Cats in the Cradle

by Silent Bob

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Sad
Length: 3082

Rainbow Dash's relationship with her father, from foal to elder. Based on a song by Harry Chaplin.

Rainbow Dash and her father have always been close… yet distant, what with him being in the Wonderbolts, and her, of course, eventually following in his hoofsteps. And as with him, it will soon turn out that great ambition… comes with a great cost.

~ Based on a song by Harry Chaplin.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-14 21:20:02 UTC

To the Man on the Moon

Silent Bob Presents...

☼☼☼

She pushed. She sweated. She cursed and growled at everyone in the room. Her husband stood stoic, though the look on his face said otherwise. For no matter what challenges he had faced in the past, he was not prepared for this. He was not prepared for this new life to make itself shown. Not life he was responsible for making.

Though he was going to do his best to support it.

"Just a little further now..." a doctor announced.

"HOW FURTHER IS FURTHER?!"

"Almost there..."

"AAAAAGGGGH! YOU'VE SAID THAT FIVE TIMES ALREADY, DAM- DARNIT!"

Her husband smiled at that, and moved over to his wife's side, patting her on the shoulder. Her tense look continued, but a trickle of relaxation soon laced her features. As long as he was at her side, she could do this.

"H-How far?" she asked, sweat dripping down her forehead.

"Soon. Very soon," he said, patting her on the shoulder. "Keep going... you're doing great."

"I-I f-feel a bit less than that," she grunted in what might as well have been a gasp. "Can you see-"

“Not yet, but it’s coming. Doc?” He glanced at the Doctor. “How are we doing?”

"I see the head!" the doctor proclaimed. "Keep it up!"

"A-And we still don't even have a name," the mother said, tears lacing her eyes, before she gave another tremendous groan.

"We'll think of one," the husband smiled, patting her had with a cold, moist cloth. "You;'re doing great! Keep it up!"

"AND WE'RE HERE!" the doctor roared, a bright grin on his face. And it made sense. Someone who was so used to seeing death... must have been overjoyed at seeing life. But even his joy could not match those who had made this new being.

The father rushed to the doctor's side, smiling down at a baby blue pegasus. She was crying. Screaming. And seeing for the first time the world she would be spending nearly a century within. An umbilici chord was cut, and a bottom spanked. And soon, the child began to settle herself. Before long, she was sleeping soundly… a tiny, adorable, snore emanating out of her snout.

However, before she had had slept, and thankfully so, the father caught a glimpse of two, orb-like magenta eyes on her face.

His eyes.

His child... in a small way, was already just like him.

And he felt his heart leap in joy.

☼☼☼

Cats in the Cradle

☼☼☼

"Her mane... look at her mane," the mother wept. "H-Have you ever seen anything like it?"

"No," the father said, shaking his head. "No, I haven't." He gave a quick chuckle. "All the colors of the rainbow... truly amazing. One in a million..."

The mother shot him a quick, concerned glance. "Do you think..."

The father smirked at her.

"No, I don't think she'll be made fun of in school for it," the father chuckled.

"I'd hope not," the doctor said, busy washing his hooves in a nearby sink. "I've seen a lot of foals before, Mr. Dash, and I know good wings when I see em'. I'm not one to make wagers, but your kid... she has the makings of a star flyer. I’d keep that in mind, if I were you."

The father shot him a smirk. "I bet you say that to all your patients."

"Only the ones I like," the doctor said, smiling slightly. "But I meant it. And I've been in this business for twenty years. Trust me. I think she’s going to be flying circles around her peers."

"Hehe, if that's true, then she's already so much like her father," the mother said with tearful eyes.

The father glanced away from her, his own eyes gazing into the future. “You don’t say…”

The mother seemed to catch this clance. She narrowed two, concern-filled eyes. “Dear…”

"Think of it though. Two generations of Dashes in the Wonderbolts..." he said slowly, pride saturating his words. "It'd be something, wouldn't it?"

"It would be," her mother smiled, before gazing down at the child once again. "But she can be anything she wants to be, right?"

"Anything a pegasus wants to be, you mean," her father grinned.

"Oh stop it," her mother said, rolling her eyes. "You mean to say if she wants to work on a farm, you wouldn't let her?"

