"A natural history museum." Kratus said after exiting the elevator and taking in the sight, which said museum was your typical one of its kind, with it containing prehistoric tools, and dinosaurs much to the excitement of Spike who screamed, forgetting that he was next to a microphone with the fillies speculating what they'll face at the end.
"Bah, you already fought a dragon ghost." Little Ghost told Apple Bloom before the Makuta interrupted.
"Actually, I did the fighting, Apple Bloom did the capturing. But I don't think that's the point you're trying to make." He said with Little Ghost confirming it with Apple Bloom brushing it off with the group going in a random direction with them finding a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton in a roaring position.
"Oooooh." The fillies said in awe, Kratus just rolled his eyes before lightning flashed with the skeleton now looking at them with its left eye with fillies whispering in fear before the group entered the room with lightning flashing again with the skeleton now looking down at them menacingly with its mouth open. The fillies were tempted to run if it weren't for the fact that they had a Makuta with them and the skeleton was on a pole, though when lightning flashed next the skeleton didn't change position, but there was a pony on its head.
Pinkie Pie with her mane flat.
"That's not good." Kratus said before Pinkie Pie pulled out a crossbow as a pink light appeared inside the skeleton's ribcage before it rose to its full height and roared before stomping the ground causing two of the pterosaur models to drop their eggs and part of the ceiling to fall, as Pinkie Pie fired a bolt at Apple Bloom before the Makuta could knock the crossbow out of Pinkie Pie's grasp with his skyblaster with Makuta countering the skeleton's roar with silence as Apple Bloom dodged a piece of the ceiling, before the Makuta grinned, "If there's one thing I remember about some of the classical arcade games is that when facing bosses, you aim at the glowing spot." He told the fillies who shrugged as the Makuta fired at the pink light with Little Ghost doing the same with her power with both attacks hitting one after another with the tyrannosaur attempting to retaliate by causing the ceiling to collapse on the group who retaliated by attacking the skeleton thrashing about with Little Ghost grabbing Pinkie Pie to save her from the mouth of the skeleton with the Makuta freeing the party pony from her hypnosis.
"Wow, last night's party must've been hard." Pinkie Pie groaned as she awoke.
"Yes, all of our hard work on rescuing you and the others has been one big party." Kratus said sarcastically as the skeleton pulled itself free of the pole with the Makuta pulling the pink pony out of the reach of the fossil's bite as it charged with the Makuta shapeshifting into another Rahi, this one large, insect-like while lime in coloration with him calling it a Nui-Rama meaning Great Fly in Matoran before buzzing around the skeleton and slashed it with his claws, distracting the beast.
"So, what's the deal with the skeleton?"
"It's possessed by a ghost working for Eternal Rest who's the owner of this hotel and works for Thanatos." Kratus told Pinkie Pie before the skeleton managed to hit the transformed Makuta in the head, and much to the surprise of the ponies, the blue parts of the eyes came off sending them flying. "Mind putting the Kanohi back on?" He asked the group with Little Ghost and Pinkie Pie grabbing a Kanohi and putting them on correctly, "Thank you." He told them before going back to the fight, this time making sure not to get hit, though it meant that some raptor skeletons became collateral damage.
"That was… disturbing." Twilight said after watching what just happened to the Makuta with Applejack agreeing as the fillies helped the Makuta by sending objects at the skeleton who charged the fillies in response.
"In case you're wondering about the status of the others, we've rescued Twilight, Spike and Rarity. Applejack wasn't captured." Kratus told Pinkie Pie, who remained silent, "Scootaloo's dead and her ghost is in the hooves of Eternal Rest, no doubt, adding Scootaloo to her "collection", which are ghosts bound to objects such as dolls for her to torture." He added, causing the mare to gasp, horrified at that fact as the fillies attacked again, this time using parts of the destroyed raptors as they fought a retreating battle.
"That meanie pants!"
"No, she's worse than that, she's a sadistic psychopath." Kratus said.
"And yer not?" Apple Bloom asked, remembering the streak of sadism her friend had.
"I'm just sadistic, that's all."
"And that makes ya better how?"
"There's a limit on how far my sadism goes. An example is that adults are the only targets." Kratus replied, "Dumb fossil, just give up already!" He told the Tyrannosaur, slashing the skeleton as it took offense at being a "dumb fossil" with it redoubling its efforts to swat the Makuta who grew tired of the fight, changing back as a result before drawing his sword and ducked under the skeleton slashed at the pink light repeatedly as the fillies fired the ammunition that Pinkie Pie prepared before Apple Bloom went into the mouth of the skeleton and joined the Makuta in stabbing the fossil after grabbing a rib bone, defeating the skeletal creature with the ghost coming out, a yellow stallion with brown mane and tail both disheveled while looking very primitive, "Oh, it's a cavepony." The Makuta said, recognizing the ghost for what it was who looked at both with respect thanks to their little stunt.
"You filly not so weak filly!" The cavepony told Apple Bloom before speaking to Kratus "You also not so weak." He told the Makuta before addressing both the filly and the Makuta, "You brave and strong! Make Ooga want to smash you even more! Will be great fight! Me: Ooga! Ancient chief of great Hard Head Tribe! Now chief of Ooga order Ooga to smash you! You and friends make great adversaries! Now, Ooga fights yellow and red filly, and black and gray one like old tradition!"
"Technically, my armor is onyx and gun metal in coloration." Kratus said under his nonexistent breath as Apple Bloom asked what the cavepony meant by tradition before he pointed the bone at the two companions before the cavepony pointed the bone club at Sweetie Bell and the others before an invisible force sent them out of the room with spears preventing them, including Little Ghost from reentering as the room grew dark, lit only by torches with silhouettes of caveponies appearing between them before they played drums.
Ooga pointed the bone club back at the two of them. "You greatest warriors! You fight Ooga alone! To death! Will determine greatest warriors between you and Ooga!"
"I would say your funeral, but you're already dead." Kratus before tossing his sword away with as slid into a portal created by Samuel while deactivating his skyblaster before putting both fists together and putting them in a ready position as Apple Bloom looked at her friends before turning back to the ghost.
"Very well, Ooga! I'll show ya what an Apple is made of!"
"And I will show you what happens to those who challenge a Makuta!"
Ooga grinned as he raised his club that glowed red before slamming it into the ground, creating a shockwave that the two jumped over as it destroyed what remained of the other fossils along with part of the ceiling falling with two retaliating, the Makuta using a one-two punch as Apple Bloom used her device to damage the ghost who countered by grabbing the filly's device by the handle and slammed her into the ground with it but before he could smash the filly with his club, Kratus tackled the ghost which allowed Apple Bloom to recover and use the Poltergust on Ooga who managed to hit Apple Bloom on the back of the head when using his club as a boomerang, even managing to hit her with the club directly, causing her to bleed, each one angered the Makuta who decided to end the fight and unleashed a barrage of punches that ended with the cavepony unconscious and captured with Samuel opening a portal and returned his friend's blade.
"Now, where's that button?" Kratus asked, failing to find the button.
"I had it on me!" Pinkie Pie said. The button went to the second basement floor, but they had to return to the caravan to tend to Apple Bloom's wounds before heading to the second basement.
After tending to Apple Bloom's wounds, they went to the second basement where the boiler room was, though once the doors of the elevator opened, hot air rushed in with it like an oven, though three of the four of the group remained unfazed by the heat with the group spotting a chest on the beam above with Little Ghost emptying it with Sweetie Belle resisting the urge to scream upon seeing the mice move around.
"You never get the urge to scream when I turn into a Gafna, yet you have the urge to scream when you see a mouse." Kratus told Sweetie Belle after rolling his eyes.
"That's different."
"Not really, Gafna are rodents just like mice are." Kratus pointed out, "Besides, at least they're not Stone Rats they're dangerous in swarms thanks to their very sharp teeth and voracious nature."
"H-h-h-how sharp are their teeth?" The lich asked?
"They can shred solid rock and will eat it if it's between them and their food. Fortunately, none are alive." Kratus replied as the group wandered through the hallway before encountering a purple earth pony stallion with a blond mane, wearing overalls and a cap that covered his eyes while sleeping at a desk with rubber duckies on it with the stallion waking up, no doubt, having heard the group with him raising his cap and smiling at them.
