Raising Rainbow

by Pizzema Forte

29. You Can't Buy Happiness

The little, yellow filly lifted her her hoof to her forehead and wiped away several beads of salty sweat. Her back arched as she tried her best to close the stuffed suitcase. She had the container between her and the wall behind her as her back pushed against it.

Come on, Fluttershy! Just a little bit more...

The little pegasus fluttered her wings and put all of her might into pushing the suitcase further and further against the wall. She held in her breath and used all of her strength to push as hard as she possibly could on the overflowing suitcase. After putting in more strength than she thought she had, the filly smiled at the sight of both halves slowly meeting. She pushed as hard as she could, trying to meet her goal.

Almost… there...

It was then, Fluttershy lost the battle.The suitcase sprung back opened and dozens of items spilled out onto the floor below. The filly squeaked as she looked at the mess before her.

“Oh, dear…”

Usually, Fluttershy didn’t pack too much for trips out of town. When her mother had first announced they were going on a trip to Fillydelphia to see her aunt, she was enthused, but the real hype for the trip started when her father also added the part about her aunt and uncle owning six dogs. At that moment, Fluttershy started packing dog biscuits, brushes, treats, blankets, toys, and a whole pound of nutritious food she’d made herself. She only hoped the dogs would like her and that they’d easily get along together.

Oh no… It spilled...again. Maybe I should go get Daddy. He’s strong enough to help…

With that in mind, the little filly made her way out of her room. As quietly as she could, Fluttershy trotted down the staircase, only to see the living room a little ways down. There, her mother and father were eagerly packing for the trip as well. Dreamscape had a large, blue suitcase which he mostly filled with toiletries, snacks, blankets, pillows. and anything else he found necessary for the trip. Dewdrop on the other hoof, had a green saddle bag with some blankets, brushes, bits, books, and maps.

Oh! They look busy… I wouldn’t want to be an inconvenience.

Slowly, Fluttershy made her way back up the stairs. Before she could even place her hoof on the next step up, her father’s ears perked up and he swiftly turned his head to see his little filly heading back to her room.

“Fluttershy.” He said in a gentle tone. Quickly, she turned her head to meet eyes with her dad. “Was there something you needed?”

“Oh, well… I mean, I was just going to ask for your help, but since you look busy, you should just continue what you’re doing…” Fluttershy tossed them a genuine smile and received one back.

“Nonsense, Sweetheart. I’ll be right up there to help you with whatever’s needed.”

“A-are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Of course I don’t.” The stallion put down his work and set his suitcase aside. He smiled and grabbed his wife, pulled her in, and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll be right back, Honey Pie.”

Dewdrop smiled cutely and nodded her head. As her darling husband exited the room, the yellow mare lifted her hoof to her cheek and felt where her lover had so gently kissed it. She giggled lightheartedly and smiled, thinking of him.

“Oh, Dreamscape…” she cooed dreamily with memories of him swarming his head. She plopped backwards onto the couch with a dreamy sigh.

Even though Dreamscape could lose his temper once in a blue moon, he was overall the sweetest stallion Dewdrop had ever met, and the greatest blessing to come into her life. She had no regrets of dating him, and knew how amazing he truly was.

When their relationship first started, however, it was definitely far more complicated.Their age gap was the biggest difference and cause the most complications. They were constantly teased, harassed, and made fun of because of it. Neither of them cared much about it, though. Dewdrop smiled as memories of her earliest years with Dreamscape filled her mind.

When they first met, Dewdrop was only eighteen. Dreamscape, however, was a full five years younger than her.They’d first met when Dewdrop was flying over a small town from work one evening. Out of boredom, she’d usually keep her eyes connected to the ground below. When she was nearly home, something below caught her eyes. At first, she couldn’t tell what it was. From her perspective, she saw nothing but a large group of dots, with a small leader dot in front of them all. Upon a closer inspection, she saw a large group of dogs chasing a small colt in the front. As she grew closer, she could hear the little colt crying and begging the dogs to not eat him alive. In the heat of the moment, the mare swooped down and picked the colt up off his hooves. As fast as her weakening wings could carry her, the mare flew up and above, before setting the terrified colt down on a nice, puffy cloud. Almost in an instant, he wrapped his trembling hooves around her torso and sobbed in her warm, fuzzy chest. He described the events that lead up to the dogs chasing him after taking a moment to calm down. Dewdrop then proceeded to walk to poor colt home, where his parents were more than happy about his return.

The two ponies didn’t start dating instantly after that incident, but after a few times of meeting up to hang out, Dreamscape stopped before leaving the mare’s house completely. Nervously, he leaned in and gave her a small peck on the cheek. He panicked a bit after that and ran as fast as he could away from her home. The next day, instead of being freaked out, she met him after school and returned the kiss. After that, there was the awkward, “You kissed me, so does that mean…?” conversations.

Dewdrop smiled brightly as thoughts of her adorable husband circled within her mind. She’d been with him through criticism, struggles, and even being called names as cruel as “pedophile”. Even so, she had absolutely no regrets, and loved Dreamscape more than just about anything in the world.

Letting out a dreamy sigh, the mare sunk deeper into her couch and started to cuddle a nearby cushion. She was so caught up in her romantic memories, she hardly noticed when there was a loud knock at her front door. She gasped and sat up. Usually, it was her lover who took the responsibility of answering the door. With him away, the job was rested on her shoulders.

“Oh no..”

Sitting up and removing herself from the couch, the mare trotted over to her front door and took in a breath. Before opening the front door, however, she boosted herself up onto her hind legs and looked out the eye hole. From her perspective, she saw a familiar stallion. Dewdrop got back onto all fours and opened her door. The unicorn on the other side greeted her with a smile.

“Good morning, Dewdrop.”

“Oh, good morning, Blueshift.” the mare replied in a quiet, yet audible tone.

Blueshift had always been a good friend of theirs. His coat was light hue of blue and his mane was darker blue with lighter blue highlights. The style of his mane was rather messy, and his choppy bangs awkwardly wrapped around his horn. His eyes were a deep shade of purple, which matched the aurora of gorgeous constellation on his flanks.

“Listen, I don’t really know how good of a time this is for you guys, but I was maybe wondering if I could ask for a favor?”

“Oh….” Dewdrop felt a sudden pit of dread in her heart. More than anything, she loved helping ponies out when they needed it, but on such short notice when she was so busy, she knew it simply wasn’t possible. “Well, umm… If it’s really quick I guess I could…”

“Oh...so you’re busy?” The stallion’s calm, but masculine voice sunk to a rather sullen tone. “I was just wondering if you could maybe foalsit my kids today…”

Dewdrop’s ears pressed to the back of her skull.

“I’m really, really sorry… I just can’t. Me, Dreamscape and Fluttershy planned on leaving today for our trip to Fillydelphia.”

“Oh…” The unicorn’s ears flopped down in disappointment. “It’s just, I really, really need somepony to look after them because my job told me this morning that we’d be having a meeting this afternoon that I didn’t know about but I have to attend it or I may be fired, but I probably should’ve quit three years ago but I needed to support my kids and I’m just really, really stressed because I don’t want to leave them alone and every other pony I’ve talked to is busy!” Blueshift took in a deep breath. “And I was really hoping you guys could help…”

Dewdrop took a moment to absorb all the information before letting out a deep sigh.

“I’m really, really sorry I can’t help you… And I thought Dreamscape told you about our trip?”

“Well, yes… But he said it was on the fifteenth.”

Dewdrop took a moment to do a little math in her head. Almost instantly, her pink eyes widened and she frowned.

“But...how could he think it was next week…?” The mare took in a breath and turned to the inside of her house. “Dreamy…” Dewdrop called in an indoors voice. A few seconds later, her husband came galloping down the stairs. He made his way over to his beloved wife and put a wing around her.

“What’s up, Sweetie Cake?”

Shyly, the yellow mare raised a hoof and pointed at Blueshift, waiting for him to explain the situation.

“Oh, it’s nothing really… I just needed a last minute foalsitter and I thought you guys were available. It’s just somepony told me it was a week later than it actually was.”

“Oh… I’m really sorry about that, man…” The pegasus chuckled nervously. “I honestly didn’t even know it was today until last night…”

“Oh…” Blueshift thought for a moment. “Well… If you guys can’t help me, do you know somepony who could?”

Dreamscape and his beloved wife looked at each other unsurely. Yes, they knew quite a hoof-full of parents, but most of them they know were busy, especially on the weekends. In addition to that, most ponies didn’t enjoy being asked to foalsit on such short notice. Not even Dewdrop was a particular fan of it.

“Well… I mean…” Dreamscape started hesitantly. “We do know a couple parents that could maybe fill in.”

At this, Blueshift perked his ears up and a little bit of hope brewed within him.

“Really…? Who?”

“Well, not anypony you’d know…” That statement made the stallion’s hopeful expression die down. “But I know and trust them, so…”

Blueshift did nothing but stare unsurely at his neighbor. Yes, he trusted Dreamscape very much. He’d known him for nearly ten years, and trusted his opinion on just about everything. On the other hoof, the thought of leaving his only foals in the hooves of somepony he didn’t know seemed a bit scary to him. He did have to attend his responsibilities at work with no option. At that point, his only options were to either leave his kids alone in the house for a few hours, or to let somepony he didn’t know watch over them.

“Well… How well do you know them? And how much do you trust them?”

The pegasus thought for a moment and mentally scanned over his options.

“Hmm… There are…” The stallion thought for a moment. “Two parents that could foalsit on such short notice.”

“Who?”

Again, the couple unsurely glanced at one another.

“Well… Strawberry Cream and Rainbolt. I’ve known both of them since I was in flight school, and I trust them both.”

“But…” Dewdrop spoke in a soft tone, but went unheard.

“Well, which one do you think would be the most convenient?” The unicorn asked, calming down more every second.

“Honey, I-”

“Well,” Dreamscape interrupted his timid wife. “Strawberry lives in Canterlot like you, but Rainbolt lives all the way in Cloudsdale….”

“Oh… Well, since me and Strawberry both live in Canterlot, it would only make sense for her to help me, if she could.”

“But…” It was then, Dewdrop lifted her hoof and tapped her husband on the shoulder. He almost immediately gave her his attention. “Strawberry Cream already has four kids. Watching seven at one time would be near impossible, even for me.”

“Oh...sorry.” Pink formed in the stallion’s cheeks as he yet again made another mistake. “Well, there’s always Rainbolt. I’ve known him for a very long time, and I trust him as a parent. He only has one kid.”

“But that would mean he doesn’t really have experience with more than one kid…” Dewdrop pointed out.

“Nonsense!” Dreamscape forced a confident smile. “He’s watched Fluttershy many times before.”

“Well, I mean…” Blueshift took in a breath. “If you think he’d be up for it, then could you maybe ask him?”

Dreamscape smiled and nodded affirmatively. “Sure thing. And, uh...What time do you need him by?”

“Two, if he says yes.”

“Alright, and how long will you need him?”

“Only a few hours or less…” He then thought for a moment, and his purple eyes widened in remembrance. “Wait! Make sure you bring him by as soon as you can so I can get to know him a bit.”

“Oh!” The pegasus chuckled. “You’re going to be putting him through an interview, eh?”

“Yeah...why’s that so funny?”

“Because he’s going to hate it.”

Before the unicorn could respond to his friend, Dewdrop tapped her lover’s shoulder and nudged her head towards the inside of the house. Her husband nodded and gave his sweet wife a quick peck on the cheek. She smiled and went back inside the house, bored with the back and forth conversation between her husband and friend.

“Hey, my interviews aren’t that bad.”

“Yeah...they kinda are… If you put me through that long of an interview to foalsit your kids, I can only imagine how bad it’ll be for Rainbolt.”

“Come on, it wasn’t that bad! Besides, the first time you watched my foals, I’d only known you three years!”

Only…

“Well… I think I should get going. You should head back home to Canterlot, and I’ll go up to see if Rainbolt can help you out, okay?”

“Alright. Just… Thank you so, so much for your help. I’d be out of luck without you ponies!” It was then, Dreamscape felt the stallion’s hooves wrap tightly around his torso. In shock of the sudden hug, the pegasus didn’t return his friend’s aggressive embrace. Trying to escape, Dreamscape brought his hooves down and tried to push his friend away. Luckily, Blueshift was bright enough to take the hint and almost immediately broke away.

“Hehe...sorry about that. Didn’t mean to get too huggy.”

Dreamscape smiled to his friend.

“It’s okay… I just need to.. well, you know, try to get my friend to foalsit for you.”

