A Short Homecoming

by HazamaBrony

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Sad
Length: 9464

On the eve of Rainbow Dash' retirement, news arrives that changes everything.

Rainbow Dash has worked at her job for many years now. She has finally decided to retire to spend more time with her wife, Twilight Sparkle. But on the eve of her retirement, news arrives that changes everything. Determined to say goodbye to all of her friends, she enjoys one last day with her family.

Published 2012-03-25 13:44:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-03-25 13:44:01 UTC

A Short Homecoming

Twilight looked at the clock again in hopes that time had somehow sped up when she wasn’t looking. When she discovered that it hadn’t, and less than five minutes had passed since she had last inspected it, she let out a groan of frustration. She began gathering up the various notes spread out in front of her and began to put them away as orderly as she could. She knew that she would not be able to finish researching until her wife got home.

Her wife. Rainbow Dash. The seven years that they had been married had been the happiest of her—no, their life. Twilight still considered that night, when Dash had finally worked up the courage to confess her love to her at one of Pinkie’s parties, the second most important night of her life. The only day that had managed to eclipse had been their wedding day of course.

The only real point of friction in their marriage had been Dash’s job. Twilight understood that Dash’s job was very important to her, but she hated how dangerous it was and that it kept Dash from her family for such long periods of time.

Still, Twilight knew that it could be worse. There were jobs that could have kept her wife away for much longer times. The Wonderbolts were much worse than Dash’s current job, sometimes members were away for the better part of the year during some of their overseas tours. That fact was one of very few reasons that Dash had turned down Spitfire’s offer so many years ago to become—

Twilight’s train of thought was derailed by the sound of the front door opening and the sound of hooves on the wooden floor. She shoved the last of the papers she was magically holding into a random file ran down into the main entrance to the library that the couple called home.

“Dash! You’re home early!”

“Hey, Twi.”

Dash stood in the middle of the room looking exhausted. Her saddle bags had already been casually discarded on the floor and she was in the process of stretching the fatigue of a long flight out of her wings. Her eyes lit up as soon as she caught sight of the lavender mare speeding towards her.

Twilight practically tackled Dash as she wrapped her forelegs around the cyan pony. Looking deep into those rose colored eyes, Twilight kissed Dash as hard as she could.

The years had been kind to the couple. They both looked almost exactly the same as that fateful night when, at one of Pinkie’s parties, Dash had pulled Twilight aside to tell her a life altering secret; that Dash was in love with her. The only difference in Twilight’s appearance was the addition of glasses. The constant all-nighters, examining texts on magical theory lit by nothing more than a candle in most cases, had not done wonders for her eyesight. The only way to tell that Dash wasn’t the same young mare that had talked endlessly about joining the Wonderbolts was to take notice of the faint map of scars that crisscrossed her body.

Twilight finally broke the kiss when it became apparent that they would need to breathe sometime.

“Dash, you’re home early.” She repeated.

“Heh, yeah.” Dash chuckled while looking out the window. “I managed to catch a tailwind from Canterlot, so I made good time.”

“I’m just glad you’re home.” Twilight giggled. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Me too.” Dash replied. She seemed to be making a great effort to look anywhere but into Twilight’s eyes.

The unicorn untangled herself from her wife and then walked into the kitchen. Dash was no doubt exhausted and hungry from the long flight home, not to mention that their foal would soon be home from school, so Twilight figured that starting on dinner would be the best thing to do.

“What do you want for dinner?” Twilight shouted to Dash, who was still lingering by the door. “We could have alfalfa salad, and I have some instant hay fries! I’m pretty sure that I won’t mess them up this time!”

The memories of the cooking disasters that had taken place after Spike had moved out managed to bring a fleeting chuckle to the pegasus’s face. However, her smile slipped away just as fast as it had appeared, and this worried Twilight.

“Dash? Are you all right?” Twilight inquired as she trotted back into the main room. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

Dash finally looked Twilight directly in the eyes, and Twilight was surprised to see tears welling up in those large rose eyes.

“We are so close to catching them, Twilight.” Dash sighed. “We just need to find an excuse to look in that warehouse of theirs.”

It was Twilight’s turn to sigh. Dash took every case that came across her desk very seriously. It was one of the reasons that she was considered the best detective on the Equestrian police force.

After the whole “Mare Do Well” incident, and after Dash had discovered how much she liked reading, Dash had developed a talent for detective work. As she had explained to Twilight once, she had hated the not knowing of who had been tormenting her, so she wanted to make sure that nopony had to wonder who had hurt them or their loved ones.

Everypony had been quite surprised at the way Rainbow Dash had managed to surge up the ranks so quickly, save for Twilight Sparkle. She had seen how seriously her then marefriend had studied all the rules and regulations. She knew better than anyone that Dash had been more serious about becoming at detective than she had ever been about joining the Wonderbolts. She had even helped Dash study up on the latest forensic techniques that had been developed.

Unfortunately, Dash was still the same headstrong mare that she had always been. While her head was brilliant enough to crack most cases easily, her temperament meant that she was always rushing in without anypony to help her. The scars that covered her body were a testament to that. Most of them stayed hidden under her fur, but Twilight could still see some of the more serious ones.

One scar in particular, around the base of the cyan mare’s right wing, brought back memories of several nights, waiting in the hospital room, not sure if the love of Twilight’s life would wake back up or not. Once she had, Twilight had wasted no time in proposing to Dash. Dash had always said that Twilight’s request for her hoof in marriage had been what had let her fly again, only months after the doctors had said that it would never happen.

In any case, the fact that her wife was often given high profile and dangerous cases all over Equestria had slowly been taking its toll on Twilight. Even just looking at the latest souvenir of Dash’s job, a bandaged right forehoof, made her feel slightly sick. She supposed that was why she had pressured Dash into making such a big decision. She just didn’t want Dash hurt anymore.

