//------------------------------// // Causes for Celebration/Many, Many Years Ago // Story: G5 Adventures in Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost // by ponydog127 //------------------------------// For the first time in a long time, it had never been such a joyous time in Equestria. Misty Brightdawn not only found her father, Alphabittle Blossomforth, but she also got her mother, Paradise Moonray, to come home and switch to the side of good after being the adopted daughter of Opaline Arcana for so long... ...and bringing Opaline back from the dead using the Amulet of Spiritalia. But luckily, with the help of Mystery Incorporated and some new friends from their last Unity Quest, the Mane 6, Sparky and Paradise were able to gain enough hope and courage to imprison the evil fire alicorn within the Together Trees in Norville o’er Morgania, Camelot and Morgan’s Keep for all eternity. And ever since Paradise returned, she had felt a lot of love from her former husband, who treated her like the same mare he had met all those moons ago, she and Misty were really reconnecting and having fun, and even she and Queen Haven were on their way to becoming great friends. But... we all know that the moments of peace, which had stretched into three, long blissful months, would not last long... ...especially when it comes to our intrepid pony heroes. XXXXXXXX “Zipp, come on!!” Pipp impatiently groaned as the Mane 6, Sparky, Alphabittle and Paradise flew to Zephyr Heights in the Marestream. “Mom needs us in Zephyr Heights by noon!” “I know, I know!” Zipp said as they sailed through the rain and dark clouds. “I just need to be super careful in this weather... good flying and bad weather don't always mix.” “Well, take your time but hurry too,” Misty urged. “Dad can't be late to his own two years of dating anniversary party!” “Aww, we'll get there in time, Misty-Twisty,” Alphabittle reassured before turning to Paradise. “And I'm glad you decided to come, Paradise. I know it isn't easy to see me with another mare.” “You deserve to be happy, Alpha,” Paradise said gently. “To be quite honest, I wasn't sure if I should come, but Pipp then Zipp and then Queen Haven looked at me with those puppy eyes and I couldn't resist.” “What can we say?” Zipp chuckled. “We have all sorts of way to convince ponies-- the puppy dog eyes, or as Mom calls them, 'the Cloudpuff eyes', are the most famous resource.” “Eek, this is so exciting!” Sunny squealed. “Both of your families are gonna be coming together for one, unity filled celebration! I wonder what kinds of activities Queen Haven has planned! And what about the gifts? Oh my glitter, we didn't even get gifts!” “Sunny, I'm sure that you all being there will be all the gifts that Haven needs,” Alphabittle reassured. “But... I did think of a little something that she might like. I'm giving it to her at the end of the party.” “She’s gonna love whatever you give her, I'm sure of it,” Hitch said as he cradled Sparky. “The best gift you can give somepony is time and love.” “And Queen Haven definitely loves you, Alphabittle!” Izzy said teasingly. “It doesn’t take an ancient unicorn ritual to see that.” “Heh heh... thanks, Izzy.” Soon, the Marestream flew into the royal garden or Zephyr Heights, letting everypony off when Queen Haven and Cloudpuff flew outside to Greer them. “Alphie, my darlings! You made it!” she said flying to each of them and giving them a hug. “I was worried that you wouldn’t make it in time due to the storm!” “Come on, Your Highness, you know how Zipp drives,” Hitch said with a chuckle. “We always show up just in the nick of time, kinda like those superheroes on TV.” “Ha ha! That sounds right to me,” Queen Haven said before smiling at Paradise. “And I'm so glad you decided to come, Paradise. Welcome to Zephyr Heights.” “Thank you so much, Queen Haven,” smiled Paradise. “Now… why don’t we all go inside? There is a royal celebration waiting for us, after all.” “Of course,” Queen Haven smiled. “Come on, everypony-- first stop, the dining hall for a royal feast!” XXXXXXXX But what the ponies didn’t know was that their latest Unity Quest would be just around the corner… and the reason for their quest all started many years ago… long before any of you were born. You see, two young men, by the names of Vincent and Mortifer, had been going around retrapping 13 ghosts that they had set free from an ancient box called the Chest of Demons, and they were so close to completing their goal.  