The sun hung alone in the bright blue sky, creating the perfect day for young fillies and colts to run around and have fun in the playground. Trottingham was a fairly large town with multiple playgrounds but this one was undeniably the best. Everything was built upon the field and it wasn’t enclosed, creating a feeling of immense freedom for the children. It had your typical structures: swings, slides, climbing frames, roundabouts and a sandbox.

For the adults, there were benches dotted around all with great lines of sight, allowing parents to keep a watchful eye over their children. There was plenty of shade too and the surroundings were quite pretty to look at. There was even a fountain should both child and adult get too hot in the day.

Today, it was a beehive of activity. Nearly all the children who were here had been before but for one colt, this was his first time ever.

“Dusty?”

The colt turned around, facing his mother and father. “Me and your Dad will be at that bench over there.” The yellow mare said, pointing a hoof towards a bench under the shades of a tree. Dusty nodded, understanding.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine by yourself?” Said the father, his grey coat and brown mane being a vivid contrast to his wife’s red mane and yellow coat.

Again Dusty eagerly nodded, with a bright smile.

“Alright then, give us a kiss.” Dusty’s mother said before being giving a smooch on the cheek by her soon. Her husband soon received the same treatment.

And with that done, Dusty immediately headed for the playground like a dog chasing a tennis ball. His parents took their seats on the bench, keeping a careful eye upon him.

There were so many things to play on: he could go down a slide at breakneck speed, feel like a King in his castle atop the climbing frame or make himself sick to his stomach spinning around on the roundabout. But no, none of these things would tempt him away from his destination of choice.

The sandbox.

With a boundless energy, Dusty leaped into the sandbox, sending grains of sand into the air with a lot covering his coat too. His parents cringed as they saw him land; he’d need a long bath time tonight. The colt rolled around in the sand, enjoying the soft feel of it as it molded to accommodate his form.

Soon enough, he got bored of merely rolling around. It was time for adventure. His imagination set in and he found himself in a completely different world.

He was an adventurer and an archaeologist searching in the arid desert for hidden with relics that could potentially change Equestria forever. Two problems though: the ruins had been buried centuries ago by a vicious sandstorm and he had no shovel! No matter, he would have to use his hooves. He started to rapidly shovel the sand away with his own hooves, his eyelids twitching as some specks got into his eyes.

“Heh, I don’t know where he gets it from.” Dusty’s father, Flint, snickered as he observed Dusty quickly dug into the sand like a hyper energetic mole.

“Certainly not us.” Flint’s wife, Beryl, joked.

What both of them observed was something quite unusual for a colt of Dusty’s age. The other children were happy to interact with each other, playing games such as tag. The relaxed environment allowed them to without fear. But Dusty was far too wrapped up in his own imagination to take notice of anypony else around him. It wasn’t something to worry about just yet, although both remembered it for future reference.

It didn’t take long for Dusty to dig down deep enough that he actually hit the wooden bottom of the sandbox. He blinked, his imaginative world shattering.

“Why doesn’t this go deeper?!” He threw his forehooves into the air, frowning, them folded them across his chest. His parents spotted this charade and Beryl made a light trot towards Dusty.

“What’s wrong Dusty?” She asked sweetly as she approached.

“This sandbox isn’t deep enough!” Dusty huffed.

“Well dear, if it was too deep then ponies might get trapped.”

“This isn’t quicksand Mommy! This is normal sand!” He prodded at the said material to prove his point.

“It’s for safety reas--”

“I’m bored now. Can we go home?” Dusty interrupted. With his adventure smashed to pieces, there was nothing left for him here.

“But we only just got here Dusty. Why not go on the slide?”

“It’s too boring. And there’s loads of other kids there.”

“What’s wrong with the other children?” Beryl questioned. Dusty only gave her a shrug as an answer. “You really want to go home, do you?” Dusty nodded and Beryl sighed in defeat.

“My toys are there.” Dusty chirped as he trotted towards Flint, Beryl following close behind.

Flint raised an eyebrow as he saw both of them come back.”The playground’s that way you know.” He smirked, pointing at the sandbox.

