Scootaloo watched as the dirt and rocks of the trail passed beneath her, only looking up ever so often to confirm her location. She listened to the sound of the dirt crunching beneath the wheels of her scooter, counted the number of large rocks she missed, paced out each kick as her left hind leg thrust her ever onward. Her chin rested on the handlebar as she rolled through town, her thoughts adrift.

The school day had passed quickly, far too quickly for her taste. She may not have particularly enjoyed the work given to her, but she did enjoy the time she got to spend with her friends. The fun and antics that she and the girls got up to were always the highlights of her day. Even though things seemed to end on a bit of a sour note today, she still had fun. Helping Applebloom into that dress had been a bit girly sure, but it was still fun. Seeing Spike's face when he saw her, that had been hilarious! And waiting in anticipation for the moment when Applebloom would confess had been so exciting! Too bad the bell got in the way of that, but they all knew they were on a short-timer, and getting everything set up had eaten up a good chunk of that.

‘Well, if Sweetie hadn't been so insistent on the lip gloss and brushing through her coat two more times, we probably would have finished with enough time...' She pondered as her eyes drifted towards the clouds, instinctively trying to spy out a certain blue speedster. With no luck once more, she sighed and finally set her eyes forward, groaning as her small home came into view.

She wished that she could have gone back to Dimmed Star's, but if she had, then she knew exactly what she would come home to afterward. Her ears laid back against her head as she remembered the scolding she received from her father about staying out so late... She raised a hoof to her face, lightly brushing near her left eye and wincing at the pain it brought her. Bringing her hoof back down, she noted that just the barest hint of orange makeup had been collected there. She nodded solemnly, having more than once been appreciative of the makeup kit that Sweetie had gotten her last Hearth's Warming... If only she didn't have to use it for things like this...

'At least this time he partially missed.' She thought bitterly, the memory of his wild, drunken swing, still fresh in her mind. Sighing, she stopped kicking the ground beneath her, allowing her scooter to come to a slow stop as she had now made it to the front of her house. Biting her lip, she debating on taking the back door instead but shook her head at this.

'If he doesn't see me at least once, he'll get mad again...' Making her way through the gate, she rolled through the heavy grass and parked her scooter once more along the side of the house. Taking a deep and steadying breath, she opened the door and made her way inside, her heart filled with dread and anxiety.

The lights were off and the sound of a heavy snore could be heard echoing down the short entryway. She flinched at the noise, slowly closing the door behind her and making her way through the hall. Her nose scrunched up in disgust as she approached the living room, the smell of old booze and something she couldn't quite pinpoint, wafting through the musty air. Peeking around the corner, she found her adoptive father, a dark beige earth pony, asleep on his sofa with a bottle of dark liquid sitting in the hole that had been carved out in the arm. Many more bottles were scattered about the coffee table, along with plates that were covered in half-eaten food. The floor of the room had been carpet at one point, but after a stain of alcohol and some arguing, it had been ripped up with a kitchen knife, leaving only the bare wood that was covered in the tacks that had held the carpet in place. She could still see several portions of the old red cloth, memories of days when she would have been sitting on it reading adventure stories with her mom played in her head...

Taking careful steps into the room, she maneuvered her way through the mess of garbage, before reaching her father's chair. Her mouth was dry and she felt the heavyweight of fear in her chest.

"D-dad?" She tried in a whisper, her voice cracking slightly as she instinctively flinched back, expecting a response. The only thing to return was a particularly loud snore. She would have found it funny if she wasn't so scared.

"Da-daddy?" She tried again, her voice only slightly above a whisper this time. Still, he did not respond, leaving her with her final and most dreaded option.

Taking a deep breath for strength, she leaned forward and carefully placed a trembling hoof on his foreleg, shaking it slightly as she raised her voice.

"Dad!" The reaction was immediate as his bloodshot eyes shot open and he fumbled into wakefulness. Scootaloo quickly snatched her hoof away and backed up to the edge of the coffee table, her tail between her legs and her ears laid back as she watched in worry. Brutus slowly came cognitive as he looked around, his eyes finally settling on the filly before him.

"Wha..." He seemed to still be mostly out of it.

