> Father of a Rainbow
>  by Doctor Perseus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Father of a Rainbow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Father of a Rainbow


I awoke with a searing pain in my head. It went away after a few minutes but it left me confused. Then I remembered. I remembered the storm cloud that went out of control, Twilight casting her spell, and then...a face. It was a blurry face. Somehow, the face made me feel happy and sad at the same time. I felt a tear roll down my face. I tried to remember whose face I had in my mind. From what I could remember, it didn't look like a pony. Hell, it didn't look like anything that I'd ever seen before.
"DASHIE!" called a familiar voice. I nearly fell out of my bed. I yawned as I flew over to my window. I looked down. Twilight and Pinkie Pie were waiting for me down below. I felt a wide smile grow on my face. I was extremely happy to see them. I flew out of the front door and down to the ground below.
"Hey! What's up?!" I asked. I was extremely happy to see them and I didn't know why. It felt as if it had been years since I had last seen them. Then, I realized that they had slightly different expressions from my own. Twilight looked troubled about something and Pinkie, while still looking happy and hyper, had a depressed aura to her. "Is something wrong?"
"How...how are you feeling?" Twilight asked.
"All right, I guess. Had a pain in my head when I woke up but it's fine now." Then I thought back to the storm cloud fiasco. "What happened with the storm cloud?"
"It's all right...everything got cleared up."
"What happened to me? I just remember getting caught in that blast and then..." I stopped. I didn't feel like telling Twilight and Pinkie about the face I remembered. They would probably think I was crazy or something. 
"Then what?" Twilight and Pinkie were leaning in towards me, as if expecting me to say something important. 
"Then...nothing. I just remember darkness." Twilight and Pinkie gave worried and sad looks to each other. "Okay, what happened? I know something bad happened."
"It's kinda complicated," said Pinkie.
"What happened?!"
"Well...you were sent to a-"
"COMA!" Twilight blurted. 
"What?!" I asked.
"The accident sent you into a coma! You were in a comatose state for fifteen days."
"I...I was in a coma for fifteen days?!" I couldn't believe it had been that long. The accident seemed like it had happened only moments before...and yet it also felt like it had happened years ago. "I can't believe it." Then, I looked back up at my house and back to Twilight and Pinkie. "Wait a minute...I was in a coma and you left me in my house?! Why wasn't I in the hospital?!"
Twilight and Pinkie jumped. 
"Well...you were in the hospital but they moved you to your house once they saw that you were making a full recovery," said Pinkie. 
"Oh," I said. "I guess that makes sense...sort of."
Twilight walked forward and wrapped one of her forelegs around me. 
"Come on," she said. "Everypony else will be wanting to see you."
I spent the rest of the day hanging out with my friends at Sugarcube Corner. I guess I really was in a coma for everypony was treating me extremely nicely. But something kept bothering me...well, two things actually. First, all of my friends kept giving each other sad looks and I kept catching them whispering behind my back about something. Whenever I confronted them about it, they would immediately change the subject. The second and last thing that kept bothering me was that face. For most of the day, it remained blurry. But then I remembered something else: a pair of loving, green eyes. I also remembered a voice. It was a soothing and fatherly voice.
"I love you, my little Dashie," it said. 
Weird. I thought to myself. Nopony calls me "Dashie" except for Pinkie Pie. I wonder who this face and voice belongs to. I pushed my thoughts about the face behind me and continued on with my day.
The next morning, I woke up early and went flying. I flew high above the town and flew back and forth across the sky. It felt really good to fly and exercise the wings again. I dropped down by Sweet Apple Acres and came across Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.
"Hi, Rainbow Dash!" said the excited Scootaloo.
"Hey, kid," I said with a smile. "You all off to try some new way to earn your cutie marks?"
"As always! So, did you get to see the Princess yesterday?"
"Princess? Princess Celestia?"
"Yeah! She's been in town for over two weeks. She left yesterday." I was surprised. Nopony had even mentioned to me about Princess Celestia being here. Not one of my friends had brought it up. Something wasn't right.
"I...I've got to run, Scoots."
"Aw! But why?"
