Bonus Chapter 2
'Not My Son'
It's not often that I come back here. Liberty City isn't the same as it used to be. It's not... home like it was. It hasn't been since sixteen years ago. Everypony, even Princess Celestia, said that Niko was a hero. They claimed that he did a great thing, but being a hero doesn't mean anything if you're gone. I didn't get get to see his body. I didn't want to, but at least I would get some closure about it. Something, anything that would have helped me move on, but there wasn't anything. A well placed bomb in Canterlot Castle helped ensure that the Changeling threat was taken care of. Niko, my Niko stayed behind to make sure that Chrysalis couldn't get away. I tried to get back inside, I tried to fight my way in, but Pinkie wouldn't let me. I watched as the Castle fell, and when we finally got through the burning wreckage we found Chrysalis, but we didn't find Niko.
I had to face raising our children, both of them, on my own. Their names raised a lot of eyebrows in Ponyville. The fact that I chose to name my daughter Trixie Pinkamena Bellic had raised more than a few eyebrows. I suppose not having the traditional name that helped explain some part of them was offsetting, but then again I had lived on Earth long enough to appreciate some of the differences. Pinkie was happy, and I had to admit that despite what happened in that basement it wasn't her. It had been a clone, a clone that Chrysalis had tortured, tormented, and put through all kinds of nightmarish things before she broke. When she did Chrysalis had left her in Pinkie's place to start getting rid of anypony that could stop her. It nearly worked, and would have if not for my Niko.
I stand in our old penthouse and touch the sheet covered couch. I really should let this place go. I know that in the back of my mind I'm hoping that he'll just appear here. That maybe some cosmic force would place him back in this world, but it hasn't happened yet. The city has changed quite a bit too... I keep forgetting how much time differs from here and back in Equestria. Most of my friends I made here are in their twilight years, well except for Trixie and Tiffany. The two of them have long since moved to Equestria. Still, that's not why I'm here. I wish it was so that I could see Brucie, or say hi to Jacob, but instead it's because of a fight that happened with Niko Jr. There is so much of his father in him. Niko once told me that he did the things he did because he was very young, and very angry. Jr is like that. He's so angry. He's angry at life, at the stallion, the man who was supposed to be his father, and when I shared everything with him he nearly turned his back on him.
"You could have stayed out of it! I could have known my father! I could have known him!" the memory of him crying was still fresh in my mind.
He left, two days ago. Days... I wanted to give him some time, thinking that maybe he would have went to Twilight's or maybe even to see Pinkie and her daughter Strawberry, but he hadn't. It was then that she realized he had came here. A soft sigh escaped my lips and I stood inside of the abandoned Dark Ride. Even with the foundation the Agent had created to keep the Fun Fair in tact it was still aging. I wasn't sure how long it would be before it would finally be demolished only to be rebuilt again. If that happened there was no telling if there would be anymore coming back. I wasn't sure if she wanted to come back. A sigh escaped my lips and I heard the door open. A quick hope raised in me. Maybe it was Niko. Maybe... I pushed it down. Niko was dead. I needed to accept it.
I turned and looked at the person walking into apartment. He had grown physically older since the last time she had seen him. His head was still clean shaven, and he was still somewhat fit, but Brucie didn't look like the man I had seen before. He grinned, and walked toward me.
"You should try to get back sooner," he said.
I hugged him back and nodded.
"I know, but it's a little hard to do. Kids, work, and just being awesome keeps getting in the way," I replied.
"Thanks for showing up at Simone's..." he stopped and I felt his shoulders slump.
"Hey, I couldn't stay away. She was one of my best friends. I'm just so sorry that it happened. How are your kids taking it?" I asked.
"Rainbow is taking it the hardest. I'm doing what I can for her, but she's lost without Simone," Brucie said.
I had told Simone how honored I was to have her daughter named after me. Even after she came to Equestria, and she saw what I really was she was still one of my best friends. Her and Brucie seemed to finally fit together, and I was glad for it. Of course she couldn't stay in Equestria. She was the amazing Simone, fashion goddess of Liberty City. Her calling was here, and it would have been wrong to try and talk her out coming back. I looked toward the elevator expectantly, but it didn't open.
"Where's Junior?" I asked.
"Dash, I think that you need to sit down," Brucie said.
I felt fear building up in the pit of my stomach. Two days... For me he was gone two days, but here... Junior was here for a good couple of months if not longer. Brucie breathed out a sigh and pulled out a smoke. He offered me one, but I declined.
"Your son came through, and he actually came back here. If it wasn't for that dark rainbow colored head of his I would have thought it was Niko himself. He remembered me, and we talked some. Dash, he wanted to know about his dad. He wanted to know everything about Niko, so we talked. I told him the kind of guy Niko was. What he was like, what he did, and what happened. I tried to keep him from going and trying to live in his dad's shadow, but he wouldn't hear of it. Last night... Dash last night there was an accident. He's just a sixteen year old kid. He didn't deserve..." I didn't let him finish.
"Where is he?!" I demanded.
"Come with me," Brucie said.
The entire trip felt surreal. We arrived at the Hospital and walked in to find a room where a young boy was laying on a hospital bed. I walked over and touched his arm. He didn't move.
"Are you his mother?" a voice asked.
I turned around and looked at a doctor who walked in and checked on him.
"What happened?" I asked.
"He was admitted last night do to some severe tramua. We've had to sedate him because of the extent of his injuries," he said.
"What happened?" I asked again.
"Please take a seat. Your son was involved in what appeared to be some kind of gang war. We're not sure what it was exactly, but from what we can tell your son was beaten, and it appeared that he was violated," the doctor said.
It took her several seconds to come to term with what he said. Her son, little Junior had been over here, and he was... I closed my eyes and nodded.
"I'll leave you alone. I doubt that he's going to wake up very soon, and if you are worried about the police there was a sizable donation made to the hospital with the understanding that your son's actions would go mostly unreported," the doctor said as he left.
I nodded again. There really wasn't anything else that I could even begin to say. I heard him leave and I felt Brucie's hand on my shoulder.
"I'll be out in the lobby," he said.
I touched my son's arm again.
"I'm sorry. I should have known that you weren't just blowing off steam and I should have came right after you. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to thank Brucie enough for looking out for you. Damn it what were you thinking?! Why in the hell did you come here by yourself for anyway?!" I screamed.
I wanted him to wake up so I could tell him this to his face, but he simply lay there. I leaned over and hugged him. There was no question in my mind that Trixie or Twilight could fix this. They could heal the physical damage, but emotionally... Sweet Celestia I was scared that he was going to be scarred for life.
"Auntie Dash?" a voice said.
I turned to see my name sake. She walked in and looked at the young boy laying on the bed.
"I'm so sorry about this," she said.
"You didn't do it," I said.
"No, but it was because of me. My ex boyfriend was trying to start a scene, and when that didn't work he was going to take me off somewhere. Niko... He jumped in and fought back for me. He was doing so good until several of the other guys showed up... I... I'm so sorry," she said.
I looked at her and the thought of being mad at her came to me, but then I passed it off. I couldn't be. I motioned for her to come to me and she did. I felt her arms wrap around me and I looked back down at him.
"I can see why he did what he did," I said.
She shook her head and looked at him.
"I know, and I like him, but Auntie Dash I'm twenty - two years old. It wouldn't be right," she said.
I understood what she meant. I breathed out and shook my head. There was so much to think about, and so much to do. Whatever happened I knew that I needed to take care of my son, and I needed to make him understand that he is part of a family that loves him.