Rinnnnng!
A groan emerged beneath a blanket from a colt sound asleep in his bed. His bedroom was still pitch black, and it was still early in the morning. A hoof came out from the covers and slammed the alarm clock next to him, and he pulled back the covers, still very tired.
Rinnnnng!
The alarm went off again, and a young pegasus groaned as he slowly woke up, rubbing his eyes. The young white-coated colt was shaking the sleep, his blue mane and tail a frazzled mess. He then lifted his wings, and his right-wing unfolded perfectly, but he winced in pain as his left wing was crooked and seemed smaller and deformed compared to the right one. He sat there for a moment, flexing it a little, just staring at it with an angry look in his eyes. He then heard his father shout.
"Get up! What are you still doing in bed!?"
The young colt was suddenly woken up and alert, flying off his bed and onto the carpet. His father, a massive gray-coated stallion with a dark black mane and gold eyes, and his cutie mark two wings sprouting from a spear. The stallion stood over him as the young colt stood up at attention and gave a salute: "Morning, sir!"
"Good! Now give me thirty wingups for sleeping in!"
"Yes, sir!"
Cannon Feather started to get on the ground and push himself up and down. He groaned, feeling his left-wing aching, but he ignored it. He finished his reps and got up. He was then taken to the castle courtyard. It was still pitch-black, and Princess Celestia hadn't even gotten up to raise the sun. But the young colt was used to this as he went to work on his drills.
Faster, harder, stronger!
Cannon threw spears and did wingups each time he fumbled, which was a lot. He then ran around the courtyard and afterward did twenty more wings up per lap for every time he fumbled.
As he did a lap, he tripped and tumbled quite a bit, slammed into the ground, groaned as he felt a crunch, and cried in pain. Cannon then slowly got up, trying his best not to cry, knowing he would be scolded if he did. The colt looked up at his father, who towered over him with this disgusted look on his face, " Weak! How could you be so weak?"
Cannon choked back tears as he wheezed, "I'm giving it my all. I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trip."
Steel just shook his head. "You're pathetic; you won't make it past basic training. Why do I even bother? Just get ready for school."
Cannon lowered his head, angry at himself for being so clumsy, and said, "Yes, sir."
"Remember if anypony asks what you were doing, we were only doing light exercises, understand? This our secret."
"Yes, sir," Cannon replied. He then trotted back home, following his father, wincing in pain and bearing it.
Afterward, he was allowed to get ready for school. He went to the upstairs bathroom and started to brush his teeth. He then took a shower and got dressed in the school uniform: a blue coat, white collar, and tie. He looked over, and his cutie marked an orange safety cone with signs sprouting from it. It was odd, and He then went downstairs and stumbled a little. His mother came over. She was a beautiful white-coated pegasus with a light blue mane and shiny blue eyes, her cutie mark, was a water basin pouring out feathers in the shape of a heart. The mare went up and asked, "Cannon, are you OK?"
"Yeah, I'm ok."
The pegasus got up and brushed himself off, wincing in pain, feeling his wing hurt. More tears filled his eyes, but as his father came down, he wiped them, stood up, and saluted.
His father saluted back and then kissed his mother. They then sat together and ate breakfast together, mainly scrambled eggs with pancakes. Cannon hungrily chomped down on his food and drank the milk and juice. His mother then turned to his father and asked, "Steel, you're not pushing him too hard, are you?"
"Of course not, we were just going through some basic exercises like we always do if he wants to be a Royal guard…though I think it's very likely he won't."
"Steel, how could you say that!?"
"Its the truth. We've been working on his physical condition for years, and he can barely get past the basics."
"Even so, don't just say that! He's clearly doing his best!"
The two then started arguing, going from about him to other stuff. Cannon tuned it out, bowing his head a little, and then continued to eat silently. After finishing, he quietly got up and went up to his room to grab his saddlebag for school. His mother turned, and her eyes widened as she shouted, "Cannon, your wing!"
He turned to see that a portion of the wing was turning a sickly blue, and for the first time, he realized it hurt more than normal.
