Let us fast forward a bit... i do believe you've gotten the point that Fox's family was quite a happy one. It stayed that way for about two years, give or take a few seconds, and that's where we'll be picking this story up again.
The night was rather quite peaceful, as was often the case for Canterlot nights when there was no major function going on up in the Royal Palace. The moon shone down brightly on the beautiffic scene of a city at rest. The street lights cast pools of light amidst the otherwise silvery shadowed streets, the ponies were all at rest in their beds. On the other side of the city there was a rave going on, but that's neither here nor there really, dubtrot while twenty percent cooler than your average music wasn't something that appealed to everyone... Ahem, back on topic here... This stillness (on the side of town on which you should be focused... No watching the laser light show that Vinyl was using to accentuate her music when theres a story going on please) was perfect and absolute in its peacefulness. A peace that was rent as a cozy home near the outskirts of the city sudden burst into bright azure colored flames with a massive concussion of superheated air being displaced.
The boom was enough to rattle windows clear up to the palace (Though those ravers didn't notice because that boom happened just as Vinyl kicked off something with a seriously heavy drop) and startled more than a few ponies from their restful dreams. From picturesque nightscape of a city to overturned any mound in a matter of moments, thats a wonderful way to put what became of that peaceful night.
Canterlot's fire brigade was on the scene as quickly as it could manage to get there, which wasn't all that quick to be honest what with the crowds of half zombified ponies stumbling about the streets moaning out things like "Wazzat' noize?" or "hmmmuhhh?" So by the time they got there it was a bit late to do much of anything besides damage control. The unicorn members of the brigade, accomplished aquamancers and pyromancers one and all, got to work on taming the flames, flames that resisted their efforts with a gusto, devouring their magic like it was coard wood. After an hour's effort they were no closer to even attempting to put the fire out. Eventually the decision was reached to allow it to burn itself out.
By dawn the house of Dust was just that... Well more like ash, but the point stands. A once proud and welcoming home was now a pile of charred rubble still glowing a dull azure from the flames that were its doom... And the doom of two of the residents. The bodies of Dust and Dancer were recovered side by side, wrapped in one anothers forelimbs as they shared one last loving embrace before falling like chaff before Death's wings. Little Fox-Fyre on the other hoof was was sound asleep still, his horn flicking with faint blue flames and a much charred teddy bear clutched in his hooves.
That tragic accident, a magical surge of a rather destructive nature, robbed a little foal of his parents and forever marked him. No not with a cutie mark, but with the stigma of having been the reason two much loved ponies were dead and gone, their lives consumed in flame and lost forever. Ask anypony on the streets of Canterlot if the remember the Night of Ravenous Flames and you can be assured they're spit on the ground and curse that poor little foal who cost the city its best jewelers. A little foal who, so it seems, no one remembers bawling his eyes out as he was carried away from the charred remains of his home and given to the orphanage. A foal no one remembers as being frightened, confused, and most of all, alone for the first time in his short life.
A few years down the road.
"ROLE CALL!!!" rang out the voice of the matron, rousing the fillies and colts of the Little Garden o' Sunshine orphanage from their peaceful night's dreams and dragging them into the not so gentle embrace of a new day. There were no bright eyes or bushy tails here (sadly no squirrels either) save for one set of those things. Fox-Fyre was always quite happy to be awake it seemed. Granted he had reasons of his own for this, but he'd never told anypony and nopony had asked. The little silver unicorn stood at the foot of his freshly made bed, doing his best not to bounce in place at the pleasure of a new day full of opportunity to try and make a new (and first) friend. Besides, the matron hated it when he bounced, she said it reminded her of the pink devil she'd run into once.
The rest of the orphans were slow about getting into a similar position, and they all did so with much less cheer as a rather sever looking older unicorn mare came into the long bunk room that housed the foals. "Vrite... Let us get to zee vork zen children." she said, looking over a clip board that floated beside her. "Numbers von through cirteen, you are all on cleaning detail today. Fourteen through twenty, you are to vork on zee art projects for zee Princesses. Number zero, you are to continue with your normal job... Go and try NOT to kill anypony zis time you little demon." the matron, one Sweet Smiles, rattled off rapidly to her charges, glaring down at the only chipper face in the room.
Fox-Fyre was now eight years old, and the years had done little to change him in anything other than size. He was quite a lanky pony, a little taller than his fellow orphans and quite slender... Granted that was mostly due to mistreatment at the hooves his those around him. Other orphans got him to give them shares of his food. The caretakers ignored him unless it was to yell at him or tell him to do things, and ponies out on the streets would either spit at him or go out of their way to avoid him in violent ways... Tossed flower pots and the like. Fox took it all in stride. Mostly because he though it all it be some kind of game, a game he was fine with playing because it was all he could ever really remember. So its no wonder he just shrugged and went about his job... Following the head of the orphanage about in his spiky black collar and looking slightly murderous.
"Uncle" Shady Deals was a rather large earth pony who happened to live up to his name quite well, he was after all a don in the local branch of criminal elements. Was it any wonder this fellow liked to make use of the reputation of one little unicorn to ensure the cooperation of those who'd dare oppose him? Not really no. To Fox this was just another game. He looked mean for Uncle Shady, made the older ponies uncomfortable, and he got a cookie out of it. Seemed perfectly fine to him, sometimes Uncle would ask him to conjure little balls of flame, on those days he got two cookies and that was even better. He never had the heart to tell Uncle that it wasn't real fire, just an illusion... Fox Fires he called them, but the older ponies seemed to find them scary and it made his uncle happy so he did it anyways... Besides, the cookies were really worth it.
That was Fox's life for the last six years, wake up, wear a collar, look mean and stuff, get cookie, go get supper, go to bed, repeat. All in all, he liked it well enough... He just kind of wished that everypony would talk to him like his Uncle did. Uncle made him feel very welcome most of the time... Most of the time...