//------------------------------// // Meeting New Friends/Opera House Horrors // Story: G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// Scooby had taken control of the Mystery Machine just a few minutes ago, and he had been weaving in and out through the traffic of Chicago and the pouring rain in order to get to the opera house for Fred and Daphne to check in on time. And the one thing that Zipp knew she would have to remember from this experience? Either never let Scooby drive again, or give him some seriously advanced driving lessons. Finally, the rain stopped, and Zipp and Hitch managed to guide Scooby into a parking spot across the street from the opera house, letting everyone stagger out and onto solid ground. “Oh thank hoofness that's over!” Pipp sighed in relief. “I don't mean for you to take offense to this, Scooby, but you need some serious driving lessons before you set a paw behind the wheel again.” “Pipp, I think you just took the words right out of my mouth,” Hitch agreed, causing Scooby to chuckle nervously as he climbed out of the front seat. “Sorry...” “No harm done, Scooby,” Misty rubbed the top of Scooby’s head reassuringly. “Now come on-- we gotta go inside the opera house and get Fred and Daphne checked in!” And so, both groups left the Mystery Machine and walked across the street before they started walking up the opera house stairs. “This place is amazing!” Velma exclaimed. “I can't believe it's been closed for so long.” “You know what?” Pipp asked in a soft tone. “Neither can I... this place is akmost too pretty to be haunted.” But as a majority of the ponies, Fred, Daphne and Velma went inside the building, a security guard stepped in front of Izzy, Sunny, Shaggy and Scooby, stopping them from following. “I'm sorry, sir. No animals allowed except seeing-eye dogs.” “Huh? But he’s a beloved icon who’s helped us save the world more than once!” Izzy protested. “And what about us ponies? Aren’t we technically animals?” “I… you know,” said Sunny, “I don’t really have a good protest for that.” “Like, it’s okay, Sunny,” Shaggy reassured the earth pony mare before turning to their friends. “You guys, go ahead. We’ll catch up with you.” “No, they won’t,” the security guard said bluntly. “Okay… we’ll, uh… see you later,” Fred told the others with a wink, to which Shaggy nodded at before the others went inside. The security guard looked at them suspiciously just before Shaggy and Scooby nudged their two pony pals away. “What are we gonna do now?” Sunny asked once they were out of earshot. “If he sees Scooby, he won’t let us enter the building!” “Like, I don’t think we have to worry about that. Come on,” Shaggy said. “I got a plan.” Izzy and Sunny glanced at each other before following Shaggy and Scooby around the next corner, unsure of what their friends might have planned. XXXXXXXX Fred, Daphne and Velma led their remaining pony pals inside the opera house, where they approached one of the crew members. “We're supposed to check in with the assistant director?” said Daphne. “Dewey?” the crew member chuckled. “Heh, yeah, good luck with that. He's in there.” As the crew member wheeled his cart away, the others looked confused before walking toward the doors toward the main part of the opera house. When they walked through the doors, they walked down the aisle, past several people and up onto the stage, where Collette was attempting to use smelling salts to wake up Dewey, which worked after a moment. “What? Where?” he blurt out as he got up. “What happened?” “You know,” said Collette. “That guy.” “The phantom!!” Dewey exclaimed before passing out again. “Hi there,” Misty smiled at Collette as they approached. “Our friends are supposed to check in.” “Yeah, I know,” Collette said politely, “but you’re going to have to wait.” She let Dewey smell the smelling salts again, and he shot up, much to the group’s surprise. “What? Where? The phantom!!” he shrieked, just before passing out again. “The phantom?” Fred blinked before Collette groaned and tried the smelling salts again. “He keeps doing that!” “You know,” said Velma, “overuse of smelling salts can damage the nasal passages.” Collette seemed confused as soon as Velma said that. “His or mine?” “His,” Zipp frowned, just as Dewey regained consciousness again. “The phantom!!” he wailed before passing out once again. Just then, an older man with a clipboard walked onstage. “Hey, I found that clipboard the phantom took,” he said, giving the clipboard to Collette. “And also I quit. I ain't hanging around this place for another second. It's haunted.” As the crew member walked off, Zipp and Pipp flew to get another look at the clipboard as the others gathered around to see what it said. “Christine must win?” Hitch raised an eyebrow at that. “Who the heck is Christine?” “I’m not sure,” Misty said, “but I have a funny feeling we’re about to find out.” “Well, gang,” Fred declared, “it looks like we've got another mystery on our hands.” Pipp sighed and looked at her friends with a tired look. “Why am I not surprised?” XXXXXXXX At the same time, Sunny and Izzy had gladly offered to help some crew members bring in some instruments, and Shaggy offered to do the same. But around that time, Scooby seemed to have disappeared, sparking Izzy and Sunny’s curiosity as to where he might have gone. That was no matter… maybe they could finally get inside the opera house.  