[Author's notes: This is the first copy, and in saying that, it has not been proof read. However if you find] [something that just doesn't make sense, please let me know, making sure to include a quote.]
On her way home, and after spending the remainder of the day with the wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash came across a small playground. She remembered spending ages playing there as a filly. Whilst half day dreaming, she noticed a young ashen grey stallion on the swing set...all on his own. Rainbow Dash decided to go and get a closer look at him, and as she did, she noticed how young he actually was. The lonesome colt looked no older than Ranbow herself.
"Um...hey, are you okay?" Rainbow said as she cautiously edged nearer. "H...Hello? Wh..what's your name? I'm Rainbow-"
Rainbow Dash found herself roughly five feet away from the depressed colt when suddenly...
"Ash Saphire."
Dash Jumped as she suddenly realised the creepy looking pegasus had just spoken
"Exuse me?" She questioned, trying to calm herself a little
"You asked my name. It's Ash Saphire." He repeated.
"Oh! Um...th...thanks." Rainbow Dash was trying to hide the concern in her voice. "I...Is something wrong?"
"Well, techincally no. Everything has been the same as it always was, for years. It's just..." Ash finally looked up, swinging his short, dark brown mane as he did. "Sorry, I'm not trying to be rude, but why am I telling you this?"
Somehow, Dash was even more takenback than before.
"Well...I...Umm..."
"Relax..." Ash began looking down between his hooves again. "It was a rhetorical question."
Dash let out a thankfull sigh.
"Wait, were you trying to come up with a legitimate excuse?" Ash looked at Rainbow with a concerned look, and his head tilted to one side.
"Well..."
Ash tried to hold back a giggle, causing it to sound like a snort
"Anyway..." Dash began, looking a little confused. "What brings you out here? It's almost dark." Her eyes widened at the thought of what she had just implied. "I mean, not that you look like you have a set bedtime or anything" Blushing slightly, Dash tried to laugh off her mistake.
"I just needed a place to think. That's all."
"Do you mind if I..." Rainbow gestured to the empty swing next to Ash.
"Sure. Go ahead." He chuckled to himself. "It's not like anyone else is going to use it."
His expression quickly died down, back to one of sorrow.
"Hey? What you were saying before about things being the same? What did you mean?" Rainbow Dash had been trying to stave off her curiosity, but could do so no longer. "It can't have been that bad?...Right?"
"Well...I don't know. I haven't had anything to compare it to...." Ash's voice was soft and distant as he spoke.
"Wait, what? Compare what to?"
"My upbringing." Despite his saphire blue eyes glistening in the setting sun, Ash's gaze never faultered from the ground. "I was alone my whole life."
"Wait.....What!?" Rainbow Dash was frozen in shock of what she just heard. "Surely you had someone? A mom? A dad?.....An uncle!?"
Ash simply looked at Rainbow, the eye, for just a moment. His fathomless anguish ever present in his eyes. Rainbow could have sworn she felt something drop in her very soul.
Looking back at the ground, Ash simply replied:
"Noone."
"I....I...." Words had escaped her. She it was only a fragment of what he felt, but it was almost enough to bring even the best young flyer, in all of equestria, to tears.
"Breathe."
"Sorry, wh...wha-?"
"Breathe, it helps"
"I..."
"Trust me"
Dash, as instructed, began to breathe slowly, gradualy calming her down.
"If you've been alone all this time, then why not try and make some friends? I wouldn't have been able to get over my nerves if it wasn't for my friends." Rainbow Dash, allthough rattled, was trying to help this poor stallion. But she just couldn't quite put her hoof on 'why'.
"I'm......different" Ash was starting to get agitated, so he jumped off of the swing and slowly started to walk away.
"Different how exactly? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not what you would call 'a normal pony'." Dash pointed a hoof at her head, drawing attention to her multi-coloured mane.
Ash turned around to yell at Dash when: "I -" Ash stopped mid sentence when he finally noticed Dash's mane for the first time throughout the conversation. "yo...your...mane..."
"Well?" Rainbow Dash tried to quickly change the subject slightly. "What makes you different?"
"Wha.....I....don't even....." Ash shook himself out of his wonder, and replied by opening his wings slightly.
"........Woh......" Dash was even more surprised than Ash was, when she saw what he was hiding.
All the feathers on the inside of Ash's wings were saphire blue. The same as his eyes. And then it occured to Rainbow just how big Ash's wings were. Just one of Ash's wings could rival her entire wing span!
"I.......I........." Rainbow's mouth had practicaly hit the floor. "Wha....I......wait, what!?"
Sighing as he did so, Ash moved slightly closer to Dash carefuly closing her mouth with his wing.
"Wow....." Rainbow said in a soft, hushed voice.....blushing. "I..."
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened dramatically as she quickly turned away chanting something incoherent to herself.
"I...I sorry..." Ash closed his wings, his eyes, and turned around sharply.
"OWW!....Oh! I'm sorry, I did see you there. I didn't hurt you did I? Oh, I hope you're alright..."
Rainbow recognised the familiar voice, and dashed to her best friend's aid.
"Oh Fluttershy! Thank Celestia you're here. I almost..."
Dash then remembered who Fluttershy was talking to.
"Ow...no..it...it's my fault" Ash struggled to re-aquire his footing, and see who it was who he had carelessly careed into. He tried to make sense of the canary yellow and pink, quivering, shape standing just above him.
"I'm Ash Saphire." He continued. "And what would your name be?"
Ash asked as he finaly got to his feet, and extended a hoof.
"Um....I'm Flutter-" Her voice trailed off, too quiet to fully understand.
"My appologies, What was that?" Ash inquired, starting to get curious.
"Um.....My name is..." Her shyness again distorting her voice.
"Sorry, I didn't get that last bit..." asked Ash. Now not sure whether he was getting more curious, or frustrated.
The only sound that could be heard, was a short high pitched squeek...
"This, is Fluttershy. One of my closest friend in ALL of equestria!" Rainbow exclaimed, trying desperatly to break the silence. "And Fluttershy this, as he mentioned before, is Ash. We just met a few minutes ago and..."
"Actually that was more like thirty" Ash corrected, a little embarrassed.
"Wait, really?"
"Well...yeah" Ash rubbed the back of his head, and without noticing, Dash followed suit causing Fluttershy to giggle
slightly.
"I...should be going...." Ash tried desperatly to find a way out of the awkwardness, or at least get a second conversation going. Although he had no idea why, he enjoyed talking to Rainbow.
"Oh...um okay...but um...are you okay? I mean...um I just you know...." Fluttershy was looked like she was just about
ready to collapse.
"Yeah. I'm fine..." Ash sat down on his haunches and glansed at Rainbow Dash. "I've been through worse..."
"Much worse..." Dash said out aloud, not realising that she had.
"Oh...um okay then...well if you're alright..." She reasoned, still embarrassed.
Fluttershy softly fell back onto her own haunches, as Dash did the same.
"So, how do you two know eachother?" Ash queried as he quickly gestured between the two ponies.
"Well!..."
As Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy explained all that had happened with the return of Nightmare Moon, and her defeat, Ash listened intently, happy to have the chance to talk to someone without them mocking him.
