Fathers

Chapters

A Shield To The World
Goodbyes Don't Have To Be Sad
Broken Things
The Wisdom of A Father
I Didn't Mean To
What They Need
Forever Staring At Their Back

A Shield To The World

A father should always be there for his children...his daughter...

He should always be there to help his daughter...but what happens when she no longer needs him?

Thinking back, he still remembered every little detail of when his children were brought into the world. There were always those harsh bright lights in the hospital, probably meant to ensure the doctors did not miss anything while examining their patients. Then there was the always prevalent smell of...cleanliness. Of the multitudes of chemicals used by the cleaning staff to reduce the odds of any sick pony catching some disease. There was his wife, so exhausted after her ordeal and still so very beautiful, resting in the soft white linen of her bed.

And then there was the weight...the weight of a new life held in his fore-hooves.

"How does our son look?" his wife had asked, a weak smile on his face.

"He looks..." he paused for a moment, searching for the right word. "He looks strong..." Back then he had not realized how true his words would ring. Shining Armor seemed to grow up so fast, always bigger and stronger than those his age. But his heart was strong too...he never bullied others, always doing what he could to protect those smaller or weaker than him.

His son had never needed his help, never needed his protection. He'd never had any fear of the dark or monsters or anything. It was like he'd come into the world ready to grow up.

He hadn't thought he could ever be any prouder.

Then came his daughter...little Twilight Sparkle.

It was amazing in how may ways her day of birth mirrored Shining Armor's. The light were still so bright, he actually considered bringing a pair of sunglasses in to hospital...but he got the feeling his wife would not approve. The smell was there, always at the perfect level. Never too potent so it stung your nostrils or weak enough that it wasn't noticeable, always at the spot where your nose could never get used to it. Even the question was there, the same question was asked as he was finally allowed to hold the small body of his newborn daughter.

Well, same but for one word.

"How does our daughter look?" perhaps his wife had looked a little less haggard this time, just a little. Practice does tend to make perfect.

At the question he once again looked down at his new child and found his mind focusing on the same word as before.

"She looks...strong," perhaps he'd chosen it a good luck charm...in hopes that she would grow up much like her brother had. Or maybe he'd picked it because even then, he could sense all the power held within her small little body.

And then there was the other difference that day. Shining Armor hesitantly walking up to his side, his gaze slowly focusing on the small sleeping form of his new sister.

"Is that her?" he said, leaning forward until their noses were nearly brushing. "She looks so small."

"Yes, this is Twilight Sparkle. Congratulations Shining Armor, you're a big brother now. And don't worry about her size, she'll grow up faster...a lot faster than you'd expect."

A silly smile appeared on Shining's face as he continued to inspect his sister. Looking over the two of them, a wonderful idea had suddenly come to his mind.

"Of course, you realize the being a big brother means you have an important job now right?"

"A job? What kind of job?" Shining Armor quickly jumped to attention. He was already trying to emulate his current heroes, the royal guards of Canterlot.

"Until your sister is old enough to take care of herself, I'm going to need your help in taking care of her," he said.

"Of course...help you how?" Shining Armor tilted his head quizzically to the side.

"Well...just be there for her when your mother and I can't. Take care of her...keep her safe. Above all else...be her friend. Do you think you can handle that?"

"You can count on me dad!" Shining Armor brought a hoof to his forehead as a salute.

He'd smiled at at that, at his son's happiness along with the fact that his new daughter's safety was secure. Nothing could be safer than the love of a family.

He just hoped that Twilight wouldn't decide to grow up too fast.

With that he had returned Twilight to her mother, and after a couple of days rest the entire family had come together at home.

It seemed he had just put her down in her crib before she was madly running around the house, asking silly questions of anything and everything she saw. In an attempt to slow her rate of questions he'd given her a book.

That was when the strength he'd seen began to show up.

Power not in strength of limbs or anything like that, no, Twilight shared nothing of that aspect with her brother.

Her strength was always held within. If his daughter put her mind to something, she would get it done, no matter the cost. She was so smart, so determined...and so very very stubborn.

Twilight seemed so determined to get through everything on her own, to read every book available to her, and then some. He wasn't sure where, but somewhere along the way she'd picked up the idea that only she could solve the problems of her life. That she didn't need anypony to help her.

Well...anypony but him.

She was scared of the dark, that was something he'd never forget. She would sit, all wrapped up in her covers, refusing to fall asleep until he checked under her bed, got her a glass of water, and read the bedtime story just one more time.

"Okay, one more time," he would always say, opening the book back up. "But only if you promise to go to sleep afterwards."

"I promise dad," she said, snuggling back against her pillow as he began the story once more, happy to be there for her.

This routine repeated itself for a few years but things, as they have a habit of doing, began to change.

A night came where Twilight did not call for a story.

Curious, he walked over to her room and found her not in her bed, but at her desk. She was studiously reading a massive book, her eyes hungrily devouring the words on the pages.

"Twilight?" he said

"Oh, hi dad. I'm just trying to finish one more chapter of this book of magical theory. I'll probably be up for a wile. I don't need to be tucked in," her eyes never left her book.

"Oh...okay. Goodnight Twilight."

"Night dad," she raised a hoof to wave at him. So he went back to his own room where he sat in his bed, confused.

What was he supposed to do if his children no longer needed him?

She still relied on Shining Armor though, still needed him. Her Big Brother would always be there for her in case he felt she was spending too much time trapped in her book. He always tried to make sure there were at least a few moments of the day where she would take her nose out of those pages and go outside and enjoy the sun.

Eventually Twilight's continuous studying had paid of with an enrollment in magic school, provided she could pass a simple test.

And then something extraordinary had happened, somehow an application exam had led to the Princess herself requesting to take Twilight on as her personal student! Not to mention him temporarily being turned into a cactus!

He could not have been more proud...or more worried for her.

Under the Princess she would be taken directly to the castle, away from her family. They would take his little girl away, and he wouldn't be able to keep her safe any more. He knew that being a star pupil under the Princess would lead to other ponies being jealous of her. He doubted she'd be able to make many friends, friends that could help her where he couldn't.

He needed to help her, needed to stay with her, but how?

In the end, he could do nothing about it but smile as wave as the Princess lead her away.

There were letters home of course, and visitations for the holidays, but they were never long enough for him. She would talk of course, she always loved to talk, about her studies and what sort of research the Princess had her doing...but never of friends or anything else.

Just of what she learned and how she couldn't wait to get back...

When had she gotten so ready to leave her family behind?

Years passed, with the letters growing shorter and the visits growing fewer. One thing he tried to hold on to in order to make her absence less... noticeable, was that at least she was safe. Next to the Princess...he doubted there was a safer place for her to be.

Of course...that was when the sun decided not to rise.

Everypony knew that could only mean one thing, something had happened to Princess Celestia, and if something had happened to her than something could happen to...

No, he had refused to consider such a possibility, instead rushing off to Ponyville with his wife in a desperate attempt to try and find her.

They'd spent so many dark hours looking for any sign of her, asking around is case somepony had seen her. All this brought them to was an empty library, piles of books scattered across the floor. Eventually him and his wife could run no more and stood in the darkness, hoping and praying for things to change...

Perhaps the Princess had heard their prayers, because at that moment the sun triumphantly rose over the horizon, finally casting away the shadows. With it they heard something else, something coming from the Everfree Forest.

Curious, they joined a growing crowd of ponies outside of those dangerous to see a small procession walking towards them It was Princess Celestia with...another Alicorn alongside her? Another Princess?

But who was that behind them? A group of ponies and in the center of them...

"Twilight..." he muttered, nearly rushing out of the crowd over to her, but he managed to stop himself. Galloping past the Princess was probably not the wisest idea.

Instead he just stood back and watched.

Watched as a garland of flowers was placed around the other Alicorn's neck. Watched as the Princess directly addressed his daughter or her new mission in Ponyville.

Watched as the rest of those ponies crowded around her in a happy embrace.

"Friends..." he found himself saying. "She's got friends now."

"You're right," his wife said, that calm smile of hers resting on her face. "Looks like she doesn't need us after all."

"Yes..." he admitted and a small pause. "But why did it have to happen so soon?"

"You said it yourself, the day she was born. Don't you remember?" his wife chided. "She's strong."

"I didn't think she'd be this strong..." he sighed. "Come on, she probably won't want us embarrassing her here, let's go home." His wife simply nodded, walking away from the crowd with him.

His daughter was safe now. Safe and happy with her new friends...he should be happy.

But all he could picture was that little filly, begging for one more story before she went to sleep.

Author's Note

You ever heard the song 'You Can Let Go Now Daddy?'

Well here's a chapter on one of the mane six's fathers. Think this is chapter one of...seven? Seven is the correct number right?

Well I think it is. Hope those that read this enjoyed it.

Goodbyes Don't Have To Be Sad

A father should always be there for his children...his daughter...

He should always make sure that his children have the best lives possible, even if that mean sending them away from home...possibly forever.

Monotonous, now that was a very good word.

Monotonous, he sounded the word out again in his head. Four syllables, a definition that meant boring, even pretending to say it in his mind made him feel bored.

Yes, it was almost the perfect word to describe Rock Farming.

Of course, one hardly got into the business of farming rocks expecting volcanoes and explosion of excitement, and they were pretty well off compared to other farms. Their fields were very plentiful and the sun looked absolutely beautiful rising over their little home, casting the rocks in vibrant shades of yellow, orange and red.

And since they had to start work very early they saw it quite a lot, but even with all of that...when you came right down to it moving rocks on a farm, even as your special talent, was boring.

"So are we working on the east field today dear?" his wife asked as they stepped out of the house, the early morning air making him shiver slightly.

You know what sounds like a good idea? A day off. Just a whole day of doing nothing but relaxing in the house.

Maybe the south field, it's a bit smaller and would go faster meaning we can all relax sooner.

What if, instead of rotating the rocks, we shaped them all together into one big smiley face? I know nopony has ever tried it before, but it might be crazy enough to work! Imagine how jealous the other farmers will be if it does!

