//------------------------------// // Chapter 64: Welcome // Story: The First Steps of the Rest of Your Life // by Rhino //------------------------------// ***Wednesday, Day 66*** **Morning** My usual surfacing to the land of consciousness is not by alarm this morning, but instead by a peculiar feeling on my nose. I summon enough brain power to tell my hoof to scratch it before trying to go back to sleep. As I feel myself going back to sleep, the feeling returns. I twitch my nose and blow a gust of air through it to ward off the feeling again. The feeling returns a third time, and my mind is up enough to form coherent thoughts. This is getting ridiculous, what is that? I crack open my eye to see what is becoming a familiar pink mass. She smiles at me and opens her mouth to speak, the yellow feather in her mouth dropping to the floor. “Morning!” I peer at Pinchy with my one open eye, smiling. “And to what do I owe this little wakeup call?” She stares at me for a moment before realization dawns. “Oh, right! Sensei and her friends are returning to their dimension today!” My half-awake self shrugs. “Well, I guess there’s that. But you know what has to happen before that right?” She tilts her head to the side, looking up to the ceiling. “...we have to get my medical records?” “Before that.” I say, my smile getting wider. She springs onto the bed, bouncing happily. “We do a song and dance number! Pinkie would love that!” She stops, putting a hoof to her chin. “...wait, that can’t be right...” “Want to keep guessing? Or shall I tell you?” She sits in front of me, smiling softly. “I’m good. What do we have to do first?” “Simple.” My horn glows as I levitate the feather behind her. “Revenge!” I start tickling her sides mercilessly. She laughs, desperately trying to push the feather away. “D-Dad! I’m t-ticklish!” She jumps off the bed, trying to get away from my playful attack. “B-besides, we might wake up Hydro!” I look at the clock as I call off the attack for a moment, “Meh, he’ll probably want to be up to see them all go anyway.” I brandish the feather at her again but only wave it in her direction instead of tickling her with it. She stands there for a moment, staring at the feather. “...can’t catch me!” She rushes out the door, giggling. I hear Specter laughing from over in his bed as he stretches. “Is every morning going to be like this now?” I roll out of bed, stretching a bit myself as he climbs aboard. “I honestly have no idea... and I kinda like it that way, makes things more interesting. Now let’s see where she went.” I reach throughout the house with my magic to find the little filly. “There she is.” I Blink to the bottom of the stairs to avoid that particular morning hazard. My ears pick up tiny sounds from the kitchen as I walk in to see a glass of milk slowly emptying into thin air. A second later the glass stops moving. It sets itself down on the ground, and the sound of tiny hoofsteps approaches me. The air warps, revealing the filly I was searching for. “You found me, dad!” She smiles, nervously glancing over her shoulder. “...pay no attention to the glass behind the filly?” I chuckle as I muss up her mane with a hoof. “I told you, you can have it if you want it.” The glass is enveloped in my aura as I put it in the sink. “Just don’t leave it lying around.” She sighs, levitating the glass back over to herself. “But I like feeling as though I earned it. That’s how sensei trained me when I made my invisibility spell...” I roll my eyes as I float a glass of the drink over for myself. “Training is all well and good, but I’m not going to deny you a drink just because you didn’t work for it.” She smiles, looking up at me with a little milk mustache. “That sounds good!” She points at the fridge. “You’re down to two gallons now, by the way.” I shrug as I drink from my special glass. “Sounds about right. I usually go through four a week with about half of a gallon for Hydro. Hmm, Guess I’ll have to restock more often now that we have you huh?” “Yep!” She moves over to me and starts climbing onto my back. “So should we wake Hydro up, or do you think he’s already awake?” “The answer should be obvious.” The earth pony in question walks past us as he raids the fridge for a drink as well. “So why did you two wake me up so early?” I motion towards the filly with my head. “This one decided she wanted to start the day with a tickle fight before we see everypony off. Actually that reminds me, Pinchy, how is the return trip going to work?” “Oh! That’s easy!” She motions towards the guest bedroom. “Vinyl has a ‘beacon’ to signal where they are and when