Until We Meet Again
Prism yawned as she arose from her slumber. She smiled when she saw Tank's shell at the foot of her bed, his head and feet tucked in as he slept. She rubbed the top of the shell affectionately before climbing out of bed and trotting over to the calendar. She picked up the red marker with her mouth and crossed off yesterday.
Then she dropped the pen as her jaw dropped. Written on today's date was Prism-10.
"Yes!" she exclaimed, her tiny wings fluttering. "It's my birthday!"
Tank popped his head out of his shell to see what the commotion was. He tilted his head in confusion when he saw his young owner dancing around the room, chanting:
"It's my birthday! It's my birthday! It's my birthday!"
She paused and gasped. "Which means…"
The filly immediately raced downstairs. Finding no pony in the kitchen, she continued on to the living room. Scootaloo welcomed her with open hooves.
"There's the birthday…"
But Prism ran past her aunt and to her siblings who were looking out the window.
"Are they here yet? Are they here yet? Are they here yet?"
Lightning turned to her sister and chuckled. "Calm down, squirt. No, they're not here yet, but they should be here soon." She sat down and gave her sister a squeeze. "Happy Birthday, sis."
Prism looked past her sister. "Are they here yet?"
Thunder shook his head. "Nope. Not yet."
"Okay." The filly paused. "How about now?"
Her brother sighed. "No."
She tapped her hoof and glanced at the clock on the wall.
"They here now?"
"No!" Thunder snapped, giving her a frustrated look. "Stop asking!"
Prism hung her head. "Sorry. It's just that we haven't seen Mom or Dad since Aunt Twilight's wedding, and that was a month ago. They said they'd be here."
"You can chill, squirt," Lightning assured her. "They haven't missed your birthday yet."
"They missed ours though," Thunder grumbled.
She shot her brother a glare. "You're not helping!"
"Yeah, yeah." He gasped suddenly and pulled the curtain over the window. "They're here!"
The girls squealed excitedly.
"Positions, every pony!" Scootaloo announced, ducking behind the couch.
"Okay," Lightning whispered to Prism, leading her into the kitchen. "Remember, just like we practiced."
"Roger," the filly giggled.
She hid behind the doorway and grinned in delight. She couldn't wait to see the looks on her parents' faces once they saw the surprise.
There was a knock at the door and Lightning joined Scootaloo behind the couch. She signaled to her brother standing beside the door. He opened it so he would be concealed behind it.
"Happy Birth…day?"
Rainbow Dash and Soarin trailed off when they noticed the room empty. The mare shook her head with a chuckle.
"They're doing it again." She went along with it. "Oh, goodness! There's no pony here!"
"You don't think they forgot we were coming, did you?" Soarin shouted, winking at his wife.
"Oh where, oh where could our kids be?"
"Here I am!" Prism announced.
The couple gasped when they saw their youngest daughter fluttering out of the kitchen. She was hovering at least two inches above the ground and coming toward them fast.
"Guys, look how high I can fly now!" the filly piped.
Soarin and Rainbow laughed as they knelt down and opened their forelegs. Prism flew into them and embraced both her parents. The others then came out of their hiding places and yelled:
"Surprise!"
"Well, look at you!" Rainbow laughed, ruffling her daughter's mane. "Some pony's been practicing."
"We've been helping her," Lightning explained.
Their mother raised an eyebrow. "You two have been teaching your sister to fly? Man, this morning's just full of surprises!"
"Oh!" Soarin squealed as he squeezed his daughter. "My little girl is getting so big!" He looked at her sternly. "Stop it, okay? That's an order!"
Prism giggled. "But Dad, how am I gonna fly then?"
"You won't! You'll just have me to carry you for the rest of your life!"
"Quit smothering her, Soarin," Rainbow chuckled. "She's not a baby."
The mare stood up to hug the twins. "It's great to see my kids again." She looked at them questioningly. "Seriously though, what happened while we were gone that you two are suddenly so nice to Prism?"
Thunder and Lightning glanced at each other nervously and blushed as they recalled how they had accidentally turned into babies and Prism had to take care of them.
"Anyway," Rainbow said, "we have a little surprise for you too." She turned to the open doorway. "Come on in, Dad!"
The children gasped when a light blue pegasus with light brown eyes and a rainbow mane with streaks of gray appeared in the doorway.
"Grandpa Rainbow!" they shouted in unison.
"Hey, you little rainbow rascals!" the aged stallion greeted as his three grandchildren rushed to embrace him. "Let me have a look at ya. Thunder, you've become a strapping young stallion. You must be real popular with the ladies, huh?"
"I actually have a girlfriend," Thunder said proudly. "I can't wait for you to meet her, Grandpa. She's amazing!"
"I'll bet she is! Lightning, how ya doing with the boys?"
Lightning blushed. "Well, I'm not seeing any pony right now, but did you know Screwball, Thunder and I made the Junior League? I'm playing left field, Thunder's right field and Screwball's the pitcher."
"I can't wait to see ya play. And you, Miss Birthday Girl…" He picked up Prism. "You're looking more like your mother every day! How old are you now? Seven?"
"I'm ten years old, Grandpa!" Prism giggled.
"Ten?! My, how time flies! Seems like only yesterday you were sleeping with the other newborn foals in the hospital. Oh, that reminds me. I got you a birthday present."
Once Grandpa Rainbow had set her down, Prism jumped up excitedly. "What is it? What is it?"
The old stallion laughed as he reached into his saddlebag and pulled out his gift. "Happy Birthday, sweetie."
"A pith helmet!" Prism exclaimed, placing it on her head. "Just like Daring Do's!"
"Now don't think I didn't get anything for you two," Grandpa Rainbow said to the twins as he dug further into his bag.
He pulled out two baseball mitts, a black one for Thunder and a yellow for Lightning.
"Since I heard you were trying out for the Junior League, I thought you might need these," their grandpa explained.
"Thanks, Grandpa Rainbow!" the Dash children said, hugging the old stallion again.
Prism pulled away first and looked at her parents hopefully. "You have presents for me too?"
"Whoa, hon!" Soarin laughed. "You'll get the rest of your presents at the party this afternoon. Right now, let's have some breakfast."
