It was a dark, cold night when Dashie woke up. She rolled over and looked at the clock she had next to her bed. It read twenty past eleven.

That's still the middle of the night! Dashie thought to herself, but she still got up. Daddy had to go to work late, so she had decided to wake up to say goodbye to him before he left. She climbed out of bed and dragged her blanket with her, wrapping it around her small body to shield herself from the cold.

Dashie walked quietly into her Daddy's bedroom, only to find he was still asleep in bed, wrapped up in his duvet. She didn't want to wake him up, but she didn't want to go back to bed without saying goodbye, either. She then looked around the room, and saw her Daddy's bag by the foot of the bed. Dashie walked over to the bag and climbed in, curling up with her blanket inside.

Daddy will be surprised to find me when he gets up! She thought as she lay hidden under her blanket. She giggled excitedly, unable to wait to jump out and surprise him, his little Dashie waving goodbye from inside his bag. She let out a little yawn while she waited, hoping he would get up soon. She was never usually awake at this time, and didn't know how long it would be until he got up. She decided to sleep for a bit, hoping she would wake up when she heard Daddy's alarm clock.

When Dashie woke up, she heard a funny droning noise she had never heard before. She lifted her head out from underneath her blanket, and looked around, only to see that the bag had been closed with her inside. She squirmed about and managed to make a big enough gap to poke her head out of the bag to see what was going on. She looked around and saw the night sky and bright orange street lights speeding past the car window. Dashie then saw her Daddy sat in front of her, looking ahead.

Daddy didn't see me! She realised, aware she was in his car, on the way to work with him. She wanted to speak up so he knew she was there, but she didn't want to get in trouble with him, or make him late for work. She pulled her head back into the bag and kept watching the orange lights speeding past, hoping she wouldn't get in trouble for hiding. Dashie rested her head back down under her blanket and went back to sleep, hoping she'd be able to stay hidden.

Dashie woke up with a start as she hit the floor with a thump. “Oww” she muttered under her breath, rubbing her flank with her fore hooves. She lifted her head up to the opening of the bag again and peeked out, this time seeing a different sight to before. Around her was a plain blue carpet, and lots of desks. It looked different, and Dashie felt lost as she looked around the foreign place.

Her rump was still aching, and she wanted Daddy to stroke her mane until she felt better. She looked forward again, and then saw a pair of feet dangling in front of her, the persons face obscured by a desk.

Daddy! She thought to herself, and cautiously crawled out towards them, to make sure he was still nearby. Having him nearby made Dashie feel safer, and maybe he'd forgive her after all.

As she reached the feet, she looked up, only to see a blonde haired woman sat at the desk, looking straight ahead. Dashie recoiled sharply and climbed back into the bag before the person saw her. She began quivering in the bag, curling up under her blanket, clutching her tail between her hooves.

Where was Daddy? She wondered, scared by the stranger in front of her. She turned around and looked out the other side, watching for people, when a pair of legs suddenly appeared in front of her, startling her into pulling back sharply into the bag. She eventually got the courage up to climb out of the bag again, and crawled forwards to see who it was, only to see her Daddy! Relief washed over her, and she smiled widely as she saw his familiar face. She crept closer, and gripped the end of his shoelace in her mouth. It felt damp and gritty between her teeth, an odd taste of dirt on her tongue. She was about to pull on it to get his attention, when it was yanked sharply from between her teeth as he stood up and walked off.

Dashie let out a little sigh as she watched him walk away again. All she wanted was a cuddle, to let him know she was there, to be reassured by his comforting grip. As she stood waiting for him to return, she realised how cold it was in the office. She reached into the bag and pulled her blanket out, wrapping it around herself again, laying down on the floor. As she lay waiting, her stomach grumbled loudly, she quickly placed her hooves over her belly to muffle the sound. She hadn't eaten for a while, and was hungrier than she had expected.

Maybe Daddy has some food in his bag! She thought to herself, and she quickly turned to the bag and began rummaging around inside, trying to find something to eat. Unfortunately, it was void of anything edible.

“Humph.” She said, sitting down, but not before quickly leaping back up, stifling a yelp as her flank throbbed from her bruise. After a few minutes she could stand it no longer, her stomach growling furiously, she had to find something to eat. She made sure her blanket was tightly wrapped around her, and checked no one was around. She then darted quickly out from under the desk and ran in the same direction she'd seen her Daddy go in, hoping she could find him.

