodged it.

Umbra was able to get Shaggy and Scooby to hide behind the dessert table, and while Umbra tried to think of a plan to get her friends out safely, Shaggy and Scooby were visibly shaking and eating from their stacks of food in order to calm their nerves. “I am so scared!” Shaggy wailed, causing Scooby to nod quickly in agreement. “Me too!”

“AGH!!!” Sunny screamed as she was suddenly tossed over the dessert table, with Misty following right after. “Girls!” Umbra cried. “Are you all right?”

“Ugh… we’re fine, thankfully,” Sunny groaned, “but that alien is a lot stronger than I thought he would be!”

Suddenly, the alien appeared behind them and smashed right through the table, revealing their hiding place and causing them to run and try and find another place to hide.

After shaking off the ice cream it had splattered on its face, the alien went toward a glass statue of Sly and sliced it with its massive claws, causing it to shatter upon hitting the floor. Then, after looking around, the alien spotted Sunny levitating Umbra onto the chandelier with Shaggy, Scooby and Misty… a chandelier much too high for any human being to jump to.

Shaggy smirked down at the alien, holding a small plate of food in his hands. “Sorry, Mr. Alien, like, this table is for the five of us.”

“Plus, you can't reach it. Unless aliens can jump really high,” Scooby added before turning to the others. “Can aliens jump really high?”

“I don’t know,” Misty shuddered, “and honestly? I really don’t wanna find out.”

Suddenly, the alien opened its mouth and emitted a high-pitched scream that broke plates, glasses and flowerpots all around the room, as well as deafening our heroes. And to make matters worse, the chandelier began to shake, causing the ponies, Umbra, Shaggy and Scooby to scream and fall to the floor, just before the chandelier came loose and fell right down on top of them. “Oh, no!” Misty strained as she tried to lift the chandelier, but to no avail. “We’re trapped!”

Upon seeing her friends so terrified for their lives, Umbra knew that she couldn’t stand by and do nothing any longer. So, she leapt out of the chandelier and onto the ground in front of the alien before roaring at the top of her lungs, startling the others and even scaring the alien.

https://youtu.be/f_xUaictohE?si=Twnn4NxR6NigOn5F

And after her roar, Umbra took on a fighting stance as wings of shadow began to appear on her back. “If you want to hurt my friends, you’re going to have to go through me first!”

The alien let out a growl of its own, but Umbra wasn’t fazed. In fact, she turned to her friends with a stern look. “Sunny! You and Misty get your friends out of here! I’ll take care of the beast!”

“Umbra, no!” Sunny tried to plead. “That thing is way too dangerous!”

“It’s a chance I have to take,” Umbra said seriously. “Just go… GO!”

And upon realizing that Umbra wasn't going to change her mind, no matter what they said, Misty and Sunny nodded as Umbra and the alien tackled one another with roars and snarls filling their throats. And while Umbra was busy battling the beast, the two ponies used the invisibility spell to sneak Shaggy and Scooby out of the room and through the double doors, hoping to find their friends before it was too late.

XXXXXXXX

It was around that time that Fred had finally been released from the hydrogen ice, and as the group took a break from working on the Sly Star One, Fred took the opportunity to talk to his heroes again… much to the others’ slight annoyance. “So you guys were on the very first mission, right? That's so cool,” Fred kept saying. “You probably have a huge following on the Internet and have your own blog, but it wasn't around then. Heck, I don't think there were even computers back then. Ha, ha.”

“Fred… I mean this in the NICEST way possible,” Pipp said gently, putting a hoof on his hand, “but… I really need you to shut up. Like, right now. Please?”

Fred smiled sheepishly at this, causing Steelcase to sigh in annoyance. “Ah, we should've left him in the ice.”

“I still can't feel my fingers,” Fred spoke up after a moment. “Would you like me to freeze him again for you?” Cassiopeia asked. “My mom taught me a freezing spell a while back that I think could…”

“No, that’s okay, Cassie. I’m sure Steelcase was just… kidding,” Tidal said with a somewhat nervous smile. “Or at least… I hope he was kidding…”

That was when Daphne spotted some blue looking liquid on the floor next to her, immediately stepping back with disgust. “Eww… what’s that?”

Steelcase looked at the puddle of liquid and then at the vents above them, automatically assuming what it was. “Condensation. Probably from the air vents.”

“Looks like alien juice to me,” Daphne said with a slightly disgusted frown. “And you’ve seen alien juice before?” Hitch raised an eyebrow, as did Sparky. “No, not exactly,” said Daphne. “But if I were to take a guess at what it looked like, I would say it would look a lot like that.”

Steelcase let out an irritated sigh at this. “Could this day get any worse?”