"Buttermilk pancakes with zap apple jam?" the birthday filly pleaded.
"That we saved just for the occasion!" her father called as he flew into the kitchen. "Just give me a few minutes!"
"Sure you don't want any help, Soarin?" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"No, thanks! I don't like burnt pancakes!"
"I was just kidding! We all know I'm a terrible cook!" She wrapped her wing around Prism. "While Daddy's making breakfast, how about we put those strong wings to the test?"
"Okay!" the filly replied, her wings fluttering excitedly. "You know, it's been a while since we flew together."
Rainbow sighed. "Yeah, it has." She shouted over her shoulder. "We'll be back soon!"
"Roger!" Soarin called from the kitchen.
"Scootaloo, keep him and Dad out of trouble."
"Don't worry," Scootaloo smirked. "I've got everything under control."
When mother and daughter flew outside, a wave of sadness passed over the room.
"It sure is great to see them," Thunder grumbled.
"Yeah," Lightning sighed.
Grandpa Rainbow left the living room to talk to his son-in-law. He was getting eggs out of the refrigerator.
"Have you told them yet?"
Soarin froze at the old pegasus' question. It took him a while to reply.
"The twins and Scootaloo know."
His father-in-law looked at him seriously. "Does Prism know?"
The younger stallion bit his lip. "It's her birthday. Let's not put a damper on it."
Grandpa Rainbow shook his head with a sigh. "You can't keep this a secret from her forever. She needs to be prepared for something like this."
"I know." The rest Soarin muttered under his breath. "I just don't know how we're gonna break it to her."
"So what do you remember about that flight?" Rainbow Dash asked her daughter as they rested on a cloud.
Even though Prism couldn't fly on her own yet, Rainbow was training her to be aware of everything around her while flying, so she could avoid obstacles in the air and watch out for signs of trouble on the ground.
"Well," Prism said, tapping her chin in thought. "I remember Derpy was delivering the morning mail, but I guess she messed it up again, because she went to the same mailbox twice. I also saw Aunt Applejack and Cinnamon Roll setting up their apple stand. Oh, yeah! And Lyra and Bon-Bon were eating donuts at the Ponyville Café!"
"Actually it was bagels, but you're getting better!" Her smile faded as she caught the light in her daughter's eye. "You really are growing up, aren't you?"
"Yup! Isn't it great?"
Rainbow nodded solemnly. "Yeah."
Her daughter's flying was really improving. During their flight, she didn't have to lift her up by the hoof. Prism had fluttered at her side rather than below her. Soon Rainbow wouldn't have to hold her hoof at all. Only a few years ago, she was holding the filly above her head as she flapped her wings, weighing next to nothing. She was too heavy now, even for Rainbow Dash, to lift that high.
It hit Rainbow Dash like a ton of bricks. Her little girl was growing up. Today she was ten years old. Soon she would be flying on her own. Soon she would get her cutie mark. Soon she would be graduating from school and then her fillyhood would be over. Soon she would get a job. Soon she would get married and have foals of her own.
Rainbow Dash felt pride as well as sorrow.
This wasn't the first time she had gone through something like this. The first was with Scootaloo. Even though she wasn't really her sister, Rainbow had felt responsible for her, teaching her how to fly, showing her how to defend herself. Then came the day Scootaloo had gotten her cutie mark and then the day she flew for the first time without her help. Then she went off with her friends to start a band, and it was clear she didn't need Rainbow anymore.
But Scootaloo had come back when the twins were born. Rainbow remembered how scared she was when she first held the two crying foals in her hooves. She felt she wasn't cut out for parenthood, but soon she realized her experience with Scootaloo had prepared her for it (except for all the diaper changing).
It hadn't been difficult raising the twins, since they could fly at a month old. It was their fights that made the task challenging. They grew up quickly, independent as they were. They were among the first in their class to earn their cutie marks. They still had responsibility to learn, but from what she had seen this morning, Rainbow could tell they were nearly there.
It was different with Prism. She was the late bloomer, the one who needed her the most, and yet, Rainbow was just now realizing that she and Soarin had missed out on a lot of Prism's fillyhood. She had only been three years old when they became Co-Captains of the Wonderbolts and hence, had to go away most of the time. So far, they had made every one of her birthdays and Hearth's Warmings, but all that time in between had been taken.
What if she got her cutie mark and they weren't there to see it? What if she experienced her first crush and they weren't there to advise her? What if she finally flew and they weren't there to cheer her on?
How could she ever leave her again?
"You okay, Mom?" Prism questioned.
Rainbow shook out of her thoughts. "Uh, yeah." Then she smiled again. "Hey, I have an idea. How about this summer, we all go up to Winsome Falls, like we did when you were seven? We'll hike through the woods, stop for camp, roast marshmallows, tell scary stories and when we get to the falls, we'll bathe ourselves in rainbow-colored water! Sound good?"
The filly nodded enthusiastically. "That'll be fun!"
"Good. Now let's get going. Your father's sure to have breakfast ready by now."
"Mmm," Prism moaned as she wiped the rainbow-colored jam off her face. "I think those are the best pancakes you've ever made, Dad!"
"I think the aged zap apple jam might have something to do with it," Grandpa Rainbow chuckled. "Zap apple jam does taste better when aged."
"Oh, I almost forgot!"
The birthday filly raced out of the kitchen and came back later with a piece of paper in her mouth. She dropped it in her father's lap.
"I drew all six of us together!" Prism said proudly. "I would've included you, Gramps, but I didn't know you were coming."
"Aw, it's okay," her grandfather said with a laugh.
"Sweetheart, this is beautiful," Soarin said as he gazed in awe at the rather accurate drawing of their family and Scootaloo.
"Golly," Grandpa Rainbow uttered as he leaned over to peek at it. "Did you make this with those colored pencils I sent you for Hearth's Warming a few years back?"
"Uh-huh," Prism nodded. "You're gonna have to get me more though, 'cuz they're pretty small now."
"Wow," Rainbow said as she looked at the drawing over her husband's shoulder. "You're getting really good at this."