"I have a few questions for my friends." I stretched out my wings and took off. None of this made any sense. Were my friends keeping secrets from me? I landed by Twilight's library. I noticed that Twilight and Applejack were speaking to each other outside in whispers. I snuck around the back of the library and peeked around the corner.
"I'm just worried about her, Twi," Applejack whispered.
"I am too but at least we have her back. That's what matters, right?" Twilight whispered. The two mares sighed.
"If the Princess allowed him to remember, then why not her?"
"It's complicated. The two sets of memories weren't lining up. One had to take out the other. I wish things could have been different."
"She needs to know the truth, Twi."
"We can't! You saw how much it hurt her. I...I don't want to inflict those feelings on her again. Do you want to see her become sad and depressed all over again?!"
"No."
"I wish I could tell her, Applejack. But it's best that we keep this a secret...forever." I leaned in closer and ended up falling down with a loud yelp. "Rainbow Dash?!"
"Oh...hi guys," I said awkwardly. "I was just flying by and I landed badly. Sorry for scaring you." I wanted to confront them about what they had been whispering about but I decided that now wasn't the time. 
"Hey, Rainbow. Listen, can ah ask you something?" Applejack asked.
"Sure. Anything, AJ."
"Do you remember anything about your father?" Twilight's eyes went wide.
"Why did you ask her that?!" she whispered.
"My father?" I asked. I thought back to a time when I was a young foal. My dad was a strong and powerful pegasus named Quick Steel. He was the one who taught me how to fly. I smiled as I thought about practicing how to fly in the middle of Cloudsdale. Then I remembered something else. I remembered a park. The park was empty and gray and a dull city expanded around it. Old homes and houses could be seen situated around the park. I remember standing in the middle of the park, wearing a tight and uncomfortable outfit. A strange creature stood before me. I knew I had never seen a creature like this in Equestria before. As I thought about what it was, a single word appeared in my mind: human. This creature in my memory was called a human. The male human, known as a man, knelt down before me and smiled. He stroked my mane and he smiled. His face was still blurry but I could still make out those fatherly, green eyes.
"You can do it," I remember him saying. His voice sounded faint and far away and yet incredibly clear. "I know you can."
"But...I'm afraid," I remember myself saying back.
"I understand, Dashie. Things like this are always scary."
"Were...were you scared like me when you had to learn to fly?" The man chuckled.
"I'm a human, Dashie. I can't fly. But, I have felt scared before. When I moved out of my parents' house for the first time, I was horrified about what awaited me in the real world. But now I'm used to it. Flying may seem scary at first, Dashie, but it's in your nature. You can do it. I believe in you."
I snapped out of my flashback. Twilight and Applejack were still whispering angrily to each other.
"Why the sudden interest in my dad?" I asked. Twilight and Applejack turned their attention back to me.
"No reason," Applejack replied. "It's just that...well...you never talk about your family much."
This was true. I hardly talked about my life prior to moving to Ponyville. Probably because it wasn't that excellent. I had a good childhood. I had plenty of friends in Cloudsdale like Fluttershy and Gilda but...my parents weren't that great, to be honest. My father was loving and caring but he had an incredibly bad temper. He got into a lot of fights with my mom over trivial things. When I was ten years old, he left our house in a rage...and never came back. I was devastated. Even though my dad had a bad temper, he was probably the parent I was closest to. We had a lot in common and I guess I got a lot of my traits and personality from him. We've kept in contact with each other over the years through letters but we haven't physically seen each other since the night he left. My relationship with my mother, on the other hoof, could best be described with one word: complicated. I loved my mother but we never saw eye-to-eye. We didn't have much in common, aside from a few things, and we often butted heads. Our relationship got especially strained once my dad left. I still loved her and she still loved me...but we hardly got along. My mom always wanted to have a tight grip on me. She didn't want to let me go. She wanted to keep me within her grasp. But I don't like being in anypony's grasp. I want to be free and happy. Finally, my mom and I had a huge argument one day. I don't remember how it started but I remember that we were both screaming and crying at the top of our lungs. After that, I stormed out of the house. I returned later to gather up some belongings as well as leave a note for my mother. I told her that I loved her and that I would always love her, but I didn't want to be with her. Then I left. I arrived in Ponyville shortly after, got a job as a weather pony, built my cloud home, and made great friends along the way. My mother still lives in Cloudsdale. I think I saw her in the audience at the Best Young Flyer competition but we didn't approach each other. 
