//------------------------------// // Legend of the Black Samurai // Story: G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// Once they were sure the Black Samurai’s ghost was gone, the gang decided to investigate the hall the scroll was hanging in, not finding anything else that was stolen. “I’m glad all of you are okay,” Sunny said to Shaggy, Scooby and the pegasus sisters, rubbing Scooby’s head. “This samurai fella is someone who isn’t to be messed with.” “You’re telling me,” Pipp said, smoothing down her mane. “He nearly sliced my mane right off! Oh… and nearly killed us too.” “But most of it just doesn’t add up,” Velma said out of confusion, picking up a nearby vase. “The artwork in this collection must be worth a fortune.” “And the Equestrian collection in the next room must be worth twice as much, based on what was in there,” Hitch agreed. “So, why would the Black Samurai go through all this trouble if he was just gonna steal one particular scroll?” “I’d say,” said Zipp, “whatever had to be on that scroll is either really expensive… or really important.” “Well gang,” Fred declared, “it looks like we landed smack-dab in the middle of another mystery.” “It is no mystery,” said a voice, and the gang turned to see Miss Mirimoto entering with Miyumi, Gray, Moon Blossom and Mrs. Takagawa at her and Sojo’s sides. “The legend of the Black Samurai has been told for centuries,” Mr. Takagawa spoke. “May I present Mr. Takagawa,” Miss Mirimoto introduced, “most honored curator from the Tokyo Museum of Cultural History, and his apprentice, Moon Blossom.” “Pleased to meet you both, Mr. Takagawa,” Daphne said politely as they bowed to one another. “You’ll have to excuse us,” Misty smiled with a nervous expression. “We don't really know much about Japanese folklore.” “But ghosts are kind of our specialty,” Fred added. “Speak for yourself!” Shaggy argued. “My specialty is a triple-decker Scooby Snack and ice cream with chocolate-sauce sandwich.” “Uh huh. Mine too,” Scooby explained with the lick of his lips. “So… Moon Blossom?” Sunny started. “You guys know about this Black Samurai character?” “I’ve been hearing legends about him since I was a filly, but I’ve never believed it until this point in my life,” Moon Blossom said. “So… I suppose it’s best if you hear the story first-hoof. The legend began hundreds of years ago when fierce warriors known as the samurai served the warlords of Japan with absolute loyalty.” Zipp and Sunny immediately began to take down various notes as the story continued forward. “The most fearsome of all,” Mr. Takagawa went on, “were the ronin, the samurai who had lost his master. Set adrift, like a wave on the open sea. One ronin sought out the master sword maker Masamune. The legendary master agreed to forge the samurai a sword of great mystical power… but it would take an entire year to complete the work.” “Yeeesh… if we had to wait an entire year to defeat Opaline with some sort of magical Equestrian source,” said Hitch, “I think I probably would have lost my noggin.” That got Misty to wondering… how long would it take to finally defeat her mother? If the battle with Opaline was long… who knows how long this battle would be? She wouldn’t want to be a burden to her friends. “The master's evil-minded apprentice, Muramasa, offered to forge him another sword,” Moon Blossom added onto the story, “but only in half the time.” During a brief moment of silence, Moon Blossom dipped a brush into a bottle of ink, beginning to paint or draw on a blank sheet of paper. When she was done, a sword was left on the page, drawn to absolute perfection, wowing the ponies and making their eyes grow wide as Mr. Takagawa’s voice brought back their attention. “The samurai returned,” Mr. Takagawa continued, “and upon drawing the blade felt an uncontrollable surge of dark power! The evil spirit of the apprentice had passed into the blade itself. It was a sword of hatred… a sword of darkness… a Sword of Doom! And in that moment was born… the Black Samurai!” A clap of thunder caught their attention, and this caused Shaggy and Scooby to retreat into an old suit of armor, and everyone else to jump in surprise.  “Finally,” said Moon Blossom, after allowing the group enough time to get themselves together, “the master’s blade was complete. He named it the Sword of Fate and entrusted its mystical powers to a fearsome Green Dragon.” “A dragon?” Zipp immediately grew intrigued. “Really?” “That’s him on that poster,” Moon Blossom gestured over to a painting on the wall of a long dragon holding a sword in its claws hanging on the wall. “Heaven and earth trembled as the two great swords clashed…” the earth pony continued, as if she was FEELING the battle happening. “...until, using his sacred magic, the Green Dragon defeated the Black Samurai, imprisoning him forever within the Sword of Doom.” Then, looking toward the painting of the Green Dragon, Mr. Takagawa let out a sigh. “Centuries passed, and the story faded into legend.” “Wow, Mr. Takagawa. That’s some story!” Izzy said breathlessly, just as Shaggy and Scooby quietly emerged from the suit of armor… well, almost quietly. “Like, story nothin’,” Shaggy told her. “That sounds more like… a nightmare!” “Yeah…” Scooby whimpered. “But what does all this have to do with the Destiny Scroll?” Daphne looked to Miss Mirimoto. “The Destiny Scroll holds the only clue to the hidden location of the Sword of Doom-- in the form of an ancient riddle,” Miss Mirimoto spoke. “If the ghost can solve the riddle of the scroll,” Moon Blossom said worriedly, “he will reclaim the Sword of Doom and free his evil spirit!” “...and Mom could take this to our advantage,” said Misty quietly, “using the Black Samurai to destroy the only ponies in her way of total domination!” This caused the Shaggy and Scooby to glance worriedly at one another-- there was no way the gang would let that happen… but they couldn’t help but wonder what the consequences would be like if they failed. “If only we'd gotten a good look at that scroll…” Velma spoke with a hum. “Maybe we could’ve solved the riddle first.” “Yeah, like too bad,” Shaggy said as he and Scooby shook off the armor. “The scroll is gone.” “Aww, too bad,” Scooby feigned sadness as he and Shaggy began to walk out of the room. “Guess that’s the end of this mystery,” Shaggy said triumphantly. “No my friends,” Miss Mirimoto replied. “The mystery has only begun.” With the press of a button on her fan, a secret panel opened up from inside the wall, and everyone stood wide eyed at what was inside. “The Destiny Scroll!” Mr. Takagawa gasped. “So the other scroll was a fake!” Hitch said enthusiastically with a wide smirk. “Ha ha! Psyche!” “Yes,” Miss Mirimoto took the scroll from the panel, giving it to Mr. Takagawa to examine. “But the Black Samurai will soon realize the deception… and return.” “Then what are we waiting for?” Zipp asked. “Let’s get this scroll taken care of so we can find the Sword of Doom and save the world!” “Wow, heh…” Gray chuckled. “You sound like you’ve done this a lot.” “13 times, not counting this one,” Izzy shrugged, causing the others to stare at her. “Don’t any of you keep track of this stuff?” Despite the overall shock, the ponies and Gray helped to clear stuff of a table so the scroll could be set down and read more clearly. “I will translate the inscription,” Mr. Takagawa said. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The paper dragon shows the way.” “The journey of a thousand miles…” Velma started. “...begins with a single step?” Pipp questioned. “The paper dragon shows the way…” Zipp muttered in thought. “What in the wide world of Equestria could that mean?” “I got it!” At the shout, everyone turned to see Shaggy and Scooby trying to best each other at origami animals. “Like, check it out, Scoob-- an origami octopus. Beat that! Ha ha!” Shaggy boasted. Scooby smirked before getting some blue paper and some scissors and cutting the paper until it revealed a wintry design. “Look! Snowflakes! Hee hee hee hee hee hee!” “Oooh, nice unicycling skills, boys!” Izzy said. “Maybe I can show you how to make these origami creations into little friends whenever you get