Miss Mirimoto expected the group’s return at the old Tokyo Museum of Cultural History, and once they landed, Sunny and Hitch used their earth pony powers to tie Sojo to a nearby support post, in case he tried to make a move for the sword, to which Moon Blossom rested on a table nearby. “It’s all very simple,” Velma began to explain. “Sojo has been behind these samurai shenanigans all along.”
“He stole the Black Samurai's armor from the museum,” Fred added as Scooby put on a jetpack. “And he used this high-tech mini jetpack,” Shaggy added, turning Scooby’s jetpack on, “to fly around like a real live ghost.”
“Scooby-Dooby-Doo!” Scooby cheered, picking Izzy up with his paws and flying higher and higher up to the ceiling, leading Izzy to cheer with him. “Sojo’s master plan,” Velma went on, “was to bring the legend of the Black Samurai to life and scare everyone away from the tournament.”
“That way he could steal the destiny scroll and search for the Sword of Doom on his own,” Daphne nodded. “So that means... once we set out to solve the mystery,” Gray figured out, “his only hope was to steal the sword from us!”
Zipp scoffed at this behavior in disbelief. “Talk about a sneaky samurai.”
“Yeah-- sneaky,” Scooby nodded with a huff, with Izzy tossing her nose up in the air. “Yes,” Miss Mirimoto nodded. “And he would have gotten away with it too… if it weren’t for you meddling kids.”
As the group began to smile, Zipp suddenly felt that something was off.
Very off.
Especially when they heard a familiar voice from the shadows. “And their meddling ponies too… especially my so-called daughter.”
Paradise Moonray sauntered out from the shadows, leaving the ponies to brace themselves for attack. “Mom!” Misty shouted. “I should have known you would have been involved in this scheme!”
“Of course you should have, meddlesome filly. Because I am the most feared unicorn in all the lands… just like Mother Opaline was,” Paradise smirked slyly. “SOJO!!”
Sojo immediately broke free from his ropes just as the ninjas from before arrived on the scene, surrounding them instantly and causing a series of shocked responses.
“Zoinks!!”
“Yikes!”
“Jeepers!”
“Jinkies!”
“Sweet sauce horseshoe toss!”
But as Fred was about to respond, he paused. “Dang…” he muttered. “I still don’t have a catchphrase!”
“Fred!” Zipp scolded. “Seriously?!”
“Uh, sorry… got lost in the moment.”
“We must protect the sword!” Mr. Takagawa exclaimed, but was held back by the ninjas. Luckily, he was able to pull off one of their masks, but was met with a robotic face that made Sunny and Moon Blossom gasp. “They’re robots!”
“Ninja robots! Double cool!” Fred exclaimed, earning shameful glances from all the ponies. “Uh… sorry, I geeked out there for a sec.”
“So, like, the ninjas were your own robots?” Shaggy asked. “Huh?” Scooby cocked his head. “I-I don’t get it.”
“Miss Mirimoto, why would you choose to join forces with my mom? She’s evil!” Misty tried to reason. “And this sword is beyond dangerous! More trouble than it’s worth!”
“And,” said Zipp, “if you just wanted us to find the sword, why create a tournament in the first place?”
Their remarks caused Miss Mirimoto to chuckle. The tournament was just an excuse to gather the greatest martial artists from around the world,” she explained. “Paradise approached me, tired and weakened from her last battle with you all, and we decided to work together and both get what we want. Using computer analysis, their various fighting styles were digitized into my… ninja robots. After that, all I needed was to find someone who could solve the riddle of the Destiny Scroll. And who better than the world's greatest teenage detectives and their puny pony friends?”
Gray's head lowered sadly while the ponies and gang looked beyond furious. And to think they were beginning to respect her. “Come on, Miyumi!” Daphne prepared a fighting stance. “We can fight them together!”
But, Miyumi didn’t say a word, and instead walked toward the sword. “M-M-Miyumi?” Gray called out of shock, but Daphne gasped upon realizing what she was doing. “You’re one of them!”
“I’m sorry, but I must remain loyal to my sensei,” Miyumi said, bringing the sword to Miss Mirimoto. “Tomorrow night when the moon is full,” Miss Mirimoto explained as she brought Paradise the sword, “Paradise will help me resurrect the Black Samurai from the Sword of Doom. Once we have freed his spirit, he will call us his masters!”
