Lightning flashed and thunder rolled as men and women ran to and fro between the various buildings of the Metropolis Convention Center. Scientists from all around the world had gathered for the annual 'Origin of Life' Symposium, as was announced by the enormous banner draped across the entrance to the main structure. As the wind began to pick up, nearly everyone who was outside also picked up their pace, hoping to get inside before the storm broke. Nearly everyone...
Backlit by high intensity floodlights that sent his shadow streaming onto the banner, a man stood on the next roof over, and stared down on the crowds. "You FOOLS!!" He shouted, gesticulating wildly at the people below, "I'll prove to you all that I was right! Do you hear me!? I'll prove it! And then you'll all be in my debt! You'll all come and genuflect to me! I'll be the man in charge, and I'll make you choke on your puerile mockery! Do you hear me down there!? Do you hear me!? Do you-" He fell silent as he realized that, in fact, no they did not hear him over the wind and thunder. The crowds below continued about their business, not so much as a single head raised to look up at him.
"They'll pay!" He grumbled, "They'll all pay!!" And he laughed maniacally even as the rain began to pour down on his head...
XXXXX
"Oh this is so exciting!" Velma gushed. "I can't believe. I'm actually getting to present my paper at the symposium!"
"If we can get there." Daphne said. "It's raining cats and dogs out there!"
"Raining rats and dogs?" Scooby asked. He looked out the passenger side window where, for a moment, the falling rain was joined by tabbies and poodles. "Ree hee hee he he he...."
Scootaloo raised one eyebrow. "And they say there's no magic here."
Freddy said "Cats and dogs or not, Daphne's right Velma. It's coming down so hard I can't see a hundred feet ahead. We might need to pull over and wait it out."
"Oh I hope not."
"Yeeeah... This paper's about me isn't it?" Scootaloo asked, referring to Velma's research on her.
"Not you specifically Scoots." Velma explained, "But what I've learned about your world's biochemistry from your blood samples is fascinating!"
"Egghead stuff then."
"Egghead stuff." Velma agreed. She looked out the windshield. "If we get there. Freddy's right, this storm is terrible."
Scootaloo shook her head and sighed. Jumped up into the front seat between Fred and Daphne. "Alright, let's see what I can do..." She said, and began to stare intently ahead and up into the sky. Within moments a area of lessened rain formed in front of the van.
"Scoots are you doing this?" Daphne asked.
"Pegasus weather control. Of course, I'm not that good at it yet. This tiny little area is all I can manage, and I can't even make it stop, just lighten up."
"It's still pretty amazing." Fred said. "Velma, I think we're gonna make it after all."
XXXXX
A short time later, Fred pulled the Mystery Machine under an overhang and parked at the valet counter. Everyone piled out of the van and started inside, Fred handing the keys to the valet. "Thanks."
"Like yeah."
"Rank you."
"Gahh! It talks!"
"Oh boy! This is so exciting!" Velma cheered. "I just hope we don't run into Bob."
"Bob?" Daphne asked.
Nodding, Velma explained "Bob Funkystein-"
"Funkystein!?!?" Shaggy and Scooby exclaimed together.
"Like, as in the Funkystein monster!?"
"Monster!?" Scootaloo asked.
Momentarily pulling off her glasses to rub her eyes, Velma said "Bob is the great-great-great... ...Great... Grandson of Victor Funkystein, the man who claimed to have made the original Funkystein monster. He actually believes his ancestor's tall tales of reanimating corpses and is determined to prove that Victor wasn't a madman."
"I assume he's a laughing stock?" Fred asked.
"Like. You wouldn't. Believe."
"Rand you knew this guy?" Scooby asked.
"In college."
As they walked and talked, there suddenly came a loud commotion of yelling and derisive laughter from around a nearby corner. "Betcha that's him right now." Velma said.
It wasn't. When the gang rounded the corner they found a man none of them recognized. He was tall, lanky, wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses and a white lab coat. At his feet were a pair of large pet taxi crates, the doors sprung open, and a large crowd was gathered around as he ranted. "People!! They're here!!" He exclaimed. "Aliens! They're here to KILL US ALL!!"
"Aliens!?" Shaggy gulped.
"Rill us all?" Scooby agreed.
