Family Apprciation Day: A Charles Hoofwin Storyby Spades_of_AceChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” ~Joseph Campbell As the sun set on another pleasant day at Ponyville, the citizens of the town started closing down the shops for the night until tomorrow morning. Lights from all of the shops and most of the houses flicked off as many of the ponies went to bed. All except for the one bedroom light that remained lit upstairs in a particular colt’s bedroom. Esbin had a rather saddened expression as his mother slowly poked her head inside with her warming smile on her face. “Hello Sweetheart,” Margret said, “did you enjoy your dinner?” “Mhmm, it was nice,” Esbin nodded but was in an unconvincing tone. Margret took notice to Esbin behavior and asked, “Is something wrong Esbin? You’re never this down on a Friday after school.” “It’s nothing mom, I’m just a little tired that’s all,” Esbin said, trying to hid his face under his blanket while he lay in his bed. “It’s alright sweetie you can tell me,” Margret said rubbing Esbin’s stomach over the blanket. “Well… okay, it’s about dad,” Esbin said trying not to make eye contact with his mother. “What does your attitude have to do with your father Esbin,” Margret asked with concern. “Well… I just think that dad doesn’t love me,” Esbin said with a tear escaping his eye. Margret gasped with surprise and asked, “ESBIN, what makes you think, even for a second, that your father doesn’t love you?!” Esbin glanced from side to side for a moment before replying, “He… he… I asked him if he could come to school on Monday for Family Appreciation Day, but then he said that he wasn’t interested. And right before I left him alone I said that I loved him, and he didn’t even say I love you too, like he always does.” Esbin then buried his face into his blanket as he sobbed softly. Margret gave a caring expression and said, “Oh Sweetheart, your father loves you very much. He might not show it sometimes, but believe me when I say that he does love you. He’s just a little more… reserved, that’s all.” “Reserved?” Esbin asked looking up at his mother; she patted her son on the head. “Yes, reserved. You see, work can make your father a little upset sometimes, kind of like when you have a difficult time with your homework. Sometimes he just needs to be alone when he works. I’m sure he wants to go with you to school on Family Appreciation Day, but he’s just needs to go to work around that time.” “That would make sense,” Esbin said with a sniffle, “But that doesn’t explain why he didn’t say he loved me.” Margret frowned for a split second to think of an answer. “He just has his own way of saying that he loves you Esbin; he might not say it but he truly does love you.” Esbin looked away for a moment. “I know that but… it… it just doesn’t feel the same unless he actually says it to me.” He soon started to sob softly again as he buried his head into his blanket to cover his face. “I know sweetheart,” Margret said as she pulled her son closely into a hug while running a hoof through his mane, “I know.” All the while this was happening in Esbin’s room, his father, Charles Hoofwin; stood behind the slightly ajar door, listening on the how conversation went in his son’s bed room. As much as he wanted to walk inside and tell his son Esbin that his did love him, he thought that the two ponies needed to be alone for the moment. Charles sighed sadly and quietly walked down the hallway and into the master bedroom. Meanwhile back inside Esbin’s bedroom, Margret suddenly thought of something that might hopefully bring Esbin out of his depression. “Do you want me to tell you a story before bed,” Margret asked with a pleasant tone of voice. “Mhmm,” Esbin replied with a nod. Margret tried to think of a story she could tell to Esbin and quickly thought of one. “How I ever told you the story about how I met your father,” Margret asked with an innocent smile. “No,” Esbin said with a shake of his head and wiping away his tears. Margret chuckled softly as she took a seat on the side of Esbin’s bed, “Well it went like this. I was about fourteen years older than you when I first met him; I was still living in Canterlot at the time before anything else. My family and I had received an invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala hosted by Princess Celestia, including a very important guest of honor.” Esbin’s eyes widened with gasp, “You went to the Grand Galloping Gala?!” “I sure did honey,” Margret said with a smile. “Anyway, we arrived a little late to the Gala, so we missed the speech given by the guest of honor; but we managed to enjoy the rest of the event. My parents went to talk to some dear friends of theirs, while I was being harassed by some of the royal guards. I tell you, the things that they said to me were certainly not worth my time. I just had to get away from them so I stepped outside into the royal garden. “And my goodness Esbin, it was amazing. There were so many different flowers that were just so beautiful, some of them weren’t even sold in most flower shops and… oh sorry I’m rambling about flowers again. Anywho, after I took a stroll along the garden I made my way back inside into the main ball room and then… I saw the most handsome stallion I’ve seen in all my life.” Esbin paid close attention to every single word as his mother continued talk about her story. “Was it dad,” Esbin asked, Margret smiled down at the little colt. “In good time, Esbin,” Margret said in a calm voice. “He stood right beside the Princess herself as if he was a proud guard, until both our eyes met and I think both of our hearts melted. I could literally see his face light up right from where I was standing.” “Did he ask you to dance with him,” Esbin asked with curiosity. Margret chuckled slightly, “On the contrary, I asked him to dance with me. You probably don’t believe me; but you got shy side from you father, not me.” “Wait a minute, dad was… shy,” Esbin asked with complete shock. Margret nodded slightly at his question. Esbin frowned for a second, “But… I’ve never seen dad scared before.” “Even big ponies like your father get scared sometimes, sweetie,” Margret replied. Margret continued, “The Princess noticed him staring at me and she whispered something into his ear and she nudged him forward up to me; and I swear to you when he was right in front of me, he looked like he was going to faint. I didn’t want to seem rude so I remembered my manners; I curtsied to him and introduced myself. He saluted to me and gave me his name, Charles Hoofwin. We talked a little bit. It was nothing special, just stuff like where we were from, what we did for a living, just simple things. Then the music band started and had been waiting to dance for a while, so I took Charles’s hoof and pulled him over to the center of the ball room and we danced in front of all of the party guests. They all look so stunned at us both dancing, and I had no idea why. It wasn’t until I asked Charles why they muttering about us.” Margret paused for a moment to imitated Charles voice, “Well, you are dancing with the guest of honor.” Esbin’s eyes widened at that very moment, “Dad was the guest of honor at the Grand Galloping Gala?!” “He sure was Esbin, and if you thought he was embarrassed, you should have seen the look on my face,” Margret said with a laugh, “I wanted to run off at that moment, but Charles hung onto my hoof and I… I just felt this calming, warm feeling deep inside of me as he looked deep into my eyes.” “We danced for quite a while after that, we whispered the sweetest things into each other’s ears that probably made both of our hearts a flutter. I don’t think either one of us wanted that night to end. After that Charles escorted me back to my home and well… things became more than a night to remember.” “Wait, did… did you and dad kiss,” Esbin asked with curiosity increasing by the second. Margret found herself blushing rather hard at that moment looking back at the memory. She then decided to only to the simple part of the memory instead. She then gave a hearty sigh and said, “Yes Esbin, we did. And it was the more romantic time of my life.” “EWW,” Esbin exclaimed while kicking his hooves playfully under his blankets. Margret let out a giggle not to seem suspicious, but on the inside she let out a sigh of relief. “What happened after that mom,” Esbin asked enthusiastically after he stopped kicking around. “Hmm, well the rest is history after that,” Margret said with a tap of her chin, “We saw each other for a few months, he proposed to me, we got married and then we decided to have a baby…do you know who that baby was, Sweetie?” Esbin glanced from side to side and replied in a curious tone as he pointed a hoof to himself, “Me?” Margret pulled Esbin into another hug and said with a laugh, “Of course it was you silly! And both of us couldn’t be any happier, trust me.” Esbin yawned with a weak, yet happy smile at his mother. Margret smiled back at Esbin and asked while brushing her hoof through his mane, “Feeling tired honey?” “Mhmm,” Esbin hummed with a lazy nod. Margret got off of the side of Esbin bed and said, “Goodnight sweetheart, your father and I will see you in the morning.” She then planted a kiss on Esbin’s forehead and began to make her way doorway. She placed a hoof next to the light switch, “Now I don’t want to hear any of this nonsense of your father not loving you, okay?” “Okay,” Esbin said in a tired voice. Margret smiled happily at her son as she flicked the lights off and closed the door behind her and started to make her way to the master bed room. Esbin lay quietly in his bed as he stared up at the ceiling of his room, all the while he felt himself slipping into a pleasant sleep, he thought about his mother’s story. “Wow, mom and dad were at the Grand Galloping Gala,” Esbin thought with amazement, “I can’t believe that neither one of them told me about that. My friends are never gonna believe me when it tell them that my dad was… wait.” Esbin suddenly rose up from his bed and asked himself, “How did dad become the guest of honor at the Grand Galloping Gala?!” He almost jumped right out of bed but realized that tomorrow was Saturday and his dad didn’t go to work until the afternoon; so he had time to at least ask him about the whole ‘Guest of Honor’ title tomorrow. Esbin lay back on the bed again and tried to contain himself about his curiosity eating away at him. He soon found himself drifting off to sleep as his eye lids slowly closed together. Chapter 2The clock tower that could be seen from the Hoofwin residence rang the call of Celestia’s sunrise. Charles and Margret lay soundly in their large bed as they heard the soft gongs of the bell from the tower. Charles was the one to wake up first. He smacked his dry lips as he lazily opened his eyes. He suddenly felt something on the foot of his bed. It wasn’t too heavy, but it certainly caught his attention. After rubbing his eyes he could see his son Esbin staring at him patiently. “Morning dad!” he said, quickly. Just like that, Margret woke up with a startled gasp; a pair of eye covers over her eyes. While Charles didn’t even flinch from his son’s unexpected outburst, Margret quickly took off the cover of her face and could see Esbin sitting in front of Charles with a big grin on his face. “Esbin,” Charles said with a lazy glare, “How long have you been sitting there?” “An hour…or two.” Esbin replied almost on command, both of his parents looked at him with wide eyes with a hint of concern in them. “Hey um dad… I was wondering, can you tell me why you were the guest of honor at the Grand Galloping Gala years ago?” “W-what,” Charles asked, as he raised an eye brow. “The Grand Galloping Gala, you were the guest of honor there,” Esbin said hopping softly on the mattress. “W-wait, how did you even…” Charles was about to ask a question, but Esbin interrupted him. “Mom told me how you and she met that one night, and she told me that you were the guest of honor,” Esbin explained, as he continued to bounce excitedly in front on his parents. Charles glanced over at his wife Margret of a moment. “I’m sorry Charles, Esbin seemed upset about something so I decided to tell him the story on how we first met.” Charles perked up for a moment and a slight blush grew on his cheeks. “You didn’t tell him about uh… what happened ‘after’ the Gala, right?” Margret blushed heavily and exclaimed, “HEAVENS NO CHARLES! Esbin’s just a child, for Celestia’s sake!” “You mean when you two kissed,” Esbin chirped, trying to put the pieces together. “Yeah, Mom told me about it. I mean it was gross to me, but it’s what grown-ups do, right?” Charles and Margret looked at each other with concern on their faces; until Charles said with a nervous smile, “Yes, we kissed.” “Mhmm, it was very sweet,” Margret said with a nervous tone. “Okay soooo, can you tell me how you became the guest of honor at the Gala, I mean isn’t Princess Celestia the only one who appoints somepony as the Guest of Honor?” Esbin asked as he took a few steps closer to his father. “*Sigh* Esbin… I understand that you wish to know more about me, but could you at least give me and your mother five minutes to wake up, please?” Charles asked, trying not to sound too desperate to avoid conversation. Esbin’s ears flopped down, “Oh… okay.” He hopped off the bed and slowly trotted towards the door. Margret nudged Charles, which caused him to look over to his wife. “Charles, at least promise to him to that you’ll tell him so that he has something to say at his school on Monday,” Margret said in a whisper, “After all, the only reason why he’s curious about you is because you weren’t interested to agree to go on Family Appreciation Day.” Charles lowered his head in realization from last night. He let out a sigh. “Um…Esbin.” The brown colt turned his head around to look at Charles. “Yes, dad?” “I suppose I could tell you about the Gala, if you really want to know about me,” Charles said with a gentle smile on his face. Just like that Esbin jumped up with joy and started to bouncing around the room. “Oh Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” “BUT, I will only tell you on Monday,” Charles said as he raised a hoof to gain Esbin’s attention, and just as quickly as his excitement started, it ended as he stopped in midair. “MONDAY?!” “Yes, on Monday. The same day as Family Appreciation Day,” Charles repeated. “*Groan* Fine, if you say so,” Esbin groaned as he trotted his way out of the room again to have some breakfast. Just as Esbin left the room, Margret heard a chuckle escape Charles lips. She looked over at him to hear him say, “That ought to keep him interested for a while.” He suddenly noticed that Margret was frowning at him. “What’s this about you not being interested in going to Family Appreciation Day when Esbin asked you to come; since it’s his turn to bring in somepony from his family.” “I don’t want to seem like the bad pony here,” Charles said, maintaining eye contact with his wife, “but why didn’t you offer to go with him to go to school on Monday?” “Charles, don’t you see? He only wants to get to know you, considering that you spent most of your time at work,” Margret explained with a more loosened expression. “Things have just been busy that’s all at work, that’s all. I guess I’ve been a little stressed out lately,” Charles explained to Margret. “I understand times at work can be stressful honey, but please don’t take it out on Esbin.” Margret said showing concern while placing a hoof on Charles shoulder. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Charles asked with a raised eyebrow. “Esbin told me yesterday that before he left you to your work, he said that he loved you,” Margret explained. “And… and I didn’t say that I love him too…” Charles finishing the rest of Margret’s answer as he remembered from last night when her over heard his wife and child talking to each other. Charles let out a sigh and hung his head again in shame; until Margret wrapped her arms around her husband. “You heard us talking about you… didn’t you?” There was a moment of silence. “I was going to check on Esbin… *sigh* I’m sorry honey. I really should show up on Monday.” Margret planted a kiss on Charles cheek and smiled happily at him. “It’s alright dear; Esbin just wants you to know that he loves you.” “I know dear, I know,” Charles said with a sigh, “But to Esbin it just doesn’t feel the same unless I tell it to him. I really do love my son; I don’t want him to grow up thinking that I don’t love him anymore. I just don’t want to be those kinds of fathers, you know?” “Charles, I know you,” Margret said as she placed both of her hooves on each side Charles head, “You’ll never be like those kinds of ponies. I admit you can be a little stubborn at times, but deep down you a good pony at heart.” Charles smiled softly and kissed Margret on the lips. “Thanks Margret, I can always count on you. Well, I better start making breakfast.” The two ponies got out of bed and made their way down stairs into the kitchen, where they found Esbin trying to make some toast while he waited for his parents. Charles pulled out several plates and set them on the table beside glass cups. While Charles sliced some apples into slices, Esbin sat patiently at the table next to his mother. “Hey dad.” “Yes kiddo,” Charles asked as he continued to chop the apples in the cutting board. “I know you said that I had to wait until Monday for you to tell me your life story, but I was wondering… could you at least give me a hint on what you did,” Esbin asked with bright eyes. “Well… I was told to not reveal any information but… let’s just say that the life of a very important pony in Canterlot was in my hooves, and let’s just leave it at that,” Charles said trying to hide a chuckle from his son. “WHOA, were you a body guard or something like that,” Esbin asked with wide eyes as he balanced himself on his chair. “Sorry kiddo, but that’s all you’re going to get out of me until Monday. Now then, who wants breakfast?” Charles asked with several plates full of apple slices, toast with butter and jam. The two ponies smiled at the breakfast that was placed in front of them, they each picked enough for each other while Charles helped himself to a mug of coffee, and they all sat down quietly while they enjoyed their meal as the clock ticked on by. After the clock in the kitchen reached 8:00 A.M. Charles placed his mug down. “Hey Esbin?” “Yes dad,” Esbin replied as he raised his head up. “Didn’t you say that you had some sort of meeting with your friends?” Charles asked with a lowered eye brow. “Oh jeez, you’re right! Bye mom, bye dad, I’ll see you guys later,” Esbin said quickly, he guzzled his orange juice and kissed his mother and father on the cheek before he took off toward the door to grab his saddlebags. But before he even reached to the door Margret called out, “Esbin brush your teeth before to go.” Esbin’s hoof dropped to the floor as he made his way up stairs to his bathroom and brush his teeth, after the task was done Esbin ran down the stairs toward the front door. “Esbin?” Esbin froze for a second as he turned around to see his father standing up between the doorway to the kitchen, he then asked, “Yes dad?” Charles gulped nervously. “I love you son.” Esbin stood where he was for a moment before a small smile grew on his face with a slightly tearful expression. “I love you too dad.” Esbin then faced the front door again to turn the knob and open the door into the streets of Ponyville. He closed the door as he made his way out and started to trot down the pavement. Meanwhile, Charles looked at his wife who smiled warmly at her husband. “Thank you Charles,” Margret said as she nuzzled him happily. “Ahh, don’t mention it. I care for our son as much as you do.” “Still, it’s nice to say that you love him,” Margret said with a smooth tone. Charles smiled and said, “I know sweetheart. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to pull out some of my old stuff from Canterlot.” Margret raised a brow and asked before her husband left the kitchen, “You mean your old uniform when you were still in the…” “Shhh,” Charles shushed with a hoof to his mouth, “Esbin might be still around and I don’t want him to know anything about me until Family Appreciation Day. Just make sure he doesn’t go into our room until that day comes, alright?” Margret nodded with a giggle as she went back to drinking her juice while Charles peered outside to see if Esbin was still around, there was no sight of him anywhere. Charles chuckled softly to himself and made his way upstairs into the bedroom, he closed the door and locked it behind him so that no pony could disturb him as he walked over to the double closet. On the floor was a dust covered olive green trunk. He pulled out the heavy trunk by one of the rope handles with his teeth to drag it out in the open, once the trunk was out he went over to his night stand to pull out an old key that was concealed in the very back of the drawer. Charles took the key and went back to the trunk; he swiped away the layer of dust the top of the truck to see black colored lettering that said, Property of Pvt. Charles Hoofwin. “I never thought I’d ever have to pull this old thing out ever again,” Charles said with a soft smile as he took the key and unlocked the brass lock that contained the old memories deep within. Chapter 3As Esbin trotted down the morning streets of Ponyville; he turned and followed down the path of dirt road to make his way toward Sweet Apple Acres. He waved to Big Macintosh and Applejack, who were doing their morning chores for the day. Apple Bloom however, was nowhere in sight. “Mornin’ Esbin,” Applejack hollered out as she waved to the brown colt walking down the path. Esbin smiled, “Morning Applejack, morning Big Mac. I’m on my way to see the fillies at the clubhouse, see ya later.” The two farmers waved goodbye to Esbin as he galloped through the apple orchards to reach the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse. After dodging the many rows of apple trees, Esbin finally arrived at tree house. He went inside to see his three friends waiting for him to arrive so that could begin their meeting. “Alright Crusaders, before we begin our meeting; I have some exciting news,” Esbin said to the three fillies. “What is it Esbin,” Scootaloo said with curiosity. “Yea tell us,” Apple Bloom said, as she stood up. “On Family Appreciation Day, I will be brining my dad to school,” Esbin explained with a grin. The three fillies look at each other with confusion and lack of enthusiasm. Sweetie Belle raised a hoof in dismissal, “Is that all?” Esbin continued to grin as he asked, “Aren’t you girls curious as to why I’m gonna bring my dad to school?” “Well… we kind of thought that you would bring your mom to Family Appreciation Day,” Scootaloo said. “I thought about that, but… then I figured that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would just probably call me a momma’s colt or something like that,” Esbin said with a shrug. “Hmm, good point,” Apple Bloom agreed. “But still, why your dad? I mean he’s like a banker, right?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Well last night, my mom told me that when she was at the Gala years ago, she met my dad there, and he was named the guest of honor that night,” Esbin explained. “WHOA…” Scootaloo said with complete shock. “NO WAY,” Sweetie Belle said as she leaned forward toward Esbin. “Your mom and dad where at the Grand Galloping Gala?” Apple Bloom questioned excitedly. “They sure were,” Esbin said confidently. “Wow! Mah older sister and her friends went tah the Gala once, but she said it wasn’t all that amazing as they say it is,” Apple Bloom said. “Maybe, but you know what they say…” Esbin was going to continue, but was cut off by Sweetie Belle. “Hold on. How did your dad become the guest of honor at the Gala anyway?” Sweetie Belle asked, she scratching her head. “I don’t know. He never explained why, but he said that he will tell me, and the class; on Family Appreciation Day,” Esbin said, trying to at least keep his friends interested. Scootaloo stomped her hoof on the floor lightly, “Aw man.” “Yah know Esbin, ah’m surprised,” Apple Bloom said, wrapping a hoof around Esbins shoulder, “Ah woulda expected yah tah go crazy about tryin’ teh find out more about your daddy.” Esbin shifted uncomfortably in place, “Trust me, it’s not easy. I don’t want to tick my dad off; he can be pretty scary when he gets mad, if he ever does.” “Well, its only two days until he goes to school with you,” Sweetie Belle pointed out with a small shrug. Scootaloo hopped up, “Yeah how bad it could be?” “Its two days you guys….two long, dreadful, agonizing days,” Esbin said, feeling his anxiety building up inside of him. “Take it easy Esbin,” Scootaloo calmly said, placing both of her hooves on his chest. “Yeah, you’re kind of freaking out again,” Apple Bloom said, as she noticed Esbin was starting to hyperventilate. “…Okay, okay. I’m sorry,” Esbin said, as he tried to calm himself by taking deep breathes. Apple Bloom patted Esbin on the back with a light rub as his breathing returned to normal. “Hey, I know what will keep you mind off things Esbin,” Scootaloo said as she suddenly came up with an idea. Esbin, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle look at the orange colored Pegasus with curiosity as they waited for an answer. … “What?” “Trying to find our cutie marks,” Scootaloo exclaimed happily. The other little ponies lit up with joy by Scootaloo’s answer. “That’s a great idea!” the Crusaders said in unison. “So what are we waiting for,” Scootaloo asked her friends as she opened the door of the clubhouse. “Let’s get out there and find our special talents!” The four ponies charged out of the small clubhouse and made their way down the steps and into the apple orchard. “Don’t worry about it Esbin,” Sweetie Belle said with a smile, “These two days are going to go by like that!” Sweetie Belle snapped her tail to emphasize. Esbin gave a weak smile, “I sure hope so.” -Two days later- As the morning sun began to rise, the clock tower rang at the tone of 6:00 A.M. At the very moment Esbin heard the distant rings from the iron bell of the clock tower, his eyes shot open and a big grin swept on his face. He shot right out of his bed and cheered out as he ran toward the door. “IT’S MONDAY! IT’S MONDAY! IT’S MONDAY! YAY MONDAY!!” Esbin opened the bedroom door and galloped over to his parent’s room, to find that both of his parents still asleep. Even though Esbin knew it was rude to wake somepony up but he just could control himself. He instantly jumped right onto the bed which woke both Charles and Margret up lazily. “IT’S MONDAY DAD!” Esbin cheered happily as he bound on the mattress, “WAKE UP WAKE UP, YOU PROMISED TO COME TO SCHOOL TODAY!” Charles did his best to control his sleep-denied anger as he lazily opened his eyes. “Esbin… I understand that I promised to come with you to school today, but could you at least wait until me and your mother wake up first,” he groaned in a tired voice. “*Yawn* It’s not even time for school yet darling,” Margret yawned in a tired voice as she looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand beside her bed. “NO WAY, TIME TO GET UP, COME ON, COME ON GET UP,” Esbin exclaimed happily as he continued to jump on the bed. “*Groan* Alright fine,” Charles said in a slightly frustrated tone of voice. “YAY, I’m gonna get ready for school,” Esbin said as he jumped off the bed, trotted out