//------------------------------// // The Dread Swamp Path // Story: Equestria Ninja Girls: The Thievius Raccoonus // by RainbowRaptorDash1 //------------------------------// In the Cooper Gang Van, Rarity waited as Bentley refilled her gauntlets. "So Sly, where are we going now?" "We're going after Mz. Ruby, Chief Mystic of the Fiendish Five, a Voodoo Priestess." Sly answered. "So what’s her backstory?" Karai asked. "Well, it’s complicated." Sly responded "Meaning, it's not good." Adagio simplified. "The third member of the Fiendish Five was the infamous voodoo priestess, Mz. Ruby. Born into a family of mystics, other children found her... scary." Sly informed. "That must've been a tough start." Karai noted, as Rarity and Adagio nodded in agreement. "Sure sounds like it, since teaching herself to summon the undead, provided what few friends she had." Sly added. "Oh dear. She must be very lonely." Rarity noted in sympathy. "And that only made it worse, when a career in crime allowed an adult Mz. Ruby to punish the world for fearing her as a child. Chief mystic for the Fiendish Five, her powers allowed them to break both the laws of man and nature at the same time." Sly explained, much to the Beauty Trio's shock. "Okay, that's bad." Adagio realized. "You bet it is. Yet, despite the whirlwind success of her youth, she'd managed to slip into obscurity. Last known sightings claimed she headed out of civilization and deep into the Haitian jungle." Sly agreed. "Jungle?!" Rarity dreaded. "It's not worse than the sewers." Karai reminded. "She's right about that, Rarity." Adagio agreed. "Okay, you do have a point. But we should at least try to be careful this time around." Rarity suggested as the Cooper Gang Van arrived at the destination. "Sorry, Karai. I'm still working on your new piece of equipment." Bentley apologized as he gave Rarity her refilled gauntlets. "It’s okay, I can wait." Karai responded. 'I can't believe we're going into a swamp." Rarity grimaced. "Earplugs?" Adagio offered to Sly. "Thanks." Sly said in gratitude as he put the earplugs into his ears. "Could me and Murray have some? Just in case." Bentley asked as Adagio tossed to him and Murray a pair. "Thanks, pal." Murray said in gratitude as he and Bentley put the earplugs in their ears. "Much appreciated." Bentley agreed in thanks while Rarity's griping was muffled as everyone waited. "Does this last long?" Sly asked. "Half an hour max." Adagio answered. "Oh brother." The Cooper Gang groaned before Rarity stopped a few minutes later. "She's done." Karai informed as she, Adagio and the boys took their earplugs out of their ears. "Phew!" The Cooper Gang sighed in relief before Sly and the Beauty Trio walked in, suspicious of the lack of guards. "Strange." Sly noted. "No guards." Rarity agreed. "She doesn't need them, we're probably the first people ever to come here." Karai guessed. "Sorry guys, but this is one mission you’ll have to accomplish without me." Bentley said. "Bentley, you really don't like germs, huh?" Rarity asked. "No." Bentley answered. "You don’t believe in ghosts, do you?" Sly assumed. "Sure I do. My scanners have picked up verifiable paranormal activity. But that’s not the problem, and I’m gonna say this for your health. This swamp is oozing with disgusting mold and bacteria, so stay out of the swamp waters." Bentley informed. "Top of my list." Rarity agreed. "Suck it up, you two. We’ve got work to do." Sly pointed out. "I'm still not seeing any guards." Adagio reminded. "Well, alright then. Don’t forget to use the new move you guys learned from Muggshot’s section of the Thievius Raccoonus." Bentley responded. "You mean the Rail Walk?" Sly guessed. "The roots and vines around here are perfect for that. Especially where you see the bark has been worn away. And where it’s super slick from icky slime and moss, you guys will tail slide like a skater grinding pipe." Bentley informed. "A lot good that does me." Karai groaned. "Still, Karai should be able to move along rails just fine, it’s just a little harder." Bentley said as the four stealthy fighters tried it out before noticing some shamans. "Who’re those guys?" Adagio asked. "Trouble." Sly simply answered "Guys, I’m seeing a double door with a lock." Karai informed. "They haven't seen us." Rarity noticed in relief. "Sneak and Strike. Karai, the swamp is your turf. How you want to do it?" Sly asked. "Depends on the situation. Bentley?" Karai responded. "That door leads to Mz. Ruby’s lair. To get in, you’ll need that key on top of the tiki pedestal in the guard compound. There’s a bad mojo force field protecting it, so you guys will have to destroy all five of the purple candles surrounding it." Bentley informed. "No problem." Sly said with confidence. "Don’t get cocky or you guys will end up with your heads shrunk to the size of a pea. You’ll have to beat those voodoo guards, and I’m warning you, they’re mean and they work like a team." Bentley added. "So do we, buddy." Sly responded. "I always wondered