Chapter One: Empty Bliss
"Good-bye, daddy," Dash said one last time. She still couldn't keep back one last tear as she winked, telling me it would all be okay. If only she knew. I would be stuck knowing all about her, having raised her myself, but she wouldn't remember a single lick of our time together unless it was simply a nagging, faded memory that she couldn't quite grasp. But I was fine with that, as long as I knew I had been granted the chance of my life. I would now go about living my life alone again, just the way it had always been before I found her in that little box, curled up into a ball, sleeping away.
Things would never be the same...
Twilight touched her horn to Dash's forehead, and at the same time, Celestia's horn began to glow. Suddenly, within the blink of an eye, they were all gone in a white, blinding flash. That was it. They were gone, for better or for worse. Gone forever...
*******
My eyes began to flutter as I stared at a flat, white ceiling. I saw Dashie, fading away as she drifted farther away. I stretched out my hand, reaching out to her. I barely noticed the IV tube leading up to the inside of my elbow. That didn't stop to try to keep my daughter from leaving me again. She winked, blew me a kiss, and said, "Good-bye, daddy. I'm gonna miss you."
"No!" I croaked. "Dashie, don't go, please!" It was no use. She finally faded away.
I slowly sat up in the bed I was lying in. Why am I here? I thought. I didn't expect to be waking up in a hospital, nor do I remember what happened to me before. So why would I be in a hospital?
None the less, I leaned over to the railing of the bed and pressed the "Nurse" button. I had to get out of here.
The nurse walked into the ward, picked up one of the mics on the wall and pressed the button on the side. She spoke into it, saying, "Patient 14 is conscious."
She put the mic back and walked toward my bed with a smile. "How are you doing, Mr. Del Monte?" she asked.
I ignored her question and said, "Why am I here?"
She just kept her small smile and replied with, "Sir, you were hit by a car three weeks ago. You've been lying in a coma the whole time." She said it as though nothing was wrong and I'd be perfectly fine. If that's what she was thinking, well then, she's damn wrong! I just found out I never actually had a daughter and that I've been asleep, not getting any work done, for three weeks, and she expects me to fine with that?
Unfortunately, I spoke everything I thought.
"No, sir, I don't. We can give you a ride home if you like."
"No, I don't want a god-damn ride! I want this damn needle out of my arm! You should have left me there!" I couldn't help but let loose my anger. Why? Why would God be this cruel to me?!
*******
I finally arrived at my front door step. It was about three in the afternoon. The sun still shone over the dying city I inhabited. However, when I got to the front porch, I saw a cardboard box.
Not again.
I knew what was about to happen. I was positive I knew. I just knew it. This time it was all real, and I would finally have my daughter back.
But somehow, I wasn't so sure it would necessarily be Dashie. It could be any pony, hell, even one that wasn't in the show!
But then I remembered something from this world: My Little Pony had left off at the fifth season, last I checked, meaning there was a wide number of possibilities.
I knelt down beside the box. My heart began to race, thumping harder and harder in my chest. I carefully lifted the flaps of the box. I saw a cyan body shifting slowly as I peered in gracefully. I knew it! I had my daughter, this time for real! I was so over-joyed, I leaped up, shouting in happiness.
Until I got a closer look at the little thing inside the box.
The mane color was the first thing that caught my eye. A stormy grey, tipped with rainbow. I strained to remember every one of the new episodes. Then, it struck me. I knew who this was.
Rainbow Dash's older brother, Storm Dash.
It was then I knew I might have something better. There were so many benefits to being the father of a son. You would see things from very similar view-points, be interested in the same things, and so many other things. Plus, I knew that my future son would be Wonderbolt material, having been the captain of them before. Plus, I had experience raising a foal, so I knew what to do.
I snapped back into reality. I was thinking too far ahead. This father-hood thing was already getting to my head, I haven't even brought the poor little colt into my home.
I immediately picked up the box. I used my free hand to open the door. Once I walked into the living-room, I set the box down. I slowly picked up the little colt out of the box. I didn't want to wake him up quite yet, not until
I set him down.
When I finally did lay him on the ground, he began to stir. He sat up, opened his eyes slowly and sleepily and blinked once or twice. He brought his hooves to his face and began wiping and rubbing his eyes as they blinked and smarted from the light.
He looked up at me, up with those brilliant, deep blue eyes. I guessed he was probably Dashie's age when I first found her.
Until he spoke.
"Who-- where am I? And who are you?"
How did he know to talk? That was first got me.
"Um... My name's Micheal... What's yours?"
He sort stared at the ground, appearing to be in deep thought. I decided to stop him before he could say anything.
"Are you lost?"
He looked up at me with watery eyes. He must not have been able to remember anything because of how old he was. I'm now gonna say, based on how childish his voice still sounds and how small he is, about eight.
"Well, look, we'll talk about that later, okay? For now, why don't we get you somethin' to eat to eat? You look hungry!"
He just shook his head. "No thanks. I've got to remember what happened, who I am, and why I'm here. I don't have time for food."
I was shocked at how mature and grown up he acted. I then began leaning more toward thinking he was in his teens, but then decided against it, since I was the same way when I was eight years old, talking with authority and maturity.
I sat down next to him on the floor and decided I would help him remember. I would not make the same mistake twice.
Until I found I couldn't bring myself to it. He was so young, so innocent looking, I wouldn't want to make his day worse than it already was. So maybe it wasn't a mistake, keeping the truth hidden from Dash. But to do so to her older brother was just... man, I couldn't explain how wrong it was.
But I shouldn't be thinking about the future. I have to focus on the important stuff, the present.