Sometimes… I question my purpose. I know we all do, but I already know mine. I just wonder… Why?

I was supposed to be Rainbow Dash’s legacy! I was supposed to carry on the electrifying awesomeness that was my mom, and my grandma! Ugh… My name is Firefly Dash… I wonder why, I don’t even share the same powers, looks, or skill. I was a disgrace, from the moment I was born. I was expected to be just like my mother, to be a great hero for my generation, striking fear into the hearts of baddies left and right, while giving hope to the weak! But, as isn’t expected, I got energy manipulation… Energy manipulation!

I grew up in a family of… Five? Do I count my parents? Anyway. I had two sisters, Gusty who gained my granny’s wind manipulation even though she’s a Unicorn, and Medley who got the lightning I wanted… They were good sisters, me being the middle child, Gusty the oldest…

I had a mom and dad, which is kind of funny because most superheroes backstories were their guardian dies and they want revenge. If anything, I wanted that to happen. My little sister got all the attention, even Gusty felt the balance in the house change. It was pretty tough, and I have to say I got lonely. That’s when Gusty had an idea.

She wanted to get away from the neglectance, so she took me and left. We didn’t care where, we just wanted to be away from our family…

We made it on our own, until Delirious attacked the Remnant of the Power Ponies, killing Humdrum and a few other old timers like Dinky and Rumble. Long story short, things went… Bad. I lost touch with my sister, and Delirious nearly killed me.

I think I owe my life to Surprise. She saved it, so that’s why I hang out with her so much. Me and my friends saved the day, beat the bad guy, brought peace to the world, and formed a team to defeat enemies.

After that… I found Gusty and we decided to try and go home. When we arrived, it was… Meh… What? You thought that we cried? You’d be dead wrong! We ain’t wimps!

… Fine, we all bawled… Even Medley. Happy ending… Kind of…

Well, I spent a few years with the team, when Mist wanted to try a time travel spell and… You know the rest!

I guess what I’m trying to say is… I miss my family, I want to be home, I want… To help ponies who can’t help themselves… I’m with friends, but I’m all alone.

I’m not a Dash anymore…

Mist and Firefly crawled out of the cathedral, scratches and minor burns covering their coats.

“Let’s… Get back home…” Mist groaned, activating her wrist watch, “Surprise, pick us up. The cathedral collapsed on us, but we made it out!”

“Oh my gosh! Twilight! I’m so glad you called! AJ and Rade are okay, and Lance took Aya to meet his… Fiance, I think.” Surprise responded.

Twilight’s face darkened, “This’ll come back to bite us…”

Surprise appeared and pulled the two into a hug and blinked away, just as firefighter, police, and camera crews arrived.

Once home, Surprise carried Firefly around a corner and into a refurbished shower room. Inside were at least a dozen showerheads lining both sides, a stool on either side, giving a seat to the injured Pegasus.

Surprise did the same with Twilight, seating her in the opposite stool. She trotted over towards the control for the water, and turned it to each mares prefered temperature.

“What exactly happened down there?” Mist asked, letting the water relax her tense muscles.

“Oh, we found AJ and Rade in these weird cocoon-like things! We also fought this human-like she-demon who apparently knows Aya somehow and then she and Lance hit her until she left! Posey’s checking on the girls right now, she wanted you to see ‘em for yourself.” Surprise explained, “I’m gonna wait until Aya and Lance return.”

Mist nodded and let Surprise vanish. Once gone, the pink Unicorn turned to Firefly. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah… Just… All those ponies, and that… Filly…” The Pegasus looked down as her wing picked up a bottle of shampoo.

“She would have been an old lady in our time…” Mist tried to help calm her, but nothing helped ease the pain.

“I don’t care! No pony should have to go through tha-” Firefly choked, tears welling in her eyes. She turned her head away from Mist, “You wouldn’t understand…”

Twilight was taken aback, “What?”

The pink Pegasus glared, “You heard me. You wouldn’t understand. You’re too cold, only caring about yourself! Why couldn’t you be happy!?” She screamed the last part.

