Author's Note
This first chapter is cute and fluffy but don't get used to it. The story gets progressively darker as it goes.
Chapter One- Oddity
The sun had barely started to rise to start a new day when Fluttershy awoke. She hadn't slept well the evening before as it had been unseasonably cold and she'd had a dreadful feeling all night. As she lethargically got out of bed, Fluttershy made a mental note to ask Rainbow Dash about the weather last night if she happened to see her. She went to her restroom and brushed her long main and tail before gently running the brush over her coat and brushing her teeth.
After splashing some cold water on her face, Fluttershy smiled at herself in the mirror and felt the tiredness leaving her quickly. After a light breakfast to get a real pep in her step, Fluttershy left her cottage, ready to start her day of caring for all her animal friends.
Not getting past her doorstep, Fluttershy saw something she hadn't expected: a basket sitting right on top of her welcome mat. Furrowing her brows in confusion, Fluttershy edged towards the basket and nudged it. It was surprisingly heavy. Curiosity over-riding her apprehension, Fluttershy lifted the blanket that was covering the basket and gasped loudly at the contents: a foal.
It's eyes were closed and Fluttershy wasn't sure if it was even alive. Just as she was about to check, the foal opened it's eyes and for a split-second, Fluttershy swore it had slit pupils like a snake. She blinked and they vanished and she decided it was just her still-sleepy mind playing tricks on her.
Gently taking the swaddled foal from the basket, Fluttershy looked for a note but didn't find one. She frowned and brought the foal inside, her care-giving instincts kicking in, and made it something to eat. She didn't have any foal formula but did have some other animal formulas that she knew would work for the moment. Fluttershy figured the foal was hungry but it didn't cry, it simply watched her with it's bright purple eyes.
Considering how cold the night before was, she was surprised the little foal was even still alive, blanket or not. Pushing away her thoughts and deciding to just thank Celestia that she'd woken up so early, Fluttershy fed the foal, burping it afterwards and then began to unwrap it from it's swaddle. Even though the foal had been swaddled expertly in the blanket, it wasn't wearing a diaper or anything at all underneath, making it even more strange that it had survived the night.
The foal, who was a he, had a dusty greyish purple coat and was a unicorn. At first Fluttershy thought the greyness was due to dirt but as she gently dabbed at his tummy with a warm cloth, she found that he wasn't dirty and was in fact in very good condition. He was plump, which she figured was healthy since most baby animals were plump, and even reached out to touch her occasionally now that his arms were free. Smiling at the foal, Fluttershy made a little cooing sound and her smile grew when he smiled at the sound.
"Hi, little ashy." She cooed softly, nuzzling him and practically beaming when he touched her face with both of his little hooves. Pulling away, Fluttershy checked the blanket and found that it was also remarkably clean despite the fact that the foal hadn't been wearing a diaper. She frowned in concern and quickly but gently swaddled him again, though she left his arms free.
After feeding Angel, Fluttershy left her cottage with the foal, flying so that she could still hold him close to her. She flew into town and made her way immediately to Ponyville's local pediatrician, her earlier thoughts of asking Rainbow about the weather forgotten even as she saw the other pegasus zipping through the sky, clearing out clouds.
Once she arrived, Fluttershy told the pediatrician about the odd little foal and, just as worried as she was, he saw him at once. The check-up want well and, despite the lack of a mess in the blanket, the pediatrician informed Fluttershy that the foal seemed just fine. "Perfectly healthy." He'd said. Fluttershy thanked the pediatrician and he told her to keep an eye on his eating habits and to come back if he hadn't done anything after another feeding.
After she left, Fluttershy wasn't quite sure what to do. The foal wasn't hers, but he didn't seem like he had a family since he'd been left on her doorstep. She looked down at the foal and realized he was watching her with his big, purple eyes, and in that moment, Fluttershy thought of a name for him: Ashen Amethyst.
Smiling softly, Fluttershy gave Ashen a small kiss on the forehead, just under his horn, and when he made his first sound, a cute little babbling noise, she knew she couldn't bear to part with him. Hugging Ashen closer to herself, Fluttershy made her way to city hall, not quite sure what the legal protocol for adopting a foal left on a doorstep was, but determined to find out. Luckily for her, the mayor's secretary knew where to find the paperwork Fluttershy needed and helped her get it all sorted out rather quickly. It took about an hour all in all and when Fluttershy left town hall, she left it with something that hadn't crossed her mind since she was just a filly: a foal all her own.
After making a stop at her cottage to collect her saddlebag, Fluttershy began going around Ponyville to collect all of the things she'd need to take care of Ashen. Her hunt for foal supplies took her to many stores and for bigger items like cribs and changing tables, she had to pay a few extra bits to have them delivered and assembled for her. She picked up formula, a new blanket, a few toys, and even a few books on how to take care of a unicorn foal.
By the halfway point of the shopping trip, Fluttershy had to break for lunch for Ashen and herself and by the end of the trip, she found that he again hadn't made a mess in the diaper he was now wearing. Perturbed and afraid, Fluttershy did the most logical thing she could think of and took Ashen to Twilight's house.