"Yes, right on schedule," he replied in a calm easy voice, pushing the other thoughts in his mind aside. He used to be much more open with those silly thoughts of his when he was younger, but nopony ever wanted to listen to him. In fact, some of them would even avoid him after hearing some of his 'odder' thoughts.

It hadn't taken very long for him to realize that the less he said, the easier it was to integrate into the crowds, to be unnoticed. So he learned to ignore his thoughts, those silly bursts of creativity that would randomly pop up in his head.

At first he hated doing it, hating ignoring that part of himself, but he'd been able to silent that part of himself too.

Until a certain little pink pony had broken open that barrier he'd spent so much time building up, and now those silly thoughts were even louder than ever.

"Come on sisters! The sooner we start the sooner we're done, and the sooner we're done the more time we have to do something fun!" his daughter skipped through the door, followed by her rather more tired looking sisters. He was still amazed at her new bubbly personality, and her new puffy mane to match.

He still didn't know what happened to her, but she seemed so happy now, so ready to break the monotony of their farm lives.

"Do you have another party planned for us today Pinkamena?" his wife asked, looking down at their daughter over her spectacles.

"What? What would make you say that? I was just being...uh...hopeful, you know," seeing Pinkamena stumble over her own words, trying desperately to hide her party brought a smile to his face, another thing that had resurfaced because of her.

"I think we have a party to get ready for girls," his wife smiled at their other two daughters who responded with huge twin smiles, though still staying silent. Those two seemed to almost always stay quiet and it sometimes go to the point where would simply imagine what they were saying.

Oh boy, I can't wait Marble! Limestone whispered to her sister.

Me too, let's work as hard as we can so the party can start sooner! Come on! She would reply, racing her sister to the fields.

"Aww, you ruined my surprise party," Pinkamena pouted at them.

"Don't worry Pinkamena, just because we know it's coming doesn't mean we'll enjoy it any less," he quickly consoled her. Her smile was something they all needed on this farm.

"Yeah, you're right about that!" Pinkamena bounced back up, her temporary grief completely forgotten. With a little skip she sped off into the rock field. Watching after her for a moment he turned back to his wife and gave her a little nod.

It was time to work.

Now most ponies, when watching rock farmers, simply saw a group of strange ponies moving random rocks around in a field. It was a bit more complicated than that. The process involved finding the right rocks, those too small, too big, or too valuable, and shifting them into the proper positions in the neighboring fields. Following through on this method would bring out more valuable stones for them to harvest in later months.

Though for the life of him, he could not explain why. Nopony, not even the farmers, knew why moving the rocks helped out their farms.

He'd heard theories of course, hundreds and hundreds of theories on why the rotation of rocks was absolutely vital for the farms.

Moving the rock across the various fields would agitate the natural magic in the ground, bringing up rarer, and more valuable, rocks for the farms.

By ordering the separate rocks together you would create an imbalance in nature. To rectify this, more rocks would be sent to the surface to return everything to its natural order.

It was actually based on an old earth pony tradition that by arranging the rocks on their farms in certain orders would bring favor from the magic races that lived above the clouds. Today it dealt with the magic of the princesses. As they traveled through the sky in their forms of Sun and Moon their blessings would fall on the farms with the best organization of rocks.

The list went on and on, but he himself had a personal favorite.

He'd heard it a year or two ago during a particularly difficult day of work.

"I just don't get it!" that had been one of the instances where he heard Marble speak aloud. She was try to move a very large, and stubborn, boulder from the hard packed ground. The harsh sun beating down on her certainly wasn't helping the mood. "Why do we even need to move these rocks around?" He was not having the greatest day himself, even adults get tired, though they try their best not to show it, especially to their kids.

"Well, why do you think we need to do it?" he'd asked, a sharp tone to his voice.

"Oh! C-can I guess?" a certain pink pony suddenly appeared on top of the boulder, staring down at them. That had been a surprise for him. Back then, Pinkamena had rarely spoken up to offer any opinion, simply going through the work and retiring to her own room. Perhaps it had been a sign of things to come.

"Go ahead Pinkamena," he shrugged.

"Is it because...the rocks get bored just sitting out the field all of time, so to help them out we move them around? This way they can see more of the world and get some exercise! This makes them happy and when they're happy they bring some of their friends over so we get more rocks?" she tilted her head quizzically to the side, while he and her sister could only stare.

"Well...I suppose that explanation is as good as any other," he finally said. Pinkamena just nodded before jumping off the rock and going back to work, leaving her family members still slightly stunned.

"Come on Marble, let me help you with that rock?" The gray maned filly smiled at him as he trooted over, bracing with his shoulder against the large rock. With a few tough shoves it finally gave way and began to roll.

And as it did he found himself imagining the rock talking to him, a calm and happy tone to its voice.

Thanks for helping me move, that view was really starting to get on my nerves. You can only stare into the sky at that angle for so long.

A soft chuckle escaped from his throat, and he realized that he wasn't alone. Marble was laughing too, a lighthearted thing that reminded him of birds in the spring.

"Think the rock is happy we gave it a new view?"

Marble just nodded at him, an embarrassed smile on her face, then quickly scampered off with new found energy.

That silly little theory had gotten them through the day, and if it could do that, then no idea could ever best it.

Bringing himself back to reality, he gave a quick gaze around the field to see that quite a bit of work had been accomplished. Apparently the promise of a party was one of the greatest incentives a worker could ask for.

In fact, with just a few more rocks they would be-

"Okay everypony! Follow me to the grain mill!" Pinkamena announced, running over to the building. That made him sigh a little. If there was one thing he could never keep up with, it was his daughter's speed.

"Well, let's go," he said before beginning his slow walk over to the party, far behind his other two children.

He had been worried when Pinkamena had begun throwing her parties, not that he didn't enjoy them, far from it. No, he worried that if she kept doing them they'd grow old, monotonous, and wind up just as boring as rock farming itself.

He really should have known better, it was her special talent after all.

Every party would have something new thrown in, nothing fantastic, but just enough so that everypony would always have a great time.

She was so dedicated to her talent, and he could never guess why, why she worked so hard at this.

He had never shown the devotion to farming that she showed to her parties.

A devotion that had brought something great to this party in particular.

He heard it even before he entered the building, something joyous, something wondering, something...very very familiar.

Limestone and Marble were patiently waiting by the door for him, their ears perking up as they noticed the sound as well. He gently pushed the door open, and his suspicions were confirmed.

"Surprise! Well...sort of!" Pinkamena stood in the middle of the mill surrounded by her normal party decorations; balloons, confetti, sugary treats, but off in the corner she had something new.

It was an old phonograph, or to be more precise, his old phonograph. That in itself was not that big of a surprise, the old thing had been sitting in the back of the living room for ages. No, what shocked him was the music coming from it, an old melody that brought back wonderful memories.

Behind him, his wife stepped through the door, a look of wonder on her face. She recognized it too.

That song, their song, the one they always used to dance to. When things were bad, or even when things were good, he'd set up the old record and they would simply dance together, completely content with each other.

But then had come the children, and the farm, and the time they once had for dancing became swallowed up.

He couldn't even imagine how many old boxes Pinkamena must have dug through, searching for the perfect finishing touch of her party.

He was so glad she had.

Dance, while the moment is still here!

Without any pause, to ensure that his courage stayed strong, he reached out and boldly grasped his wife's forehoof. She started, momentarily shocked as he dragged her to the middle of the room, but quickly caught on to what was happening. Happily, they swayed around each other, falling into their old steps and motions.

They were a little rusty of course, but it didn't matter, they were finally able to dance again. Moving around the mill he was able to notice Pinkamina and her sisters all happily dancing together.

The party had started, and it was perfect. It was full of joy, of love, of life!

And it was all for them...

Only for them...

That's not right.

The dark thought in his thread threw off his rhythm, making him stumble slightly across the mill floor. His wife managed to catch up to him, pulling him back into the flow of things.

Back in the dance, he began to regain his focus, but that simple thought refused to leave his head. With a final twirl he released his wife's hoof and pulled himself to the side of the party.

Pinkie Pie did all of this, all this work to make other ponies smile, just for them.

Thinking about it, it seemed so...selfish...

Even with a lifetime of farming he knew that parties weren't supposed to be hoarded by just one family...but in a place like this, who else was Pinkamena going to celebrate with?

The farms in this area were few and far between, theirs especially so, and his daughters rarely had the chance to be with other ponies. In fact, the only meet up with other farmers was at the rock market, which only happened every few months.

Not nearly often enough.

How had he never really thought of this before?

You were too focused on farming.

You were too busy having fun.

You didn't want to stop having fun, you want to keep her here.

Another thing that bothered him about that little voice in his head, it had the habit of showing him uncomfortable truths. This was something he needed to talk to Pinkamena about.

But not now, not in the middle of the party.

He would do it later.

It seemed that 'later' was going to take much longer than he thought.

Every day when the work was done he would try to catch Pinkamena for a quick talk, but he was never quite fast enough. She would rush off at a speed he couldn't hope to follow.

He tried asking her sisters where she was hiding from him, but all they would do was shrug at him.

Sorry dad, we'd help you if we could. Was what he hoped that shrug meant.

It's a secret and you'll never ever ever find out! We are the steadfast keepers of all secrets within this world! Was what he worried it meant.

Either way they were of no help to him.

The fact of the matter was he would have been completely lost if he hadn't decided, one late afternoon, to relax in the back room of the house.

Sitting in a dusty chair, going over just what is was he would say to Pinkamena if he managed to find her, when something caught his attention.

The noise of construction.

Following the sound back outside, he found himself drawn to a small little shed alongside the house. It was a small thing built when they had first gotten the farm, though he could honestly not remember the last time they had used it.

It seemed somepony had finally found a use for it.

Gingerly, he tapped the shed which gently slid open.

Only for him to immediately duck in order to avoid a massive blast of confetti from colliding with his face.

"Oh no! That's not right at all, the confetti is supposed to come out of the other cannon," he mustered up the courage to look back into the shed to see a strange amalgamation of wood, nails, and paint haphazardly thrown together into something that resembled...well he really wasn't sure what it resembled.