Sunny and Izzy had no trouble getting inside with their loads, but when Shaggy was about to enter, the security guard stopped him. “Hold it right there.” “Hey!” Shaggy huffed while keeping a firm grip on the cart he was pushing. “Like, it’s just a bass, man.” “Sure, it is,” the security guard said before opening the case, revealing that there was a bass in there. “Oh, uh, well, go on in then.” “Thank you!” Shaggy said before pushing the bass inside, and letting Scooby come out from behind the bass. “Ooh! Nice hiding place, Scoobers!” Izzy said to the dog affectionately. “Come on,” Sunny said. “If we wanna get inside without Scooby being seen, we need to be smart about where we hide next.” Meanwhile, as the ponies were trying to figure out their next move, two adults came in with a little girl with her blonde hair in a ponytail, and both parents were being… well… ridiculously loud. “Chrissy does not give interviews unless she can approve all questions in advance,” said the mother. “She will accept no questions regarding politics, religion or her favorite color. Because I said so!!” “Well, hello there,” Daphne said to the girl sweetly as she and Pipp approached. “Are you…?” “Are you trying to psych her out?” the father quickly accused. “Is this some kind of mind game?!” the mother blurt out. “S-Sorry,” Pipp apologized, not used to seeing accusations coming at them so quickly. “We were just saying hi.” “Well, don’t!” said the father furiously. “You can’t just talk to Chrissy!” the mother agreed, revealing that the girl’s name was Chrissy. “She's very sensitive,” the father went on. “You have to talk to her before you talk to her to let her know you're going to talk to her.” “Isn’t that right, sweetie?” Chrissy’s mother asked, but Chrissy was too busy checking her reflection to care. “Whatever.” “You see?!” Chrissy’s parents blurt out, causing Pipp to chuckle nervously. “Totally-- roger that. Duly noted.” Chrissy’s father then went on the stage to speak to Collette while Chrissy’s mother remained on the phone with someone else. “Yeah, hi,” the father greeted rudely. “We’re here to check in.” “We’re checking in!!” Chrissy’s mother yelled over the phone. “Hate to tell you this,” Collette said nervously, “but Mr. Ottoman’s kind of unconscious right now.” “Are you saying we can't check in?” Chrissy’s father asked. “They’re saying we can’t check in!!” Chrissy’s mother then shouted before Chrissy’s father turned back to Collette. “This is totally unacceptable!” “Uh…” “She said ‘Uh’!” Chrissy’s mother repeated Collette’s words, just before another girl, probably about 10 years old, came up to the group, wearing a yellow t-shirt and blue jeans. “They’re pretty much like that all the time.” “Hey, you’re Emma, right?” Fred asked. “The violinist?” “Yeah! And you’re Fred and Daphne!” Emma smiled. “I saw your audition tape; you guys were great. And I'm not just saying that because of the cameras.” “What cameras?” Hitch asked curiously. “Those cameras,” Emma answered, pointing to the cameras in the opera house and the TV cameras. “They’re catching all the backstage drama.” “That’s the best part of the show!” Daphne agreed. “All the ‘who likes who’ and ‘who hates who’ stuff.” “Well, it used to be our favorite part of the show,” Breena spoke as she and her sisters landed on the stage, “but here lately? Ehh... not so much.” “Hey, we know you three!” Fred exclaimed. “You’re the SirenSong Sisters, from season seven!” “Yeah, that’s us! And you’re Daphne and Fred!” Eden said excitedly. “You guys have some serious talent.” “I gotta agree with my sister for a change,” Breena smiled. “We’ve come back to cheer on the remaining finalists, and… don’t tell anyone else, but you guys are one of my favorites.” “But,” said Pavari, “I thought you said we couldn’t HAVE favorites because we would be unfairly giving that favorite contestant an advantage.” “Pavari, quiet!” “Uh, heh… hi, I’m Misty,” Misty then introduced to break up the tension between the sisters, “and these are my friends-- Hitch, Zipp and Pipp. We have two other friends, Sunny and Izzy, but they’re not here at the moment.” “Pleased to meet you,” Breena smiled. “I’m Breena, and these are my younger sisters, Eden and Pavari.” “Wow, I’m surprised that you guys didn’t recognize us as quickly,” Eden spoke up. “The thing is, we’re actually from Equestria on a special mission, but we