That was when Shaggy, Scooby, Misty and Sunny were heard screaming before they ran right into the others, causing them to collapse into a huge pile on the floor. “Sunny, guys!” Izzy panted, trying to get out from under the huge pile of people. “What’s going on? Why were you running so fast?”

“Alien! Big!” Shaggy panted as he and Scooby got up. “Attacking Umbra!”

“It hates food!” Scooby immediately blurt out, looking just as panicked as the others did. “And likes melting brains!”

“Wait, hold on a second,” Starshine raised an eyebrow. “Who’s Umbra?”

“Believe it or not,” said Sunny, “she’s Aruna’s twin sister-- a Moon Jaguar!”

“A Moon Jaguar? Seriously?” Pipp’s eyes widened in surprise. “And she’s fighting off that alien we saw on the monitors?”

“She was willing to fight it off to save us!” Misty added, her eyes wide with worry. “There’s a whole story behind Umbra later, but we can’t tell it to you right now-- we have to get back there and save her before it’s too late!”

“Wait,” Daphne immediately stopped the conversation. “Where did you leave Umbra and the alien last?”

“Dude!” Shaggy panted. “In the restaurant!”

“And you left before you were done eating?” Fred asked in surprise, causing Shaggy and Scooby to nod. “Uh-huh.”

“Okay… that definitely proves that something was in that restaurant,” Hitch said. “Shaggy and Scooby would NEVER leave any kind of food behind, and if Sunny and Misty say there’s a Moon Jaguar fighting the alien in there, I say there is!”

“And that’s the total, absolute truth!” Misty said fiercely, just before Scooby lifted a paw. “So help me, hot dogs.”

“Okay,” Elvin sighed and rolled his eyes. “Let’s go take a look.”

“Sure, why not?” Steelcase smirked slightly. “I could use a good laugh.”

“Pipp, call the others and tell them to meet us at the restaurant as fast as they can,” Sunny told the pegasus mare as they began to head toward the restaurant. “But make sure Aruna doesn’t hear about Umbra!”

Pipp seemed pretty confused at this sort of request but reluctantly did as she was told as she and her friends, both new and old, headed toward the restaurant to see what was going on with the alien and Umbra situation.

But little did they realize that Aruna did hear about this situation and was now growling with fury, her eyes glowing a sadistic orange. “They’ve joined forces with my sister?! That does it… I need to call Alterro and tell him there’s been a change in plans. If we BOTH want to get the revenge we deserve, we need to figure out this alien’s next movements and THEN strike.”

And so, making her wings appear, Aruna flew off further into the base, sort of dreading telling her ultra-powerful master that there was a change in plans, but then again, if it got her sister off of her back and those ponies off of Alterro's back for good... there didn't seem to be any use in complaining.

Completely Cut Off and the Alien Trap Begins Assembly

Umbra, the Moon Jaguar and the abused twin sister of the Sun Jaguar, Aruna, had boldly sacrificed herself to fight the alien head on while Misty, Shaggy, Scooby and Sunny made their escape and went to find their friends so they could go back and rescue her.

Of course, Elvin and Steelcase were a bit reluctant to believe that there was an actual alien inside the base, but upon hearing how dedicated the friends were to saving Umbra, they decided to go along with it and followed them in the direction of the restaurant, with Sunny instructing Pipp to tell everyone except Aruna to meet them there.

Pipp was naturally confused by the request, but she did so any way, unaware that Aruna was listening from nearby... at least, she was before she went to go tell Alterro about a slight change in plans.

Now, we're all probably wondering what's going to happen to our Equestrian heroes next, so let's get back to the story and not keep anyone waiting long, shall we?

XXXXXXXX

Umbra groaned weakly to herself as she had finished fighting with the alien, but had been left wounded after the alien had escaped.

She didn't regret trying to save her friends, however. If given the chance, she would do it all over again.

That was the first time in a long time that she actually felt the power she needed to change her circumstances.

As long as her friends were safe... that was all that mattered.

Suddenly, Hitch and Sunny kicked the restaurant doors open, and Misty, Shaggy and Scooby gasped upon seeing Umbra laying weak and wounded in the middle of the damaged restaurant. “UMBRA!!!”

“You… you all came back?” Umbra asked weakly, her eyes wide as the others rushed to her side. “But… but I…”

“Hey, don’t say anything,” Sunny said to the injured jaguar. “You need to save your strength until Misty can find a healing spell and heal those injuries.”

“Look at this,” Shannon said as she walked around the restaurant, her eyes completely wide at how much damage there was. “I’m just glad no one else got hurt.”

“Tell that to the poor spring rolls,” Shaggy said as he tried to pick up a spring roll, only for it to crumble in his hand. “Or to anybody replaced by an alien impostor,” Morpho added. “Because aliens can do that.”

“Morpho, this is SO not the time,” Zipp shot the changeling a look. “Umbra is really hurt, and we need to make sure she’s okay before doing anything else.”

“Well, there is one bright side,” Clark said with a shrug. “Better the food than the ship.”

Shaggy shot Clark a very nasty look as Scooby growled in anger, both of them clearly offended by this remark. “Watch your mouth, Hollywood.”

Shutter Snap squeaked and took a slightly frigheened step behind Clark at this, and Velma only smiled, not as phased as Clark and Shutter were. “Shaggy is very sensitive when it comes to food.”

“And, we’re all sensitive when it comes to new friends being hurt,” Pipp said as she massaged Umbra’s side to get rid of some of the pain. “This should help until your injuries are fully healed.”

“Wow… thank you, all of you,” Umbra said with a grateful smile. “You’re just as kind as Sunny and Misty made you to be.”

“Well, I’m not denying that Umbra getting hurt is bad,” Daphne said, “but it could’ve been a lot worse.”

“Exactly,” Shannon smiled at her fellow red-head. “Good point, Daphne.”

“Yes, Daphne, well done,” Velma said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Daphne before walking off with Clark, leaving Zipp and Shutter Snap to watch them leave. “It's lucky we have a space expert like you here.”

Once they were gone, Shannon looked over at Daphne in confusion. “What's that about?”

“...I have an idea,” Daphne said with a small sigh, glancing over at Zipp and Shutter, who were watching as Misty slowly began to heal Umbra’s injuries.

But that's when things began to take a dire turn for the worst.

The door to the restaurant flew open, and in came Aruna, pretending to look concerned over what had just happened. “Oh my sunspots! This looks absolutely horrid!” she gasped before spotting her sister. “And poor Umbra, you’re all banged up! Here, let me take a look at--”

Suddenly, Scooby jumped in front of Aruna and barked angrily at her, and Aruna shrieked and jumped back much to everyone’s confusion. “Scooby, heel, boy!” Hitch said, trying to keep Scooby back. “What do you think you're doing?”

“Yes, Scooby, calm down,” Aruna said gently. “I just want to check on my sister, and…”

But however, Aruna didn’t get very far when Scooby kept barking at her, causing her to shriek and back up again. “Don’t you even think about it, Aruna,” Sunny warned dangerously as she, Misty and Shaggy stood in front of Umbra. “You’re not here to check up on her, you just want to hit her again!”

“Wait, what?” Tidal looked at Aruna in shock. “Is that true, Aruna?”

“What? No!” Aruna tried to deny the truth. “I would never hit my only sister! I… I love…”

“Oh, give me a break, fish breath,” Shaggy curled his hands up into fists. “We saw you do it with our own, like, eight eyes!”

“What?” Aruna looked at him, a bit skeptical, shocked and scared all rolled into one. “What do you mean you saw me?”

“We were following Umbra’s singing when we saw you leap down and scare her. Then we saw you bully and intimidate her before you hit her across the face,” Misty recounted the entire thing to the stunned crowd. “You put on a pretty face and claim you have it all, but in the end, you have all this power and you don’t know a single thing about humility, sisterhood or true friendship.”

“HA! What makes you say that?” Aruna asked with a scoff, looking as if she were going to crack any minute as the rest of the Mane 6 slowly began to realize the true nature of Aruna's behavior. “I have friends!”

“You have to force others to pretend to be your friends!” Misty snapped bravely, causing Aruna to bare her fangs at Misty in response. “Just like Umbra! That’s control… the same thing Opaline put me through!”

Aruna snarled at this, getting right in Misty’s face. “You ungrateful little pony! I gave you all the trip of a lifetime, and this is the thanks I get?!”

“...you don’t get any thanks.”

Aruna suddenly gasped as the rest of the Mane 6, Mystery Incorporated, Cassiopeia, Tidal, Starshine and Morpho suddenly stood beside their friends, not letting Aruna past them in any shape or form. “You… you’re all teaming up with the misfit? The unwanted one?! I'm the popular one! I AM THE ONE YOU SHOULD LOVE!!!!”

“Oh, no. Don’t try and play the popular card on us,” Hitch warned, his eyes narrowing as the ponies, the hippogriffs, Cassiopeia and Morpho charged their magic threateningly. “Now… I suggest you leave us all alone while we try and conduct a thorough investigation… otherwise things aren’t gonna end well.”

Aruna snarled angrily at this, but upon seeing that everyone else was ganging up on her, she roared in their faces before running out of the restaurant, leaving everyone to collectively sigh in relief.

