> My Little Dashie: The Return
>  by Brony MACH
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Foreword
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Original Story:
My Little Dashie
Written by ROBCakeran53 http://robcakeran53.deviantart.com/
Edited by SirPeppermintJam http://sirpeppermintjam.deviantart.com/
Based from this comic: http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5121/happybirthdayrd1.jpg by http://oppositebros.deviantart.com/ 

This sequel was written with explicit consent from the author of the original. A special thanks to Mousesquisher for proofreading the text.

Author’s note: ROB’s original story was truly a masterpiece in my eyes. To take something like Rainbow Dash and attach such powerful emotion is the mark of a great writer. My Little Dashie showed me the true essence of happiness, which is to cherish the joy of creating a deep relationship and to accept the pain of eventual separation. Where ROB’s story ends, my story begins. 

Before you read:

If you have not already read My Little Dashie, it is highly recommended that you do so in order to fully understand my story. The original story is linked above, or if you wish you may read my following plot summary:

An unnamed man lives alone in a dying city with only the fictional world of Equestria to keep him company. He drags himself day by day through his empty life; empty, that is, until one day when he stumbles upon Rainbow Dash, the very same as shown on TV, except she is a foal. He takes care of Rainbow Dash like the daughter he never had. Together they live, sharing their happiness with each other and overcoming hardships. 
After fifteen years, the day that this man dreads the most has arrived: Princess Celestia and the rest of the mane six come to escort Rainbow Dash back to the world where she belongs. Equestria and the human world were never meant to cross over and almost all traces of Rainbow’s existence are erased from the man’s world. Thus, Rainbow Dash is taken back to her home, her memories of her time in the care of this man erased; however, the man is allowed to keep his memories and forever wonder about the fate of his little Dashie.

> Introduction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash lay in the infirmary sleeping quite soundly. The events of the past day had taken their toll on Twilight Sparkle and her friends, unimaginably more so for the resting blue Pegasus. Night had fallen, and Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle watched carefully over their friend.

“How long until she makes a full recovery?” asked Twilight.

“She will awaken within the next day,” answered the princess. “The memory spell should complete its work very soon.”

Twilight had used the memory spell many times before, most importantly during the Discord incident to restore her friends. Afterwards, she had utilized the spell on other Ponyville residents to aid those suffering from mental ailments such as amnesia; however, never had Twilight cast a memory spell of this magnitude. Often her patients only needed a couple days’ or weeks’ worth of memory restored—months at the most—and while these routine procedures caused dizziness and momentary confusion, the patients usually recovered within an hour. But for Rainbow Dash, Twilight had to restore a lifetime of memories, nearly fifteen years’ worth. Much more than a day would pass before the pegasus returned to her old self.

“She will be back to normal, just like the Rainbow Dash you know and love,” continued the princess.
“Yes…but to erase her memories of the human world…do you truly believe it’s the right thing to do?” inquired Twilight.

“So much as it pains me to see such cherished memories disappear, we must do everything to keep Equestria and the human world separate. We have already incurred great risk by letting the human keep his memories of Rainbow Dash, but I trust him to guard our secret." replied Celestia.

"How can you be sure," said Twilight as she suddenly turned to her mentor, "that he...the human will keep his word? We have no idea how humans think, and there's no way stop him if he..."

"Relax, my pupil," interrupted the princess as she looked into her student's doubting eyes, "It is true that I know very little of the humans, but I have good reason to trust him."

"And what reason is that?" asked Twilight.

Princess Celestia motioned back toward the bed, where Rainbow Dash slept peacefully, oblivious to the conversation taking place in her room. "When Rainbow Dash disappeared from Equestria, I feared that she would meet a terrible fate. It was because of him that she survived in that bleak human world at all. It takes someone truly special to care for and nurture a lost soul in a strange land, and that is someone that I can trust." explained the alicorn.

"I see..." replied Twilight as she also gazed toward her pegasus friend. 

"Those two, living together like father and daughter, sharing precious memories…It would be wrong not to let him keep his memories given what he has done for us. But for Rainbow Dash, those memories are simply too powerful for her to control. We cannot let her know of her second life, lest she attempt to return to the world of the humans.” continued the princess.

“I understand, Princess,” answered Twilight. Both ponies continued to stare at their blue Pegasus friend, trying to visualize the reconstruction of memories in her mind.

“The box, then?” asked Twilight.

“I promised the human that the box would be allowed to remain here in Equestria, but if we want to ensure that Rainbow Dash does not learn of her alternate existence, we must not let her see it,” answered the princess. The great white alicorn walked toward the window of the infirmary and gazed into the stars. “Yet, I do not wish to destroy it.” 

“Why not?” her student asked.

“Because it serves as a reminder for us that the strongest love can come from the most unexpected places.” 

“Yes, this is true,” said Twilight as she too looked toward the sky. Somewhere beyond lived a man, the only one to know of the existence of Equestria meet its inhabitants. 

Unknown to them, history was about to repeat itself.

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Ponyville, and a gentle spring breeze blew through the air. Twilight had left her library in order to run some errands, and unbeknownst to the unicorn a carefully planned surprise lay in wait for her return.

The sound of stifled laughter emerged from a group of bushes. “Hehe, this is going to be the best prank ever!”

“I can’t wait to see her reaction! I hope this works,” replied another hushed voice.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be- shhhhhh! Here she comes….” 

Twilight had just turned the corner and was heading back to her library. Her saddlebags were full of parchment paper and quill pens, the staple of her intellectual diet. She quietly hummed a tune to herself as she drew the library key from her bag and turned it in the lock with an audible click. Suppressed laughter emanated from behind her. Twilight glanced backward, looking for the source of the strange noise. With one eyebrow raised, she turned back to the unlocked library door, and swung it open.

BREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

“Augh!” screamed Twilight as she leaped backward in surprise, her saddlebags falling from her body. The contents of her bags lay in disarray on the library porch, a chaotic mix of parchment paper, quills, and bottles of ink. In front of her, the door to the library stood ajar. A string, tied to the inside doorknob, ran upward to the center of the doorpost where it was securely attached to what seemed to be the source of Twilight’s surprise.

“BWAHAHAHA!” Laughter erupted from the bushes behind Twilight as the two ponies emerged from their hiding place. Twilight pulled a cheap air horn down from her doorframe and turned around to address the two perpetrators. 

“Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, Ponyville’s two greatest pranksters, eh?” Twilight said with a half sarcastic, half annoyed tone. 

“You…HAHA…you should have seen the look on your face!” said Rainbow Dash between giggles.

“I’ve never seen anypony jump that high before! That was so funny!” said Pinkie Pie with a smile. 

The unicorn cast a death glare at her friends. Both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie continued to giggle with each other until they saw the scorn in their friend's eyes. Twilight motioned toward the mess of supplies on the ground and let out an angry huff. The smiles disappeared from her friend's faces as they both looked down in embarrassment. Twilight took her studies very seriously and did not enjoy interruptions in her carefully planned schedule; more importantly, she despised any and all forms of disorganization.

"We're sorry, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash.

"We didn't mean to make you drop everything. We'll help you clean up right now," added Pinkie Pie with a sad look on her face.

Twilight levitated the air horn toward in front of the two pranksters who continued to stare at the ground. "Oh yes, you're going to be very, very sorry," began Twilight. "Sorry when I prank both of you back when you least expect it!

A smile creeped onto the unicorn's face as she firmly pressed the air horn’s red button.

BRREEEEEEE!!!

"AUGH!" cried both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie as they looked up in surprise. Twilight began to chuckle at her friends, who also began to lighten up as well. The three ponies laughed in unison under the springtime sun. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle giggled and guffawed until their sides began to ache. After a couple minutes, Twilight finally addressed her two friends.

“Well, I must resume my studies,” she said as she used her magic to quickly gather her fallen supplies. “What are you two up to today?”

“Oh, oh, guess what? We have a huge gigantic order to fill back at Sugarcube corner. Mrs. Cake says somepony ordered 200 cupcakes for a party Monday afternoon. 200 CUPCAKES! GAH! I’M SO EXCITED!!!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she jumped up and down.

Rainbow Dash turned to her ecstatic friend, “200 cupcakes? That’s a bit much for a party.”

“Too much? You can never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever have too many cupcakes at a party!” said Pinkie Pie as she shook her head vigorously. “Oh, I almost forgot! Mrs. Cake needs me to pick up some baking supplies. I’d better be off! Bye Twilight! Bye Dashie.”

As Pinkie Pie hopped gleefully away toward Sugarcube corner, Rainbow Dash turned her head toward her unicorn friend. Suddenly, the pegasus jerked her head to the side and gasped softly, as if she was experiencing discomfort.

Twilight turned to her friend, who was trying to shake the feeling from her head. "Are you ok, Rainbow Dash?"  she asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. It's just those headaches again. I'll be fine soon, though." replied Rainbow Dash."Don't worry, it's gone now."

"Alright. Just remember if you need anything, don't hesitate to drop by." said Twilight, "What do you have planned for today?"

“I've got a busy afternoon, actually. The weather team is bringing in some spring showers and I have to make sure all the clouds are in place.” she said. 

“Oh, how nice. I’m sure the Apple family will appreciate the rain,” replied Twilight.

Rainbow Dash looked up at the sky where a few pegasi were already convening. “Looks like they’re getting started already. I’ll catch you later Twilight,” she said.

“Be careful now. Remember what happened last time?” replied Twilight as her blue pegasus friend took off toward the skies.

“Yeah, yeah. I know, I’ll try my hardest not to get struck by lightning again, haha,” shouted Rainbow Dash as she joined the waiting weather team.

The unicorn watched her friend fly away into the distance. Twilight then entered her library and quietly closed the door behind her. She placed her saddlebags next to her writing stand and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a week since Rainbow Dash was released from the Canterlot infirmary, and now she was back to her old rambunctious self. 

The recovery period for Twilight's friend had been tough to say the least. Even after the memory spell completed its work, Rainbow Dash was forced to stay in the infirmary for five days. She battled intermittent disorientation and amnesia, as well as random blackouts. Worst all were the headaches. They came without warning and without mercy. During Rainbow Dash's stay in the infirmary, they would torture her for hours on end, even to the point of sleeplessness. Twilight told the pegasus that the headaches were simply an aftershock of the lightning bolt accident, but of course only Twilight knew the real reason for Rainbow Dash's pain. It seemed that Twilight underestimated the side effects of this particular memory spell.

Still, Twilight envied Rainbow Dash in a sense. She didn’t have to remember the panic surrounding her disappearance, or the pain Twilight endured by separating her from her ‘father’. Rainbow Dash would be able to live a care-free life, unaware of the experiences that her friends had gone through to save her. Twilight remembered the frantic search in the Canterlot archives for an inter-dimensional transport spell, which was found buried deep in the post-Lunar repository. She remembered Celestia calling the five other guardians of the Elements for the most important mission of their lives. She remembered they joy of discovering her friend after days of searching, and the shock of realizing what Rainbow Dash had gone through after the accident. Twilight would especially not forget the feeling of absolute sadness and agony as father and daughter were separated, never to see each other again. It was a feeling that would burn into her consciousness and eat at her every time she saw that blue pegasus.

Twilight then turned her thoughts to the events after Rainbow Dash’s return to Equestria. She remembered casting the spell that killed the Rainbow Dash of the human world. When she explored the mind of her friend, Twilight was forced to examine every memory that she erased from Rainbow Dash’s mind. She saw every detail of the pegasus' life in the human world. Twilight couldn't help but feel that she knew the “human” Rainbow Dash. And Twilight couldn't help but feel that she was murdering her with own bare hooves.

Princess Celestia had left her no other options; such powerful memories could threaten to destroy Rainbow Dash's mind. The memory spell was needed not only to keep Equestria and the human world separate, but also protect Rainbow Dash from her own experiences. Still, she wondered if it was it the right thing to do.

Twilight snapped back to reality. Her particular course of study required utmost concentration. Twilight wandered toward a small bookshelf near the back of her library. Here, she kept her most treasured pieces of literature. Her eyes gazed over How to Raise a Baby Dragon, moving over The Elements of Harmony and Heavenly Constellations: a Pony’s Guide to the Night Skies. She then called upon her magic, pushing the books on the middle shelf away from the center, creating an opening. From within, she retrieved an old worn cardboard box from the back of the bookshelf and placed it on the table.

Princess Celestia designated Twilight as the caretaker of the box. “As long as I’m watching over it, I might as well study it,” the unicorn thought to herself. Studying was, in fact, what she did best.

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash flew up to the crowd of weather pegasi. “Attention!” she yelled. The rest of the weather ponies dropped their conversations and turned their attention toward their leader.

“Alright, team, today begins our scheduled series of spring showers. The weather factory has already created a supply of nimbus clouds and is awaiting our arrival for transport. Cloud Kicker, take half the squad and bring back enough nimbi to cover the entire Ponyville area. The rest of you, take your positions. And Derpy, please stop playing in the cumulus clouds!” 

A yellow maned pegasus looked up from a nearby cloudy mass. Her previously blissful smile turned into a confused frown as she joined the other pegasi as they assembled into their groups.

“Don’t worry, Derpy, there’ll be plenty of time to relax and enjoy ourselves. Right now, Ponyville needs its rain.” said Rainbow Dash. “Move out!”

Cloud Kicker and half the weather team immediately took off in the direction of Cloudsdale, where the steam from the distant weather factory was barely visible. The rest of the pegasi broke off into groups of three or four and began to take their assigned positions over various locations over Ponyville. 

“If you need me, I will be checking on other preparations.” shouted Rainbow Dash. The ponies quickly resumed their conversations while Rainbow Dash surveyed the land from the air. 

The sleek blue pegasus soared around the perimeter of Ponyville , checking for especially dry areas as well as areas that might be prone to flooding. Being the captain of the weather team meant that the responsibility of preventing meteorological disasters fell on her shoulders. Her wings cut through the cool spring air as she left a rainbow trail in her wake. Rainbow Dash enjoyed moments like these, all alone, gliding through the sky with ease. The ground beneath her passed through her vision like a blurry daydream.

Nearly twenty minutes had passed since Rainbow Dash began her surveillance. The combination of the sun, the gentle breeze, and the crisp air threw the pegasus into a state of bliss. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, knowing that the calm air would soon be inundated with clouds and rain. Out of all the things she liked to do, relaxing was one of Rainbow Dash’s favorite pastimes and perhaps her most favorite activity of all time.

