The sun was shining, and school was out for the summer. While all of the kids were busy enjoying the freedom that the day promised a blue blur was flying past them. Rainbow Dash skillfully darted through the sky as she made her way to Twilight's castle. She was called on short notice so she kept flying through the hallway. She knew that Twilight was going to chew her out for making a mess, but she hoped that this was important enough to account for it.
Dash slid to a stop as she busted through the door. "I'm here! Let's make it quick I have Wonderbolt practice in..." She looked up to see the Wonderbolts standing alongside her friends. "Uh, why did you call my co-workers for a meeting?"
"They didn't. I did." Dash turned around to see princess Celestia standing behind her. All of the Wonderbolts bowed when they saw her come in. Celestia gave them a small nod as she walked up to Twilight. "Thank you all for coming so quickly. I wanted to let you all know about our new friends."
Pinkie Pie jumped into the air when she heard the news. "Yay!!! We get to have a party for our new friends. Who are they, where do they come from, and most importantly, do they prefer cupcakes or muffins?"
Celestia gave a gentle smile, now used to Pinkie's antics. "They are known as Reindeer. I think that they are distant cousins to the deer of the Everfree forest. They live farther north than the Yaks do. We just formed a alliance, and I want us to give a warm welcome to their ambassadors who are going to live here. As for your last question, you can't go wrong with both."
Rarity clapped her hooves."Oh, this will be so exciting. Meeting creatures from another new country. I hope this will go smoother than the Yaks."
Twilight quickly added her input. "No matter what their culture is it's a privilege to meet another civilization."
"I should warn you that they had a brutal war a few years ago. I don't know how strongly they'll trust us. So we need to be at our best while they are here." Celestia warned the others.
Spitfire stepped forward to ask a question that was eating at her. "Excuse me your highness, but why did you call us here?"
Celestia turned to where the Wonderbolts were lined up. "I was hoping you could preform for us, if that's alright with the rest of you."
Spitfire saluted her. "Yes ma'am! We'll be ready."
Celestia nodded and turned her attention to Twilight and her friends. "Twilight, can you and your friends prepare the welcoming ceremony? I still remember the last big party you planned."
Twilight cringed when Celestia mentioned the last big party. "Yeah, me to."
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The ambassadors arrived a day before the celebration was scheduled. So they spent the morning talking about each others cultures. Normally Luna would get bored quickly, but she actually enjoyed these talks. The skinniest reindeer named Daisy Dancer kept cracking jokes.
Something bugged Celestia about the whole situation. "You seem to know a lot about our culture Snow Fall."
Snow fall, A reindeer with a white coat explained. "Well, we didn't know a few things. Like the other princesses. But I guess it has to do with a certain pony. He's told us a lot about your country. From what he's said you are a kind and peaceful nation. From what we have seen he hasn't lied to us. We trust him because of how valiantly he protected our nation."
Celestia raised an eyebrow "I didn't know that a pony has met your people before."
"We haven't seen many ponies either until the appearance of a pink pony looking for a gift from some of our powerful gift makers. It was after that when we learned about Ponyville from the Yack prince. Our pony ambassador jumped at the chance to return to his homeland." Snow fall motioned to the door. "He's here if you want to meet him."
Celestia never heard about a pony meeting them, so she couldn't resist seeing him. "I have no knowledge about a pony that far north. I'd like to meet him."
After a nod to the guards and a few moments later he walked in. He had short red and yellow hair and a blue coat. He also had a thin mustache. A look of stun appeared on Celestia's face as he bowed to her.
Luna gave a look of concern when she saw her sister. "Is something wrong sister?"
Celestia was trying to process what she was seeing. "I-i-impossible! You're... What?"
The pony straightened up as he spoke. "Sorry I was gone for so long. Couldn't find my way home. That and I fell into the middle of a war."
Snow Fall cleared his throat. "He said that he has met you before."
Luna pressed Celestia. "Who is he sister?"
Celestia just stood in unbelief.
The pony turned to Luna. "My name is Sun Ray. I was a Wonderbolt; I guess now I'm more of an ex-Wonderbolt. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"
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The party was in full swing, Twilight was surprised about how welcoming the reindeer were.
One of them tapped her shoulder. "You ponies know how to throw a party!"
