Episode 3: What Did You Exspecter?
It had been the last interesting couple of days since the Timber Wolf incident in the Everfree Forest and Mystery Inc.'s sudden appearance in Equestria after Princess Luna requested their help. They had a welcoming party with dance music, Trixie's magic show, a buffet of sweets and meat for Scooby and Shaggy, and the gang retelling many of their classic adventures with the ponies which they all found frightening and exciting like telling ghost stories by the fire. However, the gang realized they didn't have any place to sleep for the night to which Princess Twilight let Fred, Daphne, and Velma to stay in the castle while Shaggy and Scooby opted to stay with Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner to which the party pony proclaimed them her new roommates.
However, a new problem faced Equestria as half of the student body at the School of Friendship did not show up for classes due to the rumors of the School Specter. Even Fluttershy and Rarity had to decline to teach for the rest of the week due to being scared of the ghost. Twilight had her skepticisms and worried about keeping the school open, because without a full student body, the school would close down for good and she couldn't let that happen.
"What am I going to do? I can't let the school go down like this and I certainly can't let a spooky tale deprive students of learning about friendship. Oh, this is such a mess!" Twilight explained as she paced around the six thrones of her castle.
"You really shouldn't worry yourself too much about this, Twilight. I'm sure this will be cleared up by next week," Starlight suggested.
"That's if there is a next week?! I can't wait, Starlight! There's too much riding on the school staying open!" Twilight yelled making her personal student back up in fear.
"What's going on out here?" Fred asked as he appeared from behind the corner.
"Huh? Oh, it's just you, Fred. We have a crisis to deal with here and I'm losing my marbles over it," Twilight replied.
Fred came in dressed in his natural attire as he sat down on Pinkie Pie's throne in order to hear everything Twilight was worried about from the rumors of the ghost to the students not showing up for classes to the school potentially getting shut down for an unsafe environment.
"That does sound pretty dangerous," Fred recalled as he leaned back in the seat.
"It's going to ruin the School of Friendship! You and your friends gotta help us!" Twilight pleaded as she walked up to Fred nuzzling her head on his lap and giving him puppy dog eyes.
"Okay, okay, we can get to the bottom of this…you don't have to worry," Fred stated as he knelt down and patted Twilight's head.
"That's easier said than done. Twilight really gets going when something is awry," Starlight retorted as she looked at the Princess of Friendship with an amused look.
"I just don't want all my hard work to go to waste. We already lost the school once and I won't let it happen again," Twilight explained with a determined glance.
"I guess I better grab the girls and go grab Shaggy and Scooby from Sugarcube Corner. You're welcome to join us if you want," Fred offered with a hand in the air.
"Me and Starlight have other duties to attend to unfortunately, but I can send Spike with you all. He really loved investigating and wouldn't stop rambling about it," Twilight stated.
"We were happy to have his help last time. He did find that book which became a crucial part of the mystery," Fred added.
"And Trixie shall join as well," Trixie announced as she walked into the room with her normal purple cape flowing behind her.
"Oh hey, Trixie. I didn't know you got up this early," Fred stated as he turned to the stage magician unicorn.
"Trixie always has a morning routine even though it has been slightly adjusted since her wagon was crushed. Plus, you'll need her guidance when we enter the School," Trixie explained.
"You might want to go tell Spike he's joining us for the mystery today while me, Daphne, and Velma go pick up the others. We'll meet outside the school entrance in 20 minutes," Fred announced.
Trixie nodded before turning on her heel and walking directly for Princess Twilight's private bedroom where Spike normally slept in his small bed. Fred would get his shoes on as the girls got ready dressing up in their normal clothes before they set off out of the castle going after their scaredy cat best friends.
(Scene Break)
Meanwhile, Scooby and Shaggy were in heaven as the Cakes had made a whole batch of pancakes with extra amounts of maple syrup along with the normal butter plastered on top. Pinkie nearly drooled as her eyes gazed upon the pancakes as Shaggy grabbed three plates sliding them down the counter where each individual got five pancakes each adding on extra amounts of maple syrup to give it an extra flavor of stickiness.
