//------------------------------//
// Hero 
// Story: Through Broken Eyes.  
// by Collins4112 
//------------------------------//

I crossed off another day on my calendar. I had four days. I was grounded from just about everything for two weeks, and once those two weeks were over I would have another month of 'parole,' which was extra chores and stuff. Aunt Applejack had given me extra work to do. Dinky wouldn't let up with her snide remarks about pornography. All-in-all I probably should have thrown the magazine away, and saved myself a whole lot of trouble.

I sighed. I was incredibly bored. I thought back to the moment when the magazine fell in front of my momma. I cringed at the thought. She smacked me upside the head, but - I know this is going to sound cliché - the look of disappointment she gave me hurt a whole lot more. Then she proceeded to tell Dad, Aunt Applejack, and Aunt Apple Bloom. The conversation with my dad was an awkward one, a lot about how what I was looking at was disrespectful to mares, and how I shouldn't be touching myself. Oh yeah, that was another thing, everypony my mother told just assumed I had been touching myself when I had possession of the magazine, which I hadn't. Oddly enough the one pony I hadn't had a long awkward conversation about the magazine, was my momma.

I heard a knock on the door. "Dinner's ready."

I rolled out of bed, and opened my door. Momma was standing there. She glanced at me, I could still see a bit of hurt in her eyes. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she kept her mouth closed. I followed her to the kitchen table. Dinky wasn't at the table, so I assumed that she had went out with Pipsqueak. I sat down at my regular spot, where a plate of food was already waiting.

I stuck my fork into the food and started to eat slowly. I wasn't in any hurry to go back to my room.

"Apple Bloom says she needs ya to foal sit for her tonight." Dad said. I gave a silent thanks: the only time I got to leave the house, besides work, was when Aunt Apple Bloom needed a foal sitter because she was going out on her dates. So far no luck in finding a coltfriend, but she said she had fun anyway. I didn't really know why Aunt Applejack didn't take care of Golden Delicious, but I was glad she didn't so I could leave.

After we swallowed the meal and had some dinner conversation, that I took no part in, I waited at the door for Dad to put his cap and scarf on. He would be escorting me to the farm, so I wouldn't try to ditch or something. Personally, I was kind of offended; I would never ditch Aunt Apple Bloom when she needed me.

He finally got all his gear on and we got a move on towards the farm. We trotted in silence, which got me thinking, would I ever be able to just talk to dad again without him thinking about how disappointed he was in me? I hoped we could, because I wanted to talk to him about Pumpkin Cake. I had managed to get a call out to her to tell her that I was grounded, but I left out the part about the magazine. She had said she'd find some way of contacting me.

"Dad?" I asked. His ears perked up, so I knew he was listening even though he didn't respond. I decided to ask a question that had been on my mind for quite a while. "Do ya hate me?"

That got his attention, he stopped. I turned to look at him and he was looking at me straight in the eye. "Son, Ah could never hate ya, Ah love ya. It's just that Ah thought we raised ya better than to look at that filth. Ah know it was a mistake, Ah know what it's like to be your age. Your momma and Ah will get over it soon, it just takes time."

That made me feel a little bit better. I hadn't realized we already had made it to the farm. Dad opened the front door, and Aunt Apple Bloom was already waiting at the door.

"Good evening." She said. Golden was sitting on her back, looking as content as ever. I brushed my hooves off on the doormat before I walked in.

"Hey." I responded. Golden looked happy to see me. Aunt Apple Bloom passed me Golden Delicious.

"She's just had a diaper change and she is already fed, ya just have to put her to sleep." Aunt Apple Bloom said. I was glad; my job was going to be easy then. "Ah'll be back 'round nine o'clock."

She started out the door, but Dad stood in the way. "If this stallion gives ya any trouble, just let me know."

Aunt Apple Bloom smiled up at him: even when my father's sisters are adults, he still feels the need to protect them. "Thanks, Big Mac."

I was left alone with Golden. She looked tired, which was fine with me. I started to walk to her nursery, but Aunt Applejack stopped me.

