Ghost rider

Contrary to her initial fears, Grob did not show up the next morning waiting for his payment, nor the next day, nor any of the days for the rest of the week. As time went by, Scootaloo began to calm down, but always keeping the idea that one day the unicorn would return. And so it was, almost two months later, but not as she expected. It had passed while she walking through Manehattan, accompanying Rainbow in one of her Wonderbolt shows, hidden in the middle of the crowd, she barely managed to see him out of the corner of her eye, and when she turned to focus on him, he disappeared, as if he had never been there. The first time she thought it had been a mix-up, but when it passed by again a few months later, this time in the busy Ponyville market, and again after several more months, she could no longer see it as a mix-up.

Grob was watching her, not talking to her or making contact with her, but he was making sure Scootaloo knew he was watching her, making sure she knew he still owed him her end of the deal. For almost a year, the pegasus was in constant paranoia, aware that at any moment the unicorn would arrive, but as time passed, she began to relax. Now, 5 years after signing that contract, Scootaloo was living a relatively normal life, and the memory of Grob was in the back of her mind, overshadowed by other priorities.

The sun had risen recently, and there were few ponies that were already beginning their daily activities, those that had were the owners of some of the businesses in the small town. Moving at high speed through the streets, and dodging the few passers-by, Scootaloo moved with agility on her scooter, with a specific direction in her mind. On her head was the official hat that marked her as one of Ponyville's mail mares, and on her flanks hung the official saddlebags, which were firmly closed, keeping their contents safe. After a few minutes, the pegasus skidded in front of the post office, getting off her scooter and leaving it to one side of the door, entering the building.

"I'm back!"

The interior was a bit small, two shelves on each side with various envelopes, stamps and postcards for sale, a counter at the back and, behind it, a door that led to the interior, where the letters were catalogued, or as her boss liked to say, where the magic happened. Speaking of her boss, she was behind the counter waiting for a customer, reading a book and eating a muffin from a plate full of muffins, which she always offered to customers and her employees. Hearing her greeting, the pegasus with gray fur, yellow hair and eyes that darted in different directions, one looking in her direction and another at the ceiling, she raised her head, tilting it slightly.

"Hello Scoots, you finished early today."

"Of course, I'm the fastest mail mare in Equestria" she said with a smirk, approaching the counter and putting the saddlebags on the table.

Derpy raised an eyebrow, focusing her eyes on the mare, before one of them focused on the roof and the other on the saddlebags.

"I know you're proud of it, but you shouldn't let that distract you" she replied as she began to take the letters out of the saddlebags, using a tone of voice that Scootaloo had already heard countless times during her life, the tone of a mother who was trying to teach her foal a lesson. Why did Derpy have to be a mother? She sometimes felt that she was her own mother. "I guess you delivered all the letters and packages well" she said as one of her eyes focused on the young mare, who puffed out her chest with pride.

"Yep, all delivered."

"And did you pick up all the ones that were in the mailboxes?"

"Even the last one."

"And none fell along the way?"

"That would never happen to me" Scootaloo said with a proud smile, one that faltered when Derpy focused both eyes on her, raising an eyebrow and looking at her as if waiting for an answer. Scootaloo mentally cursed the mothers' ability to pull that off. "Again..."

Derpy held her gaze a bit longer, making Scootaloo a little nervous, before one of her eyes focused on the ceiling, smiling slightly as she nodded.

"Perfect, then you can have a muffin."

Derpy pointed to the plate, but Scootaloo gently shook her head before looking with a nervous smile at her boss.

"Actually…I wanted to know if I could have the rest of the day off" Derpy blinked and looked up, focusing her eyes on Scootaloo. "The contest is next week, and I want to practice as much as possible…unless you need me to do something here."

Derpy looked at Scootaloo a little longer before smiling, letting one of her eyes drift to the letters.

"Of course, you can take the day off."

"Thanks Derpy" Scootaloo said with a grateful smile.

As Derpy nodded with a smile and focused on the letters, the pegasus walked behind the counter and through the door into a new room. It was a wide space, on one side, there were several wheelbarrows full of letters and packages, a small sign on the front indicated their place of origin, on the other, something similar, only that they were destined to leave Ponyville for the rest of Equestria and, in some cases, beyond. Scootaloo greeted the ponies who were working on cataloging the incoming letters and those preparing them for shipment, and entered a small door to one side.

