> Daddy's Home
>  by Twisted Brew
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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


"Don’t fill life with struggles, fill life with joy. A flower always struggles to survive, but it never forgets to bloom with joy."
- Debasish Mridha

"If life starts to get you down, don't just lie there and take it. Grab life by the crotch and punch it right in the fuckin' throat!"
- Twisted Brew






You know what they say about playing with fire; In the end, you just get burned.

After a while though, you can't even feel the heat anymore. The flames start to go down and the only sensible thing that comes to mind is to bring them back. You grab a can of gasoline and add it to the fire in a desperate attempt to rekindle the flames that once brought you warmth and comfort. Even when the flames do return, you still can't feel the heat, even as they lick at your body, singing hairs and melting away layer after layer of skin. What was once your greatest ally is now becoming your end. It kills you slowly and you don't even notice it. Most don't catch on until they're burnt to a crisp, some get lucky and have enough sense to put out the flames. Then there are those rare few who are turned to ash and eventually rise from those ashes like a phoenix. Those are the few who got a second chance, one last attempt. Some will learn from their mistakes from playing with fire while others will fall back into the habit.

There is one who finds himself in that situation, being given yet another chance. While the fire within him still burns bright, he knows better than to return to it wholly. Outrunning the flames wasn't an option as it eventually caught back up with him and the world around him started to burn. Finally, he took that step forward and stomped out the flames with the help of an unlikely little filly, who played a much larger role in this struggle than she will ever know. Having looked back on the embers of the flames that followed him to hell and back, he saw what lay within; history itself, a never-ending wave of mistakes and regret. All things that could have been avoided had he just stopped and thought about what he was doing. All of it a result of him playing with fire.

Time has become something of a bizarre concept over the course of these last few weeks. All manner of strangeness, heart-felt apologies and even X-rays to prove that he was who he said he was. The days started blending together at some point and it was admittedly rather frustrating at first. However, it was a small price to pay once he was able to say his part and return to his family. Before that, certain arrangements had been made to ensure both his safety and ability to live comfortably. After many days of legal jargon and more hugs than he could count, he was given the option to continue where he left off.

Nothing has ever sounded more perfect than that.

"Is this place really so bad?" Ryan asks aloud as he sets down a large, cardboard box onto the all-too-familiar living room floor. Standing up straight, his eyes scanned the abandoned home. He adjusts himself a bit and fiddles with the strap on his chest, releasing the clasp and setting the old-looking, brown bag down beside the box. According to his friends, this house has remained untouched since the incident. No pony dared to set foot on the property line, let alone try to buy it out from under Celestia. "I mean, there's nothing really wrong with it...structurally speaking."

Meanwhile, it looks like the spiders have made themselves at home. Little pricks.

"To be fair, darling-" Ryan turns his head in time to watch one of his closest friends walk into the filthy house, a look of disgust clearly plastered across her face and muzzle. Gingerly stepping in, she levitates several smaller boxes and a large number of plastic bags into the center of the room before setting them down in a neat stack. "you did leave quite an impression. And most ponies knew that the princess herself was the one who purchased this house for you. That alone would have kept a majority of ponies at bay."

Ryan shrugs at her words, figuring that she's correct. Ponies look up to Princess Celestia, especially the small town ponies. The word 'respect' doesn't even begin to describe how much they value her as a whole. Without delving too far into thought, his attention returns to the door as a pair of heavier footsteps soon follow Rarity's example. Coming in, both with two large boxes in tow- one on each of their disturbingly powerful arms- are Applejack and Big Mac. The two earth ponies waste no time walking into the old house and effortlessly deposit the boxes next to the unicorn's stack.

I bet she still has those deliciously sculpted abs~

Clearing his throat, Ryan shakes that thought from his head and tries to keep it clear by any means necessary. "Thanks a lot for helping me out, guys. I really appreciate it."

After straightening herself out, Applejack marches over to Ryan and is instantly upon him. The earth ponies arms wrap around the human's form in a surprisingly gentle embrace. Though initially caught off guard, he wastes no time returning the gesture, smiling as he does so. "It's no problem at all, sugarcube. We're just happy ta' have you back."

"Glad to be back..." Ryan and Applejack separate slowly, the mare taking a step back. This leaves just enough room for the significantly larger earth pony to pounce, slipping between the two and going a step further. "Holy crap!" The human calls out as he's suddenly lifted off of the floor, his body now suspended in the air as Big Mac holds him in his absurdly strong grasp.

The stallion's grip forces the air out of Ryan's lungs and gets a few audible pops out of his back. The human tenses up as he feels his spine crack, several small waves of pain shooting through him. "That's my spine!" He calls out in a breathless, strained tone. "I need that! I need that to walk! Very important!"

After getting his fill, Big Mac sets the human down, who quickly takes in a large gulp of air as if he had been underwater for too long. Weak from the lack of oxygen, along with the tingles in his spinal column, Ryan takes a few steps back and leans against the wall separating the living room from the kitchen. "Oh, sweet Jesus..." He manages to choke out as he gasps for air, trying to get his wind back. "Anyone ever...tell you you're...an absolute unit!?...Oh, god! My lungs!"

While Ryan continues the struggle of rediscovering how to breathe, Rarity takes this as her opportunity to share her own affections. The unicorn's embrace is swift, coming seemingly out of nowhere, but is much less detrimental to the integrity of the human's bone structure. Despite being caught by surprise, he is relieved rather quickly by the lack of crunching in his chest cavity and slowly works his way into returning the gesture. 

With the two lost in their own world, they were the last to notice the presence of yet another pony strolling into the humble home. Taking in the layout, the significantly shorter pony can only think of one thing to say in regards to this long abandoned house. "Wow...This place is filthy..."

The voice catches everypony's attention. The Apples, who had seen her coming in, simply smiled at the filly in the doorway. Ryan and Rarity quickly turn their attention to the small blue pegasus now walking into the living area before separating from each other. "I would hope so." Ryan comments as he is freed from the third hug of the day, giving his full attention to Azure. "It's been empty for over a decade. The last thing I need to hear is that spiders are suddenly strong enough to hold a duster."

Nearly the whole room shudders at the thought of that, with the exception of Ryan, who has preoccupied himself by simply observing the filly. He can see so much of Rainbow Dash in her, what with the blue coat of fur and being a pony. There are hints of him in there though; the yellow hair and baby blue eyes. Part of him still finds it hard to believe that she is actually his own flesh and blood. He never thought it possible for a human and pony to actually conceive a child. Apparently, even the princesses were taken by surprise at this revelation as well. At least, back when they had first heard of the conception.

They were understandably skeptical in the beginning, but science and magic made it very clear that Azure was the shared results of both a pony and the- once thought dead- alien that used to live in this very house. This information was given to him during his short visit back to the castle a few weeks ago. The moment Azure had pulled the shadow stone from his neck, Celestia's magic flared and he was back at the castle in the blink of an eye. Not wanting to revisit the events that followed, Ryan pushes those thoughts aside and allows himself to focus proper. He can understand why Celestia and Luna took the measures that they did, but it doesn't make it any less irritating. There's already enough going on as is and he would rather not sour the mood.

Tick Tock! Your crib midget's on the clock!

Ryan breaks his focus and looks over to the window, idly walking over to take note of the sun's position in the sky. Having been homeless for over ten years, with very little to help him keep track of things such as time, he's managed to pick up on a few tricks; one such trick being to tell time by seeing where the sun is residing. It almost pains him to do this, but he has no other choice at the moment. "Alright, baby girl." He says aloud, gaining the room's attention as he turns to face Azure. "Time's up. You gotta go back to your mom's."

Azure's ears flatten against her head as her father says this. While her mother isn't the worst pony to be around, most of her childhood was spent keeping her distance from the mare. Not so much to avoid conflict, simply out of habit. Rainbow Dash liked her alone time and did whatever she could to have it, on most occasions. This has left her to doing the same in kind and thus adapting to bonding with other ponies. With the return of her father, a new set of rules have come up and, while she couldn't understand most of the weird legal talk, her father was able to explain it in simple terms; Part of the day with him, the rest with her mom.

It's more than a little upsetting that she can't come see him whenever she wants, having always been out and about on any typical day and now having to be restrained to one parent or the other for a set time. Azure's only solace in this situation is the promise that was made about this only being temporary. Even so, it still sucks. She wants to argue on how unfair this is, but knows that it's out of her hands.

Remember what they said at the castle? Once mom and dad sort their issues, then everything can go back to normal! Eyes on the horizon, sweetie! Now straighten that back, perk up and be that big, strong filly I know you are.

Taking a deep breath, Azure adjusts her posture and her ears rise from the sides of her head. A casual smile comes across her face as she pulls herself together, reminding herself that this will all be over soon. She has to remain strong and help her mom and dad toward the path of recovery. Then her dream will finally be realized and they can become a real family. "Yes, daddy." Completing the circle, Azure charges into her father's front and wraps him in a hug, pressing the side of her face against his gut and nuzzling him as he lowers his arms and holds her in return. "I'll be back first thing in the morning."

Get out of my house!

Ryan smiles sweetly at his daughter as she looks up at him, taking her time in letting him go. "I'll see you then, hon." He adds, keeping his thoughts to himself as she begins to her departure. "Be good for your mother, Azure. She's going through some stuff right now."

Pshh; This isn't our first rodeo.

"Don't worry, I will!" Now in a significantly better mood, Azure takes her leave. Once outside, her wings flare and she flaps her way into the sky, flying toward the cloud home on the other side of town. Meanwhile, Ryan watches her through the window, losing himself to his thoughts once more. His zoning isn't lost on his guests, but they don't want to disrupt him or cause him any more stress. The last few weeks have been hectic, but he's been doing well to keep himself in check. 

"She's taking all of this surprisingly well." The masculine voice can only be one stallion and it's just as shocking as Azure's calm nature despite the chaotic arrangements going on with her parents. All eyes are now on the bulky, red earth pony, who continues to commend the filly. "Ah know I would have a hard time going through what she has. Ah'm honestly amazed at how she is behavin'."

Applejack's smirk can be seen for miles as she closes the distance between herself and her brother. "With how we've raised that filly, ah ain't surprised in the slightest." She says rather pridefully, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she stands beside the taller pony. "Ya gotta be hardy to make it with our family. Not to mention, she comes from two of the most stubborn creatures in Equestria."

Ryan chuckles a bit to himself as he watches the farm pony motion to him with her head. Taking that as his invitation to join the conversation, he can't help but to comment on Azure's perseverance as well. "She's been a real trooper through all of this." He idly makes his way to the pile of boxes in the center of the room, taking a seat on one of the larger ones as he plays out how things will be going from this point on. He lets out a breath as he reminds himself of the stressors that are to come, already getting under his skin. "I just hope she keeps it together while we do...all of this shit."

