//------------------------------// // In the City’s Embrace, Part One // Story: Chain Reaction // by Silent Running //------------------------------// Chain REACTion. Chapter Three: In the City’s Embrace, Part One ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         “I suppose we should go upstairs and assess the damage to your room, don’t you think?” Michael began to say, before he thought about his statement and doubled back with a quick addendum. “That is, if you’re ready Amber, if you don’t want to go back in ther...” He was suddenly cut off by Amber, who had already began to trot towards the stairwell as he finished his poorly thought out statement.         “Dad, it’s fine, really. I’m a big girl, I can handle it. What happened, happened.” She shrugged as best a pony could. Michael only smiled, his daughter was far braver than anyone could give her credit for, that was for sure.         The two began their ascent to the upper level of the home, noting the new-found holes in the wall where three full metal jacket rounds had made new homes after they had passed through their target. It didn’t matter, those little holes could be fixed. Or maybe not, they did serve as a stark reminder of the distance that he was willing to go to defend their home and his family. In any event, it was in the past now. They carried on, the marks of their encounter fading behind them.         It was increasingly apparent as they marched down the small hallway that a confrontation had occurred near here. Their shadows fell upon the door of Amber’s bedroom, or in this case, the smashed in remains of it. The heavy oak door had been knocked clear off it’s hinges by Michael. The frames were still partially attached to the doorway. His sore body reminded him quickly of the incredible force he exerted that night.He furrowed his brow and pinched the bridge of his nose as he realized the amount of work it would take to fix the door.   He thought about it just long enough to realize he deserved a swift kick in the ass. He looked on as Amber brushed by him, and slowly trotted into the room.         “Ugh, my room is a total goddamn wreck...” she muttered with a deep sigh, as she flared her wings in frustration. She continued to trot around the room, the contents of her dresser, shelves, and everything else special to her lay strewn about. She sighed and sat down on her haunches, as she tried to take it all in. She continued to look at all of her stuff, until her eyes gradually found their way to the most obvious damage in the room. Her favorite window, the one that overlooked her now demolished desk, had been shattered. The rain that had pushed into the room from that gaping wound had soaked all of her papers to the core. She couldn’t help it anymore, being a big girl about this was beginning to take its toll. Her eyes gradually reddened, as tears began to pool. She sniffled, trying to suppress the pain, trying to show she was strong. It was just too much however for the pony. She began to quietly sob, as the events from that fateful night began to replay over and over in her mind. The visceral experience of it all had her weeping deeply now. She sat there, beginning to shake uncontrollably. That is until a strong arm embraced her. Wrapping itself tightly around her and pulling her in.         “You’ve been so strong through all of this,” Michael quietly spoke as he held her close to him, rubbing her back as he tried to sooth her anguish. “I’m so proud of you Amber, it’s OK to cry. It’s ok to hurt, you don’t have to hold it in,” he spoke softly. His words seemed to help as she wrapped her hooves around him, hugging him tightly as he sat there with her. Amber broke away and stood back up, still wiping tears away and suppressing a sniffle. She began to gather some of the water stained sketches that had spilled out of her sketch pad.         “Thanks Dad,” is all she could say, as she began to pick up the pieces to her life. Michael stood back up, and began to look over the worst of the destruction, taking note of the heavily damaged furniture. Her desk, a beautiful and ancient one that had been in his family for at least fifty years, was badly wounded. Two of its legs were broken clear off, likely where the pony had smashed his way in. One of her bookshelves had been toppled, its contents splayed across the room, much of which had also suffered water damage from the heavy rain. The simple hand crafted stool at her desk was in pieces. She always sat on when she was deeply involved in her art projects, or worked on her journals, now it was just another fatality of that encounter.   He glanced at the TV, which had surprisingly enough withstood the assault. It was an older flat screen model, likely twenty years outdated, but it had once again proven its worth as it remained unharmed. The only items that weren’t trashed or out of place in some way was her bed, and her lounge chair where she loved to play games from.         