It had been a week since Twilight's birthday. She was on her way home from Celestia's lessons, walking happily down the sidewalk when she decided to take the scenic route through the park. However, things would take a turn for the worse when she ran into three older Earth Pony colts. One of them had a brown coat and grey mane with a football cutie mark. The second had a green coat and yellow mane with a baseball bat cutie mark. The final pony was the largest of the trio, he had a jet black coat with an orange mane and a flaming skull cutie mark.
"Well well well, looky what he have here." the black colt said with a devilish smile.
"Looks like a little book worm to me boss." the brown one replied with a snicker.
"Going around here, thinking she's better then the rest of us." the green one continued, a laugh roaring out of the three.
"I don't think I'm better then anypony." Twilight whispered, her little body shrinking from the sight in fear.
"Then what's this?" the brown one said as he grabbed her saddle bag and yanked it off, the straps barely holding the bag together.
"NO!" she yelled, trying to reach for her precious books. Her tiny body wasn't enough though, her little hooves just barely out of reach of her belongings. The brown colt shined a grin as he tossed the bag to the black one, the colt easily catching it.
"What's in here that's so special?" he asked as he put his nose inside the bag. "Something good?"
"My books!" Twilight yelled as she ran up to the other colt, trying to grab the bag. Once again, her hooves couldn't reach her target.
"You want this?!" he asked, only to fling it at the green colt. Twilight quickly ran to him, only to have her bag thrown back to the brown colt. But, as the bag flew through the air, the saddle bag disappeared, "Huh?! Hey! Where'd it go?!" he asked, his head turning around, trying to find the bag. Confusion consumed him as he realised the bag had not fallen to the ground around him.
"You losers should try picking on somepony your own size." said a voice. They all looked up and saw the saddle bag in the hooves of an orange pegasus with blue hair.
"Flash!" Twilight exclaimed, instantly recognising the foal.
"Just because you're bigger," Flash said as he put the saddle bag on his back, "that doesn't give you the right to push others around."
"Like I give a furry fuzz about what you think!" the black colt barked, his hoof shaking at Flash. "Come down here and I'll show you what happens to eavesdropping ponies like you!"
"Why'd you think I'm up here moron?" Flash said, only for his young wings to give out at that moment. He came to a sudden fall to the ground, his body laying flat next to Twilight. "Ow!" he moaned out as he hit solid earth. Looking back up, he saw the three teenage foals grinning as they towered above him, "Okay, new plan." he told Twilight as he grabbed her hoof "RUN!"
"Get them!" the leader yelled as the two foals made a hasty retreat, the trio not far behind. The two foals ran as fast as they could, but it wasn't enough. The trio kept getting closer, their hooves slamming the ground.
"They're catching up!" Twilight screamed, tears flowing from her eyes. Flash was trying his best to stay calm, but fear was inside him as well. But he knew that he was close to his destination. They only needed to stay ahead for a few more seconds. Then, Flash found what he was looking for as they took a sudden turn.
"NOW!" he yelled as he grabbed Twilight. He pulled the filly with him through a large bush, the duo quickly disappearing. As the bullies took the same turn, they were stunned at the foals sudden disappearance.
"Where'd they go?!" the black pony asked before turning to the green one, "Are you sure they came this way?!"
"I saw them jump through the bushes, I swear!" he replied, a gulp going down his throat as the black colt's hoof just inches away from his throat.
"Well keep looking!" he yelled before the three left the scene, never bothering to glance up. If they had, they would have noticed Flash and Twilight sitting on a large tree branch. He had managed to gets his wings going, quickly getting himself and the filly up the tree.
"They're finally gone." Flash said, still looking at the fleeing colts. "Glad that's over. Though...we should stay up here for a while just in case. Don't you agree?"
"I'm not staying anywhere with you." Twilight said, frowning at him. Flash turned and saw her pouting face.
"What did I do?!" Flash exclaimed, surprised at her sudden anger. "I just saved you from those bullies!"
"Next time you decide to play hero, make sure you can back it up." Twilight replied with a snort, "And give me back my saddle bag!" she said as she pulled the bag off of Flash's back, "Who knows what you'll try to do with it."