The interior was a room full of lockers, with two doors on the left wall that led to the bathrooms. The mare went to her locker, putting the code on the padlock and opened it, taking out her own saddlebags, placing them on her flanks, and putting her regulation cap inside before closing the locker and going out again, heading again for the door that would lead to the lobby where Derpy served customers.

"Are you leaving early?" said a unicorn stallion, stopping his work for a second to look at Scootaloo curiously.

"Yep" Scootaloo said with a smile. "I have to practice a lot for next week."

"I can't wait to see it" said a pegasus mare from across the room, looking at Scootaloo with another smile. "I'm sure you'll put on a great show."

"And it will be cool" added the young mare with an arrogant smile, causing the stallion who had spoken to her to roll his eyes

"Every day that passes you look more like Rainbow."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Ignoring the giggles, Scootaloo left the room, waving once more to Derpy, and headed outside. Grabbing her scooter, she took to the streets of Ponyville.

The sun was already at its highest point when Scootaloo made her way through the streets of Ponyville towards her house, at a slower pace than usual due to exhaustion. She'd spent the whole morning practicing her planned routine for the town talent show the following week, and though she didn't normally participate (largely because it was a small town where such shows were made more for entertain its inhabitants from time to time), this time there was something that motivated her. As she made a mental note to go see Twilight later to see if she would end up helping her put on her show like she had told her to, her house loomed in the distance.

It was small, on one level, but that didn't matter to her, it was her home. She stopped by the door, rummaging through her saddlebag until she found her keys and, with her primal feathers, she opened the door, looking forward to a refreshing and relaxing shower. As on the outside, the house was small, a living room with a single sofa, a small coffee table facing it, on the surface of which were two empty pizza boxes, two doors to the right, one leading to her even smaller bedroom and one to her bathroom, and an open kitchen where there was a small table with only three chairs, and in front of a steaming pot, to Scootaloo's surprise, was her mother, who turned her head upon hearing her.

"Just in time" she said with a smile. "Come in and have a seat, the stew is almost ready."

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Scootaloo asked curiously as she walked over, leaving her scooter by the door and tossing her saddlebags onto the sofa.

Spring glared at the tossed saddlebags, one of her bags skimming the ground, but she kept quiet, shrugging as she stirred the stew.

"I went to pick you up from work, but Derpy told me you went to train, so I thought I could make you lunch, so you can have something other than pizza at home."

"Hey, I don't always get pizza delivery…" Scootaloo said defensively.

Spring turned to look at her daughter with a raised questioning eyebrow. Scootaloo wilted at her gaze, turning her head to see the two empty pizza boxes, which betrayed her lie. With a nervous laugh and brushing her hoof over the back of her neck, she looked at her mother.

"Uh...well...maybe a little..."

Spring looked at her daughter a little longer before laughing good-naturedly. Picking up a plate, she set down a reasonable amount of stew and set it on the table, helping herself to some. They both sat at the table, Scootaloo smelling the aroma of her plate with satisfaction, she loved the food that her mother made. Grabbing a spoon, which Spring had previously placed, she stirred the stew, looking at the potatoes and eggplants, taking a bite into her mouth, humming with delight. After a few minutes, she looked at her mother out of the corner of her eye before deciding to speak.

"So... why did you want to see me?"

Spring swallowed the bite of stew in her mouth before speaking, looking at her daughter.

"I wanted to ask if you could come over next week to clean the house while I'm in Trottingham. You know, dusting, mopping…"

Scootaloo rolled her eyes as she took another spoonful to her mouth, chewing and swallowing her food before speaking.

"Mom, nopony will be home, there is no need to clean it."

Spring frowned and pointed at her daughter with her spoon.

"Of course it is necessary, unlike you, I like to keep my house clean."

"Okay, okay, I'll clean the house" Scootaloo said, raising her hooves as a sign of peace. "I had to go home to take care of Dad's motorcycle anyway."

Spring relaxed her expression, giving Scootaloo a grateful smile before returning to her food, leaving them both in a comfortable silence. After a few moments, the older pegasus sighed and looked at her daughter, a little guiltily.

"Scootaloo, I... I'm sorry, I'd like to be here for your moment, but..."

"Mom, stop," Scootaloo interrupted with an annoyed sigh, frowning at her mother. "You deserve this vacation, besides, you, Mrs. Belle and Mrs. Cake have been looking forward to this trip for months, you can't cancel it just because of a talent show."