Later that morning, Cannon was sitting on an examination table in a doctor's office, and they were going over an X-ray of his wing. The stallion explained to his mother and him that the top portion was slightly broken. "The good news is, it's a simple bone fracture, and it was clean. In most circumstances, this wouldn't happen usually, but considering his condition, the bone is much more susceptible to damage and falls, as I've mentioned before. Remind me what happened again?”
Cannon peered down, remembering his father's words about weakness, and said, "I…I was doing some light practicing to be a royal guard, but I tripped and fell on it. But I didn't think it was anything bad."
"Hmmm, I see. We'll take it easy," the doctor wrote. Then he said, "He’s fine as long as he keeps the wing in the cast and refrains from intense physical exercise for a while, especially anything related to his wings."
"I understand."
The stallion gave him a lollipop as he sucked on it and followed his mother out of the hospital with her eyeing him, "Cannon, what were you doing this morning?"
"Exercises."
"Yes, I know, but was Steel pushing you too hard?"
“Dad…he…” Cannon winced, then said with a painful smile as he lied, "He didn't. I just tripped, ya know? I was just being clumsy."
She sighed, annoyed, and said, "Look, I'll talk to him later…But I think you should stop doing these exercises."
Cannon just nodded as the mare led him to the front of the hospital. He looked downward and saw his father's cold gaze. Angel went up to his face and snapped, "What were you doing with him this morning? I want the truth.”
Steel stood there cold and unfeeling, saying, "Like he said, he fell and hurt himself. Now, is he permanently injured?"
"No, it's just a fracture. It'll heal; I'll have him pulled from school, though he needs rest."
"He's fine; if he can't be a royal guard, he might as well study for something else."
Those words made Cannon wince as they hurt more than his injury did as he self-consciously folded his broken wing next to his body.
His mother glared at him. "What has gotten into you!?"
"It's fine!"
She turned as Cannon looked up painfully, smiling as he said, "I'll go to school; it's fine…" He looked up at her with a smile, "I'm feeling good. The pain meds are kicking in, and I promise not to do any physical exercise. I just want to go to school."
"Al…alright, but if anything happens, I'm pulling you out."
"Understood, Mom."
She then escorted him from the hospital, but he could feel his father's glare. He knew full well to keep his mouth shut about the real training.
At school, Cannon did his best to pay attention in class. Still, his eyes started to close, exhausted from all the exercises he had done in the morning. The colt would bite his lip to keep himself from falling asleep as he did his best to stay attentive. He had gotten in trouble for sleeping in class before, and he didn’t want to make any more trouble with his father. The words “pathetic, weak, useless.” echoed in his mind. Over and over, he wanted to be like his dad, a royal guard protector of Equestria like in his favorite book, The Tales of Magnus. But he realized he could barely do the exercises his father had drilled in him since he was three.
“Cannon,”
“Was that his father? I need to get up.”
“Cannon!”
“I’m trying, I need to get up!”
The colt rose in his seat, saluted, and exclaimed, “Yes, sir!”
He froze, looking around a room full of other foals, all staring at him in confusion, some giggling and pointing. The teacher, a violet-coated middle-aged mare with a dark brown mare, blue eyes, a blonde mane, and round glasses, looked somewhat confused at him and asked, “Cannon, are you feeling OK?”
It took a minute for Cannon to catch them hovering over him, looking annoyed, “sleeping in class again?”
The stallion blinked, rubbed his eyes, stood up, and snapped a salute: " I apologize mam! I didn't mean to!”
The teacher gave him a concern and then said, “Meet me after class.”
“Yes, Mam.”
“This got an oooh! From the other classmates, he slapped himself. He went back, listening about the history of Equestria and writing down notes, doing his best to ignore the snickering and whispering behind his back. After class wrapped up and they were dismissed for lunch, he slowly walked over as his teacher asked, “How are you doing?”
“I'm fine.”
The mare gave him a hard look and then said, “Listen, I heard about your wing. If you want to take the rest of the day off, I can talk to the principal and your parents.”
“No!”
She was surprised when Cannon quickly added, “It's fine. I just… want to try to get through the rest of the school day, if that's okay.”
