My Little Dashie: 2020

by Rdasher12

Rating: everyone
Tags: Human, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Other
Length: 29087

2020 was quite a tumultuous year from start to finish. My Little Dashie skipped over this year in the original, but this twelve-part month-by-month story offers a glimpse into what life was like for a pony who had been quarantining from the get-go.

My Little Dashie is a fantastic story that spans many years, with each year bringing more growth between Dashie and her dad than the last. This is, except for the years that are skipped, of course. 2020 just so happened to be one of those years. Looking back on the year it was, it's easy to see why.

This got me curious, however. Dashie may have been quarantining long before it was the cool thing to do, but "Pops" still had to pay the bills somehow... This story offers a month-by-month glimpse into what life must have been like for our favorite duo in a year when the poor got poorer and the greedy became the needy.

Published 2021-01-06 19:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-11-29 07:11:16 UTC

January

Author's Note

Hey there, everybody. While it is true that this is my first story in over two years, I can assure you that my writing ability and motivation haven't gone anywhere and might even be stronger than before! This is Part 1 of 12 planned chapters, one for each month of 2020. There won't be too much story going on here aside from explaining what the year is like for the two of them and the challenges that they face as a family. It's a slice of pie called life and this slice happens to be the one with burnt crust and not nearly enough whipped cream (Also I think someone might have coughed on it). I hope that you all enjoy it and please leave suggestions in the comments!

January

*January 1st, 2020*

"Three... Two... One... Happy New Year!" Dashie and I chant in unison as we watch the ball drop over Times Square. We clink our glasses together as a goodbye to 2019 and a fresh sparkling grape juice-flavored hello to 2020.

I take a satisfying sip of the seasonal beverage, a beverage I prefer much more over the champagne that most people my age would be enjoying for this sort of occasion. I've never really been big on alcohol, whether that be due to the taste or Dashie coming into my life, I'll never know. I have thought about how Dashie might react to the taste of wine or beer, but it's not like I've had it in my house much, to begin with, anyway.

"It's the new year, Pops! 2020! The first time I get to experience the turn of a decade! Makes me feel old... I can't imagine how old you must feel Dad!"

We both laugh aloud at her sarcasm, but she did have a point. This will be the year that I turn 30, so I've experienced the turn of a decade three times now, not to mention that I've been apart of four separate decades themselves. If I didn't already feel old, I certainly do now thanks to Dashie. The years don't go by any slower as they go on, especially with an impossible cartoon pony around.

"Oh, you have no idea, Dashie... I plan to enjoy these final months in my 20's. You know, I may be getting older, but something that will never grow old is spending time with you." I chuckle as I say that, since I know that Dashie can get tired of my mushy talk. It serves her right for trying to call me old, though.

"Bleh. It may be a new year, but you sure are the same old Pops I've always known." Dashie says jokingly as we share another laugh together.

The banter goes on well into the AM, long after the New Year's coverage had come to a close. After some time, we settle down and reflect on the year that 2019 had been.

A lot had happened in the previous year, both good and bad with all things considered. The Amazon Rainforest was on fire for a fair few months, people tried to 'invade' Area 51, the Cathedral caught on fire, Avengers: Endgame came out, and 'Baby Yoda' was popular for a while. The President of the United States got impeached over a phone call, not to mention the original design for that Sonic movie and how terrible it looked. Of course, I'm getting most of these things from a website, as I honestly wasn't aware of them.

We don't watch the news very much in this house, nor do we go on the internet unless it's important. So, any world news that is out there at a given time hardly ever reaches our eyes and ears. I might hear some news here and there from coworkers, but other than that, Dashie and I are pretty cut off from the rest of the world. It's honestly been a good thing for us over the years, though. The bad in the world often outshines the good, and with how easy it is to spread the bad news around these days, it's nice to live in a little world called 'Our House' where it's like it was before news got around so quickly.

For those reasons, 2019, for us, was like multiple years before it. Dashie is still growing, but it has slowed down recently and she won't be getting much bigger. We still spend our weekdays hanging out before I go to work, followed by making dinner together once I'm home. After dark, we usually play games, watch TV, or just chat and clean up around the house. On the weekends we try to make at least one visit to the park nearby, as well as getting a bulk of the house chores done. Sundays are almost always spent watching racing of all sorts, and maybe another park visit if we have the time and the weather permits.

While I'm not sure what this new decade has in store for Dashie and me, or the world for that matter, I don't really see 2020 being much different either. Things definitely aren't perfect in our life, but there's nothing that can be done about most of our problems. A new, better-paying job would be nice. A better house, maybe? As much as we love this place and all of the memories it holds, it's just not the best one to be in, for me or for Dashie. A broken furnace, poor lighting, and not much space for Dashie to move around all make for a house that we'd never want to live in if it weren't for the years upon years of fond memories that we both cherish so much.

There are still rumors going around that this whole area may be bought up by a large corporation and used as space for a factory, but it certainly won't be happening this year, at least.

Still, we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. You can never know what might happen, but until then, we plan to keep living the same way we have since Dashie came into my life over seven years ago now.

I only just realize that I had zoned out that entire time, as Dashie pipes in tiredly. "Hey, dad. You mind if I go take a shower and hit the hay? I'm exhausted after winding down from the celebrations and I wanna make sure I'm well-rested for our park outing."

I shake off my thought process and answer Dashie's request. "Of course, Dashie. Sorry to keep you up so late, you can call it a night whenever you like, no need to ask me. You're a big girl now!"

I wasn't kidding when I said that, while she had only been with me for a little over seven years at this point, she definitely was not an infant when I found her. It's hard to say exactly how old she was, so to me, she's just seven. But, in all reality, she is probably nearing her teenage years, if that's something ponies even have.

"Thanks, Pops.." she says, yawning "And thanks for the sparkling grape juice, too. That stuff hit the spot! Can't wait to finish it tomorrow."

I chuckle at the thought of Dashie chugging the sparkling grape juice straight from the fancy glass bottle. "You bet Dashie! But only after you eat all but one of your black-eyed peas during lunch." It had always been a tradition in my family to have black-eyed peas with the first lunch or dinner of the new year, and I was told that if you left one on your plate, then good luck would come your way during that given year. Dashie never has liked the taste of them, but a tradition is a tradition.

She gives me an 'ew' face as she responds. "Whatever you say, Dad. Maybe we should make our own tradition of not doing that... Anyways, goodnight. I'll see ya in the morning!" I guess if there's one thing that has changed recently, it would be Dashie and her willingness to show affection as often. She is certainly getting older, and probably to the age where she doesn't want to say things like "I love you" as often as she used to. But that's okay, we all go through those phases.

"Goodnight my little Dashie. Love you."

"Yeah, love you too, Pops."

Those words always do bring a smile to my face. After sitting on the couch for a few more minutes pondering what Dashie will be like as a full-grown mare, I decided to head to bed myself. It's been a long day, and I was lucky enough to get New Year's off from work, so I plan to take advantage of the chance to sleep in after 8:00 am for once, as long as Dashie lets me. She's had her own room for several years now, and she's starting to understand the joys of sleeping as much as I do. So hopefully she will.

I lay in my bed as the clock strikes 2:00 am and I get myself comfortable. I had Dashie in my life for most of the 2010s, and I can't wait to see what comes to us as a family in the 2020s. I am getting ahead of myself there, as there is no guarantee that I'll even have her by the end of this year, much less the whole decade. I can't take any day with her for granted, as at any moment she could be taken away from me, whether that be by her friends in Equestria, the government, or something else. I pray to God that it be the former if it does happen one day.

I wish the years would go by slower, though. It feels like just yesterday that I found her on the crumbling sidewalk sleeping inside of a cardboard box. Nevertheless, life is good and it's all thanks to my little Dashie, even if she isn't as little as she used to be. I'll always love her, and I can only hope that no matter what happens, she'll always love me.

I fall asleep a few minutes later, and I dream of what 2020 just might have in store for us. But, nothing that my imagination could conjure would prepare me for what would happen to the world in just a few short months.

February

Author's Note

Welcome to February 2020! I wanted to get this out before Monday (1-11-21) as that's the day my spring semester of college starts. Luckily, I had spare time. I can't really say when March and future chapters will be coming out, but I will try my best to keep a consistent schedule. As usual, I hope you enjoy it and have a great day!

Rdasher12

February

*February 14th, 2020*

Today is the sort of day that always goes one of two ways for someone, depending on a sole factor. There are those who are taken and tend to have a fun, expensive, fancy day with their significant other. This group doesn't usually mind that the holiday that they're celebrating was invented purely for commercial reasons and instead takes advantage of the occasion in some way, shape, or form.

Then there are those who happen to be single. For people like me, this has always been a terrible day from start to finish. It's usually a workday, which means that I always get to be the one selling Valentine's Day merchandise and candy to the happy customers about to go see their partner. The worst part is when they try to ask me for advice on what to purchase, as if I've had a relationship with a girl who wasn't my middle school classmate at the time. To sum it up, Valentine's Day is one of my least favorite out of the entire year.

That was, of course, what I would have told you several years ago before I found Dashie. Her rainbow-colored mane and bright purple eyes have drastically changed my opinion on the holiday as the years have gone on. Although my opinion isn't the same one that you would hear coming from most people, not in the slightest.

Nowadays, I see the holiday as not just a day to show how much you love your lover, but also anyone that you love. Your mom, your kids, your cousins, grandparents, even your little pony if you happen to have one.

You may think that I'm forced to have that sort of opinion given the circumstances, but even if that is true, I certainly don't mind it. I can't exactly have a girlfriend with Dashie around. The extra income might be nice, but that would come with a whole lot of risks and downsides. Not only would I have to take time away from Dashie in order to spend time with her, but I'd eventually have to let her into my house. I would probably have to hide Dashie in her room whenever I had her over until I could trust her enough to reveal her to Dashie. That just wouldn't be fair to my little girl... Even if I could miraculously meet the love of my life while at work or on my walks to and from work, it would be selfish of me to even consider something like that.

Then again, Dashie would love to have a mom around. You can't let her watch television without learning about family along the way. She knew that I was technically her dad, even though we weren't of the same species. But, she did once ask where her mom was when she was younger. I had to explain to her in the best way possible that some kids grow up without a mom around and for various reasons. It was tough to explain why she didn't have one here. I had to remind her that she wasn't of this world and her mom wasn't here. She was a bit sad at first, but she did eventually calm down about it.

Even though we had that conversation so many years ago now, I still think she wishes she had a mom, without saying a word about it. I can't even imagine having a girlfriend in my life, let alone a wife that Dashie could call 'Mom'. But I suppose that I can never say 'never'. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and allow whatever happens to happen.

I finish my train of thought as I near the porch light connected to my house. With it being February, it wasn't quite dark out, but boy was it cold. It barely got above freezing during the day, and was well below it by the time I got off of work. I had to speedwalk my way home with my groceries in hand just to keep my legs from getting too cold.

Upon reaching my door, I grab hold of my keys, and with my barely functioning hand, I slowly unlock the deadbolt, the Masterlock, and finally, the doorknob. I open the door and quickly close it behind me, due not only to the cold temperature but also as a precaution to make sure for certain that no one spots Dashie from outside. There may not have been anyone around from what I could tell, but it's always the moments where you're caught off guard that end poorly. Better to be safe than to be sorry.

As I close the door, I hear the sound of the TV in the living room for what must be the prerace coverage for the NASCAR Truck Series at Daytona for the first race of the season.

"Dashie, I'm home!" Back when my little girl was younger, she'd come galloping towards me with a face full of glee. Nowadays, not so much. But that's okay, it's all a part of growing up.

After hearing no response, I assume that she's using the restroom or something. I walk through the front hall and into the kitchen and what I see shocks me.

I see Pops walk up to the front door through the front window where I currently sit waiting for him. As he starts to unlock the door, I quickly fly through the front hallway and into the kitchen, not wanting to be spotted. I open the pantry door and hide inside as the front door opens.

"Dashie, I'm home!" I don't respond to him when he calls out for me, not wanting to ruin the surprise that I've been working on all day. He probably won't think much of it.

After a few seconds, I hear his footsteps as he makes his way into the kitchen with what sounds like plastic bags in his hands. His footsteps come to a stop and I can see his bewildered face through the slits in the door.

I jump out of the pantry and yell at the top of my lungs. "Surpriiiiiise!"

I jump back as Dashie comes out of nowhere in front of me. "Woah! What's all this?" I look around the kitchen island countertop, it is decked out in paper hearts, confetti pieces, and a cake that spells out 'Happy Valentine's' in pink frosting.

Dashie replies with the amount of pride that you'd come to expect from her. "You like it? I worked all day on it by myself! I wanted to surprise you like you always surprise me Pops."

I honestly don't know how to respond at first... It takes me a moment, but I do come up with a response. "I... Thank you, Dashie. I love it, almost as much as I love you. I'm not even going to ask how you did it, but I am so proud of you. You are just so awesome!"

She truly is one awesome pony. It's no wonder she's my favorite. Being in such awe of her surprise to me, I almost forgot about my surprise to her.

"Well, it sure doesn't beat this by any means. But, I got you a few things too, Dashie." I pull the contents out of the two brown plastic bags that I had brought home with me and hand them to Dashie.

"Aw, my favorites! Thanks, Dad. And I love you too!" I hold my arms out in front of Dashie and we come together for a warm embrace. It was always cold in the house during the winter months, with the broken furnace and everything. But, at that moment, it all went away. I felt as warm as a summer day, with a rainbow in the background, of course. I can only imagine that Dashie feels the same way.

Just as I was starting to think that the sappy moments between us were coming to an end, my little Dashie goes beyond the call of duty and does something like this. It's the kind of thing that I don't think I ever did for my parents, even if I wanted to. I am just so proud of my little Dashie tonight and the mare that she's growing into.

After settling down over our surprises, I get to work on dinner as Dashie watches the start of the race. After all of her hard work today, she deserves to relax for a bit.

Our Valentine's night is spent eating plenty of food, both the regular kind and the junk kind. We sit in the living room for hours watching the race and enjoying our treats, including the cake that Dashie made. It could definitely use some work, but I'd say that for a pony who has never made a cake or much of anything on her own before, she did a pretty good job.

Dashie ate all of the assorted chocolates that I got for her before the race was even over. I wish I could still eat sugar that quickly, but whenever I do, my heart just feels weird, so I tend to pace myself.

We enjoy each other's company into the AM, as I didn't have work for the next two days. In all of the fun, I nearly forgot to take a picture for our scrapbook. I did thankfully manage to get one of her decorations and our candy, even if it was mostly wrappers...

Dashie decided to go to bed shortly after midnight, not that I blame her. I elected to stay up a little bit later to clean up our mess. I would usually get Dashie to help me out with this sort of thing, but I think that she's done enough work for one day. I eventually get everything either cleaned up or put away, aside from Dashie's kitchen decorations, of course. I don't know if I'll ever have the strength to put them away with just how cute it is and how much it means to me. We'll do something with it for sure, but just like a Christmas tree, we'll probably end up leaving it out for a few days at least.

