Sunny, her pony friends, Scooby-Doo and Mystery Incorporated had finally gotten their mission-- to head to the Temple of a Thousand Steps to find the Sword of Doom and the fourth cutie mark crystal, and keep them away from those who wanted them... AKA, the Black Samurai and Paradise Moonray, who was unknowingly waiting in the shadows for the perfect moment to reveal herself.
As she and her friends packed their bags to get ready for the long trip ahead, not knowing of Paradise and Miss Mirimoto's master plan, Pipp found herself so excited, she began to sing out loud, and her friends soon eventually joined in.
Every new day is the best day ever!
Pipp: A brand new day
A brand new chance, a brand new way
To be my very best pon-ay
And live my best life, 'cause there's only one now
Yeah, only one now
Misty, Pipp and Hitch: Sometimes it can feel
Like a bit of a circus
That's just fine by me
Because I like it that way
Pipp: A life full of adventure
Misty, Pipp and Hitch: It just fills me with purpose
Pipp: It keeps me on my hooves and, yeah
Ponies: That's how it's gonna stay
Every day's so bright, every day's full of magic
Every day feels right, every day is a classic
And just when I think it can't get any better
Every new day is the best day ever
Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like
Every new day is the best day ever
Zipp: Can't bring me down...
Pipp and Zipp: Can't stop the vibes I'm bringin' round
Misty: To everypony here in town
Ponies: So live your best life, 'cause there's only one now
Yeah, only one now
Every day's so bright, every day's full of magic
Every day feels right, every day is a classic
And just when I think it can't get any better
Every new day is the best day ever
Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like
Every new day is the best day ever
Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like
Every new day is the best day ever!
And by the song was finished, the Hover Jet took off into the sky, leaving an evil plot in the midst of being commenced.
XXXXXXXX
The Hover Jet was going at an alarmingly fast speed, all the way over the ocean on a direct route toward the temple in question. “We should be getting close,” Velma said. “I've uploaded the coordinates into the navigation system using my laptop's wireless interface.”
“It's very exciting for us to join you on this mystery. We’re usually not allowed to venture so far from Miss Mirimoto,” Miyumi said as she, Gray, Sunny and Daphne sat together in the cockpit. “She seems like a really great sensei-- someone to look up to,” Sunny smiled. “She is,” Gray nodded. “But she demands absolute loyalty, like that of a samurai.”
“Indeed,” Mr. Takagawa nodded. “Someone who still cares for the old ways.”
“Yeah, like the good old days, when people chased each other around with big swords,” Shaggy nodded. “Pardon my saying so,” Hitch held up a hoof in defense, “but that puts the mental in sentimental.”
Scooby nodded and made the cuckoo sign with his paw, making Moon Blossom giggle a bit. “I like your name by the way, Moon Blossom,” Misty smiled. “Your secretive, but you’re also really pretty-- not afraid to share your wisdom with the world.”
“Oh… thank you,” Moon Blossom smiled. “I never thought of my name that way. My parents just named me that because I was born under a cherry blossom tree on a cool March night.”
Izzy sighed dreamily at that. “Everything you say sounds like a poem being put on paper…”
“Speaking of paper,” said Zipp, “how did you learn to draw so well?”
“Yeah,” Shaggy said. “I thought your cutie mark was a moon.”
Moon Blossom looked down at her cutie mark with a smile. “It is. I’ve always loved the night, and the moon is a sign of wisdom in my family. But, a real passion I have is drawing and sharing stories of the past.”
“Oooh, do go on!” Pipp said. “Maybe you can tell us a story right now!”
“Well… what if I do something better?” Moon Blossom smiled. “Izzy, do you have a set of watercolor paints in that sash of yours?”
“Sure do! Here you go!” Izzy handed them off to Moon Blossom, who began to paint on some pieces of paper as her cutie mark began to glow. “I lived high up in the mountains with a colony of earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi, living with my parents, grandparents and my young friend and assistant, Dream Maker.”
As she spoke and painted, her cutie mark began to glow, and all the drawings began to emerge from the page. “Wow…” Misty gasped in awe. “This is beautiful!”