“Listen, Dash,” Twilight said in an attempt to make her wife feel better, “I know that you are not very happy about leaving your last case before it gets solved, but just let the rest of the force handle it. Just… just trust in them, and enjoy your retirement.”

Dash flinched at the word retirement, and Twilight’s heart went out to her. It must be so hard for her to give up something that had become such a big part of her life.

“Look at it this way: now you can spend much more time with your family and not have to worry about getting hurt.” Twilight suggested as she nuzzled up to Dash.

“I’m not leaving the force, Twilight.”

Twilight sprung back as if she had been stung. She spent several moments just gasping in shock at Dash before she found her voice again.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” She shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Twilight, I need you to listen for a second—“

“You LIED to me Dash! You, you told me you would retire! I am so sick of seeing you come home wounded! Every day you are out there I worry that—ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!”

Dash had completely ignored Twilight’s angry tirade and was rifling through her discarded saddle bags. After only a few moments of searching, she turned back to Twilight and offered her a small stack of papers. Twilight just stood there, mouth agape.

“What… What are those?” Twilight practically spat at Dash in rage. “I don’t care if those are letters from Princess Celestia herself telling you to keep working, I need you here! Your family needs you here!”

“Twilight, these are from Canterlot hospital.”

Panic instantly gripped Twilight’s heart. “W—What?” She managed to squeak when her voice worked again.

“Just read them, then we can talk.” Dash was unable to keep her voice from trembling.

With heavy hooves, Twilight took the papers and adjusted her glasses. For several long minutes, the only sound in the room was the turning of papers. Finally, Twilight looked directly at Dash, tears in her eyes.

“This isn’t fair.” She whispered.

“I know.” Dash replied, attempting as best she could to hide behind her rainbow mane.

“How, I just … I don’t know.” Twilight couldn’t find the right words. “Just…How?”

Dash knew just what Twilight was trying to say. “The doctors told me that it just happens to ponies sometimes. It’s just up to… Well, luck.” She finished her sentence with a smile, but the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes betrayed her real feelings.

When Twilight stayed silent, Dash continued. “They said that it’s too far advanced to do anything about. Even that new chemo stuff wouldn’t do anything to it.”

“Dash, how can you be sure that this is correct? I mean, I’ve read some studies on misdiagnosis in hospitals! It’s rare, but it could have happened! Right, Dash?” Twilight asked with hope in her eyes.

Dash looked away from Twilight again. “I went into the hospital with a headache, Twilight! Of course I had them double check when they said it meant that I was going to…to…” Dash seemed to choke on the word. “…you know.”

The silence that followed that last statement was unbearable, but neither of them could find anything to say. Twilight just sat in the middle of the room, staring at her wife with blank eyes. Dash, meanwhile, was looking down at the ground and nervously kicking at the floor. Finally, Twilight broke the stillness.

“What does this have to do with you not leaving the force?”

Dash straightened up at the sound of the question. She took several deep breaths with her eyes closed before looking directly at Twilight. The lavender mare was struck by the fact that all of the tears that were welling up just moments before were gone. In their place was sheer determination.

“I won’t end up in a hospital bed, unable to do anything by myself. I just won’t, Twilight.”

Twilight couldn’t believe her ears. She knew how selfish her wife could be, but this was just on a whole new level.

“That…That was the most selfish thing I have ever heard anypony say! So, you just want to go galloping around playing hero until you just fall over and then leave us all alone and then I have to explain to everyone what happened and then—“

“Twilight—“

“No, Dash” Twilight spoke over whatever Dash had attempted to say. “You have no reason to just abandon us like this! You cannot just expect us to… to… I just… buck it Dash! I just want to spend as much time with you as I can. And—“

“Daddy! You’re home!”

Twilight and Dash whipped their heads towards the door of the library simultaneously to look at the source of the joyous outburst. Before either pony could register what they were seeing, Dash was tackled by a small white blur.

“I missed you so much, Daddy! Did you get the bad guys this time? I bet it’s a cool story! Are you going to get another medal?”

“Calm down, kiddo,” Dash said with a laugh as she ruffled the young filly’s multi-hued mane. “We can talk about everything that happened over dinner. I bet you have some cool stories of your own!”

Twilight smiled as she watched her wife and daughter wrestle playfully. Prism had only been adopted four years ago, but Twilight had a hard time imagining the library without her anymore.

When Twilight had first suggested that the couple should adopt a foal, Dash had looked at her like she was crazy. It had taken quite a bit of convincing to get her to even consider the idea, but once the couple had met Prism, it would have taken both the princesses to keep them apart. Prism had long been the outcast unicorn among the other ponies, partly because of crippling shyness that would put Fluttershy to shame, but mostly because of her exceptionally rare rainbow colored mane.

Despite the clash of personalities, Dash and Prism had instantly bonded once Dash opened up about being bullied for her rare mane colors. The shared experiences led to the two becoming very close, and that made Twilight jealous on occasion. However, once Prism had started school, she discovered a passion for learning that rivaled Twilight’s. The two had spent many long nights simply studying together. Prism wasn’t as good at magic as her mother figure was, but she rivaled the legendary Sherlock Stables in deductive reasoning. And despite her shyness and seeming inability to read the emotions of others, she was finally beginning to fit in at school.

“So, Mommy, Daddy, what are we having for dinner? Its alfalfa salad and hay fries, right?”

Twilight and Dash exchanged amused glances, the earlier argument momentarily forgotten. “And how did you figure that one out, kiddo?” Dash asked.

“That’s all that’s left in the fridge.” Prism said with a shrug. “Mommy didn’t go shopping.”