Twilight smiled. "Well thank you. Although I must give most of the credit to Pinkie Pie."
Pinkie Pie appeared from behind a slice of cake. "Yep, Pinkie Pie, ambassador party planner at your service. I can't wait to meet the pony who told you so much about us!"
Pinkie disappeared before the reindeer could confront her.
She turned to Twilight with a look of confusion. "How did she..."
Twilight stopped her. "I've learned that it's best not to think about it."
They both stopped talking when they saw the Wonderbolts fly overhead. Twilight always enjoyed watching them preform these advanced and calculated performances.
As they preformed their routine Sun Ray walked next to Twilight and sat down. "Is that Spitfire leading?"
Twilight kept her eyes on the performance. "Why yes it is. Have you seen them preform before?"
Sun Ray gave a small grin as he turned to her. "Would you believe me if I said I was a Wonderbolt once?"
Twilight instantly faced him. "Really? And I thought I'd just be meeting ambassadors today."
Ray chuckled. "You're not wrong. It's all I've been doing for a while. I've almost forgotten what it's like to fly with them. There's a lot of new kids here. Lots of talent too."
Sun Ray turned to see Fluttershy walk next to Twilight.
Fluttershy sat down next to them. "How's everything going Twi..."
As she noticed Ray a look of pure shock and confusion came over Fluttershy's face.
Sun Ray turned to her and waved at her. "Hey! Long time no see Fluttershy. You've gotten a lot bigger since I last saw you."
Twilight didn't notice Fluttershy's face or her stuttering. "Do you know her?"
Ray smiled. "She was a friend of my cousin. I haven't seen her in ages. Speaking of which, Shy, have you seen..." His eyes turned from her back to the Wonderbolts. "Hold that thought."
He walked to where the Bolts were taking a rest.
Twilight turned back to Fluttershy to ask her a question. "Who is he?"
Fluttershy kept stuttering as several looks of shock and confusion continued to form on her face.
While Twilight was trying to understand what Fluttershy was trying to say the Wonderbolts were cleaning their equipment and having some water before doing their last show for the night.
Dash took her goggles and her head cover off and started talking to Spitfire. "So, do you still think I'm getting rusty?"
Spitfire grinned a bit. "I'm glad you're doing better since the museum incident, but you do need to practice more. You're drifting to the right a bit."
Rainbow dash quickly saluted. "Yes ma'am!"
Ray softly spoke up. "Dashie?"
A feeling of shock came over Dash as she turned around to see a Pegasus that once inspired her now with a small mustache, shorter hair, and tears rolling down his face. Only a few words managed to leave her lips. "S-s-sun Ray???"
He darted toward her as she slowly walked towards him. He quickly rapped her in a hug as he started crying.
Tears filled Dash's eyes as she started crying to herself. "Please don't be a dream, please don't be a dream!"
Sun Ray held her tighter. "My thoughts exactly."
Dash was still trying to understand how Ray was here. "I... I thought I lost you forever."
Ray stopped her. "So did I for a while."
Everyone stopped as they saw two ponies reunited. Spitfire watched in awe for a moment before turning to Soarin. "Do me a favor and tell the princesses that we are canceling the last show. I think this is more important."
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Rainbow Dash spent the rest of the party talking to Sun Ray about everything that's happened since he disappeared. As Twilight and her friends watched the conversation from a distance Celestia and Luna joined them.
Celestia leaned towards Twilight. "Has Dash been talking to him this whole time?"
Twilight explained what happened. "Ray keeps asking her to continue. It amazing isn't it? I thought he was..."
Celestia placed a hoof on her shoulder. "We all did Twilight. But I'm grateful that they are together again. I can't imagine what they're feeling."
Luna interrupted them. "Excuse me?"
Celestia quickly explained as she placed a hoof on her shoulder. "I knew you were coming back one day. They didn't."
They listened as Ray begged Dash to continue. "Keep going! So what nickname did you get stuck with when you got in?"
Rainbow dash cringed. "Rainbow Crash."
Ray remembered the bullies that gave her that nickname. "Oof, how did that go?"
Rainbow shrugged. "I got over it, eventually. But it's so awesome being a Wonderbolt."
Ray smiled to see how she grown. "And how's lightning rod doing with leading the team?"