Pinkamena walked around the creation, a hammer held in her mouth, when she managed to catch sight of him.

"Oh...hi dad," she said after placing the hammer down. "I guess this surprise is ruined too..."

"I think you may have had more luck if you you tried hiding somewhere not right next to the house," he said to her, taking a small walk around her construction project. There were four round-ish pieces of wood he guessed would turn into wheels, a thick sturdy base placed on top of that, and at least five strange cannons which were all covered in various shades of pink and purple paint.

"I was hoping it was one of those 'crazy enough to work' ideas," Pinkie gave a bashful smile.

"Well it was working for a little while, I had no idea where you were running off to," he reassured her. "So how about you tell me exactly what you're working on here?"

"Sure thing!" she bounced on top of her creation. "Once I can figure out how all this stuff goes together this'll be the most splendiferous party wagon you've ever seen! It'll be like an instant party wherever you go! I won't need to sneak around to set up decorations anything, I'll finally be able to surprise you!"

She stood up on her back hooves, proud and beaming.

And he smiled at her, a deep laugh bursting from his mouth. He laughed and laughed and laughed.

"A party at anyplace and anytime, what will you think of next?" he offered up his hoof and helped her down. "What keeps you so dedicated?"

"Smiles!" her answer was almost immediate. "I just want to make everypony smile!" She paused for a bit, looking down at the ground.

"Especially you and mom," that part was quiet, almost a whisper.

"Oh," he was silent for a moment. "Why us in particular?" Pinkamena shuffled her hooves a bit, doing her best to avoid looking directly at him.

"Well...I was worried that..." she took a deep breath. "I was worried that you didn't know how to be happy!" The last part came out in a great rush, as if his daughter feared what his response would be.

"Didn't know how..." he found himself repeating. "Was it that bad?"

"It was just...nopony ever smiled here. Not you, or mom, or Limestone and Marble. All we ever seemed to do was work...sometimes I was afraid that there was a rule that we weren't allowed to smile..." hearing this, he didn't know how to reply, but he remembered.

He remembered Pinkamena simply trudging through the dirt with her sisters, listening to her list of chores with a simple nod before turning away from him.

He remembered her downcast looks as the sun would travel across the sky, day after day.

And he remembered how he would simply shrug and continue his work.

"That's why you make all of these parties so wonderful," he realized. "You're afraid things will go back to the way they were..." Pinkamena didn't say anything, so he stepped forward, wrapping her up in a massive hug.

"For you to ever think something like that...means that I have made far too many mistakes as a father." he whispered to her. "A daughter shouldn't have to worry for her family like this, shouldn't work so hard to bring happiness only to them."

He let her go, and they smiled at each other.

"We could never go back to that Pinkamena, not after your parties," he said.

"Hooray!" Pinkie shouted, jumping up into the air, her exuberance seeming to lighten up the entire shed. "I was hoping that was true...but I just wanted to be super duper sure...so I thought I would throw a few more parties, just in case."

"Of course, and the party wagon was another 'just in case' measure?"

"Well...something like that, you never know," she admitted.

"Well no use in letting all your work go to waste, do you think you could let an old pony like me help you finish this?"

"Of course! I could really use some help, especially with the cannons," she immediately directed him over to her project, instructing him on how he could help her.

Partway through the construction, he asked an innocent question.

"Pinkamena, you remember Granny Pie, don't you?" an idea had begun to form in his head.

"Of course! She's the one who taught me how to bake those yummy sweets, why?"

It had been quite the trek to the train station, especially pulling the finished wagon behind them, but he knew it would be worth it.

Now they stood by the tracks, waiting for the train that would take his daughter away.

"So how long am I going to be staying with Granny Pie?" Pinkamena asked, perhaps for the twentieth time.

"As long as you want, just think of it like a little vacation from farming. She has a small little bakery and you can help her out while you're there," he explained again.

"And remember, you can come back anytime you want," his wife added. Limestone and Marble nodded happily at this.

Yes, you don't have to stay away too long. Marble gave her sister a hug.

We'll miss you so much when you're gone! Limestone quickly joined in.

Pinkamena's visit to his mother had been easy to set up, just a few letters and it was ready to go. If things worked out, this journey would allow his daughter the chance to meet other ponies, to spread her joy to others.

To see the world.

The fact of the matter was, if this worked...he wouldn't be seeing her for a long, long time.

But that was okay, things at home would be different now.

Marble and Limestone would be happy, he would make sure that they would be happy. Part of him hope they might come to love rock farming as Pinkamena loved her parties, but if they found different paths, he would let follow them with no restrictions.

Things would be better.

"Oh! Is that the train?" Pinkamena said. Staring down the tracks, he saw it was true. The train was here, right on time.

"Get your things ready dear, the staff will put your wagon in one of the end cars," his wife told her.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkamena replied, though he could tell she was a little nervous. The train slowly came to a stop in front of them and together they helped Pinkamena load up all of her things into a cabin.

As a family they stood together for a little while longer.

"Now remember, you can send us a letter every few days if you want. We want to make sure you're doing well," his wife said, giving her a strong hug.

"Okay mom," Pinkamena smiled in her mother's forehooves.

"And try to be on your best behavior, no crazy projects unless you get Granny Pie's permission first," he reminded her.

"I know dad," her silly smile grew wider.

A few more moments they were together, and before he knew it, it was time to leave.

They were back outside the train now, waving to Pinkamena from the window, who's forehoof was nearly a blur, she was waving back so fast.

"Goodbye!"

Their chorus of farewells blended together as the train began to move, gaining speed as it pulled off into the horizon.

He still waved, though he couldn't tell if the rest of the family was.

He didn't care.

This was what was best, for everyone.

Goodbyes don't have to be sad.

"Dad?" a very quiet voice, Marble, had moved alongside him. "Are you crying?"

Just the sun in my eyes.

Of course not, the train's just kicking up a lot of dust.

That's just an optical illusion caused by the refraction of light through my pupil which-

"Yes..."

Author's Note

Do you know some people write fics where Pinkie's family kicks her out of her home because of her special talent? Those stories really make no sense to me. Not at all.

The next chapter I'm looking forward to. Mainly because it is very different from the others. Different in tone I suppose. Can you guess whom it is for?

Broken Things

A father should always be there for his children...his daughter...

He's meant to make her life better. To do whatever he can to help her...

Yet, for the life of him, he had never been able to truly understand his little daughter. To truly be there for her...

He was strong, he was extremely proud of that fact. You could practically see the muscles bulging beneath his skin, his wings spread far and wide. It took only a few beats before he was up in the air, rising above the clouds.

His strength was everything to him, it defined him, gave him a purpose as he fought through the storms that would attack their land. Though he had never had to try it, he was sure that by himself he could fight back an entire hurricane.

Well...he wasn't so sure anymore...

That tremendous strength of his had offered no help as he tried to understand that small yellow pegasus.

Little Fluttershy, his daughter...

He'd tried, tried to hard to understand her, to shape into something they could be proud of...everypony could be proud.

But it all seemed to shatter in his hooves.

All those broken things...looking back now it seemed their relationship was built almost entirely on broken things. Some were so small, easily forgotten as time passed him by. Others were more important, with the blame focused heavily on either of them.

With those there had always been the chance of rebuilding.

But there were three things, those three moments when things had been shattered that could never be repaired.

Those three things had forever shaped how he and his daughter viewed each other.

He moved through the quiet house and found himself staring out a window. It was a beautiful day, though he already knew that since he had helped craft it, and dozen of ponies were happily flitting through the midday sun, either going through their daily business or looking for the perfect place to relax.

He could not find it in himself to go to them. Instead his eyes were drawn to a small corner on the edge of the cloud where his home sat. There...right there was where it had all began. Where things had started to break.

Fluttershy had always started out so small, something that just never seemed to fit. He was tall and sturdy while his wife was tough like an iron whip. However, she grew fast, always ahead of the other ponies around her. When he first sent her to flight camp she almost seemed a head taller than everypone else.

But even with that...she still managed to look small.

She lacked confidence, always walking hunched over with her head stooped to the ground. It was almost like she was trying her hardest to disappear into the background.

That wasn't the way to live, he didn't want that for her. He wanted to help.

She just needed confidence...he could give her that. All it would take was a few flying lessons...

It was a surprise for her one day when she came home from flight school. He'd been ready and waiting for her, an instructor's hat on his head with a small flying course laid out behind him.

"Welcome to your afternoon lessons!" he'd announced to her.

Maybe he should have paid more attention to the look on her face when she saw the course...

Maybe he should have done a lot of different things.

But that look was soon gone, replaced by one of timid readiness, a quickly constructed mask as he would later discover. But until then there was nothing but training.

They started out slow of course, the most important parts of flying were always the basics. Even an expert could be cast out of the sky if they forgot the proper angle to tackle an oncoming gust of wind.

Lessons like this Fluttershy excelled at,she almost seemed happy as he paced in front of her, explaining proper wing technique when going through the sky. At first he was worried that she might be simply nodding along with him, letting such important information pass her by, but when he would throw surprise quizzes at her she would easily answer with pinpoint accuracy.

He was so sure his class was working, but then came the practical application.

He brought her to the start of his homemade course and with a nod of his head, told her to start...

Things went wrong almost immediately.

She started off too fast to pull up over the first obstacle, a small cloud wall, and was forced to awkwardly shift her wings which sent her into a wild spiral. He was nearly flying after her by the time she got herself back under control. Sheepishly, she flew back to the beginning of the course but he just shook his head.

She needed more practice.

So they kept at it, over and over again. He would spend a few more days going over flight techniques and would place her once more at that course.

And every time she would hardly last a minute.

It was like she forgot everything he'd taught her the moment she started to flap her wings. True she may be flying in a slightly straighter spiral each time, it wasn't good enough.

He still had hope for her, but that last day had been the end of it.

They had been practicing as usual, with him giving advice as she moved very slowly through each obstacle of the course when the weather had taken a sudden and dramatic turn for the worse.