Actually, that’s not entirely true.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes suddenly as a surge of adrenaline coursed through her body. Rainbow Dash raised her wings and accelerated sharply upward toward the sun. The air rushed through her mane as she skillfully executed a triple loop-de-loop. Her wings flapped rapidly as she picked up even more speed. Rainbow Dash then performed an aileron-barrel row, her rainbow trail shimmering in the sky.  She then finished with a brilliant rainbow tornado that bent the color spectrum to its breaking point. 

“WOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!” screamed Rainbow Dash as she accelerated through the air. Her favorite activity, her passion, and arguable her reason for living was undoubtedly doing aerial acrobatics. She loved the feel of the wind in her face. She loved the sensation of adrenaline pumping through her body. And most of all, she loved the cheering of random onlookers as they witnessed her skyborne spectacles.

A team of nearby weather pegasus briefly stopped their work to witness this performance. But as amazing as it was, the weather team were quite used to Rainbow Dash’s random outbursts of aerial tricks. The group quickly resumed their preparations, inattentive to the acrobatics taking place above them. That didn’t matter to Rainbow Dash, though. She enjoyed showing off her agility even when few ponies were paying attention. Besides, the weather team members were probably not the only ponies who were able to see Rainbow Dash's spectacle.

The sleek blue pegasus continued to soar through the air. From her perspective, the world seemed to be a chaotic jumble of earth and sky. There was the sky in her sights. Now there was the town square in her vision…

…the sky again…

…AppleJack’s barn…

…the sun…

…the Ponyville Park…

A distant voice cried from below. “YEAH! THAT’S SO AWESOME!!!”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. She already reeled in her first earthbound spectator, and she was just getting warmed up. From the sound of the voice, it seemed that a young stallion had caught sight of the pegasus racing around in the sky. Rainbow Dash soared high above the park and cracked open her tricktionary. It was not long before the sky became filled with rainbow trails criss-crossing each other in every way possible.

“WOOOOHOOO YOU GO DASHIE!!” screamed the voice from the park.

Strange…very few ponies called Rainbow Dash by her nickname Dashie. In fact, the only ponies that called her by this name were her best friends. But the voice come down below was clearly a stallion’s voice. Maybe it was one her old friends from junior flight camp, or perhaps a secret admirer...

Rainbow Dash's train of thought was suddenly interrupted as a dull pain filled her head. The pegasus stop mid-flight and closed her eyes as the discomfort built up. The sounds of the outside world faded away as the pounding sensation consumed her mind. Rainbow Dash was experiencing one of those infamous headaches.

But as quickly as the sensation had come it had left. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and shook herself vigorously. She was beginning to get very annoyed at the headaches, and she could not wait for them to go away, forever. In the meantime, the show had to go on.

With a whoosh, Rainbow Dash delved into the depths of her tricktionary. Maneuvers such as “The Shimmering Bolt” and “The Spectral Spiral” painted the skies with their brilliance. At this point, any spectator would be jumping in excitement and shouting for joy. Unfortunately, the mystery spectator did not seemed to be impressed, judging by the lack of any cheering from below. This was, in Rainbow Dash's mind, something that must be fixed immediately.

For her last trick, Rainbow Dash performed her signature move, the one maneuver that truly separated her from other flyers. The pegasus dived directly downward toward the Ponyville Park. The wind now screamed in her ears, and the air pulled her mane and tail straight behind her. As she gathered speed, a white cone formed around her body. Closer and closer she flew to the ground, until at the very last second…

The weather team was suddenly thrown into disarray as a massive rainbow wave plowed through the air.

Rainbow Dash flew back toward the sky, sweat and tears on her face as she watched the shockwave travel over Ponyville. The Sonic Rainboom was a feat achievable by only the fastest, most agile of pegasi. It was also the source of Rainbow Dash’s pride and fame ever since the Young Fliers Competition. The exhausted pegasus paused for a break, satisfied that she appeased her onlooker’s appetite for awesomeness. She closed her eyes and cleared her mind, taking in once again the cool spring air.

It was then that Rainbow Dash noticed something weird. The light spring breeze that blew through the sky just moments ago had suddenly vanished. The air had become quite still and…dusty as well. Not only that, but the warmth from the sun had dissipated and an uncomfortable chill took its place. Rainbow Dash dismissed these observations, too absorbed in the fact that she just executed the most legendary aerial maneuver in existence. 

“AWWWWW YEAH. THAT’S MY LITTLE DASHIE!!!” cried the voice from down below.

There it was again. The pain flooded into Rainbow Dash's head, but left only a couple seconds later. After regaining focus, the pegasus looked around for a moment. In addition to feeling different, the sky also looked noticeably different. Instead of the vibrant blue that permeated the Equestrian sky, a sort of pale gray colored the firmament. Rainbow Dash took in her strange surroundings when a random thought popped in her head. "Wait...what did he just call me?"

The mystery spectator's cheer struck Rainbow Dash with complete confusion. Nopony in her entire life had called her “My Little Dashie.” As she turned her gaze toward the ground to search for the source of the call the sight that met her eyes shocked her even more.

The park below her was still there, but it wasn’t the pristine Ponyville park she knew; instead, it seemed to be a dirtier, more neglected and unkempt area than she remembered. As Rainbow Dash gazed around Ponyville, even stranger sights met her eyes: instead of the colorful streets and shops that comprised the small town, there were instead rows upon rows of houses. Run-down, bleak and lifeless houses. In fact, the entire surface of Equestria seemed to be less colorful than usual. And most surprising of all, the ponies that were walking about on the ground literally a few seconds ago vanished. Even her working weather team was gone without a trace.

Rainbow Dash’s heart began to beat faster. “Where am I?!” she said in a panic. She suddenly found herself stuck in a strange land, a place that she had never seen in her life. There were no discernible landmarks in any direction, and no signs of activity anywhere.

Directly below Rainbow Dash, however, there was a bench with a single solitary figure sitting upon it. Wait, was he the one cheering me on? Rainbow Dash thought to herself.

The lone figure then called out to Rainbow Dash. “DASHIE, COME DOWN QUICK BEFORE ANYONE SEES YOU!”

“It was him!” she said to herself. Despite the shock of being in a completely different world, Rainbow Dash worked up the courage to fly down to confront this being. She dived toward the run-down park, through the cold and dusty air. Her heart was pounding, and her thoughts were racing. Where am I? And who is he? On top of that, Rainbow Dash was feeling one of her headaches coming on again. She was far too distracted to notice the clump of cumulus clouds in her path. With a muffled thump, the blue pegasus plowed through the heart of the clump. Rainbow Dash was not prepared for the impact, and as a result a mixture of water and dust got caught in her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her face with one hoof while continuing her steady descent toward the ground.

As her temporary blindness faded, Rainbow Dash caught a blurry glimpse of the ground getting closer and closer. She came to a steady landing as she rubbed the last specks of dust from her eyes and blinked hard several times. Surprisingly, the pain in her head had vanished altogether. 

She then quickly turned her attention toward the nearby bench from which the mysterious figure was calling her name. Rainbow Dash stared for a second. She then took a few steps forward and paused again. With a dumbfounded look on her face, the blue pegasus walked slowly toward the bench. She stopped a few feet from it, her eyes fixed on who was currently sitting upon the bench.

No one.

There was nobody, nothing, nopony sitting on the bench in front of her. But that was the least of Rainbow Dash’s confusion.  At that very moment, she was staring at a bench….in the middle of Ponyville Park. The desolate area that she saw from the sky contrasted greatly with the green foliage surrounding her. The familiar vibrant colors of Ponyville met her eyes, and the Ponyville Park lay before her exactly as she remembered it. She could hear faint sounds of pony conversation as well as the distant clamor of the weather team recovering from the surprise Sonic Rainboom. Even the once cold dusty air returned to the initial warm, clear weather.

As Rainbow Dash attempted to process a multitude of thoughts and questions, a rustle came from the bushes behind her. She turned toward the source of the sound, and out from the greenery emerged a pink maned, yellow pegasus.

“Oh. Hi Rainbow Dash,” said the pony in a timid voice.

“Hey Fluttershy. What’s up?” replied Rainbow Dash.

“Nothing really…I mean, I need to ask you something…if that’s okay with you,” she replied.

“Yes, what is it?” asked the blue pegasus

“Ummm…I was wondering if you could next time possibly perform your tricks a teeny bit farther away from the park. A lot of the animals that live here are frightened by loud noises, and your sonic rainboom scared most of them back into their homes.”

Rainbow Dash scratched her mane in embarrassment “Yeah, sorry about that. I kinda got carried away up there…wait, is there anypony with you Fluttershy?” inquired Rainbow Dash.

“No, not that I know of” replied Fluttershy as she glanced over her surroundings. “I believe it’s just me and the animals in the park today.”

“Huh…did you hear any loud noises, particularly cheering and screaming for my awesome air tricks?” asked Rainbow Dash with a slight smile on her face.

“Not a single peep. Although I did see you up there, and I must say that you were quite impressive Rainbow Dash,” replied Fluttershy with feigned excitement. 

Rainbow Dash struggled to process was Fluttershy was saying. "Are you absolutely sure that you heard nopony else in the park?"

"Yes...well...I mean, I think so. Perhaps my hearing isn't so good. I really wasn't paying attention," replied Fluttershy.

"I see," said Rainbow Dash skeptically, Fluttershy had the best hearing of anypony she knew. Rainbow Dash briefly wondered if her mind was simply playing tricks on her but the blue pegasus had some second thoughts. "When I was up there, you saw me right? I didn’t like disappear or anything?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Nope, I watched you from the beginning all the way until the sonic rainboom, which scared my poor Angel senseless…I wonder where he ran off to,” said Fluttershy as she started to look around for her pet bunny. “Is there something wrong Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash stared at the ground, perplexed by the preceding sequence of events. “No, I’m fine.” She replied. Did she just imagine the entire thing? Was it all just a trick of the mind? These thoughts ran through the young pegasus’ mind as she tried hard to figure out what had just happened.  “I’m fine. I think I just knocked my head around a little during that last trick.”

“Oh, ok,” replied Fluttershy as she headed toward a nearby shrub. She looked at it for a second before sticking her head in. Then the yellow pegasus withdrew her head, a struggling white bunny caught in her mouth. Rainbow Dash watched her place the bunny gently on the ground. “Ah, there you are. No need to worry, it was just our friend Rainbow Dash practicing in the sky,” said Fluttershy as she motioned toward her friend.

Angel gave Rainbow Dash a dirty look and then hopped onto Fluttershy’s back. “Well, we’d better get home before the afternoon showers come in.” she said to the blue pegasus. 

Rainbow Dash had almost forgot! The weather team was still preparing the spring rain and she needed to supervise. “Oh, yeah! I better go check on the weather team and see how they’re doing,” she exclaimed. Rainbow Dash took off suddenly toward the faraway gathering of weather ponies. “I’ll catch you later, Fluttershy!”

“Bye, Rainbow Dash!” shouted Fluttershy from the ground. “Alright, Angel, let’s go home now.”

Rainbow Dash sped toward her waiting weather team. A nice cloud cover had been put in place during her absence, and it looked like the spring showers were ready to go. Many of the ponies were now idly chatting away and she could see Derpy playing in the cumulus clouds in the distance

Rainbow Dash was quite confused with the multitude of events that had just transpired. There was the fact that a random stallion called her by a totally strange name. There was the fact that she was seemingly somehow transported to a completely different world where the mysterious onlooker also happened to be present. Then there was the fact that he disappeared into thin air when she tried to approach him. As Rainbow Dash neared the awaiting team of pegasi, she tried to push out all of these thoughts and focus on her assigned task, but despite her best efforts to concentrate, one question remained at the surface of her mind.

Who is he?

> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash was incredibly tired. Having spent the majority of the previous day in the air, her wings were very sore. Organizing and directing the first of the spring showers had put a lot of stress on her mind, not to mention the truly bizarre event that still left her confounded. She had little time to rest until she got back to her house late in the evening, when she promptly collapsed in her cloud bed. 

It is said that you can tell a lot about a pony from their dreams. In the case of Rainbow Dash, this was all too true. This pegasus’ dreams were populated by none other than the Wonderbolts, a crowd of adoring fans, and herself of course. Rainbow Dash’s friends were all too familiar with her goal of joining the Equestria-reknowed racing and acrobatics team. She yearned for the opportunity to impress them with her blinding speed and agility. But for now, Rainbow Dash’s vision remained only in her dreams. Flying with the Wonderbolts side by side….

…racing through the air…

…dazzling the crowds with their maneuvers…

…with the cheers of onlookers…

…

“…Dashie.”

Rainbow Dash’s groaned softly as her imaginary world faded from vision. She hated when such good dreams ended in the morning. On top of that, her headache seemed to be coming back. The pegasus rolled over onto her side, determined to catch a few more winks of sleep before the start of her day. 

That’s when she noticed something amiss. Her usually plush and soft cloud mattress suddenly felt firm and compact, like the hay beds that her friends slept in. In fact, her cloud blanket had also been replaced by a linen one. It didn't take Rainbow Dash long to figure out that she wasn’t sleeping in her own bed. Perhaps she had actually been too tired to fly all the way back to her house and instead stayed the night with one her friends. Or maybe this was all an elaborate prank played by Twilight Sparkle in retaliation for yesterday’s practical joke. In any case, Rainbow Dash was far too tired to sort things out, and instead continued to partake in one of her most favorite pastimes: sleeping.

“Dashie, wake up.”

“Zzzzz…huh?” mumbled Rainbow Dash. The voice was coming from directly above her, though very softly and gently. The pegasus rolled back onto her back and slowly opened her eyes. As the light entered her eyes, the discomfort in her head grew quickly. Rainbow Dash winced in pain, but she could make out what appeared to be a head looking down upon her. She could also see two forelegs gently nudging her from the side. However, the significant pain in her head distracted her from making out any other details.

“Breakfast is ready. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.” the figure said as the head and legs disappeared from view. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes again and slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position. The air was cold, much colder than she remembered the day before. She could smell the aroma of fried eggs coming from the doorway to her left. Although she was a bit disoriented, her wings felt much better than the day before. Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes again, with intent of finding out exactly whose house she had been sleeping in.

As she attempted to examine her surroundings, her headache intensified. "Oof!" she whispered to herself, "I better tell Twilight that these headaches are getting worse." Rainbow Dash's vision was still quite hazy, and she could make out few details of her surroundings. In front of her she could see some posters, but the colors were far too blurry to determine their content. To her right was a simple nightstand, and to her left was what appeared to be a chest of drawers. “Where am I? This room doesn’t look like any of my friends' rooms. In fact, I don't remember seeing a room like this anywhere.” she thought to herself. And she was right; the walls looked very bland and boring unlike most of the lively and vibrant houses in Ponyville she had seen.

