Rainbow Dash was hiding in her room when Spirit arrived home. He put his things on the kitchen counter, and then walked into the living room.
“Hey, Dashie? Where are you?” He called.
There was no answer. He called again, and asked if she wanted to watch some TV, but still got nothing.
This was very strange for her. Normally, she would be right on the couch watching an action movie, raiding the fridge, playing a video game, or setting something on fire. Today, the house was eerily quiet.
“Rainbow Dash? You’d better not jump out at me!”
…
He walked down the hallway towards Rainbow Dash’s room. When the door slowly creaked open, he saw Rainbow Dash shaking under her bed. As he entered, she hid even further.
“Go away!” She shrieked.
“Dashie, what’s wrong? You’re acting like I’m a vampire!” Spirit responded. As he said this, he started to approach her at her bed.
Rainbow Dash swiped at him. “No, leave me alone! Don’t hurt me!”
Spirit rolled his eyes. “Rainbow Dash, this is ridiculous. Why in Equestria would I want to hurt my own daughter?”
“I think you know why…” She muttered.
“No, actually. I don’t.”
“Yes you do! Why do you have a noose and a damn pocket knife hidden in your closet?”
…
On impulse, Spirit was about to snap at her for using foul language. He stopped when he realized what she was talking about.
He walked slowly over to Rainbow Dash’s bed, and sat down. He lowered his head, and sighed. It was time for a talk that would make the birds-and-the-bees sound like a book club discussion.
“Rainbow Dash, come sit with me.” He said softly.
“No! I don’t want to be…”
“I’m not going to hurt you! If you sit here and talk to me, I’ll explain why I have those weapons hidden in my closet!”
Rainbow Dash’s expression changed. She crawled out from under her bed, and sat down next to Spirit.
…
“Dashie…I love you more than anything in my entire life.”
“Yeah dad, I know. You tell me that a lot.” As she said this, she held Spirit’s hoof.
“As I’ve told you some times before, you are not actually my foal. I found you one faithful night at the park.” He continued.
“Yes, yes. Go on.” She responded. She did not like where it was going.
“And I’ve also told you that I used to have a wife that died many years before I found you.”
“Yeah…”
“Well, those few years I spent without anyone to love were very tough on me. I didn’t have any family to go to, I didn’t have any friends, I didn’t have my wife, and I didn’t have a foal. I didn’t have anyone to share my life with.”
Rainbow Dash fell silent, thinking about how difficult it would be to have absolutely no one for many years. She lowered her head.
“But there was one thing about all of this that I never told you. One thing that was so tragic, I still can’t bear to think about it to this day.”
“You can tell me, dad. I’m here for you.” Rainbow Dash said quietly.
Spirit swallowed, and tried not to cry. “You know how I said that we never got to have a foal before she died?” When Rainbow Dash nodded, he continued. “Well……she was three months pregnant when she died. She and the foal died on impact when her flying accident occurred.” He choked out. He was barely talking straight from the tears.
…
Rainbow Dash gasped sharply from the information. She gripped Spirit’s hoof tightly. “Oh my gosh, dad…”
Spirit sniffled a couple of times, and then swallowed again. “Of course, living life alone with tragedies like these held over one’s head can be too much to live with. One would feel like they lost their place and the world, and have no one else to go to for comfort. So…in order to cope with these problems, I kept those weapons in my closet in case I wanted to end my own life.” He explained.
Rainbow Dash started to cry. A couple of tears rolled down her cheek, and landed on the bed sheets.
“When you came into my life in that small basket of yours, I kept your picture in that box with all of the weapons to remind me that there was still hope. When I found you, I was shown that my life still had meaning. I realized that if you cope with disaster and move on in life, a miracle will eventually happen. That miracle has rainbow colored hair, and is sitting right next to me on this bed.”
…
Rainbow Dash had her head in her hooves, and was crying heavily.
Spirit wrapped his hooves around Rainbow Dash, and hugged her close.
“There’s no need to fret, Dashie. As long as you’re here, I have everything I need. I’ll always be here for you to the very end.”
Spirit embraced Rainbow Dash for a long time, letting her cry openly.
“You will always be my little Dashie…”
And finally, the epilogue.
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