of the room, and made his way to the stairs to make some breakfast for himself. While Esbin left his parents to rest some more, Margret murmured, “I should have seen this coming.” “You and me both,” Charles moaned as he buried his face into his pillow. After about thirty minutes of extra rest, Charles got out of bed to head down stairs to make breakfast for the whole family; Margret soon joined the two ponies after she fixed her hair just as Charles poured some coffee for them. “So dad, were you on some secret mission?” Esbin asked with same excited and quick voice. “Wait a minute, you said it involved the life a very important pony in Canterlot, was it a representative or something?” “Esbin,” Charles said. “Or maybe it was a famous fashion model,” Esbin guessed, only to have Margret chuckle slightly. “Esbin,” Charles repeated only in a slightly louder voice. “An important General from the Canterlot Military,” Esbin assumed without even hearing his father saying his name. “Esbin,” Charles repeated once again with an even louder voice, only be bombarded with another question. “-Gasp- WAS IT PRINCESS CELESTIA HERSEL…” Esbin was about to say, but finally stepped on his father’s last nerve. “ESBIN!” Charles shouted in a very enraged tone at the top of his lungs. Just like that, Esbin went dead silent and stared at his father, complete fear striking his entire body. Even Margret was a little spooked by his husband’s sudden outburst. Charles walked up to the table across from Esbin. “Listen Esbin, I will tell you all about my life once we get to school, but will you please stop pestering me?! I would have made do with the questions at first, and maybe the acts of kindest you did for me like cleaning your room and handing me a new pen when I needed one was very becoming; but you know I really didn’t like that early morning wake up from a one pony polka band. Hay, I don’t even know where Pinkie Pie even got a tuba for crying out loud! So would it kill you to actually wait until we were at school FIRST?!” Esbin hardly ever seen his mom or his dad angry at him, but this had probably had been the angriest he had ever seen him. He could feel his body shake with fear and regret as Charles eyes bared down on his from across the table. Esbin tried as he could to look away but he was too fear stricken to even avoid his father’s intimidating gaze. “I-I-I’m sorry daddy,” Esbin whimpered, as tears started to form in his eyes, and his face started to turn red. Charles anger dissipated in a heartbeat as he looked into Esbin’s tearing eyes. He quickly felt ashamed for what he just said to his son. He had never just told him off like that, and it pained him deeply in his stomach. His enraged expression faded away and a face of guilt replaced it. He managed to find his voice after a few moments. “No… I’m the one that’s sorry. I… I didn’t mean any of that.” Charles glanced at the floor for a second to avoid his son’s sobbing eyes as he walked around the table to embrace Esbin into a soft hug. “You were just curious, and I was just teasing you for giving you a small hint,” Charles explained with the same apologetic tone, “I love you Esbin, but sometimes you just need to be patient about these types of things.” Esbin sniffled softly as his face was buried into his father’s khaki colored coat, but he raised his head a bit as he pulled away to ask, “Do you *sniff* do you still want to come to school today?” “Of course I do, and I’ll be sure to tell you and your class everything,” Charles said, as he rustled Esbin’s mane, “Does that sound okay, kiddo?” “Mhmm,” Esbin hummed, as he nodded with a weak smile. “Alright then, how’s about some breakfast?” Charles asked putting on a weak smile. “Actually dad…I’m not really that hungry,” Esbin replied glancing away for a moment. “It’s okay, I understand,” Charles said. He couldn’t help but feel a little harrowed for making Esbin lose his appetite. Margret wanted to shout at Charles and give him a piece of her mind for yelling at Esbin; but seeing that he instantly regretted his decision, she could help but smile to see that her husband was willing to make up for it as well as apologizing to Esbin with a hug. “Esbin,” Margret said to the little colt. Esbin looked at her mother and asked, “Yes mom?” “I was wondering if I could come along with you and your father to Family Appreciation Day. I’m actually pretty curious about what your father has to say as well.” “If you’d like, then sure!” Esbin chirped happily Margret smiled warmly, as she patted her son on the head. Chapter 4After eating breakfast; Charles, Esbin, and Margret went out the front door of the house and began to walk down the street. But before they could get far, Charles suddenly stopped in place “You two go on ahead, I just remembered something.” “What, what is it,” Esbin asked as he turned around to see his dad. “It’s something I need to get for the class, that’s all. Just keep going I shouldn’t be too long,” Charles said as he made his way back home to retrieve what he needed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What do you think dad’s getting mom,” Esbin asked his mother with a smile. “I don’t know sweetheart, but let’s keep going; I don’t want you to be late for school,” Margret answered as she walked beside Esbin down the path. Meanwhile, back inside the house; Charles went upstairs to pull out the foot locker from his closet once more to pull out an old wool shirt and jacket from it. “I sure hope this old thing still fits me,” Charles said to himself as he stared at the wool uniform. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Esbin and Margret walked along the path the Ponyville School to see the several colts and fillies playing outside the school house while they waited for class to start. Just then Esbin spotted three familiar fillies waiting for him around the swing set. “Mornin’ Esbin,” Applebloom called out. “Morning girls,” Esbin waved to his friends who were walking up to him, “Mom, you know my friends, right?” “Of course I do;the sweet little Cutie Mark Crusaders. How goes your cutie mark crusading?” Margret asked with a pleasant smile. “Not so good, Ms. Hoofwin,” Scootaloo said with a morose expression on her face as she looked to the ground. “Oh I’m sorry to hear that girls; but don’t you worry, I’m certain that you will all get you cutie marks someday,” Margret said. The little ponies smiled at the light blue mare. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I thought you said you were going to bring your dad to Family Appreciation Day,” Sweetie Belle whispered to Esbin. “He said he needed to get something back home, he’ll be here soon enough,” Esbin whispered back to the young unicorn. Just then the bell rang out to let all the young ponies know that class was about to begin. Everyone made their way to the door of the school and into the classroom. Esbin took his seat behind Apple Bloom with his mom standing beside him; all the while he couldn’t keep his eyes off the classroom door to see his dad walking in. “Well, well, well; look who brought his mommy,” mocked Silver Spoon, over to her friend Diamond Tiara. “The blank flank crusader,” Diamond Tiara asked in a sarcastic tone. Esbin glared at the two fillies that snickered at each other’s comment. “Esbin,” Margret tapped Esbin on the shoulder, “Aren’t those the two fillies that made fun of you since your first day at school?” Esbin nodded quietly with a slight glare at the two earth ponies. “It’s alright Esbin,” Margret said as she closed her eyes with distaste from the two fillies, “Anypony that makes fun of others only do it for their own personal gain. And you’re better than that.” Esbin smiled at his mother until a cerise colored mare walking through the door and closed it behind her. “Good morning class,” Miss Cheerilee said her usual perky voice. “Good morning Miss Cheerilee,” the whole class said in unison. “Today we have a special guest that will be here for Family Appreciation Day and uh…” Miss Cheerilee stopped giving her introduction to the class as she noticed that Charles Hoofwin wasn’t around the class. She then saw Esbin with her mother, “Excuse me Esbin, but didn’t you say that you were planning to bring your father for Family Appreciation Day? I mean there’s nothing wrong about bringing you mother to class, but you said that you would bring Charles.” “Um… well uh…” Esbin stuttered as he felt everypony in the class looking at him for an answer. “I’m sorry Miss Cheerilee; it’s just that Charles said he needed to get something back home, so he should here at any moment,” Margret explained to the teacher. “Oh well that’s quite alright, but perhaps you could fill in for your husband if he doesn’t show up,” Miss Cheerilee offered. “Well…” Margret was about to give an answer until there was a knock on the door. Everypony in the room turned to face the door where the knock came from. “That’s probably Charles right now.” Cheerilee walked over to the door and opened it to see a full grown stallion standing outside the school. She stepped out of the way so that she could let the stallion onto the classroom, and everypony in the room could see that it was indeed Charles Hoofwin. “DAD… w-what are you wearing?” Esbin asked the moment. His dad walked into the room she reveal that he was wearing a brown colored wool shirt with a olive green color tie under a OD green color jacket that had several patches on the sleeves, a hoofful of decorative medals on the right side of the upper chest area of the jacket, and an equipment belt around his waist. There was even a garrison cap on his head that seemed to be made of the same material as the shirt, the color was the brown same as the main jacket, and there was a very distinguished pin on the font right side of the cap. Some of the young ponies looked with awe at the sight. Some were in confusion to what he was wearing, while others muttered to one another about Charles. “Welcome Mr. Hoofwin for joining us on Family Appreciation Day,” Miss Cheerilee thanked happily as she lead Charles to the center of the classroom in front of the class, “I’m sure that your son appreciates you very much for coming to school today.” Charles could see that his son Esbin had a surprised look on his face. He smiled and said, “I’m sure, Madame.” He took a deep breath as he prepared himself to explain his life story to the class in front of him; he put on a relaxed face and said, “Ahem, good morning everypony; my name is Charles Hoofwin. For those of you who don’t know me I am Esbin Hoofwin’s father and right beside him over there is my beautiful wife Margret.” Margret couldn’t help but blush with a giggle by Charles comment as he pointed a hoof over to her and Esbin. “Now then, how many of you think I was from Canterlot just like my wife before we moved to Ponyville,” Charles asked the students, most of the little ponies in the classroom raised their hooves. “Uh huh, that’s what I thought. Well, believe it or not I was born on a small maize farm outside of Ponyville. My parents always sold a good harvest of corn to all the folks into town whenever we needed the money to get us by or if we had a little bit too much corn on the field. I was about Esbins’ age when I got my Cutie Mark, I saved up my money to buy myself a brand new saddlebag to help around the farm when I had enough I managed to barter down the price and out of the blue, there it was.” Charles turned to side to show his cutie mark to the class so that everypony could see it, most of the ponies let out signs of interest as they whispered to one another, except of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon who propped their heads with a hoof. Diamond Tiara merely sighed and said, “Boring.” “SHUSH,” Esbin hissed irritably at the pink filly after hearing her, he returned his attention over to his dad. “When I was about twenty five years old, I decided to leave the farm and start my own life somewhere,” Charles explained as he paced back and forth at the front of the classroom, “Before I left, I said goodbye to my family, and to my only farmer friend I ever knew; Clyde Pie. He had this really odd-ball idea for starting a rock farm with his newly-wed wife for some reason, not really sure if it took off that well though. Anywho, I wished him the best of luck and that’s where my journey began…” Chapter 5A warm breeze blew through the golden plains of rolling grass as a young khaki colored stallion trotted along a dirt path to a town on the horizon. Charles had his half empty saddle bag over him as he passed a wooden sign that said in bright, bold letters, Welcome to Ponyville. He smiled wearily as he inched closer toward the nearby town down the path. He muttered to himself, “Almost there.” After trotting over a slope, Charles could now see the populated town; he let out a sigh of relief and took off; galloping the rest of the way to the town. When he finally reached Ponyville, one of the first things he needed was to purchase some provisions before he bought himself a train ticket to Canterlot, and one of the places he stopped by was a general store called, ‘Barnyard Bargains’. Before he even stepped inside through the shutter doors, he heard an argument going on inside between two stallions. “I keep telling you pops, I don’t need to learn about this supply and demand stuff ya keep rambling about,” a young stallion shouted at an older earth pony. “You know what I don’t need this right now, I’ve got papers tah sort and ya’ll ain’t helping me,” the older pony argued back. “Whatever,” the younger pony spat out as he busted through the double doors to see a rather surprised earth pony standing at the front steps. “Uh...you didn’t by any chance hear any of that did ya,” asked the young stallion with a nervous chuckle. Charles gave a nervous smile, “It’s a little hard to ignore an argument that...interesting.” The younger stallion groaned loudly as he paced around and said, “I’m just sick of my old man pestering me about running his business, but he says I’ve got ta learn about economics or something like that.” “Hmm. What’s your name son?” Charles asked with a slight nod. “Filthy. Filthy Rich-but I prefer Rich,” Filthy Rich said placing a hoof on his chest. “Okay Rich. Look I’m not one to take sides or anything, but your old man has a point. Learning the concept of running a business is important,” Charles said with a slanted expression. “Really, how so?” Filthy Rich asked with an arched eyebrow. “Well it’s like this; your ‘old man’ ain’t gonna be around forever and when he’s gone, all of the work he put into his store right here is gonna fall on your shoulders. And trust me; without knowing what to do with it, the whole business will fall apart right before your very eyes,” Charles explained as he maintained eye contact with Filthy Rich. He glanced at the ground for a second as he thought about what Charles just said to him. “I take it you don’t want to let your family down,” Charles asked which really made Filthy Rich think hard about it. “No… I sure don’t,” Filthy Rich said with a stern look on his face, “What do you suggest?” “Have a seat Rich,” Charles said as a patted on one of the steps on the deck he sat on, “I’ll teach ya what my dad taught me.