"Yes!! I had them! I had their scouts! But they've escaped!" He motioned towards the pet taxis.
Velma said "You had them? In the pet crates?"
"Yes! Exactly!"
"Then I'm not worried. I mean seriously, any alien that can be held by a pet taxi, even if only for a few minutes, isn't one I'm worried about." Velma deadpanned.
Shaggy laughed. "Like yeah! Even I'm not afraid of that!"
"You fools! They're here right now! They could be anywhere! They..." He caught sight of Scootaloo. "It's one of THEM!!! No wonder you're arguing with me!! It's controlling your minds!!" Screaming the man fled out the nearest door.
Everyone looked at the Pegasus. "Well that was different." Fred said.
"Aw don't worry about Jacob." A woman in the crowd said. "He's just a nut."
"Yeah. A nut." Scooby said. And then face-pawed as the crowd ran screaming.
XXXXX
After the encounter with Jacob, the gang split up. Velma headed to the room where she was scheduled to deliver her paper. Fred and Daphne went off for some time alone together. And Shaggy, Scooby, and Scootaloo went looking for food.
"Like, there's gotta be a food stand somewhere around here."
"Yeah!"
"I dunno Shaggy. These people seem more interested in egghead than egg salad." Scootaloo said.
"They still have to eat Rootaroo."
"Yeah. And in fact..." Shaggy pointed across the way. "Look there! A cherry phosphate stand!"
Man and dog rushed to the stand, which was covered in bubbling flasks and beakers.
"Three cherry rhosphates please!" Scooby said, but no one responded.
Shaggy looked around. "Huh. Like, I guess it's self-service."
Scootaloo eyed the bubbling compounds warily. "Um, Shaggy..."
"Okay, I'll serve us up!"
"Shaggy, I don't think..."
"Where are the cups?"
"Shaggy...?"
"Here we go!" Shaggy pulled out a trio of plastic cups and poured them full. He and Scooby bumped the tops of the cups together, drank, and promptly spit everything back out just as a man stormed up shouting at them.
"What are you two doing!?!? You just drank my experiment!! Ten years of work, ruined!!"
"I tried to warn you..." Scootaloo sighed.
"Get out of here! All of you!!"
"Like what a crab. Okay, where to next?"
"What about this Rhaggy?" Scooby pointed at a large poster taped to a door. It read:
"Reanimation and the Origin of Life: Professor Robert Funkystein"
"Like it's the nutball Velma knew in college." Shaggy said. "You guys wanna check it out?"
"Better than drinking multi-million bit experiments." Scootaloo giggled.
"You said it." Scooby agreed.
XXXXX
"You all believe me a fool!" Bob Funkystein announced from the stage, "And in a way I don't really blame you! After all, my grandfather's work was truly ahead of his time, and thus far I've had no success in emulating him-"
"You don't got his monster either!" Someone shouted, and the crowd roared with laughter.
"True enough. But what I do have is-"
"A mental problem?" Another heckler yelled.
"What a bunch of jerks!" Scootaloo grumbled.
"Like yeah, it's his thing they should let him do it." Shaggy agreed.
"Reminds me of someponies back home."
"There's jerks everyrhere Rootaroo."
"Yeah I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it."
Up on the stage, Bob rode out the laughter, then continued, "As I was saying: I've had no success in emulating my grandfather's work... Until today!" With a flourish, he motioned for a pair of orderlies who wheeled a covered hospital bed out onto the stage. Threw a switch as a skylight opened high above and a crane extended out into the storm. "Tonight, you will all witness my triumph!"
"Is that a dead body?" Scootaloo asked, eyes wide.
"Like it sure looks like it."
"Maybe we should leave Rhaggy.." Scooby shuddered.
"Oh don't worry Scoob. There's like no way this will really work."
High above, lightning struck the metal rod attached to the crane, poured down the heavy duty cable, and slammed into the covered body making it jump. Thunder rolled, almost deafening in such close proximity. And then all was silent. Nothing happened and no one spoke for perhaps two full minutes. And then the laughter started anew, along with the taunting.
"But... But I don't understand it!" Bob wailed, "I was so sure I had everything right this time!" He fell to his knees in defeat.
The mockery continued.
"Hahahahahahaha!!!!"