"Like, I feel like this meal is missing something," Shaggy stated as he wore a buttoned-up green pajama shirt with green pajama pants and a green nightcap that all belonged to Mr. Cake that surprisingly fit a human.
"The banana slices?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Yep! But something very important…more important…," Shaggy replied.
"Rhocalate Rauce?" Scooby-Doo asked his owner.
"That's right, pal! No pancake breakfast is complete without a confectionary sweet taste of sweet chocolate," Shaggy replied.
"Hehehehe…my word, I've never met two food creators like yourself. Probably the reason the business is booming around these parts," Mr. Cake stated as he walked into the dining room.
"You picked the right man and dog for the job, Mr. C," Shaggy praised with a wink.
"I'll say. The recipes you two have added have really helped me and the misses. Not to mention Scooby's perfect night with the twins the other night," Mr. Cake stated.
The past few days, Shaggy and Scooby have taken up jobs at Sugarcube Corner to share their own personal recipes with the patrons of Ponyville. Suffice to say, they are a major hit becoming rising stars in food creativity and the Cakes were scrambling for a foal sitter since Pinkie went on a friendship mission with Rainbow Dash and Rarity to Manehattan. Shaggy and Scooby stepped up with the twins playing with the dog and the human making sure they didn't climb on anything they weren't supposed to.
"They were fine. Definitely are raising a set of well-behaved youngsters," Shaggy stated as he added a tube of chocolate sauce to everyone's pancakes.
Shaggy, Scooby, Pinkie, and Mr. Cake sat down for a hearty breakfast as the doorbell rang with Pinkie bouncing to open the door. Fred, Daphne, and Velma visited as the party pony let them inside.
"You must be the other humans I've been hearing about," Mr. Cake stated as he lifted a hoof to shake the three teens' hands.
"Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Fred Jones and these two are Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley," Fred introduced.
"So, you're the sleuths who solved that mystery in the middle of the Everfree Forest?" Mr. Cake asked.
"I definitely do not need a reminder of that creepy forest," Shaggy interjected as he bit into his third pancake.
"It wasn't that bad. It was thanks to Trixie's knowledge of the wildlife that we were able to determine the fake," Velma explained.
"Speaking of which, we have a specter to hunt down in the School of Friendship to help out Twilight. You two better get ready," Fred explained to the boys.
"Here we go again with the specters. Mr. Cake will need us today so maybe Pinkie can fill in for us," Shaggy suggested.
"As much as I would love to giggle with the ghosties, I have to take an afternoon shift today so I won't be able to," Pinkie explained.
Shaggy dropped his shoulders as the gang laughed at the attempt to get out of mystery solving so both the boys admitted defeat getting dressed then meeting with the gang outside the bakery.
"I swear we will have a day off from this monster hunting," Shaggy vowed.
"That's some serious wishful thinking. Keep betting on it and it might come true," Daphne retorted as the others strolled off for the Castle of Friendship.
(Scene Break)
Mystery Inc. came back as they saw the glamorous building of the School of Friendship with the architecture being very noticeable and the bridges being added for extra access to certain parts of the school. The waterfalls in the back added to the scenery and the calm environment of the establishment as the gang observed it with astonishing gazes.
"I've never seen such a school with a regal appearance and ponies are the ones that built this," Velma stated.
"It's certainly impressive. I never knew these cute animals could do so much," Daphne added.
"But Chancellor Neighsay...you got to give me time to fix this!" Princess Twilight pleaded coming out of the entrance to the school with a stern-looking grey stallion with a formal black mane and tail wearing a purple shirt with a red sash over it attached with a gold medallion depicting a horseshoe symbol on it trotting down the path back to land.
"Princess Twilight, I'm afraid my hooves are crossed," The stallion stated as he closed his eyes.
"But I have investigators that can help! They can stop the specter!" Princess Twilight exclaimed as she flew into the stallion's way to stop him from advancing.