“No! This is madness!” Moon Blossom furiously stomped her hoof. “And once the Black Samurai has returned, his sword will increase my power, and I will return to Equestria and take my rightful place as it’s queen,” Paradise smirked. “And I,” said Miss Mirimoto, “will order the samurai to lead my robot ninjas against the ignorant forces of this modern age! Then the ancient world of the samurai… and the new world of technology… shall exist in perfect harmony.”
“...it could work,” Shaggy shrugged. “Shaggy!” Sunny scolded. “That would NOT work! Each age has their own time that makes them unique! Clashing these ideas could spread worldwide, causing unhappiness and war!”
“Miyumi, Gray, did you guys know about this?” Hitch asked. “No!” Gray answered quickly with a desperate gaze. “Our only instructions were to earn your trust… by becoming your friends.”
“The first rule of Mirimoto Academy,” Miss Mirimoto smirked. “If you want to win, you must be willing to do that which others are not willing to do.”
Daphne’s gaze narrowed-- this was going way too far, dragging Miyumi and Gray into this evil scheme. “But if you do things that a winner wouldn't do… that automatically makes you a loser!”
Daphne then kicked the sword of the way from Paradise's magic aura, and it landed right in Shaggy and Scooby's laps, causing them to scream upon realization when the ninjas began to surround them. “Ponies, I'll use my powers to hold them off!” Moon Blossom shouted, using her earth pony magic to throw the ninjas back. “Get Shaggy, Scooby and the sword someplace safe! NOW!!”
“WE’RE ON IT!!” the ponies shouted, and as Shaggy and Scooby flew out of the room with the sword, Pipp, Sunny (who was in her alicorn form) and Zipp grabbed Izzy, Misty and Hitch and followed the two into the sky, with some of the ninjas not far behind. “Like, all aboard the Samurai Sword Express!” Shaggy cried as they flew out into the distance. “You did it, Moon Blossom!” Velma cheered. “The ponies, Shaggy and Scooby got away!”
“But you will not be so fortunate...” Paradise sneered, throwing Moon Blossom into the gang before she and Miss Mirimoto turned and walked toward the doors, with Sojo and a reluctant Miyumi and Gray following. “I hope you will enjoy your new role as part of the museum’s permanent collection,” Miss Mirimoto smirked wickedly, just as the doors began to close, Miyumi and Gray sparing them one final teary-eyed look before they closed, leaving the others trapped in darkness.
XXXXXXXX
Shaggy, Scooby and the girls continued to fly throughout Tokyo while being chased by the ninjas, ducking under buildings, swinging around lampposts, dodging ninja stars, and so forth. And after a long while of being chased, Shaggy looked behind them and saw that they had no ninjas on their tails... literally, since a ninja grabbed Shaggy by the foot earlier. “Way to go, everypony!” he laughed. “I think we lost ‘em!”
“Phew… what a relief!” Pipp sighed as she struggled to carry Izzy. “You guys are not as easy to carry as I thought!”
“Well, look on the bright side,” Misty said. “At least we still have plenty of fuel for Shaggy and Scooby to fly with us.”
But suddenly, the jetpack began to sputter as soon as he said that, and the boys began to descend toward the ground. “Speaking of losing… I-I think they're losing altitude!” Sunny cried. “Dive, ponies! Dive!”
The ponies dove down to catch their friends as they neared the ground screaming, eventually catching them... and they all tumbled to the ground in a heap, luckily all unharmed.
Suddenly, the ninjas appeared, causing the group to scream and flee once again, managing to find shelter inside a small restaurant that the ninjas passed right by, and when they ducked back inside, they were met with an older man with a white beard. “Welcome to Green Dragon Sushi,” he greeted. “You sit-- eat sushi. Good for you, eh?”
“Uh… that really depends,” Hitch shrugged. “You guys got anything without a head on it somewhere?”
The man brought out a dead fish and quickly chopped off the head, causing the group to grimace and smile nervously... that was not something they needed to see. “You like miso soup?” the man asked, and the sound of warm soup made Sunny smile happily. “Miso soup? Sounds perfect!” she smiled, making Shaggy chuckle. “Like, me so hungry.”
“Yeah. Me so hungry too,” Scooby nodded. The old man nodded and dipped a large spoon into a pot full of soup consisting of dashi stock, tofu, green onions and dried seaweed. Once the eight small bowls were filled, he handed them over to the group, who drank a little bit from the bowls, tickling their taste buds. “Ahh…” Zipp sighed contently. “That really hit the spot!”
“Yummy yum,” Scooby smiled, just before the man greeted them in the Japanese language. “I am Matsuhiro. Menu?”
