Caramel sat in the dark at the foot of his bed. The room was silent save for the occasional ticking of the clock on the wall and the shuffling of hooves as he turned a small object over and over again in his grasp. He stared at the little wooden box, examining every inch of its weathered frame like he had so many nights before. It had been a gift from his father, or at least the object inside was. Both the box and its contents had been together for so long that it felt weird to think of them as separate objects. The box had been treated and polished to keep it from splintering, but the years still showed in the scratches that marred its normally smooth surface. Lines crisscrossed with and against the natural grains of the wood, almost creating their own pattern, like they were intentional. Caramel had almost considered having the box replaced, but he never did. Just like his father never had, and his father before him. He liked to think that maybe an impossibly old ancestor had made some of those scratches. Perhaps there was an untold history hidden in the scars of this box. Maybe his dad had just been careless with it. Who really knows?
Caramel turned the box a few more times before he positioned it with one of the seams facing him. He sighed and gently pushed the lid open. Inside the box was a shining silver pendant attached to a matching silver chain. He lifted the pendant out of the box and dangled it in front of his face to get a closer look. Engraved on both the front and back was an image of the two royal sisters circling each other, the very same image as the one on the Equestrian flag. Other than the picture, the pendant was very plain. Unlike the box, no scratches adorned the pendant's exterior. Caramel took great pride in caring for the artifact. He polished it almost every day, and never let anypony else touch it. It had been a gift to one of his ancestors from Princess Luna, back before she had been banished to the moon. Since then, it had passed through many generations from father to son until it finally had landed in his own hooves. After one thousand years, nopony really remembered the exact circumstances behind the gift. Caramel had thought about asking the princess herself, but it never seemed like it would be worth it to bother her from her undoubtedly busy schedule. Regardless of the reason, it was a priceless family heirloom that had a lot of history behind it, known or otherwise, and was worth preserving.
Caramel gently lowered the old pendant back into its box and closed the lid. He reached a hoof out to set the box back on its stand when he felt the bed shift behind him. In the low light, he was able to see a blonde mane poking out from the covers. The pony underneath twisted and turned in an attempt to shake the blankets off.
"'Mel, iss four thirty inna mornin'. What are you doing up?"
Caramel turned the rest of his body to face his groggy marefriend, who had just managed to escape the clutches of the bedspread. Her powder blue coat stuck up in spots from laying on her side too long, and her mane wasn't much better off.
"Sorry 'Flash. I was just... thinkin'."
Sassaflash took a moment to let her eyes focus before settling her gaze on the object in Caramel's hoof. She let out a deep sigh and pushed herself up into a sitting position.
"You're thinking about him again."
"Yeah."
Sassaflash took a look at the calendar on her nightstand and noted the date. For seven years now, it had been like this, always on this same day.
"Caramel, you know you can't see him."
"I know."
Caramel's defeated tone of voice cut straight into Sassaflash's heart. She inched closer to her coltfriend and pulled him into a tight hug. He didn't return the hug at first, but she had expected that. She knew what he was dealing with. All she could do is be there for him.
"I know it hurts, but you need to let this go. I'll always be here, but I can't help you until you help yourself."
"I know."
The two sat in the darkness and held each other in silence until the clock chimed to signify a new hour. Sassaflash scowled at the offending device and released Caramel from her grasp.
"I've gotta get some sleep. Got work in the morning. Are you gonna be okay?"
"Yeah."
Sassaflash tilted Caramel's head up with her hoof until their eyes met. He still looked a little upset, but he would be fine, she knew. She playfully teased his mane a bit and gave him a quick kiss on his nose before turning back onto her side and pulling the covers back over her.
"Good night, Caramel. Try to get some rest."
"Yeah."
Caramel dug his hoof in the grass, rubbing circles in the dirt underneath him. He sat alone against a tree near the Ponyville schoolhouse, counting the seconds in his head to pass the time. He occasionally swiveled his head back and forth to keep an eye out for something, but his eyes always returned to the building in front of him. From the position of the sun, he figured he still had about ten minutes to wait. He pulled an apple out of his saddlebag and took a bite. It was a simple lunch, but that suited Caramel just fine. He finished off the first apple and then a second, though he was too preoccupied to really savor the taste.
Before he could start in on a third apple, a bell sounded from the schoolhouse. Caramel picked himself up and watched the front door as a dozen or so colts and fillies rushed outside for their after lunch recess. Caramel scanned the group until he found a small earth pony colt with a light brown coat and red mane amongst the crowd. The colt was pushing another earth pony on the swings, a little pink coated filly with a yellow mane. The two laughed as the filly swung higher and higher, nearly to the top of the bars on the swing set.
