//------------------------------// // Secrets Revealed // Story: G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// Everyone followed Ben and Autumn back to their house to celebrate the success of their mystery against the ghost of Sarah Ravencroft. But during their walk, Autumn couldn't help but notice that Izzy was limping. And that got her to thinking... would that new powder she was working on be just the thing to help? When they got inside, Izzy finally had the chance to approach Autumn, wincing in pain. “Hey, Autumn... how's it going?” “Izzy, you look uncomfortable,” Autumn frowned at the unicorn's suffering. “Do you need some help?” “Aww, psh... don't worry about me,” Izzy assured. “I'm as right as rainbow rain, and-- OUCH!!” “Whoa, you all right, Izzy?” Hitch asked worriedly as the other ponies gathered around her. That's when Autumn suddenly took charge. “Somepony get her to the couch!” Shaggy and Scooby lifted Izzy off the ground and placed her on the couch of the office, using pillows to make sure she was comfortable. “Hmm... doesn't look badly sprained,” Autumn hummed. “Sunny, can you create a flexible vine?” “Uh... sure thing,” Sunny nodded and used a nearby pot of soil that she used to grow the vine. “Now... everypony give us a few minutes alone,” Autumn said firmly. “This requires intense concentration.” As the others looked rather unsure, Zipp came to face the group. “Don't worry, everypony. I trust her... she'll take care of Izzy.” So, the group decided to trust Autumn and left her alone with Izzy before they went back to Ben's office. That's when the Hex Girls and Ametista spotted the portrait of Sarah Ravencroft on the wall nearby. “So she was a real wiccan?” Luna asked, leading Ben to nod. “That's right.” “So cool!” Dusk commented, and Ametista gazed longingly up at the picture frame. “She's beautiful...” “Yes, l think so, too. That's why l get upset when people accuse her of being a witch,” Ben said. That's when Fred, Daphne and Misty decided to approach, with Fred speaking first. “l think we owe you girls an apology for thinking you were...” “Witches,” Daphne said. “We saw you perform some kind of ritual in your shed. And Misty thought that you were working for an evil alicorn who was after all magic in Equestria.” “Witches? We just pretend that stuff,” Dusk said with a smile. “lt's just a gimmick for our band.” “The girls and I are eco-goths... kinda like wiccans,” Ametista explained. “Just ask Thorn-- she is one.” To this, Thorn chuckled with a smile. “Yeah, right. Sally McKnight. 1/16th blood on my mother's side. And that ritual you saw was just peppermint and cloves to sooth my vercal cords. You think it's easy singing this stuff?” “Thorn's herbal vapor is awesome,” Dusk added. “We all use it before and after every show.” “...that does actually make a lot of sense,” Sunny hummed. “Peppermint and clove are often used to sooth sore throats. Kinda like olden time mist medicine.” “Ooh! I gotta think about using that before my next performance!” Pipp said. “But, what about your fangs?” Shaggy asked. “My dad's a dentist,” Luna took out her fangs and showed them off. “He outfitted the band.” The fangs were enough to scare Scooby into Shaggy's arms, but Thorn and Dusk took theirs out as proof. “We knew it all along, right, Scoob?” Shaggy asked, but was scared into Luna's arms after seeing Scooby with Luna's fangs in. “I'm sorry I judged you,” Misty apologized. “I guess I was so worried about Opaline, that it completely clouded my judgement.” “There are no hard feelings, Misty,” Ametista smiled. “We all understand how wrapped up somepony can be. We'll be on the lookout for this evil alicorn you speak of.” “Phew... thanks. I needed that.” Then, Autumn came out of the office with Izzy, and the unicorn was wearing a bandage made of vines on her leg. “Izzy should be just fine, everypony,” Autumn sighed. “She just needs to keep that bandage on her leg for a few hours.” “Thank goodness for that,” Velma said. “But how did you heal her so fast?” “Because... I'm an enchantress.” There was a mix of gasps from that, but Autumn was prepared to defend herself. “But I only use herbs and remedies to heal, not to gain power. And I don't want to hurt anyone with my skills. I hope this doesn't put a hindrance on our friendship.” “Are you kidding? You helped Izzy, despite wondering what we would think,” Misty said with a smile. “She's right, Autumn. Doing this healing and magic is a great way of giving back to Oakhaven,” Sunny smiled. “And we would still love to be your friends.” Autumn sighed in relief and smiled at them... just before the mayor and Mr. McKnight arrived. “Mayor?” Ben said in confusion, leading the mayor to speak. “We've been ringing your doorbell for sometime and...” “Sorry about that. I really need to fix that thing for years. What's up, mayor?” “Well Ben... I feel really bad about everything and I wanted to apologize for using your ancestors in our little publicity stunt,” the mayor said sympathetically. “The tourist trade was so slow,” Mr. McKnight said. “We were desperate.” “Right,” the mayor nodded. “And you once told me that supernatural phenomenal always attracts people.” Mr. McKnight then seemed hesitant to speak the next time. “lt was just natural to use Sarah because... we accidentally dug up her grave.” The ponies found themselves gasping in shock while Ben's eyes widened in surprise. “What grave?” “I'm sorry, Ben,” the mayor apologized. “But, you see I lied to you when you asked me that if we advice of Sarah's while we were