He'd learned later that some rookie weather shaper had lost control of a massive batch of rambunctious rain clouds that, when freed, quickly celebrated by joining together to form a massive storm front.

What that meant for them was that a normal afternoon had suddenly been catapulted into a heavy rain storm.

It was not the strength of the storm, but its suddenness that pulled him away from his daughter. Fluttershy fared no better, being flung from their cloud yard into the open air.

For a few seconds the world blended into a confusing mess. Inside out and upside down he tumbled through the air, the rain drenching him in a matter of moments.

But then his instincts took over.

Straighten your wings out, you need to find the current, figure out which way you need to go...

A strong updraft right...there! He managed to latch onto it, righting himself and steadying his flight course.

Try to find a familiar landmark to orient yourself, the sky is very big and quite easy to get lost in.

Luckily he had not gone too far and was able to spy their home through the pouring rain.

His daughter however...was another matter entirely.

Above all else, don't panic.

"Fluttershy!" he tried to scream over the storm and he flew around anda round their home, looking for any glimpse of her yellow coat or pink mane, the stinging rain forcing him to keep his eyes narrowed to a squint.

She should know what to do, she has to know what to do! Flying in turbulent weather was one of the first things they went over!

The rain was getting heavier, he could barely hear himself over the din.

He was growing desperate, there was nopony but him around to find his daughter, and if he couldn't find her...

Don't panic...

No, that wouldn't happen. He was strong, stronger than any pegasus. This storm would not be what defeated.

Another lap around his house and he managed to catch something out oft he corner of his eye. A tiny gray cloud was hovering below the storm front. In fact, looking closer, it almost looked like it was...shivering.

Could she be...

Quickly he flew over and peered over the edge of the cloud. There in the middle, curled up into a ball and completely soaked, was his daughter.

"Fluttershy?" her eyes shot open and he could see how red they were. She must have been crying.

"Dad!" she leapt forward, wrapping her hooves around his neck. "I'm sorry, I couldn't figure out what to do! The wind just kept tossing me everywhere and I couldn't find you! I was so scared..." looking closer he saw how ruffled the feathers were in her wings. She must had tried to fly directly against the storm rather than with it...the complete wrong thing to do.

Finally she must have grabbed a stray cloud out of desperation and just..waited, hoping that somehow she'd be found.

He was so happy he had.

"Are you okay now?" he asked. She just sniffled and nodded her head.

"Can we go home?"

"Of course," he gathered her up in his hooves and together they had flown home. On the way, even with the rain and wind, he could not help but look down at the precious bundle in his hooves.

He saw his daughter...but he also saw so much more. He saw her utter terror from the storm, he saw the trails of tears down her cheeks, he saw her wings...the feathers ruffled and bent by the storm.

He saw what she would never be.

He teaching would never work, would never bring her the confidence he wanted her to have. She was never going to be like him, a strong a confident flier.

No matter what he did she was always going to be so...small...

And then it broke.

That bond, so slim, but with a small chance to grow stronger, shattered into countless pieces.

His faith in her.

There were no more lessons after that, something he doubted Fluttershy minded much at all. But that didn't mean that he saw any less of her. She adore him now, the 'Greatest Dad in the world' who saved her from a terrifying storm. The moment she was home she would begin following him around the house, asking about his day and talking about hers.

It got a little unbearable at times.

"Well I don't think it can be that terrible having to listen to our daughter," his wife told him late one night.

"It's just that she's always asking me for help with anything she does, there's barely enough hours in the day for all of it," he tried to explain. He could never deny her when she asked for his assistance, though he tried with everything he had.

"Well what do you expect? You're her hero after all," that comment had a smug smile attached to it.

"But...I can't do everything for her. I'm not always going to be there for her..."

"But how exactly are you supposed to decide on what to help her with and what to ignore?" she leaned over and nuzzled him affectionately. "Stop worrying so much, this is my first time raising a child too, remember? I'm sure she'll grow out of it soon enough, I've heard they all do. Until that happens, you can be her hero."

"Well..." he gave a small flex of his muscles. "I guess I am pretty heroic looking."

"There you go, now let's get some sleep."

So he continued to help her,

"Um, dad? The clouds are blocking out all the sun, it's too cold outside," even when talking to him, she still sounded so meek.

"Don't worry, I can fix that," he took off into the air, clearing a small hole in the sky, letting the warm sunlight spread down to their home.

"Um, dad?" All requests seemed to start the same. "Can you lift up our sofa? I dropped something underneath it."

"Of course," the task was almost effortless, the couch barely weighed a thing. Fluttershy quickly grabbed a toy from underneath and gave him a hug as a reward.

"I think there's a monster in my room!"

"I can fix that..." he 'scared' the monster away.

"The other ponies at school are mean to me..."

"I can fix that..." them he scared for real, not too much, but enough so they'd leave his daughter alone.

So the days passed by like this, on and on, him helping with anything she could possibly need. Fixing her problems, taking care of her...

Doing anything he could to stay her hero for just a little while longer. Even if he didn't quite understand her...he could be her hero.

But then a message came, late one day as they both sat at home, waiting for her mother.

Some ponies will say they can remember ever single even of the day they received terrible news, that their actions will forever be burned into their mind.

Not him.

He remembered a knock at the door, opening it to see an unfamiliar pegasus. He remembered the stranger's mouth moving, but not the words that came out. The world seemed to blur for a moment, and the next thing he knew he was at the hospital, sitting in a room completely silent but for the steady beeping of some monitor.

A simple infection, exacerbated by too little sleep and too much work, was the cause. That's what they had told them, and he still couldn't quite believe it.

His wife was strong...sometimes it seemed she was almost as strong as he was, and here now she looked as weak as their daughter. He wanted to, no, needed to fix this

He was sorely tempted to start smashing things, to tear this room apart until the world was right again...but he just couldn't bring himself to move.

All he could was sit there and stare at his wife while that monitor continued to beep in a manner that was entirely too cheerful.

"Dad?" Fluttershy peered her head around the doorway, he'd told her to wait in the hallway. "Can I see mom now?"

"...of course" he said after a moment. "Come in, see your mother." Fluttershy was silent as a ghost as she crept into the room, almost tiptoeing to the side of her mother's bed. She look at her mother's face, a face in pain, for a few minutes before looking over to her father.

"Is she going to get better?" he'd asked those exact words to the doctor.

"I don't know...the doctor said we need to wait, to see how much of an effect the treatment has..." he hated saying that, but it was all he had.

"What about you dad? Can't you fix her?"

"What?" was it just him or was that monitor getting louder?

"You're a hero dad!"

beep...beep...

"You have to be able to do something..."

beep...beep...

"You're so strong and amazing..."

beep...beep...

"Please, you've always been able to help me..."

beep...beep...

"Can't you help mom, dad?"

beep...beep...

"Please...tell me you can help her..."

beep...beep...

"You have to-"

"I can't!" he exploded at her, trying so desperately to drown out that machine. "I'm not...I'm not strong enough to help her!"

"B-but...you've always been strong enough before," Fluttershy looked absolutely terrified, but he didn't care. He just needed to make her understand.

"That doesn't matter anymore!" Fluttershy didn't move, she was completely locked to the ground. "Sometimes...sometimes you can't fix things with strength. That's just the way the world works! Sometimes no matter how hard you try you can't fix anything..." his gaze fell back to his wife.

"Like her...like..." he stared at Fluttershy, his little daughter...the daughter who he'd never been able to teach how to fly, the daughter he'd never been able to understand.

"Like you," his voice had fallen so low...but he saw that she'd heard him.

And it broke...

No one should ever see the death of a child's faith. Most children lose such a thing as they grow up, bit by bit it goes away as they see more of the world.

But to see it die, all at once, is almost heartbreaking.

A small fragile light in her eyes flickered and faded away. It took only a few scant moments, but it left her looking...less.

Her faith in him was gone.

"Oh...I'm sorry dad..." it looked like she wanted to say more, but instead simply left the room.

He wanted to chase after her, to try and say more to her.

But he knew it was too late, and he was just so tired.

He spent the next few hours next to his wife before leaving. Fluttershy was waiting in the front area of the hospital for him. Together they went back home and Fluttershy immediately went to bed.

He spent the rest of the night, waiting, in silence.

The treatment worked, his wife recovered almost immediately. They picked her up from the hospital after a few days and took her back home.

The picture of a perfect family.

But things were never the same.

Fluttershy no longer needed him, in fact they hardly even spoke anymore.

They never did much of anything together anymore.

He gave no effort towards trying to fix this, after all, if his strength was of no use with his wife, what chance did it have here?

His words had hit him hard, as well as his daughter.

All he could do now, it seemed, was sit and watch the world pass him by.

Fluttershy continued to go to flight school, and one day he heard something about a rainbow explosion. Somehow he'd managed to miss out on it. Fluttershy came home with her cutie mark, she was so happy, and he was happy for her. So happy.

Even if he didn't understand what her cutie mark meant.

Then one day she left, moving away down to Ponyville, and it was just him and his wife.

Then the stories reached his ears. Stories of how his daughter was a hero now. Of how she valiantly stood against great danger, how she saved their entire world from the monstrous Nightmare Moon.

He wondered if there was any more to that story...

But the fact of the matter was...his daughter was a hero...a true hero.

She had accomplished what he could only pretend at...she's succeeded where he failed...

He was getting very used to failure.

With that the bond that he once help so close, the bond he thought could withstand anything...cracked.

It had been worn away over the years, even since he had tried to control his daughter...it just could not hold anymore.

His faith in himself, in his strength.

Goddesses he was tired...but it had been so long. Perhaps he should contact Fluttershy, just send her a message. Try and break the years of silence.

He pulled out a old drawer, pulling out and old sheet of paper, covered in dust. Gingerly he set it down on a desk and readied a fresh pen in his mouth.

Dear...Fluttershy...

The paper sat there, the two words waiting long after he'd gone to bed, and the day had turned to night.

It would wait for a while longer.

The Wisdom of A Father

A father should always be there for his children...his daughter...