"Hey! What do you mean by that?!" Flash yelled back, anger appearing on his face now.
"I mean that you can't trust a thief like you." she said as she began to climb down.
"Thief?!" Flash gasped, "I'm no thief! I haven't stolen anything!"
"I heard everything from Donut Joe!" Twilight replied as she got to the bottom of the tree, "I know all about your little crime spree."
"You don't get to judge me." Flash said as he landed in front of Twilight. "You don't even know me."
"What else do I need to know about a thief?" Twilight replied, her face still showing her pouting face. As she tried to leave, a sudden crash of thunder sounded above their heads.
"Oh great, another thunderstorm. Just my luck." Flash moaned as he turned around, walking the other way from the tree. His ears twitched as he heard a certain sound. His ears had heard a whimper. Turning around, he saw Twilight shaking in fear. Her tiny shivering body quickly pierced his heart. "Are you okay?"
"I don't like storms." she quivered out, trying to hide from the noise.
Flash couldn't believe that the filly that had just been bravely reprimanding him earlier was now reduced to a terrified foal. Flash let out a sigh as he trotted over to her, his wings patting her back. "Come on, I know a place where you can wait out the storm."
The duo started their sprint away from the tree as the rain began to appear. They soon found themselves in front of an old large oak tree. On it was an old tree house sitting on it's branches. Once again, Flash took hold of Twilight and flew her up and inside.
"It's not much." he said as they got inside, "But it'll keep the wind and rain out." His statement quickly fell apart as a large drop of water landed on his head. "Mostly."
Twilight giggled for a second, her hoof covering her mouth. Her happiness would only last for a second as a scream followed due to another crash of thunder. The noise caused her to jump into the only corner that was dry.
"You'll be okay. It's only thunder." Flash told her as he took his blanket and wrapped it around her for warmth.
"Thank you." she whimpered, her body shivering from sound of the thunder. "You didn't have to help me."
"I couldn't just let you freeze out there, could I?" Flash said as he put his hoof on her shoulder. "You don't think I'm that bad, do you?"
"But I was so mean to you." she replied as she continued to shake.
"I don't blame you." Flash smiled at her. She soon returned a smile as she began to forget about the storm that she was so scared of just moments ago.
"I don't think this storm will be letting up any time soon." Flash told her gently, trying to keep her calm down. "You may have to stay the night."
"What about you?" she asked, her hooves clinching the blanket. "Won't your family be worried about you?" Her eyes began to widen as she saw him frown again. Her memories began to surface as she remembered a similar reaction from the colt. The last time he was asked about his family, he made the same reaction. she thought, praising herself as she began to put the pieces together. Twilight gulped as she asked her next question, "Flash?"
"Yeah?" he replied softly.
"You do have a family...don't you?"
The silence between them felt like an eternity. The sound of the rain was the only thing that could be heard in that tiny treehouse. After what felt like forever, Flash finally spoke up, "I don't know."
"You don't know if you have a family?"
"No. All I remember is running."
"Running? Running from what?"
"I can't remember." he replied as he looked up at the wooden ceiling. "But I've never stopped running. From bullies or grown ups, I've ran and kept running, looking out for myself because no one else will." He looked around the small cold construction of wood, "this place might be a dump...but from what I started with, a dump is better than nothing."
Twilight opened up the blanket and wrapped it around him, bringing them close inside the woollen cocoon. She soon placed her head into the crook of his neck to rest. It wasn't long before sleep took them both, though they weren't easy sleeps. Flash's was a half awake state as he kept an ear out for any dangers that might come close, while Twilight's was a guilt filled dream.
She had thought of him as nothing more then a thief, taking what he wanted out of greed, not necessity. She knew now that the food he took was probably the only way he could feed himself. He was called a pest or trouble maker for it because he didn't know any better. She had never known that there were ponies living like this, especially one around her age. And yet, here he was. But even though he lived a constant struggle of stealing and surviving, he had still helped her. She decided then that when this storm had passed, she wouldn't leave him. She would help him the way he had helped her.