"So, first a castle, then a garden, and now a studio." Kratus said, getting off the elevator to the ninth floor along with the fillies after analyzing their surroundings.
"Question is, what's one doing in a hotel?" Applejack asked over the radio.
"Who knows with this hotel." Kratus replied as Little Ghost retrieved a camera to snap a few photos of Sweetie Belle with a conversation starting before the group left, climbing a staircase while the mares talked about movies.
The next level of the studio had the stereotypical appearance: front desk, red carpet, posters and other things related to cinema, though the large double door was locked with Little Ghost finding the key to be in the front desk before they opened the door.
The large room they entered was an example of organized chaos, boxes, components to make movies and other materials along with a table full of food five doors labeled with numbers with five in the middle on the other side of the room, and sitting in the chair was a blue furred and blond maned stallion with a big red megaphone who looked depressed.
"The director, no doubt." Kratus said, "Most likely forced to serve Eternal Rest like Cruller, he doesn't like it, but that shouldn't mean we'll lower our guard. Even if he does look sad."
Apparently, the stallion heard him, because he raised his head and turned around and spoke to them.
"Oh, it's you! You managed to reach my floor!"
"That shouldn't be surprising." Kratus uttered as the stallion continued.
"I was told you'd come, but I wasn't sure that you'd be able to get past Piano Virtuoso, Goro, and Greenhoof. That's impressive!"
"Not really." Kratus deadpanned. "I had fun time turning the first into a paddle ball, the second was only a runt with a big mouth, and the third relied on plants too much." He added before the stallion continued and introduced himself as Director Cut who lamented at the fact that he had to kill Apple Bloom and Kratus with the latter rolling his eyes at that with the stallion making a bargain, Apple Bloom helps make the five scenes that he lamented he couldn't make until now, with Sweetie Belle playing as the mascot and Little Ghost as the camerafilly, and Kratus… he was going to be the robotic ally or teacher the latter he protested against being called a robot as he wasn't robotic at all before he refused to play a part with Director Cut attempting to negotiate before Apple Bloom interrupted.
"I'd stop trying to negotiate with him. He can be more stubborn than Rainbow Dash and Applejack put together." She told him with Applejack taking offense at that before the stallion explained things as they entered room four.
"How will ya cover it? By making me wear a uniform?" Apple Bloom asked when they got the subject of her cutie mark.
"That would be a good idea, but while I prepared uniforms for the Parahunters, I have none at your size." He said before Sweetie Belle made a suggestion.
Fake fur before she went to grab said fur.
"Alright. The scene we're about to shoot happens not long after the hunters took her in. Curious about her new environment, Good Will explored the HQ and eventually found an invention from one of her new colleagues, Doctor Gray Matter. This invention turned out to be a cannon to shrink things, and Good Will accidentally shrunk herself to the size of a bug."
"How could she shoot herself with a cannon?" Little Ghost asked.
"Easy. The cannon had a timer, and Good Will accidentally activated it while examining another invention in front of the cannon with the timer reaching zero while she was busy."
"I can't tell you how many times I found it amusing when I found out about CMC escapades." Kratus remarked as the filming began with the first obstacle being a spider with Apple Bloom shrunk thanks to Director Cut's ability as a ghost.
"Hey, at least it wasn't a breed of Visorak called Kahgarak when at their largest. They’re bigger than I am when I'm like this, while only being two feet taller than them in my Shadow Titan form. But most of said height is thanks to their legs." Kratus said as the group traveled to room one after the scene ended.
Room one was a library with books on the shelves and on tables with Director Cut explaining that the team had to intervene in a library and it took place after the incident with the shrinking cannon with ghosts appearing, it took every ounce of willpower for the Makuta not to attack with the shooting ending shortly with them entering room number two.
This time the scene was one of adventure, taking place after the library incident in Manehattan, though it was underneath the city where ancient temples of a lost civilization lay, something the Makuta found interesting, as his Equestria was once a part of where the Matoran and Agori called home, though the only remains of that era were the Bohrok Nests with the Bohrok up and awake.
"A boulder chasing the adventurer? I know that from a movie I once watched."
"Really?" Director Cut asked Kratus.
"It was a long time ago, so I don't remember all the details." The onyx/gun metal-colored Makuta replied as the recording began, "Maybe you should leave all the traps to Daring Do and you deal with the ghosts." He told Apple Bloom as they went to room three with the filly nodding in agreement.
