It was a long, cold, stony silence on the way to the mayor’s mansion, and Misty and Eclipse stayed by Scooby and Courage’s sides the entire way, making sure Eustace didn’t say one more hurtful comment to them… otherwise, the ponies knew it wouldn’t be pretty.
When they finally arrived, they all got out and stood on the front porch. Daphne knocked on the door, and a creepy, half-blind man opened it, growled at the gang and slammed the door in their faces. “Sweet Celestia…” Zipp muttered. “Is everypony in this town super unfriendly?”
Fred turned to look over at Daphne with an expecting look. “Try again, Daph.”
“You try again, Fred.”
“Don’t keep a lady… er, a BUNCH of ladies waiting, Fred,” Pipp smirked. “You open it.”
“Uh… okay…” Fred nodded and pecked on the door again. This time, when the creepy man opened the door, Fred held up the invitation, still a tad nervous. “Um... hey there, buddy. We have an invitation for dinner from the mayor, uh… at this address…?”
The group smiled nervously as the man stared at the invitation for a few moments before sighing heavily. “Follow me…”
“Well… we’re in, at least,” Izzy said to her friends as they looked nervous. “That’s a start… right?”
“Heh… right,” Sunny nodded before they all followed the man into the mansion. After a minute or two of walking, the man guided them all into a square, red room. “Wait here…” he said eerily before shutting the door behind him. The group looked around for a moment before Eustace smirked wickedly as he looked at Shaggy and the two dogs. “Hey, you three. Guess what?”
Shaggy and the dogs looked quite panicked before they responded. “What?!”
“Ooga booga booga!!” Eustace pulled out the same mask from earlier, causing Shaggy, Scooby and Courage to scream in panic as Eustace merely laughed. “Eustace, I’m warning you now,” Misty said with a sneer. “No more scaring them!”
“Misty, it’s okay,” Eclipse said, trying to calm Misty down. “He does this all the time. We’re pretty much used to it.”
“That’s still no excuse!” Misty said, looking at Eclipse before staring Eustace down again. “After I left Opaline, I promised myself to make sure nopony was treated like this again, and I’m gonna keep that promise!”
Suddenly, Fred began to hear something coming from the room itself, causing him to frown. “Stop messing around, guys.”
“Us?” Eclipse raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I hear something,” Fred nodded. “Listen.”
The room became stone silent as they listened to a very strange but… very familiar sound. “I hear it too,” Hitch said. “It sounds like some kind of growling.”
“It’s not us,” Shaggy and Scooby said in unison before Shaggy spoke again. “Like, we recently trained our stomachs to growl at a frequency of 21 hertz,” he explained, “well below the range of human, pony and dog hearing.”
“Why’s that?” Pipp asked, leading Scooby to shrug. “Modesty.”
Suddenly, there was a loud growl beside them, and everyone turned to see that chairs were starting to growl with teeth bared! This sent the group into panic as Misty, Shaggy and Scooby pulled on the door, finding it unable to open. “It’s locked!” Misty shouted. “We’re trapped!”
“Everypony, stand ready!” Sunny urged her friends. “And… FIGHT!!”
The ponies leapt into action, leaping on top of the chairs and kicking them, but one of the chairs was able to slip away and set its eyes on Muriel, which Courage didn’t fail to notice. “MURIEL!!”
Swiftly, the little pink dog picked up his human in his paws and ran around in circles, making Zipp chuckle. “That dog is a lot stronger than he looks.”
Amidst all the chaos in that small room, Shaggy and Scooby found the time to pull out their audiobook and listen to it for a small time frame. “Does it feel like you're trapped in a strange room full of angry, weird furniture trying to eat you?”
“YES!!” Shaggy and Scooby shouted at once. “Well, I'm afraid there is nothing I can do to help you,” the phone said before sprouting arms and legs and taking shelter in Shaggy’s pocket. “Like, this place is crazy!” Shaggy shouted. “Gee, you think?!” Eclipse said before trying to pick them up, eventually failing. “Oh, I wish you two could be a little lighter!”
As she spoke, her feathers suddenly sent magic sparkles to Shaggy and Scooby, causing them to suddenly float off the ground! “WHOOOOAAAAAAA!!!” they screamed, unable to control their new floating power. “Whoa, I really gotta get a handle on this wish-granting,” Eclipse said to herself out of surprise. “But in the meantime, sweet move by me!”
As the ponies and their friends continued to evade the chair monsters, a man wearing a fancy suit and glasses came in to see the chaos. “This way!” he called. “Hurry!”
“Alley-oop, fellas!” Eclipse said as she pushed Shaggy and Scooby through the doorway, with the others to follow. And when Eclipse finally landed, Shaggy and Scooby fell to the floor with a hard crash. “Oh, I am so, so sorry about that,” the man who saved them apologized. “This house is really old. The strangest things happen here. I'm the mayor of Nowhere. Pleased to meet you.”
