Prologue- Father Knows Best
Hold Your Color
by Quillery
Suggestions, Editing and Pre-Reading by :
Siyray, Willsons, Izraill Z, BabySkittleMonster, Legion222, Dreamshadow, edensbane, amacita
Prologue
Father Knows Best
It was hard to escape the smell of antiseptic throughout the halls of any hospital, even a pegasus one. Despite the usefulness of clouds as a building material, it was a commonly accepted standard to keep important civic structures on the ground just below a pegasus friendly city, just to be safe. This was a shame, as clouds were very useful for absorbing foul odors, such as those that would emanate from a care facility. It was this smell, among other things, that kept a lone pegasus from getting any rest as he sat quietly in his room.
He shifted his weight repeatedly in a small chair that was a size too small for his imposing frame. A dozen plastic cups littered the floor around him; they dripped a dark brown liquid onto the hard tile. He tapped his hooves on the arms of the chair to the beat of the clock on the wall. There was a pause, where he took in a long deep breath and leaned back, running a hoof through his mane, which was ragged and worn from days of missed showers.
He blinked at a small sound from the bed that sat in the middle of the room. He smiled and moved towards it. A single shape traced out the bedspread, which rose and fell to a slow and steady rhythm. The stallion ran his hoof along the shape, which mumbled sleepily in response. He tugged at the blanket and revealed the face of the bed’s occupant. Her mane was a tangled, sweaty mess. Her coat was blotchy and pale. Drool oozed from her lips, and sticky gunk coated her eyes. Despite all of this, in the stallion’s mind, she was the picture of beauty.
The sound came again, and he looked down in between the mare’s forelegs. Wrapped in a small sky blue blanket was a tiny little foal that babbled and cooed as it writhed around in her mother’s grasp. She reached out with her tiny hooves and batted at the strands of her mother’s mane that hung down, and chirped with glee with each successful strike.
The stallion smiled and brought his hoof to the child. She stared at the giant limb now within her reach. Her eyes widened as she poked it with her little legs, and suddenly, leaned forward with her mouth and bit down.
“Ouch!” the stallion said, wincing through a smile. His voice was deep, and rang with frigid cold from an accent of a faraway land. He withdrew his hoof and examined the tiny welt that formed in the flesh. He grinned and looked down at the tiny filly. “You have quite the bite on you, little one.”
The child tilted her head a moment and started smiling. She waggled her hooves as she reached out for the stallion again, babbling.
He chuckled. “And you are without fear, only moments in the world.” He placed his hoof on the filly’s head and rubbed it. “You are certainly my child.”
The filly sputtered and shrieked as the massive hoof tousled her mane. She giggled and batted at the leg. The stallion smiled at his daughter’s assaults, which were little more than bug bites to him.
He turned his attention to the mare on the bed. She was still sleeping soundly despite the racket the child in her legs was causing. The stallion lifted his hoof from the filly and placed it on her mother’s forehead. It was warm to the touch. He brushed the errant strands of her mane aside in a slow, gentle motion. He leaned forward and placed a kiss, just above her eyes. “Rest, my darling. You deserve it.”
“Is she well?”
He turned his head. A younger pegasus mare stood in the doorway. She turned a moment to shut the door behind her, and trotted towards him. Her steps were silent, her body almost fluid as she glided across the room. Her silvery mane drifted like a flowing river as she walked, and she wasted no time in wrapping her hooves tightly around the stallion.
“You made it,” he said.
“Of course I did,” she replied. “I had to cancel an entire production and leave on the earliest ship possible.”
He smirked. “Your managers must be thrilled with that.”
She released her grip from him and smiled. “Their opinions will matter little when they discover that I am purchasing the theater. If they want to keep their jobs, they will be wise to keep their disapproval behind sealed lips.” She glanced to the bed. “And I would be damned to Tartarus before missing the birth of my niece.”
He gave a gruff chuckle. “And here I thought you were here to see me.”
The mare released him and laughed. “Hah! Do not flatter yourself, brother. Let us not forget that my love for you is best felt at a distance.” She stopped a moment and placed a hoof on her mouth as she glanced at the mare sleeping on the bed.
The stallion shook his head. “Do not worry. The birthing was… difficult for her. She has been sedated to help her get enough rest. You could not wake her if you tried.”
She blinked. “I see. She is a stubborn one.” She smirked. “A fitting partner for you, brother.”
He sighed. “Always the same, aren’t you?” He glanced at the door. “Are mother and father with you?”
She shook his head. “They were going to catch the next ship after mine. Perhaps another day.”
The stallion nodded. He turned to the bed and indicated the bundle in his wife’s legs. He stepped aside so his sister could get a better look at the child. Her eyes widened with delight. “Ah!” she exclaimed. “What an adorable little filly!”
The filly looked up at the silver haired mare looking at her. She tilted her head side to side, cooing. She reached up towards the new face with a childish squeal. The mare babbled in a foreign tongue as she waggled her hoof in front of the filly.
“Be careful,” the stallion warned. “She bites.”
“Hah!” she laughed. “A fighter straight from the womb! A perfect niece indeed.” She curled her tongue behind her lips as she examined the filly. “She has her mother’s beautiful coat, and grandpapa’s eyes, just like mine.” She ran her hooves along the filly, who giggled at the touch. She ruffled the feathers of the filly’s wings, who tugged at her legs while she did. “She has mama’s strong wings, and father’s powerful legs.”
