Memories:

Chapters

Chapter one
Chapter two
Chapter three
Chapter four
Chapter five

Chapter one

Memories help define us, remind us who we are, strengthen us and give us light in the dark places. To exist without our memories, is to be unwhole ~

Rainbow Dash rested on the sandy shore near the lake outside of Ponyville. For three days she had an almost overwhelming desire to be there, but it never occurred to her to ask herself why. To her it felt like an adventure and as was her nature, she went with it. A soft summer breeze gently tossed errant strands of her colourful mane to and fro about her face. She stared into the calm water while tears stung her eyes. She had been crying for the better part of an hour, she wept for loss, she wept for something that was beyond her reach, but she knew not why, only that her heart was breaking. In the private and hidden place of her heart there was a hole, but she couldn't understand it at a conscious level. Reviewing her life, it appeared to be going well; her home, job, friends, nothing was out of place; yet this sense of loss persisted. Lying on the beach she pondered her being and the events of the last several days, she was certain she couldn’t be happier. Yet for all she had in her near perfect life, she kept thinking that she was supposed to be sad.

The recent days had been an unusual, almost etheric time for her. Dash traced the beginning of these strange events to the morning she found Fluttershy in her home making breakfast for her. That morning Rainbow Dash awoke and there was an uneasy turmoil that she could only sense briefly when her mind was still. Dismissing it easily, she focused on her plans to spend the day at the lake. After Fluttershy had cooked Dash breakfast, she seemed concerned about Dash but never mentioned why. When Dash wasn’t paying attention, Flutters watched her with a concerned look on her face. If Dash took notice of her observations, Fluttershy would look away then become preoccupied by a book on the coffee table or by one of the many paintings of the Wonderbolts that hung from the walls. In spite of the odd behavior, it never registered to Rainbow that her friend was watching her closely for any signs that the spell Twilight used the day before to alter her memories, had produced any unintended side effects.

Dash messily ate the breakfast that had been prepared for her, though she would never say as much, she did enjoy having someone fix it for her. Slurping up the last of the pancakes and hay bacon, she was still left wondering why the butter yellow Pegasus would show up unannounced and prepare her a meal. Watching her friend clean the kitchen, Dash passed off the strange behavior as her just being Fluttershy. Dash had seen Fluttershy act like this towards her animal friends all the time. Clearing the table, Fluttershy asked Dash how she was feeling. Rubbing her full belly Dash responded with a loud, wet burp and followed it by telling Flutters that she felt great. Fluttershy blushed and laughed in her sweet demure way, then told Dash she had to go home and to have a great day. The two said their goodbyes and Dash set about getting all her beach accessories ready. Wandering through the house she found that, in the span of twenty minutes she'd entered her bedroom for the fifth time when she had meant to retrieve a large towel from the bathroom. Pausing in the door way she seemed convinced she'd left something behind and still hadn’t gathered it for her trip. Shaking her head, she returned to the bathroom and grabbed the large blue towel. Walking to the living room she caught herself making her way to her bedroom again. Silently cursing her absentmindedness, she changed her destination and headed to the living room. She looked over what she had brought together for her day; everything was there that she could think of. The big blue towel with the Wonderbolts logo on it, lunch, pic-nic blanket, sunscreen for her nose, Her dog eared Daring-Do book, fold open metal reflector and just in case, her preening kit. Mostly satisfied, she loaded her saddlebags and left the house. As soon as she stepped outside her mostly good mood improved greatly, she felt as though the whole world was her oyster.

Her day was uneventful and relaxing; she swam, flew and napped. She deserved it too; she was after all the fastest flyer in all of Equestria; at least in her own mind. As the day came to a close, she found herself convinced that she'd forgotten to collect everything she brought with her. She wandered the beach in search of the elusive item she was sure she'd forgotten. Yet as she checked her bags she found that everything was accounted for. Shaking her head at her lapse, she laughed and thought that she must be getting old before her time. Her inner peace and contentment seemed lightly disturbed, as ripples in a pond; just out of reach of her conscious mind. After the sun had set, she took to the air and headed home feeling outwardly relaxed.

Sleep was a fitful affair, powerful emotions of being alone, abandoned, hopeless and adrift permeated her slumber. Morning arrived almost too soon. She awoke feeling not entirely rested and the desperate notions in her mind were still there and growing, urgency had begun to form around them. She quickly dismissed these impressions that as far as she could tell were without merit or reason. Her shower wasn't nearly as eye opening as normal. She didn't sleep well and she felt it in her bones. She fixed a meager breakfast; still sort of hoping Fluttershy might 'pop' in to see how she was and fix her breakfast again. Sadly Fluttershy didn't show up that morning. Gathering her beach accessories and fixing a lunch, she set out to see if anyone else would like to join her at the lake. Taking flight, her mood began to improve again; she was on a mission now and having that to focus on, her disposition was recovering. After asking Rarity if she'd like to join her, and being turned down she left Ponyville and flew to the one place she really wanted to be that day.

There was something about that lake that drew her there; she couldn't place why but a preoccupation deep inside her longed to be there. Maybe it was the sandy beach, or the clear inviting water, or was it something else; a warm almost familial feeling drew her to the lake those days.

It was a great place to let her mane down and just exhale, the peaceful surroundings a sharp contrast to the busyness of her day to day work life. As the day wore on, deep in her mind there was a sadness that was growing, something was wrong but still she couldn't say why or what was the cause of it. It pestered her conscious mind, never fully forming or permitting itself to come into focus. Tears formed in her eyes as she left that evening; a mute desperation was gnawing at her.

Rainbow Dash's dreams that evening were ones of panic and anxious searching. She was desperate to find what she had lost; sadness and tears filled her mind. As she woke up, for the briefest moment a half thought formed in her barely conscious mind, she saw herself in a deep dark, and lonely chasm. She was no longer the strong, brave and confidant mare she saw every morning in the bathroom mirror. She was a heartbroken child crying out in the dark, terrified of being alone and desperate to be held. Then as quickly as it had formed, it was gone. Rainbow blinked several times trying to recall what had begun to upset her. When nothing seemed to be forthcoming she disregarded the troublesome feelings and her dream faded into nothing as dreams often do. Hoping out of bed ready to face the day, she moved with purpose and drive. The need to be at the lake took her and she knew it would be a good time; she had adopted the opinion that she couldn’t get enough of it. She had asked Applejack if she would like to join her, but AJ said she was too busy to get away from the farm to go with her. Rainbow Dash once more found herself flying to that little lake one more time. A simple notion in her mind stood out, this was going to be her last trip there. She didn’t know why she felt that way, but she was certain it was true.

When she arrived, she landed on the beach, settled in and was still. There would be no swimming or flying today, she understood that she needed to be there and to watch. She was waiting now; she could feel it in her very essence, but waiting for what she couldn't say. A somber mood had taken its hold on her. A force beyond herself bound her to the beach. She wanted to fly about and stretch her wings. She thought about taking a swim and enjoying the water, but she dare not. She lay there as silent sentinel, noticing everything. She paid attention to every detail around her, the water, the trees; it all mattered for a reason she couldn't grasp. Whatever it was that had been on her mind, she would find it here and soon.

The day wore on and in a hidden safe place of her mind, deep down a light was waning, a hope was dying, something was going away and she couldn't stop it. Never a fully conscious thought, it was as a flicker; almost catching her attention, and when she focused on it… gone. This sense flittered near the fringes of her mind and played with her emotions, never able to reveal it’s self in full.

There she lay on what she felt would be her last day at that lake drew to a close, she stood, walked to the edge of the lake and stared into the water. Emotions she had no rational reason to feel rose up, began to overwhelm her and tears formed in her eyes. Her heart felt like it had broken but she couldn't fathom what was causing it. Frustrated and angry she held back her tears, everything in her was crying out desperate to make right what was so wrong.

When the sun began to dip below the horizon a sense of immense loss enveloped her. Unable to hold back any longer she cried out in a painful wail of tears as though someone had punched her in the heart, crumbling to the ground she curled into a ball and wept. Lying there she let it all out in waves of pitiful sorrow. Then a thought formed in her mind; one that was not her own. The opportunity for her to find what she'd lost was past now; there was a profound sense of finality about it. As she attempted to make sense of this thought she felt like she at last had permission to leave; her time here was done now. Tears covered her cheeks and blurred her vision as she stood and snapped open her wings preparing herself for the journey home. The raw pain in her heart had begun to fade. Settling down as best she could, she decided she needed to stop being a crybaby, tomorrow was going to be a busy day and she needed to get on with her life.

Setting her mind to the future, the last flicker of a distant hope disappeared from the safe place within her and in her mind she understood it was over. The sense of loss that had held her heart captive dispersed and was gone, no more substantial than a puff of smoke. Whatever the nameless faceless thing that was wrong had finally run its course. With each passing heartbeat she felt better, her mood improving moment to moment. As the last of the sun passed under the horizon, she felt like her old self again. She could move on now and life would return to normal. She would put the strangeness of the last few days behind her and live unfettered by sadness and grief. Heaving a small sigh of relief she wiped her face off and at last smiled.

A noise from behind caused her to pause. Spinning around her sight fell upon the most unlikely of creatures. In the moment her eyes met his, something unlocked in her mind and they came. Like a roaring wave from deep within herself, a place not even Celestia could find, fifteen years of memories rushed out and flooded her mind like waters breeching a dam.

She remembered...

The gurgling sound the coffee maker made in the morning, the smell of her bed with clean sheets, the pale yellow glow of her Sponge bob squarepants nightlight, the feel of the hot water during a shower… Pizza!

She remembered it all...

And she remembered the most important thing of all, she remembered her father.

"D-Daddy?"

“Dashie?”

Her heart leapt for joy at the sound of his voice. With all the memories of her years on earth pouring into her mind, Rainbow Dash tentatively stepped forward towards her father; he bent down on one knee as she approached.

Brian’s heart raced as his daughter approached him; he had spent nearly a month deciding if he should take up her offer and travel to Equestria. Seeing her standing there on the shoreline made him realize that choosing to come here was the right thing; the best thing he could do his entire life.

Shaking slightly, she reached out a hoof and gingerly touched his chest. Unsure if he was a figment of her broken imagination or a hallucination brought on by the stress of the last three days. In the instant her hoof felt the warmth of his shirt; she knew he was really there. Joy burst forth in her heart.

“Daddy! It really is you!” she shrieked in amazement.

Rainbow pulled her father in to a tight hug, and began to bawl. All the pent up emotions of the last few days poured out of her. He was here and he was real, she could be at peace now. She finally understood that this is what had been so wrong; he was the answer to the question she couldn't ask. He was what her heart had been crying out for.

“I thought I’d never see you again.” She hitched out through her sobs.

So many memories filled her mind; the changing of her letter to him. The hope she held onto that he would read it in time. The hope that he would understand what she was offering him. Hoping that he'd make the decision to come back to Equestria and be with her. She remembered thinking he might heed Celestia’s warning and not come back; that thought had caused her heart to break. She feared that he may not want to come to Equestria, but she had to take that chance. She had to hope against all things that her dad would make the tough choice, defy Celestia and risk coming here to the end of his days. Finally, she remembered it all.

Rainbow’s father held her tightly and tried his best to sooth her. All his reservations about the journey to Equestria melted away in the moment he laid eyes on his adopted daughter. Petting her mane, he wept in relief that she was okay and that she remembered him.

“It’s okay Dashie, I’m here. Shhh…”

Right then Rainbow Dash was content to just be. Being held by her dad, she wept. She wept for joy, for the many long days to come and the days behind. At last she was whole again.

The smell of his shirt and the sound of his voice soothed her, reassured her that everything was going to be okay now. Waves of relief poured over her as she was for a moment that little filly in the box, being comforted by the one person she loved even more than herself.

Finally they released each other; Rainbow Dash looked into her pops face studying his every feature, the crow’s feet around his eyes, the roughness of the five o’clock shadow along his jaw, the smell of his cologne. She then closed her eyes, rested her head on his chest and let out a long deep sigh, a sigh that had been three days in coming; to her it felt like three life times.

“Daddy I love you.” She whispered.

“I love you too Dashie.” Brian said quietly, tears streamed down his face.

Brian held his daughter close, having her in his arms felt right. He felt as though this was his reason to exist. He sighed in relief, in spite of all his fears and trepidation's about coming to Equestria; he had to, for her.

When Brian had found Rainbow Dash, he had been given a singularly unique opportunity to change his life forever. By taking her in as his own and giving of himself to raising her, she changed his life for the better in ways he could never have imagined. He no longer saw the world as grey and hopeless; he instead saw hope, and joy in places that before he could only perceive despair. Through his life with her, he molded her in ways she could never thank him enough for. He taught her patience, kindness, forgiveness and tempered her with a touch of humility. He knew that his need to be with his daughter was bigger than himself; it was a force in his life he would never fully understand.

When he walked through the portal to Equestria, he had left it all behind, his old life, their home, his job, everything. There was a drive in him that drew him to her. He felt he had to do what was necessary to be there for the rest of her life; from the day he found her, his life had begun to become entwined in hers. When looking down at his little girl, he believed that all that he sacrificed would be worth it.

The sound of Dashie’s voice broke his train of thought.

“What now pops? You’re here with me in Equestria, there’s no way for you or me back to earth.”

Wiping the tears off his face, Brian smiled, "We live."

Dashie looked up at him and smiled back. The stress of the last few days and more had melted away. She felt as though the world was right again. She could move on with her life, better than before. The love shaped hole in her heart was filled again by the one person it was made for.

