//------------------------------// // On the Road Rescue // Story: G5 Adventures in Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! meets Courage the Cowardly Dog // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// After witnessing the wishing magic within Eclipse’s rainbow feathers, the group went into separate vehicles to go to the mayor’s mansion, and as she got in with the gang and ponies (excluding Misty), Muriel turned to the others. “I’ve got another riddle for all of you,” she said as they got moving. “At night, they come without being fetched, by day, they're lost without being stolen. What are they?” “Hmmm… oh! I remember this one from when I was a filly! It’s… you know, I think Velma might know it,” Izzy said sheepishly, deciding not to answer. Velma tried to think of the answer, but groaned as nothing would come to her. “I don't know! I can't believe I don't know!” “Why, it’s the stars, dear,” Muriel smiled. “The stars, yes! I knew it!” Izzy pumped a hoof, causing Velma to sigh to herself. “Ugh, I can't believe I didn't get that…” “Don't beat yourself up, Velma girl. I learned these riddles long ago, when I was a wee thing,” Muriel explained. “I wish I could be a professional riddle solver like you.” Velma smiled at that… that did make her feel a little better. But at the moment, the ponies were wondering how Misty was taking riding with cranky old Eustace. The way he talked about Courage and Eclipse seemed to really bother Misty, and if it went too far... they were sure that she would do something about it. Whether they wanted her to or not. XXXXXXXX Misty sat in the back of Eustace’s truck as Courage and Scooby got in the cab, and needless to say, Eustace was not pleased to have extra passengers in HIS vehicle. “I don't know why you got to ride with me. Getting your fur all over my seat and slobbering all over the place. Don’t touch nothin’!” Eustace warned the three before walking off. “Stupid dogs…” “Man, I don’t know how you and Eclipse live with that guy, Courage,” Misty shook her head. “Opaline was bad, trying to take over Equestria and steal magic, but I think this guy comes at a VERY close second.” “Yeah. And I don’t slobber…” Scooby said, licking his paw. “...much.” This caused Misty and the dogs to giggle… right before a giant cicada, much bigger than the others, climbed into the driver’s seat and growled at them, leaving the three to hang on for dear life and scream as the truck pulled away from the house at top speed. XXXXXXXX During their drive, everyone suddenly felt a sudden push at the back of the Mystery Machine, causing the ponies to stumble and try to regain balance just before Fred looked back in the rearview mirror with wide eyes. “Hold the phone! There's a horrible, ugly monster driving that truck!” “Call him Eustace, dear,” Muriel said. “No, I think Fred’s right!” Zipp said, suddenly seeing Eustace’s truck pull up beside them. “Eustace isn’t driving, it’s a monster!” Eclipse gasped in horror as their friends were stuck in the truck with the giant cicada. “And our friends are in there too!” “Like, we gotta save Misty and Scoob!” Shaggy argued, just as Scooby leaned out from the truck to try and get closer to them. “SHAAAAAGYYYYYYY!!!!” “Hang on, gang!” Fred warned. “And Ms. Muriel.” The gang attempted to get closer to their friends, but the truck knocked them in the side so hard, it nearly sent them spinning over the cliff… before it rammed into them again and led to a high speed chase up the mountainside. Unfortunately, the cicada was making the truck go at its top speed, and the Mystery Machine was quickly following behind, across a rope bridge before it quickly fell apart. “Do something, Freddy! They’re getting away!” Sunny argued. “Oh no, they don’t!” Daphne said, messing with the control panel. “Nitro boosters in three, two…” “Nitro boosters?!” Hitch and Fred cried out in surprise. “While you were redoing the decals,” Daphne explained, “I added nitro boosters.” “Respect, Daph,” Zipp said with a smirk, impressed. “Respect.” “ONE!!” Daphne hit a button on the dash, causing the van to lurch forward at top speed across the broken bridge and the ravine, landing safely on the other side and in front of Eustace's truck! “Yes!” Misty cheered. “They made it!” “Misty, jump!” Eclipse said as she opened the van door. “Hurry!” “I’ll be back for you two, don’t worry!” Misty assured the dogs before leaping across the wide gap and into the van, causing Izzy to hug her in relief. “One down,” Misty declared, “two to go!” “And I think we should do it fast!” Hitch said frantically. “You know, so we don't DIE?!” But, the cicada had other ideas, bashing and crashing into the side of the van and making it tumble out of control, right toward a steep cliff. And in that moment, seeing his friends in danger ignited a spark in Scooby that he didn’t even know he had. “We have to do something!” “Uh-huh!” Courage