Hee hee hee!!!"
"Ha ha haaaaa!!!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
The laughing stopped cold at the sudden blood curdling scream, and everyone looked to the woman who had made it. She was pointing at a hand that had flopped down outside the covering sheet when the lightning struck. It was moving. Bob leapt back to his feet, joy in his eyes. "It worked! Grandfather I did it!" He threw his head back and loudly exclaimed "It's alive!! It's Alive!!! It's A-"
"It's coming right for us!!!" Shaggy screamed, and the crowd broke and ran as the Funkystein Monster rose from it's bed and stumbled towards them, moaning...
XXXXX
Meanwhile Fred and Daphne had stumbled into a mystery of their own. After going their own way the couple had spent their time idly exploring, looking at the various displays set up all around the convention hall, talking and joking and laughing and basically just making the best of the situation. "Wandering a science convention... Not exactly my idea of a good date." Daphne said.
"Mine either." Fred agreed, "But hey, at least we're together right?"
"Right."
"Now if only we had a mystery to solve..."
A man and woman suddenly appeared through a door and slammed it behind them. "Do not go in there!" The man exclaimed.
"Is something wrong?"
"I'll say! There's a monster in there!"
"Freddy you just had to say it." Daphne rolled her eyes.
Ignoring the sarcasm, Fred asked "What kind of monster? Vampire? Ghost? Werewolf? Baba Yaga? I need to know it matters for the trap design!"
"Baba what?" The man asked. He shook his head. "I dunno what it is."
The woman explained "It's got an upside down wicker basket over it's head and a big blanket wrapped around it's body! There are yellow eyes in the shadows under the basket!"
"And it moans..." the man said. He frowned before adding "In a southern accent..."
"New one on me." Daphne said when Fred looked at her in confusion.
"Well let's take a look shall we?" Fred opened the door and they slipped through, leaving the terrified man and woman behind.
It was dark past the door. Daphne produced a flashlight from her purse and switched it on, sweeping the beam over the deserted room. There were stalls set up for the convention, but no one was in sight. "Weird... Why set things up here and then not open it up?"
"Yeah, and if it's closed, why were those two back here?" Fred agreed.
"Well let's worry about that later... Right now we've got a monster to find."
Daphne hooded a hand over the flashlight beam to make it harder for anyone else that might be lurking about to see, and the couple began to explore. But there was no sign of anything amiss, and both Fred and Daphne were beginning to suspect that they were on a wild goose chase. Then the ringing clatter of something metal falling and striking the floor, hard, resounded through the air. "What was that!?"
"it came from this way! Come on!"
They rushed across the room, down a short hall, and up a flight of stairs. Rounding a corner, they saw...
"Gosh!! It really is a... ...Whatever it is..." Fred gasped.
The creature turned and brightly glowing yellow eyes gazed upon them. A heavily accented voice spoke: "Leave this place!" All around the room, small objects became surrounded by softly radiant auras and floated up into the air. One of them flew at Daphne, but Fred caught it. Looked it over.
"There's no wires!" He exclaimed. "It's really floating!"
"But..." Daphne's eyes went wide. "Freddy! Do you realize what this means!?"
"Do I ever! We've finally done it! We've finally found a real monster! We've finally found... ...a... ...real..."
"MONSTER!!!" Both screamed, and they fled with the unknown creature close behind...
XXXXX
"Analysis indicates that life on the pony's world utilizes exactly the same nucleotide and amino acid chirality requirements as Earthly life." Velma stood tall atop the stage as she gave her presentation. "The implications are profound. Among other things, it means that life from their world can survive here, and vice versa. Scootaloo, for example, has had no difficulty in digesting and being nourished by local foodstuffs."
A loud snort came from the audience. "Question?" Velma asked.
"Oh I've got more than a question!" A man who can be described only as the very definition of every nerd stereotype rolled into one stood. "For example, if what you say is true then why is this 'pegasus' (Here he made air quotes with his fingers) still alive? Shouldn't the local bacteria have gotten at it by now? And also, what are the odds that it would speak English!? *snort* Not likely! You know what I think? I think that you're just as bad as Bob Funkystein and that 'aliens and pet taxis' moron!"
"I'm telling you the truth!"