He should be there the very second she's born, ready to lend a helping hoof to his wife after she's be put through so much labor and pain.

He should be there as she grows up, ready and able to give her the lessons she needs in order to understand the world around her. Ready to give her the wisdom only he can offer.

OF course, he never realized how direct an approach he would have to take to give her such wisdom...

Oh he still remembered the days of his youth, racing through the town with his group of friends after paying the barest amount of attention in their classes and causing far more trouble than he would ever dare to admit. With their mischief out of the way they would either retreat to a shady spot outside of town of the comfort of one of their homes. There they would relax and they would simply begin to talk with each other.

They would talk about...well that he couldn't remember. Nothing really important he was sure. The current good-looking mares they'd caught the eye of, which classes they were planning to skip next day, how the world would be theirs once they were a bit older.

So silly really...

There was one conversation he would never forget though.

They were talking about the future, how they would never leave each other behind, what kind of jobs they would have, how beautiful their wives would be...

And then someone had offered a question, maybe it had been him...

"What about kids? What do you want? Boy or girl?"

Of course everyone had said boy, each one eagerly talking about how they would raise him to be a natural athlete who would excel at any task given to them.

Then it had come to him.

"Actually...I think I'd prefer a girl," he'd said, stunning his friends into momentary silence.

"Come on, can't you imagine the fun? She brings home anyone for a date and I get the chance to act as crazy as possible to scare them off. Plus since it's a girl the wife can take care of all the hard parts of raising her!" They'd all had a good laugh at that and the question had quickly been forgotten.

But not by him, especially since he'd lied.

He didn't know why he wanted a daughter...but it certainly wasn't for the selfish reasons he'd just said. Maybe it was because he'd heard raising a daughter was harder than raising a son and was up for the challenge. Or maybe he was simply tired of all the machismo in his life and was looking forward to a bit of femininity.

A bit of something different, something new.

But enough of all of that. It was high time he fought his way out of bed.

At least he had one thing to help pull him out from underneath the covers, the lovely wafting aroma of his wife's cooking slowly drifting its way through their room.

His wife's cooking was really something to behold, he simply couldn't get enough of it. Nopony else ever seemed to agree with him though. Whenever someone shared in her cooking he was sure to receive a bit of polite criticism from them for the next few days.

Perhaps he was the only pony in town with the high tastes required for such exuberant cooking.

With a final grunt of effort he levered himself off the bed and made his way into the kitchen. By all accounts it looked to be a beautiful day. His wife was humming a merry tune as she tended the stove, the customary black cloud of smoke hanging over her, and the sun was shining through their kitchen window illuminating the family table. He bet if he looked out the window there would be a bird perched and singing in the nearby tree.

Though...there was one thing missing from the picture.

There was an unset spot at the table.

"Where's Rarity?" he asked, slowly going over to his spot at the table where a large helping of breakfast was waiting for him.

"Oh you know," his wife said, not even looking away from the stove. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time that question had been asked in the house. "She was staying late with some of those club members from school to help finish a project. It took longer than she thought so she decided to stay over there."

"And which club was it for this time?"

"I think it may have been the sewing club, she was talking earlier this week about how they had a competition coming up soon. Of course, it could have been the drama club, you know how much she loves making their costumes look as perfect as possible," she paused for a moment. "Then again it it could have been the student council, I think they've been trying to get her to help them out as well."

"So exactly how many clubs is she a member of now?"

"I stopped keeping track ages ago. One minuted she'll announce that's she finally finished some big project or other thing and now has a bit of free time and the next minute she be right back at it because they asked for her help with one last project," his wife shrugged a bit, turning off the stove and taking her place at the table. "Sometimes it feels like she's spending more time with the clubs than with us."

"Yes indeed," his eyes fell again on Rarity's empty spot at the table. "It really does."

When had it gotten like this? It wasn't as if they weren't a family any more, nothing like that. It was just...there was an absence where he knew there shouldn't be. A gut feeling.

He was surprised at how much of parenting was built on gut feelings.

When Rarity was born...well...never-mind about that.

When she had begun to grow, to walk and talk, he'd been completely stumped. He'd read the books before she'd been born, those books full of advice on how to raise the perfect child, to ensure that they have a great life without spoiling them into conceited snobs.

None of that advice seemed to fit his daughter.

She was just so...permanent. If she walked into a room you could not help but notice her.

She was so eager to help with her mother and father, so eager to try as many new and different things as possible. Simply entertaining her exhausted him like nothing else.

Except when it came to fishing or other similar activities of course. They had so little in common in terms of personal interests.

Though they had at least one thing in common...

In an effort to help expend some of her energy he'd signed her up for as many different classes as possible. Music classes, cooking classes, sewing classes, he'd even put her in a martial arts class for a short while.

All that seemed to do was drive her towards doing even more things than before.

When the first years of school arrived she signed up for any and all club available to her. Most of them were uncertain at first, not seeing what she could give to them while working for so many others.

Then she'd discovered her cutie mark just in time for the school play and the clubs were tripping over themselves to get her help.

He wondered when they'd realized that a simple plea for help was all it took for Rarity to give her all? Those were her weaknesses, her generosity and her need to be perfect.

But a pony can only stretch themselves so far...

First there had been the bag under her eyes. An incredibly obvious sign of how much time she was spending time on others rather than herself, but not quite large enough for anyone to seriously comment on.

Second to show was her temper. Missing sleep was of no benefit to anypony's mood, and Rarity soon became quick to snap at any interruption to her work. This didn't stop the requests though, now they came mainly via letter rather than speech, and his daughter could not help but accept.

Finally there was this, missing meals, missing her family, all out of an effort to do good for others.

Though he suspected Rarity was a little proud of how good it made her look in return...

Either way, things were going to have to change. It was high time for a father-daughter bonding trip.

Something to stop her from making future mistakes.

"So do you expect she'll be home later today?" he pulled himself out of his thoughts to ask his wife.

"I'd hope so, though it will probably just be to replenish her sewing supplies," she admitted with a shrug. That was good enough for him, the plan was already starting to work itself out in his head.

"All right then. I'm off to work, see you this evening dear," with a few quick bites he finished his breakfast, pecked his wife on the cheek, and happily trotted out the front door.

Walking down the road he could not help but smile.

Rarity would never see this coming.

Rarity had quite literally passed out on top of her bed the moment she had come home, completely exhausted not only by all the work she had just finished, but from knowing that more work awaited her the second she woke up.

She was just so tired...but she knew that she couldn't let any of those ponies down. She had given her word and by Celestia, she would follow it to the very end.

However, what she hadn't prepared herself for was for her father to be waiting right outside of her door holding what appeared to be...no, not that...

"Yes, that!" he annouced as she opened the door. "Here's your fishing pole, I've got the wagon all prepared outside. Hurry up now!"

""Wuh, but..."

"No time for gibberish, if we don't leave soon we're going to miss out on prime fishing time. No need to worry about breakfast I already have some food packed." Still drowsy, she found her hooves obediently following behind her father to the waiting wagon.

The sun had barely even begun to peek over the edge of the horizion, bathing the sky in a myriad of pinks and reds...and reminding her that there was a pink and red dress waiting for her to finish it back at the school.

"I can't go fishing today father! I already have so many commitments I can just simply-"

"Oh don't worry about all of that, you called in sick today," he father interrupted, sounding entirely too happy.

"What? But I did no such thing!"

"Well...it wasn't you exactly, but it's too late to take it back. Now c'mon, get in the wagon and I'll pull us to the lake." How was he still smiling? This was a disaster!

"But I can't go father! I need to-" she started to walk away.

"No, you're going to take a break from all of your projects and spend some quality time with your dad," she suddenly felt the grip of her father's magic. He almost never used magic...there really was no fighting this, was there?

Meekly she let him levitate her into the wagon and quietly grumbled as it began to roll down the smooth dirt road.

She knew exactly where they were going of course. If her father said 'The Lake' there was really only one place they could go. The same place they had gone since she was a little filly. Well...gone to maybe two or three times. He father had an enthusiasm for fishing she could never match and she had respectfully declined most of his invitations to any further trips.

That did not stop his talking about it of course. From all of his stories she could bet that she knew the fish in lake just as well as he did.

Perhaps she could just humor him for a bit, catch one or two fish, and then she'd still have enough time to work on her projects, if not finish them.

He was irritatingly silent as they pulled up to the edge of the lake, which did not help her mood, though she could not help but admire the smooth surface of the water reflecting the first few beams of daylight.

Her father stayed silent as they unloaded the boat and set adrift in the water. Without a single word they both stepped into the boat and cast the lines of their fishing poles.

Now all they could do was wait.

Rarity remembered the first time on the lake, whining and whining about just how boring fishing was.

"We just sit and wait and wait and wait and wait!" she'd said, rocking the boat with her vibrant energy. "Isn't there any more to fishing?"

"Sort of," her father had said, somehow keeping his voice calm. "It's a battle of wits really. You go out into the water trying to follow the sort of fish you want to catch. Then you need to pick the right kind of bait based on what they've been biting recently and then you need to make sure you cast your line correctly in order to get their attention without scaring them away. The waiting part is a careful anticipation if all your hard work payed off."

Then he'd shook his head and grinned at her,

"But for me, I just use it as an excuse to sit back and relax in the sun," then he'd gone back to staring as his fishing pole.

Honestly, she hadn't understood then, and she still didn't understand now.

"So...how long are we going to stay here?" she finally decided to ask.

"As long as it takes," was all the answer she got.

"As long as it takes...for what?" she glared at her father. "Surely you didn't bring me all the way out here, away from my many projects, just to sit silently in a boat!"

"Well I was hoping you could see...how nice it was to have a whole day without being...hounded by your projects," her father explained, slowly reeling in his lure. "And hopefully, get the chance to tell you a story."

"What kind of story?" she asked. He gave a small chuckle before talking again.

"The fact is, I used to dislike fishing just as much as you."

"I could never understand those silly older ponies who could sit, for hours at a time, out in a boat waiting for the barest hint of motion form their fishing poles. Then even when they managed to catch a fish, all they'd do was let them go. I had a job and a wife and I simply didn't have the time for such silly activities..."

