"Thank you so much for foalsitting on such short notice, Scootaloo," said a thankful Mr. Cake while he finished putting on his tie.
"No worries, Mr. Cake. What happened to Pinkie Pie anyway?"
"I don't know. She went out last night with her friends but never came back. We're assuming she's just sleeping over at Twilight's without telling us. You know Pinkie Pie!"
"You ready to go, dear?" asked a dressed up Mrs. Cake as she came into the room.
"I sure am!" Mr. Cake replied. He then turned to the filly and said, "Nothing to worry about, Scootaloo. It should be a quiet night."
Mrs. Cake added, "The foals are just getting over colds, and it's taken forever to put them to sleep, so please don't wake them. It's probably the easiest job you've ever had. Just read a book or something. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. We'll only be a few hours."
"Thanks!" Scootaloo replied excitedly.
"We really have to go now, dear," the Cake mother reminded her husband.
"All right. Take care, Scootaloo. Thanks again," Mr. Cake said.
"Have fun, you two!"
Scootaloo sat on the couch inside the family room in the back side of Sugar Cube Corner. She curled up on the couch to read the newest Daring Do book, featuring her own hero, Rainbow Dash. She lit a fire in the fireplace and curled up under a blanket.
The cold autumn wind blew the leafless trees outside. It was a quiet night, perfect for the young filly to have some alone time, all the while getting paid.
"'Daring Do and Rainbow Dash, glancing directly at the abyss underneath them, navigated their way along the dark canyon, hoping to find the cave where the gems awaited them.'"
Tick... Tick... Tick...
"Huh?" the young pegasus asked as she heard a soft click sound coming from the outside of the house, almost like a hoof tapping on glass.
She looked out to the sliding glass doors leading to the backyard. All was quiet. The moon was full and shined brightly. The backyard was smooth and white from the light snowfall earlier in the day, with the single tree in the yard being the only thing in sight.
With a shrug, the filly continued to read her book. "Must've been the wind."
Some time passed. Noises continued occasionally, but all houses make noise from time to time. Especially an older house like the one she was in.
Scootaloo continued to read her story, getting deeper and deeper into the plot.
"'Daring and Dash, tied up together, hanging above the lake of lava beneath them-' what was that?"
The filly felt uneasy. The ticking sound from earlier returned, but this time there were many more ticks, and it was much faster. And this time she felt like she was being watched.
Scootaloo reluctantly glanced above her book and over to the glass doors.
"Eek!" she squealed as she flew up momentarily and hid behind the couch.
With her little body shaking, her teeth chattering in fear, she slowly stood up to take a look, making sure that what she saw was actually there.
Nothing. There was nothing there. She got up and trotted slowly to the doors. The backyard was as it always was.
"I saw it. I know I did," she muttered to herself as she stared out to the darkness. She didn't know what 'It' was, but it was there, and it was big. She only saw it's shadow. A large pony-like figure, with wings like a bat.
She looked around the backyard. There were no hoof prints in the fresh snow. Everything was normal.
"Common, Scoots. Don't be a scaredy-filly. There's nothing there."
She sat back down on the couch, continuing the story from where she left off.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
"You've got to be joking," Scootaloo said as she got up, trying to find the location of the ringing phone.
"Hello?" she asked when she finally located it picked up. "Hello? What? What'd you want?"
Breathing. Shallow, high pitched breaths.
"Ummmm... helloooo?"
More breathing. Faster, shallower breaths.
Click.
"Uh, okay," the young filly said as she put the phone down. "Now, where was I?" she asked as she picked up her book once again.
Grumble.
The growing pegasus was hungry. "Well, the Cakes did say that I could help myself to food," she reminded herself as she got up and went into the kitchen.
As expected of a couple who baked for a living, the fridge was full of treats. Cupcakes, pies, cookies, you name it.
She grabbed a cupcake and two cookies on a plate, and brought it back to the couch.
As Mr. Cake warned her, it was a quiet night. Too quiet. Scootaloo decided to turn on the radio to her favourite station, Ponyville Rock 99.5.
As the music played, and the fire crackled, she ate her light snack.
"That was The Rolling Toms with their newest single, Wild Ponies," said DJ Pon-3 from the station. "But before we play the next song, there is a special announcement from the police department. Be on the lookout for a large bat-like pegasus who has been seen stalking ponies at their homes. Nothing else is known at this time."
Scootaloo felt a shiver. "B-b-batpony?"
Ring. Ring. Ring.
She screamed and flew up in the air in fear as the phone rang again, her wings working just fine this time.
"H-hello?"
Breathing again, but this time it was different.
"Whoever is prank calling me this isn't-"
"Scootaloo?"
"Twilight?"
"Yeah. I've been trying to reach Pinkie Pie. Haven't seen her today. Have you heard from her?"
"Uh, no. In fact, I'm foalsitting for her because she hasn't returned since last night."
"Weird. I haven't been able to find Fluttershy either. I wonder what she's been doing lately at night. It's been hard finding her ever since that weird night a month ago. I hope everything is okay. Is everything good with you?"
"Oh yeah. No worries. It's all quiet here."
"Okay. Well, tell me if you need anything. Good night."
"Good night, Twilight."
Click.
Grumble.
"Still?" Scootaloo asked her stomach. She had just finished her snack, but she was still hungry. The radio played the next song as she got up to get another snack.
As she trotted over to the kitchen, she saw a nice, plump, juicy red apple sitting on the counter. She picked it up with her wing, bringing it back to the couch. What she didn't realise was that she wasn't the only one coveting that tasty snack.
She sunk her teeth into the juicy fruit, her tongue tasting the fresh goodness of it.
The young pegasus moved her ears up to listen to what song was playing on the radio.
Nothing. The radio was turned off.
"I didn't do that..."
She took one more bite of the apple. She felt a chill once again, but saw no reason for fear.
She took another bite. Heard the same ticking that she heard before, almost as if somepony was trying to get her attention.
Her little heart starting beating faster.
Yet another bite. Her breathing became shorter and faster. "Stop being a chicken, Scootaloo. There's no reason to be scared."
She took one final bite. The unwarranted feeling of fear she had become stronger and stronger. A drop of sweat fell along her cheek.
The fire in the fireplace blew out. She was now in complete darkness.
Shivering, scared, and alone, she needed to find some sort of light so that she could find her way around.
The only source of light was coming from the glass doors. Two glowing red eyes.
Sweetie Belle and Rarity were spending some time together later that night, listening to the radio and drawing pictures.
Suddenly, a song was interrupted for a news bulletin. "Be on the lookout for a large bat-like pegasus, who has been seen stalking ponies at their homes. One mare from Ponyville is missing, and one victim has already been confirmed."
Tick... Tick... Tick...