“Alright, but you need to pay attention in class. I don't normally suggest this to students, but some coffee might do you some good?”
“I really shouldn’t drink coffee, but thank you.”
He then gave her a salute, took his lunchbox, and went outside to a tree in the schoolyard despite a massive rainstorm. The stallion wanted to be alone, so he sat beneath a pavilion and read as he ate his sandwich and drank juice from a Juicebox. He then looked through windows into the cafeteria; the dozens of foals were talking and enjoying themselves. He was a shadow, a ghost, who could slip on by without being noticed…it was either that or be bullied. He preferred just being alone.
Cannon didn’t mind; he didn’t fit in with the other foals here, most being from prestigious families at the academy; he wasn’t bright or rich; he was well off, yes, but he got into this school because he worked hard at his studies and got good grades. His father ensured that to be the best of the royal guard, you must be both intelligent and strong! He continued to read, trying to ignore that voice, and then he heard some pony shout! “Help!"
The stallion looked up to see a unicorn filly falling into a gutter. Some foals were watching from the cafeteria, but no pony was doing anything. The little filly was struggling as she tried to pull herself out, but she wasn’t strong enough—she was going to fall!
The colt flew over and shouted, “Hold on!” he grasped her hooves and gently tugged her up. Still, he somehow slipped, and as she came up, he fell, slipping and falling into the grate. Despite the unicorn trying to lift him out with her magic, it was too late. He fell down, banging his head and slamming into a trash pile of dead leaves below. It was the second time he lost, but it didn’t hurt as much this time. The colt rubbed his head with a hoof and could hear the filly shouting for help as Cannon felt the rainwater pouring on him, wishing secretly that nopony would find him.
The next thing he knew, Cannon was waking up in a hospital bed and groaning, feeling his body aching, and the school nurse and his mom were dotting over him. He learned that the trash heap stopped his fall, and he wasn’t injured, but due to his fractured wing and sleeping in class, the academy thought it was best he was taken out of school for a few days. This made him scared half to death, knowing his father would be furious. The walk back home felt like he was being taken to his grave as they came through the living room with Steel Feather standing over him, looking absolutely livid. “What were you thinking!?”,
The colt gulped and said, “I was helping a pony; she was falling an-“
“And what!? You put yourself in danger! You didn’t even bother asking for help!”
“I didn’t th-”
“No, you didn’t think. You never think, Cannon! You keep ending up hurting yourself because you don’t think!”
“That's enough!” his mother came over and shouted, “He was helping somepony, and you scolded him for that!? It was reckless, but he was just trying to do the right thing.”
His father turned to her, seething, “You enable this behavior! If it weren't for you, he would be a soldier!”
“Oh, really, I'm enabling him! You’ve been lying to me for years!”
The two started arguing then, and Cannon blanked out again like this morning. He slowly went to his room, closed the door, took a book from his bookshelf, curled up in his bed, and started to read with the rain pounding on his windowsill. He could hear them yelling downstairs as he did his best to ignore them, trying to focus on the drowning rain and getting lost in the adventure he was reading, trying to stop the tears from coming out of his eyes, hoping that everything would be better tomorrow.
The following day came as Cannon woke up and thought to himself I wonder if things would be better if I were gone? It was an odd thought, not one he had considered before, but it felt right; his parents would stop yelling at each other, and maybe they could have a child that wasn't this broken, pathetic mess he was. All he did was get hurt and end up in trouble. He got decent grades and didn't act up, but he was a nobody, a ghost who'd most likely fail at the one thing his father wanted from him: being a royal guard. He thought about it as he went down for breakfast. His mother was a mess, with her mane frazzled and wild-looking, and her eyes were red and puffy as she must've been crying a lot. He then noticed the bags under her eyes as well and realized she was up all night, and it just made him feel worse. She was somewhat surprised to see him as she quickly said. "Morning, sorry, I forgot about breakfast."
Cannon lowered his head and stammered, "Don't it's ok… I'll… I'll make it."
The colt went to work preparing as Angel helped them work in silence. As he looked around, it was rather late in the morning. His father would be up by now even if he didn't have work and asked, "Is dad asleep?"
