Grey Dawn walked out of his wooden shack into the fine mist of the morning. He allowed himself a small smile upon seeing the rise of Celestia’s sun despite his desolation living on the edge of the Everfree forest. To reach a small country town known as Ponyville, he had to fly across the forest first. It was this time of day when he was born and named after, after all.
It was a beautiful day; he could make out the distant chirping of birds and discern (non-hostile) animal life with his rather... keen vision. He looked back at his hut. It was actually a flimsy little thing built with planks, seeing how he had no prior knowledge on how to build makeshift homes in the first place. He winced as he remembered how many times he accidentally hit himself with the hammer.
It was comfortable enough to be called a home though, for it kept him warm during cold nights, dry during wet ones and it was also spacious enough to accommodate his rather tall and slender build.
It has almost been a year since he built it, purposely building it in a meadow as far away from Ponyville as possible. It was surrounded by numerous trees; ample tree cover should there be a chance a pegasus flew over, more matter how slim said chance may be.
After a moment’s pause, he spread his wings, feeling the wind biting against his face, his grey wings propelling him forward as he tried his best to stay as close as he could to the tree line of the Everfree forest, not wanting to draw attention to himself lest a pegasus discern him in their task of cloud manipulation.
It would be unlikely for such an event to occur as it was common knowledge to himself and most of the residents in Ponyville that the Everfree forest wasn’t exactly the best of places for ponies to reside in, due to its rather foreboding nature, and also the fact that its habitants would range from cockatrices to manticores, and from the rumors Grey Dawn has heard... well, eavesdropped, really, it was actually the home of a full grown, four-headed Hydra.
Grey Dawn finally arrived at the south edge of the Everfree forest, where Ponyville was located. Upon seeing a familiar yellow pegasus with a flowing pink mane, who appeared to be feeding animals in the vicinity, he slowed down to a halt and landed on the grass just beyond the trees, not wanting to draw attention to himself.
He walked the rest of the way to the primary entrance to the Everfree forest, which was basically just an opening in the trees, and began his journey to what he assumed to be a school for young fillies and colts, careful not to take flight. The last time he did, he saw what looked to be a pink blur chasing after him at a formidable speed and almost catching up to him till he bolted straight into the Everfree forest. He could have sworn he heard the sound of hoofsteps walking away and the dejected sigh of what was unmistakably a mare as he hid behind a tree, but he decided it was impossible. There was no way in Equestria a mare could run as such speeds, it was just physically impossible!
He didn’t dare return to Ponyville after encountering such a predicament until months later. When he finally did, though, he was careful to tread lightly and amused himself with the random thought of disguising himself as a stack of hay donning a trench coat and fake glasses.
“What’s up with your eyes, mister?” Grey Dawn jumped in surprise as he whirled around, wings spread and ready to flee, only to find that it was just a yellow filly with a ribbon on her crimson mane. He quickly collected himself and folded his wings. He didn’t really mind fillies and colts asking him this question, for he knows that such questions are of a curious nature and not of malicious intent. “What’s the matter with y’all?” she asked, tilting her head. “Cat got ‘yer tongue?”
“Oh, hey, kid.” Grey Dawn brushed aside his dark blue mane with occasional streaks of black which formed a curtain around his face in his momentary confusion. “Nothing, you just uh... surprised me is all.” He paused for a second before continuing. “What’s your name?”
“Me? Surprise you, really?” The little filly stared at Grey Dawn sceptically before answering. “Ma’ name’s Applebloom. What about yours?”
He smiled gently down at the small filly. “Grey Dawn. You were asking me a question about my eyes, right?”
“Sure sugar are!” Applebloom gushed excitedly, leaning forward. “Well Ah’ll be! Your eyes are just like Spike’s! Only more... bluish.”
“Bluish isn’t a word.” Grey Dawn chuckled. “You meant to say-”
“What are you, a dictionary?” Applebloom interrupted before looking slightly confused. “Woah, Déjà vu.”
