Rainbow Dash soared high in the air, above the layer of clouds that blanketed the sky. Flight always seemed to bring her peace, as she assumed it did to other pegasi, but this night was different. There was no peace, no joyous feeling of freedom, only depression and anger.

Anger that she didn’t know why or how he had died. She pressed hospital staff for answers but only got ‘I don’t know’, or ‘we’ve never seen anything like this before’. Then the news came, and from Celestia herself, that he had died. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so sad in her life. The emotion of the previous 24 hours outweighed even the deaths of her aging parents.

Maybe that’s why. They were old, and he wasn’t. I wish I could have at least seen him again.

Rage boiled up inside her at the thought, for even that final comfort had been taken from her. As if to add insult to injury, somepony had started a fire in the hospital, destroying his body, killing two guards and nearly burning the building to the ground. The city guard had been on high alert when she left, searching for any sign of the felon.

I’ll kill that bastard if I see him!

The rage didn’t last long before it was washed away by sadness. Dash slowed her pace, and banked off to her right, towards a cloud. She landed softly and rolled onto her back, staring at the bright stars of the night.

I just want him back...

Ash looked out over the town of Ponyville. Unsurprisingly, it was exactly the same as it was when he had last seen it. Most of the buildings were dark, but light could be seen through the windows of a few.

On the flight back from Canterlot, Ash had decided that going into town was a bad idea. There was no telling who knew about what happened to him, and being recognised would surely bring unwanted and potentially dangerous attention. Upon arriving, the first place the grey Pegasus had visited was Rainbow’s Cloud house.

The huge white structure hung over the high enough ground to cause serious harm in a fall. A river of rainbows flowed around the main structure and pooled in several areas around the base before pouring off the cloud completely in a beautiful rainbow waterfall. Ash felt a dull pain in his chest when he first saw the place.

So many memories.

He circled the house, but saw no sign of recent habitation. Glances through windows revealed only dark rooms. Nopony was home. Ash suddenly became aware of his own fatigue when he saw the empty bed through a window.

Maybe I could go inside, have a quick rest... no, can’t risk it.

Keeping low to the ground, the Pegasus flew silently around the town, toward the Everfree Forest. In the darkness, he could make out Fluttershy’s cottage in a small clearing. There were no lights, only the silhouette of the small building.

Keeping his distance from the dwelling, Ash descended into the trees. A life time of stories had taught him to fear the Everfree Forest, and Ash was in no mood to be caught up in another fight, so he stayed on the edge of the forest. The edge was marked by a visible line where the trees took on a darker appearance and grew much closer together.

Ash landed and rested himself against a tree. His previous fatigue had grown and he felt himself drawn into the welcoming embrace of sleep.

It was as if the entire world was invisible. There was ground beneath him, but all he could see was darkness. He called out in vain, desperate for the contact of another, but to no avail.

Sinking to his knees, he felt the despair of loneliness engulf him.

The sound of hoof steps roused him from his stupor. A figure stood behind him, definitely a pony, but unrecognisable. The pony watched him silent and unmoving. He tried calling out to the pony, asking who he was and where they were but the pony just stared at him.

A sudden feeling of rage erupted, destroying any rational thought. He charged at the silent pony, who in turn cried out in fear and fled. The pony ran fast, but he was fast.

He jumped onto his prey, tackling the pony to the ground. He raised a hoof and struck the pony across the face, resulting in a cry of pain. He lashed out again and again, all the while screaming at the pony, who cried and begged for mercy. Blood stained his hoofs and his coat, and the pony beneath him soon fell silent, but he kept attacking.

Tiredness overcame him and his previous bloodlust subsided. He reared back in shock when he saw the battered and bloodied corpse before him. He shook the body, apologising franticly and begging the pony to wake up, but there was no response.

Blood pooled underneath the pony’s body. He leaned forward and looked into it.

Ash’s eyes met the red ones of his reflection.

Ash jolted awake, heart racing and drenched in sweat. He looked around franticly, and felt a wave of relief wash over him when he recognised the familiar trees.

It was just a dream.

Looking up at the sky he saw it was day time, but the sun was lowering itself toward the horizon.

How long have I been sleeping?

A rustle in the undergrowth to his right caught his attention. He jumped to a standing position, and prepared to take off when a small brown rabbit hopped into his view. He sighed and fell back into a sitting position.

The rabbit took notice of him, and cautiously approached.

I’m close to Fluttershy’s cottage, so this must be one of hers.

The rabbit was only a meter away when it stopped, and Ash felt an unfamiliar feeling in the back of his mind.

What the-

The rabbit suddenly squealed and fell. It thrashed wildly, kicking up small clouds of dust and grass. Ash started toward the rabbit, but stopped almost immediately. The rabbit’s flesh was moving to its own accord, swelling and shrinking in different places on its body.

The grey Pegasus stared in horror as the woodland critter’s body deformed and reshaped before his eyes. Pain steadily rose in Ash’s head. He felt like his brain was slowly beginning to burn, and cried out before falling. After a minute the pain subsided to a dull throb, and Ash slowly stood.