"He left."
"He left where?"
"I don't know, I… I'm not sure…"
Cannon paused. This wasn't the first time they'd been arguing like this, not just about him but about everything, but he still wondered if he was the cause and wondered where his dad would be.
"It's not your fault."
Cannon paused again, looked up at his mother, then said, "I didn't say-"
She bent down, looked him in the eyes, brushed his mane over his face, and said, "It's not your fault…if we break up."
Cannon nodded, and they finished making some omelets. He went back upstairs to his bedroom, and then he started to cry into a pillow, telling himself all kinds of names and wishing he was dead. Then he took out a notebook and started to write a note telling his parents how sorry he was for being born broken and wishing he could be the son they could be proud of. He told them where they could find him drawing a crude map. After finishing it, he placed it on his bedside table, then slowly trotted downstairs; seeing his mother passed out on the couch, he took the oppurtunity to sneak outside and run through the rain.
The young stallion found the perfect place. It was high up on a building and still raining, so no one was out. Thankfully, no one would see. He didn’t want anyone to notice. Cannon spent a lot of time here alone and told his mother where to find him. That way, she’d find his body. The stallion was on top of a building, looking down at the cobblestones below. With the rain pouring down, wondering if he’d be in pain, he tied a rope around his useless wings to ensure he didn’t try to save himself. Maybe if he did this, all the pain would disappear, and everyone would be better off. The colt stood there in the pouring rain but then spotted a mother with a foal younger than him running through the rain to a home nearby, laughing as they were clearly racing. He wondered how happy they were, and he remembered all the times he and his mother had taken walks around the city. Then he spotted a stallion across from the building reading and some fillies playing chess. These are things he enjoyed and would never get to do again if he went through with this. Cannon Feather then thought to himself…maybe this isn’t a good idea. He stepped back, heart pounding in his chest as he came to his senses! What was he thinking!? Maybe he won’t be a royal guard, maybe his parents will get a divorce because of him, but killing himself won’t solve anything! It’ll just make everything worse!”
He cursed himself for being so stupid! Cannon then tore the rope off, freeing his wings, and jumped back down the wall. He climbed and ran home as fast as he could, hoping to find and throw away the letter before anyone read it! By the time he came to his home, his mother was opening the door. Her eyes widened as she looked down, and Cannon saw a look he’d never seen. With a look of pure fear, she cried, “Cannon!”
“Mom!”
He ran towards her, and she embraced him in her hooves. He held her close. She led him back inside and sat him down.
“Cannon, you’re okay!”
“I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking I…”
“It's okay. I read the letter. I was going to stop you, but I was scared I wasn’t going to make it in time!”
Cannon held her close as she nuzzled him, then said, “Let's go inside.”
Angel then led her son through the living room, which was filled with potted plants and family photos. She sat him down near her and asked, “Tell me what Steel is hiding from me.”
Cannon remembered the order he was given; this is secret, that’s an order, but he couldn't hold in pain any longer; he had to tell her the truth, all of it as he said, “Dad wants me not just to be a royal guard he wanted me to be the best guard ever! I did everything he asked me, and I could never be enough! I ran, did the exercises, did the obstacle courses, and studied hard! I learned to fight with all kinds of weapons-”
His mother shouted, “He what!?”
Cannon caught the words in his mouth. He was so scared of what he would do to him if he told her the truth, but at this point, he couldn’t stop, “he…he’s not hurting me or anything, but we trained with weapons, like spears, swords, and bows and arrows. But I'm terrible at it; my coordination is all off. I keep messing myself up, so he punishes me by running around and doing wingups”
“How long has he been doing this?”
“Since I was three.”
His mother just sat there gawking as Cannon looked up and asked, “w…was he not supposed to do that? Is dad in trouble?”
His mother just sat there, her face a weird pale color, as she said, “Tell me everything.”
“Well, okay…um, he um…there isn’t much more to tell? We practice about three times a week, you know, he gets me up early before school. The hard part is when I mess up so much; he calls me useless, pathetic, or weak. He told me my wings would get better if I worked on them. I try not to be strong! I want to be strong! But I just don’t know how!”
