Rainbow Dash fidgited, her hooves shuffling about as she bit her lower lip. Looking about Sugar Cube Corner, a few beads of sweat began to form on her brow. Closing her eyes, the teal-colored pegasus began to slowly breathe in and out in an effort to calm her nerves. 'Come on,' Dash thought to herself as she tried to slow hr rapidly beating heart. 'You can do this. The best flier in all Equestira isn't allowed to be nervous.'
"HEYA DASHIE!"
The loud greeting snapped the pegasus out of her attempt at meditation, causing her to leap up into the air with a whinny. Her eyes bugged out wide as her legs spread in every direction before landing upon her abdomen on the hard wood floor. Looking up with a pained grimace, the pegasus was greeted to the grinning visage of a pink pony with poofy mane. "Pinkie!" Dash shook her head and began trying to stand up. "Why are you so.. So..."
Pinkie Pie just gave a grin and winked. "Random?"
Rainbow Dash nodded and sighed, resting her brow in her left forehoof once standing. "Yeah, didn't you see I'm nervous enough as it is?"
The sugar-fueled pink pony blinked, her smile faltering slightly as she blinked. "B-but Dash... What do you have to be nervous about?"
Lowering her hoof, the teal pegasus with the rainbow-hued mane stomped it on the floor. "You wouldn't understand... It's my dad, he's coming by for a visit."
Pinkie's eyes shot wide open as she gasped, both her hooves rising up to her muzzle as stars began to form in her eyes. "Oh, Dashie, you never told me! You know what this calls for!?"
Dash shot her friend a venomous look. "No, Pinkie, not a party! I haven't seen him in almost five years, Pinkie, and I just got word yesterday that he's going to be passing through town on the way to Canterlot."
Pinkie Pie started to give a pouty face, but nodded slowly. "Well, that's not fair. But Dashie, why haven't you ever talked about your parents? I'm sure they're wonderful ponies to have raised such an awesome pony like yourself! In fact, you've never mentioned them once!"
Dash sighed and looked away. "Well, I just don't like to talk about it, all right. My parents had an' arranged marriage, then my mom died when I was born, an' then my dad tried to raise me the best he could alone. But he's from the far east island of Hokkaido, an' he trains pegasi out there as weather ponies. After flight school I moved here to Ponyville so I wouldn't be living in my father's shadow!" Dash flinched, as if there was something else she didn't want to mention to the situation.
Pinkie Pie tsked and shook her head, trotting forward to rest a forehoof on her teal pegasus friend's left withers. "I know how that can be, Dashie. My family runs a rock farm, and I moved out here because I can't be Ponyville's pink party planning pony on some ol' rock farm! I had to come here to make a name for myself, too!"
Dash turned her head to look up at Pinkie Pie and sighed deeply. "Oh, Pinkie... You just don't understand... My dad... Well, he's different from most other stallions!"
Pinkie blinked slowly as she tilted her head to the right questioningly. "Different? How so?"
"Heeeeeeeeeeeellooooooooo!" The effeminate male voice rang into Sugar Cube Corner before a tall stallion pegasus trotted in, his short jet black mane styled perfectly while his olive-hued body hair glistened. "Niji, are you in here?"
Dash raised her right forehoof in a nervous wave. "Eh-heh. I'm right here, dad. Nice to see you after so long. How are things back on Hokkaido?"
The stallion chuckled softly before using his left hoof to brush back his mane. "Oh, quite well, indeed! There's a new batch of strong, virile young bucks that we just finished training. Oh, I'd spend so many hours working them until their muscles were taunt and their coats were dripping with salty sweat." Licking his lips with an impish grin, he looked wistfully into the air for a moment in memory before turning back to the teal pegasus. "But he-lloooo... Is this your girlfriend, Rainbow Dash?"
A blush began to form on Dash's cheeks as she shook her head furiously. "Naw, Pinkie Pie's just a very good friend. JUST a friend. Pinkie, I want you to meet my father, Hosato Takei."