how they do that?" Adagio noted. "I’d rather not find out." Rarity replied as Karai noticed the lack of sunlight and got an idea. "Rarity, can you make Adagio look like a giant spider?" Karai asked. "Yes, why are you asking?" Rarity responded. "We're going to give them a good scare." Karai answered. "They'll give us the chance to pick them off one at a time." Sly noticed, "I don’t know guys. I have a feeling they’ve seen plenty of scary things and not be frightened once." Bentley pointed. "Well, any scary spider legends?" Karai asked. "Just Arachne." Bentley answered, much to Rarity's excitement. "Ooh! I’m in! Arachne is one of my favorite myths!" Rarity said with a smile. "Alright, you two get to work. Me and Karai will thin their numbers." Sly ordered. "Sure you don't have a problem working with a Foot Clan member?" Karai asked in concern. "I don't see that. Only a good friend in front of me." Sly answered with a smile. "Thanks, Sly." Karai said in gratitude as the shamans were bored out of their mind, not noticing the snake kunoichi wrapping her tail around one. "Ugh… It’s the same thing everyday. Guard the candles, guard the key. It’s so boring. Why would anyone come here anyway?" The first shaman asked in boredom before Karai tighten her grip and pulled him up. "What the?!" The shaman gasped as Sly knocked him out before he could call for help, but they still noticed his absence. "Something’s wrong here." The second shaman noticed as Sly quietly hooked his cane on his vest. "Express elevator. Going up." Sly quipped. "Wait a minute…" The shaman started to realize before he was pulled away and received the same beating as the other five grew worried. "Okay, this cannot be good." The third shaman said in concern as Rarity and Adagio got into position, but signaled for more time. "Karai, put out the candles." Sly ordered "On it." Karai responded as she dashed passed all five candles, slicing them to bits. "You've done it! The mojo force field is down and you guys can now steal the key!" Bentley informed as the shamans started to get scared. "The lights! What happened to the lights?!" The shaman asked in fear. "Yoink." Karai softly said as she swiped the vault code and slithered away. "Alright, ladies. Showtime." Sly ordered as the shamans looked up when a light shone and saw a giant spider creature, drooling down in hunger. "No! That’s…" The third shaman dreaded. "Arachne!!!" The rest of the shamans finished in horror. "I smell Athena's blood among you." Arachne hissed with a smile as the shamans panicked "Which means to me... DINNER!" Arachne roared as the shamans screamed as they fled. When he was sure the coast was clear, Sly lit a match, revealing himself and Karai. "A+ performance, ladies." Sly said as Adagio was revealed to be wearing a pretty good and realistic spider costume. "We get the code?" Adagio asked as she took off and packed up the costume. "Yep." Karai answered. "I wonder how far they're going to run." Rarity noted. "Who knows." Adagio responded with a shrug. "Bentley, the vault code?" Sly asked. "If I didn’t do my math right, and I ALWAYS my math right, then the combination has got to be 5-8-8." Bentley answered as Sly typed it in and opened the safe before grabbing the page. "Electrifying! Kelle McCooper’s notes on how to harness the electromagnetic field created by a rolling raccoon! Now your Raccoon Roll move will really pack a punch! Plus, it should give you a nice tingling sensation." Bentley informed as Sly pocketed the page and put his calling card into the vault. "Come on, Sparky. Let's roll." Karai quipped while unknown to her nor anyone else, there was a familiar creature that did a comedy rimshot. "What was that?" Karai asked in confusion as Sly grabbed the key. "Probably just the wind." Adagio shrugged as Sly used the key to unlock the door. Meanwhile in Mz. Ruby's lair, the priestess was trying to control Sly and the Beauty Trio but something was blocking her powers. "Somethin’s awfully strange here." "So you're the one who is trying to control them." A familiar voice said. "A departed spirit… I see, so you’re the only one protecting them." Mz. Ruby noticed. "Don't try your voodoo on me. Your powers have no effect on Ninjas." The spirit responded as Mz. Ruby attempted to take control, only for her guest to swat it away. "This happened before, hasn’t it? With a Demodragon?" Mz. Ruby assumed. "One warning. Do not attempt to control my daughter and her friends again." The spirit warned as Mz. Ruby knew that he was living-dead serious about that. "Well, if it’s a fight they want, a fight they’ll get. So Ah’ll be waiting for them." Mz. Ruby declared. "At the cost of proving everyone else right." The spirit added, making Mz. Ruby freeze at that. "So you know." Mz. Ruby said as she turned around, only to find that she was alone. "Hmm…" Mz. Ruby wondered as she started to have doubts, but shook those thoughts out of her head as she went back to her chambers in order to wait for Sly and the Beauty Trio's arrival.