Everything was going perfect. After the kiss on the deck I was on cloud nine. I had a new necklace that was perfect, I had a friend, (possibly more, I'm not sure on what would happen right now) I had my first kiss and it was perfect, I had a party going on just for me, everything was perfect. That was until I had actually gone back inside. The music was playing but nopony danced. Everypony was standing around staring at the new arrival.
He stood eye level with me and was a bit gaunt, his feature tugging tight over his frame yet not in a malnourished way. His muscles where slim and sleek, only showing in places of common use. He had bright green eyes set in deep but not sunken in. His wings were perhaps where the most of his muscles resided as they hugged close to his side. He had a solid gray coat with a few spots sporting small scars and cuts. He had a mane and tail with the same colors as my own with few streaks of gray. Both mane and tail were cropped short in a militaristic style. The mark he wore on his flank was of a black shield with a single blue and red lightning bolt in the center. It was a mark I was familiar with.
"Hey Static. I'm not sure if you remember me or not bu-"
"I remember you perfectly fine. Dad." I cut him off before he could continue. What was he doing here? He had never wanted to be anywhere near me before, so what changed now? After I had finally let go, why did he have to come back? Everything was going perfectly, until now.
_______________________________________________________________________
I couldn't believe my ears. Dad. Static's dad was here, at the party, right now. I couldn't even begin to guess what he felt. Was he happy that he could see his dad? Upset that he had finally let things go for them to resurface? There were several other things he could be feeling, But the look on his face that spoke his feeling better than any words. Anger seethed under his skin as he was visibly gritting his teeth, but the hurt in his eyes betrayed the other emotion that hid under his rage.
I softly placed a wingtip on his back trying to calm him. I don't know why I did it, just sorta seemed like the thing to do. But when he turned back and looked at me I could see the rage breaking away as his eyes began to water. He needed time.
"Why don't you two step out on the deck." I had opened the door I had just walked in from.
"Thank you Fluttershy." Static walked past me giving me just the lightest tap from his wing before walking out.
Once they had walked out I turned to address the girls and Big Mac.
"Thank you everypony for coming out. He really enjoyed himself. But I think now would be the time to go." Pinkie was the only one who looked upset at the turn of events as they walked out. Big Mac hung back some and asked if he could talk to me.
"Listen 'Shy he's gonna need a friend when he gets done on the deck. I saw the hurt in his eyes same as you. Be there for him." And with that the Large red stallion walked away. I knew he would have troubles with this just from looking him in the eyes. I knew he would need a friend and I was the best candidate. But somehow hearing it from the normally so quiet stallion made all of it seem even more important that I was there for him.
He needed somepony he could talk to after this, and I knew that I was the only one who could be the friend he would need right now.
________________________________________________________________
I was so grateful for Fluttershy asking us to go out on the deck. The anger I had felt was so boiling hot under my skin, yet it had vanished all to soon leaving only the pain I felt deep in my soul. My eyes had already began watering by the time she had offered us the private space, and being alone with him wasn't helping. I thought I had let go of it and out the past behind me, but I had forgotten that behind is not the same as gone.
"Why are you here?" I tried to keep a calm and level voice, but my pain was to much as some leaked into my words.
"What do you mean? I'm here to visit my son on his birthday." His words lit the smallest spark of anger in me.
"I know that's not true. you haven't bothered to try and see me for years. You gave up on trying to be a father a long time ago. Or do you not remember taking off all those years ago?" The tiny spark of anger did not take long to burn into a flame, the few escaping tears failing to extinguish it.
"Can a father not visit his son anymore?" The flame erupted inside me, consuming my emotions with anger at his words.
"You lost the right to be my father years ago. As far as I'm concerned you just some retired old guard." I couldn't stop myself as my anger burned into hatred for the man in front of me.
"Look son I-"
"Stop calling me that." I shouted at him as he stepped back from me. "You left me with no one. Alone, abandoned me after mom died. You couldn't stand being my father then so what makes you my dad now?" Every word dripped with the venomous hatred I felt. But no matter how much the hatred filled me, no matter how angry I became, deep down the pain I was feeling was so much worse.
"Look I know I took off and left you alone, but it was not because I couldn't stand to be your father." He had began raising his own voice taking a defensive. "I didn't leave because of you. I left because I couldn't take it and needed time alone."
"You think I haven't learned that by now? You think that I didn't know that you had left to go find your 'peace'? I knew you were running away from the painful memories. And I knew I was a pretty strong center of them. You couldn't even bring yourself to look at me. You just focused on whatever was in front of you and told me I was to much like her. So don't tell me you didn't leave because of me. I've already figured out why you left. Now I just want to know why you're here."