"My decision is final!" The stallion barked back at the princess.
"You can't just close the school...it isn't even under the Equestrian Education Association registrar and thus does not need to comply with such hasty decisions," Princess Twilight retorted.
"Lest you forget that we have ultimate authority if a school stays open or not. The safety of this school is not up to code even if it is independent from the rest of the institutions," The stallion stated.
"So, it's done and gone just like that?" Princess Twilight asked as the stallion walked pass her with a shake of his head.
"As much as I wish there was more I could do, it's a decision that needed to be made and it's better safe rather than sorry. There is not much else to discuss!" The stallion, Neighsay, explained to the Princess of Friendship.
"I'm sorry to intrude on this important matter, but what is going on?" Velma asked.
"Chancellor Neighsay is closing the school down forever before we even have a chance to stop the ghost or whatever is causing this ruckus," Princess Twilight replied.
"Stopping us from even investigating?" Fred asked.
"I know you all mean well, but I have authority to make executive decisions based on poorly developed matters. This is until further notice," Neighsay replied to the teen sleuths.
"Like how is the problem supposed to be solved if we can't get in?" Shaggy asked.
"This isn't for your concerns. This investigation will be looked into by the EEA and we will revisit this matter in a few weeks once we have collected our results," Neighsay replied as he held up his right hoof.
"But that's not fair! There should be an impartial outside investigation into this just as much," Princess Twilight stated.
"Are you saying the EEA is partisan against this school? Even after my apologies for the prejudice I placed on your student enrollment?" Neighsay asked.
"What she means is that there needs to be an outside group who can possibly find the truth in this matter. We are the investigators she was referring to," Velma interjected as she walked up to both ponies.
"Yes, they solved the mystery in the Everfree Forest and could potentially save the school," Princess Twilight added.
"I did hear about that endeavor. The combined intellect of the Elements of Harmony and these humans were able to flush out the real culprit behind the commotion in the forest. What makes them qualified to take this mystery on, though?" Neighsay asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We've been solving mysteries for years, sir, and we just want to help Twilight keep her school in good graces," Fred replied as Twilight smiled a little at Fred's generosity.
"Is that so? Well, I do want to give the best education to students worldwide and Princess Twilight has proven my other views wrong before. I'll give you all access to the school for the meantime, but if the School Specter is not dealt with by tomorrow afternoon, my decision to close the school stands and the EEA will handle the matter exclusively," Neighsay stated.
The chancellor would make his way through the humans on his way out as Spike came in carrying a grey backpack while Trixie joined his side as they saw Neighsay trot past them. They looked at each other worriedly running over to Princess Twilight sighing angrily.
"What was going on here?" Trixie asked.
"Chancellor Neighsay has closed down the School of Friendship until the specter is dealt with," Princess Twilight replied.
"And he even tried preventing us from investigating and leaving it up to his friends," Shaggy added.
"That sounds like him. Always strict against any dissenting opinions opposite of the EEA," Trixie stated.
"Well, we got an open window till tomorrow afternoon before the EEA begins their own investigation. So we better move quickly," Fred stated.
"Good luck, everypony. I know I left this case in good hooves or hands," Princess Twilight praised as she waved her goodbyes before heading back to the Castle of Friendship.
"Agreed. This is an important matter that needs our full attention," Trixie added.
Everybody started walking the pathway up to the school as Fred started pushing the double doors to the establishment open beckoning his friends to follow him in with his left hand. Trixie made a mental note to keep Chancellor Neighsay as a prime suspect due to his hasty decision to close the school and allow no other investigation groups. She found it very suspicious before she headed inside the school with her gang.
(Scene Break)
The grand hallway was blooming with sunlight as the gang marveled at the sparkles in the walls and the clear white pillars holding up everything. Fred turned to the gang of six as he discussed the plans for the their investigation.
"Okay everyone, it's time to get serious. Twilight is counting on us to get to the bottom of this mystery. Let's split up and go search for clues," Fred suggested.