“Ooh!” Scooby giggled as a painted butterfly landed on his nose. “Unlike Equestria all those moons ago,” Moon Blossom said, “all three of us ponies were friends, and spent countless days in the settlement we called home. One night, I went out for a walk with Dream Maker when a rockslide began to form in the darkness, and was heading straight for the colony!”
“Oh no!” Zipp cried. “What happened?!”
“Well, Dream Maker and I rushed toward the colony and woke everypony up, warning them about the rockslide,” Moon Blossom continued to paint the events. “I urged everypony to use their magic all at once to stop the rocks before they reached the village, since I could see so well in the dark. Once the rockslide was stopped, I realized my cutie mark was glowing! That meant that I was a natural born leader, and I decided to travel around with Dream Maker until I met Mr. Takagawa, and he offered to take us in and help him run the museum.”
The painted images soon disappeared back onto the paper as soon as the story ended, leaving several group members in shock. “Wow…” Pipp said with awe. “That’s… so pony-tastic! I mean, not that a rockslide nearly destroyed your village, but… everything else!”
“Hey, maybe you could show us how to paint like this?” Hitch asked. “Sparky, my baby dragon buddy back home, would go crazy for this!”
Moon Blossom smiled. “I’d love that very much.”
Mr. Takagawa smiled-- it was good to see his young mentee connect with more ponies and new friends so easily, despite not knowing them for only a few hours. At that moment, an alarm sounded from Velma’s laptop, and she expressed a happy smile-- they had to be close now. “Here we go, gang!”
The Hover Jet began to fly into some very thick fog, blinding the gang with white clouds all over the place. “I can’t see anything,” Daphne frowned. “It’s like the whole world just disappeared.”
“Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed worriedly. “Like, so much for our sunny South Pacific vacation.”
“It’s probably a figure of speech, Shaggy. But, if I’m right, the island should be right in front of us,” Sunny scoured around to see what he could find, despite all the fog before them. But suddenly, the plane nearly collided with a rocky arch before the island came into their line of sight. “Look, gang-- there it is!” Fred exclaimed. “The Temple of a Thousand Steps!”
“Whoa… it’s gigantic!” Misty exclaimed with wide eyes. “Well, if we’re gonna get down there and find the Sword of Doom,” Zipp sighed, “we better move out.”
XXXXXXXX
“That… is… it!” Hitch panted, collapsing on the stairs. “Can’t… go on!”
“Ugh… how far do we still have to go?” Pipp groaned, causing Zipp to look up. “At least… 500 more steps until we reach the top.”
“Come on, everyone! We can do this!” Moon Blossom exclaimed. “We just have to get a little tougher!”
“We’re all toughened out!” Izzy panted. “I don’t know how we can make it the rest of the way without our hearts going SPLAT!!”
Moon Blossom chuckled. “You don’t have to worry about that. I think you all are stronger than you know.”
“Oooh!” Pipp perked up immediately. “I think I feel a song coming oooon!!”
And just like she predicted, Moon Blossom began to sing a very moving and upbeat song.
Moon Blossom: I know a lot about overcoming doubt
So many things they told me that I couldn’t do
I went and proved them wrong, so now I’ll pass along
These simple words I hope get through to you
It doesn’t matter what they say
There’s only one voice to obey
And it’s that little voice inside
So let that be your guide
Then you can save the day!
Swiftly enough, Moon Blossom began to climb the rocks on the side of the mountain with precision and grace, much to the awe of her friends.
Moon Blossom: Cause you are stronger than you know
Stronger than you know
You may be small but give it your all
And you will finally show
That you are stronger than you know
So much stronger than you know
“You don’t have to climb the stairs the same way,” Moon Blossom hinted. “Each of you is unique-- the way you climb should be just as unique!”
“Hey… she’s right!” Sunny smiled. “And if we help one another, we can make the job that much easier and more fun!”
“But Sunny,” Daphne argued, “you really think we can do this?”
“I know we can!”
