The horn sounds and I’m off. All the other cars are soon eating my dust. But there’s this red car that’s slowly making his way to the front. I ease up a bit and let them catch up. Ha! Just look at that cocky grin on his face. He’s already forgotten who holds the lap record. After allowing him one inch, I speed ahead. I do this on and off for two laps, excitement being replaced with frustration every time he loses his “lead;” as if I’d actually give him one. As we’re coming down the home stretch, I lay into the engine and blow him away. Then it displays my car in the winner’s circle, my driver hoisting the trophy over his head. My satisfaction of the moment is only enhanced by the groans of my competition.
“What’s the matter, Jake? Don’t like losing to a girl?”
“No, it just doesn’t seem fair! You don’t even have fingers!”
“Ooh, beat you with just my hooves and I’m a girl. I’m sure your buddies will be real impressed with that.”
“How about we switch to a co-op?”
“Why? You tired of losing so you want to team up with your Aunt Dash and win for once?”
“No! I…just thought it would be nice to play on the same team. You know, makes it more fun.”
Before I can call him on his bull excuse, the clock on the wall chimes. It’s two in the afternoon on this wonderful Friday. The sun is out, the birds are singing, and everything seems happy. And here we are playing video games. Now, neither of us cares about it being a good day outside: he wants to finally beat me and I want to keep humiliating him. But he has an important appointment.
“Alrighty, nephew o’ mine. Go spend some time with your grandpa.”
I don’t have to tell him twice. He immediately jumps off the couch and runs to Dad’s bedroom. What a good grandson. And Lucy is even better. Yesterday, she had me help her make some cards for Dad. The sad thing was she didn’t put “Get well” on any of them. They were “Goodbye” cards, as she called them. That felt wonderful; seeing a little kid seemingly unfazed that her grandpa was going to die. But I can’t really complain, at least David and Annie explained why it was “Goodbye” in the first place. I set up the next race, trying to keep the thought out of my mind. But that’s not going to happen.
As I speed around the track, I realize it’s the second Friday since I came here. Dad has passed that two week mark. But I know better than to think that’s a good sign, he’s gotten worse since I got here. He coughs all the time now, and it’s hard to talk with him as he keeps nodding off. I don’t think he’s been able to keep his eyes open for more than ten minutes at a time. I just know the end is close now, it has to be. David’s thinking of asking his boss for more time if Dad still hasn’t passed by Sunday evening. If that happens, he can’t die until David’s back from work. He has to be there, we all have to be there.
“Aunt Dash!? Aunt Dash, come quick! Something’s wrong with Grandpa!”
My car loses control, my mind stops working. No, not now, please not yet! I drop the controller as I run to Dad’s bedroom, preparing myself for the worst. When I burst through the door, he’s coughing up a storm and Jake is by his side holding a box of tissues. I run over to Dad and try to talk to him, but he can’t catch a breath. Thankfully, he finally stops, taking several gasps of air. I breathe a sigh of relief. I put a hoof on Jake’s shoulder, calming him down.
“Phew! Alright, everything’s okay, Jake. Grandpa is…” there’s red in his tissues. Is he actually coughing up blood?! I have him open wide and I shine a light on the back of his throat. It’s sore and bleeding. Too much coughing, his throat has had enough. And I can see the bulge of the tumor right by his tonsils. Crap.
“Hey Jake, could you find your mom for me? Grandpa has a little problem. Nothing huge, just want a professional opinion.”
He’s just stuck there, squatting next to the bed with the box of tissues.
“Jake? You in there buddy?”
I don’t think I have ever seen that much fear in someone’s eyes. He knows something is wrong, and he knows it’s not a “little problem.” His grandpa is going to die soon. He knows it, I know it, and I know Dad knows it. But now is not the time for that; Jake doesn’t need to be worrying about this like I am.
“Hey, it’s okay. Can you hear me?” He just gives a weak nod, “Good boy. Okay, call your mom and have her come in here. Can you do that for me, Jake?”
