Author's Notes:

This short is a follow up from events from The Game. There will be some minor spoilers here, fair warning. It will be a bit confusing if you haven't read it, but you don't need to read it.

But if you don't care about that stuff and just wanna read the short, then enjoy the short, regardless! Just some family fluff! Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xohx2jFLF8Y

Saturday evening. Such a long afternoon to follow up from a long day. Many things had happened that day. Lots of excitement, lots of adventure. A lot of hangout time with her friends. But in all of the day, there was one thing in particular had her worried for that day.

In that entire day, she and her friends had been on a mission. A rescue mission to save some friends who were held hostage by a deranged pyschopath. And in that mission, Amethyst had been given bizarre information. Information pertaining to her father. Information about people that he had a relationship with... and people who existed before she ever came into his life. Information that scared her. Information she swore had graphic details that she hoped wouldn't be the case...

Opening the front door of her house, she walked through and closed it.

"Dad! I'm home!"

"Oh thank god."

Amethyst was given a surprise hug attack from her father, taking her by surprise. But she reciprocated the hug, hugging him back.

"Thank goodness you're home. Why didn't you text me?"

"I'm sorry, I got distracted, and one thing happened after another and...", Amethyst sighed, "I'm sorry."

Her father, Bronze Weld held her in another hug, patting her back.

"Well, at least you're okay. I saw the news, apparently a fire broke out in an abandoned steel mill outside of Canterlot, and I swear, I saw your friends in some of those scenes. Weren't they the ones who were kidnapped?"

Amethyst nodded. "Yeah... they were. But, they've... they've been rescued, and they're okay now."

"Well that's good," Bronze sighed. "Glad to hear those girls are okay. I hope whoever was responsible has been locked in jail for good."

"I can guarantee it," Amethyst replied, looking away. "But, um... if you don't mind, I... I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure, what is it?"

Amethyst's hands gripped the vanilla folder, containing the vital documents that had been passed down to her. There could have been any number of ways to try and explain what she saw, or even Bronze trying to explain the truth. But the only thing that was in her head was all signs pointing to running away again. But she didn't want to. It never helped, not after the last time she ran from home.

Amethyst gulped, and sweat ran down her head. "I... I don't know how, I... I want to do this right."

"Sweetie, its okay. Just talk to me, you can tell me anything."

Amethyst closed her eyes, and then looked at her father with a straight face.

"Did you have a family before me?"

Bronze blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm serious. Did you have a family before you had me? A wife? A child? Anyone?"

Bronze shook his head. "No, sweetheart. You're the only child I had.

Amethyst sneered. "Oh really? Well, do you care to explain this?"

Bronze was confused. Amethyst handed the folder with the document she had been given, and Bronze pulled it out. His eyes scanned the words in the paper, and Amy could see the bulge in his sockets, accompanied by a sharp gasp.

"Where did you get this?"

"It doesn't matter where I got it, is it true?" Amethyst asked.

Bronze had no words. There was no saying how he was gonna explain himself.

"So it is true then! You actually had a family before me, and you never bothered to tell me!"

"Amethyst, please--"

"No! I thought I was all you ever wanted, but clearly I'm not. Clearly I was just a replacement, a disappointment!"

"Amethyst--"

"No!" Amethyst yelled, nearly sending her father back. "I don't want to talk to you right now!"

Amethyst ran up the stairs, her tennis shoes pounding on the floorboards like an elephant. Bronze watched as she ran up the stairs, slamming the door with a loud bang. His back hit the wall, and he felt his heart pounding against himself. The memories, the events... they were all coming back to him. The day that Amethyst ran away from home... and the day that the only people he loved died.

Bronze dropped the folder and instantly ran for the bathroom. Flipping on the faucet in the sink, he splashed several amounts of water into his eyes. He had to wake up, this had to have been a dream! He couldn't have imagined this, this couldn't have been happening right now. It was impossible!

Walking out of the bathroom, he saw the document face open with the descriptions of the events before his eyes. His heart sank, taking another look at it. It was all true. And now his one and only daughter had the events in her head. How was he going to explain everything? How? And was she going to run away?

He wanted to talk to her now, but she was probably too mad right now. He was going to let her calm down first. Better talk about this like rational adults instead of trying to talk to her while she was still riled up.

The evening went by some more, and Amethyst hadn't stepped out of her room since. She was too distraught with the information that she had read. This was all hitting her in rapid fire. She could barely wrap her head around what she read. This couldn't have been true. It just couldn't have. But it was. Her father did have another family. And she was never told.

The 80s clothing was off her body and she was in her tank top and shorts, usually what she wore when it got too hot or when she was going to bed. She didn't feel like coming back down to talk to her father. Not after what she saw. And in her hands, was her media player. With a single song on loop, a slow guitar playing as the man singing sang a sorrow version of Take On Me. It was all she wanted to hear, and it was all she could hear in her room. Until now.

A small knock came to her door, and Amethyst turned the volume down.

"Amy? May I come in?"

"Dad, I don't want to talk to you," Amethyst replied.