"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked. I realized that I had been flashing back again and I snapped out of it.
"What were we talking about? Oh yeah...my family," I replied. "I...I guess I've never had a reason to talk about them."
"Do you want to?" Applejack asked. I remained silent for a moment.
"One day...but not today."
"It's okay. Ah understand." 
"I better get going. I have some more studying to do for the Princess," said Twilight. That's when I remembered what Scootaloo said.
"Why didn't you tell me about Princess Celestia being in Ponyville?" I asked. Twilight and Applejack froze up. 
"How did you-"
"I ran into Scootaloo. She told me about it."
"Oh...the thought just never crossed our minds."
"Really? She was in town yesterday and you didn't even think of mentioning that to me?!"
"Why are you getting all wound up about this?" Applejack asked.
"I just want to know what Princess Celestia was doing in Ponyville and why none of you mentioned anything about that to me!"
"You had just woken up from a coma! We were thinking more about being reunited with you rather than Princess Celestia being in town!" Twilight replied.
"Really, Twilight. You, of all ponies, wouldn't even care to mention that Princess Celestia was in town? I find that really hard to believe."
"I have a lot on my plate right now, okay?!" Twilight then stormed back into the library.
"Fine! Be that way, egghead!" I then fluttered my wings and took off. 
"Rainbow! Wait!" Applejack called. I didn't look back. I was angry. I was confused. I was...sad. I wanted to be alone. 
I flew out to the edge of the Everfree Forest and lay down on a small hill. Before long, I drifted off to sleep. I had a dream in which I was standing in the middle of a room. Chairs were scattered throughout the room and a sofa sat in the middle. Across from the sofa was an odd electrical device that I instantly recognized as a television. In the dream, I was a few years younger than I currently was. I felt that I was around maybe thirteen or fourteen years old. I walked up the staircase nearby and down the upstairs hallway. I came to a certain room. The room was cyan colored with rainbows and clouds painted all over the walls and ceiling. Several drawings of random items and a few posters of something called NASCAR were taped to the walls. I had never seen this room before...and yet I felt as though I had been here a thousand times before. 
"Dashie!" called a voice from downstairs. I recognized the voice. It was the voice of the man I kept remembering. I flew downstairs to find the man standing in the kitchen. His face was still blurry aside from his green eyes. He was holding several bags of groceries. He nearly tripped at one point but he regained his balance and made it to the table.
"Need some help with that?" I asked.
"Please?" I chuckled as I glided over and began placing various groceries into the cabinets. I noticed that the man was hiding one particular bag from me.
"Okay, what are you hiding?"
"Nothing."
"Bull! You're hiding something from me!"
"Keep asking me and you'll never find out what it is." I groaned in response to what he said.
"Fine!"
"Dinner will be ready in about an hour."
"Okay." The room became blurry for a moment but then came back into view. I was sitting at the kitchen table now. An empty plate sat before me on the table. I burped loudly. "That was good!"
"I knew you'd like it," said the man as he stood up. He walked over to a nearby cabinet and pulled something out. "And now the pièce de résistance!" My eyes widened as a large blue cake was placed on the table before me. "Happy birthday, Dashie." I smiled as the man placed a few candles into the cake and lit them on fire. "Make a wish." I rubbed my temple for a moment until I had a wish in mind. I then blew the candles out. The man proceeded to clap and cheer and I felt myself smile and blush. "What'd you wish for?" 
He began cutting me a piece of the cake.
"I can't tell you that! You know the rules!" I replied.
"All right, all right!" He placed the piece of cake before me. I grabbed a fork with my hoof and looked at the man, a large smile plastered on my face.
"Thanks, Dad. I love you."
"I love you too, my little Dashie."
The dream faded away and I opened my eyes to find Fluttershy staring down at me.
"Oh...did I wake you up? I'm sorry," she said as she began walking off.