"It really is a masterpiece," Soarin said as he walked over to the refrigerator.
The thing was covered in so many drawings that he had to do a lot of rearranging before sticking the new picture up to join them.
"You keep this up, honey," he laughed, "and we'll have to buy a bigger fridge!"
"Or at least another one!" Grandpa Rainbow added.
"That way we'll be able to stock up on enough food to feed this monster belly," Rainbow chuckled as she playfully nudged her husband's side.
"Hey!" Soarin frowned.
The whole room burst out laughing as Rainbow threw her hoof around her husband.
"It's okay, babe. I love ya anyway."
He beamed as she kissed his cheek. Soarin gazed up at Prism's many drawings on the fridge. Most of them were of members of their family. Some of them were of Daring Do, others of Prism flying and of her getting her cutie mark. Her dream cutie marks varied from lightning bolts to a Wonderbolt symbol to a rainbow.
Soarin's frown returned as he imagined the day Prism would fly and the day she would earn her cutie mark. Would they even be around for that?
He looked at his wife and could tell from her solemn expression that she was thinking the same thing.
"We have to tell her," she murmured.
He put his hoof around her and pulled her closer.
"Tomorrow," he whispered.
That afternoon at the Party Palace, all of Prism's friends, her parents' friends and the twins' friends were sitting around a long dining table wearing party hats. Prism sat at the head, in front of a five-layered cake smothered in rainbow frosting with ten candles on top.
"Go on, Prism!" Raspberry urged. "Make a wish and blow out the candles!"
"Yeah!" Cherry chimed, licking her lips. "So we can all eat it!"
"Then we can open presents!" Gemstone clapped.
The cake was so big that Prism had to stand on her chair to reach the candles. She closed her eyes and silently made her wish. Then she opened them and blew fiercely on the tiny flames. The whole room cheered and applauded.
"What'd you wish for, sweetie?" Soarin asked.
"Yes, so I can snap my fingers and make it happen!" Discord said cheerfully.
"Do I need to tell you?" Prism replied, pointing at her wings.
The draconequus groaned and slumped back in his seat. "Not that wish again. Sorry, kiddo, but I'm forbidden to make ponies grow faster and age slower." He grinned at Fluttershy. "With the exception of my lovely wife, of course."
"That's okay. I'm actually getting close to flying!"
"It's true," Thunder declared. "This morning, she flew across the entire living room!"
"Two whole inches off the ground!" Lightning added. "Pretty soon, she'll be flying across all of Ponyville!"
Rainbow Dash and Soarin glanced at each other, both of them frowning.
"Enough chitchat!" Cherry demanded, pounding her hooves on the table. "Let's have cake!"
With so many mouths in the room (and the big mouths of the Pie family), the cake disappeared quickly. Then it was time for Prism to open her birthday gifts. Since her parents requested that their gift be opened last, she started with her siblings. She was confused when she unwrapped a book on how to care for foals.
"In case we ever turn into babies again," Lightning whispered.
Prism couldn't help but laugh. Next was Aunt Scootaloo's gift, which was a scooter (helmet included). Then she moved on to her best friends. Gemstone gave her a beaded necklace she had made herself. Blueberry got her a magnifying glass. Raspberry gave her a sketchbook for all her drawings. Cherry got her a rubber chicken.
Eventually, Prism came to Uncle Discord's present. She was even more confused with this gift than the one from the twins. It was a hoof mirror.
"What's this for?" she asked.
"It's a magic mirror," Discord explained. "It will show you whatever you wish, as well as help you groom yourself in the morning. Your parents have one too…"
Soarin's and Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in panic.
"Discord, don't…" the latter started to say.
"…so you can communicate with them while they're in Afghanisteed!"
Prism looked up at the draconequus in shock. "What?"
Soarin winced while Rainbow Dash slowly closed her eyes and hid her face in her hooves. Their daughter slowly turned to them, her eyes glazed with fresh tears.
"You…you're going to Afghanisteed?" she uttered, her voice barely above a whisper.
Discord's smile faded once he noticed the tension between the family members. "You mean you haven't told her yet?"
He yelped as Fluttershy stepped on his dragon foot.
"Is it true?" Prism asked her parents, her eyes pleading them to say no.
The two Wonderbolts looked at each other and gave a collective sigh.
"It's true," Rainbow Dash replied.
The filly glanced around to see every pony else's reaction. No one seemed shocked, except for her friends and the babies who didn't know any better. The twins and Scootaloo were hanging their heads in shame, while Grandpa Rainbow was looking at her sadly.
Did they all know?
Prism choked on her tears as they flowed down to her lips. "Why…why didn't you tell me?"
Soarin met her eyes. "We didn't wanna spoil your birthday."
She glared at him. "Well, you did!"
She threw down the mirror and ran out the door.
"Prism, wait!" Lightning called.
She and Thunder Dash flew after her. Rainbow Dash shot a death glare at Discord and zoomed up in his face.
"What the heck is wrong with you?!" she demanded harshly.
"Me?!" Discord exclaimed.
Screwball put her hoof to her head. "You couldn't keep your mouth shut just once, huh, Dad?"
"First the whole Santa Hooves thing, now this?" Fluttershy grumbled.
"How was I supposed to know they hadn't told her yet?" Discord protested. "No pony told me I wasn't supposed to tell her!"
"We told you to keep it quiet!" Rainbow Dash scolded. She looked to where her daughter had gone. "Poor kid. Boy, do we got a lot of explaining to do. Come on, Soarin."
The two pursued Prism, Scootaloo and Grandpa Rainbow following them.
"Mummy," Gemstone said, looking up at Rarity. "What's Afghanisteed?"
"What?!" Cherry gasped. "How can you not know what Afghanisteed is?! It's all over the news!"
"She can't read, remember?" Raspberry whispered.
"Well yeah, but we talked about it in class!"
"Oh, right," said Blueberry. "She was sick that day."
Rarity sighed and pulled her daughter closer. "Well, you see, my darling…Afghanisteed is a little country east of Zebrica."
"That's the zebra country, right?" Gemstone inquired.