"Oh? Then where is it? Where's the pegasus then?"
Almost before the words were out of his mouth, a set of double doors on the west wall slammed open. Scootaloo ran through at full speed, followed by Shaggy, Scooby, a large screaming crowd, and the moaning, wailing, Funkystein Monster. "Velma! Run! It's Alive!" Scootaloo shouted, and then one by one the whole parade exited out another pair of doors opposite the first.
Everyone was silent for several seconds, and then the walking stereotype deadpanned "I withdraw my question." and took his seat.
"Of course." Velma sighed, and ran to follow the crowd...
XXXXX
After interrupting Velma's speech, the crowd spilled out into the main lobby and scattered. Naturally, the monster stayed on the tail of Shaggy, Scooby, and Scootaloo. "Like we've gotta lose this guy!" Shaggy yelled.
"But how? He's really on us tight!" Scoots answered.
"Reah! Like white on rice!" Scooby agreed.
"So what do we do!?"
"Like, just follow our lead Scoots!" Shaggy said, "Scoob and me have done this many times! In here!" He ducked into a side door, and the dog and pony followed.
The Funkystein Monster stopped in front of the door. Growled. Slammed into it, hard, knocking it off it's hinges. Stepped through, ready to terrorize those within. And cocked it's head in confusion.
"Ahh welcome sir!" Shaggy, now disguised as a tailor, approached. "Well well what have we here?"
Also disguised, Scootaloo joined him. "A mess is what we have!"
"Oh yes!" *tailor* Scooby agreed. "Rir? How long has it been since you got a new wardrobe?"
They ushered the monster to the center of the room, where they stood him on a footstool and began taking his measurements.
"So what's it like being a monster?" Scootaloo asked.
"I hear monstering is a cutthroat business!" Shaggy said, measuring the arms.
"Reah... It's... Monstrous!" Scooby laughed.
"Hrouuurgh!!!" The monster started to move, but Shaggy grabbed an arm.
"Not yet sir, we're still not done!" He knelt down to measure the legs. "Oh my sir! These pants are far too loose! Here, let me pin them tighter..."
Funkystein's Monster roared at the top of his lungs as Shaggy jabbed the pin into his rear.
"Like that's it! Let's go!!" Shaggy screamed, and they left the now hobbling in pain monster behind...
XXXXX
So here we have Fred and Daphne running from one monster, Shaggy, Scooby, and Scoots running from another, and Velma, having lost track of the others whereabouts, running lost through the corridors of the convention center. As is only natural, they all collided together in a three way crash.
"Boy am I glad to see the rest of you!" Fred said.
"Yeah us too!" Scootaloo agreed. "The Funkystein Monster is after us!"
"Funkystein!?" Daphne shouted, "Then there are two monsters on the loose?"
"TWO!?" Everyone but Fred and Daphne asked.
Fred explained "We saw another one in the closed off area of the convention center! It was chasing us! And, Velma, get this: It levitated objects without string or magnets or balloons or anything! I think we've finally found something real!"
Jinkies! And it was after you?"
"Yeah, but I think we lost it." Daphne said.
Fred motioned for the others to follow him quietly. "Come on... Maybe we can sneak up and get a look at it from behind..."
Over Shaggy and Scooby's objections, they did so, creeping back into the darkened halls, finding the creature as it shambled past from left to right a short way ahead of them, apparently oblivious to their presence.
"See? What'd we tell you?" Fred whispered.
"What in the world...?" Velma wondered.
Scootaloo's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute... I know that monster!" She exclaimed. Before anyone could stop her, the filly galloped forward, grabbed the blanket wrapped around the monster's body in her teeth, and pulled, revealing:
"Apple Bloom!?!? Sweetie Belle!?!?"
"SCOOTALOO!!!"
The three Crusaders jumped for joy and happily danced around together while the Mystery Incorporated gang shrugged and walked up to them. "Friends of yours Scoots?" Velma asked.
Apple Bloom jumped in between Scootaloo and the Gang. "Scootaloo! Get back! These things'll lock ya'll up in a pet crate!"
Fred and Daphne exchanged a glance. "Well that explains a lot."
"Yeah."
"Don't worry Bloom." Scootaloo said. "These are my friends. They're cool. Weird, but cool."
