A/N: Hey guys, I just feel like I should mention that within 2 days of posting the first chapter of this story my email was flooded with over 25 messages about you guys following me and the story, adding me and the story to your favorites and reviewing the first chapter. I can't thank you guys enough, it felt really great to see so many messages!

The one thought or question, however you wish to call it because some question are stated without the intention of getting an answer, that passed through Paint's mind as he and his mother stood there and stared at each other in silence was 'what are the odds?'. After having a difficult relationship with your parents and running away, the last thing you expect or want is for them to coincidentally move in to where you now live after you've settled down, started a new life and even found love. After all, why would one run away in the first place if not to leave the past behind and to start afresh, to live a life that involved even the slightest bit of joy and happiness?

When you dwell on it, what were the odds really? It had been 1 year since Paint ran away and 6 months since he arrived in Ponyville. Think of how much distant Ponyville is from the town he's originally from, regardless of the fact that he travelled without any type of vehicle and regardless of the fact that he would stop for a few days / a week in villages and towns on the way! How many miles and kilometers which he thought and hoped would keep him and his unhappy past separated! The many directions there are to take from one spot when you are aiming to go to no place in particular, so many of them, that the chances of two ponies ending up arriving at the same place was so little considering that one of them could accidentally go off the trail while on the way. (Try to picture the map of Equestria or of your own real-life country as a maze, place two ponies or people at one spot before having the first one go off in a random direction, which the second individual will not know of, and then send the second one off as well. You would have most likely done something like that with the very intention of creating permanent separation between the two, and your reaction in the case of a failure will most likely be one of shock and want of explanations.)

Somepony else who was finding the situation even more awkward was Rainbow Dash. Despite how close she and Pant had grown towards each other in the past 6 months she knew pretty much nothing about what happened to him before he came to Ponyville. The only thing she did know was that Paint and his parents were never really close and that he ran away. That was the only thing he had ever told her. All attempts ever made by her or anypony else to find out anything else about the stallion's earlier life were fruitless, because he always refused to talk about the matter and would immediately change the subject when it was brought up. Still, from the little that she knew, she could understand that her coltfriend was feeling anything but content at the moment. Of his mother, though, she couldn't make much. The older mare looked surprised, like her son was, but other than that it was impossible to even try to assume what was going on in her mind. She and her son were probably not as close as the typical mother-son couple, that Rainbow Dash was certain about, but 'not close' could have many definitions. It could even mean that they hated each other for all she knew, which was, again, very little. It never really bothered her that she knew so little about Paint until that very moment because it was never relevant. The last reaction she expected from his mother was the one that took place after those few moments of silence: she embraced her still motionless son and began to cry.

"Oh sweetheart, I can't believe it's you!" she pulled away and looked at her son, as if wanting to confirm that he was really there and that she wasn't just imagining. The look on his face was one of shyness and guilt, which made Rainbow Dash even more confused. "There you are…" she looked so happy to see him again that it made her son look like an evil pony who should be sent into prison and locked there for the rest of his life. "I haven't seen you for so long, an entire year, and here you are…" Rainbow Dash had already made up her mind that Paint had some serious explaining to do, because it didn't seem like his mother was unhappy to see him like the pegasus mare expected her to be. On the contrary, she looked like the happiest pony alive. "I lost all hope of ever seeing you again."

When Paint finally answered her the guilt was noticeable not only on his face but also in his voice. "Hi mom…" Rainbow Dash's confusion as well as her curiosity kept growing when she noticed that there was a very small bit of joy in his tone as well as a small smile on his face. She never expected him to be too happy if he ever saw his parents again. His mother hugged him again, and this time he returned her hug. "What are you doing here?"

His mother broke the hug once more so that she could look at him again. "We moved here." Paint's jaw nearly dropped when his mother said this, much to Rainbow Dash's confusion (so much confusion!) Why was he suddenly upset again when he looked a little more cheerful just a moment ago? "Isn't that great?"

"Yeah…" he said slowly, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof nervously. "That's terrific… Um… Why?"

"Your father's business has been transferred to Canterlot, so we figured we should get a house here since it's a much quieter place. What a nice village this is! The ponies here are so nice, and there was this pink pony who said she'd throw a welcome party for us! What a sweet girl!" she then looked at Rainbow Dash, who until that point stayed out of the conversation mainly because she was trying to comprehend Paint's strange and sudden mood swings which made even less sense than Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense. "And who are you sweetie?"