“Ah, right…” The stallion sheepishly chuckled and turned around, heading homeward. “Thanks for all your help!”

Dreamscape waved to his friend with a smile before turning around and closing the front door. The first thing he saw in his living room was his beloved wife zipping up a few pockets on her saddle bag. Dreamscape let out a long sigh and wiped his forehead of perspiration.

“So you’ll be going to Rainbolt’s?”

Dreamscape nodded to his paramour before turning around and peeping out the eye-hole to make sure his friend was a good distance away. He then turned back around to his wife and frowned.

“I don’t know about this whole thing. I mean, Rainbolt’s a good parent and all, but do you really think he can handle four foals at once?”

“I...I mean, I don’t know...maybe. He does know how to handle Fluttershy pretty well…”

“Oh, Dewberry, I think we both know Fluttershy is nothing compared to these foals.. I just don’t know if Rainbolt will be able to handle it.”

“Pssh! Of course I’ll be able to handle it!” the periwinkle pegasus said in a confident tone as he took a long sip of his sweet, brown liquid. His friend was agape at his eagerness. Slowly, he blinked several times. Was he serious? Surely, Rainbolt wasn’t that confident in his ability to handle more than one foal.

“Rainbolt… Listen, I know you’re a good dad and everything, but I seriously don’t think you know what you’re getting yourself into…”

The stallion did nothing but chuckle.

“Come on, Dreamy. I’ve been raising Rainbow for eleven years now. I mean, what’s the difference between one foal and four foals?”

Dreamscape raised an eyebrow to his overly confident friend.

“Rainbolt, listen to me. I’ve foalsat these kids, and they’re all pretty rambunctious. I know Rainbow’s pretty rambunctious herself, but imagine trying to take care of four little Dash’s.”

The stallion simply sighed and took a long sip of his iced tea and smiled. Slowly, he removed the glass from his lips and looked at his fiend.

“Honestly, I think I can handle it.”

“Listen, Rainbolt…” The light blue pegasus put his hooves on the table and looked his friend dead in his eyes. “I have complete faith in you as a parent, and I think your pretty responsible. I’m just stating the simple fact that it won’t be easy taking care of four foals.”

“And I honestly think I’ll be able to handle myself. Just think of the foals as individuals instead of a whole group.”

Dreamscape did nothing but shake his head. Usually, Rainbolt didn’t have that much confidence in himself, especially when it came to tackling a difficult task. Suspectfully, the stallion’s teal eyes scanned between his best friend and the glass of tea.

“What is in that drink…?”

“Nothing.” Rainbolt took another sip of it with a smile. “I’ve just been feeling really confident lately.”

“Why?”

The stallion set down his sweet, cold drink and grinned to his best friend.

“Well, you know Mrs. Skies, right?”

“Umm...yeah. She’s kind of my boss, too, you know.”

“I know, I know. I’m just stating who we’re talking about. Well, you know how she’s been having those really unpredictable mood swings lately?” Dreamscape nodded. “Well, she was in a real good mood last night, so she gave me a raise.”

“Oh, really?” The stallion asked, genuinely surprised.

“Mmhm. I’m getting paid a full thirteen bits an hour now!” Dreamscape’s eyes went wide at the rather large amount. “Yeah, I know, right? Well, anyway, I was walking through Cloudsdale and a local vender sold me these weird tea bags that had all these strange herbs from the Everfree Forest in them. He said it would help give me energy and help me do better and stuff. So, that’s why I’m all confident and happy and what not.”

Dreamscape sat there a moment, slowly taking in his friend’s story. He then sighed and planted his hoof to his forehead.

“You do realize it’s all in your head, right?” .

“Nope, it’s just the energy. More energy equals being more productive, and the more I get done the happier and more confident I become. It’s not psychological, it’s just nature and stuff.”

“But… But you drink coffee every day. That gives you energy, and you never act all confident and stuff over it.”

“I’ve grown immune to coffee. Besides, this is a different kind of energy.”

Dreamscape sighed and shook his head. Rainbolt was most definitely not acting his usual self. Whatever was in the tea, he was one hundred percent sure was not healthy. Then again, if his friend was convinced it worked, so be it.

“If you think it’s really helping you I guess that’s your business. I just want to know if you are or are not going to help him?”

“Oh, yeah, of course! I thought we already established that.”

“Alright, but you have to go to Canterlot now. Blueshift kinda has a thing about interviewing his foalsitters.”:

“Ah. Right. That’s completely understandable. I’ll just get Dashie and we can go, okay?”

“Alright, but ummm… the interview isn’t going to be short, and I don’t think he’ll want your kid around during the thing.”

“Oh...why?”

Dreamscape shrugged.

“He doesn’t even let his kids around during the interview. Trust, me I’ve been through one.”

“Oh. How long is it?”

“Eh. Maybe five minutes. I’m sure Dash can wait outside with me during the whole thing.”

“Alright, thanks! I just don’t trust Dash to be home alone quite yet.”

Dreamscape nodded in agreement.

“I wouldn’t trust Dash alone either.”

For a moment both stallions smiled at each other. Their eyes met and the silence quickly became awkward. After a moment, both pegasi looked away from each other. The silence continued to sustain for another minute or so. At last, Rainbolt cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Yeah… I’m just gonna go get her.”

“So you’re Rainbolt?”

“Mhm.”

The periwinkle stallion awkwardly shuffled in his provided seat. The stallion on the other side of the table didn’t seem to be in too playful of a mood. The moment Rainbolt entered his house, he instantly sent his foals off to their rooms, and instructed the foalsitter to the kitchen, where he was placed at a hard, wooden table. The stallion had brought a clipboard, glass of water, and pen with him to the questioning table. Rainbolt was quite nervous over the whole thing. Before any real questions started, sweat was already building on his forehead. Naturally, he blamed himself for drinking too much energy-infused tea for his uncontrollable nervousness.

“Ah. Now, Mr. Rainbolt, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a series of questions.”

“Of course not.” Rainbolt awkwardly looked at the ground during his questioning.

“Just to start, how old are you?”

“Twenty-nine…”

“I’d prefer you look at me when you answer.”

The stallion looked up at his questioner obediently and gave the same response he had before.

“Okay. And how do you make a living?”

“I work in weather,” the stallion answered with his eyes glued to Blueshift’s.

“Mmkay… How old is your foal?”

“She just turned eleven.”

“Alright…” The stallion looked over to his clipboard. “Do you take any kind of drugs, even if perscription?”

“No.”

“Good. Do you drink?”

“Not since I became a father. And before then I only drank alcoholic cider once.”

“Okay, good…” The stallion scribbled down a few notes on his clipboard and read the next one. “Are you a smoker?”

“No.” Rainbolt answered, almost cringing at the thought of having a nasty cigarette in his mouth.

“Alright. Hmm…” Blueshift used his magic to write down a few more notes. “Would you consider yourself a violent individual?”

“Not at all.”

“Ah… Are you currently in a relationship, single, or married?”

“Single.”

“For what reason?”

Rainbolt frowned and sighed.

“My marefriend left me when I was only nineteen.”

“Wait, so you had sex before you were married?”

“Well, my eighteenth birthday, and I was kind of drugged, so...”

Out of all the answers, that seemed to be the one the stallion was least impressed with. He scribbled down a few more notes before looking back up at Rainbolt.

“So, currently, are you sexually active?”

To that, Rainbolt blushed heavily and chuckled nervously.

“Only with myself.”

You idiot…. I can’t believe you just said that! Like, out of all the things you could have said..you said that.

Rainbolt’s face turned a hot shade of crimson and he looked away from his questioner in shame. Fortunately, Blueshift had a good sense of humor, and chuckled at the stallion’s response.

“Hehe, I know that feeling, Bud.” He again giggled and took a moment before moving on. “Alright, so how often do you desire to have a sexual relationship?”

“Umm… not too often. I mostly just want a real relationship.”

“Ah...okay. Now, how’s your criminal record?”

“Clean as a whistle!”

“Wow, that was a bad simile….” The unicorn took another moment to write something down. “Now… I think we’re all set. Here…” The unicorn’s magic engulfed a nearby stack of papers and levitated it over to the foalsitter. Rainbolt took it in his hooves and briefly scanned over each of the three pages. “There’s one page for each of my foals. Page one is Luminescence, or Lumi for short. If you forget everything on that list, just remember never stare at her eyes or wings. Also, since you’re a pegasus, she may hate you right off the bat. It’s a personal thing with her.”

“Alright…” Rainbow continued to read down her list, questioning several of her major traits.

“Then the second page is Gemini; he’s the youngest of the three.” Rainbolt flipped the paper out of the way to reveal another page. “He’s a bit awkward, and he loves to socialize, but he kind of has….” Blueshift lowered his voice to a whisper. “...Multiple Personality Disorder. Well, we don’t know that for sure, but he does kind of show signs of it. Most of the time he’s pretty sensitive, really sweet, but kind of reluctant when it comes to eating foods he dislikes.”

“Okay… And what about the last page?”

Slowly, Rainbolt turned over the paper to see the last list.

“Sparky. She’s my youngest daughter. The main thing you should remember with her, is that when she was little, she was struck with lightning, and can produce sparks through her horn. So, don’t get her angry.”

“Alright, well…” Rainbolt put the papers back together and blinked a few times. “Your foals seem quite…” He paused, trying to think of a good word. “...interesting.”

“Thanks, I guess. I’m sure they’ll get along with your kid pretty well.”

“Yeah… I hope.” Rainbolt nervously looked up the stallion’s staircase where his foals had previously scurried off to. In that short meeting, his overall confidence had went from high to low. Sure, he could handle foals, but… Foals with multiple personality disorder, the capability of electrocuting him, and one who would have problems with him simply because of his race all seemed a lot more challenging.

I’m sure they’ll like Rainbow, but, I just hope they’ll get along with me.

“But why?”

“Because, Rainbow, the poor guy needs a foalsitter. I already agreed to it and I know I can’t let him down.”

“But why us? I mean, we don’t even know him, and it’s not like it’s our problem.”

“Rainbow Dash!” The stallion snapped at his daughter. “Listen, we may not know them, but I agreed to the responsibility. Plus, you could make some new friends out of this.”

“Yeah right…” The cyan filly mumbled under her breath. “Are we almost there yet?”

“Almost.” Her father reassured her. “We only have maybe a quarter of a mile left.”

Ugh, stupid unicorns living all the way in Canterlot. Eh, at least you’re getting a pretty good flight out of this. That nice wind does feel pretty good. Dash took a moment to inhale the sweet, summer air deeply. And it smells pretty nice…

“So, like, how many other foals are you going to be watching along with me?”

“Three. Two fillies and a colt.”

“Oh.”

There was an awkward pause for a moment as the two pegasi continued to soar through the bright, summer sky. After a brief moment, the stallion spoke again.

“And, uh, the colt is only seven, so don’t, you know…”

“Dad!” The filly snapped. “I don’t even get crushes on colts! I’m not going to do whatever you think I’m gonna do!”

“Yeah… I know.” Rainbolt blushed. “I’m just kind of worried about that kind of stuff. You know how dads are.”

Dash rolled her eyes before glaring at her father. Sure, she loved her dad a ton, but like all foals, she occasionally got annoyed with him. Why he would even think she’d be remotely interested in dating was beyond her.

“So, are all the foals going to be that young? There will be some that are at least ten, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Gemini’s seven, Sparky’s eleven, and Luminescence is thirteen.”

“Wow…”

“Hm?”

Rainbow turned to her father with a raised eyebrow.

“Those are some pretty strange names.”

“Be nice, Rainbow. I’m sure they’ll think your name is weird.”

“How?”

“I.. don’t know. Just be nice to them, okay?”

“Sparky sounds like the name of a dog.”

“Yeah, don’t say that to her. She knows how to shock ponies.”

“How?”

Rainbolt sighed.

“Well, according to her dad, she was struck by lightning when she was young, and well, now she can electrocute ponies that make her upset.”

“That sounds like complete horse apples…” Rainbow mumbled just loud enough to be comprehensible to her father’s ears.

“Hey! Language, Rainbow!”

“Sorry…”

“Besides, about how many of the foals would believe you if you told them you broke the sound barrier when you were only eight and no other pegasus in all of history had ever accomplished the same thing?”

“I don’t know…” Rainbow sighed. “Besides, it’s not like you even believe me…”

“Hey! I do, too! I just didn’t at first, alright…?”

“Yeah, sure…”

At that moment, if Rainbolt hadn’t been flying, he would have hugged his daughter and reassured her he really did. There, the only reassurance he could offer was verbal.

“Sweetheart, I really, really do. I’ve told you that a million times, and I’d do anything I could to prove it to you.”