Following a thorough examination, Twilight found that Ashen's body processed nutrients differently than a normal pony and concluded that he most likely wouldn't make any waste for Fluttershy to clean up. After voicing her concern about the fact that he was so quiet, Fluttershy found that Ashen simply wasn't a loud baby; there wasn't any scientific reason Twilight could find for it, he was just quiet. Relieved, Fluttershy was ready to head home with Ashen when a question from Twilight suddenly made her realize she had a bit of explaining to do.
"Who's foal is that, anyway?" Twilight asked, eying Ashen curiously.
"Oh, well, he's mine." Fluttershy said quietly, smiling shyly when Twilight gaped at her in disbelief. "I found him on my doorstep this morning without a note or anything so... I decided to keep him."
"Fluttershy, foals are alot of responsibility, you can't just DECIDE to keep one." Twilight chastised, not sure if her friend was really ready for the responsibility of motherhood on top of her responsibilities to her animals.
"I know." Fluttershy said, opening her saddlebag with one of her wings to reveal the books she'd purchased. "But I think I'm ready. He's such a little sweety and I don't think I could bear to part with him."
Levitating the books out of Fluttershy's bag, Twilight looked them over and then nodded in approval, putting them back. "Well, alright. If you really think you can handle it. Promise me you'll come to me or one of the girls if you need help though, alright?"
"I promise, Twilight." Then hugs were exchanged and Fluttershy decided to track down and inform her other friends while she was still out and about.
Pinkie was so over-joyed that she'd tried to insist on throwing Fluttershy a "welcome to motherhood" party right then and there and Fluttershy had to politely decline several times before Pinkie relented to a rescheduling of the party. Rainbow shared Twilight's initial concern but at Fluttershy's reassurance, was supportive. Applejack was surprised but happy for Fluttershy, and Rarity was quick to warn her about unicorn foal magic bursts, having had first-hoof experience from when Sweetie was just a foal. After Fluttershy's assurance that she'd be careful, Rarity was also supportive. All of her closest friends were happy and supportive except for one; Discord. She obviously hadn't gotten the chance to tell him yet and decided she'd wait until their Tuesday Tea, which was conveniently the next day.
The rest of the evening seemed to pass by in a flash for Fluttershy. Ashen barely made a peep for the entire time and was easily the calmest, most well-behaved foal Fluttershy had ever seen. It was after yet another mess-free feeding that Fluttershy decided a diaper wasn't necessary and stashed the new ones she'd bought in a cabinet just in case. The only truly stand-out moment was when she tried to introduce Angel to Ashen and Angel ran away, seemingly in a panic, the moment Ashen looked at him.
Having chalked their encounter up to Angel being Angel, Fluttershy put Ashen to bed and was quite happy when he fell asleep almost instantly. Feeling proud and accomplished from her first day of motherhood and confident about her decision to keep Ashen, Fluttershy also went to bed, another little weight lifting off her chest when she felt Angel hop onto the bed and snuggle up with her as he always did. Sighing contently, Fluttershy dozed off into a peaceful slumber.
Before Celestia had awoken to raise the sun for the day to begin, Fluttershy was awoken by a presence in front of her muzzle. She opened her eyes, expecting to see Angel standing there, impatiently waiting for her to wake up and feed him, but instead saw a pair of glowing purple eyes with serpentine pupils. She squeaked in fear and backed away quickly, the most primal part of her mind registering the eyes as something to be feared.
Misjudging the width of her bed in her half-asleep panic, Fluttershy fell off the bed and was dazed for a moment. When her brain caught up with what had happened, she realized a now far more familiar pair of eyes was peering at her from the edge of the bed. "Ashen?" Fluttershy squeaked, getting to her hooves quickly and gently nudging the foal more towards the center of the bed with her muzzle. "How did you get out of your crib?"
As if in answer to her question, Ashen's stubby little horn lit up with bright purple energy and in a flash, he was gone. Fluttershy didn't have time to panic as within less than a second, with another flash behind her, Ashen reappeared in his crib. Turning, Fluttershy frowned and trotted up to the crib, gently patting Ashen on the head. "You can't do that, Ashy, you scared me." She scolded gently, unable to stay upset when he lifted his little hooves and made a cooing noise at her.
Sighing softly, Fluttershy picked Ashen up by the scruff of his neck and then held him with one hoof. He nuzzled into the fur of her chest and she couldn't help but smile. Walking the short distance to her kitchen, Fluttershy made Ashen a bottle of formula and he drank it down eagerly. Realizing the sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, Fluttershy decided to stay awake and get an early jump on her daily tasks. Starting so early hopefully meant that she'd be done before Discord arrived for their weekly teatime and could then spend the entire day with him.
Snacking on a few smaller vegetables as she went, Fluttershy tended to her garden, keeping an eye on Ashen while she harvested her small patch of crops. He occupied himself by playing in the dirt, making small mounds and decorating them with even smaller pebbles or the occasional blade of grass. After finishing with her garden, Fluttershy loaded Ashen onto her back and started checking on her animals.
