A Daughter and her Dragon - A Collection of Side Stories · 5:49am Dec 10th, 2013
I am still working on a few of these, and right now this is just a rough, but I've had a few people ask me what happened to certain characters (as the story is set seventy years in the future.)
Edit: OH YEAH! Good deal of Spoilers for Chapter Seven here… don't read if you haven't got that far yet!
A good deal of these stories will be sad (at worst) or bitter-sweet (at best), though I don't have enough yet to make up a publishable story.
So here is the first one (Great Eater, I am looking at you 
), but please keep in mind this is still in its very raw state.
Letters from a Military Mare
Hey AJ,
Can’t say I wish you were here, but I do miss you.
Commander Soarin has ordered us to fly recon over changeling territory, so not sure when I’ll next be home. The bugs are certainly up to something, just don’t know what yet.
Sorry I missed Applebloom’s wedding; you tell that Coffee Caramel if he hurts our ‘Bloom he’ll have an entire wing of Shadowbolts on his plot!
Miss you so much,
Dash
Applejack flicked through the box of letters she had collected. She had kept every correspondence she had received from her wife when she was on duty. Every letter, every telegram, every photo.
Dash being a Shadowbolt had certainly taken its toll on Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s marriage. The secretive nature of their missions often meant Rainbow Dash would be called up, with less than a days notice, to report to Canterlot and then fly out to who-knew-where. Most ponies weren’t even aware of the Shadowbolts, Applejack only knew through her wife, and an awkward confirmation from Twilight.
AJ!
I can’t believe you sent that photo! You know the MPs read all incoming and outgoing mail, right?
Damn! You are the bravest pony.
Still missing you!
Dash
Applejack laughed, reading the letter. That had been awkward, both in having her sister-in-law Cheerilee help her take the photos; having to look Photo Frame in the eyes after getting the film developed; then to top it all off, forgetting about the Military Police checking all military mail.
Applejack was far from a vain pony, but she sincerely hoped nopony had made copies of those pictures once they were out of her hooves.
Hey AJ,
The damned dragons and griffons are at it again. Tensions are increasing again, so Princess Celestia has us patrolling the coast, make sure the fight doesn’t spill over into Equestria.
Missing you from sunny Fillydelphia!
Dash
Applejack smiled as she added the latest letter to the pile, along with a newspaper clipping.
AJ,
We’ve got word that some changelings have taken some ponies from along the Macintosh Hills, and we’ve been sent to investigate.
Time to go smash some bugs!
Dash
Applejack place a hoof on the newspaper clipping; she was so proud. Her Dash was doing these amazing things.
… citizens of Appleloosa rejoiced today as missing friends and family returned home today. Citizens reported sightings of an unknown group of pegasi clad in black flightsuits.
Princess Celestia announced today that while she applauded the bravery of these pegasi, she could not condone vigilante actions, and urges citizens to leave such matters to her military. Report continues page 6.
Applejack was far from comfortable about the Princess denying that it was a military action, but Rainbow had assured her many times it was necessary. Being a member of the Wonderbolts wasn’t just to do amazing sky shows, the Shadowbolts doubly so.
A gentle knock at Applejack’s door pulled the mare out of her thoughts.
“Applejack, I think you need to come down stairs,” Cheerilee called through the door.
Applejack jumped off her bed, quickly ran a comb through her mane, and put on her stetson.
Dash is home!
She trotted down the stairs, towards the door, her heart beating madly at the thought of seeing her wife again. She practically galloped only to find two ponies she was not expecting at the door.
Princess Twilight Sparkle stood there, eyes red and her cheeks puffy. Scootaloo, standing next to the Princess in her service uniform, also was bleary-eyed.
“H-Heyya, gals. Whach’y’all doin’ out here?” Applejack asked, nervous as to what their response might be.
Scootaloo turned to her side, revealing what was sitting across her back. A folded Equestrian flag.
“Applejack, I’m so sorry,” Twilight croaked.
And I haven't read this story either XP
1592209
You know, I contemplated putting in a "If you haven't read this story" message, but thought peeps would be able to work it out
Maybe I should
1592214
Naw, you don't have to. XP
Couldn't just leave the past in the past could you.
Story's like this should be only put in on a need to know bases. And I see no reason why you would need to bring it up in this story. We don't even go into detail about Rarity..., yet?
1592576
Yet.
I am intentionally not linking anyone else in the hopes that they won't come find this from the comments.
I freakin' loved this side story when I first read it, but when I started writing Act 2, I totally forgot about it, so despite the AltU tag, I think it might clash with the story's canon. Combined with the fact that Dash is a Wonderbolt in the show canon now, I really wish we could polish this and release it more official. Any way we can pull that off with the outline that's still intact?
Edit: Actually... now that I think about it, I could still make this work. If the events of this side story happened early enough, the happenings in Act 2 could still be legitimate.
4102002
It's your baby now. Though the way I saw it, Rainbow Dash was a Wonderbolt, then when the Shadowbolts were formed, specifically for covert ops, RD would have been offered a spot. I saw them more as like the SAS. Not that they are an arm of the British Army. So Dash would have been a Wonderbolt, and when they formed the Shadowbolts, the best of the best from the Wonderbolts would have been offered a chance to join.
I just saw this today T_T. You should have told me about this bit of awesomeness. Btw. Are there more stories somewhere? And I'm glad that DaD is still up and going, even if it's done by Level Dasher, who btw is doing a great job with your story.
4264244
If you don't mind a little input from me...
First of all, thanks.
I had some big shoes to fill. I still try to confer with the Moose here when I find myself in a bind when it comes to DaD, but we've barely been able to sign in and just say hi, let alone talk about the story.
In terms of these side stories, I actually had every intention of writing more— at the very least the ponies mentioned in the 'family reunion' chapter(s). You've already got Rainbow Dash here; I have a slightly cleaned up version (only with some mechanical things) in my folder. I had also intended to write side stories for Rarity, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo, but I wanted to talk to the Moose about the specifics. Unfortunately, with everything going on in real life right now (for both of us), I don't know if I'll be able to get to them. I'm barely writing the main story as it is. You've got at least one more chapter coming at the moment—possibly two, depending on the poll when I release it. I'm not sure when I'll be able to publish the next ones.
If I do manage to get to these side stories, it won't be for a long time, but I guess we can always hope.
4264593
And hope I shall. But yeah, I look forward to seeing Cotton's story progress. As for the side stories, I have no problem waiting, if they are anywhere near as good as DaD is, then they'll be spectacular. You really are doing a good job filling his shoes and keeping up the tone of the story ^_^.