Ever since I was a colt, my father has told the same things; 'You will change the world, son.' 'You are destined for greatness.' I can't blame him, its what all fathers say to their son's. these things have stuck to the back of my head, not always there, but always influencing my decisions.
My Father was a great stallion. I always looked up to him. His jet black, medium length, wavy mane was one of his key features, standing out from his pale grey fur. Not many ponies were allowed to have long manes if they were in the military, even the mares. He had served for six years and made his way up to rank captain. I have two memories of him that stand out from the rest, two memories that are constantly played in my mind.
The first starts out with me waking very early in the morning to the sounds of my mother and father in the living room. He was telling her something and she started to raise her voice before it went quiet. Concern rose within me. I climbed out of my bed, creeping over to my door and opening it ajar, just enough for me to see the hallway empty. I opened the door fully and proceeded toward the living room. I saw them sitting on the couch with their backs towards me. neither of them were talking and I could tell something was wrong.
"Mom? Dad?" I asked hesitantly.
Both of my parents stood and faced me. My mother's brilliant azure eyes were bloodshot, one of them hidden behind her light purple mane that hung as straight as a ruler to the small of her back. She held a beautiful smile that always filled me with comfort... only it wasn't this time.
"Is something wrong?" I added.
"Hey Bud." my father started, "Nothing's wrong. I'm just going to work again today." He answered softly, beckoning me over to sit beside him as he returned to the couch. I walked over and sat beside him, with my mother sitting on my other side.
"Are you going back to the Castle?' I asked. With this question hanging in the air, They shared a worried glance to one another before I was back to looking at my father's dark green eyes.
"No, Not This time. Me and a bunch of the other soldiers will be going to a place called Ponyville. There's a group of Dawncloaks there that I have to deal with."
"Oh, okay. You teach them who's boss, Dad!" I cheered and he chuckled. Unknown to me, my mother was almost in tears.
The second memory begins a few weeks after the first. I had just arrived home from school when there was a knock on the door. Adrenaline Pumped through me and my spirits reached an all time high. 'Dad's back!'. I rushed to open the door, but was confused when I didn't see my father, but a stallion and a mare in his place. They were both wearing their military attire. The mare looked as though she was about to cry when she saw me, and the stallion gave a deep sigh.
"Hey, Sport." The stallion greeted. "Is your mom about?"
"Mom!" I shouted out, a little nervously.
"what is it, Rusty?" She called back as she came to the door. Rusty was the name my father picked because of my rust-like coloured mane and tail. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who was at the door and her hand shot to her mouth.
"Hello, Mrs Crescent." The mare spoke. "May we come in?"
"Rusty, can you please go tidy your room." My mother said, slightly pushing me in that direction.
"But, Mom." I protested.
"Just do it, please." she said a bit more firmly. I grumbled to myself as I went to do as told. of course, being a curious eight year old colt, I didn't and snuck back to the doorway to listen.
"Would either of you like some tea?" Mother asked. Both of them declined.
"Please, Mrs Crescent. Neither one of us want to be having this conversation, but there's no denying the truth." The mare said.
I didn't hear anything for a while except for the sound of someone taking a seat.
"As I'm sure you're aware, Your husband and many other soldiers went to the Ponyville front..." The stallion started, but was cut off by my mother.
"please spare me the details." her words were strained and it sounded like she was about to start crying and I wasn't sure why.
"Very well." The stallion continued with another deep sigh. "The mission was a complete failure. The company that your husband was commanding were sent straight into an ambush. Even with all two hundred of them, they were outnumbered three to one..." Invested by what was said, I chanced a peek and glanced around the corner. The two soldiers had their backs to me, but I could see my mother's face. she was covering her mouth with her hand and silent tears rolled down her cheeks. I wasn't sure what was happening... until the stallion continued. "Your husband was an incredible leader and because of his bravery and quick thinking, he was able to distract the enemy long enough for half the company to retreat and make it to safety... at the cost... of his and the rest of his company's... lives."
I finally registered what had happened. Dad wasn't coming home. I could hear the pained cries of my mother as the mare comforted her. I was so blindsided by the realisation, I didn't notice the stallion standing infront of me. I looked up at him and he returned my gaze with his own. He knew I had heard the whole conversation. He knelt down to my height and placed his hands on my shoulders.
"Listen, Sport. No matter what anypony says, remember that your father was hero. Promise me you wont forget that." His words were laced with sincerity and determination. All words were caught in my throat so I just nodded my head. He gave a small smile before grabbing my right hand and placing something in it. "Remember, he's a hero." The stallion repeated. he stood up and met with the mare and my mother at the door, who were both watching me. My mother was heart wretched as she knew I found out I would never again see my dad. As the two soldiers were leaving, I looked down to my hand and at what the stallion had given me. It was the badge my father wore on his uniform.
.
Author's Note
So this is something that popped up while I've been 'away'
I want to know what I should do:
A. Continue this story from now on.
B. Wait and continue The Perfect Nightmare
C. Do Both at the same time. (I'm not so keen on this because it might cause unintentional crossover)
Comment what you want to see!
Everypony deals with death differently. Some mourn, some celebrate for the life of those passed and some shut down completely. I would normally be one of the two formers, but with my father I was very much the latter.