"Wait, Fluttershy. You don't have to go," I said as I sat up. "I really don't want to be alone right now." Fluttershy gave a small smile as she trotted back and sat down next to me.
"Is something wrong? You look...troubled."
"I'm confused, Fluttershy. I don't know what's going on anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"Ever since I woke up yesterday, I've felt...different."
"How?"
"I keep thinking of memories and events that haven't happened to me...or have they?"
"Like what?"
"Like...there's somepony I remember...although he isn't a pony at all. He's something called a human." Fluttershy squeaked slightly. "Does that ring a bell to you, Fluttershy?"
"No!" Fluttershy began giving off forced coughs. "Never heard of creature called that!"
"Well, I keep thinking about him. I see him in my dreams. His face is blurry though. All that remains clear are his eyes...those green eyes. I don't know if I'm going crazy or...or if there's more than what meets the eye." I turned to Fluttershy. "Please, Fluttershy. If you know anything...you've got to tell me!"
Fluttershy looked away and fell silent. She looked like she had a lot on her mind as well.
"I...I can't...I don't...I...I just-" Fluttershy then took off. 
"Fluttershy!" She didn't look back at me. I wanted to chase after her but I felt that wasn't the right thing to do. Pushing Fluttershy to her breaking point wouldn't be worth finding out the secret behind these strange memories and visions of mine. I stood up and began heading back to my house. I wasn't going to stay there long, though. It was obvious that I wasn't going to get any answers from my friends. The only pony who might be able to fill me in on what was happening was Princess Celestia.
I fell asleep shortly after packing up a few belongings in a bag. I was going to wake up early the next day and catch the earliest train to Canterlot. My mind was flowing with questions. This man, whoever he was, had a particular hold on me. Why had I called him my dad in the dream? Who was he? Where was he? I had to find him and the only pony who could help me do that was Princess Celestia. 
I had another dream that night. In the dream, I was a filly around the age of five. I couldn't talk for some reason and I was trapped inside a large, cardboard box. I felt incredibly cold. Just then, I could hear footsteps approaching. They came to a stop right next to the box. The top of the box opened and I found myself staring into the shocked face of a young man. It was the man from my dreams and memories, only a few years younger. His face was no longer blurry. His eyes were green, his hair was black, and his skin was fair. I didn't know how the age process worked with humans but I assumed that he was somewhere in his late 20's. We stared at each other in silence until he finally spoke.
"Hi there," he said awkwardly. I couldn't respond. Instead, I just looked at him. "Uh, what are you doing out here?" I looked around. I knew just about as much as he did about why I was in a cardboard box in a strange place. We stared at each other for a few more moments. The cold air was starting to annoy me so I shuffled a bit. The man then took off what I identified as a coat and used it to pick me up. I was frightened. I began squirming and shaking my wings in vain...but he still held onto me tightly. "It's all right. Let's get you somewhere warmer, huh?" He smiled at me warmly. I was still confused. I wanted to smile back but it was apparent that I was living through a memory so I could only do what I remembered myself doing. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you. It's getting late and you'll freeze out here."
I understood that the man was no threat to me and I snuggled into a comfortable position in his arms. He wrapped his coat around me and held me close to his body. I instantly began to feel warmer. As he carried be down the street, I slowly began feeling sleepy. I could only chuckle mentally at the thought of being sleepy in a dream. Maybe I was going to enter a dream within a dream. Inception. I was confused again. I was making jokes based off things that I don't even remember...and yet I did remember vaguely. In the dream, I fell asleep staring straight into the man's warm, green, fatherly eyes. That's when I realized that somehow, someway, without a doubt, this man, this human that was probably from another dimension, was my father. 
I awoke just a little past six in the morning. I grabbed my bag and zoomed out the house. I managed to get the first train out of town. I was glad that I didn't run into my friends for they would probably try to stop me. I wasn't angry at my friends anymore. Sure, they were keeping secrets from me but it was obvious that it was because they cared about me. But I had to know. I had to know where these memories came from and hopefully I'd be able to find my father.