Dash, being as stubborn as she was, simply looked down and ignored her father’s comment. Some part of her believed him, while the other part told her he was just saying that to make her feel better.

The next few minutes of their flight was completely silent. Rainbolt didn’t want to say anything to possibly upset his daughter further and Rainbow was too upset to even talk. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Why would her dad even bring up such a sensitive topic? He knew she used to get bullied over the whole thing, and yet he still insisted on bringing it up! What was the big deal? Despite her unending anger, Rainbow knew it was most likely an honest mistake. Her dad wouldn’t genuinely try to hurt her feelings. In a way, she even blamed herself for the whole thing a bit. She might have been acting a tiny bit rude… just a tiny bit.

“Rainbow, look!” was the first thing said in many minutes. “That’s their house right down there!”

Rainbow’s pink eyes scanned downward at a wide variety of buildings. Most of them were a pure shade of white with a yellow, orange, pink, or blue rooftop. There were many ponies below, most of them being unicorns. The little filly could only guess the house she thought was it and follow her father’s lead. Not a surprise to Rainbow, her father flew in the almost opposite direction from which he pointed. Nevertheless, the filly followed him without question. Rainbolt flew downward, curving left to a nearby house and landing safely on the ground. Dash landed a few seconds later. The house presented before her was a two-story home with a blue-plated rooftop and creamy, white walls. Rainbow looked up at it in awe, envying its beautiful structure and cleanliness. Taking in a breath, she whistled in admiration.

“Wanna knock?” Rainbolt asked his daughter. When she was a very little filly, Dash insisted on knocking on nearly every front door they came in contact with. It was a habit she eventually grew out of, but still carried small fragments of.

“Sure, I guess…”

Almost in an unsure manner, Rainbow lifted her hoof to the sleek, ivory surface of the door and gave it three firm taps. The door was answered almost instantly by Blueshift, who had a suitcase in his hooves and a panicked expression on his face. His hooves wrapped around Rainbolt and pulled him into his home. Not wanting the same fate, Rainbow willingly trotted in herself.

“Oh my gosh, you’re late! You are so, so late and I’ll probably be late cause you’re late and oh my goodness, this is terrible!”

“We’re not that l-”

“No, you’re late! I said be here at two, and it’s seven minutes past two! I was supposed to leave at two and now I’m going to be late!” Before Rainbolt could even respond to the stallion’s urgent behavior, he was handed a little, brown box. “In there’s a copy of the house rules, biography and warning’s of each kid, the key to my room, and a whistle in case you can’t yell loud enough!” The unicorn took in a deep, expansive breath. “I really need to go, thanks for doing this at last minute, good luck, don’t die, and I’ll be home by five!”

With that said, Blueshift quickly gave Rainbolt a hug as a physical thank you, and went out his door in a hurry. There, the pegasus was left with his daughter in an unfamiliar household watching foals he’d never met. He knew he’d have to introduce himself sooner or later, but there were other things he needed to do before he could even think about introducing himself. The first thing was to quickly go over the copy of the warnings of each child. It wasn’t something he’d memorized yet, and he knew he’d have to quickly go over it. Rainbolt reached into the box and pulled out the three pieces of paper that had been neatly folded together.

“Dad...where are the foals?” Rainbow interrupted before her dad could even start to reread the papers.

“Probably in their rooms…” he muttered under his breath. “There are some warnings I’m gonna have to read off to you first, though… Well, not all them, but the most important ones..”

“Why?”

The stallion took in a breath.

“Because, Dash, we don’t want to upset them. Foals are like a loaded weapon; press the wrong button and somepony could get hurt…”

Rainbow nodded in understanding, but still didn’t see what could so easily set off a foal. Her father got to reading the first page of the guide.

Luminescence (Lumi):

1.) She’s sensitive about her eyes, so don’t look directly at them.

2.) Don’t mention her wings or even look at them.

3.) She’s pretty stubborn and won’t open up to you easily.

4.) She gets upset very easily, so watch what you say.

5.) If she won’t come out of her room during dinner, put the plate at her door and tell her to come get it. When she stays in her room, it usually means she doesn’t want to talk.

6.) If she gives you a warning about anything, listen.

7.) Don’t ask her about her potions.

8.) Don’t joke around with her. She doesn’t have that great of a sense of humor, and takes everything personally.

9.) If you’re gentle with her, she might like you.

10.) She doesn’t like pegasi that well.

11.) Don’t call her Lumi unless it looks like she likes you.

12.) If she asks you to drink/test one of her potions, say no.

Luminescence is the oldest of my children. She may be a hoof-full, but after she gets to know you, she’ll probably like you. I hope you get along with her and nothing bad happens with her. Good luck.

Rainbolt stared at the paper and reread it quite a few times in his head. He then looked at his daughter, who awkwardly looked at him.

“Yeah… I would just not talk to Luminescence if I were you…”

“Why?”

Rainbolt said nothing, but showed his daughter her list of warnings. After simply scanning through the paper, Dash nodded in agreement, realizing her father’s reasons.

“Just be cautious around her… Now, for the next one…”

Rainbolt flipped over the paper to reread the warnings of the next foal.

Gemini:

1.) Although he’s never been diagnosed, we believe he has MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder). The first personality we tend to notice in him is his regular, social, sensitive, sweet self. Some days (and lasts for days straight) he’ll act quiet and shut off the world, but seem more mature and intelligent for the most part. Other times, he acts energetic, humorous, and a bit obnoxious. Lately, he’s been acting how he does the vast majority of the time; sweet, sensitive, and social. Sometimes, if you say the wrong thing, he’ll switch personalities in a matter of minutes.

2.) Try to talk to him when you get the chance. He loves talking to other ponies, but his sisters tend to ignore him.

3.) He typically has a good sense of humor, and has a long list of jokes himself. Just don’t joke about him.

4.) He’s a bookworm, so if you don’t hear any activity coming from his room, he’s probably in a book.

5.) He can be especially reluctant to brush his teeth after dinner. Make sure it gets done.

Gemini’s a pretty sweet kid. Keep him happy and he’ll like you by the end of the day.

Alright… well, he most definitely seems simpler….Gosh, this guide’s a lot more detailed that the original one he gave me… Maybe he was trying not to scare me.

“Alright, Gemini -the only colt in the house- definitely seems nicer. He’s probably somepony you could even make friends with.”

Rainbow looked up at her dad for a moment and blinked three times. Her expression turned into a more confused one.

“But isn’t he like, six?”

“Seven. And at least this kid seems pretty nice. Just don’t make any jokes about him.”

“Okay.” Rainbow said in an almost displeased tone. The thought of hanging out with a seven year-old wasn’t her cup of tea, but so far she didn’t have many other options. “Well, what about the last one?”

Hesitantly, Rainbolt turned the page over to the most dangerous sounding of the three children; Sparky.

Static Sparkle (Sparky):

1.) Her horn can conduct electricity. Don’t get her upset or she’ll probably shock/electrocute you.

2.) She’s a bit reluctant when it comes to eating vegetables.

3.) She’s a bit rambunctious and energetic, so make sure she doesn’t break anything.

4.) She might ask you to help style her mane. If she does, try your hardest to do something. It’s the easiest way to bond with her.

Sparky’s a pretty good kid and usually takes a liking to most of our foalsitters. She’s pretty sociable and will probably talk to you quite a lot. Her and Gemini are pretty close, but can fight at times.

Well, this one seems much better and nicer to deal with. I bet Dashie would get along with her pretty well.

“Yeah… I think you’d make pretty good friends with Sparky. She seems nice…”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and looked at her father.

“The one with the electric horn?”

“Yeah…” He smiled. “Just don’t make her upset or anything…”

“I won’t!” Dashie chimed. “But I still don’t get how she can electrocute ponies…”

“Well, she can, so don’t try to make her upset or ask for demonstration.”

“Yeah, yeah, I won’t…”

Dude, how can I not ask her for a demonstration of something like that? I mean, even if she gives me a little shock, I’d still want to see it!

“Now… House rules and then I think we’ll be all set to introduce ourselves.”

“Well, can’t I at least go introduce myself?”

“Rainbow, no…Not yet at least.” The stallion took out the remaining piece of paper from the bottom of the box. “I still have to read you the rules.”

“What?! Why?” The filly’s eyes went wide as her enthusiasm sunk.

“Rainbow, these are his house rules. Just because he’s away for a couple hours doesn’t mean we should disrespect his house rules. If I hired a foalsitter for you, I wouldn’t want him or her letting you fly around the house performing stunts. Respecting their rules would only be the right thing to do.”

Rainbow huffed, but didn’t argue any further with her dad. She instead chose to sit and listen with little patience. After a brief moment of silence, Rainbolt took that as his cue to read out the final piece of paper. The stallion cleared his throat and started the list:

“One; Everypony must eat dinner by four in the afternoon. I want them all in bed by nine, so they can’t eat too late.”

Rainbow let out an irritated grunt.

“Really? They eat that early?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Her father snapped. “We will respect Blueshift’s decision. If you don’t want to eat that early, I’ll take you somewhere for dinner afterwards, alright?”

“Fine…”

“Okay, good. Two; don’t give them their special cookies until they’ve eaten dinner. They’re in the top right drawer of my dresser. Each kid gets three.” The foalsitter paused a moment, waiting for his daughter to make a comment. She remained silent. “Three; no child is allowed in my room under any circumstances. Good rule.” Rainbow gave her dad a stern look of disapproval. He only smiled and went on. “Four; If they shower, they’re not allowed more than fifteen minutes.” To that, Rainbow giggled.

“You wouldn’t survive a day in this house, Dad!”

“My showers aren’t that long…” Rainbow looked to her father in disbelief. “Forty-five minutes isn’t that long, Dash!”

“Yes it is! I only take five minutes!”

“Hey, I pay the bills! I can shower for however long I want!”

Rainbow huffed out and sighed. Yeah, but you never save any hot water for me...

“Yeah, I know… Just, what are rest of the rules?”

“Five; I want all misbehavior and disobedience reported to me. I will believe you over them. Don’t sugar coat it.”

Rainbow looked over the rules once more.

Alright, simple enough. I should probably get to introducing myself.

“Alright… I think the kids are in their rooms. Ready to meet them?”

Rainbow nodded. At school, she’d had a hard time socializing. Maybe the confinements of a stranger’s home would be easier to make friends in. Who knew?

With no more words, the two pegasi made their way beyond the living room, past the kitchen, and up the stairs. Naturally, Dash insisted on flying up the steps. Before she even made it up three steps, her father turned around and scolded her. With no verbal warning, Dash obediently fell to the ground and walked up the stairs like her father. The last thing Rainbolt wanted was a broken picture or valuable that didn’t belong to him. On the wall bordering the set of stairs was several family photos. Unbeknownst to Rainbolt, some even had Blueshift’s deceased wife in them, standing with a much younger version of the family.

Soon, Rainbow and her nervous father reached the top of the staircase, only to be presented before a long, narrow hallway with five doors; two on the left, two on the right, and one at the very end. The stallion examined the hallway and looked at all the door options before him.

“Which should we knock on first?”

Rainbow simply shrugged at her father’s question, leaving the decision completely up to him. Unsurely, Rainbolt made his way to the first door on the right. The door was wooden and solid with very little light seeping from the cracks. Hesitantly, he squeaked out a tiny, “Hello?”

No response.

After a moment of silence, Rainbolt lifted his hoof to the door. He felt a little bead of sweat roll down his cheek as he gave the door three loud taps.

“You know…” A deep, feminine voice started from behind the two. Rainbolt and his daughter turned to meet eyes with an unfamiliar filly... The stallion could only assume it was Luminescence by how old she looked and the pair of feathered beauties on her back. She was a dark shade of purple with an even darker purple mane that drooped down to her chest and was streaked with shades of light blue. Her eyes were blue, only one was a much darker shade of blue than the other. “Nopony’s in the bathroom. You can go if you need to.”

Rainbolt blushed and nervously giggled.

“Hehe… that’s okay. I was just trying to… you know, introduce myself. I-I’m your foalsitter.” The stallion smiled and awkwardly held out a hoof. “I’m here if you need anything or somepony to talk to.”

Lumi did nothing but stare at the potential hoofshake and back at her foalsitter with an unenthusiastic expression on her face. For moment, there was complete silence. She then looked directly at Rainbow Dash and back at Rainbolt.

“I knew my dad would hire a pegasus again… It’s like he’s trying to mock me. You mock me.”