All they had to do was capture one more ghoul, and the chest could be sealed forevermore. One dark night, as they were luring the final ghost through the forest, animals scattered, more scared than any other emotion as Mortifer and Vincent reached a small clearing. “Here! The chest!” Mortifer shouted. “Now, Vincent!” Vincent reached and got the box (which was dark red with a skull in the lid) out of his backpack just before an eerie wind began to blow through the clearing, and both of them could feel the dark presence of the ghost getting closer. “Get ready,” Mortifer warned. “We’ve almost got him!” Only a few seconds after that, the demonic, white-glowing eyes of the ghost (which looked more like a horned demon) appeared from the darkness and directly behind them, along with a sinister growl and a roar. “Now!” Mortifier cried to his friend. “Do it now!” Vincent immediately opened the chest, allowing the box's magic to send a beam of light into the sky before forcefully sucking the final ghost inside, and when the ghost was finally sucked in, the force of the chest closing was enough to throw Vincent backward and onto the ground. After making sure the task was really done, Mortifer went to Vincent's side to help him up. “Vincent, we did it!” “Mortifer,” Vincent looked around after catching his breath. “Did… did we…?” “Yes! We got him!” Mortifer said as he helped Vincent to his feet, and they then approached the chest, with Vincent picking it up off the ground. “That’s all 13. It’s done.” Suddenly, white glowing eyes from many different figures appeared from the darkness, coming from all different directions and making the two grown men weary. “Done? Hardly,” Vincent dismissed. “Evil's minions will stop at nothing to open this chest and release once more the plague of their 13 masters upon our realm. We have a duty, Mortifer.” This remark caused Mortifer to sigh, knowing his friend was right. “Of course,” he nodded. “We need to split up if we're going to have a chance. Give me the chest.” “No! It’s too dangerous,” Vincent moved the chest away. “I won’t let you.” “Then run,” Mortifer advised. “I will distract them.” You see, Mortifer was training to be a magician, and he was able to use his magician illusion to create a smoke bomb to allow himself to make it look like he had vanished from sight when he was running away while the ghouls were distracted. Of course, the spirits weren’t fooled, and chased after him after a few mere moments. “Go!” Mortifer cried to Vincent. “There’s no time!” Even though he didn’t want to, Vincent began to run in the other direction until he heard Mortifer’s terrified screams. When he looked back, he saw that Mortifer was trying to bat away the ghouls surrounding him, and they even managed to pick him up off the ground a few feet before Mortifer fell into a bush.  Unfortunately, seconds after Mortifer went into the bush and the spirits joined him, something internally made the bush explode, and when the light and smoke cleared… Mortifer was no longer there. Vincent gasped, feeling tears of heartache enter his eyes. “Mortifier…” And as if he knew what Mortifer would want him to do, Vincent took the chest and ran, fearing to look back. He would make sure no one opened this chest and experienced that same heartache again… not as long as he was around. XXXXXXXX Sunny shivered as an ice cold feeling washed over her, much to Queen Haven’s concern. “Oh, Sunny, are you all right?” “I… I don’t know,” Sunny said. “I thought I felt something… different in the air. But… it’s probably nothing. This is yours and Alphabittle’s special day, so… it’s definitely nothing we should worry about right now.” But that’s when Izzy felt a tingling on her rump, causing her to look down and gasp. “Hey, our cutie marks are glowing again! We have unity!!!” “Not just that, Izzy… I think we’re being summoned on another Unity Quest!” Misty said. “But why? Opaline is gone and Mom has returned to good!” “More specifically,” said Paradise, “why are Queen Haven and Alphabittle’s cutie marks glowing just like yours?” “Huh?” Queen Haven and Alphabittle looked down at their rumps to see their cutie marks glowing as well, as well as a portal forming nearby. “This is strange,” Alphabittle frowned. “We’ve never been let on a Unity Quest with you all before.” “Do you think this quest is so serious,” Queen Haven said, “that you need more ponies with you?” “I don’t know, but I think we better go find out,” Hitch said. “We should be back soon, Paradise, since time stops while we’re gone.” “I’ll keep an eye on the palace, and on Cloudpuff while you’re gone,” Paradise nodded. “Good luck!” “Wait a second, ponies,” Sunny said. “This could be really dangerous. I don’t know if we should bring Queen Haven and Alphabittle along.” “Well, they do have glowing cutie marks,” Pipp said. “Maybe it might be beneficial if we bring them.” “Well... I guess so. All right, everypony... and Alphabittle and her royal highness,” Sunny said, taking a deep breath. “Next stop… our next Unity Quest!” That’s when all of the ponies and Sparky rushed toward the portal before jumping inside, letting the Unity Quest officially begin.