Hello & welcome back to Trotting Through Life. And welcome to the first three parter for Trotting Through Life. Yes, that's right a three parter as I take a look at one of the most beloved MLP fanfics, My Little Dashie. Why am I making this a three parter, well there's a few reasons. Pt. 1 will be the review of the fanfic itself and then Pt. 2 will go over why I think this story is one of the most popular and as according to the MLP Fan Wiki, this story is the most viewed story on the MLP fanfic fimficiton.net. And then finally in Pt. 3, I will take a look at the impact this story has had the fan community and some of the things that have resulted from that. Now it should be noted that this story was inspired by this comic. Also here's a link to the story.
As evidenced with the header picture. Now let's also talk about my history with this particular story. I had actually never intended to read this story. Why? Simply because I had no interest in reading stories where human and ponies interacted with each other. But I decided to give it a chance and the first time, I read it, I had a feeling of "Eh, it's okay" but I went back and re read it and during the second reading, I did enjoy it more. Not the level of some of the other fans though, I didn't cry after reading it as that has been a common occurrence for many readers this story but I did get a little misty eyed. So now that we have that all of this out of the way, let's begin the review.
The Plot
The plot is admittedly quite simple. It is about a young man who really has nothing going for him in his life. Just a regular old job, his neighborhood is all but deserted. At the beginning of this story, I was not a fan of this character as he just seemed so mopey. Not a good way to hook me in. He reminded me too much of Eeyore. He makes mention of how he is a Brony and Rainbow Dash is his favorite character and had wanted a Rainbow Dash plush. Well, one day while walking home from work, he takes a different route and finds a box. As pictured here.
He is attracted to the box but doesn't know why and in it, he finds a filly Rainbow Dash and from there, it is just snapshots of their life together as he raises Rainbow Dash as his daughter. That is the basic jist of the story. Now it is not all happy as there is conflict such as The Dad (as I'll be calling him) does something that I personally don't agree with, he hides the existence of the cartoon from Rainbow Dash and she discovers it on her own and is hurt, rightfully so. But this story is filled with a lot of happy moments such as Rainbow Dash learning how to fly, or learning how to write using her mouth or her Dad taking her to a NASCAR race. Huh, figures that Dashie would be into NASCAR. And then there is the ending, oh boy. The ending culminates in the inevitable when Princess Celestia and the rest of the Mane 5 come to our world to take Rainbow Dash back home to Equestira. Now I should mention that this story takes place over the span of 15 years in our world, which turns out to be 15 days in Equestira. I'll let the story explain this.
Ahem, she was working on a spell to help the weather team with some storm development. Well, they made slightly too large of a storm, and when Twilight used her magic to try and dispel it, it shot a lightning bolt meeting her magic. Rainbow Dash was unfortunate enough to be within reach of the blast, and it engulfed her and sent her to, well, here. So, we are here to retrieve her, simple enough I'd imagine."
So yeah, that is perhaps the only real issue I have with the story. Trying to explain how Rainbow Dash got to our world. Now as for the ending, it was bittersweet to say the least. Understandably, Rainbow Dash was upset and did not want to Equestira. But The Dad knew that she did not belong in our world and knew that he had to let her go. That is really the big theme of the ending. Letting go, he didn't want to do it but he knew it wouldn't be fair to Rainbow Dash to keep in our world, where she had to be kept Now I'll go into more detail about why Letting Go plays such an important role in this story's popularity next week. Now I normally wouldn't do this but I'm going to include the entirety of the ending.
Dad,
For fifteen years you took care of me. For fifteen years you loved me, played with me, and made sure I enjoyed my life in a world not meant to house me. I'm not a mare of many words, but even though I told you this in person, I felt you needed a written version of it so you will know it was all real.
I love you daddy. You helped shape me into the mare I am now. I'm not sure what is going to happen, if I will remember any of this or not, but I want you to know that you did a darn good job of raising me, even if I was a bit stubborn at times and short with you during others.
With Celestia's permission, I hope to allow you to keep our photos; our memories, with you so that you will never forget. Again, I love you, and thank you.
Your little daughter always,
Your little Dashie forever,
Rainbow Dash.
I set the note back into the page, flattening it with my hand as I felt the dried tear marks littering the paper. I read the note over and over and over again, until I had it memorized. Then, I turn the page, and was greeted with Dashie's filly smile.
So now I sit here, looking through my photo album of our time together. Her first bath, her first words, her first drawing, even her first preened feather, all in this book of memories. Everything else in the house is gone, but what I had put into this book still remains. I don't dare ever change that either, but I will continue to add to it. To show that those years with her helped not only shape herself, but helped shape me as well.
I am a new man from what I was fifteen years ago. Changed, given another chance by a sheer miracle of fortunate events that transpired from somewhere I can't even speculate. If I had never gone back and checked that box... if I had done something different than I had... could have changed everything between us. I guess I'm lucky that it all worked out. I can gladly say I have achieved my parent's only wish; for me to be happy. Though I am saddened, I am still happy for the time I had with her.