"Like I think we've established that's not the best idea," Shaggy protested as he held up a finger.
"But it does make the chances of finding the School Specter easier. If we run into it, it will be easier to get a closer look at it," Spike stated.
"I think you mean farther from it," Shaggy corrected his new dragon friend.
"You buffoons know it's not a real ghost…why are you scared of it?" Trixie asked.
"They are scared of rocks if they are thrown at them even if they sailed way over their heads," Velma replied.
"In any case, Trixie and Spike go with Scooby and Shaggy if that is any consolation. Velma and Daphne stick with me," Fred offered.
"Trixie is satisfied. We will need investigators that are not total scaredy foals if we are to proceed with any progress," Trixie remarked as she started going up the front steps to the first floor.
"Me and Scooby just want to stay out of harm's way. You all act like that's a bad thing!" Shaggy accused.
Soon, the human, dog, unicorn, and dragon team were trotting down the hallways looking into each classroom trying to find something. Trixie walked into Rainbow Dash's classroom as the whole room had eight plastic chairs with a chalkboard and pictures of each member of the Wonderbolts in a separate frame. Shaggy and Scooby inspected each photo as they scratched their heads.
"Like, who are they?" Shaggy asked as he pointed at the pictures.
"Oh, those are the Wonderbolts. They are Rainbow Dash's favorite arial flight team and they do all sorts of great tricks. She's even part-time performing with them in compliance with her duties as a professor here at the school," Spike replied.
"Aha!" Trixie exclaimed as she went through the desk drawers of Rainbow Dash's desk as she found a small envelope.
"An envelope?" Shaggy asked.
"Not just any envelope as you can see the golden seal of the Equestrian Education Association on it. She must have been sending a letter to them," Trixie replied as she ripped the concealment open.
Trixie pulled the contents out as she read over the paper inside and widened her eyes using her magic to levitate it around showing the others of a list of demands from the EEA. Some range from disclosure of funds to qualifications of teaching to even blackmail operations.
"Zoinks! These are very detailed demands from these educators," Shaggy exclaimed as he grabbed the paper reading it over.
"Rainbow Dash never mentioned this and it's clear she was hiding this away, but whatever underlies at the end of this mystery, the EEA are running some type of secret operation," Trixie stated.
"This is definitely a step in the right direction," Shaggy remarked.
Spike and Scooby were watching their superiors talk to each other when a cold chill entered the room and they both started shivering.
"You feeling cold, Scooby?" Spike asked as he darted his head back and forth.
"Reah," Scooby replied as he rubbed his shoulders.
"Now that they mention it, it is kinda cold in here," Shaggy added as he hugged himself.
A loud wailing could be heard getting the attention of all four individuals as Scooby and Shaggy started holding each other in fright looking around. Trixie looked around as well trying to find the source of the noise and Spike held the backpack close to him before noticing a transparent purple dress. He looked up seeing a silver necklace with a pencil symbol attached to the front and the scary look of the School Specter as it shrieked at everyone. Shaggy and Scooby did a comical screaming fest backing up towards the photos of the Wonderbolts.
"Specter!" Shaggy screamed as he covered his eyes.
Spike dove under one of the chairs covering his face with his tail as the School Specter advanced raising her hands in a frightening manner. Shaggy saw the photos as he tapped Scooby on the shoulder jabbing a thumb at the photos to throw. The dog nodded as the duo started chucking the photos at the specter, but they were fruitless as the specter was unfazed as they sailed through her body.
"I should've known that wouldn't work," Shaggy stated as he held onto Scooby.
"Trixie has this handled!" Trixie exclaimed digging in her cape pulling out two small silver balls and she threw them down to the floor.
The specter started screaming loudly as her vision was blurred by the bright blue smoke and she searched around for everyone as Trixie made it out of the classroom with the rest of her gang.
(Scene Break)
Fred, Daphne, and Velma helped themselves to searching all the classrooms as they each found a letter from the drawers of Fluttershy's, Rarity's, and Applejack's classrooms. The same one the other group found in RD's room.