She found that they were a quite a lot more skittish than they usually were and figured it must've been because of Ashen. Trying to inform them that he was just a harmless baby didn't seem to help ease their nerves, so she just worked more carefully, trying to ensure that her animals didn't feel threatened and that Ashen wasn't in any danger.
By the time Fluttershy's daily duties were finished, both herself and Ashen were filthy. Heading back inside, Fluttershy managed to clean both herself and Ashen with just enough time to spare to make the tea for when Discord would arrive. When the draconequus did arrive with a flash in her living room, Fluttershy was just setting the tea down on the table.
"Mm, is that pineapple and peppermint I smell?" Discord asked, sniffing the air and looking down at the tea Fluttershy was pouring. "What's the occasion?"
Smiling happily as Discord set down a platter full of pickle and petunia sandwiches, Fluttershy turned and scooped Ashen off her chair. Spinning back around, she proudly presented Ashen to Discord with a soft "ta-da!".
Raising an eyebrow at Fluttershy, Discord lightly poked Ashen in the stomach with his paw. He then quickly withdrew his paw as if burned by the foal when Ashen giggled softly and wiggled lightly in Fluttershy's grasp. "It's alive!? I thought it was a doll!"
"He." Fluttershy corrected, cradling Ashen close as he stared curiously at Discord. "What do you think?"
Slowly taking his seat as he looked suspiciously at the foal in Fluttershy's arms, Discord held out his hands. "May I see the little tyke?" He asked as politely as he could manage. Trusting Discord not to do anything too chaotic or odd to her new foal, Fluttershy hoofed Ashen over. Looking over the foal, Discord couldn't help but think that those amethyst eyes were just a little too sentient for a pony his age. "How long are you taking care of him?" He asked, lowering Ashen a bit to look at Fluttershy.
"Well, at last until he's an adult, I guess." Fluttershy said, realizing Discord thought she was only foalsitting. "I mean, he is my son, after all."
At that, Discord almost dropped Ashen but then held him considerably more carefully. "Your son? When were you pregnant?" He asked, his eyes suddenly narrowing as his jealous side quickly surfaced. "Who's the father?"
Laughing, Fluttershy waved a hoof at Discord. "I adopted him, silly." She replied, smiling at how interested in Discord Ashen was. He hadn't taken his eyes off the draconequus since Discord had picked him up.
Huffing and calming down, Discord looked back down at the foal and made a face out of curiosity to see how he’d react. Much to his surprise, as he'd been expecting Ashen to cry, the foal smiled as much as a foal could and made a low, growling sound deep in his chest. Eyes wider than usual, Discord looked to Fluttershy and wasn't the slightest bit relieved to see that she looked equally shocked. After the pair made eye contact and then looked back to Ashen, Discord began to laugh.
"I haven't spent much time with many foals in my life, but I like this one." He admitted, making another face at Ashen and getting a much louder growl in return. Discord grinned broadly and lifted the foal up high. "You're certainly a weird little pony." He complimented, eyes narrowing slightly but grin remaining when he caught sight of Ashen's reptilian eyes for a brief second. Lowering the foal, Discord handed him back over to Fluttershy who took him happily.
"I'm glad you like him." She chirped brightly, Ashen's odd growls all but forgotten in light of Discord giving him his seal of approval.
"What's his name?" Discord asked, finally picking up a sandwich and a cup of tea.
"Ashen Amethyst." Fluttershy responded, also taking a sandwich and a teacup. Not so long ago, she would have never thought to pair pineapple and peppermint tea with pickle and petunia sandwiches, but Discord, by his very nature, enjoyed things that were random and mismatched and she herself found that she enjoyed the odd combinations more often than not. The sandwiches, for instance, were very good, the sour from the pickles and sweet from the petunias blending in a weird-but-good way.
"How appropriate." Discord said, sparing Ashen a glance and finding that the foal was still watching him.
Now that the introductions were taken care of, Discord and Fluttershy spent their Tuesday Tea like they always did, talking and laughing. Ashen being as quiet as he was didn't interrupt except to be fed, not even making noise with any of the foal toys Fluttershy tried to give him as he seemed perfectly entertained keeping a watchful eye on Discord.
An hour before sunset, Discord and Fluttershy said their goodbyes as Fluttershy had her evening chores to take care of before it got too dark. Discord even said goodbye to Ashen, getting a hearty growl and a smile for his efforts, before he vanished with a puff of orange smoke and the sound of a duck quaking. Making a note to consult somepony about Ashen's newfound ability to growl, Fluttershy went about her evening chores and then put Ashen and herself down for a well-earned night's slumber.
The next day, Fluttershy was straight off to Twilight's house again. Grown ponies could make noises similar to a growl with their mouths, Pinkie herself had snarled a few times for various reasons, but she'd never heard anypony, adult or otherwise, growl the way Ashen did. His growls came from deep in his chest and sounded more like a predatory animal’s growls. When Fluttershy relayed this to Twilight, she looked equally as confused.
"You're sure he was growling and not making some other noise?" She asked, holding Ashen in her magic and eying the foal.
"Make a face at him. The weirdest you can." Fluttershy urged, watching as Twilight made a face that made her giggle but only caused Ashen to tilt his head. "Maybe it only works when Discord does it." She mumbled, frowning.
