A little foal, sitting in the corner of the room. She tries to wish the shouting away, to no avail. Her eyes are puffy and red, her mane unkempt. The moon tries to shine its light into the room, but is denied by the blinds that cover the windows, filling the room with shadows. The orange filly grasps to her pillow, forcing her eyes shut as her parents yelled furious remarks at each other from across the room.

She sits in the darkened corner, not being noticed, or simply being ignored. Whichever was worse, she could never decide. She just wanted the fighting to stop. Her house was a broken home. She was alone in her own zone again, trying to block out the rest of the world as chairs flew through the living room. But one can only keep up such a charade for so long.

She shrunk in her place as her father’s angry gaze turned to her, a cold feeling sweeping over her. The feeling only increased as he seized his screaming and started to trot over to her. “It’s no wonder our daughter is so useless!” he scolded back at her mother, causing the filly to hide her face in the pillow she was holding. Her father pulled her safeguard out of her arms, causing her to quickly crawl into the corner of the room, cowering in fear.

“Leave her out of this!” Her mother yelled from across the room. The filly looked up at him with fearful. watered eyes. It struck a chord of anger in his heart. “Stop looking at me!” he yelled. In the blink of an eye he brought his hoof to the filly’s head. She landed face first on the hardwood floor with a loud thud. The pegasus cowered in the corner, shielding herself with her wings, trying to suppress the pain in her eye.

She peered at her parents through the cracks in her feathers, tears rolling down her cheek, dripping down unto the floor. She didn’t speak, she didn’t dare to speak lest she anger them more. There was no where to run to. The only thing she could do was cower deeper into the corner, hoping that it would all just go away. Suddenly, the room started to shake violently as her vision went blurry. The hardwood floor underneath her body collapsed, sending a loud cracking noise through the room as small bits of wood flew through the air.

She found herself falling to the blackness below, screaming loudly all the while as she saw her house swiftly sail farther and farther away above her until it disappeared into the distance. Suddenly, her fall came to a halt as she felt herself fall into a deep pool of water, yet she could not see a thing. Her purple mane flowed softly through the water as she forced her eyes shut in fear.

The cold water stirred softly in her ears, freezing her to the bone. She felt the cold creep down her spine. Her eyes shot open wide as she started to run out of air, desperately gasping for breath, causing the frigid water to fill her lungs. Suddenly, a voice shook the air around her, causing the water shake violently. “At the bottom of the ocean even light must die..” it sounded like a whisper but it was loud enough to deafen her ears. The voice spoke one last time as her world went black. "The drowned god's heart is black ice.."

Scootaloo's eyes shot open, looking down at the white sheets below her as she screamed at the top of her lungs. Her scream turned to hasted panting, her shoulders rising and falling with her breath. The filly turned her gaze forward, looking at the slumbering unicorn that lied in the bed in front of her. Her breaths started to calm, as she examined the room. The room was surprisingly dark. White curtains covered the windows. The only sounds in the room where the filly’s shortened breaths, accompanied by an eerie silence.

Scootaloo lifted her head from the soft, silken covers as she raised herself from the floor. She stumbled clumsily on her hooves. She tiredly trotted towards the window, brushing the curtains aside with her hoof as she looked outside. It was late at night, the crescent moon hanging high in the black sky. Accompanied by the many stars that ruled the heavens. She averted her eyes down into the streets of Ponyville. Winter was nearing its end, only a thin, white blanket of soft snow remained. The street lights glowed dimly in the lonely night.

The pegasus turned her eyes to the clock that hung on the red-painted wall, but it was to dark to see as the starlight was still blocked by the curtains. She trotted back towards Sweetie Belle’s bedside, letting her head hit the blanket as she dropped on her haunches, her forelegs resting on the bed in front of her. Suddenly, the events of her nocturnal adventure returned to her mind. She forced her eyes shut, trying to suppress the memories as she often did. But something was different this time. No matter how hard she tried, she could not block the thoughts that haunted her head.

The apathy was replaced by an overwhelming sadness. Tears started to escape her eyes, rolling down unto the bed, staining the sheets. She grasped the blanket with her hooves, causing the covers to shift slightly. She raised her head from the bed, putting her hooves to her head as she sighed in defeat. The filly got back up on all fours and started to trod towards the door. “I need to get some air..” she whispered sadly.

