//------------------------------//
// Episode 2: Lost and Found 
// Story: No Matter Where 
// by Clean Karma 
//------------------------------//

I listened to this while working:





The Final Resting Place Museum had an interesting characteristic.  If with friends and in conversation, the house would not seem all that important to you.  Being inside would be much like a walk in the park or through a grandmothers garden.  When you were by yourself or ceased speaking, allowing your attention to be drawn to the house itself, it could be found that building would grab your concentration and shape it into hideous ideas.  The very thoughts that could go through ones brain while thinking about the museum were morphed to even worse images that would bore through your soul.

For three little fillies, that isn't a pleasant experience.  Sweetie Belle and Applebloom walked close enough to the point they almost seemed to be one pony while Scootaloo walked in the front of the group.  She seemed unfazed for the most part.  She was still trembling but was trying her best to suppress the fear she had.  The three of them had been walking for what felt like hours, there hooves beginning to hurt.

Suddenly, Sweetie stopped walking, which caused Applebloom to stop and look at her.  Hearing the cease of hooves behind her, Scootaloo stopped as well and turned around.  The earth pony and Pegasus looked at their cream colored friend for a few second until Applebloom asked, "Sweetie?  What's wrong?"

Sweetie didn't utter a word.  Instead she turned around very slowly and looked back the way they came.  As her friends did the same they gasped in shock.  There, in front of them, from the very direction they had been walking, was a door.  It hadn't been there before and they knew it, they hadn't seen a door in a while as the hallway had been completely uneventful besides the display cases that were still there.  Upon second glance saw that now even the displays were gone.

Before any of them could utter word however, the door was pushed forward, slightly bending, while a sound like hammer on wood emitted from the doorway.  An horrible roar was heard from the other side as the whatever it was pounded on the door again.

Scootaloo was the first to speak, "Okay we need to get out of here right--" While speaking Scootaloo was beginning to turn around start running.  Instead she ran headfirst into a wall.  Applebloom turned to see the wall as well but immediately turned back as another, louder, pound was heard.  Sweetie stared, taking the slowest and tiniest of steps backwards.  Applebloom immediately began pounding on the wall behind them screaming for help at the top of her lungs.

This continued for a short time as finally the creature broke down the door.  All three of them stared at the creature in horror.  Before them was a wolf like creatures, as black as soot and large enough to eat a fully grown griffon whole.  On his tendrils like snakes wriggled around as sensing all there was in the tiny room they were in.  The creature stared at the fillies, his eyes burning with a sickish green color.

Scootaloo looked at Applebloom, who was screaming as loud as possible but could barely be heard over the humming that started vibrate the structure.  She then turned to Sweetie Belle who was frozen in place, tears streaking down her face.  Turning back to the monster, Scootaloo felt something, something strange.  It was like a force coming from this demonic creature.  Was this the feeling Sweetie Belle had previously felt?  She couldn't tell.  She looked at the monster and her face morphed into an angry and determined scowl.

Scootaloo stood up from her place on the floor, using her hooves she pulled her two friends closer to her and slightly behind her protectively.  She spread her wings, small as they were in defense, and stood at her full height.  The creature did not react to this.  It simply stood there for a few seconds.  Then it began to crouch, oh so slowly.

Scootaloo thought to herself so this is it.  This is the end of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.  She turned to look at her friends one more time.  They were both standing still with tears in their eyes.

At least we're together.  I'd hate for any of us to be alone when...when we... she stopped thinking and looked once more at the creature who fully crouched at this point.

And then, it happened.

Scootaloo felt herself pulled back as the monster pounced.  With little time to react she felt sensation of falling as a new door shut between her and the monster.  Looking around she saw that she was still in the hallway, but instead it was flying past her as she fell.  Looking down she saw another wall in the distance coming towards her at break neck speeds.  She closed her eyes as the ground was about to hit her.  But she did not feel sudden impact.  opening her eyes, Scootaloo saw herself lying on the floor without a single pain.  However, she began to pass out.  As concsiouness left her she heard a comforting voice.

"Sleep now little filly, your adventure is only beginning."





Darkness.  Silence.  Grilled cheese.  Grilled cheese?

Scootaloo slowly began to open her eyes only to see blurry images.  She couldn't fully make out what was going out so she attempted to concentrate on sound.  Dulled sounds made their way into her eardrums and she tried to decode the words she was hearing.

"...just...help...fine...problems...friends."

"...how...up."

"...one of..."

"What!"

"You heard..."

"Wow I can't...this.  What about her friends?"

"They'll be fine.  Please go check on them."

Scootaloo heard the sound of something slightly scraping on wood, similar to when Spike would attempt the moonwalk.  Her eyes started to improve as the images in front of her began to clear up.  She could make a out a black figure in whatever place they were in.  A slight tinge of fear rose in her mind.  Was this another creature?  The mere thought of it began to make her breathe heavily.  Before she could truly become worried she felt a strangely hard hoof on her shoulder.

"Calm down.  You're alright.  Everything is alright.  Breathe.  That's it.  Inhale.  Exhale."

Scootaloo did as she was told and started to feel herself become calm.  She closed her eyes and took a few more breathes.   When she opened her eyes again, she was surprised to see Professor Karma next to her, smiling comfortingly.  That smile was so sweet and yet, it felt hidden, like it didn't want to be there.

