The Two Faces Of A Coin

"Dad!"

"Huh? Wha-?"

The Unicorn, still half-groggy, slowly opened his light blue eyes but quickly closed them because of the sunrays on his face. He blinked a few times, to adjust his vision to the ambient luminosity. After a few seconds, he tried to look up but his head felt heavy. Plus, he had a very bad hangover: the front part of his brain, just behind his horn, gave him a headache. His mouth was completely dry and a strange scent entered his nose when he sniffed the air. His best guess was vomit and the writer was right. Obviously, he vomited the twenty beers he drank last night, on the carpet of the hall, where he passed out.

Looking into his daughter's eyes, he saw she was angry...and ashamed of his attitude.

"Why...why did you put yourself in this state? Do you know how much I was worried when I came back home yesterday afternoon?"

A sigh escaped his mouth.

"I know sweetie, it's just....-"

"You always have an excuse! If it's because of 'mom', you have to forget her!"

"It’s easier to say than to do it!" he snapped. "Jade forced me to go at the Grand Galloping Gala. She threatened me to stop publishing my books as leverage! And added your mother in this!"

Sunny huffed.

"Alcohol is not the solution! You have to stop drinking and face your problems!" she stopped yelling at him...before continuing in a lower tone. "Dad...I'm disappointed. I thought you were better than that."

She left him completely speechless. Despite the fact he wanted to say something back, Eagle Feather knew she was right. He always tried to escape his problems....but only pushed back the deadline. What else could he do but obey her. What happened almost sixteen years ago....the white stallion wanted and needed to forget it.

The mere thought about this event gave him a cold chill in the spine. He shook his head and sighed.

"I can't promise...but I'll try, my little sun."

The Pegasus smiled when she heard this. "I hope you'll be in a better state when I'll come back. I must go now, my appointment is in less than a hour and Captain Shining Armor will not be pleased if I'm late."

Eagle raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"Wait...wh-what?"

"I received a letter yesterday saying that the Captain of the Royal Guard was impressed by the results of my tests and decided to train me personally, as his protégé."

"It's...wonderful!" replied his father, stood up before hugging her tightly, small tears of joy in his eyes. "I'm so proud of you!"

He truly felt happy for his daughter. She worked hard and earned it. He broke the hug, a big smile on his lips.

"So, what’s going to happen now?"

"Well...I'll train here for the first two weeks and after, we'll go to the Crystal Kingdom. I'll live and work there. Don't worry, I sent you a letter from time to time."

"Okay, good to know. I suppose you will stay at the barracks during your training?"

She nodded vigorously.

"Exactly."

Looking behind her, he saw the brown leather saddlebags on her hips.

"So, it's a goodbye. Promise me you won't follow all the orders he'll give you like a little dog and...in the case of something wrong happen or you don't want to be a Crystal Guard anymore, the door of the house is always open."

"Thanks dad. Don't worry, everything will just be fine."

"I hope sweetie, I hope."

He kissed the light beige Pegasus on the forehead and makes a step aside. She slowly walked to the door, opened it before turning the head and giving him a last smile. Then, the young mare stepped outside and closed the wooden door after her. Sunny, his little 'sun' as he liked to call her, was gone. She was his daughter, his world. Without her at home, his life will not be the same anymore. The stallion knew she had to make her own life and don't stay dependant of him.

A heavy sigh escaped his muzzle.

For the first time in fifteen years, his house felt empty and him, completely alone. Fresh and cool tears of sadness and joy fell down his face. Eagle contemplated the front door for the next ten minutes before slowly walking to the bathroom. His coat smelled like vomit, alcohol, sweat and shit. The carped in the hall also needed to be cleaned. It's not like he had some friends who came for diner from time to time but still...

Looking into the mirror of his bathroom, the Unicorn saw his reflection. His short grey mane was a mess, he had bags under his eyes who were bloodshot and his coat was green-yellow around his mouth and nose, thanks to the content of his stomach.

He stepped inside the tub and turned on the hot water. Taking the soap in his left front hoof, Eagle cleaned all the sticky parts of his body. The feeling of the warm liquid on him was good, very good. It has been a few days since his last shower and he loved every second of it.

Ten or maybe fifteen minutes later, the pony stopped the water and took a towel with his hooves. Then, after drying himself, Eagle Feather cleaned the carpet. While doing this, he thought about what Jade said to him.

He didn't mind to wear clothes but not a tuxedo. He preferred to have something more...natural and light. And his leather jacket was perfect for this job, despite the fact it was old and a bit dirty. Obviously, Eagle was not one of those who care about appearances.

But, needless to say, this event was going to be interesting.