lonely! All it takes is a couple of googly eyes so they follow you in every direction.” “Like, gee, Izzy…” Shaggy chuckled. “That’s… great! Heh heh…” That’s when Velma suddenly thought of something. “That’s it!” she exclaimed. “The paper dragon must be a reference to origami-- the Japanese art of folding paper!” Zipp suddenly realized what Velma was getting at, immediately flying up to the table. “Velma’s right!” she said before putting her hooves on the scroll. “Okay, Iz-- help Shag and Scoob make an origami dragon! But this time, use the scroll!” “No!” Mr. Takagawa shouted, not wanting to see the scroll being folded out of whack, but Zipp slid the scroll over to the three and they immediately got to work. “Just a little tuck here,” Shaggy muttered, “a fold there…” “This goes under,” Izzy said quietly as Mr. Takagawa whimpered, “that goes over… and just a few more finishing touches…” And finally after some more rigorous folding efforts, the dragon was finally complete, new words showing on the outside of the paper. “Ta-da!” Izzy, Shaggy and Scooby shouted happily, and Sunny gasped at what had occured. “The words have been rearranged!” “Yes,” Mr. Takagawa nodded. “It now reads… ‘The journey begins with a thousand steps’.” “The journey begins with a thousand steps? How’s that any different?” Miyumi wondered. “Hang on, gang. I think I got something,” Velma typed something into her laptop before showing the group an image of something rather... intriguing. “The Temple of a Thousand Steps.” “Huh?” the ponies, Shaggy and Scooby gathered around with wide, wonder-filled eyes. “According to my FlyPad,” said Zipp, looking at the same information, “it’s an ancient ruin located on a remote jungle island in the South Pacific Ocean!” “Yes, I’ve got it too,” Mr. Takagawa came over to them, holding a book and stopping on the page with the Green Dragon on it. “The island temple is devoted to… oh... the Green Dragon!” “Sis, you guys are some kind of genius!” Pipp hugged her sister. “Nopony else would have thought about folding the scroll to form a new statement!” “Heh… thanks. Comes with the cutie mark, I guess.” “The Sword of Doom must be hidden in the temple,” Miss Mirimoto said, and Fred’s face grew determined. “Then we gotta find a way to get to that island.” “Sojo, ready the Hover Jet,” Miss Mirimoto said, and Sojo bowed before going to do as he was told. “Gray Flyer and Miyumi will accompany you on your journey as my representatives.” This caused the gray griffin and the young student to gasp-- this was certainly a first in their book. “Thank you, sensei!” Miyumi bowed to her teacher. “Mr. Takagawa?” Miss Mirimoto called. “You will go along as the team’s translation expert. And Moon Blossom? Your abilities in the unknown regions might come in handy on this retrieval.” “My mentor and I will serve with distinction,” Moon Blossom bowed respectfully, while the Scooby and Shaggy beamed with excitement.  “A tropical-island vacation in the sunny South Pacific?” Shaggy asked with a laugh. “Like, now you’re speaking our language!” “Uh-huh!” Scooby agreed instantly. “Then let’s go go go! We have a mythical, terrifying-sounding sword to find!” Misty said, and the group rushed to get ready for the long trip ahead. When she made sure they were gone, Miss Mirimoto snuck into the shadows and whispered, “They’re gone.” After a moment, a familiar unicorn, Misty’s mother, to be exact, came out of hiding. “Are they on their way to the island as you predicted, Mirimoto?” Paradise Moonray asked seriously. “Indeed,” Miss Mirimoto nodded. “This plan is so foolproof, not even that foolish daughter of yours and her friends know what is really going on.” “Excellent-- then that pesky crystal should be with the sword,” Paradise said. “Once they find it, I’ll have the means to return to Equestria!” “And,” Miss Mirimoto smirked, “my plans will fall into motion as well.” “Right, right, of course,” Paradise slightly rolled her eyes before smirking as the Hover Jet took off into the night. “Look out, little ponies… Paradise and the Black Samurai are coming to town…”