Sunny: Just look at what we can achieve
Through any danger we can leave
Misty: And we could conquer any maze
A new trail we could blaze
Both: If only we believe...!!
And so, at this, the entire group began to climb the mountain their own unique way-- some flew, some hopped, some used plants to climb and some bounced up the mountainside like it was nothing.
All: That we are stronger than we know
Stronger than we know
We may be small but if we give our all
We will finally show
That we are stronger than we know
So much stronger than we know.
So much stronger...
...than we knoooooooooooow!!!
And by the time the song was finished, they finally reached the very top of the mountain. “Phew… we made it, Scoob! Ha ha ha ha! Like, in your face, Temple of a Thousand Steps!” Shaggy shouted from the very top, allowing the echo to go all the way toward the bottom. “Yeah…” Scooby said tiredly. “Scooby… Dooby… I'm pooped. But, we had fun!”
“And by helping each other,” said Sunny, “we all made it, gang!”
“And check out that stone carving above the temple door!” Zipp pointed out, and what it was caused Mr. Takagawa to gasp. “The Green Dragon!”
“If the Green Dragon’s carving is here, then this must be the place!” Hitch cheered. “Let’s go inside!”
“Hold on,” Gray held up a claw to stop him. “Let me go first-- there could be some sort of traps in here that we could stumble right into if we’re not careful.”
The young griffin carefully entered the temple, steady on his feet, using his night vision ability to see in the darkness to see if there were any traps on the floor. Fortunately, the temple was wide open, and he couldn’t see anything that would set off any traps. “All clear.”
“Oh, thanks, Gray,” Hitch smiled. “I probably would’ve tripped over something if it weren’t for your quick thinking.”
“You’re welcome. Now come on-- I want to see what secrets this place has to offer!”
The gang immediately entered the temple, looking around in the darkness at the ancient history of this large, singular, mountaintop building. “Check out the size of that disco ball!” Shaggy pointed to the giant lantern above them. “That’s no disco ball, Shaggy,” Velma shook her head. “It’s a Japanese lantern.”
“According to some books I read on the way here,” said Sunny, “people in Japan light those kinds of lanterns for special parties and festivals across the nation.”
“Plus, they’d make a pretty cool night light,” Zipp agreed. “Hey, maybe that’s got something to do with the next clue!” Fred realized, but Shaggy didn’t think so. “Or maybe we should just say we tried and, like, call it a day.”
But as Shaggy was speaking, he hit a lever close to him, which set off a chain reaction that set a rope on fire and lit the lantern, which lit the entire room. “Jinkies!” Velma cried. “Shaggy!” Misty cried. “You did it!”
“I did?” Shaggy questioned. “I-I mean, I did! Ha ha ha… like, what did I do, Scoob?”
“I don’t know,” Scooby shrugged as the group looked at the walls that were now illuminated by the lantern’s light. “It looks like some sort of treasure map,” Velma observed. “Showing the whole island!” Sunny agreed. Just then, Daphne spotted the same picture Moon Blossom showed them earlier on another part of the wall. “Is that the Sword of Doom?”
Once she had taken a good look at the drawing, Moon Blossom gasped in surprise. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “It must be!”
“But it’s on the other side of the island,” Gray sighed in disappointment. “Well, there is a good thing about this,” said Hitch. “We’re on the right track to finding where the Sword of Doom is actually hidden.”
“I will translate the inscription,” Mr. Takagawa offered before translating the language. “The secret falls from the mouth of the dragon.”
To this, Daphne groaned slightly. “Another dragon riddle?”
“Dragons were very important to Japanese culture,” Moon Blossom shrugged. “I bet the Green Dragon came up with these riddles to try and stump the Black Samurai if he ever came looking for the sword.”
“Uh… speaking of riddles,” Shaggy called from the opposite part of the temple, “like, does this mean there’s a cafeteria on this island?”
“Shaggy, that’s ridiculous!” cried Zipp with a frown. “There’s no such thing as ancient cafeterias! …is there?”
