It was a month after his trip to the Equestrian Space Agency's Astroneight Center in Hoofston.. Cygnus finished school for the year and was in summer break. Manehatten was just getting hotter and hotter by the minute and it started to seem unbearable. While Cygnus had a few friends, he spent most of his time at home.
Cygnus lived in the outskirts of Manehatten. His parents were not as fortunate and were living in a poor area outside of the city. His dad worked on roofs for ponies all over the city while his mom helped take care of his sick grandparents. Throughout all this, Cygnus always tried to maintain a positive outlook and his parents tried his best to be there whenever they could.
While they could not be with the colt in Hoofston, he did bring back some great memories.
“Hey Cygnus!” his mom shouted
“Yea mom?” Cygnus replied.
“I got this for you. It came in the mail today”
The address read:
Equestrian Space Agency – Equestrian Astroneight Center
Hoofston, Equestria
In excitement, Cygnus opened the envelope to discover something interesting.
“Would it be some letter of recommendation to boost his chances to get into a major university? Maybe, it’s a certificate,” He wondered in excitement. At first, he saw what a piece of cardboard. Cygnus was confused and started looking even deeper. After removing the cardboard, he found a large piece of photo paper. In shock, he removed it to see what it was.
“No bucking way…”
This was just no ordinary photo. This photo had pictures of him with many other important ponies. There were the three astroneights he got to meet with back in Hoofston, the friends he made there, and all the scientists and professors from a nearby university. The three astroneights even left their signatures on the photo.
“Mom! Take a look at this!”
Quickly, Cygnus’ mom rushed to see the item he received.
“Oh hun, you look so happy! Just look at that smile! I’m gonna get you a photo frame so you can hang it up!”
*buzz!*
Cygnus picks up his phone to see there is an email from an email. He opens it and discovers a message.
Dear Cygnus,
It was a great pleasure getting your email back. I greatly impressed by your presentation back in June. Even though you were really nervous, you still managed to do very well. Keep working hard and remember to have fun as well. I wish you all the best in your studies and beyond. I have no doubt that you will do great things with your life.
Solar Sky
Astroneight
Equestrian Space Agency
“Hey hon, I got you a frame! I tell ya, you are going to be one of them one day,” His mom insisted.
“I don’t know, it’s so hard! They only take a handful every few years…” Cygnus looked a bit sad and hesitant.
Ever since he was little, Cygnus always was scared of being an astroneight. He thought space was dangerous and was scared that he wouldn’t make it back to earth. He was not too sure what he wanted to do.
“Just do you. You never know what will happen though,” His mom told him as she hung the photo on the wall, "I have the perfect spot for this photo."
The photo hung at the center of one of the walls. It was high up for him to see as he went to bed. It was a perfect spot. It meant so much to Cygnus as it was part of one of his biggest accomplishments.
"Oh! I just forgot something," Cygnus remembered about a special object he had. He found a special object that he found at ESA. He decided to take it with him. It looked a bit like a dead bird but he was not so sure what to do with it. He laid it on a desk that was below the photo. It would serve as an important memory about his fun adventures roaming space city.