Chapter 33 – A Day Without Rainbows

In the following morning, rays of sunshine pierce through the bleak gloom of Ford Mustang’s bedroom as the celestial beams cast their light on the lone stallion, who is still slumbering from his restless sleep. But eventually, the somewhat welcoming light stirs him up from his dreary slumber, and he gradually rises up to face the brand new day ahead of him.

As he groggily sits up on his bed for a matter of minutes, he slowly turns his head to his left side, and once again, the vacant spot next him serves as a grim reminder on what happened last night is certainly no delusion: Rainbow Dash is no longer amongst the living after giving birth to their two beautiful foals. And after staring at that empty spot for a little while longer, the impassive stallion lets out a steady, heavy sigh before he faces the other way and sluggishly exits out of the bedroom.

As he steps outside of his room, something gets his attention as his keen nose picks up a wonderful scent: cooked eggs, onions, and peppers… probably the working of a omelet downstairs… the smell of breakfast. With more of a spring in his steps, the now smiling stallion flies leisurely as he uses his nose to follow the cooking omelet’s vapor trail.

Once he lands in front of the kitchen, Ford’s assumptions are correct as he sees a familiar stallion still working on a large omelet filled with sliced onions and chopped bell peppers. And after adding a few slices of cheese to his culinary creation, he turns away for a stove once he notices the presence of the younger stallion that has just entered the room.

“Oh, good morning, Ford.” he greets with a cheerful smile.

“Morning, Turbo.” he responds with a simple smile of his own.

“I hope you don’t mind me using your kitchen this morning.” Turbo Dash explains himself as he turns his attention back on the nearly completed omelet. “You must has been completely tuckered out since last night, so I figure I could help myself to the kitchen by cooking a delicious breakfast for us today. Hope that’s cool with you.”

“No, please. Go ready ahead.”

As Turbo Dash continues to watch over the omelet, Ford sits himself down at the table nearby as he examines all that the older stallion has already prepared for them. The setup includes a tray of sliced oranges, grapes, and bananas, a plate of toasted bread for each of them with butter and jelly on the sides, a couple glasses of orange juice, and a small pot of freshly brewed coffee, no doubt for Turbo in particular since Mustang hardly drinks the stuff himself.

“Alright. Here you go.” the older stallion announces as he places one half of the hearty omelet in front of Ford.

“Thanks for preparing all of this.” he offers with a grateful smile. “Everything looks really good.”

“Anytime.” Dash nods with a welcoming grin as he sits himself down on the opposite end of the table. And once he takes a good sip from his cup of coffee, he then asks in a more serious tone, “So, Ford… how did you sleep last night?”

Unwilling to answer on how deeply distressing his night was, he averts his shame-ridden eyes away from Turbo’s soft, inquisitive gaze as he couldn’t bear to tell the elder stallion on how difficult it was for him get some sleep after all that has happened to him since last night. However, there is no need for Mustang go into any detail as Turbo can practically read everything from the heavy, somber look on the younger Pegasus’s face.

“Sigh... Yeah, me too.” Turbo acknowledges with a small, sympathetic smile.

Compared to the two of them, Turbo Dash is a lot more cheerful much to Mustang’s surprise, so he points it out in a slightly shrew manner, “I could hardly tell difference myself.”

“Trust me, I’m used to this by now.” he responds with a light chuckle to himself before he gets himself up and places a comforting hoof on Ford’s shoulder. “Though I have to say, you’re at least handling this a lot better than me when my wife passed away years ago. But anyway, like I said last night: we’ll get through this together, Ford. I promise.”

Though he didn’t come up with a proper response to Dash’s reassurance, Ford at least took those comforting words into great consideration as a much more appreciative smile begins to emerge across his face. Along with that budding smile, he gently pats Turbo’s reassuring hoof as a welcoming gesture while the older stallion continues to bear that promising smile of his.

Then, with a playful nudge, Turbo insists with a wink and a lighthearted grin, “Now come on, eat up already. Don’t want a well-balanced breakfast to get cold and go to waste, you know. Besides, you’re going to need all of that energy when we see the twins again this morning.” he states it knowingly as he resumes his seat at the table.

And with hungry grins, the two stallions indulge in their big breakfast together. But halfway through their hearty meal, Ford recalls a fond memory over his beloved angel and he lets out a small chuckle before sharing with his father-in-law across the table.

“Heh, I still remember the times when Rainbow and I used to cook together.”

“Oh yeah?” Turbo responds after taking another bite from his buttered toast. “I bet with you as the head chef around here, she didn’t have to worry with the hassle of running the kitchen herself.”

“Actually, there were moments when she had done some cooking by herself.”

Dash stares at him with wide eyes before he giggles with a tiny smirk, “You’re kidding me!”

“What, you don’t believe me?” asks Mustang with an arch of his eyebrow.

“It’s not that really, it’s just that… she would always have a hard time making a proper meal for herself.” Turbo answers with an awkward smile.

“Well get this. During Rainbow’s maternity leave, she decided to cook a meal for us while I was out with the weather team that day. And I have to admit, she did an admirable job for herself.”

“Really? Do you remember what she cooked that day?”

“Well, I remember it was some type of asparagus dish for dinner, but as for dessert, she decided to make a soufflé for us.”

The mention of that ambitious dessert really leaves Turbo Dash speechless before he says something to indicate his absolute astonishment over this matter, “Okay, now you gotta be kidding me!”

“I kid you not.” he counters with a knowing grin.

“Huh.” Turbo mutters to himself as he gradually lets that sink in despite his own initial disbelief. “Rainbow Dash is always the brash one, but I would never imagine her to even attempt to make a soufflé all by herself! Even I wouldn’t dare to create such a delicate dessert like that!”

“Well... it wasn’t entirely perfect, but it was still edible to some degree. We both decided in the end that the soufflé didn’t meet to our expectations. Still, her skills in cooking grew exponentially after that. I can still remember the delicious scalloped potatoes she made for me this one other time.” he confirms with a faint lick of his chops over such cheesiness.

Amazed as ever, he swells up with pride over his daughter’s personal accomplishment as he offers a sincere smile to his son-in-law. “Wow… I never knew my baby girl became just an outstanding cook for herself. Thanks for sharing that with me, Ford. That means a lot for me to hear from you.”

Without a word, the smiling Mustang nods right back to him, and eventually, they resume what’s left on their plate. After that’s finished, they clean up their dishes and set them aside to dry overtime before Turbo Dash faces the younger Pegasus to establish what’s next on today’s agenda.

“Well then, now that breakfast has been taken care of, what do you say we go ahead and pay a visit to our two favorite foals in the world, hmm?”

With a sophisticated grin matching his, Ford Mustang cheerfully complies in an instant. “Yep. Sounds like a plan, Turbo.”

