G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost

by ponydog127

Mystery Inc Botches A Case?

The local shopping mall was closed… dark… almost bringing an ominous vibe through the quiet night.

Well... almost quiet, I mean.

A portal opened in the dark mall, and out stepped the Mane 6, Sparky, Queen Haven and Alphabittle, the pegasus queen and Misty’s father glancing around with wide eyes, until Alphabittle spoke up. “Huh… I thought it would be brighter in here.”

“Is there some sort of power outage?” Queen Haven asked. “I don’t think so,” Zipp shook her head. “We must be in the mall after closing time.”

“And luckily,” Sunny smiled, “we know EXACTLY what group would be in a dark shopping mall after hours.”

“WAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!”

Suddenly, an older man ran right past the ponies, causing them to leap out of the way as he rounded a corner. “Well… that was different,” Misty frowned. “I wonder why he’s so scared.”

“Ponies?!”

The ponies turned immediately to see Fred, Daphne and Velma screeching to an immediate halt, but Shaggy and Scooby couldn’t stop in time and tumbled into Pipp and Zipp. “Whoops! Sorry about that, girls,” Shaggy said as they got up. “We didn’t expect to see you guys tonight.”

“Hey, it’s all good!” Pipp reassured. “We’re just happy to see you again! And we have some family members of ours we wanna introduce you to.”

“Mystery Incorporated, meet my dad, Alphabittle Blossomforth, and Pipp and Zipp’s mom, Queen Haven of Zephyr Heights!” Misty introduced. “Queen Haven, Dad? Meet Shaggy, Scooby, Fred, Daphne and Velma.”

“Oh, it’s such a pleasure to meet you!” Queen Haven smiled. “Alphie and I have heard nothing but good things about you.”

“So have we!” Velma smiled. “It’s so nice to finally meet some of our Equestrian friends’ parents!”

“Uh, yeah, it’s great to meet both of you, but can we get going?” Fred said in a quick-speaking tone. “We have a suspect to nab!”

“Mind if we come along?” Alphabittle asked. “I’ve never been apart of a high-speed chase before.”

“Yeah yeah, sure,” Fred spoke, “now come on! He’s just up ahead!”

“You two might wanna get used to this,” Zipp said as they galloped after the gang. “Fred is sort of the leader, and he kinda takes things to a whole different level… whether we want him to or not.”

Queen Haven and Alphabittle spared each other a confused glance before they followed after their children and all their friends, old and new, after the gang’s suspect.

The man in question screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran through the mall at lightning speed and started running up the escalator. But as they reached the edge, Fred immediately stopped, causing the rest of the group to bump into him while Queen Haven and her daughters flew up to avoid the impact.

Zipp watched the suspect leave the escalator at the top floor, wondering why Fred would pause such a chase. “Fred, what are you doing? He’s getting away!”

“Zipp, as a detective, you should also know that while chasing a suspect, you have to avoid safety hazards too,” Fred told her. “And you should never run up a moving escalator. Safety first.”

Zipp groaned in frustration as Daphne developed a question. “Can we at least walk?”

“Um, better not chance it,” Fred advised. “We’ll just have to be slow and cautious.”

“You guys do that, and we’ll meet you at the top!” Sunny said, making a vine ramp that stretched all the way to the top, leading all of the Equestrians who couldn’t fly up to the next level of the mall, and Queen Haven, Zipp and Pipp flew up to meet them up there.

However, the escalator seemed to move incredibly slow, taking the gang forever to reach the top, something that slowed them down incredibly.

Sunny and Hitch looked at each other, both knowing that Fred took his leader role seriously, but this? This seemed a little too extreme for their taste.

Once the gang finally reached the top, Velma looked around, but didn’t see the suspect anywhere. “Now what?”

“I don’t know,” Zipp said frustrated, putting her visor away. “I can’t find any heat signatures of the suspect, so the trail has gone ice cold. Way to take the long way, Frederick.”

“Relax, everybody,” Fred said, trying to ease their frustration. “The real trick of leadership is seeing the whole situation from… above. Like the very top of, say, uh… a human pyramid. That's how you get the best out of your team and plan your next move.”

“He does know that we have pegasus ponies here, doesn’t he?” Alphabittle whispered. “Alphie has a point, Freddy dearest,” Queen Haven stated. “Maybe Pipp, Zipp and I might be able to get a good view of the mall from above.”

“And maybe while the royal pegasi do that, Scooby can sniff down here for clues!” Misty added. “Two search parties in one!”