A sharp voice jumped in. "Sir!"
Ray recognized the voice "Speaking of whom."
Ray turned to see Spitfire saluting at attention.
He returned the salute. "Hey Spitfire. It's been a long time since, you know."
Spitfire tried hiding how nervous she was. "Sir. I'm here to welcome you back, return your command, and resign my position as a Wonderbolt."
Dash's mouth dropped as she quickly tried interrupting. "But you can't..."
Ray quickly shot a look at Dash letting her know that he wanted to take care of it.
He turned back to Spitfire and spoke with a voice that had a sense of authority. "Thanks for the warm welcome, but I can't except anything else. I'm not joining the Wonderbolts again. I don't think I'm up for that. Second, I'm not letting you give up your career because of a guilt trip. I hold nothing against you, I don't blame you for what happened. Now quit the water works, and keep being the leader I know you are. That's my final order!"
A single tear fell down Spitfires face. "Yes sir!"
Ray stopped using his formal voice and gave her a hug. "Cut the formalities, it's great to see you. Can you give me the addresses of the old crew. I'd like to let them know that I'm alive and well."
Spitfire was a bit shocked. "Uh, sure thing cartwheel."
"I'll catch up with you later, I'm still talking to my cousin." His attention went back to Dash. "Now, when you said 'eventually' it sounded like there's a story behind it."
Rainbow was about to tell him, but she realized that he hasn't spoken about what happened to him. "Well, all honesty I thought you'd want to tell me some of your stories."
"Nah, trust me. Your stories are much better. Most likely exaggerated but a lot better."
Suddenly a voice called out from the crowd. "Ray? Where are you?"
Ray waved over to where the noise came from. "Over here! Hey, here's a good story. Dash, this is my wife, Star Prancer."
A reindeer trotted over. Her yellow hair was in a ponytail and her coat had a light blue tint to it. A strange young Colt trotted next to her. He was most likely 6 or 7. He had wings like a Pegasus, but his coat was like that of a reindeer. His coat had a yellow tint to it. His hair was also yellow and was cut short. He ran up to Ray and gave him a hug.
Ray smiled as he turned to Dash. "And this is my son, Golden Dash. He's not a fast flyer yet, but he's pretty good at music."
Dash was shocked when she saw his family. She didn't know how to react.
Ray gave his wife a hug and quickly introduced Dash. "Hey honey, you know that cousin that I told you about? This is Rainbow Dash."
Star Prancer shook Rainbows hoof. "Hello Dash. I thought you'd be shorter."
Ray shrugged. "A decade will do that to ponies."
Dash tried jumping back into the conversation. "I was just asking about Ray's past."
Ray motioned to his family. "Well, you've got the best parts right here."
Rainbow Dash tried being more specific. "Well, what happened when you..."
Sun Ray interrupted her. "Um, listen. I need to figure out where we are going to move to, but we'll talk later. By the way, you have to introduce me to your friends. It's great to see you again. I've missed you."
Ray gave Dash a hug and walked off with his family. Dash's smile slowly faded away as she sat down.
Applejack walked over and gave her a pat on the back. "Well call me a monkeys uncle! You don't know how happy I am for you."
"Thanks." All of Dash's friends noticed the lost of excitement in her voice.
Rarity was the first to confront Dash. "Darling! What is the matter? I could only imagine that this would be a dream come true for you. What's wrong?"
Dash was a little upset. "He's different. He used to tell me about what's going on with him in the Wonderbolts. I mean, I enjoyed telling him about how awesome my life has been, but I think he's avoiding talking about himself."
Fluttershy tried comforting her. "Maybe he's just wanting to hear about you. It has been almost ten years."
Rarity joined in. "Or maybe he's just busy finding a new home?"
"Or maybe he's a spy taking over your cousins identity so he can get his hands on our chocolate supply!" Everyone paused at Pinky Pies theory. "What? It's just a guess."
Twilight decided to add her opinion. "Listen, you have your cousin back. You'll get plenty of time to catch up with him. You need to consider the fact that he missed you too. You lost a cousin, but he lost everything. Maybe he's just wanting a peace of his past back. He'll get to talking about himself later. You just need to be patient with him."