As she, Moon Blossom and her mentor walked over to where Shaggy was standing, Mr. Takagawa’s face scrunched in confusion, and strangely enough, these symbols looked a lot like a knife and fork. But once Mr. Takagawa saw what it meant, he quickly became fearful. “No! We must get out of here!”
“Like, why?” Shaggy called, but the group didn’t waste any time following him out of the temple. “Hurry!” Mr. Takagawa cried. “Before they catch us!”
But suddenly, the group abruptly stopped outside the doors of the temple to see an army of masked villagers, pointing spears at them and grunting in some sort of ancient language. And even when they took their masks off to show they were not monsters, they still didn't look too happy to see them. Scooby whimpered and backed up slowly behind Misty, who protected him by sheltering him with her body. “Okay,” Fred whispered to the group. “Everybody just stay calm and let me do all the talking.”
“We’re doomed,” Pipp muttered, just as Fred came closer to the natives and cleared his throat. “Hello there,” he greeted. “Heh… we’re from America!”
XXXXXXXX
Like Pipp and the rest of the ponies anticipated, Fred's words did nothing to try and help the team. Instead, the natives got that much angrier, bringing them to their leader before Sunny, Misty, Moon Blossom, Zipp, Mr. Takagawa, Fred, Shaggy and Scooby were thrown into a pot while the others were dressed in grass skirts and flowery accessories. “Like, how do we get ourselves into these things?” Shaggy wondered. “Fred,” Zipp spat, tossing Fred a heated glare. “Fred is how we wind up into these things.”
Then, the leader spoke an unknown language to his troops, but afterwards, they began to chant ‘Droo ga ga’ over and over. “Droo ga ga?” Fred questioned quietly. “It must be their name for the Green Dragon,” Moon Blossom assumed. “They’re going to offer us as a sacrifice!”
“Ohh…” Scooby whimpered before they all glanced over at the others, looking frightened and worried. “And I think we’re going to be married to that icky tribal chief…” Daphne muttered, all of them groaning in disgust as the chief sniffed his own armpits. “Not if I can help it,” Velma spoke matter-of-factly. “Miyumi, if you can reach my bag, I’ve got a plan to save all our skins.”
“Okay,” Miyumi spoke with a nod. “Just bare yourselves a little longer, guys!” Gray whispered loudly. “We’ll get you out of there and out of these flowery skirts in no time! Blech… flowers do not look good on some griffins, namely me.”
“I think these guys actually have some style,” Pipp said. “You know… if our friends weren’t close to being eaten.”
Just then, the tribal leader carried a lit torch over to the pot where most of the group were being held, hoping to boil them to a crisp, and then eat them. “Boy, you guys really know how to cook,” Shaggy said, taking a spoonful of... whatever they were cooking them in. “Hmm… but there’s something still missing.”
So, they began to pick leaves off of the chief’s necklace and stirred them into the green liquid, where Sunny took a sample slurp to get a good taste test. “Mmm…! Hey, that’s more like it!”
“Here, taste!” Shaggy shoved the spoon into the chief’s mouth, but after sampling it, he smiled in delight-- that was good! “Well, what are you waiting for?” Shaggy asked. “Come on in, the water’s fine!”
The tribal leader immediately let them out of the pot so he and his followers could have more room, where Shaggy and Scooby started to add more and more ingredients to the soup to make it more delectable. “Like, now we’re cookin’, right Scoob?” Shaggy asked. “Yeah,” Scooby agreed, and put some salt and pepper in the soup, but it made it taste terrible! He spit out the liquid and gagged for a moment, but pretended to like it so their cover wouldn’t be blown. “I mean, mmm-mmm… yummy.”
“Phew…” Zipp sighed as she flapped her wings to dry them out. “Good cover, Scoob.”
“Okay, that should do it. Now, just cover and simmer for one hour…” Shaggy strained, and he, Sunny, Misty and Scooby slid the giant pot cover onto it, engulfing the chief and his followers in darkness. But no sooner than they thought they did it, the chief lifted the cover off and had his men surround the group, making Shaggy chuckle nervously. “That's the problem with gourmet cooking nowadays,” he said. “Like, everyone's a critic.”