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I explained to Filthy about the whole concept about the world of economics,” Charles said to the class, “Such as supply and demand, wholesale marketing, keeping in check with the stock, finding what the customer wants, keeping up with popular demand, and keeping fair pricing on stock while still maintaining a profit, that sort of stuff. I tried to make sound as easy as I could but…” Just then Diamond Tiara let out a loud yawn which interrupted what Charles was going to say. “I’m sorry; but am I boring you young lady,” Charles said with an irritated glare at the pink filly. “I highly doubt that my dad learned anything about business from you. He never told me anything like that, especially if it was from a corn picking peasant like you,” Diamond Tiara mocked with ignorance. Charles glared at Diamond Tiara and slowly walked in front of her desk with the same stern expression. The snooty filly nervously gulped as Charles continued to look down at her. They held a brief tension before Charles said, “You’re Filthy Rich’s daughter, Miss Diamond Tiara. I’ve heard a lot about you, especially about my son’s first day at school. Perhaps I should have taught him a thing or two about raising a good pony and not a spoiled brat as well.” Diamond Tiara gulped as Charles squinted his eyes down at her, he turned around to return to the front of the classroom. “Now as I was saying before I was RUDELY interrupted, we talked about the business for a while until Filthy finally managed wrapped his head around the whole concept…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Huh…so that’s how it’s all done,” Filthy Rich said as he stretched his neck, “I mean; it seems pretty hard at first, but once ya explained it ta me it makes perfect sense. It’s not what I want in the shop, it’s what the customer wants!” Charles nodded with a smile and said, “Now you’re getting it! You see, if you don’t have a pleasant atmosphere in the store, ponies aren’t gonna feel comfortable in the store andin turn, will be less inclined to spend their money there. So that’s why it’s important to keep the store clean, tidy, and properly organized.” “Well that make sense, thank you uh...,” Filthy Rich was going to say but just realized something, “Well shoot, I plum forgot tah ask for your name!” “Names Hoofwin- Charles Hoofwin,” Charles said in a pleasant, forgiving tone. “Well, it’s a pleasure to have met ya Charles. And if I may be so inclined, what brings a stallion such as yourself tah Ponyville?” Filthy Rich asked after shaking hoofs with Charles. “I just came here to get some supplies before I head out to Canterlot,” Charles explained after pulling his hoof away. “Canterlot huh? If I was you; I’d watch my tail up there, not a lot friendly folks in that city. Why don’t ya come on inside ta buy a few things, I’ll give ya a discount for helping me out,” Filthy Rich offered. “Sounds like a plan,” Charles said with a warm smile as he walked inside the store with Filthy Rich. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I bought myself some canned goods while I was inside and I was surprised of the generous discount for my purchases he gave me,” Charles said to the class who were paying close attention to him, “Before I left I wished the best of luck to his father, I went to the bank to take out some of my earnings, bought myself a train ticket to Canterlot, and before I knew it I was on my way to the city.” One of the young colt’s named Snips raised his hoof in the air to ask Charles a question, “Excuse me Mr. Hoofwin.” “Uh, yes you in the back,” Charles said as he pointed a hoof to Snips. “I was wondering how did ya get that uniform,” Snips asked feeling a little embarrassed to ask. “YEAH,” the entire class shouted in curiosity. “Heh...Well I was about to get to that,” Charles said with a chuckle, “You see; I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life on an old corn field, but I just didn’t know what to do with my life. Before I even left the farm I found one of those Canterlot Military recruitment pamphlets one day and the stuff inside really intrigued me, so I decided to make the Princess proud and sign up. That’s why I went to Canterlot, because back in the day, they didn’t have recruitment centers in separate towns and cities you only had to up in Canterlot. The city was just as amazing as everypony made it out to be, everything was just elegant from the streets to the very tops of every building. I signed myself up but I have to take a physical, they gave me a buzz cut, a fresh uniform and everything I needed. I managed to meet the regular requirements but I had a difficult time during the exercise portion of the test, and unfortunately for me I happen to step on my Drill Sergeants last nerve…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “PRIVATE CHARLES WHAT IN THE SAM HILL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU,” the Drill Sergeant Pegasus spat out to the khaki colored stallion that had his one of hind legs wrapped around a mesh of rope while hanging upside down several feet above the ground. “Uh well you see uh… I was just…” Charles tried to explain himself for his poor performance. “You are making A DARN FOOL OUT OF YOURSELF AS WELL AS WASTING MY VALUABLE TIME,” the Drill Sergeant shouted at Charles with veins bulging around his neck, “Why are you even here solider?!” Charles couldn’t help but glance away for a split second as he felt his embarrassment growing inside of him as he tried to come up with an answer, “I… I want to do my hometown proud and well as support Princess Celestia, sir.” “-Sigh- I’ve seen your type before kid,” the Sergeant said as he shook his head, “You think you can just walk in and become some sort of war hero or some big-shot soldier. Well, it’s not that simple maggot.” “With all due respect sir, I wasn’t thinking that at all. I knew it would be tough in the Canterlot Military, I just didn’t expect it to be this hard sir,” Charles said as he saluted to his commanding officer. “Well, I have only have one question for you CADET, is there ANYTHING you can do!?” the Drill Sergeant asked Charles as he came closer to his face. “I…I…I’m very talented in keeping thing well organized,” Charles stuttered trying to think of anything he could be good at. The Drill Sergeant raised a hoof with an enraged expression on his face but it suddenly turned into stunned look. He then rubbed his chin as he thought for a moment, then a smug grin came on his face as he said, “You know maggot, I think I know just the place for your expertise, report to my office in 1500 hours. DON’T be late Private.” Charles saluted to his Commanding Officer, he saluted back to him and turned around and began to march away. “Corporal Windbreaker,” the Pegasus Drill Sergeant called out to one of the white Pegasus troops around the training field. “Yes sir,” said Corporal Windbreaker as he stopped doing push-ups, stood up, and saluted to his Commanding Officer. “Fly up and untangle Private Charles before he passes out, on the double,” the Drill Sergeant ordered to the soldier in front of him. “Yes sir, right an away sir,” Corporal Windbreaker said as he took off into the air and flown over to Charles and helped untangle the mesh of ropes wrapped around his leg. With a pull here and a yank there, Charles fell to the ground with a thud and a groan of pain. “Thank you,” Charles thanked the white pegasus who nodded and returned to his work out. After rubbing the top of his head, Charles decided to head to the med station to see if there were any serious injuries just to be on the safe side. “Nice landing hick boy,” insulted a greyish brown unicorn with two other pegasus beside him. “Yah, maybe when you’re just as old as Celestia you might just be able to past the course,” one of the pegasus mocked with a snicker. “Ugh, whatever… I’ve got more important things to do,” Charles said as he decided to ignore the soldiers pestering him. “Oooh, important things; pfft, why don’t ya go back to your farm ya hick,” the other pegasus shouted at Charles as he continued to ignore them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Unfortunately for me, there always seemed to be somepony out in the world that wants to keep us little folk like me down a peg,” Charles said in a slightly depressed tone. Silver Spoon snickered for a bit and whispered to one of the other ponies around her, “I guess somepony has too.” “Ahem,” Charles cleared his throat loudly as he turned his attention to Silver Spoon, “The one unicorn always seem to have it out for me is named Gold Stock, he was one of those high class, snooty type of ponies that always got what he wanted. Any who later that day I met up with my Commanding Officer to be assigned to my new position so that I wouldn’t become a problem to him or any of the fresh face recruits. That’s when he assigned me to the PX, or Postal Exchange.” “Post Exchange,” everypony in the room said out loud after hearing Charles new position. “Hmm, it was also a commissary, you know a place where you’d buy everything you needed,” Charles said with a nod. “Wait, so you didn’t see any kind of action,” Scootaloo asked as she raised a hoof in the air. “Oh trust me; I saw the worst kind of action. As soon I walked inside the PX, I was given the duty to sort out the outgoing from the oncoming mail six days a week, as well as lending or selling the equipment in the store,” Charles explained to the class like it was the most important thing his life. Some of the student had confused looks on their faces, while the rest of the class muttered something with snickers. Esbin had a concern face as he raised a hoof, “Surely you’ve seen some real action after that, right?” “Hmm, no not really,” Charles shrugged, “It was pretty quiet after that, I managed to keep the whole operation in line without a hitch for the past seven months. For me things were just hunky dory, that is until Gold Stock was promoted to a royal guard and he needed to get his royal guard armor. Of course the idiot thought he could just buy the suit of armor as soon as he got it, but what he didn’t know how much the whole collection cost.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Okay so that’s the main chassis, reinforced horseshoes, standardized helmet, and a repair kit which make it a complete set,” Charles said as he ran the numbers for each of the items that Gold Stock needed for his promotion, “Which make it a grand total of…” “Listen Private, I’m now officially a Royal Guard of Princess Celestia’s army, I don’t need to know the numbers, I’m more important than anything you have to tell me,” Gold Stock said as he push aside the order form for the set of armor he was receiving, “So why don’t just handle all this paperwork like a good soldier and fill this out for me?” Gold Stocks got up from his chair he sat on with his new set of royal armor on as he made his way toward the exit, Charles rose up and said, “Hold on, I’m not specified to sign these papers, you’re the one who has to.” Gold Stocks stopped dead in his tracks; he turned his head around and asked in a sarcastic tone, “Excuse me? Did you just disregard my orders?” “No I was just…” Charles tried to explain but Gold Stocks merely raised a hoof to stop him from continuing, he then said, “I’m currently a Lieutenant as a royal guard, so basically I out rank you, Private. So listen and listen good, if you try to pull anything like that on me, I’ll report you for disorderly conduct faster than you can say whistling wind Dixie! Do I make myself clear?” Charles kept silent for a moment as he pondered the thought and said, “Yes.” “Yes, what,” Gold Stocks asked with a smug grin on his face. Charles stared at Gold Stocks with an irritated expression, he knew deep down inside he had to say the word that he didn’t want to say to this smug earth pony. He bared his teeth as he spoke through them, “Yes… sir.” “That’s better;” said Gold Stocks with the same smug grin, “Now get back to work, this place is a mess.” He suddenly bucks a tower of canned goods beside him which caused a cluttered mess on the floor; he laughed as he opened the door and slammed it behind him. Every fibre in Charles’ being wanted to punch a hole in the desk he sat in front of, but contained himself; he had a lot of work to do and he needed to keep his minds off things.
