//------------------------------// // Coming Home // Story: G.N.D: A My Little Dashie Sequel // by Nibrudly //------------------------------// It had been a good seven months since he last saw him. But it had been three years since he had seen him in good health. And now, with the most recent diagnosis, the cancer had finally run its course. It had been looking good for a while, but now all they could do was ease the pain. A scant two weeks was all that was left if the diagnosis was accurate. And it was with a heavy heart but with a smile on his face that David took his father home from the hospital. In the back of his mind he knew this was always going to be the outcome. Sure, they had caught it and the chemo seemed to have worked; but he never stopped expecting there to be a turn for the worse. And if there was something David hated more than anything, it was being right in situations like this. He didn’t like being pessimistic, it was something that brought him and those close to him no small amount of annoyance. However, it had been a part of him ever since the first time he had lost a loved one to cancer. And now it was happening again and it was even harder this time around. But the smile on his face was far from forced. David had come to terms with his father’s illness a long time ago. Now that he knew the end was in sight, it was hardly the time for long faces. At least he knew how much time there was left, and that made all the difference in the world. He was going to enjoy this time he had left. And he was going to make sure his father had the best last two weeks of his long and happy life. And with this attitude in mind, David began what he planned to be the first of many conversations over those next couple of weeks as they drove for the old house. “It’s a good thing I had all those vacation days. It’ll be nice to be back home. I’ve been gone for like, what? Twenty years?” “Yeah, that sounds right,” His father grunted as he shifted positions in his seat. “Too bad it had to be under these circumstances.” “Yeah.” “At least I get to spend the rest of my days in the comfort of my own home and with my family. Although, that hospice person might make things awkward.” “Taken care of; Annie pulled some strings. She’s going to be taking care of all your needs.” Aside from being the smartest and most beautiful woman David had ever met or for that matter married, Annie was also a rather accomplished nurse. She saved their little family hundreds on their medical bills. “That’s nice. And to think she dumped you in high school.” It had been one of the worst nights of his teenage life. “Funny how things turn out.” They shared a chuckle as they turned onto the road that led to the outskirts of town. It was only a forty-five minute drive until they were home. “How are the kids doing?” “They’re having a hard time about this. They’ll be over in a couple of days. School will be out then.” “About time. Did they even get snow days this year?” “That’s why it’s taken so long.” “Pfft. At least they have a whole summer ahead of them.” ‘A summer without their grandfather.’ thought David. “Yeah, we’re going to go camping again this year.” “I loved visiting the country. Reminds me the few times you and I went before you grew taller than my shoulder. I’m glad I could join you guys last year.” “We were too…” ‘Just wish you were coming with us again.’ There was no desire to talk now. No matter what the topic was or however they might both try to tip toe around the undesirable reality, there was nothing either could say to effectively take their minds off of the situation. For the rest of the ride, both men were silent. In what seemed like no time at all, they had reached the long and winding dirt driveway that led to the house. Soon after a few minutes of driving through dust, their destination was in sight. As they parked, David took a moment to remember all the wonderful memories he had had there. Collecting his thoughts, he turned towards his “Old Man.” “Well, here we are: home sweet home.” “It’ll be great to have a full house again.” Both men shared a grin before David hopped out and proceeded to the back of the old F-150 to retrieve a wheelchair. David had spent years trying to get his Old Man to buy something new if not recently used, at least something less than twenty years old; but he was always met with the stubbornness that is shared by all who grow old and grow tired of having their children tell them what to do. And it was the same stubbornness that had gotten their little family through this harrowing ordeal. Time and again, his Old Man would say “This is nothing; just give me an aspirin and we’ll be on our way.” But the man David now helped down from the passenger seat and into a wheelchair was but a shadow of his former self. The months of bed rest and hospital food had made him thin and weak, and all the chemo treatments had transformed his relatively full head of gray hair into a barren patch of flesh. He had become prone to fits of