Rainbow Dash sat down in the soft sand of the shore; her father took a seat next to her and wrapped his arm around her, she leaned against him and wrapped a wing around his back.

She looked out over the lake at the Everfree forest, spying a somewhat clear area with some dense tree cover, an idea popped into her head. Turning to her father, she looked up at him and asked a rather important question.

"Dad?"

“Yeah?"

"Where are you going to stay?"

Brian looked around at the lake and surrounding forest. He began to entertain the idea of staying at her cloud home.

"I don't suppose I can walk on clouds here, can I?"

"No dad, only Pegasus ponies can walk on clouds." Dash said with a light laugh.

"Hmm… I guess I’m going to have to build a home, here.“ He made a sweeping gesture to the forest.

He thought about his limited knowledge of carpentry. He had built a sconce and table in wood shop years ago. How much different could a home be. I mean it’s just a house. Right?

"How about over there?" Dash said while pointing to a clearing across the lake.

Looking closer at the clearing, Brian examined it as best he could in the dimming light.

"Yeah, I bet that would work. Tomorrow, we can get a better look." he said, while thinking about how on earth... Equestria, he was going to pull this off. Where do you even begin to build a house? The foundation? Yeah, that seems like the best place to start… I think. I’ll worry about it tomorrow. He thought to himself.

The sun had set and a full moon was climbing over the horizon. The dark purples and blues of night had begun to take over the sky. Stars became visible in the darkening night, stars that Brian had never seen before. Yet for all the differences they seemed familiar to him. He was seeing stars from a completely different planet, around a completely different sun, possibly the first human to do so. Staring up, he marveled at the thought.

Dashie yawned first. She curled up against her father for warmth. Watching her, Brian decided that maybe sleeping on the beach for one night wasn't such a bad thing. Something bothered him though.

"Dash? Don’t you need to go home?"

With half open eyes Rainbow Dash said, "I am home." She then lay her head down and drifted off to sleep.

Smiling from ear to ear Brian reclined into the soft sand, and slowly let sleep take him. He too at long last, was home.

Chapter two

Brian woke to the sound of a snoring cyan Pegasus buried in his armpit. Blinking, then rubbing his eyes, he stared into the sky on the morning of the first day of the rest of his life. The sun was just starting to crest, the warm colours of the dawn painted a gorgeous morning sky. Rising slowly, so he didn't wake up Dashie, he stood and stretched. He brushed off the sand that clung to him as best he could. Popping his neck, he walked towards the nearby forest, nature was calling and he needed to take care of business. He entered the woods and an unfamiliar tingling sense came over him. Magic. A fine prickly feeling covered his entire body just enough as to make the little hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

This forest emanated magic. He'd felt it before, the first time he was brought through the portal. Standing there in awe, he nearly forgot what he was there for. After he had finished, he walked back to where he's spent the night to see Dashie still asleep, and still snoring.

Kneeling down next to her, he set a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle shake, only wanting to wake her not scare her.

Leaning close to her, he quietly said, "Dash. Hey Dash, time to get up."

Dashie stopped snoring, groaned and cracked open one eye. For the briefest moment, it looked as though Dashie didn’t recognize him. Then, it was gone and Dash opened her eyes fully and smiled.

"Good morning." Brian said with a grin. Dashie brought a hoof to her muzzle and scrunched up her face. Gently pushing her dad away with her other foreleg.

"Aww, go brush your teeth, you have dad breath."

Brian leaned back, cupped his hands over his mouth, huffed into them, and sniffed; recoiling a little from the morning breath that greeted him.

"Ugh, that is pretty rank." He laughed.

Dash laughed, and stood up. Stretching her wings and legs, she shook off the sand that had covered her coat then trotted off to the woods. Brian looked more closely at the clearing Dash had pointed out the night before. He began to make his way around the lake staying on the beach. He had walked about fifty meters when Dash flew up alongside him, slowing herself to match his pace. Brian rubbed his upper arms briskly; the morning air was a bit chilly to him.

"Dash, I've been thinking and I feel it's for the best that we keep 'me' a secret. You can't tell anyone I'm here. I don't want to get you or myself in trouble with Celestia."

"I was thinking the same thing pops." Dash replied.

"Will we ever let them know you're here?"

"I imagine so… in time. Sure. But for now..." His voice faded. He didn’t want to continue verbalizing the thought.

Dash nodded in conformation. They walked for a minute in silence; the only sounds were birds chirping their morning songs, Brian’s footfalls in the soft sand, and the gentle beating of Dashie’s wings.

"Can I ask you a question? Dash asked quietly.

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

Dash paused a moment gathering her thoughts.

"Why did you wait so long? Didn’t you want to be together as a family?”

Brian thought for a moment and responded in a warm fatherly tone.

"Why did I wait so long? Well… “Brian took a long breath. It was a big decision for me. I had to be certain this was the best thing for you, and to a lesser extent me. I was leaving everything behind. Our house, my job, my whole life was back there. And I didn't want to have to deal with Celestia either, she creeps me out to be honest." Brian paused, gauging Dashie’s reaction. When she didn’t respond he continued.

"But, as time went on, I began to realize that without you in my life... well, my life wasn't complete. I wasn't whole. Does that make any sense?"

Dash looked intently at her pops and nodded mostly to herself.

"More than you can know." She thought, and then smiled.

She fully understood what he meant. For her, without him in her life she wasn’t whole either. It was their mutual connection that caused one to suffer in the absence of the other. Perhaps it was a byproduct of the magic that brought her to him in the beginning. Perhaps it was just good old human instinct to care and love for the young that so deeply bound him to her. Neither would ever know for certain. What they did know was that they were each a part of the other. For the two of them to be separated, truly separated was for each to be unwhole.

“…and after a few weeks I made my decision, I had to be brave, and to heck with the consequences. I quit my job, took care of a few loose ends, grabbed grandma’s painting, and walked through the portal." He stated. Stopping to look at the lake, a thought struck him.

"Is that water safe to drink?" Brian asked pointing at the lake.

"Yeah I think so. I've swum in it before and swallowed tons of it. Nothing bad ever happened." She replied. "And you don’t want to go too far into the Everfree if you don’t have too.” She said while pointing to the forest nearby. “There’s a lot a dangerous things that live in there. Manticores, Cockatrices, Timber wolves… all kinds of dangerous stuff; and these blue flowers, they’re really pretty but if you touch them wild stuff can happen to you.” She winced a little at the memory.

“I remember." Brain said absently. He had already begun thinking about how to build his new home. How large should it be? How many rooms would it need? How big is the Kitchen going to need to be? I’ll need a bathroom too. Annnnd I'm going to need too light the place. These thoughts bounced around in his head while they continued walking towards the clearing.

The clearing was not a large area, about a seven by ten meter oval of saplings and low scrub brush. The big branches from the nearby trees that hung over the clearing were thick, full and heavy. It was a safe place to build a log cabin, close to the lake and difficult to see from the air. If he had to hide out, this would be a perfect place to do it, but ideally he hoped that it wouldn’t come to that. However, this was Equestria, bizarre events are common place, not to mention having to keep a low profile from the princesses.

Surveying the area, the two of them began to plan out Brian’s new home. All the while he emphasized the need to keep his presence a secret. Now that the portal to Earth was be closed, he didn’t want to spend the remainder of his days in a dungeon or worse a medieval torture chamber having experiments of dubious scientific value run on him. Dash dismissed his musings as ridiculous. Ponies weren't like that; they weren't human after all she joked. Brian pondered her words but instinct kicked in and he was not so easily convinced of other ponies’ intentions. The wealth of information about the human world in his head could unintentionally make him a state secret or worse a threat to national security. Call it paranoia or human cynicism, but he planned to stay out of sight for the time being.

"You’re going to love living here!" she exclaimed, while flying a loop the loop in the air.

"I think I already knew that." Brian said smiling.

Taking a small branch, he began to draw a simple outline in the sand of what he wanted the cabin to look like, a simple rectangular structure, deeper than it was wide. Drawing out one bedroom that he marked with the letter ‘B’, he outlined where the kitchen, bathroom, and living room would go.

Dash landed and looked it over carefully. She took the stick from his hand in her mouth and added a second bedroom, wrote ‘RD’ in it and changed the arrangement of the kitchen to the living room. Brian studied the changes she had made and nodded in approval. After a moment more of studying the new arrangement he smiled. It looked an awful lot like their old home on earth.

“Yeah, I think that’ll do just fine.” Brian commented.

Now the work could begin. Clapping his hands together with a pop, his eyes grew wider and he took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the task that lay ahead.

"Right, I'm going to need some tools, a hammer and an axe to start with, and nails and a level… maybe a saw. “ He said with a renewed vigor to his voice.

Seeing her opportunity to lend a hand she excitedly said, "I can take care of that! And breakfast! I'll be right back. Don't run off or anything."

“Run off? What am I a dog?” he said incredulously.

Dash rolled her eyes at him and told him to just stay on the beach until she returned. Jumping up she took flight and headed towards what he figured would be Ponyville. Brian watched her fly off then turning back to his sand drawing; he took stock of the project that lay ahead of him. He was no carpenter not by a long shot; a wood butcher would be more accurate. He felt a little out of his league trying to build a log cabin that he could live in, but this was to be his home for the time being. He was ready and willing to give it his best to see it happen.

This thing isn't going build its self. He thought.

Pushing his sleeves up over his elbows, Brian began to clear brush and pull up the smallest trees in the clearing. He was no stranger to hard work, but this job he had an excitement about, he was thoroughly enjoying the experience. In his mind’s eye he envisioned exactly how every aspect of his cabin would be laid out. All that remained was to see it built.

His mind wandered as he worked and the reality of being in Equestria began to set in. He was in a completely new world, no debt, no obligations, no responsibilities, and he was building a hideout in the Everfree forest. A goofy smile crossed his face as he thought about the whole situation. He was here with his daughter and it made him immensely happy. More importantly, his life made sense again.

Flying over Ponyville, Dash had a wide smile that reflected her inner joy, her father was home now and she could hardly contain her excitement about that fact. From above she watched ponies milling about town starting their day, opening up their shops and kiosks.

Movement in the morning sky caught Applejacks attention, looking up she saw Rainbow Dash flying overhead and she waved good morning to her friend. Rainbow saw Applejack below waving up at her, Dash returned the wave and flew on to the hardware store.

As she landed, a cold tingling feeling started to spread across her head, then quite suddenly her mind convulsed and reeled, she felt as though she had started to fall while her body went rigid for a moment and a faraway look crossed her face; she all at once didn’t know why she had come to town. She looked around wondering to herself, why in Equestria she’d come to the hardware store, and more importantly why was she awake so early. She stared at the store front for a moment, trying to recall how she arrived there. When nothing came to mind, she shrugged to herself and opened her wings to take off when her body went ridged and her mind started to reel and flip again, the tingling was less intense and then she could remember. Oh yeah dad needs tools. D’uh I must need some coffee or something. She thought.

Feelings of confusion and mild disorientation lingered in her mind; shaking them off she entered the shop and set about getting the tools her pops had mentioned. The store keeper asked if she was taking up a new hobby as she paid for her items. She jokingly said she was and quickly made her way out. Dash took to the air and turned towards the market to look for breakfast. Darting low overhead a rainbow trail etched its way through the calm morning air.

Ponies busied themselves with shopping or chatting over coffee. The scent of their coffee reached Dash and brought to mind her dad making it in the morning and how wonderful it made the kitchen smell. She fondly recalled when she was little, how he’d bang around the kitchen first thing in the morning, trying to focus on getting her breakfast. She smiled to herself about the times he’d put the coffee pot in the fridge instead of the milk jug that was in his other hand; as a child it almost always made her laugh.

Landing in the edibles section of the market, Dash looked around for things that her pops would like; apples, carrots, some nice fat grapes, more apples. Dad likes apples... I think. And a small block of smelly white cheese. He had always maintained that if it didn’t smell like a dirty sock it wasn’t good cheese. Rainbow Dash never agreed with that notion, she felt that if it smelled that bad it should be thrown out. Even so, he seemed to like it so she added it too her purchases. She scooped oats from the bulk bin into a bag and picked out a yummy looking bundle of hay for herself, paid for the lot and started to head for home. As she was trotting along testing the weight of her saddlebags and gauging her flight dynamics, she slowed her pace until she had stopped. A confused look began to form on her face. She stiffened and her mind reeled and flickered again, as though someone turned on a strobe light in her head. She blinked a few times and relaxed. The weight of her saddlebags caused her to look down in confusion and study all the food she’d just purchased. The situation was wrong, she couldn’t remember coming to the market or buying any of the food in her bags. Her mind raced with questions yet nothing she saw added up.

“What am I doing? I don’t even like this kind of cheese. Sweet Celestia, it smells like vomit and sweat socks.” She whispered mostly to herself while staring at enough food for half a week. She couldn’t recall why she needed so much, and what in the world did she need an axe and hammer for. Confusion painted her face while she struggled to make sense of what she was seeing in her bags.

“Did ya forget something there sugar cube?” A familiar voice called out. She looked up and to her right she saw Applejack walking towards her. She opened her mouth to speak when her mind twisted and clicked, for a moment she was dazed and confused. Her mind began to clear and the situation began to make sense again. Oh yeah! All this is for dad. I so need to get my head screwed on straight. Mentally reeling a bit from the confusion, she put on her game face.

“Umm. Hey AJ. Naw, I didn’t forget anything.” Dash replied, still trying to recover her sense of things.

Just play it cool RD, we can get through this.

“Well ya looked a might confused there for a moment. Everythin’ okay?” Applejack held a look of worry on her face as she drew closer to her friend.