"Yes. Well, for a while now, Afghanisteed has been overrun by…" She paused as she tried to think of the best way to explain this to her child. "…by a group of very bad cows called the al-Cowda. Now you know from the cows you've met in Ponyville that not all cows are bad, but these cows are. They've taken control of Afghanisteed and have done very bad things to its inhabitants, especially the ponies. They hate ponies. They have very strict rules like females cannot go outside without being covered head to toe, in very unfashionable apparel, I might add. They whip and stone those who disobey their rules.
"But they haven't stopped at Afghanisteed. They've attacked other nations, specifically the ones dominated by ponies. You remember that boat crash in Manehattan a few years ago?"
The unicorn filly nodded, recalling how she was shaking in her knees that day.
"That was planned by the al-Cowda. They've threatened Equestria and other countries time and time again, Afghanisteed being their home base. So the Princesses of Equestria have sent soldiers to stop the al-Cowda and help those suffering under their rule. That's…that's what Rainbow Dash and Soarin are going to do."
Gemstone shivered as her mother told the story. She looked to the door where Prism had fled. She understood why her friend was so upset.
Prism only managed to run as far as three feet from the Party Palace before her older siblings landed in her path. There was really no use running when your family consisted of the fastest flyers in Equestria.
"Prism, you don't understand," Lightning insisted.
"I understand perfectly!" their younger sister snapped. "Mom and Dad are leaving again! And this time they're never coming back!"
She tried to run the other way, but her mother was blocking it. "What are you talking about? Of course we're coming back!"
"Nothing will stop us from coming back!" her father declared.
Prism turned around and found that her entire family had surrounded her. She looked up at Scootaloo.
"You knew about this?"
The orange pegasus nodded guiltily. Prism turned to her grandpa.
"And you?"
He nodded too. One look at the twins and they admitted the same.
"So every pony knew but me?!"
"We knew you'd take it the hardest," Soarin explained. "It wasn't even definite until about two weeks ago."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"We're Wonderbolts, Prism," Rainbow stated. "We're the toughest flyers in Equestria. They need ponies like us down in Afghanisteed and…well, your dad and I are the best."
"But why? Why do you even have to go?"
"Look, we don't want to go as much as you do…"
"Of course you do! You'd do anything to get away from me!"
Rainbow jumped back startled. "What?"
"You're ashamed of me! You've always been ashamed of me! That's why you're never around!"
The filly whimpered as she slid between Grandpa Rainbow's legs and continued running down the street.
"Prism!" Rainbow called.
She was about to go after her when her father grabbed her tail.
"Let her cool down," he said calmly. "If she's anything like you, she'll find a corner to cry in before letting any pony approach her."
Scootaloo flew up. "I'll just follow her and make sure that corner isn't in the Everfree Forest or something."
The corner Prism found was the far right one of the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. She couldn't think of a safer corner in the world. Since she couldn't fly up to her cloud home, this was the closest thing to home she could find.
She let the tears fall with no regret. She didn't care about her reputation as a tough filly. She had every reason to cry.
Her parents were leaving and never coming back. No pony who'd ever gone to Afghanisteed had ever come back. So why would they go? Didn't they love her? Didn't they care how miserable she would be if they never returned?
Afghanisteed. She hated that name. Even when she first heard it in school, it made her uncomfortable. The place was evil. It was a place where not just cows, but creatures of all kinds did very bad things. She'd heard rumors that even ponies had joined the al-Cowda.
She remembered when she was little, the al-Cowda had purposely crashed a ship into the World Trade Center in Manehattan and millions of ponies had died. It was the first time she had learned there were bad guys in this world…and the first time she had wished someone dead.
Now her parents were going to fight those bad guys. It wasn't as if they hadn't fought bad guys before, but Prism thought that the al-Cowda were worse than Nightmare Moon and changeling armies. They weren't magically gifted, but they would kill in cold blood.
She didn't hear the hoofsteps. It wasn't until she heard the voice of her unicorn friend that she snapped out of her thoughts.
"Prism, you alright?"
The pegasus sniffed and wiped her tears, but didn't turn around.
"I told you she'd be up here," Cherry whispered.
"They explained to us what was going on," Blueberry said gently.
"Great," Prism grunted. "You knew too."
"We didn't know until today," Raspberry declared.
Gemstone slowly seated herself beside her pegasus friend. "It's not like it's the first time your parents have gone away."
"Yeah, parents go on big business trips all the time," Cherry chimed.
"When we were three, Daddy went on tour with a circus because we needed the money," Blueberry stated. "This was before Mom and Dad built the Party Palace. With the three of us to take care of, it was hard for them to keep up their party planning business and afford to keep the house."
"I remember that time!" Raspberry declared. "We had to live with the Cakes at Sugar Cube Corner for a while!"
"Yeah!" Cherry nodded. "And Dad was gone for six months! Hey, why didn't he take us with him again?"
"He said it would've been too much for three three-year-olds to move from town to town so much," Blueberry explained.
"Also, we were a bit of a hoofful," Raspberry snickered.
"And Mom had to handle all three of us on her own while helping the Cakes run Sugar Cube Corner."
"Even my parents go away every now and then," Gemstone claimed. "Mummy has all those fashion shows she can't always take me to, otherwise I'd miss school. And just last year, I didn't see my daddy for a while because he and Mum were fighting and needed to be away from each other for a bit."
"See?" Raspberry grinned. "Parents have to go away sometimes, but it's only because they love us."
"After Daddy came home from the circus," Blueberry stated, "we had enough money for a new home and Mom and Dad built the Party Palace."
"And Mum goes on all those fashion trips so she can earn money for our family," said Gemstone. "And Daddy said the separation from Mum helped them both realize how much they needed each other, and moved to Ponyville so Mum could be happy."
"And don't your parents go away all the time so they can do their job as Wonderbolts and provide for you and the twins?" Cherry piped.
"This isn't like that!" Prism snapped, spinning around to face them. "This isn't like any of those times they've been away! They're not traveling with a circus or running fashion shows or sorting out feelings! They're going to Afghanisteed! Do you know what that means?" She turned back to the corner and sobbed. "They might never come back."
"Seriously, who told you that?"