"Ah'm going to go out. Ah'm hoping Ah can trust ya." She said. I nodded. "Good."

I was kind of curious where she was going, so I asked: "Where ya going?"

"Out." She said quickly. I raised an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything more. She opened the front door and slammed it behind her. I trotted to the kitchen window to watch her go. To my surprise a pegasus dropped out the sky and landed next to her; I couldn't really see the pegasus because it was dark. Their face's got really close together. Oh...wait...they were kissing. It wasn't just a peck on the cheek. I felt my face burn up and I stopped watching the private moment.

I walked to Golden's nursery. I set her in her crib and tucked her in. She grasped onto the stuffed elephant… I guess she had taken a liking to it.

"Alright, silly filly, would ya like a bedtime story?" I asked, not that I was expecting a response. There was a small bookcase by the crib. I looked through the titles; I saw a few I recognized. I pulled a book out of the shelf. The title read, "The train engine that could."

I stood over the crib as I started to read. I made faces to keep it entertaining for the little green foal. When I was halfway through the story the filly fell to asleep. I kissed her on the forehead, I loved that little filly. I was too invested in the story to stop reading. I finished the story, turned on her nightlight, and shut off the overhead light. I left the door open so if she started to cry I could hear it.

I took a seat in the parlor. I leaned back in a recliner chair, and fell asleep. After what I think was an hour, there was a knock on the door. I got out of the chair and went to answer it. To my surprise, it was Pumpkin Cake.

"Hey Carson." She said.

"Uhh...hi. What are you doing here, not that Ah don't enjoy your company." I stuttered.

"I heard you were here, and I came to visit." Pumpkin took a step inside.

"Uhh..sure. Does your dad know your here?" I asked. I really didn't want to get in more trouble than I was already was.

"Well...no, but I don't think he'll notice." She said and that put me a conundrum. I could turn her away, but that would have probably put her off, or I could let her in and take the chance of getting in trouble again. I chose the latter.

"Come in." I said, and she walked into the entryway. Her stomach rumbled. "Ya hungry?"

"Yeah, I didn't eat dinner; I told my dad that I wasn't feeling well." She explained. I showed her to the kitchen and had her sit at the dinner table. I opened the fridge and rummaged around. I decided I could use a little snack too, so I chose a few apples and started to cut them up as I put a frying pan on the stove and turned on the burner. I placed a bar on butter in the pan and waited for it to melt.

"Any reason ya decided to sneak out?" I asked.

"To see you." She answered matter-of-factly. I blushed slightly. The butter melted and I put the apples in with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon.

"That's nice of ya." I stirred the apples. "Anyway, how was your day?"

"It was fine, got a huge order for an MMMM cake." She responded.

"MMMM?" I asked. I had never heard of such a cake.

"It's my parents' specialty. It's a special mix of cakes and it's absolutely divine...I'll bring you some sometime." She said. I nodded my thanks. "What did you get grounded for anyway?"

Damn. I was hoping she wouldn't bring that up, I was terrible at lying, and I didn't have a good excuse. "Well... Ah had found a Playcolt magazine..."

My face burned up with embarrassment, it was unbelievably awkward to tell the mare you had a thing for that you were caught with porn. To my surprise she started to laugh.

"I bet that was embarrassing." She kept on laughing. I smiled, my cheeks still rosy from embarrassment. I poked the apples; they were soft and ready to eat. I put them on a plate, and then brought it over to the table.

"Looks good...hey, why are you here anyway, if you're grounded?" She asked. As if on cue, I heard Golden stir in her sleep, and I knew she was about to wake up.

"Just a sec." I said before walking into Golden Delicious' nursery. She was indeed waking up. She rubbed her little eyes and looked up at me. I could tell she smelled the cinnamon apples, and she wanted some. I smiled and picked her up out of her crib.

I carried her to the table and placed her in her high chair. "This is why Ah'm here. Meet my cousin Golden Delicious."

"Aww... She's so cute." Pumpkin cooed. Golden wasn't paying any attention to her, she was eyeing those apples. I took a fork and started to feed her: I wasn't sure if she was supposed to have solids yet, but the apples were soft enough that I didn't think it mattered. We ate the apples down in about five minutes.