The mare leisurely placed her hoof at Rainbolt’s and forcefully lowered it. Her tone hadn’t an ounce of positivity in it and the foalsitter could instantly tell she’d be the biggest challenge. Although her judgement made him a bit angry, he knew he had to stay calm and be as gentle and kind as possible.

“Gee, Luminescence… I’m sorry you feel that way. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll try to stay away from you.” The stallion forced a smile. “Just tell me if you need anything, alright?”

From that, the filly grew a tad bit angry herself. She’d expected him to be offended, and wished he would have. Looks like her father had put a bit more of a warning on her this time around.

“Fine!” She squeaked as calmly as she could and huffed out. “But don’t come in my room!”

“I won’t, promise!”

“That…” The filly pointed to the room parallel to the bathroom. “...is my room. The one at the end of the hall is Dad’s room, the one on the right over there…” She pointed to the right room in the back. “Is Sparky’s room, and the other one is Gemini’s. Go mess with them, not me!”

“You got it!” Rainbolt chimed, trying hard not to seem offended or bothered by her attitude. Frustrated, the little pegasus growled and turned away, stomping madly into her room and slamming the door. The father and daughter duo flinched as the loud noise echoed throughout the hallway. There was then a brief moment of silence before Dash spoke up.

“How in Equestria could you just let her talk to you like that without getting upset?”

“Rainbow, I’m a parent.” He knelt down to his filly and lowered his voice. “I’ve learned that if you just take some time to and be nice to ponies they’ll eventually come around. Besides, starting an argument with her wouldn’t do anything but cause more trouble.”

Rainbow looked away and rolled her eyes. She hated when her dad took the peaceful, easy route and left her boiling pot of anger unsatisfied. If she would have been in his position, she would have punched her in the nose. Her dad was well-aware of this.

“Just let it go, Rainbow. We need to meet the other foals.”

In agreement, but not total satisfaction, Rainbow followed her dad down the hall and stopped at the door next to Luminescence’s. On that door was a little sign that read “Gemini” in large, blue, bubble letters. Rainbolt raised a hoof, and with more confidence than last time, knocked.

“You can come in!” A cute, premature voice called from the inside. Rainbolt accepted the invitation and opened the door. The moment he entered, he met eyes with a small, seven year-old colt. His coat was a soft shade of blue just like his father’s. His eyes had the color and shine of a bright sapphire. His mane was a deep shade of purple that was choppy, uneven, and quite messy, like he’d cut it himself. In his hooves was a novel-sized book and his head was on a pillow.

“Gemini?”

The little colt blinked twice and stared at the unfamiliar stallion.

“Foalsitter?”

Rainbolt nodded affirmatively. To this, the little colt smiled wide.

“I, umm… just tell me if you need anything or somepony to talk to, I’ll be here. My name is Rainbolt, by the way…So, uhh… Need anything?”

“Yeah!” The little, cute colt chimed brightly.

“What do you-”

“Come here so I can tell you about this book I’m reading!”

Rainbow almost immediately left the room at the sound of that. Rainbolt, however, felt it was his responsibility to listen to the foals, no matter what they needed, even if he didn’t have a true connection with them.

“Alright, tell me about your story...”

The stallion made his way over to the edge of Gemini’s bed and looked over his shoulder. The book he was reading was nearly two inches thick and probably contained more words than Dash had even read in her lifetime. Gemini’s beautiful eyes sparkled as he pointed to his complex novel. His horn illuminated and he closed the book with a bit of struggle, and showed Rainbolt the illustrated cover. The text read The Many Mysteries of Crystal Falls, Book Three: The Mare and the Maniac. Written and Illustrated by Feather Quill while the illustration depicted a small mare with a disturbed, yellow mane back-to-back with a cloaked figure. In Rainbolt’s opinion, the mare looked a tad bit like Surprise if she were an Earth Pony with a straighter mane and blue eyes.

“I just started the series this summer, but it’s really good so far! It’s about this mare who just moved to Crystal Falls with her two foals, but her foals go missing in the busy streets one Nightmare Night!” Rainbolt frowned at the familiar-sounding story. “So she spends all her time trying to recover her lost foals and there are so, so many characters that she’s added into this!” The little colt squealed happily in a fillyish way. “But in this one she met this stallion who she suspect has her foals, and is starting to get close to him, but now he’s starting to get feelings for her so they might just get married, and if he has her kids and claims they’re his kids, then she’ll be successfully reunited!” Gemini sighed happily at the thought of a happy ending. “And, this is the last book in the trilogy so I’ll get to see how it ends in merely one hundred thirty-eight pages!”

Through the whole rambling session, the foalsitter listened with great patience. He was used to Rainbow telling him long stories with little to no hesitation. Absorbing all the information was a little more difficult.

“But… you’re only seven. My eleven year old daughter hasn’t read more than ten words of a novel.”

“That’s kind of sad..” He said with a frown. “And also, I’ll be eight next week!” He smiled. “When I was three, my mom started teaching my to read, and I haven’t really stopped since…” The little colt sighed and felt tears invading his eyes. “I miss my mommy… Whenever I read it reminds me of her.”

It was that moment Rainbolt felt his heart break as little tears trickled down the unicorn’s face. Sure, he could mend the pain of a scraped knee, failed test, or broken heart, but the pain of a lost parent was an unfixable ache that could last a lifetime. The most Rainbolt could do in the situation was wrap a wing around the little colt he barely knew. Gemini accepted the affection easily, cuddling the wing of the pegasus as if he were a newborn. Like most of the time he focused on his mother, he sniffled deeply and tried to think of the positives in life. At least since then he’d got to experience a wide variety of fun foalsitters.

“Thank you, Mister…” Gemini squeaked after inhaling deeply.

“Anytime… Need anything?”

“I don’t know...some water?”

“Sure thing. I’ll go see how Sparky’s doing and then get you some, okay?”

The little colt nodded affirmatively and inhaled his runny mucus once more. Rainbolt was a bit unsure about leaving him alone. He didn’t seem fully ready to be left alone, but if he really needed more comforting he would’ve asked for it.

Unsurely, Rainbolt proceeded to refold his wing and make his way out of the room. He gently closed the door and then proceeded to put his ear against it. He waited almost a minute, just listening closely into the room. No crying. Eventually, there was the faint sound of page turning, which was enough to satisfy the concerned foalsitter. He then turned around to the only door that belonged to a child left; Sparky.

Taking in a breath, the stallion made his way over to the final door. Instead of instantly knocking, however, he took in a few deep breaths. At that point, he didn’t even know where Rainbow was. As long as she hadn’t left the house, he was sure he could find her.

Alright… Just be as sweet as you can so she doesn’t shock you. If she does… I don’t know, just endure it and ask her not to again.

Nervously, Rainbolt lifted his hoof to the door and gave it three loud taps. Almost immediately, he received a response.

“Come in!” A cheerful, feminine voice called from the inside.

With that, the stallion entered the little room. To his surprise, his daughter was in there, already talking to the little unicorn filly. She was the the second oldest foal and almost as cute as Gemini. She had an extremely light hue of lavender for her coat. Her eyes gleamed a bright shade of yellow very similar to Rainbolt’s. Her mane was pretty frizzy, but short. It was a deep shade of royal blue with a white stripe in the center.

“Hey, Dad!” Dash chimed on the little filly’s bed. Sparky turned around and looked at Rainbolt. Her eyes lit up and she waved with a grin.

“Hey, foalsitter!” The eleven year-old filly greeted towards Rainbolt’s direction with a salute. He smiled back to her. She seemed pleasantly calm.

“If you need anything or somepony to, uh…” The stallion stopped himself in realization she was already talking to Rainbow and clearly didn’t need company. “...nevermind. Just, if you need something, I’m here.”

“Alright, Mister.”

Slowly, Rainbolt backed out and closed the door, leaving the two to talk.

Well, looks like Dash made a little friend already. I’d better go get that one kid his water. I sure hope he’s feeling better…

Rainbolt made his way downstairs to the kitchen. There, he looked through several cabinets before at long last he found one in the upper right cabinets above the sink. He briefly checked the fridge to see if they had any refrigerated water. After finding nothing but a few bottles of pop, some juices, and some leftovers, Rainbolt made his way to the sink where he filled the plastic cup to the brim with tap water. He then poured a bit out, figuring it was a bit too much. He then made his way back up the stairs and to Gemini’s door. As quietly as he could, the stallion set down the glass of water and placed his ear at the door. No sobbing. No crying. Nothing. The only sounds were from the door across from it; pure laughing and chatting. It was nice to see Rainbow making friends that weren’t Fluttershy.

After confirming the colt was no longer mourning, Rainbolt placed his hoof at the door and knocked three times at a medium volume. This time, the colt hesitated before giving him the verbal okay.

“Come on in!”

The foalsitter picked the cup up with his teeth and kept it at an awkward angle to assure none spilt out. He had to turn the handles with his wings and push open the door with his haunches, but did manage to get in without spilling a drop of the cool liquid. The little colt smiled when he saw the foalsitter with his promised drink. Though he was grinning, Rainbolt could clearly see dim redness in his slightly puffy eyes. The stallion set the drink down on the nearby drawer.

“Y’okay, Buddy?”

Gemini nodded affirmatively.

“Of course I am… Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know...you look kind of down.”

“Eh… it’s nothing, really…”

“Alright…” Rainbolt paused for a moment. “Need anything else?”

“Nope...I just want to finish my story…”

Luckily for Gemini, this foalsitter took the hint and made his way out of the room with no further questioning, but an “Okay”. Rainbolt shut the door quietly and stood out in the hallway, wondering what to do next.

Well, Gemini seems pretty occupied with his book, Sparky is talking to Dash, and Luminescence clearly does not want to be bothered… What’s left to do? Maybe I could do a bit of light housecleaning to occupy myself. I don’t think Blueshift would mind that much…I did notice his dishes weren’t done. I could probably do that without breaking anything. Rainbolt decided to tackle the challenge and started to trot down the stairs. Halfway down, he found himself chuckling at an old memory. Remember when Mom used to sing that song when you were little and you’d help her do the dishes? Ah, she’s a great mare... The stallion then caught something that stopped him dead in his tracks. A glimmer of white light reflected off one of the family photos. One depicted a younger version of the foals with Blueshift and a mare he didn’t recognize. Her mane was a deep shade of blue and styled in a very similar fashion to Lumi’s; wavy, shoulder-length, and very neat and clean. Her eyes were yellow and her coat was white as snow. Rainbolt felt tears invading his own eyes at the memory of Gemini’s pain, and the beautiful smile on his face in the photo. But it looks like these foals don’t even have a mom…

_________________________________________________________________________________

Sparky and Rainbow smiled as the foalsitter left the room without too much conversation. Dash was especially happy her father didn’t do too much to humiliate her. The last thing she wanted was a potential friend to think she was being raised by a complete dork. Fortunately, the little unicorn saw Rainbolt in a pretty positive light.

“Dude…” Sparky started in a semi-dreamy tone. “Your dad is hot…”

“What?!” Rainbow shrieked. “No he’s not! He’s old!”

“So? He’s still hot!”

Rainbow sighed. Never before had she heard somepony call her dad hot. Well, maybe Surprise a few times, but Dash thought she was kind of kooky anyway.

“Don’t say that! It’s weird!”

“But true!”

“No… Just weird. Can we not talk about it?”

“Well, we kind of need to… Not about how I find him hot, but about other stuff.”

“What other stuff?”

It was then the filly’s expression morphed into a devious smirk and her gold eyes lit up with ambition. She gestured Rainbow to draw nearer. Dash complied easily. Then, the filly spoke in a much quieter tone.

“You see, my siblings and I have numerous foalsitters in the past three years. Some we like, some we dislike, and some we try our very hardest to drive away for good. You feel me?” Understanding, yet not understanding, Rainbow slowly nodded in agreement. “Good! And around twenty minutes or so we all enter a meeting to discuss if we like the foalsitter or not. If we like him or her, we decide to be as welcoming as possible and get them to stay. If not, we’ll try to drive them out. That simple.”

“So, uh… How does this involve me?”

“See. this is the best part. We usually don’t have the foalsitter’s kid with us.” She smirked deviously. “If the majority doesn’t like him, we can use you…” Sparky gently pressed her hoof to Rainbow’s chest. “...to tell us all his weaknesses.”

Rainbow was taken back in shock for a moment. Be disloyal to her own dad? He who had provided her with food, comfort, a place to live, and anything she needed? Was that the price of friendship? If so, would it even be worth it? Her father loved her unconditionally, so she wouldn’t be losing his love, just gaining other ponies’. If they were friends for years to come because of it, while her dad forgave her the next day, nothing would be lost, yet there would be things gained.