"I spent all of my time working, taking any and all commissions offered to me. I would travel to neighboring towns simply because I thought that there was no way the job would get done without me. Plus, it simply felt good to be relied on so much. But then I missed something..."

Her father went quiet again, staring out over the lake as their boat slowly drifted across the water.

"I had already made the commitment, I had to go far out of town to do this job, I couldn't let them down. I thought I'd be able to finish the job fast enough...fast enough to get back for..."

"For what?" she asked.

"For...you..." was what her father answered.

"The day you were born, I wasn't there. I let your mother down...I let you down."

"But, that wasn't your fault. You had to be there," Rarity tried to argue for him.

"No I didn't, not really. I could have said no, could have simply chosen to stay home. Your mother didn't blame me, though she was still a bit upset. And I don't think I can ever really forgive myself. I'm your father, I should have been there."

"That's the thing about being generous to anypony that asks. You keep giving and giving and giving...and eventually there's nothing left for yourself," he said. "You can't keep up with it, you can't live like that, not without letting someone down."

"But I haven't let any of them down yet," she admitted, perhaps a bit too proudly.

"But you will, eventually, that's the point," she started to reply but he stopped her. "How many different groups are you helping right now? And how many others are asking for your help?"

"Well...that's...I..." she tried to come up with a number but the truth was she'd stopped trying to keep track a while ago.

"Exactly, even you can't handle everything."

Rarity was silent for a few moments, it was odd to hear her father talk like this, with such...conviction.

"Because I'm betting the world will still be able to turn without you helping those clubs. Because part of being generous...is knowing when not to be," a pause. "Because sometimes you need time for yourself, to make sure you don't miss anything important."

"So...What do you think I should do?"

"Easy, finish the projects you've almost finished and as for the rest...turn them down except for a few. Don't stop helping, but do it at a more reasonable rate. The clubs will not fail without you," he was smiling.

"And what what about right now? What should I do?" she indicated her fishing pole which had just begun to twitch.

"Oh! Hold it steady and make sure the fish won't get away," he quickly instructed, helping her get a grip on the pole.

Absentmindedly, Rarity let her gaze wander up to the sky. The sun had managed to rise up into the sky, show its brilliance to all the land.

It really was a beautiful day...

Author's Note

I did it, at least one chapter before Christmas.

I guess this is a bit of my head-canon as to why Rarity doesn't give everything away despite being the element of generosity. Or something.

Next up is Applejack, mainly because I've run out of ponies. Will try to not make it sad, but I might slip, so who knows.

Think there will be at least one more chapter after that.

No idea how this chapter got over three thousands words. Weird.

I Didn't Mean To

A father should always be there for his children...his daughter...

He's got to answer the questions she asks, from the silly small ones, to the very important big ones.

Sometime...he has to lie, even if he doesn't know it at the time.

How many promises do fathers make to their children, promises they know will have to be broken?

I'm lost...I wish I was home... I need to be home

Applejack, Applejack, Applejack...the second little bundle of joy added to their family, and probably not the last. One of the many things the Apple Family could be proud of the was size and strength of their family. Their gatherings were most certainly a sight to behold, so bright and loud and simply...full of life. And often the cause of many noise complaints from the main town of Ponyville, though that never did much to deter their partying.

It was at Applejack's first family gathering when he'd made his first promise to her. She'd been so small then, but had been absolutely determined to be a part of every moment of her life. Everything started off so well at first, he had proudly carried his daughter through the crowds of relatives on his back, doing his best to hoist her as high as possible in order to give her a view of all the festivities.

Then he had set her down for a moment, just a moment. Brother Orange or Cousin Pear, he couldn't quite remember anymore, needed to talk to him about the finer points of barn raising and while that was a topic he was certainly an expert on, it wasn't something you could talk about with a child scampering around for your back.

"Stay here," he'd said, foolishly assuming that she'd listen to him. Of course, after a few minutes of conversation she was nowhere to be found. He hadn't meant to lose her, how did these things happen? More importantly, could he find her before his wife realized what he'd done?

He had torn through the gather as fast as his legs could carry him, looking into every nook and cranny that could hide an inquisitive filly, but all to no avail. He was just about ready to climb on top of a table and start screaming her name when his eyes spied an incredibly curious site. A filly happily gorging herself on a large pile of apple fritters beneath one of their many picnic tables.

Of course, where else would she go besides the table that served her favorite food.

"Don't ever scare me like that again Applejack!" he said to her after pulling her away from the food.

Immediately he'd known his tone had been too harsh. He had meant to sound concerned, not angry, but the tears that began to well up in his daughters eyes showed him exactly what his words had done.

He hadn't meant to sounds cruel, hadn't meant to make Applejack sad.

It was always so strange to him, the profound effect a few tears could have one him. It could transform his daughter, a young filly he already viewed as one of the most precious things in existence, into a pure paragon purity and innocence. Something he would do anything in his power to make smile again.

He had always heard that fathers were always meant to be the tough parent, but no matter what he tried he could not fit himself into that role.

"Hey, it's okay Applejack," he said, setting her down on a picnic bench. "Sometimes dads just sound angry when we're scared. But we don't mean it, not really."

"Really really?" the words from his daughter were quiet and meek, he had known he would need to say something more significant to get her trust back.

"Really really. And how about this? We can make a promise so that I never need to be scared or sound angry again," he'd prayed that this would work.

"What kind of promise?"

"A good promise, one from each of us. If I promise not to leave you again, you promise not to wander away from me. We'll be partners in crime, does that sound good?

"Okay dad," his daughter nodded, a smile slowly creeping on to her face.. "I promise I won't sneak away from you again."

"And I promise I won't leave you again."

And then there it was, the smiling face of his daughter who was simply happy to be spending time with her father.

But that promise would stick with them far longer than he had expected.

I will never forgive myself if I do something, anything, to let her know...

It seemed from that day onward Applejack stuck to him like glue. She would be waiting for him the moment he woke up to tag along for the morning chores. He assumed she'd grow bored quickly but there she was, constantly prancing behind the plow as he dug up the fields, happily gathering up the apples he bucked from the trees, and doing her best to raise the beams meant to support their new barn. Day after day after day she was with him.

Of course this wasn't completely one sided. If his daughter ever had the inkling to go off sightseeing or adventuring he'd, of course, have to go with her.

From these escapades he was sure that he'd met at least thirty or forty new ponies from Ponyville, some from simple circumstances such as bumping into them while following his daughter through the town, and many others through...less than respectable occurrences.

"So why was your daughter clambering around on my rooftop?" a blue mare was giving him a very respectable stare down as he awkwardly stood in her kitchen.

"She wanted to see if there was a faster way to get around town instead of using the roads," he tried to say as nonchalant as possible.

"And why didn't you stop her?"

"Well I needed to catch up with her first."

"Over the rooftops?" he was starting to suspect her gaze the was literally burning the hair on his face.

"They seemed to hold her weight well enough."

"You do realize you are larger than your daughter, don't you?"

"Of course! Well...I mean..."

"So you will be paying to replace my roof?"

"Dad! Hurry up!" sheepishly, he glanced upward to see his daughter's face peering over the edge of a him sized hole in the roof that had unceremoniously dumped him into this mare's kitchen.

"...yes."

He'd definitely not meant for many of those incidents to happen, but overall it seemed that promise had been great for the both of them. It gave them an easy excuse to spend time together. But a promise like that isn't something you can keep forever.

Sometimes things happen, even if you don't mean them to, and all you can do is...all you can do is...

"She's not going to say goodbye?" he had asked his wife.

"Of course not, she's still up in her room fuming at you," his wife shook her head. "You should try to say something to her before we leave."

"But I don't know what to say! This is just a short trip to go to your brother's wedding," the second he had announced the trip to Applejack she'd become furious and had retreated to her room.

"Obviously it's more than that to her than that. Hurry, go talk to her. We're leaving soon," she pointedly jerk her head towards the stairs that lead to Applejack's room.

"Right," he turned away and cautiously began to walk up the stairs. He paused in front of his daughter's bedroom door, wondering if he should knock not. Realizing that she wouldn't answer even if he did, he instead pushed the door slowly open.

Her room as quite the mess, boots and jackets strewn over the floor with ever drawer of her dresser pulled out haphazardly, though to be honest that wasn't too far the norm. What really grabbed his attention was Applejack lying on the bed, her head firmly jammed into a pillow.

He hadn't meant for this to happen.

"Applejack?" he said, walking over to the bed, doing his best not to trip over the piles of clothing.

"Go away," came the muffled reply.

"Applejack, what's wrong?" he tried again.

"What do you think?" a thrown pillow followed this reply. Quickly ducking under the attack he moved closer to his daughter.

"I think I have a very grumpy child that I would like to be less grumpy. The biggest problem is that I can't do that unless she tells me why she's so grumpy," he attempted to make his voice sound a bit more stern than normal, to maybe come across as serious for once in his life. It seemed to work as Applejack rolled over slightly so that he could see her face.

It was not a cheerful face.

"You're leaving me for some silly wedding," she said after a few moments. "You didn't even give me a chance to go."

"You mean for your uncle Orange? Applejack, you don't to go to that wedding, there's nothing fun for you to do there," plus the invitations had specifically said not to bring children. His brother and soon to be sister-in-law were nowhere near being fans of young ponies.

"So? You're still leaving me all alone here..." Applejack's eyes narrowed slightly, not a good sign.

"You're not gonna be alone, you've got your brother and Granny Smith to make sure you don't get up to too much trouble," he tried to explain.

"That doesn't matter! You're leaving me dad! You're breaking your promise!" Now he could clearly see the distraught in her face, and he mentally kicked himself for being so oblivious. Of course this was what had made her so upset, he hadn't realized because, well...

"Applejack it's only for a few days and-"

"That's like forever dad! And you said you'd never ever leave," she cut him off.

"Well...I..." he stopped talking, trying to think of a way out of this. He didn't want to admit to breaking his promise, he didn't want to be that kind of dad.