“I’m good.” Without giving AJ the chance to respond Dash popped open her wings and took off.

“See ya later AJ, I gotta get going. Really busy today…” Dash said as she flew off.

Applejack waved her goodbye as Dash rose into the sky and faded into the distance. Shaking her head, Applejack walked back to her stand, and wondered what was up with Rainbow Dash.

Dash flew on towards the lake taking a wide arcing path around Ponyville. Hoping it didn’t look like she was heading directly to her pops. An unsettling feeling persisted in her mind though. How come she forgot why she’d gone to the market? She could remember why she was there now, but at that moment it was completely missing. What the hay is happening. She shook off the feeling and headed to her dads future lakeside estate.

Landing at the campsite she wasted no time in breaking out the supplies and perishables. Brian was busily clearing brush by hand as best he could; he was already sweating, dirty, and smiling from ear to ear.

He stopped his deforestation efforts and helped Dash unload her purchases. Examining the tools he smiled with satisfaction. She pondered the idea of telling him what had happened but believed that the risk to his safety would be too high. She would not be responsible for his being taken away if she could help it.

“Yeah these will do great” he said thanking Dashie. Pulling out his wallet Brian stopped.

“Um, Dash... I can’t pay you for these right now.” He said sheepishly, holding out a twenty to her.

“Why did you bring cash?” She laughed. “It’s not gonna do you any good here.”

“Force of habit.” He replied, feeling a bit silly he returned the currency to his wallet.

“Don’t worry pops, I got you covered. Look, you paid my way back home and now you’re in my world.” Her voice softened. “Let me treat you for a change.” Taking a bite of apple, she offered him one as well.

Taking the offered fruit he sat on the ground and with just a bit of wonder stared at the apple in his hand. The look on his face was as if he’d never seen an apple before. Staring at the apple he realized that this would be the first Equestrian food he would eat. He wondered if he could even eat the food here, would it provide what he needed, like food from back home. What would he do if he wasn't able to derive any nutrients from it? What if fruit and vegetables were poisonous to him? Pondering these things he thought, “Well, when in Rome…” Slowly he brought the apple to his mouth and took a juicy crunchy bite. It tasted amazing.

“Well pops, whatcha think? Pretty good huh?”

“Dashie, this is amazing.” he said through a mouthful of half chewed apple. “Seriously, this is probably the best apple I’ve ever had. And I don’t like apples that much.”

“Yeah, all the food here is like that. Better get used to it. “She said glad he was impressed.

Brian finished eating his apple and grabbed another. He continued to be amazed at how delicious it tasted. Eying the grapes he plucked one off the stem, stared at it a moment and popped it in his mouth. Crisp and juicy, then a familiar smell hit his nose.

“Mmm, smells like stinky foot cheese.” He said with a smile digging into the bag of groceries to retrieve his precious cheese.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and said. “Yeah. Just the way you like it.” She made a disgusted look and feigned retching causing her father to laugh.

“I’m gonna get fat if everything is this good. Can I get fat from fruit?” Brian wondered.

“Just wait till you try Pinkie Pies treats. They are frikken awesome. If anything makes you fat it'll be those."

Brian paused and his smiled faded, he thought about the inevitable day that he’d be revealed to the others. How would they react? Would they run screaming in fright? Or perhaps they’d be more open to him being around. Not likely seeing how given they are to fits of panic at the slightest of provocation. The prospect of meeting all her friends excited and frightened him. Word would get back to Celestia no doubt, then who knows what would happen. He started to imagine being chased like an animal by hoards of the royal guard, being arrested then sent to some dark dungeon and rotting there all alone, forever. All too keep the purity of Equestria safe. Putting these thoughts away he continued eating. Brian pondered as he ate; the reason that the food tasted so good may be because of the innate magic that permeated their world. An errant thought popped into his mind. I wonder if can do magic here? If I ever have the chance I bet I can ask Twilight about that. Smiling to himself he finished his meal.

Once Dash had finished eating she walked to the lake and noisily had a drink of water. Turning to Brian she said, “I have to head to work; you’ll be okay without me for a while right?” Dash asked as she stretched open her wings to take flight.

Looking over to her, he swallowed the last of the food in his mouth.

“Of course I will. Go on, head to work, I’ll be fine here. I have lots to do.” He replied and then looked back at his patch of ground, again envisioning what his cabin would look like, and more importantly how he was going to build it.

“Alright then I’ll be back tonight.” Dash said. She flew over to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. Brian patted her on the shoulder and told her he loved her.

“Love you too pops.” She called out as she flew off.

Hefting up his axe, Brain felt the weight and tested the blade. Nice and sharp. Good, if anything comes out of the woods after me, at least I'll have this to defend myself with. He continued to clear more brush and small trees at a much faster pace.

Whistling as she flew, Rainbow Dash headed to the weather maintenance and modification office where she was employed. She had some concern that having taken three days off of work with little notice may have put the other weather ponies in a bad way. Few could bust clouds like she could, and far fewer were as fast, whatever work had built up she was ready for it.

Weather ponies were landing and taking off from the arrival/departure area of the WMMO, Dash raced in and sported a trick landing to the delight of the several pegasi that were preparing to land. Yep! I still got it! She proudly though to herself amidst the cheers, hoots and hollers of the pegasi that had the privilege to witnessing her aerial prowess.

The PA system crackled to life and a pedantic voice started droning on about some weather related warning, it fell on deaf ears mostly. More health and safety crap again. She quickly moved off the landing area and headed towards the more crowed main office. Like a choreographed dance, other pegasi landed nosily behind her and quickly ran off to their various destinations. All the noise, commotion and even smells of the WMMO were a welcome sight and sound to her, it was a subtle sign to her that all was right with the world.

Greeting the other workers warmly, she popped her head into the shift manager’s office and told her that she had returned to work. Dash clocked in and snatched her work sheet off the rack; looking it over she quietly grunted to herself. There was a LOT of cloud busting to deal with as well as two rain storms to the south and a fog bank that popped up overnight that needed clearing. This wasn’t a normal amount even for her. Clearly someone had added extra tasks for her to tend too. She jogged to the departure area and checked for approaching pegasi. The PA system burst to life again announcing a local storm front would be moved near the Vanhoover area later that day, and that teams two and six would be handling it. "None of my concern" she thought. When the signal crew flagged her that the takeoff lane was clear she sprinted a short distance down the runway, took flight and bolted upwards in to the big blue. All the busyness, noise and activity of the WMMO faded out, replaced by the rushing of wind in her ears. She smiled broadly thinking, “Today was going to be a good day”.

She spent her day clearing clouds from in and around town, big fluffy ones, small wispy ones; they all needed to be attended too. She arranged the rain storms and even managed to take care of the fog bank. Catching up on three days of cloud busting left her exhausted by days end. As her day was nearly over she approached the last collection of white cotton like fluff she quickly came to a stop in midair. In her mind everything became confusing and fuzzy; a tingling sensation spread across her head then her mind twisted and reeled, the safe and familiar became threatening and strange.

What am I doing up here? She looked around a moment confused and unable to say for certain why she was there. Slowly she scanned the ground below looking for a familiar landmark, nothing seemed known to her. She couldn’t recognize the terrain below and she began feel very far from home. She had no idea what she was doing or why she was there, and that began to terrify her, all she wanted now was get somewhere safe. Nearly in a panic she dived towards the ground; clearing the lower edge of the cloud bank the sight of Ponyville caused to stop in mid-flight and scream.

“NO! This can’t be real! How can I be… here?”

Her mind raced to figure out what was happening. Where’s dad? Am I really in the cartoon? This has to be a dream. The rising terror in her caused tears to form in her eyes and the confusion made it hard to concentrate. She needed to find her home, to get away from this place. Primal instincts began to take over and she raced around for a few minutes looking for something, anything familiar. Then all at once it stopped. She began to get stiff, her head felt tingly, and then her mind pitched and for a moment felt like it untwisted. Her terror faded and she remembered what it was she was supposed to be doing. She calmed down a moment and gathered her thoughts.

What the hay is going on? Why can’t I remember? What’s wrong with me? Shaking off the last of the feelings of disorientation and confusion, she turned to the last batch of clouds and finished breaking them up. Breathing a sigh of relief, she checked the sky for any clouds she may have missed. Smiling to herself at a job well done she headed back to the WMMO. The whole flight back her mind was in turmoil about the episode over Ponyville. Landing at the WMMO, she made her way to the employee area and signed off on the work orders she’d completed, filled out her time card, and grabbed the work sheet for the following day. She walked down the hallway to the departure area studying her work order.

A large blue Pegasus stallion set down on the landing gantry ahead of her. Taking off his flight goggles he heartily greeted Rainbow. Looking up she recognized him, it was Thunder Charge. A good worker in her opinion, maybe not the fastest around but could work circles around most without a break.

“Hey Rainbow, good work out there today.” He said smiling broadly.

“Yeah, thanks” she said weakly.

“Everything okay? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“Naw, I’m good Thunder, just tired. You would be too if you had three days to catch up on.” She said with a fake smile while she passed him in the hallway.

“No Way! I’d be ready for another shift.” He said with pride. Looking at her face he softened his tone and a little softer he said. “Well, try to get some sleep tonight if ya can.” He said with a look of concern.

Rainbow opened her mouth to respond as her mind flipped again. She staggered a moment and blinked. Looking around she caught site of Thunder Charge and gasped. Her mind raced to identify the creature that was standing in front of her. It looked similar to her in form, but it appeared to be a male. Backing away, she wasn’t clear on what he wanted or why he seemed to be talking to her. Her heart began pounding in her chest as the first wave of a panic attack hit her.

“Hey, are you sure you're...” His sentence was cut off by a blood curdling scream from Dash.

“STAY AWAY FROM ME!!” Dash turned around and bolted for the takeoff and landing area screaming for her father. Several other pegasi stared at her as she ran down the gantry. Without waiting for the signal crew to give her clearance she took flight.

A short heavy set Pegasus in a generic off the rack white shirt ran out of an office to see what all the commotion was about. Thunder stood there with a dumbfounded expression staring after Rainbow Dash. The supervisor looked up at the stallion and asked what the heck just happened.

“I don’t know... One second Rainbow Dash and I were just talking. The next she freaks out and screams at me to stay away. She acted like she didn’t recognize me. Then she flew off.”

“Rainbow Dash did that?” The super asked surprised, looking out into the sky where Dash had flown off too. She was one of; if not the best cloud buster he had. In all the years that she worked for him she never behaved like that. Sure, she might over react at times and was cocky, all the cloud busters tended to be. In this line of work you had to have a little attitude. But this was way outside her normal behavior.

“Do you want to file a report?” The super asked in a serious tone.

“On RD? No way! She’d wipe the floor with me.” He responded half-jokingly.

“Okay.” He nodded slowly. The super walked back to his office shaking his head. This was the last thing he needed right now. He hated drama; it was bad for the bottom line.

Rainbow Dash raced away from the WMMO at break neck speed. She flew high into the air so she could see anyone approaching; she half expected to wake up from a nightmare.

“Where in the hell am I!?” She yelled out in frustration. Her panic attack in full swing now caused her to start breathing heavily, she broke down and cried. All she could think about now was finding her daddy; he would know what’s wrong and how to fix it. He always knew how to make everything better; he was always there for her. Trying to recall where her father was; her mind kept going blank, one moment she could almost bring his location to mind and it would vanish as though someone had plucked it out of her head. Thinking back she tried to recall the last thing she could. Slowly she started to get fragments of the past, but she wasn’t sure if they were hers or a movie she’d seen. A fog in her mind began to clear a little and she remembered their living room... Her father was there, he was crying. There were other ponies there. A white one… a bright pink one… and they had come to take her away.

“NOOO!” She cried in desperate recollection.

She had let them take her away... let them take her from her home and more importantly her father. Struggling to piece together what had happened afterwards, she closed her eyes tightly and focused on that day. Fragments of things long ago or yet to happen, she couldn't say for sure, began to surface in her mind about that day. That horrible day when they had arrived, the big one with the kind voice said she had to leave and her father wept telling her that he loved her. Rainbow Dash's heart broke seeing his face twisted in torment. She wanted to reach out and hold him... comfort him in his pain.

The memories began to fade and Dash tried harder to recall what had happened. The purple one had approached her, the horn on her head was glowing brightly and Dash wasn’t sure what was about to happen, then there was a bright flash, and she was...

Rainbow Dash blinked several times, and stared out into the sky unsure of what she was doing, or why she was hovering in midair. Looking around and then down she saw Ponyville below.

Drawing in her wings she gracefully dived towards town. Falling for a few moments she smiled at the speed and feeling of being in control. Unfurling her wings, she slowed her decent and effortlessly did a barrel roll. She relished the feelings of freedom that flight brought her. In a daze she descended delicately towards the ground, a pink movement caught her attention. Standing on her bedroom window sill Pinkie Pie waved excitedly at Rainbow Dash. She could just make out Pinkie pies voice calling out her name.

Pinkie Pie watched her friend slowly descend towards the ground. Excitedly she continued to wave, calling out to her again.

"Rainbow Daaaash!" Pinkie Pie said in her signature sing song way. Dash caught site of her friend and banked around and headed towards Pinkie Pie. Pinkie backed into her room above sugar cube corner, as Dash landed with a delicate thud on the window sill.

"Hi Dashie!" Pinkie Pie said practically glowing with joy. Her expression softened as she began to realize Rainbow Dash wasn't 'right'. Then she asked what she felt was a very important question. "Are you okay?" Rainbow Dash's answer was both the honest truth and a lie. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

Pinkie Pie eyed Rainbow Dash for a moment, and then laughed. "Okay then silly. You just looked REALLY out there for a second."