"He growled at Discord?"
"Mmhm."
Snickering and looking at Ashen with a proud smile, Twilight lightly bounced the foal in her magic. "Could you get Discord to come over?"
"I'll try." Fluttershy closed her eyes and concentrated for less than a minute before a puff of green smoke signified Discord's arrival.
"Oh, Fluttershy, you know I always have a moment for you." He greeted, noticing Twilight and grinning. "Hello, Twilight. If you're here, why didn't you summon me?"
"I've had enough mental scarring from the last time I caught you in the bath, thank you very much." Twilight said, levitating Ashen up to Discord. "Make a face."
"Demanding." Discord observed, grin broadening as he took Ashen from Twilight's magic. "Well, if it isn't my new favorite infant!" He said happily, making a wacky face and laughing when Ashen growled loudly at him.
"See?" Fluttershy asked, looking at a very surprised Twilight.
"Yeah." Twilight mumbled, immediately cantering off to look through her bookshelves.
"So what's going on?" Discord asked, cradling Ashen in his lion arm. "You aren't trying to fix him, are you?"
"No." Fluttershy replied, looking away from Twilight to look up at Discord. "I just want to know why he does it is all. Or how, even. I've never heard anypony make a sound like that."
"Neither have I." Discord admitted, wiggling a talon at Ashen but lowering it again when the foal showed no interest in doing more than staring at him. "That just adds to what makes him so very interesting."
"I'm still surprised you like him so much." Fluttershy observed, sitting on a chair as she realized Twilight was going to be a bit as she flipped through books.
Shrugging, Discord coiled up in midair with Ashen balanced on his prehensile tail fluff in the middle of his coil. "He's weird, I like weird."
Knowing that weird was a compliment coming from Discord, Fluttershy smiled and continued to make small talk with him as Twilight searched. Eventually the unicorn returned, looking frustrated. Fluttershy knew what that face meant and preempted Twilight's coming rant. "Nothing?"
"Nothing." Twilight huffed, angrily sitting down and gently taking Ashen from Discord in order to scrutinize him. "The only other option I have is to run a more in depth scan on him. He might not like it though."
"Will it hurt him?" Fluttershy asked, frowning in concern.
"No, but he might not like the feeling of magic flowing through him." Twilight explained, looking at the foal's concerned mother. "It's your choice, of course."
"Well, I guess you could try so long as it won't hurt him. You can stop if he starts to fuss, right?"
"Of course." Upon Fluttershy's confirmation nod, Twilight put Ashen back in Discord's coil and then cast a spell, closing her eyes and using her magic to scan Ashen. After making a bit of a face, Ashen went back to looking stoic. He sat as still and quiet as ever as Twilight scanned him, much to Fluttershy's relief. A few minutes passed before Twilight's magic suddenly blinked out and her eyes snapped open. "Ow!" She cried, rubbing at her horn gently and looking at Ashen with a face that was a mix of a wide-eyed look of confusion and a glare.
"What happened?" Fluttershy asked quickly, frowning at the way Twilight and Ashen now seemed to be having a stare-down.
"He..." Twilight made a frustrated sound and broke her gaze with the foal to look at Fluttershy. "It felt like he-he pulled on my magic. I can't describe the feeling any other way." She muttered, brow furrowed deeply.
"Oh dear." Fluttershy mumbled, glancing at Ashen briefly and seeing that he was still eying Twilight. "Did... did you find anything?" She asked quietly, now more curious than ever to know what made Ashen so different from any foal, any pony, she'd ever met.
"Well, he's definitely weird." Twilight huffed, not looking towards Ashen even though she could feel his eyes practically boring into her.
Weird from Discord was good, weird from Twilight was decidedly less so. "Weird how?" Fluttershy urged gently, worried but not wanting to push Twilight too hard.
"I've never scanned anypony like that, but I still had a general idea of what I'd find." Twilight explained, finally chancing a look at Ashen to see he'd given up staring at her to play with one of Discord's talons. "I know plenty about pony anatomy, after all, but Ashen is... different. His anatomy is different beyond how he processes nutrients." She looked almost angry for her lack of understanding. "I've never seen anything like him. He looks like a pony, but..." Twilight trailed off for a moment, looking back at Fluttershy again. "he's not. I don't know what he is."
"Oh dear." Fluttershy mumbled again, gently taking Ashen when Discord offered him to her.
"I'm sorry I don't have more for you. Even if I would've been able to finish the spell, I don't think it would've revealed how he's able to growl like that." Twilight said, getting off her chair when Fluttershy stood. "I'll keep researching though. Maybe something somewhere can tell me something."
"Thanks, Twilight." Fluttershy replied, offering her friend a smile. "I really appreciate it. And I'm sorry about your magic."
Waving a hoof gently at Fluttershy, Twilight smiled lightly in return. "It's alright, it mostly just surprised me." She lied, still feeling the twinge in her horn from having her magic yanked on. "But be careful, alright?"
"I will." Fluttershy promised, leaving with Discord trailing behind her.