“Whatever pony owns this place must be a real bore,” she thought to herself. Rainbow Dash was beginning to make out more of her surroundings now, although the pain in her head was strong as ever. The more she looked about the room, the surer she felt that the owner was a drag. 

“Hurry, Dashie! Your food is getting cold!” a voice from down the hall yelled. It was just then that Rainbow Dash realized it was a stallion’s voice. Of the limited number of male ponies in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash knew maybe half a dozen by name. Never did she expect to be inside one of their houses. 

The half-awake pegasus decided to go along with this turn of events. She wanted to find out who was graceful (or bold) enough to let her stay in his house. She stretched her body and rubbed her eyes, about to hop out of bed and greet her mysterious host. To her delight, her headache also seemed to be going away. "I'm coming!" she shouted.

“Rainbow Dashhhhhh!” 

Another voice from down the hall called her name. But it was not the stallion’s voice. This time, it was more girly and high pitched, much like…
“Pinkie Pie??” whispered Rainbow Dash out loud. 


* * *


Rainbow Dash jolted herself awake, eyes wide open. This time, however, she was lying in her cloud bed, covered in her cloud blankets. As she looked around, she was greeted by the familiar setting of her own house. The air felt very warm, and she could smell the aroma of the past rainfall. She sat up quickly, utterly confused by what she just experienced. 

“It was all a dream,” she thought to herself. “Just a dream…A rather weird dream. It felt so real. Even though I could barely see, it was as if I actually woke up in somepony else's house. I don't think I've ever had a dream like that before...Oh well, there's a first time for everything.” 

“Dashie! Are you home?” shouted Pinkie’s voice from outside. Rainbow Dash shook herself awake and sprung out of bed. "What does she want this time?" muttered the pegasus to herself as she stretched her wings. With a loud sigh, Rainbow Dash flew to the front of her house. Floating steadily near the cloud fountains was Pinkie’s balloon and its eccentric occupant. The pink earth pony was holding a large megaphone and had an urgent look on her face.

“Oh, good morning, Pinkie Pie. What’s up?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash, you gotta help me! Mr. and Mrs. Cake both got sick and they’re in the hospital and they won’t be able to help me back cupcakes for tomorrow’s party!! I can’t bake 200 cupcakes all by myself. Dashie, I need your help!!!!!” explained Pinkie Pie, forelegs waving frantically. 

“Woah, you’re asking me to help you bake? Out of all the ponies in Ponyville, you’re asking me?” asked Rainbow Dash. Among her close friends, Rainbow Dash was known for three things: undying loyalty, occasional stubbornness, and complete inability to cook anything.

“I know you’re not the best baker in the world, and I know this is really, really, really short notice, but everypony else is busy today. Twilight is working on an important report, Rarity is out shopping for fabrics, Applejack is on a trip to Appleloosa, and Fluttershy is babysitting Pound and Pumpkin. Please Dashie, I really, really, really, really, REALLY need your help!!!” begged Pinkie Pie, who was almost on the verge of tears.

"Slow down, Pinkie, you're giving me a headache!" replied Rainbow Dash as she turned away from her friend. Listening to Pinkie Pie jabber on for too long was enough to make anypony's head hurt. The pegasus rubbed her forehead until her mind was clear again.

Rainbow Dash sighed audibly. Out of all the activities she planned on doing today, baking was at the bottom of the list but as a good friend, she took it upon herself to assist her other companions whenever they were in need.

“Alright, I’ll help you.” said Rainbow Dash with a resigned tone. “But you owe me big for this one.”

“YYYYAAAAYYYYY!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “I promise you it won’t take very long, and I bet you’ll have a lot of fun. I’ll see you at Sugarcube Corner!”

Pinkie Pie floated away in the direction of her bakery shop, jumping up and down excitedly in her balloon. Rainbow Dash watched the purple aircraft drift away slowly. “Fun, eh? I highly doubt that,” she muttered to herself and headed back into her dwelling to wash up and get ready for the day.

As she rinsed her face in a small cloud fountain, thoughts of the dream popped into her head. The more she pondered over the details, the less sure she was that the room existed somewhere in her memories. It was entirely possible that she made up everything in her dream. 

The stallion was also a point of interest from the dream. The only male ponies that have ever entered her dreams were Soarin and Rapidfire, both of which were Wonderbolts, and both of whom certainly didn't live in houses like the one in her dream. 

Well, there was little use in making sense of it all. Rainbow Dash had come to realize that dreams come and go just like that. Dreams were just products of her imagination, no matter how strange the result may be. Rainbow Dash walked toward the front if her house and stepped outside. The past day had left an uneasy feeling in her gut, but the confident young pegasus was determined not to let anything dampen her spirit. Today was a new day.


* * *


Rainbow Dash landed on the porch of Sugarcube Corner, ready to face her ultimate challenge and knocked. She took a step back, picking up sounds of hurried hoofsteps from within the bakery. A few seconds later, the door opened and a very hyper and joyful Pinkie Pie stood in the entryway. 

“Hey Rainbow Dash! Come on in.” she said, grabbing the pegasus by the neck and dragging her into the building.

Soon both of the ponies were standing in the kitchen. The place had been cast into total disarray as a result of Pinkie Pie’s rush to fill her order. Bags of flour were thrown about the floor, some open and others closed. Piles of baking trays stood on the countertop in front of Rainbow Dash amongst other random pots and pans. Several cartons of eggs were haphazardly arranged on one end of the counter, and multiple jugs of milk populated the other end. Basically, it seemed as though Discord had passed through the bakery kitchen.

“Alrighty, since you’re a little rusty with your baking skills, I’ll start you off with something easy” said Pinkie Pie. “I need you to make some dough for me."

Rainbow Dash gazed around at the scene of total chaos around her. "Ok, seems simple enough. How do you want me to make it?" she asked.

"Like this! All you have to do is take a cup of flour…” Pinkie Pie grabbed a measuring cup from the cupboards behind her and placed on the counter. She then measured a cup of flour from the bag and dumped it into a nearby bowl. “…then add 1/5th cup of water…” the pink earth pony then filled the measuring cup from the sink behind her to the appropriate mark, and emptied it into the bowl. “….then you mix it and knead it until it becomes firm. After you’re done, put the dough into that giant mixer in the corner over there, and keep doing it until we use up all the flour.”

“Alright, I think I got it,” said Rainbow Dash. “Although...wouldn’t it be quicker to mix up all the flour at once?”

“Silly pegasus, that would make the dough uneven! And uneven dough makes odd cupcakes. Can’t have odd cupcakes at a party!” replied Pinkie Pie.

Rainbow Dash let out a rather loud groan as she glanced over the piles of flour bags sitting on the floor in front of the counter. As a pegasus born for the excitement of racing and crowds, Rainbow Dash absolutely despised repetitive tasks. 

“Oh no! I forgot to pick up sugar!” screamed Pinkie Pie. “Rainbow Dash, why don’t you get started on the dough. I’ll be back in a jiffy!”

“Wait! Is it okay if I….” Rainbow Dash started to say. It was too late though, as Pinkie Pie was already far out of earshot.

Rainbow Dash let out another groan as she started the arduous task of making dough. One cup of flour into the bowl. 1/5th cup of water into the bowl. Mix and knead until firm. Dump into the giant mixer in the corner. One cup of flour. 1/5th cup of water. Mix and knead. Dump into giant mixer. One cup flour. 1/5th cup flour. Mix and knead. Dump into giant mixer. Rinse. Repeat.

The laboring pegasus watched the seconds tick away on a nearby wall clock. Dried dough starting caking on her hooves as she made her way through the first bag of flour. Rainbow Dash grumbled as she considered the possibility of being stuck here all day, helping Pinkie Pie bake 200 cupcakes. 

By the second bag of flour, Rainbow Dash’s brain had shifted into full autopilot. The part of her mind not occupied with the current task began to wander, and the pegasus started daydreaming. She decided not to think about anything in particular, and instead let her mind relax from the stress of the yesterday. Rainbow Dash let all thoughts go for the time being and decided to empty her mind.

“Haha! Dashie, I think you’re getting the hang of it!”

Rainbow Dash froze mid-step on the way to the giant mixer, paralyzed by shock. She was 100% sure a second ago that she was alone in this kitchen.

Rainbow Dash swung around to face the speaker, only to be met with the chaotic sight of the kitchen counter. “Who’s there?” she asked with a tremble in her voice. Her inquiry was met with silence broken by the low humming of the nearby refrigerator. Rainbow Dash stood there for a second, heart pounding in her chest in anticipation.

After a couple minutes, nothing happened. Rainbow Dash relaxed herself and resumed her dough making duties. Her mind was probably playing tricks on her again, especially because she was stuck in a bakery on a beautiful Sunday morning making mound after mound after mound of dough.

A few minutes later, the repetitiveness of her assigned task had taken over once more. Rainbow Dash began to relax again, and her mind returned to a state of tranquility. At this point, she was 99% sure that she simply imagined the voice out of her boredom. As the seconds ticked by, Rainbow Dash gradually let her mind go blank as the bags of flour were slowly consumed. 

“Oh, ho, ho, this is going to be a fine birthday cake indeed!”

Rainbow Dash instantly spun around to face the source of the voice, only to be greeted by empty space. “Who are you? Show yourself!” she demanded. Like before, the only reply she got was the humming of the bakery refrigerator. That voice! That voice from her dreams was now following her around. Rainbow Dash began sweating nervously, chills running down her spine. At that moment, the front door burst wide open.

“I’m back!” yelled Pinkie Pie. 

Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief and walked back to the counter. Pinkie Pie had several bags of sugar jammed into her saddlebags and piled onto her back. In addition to these supplies, Pinkie Pie had also brought in another guest. The pink earth pony and her companion walked toward the countertop to greet the awaiting pegasus.

“Dashie, the sugar’s here, but guess who else is here!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
Rainbow Dash had to raise her head quite a bit in order to see the small filly behind her friend. 

“Oh, hi, Applebloom, how’s it going?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“It’s going great! I bumped into Pinkie Pie at the store and found out about her little problem. She’s agreed to let me help her finish her giant order! Maybe this time I’ll get my cutie mark!!” said Applebloom excitedly.

“That means that you don’t have to make any more boring dough, and you can go have some fun! Although, I don’t understand what could be more fun than making cupcakes,” stated Pinkie Pie. 

Rainbow Dash’s mind was still frantically processing the odd occurrence just moments ago. “Yeah, I think I’ve done enough baking for today,” she said.

“Okie dokie lokie, I’ll see you soon then. You should definitely come to the party tomorrow. It’ll be a blast!” said Pinkie Pie. 

“Catch you later!” shouted Rainbow Dash on her way out of the bakery. 

She stood on the porch for a long while, contemplating what she should do next. The events in the bakery left her more perplexed than ever. Muffled sounds of pans clattering and singing emerged from the bakery as Rainbow Dash planned her course of action. Her eyes scanned her surrounding until they stopped at a particular building in the distance.

“I wonder if Twilight is home,” Rainbow Dash said to herself. She started off down the street in the direction of the Ponyville library.

> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As always, Twilight Sparkle was hard at work in her library. Being the star pupil of Princess Celestia herself, Twilight charged herself with the mission of finding and gathering knowledge, whether about magic, friendship, history, or mythology. The Ponyville library’s vast collection of books was the perfect place to carry out her quest, and thus she took up residence here. 

Twilight walked toward her desk and stared hard at the objects in front of her. Among them included a cardboard shoebox. There were strange markings on the outside and seemed oddly shaped. Then again, this shoebox wasn’t from Ponyville, or Equestria even. The box lay on the corner of the desk, top open, and its contents were spread out across the desktop. Twilight’s eyes perused over the miniature items. Using her magic, she picked up a toy racecar and inspected it closely. She then placed it back into the box and examined what appeared to be a ticket to an event named “Indy 500.” Twilight jotted some notes down and placed the ticket back into the box as well. 

knock knock

Twilight dropped a photograph she was looking at and walked toward the library door. “I’m coming!” she shouted. She turned the main lock and slowly inched the door open. Twilight stuck her head out and was greeted by the sight of her blue pegasus friend.

“Hi Rainbow Dash. How may I be of assistance?” Twilight asked.

“Hey, are you busy? I need to talk to you about something.” replied Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, ummm…I’m kind of occupied right now. I’ve been trying to finish up my studies so I can get a head start on next week’s assignment.” said the unicorn as she furtively glanced back at the still open box on her desk.

Rainbow Dash locked eyes with Twilight. “Please,” she said, “It’s very important.”
Twilight stole another glance at her desk and considered the possible risks of letting her friend in. “Alright, just one moment please.” she said as she closed the front door.

Twilight summoned her magic and quickly replaced all the items back into the box. She then ran to her back bookshelf and concealed the box behind the books on the top. After a quick inspection to make sure the box was out of sight, she walked back to the front door to welcome her awaiting friend.

Twilight opened the door wide open. “Please, come in, Rainbow Dash.” she said cordially.

“Thanks.” replied the blue pegasus as she entered the library. The door closed behind her as she and Twilight walked to the middle of the common room. 

“So, what’s troubling you?” asked Twilight.

“Well…it’s…ummm…weird. I’m not quite sure what’s wrong myself. Even if I knew, I’m not sure you’d believe me,” she said, stumbling over her words out of nervousness.

“Ah, don’t fret Rainbow Dash. As your friend, I am committed to helping you through your problems. Please, don’t feel afraid to let it all out,” replied Twilight with a smile on her face.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and sighed. “Ok, here it goes…” The mare proceeded to recount the events of the past two days. She explained her experiences during her preparations with the weather team. She explained her unusually realistic dream during the night. She explained the phantom voice that followed her into Sugarcube corner as she helped Pinkie Pie with her duties. She even explained her feelings of confusion and fear as a result of these weird occurrences

By the time Rainbow Dash was done explaining, Twilight had taken several pages of notes. “I see, interesting…” she muttered to herself.
“See? It’s all very crazy. I’m probably imagining the entire thing. Am I going insane?” said Rainbow Dash with a worried tone.

“Nonsense!” Twilight snapped back. “There must be a reasonable explanation for 
this.” 