Another weak nod as he gets up from the floor. He sets the tissues down and slowly backs away from the bed towards the door. He doesn’t break eye contact, even when he hits the hallway wall. I hear his feet running down the hall as he starts calling for Annie. That should send everyone running. My attention returns to Dad as he starts coughing again. Not as bad as last time, but I know it still hurts. I hand him a fresh wad of tissues as I put the bloody ones in a baggy, just like Annie told me to do in a situation like this.
“Thanks.” He lies back on his pillow and stares up at the ceiling. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him more tired than right now.
“Dashie?” he says, still watching the ceiling.
“Yeah, Pops?”
“It’s time, honey. I’m heading out soon.”
“I know.” I take his hand in my hooves. “I know. Everyone else should be here shortly.”
“Could you do me a favor?”
“Whatever you want, Dad.”
“Could you call David? I know he was going into town. Could you tell him to pick up some party supplies? And pizza, have him bring home some pizza.”
“Can I ask what you’re planning?”
“When he gets back ask Pinkie to decorate the place. Tell her to go all out.”
“Dad,” He finally looks me in the eye. “What are we doing?”
He gives a sigh, “I wanted to have a going away party.”
I quickly hug him, trying to keep him from seeing my tears. Dang it. Dang it! I can’t do this now! I have to keep everyone together. I can wait ‘til later to lose it. I bite my lip and regain my composure.
“I’ll let him know right away.”
Annie comes running into the room with Jake. I show her the bloody tissues and have her look at Dad’s throat. She has a grim look on her face.
“Can you keep him stable?”
“I’ll do what I can, Dashie, but,” she brings her voice to whisper so Jake doesn’t hear, “I don’t think we have much time left.”
I whisper back “How much do you think we got?”
“Best case? We say goodbye around eight. But he could go sooner than that. It’s all going to be up to him.”
As we talk, I notice Jake standing in the doorway. He’s getting more and more anxious. Before I have a chance to say something, Dad calls him over.
“Jake?”
He comes rushing to the bedside.
“I want you to go down the basement, turn left at the washer and you’ll see a shelf. There’s a box there I need you to get for me. It should say “Home Movies” on the side. You’ll find a camera and some memory cards. Could you bring that box to me?”
Jake rapidly nods in response and then runs off to get the box. As soon as Jake clears the hallway, Dad turns to me and Annie.
“Best to keep him occupied. Can you keep me breathing ‘til this evening, dear?”
Annie still has a grim look on her face. “Like I said, I’ll do what I can, Dad. Just don’t get any ideas in the mean time.”
“Who, me? I’ve always been well-behaved when it comes to these things. I’ll just push sky-diving to Tuesday.” Annie rolls her eyes and cracks a weak smile as she checks his IV. At this point, I can’t really do anything more, so I get up and walk out of the room.
I walk into the kitchen and pick up the phone. Once I get David on the line, I inform him of the situation and of Dad’s wishes. He’s silent on the other end of the phone. It takes him a couple minutes to respond.
“Did he want anything in particular?”
“He just said party supplies. I’ll check and see if Pinkie brought anything, but go ahead and buy some streamers and balloons. And don’t forget the pizza. Remember to get plenty of veggie.”
“Think he’d want a cake as well?”
“I don’t know if he could eat it with his throat as is. Get him ice cream instead.”
“Okay…how you holding up?”
“Fine, as fine as I can be about this. How are you?”
“Just digesting it, that’s all. I’ll be back in a couple hours, have to run my other errands.”
“Okay. Talk to you later, David. Bye.”
I hang up the phone and just stand there for a second, collecting my thoughts. When I turn around, my friends are standing there. Twilight speaks up.
“We heard the commotion from outside, so we decided to see what was going on.”
I answer with a sigh, “It’s time girls. My Dad is dying as we speak.”
They all share a gasp. They start to come forward to hug me, but I stop them.
“Not the time, ladies, we have a party to set up.”