"I-I was just letting you know that I'm h-home." Scootaloo spouted quickly, hoping to take advantage of his sleepy state and still get away with him having seen her at least once. She turned and tried to trot her way out of the room before he could fully wake, a glimmer of hope in her chest.

"Ey!" That hope died as quickly as it had been born, bringing her to stop in her tracks, panic rising. Turning slowly to look him in the eyes, her father would always get angry if she didn't look him in the eyes.

"Y-yes?" Her voice cracked once more as she awaited his orders. He blinked at her carefully for a moment, before his eyes trailed over to the half-empty bottle of booze, it had obviously been sitting there for a while.

"Bring me another..." She nodded quietly, turning and finally rushing from the room as he slumped back into his chair.

Her heart pounding in her chest, Scootaloo made her way to the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out a cold bottle of her father's choice addiction. As she turned and kicked the door closed, her eyes landed on the sink, filled with more dishes. Her eyes glazed over for just a moment as she imagined pulling the top off of the bottle and pouring its contents down the drain, imagining things going back to how they used to be afterward.

Her mother, a bright red pegasus with a short cut mane of yellows and golds, struggling as she tried not to laugh with her mouth full of food. Her father making funny faces and sounds using the various vegetables on his plate, doing his best impression of a walrus while Scootaloo herself would guffaw at his antics. A happy and loving family...

She blinked as her vision swam with tears, washing away the fantasy and returning her to the dirty and downtrodden mess that awaited her in reality. Blinking away the tears and sniffing, she gripped the cold bottle in her teeth and made her way back to the living room, her father didn't like waiting.

Once she made it back with the drink, she was elated to find that her father had actually fallen back to sleep. Creeping into the room, she carefully placed the bottle on the edge of the coffee table, before turning tail and rushing back into the hall and up the stairs along the side. As she trotted up to the second floor, she slowed her pace a bit, her excitement of being able to avoid her father for a second-round subsiding as she now had to slowly make her way past their bedroom where her mother slept.

She wasn't sure what her parents did for a living to make money, but she knew that her mother liked to gamble most of it away. It had started just a few years after the adoption, that much was certain, but everything truly went downhill when she fell into debt with people that she couldn't pay...

Scootaloo made her way past the room, its door closed tight thankfully, so there was no risk of her being spotted should her mother wake suddenly. Releasing a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, Scootaloo grinned at her luck and made her way into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Her room was more barren than one would expect of a young filly, but that was because most of what she had owned had been sold off by her father to cover her mother's debts. The only things she was allowed to keep were her bed, a box of broken or unwanted toys, a small desk with a mirror, and her scooter. Trotting over to the bottom side of the bed, she raised her ears and listened intently, making sure that no pony was up or heading her way. Having confirmed that she would not be bothered, she struggled as she lifted the mattress' bottom end on her back, before gripping a small case, hidden beneath the mattress, in her teeth and pulling it out. Her small treasure retrieved, she lowered the mattress back in place and trotted over to the desk, her eyes carefully examining herself in the mirror.

To anypony else, she looked rather normal, her fur bright and her eyes sparkling, but she could see far past that. Opening a drawer, she pulled out a bottle of water and a washrag, placing them on the desk as she opened the small case. Inside were an assortment of brushes and small bottles and vials of makeup, the kit that Sweetie Belle had provided to her had become Scootaloo's greatest treasure. It allowed her to live a normal life outside of this place.

Taking the rag and bottle, she unscrewed the cap and soaked the article of cloth, before softly dabbing it around her left eye. A large, dark bruise slowly came into view as the makeup of the day was removed. She flinched as she pressed too hard in one spot, causing a spike of pain to shoot through her face. She paused for a moment, allowing it to pass, before returning to her work. Once her eye was clean, she moved to another part of her body... then another... then another.

This process always took some time, and she was always thorough. She had tried leaving the makeup on one time, trying to carry it over to another day, only to discover that it was a rather cheap set that wasn't intended for extended use. It had begun melting off of her soon into the day and she had to rush from school with a lie of illness to keep her secret hidden. It was better to clean it off at the end of the day and replenish it again the next.

