Rainbow Dash never knew her parents, and growing up she was jealous of the other fillies who got to spend time with their parents, laughing, loving. Sure, she had her friends, but she always wanted someone to look up to, someone to care for her.
Rainbow Dash had just got back from a day of pranking with Pinkie, it was fun and all, but Dash couldn't shake this feeling of emptiness that she had felt all day, something she couldn't quite shake, even with Pinkie's infectious happiness. As she lay in her bed that night, she had terrible nightmares, in these nightmares was one recurring thing, a large colt with a rainbow mane and deep purple eyes. Whenever she was around this colt, she felt happy and safe, despite the horrible nightmares.
The next morning, Rainbow Dash woke up groggy, the nightmares having caused her sleeplessness. She went through an entire morning of pushing the storm clouds away, although she did so halfheartedly, she was finished a bit earlier than usual, so she decided to take a walk through Ponyville. Dash didn't take walks very often, but she hoped that it could clear her head, and make her feel better. Besides, she didn't have the energy to fly anymore. As she neared Sugarcube Corner, a mysterious blue machine appeared in front of Dash, out of thin air, and out of the machine stepped a Brown colt with a red tie around his neck, he looked at Dash and nodded a hello, and as he did this something clicked in her mind.
"Dr. Whooves!" Dash approached the colt, "I need to ask ya a favor!" Dr. Whooves looked down at the mare and asked, "What is it, Dash?" Dash looked at the ground, and traced a few shapes in the ground, "You see, I been thinking, wondering actually, whatever happened to my parents, so I was hoping that maybe I could take a ride in your, uh, time thingy, to possibly maybe see what happened." Dr. Whooves shook his sad lightly and said, "I'm sorry Dash, I can't. Time is a fragile thing, I wish I could help you, but even the slightest change in the timeline could be disastrous. I just can't!" Rainbow Dash turned around and sighed, dejected. The Doctor wanted to help Dash, he really did... Maybe he could...
"Dash, wait!" Dr. Whooves yelled while running after her, "Maybe... I could, but you have to do exactly what I tell you when I tell you to do it, we aren't going too far back in time, so there shouldn't be too many things to worry about..." Dash jumped up and down, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you so much!" The Doctor led her to his TARDIS, and instructed her to not get spotted by anyone, and as soon as she finds out what happened, she has to come back to the TARDIS and return to her own time.
The Doctor twisted a few nobs and pushed a couple of buttons, Dadh asked, "How do you know when and where to go?" The Doctor replied with, "I know more about time than you think, Dash." And instantly they were flying through space and time, the G-Force nearly knocking Dash off her hooves, she steadied herself. The TARDIS came to a stop on a cloud, just outside of Cloudsdale, Dash stepped out onto a cloud, but The Doctor stayed behind, knowing earth ponies and clouds do not mix. Dash made her way through Cloudsdale, being careful as to avoid being spotted by the other ponies, she made her way to the center of town, and recognized the colt with a rainbow mane from her dreams and nightmares, she knew it was her father.
The colt leaned over a small basket with a multicolored filly in it sleeping, he whispered to the young Rainbow Dash, "I love you, my beautiful filly, I always will, but I can't take care of you... They will do a better job than I ever would be able to, I know you're too young to understand know, but I hope with age you will come to realize that you'll be happier here, they'll provide for you better here. I'm sorry my little filly, but I will always love you, I hope you'll remember that." The young Rainbow Dash stirred gently in her sleep, and Dash's father chuckled before kissing his daughter on the forehead and flying away.
"No..." Dash whispered before flying as fast as she could after her father, she had to know why he did this, why he left her, why he was being so selfish. She was about to catch her father when she was knocked out of the sky and hit the ground with a thud, somepony was on top of her, she tried to make out who was holding her down, she noticed a rainbow mane and purple eyes, once her vision straightened, she saw who it was. It was herself.
"Stop! You can't do this!" The mare on top of Dash pleaded, she replied with, "Let me go! I have to do this! Please!" But the other Dash was unrelenting, "Stop struggling! I had the Doctor bring me back to stop you. If you convince our father to go back and take care of you, you will never go to Ponyville, you will never meet Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, or AJ... You never bring them together to earn their cutie marks, and most of all you do not help them stop Nightmare Moon or Discord. The world I have just come back is miserable and chaotic, you can't do this please!" Dash began panting and looked to the Rainbow colt flying away, she began tearing up and said; "But... Daddy."
The other Rainbow Dash nodded slightly in understanding, "You have to realize something, daddy loved you, he always has and always will, and I understand your pain. But I did a selfish thing by convincing him to take care of me... Of us, by doing that I've doomed Equestria forever." Dash realized she still had a sliver of hope left, "But... Can I still see him in my own time?" The other Dash shook her head and said, "In that timeline, he is... Gone." Dash began crying, why did this have to happen to her? Why couldn't she be happy with her father?
Dash finally regained her composure and said, "Okay... Okay, I'll go back..." She turned around to find Dr. Whooves already waiting with his TARDIS, she walked towards the machine, but was stopped halfway by the other Dash, she handed her a letter and said, "It's from Dad, read it..." Dash nodded and stepped into the machine, and was sent whizzing yet again through space and time.
Dash opened the letter and began reading it, it said:
"Dear, Rainbow Dash;
I know how difficult this decision has been for you, and I'm sorry I had to put you in that position, I just know that this is your destiny, it was your destiny for me to not raise you, I am so sorry, I never forgave myself for that decision, but now I realize that it was for the best. Know that I am so proud of the mare you have become, loyal and strong, just like your mother was.
I am incredibly proud of you and love you so much.
Love, Daddy."
Dash put down the letter and began crying, but she was not sad, she was happy to know her mother and father would be proud of her, she knew where she belonged, with her best friends in her own time.
The End.
Author's Note
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. I know the whole "Rainbow Dash Backstory" thing is a bit overused, I just hope mine was a little more unique than some of the others.