As the years passed, Ashen Amethyst grew just as steadily as any normal foal despite the fact that he was definitely not a pony. Twilight never did manage to figure out exactly what he was, but since he didn't appear to be dangerous, it was decided that it didn't really matter. He became an anomaly much like Pinkie Sense and The Stare. Right alongside Twilight in the category of those that had to learn to simply accept Ashen were Fluttershy's animals who'd eventually gotten more comfortable around the foal as he slowly grew into a young colt.
During the transition from foal to colt, Ashen managed to get himself scolded once or twice for stalking rabbits, squirrels, and mice like a cat would. He did eventually pick up on it being bad, but the predatory behaviour was still a bit concerning. Occasional lapses into predatory behaviour aside, Ashen remained an exceptionally well-behaved pony. He was polite, docile, and friendly.
One would think that such a polite and friendly demeanor would mean that Ashen would be instantly well-liked upon joining school, but Ashen actually found himself quite outcast. He didn't mind, in fact, it was by his own doing; anytime a filly or colt would ask him to play, they would get a polite rejection. Eventually ponies stopped asking. Ashen was content to spend any spare school time he had reading. He read during lunch while he ate, during recess while the other foals played, and any time in class when he'd finished his work for the day but there was still time left.
Ashen's quiet, solitary nature made him an easy target for ridicule by anypony who was less than pleasant, but Ashen was known for not caring about much and especially for not caring about what others thought of him. Even though one wouldn't be blamed for thinking that Ashen didn't care about his peers, they would be wrong, for anytime those less than pleasant ponies found a target elsewhere, Ashen was known for using his considerable magical talent to defend his peers.
Even though that didn't exactly earn him friends so much as it earned him ponies who were nice to him out of gratitude or because they wanted his protection, it did make him quite popular. Everypony knew that picking on somepony else would bring down the wrath of the smallest, quietest colt in the class and with every student who wasn't unpleasant backing him, Ashen never got into trouble for his deeds.
One day, Ashen's efforts did manage to earn him as close to a friend as he'd ever had in school. It was nearing the end of Ashen's third school year and he'd found himself busier than ever before. A new student had joined them and she was easily the densest and nastiest pony Ashen had ever dealt with. All of the other bullies in the school had had their bad attitudes metaphorically beaten out of them by Ashen's constant protection of their victims, but the new filly had yet to learn despite facing Ashen's wrath multiple times already.
On that fateful day, a pony named Hourglass proudly displayed her flanks for the other foals at the school during recess, happily explaining that she had received it the night prior when she realized that she had a penchant for scheduling. Due to her talent for scheduling and planning, she was easily one of the most punctual ponies in Ponyville and thus had received an hourglass cutie mark. Her parents had taken her that very night to get her name changed from Flower Crown to Hourglass as it had become a widely beloved Equestrian law that anypony could get their name changed to something more fitting once they got their cutie marks if they wanted to.
Equestria's parents were oddly good at naming their foals, or perhaps foals just subconsciously ended up enjoying things that pertained to their names, either way, they weren't flawless, and that had finally been recognized when enough foals started submitting formal complaints to the princesses themselves.
The joy of the moment was promptly ruined when another, decidedly unpleasant voice cut through the jubilation. "So, what, you're good at being on time?" The condescending voice belonged to the classes current bully, Porcelain Doll, who cut through the crowd in order to sneer at Hourglass. "So is anypony with a watch. That's not a special talent, that's a basic skill."
Porcelain Doll had started her life as Wedding Bells, but once she discovered she had a knack for refurbishing old, battered dolls, especially porcelain ones, she had it changed. Porcelain, despite what one might think, didn't belong to a prominent or even wealthy family, she hadn't been the first in the class to receive her mark (she had actually been fourth, not that anypony was counting), and her talent wasn't even that particularly rare. Porcelain, even before she became Porcelain Doll, was simply a mean filly who seemed to genuinely enjoy being nasty to everypony.
In fact, Porcelain was actually very good at getting under a pony's skin and striking where it hurt most and it was decided amongst the other foals that the only reason she hadn't gotten her mark for being mean was because the universe had no way of telling a pony that their special talent was being a bitch, and so it had waited until she'd discovered a talent more fitting for a mark. They weren't far off with their assumptions and in fact, Porcelain's bad attitude was the reason her parents had had to move towns and she'd had to move schools to begin with. Her parents had hoped that taking their filly out of the big city would calm her down, but it hadn't worked yet.
"My special talent is scheduling, Porcelain." Hourglass snapped back, narrowing her eyes at the uppity filly. "My mark just shows that I'm really good at being punctual because of that."
"Wow, a mark that doesn't even reflect your special talent but a side-effect of it. A lame side-effect of it." Porcelain turned and slapped Hourglass across the face with her tail in the process. "I almost feel bad for you."
Hourglass bristled like an angry cat and was about to attack Porcelain and earn herself another few days in detention for fighting when a familiar purple colt stepped in front of her. It was Ashen Amethyst. He had yet to get his mark and was one of the foals Porcelain picked on the hardest, yet he never seemed to be bothered by either. Whenever Porcelain tried to rile him up, he either ignored her, quietly stared at her until she gave up, or, the rarest and most satisfying outcome, calmly jabbed her back with something hurtful enough to reduce Porcelain to tears. Even then, she just came back nastier than before, refusing to learn as the others had.