She turned at the sound of her mother's voice. She was standing at the entrance with her husband.
"Can you girls give us some privacy?" Rainbow quietly asked the fillies.
"Oh," Gemstone uttered, rising to her hooves. "Of course."
They trotted out of the clubhouse in silence, leaving the couple with their child. Rainbow slowly approached the filly.
"Do you really think we're leaving because we can't stand to be around you?"
Prism sniffed. "No. I just don't know why you would leave and go someplace so dangerous. I know you're the toughest pony in the world and all but…you might get hurt or…or…"
She looked up at her mother as she put an assuring hoof on her back.
"You're right," she solemnly admitted. "Anything could happen to us. But you didn't stick around long enough for us to tell you that we're not even doing any real fighting."
Prism wiped her nose on her foreleg. "You're not?"
"Don't get me wrong. I could take out an entire al-Cowda army singlehoofedly! You're father, however, might clip a wing."
"Hey!" Soarin protested.
"Oh, who are ya kidding?"
He sighed in defeat. "She's right."
"So if you're not fighting, why are you going?" Prism asked.
"The troops and refugees down in Afghanisteed need some pony to lift their spirits up," Rainbow explained. "That's why they need some of the Wonderbolts down there. They can entertain the soldiers while still having the skills to defend themselves in case of attack. That's why your dad and I were picked. We're the fastest and strongest in the crew, even without wings. And there was no way your dad was going without me to save his flank all the time."
"You've made your point," Soarin grumbled.
That got a giggle out of Prism, but she frowned as another thought occurred to her. "But…you said you might still get attacked."
"True," Rainbow replied. "We may not be soldiers, but we're still potential targets for the al-Cowda. That's why they're sending us to a training camp the week before we leave, so we can learn things to help us in the event of an attack: self-defense techniques, how to use a gun, how to fly in a battlefield, smooth-talking the al-Cowda in case we get captured, things like that. But we're mostly gonna be at the base while we're there. We might not even have to use any of those skills."
Prism hung her head. "But you're still going."
"Don't you get it, sweetheart?" her father said, walking up to her. "We're going for you."
"Me? Why me?"
"We're going to lift the spirits of the soldiers who are fighting to make the world a better place for their children to live in, children like you." He lifted her chin. "You remember when you heard about the big bad cows crashing that boat into the World Trade Center?"
She nodded with a whimper.
"Well, pretty soon, those big bad cows won't haunt you anymore, thanks to us and the troops in Afghanisteed."
"And if we do get attacked," Rainbow smirked, "we'll just kick their butts!"
Prism smiled a little, but still looked sad. "How long will you be there?"
They glanced at each other.
"A year," Soarin whispered. "We won't even make it back for Hearth's Warming."
The filly hung her head again. "Figures."
"But we got an extended leave of two months with you guys," Rainbow pointed out, "so that we could spend as much time with you as possible before we go."
"And we promise you we'll come back," Soarin declared, "even if we've lost all our legs and wings."
The filly sniffed again. "You promise?"
The two glanced at each other before lifting their hooves and saying, "Cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eyes."
Knowing that no pony could break a Pinkie Promise, she embraced her parents and they wrapped her hooves around her in return.
But that didn't settle the uneasiness in her stomach.
The next day, Prism went to the library to see her Aunt Twilight. She was upstairs with her husband, Flash Sentry, preparing a nursery.
"A little to the left," Twilight ordered.
Flash flapped his wings and pushed the crib in that direction.
"Hmm. Now a little more to the right."
The pegasus stallion groaned. "Honey, do we have to do this now? The baby's not coming for another ten months!"
"What do you want us to do?! Wait until the last minute to make sure everything is prepared for her arrival?! We don't want our daughter to be without a room, do we?!"
"Hey, wait. Who said it's a girl?"
"Discord told me yesterday. Which reminds me. I need you to go through the list of two hundred and seventy-eight names I've written up."
"Two hundred and…?!" He collapsed in exhaustion.
Prism decided she had been standing by awkwardly long enough and cleared her throat. Twilight looked over her shoulder and smiled.
"Oh hello there, Prism. What brings you here?"
"Um…" the filly uttered, glancing at Flash. "I can come back later if…"
"No, we're fine," the stallion panted as he stood up. "Auntie Twilight here's just having her mood swings rather early in her pregnancy."
The alicorn groaned. "Shut up and pick a name."
She shoved a long piece of parchment into his chest. He rolled his eyes as he left the room to read it. Twilight grinned perkily and faced the filly.
"Now what can I do for you, sweetie?"
Prism sighed. "It's about my parents…and Afghanisteed?"
The princess' face grew serious. "I see. It must've been a shock for you yesterday."
"I just wanted to ask…is there anything that can be done about it, to stop them from going?"
"The decision's already been made, Prism. It's not even my place to decide which ponies go overseas. That's Celestia and Luna's decision. Flash has even retired from the Royal Guard so he wouldn't have to leave the family we're starting." She paused to touch her stomach.
"But isn't there a faster way to end this war? Why can't the princesses go and do something? I mean aren't they all powerful alicorns? What about Uncle Discord? Can't he make everything right with a snap of his fingers?"
Twilight sighed and used her magic to bring forth a map of the world.
"You see this body of water separating Equestria and the continent containing Afghanisteed?" she asked as she indicated the blue area with a pointer. "This is Eternity's Crossing. This body of water is the border of immortals, creatures that live forever. You see, after Lord Tirek's first defeat over a thousand years ago, the Princesses decided it would not be safe for any more dangerous immortals to enter Equestria. So they put a magical barrier around it.
"It's difficult to explain how it works, but to put it simply, if any immortal should cross this barrier, even by teleportation, their immortality will be taken away and all their years will return to them."
Prism blinked. "What does that mean?"
Twilight bit her lip. "Celestia and Luna are thousands of years old. If they cross the border, they will turn to dust. The same will happen to Discord if he tries the same."
The filly shivered at the thought. "But what about Princess Cadence, or Princess Flutterby Lily, or you? They're not as old as the princesses, and didn't you give up your immortality to be with Flash or something? Didn't Princess Cadence do that too?"
