Chapter 18
Swamp Romp

After their success with their last mystery where they solved a puzzling case of dognappings, the team of Summer, Skyline, Jasmine, Melrose and her trusty dog Biscuit were ready to solve another mystery. It just so happens, Princess Solana had just the thing for this energetic crime solving team. This time it involved a spooky swamp called 'Dark Swamp'. Supposedly ponies were being scared away from the swamp by a witch and zombie. As crazy as that sounded, Summer and her friends agreed to take the case with a second thought. It didn't matter how far-fetched it looked, a case like this was a perfect challenge for them to solve. After getting prepared, Summer and her friends left Ponyville and made their way to Dark Swamp. About two days later, the gang finally made it to Dark Swamp. However, things suddenly took a turn for the worst when Skyline, who was in charge of the map at the time, got everyone lost. Just when hoped seemed lost, Summer spotted a dark silhouette of a pony in the distance. They rushed towards the pony decided to go ask him for directions, but when Summer and the others got to him, they were shocked to discover that this pony was actually a zombie. As the zombie pony let out a disturbing moan, Summer and her friends quickly flew away as fast as they could. The gang wanted nothing to do with that scary zombie pony. Biscuit was shown hanging on Melrose's back for dear life. Later on, at a small abandoned town called Murky Waters, Summer and the others were seen speaking to a male unicorn named Gator, the owner of the item shop. "So...you've seen the zombie too? I can't blame ya' for running away from that accursed thing," the owner said sternly, "It's all that dang witch's fault! She's the one that brought him to life with her evil voodoo magic!"

"First a zombie, now a witch...what next? A vampire?" Skyline asked in a sarcastic tone.

"When did this all happen Gator?" Summer asked.

"It began a couple of weeks ago," Gator replied, "Me and my partner were out collecting frogs in the swamp when we happened to spot the witch in front of her house. She was chanting something is a weird language we couldn't understand, when suddenly, a zombie pony appeared before her. It was like watching a scary movie, only this scary movie was real! Ever since then, not a single pony has dared to enter this swamp. The way this town is abandoned is a dead giveaway at how the witch and zombie are affecting tourism. I'd be ever grateful if you could help solve this problem of mine."

"That's what we're here for Mr. Gator," Summer replied confidently, "Witch or no witch, zombie or no zombie, nothing is gonna keep us from solving this case. You can count on us!" With that, the gang headed for the witch's house to search for clues. When they got there, Summer and the others discovered the house was empty. No sign of the witch or her zombie anywhere. That in turn allowed them to search the house freely. Just then, Melrose found some voodoo dolls that perfectly resembled them. Even one that looked like Biscuit. Melrose decided to test one by sticking a pin in the Skyline doll's rear. In response, Skyline let out a yell. It wasn't voodoo magic though, Skyline just happened to bump into the sharp end of a table by mistake. As the gang continued to search for clues, they were suddenly interrupted by a loud screeching noise. When they turned around, they saw the witch standing before them. She was smiling maliciously.

"So? Didn't listen to my warning did you?" the witch asked with a crackle.

"Spare us the mumbo jumbo and give yourself up!" Jasmine exclaimed angrily, "I've had enough of this witch zombie nonsense!"

"I think you need to be taught a lesson my dear! Be gone!" the witch yelled. Suddenly, Jasmine was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke dissipated, Jasmine was nowhere to be seen. She vanished. After the witch laughed a couple of times, she vanished too. Summer and the others were baffled.