“A party!? Ooh, what kind of party?!” out of nowhere Pinkie pulls out a cannon, “Just tell me where to shoot and I’ll let ‘er rip!”
“It’s a going away party, Pinkie.”
That takes her down a peg. Her hair actually deflates a little.
“He wants to go out with a bang, you can handle that right?”
With a salute and a serious look of determination on her face, she wheels the cannon down the hallway. A few seconds later I can hear Annie scream as the cannon goes off. Next thing we know, Pinkie is running out the front door with Annie close behind her. And although it’s weak, I can hear Dad laughing. I push my way past my friends and go outside. It’s not so sunny anymore. It’s gotten gray, nothing heavy enough to rain, but enough to match the mood. I launch myself off the porch and into the air. I go as high as I can and try to clear my head.
It doesn’t work. Nothing is going to work at this point. I can’t even chuckle as Pinkie and Annie go in an endless circ le around Dad’s old pick-up. I fly into the woods and head for the Tree. As soon as I’m secure, I stop trying to keep it out and let the whole situation come at me. As I expected, I don’t handle it very well. At least I’m somewhere where nobody and nopony can see me. I wouldn’t want to set them off; not yet.
Sixteen days…I got to spend sixteen more days with my Dad. And now he’s leaving me.
Nobody is smiling when the party starts. Not even Pinkie, and she’s supposed to be the entertainment. We’re all just sitting around Dad’s room, five humans, six ponies and an alicorn. Why I didn’t take the Guest Room back when we first moved in, I’ll never know; it’s got to be the biggest room in the house. We actually have space to walk around, not that we want to. We’re all just glued to our spots. David and I are on either side of Dad, Annie and the kids are right next to David, my friends are seated against the wall, and Celestia is in front of the door.
It’s one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen. Nobody talks as we eat our dinner. David and his family share a Meat Lovers with Dad, while the rest of us share several slices of veggie. As we all sit there and chew, Dad yells, “I can’t take it anymore!”
We all stop and listen to him rant.
“I’m not dead yet, am I?! For crying out loud, would it kill you guys to smile? You can save the long faces for when I’m not around to see them. You don’t have to be excited, but you could at least find some way to pass the time instead of just sitting there all mute and melancholy. Jake!”
He bolts up from his folding chair.
“You get that box like I asked?”
He takes it out of the corner of the room and brings it to the bed.
“Good. Now, someone go and get my old laptop, it’s in my office.”
David rushes out of the room and swiftly returns with laptop in hand.
“Good. Now could someone with a horn hold it up where we can all see?”
Twilight obliges and levitates the laptop in the corner of the room. David hooks up the camera and plugs in a memory card.
“Now that’s better. Let’s all stop thinking about what’s happening now. I’d prefer to think about when I still had hair.”
Everybody shares a weak chuckle as David hits the play button. Soon, we’re all watching me as a filly. That was such a long time ago. I see myself dancing around the room singing along to Spongebob. I watch numerous birthdays and Christmas mornings, girly squeals leaving my mouth when I open my presents. Soon I’m moving boxes into the new house as Dad films our first day in our new home. Next we hear me behind the camera, stifling giggles as I sneak into Dad’s room where we see him sleeping. I slam a pie tin of whipped cream in his face and yell “APRIL FOOL’S DAY!” and the camera shakes as I run out of the room with Dad yelling behind me. The very last moment is my twentieth birthday, and we all see me run up to the camera with “Thank you!” and “I can’t believe you got these!” before the screen goes blue with my fur. As David sets up for the next card, we give out desert. Dad has to have one of the biggest bowls of ice cream I’ve seen. But he shares it with Jake and Lucy; all three of them make short work of it.
