//------------------------------// // 63- How many branches are on your family tree? // Story: Blazing a Trail to the Past. // by Daylight_Dreamer //------------------------------// "Jerry," Twilight got my attention as I woke up still aiming a pony sidearm through the dirty windshield of an all too familiar jeep, "I think somepony just landed outside." I met Twilight by the door still holding the sidearm. I decided to take this one back. Harvest Moon likely never knew he had it. I took the cylinder out for safety. I shuddered as I noticed it was still the same load. Five rounds were ready, I knew why the sixth was spent. We stepped outside to find Pinkie talking to what looked like a white pegasus version of herself. It took me a while to realize it was Surprise out of uniform. "Commander," She saluted as I walked up, "I hope you don't mind I changed into civilian attire so I wouldn't stand out." "That's probably smart," I said, "did you find anything?" "I found footprints that stop right before a muddy patch in the woods," she reported, "my guess is that they were pegasi, and thought they could trick us by running off on hoof. Too bad for them I'm on the case. We're looking for somepony smart, they knew we weren't likely to chase or they would have run further into the woods to make sure they lost us." "Keep up the good work," I said, "I want these ponies banished, then thrown into a dungeon in the place they were banished to." "That would be a silly punishment," Twilight laughed. "Oh no," Pinkie suddenly exclaimed, "look at the time, Jerry is gonna be late." "I better get going," I said. "Allow me," Twilight's horn flashed and everypony but Surprise was in my front yard standing around my jeep. "Mass teleportation," Twilight said, "I just mastered it." "Thank you," I said reaching into the jeep to unplug my phone and seeing that I would have only had five minutes to drive, "talk about cutting it close. I owe you." The voicemail notification caught my eye, but I didn't want to stop and check it. "I'll take it out of your pay," she joked, "You two take care. I have a report to write to Celestia." "I better go start loading my cart," Pinkie said, "I have a lot of presents to bring." "What's going on?" Gilda seemed puzzled as she walked out the front door, "I didn't hear you pull up. Where did all those presents come from?" "They're from all the ponies that came to your party," Pinkie answered, "this is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm heading back to get the rest." "I can help," Gilda offered. "That would be great!" Pinkes said, "We can both pull carts!" "Um..." Gilda gave me an awkward smile, "Jerry, do you think... maybe..." "Just spit it out," I said, "I won't get mad." "Can I use the jeep and trailer?" she asked, "it would be so much faster." I bit my lip and counted to ten. I said I wouldn't get mad, and I wasn't. I was concerned. "If I was sitting in the passenger seat awake," I said, "would you be comfortable?" I knew she was embarrassed about every little mistake she made around me. Her eyes said no, but her beak said, "I think so." That's what I was looking for. It told me she had a firm grasp on what she was dealing with, and she wanted her chance to prove she could. I still took a moment to think. I trusted her with my life and so far she had proven herself at every turn. However, driving was kind of a big deal. A lot could go wrong. "I'll put the trailer on," I said, "just go around the block to turn around, you don't want to learn how to back up with a trailer on the spot. If you scratch it, you pay Slag to fix it." I knew better than to think she would break it. It was a military machine and if she was asking then I had to assume the night she drove it while I was unconcious went well. I helped unload and sent them off turning my attention to Scootaloo who had already made it home and retrieved my canteen. She now presented it to me with a wide smile. "Alright," I said taking it from her hooves, "let's do this." I drank the last of it and readied myself for flight. I explained the concepts and for the first hour, we more or less played follow the leader so she could see how I maneuvered my wings. Then we went to the orchard and practiced flying around the trees until my watch started going off. We got back to the cabin and I was shocked to see that Gilda wasn't back, but I didn't really think she could get in too much trouble with my jeep and the third vibration in my pocket reminded me it was time to smoke. So I went into the house and sat down. Scootaloo wanted to practice so she stayed out for a while. I was glad for the privacy when it came time to change. Before long Scootaloo wore herself out and came in. She got herself a glass of water