"There ya're! Ya sure took yer darn time. I dozed off waitin' for ya. Name's Rusty Wrench, the mechanic of this place, but friends call me Ducky if ya prefer." He said.
"And we know the drill, you're the next one to make the futile attempt of trying to stop us with your inevitable capture." Kratus said, unamused by the ghosts' attempts of stopping the group from completing their objectives with the stallion turning a crank above the pipe with water coming out and pouring on Apple Bloom's face, causing the stallion to guffaw before leaving.
"Why do I have the feeling that he'll be like Greenhoof?" Kratus asked as the two undead ponies attempted to stifle their laughter as the Makuta retrieved the key to unlock the only door, with the next room full of pipes with some going to a lower floor, three cranks, a boiler and a bad smell with them noticing three tricksters, one of them having a bucket on its head with the other two hitting it with spanners much to the ghost's dismay, "Ah, the classic." The Makuta said, amused before the fillies captured the three ghosts, though that alerted two normal tricksters and nine mini-tricksters with Apple Bloom dealing with the normal tricksters while the others dealt with the smaller tricksters with the room cleared shortly with them locating the door they needed to pass but was blocked by bars that Little Ghost dealt with by pressing a button allowing the group to enter the next room.
The next room was large with two levels with the level they were currently is on a circular path with a hole in the center, though the room also had a pair of pipes pouring water, though a metal wall supporting a pathway blocking a part the path they were currently on while a pipe with a grid on it blocking part of the upper path though there was also a "L" shaped path in the hole linked by a ladder to the inaccessible upper path that also had a trap door activated by pressure panels, the inaccessible part of the upper path was also linked by a raised ladder that was the only access from the circular path, then there was the chest they couldn't reach normally, but all that was for later, Rusty "Ducky" Wrench was on the upper level looking down on them.
"Stop trying to run and delay your capture." Kratus growled at the dead mechanic.
"How 'bout I don't and have some fun even though, as you implied, I don't stand a chance." The dead mechanic countered with Kratus attempting to grab the ghost with his Shadow Hand with the ghost fleeing before it could reach him.
"Why does he continue when he knows that we'll capture him?" Little Ghost asked.
"Like he said, to have fun and prank you like he did with Apple Bloom and get on your nerves." Kratus replied.
"Looks like he's already getting on your nerves."
"This hotel is getting on my nerves, and I intend to remedy that."
"And how ya gonna do that?" Apple Bloom asked.
"After we're done here and removed those dead ponies back there, so we can lay their bodies to rest properly, I intend to destroy this place." Kratus replied before turning to the door on the right of the one they entered the room through with it unlocked, but found that a wall blocked the way with Little Ghost phasing through it before the Makuta could wreck it.
"There was a chest there along with it being Rusty Wrench's room." The ghostly filly said before the group left with them activating the two pressure panels allowing a machine with two levers to rise with Apple Bloom pulling the left lever, causing the red path to rotate 90 degrees as Little Ghost emptied the chest with them going up the ladder before the water began to rise as they went to open the door next to the glass window and required them to use a crank.
"We better hurry and open this door." Apple Bloom said, looking down at the rising water in worry before the group heard Rusty.
"Don't worry young misses and sir, the water stops at the platform. Ya won't drown"
"Actually, I should be the one calling you young." Kratus said as the group saw that the water stopped before Rusty laughed.
"Ya should've seen yerselves panicking like that! Trust me, if I'd drown ya, I wouldn't be so pessimistic about my chances against ya. Besides, two." He said before Kratus interrupted.
"I don't have any organic components anymore, so I don't need air." He said, correcting the ghost.
"Okay, three of ya can't drown."
"Though I fail to see how what you did helps your situation."
"Simple, that door yer at doesn't lead to drainage control where I'm at right now. It leads to the main tank." Rusty said. "Ya'll need to go through that door over there to reach me." He added, pointing to a door on the other side, "But first, ya'll need to pass by sewers now full of messy and stinky water. And I don't think that ya can float with-" He said before the Makuta grabbed Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and teleported across.