Shaggy took the menu and discovered that there was something very interesting on the cover of it. “Hey, check it out, guys,” he spoke, pointing to the cover. “Like, it’s our old friend, the Green Dragon!”
“Wow!” Izzy said in awe. “He must be EVERYWHERE in Japan!”
“Ahh… so you know the legend?” Matsuhiro asked. “You could say that,” Sunny chuckled, just as the old man turned to put some rice in a smaller bowl. “Do you know what I like most about legends? New chapters are being written all the time,” he said with a chuckle. “You never know what is going to happen next.”
“That’s definitely what happens in our line of work,” said Zipp. “We travel all over, helping people with their different problems and trying to save them from ponies who want magic all to themselves.”
“It’s not easy, especially when they’re… ponies you should be close to…” Misty referred to her mother as she spoke, leaving Shaggy and Scooby to comfort her. “But as long as we stick together, I think we’ll be fine.”
“Ah, indeed,” Matsuhiro smiled. “Friendship is a powerful weapon… and a great source of comfort when you are in need of it.”
The ponies found themselves growing more comfortable with the man… he just seemed so wise and understanding. Suddenly, the robot ninjas burst through the windows of the restaurant, causing the group to scream-- they weren’t expecting the ninjas to find them so fast! Shaggy gulped and slowly lifted the Sword of Doom to defend themselves as the ponies braced themselves for attack. “Like, Sword of Doom, don't fail us now.”
“Eh? The Sword of Doom? But… how?” Matsuhiro asked out of surprise. “Uh, we’ll tell you later,” Misty answered. “Right now, we’ve got a serious case of the robot ninjas!”
But surprisingly, Matsuhiro grabbed a sword from the wall and slashed the nearest ninja as it drew closer and closer to them. “Now we will have some fun!”
“I don’t know about the rest of you…” said Izzy, before Hitch interrupted her. “We gotta hide!!”
The ponies pulled Shaggy and Scooby back behind the counter as they watched Matsuhiro battle the ninjas one by one with expert precision. But, while they were distracted, one of the ninjas used their chains to grab the sword and pulled it over to him. “No!” Shaggy cried. “The Sword of Doom!”
Thunder and rain poured from the heavens as the ninjas leapt off into the night, Matsuhiro glancing all around. “They are gone,” he said with a huff. “Gee whiz,” Pipp said in surprise. “For a sushi chef, you’re no cold fish with a samurai sword.”
“That is because,” Matsuhiro declared, “I am… samurai!”
This caused the group’s eyes to widen in shock, looking at each other, unsure of what to say. “Whoa whoa whoa whoa,” Shaggy said after a moment. “Like, did you and I hear him right?”
“I think we all did,” Sunny whispered. “Come,” Matsuhiro beckoned the group, walking away from the restaurant. “We have much to discuss for your journey ahead.”
Unsure of what they should do next, the group decided to comply and followed the old man into the rain.
XXXXXXXX
As for the others, Fred had found a warrior’s axe and helmet, and was now trying to chop through the wooden doors that were preventing them from escaping. “Give it up, Freddy,” Velma said. “Those doors must be three feet thick.”
Panting in exhaustion for a moment, Fred was determined to keep going. “We gotta get outta here somehow,” he said. “I’ll chop away all night if I have to.”
“We don’t have all night,” Moon Blossom said dejectedly, ears pinning as she laid her head in between her hooves, and Mr. Takagawa sighed. “I should not have been so critical about this modern age,” he said. “If only I had one more chance, I would fight to save this world like a modern-day samurai!”
Suddenly, the locks became undone, and as the gang looked on in confusion, it was revealed that Dream Maker and and Kenji undid the lock as they were getting ready to clean in there, and boy, did they yelp in shock at seeing them in there. Mr. Takagawa laughed happily, not caring that the young employees were beyond confused. “You’ve freed us, Kenji!” he cheered. “You’re a hero!”
“Thank you, Dream Maker!” cried Moon Blossom, hugging her assistant and friend. “Thank you, thank you!”
“Moon Blossom? Takagawa-san? Why did you lock yourselves in the vault?” Kenji asked, taking his headphones off his ears. “There is no time to explain,” Mr. Takagawa said before turning to the gang. “Soon enough, there will be more than one samurai brought back to life.”
“Come on,” Moon Blossom urged them. “We have a lot to do if we want to save both this world and Equestria from falling into the wrong hands.”
XXXXXXXX