Meanwhile, in the celestial heavens, Rainbow Dash and her attentive mother, Firefly, spent countless hours of catching up without any need to take a break or rest. It's hard to believe that the younger mare could talk for so long, but without her physical body weighing her down, that didn't distracted her from sharing an extensive, tenderhearted moment with her mother like she always wanted for so long.

“So yeah, that pretty much sums up my life, mom." Rainbow finishes her overly extensive tale before she decides a catch a breather for herself. "Whew! I can’t believe we were able to talk for that long.”

“Yes, and to think it’s morning already.” Firefly confirms nonchalantly.

“Wait… It’s morning already?!” Dash exclaims in immense shock from losing track of time.

“Oh yeah… I guess you can’t tell much when time is pretty much irrelevant here, huh?” the older mare states with a mild chuckle before she perks up on something important in mind. “Ooo, that reminds me! We should stop by Ponyville Hospital to see your newborn twins today! I never got the chance to see my grandfoals up-close last night!” she states in a very gleeful tone.

As much as Rainbow loves the idea herself, she is a bit unsure on how that's possible. “But how? We can’t ever go back to the world of the living, right?

“Now who says that we can’t?” Firefly asks with a shrewd smile spreading across her face.

"Huh?"

With no need for Firefly to clarify her cryptic statement, a white light tears through space and creates a pony-sized portal behind them. Unfazed by the bright portal's sudden appearance, Firefly continues to grin cleverly from seeing her daughter staring at it with increasingly bewildered eyes.

“Again, huh?!” she restates her question with an exaggeratedly gaping face.

After a brief giggle over the younger mare's continuous stupefaction, Firefly happily clarifies that conundrum for Rainbow, “Well we may be intangible spirits that are invisible through the eyes of ponies, but we can practically go wherever we please. How else was I going to keep a close eye on you? I am your guardian angel after all.” she concludes with a wink.

A bit relieved over the magical portal's timely appearance, a new thought crosses Dash’s mind as she contemplates on what her mom just said. And after giving it some more thought, her eyes widen once again with a massive blush consuming her face this time over a horrifying realization in mind.

“Wait if that’s true… then does that mean you’ve been watching me the entire time?!” she demands in a flustered manner.

A bit confused by her daughter’s spontaneous outburst, it didn't take long for the pink mare to figure out on what Rainbow Dash is implying as she too shares the same flushed manner as her daughter.

“No no! Of course not!" she hastily reassures her. "I know when I need to stay out of your own private affairs.”

But as Rainbow is about to sigh in relief from dealing with that kind of humiliation, Firefly then adds in a very sly manner, “Though I have to say… your husband does have such a nice bod.”

As expected, a blush resurfaces on Dash’s face over her mother's somewhat vague comment over Mustang’s looks. Of course, Firefly didn’t stop there as she continues her devious ploy with a knowing grin and a playful wiggle of her eyebrows.

“And I have to admit, I am a bit jealous of your little ‘escapades’ with him every now and then.”

Without any need to go into any further disclosure, Firefly's teasing emphasis worked out quite well for her as it earns the clever mare a completely horrified look from her mortified daughter as Rainbow’s blush lights up as brightly as one of the astral plane's countless stars. Shaking like mad and embarrassed beyond belief, Dash fully expresses herself like any daughter would over her mother's intended snooping.

“MOM~!! I thought you said you stayed out of my affairs!” she whines in an extremely ear-piercing voice.

Unfazed by her flushed daughter’s expected outburst, Firefly simply laughs it off before countering in a clever, casual manner, “Well I didn’t say all of the time.”

Unable to find any words to counter-argue that sly statement, the annoyed, blue mare begrudgingly accepts her defeat as she grumbles underneath her breath while maintaining an increasing scowl against her still amused mother. And once she has her share of a good laugh at her daughter’s expense, Firefly lightly nudges Rainbow out of her grump as she knows of a way to cheer her up.

“Now come on. I’ll race you.”

Almost immediately, Rainbow forgoes her grumpiness earlier as she breaks into her usual, confident smirk, which matches that with her mother's, before she gladly accepts the challenge head-on. “You’re on, mom!”

And simultaneously, mother and daughter rocket towards the mystical portal, where they marked Ponyville Hospital as their finish line for today's race.

As they fly through the town of Ponyville, Ford and Turbo notice a slight change in the residential scenery. It seems that word has spread out a lot faster than they would expect as dozens of rainbow-striped banners and flags hang out in the open, no doubt indicating over the recent passing of Rainbow Dash from last night. As some of the flags showcases Rainbow’s face or Cutie Mark, all of the them bears the same rich, multicolored pattern as the recently deceased’s mane and tail. Along with that, there are flyers posted all across town as they promote Rainbow Dash’s funeral scheduled for tomorrow morning. From one of the flyers, it not only details the location of the funeral, which will be held at Canterlot’s royal chapel, but it also promotes times for train rides and certain locations where trained Unicorns will provide free access to their magical portals for instant access. Clearly, the princesses spare no expense for this type of memorial service.

Soon enough, the two Pegasi stallions arrive at Ponyville General Hospital and are led by one of the medical associates to see Ford’s one-day-old twins. But rather than meet up with them at the nursery room like last time, they are instead led to a specialized playroom for baby foals in particular.

After standing around for a short period on the colorful checker-covered floor, the wait is over when Nurse Redheart delivers the anticipating twins in one of the staff’s baby carriages. And right on time, Rainbow Dash and Firefly make their ghostly appearances by passing through the wall after finishing up their close-finish race. Once everything is set, Redheart excuses herself as the stallions lean closer to admire the tiny foals for a little bit longer

“Sigh… little angels.” Turbo states with a doting smile over his brand-new grandfoals.

“Yeah… just like their mommy.” Ford agrees with a lovey-dovey smile of his own.

Sharing the same warm expressions as their respective husbands, Rainbow and Firefly bear overwhelming smiles for the newborn twins, both for their natural cuteness and on how heart-wrenching it is from being unable to interacting with them. As the older Pegasi continue to cherish the always adorable faces of the warm orange colt and midnight blue filly, Turbo Dash eventually notices his son-in-law’s hesitation from laying a single hoof on his son and daughter just yet, so he gently nudges him out of his personal daze before he asks of him.

“Well…? Aren’t you going to hold one of them?”

From that mild suggestion, Mustang continues to hesitate before he lowers his head and nervously admits in a soft manner, “I… I never held a foal before. I never held a baby for that matter.”

Understanding Ford’s own fears as a first-time parent, the older stallion bears a considerate grin as he helps the younger Pegasus by passing along his own wisdom from one father to another. “Well you’re gonna have to start somewhere, Ford. Here, I’ll show you how, and then you can try it out yourself.”