“Ugh, all right, all right,” Fred sighed. “But make it quick-- if he makes it out of the mall, we may never find him again!”

Queen Haven and her daughters nodded before flying toward different shops, peering inside the open doors to see if the suspect was in there, but so far, they weren’t having any luck…

…until Scooby picked up the suspect’s scent, heading toward the nearby toy store. “That-a-way!”

“Huh? Oh yeah!” Sunny said. “The toy store is the only store that isn’t locked, so he must have found a way in there!”

“You see that? Great work, Scooby and Sunny,” Fred patted Scooby on the head before running toward the toy store. “Come on, gang!”

But as the gang followed, Shaggy and Scooby immediately halted as soon as they saw a pretzel cart to their right, their mouths watering in hunger. “Like, we’re right behind ya!” Shaggy said to his friends. “Me and Scoob just gotta take care of something first!”

“Oh yeah!” Scooby nodded, and the cowardly duo immediately dove into the salty treats, causing Hitch and Sparky to quickly abandon the chase and try to keep an eye on them. “I better stay with them, Dad. You guys keep following Freddy!” Misty said to her father, turning around and heading to her friends in order to give them a helping hoof while the chase resumed.

XXXXXXXX

The rest of the group entered the toy store with extreme caution, but it was dark, with Izzy and Alphabittle’s horns to illuminate the dark room. “Where is he?” Alphabittle wondered in a hushed tone of voice. “It’s so dark in here, even with my horn light, I can’t find anything!”

“Hmmm… I know he must be in here; I can feel it in my hooves,” Zipp said as she landed with her sister and mother beside her. “But where?”

Suddenly, there came a rattling sound from nearby, causing the ponies to jump, but Fred merely smirked at the act. “We got him. Follow me!”

Suddenly, Daphne thought of a better idea, deciding to speak her mind about such a thing. “Um… shouldn’t we booby-trap the doorway in case he tries to escape?”

“Daphne, I think I know when and when not to booby-trap a doorway,” Fred chuckled. “Let’s go.”

Daphne sighed as Izzy, Sunny, Velma and Alphabittle followed Fred away, turning toward Queen Haven. “Does this happen a lot to you, your highness?”

“More than you think. Some ponies think they have so many things figured out, they don’t want a second opinion,” Queen Haven said. “I think booby-trapping the doorway is a good way to make sure the villain doesn’t escape. But what in a toy store could we use?”

Pipp hummed as she looked around before her eyes settled on some large balls in a large cage. “What about those? With those balls, we could slow him down and potentially trip him up.”

“Good idea,” Zipp nodded. “Pipp, you keep look out. If he runs this way, give us the word and we’ll break the cage open!”

XXXXXXXX

“Be careful, everypony,” Sunny whispered as she, Fred, Velma, Izzy and Alphabittle walked. “The suspect could be anywhere, so keep your eyes peeled.”

“Peeled eyes? Eww!” Izzy gagged. “That just doesn’t sound good.”

“No, Izzy,” Velma whispered. “She means to look out for who we’re looking for.”

Soon, they came upon a display of teddy bears, where a giant, at least 10-foot teddy bear was sitting right in the middle. As they were about to move in a different direction, the giant teddy bear moved, and the suspect leapt out from it in an attempt to escape.

“Jinkies!”

“There it is!”

“Don’t let him get away!”

The suspect screamed as he ran past them, causing the group to chase after him while up near the entrance, Pipp saw the suspect coming. “He’s coming, Zipp! Now!”

“Let’s wing it!” Zipp shouted, and she and Queen Haven kicked the cage over, releasing all the balls onto the floor. And just like they expected, the suspect tripped over the balls and rolled right out of the toy store and rolled right toward the pretzel stand. “Uh oh!” Misty cried. “Shag, Scoob, Hitch, let’s go!”

“But we haven’t finished the pretzels yet!” Hitch argued, causing Misty to pull them away just as the suspect crashed into the stand. “Phew… that was close,” Scooby sighed. “Thanks, Misty.”

“Don’t mention it,” Misty smiled. “Dad, we got him!”

“Great job, Tea!” cried Alphabittle as Sunny used pretzels to bind the suspect’s hands together. “Now,” said Sunny, “all we have to do is wait for the authorities to arrive so the gang can wrap this case.”

XXXXXXXX

Once the sheriff had arrived on the scene, Velma moved toward the older man with the intent of ripping off his mask and revealing his true identity. “Now let's see who old Farmer Morgan really is.”

“Huh?” Zipp blinked. “Wait, does she think that his face is really…?”