coughing, steadily ravaging his throat. And the once strong look of life and passion in his eyes had been replaced by a dull haze of apathy and exhaustion. And now they were kept from entering the house due to the absence of a ramp. No one had ever considered making one up to the front porch, because they all believed he would get over the illness. So David, mildly annoyed, gently picked his father up in his arms and carried him inside. Once David had safely deposited his father on the living room couch he retrieved the wheelchair, helped the “ailing geezer” as he referred himself back into his conveyance, brought him down the hallway to his bedroom, and helped him into his nice, large, warm bed. “How you feeling Old Man?” “Sick. Haven’t you noticed?” they shared a chuckle. “I’ll be right back; I have some baggage to attend to.” As he made his way to the bedroom doorway, he was caught by his father’s voice. “You didn’t happen to bring your paints?” He turned back and smiled. “I certainly did.” “Think I could sit in on a session?” It was hard to keep smiling with this. Just to see the look in his eyes almost robbed David of his conviction. If the Old Man wanted to watch him paint, then David would do one every day if that made him happy. “Absolutely Dad.” And with that, David began the process of unloading his baggage. Unbeknownst to David (or his father for that matter), just down the hill to the left of the house, unseen by any human eyes, there appeared what looked to be a large purple bubble, just outside a rather spacious patch of tall grass. But instead of the customary pop, there was a crackling of electricity. As the bubble gave way, seven ponies appeared, all but the tall one had their mane all frizzled. Rainbow Dash, or Dashie, as she was currently known, had come home. “Gah! Was it that tingly when you came through last time?” “More, actually.” Said Twilight Sparkle as she tried to straighten her mane. All present gave a jump as a small shriek and a cry of “My hair! My beautiful hair!” came from a rather put out Rarity. Applejack readjusted her Stetson, as she chided her “Would you get a grip? Just be glad it’s frizz this time!” “Aw, I wanted to be all poofy again…” said a somewhat dejected Pinkie. Once every pony had collected themselves, or in Rarity’s case tried to, Dashie took charge. “Everybody okay? Excluding the drama queen?” They all gave a nod, excluding Rarity who was rather miffed that nopony else seemed to care about her trouble. “Then let’s go.” They all began to walk in the direction of the house before Rarity stopped in her tracks. “Oh, silly me, how could I forget? I packed a brush!” Upon levitating said brush out of her saddlebag, Rarity promptly sat on the ground and began to count as she brushed her mane. Nopony had any scruple leaving her to her business. They had more important things to do. As they drew closer, they burst from the grass and sidled the side of the house. With a few hoof signs from Dashie, they all carefully crept up and peeked around the corner, spying the truck a few yards from the house. “Ooh! What’s that?!” “Pinkie!” Dashie brought a hoof to her lips, “Stealth mode.” “Oh!” from her saddlebag, Pinkie pulled out a pair of night vision goggles she kept for such occasions. “Good thing I packed these!” Dashie rolled her eyes as she continued her reconnaissance. She had been gone for twenty-nine years; there was no telling if the man she knew as her father still lived here. However, things were looking good since his old F-150 was parked not fifty feet away from her. There was a good chance that he was just inside. But before Dashie could make her move, a man came walking out of the house and towards the truck, grabbed a duffle bag and returned from whence he came. ‘Who the heck is that?’ she thought as she now reconsidered her options. ‘Did Dad get a roommate? Or…could that possibly be his son?’ As Dashie began to consider how to approach the man for questioning, Rarity had finished restoring her mane to its former glory and now came trotting up the hill. “You know it’s not polite to just leave somepony all alone in a strange place. At least one of you could-“ Dashie gave a harsh whisper “Shut up, shut up, shut-” “Hello? Is someone there?” Dashie facehoofed; their cover had been blown. She wasn’t willing to run back down the hill; he’d probably hear them running anyway. And there was little point in waiting for him to come to them. And since this was her house and she had come for her dad, keeping a low profile was the least of her worries. Before anyone could stop her, she rushed out from the side of the house and entered the man’s field of vision, causing his eyes to grow rather large. “Hi there!” All the man could do was stare in disbelief. “Yes, cartoon pony popping out of nowhere; really weird. Do you know anything about the guy who lives here, or used to live here?” With a few blinks and several rubs of his eyes, the man began to chuckle. “I guess I’m more stressed out than I thought. Maybe a