With Mustang watching very closely as he stands right next to Turbo, the more confident stallion picks up the colt first by using his right fore hoof to hold him by the bottom and using his left fore hoof to secure the baby’s head. As he brings his grandson up close, both Turbo and Ford are amazed to see the baby boy opening his eyes for the first time as they display a brilliant blue that completely contrasts with his warm-colored coat and mane. From the older stallions’ combined amazements, their astonished smiles broaden even further over the beaming colt’s first reveal of his eyes.

After recovering from the heartwarming moment in front of him, Turbo then turns to Ford and verifies with a casual grin, “See? You just gotta gently scoop it from the bottom with one hoof and use the other to help support their head. Simple as that. Now you try.”

Despite his renewed reluctance, Ford complies with a faint nod before he turns his attention to the little filly remaining in her wheeled carriage as it looks like she is still in the middle of her nap. Steadily, the blue-haired stallion reaches forward and mimics Turbo’s methods carefully. But once his daughter is in his slightly shaky yet tender grasp, the closed-eyed filly starts to feel uneasy all of a sudden as she lets out increasingly upsetting whimpers, which causes Mustang to fret even more than before.

“Turbo, she’s crying!” he informs in a gradual state of panic. “D-did I do something wrong here? What should I do now?”

“Shh… don’t panic.” he assures in a soft, calm voice as he continues to cradle his grandson. “Just relax and stay cool. She probably doesn’t know it’s you just yet. Here, bring her close to your chest and try talking to her. It help you bond with your baby better.”

Following on Turbo Dash’s advice, Ford does his best to calm down his nerves before he gently brings the softly sobbing filly closer until she is touching his warm, fuzzy coat. With his daughter in close proximity of his chest, Ford then rocks his baby in a calming manner while whispering to her in a kind, reassuring tone.

“Hey, it’s okay, sweetie. It’s only daddy, remember?”

Whether it was his softhearted words or his soothing method of cradling the baby, his daughter gradually ceases her crying as the sniveling filly takes a moment to look up to see who it is. It is from this brief period of time where Ford Mustang gets the first glimpse at his daughter’s eyes: a lovely, vibrant shade of pink that nearly matches with the hot pink streak in her four-striped mane. As they silently stare at each other, Ford displays a warm, heartfelt smile for his little girl as he gently strokes her soft, colorful hair.

Then, much to the father’s relief and joy, the little, dark blue bundle of joy breaks into a toothless smile whilst giggling in an ever-so adorable fashion. With her squealing in delight, she lifts her wobbly forelegs up as a means to get close to her daddy. A bit taken back by his daughter’s incredibly cute reaction, the highly emotional stallion couldn’t control on how watery his eyes are getting, and he gladly complies to his baby girl’s request by bring his smiling face close to hers so they can happily embrace one another in this touching father-and-daughter moment.

“Yes, that’s right.” he whispers in a joyous, sentimental voice in the midst of their cuddling. “Daddy’s here, sweetheart. Daddy’s here.”

As father and daughter blissfully carries on with their silent snuggling, Turbo Dash has been observing their ongoing affection as he smiles with satisfaction over their special bonding time together. Not only that, but his contented smile broadens a bit more when he recalls the same heartwarming reaction he once had years ago from bonding with his beloved daughter, Rainbow Dash, after his wife’s passing.

Suddenly, his observation gets interrupted as his nose picks up a stench, and once he pinpoints the source of the somewhat familiar smell, he turns to the source of the foul odor and sees the baby colt in front of him that he still holding. A bit distracted by the colt’s somewhat innocent smile, Turbo wants to confirm his suspicions as he takes a couple whiffs just to be sure.

“Sniff Sniff… Whew!” he exclaims sharply once he verifies the smell before he faces his pre-occupied son-in-law with a meaningful grin. “Well… now that you got that one down, we can move on with your next lesson in Parenting 101.”

“And what lesson would that be, Turbo?” Ford inquires with an arched eyebrow.

“He-heh… changing diapers.” the elder Pegasus adds with a knowing smirk.

And from the grinning stallion’s shrewd answer, Ford’s eyes widen greatly on the mere thought on what’s to come. But despite his own inner grossness, he couldn’t help but chuckle in a mockingly deadpan response, “Oh… joy.”

As the stallions begin their lesson in diaper changing, Rainbow chuckles lightly over her husband’s mild hesitation for what's to come. But after her amusement dies down, she turns to her mother and is slightly perplexed by Firefly's very clever smile.

"Well, aren’t you going join him?" the pink Pegasus asks with extreme shrewdness.

With a noticeable blush beginning to make its appearance, Rainbow is a bit startled to reply back before she answers with a sheepish grin, "Eh, no thanks. I'm good as it is."

Of course, that hesitant response doesn’t pass by Firefly as she maintains her knowing smirk before she implies in a teasing manner, "What’s the matter, Dashie? You're not feeling a bit squeamish about this, are you?"

"N-no!" the younger Pegasus replies in a sharp, flustered tone. "I just... don't think it’s no longer necessary for obvious reasons."

"Well it didn't stop me from seeing Turbo making his first attempt at changing your diaper." Firefly shrugs with a persistent smirk as Rainbow’s blush grows excessively much to her increasing, understandable discomfort. "In fact, it made quite an amusing anecdote when you started getting all fussy. Would you like to hear about it?"

There is a momentary pause between the two spirits as Rainbow glares at her grinning mom before the narrowed-eyed daughter mutters with a defeated sigh, "You're going to tell me anyway even if I say 'no', aren’t you?"

"Oh yeah." her mother responds right away with an unyielding smirk.

"Ughhh... Somepony kill me please!" Rainbow groans extremely as she covers her intensely flushed face with her fore hooves.

After a well-deserved hearty chuckle, Firefly gladly points out the obvious, "I think we're way past that at this point. Now... where do I begin~?" she mockingly asks with her ever-so devious smile broadening even further much to her daughter’s constant anguish.

After going over the twins’ wonderful experience of making “boom-boom”, their father and grandfather move on to their next activity: their babies’ first steps. Carefully, they place the foals on the soft, colorful mat, where they just sit on their flanks for the time being as they are unsure on what to do from there. And of course, Rainbow and Firefly continue to observe this from close proximity thanks to their ghostly intangible forms.

“Uhh, are you sure it’s okay for them to walk on all fours at this point?” Ford inquires with mild uncertainty. “They were just born yesterday, you know.”

“Nonsense.” Turbo dismisses that question with a casual grin. “Ponies are supposed to walk from the moment they are born. So it’s important for them to get started as soon as possible.”

From forgetting that little fact despite living in Equestria for over two years, Ford simply responds with a mildly blank face, “Huh, I guess I keep forgetting that they’re actual ponies and not human beings.”

