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!