'I wonder what Dimmed Star is doing?' She thought idly to herself as she scrubbed at the makeup. She imagined that Spike and Dimmed Star would be curled up together like they were every afternoon at this time, working on schoolwork, before being treated to a hot meal by Pinkie Pie. The jubilant mare popping in every now and again to bring a smile to their faces. She sighed as she closed her eyes, remembering the past week in bliss. She missed the banter she would always share with Spike and he and she would take jabs at one another, or simply try to help each other with their work. The disapproving, yet caring stares of Dimmed Star as she often tried to get them to focus more and stop fooling around so much. The smile on the mare's face whenever Scootaloo would proudly show her a problem that she had solved on her own, and the joy she felt in her heart at such a smile. She felt so warm in those moments, so at peace.

A trail of tears graced her cheeks, the cold liquid startling her from her reverie and bringing her once more back to the present, where the image of her that stared back was far from warm. Her bright purple eyes were dull and sullen from lack of sleep, the large bruise covering her left eye only accenting the dark bags beneath. several more bruises ran the length of her body, under her wings, across her back, and on her flanks. A few small lines of pink flesh crisscrossed here and there, fur no longer growing where gashes had been forced to heal without stitches. She tightened her wings along her side, despite the pain it caused, in an attempt to hide her ribs that could easily be seen without the aid of makeup. Her stomach grumbled quietly, but she ignored it like always.

She knew she wasn't as bad off as she could have been, she did actually get to eat after all. But it was only once a day since her parents were budgeting money to cover both debts, alcohol, and more gambling...

Often she could get a decent enough meal, but as a growing filly her body required far more than what she was given, and so it came to this. It only made the... punishments... worse... Standing on her hooves, she turned herself around as she watched the mirror carefully, keeping an eye out for anything she might have missed, before nodding and stashing both the rag and the bottle back in the desk. Pulling out the vials of makeup, she popped open a few of the caps and stared in trepidation at the low amounts left, biting her lip in worry.

'I can't just ask Sweetie for more, as far as she knows I've never even touched this.' She glanced between the many colors, wondering if she could combine a few to make more of the same color. Just as she was reaching for a brush to try, a loud crash came from downstairs, followed by a barrage of curses.

"Where is that damn brat!?" Her father's voice echoed up the hall, followed quickly by his heavy hoof steps. Panicking, Scootaloo threw the vials and bottles back into the case and stuffed it into her saddlebags, before yanking her closet open and pulling out an old grey hoodie. She counted the heavy steps as she pulled it over her head and down her torso, pushing her wings through holes on its back and hiding the bulk of the bruises, her father didn't like looking at them. She turned back to the door just as it was thrust open, the seething stallion bearing down on her with a face of absolute fury.

"Do you have any idea of what you've done!?" He screamed, gripping her right ear in clenched teeth. She released a yelp of pain, begging for him to let go as he forcibly dragged her out of the room, her mother standing groggily in the hall and glaring at them.

"What did she do this time Brutus?" She demanded, her eyes narrowing on the filly as she cried helplessly, blood beginning to leak from where the stallion's teeth were clenched too tightly into the flesh. He glared back but did not answer as he made it to the stairs and dragged the filly down them.

"P-please daddy! L-let go-o-o!" Scootaloo squealed, her body trembling and terror in her eyes. Brutus surprisingly did as she asked, but not in the manner that she would have expected. Rearing back, he flung her forward, sending the filly sprawling into the living room with a scream of pain, the top half of her right ear having ripped and now dangled by a thin piece of flesh. Blood poured over her face as she screamed in pain, tears blinding her. Brutus strode to her and grabbed the back of her head with a hoof, before forcing it into the floor that was covered in spilled booze and broken pieces of glass, she screamed even louder.

"Do you see this!? Do you see what you did!? I told you to bring me a drink, not set it on the Celestia damned table!" Scootaloo cried helplessly, her ear in agony and the bits of glass that stabbed at her creating nicks and cuts in her neck and face. She tried to blink the tears from her eyes, begging her father to let go as she caught a glimpse of her mother at the bottom of the stairs.

"M-m-mommy! He-help me-e-e-e!!!" She pleaded desperately, hiccuping through her sobs and a hoof reaching out to her. Vibrant Glow watched the two of them, her eyes were nervous. Even for punishment, this was extreme. Brutus finally released the filly's head, kicking her in the side and sending her into the leg of the table, knocking the wind out of her and silencing her for a moment.