Then David puts in the next memory card, and I’m surprised. Boy did he look dorky as a kid! I watch field trips, a few birthdays and all these camping trips with this other family. That must be the Snowflake guy I’ve heard about; he must have been fun to be with. I watch David wave goodbye with an embarrassed look on his face as he heads into his first day of High School. It’s not long at all before he’s getting his diploma. We don’t see him again until his wedding day, and it looks spectacular. Then it skips to Jake being born, and Dad hands the camera off to David to hold his grandson. Then for a half-hour we see Jake as a baby, his mom taking every opportunity to make him squirm in his chair with her cooing and taunting as we all watch him smear cake all over his face. Then it’s Lucy’s turn, and we all watch a four-year old Jake cradling his new sister in his arms. It doesn’t take long for Lucy to smear cake all over her face as well. We skip forward quite a few years until we see Dad in a hospital bed, telling David to get his good side. Look at that gray hair.
At this point, David takes out the last memory card and the show is over. We’ve burnt up three hours watching our home videos. It’s raining now; drops are softly hitting the window pane. And now Dad can’t hide his wheezing behind the audio anymore. That must have been why he had the show going. Dang it! I should have been paying attention! He’s in bad shape, if he isn’t wheezing for air, he’s coughing up a storm. Annie attends to him as best she can as we all turn our eyes towards him.
“I think…I’m running…out of time.” He motions for Jake and Lucy to come over, they kneel by the bedside as Dad runs his hand over their heads.
“You two have…been such wonder…wonderful grandkids. Jake…you go and get that...Eagle Scout like you’ve…been telling me about. Don’t….settle for any…thing less. And Lucy…sweet Lucy…don’t you ever…ever change sweetheart. Keep practicing your piano now….I just know you’re…you’re going to be a professional…someday. I love you both…so much.”
They both lean over and hug him tightly, tears falling freely down their cheeks. As they get up, Annie takes them both and wraps her arms around them; their cries are muffled in her shoulders.
“Annie?”
“Yes, Dad?” tears are rolling down her face as well.
“You have no…no idea how happy…I am that you…made up with my thick…headed son over here. It has been…an absolute joy…having you as a…another daughter. I don’t think…anyone in this family…could live without you here. So take…take care of yourself, take care of…David, and most import…importantly, take care of your kids.”
Her voice is cracking as she says “I will, Dad.”
“I love you, dear. Thank you.”
I look behind me and see all my friends with tears in their eyes. Rarity is blowing into a handkerchief; Fluttershy has Pinkie’s head stuffed into her shoulder, muffling her otherwise loud cries; Applejack has her hat off and she keeps as straight face as she can; Twilight is the same, but she’s sniffling a whole lot more. Then I turn towards Celestia, small streams roll down her cheeks as she keeps a relatively straight face. As for me, I’m trying to keep it together as long as possible. David is trying to keep his face as dry as he can as Dad turns towards him.
“Did you ever…ever think you’d be saying goodbye…to another parent? When you were…still a kid?”
“Nope. Never thought I’d get the chance to.”
“I hope…I hope that I’ve been…a good father to you…buddy.”
Tears roll down David’s cheek as he smiles. “You have. Better than anything I could have wished for.”
“You…don’t have any idea…how glad I am to…hear you…tell me that. You changed my life…without you…I don’t know what…I would have done with…myself. You made me a…father again, David. You helped…helped me to move on. Thank you…son.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you, Old Man.”
“Don’t ever…ever…ever, forget this…David. I love you…very much.”
He turns in my direction, but his eyes go past me and to my right.
“Sparkle?”
She steps forward, wiping her eyes with her hoof. “Yes, sir?”
“I don’t know how…you did it, but thank you…for sending my daughter…to me.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you for taking care of her.” She shakily replies.
“It was…a pleasure.”
And now he turns to me, a big smile on his face. I start losing control. He motions me closer and puts his hand to my cheek; I hold it with my hoof.
“Seems like…only yesterday you were…laying next…to me on the couch. How time flies…especially for you.”
“Yeah.” I’m trying my best to smile. Have to keep smiling for him.
“Do you…think I’m mad at you…for not be…ing there?”
