Over the past few months, Canvas had encountered enough strange and unexpected events to fill a large book. However, even after encountering Princesses, becoming a huge painting star, and falling in love with an opera-singing Gryphon, Canvas still would've never thought that he would deal with something as surprising as an all-powerful Princess standing in his bedroom.

As Luna stood before him in all her majestic glory against the darkness, Canvas could only blink in silence while he tried to comprehend the fact that this was really happening, growing worried as to why she would be here in the first place. Before he could say anything to break the silence in the still room, Luna spoke to him in a more subdued voice as she kept a serious expression on her face.

"Do you know why I am here?"

Canvas slowly shook his head. His gaze went down to his bed while thinking about her question. Looking over to the Gryphon beside him, Canvas saw that Troy was completely still, frozen in time with everything else in the space that contained him and the Princess. Putting out a hoof, Canvas tried to reach out and touch his lover, only to feel a resistance between him and Troy. As he put a hoof out, Canvas saw a strange ripple come between the two, making him realize what was happening as he turned back to Luna.

"Am… am I dreaming?"

"Yes you are,” said Luna as she kept her stern tone of voice."However, I am indeed in this space with you. I am able to enter the dreams of ponies, as is one of my duties as the Princess of the Night."

Canvas nodded in understanding and sat up in the nest. While he'd heard of Luna being able to do things like this, Canvas would've never thought this would happen to him of all ponies. As he looked back down to his bedding (if it was really there), the stallion tried to comprehend this new situation thrust upon him. He was so preoccupied that he almost didn’t notice Luna as she spoke once more.

"Canvas, do you know the reason why I am here right now?"

Canvas almost shook his head again as he tried to think of a reason; however, his body resisted doing anything as his mind slowly realized the answer. As he remembered what happened to him that day, Canvas felt his heart grow heavy--his interaction with Copper Fields was most likely the reason Luna was here in his dreams.

As he looked back up to the Princess of the Night with his worried eyes, the firm expression on her face was enough for Canvas to know he was right. Before he could respond or even nod at her original question, Luna spoke once more in a stern tone.

"I want to speak with you about your father, Canvas."

At hearing that word, Canvas's face scrunched in and he looked away from Luna, not wanting to think of that stallion in that way. Remembering what Troy said on the way home, Canvas knew that he could never think of Copper that way after everything he'd done. Knowing first-hoof how much that stallion hurt him, and seeing how much he’d hurt his lover as well, Canvas couldn't think of that bastard as anything even closely resembling a father. Keeping his gaze away from the Princess, Canvas spoke in a faint and bitter tone as he addressed her.

"He's not my father."

A strong silence filled the frozen space as Canvas kept his face away from Luna. Remembering everything Copper did to him that night, Canvas felt no remorse for saying that about him. Before the Princess could respond, Canvas kept a harsh tone in his voice as he continued.

"I did everything for him. I spent so much time trying to make him proud of me, but it didn't matter to him."

Luna kept a blank expression on her face as she listened, which was unnoticed by the stallion while he kept his gaze down to his nest. Feeling his anger build up more at thinking about this, the guilt he was starting to feel about hurting Copper was gone as he kept speaking. Recalling everything to the Princess, Canvas's face began to scrunch in as he tried to cover his grief about that night, not realizing his voice was starting to crack as he went on.

"I spent so much of my life trying to be a good son for him, and… and he threw me out! He nearly beat me to death, he.. he destroyed my art! And he disowned me! He disowned me for something that wasn't even a choice! After everything I've done, he… he took away everything because… because I'm gay."

Canvas closed his eyes as he said that last part, unsure of whether or not that was an appropriate detail to bring up to the Princess. As the stallion tried to hold back any tears, Luna stood still as she listened to him speak out about this. Letting his own words sink in, Canvas's face slowly changed from sadness to an even stronger form of anger, as he realized how much pain he had to go through because of something so insignificant.

Exhaling deeply, Canvas opened his eyes again and felt his resentment for Copper growing even more, making him stop caring about politeness or civility in front of the Princess as he spoke in a cruel tone of voice.

"I...

“... I hate him."

Even though he had plenty more to say about him--although none of which was probably appropriate to say in front of royalty--Canvas kept his muzzle shut and let that statement sink in, making the room grow deathly silent while Luna stood still. While she expected something like this to occur, Luna was still rather surprised to see a pony act this hateful; however, her surprise didn't change the stoic look on her face as she spoke once more.

