My Little Dashie: Cloud Trails

by Door Matt

Cloud Trails

Every morning I wake up, I have to convince myself that the last three months haven’t been a dream.

The alarm shrills in my ear, sunlight streams in through the gap between my curtains, and every single time I spend at least ten minutes lying there under my blankets, replaying the sequence of past events through my head. Sometimes just fragmented bits of memory, teasing me with their brevity. But typically… the whole show. Every single day, every single moment, leading back to that one fateful choice of just taking a different path home from work.

The box dominates of course. I still can’t fathom what exactly it was doing there in the middle of the path, who had left it there, or if anyone even knew what lay inside.

But then I sit up, and look over the foot of my bed. And there she is, every single morning. Rainbow Dash snoozing on the floor, tucked up with the same blanket I gave her on day one. Looking as adorable as she always does.

How? How did this all happen? Why me of all people? I know I should count my blessings, but these questions itch away at my mind constantly. Let alone the matter of when she’s returned to her rightful world. She seems perfectly happy to stay here with me for now, but I don’t want her getting too comfortable. I have no doubts at all about her getting back to Equestria somehow, but what if that doesn’t happen until a year from now? Or two? Or even until she’s fully grown?

I wish we could communicate properly so that I could learn something, or anything from her, but she’s only just now grasping the basics of English. Simple words are sticking fine, but it’ll be weeks or months until she’s capable of sentences and conversation.

It won’t be forever, but the longer she stays here, the harder it’ll be to let her go. She’s already responding to her name as if she’s lived with me for years, and I know I’m starting to treat her as a permanent resident, even if I don’t consciously mean to.

She isn’t mine. She has her own family and friends back in Equestria. I’m just looking after her until she can see them again.

Luckily, it only takes a few seconds of her snuggling up next to me on the couch to wipe those concerns away. Whatever happens, I’ll continue to keep her safe. The moments like that are completely worth it.

I’ve even managed to stop thinking of “heart exploding” as a metaphor every time she looks at me with those precious wide eyes of hers…

I left her outside Frank’s restaurant.

Laura might not be able to look me in the eye for a few days, but she’ll get over it. Doesn’t help that she’s far too young to understand the consequences of keeping a creature like that in our home. Hell, it was hard enough having her here for just the week alone.

Frank’s a good man, whether he keeps her himself or passes her on to a new home, she’ll be alright. No chance he’ll miss the little sucker when he locks up for the night. Made sure she was asleep before leaving her in a box just by the steps. Even wrote “Give to good home” on the side. Didn’t have to, but it felt like the right thing to do. Especially after what happened.

Had it all planned out in my head. Get her in the car when Laura’s asleep and drive through the city to the old bridge, put her in the bin bag, tie it up and lob it over the side. Not the hardest thing to do in the world, not by a long shot. I wouldn’t miss her, Angela would assume the thing’s run off to another home, and Laura would forget all about her within a year.

But no, she had to wake up as I was driving and look at me. She didn’t know what was going on, didn’t have a friggin clue. Probably thought I was giving her a damn tour of the city. But after a minute or so of staring outside at the lights rushing past, she turns around in the front seat, and even though I’m looking ahead, I catch the tiniest glimpse of her eyes in the corner of my own. I was on a straight with no-one in front of me, so it was safe to look away for a few seconds, but if if I hadn't been, she would’ve drawn my attention anyway.

Don’t think I’ve ever seen a living being look at me like she did in that moment. I don’t know if it was fear, or wonder, or joy, or sadness, or anything. It was those eyes. And it only took those few seconds, but the moment I looked back at the road, I knew there was no chance in hell of me driving to that bridge.

I took the next right, not knowing where I was gonna go next, when I caught sight of a dumpster in the parking lot just over the road. Was still going slow enough to see some lazy son of a bitch hadn't bothered to lift a number of cardboard boxes on the ground into it. And just like that, I hit the brakes, almost sending the little runt flying. Just because we couldn’t look after her didn’t mean someone else couldn’t. We never got her to talk - much though Laura tried - but I think she told me something unquestionably important in that look she gave me.

I want to live.

When I was a kid, we went as a family to some Greek island I forget the name of. On the hottest day of the week, we all go down to the nearest beach like good tourists do. And while Ma and Pa are sunbathing, I in my ten year old genius decide to go rock-climbing in the next cove over. What I didn’t realise was that you could only access it when the tide was low; the sea completely shut it off at high-tide. And of course, health and safety was the last thing on my mind. So I rush off over there, clambering all over the rocks to explore, when I slip on the wet patch. Luckily I don’t hit my head, but I bruise my shoulder badly, and worse, get my leg wedged between two boulders. Screaming does nothing, I can’t get free, and ahead, I see the tide starting to turn. Whether it was God’s good nature or just coincidence, a local man suddenly appears. Guess he was looking for a fishing spot away from the crowds, but I bet he wasn't expecting to see an American kid waving and yelling like a deranged lunatic. He rushes back to the beach, and somehow manages to get my folks over within ten minutes. Thankfully there was time until the tide reached us, and between them they got me out within minutes.

