It was spring, Scootaloo was walking home with a bunch of flowers. She was so happy that it was spring break and her dad promised her that he'll teach her how to fly and that they would visit Cloudsdale. As she walked home, she saw hooves sticking out from the side of the road. She walked over and saw a boy. He looked the same age as her, he was grey with a neon green mane. She walked to him and saw that he had a cut in his stomach.
"Oh Celestia, Are you okay?" She leaned to his chest, "He's still breathing?" She looked around to see if any other pony was around. "I guess that I could take you to the hospital." she picked him up by his hands and started to drag him to the hospital. "How heavy are you?" she asked to him as she kept pulling him. He gave no response. "Well you're sure the talker. I see that you don't have a cutie mark. Well that makes both of us. Can you at least try saying something?"
He mumbled something. It was hard to hear what he said, "Can you repeat that?" asked Scootaloo.
He mumbled , but she caught the first word: You. "One more time please?"
You talk way to much" said the colt as he opened his eyes. "Where are you taking me?"
"To the hospital. Can I have the name of the pony I saved?' asked Scootaloo as she stopped to see how far they were from the hospital.
"You haven't done any saving yet, and the name is Steven, and what is yours?" asked Steven as he tried to stand up.
"My name is Scootaloo" said Scootaloo as she turned around to see he was standing up, "How are you standing?"
"Perseverance...wait, your name is Scootaloo?"
"Yeah, didn't you hear it the first time?"
She's sure to perky to be a hero though Steven as he tried to walk.
"No, I'll help you." said Scootaloo as she came and helped him walk. She grabbed his arm and held it on her shoulder as she walked with him.
"Why are you helping me? I was just a stranger on the side of the road." asked Steven as he looked over to her.
"Well, you needed help, so I gave help. My dad told me to help people when they need help."
Steven looked at her and saw something he didn't notice before, she seemed like she was angle. "Can we rest here?" asked Steven as he pointed to a bench.
"Sure, the hospital is up ahead, I can go get them for you." said Scootaloo as she walked him to the bench.
Once he sat down, she ran over the hill.
Steven pulled a piece of paper out. he looked at it and looked at where Scootaloo ran over the hill. He looked at the paper once more and ripped it. "If I refuse the job, then they can kill me. I'm not a puppet for them anymore."
Once Scootaloo returned, she had a doctor and a hospital stretcher with her. Steven was looking at the butterflies across the road when she walked to him, "Hey, Steven?"
"Oh, hi Scootaloo and Doc." said Steven as he stood up and hobbled over to them.
"He's the one with the cut in his stomach?" said the doctor in disbelief. The Doctor went over to Steven and checked his stomach, "Did you clean the cut?" he asked as he turned to Scootaloo.
"Actually, I did that while I was waiting for you." said Steven as he walked over to the stretcher, "I know it's not perfect, but it was the best I could do under the conditions."
"Unbelievable, but what you did is the same type of treatment as the hospital would give. Are you a doctor?"
"No, and I refuse to tell you about my life." said Steven as he gave a evil glare at the doctor.
"Well, hope you get better soon." stuttered the doctor as he got the stretcher from Scootaloo and turned and walked back to the hospital.
"well, nice meeting you Steven. I better head home before my parents get mad at me." said Scootaloo as ran in the direction opposite of the hospital.
"Can I come? I'm sort of like an orphan now." said Steven as he walked beside her.
"Umm, sure." said Scootaloo skeptically. Why would he be an orphan and not tell her when she was pulling him she thought as they walked to her house.
When they were almost to her house, Scootaloo saw police around her house. The lights from the police cars light up the road as they tried to get to her house. Scootaloo pushed and shoved any police that got in her way. Steven apologized for her behavior as he followed her.
"No pony is allowed beyond this line." said a police pony as he stood in front of the 'do not cross' tape.
"But I want to see my parents." said Scootaloo as she tried to go around him.
"What, you live here?" asked the police pony as he held her in place.
"Yes and I want to see my parents." said Scootaloo as she stomped on his hooves.
She ran under the tape and ran for the door to her house. Steven jumped over the tape and chased after her.
"Wait kids, you two shouldn't be behind the line!" yelled the police pony as he chased after them. Scootaloo opened the door and froze in terror at what she saw; Blood everywhere, here mother was hang by her tail to the ceiling fan with a railing from the stairs through her head. Her father had a number of knifes in his back and had a note held into his skull with a pipe from the sink. His face was barely recognizable, but she knew it was her dad by the shirt he was wearing.
Beneath the blood and knifes, she saw the tie-dye shirt she made for him. He promised to wear it for her to work and show her pictures of him and his friends wearing the same shirt. She started to cry when she saw when Steven and the police came in.
Steven seemed like it was normal and didn't even care, but the police pony that followed them looked like he was about to throw-up. Steven walked to Scootaloo's dad and looked at the note.
"Those sick bastards." said Steven as he read the note. Scootaloo had all these mixed emotions: Sadness, anger, confusion, rage, but she looked at Steven and was furious on how he was handling this.
"My parents are dead and your making this seem like it's nothing." yelled Scootaloo as she slapped Steven across the face, "Why are you so calm with this?"
Steveen didn't give a response, instead he walked to where Scootaaloo's mon was and started to dig through her purse.
"Stealing from them! while the police are here?" yelled Scootaloo as she saw him pull a letter out of the purse.