The train arrived in Canterlot about an hour later. I made my way through the city and up to Canterlot Castle. Hopefully, Princess Celestia would be able to speak to me due to me being an Element of Harmony as well as a close friend of Twilight. By some act of something other than Celestia, I found Princess Celestia at the front gate. Once she saw me, she instantly became nervous. She then put on a somewhat forced, calm smile.
"Why, if it isn't Rainbow Dash," she said. I bowed politely and then rose to face her.
"Your majesty, could I have a word with you? It's about something important," I asked. At first, she hesitated but then she nodded. The guards let me pass and Celestia led me towards the throne room.
"What is it that you want to talk about?"
"Princess...was I really put into a coma for fifteen days?" She was silent for a moment.
"Tell me...do you remember everything from your life here in Equestria?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"I just wanted to make sure that you didn't lose any memories from the coma."
"Princess...losing memories isn't the problem here."
"Oh? Then what is?"
"I'm gaining memories."
"Gaining memories? What...what do you mean by that?" I could tell that the Princess was trying to remain as calm and as collected as possible. She definitely knew what I was talking about.
"I keep remembering things about a man, a human being as he's called. I keep remembering things that don't make any sense. Television, NASCAR, cardboard boxes, inside jokes. None of it makes sense, Princess." At first, the Princess looked a bit stunned. Then she became stern.
"Tell me...what does this human being you remember look like?"
"Well...he has black hair, fair skin, and really green eyes. His voice is very...fatherly I would say." Celestia sighed.
"Of all the things I expected, this was the one that I hoped never to pass. But I guess this goes to show the love that you felt for him as well as the love that he continues to feel for you."
"I knew there was more to this!"
"Listen. This discussion we are having should have never come to pass! I do not blame you. I do not blame Twilight. I do not blame him. I wish to blame myself but this whole situation is far too complex in order for somepony to be blamed for it."
"Please, Princess Celestia. What's going on?"
"When I'm done talking to you, you'll probably get all of your lost memories back. I do not know what will happen after that. Either your mind will allow both sets of memories of coexist in peace, or your brain will kill itself from the confusion and the shock. Are you willing to take the risk?" I thought for a moment. Could I really take the risk? What about my friends? I thought of them all: Twilight, AJ, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike. I didn't want to cause them pain. Then, I thought about the man, my father. I thought of his face. My heart ached at the thought of him. I longed to hear his voice. I wanted to know the truth. I would probably go insane if I didn't find out the truth right here and now. I had to take the risk. At least with the option I was taking, I had a chance to find peace.
"Yes, I want to know."
"Very well." Celestia cleared her throat and my ears raised up. "After the accident, you weren't sent into a coma. Instead, you were reverted into a filly and sent to a planet in an alternate dimension. The planet is called Earth. In this world, you, me, and all of Equestria exist as a work of fiction created by the dominant species of Earth: human beings. Holes in reality had appeared between our two worlds before but nothing has ever gone through them aside from maybe an animal, a plant, a cloud, or the like. That's where all the urban legends come from in both our world and theirs. Ever heard the stories of how clouds move on their own? Well, those are clouds from their world. In the human world, weather acts on its own accord. Humans have urban legends of creatures like the Loch Ness Monster which was really a dragon from our world that ended up there. Its body and mindset were altered by the dimensional trip so it was changed from a flying dragon to a water monster. I have studied these holes throughout my life and have occasionally peaked through into the other side. What I saw was...not pretty. From what I saw, I came to the conclusion that humans were vile and heartless creatures with hardly any mercy or kindness or any of the good traits that are seen in most of us ponies. I saw murders, robberies, rape, corruption, and all sorts of other vile acts. I thought all humans were horrible creatures...until I met the human who found you."
"My father."
"Adoptive father, technically. Your filly self was found by a passerby who put you into a cardboard box and left you there, thinking that you were some deformed dog. Your father-to-be found you shortly after. He took you home and raised you as his own daughter. From what I saw, his life hadn't been too spectacular prior to your arrival but I think your presence in his life actually made life worth living for him. For fifteen years, you lived with him. By the time your friends and I arrived to take you home, you and him had a bond so tight that I was brought to tears by the act of having to break you up." I stood there in silence. My head was buzzing with memories. I was beginning to remember it all.