“I didn’t even know we had a mayor,” Muriel spoke up with a smile. “How nice for you, young man.”
“And how can I help you lovely people?” the mayor asked, and Sunny pulled out the invitation that Fred gave her earlier from her saddlebag. “We got your invitation. It says we were invited for dinner.”
“Yeah. Yeah, dinner,” Scooby nodded. “Would you please hand that invitation to my assistant?” the mayor gestured to the creepy man beside him, causing the ponies to shriek in surprise before Sunny did as she was told. “Oh, let's have a look,” said the mayor, taking the card before sniffing and… strangely licking it before humming in thought, a frown upon his face. “Well, it's authentic. I'm sorry, but I simply don't remember inviting you, but I'm very, very busy. Did I mention I'm the mayor?”
“Well, I simply don't remember voting for you, so I guess we're even,” Eustace laughed, but the mayor seemed to pay him no mind. “But now that you're all here, why don't you stay? My butler can set a few more places at the table.”
“Yes?” the creepy man asked, now identified as the butler, causing many of them to shriek, startled. “Oh, Mr. Glockenspiel,” the mayor chuckled. “How do you keep sneaking up on me like that? Oh, well, please set extra places at the table. All these fine people are joining us for dinner.”
“Ugh… if you say so,” Mr. Glockenspiel told the mayor with a groan before turning to the others. “Walk this way…”
The butler proceeded to trudge off in another direction, as if he was limping, and this caused Shaggy to smirk a little. “Like, man, if I could walk that way,” he said, “I would never need a Halloween costume ever again. Check it.”
He proceeded to walk in the same style as the butler, causing Pipp, Eclipse, Scooby and Courage to giggle… until Shaggy faced the butler, who didn’t look at all pleased. “Oh… hi,” Shaggy said nervously, but the butler only growled before proceeding on his way. Eustace laughed mockingly as he, Shaggy, Scooby, Courage, the pegasus sisters and Eclipse were the only ones that remained. “Guess he showed you, shaggy-haired fella. Oh, and another thing… ooga-booga-booga!”
He grabbed a raven-like mask from the wall and put it over his face, causing Pipp, Shaggy and the dogs to scream in terror, causing Eustace to laugh more. “Never gets old. Now let's get some grub. I'm starving.”
As they walked, Zipp and Pipp walked on both sides of Eclipse, letting Eustace walk in front of them. “You know, Eclipse,” said Zipp, “I’ve been doing some analysis, and I think I found out how you can control those powers of yours.”
“Really?” Eclipse said in surprise. “Great Giza's pyramids, that's great, Zipp! What did you find out?”
“It's your wings,” Zipp explained, gesturing to the sphinx's wings. “The magic in the feathers builds up whenever you flap them, like when you're flying, and ends whenever you stop flapping them. I noticed it when you sent Shaggy and Scooby to the floor after your wish wore off.”
“My bottom will never be the same,” Scooby whined in pain, causing Eclipse to chuckle nervously. “Sorry...”
“Go ahead, Eclipse,” Pipp told her. “Give that magic method a try!”
“Well... I guess I can try,” Eclipse turned toward the boys, spreading her wings and flapping her wings. “I wish the boys would float off of the floor!”
The rainbow sparkles ignited from her wings once again, swirling around the boys before they were lifted up into the air. “Whee hee hee hee!!” Courage did a somersault in the air. “Eclipse, dude, you did it!” Shaggy smiled. “It worked!”
“It did?” Eclipse opened her eyes and saw that it did indeed work. “Wow... you did it, Zipp! You're helping me control my powers! Thank you so much!”
“No problem,” Zipp said with a large grin. “Come on... I'm curious about a lot of things, but mostly about what we're having for dinner.”
“Uh… I think you ponies are forgetting something?” Shaggy called. “Us floating?!”
“Oh, right!” Eclipse realized before slowly tucking her wings away, letting the boys float back to solid ground. “There you go. Now let’s keep moving-- this cub is hungry!”
But, what they didn't notice as they walked past one of the paintings... is that they were being watched.
XXXXXXXX
The group sat at the long dining room table in another part of the house, bread being the only thing on their plates and water in their glasses… causing Eustace to cross his arms and pout. “Oh, I’m sorry about this,” the mayor frowned. “I'm afraid the butler and his wife, Frau Glockenspiel…”
Suddenly, thunder and lightning sounded outside, and the sound of a woman’s cackle caused the ponies to shriek. “...have spent a lot of time in prison,” the mayor continued. “Working in prison… I think. I hope. Anyway, that's what they told my assistant.”
Misty chuckled nervously from her seat beside Scooby. “I hope so too…”
“Mr. Mayor, I really need to ask you,” said Velma. “We saw an enormous cicada.”