The changeling spoke first, "Hello little one.  I'm glad to see you awake.  You had quite the fall."  He stood up and pulled a chair to the side of the bed, a notebook held in his magical grasp.  Sitting down he wrote a few things down before looking to the little filly.  While he wrote she observed where she was.  It was a room of sorts, but it was filled with different types of artifacts, maps, and mechanical devices she remembered from one of the books Twilight had shown her friends and her.

Scootaloo sat up quickly, "Where are my friends!?"  she nearly yelled, until a headache she hadn't been aware of forced her to lay back down.

Without looking back up at the filly Karma answered her question, "They're fine.  Just sleeping.  Right now however, I need you to answer a few questions.  Can you do that for me?"

Scootaloo hadn't even realized until now how soothing his voice was, the underlying tones of his changeling heritage was still there so she could still hear the slightest buzzing when he spoke, but besides that, it was like a pony to her.  Looking up at him she replied, "Yes Professor."

"First I'd like to ask how you three got lost."

"Well, we were walking with the rest of the students when Sweetie Belle started acting all weird.  She's the white unicorn in our group.  She started saying all this stuff about the building being fake or whatever.  I usually just tune her out but she looked so...I don't know.  Scared maybe?  Whatever the case, me and Applebloom, the one with the bow, started trying to make her better when we noticed that the rest of the class had already gone off."

Professor Karma continued writing, hiding his mouth as he did so, "Ah.  I see.  Go on."

Scootaloo said, "Well when that happened, we looked around and found that the door we had just walked through was gone.  I know that sounds crazy bu--"

"No, no, it doesn't sound crazy.  With the knowledge that this museum has a lot of different magical items in it, you should have deduced that with that came magical repercussions."

Scootaloo furrowed her eyebrows a little, irritated, "Hey!  I'm only like what, eight!  Just cause you're a Pro--"

"I meant no disrespect.  I'm simply stating the obvious.  Now, I have another question: why didn't you find a corner to wait in?"

Scootaloo was frustrated about being interrupted again, but pushed her anger down and replied, "It was a long hallway, there were no corners.  We started walking down the hallway for a while before that...that thing found us."

Scootaloo listened, but was surprised not to hear Karmas scribbling.  She looked at him and noticed his compound eyes staring at her.  He seemed surprised as he lower the notepad slightly.

He then asked, "You remember the beast?"

Scootaloo nodded her head, "Yes, after seeing that thing I wish I couldn't remember.  Is that bad?"

Professor Karma didn't reply.  Instead he wrote a few more things down and then stood up.  He walked over to the side of the bed.  Bending down he put one chitin hoof on each side of her and leaned his down low.  His expression held one of something crossed between anger or urgency.  Then he spoke in a low tone.

"You will speak of this to nopony, no dragon, no alicorn, not even to a stuffed animal in your bedroom.  If anyone asks, the story is this: you and your friends got lost upstairs trying to find your cutie marks in house keeping, you were found and returned to class by the time everypony had to leave.  Understood?"

Scootaloo sputtered, "Bu...but...but I--"

"Understood!"

Scootaloo shrunk back, and nodded her.  "Yes Professor." , she squeaked.

He stood back up and went back to his blank stare, however this time he showed slight signs.

Is he worried about somethi... Scootaloos train of thought was deterred as he then blasted a spell that blinded her for a second.  When she could see again she was standing in a very fancy dining room.  Nearly everything was spotless but what caught her attention was her teacher and class mates looking at her and her friends.

Wait, what? she turned to make sure that yes, they were standing beside her on her right, and to her left was Professor Karma.

"Girls!"  Cheerilee nearly yelled, "Where have you been!?  We've been worried sick!"

Sweetie Belle stepped forward and said, "Sorry Miss Cheerilee.  We got lost upstairs."

Cheerilee crossed her hooves, "And how did you get there?"

Applebloom stepped forward, "We were looking fer Cutie Miss Cheerilee.  Wer awfully sorry."

Scootaloo was shocked. Applebloom wouldn't lie about something like this.  She wasn't her sister but she picked up a few things from her.

Karma spoke, "It's okay Miss Cheerilee, they didn't break anything, and they're all in perfect health."

After more apologies Cheerilee looked Professor Karma and began to ask, "Any other news on the whereabouts of--" she was interrupted by one of the doors being opened.  Through it, a tall light blue mare Pegasus came lumbering through on her back hooves holding two struggling fillies, a pink one and a silver colored one.

Applebloom leaned over to Scootaloo, "Are they who Ah think they are?"

"I be foinding the two little lassies boss."

"Can you put us down now?!" The pink one yelled.

The silver filly agreed.

The new mare laughed, "These two got some spunk boss.  Can we keep 'em?  Oi'll whip 'em inta shape."

Professor Karma hung his head with a hoof covering his face.





Scootaloo walked up the makeshift stairs to her sisters house.  Upon arriving at the door she went inside and was greeted with silence.  Making her way to her room she heard Rainbows snores from her room.  Scootaloo rolled her eyes and went to her own room, only to find  letter sitting there.  She put her stuff away and picked it up.

"Who would send me mail?"  she asked herself.  It was addressed to her so she opened it.  Inside was a piece of paper that simply read:


9 years, 1 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 3 hours, 43 minutes, 6 seconds.


It probably would have been a little less creepy if the numbers weren't counting down before her eyes.