“Ponies, surround the gang!” Sunny shouted as she shifted into her alicorn form. “Make sure the gang is untouched!”
Velma chuckled as she typed vigorously on her laptop. “I don’t think you'll have to worry about us, Sunny!”
Before the group could question this, a harsh wind began to blow from out of nowhere, and many of the villagers looked on, wide eyed before following their frightened leader someplace safe… just before the Hover Jet flew in, causing Gray to gasp in surprise. “You did it, Velma!”
“Lucky for us the plane's robotic navigator is still connected to my wireless interface,” Velma spoke with a grin. “The villagers must think the Hover Jet is the Green Dragon,” Fred assumed, and Zipp decided now would be their perfect chance to escape. “So what are we dragon our hooves for? Come on!”
XXXXXXXX
After leaving the villagers’ grounds, the Hover Jet flew far and wide over the luscious island. They weren’t sure what exactly they were looking for, but they knew that it had to be something dragon related, like before.
On the ride over the island, Misty examined the book Mr. Takagawa brought with them, focusing on the Green Dragon especially hard.
Why did she feel like this dragon was no myth, but a real legend, just waiting out there to be found?
“You’re thinking about him too, aren't you?”
Misty turned to see Sunny, Shaggy and Scooby sitting next to her. “Yeah...” Misty nodded. “For some reason, I just feel like if we could find this dragon, he could give us so many answers to our questions! Like... how do we stop Mom? Where did Sparky come from? How do we make sure all of Equestria is protected, not just Maretime Bay all by itself?”
“We'll find the answers soon, Misty. We have to keep our heads steady and level,” said Sunny gently, “in order to solve this mystery.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Misty sighed, putting the book on the table. “We just need to keep our eyes on the prize...”
XXXXXXXX
After a long while of talking, flying, singing and navigating, the Hover Jet stopped, and the entire group looked up to see a magnificent sight-- a gigantic waterfall, and the cave’s entrance where the water came from looked like a roaring dragon’s head, making the entire group gasp in amazement. “The secret falls from the mouth of the dragon!” Daphne recalled the riddle from earlier. “The riddle is pointing to the waterfall,” Miyumi realized with a nod. “So, like… what do we do next?” Shaggy asked. The way Zipp answered was with a determined smirk, and tilting a lever upward a bit to make the Hover Jet elevate to the dragon’s mouth. “We go in for a closer look.”
“Like, I was afraid you were gonna say that...”
The Hover Jet then flew inside the cave, bats emerging from the ceilings and flying out to do some hunting. Once they had flown in a good ways, the jet landed on the cold rocky floor, and the group marveled at the uniqueness of the statues around them. But the second Scooby looked out at the statues, he screamed and retreated back into the Hover Jet. “Come on, Scoob,” Sunny urged. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“Yeah, see?” Shaggy tapped one of the statues with his fist. “Like, they’re only statues.”
“Uh uh, uh uh, uh uh!”
But luckily, Fred knew what would get the Great Dane out of there, pulling a box from his backpack. “Would you do it for a Scooby Snack?”
It took Scooby a minute to think of a response. Sure, a Scooby Snack would be nice… but then again, this was scary. “Nope!”
“Would you do it for two Scooby Snacks?” Velma asked. “Uh uh,” Scooby answered, snout in the air. But then, Miyumi decided to give it a go. “How about 10 Scooby Snacks? Ha ha ha!”
This immediately got Scooby’s attention, and the large dog nodded enthusiastically before he leapt into Miyumi’s arms. “Scooby Dooby Dooooo!! Hee hee hee hee!”
“Glad you’re coming along, Scooby,” Hitch elbowed the Great Dane. “Come on-- if my hunch is right, we need to go this way.”
“Let me light the way, guys. Follow me!” Izzy chirped and let her glowing horn guide them down the brick walkway provided for them. Soon, they reached the main cavern, with a path right over the water. “Wow…” Sunny looked around with a wide smile. “Look at this place!”