Thanks to his strange dreams, the pony with white coat finished his book one week after his daughter's departure and gave it to his publishing house six days before the Grand Galloping Gala. Jade Singer was really pleased by his work. In less than a month, his sixth novel will be in all the libraries of Equestria and even in the Griffon and Crystal Kingdoms.

The two Unicorns hoped the critics were going to be good and a lot of ponies will buy the book.

For the moment, Eagle didn't touch his pen and waited another 'dream' to begin writing the sequel. Unfortunately, he had to wait this moment to think about a good title. Generally, he followed his instinct which was rarely wrong. Truth to his word, the stallion kept his promise and stopped drinking. Until now, he didn't felt the need to touch at this kind of stuff and only drank water or apple juice.

Finally, the dreaded day had come:

The Grand Galloping Gala.

Fortunately, the pony with light blue eyes didn't need to go shopping to choose his clothes, giving him a few more hours of freedom to prepare himself mentally for the event. Jade will also be there.

Eagle decided to do a little jog, trying to evacuate the stress he accumulated since this morning. As usual, he met some neighbors, stopped at the Paquito Café for a drink before resuming his jog and finally came back to his house. He just had the time to take a shower and put his jacket before it was time to go. Then, with the ticket in his pocket, the Unicorn put a magical lock on his door and walked away, towards the white and gold castle.

At his left, he could see the sun, slowly moving to the ground and at his right, the white and beautiful moon moved in the sky, which was colored in orange-pink. Sighing, Eagle lightly quickened his pace. If there was one thing he hated more than everything, it was being late. After a good ten minutes, the stallion stopped in front of the long path. A few meters away, in front of him, was the front door of Canterlot's Castle, the place where the two rulers of Equestria lived.

A duo of ponies, both Unicorns wearing golden armors, guarded the door. The ponies who walked before them showed their tickets. He followed the crowd and did the same.

The inside of the building was as beautiful as the exterior:

Red carpet. White tiles and columns. The windows were made of colored glass, showing the important moments of Equestria's past: The Elements of Harmony, Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, the god of chaos reformed and Princess Sparkle coronation. Still following the ponies before him, Eagle passed in front of a lavender Unicorn with wings.

She saluted him and was about to wish him a good evening when she saw his leather jacket and the color of his coat and mane. A last look at his cutie mark confirmed her suspicions. Twilight Sparkle let out a whisper: "Eagle Feather?"

The writer said nothing but looked at her coldly and continued his walk. It was all she needed to know it was him.

"W-wait!"

He ignored the princess and stepped into the throne hall, transformed for the occasion. There were tables, food, drinks and talking ponies everywhere. Almost all the stallions were wearing tuxedo and the mares had fancy dresses on them. A waiter walked not far away from him. He used this moment to take a glass of champagne. Yes, he decided to keep his promise to stop drinking but the Gala was an exception to have a glass, nothing more. A classical music could be heard in the whole room, loud enough to be heard by everypony but not enough to bother the ponies who would like to talk between them.

"I'm sure I said something about not taking your jacket for tonight, didn't I?"

He laughed.

"I washed and repaired it, isn't it enough for you?" he replied, looking at his left to see his friend and boss.

The mint Unicorn smiled. "If it was me, I'll put it in the fire."

"You know you're terrible at jokes?"

"Unfortunately, yes. But I wasn't joking."

The duo stayed silent for a few seconds, watching the crowd.

"I'm happy to see you've come, it's good for you. Especially after your daughter left the house."

"Yeah...she told me she'll be here tonight but not as a guard."

Suddenly, Eagle felt something bump against his back.

"You should look where you're...Oh my, those clothes are awful. Who let some peasant like you come here? Don't stay in the way."

The writer turned his head towards the origin of the voice and growled as a warning. Jade put a hoof on his chest. The pony in front of him was a male Unicorn with white coat, light blue mane, the same for his eyes. He was wearing a black tuxedo and dark blue shirt. He also had three golden crowns as a Cutie Mark.

"He's not worth it. Follow me, we go somewhere else."

Eagle Feather completely ignored her and raised an eyebrow.

"Go buck yourself Fancypants. Everypony know your marriage was arranged. Fleur dis Lee is a bitch who have see more stallionhood than there are ponies living at Canterlot. You're not clean either. By the way, how was it to bang one of the Elements bearers, Miss Rarity?"

The white Unicorn with dark blue mane looked at him, shocked. Jade too.

Touché.

"H-how dare you!? Who are you to have the right to say such things!?"

A wide smirk grew on his face.

"You can call me Feather... Eagle Feather."