“Seriously? A Pegasus?”

“Honey…”

A beat.

"Well... I- uh," the father coughed.

The mother gazed at him sternly. The doctor chuckled silently to himself.

And the father gave a defeated sigh.

"If that's what she wants, then I'd support her entirely," he finally said, two eyebrows lowering in determination. "Anything for our little... Rainbow."

The mother quirked her head. "Rainbow?"

The father shrugged.

"Heh, I dunno," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Kind of just came out."

"Rainbow..." the mother said to herself, examining the word as if it were a magnificent piece of art to be studied.

Finally, she nodded. "That's a name."

"It's a name?"

"It's a name!"

"Well, alright then, hahaha!" the father beamed. "One problem solved. Rainbow... Dash. That... that is a name, isn't it?"

And the mother gazed down at the tiny figure, sleeping soundly in the little bundle of blankets. "Our little... Rainbow. It's... you're sure it's not cheesy?"

"It has a nice ring, though..." the father said.

"You're right, it does," her mother nodded, reassured, and still gazing at the snoring figure. "Yes, I think that's it..." And her tears broke their gates. "Welcome to the world, Rainbow Dash. We'll always be there for you."

"Yes... we will," the father said.

Though his words were laced with apprehension.

☼☼☼

Four Years Later

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dash, but the Wonderbolts are needed for active combat duty," a stern, uniform wearing pegasus said, standing at the father's door. "We're going to need you ready to ship out in two days... if you're willing."

The father sighed heavily. "So... the rumors were true, then. The Griffin navy has mobilized..."

"A rogue faction," the officer grunted. "With luck, they'll be taken care of within a month." He then lifted a hoof. "However, you have served in over ten active engagements before... this qualifies you for a leave of absence..."

He then smiled, glancing behind the father. He quickly turned his head, and took a deep breath at the sight of his daughter busily buzzing her wings in an attempt at liftoff. The mother stood by her, doing her best to encourage to make it into the air.

"Hey daddy!" the filly squeaked, beaming at his sight. "Mommy, who's daddy talking to?"

The mother shivered slightly, closing her eyes, before glancing back at the filly. "Someone who works at his job, sweetie."

The father turned back to the officer, sighing.

"Equestria will be fine without you, sir," the officer said. "If you wish to take up this offer, no dishonor will come to you, of course..."

"No," the father said, narrowing his eyes. "My squadron needs me. I'll go."

"Are you sure?"

The father stood frozen, before turning back to gaze upon his wary-looking wife... and his still smiling, oblivious daughter.

The mother took a deep breath, her eyes filled with longing... but understanding, and the father became content. He turned back towards the pegasus officer, nodding.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Then welcome back to the Air Defense Force, Captain Dash."

The captain nodded, said his farewells the officer, and made his way to her daughter, kneeling down towards her. And for some reason, he could actually detect a hint of understanding on her, made apparent when she opened her mouth:

"Daddy, are you going to fight the bad guys?"

He took a deep breath. "For you, kid."

"That's so awesome!" she squeaked. "One day, dad... I want to be just like you."

And the father couldn't be prouder.

☼☼☼

"ALL FORCES! ON ME! FOR EQUESTRIA!.!.!"

Two hundred pegasi barreled across a wind-whipped sea. Salt and mist whipped at his goggled-face. He winced, he gritted his teeth...

And he stood course.

A Pegasus nearby made herself known, her voice calling through the howling winds.

"Archers! On deck! Look sharp!"

The father's eyes widened.

A wooden gunship bobbed up and down on churning seas before him. Snarling, blood-thirsty griffins made their way on deck, their eyes reddened and battle-hardened. They raised crossbows.

"Evasive maneuvers!"

The Griffins launched volleys. And from then on, the father's instincts kicked in. The pegasi twirled and rolled, but the wave of arrows came like a blanket. The battle became a blur. There were screams and splashes of water as soldiers were sent sailing into the waves below. Yet the father pressed on. The gunship was close... the Griffins were busy reloading...

"RAUUUUUUUUGGGGGH!"

The father landed on deck.

"SARA SEYAL! EQUESTRIAN DOG!"

He ducked a crossbow bolt. His mane was grazed.