"Uh...where did Summer go?" Melrose asked, "Please tell me the witch didn't kill her." As Summer was examining the spot where Jasmine disappeared, she suddenly discovered that the floor panels didn't match up correctly with the others. She then used her magic to lift the floor panels up, revealing a trap door in the process. It turns out Jasmine didn't really disappear by voodoo magic or die. She just fell through a trap door. Summer and her friends quickly went down the trap door and began their search for Jasmine. A couple of minutes later, their search brought them to a large fairy boat. Nearby was a small fishing boat that contained a wood poll with a metal tip. Seeing as how it was possible Jasmine was on the fairy boat, Summer and her friends soon boarded it. Completely oblivious to the fact the witch and zombie were on the fairy boat too. The gang decided it would be best to split up and search for Jasmine. Summer and Skyline went to search the right side, while Melrose and Biscuit searched the left side. Later on, Melrose and Biscuit had just finished searching the kitchen and the dinning room when they happened to come across a particular looking chest. Curious, they opened the chest. Unfortunately, Melrose and Biscuit didn't find valuable treasure or clothes. It was none other than the zombie pony. As fast as they could, Melrose and Biscuit ran away. The zombie pony wasn't that far behind. Meanwhile, Summer and Skyline were walking down a hallway, when suddenly, they heard a muffled grunting noise. No doubt it was Jasmine. The problem was the grunting noise was coming from behind wall with no door. That could only mean there was a secret switch somewhere. Luckily for Summer, it didn't take her long to find it. All she had to do was move the painting hanging on the wall side wades to reveal the switch. She then pressed it to open the hidden door. After they went inside, Summer and Skyline found Jasmine bound together with metal chains that were no doubt magic proof. Her mouth was covered too. Thankfully, they were able to use a nearby saw to cut the chains and free Jasmine.

"It's about time you saved me," Jasmine said sternly.

"Let me guess...the witch and the zombie pair brought you here?" Skyline asked sarcastically.

"Yep," Jasmine replied, "By the way...what's with that wrench, cutting torch, and power tools over there in the corner? Why would a witch even need them anyway?" Summer was in deep thought.

"I think I may have an idea why," Summer replied. At the moment, they suddenly heard a loud crackling noise. Not long after, the witch appeared before them. She was still laughing.

"You fools never learn! It's about time I took care of you myself!" the witch yelled.

"That's it! You're so going down you ugly hag!" Skyline shouted. He then lunged at the witch and tackled her to the ground. Unfortunately, it was just a puppet made to look like the witch. Skyline hit it with his hoof in anger. Meanwhile, the zombie pony was shown walking through a hallway. So was Melrose and Biscuit. It just so happens they accidentally bumped into each other in an intersection. Melrose and Biscuit tried to run away, but the zombie pony was able to grab Biscuit before he could escape.

"Oh no! Biscuit!" a panicked Melrose exclaimed, "Don't give up boy! You can do it!" Taking in her words to heart, Biscuit was able to free himself from the zombie pony's grasp, but not after kicking him in the face. With her best friend back by her side, Melrose and Biscuit ran away as the zombie pony gave chase to them again. However, Melrose and Biscuit suddenly followed the hallway they were running through blocked by the witch. With the zombie behind them and the witch in front of them, both options of escape were gone. Just as the witch and zombie grabbed Melrose and Biscuit, Summer and the others suddenly fell through the floor from above. As a result, the hallway was quickly engulfed in a cloud of dust. As the dust slowly dissipated, the witch and zombie pony were shown pinned down to the ground, unable to flee. Somehow, someway, Summer and her friends were able to capture and apprehend the two villains. By blind luck I might add. Later on, in front of the item shop in Murky Water, Summer and her friends were shown speaking to a police officer. It turns out the witch and zombie pony were none other than Gator and his partner. They were currently locked inside a police carriage.

"The reason Gator and his partner put on this witch and zombie act was so that they could freely search the water for the armor carriage they hijacked containing all that money without anyone finding it first," Summer explained, "As for the metal tip pool, wrench, cutting torch, and power tools, all that was for finding and breaking into the armor carriage. Sadly for them, Gator and his partner forget where they hid it."

"I'll call for some more police officers to search the swamp," the police officer replied, "I'm pretty sure we'll be able to find it. Thanks again for your help everyone. We really appreciate it." After saying goodbye to the police officers, Summer and her friends made their way back to Ponyville. In the end, another mystery was solved thanks to the teamwork of Summer, Skyline, Jasmine, Melrose and her dog Biscuit. Eventually, the police were able to find the missing armor carriage. After that was taken care of, tourism in Dark Swamp finally returned to normal.