Now I don’t know what would’ve happened had he not walked by. Maybe I would’ve freed myself in time, or maybe my parents would’ve figured out where I was themselves. But even so, I credit that man with saving my life that day.

Maybe life works in circles, we pass on whatever lessons we learn to the next generation, or maybe it’s all random events strung along with no purpose. But as I placed the runt inside that box, seeing her pad about before curling up into a ball, I realised I now knew what that man must’ve felt like. And now she gets to live out her own life, good or bad. It’s there, she’s just gotta live it however she can in this mad world.

Can’t remember ever trying to speak to her, knowing there’s no damn way she knows what I’m saying, but I still told her to try and sleep there. Even said goodbye as I stood up and turned back to my car. Just wished she hadn't stared at me as I left. Couldn't once get her pathetic face out of my head on the drive home.

First thing I did when I got back was to go upstairs and check my little girl was still asleep. Angela stood outside the door, probably wondering what had gotten into me, but I kissed her on the head regardless.

If that little shrimp has a family, I hope one day it’ll make it back to them.

This is the BEST DAY EVER!!!

Daddy told me to feed Bugsy out in the garden, so I grabbed a great big bag of lettuce from Mommy and went outside. Mr Sunshine was out and it was very warm, so I didn’t need my coat.

I went over to Bugsy and fed him, when I see a little blue thingy underneath our hedge.

I made sure Bugsy had enough food and went over to see what the blue thingy was. It looked like a doll, but when I got up real close, I saw that it was alive! And it was shivering and cold and looked scared, but not of me. So I picked it up to see if I could help it.

It’s a pony! A real life little pony! With such a colourful mane and shiny eyes that looked everywhere! I wanted to call her Princess, and when I did, her ears moved up and down and so did her tail, so I think she liked it.

I hope she’s a girly pony. I don’t think a boy pony would like being called Princess.

I brought her inside to show Mommy and Daddy and ask if I could keep her as a friend for me and Bugsy. They went away for awhile, but Mommy said yes, so long as I was careful. Daddy didn’t say anything, but he did hold Princess for awhile, and she didn't even try to get away from any of us! She really loves being stroked and cuddled.

It’s always been my dream to have my own pony, and now I do! I’m so happy!

We’re gonna grow up together and play and laugh and dress up and be friends forever! I hope she loves me as much as I’m gonna love her!

25th October
2010

Well, I bet no-one’s ever written this in a diary before. Can hardly believe I’m about to myself.
I’m sitting next to a blue horse. With a rainbow mane. And it’s tiny, really freakin’ tiny. As in, fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand tiny.
Okay so, there I am, taking the garbage out as a pretence to eye up Dan as he walks past, when I come back inside some of my freshly-made cupcakes I’d left on the counter are missing. Obviously, with no pets around to blame, I panicked, presuming an intruder had wormed inside through one of my back windows.
But then I hear this small munching sound coming from the living room, far too quietly for another person. Even so, still clutching my broom fearlessly, I poked my head around the corner, and nearly gave up on reality from what I was seeing.
Said tiny horse cupcake pincher blatantly enjoying the goods on my six-hundred dollar couch!
Well I didn’t know what the devil to do, try and get its attention or call the authorities? But what 9-11 operator would take a request like that seriously? A baby mutant horse thief? I’d get  an instant hang-up and a certain guarantee to appear in a report on redundant 9-11 calls.
Finally I lowered the broom carefully and clicked my tongue, hoping to announce my presence without scaring the thing half to death. Oh it still shot out of its skin and bolted underneath the corner chair, but after a solid hour of gentle persuading and cooing, I finally lured it out with the promise of more cupcakes.
Cue four hours later, and here it is sleeping next to me like it owns the place. I think I’ve seen cats with more courtesy than this thing. No doubt it’s a female...but why does it look so different to normal horses? It’s so colorful as to be almost cartoony.
Thank goodness it’s a weekend. Dread to imagine what would’ve happened had I not been here. Think I’ll let it stay the night and play tomorrow by ear, a pass it receives only by being just so darned cute.

