An Unexpected Visit
For the next few weeks Scootaloo lived peacefully in Ponyville. She was treated by the medical staff and told them a sob story about how her beloved uncle was killed when a crazy pony broke into their home. To her surprise, the medical staff and guards bought it, even after examining the crime scene. No one believed she was capable of such a brutal act and therefor she was not a suspect. Many were only too willing to pin the blame on the hermit zebra in the Everfree forest, saying she used strange magic with her uncle as the sacrifice. Even luckier was the newspapers didn't bother to write a story after hearing the Zebra Witch was to blame. Apparently those stories didn't sell anymore. When his funeral was held, Scootaloo was one of the few to attend, she needed to keep up the facade of the distraught niece. No one noticed her satisfied grin when the coffin was lowered. Even then Scootaloo was just glad that she could start all over again.
Once she recovered she began to attend school in the town, the first time in years and even got along with many ponies in class, other than a pair of bullies. The ponies of Ponyville were nice, generous and helpful. She could not remember being happier, but she still longed for something... more. A home, a family, somepony to love her. She needed all of these things, but the orphanage she now lived at rarely had an adoption, and even worse none of the parents seemed interested in her. She was out of hell but, was limbo any better? Going through the motions and living everyday without really living. But everything changed on that night. The Summer Sun Celebration, the return of Nightmare Moon. After the Elements of Harmony dealt with the threat and the Celebration ended, Scootaloo walked alone to her orphanage, she enjoyed the party but when it was over, she was alone once again.
Her eyes scanned the ground sadly.
"Hey kid!" Scootaloo turned to see a mail stallion with a satchel standing beside her.
"Hi?"
"Got a package for you."
He handed her a small envelope and turned to walk away.
"Wait! How am I supposed to know who sent it!?"
"They don't pay me to know that kid."
Scootaloo grumbled as she opened the letter as delicately as she could, revealing a single scrap of paper, painted in ink was a black dragons claw, with two words below it.
"We know." The words confused her, "We know"? Know what? What did she do? Then her heart stopped, this had to be about her uncle. Someone found out! In a state of panic she galloped to the orphanage as fast as her legs would carry her, locking the bedroom door behind her and closing the blinds she huddled in the corner. Staring at the letter in disbelief. How could anyone have found out? She thought no one was investigating it anymore! How did these people find out!?
"Wait! Listen to yourself Scootaloo!" She said shaking her head. "He's dead! Dead and gone! No pony found evidence connecting me to the crime! Buck, they didn't even suspect me!" These words calmed her, that's right, this was just some stupid prank someone was pulling on her. She laughed in relief, of course! Someone was just trying to scare her! Crawling into her bed, she continued to laugh until sleep took her.
The next morning her eyelids fluttered open, stretching to awaken her tired limbs she peered out the window. But there was no sun light, only the dim glow of a pair of candles. Upon closer examination she realized she wasn't in her room in the orphanage, it was some kind of shack as far as she could tell. "Where am I?" Scootaloo asked to no one in particular.
"Well well."
Scootaloo spun to see a lean black earthy pony mare lounge atop a book case, wearing a strange black and red armor, her shadow dancing with the candle light. To Scootaloo it was like she had been confronted by a demon. Her bright red dragon eyes shone with glee.
"You sleep rather soundly... for a murderer."
Screaming, pounding, adrenaline, pain. That's all Scootaloo's brain could comprehend as her Uncles hooves slammed her to the ground once again,
"You little brat!" He roared as he lifted her in the air with his wing and struck again, Scootaloo tasted the blood from her bitten tongue. "Why did my sister have to die and leave me with a worthless, money grubbing, whore like you!" Scootaloo was thrown once again, colliding with the cabinets of the kitchen. Knives clattered to the floor, luckily they did not give her worse than a few scratches.
"Please stop! I was just hungry"
The stallion approached her like a hungry predator,
"And you thought it was okay to steal my bits!? That's it! I'm not dealing with your shit anymore! I'm going to rip those wings off, and shove them down your own damn throat!"
The stallion charged, terror gripped Scootaloo as she looked for a way out. She was trapped, but she did see one thing, a large butcher knife impaled in the floor. Time moved in slow motion, grabbing the knife in her teeth and tearing it from the floor boards, she aimed the edge of the blade at the hateful stallion and lunged. The next thing she knew she was on top of her uncle as he bellowed in pain, the knife buried deep in his right shoulder, "You bitch! I'll kill you for that!"
Before a hoof could strike the filly, she pulled the blade from his shoulder, holding it high over head in her hooves. She didn't know how many times she drove the knife into him, all she knew was that when his final breath escaped his body, all of her rage had left her.
"You can't... hurt me... anymore." She gasped out to the corpse.
It felt as though a lifetime had passed staring at the body, when her mind was finally willing to work again she realized, she murdered her uncle. They were going to find her, and she would go to prison, or worse! She needed to get out of here quick, before anyone could pin the blame on her. As she ran from the house it was the first time she was glad that her uncle chose to live in the forest rather than in a town. She ran as fast as her legs could, to the only town she could hide in, the only town she would be safe, Ponyville. When she reached the town, she galloped to the hospital, she needed medicine "Help!" She cried to the nearest nurse, "Some pony killed my uncle!"