Dash began to shudder from her attempts to hide her laughter while Twilight blushed. “Shopping. I knew I forgot something.” She muttered to herself in embarrassment.

Suddenly, Dash stopped her badly concealed laughter and turned to Prism. “So, kiddo, you got any homework?”

“Yes, Cheerilee gave us tons. And it’s not even the fun stuff like math. It’s all that grammar stuff.” Prism replied with a frown.

“That’s MISS Cheerilee, kiddo. And go do your homework, mommy and daddy have to talk.” Dash said, and Twilight was surprised at the amount of strain in her voice.

“Oh, ok Daddy,” Prism said in a disappointment tinged voice, “but I wanted to spend time with you Daddy. I hardly get to see you anymore.”

“Tell you what, kiddo,” Dash said with a somewhat forced smile, “if you do all of your homework before dinner, we’ll spend the entire day together! Just the three of us, out on the town! But only if you go do your homework!”

Without another word, Prism speed off to her room, a smile put on her face by Dash’s promise. Twilight turned to Dash, but whatever she had planned to say was wiped from her mind by the look of pain on the pegasus’s face.

“Dash, are you alright?”

Dash simply waved a hoof in response as she leaned against the wall of the library, her eyes clenched tightly shut. After a few minutes of heavy breathing, she opened them again. Twilight noticed that there was now a thin sheen of sweat on her coat.

“Sorry about that, Twi.” Dash said. “Those headaches come and go kinda quick, but they really hurt.”

“All the more reason that you should quit the force and let us take care of you! That way you might get better and—“ Twilight attempted to say more but was cut off by Dash.

“Twi, I’m not going to get better, remember? We caught it far too late for that.”

“But… but… I just want you here! Please don’t leave! At the very least, you will be comfortable!” Twilight said in desperation.

“I don’t want to be—“ Dash started to yell, but stopped herself as she quickly glanced at the door to Prism’s room. After a few seconds, she began to speak again, this time in a much calmer voice.

“Twilight, do you remember my favorite poem?”

After a second of thought, Twilight’s eyes grew wide and she nodded at Dash. Both mares closed their eyes and began to recite the poem in complete harmony.

“Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Both ponies were now openly sobbing, not wanting to hold back their tears any longer. Twilight threw herself at Dash and caught her in a bone cracking hug, one that Dash gladly returned.

“That’s not fair, you know.” Twilight whispered.

“What isn’t?” Dash replied.

“Using that poem. You know I could never argue against you when you quote some book.”

“Heh. Well, you always were an egghead, Twi. I thought that might get through to you.”

“Listen, Dash,” Twilight said as she pulled back from the hug to look Dash in the eye. “I know I’m probably not going to change your mind, but could you just answer some questions? I just want to know that you have thought this through.”

“Go ahead, Twi. Shoot.”

“First, what about your partner on the force? How do you know that they won’t be put in danger by your…your…”

Dash spared her from having to finish that sentence. “I don’t have a partner anymore, remember? The force stopped trying to give me one after that incident with the half mustache.”

The memory managed to make Twilight laugh a little through her tears. “All right, but what about the case that you are working on? How will they—“

“Close it if I’m not there? Simple, I’m just gonna do lots of extra documentation so they can pick up right where I left off.”

Twilight closed her eyes once again. Her next question was her last shot to convince Dash.

“Fine, Dash but what about Prism? She—“

“What about Prism?” The fire in Dash’s voice made Twilight flinch in surprise. “Do you really want to have her watch her father waste away into nothing? She looks up to me so much, and I… I’m her hero, Twilight! How do you think she will feel if she ends up watching me d… die.”

The last word seemed to hurt Dash physically to say. No less painful was the silence that echoed throughout the library. Suddenly, the sound of a door opening cut through the stillness.

“Mommy, Daddy? I finished all my homework. Is dinner ready yet?”

Once again, both mares turned suddenly to look at their daughter.

“We, uh… we haven’t even started yet, honey.” Twilight said, wiping the tears out of her eyes.

“Tell you what, kiddo,” Dash said, forcing a smile onto her face, “how about you help us make it tonight?”

Prism’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. “I would love to! Um… I call making the salad!”

Dash chuckled at her daughter’s enthusiasm. “Sure thing, kiddo. Lead the way.”

As Prism marched happily into the kitchen, Dash turned to Twilight. “Listen, Twi, could we not talk about this anymore tonight? I just want to enjoy a family dinner without any drama.”

“All right, but tomorrow we need to discuss this some more. Understand?” Twilight asked.

With a nod from Dash, they turned to the kitchen, hoping that Prism hadn’t done any permanent damage to the salad or kitchen.

***

It was a good thing that the weather team had scheduled a sunny day today, Rainbow Dash thought to herself. It would have really sucked if her last day with her family had been rained into the library.

Her last day… to be honest, she had expected Twilight to have said something the moment that they had woken up, but the lavender mare had not even hinted at the subject. Still, Dash supposed, that subject would come up sooner or later.

“Daddy, what are you thinking about?”

Snapping out of her musings, Dash was embarrassed to realize that she had stopped dead in the middle of Ponyville’s main street. Her family was now looking back at her with concern in Twilight’s eyes, and puzzlement in Prism’s.

“I’m fine, I’m fine! I just got caught up in my own thoughts! That’s all! Really,” she added as Twilight continued to look concerned, “that’s all. I’m fine.”

That seemed to put Twilight at ease, for she turned to Prism and asked “So, Prism, what do you do first?”

“Anything you want kiddo, this day is for you.” Dash added.

Prism rubbed her chin with a hoof, while her parents looked on in amusement. Prism always pretended as if her massive sweet tooth hadn’t already decided where they would go when they gave her the choice.