Chapter 1“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” ~Joseph Campbell As the sun set on another pleasant day at Ponyville, the citizens of the town started closing down the shops for the night until tomorrow morning. Lights from all of the shops and most of the houses flicked off as many of the ponies went to bed. All except for the one bedroom light that remained lit upstairs in a particular colt’s bedroom. Esbin had a rather saddened expression as his mother slowly poked her head inside with her warming smile on her face. “Hello Sweetheart,” Margret said, “did you enjoy your dinner?” “Mhmm, it was nice,” Esbin nodded but was in an unconvincing tone. Margret took notice to Esbin behavior and asked, “Is something wrong Esbin? You’re never this down on a Friday after school.” “It’s nothing mom, I’m just a little tired that’s all,” Esbin said, trying to hid his face under his blanket while he lay in his bed. “It’s alright sweetie you can tell me,” Margret said rubbing Esbin’s stomach over the blanket. “Well… okay, it’s about dad,” Esbin said trying not to make eye contact with his mother. “What does your attitude have to do with your father Esbin,” Margret asked with concern. “Well… I just think that dad doesn’t love me,” Esbin said with a tear escaping his eye. Margret gasped with surprise and asked, “ESBIN, what makes you think, even for a second, that your father doesn’t love you?!” Esbin glanced from side to side for a moment before replying, “He… he… I asked him if he could come to school on Monday for Family Appreciation Day, but then he said that he wasn’t interested. And right before I left him alone I said that I loved him, and he didn’t even say I love you too, like he always does.” Esbin then buried his face into his blanket as he sobbed softly. Margret gave a caring expression and said, “Oh Sweetheart, your father loves you very much. He might not show it sometimes, but believe me when I say that he does love you. He’s just a little more… reserved, that’s all.” “Reserved?” Esbin asked looking up at his mother; she patted her son on the head. “Yes, reserved. You see, work can make your father a little upset sometimes, kind of like when you have a difficult time with your homework. Sometimes he just needs to be alone when he works. I’m sure he wants to go with you to school on Family Appreciation Day, but he’s just needs to go to work around that time.” “That would make sense,” Esbin said with a sniffle, “But that doesn’t explain why he didn’t say he loved me.” Margret frowned for a split second to think of an answer. “He just has his own way of saying that he loves you Esbin; he might not say it but he truly does love you.” Esbin looked away for a moment. “I know that but… it… it just doesn’t feel the same unless he actually says it to me.” He soon started to sob softly again as he buried his head into his blanket to cover his face. “I know sweetheart,” Margret said as she pulled her son closely into a hug while running a hoof through his mane, “I know.” All the while this was happening in Esbin’s room, his father, Charles Hoofwin; stood behind the slightly ajar door, listening on the how conversation went in his son’s bed room. As much as he wanted to walk inside and tell his son Esbin that his did love him, he thought that the two ponies needed to be alone for the moment. Charles sighed sadly and quietly walked down the hallway and into the master bedroom. Meanwhile back inside Esbin’s bedroom, Margret suddenly thought of something that might hopefully bring Esbin out of his depression. “Do you want me to tell you a story before bed,” Margret asked with a pleasant tone of voice. “Mhmm,” Esbin replied with a nod. Margret tried to think of a story she could tell to Esbin and quickly thought of one. “How I ever told you the story about how I met your father,” Margret asked with an innocent smile. “No,” Esbin said with a shake of his head and wiping away his tears. Margret chuckled softly as she took a seat on the side of Esbin’s bed, “Well it went like this. I was about fourteen years older than you when I first met him; I was still living in Canterlot at the time before anything else. My family and I had received an invitation to the Grand Galloping Gala hosted by Princess Celestia, including a very important guest of honor.” Esbin’s eyes widened with gasp, “You went to the Grand Galloping Gala?!” “I sure did honey,” Margret said with a smile. “Anyway, we arrived a little late to the Gala, so we missed the speech given by the guest of honor; but we managed to enjoy the rest of the event. My parents went to talk to some dear friends of theirs, while I was being harassed by some of the royal guards. I tell you, the things that they said to me were certainly not worth my time. I just had to get away from them so I stepped outside into the royal garden. “And my goodness Esbin, it was amazing. There were so many different flowers that were just so beautiful, some of them weren’t even sold in most flower shops and… oh sorry I’m rambling about flowers again. Anywho, after I took a stroll along the garden I made my way back inside into the main ball room and then… I saw the most handsome stallion I’ve seen in all my life.” Esbin paid close attention to every single word as his mother continued talk about her story. “Was it dad,” Esbin asked, Margret smiled down at the little colt. “In good time, Esbin,” Margret said in a calm voice. “He stood right beside the Princess herself as if he was a proud guard, until both our eyes met and I think both of our hearts melted. I could literally see his face light up right from where I was standing.” “Did he ask you to dance with him,” Esbin asked with curiosity. Margret chuckled slightly, “On the contrary, I asked him to dance with me. You probably don’t believe me; but you got shy side from you father, not me.” “Wait a minute, dad was… shy,” Esbin asked with complete shock. Margret nodded slightly at his question. Esbin frowned for a second, “But… I’ve never seen dad scared before.” “Even big ponies like your father get scared sometimes, sweetie,” Margret replied. Margret continued, “The Princess noticed him staring at me and she whispered something into his ear and she nudged him forward up to me; and I swear to you when he was right in front of me, he looked like he was going to faint. I didn’t want to seem rude so I remembered my manners; I curtsied to him and introduced myself. He saluted to me and gave me his name, Charles Hoofwin. We talked a little bit. It was nothing special, just stuff like where we were from, what we did for a living, just simple things. Then the music band started and had been waiting to dance for a while, so I took Charles’s hoof and pulled him over to the center of the ball room and we danced in front of all of the party guests. They all look so stunned at us both dancing, and I had no idea why. It wasn’t until I asked Charles why they muttering about us.” Margret paused for a moment to imitated Charles voice, “Well, you are dancing with the guest of honor.” Esbin’s eyes widened at that very moment, “Dad was the guest of honor at the Grand Galloping Gala?!” “He sure was Esbin, and if you thought he was embarrassed, you should have seen the look on my face,” Margret said with a laugh, “I wanted to run off at that moment, but Charles hung onto my hoof and I… I just felt this calming, warm feeling deep inside of me as he looked deep into my eyes.” “We danced for quite a while after that, we whispered the sweetest things into each other’s ears that probably made both of our hearts a flutter. I don’t think either one of us wanted that night to end. After that Charles escorted me back to my home and well… things became more than a night to remember.” “Wait, did… did you and dad kiss,” Esbin asked with curiosity increasing by the second. Margret found herself blushing rather hard at that moment looking back at the memory. She then decided to only to the simple part of the memory instead. She then gave a hearty sigh and said, “Yes Esbin, we did. And it was the more romantic time of my life.” “EWW,” Esbin exclaimed while kicking his hooves playfully under his blankets. Margret let out a giggle not to seem suspicious, but on the inside she let out a sigh of relief. “What happened after that mom,” Esbin asked enthusiastically after he stopped kicking around. “Hmm, well the rest is history after that,” Margret said with a tap of her chin, “We saw each other for a few months, he proposed to me, we got married and then we decided to have a baby…do you know who that baby was, Sweetie?” Esbin glanced from side to side and replied in a curious tone as he pointed a hoof to himself, “Me?” Margret pulled Esbin into another hug and said with a laugh, “Of course it was you silly! And both of us couldn’t be any happier, trust me.” Esbin yawned with a weak, yet happy smile at his mother. Margret smiled back at Esbin and asked while brushing her hoof through his mane, “Feeling tired honey?” “Mhmm,” Esbin hummed with a lazy nod. Margret got off of the side of Esbin bed and said, “Goodnight sweetheart, your father and I will see you in the morning.” She then planted a kiss on Esbin’s forehead and began to make her way doorway. She placed a hoof next to the light switch, “Now I don’t want to hear any of this nonsense of your father not loving you, okay?” “Okay,” Esbin said in a tired voice. Margret smiled happily at her son as she flicked the lights off and closed the door behind her and started to make her way to the master bed room. Esbin lay quietly in his bed as he stared up at the ceiling of his room, all the while he felt himself slipping into a pleasant sleep, he thought about his mother’s story. “Wow, mom and dad were at the Grand Galloping Gala,” Esbin thought with amazement, “I can’t believe that neither one of them told me about that. My friends are never gonna believe me when it tell them that my dad was… wait.” Esbin suddenly rose up from his bed and asked himself, “How did dad become the guest of honor at the Grand Galloping Gala?!” He almost jumped right out of bed but realized that tomorrow was Saturday and his dad didn’t go to work until the afternoon; so he had time to at least ask him about the whole ‘Guest of Honor’ title tomorrow. Esbin lay back on the bed again and tried to contain himself about his curiosity eating away at him. He soon found himself drifting off to sleep as his eye lids slowly closed together.
Chapter 2The clock tower that could be seen from the Hoofwin residence rang the call of Celestia’s sunrise. Charles and Margret lay soundly in their large bed as they heard the soft gongs of the bell from the tower. Charles was the one to wake up first. He smacked his dry lips as he lazily opened his eyes. He suddenly felt something on the foot of his bed. It wasn’t too heavy, but it certainly caught his attention. After rubbing his eyes he could see his son Esbin staring at him patiently. “Morning dad!” he said, quickly. Just like that, Margret woke up with a startled gasp; a pair of eye covers over her eyes. While Charles didn’t even flinch from his son’s unexpected outburst, Margret quickly took off the cover of her face and could see Esbin sitting in front of Charles with a big grin on his face. “Esbin,” Charles said with a lazy glare, “How long have you been sitting there?” “An hour…or two.” Esbin replied almost on command, both of his parents looked at him with wide eyes with a hint of concern in them. “Hey um dad… I was wondering, can you tell me why you were the guest of honor at the Grand Galloping Gala years ago?” “W-what,” Charles asked, as he raised an eye brow. “The Grand Galloping Gala, you were the guest of honor there,” Esbin said hopping softly on the mattress. “W-wait, how did you even…” Charles was about to ask a question, but Esbin interrupted him. “Mom told me how you and she met that one night, and she told me that you were the guest of honor,” Esbin explained, as he continued to bounce excitedly in front on his parents. Charles glanced over at his wife Margret of a moment. “I’m sorry Charles, Esbin seemed upset about something so I decided to tell him the story on how we first met.” Charles perked up for a moment and a slight blush grew on his cheeks. “You didn’t tell him about uh… what happened ‘after’ the Gala, right?” Margret blushed heavily and exclaimed, “HEAVENS NO CHARLES! Esbin’s just a child, for Celestia’s sake!” “You mean when you two kissed,” Esbin chirped, trying to put the pieces together. “Yeah, Mom told me about it. I mean it was gross to me, but it’s what grown-ups do, right?” Charles and Margret looked at each other with concern on their faces; until Charles said with a nervous smile, “Yes, we kissed.” “Mhmm, it was very sweet,” Margret said with a nervous tone. “Okay soooo, can you tell me how you became the guest of honor at the Gala, I mean isn’t Princess Celestia the only one who appoints somepony as the Guest of Honor?” Esbin asked as he took a few steps closer to his father. “*Sigh* Esbin… I understand that you wish to know more about me, but could you at least give me and your mother five minutes to wake up, please?” Charles asked, trying not to sound too desperate to avoid conversation. Esbin’s ears flopped down, “Oh… okay.” He hopped off the bed and slowly trotted towards the door. Margret nudged Charles, which caused him to look over to his wife. “Charles, at least promise to him to that you’ll tell him so that he has something to say at his school on Monday,” Margret said in a whisper, “After all, the only reason why he’s curious about you is because you weren’t interested to agree to go on Family Appreciation Day.” Charles lowered his head in realization from last night. He let out a sigh. “Um…Esbin.” The brown colt turned his head around to look at Charles. “Yes, dad?” “I suppose I could tell you about the Gala, if you really want to know about me,” Charles said with a gentle smile on his face. Just like that Esbin jumped up with joy and started to bouncing around the room. “Oh Thankyouthankyouthankyou!” “BUT, I will only tell you on Monday,” Charles said as he raised a hoof to gain Esbin’s attention, and just as quickly as his excitement started, it ended as he stopped in midair. “MONDAY?!” “Yes, on Monday. The same day as Family Appreciation Day,” Charles repeated. “*Groan* Fine, if you say so,” Esbin groaned as he trotted his way out of the room again to have some breakfast. Just as Esbin left the room, Margret heard a chuckle escape Charles lips. She looked over at him to hear him say, “That ought to keep him interested for a while.” He suddenly noticed that Margret was frowning at him. “What’s this about you not being interested in going to Family Appreciation Day when Esbin asked you to come; since it’s his turn to bring in somepony from his family.” “I don’t want to seem like the bad pony here,” Charles said, maintaining eye contact with his wife, “but why didn’t you offer to go with him to go to school on Monday?” “Charles, don’t you see? He only wants to get to know you, considering that you spent most of your time at work,” Margret explained with a more loosened expression. “Things have just been busy that’s all at work, that’s all. I guess I’ve been a little stressed out lately,” Charles explained to Margret. “I understand times at work can be stressful honey, but please don’t take it out on Esbin.” Margret said showing concern while placing a hoof on Charles shoulder. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Charles asked with a raised eyebrow. “Esbin told me yesterday that before he left you to your work, he said that he loved you,” Margret explained. “And… and I didn’t say that I love him too…” Charles finishing the rest of Margret’s answer as he remembered from last night when her over heard his wife and child talking to each other. Charles let out a sigh and hung his head again in shame; until Margret wrapped her arms around her husband. “You heard us talking about you… didn’t you?” There was a moment of silence. “I was going to check on Esbin… *sigh* I’m sorry honey. I really should show up on Monday.” Margret planted a kiss on Charles cheek and smiled happily at him. “It’s alright dear; Esbin just wants you to know that he loves you.” “I know dear, I know,” Charles said with a sigh, “But to Esbin it just doesn’t feel the same unless I tell it to him. I really do love my son; I don’t want him to grow up thinking that I don’t love him anymore. I just don’t want to be those kinds of fathers, you know?” “Charles, I know you,” Margret said as she placed both of her hooves on each side Charles head, “You’ll never be like those kinds of ponies. I admit you can be a little stubborn at times, but deep down you a good pony at heart.” Charles smiled softly and kissed Margret on the lips. “Thanks Margret, I can always count on you. Well, I better start making breakfast.” The two ponies got out of bed and made their way down stairs into the kitchen, where they found Esbin trying to make some toast while he waited for his parents. Charles pulled out several plates and set them on the table beside glass cups. While Charles sliced some apples into slices, Esbin sat patiently at the table next to his mother. “Hey dad.” “Yes kiddo,” Charles asked as he continued to chop the apples in the cutting board. “I know you said that I had to wait until Monday for you to tell me your life story, but I was wondering… could you at least give me a hint on what you did,” Esbin asked with bright eyes. “Well… I was told to not reveal any information but… let’s just say that the life of a very important pony in Canterlot was in my hooves, and let’s just leave it at that,” Charles said trying to hide a chuckle from his son. “WHOA, were you a body guard or something like that,” Esbin asked with wide eyes as he balanced himself on his chair. “Sorry kiddo, but that’s all you’re going to get out of me until Monday. Now then, who wants breakfast?” Charles asked with several plates full of apple slices, toast with butter and jam. The two ponies smiled at the breakfast that was placed in front of them, they each picked enough for each other while Charles helped himself to a mug of coffee, and they all sat down quietly while they enjoyed their meal as the clock ticked on by. After the clock in the kitchen reached 8:00 A.M. Charles placed his mug down. “Hey Esbin?” “Yes dad,” Esbin replied as he raised his head up. “Didn’t you say that you had some sort of meeting with your friends?” Charles asked with a lowered eye brow. “Oh jeez, you’re right! Bye mom, bye dad, I’ll see you guys later,” Esbin said quickly, he guzzled his orange juice and kissed his mother and father on the cheek before he took off toward the door to grab his saddlebags. But before he even reached to the door Margret called out, “Esbin brush your teeth before to go.” Esbin’s hoof dropped to the floor as he made his way up stairs to his bathroom and brush his teeth, after the task was done Esbin ran down the stairs toward the front door. “Esbin?” Esbin froze for a second as he turned around to see his father standing up between the doorway to the kitchen, he then asked, “Yes dad?” Charles gulped nervously. “I love you son.” Esbin stood where he was for a moment before a small smile grew on his face with a slightly tearful expression. “I love you too dad.” Esbin then faced the front door again to turn the knob and open the door into the streets of Ponyville. He closed the door as he made his way out and started to trot down the pavement. Meanwhile, Charles looked at his wife who smiled warmly at her husband. “Thank you Charles,” Margret said as she nuzzled him happily. “Ahh, don’t mention it. I care for our son as much as you do.” “Still, it’s nice to say that you love him,” Margret said with a smooth tone. Charles smiled and said, “I know sweetheart. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to pull out some of my old stuff from Canterlot.” Margret raised a brow and asked before her husband left the kitchen, “You mean your old uniform when you were still in the…” “Shhh,” Charles shushed with a hoof to his mouth, “Esbin might be still around and I don’t want him to know anything about me until Family Appreciation Day. Just make sure he doesn’t go into our room until that day comes, alright?” Margret nodded with a giggle as she went back to drinking her juice while Charles peered outside to see if Esbin was still around, there was no sight of him anywhere. Charles chuckled softly to himself and made his way upstairs into the bedroom, he closed the door and locked it behind him so that no pony could disturb him as he walked over to the double closet. On the floor was a dust covered olive green trunk. He pulled out the heavy trunk by one of the rope handles with his teeth to drag it out in the open, once the trunk was out he went over to his night stand to pull out an old key that was concealed in the very back of the drawer. Charles took the key and went back to the trunk; he swiped away the layer of dust the top of the truck to see black colored lettering that said, Property of Pvt. Charles Hoofwin. “I never thought I’d ever have to pull this old thing out ever again,” Charles said with a soft smile as he took the key and unlocked the brass lock that contained the old memories deep within.
Chapter 3As Esbin trotted down the morning streets of Ponyville; he turned and followed down the path of dirt road to make his way toward Sweet Apple Acres. He waved to Big Macintosh and Applejack, who were doing their morning chores for the day. Apple Bloom however, was nowhere in sight. “Mornin’ Esbin,” Applejack hollered out as she waved to the brown colt walking down the path. Esbin smiled, “Morning Applejack, morning Big Mac. I’m on my way to see the fillies at the clubhouse, see ya later.” The two farmers waved goodbye to Esbin as he galloped through the apple orchards to reach the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse. After dodging the many rows of apple trees, Esbin finally arrived at tree house. He went inside to see his three friends waiting for him to arrive so that could begin their meeting. “Alright Crusaders, before we begin our meeting; I have some exciting news,” Esbin said to the three fillies. “What is it Esbin,” Scootaloo said with curiosity. “Yea tell us,” Apple Bloom said, as she stood up. “On Family Appreciation Day, I will be brining my dad to school,” Esbin explained with a grin. The three fillies look at each other with confusion and lack of enthusiasm. Sweetie Belle raised a hoof in dismissal, “Is that all?” Esbin continued to grin as he asked, “Aren’t you girls curious as to why I’m gonna bring my dad to school?” “Well… we kind of thought that you would bring your mom to Family Appreciation Day,” Scootaloo said. “I thought about that, but… then I figured that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon would just probably call me a momma’s colt or something like that,” Esbin said with a shrug. “Hmm, good point,” Apple Bloom agreed. “But still, why your dad? I mean he’s like a banker, right?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Well last night, my mom told me that when she was at the Gala years ago, she met my dad there, and he was named the guest of honor that night,” Esbin explained. “WHOA…” Scootaloo said with complete shock. “NO WAY,” Sweetie Belle said as she leaned forward toward Esbin. “Your mom and dad where at the Grand Galloping Gala?” Apple Bloom questioned excitedly. “They sure were,” Esbin said confidently. “Wow! Mah older sister and her friends went tah the Gala once, but she said it wasn’t all that amazing as they say it is,” Apple Bloom said. “Maybe, but you know what they say…” Esbin was going to continue, but was cut off by Sweetie Belle. “Hold on. How did your dad become the guest of honor at the Gala anyway?” Sweetie Belle asked, she scratching her head. “I don’t know. He never explained why, but he said that he will tell me, and the class; on Family Appreciation Day,” Esbin said, trying to at least keep his friends interested. Scootaloo stomped her hoof on the floor lightly, “Aw man.” “Yah know Esbin, ah’m surprised,” Apple Bloom said, wrapping a hoof around Esbins shoulder, “Ah woulda expected yah tah go crazy about tryin’ teh find out more about your daddy.” Esbin shifted uncomfortably in place, “Trust me, it’s not easy. I don’t want to tick my dad off; he can be pretty scary when he gets mad, if he ever does.” “Well, its only two days until he goes to school with you,” Sweetie Belle pointed out with a small shrug. Scootaloo hopped up, “Yeah how bad it could be?” “Its two days you guys….two long, dreadful, agonizing days,” Esbin said, feeling his anxiety building up inside of him. “Take it easy Esbin,” Scootaloo calmly said, placing both of her hooves on his chest. “Yeah, you’re kind of freaking out again,” Apple Bloom said, as she noticed Esbin was starting to hyperventilate. “…Okay, okay. I’m sorry,” Esbin said, as he tried to calm himself by taking deep breathes. Apple Bloom patted Esbin on the back with a light rub as his breathing returned to normal. “Hey, I know what will keep you mind off things Esbin,” Scootaloo said as she suddenly came up with an idea. Esbin, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle look at the orange colored Pegasus with curiosity as they waited for an answer. … “What?” “Trying to find our cutie marks,” Scootaloo exclaimed happily. The other little ponies lit up with joy by Scootaloo’s answer. “That’s a great idea!” the Crusaders said in unison. “So what are we waiting for,” Scootaloo asked her friends as she opened the door of the clubhouse. “Let’s get out there and find our special talents!” The four ponies charged out of the small clubhouse and made their way down the steps and into the apple orchard. “Don’t worry about it Esbin,” Sweetie Belle said with a smile, “These two days are going to go by like that!” Sweetie Belle snapped her tail to emphasize. Esbin gave a weak smile, “I sure hope so.” -Two days later- As the morning sun began to rise, the clock tower rang at the tone of 6:00 A.M. At the very moment Esbin heard the distant rings from the iron bell of the clock tower, his eyes shot open and a big grin swept on his face. He shot right out of his bed and cheered out as he ran toward the door. “IT’S MONDAY! IT’S MONDAY! IT’S MONDAY! YAY MONDAY!!” Esbin opened the bedroom door and galloped over to his parent’s room, to find that both of his parents still asleep. Even though Esbin knew it was rude to wake somepony up but he just could control himself. He instantly jumped right onto the bed which woke both Charles and Margret up lazily. “IT’S MONDAY DAD!” Esbin cheered happily as he bound on the mattress, “WAKE UP WAKE UP, YOU PROMISED TO COME TO SCHOOL TODAY!” Charles did his best to control his sleep-denied anger as he lazily opened his eyes. “Esbin… I understand that I promised to come with you to school today, but could you at least wait until me and your mother wake up first,” he groaned in a tired voice. “*Yawn* It’s not even time for school yet darling,” Margret yawned in a tired voice as she looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand beside her bed. “NO WAY, TIME TO GET UP, COME ON, COME ON GET UP,” Esbin exclaimed happily as he continued to jump on the bed. “*Groan* Alright fine,” Charles said in a slightly frustrated tone of voice. “YAY, I’m gonna get ready for school,” Esbin said as he jumped off the bed, trotted out of the room, and made his way to the stairs to make