"Canvas, I know about what happened to you that night. I looked into the recollections of ponies from Gallop Creek, and I can understand why you would feel that way."

Surprised that a Princess would say something like that--especially on the subject of hatred--Canvas looked up to the alicorn while she spoke, noticing her insistent stare on him as she continued.

"However, I also looked into the recollections for what happened after that night as well. I saw what your…”

Luna paused for a moment, deciding to change her words as she saw how Canvas was starting to look more upset.

"…. What Copper Fields had done after you left. When he was talking to you today, he truly meant everything he told you, Canvas."

Canvas looked back down to his hooves, unsure of what to think of the Princess's words. Though he already figured Copper wasn't lying when he told him all of those things, Canvas knew it wasn't enough to forgive the stallion for his actions. Even when he found out Copper sold his house, it wasn't enough for Canvas to think of him as any more than the pony that beat his own child. Keeping his eyes away from Luna, Canvas kept to himself as he responded to her.

"It doesn't matter. He should've never done any of that to me in the first place. It doesn't change how I feel about him."

Breathing in, Canvas looked up to the Princess, keeping a stern look on his face as he spoke honestly.

"I meant every single word that I said to him."

After another moment of silence, Luna's gaze faltered a little as she sighed, closing her eyes for a few seconds before she responded in a more serious tone.

"Canvas, I really think you should see for yourself what happened to Copper after you left."

Seeing the look of intensity on her face, Canvas could tell that Luna wasn't being flexible about this. However, before Canvas could respond to her suggestion, the entire room began to ripple around them. His bedroom began to disappear and turn into another place.

Lifting himself to his hooves, Canvas no longer felt the blankets from his nest underneath him, as he found himself standing on a muddy road. Looking back up to Luna, Canvas realized they were now in Gallop Creek again and were standing out in front of his old home.

Looking over to the house, Canvas started to breathe heavily as he recognized the scene, seeing several torn pieces of his paintings outside in the front yard, all of which now were now useless, soaked wads in the wet grass. Looking around, Canvas could tell that this was supposed to be the morning after that terrible night. He saw the sun begin to rise behind him and Luna.

Glancing over to the drugstore next door, Canvas could see the shopkeeper putting his potted plants back outside, looking rather morose behind his grey-coated face as he looked over to Canvas's home. Standing in the middle of the road with Luna, Canvas realized that neither of them were seen by him as the shopkeeper went back to placing his plants by the front door. Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream caught the attention of both Canvas and the shopkeeper as they heard Copper crying out from within his home.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

The door to his old home burst open, almost breaking the hinges off as Copper ran out of the house, terrified. Even with his eyes shot wide-open, it was obvious that he just woke up from a major hangover as he galloped out to the street. Looking at him, Canvas felt himself grow more upset as he looked down to Copper's hooves, seeing them still stained with his blood before he ran out to the muddy road, screaming his head off.

"CANVAAAAAAS!!! CANVAAAAAAS!!!"

Copper ran right past both Canvas and Luna, leaving his front door wide open while he ran as fast as could down the road, frantically screaming out Canvas's name as he tried to find him. Looking over to the aqua stallion, Luna saw that Canvas was keeping a hateful stare on his father as he watched him run off, making her feel uneasy as she spoke to him.

"This was only five hours after you left town, Canvas."

Canvas breathed in deeply before he turned back to Luna, keeping an upset look on his face before she continued.

"It took your father less than a night to know that he did wrong,” said Luna as she tried to convince Canvas. "It only took a second of clarity for him to realize what he did to you."

Canvas looked away from Luna again and glanced at the destroyed pieces of art on the lawn, scrunching in his face as he saw where he’d lost everything. Not wanting to look at the other ponies in the neighborhood--who were all now looking out from their doors and windows at Copper as he kept calling out for his son--Canvas kept his gaze to the ground while Luna stood in front of him. With a glow of her horn, Luna made their surroundings ripple again, making Canvas see his hooves in a patch of wet grass before he looked up.

Seeing where he was, Canvas gasped when he realized he was in the graveyard. His eyes widened as he saw he was now by his mother's grave again. Looking at the headstone, Canvas winced as he put a hoof to his mouth, not wanting to see the stone in the morning light like this.

