Author's Note
Hey, everyone! I know it's been a good six months since my last story and I do apologize for that. Life is just crazy, ya know? It was a real struggle just to get this done by the 17th. As you can probably tell if you're reading this today. It's already past 10pm EST. Sorry 
But anyway, I do hope you all enjoy this story. Feel free to leave any feedback in the comments and be sure to upvote the story if you did enjoy! Also, feel free to give me any story ideas you have as long as they're about My Little Dashie. I've been kind of empty on ideas recently and I'd really appreciate the help!
Rdasher12
Happy Birthday Dashie
On September 17th, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was officially signed and put into effect. It guaranteed inalienable rights like free speech, bearing arms, and so on and so forth. It's been a backbone of our society ever since then. Even if it's been debated for generations on end, there's no denying that it's a good thing for us people.
It's great and all that the Constitution granted so many rights to us humans. But, 221 years later, I kinda wish that George Washington and his friends had made it a little more inclusive. Just in case a talking, cyan pony with a rainbow-mane and the biggest purple eyes you've ever seen got found by a lonely man while he was going on a walk.
Well, then again I don't even know how she got here exactly. Could she have been born here? Maybe she's an entirely different Rainbow Dash from the TV show and belongs to Earth? I have no way of knowing or finding out, but either way, I don't think it'd help my case too much.
But, now more than ever, I wish she could just live a normal life. She's old enough at this point to want to go explore the world around her, discover new things, or at the very least, be able to go out in the yard without needing to be as careful as we always are.
Now, in regards to her being old enough to want to do those things, I'm still not too sure just how old she is, or when her real birthday would be. But, even if I'm probably wrong, making her birthday the day that I found her,!and her age the number of years that we've been together seems to have worked just fine these last six years. It's a bit late to go changing the day, even if I did somehow have a solid idea of when it might be.
Today is a Monday, and I'm up at my usual time of 6:00 am. But, for a different reason today. Usually, I'd be up this early because I have to work. I'd hope to spend at least a little time with Dashie, as long as she was willing to wake up before I left at eight. Which, fortunately for me, she almost always is. She’s still very much a kid, so she enjoys getting up early with me, much like I had when I was around her age.
Maybe it's about time that I get to the point. I won't be working today, as I normally would be. Luckily, I got it covered. My boss doesn't react well to call-outs. Especially if he learns that I lied about the reason. I can't exactly tell him that I won't be able to work because it's my pony daughter's birthday...
Oh right, my point... Today is indeed another day for celebration. Because today, my little Dashie turns six! Or at least, she's been with me for six years now.
Last year, we had more of a relaxing day than anything else. Sure, there were some pretty high-energy moments throughout, but looking back on it, it all felt peaceful. Just a father and daughter enjoying each other's love and company as if there wasn't a worry in the world. I often wish that it were like that every day, and thanks to Dashie, it has gotten pretty close, especially compared to how it was before she was in my life. But, recently I realized that we wouldn't be able to enjoy days like today as much if they happened too often. Just like that infamous wish we all had as a kid for Christmas to be every single day of the year.
It's funny. As a kid, that sounded like heaven. But, as an adult, all I can think of is all the wrapping paper that would need to be cleaned up...
Well, that's getting a bit off topic I think. Anyway, I was thinking of doing things a little differently this year. Hopefully, it'll spice things up. But I can only hope that Dashie enjoys today at least as much as her previous five birthdays with me. If she even remembers all of them.
Today, just like last year, I'm preparing her favorite breakfast: Hotcakes with blueberries on top. Although, this year I've gone for something a little more risque. Instead of a plethora of smaller hotcakes, I'm challenging myself to make one gigantic one! I even bought a special pan just so I could do it.
I'm hoping she'll be impressed by it, as it's supposed to be a sign that today's birthday is going to be even bigger and better than all the other's. Plus, I'll be able to spell out 'Happy Birthday' on top of it with the blueberries much easier than with the smaller ones. Most of them just fell off, either that or the letters would be so small that you couldn't tell what they were trying to spell out.
After a few attempts at the mega-cake, I finally get it to where I want it to be. I carefully place it onto the biggest plate I could find inside of the house, and then head over to the dining room.