"Look Static it's wasn't like that. I left-"
"It most certainly was like that, so stop denying it. Now why don't you tell me why you're here already."
"I came here to apologize." He said the words a quickly as possible. "I came here to say I'm sorry for leaving."
"It's a little late for that now don't you think?" I couldn't take it anymore. I simply couldn't bare all the pain inside, all the anger erupting outside, it was to much. I quickly spread my wings and took off. I needed to escape.
_____________________________________________________________
I had cleaned up a few things while waiting for Static, setting aside a pillow and blanket for him for when whatever happened finished so he could just go to sleep. I had started to head over to the glass door to the deck to see if they were done when I saw Static take off and his dad stay behind with a strange look on his face not one of hurt or anger, but not sorrow. What had happened?
I walked over and opened the door to the deck and stepped out. watching as Static disappeared into the night.
"What happened? where's Static going?" I was more then a little worried and it showed in my voice.
"I don't know where he went, but I can say that things did not go as well as planned." His dad kept a strangely calm demeanor about him.
"What do you mean? What happened?" I was worried for Static and the idea of my new friend flying off after he had said he was going to become a resident and after the kiss we shared had me ready to charge off after him. But I needed to know what happened.
"Well the discussion became rather heated. He was very angry with me for leaving, angry and hurt. I tried telling him it wasn't his fault I left, but it only seemed to make him even angrier. So I told him the reason I sought him out, to say sorry, and he took off." The entire time Static's father had never broke his calm informative tone. And considering the subject of the matter, it only made me move some of the worry for Static to anger for his dad.
"Did you ever think that maybe a simple 'sorry I left' wouldn't cut it? Did it ever occur to you that after years without anyone that maybe he might have been hurt more then you thought? And how exactly did you expect him to believe that he had nothing to do with you leaving? You refused to even look at him. His mother had died and you flew away with nothing more then I can't take it. You more then upset him. You traumatized him. A few weeks ago he finally opened up and told me what all had happened from his mom dying to you leaving. I was the first pony he's ever told since it happened. He has been flying all over equestria staying a town for a few weeks then moving somewhere else, never making friends or even entering the towns on a false sense of freedom. He was so afraid of rejection that he secluded himself and made a false sense of happiness so he wouldn't have to let anyone close to him. I'm the first pony he's let get close to him. He went and got a job yesterday and is finally becoming what he should have been from the start. And the reason it took him so long is because you had left and rejected him your love. So don't think a simple sorry will fix this one." I was very angry with his father at this point. Once I started going off on him I couldn't help but get angrier as I continued. The last time I had felt this way I stood up to a dragon, this man was no dragon. I spread my wings and began flying off to find static when he had turned and started to say something making me stop.
"You are right. when you find him tell him that I'm truly sorry for all I've done. I know it won't be enough to make up for everything I've done. Tell him I want to make it up to him next time I see him." A single tear ran down his check as the calm tone shattered and sorrow showed through his voice.
I turned and took off to find Static. He was hurt and alone right now. I needed to be there with him so he would know he wasn't alone. He was hurt and I knew where to find him.
___________________________________________________________________
I landed in the clearing I had grown so familiar with. I don't know why I chose the clearing, but location didn't really matter at the moment as my tears began falling. My anger was gone now but the deep, aching pain inside me stayed. I began walking towards the center, but stumbled as my legs began giving out. I simply sat and let my tears fall. I was so hurt from what had just happened. My dad, no, not dad. That man had tried to tell me how it wasn't my fault he left. A bold faced lie that only deepened my pain. Then after all those years away he thought a simple sorry would fix everything.
My anger began to return as I thought about it all. I turned and delivered a powerful apple-buck to a nearby tree, throwing everything I had into the kick. The birds inside the tree's branches flew off from the sudden kick, all but one flying up and far away. But the one bird flew down and to me, a small yellow bird. It landed on the ground in front of me and turned it's head, staring at me. Then a single yellow feather floated down between the bird and me. At first I passed it off as the bird's but upon closer inspection I realized the feather was to big.
I looked up to find the source. A familiar yellow figure with pink mane and tail began her descent. I couldn't help but smile a little as the reason why I had flown out to the clearing became obvious to me now. I had flown here because I knew she would find me.
_______________________________________________________
I found Static sitting in the small clearing with his head hanging down. I quickly began to descend to where he was and he looked up at me. I could clearly see the tears running down his face. Big Mac and I were right, he did need a friend, he needed one badly. I landed beside him and started things with a simple wing resting on his shoulder.
"Hey. Your dad explained what happened." I wanted to make sure I comforted him, I saw no reason to make him repeat it all.
"So how twisted of a version did he give you?" He was clearly still mad at him.