Dash gave a small smile. "Thanks, but he used to live in Cloudsdale. It's going to be a while before we talk again."
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It was two days after the party and Dash was enjoying having some time to herself. Having to manage teaching her class and dealing with Wonderbolt practice and shows left her with very little time to herself. She was glad that summer was here and she could have a bit more free time.
She was resting on a cloud when someone woke her. "Hey Dash, how's the weather up there?"
Dash turned to see Ray standing on the ground under her.
Dash jumped when she saw him. "Ray! What are you doing here?"
Ray held up a suitcase. "Moving. It's a nice place here and the wife loves it so here we are."
Dash was a little confused. "I thought you would move to Cloudsdale."
Sun Ray shrugged. "Didn't work out. This is better for the family. Green fields, small town, fresh air, not as much snow as Coldbluff, but I like it here and so does my family. I'm thinking about enrolling my son in your school of friendship. That, and now I get to get back in touch with you."
Dash was exited. "Great! I was wanting to ask you a few questions..."
Ray stopped her again. "Hey, first things first. You need to show us around here."
Dash jumped to the ground and greeted the family.
She gave Golden a hug. "So do you fly as fast as your dad?"
Golden blushed a bit. "No, but I hope that I will one day. Dad is the best flyer ever."
Ray nudged Dash. "I would't say that son, I'm out of practice. Admittedly he doesn't have much to go off of. Reindeer can fly, but they're slow compared to Pegasus."
Golden tried to say how cool Ray was. "But dad used to be a hero..."
Ray interrupted him. "Uh, let's let Dash show us around town."
Dash spent the day showing the family around town and introducing them to other ponies. Dash kept trying to ask about the whole hero thing but Ray kept dodging the question. They introduced Golden to the CMC and let him spend the day with them. Eventually she took Ray and his wife to the castle and introduced him to her friends. It was nice to see him having a good time with her friends, but something kept nagging at her.
Fluttershy eventually pulled her aside to another room. "Dash, what's bothering you?"
Dash was visibly upset. "It's Ray."
Fluttershy took a small breath. "I thought we talked about it. It's been a decade, remember what Rarity talked about with her sister. He has grown a lot since we were kids. He's not the same pony that you once knew, he's changed."
"But he won't talk about what happened when he was gone. He has avoided almost every question that I've asked him."
"Well it's not like Pinkie's theory is true."
Suddenly a serious look came on Dash's face. "There's only one way to find out!"
Dash stormed back into the throne room with Fluttershy trying to stop her.
Dash stomped her hooves in front of Ray with an angry look on her face. "Ok Ray, if that's your real name. Prove to me that you're my cousin!"
Everyone was startled at Dash's outburst.
Ray stepped toward Dash. "Dash, what's this about. Why are you..."
Dash interrupted him as a few tears ran down her face. "I said prove it."
Twilight tried stepping in but Ray waved her off.
He sighed and looked at his confused and angry cousin. "What do you want to know? Do you want to know that Spitfire's nickname is Lightning rod because on her first day she accidentally hit herself with her own lightning bolt? Or that you once lied about your homework saying that it got stolen by nightmare moon when the truth was you did it but you dropped it in a sink trying to get breakfast? Or that when you went camping with Fluttershy you screamed at some branches at night and blamed it on her, but later you admitted that you thought you saw a Timber wolf? What other things do I need to say? It's me Dash! I'm here. Can't you see that?"
Dash was now sure that this was Ray, but it only made her more upset. "Then why don't you tell me what happened when you disappeared?"
A serious look came on Ray's face. "I got married and had a kid. Nothing else."
Star Prancer knew where the conversation was heading, but before she could say anything Rainbow Dash spoke. "Golden said that you are a hero."
Ray was being defensive. "It a opinion. Lots of dads are heroes to their kids. It's my job to be his hero."
Dash raised her voice. "You know what I'm talking about! You know that there's more to that last decade than what you are saying. Why won't you tell me?"
Suddenly Ray yelled at her. "Because I don't want to tell you!"
Dash quickly fell silent as she saw her cousin tell at her.
Ray soon realized what he did. "Dash, let me..."
Before he could finish Dash darted out the door crying.
Ray shouted at her again. "Dash, Wait!!!"