Looking away, Canvas tried to compose himself while the tombstone of Blowing Winds stood in the light, stained with Canvas's blood on the top corner when he was against the stone that night. As he turned away from his mother's grave, Canvas noticed the grave-keeper, a dark-purple Pegasus stallion, look around the property. Before he could notice the blood-stained grave, the stallion overheard the screaming of Copper as he ran into the graveyard, running toward his wife's grave while he called out for his son.

Knowing his son spent a lot of his time around here after she died, Copper ran at full speed towards the tombstone as his hooves brushed against the wet grass, washing away the mud and stained blood from his dark-green fur before he stopped and saw the grave. Seeing his son's blood stained against the stone, Copper almost fell to his flank as he put a hoof to his mouth, looking absolutely mortified as he saw the gravestone. With Canvas and the grave-keeper watching, Copper kept his hoof to his mouth and stumbled towards a nearby tree, looking away from the blood-stained grave while he threw up.

After taking a moment to breathe under the tree, Copper tried running toward the gravestone with tears coming down his face. However, a surprisingly strong gust of wind blew against the green stallion as soon as he got within ten feet. Feeling how strong the wind was blowing, both Canvas and the grave-keeper had difficulty staying in place as Copper was blown several feet from his wife's grave.

Luna didn't seem to have any difficulty against the winds as she kept her attention on Canvas, who was now looking at the situation with wide eyes as he held up a hoof against the wind. Looking over at the tombstone with terrified eyes, Copper spoke out in a remorseful tone as the wind kept up.

"I'm so sorry!" shouted the stallion as he tried looking over at the grave, his eyes struggling to stay open due to the wind as he spoke up. "I'm so sorry! I didn’t mean to--"

An even stronger gust of wind blew Copper onto his back, making him roll back onto his hooves as more tears started to come from his eyes. Looking out to the road that went out of Gallop Creek, Copper grew a determined look on his face before turning back to the grave, ignoring the wind blowing him away as he spoke.

"I'm going to find him!" the stallion called as he started to run off, keeping his eyes on the stone as he spoke. "I'm gonna find him, honey! I swear!"

With that, Canvas could only watch as Copper rushed out from the graveyard, running as fast as he could as he made his way to the town limits of Gallop Creek.

Not waiting to see a reaction from Canvas, Luna changed the scene once more, rippling the space around them before they ended up on top of a cloud. Even though he wasn't used to his hooves being on a surface like this--which made him feel like he was going to fall through at any moment--Canvas's attention quickly changed as he heard several galloping ponies underneath him.

With Luna standing silent, Canvas carefully looked down from the top of the cloud and saw several stallions running down a dirt road with a cart. Looking at them, Canvas immediately recognized them as old friends of Copper, who were now rushing as fast as they could down the dirt road. Looking around, Canvas realized that he and Luna were almost eighty miles from Gallop Creek, confusing him before he noticed a shape in the distance, making him widen his eyes as he saw what it was.

Passed out on the side of the road, Copper struggled to keep his hooves moving as he breathed as hard as he could. As soon as the other stallions ran up to him, Copper struggled against them as they tried to put him in the cart, thrashing against his own exhausted body as he tried to speak in a gasping wheeze.

"Godda findim!" croaked the green stallion as he tried to lift himself out from the cart. As his friends tried to keep him inside, Copper struggled as much as he could through his tired state while trying to shout, "Please… I gotta… I gotta find my boy."

"You need to slow yourself down, Copper!" shouted one of the stallions, a light-blue Pegasus Canvas knew to be Cloud Thresher. "We have a search party going on right now! We're trying to find your son, I swear, but you can't keep pushing yourself li--"

"I HAVE TO FIND HIM!" screamed Copper as he tried jumping out of the cart with the last of his energy. Knowing he could certainly die if he kept this up, Cloud Thresher threw the both of them into the cart, holding the thrashing stallion down with his hooves as he shouted to the others.

"Get to the hospital NOW! I'll hold him!"

Without hesitation, the other stallions began pulling the cart as Copper struggled against his friend's weight, screaming out as they went off down the road.

Hoping that Canvas was starting to understand, Luna moved them to another place, rippling the space so they were now within the waiting room of a hospital. Unseen by any of the other ponies, Canvas stood next to Luna as he saw Cloud Thresher pacing in the room, looking worried as he kept his gaze to the linoleum floor beneath his hooves.