After a day like that, I am exhausted. I've been up for over twenty hours now. I tiredly take a shower and head off to bed.

To sum up our year so far, I'd say that it's going pretty well with all things considered. There hasn't been too many out of the ordinary things since the turn of the decade. Although, there is one thing that worries me for the near future...

It was something that I overheard while at work a few days ago, something about a contagious virus spreading in a part of China. Apparently, it's been around there since last year and it shows no signs of slowing down. I think they call it COVID-19? I don't really know a whole lot about viruses aside from the little that I remember from high school, but I do know that there's no reason to believe that it'll stay put. If the world doesn't do something soon, I'm not so sure what might happen. From what I heard, it isn't that deadly, at least for the young and healthy, which I'd like to think still includes me.

At the end of the day, I'm probably just overthinking it. After all, if it was really a serious threat to our country and the rest of the world, then the leaders would have done something about it by now. Sometimes you just have to trust those who lead. We wouldn't be where we are now without them.

I shake that thought out of my mind, not wanting to spoil the good vibes of the day. I've always lived my life one day at a time, and for now, I see no reason to stop. No matter what happens, everything will be alright as long as Dashie and I have each other.

March

Author's Note

I would like to apologize for such a delay between chapters. Once college got going again just after I published the 2nd chapter, it was unrelenting. Even during spring break, I was unable to find a good time to work on it. I was very fortunate to have some spare time tonight to get the whole thing done in one fell swoop. I hope that it's partially made up for in length. I can't say when the next chapter will be out, but I do appreciate the support on the story and I look forward to a more consistent publishing schedule come May after I graduate!

Rdasher12

March

*March 21st, 2020*

It's not very often that Dashie and I get the chance to enjoy some fresh air out at the park this time of year. The winter season may have just ended, but in a state like Michigan that doesn't mean very much. The compiled snow on the ground sometimes won't be fully melted until nearly May! However, we are very fortunate today. Back on Groundhog Day, the creature did not see his shadow when he came out of his burrow. Spring came earlier than usual in our area, so Dashie and I decided to make the most of it on this lovely Saturday afternoon and go for a park outing.

"Go, Dashie, go!" I chant as my beautiful daughter soars through the air at her usual breakneck pace.

I must say, our neighborhood and the area around it, including the park, is usually pretty quiet. It used to be a bustling community back when I was just a kid, but over time many of the residents moved away to either find better jobs or because of how old the area was, I assume. The last few years have been especially quiet, but on the first nice day of a typical year, you would see it get about as lively as can be. Who wouldn't want to be outside on a day like today? The temperature is in the mid-60s, with a steady breeze to remind you that the world is living to go along with it, I'm actually rather surprised to not see anyone out here today.

In all of my thought, I hear the faint sound of someone stumbling and look up just in time to see Dashie hurtling towards me with a panicked look after what I could only assume was a wipeout. I try to catch her, but alas, I merely end up breaking her fall as we both eat sand upon impact with the playground floor.

"Oh, my head... Sorry Pops. That breeze really threw me off. One second, I'm going for a ninety-degree left-hander to reset my formation, and the next thing I know, I'm headed right for your gut!" Dashie laughs it off as she gets up. She may not have cartoon physics on her side in my world when it comes to pain, but she sure can take a hit or two. I, on the other hand, wasn't doing as well.

"Mmmm," I wince in pain from the impact with Dashie, and then the ground. "It's okay, Dashie. As long as you're alright?" I slowly stand up, brushing myself off as I inspect Dashie for any damage.

"I'm fine, Dad. I've been through way worse and you know it! You on the other hand don't look so hot... And I'm not just talking about your belly!" I chuckle in response as I turn each of Dashie's hooves over. Other than the occasional bruise, I don't see anything that needs my attention. Dashie is quite the hardhead, so I can't exactly take her word on things like this, so I always make sure she's alright myself. Now that I was certain she was relatively okay, it was time to inspect myself.

"Ouch... Skinned me pretty bad, didn't you Dashie?" I point at my left elbow that had lost some skin and was now bleeding slightly in response. I didn't notice the pain at first, but now that I've seen it, it's all I can feel. It stings, to say the least.

"Oof, I'm sorry Pops... I didn't mean to. We should probably go back home so we can treat that." I was only joking, but it is important for Dashie to know when to apologize. She's nearly an adult at this point, but I'll never stop being her parent. Although the thought of treating myself did make me realize something.

"I'm only joking, sweetie. It's okay. As you said, we've been through worse and this certainly isn't the first time. But, now that I think about it, I'm not sure I have the right stuff to patch this abrasion with. I might need to hop over to the Walgreens down the road real quick.

There was the chance that I was wrong and we did have what we needed. But, Walgreens is a lot closer to the park than home, and I'd hate to be right if we do go home, instead. This wasn't the first time that I've needed to make a detour before heading home from the park. Whether it be groceries, dinner, or a sweet treat for the two of us to share, there's always something to take a detour for if you think about it hard enough. That being said, we knew exactly what to do in this scenario.

"Alrighty, Dad. I guess I'll wait for you here. There's actually this one Cumulous cloud that I've had my eye on since we got here. Looks super comfy! I'll be here until you get back." I smiled at my little girl, as all I could imagine was how good it must feel to lie on a cloud.

"Sounds good, Dashie. I'll be back before you can say 'Sonic Rainboom'. I might even get you a treat from the store while I'm out there for all of the chores you've been doing back home." I give her a quick fist bump as I start walking towards the shopping plaza that was about a mile or so down the road.

Dashie calls out to me as I leave. "I'm in a chocolatey-mood whatever you get! Be safe, Pops!" she flies up to the cloud she was talking about a moment ago as she waves goodbye.

I was lucky that I decided to bring my wallet with me to the park today, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get what I need and my abrasion might get infected without the proper care. I wave back to Dashie as I turn around to begin my quick journey.

A two-mile roundtrip might sound like a lot to some people. But, after walking double that to get to and from work each and every day for so many years, a two-mile walk on a Saturday is pretty refreshing with this weather. Or, at least it would be if it weren't for the stinging sensation coming from my left elbow constantly.

Despite the pain, I make it to Walgreens just in time to see a dark cloud-cover come rolling over as I reach the parking lot. To be honest, I had no idea what the weather was supposed to be like today. I haven't been on my flip-phone very much recently. With everything going on around the world, I just needed some time away from it. I haven't seen the news or weather channels in the past few days, either. Dashie sure doesn't enjoy watching them, and I can't say that I've ever been much different. Hopefully, I can get in and out with what I need and make it home safely with Dashie before any rain falls if that is indeed in the forecast.

As I make my way through the parking lot to the front doors of the pharmacy, I begin to notice some rather peculiar things. Now, I've never seen a packed Walgreens before, but this was just on another level, especially considering how close it was to rush hour at this point. I could only see two cars in the parking lot, meaning that the pharmacy must be empty inside apart from the employees.

If it weren't for the front automated sliding doors opening when I walk towards them, I probably would assume that the place was closed for whatever reason. Fortunately, that wasn't the case, and I make my way into the greetings of the two employees currently working.

"Hi, welcome to Walgreens." they both say in unison. I wave at them and reply back with a "Hello" as I make my way towards the back of the store where the medical supplies can usually be found. As I walked through the store, however, I begin to notice more out-of-the-ordinary things. The normally full aisles had been dwindled down to their last few layers of product on many of the common items. As I get closer to the gauze and rubbing alcohol, I spot some one-time-use face masks for sale out of the corner of my eye. I know that Walgreens is a pharmacy and everything, but I can't say that I ever recall them selling face masks. No one ever really has a reason to purchase them, after all.

I eventually reach the aisle that I was looking for and locate the medical supplies that I had sought out. Considering the relative emptiness of the aisles themselves, I'm fortunate that they had everything that I needed, even if I do have to reach pretty far back for it and the packaging has its fair share of dust.

I spot a Nestle Crunch Bar on my way to the checkout counter and grab it for Dashie before I forget. She tends to favor Hershey Bars, but she really doesn't know what all is out there. It's good to expand her horizons every once in a while.

I make it to the front counter and hand one of the teenage employees my items. They act like most Walgreens employees would normally, bored, unfeeling, robotic, nonchalant, the list goes on. They tend to act like how most people in my area do these days, but with a little more angst, as well.

Not wanting to fit in with society's tropes, I attempt to make conversation with the cashier. "You guys are really running dry today, aren't you?" I chuckle slightly at the end, trying to make light of the odd situation.

He responds to my question as he takes my payment. "Yeah. It's been tough, we ran out of toilet paper to sell. Everyone's panic buying with what's been going on recently. Would you like your receipt?"

I nod my head and add a "Yes, please." to keep up the chatter. the tired teen hands me my receipt and my items in a bag as I continue. "Yeah, that's usually what happens when you see clouds like this outside. Thank you, and have a great day." I walk out with my bag in tow as the employee waves goodbye from behind the counter. In my peripheral vision, I can see that he has a somewhat puzzled look on his face. He must've seen some of the cyan hair on my shirt that got rubbed in when she decided to use my stomach as a landing strip.

I quickly make my way back to the park as the cloud cover became thicker and darker. Thinking back on it, I'm not sure how we are doing on other supplies like TP and food for that matter. Hopefully whatever is coming doesn't last very long no matter the case.

Once I make it back to the park, I spot Dashie poking her head out from the Cumulonimbus clouds that had formed up above. I beckon her to come down and follow me home. If it was quiet out here when it was nice and sunny outside, then there was no way that anyone would spot us on our way home with the weather like this.

I fill Dashie in on just how bizarre the Walgreens was, both inside and out. She eagerly munches on her Crunch bar while she listens and chimes in every so often. I'm lucky that she saved me a couple of squares.

We make it home as quickly as we can walk and I have Dashie hold the bag while I unlock the deadbolt, the Masterlock, and finally, the doorknob. We rush inside as the wind blows the curtains just inside the living room. I close the door and lock everything back just as the rain starts to hit.

"Man, they weren't kidding about people being scared of this. I haven't seen a storm like this in years!" I set the bag down and begin to treat the abrasion that I had nearly forgotten about at this point with everything that there was to think about.

"I know right! I was a little filly the last time it was this bad. I was so scared that night!" Dashie chimes in, reminding me of the night of her first thunderstorm. Although my thought is quickly disturbed by the first roar of thunder.

*Ruuuuuumble*

Dashie's ears perk up at the sound, and I quickly take the opportunity to joke. "You sure you aren't still scared, my little Dashie?" I enjoy a good laugh upon saying that, as Dashie replies with much annoyance in her voice.

"No way, Dad! It just surprised me! I could so easily go out there and tame every cloud in sight and have this storm out of here in ten seconds flat!" She wasn't kidding. Several years ago, I was curious if she could actually manipulate the weather, just like she could in the show. And to much avail, she could. I believe her 100% when she says she can get rid of the whole thing. But, we also agreed not to interfere with Mother Nature's activities unless it was a dire emergency.

"You might have to if it gets worse!"

We both go back and forth with the banter as I finish caring for my wound and prepare dinner. We plan out the next week's activities for when I wasn't at work. The storm certainly didn't get any better, but it was nothing to be worried about, really.

Bedtime came quicker than usual that night due to the detour earlier. Once we had finished all of our daily chores, the two of us were exhausted and ready for bed. We said our goodnight's and went to our separate bedrooms to end the day. I normally would've showered at this point, but thought better of it with the storm.

As I lay in bed ready to retire for the night, I can't help but think about how otherworldly the Walgreens was earlier today. I've seen plenty of panic buying in my thirty or so years of living on this planet, but nothing like I had seen today. The face masks were weird, as well. I know that the Coronavirus had spread to the US last month, but all signs from our country's leaders had pointed to it being under control, so I simply stopped following it more for my own sake.

Maybe it's about time that I checked back in on that. As unfun as it is for a potential pandemic to be on my mind every day, it's probably for the better if it's actually something that I need to worry about. Back when my parents were still around, I would just let them worry about bad things like this. They would always let me know about the important stuff and wouldn't sweat the details. But, they're gone now. Now, I'm the parent, and it's my responsibility to make sure that we're doing what's safe. For me of course, but mostly for Dashie.

I couldn't imagine what on Earth I would do if she got sick with that virus and there was very little that I could do about it aside from hoping and having her rest. It's better to worry about this sort of thing now rather than when she or I potentially get it. As much as I don't want to, it's something that I have to do, for my little Dashie.

I decide to leave the research for tomorrow, as I slowly drift off to sleep in my bed, with the extra cover taken off due to the higher temperatures today. However, no amount of blankets would shield us from the bitter-cold feeling of hopelessness that we would endure on such short notice.

The only thing that we will have is each other.

April

Author's Note

First off, I would like to apologize for the delay in the new chapter. The final half of my semester at college hit me like a truck and I was fortunate to get the grades that I did by the end of it last week. Since then, I've been working on this chapter to get it out to all of you loyal readers as soon as possible without sacrificing quality. Expect new chapters to come on a much more frequent and regular basis from now on. I plan to finish this story by mid-August before my new semester of college starts up. Lastly, I would like to thank all of you for your patience these last few months and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! Feel free to comment with any suggestions and feedback!

Rdasher12

April

*April 12th, 2020* Easter Sunday

If you had told me back in 2012 that my Easter Sunday would look more different than usual today, I might've been able to guess that pretty easily. It was the year that I found Dashie, so it meant that my Easter weekends would no longer be filled with loneliness and constant reminders that I had very little when it came to friends or family. I finally had someone, somepony for that matter, to spend not only Easter with, but every other holiday that my family used to celebrate together. New Year's, Valentine's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, birthdays, Labor Day, Cinco De Mayo, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and my personal favorite, Christmas. Now that I think about it, America sure has a lot of holidays, not that I'm complaining about that. If it gives me an excuse to spend more special time with Dashie, I'll accept it in a heartbeat.

However, if you had told me that I'd have an unusual Easter today last year, then I would've been puzzled. 2020 may mark the first year of the new decade, but that doesn't necessarily mean much of anything really.

I find myself getting lost in thought as to how I might guess why this year's Easter would be different compared to the last several years. A snowstorm? Up here in Michigan, it's certainly possible to get snow during this time of year, but a full-on snowstorm would be unlikely. Maybe we've moved to a new house? Yeah right, I have been saving up for that for quite some time now, but unless I somehow win the lottery or get lucky at some casino randomly that won't be happening anytime soon.

Of course, the real reason that this Easter is so different from the rest is one that I couldn't have possibly predicted. As it turns out, the virus that made its way over here last month from China decided to book an extended stay. The government has urged that everyone stay at home and only go out for the necessities like groceries and things like that, so any foot traffic that we were getting through my neighborhood before this pandemic started has certainly disappeared by now.

