Greymane was suffering from a nightmare that was years old. He grunted in his sleep and when he did he would feel an odd warmth on his left hoof. The nightmare was always the same his parents would appear with those same sneers that drove him into a dark closet, so they could lock him in.

Dream Greymane "Pwease dada let me out i'll be goo."

The dream mother would respond disgusted with him "Greymane you must be able to take of yourself, you left me nothing but work and heart ache!"

The father would chip in " Greymane you been nothing but a disappointment, why can't you be more like bronze tail."

"I will try dada I promise pwease." Greymane's voice pleaded as his stunted legs floundered.

Character switch

Fluttershy heard the conversation, at least the part he spoke which indeed shocked her. Gilda had flown to the E'qu hospital with Fluttershy to drop off Greymane to be taken care of by the nurse's there. She left with an apology on her beak leaving the Pegasus alone with her new friend, who was having a nightmare. She would hold his hoof each time he grunted, she heard a few things about what he said giving her a tiny bit of insight about him.

Fluttershy's song

"Oh lonely spirit hear my call, I am here to see you."

"The night is long and cold, but I am here to see you."

"Oh lonely spirit of Everfree you do not need to be alone."

"You bear the strength of wolves but you howl with a sad moan."

"Please wake little fang, I am here to be a friend."

"The day is long and warm, It will never be the end."

"Oh lonely spirit, surely its better to be two."

"I have in hoof that is something new."

"you and I will be the whole moon."

Her song ended. she looked upon his sleeping form the nightmare has ended so she thought. The room was stark bare except for its necessary medical equipment. There was a single window with its shutters closed as if hiding the night from the sleeping occupant. Fluttershy felt the fatigue of the day wear on her body, letting her eye's slowly drift off to sleep. The room was dark as a cream colored mare with a blue tree on her nurse cap went and check on the patient. What she saw made her smile as two hooves laid intertwined, one mare sleeping in a chair while the stallion was snoring on the bed.

Character switch

Greymane felt at peace at least for this one moment he could feel his inner Timber slumbering in his heart. The stallion opened eye's staring into the sleeping face of a familiar Pegasus. She was drooling onto his hoof while simultaneous holding that very hoof causing him to blush. His manners kicked in finally telling him this is no proper way a colt should act around a filly dropping her hoof gently. His stomach rumbled which caused him to survey his surroundings.

"What is this!" he nearly yelled at the walls of the room.

"Mmm mm." Fluttershy sleepy voice cracked into a mumble.

"This is not right I am not at the castle, how can they find me if I am not there." Greymane spoke partially sleepily with a growing fear.

"Uh Greymane hmm you awake?" Fluttershy finally opened both of her eye's to see a trembling stallion sitting up in his bed.

His ghostly eye turned slowly to look at her, his iris seemed to be dilating. Fluttershy broke through her slumber as she tightened her hoof around his that was shaking.

"I must go home if I am not there how will I know." he spoke with a foalish voice.

Fluttershy could sense an urgency in his voice and she replied "Greymane you are not well please lay down you need to rest."

His eye's were out of focus clutching at the blanket with his right hoof he replied with nothing. The nurse from last night walked in carrying her medical bag and looked at the two of them.

"What's wrong?" the nurse asked with a tinge of worry.

"He awoke and started talking rapidly about being home." Fluttershy said as she squeezed his hoof.

"Hmm you do not have to worry Greymane I took the liberty to contact your parents with a Pegasi carrier." she said reassuringly.

"Your parents?" the timid Pegasus asked.

His ears perked and he asked "They are coming, does that mean I am a good boy now?"

The nurse shook her head "Yes they are coming they told me to keep you here, did you know you have been missing for quite few years now Greymane."

Fluttershy looked at the nurse and then back shivering stallion "Are you ok Greymane you look a little pale."

Greymane head lurched as he wretched on the floor beside him. He could feel his body tremble with either fear or excitement he couldn't tell which. The nurse sighed as she could for an assistant to help her take care of the mess. Fluttershy wasn't sure of this development or the sudden change in Greymane's behavior who seemed to be teetering on edge.

Then a question hit her "What do you mean he has been missing?"

"Well it seem's the parents of this stallion here claimed there child had gone missing, a run away I think they said." The nurse replied as she used her unicorn powers to levitate the puke into a bucket.

Greymane looked at the both of them and spoke one word "Home."

After that Greymane sat on the bed, withdrawing from the world as his parent's would come for him. A sudden thought hit him they claimed he run away from home. Fluttershy attempted to get his attention but to no avail and decided to leave him to his rest. The pink maned Pegasus flew out of the window and toward's Rarity new shop Mod Camo.

Rarity was having a nice cup of tea as she watched her darling sister set about opening the store for the day. The tea was a Blue Baltimore blend that could easily tease the taste bud's. The marshmallow closed her eye's slowly as she reveled in this simple task of drinking a beverage. A voice was heard outside the shop with a tinge of urgency in it surprising Rarity.

"Rarity are you in there, Rarity!" came the worried voice.

"Yes dear, in the kitchen drinking this fine tea." came Rarity unflappable voice.

Character switch

Rarity was observing her dear friend Fluttershy who seems to be nervous as she ran her hooves through her mane repeatedly. She took in her friends appearance who is usually well groomed, but in this light, tsk she has branches in her mane as her thoughts processed in her head. Rarity gently pushed a tea cup of the blended tea towards her friend as she smiled genuinely with concern.

