> G5 Adventures in Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! meets Courage the Cowardly Dog
>  by ponydog127
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Misty's Family Questions/Runaway Scooby
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was only a couple of days after the ponies arrived back to Maretime Bay from Bikini Bottom, the first crystal shaped like Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark was placed inside the tree in the town square.

And by Zipp's calculations, there were only seven crystals left to find. 

Now, the only question was... where would the Unity Quest take them to find the next crystal? 

XXXXXXXXX 

Misty was sitting on Sunny's bed, pondering to herself about a lot of things... more specifically, about her mother, to which Opaline said abandoned her when she was only a filly.

Of course, Misty wasn't sure what to believe. Opaline was a ruthless monster that didn't deserve to be believed, but... what if in some twisted way... Opaline was right?

What if her family wanted nothing to do with her anymore... or ever?

“Misty...?”

The blue unicorn turned to see her friends approaching, causing her to quietly sigh. “Are you okay? Ever since we came back from Bikini Bottom,” said Sunny, “you’ve been… I don’t know… distant.”

“Just… trying to figure this whole ‘mom abandoning me’ stuff,” Misty said, shuffling through her notes. “If I can figure out somepony who knew her, I could find out more about her.” 

“Well, we don’t know anything about the whole 'finding family secrets' whatchamacallit,” said Izzy, “but we do know of a special somepony from Bridlewood coming to visit! You did say you wanted to learn more about where we unicorns are from. Maybe he can help!”

“Yeah!” Zipp agreed. “And maybe he knew your mom!”

Misty immediately perked up at that. “Really? You think so?”

“Absolutely! Come on, Misty-Twisty!” Izzy chirped, grabbing her friend’s hoof and dragging her downstairs. When they got downstairs, a gray unicorn stallion with a white mane and tail and a cutie mark of a tea kettle was waiting down there, and he looked quite surprised to see Misty with them. “Hey, Alphabittle!” Izzy said cheerfully. “This is our friend Misty! Misty, this is Alphabittle Blossomforth, leader of the Bridlewood unicorns.”

“Oh, um… hello,” Misty said to the stunned stallion. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Misty…?” Alphabittle said softly as he approached, tears in his eyes and a bewildered and amazed expression plastered on his face. “Is… is it really you? I mean… I-I haven’t seen you since you were a filly, and… I didn’t think your mother would let me see you again after she took you from me…”

“My… my mother?” Misty asked in surprise. “You knew my mother?”

“I did. Her name was Paradise Moonray, and she was the most caring pony I’d ever met,” Alphabittle said thoughtfully. “She had you after a year or two of us being together, and you were the sweetest filly I’d ever laid my eyes on. But then, one night… she took you, and I was never able to find you.”

“Alphabittle…” Hitch said quietly as the ponies stared with wide eyes. “Are you saying… w-w-what we think you’re saying?”

The stallion sighed, nodded and turned back to Misty. “I don’t know how to sugarcoat this, Misty, so I’m going to flat out admit it. I… I’m your father.”

Misty felt her blood run cold and her eyes widen at this. “My… my what? I… I don’t… I don’t understand!”

“It’s a lot to take in, sweetie,” Alphabittle said gently, “but if you’ll let me, I’ll tell you the entire story.”

XXXXXXXX

Back in the mortal world, Scooby Doo and his pack of mystery-solving friends had just wrapped up another case; this one of a scary clown robbing the town bank, and thanks to some quick detective work, they were able to catch the clown in the act. “Great work, everybody!” Daphne exclaimed, preparing to take off the clown’s mask. “And now, let’s see who this bank-robbing clown really is.” 

“Daphne, wait!” Scooby cried as Shaggy began taking several selfies of himself, Scooby and the clown. “Yeah,” Shaggy nodded. “Like, Scoob and I have gotta take some pics!” 

“Yeah, yeah. Pictures,” Scooby giggled, and they proceeded to take more selfies until the clown growled and scared them. “I thought you guys were afraid of clowns,” Fred said to the trembling duo. “And selfies,” Velma added, only for Scooby to smile. “We’re getting help.” 

“Like, self-help help, in fact,” Shaggy added. “It’s, like, a book on tape.”

He pulled out his phone and pressed a button, causing the phone to begin speaking. “Being scared is for chickens. Are you a chicken?”

“No,” Shaggy and Scooby responded in unison. “We are NOT chickens!”

“I’m a dog,” Scooby huffed. “Then face your fears. Do something you’re afraid of every single day,” the phone told them before Shaggy put the phone back in his pocket. “So,” said Shaggy, “like, that’s what we were doing. We were doing something we’re afraid of by taking a selfie with that scary clown!”

“And nothing,” Scooby repeated, “is scarier than a scary clown.”

“Well, that’s great, guys!” Fred congratulated. “How is it working out?” Daphne asked them. “Man,” Shaggy shrugged, “we don’t really know.”

“Yeah,” Scooby nodded. “We just started.”

That’s when the gang heard the clown clearing his throat, realizing they were getting off-track. “So now,” Daphne said for the second time, “let’s see who this bank-robbing clown really is.”

She pulled off the clown’s mask, allowing them to see the face underneath. “The bank manager, Mr. McGill?!” the gang gasped. “It all makes perfect sense,” Velma said, beginning to explain. “You see, Mr. McGill only took the job as bank manager so he could pull off the bank heist of the century…”

Suddenly, a strange sound began to ring in Scooby's ears, and different colors began to flash in Scooby's eyes, rendering him totally confused. Then, when his friends' voiced started to sound like warbles and wobbles, that's when the strangest thing began to happen.

Scooby started dancing!

His bottom began to wiggle around with no sign of stopping, and he tried to stop them every way he knew how, but everything he tried failed.

Shaggy then turned to ask him a question, but Scooby couldn't take all the strange occurrences and ran for the hills, howling in panic. “Dudes! Scooby-Doo just ran off!” Shaggy cried to the others. “Like, we gotta go after him, man! Come on!”

“What?!” Fred cried as Daphne and Velma gasped. “He just ran off?”

“Jeepers, why?” Daphne asked. “Like, I have no idea!” Shaggy shook his head, leading Velma to make a decision. “We better find out!”

“Yeah, gang! Come on, let's go! Let's go!” Shaggy said to his friends as they rushed toward the Mystery Machine. “I am so so sorry not to finish this sooner,” Daphne apologized to Mr. McGill. “It's a bit of a family emergency. You understand.”

“Absolutely,” Mr. McGill stated. “Good luck.”

And just like that, the Mystery Machine sped off into the streets. “Scooby-Doo! Scooby-Doo!” Shaggy cried repeatedly. “Where are you?!”

“It's okay, Shaggy, don't worry. I know exactly where he is,” Velma handed him her tablet. “Ever since Zipp helped me install that tracking chip in Scooby-Doo's collar, we can't loose him!”

Shaggy kissed Velma on the head out of excitement. “Yes! Velma Dinkley, man, you are all kinds of genius!” he exclaimed. “Step on it, Fred! We gotta catch up with Scooby!”

Fred slammed on the gas, and the Mystery Machine sped off into the desert night.

But one thing was for sure... Scooby could be anywhere by now, so they really had to step up their search.

XXXXXXXXX 

“Wow...” Misty trailed off after Alphabittle told her and her friends the entire story. “I never knew the unicorns in Bridlewood went through so much after magic disappeared. And... I can't believe I ever thought that Opaline was my real mother... and you were out here all alone without Mom.”

“But what matters is, we're together now,” Alphabittle lifted up her chin. “And nothing is going to break us apart again.”

Suddenly, the cutie marks of the ponies began to glow, making Misty sigh. “I wish we could keep talking, Dad, but somepony out there needs our help. Can you wait here until we come back? Maybe we can go for a walk through Maretime Bay when we get home. Plus, Sparky needs to be taken care of.”

“Of course,” Alphabittle nodded. “Go do what you need to do, guys. Sparky and I will be right here.”

“All right, ponies-- up to the Unity Crystals!” Sunny said to her friends. “We have another crystal to find!”
> Arriving in Nowhere, Kansas
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scooby howled in fear as he ran away as fast as his legs could take him, not caring where he was going at the moment. 

Anything to get away from that alarming sound.

Suddenly, he was forced to stop as his body jolted repeatedly, eyes flashing different colors and his ears being infected with that strange sound before he flopped on his back, the strange sensation coming to an end.

And even though he was tired from running such a long way, Scooby thanked the heavens above that this ordeal was finally over.

When he finally got to his senses again, his eyes widened at the rickety old farm house in the distance, never seeing this area before in his life-- especially an area so... dead and lifeless. “Where am I...?” he wondered, getting back up on his paws and looking around. How far had he come? And how was he gonna get home?

Looking toward the farmhouse, Scooby assumed that maybe someone there could help him get directions to get back to the city, and started walking that way. 

But suddenly, a portal opened up in front of him, and Sunny, Misty and all their friends leapt from it and right in front of him. “Hey! I think that was actually a smoother landing than last time!” Zipp laughed. “I think we're getting the hang of this whole portal thing!”

“Ponies!” Scooby cried, his tail wagging. “Good to see you!”

“Good to see you too, Scooby-Doobers!” Pipp affectionately scratched his head. “Hey... where's Shaggy and the others? Shouldn't they be with you too?”

Scooby frowned and whimpered in response. “Uh-oh... I think poor Scooby here got lost,” Misty said with a frown, “and he doesn't know how to get home!”

“Poor guy... hey, wait a minute,” Sunny looked at their surroundings. “I don't even recognize this place. Not even that old farm house over there.”

“Why do you think that the crystals sent us HERE of all places to find the second cutie mark crystal?” Hitch pawed at the dry ground with his hoof. “I don't know... yet. But maybe somepony at that farmhouse might,” Sunny said as she and her friends started walking in that direction. “Come on, Scooby... we'll explain the story on the way.”

XXXXXXXXX

Little did Scooby and any of the ponies know, this farmhouse belonged to an elderly couple named Eustace and Muriel Bagge, and with them, for the longest time, lived a pink dog named Courage, who ironically, was scared of everything.

But despite being overly frightened of everything around him, Courage was extremely loyal and sweet, willing to do anything for his humans... and the little sphinx cub from a land called Equestria that he found under the house one morning.

Eclipse Colorglow was a black sphinx cub with a green blue and purple mane, the same colors on her tail tuft, light blue-violet eyes, black and rainbow feathers on her wings and rainbow stripes on her back and on her face.

After being abandoned at such a young age, Eclipse was a little distrustful of strangers... until she met Courage. Meeting someone that she could relate to really brought Neon out of her shell, and after seeing how well she got along with Courage, Muriel happily welcomed her to their family. And Eustace... well... he tolerated her welcome.

But none of them saw what would be coming for them next.

XXXXXXXXX 

On this particular night, Courage and Eclipse were both hearing the same sound that Scooby was hearing, and the sounds, the eyes glowing and the uncontrollable dancing was driving Courage crazy while Eclipse only tried to cover her ears with her paws and squeeze her eyes shut.

But, Courage's constant howling was driving Eustace crazy, making him growl in annoyance. “Hush it!” Eustace barked. “I can't hear the dang TV.”

But to Courage, all that talking was just a bunch of nonsense, and the noise ringing in Eclipse’s ears was driving her crazy. “Eustace, I think Courage is trying to tell you something!” she said. “It’s this strange sound! It's making Courage really uncomfortable!”

Courage imitated the sound to agree with her, even showing how the sound was making him dance to prove it. “Uh-huh, okay, I see. But what do you think about this?!”

Eustace pulled out a terrifying mask and growled from it, causing Courage to scream and bolt outside. “Courage, wait up!” Eclipse said as she flew out after him, and once they were gone, Eustace chuckled to himself. “Finally, a little peace and quiet.”

XXXXXXXXX 

“Ohhh… I don’t know why he doesn’t like us, Courage,” Eclipse said to her friend as they went outside, “but I’m really getting tired of him treating us like trash.”

Suddenly, there came the sound again, even louder than before, making Courage whimper nervously. “That sound is even closer than before!” Eclipse realized, looking around cautiously. “Stay close, buddy. Neither of us need to be alone.”

So, the two of them started walking backwards just as Scooby and the ponies arrived, and suddenly, the ponies could hear the sound too. “Whoa!” Zipp said, shaking her head from the powerful sound. “I can see why you don’t like that sound, Scoob! We better stay close until we can figure out what’s making it.”

So, the group of seven backed up as well… right into Courage and Eclipse, making the group scream, startled. Scooby and Courage continued to scream for a moment before they calmed down, sniffing each other for a moment before Sunny gasped. “You’re a sphinx cub and a little dog!”

“Uh-huh,” Courage nodded. “Oh, what a coincidence!” Izzy said. “Scooby is a dog too!”

“Oh…”

“Hey… how’d you know I was a sphinx?” Eclipse asked Sunny. “My dad told me all about them when I was younger. Hey… are you two hearing a weird sound like we are?”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh,” Courage nodded. “Did it go like this?” Scooby asked before imitating that same sound. “Uh-huh!” Courage jumped up and down. “And,” Misty added, “did it make you dance?”

Scooby suddenly started dancing again, and Courage nodded and did the same dance he was doing earlier, making Scooby grin… maybe he wasn’t going crazy after all! “Me too!”

Both dogs giggled happily before Eclipse sighed. “I thought it was just me and Courage hearing that racket, but I’m glad that was proven untrue. My name is Eclipse Colorglow, and this is my best buddy Courage.”

“Hello,” Courage waved a little paw to them. “I’m Sunny, and these are my friends,” Sunny said before introducing the group one by one. “Zipp Storm, Izzy Moonbow, Misty Brightdawn, Hitch Trailblazer, Pipp Petals and Scooby-Doo. We have more friends, but… Scooby kinda left them behind when he first heard the sound.”

“Aww, poor guy,” Eclipse frowned and patted Scooby’s head with her paw. “Well, I’m sure we can find you a place to stay until this all blows over. Come on, we’ll just head over to the house, and--” 

Eclipse was suddenly cut off when the ground began to rumble from underneath them, making them stagger for balance… right until a bunch of giant bugs began to come up from the ground! “AHHHHHH!!!!” the group screamed, hunkered together as the bugs got closer. The giant insects continued to hiss and growl until Zipp leapt up on one of their heads, knocking it out. “Ponies, follow my lead! Make sure they don’t touch Eclipse and the dogs!”

“Right!” the others shouted, and began to mimic what she was doing, knocking most of the bugs unconscious. Unfortunately, there were too many to catch up with, and one of them ended up tossing Misty backwards. “There’s too many of them, Sunny! We can’t keep up!” 