I now sit alone in this empty house, staring at my mother's rainbow picture with a smile plastered on my face; every time I see it, I think of Dashie. I should be crying, I should feel horrible and want nothing but my daughter back. And yet, I feel relieved to know that everything is alright. She didn't run away, or leave on bad terms; she is gone, home, to where she belongs, and is safe.
I look back down to my photo album, turning to the page after our most recent photo. The pages are blank. I still have a lot of life ahead of me, and I plan to make the best of it.
That ending is perhaps the biggest reason, this story touched so many people. My view on it, well it's bittersweet. So even though, I did see the ending coming, I still appreciated it. so there is that and I do believe the ending is very touching. So yeah, I do think the story is pretty good. Now I mentioned that the ending is about Letting Go, well there is another theme that comes into play here. Moving On. And this is why in a strange way, the ending is almost happy. It goes back to this line, the one you saw above.
I still have a lot of life ahead of me, and I plan to make the best of it.
The Dad while he loved Dash was okay with letting her go and it was just one part of his life. Just because that part of his life is now over, his life is NOT over. And this is why I don't like the alternate endings, some fans have written but let's save that for next time.
Characters
Now for the sake of this review, I'll only be focusing on The Dad and Rainbow Dash. Which means I get to use that cute picture of Dashie again.
The Dad
Now my opinion on this character changed over the course of the story. At the beginning of the story, I couldn't stand him because he was so mopey and I just wanted to shout, "I get it, your lie sucks but guess what, your not the only one who has a miserable life". Harsh, maybe but he was an Eeyore. Let's take a look at the opening with him to get my point across.
I live my life, one day at a time. A good portion of those days are uneventful, always falling in the same routine: I wake up, walk to work, work, walk home, then bum around until I go to bed. Some times I'll hang with my few friends, while other times I'll just play video games or watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Every so often, something new and interesting happens: I meet an old friend, I find a dollar on the ground, or I get chased by a stray dog.
Living in a dying city isn't very fun or interesting. This city was once full of life and color, but now... now most of the houses are sagging, the businesses sit empty and abandoned, and several open fields lay barren of the once great factories that helped drive the economy. I had never seen this city during those times in person, but I have seen pictures. My mother and father lived happy, and they could only wish the same for me growing up.
Sadly, I cannot say I have achieved that wish of theirs.
I've fallen into the same dull routine: Wake, work, sleep, repeat. I do have some moments of bliss, but the daily struggles I go through outweigh the small moments of joy I have. My Little Pony has helped, but it's still just another thing to give my hopes up on. Every time I see the show, or one of the ponies on a fan site, I recoil a bit at the bright colors, the joyful faces of the ponies, and the peaceful scenery of their world. It's so hard to look at that beautiful world, having it so close to my grasp; I reach out to touch it's warm colors and bright, smiling faces of the ponies.
Only to be stopped by my computer screen.
So, yeah Dash did brighten his life and did make me like him a little more as he brought happiness to her. And after that things do get better and he becomes a more likable person because of his time with Rainbow Dash and you actually feel that he has grown to be a better person. So, I grew to like him. So props on that story. Now let's take a look at later on in the story after Dash has been with him for a while. Let's go with Dash getting her Cutie Mark.
If you told me four years ago I'd be taking care of a cartoon, rainbow colored pony, I'd call you insane. I probably am in all reality, but I don't care. I'm happy. She's happy. Today is a day for celebration, for today, my little Dashie got her cutie mark.
I honestly didn't know how to tackle that fact. She didn't even know what it was until I explained it to her. Now she's even more ecstatic than before. It was a normal park outing, but this time she decided she wanted to see how high she could get. I had limited her to how high she could fly, but honestly I can't do anything about what she does up there. I can't fly, so the most I could do is tell her to be careful.
There is a considerable amount of change in The Dad here as he is happy. Because he has something to live for, i.e. Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash
With Rainbow Dash, I'm not actually sure how I feel about her. Because even though is important to the story really doesn't get much in the way of character development. Normally, that would be a complaint with me but it really didn't bug me. Why because as much as Dashie was a central focus of the story, it was more about The Dad's relationship with her and how it changed him. So it was more important that The Dad was developed in the story and in that regard, the story worked. Quite well, and you could actually feel that he did care for Rainbow Dash. As if the ending wasn't evidence enough of that.
My Final Thoughts
This story is good, it's not the best MLP fanfic I've read. That remains a tie between Wings For A Pony and Past Sins. The biggest thing that I take away from this story is the ending. I can understand why the ending would make people teary eyed but here's the thing, I view this ending as the one that was needed. I don't view it as sad but rather bittersweet. Now don't get me wrong, there are some flaws in the story such as the contrived way how Rainbow Dash gets to our world and I can't stand The Dad in the beginning of the story. So overall, it's not a bad story. And I will try to make sure and only cover good fanfics on here. Hey, I'm just thankful that after Double Rainboom, I get to take a look at something good with Rainbow Dash in it. So join me next time as I go further as I look at why I think My Little Dashie is so popular.
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