That was definitely too close for comfort.

Umbra took a few moments to control her breathing again before looking up at the others with a gaze that shown nothing but gratitude and happiness. “I… I’ve don't think I've ever been so confident to stand up to anyone before, especially not my sister, but… you guys just did what I could never do. T-Thank you.”

“Hey… that’s what friends do for each other, remember?” Izzy said as she nuzzled Umbra softly. “We look out for each other, always.”

However, while the groups started to comfort Umbra about her sister again, Elvin looked over at Steelcase to regain focus about the whole alien situation. “So right now, we have a total of five witnesses.”

“Right… who aren’t gonna be ready to talk anytime soon,” Steelcase rolled his eyes. “Come on, Zip, this is a joke. There's no alien and we've got work to do.”

Suddenly, there was a large bang on the door, which caused Shaggy, Scooby, Izzy, Pipp and Misty to scream and cling to each other as the door slowly opened, revealing a shadowy figure. “Uh, guys?” Izzy gulped. “I think it’s back!”

But as it turns out, the figure was just Sly Baron, wearing some sort of strange boots and floating high above everyone else. “Looks like I missed one heck of a party.”

“Well… look who shows up,” Velma said suspiciously. “Yeah,” Zipp nodded, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “And right after all the excitement.”

“Perfect timing, I'd say,” Sly spoke up before he started the conversation that brought him down there to begin with. “I was to give a satellite interview, about me, of course but it appears someone or something put it out of commission.”

“Hold on,” Cassiopeia lifted a hoof. “The satellite is out?”

“We’re cut off from Earth,” Sly Baron continued. “No way of communicating to anyone.”

Most everyone looked stunned at this, while a few of them gasped and Shaggy and Scooby whimpered in terror just before Hudson arrived. “It must have happened right before…”

“The alien attack!” Ridley assumed. “Don't worry, folks. I'll be fine. Besides, Hudson is on it,” Sly said, causing his brother to nod as he floated further into the room. “And the Slybots are preparing more food as we speak.”

“Wow! Awesome boots!” Fred pointed out Sly’s new footwear. “Yes, they are awesome. Because they are on me. They're my brother's latest magnaboot prototype,” Sly explained. “It creates a pressure-sensitive electromagnetic field for attraction.”

Clark spared a flirting glance over at Velma. “I think you might know a thing or two about electromagnetic attraction. Am I right?”

“You can't be serious,” Velma muttered. “I might throw up.”

“Really, Clark?” Shutter Snap looked at her partner with a questioning gaze. “Are you serious right now?”

“Sorry,” Clark apologized. “And repulsion,” Sly continued, demonstrating how the boots worked just as Zipp turned to her sister and friends. “That’s more accurate, I’d say.”

“Very handy in space,” Sly continued to float around. “Handy for creating a spectacle too,” Velma said with a suspicious look. “No one creates a spectacle quite like you.”

“Heh. Spectacle? Right you are, Velma Dinkley,” Sly said as he floated closer to the ground in order to face Velma fully. “And an alien attack,” Velma continued, “is the greatest spectacle of all, no?”

Sly landed in front of Velma, clearly not liking where she was going with this. “Are you suggesting I had something to do with this alien situation?”

“Well, if the boot fits…”

Velma and Sly glared at each other for a few moment until something rather peculiar happened-- Sly started laughing, much to Velma's shock and everyone's surprise. “I wish I had thought of it. And I probably would have, if I wasn't too busy doing interviews about how awesome I am. An alien encounter is a publicity gold mine. There's only one thing that would top it.”

“Ooh, ooh!” Cloudy Dash raised a hoof. “An alien space battle!”

“Well…”

“Ooh!” Daphne suddenly thought of something else. “An alien wedding!”

Sly shook his head to this. “No…”

“How about an alien cook-off?” Shaggy suggested. “No!” Sly answered before revealing his true idea. “An alien in captivity!”

Everyone seemed to stare at Sly for a few moments before Tidal spoke up with a raised eyebrow. “Too bad for you there's no alien to capture.”

“Hey,” Morpho challenged. “You can’t say for certain that…”

“Oh, yes, we can,” Elvin got in Morpho and Ridley’s faces. “Last count, I'm pretty sure Colt and I have been to space a whole lot more times…”

“Gentlemen. Ladies. Please!” Shannon pleaded, getting between the two groups to calm the situation down a bit. “It's been a long day. We're all tired, and maybe it's making us a little uneasy. Why don't we all get some sleep?”

“Excellent suggestion, Shannon,” Sly smiled. “I’m glad I thought of it.”

“Hmph!” Sparky huffed, crossing his little paws as Sly began speaking again. “A few hours' sleep will do us all good. The Sly Star should be ready by then too. Right, brother?”