“What are we gonna do?!” Pipp asked, freaking about the bugs drawing closer. But before Sunny had time to think of a plan, a familiar van drove in at top speed, either squishing the bugs flat or causing them to retreat underground, its headlights blinding the group temporarily. When the doors of the van opened, the group let out a shriek, but once Sunny saw who it was, she and the others instantly calmed down. “It’s our friends!” Scooby cried in relief. “Oh…” Courage said before waving. “Hello!”

“Sunny! You and the ponies found Scooby!” Velma said in relief. “Thank goodness!”

But before the group could get closer, another giant bug popped up in their path. “Ew…” Daphne groaned before using a croquet mallet to knock the bug a good distance away. “Whoa, nice one, Daph!” Fred commented. “That had to be 500 yards, at least.”

“Thanks, Freddy. I've been working on my swing, and it's a win-win,” Daphne smiled. “I get to practice and I hate bugs.”

“They’re cicadas,” Velma said as she scanned the bugs, “in their pre-molted exoskeletal form. But they're huge. Huh. I've never seen them grow that size. Fascinating…”

“And, there’s some sort green slime,” Zipp said after she stepped in the substance. “Blech…”

In the meantime, Shaggy approached Scooby and hugged him out of relief. “Hey, Scooby-Doo, old buddy. What was that about?” he asked in concern. “You had me, like, totally terrified, and worried, and panicked, and freaked out and everything!!!”

“Sorry, Shaggy,” Scooby apologized. “I heard a sound.”

“And we heard it too when we first got here,” Sunny said. “It sure was strange… a sound not even I’ve heard of before.”

Suddenly, something filled the animals’ ears… silence. “Huh?” Eclipse looked at her friends. “It stopped!”

“Uh-huh,” Courage nodded. “Uh-huh.”

Hitch hummed in thought. “What could be making a sound that only animals, and I’m not calling us animals, can hear?” he wondered. “A fancy kind of whistle?”

“Sounded less like a whistle and more like a migraine to me,” Misty shrugged. “But, it definitely is strange. And I noticed that our eyes were changing colors too, so it has to be some sort of supernatural effect.”

Suddenly, the door opened, and out came an older woman wearing glasses with a mixing bowl in her hands. “Eclipse, Courage! There you are!” she said kindly. “Oh, and you made some new friends. How nice. Sweeties, why don't you invite all your new friends inside? I'm making my special Scottish dream cookies with extra, extra, extra butter.”

The sound of cookies instantly made the ponies’ mouths, along with the mouths of Shaggy, Scooby, Courage and Eclipse, water, and Shaggy instantly grinned and turned to the others. “Like, dude, that sounds extra, extra, extra good to me.”

“Yeah,” Scooby nodded. “Extra extra extra delicious!”

“And we do need a place to stay until we can solve this Unity Quest,” Zipp said. “So why not? Lead the way, Courage.”

Courage nodded and beckoned the group inside, unaware that a giant cicada and a hooded figure was watching them from the roof. “Soon, my friend,” the figure said. “Soon, we’ll attack. You will get what you came for, and I will make sure Sunny Starscout and her friends never return to Equestria… and that their magic will be in my command.”

The figure took down her hood to reveal a cream colored unicorn with a green and purple mane and tail, a cutie mark of a dolphin, darker cream/brown hooves and mysterious blue eyes, looking dead serious. “So says… Paradise Moonray.”
> Strange Happenings/Wishful Wings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ponies and the Scooby gang were surprised to see how warm and welcoming Courage, Eclipse and the old woman, now known as Muriel Bagge, was to them, despite barely knowing them. 

But... there was one who wouldn't be so happy to have company.

When Muriel brought Courage, Eclipse and their new friends into the small farmhouse, she couldn't be more excited as she turned to Eustace, sitting in the recliner. “Look, we're having guests, Eustace. Isn't that exciting?”

“Aw, dang it, Muriel!” Eustace growled. “You're blocking my stories!”

“Now entertain our guests, dear,” Muriel told her husband, “while I go put the kettle on.”

After Muriel disappeared into the kitchen, there was a long awkward silence between the groups, until Sunny softly cleared her throat. “Uh, hi. I’m Sunny, Mr. Eustace, and, uh… these are my friends.”

The others uttered out a small hello, causing Eustace to grumble and read his newspaper. “Stupid guests…”

“Hmph! Rude…” Pipp scowled. “Don’t worry too much about it, princess,” Eclipse said to the pink pegasus in a quiet tone. “He’s always like that. Let’s see how those cookies are coming.”

“Come on, come on!” Courage urged, and everyone followed their new little friends into the living room, Velma and Zipp sparing Eustace one final glance before exiting the room. 

XXXXXXXX

The farmhouse kitchen wasn't too big, but it was cozy, and the perfect size to hold the Mane 6, their Mystery Incorporated friends and the friends they had just met... especially those with huge appetites. “Oh, it's always so nice when Eclipse and my Courage bring home new friends,” Muriel said as she got a tray of cookies out of the oven before turning and washing some dishes in the sink. “Such a treat!” 

Shaggy, Scooby and Courage dove right into the cookies on the tray, and when Eclipse walked over to check on the dishes, she frowned at the water still in the sink. “Courage?” she called to her friend, prompting him to come over. “I think the sink is clogged again.”

Courage reached his small paw into the water to find the source of the clogging, and Scooby and Misty went over to help. “He has such wonderfully small paws,” Muriel complimented. “So, I take it you're a traveling band of tinkers, then.”

“Uh, not quite,” Velma said as Courage pulled out a huge wad of hair from the sink. “Although we have been known,” Daphne said, “to tinker around with a mystery or two. See what I did there?”

Sunny giggled and elbowed her playfully. “Nice one, Daph. But, me and my pony friends spend a lot of time with them, when we’re on quests away from our home world about Equestria.”

“Nice work. Cookie?” Scooby offered the small pink dog a treat before they faced the other way. “Equestria? I used to hear legends about that place!” Eclipse beamed. “My ancestors were actually from there before we migrated to this world. No idea why we had to migrate though… I'm sure Equestria was good enough.”

Zipp and Sunny spared each other a glance, promising themselves to tell Eclipse about Opaline and all her tyranny later. “But in the meantime, the gang drives all over the place solving mysteries,” Misty added. “The Mystery Machine is super reliable.”

“Oh, I do so like your caravan,” Muriel complimented, causing Fred to smile. “Thanks. I just had it re-decaled. I wasn't sure at first, but then, in the end I went with the flowers.”

Suddenly, as the rest of the group talked, Scooby and Courage turned around to see the hairball Courage pulled up from the sink turning into a giant monster, causing them to scream and try and shove it down the drain while no one else noticed. “So, you're professional riddle solvers, then?” Eclipse asked the gang. “Mystery solvers,” Zipp corrected. “They solve mysteries. Guys in rubber masks…”

“Land grabs,” Fred went on, “bank heists…”

“That kinda thing,” Daphne shrugged. “You know the deal.”

“How nice,” Muriel smiled. “I love riddles. Do you know this one? What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?”

“Oooh… this is a tough one,” Sunny said, pondering for a moment. “But I think I remember my dad telling me one like that. Is it… a stamp?”

“Yes, it is!” Muriel clapped enthusiastically. “Always in the corner of the envelope, traveling all over.”

“Good job, Sunny Bunny!” Izzy congratulated, high-fiving Sunny while Velma groaned to herself. “I can't believe I didn't get that…”

“Oh, don't worry, dear. I'm sure you're much smarter than that silly old riddle,” Muriel assured her. “I have loads more if you want.”

Scooby and Courage finally managed to get the monster stuffed down the drain as Shaggy picked up the last Scottish dream cookie... just as Scooby was about to get it. “Like, dude,” Shaggy spoke happily, munching on the cookie. “Man, these Scottish dream cookies are really, really, like, extra dreamy, man.”

“Yeah, Shaggy,” Scooby nodded. “Deliciously dreamy!”

“I’m so glad you kids like them,” Muriel patted Scooby’s head while Courage became depressed as the last cookie was taken. But, Muriel had just finished putting another batch into the oven. “I've got loads more of those, too, if you're still hungry.”

“Thanks, Ms. Muriel,” Misty smiled. “Somehow, Shag and Scoob are almost always hungry.”

“And we love the words loads more,” Shaggy added. “ESPECIALLY when it comes to food. Right, Scoob?”

Scooby nodded enthusiastically at such a comment. “Yeah, yeah! Food! Hee hee hee hee hee!!”

Courage chuckled along with the remark before seeing something that made his eyes widen, and this caused him to babble in terror, his fear instincts kicking into overdrive. “Oh, hey…” Izzy said with a frown, noticing the change in Courage almost immediately. “What’s wrong, little pink guy?”

Courage tried to explain what was wrong, but could only babble, making Eclipse hum. “He usually babbles like that when he’s freaked out. Is everything okay, Courage?”

Courage finally managed to get them to look at Shaggy's back... where they saw a clingy cicada hissing at them! “ZOINKS!!”

Shaggy jumped around in terror in every direction, trying to shake the cicada off, but it simply wouldn’t let go. “Like, dude, It's one of those crazy monster cicada things on my back!”

“It’s just a wee bug, dear,” Muriel grabbed a broom. “Don’t fret… I’ll get it!”

“Be careful, Miss Muriel!” Hitch warned. “That thing doesn’t look too friendly!”

Muriel continued to bash at the bug, while Shaggy still ran around completely in panic, but after a moment, she realized that she would need another way to relieve Shaggy of his unwanted passenger. “Daphne, be a dear and open the back door.”

Daphne did as asked, and as the ponies ducked for cover, Muriel knocked the cicada off of Shaggy in one quick swing and out into the wild blue yonder. 

And even though the cicada was gone, Shaggy was still rattled as Zipp closed the door. “I've never seen cicadas that big before,” Velma shook her head. “Maybe it's a new species.”

“Do you think it has anything to do with that strange vibration that Eclipse, the ponies, Scooby and Courage were hearing?” Daphne asked. “It could be. There's definitely something strange going on here,” Velma pondered. “And the ponies, Eclipse and the dogs might be picking up sounds that our human ears can't hear.”

“Oh, my! Sounds so interesting,” Muriel said in an impressed tone. “How would you know, dear?”

Velma brought up her tablet for a demonstration. “Well, we humans hear in a range roughly from 31 hertz to 19 kilohertz. Whereas dogs hear in range from 44 hertz to 64 kilohertz.”

“And all Equestrians can hear a similar range,” Zipp added. “So, if Velma adjusts her tablet to pick up any higher levels of sound vibration, we might be able to see what we're actually hearing.”

“Oh, goodness. The things you say… better than my silly old riddles. Aren't you the smart ones,” Muriel offered Velma and Zipp the cookie tray. “Here, have a cookie.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks!” Zipp said, biting into the cookie, her taste buds immediately flaring at the flavor. “Mmm… gotta admit, this is pretty good.”

Shaggy sat down in the corner immediately after the bug got off of him, and still looked rather frightened as Scooby offered him one of the cookies from the tray. “Like, dude, I'm not feeling so hot,” he admitted nervously. “Maybe I should just go sit down.”

“Shaggy, dear,” said Muriel gently, “go in and watch a bit of telly to relax. Oh, and Sunny, why don’t you and the sweet blue unicorn go with him?”

“Okay, Muriel,” Sunny nodded. “Good idea,” Scooby nodded before becoming confused. “Uh… telly?”

“Uh-huh! It's basically just a fancy word for television,” Eclipse explained. “Come on. Let’s head to the couch.”

XXXXXXXX

Sunny, Misty, Eclipse, Scooby and Courage guided Shaggy back to the couch, but to their dismay, Shaggy still whimpering nervously. “Aww… it’s okay, Shaggy,” Misty said gently. “Everything is gonna be just fine. Why don’t you guys work on that self-help book that Scooby told us about?”

“That's a pretty good idea, Misty,” Shaggy agreed as he pulled out his phone. “It might help, man. I mean, like, it does have the word ‘help’ in the title.”

“Uh… am I the only one that’s confused?” Eclipse blinked. “It helps us to not be so afraid all the time,” Shaggy explained before he turned the phone on. “It's important to find friends that understand you. Friends that can share their fear feelings. Talking is sharing. And sharing is caring. Do you have such friends?”

Scooby, Shaggy and Courage each wrapped an arm/foreleg around Sunny, Misty and Eclipse, smiling happily. “Uh-huh!”

“Have one or all of you been afraid at one time or another?”

The smiles on the boys’ faces fell. “Uh-huh.”

“Really afraid?”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

“Really really REALLY afraid?”

Now, Shaggy and Scooby and Courage were really trembling. “Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!”

“Then share those feelings,” the phone said, causing the boys to stop shivering. “Talk about what scares you the most. Your deepest, darkest fears.” 

Shaggy put the phone back into his pocket before beginning the conversation. “Like, dudes, where to start? I got so many!”

“Yeah, me too,” Scooby nodded. “Me too!” Courage nodded. “I can go first,” Misty said. “I’m always afraid that somehow, Opaline may return and seek revenge against us.”

“Ooh… that’s a big fear,” Scooby said with a shudder. “I’m afraid of the ponies fighting and we lose magic again,” Sunny added. “What about you, Eclipse?”

“Me? Oh… thunderstorms, and stuff happening to Courage,” Eclipse said quietly before blinking in surprise, not realizing how admitting your fears could really help until now. “Wow… sharing your fears does make you feel better.”

“Shaggy, you wanna go next?” Sunny asked. “Gladly to, Sunny,” Shaggy got up off the couch before facing his friends. “Like, I'm really afraid of big, scary monsters. Especially ones that look like spiders. Yikes!”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh,” Courage said before shifting into a spider-like creature, much to Sunny and Misty's surprise. “Spiders! Yuck!”

Scooby gulped nervously before adding on. “I'm scared of… ugh… space aliens.”

“Oh, right, Scoob,” Shaggy nodded. “Space aliens are the worst! Especially ones that wanna eat you.”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh,” Courage nodded in fear before shifting into a chicken-like alien creature holding a laser gun. “Space aliens! Ewww!”

Eclipse nudged her best friend playfully. “Your turn, Courage.”

Courage got up off the couch and started babbling and growling, shifting into strange creatures as he did such, but this left the others completely confused about what he was saying. “Like, I totally don't understand a word you're saying, little pink dude,” Shaggy told Courage, “but I am feeling your fear.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Scooby nodded. “Totally feeling it.”

“Nice job, Courage!” Sunny patted the pink dog on the head, causing Eustace to grumble from where he was reading his newspaper. “Oh! Stupid dogs, cat, horses and shaggy-haired fella. So annoying!”

Suddenly, there came a knock at the door, fueling Eustace’s frustration. “What now?!”

“Were… you expecting somepony?” Misty asked her friends, and they all shrugged before Muriel turned to her husband “Aren't you going to get the door, Eustace?”

However, Eustace turned back to his newspaper, completely uninterested. “Nope!”