The alicorn shook her head. "Even without the barrier, if a princess were to enter Afghanisteed, she would become the al-Cowda's number one target. Cadence is needed to protect the Crystal Empire and her daughter is not ready to succeed her. My niece's alicorn magic hasn't even developed well enough for her to protect herself against an army. As for me…well…"
She caressed her stomach. "I'm carrying another immortal being in me and I don't know what crossing the barrier might do to her. Even if it does nothing, I can't put my baby at risk."
"So…" Prism stammered, "is…is that why you can't go and use the Elements of Harmony on the al-Cowda?"
"That's one reason. The other reason is that Fluttershy is an immortal. While crossing the barrier won't kill her, Discord doesn't want her left vulnerable without him to protect her."
"So it's okay to send my parents into danger but not the princesses or even Aunt Fluttershy?!" Prism hung her head and sobbed. "It's not fair!"
Twilight placed her hoof on the filly's shoulder. "I know, I know. No pony likes war. Wars used to be scarce in Equestria, but…World Peace never lasts forever."
"But why Mom and Dad? Why not some pony else?"
"Then that wouldn't be fair to whoever's parents go instead of yours. Would you really wish that on someone else?"
Prism paused. "No."
"Your parents are the bravest ponies I know. They'll make it back okay."
"But what if they don't?"
"Well…you can't say it wasn't for nothing. The point is that they're going for the sake of Equestria and yourself and all you can do about it is cherish what little time you have left with your parents, so that when they do leave, you all have those memories in your heart to keep you going."
Prism looked into the alicorn's eyes. She was right. She still didn't like her parents going to a warzone, but she should not waste a minute of the summer she had with them, because even if they never came back, she at least would have those two months with them.
"Hey, how does Azura sound?" Flash called from the other room.
"Azura means blue!" Twilight shouted. "What if she turns out to be green or something?"
"Okay. Then how about Tracy?"
"Princess Tracy? Who are you kidding?"
"Hey! You wrote it down!"
As the couple continued arguing, Prism crouched to the floor and quietly backed out of the room.
The next two months were the best of Prism's life. Her parents were determined to spend every waking minute with their children. Soarin was more than happy to take both his daughters to the Ponyville Father-Daughter Dance on Father's Day, and while they were out, Rainbow took Thunder to dinner. A few days later was the Summer Sun Celebration and for the first time ever, Rainbow and Soarin let Prism stay up all night to watch the sunrise. Celestia and Luna had arranged the official celebration to be in Ponyville that year just for the Dashes.
Rainbow and Soarin attended every one of Lightning and Thunder's Junior League games. Prism loved watching with them, because they always bought her an extra bag of peanuts. They were grateful to be there when Lightning caught the winning ball at one game and when Thunder threw the last out at another.
They went on the camping trip to Winsome Falls, just as Rainbow Dash had promised. Grandpa Rainbow and Scootaloo even tagged along. Rainbow Dash showed Prism how to pitch a tent and told her the scary stories she had heard as a filly. Soarin had his hoof around his daughter the whole time to keep her from shivering. When they got to the rainbow-colored falls, they had contests on who could make the biggest rainbow splash. Rainbow Dash won, but only because she had flown up fifty feet and on the way down created a sonic rainboom.
One weekend, they went up to Cloudsdale to visit Soarin's parents, as they wanted to see their son before he went.
But the best part of everyday for Prism was when either her mom or dad would take her out for a fly. Even if she wasn't going anywhere on her own, it felt good to have one of her parents gripping her hoof the whole way.
The day the two Wonderbolts had to go off to the training camp came sooner than the Dashes expected. For a week, they went to a base at a secret location and returned home, but only for a day.
They spent that night on a large cloud, all five members of the Dash family plus Scootaloo, lying on their backs and making pictures out of the stars. Prism fell asleep with her parents on either side, Lightning and Thunder on their parents' sides, Scootaloo completing the circle.
The next morning, the train station was packed with ponies ready to see the brave couple off. Even the princesses were there, as Rainbow Dash was a dear friend of theirs. Nearly all the Wonderbolts were present, even the ones not joining them. The couple was especially glad to see Admiral Spitfire, since she had been Rainbow Dash's mentor and Soarin's friend since childhood.
Rainbow Dash embraced her five best friends in a group hug. She realized that it had been a while since she had gone on a big adventure without them. She remembered when it had been just the six of them. So much had happened since then.
Despite her toughness, she felt no shame in shedding tears.
"You take care of yourself, you hear?" Twilight sniffed.
"Please call on the mirror as often as you can," Fluttershy reminded her, as the five of them all had one now.
"Here are some apples for the trip," Applejack said, handing her a basket of the fruit. "Remember to stay strong."
"And even though you may be in a place where camouflage is in," Rarity stated, "still…try to look your best…or at least keep the healthy habit of brushing your hair!"
"Thanks every pony," Rainbow hiccupped as she slowly moved out of the hug.
Pinkie wouldn't let her though and hugged her tighter around the waist. "Don't you forget us! And if you do…remember us again! And write to us every day! Or at least twice a week!"
Rainbow chuckled. "I think I'll miss you most, Pinkie, and all your crazy antics."
Pinkie sniffed and gave her friend one last squeeze before letting her go. Rainbow Dash and Soarin had saved their family for last. Rainbow hugged her father while Soarin said goodbye to his parents. They had a hard time letting go. Then Rainbow Dash came to Scootaloo, who had her head down and was breathing sharply.
"Scoots, are you…are you crying?"
"No." After a pause, she sniffed and looked up at her mentor with tear-filled eyes. "Yes."
The sisters threw their hooves around each other.
"Take care of them," Rainbow whispered.
Scootaloo nodded. "You know I always do."
The couple moved on to the twins, hugging both of them at the same time.
"Watch over your sister," Rainbow commanded. "And the minute she flies and or gets her cutie mark, you'll call us, okay?"
"Of course," Lightning replied, wiping her nose.
"And keep up with the baseball," Soarin said. "You kids are doing great."
"We love you guys," Thunder choked.
"We'll miss ya," Lightning added.
"We love you too," their parents said together.