“Maybe it’s because of the accident?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Twilight pondered for a moment over her friend’s question. Perhaps the memory spell had abnormal side effects, but Twilight was not willing to face an inconvenient truth.

Twilight scanned the bookshelf to her right. “Nah, it’s been over a week since you recovered, and nothing like this happened earlier,” said Twilight, before eyeing a particular volume. Using her magic, she dragged it in front of her and dusted it off. Pony Psychology: The Essential Readings was written in large gold letters across the cover. “Hmmmmm,” mumbled Twilight as she turned through the pages of the book. “Ah! According to previous studies, your symptoms may be indicative of exposure to extreme cold.”

“But it’s Spring.” said Rainbow Dash with a confused look.

“Or…your symptoms may have been a result of prolonged exposure to high altitudes.” said Twilight as she continued reading through the volume.

“Well, I was up in the sky all day yesterday. But I got over altitude sickness way back in Junior Flight Camp. Besides, I’ve never had altitude sickness for this long.” replied Rainbow Dash skeptically.

“Ummm…Oh! Maybe your symptoms are indicative of a deep passionate desire to find true love.” suggested Twilight.

Rainbow Dash gave Twilight the dirtiest, most scathing look she could conjured up. “Okay then,” said Twilight with a nervous smile as she quickly shut the book. “That’s definitely an inaccurate diagnosis. Rainbow Dash, I really want to help you, but I’m running out of ideas. Are you sure you’ve told me everything? Even tiny details could be of utmost importance.”

Rainbow Dash pondered over her memories once more. “Come to think of it, the voice from the park sounded very much like the voice in the dream and the bakery. It might just be one voice, his voice.” said Rainbow Dash

“Interesting, interesting…anything else?” inquired Twilight.

“Well, there is one more thing, but it really is a small detail. Most of the ponies in Ponyville call me Rainbow, or Rainbow Dash. You guys sometimes call me Dashie, but not extremely often…” began Rainbow Dash. Twilight listened intently and nodded her head. “…but he always calls me Dashie. In fact, he called me ‘my little Dashie’ one time. Nothing big though, just something I thought was extra weird.”

“He calls you Dashie? That’s odd, only people that know you call you Da-“ Twilight stopped midsentence.

All this time, Twilight’s mind had been searching for the solution to Rainbow Dash’s troubles. The unicorn tried to recall any ailments with symptoms as describe by her friend. She desperately tried not to believe that the memory spell had anything to do with Rainbow Dash’s experiences, but that last statement suddenly put everything into context. Twilight’s mouth hung open and her eyes widened as it all came together.

The inconvenient truth hit Twilight like a stack of books. It tore through her mind and left scars of shock all over her brain. Every single muscle in her body tensed a little and a tingly sensation ran down her backside. A single bead of sweat formed on her forehead as she glanced about nervously. Of all the possible explanations for Rainbow Dash’s experiences, only one was plausible.

The memory spell was dying.

“Is there something wrong Twilight?” asked Rainbow Dash with a concerned look. “Have you figured out what’s wrong with me?”

Twilight did her best to regain her composure before facing her friend. “Nothing’s wrong, everything’s A-ok! I just realized that my report on…uh…duck migration patterns is due to Princess Celestia tomorrow, and I haven’t even started!” said Twilight energetically with a frown on her face.

Rainbow Dash became confused by her friend’s sudden mood swing. “Duck migration pat-…?” 

“It’s extremely important, and I need to start now. I promise Rainbow Dash that I’ll keep looking for answers to your questions. In the meantime, I really need you to leave so I can get started.” interrupted Twilight, as she started nudging her friend to the open front door.

Rainbow Dash stepped outside and turned around to bid Twilight farewell. “Alright, I’ll see you later. Thanks for-…” The door closed in the pegasus’ face with a slam. Rainbow Dash’s expression turned solemn as she walked away from the library, not quite sure what just happened. She looked up into the sky and saw the sun starting to set in the west. Although she was very dissatisfied with the answers she got from Twilight, Rainbow Dash decided it was best to call it a day. She spread her wings and took off in the direction of her cloud home.


* * *


“Spike! Spike! Spike, where are you???” shouted Twilight Sparkle. The purple unicorn dashed all over the library, looking for her small assistant. She burst into her bedroom, body full of sweat, frantically scanning the room for Spike.

“Spike!” shouted Twilight Sparkle as she ran up to a small basket on the floor, in which a purple baby dragon was sound asleep. “SPIKE, WAKE UP!!” screamed the distraught unicorn.

“Ahh!!...huh, what’s…what’s going on Twilight?” the startled and now awake Spike asked.

“Quickly, take a letter.” said Twilight sternly.

“Wait…right now?” 

“Yes, right now!”

“But didn’t we send a report to the Princess just this morning?”

“Yes, but I need you to take a letter!”

“About what?”

“SPIKE, TAKE A LETTER!!!!” screamed Twilight, nearly knocking Spike on his back.

“Okay, okay, I’ll take a letter. Geez, don’t need to be all antagonistic toward me,” retorted Spike as he quickly grabbed a quill, a bottle of ink, and a roll of parchment from a nearby drawer. “What’s so important that it must be sent to the Princess at this very second?”

“This isn’t for the princess.” replied Twilight. “Spike, are you ready?”

“Yep, I’m ready.”


* * *


Once again, Rainbow Dash was extremely tired. Her confidence in her mental health had decreased substantially as a result of the bakery incident and her hopes of finding answers from Twilight had been crushed. Now that it was the end of the day, Rainbow Dash looked forward to sleeping and temporarily forgetting all of her worries. She tucked herself into her comfy cloud bed and closed her eyes, eagerly awaiting her exciting dreams. Those dreams of Wonderbolts, cheering crowds and fast-paced acrobatics never arrived; Rainbow Dash was greeted with quite a different vision:


* * *


Rainbow Dash found herself in a large and spacious room. Judging by the layout of the furniture, she assumed it to be the living room of somebody’s dwelling. In addition, the color of the walls and the floor suggested that it might even belong to the same stallion in the previous dream. There was a couch in the middle of the room, along with several other miscellaneous pieces of furniture. Blankets, magazines, and a couple of brushes were also strewn on the floor. 

Rainbow Dash also saw some photographs hanging on the walls. They were fairly small, some only a square foot in size. Half of the pictures looked like they were taken inside the building. Others looked as if they were taken outside in various environments.

The one thing Rainbow Dash noticed about these pictures, however, was that she was in every single one. In some she was smiling peacefully, in others she was making rather funny faces. Rainbow Dash also noticed that another figure appeared on some of the photographs. Its face was extremely difficult to make out, but she could tell that it was not a pony. She carefully examined each photograph, curious as to who took them and for what reason.

Rainbow Dash had little time to process this before a group of familiar ponies appeared in front her. They were her friends; Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and even the Princess were there.

“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” asked Rainbow Dash with a smile. It probably wasn’t a particularly useful question, since this was just a dream, and these were not her real friends. In any case, the other ponies said nothing. Instead, they gazed at her with sad expressions, some with tears in their eyes. Pinkie Pie in particular seemed ready to break down into sobs. Twilight and the Princess maintained a stone complexion and stared straight forward. “What’s wrong guys?” asked Rainbow Dash with a confused look. It was at that moment that a voice from her side spoke.

“These have been the best years of my life. So, if anything, I feel quite the opposite; I wish to thank you, Twilight, and the rest of you. Thank you, for what you did, though not intentional. Thank you, for all that came out of this. And finally thank you, for all my years, my life, and my love...with Dashie.”

Rainbow Dash gasped. It was not just any voice. It was his voice. 

Rainbow Dash quickly turned to her right. Her eyes were greeted by a towering figure, almost twice the height of an average pony. “So he’s the one I’ve been hearing” Rainbow Dash thought to herself. She was taken aback by the odd appearance of this stranger, but proceeded to inspect him closely: this being clearly wasn’t a stallion. He stood up on two rather long legs, and instead of hoofs at the end of each limb he had hands and feet. In this sense, he was very similar to the monkeys that Rainbow Dash saw in the Canterlot circus once. But monkeys don’t wear clothes, and monkeys don’t speak. Rainbow Dash looked up intently at this being. It was difficult to make out his face, but she could see tears dripping down his chin. His hands were shaking, and he sniffled once or twice as he continued to look at the group of ponies across for them. It was then that the Princess spoke.
"No need for thanks, good sir. Instead, I wish to thank you, for taking care of one of my little ponies. She would have never made it without someone much like yourself."

Rainbow Dash got the sense that “one of my little ponies” was in reference to her. “Wait! What do you mean, Princess?” she suddenly asked. The pegasus then turned to the figure on her right. “Who are you? Why have you been following me around?”

Rainbow Dash then turned to the incarnations of her friends. “Girls, what’s going on? Twilight, who is he?” inquired Rainbow Dash frantically. She was more confused now than she had been in the past two days, and her futile attempt to get answers frustrated her greatly. Then again, she realized that she was still dreaming, and that if she herself didn’t know the answers to her questions, they sure wouldn’t appear in her dreams.

Suddenly, a bright light filled the room. Rainbow Dash had to squint to keep her eyes open. Her surroundings faded into white. Her friends and the princess slowly disappeared from view. The figure from her side also started to drift away. Soon, Rainbow Dash was staring into empty white space.

“I love you, my little Dashie.” was the last thing she heard before she woke up.

> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash awoke with a start. She was sweating profusely, and her heart was pounding in her chest. A sharp pain in her head caught her attention as she let out a soft gasp. This particular headache was much worse than the ones she experienced before. After a few moments, the pegasus relaxed as the pain left her body and opened her eyes.

She took a glance outside her bedroom window, unsure of how long she had been slumbering. The sky was still dark, and much of Ponyville was asleep, save for a couple late nighters whose house lights shone in the night. Rainbow Dash fell back onto her back and stared at her ceiling. The dream was too much for her mind to handle, and whatever answers she hoped to gain from it simply spawned more questions. 

After several minutes passed by, the blue pegasus jumped out of bed. There was no use in trying to go back to bed; her mind was far too active. She lamented the absence of her usually fun filled dream. Still, there would always be a chance to dream again.

Rainbow Dash walked out her front door, the cool night air hitting her face. A nice fly over Ponyville should clear up her mind, she thought to herself. Rainbow Dash stretched her wings, which were slightly stiff from lying in bed for a couple hours. With a leap and a bound, the blue pegasus took to the night skies.  

The feeling of the wind in her mane was truly refreshing to Rainbow Dash. She soared over the quiet houses of Ponyville, letting the tranquility of the night fill her mind. With all the drama she was going through, Rainbow Dash definitely needed some relaxation time for herself. The sky was clear, the moon shone brightly, and the air was the perfect temperature. In fact, Rainbow Dash was fine with not going back to bed at all.

Suddenly, something caught Rainbow Dash’s attention down below. On the empty streets of Ponyville, a single light was moving slowly along. The light seemed to be emitted from a lantern carried by a solitary mare. Whoever she was, she seemed to be heading toward town square. As Rainbow Dash scanned the vicinity, she also noticed 4 other lights, all of which seemed to be heading toward town square. Soon, the 5 lights had converged near the fountain and were set on the ground. Up in the air, she was very curious as to who could be meeting this late at night.

Rainbow Dash dived stealthily toward town square. She spotted a nearby rooftop and landed without a sound. The pegasus slowly peeked her head over the apex of the roof toward the five lights that congregated close by. As her eyes adjusted to the dim moonlight, she could make out five ponies congregating in a circle.

Rainbow Dash had to cover her mouth from gasping to loudly. It was her five friends. What are they doing here? she thought to herself. And why wasn’t I invited?

Near the fountain, the five other ponies set their lanterns down and exchanged greetings. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” said Twilight in a hushed tone.

“Well your letter sounded so terribly urgent that I just had to see what was the matter,” commented Rarity.

“Aye, but you gotta make it quick. I have to wake up bright and early tomorrow to clean up the barn,” said Applejack. 

“Don’t worry girls. I’ll keep it short,” replied Twilight.

“So, Twilight, what are we meeting about. Are we planning a surprise for Rainbow Dash? Your letter told us we were meeting to talk about her!” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Shhhh, not so loud, Pinkie!” said Twilight in a whispered shout.

“Oh, my bad, Twilight. I promise to be very, very quiet,” said Pinkie Pie at a barely audible volume.

Rainbow Dash listened intently to her friends’ conversation. A secret letter about me? What are they up to? she thought. Perhaps they were, in fact, planning a secret party. Or maybe Twilight was going to explain the setup for her ultimate revenge prank against Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus listened on with a piqued interest.

Twilight turned to the others present “Alright, girls. Tonight’s meeting is in fact about Rainbow Dash. There are a couple matters of utmost importance I need to discuss with all of you. But first, you must all promise me that you will not tell Rainbow Dash about this meeting.”

“Ah promise,” said Applejack.

“Not a word,” added Rarity.

“Ummm, I’ll try my best to keep quiet,” replied Fluttershy.

“Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye!” said Pinkie Pie excitedly.

“Excellent,” said Twilight with a nod, “This afternoon, Rainbow Dash came to me with a rather odd problem. She’s been having weird visions and dreams lately, saying that a voice has been following her around.”

“That’s very strange indeed,” commented Fluttershy, “Oh…I’m sorry Twilight, keep going.”

“It’s ok, Fluttershy. That’s exactly what I thought when she told me about her troubles,” said Twilight.

Rainbow Dash listened closely from the rooftop. Really, her friends were talking behind her back about her problems? The blue pegasus felt a twinge of anger at the secrecy her friends decided to pursue despite their repeated assurances over the years that they “don’t keep secrets.” What is the meaning of this? she thought, as she continued to watch the meeting from a distance.

“At first I thought it was some minor sickness or temporary mental lapse,” continued Twilight. “I searched my library for all sorts of diseases that could be affecting our friend. But after she said something, I realized the truth. The terrible and horrible truth.”

The rest of the ponies in the group gasped. “Oh, dear Celestia! What evil has been brought upon our loyal friend Rainbow Dash? What did she say?” cried Rarity in a dramatic tone.

Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes and said solemnly, “The voice called her ‘My Little Dashie’.”

A series of stifled gasps followed as all the other ponies widened their eyes in surprise. “That means…that the…” began Applejack.

“Yes, Applejack. The memory spell is dying,” replied Twilight quietly.

Everypony in the group fell silent as they let that last statement sink in. There were no gasps, screams, or even sighs from the rest of Twilight’s friends. They all simply stared at the ground for a minute or two, realizing how this would change their relationships with Rainbow Dash forever. “What do we do now?” asked Applejack.

