Forgotten in Manehattan

by Locomotion

Epilogue

A few days later, Caramel was making his way down the Bridleway towards the penthouse on the edge of Central Park where he had lived for nearly two whole decades, and where he hoped his father would be awaiting his return, however brief it would turn out to be. It had been a long time since he had last found himself caught in the hustle and bustle of Manehattan, but even though he had been living in more rural settings for the best part of five years, it still felt strangely familiar to him.

As he neared the turn-off he was supposed to take, an equally familiar yet slightly different sight caught his eye; specifically, the sight of the very shopping mall in which he had lost Brooklyn Dodger and his mother to the defective walkways. Nothing now remained of these, but in their place were three new walkways spanning the lobby, one for each level, with sturdy marble columns supporting them instead of hanger rods. The sight of these newer, safer walkways filled Caramel with a deep feeling of comfort and relief for all the lessons that had been learned from the earlier tragedy – now, the mall had virtually been restored to very near its original magnificence, and this time, there wasn't a single flaw in the walkways' design to endanger anypony who dared to enter. With a faint, grateful smile, he turned and continued along the Bridleway.

Before long, he found himself standing in front of the very place he used to call home. With a deep breath, he braced himself for his inevitable fate and made his way up to the front door, promptly raising a hoof as he approached and pushing the small button that activated the doorbell. Seconds later, the door opened to reveal a well-groomed, smartly-dressed Earth stallion, who promptly froze the moment he saw who was standing just outside.

“Is that who I think it is?” he asked in disbelief.

Caramel placed his right hoof against the back of his head with an awkward grin. “Well......depends on who you're thinking of,” he replied wryly. “Does the name 'Caramel' ring any bells to you?”

The stallion blinked in amazement. “Why...so it does!” he gasped. “My word, Master Caramel, it's been an awfully long time since I last saw you!”

“Five years, I make it, Mr Jarvis,” affirmed Caramel. “I see my father still hasn't let go of his faithful old butler after all this time.”

Jarvis smiled momentarily, but then his expression turned sombre; “About the only pony he ever did retain in his life after you left here,” he said gravely. “You wouldn't believe how distraught he was from having lost his family – he even gave up his job in the embassy.”

Caramel smiled back apologetically. “Yeah, about that...” he began.

“But never mind all that, Master Caramel,” interrupted Jarvis soothingly. “I'm sure he'll be more than happy to see your face again, so by all means, do come inside.”

The tan-coated stallion felt a lot better for hearing that, and willingly followed Jarvis into the house. Both ponies stopped outside the first door they came to, which Caramel knew by instinct led to the lounge. After gesturing for him to wait outside for a moment, Jarvis opened the door just wide enough to poke his head inside the room.

“Pardon me, sir,” he announced, “there's somepony here who wants to see you.”

“Can't they come back some other time, Jarvis?” replied a mournful, sombre voice from within the room. “I'm in no fit state for visitors right now.”

“Well, you say that now, sir,” Jarvis pointed out knowingly, “but I rather think you will be when you see him.”

“I don't see it, Jarvis. I've tried everything and everypony to get my spirits up – nothing seems to work anymore.”

“Not even a pony who you might know and love almost as much as your wife?”

There was a long silence. Caramel pawed nervously at the carpet as he awaited the other stallion's response, hoping to goodness that he could still find it in his heart to forgive him.

“Alright – let him in.”

Jarvis withdrew his head from the doorway with a smile. “Go right ahead, Master Caramel,” he encouraged.

“Will do, Mr Jarvis,” and Caramel cautiously entered the room. Sure enough, he could just make out a chocolate-brown stallion with a lighter brown mane sitting in an armchair on the far side of the lounge, facing away from the door towards the window.

As the tan-furred stallion drew closer, the older pony slowly turned towards him. “So,” he began, “I understand you c...” but he suddenly broke off mid-sentence and stared in amazement at the interloper whom he had previously assumed had merely come to intrude on his privacy – except that now, as he looked the pony over, it seemed as though he had perfectly good reason to do so. He looked so immediately familiar that at first he couldn't believe his eyes. “C...Caramel?”

“Hullo, Dad,” said Caramel softly.

The brown stallion rubbed his eyes, wondering if perhaps he was dreaming. “I don't believe it!” he gasped. “Is...is that really you?”

Caramel smiled wryly. “Well, I can't think of anypony else who looks even remotely like me – yet,” he replied.

In an instant, the older stallion was up on his hooves and hugging his long-lost son feverishly. “Oh, Caramel,” he sobbed joyously, “am I ever happy you came back! I thought I'd never see you again.”

“I'm sorry, Dad,” apologised Caramel, letting loose a small tear of his own. “You and I were in pretty much the same boat after what happened to Mom, and I...I just abandoned ship and left you to struggle on alone. I should never have run away like that.”

His father pulled back with a warm smile. “It's okay, Caramel,” he answered. “You were in too emotional a state to think otherwise. Besides, I was no better myself for wanting to murder the guy who put those walkways up in the first place – frankly, I'm surprised the lawyers didn't put out a restraining order on me as soon as they found that out!” and he laughed heartily in spite of himself.

“But they did sort it out in the end, didn't they?” asked Caramel anxiously.

“They sure did, son,” chuckled his father. “Turned out that neither the designer nor the construction team actually checked the final design before the walkways went up. Both have lost their engineering licenses now.”

“And quite right too,” agreed Caramel feelingly. “I can't believe they had to let such a deadly design flaw slip through their hooves!”

“Neither can I – still, at least there's no chance of that ever happening again. But anyway, enough about those damned walkways; you and I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm sure that Cutie Mark I've never seen before has a heck of a lot of stories to tell.”

“It sure does, Dad,” smiled Caramel, and pulled up an armchair of his own so that he could tell his father all about what had happened in his life after leaving Manehattan, how he had discovered his talent in farming, his long-awaited reunion with Applejack, and how a blast from the past had brought their friendship to the next level.

As the two of them chatted away till late that night, Caramel felt a deep sense of fulfilment – he had a loving, caring marefriend whom he had known since foalhood, he had somewhere he could call home, he had far more friends than Manehattan had ever allowed him to have, and to cap it all, he had managed to reconcile with his father despite having deserted him for years on end. Yes, the two of them may have suffered a great deal from having lost loved ones, and all to a shocking and thoroughly scandalous disaster that could easily have been prevented, but even though their lives had been turned upside down and back to front by the tragedy, both ponies could finally put the past behind them and move on for the better. And just as well too, he told himself, for although he had been through a great deal in the last five years, such heartbreaking moments as had been the case with his mother and a close friend of his, however historically significant they may have been, were probably best forgotten.

Comments

[Weird Autistic Weeaboo]

I Like The Story, *tips fedora*. Gr8 job m8 "8/8 It's Okay." - IGN.