//------------------------------// // To Moonscar Island // Story: G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// It was a few minutes later that the entire group gathered back at the Mystery Machine in order to follow Lena back to Moonscar Island, and once they got inside, they saw Lena getting into an older fashioned truck with her groceries. “Good timing, guys!” Daphne said. “Lena was just about to leave without us.” She honked and waved to Lena to let her know they were following her, and Lena led them out of the city and out towards the bayous that Louisiana was known for. All along the way, Sunny was telling Izzy and Misty about their interaction before with Lena. “She wasn’t even freaked out… like she’s seen something like us before.” “Hmm… strange and suspicious if you ask me-- we’ll have to dig more around it when we get to Moonscar Island,” Zipp said as she logged the information into her FlyPad. “We’re getting closer,” Velma looked at the map and showed it to Scooby and Misty. “Moonscar Island is right in the middle of the next bayou.” “Sounds like the perfect place to get some good spooky footage,” Pipp added with a flare of drama. “And some good Cajun cookin’! For some reason, I’m still starved,” Shaggy began to ate some of the Scooby Snacks that Velma had been saving. “Like, even these stale Scooby Snacks are beginning to taste good.” “Bleh…” Zipp and Hitch shuddered, just as the two vehicles reached a dock with a giant ferry boat waiting for them. Lena honked her horn to signal, where the driver, a chubby, middle-aged Cajun male with a pale skin tone, and grayish-white hair and blue pupils, was waiting for them. “Ho-ho, Miss Lena!” he greeted with a chuckle. “I see you got you some company, eh?” “Yes, Jacques. These folks came a long way to see a real haunted house,” Lena explained as she pulled up beside him. “Well… if they want haunted, they come to the right place,” Jacques chuckled, just as he approached the Mystery Machine. “Peoples go into that bayou, and they don’t never come out.” Sunny didn’t want to admit it, but that sent shivers all the way down to her tail… she didn’t like the sound of that. “Uh, so we understand,” Daphne responded with hesitation, and once he left to lower the gate to the ferry, Sunny tried to put her mind at ease. Maybe he was just joking. “Ladies first,” Jacques lowered the gate so the vehicles could drive onto the boat, and once everyone was on, Jacques went up to the lower level as the groups emerged from their rides. “Like, do you sell food on this ferry? We're starved!” Shaggy called to Jacques. Upon noticing Scooby, Lena gasped in a startled manner. “I… didn’t know you had a dog.” “Dog? Where?” Scooby looked around, his face bearing a look of confusion. “Are you allergic to dogs?” Misty asked. “No…” Lena shook her head hesitantly. “It’s just that… my employer, Miss Lenoir? She keeps cats.” But to this, Shaggy smiled. “Like, don't worry. Scooby is great with cats. Right?” “Huh?!” Scooby had no idea what Shaggy was talking about-- he HATED cats! But, Shaggy’s encouraging expression made Scooby nod in agreement. “Attaboy, Scoob,” Sunny rubbed the Great Dane’s head. “Maybe the… c-a-t-s aren’t as bad as you think. You gotta get to know them first.” Scooby nodded at the earth pony’s words, deciding to let his hatred for cats go this once. XXXXXXXX The ferry traversed through the thick swamp as Fred and the girls went up for some shooting of the area, and Hitch went up there with them while Pipp and Zipp flew above them and the others stuck with Shaggy and Scooby. “Gosh… I’d sure hate to get lost in here,” Fred frowned as he moved the camera a bit. “Well,” Jacques explained, “way back there in the 1700s, pirates used this bayou to hide from the law. They knowed only a fool would come lookin' up in here.” “And Morgan Moonscar was one of those pirates?” Velma asked. “Oh, may yes, cher. He was the most famous one, him,” Jacques nodded. “Hmm…” Hitch nodded slowly and took notes down that he sent to Zipp. This island was getting more and more juicy with each passing moment-- and they hadn't even reached the island yet. On the lower deck, Shaggy and Scooby stood with Misty and Sunny as they looked across the bayou while Izzy was crafting something with her crafty-sash nearby. A bubbling noise caught Scooby’s attention, and when he looked down, he saw a huge catfish swimming alongside the boat. “Shaggy, ponies!” he cried. “Catfish!” “Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed in surprise. “That’s the biggest catfish I’ve ever seen!” Sunny cried. Jacques chuckled as he looked down from the top. “That’s probably Big Mona. Ain’t nobody never been able to catch her.” As Scooby began to sniff the catfish curiously, the fish took in a huge gulp of water and splashed Scooby right in the face, causing Shaggy to laugh, and Misty and Sunny to try and stiffle their laughter. “Like, guess that’s one