"Letters from the EEA? These upper authorities in the education system really want this place shut down," Fred stated as he read the contents of the letter from Fluttershy's room.
"That's not all. I also found a small beaker filled with an unusual purple substance with this cork on top. I bet Twilight could probably tell us more," Velma added as she presented her clue.
"One thing for sure is all six of those mares are getting targeted," Daphne stated.
"Right. This specter is starting to become really clear if you know what I mean," Fred added.
"Whoa, actual humans!" The gang hear a male voice cry out as they look up to see a flying pony/griffin hybrid with cream-colored fur and wings with a teal/light-green mane as well as a same-colored tail.
"What the-? It's a pegasus or a griffon or a...," Fred stated as he pointed the creature out, but the hybrid pony chuckled.
"I'm a hippogriff...and a seapony at the same time. I'm Terramar, Silverstream's younger brother," Terramar greeted as he landed.
"I'm Velma, and this is Daphane and Fred. This school is currently closed down. Why are you here?" Velma asked.
"I needed to pick up my sister's homework she left behind and she was too scared to come on her own, but I guess if school is currently cancelled then nothing to worry about. I used an open window to get in," Terramar explained.
"You said you were a hippogriff and a seapony. What exactly do you mean by that?" Daphne asked as she crossed her arms.
"Well, I originally come from the sea where I'm a fish technically, but I can also come out on land being a hybrid of a pegasus and griffon. It's a little difficult to explain to those that never see it," Terramar admitted.
"So you said your sister goes to this school?" Fred asked.
"Yes, she does, but I'm just glad she is gonna come home," Terramar replied.
"Is she transferring or something?" Daphne asked.
"No, but with this school shutting down, she will be able to come home and be safe. Away from all the prejudice this school has given her," Terramar replied as he closed his eyes with a serious look on his face.
"Prejudice? Like discrimination?" Fred asked as he stroked his chin.
"This school is full of it! I couldn't even really stomach my sister going here, but I did it for her happiness. Now that she will be back home, I don't have to worry anymore," Terramar replied.
"Now, that is a bit hyperbolic. We have only just met the staff working at this institution, but they hardly strike us as the types that would discriminate against anyone here publicly," Velma stated.
"That's because you have never been here during the day when everything is really running and fights are being conducted. Not to mention, Silverstream tells me that while she believes it is fun at her school, she does have a bit of resentment for the comments made towards her," Terramar added.
"It can't be that bad," Fred suggested with a friendly smile.
"Just ask that chancellor," Terramar stated as he flew out the window he came in through leaving the three teens to be really confused knowing a new lead they had.
(Scene Break)
Shaggy, Scooby, Spike, and Trixie ducked behind some pillars as the wailing of the School Specter could be heard as the ghost stopped flying looking around and moved on in her search as the four individuals carefully poked their heads out looking around.
"Whew! We lost that glowing specter finally," Shaggy stated.
"That's one teacher I do not want leading detention," Spike added.
"Oh, will you clowns give it a rest? We have evidence that this specter is most likely apart of the EEA and this mystery will lead to that truth," Trixie declared.
Suddenly, all four individuals heard galloping as they only had a split second to react before Trixie was launched straight into a stone bust of Twilight Sparkle. The human, dog, and dragon gasped as they saw a big remorseful look on the face of Yona the Yak along with the other five Young Six students coming up behind her.
"I told you it wasn't the specter, Yona!" Gallus exclaimed.
"Yona saw flowing cape and presumed such, but Yona admits she was wrong," Yona stated.
"Is Trixie okay?" Ocellus asked.
Shaggy saw that Trixie's head went right through the stone and she fell on her side groaning opening her eyes as Shaggy helped her up. She rubbed her head and glared down the Young Six.
"What are you six doing here?! The school is closed and it's too dangerous!" Trixie yelled.
"Look, we just wanted to help figure out who the School Specter is. Yona just had to rush into things," Gallus replied.