"Deal with it." Kratus said after putting on an illusion of sunglasses on while giving a smug smirk much to the frustration of the mechanic with the group entering the room, one with a machine with buttons and levers and a screen under a window with Rusty spotting and waving at them before receiving a glare from Kratus, though the machine had a coffee maker on it and an after grabbing the bits from the piggy bank they entered where the sewers were with the Makuta transforming into a minuscule yet highly venomous Rahi he called a Niazesk with them traversing the sewers and encountered tricksters with fake shark fins some carried those anti-ghost weapons plus some buffies and thrower along the way with the Makuta finding that apparently, the venom of Niazesk paralyzed ghosts, though once they entered drainage control they found that Rusty wasn't there, with the Makuta voicing his annoyance after shapeshifting back, though they had more important priorities.
Creepers, though once they were dealt with and after the Makuta who demolished the armor, they saw Ducky on the other side of the window who waved at them before the group returned to the sewer system and looted some chests with some being mimics they had to return to drainage control and use the tunnel there as the door was blocked by bricks and other stuff, though the Makuta teleported them back to the control room, avoiding all the ghosts that they would've encountered and weren't happy about that, though that mattered little to team as they dealt with them before entering the tunnel with the only source of light being the Makuta's red eyes until the Makuta punched the weakened wall blocking their path with them reaching a door that resembled the one to the main tank, though it was missing its crank that the group found and used to open the door, with it having a similar makeup as the one that they were once in, though this one was more worn out with the Makuta teleporting them across and entered the next room which served as a restroom as there was a toilet in the center of it and the Makuta teleported them across and destroyed the bars blocking the door.
The room they were in happened to show them that the stallion was a lonely one as he prepared a candlelight dinner with a fake mare made of cleaning supplies. He too was suffering under Eternal Rest.
"This is just reinforces the justification of the punishment that piece of slime deserves." Kratus growled, the fillies gave worried looks at each other as the voice their companion didn't sound like the one he usually had before the group returned to the first large room with the Makuta teleporting them there before they entered the main tank with them hearing a banjo as they did.
The main tank was large, cylindrical, full of garbage along with a ladder leading to the upper part of the main tank with Rusty "Ducky" Wrench playing a banjo on an inner tube shaped like a rubber ducky with his hat covering his eyes.
“So, ya're able to find me despite everything. Why am I not surprised? I hope ya loved the free tour of my home sweet home.” The stallion said, playing his banjo.
"I'm sure Apple Bloom could've done without the smell." Kratus said with said filly nodding in agreement as she pulled the paper out of her nose as the smell wasn't as bad here.
“It's part of the charm of this place. Ya get used to it after a while.” Ducky said, pulling up his cap to look at the group. "Now that yer here, I suppose it's time for our big fight? Well then."
Dropping the banjo, the stallion flew to a machine similar to the one in drainage control and pulled a lever, raising the water level with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hopping on a duck shaped inner tube with the Makuta shapeshifting into an airborne Rahi called a Nui-Kopen, which meant Great Wasp in Matoran with the water rising until the group reached a level where they were surrounded by spikes with the stallion hopping into a duck shaped inner tube of his own along with two fans and challenged them to a game of bumper boats despite the fact that he knew he'd lose during which the stallion said that he wished he had a foal to raise and have fun with, and that loved his job though once he got to the subject of Eternal Rest being unbeatable.
"I said it once, and I'll say it again, Eternal Rest is nothing compared to what I've defeated. Dealing with her is like squashing a bug, and Thanatos will follow." Kratus said telepathically as he dived in an attempt to slash Rusty's inner tube.
"Thanatos is vastly more powerful than her!" Rusty protested while dodging the attack.
"Power ain't everything." Kratus pointed out before turning to the fillies, "Besides, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He added before diving in coordination with the fillies' attack, with the stallion unable to dodge either attack at the same time with him admitting defeat while still skeptical of the group's chances against Eternal Rest or Thanatos while cautioning on the cruelty of the ghost on the twelfth floor before Apple Bloom captured Rusty.