they’re ready to go back! They activate it to let Twilight know to make the portal!” I nod. “Simple enough, at least ponies don’t have to leave through the same spot they came in. I was not looking forward to having to shove ponies in my closet.” “Yeah, or else they might have to come out of someone else’s closet over there!” Pinchy says this with complete innocence, quickly turning her attention to Hydro. “...can I call you ‘Uncle Hydro’?” He looks at her with a confused look due to what seems to him as a random question. “Umm, sure I guess? What brought that up?” “I was gonna ask the same thing.” We turn to see our visiting couple, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. The white mare steps forward, looking at Pinchy. The filly beams. “Oh, that’s because I’m staying here with Dad!” As she says that last word, she wraps her forelegs around my neck, nuzzling the back of my head. I ignore the instant stares directed at me and finish my milk in silence. Milk is more important than drama. The pegasus slowly backs out of the room. “...I’m gonna go make sure Tavi is ready...you four - five, sorry Specter - have fun, mkay?” He turns and walks into the living room. There is silence for a long moment until Hydro breaks it with a startlingly accurate summary. “What?” I look at him casually. “Yep.” Specter nods from my head. “Mmm hmm.” Vinyl takes off her shades, frowning deeply. “Seriously, what did she mean by that? Is Tavi alright with this?” I maintain my casual attitude, half to try and encourage the others to do the same, and half because their reactions to it would probably be funny. “We reached a consensus.” The white mare glances at the filly on my back, who is still happily nuzzling my mane. After a second, she sighs, shaking her head. “...I guess there’s no talking Pinchy out of it.” Hydro doesn’t take it lying down. “Seriously!? Something this big comes up and you basically go ‘oh well.’ This... how did this happen?” I shrug. “She asked.” He glares at me before groaning loudly. “Uh, I can’t believe this.” I set my glass in the sink and start walking out. “Why don’t we take this into the living room? The kitchen’s a bit small for this kind of conversation.” Vinyl shrugs. “Whatever you say, Rhy. Not sure what else you can say about this, though, unless there’s something deeper you want to share.” Hydro pulls me back into the kitchen before I can get too far. “Mind if I talk to you alone?” He looks pointedly at both Specter and Pinchy. Having a feeling I know what this is about, I look up at Specter. “Take Pinchy into the living room alright? We’ll be out in a minute.” Hydro and I watch the two leave before he turns to me with a frown. He gestures at where the filly had just exited. “Were you even going to ask me? This is my home too, I kinda get to have an opinion on these issues.” I sigh and look apologetically at him. “Look, I’m sorry about making this decision on my own. Things just escalated too quickly for me to take in anypony’s input besides hers, mine, and Octavia’s.” He rubs the bridge of his nose with a hoof. “I understand getting attached to a squirrel and bringing it home, but this? This is huge, Rhino!” I say nothing, simply look at him. We have an instant unsaid conversation before he sighs again. “I’m not gonna be able to talk you out of this…” He huffs before heading into the living room as I follow him. I steal one of the pillows off the couch where Octavia and Enigma are sitting and lay down on it as I answer. “Well, how about this: if any of you have any questions about this, any at all, I’ll do my best to answer them.” Specter and Pinchy climb back up to their favorite spots on me as I wait. “I have one.” Enigma leans forward, propping his head up on his chin. “Are you sure you can be a good father for a filly that’s almost half your age?” I look back to Pinchy before I answer. “How old are you, anyway?” She pumps a hoof into the air, her magic forming a number in the air. “I’m nine, I just turned it a month ago this summer!” I smile at her. “I bet you can’t wait to hit double digits.” I turn back to Enigma. “Well, obviously I can’t think of everything. However, my finances are stable, my job doesn’t keep me away most of the day, I have a number of friends who could watch her, and not the least of which: I care about her wellbeing and happiness. I dare say I love her like a daughter already.” He stares at me for a moment before nodding, a smile on his face. “I’m glad to hear that. I’m also very glad that you were being truthful with that last part.” I see Hydro staring at me silently. I give him a