some breakfast for himself. While Esbin left his parents to rest some more, Margret murmured, “I should have seen this coming.” “You and me both,” Charles moaned as he buried his face into his pillow. After about thirty minutes of extra rest, Charles got out of bed to head down stairs to make breakfast for the whole family; Margret soon joined the two ponies after she fixed her hair just as Charles poured some coffee for them. “So dad, were you on some secret mission?” Esbin asked with same excited and quick voice. “Wait a minute, you said it involved the life a very important pony in Canterlot, was it a representative or something?” “Esbin,” Charles said. “Or maybe it was a famous fashion model,” Esbin guessed, only to have Margret chuckle slightly. “Esbin,” Charles repeated only in a slightly louder voice. “An important General from the Canterlot Military,” Esbin assumed without even hearing his father saying his name. “Esbin,” Charles repeated once again with an even louder voice, only be bombarded with another question. “-Gasp- WAS IT PRINCESS CELESTIA HERSEL…” Esbin was about to say, but finally stepped on his father’s last nerve. “ESBIN!” Charles shouted in a very enraged tone at the top of his lungs. Just like that, Esbin went dead silent and stared at his father, complete fear striking his entire body. Even Margret was a little spooked by his husband’s sudden outburst. Charles walked up to the table across from Esbin. “Listen Esbin, I will tell you all about my life once we get to school, but will you please stop pestering me?! I would have made do with the questions at first, and maybe the acts of kindest you did for me like cleaning your room and handing me a new pen when I needed one was very becoming; but you know I really didn’t like that early morning wake up from a one pony polka band. Hay, I don’t even know where Pinkie Pie even got a tuba for crying out loud! So would it kill you to actually wait until we were at school FIRST?!” Esbin hardly ever seen his mom or his dad angry at him, but this had probably had been the angriest he had ever seen him. He could feel his body shake with fear and regret as Charles eyes bared down on his from across the table. Esbin tried as he could to look away but he was too fear stricken to even avoid his father’s intimidating gaze. “I-I-I’m sorry daddy,” Esbin whimpered, as tears started to form in his eyes, and his face started to turn red. Charles anger dissipated in a heartbeat as he looked into Esbin’s tearing eyes. He quickly felt ashamed for what he just said to his son. He had never just told him off like that, and it pained him deeply in his stomach. His enraged expression faded away and a face of guilt replaced it. He managed to find his voice after a few moments. “No… I’m the one that’s sorry. I… I didn’t mean any of that.” Charles glanced at the floor for a second to avoid his son’s sobbing eyes as he walked around the table to embrace Esbin into a soft hug. “You were just curious, and I was just teasing you for giving you a small hint,” Charles explained with the same apologetic tone, “I love you Esbin, but sometimes you just need to be patient about these types of things.” Esbin sniffled softly as his face was buried into his father’s khaki colored coat, but he raised his head a bit as he pulled away to ask, “Do you *sniff* do you still want to come to school today?” “Of course I do, and I’ll be sure to tell you and your class everything,” Charles said, as he rustled Esbin’s mane, “Does that sound okay, kiddo?” “Mhmm,” Esbin hummed, as he nodded with a weak smile. “Alright then, how’s about some breakfast?” Charles asked putting on a weak smile. “Actually dad…I’m not really that hungry,” Esbin replied glancing away for a moment. “It’s okay, I understand,” Charles said. He couldn’t help but feel a little harrowed for making Esbin lose his appetite. Margret wanted to shout at Charles and give him a piece of her mind for yelling at Esbin; but seeing that he instantly regretted his decision, she could help but smile to see that her husband was willing to make up for it as well as apologizing to Esbin with a hug. “Esbin,” Margret said to the little colt. Esbin looked at her mother and asked, “Yes mom?” “I was wondering if I could come along with you and your father to Family Appreciation Day. I’m actually pretty curious about what your father has to say as well.” “If you’d like, then sure!” Esbin chirped happily Margret smiled warmly, as she patted her son on the head.
Chapter 4After eating breakfast; Charles, Esbin, and Margret went out the front door of the house and began to walk down the street. But before they could get far, Charles suddenly stopped in place “You two go on ahead, I just remembered something.” “What, what is it,” Esbin asked as he turned around to see his dad. “It’s something I need to get for the class, that’s all. Just keep going I shouldn’t be too long,” Charles said as he made his way back home to retrieve what he needed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What do you think dad’s getting mom,” Esbin asked his mother with a smile. “I don’t know sweetheart, but let’s keep going; I don’t want you to be late for school,” Margret answered as she walked beside Esbin down the path. Meanwhile, back inside the house; Charles went upstairs to pull out the foot locker from his closet once more to pull out an old wool shirt and jacket from it. “I sure hope this old thing still fits me,” Charles said to himself as he stared at the wool uniform. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Esbin and Margret walked along the path the Ponyville School to see the several colts and fillies playing outside the school house while they waited for class to start. Just then Esbin spotted three familiar fillies waiting for him around the swing set. “Mornin’ Esbin,” Applebloom called out. “Morning girls,” Esbin waved to his friends who were walking up to him, “Mom, you know my friends, right?” “Of course I do;the sweet little Cutie Mark Crusaders. How goes your cutie mark crusading?” Margret asked with a pleasant smile. “Not so good, Ms. Hoofwin,” Scootaloo said with a morose expression on her face as she looked to the ground. “Oh I’m sorry to hear that girls; but don’t you worry, I’m certain that you will all get you cutie marks someday,” Margret said. The little ponies smiled at the light blue mare. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I thought you said you were going to bring your dad to Family Appreciation Day,” Sweetie Belle whispered to Esbin. “He said he needed to get something back home, he’ll be here soon enough,” Esbin whispered back to the young unicorn. Just then the bell rang out to let all the young ponies know that class was about to begin. Everyone made their way to the door of the school and into the classroom. Esbin took his seat behind Apple Bloom with his mom standing beside him; all the while he couldn’t keep his eyes off the classroom door to see his dad walking in. “Well, well, well; look who brought his mommy,” mocked Silver Spoon, over to her friend Diamond Tiara. “The blank flank crusader,” Diamond Tiara asked in a sarcastic tone. Esbin glared at the two fillies that snickered at each other’s comment. “Esbin,” Margret tapped Esbin on the shoulder, “Aren’t those the two fillies that made fun of you since your first day at school?” Esbin nodded quietly with a slight glare at the two earth ponies. “It’s alright Esbin,” Margret said as she closed her eyes with distaste from the two fillies, “Anypony that makes fun of others only do it for their own personal gain. And you’re better than that.” Esbin smiled at his mother until a cerise colored mare walking through the door and closed it behind her. “Good morning class,” Miss Cheerilee said her usual perky voice. “Good morning Miss Cheerilee,” the whole class said in unison. “Today we have a special guest that will be here for Family Appreciation Day and uh…” Miss Cheerilee stopped giving her introduction to the class as she noticed that Charles Hoofwin wasn’t around the class. She then saw Esbin with her mother, “Excuse me Esbin, but didn’t you say that you were planning to bring your father for Family Appreciation Day? I mean there’s nothing wrong about bringing you mother to class, but you said that you would bring Charles.” “Um… well uh…” Esbin stuttered as he felt everypony in the class looking at him for an answer. “I’m sorry Miss Cheerilee; it’s just that Charles said he needed to get something back home, so he should here at any moment,” Margret explained to the teacher. “Oh well that’s quite alright, but perhaps you could fill in for your husband if he doesn’t show up,” Miss Cheerilee offered. “Well…” Margret was about to give an answer until there was a knock on the door. Everypony in the room turned to face the door where the knock came from. “That’s probably Charles right now.” Cheerilee walked over to the door and opened it to see a full grown stallion standing outside the school. She stepped out of the way so that she could let the stallion onto the classroom, and everypony in the room could see that it was indeed Charles Hoofwin. “DAD… w-what are you wearing?” Esbin asked the moment. His dad walked into the room she reveal that he was wearing a brown colored wool shirt with a olive green color tie under a OD green color jacket that had several patches on the sleeves, a hoofful of decorative medals on the right side of the upper chest area of the jacket, and an equipment belt around his waist. There was even a garrison cap on his head that seemed to be made of the same material as the shirt, the color was the brown same as the main jacket, and there was a very distinguished pin on the font right side of the cap. Some of the young ponies looked with awe at the sight. Some were in confusion to what he was wearing, while others muttered to one another about Charles. “Welcome Mr. Hoofwin for joining us on Family Appreciation Day,” Miss Cheerilee thanked happily as she lead Charles to the center of the classroom in front of the class, “I’m sure that your son appreciates you very much for coming to school today.” Charles could see that his son Esbin had a surprised look on his face. He smiled and said, “I’m sure, Madame.” He took a deep breath as he prepared himself to explain his life story to the class in front of him; he put on a relaxed face and said, “Ahem, good morning everypony; my name is Charles Hoofwin. For those of you who don’t know me I am Esbin Hoofwin’s father and right beside him over there is my beautiful wife Margret.” Margret couldn’t help but blush with a giggle by Charles comment as he pointed a hoof over to her and Esbin. “Now then, how many of you think I was from Canterlot just like my wife before we moved to Ponyville,” Charles asked the students, most of the little ponies in the classroom raised their hooves. “Uh huh, that’s what I thought. Well, believe it or not I was born on a small maize farm outside of Ponyville. My parents always sold a good harvest of corn to all the folks into town whenever we needed the money to get us by or if we had a little bit too much corn on the field. I was about Esbins’ age when I got my Cutie Mark, I saved up my money to buy myself a brand new saddlebag to help around the farm when I had enough I managed to barter down the price and out of the blue, there it was.” Charles turned to side to show his cutie mark to the class so that everypony could see it, most of the ponies let out signs of interest as they whispered to one another, except of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon who propped their heads with a hoof. Diamond Tiara merely sighed and said, “Boring.” “SHUSH,” Esbin hissed irritably at the pink filly after hearing her, he returned his attention over to his dad. “When I was about twenty five years old, I decided to leave the farm and start my own life somewhere,” Charles explained as he paced back and forth at the front of the classroom, “Before I left, I said goodbye to my family, and to my only farmer friend I ever knew; Clyde Pie. He had this really odd-ball idea for starting a rock farm with his newly-wed wife for some reason, not really sure if it took off that well though. Anywho, I wished him the best of luck and that’s where my journey began…”