"Wait...fifteen years? I was with him for fifteen years?! But I thought it was only fifteen days since the accident!"
"Time flows differently between our world and the human world. One day here equals one year there. I was able to open up a temporary hole in between our realities so that we could come and get you. I was prepared for many things but what I found in that little country house was far beyond what I had expected. I had expected to find a 35-year-old version of yourself suffering somewhere from the tortures of the human world. Instead I found you, exactly the same age that you were when you left. I wasn't expecting you to be reverted into a filly upon your arrival in the human world. It was difficult for all of us but we had to take you home. You didn't want to go and he didn't want you to leave but there was simply no other way. You were never meant for his world and we couldn't bring him here because this world was never meant for him. I thought about the possibility of changing him into a pony but such a change of dimensional biology I feared would kill him. So, we returned with you. I allowed your father to keep his memories of his time with you as well as left him the letter you wrote him along with a photo album, which told the story of your fifteen years of life together. In order to relieve you of the pain of being separated from your father, as well as help you remember your life here in Equestria, Twilight had to make you forget your memories of your time in the human world and replace them with the memories you originally had. I am so sorry, Rainbow Dash. For everything." Celestia fell silent. I yelped as, in one fell swoop, all of my memories of my time with my human father returned. I remembered it all. From the moment he found me in the cardboard box to the second where I returned to Equestria with Twilight, Celestia, and the others. At first, my head was on fire and I thought my brain would explode but then everything settled into place. I remembered everything from both of my lives: my Equestrian life and my Earth life. I felt tears roll down my face and yet I felt nothing but joy. I looked up at the Princess.
"Thank you...thank you for telling me, Princess Celestia." The Princess let a few tears roll down her face before she returned to her prim and proper expression. "I forgive you." Then I thought of something. "So...one day here is one year there. It's been three days since I returned so-"
"For your father, it's been three years since he last saw you."
"Does he know about whether or not I remember?"
"He knows nothing about your remembrance of him." I remained silent for a moment. 
"Princess, would it be all right to open up a temporary hole just one more time?" She instantly realized what I was asking and at first appeared like she was going to say no. But then she gave a warm smile.
"I don't think it would cause too much trouble to open up one last hole." I smiled as more tears rolled down my face.
Dimensional travel was weird. That's the best way I could think to describe it. It felt like I was walking through water. A few seconds ago, Celestia and I had been standing in the Canterlot Castle throne room. Now, after a couple seconds of walking through inter-dimensional air, we were standing in front of a simple, two-story house in the country. 
"Wow...it looks the same as it did when I left," I said.
"It's only been three years here. I don't think things would have changed that much," the Princess chuckled. She fell silent when she noticed that I had grown stiff. I was in shock. Standing behind that door was my human father, the man who had raised me for fifteen years while I was stranded in another world. 
"He's in there. My father's in there."
"Is it too much?"
"No. I want to see him. I want to see him just one last time." With that said, I slowly walked up to the porch. I approached the door and froze. Celestia was standing right next to me. I gulped as I reached my hoof out and rang the doorbell. 
"Honey! Could you get that for me?!" called a familiar voice from inside. It instantly recognized the voice. It was him. The front door swung open.
"Yes?" asked the woman in the doorway. She had long red hair and sharp brown eyes. Her jaw dropped at the sight of Celestia and me.
"Jenny? Jenny, who's at the door?" called my father from inside. Jenny was still in shock. I gulped again and smiled.
"Hi...my name's Rainbow Dash and this is Princess Celestia. I'm guessing that you've never heard of us." I said. Jenny rubbed her eyes and looked again. She was surprised to see that we hadn't disappeared. She did this several more times before finally facing the fact that Celestia and I were indeed real.
"There's an alicorn princess and a pegasus from another dimension standing on my porch. My body was not ready for this," she said with a near emotionless face. She then turned around and walked back into the house.
"Can we come in?" She awkwardly beckoned us into the house and we followed. 
The inside of the house hadn't changed that much from how I remembered it looking. The only difference now was that there were some new pictures and a woman named Jenny was apparently living here now. 
