Arc looks away from the sunrise and back at his daughter momentarily before heading for his back door.
Arc looks away from the sunrise and back at his daughter momentarily before heading for his back door.
“Why don’t we get you inside?”
Dinky nods and shivers slightly. “Y-yeah dad. It’s colder here than it was in Equestria!”
Arc sets Dinky down in a deck chair before kneeling down to fiddle with the nearby decorative stones.
“No Dinky. It’s about the same.”
“Really? Then why am I so cold?!”
“No fur, no mane and no clothes.”
Dinky sighs. “I guess that makes sense. What are you doing over they anyway?”
“I remember leaving one here somewhere. Aha! Found it!”
Arc picks up a spare key from under a stone and quickly walks over to the back door. He unlocks it and puts the key in his pocket. Opening the door wide, he carries Dinky inside. Walking into the living room he sets he down on the couch along with his bag from Sunburst.
“Here we are. Home sweet home.”
Dinky clutches the coat tightly to her body. “It’s just as cold in here as it was out there!”
Arc closes the back door and runs upstairs. “I know. The heat is off. Be right back!”
He returns a minute later with a heavy blanket.
“There you go! “That should help a bit.”
Dinky smiles up at him. “Thanks dad! That’s much better!”
Arc turns to a panel on the wall and presses a few buttons. “Now let’s see about getting this place warmed up."
Dinky looks at the fireplace. “Aren’t you going to get a fire going?”
He shakes his head. “That would only warm up this one room. The furnace will heat the entire house.”
“Furnace?”
“It’s kinda like a big fireplace in the basement that’s connected to all the rooms.”
Dinky looks at him, confused. “Um… okay.”
There is a slight hum as the furnace comes to life.
“That should warm things up in here. Now I should see if I can contact Sunburst in Canterlot. Let him and Derpy know that we made it here safely.”
Dinky looks nervous. “Mom’s going to be mad at me, isn’t she?”
“Probably. I’m not exactly happy with what you did either! However, what’s done is done.”
He touches his earring
“Arc to Canterlot. Come in please.”
Silence.
“Arc to Sunburst. Please respond.”
Again, silence.
“Can anyone out there hear me?”
Dinky looks at her father, a worried look on her face! “Dad? What’s going on?”
“I can’t get in touch with Canterlot. Not sure if my radio is malfunctioning or if it’s some kind of interference.”
She looks to him, wide eyed! “Are we… are we stuck here?!”
Arc shakes his head. “I don’t think so, sweetheart. The return pad is on the couch. Not to mention they could use the Crystal Mirror to open a portal back to Equestria for us if the need arose.”
“What if they can’t though! What if something went wrong and there’s no way back?!”
He sits down next to Dinky on the couch, puts an arm around her and holds her close.
“Then I’ll raise you here as my human daughter. Don’t worry, sweetheart. I won’t abandon you!”
Dinky nods as she rests her little head against Arc’s shoulder. The fear leaving her voice.
“Thanks dad. I know I’ll be safe with you.”
Arc nods and stands back up. He heads toward the stairs. “Good. I’ll see if I can contact them later. Now let me see if I can find some of my old clothes in the attic.”
Dinky nods and snuggles up to the blanket. “Okay dad!”
Arc rummages around in the attic for quite some time before he locates the boxes. Opening them, he pulls out a shirt and pants.
“Here we go! These look like they might just fit Dinky.”
Arc puts the clothes in a bag along with a few other things and makes his way back downstairs. He finds Dinky attempting to sit like a pony on her ‘haunches’. The blanket and coat are lying next to her on the couch. Dinky looks over to her father as he enters the room.
“You were right, dad! That furnace-thing really warmed up this room! I was getting hot, so I decided to lose the covers. I hope that was okay.”
Arc sighs as he walks over to his daughter and sets the bag down next to her. He pulls out a pair of pants and helps her put them on.
“No Dinky, it’s not okay. When you’re here on Earth, you have to cover yourself!”
“I’m sorry dad. I just don’t understand why!”
“You’ll get used to it sweetheart. Now these are called pants. They keep the lower half of your body warm and cover up your no-no parts. Usually you wear panties under them, but we don’t have any your size.