What to do...what to do...

He absentmindedly tapped the brim of his hat when a plan popped into his head.

"Okay Applejack, how about this?" in one smooth motion he took off his hat and neatly place it on her head where it quickly fell over her eyes. "That's my very very favorite hat, I haven't left it behind somewhere for as long as I can remember. It's a part of me."

Applejack moved the hat up a bit, looking very confused.

"I'm going to leave this hat with you, and I want you to take extremely good care of it. As long as that hat is here, a part of me is always with you, understand?"

Applejack removed the hat from her head and looked it over. He hadn't been lying when he said he couldn't remember the last time he'd forgotten his hat, it was old and worn felt, weathered down over the years until he was surprised that it still held together. He had to admit though, Applejack seemed to wear it better than he ever did.

"I think so Dad, as long as I've got this you're not really gone. Plus...you'll always come back to make sure I kept the hat safe right?"

He couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Of course Applejack. You see? I always keep my promises, I'm always going to be here for you," he rubbed the top of her head and carefully placed the hat back on her. "Now, can you take care of your brother and granny while we're at the wedding?"

"Yeah!" she saluted him. "You can count on me dad!"

He had to smile, what else could he do?

I'm sorry Applejack

It had stopped hurting, that had surprised him, he didn't think it would ever stop.

I need to get home, I need to get back

He couldn't move, couldn't feel anything. But he had to try, he had to. He would never forgive himself if he didn't give everything he had.

And he knew Applejack would never forgive him either.

We should've stayed, stayed home, stayed with them

How had this happened, how had everything gone wrong so quickly.

It shouldn't have happened, he didn't mean for it to happen. So many thoughts and images were running through his mind, but the one thing he could focus one...was his daughter.

Applejack sitting at home, the hat firmly on her head, and waiting for him to return. Waiting for the longest time.

Please, I need to go back! I need to stay with her, I need...I need...

There was nothing left in him, he was tired, exhausted. He couldn't get up...couldn't get home.

He would never be home again...he would never see his children again.

He could never apologize for not keeping his promise. For not being there, for not seeing them grow, not seeing them become the amazing ponies he always knew they would.

For not making the kind of promise he could always keep.

I'm sorry Applejack...I'm sorry that I'm not there...

He could barely even think now.

Be safe...be strong...stronger than me...

I love you...

Author's Note

100% on time. One more chapter. A short one, gimme a day or two.

You ever see Lady In The Water? Not a good movie, but it does have some good scenes, especially where this guy has to admit his grief over his dead family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjhAKyiRL0k

What They Need

A father should always be there for his children...his daughters.

A father needs to be a symbol for them. A pillar of strength, wisdom, charisma. Someone for them to look up to, to aspire to be.

But as time passes, things change. No matter how hard you fight against it, things will always change.

Sometimes your daughters gain a strength of their own, they began to leave you behind. They no longer needed you as a shield, they were plenty strong all by themselves.

Sometimes they excel in ways you couldn't even dream of, taking every challenge you knew and passing it by without a second thought. Sometimes you didn't want to accept it, that they were so much greater than anyone, so much greater than you. But you need to, you need to show them how proud you are that...they don't need you anymore.

Sometimes you can't help them. Sometimes you need to take them out of your life. You need to send them someplace where they'll be happier, where they could spread their joy to so many others. Sometimes you have be able to say goodbye, knowing just how long it will be before you'll see them again.

Sometimes your strength isn't what they need, sometimes all the effort you put towards protecting them only hurts them, makes them more vulnerable to the danger all around you. Sometimes you hurt them, and they hurt you right back. Sometimes you end up losing them, and you can barely bring yourself to try and get them back.

Sometimes your daughter tries to do too much with her life. Sometimes she ends up doing so much more than she can handle that she may up hurting herself. Sometimes you need to take her a step back from her life to help her realize her own limits.

Sometimes you makes promises you can't keep, and no matter how hard you try life end up taking all choices away from you. Sometimes you try with everything you have, put all your strength towards the goal of a happy family...and your children end up without a father.

Children need their fathers...at first...

A knock at the the door, who could that be?

But as time goes by, you might find...

The door opens, and you can't believe what you see...

That Fathers...

Hi dad! Guess what? You and mom get to spend a whole day with a Princess!

C'mon dad, I've got tickets to the Wonderbolt show in 10 minutes! Let's go! And after the show maybe...maybe we can finally succeed in cooking something together, I don't know...

Surprise dad! I hope you enjoy my patented "Daughter Is Here To You Visit You Out of The Blue" special party!

I...I got your letter dad. May I come in?

I do hope you have the time for a bit of tea father, it seems that all my orders have been put off for the next few days.

Need their daughters...

A pony stand atop that hill, in front of two stone markers. Silently, she taps the rim of her hat.

I miss you dad...though...not as bad as I used to. I still remember you know? I remember what you said, that you're always here with me. And you were right. I've got your hat, the home, the farm, everything. You're always watching out for us.

Don't worry, we're all okay. Our whole family is as happy as could be.

She pauses.

I promise.

Author's Note

I was planning to do a chapter concerning Spike and his 'father' figures. Another idea was a chapter for Mr. Cake considering he was basically another father to Pinkie Pie, but I've already written stories about the both of them and I feel I'd covering the same ground.

So this is it, a nice short simple ending that I hope fits.

Forever Staring At Their Back

A father should always be there for his children...his daughter...

He's supposed to teach her what to do in this world, how to live. He's supposed to stand by her side if she ever needs help...

So why in Equestria was his daughter so fast? Why was he constantly forced to be so far behind her? Who had decided to bless her so that...so that she would never need him?

He did not resent his daughter for this though, she was truly the most important part of his life...but he couldn't help but wish that he could be a more important part of hers.

She was so small when she was born, they never really tell you how small a newborn foal is. Movies always manage to get it wrong, maybe it was more dramatic if the foals were larger, or maybe the camera just added ten pounds...he didn't know. Books on the matter would always be more truthful, but simply reading about something and seeing it in person were two entirely different things.

The sight had actually made him worried. Seeing that small bundle held gently in the hooves of his wife caused him to instantly picture a young frail Pegasus, so unsure of herself, so unready to take the leap of faith that would lead to her first chance at life.

Well he was determined that his vision would never come to pass. He made a promise to himself that he would make his daughter the greatest flier Equestria had ever, and would ever, see.

He had been so naive with that promise.

It was almost as if she was racing to get out her crib. They would so often find her galloping through the clouds surrounding their home, far faster than him or his wife had expected. Time passed and she only grew faster, stronger. It seemed as if everyday she was begging him to teach her how to fly, to take the first leap into the vast blue sky.

"Not yet," he would always tell her. "One day at flight school and I'll take you out as much as you want." He was so excited to see her fly, but he wanted to make sure she would be safe as well.

Soon the day of reckoning came and he was sending off Rainbow Dash to school.

"Now be sure to pay attention and learn everything you can about flying. Make me proud, okay?" he grinned down at her.

"As long as you promise to be ready to teach me how to fly!" she returned, her gaze determined.

"I promise Dashie," his daughter groaned a little at the nickname before jumping on the sky chariot that would take her to school. As it pulled away he stood there, waving and waiting diligently until it disappeared from view.

He walked back home to find his wife just getting out of their bed. Being in charge of the nighttime weather routine took quite the toll on her sleeping schedule.

"Oh...I missed it didn't I?" she said as he waked into the room, ending the sentence with a massive yawn.

"Don't worry, she understood. Besides, there will be more school days," he nuzzled against her neck. "I just hope her first day will go well for her."

"What do you mean?" his wife said, sounding a little more awake now.

"Well...if they still do things the same as when we went then the first say is all about safety. All the things that can go wrong when flying and how to avoid them. I hope it doesn't make her afraid of flying..."

At that, his wife began to chuckle. A light hearted silly thing that he had always loved. Though he did love it a little more when it wasn't directed at him.

"And what is that for?" he said, pulling away slightly.

"Just wait for Rainbow Dash to get home later today. I think you'll see," was all she told him.

"Let's go dad!" Rainbow Dash announced, already so sure of herself. She hadn't even bothered to go inside after the sky chariot had dropped her off at home, instead rushing to the edge of the clouds nearby.

Almost stunned at her eagerness, he found himself nodding at her. Without a moment's hesitation she crouched down and leapt off of the edge of the cloud.

Her wings spread out into the calm afternoon breeze, a little too quickly he noticed, she'd lose some speed from drag, but still very good for a first attempt.

"Careful now," he called back. "I don't want to lose sight of you." His own wings spread out and he quickly joined her in the air, making sure to stay close just in case she needed him.

Well, at least he tried to stay close.

"Come on dad, how am I gonna get lost? It's the sky, there's just clouds and stuff up here," his daughter said, drifting slowly back and forth, still a little unsteady. "Besides, there's no way you're gonna be able to keep your eyes off of...this!" With that she rushed straight down in a powerful dive, going from a nice safe speed to impossibly fast in just a few seconds.

He nearly cried out in fear, quickly going into a dive of his own to try and catch up with her. He was drawing closer with Rainbow Dash suddenly twisted in mid-air, completely altering her direction. She'd turned her massive boost of speed into a spiraling corkscrew through the air.

It was by no means perfect, he could see that her trajectory was off center. But still...it was something he never would have expected.

He hovered in the air, silent, as his daughter flew back over to him.

"So what did you think dad? Pretty awesome huh?" she asked, obviously eager for his answers. He simply sat there for a few seconds, stunned.

"Did you learn that at school?" he finally said.

"Yup! Well...sorta," a sheepish grin grew on her face. "The teacher spent so long talking about proper wind safety and wing care, but at the end she pulled out a projector and showed us this amazing film of some Pegasus flying through the air! She let the class out for recess or something but I asked her if I could watch the film again. Well she let me watch it three more times and I got a pretty good idea of how to pull off the trick."

"But c'mon dad, it was cool right?" she asked again.

"Yeah...it's great," he found himself saying. "Keep it up and one day you're gonna be an amazing flier.