"Yona thought she had specter," Yona added.
"Despite my splitting headache from that bust, I have a right mind to order you all into two weeks worth of detention," Trixie stated.
"Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Please don't give us detention, Ms. Trixie!" Silverstream pleaded as she bowed her head to the guidance counselor.
"Don't be so hard on them, Trixie. They mean well...just in their own special way," Shaggy stated.
"Who are you two supposed to be?" Gallus asked the human.
"Ugh...this is Shaggy and that is Scooby-Doo. They are visitors to Equestria and helping us on this case," Trixie replied.
"Like, what she said," Shaggy added.
"I never ever thought it would be possible for a human to cross over into Equestria!" Silverstream exclaimed as she zoomed right up to Shaggy frightening him a bit.
"It's not that big of a deal. You'll have to excuse her excitement," Smolder stated.
"Yona is Yona from Yakyakistan! Nice to meet you, Shaggy the human!" Yona exclaimed as she firmly shook Shaggy's hand.
"Never thought I would meet a talking yak...let alone shake one's hoof," Shaggy stated towards Scooby-Doo.
"I'm Gallus and these are Smolder, Sandbar, Silverstream, and Ocellus. I'm a griffon and a pretty brave one at that," Gallus boasted as he crossed his claws together.
"Enough of the formalities! If you want to help, you will stay quiet while we search!" Trixie ordered.
Everyone heard Trixie's commanding voice as they all stood in a straight line even Spike, Shaggy, and Scooby as Trixie felt satisfied showing a smile to her company as she turned on her hooves smoothing out her cape before taking her gallop as the Young Six followed right behind her. Scooby and Shaggy looked at one another shaking their heads before walking right behind with Spike in tow.
"Is she always that scary to listen to?" Shaggy asked his dragon friend.
"She can make someone take her seriously when she wants to," Spike replied.
(Scene Break)
The group now filled with ten creatures started slowly creeping around the halls of the school until Sandbar saw something glowing on a full-sized statue of Starlight Glimmer's right hoof. A majestic piece of translucent purple cloth was hanging off the statue sparkling in the sunlight.
"Like, what's that?" Shaggy asked.
"It seems like a piece of cloth that has been torn off. Even Professor Rarity doesn't make something that stunning in her classes," Sandbar commented.
Being the tallest and able to reach the material, Shaggy grabbed the cloth and inspected it trying to make sense of what it could be from.
"It does look like it came off that specter. I just hope she doesn't come back around to get it back," Shaggy replied.
However, the loud wailing form the down the hall could be heard as the School Specter shrieked coming after every pony as they all screamed running off in different directions. Shaggy, Trixie, Sliverstream, and Smolder ran for the cafeteria as they each tried finding places to hide as the School Specter flew into the room shrieking trying to chase after everyone. Silverstream flew up out of reach ducking from the ghost as Smolder peeked from the choices of lunches grabbing a sub sandwich and a head of lettuce. She tossed the lettuce in her claws before tossing it up, breathing a stream of fire onto it, and bashes it upwards using the sandwich like a baseball bat towards the School Specter as the ghost screams seeing the flames clear her vision as she floated straight out of the room.
"That's what I call a home run," Smolder joked as she tossed the sub over her shoulder.
Scooby had Yona and Ocellus near him as they all decided to hide in the main library opening and closing the door as Scooby started putting carts of books up against the door.
"Do you think it will hold Scooby?" Ocellus asked.
"Rhy rope ro," Scooby replied holding the changeling near him trembling.
"Yona will make sure with her body!" Yona exclaimed as she ran and climbed on the carts using her big yak body to barricade the door.
However, the specter easily came through a wall screaming at her future victims as they all screamed starting to run around avoiding the specter. Ocellus hid behind a potted plant as Scooby climbed bookshelves to get away from the specter. The ghost shrieked going after Scooby as he tossed books behind him to slow her down, but then he noticed the bookshelf starting to tremble and rock back and forth as he started falling. Ocellus saw this and turned into Rainbow Dash quickly speeding towards Scooby in order to catch him to bring him to safety while the bookcase fell on the specter.