Scootaloo nudged the hospital door open, causing the icy breeze to flow through the darkened lobby. She shivered slightly in the cold before proceeding outside. The sound of her hooves hitting the thin snow filled the air around her as she examined her surroundings. Subtle snowflakes started to dance past her head, disappearing into the cobblestone floor.

She took in a deep breath of the cold, evening air before she continued her lonesome march. Even though her wounded, black eye had healed quite a bit since for unfortunate disagreement at school, she was still having some trouble seeing anything in the dimly lit streets. She groaned angrily as she thought back at it now. “Why can’t they just leave me alone!” she exclaimed.

After a few minutes of stumbling through the thin snow, she found herself on a lonely hill looking out over Ponyville. Deciding that this was as good as any, she allowed her legs to give in to the exhaustion. Her body dropped into the snow, sending a cold chill through her spine. she rested her chin in the snow, her belly touching the grass.

She looked out over the humble town of Ponyville standing in the night, a few dwindling lights remained in the distance. Scootaloo closed her eyes as she allowed the memories to enter her mind. She felt so.. scared, so hopeless. “I thought I was past this..” she sobbed in a hurt tone as tears rolled down her cheeks.

A few years ago this was all she knew, travelling from town to town, stealing to survive. She couldn’t remember the actual day that she was abandoned, it was a blur in her mind. “Abandoned..” the word echoed through her head. She thought back at how she used to talk down on herself. How she used to blame herself for everything that had happened. She could never be good enough for her parents, no matter how hard she tried they were always disappointed.

This repeated itself until the disappointment was all she knew. What kind of child goes against her parents after all? Adults always speak the truth.. right? She was, as her father would so cruelly call her, useless. Looking back at it now, she wondered how she could have been so naive. There were a million things that she wanted to say to her parents now, but they weren’t around. She had no idea where they were or what they were doing but she found herself no longer caring.

She did however, remember the day that she found the town of Ponyville. How could she not? It was her dearest memory after all. She stared into the snowy landscape before her. Suddenly the weather turned from snow to rain, dripping down unto the filly’s head, flowing down her short mane, sending raindrops into the white lands below. Everything about it reminded her of that faithful day. The day that she met her..

The young filly stumbled through the snow, broken and exhausted from a day of travel. She could never stay too long in one town or the residents would get suspicious. The hunger started to take its toll on her body. her destination was the dwindling light of a rural town that shined in the distance. She sighed as she continued her lonesome march through the snowy hills, knowing that her stay would only be temporary.

Suddenly, she felt a single drop of rain fall on her muzzle, dripping down her face before dropping down into the snow. She looked up at the sky, it was filled with thousands of stars, gleaming in the sky. She shrugged it off as nothing and turned her gaze forward once more, slowly making her way towards the town.

She was tired, no, exhausted from the trip that seemed to last forever. she could barely stand on her hooves, shaking in the snow. She blinked as another raindrop touched her face. “Not now..” she thought as she looked up at the darkened sky once again. The rain started to drizzle down on the lands, hitting the filly’s face. The pegasus winced in the cold air, shielding her face with her wing as she continued her march with a look of determination in her eyes.

The rain got more violent with each passing second. Drenching the filly’s coat, sending chills down her spine. “So.. cold..” she though to herself. But she couldn’t stop now, not while she was so close to her destination. She would have to make it to the town, and find a place to sleep in somepony’s barn. The sound of the rain, raging down upon the land, filled her ears, silencing any other sound that was present in the cold night.

After a few harsh minutes of walking, she entered the snowed down town’s center. Several stands from yesterday’s market were still lined up in the darkened square. She could see dim lights shining from the store’s windows. With the weather still in her ear, she desperately started to look for shelter from the cold rain. She ran past the darkened corners of the town, looking for any suitable place to spent the night, but to no avail.

After what seemed like an eternity of running through the icy snow, her legs started to tire. She sighed as she allowed herself to drop down into the cold snow, the rain still pouring down her body. Tiredly, she curled up into a sleeping position, shielding herself with her wings. Her feathers would have to keep her warm tonight.. She slowly closed her eyes as she let out a tired yawn, trying her best to ignore the cold rain still pouring down on her head.

So there she lied, in the middle of the town’s square, resting in the snow as her wings shielded her from the rain, the dim street lights shining down on her body. She could have sworn that she heard the faint giggling of a filly in the distance, but simply took it as her tired mind playing tricks on her, seeing as the only thing that one could hear that night was the raging storm.