"I'm Rainbow Dash ma'am." said she with a smile. What a kind and sweet mare her coltfriend's mother was. She could not understand why Paint ran away in the first place. Now that his mother was there she hoped she'll manage to get some information out of him. "I'm-"

Paint's mother cut her short by letting out a gasp. "Wait, don't tell me! You and my son are a couple aren't you?" the rainbow-maned pegasus felt her cheeks turn red as she slowly nodded. "Oh, look at the two of you!" her son's cheeks were also a little red, "You look so cute together!"

"Mom, please…"

"Alright, alright, I'll stop being embarrassing." She chuckled, "Come on, I want to show you the house!"

Paint could connect his parents and a large house like that because the family had a very large income from the business his father was running. The two pegasi went ahead and followed the older mare towards the house. They ascended the stairs and walked towards the door before Rainbow Dash noticed that Paint stopped walking as soon as they were done climbing the stairs, as if hesitating to continue. She was about to ask him what was wrong when he addressed his mother. "Is dad here?" Any confidence and comfort that characterized his features in the last few moments were now gone.

"No dear, he's staying in Canterlot for a few more weeks to prepare a few things." She opened the door and walked inside. Rainbow Dash watched with a raised eyebrow as Paint once again looked a lot calmer and then they went inside, with Rainbow Dash entering after him and closing the door behind her. She thought about stopping him at the door for a moment to quietly ask him what the matter with his changing behavior was, but figured that now was not the right time to do so. One thing she had to admit though: he was reacting to it better than she thought he would, which was a good thing in spite of how odd he was acting.

The house looked even larger from the inside and therefore even more impressive. Despite the fact that not all the belongings were unpacked, because the house had only recently become inhabited, it looked very fancy. The staircase that led to the second floor was located in front of the door. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but wonder just how many ponies could live in such a big house. Just from where they were she could see so many doors, that even if each pony that might live there got a room for himself the house would still be able to hold over ten ponies just in the first floor. Within a few moments Rainbow Dash understood why because she saw a few mares wondering around all over the place. With the way they were dressed the pegasus mare realized that they were maids. Most of them were unicorns, because magic made it easier to do many things. Well, magic and paws or claws like Spike's. Households of the sort that contained maids were very typical in the less modern ages, and nowadays they were quite uncommon with the exception of royal families and very rich families that needed a household and could afford it. Such an enormous house sure did look like it needed all the help one could get in order for it to run smoothly. Not that Rainbow Dash cared too much about wealth, but Paint never seemed like he was from a rich family, which made her realize once again how little she knew about him, and the less she knew the more uneasy she felt.

The rainbow-maned pegasus expected the maids to recognize Paint but none of them paid too much attention to them, only stopping by to greet their lady before carrying on with the many chores that an estate-like house contains. Paint asked his mother, rather hopefully, whether anypony he knew was there and Rainbow Dash realized that he was referring to the maids. His mother answered: "Elisa moved with us. The others stayed behind because of how long the trip here took. But you know Elisa, she's so dedicated to what she does and she insisted to stick with us. I didn't argue of course."

Upon hearing that Paint again looked a lot more cheerful, as if Elisa's name was the one he was hoping to hear, and this time Rainbow Dash could not help her curiosity. "Who's Elisa?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound too rude.

"She's the housekeeper and my mom's maid in waiting." Said Paint as he continued to study whatever he could see.

"Don't be ridiculous son;" said his mother," you know that Elisa is and will always be one of my dearest friends."

"And mine." He said with a smile.

Paint's mother looked at Rainbow Dash with a smile, "She's been in our household since I married my husband."

"Is she here?" asked Paint, and again Rainbow Dash found her coltfriend's excitement peculiar. "Can I see her?"

His mother smiled at him warmly, "Of course you can." She looked towards the top of the stairs and around them, "Elisa, can you come down here please?" she called, managing to hide the excitement in her tone because she knew how happy Elisa would be to see Paint again and wanted it to be a surprise.

A short moment passed before the voice of a mare was heard from upstairs, "Just a moment my lady!" Hoofsteps were heard and the mare in question appeared on top of the staircase holding a pretty large box with her magic. The box pretty much hid her and prevented her from seeing who was downstairs. "You said you wanted these in the living room right?"

"Yes dear but never mind that for the time being, I need you down here."

The unicorn mare descended the stairs, still carrying the box with her. "I'll go put this down in the living room and then I'll be-"

Paint cut her short by chuckling and saying, "Just put it down Elisa, you'll end up overworking yourself."