To be completely honest, not a whole lot has changed in our lives so far... It's not like Dashie and I ever go out aside from a park visit every weekend, so in a funny way, we've sort of been quarantining since before it became a normal thing. On top of that, the local Walmart that I work at certainly hasn't lost any business due to this whole ordeal. So far, the worst thing to come out of it is that we've run out of toilet paper stock. I was lucky to grab some for my own house before they were all taken by customers.

If anything, my boss has been trying to get me to work overtime to help keep up with the increased demand. I've been shying away from it for now, especially for this weekend, but I do doubt that I'll be able to avoid it for too long.

Now, I'm not saying that the pandemic is a good thing for the country or the world as a whole, but it has had its bright side during these past few weeks. Park visits for Dashie and I are taken in less fear than ever before due to everyone being holed up inside, and although her favorite sports are on pause, for now, it has given her time to go back and watch seasons from before she existed in this dimension, that is if there are actually multiple dimensions and she is in fact from another one. I haven't gotten any closer to figuring out the answer to that burning question, and I don't see myself getting any closer over the years to come. The bright flame of a question that was once in my mind has since dipped into no more than a minor ember. The answer simply doesn't matter to me anymore, as long as my little girl is happy.

Speaking of my little girl, the Easter bunny has brought her some surprises this year despite everything going on in the world. I guess it wanted to make sure that the best boys and girls around the globe still got the treats that they deserve.

Dashie eventually leaves her room later that morning and comes into the dining room with a grin upon her face. "Happy Easter, Pops. What did the Easter bunny bring us this year?"

On the table lies her Easter basket, filled to the brim with goodies and decorated hard-boiled eggs on top of that distinctive plastic grass that usually goes in Easter baskets.

I chime in with a smug face. "Oh, ya know Dashie, the usual stuff... But I do have a fun game for us to play."

"Sweet, I love games! Whatcha got up your sleeve to try and beat me this time, Dad?" Dashie asks with a wink and a chuckle. We used to play games all the time when Dashie was growing up. She developed such a competitive personality, just like on the show. After a few years of this, however, she started to get the upper hand on me. I eventually stopped doing them very often unless Dashie begged me to since I knew I would lose and have to witness her victory chant every time. But, this time, I had a different strategy entirely.

I smile as I take two of the decorative hard-boiled eggs out of the Easter basket and hand one of them to Dashie while keeping the other. "This Easter-themed game requires a lot of balance. I want you to put that egg on top of your head, and I'll do the same with mine. Whoever drops it first not only has to clean up any mess that comes from it but is also the loser. How does that sound, Dashie? Think you can beat me? I must tell you that I've been practicing and preparing for this all week."

Dashie perks up at the thought of a competitive competitor for the first time in a while. I'll tell you, it must get tiring always beating me in games and never having anyone else to play against. "Ha! All the preparation in the world wouldn't be enough to beat the one and only Rainbow Dash, Dad! I do admire your spunk, though. Let's do this thing."

We both walk and fly into the living room respectively as we get ready to start the contest. I had totally lied when I said I had been preparing for a whole week now. As a matter of fact, I had only just come up with this idea last night and had no intentions of winning. My loss may hurt during her victory chant, but the real victory will come to me shortly after.

After a moment's silence, staring each other down in anticipation, I chime in to start the contest. "Ready... 3... 2... 1... Go!" Dashie and I both place the multicolored eggs on our hair and mane respectively and begin balancing our eggs as our lives depended on it.

One of the big advantages that my little girl has over me in these little contests is her wings. Just like in the Iron Pony Competition, it has proved to be a worthy asset over the years. If I was a sore loser, I'd simply make a rule prohibiting their use, but that's no fun to me. Since I can use my fingers and opposable thumbs, Dashie should be able to use her wings to make up for it in some way.

Dashie gracefully glides throughout the living room, not breaking a sweat while she balances the delicate snack atop her head. I, on the other hand, was struggling to produce the same results. I stepped all throughout the room in some attempt to keep the egg from falling in a place where it'd make a big mess. I knew I was going to lose from the get-go, but I could at least cushion my loss by keeping a clean floor. I hastily bobble my head towards the kitchen as Dashie follows me in confusion. I eventually reach the trash can and open it with my foot before safely dropping the egg inside.

I breathe a sigh of relief as my plan had so far gone accordingly. Dashie grins from ear to ear at her victory. "What, did you give up, Pops? I don't blame you. You would've had to cheat if you wanted to beat me. I win!" She triumphantly flies around the common area, chanting her victory theme.

🎵"Cause I'm ten percent luck, twenty percent cool. Zero percent donkey, I ain't no mule! It's sixty percent skill and ten percent pain. That makes 100% reason to remember my name!" 🎵 "Rain-bow Dash, Rain-bow Dash, Rain-bow Dash!"

I can't help but smile as my little girl chants. Those lyrics sure have gotten annoying since she heard that song years back, but when else does she get the chance to gloat about a victory? It's not like I can just sign her up for women's soccer, or anything. I'm glad to help boost her morale when I can. But today, the real victory will go to none other than yours truly.

Through her entire chant, she was still balancing the egg on her head as if it were nothing. It's crazy just how talented my daughter turned out to be, true to the show or not. However, those skills of hers are going to be her one downfall today.

I cast a smug look upon my face as Dashie finishes her chant. "Congrats, Dashie. You really outdid yourself today. You've managed to balance that fragile little thing up there for five whole minutes now! I think that might just be a new world record."

She lights up like a moth to a lamp in disbelief. "Is it really, Dad?! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Can we call Guinness?!"

Finally, after preparing for everything all this time, my plan was complete. I had rented a lot of the Guinness World Record books from the library by my work when I was teaching her how to read. It was a good foray into what the extremes of our lives can look like as well as a reading lesson. She's always loved them, and the fact that she mentioned it just now only makes this play into my hands all the better. "Well, we totally could... But I'm not sure if you'd appreciate the title they'd give you."

She raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Oh, why's that? Wouldn't it be something cool like 'The Queen of Balance' or 'Over-Easy' for how easily I won the egg game?"

Now is my time to shine. "No, Dashie. Those are some great suggestions, but I looked it up in the book before I returned it last week and they would actually dub you 'Master Egghead'."

Dashie pauses for a moment as she realizes what she's done to herself. By beating me in a game of balancing eggs on our head, she has quite literally made herself the 'Egghead' of the house. While I hadn't seen much of season two of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, I did manage to catch "Read it and Weep" where the term "Egghead" was coined thanks to the Daring Doo books. I think I heard somewhere that they actually printed out copies of the first book in its entirety. Maybe I can find it online for her birthday later this year as a way to ease her into her origin. After all, I still haven't told her. But that's not important right now. When the right opportunity presents itself is when I'll be doing that. For now, I just need to bask in this rare victory.

Dashie slowly drops to the living room floor in defeat. "I'm an egghead..." as she says this, the hard-boiled egg finally yields and falls to the floor without making any mess. Thank the Lord.

Feeling satisfied with my victory, I pipe up. "Yes, Dashie. You are an egghead. My most favorite egghead in the whole entire world. But hey, at least you beat me still, right?"

She finally looks up at me with a straight face. "Yeah... But at what cost?.. On second thought, maybe we shouldn't call Guinness. I'm perfectly cool with someone else getting to keep the title of 'Master Egghead'."

Shortly after that, I gave up the bit and explained everything to Dashie. She got pranked hard with that one, and it felt good. But she is still my daughter, and I could never leave her feeling defeated for too long. Her mood eventually improved and we enjoyed the rest of our Easter holiday as we would any other year.

To be completely honest, it's been very easy to forget about the pandemic while at home so far. Seeing how we don't watch the news very much, nor access the internet, my only real reminders about it are when I go to work. We've still got plenty of customers, but we have had to spend extra time sanitizing everything that comes in and washing our hands thoroughly. I've kept Dashie up to speed on the whole thing and have been doing research on the developing matter when I can. It's hard to say how long this will be around, but some are saying that it doesn't spread very well in hot temperatures. Maybe come summertime it'll be mostly gone, then.

As I said before, the virus has had its ups and downs for Dashie and me as a family. But, I think as long as neither of us gets sick, we'll be alright through this.

I now lay in my bed after an enjoyable day, I need to be up bright and early tomorrow morning to provide for the two of us. I have been doing what I can to prevent either of us from catching this mysterious virus so far. We wash our hands and hooves regularly, and I usually shower first thing after getting home just in case I brought any of it home with me somehow. Our state has been floating around the idea of requiring masks to be worn inside buildings and in large crowds, which makes sense, I think. I might need to look into getting some for myself, as well as seeing if the regular masks fit Dashie. If they don't I suppose I'll have to find a way to make some for her myself. That is if she ever ends up needing to wear one. It's not like she ever goes anywhere, but it might be a good idea to prepare just in case.

I slowly doze off to sleep as I think about what the rest of the year might look like, as well as how it might impact our future plans for holidays as well as eventually moving out. From the time that my parents passed away until I found Dashie, life had always been tough, so I'm no stranger to hardships, even if the ones this whole thing might bring are a complete unknown right now. We'll take it day by day, for now, I guess. I wonder if there will be any leftover Easter candy when I get out of bed tomorrow?

TO BE CONTINUED...

May

*May 25th, 2020* (Memorial Day)

Another U.S. holiday has come and passed. Since the pandemic, it has made the way that we celebrate them a little different, though it hasn't changed for us nearly as much as it likely has for the rest of the country. We tend to stay inside for most holidays given our situation, aside from a park outing if the weather permits, but we have had to make sure that we take extra precautions when it comes to sanitization and things like that.

Whenever a holiday like today rolls around, it gets me thinking. There are so many holidays that have been incorporated into American heritage, but it can be hard to make a big deal out of every single one. Which one gets celebrated the least? Cinco De Mayo? St. Patrick's Day? Labor Day? Memorial Day? Growing up, we tried to do something for every holiday that came about, big or small. I always enjoyed the changes in pace, and I think Dashie has too. With there being less to watch on TV during the last few months, I've had to use these holidays to make up for the boredom we sometimes experience on the weekends.

Unlike this year, Memorial Day tends to mark the first day that all of the pools open up for business after the cold winter months. That didn't happen this year though, and it might not happen for a while at this rate. It is a shame... I know Dashie has always wanted to go to a pool ever since she saw it on TV for the first time. There aren't any around here, but even if there were, I couldn't exactly take her to them. Maybe I can buy a kiddie pool for us to use in the small backyard I have once it really starts to get hot out. She sure isn't a child anymore, but it would do the trick.

Memorial Day has always been an awkward one to celebrate with Dashie. It was pretty difficult for her to understand the reason why we celebrate it back when she was just a filly, and to be honest, she still doesn't totally get it nowadays. I've tried what I could to help her, but it hasn't been easy. My family had no military background, and nor do I. When Dashie questioned why we celebrate fallen military personnel when we don't know any of them, I tried to explain to her that their sacrifices were what enabled our country to be as great as it is today.

Of course, that only made things more complicated, seeing how her only idea of what our country was like was being cramped up inside a small one-story run-down house on most days and getting to go to a field of grass to play outside maybe twice a week if she were lucky. I could only describe our country so much in tongue, it was a lot easier to show her through the TV over the years. She happily celebrates the holiday now, but I don't think her perception of today will ever be what the country intended.

Not to mention that showing her all of the ways that America is great only made it more difficult to explain why she couldn't go out and do those things. She knew she was different and she still does, but that can only go so far when a filly really wants something. I eventually chalked it up to being poor and not being able to afford to do and have things that others get to. Over the years, she has come to understand it, although I do wish that I could do more for her. She's my little girl, and she deserves everything that her not-so-little-anymore heart desires.

The funny thing is that I pay for food and everything to keep Dashie happy and healthy, but I don't get any of the tax discounts that come with it if I put her as my dependent. It's not like that would ever go down well, but I digress...

As I said earlier, today was Memorial Day. Our little festivities have long since ended, and I now lay in my bed alone with my thoughts while Dashie most likely sleeps in her own room.

The typical Memorial Day celebrations would usually include hamburgers, hotdogs, outdoor play, and of course thanking those who lost their lives defending our country. We might not know anyone like that personally, but that's no reason to not thank everyone in general.

While carrot dogs and veggie burgers were on the menu for today, there wasn't much outdoor play to be had. We were just about to leave for a park outing and picnic when storm clouds began to form, so we decided to have our holiday meal and playtime inside. I could have had Dashie fly up and move the clouds somewhere else, but it hasn't exactly rained here in a while and I only have her mess with Mother Nature when it's a dire emergency. Thankfully there hasn't been one in the years that I've had her so far, and hopefully, things will stay that way.

Ironically enough, a few moments after thinking that, a warning from the weather service pops up on my phone warning citizens in the area of potential flash flooding and lightning strikes in high places. I guess we were overdue for a storm like this, we haven't had one in this area in at least a decade.

I decide to get out of bed and make sure that Dashie is alright. She may be fully grown at this point, but she'll always be my little Dashie. I can't help but to make sure that she is okay.

I walk out of my bedroom and through the varying rooms in my house on my way to Dashie's room, turning on the main hallway light as I do, as it was still pretty much the only light source outside of the bedrooms and bathrooms. As I approach Dashie's bedroom door, I begin to notice something, or rather, a lack of something. It seemed to be raining buckets not two minutes ago, but the pitter-patter on our roof had steadily been losing volume and consistency since. The weather app said that the warning for the entire county was in effect for most of the night, so it's a little odd for it to be letting up so soon. I can't say that I'm too worried about it, though. The weather people don't always get it right, and I'll be able to sleep much better without the sound of pebbles harassing my bedroom window.

I reach Dashie's bedroom door and slowly open it, assuming she was asleep. However, I quickly realize that was far from the case. Dashie's nightstand lamp was on, her bedsheets undone, and her window was open. My mind instantly goes to a state of panic. I had so many questions zipping through my head. Why isn't she in her room? Did she leave through the window? Was it on her own accord, or did someone kidnap her? But most importantly, where is she?!

I look at her open window, the blue curtains floating around in the steady breeze that was coming from the moist air outside. I speedwalk to it and peer out in the hopes that she'd be right outside or within view. I'll do anything to find her, but this might not be as big of a deal as I'm making it and I need to stay calm. At first, I see no sign of her from the windowsill. The rain has dwindled to nothing more than a drizzle and the rain clouds have mostly dissipated at this point, but the moonlight offers limited visibility in the night sky above.

I call out to my daughter trying to keep it cool "Dashie? Are you out here?" I use the flashlight feature on my phone to see if she was anywhere close. I see no sign of her and after a few minutes of searching from the window I get my upper body back inside and come up with a plan.