Even so, Ashen remained passive, never getting physical with Porcelain when he was her victim. Whenever Porcelain found herself needing to blow off steam on a student besides himself, however, Ashen took a far more proactive approach. Having stepped between Hourglass and Porcelain in order to get a clear line of sight, Ashen had, with the same impassive expression he almost always wore, teleported Porcelain Doll from the ground to the top of the school's belltower. Not the inside either, the very top. Porcelain had barely even a second to realize what happened and grab hold of the pointed spire she'd landed next to before she would have fallen from the roof.
Porcelain was a unicorn but she couldn't teleport yet, nopony in their class except Ashen could. As she was unable to even teleport herself, levitating herself was definitely out of the question, so she simply started yelling, demanding to be put back down. Porcelain Doll went ignored as everypony had gone back to showering Hourglass, and now Ashen, with attention.
"That was so cool, Ame!" One pegasus colt exclaimed, using the nickname Ashen preferred to be called by.
"Yeah! Your special talent should be magic like Princess Twilight!" An earth filly exclaimed, not noticing the withering look Ashen gave her for the comparison.
"I can't believe you almost jumped Porcelain!" A pegasus filly giggled, nudging Hourglass. "You're gonna get suspended if you keep fighting ponies.
Grinning, Hourglass shrugged. "Worth it. I'd be able to make up the lost time anyway. I'm efficient like that."
As the teacher, Chalk Dust, came out to call everypony inside for the second half of their learning day, Ashen quietly slipped out of the crowd. When Chalk Dust noticed Porcelain Doll up on the roof, she was quite panicked and immediately flew up to rescue her. Porcelain told on Ashen instantly, but as he was nowhere to be seen, and none of the other foals knew how Porcelain had gotten up there, or even, in fact that she was up there at all, the teacher didn't believe her, instead trying to gently explain to Porcelain that a magical burst resulting in an accident was nothing to be ashamed of and certainly nothing to lie about.
Porcelain was decidedly pissed.
When the class had all been herded back into the schoolhouse, they found Ashen sitting at his desk and reading ahead as he often did. Porcelain was still fuming but couldn't very well do anything about it with Chalk Dust around, so she simply took her seat. The other students had to try hard not to smile or snicker as the angry filly was left to stew and soon everypony was seated.
Once the day ended, the excited foals all rushed to get out of school so they could begin their evenings. Ashen lagged behind the crowd, taking his time to avoid the hustle and bustle, but when he did emerge from the schoolhouse, he saw Hourglass waiting near the entrance. When she saw him, she smiled and cantered up to him.
"Hey. Thanks for showing Porcelain what for during lunch."
"She deserved it." Ashen replied simply, tone void of emotion. "Congratulations, by the way."
"Thanks." Hourglass smiled happily, glancing back at Ashen's flank and feeling some of her smile fall. "How do you let it not bother you? I mean, it's nearly the end of the school year. Don't you worry about graduating a blank flank?"
"No."
"How!?"
"He's an emotionless freak, that's how." Porcelain Doll cut in, having been waiting at the end of the school grounds for Ashen and getting a two-for-one instead.
"Ugh, go away, Porcelain, nopony asked you." Hourglass sighed, her tone exasperated.
"Shut up, Hourglass." Porcelain snapped back, taking a threatening step towards the pair. "Let your coltfriend speak for himself."
Pausing, Ashen and Hourglass exchanged looks before Hourglass cracked up laughing and Ashen grinned in amusement.
"Is that what kindness registers as in your brain, Porcelain Doll? Romantic investment?" Ashen asked calmly, grin slowly fading.
Cheeks turning red from the tone she took as condescending in Ashen's voice, Porcelain stomped her hoof. "No! Why else would you two stick up for each other?! You aren't friends, you don't have any friends! You're too much of a freak!"
Grin having died down fully into his usual emotionless face, Ashen walked right up to Porcelain, invading her personal space as she was too proud to back up. "I may be a freak, but what's your excuse for not having any friends?" He asked coldly, watching with hidden satisfaction as Porcelain staggered back as though he'd struck her.
"Ooh, burn! Take that, Porcelain Doll!" Hourglass hollered, cantering up to Ashen and raising a hoof for a bump.
Although it took him a moment to realize what Hourglass wanted from him, Ashen hoofbumped her and the pair walked off, leaving a tearing up Porcelain to fume in their wake. From that day on, Ashen had a friend. Hourglass liked to hang out with Ashen during lunch and recess; while he read, she scheduled. They didn't talk much, and when they did, it was mostly one-sided with Hourglass excitedly telling Ashen something and Ashen simply smiling softly and nodding along. He didn't mind having a friend. In fact, he minded it considerably less than not having one. All in all, Ashen finally understood what all the hype was about.