Golden was trying to keep herself awake, but she was so tired that her head fell straight onto the plate and she was out like a light. I took her and brought her back to her room. I expected her to sleep through the rest of the night. I walked back to the kitchen, but Pumpkin had invited herself to go into the parlor and was sitting on the couch.

"You guys don't have a TV?" She asked.

"Nope. Too much work so we don't have any time to watch one, but we have a radio." I said. I walked over to the radio and turned it to a variety station. I was going to sit in the recliner, but she patted the couch next to her. I sat nervously next to her while we listened to the radio. She leaned her head on my shoulder. I yawned and slyly put my leg around her shoulders. We stayed like that for a half hour.

Crash! A window shattered somewhere in the house. Golden started to cry, and I quickly stood up. Then the crying stopped. I rushed to Golden's room... She was gone. The window was shattered, shards of glass scattered all over the floor. I bolted to the window: a pony was galloping away, and I could see he was holding my sweet little cousin, Golden Delicious.

"Pumpkin, call the police!" I yelled as I dove through the window. I cut myself in several places along my body on the sharp glass that was still attached to the window lining. I broke into a full gallop. The foal napping pony was at a gallop too, but I was gaining. The pony made a quick dash to the left, into the apple tree rows. I turned to intercept.

He was slowing down, and I was gaining speed. In a matter of moments I was on him. I tackled him to the ground; Golden was crying her head off. I heard a swish, then a sharp pain was in the middle if my abdomen, a pain that tore through my being. I looked down, and saw a knife jutting out from my stomach. My eyes dilated as a warm crimson liquid oozed from the wound. The pony laid under me, by the looks of it a stallion, who had a crazed look in his eyes. I didn't have time to react when he pulled the knife from me and forced it through the muscles if my abdomen again. I cringed in pain as blood started to pour from my second wound. I could hear sirens, but they were in the distance and wouldn't arrive in time to save me. I thought fast and did the best thing I knew how. The stallion pulled the knife and stabbed again. I ignored the pain for a moment and kicked with my forelegs to daze, then spun and kicked with my hind legs. There was a sickening crack when my hooves connected.

I fell to the ground; the world was fading in and out. Golden was still crying. I managed to get her into an embrace. "Shhhh... Shhhh... Everything's okay now, sweetie."

I didn't let myself faint until I saw the lights of the emergency vehicles and felt pony gently taking Golden from my hooves.

The smell of food was what finally awoke me. I was in the farm house, in Aunt Apple Bloom's bed. I looked down at myself: I had three pads where the stab wounds were, and there were bandages wrapped all around my midsection. I tried to turn, but a pulse of pain prevented me from doing so. That's when I noticed Golden was sleeping beside me. I breathed a sigh of relief, I was glad she was alright. By the looks of it, I needed a new bandage: it was red and kind of sticky, so I think my blood had stopped pouring from the wounds.

I could hear quiet talking outside the room. I think I could hear my father's voice; it was hard to miss seeing as it was a deep rumble compared to the rest. I saw Golden Delicious' eyes open.

"Good mornin.'" I said, even though I had no idea what time it was. Golden Delicious cuddled up close next to me, and the door creaked open. Momma stuck her head in the room. Her eyes went wide, and before I knew it she had me in a hug. I couldln't think of what to say, so I said the first thing that came to mind: "Ah'm sorry Ah had Pumpkin over."

"Oh sweetie, I don't care about that. I'm just glad you're okay." Her grasp tightened. I could tell she was about to start crying. "Mac, get in here, he's awake."

I heard heavy hoof steps come into the room. I could see a proud gleam replacing the disappointing stare he had just the day before... Or what I thought is the day before, I still had no idea how long I'd been out. He walked slowly to stand next to momma. Dad looked like he was at a loss for words, which I took as a good thing. Usually he could come up with something to say, even if it wasn't much.

"We are so proud of you, Carson." Momma said. I could see the tears already forming form in my mother's eyes.

"Eeyup." Dad added.

