“Wake up, Dash!” cried an altogether-too-loud voice, followed by a hoof rapping on the door. “It’s time to visit your relatives!”
The door opened. Sunshine walked in, but quickly retreated with an “Eep!” upon seeing the purple alicorn.
“Nothing happened, Miss Sunshine!” Twilight yelled, to no effect. She sighed and nudged Dash, whispering, “Time to wake up, sleepyhead.”
“Mmm, ten more minutes, mom,” Dash mumbled.
“Don’t make me wake you up the hard way.” Twilight’s horn glowed.
Dash jolted upward and yelled, “Okay, okay! I’m awake! No need for magic!”
“Come on, Dash. Let’s clean ourselves up and explain to your parents exactly what happened in this bed.”
“Err, what?”
“That is to say, absolutely nothing.” Twilight paused. “So, who’ll shower first?”
~*~
At the breakfast-table sat Trails, who had the grin of a cat that had spotted the twitching tail of a swallow. “Sleep well?” he asked Twilight.
“Yes, very.”
“Aren’t you going to join your marefriend in the shower?”
Twilight blushed and said, “No, we’re not like that, Trails. And nothing happened last night.”
“I’m sure. Anyway, what would you like for breakfast?”
“I don’t normally eat breakfast.”
“Oh? Well then, I hope you don’t mind us feeding you a Gryphonese one, then.”
“Not at all.”
The bathroom door flung open and Rainbow Dash’s head poked out. “Hey, uhh… I can’t read Gryphonese. Which one’s the shampoo?”
“It’s the red bottle,” Trails said.
“Thanks!” Dash said. She popped her head back into the bathroom.
Trails shook his head with an amused smile. “Already illiterate in Gryphonese, that girl,” he said.
“Hey, I heard that!” Dash said from inside the shower. “I’ll have you know I can still write at least ten Gryphonese words. Possibly twenty! And I can speak it damn well!”
“You have to admit that Dash has an amazing Gryphonese accent,” said Twilight. “She’s lucky to be fluent in two languages.”
“Yeah. I’m surprised she’s still speaking it at all, actually. Though from the looks of last night her vocabulary’s been suffering, she speaks like a local. A local nine-year-old, yes, but a local.”
“Ah, yes?” Twilight said through a mouthful of tea biscuits. “That’s quite impressive.”
“Don’t let it get to her head,” Trails said. “Her ego’s already too much for her to handle; any more and it’ll explode.”
“Anyway, are there any plans for today?” Twilight asked.
“In fact, yes. We’re gonna go visit Dash’s relatives this morning and some of the afternoon. You can come if you want.”
“Sure, I guess, at least for the first ponies.”
“Okay. Do take your time exploring our town after you meet Dash’s immediate family, Princ — I mean, Twilight. Be back by dinner; we’re going to have dumplings tonight.”
Just then, Dash stepped out of the shower and shook herself (mostly) dry. “Your turn, Egghead,” she said, and trotted to the table, scarfing down a biscuit and washing it down with Twilight’s tea.
“Hey!” protested Twilight. She grumbled a bit but eventually left to take a shower.
~*~
The first relatives they visited were Dash’s aunt and uncle, Cloud Wisp and Featherwing. They tackled Dash in a hug, and Wisp asked, “Do you still understand Gryphonese?”
Dash rolled her eyes. “Yeah, why won’t I?”
“Why wouldn’t I,” Featherwing corrected.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
“But still, it’s amazing you still know Gryphonese! I’d have thought that you’d’ve lost it long ago!”
“I suppose I’m just awesome like that,” said Dash.
They caught up with each other while sipping at tea and eating grapes, and when they were to leave, Dash and Twilight were given red pockets (”An introduction to our culture, Princess,” Featherwing had said).
Dash’s maternal grandma and grandpa were up next.
“My little Dashie! How have you been?” He turned to Trails. “Hey, does she understand what I’m saying?”
“Don’t call me that, gramps! Yes, I understand what you’re saying.”
“You do, huh? Well that’s nice to know. Why, you’ve been away seven years, and yet you can still communicate with us just fine. How’s life treating you in Equestria, little one?”
“Awesomely. I’m a weatherpony now; gonna see if I can try out for Equestria's flying team, the Wonderbolts.”
At that point, Twilight excused herself to wander around town. Dash, unfortunately, still had a bunch more ponies to get through.
Her paternal grandparents, for example, who were living with her other uncle and aunt.
“Hey, Dash! How have you been?”
“Great, thanks! You?”
“Oh, wow! It’s like you’re a foreigner, with how you’ve grown and how you’re talking.”
“What? What am I saying that makes you think that?”
“Well, err…” Dash’s aunt faltered. “I dunno. But you definitely have that ‘foreign’ aura around you. Maybe it’s the shape of your face.”
“Yeah, thanks,” Dash said, visibly irritated. Nobody seemed to pay her any mind. Instead, Dash’s uncle came out of the kitchen with lunch, daisy sandwiches for all, along with steamed honeysuckle.
As Dash ate her portion of honeysuckle, her grandpa added more to her plate, and when she’d finished that, he added still more.
“I’ve got enough, thanks. Don’t need any more.”
“Okay,” he said.
She finished the portion again. He tried to add some more into her plate, but Dash pushed his hoof away and said, “No thanks, grandpa.”
His grandpa looked shocked, then shook his head and said, “I suppose you just don’t get the culture here.”
Rainbow Dash ate the rest of her meal in silence.
~*~
“Tea?” asked Sunshine’s uncle.
“Water is fine,” said Dash.
“Alright,” said the yellow stallion. He handed a cup of hot water over to Dash.
“So, how have you been these past years? I take it you still understand what I’m saying?”
“I understand, and I’ve been good. I have a life, a job, a marefriend…”
“Sounds nice. Is she more noetically or physically inclined?” Before Dash could answer, he said, “Oops, sorry. I shouldn’t have used those words. I —”
“I understand you, okay!? If there’s a word I don’t understand, I’ll ask, but chances are, I know what you’re saying!”
There was silence all around.
“Maybe we should go,” said Sunshine. These relatives (Rainbow had already forgotten how they were related to her) issued a half-hearted protest, but let them go. Dash didn’t bother saying goodbye.