A number of other pegasi landed beside him, all wielding various glistening swords and crossbows. They shouted war cries and began their work.

The father hissed. He snarled. He unsheathed his sword.

And he charged.

CLANNNNNNNG!

He swung hard. His sword met a Griffin's crossbow. It splintered and shattered across the deck of the gunship. The Griffin desperately tried to stabilize herself from falling with two, powerful wings.

The father lifted himself to two hind legs. He was panting. Sweating into the winds of the sea.

He raised his sabre high...

The Griffin gasped, and before he swung, he saw her eyes... two magenta eyes.

And the father's own widened.

He paused. He had the Griffin's life on a string. And yet... he didn't swing.

"DASH! KILL IT!"

He stood frozen. The Griffin saw this. His moment of weakness. And it prepared to slash him with two armored talons.

"DASH!"

At the last second, the father snapped out of it, and swung downward...

SHIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!.!.!

☼☼☼

At table of a kitchen in Cloudsdale, a rainbow-maned filly busily dug into a batch of home-made porridge. A newspaper lay nearby that read:

Wonderbolt-led strike team scores crippling blow against Red Talon naval force. Equestrian Military to begin further offensive operations against them.

The filly caught sight of her mother reading at it, and as if it were a stroke of fate, said:

"When do you think he's gonna come home, mom?"

The mom blinked, gazing down at the paper.

"Well... I'm not sure when, dear. He's got a lot to do at his job..."

"His job as a Wonderbolt, you mean?!" Rainbow grinned.

"Yes... as a Wonderbolt."

☼☼☼

Time had passed. The father was now older, back and battle-scarred from a brutal campaign against a group of Griffin pirates. He stood beside her daughter, now easily able to fly with a pair of sturdy wings. In one of her hooves, she held a pair of Wonderbolts-style goggles.

"Thanks for the goggles, dad!" she said. "Come on, let's play! "

She then grinned, snapping the two over-sized Wonderbolt style goggles on her face.

"Can you teach me some tricks?"

The father sighed. "Sorry, Rainbow... not today. I've got a lot of paperwork to do... you know how my promotion is."

Rainbow merely shrugged, still beaming at the hero before her. "Eh, I understand. That's OK."

And she walked away, but her smile never did, and she said,

"I'm going to be like him, yeah. I'm gonna be just like him!"

And the father couldn't be be prouder.

☼☼☼

Rainbow gritted her teeth. She flew like a bat out of hell. Her wings flapped faster than a buzzard's, blurs that no eye could see. And she barreled through the Filly Flyer Race faster than light.

And then came a burst of color and light that matched her mane. She had broken the sound barrier. Her heart raced. Her heart soared. She was going to be just like him...

☼☼☼

A 'For Sale' sign became sold on the outskirts of Ponyville. A cloud-house had just been made a Dash's. Her mother rested her head on her shoulder. Her father stood nearby, beaming at his daughter.

"Hehe! Awww man, this is going to be so awesome! My own place! And not too far from Cloudsdale, either!" She turned towards her father. "Isn't it cool, dad?!"

"Hehe, you're darn right it is." He then leaned closer to her, winking. "Just remember not to wreck it the first day if you have a house-"

The mother gave a scowl. "Dear! Why are you encouraging her?!"

"Sorry, sorry!" He leaned close to Rainbow again. "Water and aspirin-"

"THUNDERCHILD!"

"What?! Just uh... some advice on headaches! They might interfere with her training!"

The mother gave a sigh, rolling her eyes. "Just remember, when you're out in the world like this, not to forget about your folks, alright?" the mother smiled.

"Yeah, when will you becoming home, child?" the father asked, hope in his eyes... and perhaps, regrets.

"Well... I've got a lot of practice to do, so I don't know when..." Rainbow said sorrowfully. "But we'll get together, then, dad. I know we'll have a good time then!"

☼☼☼

That time finally came a good year later. Rainbow had just finished the Young Flier's Competition. She was bursting with glee as she entered the kitchen, her eyes filled with hopes and dreams of the future. Filled with an untamable fire of ambition that couldn't be doused by all the water held in Clousdale.

"Hehe, glad a big shot like you hasn't forgotten her old man," the father said, beaming at her. "Mind sitting for a while?"