“Yes,” Hudson nodded. “Uh-huh.”

Then, while Sly flew off and Hudson went to go work on the Sly Star One again, Ridley, Shannon, H.A.M, Clark, Elvin and Steelcase walked into three elevators and the doors shut in front of them, leaving Mystery Inc, the Mane 6, Sparky and their new friends alone. “Uh, guys… I didn’t wanna say it in front of the others,” Starshine said uneasily, “but I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep with that alien or… whatever threatened the ship… still out there.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Scooby agreed, and Shaggy rubbed the top of his head in comfort. “You guys really do think there’s an alien out there?” Zipp asked the others in surprise. “I didn’t think you guys believed Ridley and Morpho’s crazy talk. Oh… no offense.”

Morpho rolled his eyes at this. “None taken, I guess.”

“We’re not exactly sure if there’s a real alien or not, but… we do have faith in all of you,” Cassiopeia said boldly. “Right. And if you guys wanna do something to stop the alien,” said Cloudy, “then we’re willing to do whatever it takes to help.”

“Guys,” Velma sighed irritably, “there’s no alien!”

“But, Velma,” Daphne argued, “we all saw it.”

“Oh, I forgot,” Velma said sarcastically, making the group a little uneasy. “You’re the expert now!”

“Are you still mad at me because I scored higher than you on the test?” Daphne asked with a huff, putting her hands on her hips. “And have better hair?”

She waved her hair around for emphasis, causing Pipp to put a hoof on Daphne’s shoulder. “Daph, I get you’re trying to make a point here, but… now’s not really the time.”

“Pipp’s right for once, guys. I need you to take a break from arguing,” Fred told Daphne and Velma sternly. “We’re a team.”

“And even if I’m new to this group, I do know that there’s only one way to find out if this alien is real or not,” Umbra pointed out. “We’ve got to catch it.”

Suddenly, an elevator bell dinged and everyone else quickly turned around to see Ridley standing by the elevators, ready to help. “Did someone say… ‘catch an alien’?”

Suddenly, Ridley looked back at H.A.M, who was playing the dramatic music before going up in the elevator again.

Needless to say… the group might actually need Morpho and Ridley’s expertise on aliens in order to actually succeed in catching the alien… whether it was real or not.

XXXXXXXX

Within the next half hour, the Slybots and a majority of the group were gathering supplies for Fred's trap idea, all while Fred smiled off to the side. “This is gonna be the greatest alien trap ever.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Freddy,” Sunny said as she finished pushing some supplies over with Izzy, “but isn’t this also the FIRST alien trap ever?”

“It's also an act of war,” Ridley added coldly. “All the more reason to make it perfect,” Fred added. “Plus I wanna impress Elvin and Steelcase.”

Morpho rolled his eyes sarcastically at this. “Kind of tough to impress them if they aren't here.”

“Have you considered that they may not warm up to you, no matter what you do?” Daphne asked. “No,” Fred shook his head. “Why?”

Daphne only sighed in response. “No reason.”

“Phew… okay, guys, I think that’s all the supplies for right now,” Tidal said as she and her cousin landed right near them. “My claws and wings are exhausted!”

“Thanks, guys. Take a nice long break, and then we’ll handle the rest,” Misty told the others, who flopped down on the floor in exhaustion just as Ridley glanced over at the supplies they had gathered. “Aliens would laugh at this trap if they had a sense of humor. But they don't.”

Zipp sighed wearily at this before looking up at Ridley. “Okay, for fun, let's say aliens are real. What do you think is gonna happen?”

“Oh, boy… you might’ve struck a nerve with that one,” Morpho said, sitting down. “Ridley’s theory is gonna go on for a while.”

But deciding to ignore the changeling’s comments, Ridley began her own theories while the others listened with slight interest and slight bewilderment. “This is Phase 1… contact. A single alien from a race advanced light years beyond ours stealthily boards a human ship with ease. The alien makes contact. It seems hostile. But it's not after blood. It's gathering intel. On us.”

“On us?” Hitch gulped nervously, causing Sparky to whimper. “Okay… despite suffering from my sister’s abuse,” said Umbra, “that REALLY doesn’t sound good.”

“The alien pinpoints our weaknesses and transmits his findings home,” Ridley continued, pacing around. “So begins Phase 2… invasion. An alien fleet enters our solar system. An armada of infinite size and power, it surrounds its target, Earth, and attacks. Our meager defenses are no match for its vastly superior might. The world's great cities are devastated by the siege. New York. Tokyo. Paris. Dublin. Which leads to Phase 3... rock bottom. The aliens enslave humanity, forcing us to mine Earth's natural resources until we and the planet are bled dry.”