Previous desires to not kill the mood now gone, Ryan submits himself to a bit of despair and leans forward to let his head hang. It doesn't help much, but adds a small amount of relaxation to his recently consistent, tense form. With everything that's been going on since his return; from his meeting with Celestia to the emotional roller coasters that followed and now all the legal garbage to deal with, he's at his wits end and barely hanging on by a thread. It feels like the weight of the world is suddenly on his shoulders and his legs are about to give out at any second. What makes it worse is that this is only the beginning. Between trying to do right by his daughter and wanting to make up for his failures in the past, he's on the verge of collapsing and letting the world eat him alive.

"Are you alright, darling?" Ryan looks up from his spot to see the three ponies standing no more than a few feet from him. Rarity is the closest of the trio, a look of concern etched across her face as she stares down at him. "You don't look well. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine." Ryan assures her, not wanting to drag them down with him. "Just a little stressed out is all." His head lowers once more and he closes his eyes. "Between Celestia wanting to see me regularly, trying to work out custody arrangements with Dash and the couples counseling that I'm gonna be legally obligated to participate in; I'll barely be able to take a piss without someone else standing on the other side of the door."

Opening his eyes, Ryan keeps his sights on the floor. His schedule is going to be all over the place and on top of that, he is still trying to find time to do things with Azure and straighten out his unstable relationship with his friends and- eventually- the rest of Ponyville. He can only thank his lucky stars that he wasn't in town when his name suddenly popped up in the papers. The populace went nuts at the discovery of the 'Dead Man Walking'. Rumors of him being undead or a vengeful spirit seeking revenge on the town for one reason or another were spreading like a desert fire and instilling panic. If not for Twilight intervening and talking to the press, they probably would have chased him out of town the moment he came back. Now, he just has to deal with the looks of disdain and suspicion constantly being directed at him whenever he is out.

Again...we could just leave...Oh, wait; No we can't! Cause you gave the glowing tyrant our fucking shadow stone, you dumb cunt!

Shaking his head, Ryan gets back to his feet. The ponies in front of him take a step back, giving him some space as he looks up at them. With his mind in turmoil and his lid about ready to blow, he figures now is as good a time as any to clear the area. "Thanks a lot for your help today. I've got it from here."

The ponies all exchange concerned glances among each other, seeming unsure of themselves. Rarity, still being the most defensive whenever it comes to Ryan, is the first to speak up. "Are you sure, darling?" She asks aloud, her voice carrying worry equal to the expression on her face. "I don't mind helping you clean up a bit. I'm sure Applejack and Mac won't mind either."

Rarity glances back at the two earth ponies behind her to confirm, getting her confirmation in the form of two nodding heads and casual smiles. Looking back at Ryan, she can't help but feel bad for him. His reintroduction into pony society was supposed to be slow and laxed. However, with Azure, being the cunning filly that she is, that plan was thrown to the wood-works and thoroughly ground down to nothing. Everything has happened so fast since then that she can hardly keep up with it. She can't even imagine what's going through his head right now.

Get out! Of my fucking! HOUSE!!!

Shaking his head from side to side, Ryan turns down their offer. It's not that he doesn't want or appreciate their help. Recent events have just been whittling him down and some peace and quiet would do him some good. At least, that's what he hopes. "It's fine, really. I just need some time to be on my own and clear my head." His eyes scan the dusty, old house for a few seconds and he begins to take notes on how he will go about cleaning it. "This seems like the perfect way to do just that." Already knowing what she would counter with, he goes on in an attempt to shoot down any arguments she may have. "I'm not going anywhere, I know where to find you and, if I happen to start having trouble, I'll come straight to you. As it stands now, I've got this."

Having been shot down in every way, Rarity finds herself at a loss. She doesn't want to leave him, but it's becoming very clear that he wants to be alone and is asking for that courtesy the only way he knows how. Stubborn though she may be, she's still a lady and will respect his wishes. Feeling helpless, her ears lower and she nods. "Very well..." Turning back to the siblings, she ushers them along and leads the trio toward the door with unsure expressions, but not making a fuss. As they make their way outside, Rarity pauses at the exit and glances back at Ryan, a look of desperation now taking over her features. "I-I'll see you tomorrow...right?"

Leave!

Ryan nods, offering the most consoling smile he can muster. "I'll see ya then."

While his reply does give her some comfort, Rarity can't completely shake the feeling of dread hovering in her stomach. Even so, she grabs the door and pulls it close as she takes her leave, granting the human the solitary he has silently been craving for some time now. Ryan lets out a sigh and let's his body loosen up a bit, feeling as though some of the weight on his person has been lifted.

Finally...

To avoid getting himself engrossed in his own thoughts, Ryan looks back at the small pile of boxes and bags behind him. "Now which one of you has the cleaning supplies?" He asks no one in particular, turning around and grabbing onto the largest one before pulling it open. He finds a number of miscellaneous items within, most of it being decorations, silverware, Tupperware and kitchen utensils; Everything he once had occupying his kitchen. "Why did they hold on to all of these?"

You'd think that they would have sold all of this crap. You know, thinking that you were dead and all, get some bits out of it and toss the clutter.

Ryan finds himself shrugging at that thought as he sifts through the kitchen wear, finding nothing too helpful at the moment. He closes the box and moves on to a smaller one, thinking that he might get lucky and find a duster at the very least. Upon opening the box and examining its contents, he finds a number of old trinkets, some of which had followed him to Equestria during his nonconsensual transport. He digs around and examines a few items, things that he once carried on his person at all times; A chained wallet, a pair of headphones, coins that held no value here, an old pocket kn-

A sudden pain shoots through Ryan's wrist. He hisses in response and looks down, or up rather. The night sky is above him, along with his arm. There's a rope wrapped around his wrist, holding him aloft over the edge of a cliff. The sound of rushing water is prominent in his ears as he stares, not at the sky, but at the orange mare one the other end of the rope. Applejack lays on her belly, her chest and everything above it dangling over the cliff as her powerful grip keeps him from his descent into the watery depths below. Her face is scrunched up as she holds him aloft. He can see her mouth moving, but can't hear her words. The sound of his heart beating dominates all other noise around him. All he can do is watch as she lets go of the rope with one hand and reaches out to him. 

Applejack's mouth moves again, but her words are still lost to him, being overshadowed by the loud thumping in his chest. The desperate look on her face slowly subsides, only to be replaced with horror. A small, metallic tick reaches his ears as he moves his sights to the rope. The muscles in his arm tighten his free arm shoots into his vision, knife in hand with the blade easily piercing through the rope before burying itself into the muddy cliffside. The knife slips from his hand as his weight begins pulling him down. For a while, he can still see her at the edge before the winds blow his body and force him to look down at the quickly approaching waves below. The view of the water only lasts a few seconds before suddenly hitting him with a loud smack. As the world goes dark, Ryan opens his eyes and stares out at a room that he can't make out.

The beating of his heart still reigns supreme in his ears as Ryan sits on the floor with his back to the wall. Even his own jagged breathing is but a whisper in comparison to the rapid-fire drum beat all but screaming at him from every direction. The world around him is a blur and he can't make sense of his surroundings. Colors and images are all blending together like an out of focus camera that only seems to worsen with each thump in his chest. Seemingly out of nowhere, a voice breaks through the pounding that has taken over his hearing. It sounds loud, but also distant. Given the situation, he has a hard time pinpointing the location. Then there is a warmth on his face, each cheek feeling as though it is being grabbed. The blur in his vision develops some semblance of color, mostly yellow and an odd, greyish pink.

The voice becomes softer as Ryan's head is carefully turned toward it, but he is still struggling to make out what it is saying. His heart takes its sweet time, but eventually starts to settle. As his heart rate declines, he finds his vision slowly returning to normal as well. His breathing softens and becomes more consistent. "There you go. Everything will be alright. Just keep breathing slowly. In-" He can hear a long, sharp intake of air and follows suit. "...and out-" Again, he mimics the pony by his side, exhaling along with her, feeling himself returning to a coherent and calm state. "just like that. And again, in-"

This goes on for several minutes until Ryan can finally make sense of everything around him. Resting on her knees, Fluttershy sits by his side, cupping his face in her hands as she takes deep breaths and exhales slowly with him following her example. As he returns to reality and begins to think clearly, he breaks away from the instructive breathing and grabs the mare's hands, lightly pulling them from his face. He begins scanning the room around him, taking in anything and everything he can. Nothing has really changed since he came in here with his friends earlier, with the exception of his new guest and a small box being toppled over on the floor with its contents strewn about the small area.

"Can you hear me now?" Ryan's sights move back to Fluttershy, the mare whose hands are still trapped in his own as she stares into his eyes with nothing but care and an odd look of understanding. There's a small smile on her face as she faces him and it grows as he nods at her. "That's wonderful! I'm glad you're feeling better."

Confusion starts to fill Ryan in droves as he tries to process what just happened, letting go of the mare's hands as he begins pushing himself up. His efforts are brought to a quick end as Fluttershy's expression changes and she places her now free hands on his shoulders. "Oh, no! You shouldn't be moving yet!" She exclaims, her usual docile tone now being one of concern as she eases him back down, which he finds himself unable to fight against. "That attack looked really bad. You should stay here and try to relax a little bit longer before exerting yourself. You don't want to set yourself off again."

Ryan's is still perplexed by everything and he doesn't quite grasp her meaning. "W-wha-" He says breathlessly as he blinks a few times, still feeling his heart pounding in his chest, but much less aggressively. Beads of sweat roll down his head, the sensation being enough for him to raise his hand and wipe away the moisture. Looking at the now wet hand, his confusion only grows as he focuses his attention back onto the pegasus. "What attack? What are you talking about?"

Fluttershy blinks a few times herself, wondering how he didn't know and thinking for a second on whether or not to tell him. On one side, it could help him understand what's going on. One the other, he could lapse again and start freaking out, which could cause more harm and make things worse for him. "I-I'm sorry. You were just..." She stutters, trying to find the right words to express the situation to him without it leading to another episode. "I came in and you were...Having had a few myself, I just thought that... I, uh..."

Still at a loss for words, Fluttershy resigns herself to focusing on his recovery, rather than adding to his stress by digging further into this pit that's already forming around him. "Maybe it's best that we just let it go for now." It goes against some of her own morals to let this slide the way she is, but Ryan has always been something of an anomaly and she was never really equipped to assist him in his 'endeavors'. Hopefully she can change that some time in the near future. For now, she makes a mental note to tell Twilight about what happened at a later time. Maybe she will know how to approach this moving forward. "How about I make us a nice, hot cup of tea. That should help you relax, right?"

Ryan isn't sure what to think right now, a lot of what just happened becoming a blur in his memory at a surprising rate. He doesn't understand what's happening, but he gets the sense that Fluttershy might. Rather than test fate with his old, damning ways, he concedes and nods his head before letting it fall back against the wall supporting him. "Yeah...Yeah, that sounds nice."

