Returning home.

In the morning sun Rainbow awoke, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the light. For a moment she couldn’t figure out why she felt so heavy, until she looked around and saw her five friends gathered around her, and a smile came to her face. As the events of the night before came back to mind her smile turned sad. Today was the day. She would talk to Linda, and then she could go home at last, a lesson learned well.

Getting on the floor she tested her legs. Her back leg felt fine, so she guessed it was alright. Her front leg was still a little sore, but she could walk on it again. With a little help from her friends she pulled off the bandages binding her wings to her body, but left the ones around her injuries. She didn’t intend to go flying in the near future, but she didn’t need that outer layer anymore. Besides, if she was going to fulfill Henry’s last request she didn’t want to hide what she was. She wanted to fully show that she was a creature from another world.

If she didn’t then she wouldn’t be able to say that she had completely trusted in Henry’s word and was willing to give humans a second chance to make a good impression on her. She tested her wings, flapping them up and down. They hurt a little, but nothing like yesterday. The worst of her injuries seemed to have passed with a night of rest and her friends around her.

The only question that remained was how long they were going to have to wait. They didn’t know when exactly Linda would return home, or if she was even going to visit the house to let Henry know she had returned.

Asking for some help from Twilight they flew high up into the air and Rainbow Dash looked around, searching for the farm Henry had told her about. With distaste she recognized the house John had tried to bring her to. In the opposite direction, about a half mile away, she could see the farm. It wasn’t that far. Electing to be proactive she decided to go over there to wait for her.

When she got there she observed all the animals. Of particular interest were human world horses. She looked them over and saw that they weren’t all that different looking in body, but there weren’t many colors to them and they lacked much expression. Despite what Henry had told her she tried to interact with them, and of course received no response. She had thought that since they were both horses that they would be able to communicate between each other, but the horses just looked dumbly back at her. She found it both amusing and depressing that horses in this world had no power other than to be owned by humans and were dumb as rocks.

More pressing was that she was getting hungry. Henry had told her that he cared for the animals after his sister died, so she felt she should do the same for him until Linda came home. Applejack, who was used to caring for animals on her own farm, gave her a hand.

It was another hour or so later when they heard it: the sound of voices approaching. All of them hid. Rainbow had asked them to do that for her. She wanted to start this conversation off herself and show that she had learned from her experiences here.

She saw them, an adult about the size of Henry, along with two small girls. She heard the woman tell the children to go inside and wind down so she could check up on the animals. The two children went in the house. Coming out from her hiding spot she approached the woman from behind. Unfurling her wings so there would be absolutely no confusion about what she was she asked, “Are you Linda?”

As the woman turned around she said, “Yes, I am. Who are-“ She stopped, an eyebrow going up as she saw the winged horse. She began blinking rapidly, wondering if she was just that worn out from the ride home that she was seeing things. “Rainbow Dash?” she asked in confusion.

Rainbow was now looking surprised. How did this woman know who she was? Linda had been away during the time she spent with Henry, so he wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone else about her. “How do you know my name?”

“Aren’t you… from that show?” Linda rubbed her eyes hard, but when her hands went down the horse was still there, wings and all. “You aren’t supposed to be real.”

“I’m not an illusion. I’m real.

"So what did you mean by 'aren’t I from that show?' ”

“If you’re really Rainbow Dash, then your world is one of our popular shows for children. My girls love to watch your adventures.”

A strong wave of confusion came over Rainbow. She had to confirm something. “So tell me more about what you know.” Rainbow listened with increasing perplexion as Linda rattled off the names of her friends, her world, and battles with their most powerful adversaries. Somehow, despite the gap of an entire world, someone in this world was getting inspiration from their lives. It reminded her of the way that Daring Do had been writing stories off of her own adventures, but to a whole other degree.

“Well, since you know that much, I think it’s okay for all of you to come out too.”

Linda let out a loud gasp as the rest of them came out to join Rainbow's side. It was just crazy. What was she seeing? The magical ponies from her kids favorite TV show were all standing in front of her. She blinked, somehow telling herself that one time when she did they would be gone.

“I wanted to meet you just once,” Rainbow Dash told her.

Still trying to comprehend the situation she said the only thing she could think of: “Why?”