Izzy whimpered and grabbed Misty in complete terror as Morpho let out a heavy sigh. “In short, not so good for us,” he added. “Not until…”

“Human rebels rise up against their alien oppressors!” Fred interrupted, catching everyone offguard. “Oh, yeah yeah yeah!” Cloudy Dash agreed with a confident smile on her face. “They fight from the shadows, turning alien technology against its makers!”

“Wait, what?” Ridley seemed surprised by their sudden enthusiasm. “No, no, no. As I was saying…”

“Humans stick together when facing a monumental challenge,” Daphne added, putting her hands on her hips. “They fight with instead of against each other when confronting a common threat.”

“Ooh, I like the sound of that idea!” Pipp nodded. “Maybe we could even use makeup on those alien freaks! Besides, from all the sci-fi movies I’ve seen, they could DEFINITELY use it.”

Shaggy laughed as he got his own idea. “I could use my superior video-game skills!”

“Hey, this is my thing,” Ridley tried to interject. “I get to say what…”

However, Velma had already gotten into Daphne’s face by this point. “It takes more than teamwork and video games to defeat the aliens,” she said fiercely. “It takes a particularly clever human whose skills are sometimes overlooked by her fellow humans.”

“Great…” Ridley muttered, looking defeated as Morpho became a bit interested in what the others had to say. “Nothing left for me to say but…”

Suddenly, Scooby whispered an idea into Umbra and Sunny’s ears, causing them both to smile. “Or maybe,” said Sunny, “as per Scooby’s own suggestion, we should try and be friends with the aliens. They might be there for their own domination…”

“But,” Umbra added, “that doesn’t mean we can’t treat them like outsiders. We could treat them all as one of us, and make them feel welcome on Earth instead of trying to destroy it.”

“Okay… I hate to admit it,” Morpho admitted, “but that’s actually not a bad plan.”

“Yeah!” Shutter Snap added with a smile. “We could all be friends, and we could show them our traditions while they can show us theirs!”

“Ugh! This is ridiculous!” Ridley grumbled out of annoyance before storming off. “I’m leaving.”

“Ridley…” Morpho tried to go after her, but Ridley already walked into an elevator and shut the door, leaving the group alone. “Great…”

“You didn’t have to agree to our idea if you didn’t want to, Morpho,” Umbra said gently. “I know you and Ridley share a lot of the same ideas.”

“We do, but… I guess I never thought about being friends with an alien before,” Morpho said with an uneasy shrug. “I guess since changelings in my family have always been bred to defend themselves, I guess I had to be the same way.”

“Hey… I know how you feel. A long time ago, earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns feared each other over their powers and spread horrible rumors about each other,” Hitch said. “But… once we all got to know each other, we realized that none of those rumors were actually true.”

“And that,” Zipp smiled, “was now magic came back and how we all became friends.”

“Wow… I guess I never thought about all the troubles that the ponies of Equestria have been through,” Cloudy said thoughtfully. “All of us had been raised on Earth, but our ancestors all lived in Equestria, so…”

Suddenly, the lights began to flicker on and off, causing Umbra to shriek in surprise. “It’s starting… they’re here!” Fred said optimistically. “Places, everyone!”

“We’ll go make sure our friends are safe,” Shutter Snap offered, taking Sparky onto her back. “And we’ll look after Sparky too. Just… be careful.”

“We will,” Sunny said gently. “We promise.”

And so, exchanging good luck hugs and farewells, everyone split up to their assigned areas of the base, ready to catch this so-called alien once and for all so they could put themselves at ease before the flight back to Earth.

Shannon and Aruna Arrested/A Happy Homecoming

Our heroes had successfully gotten off the dark side of the moon just as Sly Moon Prime exploded, leaving nothing behind... well, all except for Alterro, who had been frozen in ice by Umbra just before the Mane 6 and their friends ran toward the ship.

And with Umbra making a shield to protect her friends and with Daphne piloting the ship (when everyone else who could be capable of flying the ship got knocked out) they were now barreling through the atmosphere in an attempt to stop Shannon and Aruna's plan.

But the real question that stuck in everyone's minds was... could they do it in time?

Well, let's pull up a seat and find out in the final, hair-raising chapter of our story.

XXXXXXXX

Upon returning to Earth, Shannon and Aruna put on their best sad faces when they were swarmed by reporters, and Aruna shed some crocodile tears during her statement. “And it was this terrible alien that destroyed the station, my sister and… my friends…!!”

“Space is no place for the average person,” Shannon said, pretending to comfort Aruna. “It’s for trained astronauts, like me.”

