Flash set his coffee down on the table.
"Wow... I haven’t seen or heard from him in years…" He stood up and walked over to the cabinet, pulling out a photo album and blowing dust off the cover. He set it down on the table. The title read, ‘Childhood memories’. He opened the book and showed Fluttershy the first picture. It was a picture of Flash and Freedom as foals.
"Freedom and I go waaaay back." Chuckled Flash.
Fluttershy looked up from the picture.
"Care to tell the story?"
Flash looked at the ground.
"Sure…let me pour you another cup of coffee though…this is going to take a while."
As Flash went in to the other room, Rainbow Dash began to stir on the couch. Fluttershy could hear her talking in her sleep.
"No Blaze, put that firecracker back in the box!" She rolled over with her back to Fluttershy. Flash walked back into the room.
"Uhhh... so the story of Freedom and I. Well, when I was a very small foal, my mother’s friend moved next door from Manehatten. Something about her husband walking out on her. She was pregnant at the time, and my mother explained to me that I would have to be a good friend to the colt when it was born. I remember going to the hospital and a nurse coming into the waiting room and putting that small colt into my arms. I was only 5 at the time."
Flash stared into the picture sitting on the table and Fluttershy asked,
"Then what happened?"
Flash looked up then continued.
"Well, we took him home with us. His mother died during childbirth. She just couldn’t handle it.
So he became my new little brother. My mother named him Freedom after his grandfather and we began to grow. One day me and him went to the movies together. Some teenaged ponies were in the alleyway wearing leather jackets with metal studs, and had their manes colored and spiked up. they came up to us, and I got in a defensive stance in case I needed to protect my little "brother". Turned out they were just misunderstood ponies that had been cast away by society and just needed some change to eat. One of them became good friends with Freedom. His name was.... uhhh…"
Flash frowned.
"I can’t seem to remember."
Fluttershy noticed a picture of a small green foal with a dark blue pony wearing a leather jacket with studs and a smile on his face.
"Was it Kurio?" She asked quietly, glancing at Rainbow who started making noise in her sleep again.
Flash's face lit up.
"Yes! That’s it! After I bought those ponies some lunch, Freedom didn't want Kurio to leave. He had found out Kurio and his friends’ living conditions, and decided that they were just too nice of ponies to be sleeping in a box. So I found the nearest payphone and called mom to ask if he could stay a few nights. She said only he could come, and that his friends couldn’t. That night he ate dinner with us and we gave him the guest bedroom. Mom called me into the other room and informed me that Kurio was Freedom's real father. The next day when we woke up Kurio was gone, but there was a note on his bed. It read,
“Dear Freedom,
im not sure if you overheard me and Mrs.Flash last night but i am your father. i just wanted to say im sorry and that I didnt want to leave when I found out that your mother was carring you. but i just felt like it would be better because i felt like i was holding her back from making as much money as she could. im very pround to be the father of such a strong little colt and I cant wait to see you when your a full grown pony and i wouldnt be suprized if you got strong enough to join the wonderbolts! I love you son and you will see me again but I cant stay in one place for more than a few days. I left you my jacket in the closet and i want you to treat it with care. your grandfather gave me that coat. Ill see you when your older, I promise.
your father,
Kurio.”
Freedom read the note with tears falling down his face. He went to the closet, and picked up Kurio's coat. He slipped it on, and there was a flash of light. He had gotten his cutie mark just from putting his father’s coat on, and he was younger than me! As we grew, his love for punk rock grew. He wanted to be just like his father. When I moved out to the outskirts of Cloudsdale, mom gave him permission to come with me. I was 20, and he was 15. Around when he turned 17, he said he was going to venture out in the world and find his dad. He left, and I haven’t seen him since."
Fluttershy looked up from the back cover.
"So that coat he was wearing…"
Flash cut her off.
“Was his fathers, yes.”
"Fluttershy?"
Both Flash and Fluttershy look over to the couch where Rainbow was sitting up, wiping sleep from her eyes.
"You need to get home. You missed angel's midnight feeding, its 2 o'clock."
Fluttershy gasped, jumped up, said her goodbyes, and rushed out the door.
Rainbow looked over at Flash
"Come to bed when you’re ready; I’m bushed."
"Ok my love. I’ll be there as soon as I clean up some things."
Rainbow trudged over and kissed him on the cheek, then stumbled to the bedroom. Flash looked out the window and sighed.
"Oh Freedom, where did you go?"
To be Continued…