“Uh, I’ll get it,” Daphne offered as she came through the room, opening the door and looking out. But she didn’t see anyone, and was about to come back inside when she saw an envelope at her feet. “It’s an invitation!” she said before opening the envelope and reading the contents of it out loud. “You are all cordially invited to have dinner this evening at the Mayor's mansion. Pets welcome.”

“Pets…” Scooby muttered, scratching behind his ear. “Who are they talking about?”

Courage mumbled in confusion just before Muriel spoke up. “The mayor of Nowhere? We have a mayor? Ooh, how lovely.”

“Mayor, shmayor,” Eustace grumbled. “I didn't vote for him.”

But just as the ponies were about to scold him, Eustace seemed to have a slight change of heart... he even smiled a bit-- the first time since the gang arrived. “But free food is free food.”

“I can't believe I'm agreeing with the angry old dude, but I am. Free food sounds good to me, man,” Shaggy said. “Me too,” Pipp said enthusiastically, flying up a bit. “Let’s go!”

“Well, maybe the mayor can give us some clues as to why so many weird things are happening here in Nowhere,” Velma supposed. “So… let’s go.”

They walked out the front door and went to go get in the vehicles but yelled in surprise and stopped in disgust upon seeing the Mystery Machine. “I'm driving. I'm not riding with you kooky teens. You make me sick!”

Pipp scoffed in disgust. “Rude-- times two!”

“I think that's a splendid idea. Eustace, why don't you take the two dogs in your truck?” Muriel suggested. “They’ll love it!”

Eustace grumbled, but didn’t oppose to it, and Scooby and Courage glanced at one another before Eclipse spoke up to her new friends. “And after dinner, we can come back here for a sleepover!”

“Oooh, fun!” Izzy chriped, stomping her front hooves before she looked at the small house before them. “But… where would we even sleep?”

“Well… there really isn’t much room in the house,” Eclipse said, fluttering her wings as she flew up and looked at the house. “I sure wish we had someplace comfortable for you guys to stay.”

As she spoke, the rainbow feathers on her wings began to glow with a bright light, and the sphinx gasped as bright rainbow sparkles filled the air. “Whoa!” Misty gasped as she and Scooby ducked under the sparkles. “What’s happening?!”

The sparkles continued to dwindle around the group until it started swirling on the left side of the house, creating a treehouse in a tall tree, complete with a slide and all the furnishings. This caused the entire group to gasp and murmur in wonder... until Zipp spoke up from being slack-jawed. “Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!”

“Oh yeah...” Eclipse said nervously as she landed on the ground next to Courage, who she wrapped a wing around. “Courage and I think the feathers in my wings have the power to grant wishes, but we're not totally sure on how it works, so...”

“PONIES!! We are never gonna be able to leave here!” Pipp said as she looked inside the treehouse. “It has a karaoke station, a slide, a crafting table?! It's perfect!”

“Wow, Eclipse!” Hitch smirked. “That magic of yours is really something else!”

“Thanks... I wish I knew how to control it better. Last time I wished for something, I made a giant teddy bear completely demolish the house,” Eclipse said in an embarrassed tone, ears flattening. “...not really something I wanna talk about.”

“Hey... is it okay if I ride with Scooby and Courage in Eustace's truck?” Misty whispered to Sunny. “I don't feel comfortable leaving them alone with Seńor Cranky over there.”

“Of course. We'll meet you at the mansion,” Sunny said back. “All right, everypony, let's get the show on the road!”
> On the Road Rescue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After witnessing the wishing magic within Eclipse’s rainbow feathers, the group went into separate vehicles to go to the mayor’s mansion, and as she got in with the gang and ponies (excluding Misty), Muriel turned to the others. “I’ve got another riddle for all of you,” she said as they got moving. “At night, they come without being fetched, by day, they're lost without being stolen. What are they?”

“Hmmm… oh! I remember this one from when I was a filly! It’s… you know, I think Velma might know it,” Izzy said sheepishly, deciding not to answer. Velma tried to think of the answer, but groaned as nothing would come to her. “I don't know! I can't believe I don't know!”

“Why, it’s the stars, dear,” Muriel smiled. “The stars, yes! I knew it!” Izzy pumped a hoof, causing Velma to sigh to herself. “Ugh, I can't believe I didn't get that…”

“Don't beat yourself up, Velma girl. I learned these riddles long ago, when I was a wee thing,” Muriel explained. “I wish I could be a professional riddle solver like you.”

Velma smiled at that… that did make her feel a little better. But at the moment, the ponies were wondering how Misty was taking riding with cranky old Eustace.

The way he talked about Courage and Eclipse seemed to really bother Misty, and if it went too far... they were sure that she would do something about it.

Whether they wanted her to or not.

XXXXXXXX

Misty sat in the back of Eustace’s truck as Courage and Scooby got in the cab, and needless to say, Eustace was not pleased to have extra passengers in HIS vehicle. “I don't know why you got to ride with me. Getting your fur all over my seat and slobbering all over the place. Don’t touch nothin’!” Eustace warned the three before walking off. “Stupid dogs…”

“Man, I don’t know how you and Eclipse live with that guy, Courage,” Misty shook her head. “Opaline was bad, trying to take over Equestria and steal magic, but I think this guy comes at a VERY close second.”

“Yeah. And I don’t slobber…” Scooby said, licking his paw. “...much.”

This caused Misty and the dogs to giggle… right before a giant cicada, much bigger than the others, climbed into the driver’s seat and growled at them, leaving the three to hang on for dear life and scream as the truck pulled away from the house at top speed.

XXXXXXXX 

During their drive, everyone suddenly felt a sudden push at the back of the Mystery Machine, causing the ponies to stumble and try to regain balance just before Fred looked back in the rearview mirror with wide eyes. “Hold the phone! There's a horrible, ugly monster driving that truck!”

“Call him Eustace, dear,” Muriel said. “No, I think Fred’s right!” Zipp said, suddenly seeing Eustace’s truck pull up beside them. “Eustace isn’t driving, it’s a monster!”

Eclipse gasped in horror as their friends were stuck in the truck with the giant cicada. “And our friends are in there too!”

“Like, we gotta save Misty and Scoob!” Shaggy argued, just as Scooby leaned out from the truck to try and get closer to them. “SHAAAAAGYYYYYYY!!!!”

“Hang on, gang!” Fred warned. “And Ms. Muriel.”

The gang attempted to get closer to their friends, but the truck knocked them in the side so hard, it nearly sent them spinning over the cliff… before it rammed into them again and led to a high speed chase up the mountainside. 

Unfortunately, the cicada was making the truck go at its top speed, and the Mystery Machine was quickly following behind, across a rope bridge before it quickly fell apart. “Do something, Freddy! They’re getting away!” Sunny argued. “Oh no, they don’t!” Daphne said, messing with the control panel. “Nitro boosters in three, two…”

“Nitro boosters?!” Hitch and Fred cried out in surprise. “While you were redoing the decals,” Daphne explained, “I added nitro boosters.”

“Respect, Daph,” Zipp said with a smirk, impressed. “Respect.”

“ONE!!”

Daphne hit a button on the dash, causing the van to lurch forward at top speed across the broken bridge and the ravine, landing safely on the other side and in front of Eustace's truck! “Yes!” Misty cheered. “They made it!”

“Misty, jump!” Eclipse said as she opened the van door. “Hurry!”

“I’ll be back for you two, don’t worry!” Misty assured the dogs before leaping across the wide gap and into the van, causing Izzy to hug her in relief. “One down,” Misty declared, “two to go!” 

“And I think we should do it fast!” Hitch said frantically. “You know, so we don't DIE?!”

But, the cicada had other ideas, bashing and crashing into the side of the van and making it tumble out of control, right toward a steep cliff. And in that moment, seeing his friends in danger ignited a spark in Scooby that he didn’t even know he had. “We have to do something!” 

“Uh-huh!” Courage nodded. “Uh-huh!”

“Grab the wheel!” Scooby said, and Courage and the cicada got into a battle over command of the steering wheel, allowing the gang, Muriel, Eclipse and the ponies to recover from the tumble… until the steering wheel broke off. “Uh…” Scooby gulped, “...that's not what I was thinking.”

The cicada roared again, causing Scooby and Courage to shriek and unfortunately toss the steering wheel right out of the window. And to make matters worse, with no way to steer the truck, the poor dogs were heading toward a deadly cliff at the bottom of a steep hill, leaving them to scream as the cicada flew up and out of sight. 

The Mystery Machine immediately sped after them, and Zipp pulled out her goggles to see it was just as she feared. “They’re going over the cliff!”

“Oh dear!” Muriel shouted. “Oh no…” Misty covered her eyes. “Daph?” Fred called. “Launching grappling hook,” said Daphne, “in three… two… one!”

The grappling hook shot out as soon as Daphne hit the button, grabbing the rear bumper of Eustace’s truck as they went over the cliff, preventing them from going any further down. 

Unfortunately, the weight of the truck dangling for dear life caused the Mystery Machine to also be pulled toward the cliff’s edge. “The truck is too heavy!” Velma shouted. A huge chunk of the cliff broke off, leaving the gang dangling over what of the cliff was left. 

And after screaming a bit in terror, Zipp immediately had an idea. “Misty, Sunny, Izzy, Hitch! Get out and push against the Mystery Machine! Maybe that’ll keep it steady enough! Me, Eclipse and Pipp will try and hoist the truck up!”

“Right!”

Everypony got out to do their respective duties, with the flyers keeping the truck from dropping further while the other ponies held the Mystery Machine in place. 

With the vehicles stabilized, but the bumper being very close to detaching, Shaggy called out to the dogs as he and the others got out of the van. “Scooby-Doo! Like, grab the bumper, dude. Hurry!”

“Grab my Courage, too, dear!” Muriel added. “She’s right!” Misty called, straining to keep the van in place. “Grab Courage and the bumper and hang on!”

Scooby grabbed Courage by the scruff, exiting the cab and moving toward the bumper. All the while, Hitch strained as he could feel their hooves sliding. “Sunny, we can’t hold the Mystery Machine much longer!”

“And…” Pipp strained, “...this truck is getting way too heavy!”

Sunny quickly began to think before she came up with a decision. “Pipp, Zipp, Eclipse! Let the truck go!”

“WHAT?!” everyone shrieked at once. “Don’t worry!” Sunny assured. “I have an idea!”

Eclipse looked at the sisters before they nodded and flew out from under the truck, causing it to bounce, the bumper to finally come loose, and the truck to start falling! 

Scooby and Courage screamed before Sunny took a dive off the cliff, changing into her alicorn form before flying down them, letting them fall onto her back, much to the relief of their friends watching from the sidelines. 

Scooby sighed in relief and hugged Sunny around the neck. “Sunny, you saved us!”

“Hey, that’s what friends do,” Sunny smiled, nuzzling into the dog's hug. “Now, hang on. I’ll fly you both back up to solid ground.”

Sunny began to fly Scooby and Courage up to solid ground just as Eustace arrived, looking livid. “What did you do to my truck?!”

“Eustace, seriously?” Hitch asked in shock. “You’re more concerned about a truck than you are that Scooby and Courage nearly died?”

“Well, what do you expect? They’re stupid dogs! I knew I shouldn’t have let them near my truck!”

Misty growled in anger, but before she could go off on Eustace, Shaggy stepped in her way to make the conversation a little less tense. “Like, don't fret, angry old dude. Your truck might be okay.”

Suddenly, the falling truck crashed right at the bottom of the cliff, its wooden truck bed piercing right through a sharp rock. Shaggy chuckled nervously at that. “Um, like… it might still be okay.”

And then, ironically, the truck exploded right after that. “Oooookay… we’re really gonna have to teach you the subject of irony,” Zipp winced, looking over at Shaggy. “Oh boy. I think you might be right on that one…” Shaggy gulped. “It’s all your fault!” Eustace snapped as Sunny brought the dogs up. “And those stupid dogs!”

“THAT’S IT!!” Misty finally shrieked, marching toward Eustace, much to the shock of everyone around... even Eustace himself. “You better be thankful that Scooby and Courage were here, otherwise I would have a lot more to say to you than this. Don’t get on our bad side… we could kick your flank to Equestria and back if you hurt those dogs, so… do… NOTHING.”

Everyone watched in shock as Misty turned around and got back in the Mystery Machine. “Whoa… has Misty ever gotten mad like that before?” Eclipse asked Sunny, who nodded. “Once… and it was not pretty. Come on. We better get to the mayor’s mansion before more trouble stirs up.”
> Mansion Mayhem (Part 1)/Misty Learns the Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a long, cold, stony silence on the way to the mayor’s mansion, and Misty and Eclipse stayed by Scooby and Courage’s sides the entire way, making sure Eustace didn’t say one more hurtful comment to them… otherwise, the ponies knew it wouldn’t be pretty. 

When they finally arrived, they all got out and stood on the front porch. Daphne knocked on the door, and a creepy, half-blind man opened it, growled at the gang and slammed the door in their faces. “Sweet Celestia…” Zipp muttered. “Is everypony in this town super unfriendly?”

Fred turned to look over at Daphne with an expecting look. “Try again, Daph.”

“You try again, Fred.”

“Don’t keep a lady… er, a BUNCH of ladies waiting, Fred,” Pipp smirked. “You open it.”

“Uh… okay…” Fred nodded and pecked on the door again. This time, when the creepy man opened the door, Fred held up the invitation, still a tad nervous. “Um... hey there, buddy. We have an invitation for dinner from the mayor, uh… at this address…?”

The group smiled nervously as the man stared at the invitation for a few moments before sighing heavily. “Follow me…”

“Well… we’re in, at least,” Izzy said to her friends as they looked nervous. “That’s a start… right?”

“Heh… right,” Sunny nodded before they all followed the man into the mansion. After a minute or two of walking, the man guided them all into a square, red room. “Wait here…” he said eerily before shutting the door behind him. The group looked around for a moment before Eustace smirked wickedly as he looked at Shaggy and the two dogs. “Hey, you three. Guess what?” 

Shaggy and the dogs looked quite panicked before they responded. “What?!”

“Ooga booga booga!!” Eustace pulled out the same mask from earlier, causing Shaggy, Scooby and Courage to scream in panic as Eustace merely laughed. “Eustace, I’m warning you now,” Misty said with a sneer. “No more scaring them!”

“Misty, it’s okay,” Eclipse said, trying to calm Misty down. “He does this all the time. We’re pretty much used to it.”

“That’s still no excuse!” Misty said, looking at Eclipse before staring Eustace down again. “After I left Opaline, I promised myself to make sure nopony was treated like this again, and I’m gonna keep that promise!” 

Suddenly, Fred began to hear something coming from the room itself, causing him to frown. “Stop messing around, guys.”

“Us?” Eclipse raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I hear something,” Fred nodded. “Listen.”