That was when a rather familiar voice, Fred’s voice, spoke up, causing Shannon and Aruna to gasp in shock. “That's a great story…”

Everyone quickly turned to see the Mane 6, the gang and all of their friends walking out of the smoke from where the ship had landed just a little while before now, and Fred held a tape from Shutter Snap’s camera in his hand. “...if it were true.”

“What?!” Aruna looked stunned. “But… but how…?”

“You’ll wanna play this tape, boys,” Shutter Snap called out to a nearby camera crew, who were in the van at the time. “Its evidence will be very… enlightening.”

Fred tossed the tape to the man inside the news van, who put the tape on a player inside the reporter van and a recording of Shannon and Aruna revealing their plan began to play for the entire city to see for themselves.

“And just to be certain you never leave, I've planted thermal charges like this one throughout the complex.”

“The glass is also indestructible to magic, so your little defenses won’t work on it. And thanks to Alterro’s magic, they’ll be set to go off in exactly ONE hour, so you don’t have very long to live.”

“You can't put a price on this sort of fame. Besides, returning as a hero will bring me all the money Aruna and I could ever want.”

All of the reporters and bystanders gasped as Shannon and Aruna glared at the heroes, just as Zipp lifted the head of the alien disguise for all to see. “Shannon and Aruna were the alien-- a fake alien, might I add!”

And with that, Hitch kicked the alien head in front of Shannon and Aruna, but while Aruna growled at her sister and her friends, Velma stepped forward to make her OWN statement. “Sly was right, space travel is for everyone. Sure it takes training, but maybe it all starts with an adventurous spirit, an imaginative mind, a brave heart, and good old-fashioned…”

“Money,” Sly added, sticking his head in. “Tons of the stuff.”

“Sly, please,” Sunny sighed. “We’re kind of in the middle of a moment here.”

“Sorry,” Sly apologized to the earth pony/alicorn mare before backing away. “...and good old-fashioned curiosity,” Velma then began to conclude her speech. “Who knows what's out there, but isn't that the very reason to go?”

Everyone began to applaud and cheer at these words, and within a few moments, the crowd began to boo at Shannon and Aruna as they were led away by the police.

But before they could reach the police car, Aruna spotted her sister and called over to her. “When I get out of prison, you’re going to be sorry for what you’ve…”

“No. You’re not going to get out of prison anytime soon, Aruna, and I’m not sorry for anything I’ve done. I’m actually proud of myself,” Umbra said, standing up to her sister for what felt like the first time in ages. “I have friends here who I consider my true family… unlike you.”

Aruna snarled at this, but as she was about to slap Umbra again, Scooby snarled at her from behind, causing her to yowl in surprise to find the other members of the gang and the Mane 6, including Sparky, standing behind them. “Don’t even think about it,” Hitch threatened. “Take them away, officers.”

“RAGH!!!” Aruna screamed in anguish. “And we would’ve gotten away with this, too, if it weren’t for you ANNOYING mortals, my so-called sister and that comet-crazy mutt of yours!!”

And with that, Aruna and Shannon were stuffed into a police car before being led away from the scene. “Umbra… are you okay?” Izzy asked. “Yes… I’m better than okay, now that my sister is finally out of my paws, and… I’m free to see the sunshine again,” Umbra smiled. “Thanks to all of you.”

Zipp sighed and looked up toward the sky, a bit sad upon remembering something. “I just wish Alterro hadn’t gotten that piece of the map. Now, he’s one step closer to finding Skyros.”

Umbra cleared her throat at this, a hidden smile playing across her face. “About that…”

And with a grand flourish, she revealed another piece of paper from out of nowhere, handing it to Sunny, who inspected it with a gasp, eyes wide in shock. “This… this is the map piece! How did you get it away from Alterro?!”

“To be honest, I didn’t,” Umbra shrugged. “I gave him a fake.”

“A fake? But… how…?” Hitch stammered. “Look, I knew he wasn’t going to let Sparky go until you ponies surrendered to him, and after finding the REAL map piece in one of my books, I knew it had to be something important,” Umbra admitted. “So, I made another copy of it using some old paper, and I gave THAT to Alterro for Sparky while I kept the real piece of the map hidden. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what I planned, but it was to save Sparky’s life.”

“Are you kidding? That was the most genius thing any of us could’ve done!” Fred smiled. “You not only saved us AND Sparky… you saved the ponies’ chances of finding Skyros and Sunny’s mom.”

“So… what are you gonna do now?” Izzy asked Umbra curiously as Starshine, Tidal, Cassiopeia and Morpho approached. “Well,” Umbra said with a smile, “me and a few of my new friends talked it over, and… we’re all going to go sight-seeing for the first few weeks, to get my accustomed to being back on Earth.”

