Peter woke up with a salty tear stinging his eye.

He was on his back in the cloud compartment of the train, with Rainbow Dash’s wings wrapped around him. The cyan Pegasus was sleeping on top of him, her heartbeat thrumming against his chest.

He wanted to break free, and run away.

Escape from this world of colorful ponies, and run back to his mother. He had thought of being in Equestria and falling in love with the cyan Pegasus as a blessing.

However, he now saw it has a curse.

I can never see my mother, I can never see my father, I can never see my sister, I can never play Skyrim or Minecraft or any of the things that make up my life. I want to leave this place far behind, and find my home again...

I want my mommy.

The final sentence was the completion of his regression. He wanted his mother to hold him, his father to be there for him, his sister to laugh with him, and he wanted to-oddly enough-feel the sweet scratch of his pen on paper as he took down notes, and transferred equations from the board to his notebook.

I thought I had accepted this place as my home...

He gently stroked Rainbow Dash, and tucked a loose strand of green hair behind her ear.

But now I see that it’s just a cheap substitute for my reality...

At this, a raging battle began in his mind.

He debated whether this world was real or not; if he had a life to go back to; if he could accept a handful of ponies (and a dragon) as his new family...

And if he really loved Rainbow Dash enough to move past his old life.

I don’t want to leave her alone with this foal...I can’t...

At that, he remained resolute. He wouldn’t let the cyan mare give birth to and raise his baby alone, without him to be there to help her. He couldn’t.

But, am I only doing this for the baby?

He sighed, and looked down at Rainbow Dash. He immediately felt his heart skip a beat as she shifted her weight, breathing gently in her sleep. Her eyes fluttered behind her lids , and she was smiling in her sleep. Peter smiled, too. He felt love course through his veins, and knew he wasn’t doing this just for the baby (albeit, the baby was a big part of it). He was marrying the cyan Pegasus because he loved her, and his mind rapidly outlined every reason why.

First off, she’s awesome. She can do a Sonic Rainboom, and is all around an amazing flyer.

She’s athletic, and will have a good time without going crazy.

But, she’s insecure despite her outlying confidence, and I want to be the one she can be herself with.

And that night in the hospital...Well...I don’t really need to say anything more about it, do I?

He took a deep, shuddering breath, and wiped away the tears that had silently accumulated, and streaked down his face.

As his chest heaved with the stuttering inhalation, and resulting exhalation, Rainbow Dash started to stir. With a small groan, her eyes fluttered open.

“Peter?” She mumbled, catching sight of the glistening tears he had tried to wipe away. “Are you okay, honey?” She asked, genuinely concerned as she lay a hoof on his chest.

“Yeah, I’m...I’m fine,” Peter lied.

Rainbow Dash pulled herself up close to Peter’s face, and frowned into his eyes. “No, you’re not. I can see your tears, and your eyes are still puffy. What’s wrong? And don’t lie. We’re getting married, we need to be able to trust each other.”

“I was having a bout of nostalgia,” Peter admitted with a sigh. “Just thinking of home...”

“This is your home, Peter,” she said softly, moving up to his shoulder to rub her forehead against his cheek. “This is your home. Here, with me.”

Peter smiled. “I know. But my parents, my sisters, my video games, everything...They’re not here, they’re on Earth.”

Rainbow dash frowned. “You still have the memories. And we an talk about them...”

Peter smiled. “Yeah. I would like that...”

Rainbow Dash snuggled up close to him. “Whenever you’re ready,” she whispered.

Peter smiled, and slowly started to tell her anything and everything he found worth mentioning. Within a few moments, his small trickle of words had opened into a deluge of paragraphs, while Rainbow Dash smiled and absorbed all she could.

“And then, Junior High School,” Peter continued with a sigh. He had been talking for at least three or four hours straight, and nopony had intruded as of yet. It was probably too early in the morning. “I was bullied for my first two years there. I was called a ‘faggot’, which is basically ‘gay’, which means that I like other men; (which I don’t,) and the head bully humped me on the arm, just to get a laugh out of his asshole friends...”