I don’t see why he wouldn’t be. I come back only to see him off? He gives a small chuckle as I nod my head. I keep my head down and my eyes closed, trying to keep it all from leaking out.
“Hey…look at me, Dashie”
I open my eyelids and waterfalls come out. Then I see his eyes; those wonderful, merciful, compassionate and loving eyes and it takes everything not to completely fall apart.
“I thought I would never…see you again. When…when you came through…my bedroom door I…I knew I could die content. Don’t you ever, ever, think that…I was mad at you. David…may have changed…my life, but honey…you saved it.”
“Are-are you sure?”
“It was not…looking good before…I found you in…that old cardboard box. It was only…a matter of time…before something bad…happened. And then…you took me on…a fifteen-year journey. And now…I get to die…a happy man…with a love-loving family…all because of you.”
He pulls me towards his face as I start to sob. He does the same with David. I hear him whisper to his left, “See you…around, buddy.”
“I’ll miss you, Old man.”
I can hear him sobbing on the other side of Dad’s head. Then he turns his head and whispers in my ear,
“Goodnight my…little Dashie. I…love you.”
I manage to get control over myself long enough to say,
“Goodnight Daddy, I-I love you too.”
With this he takes a long, drawn out breath, and with the exhale I feel his grip loosening. I grab his hand and put it to my face. It’s starting to go cold. He’s dead…my daddy is dead. And I was here to say goodbye to him.
A week later, the funeral was held. It was made as private as possible to accommodate my presence. The only people outside of our family and my friends were Ryan, a good friend of David’s, and his mother, Lizzie. They were surprised to see me and my friends, but they didn’t freak out after David explained why we were here. More tears were shed as David gave a wonderful eulogy, reviewing everything Dad had done to make a difference with those around him. As David and his family drove away with the funeral procession, Twilight teleported us to the graveyard. Thankfully, no one else had decided to pay their respects that day. We were waiting as the procession made its way to the burial site. I’m sure David paid a lot of money to keep the pall bearers quiet.
Once Dad was in the ground and a few more words were said, I said goodbye to my brother, my sister-in-law, and my wonderful nephew and niece. As Lucy and Jake said goodbye to the rest of my friends, David handed me a package.
“He left this for you. He gave me one as well. I don’t know what it is, but it’s yours. He said it was ‘to remember him by.’”
“Thank you David.” I placed it in my saddlebag. “You take care now.”
He bent down and hugged me. “You too, sis.”
With one last smile we parted ways, a brilliant purple light enveloping me and my friends. With a loud bang and a mild shock, we were back in the Canterlot Castle throne room. Magus and Dr. Blot were waiting for us.
“Well that was quicker than I expected! You weren’t even gone forty-five minutes! Did you get to spend some time with your dad?”
“Yeah, Blot, I did…I got to say goodbye, too.”
The smile on his face instantly vanished. “My condolences, I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Don’t be. So I guess now you want to put me back together?”
“At some point, but we don’t need to-“
“Doctor,” I walked up to him and got up in his face, “Just do it.”
He put his ears back and gave me a serious look. “If that’s what you wish. Are you ready, Miss Sparkle?”
“Yes,” She walked up in front of me, “Are you sure, Dashie?”
“It hurts Twilight; hurts more than you could imagine. I just…I just want it to stop.”
With a solemn nod her horn began to glow, I leaned forward as she touched her horn to my head.
Suddenly I was back in my house, and I found a second me sitting on the couch with this sad look on her face.
“Uh…hello.”
“Hey, Dashie.”
“Are you…me?”
“The original part of you, yeah.”
“Where exactly are we?”
“You don’t remember?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
With this she cracked a smile. “Figures.”
“So…what do we do?” She had a sympathetic expression on her face.
“Are you sure you’re ready? You’re not just rushing things?”
“If it’s all the same to you, I just don’t care anymore.”
“That’s what I was afraid of. Still,” She got up from the couch, “You’ve taken care of your business, it should work now.”