“Um… how about Sugarcube Corner?” she finally asked, and the couple had to bite their lips to keep from laughing.

“All right, kiddo, turn around.” Dash said with a grin.

Prism wheeled herself one hundred and eighty degrees, and suddenly found herself looking into a large pair of blue eyes and a gleaming, slightly crazed smile.

“Oh boy, Prism, do you want to help make the sweets today cause Twilight came in this morning and said that you would want to and why wouldn’t you, it’s so much FUN!” Pinkie Pie blurted out before stopping for breath.

Slightly overwhelmed looking, Prism nevertheless nodded eagerly.

“Just as planned!” Pinkie said, looking quite sinister for a moment before quickly returning to her same old quirky self. Before anypony could react, Pinkie had scooped up Prism in her hoofs and scampered into Sugarcube Corner so fast that the door was spinning like a top.

Twilight and Dash looked at the door as it began to slow in its revolutions. “But that’s not a revolving door, so how—“ Twilight began before Dash cut her off.

“It’s Pinkie.” Dash said flatly. “I think she warps the laws of physics.”

“That’s as good a reason as any.” Twilight said with a giggle.

For a moment, both mares were content to listen to the din of crashes and bangs coming out of the sweet shop as Prism and Pinkie attempted to make… something. Maybe this time Prism will make something edible, Dash thought with a shudder as she remembered last night’s dinner.

After a particularly loud crash, Dash turned to Twilight. “I know that we aren’t done talking yet so—“

This time it was Twilight that interrupted Dash. “Not right now, Dash. I don’t feel like talking about it right now.” Her voice shook a little.

“Ok.” Dash said, fighting to keep the quiver out of her own voice, “Shall we head inside then?”

Twilight nodded, and the couple bravely entered the now smoking building.

***

“So, what’s wrong, Dashie?” Pinkie asked innocently.

Dash began to choke on the latest piece of whatever Prism had created she was trying to force down. A soon as her airways were clear, she turned to her friend and asked “What do you mean?” as harmlessly as she could.

“You just look a little sad and you also keep looking at Prism with the same look in your eyes as Twilight when she looks at you and I just—mumph.” Pinkie found her ranting cut off by a cyan hoof shoved in her mouth.

“I always forget how observant you are, Pinkie.” Dash said with a smile. “Anyways, I have something I want to say to you, so just listen for a bit, ok?”

“Mumglump!”

“I’m gonna say that means yes. All right, here is what I wanted to say: thank you for being my friend. I had a really good time hanging out with you and pranking everyone, and you always threw the best parties. You really helped me keep my chin up through some hard times, and…um. Ugh, I hate this mushy stuff! Just… just thank you for being my friend.”

“Mimplguh!”

“Um… Pinkie, I took my hoof out of your mouth already.”

“I know! It’s just fun to make weird noises like that! Mouknklk!”

Twilight and Dash exchanged a glance that clearly said ‘same old Pinkie Pie.’

“Well, we should get going.” Twilight suddenly said. “We have a bunch more places to visit today. Thank you very much for the sweets, Pinkie.”

“They were awesome, as always!” Dash chimed in.

“Aww, thank you, Dashie, Twilight! And you have been a great friend to me too, Dashie! So buck up, nobody likes a frowny Mc-Frowny face!”

Already halfway out of the door, Dash laughed. “Will do, Pinkie!”

“Definitely the same old Pinkie Pie” she added, under her breath.

***

“So what are we going to do next, Mommy?” Prism asked.

“Well, we could—“ Twilight began, but was cut off by a voice with a distinctive country twang.

“Ah heard you was back in town, Rainbow. How ya doin’?”

“Applejack!” Dash cried delightedly. “Oh man, I was hoping to run into you today!”

“Um… hello Dash. Are you doing okay? You aren’t pushing yourself too hard again, are you?” floated out from behind the orange Earth Pony in a soft whisper.

“And Fluttershy too!” Dash almost yelled, causing the meek pony to shrink back, looking terrified, “This is awesome! What are you two up to?”

“Well, ah’ve been having a mite of trouble with some critters swiping our apples right off our trees, and Fluttershy here said she could help with that.” Applejack said.

“Oh… They don’t mean any harm, Applejack. They’re just hungry and your apples are so good they just can’t help themselves.” Fluttershy said in response.

“So what are you doing in town? Shouldn’t you be at Sweet Apple Acres, talking to the animals?”

Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Prism began to speak at a very high speed.

“They came to buy some food for the animals, because Applejack has her saddlebags on and if the animals are hungry that means that they must not have enough of the food they normally eat, and having food would lure them out to where Fluttershy could talk to them. She could be just here to buy supplies for the farm, but then why would she bring Fluttershy? And the animals must be the deer from the Everfree Forest, because they are the only non-speaking animals that eat apples and can reach them on the trees by jumping. And they must be from the Everfree Forest because… well otherwise they could just ask… right?”

After this outburst, Twilight looked furious and Dash had a curious mixture of pride and disappointment on her face.

“Well done Kiddo. Couldn’t have done it better myself. But,” she added as Prism noticeably swelled with pride, “I think your mom has a few words to say about that.”

“PRISM!” The young foal seemed to deflate at the sound of her mother’s angry voice. “How many times have I told you not to do that out loud? You might not realize it, but it makes other people very nervous around you, and it is very rude, and furthermore…”

Dash and Applejack looked on with amusement as Twilight launched into one of her famous lectures. Ever since Spike had moved out, Prism had become her captive audience for the scientific babble and unwilling recipient for her motherly tirades.

“So,” Applejack said, “Ah take it Prism still aint learned that she shouldn’t blurt out every dang thing that she notices about everypony?”

“Partly.” Dash replied, still chuckling. “Actually, we have managed to get her to stop pointing out when somepony is having an affair. She just doesn’t seem to realize how creepy she can seem when she does that.”