“Are you disappointed by that fact?”

“What, you mean them not being human?” Ford replies with a tilt of his head to verify Turbo’s simple questioning.

“Yeah. Just curious, that’s all.”

And after a quick glance at his children’s adorable, big-eyed faces, Mustang merely shrugs it off with a carefree smile, “Eh, not really. Besides, foals are way cuter than human babies!” he proclaims with sentimental joy as he hugs his equally amused twins.

“Alright alright. That’s enough cuddling for now.” Turbo insists with a lighthearted giggle as he resets the twins back on the mat. “Let’s see them walk.”

As the foals sit idly on the soft, matted floor, they take the time to verify their colorful surroundings before the oldest of the two (by only several minutes) decides to take the initiative first. A bit wobbly at first, the midnight blue filly is able to stand upright all by herself. Then, she moves one of her forelegs forward to take a cautionary step for herself. And once her first hoof is firmly planted, she moves on with her next one while the stallions and their self-proclaimed guardian angels watch with giddy anticipation. And after she quickly picks up a pattern for herself, the giggling filly literally runs in circles around her ecstatic family.

Gleefully, Ford picks up his baby girl and praises her with a proud smile, “Yay! You did it! Who’s daddy’s little girl? That’s right! You are~! You are~!” he coos exceedingly as he warmly nuzzles his giggling daughter.

“Ok, tough guy!” Turbo grins to his grandson as he playfully ruffles the little colt’s mane. “It’s your turn now!”

From processing on what he just witnessed from his twin sister, the colt eagerly gets himself up and enters a full gallop much to Ford and Turbo’s surprise. But as the rambunctious baby gallops around the room, he suddenly trips on his own hooves and falls over with his face hitting on the soft mat.

As the older stallions gasp in fright over the colt’s accident, Rainbow quickly swoops in to rescue her colt, not realizing that because of her astral body, she phases right through him. The Pegasi’s horror increases even further when the baby boy lifts his head up, and his big, pitiful eyes pour out tons of tears to fully express his first ordeal in pain. Just seeing her son crying like that while being unable to do anything to help him is pure agony for the heartbroken mother.

Alarmed by his son’s distressing cry over his most unpleasant experience, Mustang immediately rushes to his baby boy’s side and lies on the ground with his muzzle aligning up with his. As his crying gradually calms down for a bit, the whimpering foal looks up and locks his tearful eyes with his father’s warm gaze and comforting smile. From there, Ford tenderly nuzzles with his colt as the latter begins to feel much better by breaking into a small, pleasant smile.

And when the baby boy lays his tiny fore hooves on Mustang’s nose, the stallion lifts his head up slightly which causes the startled colt to anxiously grab his dad's muzzle as he stand on his two hind legs. With his father standing very still in his crouched pose, he waits for his little boy to take his time as he slowly places his two forelegs back on the ground. After the tiny colt stands on all four hooves once again, Ford stands upright as well before he takes one step back. From watching his father’s subtle movements, the curious colt looks down at his own hooves before taking a step forward for himself.

“Yes, that’s it. One foot in front of the other.” Ford advises in a hushed, encouraging voice as he repeats his previous actions by taking another step back with his other hoof.

And following up the stallion’s gentle encouragement, the baby boy keeps mimicking his daddy’s movements. With every step backwards Mustang takes, his son would take another step forward. And renewed with so much enthusiasm, the now giggling colt picks up the pace with every step he takes as his father struggles to match with the baby’s increasing tempo.

Ironically enough, Ford is the one to trip over his own feet as he falls backwards. And while he lies on his back, his ever-so giddy son hops right on top of his dad’s belly. Despite feeling the soft stomp on his exposed stomach, Mustang couldn’t be any prouder or happier for what his beaming son has recently just accomplished for himself. As for the invisible mares, Rainbow especially smiles in relief and joy over the constant good nature of her dependable husband.

But their moment of giddiness is put on hold by several visitors at the door. And from looking up, Ford is surprised but extremely delighted by the appearance of his friends: Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Big Macintosh, Pinkie Pie, Gilda, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia. At the doorway, all the leering guests stare at the speechless stallion with very amusing grins, especially Rarity for that matter.

“I hope we’re not interrupting anything.” she greets in a knowingly shrewd manner.

“Of course not, Rarity.” he responds with a lighthearted grin as he sits himself up while holding his baby boy in-between his forelegs. “You’re all just in time for the show.”

And following up that cue, the eager guests all join in on the twins’ playtime, and each of them engages in a wide variety of playful activities together. For Pinkie Pie and Vinyl Scratch, they recreate some classic baby games such as Vinyl’s form of hide-and-seek by hiding and revealing her ruby-colored eyes with her thick, trademark shades or Pinkie’s very own “Where’s Pinkie Pie?” game. Along with that, the comedic entertainers showcase some of their goofy faces, which rewards them with some more of the foals’ adorable giggles.

Next up, Rarity and Octavia are more focused on the babies’ grooming as they brought their own specialized brushes to smooth their delicate manes and coats. And of course, the ecstatic seamstress brought some of her sampled baby clothes so that the more-sophisticated mares can play dress-up with the twins. And while the smiling filly didn’t mind it at all on how pretty she feels in her frilly dress, the same thing cannot be said for her immensely scowling brother as he is clearly unamused with her cute cap and little, blue suspenders.

After that, much to the colt’s relief with the removal of his first set of clothes, Gilda and Big Mac involves in something more engaging by taking the giddy foals on their equivalent of pony rides around the room. Along with that, they engage in fun activities involving them “flying” through the air such as the gentle, red Earth Pony lying on his back and holding up each of the babies up with his big, brawny hooves or the grinning griffon using her large, strong wings like it’s a seesaw or a slide much to the foals’ amusement.

Eventually, it soon becomes lunchtime as Nurse Redheart brings the twins’ baby formula. With the baby bottles delivered right on time for their lunch, Applejack and Fluttershy gladly volunteer to take care of things from here as each of them cradles one of the foals in their tender forelegs before they proceed with the bottle-feeding process. Happily, the two naturally gifted caretakers carry on with their voluntary tasks as the babies happily suckle on their bottles' teats.

In the midst of their bottle-feeding, Applejack turns to Ford and says with a hospitable smile, “By the way, Rarity and Ah have already talked it out with the rest of the gang, and we were hopin’ that you and Turbo would join us for dinner tonight. Ya know, in honor of Rainbow Dash.”

With a momentary glance from his son-in-law, Turbo gives his answer to AJ’s invitation with a nod and courteous smile before Mustang complies with a grateful smile of his own, “Thanks, AJ. We’re definitely be there.”

