Scootaloo and No-Bark sat in a very comfortable home, on a very cozy sofa, while the adult couple and the young fillies and foal looked back at them. Somehow the parents managed to invite the two of them into their house in a very homey way that just lured them in.. The two fillies and one foal looked at every movement Scootaloo made just made things seem a bit... off putting.

The stallion and his wife introduced each other Chi and Jasmine, in which were married for over 25 years. The young ones introduced themselves as Dare, Tricks, and Sneaks; were were play names that managed to become permanent after a few years of bugging their parents and everypony else in town to use them.

No-Bark broke the silence after the introductions first. "May I ask for a bit of tea?"

"Oh of course! I'm sorry, I forgot to put on the kettle. Pardon me, I'll go make something good." Jasmine bows before going to make tea.

"Isn't it a bit late for tea? It's past midnight and we're being rude asking them for anything when they must be exhausted." Scootaloo scolds No-Bark.

"What? Did ye see the tea plants when ya came in? They have more than enough and it's only five." No-Bark scoffs and points to a nearby clock.

"Huh? How can that be...? It was midnight when I left for here... how is that possible?" Scootaloo stares at the clock, hoping it would explain.

"Must be a time zone..." Dare starts.

"Ponies who come here say the same..." Tricks continues.

"It doesn't matter, your here now." Sneaks finishes with a smile.

"So where are you both from?" Chi asks as Jasmine comes in with tea and serves everyone before he takes a big sip.

"Ponyvile." Scootaloo tells them as she tries the tea which was a bit too strong.

Sneaks suddenly smiles. "Wow! I've heard of that place, so cool!"

Dare looks over at Sneaks. "Hey, I never heard of it and we both stick with you!"

"Yeah! What gives?" Tricks replies with a pout. Sneaks shrugs and frowns with his sisters.

"Nowhere special." No-Bark sips his drink and smacks his lips, unaware of the tension in front of him. "Wonderful tea ma'am, reminds me of a potter of Canterlot, he made excellent tea and grew good herbs.

"Really? Sounds like a nice pony. But I'm sure you live somewhere nice, right?" Jasmine asks with a small smile.

"Nope, ye probably wouldn't even know where it tis." No-Bark shakes his head.

" ...So uh what are your names, if you don't mind me asking? Chi asks, draining his tea after a short silence.

"Scootaloo, but you could call me Scoot's."

"No-Bark Bat-wing, but please call me whatever you like." No-Bark sips his tea with a somewhat puzzled look at the family.

"No-Bark huh? Sounds cool..." Dare smiles.

"It sounds lame, is he crazy?" Sneaks asks with worry.

"Who cares? He a new guest, we should take care of him." Tricks smile slyly. "It is after all a place a pony should call home."

"No-Bark was a name given to me by a good friend... and for me being crazy..." No-Bark grins a mischievous insane smile. "I am VERY crazy!" He suddenly howls a loud and powerful howl that scares the kids away before he bursts into crazed laughing.

Jasmine shakes her head and holds her chest. "Good grief! You nearly gave me a heart attack!

Chi laughs along with him. "Good one, Wolverine?

"Nah, too boring, that's a Werewolf. I prefer them to a Wolverine."

"Huh... why's that?"

No-Bark smiles crazily. "Ye can trick 'em much easier, a little blood on a trap and their gone."

"Huh, no kidding?" Chi pours another cup for him and No-Bark while Jasmine checks on the kids.

Scootaloo shakes her head. " No just that though, he likes them for another reason."

"Shhh!" No-Bark interrupts Scootaloo. " I also like them because I would love to be a wolf!"

Chi looks strangely at No-Bark. "Why? You would be separated by family and friends, maybe even a mare you like."

No-Bark flinches and looks angrily at Chi. "What would ye know about my mare?! Huh?! Nothing!" No-Bark scowls and leaves, knocking his tea over as he walks by. He turns around and looks upset at the spilled tea before he leaves. "Pity, what a waste of good tea."

Scootaloo and Chi sits quietly before Chi uses his magic to clean up the tea. "Uhhh... so who last visited town?" Scootaloo asks, hoping to change the subject.

Chi puts a hood up to his chin in thought. "Hmm, a young mare visited... wow, a long time ago. She seemed to have so many talents, so smart and understanding." Chi suddenly gets up. "She left a while ago, shame, good mare. You should meet the town, they like visitors."

Scootaloo shakes her head. "Isn't it a bit early? Aren't they sleeping?"

"Nah, we're normally up earlier. Like the kids said, time is different here than from your hometown." Chi smiles. "Besides, the miss is probably going to ask you to do errands, which you have better things to do I bet."

Scootaloo lazily gets up from the comfy sofa and sighs. "Yeah, I should go. Thanks again for inviting us in... sorry No-Bark yelled at you."

Chi smiles. "It's alright, he always had a short temper. Bye."

Scootaloo walked out before she realized what he said. "Wait...do you know No-Bark?" She thinks but before she could speak the door closed and locked.

***

No-Bark paced by the town well, still trying to regain his original high spirits. He could shake a foreboding sense that something was wrong here in Everlight... that he was here before. He felt this the second he introduced himself to the family, that something was clearly not right.

No-Bark did wonder how the ponies knew they were arriving, or if they were always so prepared for surprise visitors. He looks up and sees the other ponies in the town market watch him with interest, all doing something else but looking at him when they think he doesn't notice. No-Bark frowns and wanders away from the well and town market, only to bump into Scootaloo.

"Hey! What was the big idea yelling at Chi?" Scootaloo demands, unable to control her voice from alerting passing ponies.