“Oh, I know! The first time she did that to me it really frightened me.” Fluttershy added.

Dash and Applejack exchanged a look that clearly said ‘but everything scares her.’ This mutual understanding sent them both into fits of giggles. Fluttershy soon joined in, and before long, all three were rolling on the ground with laughter at the unsaid joke.

“Heh, thanks. I needed to just laugh like that. My job can just be so grim sometimes…” Dash’s sentence trailed off as she notice Applejack staring at her with puzzlement in her eyes. “What?”

“You said ‘can’, not ‘could’. Ah thought you was retiring, Rainbow.” Applejack said, looking worried.

Dash cursed mentally. “Um, yeah… I, er… I just decided to finish this one case that I’m on, that’s all.”

“But Twi was so happy that you was gonna be home. Why is this case more important than her?”

Trust the element of honesty not to let a lie slip by so easily, Dash thought to herself. “AJ, it’s my job to read too much into things, so don’t you start too. It’s not more important than Twi, it’s just almost solved and I don’t want to leave things unfinished. You can understand that, right Ms. ‘Buck-All-The-Apples-Myself’?” Dash felt guilty about lying to her friend, but it wasn’t something that she was eager to talk to anyone about.

Applejack for her part still looked skeptical, but thankfully let the subject go.

“Anyways, I had something I wanted to say to you. I just wanted to let you know that, despite our differences, I always had fun competing with you. Heck, I don’t think I would be half as awesome as I am now if you didn’t always push me to my limits. And Fluttershy, I want to thank you for being my friend all throughout fight school. I know you didn’t like the rest of the crowd that I hung out with, but the fact that you stuck with me despite that was just super awesome. So just… thank you both.” Dash finished lamely, looking away so that they could not see her watery eyes.

Applejack looked simultaneously pleased and puzzled at Dash’s short speech, while Fluttershy looked incredibly sad. After a moment of silence, Applejack spoke up.

“Well, that was mighty kind of you, Dash. Y’all have been a great friend to me as well. But Ah reckon that Fluttershy and me should get going.” Applejack turned and began walking away, yelling over her shoulder “See you at the next running of the leaves!”

Dash was supremely glad that she did not have to make eye contact with orange mare as she trotted away. Suddenly, Dash found herself in a crushing hug.

“Fluttershy? What are—“

Fluttershy looked Dash in the eyes and Dash was surprised to see tears. “Oh, I’m sorry, Dash. But I just want to let you know that I didn’t care who you hung out with in flight school. You always stood up for me, even when it was against your friends. And remember? You got your cutie mark protecting me. I could never have been mad at you for that.”

Dash returned the hug with as much gratitude as she could muster. “Thanks, Fluttershy. That means a lot to—“

Suddenly, Dash’s vision exploded into a field of fireworks and stars. It felt as if somepony had put her head into a vice. It took all of her effort not to cry out in pain.

“Hey, Fluttershy?” She asked, voice trembling with pain, “Could you help me inside? Its, just… um, kinda bright out here all of the sudden.”

Even through the spots in her vision she could see Fluttershy nod, an alarmed look on her face. The yellow mare looked around, and once she had spotted a suitable nearby building, began helping the swaying pegasus towards it.

***

“Much better,” Dash sighed. Thanks to Fluttershy, the room in which she had taken shelter now had all of the curtains drawn and was acceptably dark. “Where are we anyways?”

A quick glance around at the mannequins and various fabrics and threads answered her question.

“Oh, I just thought that you would want to talk to Rarity, considering…um, that you are back in town?” Fluttershy grinned awkwardly, trying to cover up her obvious lie.

Dash sighed. “You’re a bad liar, Fluttershy. But…thanks. And don’t tell anyone.”

“Don’t tell anyone what, darling?”

Dash and Fluttershy both turned as quickly as they could and stared at the intruding voice.

“R-Rarity! Um… what are you doing here?” As soon as she said, Dash realized what a stupid question it was.

“I think the much better question is ‘what are you doing in my home’?” Rarity countered.

“Oh…um, I er… I think I should go.” Fluttershy said, her voice barely audible.

“Right.” Dash said, turning to look at her yellow friend, “Thanks again. And Fluttershy? Goodbye.”

The finality of the farewell was plainly obvious to everyone present. As Fluttershy muttered a goodbye to Rarity, Dash was unsurprised to hear a tremor in her voice. Once Fluttershy had exited the dress store, Dash turned her attention back to Rarity.

The unicorn looked quite puzzled at the scene that had just unfolded before her. “Dash,” she asked, “is everything quite alright?”

“Everything is fine,” Dash responded, waving a hoof dismissively. “I was just talking to Fluttershy, that’s all.”

Rarity opened her mouth as if to question Dash further, but closed it, apparently thinking it better not to pressure the pegasus more. “So, why are you in my store, then? You couldn’t possibly be here for a dress, could you?”

Dash instinctively began to deny the very possibility, but stopped herself as a thought struck her. She would indeed need a dress in the near future.

“Yes, yes I am, Rarity. Stop looking at me like that!” Dash exclaimed in response to Rarity’s slack jawed look of disbelief. “I just need it for a—“

“Oh, darling! This is wonderful! Let me just get your measurements, and then I can begin! It will be multi-hued, to match your mane of course, but it also need to not be too obvious! We cannot have it take any attention away from your eyes and—“

“Rarity!” Dash shouted over her friend. “I know that you want to make some sort of super awesome dress, but I really just want a simple black suit!”

Rarity looked as if Dash had physically slapped her with this news. “What? But Rainbow, I never get to make you any dresses! And now you come in here and try to tell me what to make? I don’t tag along to your crime scenes and tell you what to do, do I?”