"I can't have one damn thing in this house!" He screamed in anger, turning on his wife now as she looked away and bit her tongue.

"All of my money is gone! Spent in some Goddess forsaken casino! A brat I have to feed because the thrice-damned orphanage is half a country away! Sold everything of value just to keep a roof over our heads!" He ranted, stomping around the two of them as Scootaloo struggled to breathe, coughing a small amount of blood and curling in on herself as she whimpered.

"I have one damn thing left to me, one! But I can't seem to have that anymore, can I Scootaloo!?" He turned once more on the helpless filly, the small and easy target. He gripped her tail in his teeth and dragged her away from the table, she screamed in fear and latched onto its legs, dragging it with her.

"Let go dammit!" He screamed as he struck out with a hoof, jabbing it's hard edge into her side and causing her to release the object with another scream of pain. In desperation, she kicked out hard with her back legs, just catching something with her hoof.

"Shit!" A cry of surprise and pain came from behind and she suddenly found herself free. Not looking back, she limped as fast as she could out of the living room and to the entryway, Vibrant Glow staring after her in shock.

"Get back here you little cunt!" Hearing him bearing down on her once more, Scootaloo ignored the pain in her gut and sprinted at the door, grabbing ahold to it just as he reached her. She gripped the handle, turning and yanking it open as he gripped her around the barrel.

"Let go of the damned door!" He yelled, pulling back tightly. Scootaloo felt something pop in her barrel and bit back a scream of absolute agony, turning it into drive as she lunged down and bit his leg hard, blood flooding her mouth.

"Fucking bitch!" Brutus shouted, releasing her and yanking his leg away, giving her the opening she needed. Bolting from the home, she spread her wings and let them buzz as quickly as possible, not enough to fly, but plenty to speed her up as she made her way out towards the edge of town and into the Everfree.

Spike sat with Dimmed Star as the two of them poured over his homework, a look of struggle upon his face, but not one induced by the current workload.

After the events of the school day, Applebloom had rushed home before he could have a chance to speak with her, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle trailing after with small excuses of having to head home early. As he made his way home, he kept thinking back on the events of lunch, still unsure how to proceed.

'What was she going to say?' He wondered as he thought back to when she had been interrupted. Remembering that moment also brought back the visual of the filly in her dress, her crimson mane shifting softly and the smell of caramel apples wafting to his nostrils. He inhaled deeply, hoping to keep that smell going.

"Spike, are you listening to me?" Dimmed Star's voice brought him back to the present, shaking him from his memories. Looking to his guardian and friend, he smiled sheepishly.

"Uh... yes?" She sighed in mild irritation.

"Is there something wrong? You've been out of it this whole evening. We've been at this for almost an hour now and it almost seems as though we haven't made any real progress because you keep getting distracted." She scolded as she pushed the school texts and papers out of the way and adjusting themselves so that they now sat across from one another, instead of Spike leaning against her side like he normally would.

Spike bit his lip in slight embarrassment as he suddenly found himself to be under scrutiny. How could he possibly tell Star about what happened with Applebloom? He didn't even know what happened! He mulled over his thoughts as Dimmed Star raised an eyebrow at his silence, waiting patiently for his answer.

He looked back down as he struggled to find some way to change the subject, his eyes landing on his claws that were clasped together, tracing slowly across their sharp edge, leading up to his scales. He lifted them closer to his face, partially examining them with more scrutiny than usual. His mind trailing back to the run-in with the two school bullies as their taunts and jibes echoed in his ears.

"Spike?" Dimmed Star's voice pulled him from his memories and back to the present, his eyes meeting her worried gaze. He took in her form, a pony form. Although he knew she was more than that now, she still looked like one of them. Biting his lower lip nervously, he became acutely aware of his sharper teeth, sharper than a pony's. Bowing his head once more, he lowered his claws into his lap.

"Star... am... am I a... p-pet?" At first, he got no answer, just a sharp intake of breath. He waited for a moment, expecting some form of response, only for the quiet to continue. Chancing a lookup, his eyes widened and he felt his cold blood freeze over.