catfish who doesn’t like dogs, old buddy,” Shaggy told him, and Scooby shook the water off his face with a grumble. “Rotten catfish…” But by the time Big Mona had got him soaked again, Scooby had about had enough. He dove for Big Mona, but missed and almost fell in the water, if it weren’t for Shaggy and Misty grabbing onto him. “We gotcha, Scoob!” Misty reassured. “We’re not gonna let you go!” But as she struggled to pull her friends back over the edge, her ears caught onto a sound that came all too familiarly to her… Opaline’s laughter. When she saw a pair of eyes gazing at her from the darkness, she yelped and lost her footing, causing all three of them to fall into the water. Luckily, the three of them could swim, but what they didn’t expect was alligators creeping through the water on their way to attack them! “YIKES!!” “Oh no!” Sunny gasped. “Jacques, you gotta turn this thing around!” Fred exclaimed. “I’m trying, son!” Jacques desperately turned the wheel. “But she don’t turn on no dime!” “Can you girls fly down and bring them out?” Daphne asked the pegasus sisters. “We could, but if our wings get wet, we’ll be in the same position!” Zipp said. “Maybe we could throw something down to them!” That’s when Velma saw a life preserver on the wall next to her, and grabbed it before running down to the lower deck. “Hang on, guys!” She tossed the preserver into the water, but as the group swam to it, an alligator chomped it in half! Misty whimpered nervously as she felt the alligators’ presence… and they were right behind them! “SWIM!!” she screamed, and the three of them desperately tried to follow the ferry in an escape. Just then, another boat pulled up next to them, and a middle-aged Caucasian male with messy blond hair, one glazed over eye and fishing attire managed to hold off the gators long enough for the three to climb onboard. “L-l-like, th-thanks, m-mister,” Shaggy shuddered, but the man only growled at them. “Should have let the 'gators eat ya. I can't stand tourists. Now all your splashin' chased Big Mona away!” “Oh, quit your grumbling, Snakebite!” Jacques said from the ferry. “You ain’t never caught that fish and you ain’t never gonna did!” “Says you!” Snakebite splashed the group, causing the ponies to frown. “Ugh… not too friendly, is he?” Fred asked as Velma cleaned her glasses. Suddenly, a giant pig with tusks came out of nowhere, frightening Scooby and Misty and causing them to back up. “Um… w-w-what… is that?” Misty trembled as she pointed at the pig. “This here’s my huntin’ pig, Mojo,” Snakebite introduced as the pig pawed the floor. “Hunting pig?” Shaggy questioned. “He's a lot better than any hound dog. He can smell a catfish a mile away.” The pig snorted and moved to the side of the boat, just as Big Mona squirted Scooby in the face with water again, making Snakebite laugh. “Lot smarter than any dog too,” he said before picking Shaggy up with his hook. “Now, get these trespassin' tourists off my boat. I got fishin' to do!” Misty and Scooby leapt back onto the ferry as Snakebite dropped Shaggy onto the boat before speeding away. “That's old Snakebite Scruggs,” Jacques explained as the ponies watched Snakebite drive away. “He think the bayou is his own private preserve. He don't like anybody bein' in it, no.” “Suspicious character, eh, Velma?” Shaggy asked. “True,” Velma nodded. “But he did save you three from being eaten by alligators.” “Oh… right,” Misty frowned. “Sorry about that, guys-- I didn’t mean to drop us. I just… thought I heard something.” Luckily, Shaggy and Scooby didn’t express any anger or distrust toward her, and Misty felt somewhat relieved. Soon, an island came into view-- Moonscar Island, to be exact. As soon as the vehicles got off the boat, Jacques waved Lena farewell. “And, Ms. Lena, you give my best to Ms. Lenoir, you hear, cher?” “I’ll do that, Jacques! Thanks!” Lena waved farewell before turning to the group. “Ready? Follow me, and hang on-- the road’s a little bumpy.” The Mystery Machine slowly followed Lena’s truck down the road, and it turns out she was right-- the road was bumpy, sending the group up and down in their seats-- Shaggy and Scooby even hit their heads up on the roof. But before long, a gorgeous mansion came into view. “Wow!” Daphne exclaimed. “There’s our haunted house!” Soon, the vehicles drove down the driveway, as a male gardener planted some new flowers in the front lawn. “Are you getting this, Fred?” Daphne asked. “Yep, got it, Daph,” Fred focused the camera on the house. Boy, Lena wasn't kidding-- this place is crawling with cats!” “Cats?” Scooby asked upon hearing what Fred said before he borrowed the camera to get a glimpse of the cats. “Cats!” His canine instincts kicked in instantly, and he jumped from the van after the felines. “Scooby, get back here!” Sunny cried. Instantly, the cats screeched and bolted off as soon as they saw Scooby, and he began chasing them all over, ruining