Today just... it just really sucked. It just sucked really bad.

    I woke up early this morning. The sun hadn't even come up yet, and I was flying through some clouds, just for the heck of it. Remember, by this point, I was still happy. You know, I was getting married, everypony around me was happy, we had an excess amount of money in savings, and I was locally famous.

    Well, I touched down right outside the house and stood for a second, watching the sun risenin the distance. I smiled, purely content, and walked inside the house. I pulled a pack of sausages out of the freezer and threw them on the skillet. Today would be a good day.

    By seven, Dashie had already come sown from her bedroom, still tired. "Up early today, Dashie," I commented. "Y'alright?"

    "Sausage," she groaned.

    We sat across from each other and ate. I was trying to get her to talk, but she just, you know, made morning noises. I smiled. "What do you want to do today, Dashie?" I asked. It was Wednesday, but it was a holiday (no idea what it was). We had off from work.

    She didn't answer. "Well, maybe I could invite Ditzy over and we could-"

    And that's when the shit hit the fan. Dashie stood, knocking her cloud chair over. "No! Dammit, just -" I saw her fighting back angry tears. I gaped at her. What the hell just happened? I dropped my sausage on my plate.

    She was leaning on the table in front of her, panting. "I didn't- I don't WANT this!"  she cried loudly. I shook my head a bit, trying to clear my thoughts.

    "I thought you-"

    "I DIDN'T!" she yelled. I leaned back, taken by surprise. What was this change of emotion? I hadn't seen her so broken up. She sighed. "I couldn't do it." She kicked her chair back up and slumped back, her hooves crossed across her chest. Her rose eyes shone dark red through the shadow of the early morning light, and she glared up at me.

    I was silent, numbly wondering what had happened. "So what happened yesterday?" I said  after A long pause.

    She shook her head. "I just needed to keep everypony happy." She bit her lip, almost like she was nervous. "But I can't do this forever."

    I blinked. "Well," I said, softly, "what do you mean?"

    She remained in her position, still hidden almost entirely by the early-morning shadows. "They didn't just get divorced," she said slowly. Oh God, that's grim. "When my mom left, my dad died three weeks later."

    My eyes opened wider. That's- that's terrible. I didn't know what to say. She spoke again. "They said it was because of anxiety." She remained stock-still, her face not recognizable because of the shadows. "But it was because of the divorce."

    She leaned back into the light, still almost expressionless. "That can't happen again."

    It actually scared me. Her position was indignant, but she seemed to have no emotions. This was definitely the strangest I'd ever seen her. I stayed silent. We remained at the table for quite a while. I couldn't look away from Dashie. I wondered what her feelings were.

    Eventually, after almost an hour, I stood, and walked around the table to her. She was looking down, away from me. I sat next to her. I opened my mouth, but found it difficult to speak. "It won't," I said with confidence. "It can't."

    "How do you know?" she replied softly. "You don't know who Ditzy is."

    I had to agree. I didn't actually know Ditzy perfectly, in, like, every detail. But I did know one thing. "She said yes."

    Dashie looked up at me and sighed. "I have to trust you, Dad." She tried to smile. "You know what you're doing."

    I smiled, and hugged her. "Thank you."

    Nevertheless, the day had a low mood for me. I felt like it was my fault that Dashie was feeling that way. But I knew it wasn't. Dashie went off a little while later to do something with her friends, and I just wrote a bit on chapter four and went over to Ditzy's for lunch.

    I had a good time, but I didn't tell Ditzy anything about what happened today. I hoped putting it off wouldn't have the same effect as it did that long time ago. I hoped Ditzy wouldn't respond like Dashie did. I took my chances, though.

    When dinner came around, I came back home. Dashie wasn't back yet, though, so I sat down and read a bit. When she did come home, she was smiling and laughing, accompanied by Fluttershy (who was laughing along). She and Fluttershy floated into the kitchen, and she put a bag on the table.

    "Hey, Dad!" she called into the house. I guess she didn't see me in the living room. "I brought noodles!"

    I called back, "I like noodles!!"

    I walked into the kitchen, and tried not to laugh a what I saw. Dashie was covered, literally, with streamers. "Why are you covered with streamers?"

    "I don't know. Hey Fluttershy, why am I covered in streamers?"

    "Um... Pinkie Pie had a party cannon."

    "Oh. That's why."

    Earlier that day, Ditzy taught me how to flick my ear, and I guess since then it's become a bit of a habit for me. So I did. Flick. "So..." I said, "Noodles?"

    We were talking and laughing (including Fluttershy, surprisingly) for quite a while into the night. Once Fluttershy left, though, Dashie and I retired. I walked past her room on the way to mine, and I heard her call out. "Dad?"

    "Yeah, Dashie?"

    "Love you."

    I smiled. "You too, Dashie."

    I hoped things would work out for the best. For all of us. Appearances have decieved before, but I hoped that wouldn't again. Next Chapter: Chapter Twenty-Two - News Estimated time remaining: 22 Minutes