“You know, all this talk of food is making me hungry!” Vinyl chimes in with her trademark, enthusiastic grin. “Can we get something to eat as well?”

“Not unless you care for a bottle of baby milk instead.” Gilda jests with a mild smirk.

Playing along with the griffon’s kidding, the blue-haired Unicorn mare gives it some thought with a rub of her chin before she turns to the orange farmpony and asks with an almost serious face, “Hmmm… Hey, AJ, can I take a sip over there--?”

“Nnnope.” Applejack replies bluntly as ever whilst continuing to feed the still hungry baby colt.

Unamused by the Earth Pony’s straightforward response, Vinyl merely shrugs it off and turns to the yellow Pegasus instead. “Fine. I’ll just ask Fluttershy instead. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind--!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Vinyl Scratch. But uhh, no.”

A bit astonished by Fluttershy’s kind yet surprisingly harsh answer, Vinyl breaks down into her usual crocodile tears as she whines out loud in an overdramatically whimpering tone, “But I’m hungry~!”

In the midst of her wife’s pity party for one, Octavia rolls eyes and groans over her partner’s overemotional shenanigans, “Sigh… It looks like I’ll have two babies to care of instead of just one.” And with the cellist’s dry sense of humor, she receives loads of laughs from her friends at the expense of Vinyl Scratch’s usual tomfoolery.

“Hey, Mustang. You ready to go?” Turbo asks.

“Almost. Just gotta say one last goodbye to them.” Ford replies in a hearty manner.

After saying goodbye to their friends, whom they will meet up later at Sweet Apple Acres, the two stallions and Nurse Redheart walked back to the nursery, with the babies in tow. Of course, Rainbow Dash and Firefly are not too far away as they hope to get one last look at the twins before they call it a day and go back to the heavens.

Once the tiny foals are well-situated in the their respective cribs, their father says to them in a cooing voice, “Alright, little guys. Daddy has to go, but I’ll be back to pick you two up tomorrow evening once we’re done with your mommy’s funeral.”

As he continues to gently brush the smiling twins' manes, Ford nearly loses his composure with his heart starting to ache over the thought of his recently deceased wife. So he seeks to share inner feelings to his children with a slightly emotional smile.

“God, I wish your mother was still alive to see this. She would love seeing you interacting with all of our friends. He-he! Especially with Rarity and Octavia’s whole dress-up session considering that that she wasn’t too used to being the seamstress’s model herself.” he adds with a giggling grin.

After listening to that bit of lighthearted teasing from her husband, Rainbow Dash would have to agree on that claim. And at the same time, the baby boy can sympathize with her mother's distaste in fashion by blowing an adorable raspberry with puffy cheeks and his tongue sticking out. From the adult ponies' reactions, they all giggle from the colt’s means to express his disregard for clothes before Mustang lightly pats his son on the head while saying to him with a hearty chuckle.

“Yep, you’re definitely Rainbow Dash’s son, that’s for sure.”

Then, he turns to his little filly and warmly nuzzles her whilst adding with a clever grin, “Well, I guess that makes you daddy’s little girl, huh?”

After another case of their infectious giggles, fatigue takes hold of the foals as each of them lets out a soft yawn before they get cozy in their individual blankets. As the little ones drift to sleep, Ford carries on with his delicate caressing as he wraps it up with a deeply sincere smile.

“Still, I know that your mommy is watching over the two of you as we speak, and she will always love you just as much as the rest of our family.”

From listening to her husband’s touching words, Rainbow Dash is nearly on the verge of breaking down into tears. But at the same time, she is suffering from great anguish over her constant inability to interact with her remaining family members due to the lack of mortality.

“Sigh… I hate this… feeling so helpless and not doing anything about that.” Rainbow admits in a sulky manner as she lowers her head dejectedly.

Of course, Firefly can relate with that kind of helplessness as she comforts her daughter, “Believe me, I know that feeling all too well. When I passed away, I was worried sick over your father with how he initially handled my death. But with you around, that was no longer necessary for me to keep looming over his shoulders. And I believe it’s because of you that has helped shape Turbo’s life around for the better.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and I believe that same thing could be said for your twins as well.” she points it out with a knowing smile.

From following the direction of her mom's gaze, Rainbow observes the latest affection of Ford Mustang as he gives each of the twins a goodnight kiss on the forehead. And from seeing the warm, tranquil smile on Ford’s face, Rainbow also bears a grin of her own and says with growing confidence.

“Yeah, I think you’re right.”

After a good day’s worth of playtime and bonding with the twins, Ford Mustang and Turbo Dash head off to Sweet Apple Acres early this evening. And after a leisurely flight through the apple orchards, the two Pegasi land on the farmhouse’s front porch before one of them knocks on the door. And soon enough, Rarity answers the door and greets the stallions with a mannerly smile.

“Ah, welcome! Glad you two could make it!”

“What, and turn down on sharing a big meal with my favorite family in the whole world? I wouldn’t miss this for anything!” Ford proclaims with a witty grin.

“Yes. Thank you once again for inviting us over, Rarity.” Turbo nods politely with a humble smile.

“ 'Twas our pleasure, dearie.” Rarity waves it off with a modest chuckle. “Now then, why don’t you wait in the living room with the others, and we’ll have dinner ready in a bit, hmm?”

Following with the Unicorn’s instructions, the two stallions head toward the living room. But upon entry, they stop for a bit as Ford especially is alarmed by the presence of particular pony in the room. Along with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo sits on one of the couches as they are in the midst of their light conversation. But with the arrival of the two older stallions, the trio’s exchange is put on hold as they stare at the new arrivals.

“Hello, girls.” Mustang utters in a quiet, humble voice.

“Oh hey.” Apple Bloom greets right back in the same awkwardness as Ford. "Didn’t hear y’all coming in here.”

In the middle of the quieting discomfort, Ford notices Scootaloo’s disturbing silence as she aimlessly looks at the ground with a subtle yet clearly heartbroken expression on her face. Next, he turns to the other two fillies and shares an understanding look with them, which thankfully, Apple Bloom reads his silent, hinting expression right away as she turns to her Unicorn friend while heavily suggests to her in a shrewd manner.

“Hey, Sweetie Belle? What do ya say we check in the kitchen to see if they need our help with anything?”

Quickly enough, Sweetie takes the hint and replies with a wink and a knowing smile, “Oh, right! Good idea, Apple Bloom!”

And following up on their cue, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom trot to the kitchen where they leave the two stallions alone in the living room with Scootaloo. Carefully, Ford and Turbo sit on the couch with the little, orange filly right in-between them before the former begins to speak up in a soft, hesitant voice.

“H-hey, Scootaloo.”

“Hey.” she responds in a quiet, dull tone without facing either one of them.