"ptfffff.. No way. I'm as good as it gets. Though I think I had a long day a work today." Dash said, as much to herself as Pinkie Pie. “I... I uhh…“ Dash went taut and she felt the twisting in her mind and silently cried out, “No. Not again.” A moment later she blinked a few times, relaxed and stared at pinkie Pie. Trying to piece together in her mind what was going on and where she was this time, she focused on what she could.

Okay, I’m at Pinkies. I can remember Ponyville and dad. Okay. Good. I think I’ll be alright. Play it cool and everything will be fine.

Pinkie Pie stared at her friend; a knowing began to form in her fluffy cotton candy mind. Not letting on that she was suspicious, Pinkie Pie welcomed Rainbow Dash warmly.

The two talked briefly about cloud busting and how the twins were getting along. Then slowly Rainbow Dash began to feel like maybe she needed to talk to someone about what was happening to her. She hated the idea of openly discussing this problem… this weakness. This was bigger than her, and she didn’t know what she could do. Perhaps Pinkie Pie could help her understand what was happening. Pinkie rambled on about how she’d had a conversation with butterfly that morning and how it wouldn't laugh at any of her jokes. “Don’t even start with me about the fiasco with the balloon.” Pinkie Pie stated with a stern look on her face.

Gathering her courage, Rainbow Dash waited until Pinkie Pie had to stop to take a breath. A feat that seemed to take far longer than any normal pony should. Maybe she can breathe and speak at the same time. When Pinkie Pie finally did stop for a moment Rainbow Dash quietly asked Pinkie Pie a pointed question.

"Have you ever... forgotten someone?" Rainbow Dash’s rose eyes scanned Pinkie Pie’s face for any telltale signs of what she might be thinking.

Pinkie Pie blinked at Rainbow Dash tilting her head to one side, and then her eyes grew wider than usual. The understanding in her mind that had started when Rainbow fist arrived grew and then clicked into place. The awkward silence began to make Rainbow Dash feel as though she should have not asked her question. Pinkie Pie’s answer could not have stunned Rainbow Dash more if she'd claimed to have invented the question mark.

"Like the way you keep forgetting your Earth dad? And by Earth dad I mean…" Pinkie Pie looked from side to side as if she was checking for someone who might be listening in on a secret. She leaned closer and whispered hoarsely. “…your human father.” Pinkie Pie blinked again and smiled almost proud of her answer.

Rainbow Dash sat in shock. Her mind raced to sort out and come to terms with what Pinkie Pie had just said,

"W-What?" was the only thing she could stammer out.

"You keep forgetting your earth dad and the time you spent there. What’s his name anyway? Then other times you can't remember your life here. It makes you really sad and that makes me sad that you're sad and I don’t want to you to be sad and I don't wanna be sad that you're sad...."

Pinkie Pie stopped taking when it registered that Rainbow Dash was backing away slowly. The tears in her eyes a mute witness to how upset she had become upon hearing Pinkies explanation.

"How... how could you know that? Rainbow Dash whispered, her voice cracking.

"Oh! That’s easy. I walked into my room and I heard someone say, 'NOOOO" and I ran to the window and looked outside to see who it was. And it was you, waaaay up in the sky, you were trying to remember what happened on a really bad day, then you looked like you didn't wanna be there, or here, I don't know which, and you couldn't remember us and got really scared and that made me scared for you, then you went all..." Pinkies eyes looked left and right at the same time and her tongue hug limply out of the corner of her mouth. "But then you could remember us but not your earth dad! That’s when you started to fly to town and I started to wave at you so I could try to cheer you up ‘cause you're really, REALLY sad that you keep forgetting, but you don't always know that you are sad. And to top it all off you don't know why any of this is happening to you!"

Rainbow Dash stared at Pinkie Pie in shock, unsure if she should run away or hug her. Unsure what to do, Rainbow Dash slowly let herself down to the floor overwhelmed by what she'd just heard. Pinkie Pie looked at her friend with a soft caring expression.

"Dashie. You need to tell Twilight what's happening. She can help you with all her weirdo unicorn magic."

“No Pinkie Pie I can't." Dash replied quietly.

"If you don't, you can't get better. You don't want to be like this forever do you?"

"Of course I don't. But I can't let anyone know…” Her voice trailed off.

“...that Your DAD is here." Pinkie Pie said in a whisper.

Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide again and she leapt across the room landing on Pinkie Pie pinning her to the floor. Staring her in the face she spoke calmly but firmly.

"Pinkie Pie you can never tell anyone that. Ever!"

Pinkie Pie looked up at Rainbow Dash and for the first since meeting her all those years ago, she felt a little afraid. She had seen Dash behave in all manner of ways, but this was different on a whole new level, she was dead serious.

"Okay Dashie. I won't..." Pinkie Pie let out a nervous laugh.

"Pinkie promise." Rainbow Dash said her wings slowly opening.

Pinkie Pie smiled and recited her oath of eternal 'mums the word'

Satisfied that she would keep silent, Rainbow Dash let Pinkie Pie up. Walking to the window Rainbow Dash sat down with a thud, looked out over Ponyville and sighed. Pinkie Pie slowly walked over and sat with her friend. Together they sat in silence, watching the long shadows of evening begin to crawl across town. A light breeze blew in the window carrying with it the sweet smells of a summer evening. A stillness echoed in Pinkie Pie's room as Dash gathered her thoughts. Trying to analyze what she knew and put everything in some sense of order.

She brought to mind of all the events in her life, or from her perspective... lives, both on earth and Equestria, in hopes that she could in a way use these to keep herself as she was at that moment. Every time she 'shifted' she was robbed of one set of memories or the other. Sometimes her life on earth was missing, and others her time life in Equestria was removed. Most times she was able to recall both lives and seemed to have no issues telling the difference between them. Dash pondered why this was happening, what could cause it and most importantly how to fix it. Was it magic? Did she take a blow to the head and can’t remember it? Maybe she had a brain tumor. Was it a poison joke relapse? A half an hour passed and the two of them simply sat there in contemplation. Rainbow tried to make some sense of her situation, and Pinkie Pie struggled deeply with an issue that had plagued her for several years; on one occasion keeping her up all night. "This is maddening! Why can't I taste my tongue?!

At last Rainbow Dash turned to Pinkie Pie, seeing that she was deep in thought, RD touched her on the shoulder. Pinkie refocused on her friend and a small smile crossed her face.

"Thank you Pinkie."

"No problem Dashie. I'll always be here for you." She replied cheerfully, giving her blue friend a gentle hug. "What are you going to do now?"

Dash sighed and stood up on all four.

"Go home I guess. I don't know what else TO do."

Pinkie nodded in understanding and said, “I hope that you find help soon Dashie.”

Pinkie Pie’s peaceful expression melted into one of sad concern for her friend. An idea started to form in the back of her mind. If Dash wouldn’t seek help, she would do it for her.

“Me too Pinkie Pie, me too.”

Rainbow Dash climbed up on to the window sill and took flight. She slowly climbed into the air and veered towards her cloud home.

When she arrived, she let herself in and moved with purpose from the kitchen to the linen closet and her bedroom. Grabbing blankets and pillows, she filled her Saddle bags with toiletries, dishes, more food, and sundries. Mouthwash, can’t forget mouthwash. Really? Oat flavored? Sorry dad, it’ll have to do. She hoped she could gather everything and get back to her father before slipping into one of the other Rainbow Dash’s that she kept becoming. “Maybe if it’s going to happen, it should be here and I won’t freak out so bad.” She paused a moment at that thought. “Great now I’m starting to accept this BS.” Straightening her neck she gathered her courage and thought, “I can’t let it get the better of me.”

As she loaded her bags a quiet noise caught her attention. Unsure what it was that she actually heard she stopped what she was doing and listened carefully. Silence was her response. An eerie feeling crept into her head. Something was in her house with her, she could feel it. She threw her saddlebags on and made for the front door. A distant shout of pain stopped her in her tracks the fur down her spine started to stand on end. She turned and looked around at her empty home, straining to hear anything more.

“I’ve seen enough horror movies to know this is a trap.” She thought to herself. “There is NO way I’m going to find out what that was.” Bolstering her courage, she moved again to the front door. Almost immediately another cry of pain came to her hears, it was closer now, maybe even in the house. It sounded like a pony crying out in pain. Reaching the front door, she grabbed the handle in her mouth and opened it. A loud shout of anger called out, almost echoing with in the walls of the entryway to her home. She froze, shaking with adrenaline and some fear, she turned slowly to see who was screaming in her home. She saw nothing. Nopony was there yelling at her. She looked around, now she was more confused than anything else.

“Hello? Anyone there?” She whispered. Silence.

A familiar voice cried out loudly in pain startling her badly and causing her to yelp. After a moment she recognized the voice, it belonged to her father.

“OH GOD! Dad!” she gasped. Bolting out the front door she took to the skies and forced herself to fly as fast as she could manage. She headed straight to the lake and where her father was supposed to be. A dim beautiful rainbow trail peeled across the darkening sky. The light of day was nearly spent when the lake came into view. Much to her great relief she saw pops standing next to the lake. He appeared to be using his shirt as a towel to dry his hair. He was unharmed and there was no one else around. She pondered what she had heard. Thinking about it, she wasn’t completely certain that she’d actually heard anything; it could have all been in her head. Wonderful! I’m going completely bonkers.

“Dashie! You’re back.” Brian called waving up to her out as she landed on the sandy beach. He walked over to her but before he could say or do anything she dropped her bags to the ground and pulled her father into a tight hug.

“Aww Dashie... I’m happy to see you too.” He said a little surprised at her hug.

Recovering herself, she pulled away and playfully punched him in the shoulder, smiling broadly.

“Yeah yeah... whatever.” She said. “Don’t go and get all sappy on me.”

“Oh? Really now, is that how things are going to be?” He said with a gentle mocking in his voice.

As he looked at her closely, her eyes said she’d had a terrible day and was just covering. Knowing her as he did, he decided to play it off and let her be ‘the cool one’.

Eager to distract herself from her ever worsening condition, she looked at the area pops had cleared for his cabin, he’d even dug out the earth for the foundation.

“Wow dad this is looking great.” She said with a bit of awe in her voice.

“It’s not much yet. But tomorrow I’ll start to lay the foundation… I think. There's lots of good sized rocks around here too, and in the lake.” He stated with some pride.

Brian’s stomach growled. “Oops. Sorry about that. I think I’m hungry.” He said grabbing his belly with both hands.

Dashie smiled and told him he sounded like the old coffee pot they had when she was growing up. Rainbow Dash walked to her saddle bags and withdrew some of the food stuffs she had taken from her home. She had brought pasta with white sauce, some garlic bread and apples. Brian sat down lit a small camp fire and began to spread out the food. Dash passed him plates and he portioned out servings of food. The two of them ate mostly in silence, with the occasional smile or grunt of approval. Each had their own difficulty that day, and neither felt like talking too much.

After eating, Rainbow Dash unloaded the blankets and pillows. Brian was feeling exhausted and just wanted to sleep. After hurried good night’s they fell to sleep quickly.

The fire light dimmed to the sound of snores and whinnying. A pair of teal eyes on the edge of the forest appeared and watched the two. Dashie began to twitch in her sleep.

Chapter three

The morning sun broke over the horizon like a glorious yellow and orange wave. Brian groaned and rolled on to his back. Every muscle ached and his every movement made them cry out in agony. He tried to gather himself and sit up. His back was having none of it. Lying back down he looked over at his daughter. She slept soundly lying on her side. Taking a deep breath, Brian forced himself to sit up. A groan of pain escaped his lips. Reaching around himself he rubbed his lower back in a vain attempt to relieve the pain. Dashie awoke to a groaning sound. She looked around and took sight of her father rubbing his back.

“Over did it yesterday didn’t ya?”

“Oh my God Dash… I hurt all over.” He laughed a little. “I afraid to stand up.”

She nodded knowingly and stood up on all four, stretched her legs and wings.

“YOU didn't stretch at all did you?”

“No...” he replied quietly.

“Aren't gonna do that again are ya?”

Chuckling he said that he’ll never forget again.

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings rapidly and began her morning workout routine. She bolted up and over the water. Banking around in a tight circle she began to do laps around the lake.

Brian groaned and complained as he stood up, halting only once as his legs slowly came back to life. Pointing himself towards the woods he tottered and weaved his way to the edge of the forest for his morning business. He came back to see Dashie having set up breakfast for them both.

“Oh fantastic Dash, I’m starving.” He said with eagerness in his voice. He sat in the sand grunting as he did so.

“You sure took a while in there. I was afraid I was gonna have to call SaR.” She teased.

“Ha-HA.” He said dryly. “Can you bring some TP next time?”

Dash snorted and giggled. “Sure dad. I’ll see what I can do.” Then looking at him with a grin she asked, “Leaves?”

“Leaves.” He said nodding.

Through a mouth full of breakfast, Dashie mentioned that she would be back at lunch with more food. Gulping the last of her meal she hugged her pops warmly and headed off to work.

Brian ate slowly and restarted the fire. Staring into the fire bleary eyed he thought. What I wouldn't give for a cup of coffee. Finally, he finished eating, stood up and gathered his tools. Today he would need to gather rocks and if he was quick about it he wanted to cut down some trees. That meant going into the forest. He glanced towards the Everfree with trepidation. Dashie’s words of warning about the forest echoed in his head. His mind began weaving together weird scenarios about what could be living in the forest. Imaginations played and danced in his brain. The many ways he could get killed, maimed or mutilated played their macabre visions in his mind’s eye. Banishing these foolish ideas, Brian did the best thing he could; he decided that caution was going to be the order of the day… and his axe.