Pinkie bounced over quickly, offering her right hoof to shake the stallion's as she began to bubble out her emotions at a rapid pace. "Oh! It's so very nice to meet you, Mr. Dash! Or is it Mr. Takei? Or just Hosato? Oooh, it doesn't matter because Dashie was ever so nervous about your arrival and I was just telling her it'd be okay and she was like, 'Pinkie, you don't understand!'. But I understand and it's so nice to meet you and I hope you stay for a long time so we can get to know her father! But of course you have to stay for a party! Dashie said she didn't want a party, but I was gonna tell her we HAD to have a party 'cause every visitor to Ponyville deserves a party thrown by me, Pinkie Pie, Party Pony Specialist! So how long you in town for, huh? Huh? Huh?"
The stallion finally got his hoof away from the pink pony's grasp and shook it out to return the blood flow as he gasped. "Oh, my! She certainly is a hyper one. Reminds me so much of your mother, Niji." He turns towards the pink pony and sigh. "Ah, I'm not in Ponyville long today as I have a LONG and HARD night ahead of me planning the new weather pony uniforms with Hoity Toity. We've been planning this evening for months, and I'm so excited! But I'll be back tomorrow and you can throw Niji and I a party then, all right?"
Pinkie Pie smiled brightly. "Okie Dokie Loki! But, before you go, why do you call Dashie 'Niji'?"
Rainbow Dash coughed and looked away nervously as her father chuckled. "Ah, she didn't tell you? That's her name! Funjin Niji... She was named after her mother Funjin Hisan. But she changed it to Equestrian when she enrolled into Cloudsdale to Rainbow Dash. A shame, too, as she'll always be little Niji to me."
"Aw, dad..." The teal pegasus shuffled her hooves nervously as her blush grew. "You're embarasing me!"
The olive-furred pegasus gave a chuckle and shook his head. "Oh, my... You always were so cute when you got embarrassed, Niji. Now I must be off to my appointment, but I'll be back here tomorrow around noon so we can catch up on everything before this nice pink pony lady's party, all right Niji?"
The teal pegasus nodded, trotting forward to give her father a gentle hug around the neck as she nodded. "Okay, dad. I'll see you tomorrow."
Her father returned the hug with a gentle nuzzle to the side of Dash's face. "Mmmm, glad to see you have a new 'friend' that's nicer than that griffon. As long as she makes you happy..." And, before Rainbow Dash could retort, he broke the hug and waved a hoof. "Ah, until tomorrow. Adiosu!" With that, the stallion turned and left Sugar Cube Corner in a flourish.
Pinkie Pie giggled and clapped her hooves together in glee. "Oooh, Dashie, your father seems so nice! Why were you so worried about him visiting?"
Dash threw up her hooves and sighed. "Augh, Pinkie! You just wouldn't get it! Didn't you see he's different than other stallions?"
Pinkie Pie shrugged her withers nonchalantly. "What, because he's a colt cuddler?" As Dash's jaw literally drops to the floor in shock, Pinkie Pie continues unfazed. "Seriously, Dashie, it's okay if he likes other stallions. I should know, I like both mares and stallions, you silly filly!"
The teal pegasus shook her head rapidly as she spoke in a shocked tone of voice. "Wait... What!?"
Pinkie Pie nodded rapidly. "Oh, yes! Best of both worlds, I always say! But there's a mare who I've been flirting with for over a year, calling her pet names, and doing everything in the world for... But she still doesn't realize I'm in love with her. But I hope someday she finally gets the hint."
Dash blinked slowly at these new revelations about her best friend before shaking her head unbelievingly. "Wait, there's a mare you're trying to date an' they don't realize it? Are they stupid?"
Pinkie Pie just gives Dash a huge hug before chuckling. "No, Dashie, you just are too focused on becoming a Wonderbolt to see what's in front of your face, you silly filly!" Breaking the hug, the pink earth pony then winks. "Now if you excuse me, I gotta go plan a party for you an' your dad! BYE!" Turning her tail, Pinkie Pie trots out of Sugar Cube Corner to leave a dumbstruck Rainbow Dash sitting on the floor even more confused than she was before her father arrived.