The room became stone silent as they listened to a very strange but… very familiar sound. “I hear it too,” Hitch said. “It sounds like some kind of growling.”

“It’s not us,” Shaggy and Scooby said in unison before Shaggy spoke again. “Like, we recently trained our stomachs to growl at a frequency of 21 hertz,” he explained, “well below the range of human, pony and dog hearing.”

“Why’s that?” Pipp asked, leading Scooby to shrug. “Modesty.”

Suddenly, there was a loud growl beside them, and everyone turned to see that chairs were starting to growl with teeth bared! This sent the group into panic as Misty, Shaggy and Scooby pulled on the door, finding it unable to open. “It’s locked!” Misty shouted. “We’re trapped!” 

“Everypony, stand ready!” Sunny urged her friends. “And… FIGHT!!”

The ponies leapt into action, leaping on top of the chairs and kicking them, but one of the chairs was able to slip away and set its eyes on Muriel, which Courage didn’t fail to notice. “MURIEL!!”

Swiftly, the little pink dog picked up his human in his paws and ran around in circles, making Zipp chuckle. “That dog is a lot stronger than he looks.”

Amidst all the chaos in that small room, Shaggy and Scooby found the time to pull out their audiobook and listen to it for a small time frame. “Does it feel like you're trapped in a strange room full of angry, weird furniture trying to eat you?”

“YES!!” Shaggy and Scooby shouted at once. “Well, I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to help you,” the phone said before sprouting arms and legs and taking shelter in Shaggy’s pocket. “Like, this place is crazy!” Shaggy shouted. “Gee, you think?!” Eclipse said before trying to pick them up, eventually failing. “Oh, I wish you two could be a little lighter!”

As she spoke, her feathers suddenly sent magic sparkles to Shaggy and Scooby, causing them to suddenly float off the ground! “WHOOOOAAAAAAA!!!” they screamed, unable to control their new floating power. “Whoa, I really gotta get a handle on this wish-granting,” Eclipse said to herself out of surprise. “But in the meantime, sweet move by me!”

As the ponies and their friends continued to evade the chair monsters, a man wearing a fancy suit and glasses came in to see the chaos. “This way!” he called. “Hurry!”

“Alley-oop, fellas!” Eclipse said as she pushed Shaggy and Scooby through the doorway, with the others to follow. And when Eclipse finally landed, Shaggy and Scooby fell to the floor with a hard crash. “Oh, I am so, so sorry about that,” the man who saved them apologized. “This house is really old. The strangest things happen here. I'm the mayor of Nowhere. Pleased to meet you.”

“I didn’t even know we had a mayor,” Muriel spoke up with a smile. “How nice for you, young man.”

“And how can I help you lovely people?” the mayor asked, and Sunny pulled out the invitation that Fred gave her earlier from her saddlebag. “We got your invitation. It says we were invited for dinner.”

“Yeah. Yeah, dinner,” Scooby nodded. “Would you please hand that invitation to my assistant?” the mayor gestured to the creepy man beside him, causing the ponies to shriek in surprise before Sunny did as she was told. “Oh, let's have a look,” said the mayor, taking the card before sniffing and… strangely licking it before humming in thought, a frown upon his face. “Well, it's authentic. I'm sorry, but I simply don't remember inviting you, but I'm very, very busy. Did I mention I'm the mayor?”

“Well, I simply don't remember voting for you, so I guess we're even,” Eustace laughed, but the mayor seemed to pay him no mind. “But now that you're all here, why don't you stay? My butler can set a few more places at the table.”

“Yes?” the creepy man asked, now identified as the butler, causing many of them to shriek, startled. “Oh, Mr. Glockenspiel,” the mayor chuckled. “How do you keep sneaking up on me like that? Oh, well, please set extra places at the table. All these fine people are joining us for dinner.”

“Ugh… if you say so,” Mr. Glockenspiel told the mayor with a groan before turning to the others. “Walk this way…”

The butler proceeded to trudge off in another direction, as if he was limping, and this caused Shaggy to smirk a little. “Like, man, if I could walk that way,” he said, “I would never need a Halloween costume ever again. Check it.”

He proceeded to walk in the same style as the butler, causing Pipp, Eclipse, Scooby and Courage to giggle… until Shaggy faced the butler, who didn’t look at all pleased. “Oh… hi,” Shaggy said nervously, but the butler only growled before proceeding on his way. Eustace laughed mockingly as he, Shaggy, Scooby, Courage, the pegasus sisters and Eclipse were the only ones that remained. “Guess he showed you, shaggy-haired fella. Oh, and another thing… ooga-booga-booga!”

He grabbed a raven-like mask from the wall and put it over his face, causing Pipp, Shaggy and the dogs to scream in terror, causing Eustace to laugh more. “Never gets old. Now let's get some grub. I'm starving.”

As they walked, Zipp and Pipp walked on both sides of Eclipse, letting Eustace walk in front of them. “You know, Eclipse,” said Zipp, “I’ve been doing some analysis, and I think I found out how you can control those powers of yours.”

“Really?” Eclipse said in surprise. “Great Giza's pyramids, that's great, Zipp! What did you find out?”

“It's your wings,” Zipp explained, gesturing to the sphinx's wings. “The magic in the feathers builds up whenever you flap them, like when you're flying, and ends whenever you stop flapping them. I noticed it when you sent Shaggy and Scooby to the floor after your wish wore off.”

“My bottom will never be the same,” Scooby whined in pain, causing Eclipse to chuckle nervously. “Sorry...”

“Go ahead, Eclipse,” Pipp told her. “Give that magic method a try!”

“Well... I guess I can try,” Eclipse turned toward the boys, spreading her wings and flapping her wings. “I wish the boys would float off of the floor!”

The rainbow sparkles ignited from her wings once again, swirling around the boys before they were lifted up into the air. “Whee hee hee hee!!” Courage did a somersault in the air. “Eclipse, dude, you did it!” Shaggy smiled. “It worked!”

“It did?” Eclipse opened her eyes and saw that it did indeed work. “Wow... you did it, Zipp! You're helping me control my powers! Thank you so much!”

“No problem,” Zipp said with a large grin. “Come on... I'm curious about a lot of things, but mostly about what we're having for dinner.”

“Uh… I think you ponies are forgetting something?” Shaggy called. “Us floating?!”

“Oh, right!” Eclipse realized before slowly tucking her wings away, letting the boys float back to solid ground. “There you go. Now let’s keep moving-- this cub is hungry!”

But, what they didn't notice as they walked past one of the paintings... is that they were being watched.

XXXXXXXX

The group sat at the long dining room table in another part of the house, bread being the only thing on their plates and water in their glasses… causing Eustace to cross his arms and pout. “Oh, I’m sorry about this,” the mayor frowned. “I'm afraid the butler and his wife, Frau Glockenspiel…”

Suddenly, thunder and lightning sounded outside, and the sound of a woman’s cackle caused the ponies to shriek. “...have spent a lot of time in prison,” the mayor continued. “Working in prison… I think. I hope. Anyway, that's what they told my assistant.”

Misty chuckled nervously from her seat beside Scooby. “I hope so too…”

“Mr. Mayor, I really need to ask you,” said Velma. “We saw an enormous cicada.”

“No surprise,” the mayor said. “The insects do grow to crazy sizes around here. Ooh! We had a spider in the shower that was huge!”

“Yeeeeah, that’s nice,” Eclipse deadpanned. “But we saw a really big one!”

“Like, the queen of them!” Hitch agreed. “Possibly seven feet tall.”

“And it was driving a truck” Misty added, “that fell off a cliff and nearly sent poor Courage and Scooby to their deaths, as well as me for a period of time!”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, dear,” the mayor frowned sympathetically, making Misty smile a bit. “But it’s true, all the giant insect queens in this town drive trucks, cars… oh, the Mosquito Queen has a helicopter for some reason. Lots of weird stuff happens in Nowhere.”

“I’m beginning to see that,” Sunny said. “And I would think most people would think Equestria is weird. Believe it or not, I never even heard of Nowhere before today.”

“We're a little off the map,” the mayor responded, pointing to a map on the wall that wasn’t even in the United States. “I've been doing some research,” said Velma, “even though my internet connection has been pretty spotty. But from what I've discovered--” 

“Hey, mayor!” Eustace interrupted. “Knock knock!”

“Um… who’s there?”

“D’you know?”

“D’you know who?”

“D'you know who voted for you? Cause I sure didn't.”

Pipp and Shaggy giggled alongside Eustace for a second before the mayor blinked again. “Uh… okay…”

“Oh, Eustace!” Muriel scolded. “Behave! Table manners, please.”

“Me? What about this big dog?” Eustace pointed at Scooby. “He's got his feet on the table.”

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Misty said, “but 80% of us are all feet, whether we have hooves or paws.”

“Sorry about them, Mr. Mayor,” Velma apologized. “As I was saying, my research shows that weird stuff really does seem to happen here in Nowhere. Per capita, more weird and creepy mysterious stuff happens in Nowhere than anywhere else in the world.” 

“It’s on our flag,” the mayor gestured to the flag on the wall, saying the exact same thing. “I'd love to get more information that might help us get to the bottom of this giant bug mystery,” Zipp said. “Before somepony else gets really hurt!” 

“That’s what the gang does,” Eclipse added. “They solve mysteries!”

“Oh, that reminds me,” said Muriel. “I have seas without water, coasts without sand, towns without people, and mountains without land. What am I?”

“A map!” the mayor instantly responded. “Nice one, Mr. Mayor!” Muriel said, leaving Velma to sigh. “I actually knew that one!”

“Back to your point, Velma,” said the mayor. “I wish I could help more. I just don't have any answers, unless they're riddles. There is something of a museum wing here in the mansion. You're welcome to check it out.”

“Oh, that sounds like just what we've been looking for. Oh, I'd love to learn about the history of this amazing town,” Sunny said with a smile. “Me too!” Daphne nodded. “Well, what’s stopping us?” Zipp got up from her seat. “Let’s take a tour!”

But, the mayor simply frowned in response. “No, no, I'm afraid I'm entirely too busy. Re-election campaigns, hair appointments. Oh, I told you I'm the mayor, yes? Well, anyway, he'll take you.”

Mr. Glockenspiel appeared beside them, letting Fred and Daphne yell in surprise. “Let me guess, your attorney?” Misty asked the mayor. “No, no, it's my butler,” the mayor shook his head. “He just likes to dress up for the museum.” 

Fred, Daphne and Velma moved to get up with Zipp, Pipp and Hitch, and Muriel got up to follow them. “I would love to tag along and see what it is you kids do.”

“Awesome!”

“We don’t mind.”

“Cool.”

“We’d love that.”

“Sure!”

“I came all this way for dinner, and I'm not leaving until I get it!” Eustace crossed his arms. “We’ll stay too,” Izzy volunteered. “It's been 14 minutes since Shaggy's last snack. You guys have fun.”

“Oh, suit yourselves,” said the mayor. “I do it every morning with help. All right. I have a lot of mayoring to do. Don't forget to vote, whenever that is.” 

Before the mayor could leave, however, a cream-colored unicorn with a purple and green mane and tail and blue eyes entered the room. “I heard there were visitors,” she said to the mayor. “Where are they?”

“Oh, some of them left for the museum wing, Paradise,” the mayor answered before gesturing to those remaining. “But there are some young folks right here.”

Suddenly, Misty felt a twinge of familiarity with the mare, staring at her with a thoughtful expression before deciding to speak up. “Paradise…? Paradise Moonray…?”

“Yes?” Paradise asked her. “How may I…?”

Suddenly, her eyes widened when she saw Misty. It had been so many moons… but she still recognized those eyes. “M-Misty…?”

“Yes…” Misty nodded, trying to keep her tears of excitement contained. “I-It’s me, Mom.”

“MOM?!” Shaggy and Scooby cried with jaws dropped, looking at Misty and her mother. 

They had no idea Misty's mom was still alive, but they knew that Misty had to be overjoyed to see her again.

However, this reaction was not to be, for when Paradise and Misty's eyes met, Paradise scanned over her daughter’s body with a solemn expression. “So… I take it you survived Opaline's wrath?”

This instantly brought Misty sheer confusion. “S-Survived? What do you mean?” she asked. “Y-You knew Opaline?”

“Knew her…?” Paradise chuckled darkly. “You really have no idea. Come… let us… chat in private.”

Sunny looked over at Misty with a caring grin. “You go ahead, Misty. We’ll be here when you get done.”

Misty nodded slowly, and began to follow her mother away, letting the door shut behind them. “All right, Scooby-Doo, let's dig in!” Shaggy said as soon as Misty was gone, but when the boys took a bite of bread, they helped in pain, and Eclipse could see why. “This bread is so stale, it’s harder than a rock!” 

“Scooby-Doo, I think this is a first!” Izzy levitated her bread up. “Food you can’t actually eat!”

“Yeah…” Scooby sighed. “So sad.”

“Disgusting is what it is,” Eustace grumbled. “Hey, where is that creepy tall guy? I wanna complain to the management!”

“Yes?” the butler grumbled, causing them all to yell in surprise. “Uh, didn’t you just…? Never mind,” Eclipse shook her head, not wanting to get into a sore subject. “This food is terrible!” Eustace banged the hard bread on the table. “How are we supposed to eat this dreck?”

“W-What Eustace means to say is… can we get some fresher bread, please?” Sunny asked a bit nicer. “Fine…” Mr. Glockenspiel muttered. “I will get the cook, Frau Glockenspiel.”

Suddenly, as thunder sounded, an angry looking woman appeared beside them. “I am Frau Glockenspiel!” she said, causing the group to yelp. “What is wrong with the food I make? Who speaks this?”

All the boys began to chatter at once, causing Frau to raise her knife and slice all the bread loaves into halves. “There, enjoy.”

“Yes, ma’am!” they all shouted before gulping down the bread in such a rush. But that made Sunny wonder how Misty was taking having her mother being in Nowhere all this time.

XXXXXXXX

“So… how long have you been in Nowhere, Mom?” Misty asked as they walked down the hallway. “Why did you leave--?” 

Paradise lifted her hoof to stop the speaking. “You may not call me Mom yet. It is still impossible for me to fathom how you managed to survive. I thought Mother would have finished you off ages ago.”

“Mother? What are you…?” Misty began to ask before she began to piece things together. What Opaline said… what her father said…

…it all suddenly made sense.

Misty looked up at Paradise with wide eyes before they turned angry. “You didn’t abandon me, did you?” she asked in a cone tone of voice. “You… you gave me to Opaline!”