Dinky makes a face. “They feel kinda… rough.”
“These are actually boy’s clothes that I wore as a child. Don’t worry! I’ll buy you something a little nicer when we have time, along with some girl’s undergarments.”
He then pulls out a long sleeve shirt and pulls it over Dinky’s head.
“This is a shirt. It keeps the upper half of your body warm.”
Dinky squirms slightly. “It makes me feel kinda trapped! Like that dress I wore to the Grand Galloping Gala!”
“I know, but how does it feel?”
“Okay, I guess. My back hooves are cold though.”
“Those are called feet. I have something here that might help that.”
Arc kneels down and slips a pair of socks on Dinky’s cute little feet.
“That’s much better!”
“These are socks. They keep your feet and toes warm.”
Dinky wiggles her toes! “I kinda like these! Am I properly dressed now?”
“Yes. Now you’re decent.”
“What should we do now?”
Arc stands up. “Well, first things first. I need to teach you how to walk.”
Dinky narrows her eyes. “Um, dad? I know how to walk.”
“Do you now? Let’s see.”
Dinky moves to stand up but immediately finds herself on the hard wood floor!
“What happened?!”
Arc takes Dinky’s hands and slowly helps her stand up.
“You’ve never walked on two feet before. Let me help you.”
Dinky looks down at her feet shakily! “I’m so high up!”
“Humans are taller than ponies. We’ll have to work on your balance.”
The pair practice for over an hour on balance. Dinky walks toward Arc slowly.
“I think I’m getting the hang of this!”
Arc nods and holds his arms out to Dinky from across the room. “Good! Come on honey! You can do it! Walk to daddy!”
Dinky giggles! “Okay! I’ll try!”
Slowly but surely Dinky makes her way to Arc. At the end she stumbles, but he is able to catch her before she hits the floor.
“Thanks dad.”
Arc helps steady her. “That’s what I’m here for sweetheart. Want to rest?”
“Just a short one! I can do this! I know I can!”
He helps her to the couch. Suddenly his earring chirps!
“Dad! Was that what I think it was?!”
“I think so!”
Arc touches his earring.
“This is Arc. Do you read me?”
There is a brief silence followed by static.
“…read…? Come… please!”
“Arc here. You’re breaking up. Repeat please.”
Static filled noise is all that can be heard. Dinky points to the bag sitting next to her on the couch.
“What about opening a portal back to Equestria?”
“Good idea! It may not be safe for us to travel through right now. But maybe it would help us get a signal through!”
He picks up the bag and removes the device. He sets it on the floor carefully as he kneels down next to it and touches his earring.
“Arc to Sunburst. If you can hear me, we’re going to open a portal back to Equestria in hopes of sending you a stronger transmission.”
Pressing the button on the device, Arc steps back. It begins to hum. A few moments later a portal begins to form. Arc’s earring chirps again! Sunburst’s voice can be heard, yelling!
“Sunburst to Arc! Do not go through the portal! I Repeat! Do NOT go through the portal!”
“Arc here. Do you read me, Sunburst?”
“I do! Please do not attempt to use the portal!“
“I copy that. We we’re hoping the portal could carry a signal back to you. Before that all we got was static from your end. How’s the reception over there?”
“Reading you loud and clear! Did you make it there safely?!”
Arc sits back down on the couch next to his daughter. “Yes. The trip was very rough, but Dinky and I are fine!”
The sounds of cheering can be heard from the other side of the line!
“There’s somepony who would like to talk to you. I’ll put her on now.”
After a brief silence Derpy’s voice comes over the radio.
“ARC! Please tell me you two are okay!”
“Yes Derpy. Dinky is sitting here next to me. Would you like to say hello?”
“Please!”
Arc clips the earring on Dinky’s small ear.
“Your mother wants a word with you. Say hello, Dinky.”
Dinky sighs nervously. “Hi mom. Sorry for what I did back there. I… I just really wanted to stay with dad!”
Arc cannot hear Derpy’s response. But he does hear quite a bit of crying!
