//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Dashie's New Life // Story: My Little Dashie: The Aft5rlife // by Rdasher12 //------------------------------// I wake up, the sun's glare hitting its target that are my now open eyelids. This makes my eyes burn, and I squint them to alleviate the pain. My mind is a mix of confusion and tiredness, as the bed I sleep in has its only window facing west, meaning that I'm used to waking up in dim lighting, due to the sun rising in the east. I must've slept in Dad's bed, since his window faces the opposite direction of mine in the sole bedroom. That must be why he always wakes up before me... Where is he, anyway? I feel around the bed for the covers, as I woke up with none, and I feel a part of the mattress that's a bit damp. Drool, maybe?.. Upon noticing puffiness around my eyes, the realization of what's going on starts to sink in. I guess I cried myself to sleep last night... It doesn't take much pondering to remember why I did, which only makes me want to cry more. I think about letting myself, but I figure that the more I cry, the harder it'll be to move on with my life. "That's if I ever can move on from something like this." I say that aloud, it's not like anypony can hear me. At this point, I don't care if they can. I know what I said was a lie. Of course, I'll get over this. It's a matter of when, not if. As much as I want to stay attached to Pops, I know that the right thing to do is to move on from him as quickly as possible. In order to enjoy the life that he worked so hard to lay out for me, it's what I have to do. With that said, today is not the day. Even if I could muster the strength to get over it this soon, I know that there are too many things that still have to happen in order for me to move on. The biggest of those being... the funeral. I choke a bit at that last part. Just thinking about attending my own father's funeral is enough to make me want to mope all day, but I know I can't. That's not what my friends want for me... not what Daddy would want for me. With as minimal effort required, I get out of Dad's bed, and eventually out of his room. The exit to said room leading into our living room. Well, my living room, I guess. Saying that in my mind only makes me remember why it's my living room now. It just doesn't sound right, and I'm not sure if it ever will. But I guess I'll just have to find a way to get used to it. After all, this is my new life, and it's not going anywhere for a long time. I enter the living room and look at myself in the mirror. I was right, my eyes are puffy. My mane doesn't look too good either, but right now, that's the least of my worries. "Today... Today is a new day." I tell the mare in the mirror, and I have a feeling that I'll be repeating that phrase countless times to help push me into each new day. Usually, I'd make some kind of breakfast at this point. But I don't think the knot in my throat would let me eat it. Not to mention that it's nearly noon already and I'd be eating lunch, anyway. Last night, Rarity suggested that we all go out to the countryside and have a picnic to help get our minds off of recent events. "It will be simply de-lightful!" Rarity explained to us after she made the suggestion. Everypony was kind enough to walk me home from the hospital last night, which was probably something I needed. In my heart, I really just wanted to be closest to whatever reminded me of Pops. But in my brain, I knew it wouldn't be healthy to do something like that for any longer than a few hours a day. So, with that knowledge, and a bit of persuasion from Pinkie, I accepted. Over the next thirty minutes, I'd gotten ready. All I really did was take a shower, knowing that it'd help me feel refreshed, as well as fix up my bed-head mane and puffy eyes. The clock on the wall read 12:30 pm, so they should be here any minute now. The next several minutes are spent staring at a picture of Pops hung up on the wall, opposite of Grandma's painting of a field that yielded into a parking garage. The one with the colorful rainbow as the center of attention. KNOCK KNOCK I hear the knocking that I was waiting for. This, unfortunately, snaps me out of my trance that was my first night with Dad. ---------- I remember hearing a light switch being turned on, which was what woke me up on that occasion. I was frantic to explore my surroundings and hopped out of the warm, leather jacket that he had me wrapped in. After jumping around the living room for a moment, I heard him ask me something. "What are you doing here in my world?" I honestly couldn't understand him back then. Heck, if it wasn't for him, I never would've learned how to. I just looked up at him, with a confused expression. It looked to me like he didn't even mean to ask the question, as if he were only thinking aloud. After a few seconds, he followed up that statement with, "Are you lost?" I still had no clue what he was saying, but the word "lost" made me feel so empty inside, like I'd been misplaced. My ears drooped in response, and I looked down at the old, worn out hardwood floor. "Oh..." My expression didn’t sway. "Well, until things get sorted out, I guess you can... stay with me." His voice didn't sound all that encouraging. I just stared at him, with a worried look, questioning the legitimacy of his words. "Don't worry, I'm sure whatever brought you here, will fix itself with time. We just... gotta wait. Is that alright?" He said those words with a smile on his face, which actually made me feel a bit better. After that "conversation" ended, he went into the kitchen and brought back some chopped up carrots. I was starving at the time, and ate them diligently. From what I remember, they were pretty darn good. For the next hour or so, he walked me through all the rooms and showed me everything that was in the house. Well, everything except for this one room. I later figured out that it was his bedroom. I could only guess as to why he skipped that one. After some time, we found ourselves back in the living room. At this point, I was exhausted. It was probably two in the morning, and fillies need a lot of sleep. So, I found this old looking recliner and I hopped onto it. Well, when I say hopped, it was really more of a climb. I certainly was no feline, but I managed. Getting comfortable, I curled up and closed my eyes to try and fall asleep. After maybe half an hour of trying, I got really cold. I later learned that was due to the house's furnace not working properly. I wonder if it ever got fixed before we moved? Anyway, the cold was getting to me, so I sat up on the recliner and looked around for something warm. All I could see was the man that'd brought me into his home sleeping on the couch. Jumping down from the recliner and climbing onto the couch, I then found a hole between his arm and his body, and I got cozy. His body heat eventually seeped in, much like it did when he had me wrapped in his leather jacket. After a few minutes of pure comfort, I dozed off to sleep. ---------- As I come to, I frown at first, because the realistic memory of us was now over. I'm sad again, but I know that now's the time to focus on other things. I take a deep breath and reply to the knocking. "Coming." I say, although not with the usual spunk and purposefulness that my friends have come accustomed to hearing over the years, but I guess that was to be expected. I fly over to the door as quickly as my wings will let me, which isn't quick in any terms. I open the door, and all I see is a pink blur before it tackles me down to the hardwood floor. "Hey, Dashie!" Pinkie excitedly says, with as much energy and happiness to even make me give a weak smile. "Heeey, Pinkie." I reply. She climbs off of me as quickly as she had latched on. I get up and give her a half-decent smile. There's just something about her... Even in the darkest hour, she'll still find a way to pull me out of my pit of despair, and into the beautiful light. I see everypony else just behind Pinkie. Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity are all giggling, proving that Pinkie's happiness could spread to literally anypony. A small smile even appears on Fluttershy's face. She was never the kind of pony to laugh, but it was obvious that Pinkie managed to rub off on her, too. As we walk outside, I'm greeted by the bright, beautiful skies of Equestria. Vivid and joyous as it is almost every day. As we head off towards the hillside, I notice something in the sky, shining as brightly as it had the day before. I smile at what I know to be true, or rather, who. Not only is he here in my heart, but he watches over me from high in the sky as well. I give one last look at my dad and give a short wave before we head off in the opposite direction towards the picnic site, with a legitimate smile plastered on my face.