“Because of Henry.”

“Henry?”

“Yes…” She drifted off as her memory came back of the night before. Forcing herself to continue meeting Linda’s eyes she said plainly, “Henry is dead.”

“What!” Linda cried out in shock, the magical horse mystery instantly becoming second priority. “What happened?”

“He was murdered… trying to protect me.” She told Linda the story, of how she was transported to this world by a magical accident, and tortured by John and his dog, rescued by Henry, and finally she spoke of his last wishes. “Henry asked with his last minutes for me to give humans a second chance. Since he mentioned you were coming home today, and I’m probably not ever going to return to this world, this is the only way I can think of to fulfill his last request. And… as a friend I felt you should understand what happened. I don’t know what you feel about me. If you hate me for what I did I understand, but if you’re willing to give me a little of your time I’d like to know a little more about him.”

Linda fell to her knees, holding herself as she cried. “He… he was always a sweet boy. As his family ties dwindled he became more withdrawn. And after he lost his sister he kept feeling that he should have been the one to die instead. I felt so hurt at seeing a friend I practically grew up with wanting to die, so I gave him a hard smack and told him he had to stay alive and not give up. That he would give up his life for you and to honor his sister’s memory isn’t surprising. And… I’m grateful that you chose to show yourself before me and tell me the honest truth. It would have been so much easier to just leave and let me find out what happened to him the hard way.”

She stood up, walking over to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow stood her ground, a little scared but knowing she had nothing to fear so long as her friends were nearby. Linda touched her head and ran her hands through Rainbow’s mane. She could feel and touch this being in front of her. She was real. Whether she had suddenly snapped so suddenly was one concern on her mind, but at the same time it felt like an honor.

“This is all a little hard to believe, but I guess it must be true. As Henry said to you, it is most unfortunate that you had to meet with the worst of our kind after arriving in this world, but it is true there are many better men than them.” Moving around to Rainbow’s side she gently pulled at Rainbow’s wings. Rainbow gave no resistance as Linda examined them.

Linda asked her to sit down on her haunches. When she did Linda lifted up her injured front leg. “He did a pretty good job on you, but I think it would be prudent to change your wrappings so they’re fresh.” Linda’s voice was strangely detached, clearly trying to avoid the reality of the loss of someone she loved by focusing on something else.

She went into the house to get some supplies, then for the next ten minutes worked on removing Rainbow’s old bandages and replacing them with new ones. She let out a sigh when she was finished. “That should do it for you. Based on my estimates that leg is going to need at least two weeks to fully heal, and in the meantime you should avoid walking on it as much as possible. I haven’t cared for birds myself so I can’t say for certain about your wings, but I’d recommend you don’t try to fly until they’re fully healed or you may just damage them further and make the damage permanent.

“And now, by helping you I’ve accomplished my own way of honoring Henry’s memory.” Her body clenched as her feelings started emerging again, tears running down her eyes.

Rainbow stood up, nuzzling Linda’s face. “Thank you. You’ve been a great help.”

Linda threw her hands around the horse, having to accept her as being real. She hugged the horse and let herself cry for a bit until she abruptly stood up and said, “I need to go see him.”

“Fine,” Rainbow Dash responded, knowing she wanted to see him one last time too.

“I don’t know how I’m going to tell my girls. They loved him like a big brother. I… I’m just not ready to tell them yet. Right now they’re probably engrossed in watching TV so hopefully they won’t notice my mood when I tell them I’m going out for a short time.

“Princess…” Linda gave a small bow to Celestia, and then continued, “In light of what happened I wonder if you might keep a watch over my house while I go over.”

Princess Celestia nodded. “I understand. Go to your friend. I won’t let any harm come to them.”

“Thank you.”

Rainbow asked to be carried again so as not to put strain on her bad leg. This time Applejack did the honors. Rainbow was starting to see that asking for help wasn’t as painful as she remembered.

Despite Linda’s grief she couldn’t help but feel some amusement at the strangeness of having a group of fictional characters accompany her on the trip. Her amusement quickly ended when they entered the house. Rainbow directed her to the second floor, to where Henry’s body lay.