I set it down on her end of the table, and proceed to light the candles that rest in the middle. My dining room table, or for that matter, my dining room, wasn't anything fancy. Then again the same could be said for my entire house. This is just me making the most of what I have to work with. The sunrise peeking through the window and shining through the room shows me that sometimes, all you need is the right angle and good placement to make the very simple things in life beautiful.
That was something that I had become accustomed to practicing as a child. My mother would make these paintings of the crumbling sidewalks, the overgrown grass, abandoned factories, smashed in windows and countless graffiti marks. Her masterpiece is of an open field that yields into a parking garage. Over it, she drew an amazing rainbow. My favorite picture, still. Which, of course, is why I love Rainbow Dash the most out of all the ponies. Those vibrant colors get me every time, even to this day.
Thinking back on it, it seems unrealistically convenient that my favorite of all ponies is the same one that I find sleeping in a cardboard box so near my own home. Then again, any pony from that world popping up here would be pretty unrealistic in and of itself. But, I honestly don't care in the slightest. The very fact that I am the caretaker and Daddy of Rainbow Dash is just fate I suppose. There's no other way to explain it...
Well, I'm sure there is some wild way of explaining all of this, but not in a way that would make sense to me.
In all of my thinking, I made a bit more noise setting up the table than I should have. But, since I was so lost in thought of my childhood and whatnot I wasn't really paying that any attention. After another moment, I finally realize all of the noise that I was making. In hindsight, it really wasn't that much. But, it was enough for the birthday girl to awaken from her slumber.
"Woooooaaah! Dad, that's the biggest hotcake I've ever seen in my life, how did you do that?!"
I turn around to see Dashie, lit up to ‘day mode' just as instantly as she had last year. Her adorable eyes popping to the point that they were nearly as big as her own head.
I almost jump from the sudden change mood. "Well Happy Birthday Dashie. I do wish you would’ve stayed in bed, though. I was going to surprise you!”
She looked over at me with a quizzical look on her face. But that quickly turned into realization as she answers me.
"Oh, riiight. Today's my birthday! Hehe... Sorry, Pops. Guess I kinda forgot somehow. I just heard some noise coming from the kitchen and I figured you were making breakfast before you had to go to work today. Kinda sucks that you couldn’t get the day off, but I understand. We can party when you get home I guess. I'm sure it'll be just as awesome anyway.
I couldn’t help but put on my smug face. She wouldn't be alone on her birthday. No way was I letting that happen. Even if it meant getting fired. Of course, I had only gotten the cover for my shift approved the night before, so I didn't get the chance to tell Dashie. But, I think leaving it as a surprise works out just as well. She's gonna flip!
And flip she did. I don't remember her being as excited as she was right then since Christmas last year!
After she settled down from the pleasant surprise, which she said was a gift itself, we enjoyed the jumbo breakfast I had made. Luckily for me, she actually noticed the 'Happy Birthday' that I spelled out on top of the hot cake. I don't think she even saw it last year.
Later that day, after we relaxed a bit and watched reruns of all of her favorite clips from various races on the TV, we went outside for the first time in a few days. It had been raining nearly all week thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Florence. But, it had finally let up for today and there was nothing but sun in the forecast.
Last year, we just had our usual flying session back at the old playground. That place still looks no better than it did when she first learned how to fly. We still go to it as often as we can. Every weekend as long as it's not raining or anything. But, as I said, I was looking to spice things up a little today. So, instead of going to the park like we always do, I've found an old nature trail not too far from here by foot that looks like it hasn't been used in quite a while. Not to the point that it's overgrown or anything, but it was obvious that it wasn’t maintained very well.
I don't really think that'll be much of a problem for us though. She'll finally get her first chance to fly around and talk as loud as she'd like without having to worry about getting spotted by a stranger. No dog suit today, not that I usually make her wear it unless there happened to be more foot traffic than usual on the given day.
It took us a good half hour to get there, and at first, Dashie was a bit hesitant to act as if she was indoors. Back at the park, she would spend most of her time up in the clouds, only coming down to hang out with me once she scanned the area and was practically certain that no one would pass us by anytime soon. Which is exactly what I taught her.
Even after I promised her that there was nothing to worry about, she was still a bit skeptical. It was times like these where I could tell she was growing up, as being cautious was uncharacteristic of her. Usually, she'd be the one to throw it to the wind for the silliest of reasons. I was pretty proud of her on the inside. But, honestly, if there was a day to throw caution to the wind it was this one.