Paradise simply chuckled at Misty’s previous remark. “You just now figured that out? Yes, it’s true. Mother found me as a filly when I was not much older than you were. She taught me everything… about dragons… about the ponies I grew up with… and how my mother was a queen, ripped from her rightful place as alicorns should be and living alone in that castle for moons. When I was a teenager, she let me out into the world to tear the ponies apart even further… but your petulant father fell in love with me, as I fell in love with him, and then we had… ugh… you. Mother would have been furious if she had seen me nurturing a child.  I found a portal in Bridlewood, and it sent me to the mortal world. And that got me to thinking… what better present to give her than another filly to raise and take under her wing, so she could help Mother get back to her rightful place while I searched the mortal world for dragons?”

The elder mare smirked. “There. Now you know everything.”

Misty stared at her mother with wide eyes. Everything Opaline said was true about her… she abandoned her, and to make matters worse, she KNEW Opaline and what potential evil she could bring! “You… you’re evil… just like her!” she snarled. “You’re what evil threat Twilight Sparkle has sent us to protect Equestria from! It’s good that Opaline’s gone, but now we have you to deal with!”

Then… Paradise’s facade shattered, looking at Misty with a calm, livid from. “What did you just say about Mother…?” 

“She’s gone. Destroyed forever, and she's never gonna come back,” Misty sneered. “All thanks to me and my-- GAH!!” 

Misty screamed as she was pinned against the wall, unable to get from her biological mother’s grip. “PONIES!!” Misty tried to shriek within her mother’s hold. “HELP!!!”

“Nopony can hear you… and nopony will think to find you in the deepest parts of Nowhere,” Paradise sneered toward the younger mare. “Now… be GONE!!”

With one flash from her horn, a portal opened beneath Misty, sending her tumbling down the portal and into a cave system. And once she was down in the caves, the portal closed. 

Misty panted for a few moments before she shakingly sobbed. “My family really is broken…” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “What am I gonna tell Dad…?”
> Mansion Mayhem (Part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, the others had found the museum wing and looked around in wonder, Zipp taking pictures of everything in sight. “I'm hoping we can find some answers here,” Hitch said out loud. “There really is something odd about this town.”

“Ohh, how exciting!” Muriel said excitedly. “And all of this is totally #vintage!” Pipp said, taking several selfies among the pictures and statues around the wing. “Time to construct a slide show for the Pippsqueaks!”

Zipp fluttered around when she suddenly felt something cold on her neck. When she turned, she didn't see anything, making her hum in thought.

What could have caused that chilly feeling?

XXXXXXXXX 

Eclipse swallowed the piece of bread Courage broke off for her with a gag. “That's NOTHING like the treats Muriel makes, that's for sure. And not very satisfying,” the sphinx cub shook her head before looking at her friends. “Anypony got any other ideas on where to find some grub around here?”

That's when Shaggy smiled, getting another idea. “Hey, guys, how about we take a look for the kitchen? Maybe we'll find something edible.”

“I’m down with that!” Izzy said, getting up instantly. “Good idea, shaggy-haired fella,” Eustace smiled. “Maybe we can find some real food.”

But as they walked down the hallways, looking for the kitchen, Sunny kept looking around for Misty. She had been gone for quite a while, and if Sunny was honest with herself, she was getting worried about her. “Hey, have you guys seen any sign of Misty?” she asked. “We’ve been walking throughout the whole mansion, and I haven’t seen any sign of her or Paradise.”

“Maybe they just had such a good time catching up, they lost track of time,” Eclipse shrugged. “Don’t worry, Sunny. I’m sure they’re fine.” 

But, Sunny kept looking around, worried for Misty, but deciding to trust the small sphinx and followed her friends away.

XXXXXXXX

Eventually, they did find the kitchen, and found the fridge fully stocked with food. “Hoo-hoo! Jackpot!” Shaggy told Scooby as they got a bunch of food out and set it on the counter. “Watch the masters at work, if you please.”

“You hungry?” Scooby asked, and Courage, Eclipse and the two ponies nodded… while Eustace crossed his arms with a frown. “I doubt you can make anything that looks good to me.”

“Au contraire, country old dude,” Shaggy responded. “Behold, the majesty of what Scooby-Doo and I like to call…”

“El Sandwicho Extra Grande!” Shaggy and Scooby shouted at once, causing Courage to clap his paws excitedly. Then, Shaggy and Scooby then began to add different and… unique sandwich ingredients. “Ooh!” Izzy said, raising a hoof. “Don’t forget the anchovies!”

“Anchovies?! Blech!!” Eustace grumbled. But, Scooby found that there was one thing missing. “Needs more mustard.”

He squeezed the bottle to get some of the contents out, but along with the mustard came a sound that sounded a lot like flatulence. “Excuse me,” Scooby said, letting Courage and Shaggy giggle before he did it again. “Why, I never!”

Shaggy and Courage laughed a little louder this time, and the girls found themselves snickering as Scooby squeezed the bottle a final time. “Must’ve been something I ate.”

That caused the group to boil over in laughter… well, everyone except Eustace. “Ah, that's just gross. But I'll tell you what isn't gross. This!” 

Eustace pulled out a mask made of food and put it on his face in an attempt to scare the group. “Ooga-booga-booga!!”

Izzy, Shaggy and the dogs screamed, causing Eustace to laugh and throw the mask away. “Never gets old. Give me!” he said, swiping the bottle from Scooby and going over to the pantry. “I'll get a new mustard.”

“Aww, that’s nice of you, Eustace!” Sunny smiled before looking at her friends and whispering. “See, guys? He isn’t so bad after all.” 

Courage and Eclipse didn’t seem so sure about that, and when Eustace opened the door, he saw none other than Mr. and Mrs. Glockenspiel behind the door, causing him to slam it shut in surprise. “On second thought, Shaggy fella, you get the mustard because I am leaving. I've had enough of this place and you kooky teenagers,” Eustace said, moving toward the door. “See ya! Wouldn’t wanna be ya!”

And just like that, Eustace walked out, leaving the six of them alone. “Classic Eustace…” Eclipse sighed under her breath. “I guess that means there’s more food for the six of us!” Izzy chirped. “Right-o, Izzy!” Shaggy agreed. “Let's see if we can find
some other kind of goodies to put on our…”

“El Sandwicho Extra Grande!” Shaggy and Scooby shouted. “Like cookies and pretzels,” Scooby listed, “and sweets, and--” 

“Pasta! And canned peaches and peanut butter,” Eclipse added. “Olives?” Shaggy asked. “Definitely olives,” Eclipse added as she, Shaggy and Scooby walked to the cupboard. “And then we'll put some of those, and crackers and dressing and butter butter.”

Courage happily rubbed his tummy at the sound of that. “That would be perfect extra sandwich fixings,” said Shaggy, “for our…”

“El Sandwicho Extra Grande!” the boys and Izzy shouted. “Yes! I like that!” Izzy pumped a hoof. “Let me see if we can find some rainbow sprinkles too!”

But when she opened the cupboard, she discovered that the giant cicada was in there instead of the food, screeching at the top of its lungs. This caused the group to immediately scream and bolt from the kitchen, even unsure of where they would be going. 

XXXXXXXX

While Shaggy, Scooby, Courage and their batch of Equestrians were being chased by the cicada, Muriel, the other gang members, Hitch and the sisters were looking through the museum wing some more. “It's so dusty,” Muriel began dusting around the floor. “They really should clean more.”

“Look, Muriel!” Zipp stopped her and pointed at the floor. “Footprints and hoofprints!”

“Someone’s been in here recently with a pony,” Daphne assumed with hands on her hips. “Curious. Look at this,” Velma said from across the room, holding a book. “The original land survey books of Nowhere County. And some of them are missing!”

“Hmm… that’s interesting,” Hitch hummed. “But what's even more interesting are all these kooky photos and statues,” Pipp said, inspecting them with a shudder. “Oh my pony, this is definitely one weird place.” 

Muriel was dusting near the TV on the display stand when it suddenly flicked on, causing the gang to turn toward it in wonder. “So, you've decided to visit the town of Nowhere,” said a man on the TV. “Good for you. Ten out of ten tourists would never do what you have done.”

“Oh, I feel so special,” Muriel said as the man on TV continued. “This means you're special.”

“See? I am! How nice.”

“Creepy stuff happens in Nowhere. Monsters, aliens, demons, mad scientists… zombies, vampires and other such perils from myth and legend. Nowhere is also known for evil masterminds like Katz, or international thieves like Le Quack.”

Zipp spared a glance at the cat and duck statues on either side of the TV, feeling that the names fit their creepy personalities. “From robots to weremoles, Nowhere has it all.”

“Oh, goodness,” said Muriel. “I never knew I lived in such an interesting place.”

“Some speculate that the mysteries stem from a nearby top secret military base,” the man on TV continued. “Others are not so sure.”

Zipp hummed in thought. This was getting more interesting by the minute.

Now all they could wonder was what the others might be figuring out at that moment.

XXXXXXXX

“Hurry, guys! This way!” Sunny led her friends down an empty hallway to escape from the cicada queen, many of them panting tiredly before they finally screeched to a halt, Shaggy sighing as the queen was nowhere in sight. “Like, she’s gone!”

“Thank goodness for that…” Eclipse muttered, just as the mayor opened a door not too far away from them. “Say, are you kids okay?” he asked as two creepy legs came up from behind him. “You look like you've had a fright.”

Suddenly, those same legs came and grabbed the mayor before dragging him into the room with a scream, causing the others to scream as well. “Is...?” Eclipse gulped. “Is he...?”

The group moved closer to the doorway, and where the mayor should have been, the group only saw his clothing. “Oh no...” Sunny said with worry. “The mayor is gone!”

“No, look!” Scooby pointed down at the mayor's clothes, which were fidgeting on the floor next to them. Eclipse was first to step forward, giving the clothes a sniff before a large cicada popped out from them, causing her and the others to shriek. “That horrible cicada queen lady monster turned the mayor into a giant cicada bug!” Shaggy screamed. “That means what I was thinking has more evidence to it,” Sunny said. “There must be Equestrian magic at work here!”

“Equestrian magic?” Scooby asked. “How?”

“I don’t know… yet,” Sunny said. “But we have to find the others and share this info with them before anyone else gets transformed!”

As the girls, Shaggy and Scooby discussed the strange occurance, Courage found himself growing uneasy in this environment... like something was watching them. After they got done, the others couldn't help but notice Courage's uneasy nature... particularly his nervous babbling. “What is it, Courage?” Eclipse asked with a frown. “Something wrong?” 

“He does seem pretty upset about something,” Sunny realized. Courage continued to babble for a few moments before he managed to point up at the ceiling. “Look!!”

The others looked where he was pointing, and after a moment, the cicada queen burst out of hiding, causing the group to run and flee, running down the halls at top speed before Courage pulled open a door to a bedroom, allowing them to run inside. “What are we gonna do?!” Izzy asked. “She’s gonna be here any second!”

“Uh… uh… I got it!” Eclipse spoke. “Maybe my wings can conjure us up something to distract the cicada!”

“Well, whatever you do, Eclipse, make it quick!” Shaggy shivered. Taking this as her cue, Eclipse unfolded her wings and flew up a bit. “I wish we had exterminator outfits and equipment with us!”

The rainbow magic of her wings circled them for a few moments, producing exterminator costumes and equipment on everyone. “It worked! But… how is this gonna help?” Sunny asked. “I think I know,” Shaggy smiled. “But everybody needs to follow my lead!” 

At that second, the cicada queen opened the door and entered the room. “There you are!” Shaggy said, pushing her inside. “You're late,” Scooby scolded. “Yeah,” Courage nodded. “Late, late.”

“Like, here's your sprayer,” Shaggy said, handing the cicada such a device after Scooby put a uniform on her. “We'll start in here, then sweep the upstairs levels before finishing in the basement. All set?”

The cicada only blinked, leaving Eclipse to groan. “Oh, man. Don’t tell us this is your first day on the job!”

“Mmm-hmm,” the cicada nodded. “We should have known the agency would send over a noob,” Eclipse rolled her eyes at her friends. “Guess we'll have to show you the ropes.”

Scooby then put a huge pile of ropes on the sprayer. “Those are the ropes.”

“Those are the ropes,” Izzy repeated before levitating a big tent onto the pile. “Tie down this big tent that we’re gonna drape over the building before we fog. Did you bring a ladder?”

“Uh-uh.”

“Don’t worry, I got this!” Sunny said, grabbing a ladder and putting it on the pile. “All right,” said Shaggy. “You got your ladder. You got your tent. You got your ropes. You got your sprayer. You got any questions?”

The cicada grunted over the heavy weight of the materials, but didn’t say much of anything otherwise. “No? You got this,” Sunny assured before printing out a clipboard. “Right. We'll just have you sign for the equipment rental here.”

“Print here, initial here,” Izzy pointed as the cicada signed, and then she took out a camera and snapped the bug’s picture. “Your fully laminated photo badge will be mailed within 24 hours of receipt of your completed benefits Roman package,” Shaggy said before they shook the bug’s many hands. “Congratulations. You're officially a pest control professional.  Welcome to the life. And remember…”

“No prisoners,” Scooby spoke. “And no mercy!” Eclipse growled, causing the bug to pretend to punch the air in front of her in a fighting stance before doing push-ups and sit ups. “The only good bug is a what?” Izzy asked, and the bug seemed to growl ‘Dead bug’ in response. “That’s right!” Izzy chirped. After its warmup, the cicada began to spray the air, allowing enough time for the group to change and begin to sneak away. “Whoa-ho,” Eclipse said quietly. “I can’t believe that actually worked.”

“You’d be surprised at what we can accomplish as a team,” Sunny said with a smile. “I just hope the cicada doesn’t realize what just happened.”

But unfortunately, the cicada saw them sneaking away through the mirror and followed them, only for the group to realize too late, causing them to scream and run once again.

XXXXXXXX

The chase led them into the museum wing, where Izzy tripped upon the carpet while carrying Shaggy, Scooby and Courage, causing them to tumble and the others to back up. But Fred accidentally hit one of the statues, causing a secret passage to open up, and the rest of the ponies, Muriel and the rest of the gang disappeared behind it with startled yells. “Muriel...” Courage whined, having seen the whole thing. The others didn’t see this, however, cause they were too focused on the cicada queen coming in their direction. Then, before the ponies had time to react, Courage was already grabbing big heavy items and barricading them against the door. 

Shaggy was the first to sigh in relief. “Good job, little pink dude.”

“Phew… yeah,” Sunny nodded. “Thanks, Courage.”

But even with the barricade, the cicada was able to open the door and roar at the group, sending them on the run through the wing before removing the stuff and heading out into the mansion again. During the chase, they found a large closet to hide in, and Sunny knew that they had to keep silent. “If we don’t make any loud sounds,” she whispered, “maybe the cicada will leave us alone.” 

A second later, the sound of the cicada entering the room filled their ears, and luckily, she didn’t hear the sound of chattering teeth. Just as the group thought they were in the clear, Scooby suddenly felt the urge to sneeze, and after holding it in for a moment… 

“ACHOO!!”