"H...Harry!" Jenny called up the stairs.
"Yes?" my dad called back.
"There's someone here to see you!" She looked back at us and then looked back up the stairs. "Excuse me! I should have said somepony is here to see you!" 
I heard footsteps emanating from upstairs. My eyes widened as my dad descended the stairs.
"Jenny," he said. "What in God's name are you going on-" He stopped dead in his tracks at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes widened just like mine did. I noticed that he had a baby in his arms. It looked to be around less than a year old. "Dashie?"
I nodded as I walked towards him.
"Yeah, Dad. It's me," I said. I could feel my eyes tearing up again. His eyes were tearing up as well. Both of us smiled and laughed. I ran forward and gave him a big hug, making sure not to squeeze the baby too hard. We were still crying when we broke the hug. 
"Can someone, or somepony, please explain to me what the hell is going on?!" Jenny asked suddenly.
"I'll be happy to explain everything," said Celestia as she led Jenny into the kitchen. I looked at the baby. He had green eyes like his father but it looked like he was going to have red hair like his mother. 
"I see that you got busy during the three years I've been gone," I laughed. Dad looked back towards a picture of him and Jenny and he laughed.
"Yeah...I met her around a month after you left. I was still somewhat depressed at that point but I wanted to continue to live my life to the fullest. She moved into the nearby town and we just became instant friends. It turns out that she's a fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as well. She was confused about why I hadn't seen any of the other seasons of the show aside from season one so I had to come up with some stupid excuse. We got married a year after we met and we had this little guy eventually," he said.
"What's his name?"
"Daniel. Daniel Cooper. I felt like giving my child a name that started with a D." I chuckled at my dad's comment. "I guess you can call him your half-brother."
"You'll have to tell him all about me when he grows up. Make sure to show him the photo album. And feel free to tell Jenny, I'm sure she'd love to learn all about your memories of our time together."
"We can tell her together." He placed a hand on my shoulder but I sighed sadly in response.
"No, we can't." Dad looked sad again.
"You mean-"
"Yes. I'm not staying, though a part of me wishes that I could."
"A part of you?"
"Back in Equestria, it's only been three days since I left. I had to forget our time together in order for my old memories to come back. But my memories of my time here kept peeping through the cracks. I got Celestia to explain everything to me and now I remember both of my lives: my life here and my life back in Equestria. I wish I could stay here with you, Dad, but I have a life and friends waiting for me back in Equestria. I can't stay here. This world wasn't made for me."
"But then could I-"
"No. You, Daniel, and Jenny have to stay here. Our world isn't made for you either, Dad." Both of us began to tear up again. "This really sucks, Dad."
"Oh yes. This totally sucks." The two of us smiled and laughed through our tears. "I still have the letter that you wrote me. Remember? The one you gave me on the day you left."
"Yes...I remember."
"I've read it so much that I have it memorized."
"I think I do too. The memory's still fresh in my mind." Dad cleared his throat.
"Dad, for fifteen years you took care of me. For fifteen years you loved me, played with me, and made sure I enjoyed my life in a world not meant to house me. I'm not a mare of many words, but even though I told you this in person, I felt you needed a written version of it so you will know it was all real." I cleared my throat in response.
"I love you, Daddy. You helped shape me into the mare I am now. I'm not sure what is going to happen, if I will remember any of this or not, but I want you to know that you did a darn good job of raising me, even if I was a but stubborn at times, and short with you during others."
"With Celestia's permission, I hope to allow you to keep our photos, our memories, with you so that you will never forget. Again, I love you, and thank you."
"Your little daughter always, your little Dashie forever, Rainbow Dash." My heart burned with happiness and sadness as we finished reciting the letter. We hugged again. I then heard foreign sniffles coming from nearby. Dad and I looked to see Celestia and Jenny standing in the kitchen doorway. Celestia had let a few tears roll down her face but Jenny was about a sad puppy dog look away from hysterical sobbing. 
"Oh, Harry!" she exclaimed as she ran towards Dad and wrapped him and Daniel in a big hug. Her lips met Dad's for a moment. She then took Daniel from Dad's arms and held him close. Daniel gave a confused look on his face. He had no idea what was happening. Jenny turned towards me. "Do...do you want to hold him for a moment?"