"Sweetheart, please, I just want to talk to you. Look, I shouldn't have hidden any information from you, and it was wrong of me to hide it from you, but you didn't give me a chance to explain myself. And also, I don't want you to just go stomping away before I get a chance to talk.

Amethyst didn't reply. But she could hear the sigh through the door.

"Sweetie, please, I want to explain myself. Please?"

Amethyst held her head. "Come in."

Bronze slowly walked in, looking at the teenage girl who was staring down at her media player which still played that same loop. He sat on the bed, next to her, moving a bit close to her.

"Alright, so... where would you like me to begin?" Bronze asked.

Amethyst held her face, and removed her hands from it.

"Did you have a wife and kid before me?"

Bronze nodded. "I did. Once."

Amethyst looked at her father. "Once?"

Bronze patted her shoulder. "Kiddo, there's a lot you don't know... and a lot I was afraid to tell you."

"Why?"

Bronze held his head and groaned. "Its really complicated kiddo. But, to answer your question which I already did... I did have a wife. Her name was Quill. She was a painter. An amazing one. And when I laid my eyes on her... oh she was beautiful..."

Amethyst smiled, for once. "Sounds like she was nice."

"Oh, kiddo, she was amazing. And I bet she would have loved having you," Bronze sighed, remembering the old days. "She was an amazing woman. With her amazing paint, and my strength in auto-repairs, the two of us made amazing art together. We worked on creating amazing designs for cars, taking them into demolition derbies and racing them... It was something your mother was very excited about."

Amethyst nodded. "So... I guess you two got married then?"

"Eventually, yes. It took some time, but the two of us married, and then, after some time... she and I had our firstborn child."

In one of his hands, he had a single photograph. He showed it to Amethyst, revealing himself, a woman in a hospital gown, and what looked like a newborn child wrapped in a blanket.

"But... while I was happy with the family I had, it... it all went away," Bronze dropped the photo.

"W-What happened?"

Bronze held his head, thinking about the past.

"I was waiting for her to come home, but... things took a dark turn."

18 years ago

A younger man was cooking in the kitchen, preparing dinner for his loved ones. He know his wife and son would be coming home from some daily checkups at the doctor, and then it'd be time for dinner.

But in the midst of his cooking, he heard a knock on the door.

"Coming!"

He put his stuff down, and removed anything from the stove off, in hope to avoid any fire hazards. He walked to the front door, and opened it up. On the other side was a police officer.

"Um, hello?"

"Sir, are you Bronze Weld?"

"Yeah... am I in trouble?"

"No you're not sir. But I need to speak with you. May I come in?"

"Oh, of course."

Bronze kindly opened the door, allowing the officer to step inside. He took a seat at the couch, while Bronze sat in the chair across from him.

"So, what's wrong?" Bronze asked.

The officer sighed. "Sir, I don't know how to break it to you but... there had been an accident out on the highway, precisely a few hours ago. A man had been found, driving drunk on the road, and without his license."

Bronze blanked. "Okay?"

"And he had ran into a car during his wild driving. And the car he ran into was... was your wife's."

Bronze felt a pounding against his heart.

"No... i-is she... is she okay? Is my child okay?"

The police officer sighed, his hat being held down as he looked to the gentlemen across from him.

"I'm afraid not. The two had suffered severe pain in the crash and... neither one of them made it."

The words dropped on Bronze like a piano falling out of the sky. It couldn't have been... it was impossible. That couldn't have been true!

"No...", Bronze began to panic. "No, it can't be... that's not true... that's impossible!"

"Sir, I'm... I'm really sorry, but its true."

His heart banged against his chest and he felt something inside of him snap. They were... gone. His wife... his beloved Quill... she was gone. And worse... was their child. Only a few months old... and he was gone.

Unable to contain himself, he felt tears start to form in his eyes, and he held his face in his hands. The officer could only stay to try and provide comfort, unsure of how to handle the situation from there. But the best he could do was to keep his eye on him and make sure he was okay...

Bronze's hands were like wasted pieces of jelly now. The memories all returning back, sadness and anger, all meshing together to create a neutral face, blanked out from the thought. And Amethyst wasn't sure how to react. She didn't know whether she should have been sad, or mad, or... anything.

"After that... I started to go into a downwards spiral. I stopped working... I stopped seeing people... I stopped doing anything. Nothing to me mattered anymore. I didn't know what to do, and I... I stopped trying to help myself."

Amethyst couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"B-But... how did you find me then?"

Bronze looked back at Amethyst's scared face, and a warm smile crept up. His finger went up and wiped the small tear on her eye, and he continued to speak.

"After some time had passed, I... I was ready to start anew, and I went back into work again. I saw my regular clients, talked to my friends and family again... but I never forgotten what happened. And after that day... I was scared to try again. I was afraid of losing loved ones again like I had before and I didn't want to experience it again. I didn't want to relive that day all over again. But one night on my way home..."

Bronze walked home in the dark of Canterlot City. It wasn't a dangerous place, thankfully, so he had no problem simply walking. It also didn't take long for him to get to the place he worked at which was another automatic plus.