“I-I don’t know about all this… I mean he’s kind of my dad and he means a lot to me… I don’t think telling you his secrets would be the nicest thing to do.”

“Oh, you don’t have to be a part of this. I’m just saying if you did, it’d be a great for us and you could possibly make some friends out of it.”

“I… I mean, I’d love to, but, what if I lost my dad’s trust?”

“Listen, I’ll make sure he never knows. Oh, and if you help us and we succeed, we’ll split the reward with you!”

Reward? So, not only would she have the possibilities of making new friends, but she’d also be rewarded outside of that? The temptation was becoming stronger by the moment. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could resist it.

“What kind of reward?” the filly ask curiously. Sparky smiled.

“You see, my dad has these cookies. I don’t know what they’re called, but they’re sooo good!” The filly licked her lips at the thought of the delicious treats. “But our dad only lets us have three cookies a day after dinner. So, if we can force your dad to give us the key to get the cookies, we can eat as many as we want.”

“I see… I mean, if you don’t harm him, I guess we could…”

“Oh…” Sparky blushed. “I wasn’t going to hurt him too, too bad, but when we usually do this we tie the foalsitter to a chair or the ground and shock them until they give in…” The filly sheepishly smiled as sparks danced around her lavender-tinted horn.

“You’ve done that…?”

“Yep! My dad didn’t find out because we all convinced him the foalsitter didn’t care and let us eat as much as we wanted. We can’t really do that with ponies he’s known for a super long time.”

“Ah…” Rainbow awkwardly made eye contact with the floor. She was still debating. She could possibly gain friends and cookies in exchange for her dad’s trust. Sure, it wasn’t the best possible trade, but more than anything she just wanted some friends outside of Fluttershy. She was given a bright opportunity.

“So, do we have a deal? You help us, we pay you in cookies.”

Rainbow thought for another long moment before saying anything. She thought about her dad, friendship, trust, cookies, and everything that could either be ruined or gained through the deal. After a long moment she looked at Sparky unsurely.

“So, um, how good did you say these cookies were?”

Luminescence’s room was the chosen spot for the meeting, and according to Sparky, it was the most common location for the meeting. Lumi’s room was a bit bigger than the others, but there was far less room to move around. She had many, many shelves attached to the walls of her room. Each shelf was stacked with potions, empty glass bottles, containers filled with ingredients, and a few even had bowls with fish or frogs on them. Her bed was a bit small in comparison to everything else. It had five large, overstuffed pillows with blue sheets and a multicolored quilt for a blanket. Next to her bed was a nightstand with a large crystal ball placed on it. The pegasus filly had instructed all of them to stay off her bed, leaving the floor as the only place to sit. Her siblings didn’t seem to mind, but Dash awkwardly shuffled around on the firm carpet.

“Now…” The eldest of the children started. “I didn’t talk to the guy that long, but I think we can all agree he’d be the perfect victim for us. I’m sure after two or three shocks he’d give in and hand over the keys to Dad’s room.”

“I don’t know…” Dash started in defense. “My dad has a thing about playing the rules… It might take a little bit more persuasion than that.”

“Hm…” Naturally, Luminescence was the first to respond to a potential problem. “Sparky, how much voltage can you produce?”

“I donnu. Depends on how much energy I have…”

“Hmmm…” Lumi thought for a moment. “Go ask the stallion for some coffee. I’m sure you can convince him to give you some.”

The filly smiled at her older sister brightly. Her dad never let her have coffee under any circumstances. Ever. A few times, she’d sneak a few sips from his morning cup and she loved every bit of it. Her father didn’t exactly have the greatest reaction when he caught her sipping some, though. The thought of getting a full cup all to herself didn’t even seem realistic.

“Alright! Let’s hope this one’s gullible!”

With that, Sparky proceeded to exit the room and make her way down the stairs to find the foalsitter, leaving Luminescence, Gemini, and Rainbow Dash in the room all alone together. At first, there was silence. Luminescence had nothing left to say, Rainbow had nothing intelligent to say, and Gemini was too shy to say anything.

At that point, Rainbow was slowly starting to regret her decision. Her father had never done anything bad to her, and there she was plotting against him. He’d fed her, bathed her, cared for her when she was sick, cleaned up after her, provided her with a bed, clothes, toys, and anything else she felt she needed in life. If anything, he deserved to be repaid with gratitude and kindness. Instead, she was turning against him simply to impress a group of foals she’d known for less than an hour. A large pit of agonizing guilt had filled her heart. Luckily, the only colt in the room spoke up before she started to feel too bad about herself.

“I...I don’t know about this…” Gemini spoke quietly.

That got the sister’s attention instantly. Usually, she was the ringleader of the “torture” sessions. She decided whether or not the foalsitter should be tied up and electrocuted until they gave up the location of the key. She was the one to divide the keepers from the non-keepers, yet she was the one who often knew the least about the sitters.

“I beg your pardon?” Luminescence asked her youngest sibling in a semi-rude tone. That did nothing but intimidate the young colt. Gemini never felt like a strong colt, but in the presence of his sister he felt like a mere ant. Sure, she’d never actually hurt him, but her verbal assaults had the impact of a grenade.

"N-nothing..." he answered in a voice so quiet it could be mistaken for a whisper. "I just ummm... I just think that the foalsitter isn't that bad, and he's actually really nice. He listened to me talk about my story and he comforted me when I was sad... So maybe we should just take it easy on him...?" Gemini smiled cutely in an attempt to convince his sister to rethink her rash decision.
‘ Rainbow smiled at Gemini from the opposite side of the circle. He'd been brave enough to stand up for her dad, yet she was too scared to simply tell them she didn't approve of their plans. She internally gained a little bit of respect for the seven year-old. He seemed to be the nicest of the three siblings in both Rainbow and Rainbolt's opinion.

"Well, I don't like him too well." Lumi bluntly admitted. She then scoffed at a recent memory. "Just this morning he... Ugh! He was just so... I don't know! I don't like him!" The filly folded her hooves and grumpily pouted.

Really? Are you serious?! My dad was nothing but respectful towards you! How can you be upset with him when you were the only one acting rude? Rainbow felt her anger building. I'd really like to punch this bitch...

"Oh... Well, what did he say to you...?" Gemini asked hesitantly, which only earned him a dirty look from his sister.

"Does it matter? He said...well, he... He said something, alright! And I didn't like it all! What happened then doesn't matter. All that matters is I don't like him and that's final!"

Yes, because Heavens forbid somepony act maturely enough to brush off your bitchy behavior and be polite. The only thing he said is how he'd stay out of your mane and respect your feelings. How in Equestria did that offend you? Ugh. I really want to say something to this filly...

"Well..." the little colt started, regretting his decision the moment it happened. "I-I think you should go kind of easy on him c-cause I thought he was nice and-"

"Nopony asked your opinion, Gemini!" Luminescence snapped in a vicious tone. "I don't like him, that's it! If you don't like it, leave! I don't care!"

The filly growled at her baby brother, who was swelling up with tears from her verbal assault. He blushed heavily and whimpered in sadness.

"I-I'm sorry..."

"Good!" The filly smiled in satisfaction and wrapped a wing around her brother with a smile. She gently stroked his back to comfort him and took in a breath when she saw two little droplets of salty water rolling down his cheeks. "Hey... I'm sorry I snapped, alright…? I just... I'm frustrated... I love you."

"I love you, too..." Gemini whimpered, wiping away a stray tear from his cheek. "And I understand. I know how you can get sometimes..."

Lovingly, the filly kissed his forehead and patted his back. This made Rainbow raise an eyebrow. She seemed like such a jerk, yet she was being so sweet to her littlest brother. She supposed it was a sibling thing. They must have had an unbreakable connection that only they felt.

I wonder what sibling love feels like... Dash thought as she saw the two in the comforting hug.

"You forgive me?" Luminescence asked in a quiet tone.

"Of course I do..." Gemini smiled. "Sorry I kept pestering you about it..."

"No, it's fine. I shouldn't have gotten so mad over you having a different opinion than me." Even though the pegasus felt guilty for making her little brother sad she still had her opinion and was going to make sure her wishes were met. "So, I presume we're at a point where we can just reach an agreement?" Gemini nodded. "Good. I assume we're going through with my idea?" To this, the unicorn hesitated to answer. He was still in a disagreement with her, but really didn't want to make her upset again. Slowly, he nodded affirmatively, which made Lumi undoubtedly happy.

After that moment of pure, beautiful, emotional silence, everypony flinched at the sound of the bedroom door flinging open. All were taken back and in fearful shock as Sparky made her way in with a full, steamy cup of fresh coffee.

"Guys! He bought it! He really did!" The little filly smiled and chugged down a large gulp of the hot liquid without the slightest expression of pain or distress. "I didn't think he'd buy it, but then he reread the house rules and Dad didn't put a 'no coffee' rule so he made me some!" Again, the excited filly took a long sip of the drink. "It's a bit dark, but it's good!"

Holding the cup firmly in her hooves, the unicorn took a seat back where she originally was and chugged down more of the steamy beverage. Rainbow simply looked at the eager filly in confusion.

"Why are you holding it with your hooves when you could use magic?"

At that, Sparky simply giggled.

"I don't have magic, silly! The only thing that comes out of this horn is pure electricity!"

The unicorn did a brief demonstration by allowing a spark of electricity to escape. The hot, white spark danced around her horn and then seemingly vanished.

"Pretty neat, eh?"

"Yeah..."

"Hey, save the sparks!" Lumi teased playfully. "We'll need those in a half hour or so..."

"Ah...right." The little, lavender unicorn then smiled cheerfully. "You know, I really like this foalsitter. He's the first one to make me coffee, and he's pretty cute." Rainbow narrowed her pink eyes at Sparky for the "cute" comment, but the unicorn chose to ignore her. "I think I'll go kinda easy on him with the shocking."

To that, the eldest sibling looked away and felt heat of anger rush to her cheeks. Why everypony was so happy with the new foalsitter, she hadn't the slightest idea. In reality, it simply made her hate him more.

Oh, am I going to love seeing him get electrocuted...

"So, umm...What do you want me to do again?" Rainbow asked as she was sent out into the hallway and get the foalsitter. The three foals behind Luminescence's door all agreed Dash would be the best one to get her father into the trap. She was his daughter, and her voice calling him would be more urgent to him than if one the other foals did.

"Just call your dad up here, okay?" Lumi reminded her for what felt like the hundredth time. "We'll get him to the ground and tie him up. Trust me, we've done it before."

“I don’t know…” the little pegasus hesitantly started. “Doesn’t this seem a bit excessive to do just for cookies?”

“Well, for regular cookies maybe…” The eldest sibling explained. “But these cookies are far different. The moment you’ll taste one you’ll understand. They just make you feel good all around…”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. Sure, she'd had a wide variety of amazing foods in her lifetime, yet not one tasted so good that she’d tie somepony down and electrocute them to get some.

“But you’ll be getting some after dinner in an hour or so anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to just wait?”

Lumi growled at the young filly. Dash personally wasn’t scared of her, but nevertheless, she decided to stop arguing with her. If she really wanted Dash to do this, she’d get her one way or another. It was three against one, and one of the ponies against her could fry her. Her best option seemed to be to simply obey.

“Dad!” Rainbow called down the fleet of steps.

“Yeah?”

From down there, Rainbow saw her father poke his head out and look up at her.

“Could you come up here for a minute?” she asked. Her pink eyes darted towards Lumi’s door, which had been shut firmly. She didn’t want to put her father in harms way. She really, really didn’t. Guilt was already consuming her soul and nothing had even happened to him yet. More dread started to fill her heart as the stallion actually started to gallop up the stairs. His mane was a bit of a wreck from doing household chores, but he still wore a smile on his face.

“What do you need, Sweetheart?”

Sweetheart. That title stung her soul like a bullet.

“I, umm… I...c-come closer, please…”

A bit confused, Rainbolt tossed his daughter an unsure look. Hesitantly, he complied, coming nearer to his daughter. Within a moment, he was standing right in front of Lumi’s door.

“What do you n-”

Before the stallion could finish his sentence, the door flung opened to reveal a little trio of hungry children. With no hesitation, they all tackled him to the ground. In fear and shock, the stallion instantly started thrashing his body and squirming under the overpowerment of the foals. Gemini and Sparky put all their weight on their sitter’s legs, while Luminescence put all her weight on his back. In fear of the unpredicted situation, Rainbolt cried out a series of pleas, questions, and commands. Most of them were along the lines of “Stop!”, “What are you doing?”, and “Please get off me!”, and all were deaf to the foals ears. All except Rainbow’s.
“Stop moving!” Sparky demanded. It wasn’t a surprise to anypony that Rainbolt didn’t stop moving. “Stop it right now or you’re getting electrocuted!”