"But..."

"Seriously, nothing's wrong" Scootaloo insisted with a reassuring smile, moving on to an excited one. "Besides, the contest isn't that important to me, what is important is what happens if I impress that pony."

Spring watched her daughter a little longer before sighing, accepting her defeat, and smiling at her.

"Okay, you win, Scoots."

"You can go quietly, enjoy your vacation."

Mother and daughter smiled at each other before returning to their meals, pleased with each other's company.

It was not long before Celestia's sun dipped below the horizon, giving way to Luna's moon, and most of Ponyville's inhabitants were in the building that housed the city hall and a large space for shows, important announcements and celebrations, mostly weddings. The space had been filled with different benches where there were dozens of ponies watching the show, and in front of them, the stage that the building had was displayed, on which a pegasus stallion was performing a magic show.

On one side of the stage, hidden by the curtain, and looking out over the crowd, was Scootaloo, scanning the ponies. After a few moments, she spotted her target, an earth pony stallion watching the stage intently, a producer from Manehattan looking for new talent. The pegasus felt an excited smile cover her face and her wings began to vibrate slightly in excitement. She was wearing the clothes that had once belonged to her father, the lapels slightly parted and revealing the black shirt she wore. Her eyes continued to scan the crowd until she found her friends, sitting next to Spike, and next to them, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, with three more missing ponies.

"Nervous?"

Scootaloo jumped briefly, surprised, and turned, looking at Rainbow Dash, giving her an amused smile, and behind her, a little apart from them, were Twilight and Applejack. The young mare smiled slightly and shook her head at her.

"No, not at all, I..."

"Scoots, you don't have to lie," Rainbow interrupted, her tone becoming more conciliatory.

After a few moments, Scootaloo sighed and nodded, looking away from her.

"Okay, maybe I'm a little nervous. This is a great opportunity, if I can impress that pony, I can make a living with my scooter... I... I don't want to screw it up."

"Hey" Rainbow said as she reached out and grabbed Scootaloo's chin, forcing her to look into her eyes. "Trust me, I felt the same way when I first introduced myself to the Wonderbolts. Do you know how I got over my nerves?"

"Throwing yourself into danger without even thinking about it?" Scootaloo asked with a raised eyebrow, eliciting a small laugh from Rainbow.

"Part of it yes, but it was also because I reminded myself that I was cool, whatever the Wonderbolts thought, and you need to remember that."

Scootaloo frowned for a few seconds before smiling and nodding.

"I'll try to remember, thanks Rainbow."

"It's my pleasure" Rainbow glanced slightly behind the curtain, checking out the pony show on the stage. "I think you should get ready now."

Scootaloo nodded and approached Applejack and Twilight, who smiled at the pegasus.

"Thank you for helping."

"We're happy to oblige," Twilight said with a big smile.

"You can trust my hooves" Applejack added with a touch of pride.

Scootaloo nodded, taking a deep breath before starting to walk away, she had a show to put on.

The pegasus stallion made a final bow to the audience before walking away behind the curtain, from which Mayor Mare emerged, smiling at the assembled ponies. Standing at the front of the stage, she lightly tapped the ground under her hooves.

"A big round of applause for Hat Magic!"

The room was filled with the sound of ponies hitting their hooves on the floor, some of them, sitting on their benches, preferring to hit their hooves against each other. Once silence reigned again, Mayor Mare continued speaking.

"And now, let's give a round of applause for the last show of the night! With all of you Scootaloo!"

As the ponies began to pound their hooves again, outside behind the closed doors, Scootaloo got into position, gripping the hooflebars of her scooter, no helmet on her head. Rainbow and Applejack were on the ground, inches from the doors, waiting for her signal. As the applause began to die down, and the ponies began to murmur among themselves, the two mares banged with all their might, flinging open the doors and drawing everypony's attention.

Using all the strength she could muster, Scootaloo flapped her wings and lunged forward, streaking past everypony. Halfway there, Twilight, hidden behind the curtains, illuminated her horn and made a magic ramp appear that lifted the pegasus into the air. With practiced skill, she stepped away from her scooter, spreading her wings, which although they weren't good for flying, they did a perfect job of gliding. Using short but quick wingbeats, she spun around, and as she was about to fall, she propelled herself onto her scooter, managing to give it an extra kick, and landed on the stage, skidding to face the ponies, a cocky grin on her face as she raised a hoof and bowed.