A smile works its way back across Fluttershy's muzzle as she takes her hands from his shoulders and gets back to her feet. "I'll get everything set up and have it ready in no time." She turns so her body is facing the stack of boxes, but her sights remain on the man still glued to the floor. "You stay right there. I'll take care of everything."

"Alright..."

Ryan's lack of movement instills some confidence in Fluttershy. Being almost sure that he wouldn't try to get up and do anything to stress himself further, she goes over to the boxes and digs around for a few supplies. It takes some time, but she does manage to find a kettle, some cups and everything she needs in the grocery bags to make some Oolong tea for them to share. Gathering everything up in a bag, she carries the supplies into the kitchen. Now out of his sight, the mare exhales a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. Setting the bag down on the counter, just beside the stove, she dares to take a peek.

Placing a hand to the collar of her sweater, Fluttershy stretches the neck out and looks down at her cleavage. The mounds of flesh are resting oddly against each other, this being due to the dirty, folded pocket knife wedged between them. Prying this out of his hand took a lot of effort, but it was worth it in the end. Having found him in the middle of one of the most unpleasant looking panic attacks she has ever witnessed sent a shockwave through her body. She couldn't help herself as she dove down to try and help him. No matter what she did though, she couldn't get through to him. His sights were locked entirely on his hand, or rather, the knife locked in a death-grip behind his fingers. After a lot of fighting and tugging, she finally managed to pry it out from his fist and quickly tucked it out of sight. After that, she noticed some life returning to his gaze and moved on to coaching his breathing in hopes that it would help break whatever spell this had on him.

Fluttershy silently thanks Celestia that her plan worked as she releases her collar, letting it bounce back to its natural position on her neck. She pushes back her worry, reminding herself that Ryan has calmed down and is now patiently waiting for her to return with the promised beverage. With that in mind, she unloads the bag and gets to work on making their tea.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    "Clean at last!"

    Ryan looks around his fromer home, now under his possession once more, with a grin. It had taken most of the night prior and nearly two hours into the early morning, but his residence is now as spotless as he can tolerate making it. However, the now clean slate continues to look barren- perhaps more so now- given the lack of furniture. There are still a few boxes to sift through and organize, but most of the knick-knacks and decorations would have to wait until he acquired structures to place them on. At the very least, he is glad to have gotten everything tidied up enough that he can place items without having to worry about having piles of dust and webbing getting in the way. Still being fairly early into the morning, the resently restored resident has some time to kill before the arrival of his estranged daughter. Glancing to the side, he looks over the-

    You haven't put the clock up yet, moron.

    As the empty walls have so clearly proven, Ryan has yet to mount the clock along with several other items that once covered up these bare walls. It's almost discomforting how empty the place is without all of his junk taking up most of the space. At this point, he'd even settle for a few wooden crates and empty bottles; anything to make it feel more lively. He takes a moment to contemplate just how bored Azure will be when she comes in to visit compared to himself. She is a child, after all. Mental stimulus is in near constant demand and the last thing he wants to do is bore her by sticking around in this glorified template of a house. The man hums to himself as he leans against the wall and places a hand to his chin to think. She's been in Ponyville all her life, or so he can only assume, so showing her new sights in the area is off-limits. If anything, she probably knows more about this town than he does, given the decade-long 'death' that kept him at bay as if everypony here had the bubonic plague. He considers having her show him around for a moment. While he's sure it would be exciting for her, it almost makes him feel pathetic just thinking about his own daughter being his tour guide. From what he's seen since his return, not much has changed anyway, so there's likely nothing too new that she could show him.

    We could always teach her how to set herself on fire. That's an option.

    Letting out a less-than-pleased sigh, Ryan pulls himself from the wall. His feet move to spin his body around, turning him toward the structure he was previously using as a support. He didn't need to think on this further as his arms stretched out until his hands met with the wall's surface. Instinctively, his fingers curl as if to declare his frustration to his own person.

    What are you doing?

    Without a word, Ryan launched his head forward, slamming his forehead into the wall with enough force to breach the drywall. The now caved-in material crumbles around the impact zone, causing a small amount of debris to cascade down onto his head and into his hair. Pain rushes through his skull from the pressure, giving the human some satisfaction in knowing that he wouldn't be the only one feeling it. He is, however, much less vocal about his discomfort than the remaining party member.

    Ow!
    Fuck!
    Take a joke, asshole!

    Pulling back, Ryan shakes his head to release some of the drywall dust from his hair and send it slowly fluttering down to the floor like countless little feathers falling from a bird. Removing his hands from the wall, he runs them through his hair for a moment before rubbing the now sore spot in the middle of his forehead. It did hurt, that much goes without saying, but his point is more than likely proven. "Stop saying things that piss me off, then maybe. As it stands now though, you're just plain annoying." He openly states as he turns away from the wall to locate the broom he was using earlier. Spotting it only a few short feet away, he makes his way over to the utensil and grabs hold, getting to work on cleaning up the brand new mess he had just made. "Simply put; Talk shit, get hit. You wanna act like a jackass, I'm gonna beat you like the ugly fucking mule you are."

    Alright! I get it! Take your 'Father Of The Year' award and suck a dick, you fucking prick!

    Feeling some amount of satisfaction, Ryan finishes sweeping the area before dumping the bits of drywall into a nearby trash bin and setting the broom off to the side. He finds it a little odd how easily he fell back into some of his old habits- after coming to terms with the state of his false identity and the metaphorical mask he had worn for just over a decade. At the very least, he's been able to monitor his use of swear words and expletives, so it's not as obnoxiously prominent as it once was. There's also the aura of confidence that he feels pretty regularly, which was once referred to as his 'not give a fuck' energy. It's been something of a small blessing to have that back, as it's allowed him to take quite a few of these recent drastic changes in stride, preventing him from overthinking every little thing that came his way. The stress is still very much present, but he's not dwelling on the minor details. Instead, he is still currently finding himself at a loss on how to occupy his time with his daughter. Letting out a sigh, the man rubs his temples with his thumb and index finger, wondering if he's overthinking this; Maybe it'll be better to just let it go and see what happens when she arrives. It seems like such a lazy idea, but it's the only thing he can think of that won't drive him up the wall with worry. For all he knows, she might just be happy sitting around and listening to him ramble.

    "Why is it only just now occurring to me that I know virtually nothing about her?" Ryan asks himself aloud, matter-of-factly.

    Well, you're an idiot. That's one reason.

    Ryan lets out a sigh before resigning himself to sitting on the floor, his legs crossed with his hands on his lap. His posture slackens, showing his internal turmoil. "As if I don't have enough going on; now I'm stressing myself over having free-time and not knowing what to do with it."

    Can you really consider babysitting 'free-time'?

    "Don't. Just fucking...don't."

    Christ, you're pathetic! Go out and get fucking ice cream, dipshit!

    That particular idea does sound promising. It's simple, easy and will provide him with ample time and opportunities to work on how to continue with the day.

    Everything just has to be SOOO difficult with you...



    Clothes; check! Mane; check! Luggage...Luggage? Now where did we put that-

    "We don't have any luggage..." Azure comments matter-of-factly, wondering where that came from as she eyes herself through the mirror in her bathroom. She can't tell if it's nerves or just plain ol' excitement that has her a little on edge about going out to spend time with her father. She has had dreams about doing this sort of things since before she could even spell properly. Granted, the scenarios weren't quite this limited or full of a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo. However, it's still a dream come true and she does not intend to waste this precious time.

    Darn right, we're not gonna waste this time! We're just a few short weeks away from having the family we've always dreamed of!

    A confident smile blooms across Azure's face at the reminder of her approaching end-goal. Things may be tough right now, but in due time they were going to be a family; just like her daddy had promised before the princesses found him- and stole him away to the castle for a little while. Regardless, he promised and she would trust him to deliver. It's not like he's ever given her a reason not to trust her...despite not being around for the first eleven years of her life, making everypony think that he was dead while he was out exploring with an entirely different family. The filly's smile falters at that thought and she blinks hard, shaking her head a bit to get her bearings back.

    You uh...You doing alright there, hon?

    "Y-yeah...Yeah! I'm fine!" Azure loudly announces, being fairly confused herself about how her train of thought had suddenly gone downhill for a moment there. She's heard plenty about what had happened from her friends and her father about what he had been up to while he was gone. It didn't bother her then, but thinking about it now suddenly puts a pit in her chest. The feeling itself is something she can't quite explain, being completely new to her. Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the feeling vanished and now here she stands, her confident smile replaced by an unsure, neutral expression. She squints at herself in the mirror for a second, almost as if eyeing a pony that she knew but could not identify off of the top of her head. Scowling at her reflection, she submits to remaining ignorant and turning away from the mirror. "Enough of that! This filly has things to do and places to be!"

    That's my girl! Now get out and make some magic happen.

    Nodding to herself, Azure marches out of the bathroom and makes her way to the main floor of the cloud home. Surprisingly enough, as she enters the living room she finds a rather uncommon sight that causes her to stop in her tracks. Sitting properly on the couch is Rainbow, looking very much sober and not even slightly hungover. As if the stars themselves had aligned, she also appears to be nervous; A sight that Azure never thought she would ever see in her lifetime. The mare's leg shakes a bit as it bounces up and down, a blue knuckle locked between her front teeth as she stares stoically at the floor. It's easy for the filly to say that this is rather strange compared to the habits that she's grown accustomed to on her mother's end. In its own way, she finds it to be a little unsettling. Cautiously, the filly begins closing the distance between herself and her mother, coming to a stop when she's about ten steps away from the grown mare.

    "Mom..." Rainbow Dash's eyes shoot up to meet the standing form of her daughter, the mare seeming somewhat surprised to see her there, as if she hadn't even noticed the filly's approach. "Are you feeling alright? You're kind of jittery."

    Rainbow's thoughts are still racing. After the craziness of the last few weeks, she finds herself struggling to sit still for even a moment. When she does, she often finds herself like this; tense and trembling in some way. With how everything has played out, she is finding herself conflicted and a bit overwhelmed. There's also a not-to-subtle desire to approach things more directly, causing her current inner turmoil. After a few seconds of silent staring, she finally removes her knuckle from her mouth and coyly speaks up. "Y-yeah, sure. I'm fine." She begins, mentally kicking herself to keep the small conversation going. "I was just thinking that, maybe, I should...You know...Go with you. To your dad's."

    Azure gives her mother a sideways glance at this and Dash is quick to attempt her recovery. "I just figured that, since we are trying to improve our relationship and because we do have that couple's counseling thing later today, it would just be easier and more...I don't know, beneficial?" She feels foulish for trying to push this and the air around her feels thick and pungent. Letting out a defeated sigh, her head falls to her knees and rests there, her ears falling flat against her head. "Could you be any more pathetic, Dash?"