came to support Fred and Daphne during the show,” Zipp explained. “We will have to get to know each other better while we’re here though.” Suddenly, as the groups began to get acquainted with one another, Brick Pimiento himself walked out onstage, looking confident and happy overall. “Hello, everyone, and welcome to Talent Star. Hey, I'm your host, Brick Pimiento,” he greeted everyone on the stage. “I just wanted to reassure you all that everything is fantastic, just fantastic. There isn't a problem, nothing happened and there's definitely no ghost.” “Ghost?!” Chrissy’s parents yelped. “Ghost? I didn't say ghost. Why would I say ghost when there's no ghost, heh?” Brick tried to cover up his mistake of mentioning the ghost. “Fantastic!” From behind the curtain, Shaggy and Scooby peeked out and saw the host before getting excited. “Like, there he is!” Shaggy whispered. “Yeah!” Scooby nodded. “There he is!” “Phew… it took a while to find him,” said Sunny, “but we finally did. Izzy, are you sure you can handle taking care of them while I rejoin the others?” “No problem!” Izzy reassured. “I got these two under control! Or at least… I hope I do.” “You're okay there, right, Dewey, heh? Fantastic,” Brick chuckled and rubbed Dewey’s hair, messing it up. “Well, carry on.” As Brick walked away, Izzy and Shaggy and Scooby discreetly followed while Sunny trotted over to the others. “Hey, guys. What did we miss?” “A lot, to put it quite bluntly,” Zipp said. “But, we have a bunch of people to introduce you to.” Suddenly, Dewey sniffed as he regained consciousness, an odor that no one else could smell reaching him. “I smell dog!” Sunny gasped and feared that he had found Scooby, but before she could look for their friends, Collette approached her employer. “Uh, Mr. Ottoman, are you all right?” “Dogs are nothing but big furry sacks of germs,” Dewey grasped her shoulders. “Did you know that?” “I don’t think that…” “I'm going to find that dog if it takes me all night! Give me that!” Dewey snatched the clipboard from Collette’s grasp before walking off. “Phew… that was too close,” Sunny muttered to herself. “Is he always this way around animals?” “Every animal, even us,” Pavari admitted. “And we’re Talent Star champions!” “So?” Eden turned to look at her. “That shouldn’t give us any kind of advantage!” “That’s what I was TRYING to say!” “GIRLS!!” Breena snapped. “Muzzle it!” “...sorry, Breena…” the remaining sisters apologized before Breena turned to Sunny. “Sorry you had to see that, Miss… uh…” “Sunny,” Sunny introduced. “Sunny Starscout.” “Aren’t you the earth pony who can turn into an alicorn?” Eden asked excitedly. “Pipp just told us about you!” “Oh, well… yeah,” Sunny nodded. “That’s me.” “Your abilities are so cool!” Pavari agreed. “Makes our water, fire and plant powers seem a little lame.” “But we know how you don’t like to feel treated like a higher pony,” Breena said, “so we’re happy just to have you as a friend.” Sunny sighed in relief. “Thanks… I’m happy to have you as friends too.” “Hey, where’s Izzy?” Daphne asked as she looked around. “I thought you and her were together.” “Well,” Sunny said, trying not to say anything about Scooby, “there was… something she and some more friends had to take care of. But I'm sure they'll be back soon. Or... at least I hope they will be...” XXXXXXXX “Mr. Pimiento! Mr. Pimiento!” Izzy called as she and the boys raced after the host, eventually catching up to him in the hallways. “Can we have two minutes of your time?” Shaggy asked the host. “We’ve got an act that's just terrific!” “Yeah!” Scooby said, nodding. “Terrific!” “And we're sure that if you give them a chance,” said Izzy, “they could take your entire show by storm!” “My friends, I've built my career on two deeply held beliefs. One, all talent deserves a chance to be seen...” Brick said while turned around as Shaggy and Scooby began their act. “...and two... juggling stinks.” Upon hearing this, Shaggy and Scooby paused their juggling act and hid the balls before Brick turned around. “So what have you got for me?” “Just follow my lead and improvise!” Izzy whispered to her friends. Izzy then began to tap dance in place, and Shaggy and Scooby followed her lead before they danced off to the side, causing Brick to chuckle nervously and slip away before they came back. “Ta-daaaaaa!!” Izzy exclaimed as she and the boys peaked their heads around the corner, but everyone was stunned to see that Brick had disappeared. “Okay… we definitely need to come up with a better plan for next time.” “Yeah! We were terrible!” Shaggy agreed. “That act was just--” Suddenly, a blood curdling scream caused all three of them to freeze and shake in total terror. “Uh… I don’t know what that was,” Izzy trembled, “but I’m running away from it!!!” “Us too!” Scooby agreed, and he and Shaggy followed their unicorn friend in the opposite direction as the