Dinky nods as a tear rolls down her cheek. “I’m really sorry for making you worry. Yes, I’ll be good for dad and do what he says. I promise.”
She removes the earring and passes it back to her father.
“It’s me again.”
“Standby Arc. I think I can put you on the speaker.”
After a few moments the connection is reestablished. Twilight’s voice is heard first.
“Can he hear us?!”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
Ember leans over to the speaker. “Arc! Where are you?!”
“Inside my old house back on Earth. We’re warm and safe!”
Twilight sits down heavily! “That’s a relief! “
“Sunburst, I have a bit of good news for you. Your sigil worked! When we I woke up, I found that Dinky had been turned into a human!”
Fluttershy’s eyes grow wide! “Oh my! Did it hurt her?!”
Arc shakes his head. “She doesn’t appear to be in any pain. I got some of my old clothes out of the attic and got her dressed. We were working on teaching her to walk on two feet when you called.”
Derpy smiles! “How’s she doing on that?!”
“Just fine! By the end of the day I think she’ll be walking just like a human!”
Derpy nods and responds in a shaky voice. “Um Arc? This is really hard to ask, but… is she… normal looking? For a human, I mean!”
“Yes Derpy. She’s a beautiful little girl! I wish you could see her now!”
“So do I. Could I… come over there now?”
“Sunburst should probably work on tuning the machine a bit more before anyone else tries to come here. On the way we both lost consciousness. I don’t mind waking up with my face in the dirt, but someone else could get hurt!”
Sunburst nods. “That and this portal’s window has closed. I’ll get to work analyzing the data from your trip, sir! The next ride should be much smoother.”
Arc nods. “Good. Have you figured out how long until we can safely return?”
“Yes. The cosmic energy will be most closely aligned in roughly one week. You’ll have to contact me a day or so beforehoof to give you a more detailed time of portal stability.”
“I’ll do that. “
“Remember sir, you CAN return at any time. However, it is risky!”
Arc frowns. “Define ‘risky’?”
Twilight looks at the speaker nervously. “You could get caught between dimensions!”
“Okay! Let’s not do that then!”
Sunburst nods excitedly! “I’ll keep working on calibration on this end! The more times living beings go through, the more data I’ll gather on stability, abnormalities and transdimensional rifts. In time I may be able to eliminate the risks associated with wormhole travel completely!”
Luna shakes her head. “I’m glad to see you’re enjoying this, Sunburst.”
Applejack looks at the speaker angrily! “Arc, I don’t care how valuable this data is! I want you and Sunburst to do this as safely as possible!”
Arc nods. “Agreed.”
He looks over to Dinky sitting on the couch next to him.
“After all, I have plenty of reasons to keep living. Keep at it, Sunburst! Oh! Is there any way for Derpy to contact me? Like a transceiver of some kind?”
Cadance shakes her head. “I’m sorry Arc, but this technology is very new and the components are VERY rare and costly. The time and resources needed to make your earring were astronomical!“
Rarity giggles. “Please, your highness! It can’t have been THAT much!”
Luna frowns. “It was over a hundred thousand bits for that ONE earring!”
Pinkie’s jaw the floor! “WOWIE! That’s a lot of cupcakes!!!”
“I wish you hadn’t told me that. Now I’m nervous wearing this thing!”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes are wide! “That’s a lot of money just to be able to talk!”
Auriel nods. “True. But if you were in another world, wouldn’t it be quite a comfort to be able to call home?”
Fluttershy smiles. “That does make sense.”
Cadance walks over to the speaker. “Believe me, Arc. It was worth every bit! Sunburst assures us it’s made of the best materials money can buy.”
“Indeed! For all intents and purposes, it’s indestructible! Now I don’t mean to cut this conversation short, but you should shut down the recall unit soon. It isn’t designed to operate for this long! I’ll get to work on a way to communicate with you without having to keep a portal open like this.”
“Alright. Goodbye everyone!”
Dinky leans in close to her father. “BYE MOM! I’LL SEE YOU SOON!”
Arc puts his hand over his ear as he severs the connection. “Ow! Dinky!”