Before he could start pulling at his orange mane, a group of ponies caught the Pegasus's attention as he ran to them. Seeing how morose the group looked, Cloud Thresher's worried look grew more obvious before they spoke to him.

"We haven’t found Canvas anywhere,” said a dark-grey stallion in the front of the group. "We managed to look at every town up to Appleloosa, but we haven’t found anything."

Cloud Thresher threw his hoof against the wall, grimacing as he took in this new info. Clenching his eyes shut, the Pegasus looked especially upset as he spoke back to them.

"Dammit! I can't tell him that! Copper's been running himself ragged for the past three days trying to fin--"

A shrill scream caught the attention of Cloud Thresher and the rest of the group. They looked over to see three nurses trying to hold down Copper, who was trying to leave the hospital. With his hospital gown still on and several tubes still attached to his body, the green stallion pushed himself against the three separate magical auras as they tried to hold him in place.

Ignoring their orders to stop, Copper kept trying to push himself, not noticing the squirts of his blood coming out from some of the tubes and staining the floor as he tried to run out of the hospital.

"Let me the buck go!!” shouted Copper as he managed to break free from the auras, making it a few more feet before two large Earth Pony security guards pinned him against the floor. With more blood coming out of him from the tubes, Copper tried punching one of the guards as his face was pinned against the floor.

"Get off me, Goddess-Dammit!!" screamed the stallion as he tried bucking the ponies off him; "I need to get him!!! I NEED TO FIND MY SON!!!”

A hypodermic needle carried by an aura quickly shot past Canvas and Luna, moving towards the struggling stallion before it was shot into his neck. As the dosage was quickly administered to Copper, Cloud Thresher could only look with growing unease as he watched his friend slowly move less against his restraints. After one last large jolt from the stallion--which made another squirt of blood shoot out onto the floor--Copper passed out on the ground, leaving everypony in the hospital room scared silent as they looked at the unconscious pony lying around his own blood.

As Canvas stood at the spot, stunned, Luna finally spoke up to gain his attention.

"This happened around the time Troy found you,” said the Princess as she watched Canvas slowly turn to her. "He was sent to the hospital three different times from exhaustion before you were found, Canvas. And from what I've seen, this was the first time he was able to sleep."

Canvas looked away from Luna, not wanting to look at her. He looked back to the crowd, watching as Copper's limp body was carried back to his room through several auras wrapped around him. Seeing the look of despair on Copper's unconscious face, Canvas kept a bitter scowl on his own as he looked at him with disdain.

Even with the way he was looking, Canvas's shaky breathing was still noticed by the Princess, letting her know that this was starting to get to him. Luna quickly changed the setting again, moving them back to the front of Canvas's home before she spoke.

"This happened a week later, while you were still unconscious at Ponyvile Hospital."

Canvas stayed silent as he took in the new space around him, noticing Copper standing in front of his home with a large cardboard box next to him. Seeing how faded his green fur was getting, Canvas could tell Copper had barely slept from the dark bags under his eyes. He stood by the side of the road, holding a bottle of bourbon in his mouth as it poured into the storm drain.

As he threw the empty bottle into the box, Canvas's eyes widened as he saw how many empty bottles were inside, making him realize what his father was doing. Reaching over to his last bottle of vodka--which Canvas remembered was a really expensive brand--Copper didn’t even hesitate as he opened it with his teeth and began pouring it into the drain as well.

Canvas always knew that Copper was a heavy drinker--a habit he picked up quickly after his wife died--and while he tried to get him to drink less from time to time, it was always a discussion that ended with him being told to mind his own business. But now, Canvas only stared wide-eyed as he watched Copper outside his home, pouring out his entire liquor cabinet as he looked increasingly worse without his son.

"He was trying to find you over a week straight after you left,” said Luna as she watched Canvas, staring at Copper while he began pouring another bottle down the drain. "This was the first time he came back home since you left, and this was the very first thing he did."

Canvas only blinked a few times as he tried to process seeing this, almost not noticing Cloud Thresher as he ran past him towards Copper.