“Well... okay,” Grey Dawn said, hesitating. “You said something about somepony named Spike?” He was confused by this, for never in his life had he seen anypony with eyes even remotely similar to his.
“Oh, he’s just a little thing, he’s my sister’s friend’s number one assistant,” Applebloom replied, waving her hoof impatiently. “The eyes?”
“Okay... but do you want to hear the full story?” Grey Dawn asked.
“Yes, please!” Applebloom replied, positively bouncing in childish enthusiasm.
“Well...” Grey Dawn summoned the voice he usually reserved for telling stories. “There was once a small grey pegasus colt. Everyone would feel scared of him because they see his eyes as a threat. They felt scared because they were confused on why his eyes were narrow and the pupils were slits.
“They didn’t understand that the grey colt was just like them, he was just cursed with a birth defect that made him different in an undesirable way. They didn’t believe his pleas that he was just as clueless as them, that he didn’t understand why he had reptilian eyes.
“It was due to this that he did not have many friends. He would feel lonely and irrational thoughts like thinking no one loves him would spawn, only contributing to his melancholy. Some days, he would feel so lonely that even his gut ached, and he spent every day wishing for even a single peer who would be able to accept him for being who he is.
“His wish was granted. One day, when all the other ponies in school were either ignoring him or trying to demoralize him, a blue colt stood up for him, and was willing to accept him for who he is instead of finding sadistic joy in his misery.
“He was always there for him and listening to his problems, appreciative of the uniqueness of his eyes and expressing friendly envy instead of showing cold indifference. He said to the small grey colt that all of the other ponies would pick on him for having strange eyes because they were jealous of how cool they looked and he was further impressed when the small grey colt told him he could see exceptionally well in the dark.
“Over time, the two friends grew older, but their friendship only strengthened as they got to know each other more, and seeing each other at their worst did nothing but help them understand one another.
“They never had to worry about falling as both of them knew that should one of them do, the other would help him get back on his feet with reassurances. They helped each other grow. Where they knew that falling would be inevitable, they helped each other understand that it was picking themselves back up is what counts, and facing future adversities with greater tenacity.
“One day, the blue colt had to leave the town because of his dad being successful at his business and relocating elsewhere, leaving the grey colt very lonely. They grey colt couldn’t endure such desolation, so he packed his bags one day, and just left the town he came from, in search of a better life. A life where ponies wouldn’t mock him for his eyes, where he can finally be accepted.” Grey Dawn kicked at the ground uncomfortably. “He does still miss his mother... though.”
Applebloom looked at Grey Dawn, a profoundly sympathetic expression on her face. “Oh, you poor thing! Why, I can’t possibly imagine not having any friends!”
“Oh, I got used to the loneliness after a while. It is but just a dull ache now.” Grey Dawn said, lying through his teeth. “You’re lucky you have friends, just make sure you don’t take them for granted, and never, never forget the times you spent with them.”
“You can count on it, mister!” She nodded determinedly. “You’re mighty good at telling stories; it sure explains ‘yer cutie mark! Do you mind telling me a story about how it came along?”
“This old thing?” Grey Dawn turned his head, glancing at his cutie mark, a pair of headphones overlapping the pages of an open book. “It signifies my love for reading and also my eloquence in speech. It all started when-”
“Applebloom! Now what have Ah said about running off like that without givin’ a holler?!” Grey Dawn and Applebloom turned to look at a disgruntled orange mare with a cowpony hat partially covering her blonde mane, standing a few blocks away. “Y’all get ‘yer flank over here right now, young missy, or Ah’m tellin’ Granny Smith!”
“Horseapples,” Applebloom swore under her breath. “Imma’ comin’, Applejack!” She gave Grey Dawn a half-hearted wave of farewell and slowly made her way to the orange mare.
Grey Dawn watched the pair walk away, bickering. He managed to catch a snippet of the argument, something about being late for school. That’s when it hit him. He realized that for the first time ever, he held a conversation with a Ponyville resident, a foal no less. He had always tried to steer well clear of residents in Ponyville, for he knew that they are unaccustomed to strangers with physical deviations judging by their rather... unorthodox behavior of locking windows and doors when it came to them.