building the puritan village.” “We did,” Mr. McKnight added. “It was her grave marker. We found it in a bulldozed pile of dirt and rocks, we didn't want to upset you.” “But that's all we found. No bones,” the mayor added. “No book?” Ben asked. “Nothing but that grave marker. We swear, Ben,” Mr. McKnight nodded, and the mayor nodded. “We don't even know where her grave is.” “That could be true,” Autumn pondered. “It could be anywhere between Miller's Creek and the old tree stump.” That's when Zipp suddenly thought of something when she looked at Sarah Ravencroft's portrait. “Shaggy, do you still have that little shoe buckle Scooby found today?” “Like, this one? Here,” Shaggy handed the buckle to her, and after a bit of observing, Zipp turned to Scooby. “Scooby, can you show me exactly where you found this?” “I think so.” XXXXXXXXX Scooby sniffed and led everyone in the direction of where he found the shoe buckle, leading them right to the old tree stump Autumn mentioned. Ben knelt down to the tree stump, and Velma knelt by his side. “All these years I was searching the wrong oak tree,” Ben said. “Right. I believe this is was left of the tree where Sarah did her healing,” Velma said. “You never even noticed it because it was cut down hundreds of years ago.” “You gotta dig deeper, Scooby,” Zipp advised the Great Dane, who immediately shook his head. “Nuh-uh.” Velma then pulled out a familiar box of snacks. “How about for a Scooby Snack?” Scooby seemed tempted, but still was unsure about the whole thing. “No way!” “Two Scooby Snacks?” That was when Scooby relented with a happy smile. “Okay!” “And with some speed endurance powder,” Autumn said, sprinkling some pink powder onto the treats, “you'll be able to dig that spot up much faster. Catch them, Scooby!” She tossed the treats into the air, which Scooby caught in his mouth, ate and immediately got to digging, even faster than usual thanks to the speed powder on the treats. Dirt went flying, causing everyone to quickly back up. Then, there was a loud thunk, and Ben immediately spoke up. “What did you find?” “Box!” “Rocks?” Ben repeated what he thought he heard. “Hang on...” Zipp flew to Scooby's side and helped him hoist a small chest out of the hole Scooby created. “A box!” Ben immediately rushed toward the box, picking up and groaning a little. “Ben? Are you okay?” Misty asked in concern. “Just... a little... excited.” Ben carefully opened the chest, and a book was what they found inside, much to Ben's excitement. The book was medium-sized, and its front cover depicted the picture of a demonic skull-like face that showed long fang-like teeth and a small keylock. Pipp flapped her wings and glanced over Ben's shoulder as he dropped the chest right onto the ground. “No offense, Ben, but it looks kinda evil to belong to a wiccan healer.” “...Pipp is right,” Autumn whispered to Zipp. “Something doesn't feel right about this.” Ben flipped through the book, and as Velma glanced over Ben's shoulder, she found her concern rising. “Ben, that doesn't seem to be a journal at all.” “Because it isn't, Velma,” Ben said, turning to her sinisterly. “It's a spell book.” Velma, Autumn and Zipp gasped in shock, and everyone backed up as Ben turned toward them. “You see, Sarah wasn't a wiccan. She was indeed... a witch!” Everyone gasped in total surprise, and Ametista gazed toward her fellow Hex Girls with wide eyes. “A real witch?” “Heavy...” Dusk said. “Since Sarah's blood runs in my veins,” Ben continued, “I guess that makes me... a warlock.” “Warlock?” Scooby said as Shaggy whimpered worriedly. “The wiccans imprisoned Sarah in her own spell book!” Ben continued. “And you helped me find it.” “Autumn... did you know about this?” Misty asked with concern. “No, I-I swear!” Autumn shook her head violently. “He told me the same thing he had been telling you from the beginning! I... I was also fooled...” “You lied to me, Ben,” Velma said angrily. “You lied to everyone! Even Autumn, even after she trusted you with her own secrets!” “Well, gee, l had to. l'd been searching for years. Then l read about your exploits,” Ben told Velma wickedly. “l knew if anyone could help me find the book... it was you and your friends. l orchestrated the whole mummy scheme... paying off the archaeologists and the security guards... just to lure you to the museum, so we could meet. Heh heh, yes, Velma. l tricked you into helping me, and it worked.” Fred quickly turned to Mayor Corey and Mr. McKnight in anger. “And you were in on Ben's plan, too.” “No!” Mayor Corey declined. “We're as surprised as you are. Honest.” “For once, he's telling the truth,” Ben scoffed. “That stupid fake ghost was the town's idea. But it did work to my advantage.” “But what about us?” Zipp asked with a narrowed gaze. “You know about us, and yet we never saw any newspaper articles with our pictures in them. How else could you have known about our existence if Autumn didn't know about us?” “I found an Equestrian scroll in one of the areas I was searching, and it told me all about what I needed to know about your species,” Ben said as he stared at the group of ponies. “Plus... someone else reached out to me and told me all about her, and the power she would give to me if I got rid of you meddling ponies for good.” “She...?” Misty trailed off, looking suspicious and fearful in the same look. “Who's she...?” “...I suppose I could say her name, since your lives will be over very shortly,” Ben said after feigning a moment of pondering. “She was a wonderful alicorn named... Opaline Arcana.”