That threat was enough to instantly make the pegasus stop rocking. The last thing he wanted was a fried body and frizzled mane.

“Good…” Luminescence started in a calming tone. Slowly, her hoof ran up the stallion’s back to lower his nerves. “Gemini, go get the rope.” With a salute and a smile, the little colt ran off into Luminescence’s bedroom to retrieve the requested item.

“Rope..?” The foalsitter gulped. “Why would you need-”

“Sparky!”

It was then, Rainbolt felt the hot sensation of sparks running up his body. He trembled under the jolting lightning and felt his heart beat rise dramatically. His yellow eyes rolled to the other side of his head as the white lightning ran through his veins. As suddenly as the sensation had started, it ended. He’d only been shocked for a few seconds, but he was still panting and woozy-feeling at the end. Rainbow was gaping in shock at what she’d just witnessed. They hadn’t even told him what they wanted and they were already shocking him for practically no reason.

“Hey!” Rainbow squeaked. That got the two fillies’ attention. “You just can’t shock him like that! He didn’t even do anything!”

To that, Rainbolt smiled a bit. His daughter sticking up for him like that was pretty sweet, but then again… she was kind of the one to get him in the mess. Lumi and the little unicorn weren’t nearly as amused with her reply, however.

“Calm down. It was just a test spark to let him know we’re not afraid to get physical.” She smiled. “We promise, though, we won’t cause any fatal injuries.”

It was then Gemini re-entered the hallway with a long piece of rope in his mouth. The two fillies deviously smirked. Rainbow tossed her dad a look that read “I’m so, so sorry…”. The stallion simply nodded and tossed his daughter a reassuring smile to forgive her. She smiled back and watched as Lumi took the rope and tied her father’s hooves behind his back. He didn’t even make an attempt to struggle. He simply laid there and took whatever the fillies had coming to him. Surely, they didn’t want to harm him and there’d be something he could do to make sure they didn’t get violent. Internally, Luminescence was happy he didn’t struggle. Not having magic already made the task difficult enough. Trying to do the same thing on a freaked out, tossing foalsitter was a completely different challenge. Finally, after a good minute, his hooves were tied firmly behind his back and blocked his wings. Satisfied, the thirteen year-old filly removed herself from the stallion’s back.

“There...all nice and tight…” Lumi grinned and made her way to the front of Rainbolt so he could clearly see her. “Now… all you have to do to be let go is tell us where you’ve put the key to Dad’s room. We’ll get in, take some cookies, leave, and dine. Deal?”

To that, the stallion seemed a bit unsure. Not only did Blueshift tell him not to give his kids cookies before dinner, but he also said nopony was allowed in his room and everypony was only entitled to three cookies. He wouldn’t have felt comfortable violating one of the stallion’s household rules. Violating three sounded like a prison sentence.

“I...umm…” Rainbolt forced a smile. “H-how about if I were to get you the cookies now, and then give you four each instead of three?”

It was then, the stallion felt another strong surge of lightning flow through his body. Rainbow winced at the thought of being in his position and watched as his entire body shook and white lightning hopped around every inch of her father’s body. After a good ten seconds, Sparky finally stopped. Rainbolt let out a long moan as the pain settled into his body. The stallion’s coat was a bit charred in certain places and his rainbow mane was frizzled and burnt.

“Now… I’m going to ask you again… Where are my dad’s keys?”

The stallion was too busy taking in pants to even speak a word.

“Hm…?”

Still, Rainbolt was too busy trying to regain his breath to try to answer. He instead tried to make motions with his mouth to speak to the pegasus.

“Sparks, why don’t you help loosen his tongue?”

Sparky smiled and gave Rainbolt a quick shock that lasted no more than a second. He jolted once and then did his best to get the message to her verbally.

“P-p-please, Luminescence… Y-you’re dad gave me a rule guide and I want to follow it. P-please let me go...I-I’m sure we can come to some kind of agreement so that both parties wi-i-i-i-i-i….”

Again, the stallion was rewarded with a harsh shock through his body. Because the electrocution started when he was speaking, the whole time he was at a shaky vibrato. This one was far more powerful than the last one and had his body thrusting in every which direction. His pulse dramatically rose and his heart felt like it was going to explode within his chest. He felt his eyes roll to the back of his head once again. This time, he ended up foaming a bit from his mouth. After nearly twenty seconds, Sparky stopped. Rainbolt was uncontrollably panting with saliva coming from either side of his mouth. He could hardly breathe, let alone talk.

“Now… you are going to tell us where you put the keys or you’ll be getting a good forty-five seconds of white, hot electricity.”

That was a threat that terrified both Rainbow and her bound, exhausted father. His eyes were watering as they looked into the dark blue and light blue eyes of the eldest child.

“P-please no more…” He weakly croaked out.

“If you don’t want anymore, you speak up.”

Rainbolt looked up at the filly pitifully. At that point, he knew he didn’t have much of an option left. Exhausted, he nodded his head affirmatively and continued to breath. This brought a smirk to the filly’s face. Behind Rainbolt, Gemini and Sparky hoofbumped in victory. Rainbow just stood there, watching. Her heart practically broke in two as they celebrated their triumph against her dad. And she helped them…

No…

Rainbow stood up from her spot and marched over to the little foals where they stood. Her heart beat in pure anger at the fillies and colt. They seemed so nice, yet to an adult, they acted so rude and disrespectful. Maybe if it were a different adult, she’d have only been mildly bothered, but this was her dad. Her sweet, loving, amazing father who deserved far more respect than most parents she knew.

“You!” She started in a semi-aggressive tone. All three foals instantly gave Rainbow their attention. “All of you! You should be ashamed of yourselves! You’re so greedy that you can’t wait an hour to have your fair share of cookies! You bring harm to other ponies just for your own greedy desire! You put somepony through extreme pain for what? So you can steal from your dad, break the rules, and eat as many cookies as you want. I’d be ashamed to be as greedy as you all! He said no, and that’s it! He’s in charge around here, and none of you were given special privileges. Honestly, would your dad approve of this behavior?”

Before Rainbow could finish her speech, her father was smiling with pride and Gemini was in tears of guilt. Sparky wasn’t crying, but she still felt awful about herself after all that was said. Even Luminescence felt a little twinge of guilt in her heart. Unsurprisingly, the youngest colt was the first to apologize. He shamefully made his way up to Rainbolt with tears running down his face.

“I-I’m so sorry I h-helped do this to you… I-I think you’re nice and you don’t deserve this…” Gemini wiped a tear away from his eye. “I-if you don’t want to give me cookies, then I understand… I’m sorry.”

Rainbolt smiled up at the little colt.

“N-no it’s fine.” The stallion coughed. “You’re a good little colt, Gemini. I accept your apology.”

The little unicorn smiled and hugged the stallion’s head gently. He then backed away and Sparky made her way into Rainbolt’s vision.

“I-I’m sorry I electrocuted you… I really am…”

“That’s okay…”

“No, really…” The filly brought her hoof up to her horn and gave herself a pretty powerful shock. It only lasted a mere second, and when she stopped, she smiled. Her blue and white mane was standing up in all directions, which made Rainbolt chuckle a bit.

It was then, the two ponies looked at Luminescence, who turned her gaze away and folded her hooves grumpily.

“Sorry…” she mumbled under her breath. Rainbolt smiled at her… attempt to apologize.

“And Dad…” Rainbow Dash made her way to the front of the crowd, closest to her father. “I’m sorry I chose to be loyal to them instead of you. I just thought it’d be an opportunity to make friends… I’m sorry for going against you like this. I never wanted to…”

“It’s okay, Dashie…” The proud father smiled at his daughter. “I understand what it’s like to put friends over family, but that’s a story for another day…” The stallion looked around at the foals and sighed. “Can you maybe untie me now?”

At that point in dinner, all eyes were set on Sparky, the slowest of the eaters. While everypony else had finished their macaroni and cheese with string beans, the little filly was still munching on her creamy, cheese-coated pasta. She only had a few bites left, but the tension in the room was unbearably thick. All foals of the household were anxious to get their after-dinner cookies while Rainbow was anxious to simply try one.

“Hurry…” Lumi encouraged her.

“I’m trying…”

As fast as she could, the young filly stuffed spoonful upon spoonful of the macaroni. Her cheeks were filled with the yummy dish as she tried harder and harder to stuff her face more and more. Rainbow had only eaten a small portion of macaroni, while Rainbolt ate nothing. Both, however, sat at the table the whole time to make sure the others finished eating. The foalsitter already had the large bag homemade desserts prepared and ready to serve when they were done.

At that point, there were still spots in Rainbolt’s mane that were crispy and his coat was still frizzled. Some of his feathers had been burnt, while others had just been burnt off. All was forgiven, though. Rainbolt still told the children that he would be telling their father the way the acted, which none of them argued against.

“Ugh!” Luminescence grunted out. “Can’t you just give us the cookies if she’s going to be slow?”

Rainbolt shook his head.

“You’ve waited this long for them, and you can wait another minute or so for your sister to finish.”

On top of that, Rainbolt felt Luminescence was the least deserving of the three for cookies. Even though he knew he couldn’t favorite children of his own, Rainbolt did have a favorite of the three children he was foalsitting; Gemini. He definitely was the sweetest of the three, and Rainbolt appreciated his optimistic, yet sympathetic and sweet nature. Well… Rainbolt thought he seemed optimistic. All though he’d cried twice in the short amount of time he’d spent with him, he seemed to be pretty happy most of the time. Sparky was a pretty nice kid, too. She seemed happy and energetic, and was extremely polite when she asked for coffee. Luminescence, on the other hoof, hadn’t had one nice moment towards Rainbolt. He still liked her and all, but he did think she had tons of room to improve her behavior. Then again, he couldn’t say anything different about Dash at times.

Finally, Sparky swallowed her last bit of food. The rest of her siblings smiled as the little lump of pasta slid down her throat. She smiled, as well, and pushed her messy, cheese-stained plate away. She then smiled up at Rainbolt expectantly. He returned the grin as he unzipped the large, plastic bag the cookies had been placed in. The quartet’s eyes grew much larger. Even to Rainbolt, the cookies looked delicious. They were soft, fluffy, and chocolate chip with a thick layer of chocolate on the bottom of the cookie. He of course wasn’t going to try one, unless of course he was offered one or told he could take one.

All the mouths at the table were practically watering. The first three cookies Rainbolt took out of the bag were handed to the child closest to him: Gemini. The little unicorn made an attempt to take them with his magic. A deep blue aurora surrounded the yummy treats. After a moment, however, his magic flickered and completely disappeared. He sighed and took them how he usually does; by hoof. He set them on a nearby napkin and tried his best to experiment with his levitation skills once more. Unfortunately, he could barely lift the treat an inch off the ground and decided to plop it in his mouth instead. He moaned as he ate the delicious cookie.

The next three cookies went to little Sparky across the table from him. She was more than happy to pick the cookies up and gobble them up within little time. Her yellow eyes then widened with remembrance.

“Thank you!” The filly chimed with a mouth full of cookie. Several chunks of saliva-drenched cookies flew onto the table.

“You’re welcome, Sweetheart…”

Rainbolt then turned to Luminescence.

“Listen, Luminescence, I can’t force you to like me, be my friend, or even tolerate me, but can I ask that you at least make peace with me. For whatever reason, you don’t like me, and I understand that. I don’t dislike you, though.” He smiled and scooted the three cookies over to the young filly. “So what do you say? Friends?”

The pegasus sighed and looked at her foalsitter.

“I’m sorry, okay…? I hate just about all the foalsitters I’ve ever had. Nothing personal…” She bit off the edge of her cookie. “I mean, if you weren’t a foalsitter, I’d probably think you’re an okay dude… Just feed your spawn or whatever.”

Rainbolt smiled at his daughter and dug his hoof into the cookie bag.

“Your dad won’t mind if I give a few to my kid?”

The three foals all looked at each other and tossed one another unsure glances. They then turned to Rainbolt and shrugged. The stallion looked at his daughter. She smiled cutely to him.

“Alright… I guess it couldn’t hurt you…”

It was that moment they all heard something none of them expected to hear; the front door unlocking. All the foals turned around to face the front door, which was only a mere ten feet from the entrance of the house. He seemed quite tired. His mane was a fluffy mess and his energy was extremely low. Almost instantly, the foals rose from their table seats and ran over to their loving father. Like always, he was talked with love and affection. Luminescence was the first to ram into a loving hug with him, while Gemini and Sparky came after. Blueshift smiled and took his children in a loving hug. All of them received kisses on their foreheads and back rubs.