He looked at a few alleyways as he walked, seeing mostly just garbage cans and the fire exits that were attached to the sides of the buildings. But as he hit the third alleyway, he stopped. The sound of wailing was coming from one of the alleys. The sound of... crying. An infant's crying to be exact.

Curiosity enticing him, he slowly walked into the alleyway to take a look, just to be on the safe spot. Was there just an unhappy child with the parents? He preferred the latter.

Walking further down, he found himself closer to the source. And looking down, he could hear the sounds coming from a small generic cardboard box. He looked inside, opening the flaps up. And inside, he could see a small crying purple infant. A small gasp escaped his lips, seeing the innocent child all alone.

But as the baby looked up, she stopped crying. She looked curious, seeing the adult in front of her.

Bronze's heart exploded, twice. He hadn't smiled like this in years! This was the most adorable thing he saw, just like the day his first child had been born.

"Hey sweetie... what are you doing out here?"

The baby just cooed and babbled, trying to reach for Bronze's touch. He had no idea what to do right now. Should he call someone? Who would he even call? She'd probably just get hauled off to an orphanage. He couldn't imagine hauling this poor baby away. Especially one that was out here in the cold, left in this alleyway. Who would even give up a small baby?

A smile was on his face as he bent down to get closer to the baby. His fingers ticked the baby's stomach, making her giggle. And the baby's hands reached for his hand, trying to grasp his phalanges. Bronze could only smile some more.

"Maybe we should get you home. You shouldn't be alone out here," Bronze smiled. He reached into the box, carefully, and picked up the baby. The infant cooed and giggled, looking into Bronze's eyes. Her hands slowly reached up, trying to squish his face.

Bronze giggled, "Come on..."

He carefully cradled the infant, holding her close. He looked down into her little amethyst colored eyes, still smiling at her.

"Now what should I name you? Hmm..."

He looked at the infant again, gazing into its little eyes. A deep shade of amethyst which sparkled back.

"Got little amethyst eyes, kinda... hey. That's it. I'm gonna call you Amethyst. Sound good to you?"

The baby just giggled, trying to reach for his face.

"I guess its settled then. Lets go Amethyst," Bronze smiled, holding the baby and walking with her down the street.

Now Amethyst was in a blank face.

"And ever since, I... I've been taking care of you. Now... I have no idea how you got there. I really don't. But all that matters to me, was that since I found you... I have been happy ever since. Having you in my life gave me the joy I missed when I was with Quill. You were the best thing to ever happen to me. And if I hadn't found you, I... I don't know what I would have done."

Silence had fallen throughout the entire room. The two now at an impasse.

"I don't expect you to forgive me for lying to you. And I'm really sorry for lying to you. But... I didn't want you to know because... I didn't want you to be afraid the same thing would happen to you. And I didn't want to remember that day, to think I would lose you. Because I don't. I love you more than anything and... I would never want to lose you."

Bronze waited for some kind of reply. Something. Anything. But, there was none.

"I'll... I'll leave you alone, if that's what--"

Now he was the one taken by surprise. Amethyst hugged him this time, without warning. He listened to her carefully, and he could hear her whimpering and quietly crying. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close like the baby he found on that one dark night.

"I'm... I'm sorry..."

"Shhh... you don't need to be sorry," Bronze whispered, rubbing her back. "Its okay... shh..."

"I... I didn't know, I thought--"

"No, sweetie, its okay. I should have told you from the start," Bronze said, continuing to provide her the comfort she needed.

A good few minutes passed by as the two continued to hug it out, Amethyst slowly starting to calm down. As she finally began to calm down, the two of them broke from the hug.

"I want you to know something sweetheart. I love you more than anything. You're not a disappointment to me, and you're not someone I adopted just because. I adopted you because I wanted to. I wanted to raise a child again... much like Quill would have wanted."

Amethyst sniffled and rubbed the tears from her eyes.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I... I wasn't sure, I thought you had... I didn't know and I... I lost it."

Bronze smiled and gave her a side-hug. "Its okay."

He pulled her in for another hug, one much bigger than before. The two began to calm down even more, and neither one of them were feeling sick like they were those few moments ago.

"I'm sorry she died," Amethyst said, hugging her father. "I can't imagine how hard that must have been..."

"Oh kiddo, it was. But you know something? I'm okay now. I've got you, I've got a good job... I'm happy with what I have."

Amethyst smiled back at her father, receiving a kiss on her forehead.

"Now since there's still plenty of time before either one of us have to go to bed... want to watch an 80s movie?" Bronze asked.

Amethyst nodded with a grin. "I'd like that."

The two got up from the bed, walking out of Amethyst's room. And as Amethyst went down the stairs, Bronze stopped to look at one of the pictures on the wall. There was a photo of him and Amethyst; the day she started to learn how to walk. It was one of the happiest moments of his life, and he never forgot it. His finger brushed the photo, and with it, a melt in his heart.

And so, he went down the stairs to join his daughter for some much needed relief. Definitely would pop some popcorn, maybe make some milkshakes he'd always whip up on special occasions... and hopefully Amethyst would make up her mind on what movie she wanted to see instead of spending half an hour trying to make a decision.