For the next three or so hours, we explored the woods that surrounded the trail. Eventually, Dashie became more confident in our privacy. Once she finally let loose, she seemed to be having a ball!
We found creatures that Dashie had never seen before in 'person'. Squirrels, rabbits, even the occasional deer would cross our path. The craziest thing about it was that they weren't afraid of Dashie in the slightest. She could walk right up to any animal she saw and they wouldn't do so much as bat an eye. I mean, I know she's a pony and all, but she’s nowhere near the same as a pony in our world. The whole thing just fascinated me.
And despite the fact that the trail was a little run down, it was still beautiful nonetheless. Autumn has nearly arrived here, and the multiple colors of the tree leaves were a sight for sore eyes. It reminded me of a backdrop that my mother would want to use for one of her paintings. There was yellow, red, brown, and still a good bit of green mixed in. In fact, the only thing on that entire trail that could rival its beauty was Dashie herself.
Thinking of that only reminds me of the one episode of My Little Pony where her and Applejack ran in the ‘Running of the Leaves’. It would be pretty cool if it worked in real life, as well. Of course, on Earth, the leaves just fall off of the trees naturally over time. They don't need to be forced down or anything.
Well, at least I know that humans can't knock down the leaves just by running around them. But, could Dashie do that somehow? It was getting pretty close to dinner time at this point, so we should start heading back home soon anyway. Maybe I can test that out?
"Hey, Dashie. Guess what?" I looked over to Dashie, who was rolling around in a leaf pile that we had bunched up together.
"Yeah, Dad? What's up?" She stopped her rolling and got out of the pile, shaking herself off as she did so.
"I'll race you back to the start of the trail! 321 GO!" And just like that, I was out of there. Running as fast as my legs would carry me. Last year, she was the one who caught me off guard with a race home from the park. It was about time I repaid the favor. "Oh yeah! And no wings!" I yelled back at her as she just stood there in surprise.
I could hear a distant "Hey! No fair!" as I continued to run back along the trail we had been meandering through for the past several hours.
A few moments later, I looked back to see just what kind of lead I had over here at this point. To my utter shock, she was only a few feet behind me. And what do you know, despite being a Pegasus and very light on her hooves, I could see a few leaves here and there falling off of their respective trees.
"Woah! When did you become a faster runner than me?!" I say in between breaths as I start to feel the strain on my legs with each stride.
"Hahaha! Did you really think I couldn’t outrun you, Pops? I don't need my wings to be fast!" She gloats as she catches up and then passes me without breaking a sweat. Well, not that ponies can sweat, but you get the point. It was effortless.
Another minute later and we got back to where we started. She beat me by quite some ways. I almost lost sight of her by the time we finished.
After we rested for a little bit, and by 'we' I mean 'me'. We walked home with smiles on our faces, without a worry in the world. We even forgot about making sure no one saw us as we passed by. The nature trail was in the opposite direction of the city, so in theory, there should be even fewer people over in this area than where we live. But you can never be too sure when you're trying to keep a Rainbow Dash from literally any other person in the world.
We got home just after six, and took a few minutes to sit down and drink some water. Silly me forgot to bring any to the trail and there wasn't really anywhere nearby where I could've gotten some.
After resting for a little while, I made dinner for the two of us. Nothing fancy, just mixed berries and french fries for Dashie, and the same thing adding in a small burger for myself. Ever since Dashie came into my life, I haven't eaten meat nearly as often as I used to. It made me feel weird when I ate meat around my vegetarian daughter, but it's a nice treat to have every once and a while. Dashie doesn’t mind, or anything. Like I've said so many times before, she knows she's a pony, and she knows what ponies should and shouldn't eat. Although she still knows nothing about her origin. A good time to try and explain something as monumental as that just hasn't arisen. I keep telling myself that, but in the back of my head, I do feel like I may be digging a hole for myself. But that’s not important right now.
We ate our dinner in peace as we watched NASCAR: America which has quickly turned into her favorite weekday program ever since we found out that it existed.
Afterward, we made her annual birthday cake. We've improved further on the skill since we started two years ago. It's practically a routine at this point. We don't even need to look at the directions or anything, which is something that I never thought I’d be saying.
When we finished making the cake an hour or so later, we once again agreed that it was our best-looking one yet. Which is exactly what we said about our last cake and the one before that. We just keep getting better and better.