questioning look until he finally asks simply, “Are you sure you thought this all the way through?” Instead of answering, I float Pinchy off my back and set her down next to me. I then reach over her with a foreleg and draw her close to me protectively. Finally, I look my best friend in the eye and nod affirmatively. Hydro sighs and comes back up with his own small smile. “Well, I guess that’s all I can ask then.” I look to the two mares. “Any questions from you two?” “None from me. Vinyl probably has one.” Octavia looks at her best friend. The mare in question tilts her head, thinking a bit. “...we’ll still be able to see her when we want, right?” I shrug. “I don’t have a problem with it, but it’s up to your Twilight really.” “Good point, Rhy.” She glances at her hoof. “Oh, look at the time. We should probably head back, now.” She pulls out what appears to be a silver rectangle with a red button and presses it. With that, a large multicolor tunnel appears in front of the guest bedroom’s door. Octavia stands up and walks up to me, holding a hoof out. “I’ll see you later. After all, we need to get Berry’s belongings here, among other things, am I correct?” I stand up and shake her hoof as I nod. After I let go, I lean down and nudge Pinchy lightly with my nose. “Why don’t you say goodbye to everypony.” She looks up at me, confused. “Why would I say goodbye? That’s what you say when you won’t see somepony again.” She turns to her friends, smiling brightly. “No, I think I’ll say that I’ll see you all later!” I smile proudly at the filly as I bring her closer to me with my foreleg again. “That’s my girl.” She nuzzles my chest, giggling softly. “Thanks, dad.” She looks up at our departing guests, waving a hoof. “See you soon, okay?” The three adults smile and wave as they walk into the tunnel. Both their silhouettes and the tunnel itself slowly shrink until nothing is left to prove they were ever there. Well, aside from one thing. I look at my watch then down at the newest addition to the family. “Well, I’ve still got a little bit of time before I need to go to work, anything you want to do?” She thinks for a bit, her hoof on her chin. “I can’t think of anything...oh, wait! Can you tell me about your parents?” “Hmm...” I focus myself and put on a story-teller mindset. “Well, my mother is Mist Scribe, she’s a bright red pegasus who loves to read books. She’s very nice, and she tends to talk a lot. Not Pinkie levels, but still way more than me or my dad. My dad is Bio Blaze, a blue unicorn who is current Haz Mat Chief of the Canterlot Fire Department. While Mom is the type to tell you what she expects, Dad is the type to expect you to work it out on your own. I know Mom will be happy to meet you, I expect Dad will be too, but I never actually talked with him about something like this so I don’t know exactly how he’ll react.” I wince as I mentally imagine sending them both a letter about this. “Both of them will probably visit as soon as they get the letters about this...” “That sounds great!” She starts to skip around the room, giggling to herself. “I’d love to meet them, and I’m sure Fluttershy will be happy to hear the news, too!” I chuckle nervously. “Yeah... that’ll be an interesting conversation...” Specter walks out of the kitchen where he had wandered during the goodbyes. He crunches on a pecan as he looks at me. “I thought you were all about things staying normal, now we have a filly?” I look at him simply. “Normal is a relative term, Specter. A fact that seems especially true here.” The rest of the day actually passes by much simpler than I would have thought possible given the new circumstances. Due to Fluttershy deciding to take her shift at home and Manila not questioning it, the only new ponies to actually find out about my newest family member were the guys when they came over that night. There were a few questions, most of them the same as Octavia and I had discussed, but most of them seemed to take the news with smiles and congratulations. There was a reason they weren’t the ones I was anxious about telling. ***The next day*** Once again, my first sensation upon waking is that of a strange feeling on my nose. Again, really? I try to ignore it, but the feeling of a feather on my nose is persistent in its attempts to get a reaction. I mumble without opening my eyes, “Not as funny the second day in a row, Pinchy...” “What? She already did this to you?” There’s a soft huff. “Darn it, Pinchy...” Confused, I raise a hoof to scratch the itch on my nose as I open my eyes to see who was speaking. *Splat* Only to find out my hoof had been covered