Dashie has never done something like this before, so it's hard to believe that she made this decision herself. Is it really possible that some stranger saw her through the covered window of her bedroom and snatched her up to take her who knows where? My dad instincts try to chime in and tell me to dial 911 immediately, but I quickly reject that idea. I'd probably get sent to a mental facility for saying that someone kidnapped my rainbow-pony daughter at worst, and at best I'd just be ignored and put down as a prank call.

After another moment of plotting, I decided to search the rest of the house and make sure that I didn't just miss her. I leave the room, keeping the window ajar just in case she is still out there and comes back through there soon. If I were to close it, she'd have no way of getting inside the house and away from whatever weather is out there. Not to mention no way of contacting me to let her inside, either. She could bang on one of the windows or the front door, but I'd be skeptical to open a door in the middle of the night...

I jog into the hall as quickly as I can safely, only to run into something as I do. I hit the ground with a thud.

"Oof... You should really watch where you're going, Pops. Why're you running in the house, anyway, and what were you doing in my room?" Dashie sits up and shakes herself off as she says this. My jaw drops to the floor in disbelief and relief at the same time.

After letting it soak in for a second, I reply. "Dashie... I thought you had disappeared when you weren't in bed and the window was open. Where were you, and why is your window open?!"

Getting slightly defensive, Dashie replies back. "Hey, hey, relax Dad. I was just using the bathroom." She points down the other side of the hallway to the restroom "I'm sorry if I made you worry... I had my window open because I couldn't sleep thanks to the storm and I decided to move the clouds that were right above our house so we could get some rest. I figured I was doing both of us a favor, ya know?"

I haven't had a parenting moment with Dashie in a while now. I was relieved that she was okay, and even felt a little silly for overreacting a little. But, at the same time, I can't help but feel as if I reacted normally. Dashie knows that she's not supposed to mess with the weather unless I give her permission to do so, or even leave the house without me for that matter. While I do appreciate what she did, it's important that I lay down the law with her and parent her just like I used to when she was younger. She doesn't make many mistakes like this nowadays, but then again, if the storm was as bad as the weather app was telling me, then I just might have had her do what she did to make sure that we were alright. It doesn't excuse what she did, but we were at least on a similar page when it came to that.

After shutting and locking the window, we sat on the couch in the living room and had a talk. It was nothing too serious, as it was mostly just a big misunderstanding, but I made sure to remind her of the house rules. She's been with me for nearly eight years now, and she's probably a teenager at this point, so I suppose she may be hitting her rebellious phase or something. I'll never know how it works for sure with ponies, but I will always do what I can.

She ended up apologizing for disobeying the rules, explaining how she just never really thought about them and focused more on our safety as a whole. I understood, and I might've done the same if I were her, but it is what it is.

I sometimes feel bad about having to be so strict with her, but there's not much else that I can do. Thankfully, she has been very cooperative with me for the most part. I'd hate to be a mean parent... I'm all she has, and it'd be a shame if the only social contact she ever had was negative.

After we cleared everything up and she promised me that she wouldn't do stuff like that without asking me first in the future, we hugged it out and promised to take a park outing together after I got back home from work tomorrow. We head back to our own rooms again and by this time it's well past midnight. I'd love to complain about the lack of sleep I'll be sure to get tonight, but I guess that's just part of being a parent. I wouldn't trade it for all of the sleep in the world...

I eventually doze off to sleep a short time later, thinking about our past, present, COVID, and how it might effect our future. The top epidemiologists are saying that it could be a threat for years and never truly go away. They've started work on a vaccine from the looks of things, at least. They tend to take a long time to develop, but it might be our only hope of returning to normal sooner than we would otherwise. Thankfully, the cases in the country have just begun to steadily fall thanks to the warmer temperatures. Maybe if we're lucky, it'll just go away on its own this summer and things can get back to normal for everyone. But hey, what do I know?

Author's Note

I honestly tried to make this chapter shorter than usual to make sure that I'd be able to keep the new chapters on a consistent and frequent schedule. But, as usual, I found myself getting carried away again... Thankfully, this chapter only took me a couple of days, and I'm looking forward to writing about the summer months! I know not much happened in this chapter (month) but I promise you that some of these months are going to be mainly filler, as slice of life stories are. I hope you all enjoyed this one and look for me very soon!

June

Author's Note

First off, I'd like to apologize for the massive delay between chapters. My goal was to have this whole story done by mid-August, but that is looking increasingly unlikely. I had to retake a college class over the summer, and I zipped through it in about a month, but the damage was already done... Aside from that, I've been working a whole lot more than I planned to, and I've been trying to make the most of my summer break while I still can. I will do my best to get as many chapters out before my Fall semester starts up in late August. But I honestly can't promise anything. Regardless, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter and look for the July chapter to be up in much less time than it took for this one!

Rdasher12

June

*June 21st, 2020* (Father's Day)

Father's Day has always been an awkward one for me. For the longest time before finding Dashie, I always assumed that I'd never get the chance to be one; forever alone with a dead-end job and hardly any friends. Even when I first found Dashie, it took quite some time for Father's Day to cross my mind as something that I should celebrate outside of being thankful for the father that raised me, his father, and so on and so forth.

When Father's Day rolled around the first year that I had Dashie, I almost felt a little unworthy of having the title of a "father". I wasn't the biological parent of the rainbow pony that I was taking care of, nor was there any documented proof that I was a guardian to anyone or anypony for that matter. In the early days of taking care of her, I tended to shy away from acting like a parental figure towards her, in fear that she would become too attached to me and have a harder time saying goodbye whenever that time came around. I never knew how it would happen, or when, or where, but I knew that my time with her wouldn't last forever if the time was even real in the first place.

Of course, it was difficult for the two of us to act like anything other than a father and a daughter towards each other. I had to teach her the basics along with anything else that she needed and wanted to know about as best as I could, and she was just a little filly. It's only natural to see an adult that you live with or spend a lot of time with as a parental figure. Over the years, she learned about Mother's and Father's Day, and she was just as adamant about celebrating Father's Day to celebrate me as she was confused as to where "Mommy" was. I had to deal with that in my own way, but that's a story for another day.

As skeptical as I've always been about letting myself enjoy Father's Day, I do appreciate all the things that Dashie has done for me over the years; whether it be an attempted meal that she cooked herself, a drawing, or some sort of artwork, or even the little things like letting me watch what I want to on the TV, or letting me sleep in a little instead of jumping on me to wake me up like most mornings.

She's always wanted to do more for me than she's physically able to, whether that be buying me something from the store with money she doesn't have, or taking me somewhere in an area that she can't safely expose herself to. Sometimes, she feels a little bad about it all, but I always reassure her that it's okay and I'd much rather have or do something that was made with stuff that I brought home or at the park.

With the pandemic being around and all this year, you'd think that it would make our holidays a little different than usual. For a normal family, that would be true. No family or friends over, can't go out to eat anywhere or do much of anything in public, and so on. But, as I've been saying for most of the year, we never really could do things like that for holidays even if we wanted to.

This Father's Day has been just about the same as every other one. Dashie made me breakfast in bed (to the best of her ability, at least. She has gotten a lot better over the years), we had a cookout for lunch with the grill that barely works in the small "backyard" we have, we watched the NASCAR race that's always on every Father's Day, and we usually just lounge around for the rest of the day before we go to bed to restart the week like it hardly ever happened.

As a matter of fact, lounging around is exactly what we're doing right now. We would've gone to the park after the race if it weren't for the weather, but it certainly hasn't put a damper on our day.

"Dashie, do you ever think about how repetitive our life can be sometimes?" I ask that question without really thinking about it. As if someone had forced the thought into my mind and then pushed it out in a vocal form.

Dashie looks up at me from the living room carpet, quizzically. "Uhhh, nope. Not really, Pops. It's not like I really have anything to compare this to, ya know? I remember all the stories that you've told me of when you were younger and your parents were still alive. You seemed to do a whole lot more back then than we do now. I've always figured that was because of me and how we have to stay hidden and everything. It kinda makes me feel bad."

I reply quickly to stifle any of Dashie's negative thoughts. "No, no, no, Dashie. It's not like that at all. Please don't think about it that way..." I take a moment to gather my thoughts. "Even if you never came into my life as you did, there wouldn't be anything to do around here. When I was a kid, this area was doing a lot better than it is now. I didn't have hardly any friends or family members to spend time with, because they all either moved away from this rotting community or are no longer with us. I wasn't in a great place before I found you. You've got to believe me when I say that you have brought so much happiness into my life over the years. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and don't you ever forget that, okay?" I try not to come off as forceful when I say that, but the last thing that I want Dashie thinking is that she negatively affected my life in any way.

Dashie smiles at me and perks her ears. "Well, I guess that makes two of us, then. You found me in a box in the middle of the sidewalk. It'd be tough to argue that you didn't help me out a ton, too."

I guess she does have a good point there... Although I've never been able to answer the question as to how she ended up in a box like that. She still vaguely remembers the night that I found her, all alone. She used to always ask me how she ended up where she was, but it wasn't like I knew, nor would it have been a good idea to try and find the answer for Dashie's safety.

I mean, did someone else find her before me, put her in a cardboard box and write "Give to Good Home" for someone else to find? Or was she magically put into the cardboard box by chance with whatever Equestrian magic must have brought her here? Is she even the Rainbow Dash from Equestria? Could she be a government experiment that got away? Or something else? I never like revisiting this topic, as it only ever brings up more questions than answers. I decide to drop it in my head and focus on something else.

I chuckle to alleviate some of the awkward vibes. I suppose some things are best left unanswered.

"Well..." Dashie chimes in with a yawn and a stretch. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower and head off to bed. Planning and celebrating Father's Day for you sure can wear a mare out. Besides, you owe me a park visit before work tomorrow thanks to all this rain. And don't forget it!" Dashie grins as she gets up from the carpet and trots past me towards her bathroom.

"Oh, and Happy Father's Day, again!" She exclaims as she disappears into the hallway.

I exclaim back to Dashie in order to be heard from across the house. "Thank you, love you!" I hear nothing back aside from the closing of the bathroom door, although I'm sure she heard me. I usually like to make a big deal of not hearing those words back just to give her a hard time, but I decided to let it slide this one time.

I take a few moments to myself to reflect on the day I've had. I'm grateful for such a great daughter each and every day, but it means the most to me on these days. I've never had someone aside from my parents and close family members want to make me a meal, and certainly, no one has ever wanted to make me breakfast in bed before she came around. It's not the actual food, but the thought that goes into it that I appreciate so much. Our Father's Days have always been simple, but that's how I like them.

I know that having a rainbow-colored pony living with me is the furthest thing from "simple" or "normal". But, since she's settled into my life, it's probably been the closest I've been to normal life since my childhood when my parents were still around. She's allowed me the motivation to work harder at my job and that's led to some decent raises over the last few years. If I keep this up, I might even be able to afford a down payment and a mortgage on a new house somewhere away from this area with a better job. That certainly won't be happening anytime soon, but there's no way that I'm allowing Dashie to live her entire life with me in this house and this area.

The pandemic hasn't exactly made that goal any easier, but I'm hopeful that it won't be a problem for much longer. With the mask mandate and the hotter temperatures, it's been a lot easier to control recently. Dashie and I have been lucky to not catch it so far. Of course, that is if Dashie can even catch it at all. She is technically a horse, and not many animals have been catching it compared to humans. Either that or their system is already immune to it, somehow.

Then again, there is the chance that Dashie's immune system is entirely different from any animal on Earth, and it could affect her in worse ways than I can imagine. That's why we've been taking such caution when it comes to all of this. For her sake more than mine. I can always go to the doctor and get tested/treated. But, the best that I can do for Dashie is give my full attention and care.

I decide that I've done enough pondering over it for one day. I don't want the idea of it to consume either of us. We still need to be able to enjoy our lives at home and the park as if it isn't happening at all.

I eventually retire to my quarters for the night, wanting to get a decent amount of rest before Dashie wakes me up at the crack of dawn for that park outing. I say that as if I'm annoyed by it, but I honestly don't mind. Spending time with her at any point anywhere doing anything is always a blast compared to being alone, and the morning dew coupled with the sunrise is always a great combination.

After showering first, I head back to my bedroom to turn in. However, when I walk in, I notice something wrapped on my bed. It's a gift from Dashie.

In all of the years that we've celebrated Father's Day, we didn't usually do much in terms of gifts. It was better to save money, after all. I was always fine with receiving drawings and other crafts from Dashie, instead.

I walk up to the foot of my bed where the gift lies, wrapped in tissue paper. Upon inspecting it, I really have no idea what it could be. I never brought anything home that she could really use as a gift for me. Furthermore, Dashie doesn't really make crafts anymore, so I'm really in the dark with this, figuratively and literally thanks to the lights being out.

Tired of waiting, I open the gift slowly. After going through what seems like a dozen layers of tissue paper, I get to a small brown box. I fully uncover it to discover some level of familiarity. It looks like a miniature cardboard box that was cut out of a bigger one, maybe from the storage area in the house.

The top flaps were open and sprawled out, as well. After turning on my bedroom lamp, I see that one side of the box says "GIVE".

Rotating the box to the right uncovers the word "TO".

Then "GOOD".

And lastly, "HOME".

July

*July 4th, 2020* Independence Day

Tired from a long afternoon at the park, Dashie and I begin the trek back home. There was no way that we were going to miss out on some fun in the sun on Independence Day. It's become an annual tradition to spend some extra outdoor time on the 4th of July, and we've been extremely lucky to have great weather whenever this day rolls around. There's no telling just how upset Dashie would've been if it had rained.

"Come on Pops, we're gonna miss the race!" Despite obviously being worn out from her flips and stunts, she seemed to be in no mood to take it easy.

"Okay, okay... Hey, is that a race car over there?" Dashie perks up in an instant and looks in the opposite direction in which we're heading.

"What?! No way!" With her head facing away from me. I seize my chance.

"Race ya back!" I say as I blast off at maximum speed down the crumbling sidewalk towards home. I know better than anyone else that any attempts to give my daughter a disadvantage in a race are futile. In a blink of an eye, she not only catches up but leaves me in the dust as she takes to the skies.

I'm a bit old to be running like this but it does make her happy. As I continue to push myself, I can barely make out Dashie sticking her tongue out at me and sagging her right lower eyelid as a taunt before she disappears into the clouds.

Wearily, I make it home a few minutes later, with Dashie relaxing on top of a cloud above the house. While she's not really supposed to leave my side for any reason, I let it slide given the holiday.

I raise my voice towards Dashie to signal that it was safe to come down. "I'll getcha next time... come on down so we can get out of this heat..." I say this in-between heavy breaths, still not having recovered from the run.

Dashie snickers to herself as she floats down to the front door. I unlock the deadbolt, the Masterlock, and finally the doorknob. We make our way inside in our usual, quick fashion. It's always better to be safe than sorry, even if I have lightened up about the whole thing over the years.