Once again, Ford faces uncomfortable silence from the unresponsive filly as he turns to his father-in-law for any advice in this awkward situation of his, but all Turbo can offer is a subtle shrug of his shoulders. As the blue-haired stallion contemplates on ways to cheer up the impassive Scootaloo, he notices something in her cerise mane. A golden hair clip in the form of a familiar badge that’s in a vague shape of a lightning bolt with features of the head and wings of a Pegasus.

“Say, I’ve seen that before.” Ford points it out from his observation. “It’s a Lead Pony Badge, isn’t?”

A bit startled from Mustang noticing her self-made accessory, she impulsively brushes the right side of her mane where her hair clip resides, and she confirms it in a slightly bashful manner, “Mm-hmm. Rainbow Dash gave it to me during our trip to the Wonderbolts Academy.”

“It looks really good on you.” he acknowledges with a sincere smile.

From that simple flattery, the orange Pegasus lightly blushes with a smile as she turns her head away despite being unable to keep her eyes off of her complimenter. And once Mustang gets Scootaloo’s attention, a realization hits him as now would be a good time for introductions.

“Oh, that’s alright! I’m not sure if you guys ever met before, huh?” he says with a more optimistic smile as he directs the smaller Pegasus to the other stallion next to her.

“Not directly, no. But I certainly heard a lot about this cool, little filly.” Turbo Dash clarifies with a knowing grin.

Bewildered by the rainbow-haired stallion’s acknowledgment, Scootaloo inquires in a stammering tone, “Y-you… you have?”

“Mm-hmm. And I always did want to have some one-on-one time with my ‘other’ daughter someday.” he replies with a wink and a witty smile.

Scootaloo is a bit baffled by what Turbo is hinting at, but as she stares at the grinning Pegasus for a little while longer, things start to click in her head as she notices familiar characteristics to her recently deceased role model, from his pale blue coat to his multicolored hair matching that with his daughter’s. And once she finally makes that connection, her purple eyes grow widely as she couldn’t believe who is speaking before her.

“Wait… you’re Rainbow’s dad, aren’t you?”

“Yep, The name’s Turbo Dash.” he answers with a lighthearted grin as he extends a friendly fore hoof before her. “Nice to meet you, Scootaloo.”

Completely speechless by this unexpected encounter, the wide-eyed filly slowly reaches forward and gladly accepts the good-natured gesture from the elder stallion. And after their hoofshake, Scootaloo immediately smacks her forehead with the same hoof she just shook with earlier as she groans over her obliviousness.

“Oh geez! I should have noticed that earlier!” she scolds herself humorously.

“It’s alright. Must ponies don’t see the connection right away.” Turbo reassures with a comedical chuckle over the irony of his witty statement. “But we’re getting off track here. I heard on how much time you and my daughter have spent together, and I can’t tell you on how thrilled I am to meet Rainbow Dash’s little sister. I can definitely see why she took a shine on you.”

Scootaloo’s awestricken smile broadens even further with how her big sister has talked so much about her as well as from Turbo Dash’s own admiration for her. Ecstatic to see the beaming filly more lively than before, Ford scoots a little closer to her before he lays a gentle wing over her as he seeks to address himself in a softhearted tone.

“Scoots, I know there’s no way I can measure up to Rainbow Dash’s awesomeness nor can I replace her as your big sister for obvious reasons.” he adds in a quick-witted manner before being acting more serious once again. “But I hope you know this yourself that you’re still part of our family, and nothing will ever change that, no matter what.”

As Scootaloo remains startled from Mustang’s wholehearted reassurance, Turbo does the same thing as his son-in-law by laying a wing to embrace the speechless filly before speaking up wholeheartedly as well.

“And I know you already have a family yourself, but since you are Rainbow Dash’s sister after all, perhaps you can from time to time accept me as a… second father. Maybe we can hang out some more, and I can teach you some sweet moves along the way. And I don’t mean to brag, but I did taught Rainbow Dash everything there is to know about being awesome, you know.” he boasts mildly as he rubs his chest with a fore hoof while a lighthearted smirk stretches across his face.

Overwhelmed by the positive reinforcements from the two supportive stallions, Scootaloo is completely astonished from processing all these sentimental feelings as she asks in a stuttering tone, “Y-you… you really mean that?”

“Yes, really.” Ford nods with a kindhearted smile.

And once she receives Mustang’s softhearted reassurance as her answer, Scootaloo couldn’t hold back her own withdrawn emotions anymore as she shoves her suddenly tear-stricken face into the middle-aged stallion’s chest. With her sniffling muzzle glued to the his absorbent coat, Ford maintains his smile over Scootaloo’s openness as he fully envelops the emotional filly with his wings and fore hooves while Turbo joins in and does the same. Despite overflowing tears seeping out her closed eyes, a warm smile blossoms across her face as she remains still within their tender grasp.

After some time in their tranquil moment together, they gently break away from their compassionate hug, and Ford then adds with an amusing grin toward his sister-in-law, “Plus, how am I going to take care of twins without their favorite aunt around?”

Once she wipes away her remaining tears, Scootaloo takes the time to compose herself before she inquires something in mind that causes her to subtly cringe in slight disgust, “I don’t have to change diapers, do I?”

Amused by Scoots' understandable reaction, Mustang reassures her with a chuckling smile, “No, but I may ask you to babysit every now and then when they get a little order.”

“And... I take it that I’ll get paid for my services as well?” she asks with an increasingly sly smirk.

Surprised by Scootaloo’s shrewdness and means to negotiate over a fair deal for her services, the grinning stallion shrugs comically in response, “I suppose I can spare a few bits every now and then.”

“And I can bring my friends along?” she bargains even further.

“As long as they’re willing to share the responsibilities with taking care of the twins of course.” he abides once again.

“As well as a boyfriend?” she implies ever-so slyly.

"Sure--! Whoa whoa whoa! What’s this talk about a boyfriend all of a sudden?!” Ford reacts in alarm as he nearly agreed to Scootaloo’s latest term before he narrows his eyes at the smirking filly. “Do your parents know about this?”

Unaffected by Mustang’s supposedly intimidating, parental stare, Scootaloo breaks into uproarious laughter as Ford eventually figures out that she was just getting his goat in all of this. Of course, even when Ford grins over the joke played on him, Turbo Dash is already laughing alongside the clever filly as he playfully ruffles her mane to demonstrate his pride over her cheekiness.

“I’m liking this girl with each passing second.” the elder stallion praises her with a smirk of his own as his compliment earns him some more hearty giggles from Scootaloo.

In the midst of the trio Pegasi’s merriment, Rarity peeks from the entrance to the living room and announces in a cheerful voice, “Everypony! Dinner!”