Chapter 5A warm breeze blew through the golden plains of rolling grass as a young khaki colored stallion trotted along a dirt path to a town on the horizon. Charles had his half empty saddle bag over him as he passed a wooden sign that said in bright, bold letters, Welcome to Ponyville. He smiled wearily as he inched closer toward the nearby town down the path. He muttered to himself, “Almost there.” After trotting over a slope, Charles could now see the populated town; he let out a sigh of relief and took off; galloping the rest of the way to the town. When he finally reached Ponyville, one of the first things he needed was to purchase some provisions before he bought himself a train ticket to Canterlot, and one of the places he stopped by was a general store called, ‘Barnyard Bargains’. Before he even stepped inside through the shutter doors, he heard an argument going on inside between two stallions. “I keep telling you pops, I don’t need to learn about this supply and demand stuff ya keep rambling about,” a young stallion shouted at an older earth pony. “You know what I don’t need this right now, I’ve got papers tah sort and ya’ll ain’t helping me,” the older pony argued back. “Whatever,” the younger pony spat out as he busted through the double doors to see a rather surprised earth pony standing at the front steps. “Uh...you didn’t by any chance hear any of that did ya,” asked the young stallion with a nervous chuckle. Charles gave a nervous smile, “It’s a little hard to ignore an argument that...interesting.” The younger stallion groaned loudly as he paced around and said, “I’m just sick of my old man pestering me about running his business, but he says I’ve got ta learn about economics or something like that.” “Hmm. What’s your name son?” Charles asked with a slight nod. “Filthy. Filthy Rich-but I prefer Rich,” Filthy Rich said placing a hoof on his chest. “Okay Rich. Look I’m not one to take sides or anything, but your old man has a point. Learning the concept of running a business is important,” Charles said with a slanted expression. “Really, how so?” Filthy Rich asked with an arched eyebrow. “Well it’s like this; your ‘old man’ ain’t gonna be around forever and when he’s gone, all of the work he put into his store right here is gonna fall on your shoulders. And trust me; without knowing what to do with it, the whole business will fall apart right before your very eyes,” Charles explained as he maintained eye contact with Filthy Rich. He glanced at the ground for a second as he thought about what Charles just said to him. “I take it you don’t want to let your family down,” Charles asked which really made Filthy Rich think hard about it. “No… I sure don’t,” Filthy Rich said with a stern look on his face, “What do you suggest?” “Have a seat Rich,” Charles said as a patted on one of the steps on the deck he sat on, “I’ll teach ya what my dad taught me.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I explained to Filthy about the whole concept about the world of economics,” Charles said to the class, “Such as supply and demand, wholesale marketing, keeping in check with the stock, finding what the customer wants, keeping up with popular demand, and keeping fair pricing on stock while still maintaining a profit, that sort of stuff. I tried to make sound as easy as I could but…” Just then Diamond Tiara let out a loud yawn which interrupted what Charles was going to say. “I’m sorry; but am I boring you young lady,” Charles said with an irritated glare at the pink filly. “I highly doubt that my dad learned anything about business from you. He never told me anything like that, especially if it was from a corn picking peasant like you,” Diamond Tiara mocked with ignorance. Charles glared at Diamond Tiara and slowly walked in front of her desk with the same stern expression. The snooty filly nervously gulped as Charles continued to look down at her. They held a brief tension before Charles said, “You’re Filthy Rich’s daughter, Miss Diamond Tiara. I’ve heard a lot about you, especially about my son’s first day at school. Perhaps I should have taught him a thing or two about raising a good pony and not a spoiled brat as well.” Diamond Tiara gulped as Charles squinted his eyes down at her, he turned around to return to the front of the classroom. “Now as I was saying before I was RUDELY interrupted, we talked about the business for a while until Filthy finally managed wrapped his head around the whole concept…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Huh…so that’s how it’s all done,” Filthy Rich said as he stretched his neck, “I mean; it seems pretty hard at first, but once ya explained it ta me it makes perfect sense. It’s not what I want in the shop, it’s what the customer wants!” Charles nodded with a smile and said, “Now you’re getting it! You see, if you don’t have a pleasant atmosphere in the store, ponies aren’t gonna feel comfortable in the store andin turn, will be less inclined to spend their money there. So that’s why it’s important to keep the store clean, tidy, and properly organized.” “Well that make sense, thank you uh...,” Filthy Rich was going to say but just realized something, “Well shoot, I plum forgot tah ask for your name!” “Names Hoofwin- Charles Hoofwin,” Charles said in a pleasant, forgiving tone. “Well, it’s a pleasure to have met ya Charles. And if I may be so inclined, what brings a stallion such as yourself tah Ponyville?” Filthy Rich asked after shaking hoofs with Charles. “I just came here to get some supplies before I head out to Canterlot,” Charles explained after pulling his hoof away. “Canterlot huh? If I was you; I’d watch my tail up there, not a lot friendly folks in that city. Why don’t ya come on inside ta buy a few things, I’ll give ya a discount for helping me out,” Filthy Rich offered. “Sounds like a plan,” Charles said with a warm smile as he walked inside the store with Filthy Rich. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “I bought myself some canned goods while I was inside and I was surprised of the generous discount for my purchases he gave me,” Charles said to the class who were paying close attention to him, “Before I left I wished the best of luck to his father, I went to the bank to take out some of my earnings, bought myself a train ticket to Canterlot, and before I knew it I was on my way to the city.” One of the young colt’s named Snips raised his hoof in the air to ask Charles a question, “Excuse me Mr. Hoofwin.” “Uh, yes you in the back,” Charles said as he pointed a hoof to Snips. “I was wondering how did ya get that uniform,” Snips asked feeling a little embarrassed to ask. “YEAH,” the entire class shouted in curiosity. “Heh...Well I was about to get to that,” Charles said with a chuckle, “You see; I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life on an old corn field, but I just didn’t know what to do with my life. Before I even left the farm I found one of those Canterlot Military recruitment pamphlets one day and the stuff inside really intrigued me, so I decided to make the Princess proud and sign up. That’s why I went to Canterlot, because back in the day, they didn’t have recruitment centers in separate towns and cities you only had to up in Canterlot. The city was just as amazing as everypony made it out to be, everything was just elegant from the streets to the very tops of every building. I signed myself up but I have to take a physical, they gave me a buzz cut, a fresh uniform and everything I needed. I managed to meet the regular requirements but I had a difficult time during the exercise portion of the test, and unfortunately for me I happen to step on my Drill Sergeants last nerve…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “PRIVATE CHARLES WHAT IN THE SAM HILL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU,” the Drill Sergeant Pegasus spat out to the khaki colored stallion that had his one of hind legs wrapped around a mesh of rope while hanging upside down several feet above the ground. “Uh well you see uh… I was just…” Charles tried to explain himself for his poor performance. “You are making A DARN FOOL OUT OF YOURSELF AS WELL AS WASTING MY VALUABLE TIME,” the Drill Sergeant shouted at Charles with veins bulging around his neck, “Why are you even here solider?!” Charles couldn’t help but glance away for a split second as he felt his embarrassment growing inside of him as he tried to come up with an answer, “I… I want to do my hometown proud and well as support Princess Celestia, sir.” “-Sigh- I’ve seen your type before kid,” the Sergeant said as he shook his head, “You think you can just walk in and become some sort of war hero or some big-shot soldier. Well, it’s not that simple maggot.” “With all due respect sir, I wasn’t thinking that at all. I knew it would be tough in the Canterlot Military, I just didn’t expect it to be this hard sir,” Charles said as he saluted to his commanding officer. “Well, I have only have one question for you CADET, is there ANYTHING you can do!?” the Drill Sergeant asked Charles as he came closer to his face. “I…I…I’m very talented in keeping thing well organized,” Charles stuttered trying to think of anything he could be good at. The Drill Sergeant raised a hoof with an enraged expression on his face but it suddenly turned into stunned look. He then rubbed his chin as he thought for a moment, then a smug grin came on his face as he said, “You know maggot, I think I know just the place for your expertise, report to my office in 1500 hours. DON’T be late Private.” Charles saluted to his Commanding Officer, he saluted back to him and turned around and began to march away. “Corporal Windbreaker,” the Pegasus Drill Sergeant called out to one of the white Pegasus troops around the training field. “Yes sir,” said Corporal Windbreaker as he stopped doing push-ups, stood up, and saluted to his Commanding Officer. “Fly up and untangle Private Charles before he passes out, on the double,” the Drill Sergeant ordered to the soldier in front of him. “Yes sir, right an away sir,” Corporal Windbreaker said as he took off into the air and flown over to Charles and helped untangle the mesh of ropes wrapped around his leg. With a pull here and a yank there, Charles fell to the ground with a thud and a groan of pain. “Thank you,” Charles thanked the white pegasus who nodded and returned to his work out. After rubbing the top of his head, Charles decided to head to the med station to see if there were any serious injuries just to be on the safe side. “Nice landing hick boy,” insulted a greyish brown unicorn with two other pegasus beside him. “Yah, maybe when you’re just as old as Celestia you might just be able to past the course,” one of the pegasus mocked with a snicker. “Ugh, whatever… I’ve got more important things to do,” Charles said as he decided to ignore the soldiers pestering him. “Oooh, important things; pfft, why don’t ya go back to your farm ya hick,” the other pegasus shouted at Charles as he continued to ignore them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Unfortunately for me, there always seemed to be somepony out in the world that wants to keep us little folk like me down a peg,” Charles said in a slightly depressed tone. Silver Spoon snickered for a bit and whispered to one of the other ponies around her, “I guess somepony has too.” “Ahem,” Charles cleared his throat loudly as he turned his attention to Silver Spoon, “The one unicorn always seem to have it out for me is named Gold Stock, he was one of those high class, snooty type of ponies that always got what he wanted. Any who later that day I met up with my Commanding Officer to be assigned to my new position so that I wouldn’t become a problem to him or any of the fresh face recruits. That’s when he assigned me to the PX, or Postal Exchange.” “Post Exchange,” everypony in the room said out loud after hearing Charles new position. “Hmm, it was also a commissary, you know a place where you’d buy everything you needed,” Charles said with a nod. “Wait, so you didn’t see any kind of action,” Scootaloo asked as she raised a hoof in the air. “Oh trust me; I saw the worst kind of action. As soon I walked inside the PX, I was given the duty to sort out the outgoing from the oncoming mail six days a week, as well as lending or selling the equipment in the store,” Charles explained to the class like it was the most important thing his life. Some of the student had confused looks on their faces, while the rest of the class muttered something with snickers. Esbin had a concern face as he raised a hoof, “Surely you’ve seen some real action after that, right?” “Hmm, no not really,” Charles shrugged, “It was pretty quiet after that, I managed to keep the whole operation in line without a hitch for the past seven months. For me things were just hunky dory, that is until Gold Stock was promoted to a royal guard and he needed to get his royal guard armor. Of course the idiot thought he could just buy the suit of armor as soon as he got it, but what he didn’t know how much the whole collection cost.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Okay so that’s the main chassis, reinforced horseshoes, standardized helmet, and a repair kit which make it a complete set,” Charles said as he ran the numbers for each of the items that Gold Stock needed for his promotion, “Which make it a grand total of…” “Listen Private, I’m now officially a Royal Guard of Princess Celestia’s army, I don’t need to know the numbers, I’m more important than anything you have to tell me,” Gold Stock said as he push aside the order form for the set of armor he was receiving, “So why don’t just handle all this paperwork like a good soldier and fill this out for me?” Gold Stocks got up from his chair he sat on with his new set of royal armor on as he made his way toward the exit, Charles rose up and said, “Hold on, I’m not specified to sign these papers, you’re the one who has to.” Gold Stocks stopped dead in his tracks; he turned his head around and asked in a sarcastic tone, “Excuse me? Did you just disregard my orders?” “No I was just…” Charles tried to explain but Gold Stocks merely raised a hoof to stop him from continuing, he then said, “I’m currently a Lieutenant as a royal guard, so basically I out rank you, Private. So listen and listen good, if you try to pull anything like that on me, I’ll report you for disorderly conduct faster than you can say whistling wind Dixie! Do I make myself clear?” Charles kept silent for a moment as he pondered the thought and said, “Yes.” “Yes, what,” Gold Stocks asked with a smug grin on his face. Charles stared at Gold Stocks with an irritated expression, he knew deep down inside he had to say the word that he didn’t want to say to this smug earth pony. He bared his teeth as he spoke through them, “Yes… sir.” “That’s better;” said Gold Stocks with the same smug grin, “Now get back to work, this place is a mess.” He suddenly bucks a tower of canned goods beside him which caused a cluttered mess on the floor; he laughed as he opened the door and slammed it behind him. Every fibre in Charles’ being wanted to punch a hole in the desk he sat in front of, but contained himself; he had a lot of work to do and he needed to keep his minds off things.