Dash was at a complete loss as to why her unicorn friend was steadily working herself into a rage. “Rarity if you just listen for a second—“

“I will not! You know as well as I do that the last time I let you and the rest of the group tell me what to do, I ended up the town laughingstock! I thought that you had learned your lesson about not turning your nose up at free gifts, especially not when I have… or will have put so much work into them!”

“Listen just for a second Rarity! I’m not here just for kicks! I need it for an event! It’s gotta look acceptable at a f—“

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Rarity was now crying as her voice grew ever more hysterical. “So!” she practically screamed, interrupting Dash in the process, “I have wanted to make you a dress for years, just so we could do something together! But no, you always avoided me, rebuffed my offers of friendship, and now, and NOW, the only time you want anything to do with me is when you need me to make a dress for you! No. No! I will not! If that is all you think of me as, some sort of dress making machine, you can go someplace else for your ‘simple suit’!”

“Fine! Maybe I will!” Dash yelled, angry beyond the point of rational thought.

“Fine, go ahead!” Rarity yelled back.

Dash turned and stormed out of the store, making sure to slam the door as hard as she could behind her.

***

Dash thanked Celestia that her headache had receded. Ponyville was still a tad too well lit for her taste, but at least she could now endure it without wanting to curl up into a ball.

Her anger, however, had not abated in the least. How dare Rarity accuse her of not wanting to be friends? It had always been Dash that had tried to spend more time with her. Was it her fault that Rarity wasn’t interest in anything competitive? Was it her fault the very thought of trying on girly dresses made her stomach churn? Was it her fault that they had nothing in common?

“Daddy?”

The sound of her daughters voice snapped Dash out of her thoughts. She turned and look at her child and wife.

“What’s up, kiddo?”

“Are you okay, Daddy? You look angry.”

It must be really obvious if Prism of all ponies can see it, Dash thought to herself. “I’m fine, kiddo. Don’t worry about it. So, where do you want to go next?” she said out loud, forcing a false cheer into her voice.

“Actually, Dash, we were thinking that we would go and catch Lyra’s concert today. I already got the tickets and everything.” Twilight answered.

“When did you get—“ Dash began, but Twilight cut her off.

“I’ve had the tickets for a while. I got them specifically for today, to celebrate your retirement.”

It felt as if the words cut Dash down to the bone, but even they didn’t hurt as much as the fact that Twilight was pointedly not looking at her. “That all right with you kiddo?” was all that she could choke out without bursting into tears.

“It sure is, Daddy! I love going to her concerts! She always sings the most beautiful songs and the music is very pretty too!” Prism said, the excitement in her voice undeniable.

“O-Oh, I didn’t know that.” Dash managed to stutter out. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Twilight biting her lip in an effort not to say anything. It was unnecessary, however; Dash knew exactly what she had wanted to say.

If I had been home more, perhaps I would know what my daughter likes to do, Dash thought bitterly to herself.

***

The only reason that Dash had not fallen asleep in the last two hours was from sheer force of will. It wasn’t that the music was bad, far from it. In fact, Dash would have gone as far to say it was some of the best music that she had ever heard. It was just that anything other than fast paced metal had never kept her attention long, and this was about as far from metal as possible.

“Okay, everypony, time for the last number of the day!” shouted Lyra from the stage. Dash had been quite amused at first to see how much Lyra’s enthusiasm clashed with the more somber tone of her music, but now she just found it annoying.

“This is actually a song that we haven’t performed before, but we can’t turn down our first request ever, can we boys?”

As the band gave various positive responses, a quizzical look settled over Dash’s face. She couldn’t imagine anypony boring enough to actually request a song at this sort of—

“I put in the request, Dash.” Twilight said. Still not looking at Dash, she began to speak quietly, glancing at Prism to make sure that she could not hear her. “Just listen for a bit, all right? Prism heard this in one of her games, and she has wanted to hear them sing it for a while. She won’t mind if we step out for a bit, and the concert security knows her well enough to know to look out for her. What I mean to say is that, well… we can head out and talk.”

With that, Twilight turned and, after a quick word with a very distracted Prism, turned and walked into the lobby of the concert hall. Dash blinked a few times, then turned and made her way over to where Prism was sitting.

“Hey, kiddo, your mom and I need to talk to each other, so just stay right here and be a good girl, okay?” Dash said.

“Aww, but this song is great! Do we need to leave now?” Prism asked.

“No, no, kiddo. Your mom and I will just be out in the lobby. The security ponies will keep an eye on you, so stay right here where they can see you.” Dash responded.

Prism nodded, and turned her attention back to the band, which had just begun to play. Dash smiled, then turned and went to join Twilight in the lobby.

***

“So, what did you want to say?” Dash asked.

They were both sitting on a bench far off in the corner of the lobby, where there was little danger of being overheard. After a moment of silence, Twilight spoke.

“I still don’t like your decision. I still think it is very selfish to abandon your family just so you can play at hero for a little while longer. I still think that you would be more comfortable if you just checked yourself into the hospital and let them take care of you until the end.”

Twilight took a deep breath before continuing.

“I still don’t like it, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t understand it. You wouldn’t be satisfied if you weren’t catching bad guys and making the world a better place until the bitter end, would you?”

Dash simply shook her head in response.

“Dash, can I ask what you were planning to do with yourself if you had actually retired? I doubt that you could have just given up cases cold turkey.”

Dash found her mouth very dry as she began to speak. “What I probably would have done is just take on a consulting case every once in a while. The police aren’t useless, in fact most of the ponies on the force are pretty awesome, but sometime they just get stumped on some of the weirder ones.”