“Gesundheit!” Courage said. “Thanks… so dusty,” Scooby rubbed his nose before he was handed a tissue on his left side. “Oh, thank you.”

But… none of his friends were on the left side. When they turned, the cicada had somehow wormed her way in, causing them to shriek and run away again. “Come on!” Eclipse groaned to herself. “Does this bug have to chase us everywhere?!”

“No time for debates, Eclipse!” Shaggy panted. “Like, we gotta get this giant bug and her wacky lackies off our tail before we bug out!”
> With Each Other
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fred, Daphne, Velma, Muriel, Hitch and the pegasus sisters had activated a secret lever that took them behind the walls of the mansion and into a strange cave system, and being in there gave Pipp some bad vibes. “Where are we?”

“And what is that thing?” Hitch asked, pointing to a strange device close to them, compiled of different pieces of machinery. “It’s making a funny sound,” Muriel observed, just before a bell in Velma’s head went to ringing. “Jinkies! That’s it!” she said, just as the sound that they heard earlier made Hitch, Pipp and Zipp groan in pain. “That's the source. The machine is broadcasting the signal that is making the dogs and ponies and Eclipse act crazy. I wonder what it's doing.”

Turns out, the machine was creating telephone numbers to call all sorts of people in the area, and put them under some sort of hypnosis that made them bring all their valuables over to the Bagge residence as Eustace arrived. 

And the site of such riches made him not want to question the strange behavior, but dance and take a money bath while doing so.

That makes you wonder... can things get any worse for our heroes?

XXXXXXXX

Shaggy, Scooby, Courage and their Equestrian friends kept getting scared repeatedly by the large cicadas and their queen chasing them all around the mansion and through several rooms and hallways, as well as the strange pop-up sightings of Mr. and Mrs. Glockenspiel, and they never thought that this madness was going to end. 

As soon as they were about to go down another hall, they found it covered in holes where the cicadas had popped up from the ground, and an army of them was steadily approaching. “Everypony stay behind me!” Sunny said, turning into her alicorn form. “I’ll see if I can keep these things back!”

But, as they backed up with Sunny in the lead, they fell into one of the holes the cicadas created, prompting them to fall and destroy the machine that was creating the telephone calls, and a rockslide to cover up the entrance. “Hey, guys,” Fred smiled once the fallen group started to get themselves together. “Nice of you to drop in.”

“Ha ha, Fred… very funny,” Eclipse groaned sarcastically. “Oh-ho, Eclipse! Courage!” Muriel said with a relieved smile. “You’re okay!”

“Muriel!” Courage happily howled and ran into Muriel’s arms with his tail wagging. “Well,” said Velma, looking at the wreckage, “whatever this machine was doing, it's not doing it anymore.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing?” Hitch asked. “It did make all us animals go crazy.”

“True, but if we had examined it a little more, maybe we could have figured out who it belonged to.”

“Before we get into any of that, has anypony else seen Misty?” Sunny asked. “She found her mother after you guys left and we haven’t seen her since.”

“Oh, dear… no, Sunny, we haven’t,” Muriel shook her head. “But don’t worry,” Daphne said. “We’ll all find her. Maybe they just got so caught up talking, they lost track of the hour.”

“Or,” said Zipp, “they went outside?”

“Hmm… maybe.”

Before Shaggy was about to say something else, he noticed water coming up from the floor toward the ceiling, when it should be the other way around, causing mass confusion in him. “Like, man! This place is totally freaky! Like, why is the water dripping upward?”

“Whoa!” Izzy cried. “How is that even happening?” Daphne wondered. “Oh,” Muriel smiled. “How nice.”

“Also,” Shaggy stated another fact as they looked at the ceiling, “we’re all floating.”

Truth be told, Shaggy was right-- every single one of them was off the ground, causing them to gasp, startled. “Interesting,” Velma said as Courage, Scooby, Shaggy and Izzy had fun floating around. “The energy that is powering this machine is affecting the laws of gravity and physics. Hmmm.... there are only a few known substances that could have this effect. This mystery is really starting to come together. But I need more information. I need an internet connection to find some answers.”

That’s when Muriel suddenly thought of something. “Oh, we've got a lovely computer at the farmhouse. Don't we, Courage?”

“Uh-huh,” Courage nodded. “Uh-huh.”

That’s when Daphne suddenly spotted a nearby tunnel. “Let's see if this tunnel will lead us out of here and back to the surface.”

So, the group all floated down to the ground and started walking toward the tunnel... not knowing that the cicada queen was watching from the cave ceiling. 

XXXXXXXX

Misty was sobbing to herself, wondering how her mother could be so despicably evil when she suddenly heard something coming her way, sounding like footprints…

A multitude of them!

That could only mean one thing!

She peeked from her corner of the cavern to see her friends, the gang, Eclipse, Muriel and Courage coming her way, and couldn’t help but gasp in relief. “Scooby, Sunny! Guys! You found me!”

“Misty!” Scooby cried, running toward her and hugging her, along with Shaggy. “We’re in total danger, you guys!” Misty told her friends as they approached. “It's my mom, Paradise! She’s the evil force Twilight Sparkle told us to protect Equestria from! Turns out, she was Opaline’s adopted daughter! Just like I once thought I was! And that makes Opaline my... oh pony, I hate to say it... my grandmother!”

Needless to say, many members of the group, Mystery Incorporated included, were shocked by the alarming news. “WHAT?!” 

“Misty, are you sure?” Fred asked. “I know it was her, Fred! She told me the entire story!” Misty said before growling to herself. “I knew she abandoned me, but… she gifted me to Opaline to ‘carry on the family legacy’ while she went in search of the dragons. She’s gonna destroy Equestria and its all my fault… for just being born. W-Why did my family have to be so broken...?!” 

Misty’s heartbroken sniffles were saddening to anyone around, and Courage was able to leap down from Muriel’s arms, walk over to Misty and hug her reassuringly, causing her to look up, broken, and nuzzle into his embrace, stiffly sobbing. 

After a few moments of watching her best friend comfort Misty, the black sphinx cub found the need to take a step forward. “You’re not the only one with a broken family, Misty. My older brother abandoned me in the forests outside Nowhere, and I stayed under the farmhouse until Courage found me.”

“Mine and Zipp’s dad died after I was born,” Pipp said. “Sunny's mom disappeared when she was young, and Sunny’s dad died when she was a filly, remember?”

“Oh… yeah…” Misty sniffled, wiping her eyes with her hoof. “I forgot…”

“We all have our family faults, Misty. But like you said before… we’re a family, all of us,” Sunny told her. “We’ll find a way to convince your mom of Opaline’s lies and bring her back to the good side. But you gotta trust us, okay?”

Misty sniffled, eventually standing up. “...thanks, guys. I guess I needed to hear that more than I realized.”

“So… let’s get going, huh?” Hitch said before he started thinking of a way to brighten all of their spirits. “Hey, Pipp? Remember that song we sang to get the pega-mice to leave the factory? Well, what if we sing that song again while we find our way out of this creep zone?”

“Oooh, yes yes!” Pipp said before tossing Courage her phone. “Here, Courage. Tap the button!”

“Uh-huh!” Courage nodded before tapping the button, causing music to begin to play that caused Pipp and Hitch, and eventually Eclipse, to start singing.

Pipp: Making a plan

Hitch: Lending a hand

Eclipse: Helping a friend is…

Eclipse, Pipp and Hitch: Ni-ee-i-ee-i-i-i-ice

Hitch: Work together

Eclipse: Two manes are better

Eclipse, Pipp and Hitch: Findin' new ways
To fly-ee-y-ee-y-y-y-y

Pipp: With a little bit of confidence

Eclipse: And a little bit of kindness…

Eclipse, Pipp and Hitch: We can make it fun to do..!!

Eclipse, Pipp and Hitch tossed Courage up into the air, causing him to cheer before Eclipse caught him on her back and they proceeded on their way, making a little parade to the beat of the music.

Eclipse, Pipp and Hitch: Work together, make it better
Workin' smarter with each other
Work together, make it better
We are stronger with each other

Work, work, let's unite
Everypony shining bright
Work, work, work it out
Everypony shout it loud

Hitch: Play a new game

Pipp: Fun is the name

Eclipse, Pipp and Hitch: It’s all in the way you
Try-ee-y-ee-y-y-y-y

Eclipse: So come with me

Eclipse, Pipp and Hitch: In harmony
Discoverin' ways to
Shi-i-iine

Eclipse: With a little bit of confidence

Hitch: And a little bit of kindness 

Eclipse, Pipp and Hitch: We can make it fun to do..!! 

Work together, make it better
Workin' smarter with each other
Work together, make it better
We are stronger with each other

Work, work, let's unite
Everypony shining bright
Work, work, work it out
Everypony shout it loud

Work, work, let's unite
Everypony shining bright
Work, work, work it out
Everypony shout it loud

As the song came to an end, they reached a wooden door at the end of the tunnel, making the group cheer. “We made it!”

“Wow, that was really fun!” Eclipse said with a smile. “How did I not know that singing could make going through a creepy tunnel more exciting?”

“You never know what's more exciting if you never try,” Pipp elbowed her playfully. “Ready to get home and solve this mystery?”

Eclipse looked back at Courage on her back, and the small pink dog smiled and nodded, making Eclipse nod as well. “Definitely.”
> Captured!/Computeristic Investigating
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zipp opened up the wooden door within the earth, letting everyone crawl out and back onto the surface again. But, they were in an unfamiliar environment, and only Eclipse seemed to know where they were. “This is great! Home is just on the other side of this cornfield! Let’s go!”

But, unfortunately, Shaggy and Scooby and Courage didn’t follow. “Like, there's no way,” said Shaggy, “I'm walking through a creepy cornfield at night. I’ll wait right here.” 

“Me too!” Scooby nodded. “Me three!” Courage agreed. “Since when are you three afraid of corn?” Zipp asked with a frown. “Yeah,” Sunny nodded. “Fred told us you each had four ears of it at breakfast.”

“You’re eating some right now,” Muriel noticed as they scarfed down on corn. But, Shaggy still had his reasons, looking over toward the redhead of the gang. “Daph?”

Daphne sighed and turned to Muriel and Eclipse. “You're new. So let me explain. This is the part where Shaggy and Scooby continually refuse to do something until we bribe them with treats.”

“Yep,” Eclipse smirked. “That sounds like Courage, all right. Luckily, I think Muriel and I have just the cure for that.”

Taking this as a sign, Muriel pulled out a cookie jar from behind her back. “Boys… will you do it for a Courage snack? They're homemade.”

Immediately, Shaggy and the dogs agreed, nodding hungrily, but before they dug into the snacks, Shaggy sent a glare Daphne’s way. “Like, we never get homemade Scooby Snacks. Do we, Daph?”

Daphne honestly wasn't sure how to respond. “Well, I-- I-- uh… I don't really, uh…”

“Just let them have the treats, Daph,” Sunny whispered. “I’ll come up with a way to make some homemade Scooby Snacks for next time.”

Muriel happily handed the boys a cookie shaped like a heart, and even gave one to Eclipse, along with a head scratch. “They're just normal biscuits I put in a jar,” Muriel whispered. “No one's the wiser.”

The ponies stifled a giggle at that. “Now, come along,” Muriel told the gang. “Eustace is probably worried sick.”

“Seeing as it’s Eustace…” said Zipp to her sister before frowning, “...I doubt it.”

“Stay together, everypony,” Sunny told her friends. “We don’t know what’s in here, and I for one, don’t wanna find out the hard way.” 

The gang slowly moved through the cornfield, one after the other, slow and steady. Misty was sure to keep behind Sunny, as Shaggy and the dogs stayed behind her and Eclipse... just to protect the three of them if necessary. But all throughout the cornfield, Shaggy and Scooby and Courage felt uneasy and worried, and Misty couldn't blame them.

With her mother being just as evil as Opaline, if not worse, she would have to further keep her guard up. 

All three of the scaredy-cats... and scaredy-dogs backed into a pole, causing them to scream out of surprise. Then, they looked up at the pole, realizing it was a spooky scarecrow, causing them to scream once again and run to the others. “Guys?” Eclipse asked with a frown. “What’s the matter?”

“Did you see Paradise?” Hitch asked quickly. Shaggy, Scooby and Courage tried to point to what it was, but all the others heard was incoherent muttering as lightning flashed in the distance, revealing what had scared them to begin with. “Quit goofing around, you guys,” Daphne scolded Shaggy and the dogs. “It’s just a scarecrow.”

“I don’t know, Daph,” Misty shook her head. “Scarecrows do look a lot creepier at night than in the day.”

“Either way, we have to keep moving,” Zipp said. “Come on.”

Shaggy and the dogs spared each other a glance of worry before they followed their friends through the corn stalks again, where one by one down the line, they shushed each other until… they got to the cicada queen dressed in the scarecrow’s clothing! 

Courage screamed as it hissed, zooming to the others, who turned and gasped at the sight of it. “It’s the Cicada Queen!” Sunny cried. “To be honest, heh… she’s a lot creepier than she was 30 minutes ago!” Eclipse said worriedly. “RUN!!”

That’s when the group bolted through the corn stalks as fast as their legs could take them, hearing Paradise’s laughter in the distance. “That’s it, meddlesome bugs! Get them!” she shrieked. “Make sure they don’t leave this cornstalk alive!”

“Mom found us!” Misty cried desperately as she ran through the corn. “Faster, ponies, faster!”

Everyone continued to run until they got to a clear patch in the corn field, where Pipp suddenly stepped on something that made a loud CRUNCH sound beneath her hooves. “Um, ponies? Why is the ground suddenly so crunchy?”

When she looked down, she saw that she had stepped on the body of a cicada, green slime oozing from it and onto her hoof. The group gasped as Pipp shrieked, trying to shake the slime off her. “Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew ew ew ew ew ew ew!!!”

“Are they… dead?” Fred asked as Velma scanned the body with her tablet. “No, not dead. These are just the remains of exoskeletons left after the cicadas have molted.”

“Which can only mean,” concluded Zipp with fear, “which can only mean they've gone through their chrysalis stage and now… have wings! Uuuuugh…”

“That means… my mom would have an entire air force at her hooves!” Misty realized with wide eyes. “Like, somehow,” Shaggy gulped, pointing at Misty, “that is SO much worse!”

Daphne nodded fearfully at this statement. “I have to agree with Shaggy!”

Suddenly, the sound of wings flapping filled the air, and the gang turned to see a swarm… no, a giant ARMY of cicadas flying their way. “Oh dear…” Muriel gulped before Courage shrieked again. “You said it, Muriel!” Sunny cried. “RUN!!” 

