Scootaloo waited outside of the place she could hardly call her home. She stared at the shack's run down door; the only thing calling to her was the little shelter it provided and her blanket that would protect her from the stinging cold of the night. She held out as long as she could but eventually the frigid air overwhelmed her and she pushed herself into the shack.
Peaking inside, Scootaloo was relieved to see her father nowhere in sight. "Probably passed out somewhere again." She thought to herself as she trotted towards her small room, looking forward to a peaceful night in the comfort of warm bed. Upon reaching the open doorway of her room she froze at the sight of the fat orange Pegasus sitting on her bed.
Her father rose from her bed, she suddenly remembered what day it was as he approached her. It was the anniversary of her mother's death. It was the day in which her father would act out worse than usual did.
"H-hi d-dad." Scootaloo whimpered.
The Pegasus grumbled, "Where've you been you useless half-wit? You know what time it is?"
"I'm s-sorry, I lost track of time…"
"Of course you did. You should be glad your mother isn't here to see how worthless you are." The Pegasus thought back longingly at the long passed memories which began to fuel his anger and hatred, "You couldn't even keep track of your wings if they weren't attached to you."
Scootaloo backed away from the approaching pony, "I miss her too…"
"Don't you say you miss her." Her father snarled at her, "She'd still be alive if it weren't for you."
The words stung at Scootaloo and finally something inside her snapped. "I didn't do anything to her!" she blurted out instantly regretting her decision to argue back.
He growled, stepping closer, "You killed her!"
Scootaloo backed further away until she backed into the wall. As the pony came ever closer, frightened, she silently wished Raven Flame were here. Angry and afraid she cried out, "I did not! Mom was sick, she killed herself!"
"You made her sick, it's your fault she is gone!" Her father roared with fury as he lifted one of his stubby front hooves. With a single powerful swipe to her skull, the filly fell to the ground, slipping out of consciousness and into her dreams.
A slender yellow pony walked through the damp grass towards the sound of rushing water. Riding on her back a tiny orange filly, "Mom, where are we going?" the filly squeaked. The pony shushed her but said nothing else. She eventually came to a stop at a rapidly flowing river.
"We're going to go for a little swim now sweetie." The yellow pony said gently.
The filly looked at the fierce river, "In that? I can't even swim!"
"Shh, it'll be okay." The pony grabbed hold of the filly, dragging her towards the riverbank and into the water.
The filly struggled to pull away, "Mom you're scaring me, I want to go home now!" she cried as the cold water rushed past her hooves.
"Don't worry, it'll all be over soon Scootaloo." The pony cooed just before diving into the water, submerging the both of them. Once reaching the bottom of the river, she clutched the still struggling filly and hugged her tightly.
Water began to fill Scootaloo's nostrils, squirming desperately she broke free from her mother's grasp. She flailed her legs awkwardly, slowly pushing herself back up towards the air. Almost near the water's surface when her hoof got tangled in a net. She prodded weakly at the rock weighing down the net that held her.
Just as the light in her eyes began to fade, a hoof grabbed at her. The hoof pulled at her, yanking her free of the net and out of the water. Before exhaustion overtook her, she looked up to find a blue coated Pegasus with a shining rainbow mane taking her back towards land.
Scootaloo sat up and began to cough loudly, her mind still trying to clear the water that filled her lungs in her dreams. She looked around to find her father had placed her back in her bed after the assault to her head which ached dully. Held awake by an almost paralyzing fear, she grabbed her pillow and hugged it tightly.
She prayed silently once again that her father would simply let her be until the morning sun came up once again. She rocked herself back and forth for hours trying to keep calm. Finally she heard the familiar noise of wobbling hoofsteps followed by the sound of the shack's door opening and then shutting.