    Given her mother's current state, Azure can't help but to feel bad for her. She wants to hug her mother, to pull her close and tell her that everything will be alright. It's a strange image in her head, having had very few encounters like that between them, but she pushes on. This is all for our family, she reminds herself; determined to help bring them all together again. With that in mind, the young pegasus pulls her mother up right before wrapping her arms around the larger mare. Rainbow is taken aback by this sudden gesture, but an odd sense of warmth soon follows the embrace. It fills the middle of her chest and proves to help put her mind at ease some.

    The shaking in Rainbow's leg comes to a stop as her daughter holds her, the filly's chin resting on her shoulder. A small smile starts to work its way across her face, her own arms raising soon after to wrap around the little filly; her little filly. Dash's grip tightens around her child, basking in the sense of unconditional love and affection. The mare cannot honestly remember the last time she just held Azure like this; less so the last time she felt even this remotely content. "I know I've never really been good at this whole 'being affectionate' thing." The cyan mare began in a hushed tone, "If it means anything at all though, you were the best thing to ever happen to me."



    Now this is nice~

    "I can't even remember the last time I just laid down and looked at the sky." Ryan says aloud as he does just that. Perched atop his roof, with his back toward the ground, the man idles on the slight incline of his roof and looks straight into the large, ever-expansive blue mass above him. He can see pegasi zipping by every so often, either moving clouds or just going about their day as per usual. A few spare him a passing glance, but he ignores them and continues to bask in the light of the sun and let his worries melt away like ice on a hot sidewalk. "Christ, I needed this."

    See! Listening to me isn't always bad!

    "Only when you're not being an asshole and we both know how rare that is."
    
    Fuckin' blow me.

    "Case and point." Ryan goes back to admiring the world above him, admiring it in all of its glory. He spends some time there, practically motionless and at peace before the familiar sound of flapping wings draws close. Curious, he slowly begins to pull himself up. With a few grunts and about as much grace as an old dog, he gets onto his feet and scans the area, spotting two winged figures landing in his front yard. He knew Azure was coming, that much was given. However, there is some amount of surprise to be had seeing Dash there alongside her. He gives the two a whistle and a wave, earning their attention from above. "Up here!'

    The two ponies take notice of his location and Azure wastes no time leaving the ground and flying herself onto the roof with him. Her landing on the inclined surface is something to behold on Ryan's part, but he doesn't get much time to think on it before the filly rushes into his gut in a frenzied blur of blue. The force is nearly enough to knock him off balance, but he steadies himself to prevent either of them from toppling over and rolling down like logs on a hill. "Easier there, kiddo. Not trying to see the doctor any sooner than I have to."

    Azure can only giggle in response as she clings to his front, her arms wrapped around him like a small vice. Ryan wastes no time returning the gesture as best he can from his current angle. Not too long after, Rainbow touches down no more than a few feet from them. She locks eyes with the man holding their daughter and silence begins to overtake the surrounding area.

    Ryan stares awkwardly at the mother of his child, trying to think of the best way to get the ball rolling, so to speak. "H-hey."

    "Hi." Rainbow replies in an equally unknowing tone.

    "So uh..." Ryan pauses as he tries to collect himself, Azure finally pulling away and looking up at him expectantly. "I was..."

    ...ICE CREAM!

    Ryan flinches and raises his hands defensively, "I know! I know, just..." His eyes wander back and forth between the two ponies in front of him, who have started to eye him with a small amount of concern before he finally breaks the silence. "Ice cream?"

    Like a tiny, blue guardian angel, Azure pipes up with a raised hand, bouncing in place. "Actually, can we go to Doughnut Joe's? He makes the best coffee!"

    Ryan glances up at Rainbow with a somewhat twisted expression, having been caught a little off guard by the filly's suggestion. "No denying it now. She's definitely mine." This gets a small laugh out of the older pony, with Ryan turning his attention back to his daughter. "Coffee sounds perfect."

    The trio descend from the roof, albeit with Ryan taking the more cautious route given his lack of wings, before marching over to Doughnut Joe's. The walk is mostly silent and their small group earns a few sideways glances and even a few glares- most of which are aimed at Ryan himself. He chooses to ignore them and keep his focus on his child. It doesn't matter what the rest of the town thinks of him as long as his daughter is happy and healthy. Then, of course, there is Rainbow, who seems to be taking some of these onlookers' expressions a bit too personally. At one point, she even does a false jump at somepony, causing them to flinch and recoil. Fortunately, nopony was put into actual harm's way and they arrived at the shop without any large scale issues arising. Darting ahead, Ryan opens the door for his company and marches into the shop behind them. There's a small number of ponies currently residing within the shop, quite a few of which begin silently watching them. The only pony who isn't staring them down is the stallion manning his station, who has preoccupied himself by wiping down his station.

    Azure seems oblivious to the stares and immediately runs over to the counter, greeting the stallion running the show back there with a large smile. "Hey, Joe! Good to see you again!"

    Joe looks up and spots the filly, who is quick to pull herself atop of the stool and sit herself right in front of him. The stallion smiles and sets the rag he's been using on his shoulder. "Hey there, little lady! Can I get you the usual?" His eyes wander from Azure, catching sight of both of the filly's parents approaching the counter as well. "Well ain't this something; The whole family together at last."

    Both Rainbow and Ryan glance at each other before looking back at Joe.

    An odd, uncomfortable blush slowly peeks through Rainbow's features as she picks up the pace and takes a seat to Azure's left. Ryan finds himself shuffling awkwardly to his own chair to the right of his daughter, looking more confused than anything else. "That's one way to put it, I guess." The man replies to Joe, the word 'family' bouncing around like a rubber ball in his head. It doesn't feel quite right to think of their unit as a family, which makes Ryan question a few things, mostly between himself and Rainbow. "I'll take my usual."

    Joe starts to pick up on how tense things still are between them. Without Azure here to balance it out, the doughnut pony would be at a complete loss. He masks his own feelings on it with practiced ease, turning his attention to the rainbow haired mare opposite of Ryan. "I know those two well enough, but you're not really a regular here. What can I get you?"

    Just as he had pointed out, Rainbow pretty much never comes here and now finds herself at a loss. Glancing around, she tries to spot something that can give her an idea of what to order. After a few seconds of searching, she concedes and lowers her head, pointing a thumb over to her daughter. "I'll just take whatever she's getting."

    "Oh! And some glazed doughnuts too!" Azure announces, doing her best to keep the air somewhat palatable between the two awkward potatoes she's sandwiched with. Joe nods to the filly and turns toward the back to get to work on their orders.

    I mean; It's nice to be out and about with them, but...damn this is uncomfortable! I'm cringing so hard up here!

    Azure could choke to death on their company alone. It's as if they're strangers sitting across from each other. Looking in either direction, neither of them is even daring to glance in the other's direction. If she doesn't do something soon she's going to explode. However, there's only so much she can do in a coffee shop. She tries hard to think of something, but to no-

    I've got it!

    Azure's eyes light up and she quickly turns to look at her father with pleading eyes and a bright smile. "So...you're technically an alien right?"

    Ryan turns his head to face Azure, Rainbow doing the same in kind to the inquiry. "Yeah, I am." Her father begins, "I'm from another dimension entirely, actually; A real rotten place called earth. You wouldn't like it, that's for sure. It's dirty, polluted, the people smell weird. Not to mention the politicians, don't even get me started on them."

    Azure giggles a bit at his description of his homeworld and while she is curious, something else is weighing heavily on her mind. "Your species has like, normal families and stuff though, right?"

    Ryan rocks his head fro side to side, thinking on how to answer that. "Debatably, yes. What's this all leading up to?"

    It's clear she's trying to dig for something deeper here, but he can't quite put his finger on it. Rainbow is in roughly the same boat, lost as to what it is she's trying to hint at. "Well, I know I probably won't ever get to see them, so I was hoping that you could tell me what grandma and grandpa are like."

    Ryan's eyes go dead as the truth finally comes out. "You want to know...about my parents?"

    Azure sinks back a bit at the sudden change. His eyes, his voice; it's almost like the very life has been sucked out of him. Before she can press further, her mother's voice chimes in from behind her. "You know...A lot of us have wondered that same thing." Rainbow says cautiously. "You've never really talked about your family to anypony except Big Mac and when we've asked he gets really weird about it and doesn't say anything."

    "I mean, they're the reason you're here." Azure cuts back in, hoping to salvage this somehow. "They must have been nice, right? They probably really loved each other. They would have to if they had you."

        Alright, let's just take a second here, bud. Breathe. Stay calm.

    Ryan's mind is racing so fast he doesn't even notice Joe's short-lived return to drop off the coffees and small plate of doughnuts. His eyes are locked on his hands that are resting on the counter, trembling as he is flooded with memories that he would rather forget. The trauma of it all he has learned to live with, but the suppressed anger and resentment still lives deep inside, shoved back into the furthest reaches, only surfacing when he is met with the reminder of something he just never had. It isn't until a blue hand comes into his view that he is reacquainted with the real world, lulling him out of this putrid state of mind.

    Just tell them to fuck off. We don't need to be digging up old demons like this. Just leave it buried. In the dirt. Where it belongs!

    Before Ryan can even truly register what is happening, another hand is placed atop his, as well as the on that was previously resting there. He slowly looks over and sees both Azure and Rainbow leaning toward him, worried and a little sad. He hates seeing them look at him like this. He wants to shove it all away, shove those demons back in the ground and go on like nothing happened.

    There are some things that are just better left forgotten.

    Biting his lip, Ryan finally replies. "They weren't and they didn't." He simply states. "To be honest, I don't think they ever really liked me either."

    With that potential crisis avoided, Ryan takes in the area and spots his steaming hot beverage already mixed the way he likes. He reaches out his free hand, the trembling having finally settled, and takes hold of the cup before bringing it to his lips to take a sip.

    Rainbow's hand pulls back and she resumes sitting in silence, but still listening to what's going on. Azure stands firm, staying in place while she looks him eye to eye. "So...you never really had a family either?"

    "I have a family." Ryan counters matter-of-factly. "You're just the only one of them that's actually related to me."

    Azure remembers a conversation with Joe some time ago, when he finally started telling her about her father before sending her to Big Mac. "Because loyalty is what makes you family, right?"

    Hearing this brings a small smile to Ryan's face. "Exactly." Azure smiles back in response. Feeling a bit more at ease, the man feels much more inclined to keep the conversation going. "So, the Apples are our family. They've always done good by me and despite some issues in the past- which were admittedly my own fault- I know that they will always be there for me whenever I need them. Rarity, another person I will always consider close. And finally, your mom."