The face of the rich pony slowly decomposed.

"The famous writer?"

"Himself."

Fancypants took this moment to pass out, in front of everypony.

"Pfff, what a pussy. I've seen some readers who were unconscious in less than three seconds. Noob."

The tall mare, with light pink mane and white coat, known as Fleur dis Lee glared at him, an angry look on her face. The white pony tried not to laugh.

"Problem bitch? You need to fill your holes and mouth with some dicks right now or what?"

The ponies around him were shocked to hear those harsh words. Being high-classed equines, theirs ears never heard those kinds of things and even a mare passed out because of this.

"You're again drunk." whispered his friend. "I hoped you'd stopped it but...-"

"No. I just had one glass."

Finally, the ponies around them looked away, resuming what they were talking about, like if it never happened. Fleur de Lis put her husband on her back with her magic and left the room, her head low, in shame. Jade Singer smacked him behind his head with a hoof.

"You shouldn't have said that."

"Somepony had to do it, I don't care if it's me. I'm not the only one who thinks the same thing about them."

Slightly angry and without another word, Eagle walked away in direction of the buffet, leaving his boss alone. He was hungry, the food before him smelled and looked good.

"I used to live with you for fifteen years and it's the first time you have the guts to say something like this."

Hearing this, he turned his head to the origin of the voice and a goofy smile appeared on his face. He had to restrain himself to jump and hug her until she couldn't breathe anymore and pass out. For him, there were no words to describe what he was feeling right now. His little girl was here, nothing else mattered at the moment.

"You know, some ponies only need a little change in their life to change their behavior."

Sunny smiled.

"I suppose you say this because you've changed."

"Nah, I just try to keep my promise to stop being a bad father and alcoholic, that's all."

"You are not 'that' bad."

He showed his tongue and smiled. "Maybe...but you just admitted I was not the best."

His daughter rolled her eyes and playfully punched him in the shoulder. Eagle saw a few differences since she left the house. The  beige mare was slightly taller and larger than the last time he saw her. He could clearly see the muscles of her wings and legs. Her training had paid off, it was evident.

They were interrupted by a stallion, Unicorn with white coat, two shades of blue as mane and light blue eyes. The writer recognized him. It was the Guard of the Royal Guard and Prince of the Crystal Kingdom: Shining Armor.

"I guess you're Sunny's father, Eagle Feather, right?"

Eagle nodded and shook his hoof.

"Exactly, it's me. And you are Shining Armor."

"Probably...or maybe a changeling who took his place." he joked.

The two stallions laughed.

"Anyway, I'm honored to meet you. Sunny told me a lot about you."

"I’m honored too. It's not every day you can talk with a Prince. I'm not surprised she talked about me."

"Well...I'm not here to compliment your daughter in front of you but I'm impressed by her progress. If she continues like this, she could be the Captain of my guards, at the Crystal Kingdom."

The writer blinked.

"Huh...wow. It's cool, I guess. Personally, I never was interested to become a Guard but it was her dream since she was little." he said, chuckling nervously.

Sunny blushed and lowered her gaze to the ground, embarrassed and finding something interesting on it. Fortunately, the owner of the publishing house walked to them and broke the awkward moment.

"Eagle, you have to follow me. Cele...I mean, Princess Celestia want to see you for the two autographs."

"Two?"

"Yes, I also gave her a copy of 'Past Is Prologue'."

A groan escaped his mouth.

"Okay, okay, I’m coming. See you later young lady...and you too Captain."

The duo walked away from the buffets and tried to make their path in the crowd.

"So, where is she?"

"In another room, she didn't want to bring attention on us while you sign her books."

"I see."

They stopped in front of a dark brown door, made of wood. There was no guard to protect the pony inside against a threat. Eagle thought it was a little strange to let their ruler defenless, even if she was able to protect herself.

"I let you go inside alone, I have some friends to met."

The white pony nodded and opened it with his right hoof before closing after him. The room was illuminated by a few candles, the walls were colored in light orange and the carpet in red. A single table with some chairs was installed in the middle of the room. Three Pegasus with horns watched him enter, without a word. One of them, the taller with white coat and light violet eyes, smiled. The stallion immediately knew who she was. The Princess of the Sun and co-ruler of Equestria: Celestia. He bowed.

"Eagle Feather I suppose?"

"Himself, your highness."

The mares glanced at each other, rather pleased by the answer.

"No need to bow my little pony." she said, in a motherly tone, full of wisdom. "Eagle, could I ask you a question?"

He raised his head and slightly frowned, unsure.

"Of course."

She exhaled loudly before asking. "I'd like to know: what do you know about humans?"