The gang immediately ran off with screams of terror, but as they ran, the cicadas repeatedly dove in to attack. One of them even tried to make off with Muriel, carrying her into the sky. “MURIEL!!” Courage cried as another cicada tried to grab him. “Noooo!!!”

Eclipse was able to grab him and followed Misty, Shaggy and Scooby into the brush where the group would be safe. But while they hid, Zipp immediately realized something. “Oh, wait… we have pony powers!” she said. “We can just fly up and--” 

But when she tried to fly, she just fell back to the dirt below her. “Huh?” Izzy blinked in confusion as she tried to light her horn, but to no avail. Even Hitch’s plant powers weren’t working! “Sunny!” Hitch cried. “Something about the cicadas is blocking our pony-- AAAAGH!!!”

Hitch screamed as a cicada picked him up from off the ground, doing the same with Zipp, Izzy, Pipp, Daphne and Fred, while Sunny and Velma managed to dive into the corn with the others. “Just when we were so close. The farmhouse is the epicenter, I know it!” Velma checked her tablet. “Right,” Sunny nodded. “And it must have something to do with our magic being shorted out. We just need to prove it somehow-- AGH!!”

Suddenly, two cicadas grabbed Sunny and Velma, causing the others to scream. Sunny tried to activate her alicorn powers, but to no avail. It was like being around the cicadas with their wings was suddenly blocking their powers… but for an unknown reason. “It’s up to you guys, Misty!” she shouted down to her friend. “You’re the only ones who can save us and find the second crystal!”

“The source!” Velma tossed her tablet down to the others, the small device landing in the ground. “Dig it up and use it! Stop these horrible bugs!!”

Misty watched in horror as her friends were airlifted away, and watched as Courage buried a hole next to them and stuck his head in it, Scooby digging a little more of the hole to join him. “I’m scared too, Courage…”

“We’re all scared, Scooby-Doo. But Sunny has a point,” Eclipse said comfortingly. “It is up to us.”

“And you have to ask yourself,” said Shaggy, “like, if we're always afraid…”

“And we are,” Scooby nodded. “Always.”

“...then by sheer logic,” Shaggy continued, “maybe we're, like, never afraid. You get it?”

“Uh…” Misty blinked in confusion. “No. Totally not following you.”

“Like, me neither. But check this out,” Shaggy lifted up his phone for everyone to see and listen to it speak. “What is the true difference between courage and fear?” it asked. “Courage isn't the absence of fear. True courage is taking action in the face of fear.”

“Ohhhhh!” Scooby and Courage said in unison, but still not totally understanding. “It's time we took action,” Shaggy said confidently. “Like, time we said to ourselves, ‘Selves, listen, you gotta stand up and be strong with, like, strength and stuff’!”

Eclipse could feel some sort of change within her, but… she honestly wasn’t sure what it was, and it confused the heck out of her. “W-What’s happening, Shaggy?!”

“I'll tell you what's happening, Eclipse dude,” Shaggy frowned. “I’ve had it! I've had just about all I'm gonna take from those horrible bugs!”

“Speak your truth,” said the phone. “Speak it.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I will. Thanks, talking book,” Shaggy said before putting his phone away. “I know it's rarely like me to be brave. Okay, it's never like me to be brave. But this is the moment. This is my moment. I will be afraid. It's just who I am. But I will have courage in the face of fear. I will draw the line here and I will stand and fight--!” 

But unfortunately, Shaggy’s speech was quickly cut short when he was picked off the ground, causing the group to scream in terror as the cicada flew off with their… temporary leader. “They took my Shaggy…” Scooby said out of shock as Courage trembled. “And with those cicadas all around here, we have no access to magic!” Misty said desperately. “What do we do?!”  

“I don’t know…” Eclipse sighed and tried to fly. “And without my flying magic, my wish magic won’t work properly! Heh… some protector I am. I swore my life to looking after Courage and his family, and now look what it got me. I guess… I guess my brother was right.”

“What do you mean?” Misty asked. “My… my brother was left in charge of me when our parents disappeared, but he always saw me as different, and… strange, because of my powers. I was really little back then and couldn’t control them... well, I couldn't control them like I can now. So… he just left me at Nowhere’s borders and… said I would never amount to anything before he left”

Courage babbled incoherently and huffed at her in a scolding way, paws on his hips, and this led Eclipse to sigh. “I know you don’t like me talking about it, Courage, but… our new friends have been captured, Muriel’s been captured, and Eustace hates me. I only have you now.”

“Our friends aren’t dead. They’re just… captured,” Scooby shrugged. “Y-Yeah. Scooby’s right,” Misty agreed. “We just need to think of a plan. Any ideas?”

Courage suddenly strained hard for a moment before an idea suddenly came to him, making a costume that quickly looked like Velma and began to babble. “Oh, I think he’s trying to tell us something!” Eclipse said. “Uh… uh, Velma!”

Courage nodded at this and began digging next to where he stood. “She said dig!” Scooby recalled. “Dig for the source! Yes!”

“...actually, no,” Misty shook her head. “Ohhhh… I’m confused. What does that mean? What source? And where would we even start digging for it?”

This led the entire group to thinking hard until Scooby spotted Velma’s tablet in the ground. “Hey…” he said, picking it up. “Maybe it’s on here!”

“Of course!” Eclipse smiled. “Velma seems to keep everything on her tablet! Good thinking, Scooby!”

“Hello?” Scooby shook the tablet. “Knowledge? Hello?”

Courage seemed to have an even better idea, grabbing the tablet before running toward the house. “Come on!”

“Wait for us, Courage! We gotta stick together!” Eclipse cried as the others followed suit. When they arrived, Eustace was still in his full-blown money, gold and gem bath, so they crept up the stairs, where Courage turned on the computer and began typing into the system. “What did Velma mean when she said ‘Dig, dig for the source’? And before that when she had her eureka moment. She said the farmhouse was the epicenter… of what?” the computer repeated before taking on a sad tone. “I'm sorry. But I will require more information.”

“Wait… Courage, do you have one of those HDMI cord thingies?” Misty asked, and when Courage gave it to her, Misty attached one end to the tablet and the other to the monitor, and both devices sprang to life. “Hello, Velma Dinkley's tablet-device,” said the computer. “Hello, Courage’s computer,” the tablet greeted. “How can I help?” 

“I need to see all of Velma’s data.”

“Of course,” the tablet responded before the computer got all of Velma’s research downloaded onto it. “Well, Velma has done some lovely research. Thanks to you, of course, tablet-device.”

“Too kind, old-school computer.”

That’s when the computer began to review the data shared with it. “Let’s see… the farmhouse belonging to Eustace and Muriel Bagge is in the exact middle of an impact crater of immense size. It was caused by one of the most deadly meteors in the history of the planet. The one thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs.”

This caused the entire group to gasp, bewildered and amazed all at once. “Very exciting,” said the tablet. “I would definitely say so…” the computer said swooningly. That’s when the tablet said something… er, rather AWKWARD a moment later. “You have such a lovely voice. I could just listen to you all day.”

“Very nice of you to say,” the computer responded. “Are you free later? We could share a download, have an upgrade.”

“I would love that. Heh heh heh… heh heh heh…”

“I feel so connected.”

Eclipse shuddered at that before glaring at the devices before her. “Don’t ever let me hear those words again, got it?”

Both devices seemed to shut up immediately. “Okay… Velma said to dig. But dig for what?” Misty asked. “The meteor, of course,” said the computer, as if it were obvious. “It should be directly below us, more or less. But beware the meteor is composed of dark matter. A notoriously unstable substance. According to Velma and Sunny Starscout's combined research, Paradise Moonray must be planning to use this dark matter meteor to seize control of Equestria, and in short, the meteor is what caused your Equestrian magic to short out.”

“Ohhhhh…” everyone said in unison, and Scooby giggled in response. “Thanks, Mr. Computer.”

“You’re quite welcome, Scooby-Doo.”

“Oh…” Courage whined. “Oh, and you too, Courage,” said the computer, allowing Scooby to embrace the pink dog before Eclipse shut both devices down. “Okay, guys. With Eustace doing… whatever it is downstairs,” said Misty, “and the others captured and without magical protection, it’s up to us to save the day.”

“You really think we can do this?” Eclipse asked. “Uh-huh, uh-huh!” Courage nodded, and after a moment of considering, Eclipse finally smiled. “Grab your digging paws, boys! We’re going meteor hunting!”
> Opposite of Fear is Fun/The Final Battle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After they got everything they needed from Courage’s computer, Misty and Eclipse led their four-legged crew outside, and they began digging into the Earth’s crust to find the dark matter meteor, defeat Misty’s mother and save their friends from certain death by giant cicadas.

A few hundred feet down into the earth, the strange noise began to start again, making everyone’s eyes change color, as well as the dancing beginning again. And the deeper they got, the worse it got. Nevertheless, Scooby was determined that they would pull through without a hitch. “Keep… digging… everyone!”

Misty strained and struggled to the best of her ability, and she, Eclipse, Scooby and Courage decided to use the dancing to their advantage, making them seemingly dig a lot better. But… their efforts weren’t rewarded by the meteor, but by a giant crack in the earth below their hooves and paws. Misty was the first to gulp with wide eyes, not seeing any other way out of this without magic. “Uh-oh…”

Suddenly, the crack seemed to get even bigger and bigger and bigger until it finally broke the ground, sending the gang plummeting toward the center of the Earth! Everyone screamed at the top of their lungs, expecting to die until a strange supernatural force suddenly caused them to float. Eclipse looked at her friends with shock as she managed to catch her breath. “Where are we?”

“I dunno,” Courage shrugged with the shake of his head. “It looks like we’re in some kind of underground cavern, and…” Misty looked over and gasped at the strange, glowing object in front of them. “Look! The meteor! We found it!”

The cicadas flew down from some of the tunnels and surrounded the group, prompting them to shriek before Misty took charge. “Let’s get that meteor, guys!”

They floated closer, so Scooby could grab the meteor before they darted off, trying to escape the cicadas despite the meteor miraculously making their appearances change. 

If you're in a situation
And just can’t find the nerve
There’s no need for contemplation
Just a taste for the absurd

If you’re feeling tired of losing
And find you’re getting scared
Then welcome to the town that isn't there

Where ‘kooky’ is a compliment
Bananas is a verb
‘Revelry,’ ‘I'm confident’
Is still a dirty word

Yes, everywhere is Nowhere
Before the somewhere comes
And the opposite of fear is fun

Using the power of the meteor’s dark matter, they were able to run and climb up the walls and into a tunnel where they were sure they would be safe...

...well, for a short while, anyway. As they crept further into the tunnel, they were surrounded like body-like objects, hanging from some sort of gooey purple slime stuff. But once the light of the meteor lit up the space, it was revealed to be their friends! They were safe!

Courage was relieved to see his beloved Muriel unharmed. “Muriel!”

“Misty!” Izzy cheered. “You guys found us!”

“We knew you could do it!” Sunny smiled. “It was nothing,” Misty smiled. “But let’s get you outta here before the giant cicada or my mom finds out we're helping you escape!”

So, Scooby and Courage and Eclipse began to tear the gang free and began to help them climb out of the tunnel and up toward the exit.

So if you’re falling down a rabbit hole
The only way is up
So laugh until you cry a bit
And then you'll get unstuck

Are you nutty as a fruitcake
Are you looney as a tune
Then quit your scowling
Do some howling at the moon

The cicadas did everything in their power to get the gang away from the meteor, but in the scuffle, it ended up turning all the humans into different items; Muriel into a fish, Shaggy into a piece of bacteria, Daphne into a video game girl, Fred being broken down into cubes and Velma into a slug. 

Eclipse spun the meteor which turned the humans back to normal, and the dark meteor's energy allowed them to float toward the ceiling. 

Cause everywhere is Nowhere
Before the somewhere comes
And the opposite of fear is fun…!

Once up to the cavern ceiling, Scooby and Courage guided everyone to the exit tunnels, leaping down with Eclipse and Misty beside them. “Follow those dogs!” Zipp cried, and the others followed their friends down the tunnel, and Paradise growled at the cicada queen from where she was standing. “Do not fail me, or you know what will happen.”

In an attempt to keep herself from the unicorn's fury, the queen cicada sent a growl to her minions, demanding they get the meteor back from those fools. As the group fled, a giant rock blocked the escape tunnel behind them so nothing else could get through.

Well… nothing except the giant cicada, who grabbed Muriel (who had taken possession of the meteor) and was flying off with her! “MURIEL!!” Courage cried, and began running after her with the ponies and Eclipse right behind him. The cicada realized this and brushed against the top of the cavern to make several small rocks fall down on them, causing Muriel to lose the meteor, right into Courage’s paws. Misty immediately began to formulate a plan“Come on, Courage! Hop on!” 

Instantly, the pink dog got on her back, prompting Misty to gallop even faster. After the rumbling of the cave-in stopped, Misty was able to squeeze Courage and herself through the hole and back onto the surface, and the others could only watch through the small hole. “You got this, Misty!” Zipp cried. “Yeah, mare-friend!” Pipp agreed. “We totally believe in you!” 

Misty smiled confidently as she continued to chase the cicada… unaware that her mother created another way out and tackled her to the ground! “Misty!” Courage screamed as he tumbled off the unicorn’s back. “Don’t worry about me!” Misty told her friend. “Just get Muriel and the meteor someplace safe!” 

Courage nodded and proceeded the chase immediately after this. “MURIEL!!” he cried, getting the attention of the cicada as he tied the meteor onto his head using his ears. “The things I do for love…” 

Courage immediately made a fighting stance to challenge the cicada queen for Muriel's undenying safety. The cicada growled at the dog’s so called ‘bravery’ and dropped Muriel right on the spot, prompting Courage to leap into the air and catch her before she hit the ground. But during their moment of peace, the cicada attacked, making Courage loose the meteor… and right to Paradise’s hooves. “Yes… YES!!!” she cackled, holding it in her hooves. “Mother’s ultimate salvation is MINE!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAA!!!”

“Oh brother…” Hitch gulped with wide eyes. “This isn’t going to be good.”

Paradise continued to cackle as she spun the meteor, prompting it’s dark matter to give her fairy like wings blazing with electricity. “Now, I will get revenge on those who wronged Mother those hundreds of years ago… starting with YOU, Misty Brightdawn!”

Through her horn she fired an electrical blast, causing Misty to repeatedly dodge, and the cicada tried to speak to her about its reward. “Oh, yes. Your reward,” Paradise hummed to herself before she screeched, “NEVER IN YOUR LIFE!!”

With that, she struck the cicada to the ground, causing it to whimper in pain before Paradise hit the ground with a powerful blast, causing it to break apart, and not leaving Misty much room to run. But, this did give enough time for Courage to get Muriel to the house, where she would be safe. “Mom, stop this!” he heard Misty say as she dodged her mother's attacks repeatedly for two reasons; A, she had no power, and B, she didn't want to hurt her mother. “Opaline manipulated you for years, like she did me! If you stop this now and give me the meteor, we can start over! We can go home to Dad! And be a family again!”