Work was slow to begin with; his body ached and complained in a symphony of pain and cramps. Rocks were bountiful in and around the lake though. He gathered them in a slow but constant pace. As morning wore on, the speed of his endeavor increased. Gradually his muscles stopped their incessant whining and complaining. Late-morning saw the fruit of his labors. A large pile of stones to use as a foundation, all he needed now was some mortar or cement to bind them together. Pondering this he recalled that mud could be used in place of proper mortar. Glancing at the lake he smiled and set about digging a hole to mix mud and sand. This might work. The stones are large enough that their weight should hold them together. The mud would act as filler. Heck yeah! Everything is coming up Brian! He filled the hole with muddy clay from the lake. He mixed it with sand and did his best to get a good thick consistency. Satisfied that the mixture would work, he started to build the foundation. Pulling rocks from the pile he would check the shape and decide where to put it. He’d laid a hundred stone or so, and realized that it was going to take far more than he had originally thought. He sighed and resigned himself to the idea he might not make a sojourn into the forest today.

A noise from the forest caused him to pause. It didn’t sound like the birds or rustling of leaves in the wind; this had a distinct quality to it. It sounded like a footfall. Perhaps something had taken notice of the activity and wanted to find out if he was good to eat. Setting down the rock in his hands, he grabbed his axe and listened closely. An instinct seemed to take over, he wasn’t thinking as much as reacting to the perceived threat. He held his axe close to his chest and stared intently at the surrounding forest. No longer a fun place to hide out in, it had taken on the shape of a forbidding place that in all honesty could cause him harm or death. These weren’t natural woods after all. When no more unusual sounds presented themselves he relaxed more and more. Finally settling down, he laid his axe on the ground nearby and resumed his examination of the stones and sorting through them by size and shape. He had to remind himself that while he was relatively safe here, he needed to be careful; this was not a place to let your guard down, axe or no. Yeah… I’m not going in there today.

In the forest, just beyond his sight, the figure with teal eyes seemed to relax as Brian decided to stay away from the woods that day.

Dash felt better today as she plowed north to assist a newer weather team. They had been recently commissioned by the weather service and although well trained they lacked experience. She had volunteered to show them some of the more advanced techniques she had honed over the years. The volunteer work also came with a bonus for her at the end of the week, a three day weekend. Meeting the new team was a chance for her to really dig into her work and shove a lot of the weirdness of the past few days to the back of her mind.

Working with the new weather team taxed her patience but over all they were good at what they were doing and learned quickly. The team lead was a capable head strong mare. Dash liked her almost immediately. She had chosen an older stallion as her number two, what he lacked in experience he made up for in raw power. She had decided to show them more efficient ways of moving large cloud banks. They had wrangled together a number of smaller cloud clusters into a large mass and were waiting for her to direct them when she seemed to ‘zone out’ and stopped talking.

“Ms. Dash? Are you alright?” The team leader asked. Dash hovered there seemingly unaware that she had been asked a question. The team lead flew over to Dash and asked again. When no response was forthcoming, she looked to the others on the team. They came over to her and began asking her if she was hurt or needed help. For a very long minute Dash stared off into space. Unblinking, unmoving apart from her wings keeping her aloft. When it became obvious that she was unresponsive the team lead took it upon herself to handle this situation, after all this was something she had trained for.

“We need to get her out of here.” She ordered her second in command to escort Rainbow Dash to the local WMMO office, and seek medical attention. Training would have to wait for another day.

“Now get into position!” Dashie yelled, startling the others. The weather team stared at her mostly in shock. Glancing around, Dash furrowed her brow at the scene.

“What are you all doing floating around for? This isn’t a pic-nic ladies!” In her mind Dash tried to place what she was doing with this weather team she’d never met before, and why she felt like she needed to be yelling at them. Silently she started to panic. Getting a hold of herself, she studied the situation. It clearly looked like a training exercise. A voice broke her train of thought.

“Ma’am are you okay?” The Team lead asked.

“Of course, why wouldn't I be?”

“It’s just… well ma’am… you just stopped talking and stared off into space for a long time…”

Dash looked uneasy. She had to play it cool and confident. She shoved her rising embarrassment aside and took a mildly aggressive attitude.

“Don’t worry about it. You have training to get too.” She stated with mock confidence. “Now get back out there!”

The weather team tentatively took their positions and waited for orders, each having differing degrees of uncertainty about the great Rainbow Dash. Dash guided them and tried to instruct them as best she could. The stress of her situation had taken its toll on her ability to concentrate. But she was Rainbow Dash and she wasn't about to let a few little lapses in memory keep her from doing her job. Refocusing her efforts she carefully gave them the benefits of her years of experience. Concentrating on the task at hand made time pass quickly for her, the day was nearly at and end when it occurred to her that these pegasi weren't half bad. They paid attention and followed her instructions to the letter. She was feeling better about them now. These guys were gonna be pretty darn good. After all they had her to show them the ropes. Dash smiled to herself in pride.

The weather team thanked her for her time and invited her to dinner, as a way of showing their gratitude for the training. She pondered this for a few moments, Yeah... Dinner sounds really good right now. Then it struck her like a ton of bricks. Her mind twisted and flipped like it had never before, grabbing at her head she gasped and lost control of her wings. She fell. Surprised at the turn of events, the team lead and her number two dived after the out of control Rainbow Dash. Coming alongside the tumbling pony, they carefully grabbed her and slowed her decent bringing her into a hover. She was mostly limp but struggling feebly.

“It’s okay Ms. Dash we have you. We are taking you to hospital.” The team lead said. The other members of the weather team arrived and surrounded Rainbow Dash. Quiet mumbling became louder and louder. Dash woke up and looked around. Blinking a few times she saw what was going on and struggled free of the other ponies. Popping open her wings she took control of her flight.

“Ma’am what is the matter?” the team lead asked, staring her in the face. Worry was written across Dash’s visage. Then it was gone.

“Nothing is the matter!” Dash stated hesitantly. Thinking quickly she followed up her statement with a cleaver cover story.

“That was the last part of your training! Aerial rescue and recovery.” Dash looked at their faces to see if any of them were buying it.

“Aerial rescue and recovery?” Number two questioned, unsure if he believed her.

“Yep, real world situation right there! You are just flying along and BAM! Somepony falls out of the sky. You guys did well too. I didn’t fall very far at all before you had me. I’m gonna put in a good word with your super about this.” Dash was on roll now.

The weather team seemed to start to buy it after the ‘good word’ was mentioned. After a few pointers on the ‘proper’ way to recover a falling Pegasus, Dash had the team convinced it was a health and safety drill and that it was something they spring on weather ponies from time to time.

During their discussion someone’s stomach growled and it reminded Dash that she had forgotten to bring dad lunch today. She quickly excused herself, apologizing that she couldn’t join them for dinner. Parting ways with the new weather team, she headed home. Mentally she was kicking herself. How could I have completely forgotten about dad’s lunch? Then it occurred to her, for most of the day she didn’t remember her father at all. A cold dread stabbed at her belly. All day? This problem was getting worse. A deep sense of alarm resounded in her. If she forgot for half a day this time, what would happen if she forgot for a few days or weeks? She started to whimper at the thought of her father cold and hungry, sitting in the woods alone wondering where she was and what had happened to her. She banished the errand thought and flew faster to Ponyville.

To her relief several shops were still open when she arrived. Trying to be as fast as she could without looking overly suspicious, she purchased a variety of foods stuffs, a newspaper and the all-important T.P. Quickly making her way out of the market and taking to the air heading for her father’s home. The flight was punctuated by a moment of clarity as she flew. For a few brief seconds her mind cleared of a fog she wasn’t even aware she was in. The obvious truth was staring her in the face. The simple fact was, she wasn’t well and she knew it. Something HAD happened when Twilight had tried to give Dash, her original memories; and she didn't know what she could do about it. For the moment she needed to play it cool and pretend nothing was wrong. She’d just keep going with the flow as she found herself in whatever situations. I’ll find a way to fix this. I’m a frikken element of harmony for crying out loud. Momentarily satisfied with this half cooked plan, she saw the lake in the distance and began her decent. Dad would be hungry and she’d still need to explain why she didn't show up at lunch like she’d said she would.

The chair wasn't a great one but it was something that he had built with his own two hands. He looked it over and felt a swell of pride at his handiwork. It really wasn't a brilliant chair; it was a rather great stool though, with a basic back and the legs were all nearly the same length. In the sand of the beach that didn't matter much. Functioning as intended. He gave a small smile and sat down in the chair, to ‘test it’. The simple, functional structure took his weight without cracking or falling apart. He stretched and leaned back as far as he dare.

Leaning back he surveyed the work he’d finished on his dwelling. For the most part the basic structure of the foundation was complete. The lines were mostly straight and it would work for what he needed. Tomorrow he would gather trees. The thought of entering the forest was still a daunting one, but needs must as the devil drives.

Rainbow Dash slowed her decent as she approached the lake. It was clear to her that her pops had been very busy today. There was a short rectangular stone wall that marked off the perimeter of his home. He sat in a simple makeshift chair that was made from the end of a log. A small pile of firewood had been cut and stacked nearby. She landed not far from him and approached quietly. A soft snoring could be heard as the distance between them closed. A smile crossed her face. Watching him sleep she sat in the sand a meter away. She caught a whiff of him, he was absolutely filthy today and it showed.

“I have to remember soap! “ She reminded herself.

Covered in sandy clay from head to toe, he had definitely been busy. She thought fondly of him as she watched him doze. In some ways they were alike, then he did raise her as his own. She wondered what he was like before he found her. Was he happy? Did he have lots of friends? What were grandma and grandpa like? Did he love them like she loved her? He hardly ever spoke of his past. He was hard working and most importantly he was loyal. He’d never let her down if he could help it. Pondering her situation she entertained the idea of telling him everything that was happening to her. She trusted him more than she had previously realized. She knew in her heart he would do anything he could to help her, even face the princess. He’d put his own life at risk to help her. She wanted to tell him, but the concerns surrounding his even being here stopped her. She wouldn’t risk it, she wouldn’t risk him. She would have to handle this in her own way. “I guess I’m nearly as stubborn as you are old man.” Having resolved this in her heart, she drew a deep breath, stood up and poked him in the shoulder playfully.

“Hey there sleeping beauty! Dinner time.” She said smiling.

Gasping a little in shock, he blinked and let his vision focus on the single most important thing in his life. She stood there, smiling brightly at him; the pony that had brought him back from the brink. In preserving her life, he had saved his own. He yawned deeply and stretched.

“Oh hey. Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” He said still groggy.

“It’s cool pops.” Then her mood changed to embarrassment. “Sorry I didn’t stop in for lunch. I got an opportunity to teach some newbies how cloud busting was really done.”

Standing up Brian yawned again. “It’s okay. I figured you got caught up in something. What’s for dinner?” He playfully tussled her mane, intentionally getting dried mud all over it. She complained for a second before shaking the mud off. Laughing at him she bumped into his legs causing him to stumble. They went back and forth at each other, each delighting in the other’s company as father and daughter.

The two sat and chatted over dinner, mostly about the building project and where it was going and how long it would take. The sun began set and the two of them continued to talk about the various activities of the day, how Dash ‘trained’ the new weather team. How much she felt she had to teach. Brian explained how clay could be used as filer in the foundation. Their conversation wore on into the night. When at last they had retired for the evening; the sweet, warm air helped lull them into a peaceful and well-earned sleep.

Chapter four

Dawn came too early for Brian, new aches and pains greeted him as he came to full consciousness. He laughed to himself, this was getting old now. How long would it be before he stopped waking up feeling like this? Sitting up he looked for Dashie. He saw where she’d been sleeping next to him, but in her place was a note written in the sand about having to be to work before sunup and she’d be away till dark. To please be safe and she loved him. Standing to his feet, he grabbed the newspaper Dash brought the night before, folded it in half and sharply snapped it under his armpit. In his other hand he held a smallish white roll of soft paper. With a confidence in his step he walked in to the woods.

Returning much later, he relit the fire and rummaged around camp making breakfast and generally trying to wake up without coffee. Today he needed to cut down trees for his home. As he ate, he steadied his nerves and reminded himself that he needed to be calm and not get freaked out by every little thing he heard and saw. His mind of course betrayed him on the point. Visions of Timberwolves and Manticores invaded his private thoughts. Showing him a variety of gory ways he would be dismembered. Dash would search for days, only to finally find a bloody piece of ripped up clothing. Mourning the loss of her father she would become an old spinster, never marry or become a Wonderbolt. His mind accelerated the fantastic nature of his imaginations until they became ludicrous. Growing irritated at himself, he pushed these thoughts out of his mind and continued to ‘get ready’.

He had puttered around camp far longer than he needed too, ‘preparing’ to go logging. Staring in to the forest, he figured it was now or never. Squaring his jaw he grabbed his axe and marched into the Everfree, going further than he had ever gone before. That now more familiar feeling washed over him as it had every morning. Magic. Walking into the woods he kept a wary eye out, making a mental note of certain large trees and landmarks so he could find his way back. Wandering around for a short time he started to relax and the natural beauty of the Everfree started to become obvious. Huge tangled trees and lush ground cover spread out in all directions. It really was quite impressive.