Dashie and I now sit outside in our small "backyard" enjoying a cookout made especially for the two of us. Dash has been intrigued with trying out different condiments on her carrot dogs recently, so much so that she claims to have invented her own condiment cocktail, being a mix of ketchup, mayonnaise, and barbeque sauce. She's still thinking through some name ideas for now. I had offered my own suggestion, but she didn't seem to appreciate the name "Gross" too much.

By the time our feast has finished cooking and we start to chow down, we're able to see fireworks coming from the city nearby. They've done fireworks shows every 4th of July since I was a kid, and all I can say is that they manage to make it a little more extravagant every year. It's too bad that the same can't be said about my little community on the outer edges of the city's limits. Maybe one day...

Dashie and I eat and gaze upon the free light show that has been bestowed upon us tonight. Although the red, blue, green, and several other colors of fireworks really are something special, I've been fortunate enough to get a close-up view of the best light show that I could ever ask for thanks to my daughter.

Every Independence Day we've celebrated and seen fireworks since Dashie's faithful 7th birthday, I always get reminded of how utterly amazing her Sonic Rainboom can be. It was one thing to see it on my old computer screen, but it was something else entirely to see up close and in person. Not just the boom itself, but also the rainbow trail that followed my sweet little girl following it. She really is the coolest in the entire world, no, the Universe even.

Dashie has always been super cool, true to herself, but something that I haven't found so cool over the years is her trying to fly up to the fireworks to get a better view! I've had to talk her out of it every single year, and I swear, it's only getting harder to do as she reaches further into her teenage years.

Thankfully, I did have somewhat of a solution to this problem. Back when she was just a filly, Dashie loved to play around with sparklers, 4th of July, or not. It's been years now since she's wanted to play with them. But of course, she's never had the idea of flying with them...

I decided to surprise her as she looks on at the fireworks. "Hey Dashie, think fast!" I toss the box of sparklers her way in an attempt to catch her off-guard. Of course, knowing my daughter, she's able to quickly react to my voice and catches the small box with her left-wing right before it hits her.

Looking at the box, Dashie seems confused. "Sparklers? I haven't used these in years, Pops. Don't you think I've moved on to much cooler things like actual fireworks and rainbooms?"

I chuckle at that, knowing that she's unaware of my brilliant plan. "Come on, Dashie. Why don't you try flying around with them and making cool shapes and stuff? Give it a shot. For your old man?".

She gives me a slight eye roll before answering me. "Alright, fiiiine. But only because those carrot dogs you made totally hit the spot."

Dashie grabs a couple of sparklers from the box as I ignite the lighter I had in my pocket for the occasion. I light each one as she brings them up to me, and before I know it, she flies a dozen feet in the air and starts performing her usual stunts overhead. Flips, corkscrews, barrel rolls, and certain tricks that Dashie invented herself over the years that I can't quite remember the name of.

It truly was a sight for sore eyes... Not only was she able to make shapes with the remanence of the sparkler trails, but mixing in her own rainbow trail created this entirely unique "golden rainbow" aesthetic that I simply couldn't take my eyes off of.

Right before the sparklers faded away, I took out my camera and snapped a photo to remember it by. I also figured that Dashie would appreciate being able to see what it looked like from the ground and not just from her own point of view. My beautiful daughter gracefully glides back down to the yard as the sparklers go out.

I chime in with a positive attitude. "Hey, there's not a chance on Earth that you can tell me that wasn't cool!" I show her the picture as she trots up to me with renewed vigor.

She takes a moment to look at the picture before responding. "Yeah, I guess it was pretty cool. I mean, thanks to me anyway. But it could've been cooler... Like, at least 20% cooler."

I can't help but chuckle at her cartoon phrases somehow working their way into the real world. If I wasn't so sure of myself, I'd be wondering if she had managed to find the show on satellite TV somehow.

I tease her for acting so unenthusiastically. "Alright, whatever you say, squirt. How's about we head inside for the night? After all, it is getting pretty close to your bedtime."

Dashie groans at that statement before begrudgingly following me inside.

An hour or so has passed now, and I sit alone in the living room as the faint sound of lingering fireworks still manages to permeate through the walls. It's always odd hearing it and not seeing it. Any other night of the year (barring New Year's) I'd be more likely to believe that they were gunshots as oppose to fireworks, especially given the area.

Anyways, I sit on the living room couch with only a dull lamp turned on to show me my surroundings. I had my old scrapbook in my lap, along with the now-printed photo that I had taken earlier in my left hand. I open the scrapbook and start flipping the pages in search of a place for the new photo to call home.

In the meantime, I pass all of the magical moments that I've had with my Dashie over the years. Her first bath, first words, her first preened feather, first flight and so many more. I'm always glad that my mother made sure we kept this around after I was grown up, and that I kept it after her passing as well. Otherwise, I'm not sure that I'd have ever picked it up again when Dashie came into my life. I certainly would've regretted it if I hadn't.

Once I pass all of the 2019 memories, I make it to 2020 and realize that the page is nearly empty. The only pictures occupying the page being the ones from New Year's and Valentine's Day. I guess it has been a bit difficult to create the same moments during the pandemic compared to the typical year. It would be a shame if this year was seen as a throwaway due to all of this. I honestly need to make sure that we're having plenty of fun regardless of what's going on in the world. As long as the two of us are staying safe, it hardly matters to us.

I firmly place the wallpaper-worthy photo into the scrapbook and close the whole thing shut. Dashie headed off to bed quite a while ago now, and with work bright and early tomorrow, I should be doing the same. I gently put away the scrapbook and head off to my bedroom, turning off the lamp in the process. As I traverse my house through darkness and nothing but my memory guiding me, I feel content with how our day has gone. After all, any day that I get to spend with my favorite girl gets a five-star rating in my book.

Author's Note

This took a little longer to make than I would've liked, and I apologize for that. At first, my problem was college, but now it seems that my biggest problem has been other projects and ambitions trying to insert themselves ahead of this one. Apparently, trying to make 12 chapters worth of mostly slice-of-life MLD stuff isn't easy. I'll certainly be finishing this series, but my goal of having it done by late August has long since sailed. Please be patient as you all have been so far and stay tuned for more chapters in the near future :)

Rdasher12

August

*August 10th, 2020* (30th Birthday)

It's been a long time since I've carried Dashie around for more than a moment or two. It's safe to say that she's put on a few pounds since she was a filly, but that doesn't matter now. The only thing that I need to be focusing on right now is getting her to the hospital as quickly as my worn-out feet will get us there.

The thing that I dreaded more than anything else this year finally occurred only a few short days ago. Dashie caught the virus. At first, she was just tired all day. But soon after, she lost her sense of smell and taste, and that was when I began to really worry. I did what I could over the following couple of days, but it wasn't like there were some over-the-counter medications that could treat it. Then again, I couldn't be certain that she had it without a COVID-test. Either way, she needs medical attention as soon as she can get it if I want her to live. If I said that I wanted her to live it would be the understatement of the century...

I now carry her in my arms while running to the nearest hospital, about three miles from our home. It's nothing I haven't done before, even if it has been a long time, I can't tell. My throbbing legs and feet go unnoticed as I hold Dashie close. I don't care if I get sick because of her, I'd give away every limb I have if it meant keeping her alive and well.

She had only gotten worse leading up to now. I tried to hold off on doing anything drastic like this for as long as I could, but it got to the point where I just couldn't keep going like that.

My shoes continue to pound the crumbling sidewalk as the hospital comes into view. I had probably only been running for 25 minutes or so, but it felt like hours seeing Dashie so helpless. I was fortunate that the sun was only just rising, otherwise, she may've been seen on the way there. Although I suppose that it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

I finally reach the front door of the Emergency Room, completely ignoring the bizarre looks of those just outside as well as the mask policies. I burst inside the thankfully empty waiting room spare a receptionist. She looks up at me and smiles...

She waves at me from her desk. "Hey there, sir. We've been expecting you!"

"Surprise! Happy Birthday!"

I'm suddenly awoken by a very much alive and well Dashie as she jumps around my bed.

"Okay, okay, okay Dashie. I'm up, I'm up!"

Dashie giggles as she stops jumping. I'm glad that she stopped, but to be honest, I wish that she could've jumped on my bed earlier if it meant not having to experience a dream like that one. I'm a bit surprised that I haven't gotten one like it yet given the circumstances.

Dashie tells me to meet her in the dining room in five minutes. I nod my head, still not entirely sure that I've woken up. I pinch myself as she trots out of the room and confirm to myself that this is indeed real. Then again, having Dashie in my life has made me question that at the best of times, worst of times, as well as everywhere in between. I'm still not totally convinced that the last 8 years have been real if I'm honest, but it's real enough for me.

The rest of the day goes off without a hitch. It's hard to believe that I'm now 30 years old. It seems like just a year or two ago that I found Dashie. Funnily enough, it sometimes seems like a lifetime ago with this pandemic going around. The scary dream that I had certainly didn't help things, but Dashie's plans for my birthday were more than enough to get my mind off of it.

It may be a Monday, but I was able to get the day off from work so that we could celebrate. Dashie may be in her teen years by now, but she's worlds better than some of the angsty teens you see every now and again. I'd like to think that's partially down to me, but it's hard to say. Regardless, she's still more than caring enough to plan and prepare an entire day's worth of activities for the two of us, within the limits of the house, of course.

Even though she's grown out of a lot of the old games that we used to play, I think that she already understands how much I miss the days of doing just the goofiest things around the house. Whether it be building a box fort, playing hide and seek, or just simply drawing, we did it all. I could sort of tell that she wasn't as into what we were doing specifically anymore, but once she was able to get past that, I think she came to enjoy our senseless fun with one another. I don't think that I could've asked for a more relaxing day...

We ended up playing some old board games after a nice simple dinner. If today has reminded me of anything, it's just how competitive Dashie can be with even the most mundane things. She absolutely would not trade me any properties when we played Monopoly, nor would she let me shuffle my own deck of cards when we played War. Luckily I've never had a hard time brushing it off and even coming to love her for it.

After we got bored of playing The Game of Life, Dashie got the cake that she made all on her own out of the fridge and lit the candles with my help.

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to my Pops
Happy Birthday to you

I can't help but emit a big smile as she sang to me. It's definitely not something that I hear very often... Despite what she tells me, she has a beautiful singing voice. Once she finishes, I close my eyes and think of a wish. After pondering my options for a moment, I choose a wish and blow out the thirty candles that Dashie had managed to squeeze onto the rather small chocolate cake.

Before I even have a chance to thank my little girl for all of that, she zips to her bedroom and dashes back in a flash with my birthday gift.

"Open it, open it! Your face when you see your gift is going to be priceless!" Dashie only continued to try and rush me into opening the gift bag. I even recognized it as the gift bag that she used for my birthday last year, not that I care. After all, what else was she supposed to use? It's not like she can go and buy a different one, and she and I both know that she can't use wrapping paper on her own. She did the best that she could and I'm proud of her.

I chuckle at Dashie's insistence while I take my time with the bag. I had no idea what she could've gotten me. She hasn't had me bring her anything home from the store in months and we've both used whatever I have brought home plenty. I really am in the dark here and I can't say that I mind. Surprises have been hard to come by with the kind of life we lead.

I peer into the bag to the relief of Dashie, and what I find inside is... something... I pull the something out of the bag and take a closer look at it. I really had no idea what it was or how to describe it, let alone how she got it or what she found around the house to make it...

Dashie can barely hold back her laughter as I speak up. "Oh, wow... Uh, thank you Dashie. I'm speechless. But what exactly is this thing?"

Dashie starts crying from laughter as she falls onto the dining room floor. I guess my face when I saw the gift really was priceless after all...

She never did end up telling me what it was exactly... I can't tell if she was expecting me to not know what it was, or if she was merely laughing at how I couldn't. Either way, the mysterious object now lays upon my nightstand in my bedroom. I now lay in my bed with Dashie deciding to bunk with me as one last birthday gift. I didn't make a big deal out of it when she said it, but deep down I was ecstatic. We haven't done anything like that in years now. Even her simple presence in the room is enough to bring back nostalgic memories.

With Dashie having fallen asleep by now, I turn on my bedside lamp and pull out our scrapbook. Dashie had managed to take a few to add to our collection throughout the day, so I carefully flipped to the first blank page available and added them to it. I know that a decade is a long time and all, but it's crazy to think about all that has changed since I was 20 years old. The area was still in the process of falling apart and my parents and grandparents were still alive, not to mention Dashie coming into my life which came with its own changes.

To be honest, the only things that haven't really changed in the past 10 years have been my house and my job, probably the two things that I really would've wanted to change the most back then. Life sure is one hell of a rollercoaster, and I honestly can't wait for the next big drop.

I put the scrapbook away and turn off the bedside lamp before leaning over and kissing my daughter on the forehead and telling her goodnight. I lay down on my side and get comfortable, feeling content with how the day had gone. I hadn't even checked my phone all day for any birthday messages that I might've gotten from old friends, distant family, or coworkers. It just goes to show how well Dashie fulfills my needs for socialization. I can only hope that I have been able to do the same for her.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading this chapter! At this point, my third year of college has well and truly gotten underway. Thankfully, I was able to get this one out before my homework piled on too heavily. On another note, I have found a good deal of free time that will be coming my way in between certain classes, so I hope that I am able to get the last four chapters out in decent time. Anyways, I hope you all have a great day!

Rdasher12

September

*September 17th* (Dashie’s 9th Birthday)

It's been nine years... it's crazy how time goes by so fast. Twelve-year-old me seemed like a lifetime ago to twenty-one-year-old me, even though twenty-one-year-old me only seems like nine months ago in comparison now. I wish it would slow down at some point. All I did was go to work for a day and whaddya know she got so much older while I was gone it seems.

It really puts things into perspective for me. I never understood when my mom felt very much the same way that I do now towards me. Time always went by so slowly when I was younger, I had no idea what my mom was talking about, and I even thought that she was being a bit overdramatic and sappy. What I wouldn't give today for her to be here acting that exact way that annoyed me so much when she was still around...

But, enough about me, today is Dashie's day, and I'm going to make sure that it's as good if not better than her previous birthdays, even with everything going on in the world still today.

"Happy Birthday!" I cheer as I jump around on Dashie's bed. Serves her right for what she did for me on my birthday morning. I'll consider it a tradition from now on.

Dashie's upper body lurches forward with a sharp gasp as I continue to chant the same two words.

"Happy Birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday Dashie!" I can't help but laugh along with what I was doing considering just how out of character I was behaving just to get back at her.

Dashie looks around almost frighteningly as I come to a stop. I contemplate if I overdid it as I speak. "Well, what else did you expect, Dashie? I couldn't let you get away with you jumping around on my bed when it was my birthday last month!" I continue to chuckle as Dashie gives a sigh of relief in response.

After a moment, she pipes up. "It's not that... I think I just had a bad dream, hehe... But yeah, I guess I deserved that, Pops. If you've got me up this early then you better have breakfast ready!"