She then held him close as he cried. “I'm sorry, I...I…”
“It’s okay, you're strong and brave.”
“No, I'm not…I tried to…I tried to…”
“Shhh, I know, but you held so much in and have held on to that for so long! Why didn’t you tell me earlier!? I would have put a stop to it immediately.”
“I…I really did, but he told me this training was supposed to be a secret; it was an order.”
Angel then looked him over. There was a hint of anger brewing, and he could sense it as she whispered, “He told you that?”
Cannon just nodded and said, “Yes.” She then placed him down and smoothed back his mane, saying, “Let’s go eat some lunch, okay?”
Cannon followed her and started to cry, “I didn’t want him to get in trouble, I..I…”
Angel wiped the tears from his eyes, hugged him close, wrapped her wings around him, and said, “Cannon, I’m sorry. It's my job as your mother to protect you, and I failed. Your father…he’s a good pony, but he has done some bad things, and he needs to be held accountable.”
Cannon looked up and nodded, “okay.”
He got up, and they ate lunch together as she escorted him to his room. She sat with him and read him one of his stories as he fell asleep.
A week passed, and Cannon’s wing healed, but things were much different. Many things were missing, from furniture to his father’s stuff in his study, but now, everything has moved; he was surprised at how fast his mother divorced him. He barely remembered anything, only their constant fights, and his mother was more livid than he’d ever seen her. He had to talk to some counselors and lawyers about what his father did. Each time was harder than the last, with them asking if he touched him. He said no, he never hurt him at all! They said it was “abuse,” but Cannon told them it was just “training,” but they wouldn't listen. The worst part was when his parents fought downstairs; this time, it was worse than before. But today was quiet and serene. It was odd, like the calm before the storm or like that feeling before taking an exam. It was quiet, but there was a tense atmosphere around everything. Cannon went downstairs, his father outside the doorway with his mother just glaring daggers at him, “You have everything.”
His father looked at him with the cold stare he always remembered him having as he said, “Yes, everything’s been finalized…Angel I…”
“Save it; I don’t want to hear another word from you.”
She turned to Cannon, who looked guilty, still thinking this was his fault, and said, “Go upstairs, Cannon. I'm almost done here.”
The pegasus wanted to, but he slowly came forward, tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t want any of this to happen.”
“What's wrong with you!? I gave you one order. Keep your mou-”
Angel closed the door in his face and locked it, her seething but relaxing as they sat together on the couch. Cannon sat down by her side, eyes filled with tears again as his mother came over and held him close. “That was brave.”
“It was stupid. I should’ve just gone upstairs like you said.”
Angel came in close, shaking her head, then said, “No, he just proved to me he really thinks he did nothing wrong, and it means I'm doing the right thing.”
She looked down, “No dark thoughts?”
"No, I'm fine," Cannon mumbled, then added, “but I still think this is my-”
“What did I tell you? It’s not your fault; this is all on him.”
“Wi…will I ever see Dad again?”
“Not for a long time; the court gave me full custody, so not until you’re an adult. And I don’t blame you if you never want to see him again.”
The mare then brushed his mane and kissed her son on the forehead. “Now, why don’t we leave Canterlot for a while? Just you and me. We both need a vacation.”
Cannon wanted to talk about his father a bit because he was worried about him. But he saw that look in his mother’s eyes, knowing that it was best to drop it, and asked, “Where to? We never take vacations.”
“How about Ponyville? I heard it’s nice this time of year.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!” Cannon got super excited and ran upstairs to pack. He wanted to leave Canterlot so badly that he could barely hold in his excitement.
Another week went by, and things calmed down a lot. After their week-long vacation in Ponyville, Cannon was back at school sitting under a pavilion again on a sunny day, seeing the gutter was now fixed with a grate. He was the one who informed the school about the safety hazard. At least at school, nopony knows anything about what's been going on with him besides his parents getting a divorce, which was a relief as he didn't want to talk about that stuff anymore. Cannon was happy he didn’t have to deal with the constant drills every morning, and his wings weren’t hurting as much as they used to. But he wasn’t sleeping through class anymore and was happier overall! His mom seemed better, too, though she seemed to be more concerned for his well-being than usual as she would walk him to school, which was embarrassing. But he didn’t mind it, even if the other foals picked on him for it.