nap; yeah, nap would do me good.” “Okay look dude; I don’t have time for this. Here,” she stuck out her hoof towards him, “go ahead, I’m real.” Very slowly and cautiously, the man brought his hand and felt Dashie’s hoof. He rubbed it a bit before he retracted his hand. He began to stutter as he realized he was not hallucinating. “Okay…yo-you’re real. You are real!” unnoticed by Dashie, a smile had begun to creep along the man’s face. “Yes, I’m real. Now-“ “No, you’re actually real! This is-it’s just-oh boy.” The man began to laugh as he paced back and forth, digesting this encounter. “You’re not a brony are you?” That was the last thing Dashie wanted to deal with. “What? No, no, just follow me.” With this the man ran into the house. Before she went in, Dashie waved the rest of her party to follow. As she stepped through the door, she saw the man run down the hallway. She quickly followed suit. Soon they arrived at the door of the guest bedroom; a room which they had never used while she lived there. The man stood there rubbing his hands and grinning like a maniac. “You have excellent timing, you know that? He is not going to believe this.” “Who?” The man gave a knock on the door and called to whoever it was inside. A voice that sounded so very familiar, but wasn’t quite what she remembered rung in Dashie’s ears. “You must be out of shape if you’re asking an ailing geezer to help you with your baggage.” “Dad, you have a visitor.” ‘Dad?’ Did he just say “Dad”? Then that meant… “Oh, did Ryan and Lizzie come by? Haven’t seen them since Snowflake’s funeral.” “No, it’s someone much better.” “Kids got out early?” “Even better.” “Well then I have no idea who it is because the only one left on my list is-” Before the Old Man could finish, the man opened the door and Dashie stepped inside. She was assaulted by feelings of both relief and horror as she saw her father; twenty-nine years older. He was sitting up in bed, staring straight at her with his jaw dropped. “…Dashie?” “Hey Pops.” She gave a smile as she walked into the room. Her Pops began to twist and turn, trying to get his old legs out from under the sheets. Upon failure to do so, he tried to drag himself to the side of the bed, but was met with similar results. With this he gave a sigh and leaned back on the head board. “I’m sorry; I can’t even meet you halfway.” Dashie ran up to the side of the bed and threw her arms around him, burying her muzzle into his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Dad.” “Don’t you dare; you’re here, that’s all I care about.” As they embraced, David was startled as Twilight came up the hallway and entered the room. She gave a gasp as she saw Dashie’s father in his current condition. “And you brought your friends! Ha! How in the world did you manage this?” Twilight spoke up, “Unfortunately sir, there were complications when we got back home. We don’t know why, but her memories didn’t want to fuse so-” “Ruining the moment, Twilight.” Came the muffled voice of Dashie, still hugging her dad. “Right, I’ll, uh…we’ll be just outside waiting for you.” With this, Twilight left to give her friend some much needed time alone. David walked in and just stared, still finding it hard to believe what he was actually seeing. Taking notice of his son awkwardly standing there, the Old Man motioned for David to come over to the bedside. “Hey, I want you to meet somebody.” Dashie pulled her face away from his chest and looked at the man. “This is your brother: David. He helped me to get a grip after you had to leave.” “Nice to finally meet you, Dashie.” He outstretched his hand With some reluctance, Dashie offered her hoof and they shook. “Nice to meet you too.” With this, their father began to laugh. He turned to his son “You weren’t kidding about it being someone better!” he turned to his daughter “Welcome back, honey!” He wrapped his arms around her tightly “Oh, I’m so glad you came.” “Me too, Pops, me too.” She let go and looked her father up and down, still feeling uneasy about his appearance. A frown appeared on her face. “What? Did I forget to comb my hair?” He chuckled; both Dashie and David remained silent. “Oh come on, it’s not that bad. How about we catch up,” he turned to David “And why don’t you go help your sister and her friends get settled in?” “I can do that. Not sure how, but I can do that.” With this, David left the room to start arranging sleeping areas. “Don’t forget we have air mattresses in the storage shed.” The Old Man called out. “I know, I know.” Came David’s receding reply. “Now,” he turned to his daughter “What was that Twilight said about ‘complications?’” “It’d take awhile to explain.” He sunk under the blankets and got comfortable, then he motioned for her to join him “Then why don’t you tell your Pops a bedtime story?” With this Dashie cracked a smile. She hadn’t done that since she was a filly. “Okay then.” She got on the bed and snuggled up to him, her foreleg across his chest and his chin on top of her head. “It all started like this…”