I nod to her and grin as I answer. "Of course, of course... Meet me in the dining room in five, okay?"

Dashie smiles back at me as I leave the room and close the door so that she can get ready for the day. As I head for the kitchen to finish preparing our breakfast, I can't help but wonder what she was dreaming about. Come to think of it, I too had a bad dream the night before my birthday. That sure is an odd coincidence, but I'm sure it's nothing more than that...

Every year that I think about it, I can't help but be convinced that Dashie is way older than the age I've given her entails. Of course, I started at zero on the night that I found her and never really bothered messing with it since. It's likely that she's into her teenage years by now, probably more along the lines of thirteen or fourteen in actual years instead of nine like we're celebrating today. Dashie has never really had much to compare it to aside from the occasional teenage cartoon, so she hasn't really said much about the whole thing.

Her actual age has become fairly obvious to me, however, especially in the last couple of years. I think she hit the pony equivalent of puberty about two years ago and since then, her voice has gotten a bit deeper and raspier, so more in line with the voice I used to be familiar hearing in the show. On top of that, she started growing even faster than she already was as a filly, which was apparent thanks to the growth chart that I had been marking for her ever since I found her.

At the end of the day, it's not really hurting anything to leave it be, and if Dashie nor I are bothered by it, I don't see much reason to add on years right now. Maybe sometime in the near future when she's close to adulthood it'll make a lot more sense to do that so that she's not labeled as a teen when she clearly isn't. But, we'll see...

Dashie and I are currently at the park once again for her annual "birthday performance". She's always acted as if each one had to be more awesome than the previous, training whenever she came to the park to perfect her techniques and even develop new ones along the way. It was kind of cool in a way, though. Obviously, she can't go to school and participate in sporting events, but if she could, I know that she'd be all over it and it'd help to itch her competitive drive a bit. So, even though she can't do that, she's seemed to have made up her own way of itching it herself. That can only mean good things in my book. I'd much rather that happen out here than inside of my house!

I continue to watch my daughter as she zips and wooshes through the air, cutting through it like a hot knife through butter. Her stunt vocabulary really has increased a lot over the years, some of the stunt's names I don't even understand... There are flips, barrel rolls, 180s, and 360s, not to mention 90s, and that's about where she loses me for the most part... Maybe one day I'll educate myself more thoroughly on the subject to make her happy.

Her rainbow trail is as cool as ever, as she'd put it. However, I always thought that "majestic" fit the bill a lot better, even if that word might be a bit fancy for her.

Oh yeah, about the gift that Dashie got for me last month. I still haven't figured out what on Earth it's supposed to be or do exactly. I've tried looking it up on my phone and even seeing if it was sold at my work but to no avail. I've tried everything that I can think of and Dashie has shown no signs of giving me any hints about it let alone the answer. I'm sure I'll figure it out one day, or maybe Dashie will get bored of making fun of me for not knowing and spill the beans. Either way, I decided to get back at her double for what she did.

I went out of my way to create something totally random for her as well. To be honest, I'm not so sure what it is myself. It definitely doesn't do anything, and since there are no right answers to what it is exactly, there's absolutely no way that she can guess what it is correctly. Once again, it serves her right!

It was tough getting her home before nightfall. If it weren't for the somewhat cooler temperatures at night this time of year, I don't think that I would've gotten her back in time for her birthday dinner and cake along with her presents. Speaking of presents, it was just about time for them.

I get up from my seat at the table and get the cake from the fridge. I can see Dashie's ears perk up at the sight of it as I light all nine candles on the cake.

Dashie giggles when I start to walk back towards the dining room table with the cake in tow. "Ha! Looks like it's your turn to get all embarrassed singing that lame song again!"

I shrug off her seemingly rude comment and chuckle. I know that she doesn't mean it. Yeah, it's a little awkward being the only one singing the Happy Birthday song to someone, but I don't mind one bit if it's for Dashie, and I'm sure that she feels the same way and appreciates it.

I put the cake on the table in front of Dashie and her gifts and start to sing.

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday, my little Dashie,
Happy Birthday to you

I can tell that Dashie is trying to hold back some laughter as she closes her eyes. I taught her from a very young age that you never; under any circumstances, tell a single soul about what you wished for your birthday or it won't come true. With that being said, it used to be incredibly easy to figure out what she was wishing for as a filly. It made it a lot easier to make them true if I knew. After all, my goal has always been to make sure that she's happy.

As the years have gone on, however, it's gotten more and more difficult to figure her out. I haven't been able to tell for sure what her birthday wishes have been for quite a few birthdays now. I haven't the slightest clue what they might've been nor if they have come true, or not.

In all my thinking, Dashie blew out her candles. I bounced out of my own head and back to reality and clap for my daughter before pushing one of the two gifts on the table towards her.

"Ya know, I've been trying to guess what you got me for weeks. But, it's been like, impossible! I didn't even ask for anything. I have everything that I could ever want. So, Pops, what do you get a mare that already has everything?"

Little did Dashie know that being cooped up in a house with the only access to the outside world being a TV meant that 'everything' to her wasn't even the tip of the iceberg...

"Why don't you open this first present and find out?". To be totally honest, what I got her wasn't anything crazy by my own means. It was a rather cheap, unique gift that she definitely hasn't even heard of before.

Without further delay, she tears into the wrapping paper surrounding the gift. She eventually gets it all off to find a packet of space ice cream.

"What... is this stuff?" She looks around the packaging quizzically, trying to figure out what on Earth 'space ice cream' was supposed to be.

I had taken some time when she was younger to teach her about outer space, but there's only so much that I can teach her myself.

"Well, this gift sort of requires another science lesson. So, how about we put it aside for now and you can open up your other gift?" I push the unopened gift closer to her as she averts her gaze to the new wonder in front of her.

"Whatever you say, Pops. Not sure why you gave me that one first then..." She casually rips open the next gift, still somewhat confused about the last one. In all honesty, I had only done that to make her confused so that she was even less prepared for what was about to come.

Dashie finishes opening her other gift and, after looking at it for a mere moment, she looks back at me with a slightly annoyed face.

"What the heck, Dad? None of these gifts make any sense!" She slammed her hooves onto the table in a bit of a fit, but I'm quick to alleviate her frustrations.

I pull out the weird gift that she got me for my birthday just over one month ago, now.

"Ya see, Dashie? You've had this coming for quite a while. Did you really think that I'd let you off of the hook so easily? Now, we both have to deal with the torment of having no idea what our gifts are for. How does it feel?".

Dashie stares on in defeat as she leans her head back against her chair.

"My brain hurts..."

After a brief science lesson on why astronauts can't eat normal ice cream in space, we enjoyed her first gift with much vigor. I do feel a little bad about getting her back for what she did, but at least I can say that I still gave her an actual gift along with it.

I've just retired to my bedroom for the night, having given Dashie a big hug and one last Happy Birthday in her room beforehand. I had joked that my bonus gift to her would be me sleeping in her bed with her that night like she had done for me the month previously. I would have done it too if she were really up for it. But, she was never going to say yes, which somehow made the whole thing that much more comedic. She only had a twin as that was all that I could afford at the time, so it's not like it would've worked anyways.

On another note, the pandemic had seemed to steady itself during the hot summer months. Cases and deaths were as low as they had been since the start of it all. However, recently the numbers have been going back up and while it hasn't had me worried about it yet, it does claim a slightly larger plot of land in the back of my mind than it did during the summer. It sure isn't going to get any warmer, and with there still not being any vaccine out in the near future, I'm afraid that it could get pretty bad...

Dashie and I have continued to do everything that we need to stay safe during all of this, but sometimes it doesn't matter and bad things happen anyways. I really hope that won't be the case, and I'm probably just overthinking things, but I can't seem to help it...

Surely, a good night's rest will put my mind at ease. I clear my mind of all that occupied it and slowly drift off to sleep. That night, I dream about what the world might look like when it comes out of the other side of this whole pandemic. It's certainly changed the way that we see what used to be normal, everyday things, and I can't see that stigma going away with the virus.

Then again, as long as Dashie is safe, I could care less. I do it all for her. I've always done it all for her. I will continue to do it all, for her.

October

*October 31st, 2020* (Halloween)

The world must be playing some kind of trick on me because today certainly hasn't been a treat so far...

The thing that I had come to dread the most this year had finally happened. In a way, it's almost a relief. At least now, I can hopefully get it out of the way for myself, not spread it to Dashie, and have antibodies stored up until a vaccine rolls out. Then again, that's what would happen in a perfect scenario if I had to get it, but I am doing all that I can to help that happen. But yeah, COVID has not been fun...

I started developing symptoms a day or so after some kids came in without masks to buy their Halloween costumes and whatnot. I tried my best to get them to comply, but they just wouldn't budge. I eventually had to kick them out, not that it seems to have mattered in the end for me.

So yeah, I haven't been to work in several days now, nor have I been able to spend any time with Dashie. That's terrible on its own, seeing how I haven't gone a day without seeing her for nearly a decade now. What makes it even worse is that we haven't been able to celebrate Halloween or enjoy any of the things that come along with the time of year. No pumpkin carving, no candy, and no costumes... I know that especially considering how isolated she is, that I can easily make Halloween be whenever I want it to be, so we can always do those things once I'm better, but I know it won't quite be the same.

Speaking of getting better, I've shown no sign of doing that since my symptoms started. They haven't gotten much worse, thankfully, but if there's one thing I know about the virus it's that it stays in your system for a lot longer than most sicknesses do. I could be out for the count for a good week or two still.

It's hard to imagine having to deal with these symptoms for that long. I've learned plenty about them in the past eight months or so, but it certainly wasn't enough to prepare me for this... I can't taste anything, can't smell anything either. My throat has been pretty sore so far as well, not to mention the coughing and fever, too. I've gone through worse as a kid, but it never lasted any more than a few days before I started to get better. It doesn't help that there's a chance that 'long-COVID' could mess with me too. Permanently changed tastebuds, sense of smell, and maybe even some neurological things that could lead to other problems when I'm older.

It's a lot to have on my plate of thought right now, so I've been trying to keep that stuff out of my mind if I'm honest.

On another note, Dashie has grown up quite a bit over the years and could probably survive on her own at this point if she lived in Equestria. But, unfortunately, that isn't the case. No amount of tomfoolery on my part can make life in my world like life in hers. I can fedangle appliances and other things around the house to make it easier for her to use them, but that only goes so far.

Because of that, we've sort of developed a routine so that I can still help her out as best I can with food and other things while still being safe and making sure that she doesn't get sick because of me. I suspected earlier in the year that she might not even be able to get the virus, but I don't want to take any chances.

In the morning, as long as I'm feeling up for it, I'll make my way to the kitchen before Dashie wakes up and make her food for the day. This has tended to consist of a fresh breakfast and then another large meal that she can eat throughout the day as both lunch and dinner and microwave when she needs to. She can obviously grab snacks and whatever else she desires, too. But, the parent in me wanted to make sure that she'd be set for the whole day.

For a good portion of each day, Dashie has enjoyed laying by my bedroom door and talking to me. Of course, with how sick I am, I tend to be asleep half of the day. So, when she doesn't get a response from me, she'll leave a note on a piece of paper and slide it under my door to read when I wake up. After reading the said note, I'll usually write my own note back on the other side of it, disinfect the pencil, and slide it back for her to see whenever she gets back around to my bedroom door.

Speaking of those notes, there happens to be another waiting for me in its usual place. I gingerly get out of my bed and trundle over to the note.

I struggle to pick the note up off of the ground before I read it.

Happy Halloween, Pops!
Hope you’re feeling better.
That virus thing inside you
isn’t nearly as scary as the
costumes we planned on
wearing today. Kick its butt!

P.S. Thanks for breakfast,
nothing like hot cakes shaped
like a Jack-o-lantern to set the
mood!

-RD

Her notes over the last few days have done wonders to brighten my mood, even if I don’t feel hardly any better from them.

I pause to think for a moment before writing my reply on the other side of the paper.

Thanks, Dashie :). This sickness
is tougher than it looks, though.
I’ll be sure to launch a sneak
attack sometime soon. Glad
you enjoyed breakfast! Hope
it didn’t startle you too badly!

-Pops

I thoroughly disinfect the pencil that I used before sliding it and the note back underneath the door to my bedroom. I suppose that there isn’t too much point to me writing a response, as I could easily just respond whenever she comes around again. However, on the other hand, I could fall back asleep before that happens, so better safe than sorry. That goes double when I’m sick!

It has been a really strange feeling being sick these past few days. Up until now, I hadn’t gotten sick since before Dashie showed up in my life. It’s hard to say why exactly… it could be that in some weird way, the happiness that she brought into my life increased the strength of my immune system and overall health. Maybe it was just luck, but either way, I think I stopped appreciating not being sick and this has now come to be a rude reminder for me…

Aside from the feeling of being sick itself, I have been beyond bored being stuck in my room. The conversations that I had over text and call with my boss and fellow coworkers about my situation didn’t last very long in the grand scheme of things, and I’ve found myself running out of things to do almost as soon as each day started. It’s yet another reason why I enjoy Dashie’s company in all of this, even if it is only her slightly-muffled voice.

Even still, however, the times that I have no one to talk to can’t help but remind me of my life before Dashie. I certainly left my room more often than this, but I would typically spend most of my free time in here, if I wasn’t outside walking, with my computer doing whatever it was that I enjoyed doing back then.

I do still have that computer in here, away from Dashie importantly. It’s pretty old at this point, though, and hardly works if I’m being honest. I cancelled the internet plan that I had not long after I started taking care of Dashie. With me trying to keep her away from it and much of my free time being spent with her, there just wasn’t much point in having it. Not to mention that I couldn’t even really afford it with a daughter to take care of.

Even without WiFi, we got enough digital entertainment out of the small television in the living room thanks to the free satellite service. If it was good enough for Dashie, then it was good enough for me.

By this point I had wandered back into my bed to try and rest as much as I could. They say laughter is the best medicine, but I’ll swear that laughing right now with my sore throat is the exact opposite of a good idea. So, I have to settle for rest, rest, and more rest. I close my eyes and think about how fun it is to be healthy before dosing back off to sleep…

—————

I wake up several hours later, with the sun already setting over the horizon from my window. I know I said that I wanted to get as much rest as I could, but I hardly meant sleeping all day and being stuck awake all night…

In all of my defeat, I do notice that the sheet of paper that we had been using for the last day or so had been sent back to my end of the door. Once again, I take my time retrieving it.

Seems like you really gave
it your all today, Pops. You’ve
barely been awake all day!
You’re lucky that you prepared
today’s meal early, or we
would’ve had a problem! XD

Anyways, I hope you read this
before today is over, otherwise
it won’t work so well. Goodnight,
Dad. Love ya :).