"Copper, where the buck have you been?!" shouted the Pegasus as he ran up to him, his eyes widening as he saw what he was doing. "Oh, Sweet Mother of Celestia, are you seriously throwing out all your booze?! I haven't seen you for five days, and this is what you're doin--"

"NEVER AGAIN!!!” screamed Copper as he threw the empted bottle of aged scotch in the box among the others, hearing it smash against the glass before he grabbed another bottle.

"Never bucking again!! I never listened to him about it, and look what happened! I should've listened to my boy, I should've quit a long time ago!!!I should've quit before…”

Gritting his teeth, Copper clenched his eyes shut for a moment as he tried not to tear up, staying like that before he screamed and threw the bottle against the drain. As the bottle smashed open, sending shards of broken glass and whiskey everywhere, Cloud Thresher stepped back, terrified as he watched his friend start to break down in front of his home. While he knew this incident was really starting to get to Copper, the Pegasus was really getting worried as he walked up to him, not wanting to see him lose control over something like this.

"Copper, you have to pull yourself together!" said Cloud Thresher in a frantic tone of voice. "I know you feel horrible about this, and I'm so sorry about Canvas!"

The Pegasus put a hoof to Copper's shoulder, hoping to calm him down as he saw tears rolling down his pale-green face. "But Copper, you can't keep this up! You haven't been at work for a week, and the harvest is coming up! I know you want to find your son, and I'm trying to help as much as I can, but if you don't go back to work soon--"

"I already quit."

Cloud Thresher's eyes widened in shock as he heard Copper's statement.

"W-what?!"

"I quit,” said Copper as he grabbed the last of the full bottles, holding it in his hoof as he poured it out while speaking to the stallion. "I don't give a buck. I already pulled out all my savings so I can take a train in the morning. I figure he might have made it to Baltimare, so I'm heading there first."

"You… you can't be serious, man!" By now, Cloud Thresher looked downright dumbfounded as he tried to reason to his friend. "I know you want to get Canvas back, but don't you think this is going a bit too fa--"

"HE'S MY BUCKING SON!!!” screamed Copper as he grabbed the Pegasus by the shoulders and held him a few inches from his face,."Canvas is all that I bucking have, and I'm not going to lose him!"

Copper slowly pulled back from his friend, keeping his head hung low as more tears came down his face. As Cloud Thresher stood silent, he could feel Copper struggle not to sob as he held onto him, breathing hard as his voice came out in a whimper to the Pegasus.

"I bucked up… and I can’t live with myself. I just can't, Thresher!"

Despite not wanting to be seen hugging another stallion in public like this, Cloud Thresher held Copper close as he felt him cry against his shoulder. Even though he was just as surprised as the rest of the town over what Canvas did, he could understand why his friend would feel so guilty about reacting like this. Knowing how much this was eating at Copper, the Pegasus held him close for a few more seconds before letting go, making the stallion stare at him as he spoke.

"Copper, I know I can't stop you, but you need to think this over! Do you really think you can keep this up forever?"

Copper threw Thresher's hooves off him before stepping back, glaring at him for a moment before he looked back to the remaining bottle on the ground. As he heard him painfully sigh at the sight of the last bottle, Cloud Thresher breathed in to calm himself down, knowing his friend's mind was made up.

"I… I just hope you know what you're doing, Copper."

Copper only nodded before looking back at his friend, keeping a saddened look in his eyes before he picked up the last bottle. Holding the bottle of champagne in his hoof, the green stallion looked over at the Pegasus as he spoke.

"Cloud, I… I need you to take this."

Looking at the bottle, Cloud Thresher's eyes widened as he realized what Copper was holding. Remembering how the stallion had it unopened since his wedding, Thresher was shocked as he saw Copper was wanting him to hold onto something so personal to him.

"I… I can’t do that, Copper!" pleaded the stallion as he backed away. "You've had that since your wedding, man! I really don--"

"I can’t drain it,” said Copper in a saddened tone as he looked down to the bottle. "I can’t smash it, but I can't hold onto it."

Copper looked back up to his friend, seeing the Pegasus's hesitation before speaking in a desperate tone of voice.

"Please, Cloud Thresher. Just hold onto it for me."

Seeing how distressed Copper was as he held out the bottle, the Pegasus closed his eyes and sighed, knowing he couldn’t say no. He took the bottle from him. As he kept his gaze away from the green stallion, Cloud Thresher could still tell his friend was grateful for him doing this, making him feel slightly better before he spoke.