Steven grabbed Scootaloo by the hands and wrapped his free hand around her mouth, "Scootaloo, I know who did this. But the police won't find out or even care about this evidence. Now you can shut up and follow me and avenge your parents or you can try to rat me out to the police in a failed attempt. What is it?"
Scootaloo broke free from his grip and looked at him, "How do you know who killed my parents? The police have no leads and here you are in five minuets already know who the culprit is."
"Like I said to the doctor, I won't tell you, at least not yet. Now will you come with me or stay here?"
Scootaloo turned around and saw the police searching the house. "Lets go."
Steven grabbed her hand and they ran to Back door. "We have to get to the food bank before I can tell you anything."
The police saw Steven taking Scootaloo away. "He's taking our only lead to who killed these ponies, after them!"
Scootaloo followed Steven as the cops followed them, "This is crazy!" yelled Scootaloo as she followed Steven around some trees.
"This a normal day for me." laughed Steven as he slid down into a ditch.
Scootaloo didn't see where he went and fell down into the ditch, right on his back. "Sorry" said Scootaloo as she helped Steven up.
"You look way lighter than you actually are." said Steven as he dusted himself off and looked around, "The cops will find us soon if we don't find cover." He pointed to a cave locked by a fallen tree, "We could slide under that tree and hide there."
Steven ran to the cave and pulled a branch back so Scootaloo could crawl under into the cave, "Ladies first."
Scootaloo crawled in, followed by Steven. Once in, Steven went to a wall and started to dig by some rocks.
"What are you doing?" asked Scootaloo as she walked over to him.
"Looking for supplies." said Steven as he kept digging, "you seem to calm to have just seen were your parents died and having the cops chase you."
"I'm coping, but it was sure lucky that we found this cave." said Scootaloo as she walked around in the dimly lite cave.
"It's not lucky," Steven pulled a lantern out of the spot he was digging at, "if you know where this place is."
"What, you knew where this cave was?" asked Scootaloo as Steven pulled out a small chest from where he was digging.
"Yeah, whats it to you?" asked Steven as he lifted the box's lid. He pulled out a white robe with a chain connector and put it on.
"Now you have to explain who, what, whatever you are." stammered Scootaloo as she pointed to the cape.
"Sure, but then I'd have to kill you." said Steven as he pulled a gun out of the box, "I'm kidding, I'll tell you. No blood shed."
" Well, It starts with a history lesson. Once, in Equestrian History, was a time that has been refered to as the Shadow Clash." said Steven as he pulled a small blue jacket and tossed it to Scootaloo.
"I haven't heard of that in school." said Scootaloo as she looked at the jacket in her hands.
" And you shouldn't. It's a black sheep time in history. And there are some ponies that would kill for someponies not to know. And there is. It's a society called Shadow Stalkers. I'm one of them." said Steven as he grabbed a pair of boots and was putting them on.
"So you were the one who killed my parents?" asked Scootaloo with a look of worry as she put on the blue jacket.
"No, I'm a rookie at the assassination part of my job. I'm the one that scouts the area and tells them what everything and anything happens and at what time it happens. One time, your dad caught me and let me inside your house. He said that he had a daughter and wife. If I could kill him and spare his family. I told him I had no power to do it. He begged me, but I couldn't. Once he saw that I couldn't, he asked if I could at least save one of his family. I promised him that much. I looked over my list and saw a chance to save you and your mom."
"Well, then how come my mom died?" asked Scootaloo as she went over to Steven.
Steven handed her a pair of boots, "Well, I told them when he would be home. I didn't think anyone would come in. I told them about the schedual and they went when I said he would be there. But when they got there, your mom saw them and went after. I tried to stop her, but when she saw what they had done to your dad, she screamed." Steven grabbed another gun and a sword out of the, now empty, box.
"You mean, you tried to stop them?" asked Scootaloo as she walked to Steven and pit an arm around him.
"They thought I was, and I was, trying to save someone. The rushed me and your mom and they stabbed me in the gut and slit her throat." Said Steven as he rubbed where he got stabbed, "They pushed me off and drug your mom inside. They locked the door, probably thinking I was dead. I got up and tried to walk down the road, hoping someone would help me. I fell to the side of the road and started to pass out due to blood loss. That's when I met you."
"As heart felt as that was, I have to kill both of you now." said a figure across the cave, wearing the same type of cape of Steven. The pony pulled out a gun and pointed it at Scootaloo, "Always wondered what lead tasted like?"
"I bet you'll find out before she will." said Steven as he pulled his sword out.
"He has a gun and you a sword. You'll die." said Scootaloo as she hid behind Steven.
"She's right." said the figure as he shot at Steven.
Steven swung his sword and the figure fell down, "That just proves that they don't teach them like they use to at the academy."
"But you're just a newbie, how did you know that?" said the figure as he bled to death in front of them.
"Trade secret" said Steven as he grabbed the gun from the pony, "Scootaloo, I think you need this more than me."
Steven tossed the gun to Scootaloo," I don't want it." she said as she tossed it to the ground.
Steven picked it up and handed it to her, "You do need this. The Shadow Stalkers won't stop until you are dead. Now take it."
Steven walked out of the cave and looked around, "Clear."
Scootaloo crawled out," So where are we to go now?"
"Where ever we can." said Steven as he walked t the nearest forest clearing, " For now, we need better supplies than this."
Scootaloo looked around once she got to the clearing, "how about there?" She pointed to a town off in the distance.
"Let our tale begin." said Steven as they started off to the town.