Two days remained until my next match and I made sure I trained very hard, but I also made sure my family wasn’t neglected. Tonight we are dining at a very fancy restaurant.

“Mom, can I have dessert?” My son, Blu, asked over the table.

“Of course you can, dear,” Honey smiled, her makeup glittered in the chandelier’s light. She raised her hoof to a waiter that wasn’t ours, and they eventually made their way over to our table.

“How may I serve you, ma’am,” he held a server’s towel over one foreleg and holding his head high.

“What do you offer for dessert?” Honey Dumpling asked.

The waiter looked down at her, then gave a disapproving face.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t serve the likes of you.”

I looked up at the waiter; he only glared back.

“What did you just say to her?” I pushed my chair out too hard and knocked it over.

“We don’t serve… Earth Ponies,” He grimaced. By now the entire restaurant had stopped to look at us.

I don’t know what clicked just then; this feeling… it overwhelmed me so suddenly. My hoof slipped its way around the waiter’s head, landing on the nape of his neck. The force I used to smash his face into the table may have been too much. All of our food ascended off of the table, showering the neighboring ponies.

“Muzzle! What are you doing!” Honey Dumpling pulled Blu away from the wreckage and covered his head. Her face was composed of utter shock.

I stood there with a dizziness that I couldn’t shake. I felt like passing out, the blackness on the verge of taking over my vision. This feeling in my gut wouldn’t go away. I looked down at the waiter, who had trickles of blood dripping from his lower jaw as he looked back up at me.

“Muzzle… I’m leaving with Blu. Don’t come home until- until you feel better,” Honey escorted my son out of the restaurant while trying to hide from him the scene I had caused. My mind was so fuzzy. I barely knew what had happened.

I came to my senses enough to leave the building too. I couldn’t go home though. I had no idea what to do.

“Damn it all…” I trotted down the dark sidewalks, meandering, trying to figure out my next move. “I’ll just wait until tomorrow… yeah. Maybe she will let me back in…”

I woke up in the corner of the training room to the sound of sparring. The only other place I knew was much warmer than staying in the streets.

“Muzzle Break, are you here for early training?” Hearty’s assistant, Rich, was leaning against the door frame watching me, but his face showed concern.

“Yeah, I guess. Let me get some breakfast first,” I stretched my legs and back, then got up. Maybe blowing off some steam would help for when I go home.

I ate some pancakes down the street and came back and downed a protein shake.

After gearing up I got into the empty sparring ring in the middle of the room.

“I heard about what you did at the Blisstro, with the server and all,” Rich climbed past the ropes and got into a sparring stance. “Honey Dumpling came by to see if you were here. Seeing that you were, she told me to keep you and wear you down before you come home.”

I sighed and threw a left at him. He gracefully slid past it and clobbered me in the jaw.

“You really should clear that up. It’s clouding your mind, and you have until tomorrow night to do that.”

“I know… I just feel so damn bad. I love my wife so much, but she doesn’t like how I am. Frankly, I don’t like how I am,” I threw a combination chain at him. I nailed him a few times, but he blocked most of the hits.

“Maybe you should see a psychologist. He might be able to help you clear yourself up and control your actions.”

“I don’t need a psychologist, I’m not crazy.”

“I never said you were crazy, I just want you to make sure you’re mentally stable,” Rich threw a punch and closed the gap between my shoulder and chest.

“I am mentally stable!” My hoof hooked around and made direct contact with his neck. He stumbled back and coughed. I glanced down at my hoof wrap, which had Rich’s hair stuck to it.

“You’re really strong, Muzzle Break, but if you don’t learn how to control yourself you might hurt somepony,” Rich had stopped coughing and was holding the spot where I scraped out some of his hair.

“Maybe you are right. I don’t want to lose my wife over something so stupid.”

“I can get you a counselor for free from our boxer’s fund,” Rich adjusted his sparring helmet.

“I’d like that, but I don’t need a counselor or psychologist. I had another idea, though it will have to wait until after this next match.”

We sparred for a good few hours, and by the end I could definitely feel the burn. I said my good-byes to the other boxers and trainers and left to go home. I couldn’t wait to see my wife and apologize to her. I wanted this guilty feeling to go away.

I approached my door, and unlocked it at the handle, but the second lock above was also locked. We never locked that one.

“Honey! Are you home!” I yelled into the door, with hopes she would come.

The door jiggled and eventually opened, but only slightly. Honey peeked her head between the crack. “Muzzle, are you feeling any better?”

“I feel much better. Like you asked, I wore myself out at the gym.”

“Could you… wait? I don’t feel comfortable just yet,” She started to close the door but I put my hoof in it.

“At least let me see my son,” Ours eyes locked, however, her eyes did not look soft and welcoming like they usually do. It was the subtle expression of fear that encompassed her face.

“No.”

I raised my head in question. She never tells me no.

“I said I want to see my son…”

“And… I said no.”

Blackness enveloped my vision, and my judgement was suddenly dismissed. I could feel this dark force rip through my muscles, but I did not know what intentions they had. My head ached from the adrenaline that coursed through my body.

“Mommy!”

I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. A large dent in the door was visible, almost breaking through the metal that it was made of. Honey Dumpling was lying on the ground, her left hoof covering her right shoulder. Blu stood in the hall, just visible from the light pouring in from the outside. Tears streamed down his cheeks, but he seemed frozen in place from terror.

I realized what I had done, and I couldn’t help but to start crying.

I kneeled down and tried to help my wife. “Honey, I’m so sorry, I… I-”

“Go and never come back, Muzzle Break,” her eyes stayed closed, her body shaking in pain. I could see that blood had started to flow from under her hoof and down her shoulder. “Blu, call 911, tell them we need an amb-” she doubled over in pain and stuttered for a second. “Call an ambulance, Blu.”

“What do I do?” I tried to wipe my eyes to see.

“I never want to see you again. Never come near me or Blu again.”

My mind was swirling with confusion. I didn’t know if it was anger, fear, or sadness. Every muscle in my body jittered from the excitement and feelings.

I did the only thing I could think of. I turned around and began to run. I ran down the streets, getting far away from my wonderful wife and the only thing that truly mattered to me, my son. I stopped thinking about him. What will I do without my son? Will I ever see him again?

Author's Note

I almost can't write this. I've managed to make myself sad with what I've written.