scream. XXXXXXXX At the same time, the rest of the Mane 6, the rest of Mystery Inc and Brick heard the scream and went running right into the control room, where they gathered around K.T, who was responsible for keeping the cameras and audio running. “Is it him?” Brick asked as they looked toward one of the monitors, which showed a green-skulled figure approaching Chrissy and laughing, causing her to scream. “Yeah,” K.T nodded. “It’s the phantom!” “The phantom?” Misty and Daphne questioned, causing K.T to notice them. “What are they doing…?” “There!” Velma pointed to the phantom on another monitor. “Now he’s there!” Sunny pointed to another monitor a good distance away from the other one. “Great! Not only are we dealing with a phantom of an opera house,” said Hitch, “but we’re also dealing with a fast phantom too!” “Velma, you, Sunny and Zipp watch the monitors. You can tell us where he is,” Fred said before dialing his phone and running off. “Daphne, you and the others come with…” “Yes!” Daphne agreed before she, Hitch and Misty ran after him with Pipp flying overhead. XXXXXXXX At the same time, Izzy and Shaggy and Scooby had come from another hallway when they came face to face with the same phantom, causing them to run as the phantom cackled and gave chase. But as they turned the corner, they realized that this was a dead end, and Izzy flung a tarp over them to keep them from being seen while Shaggy and Scooby clung to her and each other in terror. XXXXXXXX “Which way?” Fred asked the others from the phone as he, Daphne and their group of ponies ran through the halls. “Turn left at the end of the hall,” Velma instructed, watching them as they took that turn. “And then,” Zipp spoke, “take the second door on your left!” “Are you getting all of this on camera?” Brick asked, causing K.T to nod. “Yeah. This is great stuff!” “Fantastic! Ooh, should we use it for promos or leak it to Whotube?” “Both!” Velma hummed in thought as Sunny and Zipp kept watching the monitors, and couldn’t help but feel that Brick was a little too quick to claim the phantom as a publicity stunt. And that could be a good motive. XXXXXXXX Hitch opened the door that Zipp instructed them to go into, but when Fred tried to turn on the light, he discovered that they weren’t working. “Don’t worry, guys,” Misty reassured. “I got this.” The blue unicorn dimly lit her horn, and the group slowly moved into the room, which appeared to be some sort of large storage room. But, as they passed an entire display full of axes, something sinister happened-- someone or... something began to push the axes over one by one, making them fall and nearly hit the five friends. “Look out!!” Daphne shrieked, and the ponies were able to dive for safety while Fred and Daphne managed to escape the axes falling. “Is everyone okay?” Fred asked in concern. “Yeah, we’re fine,” Pipp panted, “but… I don’t think my heart is ever gonna slow down!” The group left the storage room behind just as Hitch spoke into the phone. “Velma, which way?” “I don’t know!” Velma shook her head. “I can’t see where he went!” XXXXXXXX “Quick!” Shaggy cried as he spotted a door for him, Izzy and Scooby to dive into. “In here!” The three quickly ran inside the storage closet and hid among the bits of clothing they had on the rack, giving Izzy enough time to slow her breathing down before turning to her friends. “Well, he may never think to look in here, right?” “Right…” Scooby whimpered just before a familiar scent caught his nose. “I smell lemons.” “Yeah! I smell lemons too!” Izzy realized after sniffing the air. “Like, so do I!” Shaggy agreed before turning to someone else hiding in that storage room. “Do you smell lemons?” But when he turned, he was horrified to discover the phantom was hiding in that room as well, causing the three of them to bolt out of the room and in one direction while the phantom raced off in another. XXXXXXXX “There!” Velma cried over the phone as she spotted the phantom racing down a hallway. “He’s heading north!” “North… which way is that?” Fred asked. “Go left!” Sunny said. “No, wait… it’s right, then left!” However, the mix-up in the directions caused the ponies to tumble into each other, and for Fred and Daphne to awkwardly collide.  “I’m sorry.” “No, I’m sorry.” “I didn’t mean to…” “GO!!” Velma shouted, causing the group to bolt in that direction again. XXXXXXXX “He’s on the stairs!” Velma told the others as she watched the phantom, but as he got to the middle of the staircase, the phantom seemed to disappear before their eyes! “What…?” Zipp couldn’t believe it. “Did you all see that?!” “I sure did,” Sunny said. “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… maybe he really IS a ghost.” Sunny and Zipp spared each other a nervous glance-- they weren't sure what they just saw, but whatever it was... this was going to make the investigation that much more interesting.