Twilight’s face went almost blank, only showing slight understanding. “This isn’t just about the filly… Is it?”

Firefly growled. “We were happy… You got a new family, but all you cared about was Spike!”

Twilight’s ears splayed back, “I’ve seen the error of my wa-” But she was cut off.

“You haven’t! Because of your fears, innocent ponies are dead!” Firefly quickly cleaned up and trotted away, “I need to shoot something…”

When she was out of earshot, Twilight silently cried where she stood, face still blank. She whispered, “I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry…”

“Stop, Ah’m fine!” AJ said shying away from a needle.

Posey rolled her eyes, “App-pplej-jack, it’s just a-a nanite sh-shot. It’s n-nothing.”

Radiance giggled from her seat, “Darling, it’s not that bad. Why, I’d say it’s easier when you have control of your nervous system.”

The southern mare turned her head, “It ain’t the pain… Ah just dislike havin’ something inside a’ve me.”

Posey’s eyes narrowed, “Y-you haven’t b-been watching the M-Mare 67 a-again, h-have you?”

Radiance laughed out loud, “What!? Those “deaths” were way too fake to scare you! She’s thinking of when the main character accidentally bent the syringe causing Loudy to bleed out, isn’t she?”

Mist trotted into the room, having cleaned up, “AJ, mind looking after Fire? She’s… A bit shaken up…” She ordered.

Applejack nodded, “Sure thing Twi, anythin’ but being in here!” The country mare galloped out at full speed.

When she was gone, Posey raised her eyebrow, “W-what? I kn-know when you d-d-d-don’t want some-somepony hearing a-about something.”

“First, tell me what you wanted to show me.” Mist said seriously.

The Earth Pony nodded. “First, I w-want to t-tell you… Th-there was a mon-monster… H-human d-down there. A-Aya c-c-called her Eve. I-I don’t kn-know what that-t makes the-em. We’ll d-discuss more a-after she r-returns.” She pulled up a cat scan, “An-and this-s is what you-you needed t-to see.”

“Holy shit!” Mist reared back. What she saw both baffled her and scared her. It was the same thing inside of Aya, but it looked worse. Much worse. “Where the hell did you get this!?”

“Darling, that’s my insides, don’t act that disgusted.” Radiance deadpanned.

Mist stared at the light blue Unicorn in confusion, “Wha…?”

“I took th-this sample aft-after we f-freed Radiance an-and Applejack fr-from whatever st-stasis they were-were in. Once I-I got b-b-back here, I-I saw th-that, and work-worked to counter i-it as b-best I c-could… I was l-l-l-lucky, if th-they would h-have been i-in there lon-longer, they wou-would have mutated in-into monsters l-like the r-r-r-Rats, Frogs and a-Alligator… I-I didn’t e-even know th-they lived in-in the s-sewers.” Posey explained.

Mist was still in shock, “How did you… Fix them?”

“S-simple… I u-used their-r old DNA to re-reform their original c-cells.” Posey shrugged, “I’m r-really goo-good at this-s. And the tech-ch I have her-ere h-helps.”

Mist nodded, “Okay…”

The butter yellow Earth Pony tilted her head, “A-and you?”

Shaking herself, Mist cleared her throat, “I wanted to hear your input on something.”

Posey nodded and helped Radiance stand up, “Sure, why don’t we take a stroll.”

The three mares trotted down the hallway, Twilight leading the others.

“So, I was thinking we’d start packing up. You know, leave the country. I don’t think we can mess up much in Shanghay, Neighpon, Yakistan. Maybe some place like Prance. Even though they’re all across the ocean and it might be impossible to get a boat.” Mist said, sounding lighthearted. She felt happier, saying this aloud. She knew Radiance would go for Prance, it was hook, line and-.

All of Twilight’s hopes drained when she turned a corner and saw… Twilight Sparkle…

Her grandmother…

‘Shit… Damn it Lance…’

“AJ, what are you doing here? Weren’t you getting a checkup from Posey?” Firefly asked, playing Haylo on a monitor that was hooked up to a game console. She was originally doing the campaign while eating a hayburger, but once AJ had trotted into the room, she placed the game on pause so she could talk to the Earth Pony.