    Azure's pupils dilate at hearing this. Meanwhile, Dash is listening much more intently, her ear flicking at the mention of her name. "We haven't always had the best relationship, but even when things were at their bleakest, she would still go out of her way to back me up, even if it was passive aggressive at times." Ryan spares a glance in Rainbow's direction, who's eyes shift away before becoming completely preoccupied with her cup of coffee. "Regardless, she is literally the element of loyalty and rightly so. I honestly don't think I could ask for a more dedicated person in my life."

    Sipping her coffee, Dash manages to hold back a choke and an audible sniff. While she still has a lot of mixed feelings about everything going on, especially everything to do with Ryan, it does bring a warm feeling to her chest for her actions to be noticed, even if they weren't always pleasant. He was telling the truth about their relationship being pretty rocky and rough, but she never did stop caring about him, even when she was actively trying to.

    "You didn't always make it easy, you know." Dash says, mostly to herself, but loud enough for the other two members of her party to hear, thus earning their attention as she continues to sip from her mug.

    "I know." Ryan finds himself nodding in agreement. It goes without saying that she's been a real firebrand since he met her, but to push all the blame on her would be the height of ignorance. "To be fair though, neither of us really had solid ground to walk on. We kinda just coasted with the occasional combustion."

    Dash lowers her mug, giggling a bit as she swallows her coffee. "No truer words have been spoken." Daring to look him in the eye, she finds herself becoming lost in his gaze. It's a little scary, but a familiar comfort follows close behind. "Do you think...If we could go back and do it all over again...would you?"

    Ryan takes a moment to ponder the idea before answering. "As much as I'd like to say I would, for the sake of sparing everyone the heartache and all the crap I put you all through, I like to think that we've all gained something in this rather unpleasant venture. Plus, it would kinda suck to have not met Steel Hoof and his family. I probably wouldn't have grown nearly as much."

    "I'm not saying that I wouldn't have done things differently if I had known then what I know now, but I feel like a lot of it would lose its meaning if not for all of this." It's difficult for Ryan to find the right words to explain what it is he's thinking, but Dash seems to be absorbing it well enough. All the while, Azure's head is swinging from one person to the next as they discuss this little scenario.

    "I want things to work out here, but..." Dash lets out a near-defeated breath, trying herself to find the best way to air her own feelings out. "I still have a lot of...fear, I guess. I don't know how all of this going to play out and it's been weighing on me pretty heavy lately." She will never understand why talking to him has always felt so natural. Sure, miscommunication has played a role in their combined instability, but when they do finally sit down and just talk it out, everything seems to flow well enough. "I really did miss you, you know."

    No amount of words felt right at this moment. And if nothing else, Ryan has always been a man of action. With that in mind, he removes himself from his seat, abandoning his cup as he moves to stand behind Rainbow, who tenses at the sudden change of position. Both she and Azure watch curiously as he takes a stand directly at her back before leaning forward and wrapping his arms around her front. Locking himself in place, he sets his head down atop Rainbow's scalp and goes still. It's a simple gesture, sure, but among many of the things he's learned one of them is that- sometimes- you just need a hug.

    "We'll get through this Dashie." Rainbow's body relaxes just as quick as it had gone taut, her eyes becoming reflective and wet. Sniffling, she grabs onto him, her eyes clenching shut as she presses her muzzle against his forearm. "It might pass like a kidney stone, but all of this will pass. We'll figure it out."

    This would be the perfect opportunity to snap her neck and be done with all of this.

    This is the perfect opportunity! Get in there, little butt!

    Azure quickly dives into her mother's lap, who responds by releasing her grip on Ryan's arms and pulling her daughter into her chest to hold her. For the first time in over ten years, everything actually feels like it'll be alright. In fact, she would even say that this is the happiest she's been in a long time as well. She feels inclined to believe Ryan and look forward to better days to come.

    Everything will be fine...

    "Awww, that's so sweet~"

    "Shut up, Joe!"
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

    So we're really doing this, huh?

    Ryan looks over the hospital's exterior with some amount of discomfort. He's never particularly cared for doctors, despite how many times they've patched him up in the past. Not to mention; Ponyville General is a bleeding memory of the many painful mistakes he's made over the course of his stay in Equestria. Looking at the entrance is akin to staring down the devil himself, as if going in there would open up many other doors to his past that he would rather keep shut. He's never been to therapy, despite a few too many suggestions even before crossing worlds, and he is certainly not looking forward to it. Even if it is for both him and Dash; the latter of which was also staring blankly at the doors in front of them with equal discomfort.

    "I take it you're pretty nervous about this?" Rainbow asks aloud, her eyes still stagnant and unmoving.

    "Yep. How are you holding up."

    "Not gonna lie, I really don't want to do this."

    "Would you two relax." Twilight pipes up from behind, stepping around the two to stand in front of them. While they are paying attention to her, their eyes remain locked. "This isn't some monster to face down. It's just a bit of counseling to help you both sort out your issues. Nothing bad is gonna happen."

    "Have you ever been to therapy?" Ryan asks, deciding to pry his gaze from the all-too-intimiadting structure behind the alicorn lecturing them.

    Twilight shoots him a cock-eyed look, "Of course not. Why would I, of all ponies, need therapy?"

    "I could think of a few reasons." Dash adds rather bluntly to the conversation.

    "I could give you fifteen right off the bat." Ryan tacks on. "You could wake me from a drunken stupor, I could still give you- like- nine."

    Twilight deadpans at the two of them, but focuses her frustration on the human who started this whole thing. "Gee, thanks Ryan." She begins in a facetious tone. "Really glad to have you back. I don't know how we ever made it without you."

    That aside, Twilight was actually very happy to have their missing friend involved in their lives once more. Even more so now that he's actually doing his best to get the help he needs, all while slowly trying to correct his past mistakes and pushing to be a supporting parent to the daughter he only recently discovered. "I know this seems like a lot, but try to remember why you're doing this. Why both of you are doing this." Ryan and Dash have bestowed their full attention onto Twilight, only glancing at each other a single time. "We've all been through a lot and we're working hard to adapt back to our normal lives, but the largest impact of all of this is on you guys. This is to help you both heal and come to terms with your issues so you can be the loving and supportive parents that Azure both needs and deserves."

    Letting out a collective sigh, Ryan turns his head to face Rainbow Dash and she does the same. They lock eyes, at firtst looking defeated, but steadily hardening their gazes as they focus up and start walking past Twilight and toward the entrance. The alicorn follows them with her eyes, turning around to watch as they step into the building before letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Please, Celestia, let this work."



    "This suuuuucks!" Azure whines as she moves a basket of apples onto the wooden cart stationed between herself and Applejack. "I thought we were supposed to be spending more time together. Instead I have to be shoved off while they to see a doctor." The filly leans her back against the cart, looking out at the countless number of apple trees she would be helping buck for harvest.

    Applejack, having been listening to the young pony gripe about not being able to spend more time with her parents, especially her estranged father, approaches with a much larger basket and sets it down near the front end of the cart. "Ah know it's not ideal fer ya, little one. But, they rightly should have been gettin professional help a long time ago."

    Azure glances back at Aj, who rests her elbows on the glorified wagon. "I get why mom would need to, but dad seems like he has his head on his shoulders. Why does he need therapy?"

    "You'd be surprised." Applejack adds matter-of-factly. "Believe it or not, yer daddy had a lot of issues long before you came 'round. And from what ah've heard, he's got a few demons he ain't all that aware of right now."

    This peaks Azure's attention, causing her to turn her entire body to face the farm pony properly. "What do you mean? What kind of demons?"

    Applejack removes her hat to scratch the top of her head as she thinks of the best way to elaborate this new information to the filly, it still being relatively fresh in her own mind as well. "It's hard ta explain really." She begins, "Ya know how- like- Berry Punch got bit by that spider some time ago?"

    Azure nods in response to her inquiry. "And ya know how she is really scared of spiders now?" Again, the filly nods in approval. "It's kinda like that, except yer daddy has done a lot of pretty darn dumb things over the years and ah think it's all startin' to catch up to him."

    "Like what?" 

    Applejack falls silent as she recalls Fluttershy's words; How she found him alone, in his living room, clutching that knife. The very same one he used to cut the rope that kept him from falling to his death. She didn't see the episode herself, but with how the pegasus described him it painted a very vivid picture in her head. She could imagine, clear as day, the fear in his eyes and just the thought shook her to her core. It was only made worse when Rarity added on how he had a similar reaction when she touched the scar on his back. Many of them have gone so long with the idea that Ryan was practically invincible, unfazed by anything. However, after hearing those two tales, it's becoming more and more obvious that he's just as mortal as the rest of them. It just took longer for it all to reach him.

    "It's nothin you need to worry yer little head about, Sugarcube." Applejack finally answers, looking a bit pale in the face. "Ah'm sure that it';ll all get sorted out soon enough."

    Azure wants to pry more information out of Applejack. However, just because she's honest, that doesn't mean that she needs to say anything at all. Noticing the filly's inner quarrel, Applejack decides to tack on, "Hay, with any luck, we might even see a change as soon as they get out of therapy today. Who knows just how much good that pony is doing for them. Why, I'd say that they're even having a breakthrough right this second."



    Dr. Gaze finds himself at a loss as he sits in his chair, in agony. After some time talking to the human, everything he knew has been put into question. The rollercoaster of emotions that have taken hold has left the poor stallion disheveled, his dark mane sticking out in random directions and the brown fur around his eyes matted with tears. His clothes are now wrinkled and untucked, the pen and pad having fallen from his grip some time ago as he struggled to keep his own feelings in check. With closed eyes and a lowered head, he reaches up and removes his glasses to wipe the tears away with a sleeve. "But...w-what if I'm not good enough? What if I fail?"

    "Don't you ever say that!" Ryan's voice booms from above him, causing him to look up at the standing form in front of him just in time to watch the human place its furless hand onto his shoulders and give him a gentle shove. The force lifts Dr. Gaze up, straightening his posture and making him sit upright. "You only fail when you stop trying! Take a look at me."

    The human steps back and holds his arms out, doing a slow spin so that the stallion in front of him can really absorb his presence. "I'm nothing! No one! A literal alien, ripped from his home and brought here with a blank slate that I immediately tainted." Holding his position, Ryan lowers his arms and locks eyes with the therapist. "It took me way too long to realize my mistakes. Longer to come back and try to fix them. Over a decade later, I finally grew the sense to pull my head out of my ass and here I am, trying to right my wrong doings and get my life on track for a daughter I didn't even know I had."

    "If I can come back from the brink, then so can you!" Ryan announces, "I don't know a single pony in this world that has fucked up as bad as me and I'm still here fighting to do better. I am not failing, because I refuse to give up, despite all the bullshit I've gone through! What's your excuse?"

    Dr. Gaze glances around at nothing, his eyes just shifting around as he searches for an answer. "I-I...I don't-"

    "That's what I thought." Closing the distance between them, Ryan kneels down so that he is eye level with the seated pony. "If there's any advice in this life that I can give you, it's this; Don't give up on the things you love, because you never truly know what you're missing out on. Now stand up!"