“I’m...I’m not sure,” Twilight said. “I’m still trying to ascertain why the memory spell failed and how to fix it. The best thing you girls can do is act normally toward Rainbow Dash. Try and make her forget about what happened the past few days. However, under no circumstances can you let her know about her past life.”

All of the other ponies nodded, unaware of a watching figure behind a nearby house.

Upon hearing of the memory spell, Rainbow Dash ducked behind the roof and covered her mouth as tears began to form in her eyes. Silently, she took off into the night sky, leaving Twilight and the rest of her friends to their midnight meeting. Rainbow Dash flew to a nearby cloud and collapsed into its folds, weeping bitterly.

Her friends…Her closest, most dear friends had betrayed her. These were the very friends that she fought with side by side against the evil Nightmare Moon and vile Discord. These were the friends that cheered her on during the Young Flier’s competition, despite her own nervousness and lack of confidence. And these were the friends for whom she sacrificed so much, whether it was helping Pinkie Pie at the bakery or inspiring Fluttershy to be more assertive. Did that mean nothing to them?

Twilight Sparkle had lied to her face. The unicorn had known all along exactly why these things were happening, yet she chose to keep it a secret. In fact, everyone had known. Every single one of her friends had been keeping the secret of behind her experiences…or memories as she just found it. Where was the trust? Where was the friendship that held them together inseparably? 

“Why?” said Rainbow Dash out loud through her tears. “Why did you do this to me? I thought we were friends…”

It was at the moment when something snapped inside Rainbow Dash’s brain. The confusion, the frustration, and the betrayal had pushed the young pegasus past her breaking point and a familiar pain rushed through her head as she clenched her eyes shut. The sadness within her slowly transformed into anger. Anger at her friends for concealing the truth from her. Anger at Twilight for openly deceiving her and abusing her trust. Even anger at the faceless male in her dreams that would not leave her alone!

Rainbow Dash wiped the tears from her eyes and gritted her teeth as adrenaline rushed through her body. She looked down toward town square and caught glimpse of the 5 lights separating into different direction. She spied the light moving toward the Ponyville library, giving out a low growl as she stretched her wings. With an audible whoosh, she took off into the air, catching up to the light but trailing its unaware owner quietly. “You owe me some answers,” Dash whispered to herself angrily, “And you will give them to me, one way or another.”


* * *


Twilight Sparkle closed the door behind her quietly. Her mind was still flooded with questions and theories concerning Rainbow Dash’s memories. Never in her entire magic career did she have a memory spell fail, even a little bit. What made Rainbow Dash’s mind special? Was there any hope of restoring the memory spell permanently, or would Twilight be forced to recast the spell every so often? And what about the worst case scenario: if Rainbow Dash did find out about her alternate life?

Twilight tried hard to sort all of these out. There was also the box to deal with. The Princess had charged Twilight with keeping the box safe, but if the memory spell was indeed failing, there would be dire consequences if Rainbow Dash found the box. Twilight walked toward the back bookshelf, making sure the box was still there. Perhaps she could hand it over to Princess Celestia if it was absolutely necessary.

knock knock

Twilight nearly jumped. It was almost one o'clock in the morning, extremely late for anyone to be out and about. “Who is it?” Twilight shouted.

BAM BAM BAM

Twilight Sparkle quickly ran upstairs to her bedroom. She quietly opened her balcony door and peered over the edge of the railing. There, she could easily make out Rainbow Dash pounding on her door.

BAM BAM BAM

“Twilight Sparkle, I know you’re in there!” screamed Rainbow Dash as she continued to pound on the library door.

Twilight Sparkle quickly snuck back into her bedroom, closing the balcony doors behind her. “What is Rainbow Dash doing here?” she asked herself. The unicorn suddenly froze as she realized the possibility that her meeting may not have been as secret as she had hoped. Still, it was very unlikely that Rainbow Dash would wake up in the middle of the night, as the pegasus worked very hard during the daytime and was a heavy sleeper. Tentatively, Twilight walked back downstairs and to the front door. She turned the lock and inched it open so that a tiny portion of Rainbow Dash’s face was visible.

“Rainbow Dash? What’s going on?” asked Twilight through the opening.

Of all the responses Rainbow Dash could have given, Twilight was least expecting the one that she received. With a loud smash, Rainbow Dash’s hind hooves struck the door with high velocity. Twilight was thrown onto her back as the door swung wide open, one of its hinges shattering. Splinters flew through the air, landing around the bewildered unicorn. In the doorway stood Rainbow Dash. A very mad and furious Rainbow Dash.

“Twilight Sparkle! You lied to me!” shouted Rainbow Dash.

The unicorn pulled herself up, wincing at the cuts and bruises she sustained from the impact. There was a look of complete fear in her eyes; nopony had witnessed Rainbow Dash this angry. “What…what do you mean?” the unicorn asked nervously.

“Don’t give me that!” yelled Rainbow Dash angrily as she stomped her hoof on the ground, “You know exactly what I mean!!”

“No, please…I don’t understand…” said Twilight Sparkle as she backed away slowly. “Why are you so angry?”

“Don’t understand, eh?” Rainbow Dash retorted in a sarcastic tone. “Then maybe I should ask somepony else about this ‘memory spell.’” 

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes widened as she realized her secret meeting did indeed have a clandestine eavesdropper. She looked nervously about her library, trying to find a way to dodge her friend’s question. Out of options, Twilight put her head down and stared at the ground. The worst case scenario had just been realized. There was nowhere to hide now. The unicorn closed her eyes and said solemnly, “I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash…”

The angry pegasus advanced on her friend. “Sorry isn’t going to cut it, Twilight. I want answers! What memories did you erase? Where did I go? Who is he??” asked Rainbow Dash with a stern tone.

“Dashie…I’m sorry that we’ve kept this secret so long.” said Twilight with a shaky voice.

Rainbow Dash winced as a sudden headache gripped her. “Who is he???”

“I’m sorry that I lied to you when I knew the truth,” replied Twilight.

Rainbow Dash shouted at the top of her lungs “WHO. IS. HE?????”

Tears formed in Twilight Sparkle’s eyes as she gazed into Rainbow Dash’s angry expression. “And I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash, because I can’t answer your question.”

Rainbow Dash was completely taken aback by her friend’s audacity. “What do you mean you can’t answer my question? I know you know exactly who he is!” she shouted angrily.

“Yes I do know whose voice has followed you in your dreams and in waking. But I cannot tell you,” replied Twilight with resolve in her voice.

This response only served to enrage Rainbow Dash even further. “No…NO! I’ve been through far too much for you to hide answers from me! I’m being haunted by this…thing and you refuse to help me?? Twilight, what kind of friend are you?” she said as she advanced upon the unicorn. 

“No, Dashie, please try and understand…I can’t tell you who he is…” cried Twilight as she was forced toward the back of the library.

Rainbow Dash winced again at that name. “Don’t call me that! You don’t deserve to call me by that name!!” she yelled as tears of rage formed in her eyes. “TELL ME WHO HE IS!!!”

Rainbow Dash reared herself onto her hind legs and stomped the floor with both her front hooves. The force of the impact threw Twilight off balance. The unicorn stumbled back until she hit the bookshelf behind her. The back of her head smashed straight into one of the wooden shelves, which shattered under the blow. The entire bookshelf began to rock back and forth, and books fell all around the now barely conscious Twilight.

Rainbow Dash watched her friend fall under the rain of books. She had snapped out of her blinding rage, aware of the fact that her friend might be seriously injured. The pegasus began to run forward towards the bookshelf when something landed in front of her. A small cardboard box struck the ground and spilled its contents on the floor. Rainbow Dash paused to examine the small objects that fell out. There was something about them that drew her attention, something that she couldn’t quite put her hoof on. She picked up a small toy racecar and began to examine it carefully. 

Twilight Sparkle’s head was throbbing immensely. Judging by the stinging sensation near the back of her skull, she was also bleeding. The blow had also temporarily damaged her vision, and she could only make out blurry shapes in front of her. She shoved the mess of books on top of her to the side and stood up. Even though she could hardly keep her balance and barely make out Rainbow Dash, she was prepared to do anything to protect the secret of the pegasus’ memories. But as her vision refocused, she was not ready to receive the sight in front of her.

“Rainbow Dash, no!” she cried.

Rainbow Dash held up a toy car to her face. “This…I’ve never seen a car like this in Ponyville. Yet I remember having this as a kid. I had a whole collection of these in my room as a filly! But how? Where did I get this?” she asked inquisitively. 

“No, stop looking!” shouted Twilight Sparkle. She attempted to summon her magic to pull the box and the objects away from her, but she could not concentrate sufficiently due to her head injuries.

“And this,” said Rainbow Dash, as she held up a ticket to the Indy 500, “I clearly remember being given this when I was a bit older. I don’t think Cloudsdale hosts a race called the Indy 500 though. I wonder who gave this to me.”

“No!” screamed Twilight as she collapsed back onto the floor.

The memories were slowly coming back to Rainbow Dash. “Wait…I remember now. Some guy gave it to me…at his house! That house…no…it’s the same house as in my dreams. That means that the guy who gave me this ticket is the voice that’s been following me around,” continued Rainbow Dash. She was suddenly cut short by a searing pain in her head, many times worse that the headaches she had been experiencing in the past few days. “Ah!” cried the pegasus as she grasped her head with her hooves and struggled to continue talking. “He gave me that ticket, and promised me that we would go see the race. He said he would always care for…no…that’s impossible. I grew up on my own in Cloudsdale. He was never with me then.” Nevertheless, Rainbow Dash continued remembered bits and pieces of time she spent with him. She soon realized that he wasn’t a pony or a monkey or any other animal she had known before. “He’s a…man.” said Rainbow Dash, “but…what’s a man? How did I know that?”

Twilight could not bear to witness the cataclysm of events that would soon follow. Resigned to defeat, the unicorn buried her head in her hooves and whispered, “I’m sorry, Princess…”

Rainbow Dash turned her attention to a small photograph on the ground. She picked it up and examined it closely, trying her hardest to ignore the pulsating pain in her head. On the right side was herself, smiling joyfully at the camera. On the left side, there was that same face that appeared in her dream, one that Rainbow Dash had sworn she had never seen before.

“Wait,” she said, “that face…that’s the face I’ve been seeing in my dreams! That’s the face of the man whose been talking to me! That’s the face of…” Rainbow Dash paused midsentence as two of the most unexpected words formed in her mouth.

“…my father.”

Suddenly, the already unbearable pain in Rainbow Dash’s head tripled in magnitude. She dropped the photograph and screamed in complete agony. “Twilight, what’s happening to me?! What did you do to me?!” she yelled.

Twilight looked her friend in the eye with a tearful expression. “I’m so sorry, Dashie…”

With the pain rapidly increasing, Rainbow Dash stood up on her back hooves, her forehooves grasping her head desperately.  She stumbled around the library, knocking down tables and screaming in anguish. The pain finally forced the pegasus onto her knees as tears streamed down her face. “Twilight, help me!” she cried.

It was then something strange began to happen. A white halo began to form around Rainbow Dash’s head. A faint glow began to emanate from her shut eyes. As the pegasus’ screams grew louder, the glow grew brighter. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash stood on her back hooves and opened her eyes, unleashing the energy within. 

Rainbow Dash suddenly found her mind assailed with memories. She saw the flash of the lightning bolt that transported her to the human world and the darkness of the box in which she ended up. She saw the first moment her father’s face looked down on her. The house in her dreams now presented itself in her mind as the stream of memories continued. Memories of her childhood rushed through, from the time she learned how to fly to the time she watched her first car race. She remembered the day she discovered her ‘true’ identity as a pegasus of Ponyville and renounced her loyalty to her father. She also saw the day in the forest where they mended their broken friendship. The last memory to pass through her mind was the day when she was taken back to her own world. 

With this rush of memories also came a rush of emotions. Joy, anger, depression, and sadness assaulted Rainbow Dash’s mind. With the glow from her eyes growing more intense every second, her mind began to collapse from sensory overload. The last thing she remembered feeling before blacking out was the feeling of…love.

The white halo also grew brighter as Rainbow Dash’s memories came flooding back. Twilight had to shield her eyes as the rays of emitted light became eye-searingly bright. Soon, the entire library became filled with a brilliant white light. Twilight feared for the worst as she saw her friend consumed by this magical energy.

But as soon as it had come, the light disappeared. Rainbow Dash was left standing in a daze, the contents of the box strewn around her. The halo had disappeared completely, as did the glow in her eyes. White fragments of magic drifted from her head to the ground before disappearing into nothingness. 

And just like that, the memory spelled had died.

> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The stars sparkled in the night sky like miniature crystals. The air was still, as if the very atmosphere itself was holding its breath. Down below lay the peaceful town of Ponyville and its sleeping residents, all oblivious to the bright spectacle that had just occurred. Everypony was slumbering in their houses, save one pegasus and one unicorn in the Ponyville Library.

Twilight Sparkle stood herself up as she regained her physical strength. She gazed over to the middle of the room toward her pegasus friend, who stood wide eyed, mouth open toward the ceiling. Tears rain down Rainbow Dash’s face as she gasped for air after her painful ordeal. Twilight slowly limped over to her friend’s side. “Rainbow Dash,” she whispered, “Can you hear me?”

“Yes…I can hear you, Twilight,” replied the pegasus, eyes still wide open.

Twilight reached for her friend’s hoof and took in her own. “I never meant for any of this to happen. Everything I did was to protect you,” Twilight said. To this, Rainbow Dash gave no response.

A tear began to form in Twilight’s eye as she realized the consequences of these recent events. Celestia had given her possibly the most important mission that she would ever receive, and she failed. She had failed to keep the existence of Rainbow Dash’s alternate life unknown; furthermore, the very memories that Celestia said would jeopardize the pegasus’s mental state had been reawakened. Worst of all, Twilight had failed in her responsibilities as a friend, lying directly to Rainbow Dash’s face and abusing her trust.

As these thoughts ran through Twilight’s head, she collapsed on the ground as tears flowed freely from her eyes. “I’m so sorry Princess Celestia. I’m so sorry, Dashie,” she whispered. Her friend continued to wear the same dazed expression, seemingly staring into empty space. A few silent minutes passed by before Rainbow Dash spoke again.