From that announcement, everyone gathers at the very extensive table as all the prepared food is placed before them. For tonight’s meal, they have apple spice muffins, sautéed asparagus, bell peppers, and onions, mashed red-skinned potatoes, corn on the cob, and strawberry-spinach salad. And as a special treat, much to Ford and Gilda’s joy especially, the chefs cooked up a succulent, broiled salmon. And of course, you can’t complete an Apple Family dinner without some wholesome apple pie for dessert later on.

Once everyone is seated in their assigned seats, Rarity commences their huge banquet with an opening statement. “Tonight, we gather together to commemorate this wonderful feast in honor of everypony’s favorite daring Pegasus, Rainbow Dash.”

“Eeyup.” Applejack concurs with the same modest smile as her wife as she carries on from there. “And Ah think it it’s only fittin’ if we share our thanks on how lucky we are to have RD into our lives. So, Ah’ll go first by sayin’ just how plum grateful Ah am to have such a fun friend for some of our friendly competitions. Ahem. Despite how offhoof things get between us sometimes.” she adds sheepishly with a muttering chuckle.

Then, the smiling seamstress speaks up as she shares her own fond memories of Rainbow Dash, “Well as for me, I am truly grateful for the times I get to make some of those breathtaking dresses for her.”

Seated right next to Rarity are the Cutie Mark Crusaders as it becomes Apple Bloom’s turn to think of something. And after tapping on her chin a couple of times to ponder her thoughts, the red haired Earth Pony perks up with an idea in mind.

“Ooo! Ah know! Ah’m thankful for Rainbow Dash drivin’ me into my search for a Cutie Mark!”

“Hey yeah!” Sweetie Belle responds to that claim with a cheerful smile. “If it wasn’t for her, then maybe Scootaloo and I wouldn’t have run into you and become the bestest friends as well form the Cutie Mark Crusaders! I’m grateful for that too.”

Following up with her friends’ proclamation, Scootaloo nods as she gradually brightens up with a smile of her own, “Well, along with that, I’m thankful for having her as the big sister I always wanted.”

As Ford and Turbo smile warmly from Scoots’ heartfelt declaration over her esteemed role model, Granny Smith takes to time to think on her say in the matter as she delicately strokes her chin. “Uhh… well now let’s see… umm… Ah’m thankful to have such a hearty mare who has just as much love for apples as the rest of my kin. Heh, even it’s through guzzlin’ gallons of cider and sleepin’ on nearly every apple tree around here.”

That bit of wisecracking from the spunky, elder mare causes the guests to break into worthwhile laughs as Applejack agrees with a hearty grin, “Eeyup. That’s our Rainbow Dash right there. What about you, Big Mac?”

“Hmm… Ah’m thankful for all the help she would provide every now and then.” the red stallion answers simply enough.

“Well… for me, I am so thankful to have Rainbow Dash as my very first best friend since we were fillies.” Fluttershy states with a shy yet sincere smile.

From the yellow Pegasus’s gentle statement, Gilda nods with a grin as she shares her thanks as well. “Yeah, like Fluttershy said, I too count myself lucky to have such a cool mare like Dash as my best friend when we went to flight camp together.”

Right beside the grinning griffon, Pinkie Pie takes her turn next as she says with a growing smile, “Well other than being friends with the coolest pony ever, I’m truly thankful for the times we pulled off some of our biggest pranks together!”

“Hey, me too!” Gilda adds with piqued interest. “Dash and I used to pull off some the best pranks ever!”

“Really?” Pinkie gasps with an overjoyed smile as she faces her friend with a sharp turn of her head. “I wanna hear all about it!”

“Oh, you gonna love what we did back then! In fact, one of my favorite pranks was--!”

But then Rarity interrupts them delicately by clearing her throat before she suggests with a mild smile, “I hate to put your delightful conversation on hold, dearies, but let’s say our ‘thanks’ first before we eat and carry on with our stories from there. Vinyl, I believe it’s your turn now.”

“Oh that’s easy.” Vinyl replies with a laidback grin. “I’m thankful for having such a awesome friend who knows on how to party and is just as cool as I am!”

Next, all eyes are shifted toward the disc jockey’s pregnant wife as Octavia is a bit surprised by all of stares she is receiving before she contemplates on what she say for herself. “Oh, is it my turn now? Well let’s see… hmm… Oh! I’m certainly grateful for Rainbow Dash checking up on me when I first discovered I was pregnant.” she comments warmly as she lightly pats her curvy belly with an appreciative smile. “Plus, it finally gave us something in common for a change.” she adds with a lighthearted chuckle, which can be shared amongst the other guests.

From nearly going around the entire table, it is down to just two ponies left: Turbo Dash and Ford Mustang. And since the oldest stallion is next to last pony that just spoke, he takes his time to compose himself before he sums his paternal affection in one, simple sentence.

“All I have to say is that I am truly thankful for having the greatest daughter I could ever ask for.”

Despite shedding a tear or two from saying his share of sentimentality, Turbo still holds his head up high with a quivering yet proud smile. Figuring that he needs a shoulder to cry on, the gray Earth Pony next to him is more than happy to offer one as Octavia tenderly pulls him in for a consoling hug. And once the two adjacent ponies end their softhearted embrace, all eyes are turned toward the last remaining guest that hasn’t spoken up just yet.

In the midst of the company’s patient anticipation, Ford acts very nervous from all of their stares as he looks down at the floor while trying to decide on what he is thankful the most regarding with his beloved, blue angel. And after overthinking it for quite some time, he eventually speaks his mind in a soft, reluctant tone.

“I… uhh… sigh… I can’t think of one right now.”

From Mustang’s indecisive response, the rest of the dinner guests are stunned by the widowed stallion’s quiet reluctance as they unsure on how to react to that, but none are more surprised as Gilda as she responds in sharp annoyance, “Seriously?”

“Gilda, shh!” Pinkie hushes as to prevent any tensions happening at the dinner table.

But as the harrumphing griffon is unwilling to look at Ford in the eye, Applejack, who is sitting next to him, lays a comforting fore hoof on the stallion’s shoulder and reassures him with an empathetic smile, “It’s okay, sugarcube. We all understand on how hard it must be for you.”

But much to AJ and the guests’ confusion, Ford breaks into a smile as he mildly shakes his head before he gently clarifies himself for his indecisiveness earlier. “That’s not exactly what I meant. I mean… I have so many things to be thankful for that I just can’t decide which one tops them all. From our first meeting together... to her showing me around town and meeting all of you… for taking me under her wing and teaching me on how to fly... for accepting and loving me for who I really am… or for making me the happiest stallion alive when she became my wife.”

With Mustang listing out the heartwarming examples, his friends beam increasingly from seeing the blue-haired stallion acting more lively. And as he feels more positive from reliving those precious memories of his, Ford lifts his head up and concludes with a more comforting smile.