“No surprise,” the mayor said. “The insects do grow to crazy sizes around here. Ooh! We had a spider in the shower that was huge!”
“Yeeeeah, that’s nice,” Eclipse deadpanned. “But we saw a really big one!”
“Like, the queen of them!” Hitch agreed. “Possibly seven feet tall.”
“And it was driving a truck” Misty added, “that fell off a cliff and nearly sent poor Courage and Scooby to their deaths, as well as me for a period of time!”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, dear,” the mayor frowned sympathetically, making Misty smile a bit. “But it’s true, all the giant insect queens in this town drive trucks, cars… oh, the Mosquito Queen has a helicopter for some reason. Lots of weird stuff happens in Nowhere.”
“I’m beginning to see that,” Sunny said. “And I would think most people would think Equestria is weird. Believe it or not, I never even heard of Nowhere before today.”
“We're a little off the map,” the mayor responded, pointing to a map on the wall that wasn’t even in the United States. “I've been doing some research,” said Velma, “even though my internet connection has been pretty spotty. But from what I've discovered--”
“Hey, mayor!” Eustace interrupted. “Knock knock!”
“Um… who’s there?”
“D’you know?”
“D’you know who?”
“D'you know who voted for you? Cause I sure didn't.”
Pipp and Shaggy giggled alongside Eustace for a second before the mayor blinked again. “Uh… okay…”
“Oh, Eustace!” Muriel scolded. “Behave! Table manners, please.”
“Me? What about this big dog?” Eustace pointed at Scooby. “He's got his feet on the table.”
“In case you haven’t noticed,” Misty said, “but 80% of us are all feet, whether we have hooves or paws.”
“Sorry about them, Mr. Mayor,” Velma apologized. “As I was saying, my research shows that weird stuff really does seem to happen here in Nowhere. Per capita, more weird and creepy mysterious stuff happens in Nowhere than anywhere else in the world.”
“It’s on our flag,” the mayor gestured to the flag on the wall, saying the exact same thing. “I'd love to get more information that might help us get to the bottom of this giant bug mystery,” Zipp said. “Before somepony else gets really hurt!”
“That’s what the gang does,” Eclipse added. “They solve mysteries!”
“Oh, that reminds me,” said Muriel. “I have seas without water, coasts without sand, towns without people, and mountains without land. What am I?”
“A map!” the mayor instantly responded. “Nice one, Mr. Mayor!” Muriel said, leaving Velma to sigh. “I actually knew that one!”
“Back to your point, Velma,” said the mayor. “I wish I could help more. I just don't have any answers, unless they're riddles. There is something of a museum wing here in the mansion. You're welcome to check it out.”
“Oh, that sounds like just what we've been looking for. Oh, I'd love to learn about the history of this amazing town,” Sunny said with a smile. “Me too!” Daphne nodded. “Well, what’s stopping us?” Zipp got up from her seat. “Let’s take a tour!”
But, the mayor simply frowned in response. “No, no, I'm afraid I'm entirely too busy. Re-election campaigns, hair appointments. Oh, I told you I'm the mayor, yes? Well, anyway, he'll take you.”
Mr. Glockenspiel appeared beside them, letting Fred and Daphne yell in surprise. “Let me guess, your attorney?” Misty asked the mayor. “No, no, it's my butler,” the mayor shook his head. “He just likes to dress up for the museum.”
Fred, Daphne and Velma moved to get up with Zipp, Pipp and Hitch, and Muriel got up to follow them. “I would love to tag along and see what it is you kids do.”
“Awesome!”
“We don’t mind.”
“Cool.”
“We’d love that.”
“Sure!”
“I came all this way for dinner, and I'm not leaving until I get it!” Eustace crossed his arms. “We’ll stay too,” Izzy volunteered. “It's been 14 minutes since Shaggy's last snack. You guys have fun.”
“Oh, suit yourselves,” said the mayor. “I do it every morning with help. All right. I have a lot of mayoring to do. Don't forget to vote, whenever that is.”
Before the mayor could leave, however, a cream-colored unicorn with a purple and green mane and tail and blue eyes entered the room. “I heard there were visitors,” she said to the mayor. “Where are they?”
“Oh, some of them left for the museum wing, Paradise,” the mayor answered before gesturing to those remaining. “But there are some young folks right here.”
Suddenly, Misty felt a twinge of familiarity with the mare, staring at her with a thoughtful expression before deciding to speak up. “Paradise…? Paradise Moonray…?”
“Yes?” Paradise asked her. “How may I…?”
Suddenly, her eyes widened when she saw Misty. It had been so many moons… but she still recognized those eyes. “M-Misty…?”
“Yes…” Misty nodded, trying to keep her tears of excitement contained. “I-It’s me, Mom.”