"Something is wrong here, ye need to trust me." No-Bark seriously stares at Scootaloo. "We need to head back into the Everfree Forest."

Scootaloo blinks in surprise. "Why? Everything is fine here, the ponies aren't going to hurt us, the monsters out there will."

No-Bark grabs Scootaloo and brings her into an alley, away from prying eyes. "Listen filly, I know this place, from before me lost my memory. Something is wrong here, we need to leave now or we may never come out!"

Scootaloo knocks away his grip and frowns. "You've lost it, you really don't have any clue what's real do you? We're safe here, the ponies are friendly and no one is trying to kill us. I call that pretty nice."

No-Bark growls in annoyance. "Why the hell do ye think it's safe here?! What's a bloody town doing in the worst place to live?! Ye need to think this out, how could these ponies live here for so long and no ponies ever heard of them?! Ye have that book, go figure out these answers and find me. I'll be out in the forest, don't find me until you know." No-Bark then marches away leaving poor Scootaloo in a confused daze.

Scootaloo couldn't believe No-Bark was so serious and yelled at her. She slowly walk out of the alley before she pulls out Clover's brown book and opens it. Scootaloo finds her place and walks towards a building that looked like a temple to find whatever Clover did before her.

Before she gets far, Dare, Sneaks and Tricks come up in front of her. "Whatcha doing Scoot's? Where ya going?" Tricks asks as Scootaloo quickly hides her book.

"Oh... just a quick walk around. I've never been here so... uh I thought I'd see the sights." Scootaloo smiles a fake warm smile, wondering how the trio managed to creep up on her so quietly and quickly.

"Well you won't find anything in that temple.." Dare starts.

"Just bad critters who could bite you, you'd rather see our flower field over there." Sneaks points in the opposite direction of the temple. "The temple is off limits to little fillies and foals until somepony invites them there."

"Couldn't one of you invite me there?" Scootaloo asks, confused at the rule.

All three ponies shake their heads at once. "Nu uh, we'll get in trouble! You need to find some other adult pony to let you in, otherwise you can't get in. The elders lock the doors well, there's no way in."

"Huh...ok I guess... I'll head to the flower field now. Thanks for telling me about the rule." Scootaloo smiles honestly.

The trio look at each other and walk away, unaware Scootaloo headed straight fro the temple without any hesitation .

"Good thing young fillies and foals are very trusting." Scootaloo giggles as she goes to the temple.

***

Scootaloo climbs through a broken window and cuts her knee when she drops onto the cold ground. The front door was locked so she had to climb through the second broken window that week. Scootaloo steps around glass shards that somepony forgot to clean up.

Scootaloo had to admit, the temple was less homey. The temple was old and worn down, weeds growing wild around the structure with no sign anypony's been there in years. Clover's book told her that Clover herself walked through the doors of a temple but didn't say it was in bad shape at all, she couldn't tell if it was modesty or the temple was fine before she arrived.

Scootaloo walks down the tattered main hall rug that span the entire hall one in it's life. The temple gave her the creeps but knowing what happened with Clover meant more than any fear she held. Somehow she felt drained, but it could've been from staying awake since yesterday.

Finally after a long and creepy walk, Scootaloo opens a big pair of twin doors to find a large chamber where a throne sat at the end of the tattered rug. She looks up and sees tattered and burned banners of swords and some kind of shield. Scootaloo walks up to the throne and sees a burnt pony's skeleton sitting on the cushion, locked in a pose of pure pain and torment.

Scootaloo couldn't control herself from vomiting at the foot of the throne. She saw a skeleton in school but this was much more life-like and smelled like burned fur and flesh.

Scootaloo weakly wipes her mouth and steps away from the throne. "Rainbow was right, I wasn't ready to see a skeleton. What the hell happened here?! Have the ponies in Everlight seen this?!" Scootaloo notices Clover's book glow and opens it to a page that seemed to glow that held only a few words.

Only crystal light may I reveal my secrets..

Scootaloo looks around in surprise, finding a broken crystal near the skeleton. She picks up the crystal bits, while avoiding her puke, and presses it lightly against the paper. Suddenly the book lights up and blinds her of her surroundings before she falls into open air.

***

"WOAHHH!!" Scootaloo screams as she falls flat on her face at the bottom of the stairs in the throne room. Scootaloo groans and rubs her face before she realized her surroundings. The once dead room held beautiful lights and colors across the hall, everything in perfect condition.

"The book... it must've literately held the story of what happened here." Scootaloo thinks.

Scootaloo looks around before she spots the throne and sees the dead stallion, who was alive and in full armor with real swords. He sat in the throne, overlooking what Scootaloo assumed were his subjects who stood in the room as well, the pony seemed to be... waiting for something or... somepony. Scootaloo noticed one subject held a brown book that resembled the book Scootaloo held.

Suddenly the doors open and two large guard ponies drag a small mare into the hall and hold the smaller pony in front of the throne. The pony at the throne smiles and motions the guard to let her stand. The guards let her stand but keep the chains on her legs.

"Lord Twin-blade, we have brought the outsider, the one called Clover the Clever." A guard bows to the stallion while the stallion smiles brighter.

Scootaloo's eyes widen as she looks as she realizes that the poor pony in chains was none other than Clover the Clever, writer of the book that lead Scootaloo to Everlight. Scootaloo screams but no sound comes out as she watches in horror as Twin-blade smiles evilly.

"Oh crud..." Scootaloo whimpers in fear. "I just really screwed up."

Author's Note

Another good chapter, same as before let me know how it went. As you see, things just got a whole lot worse, poor Clover became a prisoner and Scootaloo is reliving her story first hand.