It wasn't to last, however, as Ashen's advanced intelligence and magical aptitude saw him being advanced several grades which meant he went to a different school in Ponyville than the one Hourglass still went to. Hourglass still made the effort to hang out with Ashen during the weekend, but they eventually grew apart, Hourglass making more friends and Ashen finding himself considerably busier and more stimulated at the new school.
Despite his new, busier schedule, Ashen found himself more energetic than ever. Apparently being mentally stimulated was either very good or very bad for Ashen because he began to find it hard to sleep at night when he knew he could be studying. The new material however proved to be something he couldn't simply comprehend on his own and he often found himself unable to read ahead. So, instead of staying up all night trying and failing and ending up exhausted and frustrated by the morning, Ashen took to taking relaxing walks under the watchful gaze of the moon.
Ashen appreciated the beauty of the night, having always preferred night to day. It probably helped that he could see in the dark thanks to his serpentine-like eyes. One night, Ashen decided to walk around the outskirts of the Everfree forest instead of just walking around the expansive yard around Fluttershy's cottage. Then, another night, when Ashen was considerably older than he had been when he'd started his nightly ventures, Ashen decided to explore the forest itself.
The night was alive with the sounds of nature out in the Everfree but the sound of hooves crunching in the underbrush added an unnatural note to the late night serenade. Ashen had always been told by his mother to never enter the forest without her because it was more dangerous than just about anyplace else, even Pinkie's house, she'd sometimes jokingly add. Undeterred by Fluttershy's warnings and unafraid of whatever the forest held within it's dark depths, Ashen traveled on, looking about the trees and bushes as he went.
As he passed a bush, a small, round, fuzzy creature with sharp teeth, brown fur, and red eyes rolled out and hissed angrily at the invading colt. Ashen stared at the creature, unafraid of it's threatening display, and easily caught it in his magic when it tried to launch itself at him. The little whatever it was was very angry at him, it seemed, and was struggling madly to free itself.
Tilting his head, Ashen looked around, confirming that he was alone before compressing the creature in his magic slowly. He compressed until the creature couldn't move anymore and then focused a wall of magic within the bubble, effectively splitting the creature in half and killing it instantly. Ashen pulled the halves apart and examined the creatures inner workings through a thin sheet of his bright purple aura. He’d never seen a creature like this one before and he was quite curious and fascinated by it.
After examining how all of the creature's parts worked for awhile, Ashen realized he'd need to hide it's body or Fluttershy might find out what he'd done. Pondering his predicament for a bit, Ashen looked around again before pulling the creature even closer and removing the wall that held the creature's guts inside it's corpse. He held the creature in his magic, using it's corpse as a bowl, and sniffed the insides.
They certainly smelled good, better than vegetables. Poking his tongue out, Ashen tasted the creature and his eyes immediately began to shine, his pupils having already been slits since he was alone. It was delicious. Tilting the corpse bowl, Ashen took a drink of the creature's blood and then bit into it's lukewarm shell. Having to sit down from the new assault on his senses, Ashen devoured the small creature's lifeless husk in seconds, wolfing it down greedily and licking his lips clean. Why hadn't anypony told him meat was so good? Why didn't everypony eat meat? He'd have to ask Fluttershy in the morning; for now, he needed more.
The newborn predator stood back up and found a new silence in his steps as his instincts were awakened and in one night, the creatures of the Everfree forest found a new creature in their midst. A creature that looked like a tasty little pony, but was, in fact, terrifying and hungry and perhaps not even a pony at all. What it was then, was unknown, all that mattered was that from that night on, it was something to be avoided, to be feared.
The next morning, Ashen made good on his resolve to ask his mother about the wonders of a carnivorous diet. "Hey, mom," Ashen started softly, sitting at the kitchen table with Fluttershy as they had their morning breakfast: boring, bland, meatless oatmeal. "why don't ponies eat meat?"
Not expecting the odd question, Fluttershy took a moment to respond. "Well, because our bodies aren't made for it." She answered slowly, having gotten enough odd questions from her son to know that a simple answer wasn't good enough and carrying on. "Our teeth can't chew meat and our bodies can't process it. If we ate meat, we would just get sick from not getting the nutrients we need."
"Have you ever tasted meat?" Ashen asked, ears lowering as Fluttershy choked on her spoonful of oatmeal.
"Celestia, no!" Fluttershy exclaimed quietly, giving Ashen a quizzical look. "Where is all this coming from?"
Shrugging lightly, Ashen poked at his oatmeal with his spoon. "Some of the animals around here eat meat, so I was curious about why we don't." He lied, realizing from Fluttershy's tone that the subject was perhaps a bit taboo. Ashen could understand a pony not eating meat all the time since biology dictated that was bad for them, but why did it seem so wrong to simply try some?
Deciding he couldn't very well press Fluttershy on the matter and figuring that since she was skittish about it, other ponies were probably also skittish about it, Ashen hurried through his breakfast and excused himself. He sometimes helped Fluttershy with her daily tasks of taking care of her animals, especially when he didn't have school, but he decided he needed to ask the only other carnivore he knew about why meat was so taboo. Grabbing his bookbag, Ashen lied about needing to get some extra work done for school and left the cottage, making his way through Ponyville to Twilight's castle.