    Ryan grabs both of the doctor's shoulders, standing upright and pulling the pony along with him. Once up, he turns both himself and his charge toward the door. "Face down your enemy! Hold no fear in your heart!" A wave of adrenaline surges through Dr. Gaze as he stares down the door that leads out of his office and into the open world beyond. "You have your goal, you have your dream! A what do we do with dreams?"

    "We don't let our dreams be memes!" Gaze all but screams out, his heart pounding in his chest as he feels the humans words in his mind, body and soul.

    "That's the spirit! Now go out there and make it happen!" With a mighty roar, the stallion charges out of the office, nearly breaking the door and he pushes through. His screams can beard down the hall, only pausing when he's some distance away to announce, "I love you ponies, but I hate this job!" before continuing on his warpath.

    That was the dumbest speech I've ever heard and I loved it.

    Rainbow Dash is dumbstruck at what it is she just witnessed from her spot on the lounge. Ten minutes was all it took for Ryan to turn the questions around; ten minutes to make the doctor open up about past experiences and abandoned passions. After that, five minutes of nearly yelling at the stallion before convincing him to pursue the things that make him happy. Now, here they are, alone in an abandoned office while their doctor goes off to chase his dreams in Manehattan. If things got any dumber, she would swear that this is all some kind of weird fever dream.

    "Ryan..." The human in question turns back to look at the pegasus calling his name. Dash eyes him curiously as he looks back at her, his expression being rather unexpected. He looks sad, in a sense; defeated and broken as he walks over and takes a seat in the chair their therapist was in just a moment ago. "what the hell was all of that about?"

    Taking a breath, Ryan cycles through about six different emotions and one hundred different ways he could answer this. The only thing he manages to bark out during this short freak out is, "I panicked..." He finally replies, his voice breathy and inconsistent. "I don't know what came over me. He started asking about my childhood then everything kinda went haywire and now he's gone and I can finally breathe!"

    It's becoming painfully obvious to her that Ryan really does have some deep seeded issues with his past and while he's shared plenty of stories about hijinks and mischief, very rarely did he ever share personal information. She knows virtually nothing about his childhood, none of her friends do either- to her knowledge. He's a total enigma and it only makes her wonder more just how bad things could have been where just being asked about it can provoke such a reaction. It would be one thing if he just got mad and snapped at the doctor, but instead he played twelfth dimensional chess with the poor stallion and won with rehearsed ease so hard that the cosmos could have felt it.

    There's a painful pang in Rainbow's chest as she watches the man struggle to regain some sense of normalcy. It's still a very new and uncomfortable experience to see him so weak and vulnerable. It's probably something she'll never get used to, considering how she came to know him during his time in this world. It's unnatural, but it brings some sense of comfort to see him like this as well. It's hard for her to process the exact reason why and it still bothers her to see him like this. Following her heart, Dash lifts herself from the lounge and carefully approaches the human. He's too lost in thought to really pay her any mind, so she simply goes with her gut and places herself down on his lap.

    The sudden change pulls Ryan out of his stupor in time to notice Dash settling in on top of him, curling into a ball before wrapping an arm around his shoulder, her other hand resting on his side while she places her head just under his chin. "Do you know how I spent the last eleven years?" Initially, he's lost on what's just happened, but habit kicks in and he finds himself snaking his arms around her as well. He feels content to just sit here like this, holding someone close while she regales him in her tale. "I spent almost every day alone, wishing and hoping you would come waltzing back into my life. I would dream about it."

    "Now that you're here though, I just feel lost." Dash resumes, unsure herself why she's spilling her guts out like this. "I want us to do better. But, I feel like all of this could backfire any second." While her presence helps him to calm his nerves some, her words prompt him to revisit the whole reason that they came here. He wants to get better and to be better, for both his own sake and Azure's. On top of that, this is supposed to help Dash come to terms with everything as well. "I'm afraid of losing you all over again.

    How can any of them possibly hope to get better if he remains closed off to the very ponies he's trying to help and support?

    It's better this way.

    "...No it's not."

    Dash pulls her head back to look at Ryan, her grip only slackening just enough to give her ease of access. "What are you-"

    "My mother was...troubled." Ryan cuts her off, deciding that it's finally time to get some weight off of his chest before he loses his nerve. "She had a lot of problems; mentally, physically."

    I'm sorry, but what part of 'Leave it buried!' did you not understand!?

    "Painkillers and steroids were her poison of choice." "Ryan blurted out, determined to finally release some of the monsters he kept locked away for so long. This comes as a major surprise to Rainbow, who's heard little to nothing about his relationship with his parents. "Not many out there can say they've fought someone who was roided out and could feel no pain. I can though. All thanks to her." There's plenty more to tell, but while he wants to finally let go of some of this, he would rather not sit here and describe every little detail for the next twelve hours. Meanwhile, the pegasus on his lap is listening with a certain amount of intensity, clinging on to every detail with wide eyes and her face drawing closer to his. "My dad was unstable in his own regard. He drank pretty heavily, which made it easier on him, I guess. When my mom decided that there was nothing more she could take from him, she told him to leave...and he did. Didn't even try to put up a fight. Just left me alone with that horrible woman."

    It's becoming more and more difficult for Ryan to speak clearly as opening Pandora's Box draws more of this repressed anger and frustration out of him. He sniffs, trying to fight back the tears threatening to escape him. "I hate them. I hate them so much." He continues breathily, his face turning red as the moisture in his eyes breaks past his seal and begins running down his face. "I hate her for what she put me through. I spent so long thinking that she hated me and I hate that selfish cocksucker for letting it all happen and walking away without a second thought! I spent years just wanting to die because I felt like I was the one who caused it all!"

    "But more than anything," Ryan dares to face Rainbow, feeling broken and ashamed of himself. "I hate that they made me like this..."

    Dash takes the reins as the man finally gives into his despair, falling to her chest. She's quick to take charge, pulling him into her center and cradling his head like a child. "That's enough!" She chokes out, not out of anger or even frustration. The mare just can't handle seeing him like this any longer. "You don't need to say anything else."

    Together, they sit in relative silence.

    Minutes pass by in seconds and before long Ryan manages to pull himself out of his fallen state, lifting his head from Dash's torso so he can take in his surroundings with a clear mind. His eyes are still red, but the waterworks have been drained and the man notices himself feeling better than he expected. There's a certain heaviness that seems as though it's simply vanished, allowing him to breathe easier; a veil having been lifted from his eyes, letting him see the world in a new light. He looks back at Dash, who seems at a loss. He can't tell if she is conflicted or just plain confused, but he wants to help her in any way he can. He feels he owes her at least that.

    "Come home with me tonight."

    Dash stares at him as if he's grown a second head. It's not that she doesn't want to, it's just that suggestion itself seems rather sudden. "What?"

    "You heard me." Ryan says teasingly, having a sudden rush of energy now that he's recovered from his short weeping fest. He feels like his old self again, only better somehow. "I want you and Azure to come home with me." The pegasus is still in shock, unable to find the words to respond to him. "Take a breath, Dashie. I'm not asking you to move in with me. I just think it would be nice for us all to be together tonight. You know, like how families do."

    Rainbow blinks a few times in response, feeling that warmth in her chest again. The heat blossoms and all but forces a small smile on her face, causing her to blush some as well before stepping down from Ryan's lap and getting back onto her own to legs. "I think I'd like that..." She says, gingerly holding out her hand to him, which he eagerly accepts, pulling himself upright. "let's get the hell out of here."

    "Couldn't have said it better myself."

    They look down at their hands, still holding one another before glancing at each other. In a split second decision, the two maneuver their hands and interlock their fingers.

    Ryan's expression screams uncertainty at this. "Is this weird? It feels a little weird."

    "A little, yeah." Rainbow responds with a subtle giggle. "Maybe...we just need time to get used to it, you know?"

    "Yeah, that sounds about right." Ryan concludes, feeling like- for the first time ever- he and Dash are on the same page. "We can pace this out and take our time doing things."

    "Perfect."

    Rainbow looks down at their hands once more, questioningly. After a few seconds of consideration, she figures that it can't hurt and the couple departs from the office and works their way out of the hospital. It's a relatively quiet and overall peaceful walk to Sweet Apple Acres. The occasional stares and whispers don't seem to bother Ryan or Rainbow this time around as they continue their venture to collect the missing member of their group. After a nice little hike, they find themselves closing in on the property. Already, they can see the barn in the distance. 

    Incoming!

    From the top of the barn, Azure spots them from the open window in the hay loft. Eagerness is quick to overtake her as she sees her parents coming closer, but she knows better than to get too rowdy around the giant stacks of hay. Even so, she zips through the loft, spreading her wings as she reaches the edge. The filly jumps from the ledge and glides down to the ground floor, catching the attention of the farm pony, who had preoccupied herself with unstacking the baskets from the cart and restacking them in the eastern side of the barn.

    "What's got you all worked up there, Sugarcube?"

    Azure looks back at Applejack, unable to contain the feeling of pure joy that rockets through her body like a small missile. "Mom and dad are here!"

    Applejack raises a brow at this and glances out of the window to look at the sun. "Ah could have sworn they were supposed to be gone longer." Shrugging, she places down another basket before adjusting her hat and walking over to join the filly. "Figure we should meet 'em halfway?"

    "Yes, please!"

    Applejack can't help but to laugh at the filly's excitement. "Well, come along then."

    The two ponies exit the barn and begin marching out to meet Rainbow and Ryan. Azure practically bounces all the way to the gate, her smile only growing bigger as she looks out to see her mother and father- hand in hand- drawing closer. Without further hesitation, the young pony takes flight and launches herself in their direction, forcing Applejack to have to pick up the pace just to keep up.

    Azure lowers herself and hits the ground with both feet, sliding to a stop before running and nearly tackling her parents to the ground as she slams into them with outstretched arms.

    "Easy now, baby girl!" Ryan calls out with a laugh as he barely manages to keep himself upright, putting his free arm around his daughter. "We just left the hospital and I'm not looking for a fast pass back there quite yet."

    Rainbow giggles at the interaction, taking the impact with much more ease than Ryan as she mimics his movement and puts an arm on her filly as well. "How's it going, squirt? AJ been keeping you busy?"

    Azure tightens her hold on them for a brief moment before breaking free and taking a step back to admire the view of them together. "Yep! Me and Applejack picked a bunch of apples and I got to go up in the hayloft to look for critters!"

    "She's been a mighty help, as usual." Applejack adds in as she reaches the trio, wiping a bit of sweat from her head once she comes to a stop beside Azure. "Woo! Gettin' old here! Can't keep chasin' after the youngins like ah used ta."

    Ryan shoots her a look of disbelief, "Are you kidding? You and Mac are still built like a brick house!"