“Awe… You’re all so sweet…” Blueshift at long last broke away from the hug. “Did the foalsitter already give you your cookies?”

“Yep!”

“Just now!” Sparky added with a smile.

“Good, good…” He lovingly rubbed Sparky’s mane and did the same to Gemini with his other hoof. It was then, Rainbolt got up from his seat and made his way over to the stallion and his foals. Rainbow followed closely behind. When the stallion got a look at the foalsitter, he went agape. Rainbolt’s mane was still frizzled and black on the ends. Some of his feathers were missing, while others were a nice shade of brown or black. Parts of his fur were still scorched from the shocking experience.

“Sparky!” the father instantly snapped. “Why do you insist on electrocuting half of our foalsitters! This is why nopony wants to watch you guys!”

“Oh, no, no!” Rainbolt started with a smile on his face. “This was an accident!”

“It..was?” Blueshift asked in a unconvinced tone.

“Oh, yeah! You see, she needed help doing something with her mane, so I offered to help. In the middle of me doing it, I must of scared her somehow because she accidentally shocked me pretty bad. She apologized afterwards, though, so it’s all good…”

At that all the foals were agape, including Rainbow.

“Oh...sorry, Sparks.” He smiled to his filly. “I just kinda… because you do it so much, I just thought you would have…”

“It’s okay…” Sparky smiled at her father reassuringly.

“So, um…” The unicorn turned his attention back to Rainbolt. “How were they? You know, overall?”

“Oh, they were complete angels!” The stallion lied with a smiled. “None of them gave me any problems, and they seem to all like me pretty well.”

“Awe, good job guys! I’m proud!”

“Eh, umm…” Rainbolt started awkwardly. “Would you mind if maybe my kid had a few of the cookies? Your kids keep telling how great they are-”

“Oh, no… You can’t have any of them…” Quickly, the stallion yanked the bag of cookies away from Rainbolt. “Sorry, I… I need to put these up..”

What…?

“I’m sorry, but-”

“No, don’t be sorry!” The stallion galloped off, heading towards the staircase.

Rainbolt, now feeling oddly suspicious, spread his wings and took off after him. All the foals watched in confusion, and mentally decided it’d be better not to get involved. Seeing Rainbolt flying after him highly encouraged the stallion to gallop faster. Fortunately for Rainbolt, his flight allowed him to go upstairs far faster than a pony on hooves. He flew over Blueshift with ease. In fear, the stallion tried his best to pick up the pace, only to have his competitor land at the top of the staircase right in front of him. Blueshift stopped and felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest.

“C-can you just let me through?” Blueshift asked desperately.

“No!” Rainbolt placed his hooves firmly on the ground. “What’s with those cookies? You feed them to your kids every single day after dinner, yet my kid can’t have one? Are they that special?”

“It’s just… secret family recipe. My mom doesn’t like knowing that anypony outside our family has them…”

“Why do your kids act so addicted to them?”

“These are...really good cookies…” The stallion smiled fakely and tried again to get around Rainbolt.

“Why are they only allowed to have them after dinner?”

“I don’t want them to ruin their appetite.”

“Why do you act like they have to have the cookies?”

“I don’t know! They like them!”

“Why do you only allow them to have three each?”

“Because I don’t want them to overdose!”

It was then, Rainbolt’s eyes went wide and Blueshift threw his hooves over his mouth.

“I...I-I-I….”

Overdose...?

“You...There’s drugs in them…?”

Blueshift dropped the bag of cookies and sighed. He looked up at Rainbolt with tears invading his purple eyes.

“I… c-can I tell you a story…?”

“I… suppose…”

Unsurely, Blueshift took a seat at the top of the staircase next to Rainbolt. The pegasus awkwardly sat next to the unicorn and decided to take a listen.

“I…I’ve never told anypony this… Only me and my friend know about this, and I guess now you will…” The stallion gulped and took in a breath. “Just save your questions until the end, okay?” Rainbolt nodded, and Blueshift started his story.

“Around two years ago my wife died. She was extremely close to my kids. I mean, I was working most of the time and she had to run the household. All of them were really close to her. I mean, really close… Especially Gemini. When she died, he was the one with the most questions. A lot of them were hard to answer, and most made his depression worse… All of my kids were affected, though. They’d spend nearly all day in their rooms crying, wishing there was some way to bring her back. Gemini stopped reading, Lumi stopped making potions, and well, Sparky stopped… sparking. The only time they ever came out of their rooms was for dinner. Gemini rarely ever made it through a full dinner without heading off to his room to cry… Every night I started tucking him in. Every night I did only ended in tears.”

Now, all of this happened for months and months. It was awful. Nopony ever smiled, every day was filled with tears, and most nights ended with sobbing. I started letting the kids sleep in my room if they needed it, but it hardly ever helped. It got to a point where I just couldn’t take it… So, I went to this pharmacy and bought a whole bunch of these over-the-counter antidepressants. I knew they wouldn’t take them directly, so I started mixing them in cookie dough and feeding it to them. It didn’t work… I tried it for a few weeks, and nothing happened. Some nights there wasn’t as much crying, but I didn’t think that had anything to do with the drug…”

Now, I have a friend. His hobby is weird and exotic drugs. I went to him and explained everything and asked if there was anything he had that could possibly help my foals. He said he only had this one drug called ‘Adradian’. He explained to me how it worked, and I was very skeptical, especially considering the fact it’s illegal. He told me some of the side effects were hostile behavior, anger management problems, allergic reactions, illness, and sometimes even death if it was taken too excessively or with other drugs. I was really scared to try it.. I didn’t know how it would effect my kids, but one night I put it into a batch of cookies anyway. I gave it to them, and after only a few days, Sparky tossed me a bright smile and a ‘Hey, Dad’ one morning. It took a while for it to effect the others, but it happened…”

Now, I started testing my limits. I put up pictures of their mom around the house, mentioning her, and even sharing memories of her. Gemini seemed, and well, still seems to be the only one truly affected by memories of his mom. Sure, the others still miss her, but he always had a connection with her, and no drug in the world could make him forget that…”

Anyway, I once took them off the drug, just to see what would happen. This was around six months ago… They became, well, depressed again. I don’t know if I didn’t take them off it steadily enough or what, but… it’s the only thing keeping them happy and me sane…”

I know Gemini doesn’t have MPD, the drug just sometimes doesn’t work on him. I know Lumi doesn’t have hatred within her, she’s just experiencing problems managing her anger… Sparky, though. She seems to be the highest effect by it in a positive way. She’s a sweetheart…”

For a moment, Blueshift paused and smiled at Rainbolt. Tears were flowing down his face.

“I bet you think I’m an awful parent… I got my seven-year old addicted to drugs, and I’m doing all this illegally without my foals’ consent, but...they’re happy.” He smiled. “And that makes me happy…”

Rainbolt stared at the stallion and blinked.

“I… I don’t know what to say… I really think you should take them off it, though. If you don’t, they might never be able to find happiness on their own… I know it would be depressing, but it definitely isn’t helping them…”

“I know… and I will… one day…”

Author's Note:

Long story short: This chapter wasn't.

Alright, to start, I did NOT expect this chapter to be this damn long. I really didn't. Like, holy crap was this bitch long. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Happy belated Father's Day. Happy birthday to my cat.
Oh, and also, I'm bringing back these characters. This isn't just the end of it. I mean, I was going to make a funny chapter, but then this idea struck me in the middle of the night. I hope you enjoyed it...
Please tell me if you see any errors. I edited this around midnight, but I did try my hardest to stop all the errors. Also, I know there were parts of this chapter that were weaker than others. Rewriting 4,000+ words wasn't fun.
Also, how well do you guys think I did with foreshadowing? I actually thought of this 3/4 through the chapter and realized how well everything connected. It started with, "Dude, I think you're being a little too unrealistic with how damn bad these kids want their cookies..." and I then I took one piece of information to another and was like: "Dude.. you've been foreshadowing to an even you didn't even know was going to happen this whole time..." I figured if I could make 2 and 2 from it with all the information, maybe my readers could. So, did you guys have any suspecting feelings through any parts of this?

Also, thank you Skottyboy1 for all the comments.

Comments

[lordofmyth]

.............. prepares to bludgeon the bastard over the head wit ha wrench.

[Tatsurou]

...what the hell? Seriously, there are professional psychologists - and child psychologists - for a reason.

Also? Blueshift's family is complex enough to really deserve their own story, not just guest starring in this one.

[Mr Madden]

Wow.

[SuperKamiGuru]

You can buy ice cream. Ice cream brings happiness.
Therefore you can buy happiness

[Pizzema Forte]

4558828 Eh, if chracters start becoming more intelligent, there'd be less conflict. Also, thanks. I like to keep my OCs as interesting as possible.

[Alitaria]

.....
fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

That was some intense stuff, your OC's never cease to amaze me on just how weird and wonderful they are

[TheOneAJ]

That ending was something, although a my little Dashies moment felt lost in the beggining

[Makuta]

wait. Rainbolt just let them go? He was attacked, tied up, tortured and betrayed, but he's like "it's ok that you tortured me for cookies it's completely understandable" but he can spank his daughter if she runs away from home. REALLY! i'm outraged good ma'am. positively outraged!

[Pizzema Forte]

4559984 I completely understand where you're coming from, however, Rainolt recieved genuine apologies, knew the kids were still hurting from their dead mom, and took a liking to them. After Blueshift got mad at Sparky for electrocuting Rainbolt, he saw that they were no strangers to being in trouble. On top of that, he decided to show them that they were truly forgiven and he didn't want anything to be held aginst him if he were to visit again. Plus, he's just a nice guy.

[Dawn Flower]

Here are a few errors I found:

“Alright, Gemini -the only colt in the house- is definitely seems nicer. He’s probably somepony you could even make friends with.”

“I still have to read you he rules.”

Rainbow huffed, but didn’t argue any further with her dad. She instead chose to sit and listen with little patients. (Patience)

It’s about this mare who just moved to Crystal falls with her two foals, but her foals go missing in the busy streets one Nightmare Night!”

Through the whole rambling session, the foalsitter listened with great patients.

Gemini never felt like a strong colt, but in the presents (presence)of his sister he felt like a mere ant.

After that moment of pure, beautiful, emotional silence, everypony flinched at the sound of the bedroom door flinging opened.

With a solute (salute)and a smile, the little colt ran off into Luminescence’s bedroom to retrieve the requested item.

The foalsitter already had the large bag of homemade desserts prepared and ready to serve when they were done.

Also, while I was reading this, Luminescence, for some reason made me think of Mirajane from Fairy Tail, when she was younger.

[Makuta]

4560187
Hmm. Very well. You've explained it, so I understand.

[KarmaDash]

WOW

[Pizzema Forte]

4560894 Thank you!

[Icanhazmochi]

Yay! MOAR chapters! I love this chapter because children and drugs. Yeah. .-.

[puropogo]

4562490 a.images.blip.tv/Tgwtgbumreviews-BumReviewsIronMan2260-409.jpg

[puropogo]

Ok, first of all, I've got to say that this guy Blueshift is an idiot.

Second, somehow I understand him, but still, he's an idiot.

Seriously, an stranger like Rainbolt understood what his children need instead of him? But like I said, the pain of losing someone you love is understandable and he was in a no solution scenario., or at least he thought. I think he learned his lesson and his kids too, but I hope no more of those cookies.

Really great OC's, nice setup, like everybody else I want to see Gilda but I'll wait because I'm in the group of people who found out about your PC, I've already liked this episode so, keep going. I'll wait the next.

[Icanhazmochi]

4562565 Because that isn't weird at all! :D

[Indy]

very interesting chapter lol, a big twist with the story haha! anyway keep up the awesome writing!

[Pizzema Forte]

4566497 I just don't know what to say to your comments other than I love them. I'll be looking forward to more from you. I don't know why, but I even laughed at quite a few of your comments. Glad you're enjoying my story so far!

[Pizzema Forte]

4567083 Interesting you say that. The next chapter (Brotherly Love) will be showing quite a bit of Rainbow's extended family. She just refers to Mrs. Skies as an aunt because she's not too close to the rest of her family. Also, I'm so happy you're liking my story.

[Spirit Shift]

When they first met, Dewdrop was only eighteen. Dreamscape, however, was a full five years younger than her.

Author is a dick to his protagonist by having his best friend go through a situation that closely resembled his own, but having it go right in every way. Ding!