The scene taking place happened to be where Parahunters escaped the underground and detail what they found out, a group of cultists were trying to invoke an entity called Zegor The Destroyer to gain power in exchange for invoking the entity with the ritual needing to happen three times with it already done twice and the leadership of Manehattan were in on and a part of the conspiracy with the mayor the leader of them all who were the descendants of the lost civilization with the hunters sent to prison and Good Will sent to an orphanage, though they all escaped but were too late to stop the headmistress from starting the ritual with the area already full of ghosts.
"I would've rooted out and crushed the conspiracy before it got to that point once I got wind of it." Kratus said.
"Oh, and how would you accomplish that?" Director Cut asked.
"I have agents all over my Equestria, and in various government positions, none of them are a part of the nobility, just the subordinate ones such parts of a mayor's cabinet, but not just in those positions but also in healthcare and other walks of life, and they function as my eyes and ears in Equestria." Kratus explained, "No, you may not make a movie based on what I told you." He added, much to the dismay of the stallion who called for the scene to start.
The scene ended with the group heading to the last room, the one with the big number five with a miniature Manehatten with where Good Will after the help of Misty who was the ghostly mascot of the team would use the cannon to grow to a titanic height in order to fight the final battle against Zegor who was a giant ram with an ashen body, fire coming out of its eyes and mouth who turned the mayor and her followers into powerful ghosts…
SKREEEEEEEEEEONK!
A giant bipedal reptilian creature roared after its head appeared above the water as it marched onto the shores of Manehattan and breathed fire on a group of buildings as it began its path of…
"Could you not do that?" Director Cut asked, looking at Kratus who hadn't moved from his spot as the illusionary monster disappeared from the set, leaving it the way it was before the Maktua created the illusion.
"I won't apologize for not resisting the urge to do that, I'd be lying if I did." The Makuta said after shrugging before the stallion got an idea.
"If I'm lucky in the future, maybe I'll write a."
"Kaiju." Kratus said, interrupting the stallion who continued.
"Yes, a kaiju movie!" The stallion said, finding the word Kaiju catchy with the shooting of the scene starting shortly.
"So, it was one of those blue ghosts that the fillies dubbed tricksters." Kratus said after they finished the filming with the stallion lamenting the fact that he failed to kill Apple Bloom or Makuta with him winding up part of Eternal Rest's collection and that he'll never see his movie and hoped that the group will keep the reels safe. "Hey, I have a friend who can keep those reels safe." Kratus said, causing the stallion to perk up with a portal opening.
"I do enjoy a good movie." Samuel said through the portal, "Just put the reels into the portal, and I'll make sure that nothing happens to them." He said, reassuring the stallion. Who put them in the portal hesitantly.
"Don't worry, after we deal with Eternal Rest, we'll make sure you get the see your movie, as I've won against gods before and fought the two sisters in my dimension to a standstill." Kratus said, reassuring the stallion again, who gave the button to the Makuta before his capture after warning the group of the next ghost.
"If the next ghost is as powerful as he says it is. Then you should come back to the caravan to rest a little." Twilight said, Kratus nodding in agreement before they returned to the elevator to go back to the basement, but first, they had to deal with a purple, three-tailed cat ghost with a golden collar who swallowed the button with Twilight warning the group about the legend where the cat ate ponies, though they found that Polterpup had the cat after chasing her back into the studio, "Good boy." The Makuta told the ghost with Apple Bloom preparing to capture the ghost.
Only for it to grow in size while gaining a feral look, only for it to lose one of its tails before the cat went to the previous floor with the group in pursuit.
"Pathetic." Kratus said after destroying the bin that attacked them when a lightning bolt struck it, "If the ghost can animate objects without possessing them, then they're tough, but still a gnat compared to what we've faced." He told Apple Bloom, who shrugged with the group pursuing the cat to where they encountered the carnivorous plants for the first time in the hotel.
The tracks in the room were chaotic, prints on the floor and walls, though they all ended at the closet with the Makuta destroying the furniture with fragmentation as it came to life, including the bed which was the hiding place of the cat with the girls getting rid another tail after the cat transformed again.
"Cat's likely in the room above." Kratus said after the cat fled before the group pursued the ghost once more.
The room where they found the buzzsaw had not a trace of the cat with them heading to the bathroom as a result but before they could enter a large, orange, pony-like ghost with a big mouth and two blue tongues with the ghost lifting Apple Bloom in one of the tongues appeared and slapped Apple Bloom with the other tongue before the Makuta sliced of one of the tongues with the fillies dubbing it Slappy after the way it attacked.
They found the cat in the bathroom where the group had to deal with the bulbous plants with the fillies forcing the cat out with water with the Makuta smacking the cat, forcing it to drop the button as the fillies removed the remaining tail with the cat fleeing as a result with the group resting at the caravan before heading to the next floor.