the gardener's work on the front lawn. “Hey, you mutt! I just planted those!” the gardener shouted angrily, raising a fist to the sky. The cats ran from Scooby under the gardener's wagon, but when Scooby tried to follow them, he got his head stuck in the wagon wheel. “Cats...” he growled. “Scooby!” Daphne cried. “Leave them alone!” “Yeah!” one of the cats stuck its tounge out at Scooby. Unfortunately, that made Scooby growl that much worse, causing him to break free of the wheel, but also made the wagon fall to the ground, leaving the ponies and Shaggy to catch the falling plants. “Great with cats, huh?” Lena glared at Shaggy, hands on hips. Shaggy laughed sheepishly before he cried out, “Scooby-Doo! Stop!” Of course, Scooby refused to listen, and proceeded to chase the white cat. As it happened, the gardener dusted the dirt off his head with a growl. “Ooh, I spent a whole week on that planter!” Then the white cat ran through the gardener's legs while Scooby ran him over while trying to chase the cat, leaving Scooby to return and dust the gardener off. “Excuse me,” he said politely before resuming his chase. The cat quickly ran from him before it landed in the arms of a blonde-haired woman on the front steps. “Uh-oh!” the dog yelped as he tried to stop, but unfortunately, he was going so fast, he barreled right into the woman as the cat jumped away. The group and Lena cringed from the crash as it happened before the latter gasped in shock and horror. “Miss Lenoir!” Lena cried as she ran up to the woman. The white cat walked away with a meow and a sly grin upon its face. An angry Scooby tried to chase it again, but Shaggy stopped him by grabbing ahold of his collar. “Is everypony okay?!” Hitch asked as the ponies ran over with their friends. “Uh-huh,” Scooby nodded, just before the woman got to her feet, clearly angry and speaking in a distinct French accent. “Who brought this… this… dog?!” “Dog? Where?” Scooby questioned. “I'm terribly sorry. We should have held onto him better. I'm Daphne Blake, of Coast to Coast?” Daphne introduced, but the woman simply glared at her. “You know... the TV show?” “We do not have television on my island,” the woman said in a cold tone, rubbing on the cat shaped pendant around her neck. “Lena, what are they doing here?” “It's all my fault, Ms. Lenoir,” Lena said with an ashamed tone “I heard these folks say they wanted to see a real haunted house. So I thought...” “You might show them mine,” the woman, known as Ms. Lenoir, finished dryly. “I see. Really, Lena.” But, Sunny didn’t want to see Lena get in trouble, so she decided to step in and say something. “But your house is really beautiful, Ms. Lenoir. Isn’t it, Fred?” she asked. “Picture perfect,” Fred agreed. “Just how old is it?” “It has been in my family for generations,” Ms. Lenoir explained, gesturing to the fields close by. “It was a pepper plantation. Some of the hottest peppers in Louisiana grow on this island.” To this statement, Scooby’s mouth began to water as Shaggy laughed in delight. “We've hit the proverbial chili pepper jackpot!” “So, Ms. Lenoir… is your house really…?” Velma began to ask, but Ms. Lenoir cut her off. “Haunted? Yes…” she nodded. “It is an old house, with restless spirits.” Misty shared a nervous glance with Shaggy and Scooby at this statement, just as Ms. Lenoir began to climb the front steps to go back inside. “You’re welcome to look around… if you’d like.” “Would we ever! Do you mind us taping for Daphne’s show and my social media fans?” Pipp asked. “No, of course not,” Ms. Lenoir smiled faintly. “In fact, I would be most flattered.” Daphne, Fred, Velma and most of the ponies walked forward, but as Shaggy and Scooby were about to climb the front steps, Ms. Lenoir’s frown immediately returned as she gave Scooby a warning-type look. “But,” she spoke, “you will have to do something about your… dog.” Misty felt her ears pin at Ms. Lenoir’s unsettling gaze, but Shaggy took the chance to speak up. “Like, food always keeps Scooby occupied,” he said. “If it will keep him from chasing my cats,” Ms. Lenoir said, her smile slowly returning, “you’re welcome to my kitchen. As are your… pony friends.” “Groovy!” Shaggy laughed. “Come on, guys! There are some smoothie recipes I really wanna try!” Sunny led her friends inside, as Fred and the girls noticed the gardener angrily muttering about the mess Scooby made. “Sorry about all the damage, Lena,” Fred apologized. “Oh, don’t worry,” Lena assured. “Beau will take care of it.” “Beau?” Daphne wondered. “Our new gardener,” Lena answered as she went inside, and after a moment, the others began to follow suit. As she looked around the large house, Misty couldn’t help but feel worried… it was like she was back in Opaline’s castle. And what was that strange laughter she heard back on the ferry? She had a bad feeling that she was bound to find out… and that her friends would be dragged into everything with her.