“What do we do?”
“Just think something along the lines of being a whole pony again. That should work.”
At her suggestion, I did. I imagined finding a large puzzle piece and clicking it back into place. And that’s when I remembered: all of it. Going to flight camp and earning my cutie mark, going to the park and doing a sonic Rainboom; leading the weather team over Ponyville, mowing the lawn as fast as I possibly could; saying goodbye to my parents as I left for the job in Ponyville, saying goodbye to Dad before I left Earth; it was all there. I was all me! And boy did it hurt! I could hear everypony exclaiming as I grabbed my head. After a few minutes the pain dissipated, I was lying on the ground.
Everypony formed a circle around me; Twilight was the first to speak up.
“You there, Rainbow?”
“Yeah, I’m here. We’re both here. Feels like I’m going to hurl.”
They pulled me up and helped me rest on my haunches.
“So you remember absolutely everything?”
“Yes, doc, I have both sets. It’s really weird.”
He smiled “I’m sure it is. I’m going to keep in touch with you for a few days to make sure everything is running smoothly. Okay?”
I nodded and stood up. It wasn’t long before we were on the train back to Ponyville. I was thankful for the chance to lie down, my head was still achy. When we got back, my friends spent the night at my place, just in case something else went wrong. That night I had the weirdest dreams; one dream was Rainbow’s, but the other was Dashie’s. I actually woke up screaming because of it. Over the next few weeks, as I started getting back into my regular routine (without that stupid alarm clock I might add) Dr. Blot used a strain of split-personality therapy. And it worked, for the most part. Upon his suggestion, I went and visited my parents up in Cloudsdale one afternoon, and it that had to have been when I felt the worst. I was loving them and enjoying their company like I always do, but at the same time I couldn’t help but feel they were strangers. Especially my dad; I felt the weirdest around him. Like he was a lie even though I knew he wasn’t.
It seemed to be taking forever to get myself in proper order. So on my day off, I decided to just lay around my house. I read a few books, had some snacks, took a nap, and struggled with my mind. It was so weird thinking “I need to talk to Cloud Kicker about our schedule this week,” one second and then thinking “I wonder how David’s and his family is doing?” at the next. It didn’t feel like I was one pony, it felt like I was three. I was Rainbow with Dashie’s thoughts, or Dashie living Rainbow’s life. It was really getting me down. Actually, I had been mildly depressed ever since we got back from Earth. I didn’t even open Dad’s package.
With that train of thought, I went over to my desk. The package was laying right smack in the middle. I picked it up and brought it back over to my bed before ripping off the wrapping paper. I was shocked to find an album. I opened it and on the very first page I saw my letter, it was still in good condition. I flipped through the album, smiling at all of our pictures. I took the ones I had from my box and added them, making sure to put things in chronological order. Although I had the smile on my face, I still felt depressed. This wasn’t making anything better. What’s the use? I’m never going to shake this feeling!
I decided that breaking into a tub of ice cream sounded really good about now, so I put the album down and started for the stairs. But I guess I wasn’t careful, because I heard a thud before I was even four feet away from my bed. I grumbled as I turned around to pick up the album, and then I saw it: an envelope peeking out of the very back of the album, the same tone of cyan as my fur. I picked it up and looked at the front.
“To Dashie”
I tore it open and sat on the side of my bed. My eyes watered as I read the letter inside.
Dear Dashie,
I’m sure right now things must be difficult for you. From what Twilight has told me, it has to be pretty annoying to have two different lives bouncing around in your head. So I hope this letter finds you in a relatively acceptable state of mind. Hopefully things aren’t getting too weird for you. It seems unfair that I had almost thirty years to cope while you didn’t even have three days. But I digress.
Although you have two parts, you’re still completely and entirely my daughter. So considering the fact that as I write this letter, another day passes and I draw closer to my end, I wanted to tell you all I could, without a fit of coughing ruining the words I am about to say.