She allowed apathy to take control of her mind as she drifted into sleep. “Sweetie Belle! Get back inside this instant!” The filly’s ears perked at the sound. She opened her eyes slightly, still lying in the snow. She looked around but she couldn’t see anypony. “Must have been my imagination..” she yawned, closing her eyes once again.

“I don’t have time for this young lady!” This time the voice was accompanied by a filly’s loud, careless laughter. The pegasus decided to just ignore it. She shifted sluggishly in the snow, trying to find a suitable sleeping position. The strange giggling became louder and louder, this time accompanied by two sets of hooves, stamping in the snow.

She couldn’t help but open her eyes once more as the sound of hooves hitting the ground came strangely close to her. Her eyes shot open wide in surprise as she saw a young filly charge in her direction. Before she could move the filly tripped over her, falling down into the ground with a loud thud as her hoof hit the pegasus’ head.

The pegasus put her hoof to her head, trying to suppress the pain. “Oh my gosh! Are you ok!?” The pegasus groaned in response as she raised herself from the snowy floor. “Yeah I-” a sight that she could never hope to see greeted her as she opened her eyes. In front of her stood a young unicorn with a pure white coat. Her mind went blank as she stared into the filly’s bright, emerald eyes. The unicorn wore the most heart-warming smile on her face that she had ever seen. “I...” she mumbled.

“Lost your tongue?” the filly giggled. “My name’s Sweetie Belle. Pleased to meet you!” she smiled. The pegasus was at a loss for words. She just stood there, staring into filly’s eyes, loosing herself in their color. Suddenly, a larger unicorn trotted to their side, panting heavily as if she had been running for ages. “Sweetie Belle! You come with me right now you-” The unicorn turned her gaze to the shivering pegasus. “Who’s this?” she asked.

The pegasus couldn’t avert her gaze from the giggling filly. “S-Scootaloo.. M-my name is Scootaloo.” she managed to stutter. The rain was still pouring down on their heads, dripping down the pegasus’ wet mane.

“Why are you out here all alone so late at night? Aren’t your parents worried about you?” she asked, the dim street lights shining down on the three. “Where do you life?” she said, causing the filly to turn her gaze upward, looking into the older unicorn’s face with watered eyes.

“I.. I’m lost and I can’t find my house.” she said. She didn’t want to lie but she simply had to. The unicorn gasped in surprise.

“So you sleep in the frigid rain!?” she exclaimed. “Absolutely not! You’re coming with us. We can help you find your home tomorrow. The pegasus’ eyes shot open in amazement. She looked up at the unicorn, on the verge of tears. “Really Rarity!? Can she?” The younger unicorn exclaimed as she looked up at her sister.

“R-really?” The pegasus asked in amazement, her throat dry from the tears that were forming in her eyes. She tried to stay strong, but to no avail. She winced in disbelief as she looked down into the snow, a single tear rolling down her face.

Scootaloo stumbled through the hospital's entrance. The sound of the raging wind got silenced the moment she closed the heavy door behind herself. She sneaked past the nurse, slumbering at her desk. Making her way towards Sweetie Belle’s room. She carefully nudged the door, causing it to slowly shift open, revealing the dark of the room.

She stumbled tiredly towards the side of the bed, before she climbed on top of it, shifting underneath the blankets. A happy sigh escaped her muzzle as she felt the soft, silken covers brush past her coat. She shifted closer to the unicorn lying next to her, wrapping her arms around the sleeping filly as she smiled contently.

Suddenly, she felt the unicorn struggle in her arms. “Not again..” she whispered as she opened her eyes to see the Sweetie Belle, violently kick her legs into the air, sweating from head to hoof as she she quivered in fear. Scootaloo tightened her hold over the restless unicorn in an attempt to calm her down. “I’m here for you Sweets..” she whispered. “I won’t let anyone hurt you..”Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

She grasped the filly even tighter, bringing her muzzle to Sweetie Belle’s ear. “Hush now, quiet now. It’s time to lay your sleepy head.. Hush now, quiet now. It’s time to go to bed.” she sang in a soft tone. She remembered how her friend used to sing the song to her and Apple Bloom when they couldn’t sleep at sleepovers. The thing that she adored most about her joyful friend was her beautiful voice. She could only describe it as.. angelic..

“Drifting off to sleep, an exciting day behind you..” she smiled as she felt the filly’s quivering come to a halt. “Drifting off to sleep, let the joy of dreamland find you..” she softened her hold over Sweetie Belle as the unicorn returned to a blissful sleep. “Hush now, quiet now..” she yawned. “Lay your sleepy.. head..”