That managed to earn a roar of applause. Proud, Scootaloo swept her gaze over the ponies, her smile widening as she saw that the producer seemed impressed. You haven't seen anything yet, I was just warming up. When she was about to really start her show, her eyes caught something out of the corner of her eye, something that tickled the back of her mind. Quickly, she focused her gaze, and as she did, her heart skipped a beat, there he was, looking directly into her eyes, smiling cheekily. Why was he showing up now? And more importantly, why had he stayed in her vision even after concentrating on him?

A purple flash in front of her snapped her out of her thoughts, and looking ahead of her, she saw the beginning of the magical trail created by Twilight, waiting for her to approach it. Quickly glancing around once more and confirming that he was gone, she took a deep breath, reminding herself that she couldn't fail, the show had to go on.

Night had fallen in Equestria, and Scootaloo was riding her scooter toward her mother's house. The meeting with him was still in her head, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about him. The moment when she saw him clearly, and not out of the corner of her eye, was still etched in her mind, contrasting with all previous encounters with him. She had a feeling that he was finally going to claim her end of the deal, and she wasn't sure if she was relieved to finally be free of that pressure or terrified. Even though her mother was alive and well, and she eventually learned to thank him, she still had a bad feeling.

Shaking her head, she tried to banish those thoughts, at least for now, and focus on what had happened that night. The producer seemed genuinely impressed when she finished her show, he had even approached her to set up a date the next day. A smile appeared on her face at the thought, soon, she would have her own scooter show, who knows about it, maybe some famous team of scooter races would be interested in her. After a few minutes, she arrived at her mother's house, and after rummaging through the pockets of her biker jacket, she opened the door, entering the interior.

Leaving her scooter at the entrance, she walked directly to the garage door, careful not to trip in the dark. Upon arrival, she turned on the light, illuminating the space, the motorcycle covered with the tarpaulin and the desk where her toolbox was, the photo of her father had been moved to her house a long time ago, in her nightstand. Despite the exhaustion from the show, she still had some energy to expend, and since the producer had asked her to meet in the afternoon, she could stay up all night without worrying about being late. She pulled the tarpaulin off the vehicle, slipping her hoof over the hooflebars, and walked over to her toolbox to begin work.

Her ears stiffened and moved in the direction of the living room, detecting a noise. With a frown, and feeling her heart begin to pound, Scootaloo turned slowly, noticing that, from the dark corridor, an orange light emerged, the shadows dancing with its movement.

"Who's there?!" she cried out, loudly, her wings instinctively spreading.

Receiving no response, Scootaloo slowly inched out of the garage and into the hallway. There, she saw that the dancing light was coming from the living room, and she suspected where exactly it was coming from. Looking inside, she confirmed two things, the first was that the light was coming from the fireplace, the second was that there was a pony in front of it. Both the sofa and the table had been moved to one side, leaving a free space between the two. Scootaloo gulped at the sight of the pony, even if she hadn't seen him before in the middle of the crowd, she would have recognized him instantly.

"Hello Scootaloo, it's been a while" Grob said, turning his head to look at the mare with a smile.

He was just like the last time Scootaloo saw him, wearing his own suit. After a few moments of deliberation, in which she tried to relax her heart, the mare took a deep breath before speaking.

"I guess you're here for my end of the deal, right?" She said with resignation.

The unicorn hummed to himself before speaking.

"That's one reason, yes. Another was to see you at your... big time, great show."

"Thank you" replied the mare reluctantly, eliciting a small laugh from Grob.

"But the other reason, a more important one, is to offer my condolences."

That snapped Scootaloo out of her apathy, looking at Grob with a frown.

"Your condolences?"

"Yes, my condolences" Grob repeated with a smile. "You see, at this very moment, as you and I speak, your mother is having some... accident."

As Grob let out a sinister little laugh, Scootaloo's eyes snapped open, feeling her heart kicked.

"Wh-what do you mean?" She asked hesitantly.

"Well, your mother decided to stay in her room while her friends went out to party, unfortunately for her, the hotel was destined to burn. Right now she will be surrounded by flames, she will have about... " His gaze went to the clock on the mantelpiece, calculating the time "... three minutes left, five at most."