“Totally awesome!” cried Zipp, taking several photos. “Definitely something the sword of an ancient, evil samurai would be hiding.”
“We found it at last!” Mr. Takagawa pointed forward. “The Sword of Doom!”
Like he said, the sword rested on a stone table underneath a beacon of light, just laying in wait to be taken back to Japan. “So, like, what are we waiting for?” Shaggy wondered. “Let’s grab the sword and blow this pop stand!”
“Uh huh!” Scooby nodded in agreement, while Daphne remained unsure and a little worried. “I don’t know, guys,” she shook her head in response. “Something doesn’t feel right about this.”
“Yeah...” Misty hummed. “Living with Opaline all that time has given me a danger meter like I don't know what, and why would the sword just be waiting there waiting to take it? I think this seems like a trap just waiting to spring on us.”
“But… Miss Mirimoto is expecting us to bring the sword back to Japan,” Miyumi argued. Taking a deep breath, she decided to make a risky decision. “If you want to win… you must be willing to do that which others are not willing to do.”
This being said, Miyumi walked up the stairs toward the sword, Gray hot on her heels from the air. “Miyumi, you have to see that this could be dangerous!” he argued, getting in her path. “Is really getting some ancient sword to Japan really worth all this trouble?”
“If we get through sword home,” said Miyumi, “we could be heroes, Gray! We could have everything we ever dreamed of! Now... just let me pass.”
Gray sighed and relented, flying back down to the others with a worried look. He knew he didn’t like this rule and for good reason.
He was so afraid that Miyumi was gonna get hurt... but it seemed important to her, so... he managed to relent.
But was this really the right choice?
Once reaching the sword, Miyumi gently grabbed it and lifted it off it’s platform, unknowingly setting off a trigger that made the entire cavern begin to shake. “Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed. “That did it!”
“Run for it!” Velma cried as the shaking continued, leading the entire group to try and escape. But unfortunately, the gap in the closing entrance was too small to reach before the bridge across the water collapsed. And what made it worse, the Black Samurai found them and flew in before the entrance sealed. “Yikes!” Scooby yelped as the ponies got in front of their friends to protect them. “Foolish mortals!” the Black Samurai boomed. “Return the sword to me and I shall destroy you quickly.”
“Return the sword and be destroyed?” Pipp repeated before she laughed nervously and whispered to the others. “As much as I live for spooky things, I-I’d hate to hear option number 2.”
The Black Samurai charged toward them, leading them to split up and try to keep the sword from the samurai’s clutches, but it was anything but easy.
Moon Blossom and Mr. Takagawa had to run past poisonous darts before Moon Blossom tossed the sword down to Shaggy, Scooby, Misty and Sunny. The four of them continued to run, even when giant eyeballs from a nearby statue began to chase them down a huge slide.
Daphne and Velma stood with Zipp and Pipp, trying to hide from the samurai just before Shaggy, Scooby, Misty and Sunny fell right on top of them, sending all of them to the floor. “Ow...” Misty groaned out of pain. “That was pretty unpleasant.”
“My glasses!” Velma fumbled around in the darkness. “Ooh... I can see a thing without my glasses!”
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!! That's funny,” Shaggy said with Velma’s glasses on his face. “I can't see a thing with your glasses!”
Suddenly, the ominous laughter of the Black Samurai could be heard above them, sending everyone on the run again. Once they were reunited again, the group found themselves once again the target of the Black Samurai flying their way, leading them to jump out of the way before they got hit and leaving the Black Samurai to crash into the rock wall.
His helmet flew off, and this gave the group to look and see who was really behind all this madness. But when they saw who it was, they were beyond shocked. “Sojo?!”
Sojo growled at the group, although defeated. “Wait wait wait wait-- this doesn’t make any sense,” Pipp shook her head. “How can Sojo be behind this? He’d never want to cause Miss Mirimoto and the academy harm.”
But, Velma only smiled in response. “Actually, Pipp, it makes perfect sense. But first, let’s get Sojo and the Sword of Doom back to Japan.”