Michael knew all of the destruction was irrelevant. It really didn’t matter to him how much it took to fix, all that mattered was that Amber was safe. He was thankful he could afford to fret, even if it was just a little. He watched as Amber used both her forehooves and wings to try and compile everything into folders and sketchpads again. He always marveled at how well she could manipulate her hooves. It was at some points completely baffling. Human science offered little in the way of explanations either. Most people simply dismissed as one of the many obscurities that came along with the arrival of pony kind. His attention once again diverted to the mess at hand, he knelt down and picked up one of the broken legs of her desk. Amber was sulking as she pondered where she could do her work now?         “I suppose I should call Grandpa, he is always looking for an excuse to visit, and we could use the help.” Michael broke the silence. Amber’s ears quickly perked up at the idea of Grandpa John coming for a visit. Her tail swished excitedly at the prospect.         “Dad, should Grandpa really come out for just this?” she quickly fired back. Michael looked at her with a strange look.         “Of course he can! As a matter of fact, he doesn’t need any reason to come up, but this is especially important. I think he has a right to know when his family had a bad run in with some crummy people,” Michael replied. He was still surprised at how little Amber really thought of the entire situation. The more he thought things over though, he could really use the advice only his dad could offer. He didn’t see him with the frequency he used to. With everything that had occurred in the past ten years, and the rapidly degrading security, he typically dissuaded his dad from making the trip up to Detroit. This was one case where he figured it would be worth the risk.         “You’re gonna be ok up here by yourself? I left my phone downstairs.” Michael looked down and saw Amber scowling at him for asking such a silly question. She thought about it however, and under the circumstances... Her scowl went away as she nudged his leg.         “Yea, I’ll be fine Dad, thanks,” she warmly replied. He knew the scowl meant nothing, he would have done the same thing at her age. He quietly excused himself as Amber began yanking the blankets and sheets off her bed with her teeth.  He meandered his way through the mostly cleaned up living room as he made his way to the kitchen where he left his slate. Despite all the distance and all the years, his dad was still right on the home screen under the tab, ‘Important Contacts.’         “H-Hello? Hey Dad, yea, weelll, we had a little uh hmm, incident here. No we’re ok... No Dad I’m serious we’re both fine!” Michael huffed, barely able to get a word in edgewise as John Spechart barked him down on the other side of the call. “Listen Dad, Amber is pretty shaken up, and I could use a hand getting some of this stuff fixed. I know its a haul and all, but we would both like it if you came up... OK Dad, thanks. See you soon.” Michael put the slate back down as it automatically disconnected. The drive would take John a couple hours, but this was a safe time to be traveling. Interstate 75 had been aggressively overhauled to ensure the safety of truckers going to and from American Motors was secured from marauders and other treasure hunters. Not to mention the fact that his AMC Taurus was tracked via ‘MapStar’ which let Michael know when his dad was getting close. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         The familiar sound of small hooves clopping against the base of the stairs announced Amber’s arrival back in the living room. Michael was sitting on one of the stools at the counter, browsing specs for something that had just arrived on his tablet. He heeded her no attention as he continued to to make his way through the digital plethora of information that had just been sent to him by one of his closest friends from the lab. He barely cracked a smirk as a another stool began to move seemingly on its own. This could only mean one thing.         “DAAAAD! What are you doing? We have work to do upstairs still!” Amber nearly yelled right in his ear, using her freaky pony like speed to almost magically appear on the stool. Her intensely accurate short range maneuvering is one of the many things that made her such a special pony. She scooted slightly closer to Michael, her wings adjusting for balance, as she nearly spilled over into his area as she tried to get a peek at the tablet.         “Hey, hey, hey, what are you looking at Dad? Can I see pleeeeeease?” she asked with a face to match. He just grunted as he playfully tried to push her away.         “Gah, go away Amber, can’t you see this is super serious work stuff?” he fake whined. She nearly whinnied in response before catching herself and looking around nonchalantly. She could see a glimpse of what appeared to be an arm. They were definitely schematics and she wanted in on it. She gradually observed her target, Michael continued to casually browse through the images while periodically taking a sip from his mug. She quickly formulated a plan of attack. Operation Skycrane was a go. Without a sound, she gracefully took off from the seat and began to perform acute maneuvers to put herself just above him. She had eyes on the target. He continued to browse the tablet without any suspicion. The time to strike had arrived!         “FREEEEEEEEEEDDOOOOOOM!” she screamed as she swooped down from upon high and yanked the tablet from him. Before he could react she was already bolting off. “Ha! You’re too slow oldm-” she was unable to finish her statement as she crashed right into the refrigerator. Her brazen attack and subsequent showboating had cost her dearly. Michael simply stood up, and reclaimed the tablet without missing a beat. Amber sat there in an upside down mess, the world still spinning around in her vision.         “That’s what you get for acting demickys.” Michael said, dealing a deafening blow. He sat back down at the counter and continued where he had left off. “If you had just asked like a normal person, we could have saved all that trouble.”         “But that would not have been nearly as cool,” she groaned, having righted herself upright. She began to trot over to him again and propped herself back up on the stool. He looked down at her expectantly.         “Um, Dad, can I please see the tablet?” she mumbled in a defeated tone. He may have won this battle, but the war of the tablet was far from settled. When Michael handed the tablet to her, she quickly clamped it in her hooves and began to navigate the photos using the stylus that had been sitting on the counter. Her eyes widened as she saw exactly what had kept him so occupied for the past fifteen minutes. She began to browse through the plethora of specifications at a dizzying pace. There was so much to take in, and the design was like nothing she had ever seen before.                  “Dad, I can’t believe this!” she gasped in awe. “This is incredible! All this information… Everything here is so crazy! This makes what we’re doing in the basement look like crap!” Her ears pulled back as she realized what she just said. She slowly glanced back up to see him smiling at her.         “No offense taken, but what we’re doing in the basement is just a piece to the puzzle. What you see here is the real project. And it’s one I’d really like you to see.” Amber’s eyes were glistening with joy as she realized what he was implying.         “Wait, wait, wait, you mean, I get to go to American Motors!?” she squeaked excitedly. He just smirked and nodded. Amber burst into the air and started buzzing around the kitchen.         “Oh this is so awesome! I always wanted to see where you work!” She continued to fly about, until she thought of something and came to a resounding halt and landed. “But, Dad, didn’t you say the government shut down your project? Isn’t that why you are working out of the basement?” Her ears drooped back again and she had a very somber expression. Michael stood up from his stool and ruffled her mane.         “Just remember one thing Amber. American Motors Protects. I guess you’re right about getting back upstairs. Grandpa should be here in an hour or so, we don’t want him to be too distraught.” As he walked away, Amber just sat there with a quizzical look on her face. She quickly jumped up and trotted behind him.         “Wait seriously Dad, what does that even mean?” She was lost in his cryptic answers as he rounded the corner and went back upstairs.         “You’ll just have to wait and see!” he quipped. She launched herself over him and blocked his path at the top of the stairs. She stomped several times as her hoof made a resounding thunk against the ancient wood floor.         “Ugh c’mon, Dad! Don’t leave me hangin’!” she protested. He just kept walking as he scooted around her hasty blockade.         “That would spoil the surprise, and ruin my fun now wouldn’t it?” Michael’s expert trolling skills reared their ugly head yet again. She scurried behind him as they resumed their work in her room. Grandpa John wouldn’t be far now. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         The distinct sound emitted from hybrid cell engine was enough to tip off Michael and Amber that a visitor had arrived. Her ears perked up distinctively, monitoring the sound as it approached from the seldom travelled road. The whir of the engine came to a halt as the familiar thunk of a door shutting could be heard. Before Michael could even say anything, Amber had bolted down the stairs in a combination of hustle and flight. It was quite comical to watch in any event. The banging of the door officially announced the arrival of Grandpa John Spechart. Michael hurried down the stairs just to see Amber clumsily fumbling with the door handle. A small digital screen on the door verified it was in fact Grandpa John.         “Hello? Anyone home? OOF!” he grunted as a yellow blur nearly knocked him off his feet.         “GRANDPA!” Amber enthusiastically yelled as she leaped up to give him a hug. He was momentarily stunned before quickly embracing the yellow pony. He ruffled her mane with his free hand.         “How ya doing kiddo? You sure you’re not still growing?” he gasped between struggling breaths from being squeezed by the pony. “Sure seems like you’re still getting stronger Amber!” She finally relinquished her hug and started to casually float in front of him, a beaming smile on her tired face.         “How’s my favorite grandpony doing?” he asked with a somewhat joking manner. She frowned but quickly relinquished her scowl as she remembered it was only a joke. Michael was waiting patiently behind her. Finally walking up and hugging his dad, they weren’t ones to show familiar emotion but this time it called for it.         “Good to see you, Dad. I hope the trip was alright coming up?” he asked enthusiastically.         “Ah well, it could have been worse, those damn Michigan troopers had roadblocks every five miles it seems! I stopped at the last one to ask what the issue was, and he gave the vaguest of answers you could imagine.” John sighed. “Something about new terror threats, seems like the same shit-oop!” he stopped himself looking at Amber. She was none too amused.         With a slight accentuation of her posture she replied, “Grandpa, I AM seventeen you know. You don’t have to not curse in front of me!”         “Well all-fucking-right then!” John replied with a hearty laugh to accompany it. Michael nearly winced at the comical outburst, but soon they all joined in the laughter. As the laughter died down, John began to resume a stature of concern.         “Mike, so what happened that had you so spooked on the phone? You both look fine, maybe a little tired.” He glanced at the two of them who were still standing and hovering there. Michael looked towards the stairwell.         “Why don’t you see for yourself, Dad.” Michael led the three of them to the stairs. The first thing John noticed was the damage to the bannister. It had been split in several spots from what could only be extreme force. They continued to round the stairs as John glanced around, clearly in full investigation mode. That was when he noticed the three distinct impacts on the wall. He looked closer, and noticed a tiny amount of dark red splatter.         “What in the hell, bullets? Mike, just what the hell happened?” John’s voice had a hint of anger in it as they headed upstairs. Tell tale signs were all around that something had gone wrong here. It wasn’t until they happened upon the smashed in door of Amber’s room that the reality of how bad things had been sunk in. John was almost shaking with anger as he rushed into the room. The mess that presented itself was all he needed to see. The smashed window hastily covered with a tarp and duct tape was almost too much for him. He looked around trying to take it all in and comprehend the sight. His eyes returned to his granddaughter, who was simply staring at the tarped window.         “Mike, Amber, why didn’t you call me sooner goddamnit!?” He was nearly yelling as he searched for answers. Michael was desperate to find anything else to focus on, resorting to staring at the floor. Amber just continued to stare at the window again, a solitary tear making its presence known on her muzzle. Michael finally spoke up.         “I’m… I’m sorry, Dad. Everything happened so goddamn quick, you know?” he looked at John with pleading eyes, finding his father staring back at him with an intense gaze, lost somewhere between anger and sorrow. “Barely any time has passed and we just had to let it all soak in.” Michael sat down on the corner of the bed, Amber quickly joining him as she leaned into her dad. He rubbed her shoulder as she held back her tears. They had cried too much already. John knelt down next to Amber, lifting her face up by her chin, as she looked back at him.         “They didn’t hurt you at all, did they?” he asked in a deadly serious tone. Ice in his eyes as he waited with a bated breath for her response.         “No, no Grandpa… He… ugh, he tried, and then Dad was right there! He shot him dead! And he saved me!” She again sniffled, several tears escaping her efforts. John looked at his son, who sat there stoically, still comforting his daughter. Despite all the fear and anger he felt, he could not ignore the enormous sense of pride welling up in his chest. His son had gone to the ultimate length to do what had to be done. To preserve his family, to sustain by any means. John was a stubborn old man, and a man of few emotions at that. Michael and himself had always had a strong relationship, despite hardships in the past, the events that they both endured had made them a stronger family. The death of his wife as the result of complications of a stroke had solidified the bond a father and son share. When his estranged daughter had severed ties with the family, Michael stood firmly by his side, a pillar of strength and a means to keep standing. It was only when the disaster struck Detroit, and when Michael lost his family, did John find the true measure of his character. He refocused on the room around him and noticed that Amber and Michael were still sitting on the bed He looked at his family admiring the son he raised, and the granddaughter he had been blessed with. Michael finally stood up, and began to move towards the door. “I have to start gathering stuff for the coming project. Amber, Dad, why don’t you guys stay up here and work on the room while I get all this figured out?” Before they could object he had already exited the room. While it was true he had much to do in regards to getting the rest of the mess sorted it out, he had his ulterior motives. The relationship grandpa and granddaughter shared had not always been so extraordinary. John’s tired limbs ached and protested with a very audible series of cracks as he tried to stretch the old age out of his system. Despite all of the medical advancements available, he still found himself suffering from the dilemmas that came with age. He walked over to the window and carefully began removing the tarp and tape that had been so hastily erected by Michael. Amber trotted over and began carefully tugging on the tape with her snout. John looked down but heeded her no attention as he continued to take down the tarp. The room however was still, quite a mess, and debris from the incident still covered most of the floor. John had made his way to the upper corner of the tarping, and noticed it was thoroughly taped. He began to tug on it, but it was not budging, with a little more force, he still saw little progress. Finally, he gave it one last, meaningful pull, and this time the tape and the paint behind it came flying off. He suddenly found himself losing the sensation of balance as his momentum began to send him tumbling backwards. “Woah! Oh shit!” he yelled. As he was about to completely fall, something suddenly rushed up behind him to catch his fall. He could feel himself being forced back to his feet. The feeling of the air flowing around him caught his attention. “Don’t worry, Grandpa, I got your back!” Amber grunted, as she pushed with all of her wing power to stabilize him. He gradually regained his balance and was back on his feet. He turned around to see Amber still hovering. “That was some mighty quick reflexes there, Amber. You ought to be a stunt person with that kind agility!” he gasped out between breaths, still panting heavily from his near disaster. Amber landed and brushed a hoof through her mane. “What can I say Grandpa, it’s the pegasus in me!” She smirked as he walked back over to the bed, sitting down to collect himself. Amber trotted over and effortlessly leaped back onto the bed, sitting next to him. He looked down at the yellow pony who dangled her hooves over the side of the bed. She was quite small compared to a human, despite already being seventeen. As he looked at her, he continued to see images of her as a little filly, of times when he was not so certain about her. “I guess that’s twice now, you’ve saved me, Amber,” he said. With a slight tilt of her head, she looked up at him with a completely confused expression on her face. He smiled weakly as he realized she likely had no recollection of what he was getting at. “What is that supposed to mean, Grandpa?” she asked. John looked around the room.          “Well, you know, when you were just a filly, I had to get you out of a few real tight spots,” he reminisced on days long past. Of a time when he was not as strong a person as he is now. She scooted over closer to him.         “Now you have to tell me!” she proclaimed. He looked down at her, flashbacks of the man he once was, and never hoped to be ever again came crashing back to his memory. Shifting the direction he was steering this conversation.         “You know Amber, there’s a lot your Dad hasn’t told you about when you first came home. When I was a different person.” He sighed. “I guess with everything that has happened, you have a right to know now. I doubt Mike would object to me telling you.” Amber looked back up at him, she was very intent on listening to what he had to say.         “Those years leading up to your arrival in our family were…” He paused to think of what to say next. “They were very tough times for your father and I. Things had been gradually falling apart for us as a family. Your Aunt Catherine, you know who she is right?” He looked on as she hesitantly nodded yes. He continued.         “Well anyways, she decided to just up and leave the family. Just like that, gone. Sure, we had our fights, but all families do, right?” He was mostly saying that to reassure himself. “We were struggling to come to terms with how things had fallen apart. Your Grandma had passed away shortly after Catherine left.” He shook his head at that last part.         “It really is a shame you never got to meet your grandma. She was a gentle soul, who cared deeply for everyone, and was not weighed down with the hate I had.” He sighed. Amber chimed back in.         “What do you mean, hate? What hate could you possibly hold, Grandpa?” To this question, John had to chuckle lightly.         “You have no idea, Amber. I was a very bitter man, and I had the kind of pent up frustration that could kill a man. I was stewing in my hatred, everything I had worked so hard for was being taken away, and it was all falling apart. Your father though...” He again paused. “Your Dad stood with me through it all. He refused to abandon me. Believe me, it was so tough on him too. We had such ferocious fights as things got worse. I… I said things that to this day I cannot forgive myself for.” John felt the contact of her hoof as she leaned in closer.           “It’s ok, Grandpa, it couldn’t have been that bad, right?” He again couldn’t look at her.          “Amber, what I’m about to tell you will come as quite the shock, but you must know.” He mentally prepared himself for what he was about to tell her. “When you arrived in this family, it nearly tore us completely apart.” John lowered his head as Amber audibly gasped at the revelation.  He did not wait for her to respond further.         “When the ponies first started to show up, in uh, 2021 I think it was, no one knew what was going to happen. Here we were, almost completely confident in the fact that we would likely never experience contact with another race, suddenly forced into a situation we had never imagined. Everything we thought we knew about the universe was tossed on its face, and with such violence as well. The portal storms caused by the collider incident scared the piss out of us! Hell, I thought for sure we were all going to be sucked into them and killed, or whatever happens. Suddenly, people and places started disappearing, and in who shows up? Ponies, ripped right from their own dimension. The idea that something so horrible could happen had rocked the world. The worst part? They could happen anytime, anywhere. That’s when things got really bad.” He could again focus on Amber, she was still very much interested in what he had to say.         “I was confused, and the ponies just kept coming, we didn’t know if they were going to try and take over or what! Then the problems started, we had another crisis on our hands. What were we to do with all these ponies, who needed shelter, food, and the really unthinkable, jobs. As it became increasingly apparent they couldn’t go home, they wanted to try an integrate. Well, that didn’t go over well in most places.” John shook his head at this statement.         “In other countries? They started outright killing the ponies! My God, the news was so messed up. Then the United States and Canada did something that completely knocked our socks off. They offered sanctuary to the ponies! What the hell were we supposed to do with all these new creatures? Could they integrate into society, could they vote? What about the skills. They could do so much, I mean, just look at you, you can fly! We can’t even perfect jet packs!” He looked at her wings as Amber flexed them instinctively, as if they knew they were being talked about. She blushed for a moment.         “So the ponies started to move in, we set up camps for them, but they had so many special talents. Some had ‘magic’ or whatever it is. They could manipulate things and do certain tasks better than a robot, and certainly better than a human. American jobs were threatened, and this was right as the Big Three, that is, Ford, Chrysler, and GM, were buckling from internal struggle. People were scared….” He again sighed, “and so was I. We didn’t want the ponies either, but the President made it clear, they were here to stay, and the government would protect them.”          Amber looked back up at him. “So, I don’t get it. What does that have to do with me?”         “Ah, I’m just getting to that.” he quipped back. “The portal storms died down, the anger leveled out into a steady simmer. The animosity was still very present, but people were willing to accept it for the time being. But then, out of the blue, the portal storms started back up. More ponies started to show up again, and it looked like the problems were going to restart all over again.” John rubbed his forehead as the story continued to build.         “Your Dad, had a beautiful family about to bloom, they were expecting their first child, and they both worked steady jobs.” He paused as he saw Amber’s ears pull back and down as she was never comfortable with this subject. He looked down at her. “If you want me to stop Amber, I will.” She shook her head and waved a hoof.         “No Grandpa, this is important. I need to hear this.” She dismissed his concerns. He nodded.         “Then those… That, damn portal storm hit Detroit!” he blurted out, before composing himself. His fist visibly shaking as he continued. “It was that phone call that night, he could barely speak, and he finally told me, they were gone. Jenn and the baby, just like that, gone forever.” he could barely continue, but he again composed himself to carry on the story.         “But he tells me, he has more news. He rescued someone, and he was likely to be the sole caretaker. I was already rushing up, but now I had no idea what to expect, he wouldn’t tell me. I finally got here, and there he was in the living room, something resting in his arms… And it was, it was you.” He glanced down at her as she stared at the floor, before sensing his gaze and looked up at him.         “I couldn’t believe he had saved a pony, and I couldn’t take it. After everything that had happened, here was your Dad, proudly stating he would not abandon this little pony. I could not contain my rage as I told him what a terrible idea it was.” His voice trembled now. “It was the worst fight we had ever had, and he kicked me out, and I gladly left. Only to realize a few minutes later what I had just done. And how stupid… I was.” A tear rolled down his tired face. Amber was again sniffling as she began to quietly weep as the tragedy of his story unfolded.         “My son, the person I had raised into a man of great courage and strength, was about to be abandoned by his own father! I had abandoned him in his most dire hour, storming out and leaving him alone. He had been robbed of the love of his life, and now had a young life he had sworn to protect... I am a monster.” He shook with rage, at himself. Amber’s wing instinctively wrapped around him as best it could, as she tried to comfort her grandfather.         “I drove back, and found him sitting in the same place we had just fought only ten minutes earlier. He didn’t even move, he just sat there. I sat down in the chair next to him. We sat there for a long time, nothing was said. We couldn’t even look at each other. It wasn’t until I was startled from my stupor from the cries of a child that brought me back. Your Dad, had fallen asleep, still cradling you. And you were crying like it was nobodies’ business.” The slightest smile crept back to his face as Amber sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.         “Without even thinking, I went to go take the crying child from him so he could rest. I had completely forgotten everything that had happened for a moment. So I took you in my arms, and then I looked down at your big eyes, and remembered everything that had happened. I remembered how much I can’t stand ponies. But there you were, a child looking for comfort, looking for the embrace of family. And it dawned on me, you are not just a pony! You are a person, and it was then and there, I realized what a fool I had been. You were a little angel, a savior meant to save more than just your Dad. I held you close to me as you gradually drifted back to sleep. I too drifted off.” John was smiling now.         “Your Dad finally woke, only to see you and me sleeping peacefully in the chair. Things were going to be different from then on out.” He let out a very heavy breath. “And I guess the rest, is history.”         Amber finally spoke up, she had been lost in thought, trying to absorb everything she had just been told. She quietly realized what it all meant now to him. “That was beautiful, Grandpa.” She hugged him tightly as he embraced her back.         “I love you too, kiddo.” He gazed back around the room.  “I guess we spent enough time reminiscing, time to get back to work.” They both hopped off the bed as the sound of footsteps approaching from the hallway announced Michael had returned.         “So did you guys get a lot… done?” He looked around, they had barely done anything except take more paint off the wall. He sighed to himself as Amber and Grandpa John both smiled.         “C’mon, I promised you a  trip into the city. Amber, I think it’s time you see American Motors.” They all left the room and headed for the garage, today just kept getting more and more interesting.