He was generally happy being around her more as he noticed she said “sorry” a lot like he does but tried to tell her like she told him, “It’s not her fault.” She didn’t do anything. His dad told him to stay quiet about the “training,” he learned to obey his elders and never disobey a direct order. But now, after everything, Cannon realized what he was taught wasn't always right and that you can disobey orders sometimes. He thought even if he didn’t become a royal guard, he wanted to be somepony who helps others but does it in his own special way.
The colt continued to eat his lunch while reading a book; then, he turned to see the little yellow-coated unicorn he saved trotting over. The filly was rather cute, having a light blue mane and tail that swirled around her like water, and he noticed her cutie mark a little tea cup with a lemon slice on it. The filly looked rather sheepish as she said, “Thanks for helping me.”
“It's no problem.”
The little filly blushed, her bright blue eyes gleaming,- as she asked, “Can I have lunch with you?”
Cannon nodded as the unicorn sat down and asked, “Sorry, what's your name?”
“Cannon Feather, yours?”
“Lemon Heart.”
“that’s a cool name!”
“What ya reading?”
“Magnus and the Dragons is one of my favorite books. I found a first edition in an old antique shop in Ponyville!”
“Oh, wow, you like Magnus!? My favorite book is The Legend of Starswirl the Bearded," Cannon couldn’t help but admire the unicorn and her talking about Starswirl. He couldn’t follow everything, but he did his best to listen.
“So anyways Starswirl disappeared mysteriously, and nopony knows what's happened to him! Some say he’s trapped in time, and others say he’s traveling the multiverse!”
“Oh wow!? Is there any evidence for those theroies?”
“Sadly, no, but I’m sure he isn’t dead like most historians say he is.”
Then the bell rang, and the filly cursed, “Shoot! We better get going. We have a test, remember?”
“Yeah, “Cannon sighed as he got up and winced a little, flexing his left wing. Ugh, this darn thing.”
“What’s wrong?”
“My wing, it still hurts, that’s all.”
She then came over and took out a marker, “Why don’t you have somepony write their name on it?”
“If you want?”
She then took it out and wrote her name on the cast. “There!”
Cannon looked down with a smile, “thanks,”
She nudged him and said, “ok, let’s get going. We’re probably going to be late now.”
The colt then rushed back to class, and they ran as fast as possible across the yard and into the school building.
After classes, Cannon waited outside the school for Lemon Heart, who ran over upon seeing him and embraced him. “Hey Cannon!”
He blushed a little, then said, “Hey, Lemon, thanks for meeting up with me.”
“It’s no problem! I wana to talk more about the books you read. Have you started that series on Gutsy!?”
“Oh yeah, she’s so cool. How did she stop Grogar again?”
As the two were walking home, chatting about books, they saw an old earth pony mare trying to carry a bunch of groceries on her back. Cannon looked rather concerned and said, “Hey, we should help.”
“Oh yeah, she needs it! Come on!” Lemon exclaimed as she ran over, shouting, " Hey!” Cannon Feather was surprised and then ran after her.
The old mare turned, looking rather confused, as she asked, “Oh, hello there.” Do you need something?”
The pegasus shook his head. “No,” he then said, “We just wanted to help with your groceries.”
She chuckled, “Oh, how nice! There was a sale at the market today, and I stocked up quite a bit.”
“Well, we can help! I can carry a few of those.” Lemon levitated a few of the packages onto her back. Cannon lifted some of the smaller ones, and they escorted the old mare home. Once they arrived, she helped put her groceries away and gave them some hard candy. After waving goodbye and the two foals trotted off, Lemon Heart whispered, “That felt good. Do you help ponies like that often?”
He shrugged, “Occasionally, I try to give them safety tips, but most ponies don’t listen, like when I told Dusty Shelves’ home could use some renovations due to her old age.”
“Wow!? You’re like a little superhero!”