"You trust me with him?" I asked.
"Of course. You are his sister after all, I guess." I extended my forelegs and Jenny smiled tearfully as she placed Daniel in my open forehooves. I held him close. He looked up at me, smiled, and laughed. I could only imagine how weird I looked compared to his parents. 
"You're going to have a good life, Daniel. You have the best father that any son, or daughter, could ask for. I wish I could see you grow up and we could really get to know each other, but I guess our dad's stories will have to do." Jenny suddenly yelped and ran upstairs. She returned a moment later with a camera. 
"How about one last family picture?" She then turned towards Celestia. "Do you know how to use a camera?" Celestia's horn glowed and the camera levitated out of Jenny's hands. "Oh, right!" 
I got into place with Dad and Jenny. Dad was on my left, Jenny was on my right, and Daniel was held tightly in my forehooves.
"Everybody and everypony smile," said Celestia. I smiled alongside Dad and Jenny and even Daniel gave a quick smile. There was a soft click followed by two flashes of light. Two, framed pictures appeared out of thin air. 
"What'd you do?" I asked. 
"I took and developed the picture." Dad grabbed one of the pictures. He smiled at the sight of all four of us smiling as one, happy family. 
"But how did you do that?" Jenny asked.
"Magic."
"Oh. Apparently I'm a clueless idiot now." I handed Daniel back to Jenny after giving him a sisterly kiss on the forehead. I then walked over to Celestia and looked at my own copy of the picture.
"This is the last time we're ever going to meet, isn't it?" Dad asked.
"Yes," Celestia replied. "We cannot afford putting more holes in the wall between our dimensions. This is the last time we will ever see each other, Harry Cooper."
I walked over to my Dad and gave him one last hug. I wanted to continue crying but I had wasted all of my tears. 
"Goodbye, Dad," I said. "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, my little Dashie," he said back. We backed away just enough so that we were staring straight into each other's eyes. "Have a wonderful life in Equestria. I know you'll be fantastic!"
"And I know that you'll have a great future here, Dad. You're already fantastic!" We hugged one last time before stepping back from each other. I then turned to Jenny and Daniel and hugged them as well. "Take care of them," I said to Jenny. I looked at Daniel. "Both of them."
"I will. Take care," Jenny replied as she stepped back. Celestia and I took a few steps back. 
"Farewell, your majesty," Dad said to Celestia.
"Farewell, Harry Cooper," Celestia said back. And with that, the interior of my Dad's house began to slowly disappear. My last view of the human world was my dad, Jenny, and Daniel standing happily in the middle of their home, ready to take on the world.
I returned to Ponyville a slightly different mare than I was before. I told my friends about what had happened and we spent the day hanging out and discussing it.
"You have a brother now?!" Pinkie had asked. "I wish I could have met him! Then I could have thrown him a party! Maybe I should throw you a welcome home party too, Dashie! I forgot to do so because I was busy thinking all about what had happened and-"
"Can the party wait a little bit, Pinkie?" I asked. "There's one last thing I want to do."
"It doesn't involve inter-dimensional travel, does it?" Twilight asked.
"No, but it's just as, if not more, difficult." My friends eyed me nervously. 
"Can you at least tell us where you're going this time?" Rarity asked.
The next day I traveled to Cloudsdale. Ponies still recognized me from my performance in the Best Young Flyer competition. I passed by all of the gawking ponies until I arrived in front of a familiar, two-story cloud home. I gulped hard and approached the door. I knocked on the door three times.
"Who is it?" asked a female voice from inside. I wanted to flee right then and there but I knew that I couldn't.
"Guess who?" I replied. A few seconds later, the door flew open. A mare with a red mane and yellow coat stood in the doorway. I smiled awkwardly. It was strange seeing my mom after all these years. She had hardly changed a bit. "H..Hi, Mom."
"Rainbow Dash?!" We stared at each other in silence for a moment.
"Can I come in? I want to talk with you." A smile slowly appeared on my mother's face.
"Yes. I would like that, very much."
The End