Not Alone.

Scootaloo was not big for a filly of her age. So luckily only the tip of her purple pink tail was sticking out of the hole in the bark where she was hiding.

She was tucked inside a hole in a large willow tree. She was crying, but knowing she would be safe for a while, Scootaloo began to calm down. Lying with her head resting on some soft,scratchy moss,she could feel her mane wet with tears. Her leg was injured. She had rips in both of her tiny wings and her orange feathers were matted with blood. All of her tiny body was numb with pain and exhaustion.

The lack of moon cast the world into shadow and Scootaloo was afraid.

If I close my eyes,she thought, I'll die. But her eyes stayed wide open, fighting back the ever flowing stream of tears.

More than anything, Scootaloo wanted to wake up from this nightmare; to be back in the old house she lived in on a cloud, so close to the ground you could jump down with no problems. To be back with her parents, her mother would see her crying and lift her in her hooves and hold her close, and say, “It's over now, Scootaloo, it's all right.”

Her dad would ruffle her mane and wink at her before kissing her on the cheek and sending her back to bed.

She wished to be back in Ponyville. When her parents died she lived there, she loved it. She had friends. But she was taken away. She missed it so much she could hardly bare it. She thought of Sweetie Belle, Applebloom. Rainbow Dash and all her friends. She thought of the beautiful cakes at Sugar Cube Corner made by Pinkie Pie. Apple Jack, who always treated her like a sister. Ponyville was like home. Basking in the beautiful memories. Thinking about it so much,she was almost there.

Scootaloo wasn't there though. She was trembling in an old tree, trying to make sure no pony would be able to see her. Satisfied that she would be safe, the filly began to think of what to do next.

She soon began to drift off from her plans of escaping, thinking back to the times when she lived in Ponyville again.

She had to get back. No matter what. She could never return to her house on a cloud. Her parents both died long ago and sometimes her memories of it seemed so perfect, she doubted that they were real.But Ponyville was perfect, or the closest to perfect any place could be. Scootaloo smiled thinking of the cakes at Sugar Cube Corner and felt herself beginning to drift away.

Scootaloo woke up, her injuries where bad, but the young pony shrugged them off, wincing as she stood up and began to inspect her surroundings. The sky was beginning to grow light, birds began whistling and Scootaloo felt  her spirits rising, just like the magnificent sun that was beginning to show. She was so exhausted and she knew she couldn't run yet. She'd have to lie low for a few days, luckily she had her saddlebag, she had a few apples and small loaf of bread she had managed to sneak.

In the light of the morning, Scootaloo could see that the tree, was a lot larger than she first thought, the space was large enough for the filly to stand up and walk about five paces, the cracks in the bark allowed the sunlight through, making it look quite beautiful. She wondered around this little secret place and was rather impressed she had managed to find such a good hiding spot. She ate one of the apples in just three large bites, she eyed the other one hungrily but shoved it back into her bag, not wanting to go hungry later.

Scootaloo was to afraid to leave her hiding place. She looked into her saddlebag, emptying the contents to admire and see her possessions again.

The first thing was a roughly sown doll that slightly resembled her hero: Rainbowdash, the stitches were messy, and the doll was stuffed unevenly, making it look rather strange. Scootaloo smiled, hugging the scruffy doll tightly. Sweetie Belle had sown this for her as a Christmas present, Scootaloo remembered her friend and tried to hold back the tears.

“No crying!” She told herself. “I'm getting back to Ponyville and my friends no matter what!”

She piked up and unfolded a crumpled crayon drawing, a perfect picture representation of herself, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.

“I can't believe Applebloom drew this for me when we were seven!....I can't believe it's been nearly four years now....”

Scootaloo looked down at her flank, although she was almost eleven, she still didn't have a cutiemark.

“I wonder if they have one yet?”

She wondered aloud, looking down at the smiling faces drawn so well by Applebloom.

Scootaloo gently folded the picture and marvelled over the few possessions she had.

She tenderly picked up a beautiful orange feather, it was her mothers and the only thing Scootaloo had from her home on the cloud. She rubbed the feather against her cheek whispering words to all that was left of her mother.

“I'll make you proud mummy... papa too”

She promised.

She pulled on a pair of goggles, Dash gave them to her for a birthday present. They almost fitted her now, she wrapped a red scarf rarity knitted for her on a cold day during winter wrap up,she sniffed the fabric. Trying to remember the beautiful perfumes her friends sister always smelled of.

She liked this outfit, and decided  that she wouldn't put the goggles or scarf back into her bag. She would wear them.

She tenderly wrapped the feather, the doll and the drawing in her cutiemark crusaders cape and tucked them back into her saddlebag, along with a few other things; a yoyo, a box of crayons, a maneclip and an empty bubblegum wrapper. Scootaloo could of thrown it away, but she loved to sniff the wrapper sometimes, it reminded her of the sweet taste, that she had hardly ever gotten a taste of in the last three years.

She picked up the last of her possessions: a journal given to her by Twilight Sparkle.

The pages where all blank and the cover was made of velvet. Scootaloo ran her hoof along the cover lovingly.

She had made her mind up. She ran over to her saddlebag and pulled out an old box of crayons.

She pulled out a blue one and wrote.

“This journal belongs to Scootaloo.age 11. Cutie Mark Crusader.

I have ran away from the orphanage and I am going to find my friends again, nothing can stop me, I'll find Ponyville again no matter what. I'll find Ponyville and my friends.

Or I'll die trying.”