They pulled away from the twins and looked down at their youngest child. They stared at each other, wanting to say something but weren't sure what. Finally, Prism broke the silence as she reached into her saddlebag.
"Here." She took out a piece of paper. "I drew a picture for you guys to take with you."
They looked at the drawing and laughed. It was a picture of the two of them fighting giant cows with devil horns. The caption said: Mom and Dad beating up the al-Cowda.
"It's beautiful, honey," Soarin declared, clutching it to his heart. "We'll keep it forever."
Prism whined as she threw her hooves around her parents' legs. They were stunned for a second but then placed their hooves on her shoulders and nuzzled her mane.
"If they come at you," Prism moaned, "you kick their butts, okay?"
Rainbow grinned. "We'll kick 'em twice. The second will be from you."
That got a giggle out of the filly.
"We have something for you too," her father said, taking a package out of his bag.
"What's this?" Prism asked.
"It's that birthday present you didn't open," her mother smirked. "We thought it'd be best to give it to you now."
"Last call for Stableside!" the conductor shouted.
Rainbow sighed. "That's us. Then it's a slow-moving boat to Zebrica and a long cart ride to Afghanisteed."
They embraced their children one last time.
"I love you," Prism whispered.
"And we love you," Soarin replied, kissing the top of her head.
"More than you'll ever know," Rainbow added, doing the same.
It all happened so fast. Before Prism knew it, her parents were slipping through her hooves and stepping on the train. She watched as the train pulled out of the station, her parents' blue hooves waving out the window, until they disappeared into the horizon.
The platform silently cleared as the ponies walked (in some cases, flew) slowly home, leaving the Dashes alone. Prism, still gazing to where her parents had gone, rubbed her eyes and sniffed. She didn't look up as her sister put a hoof on her shoulder.
"Hey," Lightning said softly. "You wanna go to the park and play some catch?"
The filly took a deep breath. "Yeah. Just…can I be alone for a sec?"
Scootaloo nodded. "Sure. We'll be waiting right over there."
As the sound of their hoofsteps faded away, Prism gazed down at the brown paper package and slowly unwrapped it. She gasped as she held blue and yellow fabric in her hooves.
It was a Wonderbolts uniform, just her size.
As she unfolded it, a note fell out. She picked it up and what it said brought her to tears:
For our littlest Wonderbolt.
We know you'll miss us. We'll certainly miss you. But no matter where we are, we'll always be with you.
And if it makes you feel any better, we've decided that once we get back from Afghanisteed, we're retiring from the Wonderbolts. Yes, it's always been our greatest dream to become Wonderbolts, but we've had a new dream for a while now.
It's you guys.
You're only gonna be a kid for a few more years, Prism. We don't wanna miss any more of it.
But don't give up on flying, or your cutie mark, just because we won't be there to see you. You're gonna make us proud, sweetheart. We know it.
And we will keep our promise. No matter what it takes, we will come back to you.
Love, Mom and Dad
Prism grinned as she held up the small uniform.
"I'll make you proud, Mom and Dad," she whispered. "I promise."
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Which comic has evil cows? I've read almost all of them but I don't recall that.
4874224 Oh, they haven't released it yet, but the comic writers revealed at BronyCon that there are going to be cattle rustlers (that are actually cattle) in the official comics.
I've got to say that I'm not really a fan of alicorn babies, because they didn't earn it. Twilight had to earn it, Cadance had to earn it too, though Celestia & Luna's backstories in this regard are currently undefined.
Twilight & Cadance had to perform "good acts" to earn their status, having their kids be alicorns from the get-go; I feel; makes it feel like they've been given power that they haven't proven that they deserve.
Basically I think it ruins the whole "ascension" aspect of alicornhood.
4874282 Well...every royal today didn't exactly "earn it" either.
4874290
To be fair to my point, most royals on earth weren't born with the near-literal powers of a god.
4874293
.............
Point taken.
Meh
...
Interesting chapter keep it up
Intresting chapter, I wanna see Flash's and Twilight's daughter and it was funny when Twilight had over 250 names for Flash to go through.
This is was great chapter. And I cant wait to see Rarity and Twilight's daughters
honestly discord deserves the least amount of blame here.
he was trying to make what would be a hard time easier, rainbow and soarin just had poor judgement/timing in this matter.
also eternities crossing on discord?
by making a barrier celestia and luna have essentialy made a law or a rule
chaos being the natural anthesis of order means it automaticaly breaks all laws and rules, if discord ever chose to test the barrier more then likely he'd be able to stroll out of there un effected.
oh the feals the feals
i started crying at the end 
Oh hey I noticed something you didnt include in the party or Rainbowdash and soarin going away. You forgot to include mothball.
4876554 I feel ya man
4877235
Im a girl
4877244 sorry
but like I said I feel you and again sorry for the misunderstanding
4877231 What do you mean forgot? He just wasn't significant to mention. I said all of the Dashes' friends.
4877323 well I kinda figured mothball would probably be considered as a friend to thunder and lightning. Its cool and I'll cya around I guess bye.
And that was the last time Prism saw her parents...
I'm such a horrible person.
Wow the feels in this chapter!
Anyways, I liked how you included Twilight and Flash. But now I'm really sad for Prism and the whole Dash family.
Keep up the good work, I love seeing this story updated
4874293 In the journal of the two sisters it states the regal sisters were born alicorns.
I like this chapter. I have to admit, I love the idea of Al-Qaeda being essentially steak on legs. Little disappointed in Flash Sentry, I hope they transfer all those old "Scootaloo is a chicken" jokes to a DIFFERENT orange pegasus.
4883880
Show me an image of that page, please.
4884953 I haven't read it, I read a bunch of of posts reviewing it that stated this as a fact.
4885202
You should really check more thoroughly on this matter before you make that claim then.
Did any of those reviews contain pictures of the relevant pages?
Oh my Celestia. The feels man, the feels.
. I was about to cry but then I stopped it. But then the letter and the quote at the end hit me in the stomach. I cried like this:
. Wonder what the next chapter will be about. Btw I hope I see Rainbow Dash and Soarin fight those cows in the next chapter.