"I… I really hope you find your son, Copper. I really mean it."

Copper only nodded before he walked back to his home, leaving the box full of empty bottles out by the curb as Canvas stood by, dumbfounded. As Cloud Thresher flew off past Canvas and Luna, the Princess waited a moment while she saw Canvas process everything he just saw and heard. Seeing how his feelings were beginning to change about all this, Luna waited another moment as Canvas stood silent in front of his old home, hoping this got to him a little before she changed the scene one more time.

Rippling the dream around her, Luna brought them to the graveyard once more. Looking around, Canvas didn’t see anyone else as the sun began to set behind them. Looking at the gravestone, Canvas saw that his blood had been washed away a long time ago, leaving only a slight discoloration against the grey stone where it used to be.

Seeing how his own blood left an impression on the tombstone of his mother, Canvas felt his eyes begin to well up as he looked away, feeling like he almost scarred his Mom by doing that. Before he could say anything to Luna about going somewhere else, Canvas realized why he was brought here as he saw Copper walk past him. As he walked toward the gravestone with a large saddlebag over his back, another strong gust of wind blew against the stallion, not phasing him one bit as he continued toward the stone.

"This was two weeks later,” said Luna as she stood behind Canvas. "After spending all his savings to take the train to several different cities, he ended up selling his house to the bank to get more money."

Canvas turned back to Luna, wide-eyed and looking stunned as he realized how quickly his father sacrificed everything he had. Even though he was gone for almost seven months, Canvas didn’t realize that Copper gave up so much in less than one. Before he could turn back to see Copper at the foot of Blowing Winds' grave, Canvas noticed a bright figure flying in from the distance, making Luna turn to it as well as she continued to speak.

"This happened after Celestia ran an investigation in Gallop Creek regarding what happened to you. Copper was gone at the time, so she waited until he came back one last time to confront him."

As the Princess of the Sun landed at the entrance of the graveyard, her face gave a look of pure intensity as she walked past the rows of tombstones, making her way towards Copper as he sat in front of the grave.

With the wind still blowing against his face, Copper just looked at the headstone, staring at the stain his son's blood made with a look of pure shame. Opening one of the pockets to his saddlebags, Copper began looking around inside as he spoke to the tombstone.

"I don't know when I'll be back,” said the stallion as Celestia came closer, not noticing her as he saw what he wanted. "I don’t know if I'll ever be back…”

With that, Copper stuck his muzzle inside the pocket, keeping a determined look on his face as he pulled out a razor blade with his teeth. Seeing the razor in his mouth, Celestia paused for a moment, standing beside Canvas as they looked at him with worry. Looking back at the grave as the winds began to die down, Copper kept the razor between his teeth and finished his statement.

"... Bud… .Ah'm nod gunna stahp, honeh."

Copper than raised a hoof, holding it against his face as he closed his eyes. Staring wide-eyed, both Canvas and Celestia looked in stunned silence as they watched him use the razor, cutting open his hoof before he spat the blade back into his bag.

Wincing from the pain, Copper didn't notice a stream of blood running down his foreleg, keeping his attention on the grave marker as he pressed his hoof against the stone. Keeping his bleeding hoof in the exact spot his own son's blood was, Copper felt tears begin to roll down his face as he clenched his eyes shut, speaking with the utmost sincerity and pain.

"I swear… I bucking swear, I'm going to find him. I don't care how long it takes… I don’t care how much I have to give up… but I'm not going to lose him, honey… I'm not going to lose our boy."

Keeping his head hung low while his hoof was against the stone, a line of blood began to roll down the tombstone, not phasing Copper as more tears came down his face.

"I promise… I promise I will do everything I can to find Canvas! I… know you'll never forgive me for what I did…”

Copper opened his eyes once more, looking at his wife's grave with a look of pure self-hatred as he held himself against the stone, tears streaming down his face as the wind died down completely.

"... I am so sorry, honey… I… I know you'll never love me again…”

Copper pressed his head against the grave, clenching his eyes shut as he let that last statement sink in. After a few seconds of silence, Copper continued to speak as he finished his promise to Blowing Winds.