Elisa stopped making her way towards the living room when she heard his voice and immediately put the box down, obviously recognizing him just by hearing him speak despite having not seen him for an entire year. She had the appearance of a typical adult mare but she looked younger than Paint's mother. Even though she recognized his voice and saw that he was in the same room with her she stood motionless for a few seconds, obviously having a hard time believing that he was there. From the looks of it she was probably trying to figure out what were the odds, just like he did when his mother approached him. The unicorn mare looked at the pegasus in front of her for another moment of silence before embracing him in a hug which he returned. "We were so worried about you!"

Paint was about to give a sarcastic 'we?' for an answer but he didn't. He knew more than well who he had hurt by running away and who didn't give a damn upon seeing his goodbye letter. He also knew that Elisa knew it just as well as he did. "I missed you." Elisa had always been like a second mother to him, even after he had grown from a foal to a young stallion.

"We missed you too dear!" she pulled away from him, looking confused, "How? Where did you come from?"

"I live here… I've lived here for the past 6 months."

"It's so great," interrupted his mother, "now you can live with us again."

Paint smiled as his mother said that, but that smile disappeared as soon as it had come. Elisa noticed that and knew just what he was thinking: that coming back to live with them again might be pleasant for the time being but that everything will be different in a few weeks. Despite the fact that she didn't say anything, Rainbow Dash could tell that Elisa caught on to something Paint's mother hadn't. While she was happy that there was somepony who seemed to understand him so well she still a little upset about how little her knowledge of Paint's past was. Perhaps if Paint still avoided telling her Elisa would prove to be a better source of information, because obviously his mother wouldn't be too please to hear questions like the ones Rainbow Dash had in mind. "Oh, I almost forgot," said the stallion, and Rainbow Dash knew that he was changing the subject, "Where's Silver?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at the question, not knowing who he was. She couldn't even tell why Paint ran away in the first place; everypony seemed to love him and he seemed to love them.

"Oh, he's with your father in Canterlot. You know how he is, always busy with his studies. Since there's such a big library in Canterlot he decided to stay there for the time being and they will both move in when your father's done with whatever it is he's doing there." She laughed a short laugh, "No really, I have no idea what he's doing there." There was a short silence after which the older mare introduced Rainbow Dash to Elisa, who was more than excited to meet somepony who was obviously a major part of Paint's life.

"I want to write to him. Can I write to him?" he asked, rather enthusiastically.

"Of course you can." Said Elisa with a smile, "I'll make sure it reaches him today."

Paint's mother then said, "Come on you two, let me show you around the rest of the house."

The two pegasi and unicorn began to follow her, but Rainbow Dash stopped him for a moment and waited a few seconds until Paint's mother and Elisa had gained some distance on them. "Who's Silver?" she asked.

"He's my older brother." Was his answer, and it took the rainbow-maned mare by surprise. She never knew Paint had an older brother. How little she knew about somepony who was so close to her! He let out a sigh, "He was the one I had the hardest time leaving behind..."

Rainbow Dash's ears went flat against her head. She already felt bad for asking. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." On the bright side, he seemed a little more willing to share things with her now.

"It's alright." He said with a smile, giving her a short and appreciative nuzzle.

They went ahead and carried on following the two older mares. At some point of the rather long tour Rainbow Dash apologized and asked whether she could use the restroom. Elisa immediately volunteered to show her the way and Paint was left alone with his mother. It was a rather awkward moment and the silence was interrupted by the sound of crying, a foal's crying. "Oh, how could I have forgotten that?!" asked his mother, looking at her son, "Come, there's somepony I want you to meet." Before he could ask her what was going on she ran back towards the door of the house and then climbed the stairs. He ran after her up to the second floor, and when he realized that the sound of the crying was coming from the third floor he figured he might as well make use of his wings.

They arrived at the third floor and Paint followed his mother into the room from which the crying was coming from. He wasn't surprised when he saw a little foal crying in its cradle. "What…"

His mother held the baby foal and began soothing it. "Paint, meet your baby sister, her name's Emerald, like the color of her eyes." She said with a smile once Emerald had fallen back asleep before placing her back down in the cradle.

"Sister?" she looked like she was barely a few days old.

"I became pregnant a short while after you left." Paint said nothing, and the two stood there silently until one of the maids called his mother from downstairs, wanting to see where she wanted certain things placed.

Paint was left on his own with the sleeping Emerald. He stood there and looked at his baby sister as she slept. How peaceful she looked, not to mention that she was extremely adorable. Yet he stood there and did not smile like one would upon finding out that he / she had a new baby sister or brother. If his mother was so distraught when he ran away then how come she became pregnant so shortly afterwards?

If at that very moment he could have made one wish and have it granted, he would have wished that his parents were gone from Ponyville and as far away from his as possible and that nopony related to him would know that he was there.

To him it looked like he was replaced, and he hated them for it.