“This is all very weird. I remember growing up with this man, just me and…my father by ourselves. But how is that possible, when I also remember growing up in Cloudsdale with my pony friends? There was one day in a park when he was teaching me how to fly. That was the day I got my cutie mark. No, wait...I got my cutie mark during a race in junior flight school. It’s as if this whole time, I’ve been living two lives,” She said very slowly and deliberately.

Rainbow Dash finally broke her gaze with the ceiling at looked down at the ground. “But the memories of my life with him just stop at a certain point in the past. The last thing I remember was…you girls…and the princess…coming to take me back.”

“Yes, this is all true,” said Twilight through her tears.

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as a sudden wave of sadness coursed through her body. It was not long before the pegasus herself was fighting back tears.

“I was lost in a scary place, young and defenseless. But this man saved me and took me in as one of his own. He housed me, fed me, and took care of me for fifteen long years. He loved me like a daughter, and I loved him like a father. We were happy together,” said Rainbow Dash as she choked up.

The pegasus paused for a bit to regain her composure. Then she turned to Twilight and addressed her directly. “But you took me away and erased all traces of my time with him. You erased all my memories of his love.”

“We had no choice,” replied Twilight.

Rainbow Dash wished she could object to this statement, but her memories supported her friend’s assertion. “Yes…that’s right. I was living in a world where I didn’t belong. As much as he loved me, I couldn’t stay with him,” she said solemnly. 

The memories of the man’s care continue to run through Rainbow Dash’s mind. Sleeping in his arms during stormy nights. Drinking a bowl of his homemade soup as he helped her fight sickness. Laughing and smiling with him as they discussed the latest NASCAR races. Emotions that had been suppressed by Twilight’s memory spell now flowed freely through Rainbow Dash’s mind. 

She experienced the happiness and peace of her past life, and the anger and sorrow of her departure. She once more felt the confusion that occupied the days following her return but there was one emotion that slowly began to take over here mind: fear. She had just discovered her alternative life; what future would come for a pony of two pasts? Who was she going to become…or, who was she meant to become?

After a moment of silence, the pegasus knew what she had to do.

Rainbow Dash held her head up and glanced at the broken bookshelf in front of her. “Twilight,” she said, “I need to go back.”

Twilight Sparkle stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. The ongoing chain of events was playing out just as she feared. “No. you can’t go back,” she replied. 

“Twilight, please,” said Rainbow Dash, “I’m not going to leave you. I know I belong here. I just want to go back…and talk to my father one last time.”

Twilight shook her head. “We cannot let you do this. Enough damage has been done already by your accidental appearance in the human world,” she replied.

Rainbow Dash turned toward her friend with a fiery look in her eyes. “You don’t understand! This man…my father gave15 years of his life to take care of me. I must go back and repay his kindness, even if I am unable to fully return his love,” she declared, “and…I need his advice. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me now that the memory spell is broken.”

“Dashie, as much as the Princess, me and the rest of our friends wish you could go back, there simply is no way,” said Twilight.

“Nonsense, Twilight!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “You used magic to take me away from him. You can use magic to send me back again!” The pegasus’s anger began to boil within her again and she slowly advanced on her unicorn friend.

Twilight began to back away slowly. “What I tell you is the whole and honest truth. There are rules and forces beyond your control that dictate what can and cannot be done.”

“Take me to my father!” screamed Rainbow Dash as she cornered Twilight between two bookshelves. 

A white glow began to emit from Twilight’s horn. Pretty soon, sparks of magic began to fly out of the tip and around her body. As the glow grew brighter, the sparks meshed together, forming a network of blue trails around the unicorn. “Please, Rainbow Dash…no more.” 

“Twilight!!!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she dived toward her friend.

As the pegasus soared through the air, a brilliant purple flash discharged from Twilight’s horn. The light shined brightly for a fraction of a second before disappearing along with the purple unicorn.

Rainbow Dash landed on her stomach with a groan, in the exact spot that Twilight had been standing in half a second before. “TWILIGHT!!!!” she screamed as tears streamed from her eyes. “TAKE ME TO MY FATHER!!” Rainbow Dashed lashed out in anger, toppling bookcases and throwing over tables with her hooves. The anger within her mind was almost as painful as the feeling of the memory spell breaking.

After a moment, Rainbow Dash’s anger subsided, and the pegasus lay on the floor of the Ponyville Library, sobbing quietly.

“Daddy…”


* * *


As the first sunrays broke over the distant mountains, the residents of Ponyville began to stir. The early risers could already be seen walking up and down the streets. The air was cool, and the morning dew on the trees could be seen glistening in the sunlight. A little while later, the sun had risen clear of the mountaintops and bathed the town in its warm light. By this time, everypony was up and about, minding their business like any other day.

In an isolated cloudbank near the outskirts of Ponyville, a house floated peacefully along with the wind. This magnificent structure was none other than the dwelling of Rainbow Dash, Equestria’s best flyer. At least, that’s what she remembered in this life.

Rainbow Dash sat on her cloud bed, trying to uncover the true extent of her memories with her father. Her eyes were red from the many tears shed the night before. Although the pegasus was exhausted, she had no desire to sleep, or to dream. All Rainbow Dash could think about was her father. The memories were so fresh, so strong that she could almost feel his presence by her side. Alas, she knew that he was still worlds away.

In the distance, she could distinguish birds chirping. As a random breeze blew through her house, she could hear the hum of the clean spring air. Soon after, these two sounds were joined by the sound of the pegasus singing quietly.

“Hush, my little Dashie, it’s time to go to bed,
“Pull up your blankets and lay down your head,
“Hush, my little Dashie, and rest for the night
“Until you catch glimpse of morning’s first light.

“Although we come from worlds apart,
“I love you, my Dashie, with all of my heart.”

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and continued to sing softly to herself. The words were naught but memories, yet they carried so much power. At last, for the first time in days, Rainbow Dash felt at ease. She closed her eyes and continued the melody, unaware of a flash of purple light behind her.

“Rainbow Dash,” spoke Twilight from the door of the bedroom. The unicorn’s call went unheeded, as her friend continued to sing until she reached the end of the song once more.

“Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight again, in a more confident tone.

The pegasus opened her eyes and gazed out her window. “He used to sing that to me every night before I went to sleep. That song had the power to cure all my worries and doubts like magic,” she said, “I wish I could hear his voice just one more time.”

“Rainbow Dash, the Princess wishes to see you,” declared Twilight. “She is waiting in town hall.”

“Oh…The Princess wants to see me?” replied Rainbow Dash in a melancholy tone.

“Yes. She says it is a matter of utmost importance. You must hurry,” said Twilight.

Rainbow Dash turned toward her awaiting friend and gazed at the bedroom floor. “I guess I’ll be there then,” she muttered.

“Good,” replied Twilight, “We’ll be in town hall waiting for you.” Then, without another word, the unicorn vanished into thin air with a flash.

Rainbow Dash slowly dragged herself out of bed. The pegasus had been drained of nearly all of her willpower, and had to force her legs to walk her outside. She methodically stretched her wings, feeling the spring air drift through her feathers. At once, she took off into the skies in the direction of town hall, humming the familiar melody of a long lost lullaby.


* * *


Rainbow Dash opened the door to town hall and entered. Inside, Princess Celestia stood waiting, Twilight Sparkle at her side. In addition the rest of her friends were also present, standing on either side of the princess. All of them looked at Rainbow Dash with a solemn expression as the pegasus walked towards them.

Rainbow Dash stopped in front the princess and bowed her head politely. “Princess Celestia, you wanted to see me?” she asked solemnly.

The prostrate Rainbow Dash could hear the sound of the princess’s hoofsteps approaching until they stopped just in front of her. There was a pause before the princess spoke.

“Twilight has informed me of the events of the past few days,” Celestia began, “Above all, I want you to know that you have my deepest and most sincere apologies for your suffering. If there is anypony who is to blame for your tribulations, it is I. I was the one who charged Twilight Sparkle with the mission of keeping your second life a secret.”

Rainbow Dash lifted her head and gazed into the sympathetic eyes of the princess. “It’s fine…I’ll be alright.”

The princess took a step backward and spoke again as the other ponies turned their gaze away from the blue pegasus. “It was wrong of us to separate you and your loving caretaker. But Twilight was right; we were left without a choice,” said Celestia.

Rainbow Dash turned her eyes toward the ground as a feeling of sadness welled up inside her.

The princess continued, “But this time, a choice has been given to us.” A long pause followed this remark as the princess prepared for her next statement. Twilight looked inquisitively at her teacher, wondering what she would say. The other ponies turned to each other with anticipation, ready for almost anything to come out of the princess’s mouth. “And I, Princess Celestia, choose to let you bring your father from his world and allow him to reside in Ponyville for the rest of his days.”

A collective gasp burst from all the other ponies present. Everypony stared at the princess with an utterly bewildered expression. Rainbow Dash was especially surprised by the princess’s statement and looked at her in shock. It was already very rare to have visitors from other cities in Ponyville, but to have visitor from another world was absolutely unheard of. Twilight quickly leaped in between Rainbow Dash and the Princess and began to speak hastily.

“Princess Celestia, will all due honor and respect, are you completely out of your mind??” she asked with a serious tone. 

“In light of recent events, I believe this is the best course of action,” replied the white alicorn.

“Best course of action? Princess, I don’t understand how this could even be a course of action! You’re talking about bringing a human into Equestria. Have you even thought about the consequences of your choice? What happened to keeping our worlds separate?” argued Twilight with a confused look on her face.

The princess stared intently at her questioning student. “I understand the risks of bringing a new visitor into our world, but I have trust in the human,” she stated.
Twilight took a step back. “Trust? You hardly even know him. Nobody in Equestria knows what humans are like. For all we know, these beings could be evil, hateful and selfish. How can you be so sure of his integrity?” she protested quite loudly. The other ponies nodded in agreement with this last question.

The princess looked at the blue pegasus behind Twilight. “Because of Rainbow Dash.” she said, “For fifteen years he took care of my little Rainbow Dash as his own daughter. To sacrifice this much for another is proof enough that his heart is filled with kindness and love.” 

Twilight bit her lipped as she thought about the princess’s last statement. The unicorn could hardly object to Celestia’s reasoning; she herself remembered discovering Rainbow Dash in the gentle care of the human. Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie also began to grasp the princess’s line of thought. Perhaps it wasn’t so unreasonable after all. 

“Well…even if he did come here, he’d be a complete stranger. How would he fit in?” asked Twilight.

“When Rainbow Dash was thrown into that unknown world, he became her guide and mentor. I believe that Rainbow Dash is willing to do the same for him,” replied Princess Celestia

“Yes!” interjected the pegasus finally. “I will take care of him, as he took care of me in my time of need.” Rainbow Dash finally began showing signs of excitement after her past few days of suffering.

“Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” said the princess, “I am truly grateful for your assistance in this matter.”

Suddenly, Fluttershy spoke too, “Um…excuse me Princess, but I think I could help him get comfortable with living in Ponyville, too. I’ll show him all the lovely birds and animals that live here.”

Applejack stepped forward. “I’ll make sure he has all the food he needs. The Apple family would never let a guest go hungry,” she said confidently.

“I could definitely spare some fabric to make him some clothing,” declared Rarity, “Although he shall have to inform me about human fashion standards…”

“And I can show him all around Ponyville and introduce him to all our friends!” said Pinkie Pie with exhilaration in her voice, “Oh! Oh! We can even throw him a welcome party! Ahhhh, I’m so excited!!”

Twilight looked at all of her friends in amazement. How could they be willing to trust a complete stranger, who on top of that wasn’t even from Equestria? Still, she had little choice but to yield to the Princess. “Very well…I guess he can use the library if he needs quiet space or is looking for something interesting to read,” said the unicorn begrudgingly.

“Thank you all, my friends,” spoke the princess as she bowed to the six ponies in front of her.

“Princess, allow me to ask one question though,” requested Twilight.

“Yes, my faithful student?” asked Celestia as she raised her head.

“Why do you want him to stay here? Does he not belong in his own world?”

“The kindness and love I saw inside that human’s heart…I believe we have much we can learn from his actions. In my thousands of years as princess of Equestria, never have I witnesses a sacrifice of this magnitude. And given the opportunity to live in a world of friendship and harmony, I highly doubt that he will object.” The princess then turned her head toward Rainbow Dash. “Moreover, I believe that there are few things stronger than the bond between father and daughter. To keep Rainbow Dash and the human separated would be an affront to the very ideals of friendship we hold dear,” said Celestia confidently.

Rainbow Dash jumped up and rushed to hug the white alicorn. “Thank you so much, Princess. This means so much to me and my father. How could we ever repay you?” she said as she fought back tears.

“You have already done so much for me and Ponyville,” replied the princess, “and he has already done me a great service by taking care of you during your time in his world.”

Rainbow Dash released her embrace on the princess. “Thank you, Princess Celestia,” she said once more.

The Princess turned to all of the ponies present at the meeting. “Now, we must make haste. The flow of time is drastically different in his world compared to ours. When a day goes by in Equestria, a year has already passed in the human realm.” The princess turned to an old chest laying in the corner of the hall. She summoned her magic to move it through the air and place it before the six on-looking ponies. 

With a click, the chest opened wide. “These are the Elements of Harmony. Like last time, we will need to use them to create a bridge to his world; however, this time only one of you will be able to go,” declared Celestia.

Rainbow Dash stepped forward. “I’ll go and bring him back. But I don’t understand why we all can’t go.”

Celestia called upon her magic and removed a small gem from the chest containing the elements. “This is a carrier stone. While the magic of the elements was more than sufficient to bring you back from his world to your home, Equestria, we will need a more powerful spell to take the human out of his home into our world. The six of us who remain here will need to stabilize the bridge in order to ensure his safe arrival. You, however, will have an easier task. Simply have your father hold the stone in his hand, and we will be able to channel the magic of the elements through it to transport him here.”

Rainbow Dash watched as the stone floated through the air into her hoof. It was no bigger than an apple, and it seemed to emit a faint blue glow. “Ok, that seems easy enough!” she replied as she tucked the stone under her wing.

“Everypony, retrieve your element and get ready,” instructed the princess. A rush of hoofsteps followed as each pony grabbed their respective element and formed a circle. Celestia removed the empty chest and turned her eyes toward the other ponies. To her left stood Twilight, the Element of Magic and Applejack, the Element of Honesty. To the princess’ right stood Fluttershy, the Element of Kindess; Rarity, the Element of Generosity; and Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter. Directly across from Celestia stood the Element of Loyalty and the chosen traveler, Rainbow Dash.