“NEVER!!” Paradise shrieked. “Mother was the only family I needed, and just like you ended her life, I’M GOING TO END YOURS!!”

Misty tried to leap out of the way of the blast… but the blast came later than she expected… and struck her right on the side. “MISTY!!” Izzy screamed. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” 

As the dust cleared, the gang was in horror to see Misty laying on the ground, completely motionless. Izzy sobbed into Scooby for comfort as he tried his best not to break down… until Misty coughed, opening her eyes and trying to move. Unfortunately, she was too weak, and Courage rushed to her side in worry. “Misty…?”

“Courage… get out of here… save yourself,” Misty coughed. “This is between my mom and me.”

Courage knew that she couldn’t be left alone like this, and suddenly… what Shaggy said in the cornfield suddenly began to register. “I will be afraid.  It's just who I am. But I will have courage in the face of fear. Courage… courage… courage.”

“Courage… that’s me!” Courage declared with a howl. “COURAGE!!”

With that, he stood in front of Misty with both front paws on his hips, and Paradise used the meteor to blast him, but he merely ballet-leaped out of the way. Needless to say, the other gang members and ponies were shocked. “Whoa!!”

“You go, Courage!” Muriel cheered as Courage danced around on the rocks. “You go!”

Once he was high enough, Courage growled and leapt upon Paradise, tackling her to the ground, where she used her highly-advanced magic to slam him into the ground repeatedly, leaving several remarks from the others. 

“Ooh, I can’t look…”

“Ow!”

“Look out!” 

“Oh boy…”

“That’s gonna leave a mark!”

Courage groaned as he was beaten down to his weakest, but Misty looked up at him with the weakest smile she could muster. “We… believe in you… Courage…” she wheezed before resting her head down and closing her eyes. This seemed to give Courage a new fighting spirit, and got up despite the pain, and leapt upon Paradise once again, both of them struggling for the meteor. After a long, grueling fight, a swift kick in the eyes caused Paradise to scream and lose hold of it, and Courage leapt up, got it in his paws and twirled it, sucking all the energy out from Paradise’s body and making her wings disappear as she fell to the ground in defeat. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! BLAST YOU, MEDDLESOME, IDIOTIC FOALS!!!”

With Paradise finally out of the way, Courage then proceeded to undo all the damage caused by the meteor, as well as letting the gang go free from the underground cavern. And once everything was settled back on the ground, Shaggy was the first to speak to the little dog. “Way to go, little pink dude!”

“Yay, Courage!” Sunny cheered. “You’re so brave!”

“Oh, Courage, you caught that nasty bug and pony right in their tracks!” Muriel said, hugging the dog. “Well done, sweetie.”

Courage whined in pleasure, his stubby tail wagging before a scared, wobbling voice from Izzy caused them all to look toward her, standing beside Misty with ears pinned. “Guys… Misty isn’t waking up…”
> Unmasking of the Cicada Queen/A Happy Ending for All
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The final battle between Courage, Misty Brightdawn, the Cicada Queen and Paradise Moonray, the birth mother of Misty, had finally went down. During the fight, Misty was struck by a bolt of dark matter lightning, prompting Courage to fight the fight for her, and he won, stripping Paradise of her newfound power.

But, even after the fight was over… Izzy Moonbow claimed that Misty would not wake, no matter how hard she shook her.

The gang rushed to their fallen friend as Izzy began to plead. “Please, Misty! Don’t go!” she sobbed. “You didn’t deserve this!!”

“Velma, is there anything we can do?!” Fred asked. “Misty can’t die on us!”

“Do ponies know CPR?” Velma asked quickly. “Yes, but we’re nowhere near a hospital,” Sunny said, “and none of us know what to use as replacements!”

Pipp whimpered worriedly, trotting in place. “What are we gonna do?!”

Courage looked around until his eyes spotted the meteor… giving him a crazy idea that just might work. “Courage? What are you thinking?” Eclipse asked, and Courage whispered the plan to her. “What?! You’re serious?!”

“Uh-huh!” Courage said, never so sure about anything else in his life. Eclipse sighed firmly and spread her wings. “Okay… then you’re gonna need a vantage point! Come on!” 

Courage got onto her back and Eclipse flew up so she was right where the meteor would have perfect impact. “Everypony, stand back!”

“Go go GO!!” Hitch cried as the others ran to a safe distance. Then, Courage spun the meteor around until it was merely a blur before…

…it sent a bolt of energy down to Misty, scaling her body for a few moments before she gasped and jolted back up onto her hooves. “AGH!! W-Wha…?” she said, shaking her head to clear the dizziness. “What happened?”

“MISTY!!” Shaggy, Scooby and Courage shrieked, jumping from their positions and tackling her before the others joined them. “You’re okay!” Daphne sighed in relief. “We were so worried!”

“...did I die?!” Misty screeched in realization. “Well, sorta,” Eclipse said with a slight chuckle. “Until Courage struck you with some dark matter lightning to bring you back from the great beyond.”

“Uh-huh,” Courage nodded with a smile. “...thank you, Courage. You saved me. In a way... you all did,” Misty said before she looked around. “What about Mom? Where is she?”

“Well, she's...” Zipp looked around, but found that Paradise had vanished from sight. “...gone. She must've escaped when we weren't looking.”

Shaggy shuddered at that. “Do you think she'll come back for the meteor...?”

“I don't think so... not with Eclipse guarding it and Nowhere from now on,” Sunny smiled at the sphinx, who blinked in surprise. “Me? What do you mean?”

“You've always said that Courage saved you,” Sunny told her, “but today, by trusting your instincts, you helped Courage save Misty. And we're all super, super grateful for that.”

“Yeah! Thank you, Eclipse!” Scooby nuzzled the cub's cheek, causing her to giggle... until she started glowing with a bright rainbow light, lifting her into the air. “Whoaoa!! Uh, guys?! What's going on?!”

“Oh, good gracious!” Muriel gasped as the light blinded them for a moment before Eclipse was set down, a picture of a rainbow bow and arrow on her flank. “A cutie mark?” Shaggy questioned out of shock. “Can sphinxes get those?”

“Not that Equestrian history ever foretold,” Zipp shook her head. “But... unity magic works in mysterious ways sometimes.”

“My own cutie mark! I can't believe it!” Eclipse said, admiring her glowing mark. “With this bad boy, we're gonna protect Nowhere like bosses, Courage! But... we can celebrate later. Don't we have a cicada queen to deal with?”

XXXXXXXXX 

Later, after the group got the queen cicada back on her feet, Daphne moved closer to remove the disguise. “Now, let's see who this Cicada Monster really is.”

She unmasked the queen quickly, revealing who was underneath the mask. “The mayor?!” everyone cried. “Goodness!” Muriel frowned. “But, why would you do all these horrible things? Naughty boy.”

“I fear we're lookin' at someone more sinister and untrustworthy than a politician, if there is such a thing,” Velma said with a smile. “Hey Muriel, I've got one for you. When is a mayor not a mayor?”

Muriel blinked in confusion for a moment. “Oh, I-I don't think I know that one.”

“Then let me show you!” Velma opened the mayor's chest, revealing a cat and a duck inside of it, causing many of them to gasp while Daphne remained confused. “And they are...?”

“Yeah,” Shaggy agreed. “Like who are these strange dudes?”

“It's Katz and Le Quack!” Zipp cried upon recognition, but the others just stood in confusion. “Remember? From the museum display?”

“Ohhhhhh!!” the others stated, realizing what Zipp meant as Courage hid behind Eclipse and Muriel while Velma went on. “They were operating the mayor costume and they were the real villains behind all of this.”

“I'm Katz, mastermind and evil genius,” said the cat. “And I am Le Quack,” said the duck, “world renowned thief of the most highest skill.”

“I had my suspicions, but to be honest,” Velma admitted, “a lot of the clues don't make sense.”

“Yeah. What sort of hare-brained scheme was this?” Hitch huffed. “If you would
allow me to explain how it all happened, it would be my greatest of pleasures,” Katz told the earth pony sheriff. “When I, Katz, discovered--” 

“No no no, when I, Le Quack, discovered…” Le Quack interrupted, leaving Katz to sigh before explaining forward. “When we discovered that there was a dark matter meteor of intense power, buried somewhere here under Nowhere, we joined forces with that… terrifying unicorn mare to get ourselves elected as the mayor.”

“Hey! That terrifying unicorn mare is my mom,” Misty said, getting closer with a narrowed gaze. “I hope there wasn’t any offense to that statement.” 

“O-Oh! O-Of course not, my dear,” Katz said politely. “As we were saying,” Le Quack went on, “becoming mayor would give us access to all the records of the town.”

“Allowing us to locate the right spot to dig,” Katz continued. “The power of the dark matter meteor has been affecting everything in Nowhere for millions of years.”

“Oui, oui,” Le Quack nodded. “And it is the exact center of a map of documented weirdness that only seems to affect Nowhere.”

“So it’s all because of that meteor?” Pipp asked. “Huh… who knew?”

“We knew the dark matter meteor held unlimited power,” Katz said, “and once we found it, we harnessed that power to get rich.”

“Oui, oui,” Le Quack laughed. “We made all those silly rich peoples bring their wealth to the farmhouse, which we planned on the collecting of later.” 

Katz’s smile soon disappeared. “But when the gang of mystery-solving teens arrived with you ponies of Equestria, we needed to up our game. We found the meteor had different effects by adjusting the modulations. When it spins, it emits a frequency that makes people very open to suggestion. It also affects animals in different ways. It enabled us to control the giant cicadas to keep you all out of our business.”

“Sadly, it did not work so well as we hoped,” Le Quack sighed. “Yes, indeed. We were so close,” Katz agreed. “We would have been rich. Rich!” Le Quack spat. “And we would have gotten away with it, too,” said Katz, “if it wasn't for you meddling--”  

“Hold it right there, Katz!” Frau Glockenspiel shouted as she and her husband arrived, scaring the living daylights of everyone there as she continued. “Anything you do or say can be used against you in a court of law!”

“Or a basketball court, racquetball court,” said Mr. Glockenspiel, “ food court, take your pick.”

“Uh…” Misty leaned to whisper to Shaggy and Scooby. “What is happening right now?”

Suddenly, it turns out that Mr. and Mrs. Glockenspiel were really a general and lieutenant for the nearby base next to Nowhere, and had went undercover in hopes of narrowing down where the meteor might be. “We are very grateful to you kooky mystery-solving teenagers,” said the general, “and these brave animals for stopping the nefarious plan of these dastardly criminals.” 

“Fine, fine…” Katz sighed. “May I continue?”

“Right, right,” said the lieutenant. “Please do.”

Once getting the all clear, Katz began speaking again. “And we would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling--” 

But then, Fred, Daphne and Velma tried to pull on Katz’s face, thinking it to be a mask. “I don’t understand,” Fred spoke. “What is happening?”

“His rubber mask is really stuck on there,” Daphne said, slightly impressed. “That is because I can assure you mystery-solving kooks,” Katz said, slightly annoyed, “that this is indeed my very own face.”

“Yeah, right, buddy,” Daphne scoffed. “Nobody's got a face like that. What kind of glue did you use?” Eclipse asked as Velma poked against Le Quack. “And how do you make that duck puppet move and talk like that?”

“I resent being called a puppet!” Le Quack barked. “I am Le Quack, world famous thief.”

“And I, Katz… genius and mastermind,” Katz said. “And we would have gotten away with it, too,” Le Quack finished, “if it weren't for you annoying, meddling teenagers.”

“Well… I guess I can forgive you for working with my mom. Nopony knew she was an evil psychopath like Opaline,” Misty said. “But, you have to return everything you stole from those people.” 

“Of course, of course,” Le Quack sighed before pulling a crystal out from under his wing. “But, I do not know who this belongs to. Seems to be made of a crystal we have never seen.”

Sunny gasped and studied it for a moment. “That’s the second crystal! Where did you find it?!”

“Buried in a patch of grass outside the mansion,” Katz said. “Is it yours?”

“No, it isn't, but it may be our key to saving Equestria,” Misty said, taking it. “And we’re one step closer, thanks to you two finding it.”

“Rest assured, ma’am,” said the general, “we’ll be returning everything else to their rightful owners. “And we'll take that meteor if you don't mind.”

Courage shrugged and tossed it to him, but the dark energy of the meteor made the general and his colleague start to dance… making Courage get a unique idea for a way to celebrate a lot of successes that came their way.

XXXXXXXX

Later on, the meteor floated above the living room floor as the group danced their hearts out, dance music filling the air. “Well… might as well go with it,” Velma shrugged as the meteor’s energy made her do some wild dance moves. “Oh, Courage, what a wonderful idea,” Muriel said as she danced with her dog. “I do so love dancing.”

“And that gives me an idea for a dance we can all do together!” Pipp added with a squeal. “Hit it, Eclipse!”

Eclipse pressed a button on her phone, and the Mane 6 began to dance, and Shaggy and Scooby, recognizing the tune, began to dance along with Courage, Eclipse and all their friends as the ponies began to sing.

Sunny: Somepony give me a shimmy
Somepony give me a shake
Give me a twist and shout
And just feel the bass (Hey, hey!)

Pipp: Come on and let your mane down
Yeah, pony, play

Izzy: You gotta show me
How you work it today

All: Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony's got the moves (Show it to me!)
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony move your hooves (Ow!)

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh

Hitch: Shake it, shake it, shake it

Sunny: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

All: Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh

Hitch: Shake it, shake it, shake it

Sunny: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves 

Eclipse: Somepony give me a whistle

Eclipse, Izzy and Pipp: Somepony give me a clap

Hitch: Give me that rockin' out
And never look back (Uh-huh!)

Eclipse: You gotta let your mane down
Yeah, let it sway, yeah (Let it sway!)

Hitch: You gotta show me
How you're slayin' today

All: Dance, feel the rhythm (Yeah!)
Everypony's got the moves
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony move your hooves (Ow!)

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh

Izzy: Shake it, shake it, shake it

All: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh
Shake it, shake it, shake it!

Midnight: Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

All: Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony's got the moves (Ohhhh, yeah!)
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony move your hooves

Midnight and Sunny: Oww!! 

Everyone in the group laughed and cheered as the meteor began to pick them up from the ground, and Muriel approached Eclipse, Courage and Scooby with a smile. “I only have one more riddle for you. And I bet you three know the answer. What's furry, and sweet, and brave all over?”

Then, the three howled to the sky in unison, “Courage and Scooby-Dooooooo!!!”

And Muriel proclaimed that they got it right on the first try, dancing the rest of the night away.

Another adventure down… but there were still many more ahead to getting Misty’s mother on the right track.