“Opps! Sorry dad!”
He gets up and approaches the recall unit. “It’s okay sweetheart. Just remember that’s my ear you’re yelling into.”
“I’ll remember next time!”
Arc turns off the device. “Good. OW! That thing’s hot!”
“I guess it’s a good thing you turned it off then!”
Arc rubs his hand. “Yeah! I’d hate to burn my house down!”
“So… what now?”
“Try standing up.”
Dinky does so shakily.
“Can you walk to me?”
She makes slow but deliberate steps toward Arc.
“It’s definitely getting easier to do this!”
Arc holds out a hand to Dinky. “Good! That’s the way! Practice makes perfect!”
After another hour of walking, Dinky is able to do so without stumbling.
“I think you’ve got it, sweetheart!”
“Can I try running, dad?!”
“Not in the house, dear!”
“Awww…”
Dinky sits back down on the couch.
“Dad, I think there’s something wrong with my feet!”
Arc sits down next to her. “Oh?”
“They’re kinda sore!”
Arc pulls Dinky’s socks off and gently massages her small feet. “Human have to take special care of their feet. They’re softer than hooves, after all!”
“How?”
He pulls a small pair of shoes out of the bag. “Well for starters, if you’re going to walk for an extended period of time, or go outside, you need to put these on.”
“Are those boots, dad?”
“No sweetheart. They’re shoes.”
Dinky looks confused. “What’s the difference?”
Arc stands back up. “Boots are much thicker and protect your feet. They also grip the ground better.”
“Can I have some boots too?!”
“Tomorrow we’ll get you a pair of boots for when the weather turns colder. But for now, I have a few things I need to do around the house.”
“Like what?”
“Well, no one has lived here in over a year. I need to do quite a bit of cleaning.”
Dinky stands up! “Can I help?!”
Arc laughs! “I was hoping you would volunteer! This will give you a chance to practice walking and using your hands.”
“Where should we start?!”
“How about the kitchen?”
Dinky follows her father slowly. “Okay!”
Arc takes a clean dish towel off a rack and dusts off the stove. “Do you think you could put the clean dishes away, sweetheart?“
She nods and slowly walks over to the dishrack. “Okay!”
“Thank goodness I did the dishes before my impromptu trip to Equestria! Otherwise this place would have smelled horrible!”
Arc turns around to wet the rag at the sink. He sees Dinky focusing very hard on the dishes.
“Dinky? What are you doing?”
She looks up at him, confused. “Trying to pick up the dishes.”
“Is your magic not working?”
Dinky sighs. “I guess not.”
“You’ll have to use your hands like every other human then.”
She nods and slowly begins to put away the dishes by hand while Arc wipes down the kitchen table. He then pulls out the bag from the trash can.
“Good thing there wasn’t any food in here!”
Dinky walks over to the refrigerator. “Speaking of food, I’m kinda hungry dad.”
“Now that you mention it, so am I! Although I’m afraid nothing in the fridge is edible by now.”
Dinky steps back cautiously! “I didn’t think of that! What do we do?!”
“There’s only one thing to do, I guess.”
Arc walks over to the wall phone and dials a number.
“If all else fails, order pizza.”
Dinky puts her hands in the air and smiles! “YAY!”
About half an hour later the pair sit down to their first meal together on Earth.
“That’s the stuff!”
Dinky stuffs her tiny face with a pizza of her own! “I’ll say! What did you call this pizza again, dad?”
“Veggie lovers. I thought you might like to try something new.”
Dinky nods as she munches away happily! “Are there other kinds of pizza?”
“Yes. But a lot of the other kinds have meat on them. Now that you’re a human you can certainly digest such things! However, I thought it was a bit early for something like that.”
She looks a bit green as she stops chewing and looks down at her pizza. “There isn’t any meat on this, is there?”
“No sweetheart.”
Dinky goes back to eating. “Good! What are we going to do after we eat?”
“Finish cleaning the house. That and I need to do a bit of a walk-around to make sure everything is still intact. Leaving a house empty this long makes for a bit of a cleanup at the very least. I was afraid to come back to something terrible like a tree through my roof!”