    That remark earns him a laugh from the farm pony, who raises and arm and flexes, showing off her well-toned and built muscles. "That earth ponies fer ya. Tough as nails through and through!"

    God, I want her to use us like a living dildo again.

    "No shit." Ryan remarks, feeling Rainbow's grip on his hand tighten a bit. He pays it no mind and turns his attention back to Azure. "Well, we'll get out of mane now. Thanks for keeping an eye on her while we've been gone."

    "Oh, heck! It's my pleasure."

    With that, the three of them depart and make their way back to the human's home on the edge of town. All the while, Azure shared stories about her time with Applejack. She made it a point to ask her parents how therapy went, which they answered very cryptically as to not divulge just how crazy it all was. Once they arrived at the house, Ryan opened the door and let the ponies enter before him. He is quickly reminded just how barren and boring his house is, but he could care less at the moment. Today has been eventful enough and some quiet time sounds heavenly.

    Ryan stretches his arms out and yawns. "I don't know about you guys, but I'd kill for a nap right about now."

    "After the day we've had; a nap sounds awesome." Rainbow groans out in approval.

    "But, we don't have beds here." Azure points out as Ryan closes and locks the door behind them.

    "I have a bed." Ryan retorts, moving away from the door and walking toward his old bedroom. "We'll just have to squish together."

    Noooooo!

    EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

    Azure doesn't even blink as she rushes past her parents and through the door, throwing herself into the middle of the lone bed in his bedroom, waiting impatiently for her mother and father to join her. Ryan and Rainbow aren't nearly as quick to divebomb the bed, but the sounds they make as they finally roll in on either side of the filly would make outsiders question their activities. A few adjustments later and the family makes themselves comfortable, with Rainbow and Ryan at either end- facing each other- and Azure sandwiched between them. Silence begins to encompass the room as they begin to lull-

    Something isn't right here...

    A loud crash echoes through the house from the main room, causing the trio to nearly jump out of their skins. "Ryan!" An all too familiar voice calls out in the distance as the three sit up and cower back at the scream of- what is obviously- a very pissed off Twilight. "Did you make your therapist quit his job to be a ballet dancer!?"

    "Oh, shit…" Rainbow blurts out.

    Ryan's eyes go dead before he looks over at his daughter and quickly climbs out of bed, opening the nearby window. Rainbow, knowing the drill, is up immediately and standing by his side.  "Azure, daddy's about to introduce you to one of his favorite pastimes."

    Azure follows shortly after out of instinct, watching her dad all but jump out of the window. "What's that?"

    The sound of stomping draws close to the bedroom door. "It's called run like hell before Twilight rips your head off!"
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's a rather temperate day in Ponyville with a rather unnatural happening taking place at this very moment. It isn't often this little town makes requests for certain materials, given how old fashioned they are here. However, construction on some modern structures and appliances that had been confirmed by the mayor has led to the demand of various metals. As such, a regularly known steel driving train pulls into the Ponyville station for the first time. Several ponies had been waiting on standby, ready for the unloading process. The group is quick to get to work, opening up the appropriately labeled carts to gather their materials. One particular cart, with no label upon it, opens from the inside. Very few ponies take notice of this and those that do pay the small group exiting the cart no mind.

Taking in the new surroundings, the much smaller group leaving the train make their way to the pony in charge of the station, who does not even look up at them before speaking. "This is just a material train." The bored looking, green mare donning a blue uniform exposits plainly. "The train going to Manehattan will still be out for another two hours. If you can just-"

"Actually, I was hoping for directions to Carousel Boutique." The older looking stallion interrupts, earning the attention of the mare behind the glass.

The mare eyes the dirty stallion, the mare standing next to him and the young boy in her arms. Her face takes on an unsure expression, finding it hard to get a read on the group. They were very clearly poverty-stricken, but they were smiling as if they owned the world. "Uh...sure?" She leans forward a bit, reaching her arm out of the small opening in the window to point into town. "Just head down that road there until you reach Town Hall. Once you're there, you should be able to see it. It's pretty hard to miss."

"Much obliged, young lady." The stallion remarks, reaching up to tip his hat in her direction before setting off in the direction that she had pointed them.

"This is such a cozy looking town." The salmon pink mare says as they walk, her head swiveling around to take it all in. "I can see why Rusty would want to come back here."

"I can't wait to see him again!" The colt in her arms exclaims. "It feels like it’s been forever!"

"It's all just so exciting, isn't it?" Their stallion leader adds, walking with a fair amount of pep in his step. "I can't help but wonder what sort of adventure he's been on since coming here."

"I guess we'll see when we get there." With a grunt, the mare lowers her child to the ground and takes hold of his brown coated hand. "You're growing up so fast, Rod. I can't keep carrying you like that."

Rod giggles and happily walks beside his mother, hand-in-hand. "I'm gonna be as big as daddy one day."

"If you plan on being that tall, you're the one who's gonna have to start carrying me."

The stallion leading their charge comes to a stop as he chuckles at his wife's words. "Oh, don't be so modest; my dear, Scarlett. I'm sure you could carry me if you really tried."

Scarlett rolls her eyes at her husband, grinning all the while. "Whatever you say, Steel. Now, let's gets a move on. We are on a time limit after all."

"Onward!" Steel calls out to the heavens as he continues down the path. It doesn't take long to spot the Town Hall just down road. After closing the distance a fair bit, the boutique came clear into their view. As the mare at the station said, it was truly hard to miss. The fact that it actually did resemble a carousel in many aspects was fairly amusing to the group and provided a good laugh during their journey. Approaching the entrance, Steel steps forward and gives the door a few firm knocks.

"Just a moment~!" A sing-songy voice calls out from deeper within. After nearly a full minute, the door swings open, revealing a refined looking white unicorn. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique! Where everything is shhhh-" Her eyes go wide at the sight of the dirty and disheveled family standing at her doorstep. Her eyes dart between the three of them, her brain kicking into full gear before magic envelops their hands and begins pulling them into her shop. "Oh, this simply will not do."





"You know, normal ponies might need to see two or three therapists until they find one they can relate to." Twilight begins, looking over a stack of papers on a crystal desk in one of the many rooms filling up the giant, purple eyesore. Glancing up from the papers, she looks out to the pair sitting on the other side of the desk, each in their own separate chair. "Then there's you two, who have gone through seven in the last three months."

The two creatures in question glance at each other with a shared expression before looking back to Twilight and shrugging in response.

"Shit happens." Ryan says plainly.

"It's hardly our fault that they all sucked." Rainbow chimes in, clearly on Ryan's side.

"Really?" Twilight asks with a deadpan expression. "All of them?"

"Every single one." Ryan confirms.

"The first one didn't even want to be a therapist." Rainbow adds matter-of-factly.

"I actually heard that he got a job on broadway." Ryan points out, turning his attention to Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash looks back at him with mild surprise. "No kidding?"

"Yeah, he's actually doing very well for himself." Ryan went on to explain, taking a more relaxed posture as he spoke. "I saw a few sections about him in the papers. He's surprised a HUGE number of critics. Guy's got three shows this month alone. He actually seems really happy now. Even sent a 'Thank you' message to me in one of his interviews. Said that he never could have done it if I hadn't given him the courage."

"Maybe you should be a therapist." Rainbow responds with a short laugh.

Eww. Fuck no.

Ryan goes silent for a moment, actually considering the idea for a moment. "That actually doesn't sound too bad. Hell, if I don't feel like having the commitment, I could just do motivational speaking. Lord know I have a huge list of fuck-ups to draw from."

Twilight clears her throat loudly to get their attention. "While that's all well and good, I would like to get back to the matter at hand."

"Right; the therapist thing." Ryan readjusts himself in his seat as he attempts to steer the conversation back on track. "Like Dash said, that guy just didn't even want to be there himself."

"The mare after him was just a bitch." Rainbow adds to the conversation.

"Total bitch." Ryan concurs, "I hope the power goes out in her house and she stubs her toe on every little surface trying to navigate through the blinding darkness."

"The mare after her wasn't too bad." Rainbow says, pushing the conversation onward.

"Yeah, but she was too happy."

"Like, disturbingly happy."

"For no reason!"

"There's something wrong with that mare."

"She has a collection of severed arms in a trunk somewhere in her house, I know it."

"Bucking psycho."

"Enough!" Twilight interrupts, holding her head in her palms while her fingers begin to rub circles around her temples. As much as she would like this to end, she presses on and asks them in a desperate tone, "Have you two made ANY progress with the new one?"

Rainbow and Ryan fall silent for a moment, mulling over their time with Dr. Shine.

"It's kinda...What's the word I'm looking for here?" Ryan leans forward a bit and tugs at the hairs on his chin. "Rainbow, help me out here."

While Rainbow would like to back him up, she's finding it difficult to describe as well. At least, in a way that won't upset the alicorn further. "It's not like it's going bad. She's cool and all, but it's just...Buck, this is a hard one."

Swallowing down any care he had for the situation, Ryan sits up straight and simply says what's on his mind. "It's hit or miss, honestly. Either things are going good at best or they're dragging on at the worst."

"It's not like we have a problem with her, it's just hard to discuss all this personal stuff with a total stranger." Rainbow explains, earning Ryan's support instantly.

""Exactly!" Ryan exclaims, leveling a finger in her direction as he says this. "I think it's fair to say that we are kinda dragging our feet in the sessions, but we're doing so much better outside of them by comparison."

That last part catches Twilight's attention. Upon hearing this, her ears perk up and she lifts her head to look at them proper. Her arms slowly lower down to the desk, resting in front of her as she eyes them curiously. "Would you mind elaborating?"

Rainbow and Ryan glance at each other before the pegasus speaks up. "After our first session went to...well, hell, for lack of a better term; Ryan and I opened up to each other. I think we actually had a pretty decent breakthrough."

"Really, for every therapist we've lost, we both kinda came to realize how fucked we were." Ryan backs her up, trying to help Twilight understand their situation. "After the pony would dip out we started taking time to ourselves to talk things out one on one. We haven't gone digging into more recent issues yet, but we've been sharing bits of our past and I think it's made understanding each other a lot easier."

"It's more than just understanding though." Rainbow chimes in, her attention glued to Ryan as she leans toward him from her seat. "After hearing about all the stuff with you parents, why you started drinking and how you were repressing all those feelings out of fear of them changing you; I feel like, for the first time ever, I actually know you."

I think she's starting to lose it.

The pegasus explains all of this rather emphatically, catching both Twilight and Ryan off of their guard. "Seriously! After we started ACTUALLY talking about your past, it made me feel like I've been looking at a picture of you this entire time and, for the first time ever, the picture has been tossed aside and now I'm looking at you. And it helped me realize that...Before all of that crazy stuff happened, I really didn't know you."