As she grew closer, she could hear the little colt crying and begging the dogs to not eat him alive.

Wings. Ding!

“Strawberry lives in Canterlot like you, but Rainbolt lives all the way in Cloudsdale….”

It's been stated more than once in the show that the trip from canterlot to ponyville is a long ride, so Shift's going from Canterlot to Ponyville just for a babysitter? Does he not have any local friends? How has he known Dream for 10 years when the vast majority of that time has been spent in cloud haven? I can only assume that, as a unicorn, he's been in Canterlot that whole time. How do they know each other? Ding!

“Come on, Dreamy. I’ve been raising Rainbow for eleven years now. I mean, what’s the difference between one foal and four foals?”

Everything, theirs literally a world of difference. Ding!

Well, anyway, I was walking through Cloudsdale and a local vender sold me these weird tea bags that had all these strange herbs from the Everfree Forest in them. He said it would help give me energy and help me do better and stuff. So, that’s why I’m all confident and happy and what not.”

At first I thought it was beer, since it does the exact same thing to certain people. But it turns out to just be drugs. Phew! Ding! Also, this seemingly important plot point is not referenced at all for the rest of the chapter. Ding!

“Nope, it’s just the energy. More energy equals being more productive, and the more I get done the happier and more confident I become. It’s not psychological, it’s just nature and stuff.”

No, the fact that you think that means that it is psychological. Ding!

Their eyes met and the silence quickly became awkward. After a moment,

Unnecessary awkward silance is unnecessary. Ding!

“Alright…” The stallion looked over to his clipboard. “Do you take any kind of drugs, even if perscription?”
“No.”

Yes! Ding!

“My marefriend left me when I was only eighteen.”

Technically he would have been 19. Since she got pregnant on his birthday, found out nearly a month later, and pony pregs are 11 months long. Dash was also 1 when he yelled at her after she left as stated by Rainbolt himself. I wont argue with the writer but he should actually be almost 30 if my math adds up. Ding!

Also, since you’re a pegasus, she may hate you right off the bat. It’s a personal thing with her.”

That's racist! Ding!

because of his race

The story acknowledges the fact that one of its characters are Racist Ding!

“And, uh, the colt is only seven, so don’t, you know…”

The difference in age between those two is actually smaller than the difference between you and Firefly AND Dreams and Dewdrop. Your opinion is invalid. Ding!

“That sounds like complete horse apples…”

That's a safe version of what I said when I read that. Ding!

6.) If she gives you a warning about anything, listen.
7.) Don’t ask her about her potions.
10.) She doesn’t like pegasi that well.
12.) If she asks you to drink/test one of her potions, say no.

Each one of these has an individual reason to be sinned but cuz i'm a nice guy and this particular set of sins is already extremely long, I'll just wrap it up with one statement. Lumi is a racist gypsy witch. Ding!

Sometimes, if you say the wrong thing, he’ll switch personalities in a matter of minutes.

I know some people with MPD, they can switch instantly, and they usually give some sort of sign when they do. Like a twitch or an awkward blink. Ding!

“Come here so I can tell you about this book I’m reading!”

BOOKS! Ding!

“What?!” Rainbow shrieked. “No he’s not! He’s old!”

I remember you repeatedly calling him sexy. Ding!

I’m sure after two or three shocks he’d give in and hand over the keys to Dad’s room.”

Pegasi, through biology, should be highly resistant to electric shocks. Ding!

"Just this morning he... Ugh! He was just so... I don't know! I don't like him!"

Filly has no other reason to dislike bolt other than her racism. Cliche. Ding!

he moment you’ll taste one you’ll understand. They just make you feel good all around…”

I'm beginning to have slight suspicions about these cookies. No Sin yet, but still.

I’d be ashamed to be as greedy as you all! He said no, and that’s it! He’s in charge around here, and none of you were given special privileges.

CHECK! YOUR! PRIVILAGE! Ding!

“You...There’s drugs in them…?”

FREAKING CALLED IT! Ding! Also, Blue was worried about his sitter taking drugs despite his kids already doing them? Ding

Alright, to start, I did NOT expect this chapter to be this damn long. I really didn't. Like, holy crap was this b*tch long.

Long Chapters only serve to increase your sin count. Also, censoring the word B*tch but not censoring the word C*nt, and censoring neither in your story. Ding!

"Dude.. you've been foreshadowing to an even you didn't even know was going to happen this whole time..."

No sin here, that's the mark of a great writer. It's how I write all my stories and all of them turn out amazing.
4558828 <---This guys comment rings true. Ding!
Current Sin Count: 128

[Pizzema Forte]

4571177 Oh my gosh, how was I that stupid? I put "18" because I added 11 months after his birthday, but forgot about the three months. I'll have to fix that.
Also, Rainbow called her father "sexy" when she thought it only meant "good looking" not "sexually attractive". When Sparky called Rainbolt "hot" she preceived it as her calling her father sexually attractive, which she found disgusting.
Actually, Rainbolt and Firefly were only a little over two years apart. Not a full five like Dreamscape and Dewdrop. Also, when you're young, the amount of years apart is much weirder. It's awkward to hear of a fifteen year-old dating a ten year-old but not a thirty year-old dating a twenty-five year old. The maturity level makes the difference.
Also, Blueshift asked Rainbolt if he were on any drugs, because that could make it even more potentially dangerous if he were to eat the cookies while he wasn't there.
Although I didn't say it, Dreamscape was a pretty weak flier. On top of that, we occasionally see pegasi (especially Fluttershy) unable to fly when they're too nervous or scared.
Also, Lumi was meant to be racist. She's mad because she was born a pegasus when she feels as though she was meant to be a unicorn. That'll be discussed in later chapters.
Aside from that, all of your points are valid and I'll use some of these as constrictive criticism. Thanks for the comments.

[Starlit Skies]

“Then the second page is Gemin; he’s the youngest of the three.”

*Gemini

I have to say that I really liked these characters. A lot. Like, I'd love to see a lot more interaction between Rainbolt/bow and them I figured that there was something in the cookies, but I wasn't quite sure what it would be. I guess I'm good at picking up on foreshadowing then.

[SeasonTheWiccan]

I love this story! I could NOT STOP reading it! and wow! it's 3 am! I need to get some sleep! But, beautiful story, keep going!

[ThunderchaserXwonderbolt]

Wow, quite the chapter. I really liked these new characters and I think their descriptions match them well. I love the idea of bringing them back. Also, great foreshadowing, really got me suspecting of those cookies.

[Mogss]

“I really need to go, thanks for doing this at last minute, good luck, don’t die, and I’ll be home by five!”

Psh they cant be bad enough to die from!

“Oh…” Sparky blushed. “I wasn’t going to hurt him too, too bad, but when we usually do this we tie the foalsitter to a chair or the ground and shock them until they give in…”

Ok, thats bad.

[iseeblackandwhite]

CPS can solve anything

[articunos bitch]

Oh ho. Miss. Skies gave Rainbolt a raise alright. Gotta finish this later, sleep is calling my name baby.

[articunos bitch]

Sparky can electrocute you? Is this Sparkler/Amethyst Star? Did you REALLY name the kid with multiple personalities Gemini? Not too subtle you know.
I went most of the chapter without commenting. What's wrong with me?
Fluttershy's mother was eighteen dating a thirteen year old? Sounds pedo to me, I can let it slide for a lasting marriage, ponies in love, and fiction.
I can't wait to see these kids return. Are you going to have Rainbolt and Blueshift turn gay for each other? That would be an asshole thing to do, and not the good kind. Now, if only I can imagine Rainbow a little smaller than her father instead of a little filly when standing next to him.

[Pizzema Forte]

4627966

Did you REALLY name the kid with multiple personalities Gemini? Not too subtle you know.

I don't aim for subtle. I like to name the foals after their personalities. Besides, thinking of names are hard. If I didn't name him Gemini, I probably would have named him Aries.

Fluttershy's mother was eighteen dating a thirteen year old? Sounds pedo to me, I can let it slide for a lasting marriage, ponies in love, and fiction.

In a way, it sort of was. Dewdrop's special talent is caring for children (I've tried to imply it, but I've never directly stated it). She has a certain love for kids, and she almost had a "motherly" feel towards Dreamscape that drove her into falling in love. I know it's odd, but it's fun.

Are you going to have Rainbolt and Blueshift turn gay for each other?

Haha, no, but they will be pen-pals/friends. The only gay ship (with Rainbolt) in the story I'd find cute is him with Moonstruck. Don't ask why, I just think that way. No, but I'm more of a SurpriseBolt shipper. I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing with him and relationships in the future, but it could be interesting.

Now, if only I can imagine Rainbow a little smaller than her father instead of a little filly when standing next to him.

I'm going through that, as well.

[articunos bitch]

4628482 C'mon, you missed the joke didn't you? "<gay joke> You guys are such assholes. And not the good kind."
I hope these kids get help soon. Luminescent could really be a sweet loveable girl if she gave others a chance. Is she untrusting of pegasi because unicorns remind her of her mother? Is she sensitive about her eyes because they are unique? She sounds real pretty.

[Pizzema Forte]

4628605 Oh, I see... I'm not that... bright...

[articunos bitch]

4629414 I can't take credit for it. It happens at 1:14.

[AbbaieTwinkle]

This is why I pray before I eat. Just in case someone stuffed some drugs in it -.-

[UniqueSKD]

Pizzy...

Drugs in cookies...

The second I read that...

Please forgive me for this.

But...Holy fucking christ.

I don't know what to say to that. I mean, is what he did right or wrong? I don't even know myself. Do I even know how to judge him? hat can I really say to that?

Bravo, miss Pizzy. Well played. (claps)

[La Crow]

I really really hope you write your next chapter soon! I'm really loving your stuff.

[Pizzema Forte]

4676516 That's touched on in a different chapter. Rainbow Dash ends up going to a family reunion, but her dad tells her the last time she went she was two, so she probably didn't remember.

[Pizzema Forte]

4691084 Well, she once tried to kill me in her sleep (She legitimately woke up with a knife to my neck), she fantasizes about killing others, she has a weird mental condition (I think schizophrenia. She imagines people/places to a point she believes they're real.), and of now she drinks, smokes (cigarettes and marijuana), and spends all of her days walking around town with no explanation. Did I mention she's fourteen?
Also, I'm glad you're enjoying my story so far.

[articunos bitch]

4693248 I really, sincerely hope your sister gets help. I'm sorry man, that must hurt, real bad.

[RainbowJack2000]

“Dad!” The filly snapped. “I don’t even get crushes on colts! I’m not going to do whatever you think I’m gonna do!”

Well, that answers my question.

[Jack of a Few Trades]

I'm now concerned for the mental well-being of the guy on this site named Blueshift. (if that isn't connected, i'm gonna scream)

Also, silly comment of the day.

“Come on, Dreamy. I’ve been raising Rainbow for eleven years now. I mean, what’s the difference between one foal and four foals?”

. I’ve been raising Rainbow

raising Rainbow

stream1.gifsoup.com/view3/1604815/he-said-it-family-guy-o.gif
Ahh! Ahh! He said it!

Yes, i finally read this chapter. I have accomplished something...

[Boott]

HOLY FUCK DOES IT FEEL GOOD TO GET BACK TO THIS!

Iv been putting this on hold until I got to the latest chapter in Starlight over Ditrot.

Please tell me if you see any errors.

Shit. if I knew you wanted it ahead of time I would of had a list for you

Also, thank you Skottyboy1 for all the comments.

Not a problem dude!
But now I feel sad for putting this on hold for so long...

Should have the next two chapters read in the next two days.

[toxiconym]

Just let it go, Rainbow.

i.ytimg.com/vi/P93PdbqThgs/maxresdefault.jpg

[toxiconym]

Wow. That got pretty dark. Not complaining, but damn.

[articunos bitch]

4802914 I stumbled upon his top story(Nineteen Neighty-Four) and I don't actually know if they are connected. Maybe the author remembered a pegasis named Blueshift and did not remember where he was from? I actually came here to ask that question myself.

[Lt Rainbow Slash]

...I'm so high right now...

[ARTL]

Excuse me. *Walks into supply closet, comes out with crowbar*

Come here, Blueshift. I'm going to knock you into infrared.

Blueshit failed as a father. Being a father myself, I can understand his reasoning, but... You just don't drug your kids up. It might provide a temporary relief, but what about when they get older? Or leave? Or Blueshift dies? That is horrendous...

Me, as an example. I go into fits of suicidal self-hate at least once a week, but I refuse to drug myself up, much as I'd like to. I want to see my daughter again, even just once, and so I do what I must, and NOT thru drugs either.