"... But I will find Canvas. That I will swear by with my bucking life! I… I just can’t lose him… I can’t lose him like I lost you…”

Several sobs escaped the stallion while he kept his bleeding hoof against the grave, leaving Celestia speechless as she stood beside Canvas. Before she could step forward again to confront Copper, Celestia watched as he removed his hoof from the stone, before he pressed it against his other hoof and kneeled down against the gravestone. Bowing his head, Copper's voice came out faintly as he closed his eyes, tears still streaming down his face as he spoke up to the heavens.

"I know I did wrong… and I know I don’t deserve anything for what I did… but… but I only ask for one thing…”

Keeping his hooves pressed together, Copper opened his reddened eyes as he looked up to the sky, staring up to the darkening heavens as he prayed.

"Please… please, Celestia…”

Celestia's eyes widened a little as she listened, not moving an inch as she listened to his desperate prayer to her.

"... I never asked for a thing in my life from you, but… please… please… make sure Canvas is safe…”

Bowing back to the grave, Copper kept his hooves together as he kneeled at the stone. Looking at Canvas the whole time, Luna saw that the aqua stallion also had tears coming from his eyes while he looked at his father with his eyes wide open. Not realizing the Princess he was asking for was right behind him, Copper's voice started to come out cracked as he finished his prayer.

".... Even if I never see him again… even if I die before I ever find him… please… please… don't take him away. Don’t… don’t let my child die before me…”

Exhaling deeply, Copper wiped his eyes dry with a hoof before lifting himself from the grave, turning away with his saddlebag as he left his bloodied hoofprint on the stone. As he began to walk back towards the road, Celestia's horn lit up, turning her invisible as she watched him walk past her. Even though she was set on at least arresting Copper, the Goddess didn't move at all as the stallion slowly limped out from the graveyard. As he began to walk down the road out of Gallop Creek, Celestia waited a moment before she took off her invisibility spell, sighing before she flew off in the other direction.

Standing by himself in the graveyard, Canvas's tears began to hit the grass underneath him before Luna walked up. Even though she didn’t try to hug him, the Princess still levitated a dark-purple cloth to the stallion so he could wipe his face.

Seeing the cloth held up by her dark-blue aura, Canvas slowly nodded before taking it, wiping off his tears as quickly as he could before giving it back to her. As he kept his gaze away from her, Canvas only stood in silence as Luna spoke to him.

"I know this is a lot to take in, but I hope you can see what this means for you."

Staring at the grave of his Mom with Copper's blood on it, Canvas didn’t reply to the Princess, feeling unsure of what to say as he felt a huge weight in his chest. Seeing how stricken with grief Copper was, all Canvas could think about was all the things he said to him in Ponyville as he realized how badly he treated him.

Closing his eyes, Canvas tried to think of how to react as all his memories circled around his head. That horrible night after his graduation mixing with his hateful words to him and his recollections of what he just saw, Canvas's eyes started tearing up again as he tried to wrestle everything together in his mind. Seeing the huge mental debate of confusion on his face, Luna hoped she could get him to listen as she spoke up.

"Canvas, I really feel you should tal--"

"IT DOESN’T BUCKING MATTER!!!"

Luna flinched for a second, surprised that Canvas would make a sudden outburst like that before he started screaming at her.

"Why are you showing me all of this?! After everything he did to me, after all the things he said, so you really think any of this HELPS?! He still beat me!! He still disowned me!!”

Canvas turned to the Princess, glaring as he kept shouting at her.

"Show what happened that night!! Show him when he was beating me senseless!! Show him as he was ripping up all my paintings!! Show him when he made me drive myself to bucking suicide!! Go ahead, DO IT!!!"

Even though she understood what was happening, realizing that Canvas was using anger as a mask for his confusion, Luna grew more agitated as he kept screaming at her.

"How could you try to show me this?! You really think seeing this will make me change my mind?!! You think this will make me think I can forgive him?! You can’t force me to accept an apology after he did something that wrong!! You can’t force me to just forgive him!! YOU CAN'T FORCE ME TO--”

"I AM NOT FORCING YOU TO DO ANYTHING!!!!"

Even though she didn’t want to resort to something as drastic as her Royal Canterlot Voice to take control of a situation, Luna could see from the stallion's stunned silence that it was effective enough.

As Canvas stood in front of Luna, wide-eyed, literally shaking in his hooves from her booming voice, he tried to breathe deeply to calm down, feeling his breaths come out rather shakily as well. After a moment of silence, Luna managed to calm herself down enough before she spoke, making sure her voice was more tranquil as she addressed the stallion sternly.