The pegasus gave a phhh and waved a hoof, “Superhero, Nah, I’m not a hero. I don’t wear a cape and fly around.” He then tapped a hoof on his chin and added, “I do rescue a cat from a tree now and again.”
Lemon snickered as she nudged him, “Well, you’re my hero.”
Cannon’s face was now a deep red. He was a bit embarrassed about “being called hero” as they came to his home. He saw his mother on the front porch, looking right at him. He then coughed and whispered, “I uh should go…”
“Yeah, well, how about we hang out for lunch again…and maybe hang out this weekend, if you’re not busy?”
Cannon quickly nodded, “Yes,” then replied, “Of course! I have to ask my mom, but I would love to hang out!”
“Alright, well, hopefully, I see you soon!” Lemon chirped as she skipped off with Cannon waving goodbye. He then trotted over to his mom, who was now smiling at him, and sheepishly replied, “Sorry for being late. I helped our neighbor Mrs. Dusty Shelves with her groceries.”
She gave a light chuckle, “really? Is that all?”
“Also met a new friend; her name is Lemon Heart…”
“Thats wonderful…sorry, I didn’t mean to scare her off; I was just worried you were late, and you’re never late.”
Cannon peered down, wincing a little, seeing that he was the reason his mother was worrying so much about him. He said, “Yeah, sorry. I understand why you would be worried. I promise I’ll try to let you know if something comes up.”
“No, it’s fine. I just worry and have been more on edge since the divorce, you know?”
“I…I understand.”
Angel Feather led her son inside as he sat down to eat dinner with her. It was a lovely casserole, and Cannon couldn’t help but talk about his day, passing his tests, hanging out with Lemon Heart, helping Dusty Shelves, and, of course, asking if he could hang out with her next weekend, which his mother agreed. While washing dishes together, she looked at him and said, “You’ve changed.”
The colt looked up, confused, and asked, “Have I? I don’t feel different.”
“You seem to have way more energy, and that smile…it's genuine.”
Cannon Feather was a bit confused, “what does that mean?”
“You just seem happier, is all,” She then ruffled his mane and added, “I’ll let you in on a secret: You’re a bad liar.”
“Yeah, guess so…well, um, if you’re not busy at the spa? Would you want to play some chess? I uh learned a few things from a book I read.”
“Oh really? You think you can beat me this time!”
“Oh yeah, I can!”
They then went to the serene, peaceful living room as Cannon set up a board. The two spent a few hours playing, with Cannon surprisingly winning more than his mother. After another defeat at her son's hooves, Angel got up and laughed, “You won again.”
The colt flew up, squealing in delight as he exclaimed, “Yeah, I did!” He then hopped over and nuzzled her, “Thanks for playing; we haven’t done that in forever.”
“Yeah, I apologize; the spa has been rather busy lately with the Gala approaching. A lot of ponies are stressing about it.”
“Well, I have some safety ideas for the gala.”
“Like what?”
Cannon Feather ran upstairs, then came down with a scroll and said, “I’ve read about the gala and how there are a lot of safety problems that come up around this time of year, like carriage traffic. I found some ways to mitigate that.”
He then showed his mother all of the ideas, and her eyes glazed over as she whispered, “My goodness…you did that by yourself?”
“Yeah, I told you and Dad before when I got my cutie mark that I’m more like a "safety pony" than a guard? Like I wanna help everypony be safe.”
Angel put a hoof to her chest, “Cannon, that's a great idea. Maybe I can find somepony in the royal guard to take these ideas seriously.”
“Wouldn’t that be something! Me telling other royal guards what to do?” Cannon snickered. He rolled up the scroll and tucked it away, then said, “Well, it’s time for bed, and I wana to get up early to hang out with Lemon Heart.”
“Why don’t I read you a bedtime story just for old time’s sake?”
“Yeah, maybe one with Magnus in it!?”
“I found a new story about a pony named Somnambula and how she tricks a Sphinx and saves her city.”
“Oh, that sounds so cool!”
Then the mare pulled up a book and read to him as he fell asleep in her hooves. She laid down with him. He placed his head against her chest and whispered, “I got your back no matter what.”
“I know you do, and I’ll always have yours.”