"Oh. Well, any friend of Scootaloo's..."
"Guys! These are my friends and fellow Crusaders! Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo exchanged introductions, then said to the other Crusaders "So, why are you here? For that matter... HOW are you here!?"
Sweetie Belle began to explain, "Well, after you vanished right in front of the whole town Princess Twilight started trying to figure out what had happened to you. And then-" The explanation was interrupted by a terrific crash as the Funkystein Monster returned, crashing through a door roaring and heading right for the gang.
"Explanations later!!" Fred shouted, "Run!!"
Monster close behind, everyone fled down the nearest hallway which was, by now, otherwise deserted. They came to a 'T' intersection and split, half going each way; Velma turned to the right, the three Crusaders close on her heels, while Freddy led Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby the other way...
XXXXX
"Hold up girls!" Velma said a short time later, "I think we lost him."
Collapsing in exhaustion, Sweetie Belle said "Thank goodness! what was that thing!?"
"The Funkystein Monster apparently."
"Monster!?" Bloom and Sweetie exclaimed together.
"Don't worry girls." Scootaloo said. "If there's one thing I've already figured out about this world, it's that these monsters always turn out to be fakes."
"Exactly." Velma agreed.
"But... If'n it ain't real then why'd we run like it was?" Apple Bloom asked.
Velma shrugged. "The universe has a nasty sense of humor... The one time we didn't run it'd be real and eat us all."
"Right." Scootaloo nodded. "But, since it's probably not real, who do you think it is Velma?"
"Bob Funkystein himself would be the obvious answer, but..."
Scootaloo interrupted, "Can't be. Shaggy, Scooby and I were there. He was standing right there in plain view when the monster got up... I guess maybe it could be someone working in cahoots with him..."
Velma shook her head. "I still don't buy that Scoots. Remember, I knew Bob in college. And, I'll be the first one to agree he's a nut. But gosh darnit, he's a sincere nut! He wouldn't do something that would just make that many more people doubt him when he's caught."
"Hmmm... Yeah, this does seem to mean a lot to him."
Apple Bloom raised a hoof. "Can I ask somethin'?"
"Sure thing 'Bloom."
"Well... If a lotta folks doubt the guy already like you say, couldn't it be one of them?"
"Good thinking." Velma agreed. "Come on you three, let's try to find the others and start putting this mystery together."
As the group made their way through the halls, Scootaloo asked "So... How did you two get here?"
Sweetie Belle explained "Oh! Well like I started to say before, Twilight started looking to figure out where you had gone, and figured out pretty quick that you'd fallen into another world. So she made this cool magic portal thingy so that her and Rainbow Dash could come and get you..."
Apple Bloom took over the explanation, "But, when Princess Celestia found out that the portal thing was a one way trip for now, that anypony that went through would be stuck on the other side until they built another portal here, she forbade Twi and Dash from coming through. Sweetie and me couldn't just let you be here all alone though, so we snuck in late at night and came through ourselves."
Scootaloo's eyes went wide with surprise. "You did what!? Wow, you're gonna be grounded 'til your funerals when we get home!"
"You're our friend Scootaloo! You're worth it!" Sweetie Belle said.
Velma smiled. "That's sweet and scary at the same time."
"That's how we like it!" Sweetie Belle said.
Apple Bloom said "'Course, this leaves the question of how we're gonna survive over here..."
"I'm sure there's room for you with the gang, right Velma?" Scootaloo asked.
Velma nodded. "Yeah, we'll make room somehow."
Sweetie Belle gasped "Oh my gosh! But what about all the stuff we need!? Hooficure kits for us all and wing preening combs for Scootaloo! Oh! How will I keep my horn sharpened!?"
With a raised eyebrow, Scootaloo said "That's a new one on me... You sharpen your horn?"
"Well sure, all Unicorn Ponies do! Rarity always says 'what's the point in having a point if you don't keep it as pointy as you can?'"
"And... Whatdya all use t' do it? A big giant pencil sharpener?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Pretty much... Rarity still doesn't trust me with her electric sharpener, so..."
They continued in silence for a time, then Velma asked "So back in your world, the three of you worked together on earning your cutie mark things?"