26th October
2010

 Turns out I didn’t even have the final say in whether little miss horsey got to stick around any longer. A grand shame.
Woke up this morning to find it curled up in a ball at the end of my bed. Hell of an athlete to be able to get up there at her size. Decided to reward her with some cookies from the store. Had some chocolate lying around but couldn’t remember if it was poisonous to horses, of which she has to be related to.
Then just before lunch, who should pop by but Dan of all people. Really, the man has had all year to pay me a visit, and he decides today is the day to do it. Even then, I might’ve been able to work something out, but I hadn’t considered if he had his mutt with him, which he did.
So after the initial pleasantries, Rover gets a whiff of my guest and starts barking like mad, possessed to try and get into the house. Dan, bless him, looks mortified, and hauls the animal back, promising to come back at a later date. I hurriedly bid him adieu and slam the door, rushing back into the living room.
After an hour of calls and searches, I gave up. The kitchen windows were open again, and clearly she’d left the way she had arrived, spooked too much by that damn dog.
A surreal couple of days to be sure. And yet I can’t help feeling like this was meant to be, that this has happened in my life for a particular reason. Certainly I've always leaned against having kids, but now after her brief stay, I’m not so sure. Why that would spark second thoughts in me, is intriguing.
Of course the simple question still remains. Just what the hell was she?
I fear I shall never know the answer to that one, diary.
 

This has been, like, easily the weirdest twenty-four hours of my life. Which is really saying something since last spring I  saw how my college’s premier frat society spend their Thursday nights.

Will texts me saying he’s bailing to spend the night at his squeeze’s place, what with her parents deciding to take a spontaneous weekend away. Whatever, can’t blame him for that, I guess. And of course it’s too late in the day to ask any other mates to go bowling, so that’s that plan for my evening out the window.

So I resign myself to a night of video games and trawling the internet for a bit, when I remember reading somewhere about an annual meteor shower happening later on at around ten o'clock.

I used to be really into astronomy as a kid, as any observer would figure out by the amount of space-themed books still collecting dust up in the attic. So I figured, why the heck not? I’d let my inner kid get his way and hike up to this ideal spot just outside of town called Thorn Hill. Most of the time it’s an infamous lovers spot, but when the sun’s completely disappeared below the horizon, there’s no better place in the state to catch the stars away from house and street lights.

I arrive a little early and take the time to absorb the atmosphere. Even though it’s completely pitch black up there, you never really feel truly alone, not with the stars above and all the various lights from the city shining in the distance. Some people would find it scary I suppose, but it wasn't like that for me. It was…comforting somehow.

I check my phone sporadically, and almost leave five minutes after the expected start time when nothing happens. Thankfully I stick it out for a while longer, and get my reward when finally the first streaks of light charge across the sky. Why people still call them shooting stars when we all know they’re just chunks of rock and ice is a mystery, but they’re no less stunning because of it. At one point there’s at least six a minute burning up in the atmosphere.

I stay there for about twenty minutes, getting ready to leave when I think I’ve seen enough, when something...weird happens to the sky. There wasn't mention of it in the news, so I don’t know if it was just me, but I swear I saw it...expand apart for a second - like a 2D image separating out into 3D. And then right as I’m trying to process that in my head, one of the stars up there starts growing brighter and brighter. So I stand there gawping up for a few moments thinking what the hell's going on, until I realise it must be one of the meteors!

Despite knowing the odds of meteors being large enough to survive crashing through the atmosphere are unbelievably low - let alone landing anywhere nearby - I can’t help thinking how cool it would be to actually be at the location of a meteorite strike, not only to see the impact from a safe distance but also able to claim it as your own. Not a bad memento to take home and stick on the mantelpiece.

Evidently I must've made a drunken wish to some deity in the past, because I didn’t get that. I got a little blue alien. And not even a cool, funky one like Stitch.

First thing that tips me off it’s not a normal meteor is how long it stays in the sky - well over half a minute, until finally it streaks down to the clearing about two hundred yards downhill from where I’m standing, and just...stops dead. It hovers there above the ground for a few moments before fizzling out completely. No bang. No impact. No nothing.

Takes me at least a minute of mental re-booting to decide whether to investigate over turning back and going home.

Of course it’s still dark and I didn’t bring a flash-light, so immediately I lose exactly where the thing dropped down. Ten minutes of scattered pacing about later, and I’m starting to think I've walked too far, when I just about make out a raised lump in the path. It’s only when I get right up to it that I see there’s no way in heck it’s a meteorite.

It’s small, there’s hair on it, it’s breathing, and there’s no sign of an impact crater. For a moment I wonder if I’ve just come across some random wounded animal and I've missed the actual spot, but looking around at the nearby trees, I figure I have to be in the right general area. And when I sniff, there’s a definite burnt, crisp scent in the air, not unlike scorched hair.

There’s no sticks nearby, so reluctantly and perhaps stupidly, I poke whatever it is with my finger. It stirs a bit but doesn't otherwise move or attempt to eat my arm off. Now, most sane people at that point might’ve thought better of it and left the lump alone, but I was a little bit caught up in the notion I had found some form of extraterrestrial life, so I did an extremely impulsive thing in scooping it up in my arms and walking back into town.