He hacked a mark into the trunk of a tree to indicate the direction he had come from. Shortly after, he fell his first tree. A small mostly straight fir from the look of it, then again he couldn’t tell the difference between a pine, fir or cedar trees. He decided that this was going to be a fir tree. It wasn’t nearly has hard to log as he thought it would be. Until he tried to move it; it took a little bit to figure out if he limbed it and cut it to length, it was far easier to drag it back to camp. Happy with the results, he began to repeat this process for the better part of the day. Too his surprise and relief no horde of monsters came to see what the noise was all about.

Dash was very tired as she flew to work; her sense of direction was nowhere near as sharp as normal, several times she caught herself getting off course. Being on time today was important. It was the third Friday of the month and she had to be there early for another in a series of long boring budget meetings.

The big wigs from Cloudsdale would be there today and she had to file briefs on the current and future weather in the greater Ponyville area. Some of their budget would be based on her reports. She dreaded the idea of even having these meetings, much less having to make a contribution to them. Her super had told her that becoming the team lead for the Ponyville weather crew came with a pay raise and a few more responsibilities. What he didn’t mention was she’d have paperwork by the flank load. Thankfully she finished these reports weeks ago.

Landing at the WMMO, she was greeted by other team leads from all over the Central Equestrian Region. They met in a dull windowless room to give their briefs. On the plus side coffee and doughnuts had been provided. Several hours passed as one after another boring weather related summary was given. Thankfully hers was a short but to the point version of the same thing they had endured all morning. The delegation from Cloudsdale seemed to take her narrative well enough, and thanked her for the report. Feeling better about the situation she looked over to her boss to see if he would give her the go head to leave. She still had other duties to take care of. He noticed her and waved to her signaling she needn’t stay for the remainder of the meeting. Smiling to herself in relief, she returned to her seat and grabbed her saddle bags off the floor. Tossing them on she started to leave. She stopped in mid stride. A sick feeling came over her. She felt it coming, like a sparkling in her mind. This was stronger, more tangible than any other before it. She could feel it bodily this time, a twisting and pitching of her mind. She let out a pitiful childlike cry for help. The floor felt like it was racing up to meet her. Flailing wildly trying to catch herself she blacked out.

When she relaxed and ‘came too’, she found that she was in the big meeting room at the WMMO. There were several dozen team leads here, and they were all staring at her. She gulped and smiled nervously. Her boss marched over grabbed hold of her under a foreleg and forcibly walked her out of the meeting.

Once in the hallway he turned on her. His eyes narrowed in anger, his wings flared out as he spoke.

“What the hay is your problem Dash? You have been acting like freak for the last several days, and I wanna know what’s going on!” his voice rose in volume as he verbally accosted her.

Rainbow stood there shocked at his verbal assault.

“I have no idea what you are talking about?” she stated growing angry.

“What I’m talking about?! What do you call what happened in there then?” He said pointing to the meeting room. “You started flailing around and started yelling for your dad.”

“What? I did not.” She said slightly alarmed that he’d accuse her of that kind of behavior. She clearly remembered… something; something about falling or swimming maybe. She blinked trying to bring back what she could about the meeting hall. Everything felt normal, just a little fuzzy. Then again she had troubles not falling asleep in these meetings.

“Are you listening to me?! Her boss yelled. Dash focused on him and nodded. “Good. Now get your flank straighten out by Tuesday or I’m going to be forced to pull you off busting duty until you can show me that you aren’t going to freak out again. Got it!?”

“Yes sir.” She barked standing to attention.

“Now get out of here before I transfer you to firewatch.”

Rainbow turned crisply and made her way to the main office to grab her work sheet for the day. A strange feeling persisted in her mind, a niggling idea that she had forgotten something. Brushing the feeling aside, she left the WMMO to tend to her duties as the best cloud buster Ponyville ever had. She was after all the best flyer around and pretty amazing.

Rainbow felt on top of the world all day, everything was falling right into place; the air was calm, none of the clouds gave her any trouble; all in all it was turning into a near perfect day. A rainstorm had been scheduled for the afternoon, and she had it set up in record time. Proud of her work, she decided to quit early. The afternoon was still young when Rainbow Dash bolted off to find a tree to nap in before the rain was to start. She found one of her favorite places to kick it for a while. Settling down, she dosed off rather quickly.

Rainbow once read that dreams are an elusive and funny affair; they can be many things to many persons. They speak to us about ourselves more often than we might otherwise like to admit. Dreams, it is said, are the language of the soul. Dash never bought into that ‘hogwash’, to her dreams were just your imagination running wild. On the rare occasions she could remember her dreams they were of her winning a competition or showing off her amazing moves to the Wonderbolts, them being impressed and begging her to join. This dream however was altogether different. She sat on a small, grassy hill overlooking an open field that seemed to go on into eternity. Here and there in the distance trees dotted the landscape. A light fog clung to the ground as the sun just crested the horizon. She closed her eyes, and she could feel the heartbeat of the earth. The sun warmed her face and she smiled. Complete peace flowed around and through her. Everything here including herself was for lack of a better word, perfect. She existed in this bliss for a moment or a hundred years, to her it was the same. A rumble of distant thunder rippled across the land. Opening her eyes, she could make out a dark line of clouds in the far distance obscuring the morning sun. She stared at the clouds unfazed by their presence. Another peel of thunder, this one however sounded like a voice was in the rolling sound. Tilting her head to the side she strained to hear more clearly. Moments later another clap of thunder echoed across the land, closer now. There was defiantly a voice there. What was it saying though? A cool wind picked up, blowing her mane around her face. A voice crashed around her.

“Rainbow Dash! Wake up!” Applejack yelled for the third time.

Dash snapped awake bleary eyed and exhausted. Blinking, she turned and looked down to the source of the voice.

“Oh. Hey Applejack.” She croaked.

“Rainbow Dash. Isn't there something you ought to be doin' right now?”

“Yeah. Sleeping.” Rolling over she tried to settle back down.

“RAINBOW DASH! Git yer flank out of that tree right now, before I come up there and git ya down mahself.”

Rolling back to face Applejack Rainbow Dash grew annoyed.

“You was supposed t’have this rain started half an hour ago. Now git moving!” She stomped her hoof to emphasize her point.

Thinking back, Rainbow thought about her work order for that day. She vaguely recalled something about a storm, or was it supposed to be clear today. Everything suddenly pitched and reeled, she thought she was falling out of the tree. Her head went fuzzy and her mind tingled. Then as suddenly as it started, it stopped and her thoughts clicked into place. She remembered that the rain was supposed to be started in the afternoon. She drew a deep breath realizing she had spent nearly the whole day as that other Rainbow Dash. The one that never knew her human father, the one that was carefree and blissfully unaware of someone who loved her more than his own life. Applejack was right though, she did need to get the rain started.

“Darn it!” she yelled as she bolted out of her napping tree.

Applejack sighed rolling her eyes. “That girl better get her act together.” She thought to herself.

Dash shot up in the sky and began to bust lose the rain from the clouds. Once the rain had begun it would essentially run itself out by the following morning. There was nothing else for her to do now.

She felt tired, a weariness that seemed to come from deep inside. She had been tired before, to the point of exhaustion. This was different; this was a weariness of her soul. Collecting her thoughts she decided to go back to pops place, eat and get some shut eye. She could deal with her paperwork later. Right now all she wanted was to rest.

The flight to the lake was little more than a blur. Drawing closer to the camp, she saw her father sitting in his chair looking at the beginnings of an actual log cabin. It wasn’t very tall yet, but the simple structure was coming along. It lacked the creative beauty of the homes and businesses in town, but it would be a home none the less. In fact it would be a great home, because he was there.

Dash set down on the shore line drawing the attention of her father. They greeted each other and he began to excitedly tell her about the events of his day. How he’d braved the Everfree to gather logs, cutting them to length, and fitting them one to another. His excitement was contagious. Enough so that Dash started to feel better. Having him here made her feel right. When she was around him, she felt as though the world was good again and all the troubles of her day began to melt away. They continued to talk as dinner was prepared.

Brian reclined proudly in his makeshift seat. The firelight cast shadows behind him on the short walls of the log cabin. They danced and weaved about in tune with the flickering of the flames.

Dash was lazily, but carefully telling him of her day, while eating an apple left over from dinner. As she talked, Brian’s mind drifted back to when she was younger. The night he’d found her, the first time she had experienced a thunderstorm and shivered as she lay curled up against him on their couch. His mind continued to wander through their past as he listened to her. When she had finished, he looked at her with a huge smile. A certain memory had come to his mind and he wanted to relive it with her.

“I remember when you were about five maybe six. I gave you a CD of the Muppets songs...”

“Oh yeah! I remember that.” Rainbow Dash said cutting him off in her excitement as she smiled back at him.

Nodding and chuckling Brian continued, “I came into the living room one afternoon and you were at the coffee table colouring or something, and you were singing.” He said, his smile growing larger.

“Aww jeeze dad.” She said blushing.

“I watched you singing that… for like five minutes. You were off in your own little world.“ He sighed as he reminisced. “You used to sing it all the time. Do you remember what the name of the song was?”

“Rainbow Connection.” Dash said in a full blush now.

“Ha-ha, that’s right. You still remember how it goes?”

“Yeah. I’ll never forget it.” Dashie closed her eyes and started humming the tune, and then she began to sing.

Brian closed his eyes, put his hands behind his head and listened to his daughter’s voice, a wide grin formed across his face.

Why are there so many, songs about rainbows…

And what’s on the other side...

Rainbows are visions, but only illusions....

and rainbows have nothing to hide....

In her reverie she didn't feel it coming this time. Her mind pitched and twisted, tearing away the Dash that loved her father; the warm feelings of family melted in to a strange unfamiliar fear.

Her voice trailed off, as she stared wide eyed in horror at the creature that sat reclined across a campfire from her. What the heck IS that thing? Why was she sitting across from it? Confused and frightened she quickly turned and ran.

Brian opened his eyes to see Dash turning around and bolt away from the unfinished cabin. Sitting up he called out to her.

“Dashie? What’s wrong? DASHIE?

Confused and a little hurt Brian ran in to the night calling after her.

“Dashie!” Brian yelled, as she disappeared into the night sky.

“Dashie? Where are you going?” Brian stood on the shore of the lake calling out. When she hadn't returned a few minutes later, he turned back towards his unfinished cabin and sat down confused as to what had just happened.

How does that THING know my name? Dash thought as she raced towards her cloud home. What is going on? One second I’m sitting in... a… where was I? Her thoughts confused, Dash struggled to remember where she last was, before finding herself in front of a hairless monster. Confusion dominated her mind; a fuzzy fog prevented her from recalling anything coherently. Flying on Dash saw town in the distance. Here and there a few lights dotted town. Looking closely at sugar cube corner, Dash could see the light on in Pinkie Pie’s room. Changing her heading she flew straight to the pink pony’s home. Landing with an ungraceful thud on the window sill Rainbow looked in and called out to her friend. Pinkie sat at her desk reading a letter.

“Pinkie! There is a monster or something out at the lake. We need to get Twilight and the others and go see what it’s up too!” Dash looked expectantly at Pinkie Pie. Her calm demeanor confused Dash. She stood up from her desk and slowly walked over to the window.

“Pinkie? What’s wrong? We need to go right now!”

Pinkie looked at her friend and asked, “Tell me exactly what you saw Dashie.” Her calm tone further confused Dash.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Very serious. Tell me what you saw.”

“Pinkie we don’t have time for twenty questions! It was a hairless monster! Okay? If you won’t help I’m going to get twilight by myself.” She began turning to leave.

“Dash? Did you see your father?” Pinkie asked leaning towards her. Dash turned around in confusion.

“WHAT? My dad? Of course I didn’t see him. Ghaa! What is the matter with you? My dad is at home in Cloudsdale… working on his cabin…” Her words trailed off as a horrible realization started to dawn on her. Her mind felt like it was vibrating. Her voice was shaky and uncertain. “Uhh… he’s by the lake... In Cloudsdale…? Oh Celestia. Pinkie…?“ She swallowed hard. Her mind recalled entirely different facts about her two fathers and blended them into a mixed up collage of memories without rhyme or reason.

“What’s happening to me?” Her face was a vision of twisted desperation, her eyes plead for help. What felt like an oncoming sneeze rushed forward in her head and Dash felt a gentle untwisting in her mind. When it had passed and her recollection was 'normal' again she started to weep.

“Pinkie… help me... pleease.” The desperation in her voice tugged at pinkies already tender heart. “I can’t take this anymore. I don’t know who I am, am I from earth or here? Both? Or neither... who am I?” Clutching her hooves to her head she rocked back and forth on the window sill weeping out of desperation.

Pinkie pie reached out and gathered Rainbow into a hug, pulling her gently to the floor. Holding her tightly she cooed and tried to calm her best friend.

“It’s okay Dashie. You’re going to be alright. I’m here for you.” Pinkie's voice was soft and reassuring.

“What am I going to do Pinkie? I can’t go to Twilight or Celestia. They’d find out about dad. He’d be taken away from me.” A fresh wave of tears fell as Dash thought about losing her father again.

“There, there Dashie. Shhhhh...” Pinkie cooed. Taking a deep breath Pinkie looked at Dash with a hopeful expression. “Do you trust me?”

Dash took a moment to settle down. “Kind of.” She finally had to admit.

“I have a plan.” She stated confidently. "A plan to get you fixed up. Do you remember Little Strong Heart?”

“The buffalo girl out near Appleloosa? Yeah I remember her. At least I think it’s me that remembers her. I don’t know any more.”