Applejack chuckled as she sat down in a chair next to Fly and disconnected her right foreleg, “Ah finished early. Decided to see what’s up.” She examined her leg a bit before looking back at Firefly.

“Well… I’m just trying to blow off some steam. Figured I needed to do so after all the things I’ve seen on our last mission.” She told the Earth Pony, her wings eager to be shooting at some aliens on screen.

“Ah heard what happened at the cathedral when ah got back… Wanna talk?” AJ asked, a bit nervously.

Firefly, for a few moments, didn’t say anything. Until she decided to set down her controller and look back at Applejack. “Look, I’d rather not talk about it… You know me, I… Don’t lose well…”

Applejack gave Firefly a sad look, “Fly, we all have problems, you know that. But ah get it.”

“Get what?” She interjected. “Because apparently, Twilight doesn’t get anything I try to say to her! … I just thought that… when I saw those ponies die in front of me… I thought I was powerless… couldn’t do anything to help them. That’s not what I originally signed up for. I wanted to be a hero to help ponies like them, not watch them burn to ashes!!”

AJ sighed, “Ah get it… I signed up fer pretty much the same thing. Same for Surprise’n Rade. Twi’s still in shock from what she did. None of us want ta stand by, but these ponies died out before we were born… I understand, and you have every right to be mad.”

“I know… but it goes more than that… Sorry AJ, I just have a lot on my mind.” She told her. “I just want to not think about it as much. Rather not have nightmares about what happened for the next few weeks.” She looked at the monitor for a minute that AJ was watching and something caught her attention. “Hey, I think Aya is trying to contact the base. You’re up, partner.” Firefly said to her, picking up the controls again before taking her game off of pause.

“Sure thing.” AJ said absent mindedly. “Oh, and try watchin a funny video, it helps with the nightmares a little. Also makes sure ya don’t get night terrors.”

“What’s the difference between Nightmares and Night Terrors anyways?” She chuckled, focusing a little more as she played her game. “Aww yeah! These punks got nothing on me!!”

“Nightmares are things you get when you’re asleep, while night terrors are when you wake up. They’re worse.” AJ said simply.

“Right… I think Aya is trying to contact you AJ. How about you focus on what you’re doing and I can focus on mine.” Firefly was absorbed a little in playing her game to where she soon distracted Applejack every time she shouted out “BOOM!! HEADSHOT!”

“Ah would if ya stopped screaming…” AJ whispered under her breath. Soon, she heard the voice that was trying to talk to her.

“Aya here. Have Surprise pick me up, along with two others.”

Around now, the Earth Pony thought it would be fun to try and play a little prank on Aya. “Password?”

“Password!? There wasn’t a password before!” Came Aya’s over exaggerated response as Applejack soon burst into a fit of laughter.

“Sorry sugar, I was just messin with ya.” AJ snickered, and Firefly did the same from her seat. “You heard her! Get over there Surprise!”

“On it!” Came the white Pegasi’s response as she blinked away. Leaving Applejack and Firefly to relax a little in the room they were in. A short while later, they soon heard Aya and Surprise along with Lance. But something triggered a personal alarm inside the Earth Pony’s head when she heard another voice amongst the small group.

“Hey Aya. You bring Lance back with ya?” Firefly asked, not even looking over her shoulder. Both of them though were not prepared for what happened next.

“Was that Applejack?”

Applejack turned quickly, her eyes landing on Masked Matterhorn, Twilight Mist’s grandmother. “Oh buck me…”

Firefly looked over her shoulder, drinking a soda, until her eyes too landed on the leader of the Power Ponies. She spit her drink onto AJ’s face. “Aw hell no!”

“I’m sorry!” Surprise cried, “I couldn’t just ignore them!”

“Uh, what is going on?” Lance asked, turning his head to look at Surprise and Firefly, completely ignoring the drenched cyborg.

Surprise looked away from him, guilt in her eyes. “I want to tell you, but… Mist wouldn’t like that…”

Before anyone could move, Mist walked into the room with Posey and a light blue Radiance. They stopped upon seeing their guest’s, and Mist’s face fell.

