A Happy Ending for All2,196 words

Arriving in Nowhere, Kansas

Scooby howled in fear as he ran away as fast as his legs could take him, not caring where he was going at the moment.

Anything to get away from that alarming sound.

Suddenly, he was forced to stop as his body jolted repeatedly, eyes flashing different colors and his ears being infected with that strange sound before he flopped on his back, the strange sensation coming to an end.

And even though he was tired from running such a long way, Scooby thanked the heavens above that this ordeal was finally over.

When he finally got to his senses again, his eyes widened at the rickety old farm house in the distance, never seeing this area before in his life-- especially an area so... dead and lifeless. “Where am I...?” he wondered, getting back up on his paws and looking around. How far had he come? And how was he gonna get home?

Looking toward the farmhouse, Scooby assumed that maybe someone there could help him get directions to get back to the city, and started walking that way.

But suddenly, a portal opened up in front of him, and Sunny, Misty and all their friends leapt from it and right in front of him. “Hey! I think that was actually a smoother landing than last time!” Zipp laughed. “I think we're getting the hang of this whole portal thing!”

“Ponies!” Scooby cried, his tail wagging. “Good to see you!”

“Good to see you too, Scooby-Doobers!” Pipp affectionately scratched his head. “Hey... where's Shaggy and the others? Shouldn't they be with you too?”

Scooby frowned and whimpered in response. “Uh-oh... I think poor Scooby here got lost,” Misty said with a frown, “and he doesn't know how to get home!”

“Poor guy... hey, wait a minute,” Sunny looked at their surroundings. “I don't even recognize this place. Not even that old farm house over there.”

“Why do you think that the crystals sent us HERE of all places to find the second cutie mark crystal?” Hitch pawed at the dry ground with his hoof. “I don't know... yet. But maybe somepony at that farmhouse might,” Sunny said as she and her friends started walking in that direction. “Come on, Scooby... we'll explain the story on the way.”

XXXXXXXXX

Little did Scooby and any of the ponies know, this farmhouse belonged to an elderly couple named Eustace and Muriel Bagge, and with them, for the longest time, lived a pink dog named Courage, who ironically, was scared of everything.

But despite being overly frightened of everything around him, Courage was extremely loyal and sweet, willing to do anything for his humans... and the little sphinx cub from a land called Equestria that he found under the house one morning.

Eclipse Colorglow was a black sphinx cub with a green blue and purple mane, the same colors on her tail tuft, light blue-violet eyes, black and rainbow feathers on her wings and rainbow stripes on her back and on her face.

After being abandoned at such a young age, Eclipse was a little distrustful of strangers... until she met Courage. Meeting someone that she could relate to really brought Neon out of her shell, and after seeing how well she got along with Courage, Muriel happily welcomed her to their family. And Eustace... well... he tolerated her welcome.

But none of them saw what would be coming for them next.

XXXXXXXXX

On this particular night, Courage and Eclipse were both hearing the same sound that Scooby was hearing, and the sounds, the eyes glowing and the uncontrollable dancing was driving Courage crazy while Eclipse only tried to cover her ears with her paws and squeeze her eyes shut.

But, Courage's constant howling was driving Eustace crazy, making him growl in annoyance. “Hush it!” Eustace barked. “I can't hear the dang TV.”

But to Courage, all that talking was just a bunch of nonsense, and the noise ringing in Eclipse’s ears was driving her crazy. “Eustace, I think Courage is trying to tell you something!” she said. “It’s this strange sound! It's making Courage really uncomfortable!”

Courage imitated the sound to agree with her, even showing how the sound was making him dance to prove it. “Uh-huh, okay, I see. But what do you think about this?!”

Eustace pulled out a terrifying mask and growled from it, causing Courage to scream and bolt outside. “Courage, wait up!” Eclipse said as she flew out after him, and once they were gone, Eustace chuckled to himself. “Finally, a little peace and quiet.”

XXXXXXXXX

“Ohhh… I don’t know why he doesn’t like us, Courage,” Eclipse said to her friend as they went outside, “but I’m really getting tired of him treating us like trash.”

Suddenly, there came the sound again, even louder than before, making Courage whimper nervously. “That sound is even closer than before!” Eclipse realized, looking around cautiously. “Stay close, buddy. Neither of us need to be alone.”

So, the two of them started walking backwards just as Scooby and the ponies arrived, and suddenly, the ponies could hear the sound too. “Whoa!” Zipp said, shaking her head from the powerful sound. “I can see why you don’t like that sound, Scoob! We better stay close until we can figure out what’s making it.”

So, the group of seven backed up as well… right into Courage and Eclipse, making the group scream, startled. Scooby and Courage continued to scream for a moment before they calmed down, sniffing each other for a moment before Sunny gasped. “You’re a sphinx cub and a little dog!”

“Uh-huh,” Courage nodded. “Oh, what a coincidence!” Izzy said. “Scooby is a dog too!”

“Oh…”

“Hey… how’d you know I was a sphinx?” Eclipse asked Sunny. “My dad told me all about them when I was younger. Hey… are you two hearing a weird sound like we are?”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh,” Courage nodded. “Did it go like this?” Scooby asked before imitating that same sound. “Uh-huh!” Courage jumped up and down. “And,” Misty added, “did it make you dance?”