"You really think so?" she said, fluttering a little high in excitement.

"Yup, just keep being...perfect."

And life went on.

Rainbow Dash continued to go to school and he would always be there to wave her goodbye, even when it got to the point that she told him it was embarrassing.

"Don't you know? That's one of a Dad's jobs, to embarrass his kids," he'd said with a goofy grin. Rainbow Dash had rolled her eyes, but he could tell she wasn't as upset anymore.

Sometimes his wife managed to wake up early enough to see her daughter off, sometimes now, but she tried and he didn't think she minded that much.

Then after School Rainbow Dash would be waiting outside the home, ready to show him all the great tricks she'd learned in school just by seeing them, or even just hearing about them. All he had to do was sit and watch her, watch her in all of her splendor.

He was so proud...

Yet seeing it all hurt him in a way he had never imagined.

She didn't need him, from the very beginning she hadn't needed him. It almost didn't seem fair, he was so prepared to be a father, to be someone who could teach his children everything they needed to know...

That had been taken away from.

Every day as he observed these great tricks, as Rainbow Dash grew stronger and stronger without him, he found himself wishing, wishing with a small quiet voice in the back of his mind.

Wishing that just once, his daughter needed help with something, that she might fail at something.

He hated that voice, he hated that wish, he tried everything he could to quiet it down. To try and make his love and pride outweigh such petty jealousy. But as time went by, he found it harder and harder to stick to that vow.

One specific moment was when he found himself sitting at home after Rainbow Dash had left and his wife was still sleeping. He was dutifully cleaning the house up, ensuring that his family would always return to a welcoming home.

While double checking for dust residue he thought he heard something, a strange far off 'popping' sound in the distance. He had all of two seconds to ponder the sound when a massive shock wave seemed to shake through the house, rattling all of their shelves.

He rushed to his bedroom to make sure he wife was okay only to find her sitting up in bed, seemingly fine.

"Are you all right dear?" he said just to be sure.

"I'm fine...but look," she raised a hoof to point out towards the window. Following it, he could not believe what he was seeing.

A massive rainbow was stretching across the sky, growing larger every second. At the end of it it almost looked like there was a...pony helping to trace it through the open air.

"A sonic rainboom..." his wife whispered. "I thought that was a just an old mare's tale..."

"I guess not," he said, in just as much awe as her.

"Who do you think made it?" his wife asked.

"No idea, but I doubt it will be a secret for long," he said to her, but the small voice spoke up in the back of his mind.

You know who caused it, after all, who else could've done it?

He found himself wishing the voice was wrong...

It wasn't.

Everypony wanted to talk to him afterwards, wanting to hear about the miracle his daughter was able to perform. They invited themselves into his home, barraging him with so many question about how she pulled it off.

He could not answer them, because he truly had nothing to do with it.

Of course they refused to understand such a simple statement, absolutely sure there was some secret technique him or his wife had taught her, some old family secret.

Eventually he couldn't stand it any more and simply stopped answering questions, locking the door when any more curious ponies came to the door.

That took care of one thing, they still needed to figure out what to do with Rainbow Dash.

Their daughter was absolutely ecstatic, proudly showing off her new cutie mark, along with a veritable mountain of letters she'd received.

So many flight camps had heard of her amazing feat and were clamoring over themselves in an attempt to enlist her. She was a little young, to be honest, but they were ready and willing to look over it.

"Where do you think I should go dad?" his daughter asked, spreading the letters out on their kitchen table. "I think there's one here all the way from Manehattan! Can you believe it?" She was positively beaming.

"Pretty believable considering the letter is right in front of me," he slowly scanned his eyes over the pile. "Do you want to go to Manehattan?"

"Well...it does look really great but I was thinking more like this one," digging through the letters she pulled out a brochure and passed it over.

"Junior Speedsters," he read before examining the brochure. "What made you choose this one?"

"Well I heard that some of the Wonderbolts went there! You know...before they were Wonderbolts. It'll be full of a bunch of other really cool Pegasus and even some griffons!" Rainbow Dash stepped back a little, looking down at the floor. "Plus it's pretty close to Cloudsdale so I can come back home in case...well just in case I want to come home or something."

There was something in those words...but he wasn't quite sure what it was. He tried to get a better look at Rainbow Dash but in the next moment she was all smiles again.

"Well I'll need to talk to your mom, but it does sound like a good camp," he placed the brochure down and was immediately blindsided by a flying hug.

"Thank you! You're the best dad in the whole world!" his daughter said, her face buried in his chest.

"Y-yeah..." was all he could say.

The decision was practically made at that moment. His wife had little to say on the matter, simply giving the brochure a quick look over before nodding her approval.

Before he could say 'Have a nice trip' Rainbow Dash was packed and out of the door, leaving things...a little bit emptier.

Without his daughter around everything seemed so much more...quiet, like there was simply less energy in the air.

But he was still able to admit to himself, without her there things were easier. Fewer ponies came around in an attempt to get an interview, there were no more perfect performances to watch, to were no more reminders of a greatness that had needed no help from him.

Part of him felt happy, relieved.

And the other parts felt guilty for being so happy.

He did receive several letters as the weeks passed, packed full of all the great things she was learning, how he wouldn't believe the awesome tricks she could do now.

How he was gonna be so proud of her.

Then a letter arrived that was not from his daughter, it was from the camp itself. An invitation.

The students were putting on an aerial show to display their new skills and the parents were cordially invited to view the wonderful fliers the camp had shaped their children into.

He found himself standing over the trash-bin, the letter in hoof. How easy it would be to say he'd never gotten the invitation, to apologize that he missed out on her show.

So easy...

"Honey, we've got a letter," he gently shook his wife awake, smiling as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.

The crowd was certainly a unique one, Pegasus and griffon parents happily mingling together, waiting to see their darling children perform.

They'd gotten there a bit late and were forced to sit near the edge of the crowd, but he didn't mind. With the sky as their theater, he doubted they'd miss much.

The show was about the started when he noticed a Pegasus stepping towards the crowd. Was that one of the staffers? And were they moving closer to them?

They were.

Obviously trying to appear nonchalant they stopped next to his wife and leaned down to whisper in her ear. Without another word his wife stood and walked off.

Now what was that all about.

He stared after them, watching as they disappeared into one of the buildings. After a few minutes they stepped back out and his wife made a beeline for him. Drawing closer he was able to pick out a strange look on her face.

She looked absolutely determined.

"You need to speak to your daughter," she announced, almost glaring down at him.

"Wait, why? What's happening?" he tried to asked, but she was having none of that. She practically dragged him out of the crowed and pushed him over to the building. He stopped by the door and looked back at her for some sort of explanation. She simply gestured at the door, staying silent.

Sighing, he pushed through the door.

"Um...hello?" the inside seemed completely empty. He almost thought this was some sort of practical joke when his ears managed to catch something.

Sniffling.

Following the noise he was led to the corner of the room, where a cyan colored rainbow maned Pegasus sat, her head turned away from him.

"Dashie?"

"H-hey dad...I was hoping mom wouldn't get you," she turned around, viciously rubbing her eyes with a fore-hoof. They were bright red, from tears.

"Oh Dashie, what happened?" he whispered.

"Oh you know...allergies. Did you know the clouds store pollen, so it's way worse up here than down on the ground...or something," it was a pathetic excuse, and he could tell that she didn't even believe it.

"Rainbow Dash, You can tell me, it's okay," she paused for a bit, seeming to think it over. Finally she took a deep breath and started talking.

"I'm afraid dad. They asked me to lead this huge show and I know I'm gonna make some mistake and ruin everything!" she shook her head. "I don't want you to see how bad I am..."

Now he was even more confused.

"What are you talking about? Not once at home did you ever mess up on your tricks. Why would you ever think that you'd mess up?" he said to her, taking a seat on the floor.

"Because...you always saw me after I was done practicing the trick! At flight school I spent every second making sure those tricks were great. It...didn't always go well," she explained. "The other students thought up a nickname for me, 'Rainbow Crash.'"

"But I didn't listen to them. I worked harder and harder and harder just to show them, and I did! I did a sonic rainbow, I made the impossible possible!" she seemed to smile at this, pulling herself up, before suddenly dropping back down. "But that didn't help for long. Everyone expects so much from me now, I'm doing so many tricks in this show I can barely keep them all in my head!

"Rainbow Dash...why didn't you tell me this before? You looked so happy, I could have tried to help you..." he said, though the words didn't seem to sound right to him.

"I put on that happy face so you wouldn't be disappointed in me dad. Whenever I did my tricks for you it always felt like...you thought I could better. But now I'm trying to do so much stuff I don't think...I don't think I can anymore..." she looked away from, down at the floor.

Well congratulations, you got your wish. She finally needs some help. Does that make you feel better?

"Not at all," he whispered to himself. The noise pulled Rainbow Dash's attention back to him.

Slowly, softly, he pulled his daughter into a hug.

"Oh Dashie, I have always been proud of you. You are the greatest flier in all of Equestria, even if you weren't I would still be proud. You are so strong, determined, and willful. I don't think any father could be as proud as me," he told her. "You gave all you could to be the best you could be."

"You did it without help from anyone."

"You were there dad, don't you remember? You were there at my first lesson, telling me to learn everything I could. You were there to wave at me every morning before I went to school. "

"You gave me everything I needed."

They sat like that for awhile, so content in their need for each other. But soon they had to pull away.

"Are you ready to fly?" he asked.

"Promise you'll still love me if I mess up?" a silly grin covered her face.

"I will love you no matter what..."

He sat in the crowd, awaiting the show.

It was perfect, she was perfect.

Everything was finally perfect.

Author's Note

Did you know my original plan was to have these chapters be a thousand words? Haha...I'm bad as guessing story lengths...

I wrote this very fast so spelling errors are probably very prevalent, but I wanted to get this up before vacation started...still I do apologize for it.

Tell me what you think about this dad and take a guess at what chapter I'm looking forward to writing the most. What chapter are you looking forward to the most? We've got 5-ish chapter left after all.