Apart from trying to stop my brain going into overdrive, the only thing that sticks out from that journey back was how soft the thing was. It was small enough to carry in one hand easily, but I stuck with two just to be sure I didn’t drop it. Once I got into town proper, the nearby lights revealed a pale blue body, topped off at the head with a bundle of multi-coloured hair. Not exactly the E.T I’d have expected to see, but it was still unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Now I wish I could’ve seen her in daylight, because I was far too paranoid about anyone else noticing what I carried to get a decent look.

Thankfully no-one did as it was getting close to midnight, and I manage to get all the way to my front door before wondering if I should even bring it inside my own house. It definitely wasn’t Earth-like, so could it be poisonous, or dangerous in a way I hadn’t considered? I war with myself for awhile on the porch, before finally deciding to play it safe and take it around the back to the garden, taking it inside our old shed that doesn’t get much use nowadays. Fortunately we stored a rickety old chair in there last year that along with a spare cushion; made for a decent bed for the thing.

Unfortunately, after carefully lowering it down and somehow not waking it, I was too excited to bother to check that the shed was...well...escape-proof. As a result, I go to bed trying to process everything that had happened, only getting a few hours sleep, only to wake up this morning and find that the thing has simply up and vanished. A quick panicked search around the back reveals a gap in the exterior panelling where the wood has rotted away; no doubt it scampered through there the first chance it got.

So that’s it. That’s the brief story of how I almost ended up having an alien as a pet and giving my life an ultra special meaning to it. Pretty freaking typical to have the best luck in being at the right spot at the right time to find it, but to lose it so soon afterwards in such a dumb way boggles my mind.

I just hope it didn’t get eaten by a dog or something and found its way to another human, or to a relatively safe place at least. Hard to believe something so small could look after itself for long.

Whatever it is, I hope it can belong here.    

To my Dearest Sister and Twilight Sparkle

It is with great sadness that I can only report back to you with failure, but also with a measure of hope.

The subconscious realms that lie in our dreams and in darkness beyond are far above common understanding, and even I have struggled to regain my familiarity with navigating them since my return. But I was able to find Rainbow Dash there. Or rather - the vestiges of her essence, her spirit. It is hard to explain, and certainly too much for one letter, but know she remains alive in this form, held together by magic no doubt. Bringing that form back to our world, however, could not be done. Her ‘departure’ has been set, and intervening carried a great risk of fragmenting her spirit to the ether. I dearly hope you can understand when I say it was all I could do guide her path to a certain direction. I will explain more when I return, but know for now that I managed to send her to one of the small pool of worlds researched by the crystal ponies during Discord’s reign. I am sure, given enough time and research, together we will be able to narrow down the exact plane she has fallen into.

Please do not fear for her safety. I sensed a great deal of compassion and love resonating back through the nebula between worlds, and I am confident she will be looked after by her hosts until we find a way to bridge through. If the Empire as we suspect came close without you, Twilight Sparkle, there can be no doubt that with you, we will manage it.  

Expect my return by Nightfall tomorrow. The Dao-Deer Nation understands the need to cut short my time here, and are eager to carry forth trade negotiations at a later date.

We will bring her back one way or another, of that I am certain. Mark my words as a Princess.

Until then, yours, with love

Princess Luna

...maybe I’ll start using “soul-warming” instead. Makes a lot more sense, and that’s basically what she’s done to my life.

I’m planning to take her to see a meteor shower next week, which I know she’ll love. There was one a few months back which I wanted to see, but I twisted my ankle at work, and settled on watching it on the local news the next day. Wouldn't have made the climb up Thorn Hill anyway, which was a shame, but there should be nothing stopping me seeing this one with her. It’ll be the first time taking her outside the house too, but carrying her inside my rucksack should ensure she isn't spotted by anyone else.

For now, I’m just taking each day as it comes. Giving her a roof over her head. Warm food. Comfortable place to sleep. She doesn't seem to mind living here at all, which is a real blessing. It’s horrible to consider the multitude of other places she could've ended up, but something led her to me, and whatever that may have been, I'm honestly so grateful for it.

Without a doubt, she is the very best thing to happen to me. And though sometimes I entertain the notion of letting other people see her, I know I can’t let that happen. The risks are simply too great. If I let someone take her away from me now, I would never forgive myself, or them.

She’s curled up next to me right now, watching a repeat of an 80’s sitcom drama on television. Truth be told I spend more time watching her nowadays than any show on TV. If she’s anything like the Rainbow Dash I know from My Little Pony, she’s gonna grow up to be a wild one.

I stroke the edges of her mane, and let her lean the back of her head into my palm. It feels a bit silly, but I’ve been thinking of giving her a nickname, as Rainbow Dash is a bit of a mouthful.

What was it Pinkie used to call her?

Ah yes…

Dashie.