"Exactly!" Sweetie Belle cheered, "And now, we can keep working on getting our cutie marks together here-" She caught sight of Scootaloo's flank. Here eyes went wide. She nudged Apple Bloom and pointed. Half a second more and all the glass in a half-block radius was shattered by the "squee."
XXXXX
Freddy pulled his head back from peering around a corner the group had just rushed around. "I think we lost him gang. He must have gone after Velma and the ponies."
"Like, that's a relief."
Daphne asked "So what's our next move Freddy?"
:
"Simple: We find Mister Bob Funkystein and ask him some pointed questions."
"Hey! Listen!" Scooby said, ears perking up.
"Like what have you got pal?"
"You wanna talk to Rob Runkystein? I hear him right up here!" Scooby trotted down the hall and the others followed. As they got closer, the others began to hear what Scooby's better ears had heard first: The voice of Bob Funkystein, and another man's voice as well, arguing. Scooby started to go ahead, but Freddy stopped him.
"Let's listen in." He whispered.
"Why did you do it!?" Bob demanded of the other man. "What did I ever do to you?"
The other voice answered back "For the last time it's not about you! I've got no problem with you! But those things are here! They'll bring down a whole invasion on our heads if they're not stopped! I had to scare them somehow!"
"By making me look like a fool."
"You've handled that part already Bob."
"Jacob-"
"Jacob!" Freddy exclaimed. He rushed into view of the two men, the second proving to indeed be Jacob Abernathy, the man who had mistook ponies for alien invaders and locked Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom in Pet Taxis. "So it's YOU in the Funkystein monster costume!" Freddy triumphantly declared, pointing at Jacob.
"What!? No!"
"Like Freddy how can it be him when he's here and the monster's still running around loose out there chasing Velma !?"
"But... Then... What were you two talking about then!?"
"My assistant." Bob said, motioning towards a young woman standing at a distance. "She believed in me. But then this man convinced her that his horse aliens are real! She took his side, and now everyone thinks even worse of me and my theories, because after all, if the only help I could get was someone who will believe something as mad as unicorns and pegasai..."
Jacob said "I enlisted Miss Hale's assistance in letting the aliens escape, so that more people would see them on the loose and be afraid. People need to be scared! We're about to be invaded!!!"
"The ponies are harmless!" Daphne shouted. "They're just little girls who got lost here by accident!"
"That's what they want you to think!" Holly Hale said.
Bob shook his head. "Great. Now YOU believe this alien junk too. I thought better of Velma's friends."
"Rut it's true!" Scooby said.
"Then where are they!?" Bob demanded.
"Right here!" Velma stepped into the room, accompanied by the Crusaders.
"It's THEM!!" Jacob and Holly fled the room, screaming.
Bob simply stared. "Well I'll be damned." He finally said.
"Like, how'd you get away from the monster?" Shaggy asked Velma.
"Us get away?" Velma asked in surprise. "We thought it chased you!"
"No!" Daphne said. "So, where did it go?"
"Great question." Freddy said. "Especially since it means all three of our suspects are still on the list... Mister Funkystein? Any comments?"
Bob shook his head sadly. "No... Except... In spite of what you all might expect of me, I hope that you all are right about it being a fake somehow."
"You are!?" Scootaloo asked in shock, "But I thought..."
"You thought I'd want my creation to be a mindless shambling beast like in all the movies? Of course not! Grandfather Victor's creation wasn't a monster at all! It was intelligent, erudite, civilized! If this is someone trying to make me look bad I'll be ecstatic! I don't see how that could be though, I mean, I saw the lightning flow into the body!"
"Reah, we did too!" Scooby agreed.
"Like yeah, anyone who took all that'd be a crispy critter!" Shaggy nodded.
Freddy said "Well, there's only one way to resolve this whole mess... Gang, it's time for a trap..."
XXXXX
Half an hour later they were ready. "Okay gang, here's the plan:" Freddy began, "Shaggy, Scooby, the two of you will go out and find the Funkystein Monster. Once you do-"
"-We lead him back to this room. Right." Shaggy said.