and downed it in one drink. Then she just trotted right past me and slammed the door of her room shut behind her. I was confused until I heard her screaming into her pillow. It sounded like a happy scream at least. A few moments later her door swung open again and she stood in the opening. "Dad," she said, "I ah, I..." she started crying. I rushed over and hugged her, "let it out," I said trying to keep my voice soft. She took a few deep breaths and pulled away from me. She pulled a journal from behind her door. It was the one she got from the bat-ponies. "I want you to have this," she said, "and I just wanted to say that I really don't know how to thank you for everything. Some ponies dream about flying with the Wonderbolts. I've always just dreamed of flying with my parents. You made my dream come true." "Well," I didn't really know what to say to that. So I pulled her in and messed up her mane as I thought, It was so much softer than when we met, "Well that sure won't be the last time. We gotta have your mom join next time." "Definitely," she said, "where is she anyway. When you take the jeep just to grab something, you're always back in an hour or so." I was getting worried about her too with everything going on. I was expecting her at least while we were still flying. "I think I should go check," I said, "she could have gotten a flat tire." In my heart, I knew she would fly back to tell me about something like that. "I'm coming too," Scootaloo said. "I won't stop you," I wanted her to stay home safe, but she was old enough to decide for herself. I wasn't expecting a shootout or anything. I walked to town with Scootaloo riding next to me on her scooter. We got to town hall to find the jeep fully loaded. Pinkie and Gilda were nowhere in sight. "Where do you think they went?" Scootaloo asked. "I don't know," I was getting a bad feeling, but it wasn't like normal. I started wondering if this is what normal worry feels like as if I had spent my whole life actually knowing something bad had happened thanks to Daylights dreams. I instinctively checked under the seat to find the gun exactly where I left it. I felt better knowing that it likely would have shifted if Gilda had even hit the brakes too hard. "I bet they went for cupcakes," I said, "Do you want to check Sugarcube Corner? I'll give you a few bits." "Of course," she smiled, "but don't you want to come?" "I have to check in with Spitfire," I said, "I'll meet you at home." "Alright," she said, "but I'm not going home until I find Mom." "I would expect nothing less," I smiled, "just be careful, and remember. If you ever run into a bad pony, fly as fast as you can into the nearest trees and practice your cornering." "Don't worry," she said, "I'll get away. I love you, Dad." "I love you too," I said and we went our separate ways. - "I want this asshole to pay," I heard Spitfire scream as I entered the hospital, "By the time I'm done with him, he'll be in a full body, wing, and hoof cast. Drinking from a straw!" "What's going on?" I asked walking up and seeing that she was holding an ice pack to her head. "Commander Dreamer!" Spitfire turned away from Soarin, "Just as I was afraid of, the perp came back. I managed to keep him out of Harvests room, but he kicked me in the head pretty hard. The doctor says I'll be fine. What bothers me is that he got away and we still don't know his motive, or where he took Sweet Harvest." "You're a good soldier," I said, "did you see what he looked like?" "Yea," she said, "he had yellow fur, and a greying red made. He was wearing a cloak, but I know a pegasus when I see one." "Jinkies," I muttered under my breath. "What?" Spitfire asked. "Nothing," I said, "that just might be a clue. Is Harvest awake?" "He just woke back up a few minutes ago," she answered. "I better talk to him," I said, "then get home." "Alright," she said, "I'm going to post guards on the hospital, and I already have scouts looking for the ponies. I'll send a report if anything turns up." "Sounds good," I said saluting, "I'm glad to have you on my side, Commander Spitfire." "Likewise," she saluted back, "Commander Dreamer." - "You hanging in there?" I asked Harvest Moon as I entered his room. "It wasn't supposed to go like this," he shifted in the bed to see me. He was laying on his side with a cast on his left hind leg and bandages covering much of his body, "We were gonna find you and bring you to the farm. It was gonna be a surprise. Like we just invited you for supper and then, poof, ah open the shed door... We were just going to wash it up so it looked shiny. That's when they showed up. It was those sales ponies ah told you about." "I had gathered that," I said, "I came to make sure you're ok and let you know we have