Del and Aurora offered to take Fred, Velma, Izzy and Zipp to the coordinated where the seismic tremors were highest in their snowplow, and had been driving for quite some time through the blinding snowstorm. “According to the data from the seismograph,” Velma said, looking at the map, “this should be the right spot.”
Suddenly, Del yelled and stomped on the breaks, halting the snowplow before they went over the side of the cliff before them. “Phew…” Izzy gasped. “That would’ve been pretty bad if we went over that cliff.”
“Jinkies!” Velma exclaimed as they got back out. “The underground vibrations must be coming from down there.”
“Then we better get down there too,” Zipp said, handing them some climbing gear. “Aurora and I will fly down there and meet you at the bottom.”
As soon as the two pegasi dove out of sight, Fred picked up one of the climbing ropes. “Come on, gang. It's time to put this mystery on ice.”
XXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, Snow Spell had finally joined back with the others as they were preparing to go to bed for the evening. “Everyone, there you are!” said the ice-loving unicorn. “This palace is incredible! Dating back over 3000 years!”
“We’re glad you’re having fun, Snow Spell. Really, we are,” Sunny said before yawning. “But we’re pretty tired from all this hiking and being chased. You think we can keep exploring tomorrow?”
“Oh, of course,” said Snow Spell. “I’ll walk with you.”
They continued to walk for another good ways until Shaggy spoke up again. “Boy, guys, that High Lama sure seemed like an awfully wise man,” he said. “But, like, you'd think, he'd have remembered to tell us where to brush our teeth.”
“I’m sure he has other things on his mind, Shaggy,” Misty pointed out, frowning. “I don’t think we should judge the sweet man too much.”
As they continued to walk down the hallways of the palace, they came across spooky looking paintings on their left sides. “Gee...” Sunny said nervously. “For such peaceful people, they sure do have a lot of creepy paintings.”
“Check this guy out, Scoob,” Shaggy said, gesturing to the first painting. “Like, he must be the god of bad breath.”
Scooby laughed before pausing and smelling his own breath, shaking off the smell before they walked on to the next painting. “And who's this? Like, talk about a bad hair day,” Shaggy said. “Somebody paint this guy a hat.”
Sunny and the girls couldn't help but giggle... in a way, it was sort of true. Then, they moved on to the last 'painting' on the wall. “Now, this guy's the ugliest one of them all.”
Scooby and the girls looked up at the realistic art form and realized that it wasn't just a painting-- it was the real abominable snowman! So, they screamed and got back as fast as they could, Scooby trembling in the process. “You're not kidding, you guys,” Shaggy said with a smile. “Like, who'd be his date for the prom? Tyrannosaurus rex? Ha ha ha!!”
“Uh, Shaggy...?” Sunny said, but Shaggy paid her no mind. “I mean, with a face like that, he could go as himself for Halloween!” he laughed. “Like, he's so ugly, he probably has to sneak up on himself in the mirror!”
Suddenly, the snowman let out a roar, causing Shaggy to jump and squeeze the toothpaste he was holding tightly. “Zoinks, it's the abominable snowman!”
“And I don't think he appreciates your honesty!” Snow Spell said urgently. “This way!”
The group immediately darted off to avoid the snowman and its large stature, eventually losing him after a few moments. But, everyone knew it wouldn’t be long until the snowman found them again. “We gotta find someplace to hide from that bipolar polar bear!” Shaggy said as they ran along a path, and before long, Sunny noticed a minecart up ahead. “In here, guys! Hurry!”
They dove into the cart, but found it to be a dead end, and the abominable snowman was getting closer. Everyone began to say their final prayers… until Scooby activated a lever that sent the cart falling down into the mine shaft through the elevator, until the elevator crashed at the bottom and they started rolling along the tracks and into a crystal-filled tunnel.
Snow Spell was the first to take a breath of relief. “That was far too close for comfort.”
“Uh, I don’t think we’re out of this yet,” Misty uneasily said, pointing to the intersection of three tunnels before them. “Like, check it out,” Shaggy commented. “This tunnel’s got a split personality.”
“And we have no idea which way leads out!” Misty reasoned. “Do you think we should split up and take a different tunnel?”
“No. WAY too risky,” Sunny said firmly. “If the snowman catches one of us, who’s to say that he can’t catch all of us? It’s better if we stay together on this one.”
“Shaggy? Scooby? Guys?” called a familiar voice. “Is that you?”
Everyone watched as Fred, Velma, Del, Aurora, Zipp and Izzy came down one of the tunnels, immediately halting before them. “Guys!” Zipp cried in relief. “It IS you!”
“Zipp! Izzy! Aurora!” Sunny cried, and she and Misty ran out to greet their friends with a multitude of hugs, and Scooby and Shaggy leapt into Fred and Velma’s arms. Scooby happily licked Fred on the face, and Velma just looked at Shaggy. “Don’t even think about it.”
She immediately dropped him on the ground, and Snow Spell walked over. “You must be the friends that Misty and Sunny talk of so fondly.”
“We are,” Zipp said. “We’re so happy that you all are safe and sound!”
“But I have to know, guys. What happened up at the weather station?” Aurora asked curiously. But suddenly, before Shaggy could respond, the cave began to shake roughly. “More like, what’s happening down here!” Shaggy said. Suddenly, Daphne’s voice was heard, and she and the others found their way over to them. “Was that an explosion?”
“PEMBA!!” Snow Spell cried in relief, running into her friend’s arms. “Oh, I never thought I would see you again!”
“SUNNY!!!” Hitch screamed, diving into her and giving her a bone-crushing hug. “Oh, heh…” Sunny wiggled out of the hug when it got too much. “Good to see you too, Hitch.”
“Wait a minute… where did you guys come from?” Izzy asked. “Well, we’d love to catch up on our cave exploration, Iz,” Pipp said, “but we can’t stay here!”
“This cave could collapse at any moment!” Pemba agreed. The cave continued to rumble, and Zipp pulled out her visor and scanned around before finding a suitable exit. “This way!”
Everyone screamed and followed after the white pegasus into the exit tunnel… which led to a large, crystal-filled cavern. Everyone seemed to ‘ooh’ and ‘aww’ in delight, eyes widening in surprise and wonder. “It’s some kind of crystal cavern,” Fred observed. “It’s… it’s amazing!” Aurora said. “Like the aurora borealis was slipped into each crystal.”
“Wow… that’s a really poetic way to look at it,” Pipp nodded, not pulling out her phone to take a photo for once. “Now this is what I call an underground scene,” Shaggy agreed. That’s when Daphne suddenly pointed down into the cavern with a gasp. “Look; I think I see people down there!”
When Snow Spell and Pemba got a good look, the unicorn’s eyes widened in shock. “It’s Ember and Professor Jeffries!”
Indeed; the professor and Ember seemed to be using explosives, the same explosives that Shaggy, Scooby, Misty and Sunny noticed earlier, to mine the crystals in the cavern, and Misty suddenly got that bad feeling about Ember again… this time, even stronger. After a moment of observation, Fred turned to the group in a determined spirit. “Come on, gang. I've got a plan to catch this crystal-craving creep. But I’m gonna need everyone’s help… even our pony friends.”
“Just tell us what to do, Freddy,” Sunny smiled, “and we’ll be waiting.”