“Dusty wants to go home now.” Beryl said.

Flint blinked. “Already?” He looked down at Dusty, who already was staring off into the direction of home. “Guess we can’t argue, eh?”

“Mhm.” Beryl answered. She began to lead the way, the Earth Pony family heading back to their residence. Flint and Beryl hadn’t expected Dusty’s first visit to the playground to end this soon. Granted he didn’t pull a tantrum, for which both were thankful for yet it was still rather sporadic of the colt to just want to leave. Maybe he wasn’t used to going that far from home yet, although the two weren’t sure if Dusty would ever like to return here again.

Trottingham was an ideal place to raise a child. It had an urban center and surrounding that were the rural areas. The playground that Dusty had just left was one of them and luckily, him and his family lived nearby. The playground itself was in the middle of a park that saw its fair share of romantic partners strolling through.

The family soon were at home, Flint and Beryl just managing to persuade Dusty not to jump in a pond with ducks along the way. While their house was average, that didn’t mean it wasn’t nice. They didn’t have much a front garden but compensated for this with having a sizeable back one. The walls were painted a lovely beige, with a red tiled roof.

Inside was the standard amount of rooms: two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, living room and the hallway. The kitchen was large enough to serve as a dining room as well, having a wooden table in the center.

Flint opened the door and led the way in. Beryl was pushed aside by Dusty who galloped up the stairs and shut himself in his bedroom. This was standard procedure and for good reason--all of Dusty’s toys were in his room.

The floor of Dusty’s room was covered in a soft, light brown carpet perfectly designed for those children who were particularly energetic. Dusty had gotten bruises and cuts from the floors in the other rooms and the ground outside but never in his own bedroom. The walls were painted a sky blue however a few messy hoofprints in various colors were splattered on them as well; Dusty got bored of having walls with just one color and grabbed what paint he could find.

To Dusty, the world was his playground and he was too young to grasp what ‘consequences’ or ‘responsibility’ was yet. As such, any object in the house was a toy just waiting to be played with. Bowls were worn as helmets, books were stacked together to make forts and the space under the table was a perfect cave to hide in.

Obviously Dusty did have proper toys, which were all scattered around his room. Stuffed animals, building blocks, bouncy balls amongst others. Yet one toy stood out from them all.

His Daring Do action figure.

True, he wasn’t old enough to be able to read an entire Daring Do book by himself but the title covers were enough to inspire him. In addition, he had convinced Beryl to read them to him although many words needed to be explained.

But one thing he did understand was that Daring Do was awesome. That’s all he needed. The figure and him went almost everywhere together, at least in the house. His parents never allowed him to take it outside for fear that he would lose it. Dusty thought they were mad to say such things; Daring Do never got lost! She only lost her sense of direction! Still, he couldn’t rebel against it.

For him, Daring Do was his only friend in the world. He could tell her anything and she would understand. Together, the duo were unbeatable. Being an only child, he had never needed to interact with ponies of his age before. He didn’t need them anyway since Daring Do was far cooler than any other pony in the world.

Daycare. The place for parents to put their children in a fun environment with others, to allow themselves to attend to other tasks.

Flint was a miner, which meant that he had a full work day. Beryl was a geologist before Dustdigger came along. When he was born, she dropped the job to attend to her son. But with an energetic foal like Dusty, it was sometimes easier to drop him off at daycare rather than drag him around somewhere he really didn’t want to be. As well as this, daycare allowed Dusty to build social connections.

He would have too, if he wasn’t so wrapped up in his own world.

The daycare center itself was a simple yet inviting place. The main area where the children played (the Playroom) was perfect for various ages of pony. All the walls were different colors, that being blue, red, green and yellow. The ceiling was just a plain white and the multi-colored floor was covered in padding so that chances of injury from falling were unlikely. It was a large space too, perfect for playing tag in. There were toys too, although it there was often a mad race to get the best ones.

For regulars, friendships had already been established. Even so, new children could often easily interact with the others. Dusty was a strange case though. He would always been found by himself, yet didn’t show any signs of being lonely. He would gallop around the room, climbing over various small, indoor climbing frames. While this may show signs of him being observant of his surroundings, whenever other ponies tried to join in or talk to him, he would just stare at them blankly before moving on.