in shaving cream, a state my face now reflected. “Hah! Classic!” A couple giggles accompany these words. I groan lightly as I wipe the foam off my eyes to see a familiar DJ grinning at me. After sitting up, but not getting quite out of bed yet, I ask, “Vinyl, I thought we just got rid of you?” “Yeah, but I thought you wanted Pinchy’s belongings? Not to mention her birth certificate and medical records?” She holds up a manila envelope, grinning widely. I crack my neck as I answer, “Yes, but I also expected Octavia.” “She fell asleep.” The white mare shrugs slightly. “You see, she has this thing where she stays awake for three days and then falls asleep for a full day.” She waggles a hoof at me, playfully winking. “That’s also why your couch didn’t work on her.” “Odd.” I make my way out of bed as I look around for a certain pink filly. “You seen Pinchy?” “Yeah.” She points at the door. “She’s downstairs with her friend, Dinky. The one from my dimension, I mean.” I nod as I take the file from her and set it on my desk to use later. “Alright then. What else did you bring?” I start walking down the stairs to see what the fillies are up to. She walks to the front and side of me, a hoof on her chin. “Let’s see...her blanket and pillow from her sister...her black headband, a wooden training kunai from Octavia, some ninja stories...a few pictures of her friends...oh, and Lucky.” I tilt my head to one side questioningly. “Lucky?” She stops at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at me blankly for a moment. “...oh. She never thought to mention him, I take it?” She turns away, giggling softly. “I wonder why. She loves the little guy, surely she’d tell her dad about him, right?” “What? Is he a stuffed animal or something?” “No, he’s very much alive. In fact...” She motions to the filly as she approaches them. “...I’d say she thought about you when getting him.” “Hi, Dad! Meet Lucky!” She looks up at her mane as a small white creature pops out. “He’s my pet mouse. Miss Lulamoon gave him to me!” My own little furry companion looks down from his similar perch in my mane as he comments, “Well, doesn’t that look familiar?” “That’s the idea!” She giggles, holding up her hoof as Lucky leaps onto it. “I figured, since you had a pet, I should get one, too. It helps that he’s such a nice little guy!” She gently nuzzles him, and he nuzzles her back. “I missed you.” Lucky responds with a series of squeaks, leaving Pinchy smiling but confused. “...I wish I could understand him, though...” Specter pipes up. “He said he missed you, too.” I look up to the nimbat. “Wait, you can understand him?” Specter nods. “Well yeah, all animals understand each other. I’m not technically an animal now, but I was, so I guess I’m... bilingual, I think is the word.” “Does this mean you and Schmoopy have talks as well?” I ask, half-joking. He nods again with sincerity. “Well yeah, he and I have started playing poker on Wednesdays when you and Hydro are out.” Oh... good to know I guess. “Well, since everything seems to be in order, Dinky and I will be on our way.” Vinyl enters the hallway, where the portal is still in front of the guest bedroom’s door. “Remember, we’ll be showing up every so often to see what’s going on, mkay?” Pinchy holds her hoof up to her head, giving Lucky an easier path onto her mane. “See you, Miss Scratch! Thank you for everything!” The mare waves, but a small purple-gray filly steps up to me, smiling brightly. “Thank yew, Mistew Whino. Fow teaching me magic, and being Bewy’s dad.” I smile down at the second little filly I had met on my adventure in their world. “No problem Dinky. I’m proud Pinchy chose me to be her dad. Tell your mom I said ‘Hi’ okay?” “I will!” She walks over to Pinchy, giving her a quick hug. “See yew latew, Bewwy!” We wave at them as they enter the tunnel, both them and the portal shrinking as they leave. Pinchy gently tugs on my leg. “Dad?” I look down at her. “Yes honey?” She giggles, pointing at my face. “You look like you’ve got a white beard!” I blink as I touch a hoof to my chin and realize that whole time I had forgotten to wipe the shaving cream off my face. “Well, at least this’ll save me some time cleaning up.” I dab a spot of the foam on her face with the bit left on my hoof. “And now you have a white nose.” She giggles, quickly taking some more cream off my hoof and putting it on her face. She pulls her hooves away, revealing a white goatee. “Now I’m just like you, Dad!” I chuckle at her before putting a hoof to my chin and put on my skeptical face as I say teasingly, “Nah, I think I pull off the beard look better.”