“I thought as much.” Twilight said. “You never could resist helping anypony. I guess that it was kind of selfish of me to ask you to give that up. No Dash,” she said in response to Dash opening her mouth to object, “It’s at least as selfish as you wanting to abandon your family to go be a hero.”

Dash felt tears well up as her wife stared off into space, a resigned look on her face.

“But,” Twilight continued, “You really are a hero. You are one to me, you are one to all of Equestria, and, most importantly, you are one to Prism. You’re right, it would devastate her to see you waste away. But Dash, do you really think that she will feel any better if you just abandon her like this?”

“No,” Dash admitted. “But at least this way, there won’t be any false hope. I’ve lost count of the number of ponies that I have seen devastated by false hope. I don’t even care if she hates me, as long as she doesn’t spend day after day convincing herself that I’ll get better. I don’t think she could get over that.”

Twilight nodded. “I guess you’re right, Dash. And I suppose that it is your choice in the end. And it seems like there is no changing your mind. I’ve seen the way that you have been saying goodbye to all our friends. Fluttershy was nearly in tears when she came out of Rarity’s.”

Dash looked away, feeling guilty, but Twilight grabbed her by the chin and turned her head so that they were eye to eye.

“Listen, Dash. I know that you’re feeling guilty. And you should to some extent. But I need you to promise me one thing. Can you do that?”

The cyan mare struggled to find her voice. “Of course, Twi. Whatever you need.” She finally managed to say.

“Promise me that it won’t be in vain. If you are abandoning me and your daughter, you need to make it worthwhile. I couldn’t take it if you put us through this heartbreak for nothing.”

“Of course, Twilight. I always do my best, no matter what. And trust me, my best is gonna be awesome!” Dash boasted, putting on her widest smile.

The familiar boast was just what was needed to release the tension. Both mares burst out laughing at how out of place Dash bravado was. It was as if a switch had been flipped and they had not spent the morning walking on eggshells, trying to avoid upsetting one another.

“I’m going to miss you.” Twilight said, with warmth and acceptance in her voice.

“I’ll miss you too. But this is something that I really need to do.” Dash replied, as a sad smile spread over her face.

Twilight closed her eyes and snuggled up to Dash, who returned the favor. They stayed like that for some time, just content with the feel of each other’s breathing and the sound of classical music emanating from the concert hall.

The only thing that broke their mutual and blissful trance was the end of the last song, and the hustle and bustle of ponies vacating the theater. Reluctantly pulling herself away from Dash, Twilight turned and walked back into the concert hall to fetch Prism.

Dash began to follow her, but something she had said stuck out in her head. 'I’ve seen the way that you have been saying goodbye to all our friends.'

“Twilight, I need to go—“

“—Talk to Rarity?” Twilight finished for her. “I thought as much. Go on, I’m not going to make you miss your last chance to fix your friendship. I need to go shopping for dinner, so meet us back at the library.”

Nodding in thanks, Dash began to gallop out of the theater and towards Ponyville’s only dress shop.

***

As soon as she entered the shop, Dash could tell that Rarity regretted their argument as much as she did. The dress maker looked as if she had been crying, and her normally flawless hair was looking just a little bit unkempt.

“Dash, darling, I hope that you can forgive me for my most un-ladylike outburst earlier. You just came here looking to purchase an article of clothing and I, I threw a most dreadful fit. Can you ever forgive me?” said the white unicorn, head bowed.

“I should be asking you the same thing, Rarity.” Dash said. “I haven’t exactly been the best friend to you either. I never tried to make time for you. So I want to help you make my suit in any way I can today. Just be patient with me. I probably won’t be the most awesome pony at making suits.”

Rarity’s eyes lit up like a pair of diamonds. “Oh, thank you, Dash! That means quite a lot to me, darling! Now, do you want to draw attention to your eyes, or your mane? Personally, I would go for the mane, it really is your most striking feature, so—“

“No, Rarity. It has to just be a simple black suite. It’s for a funeral!” Dash added hastily, attempting to avoid a repeat of their earlier argument.

“Oh…oh, my.” Rarity gasped. “Might I ask for who?”

My own, thought Dash. “I really don’t feel like talking about it.” She said out loud.
“I understand. It can be quite hard to lose a friend. But, darling, if you ever want to talk about it, I’ll be here for you!”
“Thank you.” Dash said with a smile, producing a puzzled look on Rarity’s face.

“In any case, darling, if you want to help, please pull my midnight black fabric off the shelf, and then I can start measuring you for the suit.” Rarity said, as she turned and began to sort through a jumbled mess of measuring tapes.

“I can do that,” Dash replied, “Just tell me where it is.”

“Oh, it is up on the top shelf just between the jet black and pure black rolls.”

“… and how do I tell them apart?”

***

Several very long hours later, Dash dragged herself into the library. The fitting at had been torture for hyperactive pegasus, but it had all been worth it to repair their friendship.

Dash was drawn out of her thoughts by a delicious smell emanating from the kitchen; a rare occurrence, due to the cooking skills of all involved. Willing her aching hoofs to continue to move, Dash proceeded to the kitchen. She smiled at the sight of her wife and daughter setting the table for dinner.

“Hey Daddy! We made dinner!” Prism said, looking quite pleased to have created something edible.

“We stuck to the recipe.” Twilight said before Dash could ask about the sudden and unexpected increase in cooking skills. “No experimenting this time.”

“I don’t even want to know what kinds of experiments could ruin last night’s premade salad.” Dash replied, smiling. “Give me ten seconds to put this away and I’ll join you guys.” She continued, gesturing to the bag slung across her back.

“What’s in the bag, Daddy?” Prism asked innocently.

“Oh, just a suit for…special occasions.” She said, catching Twilight’s eye. A quick nod confirmed that Twilight had caught the meaning behind her words. Thankfully, the meaning seemed to have gone right over Prism’s head.