But she didn’t have time to finish the question, because Velma was already pulling against the man’s face, but when it didn’t budge, she hummed in thought. “That’s odd.”

“Let me try,” Daphne offered, and tried to pull the so-called ‘mask’ off as well. “Ow, stop that!” the man cried. “That’s my face!”

“Guys, I think he’s telling the truth,” Sunny tried to step in. “And it seems like it’s really hurting him.”

“Cause it is, orange horsey!” the man yelped in pain as Daphne continued, causing Shaggy to hum in thought. “Looks like this ghost went a little heavy on the spirit gum,” he told Scooby, causing them both to laugh. “I don’t understand,” Fred said in confusion. “If it's not a mask, then that means he's…”

The sheriff then sighed and picked the man up. “The real Farmer Morgan.”

Many of the group gasped in shock, while the ponies only winced. “Oh jeez… we are SO sorry about that,” Misty apologized. “We were just following our friends and… well… things got a little out-of-hoof.”

“I have to agree,” Alphabittle said. “It was an honest mistake, right gang?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t make any sense,” Daphne spoke up. “Farmer Morgan is selling the mall half his farmland for their big expansion.”

“If it goes out of business,” Velma agreed, “he'll lose millions.”

“So, like, why does he want to shut this place down?” Shaggy wondered. “He doesn’t. Morgan didn't stage the mall haunting,” the sheriff said before gesturing to the woman in handcuffs beside him. “Mrs. Malvo, the owner did.”

“And I would've gotten away with it, too,” Mrs. Malvo stated, “if you'd left the meddling to these kids.”

“But wait… if Farmer Morgan wasn’t responsible for the mall haunting,” said Hitch, “why was he running from us!”

“I’m afraid of teenagers!” Farmer Morgan answered, making the Mystery Incorporated crew immediately realize what they had done. “Hold the phone,” Fred spoke. “You mean… we were wrong?”

“Whoa… that’s a first,” Pipp said in concern. “Mystery Inc has never botched up a case in their entire lives!”

“Uh, actually, instead of being wrong,” said the sheriff, “the right term would be ‘criminally negligent’.”

“CRIMINAL?!”

“How many times do I have to tell you kids?” the sheriff sighed, looking toward the stunned teenagers. “Mystery-solving is a tough business. Even for the pros. There's no room for mistakes. You're almost 18. After that, if somebody like Morgan presses harassment charges, you're looking at prison time.”

“Prison?!” Zipp cried as the Mane 6 and Sparky got in front of their friends in defense. “No, that can’t happen!”

“Sheriff, please excuse me for butting in,” Alphabittle said, “but my daughter has told me nothing except good things about these kids. Making a mistake like this is big, I agree, but it’s the first time this has happened.”

“I agree,” Queen Haven said. “As queen of Zephyr Heights, I always try to give somepony a second chance after a wrong-doing. Maybe you can find it in your heart to do the same?”

“While I do agree that most would be given a second chance, your highness,” the sheriff stated, “this business is too dangerous for slip-ups. Case in point.”

Suddenly, Mrs. Malvo started running in the other direction, leaving Izzy to point this out. “She’s getting away!”

Luckily, the sheriff was able to stop her by shooting her rear end with a tranquilizer gun before turning back to Mystery Inc. “It's over, kids. From now on, there's only one mystery-solving crime stopper in this town. And he wears a badge. Also this cool hat.”

Hitch was just about to interject, but Misty shook her head to keep their friends from getting in further trouble. “Let me be absolutely clear,” the sheriff warned. “If I see you driving that Mystery Machine of yours one more mile, I'm putting you away.”

The ponies gasped at this as the sheriff turned toward Scooby. “Also, we do have a leash law in this town, so, you know. Thanks.”

Scooby growled as everyone went their separate ways, and once they were alone, Sunny turned to the gang with a frown. “Guys, I’m so sorry… are you okay?”

“...more disappointed in ourselves than anything,” Daphne frowned. “After we defeated Opaline, it’s like we’ve been back-tracking to our early mystery days, when we barely knew anything about solving crimes.”

“Aww, come on,” Alphabittle tried to encourage. “I’m sure it can’t be that bad.”

“No… the sheriff’s right,” Fred shook his head. “We better do what he says.”

“Wait a second…” Misty said with fear in her voice. “Does that mean…?”

Velma nodded, sighing in sadness. “Mystery Inc… is retiring.”

Comments

[Justin Mershimer]

I don't remember the Sheriff telling Mystery Inc. to retire in this movie, it was in Return to Zombie Island.