“I wrote to her about what is going on…” Dash pulled away from Pinkie, anger rising up in her. “… and no I didn’t mention your dad, just that you were having problems with your memories.”

Relaxing slightly, Dash started to get a hopeful look on her face. “What did she say? Can she help?”

“She said that they have a new Medicine Bull in the village. And he agreed to help you sort out your memory problems.” Pinkie Pie said almost triumphantly. “It’s all in that letter.” Pinkie Pie pointed to an open letter on her desk.

Hope was clearly rising up in Rainbow. Hope that she might be able to be cured. A smile crossed her face. She needed this.

“When can we go? Right now?” Dash asked excitedly, as she stood up and flared out her wings ready to charge out the window.

“No silly. There aren't any trains to Appleloosa until tomorrow morning.”

“Oh… Okay. Then first thing tomorrow we are taking a road trip.”

“What’s a road trip?”

“Oh... umm never mind.” Dash said, and then wondered how she of all ponies wouldn't know what a road trip was. An embarrassing though popped into her head. She recalled the way she had bolted out of dad’s campsite, leaving him there without saying a word. Then again in her defense he was a monster in her eyes. Thinking quickly she came up with a clever idea. Looking at Pinkie, a mischievous grin crossed Dash’s face.

“How many cupcakes do you have?”

Holding a box of cupcakes in her hooves, Rainbow flew carefully towards her dad’s lakeside retreat. Feeling mortified for having taken off in such a way, she hoped to use the cupcakes as a cover for her momentary ‘lapse’.

Brian watched the skies as he grew more and more sleepy. She had taken off in such a hurry. Did I say something to upset her? In his searching and pondering a pale blue dot appeared in the sky grabbing his attention. Staring intently, he tried to make out if it was in fact Dashie returning. Slowly the dot grew and a rush of relief poured over Brian. It was Dash and she looked to be holding something in her fore hooves. He rushed over to where she had landed.

“Dash what happened? Where did you go?” He asked worriedly.

“What’s the big deal dad? I went to Pinkies to get us some treats!” She said with a false confidence, smiling from ear to ear as though nothing was the matter.

"You took off so suddenly... I was afraid I had said something to upset you." He said looking at the box Dash held out to him.

"Pffft, you worry too much, I just wanted to get us something yummy." She replied hoping that her false front was convincing enough to throw him off.

Taking the box in his hands, he looked at her with some suspicion. He thought about grilling her with questions. Looking into her magenta eyes he studied his daughter. Her eyes betrayed her, there was something up but she was ‘handling it’, as she would put it. He decided that whatever was really going on was either over or more likely she was not going to discuss it. Once she made up her mind it was near to impossible to get her to change it.

Opening the box, He gawked at the contents. They looked really quite appetizing. Smiling he thanked her and they both walked back to the cabin.

Rainbow realized her father knew something was up but wasn't going to pursue it. How did he do it? When she was little he could almost always tell when she was trying to pull the wool over his eyes. When she called him out on it all he'd say was, it's called ‘dad magic', maybe it really was. Slowly exhaling she joined pops next to the fire and dined on Pinkies confectionery delights. Curling up next to him she sighed deeply.

“I love you daddy.” She said quietly.

“Aww that was sweet of you. I love you too Dashie.” He said warmly, then petting her head. She wasn't normally so affectionate. Although the last week had been a stressful and trying time for the both of them. Maybe she needed someone to be there and reassure her that everything would be alright. Even she needed a rock from time to time. It was one of his jobs after all, to be her rock.

“Oh I have to go to Appleloosa tomorrow morning and won’t be back until Sunday night. Are you going to be okay without me?” She stated nonchalantly.

Brian feigned horror. “You’re leaving me again? Oh... whatever shall I do?” He laughed, dramatically holding his hand to his forehead.

Dash sat up and lightly popped him in the chest with her hoof. “Stop that. I’m serious. Do you need anything while I’m away?”

“Jeeze Dash, I’ll be fine. I’m a big boy now. I even trekked into the Everfree forest and survived.” He said smiling, then grunted a few times and thumped his chest like a gorilla, he seemed just a bit proud of himself.

“Okay then. I just wanted to make sure.” She lay her head back down, and finished eating her cupcake.

“Well, look at you being all grown up and responsible.” Brian said with a little pride in his voice.

Quietly, almost inaudibly she said, “I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Hearing her mumble under her breath Brian grinned and went back to eating his treat. The two lay there quietly eating until Brian yawned. Dash retrieved a blanket and tossed it over them. Settling down for the night she laid her head on him and allowed herself some much needed rest. She had a much to do tomorrow. Her father, overcome by his physical exertion that day, quietly dozed off.

The figure with teal eyes appeared at the edge of the forest again. A smile formed across the figures face. “You are almost there Rainbow Dash, just a little longer now.”

Rainbow Dash was sitting on a grassy hill top again, a blissful peace surrounded her. The golden meadow lazily pitched to and fro as if driven by wind she could not perceive. The foggy blanket across the landscape beneath her was beginning to break up. Here and there thin columns of mist rose up into the air. The sun was barely over the horizon. She stared into its light, relishing the sweet peace that seemed to pour out over this idyllic landscape. A moment passed, or was it a year? Time didn't matter or mean anything. Gradually she sensed a presence behind her, calmly she looked back. A smile of joy crossed her face, and the whole world around her brightened. Without saying a word he sat down next to her. By being here he brought the only thing that could make this place even better. She happily sighed and rested against him.

The two became aware of a path in front of them. The path worked its way down the little hill and joined a road. The road stretched off into the distance, like a delicate ribbon that lay out across the land. As if on que, they rose together and began walking.

Chapter five

Brian woke to Dash moving around. He cracked and eye and took note that it was still night out. Before he could speak, she quietly told him she was taking off. “Be safe and don’t do anything stupid.” He tried to respond like an intelligent and well-spoken person, but all that came out was a grunt and a series of mal formed words. She laughed a little and told him to go back to sleep. He closed his eyes and fell right back to slumber. Leaning in she kissed him on the forehead. Walking away as quietly as she could, she looked over her shoulder at the shape in the distance that was her father, the reason she was alive. The weight of that thought was not lost on her. Taking flight and heading to town, she held onto hope now. Hope that she would beat this and finally have her life back.

She met Pinkie Pie at the train station and bought two tickets for the 4:45 to Appleloosa.

The train arrived in Appleloosa late that afternoon a midst a cloud of seam and squealing breaks. A tan pony with a smart looking hat exited the train and began to open the doors to the passenger cars. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie exited the train with the other passengers on to the station platform. The platform was crowded with ponies waiting for family and friends.

The passengers mingled with the crowd on the platform, greeting each other warmly, children ran around adding to the din of the place. Laughter and joy surrounded Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie stayed close to her friend. She has seen the memory switches several times now and it bothered her deeply that her friend was having this happen to her. She only hoped that the Medicine Bull would be able to help Dash. Rainbow didn't react much to the noise and commotion of the others. She seemed lost in her own world, thoughts of having another ‘shift’ right here frightened her. Pinkie could see it in Dashie’s expression.

Out of the crowd Little Strong Heart walked up to the girls with a smile on her face.

“Hello again Pinkie Pie and you too Rainbow Dash.” She said her smile growing larger. “How is Mr. Spike?”

Pinkie Pie ran over and gave Little Strong Heart a huge hug in greeting.

“Did you miss us? I missed you. How’s the chief?” Pinkie Pie asked in rapid succession, her voice high and cheery.

She drew another breath to start another round of questions when Rainbow Dash put a hoof over her shoulder to remind Pinkie Pie that this wasn’t the best time for a barrage of questions. Pinkie Pie glanced at Rainbow Dash and remembered why they were here.

“It’s good to see you again Little Strong Heart.” Rainbow Dash said with a tired quality in her voice.

“We should get moving the Medicine Bull is waiting for you.” Little Strong Heart said looking at Rainbow Dash with concern. Rainbow Dash looked like she hadn't slept in days. Her wings drooped and she walked with her head held not quite as high as she normally would. She moved slowly, without purpose or drive. This was not the same pony Little Strong Heart had become friends with not so long ago. She looked terrible to be honest.

The trio walked slowly towards the Buffalo camp, letting Rainbow Dash set the pace. They spoke little along the way. Rainbow Dash wasn't in the mood, she quietly hoped that she would keep it together long enough to get to the Medicine Bull’s tipi and possibly get the help she needed. The last week was weighing on her heavily. The stress and seemingly little sleep these last few nights drained her of her normal exuberance and left her emotionally depleted and physically exhausted. Keeping her slow steady pace she let Little Strong Heart and Pinkie Pie lead the way. Rainbow Dash thought about the possibility that the Medicine Bull couldn't help her and that she would have to go to Twilight and get help. She didn't want to betray her father like that. She had made up her mind it was this or nothing, this has to work, it just had too.

An hour later the three saw the village come into view. A collection of tents greeted them; buffalo wandered to and fro tending to buffalo affairs. Little Strong Heart led them into the village, heading straight to the Medicine Bull’s tipi. Several of the villagers looked at the ponies with hesitation, or disdain, but none said anything or made a move to interrupt them. Little Strong Heart kept a close eye on the other villagers, ready to put herself between her pony friends and the villagers in the event any buffalo started trouble. To Rainbow Dash’s great relief, the locals decided to not challenge them.

Arriving at the tipi that belonged to the Medicine Bull, Pinkie Pie noticed the baskets of semi-precious stones that decorated the entrance, Onyx, Jasper, Tourmaline, Moonstone, Turquoise and Obsidian, all arranged tastefully around the entrance to the tipi.

“Wow! Spike would really love this!” Pinkie Pie shouted while staring at various arrangements of gems.

“He could eat till he looked like a little green beach ball.” She paused in thought. “Then his tummy would hurt like future spikes did…“ Her voice trailed off and a pained expression crossed Pinkie Pie face.

“I don’t want spikes little tummy to hurt.” She said sadly, and then turning to Rainbow Dash and Little Strong Heart she stood resolutely and declared, “We can’t let spike know about this!”

Little Strong Heart and Dash looked at Pinkie Pie confused.

“Okay Pinkie Pie. We won’t” Rainbow said cautiously. Little Strong Heart nodded in agreement.

“Good.” She replied slowly, eyeing them both suspiciously.

Little Strong Heart asked Pinkie Pie and Rainbow to wait outside while she went in to see if the Medicine Bull was ready to see Rainbow.

The girls agreed and sat to wait for Little Strong Heart to return. Dash lay down on the ground and sighed deeply. Wishing she could drift off to sleep and this would all be over when she woke up. She yawned and looked over to Pinkie Pie who was watching her with deep concern.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head Dashie; the Medicine Bull will fix you right up.” She stated with conviction.

“I hope you’re right.” Rainbow said defeated.

Pinkie Pie sat right next to Rainbow Dash and looked off into the distance. Just being there for her friend felt right but just in case she began to think of a way to get Rainbow Dash to tell twilight about what was happening if the Medicine Bull was unable to help her.

Dash lay there trying to focus, trying to get her game face on, when Little Strong Heart came out of the tipi, looked at Rainbow Dash and told her the Medicine Bull was ready and she should go in. Rainbow Dash slowly stood and thanked Little Strong Heart, giving her a light hug. Little Strong Heart returned the hug and walked over to Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie had stood to go with Rainbow Dash when Little Strong Heart put a hoof on her shoulder and shook her head.

“You can’t go with Rainbow. This is for her and her alone.”

Pinkie Pie looked at Little Strong Heart then to Rainbow Dash and back to Little Strong Heart opening her mouth to protest when Dash spoke up.

“It’s cool Pinkie Pie. I got this. Just wait here till I get back, K?”

“Okay Dashie.” She relented, setting aside her plans to go with Rainbow. As Dash turned to enter the tipi, Pinkie quietly said, “Please don’t forget me.” A sad look fell across Pinkie Pie’s normally cheery face. She looked as though she was seeing Rainbow Dash for the last time.

Rainbow Dash walked into the darkened tipi. It was a round conical one room dwelling about seven meters across with a pitched ceiling that was typical of buffalo’s homes. In the middle of the room was a small fire. On the walls were various paintings depicting buffalo running, more buffalo running, in fact all the paintings were of buffalo running. There was a small sitting pillow on the ground just ahead of her, and across the fire was the Medicine Bull.

An older buffalo with a fair degree of grey in his fur and beard, he felt huge and just a bit intimidating in the confines of the small tipi. He wore a traditional white feather headdress and had an ornate and beautifully crafted necklace made from the differing gems that the locals held any value for, and at its end a large polished crescent shaped moonstone in a sliver setting. The lines in his face hinted at many long years and seemed to hold secrets of the past. The Medicine Bull looked at Rainbow Dash and smiled at her. Motioning for Dash to sit on the pillow provided he spoke.

“What is the matter Rainbow Dash? How can I help you?” His voice was a deep baritone. He spoke slowly and with purpose. It had a calm quality to it, she felt reassured by its sound. In a way it reminded her of her father. She looked at him warily and fiddled with her hooves.

“Can you promise me that you won’t repeat anything I say, to anyone ever?”

He looked at her and a serious expression crossed his face. Reaching a hoof up he tapped the side of his nose twice and winked, a smile forming again.

Dash relaxed a little, and began to pick her words carefully. She wanted to pour out her heart but she was afraid of betraying her father. Slowly she began to tell the story of how she was sent to another “place” and had been made a child again. Found and raised by a different father, someone who wasn’t a pony and that he’d raised her for fifteen years. During those years away from Equestria she had no memory of her birth place. Then her friends brought her back to Equestria. In coming back she was given her memories of her birth place. Then quite suddenly however, she began to forget, she would forget her father. Rainbow Dash started to get teary when she thought about it.