Celestia turned to the blue pegasus and spoke, “Listen well to what I have to say next. Our magic is limited and will only be able to sustain your presence in the human world for a short time. You will have no more than an hour to find the human and give him the carrier stone. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Princess!” stated Rainbow Dash as she stood proudly.

“Excellent. Now, we will transport you to the exact location of the human’s house. Should he no longer be residing at that place, return to Equestria as quickly as possible and we will track him down. You must move fast, as time is working against us,” she said with a serious tone. “Rainbow Dash, are you ready?”

“Yes, Princess,” replied the pegasus confidently. 

Princess Celestia stepped forward and stared intently into Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “You will soon be reunited with the father you love, I promise that,” she said.

Rainbow Dash gave a smile and a bow as the princess stepped back into her original position.

“Very well. Everypony, let us begin,” stated Princess Celestia.

All seven ponies closed their eyes and began to call upon the ancient magic within the Elements. A gust of wind began to circle around the group, causing the ceiling chandeliers to sway and the curtains to flail wildly. The Elements themselves began to glow, and soon a small ray of light from each pony shot into the center of the circle. Where these rays intersected, a white sphere began to form. As each pony concentrated their powers, the sphere began to grow until it reached the size of a large pony. 

Princess Celestia suddenly opened her eyes, revealing two brilliant beams of white light. With a shout, the Princess opened her wings as her horn began to glow with the colors of the rainbow. This spectrum traveled along the ray connecting the princess and the white sphere in the middle until the sphere itself began to flash with vibrant colors. “Go now!” yelled Princess Celestia.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and saw the open portal in front of her. With slow and deliberate steps, she stepped through the light into the other side.

> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After being tossed about in time and space for a few seconds, Rainbow Dash suddenly found herself on solid ground again. The pegasus gathered her senses and looked about her surroundings. It was nighttime, and the stars twinkled brightly in the heavens. Around her was an open field filled with grass and flowers. A few dozen yards ahead of her, Rainbow Dash could make out a small house. She instantly recognized it as her father’s dwelling.

Rainbow Dash started off slowly in the direction of the house. She noticed a faint glow from the necklace she was wearing as the lightning gemstone pulsated with magical power. The pegasus quickly checked under her wing for the carrier stone, which emitted a much stronger glow than before. Mindful of her time constraints, Rainbow Dash quickened her pace, galloping toward the house and leaping onto the porch. 

Rainbow Dash noticed that the lights were still on despite the late hour at which she arrived. That’s good. I won’t have to disturb his sleep, she thought to herself. The pegasus slowly raised her hoof to knock on the large front door, but a random thought stopped her in her tracks.

What if he doesn’t remember me…Rainbow Dash wondered. A little less than two weeks had passed since she returned to Equestria. This meant that twelve or thirteen years had gone by in this world since she left. Would her father still remember her after such a long absence? Rainbow Dash could not bear to imagine the confused look on her father’s face as she explained who she was. Perhaps the father’s love for which she relentlessly fought in the past few days would now be nothing more than a shadow of time.

Rainbow Dash shuddered as these questions ran through her mind. Her hoof was still in the air, poised to knock on the door. “No. I have do this,” she whispered aloud. This was a risk she absolutely must take.

Knock knock

Rainbow Dash stepped back as she heard light footsteps coming from the back of the house. She started sweating nervously, not knowing how this encounter would play out. As the footsteps got louder and louder, her heart began to race. Suddenly, the steps halted in front of the door, and the pegasus gasped loudly. She was hardly able to breathe as the lock turned and the door swung open.

An old man stood in the entranceway of the house, a man that Rainbow Dash recognized as her father. His face had changed noticeable with age, wrinkles scattered around his eyes and mouth. His hair had grown thinner and lighter. The man also wore a pair of spectacles that hung on the edge of his nose. But despite these transformations, Rainbow Dash knew that without a doubt, the face looking down on her was the face of her father.

Rainbow Dash tensed up as the man took off his glasses and examined the strange creature in front of him. His eyes moved over the pegasus’ face, to her rainbow mane, to her feathered wings, to the colored lightning bolt on her flank, and back to her face. His expression soon turned to one of confusion, the exact look that Rainbow Dash did not want to see on her father’s face. The pegasus fought back tears as her father eye’s continued to inspect her.

So this is it… thought Rainbow Dash as she lowered her head and closed her eyes, This is how this story ends…

Rainbow Dash’s attention was soon drawn by a gasp from the man’s mouth. The pegasus looked up and saw her father’s jaw drop suddenly. With a slow breath, the man’s eyes widened as he knelt down and embraced Rainbow Dash in his arms.

“Dashie…” he whispered as tears formed in his eyes.

Rainbow Dash hugged him back as her feelings of apprehension disappeared and happiness filled her mind. “Daddy…” she whispered back, “I’m here.”

The two remained locked in embrace as the seconds passed. Both father and daughter were in tears as neither believed that this day would ever come. To Rainbow Dash, this was the finish of her quest to find her beloved caretaker. To the man, this was a dream come true.

Inside the house, the clock struck eleven.

“Dashie, I’ve missed you so much,” whispered the man.

“I’ve missed you too, Daddy,” replied Rainbow Dash quietly.

Finally, the man broke his embrace with Rainbow Dash and stood up. He wiped the tears from his eyes as a smile formed upon his face. “Dashie, welcome,” he said joyfully. “Please, come inside.” 

Rainbow Dash rubbed away her own tears as she stepped inside the house. The door closed behind her as the man led her to the living room. 

Rainbow Dash paused for a moment to take in her surroundings. While the owner of the house had changed over the years, the living room remained largely the same. The walls and floor were the same as she recalled from the dream. The couch and table were in the same places as well, and a large grandfather clock stood in one corner. Rainbow Dash recalled many other objects in the room, but there was definitely something different than before.

As the man walked toward the bookshelf in the far corner of the room, the pegasus approached a nearby picture hanging on the wall. In her past life, she remembered that a photo of herself used to hang here, one that was taken when she was given her first bath. However, the picture that hung in front of Rainbow Dash now was a painting, featuring a distant mountain range with the setting sun behind it. Rainbow Dash gazed in awe as the colors and hues sucked her in and she experienced a sense of beauty running through her mind. The pegasus took a look around, and saw that the walls were filled with paintings, each as splendid and vibrant as the one she just examined. 

“Did you...paint these?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied, as he searched the dusty top shelf for a special book.

“They’re beautiful,” Rainbow Dash said as she approached another picture.

“Thank you for the kind words,” replied the man as he grabbed a worn out photo album from the bookshelf, “But I have much more than just that to thank you for. Come, sit down with me, Dashie. We have much to talk about.”

The man placed the photo album on the table and sat down on the couch. Rainbow Dash leaped into the air and plopped herself right next to him. “Daddy, I have so much to tell you,” she said as she cuddled up with her father.

The man put his arm around her long lost daughter and said, “As do I.”

Rainbow Dash recounted her life from day she returned to Ponyville. The pegasus began with her long recovery and the headaches that plagued her for days. She told him about the strange vision in the sky, the house from her dreams, and the voice that seemed to follow her everywhere. With a more somber tone, she recalled the secret meeting and the confrontation with Twilight Sparkle as well. But her voice became more cheerful as she described the events that led up to her arrival.

“The Princess let you travel to this world?” asked the man inquisitively “By yourself, too?”

“Yeah! She trusts you so much after you took care of me. She thinks you make a great father,” replied Rainbow Dash.

The happy blue pegasus nuzzled her mane against her father’s shoulder. “I’m here because I wanted to see you again, Daddy, but there’s another reason that I’m really excited about!” said Rainbow Dash happily as she secretly squeezed the carrier stone under her wing. “But first, I want to know how you are. It’s been  twelve or thirteen years in your world since I left, right?”

“Just about,” the man answered. “And a lot has happened in that time period.”

“Oooo, like what?” said Rainbow Dash.

“Well, let’s see…hmmm, it has been quite a while,” he replied as he twisted his eyebrows in thought, “Ah…yes.”

The man took his arm from around Rainbow Dash and sat himself up, looking intently at the fireplace in the front of the living room. “The day of your departure left a hole in my heart. I had nothing else to give my love, nobody to take care of anymore. My little Dashie was gone forever…” he began. Rainbow Dash watched her father shift anxiously in his seat, “And I became fearful. I was afraid that I would return to the dreary existence I lived before I found you. Afraid that I would spend the rest of my days as a lonely old man.”

The pegasus could feel him shuddering at that last statement. She had no idea that her absence had caused so much pain in his life.

After a pause, he added, “I began to forget the love we shared…” 

“I’m so sorry,” said Rainbow Dash as she put her hoof on his knee. 

“It’s ok…that’s all behind us now,” he replied, “that’s all just a memory.”

The man then turned to Rainbow Dash with an intent expression. “In the weeks after you left…I slowly lost the will to carry on. I didn’t want to eat, didn’t want to sleep, didn’t want to even breathe. I had nothing else to live for. All I wanted was to hold you in my arms once more.”

The man turned his head downward. “It was weeks, maybe months, until I stumbled upon your note. I remember reading it to myself, feeling the pain of separation once again.” he began, “But that time, a different sensation began to creep into my mind. Deep within my emotional core, something had clicked,” he spoke.

“I suddenly remember that the day you left, I vowed to live the rest of my life to the fullest, for myself, and for you. Holding that note in my frail hands, I finally saw the light of day. I knew that as long as I kept you inside my heart, I need not fear dying a lonely old man,” he said confidently. “This was my promise to myself.”

He then motioned toward the paintings on the wall behind him. “Now, about these paintings. Even before you came into my life, I had taken up painting as a way to escape the harsh realities of this world. Although I had practiced for years, painting could never fill the hole that existed in my life before you came along. For fifteen years, I took care of you with all of my heart, because I realized that only you could fill that hole.”

“The day I saw your note, I felt a sudden urge to paint, even though I had not touched a brush for so long. Such powerful inspiration rushed through my mind, and I returned to the canvas once more. I painted and painted even to the point where my fingers began to hurt,” he continued

The man turned back to Rainbow Dash. “For the last twelve years, I painted like my life depended on it. Whenever I was depressed, I painted. Whenever I was in denial, I painted. Whenever I was lonely, I painted, for you Dashie. You were my inspiration, and I couldn’t have wished for anything more. Thank you for making the last twelve years as bearable as they could be.”

Rainbow Dash leaped onto her father and hugged him once more. “I’m so glad you’re happy, Daddy. You’ve done so much to take care of me. You deserve this happiness,” she said with a smile. The two fell silent for a bit as they felt the warmth of each other’s body.

The clock above the fireplace read 11:30

“But enough about me, I want to hear about my daughter. So Dashie, what is the other reason you are here?” asked the man.

Rainbow Dash suddenly jumped up in excitement. “Ahhh!!! I can’t wait to tell you!” she shouted eagerly. “So…when Princess Celestia heard about what I was going through, she decided that these special times required a special course of action.”

“Ah…” said the old man as he nodded.

“She was extremely thankful for your service and was amazed by the depth of your love,” added the pegasus.

“What decisions did she make then?” he inquired.

Rainbow Dash could hardly control her smile as she prepared to break the good news to her father. “Well…since you have shown true kindness from your heart…”

“Yes?” 

“She decided...”

“Go on...”

“That you can come to Equestria and live with me and my friends for the rest of your life!” squealed Rainbow Dash. 

The man let out a gasp. “What? Really?” he stuttered.

“Yeah! The Princess believes that you could set an example for us ponies. My friends have even agreed to help with your stay in Ponyville. Just imagine all the good times we will have!” said Rainbow Dash excitedly.

The man’s heartbeat quickened. Even after Rainbow Dash was thrown into his world, never did he think that he would get a chance to stay in hers. And to be with Rainbow Dash with the rest of his days was something he couldn’t even imagine. “But…are you sure this is what the princess wants?” he asked.

“Totally! She and my other friends support this, and I want you to live your dream. You will never have to leave me ever again!” said the ecstatic pegasus.

“But I’m a human. How am I even supposed to get to Equestria?” asked the man anxiously.

Rainbow Dash lifted her wing and the carrier stone dropped onto the seat cushion. She noticed that its blue light was dimmer now. The pegasus was running out of time.

Rainbow Dash took the stone in her hoof. “This is a carrier stone. All you have to do is take it and hold it in your closed hand. The others back home can use the Elements of Harmony to bring you to Equestria.”

The man stared at the blue stone in her daughter’s hoof. The mad rush of events had left him a bit confounded. He was not entirely prepared to face a choice of this magnitude. Even after twelve years of wishing he could be with Rainbow Dash, the last thing he expected was for his wish to come true.

“Are you ready?” Rainbow Dash asked with a joyful expression.

The man eyed the magical object with a blank expression. Amidst his racing emotions, a thought had entered his mind, and he seemed to be wrestling with it intently. His wildest dreams were literally right in front of his face, but something else was stopping him.

Rainbow Dash stared at her father with confusion. “Hurry, there’s not much time! The magic of the Elements cannot keep me here for long. This may be the last time I can visit here. Quickly, take the stone!” she said nervously.

He continued to gaze at the blue glowing stone in front of him. It would be a simple decision to take the stone in his hand, be transported into Equestria, and live with his beloved daughter forever. This would be the true happiness that eluded his grasp for so long.

“Daddy, what are you waiting for?? Let’s go!” shouted Rainbow Dash.

The man shifted his gaze to Rainbow Dash, a doubtful look in his eyes. He slowly reached his right hand toward the stone. There was a noticeable trembling in the man’s body as he extended his arm outward. The pegasus grew more excited as his hand neared her hoof. Finally, the man made contact with the stone at the tips of his fingers; he watched his hand as it came to rest on top of the stone.

With a firm grasp he pushed it down. “No,” he said as he closed his eyes, “I can’t go.”

Rainbow Dash was completely and utterly taken aback. “What???” she shrieked, “What in the hay are you talking about?”

“Dashie…” he said quietly, “I can’t go with you back to Equestria.”

“What do you mean? The Princess said it was ok, and we promise that we’ll take good care of you, just like you took care of me,” said Rainbow Dash anxiously.

“No, Dashie. I have to stay here,” replied the man as he took his hand back. The carrier stone fell onto the cushion as its light grew dimmer still.

Rainbow Dash felt her anger rise again. “No, that’s not true! There is nothing for you here in this world as you said. I am giving you a choice between a life of happiness and a life of sadness. I don’t understand why you, who went through twelve years of life-shattering pain, would want more! This is your dream, now take it!”