"So, what happened?" I asked. All I knew was a stallion had tried to foalnap my cousin, stabbed me, and I had stopped him.

"Golden's dead-beat dad tried to take her back." Dad explained. He looked rather angry about it; I didn't know very much about Golden Delicious' dad. All I knew was that, he got Aunt Apple Bloom pregnant, left her, and now he tried to get Golden Delicious back. I tried to sit up, but cringed in pain and laid back down. "He's in custody now, and won't be out for a long time."

"Thank goodness that Pumpkin was here to tell us where you went...if she wasn't you would have bled out." Momma started to break up near the end and tears poured down her cheek. Dad put a leg around her.

"We'll let ya get some rest." He said as they started to walk to the door. Mom left first, and Dad turned around to look at me. "Ya made me the proudest dad in all of Equestria. Ya are a hero."

That meant a ton to me. The fact that my dad was proud of me and he called me a hero made me happy. I settled back into the bed, moved Golden a little closer to me, and almost dazed off to sleep, when Aunt Applejack burst into the room.

"Ah ought ta whip ya for having a mare over!" She shouted. "If Ah wasn't so gosh darn proud of ya."

She had me in a headlock, which I have to admit wasn't the most comfortable of things, but Aunt Applejack had her own rough way of showing affection.

"Ah'm not sure if any of us could have reacted quick enough to stop that crazy pony." She admitted. "Ah tried to get the officers to get Macintosh and Ah in the cell with him to 'have a talk' but they wouldn't go for it."

I chuckled. Celestia help the pony that is locked in a cell with my Aunt Applejack when she's mad.

"Ah was just doing my job as a foalsitter." I laughed lightly.

"Yeah? Ah don't know any foal sitter that would do what ya did. Any who, Ah'm sure ya are tired, Ah'll let ya be." She said as she left, but not before she put me in another headlock and tussled my hair. I decided to stay awake for the next incoming visitor, I figured I knew who it would be.

Aunt Apple Bloom was the next. She closed the door quietly behind her. She looked at me with sad eyes as she walked up the bed. Golden Delicious noticed the presence of her mother and held up her little hooves.

"Carson..." Aunt Apple Bloom took a moment to gather her thoughts. She pulled down the covers and saw how red the bandages were. She walked over to a small medical chest and pulled out a new roll of bandages. She started to unwrap the red, sticky mess of bandage from my body, and then quickly replaced it with fresh new ones, which felt a whole lot better.

"Thank ya." I said.

"Thank me? No, Carson, thank you. Ya offer to watch Golden just so Ah can go on a date, and ya save her from being foalnapped, in the process getting stabbed. Carson, Ah don't think Ah can ever repay ya." She grabbed me in a warm embrace. "But Ah can start by making a nice home cooked meal for ya and your marefriend."

"That sounds nice." I admitted.

"Ah know Golden Delicious thanks ya too." Aunt Apple Bloom picked Golden up.

"M-M-Momma...Ca-Carson." Golden said. My eyes went wide when I realized what just happened, her first two words. Aunt Apple Bloom hugged her daughter close.

"Well, Ah'll be..." I said. Aunt Apple Bloom went to go share with everypony, but not before giving me a big kiss on the cheek and a tight hug.

To my surprise, Pipsqueak was the next to come in.

"I just want to thank you." He said.

"For?" I asked. I really hadn't done anything for him.

"For inspiring my next set of books; I decided to write it on your family, the first book I already have a title for...wait for it... Gentle Red. It's a running title… but anyway I have the first chapter done, I wrote it from a third person perspective to make it sound more like a story." He said. I just smiled and nodded: who would ever read a story on my family? He started to read: "Ditzy, or as some of the less kind ponies called her, "Derpy" was having a good day. It started with a warm blueberry muffin, then seeing her daughter Dinky off to school, and now her mail route was going along without a hitch..."

I just sat back and listened.

Thank y'all for reading. I appreciate your thoughts, I know this ending may seem kind of sudden, but I think it is appropriate seeing as I never meant this story to get too long. Thanks to my beta read, BlackRoseRevan you check out some of his stuff.