4885295 No, they were all just quotes and descriptions, so I admit it's a possibility that multiple authors on this site were simply lying to their followers. I can understand their motivation, with the stakes being so high, their assertions so difficult to disprove, and the incentives to mislead others so great. Unfortunately, until we are successful in our campaign to force Hasbrouck to release Celestia's long form birth certificate, I am forced to go on hearsay.
I'm on Twilights side.....
OHMIGOSH FEELS!!!!
I can see the altered S4 finale now Tirek tries the same spiel as in the original and Discord kicks his ass before delivering him to Tartarus for disrespecting Fluttershy, Screwball and Zany
Makes the sad moment to laugh
4899474 I feel ya, most beautiful chapter ever,
When I read this chapter I will think of what my dad did on 9/11.
4874224
I don't know of a comic but I know of a movie: Kang Pow: Enter the Fist!
what happened? you were doing it so great, it was perfect until the whole al-cowda.
i like the story but this part i don´t like it so much.
I think it's really great how you were able to show the feelings and reality of war so realistically and maturally, especially how you made sure to say that not all "cows" are bad.
Those feels...
A moment of silence, please.
I'm sorry. I hate it when that happens, but I'm afraid my Suspension of Disbelief has broken down, and now I have to criticize.
First of all, Eternity's Crossing.
Even with Discord somewhat nerfed, this does, logically, hardly work.
The princesses being powerful enough for such a feat is unrealistic, and if they were (which would definitely put them at a good deity level), there's still two problems:
A) Discord is still more powerful than the princesses, and still quite proficient at bypassing magical security measurements.
B) I see no reason why the same princesses who put up the spell would not be able to lift it, or, at least, allow for it to let them pass without harm.
Second, the boat crash. If a boat crashes into a building, that must mean the building is directly adjacent to the body of water the boat is in. Hence, this 'World Trade Center' is likely a branch offfice or a transfer station for goods or even a shipyard. What it will definitely not be is a skyscraper, but that is beside the point.
Point is, how is such a boat crash supposed to kill millions of ponies? Really, the only possible scenario I can imagine where a boat crash kills millions involves a nuclear submarine fully stocked with primed warheads.
Could someone explain to me how this is supposed to make any bloody sense?
I repeat, I'm sorry for the rant. I really like this story, and it rarely happens I get this worked up.
4874224 The Good, The Bad And The Ponies. it´s not very good but yeah
´kay, few commentaries:
- " Fluttershy is an inmortal " I suppose Discord did that After the DOD incident. wait? They let him do that and not bring ponies back from death? I think if he could, Prism wouldn´t have to worry like she did
-Flash and Twilie having problems with the name and, at the end, the filly´s name is Twinkle?
-This is heart Warming as hell
A little too similar to the real thing, but it's good all the same.....if a little heavy on the feels.
So I was really scared in the last chapter. They said bad news okay?! I thought it would be something like Prism never being able to fly more than, I dunno, three feet of the ground. Still, great plot twist, and great story DF! LOVIN' IT
W-what?! Millions? Like, what the actually what? Oklahoma City (where I live) has over a million people, and it's still not quite two. You're saying that the equivalent of the entirety of Oklahoma City exploding and everyone dying happened here? Yeah, man, no. I'd be cool if you had stuck with the near 3,000 (or maybe at or over 3,000; I can't recall) death count of 9/11. But the bigger problem is that . . .
I couldn't get into this chapter. I found myself just kind of floating along and waiting for it to end because this isn't what we've come to know as My Little Pony, but it's (more importantly) not what we've come to know out of this story. In comparison to all the other chapters, this stands out as being the most out of place, most odd chapter of them al . And sharing the sentiment of someone else, the ocean thing didn't sit well with me. It was really loose, the whole Immortal Barrier thing. It seemed like an easy solution to a difficult problem, but it didn't work; it doesn't make sense to me. They trapped themselves in their utopia so that other evil immortals cannot entire it? Hmm . . . I dont know. That's a big stretch.
This chapter just didn't feel right. I understand what you wanted to do because you explained it in the A/N. But I think you would have been better off not doing this chapter. It was all a really poorly executed attempt at creating a world similar to our own, but because our worlds are so different, it simply doesn't work out. Especially the boat thing. THAT one really got to me.
5704116
*starts checking off on all the points I agree with* Yep, I believe you've hit on every point that I had a problem with.
My brother just graduated and is leaving for the army in July. He's only reserves, but withe everything going on over there, he might be called up eventually. I salute to all the brave men and women who risk their lives so that we can live freely.
i cired its so sad thoencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSojAxTvJy9DRrEjklo4ZwBKoOMgbR0FP8v3F66A8Tk3NzLmCs-fyNLupc4TA
i was crying ike luna halp plaese help me
>> DisneyFanatic23 Thank you. Thank you so much. This is almost exactly like my dad leaving. I shed actual tears reading this. My dad had to go and fight, and I was so proud of him, but I still couldn't help from crying. He left me a recording of a message, kind of like the note. This really connected with me in a way I can't explain fully. I'd really like to say again, thank you. And thank you to everyone that fought with my dad, or is now.
I agree that some parts of this chapter made no sense. For instance, how can a boat crash into a skyscraper? A boat travels on water, therefor, I don't think it would be able to reach something on land.
There are a few other things that didn't quite appeal to me, but I really liked this chapter. It captured how hard it is to lose someone you love to a war.
Though my parents, or my sibling did not have to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan, my grandpa had to be involved in the US army at some point. He didn't actually fight (and honestly, I have no idea what he had to do xD), but still.
Finally, there's one other thing I have to mention; for those of you who are upset at how "bad" or how "illogical" this chapter is, I must make a point to you all. This is DF's story, and she can do whatever she likes with it. And another thing. None of that has anything to do with what this chapter really was trying to demonstrate. What it WAS trying to demonstrate is how hard wars can have an impact on people, and they can be really tough for when someone's loved ones have to leave to help out in these wars.
It just bothers me that some people are just focusing on the negative parts of this chapter, when they should be focusing on the positive parts.
Overall, in my opinion, this was a wonderful chapter to read, and I must give you a big thumbs-up, DF.