The rabbit’s body laid still, no longer the cute little bunny it was before. On the ground in front of him lay a hideous creature that resembled a cross between a rat and a small dog. The little fur that remained had turned black, but most had fallen off, revealing dark, leathery skin. Claws sprouted from its paws, and razor sharp teeth were visible in its mouth.

The creature’s eyes opened, and Ash involuntarily jumped back in fear.

“Do not fear it.”

The creature stood and examined the horrified Pegasus. After a moment, it began to circle around him. Ash followed it with his eyes, prepared to strike at a moment’s notice.

“It means no harm.”

“How do you know that? And what the fuck is that... thing?!”

“The first of many.”

The freakish monster sniffed the air, and, without warning, bolted off toward the Everfree Forest. Ash scanned the forest around him, fearing its return. “What do you mean, ‘the first of many’? Did you have something to do with this?”

“Yes. It was us whom created the being.”

“You did this!”

“We.”

Ash rubbed his eyes. This is too much.

“You turned it into a monster! You turned ME into a monster! What the fuck are you?!”

There was no response.

“WHO ARE YOU!?” Ash screamed.

The Pegasus stood alone amongst the trees, breathing heavily. An eerie silence followed his outburst. The light was fading as the sun gave of its final rays for the day.

“Why are you doing this to me?” he sobbed.

There was no response.

With a frustrated growl, the grey Pegasus took off. He had things to do.

Dash had arrived at her home in the late hours of the night and, in the exhausted state she was in, had fallen asleep almost immediately. But even sleep held no respite for her, as she was troubled by dreams all night.

The cyan mare had woken to find the sun high in the sky. Nopony from the weather team had come to rouse her from her sleep as they usually did when she slept in.

Maybe one of the girls told them, she thought. It felt good to know there was somepony, or in this case someponies, looking out for her, but it failed to lessen the feelings of lose and depression.

She rolled over in her bed and reached out for the familiar grey shape she was used to being there, but found nothing but cloud. Rainbow realised what she had been doing and shook her head before sitting up.

Why can’t I stop thinking about him? She sighed. Looking up at the sun, she guessed it was just past noon. Despite the late start, she knew it was going to be a long day.

Ash had been watching from a distance. His sharp eyes caught several signs of movement in the cloud house, a light going on, or a shadow passing a window. Somepony was inside, Ash just hoped it would be the one he wanted to see, and not some house sitter.

He waited for the sun’s light to completely disappear before making his move. Taking off, he silently approached his destination. Landing outside he slowly made his way to the front door. He raised a hoof to knock, but hesitated.

Should I really be here? The thought was quickly pushed aside. Of course. She deserves to know. She has to know.

After a quick look over his shoulder to make sure nopony was behind him, he pushed the door open and entered.

Rainbow Dash spent the remainder of the day alone in her home. Fluttershy had come around but Dash had no desire to be around anypony at the time. After reassuring the yellow Pegasus she was fine, Rainbow had finally convinced her to leave.

The night came surprisingly quickly, and the depressed mare had quickly retreated to her bedroom. She lay alone on the bed, willing sleep come, when a noise caught her attention.

Hoofsteps, downstairs. Didn’t Fluttershy get the message before? With an angry grumble she got off the bed and made her way downstairs.

“Fluttershy, I told you before, I’m fine! I don’t need you checking... up...” Rainbow Dash trailed off when she saw a familiar grey Pegasus standing in her living room. His coat was dirty, and his near white mane a tangled mess on his head, but it was unmistakable who it was.

“...Ash?”

Ash took a step towards her. “Rainbow-”

He was cut off when she leapt on him, pulling him into a crushing embrace and rambling. He only caught a few words, like ‘dead’, and ‘worried’.

“Shh. I’m here.”

“I-I thought I w-was never going to s-see you again.” she sobbed.

The cyan mare looked up at him, tears welled in her eyes. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Dash looked into his eyes, but an expression of shock crossed her face and she recoiled slightly.

“Y-your eyes!” she gasped.

“I know.” He felt a tinge of regret as he spoke the words. The violet colour of his eyes were the same as his mother’s, a constant reminder of the mare who had brought him into the world.

She stared for a moment longer before renewing the embrace. “I don’t care. I’m just glad you’re back.”

They stayed there for a few minutes enjoying the moment, then Dash broke the silence. “What happened to you? Princess Celestia told me that you... died.”

Ash felt hatred toward the name. He took a deep breath before answering.

“Celestia... Celestia tried to have me killed.” She gasped at the revelation, but Ash continued before she could talk. “A while after I woke up, I started hearing things. A voice. It told me to run, that I was in danger, then Celestia came in.

“She had two guards with her. Unicorns. She said she was ‘sorry it had to come to this, but it is necessary’ then left. The guards... they were going to kill me. I didn’t have a choice! I had to do something or die!” he couldn’t contain himself any longer. Tears began to stream down his face.

He looked up at Rainbow, who only looked confused. “Ash, what are you saying?”

“I killed them, Rainbow. I killed both of them.”

A/N: Not happy with the scene with the rabbit, so expect that bit to be subject to change. Thanks to those who've been reading! Rember to comment/rate/track. MLP:FiM is property of Hasbro, and all characters are property of their respective owners.