>Beloved Chapter 1
>Be Twilight Sparkle
>Also be in the middle of research into silencing spells
>Tomes about the lessons of Saint Francis Umbrage occupied your attention
>For the past five hours
>But before your lunch started getting cold a visitor walked in
>”Hey Twi”
“Hey Dash”
>You know why she’s here
“Sorry but the new Daring Doo book hasn’t come in yet”
>”Oh, that’s okay, I was here for something else”
>”I need a book on exotic locations. You know, places that would be cool to visit and explore?”
>Huh…
>You hope she isn’t planning anything stupid
“Okay, but why are you looking for that?”
>”Oh, I know that father’s day is coming up and I want to get my dad a gift that’s as awesome as he is!”
>”He’s really hard to buy for. Like, I don’t know what the buck he wants half the time, and the other half he just wants something stupid”
>”So I figure, why not a trip somewhere cool? Huh? Right? Good idea or what?”
“Well… I don’t know, giving a long distance trip as a surprise gift is not usually the best idea”
>”Then what would you say I should get for Father’s Day?”
>Father’s day
>Oh horseapples
>Twilight! Stop swearing in your head!
>But still, you forgot Father’s Day!
>What would your parents think if you didn’t get dad something special?
>Wait! Focus!
>You can solve her and your gift problems at once
“Oh, I know just the thing!”
>You focus your locating spell, and then cross it with a quick levitation addition to bring the book to your hooves
“Maxwell’s Big Book of Gifts for Ponies of All Ages!”
>It’s an older book with faded red covers and brass lettering
>Rainbow looks somewhat skeptical
>”Uh Twilight, I don’t think my dad would like anything from that”
“Oh come on Dash! It’s a world renowned source for gift ideas! See, it says so on the cover!”
“It’s cool, it’s relevant, it’s…”
>You notice the date on the inside cover
“…Over a hundred years old…”
>An audible sigh escapes your lips
“Maybe we should brainstorm for a while on this…”
 
 
>You are finishing up your light salad you ordered
>The café you and Rainbow were eating at was a nice place to eat if you avoided the lunch time crowd
“Hmm… What could I get my dad?....”
>Rainbow was sitting across from you
>Eating some sort of sweetened pasta dish
>By stuffing it into her face with her hooves…
>She pauses for a moment before meeting your gaze
>”Mhhrhr mwht hwwks”
“What?”
>With a swallow she clarifies
>”Why not some books?”
>Seriously?
>You give her a flat stare
“Really?”
>She shrugs
>”I don’t know. How about something extravagant? Like a big dinner and show or one of those rock-valley tours?”
“My dad-“
>”Or what about some tickets to something he likes? Hoofball, racing, or even the Wonderbotls! Huh? Huh?”
“I really don’t think-“
>”Oh! How about one of those raunchy get-ups where they take your dad, a mare, and a lot of whipped cream-“
“UH! No!”
>Rainbow’s face goes to confusion
>”I don’t know, those seem cool to me”
“Dash, my dad isn’t that type of pony.  He’s a lot more reserved…”
>Dusk Sparkle, the father who raised you
>He wasn’t exactly shy, but he wasn’t that type of pony
>You remember one day as a kid when he took you to the market square
>It seemed odd at the time, but a lot of the mares that were being real friendly with him
>Like, really really friendly
>Eventually it hit you that they were flirting with him
>Mom was not too concerned
>An eavesdropped conversation from when you were older told you that she didn’t care if he did anything
>As long as he came back to her in the end
>But you doubt he ever took the initiative
>He was always very awkward around mares that started to flirt with him
>That seemed to be a metaphor for his whole personality
>Mom was always the go-getter, he was a lot more laid back and passive
“Dusk is… less active in his tastes”
>Rainbow paused shoveling food in her mouth for a moment before breaking out in a giggle
>”Dusk? Haha, His name is Dusk and yours is Twilight? Haha”
>You magic a piece of bread into her mouth to shut her up
 
 
>A few hours passed from your lunch
>Dash is doing some sort of low-altitude aerobatics over head
>You are lying in the middle of a field
>Alternating between reading a book that had something to do with wheat prices in the medieval period and reading off a list of present ideas
“What about something sweet? Like a cake or something?”
>Dash zooms by and loops
>”Nah, he doesn’t like that type of food. He’s a huge fitness nut”
>She spins her torso and begins a really agile wing flutter
“Okay… what about some really nice clothing like a hat or a tie?”
>”Nope. He hates fashionista ponies. He usually goes out bare or wearing weather gear”
>With a push of her wings she bounced into the air and then began a tightly looped spiral
“Hmm… what about just hanging out with him for a day and giving him some cider?”
>”Nope. Did that one last year”
>A quick thump later and she landed next to you
“Alright, why don’t you tell me about him.”
>”Well, he’s one of those athletic and outgoing stereotypes, sort of”
>”Heck, his name is even Blitz. He’s always running and flying and playing. But he isn’t like that all the way down; he raised me by himself, and he’s a pretty cool guy. He isn’t afraid of anything! I remember one time he decided to try out a normal stall-run maneuver, but did it inside of a hurricane!”
>Rainbow’s chest swells with a bit of pride
>”He does dangerous stuff like that all of time!”
“Hmm… I guess a sappy romantic thing is out of the question”
>She shifts a bit before answering
>”Yeah… He never really was a romantic kind of pony. He was always either busy with me, with the weather team, or going on an adventure of sorts”
>You and Rainbow started to walk back to town
>”When I left to do weather here he still never dated or anything. Something about Cloudsdale girls ‘not being his cup of tea’ and stuff”
>Little hoof-quotes accompanied that
>”Honestly, I just think he doesn’t like pegasus girls like that due to mom leaving or something”
 