He didn't like Twilight much. She gave him weird looks when she thought he wasn't looking and he knew she didn't trust him. He didn't trust her either though. He'd met Cadence once before and she was so polite and mature and put-together compared to Twilight; it made Ashen wonder how Celestia had ever thought Twilight was right for a position like princess of anything.
Pushing away his thoughts, Ashen rapped his hoof against the crystalline double doors of Twilight's castle and was delighted when Spike answered the door. Though Spike was many years Ashen's senior, they enjoyed each other's company immensely and over the years of knowing each other, Ashen had even developed a bit of a crush on the dragon. He would never say anything or act on it, of course, such an age difference would make anything beyond friendship highly inappropriate, but the puppy crush was still there.
"Can you hang out today, Spike?" Ashen asked, coming inside when Spike motioned for him to.
"Not yet. I have a few things to do around the castle first, but then I can totally hang out." Spike replied, closing the door and showing Ashen the short list of chores he had to do.
"I could take that one off your claws." Ashen offered, noticing that one of the chores was to return some books to the castle's library. "Then I'll just hang out in the library until you're done with your chores."
"Okay." Spike agreed, delighted to not have to do his least favorite task. The way Twilight organized her books sometimes was a nightmare and it got even worse when she forgot to tell him that she'd done it a certain way. Half the time it was impossible to find anything in the library and Spike would've felt bad for pawning it off on his friend, but Ashen was weirdly good at deciphering Twilight's madness.
Cantering off to the library, Ashen immediately got work. He levitated the books off of the three full return carts and shook his head. Somepony had had a heavy study session. And instead of putting back what she'd gotten out, that somepony had left the daunting task to Spike. Deciding to just be happy that he'd have something to do while he waited for Spike to be available, Ashen levitated himself up to the highest bookshelf closest to the left side of the entrance to the library. Twilight always went in a reading direction with organization, top to bottom and left to right, unless she was going for categories.
Pulling out the first few books to see what the pattern was, Ashen rolled his eyes. Chronological. That was absolutely useless for anypony who didn't already know the year a book was from. Knowing that he might get scolded, but also knowing that he could use the excuse of getting carried away, an excuse that had worked before and that Twilight understood very well, Ashen floated over to the center of the room and pulled every single book from the bookshelves around the room.
Horn glowing so brightly that the light was visible out in the hall, Ashen began to swirl the books around himself. Soon the bookshelves began to fill up again but this time, it was in alphanumeric order. Ashen first shelved all the books and then, after he'd gotten them blocked, organized them within their block, properly alphabetizing them now that they were already on the shelves. Time lost all meaning to Ashen as he worked and when he finished, he lowered himself to the ground only to be greeted by a very shocked Spike.
"Hey." Ashen greeted, smiling at his friend. "Did you finish your chores already?"
"Uh, yeah, awhile ago." Spike sputtered, quickly moving on to what was really important. "You--how were you doing that?! That was, like, super advanced magic!"
"Oh." Ashen smiled a bit more and shrugged. "I dunno. I've always been able to do stuff like that."
"Are you in advanced classes? Do your teachers know? You could get into Celestia's with that kind of talent!"
Waiting patiently for Spike to finish, Ashen shook his head. "I don't want to go to Celestia's, I like it here." He said, using his magic to pick up his bookbag and put it back on. "And I don't really go showing off my magic, so no, my teachers don't know. I am in advanced classes though. Advanced for my age, anyway."
"Well you could be in advanced classes for a pony twice your age if that wasn't even a big deal for you." Spike said, shocked awe quickly being replaced by mild indignance. "Was that you reorganizing Twilight's books? Again?"
Ears lowering, Ashen looked sheepish. "Maybe?"
"I guess we better get in some hanging out before Twilight realizes then." Spike said slyly, indignance fading quickly as he grinned.
Grinning back, Ashen followed Spike to his room and they got in a few dramatic comic book reenactments before Ashen brought up the real reason he'd come over. "Do you eat meat, Spike?" He asked rather abruptly, feeling disheartened when Spike looked confused.
"No." Spike answered, setting down the comic he was about to suggest they start. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, you're a dragon." Ashen murmured, frowning. "Aren't dragons carnivorous?"
"Most of them are. I was raised by Twilight though, so I was raised a herbivore." Spike explained.
"Doesn't that mess with your health?"
"No, I get all the nutrients I would get from meat from the minerals and stuff in gems and from other stuff I eat."
"Oh." Ashen looked away for a moment, weighing his options, and then decided to go in for the kill. "Have you ever tasted meat?"
"Well, sure I have." Spike admitted, shrugging. "Why are you suddenly so curious about my diet?"
"No reason." Ashen lied, levitating over the book Spike had set down. "Just curious, I guess."
"Alright." Spike said slowly, not quite believing Ashen, but deciding to drop the subject since their time together was limited both by how soon Twilight found out her books had been reorganized and how upset by it she was.
The fairly annoyed SPIIIIIKE that came a few comic books later told the duo all they needed to know about how much trouble Ashen was going to be in if he couldn't convince Twilight either with logic or by appealing to her understanding of feeling the undeniable need to do something to not be mad at him.