Such behaviour had not gone unnoticed and one of the carers, a peach colored unicorn mare by the name of Peaches, was particularly worried at Dusty’s seemingly stunted development of Dusty’s social skills. Either he wasn’t interested in making friends or he was unable too. She intended to get to the bottom of it.

And considering the fact that Beryl had arrived to pick Dusty up, now seemed like the perfect chance.

“Beryl, a quick word?” Peaches said, calling Beryl over. The two were friends so it was perfectly acceptable to seem a bit casual.

“By all means, Peaches.”

Peaches bit her lip, looking around. Now really wasn’t the time. Furthermore, Dusty’s father should be here too. “Actually...hm. Do you think you could return here in the evening with Flint and Dusty?”

“I don’t think that should be a problem, although Flint gets home rather late.” Beryl replied, suspicions raised.

Peaches nodded. “That’s fine. I can wait; this is important.”

Beryl looked at her child, still galloping around the room looking overjoyed. “Is Dusty alright?” She asked worriedly.

“Yes yes. He’s perfectly healthy for a foal his age. In fact, with his boundless energy I’m sure he’s far more athletic than most.”

Beryl nodded, sighing with relief. Still, Peaches’ answer only led to another question.

“I’m just concerned about his social skills. It’s nothing to worry about just yet but in the future it may become a problem.” The unicorn answered before the question could be raised.

“Okay...” Beryl said. “Dusty, time to go home!”

The child stopped in his tracks and looked directly at his mother. It wasn’t long before he was by her side. A big grin was on his face. Nothing could ever beat home.

“I’ll see you later this evening then.” Beryl gave Peaches a light smile.

“Take care of yourselves.”

“You too!”

The two set a course for home. For Dusty it was just another walk. A means to an end. But for Beryl it was time to think. Dusty had a problem with social skills? Come to think of it, he may have had them. Memories of the time in the playground were brought to the forefront of her mind. Both Beryl and Flint had shrugged it off as initial nervousness, with Dusty trying to play it cool. Maybe there really was a problem here.

She looked down at Dusty, who had a particular spring in his step. He didn’t show signs of nervousness. Completely the opposite. He seemed relaxed as ever and very happy indeed. Although this may have been due to him going home.

Yet even when she saw him in the daycare he seemed happy as ever. He was in his element. But he was alone.

Beryl let out a quiet sigh and shook her head. She hoped that whatever this apparent problem was it would get sorted out soon. She just wanted Dusty to be happy.

The family of three headed back to daycare just as the Sun was beginning to set, painting the whole sky a beautiful red. Silhouettes of birds could be seen as they fly back to their nests and only a few ponies were seen walking about.

Flint had been informed of the situation, although he didn’t see the issue. Dusty was still young and all children grow up differently. It wasn’t that he cared. He loved Dusty dearly. However he didn’t want to make a fuss over nothing. Let Dusty live his life, he always said, and him and Beryl as parents would be the ones to guide him through the bad times.

Beryl insisted that they should talk to Peaches anyway. Better safe than sorry. Flint couldn’t argue with that (in fact he rarely won arguments with Beryl, he blamed this on the fact that she was a geologist and therefore automatically more intelligent).

Dusty had come with them, amazed at the fact that his parents were taking him out this late. His bedtime was soon!

As the three entered, they saw Peaches placing toys neatly in their proper places around the room. She had them enter and approached.

“Ah,. good to see you two.” She said, giving the parents a smile. She then knelt down before Dusty. “And great to see you!”

“Hi.” Dusty replied. Him and Peaches did have conversations on occasion but Dusty never considered her a friend. Children never make friends with adults. It’s the unwritten code of child’s law.

Okay so Daring Do was the sole exception.

“You can go ahead and play if you want.” Peaches stated, smiling at Dusty cheered and ran off around the room. It was completely devoid of any other child. Brilliant! More space for him to have his adventures!