our best ponies out looking for Sweet Dream... Harvest! Sweet Harvest," I took a deep breath. "She sure does look like her grandma," He said, "but I didn't think mom came to the party. When did you meet her?" "Who?" I asked. "Sweet Dream," he said, "my mom." "I never did," I said, "That slip was because she looks just like my daughter, Sweet Dreams." He looked at me sideways, "Ah thought your daughter's name was Scootaloo?" "It is," I said, "Sweet Dreams was Daylight Dreamer's daughter." "Who is Daylight Dreamer?" he asked. "Me, when I was a pony," I said. "Ah'm confused," he said. "It happens to me all the time," I said, "So what can you tell me about that hunk of iron in your shed?" "That wagon thing. Mom had it moved to the farm," he said, "she always told me it belonged to a really powerful magic creature that was gonna come back one day and be really grateful we kept it safe. Did we do good?" "You did," I said, "but what kind of magic did you expect me to have?" "A guess ah don't know," he said, "but you were a pony when we met, so ah guess shape-shifting comes to mind." "That was just a potion," I said. "It don't matter where the magic comes from," he scoffed, "what matters is you have it, and Equestria is gonna need it." "I get it," I said, "I just don't see how." "You'll figure it out," he said, "just do me a favor and kick the bastards a few times for me." "Not a problem," I said, "I assume you won't mind if I bring that jeep to my place." "It's your's," he said, "Ah've just been keepin' it safe." "Alright," I said, "you take care. I'll make sure you're in the loop if we find anything out." "Do you mind if ah call you Grandpa?" he asked, "you looked just like him when you were a pony. Ahm, told ah look like him too." "There's a good reason for that," I said, "I don't mind if you do, I'll catch you later." I had to laugh as I walked out the door and a middle-aged stallion hollered, "later, Grandpa!" and he had no idea how accurate he was. - I got back to where the jeep had been and it was gone. I smiled knowing that likely meant she drove home and all was well. As I was walking home Discord appeared as a floating head in front of me. "It's about time I heard from you," I said, "what did you find out?" "Have I actually made it to the 'you know I won't take offense' level of friendship already?" He sounded pleased. "No," I laughed, I could tell he knew it was actually yes, "I just don't care if I offend you. Now spill it." "Well I'm still following a few leads," his paw appeared so he could scratch his chin, "but I figured I should at least let you know I'm still on it. What I've found so far can be summed up pretty fast. Your feud never ended." "What?" I asked. "It's a regular Dreamfields and McFlames," he said, "Your family seems mostly ignorant, but somepony from Firestorm's family is up to something. Oh, and I also found out that you're related to that Wonderbolt filly we helped out." "You don't say," I said with a grin. "Well that's all I have for now," he held his fingers out to snap, "care for a lift home while I'm at it?" "Sure," I said. I had just gotten to the edge of town and had a lot of things to do. - I appeared sitting in my chair with a joint in my mouth. I pulled it out and looked at it. The paper had a little picture of Discord on it. I went ahead and lit it, but took it outside. Gilda and Scootaloo were in the shed opening presents. "I hope you don't mind we started without you," Gilda said, "We have a lot to open, and she couldn't wait." Scootaloo was digging in the pile and opening anything that looked like Wonderbolt memorabilia. She had amassed a small pile of scrolls that she was likely hoping were posters. I opened one to find a letter from someone claiming to be a relative. Opening a few more revealed more of the same. If they were all true, I had a big family. Most didn't ask for anything but a chance to meet in person outside the party. All but a few included bits, and an offer of more upon the meeting. I didn't know what to make of that, but I figured since they have no idea what I'm actually like. Who doesn't like money, right? "You gonna actually help?" Gilda pulled me from the notes, "We have a lot to open." I looked at her pile and saw a large stack of books and was reminded of what Harvest had said. It didn't matter where my magic came from. I had it, I should be ready to use it. Only I didn't have it, Celestia did. "Alright," I said, "I'll just go back to these when the dust settles. Tonight let's see what we have, and tomorrow we do some preparations. I need to do some brewing, and I want to make sure you know how to handle your gun." "My gun?" she asked. "Well I'm going to get the rest of my stuff out," I said, "I don't need four."