She shook his head and said with a smile,

"Well... dad, I was hope to get some practice in today. I'm so close! So close! Did you hear how good I did at the competition?"

"Yeah! Spitfire is an old friend of mine... I bet you'll make flight leader the first day at the academy!" the father said, grinning widely.

"Heh, yeah yeah... I bet you say to any pegasus who just made a sonic rainboom."

The father's grin morphed into a warm smile. "Only the ones I'm proud of. But are you sure you don't have a second to kill?"

"Sorry, dad. I can just feel it! I just need to push my threshold. So... what I'd really want to do is borrow your goggles, you see. Practice makes perfect! I'll catch you later, alright? Can I have them please?"

The father nodded with a slightly dejected look, and soon retrieved them for her. She grinned at him. "Thanks pa! I promise, I'm going to make you proud!"

The father took a deep breath. "You already-"

By the time he finished, she was out the door.

"Have."

He slumped into the kitchen chair, older... weaker... an Air Defense Force general so close to retirement...

Yet he couldn't be... prouder.

☼☼☼

Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes turned into hours. And hours turned into days. Rainbow trained. Rainbow sweated. She bled, laughed and cried. She became flight leader. She became a Wonderbolt. She watched the world change around her. She watched her friends change around her. And she watched her own world twist and mold into something she could never be familiar with again. But her drive never dimmed. The Rainbow never spung far from the cloud.

☼☼☼

"Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!"

She twirled. She flew like she had never flown before, almost as if her Wonderbolt outfit was giving her some hidden strength. Soarin was on her right. Spitfire was on her left. Together, they twirled about each other in an intricate maneuver none had ever seen... even her father. And then... all three of them broke the sound barrier together.

A move she had taught her companions.

And the crowd roared in approval.

☼☼☼

"Awww man! That was so awesome! You were like FWOOOOM! And then you were like BA-BAM! And the triple-sonic Rainboom?! Oh my gosh! It was so amazing!" Pinkie said, bouncing near her after the show.

"Heh, thanks, Pinkie... it was nothing, really..." she said, blushing.

"Oh I think it was something, Rainbow," Twilight winked, now fully an alicorn, dressed in princess robes and all. "And by that I mean you finally have learned humility."

The group gave a chuckle.

"And as a Princess of Equestria..." she continued. "I thought it might as well come from me: the order has come. Everything's set. You've been given a captain's commission in the Air Defense Force. When Spitfire retires in a year, you'll be leading the Wonderbolts."

Her eyes widened. Her eyes watered. "T-Twilight..."

She merely shook her head, smiling. "You've earned it. Congradulations."

Immediately, Rainbow turned to her father, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "I knew it! I knew I could make it!"

"Two Dashes in the Wonderbolts... two Captains," he said, his own eyes watering. "I knew you had it in you... the day you were born kid, I knew it..."

"T-Thanks dad..." she whispered, still hugging him tight.

"So... when are you coming home to celebrate? When should I plan the party?" the father asked.

"Well... I'm not sure when, honestly," Rainbow sighed. "But don't worry. We'll together then, dad... I'm sure we'll have a good time then."

☼☼☼

On one of Equestria's newest technological marvels, a telephone, the father spoke to his daughter from Cloudsdale.

"Hey kid... it's been a while since I've seen you," he said, twirling the chord with an old, wrinkled hoof. "I'd like to, if you don't mind..."

There was a pause.

"Well, I'd love to dad, if I could find the time..."

The father swallowed hard.

"You see my new ranks's a hassle and kids have the flu..."

"Heh, it's alright, child..." the father sighed.

"But it's sure been nice talking to you, dad," she quickly added. "It's been nice talking to you... I'm sorry..."

And the two had to say their farewells a second later. The old father slumped in his chair, his cane resting at his side. He glanced at a picture nearby... Rainbow stood in a white, ornate uniform. General Dash. His rank. His daughter in his shoes.

And finally, it occured to him.

"My child... grew up just like me."

A beat.

"My girl... is just like me..."

He sat in the same chair the rest of the day, gazing out at a sun setting in the far distance, and perhaps a few filly's dancing in the breeze... with their fathers. One with a Rainbow-colored mane.

And of his own daughter...

He couldn't feel...

Prouder.