Rainbow Dash frowned, and cricked her neck. “I’d beat him to a pulp if I ever met him,” she growled. Peter nodded, and recounted how he only had the semblance of a friend in a sixth grader when he was in seventh grade. He explained how, after telling his mother about being bullied by a specific kid (the head bully), said kid had been expelled. And for various reasons, such as beating up a sixth grader.

“And then, eighth grade,” Peter sighed. “Even though he was gone, it was still just...Too awkward to make any friends. At least, in my grade. I started going to my LEGO Club, and made a few...Acquaintances there. I couldn’t wait for Freshman year, where I could be on the Xaverian Robotics team...Oh, by the way, I went to Genesis, which is just a fuckin’ hallway in Xaverian,” Peter remembered to mention. He finished up his eighth grade experience, ((which was much less eventful than sixth and seventh grade,) and jumped into High School.

“I made some real friends,” Peter said with a smile. “Robotics kids, and even some band kids. I was still pretty awkward, and constantly played fuckin’ Maplestory. I hated most of my friends, because I was a frigging dick that year. However, come Sophomore, I finally got some fucking social skills. I started hanging out a lot, I made, like, twenty fuckin’ friends, I played Skyrim non-stop, it was great.

“And then, I took my AP Tests-AP Chem, and AP Global. We were having an end-of-year celebration in the robotics team...

“When I woke up, in the Everfree Forest.”

Peter sighed, and massaged his mouth. “My lips hut from talking so much,” he chuckled. Rainbow Dash smiled. “Let me help,” she said softly, pressing her lips to his in a gentle, quick kiss.

Peter smiled as they parted. “Thanks,” he whispered, before he held her close and kissed her on the forehead. “I feel a lot better now, that I talked about it all...”

The cyan Pegasus smiled, and snuggled up to him. “No prob’, Pete. I hate seeing you sad...”

Peter smiled. “Same here, sweetheart.”

They remained silent for a few minutes, and simply held each other in peace. After several moments, Rainbow Dash asked a question out of a growing curiosity.

“What’s Skyrim? You mentioned it, but you never explained it...”

“Only one of the best games ever,” Peter hastily explained. Rainbow Dash smiled. “Tell me about it,” she demanded.

“Well, you can play as several different species. My favorite is Argonian. They can breathe underwater and heal themselves with Hitskin. Oh, and it’s actually called ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’. I’ve never played any of the other Elder Scrolls.

“Anyway, you play as a Dovahkiin, or Dragonborn. You basically go around, and use magic, melee weapons, and bows and arrows to kill shit. Mostly zombies called Draugr, the Forsworn, Bandits, and Dragons. You can take their souls, and use them to unlock Shouts. It’s overall an amazing game, and I wish I could show it to you on my Kindle. But I think it’s in Fluttershy’s compartment...”

Rainbow Dash held a hoof up to her mouth as the words “kill shit” escaped Peter’s mouth. “Peter, you kill things!? That’s horrible!” She cried as Peter finished. He shrugged. “They’re not real,” he explained. “They’re digital models with coding to make them act like real life. They have artificial intelligence, and aren’t really...Real.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Peter, even if they’re not real, you’re killing them. It’s wrong, and I want you to stop it.”

Peter shrugged again. “As if I could. I don’t have my computer, nor electricity, so I really can’t play Skyrim, to be totally honest...”

“We have electricity,” she protested, letting the game slide for the moment. “in fact, I got to go into the bowels of the Weather Factory once. We’re much more advanced than you’d think.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Yeah, but I’m not allowed to tell anypony...”

Peter pouted. “Aw, c’mon, you can trust me!”

Rainbow dash smiled. “Yeah, but I can’t tell you.”

“Or else you’d have to kill me?”

“What?”

“James Bond,” Peter explained. “It’s one of my favorite movies...”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and frowned at Peter. “Is there anything you enjoy that doesn’t involve killing something?”