Freddy shook his head. "Not just this room Shaggy. Through this specific door." He indicated a wide double door, with a slope leading down from it into the room. "Daphne and I will be waiting on either side of the doors to grab the two of you. The Monster will overshoot and end up on the ramp. The ramp we've soaped down to be incredibly slippery. He'll slide down the ramp, and end up here..."Freddy pointed to an 'X' on the floor.
"And that's where we come in right?" Scootaloo asked.
Velma nodded. "Exactly." She indicated a makeshift see-saw at the edge of the room. "Scoots, you'll be standing on the lower end with this coil of wire. Sweetie Belle, as soon as the Monster is on the 'X' you jump onto the upper end. That'll send Scootaloo into the air where, with a little wing flapping, she'll be able to stay up long enough to fly over the Monster and drop the coil over him."
"And that's where Apple Bloom comes in." Daphne said. She handed the filly a remote. "All you have to do is push this button once the Monster is wrapped in the coils. It'll turn on the big electromagnet over there and pull the coils, and the Monster inside them, tightly up against it, trapping him."
"I'm sure glad Velma knew why this part of the Convention Center was closed off." Freddy said. (It turned out it was being prepared for another convention later in the week.) "We never would have found all this magnetic stuff otherwise."
"Like yeah... Oh well. Come on Scooby, let's get this over with..." The pair sauntered out of the room.
"Okay, we don't know how much or little time we have, so everyone in position now." Freddy said.
They didn't have to wait long. Less than ten minutes later, they heard screaming, and Shaggy's voice shouting "Gangway!!!!"
Man and dog rushed through the open double doors at full speed. At first, it looked like the plan might work: Freddy and Daphne succeeded in grabbing them, and the Monster rushed past and onto the slippery slope. As he slid down towards the 'X', Sweetie Belle jumped onto the see-saw, sending Scootaloo high into the air and directly over him. She dropped the coiled wire. A part of which caught on her hooves. 'WHOA!!!" She yelled as she was pulled down and tied up with the Monster.
"Apple Bloom! The electromagnet!" Velma yelled.
"But Scootaloo!"
"Push the button! She'll be fine!"
Bloom activated the magnet. Funkystein was pulled in, Scoots along for the ride. But as soon as the hit the magnet, the impact caused the filly to pop loose and up into the air. This loosened the coils around the Monster, who tried to run, but made the mistake of running up the slippery slope, getting nowhere at first. Just as it finally started to get some traction and might have escaped, Scootaloo landed back on the seee-saw, sending Sweetie Belle flying instead. Flying, in point of fact, horn-first into a very sensitive area of it's backside...
XXXXX
"Eww eww eww..." Sweetie Belle was compulsively cleaning her horn with a whole canister of wet wipes while the Funkystein Monster sat (uncomfortably) against the nearby wall glaring at her.
"So, you kids caught the Monster eh?" The local sheriff asked. "So, what's all this about anyway?"
"Honestly Sheriff, we're still not entirely sure ourselves." Velma said, "But I'm sure it'll all become clear once we see who's under that mask."
"Like, my money's on Jacob Abernathy." Shaggy said.
"Rut he's right there Rhaggy." Scooby pointed to the man across the room.
"Then who...?"
"Good question. Let's see who the Funkystein Monster really is..." Freddy grabbed the mask and pulled it off.
"Holly Hale!?!?"
Bob Funkystein looked at his erstwhile assistant. "But Holly why?"
"Because I never really believed in you! I mean come on Bob, look at this costume! Look how detailed it is! I spent months making it, and setting things up so the lightning wouldn't fry me! All I needed was a reason to seem to not be there when your lecture came up. A reason this fool gave me in spades!"
"But I thought you did it for me!" Jacob exclaimed.
"Nah. Real ponies or not, I think you're a nut too. You just gave me the excuse I needed to ditch out on Bob's little show so I could be ready in costume." She glared at Sweetie Belle. "And I would've gotten away with it too! If it weren't for that meddling unicorn, and her horn - *OW*" The police led her away. Slowly. "Seriously!" She called back angrily, "Do you sharpen that thing!?"
"Gross part aside," Sweetie Belle said, "That was really kind of cool."
"Y'all thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
"You know it!"
Three fillies leapt into the air, bumped hooves, and shouted together "Cutie Mark Crusaders!!! Mystery Incorporated!!! Yay!!!"
...And reality itself trembled...