"Canvas, I am not going to force you to do anything. I know very well what Copper did to you, and I understand why you would not want to forgive him."

Even though he was still extremely scared of the Princess from her deafening yell a minute ago, Canvas nodded to her as he felt himself calm down.

"I can understand your pain, Canvas,” said Luna, starting to sound more sympathetic to the stallion. "I know what it's like. I can speak from experience what it's like to feel abandoned like that. And I know what it's like to feel pain from family, for a reason that doesn't seem just, and wanting to hurt them just as badly because of it…”

Realizing what she was referring to, Canvas stayed silent as he listened to the Princess. Even though he wasn't that familiar with the whole story of Nightmare Moon, Canvas knew enough to know what Luna was talking about, making him realize that she really could relate to him. However, Canvas didn’t expect what she was about to say next.

"However, if there's one thing I have learned, it is that accepting forgiveness is sometimes not nearly as hard as asking for it…”

Canvas only blinked a few times and tried processing her words, feeling unsure of what she meant before she continued.

"Canvas, I can understand the pain you went through because of your father; however, I can also understand Copper's pain as well."

Luna lowered her gaze to the ground, looking slightly more vulnerable as she spoke to Canvas in a more morose tone.

"I know how it feels to hurt somepony who did not deserve it… I know how it feels to hurt family… I know how it feels to realize I've done wrong, and to want nothing more than to be forgiven for my actions…”

Even though Luna wasn't looking at him, Canvas looked away for a moment, feeling hesitant of what to think as he realized what she was saying. Before he could reply, the Princess went on, keeping her head hung to the ground as she spoke about her past.

"I hurt… so many ponies… and…. I lost so many of them while I was banished. I never got the chance to redeem myself in time for many of my friends to see… I never got to show them that I got better in their lifetimes."

Even though she wasn't crying, Canvas could still tell how heartbreaking this was for her to say from her voice alone. As she slowly looked back up to Canvas, Luna kept a sullen look on her face as she explained why she brought this up.

"My older sister was the only pony left I could apologize to. After a thousand years, she was the only friend I had left… Even though I did something beyond terrible to so many ponies, and so many friends… she still forgave me… and that was the greatest thing to happen for me."

Seeing a glimmer of hope in her eyes as she looked at him, Canvas began to understand what she was going to say to him. Before he could nod or say anything, the Princess finished her statement, hoping to give a fair perspective as she spoke in an optimistic tone.

"It took me over a thousand years to realize I did wrong...

“It didn’t even take your father half a day."

While Canvas looked down to the ground, letting her words sink in, Luna slowly changed the setting, so they were now in a completely black void. Closing his eyes, Canvas breathed in as he thought about her words, seeing her point before she spoke once more in a caring voice.

"All that I ask of you, Canvas, is to not let your past take over your present. I know it can be hard, or even impossible to forgive. But I can tell you that, in the end, it is a much better choice than to hold a grudge."

As Canvas opened his eyes against the void around him, he looked up to Luna before nodding, understanding exactly what she meant as she gave a faint smile to him. Knowing that her deed was finished, Luna began to glow her horn, making the space between them shine brightly in a burst of white light. As it grew brighter by the second, Canvas put a hoof over his eyes as he tried not to get blinded.

After several seconds of clenching his eyes shut, Canvas realized he was no longer standing, and felt himself lying on his side. As he slowly opened his eyes, Canvas realized that he was back in his nest with Troy, who was still holding him tightly against his chest. Even though the Gryphon's breathing could be heard now, Canvas realized that the rain stopped, looking out the window to see a clear night's sky.

As Canvas rested his head on the pillow next to Troy, the stallion felt wide awake. He realized that his dream was beyond real. Looking over at the alarm clock, Canvas saw that it was almost five in the morning, making him realize that the sun would be up soon.

Realizing what he had to do, Canvas closed his eyes and savored the warmth of his lover one more time. After taking a moment to appreciate his serenity with Troy, Canvas slowly lifted the Gryphon's forelegs off him before he carefully raised himself out of the nest.

As he got to his hooves in the bedroom, Canvas took a deep breath, knowing what needed to be done as he began to walk down the stairs.

Next Chapter: Chapter Forty-Seven: Reaching for Redemption Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 44 Minutes