Everyone else was silent for a moment. Ray ran his wing through his hair. His face showed the pure sense of regret he was having. Finally Prancer spoke up. "Ray, she doesn't know what you went through."
Ray sighed. "That's doesn't excuse my outburst. I need to talk to her."
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They looked all over the castle for her. Eventually they found Dash at her house sitting on the balcony of the castle.
Twilight tried talking to Ray before he tried talking to Dash. "Maybe we should talk to her first."
Ray shook his head. "Thanks, but I need to do this. You can listen, but let me talk to her."
Ray took a deep breath and walked to Dash. "Hey Dash, I'm sorry for yelling at you."
Ray waited for a moment to let Dash speak, but Dash didn't say anything.
Ray sighed as he sat next to her. "You weren't the first to suspect me of being a fraud. But with how I've been acting, I don't blame you. I just don't like talking about what happened."
Ray paused again, but he still didn't get a response from Dash.
He took another breath and continued. "The wind that carried me wasn't like a explosion. It was more like a wave carrying me, dragging along. I don't remember most of the flight, but I woke up to find myself surrounded with snow. My wings were a mess. If Miracle, a reindeer, hadn't found me, I don't think I'd be here. At first I was sure that I'd never fly again, but after 3 months I was fully recovered. The medical center there is amazing. I wanted to get home so bad after that, but no one there had ever heard about Equestria. That, and there was a war on."
Dash interrupted him. "What war?"
Ray couldn't face her. "There was a reindeer, who's name I hate saying, that ruled over the land. He wasn't like Celestia. He was cold, cruel, he believed that he was above everyone else and that he should be worshiped. The fool never cared about anyone but himself. He basically made his nation slaves, giving them barely anything and took the rest for himself. What he didn't take went to his army. It was the only way he could keep control. 6 months before I showed up a civil war broke out. With no way home I decided to join the fight with the rebels. Me being 5 times faster gave me an edge that no one else had. I fought for over a year before we won the war, but I lost something."
Dash placed a wing on his shoulder. "What?"
Ray brushed it off. "Myself. I've seen things that I can't forget. Some ponies boast about their war days, but not me. I just wanted to forget them. You don't know what I deal with. They celebrate with fireworks. I used to dive for cover. I couldn't sleep, and I couldn't feel any emotion. They considered me a hero, but I still carried the war. I don't like talking about it because I don't want to relive it."
Dash soon realized what all he went through.
She looked at Ray and asked him a single question. "Then what happened?"
Ray turned and looked at Star Prancer. "She happened. She helped me, got me smiling again. I could tell you so much about our relationship. Her care and patience with me always confused me, but I couldn't reject it forever. After a year we got married, and a year after that we had a child. They gave me what I lost and more. I'm ten times the pony I once was, but not perfect. When I heard that they found Equestria my heart jumped. My wife suggested moving back here. At first I thought about moving to Cloudsdale but when I went there it didn't feel like home anymore. So we moved here. Now let me ask you a question. Through the war and loneliness, what kept me going?"
Dash was silent. Ray nodded to his wife as she got a piece of paper out of a saddle bag.
Ray unfolded the old, dirty piece of paper to show a colored picture of two ponies dressed like Wonder Bolts. "Remember this? You handed it to me when I became a Bolt. It's a lot better than your knitting. I've always hung on to this, because on my darkest days I remembered what I always told you. Never give up on yourself. I before I knew my wife I had you to fight for, to make life worth living, and even when I had my family I never forgot you. You don't know how proud I am of you, of what you've accomplished. I missed so much, and I'll never give up this moment for anything."
Dash smiled as a few tears fell down her chin. They both hugged once more.
As they both let go Ray looked up to the night sky. "There's a clear sky tonight. I'm seeing a couple of wind tunnels. Do you feel like a race?"
Dash gave a look of confusion. "What?"
Ray slowly stood up. "I need to see how fast you've gotten since I last saw you, and I'm out of practice."
Dash grinned as she stood next to Ray. As they both got ready Dash counted down. "Ready..."
"Go!" Dash watched as Ray took of like a bullet.
Dash waited a second before she took off. "I feel like rolls were reversed here!"
As they both raced through Ponyville they both knew that life would never be the same again, but they knew that through the past they became stronger, and that they could face the future together once more.