Peaches returned to business. “Thank you two for coming. Flint, has Beryl informed of you of why we’re here.”

“Mhm. I don’t see the problem though.” Flint shrugged.

“Hm. Perhaps I phrased it wrong to Beryl. Right now it’s not a problem but it may become one soon.”

“Huh. Go on then.” Flint said, gesturing for Peaches to continue.

“Currently, Dusty seems to be unwilling to interact with the other children. I don’t think he can’t do it, as he has never shown signs of nervousness around them. However he shows a high level of ignorance around them.”

“Do you think he has...autism?” Beryl questioned.

Peaches swiftly shook her head. “I doubt it. His behaviour is far from repetitive. While he may be energetic a lot of the time, what he plays is never consistent. In addition, he has fine communication.”

Both parents sighed with relief. They’d still love Dusty even if he was autistic but things would have to change for both him and them. Or would they? In all honesty, neither parent knew enough about the condition.

Peaches continued. “I think that he may just not see the need for friends. This may stem from the fact that he is an only child and therefore has never had to interact with other children for extended periods of time.”
“So what can we do?” Flint asked.

“Encourage Dusty to play with the other children. Come with him to daycare if you have the time. The longer he is here for, the more likely he is to make a friend.” Peaches looked at Beryl, who still seemed a tad concerned. “It’s nothing to worry about Beryl. We’ve spotted the issue and we’re going to solve it. Dusty’s completely fine.” She said, her voice very calming.

Flint posed the next question. “So is that all then?”

“Mhm. Thank you for coming. Just goes to show how much you care for your son.” Beryl gave the pair a warm smile.

“Well thank you for informing us about this.” Beryl said, spotting Dusty in the room. “Time to go Dusty!”

“Already?” He wailed.

“Well it is pretty late son. We don’t want the monsters to eat us.” Joked Flint. Of course Dusty took it seriously, hugging his father’s leg.

“Let’s go.” Dusty uttered, looking around carefully.

“Goodbye Peaches, have a good night. And thanks again.” Beryl said, giving her a small wave.

“Take care of yourself now. Make sure those kids don’t bite your kneecaps.” Flint smirked, heading out of the door. He was somewhat hindered by his son still grabbing onto his foreleg.

“Have a good night you three.” Peaches called out as they left the building.

By now, the Sun had been replaced by the Moon and the sky was dark with splotches of glistening stars. Dusty still clung onto his father for dear life, constantly on the lookout for monsters. As soon as he got home, he wouldn’t even need telling to get to bed.

Beryl and Flint meanwhile, had a lot to think about. It was obvious that Dusty needed to go to the daycare more often and then the playground. He needed to strengthen his social skills in preparation for school, which was looking rather close now. If Dusty couldn’t make friends there, then it would be one big hell for him.

Another bright, sunny day. A cool breeze wafted throughout Trottingham, making it the perfect time to go out and do something exciting. It was a shame then that neither Beryl or Flint could reap the benefits of the weather. Flint was doing his job in a cold, dark mine and Beryl needed to do chores around the house such as washing up. A tidy home is a happy home after all.

At least Dusty could take in the sunlight. He was sat in the garden, which wasn’t particularly exciting: it was just grass surrounded by wooden fence. Flower beds wouldn’t last long when you had a child like Dusty. The only other thing of note was the shed in the corner. Dusty wasn’t allowed to go in there as it contained many of Flint’s tools. That didn’t stop him from wanting to go in though.

Good thing it was open just ajar then. Flint did get up rather late this morning so he must have left the shed open in his haste to get to work.

Peering about for signs of his mother, of which there were none, Dusty headed inside the shed. He grinned with excitement as he saw all the tools in front of him. Shovels, pickaxes, rakes...you name it, were all on hooks or shelves. The tools inspired him to hatch a brilliant plan.

He grabbed a shovel and a pickaxe, returning outside. Today would be his first step in archaeology! And the first step of that was to dig.

The shovel was heavy but somehow he managed to stand on two hooves and stab the tool into the ground. The soil was a bit hard; the shovel could barely make an impact. Good thing he had a pickaxe then. It took all of his strength to lift both tools but he somehow he was able to cope with it. He struck the soil with the pickaxe as hard as he card. He smirked. That did it.