"Rank rou, Rocellus," Scooby praised as the changeling went back to her original form with a friendly smile.
"Yona has no time to dilly dally! We must make our way out!" Yona exclaimed propping Ocellus and Scooby on her back charging out through the wall since the door was barricaded.
The specter went through the fallen bookcase shrieking in anger as she went through the wall looking for her prey and headed down another hallway. Spike, Gallus, and Sandbar headed out onto one of the decks just as Spike's tail went around the corner, but it was too slow for the specter not to see as the ghost went after the three boys. The specter came out screaming into the mid-evening sunset looking around for the boys as they have seen to disappear out of nowhere. The specter took a few seconds to fly out into the middle of the scenery as she shrieked in anger heading back inside the school just as Gallus, Sandbar, and Spike were shown under the deck with the griffon and dragon flying and the pony hanging on Gallus.
"That was a close one right there!" Spike exclaimed.
(Scene Break)
Fred, Daphne, and Velma were walking down a hallway that led to a intersection of other hallways when they heard screaming not seeing the three different groups starting to diverge into one as everyone bumped into one another falling on the floor.
"Whoa! Ow! Hey! Watch it!" The others say as they all start rubbing their heads and dusting themselves off.
"Argh! That could've been better," Smolder stated.
"Whoa, there is a lot more creatures here then we were aware of," Fred added as he looked around himself.
"These are six of the students that attend this school. This is Gallus, Smolder, Yona, Ocellus, Silverstream, and Sandbar," Trixie introduced as each of students waved their hands at the humans.
"Did you all see the specter?" Velma asked as she went straight into questioning.
"Boy, did we ever and we barely managed to escape from her grasp," Gallus replied.
"Hey, Yona found broken bottle on floor," Yona alerted the others as she pointed to a small broken bottle with a blue label on the front.
Fred picked up the tiny bottle and barely managed to read "Dry Ice" in bold black lettering as he held it up for everyone else to see. Shaggy scratched his chin and thought back to where he was cold when they first encountered the School Specter.
"Dry ice? Just like back on Redbeard's ship," Fred stated.
"Dry ice is just solidified carbon dioxide and is extremely colder than regular ice. Perfect ingredient for a supernatural scheme," Velma added.
"So that's why it was so cold when we first saw the ghost," Spike reminded.
"That means our specter is a confirmed fraud. I think it's time to make sure this school gets reopened," Fred stated.
"Oooohhh, are we going to build a trap?" Silverstream asked.
"That's correct! And like always, we need volunteers for bait," Fred stated as he looked at Shaggy and Scooby.
"Like, do we have to?" Shaggy asked.
"You boys know how to drag out ghosts. If you're interested, Trixie will supply you with five Scooby Snacks each," Trixie replied with a smile.
"Five whole Scooby Snacks?!" Shaggy exclaimed with his hands on his head.
"Reah! Reah!" Scooby added with the nodding of his head and him licking his lips.
Trixie nodded and used her magic to morph five Scooby Snacks in the air as Scooby and Shaggy opened their mouths up like cash registers leaving the snacks to fall right in. They closed their mouths and rubbed their tummies as they swallowed the snacks.
(Scene Break)
Scooby and Shaggy were set in place as they looked down an empty corridor really frightened by the prospect of being bait for the umpteenth time. Fred, Daphne, Gallus, and Smolder held a catching net from the ceiling from around the corner while the others held three spotlights nearby to blind the ghost enough for the capture.
"I really hope this plan works, Scoob. They don't seem to realize that this ghost can't be caught by anything," Shaggy stated.
Fred ushered the boys forward as they took their long steps down the hallway trying not to make too much noise, but Shaggy called out to the specter to get her attention.
"Oh, Ms. Specter, where are you? I really need some grammar lessons," Shaggy stated with the first statement off his mind.