Getting off Applejacks back Rainbow approached Henry with Linda, and the two of them began crying anew. For Rainbow it was a mix of loss and guilt, but at the same time it was also about living his final words to open her hearts to humans a second time.

After a time Linda turned to Twilight, wiping the tears from her eyes as she said, “I need your help.”

Twilight walked forward a few steps. “Yes? How can I help?”

“I want to get Henry outside to bury him. I feel it’s only right. Henry had no close friends and lived away from much human contact outside of me and my daughters, so he said when he passed he didn’t need a funeral. He just wanted to return to the earth with the rest of his family.”

With Twilight’s magic they brought Henry outside to a corner of the property where small memorial stones were set up. From there Linda said she didn’t want any more magical help. She wanted to make him a grave by hand. Finding some shovels she began her toil, a determined look on her face. After a short time Rainbow joined in, and finally Applejack. The rest of them would have joined in too, but there weren’t any more shovels.

After they made the hole deep enough Rainbow wiped her face of the sweat that had formed. She felt such a liberating sensation from helping to make her human friend a grave. With some careful effort they placed the body inside. This time all of them helped out in replacing the dirt, each of them picking up piles of dirt and pushing or throwing it in. Even Rarity, who hated getting her hooves dirty and sweating, labored without any complaints.

As the dirt began to cover Henry’s face Rainbow felt a tear come down her face as she said, “Goodbye, friend. Thank you for everything you did for me.”

When all was said and done all of them just stared down at the dirt mound for a while. Linda was the first one to speak up, still with that focused look. “There is still much to be done. I have to go through his house and find contact information for his relatives to let them know that he is gone. However, for today it still feels too heavy. I need to just relax and calm down and come to grips with this truth.”

Turning over to Rainbow she continued, “In response to something you said a while ago, I do not hate you, Rainbow Dash. I feel you made the right decision. You did what you felt you had to in order to keep yourself alive and well. It’s a shame that it turned out this way, but I cannot fault you for your choices. And even if I did I would be disgracing what Henry left behind. However, if you truly feel you want to make it up to me…”

Rainbow turned to her now, an uncertain look on her face. “Yes?”

“Well, you said you chose to stay here for a little while longer to give humans another chance and see more of what they’re like, and I know that, like me, we both need to wind down from our experiences and try to cheer ourselves up a bit before dwelling on what happened. So would you do me a favor and meet my children?”

Rainbow Dash looked relieved. Was that all? “I wouldn’t mind. But why?”

“As I said earlier they enjoy watching your adventures on the TV, so if they got a chance to actually meet you in person I’m sure it would make them really happy. I’m going to have to tell them the truth about him shortly, but I’d rather they have a good day before telling them such horrible news.”

“That’s right. They lost a friend too.” Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. “Alright. Let’s go now, then.”

The group made their way back to the farm, Celestia joining them as they headed to the door. As they entered the house Linda heard the sound of the TV as she expected. When she entered the living room she saw her two children laying down in front of the TV, heads on their hands.

They were watching My Little Pony, the episode with Twilight's first slumber party. Their curiosity aroused, the ponies wanted to see this show of their lives. On the TV they saw and heard Applejack as they started truth or dare. “I dare ya to go out into the rain and let your precious, tidy mane get ruined again.”

“It’s the rules. You have to do it,” said Twilight.

When Rarity returned, soaking wet and her mane drenched, the Applejack watching herself couldn’t help but laugh at about the same time as her show counterpart as the memory came back to her.

“Well, I dare Applejack to play dress-up in a frou-frou, glittery, lacy outfit,” said show Rarity. When Applejack came back wearing the fancy outfit Rarity couldn’t help but snicker as the memory came back to her too.

Linda spoke up. “Hey, kids.”

“Yeah, Mom?” one of them said, clearly not interested in being interrupted.

“I have a special surprise for you.”

“Can’t it wait until later?” responded the other one.

“Later? I guess you two wouldn’t be interested in seeing Rainbow Dash.”

The two girls briefly looked away from the TV to glance at each other and roll their eyes in a “parents are so stupid” kind of way. “Rainbow Dash isn’t even in this episode, Mom. Sheesh.”

“But I am right here,” Rainbow spoke up.