As she told the Medicine Bull her tale, he never spoke or let on what he was thinking. After she had finished telling him all she was going to, she sighed heavily and looked at the large buffalo sitting across from her.

“So, can you help me?” Dash asked quietly.

The Medicine Bull sat there a moment and seemed to be thinking to himself. Then at last, he spoke.

“Perhaps.” He stated with a understanding tone in his voice.

She deflated noticeably and allowed her gaze to drift to the floor, this was not the answer she felt she needed right now.

“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked fearing what he might say next.

“Who are you?” the Medicine Bull asked plainly.

Rainbow Dash looked up to the Medicine Bull confused.

“Huh? Didn't Little Strong Heart tell you who I was? You were supposed to be expecting me.”

Dash was trying to process the question, when the Medicine Bull asked her again. “Who are you?”

Dash, stared at him, wondering what she gotten herself into. If he turned out to be some lunatic she was going make Pinkie Pie so sorry. Unsure of what the point of the question was, since he already knew who she was, Dash played along to see where this was going.

“My name is Rainbow Dash. I’m the element of friggin’ loyalty and friend to Princess Celestia.” She said with some frustration in her voice.

The MB pulled out a fat bundle of weeds bound tightly with string and tossed it on the fire, causing a thick, sweet smelling smoke to fill the tipi. The smell was familiar and strange at the same time. Dash breathed deeply trying to place where she had smelled it before.

“What was that?” She asked. “It smells so familiar”

“Who are you?” He replied in an even tone.

Her eyes started to burn and she was quickly losing patience with this so called medicine bull. “I just told you. I’m Rainbow dash, the best flyer in all of Equestria.” She yawned deeply.

A wave of drowsiness came over her. She wanted to be alarmed but she wasn't. She was in fact pretty much okay with everything right now. “What was in that? What are… youuuu…Doooo...” Rainbow Dash fell over backwards fully asleep. The Medicine Bull smiled gently and closed his eyes.

A shout in the distance woke Dash. She sat up and found herself in a dark and barren landscape. The sky was swollen and angry looking. Low clouds hung near the ground no more than twenty meters up, they looked like storm clouds heavy with rain. Rolling and boiling they appeared, in her professional opinion to be unnatural. Dash looked around for anything that might tell her where she was. In all directions there was quite literally nothing all around it was a flat barren wasteland. There was no sunlight or moon to be seen, yet she could make out the featureless land around her that faded in to darkness. The only light seemed to be coming from her, yet she herself was not glowing. Standing up she called out. Silence was her response. What the hell did that buffalo do to me?

“Hello!?” she called out louder, again there was only silence. Shrugging, she started to walk, calling out every few minutes. Time didn’t seem to pass yet she had a dim sense that hours were passing. She called out less and less frequently. When she figured she was completely lost she heard a cry in the distance to her left. Perking up her ears, she turned to the source of the noise and began to trot towards it.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” she shouted into the dark. Far away she could make out a pool of light. Picking up her pace she moved more quickly to the light. She began to notice movement within the light, and a shout of anger reached her ears, then another, and another. It sounded like someone was fighting, she was sure of it. The sounds she was hearing were definitely of a fight. Running now, she could clearly see two figures locked in hand to hand combat. The shock came when she recognized that one figure was her father. The tall shape was clearly a human and the sound of the voice clinched it that was definitely her pops. She ran faster to get to him, to help him, if he was in trouble she had to help. Anger rose up in her at the thought of someone hurting him, and she’d be the one to rain down hell on the one who dared harm her daddy.

The troubling scene became more so for her when she recognized who pops was fighting with. The stallion with a rainbow mane and tail were a dead giveaway as too who this was, it was her birth father, Spectrum Dash. What in the hell is going on? She ran closer until she was no more than five meters away from the two of them. They were fighting like rabid cats. Smashing each other with hoof and fist, knee and leg, they kept at each other neither side backing down or giving up.

“Stop it! Both of you stop it!” Dash cried out. The sight of her father hurting, well... her father, tore at her heart. Everything in her needed to stop this madness.

Neither one listened to her as she yelled again and again to stop fighting. Finally she was fed up and ran into the fray to put an end to this nonsense. Leaping at them she grappled with both in an attempt to separate the two. Putting herself in front of one made him sidestep her and go for the other. She tried again and again to intervene or stop them. To her great disappointment and frustration she couldn't keep them from trying to hurt the other

Finally she decided to just knock one down and cover him bodily to protect him. She chose Spectrum as it would be easier to cover him and keep him down. Humans were too slippery. Years of wrestling with pops taught her that if a human wanted to they could be very dexterous, more so than she would have liked to admit. He would have a clear advantage over her if he chose too. She leapt at Spectrum crashing into him full force knocking him to the ground. There was a light rumble of thunder in the distance. Pops took this as an opportunity to land several massive well placed kicks to his opponents head. Screaming at Brian to stop it Dash scolded him without reservation. He stopped his attack and for a moment the fighting had ceased. A dim awareness formed in her mind, she could feel her memories of Equestria slipping away. Like a slow motion movie in her mind, she saw and felt memories slipping away, it had the same sensation as the beginning of a 'shift', just slower. In the shock of the moment she failed to notice that Spectrum lashed out and a hoof connected with her head. She was tossed through the air and landed hard on the ground a few meters away.

Looking back at the two fighting full force again, she tried to recall her memories of Equestria, they had begun to return. An idea started to coalesce, and she realized something that seemed very important. As one of them started to overpower the other, one set of memories overwhelmed the other. Her idea fully formed and Dash figured out a way to bring the fighting to an end. She stood up and squared her jaw. Calmly she stated “You two won’t stop fighting so neither deserves to be my father.” The sky above seemed to get slightly less angry, and the rolling boil of the clouds slowed.

Both fathers stopped immediately. They turned and looked at her. Seeing how they were paying attention to her now she addressed them. “There. That wasn't so bad now was it?” She said with a cocky attitude.

The image of Brian stepped towards her and spoke.

“Dashie." He flashed one of his warm dad smiles. " My little Dashie. You deserve only the best…“ Pops words were cut off by her birth father.

“She is NOT your little Dashie!” Turning to Rainbow, Spectrum continued “Don’t listen to him RD. He is an alien! A foreigner! He can never love you like I can.”

“You know that’s not true Dashie. I gave up everything to be with you. I traveled across space and time to be here, to be here with you. Doesn’t that count for something? Don't I matter more than this absentee sire?"

“You are not a Pegasus!” He cried out in anger. “You can’t give her the love and care she needs. She needs to be with her own kind. Not with a hairless freak of nature. You can’t even fly!”

“She was sent to me! I found her! She’s my daughter!” Pops yelled back at Spectrum, and then turned to Rainbow “Dashie, I raised you from a baby, I love you. I am your father. No matter what, I will always be your father. When I found you in that box, you saved my life Dashie.”

“How can you consider this THING to be a father RD? He isn't able to understand what it means to be a Pegasus. How could he ever teach you anything about what that truly means? We are a proud, fierce people. Can he teach you about what it really is to be a Pegasus? NO! He’s an alien, with no family of his own. He is a usurper, a charlatan… a babysitter.”

“Dashie, please…” Pops voice trailed off.

Dash held back tears as she studied the two of them standing there. Mulling over what to say she looked at her pops and smiled. Spectrum took the opportunity and blindsided Brian with a hoof to the side of his head. He fell to the ground hard. Rolling over onto his back, Brian planted both feet into Spectrums gut as he descended on him sending him flipping through the air.

They continued to clash with each other, never giving up, never relenting seemingly forever locked in a struggle. Rainbow sat down and stared at the ground in frustration. She felt trapped in this personal hell. They would never stop and she would get worse and worse until she went nuts. Not knowing what else to do, she wept. Her idea hadn't worked as well as it was supposed to.

“I want to wake up now… please.” She spoke very softly.

A quiet voice caught her attention, it was just behind her. She wanted to look, but she didn't dare. The fur along her spine stood on end, uncannily she was afraid of who it might be.

"Who. Are. You.” The voice was calm and yet full of conviction, if she had to guess, whoever it was, was smiling as they spoke. A giddy sense of understanding bloomed in her mind and heart. Her eyes went wide and she gasped as something in her clicked. “I AM Rainbow Dash…”

She slowly stood and faced her warring fathers, the light around her brightening as she did so. Drawing in a deep breath she focused on the both of them.

“EEENOUGH!”

The Royal Canterlot voice had nothing on what had bellowed out of Rainbow Dash. Like thunder directly overhead, her voice crashed and boomed out into the dark night around them, the sheer volume kicked up dust around Dash. The two fathers stopped in mid swings, staring at her wide eyed. Shock and fear were etched in their faces. A rolling echo of her exclamation came back and reinforced her position. The clouds began to peel back slowly and the beautiful night sky spread out from directly above Rainbow. With a deep confidence she strolled up to the two of them. A confidence she hadn't felt in so very long.

“I have had enough of you two!” Stamping her hoof on the ground, a light roll of thunder rippled out across the sky.

“RD I was…” Spectrum started and was cut off with a look, a look that dared him to speak again. He bowed his head and was silenced.

“This is how it is going to go down.” She stated firmly. “I am in charge!” She shouted at the both of them. From above, a roll of her thunder applauded the statement “Capiche?” Slowly she walked back and forth in front of them “All these memories are mine and mine alone. I am not one or the other. I am, and have been the sum of both. I understand that now.”

“Dashie, you don’t have to…” She turned on Pops glaring at him.

“You two don’t get it do you? I am the one in the driver’s seat. I call the shots! You do as I say, not the other way round. You obey me! And I say you both are GOING to live together peacefully!” she stamped her hoof again to emphasize the point. The ripple of thunder helped send the message home. “I love you both.” Pointing to Spectrum she said, “You taught me to be an amazing flyer. What it means to really be a Pegasus, to live fierce and free. And you,” she pointed too her pops. “You raised me to be the best person I could be. You taught me to love someone other than myself. I am more different than either of you know. I am better because of both. I am more than I could have ever been alone. However, I need both of you, not one over the other, I need both together.” She paused a moment to let her words sink in. “As equals. Do you get it yet?”

The images of the two of them stood there silently a moment longer and in turn they smiled in understanding. Turning around they walked away from Dash fading away into the mist of the dark. Dash watched them disappear. She let out a deep exhale and looked up at the sky; it was void of clouds now. A strangely familiar peace began to ebb its way into her heart. Then unexpectedly she gasped and clutched her head falling onto her haunches. In her mind she could feel two clear and distinct sets of memories melting together, peacefully joining to become one. Not one ruling over the other. They were no longer at war, but two coexisting and working as one for the purpose of making her greater than the sum of their parts. She laughed at the sensation, like scratching an itch you didn’t know you had it felt good, and it felt right. She sat there and breathed a deep sigh of relief. Slowly the sky became brighter and the stars seemed to shine more than she’d ever seen before. She closed her eyes and felt herself grow lighter and lighter until she faded into unconsciousness.

Dash fluttered open her eyes, a sweet sense of peace flowed through her. It was finally over, she knew it, and deep down it was all there; all her memories were intact and under her complete control. She let out cry of pure ecstasy, a cry of victory!

Pinkie pie shot up from where she’d fallen asleep in the night, startled awake by the shout that came from the Tipi. Running to the tent flap she peered inside and saw Rainbow Dash jumping up and down shouting in pure joy.

“Is everything okay Dashie?”

“Oh yeah! Everything is great!” She beamed. “I won!” then let out another shout that dissolved into laughter.

Pinkie cocked her head to the side in confusion, but accepted that her friend was now either completely mad, or she had been cured.

Turning around to thank the medicine Bull, Dash saw the seat he occupied was empty and the fire had gone out. Dude, how long was I out? Lying on his pillow was a large dark blue feather. Pinkie Looked at Rainbow and opened her mouth to speak. Dash shook her head and put her hoof over pinkies mouth. Pinkie mumbled something then nodded in understanding.

Together they left the Tipi to find Little Strong Heart. They found her shortly after, thanked her deeply and said their good byes. They planned to stay in Appleloosa for the night and take the next train back to Ponyville.

The train ride home was uneventful. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and that suited Dash just fine. She’d had enough excitement for the next year or two. All she had to do now was focus on her pops and his life here with her.

The train pulled into Ponyville station nearly on time. Dash said good bye to Pinkie Pie, hugging her tightly. Thanking her again for her help. Dash watched Pinkie bounce away, happy that she’d been able to help her friend. Rainbow took flight and with grace and well-practiced form flew high in to the skies, banked around and headed to the lake to find her father.

It was early evening as she landed on the shore. The cabin was coming along nicely, the walls were nearly complete. She guessed that in another week and it would be done and he could move in. Her father came out of the cabin looking kind of scruffy to be honest. Her heart leapt at the site of him though. He had a toothy smile on his face as he jogged over to greet her.

“How was your trip?” He asked excitedly.

“Pretty good.” She said with a hint of approval.

“Well you must have had some fun. You look a lot better than Friday night.“ He said teasing her.

“Hey! When do I not look awesome?! Seriously, look at this mane!” She exclaimed, shooting him a mock glare and flipping her mane around like the shampoo commercial girls did.

Brian laughed and told her she was the most beautiful pony anyone could ever hope to have in their life. Dash blushed and told him to stop being so sappy. In her heart though, she cherished the statement.

In the many long years that followed them and through their many adventures, she never told her father what had happened. In the end, it was her secret to keep.

The end.