Peter immediately nodded. “Yeah. Kayaking, playing Saxophone, watching the Yogscast...”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Alright, kayaking and saxophone I know. But what’s the...‘Yogscast’?”

Peter smiled. “I can sing one of their songs, if you like,” he offered.

“Sure, why not?”

Peter cleared his throat, and then began to sing.

“Milkman...Milkman...I say, milkman...

“’And there’s milk, to, be, de-liv-ered...

“Milkman! There’s no need to feel down, I say milkman! Get your feet off the ground, I say milkman!

“’Cus you’re in a new town, and there’s milk, to, be, de-liv-evered...

“Glug, glug, glug, glug, glug...

“It’s fun to del-iv~er, M, I, L, K...It’s great to deliver, M, I, L, K-hay...

“I say milkman...

“’Cus you’re in a new town, and there’s milk, to, be, de-liv-ered!”

He repeated the verses twice, and smiled down at Rainbow Dash.

“Well?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled lightly. “You’re crazy,” she stated.

“Well, don’t just sit there! Sing with me!”

Rainbow Dash laughed boisterously, and bobbed along with Peter as they sang.

Just then, with a click, the sound-proof membrane was opened.

“Alright, you two, time to – What the buck?”

Peter and Rainbow stopped singing, and turned to face the lavender unicorn.

“What were you two doing?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, nothing,” Peter replied with a smile.

Twilight rolled her eyes, and turned to Rainbow Dash. “What were you doing?”

“Singing,” Rainbow Dash said, pulling herself out of Peter’s arms with a blush. Peter raised an eyebrow, but decided to ask her about it later.

“What were you singing?” Twilight egged on.

“A song, duh!” peter immediately cut across, shrugging as he spoke. Rainbow Dash giggled lightly, but the giggle quickly turned into a growl of defense as Twilight pounced on Peter, winding him as her hoof made connection with his chest.

“SHUT THE BUCK UP!” She roared into Peter’s ears.

Peter raised his hands in surrender, his heart hammering his fear, his stomach churning and hurting where Twilight had jumped on him. “Sorry, sorry! Please, don’t hurt me!”

Twilight growled at Peter, all of her pent-up stress flowing out of her horn. Rainbow Dash grunted as she was held in place with magic, an inch away from taking the lavender unicorn down to the ground.

“Do you have any idea how annoying you are!?” She roared. “you’re sarcastic, you’re mean, and you’re so Celestia-damned...Annoying!”

Peter nodded furiously. “Yes, I’m sorry, please, get off of me, please, I’m sorry!”

“And, on top of that, Pinkie’s all depressed! I’m constantly having to check up on her, to make she isn’t killing herself! She’s already tried, twice! And you’re not exactly helping, by singing and being a sarcastic asshole! Do you have any idea how stressful this is for me!?”

Peter frowned, anger now coursing through his veins at an alarming rate, and he roared back, not thinking about what he said. “What the fuck do you mean, I haven’t been helping? I’ve done more than you have!”

“No, you have not!”

“I helped Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash come to terms about being sisters,” Peter shouted, counting each point off on his fingers, “I helped Pinkie return to sanity back in Ponyville, I tried to help her before, I helped Rainbow Dash get rid of her nightmares, and, before any of that, I saved Rarity’s fucking life!

“And, I’ve been torn from my life, and thrust into a world where I feel like I’m constantly playing a game on a blank board, whose rules are hidden from my eyes! I’m supposed to be the Seventh Element of Fucking Harmony, and I’m marrying a fucking horse!” Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide as he pointed at her, but he continued on, rage forcing words he would never mean out of his throat. “All of this bullshit is happening to me, after being torn from my life and being thrust into this...This...This cheap substitute for reality!!

“So, please, do not fucking talk to me about stress, you cunt!”

Twilight slapped him across the face with a hoof in uncontrolled anger, and he, without thinking at all, punched her in the face.