They looked at each other again, this time with confusion. The two of them both looked behind them, and their eyes went wide as saucers. They let out happy squeals, thoughts of the TV forgotten as they ran over to her and threw their arms around her, calling out her name.

“Easy there, kids,” she responded. “I’m a little banged up. Umm… you know, flying accident. I’ll be fine though.” Giving them as best a smile as she could she said, “So I heard a certain pair of girls just had a birthday.”

“Yeah!” cried out Tammy, beaming. “We just turned seven last week.”

“I can’t believe our mom got you to come visit us,” said Gina.

“Well, it’s not just me,” said Rainbow, glancing toward the other room.

When Tammy and Gina followed her gaze they began screaming again, not knowing who to go to first as they saw the rest of the crew.

For the next few hours they had a blast. They fulfilled every one of the little girls wishes, from letting them fly on their backs, giving them rides, telling them stories, running around with them, and showing them magic. The whole time the two children never lost their smiles, thinking that it was the most amazing gift they had ever been given.

Finally, though, their rampant excitement caught up with them, and they began feeling tired. Rainbow suggested a nap for all of them. She hadn’t been able to participate as fully as her friends because of her injuries, but she couldn’t deny that she had had a great time playing with them. She had begun to see what Henry was talking about. The human world wasn’t all that different from her world. There were evil ones for sure, but there were also good ones like Henry who would do whatever it took to protect something they cared about, the same way she would do anything for her friends.

As one of the children snuggled into her fur to sleep she placed a wing protectively around the little girl. She closed her eyes as she let peace and happiness enter her heart.

Following their nap the ponies all got a thrill as they spent the next two hours just watching episodes of their life. They couldn’t explain how someone was getting these ideas, but it didn’t seem to matter. As Linda told her, the show was used to teach important messages about friendship, and it was enough to know that.

Each of them laughed, smiled, and, at times, blushed, as they saw the way they had been in the past. They saw at times the way they had been mean, manipulative, or deceptive, but always managed to realize their mistakes and correct them by the end of the episode. And in the end their experiences had all made them better ponies.

Finally, though, when nightfall looked to be approaching again, Rainbow Dash knew it was time. From watching her old memories on the TV she saw that what had happened here in the human world was no different. She would take her experiences here and use them to improve her own life, letting the lessons she had learned hone her and make her a better pony.

While there was no fault in being proud of your abilities, she wanted to stop being such a braggart, as well as to stop putting on her tough-girl act all the time, and just be more open about her worries and fears. She could think of several times when her pride had gotten in the way of success.

When they were told it was time for all of them to leave Tammy and Gina instantly started crying. They didn’t want them to go. Rainbow Dash walked up to them, placing a wing around each of them. “I understand your feelings. I liked you guys too. But if you’ve seen our show then you know about the baddies still waiting in Equestria that have to be fought. All of Equestria’s best is in your living room right now, so if the bad guys attack now then who is going to stop them?

"I had a lot of fun playing with you, and you really helped me out just by being good friends. I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back once I go, since it was only an accident that sent me here, but if I can find a way I promise I’ll come visit you two again at least one more time, okay? So don’t cry. And be good for your mom, okay?”

They both nodded, wiping their tears away. “We’ll be good, Rainbow Dash.”

“Please come visit again. We love all of you so much.”

Rainbow could feel their love as they both hugged her. “Goodbye for now, girls. I’ve gotta recover so I can continue on towards my dream of being a Wonderbolt, but it’s been fun. Keep watching me. I won’t let anything stop me from one day attaining my dream.”

The children went around to each of them, sadly saying their goodbyes as they hugged each of the ponies.

When it was all done Rainbow Dash rubbed her Element of Harmony. “I’m finally ready. Now let’s go home.”

“Right!” said Twilight.

All of the ponies bodies were engulfed in light as their elements powered up, then with one final swirling beam of energy the living room was emptied of the seven ponies.

As Rainbow Dash landed and recognized the usual sights of Ponyville, she knew she was back where she belonged. “It’s good to be home,” she said with a smile.

1,179 views

Previous Chapters

Comments ( 30 )

My Little Dashie: The Cruelty of Man - Never2muchpinkie

Also LikedSimilarAuthor

Stats

FIMFiction

Follow & Support Us

Also Liked Similar Author