“That sounds like a great plan to me,” Zipp said with a warm expression on her face. “Come on… we’ll help you guys plan a route so you can see the best of everything.”

XXXXXXXX

At the same time, Shaggy and Scooby were approaching U-Boat and Cloudy Dash to say their final goodbyes. “Like, dude, it was real swell meeting you, U-Boat,” Shaggy said. “And you too, Cloudy.”

“Yeah, yeah, swell,” Scooby nodded enthusiastically. “Shaggy, Scooby, it was a real blast,” Cloudy smiled. “And you guys are gonna get front row seats to our next game, count on it.”

“Come here,” U-Boat said before pulling all three of them into a tight hug, which squeezed them a bit, but surprisingly… Shaggy and Scooby didn’t mind at all.

XXXXXXXX

Not too far away, Daphne approached Velma with a guilty expression on her face. “Velma, I'm sorry. I should have seen that Shannon wasn't really a true friend and that you were always my best friend.”

“Aww… thanks, Daphne. And I’m sorry too… I should’ve never believed Aruna’s manipulation to begin with,” Velma said with a smile. “But you never know. Maybe you and…”

Suddenly, a bunch of cameras flashed in order to get a good picture of Daphne, and several reporters spoke up to her.

“Tell us about your trip, Daphne.”

“How do you keep your hair looking so good in zero gravity?”

“Over here. I need some shots of the hair-- it’s beautiful!”

Daphne scoffed with a light smile. “My hair? There are far more important things to talk about than hair,” she said, turning back to Velma. “Like friendship and support. Now, that's worth a story.”

The Mane 6 watched this from afar, just before they saw the portal opening up not too far away to take them back to Equestria, causing Misty to sigh. “It always has to take us at the worst moment… but I guess we do need to get back to the Trail Trotters and fill them in on everything that happened.”

“You guys go on ahead,” Fred reassured the ponies. “Shag, Scoob and I will join the girls and tell them that you had to leave.”

“Thanks, Freddy,” Hitch smiled. “Hope to see you guys soon.”

“We do too,” Shaggy said, and once exchanging another batch of farewells, the Mane 6 leapt through the portal just before it closed.

XXXXXXXX

However, as the Mane 6 disappeared into the portal, Ridley sat down on the curb of the sidewalk, feeling a bit down and out about one revelation she never got to solve while in space. “So, I guess there are no aliens after all.”

“Ohh… I wouldn’t say that, Ridley,” Hudson said gently, sitting beside her and looking up at the stars. “Space is too big, who knows what's out there.”

Ridley glanced up at the sky before noticing a shooting star streaking across the dark night. “You must’ve been lonely up there.”

“No less lonely,” Hudson said, turning to face her, “than someone who believes in something when nobody else does.”

However, their peaceful moment was interrupted when Ridley looked over at the destroyed ship they had used to get back to Earth. “Uh, it looks like your ship is ruined.”

“Yes…” Hudson nodded. “But, it wouldn't take me long to have her back in shape, and maybe if, uh, somebody were to come with me, I wouldn't mind going back up there. See what we might find.”

Ridley looked over at him with a grateful smile. “You mean, a copacetic prime directive involving a dual-core system drive with a high probability of some elementary binary codex and interface time?”

“...I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

XXXXXXXX

A little while later, Fred was giving Daphne another driving lesson in the Mystery Machine, but Daphne, needless to say... was struggling a bit. “Easy,” Fred coaxed, “just let the clutch out easy…!!”

“Jeepers!” Daphne yelped as the Mystery Machine screeched to a halt. “I'm trying, Fred. Something must be wrong with the pedal.”

“Okay,” Fred said gently, “calm down…”

“I am calm!”

“Daph,” Velma tried to speak up, “why don’t you try…?”

“Velma, why don't you try not being a back-seat driver?” Daphne asked with a serious look, wanting to do this on her own. “I flew a spaceship for goodness sake. I think I can handle the Mystery Machine.”

“Okay, okay,” Velma said, holding her hands up in a peaceful gesture. “Just trying to help.”

“Go ahead,” Fred urged, and Daphne put the Mystery Machine into gear… only to speed forward very quickly. “Easy, easy, easy…!!!”

Everyone screamed as the Mystery Machine flew out of the parking garage, giving Scooby time to howl one last phrase to the moon and stars above. “Scooby-Dooby-Doo….!!!!!!”

Another Unity Quest was over, but like we all know, this wouldn’t be the last time our heroes would encounter their friends.

There were still more map pieces to go until the Mane 6 found Skyros and Sunny’s mother… but until then, they would be quite content back home with their friends and families.