She recoiled in pain, and held her muzzle with her hooves, astounded. Peter immediately held his hands to his mouth, and grasped her face on either side.

"Shit, I'm sorry, are you okay!?"

With a flash of light, Twilight's nose stopped bleeding, and a small crack sounded out. She frowned down at Peter, ire in her eyes. "How dare you hit me?"

"Yeah, Peter!" Rainbow Dash echoed, now free from the lavender unicorns' momentary outburst of magic. "How dare you hit my friend!?"

Peter raised an eyebrow at the both of them. "Need I remind you that she threw me onto a fucking table?" He asked, raising a hand towards Twilight. "I think what I did is pretty excusable in comparison to her throwing my back out!"

Twilight's frown faltered, and she nodded. "You're right...I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so...Angry at you all the time. I forgive you, alright?"

Peter nodded. "Alright."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "No, it's not alright!" She shouted. "You hit her, one of my best friends! That's nowhere near alright!!"

Peter raised an eyebrow at the cyan mare. "What are you talking about? She forgave me! Didn't you, Twilight?"

They both looked to her, and she nodded, smiling sheepishly as she climbed off of the bed. "Uh, yeah...Well, I think I'd, uh, better get going," she said, edging towards the membrane of the compartment. "You two...Play nice!" She turned, and ran through the membrane without another word.

Rainbow Dash turned back to Peter, and continued the debate. "You have some serious anger management issues," she said, hastily, as the membrane started to close excrutiatingly slowly.

"Me? She threw me onto a table!"

"This isn't about her! It's about you, Peter!"

Peter sighed, and looked away. After a second, he looked back, and nodded. "Yeah. I do, you're right...Can you help me?"

Just then, the membrane finally closed with a click. Rainbow Dash pressed a hoof to Peter's lips, and looked straight into his eyes. Peter could see that she was hurt.

"What did you mean? By 'marrying a fucking horse'? And 'a cheap substitute for reality'?" She immediately asked in a gentle voice, moving closer to Peter as she spoke, concern and pain palpable in her eyes.

"Well," Peter began, "I was freaking out. I say a lot of stuff I don't mean when I freak out..."

"It meant something," Rainbow Dash insisted. "What did you mean? You meant something when you said it, even if you didn't really mean it. What were you trying to say?"

"I meant that I couldn't believed that I had stooped down to the level of marrying a fucking pony," Peter sighed, spitting the word "pony" out like a rather unpleasant bit of food. Rainbow Dash immediately pulled back, and the hurt in her eyes made Peter's heart throb with guilt.

"Well, if you really feel as though you have to stoop down to marry me," Rainbow Dash declared, her voice quivering as her lower lip trembled slightly, "then maybe...We shouldn't get married!"

Peter felt as though he had been punched in the gut, and he reached for the cyan mare immediately. She, however, pulled back with a frown. "Rainbow Dash, please, don't say that!"

"Is this what you meant, Peter?" She demanded, her voice quivering like crazy. "Is this what you meant? That I'm a cheap substitute for a human wife, and that I'm worse less than dirt to you!?"

"No, Rainbow Dash, it's not what I meant at all!" Peter cried, reaching for her again. She pulled back again, and Peter felt as though he had been stabbed in the heart. "I love you, with all my heart, and I want to marry you because nothing could ever replace you!" Rainbow Dash turned away from him with a snort. "Please, Dashie, I would do anything to marry you..."

At that, Rainbow Dash's ear pricked up, and she turned, her eyebrow raised. "Anything?" She asked slyly, wanting to exact revenge for what he had said.

"Anything," Peter confirmed.

"Good," Rainbow Dash said, allowing him to hug her. She returned the hug just as strongly, and smiled mischievously. "Because I have just the thing for you to do."

As he heard what he was to do, Peter's body was covered in a cold sweat.

So, do you guys want to guess what she makes him do?

Chuckles, you don't get a guess, because you know already.

Everypony else, though, you do.