-Dashie

Despite the slight pain that it caused, I couldn’t help chuckling a little at the note. She’s so good at keeping things positive, even in the hardest of times. I vow to myself to get better as soon as possible, simply so that I can see her beautiful face again and show her just how much I love and appreciate her.

I locate the scissors on my dresser and cut out the bit of paper with her most recent message on it. I then open our scrapbook and turn it to the first open space down the line. I stick the note inside and close it for keepsake.

With how odd my life has proven to be over the years, I feel like I don’t know a whole lot. But one thing that I know for sure is that I might not do so well with this virus as I seem to be doing if it weren’t for her.

For my little Dashie.

November

*November 26th, 2020* (Thanksgiving)

It’s a brisk morning, just brisk enough to enjoy out on the small porch that our house had to offer. A slight frost can be seen atop the dead grass in the front lawn as well as the surrounding area.

I sip the apple cider from my mug that I had made fresh earlier that morning. My mother had a not-so-secret recipe for homemade cider that she always made once it got cold. I didn’t tend to make it myself very often after her passing, however once Dashie came along, making it was only natural with how much she seemed to enjoy it on the show. I put extra care in making this morning’s batch just for her.

When I was growing up in this very house, my parents loved to put on the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special for us all to watch together as a family. It was always my favorite, as I’ve tended to have a soft spot for history it seems. Once I hit my teenage years, we stopped watching it. But, as has happened several times at this point, Dashie came along and reignited the tradition. I was fortunate that we still had the VCR and VHS tape for it stashed away in what has since become Dashie’s bedroom.

It’s funny how I mention that she brought that tradition back to life like many others, considering how she’s grown out of them herself these last few years. I suppose that I should’ve come to expect that, but to me, she’s always just been a filly, anyways.

This year has been pretty crazy so far. It started out regularly enough, but it got outside of the ordinary pretty quickly. It's gone by slower than usual, and yet, in another way, faster than ever. I guess getting the virus slowed it down a little. It was practically torture to be stuck in one room almost all day for over a week before I finally tested negative for it. For well over a decade, I was accustomed to walking my souls out just about every day. It was a weird feeling not being able to do that, but it was for a good reason, at least. The last thing that I wanted to do was spread it around to anyone, especially Dashie.

I actually ended up missing Election Day because of it. I've never been very big into politics, but it seemed especially important this year, for many reasons. I was actually planning on voting in it this year. Oh well, maybe in 2024...

Of course, that was then and this is now; which is a time that I'm much happier to be in. One final note on the virus, though. It sounds like scientists are getting pretty close to a vaccine, and they've said that it could be ready before the end of the year. After the last 8 months that the world has had, I think that would be the best news anyone has heard in a long time... It almost makes me want time to go by faster so that I can finally get my vaccine and not have to worry so heavily about keeping Dashie safe from it... Almost... After all, whenever the time does come that Dashie and I part, I know that I'd do anything at that moment for a mere additional second to be with her, so the last thing I want to do now is to wish away those precious seconds.

Speaking of spending time with my daughter, she should be waking up around now. Over the years, we've been practicing our fine cooking skills for Thanksgiving together, and by now we've gotten pretty good at it. I did most of the work myself over the last day or two especially. However, there are still quite a few things that need to get done before we have our big feast around lunchtime.

I have really enjoyed getting back into the spirit of holidays ever since Dashie came into my life. It was hard to celebrate them before she came around, considering how I didn't really have anybody to celebrate with or anything going on in my life that felt like it was worth celebrating... Once the little filly made her way into my home, I wanted to make sure that she recognized and understood the significance behind the holidays that we celebrate once a year. She definitely has her preferences for them, but she's always enjoyed the great food that came along with the fun cooking of Thanksgiving. I still sometimes struggle to make sure she understands what Thanksgiving is all about, as well as what happened in the first place to make us celebrate it, though.

But, come to think of it, I was probably the same, if not worse, back when I was her age. As far as I can tell, Dashie is leaps and bounds a better kid than I ever was. I'm really not sure whether to attest that to my parenting or how she must've acted as a filly on the show. I know I wasn't the best kid, but I certainly wasn't the worst, either. It was nothing to blame my parents for, that's for sure. I suppose that it doesn't really matter, though.

Dashie really is such a great kid compared to the one that I was. Then again, that's all that a good parent would ever strive for; helping their child become a better person, or in my case, pony, than the ones that came before. It's kind of unbelievable how I was able to pull that off, to be honest. I was raised pretty well, but it was nothing that would've prepared me to raise a rainbow-colored filly all on my own...

Fittingly, I think it's best not to look a gift-horse in the mouth about this sort of thing. You won't find me complaining about my life situation anytime soon.

Speaking of "anytime soon", Dashie is probably waiting for me to come back inside at this point. Sometimes I forget that she can't exactly come out on the front porch with me, regardless of the time of day or anything else. It's just too risky, even if the number of people who live in this area drops more and more every year.

With this in mind, I head back inside to go and greet Dashie for what is sure to be a good day.

"Dad, there's something that I've always been curious about... I know that you say I'm not supposed to eat meat because I'm an herbivore or something, but why don't you? Aren't you, like, a carnivore and an herbivore at the same time?" Dashie asks me this while we pull the kebabs out of the oven as one of the main courses for our Thanksgiving lunch. It's a question that I've answered many times over the years, but I still answer it as if I never have. There's no need to patronize her.

"Well, Dashie. I'm what you would call an 'omnivore'. This means that I can properly digest both plants and meat. You can't digest meat, on the other hand. I hardly ever eat meat anymore because it wouldn't be fair to you to have to watch me always eating something that you can't. Plus, it is a lot healthier of a lifestyle, so it sorta hits two birds with one stone." In all reality, I miss meat quite a lot... and sometimes I wish that I could cook myself some bacon, or something, but it just isn't fair. Back when I first started going vegetarian when Dashie came into my life, I always contemplated the idea of having some stashed away in the freezer so that I could whip some up after she had gone to bed, but it always seemed like too much. Also, something that I never really noticed, meat is a lot more expensive than fruits and vegetables... and when you're living paycheck to paycheck, the money you save really starts to become noticeable and handy after only a month or so.

Dashie's reply is as quippy as they come. "Pops, you know I don't care... Besides, I'm sure that meat is overrated anyway."

I can't help but chuckle before I respond. "Ha! You don't know the half of it!" As much as I'd like to prove her wrong by showing her what meat can smell and taste like, the relatively small, mature part of my brain convinces me otherwise.

Another Thanksgiving meal has come and gone... I tend to say this just about every year, aside from the one that we completely blew and got pizza instead, but we outdid ourselves once again with the food. Those potato and vegetable kebabs, along with the mac and cheese casserole, green beans, the rolls, all came together to create the complete package for us to enjoy at the dining room table with each other. And I can totally see myself having a ball with the leftover cranberry sauce. Slap that on two pieces of toasted bread with crunchy peanut butter and you got yourself a tasty treat.

But, enough about all that. Dashie and I are currently enjoying our collective food coma while laying on the living room couch. My beautiful daughter dozes peacefully against my lap as I watch the sunset and debate doing the same myself.

After a moment's pondering, I realize that I never went through the mail... We didn't actually get any today, with it being a holiday, and all. However, the mail that I brought in from yesterday has spent its time on the end table ever since. Usually, I'll go through it after Dashie has gone to bed, or something, just in case it contains anything that she shouldn't be seeing, like bills that might make her feel bad for being a freeloader, or ads for something that we definitely can't afford... But, with yesterday being the day before Thanksgiving, I was pretty wrapped up in preparing for all of that.

Without further ado, I reach over for the envelopes that had been waiting patiently for a whole day now and start to go through them. I read them to myself as I do.

'Let's see, electric bill.' I put this at the back of the line as I check the others.
'Water bill.' It seems that Dashie has really been enjoying her nighttime showers this past month.
'Internet bill.' Might be time to cancel that plan if I'm honest. I've hardly used it for years, now.
'IMPORTANT NOTICE.' Probably nothing...
'Come on down to Dean's Used Auto Store!' Would be nice, not that I have much reason for it, right now.

I get to the end of the stack right as I do a double-take. I haven't actually seen an Important Notice in the mail in the many years that I've owned this home. For some reason, my mind goes back to the rumors that had been swelling around over the course of the last few years regarding the future of the neighborhood and area as a whole. The ones that mainly assumed that this whole place might get demolished and overrun by something else one day.

Without taking another moment to ponder the possibilities, I open the Important Notice and read through the letter.

To Current Resident,
We are sending you this letter to inform you that the land that your house resides in
as well as much of the surrounding area has been approved for a complete overhaul.
Much of the land included with the overhaul will be demolished, and a factory will be
taking its place. Shortly after, there are also plans to rebuild new homes in the wake of
the old ones to draw in new families to the outskirts of Detroit. More specifically, this
letter serves as a 12-month notice to either move-out and find temporary housing while
the new homes are being built, or move to another area entirely. The choice is that of the
owner. Local government officials will contact you at the start of the new year with an offer
for your property as is the due course of the law. Unfortunately, denying this offer will not
be an option and the relocation will be mandatory, at least temporarily. If you have any
questions regarding this notice, mail us back using the mailing address below. Or, you can
give us a call using the number above, or send us an email with the email address below.
We no longer accept faxes. Thank you, and we wish you all good luck with this process.
Your local government agency

I take a brief moment to absorb all that the letter had to say. I just sit there, with the only audible sounds being my breathing and Dashie's stretching as she begins to awaken.

Dashie rubs her left eyelid as she speaks. "Ahhhh, what's up, Pops? Anything cool come in the mail? Oh, are there any letters for me?!" She was joking with that last part, and although the letter wasn't technically for her, the words that it held were going to change her life just as much, and if not more than it was going to change mine...

I take a breath before I respond. "Well, as a matter of fact, yes, Dashie. There was something for you, for both of us, actually. We got some stuff to talk about..."

And talk we did. I read the letter to her as I did to myself, although she still had a hard time understanding what it meant exactly. So, I explained everything to her. I explained how the house that she's grown up in so far was going to get destroyed in a year from now and that we'd have to leave. I also explained why this was happening and why there was nothing that we could do about it.

Naturally, she had a lot of questions. Some of which that I couldn't even answer, but I still tried to do so to the best of my ability. I felt a little lost in doing this, though. This process was certainly one that I had never been through in my life, and I was mostly just patching answers together from what little knowledge that I had on the subject, as well as what information the letter gave me.

It was hard to get her to understand why we couldn't say no... or why having to leave her childhood home, along with the park, was supposed to be a good thing for everyone involved overall. She understood the concept of moving, having talked to her about the possibility of doing so in the past sporadically along with the cartoons she's watched that covered the subject as well, but it didn't make it any easier for her.

She wasn't exactly heartbroken, but it was clear from the look in her eyes that she wasn't happy... The worst part was when she asked me this one question that I had absolutely no idea how to tackle...

"Daddy... Where will we go?.." She looked up at me with a very confused and very pouty expression. Her ears drooped down in displeasure. Growing up, I've always been her go-to when it came to questions because I always had some sort of answer, whether they were particularly satisfying, or not. However, this time around, I really couldn't say anything aside from the whole truth...

After thinking for a moment with silence between us, I answer her. "I don't know, Dashie... But, what I do know is that no matter where we end up, we will be together. It may not be anywhere special, but I assure you, once we get our hands and hooves on it, we'll make it special, you and me. Because home isn't marked by a place, home is where the heart is. I don't know about you, but my heart lies with you. So, before too long we will end up leaving this place, and we'll probably make it the adventure of a lifetime. It won't be easy, but as long as we have each other, we can do anything."

Dashie's ears perk back up like they did when she first graced my living room as a filly. I can't help but smile and hug her to death. I just love her so much, and I don't know what I'd do without her at this point.

Dashie and I decided to spend the night on the couch, not having any particular obligations tomorrow thanks to the holiday weekend. We even made plans to start browsing for a new place to call home starting tomorrow. Our hope is that we'll have a place picked out that we'd prefer before I have to go back to work on Monday, but we'll just have to see about that.

I look down as Dashie rests her head upon my lap while she sleeps. The moonlight from outside capturing her face perfectly. It reminds me a lot of the very first night that I had her in my care nearly ten years ago, now. She's not so little anymore, but no matter how old she gets, or where we end up, or if we're together or apart, I know that she'll always be my little Dashie... This Thanksgiving, I think that's what I'm most thankful for.

Author's Note

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, expect the final chapter out before too long. To be honest, it'll probably end up being my last bit of MLD content for a long time as I shift to getting these stories their own readings on YouTube. Anyways, have a great day!

Rdasher12

December

*December 31st, 2020* (New Year's Eve)

My first instinct when it comes to reacting to this year feels like it should be relief that it's almost over, but, for some reason, I have a hard time persuading myself of that as Dashie and I watch The New Year's Eve broadcast in the living room. This year has been unlike any other that either of us has ever witnessed, and yet, it feels weirdly similar to almost every other year...

We went to the park a lot, watched TV, and celebrated almost every holiday... If anything, I'd say that next year is going to have a lot more changes in store compared to this year. The idea of moving away from my childhood home, as well as most likely starting a new job, both terrifies and excites me. You could say that I'm 'nervicited' about it.

Oddly, I almost feel left out in comparison to the rest of the world thanks to how little the virus ended up impacting our lives. I mean, if it weren't for catching it a couple of months ago, the only difference would've been washing our hands and hooves more often than usual...

However, I think I speak for both Dashie and myself when I say that missing out on most of what this year had to offer was a good thing. 2020 was certainly the type of year that made you look forwards from it rather than back at it. Although, this whole pandemic is obviously not going anywhere when the clock strikes midnight... The first vaccine may have recently been approved for use in the United States, but it's probably going to take some time before normal people like me are able to get it. Then, of course, I still have to set up the appointment, get my first dose, then my second dose three weeks later, and finally, another two weeks after that second shot before I'll be considered fully vaccinated. Talk about a long process...

Then again, one could say that 2020 itself was quite a long process, as well. The difficulties of this year may not go away with a new one, however, it will certainly be marked as a year of recovery. I can only hope that, by the end of next year, the U.S. will have returned more or less to normalcy.

Enough negativity, though... tonight is reserved for good vibes only, at least, according to Dashie.

"Hey, Pops. Can you grab me some more of that punch we made? It's just so good! We really outdid ourselves this year!"

I chuckle as I get out of my seat on the couch and walk towards Dashie's cup, patting her on the head as I take her glass and head for the kitchen to refill it. I reply to her as I pour more punch into her cup from the plastic pitcher.

"You really think so? I mean we did add a few lemon and lime slices this year. Gives it a nice tang, doesn't it?" I finish filling her cup and, after returning the pitcher to the light yellow fridge, I walk back to my Dad's old recliner that Dashie has claimed for herself over the years.