It had been weeks since my world was truly shaken. My bedroom became my safe haven and I wouldn't leave if I could help it. I would just sit, I don't remember why, but that's what I did. Maybe I was waiting, maybe I was thinking.
My mother was a wreck as I'm sure anyone would be with their husband or wife dying a young death, but within the second week she had accepted it and was moving forward. I always knew she was strong, she's always had a fire that burned brightest in the darkest times. That's what Dad always said, 'he was like a moth to her fire'. I would always cringe, but I can see now that it delivers the message he sends.
I envy my mother's strength. I wish I could be like her, be able to accept and move on, but I guess I didn't get that gene. She would bring me my breakfast, lunch or dinner and try to convince me to go outside or go to school. Needless to say I would quietly refuse and she wouldn't push, but she would continue to try the next day.
One day when I was stuck doing my routine, pathetic performance of sitting, I saw something out my window. I saw two young fillies, about my age. I had seen them around school. One was a vibrant orange with a blonde mane, while the other had a pristine white coat with an almost polar opposite deep purple mane. They looked happy, bringing a sigh from the depths of my sorrow. I watched them a little longer, thinking how much they take happiness for granted. They don't know what it's like to have somepony so close to them be ripped away in a moments notice. Another sigh came. 'What do I know? They could both be orphans.'
I returned to just watching them and not getting too far dragged into cynicism. That's when 'Jerkface' Silver walked up to them. Dawn Silver and I actually use to be best pals through our younger years of schooling... that was until a year ago when he sold me out to the school bullies for something he did. I can't imagine forgiving him for it, especially since it also got me suspended, and at such a young age suspension is for the worst of the worst. Now because I don't like Dawn I didn't want to jump to conclusion and assume he was harassing them in some way and just left him to his business. I would have forgotten about them as well, if Dawn hadn't taken on a threatening pose, clearly intimidating the orange filly, who said something, making Dawn even more angry. The white filly stepped in front of her friend trying to defuse the situation.
The first time leaving the house and when better than to confront someone you hate. It took me seconds to be out there on Dawn's case. I needed to make Dawn back down and quickly. There's no way I could do it with reasoning since seeing me will only make him more crazy.
"Buzz off Dawn! Such a big guy picking on two younger fillies!" I exclaimed as I charged over.
"Go away, Rusty!" Dawn bellowed back, turning his icy gaze to me.
I flared my wings concreting my dominance of the situation, with the two fillies to my back. Dawn is an earth pony and we both know he's stronger than me, being a Pegasus I was faster. He also knew I hate fighting him, even when I hate his guts, so for me to flare up like this definitely puts doubt in his mind. Dawn glances from me to the fillies behind me, then to the bystanders that are all now watching. They all see him as the antagonist here and he knows it.
"We use to be friends, Rusty. Why do you hate me so much?" The question made me want to lodge my fist into his face.
"You know why!" I said through my clenched jaw.
Dawn huffed before staring at the fillies behind me. "I'll just find Mac myself." He hissed as he turned and stormed off. I couldn't have cared less what he meant. I didn't exactly know Mac very well, just that he was in my year and was a loudmouth jock.
I watched Dawn until he was out of sight before dropping my wings along with my head and a sigh.
"Um. Thank you for your help, Mister Rusty." The white filly spoke as she stepped into my line of view.
"Yeah sure, anytime... How do you know who I am?" 'I don't remember meeting them before? Oh Rusty, you twit! Dawn was just saying your name!' As that thought crossed my mind, the orange filly answered.
"Everypony knows who yah are. Especially after what yah did to mister Shine's son." Ah yes, Principal Shine's son who also happened to be the ringleader of school bullies.
I grumbled at the memory, startling the white filly which made her nervous, quickly acting by elbowing the orange one before giving me a sheepish grin.
"Sorry, Mister Rusty. Applejack didn't mean anything by it."
"Forget about it..." I started which visibly calmed the filly. "... and forget the whole 'Mister' thing yeah, I'm not a bad guy." I said before turning and walking back towards my home.
"Thanks again, Rusty." The orange filly yelled after me, prompting a lazy wave as I didn't even bother to look back at them.
I closed the front door with a sigh before jumping when I noticed my mother standing at the window. neither of us said anything, she was just holding a proud smile as she looked down at her son who had just stood up for two fillies.
"It feels good, doesn't it?" She finally said as she gestured for me to follow her.
"I guess." Was all I replied with as we sat down on the couch together.
"You're so much like your father, Rusty. He was so adamant on protecting the defenceless." There was a small silence between us. She knew I hated talking about Dad, but I can see why she does it. It gets easier each time. "I know you miss him, I do too... You know what he would say?"
"I don't want to think about it, mom." I interjected quickly.
"He would say that all this emotion is being wasted and that you should direct to something you're passionate about." She was right. It's exactly something he would say. He was the type of pony to hold others higher than himself. He seemed like the flawless stallion, perfection itself. Then something inside of me clicked.
"Yeah, it is." I mumbled. "Then he'd say something about me getting so much time off school and how he'd have to go to school even if he had the flu or something." I said, reminiscing of the good days. I looked up to see my mother's eyes starting to water. "You know what, mom? I think I'll go to school tomorrow." I finished before standing and making my way back to my room. My mother continued to sit on the couch, I don't know for how long, but I knew she was crying. Tears of joy.