"What ever is the matter my dear, you can tell me." Rarity purred with curiosity.

"Um its hm well its about Greymanes." Fluttershy stuttered still feeling nervous.

"Ah the pretentious Greymane family, they only got to their nobility because of an ancient warrior lineage." Rarity pondered why Fluttershy would be interested in them.

"Warrior bloodline that is wonderful, do you know more about them?" She asked her nervousness vanishing from sight.

"What's this about my dear Fluttershy does someone in the Greymane family have your attention," she giggled as she followed through "or perhaps they have a interesting critter in their possession."

She covered her muzzle with her hoof and said "I think I have a friend with that family."

Rarity nearly dropped her teacup and spoke bluntly "Is it Bronze Tail that handsome stallion who can take on a battalion of changelings?"

She still babbled with excitement "It could be the dashing father who is always helping the charities in Fillydelphia or Baltimare."

Fluttershy held her hoof up in order to quiet her dear friend "I want to know the family history of the Greymane's especially about the young brother Greymane."

Rarity raised an eyebrow but spoke with ease "My dear there is not much known about the youngest foal of the house hold bu.."

"Surely there is something, anything will do please Rarity." she flapped her wings erratically.

Rarity held her hoof in silence and then spoke "What I was gonna say was not much is known, because the parents never let the foal leave the house claiming illness of the child and that he must stay home."

Fluttershy slowly would nod her head at each statement "What was the illness?"

"Well the rumors very quite a bit but I did investigate a bit a few years ago out of curiosity you see." she smiled as her demeanor changed slightly into that of a detective or perhaps it was the new hat she put on.

Her wings kept flapping, hovering above the chair in suspense as she listened in. A door chimed as an earth stallion walked in and was greeted by Sweetie Belle. The two talk for a few moments at the door before the young filly guided him towards the jacket section of the store. Rarity shifted her gaze upon the potential customer and measured his size in a few seconds giving herself a rough idea what she might have to craft for him.

"During my investigations I have discovered that the foal was severely deformed at birth," she lowered her eye's with sympathy as she spoke "and the Greymane's were ashamed of this offspring of theirs."

Her voice rose as she continued on her eye's turning into a glassy texture "So the claims were lies, they kept him home out of shame."

Fluttershy felt something hit home as she remembered the few times they have met. He seemed fine but at the same time, like something was definitely wrong with him, she couldn't put a hoof on it. Then the question sprang to her mind the very one the nurse spoke about with her at the hospital.

"How was it possible for him to runaway Rarity how bad was his body?" she asked knowing she feared the answer.

"It was impossible for him to runaway Fluttershy, his legs were nearly crippled and his left eye was pronounced blind by the doctor." she said as a tinge of fear crept into her words.

"How is it possible for him to runaway, How!" Fluttershy felt anger as she slammed her hoof on the table.

Rarity surprised by her friends outburst only sipped her tea. She waited patiently as her friend held her hooves together with an apology on her lips. Rarity loved her friend Fluttershy dearly for she was an honest mare, who had a hard time explaining her feelings. But today it seem's something important was on her mind and she wanted to know what it was.

"It's not, my dear they lied again but no knew the truth for he was never found," Rarity was tapping her hoof on the table "But one such pony did try, at least once a year his older brother Bronze Tail would search on the day he went missing."

"Did he ever succeed Rarity?" she asked knowing full well the answer to her own question.

"No not once, He did find other lost foal's but never did he find his brother," She wiped a tear from her eye as she spoke "But he still does search every year and with any information he can get."

Fluttershy hovered over the table to give her a friend a hug realizing this very question had plague her for years. The hug was soft as the two mares squeezed each other relieving a tiny bit of stress from their lives. She hovered back over the chair and sat in its cold wooden embrace to look her friend in the eye. The door bell chimed again as Applejack trotted in with a basket of golden delicious apples for Rarity.

"Y'all hungry got lunch here." Applejack said with a bright smile.

The three mare's shared an afternoon of lunch and affections as they shared experiences of the past. Applejack simply listened in with as she tipped her hat with a nod at the conversation. Unbeknownst to them the parents were nearly there using a Pegasi carrier to speed them on there way.

Two bickering ponies one was green with red flecks upon her face and the other was brown with yellow mottling upon his flank. The two seemed to be arguing or plotting it was hard for the carriers to tell.

"Impossible, how could he survive that horrible night sweetie." bemoaned the mother as the tapped her hooves.

"This cannot be true, my love but we must make sure." grumbled the father as he took another bite out of his hay bar.

"Bah, it's a lie for sure so tell me of your charities in those cities my sweet." her eye's were hollow but her words was thick with honey.

"So simple these ponies spread a little money here and there." he made motions with hooves as if he was dropping money on the floor.

He then further added " So yes, my love these ponies don't know a thing about what I am planning."

He patted the thick book next to him that had a red cover with interlocking horns as its main center piece. The mother eyed the book with a strategic respect as she stroked her jeweled bracelet in quiet contemplation. The mottled stallion grinned as he took another bite out of the hay bar while he lovingly stroked his belly with mutual satisfaction.

Author's Note

Just writing another selfish story.