Dashie happily takes the cup from my hands before taking a big sip, letting the flavor rest in her mouth for a moment, and swallowing. It's only after this that she finally replies back.

"Wow! We should just do that for everything!" She quickly finishes the rest out of her relatively small glass before setting it down on the side table next to her.

"Ha! I dunno about that, Dashie. They don't grow on trees..." I think for a moment after uttering those words, eventually realizing that they do, in fact, grow on trees. Why are they so expensive, then?

"Good one, Pops! I couldn't even tell that you were being sarcastic!"

Midnight was quickly approaching as we chatted in the living room. The New Year's Eve broadcast had been turned down to a mere whisper, more as something to fill in the background noise than anything else. Dashie and I have a rather easy time getting bored with elongated broadcasts such as this one. The performances can be cool, and the countdown to the new year even cooler, but for the most part, it's just sort of filler. We'd much rather talk with each other instead, at least until it gets closer to time.

We talk about a lot of things, which is almost surprising considering just how often we talk to each other as it is. Then again, It's not like Dashie has anyone else to talk to... As for me, the only other people I talk to on a regular basis are my snobby coworkers and customers, and even they tend to just be asking questions instead of actually talking to me.

Regardless, I've always wondered how on Earth we rarely ever run out of things to talk about. I guess it's just another thing to be grateful for nowadays...

Anyways, I wasn't kidding when I said that we talked about a lot of things. The best (and worst) memories of the year, what might be happening next year and beyond, how we've celebrated New Year's in the past, and how my New Year's went before she came into my life.

Eventually, the clock nears midnight. Once we get to a stopping point in our conversation, I hop off the couch, walk up to the small television we had, and turn up the volume so that we could better hear it by pushing the 'volume up' button several times. The TV isn't so old that it doesn't have a remote, it's just that the remote hasn't worked since my parents were still around and I simply couldn't afford to replace it. Well, I lied... I totally could afford it, I've just never gotten around to finding the right one and buying it. I guess I've sort of been hoping that one day I'll be able to replace the whole TV as it is.

After getting it to the desired volume. I make my way to the kitchen and open the fridge. While we had been sipping on our homemade punch for most of the night, it was time to bring out the big guns. I carefully pull the glass bottle out of the fridge before setting it on the counter to get the fancy cups out.

The noise I make gets the attention of Dashie, who was watching the countdown that only had a few minutes left on it. She perks her ears in the direction of the kitchen and her eyes soon follow.

"What's that you got there, Pops?" She hovers out of her seat as she asks the question and trots into the kitchen after me. Upon getting a closer look, she lights up in excitement.

"Well, we've been doing plain old Sparkling Grape Juice all these years, and I know how much you enjoy your apple cider, so I saved up some money to get us this," I respond with a smile. I always knew from the show just how much she enjoyed Apple Jack's apple cider, so it was no surprise to me when she gulped it all up the first time I brought it home many years ago now. I'm sure that the store-bought cider isn't anywhere near as good as what AJ's must taste like, but I'm hoping that the extra money I put into getting fancy sparkling apple cider helps bridge that gap a bit.

Dashie read out the words on the bottle's label, with each one getting more excitement out of her.

"Fancy, Sparkling, Apple, Cider? Woah! I didn't even know that they made this stuff! Where the heck did you find it, Pops?"

I chuckled out loud over her reaction. I actually had to go online and order it from somewhere out of town, which was oddly only the second or third time this year that I've been on the internet, with the other times being when Dashie and I started house-hunting and the other being when Covid first started rearing its ugly head. Regardless, she doesn't need to know where it came from, the only thing that matters is that we can enjoy it now.

"Oh, why would I tell you where I got it from if we could be drinking it instead~" I begin teasing her with the bottle, floating it just out of reach above her.

A few short seconds of that was more than enough for her. "Alright, alright! Just get that thing open, then! We only have a couple more minutes!"

Looking back over at the TV, I can just barely make out the timer in the top-left corner reading out '1:52'. So, without further haste, I pop open the cork, pour our fair share into our aluminum 'wine glasses', and we quickly make our way back to the couch, sitting next to each other as the countdown nears its climax.

This has got to be the 20th time I've done this sort of thing, whether with my parents, myself, or Dashie. The start of a new year has always been a big deal, even when I didn't have anyone to celebrate with. The simple idea that I could get a fresh start the next day was always enough to fill me with hope, even if it was only slight. It just never gets old...

As the countdown on the TV gets under thirty seconds, I can't help but try and slow down time. There might not be a whole lot to celebrate about this year, but each and every day that I get to be with my Dashie is a gift, even if I don't even see her and we're just passing notes underneath my bedroom door...

I think back to all the memories that we had made this year. Celebrating the new year this time a year ago, Valentine's Day, Father's Day, our many trips to the park despite the circumstances, our much improved cooking, our playtime, even if it has grown more scarce this past year. I think back to the notice just last month that changed our lives by giving us a deadline to move somewhere else and start a new chapter. I think about the Christmas season that has just passed, and all the cool things that I was able to get for Dashie.

I glance over at the still-standing Christmas tree (if you could call it one). I can't help but remind myself just how fast all these years are going by... It really did feel like not long ago that I found Dashie and my life changed forever. If there's one thing that I can be certain of in the back of my head, it's that I won't get to keep Dashie in my life forever. Just like when I first got her, I always knew that one day, some day, she would leave. Through magic, or something else entirely. It's important to enjoy these moments while I can...

With that in mind, I snap back to reality as the countdown reaches just ten seconds. I can't call it much of a life if I don't live in it, after all.

Dashie and I chant in unison along to the TV as we count down from ten.

"10!"
"9!"
"8!"
"7!"
"6!"
"5!"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"

Author's Note

Couldn't exactly push this chapter past December 2020, could I? That would be cheating... With that said, I'll almost certainly push out an Epilogue of the events directly following the end of this chapter as well as everything to do with the vaccine later in 2021 all in the same chapter. I hope that everyone has enjoyed reading over the course of the year. It's been a ton of fun to make even if it has taken a lot longer than I planned...

Don't expect to see any new stories from me for a good while, though. I have big plans for most if not all the stories that I have published under my account currently. Just wait and see.

Rdasher12

P.S. Happy late 10-year Anniversary to the OG My Little Dashie story! I originally wanted to try and get this chapter out on that day but life had other plans. Oh well...

Epilogue

*January 1st, 2021* (New Year's Day)

Time slowly starts to pick itself back up as the moment of climax, being the transition to 2021, comes to pass. Dashie and I cheer harmoniously as we tap our drinks together, making a nice *klink* sound before we finally get to enjoy the sparkling cider.

After taking a few mere sips of my beverage, I notice that Dashie has already finished chugging hers like the refined mare that she is. She starts to speak, albeit between smacking lips.

"Boy, did that hit the spot! I'm gonna go get some more!"

Before I can even add my own input, she dashes over to the kitchen, hastily opening the fridge in search of what her tastebuds so obviously desire. I start speed-walking after her, not particularly wanting an overhyped pegasus flying around my house deep into the early morning.

"Hey, hey, hey, easy now! Don't you think you've had enough sugar for tonight? You said you wanted to wake up at a decent time in the morning so that we could go to the park before lunch, right? How do you expect to do that if you don't go to bed in the first place, silly?"

I always do my best to have a good reason whenever I'm trying to control her. She is getting older, after all, but she's still my daughter. Either way, no matter how silly of a matter it might seem, it's important that she remembers that just because she can do something and wants to doesn't mean that she should.

"Oh, don't be a party-pooper, Pops! You're the one who said that I'm not far from being a full-grown mare at this point. Isn't it time that you start treating me like one?"

I suppose that she does have a point. We probably need to add 4 or 5 years to her age sooner or later, as she was definitely not a foal when I found her. That would put her at 13 or so, in actual years. I've never really been sure about pony anatomy, but whenever I think back to the Rainbow Dash on the show, I have a hard time pointing out any real differences between them. If she hasn't stopped growing by now, then she must be close...

I take a deep sigh before responding. "You're growing up too fast for me, Dashie... Where's the time gone? It feels like just yesterday that we were running around the house playing imaginary and building cardboard box fortresses."

Dashie pauses for a moment before giggling in response. After a few seconds of this, she responds.

"Sometimes I wonder what it must have been like for your parents when they were going through the same sort of thing. I mean, you are my dad, I can't imagine that you acted much differently when you were my age. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right?"

I'm somewhat taken aback by my daughter's words. It's not every day that she reveals a thought like that. I always knew that she was capable of critical thinking, she's a smart mare after all, however, it's a rarity to see her express those thoughts very often if ever at all.

"I guess not... I wasn't expecting that from you. Maybe you're secretly the egghead in the family with that kind of argument!"

I try my best to lighten the mood, not being one for awkwardness. Any arguments that Dashie and I have had over the years never go any further than this. I got pretty lucky with that, I must say. I can only hope that the same sort of luck continues to come my way in the future.

"Hey, we talked about this! You're too old and wise and stuff for me to be the egghead. Agh, you're gonna make my brain hurt like last time!"

I burst out laughing. I can't help recall all the other times I've attempted to hand over the title of 'Egghead' to my daughter. Just like in the show, she really doesn't like the term. Oh well... maybe I can just make her honorary.

By the time we head to bed, it's nearly 2 am. I used to stay up this late pretty often back when I was younger, but that didn't fly so well once Dashie came into my life. I can only think of a few nights out of the year at this point where you'd find me up past midnight. It's not something that I particularly mind, per se. There's something about the sunrise that really helps kickstart my morning that you just don't get from waking up in the middle of the day.

Dashie sure seems to share the same sort of ideology. I'm never around to see it, but I know for a fact that she loves to take naps in the middle of the day while I'm at work to make up for it, though.

With that thought, I decide that it's time to get some rest, myself. It's a big day tomorrow, a big year, for that matter. I'll grow a pair of wings just like Dashie and learn to fly before you'll catch me starting it off in a bad way.

*April 5th, 2021*

I made my way past all of the signs pointing me in the right direction as I got closer to where I was trying to go. I had to request today off from work, as it probably won't be too smart to do so after I get my shot.

You heard me right. After a whole year of being worried about my wellbeing, and more importantly, the wellbeing of my daughter, I'm finally getting my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In comparison to other vaccines, the ones that have come out so far have done so in record time. Even so, it feels like it's been ages since the pandemic first started. Regardless, I couldn't be more thankful to be where I am right now.

After I made my way to the front of the mass clinic, a man greeted me with a mask adorned just like everyone else.

"Hello, there. Do you have an appointment today?"

I smile before responding. "Yeah, I do. For 10:30 am."

"Great! Have you filled out the necessary paperwork, yet?"

"Fortunately, yes. I did it online last night. Did you guys need a paper copy?"

"No need, sir. It should be in our system. You can walk on through to the people with the laptops over by that building and they'll get you all sorted."

I say my thanks to the kind man and start making my way to the building. It isn't very often that I get to talk to people outside of work. It's almost a strange feeling. Almost...

I'm glad that I did the paperwork last night. It was the first time all year that I had been on the internet aside from making the appointment itself, but it would've been a hassle to do it here with all of the wind blowing around. It had my basic information on it, with some unique things added in as well. Occupation, employer, do you qualify to get the vaccine early, etc. Since I work at a grocery store, I'm eligible to jump ahead of most regular people. And boy, am I thankful for that.

I found myself amongst many other people in this big warehouse. The kind lady at the laptop had me join them. We all walked along a path and were directed to sit down in these socially-distanced chairs where we'd get our shot. Thankfully, I was spared even more walking by being placed in the front row.

A few moments passed before a man in army attire turned on a megaphone that they were holding and spoke into it. He basically went over basic information like what we were there for, which vaccine we were going to be getting, and what to expect from the nurses coming around with their little carts. He did also take some time towards the end to mention potential side effects of the vaccine and told anyone that didn't consent to taking the vaccine to raise their hand.

To no surprise, everyone kept their hands down. I'm not sure why else they'd be here if they didn't...

More moments passed before another lady dressed in nurse attire rolled her cart up to my seat.

"Which arm are we going to be doing, today?" She asked this question as nicely as she could considering this was probably her thousandth time asking it today, let alone since these mass vaccinations started taking place.

"Left, please. I don't feel like having to pick up things with my non-dominant arm." I said that semi-humorously, but it was no lie.

She smiled at me before motioning me to roll up my sleeve so that she could rub alcohol on the area that the needle would be inserted. After I comply and this is done, she pulled out a small bottle labeled "Pfizer Covid Vaccine". It took a bit of research to decide which of the two vaccines I would get. In the end, Pfizer was the first one to be approved in the US, and it apparently has fewer and less severe side effects than the other vaccine, Moderna.

After sticking one side of a bandaid near where she'd insert the needle, she proceeded to pull the contents of the vaccine into the vile. Following this, she told me to relax and let her do her thing. I abided, having just remembered that I hadn't gotten a shot in a good ten years or so and I didn't even really remember what it felt like.

It all came rushing back once the needle penetrated my arm. It certainly wasn't comfortable, but I had experienced far worse pain in my life.

I looked away as the vaccine pushed its way into my body. It was weird to think that some random fluids were then traveling through my bloodstream, but the benefits of that made it well worth it.

I breathed a sigh of relief as the needle was pulled out of my arm and the bandaid was fully applied. Ahead of me, I could see the army man write down my chair number on a whiteboard along with all the other chair numbers before me and wrote a time down. I had to wait fifteen minutes to make sure that there weren't any adverse side effects going on in my body before I left. It's too bad that I've grown to be impatient over the years thanks to a certain Rainbow Dash living in my house...

I finally make it back home, with a vaccination card in hand. It had my name, date of birth, date of the first shot, as well as an appointment time for my next shot three weeks from now. As much as I'd love to get both shots out of the way as fast as possible, it's probably best that I get some time away from that needle...

By now, it's well past lunchtime and my stomach had something to say about that. I approach the door and get out my keys. Upon unlocking the DeadBolt, the Masterlock, and finally, the doorknob, I open the door to what I can only describe as a symphony to my stomach.

I look to Dashie, who was wearing an apron that I got for her some years ago when we first started cooking together.

"Hey, Pops. How'd it go? I went ahead and made lunch for us while you were out. You're lucky you got here just now, I was about to start eating without you. I'm starving!"

I can only smile at Dashie in response. She had never cooked or made any sort of food for me in the past. And the fact that she was able to pull all of this off on her own is doubly impressive. I walk up to her and pull her into a warm embrace, much to her confusion. This was going to be a good day...

THE END

Author's Note

Congrats on making it to the actual ending of this story! A bit longer than I had planned, but I doubt any of you will be complaining about it. I'll leave what happens after this Epilogue up to everyone's imagination, as I'm told that it can create more buzz for stories :rainbowlaugh: . Anyways, thank you all once again for coming along on this little journey of mine. As always, any sort of feedback means the world to me. This is where the really cool things start to kick off!

Rdasher12