 
>The sun was beginning to set while the two of you were at one of Pinkie’s parties
>It was a birthday party to be specific
>Rose, one of the flower sisters
>She seemed a bit sad for some reason
>Rainbow nudged the two of you over to the food
>”I totally need to redo that spiral dive…“ She said as she grabbed a couple of cupcakes and shoved them in her mouth
“Yea. You do realize we haven’t come up with good gift ideas yet, right?”
>”Mrhhh Mrhhh”
>Cupcake spittle flies from her mouth as she talks
“Maybe something like a small party?”
>She swallows and perks up
>”Oh! Oh! What about one of those fancy magical gadgets that tell you the time and where you are and what color the sky is?”
“That sounds-“
>”Or! What about…”
>The words that came out of her mouth were mostly real words, but used in a manner that could at best be described as imaginative
>You poured yourself a cup of punch and waiting for her to finish
>”…With a blade that could pop out and do stuff -  I got nothing”
“Yea… what about a nice dinner or something?”
>”Meh, not really Blitz’s style”
>She joins you in the drinking of the punch
“Hmm…”
>Your train of thought is interrupted by seeing Rarity and Thunderlane
>It looks like she’s flirting with him
>”Pshh, just some stupid drama crap”
>Before you notice your cup of punch is empty
>And you start to think about Spike’s crush on Rarity
>Then, with a few more cups of punch, your mind wanders to how a relationship like that would even work
>The biological bits won’t match up… right?
>Nighttime wears on as you are half-listening to Dash ramble on about Thunderlane’s drama and half-thinking about genetic drift in draconic hybrids over several generations
 
 
>  -Ponyville Pub-
>A fairly obviously named establishment
>Inside of it are several ponies drinking the night away
>You and Rainbow are two of them
>And on a scale of drunkenness from 1 to Griffon Ambassador you two are somewhere near Stalliongrad Tank Commander
>Rainbow is leaning on the bar’s counter, and you are leaning on Rainbow
>”H-HeY! Jukebox! Somep0ny! Play Freebird!”
“Rainbow! Shush!”
>Her face contorts as realization hits her
>”HORSEAPPLES! We forgot to figure out the present things to get!”
“The best- The most best presents aren’t bought with bits, but with…”
>Time? Effort? Love?
>The last part of that quote escapes you
>”Yeah…. Yeah…”
“Sometimes the best gift is to just be there for them when they need you them… for…”
>You drunkenly wreck whatever you were trying to say
>Dash slumps into your side some
”I’m just a bit sad that I can’t be there that often. I mean we visit Canterlot sometimes, but I usually don’t have time to see him and mom”
>Her eyes gloss over and she grabs another bottle
“I should get him some- MHHH!”
>Which is then forced into your mouth
>”Come on Twi, we just need to think of the perfect gift! It should be something fun that they won’t forget!”
>With a *pop* the bottle leaves your mouth
>And with a giggle you speak
“Hahaha, we should get them some working ponies as gifts”
>Dash giggles in response
>”Hahaha, yea, but I don’t think Blitz swings that way”
“Come on, n- *HIC* not all working ponies are stallions. I’m sure there’s a mare that would do that for bits”
>Dash let out a loud burp before continuing in laughter
>”Pffft Hahaha! Yeah! What about Berry Punch? I’d bet that she’d do anything for some bits”
“Dash! How rude! She *HIC* we’re not getting the town drunk for this!”
>”Okay fine. Then who?”
>You take another swig
“Someone nicer, and less trashy!”
>”Like you?”
>Both of your eyes widen and meet
>…
>Then you both burst into laughter
 “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA”
>”HAHAHAHAHAHAHA”
“Hahaha, yea, yea, okay. But only if you do the same for Dusk!”
>”Okay alright, and I might buck him out of his shyness!”
>The two of your giggle a little more
“I think you should ju- *HIC* just knock on his door and buck him dry. Hahaha”
>Dash downs her bottle and grabs another
>”Haha yea, but I gotta warn you. Blitz might be into some weird stuff”
>For the next few minutes (or hours, you couldn’t really tell) the two of you talked about how what you were going to do to each other’s dads
>Eventually the two of you parted ways and went home
>In your drunken mind you tried to piece together how you were going to pull this off
>Trip to the spa, something nice from Rarity, cloud walking spell-
>Wait, were you really going to do this?
>…
>You did make a promise to Rainbow (you did?), and she is helping you with your father’s day gift
>Also you weren’t exactly swimming in colts right now
>...Sure, of course you’re going to do th-
“OUCH!”
>Your drunken hoof hit a step that shouldn’t have been there
>As you do your best to climb into bed and not wake Spike a single idea crosses your consciousness
“Yea… yea you were going to do this”