"I don't think he twisted it, maybe summarized, but not twisted. I'm sorry things turned out the way they did." The line seemed so insufficient in a time like this.
"I just can't believe he had the audacity to come to me after all these years and try to tell me it was not my fault. He just acted like it was an extended vacation or something." He talked with a tinge of anger in his voice but the tears streaming from his face mixed with his heavy sighs let me know he was hurting.
"He told me. I think he was trying to tell himself that more then you." I lifted my wing from his shoulder and used the tip to wipe away some of his tears.
"You know the worst part was that he actually came to apologize. Like a simple sorry would fix everything." The anger had left his words leaving the pain he felt as his sobs grew a bit.
"I know. He told me it was when he tried to say sorry that you flew." He looked me directly in the eye. His tears were still running down his face and his face showed so much anguish and pain that it hurt to just look at him. "You know what I did at that?" I had a small idea to try and cheer him up.
"What?" He still wore his mask of pain.
"I went off on him. I was practically shouting at him, telling him why sorry wouldn't cut it."
"No way? YOU went off?" He had a moment of disbelief in his pain.
"Yup I sure did." I tried to look prideful before dawning a serious look. "I told him how you had lived away from everyone. I told him that you had finally opened up, and he had just came in and rained on everything we've worked on." I gave a small smile at the tiny joke as if our friendship were lessons. He returned it. "I told him that what he did was horrible and a simple sorry would never fix it. And you know what happened after that?" He gave me a look that told me he was clueless. "He shed a tear. He asked me to tell you he was sorry and that he knew that wouldn't be enough. He told me to tell you that the next time you see him he wanted to make things up to you somehow. The whole time he was saying these things I could hear the sorrow in his voice. He was truly sorry for the pain he's caused you Static. He knows now how much he's hurt you and he knows that sorry won't fix it all this time. But he does want to try and make things up with you."
I watched as he seemed to think everything over for a second. Finally his face seemed to ease some as a lot of pain seemed lifted from his soul, not all, but a fair amount. His tears began to slow and his breathing leveled out some.
"Thank you Futtershy. It really means a lot that you're here for me." He looked at me and gave a smile. I used my wing to dry his tears again. "You know what's ironic?" He lifted his necklace pendent with a hoof. "It was the first time out here that inspired you to make this. And now here we are again in the same sort of situation, only with the necklace this time." He looked back up to me and immediately began to blush. It was clear to me that he was trying to find something to distract himself from the situation. I decided to go along with it rather then drag things on.
"Yeah almost the same situation." I rested my hoof next to his.
"Yeah there's just one part missing." He quickly stepped forward and wrapped his wings around me. I could feel the soft feathers shroud around me and lay over my own wings as he put his hoofs around me in a hug. The warmth of his body and wings over me was amazing, making me feel like I had just snuggled into my bed.
I was startled at the sudden motion, but soon melted into the warmth of his hug. I snuggled into the crook between his neck and should, further encasing myself into his warmth. He pulled me in closer to him, resting his head on my own. After sitting in his embrace soaking up the warmth from him I moved my head to look up at him as he looked down at me. Slowly our heads approached each other and our lips meet in the center.
The kiss was so much more special, so much sweeter then the two before. The soft feeling of his gray lips was beyond compare as I tasted the salty remains of a few tears. I could feel the warmth of his hug begin to rise from the feeling of his lips. I could feel his emotions through the kiss, the soft tender care he felt, the strong rush he felt from the kiss we were sharing, the sweet affection he was feeling. I could feel it all upon my lips, but I couldn't feel sorrow in the kiss. We held the kiss longer as I felt the soft warmth of the suns first rays. The ordeal had taken all night.
We broke the kiss and looked at each other blushing softly.
"Why don't we head back. It's been a long night." I spoke softly to him from the surreal moment not seconds ago.
"Yeah." With that we began the walk back to ponyville. "So if you don't mind where does this set our relationship? I've been a little curious on what happens now."
"Well I guess.." I began thinking about it for a second. Where did this set us? "Well I guess it really depends on where we think we are in it."
"Well I still hold you as my first, and closest of friends. Though there is only two at the moment. But I feel as though we are more then that."
"I see no reason why we can't be more and still consider each other friends at the same time. So I guess this sets us at a real relationship rather then just friends. I guess this make me your marefriend." I smiled at the admittance of the situation and blushed with it at the thought. "Yeah that sounds right."
He shared my blush filled smile with me. He nodded his head in agreement, confirming the status of us. As we reached ponyville a thought had struck my mind. With the problem of his dad resolved, somewhat, and the relationship status determined, this was the beginning of a new day, in a way meaning more then just the sun has risen. No this was a new day as in a new chapter of my life, or Static's life, of OUR life. And the future looked bright.