You have absolutely no idea how happy I was to find your letter. That was one of the few things that kept me sane after you left. And it’s served as a source of motivation over the years as I raised David. You were just as responsible for how well he turned out as my parents were for showing me how to be a good parent. You were my first kid after all. And it was absolutely magnificent.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve thought more and more about just how lucky I’ve been to have had such wonderful things happen in my life. And in that vein, I’ve often wondered just what would have happened if I never found you. I highly doubt I would have come to terms with my life, I could have possibly just decided to end it. You see, I loved my parents very deeply, and they meant the world to me. So I just couldn’t get myself going again once they were gone. But then I found you.
For fifteen years we ate together, we played together, we laughed together, we cried together, and most important of all we loved each other. You gave me the chance to be loved, honey. And your Pops definitely needed love just as much as you did when you were growing up. I won’t lie; it hurt when you had to go. It took a while before I managed to move on and get to living again. And your voice was cheering me on the whole time. I got to have a son, Dashie; a son. And you have no idea how much I loved raising David; almost just as much as I loved raising you.
And now I’m a proud grandfather and you’re an aunt. I’m sure we’re pushing the definition a little, but that’s what I consider to be true. I’ve done so many things and have made so many wonderful memories; both with you and without you. And it’s the “without” part that worries me. I’ve seen your eyes and I have seen all that guilt and sadness in them. I know you feel terrible about not only leaving, but also (through no fault of your own) practically sleeping my life away. Dashie, I didn’t think I would ever see you again. You don’t know how happy you made me just by coming back, period.
Don’t you ever think you didn’t do enough. You made all the difference just by existing. I know you love me and I most definitely love you. I just want to make sure you understand that.
The biggest thing on my mind right now is what will happen once I’m gone. I know you and David both have your respective circles of comfort, but you never know. And if I’m right and if things go according to plan, you’re not going to be the same once you get through. So now I have no idea whether you adjusted to having both lives in your head or not. In either case though, I want to make one thing clear.
You’ll get through it. It may take days, it may take months, it may take years, but you’ll get out of whatever funk you may find yourself to be in. Don’t obsess over what could have been, and don’t worry if you can’t get “now” to work. All that matters is that you’re there and you’re living. Anything else can come afterwards. I want you to keep going, Dashie; I want you to live your life again. Sure, I don’t want you to forget about me completely, but I don’t want you to worry about me, about David, or anything else. We’re all fine and so are you.
Keep talking with your friends, keep doing a great job with everything, and just keep on being the wonderful mare I know you are. You’re going to do great things honey, and that’s not from watching all eight seasons of the show. Realize that there is more to life than anything you can imagine right now. And with that in mind, don’t be afraid to press onward into your future. You’re going to have a great life Dashie, and I’m so very thankful I got to be a part of it.
And as you go forth in your life, don’t ever, ever forget this. I will always love you, and you will always be my little Dashie.
Your biggest fan in the world,
Your loving Pops always,
Your Daddy forever.
I wiped a tear from my eye as I reached the end. I wasn’t sad, I was happier than I had ever felt! I still felt weird, but now I didn’t feel so hopeless anymore. It would pass, just like anything else would. And whatever I felt today, it wasn’t a sign of what I would feel tomorrow. I still feel sad that Dad’s gone and I’m sure I’m going to be that way for a while, but I don’t feel like it’s holding me back now. Even in death he always knows just what to say. I brought the album over to my desk, folded the letter back up and put it back in the envelope, and then I carefully taped it to the inside of the cover. I kissed the album as I put it on my shelf.
I went down to my front door and threw it open. Underneath I saw my friends waiting for me. I gave them a big smile and flew down to greet them. It had to have been the best I had felt since I got back. As we talked and laughed on our way to Sugarcube Corner, I couldn’t seem to stop smiling. This was what my life was now; and as sure as I had a human Dad, I was going to live it.
For myself,
And for my Daddy.
The End.
This has been…
Good Night Daddy:
A My Little Dashie Sequel