Scootaloo felt her heart tighten in her chest, and she instinctively began to hyperventilate.

"I-it ca-can not be tr-true."

"I'm afraid so, that's why I come to give you my condolences."

Scootaloo barely listened to him, thinking about her mother. It couldn't be, after everything that had happened, after that contract... The contract! She raised her head and looked at Grob with a small spark of hope, and even knowing the possible consequences, she had no choice.

"Ca-can you save her? Yo-you once cured her ca-cancer with your ma-magic, I'm sure you..."

"I can't" Grob interrupted, and despite his regretful tone, his face was crossed by a macabre smile that made Scootaloo's hair stand on end. "This was written in the contract."

"H-how?" Scootaloo replied, taking a step back as if she'd just been hit.

"You should have read the contract correctly, Scootaloo" Grob answered, in a reprimanding tone. "I made it very clear, I saved your mother from cancer... I never said anything about her death."

"B-but..."

"She was destined to die today," Grob interrupted again with a shrug. "She was going to die from cancer, in peace, without pain, and surrounded by her loved ones... now... she will die wrapped in a true hell, completely alone and without being able to see the pony she loves most in the whole world... which in turn is to blame for her destiny... you."

Grob laughed out loud as Scootaloo processed what he had been told. That couldn't be, it must be false, he was kidding her. With a groan, and trying to ignore the tears that covered her eyes, she stepped forward and hit the ground with her hoof.

"You're lying!"

Grob looked at Scootaloo, amused.

"No, my dear, I'm not lying... I'm just hiding information. But enough talk, it's time for you to fulfill your end of the bargain."

The fire in the fireplace roared as a ring of flame began to surround Scootaloo, who screamed in fright, her fur brimming with sweat, both from heat and fear.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled, panicking.

Grob's laughter carried over the crackling of the fire, and his figure stood out in the flames, especially his blue eyes.

"Funny you say that word" he said as he got closer, and to Scootaloo's horror, his eyes started turning red.

"Who are you?"

"Come on Scootaloo, you're smart, haven't you guessed already?" Grob said as he walked forward, amused. "I even left a clue with my name, Grob Abgar, you only have to remove three insignificant little words".

The figure of the unicorn began to mutate as he passed through the ring of fire, growing larger, his horn splitting in two and taking on the shape of a ram, the sclera of his eyes taking on a yellowish hue. His suit burst into flames and was replaced by a red necklace from which dangled a golden cowbell. Before Scootaloo's terrified eyes, a figure emerged that she had only known in the tales and superstitions of some religious.

"Grogar…" she said in a barely audible whisper.

"Reward!" answered the King of Hell, with a voice from beyond the grave. "You made a deal with the Lord of Evil himself, be proud, it doesn't happen to just anypony."

Despite his laugh, Scootaloo was panicking. How had she not seen the signs?! Okay, maybe it was impossible for her to have guessed it at first, but at least she should have had a little suspicion that something was wrong.

"Wh-what wi-will yo-you do me?" she asked weakly, aware that she was at his mercy, she doubted even that Rainbow and her friends could do anything against him.

"Exactly what you signed, your soul is mine, and you will work for me" said the big ram as he started to circle around a paralyzed Scootaloo. "There are some… demons that roam the world, far from my domain, and you are going to bring them to me."

"M-me? B-but I... I'm not..."

"You'll have some... help," Grogar interrupted, stepping back in front of Scootaloo. "You and your new partner can travel wherever you like, catching the demons as you see fit, but you must remember that you are at my command, but don't worry, it will be a long time before I give you a direct order. For now, the only one I will give you is that your first demon is in Manehattan. With that said, I wish you luck in your hunt."

Grogar opened his mouth, which began to light up with a yellow glow. Against her will, Scootaloo felt something force her muzzle to open to its fullest extent, causing her significant pain. With a roar, the great ram released a torrent of fire that filled the pegasus's mouth, entering her body and burning her from the inside. As much as she wanted to, the poor mare was trapped, unable to move despite the hellish pain. When the torrent of fire ended, her body fell limp to the ground, unconscious, but the King of Hell could see that parts of her fur were beginning to burn.

"Goodbye, my bounty hunter."

Grogar stepped back and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the place. The ring of fire slowly began to spread outwards, setting the house on fire. That night, Scootaloo's life was over forever.