“This isn’t about me,” replied the man.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t bear what she just heard. On the verge of tears, she shouted, “This is absolutely about you! You don’t have to stay here! There’s a whole other life waiting for on the other side, a life without of depression, loneliness, and fear. You don’t have to continue to suffer.” Rainbow Dash tried to squeeze the tears back. “I need you…don’t leave me.”

The man opened his eyes and placed a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “Dashie, please try to understand.”

The pegasus could no longer hold back the tears as sadness replaced her anger. “I can’t…I can’t go on without you. I can’t live without you,” she said as she wept profusely. “You have to come…You just have to!”

Her father scooted closer as he began to explain his reasons. “Dashie…the years that I spent with you were precious to me. Even though I lost my life after you left, I believe it was worth it. Not only did you bring love to my loveless life, but you also inspired me even when you were gone. You inspired me to create in the midst of my destruction. It was because you that I was able to make such beautiful paintings despite my ugly life.”

“But you will always be alone…here…is this what you want?” said Rainbow Dash through her sobs.

The man shed a tear as he continued his story. “Dashie, there’s something I didn’t tell you about my paintings. Six years ago, I had a visitor, a traveler simply stopping by for company. From our conversations, I learned that he was a soldier recently discharged from the front lines. He had fought for months and months against the forces of the enemy. He climbed entire mountainsides covered with the corpses of his comrades. He crossed rivers stained with the blood of fallen men. And he had traversed through forests burned by the fires of war.”

“Why are you telling me this? What does this have to do with you staying??” cried Rainbow Dash in a frustrated tone.

“This has everything to do with me staying. You see, he had lost sight of the beauty of nature. He said he had started traveling the lands to escape the memories of the war, but those memories followed him through the hills and valleys,” continued the man. “As I listened on, he began to tell me that he had given up, until something caught his eye.”

“I don’t understand…” said Rainbow Dash softly, “What are you trying to say? What did he see?”

“My painting. In fact, the very one you were looking at when you first came in. The travelling soldier was dumbfounded by its magnificence. It was then that he witnessed the true depth of the beauty of nature. He stared at my painting for an entire hour, taking in all the colors and shapes of the mountain sunset. Afterwards, he simply rushed out of my front door and off down the road,” spoke the man.

“So you’re staying here because of him? That’s not fair! I’m your daughter, and he’s just some stranger you met one day!” replied Rainbow Dash with an angry tone. “I’m more important than a random traveler that will never come back!”

“Ah, but a few days later he did come back, along with his friends. They all visited simply to look at my paintings. One fellow of them even offered to buy a piece, but I declined his money and simply gave the painting to him. The smile on his face was payment enough,” he continued.

Rainbow Dash suddenly began to understand her father’s line of thinking. “No…you can’t…no…” she said as a new wave of tears poured down her face.

Rainbow Dash continued to cry as the man scooted even closer to her. “Soon, I had visitors at my house every week. The pictures that I painted always brought them peace, no matter their troubles. Even today, I had a young couple stop by and admire my artwork. Dashie, you didn’t just fill me with inspiration; you filled me with power. And it didn’t hit me until a few years ago that this was my calling. This was why I am here. Everything in my life, including your seemingly accidental presence here, happened for a purpose,” he explained. “I had the power to bring happiness to the world.”

The pegasus tried to speak through her tears. “But…but…even then, you could come to Ponyville, and make us happy with your beautiful art. Please…we would love to have you there,” she pleaded. “You would make me so happy if you came.”

Her father took his hand back from her shoulder. “There is a reason I am a human and not a pony. Yes, my land is filled with hatred and suffering. But it is my destiny to bring light to this world. If I leave, I would be betraying those whose lives are still mired on sorrow…like where I was once,” he continued.

“But…how can you be so sure….please…you don’t have to do this,” whispered Rainbow Dash. 

“Both ponies and humans find their calling in life. Humans just don’t get cutie marks,” replied her father.

Rainbow Dash continued to sob quietly, “No…Daddy…but you’ve done so much for me. I can’t…can’t let you stay….I want you to be happy yourself…isn’t this what you wanted?” 

The man moved forward and embraced his crying daughter as tears began to form in his own eyes. “Dashie…I took care of you not because I wanted anything back. I took care of you because I loved you. I was willing to sacrifice anything for you. You were my daughter, and you still are my daughter. And I still love you with all of my heart,” he spoke quietly.

Rainbow Dash put her arms around her father, “I love you too, Daddy,” she said as she sniffled. The two sat in solemn embrace, father and daughter.

The clock read 11:45. The light from the carrier stone was barely visible.

“So…I guess this will be goodbye for good,” said the man.

“No…” whispered Rainbow Dash as she hugged her father even tighter. The memories of her previous life with him came flooding back all at once. The pain was too much to bear. “What will I do without you? I’m afraid…I don’t know what’s going to happen now.”

The man broke the embrace and held her daughter by the shoulders in front of him. “Dashie…” he said.

“Yes, Daddy?”

“I need you to be strong when you go back. I need you to be the Rainbow Dash that you were meant to be. I lived a directionless life for far too long, and I don’t want you to go through that.”

“What do you mean…?” replied Rainbow Dash

The man held his daughter’s face gingerly in his hands. “You came back to this world in search of a memory. You came because you remembered the love we shared between us. But that’s all I’ll ever be to you, a memory,” he said.

The pegasus shuddered as she grasped the truth of this last statement.

“You cannot let your memories define the rest of your life. I know it is hard to let go, but this is something you must do,” continued the man.

Rainbow Dash gave a desperate look at her father. “But how can I just forget you? Even Twilight’s memory spell was not enough to erase my memories,” she replied.

“You need not forget. You need only to accept,” said the man. “These memories will remain with your forever, but you will have to find your own calling.”

The pegasus paused for a bit. “…Okay…”

“I need you to promise that you will live your life with purpose. Your friends depend on you, and you need continue to be loyal to them.”

“I promise…” replied the pegasus.

“One day, you will have your own children as well, and you will truly understand what I mean. But for now, you must trust me,” continued the man. “Do you trust me, Dashie?”

“Yes,” said Rainbow Dash. “I trust you with everything.”

The pegasus finally wiped away her tears as she regained her composure. Her father turned to the dusty photo album still lying on the table in front of the couch. He picked it up and presented it to Rainbow Dash. “Take this. If you find yourself in a dark place, this will be your light.” he said. The pegasus took the album and placed it under her wing. “Thank you, Daddy. Thank you for everything…” she said as she looked into her father’s gentle eyes.

The man embraced his daughter once more, as this would be the last time he ever held Dashie in his arms. “Though I am a world away, you will always have my love. I have only a few years left, but you still have lifetime to experience.”

“I will never forget you, Daddy,” whispered Rainbow Dash as a tear dripped down her check. 

“And I will never forget you, My little Dashie.” he replied.

Father and daughter continued to hug each other, as this would be the last embrace they would ever share. Both of them were reminiscing of the times they shared together, from the day he found Rainbow Dash in a cardboard box to the day that she returned to her true home. 

The clock read 11:58pm. The light of the carrier stone grew dimmer still, and only a pinpoint of light could be seen at its center.

Rainbow Dash could feel the magic of the Elements growing weaker as her time ran out. “Daddy…” she said.

“Yes, Dashie?” he asked.

“Can I ask you for one more thing...before I go?”

“Of course, anything.”

“When I recovered my memories of my life with you, a song came to my mind, one that you used to sing when I was a tiny filly.” 

“Ah, yes, the lullaby. Funny, that’s probably the only thing I remember from back then,” he said with a short laugh.

Rainbow Dash raised her head as her father did the same. They stared deeply into each other’s eyes before the pegasus spoke again, “Daddy…I’m still a bit scared of leaving you…can you sing it for me one more time?”

The man kissed Rainbow Dash on the forehead and stroked her mane. “Yes, one last time.”

The two sat in silence, locked in embrace as the man prepared to sing his farewell song to his daughter.

The face of the grandfather clock read 12. The gears clicked into place as the chimes rang out through the still air.

Dong

“Hush, my little Dashie…”

Dong

“…it’s time to go to bed…”

Dong

“…Pull up your blankets…”

Dong

“…and lay down your head…”

Dong

“…Hush, my little Dashie…”

Dong

“…and rest for the night…”

Dong

“…Until you catch glimpse…”

Dong

“…of morning’s first light...”

Dong

“…Although we come…”

Dong

“…from worlds apart…”

Dong

“…I love you, my Dashie…”

Dong

“…with all of my heart.”

As the last chime faded into silence, the lightning gem on Rainbow Dash’s neck grew brighter. Soon, the pegasus’ entire body began to glow with a white light. The room began to shake as a gust of wind circled father and daughter. With a loud bang, rays of rainbow colored light shot out from Rainbow Dash’s luminescent body. The man held on tighter as a single tear dripped down his cheek.

When the lights finally subsided, the man found himself alone in his living room. The pegasus and the carrier stone were gone. His daughter had returned home.

“Goodbye, my little Dashie.”

> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Princess and the five other ponies back in Equestria gave every bit of energy they had to sustain the portal for as long as they could. When the magic of the Elements finally ran out, the white sphere in the middle of town hall dissipated. The last shreds of light finally disappeared, as the air became still once more. Rainbow Dash’s friends looked eagerly toward the center of their circle to welcome back the joyful pegasus and her long lost father.

Instead, they saw Rainbow Dash, lying on the ground, weeping bitterly. The carrier stone appeared next to her, devoid of light and devoid of a holder. Silence fell across the room as the other ponies stared at their pegasus friend with utter despair. 

The princess was heartbroken at the sight in front of her. The ponies beside her stared at each other, holding whispered conversations. Twilight, utterly confused at this final outcome, stepped forward toward her sobbing friend. “Rainbow Dash…?” she whispered.

The pegasus struggled to regain her breath. She pulled herself up on her hooves as the tears dripped onto the floor. “Daddy…Daddy’s not coming…” she replied. “He said…he’s not coming…”

It was then that Twilight and her friends realized what must have happened on the other side. Twilight lowered her head and said, “I’m so sorry, Dashie…” The other also bowed their heads, realizing the pain inside Rainbow Dash’s heart. Even the princess herself found herself inundated with pity for the daughter forever separated from her father.

Celestia turned to the others. “Let us go.”


* * *


The sun was setting on Ponyville. Ponies slowly made their way back home as shops and stores began to close down. Parents called to fillies and colts playing outside, commanding them to come in before it got too cold. In the sky, the weather team was preparing for another spring shower. All of the pegasi were busy at work. All of them, except one.

Rainbow Dash sat on her bed and gazed at the setting sun. Her eyes were red from all the tears she had shed, and her heart was still aching from her crushed hopes and dreams. Rainbow Dash was never the type of pony to accept her circumstances, but this time she had no other choice. Her father had a purpose to serve in his world, as did she. 

On her nightstand laid a worn out photo album, opened to the middle. Pictures of Rainbow Dash and her father filled the pages, photos of them doing all sorts of crazy activities and making all sorts of crazy faces. This was the closest that she would ever get to living with her father.

A bright purple light flashed behind Rainbow Dash as she continued to gaze out the window.

“Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight.

The pegasus turned around and saw her unicorn friend standing in her bedroom, holding what appeared to be a shoebox.

“I believe this belongs to you,” said Twilight as she placed the box on the floor.

“Thank you, Twilight,” replied Rainbow Dash.

“Are you going to be ok?” asked her friend.

“Yeah…I’ll be fine,” said the pegasus as she glanced at the open photo album on her nightstand.

“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to stop by,” added Twilight. “I’ll always be your friend no matter what.”

“Thanks,” said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight turned to leave the house, but the pegasus stopped her suddenly. “Wait,” she shouted.

“Yes, Rainbow Dash?” asked Twilight.

“I’m…I’m sorry for what happened in the library the other night…” said Rainbow Dash with a nervous tone. “Can you forgive me?”

Twilight gazed into her friend’s eyes with a smile. “Yes, Dashie, I forgive you. I don’t hold anything against you,” she said.

“And neither do I,” replied the pegasus. “Although I do have to admit that you’re a pretty bad actor.”

“Haha, that’s one thing I never learned in the Canterlot Academy,” said Twilight with a smile.

“Also, Twilight, do you happen to have a quill and parchment on you?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Why of course! I wouldn’t dare leave my library without them,” replied Twilight as she used her magic to grab a quill and parchment from her bag and place it on the nightstand. “Just let me know when you’re ready to send it.”

“Thank you,” said the pegasus. “I’ll let you go now.”

“Alright, take care, Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight as she vanished with a purple flash.

Rainbow Dash stared at the box on the floor, already familiar with its contents. She picked it up and placed it on a nearby shelf next to her Wonderbolt posters. The remnants of her past life and the purpose of this life would become one, just as her father wished. She turned to the quill and parchment on her nightstand, thinking of what to send to the princess. Finally, she took the quill in her mouth and began to write.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I would like to thank you for helping me in my time of need. None of this would have been possible without you or my faithful friends. Even though the ending we arrived at was not the one we were expecting, the journey was what truly mattered.

I now realize why you attempted to erase my memories the day I returned. Those emotions from my alternate life would have destroyed the Rainbow Dash that my friends know and love. Those feelings would have eaten mind and paralyzed me had I not learned a very valuable lesson from my father.

You see, despite being known as the bold and headstrong pegasus that flies into the face of danger, I was very afraid on the inside. I was scared of the future, scared of not knowing what would happen the next day or who I would become in a few years. And when the memories of my father came back, my fear grew even more. I needed his love and guidance more than ever. I needed him to come back into my life and show me the way. Looking back, I find this to be very ironic. In hopes of gaining certainty about my future, I began chasing a memory. 

My father, who had faced this same problem years before, taught me perhaps the most important lesson of my life. He told me that life is not defined my memories, but by purpose. My father wrestled with the day of my departure for years before realizing the truth. And yesterday, he made the choice between living out a distant memory here in Equestria and fulfilling his calling in the human world. Perhaps when I grow older and wiser, I will fully understand his decision. Nevertheless, I will always remember his words.

Today, I promise that I will no longer be controlled by the memories of my past lives. I will overcome my fears of the future, and I will find my purpose. I will fulfill my duties as captain of the weather team and the guardian of the Element of Loyalty. I will continue to cherish the friends I have now and the friends I may encounter in the future. Like how my father promised he would live his life to the fullest for me, I will do the same for him.

I will accept my past and look to the future.

This is who I am. This is who I was meant to be.

Your loyal subject and friend, 

Rainbow Dash.