//------------------------------// // A Daughter's Life // Story: My Little Dashie Stories // by Brony Chronicler //------------------------------// It's been nearly fourteen years since I found Dashie in that cardboard box. I consider myself so lucky, having been able to watch her grow up with my own eyes. Yet I also feel like time has gone by way too fast for me. It feels like only yesterday she was just a little filly wanting to snuggle with her daddy at bedtime, and now she's a fully-grown mare wanting to experience the world around her. When Spongebob was finally canceled after twenty-four seasons, she started getting interested in new kinds of programming, relative to her age. Though she is still a major NASCAR fan and does occasionally watch reruns of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic on the Hub, she's really gotten interested in teenage dramas and romantic comedies. I really find it funny actually. I remember back when she was ten, she would make a sick face whenever I merely suggested watching such a thing. Now the DVR is about 90% full of it, I guess that's part of growing up. Believe it or not, raising a teenager is a lot harder than raising a young child, especially when she's a talking Pegasus that you're trying to keep hidden from the rest of the world. She's now more independent and wants more out of life, she's no longer interested in little toys and she's pretty much outgrown the materials for her flights. Now she's more interested what this world has to offer, like movies and video games. I've had to step up her chores and now she's pretty much become like the house's own personal janitor. She cleans out the gutters, fixes roof leaks and she's got whole steady income coming from me alone. It's really funny that she cleans every part of the house for some extra cash, yet whenever I ask her to clean her room, she's always taking a nap and says she'll do it later (even though she can do it in ten seconds flat). I can't help but wonder if she's taking after her cartoon counterpart. Believe it or not, she's actually a pretty patient and hard worker when she wants something. She actually managed to work up enough money to buy a Wii UP (the latest console from Nintendo) and even has a small library of games to support it. She also loves buying her favorite movies and TV shows on DVD, and occasionally likes to go out to movies now and again. We go to a theater on the far outskirts of town where nobody knows us that well. I dress her in the dog costume and play a blind citizen who needs a dog for guidance. It works every single time. I'm quite surprised at how everything has turned out. All this time I thought I had to keep her confined to house. But now, it feels like we can go anywhere and do anything. I guess two heads are better than one. Then, just recently, Dashie asked me for something new…something that I was completely unprepared for… getting a boyfriend. I suppose she got the idea from all those shows she watches, and quite frankly, she's never known anyone else around here other than me. I had long dreaded this moment and I had no idea how to respond. On the one hand, I had no idea how I felt about my daughter going out and having romantic ties to a complete stranger. On the other, who exactly would I find to date her? I tried explaining to her that I couldn't get her a date because she was a pony, but that didn't help. Matter of fact, it just made her feel ashamed and she flew up to her room in tears. I'm such an idiot, I should've learned the last time when we were talking about her getting a job. She was aware that being a Pegasus meant we had to do things differently, but this was romance we were talking about. Everyone longs for love at some point in his or her life, and this wasn't the first time the topic had come up. She had made it public before that she was crushing on human men, namely some of NASCAR's top drivers. I know that may sound strange given the different species and all, but whom else did she have? I really wanted to try and ignore this, and maybe cheer her up with a game or movie marathon, but I knew it would be pointless. I could probably get her to forget about it for the rest of the day, but she'd be right back on the subject tomorrow. Besides, what kind of father would deny his own daughter the freedom other girls her age experienced? What was I to do? Obviously I couldn't make her a profile on match.com, I would probably get kicked off for playing such a "ridicules" joke. I couldn't introduce her to anyone around the neighborhood; I could just imagine their shock. I spent about three weeks thinking about this problem. At the same time, I was also trying to fight off my fatherly bonds. I just couldn't accept the fact that my little girl was now interested in boys, and just the thought of her going off with some stranger and having little children… well it... you know. But I couldn't let my emotions get the better of me; my daughter has every right to experience love as much as I do. Now the only question was… how? Then suddenly, I had an idea. I remembered back before I found Dashie, I had wanted a plushy of her and had even been eyeing some plushy makers on Deviant Art. I checked in on the site and thanked god they were still around. Even though the show had ended and fandom died down, there were still a number of veteran Bronies determined to keep the show's legacy alive and well. I managed to track down one plushy maker who did really good work and at a cheap price (well cheap compared to what it was a couple years ago). I commissioned her to make me a live size plushy of the Wonderbolt, Soarin'. Dashie had seen him on the show and had somewhat of a "cartoon" crush on him, I don't know if it was because they were the same species, or her love for the Wonderbolts stemming from the show. The artist seemed somewhat surprised at such a commission, especially given the cost was over nine hundred dollars. But when I told her it was for my daughter, she happily agreed. After about two weeks, I presented the gift to Dashie. She was quite surprised, though I couldn't tell if it was because of the quality of the qift itself, or the fact that I would even buy such a thing to meet her needs. "Dashie, I know this isn't exactly what you wanted… and I'm sorry if I just couldn't get you the real thing. But please understand, that I love you… and even though we've been forced to do things a little differently… I just want you to be happy." She seemed to understand and happily hugged the doll as though it was the real thing. I laughed as she held it close to her chest; I couldn't help but wonder if I would've done the same thing all those years ago. I then let her set up the kitchen table with some candles and even made a romantic dinner for her and the doll. I then put on some romantic music from my Itunes and went for a walk, giving the two of them some alone time. As I closed the door, I could hear her saying "so Soarin', tell me more about yourself." I smiled as I knocked on the door, telling her to be finished by eight and to not try any "funny stuff." Of course I knew she was more mature than that, but I just wanted to say it to give the date a more authentic feel. As I walked, I thought to myself of how proud I was of her. Even though she truly wanted a real date with a real boy, she still understood the boundaries of being in this world and accepted my efforts to help very maturely. Even though I know this plan wouldn't last forever, it made her happy for the time being. I guess I'm a pretty darn good father after all, able to raise such a spunky cartoon pony… into the greatest daughter I could ever ask for. It actually makes it worth the next four months of debt I'll be in.