With the soil broken up, he could now start shovelling. What would he find? So many mysteries were buried beneath the earth...so many possibilities...

Finally. Chores were done and the house looked lovely. Beryl smiled at the clean dishes, which were neatly stacked on top of one another in the cupboard. Now she would check up on Dusty and then she could relax at last.

“Dusty?” She called out. No response. She didn’t fear though, as she knew the front door was locked. Therefore she deduced that he would be in the garden. As she went outside, the smile on her face instantly fell apart due to the sight in front of her.

The garden was scarred was plenty of holes and from one dirt was being thrown out. For a brief moment, she feared that Diamond Dogs had attacked but then she saw the open shed.

Oh dear...

She approached the hole that was chucking up earth and looked down. Dusty was down there, digging away. Seems like someone had inherited their father’s skills.

“Dusty, get out of there this instant.” Beryl cried. Dusty immediately obeyed, climbing out of the hole with an unfamiliar can that he waved about enthusiastically. He was completely covered in dirt from head to hoof.

“Look! I found a can! It’s a lost relic!” He yelled. The can was very rusted and had a label, although it was unreadable. Whatever was inside had long gone. Despite Dusty’s accomplishment, he had still done wrong.

“Put that can down young stallion.” Beryl said in a very stern voice. Dusty gulped and let go of his find. “We don’t dig holes in people’s gardens without their permission. Do you hear me?”

Dusty looked down and nodded. He knew when he was in trouble.

“Good. Now march to the bathroom--you need a wash.”

“Okay mom...” Dusty muttered and headed inside dejectedly. Beryl looked once more at the holes, sighing. Flint would have to sort this all out and he wouldn’t like it.

She followed Dusty into the bathroom and turned on the bath taps, hot and cold water combining together to make the perfect temperature. Once the water had risen to the right level, she gestured for Dusty to climb in, which he did. He was then subjected to washing and brushing from his mother. All the time he avoided her gaze, ears flattened.

“Dusty, why did you dig up the garden?” Beryl asked, concentrating on getting fine bits of soil out of Dusty’s mane.

“Because I wanted to be an archaeologist like Daring Do...” Dusty said sadly, as if that dream had been shattered.

“Now’s a little early for that, don’t you think?”

“Maybe...” He mumbled.

She moved down to cleaning his body. “You can still be an archaeologist, Dusty. You just have to wait until you're older.”

“But I don’t wanna wait!” He stomped in the bath, causing some of the water to splash onto Beryl.

“I’m sorry dear but sometimes you have to wait for things you really want.” She grinned, thinking of something. “Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t train for becoming one.”

Dusty looked at Beryl as if she knew the answer to life itself. “How?!”

Beryl paused, blinking many times. She wasn’t looking at Dusty’s face but rather his flank. By washing away the dirt, she had uncovered something new.

“Well, I think you’re on the first step already.” She pointed to Dusty’s flank.

His jaw dropped as he saw what was now on him. His cutie mark. Two pickaxes crossed together to make an ‘X’ shape. It was perfect!

“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!” He said excitedly. He then started splashing happily in the water to celebrate his success.

Beryl looked on, a content smile on her face. Dusty never looked happier. And that alone was enough to make her think.

As long as her child was happy, everything was okay, right? She remembered the talk with Peaches the other night and knew what the answer was: no.

Of course children should be happy but they should also grow, she knew that. They need guidance in order to overcome the trials of life and grow into mature, capable adults. And for Beryl and Flint as parents, to complete this task they knew that sometimes, they may have to come at odds against Dusty. He would pull a tantrum and fight back, considering himself in the right and them in the wrong. He wasn’t bad for doing that. He just didn’t know any better.

It was Beryl and Flint’s duty as parents to help Dusty grow. His social skills needed to develop and they would hold his hoof every step of the way. There would be good times and there would be bad times. Beryl knew that. But even now, just looking at Dusty’s cutie mark and his eagerness to accomplish his dream, she knew that already his future looked like a bright one.