Scooby suddenly started dancing again, and Courage nodded and did the same dance he was doing earlier, making Scooby grin… maybe he wasn’t going crazy after all! “Me too!”

Both dogs giggled happily before Eclipse sighed. “I thought it was just me and Courage hearing that racket, but I’m glad that was proven untrue. My name is Eclipse Colorglow, and this is my best buddy Courage.”

“Hello,” Courage waved a little paw to them. “I’m Sunny, and these are my friends,” Sunny said before introducing the group one by one. “Zipp Storm, Izzy Moonbow, Misty Brightdawn, Hitch Trailblazer, Pipp Petals and Scooby-Doo. We have more friends, but… Scooby kinda left them behind when he first heard the sound.”

“Aww, poor guy,” Eclipse frowned and patted Scooby’s head with her paw. “Well, I’m sure we can find you a place to stay until this all blows over. Come on, we’ll just head over to the house, and--”

Eclipse was suddenly cut off when the ground began to rumble from underneath them, making them stagger for balance… right until a bunch of giant bugs began to come up from the ground! “AHHHHHH!!!!” the group screamed, hunkered together as the bugs got closer. The giant insects continued to hiss and growl until Zipp leapt up on one of their heads, knocking it out. “Ponies, follow my lead! Make sure they don’t touch Eclipse and the dogs!”

“Right!” the others shouted, and began to mimic what she was doing, knocking most of the bugs unconscious. Unfortunately, there were too many to catch up with, and one of them ended up tossing Misty backwards. “There’s too many of them, Sunny! We can’t keep up!”

“What are we gonna do?!” Pipp asked, freaking about the bugs drawing closer. But before Sunny had time to think of a plan, a familiar van drove in at top speed, either squishing the bugs flat or causing them to retreat underground, its headlights blinding the group temporarily. When the doors of the van opened, the group let out a shriek, but once Sunny saw who it was, she and the others instantly calmed down. “It’s our friends!” Scooby cried in relief. “Oh…” Courage said before waving. “Hello!”

“Sunny! You and the ponies found Scooby!” Velma said in relief. “Thank goodness!”

But before the group could get closer, another giant bug popped up in their path. “Ew…” Daphne groaned before using a croquet mallet to knock the bug a good distance away. “Whoa, nice one, Daph!” Fred commented. “That had to be 500 yards, at least.”

“Thanks, Freddy. I've been working on my swing, and it's a win-win,” Daphne smiled. “I get to practice and I hate bugs.”

“They’re cicadas,” Velma said as she scanned the bugs, “in their pre-molted exoskeletal form. But they're huge. Huh. I've never seen them grow that size. Fascinating…”

“And, there’s some sort green slime,” Zipp said after she stepped in the substance. “Blech…”

In the meantime, Shaggy approached Scooby and hugged him out of relief. “Hey, Scooby-Doo, old buddy. What was that about?” he asked in concern. “You had me, like, totally terrified, and worried, and panicked, and freaked out and everything!!!”

“Sorry, Shaggy,” Scooby apologized. “I heard a sound.”

“And we heard it too when we first got here,” Sunny said. “It sure was strange… a sound not even I’ve heard of before.”

Suddenly, something filled the animals’ ears… silence. “Huh?” Eclipse looked at her friends. “It stopped!”

“Uh-huh,” Courage nodded. “Uh-huh.”

Hitch hummed in thought. “What could be making a sound that only animals, and I’m not calling us animals, can hear?” he wondered. “A fancy kind of whistle?”

“Sounded less like a whistle and more like a migraine to me,” Misty shrugged. “But, it definitely is strange. And I noticed that our eyes were changing colors too, so it has to be some sort of supernatural effect.”

Suddenly, the door opened, and out came an older woman wearing glasses with a mixing bowl in her hands. “Eclipse, Courage! There you are!” she said kindly. “Oh, and you made some new friends. How nice. Sweeties, why don't you invite all your new friends inside? I'm making my special Scottish dream cookies with extra, extra, extra butter.”

The sound of cookies instantly made the ponies’ mouths, along with the mouths of Shaggy, Scooby, Courage and Eclipse, water, and Shaggy instantly grinned and turned to the others. “Like, dude, that sounds extra, extra, extra good to me.”

“Yeah,” Scooby nodded. “Extra extra extra delicious!”

“And we do need a place to stay until we can solve this Unity Quest,” Zipp said. “So why not? Lead the way, Courage.”

Courage nodded and beckoned the group inside, unaware that a giant cicada and a hooded figure was watching them from the roof. “Soon, my friend,” the figure said. “Soon, we’ll attack. You will get what you came for, and I will make sure Sunny Starscout and her friends never return to Equestria… and that their magic will be in my command.”

The figure took down her hood to reveal a cream colored unicorn with a green and purple mane and tail, a cutie mark of a dolphin, darker cream/brown hooves and mysterious blue eyes, looking dead serious. “So says… Paradise Moonray.”

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