There was a pregnant pause as she brought her hooves to the top of the filly’s head. She scratched the child’s ear, which earned another squeal of delight, before she began tousling her mane. The mare’s voice darkened as she shifted language from Equestrian to the colder dialect from the frozen wastes to the west and across the sea. “And your mane…”
The stallion shrugged, also shifting his tone. “You say that like it matters.”
“Do not play coy with me, brother.” She stepped away from the bed and faced him directly. “You know as well as I do what that means. She bears the same mark you do, and everything it entails.”
He shook his head. “She bears no such mark. She shares a genetic link with her father, nothing more.”
“Are you blind? Or simply ignorant? You would risk your child’s future safety because of some stubborn pride?”
“My pride has nothing to do with it. She is a beautiful child with an appearance fashioned from her parents. She needs not bother herself with my burdens.”
She scoffed and tossed her head. “Then you are a fool. I will not have you endanger the life of your own family for—”
“My family,” the stallion growled, “will be safe. I have ensured this, over many years of work.” He grabbed his sister by the leg. “I have everything in place to ensure its protection, including her involvement.”
She blinked a moment, before recognition hit. After a moment of thought, she turned away. “You did go to her for help. That is… unlike you.”
“For the sake of my family, I will do anything. Even abandon my pride.”
She turned back, her eyes twisting into a glare. “You may find, brother, to your displeasure, that even goddesses can have blind spots. She is not as infallible as she appears to be. History proves this.”
“History proves that she is long lived enough to make a wise decision. I trust in that.”
“History has a way of interfering with the modern, brother. Something you and your precious new princess should keep in mind.”
The stallion sighed. “You will not relent, will you?”
“Not until I am certain that you understand the weight of the burden you have bestowed upon your newborn daughter. She is too young now, yes, to take this role, but when she is of age—”
“When she is of age, she will be a happy, grown mare, with a life of her own, with its own perils and challenges without this burden interfering. She will make friends and make enemies. She will fall in and out of love. She will build a home for herself, perhaps a family of her own. She will find a career that she desires, like a normal mare. Nothing more.”
“How can you be so sure!?” she snapped. “Ponies of our lineage have died because of this! Have you forgotten grandpapa?”
He shook his head. “I have not.”
“Then you realize the danger you face as long as you protect this secret, and when it falls to her…”
“It will not. I will not allow it. As my duty as a father, I will protect my daughter. I have put too much time into keeping my wife safe, I will extend the same for my child.”
“Does your wife even know the dangers you place on her and her child?”
He looked away. “I see no reason to burden her with fear. She is happy. I wish to keep it that way.”
“Ignorance, then? That is the gift you bestow your wife and daughter? I must say I am surprised, brother. You extended no such courtesy to your own sister.”
He smirked. “I knew you were capable of defending yourself. We were raised as such, were we not?”
She sighed. “I cannot convince you otherwise, can I?”
He shook his head in silence.
“Let us hope she does not inherit your stubbornness as well.”
He managed a smile. “Let us hope.”
They returned to the bedside, peering down at the little filly. She had curled herself into her blankets and nestled herself under her mother’s head. She was still as her nose whistled quietly.
“Have you decided on a name?” the mare asked.
“Zephyr insisted on naming her after her father.”
She blinked. “You argued against it, I hope?”
He shifted his jaw. “Well, not entirely. I had to admit, there was some appeal to it, with a minor amendment.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Amendment? Such as?”
“I thought it fitting to name her after the color of her mane. I think it is a wonderful combination.”
The mare twisted her mouth in thought. She tilted her head from side to side, humming in contemplation. After a while, she smiled, and placed a hoof on the sleeping filly. “Rainbow Dash, then? I love it. You chose well, Khroma.”
Khroma chucked. “I’d like to think so, Aurora. I have some sense, after all.”
Aurora laughed. “Some… I suppose. After all, why else would Zephyr marry somepony like you?”
Aurora leaned forward and kissed the filly on the head. “Sleep well, my little Prizma. I see great things in your future.”
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Okay so as of the last events Rainbow's relationship for Twilight is..... going down the drain a little? Doesn't... quite fit with what they went through in that story and what Rainbow suffered honestly.
5484248
Sorry, im not quite sure where you're getting that idea. This prologue is a flashback to RD's Birth, Twilight isn't in the picture yet. I promise TwiDashing will happen soon enough.
5484293 It's not the prologue it's the description I'm confused about. The prologue is fine.
5484296
Hmm, i guess a closer look at the description could make that confusing. I'll clarify it a little bit. Sorry about that.
Holy crap... I'm already on the edge of my seat. I'll eagerly await the next chapter, Quillery!
*Cough*You're getting old*Cough*
Jokes aside this does look like a unique story.
Looks very interesting, Can't wait to see what happens.
This looks interesting. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Here we go. I've been waiting for something like this :)
Portentous start...
Looking forward to the TwiDash!
Teehee.
So the first two were pretty standard fare and now we dive stright into an anceint conspiracy tale! I love it!
A new addition to one of my favorite TwiDash fics? Yes, please!
For some inexplicable reason I didn't notice you had uploaded this. Now I have an excuse to reread it.... *evil grin*
So yeah, reread the first two tales to get me sufficiently caught up. But this hook is very effective. Tracking!
Argggh. I loved the first story in this set but somehow didn't notice you were doing a sequel until now. Looking forward to all of it, but happy I already have several chapters waiting for me.
Bloody sisters
6145784
Not this again..