nodded. “Uh-huh!” “Grab the wheel!” Scooby said, and Courage and the cicada got into a battle over command of the steering wheel, allowing the gang, Muriel, Eclipse and the ponies to recover from the tumble… until the steering wheel broke off. “Uh…” Scooby gulped, “...that's not what I was thinking.” The cicada roared again, causing Scooby and Courage to shriek and unfortunately toss the steering wheel right out of the window. And to make matters worse, with no way to steer the truck, the poor dogs were heading toward a deadly cliff at the bottom of a steep hill, leaving them to scream as the cicada flew up and out of sight. The Mystery Machine immediately sped after them, and Zipp pulled out her goggles to see it was just as she feared. “They’re going over the cliff!” “Oh dear!” Muriel shouted. “Oh no…” Misty covered her eyes. “Daph?” Fred called. “Launching grappling hook,” said Daphne, “in three… two… one!” The grappling hook shot out as soon as Daphne hit the button, grabbing the rear bumper of Eustace’s truck as they went over the cliff, preventing them from going any further down. Unfortunately, the weight of the truck dangling for dear life caused the Mystery Machine to also be pulled toward the cliff’s edge. “The truck is too heavy!” Velma shouted. A huge chunk of the cliff broke off, leaving the gang dangling over what of the cliff was left. And after screaming a bit in terror, Zipp immediately had an idea. “Misty, Sunny, Izzy, Hitch! Get out and push against the Mystery Machine! Maybe that’ll keep it steady enough! Me, Eclipse and Pipp will try and hoist the truck up!” “Right!” Everypony got out to do their respective duties, with the flyers keeping the truck from dropping further while the other ponies held the Mystery Machine in place. With the vehicles stabilized, but the bumper being very close to detaching, Shaggy called out to the dogs as he and the others got out of the van. “Scooby-Doo! Like, grab the bumper, dude. Hurry!” “Grab my Courage, too, dear!” Muriel added. “She’s right!” Misty called, straining to keep the van in place. “Grab Courage and the bumper and hang on!” Scooby grabbed Courage by the scruff, exiting the cab and moving toward the bumper. All the while, Hitch strained as he could feel their hooves sliding. “Sunny, we can’t hold the Mystery Machine much longer!” “And…” Pipp strained, “...this truck is getting way too heavy!” Sunny quickly began to think before she came up with a decision. “Pipp, Zipp, Eclipse! Let the truck go!” “WHAT?!” everyone shrieked at once. “Don’t worry!” Sunny assured. “I have an idea!” Eclipse looked at the sisters before they nodded and flew out from under the truck, causing it to bounce, the bumper to finally come loose, and the truck to start falling! Scooby and Courage screamed before Sunny took a dive off the cliff, changing into her alicorn form before flying down them, letting them fall onto her back, much to the relief of their friends watching from the sidelines. Scooby sighed in relief and hugged Sunny around the neck. “Sunny, you saved us!” “Hey, that’s what friends do,” Sunny smiled, nuzzling into the dog's hug. “Now, hang on. I’ll fly you both back up to solid ground.” Sunny began to fly Scooby and Courage up to solid ground just as Eustace arrived, looking livid. “What did you do to my truck?!” “Eustace, seriously?” Hitch asked in shock. “You’re more concerned about a truck than you are that Scooby and Courage nearly died?” “Well, what do you expect? They’re stupid dogs! I knew I shouldn’t have let them near my truck!” Misty growled in anger, but before she could go off on Eustace, Shaggy stepped in her way to make the conversation a little less tense. “Like, don't fret, angry old dude. Your truck might be okay.” Suddenly, the falling truck crashed right at the bottom of the cliff, its wooden truck bed piercing right through a sharp rock. Shaggy chuckled nervously at that. “Um, like… it might still be okay.” And then, ironically, the truck exploded right after that. “Oooookay… we’re really gonna have to teach you the subject of irony,” Zipp winced, looking over at Shaggy. “Oh boy. I think you might be right on that one…” Shaggy gulped. “It’s all your fault!” Eustace snapped as Sunny brought the dogs up. “And those stupid dogs!” “THAT’S IT!!” Misty finally shrieked, marching toward Eustace, much to the shock of everyone around... even Eustace himself. “You better be thankful that Scooby and Courage were here, otherwise I would have a lot more to say to you than this. Don’t get on our bad side… we could kick your flank to Equestria and back if you hurt those dogs, so… do… NOTHING.” Everyone watched in shock as Misty turned around and got back in the Mystery Machine. “Whoa… has Misty ever gotten mad like that before?” Eclipse asked Sunny, who nodded. “Once… and it was not pretty. Come on. We better get to the mayor’s mansion before more trouble stirs up.”