Everything was set up at this point. The cake had been frosted, six candles outlined the perimeter, the table was set, the lights were turned off, and Dashie's birthday gift was right next to her just waiting to be opened.
Before I sang her 'Happy Birthday', I got my phone from my pocket and leaned in next to her to take a picture of us for the occasion.
"Say cheese, Dashie."
"Cheeeeeese"
I snapped the photo at the best moment possible. I put the phone away, wanting to live in the moment so that Dashie could blow out her candles.
I walked to the other side of the table and started to sing as best I could, even if my best wasn't very good...
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday My Little Dashie,
Happy Birthday to you.
"Aw, thanks, Dad. This day just went so perfectly. It was awesome!"
With that, she blew out her candles and I snapped another picture at just the right moment so that the fire in them hadn't quite gone out yet.
"You're welcome, Dashie. Now, open your gift!"
She didn't need to be told twice. She ripped open the packaging with her teeth and discovered what was inside.
"Are these... hula-hoops?" She asked me that question quizzically. She's hardly ever seen them on the TV, much less in real life. I didn't expect her to get it right away. I figured I would have to explain it a little bit.
"Yeah, Dashie. They are! I thought they'd be pretty cool to use as rings to fly through whenever we're at the park. Sort of like an obstacle course. I can even time you on it, and we can see just how fast you can go. Doesn't that sound fun?"
Her eyes instantly lit up at those words. Jackpot.
"Does it??!! Wow, I had never even thought about using these for something that awesome! What made you come up with that idea?"
"Oh, you know me. Always thinking outside of the box."
In all honesty, I just remembered her performing stunts through hoops back in that episode on the show where she was trying to find herself the best pet as a demonstration for agility.
"Aw, thank you so much, Daddy. I love you! This is gonna be so much fun to try out the next time we go to the park. Can we go tomorrow after you come home from work?!"
"You bet, Dashie. Anything for you! And you can even wear your racing goggles from last year while you do it!"
She nodded her head in agreement. And we then devoured that cake like we hadn't eaten all day. Which, to be fair, we had skipped lunch.
As the night went on, we decided to take a trip down memory lane and go through our photo album. We've added so much to it ever since she came into my life that I'd almost call it heavy at this point.
We went through her first bath, first words, her doodles and drawings. Her first flight, her amazing sonic rainboom and all of the broken windows that came along with it. Our baking mishaps, her other birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthdays. There were so many memories jam-packed into this little book of ours. So many memories, in fact, that Dashie ended up falling asleep against my shoulder by the time we got to this most recent year: 2018.
My Gosh, it's been a great year so far. Each one just keeps getting better and better, I tell you. And it's all thanks to the not so little Dashie resting at my side. Even though I convey just how grateful I am that she came into my life constantly it feels like, I still don't think she fully realizes just how much better she made what little life I actually had when I found her in that darn cardboard box.
In hindsight, I kind of wish that I kept the box that I found her in, as a sort of keepsake for memories, I guess. But I don't know how I could've possibly known that finding her on this day six years ago now would have lead to something as amazing as this.
I get my phone out of my right pocket. I was lucky that Dashie was on my left side, or I might not have been able to get to it. I check the time, it's now nearly 10 o'clock. I should probably get some sleep. I need to get back to work tomorrow, as sad as that sounds.
Not wanting to wake up Dashie, I very slowly and quietly turn off the lamp next to the living room couch we were sitting on. The same couch that I fell asleep on the first night I had Dashie. I put an alarm on my phone for 5:45 am so that I would have enough time to shower in the morning since I won't get the chance to tonight. I then put my phone on the coffee table just in front of me and settle down.
Before I go to sleep, I give Dashie a kiss on the cheek and tell her happy birthday once more. I then get in as comfortable a position that I can and close my eyes. But not before feeling Dashie snuggling up closer to me, and my heart exploded as it always does. It had started to get cooler outside with fall right around the corner, and the furnace is no closer to being fixed, so we only have each other to keep warm. Not that I'm complaining anyway.
As I drift off to sleep, I think about just how lucky I am to be alive right now. There were many times when that wasn’t something I wanted before Dashie showed up. I am beyond glad that I chose to stick around, with a sliver of hoped that my life would get turned around. I think it's safe to say that it did!
And I still have a lot of life ahead of me. And I, no, we, are going to make the most of it.
For each other.
THE END