Scooby's teeth could be heard chattering and Shaggy's legs started shaking from the uncertainty as the loud wailing could be heard as they looked above them seeing the School Specter laughing hysterically reaching for them. The duo screamed starting to run as the specter followed them throughout the halls. Velma listened for the cue as Shaggy and Scooby ran past her alleyway and she pointed at Yona to flip the switch. The light stunned the School Specter as Sandbar and Ocellus flipped the other two switches with Trixie using her magic to hold the specter in place. The net was dropped wrapping around the specter and Trixie released her grip allowing the specter to fall on the floor sitting up and groaning.
"Oh yeah! A perfect catch!" Smolder exclaimed as she high-fived Gallus.
"Whew! I thought we were goners!" Shaggy stated as he wiped sweat off his brow.
"How did we catch her, though? Everything we threw at her was pointless and she just phased through it all," Spike wondered.
"This potion I found may have the answers we seek," Velma replied as she brought out the purple potion from earlier.
"That's an illusionary concoction. It helps the wielder to be very transparent as possible," Trixie explained.
"However, when sprinkling light into the equation, it helps wear the shield off and that's how we captured the specter," Velma stated.
"Mix that potion in with this dry ice we found and the specter was able to fly around pretending to be a real ghost," Fred stated as he presented the dry ice bottle to the gang.
"Which leaves the question for who is behind the specter?" Gallus asked.
"If any pony, it's Chancellor Neighsay as he tried to keep us out of the school so the EEA could investigate," Trixie predicted.
Fred reached for the mask as he pulled it off the face of the culprit and it revealed the last pony anyone would have ever expected. It's Terramar!
"Terramar!" Fred, Daphne, and Velma exclaimed.
"My brother!" Silverstream added.
"Ugh…hey sis," Terramar stated.
"I think I know why he did it. The school gave him the impression that it was discriminating against non-pony students when it was just the chancellor. Based on his last remark to us, I only had to put two and two together. By masquerading as the specter, he would force the school to close and no more prejudice would be placed upon other students," Velma explained.
"He also made several copies of this letter claiming them to be from the EEA threatening the main staff of this school," Daphne added.
"Um…those letters weren't my idea," Terramar admitted.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Velma asked with a stunned expression.
"It's all really fuzzy, but I only had plans to be the specter and never be caught. I just wanted my sister to be safe, but I guess I put all of you in unnecessary danger. But I didn't threaten the staff at all," Terramar replied.
"I'm not sure if I really believe that. You do think the staff was discriminating against your sister and the others, right?" Fred asked.
"I've met Princess Twilight before, but I guess I just got caught up in thinking I was doing the right thing that I misjudged every pony that teaches at this school," Terramar replied with a saddened look.
"Oh, you can be such a bonehead sometimes, but it doesn't make me love you any less," Silverstream stated as she hugged her younger brother.
"I guess there's a loose end we will need to warn Princess Twilight about," Fred stated.
"However, that solves the case of the School Specter and the School of Friendship can reopen," Velma announced as everyone in the room cheered for another mystery solved.
(Scene Break)
Dear Princess Celestia,
I never thought my scheme of shutting down the School of Friendship would put the lives of not just my sister, but the entire school body on the line. I just got caught up in what I wanted that I neglected everypony else and just went along with it all like nothing was going to backfire. I'm actually glad Mystery Inc. and the others stopped my plans before they grew worse. I did have to explain everything to Princess Twilight, but your student was gracious enough to accept my apology even allowing me to enroll in the School of Friendship as some sort of rehabilitation process. I definitely need it! I get to also attend school with my sister and make new friends along the way. The lesson learned here is getting all the facts before making moves. Those conclusions will never be right no matter how much I spin them.
Your faithful subject, Terramar
Terramar handed off his letter to Spike, who blasted it with a stream of fire to send off to Canterlot straight away as both heard the school bell ringing.
"Time to see what my first day of schooling brings me," Terramar stated as he ran out the door of one of the study rooms and caught up with the Young Six heading up a flight of stairs.