“MOM?!” Shaggy and Scooby cried with jaws dropped, looking at Misty and her mother.
They had no idea Misty's mom was still alive, but they knew that Misty had to be overjoyed to see her again.
However, this reaction was not to be, for when Paradise and Misty's eyes met, Paradise scanned over her daughter’s body with a solemn expression. “So… I take it you survived Opaline's wrath?”
This instantly brought Misty sheer confusion. “S-Survived? What do you mean?” she asked. “Y-You knew Opaline?”
“Knew her…?” Paradise chuckled darkly. “You really have no idea. Come… let us… chat in private.”
Sunny looked over at Misty with a caring grin. “You go ahead, Misty. We’ll be here when you get done.”
Misty nodded slowly, and began to follow her mother away, letting the door shut behind them. “All right, Scooby-Doo, let's dig in!” Shaggy said as soon as Misty was gone, but when the boys took a bite of bread, they helped in pain, and Eclipse could see why. “This bread is so stale, it’s harder than a rock!”
“Scooby-Doo, I think this is a first!” Izzy levitated her bread up. “Food you can’t actually eat!”
“Yeah…” Scooby sighed. “So sad.”
“Disgusting is what it is,” Eustace grumbled. “Hey, where is that creepy tall guy? I wanna complain to the management!”
“Yes?” the butler grumbled, causing them all to yell in surprise. “Uh, didn’t you just…? Never mind,” Eclipse shook her head, not wanting to get into a sore subject. “This food is terrible!” Eustace banged the hard bread on the table. “How are we supposed to eat this dreck?”
“W-What Eustace means to say is… can we get some fresher bread, please?” Sunny asked a bit nicer. “Fine…” Mr. Glockenspiel muttered. “I will get the cook, Frau Glockenspiel.”
Suddenly, as thunder sounded, an angry looking woman appeared beside them. “I am Frau Glockenspiel!” she said, causing the group to yelp. “What is wrong with the food I make? Who speaks this?”
All the boys began to chatter at once, causing Frau to raise her knife and slice all the bread loaves into halves. “There, enjoy.”
“Yes, ma’am!” they all shouted before gulping down the bread in such a rush. But that made Sunny wonder how Misty was taking having her mother being in Nowhere all this time.
XXXXXXXX
“So… how long have you been in Nowhere, Mom?” Misty asked as they walked down the hallway. “Why did you leave--?”
Paradise lifted her hoof to stop the speaking. “You may not call me Mom yet. It is still impossible for me to fathom how you managed to survive. I thought Mother would have finished you off ages ago.”
“Mother? What are you…?” Misty began to ask before she began to piece things together. What Opaline said… what her father said…
…it all suddenly made sense.
Misty looked up at Paradise with wide eyes before they turned angry. “You didn’t abandon me, did you?” she asked in a cone tone of voice. “You… you gave me to Opaline!”
Paradise simply chuckled at Misty’s previous remark. “You just now figured that out? Yes, it’s true. Mother found me as a filly when I was not much older than you were. She taught me everything… about dragons… about the ponies I grew up with… and how my mother was a queen, ripped from her rightful place as alicorns should be and living alone in that castle for moons. When I was a teenager, she let me out into the world to tear the ponies apart even further… but your petulant father fell in love with me, as I fell in love with him, and then we had… ugh… you. Mother would have been furious if she had seen me nurturing a child. I found a portal in Bridlewood, and it sent me to the mortal world. And that got me to thinking… what better present to give her than another filly to raise and take under her wing, so she could help Mother get back to her rightful place while I searched the mortal world for dragons?”
The elder mare smirked. “There. Now you know everything.”
Misty stared at her mother with wide eyes. Everything Opaline said was true about her… she abandoned her, and to make matters worse, she KNEW Opaline and what potential evil she could bring! “You… you’re evil… just like her!” she snarled. “You’re what evil threat Twilight Sparkle has sent us to protect Equestria from! It’s good that Opaline’s gone, but now we have you to deal with!”
Then… Paradise’s facade shattered, looking at Misty with a calm, livid from. “What did you just say about Mother…?”
“She’s gone. Destroyed forever, and she's never gonna come back,” Misty sneered. “All thanks to me and my-- GAH!!”
Misty screamed as she was pinned against the wall, unable to get from her biological mother’s grip. “PONIES!!” Misty tried to shriek within her mother’s hold. “HELP!!!”
“Nopony can hear you… and nopony will think to find you in the deepest parts of Nowhere,” Paradise sneered toward the younger mare. “Now… be GONE!!”
With one flash from her horn, a portal opened beneath Misty, sending her tumbling down the portal and into a cave system. And once she was down in the caves, the portal closed.
Misty panted for a few moments before she shakingly sobbed. “My family really is broken…” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “What am I gonna tell Dad…?”