Caramel felt a small amount of pride at the fact that none of the other foals had the strength to push the swing up as high as the little colt had. He was a strong little guy, and kind too. Caramel had watched the colt quite a few times now, always from a distance. He was always the one to give the other children a helping hoof when they needed it, or to help them to the nurse when their games got a little too rough. Caramel had watched the colt hurt himself a few times too, and he always wished he could have been the one to help him. It took all of his willpower to keep from jumping over the school's fence on one particular day when the colt had taken a nasty spill on the slide. He wanted to, but he knew he couldn't. It wasn't his place.
Caramel sighed and sat back down against the tree. He smiled as he watched the children play, until the sound of hoofsteps snapped him from his peaceful meditation.
"Thought I'd find you here."
Caramel jumped to his hooves and spun around, coming face to face with the one pony he had hoped to avoid today.
"Applejack."
Applejack watched Caramel fidget uncomfortably under her scrutiny. His eyes drifted between herself and the schoolhouse, betraying his lack of focus.
"Yer gonna attract some unwanted attention, hangin' round the school when ya ain't got any kids of yer own, ya know. Somepony might get the wrong idea."
Caramel focused his attention back on Applejack. His confusion showed plainly on his face. Applejack didn't usually joke around with him. Had she been joking? He couldn't be sure. Either way, she hadn't chewed him out, so he turned back toward the schoolhouse and took his seat under the tree again.
"I suppose you're gonna tell me to leave now, that I should just move on and forget about him. I'm not really in the mood for it."
Applejack grimaced at the anger in his voice. "Hey, I ain't the bad guy here. We all agreed that it would be easier on everypony if we went our separate ways. You agreed. It ain't my fault that you couldn't let it go."
Caramel didn't respond. His shoulders slumped and he simply continued watching the children until the bell rang to signal the end of recess. Applejack took a seat next to Caramel and watched as the last of the foals filed into the schoolhouse to continue their lessons.
"Arlet's doing well. He's gettin' good grades. Real smart, smarter than me. Might even give his uncle a run for his bits at math. Strong too. He'll be out there buckin' the trees with the rest of the family in no time."
Caramel scratched his hoof in the dirt subconsciously. His eyes remained focused on the schoolhouse, but his attention strayed elsewhere. Applejack waited for some kind of response, but none came. She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her tail before addressing Caramel again.
"Sassaflash told me you were feeling down. I know it's tough on you, but she's right. You've got to move on. It was a business transaction, nothing more. You were paid for your services, and I am eternally grateful for it, but your role ended after that night. The three of us agreed beforehoof that the sole responsibility for him would be mine alone."
"Is it so wrong for a father to love his child?"
Applejack sighed. "Caramel, you may be related by blood, but you are no more his father than anypony else. He doesn't even know who you are, and we agreed to keep it that way. This is a pretty common practice and I don't understand why you can't move on like every other stallion."
"I don't know. I know I shouldn't make a big deal out of this. I know that. I thought I could handle it before all of this started. I wish I could be like every other stallion; just get in, do the job, grab my bits and never look back. If I had known it would feel like this, I would have refused. I just don't understand why I should feel guilty for wanting to know my own son."
Caramel slowly pushed himself up onto his hooves and brushed himself off. He turned to leave, but an orange hoof stopped him.
"Look, I get that it's tough on you. It would probably be tough on me too if I were in yer shoes, but you gotta understand that tellin' him will do more harm than good. We can't be together, we both know we don't feel that way about each other, and that isn't fair to him. You've also got Sassaflash, and this would only complicate your relationship with her. She doesn't deserve that, Caramel, you know she doesn't." Applejack pulled Caramel into a quick, friendly hug. "You're probably the most caring stallion I've ever had the pleasure to meet. I know I made the right choice by pickin' you, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry. If I knew you would feel this way back then, I probably wouldn't have even made the offer."
"Applejack, do you think that we can tell him, someday?"
"Maybe, Caramel. Maybe."
"Come on, Razzle Berry, keep up! We don't wanna be late!"
"Arlet, hold up! You know I can't run as fast as you!"
"Well then I guess I'll just have to run for you!"
The little pink filly squeaked in surprise as she was tossed off of the ground with no warning. She screamed as she flew through the air until she landed on the brown colt's back. The two took off down the dirt path toward Sweet Apple Acres at speeds that Razzle Berry could have never hoped to achieve on her own.
"Arlet, don't do that! You surprised me."
"Pfft. Don't be such a scaredy cat."
Arlet felt a hoof smack the back of his head. The energetic young colt took the blow in stride and kept running. He was on a mission, for he knew what awaited him today on the farm. He somehow managed to pick up speed when the farmhouse popped into view. The two foals passed the fence that marked the Sweet Apple Acres property line and made a beeline for the house, slowing to a stop just outside the door to avoid crashing through the wall. After letting Razzle Berry slide off his back and regain her balance, Arlet pushed the front door open and walked inside.
"Happy Birthday!"