The last thing he wanted to do was to cause inconvenience to anypony.
Rain was pelting unrelentlessly on Grey Dawn’s face as he made haste back towards his shack, having completely forgotten about the thunderstorm the pegasi planned for the evening. He had to get home to hang a tarp over his shack lest the wood gets damaged, and the necessity of hanging the tarp slipped out of his mind when he made the journey to Ponyville.
He would have left sooner when he saw the Grey clouds accumulating, but he took an unscheduled nap in a secluded part of the Ponyville park. By the time he woke up, he could already feel the drizzling of an imminent rainstorm and took off immediately for his home. He could only hope that the water had not penetrated through the roof and cause irreversible damage to his possessions.
He ignored the sporadic bouts of lightning and thunder, persevering through the storm. Just as his wings were getting sore from such vigorous flying, the shack was within sight. Just then, a stray bolt of lightning made contact with the trunk of a tree next to his home.
The bright flash of light and loud burst of thunder disoriented Grey Dawn momentarily. By the time he regained his senses, he saw the thick trunk of the tree menacingly arcing towards... his home!
“No!” Grey Dawn exclaimed as he made a beeline for his shack. He pumped his wings harder and harder, no longer feeling the soreness as adrenaline fuelled him. He crashed through the door of his shack, grabbed a pair of saddlebags with his teeth without losing velocity and exited by smashing through the opposite side of the wall the exact moment the trunk crashed into the flimsy hut, tearing it asunder with a deafening crash.
A piece of debris grazed against his left wing as he evaded the worst of the impact, opening a shallow gash. He could positively feel the vibration in his chest as the crash resonated through the air, barely audible as compared to the tempest around him. He did not care. Grey Dawn immediately landed, not sparing his obliterated home a glance and he rummaged through his saddlebags. To his immense relief, none of his possessions within were damaged.
He couldn’t stay here. If he did, he would risk the condition of the contents within the saddlebags. There was no shelter nearby except trees and it would take a fool to seek one in the Everfree.
He must return to Ponyville with an injured wing.
"At least the lightning stopped," he muttered to himself as he looked up at the sky, frigid raindrops slapping against his face. He gingerly extended his left wing, convulsing when he felt a sharp pain shoot through. Without further hesitation, he picked himself off of the ground and started to trudge into the Everfree forest, towards Ponyville. The moon was completely obscured by the thick cloud layer, utterly omitting light, but that wasn't a problem for Grey Dawn.
He first tried to evade the rain by flying on top of the cloud layer and waiting out the storm there, but it was impossible with his injury. He then tried to find a hollow tree to rest in and keep his saddlebags dry, but it was also impossible, for every one he found is already the den of another creature.
He knew that he can’t sleep openly in the Everfree, for it is filled with predators and Grey Dawn really didn’t feel like being at the bottom of the food chain. He started alternating between trotting briskly and flying every so often, holding his saddlebags in positions so it wouldn’t get harmed by water. In his mouth when he was on the ground, and against his chest when he was in the air.
"Ow..." Grey Dawn groaned as he forced his wings to flap, feeling a sharp pain on the base of his left wing every time he did so. The adrenaline had long burnt out of his system, and he felt completely exhausted. His entire body throbbed in pain with every step, yet he forced himself to persevere. It was taking all the will he had to not collapse on the grass and he kept feeling inexplicable itching in both his eyes. No matter how vigorously he rubbed his eyelids, he couldn’t seem to get rid of it.
What felt like hours passed and finally, he could make out the little cottage at the top of the hill where the yellow pegasus slept. He trudged on, finally reaching the fence. It took his last ounce of energy to fly his way over the tiny obstruction and crawl into the nearest chicken coop, sighing in relief as the incessant assault on his back from the raindrops ceased.
He carefully placed his saddlebags on the floor and curled around them, forming a protective bulwark. Without further ado, he allowed himself to sleep.