“Be right back guys.” Dash yelled as she proceeded up the stairs to stash the suit in the bedroom closet.

***

“I’ve got to hand it to you guys, that dinner was awesome!” Dash said over the sound of running water and dishes being washed.

“I must say that we even surprised ourselves.” Twilight replied, magically scrubbing a plate with a dishcloth. “And, Prism, I think it is time for you to go to bed.”

“Aww, but Mooom, I—“

“No ‘buts’ young lady. We let you stay up later than usual for dinner, but now you need to go to sleep.” Twilight interrupted.

“Hey, kiddo, I’ll go tuck you in, all right?” Dash volunteered.

At this, Prism’s eyes lit up and she hopped into her room as if she had been taking lessons from Pinkie Pie. Dash followed the white unicorn filly with her eyes before turning to Twilight.

“Listen, I know you normally do this but I—“

“Dash, do you really think that I’m not going to let you say goodnight to your daughter, considering the circumstances?” Twilight said. “Heck, if you hadn’t said you would, I would have told you to!”

“Thanks, Twilight.” With that last statement, Dash turned and proceeded into her daughters room.

Dash could barely contain a chuckle at the sight of the rainbow mane, so very much like hers, peeking over the sheets as the filly it belonged to burrowed into the bed in an attempt to find a comfortable position.

After a minute of watching the filly and bed struggle with no clear winner, Dash spoke up. “Having trouble there, kiddo?” She said, with a chuckle in her voice.

Prism’s head shot up. She obviously had not noticed her fat enter figure the room. “The sheets are all bunched up.” She whined. “I can’t get to sleep with them poking me in the side and I can’t get them to un-bunch!”

“That’s because it’s a two pony job.” Dash replied with a smile on her face. “Here, you hold this end down, and I’ll tuck it in, nice and smooth.”

Moments later, Prism was sighing in contentment, all the wrinkles in the sheets banished by the father-daughter team. Dash heart swelled as she looked at her daughter.

“Hey, kiddo, can we talk for a second?”

“Of course Daddy! What do you want to talk about?” Prism said, and the innocence in her eyes made Dash choke on her feeling.

“Listen, kiddo, tomorrow I’m gonna have to go away for a little bit.” Dash said, giving it her all to keep her voice steady.

“But Daddy, you promised that you would stay here with us from now on! Why did you lie?” Prism sniffled, suddenly on the verge of tears herself.

“I know, kiddo, but this is very important. If I do this I can spare some people I care a lot of suffering.” Dash said.

“Oh, so you’re gonna go make them happy instead?” Prism asked.

“No.” Dash said flatly. “They are still going to suffer. It just won’t be for as long or as bad. At least, I hope so…” Dash trailed off into silence, staring off into nowhere.

“Anyways, kiddo, I have some things that you need to do for me. Can you do that for me?” Dash asked as soon as she refocused on her daughter.

“Well, yes. But it would help if you told me what to do, Daddy.” Prism said, a tricksters smile on her face.

Dash laughed, even as her eyes began to well up with tears. “True, kiddo, that would help. First, I need you to be a good little filly. And I want you to practice not analyzing everypony that crosses your path. And study hard! If you need help, just ask your mother. She’s the smartest unicorn, heck, the smartest pony I ever met. And don’t make her life hard. Do what she tells you without arguing, ok? She really hates to fight with you. Do you think that you could do all that for me, kiddo?”

“Sure thing Daddy!” Prism said with enthusiasm.

“Thanks kiddo. And always remember that I love you. Now go to sleep. Goodnight.” Dash said, and once again, her words had an uncomfortable finality to them.

As she turned off the light and exited the room, Dash stole one last glance at her daughter. Prism was lying on her side, her eyes closed. Her mouth was moving silently, as it always did when she was counting sheep. Dash had to
choke back a sob.

Twilight was standing just outside Prism’s room. “Did you say everything that you needed to?” She asked.

“Yes,” replied Dash, “but it was a lot harder to do than I expected.”

“Of course it was, Dash.” Was Twilight’s reply. “You just said goodbye to your daughter forever. I don’t think anything could prepare you for that.”

Dash sniffed, and Twilight slid up to her and began to nuzzle her.

“And we still have one last night together before we say goodbye. What do you say we make the most of it?” Twilight asked, but the seductive quality of her voice was severely undermined by the tremor in it.

“Sure thing.” Dash said with a sad smile. “And, Twilight. I love you. I don’t think I can say that enough.”

“I can’t either, Dash. But always know that I love you as well.” Twilight said, voice full of sadness.

Both mares turned and walked into their bedroom together.

***

Twilight awoke to a mess of tangled sheets, and nothing else. Dash had already left.

Feeling rather empty, Twilight ventured down into the kitchen to mechanically make herself breakfast. All thoughts of food, however, were struck from her mind when she saw a note pinned to the refrigerator. Recognizing the handwriting of the mare of her dreams, she snatched it down and began to read.

Twilight,

I’m gonna keep this short. I just wanted to let you know one last time how much I love you. The day that you asked me to marry you was the happiest of my life. I knew from that moment on that I would always have a family waiting for me to come home. And I am sorry that I won’t be this time. I know that I am selfishly abandoning you and Prism, but I really feel that this is the best thing that I can do. And I have one final selfish request. Don’t let my death be the end of your life. I want you to live it to the fullest for both of us. Go laugh with Pinkie. Scold Applejack about working too much. Help Rarity design awesome dresses. Help Fluttershy overcome her fears. Keep writing those reports to Celestia. And above all, keep Prism safe and happy. Just remember, I’ll be looking out for you from up here.

Love you forever,

Rainbow Dash.

Twilight Sparkle clutched the letter to her chest and began to cry.