Ryan bites his tongue at this, lowering his head a bit as he processes her words. "None of you did." He began in a hushed tone, just loud enough for the mares to hear. "Never could show the real me, couldn't find the strength to. You never really loved me, you loved the idea of me; The me that I presented in an attempt to keep hiding away how sad, miserable and angry I was all the time."

Twilight stares at Ryan in shock, surprised by what she heard. Not even just what she heard, but how she heard it. There was feeling in his voice, true hurt and disappointment. She blinks a few times, trying to register the sudden change in character. Just as quickly as he had sunk though, he perked back up. "If I could just pull my head out of my ass, this whole process would probably be a lot easier." He continues, leaning back in his seat and acting like his usual self. "Alas, my stupid continues to hold me by the balls and drag me along for the ride."

Rainbow Dash stretches out an arm, reaching her hand out and placing it upon his. The man looks over at her, seeing her small smile. "You'll get there, don't worry." She says in a soft tone, something that's oddly out of character for her as well, Twilight notes. "You're getting better, I know it. I see it more and more every day. We just need to be patient, keep doing what we're doing and we can work on it from there."

Twilight struggles to form words at first, but manages to get her mouth working after a few seconds of nothing coming out of it. "This has been...enlightening." She couldn't even find it in her to be mad at them anymore. Clearly, they're opening up to each other, just not in the way she was expecting. However, progress is progress and if the system is working then there's really no point in changing it. "I'm actually really proud of both of you."

The couple turn their attention to the alicorn, looks of confusion etched clearly on their faces. Before they could say anything, the door to the crystal room opens, revealing little Spike, who waddles in with a small stack of scrolls in his arms.

"I got the scrolls from the library that you wanted." Spike says as he makes his way to the desk before setting down the acquired materials.

"Thanks a bunch, number one assistant." Twilight says with a smile.

"No problem, Twi." Looking over, the dragon's gaze settles on the human. "Rarity teleported a letter on our doorstep asking about you, Ryan. Said she wants you to come to the shop as soon as possible."

Ryan raises a brow at the small drake. "Did she say what for?"

"She didn't specify much." Spike answered with a shrug. "Just said that there are ponies there who wanted to see you and that they are only here for maybe another hour or so."

Shrugging himself, Ryan gets to his feet with a grunt. "I guess that's my que to leave."

"I'll grab Azure and we can head out." Rainbow says as she follows his example. 

"I guess we can call it quits for today." Twilight pipes up, checking the clock on the wall. "I have a few things I need to go over anyhow. At least getting started now means that I can get to bed at a decent time."

"Fair enough." Ryan says, mostly to himself. "Let's get moving."





"He did not!" Rarity exclaims with a gasp from her position at the table, covering her mouth with one hand while the other firmly grips the handle of a nearly-full cup of tea.

"Oh, but he did." Steel counters from his seat across from the unicorn, donning his very recently cleaned and repaired, tan suit and tie. His wife, also in her recently cleaned and repaired floral dress, nodding approval. "It was an unpleasant experience, I'm sure."

Scarlett nods at this as well before speaking her part. "Oh, it was dreadful." She says with a grimace. The look quickly fades as she turns to the side to see her son playing in the distance, donning brand new denim overalls. A smile quickly works its way back onto her face as she turns to face the unicorn once more. "I'd do it a thousand times over though. If not for his actions, our son might not be here."

Steel reaches over and grabs her hand. The couple lock their fingers together and face each other, staring deeply into the other's eyes. "You were so strong, my love." His free hand moves up to stroke her cheek, which she lovingly nuzzles into. "How on Equis did I get so lucky as to have you in my life?"

"Well, it hasn't been an easy train ride." She says with a giggle, earning a chuckle from her husband in response. "But, I wouldn't have it any other way. As long as we're together, I'll be happy."

"The drama!" Rarity blurts out, causing the married couple to look at her with some amount of concern as she begins ranting to herself. "The passion! The strain of poverty weighing down on such a couple so powerfully in love!" For a moment, one could mistake the fine and refined mare known as Rarity for a crazed mare, but she could care less at the moment, the display in front of her playing out like a soap opera in her mind. "Bound to wander the world with no home, tested at every corner of life - and yet - so powerful is the pull of their hearts, even the harshest of lifestyles cannot break their bond!"

Giggling like a loon, Rarity swoons at the romantic display she had witnessed and nearly falls from her seat. "Oh, how captivating! How inspiring!" Settling herself, the mare leans with an arm on her table, letting her chin rest in the palm of her hand as she watches the two almost dreamily. "If only I could find a love as pure as what you two so genuinely possess for each other."

Steel and Scarlett can only smile at her words, finding no words for such a complimentary exposition of their life. The only thing that could really seal this day is-

"Knock knock! Is tax collector!"

Rod is the first to pipe up at this. Even with the horribly fake prussian accent, he instantly recognizes that voice and rushes for the door. He runs over to the door and yanks it open without any hesitation. "Rusty!" The colt calls out before wrapping his arms around the human's waist. "I missed you so much!"

Not this fuckin' thing again.

Ryan looks down at the colt in shock and awe, his arms shooting out and pressing against the small pony's back. "Rod..." He mutters to himself as Rainbow and Azure watch this display in confusion at either side of him. The shock on his face quickly blossoms to a full blown smile as he bends down and hoists the colt up in his arms. "Come here, you little monster!"

Do...do we have a brother?

Ryan practically spins into the house with the colt laughing in his arms all the while. "I missed you too, you little spaz!"

"WEEEEE!"

Rainbow Dash and Azure follow Ryan into the house, still locked in their confused state as they begin looking around the shop. It doesn't take long for them all, Ryan included, to spot the older couple sitting at the table with Rarity. Setting down the colt, Ryan practically charges at them, with Steel getting out of his seat just in time to catch the man in an embrace.

The stallion holds him tight, patting the human's back as they lock onto each other. "It's so good to see you again, my boy."

"It's even better to see you, old man." Ryan says with happy tears forming in his eyes. He sees Scarlett rise beside the stallion and pries himself off of Steel to share the affection with her as well. "Don't think I forgot about you, mama!"

Meanwhile, Rod walks over to the filly in the room, looking her up and down before asking, "Are you Azure?"

Azure looks over to the colt, giving him a once over while still trying to wrap her head around whatever is happening here. "Uh...yes?"

The colt nods, "I'm Rod Iron. Everypony calls me Rod." The colt joyfully explains. "I'm your Uncle!"

Come again?

"What???" There are a number of confusing thoughts going through her head, most of them pertaining to one simple question.

What the hell is going on here!?

"Ryan..." The man removes himself from the salmon colored mare, looking back at Rainbow with a smile. "I don't mean to interrupt or anything, but who are these ponies?"

Glancing around the room, he looks over everyone in the vicinity with his gaze soon resting on Azure. He has mixed feelings about what to do here, but he can't find it in him not to provide a proper explanation. It means revisiting a dark time in his life, but he takes a moment to consider how that might actually be a good thing. Steeling his nerves, he motions for everyone to sit at the table. "Allow me to share a...pretty shitty story with all of you."

The talk went as expected, but Ryan was quick to bring the mood back up after having to share details on his last suicide attempt. All it really took from him was sharing some of the details on how he, Steel and his wife began their journey together. The mood improved significantly as the stories continued on with Ryan and Steel steering most of the conversations. Azure steadily became open to the idea of having another child in the family, but simply refused to acknowledge Rod as her Uncle. That aside, she was happy to listen to her father and his illegitimate father share. The group shared laughs and overall were having a good time as Ryan went on to regale them with yet another tale of their adventures.

"You remember how that traffic guard was staring us down in Mustangia?" Ryan asks as he looks down at the seated stallion beside him.

I could have killed that prick.

Steel reels back in his seat, laughing a bit to himself. "Forget the thought! Remember how he accused you of trying to hijack one of the carts?"

"How the hell was I even supposed to do that!?" Everypony begins cackling at him as he snaps at no pony in particular. "The damn thing was like three times my size! I'm sorry you're built like a twig, but even I am not dumb enough to try and pull off something like that."

I'd have no problem putting his face under the tire though.

Ryan shakes his head a bit, doing his best to hide his annoyance as Scarlett decides to join the conversation. "I just can't believe he actually tried to arrest you. Thank Celestia that mare started screaming at him for blocking the road."

"No kidding." Ryan responds, "Otherwise, I probably would have had to crawl through the sewers to get him off of my case." More laughing follows at the end of his short story.

Or hit him with a brick.

"Would you shut the hell up!" These words leave Ryan's mouth before he can even register it had opened to begin with. The room falls silent, all eyes having found their way onto the human. He looks around awkwardly, trying to recede into himself as he makes an attempt at recovering the situation. Their stares feel like beams of light burning his skin the longer they watch him. "I-I'm sorry. That wasn't toward you guys. I was just..." Pausing, he looks for the best way to curb the topic as to not make things even weirder than they already are.

"Rusty - I mean - ...Ryan." Steel begins, earning the human's attention. The stallion's gaze causes him to shrink a bit. It's not a look he enjoys seeing, especially from Steel Hoof. The old stallion's eyes are filled with worry and even a bit of understanding as he reaches out and grabs onto the man's bicep. "Is it him again? Has he come back?"

Ryan's heart is racing his chest as everypony continues to eye him. With the exception of Rod and Azure, everypony in here is vaguely aware of his tendency to talk to 'himself', but he only ever divulge any amount of detail to Steel and Scarlett. Feeling ashamed and a bit defeated, he sees no reason to hide it any longer. If there's one thing he's learned over the last two months, it's that keeping all of these secrets is only going to come back to haunt him down the line. His frequent talks with Dash have proven to be far more beneficial than he ever could have expected. Even so, he's continued to stay quiet about this particular topic.

Letting out a sigh, Ryan lowers his head and runs a hand through his hair. "He never left." He says in a defeated tone, taking audible breaths as he does his best to regulate his breathing and keep from having a full-blown freakout. "I've just gotten worse at ignoring him."

Him? He? What?

Before anypony else could chime in to try and help him, an unexpected party voices in on the issue.

"You have one too?" Azure asks with a slight tilt of her head.

Say what-now?

Ryan's previous concerns vanish in the blink of an eye as he cranes his neck to the side. He looks down at Azure, who stands to his right side. His eyes are wide and filled with a certain amount of dread as he stares down at the filly. Words seem to escape him as the implications of what she had just said continue to fester in the forefront of his brain. As much as he wants to pry answers from the filly, his attention is drawn elsewhere as it dawns on him that this is only just now coming up.

Angling his neck to the opposite direction, Ryan's gaze rests on a rather uncomfortable looking Rainbow Dash fidgeting in her seat. "Did you know about this?"

Shifting awkwardly in her chair, Rainbow runs through every possible way that she can answer this. "It's just...it's a quirk, right? Just something she does, talking to herself. You used to do it all the time. I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

I am...confused.

That...is...hilarious!