“I guess to sum it all up, I’m just… so thankful for having her into my life.”

With the final pony saying his thanks at last, everyone else at the dinner table feels more uplifted than before thanks to Ford’s encouraging words, and the smiling Applejack showcases her compassion before pulling the equally contented stallion for a sympathetic hug. And with everything settled down once they said their thanks, they begin to serve their plates to at last enjoy tonight’s bountiful food and each other’s company together.

After a wonderful evening from sharing a great meal with friends and family as well as telling stories over their fond memories of Rainbow Dash, Ford Mustang and Turbo Dash return to their cloudhouse, and each of the stallions makes their way towards their own bedrooms. In addition with their family dinner, Ford certainly had a fun time seeing and playing with his two children earlier this morning. All in all, it was a pretty good day for him considering with all he went through the previous night. Still, at least he will expect a better night’s worth of sleep compared to last time.

With his eyes closed and a calm smile that still spreads across his tired face, he begins to drift off into slumberland. But gradually, in the midst of his sleep, something starts to fester in his mind’s eye and familiar haunting noises begin to ring in his head. The first thing he hears is the soft wailing of his twin foals.

“Huh! Babies?!”

Following up with his parental instincts, he wakes up right away to pinpoint the twins’ crying, but from looking all around the dark, spacious room, the cries just suddenly ceased. With everything going quiet right now besides his own rapid breathing, Ford begins to reason himself that what he just experienced was all part of some dream. Though strangely enough, the soft cries he just heard sounded like the real thing.

Once things begin to settle down, he pushes that matter aside as he steadily reassumes his sleep. But once he does, he gradually enters the dreary dreamworld once again as more sounds play out in his mind. Along with the cries of his presumed foals, Mustang hears a more awful noise as the irritating sound of a flat line rings out loudly in his ears. And as the struggling dreamer tries to push through the imaginary noises, something begins to appear in the dark red mist.

Much to Ford’s confusion and horror, he soon realizes that he is reliving the terrible visions he had many months ago as he sees a perfect replica of himself staring gloomily at his deceased wife on her death bed. And as the cries and flatlining sound continue to resonate in the dark, dreamy void, the vision plays out just like before as the melancholy Mustang leans forward to give his recently departed mare one last kiss. However, the real Mustang is unable to bear this reenactment any longer as he wakes up once more while letting up a mighty gasp to catch his breath.

“Wh-wha... what is going on here?” he mutters quietly to himself as he continues to huff and puff from what he is going through recently.

He just doesn’t understanding on why he is experiencing all of this. The point of his visions was to forewarn him on what will happen to his Rainbow Dash. And one way or another, they all prepare for this moment if it will ever happen. And now that everything has come to pass much to his misfortune, there was no point for his haunting visions to continue any further. So what’s the point for them to reappear like that?

Hoping that this is all just some coincidence, he makes one more attempt to get some much-needed sleep this time. Sadly, even with his eyes barely closed, the visions reappeared from where they left off as Ford sees himself inching closer to his still dead wife as the cries of their unseen foals and the earsplitting sound of the heart monitor ring out even louder than ever. And with Ford Mustang’s lips remaining completely still on Rainbow Dash’s, the deafening noises get worse by the second. And unable to stand this any further, the struggling onlooker seeks to break out of his unbearable nightmare as quickly as possible.

“DAMMIT! WHY THE HELL DO YOU WANT WITH ME?!”

From his piercing outcry, he impulsively grabs one of his pillows and swiftly tosses it across the room to demonstrate his anger and confusion over his relentless visions. However, his outburst is short-lived as he bawls out in an instant while curled up in a fetal position. Shortly enough, Turbo Dash barges in a brisk pace as he approaches the increasingly mournful stallion.

“Mustang, what happened? Is everything okay?”

“N-no! It’s not okay!” he wails in response as he continues to sob over his recent ordeal. “My visions… they’ve come back… they’ve come back and I don’t even know why!”

Carefully, the elder Pegasus crawls on the bed and wraps the whimpering stallion in a comforting hug before he attempts to console him in a soothing voice, “Shh… it’s okay, Ford. It was only a nightmare, that’s all. It’s only natural on why you’re still having trouble sleeping after all you’ve been through.”

“I miss her, Turbo. I miss her so much.” he whimpers while desperately clinging on to the closest thing he can associate with as a father in this world.

Know full well on what Mustang is going through, Turbo does his best to hold back his own tears as he gently tightens his tender embrace around the weeping Pegasus before he replies back in a softhearted tone, “I know, Ford… I miss her too.”

For the next minute or so, the two stallions carry on with their undisturbed hug as Turbo soothingly pats Ford on the shoulder. Eventually, he becomes much calmer than before and softly confesses his fear to the older Pegasus.

"I thought… I thought I was strong enough to overcome this. I thought I was prepared for this to happen and move on with my life. B-but now… I just don't know anymore."

As the wretched stallion quivers in the Turbo's tender grasp, the latter eventually speaks up to hopefully help his son-in-law from his own insomnia. “Listen, I know it still must be tough for you. Believe me, I know what it's like. But please, you need to pull yourself together... for your friends, for your family, and more importantly, for Rainbow Dash. Anyway, you need your sleep. We both have a very important day for tomorrow, and we all need you to be there.”

A bit unresponsive at first, Ford knows that Turbo Dash is looking out for his best interest at heart, so the younger stallion complies to his father-in-law’s tenderhearted suggestion with a subtle nod and a tiny smile. Happy to see his son-in-law feeling a bit better, Turbo then asks if there is anything else he can do for him.

“Can I get you anything to help you sleep easier tonight?”

Ford take a few seconds to consider on Turbo’s kindhearted offer before he makes a small request with a humble smile, “Some tea would be nice.”

“I’ll get right on that.” he complies with a hospitable grin as he hops off the bed to head towards the kitchen downstairs.

But then, Ford stops him as he calls out to him softly, “Hey, Turbo? Thanks for checking up on me.”

With a turn of his head, Turbo nods lightly as he replies with a considerate grin, “Of course, Ford. That’s what family is for. We look out for each other, right?”

“Right, of course.” he agrees with a faint chuckle to himself.

Once Turbo leaves the room to get that cup of hot tea, Ford takes the time to reflect on those visions he was forced to deal with recently. He still can’t understand on why he had undergo all of that, even after their premonition came true from the previous evening with the death of Rainbow Dash and the birth of their twins. Either way, he can’t let these visions keep getting in the way of his sleep nor can he allow them interfere with his important attendance at his wife’s scheduled funeral tomorrow morning.

But one thing's for certain… tomorrow is definitely going to be long day for him.

Author's Notes:

3 more chapters to go~!