Arlet knew it was coming, but that made the celebration no less exciting. He hadn't invited anyone from school other than Razzle Berry, but the room was still packed with ponies. All of his mom's friends were there, though he only really knew Ms. Pie and Ms. Dash very well since they were always hanging out at the farm. The thought of the former made his mouth water as it occurred to him that she had probably baked the huge cake sitting on the dining table. Razzle Berry's mom, Cherry Berry, was there too. Arlet always thought it was funny how the two looked identical to each other, like they were the same pony. He knew ponies were supposed to look like their parents, but those two were just ridiculous.
Arlet's other relatives, Uncle Mac and Aunt Bloom were there too, of course. Like usual, his stoic uncle stood by himself, watching the festivities from the corner of the room. Apple Bloom tried to get him to mingle with the others, but she could never get him to budge. She eventually gave up and left to greet her own friends who had showed up late for one of any number of reasons.
The party started with a game of Pin the Tail on the Pony which Arlet lost, though he was pretty sure that Ms. Rarity had cheated with her magic. She got her comeuppance when she got eliminated in the first round of musical chairs, though. It was a tough match, but Arlet eventually managed to beat out Razzle Berry in the final round.
After a few more games and a hefty slice of the most delicious cake Arlet had ever eaten, at least since his last birthday, it was finally time for his favorite birthday activity: opening the presents. He got the usual practical gifts from his family; a miniature harness from Uncle Mac, some kind of pulley thing he didn't recognize that Aunt Bloom had referred to as a zip line, and new horseshoes from his mom. A lot of the gifts were normal things like clothes or bits, but a few of the presents did stick out from the others. Ms. Pie had given him a set of ice skates, though they wouldn't be particularly useful for another month or so. Razzle Berry and her mom got him a miniature cider press, which his own mother had made sure to double check that it only made non-alcoholic cider.
Soon enough, the party wound down and the guests started saying their goodbyes. After they had all left, Arlet helped his mom clean up the living room while his aunt and uncle took care of the kitchen. As he was picking up the trash under the table, he noticed a small, wrapped box buried in the torn wrapping paper from the other presents. He examined the small present, but it had no name written on it. He dropped the trash bag he was carrying and took the box to his mother.
"Hey, mom? I found this box under the table but it doesn't have a name on it. Did we miss somepony's present?"
Applejack took a look at the box and tried to remember if they had missed anything. "No, I'm pretty sure somepony would have said something if we had lost their gift. Hey, Mac!"
Big Macintosh silently poked his head out of the door to the kitchen.
"You know who left this?"
Mac looked at the box for moment, expression unchanged, before responding.
"Yeah, that was in the mailbox earlier. I tossed it on the table when I got home. Musta got knocked off when the guests showed up."
"Huh." Applejack eyed the box warily. "Don't know who sent it, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to open it. Go ahead."
Arlet tore open the paper to reveal a small wooden box. The box itself was pretty beat up, which seemed odd for a birthday present. Normally, he would have taken the gift inside and threw the box away, but for some reason, Arlet didn't think it was a good idea to toss this little wooden box in the trash. Maybe it was the weathered look, but it just seemed too important to disregard. He flipped the box over to look for any other markings that might reveal the owner of the box, to no avail. Curious, he pried open the lid and took a peek inside.
Applejack watched her son examine his gift with an odd fascination. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw him pull a silver chain out of the box. At the end of the chain was a silver pendant with the image of the royal sisters engraved on either side. She recognized this pendant. Her brother had one just like it, though his was gold. Her great grandfather had gotten it as a gift from Princess Celestia when they first settled the land that was now Ponyville. She knew that the value of this gift went far beyond a simple price in bits. She also could guess pretty easily who it was from.
Arlet watched the pendant spin around at the end of the chain, admiring the silver's immaculate shine, as though it had been polished just recently. As he was lowering the pendant back into the box, he noticed something carved into the inside of the lid.
"To my beloved son." Arlet read the engraving out loud. "Mom, I thought you said you didn't know who this was from? Is this from you?"
It would have been so easy for Applejack to simply say 'Yes, that's from me.' and be done with it. She wanted to be angry at Caramel for going behind her back like this, though he probably didn't think of it that way. She could think of plenty of reasons to lie about it, and almost none to tell the truth. Almost none. She could still remember Caramel's face earlier that day, and the dejected tone in his voice.
"Is it so wrong for a father to love his child?"
Arlet waited for his mother's response, though she showed little reaction. Getting impatient, he asked again.
"Mom, did you get this necklace?"
"No, Arlet. That gift is from your father."
Arlet's eyes shot open and he stared at his mother with newfound surprise.
"I have a dad?"
"You do, Arlet." Applejack smiled at her thoroughly confused son and pulled him into a tight hug.
"You do, Arlet, and he loves you very much."