Dimmed Star's eyes were wide, an expression bordering confusion and rage across her face as her mouth struggled to retain its normal shape even as the flesh split to reveal more of her jagged teeth. A black miasma had begun to slowly drift away from her body and he could hear the sounds of joints twisting from within her flesh. It terrified him.

"Who. Said. That?" She demanded as her eyes trained on him, the malice in her voice promising a painful end to those in her way. Spike trembled as he quickly shook his head, fighting back the urge to run.

"N-no pony! I promise! I-It was just, s-something I had been thinking about!" He quickly tried to diffuse her anger, jumping to his feet as he backed away. He didn't get far as a tendril of Ink lashed out from beneath the pillows that Dimmed Star had sat upon, the bright red and yellow cushions slowly turning black as her Ink began to fill the floor beneath her. She slowly rose to her hooves as the tendril snaked its way around Spike, making him sweat nervously as it slowly came to form a serpent with red eyes. It neither grasped nor touched him as it hissed softly, angling its long body to coerce Spike forward. He stumbled slightly, afraid as he came to a stop just before his guardian, his friend, and mentor.

"Do not lie to me, Spike… Somepony put that in your head. You have never once questioned anything of the sort, never once brought up the fact that you were different. You were raised to believe that you were equal, and you are equal. Somepony has infected your thoughts, and I. Will. Not. Have It!!" She hissed venomously, the candles that kept the home lit in the low afternoon light flickering as their warmth was overshadowed by her rage. Spike trembled even as the serpent that encircled him seemed to almost caress his scales, treating him as though he were made of glass.

'Oh Celestia what do I do!? She's gonna kill Diamond and Silver if I tell her!' He warred within himself, his mind racing frantically as he fought to think of something, anything that could quell the mare.

A frantic knocking on wood broke the tension in the air, startling the both of them. Light seemed to fill the room again as Dimmed Star's anger was put on hold for the moment, a ferocious growl vibrating in her throat as she forcibly called back her Ink within her hooves. Just as Spike breathed a sigh of relief, rushing towards the door past her, but not before she shot him a stern glare.

"This conversation is not over." Spike gulped audibly as he reached the entryway, pulling the door open.

"Hi Spiky!~" Pinkie's happy voice met his ears and he smiled back at the bright pink mare as she bounced her way inside. Dimmed Star raised an eyebrow at the mare, who stopped bouncing and suddenly seemed a bit more subdued under Dimmer Star's gaze.

"Hiya Dimmy, um, I wanted to apologize." Dimmed Star said nothing as she watched her, Pinkie taking this her cue to keep going.

"I didn't mean to cause so much trouble today, honest. I was just trying to help everypony be friends again. I guess I should have thought about it more..." She lowered her head slightly, before finding herself in a surprisingly warm embrace. She blinked as she looked to see Dimmed Star was hugging her.

"It's okay Pinkie, I know what you were trying to do and I appreciate it. But they have to come to me on their own terms if they want forgiveness." Leaning back from her friend, Dimmed Star gave the mare her best, most reassuring smile.

"Much like you did." Pinkie beamed back brightly, almost vibrating in place, before she jumped forward and grasped the mare in another hug, knocking the wind out of her.

"Yay! We're friends again! Oh, I can't wait to tell the Cakes! They've been so worried about me because I've been all sad and mopey and-" Dimmed Star barely listened to the mare as she looked past the fluffy pink mane to glare at Spike, who was laughing uproariously at her current situation.

'Ugh, the things I do for my friends...' Dimmed Star thought with irritation, before smiling to herself.

Author's Notes:

Dimmed Star/ Twilight: " I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!"

Shaded: " YOU ALREADY HAVE!! TWICE!!"

Shaded runs off screen in terror while Dimmed Star and Twilight sprint after him with various weapons of war

Pinkie Pie: " Oh boy, he's done it now. Well in the meantime, I hope you bronies are having a great read! I know things are looking pretty sad right now, but hang in there! As a bonus, I'll do the disclaimer! Shaded Blood does not own MLP: FIM or the Equinox Ponies, if you are enjoying the story do us a Huuuuuge favor and give it a like! Oh and before I forget, a special thanks to Kuunlehti and dont forget to check out the Discord!"