“Guys… I don’t see what’s wrong,” Lance told them. “We came to bring Aya back and also Twilight wanted to ask if you wanted to be part of the team. Filli-Second is here too, but she’s-.”

“No!” Yelled Mist, “I’ve been trying my hardest to not intervene, but then we were pulled into that sewer, and now you’re trying to recruit me to a team I’ve been avoiding for four years! I already destroyed time, I won’t mess anything else up!”

“Whoa, hang on a second… Time?” Lance stopped her. “What the actual hell are you talking about?”

Aya yawned silently.

Mist’s eyes widened, and there was silence. “I… I didn't…” Tears welled up in her eyes. “I just…” To Mist’s surprise, Masked Matterhorn herself soon trotted up to her, holding her close and using her wings to comfort her. “Don’t be afraid… I’m not here to harm you…”

Mist began sobbing. Posey stepped forward. “We’re time travelers from the future…” Twilight Sparkle looked back at her, surprised a little. But still remained calm as she comforted Mist. Lance soon had a look at all of them, realizing what they meant.

Mist began to calm down, and when she did, she pulled out of the hug. “My full name is Twilight Mist…”

“Surprise Storm!” Surprise added.

“Ugh… Firefly Dash…”

“Ah’m Applejack Three.” Said mare was finishing up cleaning the soda off.

“Glory Belle. And Posey is just Posey, though you could say Posey Shy.” Glory said.

“Oh my…” Lance said, looking at all of them. The revelation of their names were quite a lot to take in. But, he soon was able to take everything in. Just as Mist was about to speak again.

“My mother's name was Twilight Twinkle, your daughter… Until we came back in time…”

“I WAS NEVER BORN!!!” Cried Surprise, “Granddaddy and Grandma never had daddy!”

“Oh hey, Aya.” Lance said, noticing his Aunt was awake. “How did you sleep?”

Shrugging, Aya said “It was okay.”

“Did we wake you up on accident?” Twilight Sparkle asked, thinking that Firefly crashing through the door was the reason why she was woken up.

“Yes, but we’ve only been talking for almost fifteen minutes.” Lance deadpanned. “Plus, Pinkie’s arrival caused Surprise to flee in panic.” Pinkie Pie herself giggled at hearing the name “Surprise” and soon began to take her time exploring the area. She saw the task of finding the mare like a game of hide and seek. And soon… she found her hiding in the kitchen.

The white pegasus just stared for awhile until, “I know… I’m Surprise.”

“Hi! Why are you so down in the dumps, Surprisey?”

“Uhm… No reason.” Surprise said.

“Come on now. There’s always a reason for anything.” She told her. “It can be our secret. Pinkie Promise?”

“No… I just… Talk to Lanci- Lance. He already knows.”

“Come on now… Don’t be a party pooper.” Pinkie said, nudging her nose.

“It’s too confusing… But okay.”

Surprise began to explain to Pinkie that she was a time traveler, and Pinkie’s possible granddaughter. Once she was done, she waited for her grandmother's reaction. Nevertheless, Pinkie was actually filled with joy, hugging Surprise tightly.

“I now need to throw a party for my possible Grandfilly!!!”

“You believe me?” Surprise asked, “What am I saying!? You’re my grandma! Of course you believe me!”

“Come on, Surprise! Let’s gather your friends!! I need to throw you all a party!!!”

Surprise nods and trots with the pink mare back to the others.

Twilight Mist lets out a depressed breath. “Okay, let’s get serious. I think with all that’s going on in this time period, it’s best we help with Eve and any monsters in New Yoke. We’ll be happy to assist, but you can’t tell anyone about our origins.”

“Sure thing,” Twilight Sparkle replied. “It’ll be our secret.” Lance nodded, but soon got a ringing on his communications device.

“Excuse me for a minute, I need to take a phone call.”

Author's Notes:

I'd like to thank Frost again.

Outlast will come up soon. Oh, and yes, I'm still doing crossovers. But with stories that are already up. Two more. One Punch Mare, and that Ghoul.