Dashie ran down the corridor as quickly as she could, past several closed doors, fortunately there wasn't anyone about, but she couldn't find her Daddy either. She kept running, but stopped suddenly when she spotted a kitchen to her right. She peered around the corner to make sure no one was inside, and then darted in quickly. Sat before her on the counter was a massive bowl of fruit. Her face lit up at the sight of it all, as she quickly clambered up to it.

Dashie had picked up an apple and was almost done eating, when she heard voices coming down the hall. Her ears perked up, and the filly dropped the apple mid bite. She looked around frantically, noticing a cupboard open in the corner. She picked up another apple in her mouth, and leapt onto the floor, running into the cupboard, she dropped the apple inside, and pulled the door shut behind her just in time, as two tall men entered.

Dashie cowered at the back of the cupboard, she sighed quietly, and wrapped herself up in her blanket out of sight, hoping she wouldn't be found. She began to tremble as the two men stood outside of her cupboard, talking and laughing. She clenched her eyes shut, and placed her hooves over her ears to block out the sound.

When she woke up It was pitch black around her. Dashie slowly crawled to the cupboard door, and nudged it open, peering into the darkness. There was no one around, so she stepped out the cupboard into the kitchen, the lights overhead flickered into life as she did so, slowly illuminating the room around her.

She stood in the kitchen, looking around, and climbed back onto the counter to see what else there was to eat. She walked over to a tub of coffee, and sniffed it inquisitively, before taking a mouthful.

“Bleh!” She cried out, and began spitting onto the worktop. She trotted to the sink, and turned the tap on, washing her tongue under the stream of water. That was horrible! She thought to herself, wondering what it was, until she was distracted by a vending machine full of chocolate bars.

Barely containing herself, she leapt off the counter, and ran over to it full speed and stood wide eyed, gazing up at all of the sweet treats inside. She smiled widely, letting out a gasp at the sight, licking her lips in anticipation of the treats that sat before her.

Dashie stood on her hind legs and leant against the machine to get a closer look, when she accidentally pushed in the door on it, and fell inside the machine, her blanket falling off her back in the process. Once in, she reached up and grabbed the lowest chocolate bar she could reach from the rack, pulling it free. She sat down inside the machine and began tearing it open with her teeth, chomping into the chocolate bar right there, savouring every bite.

“Teehee, this is yummy!” She said aloud as she ate the chocolate bar, before reaching up for another. Her Daddy never let her have chocolate at home, so she took the chance to eat as much as she could while she had the chance. Dashie sat inside the machine, eating bar after bar of chocolate, having forgotten all about where she was. She reached up and grabbed another chocolate bar, when a hand reached in the drawer and grabbed her by the belly, pulling her out of the machine.

“Ahhh!” She screamed, and began kicking and flapping her wings, her blanket was suddenly wrapped around her body. She began to panic, until she heard a familiar voice shushing her. She was soon put down, and shook the blanket off her body, ready to run away, when she looked up and saw Daddy looking at her from the drivers seat of his car.

“Shush Dashie, it's only me. Come on, let's get you home.” He said, and stroked her mane gently. She shied away from him, lowering her head.

“Sorry Daddy. I didn't mean to come to work, I fell asleep in your bag.” She said, her voice timid.

“It's okay Dashie, don't worry. I should have checked you were safe before I left home. But next time, don't run off on your own, okay? Just stay where you are, and I'll find you.”

“Yes Daddy...” she said meekly. “I just, I came to find you, and I got distracted.” She licked her lips, a sly smile sneaking past her frown.

“It's okay, come on. You need to get home and go back to bed, it's way past your bed time, and you've eaten too much chocolate for a little filly.” He said, as he reached across and put the seatbelt around her small body. “Now you just sit tight, and I'll get you back to bed.”

He drove her home, while she sat quietly in the passenger seat, looking up at the stars in the night sky. He carried her indoors and put her back to bed, tucking her in tightly before returning to work. Dashie lay in bed looking up at the ceiling, and couldn't help but feel excited about her day in the office, even if it was scary, and made her Daddy cross.

I want to go out to more new places. She thought, as she drifted off to sleep.

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