“I’ll help!”
The pair finish their meal and go room to room. Arc stops in front of the last room. He takes a deep breath as he slowly reaches for the doorknob.
“Okay. Only one room left.”
“Dad? Is something bothering you? You’re acting really strange.”
Arc smiles nervously at his daughter. “I… it’s just… I haven’t been in this room in… a very, very long time.”
He turns the knob and the pair walk into the master bedroom. There isn’t a thing out of place. Dinky looks around.
“This is a nice room, dad!”
“Yes, it is. This was my parents’ room a long time ago.”
He walks over to a picture frame on the dresser and picks it up before sitting down on the bed. Dinky sits down next to him as Arc stares at the photo.
“I haven’t seen this in so long!”
“What is it?”
He turns the frame toward her. “Have a look.”
The picture depicts a young man dressed in a suit and a young woman in a long flowing white dress. They are both smiling.
“These are your grandparents, Dinky. This picture was taken at their wedding many years ago.”
“They look so happy!”
Arc sighs. “They were.”
“What happened to change that?”
Arc takes the picture back. "Things were great until my father disappeared. Then my mom went downhill."
Dinky nods soberly. “I remember you telling me about that.”
“One decision… one choice and everything unraveled.”
“Do you miss them?”
Arc sighs. “I… I don’t know. My mom… at least my old mom from my childhood when we were still a family, her I miss.”
“And your dad?”
“That’s… complicated. I do hope he’s still alive and well out there somewhere!”
Dinky looks hopeful. “Maybe he’ll come back!”
Arc looks to Dinky and smiles sadly. “Well, he hasn’t so far. If we were to meet again… I don’t know what I’d do! I mean, I do want to know where he’s been and why he felt it was so much more important than mom and I!”
Dinky suddenly looks nervous. “You don’t hate him, do you?”
Arc thinks for a moment before responding. “No Dinky. But… to be abandoned like mom and I were… it’s not something one can just move past easily.”
Dinky puts a small hand on her father’s arm and looks up at him with a smile. “If he’s anything like you are dad, I’m sure it must have been something REALLY important!”
“I hope so, sweetheart. Although I sometimes fear that it was something… less than heroic.”
“Like what?”
“Well, the military sent him all over the world. Doing what, I have no idea! I kinda worry that maybe he met someone else. Decided to settle down there and start a new family!“
“What makes you think that?!”
Arc shrugs. “Why else wouldn’t he have come back by now? The only two reasons are either he has another family somewhere or he’s dead!”
He sighs again.
“If you did that to mom and I, dad… I’d want to know the truth!”
Arc puts his arm around Dinky. “That’s all I want too sweetheart. But know this… unlike my own father, I will never abandon you or your mother. I promise!”
Dinky puts her arms around her father’s midsection. “Thanks dad! I know you wouldn’t!”
The two sit there for a time before breaking off the embrace and standing up. They leave the room as Arc closes the door behind them. Making their way back toward the couch, Dinky turns to her father.
“Did you see anything wrong outside, dad?”
Arc shakes his head as the pair sit down on the couch together. “A couple missing shingles is all I saw. I’ll have to get up there in the next day or so and nail them back down.”
“Hopefully it doesn’t rain before then!”
Arc picks up the remote from the end table next to him. “One way to find out.”
He pushes the power button. A few moments later the television turns on. Dinky jumps off the couch and does her best to run into the kitchen! She peeks out from the doorway.
“What in Celestia’s name is THAT?!”
“Sorry about that sweetheart. I forgot you’ve never seen a TV before.”
Dinky walks cautiously back to her father. “TV?”
Arc gestures to the large black rectangle on the wall. “This is called a television, or TV for short.”
Dinky sits down on the couch next to her father and looks at the figures on the screen nervously! “Can… can they see us?!”
Arc chuckles. “No sweetheart. This is how humans broadcast messages and entertainment to each other. Think of it kinda like a really advanced radio.”
“Incredible! “
He pushes a button to bring up the Weather Channel.
“This is what I turned the TV on for. What you see here is a channel that’s dedicated to reporting what kind of weather is coming. You see, on Earth the weather is a force of nature. Not something that can be controlled like in Equestria.”
Dinky looks skeptical. “How do they know what’s coming?”
“Satellites mostly. That and I’m guessing intuition plays a bit of a role in it.”
In short order the five-day forecast comes on.
“Looks like were safe for a couple days anyways. I’ll take care of the roof tomorrow after we get back from the store.”
“Groceries, dad?”
Arc nods. “That and I need to take you clothes shopping. You can’t keep walking around in my old clothes.”
“I’m not too concerned with how I look now, dad. Before we know it, we’ll be headed back home!”
“Yeah, about that. Your mother says your grounded when we get back.”
Dinky sighs. “I kinda figured that.”
Arc stands up quickly and heads toward the phone. “What am I saying?! We can’t go anywhere as it stands!”
Dinky looks over at her father with a puzzled expression on her face. “Why not, dad?”
Arc picks up the receiver. “The store is too far for us to walk to, so we’ll need transportation! My Jeep’s been sitting in the garage for over a year now! I’m going to call a tow truck and have them take it over to the repair shop. They’ll go over it with a fine-tooth comb and get it running properly!”
“Jeep? Tow-truck? Repair shop?”
Arc holds up a hand for silence as the wrecker company rep picks up. A few minutes later he puts down the receiver and turns back to Dinky.
“Someone will be over to pick it up in about a half hour.”
He looks up at the clock and picks up the phone again.
“I better call the shop and let them know it’s coming.”
A few minutes later Arc hangs up the phone again.
“They think it will be done by tomorrow mid-morning.”
“Is that good?”
“I suppose it is. It’s sooner than I thought anyways. But in any case, are you hungry?”
Dinky puts her small hands on her tummy. “I am.”
Arc walks over to the refrigerator as Dinky follows him. “Sorry if it seems a bit redundant, but all we have is leftover pizza. I had to throw out everything else!”
“It’s okay dad. I understand.”
Dinky pulls out two plates as Arc removes the pizza box from the refrigerator. The pair eat the cold pizza and watch TV together. Dinky points at the screen and laughs!
“This is great dad! What do you call these again?!”
“Cartoons. Human children love them!”
“I can see why!”
The sun slowly sets. Arc turns on a couple lamps to illuminate the room. After a while Dinky begins to yawn. He turns off the TV.
“We should probably get to bed now, Dinky. Busy day tomorrow.”
“Awww…”
The pair make their way to the bathroom and brush their teeth. Arc returns to the attic and brings Dinky some more clothes. He hands her a rather baggy t-shirt and shorts.
“Why don’t you change into these, sweetheart?”
Dinky looks at the clothes, confused. “What’s the matter with what I’m wearing?”
“They wouldn’t be very comfortable to sleep in.”
“If you say so dad.”
Dinky heads to the bathroom to change as Arc puts on his own pajamas in his room before meeting her in the hall.
“I’ve rather missed these. While I could have asked Rarity to make me something, somehow, I never really got around to it.”
Arc leads Dinky down the hall to the guest room. He turns on the lights and pulls back the covers.
“You can sleep here, sweetheart.”
“Th-thanks dad.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah! Fine!”
Arc smiles as he tucks Dinky in and kisses her forehead. “Goodnight sweetheart. I’m just down the hall if you need anything.”
Dinky rolls over and closes her eyes. “Goodnight.”
Arc turns off the light and closes the door softly before making his way back to his own room. He sighs contentedly as he stares up at the familiar ceiling.
“It feels good to be back after all this time.”
A short time later there is a knock at the bedroom door. Dinky peeks in.
“Dad?”
Arc sits up. “Dinky? Is everything okay?”
“I uh… I’m kinda lonely in there. Would it be okay if I slept in here with you?”
“Sure Dinky.”
Dinky grins as she lays down next to her father and snuggles up next to him. “Thanks dad.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I know this must be a lot to get used to. But I’ll be with you the whole time!
“I know, dad. Good night!”
Arc puts an arm around her. “Good night, Dinky.”
The pair fall asleep together and sleep peacefully through the night.