My Little Dashie
My Little Dashie is a popular My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfic by ROBCakeran53 based on this comic.
It has been known to be up to par with Cupcakes in terms of notoriety, and is often considered to be its bittery-sweet opposite.
In a grey, dull, dying city, one man comes across a box on his way home from work. Upon opening it, he finds a filly Rainbow Dash. When he takes her home and raises her as his own, she takes his life in new directions he never imagined possible.
You can read this story here. or listen to it being read here.
There is also a sequel that gives closure to the open-ended conclusion of the original, and a "threequel" which looks to tie up the loose ends remaining (It's worth noting, however, that these are just some of the many fics based on this work. Neither the sequel nor threequel are by the original author).
- Adult Fear: The man's reaction to Celestia and the other Mane 5 showing up to retrieve Rainbow Dash.
- Celebrity Paradox: Explicitly discussed - the man is a brony, and does his best to hide the existence of the show from Rainbow Dash to avoid the inevitable confusion. When she finally discovers it, the resulting identity crisis leads to her running away from home for a while.
- Extra-Strength Masquerade: Even though there's mention here and there of the man taking precautions, it's amazing that a blue talking pegasus - let alone one that's a main character in one of the most popular television programs in the United States - can live on Earth for fifteen years and never, ever be seen or noticed by anyone else. The only reason this doesn't happen is because the author didn't want to address the ramifications.
- Foregone Conclusion: From the very moment he finds Rainbow Dash, the man knows that the other Mane Five will come back for her someday, and never lets himself or the readers forget this fact.
- Fountain of Youth: Coming to Earth from Equestria de-aged Rainbow Dash from her show age to a newborn.
- Happily Adopted: Rainbow Dash by the man.
- Hope Spot: Throughout the story, the man keeps reminding us of the aforementioned Foregone Conclusion, but later in the story it eventually slips into the background as he stops bringing it up. Then it happens.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Somewhat anyways. The man is hesitant to even let Dashie watch TV let alone go on the internet at all, worried about the depths humans can sink to and how readily visible it can be. When Celestia and the othe 5 ponies show up, Celestia is surprised and relieved that, not only was Dashie over here for a whopping 15 years, but she wasn't tainted, abused or harmed, and was fortunate enough to be shown the best of humanity. To think what would have happened if he never went back for that box.
- Innocently Insensitive: The man accidentally upsets Rainbow Dash when she considers trying to get a job by saying that she can't because she's a pony and chuckling. Cue My God, What Have I Done??
- Pinkie Pie and Rarity are also this when the Mane 5 come for Rainbow Dash. Pinkie due to wanting to check out the "alien house"'s kitchen, and Rarity when she feels the man and Dash have gotten friendly quickly (at this point, none of them know the time difference between the worlds).
- Meta Fic
- Modern Stasis: Although no exact dates are given, the numbers of years that pass between events combined with pinpointing the beginning of narration to premiere of MLP:FiM second season indicate that the story takes place between 2011 and 2026, yet no changes in technology or lifestyle are mentioned.
- No Name Given: The man Rainbow Dash is found by goes nameless until the threequel. Until then, he is referred to as "I" or "me" due to the first person perspective, and several variations of "Dad" by Rainbow Dash. His name is Brian.
- The lack of name is probably done intentionally to allow the reader to feel more like they are the protagonist, this also might explain why we find out so few details of his personal life.
- Ret-Gone: Rainbow Dash when she's taken back to Equestria. However, the photo album containing pictures of their life together explicitly remains behind and intact.
- Year Inside, Hour Outside: A day in Equestria is a year on Earth.
The sequel contains examples of:
The "threequel" contains examples of: