//-------------------------------------------------------// My Little Dashie 2: Daddy's Comin' Home -by The Emerald Nightingale- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 It's been seven years. Seven whole years since I've seen my daughter in person. The only things I have to remember her by are our pictures. I still live on the farm, selling whatever crops I can grow for my basic living salary. Only one problem - the weather. Ever since Dashie was taken home the weather just got worse and worse as my depression got stronger and stronger. Most nights I cry myself to sleep, clutching an RD plushy I bought. That's the closest thing I can have to seeing her again. A stupid little plushy that can't even reply to my questions or call me Dad. I've made a few friends online. Losing a daughter gives a guy a lot of spare time. A few guys tried to sympathise with me, saying they wished they could have a pony of their own too. They'll never understand though. How could they? I still remember the day I found her... :-: I was stopped by something unusual; a stray cardboard box in the middle of the sidewalk. Now, living in this kind of area I see trash all the time. Boxes, McDonalds cups, and plastic bags litter the streets and empty fields, but rarely will I see a cardboard box that isn't crushed in one way or another. I noticed this particular box because it happened to be in my way. During my younger years, I tried to do what I could for the community. I'd pick up trash when I saw it, or I'd attempt to help my neighbors. It was a losing battle. Now-a-days, I'd given up any hope of cleaning this city, much less my neighborhood. Now I'll just pass the trash by, letting it blow away in the breeze or sit there and decompose. I let what's left of the "people" do their own things, since most of them don't care about anyone other than themselves. Why should I be any different? I walked past the box, barely giving it a glance. Nothing about it caught my attention right away. I continued on, my home not far away now. Upon arriving, I sat down down and played some games, attempting to push the box out of my mind. I had little luck, as the box somehow managed to push it's way back in. Time crept on by, and I soon found myself wanting to go for another walk. I left the house and started down my usual route when I stopped. What was it about that box that made it stick out in my mind? I turned around, starting down the path I had taken to get home, the path that I only walk once in a blue moon. Curiosity got the best of me, and I wanted some closure. Within minutes I found it, still sitting there, sad and alone among the broken concrete and over-grown grass. It didn't move, it didn't stand out as if it were special. It was an ordinary, brown cardboard box. I didn't want to say I came out here for nothing, so I walked closer to it. As I drew closer, however, I began to notice something inside. It was brightly colored, multiple colors in fact, and was quite small. Maybe the size of a few month old Labrador puppy. I stopped beside the box, and looked down at the colorful blob inside. This is where I currently stand: looking into the box at a small... something. No, I know exactly what it is, but my brain isn't allowing me to fully realize it just yet. At first I want to say it's simply a toy, left to die along with all the other things in this block. But then I saw it breathing. In fact, it appears to be sleeping. My hands are sweating, my breathing erratic, and I'm blinking my eyes trying to refresh my vision. Each time, the image stays the same. Inside, is a sleeping... filly... Rainbow Dash. :-: I sighed for the seven hundred and fifty three thousand, two hundred and seventeenth time. I kept a tally book, tracking it from the day she left. It's just one of the many things I do to try and fill the void in my heart. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2 It was just another normal day. I was out harvesting in the apple orchard when a green flame appeared in front of me. When I looked up, I was shocked at what I saw. There, floating in front of me, was a rolled up piece of parchment. Upon further inspection, I noticed it was wrapped in a red ribbon. I plucked it from the air, opened it and read aloud. I leaned against the tree as I did so. 'Dear Mr. Dashworth, It has recently come to our attention that your 'daughter', Rainbow Ashleigh Dash, has been exhibiting withdrawal symptoms since her arrival in Ponyville. When not locking herself in her home, she lies in trees belonging to Sweet Apple Acres and refuses to leave. Princess Luna will be arriving in three of your days to transport you to Ponyville, Equestria in order to bring order to your daughter. It will be your decision if you stay or not. However, if you do decide to stay, you will need to travel to Canterlot Castle to become an official Equestrian. Yours Sincerely, Princess Celestia.' I stood there, staring at the letter, trying to process what I was reading. Dashie, MY Dashie, was having withdrawal symptoms? And they need ME to go and help. I can see her. I CAN SEE HER!!! I completely forgot about my harvest. Who needs this place anymore? I'm going to Equestria to see my little Dashie again! And damn right I'm staying. I ran into the house and straight into my room, only packing things I thought I would need. I packed a single change of clothes, my photo album, all the money I had to my name (I guess I can get the princess to change it), my old guitar, a special guitar I got for Dashie and, of course, Dashie's locket. I got no sleep for the next few days, drinking coffee non stop. Every time a traveller knocked on my door I'd point them in the right direction as fast as possible and send them on their way. Unfortunately, on the lat night, I ran out of coffee. I sat on the couch, my head nodding every once in a while only to snap right back up. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3 My Little Dashie: Daddy's Comin' Home Chapter 3 *bang bang bang* "Huh?" I said, lifting my head from the counter. I must have dozed off. "Art though in there, human!?" I heard. It took a second for me to remember... "Oh my god!" I ran for the door, tripping over the coffee table. I yanked it open so hard it bounced off of the wall and hit me in the back. I stumbled forward, but was caught by a midnight-blue alicorn. "P-Princess Luna! I-I'm so sorry. I guess I was a bit too excited." I said, smiling sheepishly. "Apologies are not needed, human. We understand that you miss your daughter." "Thanks..." I grabbed my stuff, wrote a letter to the council saying the farm was theirs for free and stood beside Luna, wondering how we were going to get to Equestria. "Be prepared human-" "Allan." "Pardon?" Luna asked, puzzled. "My name, it's Allan" "Oh. Well, then be prepared Allan. I am going to call in an old friend." Luna's horn began glowing and she sent off a light blue laser into the sky. Around three second later, a loud whirring began to fill my ears and what appeared to be a large blue phone box appeared in front of us. It opened to reveal a grey Pegasus with a blonde mane and very strange eyes. "Ah! Luna! Come in, come in." The Pegasus said, ushering us into the box. The inside was much larger than I expected and was mostly an orangey metal. "It is every so nice to see you again, Ditzy Doo." Luna said, naming the blonde mare as Ditzy. "This is Allan, Rainbow Dash's father." Ditzy turned to me and smiled. "Hi! I'm Ditzy Doo, but most call me Derpy. Would you like a muffin?" "Sure." She handed me a muffin from a small box and I sat down in a seat that looked like it had been ripped out of the back of a car. A brown earth stallion walked in from another room, wiping his hooves down with a rag. He smiled warmly at us and lay his rag on a large console. "Ah, Luna my dear. How long has it been for you?" One thousand years exactly, Doctor. You?" "Oh, about twenty minutes." "Allan, We'd like you to meet the Doctor. He is the one who will bring us to Equetria." I stood and shook the stallion's hoof. "The Doctor, eh? So you're real too?" The Doctor gave a quizzical look and Luna chuckled. "In Allan's universe, many of the things we know to be true are actually a mere television programme." "Ah, I see. Fascinating." The Doctor walked over to his console and began pushing random buttons and levers. The same whirring noise filled my ears again as the TARDIS shot to life, carrying us through time and space to Equestria and my daughter. "Don't worry Dashie."  I said to myself as the ship doors opened, revealing a world of beauty and colour to my eyes. "Daddy's comin' home!"